The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1920-08-13

- NDr 1s r. MIL ON, JH.)
Nashville, Aug. 13.-(Speclai.)-
The shlnng star Of the Joint de-
bate between sutfraelsts and antis
thursday night before the house
and senate committees was Charles
T. Gates, for eleven years attorney.
general Of tse state OF Tennessee.
HIS singing rebuke TO Miss Char
lotte Rowe, New York antlsuf-
rage a5Itator, for her attack on the
nonor Of Tennessee womanhood
brought applause that shook the
rafters OF the packed assembly.
sionaI field orator for the antIs,
made bitter tlrade against Mrs.
Carrie Chapman Gait. head OF the
national Woman Suffrage assocla
ton, and Tennessee women. She
charged that ~ the present le9lsIa-
poishevlk and socialist influences at
work on them" She urged the leg.
islators to keep the counsels Of
honor and not Of the women Of Ten
nessee. Gen. Gates when his turn
came pleased the audience to the
fullest by the way he punctured
Miss Rowe's attack. "When the
tennessee legislature wants to take
lessons In honor II takes them from
ennessee women" he said. "There
IS no socialism or bolshevIsm
distinguished ladies from outside
the state who oppose the woman.
mood OF Tennessee can come here
and preach to US thousand years
before they can make US believe
their womanhood."
Gen. Gates then took up the constitu-
tional phase of the question of ratifica-
tion. Legislators can act unless the Con-
stitution takes from them the right ex-
pressiy vested In them by the Constitu-
tion OF the United States of America.
he discussed the Ohio case where he
said. the issue had already been de-
cided by the supreme court, which held
denial of right to ratify was nun and
void.
IF it can force two years, delay, why
not hVe or seven, or ten or why not
deny the ratifying right altogether?"
rector who votes no, Is guilty of as,
gross a violation of his oath under hia
contention as is the legislator who
votes aye" Gen. Gates contended.
Behind every conscientious objector
there lies foe of suffrage" he charged,
amid applause. There have always been
Thomases about every forward
step, Gen. Gates showed.
He spoke of the opposition to the
United States Constitution itself. ''It
does not require the oath of Tennes-
sean to make him adopt the tenets OF
honor" he said. Those people who say
they are slffragists, but not able to act,
say ,assfeilowss I've always been with
you you ladies, always for you--but, my
God, not now
His address closed with a brilliant
colloquy with Judge Tillman anti orator,
in which Catesdforced the anti to admit
the correctness OF the suffrage contention
about the oath of office. When Gates
asked the hall What do you want II
you can't act under oath?" Tillman
arose and said that the antis wanted
a resolution of the legislature refusing
either to ratify or reject.
But the legislature today, acting
under its oath Of office, overwhelm-
ingly refused to pass this very resolu-
tion," Gates shot back quick as whip,
and then before the applause had sub
sided. asked question of Tilman. He
forced the anti speaker to admit that
the United States Constitution was su-
preme. that it did not limit in any
manner ratifying methods. and that
the federal Constitution says leglsa-
lures can act at any time.
Then that makes the constitution on
which you are relying. which says the
legislature cannot act. come into con-
flict with the supreme law OF the land
does 1t not. Judge Tillman?" was Gates
parting query. The Judge admitted. amid
suffrage applause. that II
did. Gen. Fowler. of Knoxville. made
an able talk on the constitutionality of
the ratification, pointing out clearly
the conflict of the two constitutions.
which nulllfied that OF tire state Judge
Seav. OF Nashville. also handled for the
suitragists this phase of the question
quite ably and we'll He showed that
the power to ratifv II vested I'm the