The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-19
STEPS ARE TAKEN ID TEST LEGALITY
 OF RATE |CAT|ON
House Still Has Opportunity to Rescind Action, and Speaker Plans to Move
 for Reconsideration
By Assoelateo rrev.

| ; Nashville, Tenn, August IS. Tennessee today ratified the federal woman suffrage amend ment, the lower house of the legislature by vote of fifty to forty-six concurring in the ac- tion of the senate which last Friday adopted the ratification resolution by vote of 25 to 4. Although it was the thirty-sixth
 state tn act favornbIy and the amendment should become effective ns soon as certified by Bain1ridge Colby. Secretary Of State. whether l7,GO0.O00 women of The country would vote in the preside dentiaI eicc- ton in November remained to be
 ~dctermined. The house still has m
 opportunity, to rcScind it's action.
 and preliminary steps for testing
 the legality of ratification by this
 legislature, if reconsideration
 should fail to upset it, already have
 been taken by the Tennessee con-
 stitutionai league the ground
 that authority
 to act.
 After the ballot today Seth walker speaker of the house and leader of the opposition, changed his vote from 'nos to aye in order to avail himself of the privilege of moving for reconsidera- tion and announced that he would dd so. Under the rules only Mir. Walkef can offer this motion and it may be done at any time he so desires. He l., Friday.
 After that time any member of the hody may move reconsideration and IL was regarded certain if the speaker failed to do so the suffrage forces would offer motion of this character Monday the first legislative day after MT. Walkers tinse limit expires, Mo- ton by the auTtragists tu reconsider would be followed by a motion of l member of their own forces to send 1t to the table and a majority vote would settle the question.
 VOTE WAS 49 TO 47 Ninety-six of the ninety-nine mem- bers of the house were present today and the alignment, until a vote on con. currence was taken, was a tie. each faction polling forty eight votes on motion by Mr. Walker to table the resolution. On the ballot for concur. renee the lineup was forty nine to forty-seven until the speaker changed his vote. This apparently would give the suffragists an advantage of onlS two votes, but their leaders declared tonight two members in favor of suf. frage, who were absent today, would arrive probably tomorrow morning
 The motion to reconsider may bt carried by a ajority vote of the mem. bers present and since MT Walker can act without moments notice thu suffragists expected to be on hand full force at all hours during the next two days. It was evident the only hope ths speaker had of overturning today's ac. ton was through assertions from tho suffrage ranks or failure of the sui. fragists to have virtually every mem. Der present until the house adjourns Friday The suffrage leaders declared they expected no defections among their forces, but as a precaution they were tightening their lines. The op- [ position leaders tonight were wagins an active campaign in an effort to increase their strength at the expense or their antagonists.
 DRAMATICALLY SUDDEN END
 The end came with dramatic sud- denness. Debate on the motion to com cur had been in progress little more than an hour and there was no indis cation that vote was imminent whel Speaker Walker called Representative Overton to the chair and took the floor to reply 10 suffragist who had charged that special interests were at work to defeat ratification.
 The battle has been won and the measure has been defeated" MT, Wal. ker said.
 q resent the iniquitous remark that special interests are here alone against this measure. I resent this on behalf l. .l. A.. against suffrage. Mir. Speaker" hs shouted. "I move that this measure go where it belongs--to the table"
 Instantly the chamber was in an up- roar. Suffrasists clamored for recog. hilton. while chorus of Second tho notion came from the antis. Mir Overton, however, refused to recognize any one and ordered the roll call. The vote was neck and meek race, and at the conclusion many spectators, mem- bers and newspaper men who had kept tally had a total of 49 in favor of the motion and 47 against it.
 An equal or greater number de. clared the vote was 4S to 4S, and aa appeal to the clerk developed that his tally also showed tie.
 Pandemonium reigned members leaving their seats and crowdina around the speakers stand, many de. manding another roll call. others des claring it unnecessary. Mir Overtoa who occupied inc chair during the re. mainder of the session, managed to res store order and instructed the clera to proceed with a second roll call in order that there light be no doubt.
 The second ballot showed a tie ot 4S to AS. and the speaker declared the motion lost for want of a majority.
 Instantly the anti suffragists de. manded vote on the original motio1 to concur in the senate action 1t wao crucial moment.
 The motion to table had Just bees lost through a tie vote and if the ops posing forces held together and ans other tie resulted it meant rejection o1 the amendment. When the speaker put the motion hundreds of suffragists rec garded the battle as lost.
 The vote at the outset was on pars tisan lines. but whe~ the name of RepA resentative Harry r. Burn. republicaA of MeMinn county. was called he voted faye"
 The opposition then vlrtuaNy com ceded defeat, for MT. Burn had voted
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