The Washington herald., 1920-08-25
Courts Can't Ouerturn Action
OfLegislature Giving Women
Right to Vote, Declares Taft

Congress to the several States un-
sembly shall have been elected after
such amendment is submitted.
Precedent Has Been Set.
The ratifying Tennessee legisla-
ture was elected before the present
suffrage resolution of Congress was
submitted to the States. Fortunate
ly for all. the question thus raised
would seem to have been definitely
settled by unanimous judgment
of the Supreme Court in a case
which cannot be distinguished in
principle from this one. 1t arose in
respect to the ratification of the
| Eighteenth or prohibition amend
FTnent. The constitution of Ohio nro-
vides that action of the Ohio legis-
lature in ratifying an amendment
TO the Constitution shall be subjected
to a referendum to the people IL
properly invoked under the law. The
legislature of Ohio ratified the
! Eighteenth amendment The Secre-
tary of State proclaimed the adop-
tlon of the amendment by including
Ohio as ratifying State
Meantime referendum had been
| held in Ohio, and by a very close
vote the amendment was defeated.
The Supreme Court held that the
OHIO legislature has properly rati-
fed the amendment and that the
referendum did not affect its valid
| ity.
Settles All Doubt.
] The clearly sound view which the
supreme Court took of the case was
, that the validity of an amendment
to the Federal Constitution was to
| De determined under the Fifth Ar
tlcle OF that instrument, which pre-
scribes the procedure by which
amendments to it may be adopted:
that the States cannot vary that
procedure and that the question is
a purely Federal one. Article V
| provides in effect that amendments
may be adopted by a resolution of
Congress, two-thirds of each House
concurring. and by a ratifying vote
of the legislatures of three -fourths
! OF the States, or of conventions in
/ the same number of States called
| for the purpose, as Congress in its
resolution of submission may di-
| rect.
The resolution in question sub
| mitted the amendment to the legis-
latures. The court held that the
word legislature used in the clause
meant the State legislature, and
nothing else, and that a State could
not by constitutional or legislative
| provision, affect or change that
meaning or the power of the legis
lature as the designated agency for
performing Federal function.
Can't Block Legislature.
by a parity of reasoning a State
can not, by its constitution, or
otherwise, prevent it's legislature
from doing or exercising its discre-
tloh to do that which 1t becomes
its Federal duty to do under the
supreme law of the land. towit. to
consider and act upon the amend
ment submitted to it by Congress.
1t follows that under these cir
cumstances, any State official who
is part of the election machinery.
and attempts to exercise the power
TO decide that an amendment duly
proclaimed by the Secretary OF
state as adopted is invalid. and
thus to block action on voting
under It. will be assuming a griev-
Gus burden of responsibility. likely
to return to plague him. In such
case it is plainly the duty of the
state Official to accent the decision
OF the Secretary of State and to
leave to the courts to reverse that
decision II invalid.
All women who are otherwise
qualified will have right to vote
In the November election