Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-08-20
No Need for State
Suffrage Action

Continued from Page One
Pennsylvania constitution and laws
the word male" so that our state
constitution in reality reads:
Every citizen twenty one years OF
age possessing the qualifications (enu
merated In IT., shall be entitled to vote
at all elections
"while the Nineteenth amendment
inhibits the state from making sex a
qualification for voting, and conse
auently as part Of the supreme law Of
the land wholly eliminates such quail l.
fcations thereof, IL does not operate to
change. alter or abrogate any other
qualifications. under our laws and con :
stitution, emitting a citizen to vote. II
will be encumbent upon the women to
proceed to qualify themselves for the
exercise of this right precisely as men
must qualify for its exercise. In other
words. the measure of qualification will
be exactly the same for men and
women. These requisites. as enumer-
ated in section /. article 8 Of the
constitution of Pennsylvania. are as fol-
lows: Subject to such laws requiring
and regulating the registration of cleo
tors as the General Assembly may
enact.
Voting Requirements
First Citizenship Of the United
States at least one month.
Second. Residence in the state one
year Immediately preceding the election.
or having been previously qualified
elector or native born citizen. of the
state and having removed therefrom and
returned within six months.
Third. Residence in the election dis
trict two months Immediately preceding
the election.
Fourth. Payment Of state or
county tax IL twenty two years of age
and upwards. which shall have been
assessed at least two months and paid
at least one month before the election.
, "All women, therefore. possessing
these constitutional qualifications are
eligible to vote. All of these require
ments may be inherently possessed I'd by
a woman. except assessment. registra-
tion and the payment of a tax.
The question then arises. can
women. under the law as It now stands,
be assessed. pay tax and register
where registration is required.
The acts of Assembly on the sub
Ject OF assessment, liability to taxa
tion and registration. beginning with
the act of April II. 1894, p. l.. 500.
point out a method by which all citi-
zens OF the commonwealth can be as
sessed. pay. taxes and register. No one
VINO is citizen and. of course, women
are just as much citizens as men. can
be denied the right to be assessed to
pay taxes, to be enrolled or to be regis.
Tered IN accordance with the law. In
tttt l..
laws on the subject of elections shall
be uniform throughout the state and
IL VIII now be incumbent upon county
commissioners, assessors and registra
ton officers to meet the condition which
mas arisen out of the enfranchiSemont
OF women and to afford every facility
10 them to qualify themselves as cleo.
tors. "' ''e'
Irge Women to BE Diligent
1T is urged that the women them.
serves shall be diligcnt to see that thev
are assessed IN due time and form. They
should nor be content to assume that
THIS will be done. but everywhere MAKO
inquiry to SEQ that il actually bos heon
done. The situation is n novel and nm.
precedented one in our commonwealth
and without their vigilant and intelli.
gent operation it may happen that
many assessors. however faithful or
anxious to do their full duty. will over.
look some names
1t being obvious from reading of
these acts that women can be assessed
and have the right to pay county tax,
and 1t being the dutS of county com
mlssioners and the assessors throughout
the state to sec that they are enrolled
and assessed and do pay a tax, and this
enrolment and tax payment. when
otherwise qualified, in boroughs and
townships emitting them to vote and to
register in cities. am of the opinion
that under existing laws the right to
vote at the general election in November
Is vested in all the women Of the state
VINO possess the necessary constitutional |
qualihcations. and who pay n county
tax and are enrolled and register
\ conference to determine how much !
money should be appropriated to assess
and register women here was held in |
Mayor Moore'S Office today.
Four at Meeting
Those present were Mayor Moore. f.. |
Lawrence Fell. chairman of the board !
OF registration commissioners. l.. f. |
l'eitlcr. attorney for the board. and
Richard Weglein. president of Council. !
~ was Sdlu lldt SoU,UVU would cover |
the work of preparing women to vote in
The ordinance to be in
troduced at a meeting of Council Mon.
day probably will appropriate this sum,
Commissioner Fell urged the neccs.
Sity for larger quarters for the Board
of Registration Commissioners. The
us" OF Room 296 in City Hall is to be
This room is now occupied
BY the naturalization and miscellaneous
branch Of the Quarter Sessions Court.
Boon to Party
Ratification of the suffrage amend
nent will be big boon to the Repub.
lean party, especially in PENNSYLVANIA.
according to Harman G. Kephart, state
reasurer, who was in this city today
% confer with some OF the political
caders.
Ratification came at a very oppor.
une time" he said. 1T was inst ot
n" turning point. Such slogans as He
iept us out of war will not work this
line. The sympathy Of the women can
'ot be affected by such subterfugcs now.
when they are so conversant
With the high cost Of living.
They, better than the men, are IN
ouch with the prices of food and many
'ther essentials. for the women are tbe
mes who handle the market basket,
I'm view Of the conditions they will
10 doubt embrace the opportunity and