Arizona republican., 1920-09-01
TENNESSEE VOTE
 IN RATIFICATION .|S DESCENDED BY STATE ASSEMBLY
Tennessee House Votes to Expunge All Record of Ratification From Official Journal
[aepubIIean A. ?. Leased WIrel

NASHVILLE Tenn, Aug. 31.-The Tennessee house of representatives, ! with quorum present for the first time since Aug 20, expunged from it's journal today all record of ratified ton of the federal suffrage amendment and voted, AT to A, with 20 not voting
 to non concur in the action of the sen
 ate in ratifying the amendment. Governor Roberts, upon being noti- lied of the houses action, declined to
 make any statement other than to say that the situation could only be dealt
 with in a legal manner and was in the hands of Attorney General Thompson.
 The latter. in a letter read on the house floor during discussion of the
 matter or reconsidering the vote. ex-
 pressed the opinion that reconsidera- tion of the resolution of ratification
 was impossible since the house already
 had adopted it and Governor Roberts had certified to Secretary of State Colby this action by both house and | senate.
 State officials and members of the legislature expressed the belief tonight that legality or illegality of the ratifi- cation would be decided upon the rec ord certified to Washington by Gov ernor Roberts and not on the acton taken today
 Shortly after the house convened it became evident that the anti-r ratifica- i " in Alabama on a filibuster foc more than a week, were in the ma jority l through failure of several of the suf- frage members to arrive in time. With clock-like program the antis proceeded to put through their plan of attempting to undo what was done Aug. 21, when
 ratified tion was accomplished. The first step was the motion to ex- punge from the journal of that day all
 reference to the proceedings on the suffrage ratification. After this was carried, 47 to 37. with six not voting, motion was made and carried that certified copy of the resolution, the original of which is in the hands of the senate. be spread upon the journal.
 Representative Riddick, floor leader of the ratificationists. made the point
 of order that the resolution was out
 part of the federal constitution through 1roclana ation of Secretary Colby. He
 was oyerruled by Speaker Walker.
 The house by viva voce vote then adopted motion to reconsider it's previous action upon the resolution Motion then was made and carried to
 non concur in the action of the senate in ratifying the ratification resolu- tion.
 -ratificationists would not state
 tonight whether they expect to make
 an effort to have the senate, which
 voted to ratify, 25 to 4. reverse its
 action.
 1 Washington Not Concerned l WASHlNGTON Aug. 31.-State de- partment officials in the absence of | Secretary Colby tonight hesitated to | express an opinion as to the effect on l suffrage ratification of the action of | the Tennessee house in reconsidering l it's vote on the ratification resolution
 and then voting not to concur in the 1 senate's ratification.
 l. The situation, it was said, however. l was one with which the state depart
 ment was not at present concerned. | The action of Secretary Colby in pro- claiming the suffrage amendment q l part of the constitution was based on a certification by the governor of Ten l nessee as required by law. According | ly, it was said, unless the governor should rescind his ratification or un- l less the certification should be de- clared invalid by the courts, the state department had no interest in the mat ters.
 Suffrage leaders in Washington did
 not regard the Tennessee situation as
 serious, declaring that the best legal advisers had informed them that once ratification was voted by a state legis- lature the vote could not be reversed except in case congress presented to the states a resolution to repeal the
 amendment.
 Many anti suffragists claimed that the legal tangIe in which Tennessee's
 ratification has become involved would
 undoubtedly be made more complex by
 the action.