New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-20
Suffrage Foes Publish
Affidavits Alleging
Tender of $4,000 to
Legislator Was Heard
Grand Jury Begins
Corruption Inquiry
Final Ratification Fight
Due To-day; Speaker to
Move Reconsideration
Special Dispatch to The Tribune

final fight to nullify Tennessee's rati-
flcatlon of the Federal woman suffrage
amendment, which yesterday provided
the necessary thirty-sixth state, is ex-
pccted tomorrow or Saturday.
1t is understood that Speaker Seth
Walker of the House, leader of the
ants, will move reconsideration to-
morrow. If he does not, suffrage lead
ers will force adjournment to Satur-
day, then bring up the motion to re-
consider themselves and table it. 1t
takes a two-thirds vote to take it from
the table.
Grand Jury Inquiry Begun
At mass meeting of suffrage op-
ponents tonight Speaker Walker an
nounced that forty-seven members of
the House had signed pledges to vote
for reconsideration. In the test vote
on ratification the poll was 40 to AZ.
Therefore the forty-seven would not be
enough to ovcrturn the ratification, but
Speaker Walker announced he would
obtain more pledges Tomorrow The
mass meeting was held to plan the
tight for reconsideration.
The ants to-day published aHldavts
charging that one representative who
voted for suffrage had been unduly in
tluenced, while the sufragists made
lobby Of opponents of ratification. A
grand jury inquiry into the charges
against the lobby was begun.
In the opinion Of Frank NJ. Thomp-
son, Attorney General of the state,
the ratification is valid and complete
act and cannot be reconsidered. Mr.
Thompson takes the position that it
is the exercise of q political power,
as is the election of United States
Senator, and having once been used
cannot be undone.
Davidson County grand jury to inves-
opponents. In his charge to the jury
he said:
ut has been and is currently re-
ported and is being claimed by some
of the friends and advocates support
ing the ratification of the proposed
Federal Amendment that forces of cor
ruptlon and representatives of special
interests have come into this state
from beyond our borders, and that
bearing the reputation of lobbyists,
have been and are at present in the
city and county invading and infesting
the rooms and halls of our State Capt.
tol and the Hobbies and public assem-
bling places in our hotels and other
places in the county,"
He therefore Especially and emphat-
lcally charged" the grand jury to be-
gin searching inquiry.
Burn Defends Vote
AS soon as the House convened to-
day Representative Harry Burn, on a
question of personal privilege, made a
statement about his vote. He said:
81 desire to resent in the name of
honesty and justice the yelled jnsinua-
ton and accusation regarding my vote
On the suffrage amendment, as ind!-
Gated by certain statesmen, and it is
my, sincere belief that those reespon-
sble for their existence know there is
not a scintilla Of truth in them.
Il know they are false, and ! feel
that my association among you has
enabled you to know ne we'll enough
unanimously to Join me in resenting
same.
81 want to take this opportunity to
state that | changed my vote in favor
of ratification because:
"First-I believe in full suffrage as a
right.
"Second-I believed we had a moral
and legal right to ratify.
"Third-I know that mothers adj
vice is always safest for her son to
follow, and my mother wanted me to
vote for ratification.
"Fourth-I appreciated the fact that
an opportunity such as seldom comes
to mortal man-to free 17000,0 900
women from political slavery ~ was
mine.
"Fifth-I desired that my party in
both state and nation might say that it
was a Republican from the mountains
Of East Tennessee. the purest Anglo
Saxon section in the world, who made
national woman suffrage possible at
this date, not for any personal glory,
but for the glory Of his party"
AS soon as the session was over yes
terday leading ants assailed Burn.
They got two men to make affidavits
that they had heard Representative
Hanover, suffrage floor leader, in a
talk with Burn Immediately before the
vote, say: ut would be worth 10000
to YOU"
Charges Dropped
The ants planned to prepare aft
davits TO spring in the House this
morning, but they played into the suf-
fragists' hands. A publisher drafted
atfidavits. He went to the Stahlman
Building. In room there he saw a
light burning and a man working at
typewriter.
"Will you take an affdavit?" he de-