The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1920-08-17
WOMEN AND STATE RIGHTS.

The protest of southern women to Gov
ernor Cox against forcing the franchise on
women by ratification of the federal suffrage
amendment by Tennessee is not hysterlcal
nor political. 1t is the expression of the cen
tury-old conviction of the south, not SO much
on the right of women to vote as on the
method by which that right is granted. The
south is inherently opposed to enfranchlse-
ment of women in the states by federal
amendment
Of the thirty-fve states which have ratl-
fed the amendment only four can in any way
be termed southern and democratic. These
are Texas, Missouri, Arkansas and Kentucky.
Of this number Texas and Arkansas are the
only dyed-in-the- southern states. Ken
lucky and Missouri are as much northern as
southern in their sentiments. Of the seven
states which have rejected the amendment
five are southern. They are Alabama, Geor-
gia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Virginia
The other two states which have rejected the
amendment are Maryland and Delaware.
MARYLAND is democratic, Delaware is republl-
can. MARYLAND is semi-southern in senti-
ment. Delaware is dominantly northern.
The question involved is the old state
rights controversy The south does not be-
leve the federal government originally had
authority under the constitution to regulate
the franchise 1t believes that was one OF
the rights reserved by the states. The en-
franchisement of the colored race was done
.bv federal action, but the south never has
acouiesced in the moral right of that policy.
1t accepts the results as the law, but denies
the moral constitutionality of the law. 1t
points to the fact that the trainers of the con-
stitution accepted the franchise as it was
limited by several states when they entered
the union. In some of them property owner
shin was necessary to the exercise of the
electoral right. The constitution did not at
tempt to equalize or standardize the fran
chise in the states. 1t provided that repre-
sentatives in congress should be elected by
the people who held the franchise under state
laws. 1t fixed the qualifications for those
who could vote for representatives as the
standard required for those who might vote
for members of the most numerous branch of
the state legislature. These qualifications
differed in the different states. But the con-
stitution did not attempt to determine who
should vote, thus leaving the clear impress
sion that the power to do so remained with
the states Therefore, they argue, woman
suffrage should be granted only by actions
of the several states by changing their own
laws on the franchise, not in ratifying fed
raj amendment to accomplish that end.
The women of the south are not whole
heaftedly in sympathy with the franchise
Many of them do not want the
ballot They have been educated IN other
directions for many generations. They re-
ceived a re-education when the negro was
enfranchised They do not want to be forced
to vote to prevent the dominance in elections
which the enfranchisement of the negro Wom-
an would give That is why they are urging
Governor Cox, as the head and leader OF the
democratic party, to use his influence to pre-
vent forcing the ballot upon them as mat
ter of self-preservation in the social organl-
cation.