St. Johnsbury Caledonian. (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-1920, 1920-03-31
VERMONT AND WOMAN'S
SUFFRAGE

as SeN " lHc CCfllIdCt OtiiSi WIS
known as the United States constitu
ton, the most remarkable documen
ever devised by the brains of states
men. Following that document on
will find the preamble to the variou
amendments which reads as follows
"Articles in addition to, and amend
, ment of, the constitution of thu
, United States of America, proposed
| by Congress and ratified by the Leg
islaturcS of the several states pursu
ant TO the fifth article of the origina
constitution" And then follows Is
changes that have been made in OK
actly the way that the women of the
United States are proceeding witt!
their suffrage fight.
! The Republican party pledged its
life, fortune and sacred honor to the
18th, 18th and 18th amendments that
abolished slavery, defined and pro-
tected manhood suffrage, and enflan-
chiscd the negro.
In 1913 this same process of amend
rlcnt to the constitution was extended
the taxing power of the Federal gov
eminent by giving it the right 70
levy, direct income taxes, which were
forbidden by the original constitution.
/ Vermont was not one of the 3G rati-
flying states, but Vermontcrs are pay
ing their income taxes today just the
same.
Again in 1913 Vermont ratified an
amendment to the constitution which
deprived the Legislature of it's origi-
nally guaranteed right to elect United
States Senators, establishing the di-
rect election of Senators throughout
the country, so that this year all the
voting men of Vermont will choose
by direct ballot a United States Sena-
tor, instead of having him elected by
the Legislature as before the adop-
ton of the so-called direct election of
Senators amendment.
Article V of the Federal constitu
ton lays down the rule for changing
the contract between the states. No
one state can change that contract, but
three-f oulths of the states voting CO.
operatively can. 1t is absurd on the
face of it that a state constitution
could exist in conflict with the FEEDER
al constitution. For clearneSS we
print herewith Article V:
"The Congress, whenever two
thirds of both houses shall deem it
necessary, shall propose amendments
to this constitution, or, in the appli-
cation of the Legislatures of two
thirds of the several states, shall call
a convention for proposing amend
ments, which, in either case, shall be
valid to all intents and purposes, as
part of this constitution, when lati-
fed by the Legislatures Of three
foulths Of the several states, o. by
conventions in threc-fourths thereof, |
as the one or the other mode Of rati-
fcation may be proposed by the Con-
gress; provided, that no amendment
which may be made prior to the year
one thousand eight hundred and
eight shall in any manner affect the
first and fourth clauses in the ninth
section of tho first article; and that
no state, without its consent, shall be
deprived of its equal suffrage in the
Senate"
The closing sentence of the sixth
section in chapter two OF the Ver-
mont constitution reads as follows:
"But they have no power to add to,
alter, abolish, OF infringe any part OF
this constitution
Those who are trying to delay
the inevitable enactment of the ma
tional suffrage amendment until after
The next election claim that the clause
Just quoted forbids the Vermont
to act on the natlonai
because it's terms con-
fict with the suffrage terms OF the
Vermont constitution. But there are
two blind spots in the eyes of those
who use this argument. The first
IS that such reasoning would mean
that Vermont could never vote for or
against any Federal amendment, for
all Federal amendments alter the pre-
existing constitutional relations be-
tween Vermont and the national gov
eminent, else there would be no need
for amendment of the contract be-
tween tho states.
The second is that ratification by
he Vermont Legislature does not
mean that Vermont thereby adds to,
alters, abolishes or infringes any
part of our state or national constl-
tuition.
No one state Legislature alone can
10. that. But the law of this land
lefned by the fathers in the original
which every governor
md state Legislature is sworn to up
lold, does provide that threc-fourths
If the states acting as cooperative ;
lnits, form mass power which can
,hange the national constitution, and
automatically thereafter any con-
lctng clause in any given state
simply becomes null and ,
old. ,,
Ohio's constitution declares today .
hat every voter must be white"
Males. 1t has never been changed in ,
hat respect since the negro was en- =
by the 18th amendment Jf-
cr the Civil war. The effect of the