The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-20
GRAND JURY HAS
 ALREADY STARTED
 PROBE .OF CHARGE
Nashville Papers Publish Affidavits of Men to Effect That Suffrage Leader
 Tried to Bribe SOlOn
By Associated Pres

By Associated PresS
 Nashville, August 19.-Fail-
 ure of anti-suffrage leaders to-
 day to attempt to force the low
 CT house of the legislature to
 reconsider its action of yester-
 day in ratifying the woman suffrage amendment was over
 shadowed in interest by the
 launching of a county grand
 jury investigation into charges
 that improper influences had
 been brought to bear on mem-
 bers of the legislature in their
 consideration of the measure.
 Publication by the Nashville Tennes- sean and the Nashville Banner of two affidavits attributed to C. c. Wallace, judge of the city court of Lewisburg, Tenn, and Ennis l.. Murray of Nash vile, general agent for the federal land bank of Louisville, Ky, alleging that eh httVHPl Iidu bCtu uldue DN a SUI frage leader to bribe Representative Harry T. Burn, republican. of McMinn county, also was a feature of the day $ developments.
 The grand jury, charged by Judge l J, D. Is. DeBow of the Davidson county
 criminal court, lost no time in gettin 2
 10 work and before noon had summoned d IJ. T. Eichelberger of Washington, D. | (f. a Dtib1icitV in rba of
 quarters here of the ratification
 forces. MT. Eichelberger was before
 the Jury two hours, and it was said l additional witnesses probably would
 appear tomorrow. ].
 SCORES SPECIAL INTERESTS 1 Judge DeBoSw's charge was directed
 at alleged special interests which, it has been charged, have representa- tives | here working against ratification. | Tt has been and is being currently
 reported by some of the friends and
 advocates supporting the ratification of the proposed federal amendment" '"
 Judge DeBow told the jury, that forces ] of corruption and representatives of special interests have come into this state from beyond our borders, and ] that lobbyists, or in any event indi- | Ividuals bearing the reputation of lobby | ists, have been and are present in this 1 city and county, invading and infesting
 the rooms of our state capitol and the l lobbies and public assembling places in 1 our hotels and other places in our county"
 | After quoting and explaining the state statutes relating to lobbying the ! court instructed the jury to return in- | dictments promptly if an investigation developed that the laws had been vio- ! lated.
 CONSIDER CHARGE A JOKE Charges of the attempted bribery of ! Representative Burn were not regard 1 cd seriously by suffrage leaders, and
 many nti-ratiicationists were frank l to say that their views were similar. | MT. Burn was recorded as voting with ! the suffrage opponents on both roll l calls on a motion to table the ratifica- | ton resolution, which was lost on : | tie vote, and a few minutes later cast | his vote for the amendment One vote decided the issue in favor of suffrage. | The affidavits charged that he was ap- preached during the interval between 1 the vote on the motion to table and 1 the vote to concur with the senate in ratifying the amendm ent.
 Representative Joe Hanover of Shelby county, alleged in the affidavit attributed to Murray as having tole Burn that if he would vote in favor of ratification he would be given anything in the world he | wanted" and that it would be worth s10o00 to him.. characterized the charge as mo more than d clumsy effort to blackmail or embarrass friends and sup | rorters of the rights of our women." Mir Hanover said his conversation was confined t. an appeal to Burn to vote for suffrage.
 ! Maj c, L. Daughtry secretary to Gov ernor Roberts. named in both affidavits as urging with Hanover that Burn vote l for ratification declared Hanover did not intimate to Burn that he would be pafo any amount of money, or that he would | be given any other consideration for his vote.
 SAYS CHARGE FALSE 1 Mir Burn, in communication to the | house today. which was ordered spread on | the journal resented the charges and declared them utterly false. He explained
 his support of ratification by declaring | that his mother desired him to vote favor ably, and that he also desired that his l party might say it was a republican who
 made national suffrage for women pos sible at this date.
 l Action early today of anti-ratircation l leaders in calling mass meeting tonight ito save the south from the Susan B. Anthony amendment and federal suffrage 1 force bills" was taken as an indica- | tion that an attempt to reconsider ratih- cation would not be made today in the house and adjournment at noon. until to- l morrow morning withous reference to suffrage except for the statement of Rep | resentative Burn. was no surprise. | Seth Walker, speaker of the house and opposition leader who changed his vote | on ratification from nay" to aye Tn order to be in position to move recon l sideration. has one more day in which to act before the privilege of offering | l.- k.tr dty mi . of by any member of the house.
 l motion tomorrow to reconsider was
 regarded certain tonight. and there wa' no let-up on the part of the leaders of tho l opposing forces to keep their men in line land if possible gain strength through de
 sertions from the ranks of their antsg onists.
 PRESIDENT CONGRATULATES | Nashville. Tenn. August 1s.-Gover nor Roberts tonight received telegram ! from President Wilson and Franklin n Roossxelf democratic vice -preSi