Evening star., 1924-10-19
COURT DENIES BAN
ON MRS. FERGUSON
Sweeps Aside Ancient Bar
rier to Women in Office
in Decision.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
AUSTIN. Tex, October 1S.-The
last vestige of the ancient bar
against women in office was swept
away by the Texas Supreme Court
in holding Mrs Miriam \. Ferguson
of Temple and all other women in
the State eligible to elective posi-
tions
Attempts to bring out of the dim
past and establish as present-day
law the figmcnts of an old order
were cast out by the highest court
of the State. which pronounced
women as independent entities on an
equality with men.
While holding that Mrs. Ferguson
il qualified to vote, the court also
held unconstitutional that part OF
the statute which seeks to confer on
private citizen the right to bring
suit testing the qualifications OF
candidate for government. This
right belongs to the Legislature, the
court said.
Chance for Rehenring.
The plaintiff. Charles NJ. Dickson of
San Antonio, has fifteen days in which
to file a motion for rehearing and 1t
back 10 the court of civil appeals for
issuance of the decree until eXpira
tion of that time. 1t would then be too
late for any action as all ballots
would have been printed.
In 33-page opinion written by AS
sociate Justice Thomas q. Greenwood
and concurred in by Chief Justice
Cureton and Assistant Justice Pier
son, the court held that;
n ss,-lr. 1inl- t,Ia airoti t11 RI Y, n
legal authority to bring suit, since
the law under which the case vas
brought is clearly unconstitutional.
That the fifty-third district court,
Judge George G. Calhoun, did not
have jurisdiction to hear the case.
thus overruling Judge Calhoun on
these jurisdictional points.
That Mrs. Ferguson is not disquali
fed either by her sex, by her married
status or by the fact that she is the
wife of James Z. Ferguson, who has
been declared by the State Senate to
be ineligible henceforth to hold office
in Texas.
Victory Is Complete.
The decision is regarded as a COM
plete and final victory, not only for
Mrs. Ferguson. not only for the
women of Texas, but for women
throughout the land. as it was one of
the first cases to directly test the
effect of the suffrage amendments.
The suffrage amendments to the
Federal Constitution and the State
constitution were Interpreted as CIV
ing women not only the right to
vote. but also the right to hold office.
To hold to the contrary would be to
create rule out of accord with the
customs Of the time and the morals
of the people, the court held
The statute under which Dixon
brought his suit is an amendment to
a previous statute attempting to de-
fine those eligible to office in Texas.
I'm so far as this act related to Off
GERS such as the governor, whose
qualification had been particularly
and carefully and differently emu
merated in the constitution, it cannot
be doubted that it was utterly void.
said the opinion.
Matter for Legislature.
The mater is for determination by
the legislature, said the court, con-
tinung:
NO one can be inducted into the
office of governor without a 1egisla-
tive determination of his election
Not only must the legislature deter
mine that he received the highest
number of votes, but section 8 Of
article " of the constitution re-
quires a legislative adjudication of
his constitutional eligibility. Should
the election be contested on the
ground of lack of constitutional elig-
ibility or on any other ground, such
contests may be determined only by
both houses of the legislature in
joint session.
In reference to the eligibility Of
women to hold office, the court said:
"Wh re the competency Of women
to hold Office in TeXa is challenged
the fundamental inquiry is as to
the extent of restrictions on the
people in their sovereign capacity
with respect to freedom of choice of
their public servants. No further
authority need be cited to demon
strate the correctness of this posi-
tion than the lag which this court,
through it's great justice. Reuben r.
Gaines, quoted with approval in
Stenoff against State as follows:
Eligibility to office is not declared
as right or principle by any ex-
press terms of the Constitution, but
1t results as a just deduction from
the express powers and provisions
of the system. The bais of the
principle is the absolute liberty TO
the electors and the appointing
authorities to choose and appoint
any person who is not made ineligi-
Bile by the Constitution. Eligibility
to office. therefore, belongs not ex-
clusively or specially to electors en-
joying the right of suffrage. 1t be-
longs equally to all persons whom
soever are not excluded by the Con-
stitution.'"