TENNESSEE FIGHT
UNSETTLED BY
COMMITTEE
Although the special committee appoint-
ed by Dr. Shaw to consider the merits of
the claims of the delegate from Tennessee appointed to the national convention
by Mrs. Crozier-French and those appointed by Mrs. James McCormick was in
secret session at the Hotel Hermitage at
an early hour this morning they had been
unable to reach a decision as to which
faction was entitled to seats on the floor
of the convention.
The Crozier-French delegates were seated Thursday in the preliminary report of
the credentials committee brought in by
Mrs. Stanley McCormick, chairman of the
committee, but objection was immediately
offered to the report by Miss Erwin of
Chattanooga. Miss Irwin is one of the
delegates appointed by Mrs. James McCormick. Miss Kate Gordon of Louisiana
demanded that the respective claims of the
two contesting delegations be referred to
a special committee. This committee was
appointed by Dr. Shaw and they took up
the investigation immediately after the
night session at the Ryman auditorium.
The contest between the two opposing
factions in the Tennessee association dates
back to the resignation of Miss Elliott as
president of the state organization and
the subsequent election of Mrs. Crozier-
French, which the faction headed by Mrs.
James McCormick has claimed was entirely
irregular. The first break in the ranks
of the Tennessee association took (missing)
in the spring of this year, but reached (missing)
actual split at the Knoxville convention,
when the two factions held conventions
in the hall independent of each other and
selected the two sets of delegates to the
national convention.
So complicated is the history of the rupture in the state association that it was the
opinion of many prominent national suffragists in close touch with the phases of
the case Thursday night that the special
committee appointed by Dr. Shaw would
be unable to decide which of the two opposing factions was entitled to seats in
the conventions and would in all probability refer the matter back to the convention.
It was learned from an authoritative
source that the personnel of the committee
would not permit of the possibility of a
compromise being reached, thereby agreeing to seat certain delegates from each
faction in an effort to restore harmony.
The delegates appointed by Mrs. Crozier.
French who were declared accredited dele-
gates to the convention in the credentials
committee's report brought in by Mrs.
Stanley McCormick, are as follows:
Mrs. Isaac Reece of Memphis, Mrs. John
M. Kenny, Mrs. Guilford Dudley, Mrs.
Joseph J. Roach, Mrs. Reau Folk and Miss
Emma Spencer, all of Nashville; Mrs. Fred
Jones of Chattanooga, Miss Sarah Rutherford and Miss Ada Fanz of Knoxville,
and Miss Sue White of Jackson.
