FEDERAL SUFFRAGE
Amendment.
Passed by the house May 21, 1919.
Passed by the senate June 4, 1919.
Signed by Speaker Gillette June 4.
Signed by Vice President Marshall
June 5.
Wisconsin ratified June 10.
States that have ratified:
Michigan ratified June 10.
Kansas ratified June 16.
New York ratified June 16.
Ohio ratified June 16.
Illinois ratified June 10; Re-ratified June 17.
Pennsylvania ratified June 24
Massachusetts ratified June 25
Texas ratified June 28
Iowa ratified July 2.
Missouri ratified July 3.
Arkansas ratified July 28.
Montana ratified July 30.
Nebraska ratified August 1.
Georgia's legislature refused to rati-
fy the federal suffrage amendment—the
first legislature to take adverse action.
A democratic legislature and a southern one. First state in the Union
to reject the amendment. That was on
July 24.
Now it appears, from incontrovertible evidence, up in the offices of the
N. A. W. S. A. that there is the liveliest
sort of challenge of the legislature's action as not representative of Georgia
sentiment and spirit. The challenge
comes from the very heart of Georgia,
the press of the state.
lt is not alone such papers as that
staunch champion of democracy, Mr.
Clark Howell's Atlanta Constitution
(democratic) which is filling up its front
pages with records of the suffrage
movement and its editorial pages with
impassioned rhetoric for justice to southern women, but papers small and
great from towns all over the state as
well—papers which are straight party
organs at that.
"Why is it that the state of Georgia should forever and always be last
in the procession of progress?" asks
the Savannah Press (democratic), and
(the Columbus Ledger (democratic) takes
up the qeustion(sic) and repeats it. "The
Ledger is surprised at the action of
the Georgia Legislature" in its action
on the woman suffrage amendment—
it add(sic) more mildly than the Savannah
Press, which indagnantly(sic) wants to
know,' "Why should the state of Georgia advertise to the world that we are
a backward and a slow-minded people? The majority of the legislature is
opposed to suffrage. Of course we can't
blame them for that. The fault is not
theirs that their intellects are limited
or their consciences dwarfed. We, the
people, have elected them. We are to
blame, not they. No rational person
hopes to defeat the amendment. All
that can possibly be done is to write
down Georgia as one of the few, if not
the only state, that opposes right and
justice with her own feeble bulk.'
It sounds as if Georgia newspaper
folk are more than a liittle ashamed
of thir(sic) representativs(sic). It also, sounds
as if some of those politicians may
have beyen "monkeying with a buzz-
saw" as far as re-election prospects go.
Continuing over the state one meets
more of the same sort of shame faced (partially missing).
"Georgia legislature are not showing
themselves any too well abreast of the
sentiment of the age," comments the
Cobb county Times of Marietta (Independent). And the Marietta Journal
(democratic adds in true southern style:
"It looks like some of our legislatures
are trying to get another political
'black-eye' for Georgia by the way they
are acting on the "suffrage question."
"We have tried to reason out the attitude of the politicians in this state
who continue to keep up the fight
against woman suffrage. Their attitude is going to hurt the democratic
party and hurt the state. If democracy wins it will be in spite of the Georgia reactionaries. We believe there is
a sordid reason somewhere for the present loud-mouthed opposition.
"If the Georgia legislature refuses to
ratify woman suffrage it will do the
democratic party an incalculable harm"
says the Fitzgerald Leader (democratic), "and will no more stop the progress of woman suffrage than a match
stick on the track will stop a locomotive. The negro has just as much
right to the ballott now under manhood suffrage as he will have under
universal suffrage, no more, no less. As
for the states' rights question, this suffrage amendment is not being passed
by the federal government. The federal
government has no power to amend
the constitution. The states are amending the suffrage laws by ratifying the
amendment. As far as affecting woman's place in the home women's suffrage will be unfelt. Woman's place is
where she wants to be. For reasons
of party policy and principles of justice, the Georgia legislature should pass
the woman suffrage amendment."
"We have never believed it (woman
suffrage) wise," says the Commerce
News (democrat), of Georgia, "Nevertheless, the politicians in the Georgia
legislature had better treat the problem with courtesy—every lick below the
belt hastens the coming of woman suffrage."
And the stalwart Marietta Journal
again comes to the fore with :"It has
been the licks hit below the belt hit by
politicians that made the woman suffrage necessary in this country. What
Georgia does will not affect the ultimate result so far as suffrage is concerned; but it may have a blighting
effect upon the national democratic
party and hurt the state otherwise if
we do not treat the women fairly in
the matter."
