WOMEN'S VOTES
BRING PROBLEM
Unknown Quantity Confronts
Knoxville Candidates.
Some Guesses of Strength Ventured by Dopesters.
Two Aspirants For Mayor and
17 For Commissioner Now
in Field.
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* PAY YOUR POLL. TAX. *
* *
* , In order to vote in the munici- *
* pal primary of Sept. 6, it will be *
* necessary for all those subject to *
* poll taxes to pay this tax not later *
* than Aug. 6, under the law. *
* Women do not have to pay poll *
* tax. Men over age or honorably *
* discharged soldiers, sailors and
* marines of the great war, or men *
* who have reached 21 years of age *
* in 1919 are exempt but returned *
* service men must present their *
* discharge papers and obtain a wai- *
* ver before Aug. 6. The poll tax *
* required is that of 1918, not 1919. *
* *
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With the supreme court decision.
Saturday upholding the right of women
to vote in municipal and Presidential
elections in Tennessee, political wiseacres were put more at sea in any effort to pick the probable winners of the
city primary which will be held Sept. 6.
The unknown quantity in this election, because there is no precedent upon which to base an estimate, is the
strength of the probable vote of the enfranchised women.
Women are not required to pay a poll
tax in order to vote. They must register, however, and with the bi-ennial
general registration set for the second
week in August, it may be possible to
cbtain some fairly accurate idea of the
probable vote in the September elections after this registration is held. It
is well to remember that all voters
must register in this August registration in order to qualify. This is a general
registration and papers secured last
year or this year at a supplemental
registration are not valid. In order to
vote in September, everyone must
register this August.
Here is a Guess.
Here is the way some politicians figure the women's vote this fall. Only
about half of the men of voting age
cast their ballots. There are as many, or
approximately as many, women of voting age as there are men. But on account of the newness of suffrage to women, it is figured that only about half
as many women as men will exercise
that right. That basis would mean that
about one-fourth of the women of voting age will cast their ballots. However,
this is mere guess. The proportion, may
be one in eight or seven in eight, according to how the women of Knoxville
feel about the subject and whether they
consider, as a whole, that the issues
sufficiently great to arouse their interest.
One thing may be certain, however,
the.potential vote of the women
of Greater Knoxville will have a
strong influence on the campaign from now on.
Number of Men Qualified.
To date, there have been 5,500 poll
taxes paid in Greater Knoxville. Re-
leases have been granted 426 former
service men. There are probably 1,000
men over age or who have just attained
their majority and are exempt. That
would give a potential vote of nearly
7,000 men alone already. The time for
payment of poll taxes expires Aug. 6,
which is one week from next Wednesday. In those ten days, 1,000 or more
poll taxes or releases probably will be
added, making a total, at a rough estimate, of 8,000 men who will be qualified.
This is probably a little low, if anything,
and of course does not represent the
voting strength of the men of Greater
Knoxville, many of whom will not
qualify, judging from past experience.
Also, all those who do qualify will not
vote.
In the municipal election four years
ago, before the days of Greater Knoxville, 5,189 votes were cast for mayor
in the 11 wards of the old city. In the
county election last August, 6,334 votes
were cast in the 26 city wards in the
highest race in the republican primary,
last August, 3,993 votes were cast in
this purely partisan contest in the city
wards. In the general election last November, a few less than 4,300 votes were
cast in the city words.
With so many service men back in
civil life and with 19 candidates already
in the field for the first municipal pri-
mary of Sept. 6, it is probable that at
least as many men will vote then as
voted at the county election in last August—6,334 The number should be
higher but the campaign thus far has
been quiet and the populace, to put it
mildly, does not appear to be excited.
If half as many women as men vote,
as some figure, the new suffrage will
add approximately 3,167, accepting the
foregoing basis for comparison, making
a probable total of 9,501.
The big questions for the candidates
are: How many women will vote and for
whom will they vote and what manner
of appeal will influence their vote?
19 Candidates Now.
Thus far, two candidates have announced for mayor and 17 for commissioner m the nonpartisan primary. No
others are expected to enter the race
for the mayoralty. There may be two,
possibly three, more for commissioner
before the lists close. In a two-man race,
the mayor will be elected in the first
primary. The eight men receiving the
highest vote for commissioner must
contest in the run-off two weeks later,
unless one or more receive a majority
of all ballots cast in the first primary,
which is unlikely with so many entrants
to scatter the vote.
In the 1[9]15 primary, there were two
candidates for mayor and 24 for commissioner.
This year, only two of the five suc-
cessful candidates of the 1915 election
are running again—Mayor McMillan and
Commissioner Crumbliss—and only two
of the unsuccessful 21 candidates of
four years ago thus far have decided
to try it again, these two being Ed. M.
Gillenwaters and Nathan B. Kuhlman.
Mr. Gillenwaters ran eighth in the first
primary in 1915 and was the seventh
man in the field of eight in the second
primary, being oliminated (sic.). Mayor McMillan received 901 majority in 1915.
Commissioner Crumbliss, who seeks reelection now, four years ago ran second in the field of 24 in the first primary and fourth in the field of eight in the second primary.
There are rumors of various combinations in the present campaign, but
none seems to be particularly strong at
present. It is quite apparent that it is
to be a "non-partisan" primary as already some strong democrats are lined
up with republicans and some republican leaders are backing a democrat or
two.
Women's Suffrage
