Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 208, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 September 1917 — Indiana Suffrage Act Is Hold Invalid. [ARTICLE]

Indiana Suffrage Act Is Hold Invalid.

Indianapolis, Sept. 17.—Suffragists received a severe blow today when the second of the three big laws of the last legislature was held unconstitutional. Judge James Rochford of the Marion superior court held the solons had exceeded their power in passing the “limited woman suffrage law.” His decision hinged on an article in the state constitution Axing the qualifications for voters and limiting suffrage to males. The suffrage law provided that women could vote for offices not created by the constitution, and woman suffrage advocates held that because of this the law did not contravene the provisions of the constitution. The suit was brought by William W. Knight, a lumberman, as a test. The first of the “big three” to be held invalid was the constitutional convention act. The third—the prohibition law—has not yet been attacked in the courts.