Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-15

Experiences Of the Recent Elections
for school Odicials In Michigan.


for school Odicials In Michigan.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
GRAND RAPIDS. Mich. Sept. II. 1893.
The annual school election was held recent
ly and the politicians who urged the legis-
lature to give the women the right to vote
in municipal elections wish that the bill had
been buried SO far under the ground that
resurrection would have been impossible
The school election Is non-partisan and
ordinarily little interest is manifested in it.
II Is held to choose members of the school
BOARD, one from each ward. who serve with
out compensation. In former years women
were allowed to vote In the school elections
and rarely awaited themselves of the priv
mage: The enactment Of the law by the last
legislature giving them municipal franchise
seemed to stir them UP this time however
ana they voted more numerously than be-
FORE Before the election the women held
series or mass meetings., under the leader
snip or Mrs. ketcham, whose husband was
chairman of the republican congressional
committee last fall. A city committee was
appointed and the announcement was made
mat the women would make a clean sweep.
When the smoke of the battle cleared away
they found that they had elected only one
member of the board and she was elected
without opposition.
Women in Politics.
In the election the fact was demonstrated
that women in politics are utterly unreliable
and uncertain. They are reckless in their
statements while campaigning, they deal in
personalities to greater extent than the
men ever thought of. and as for standing by
another they don't do it.
FEMININE traits and peculiarities cropped
OUT IN the brief campaign, some Of them
very 1unny. One lady was out campaign
nis tof a woman candidate She did not
Iook up the record the evening before she
s.arteo on her tour and all the morning she
circulated the story that the opponent vas a
Sathonc and was especially pronounced in
iSI statements when she called on those
@nom she knew to be Protestants Just be-
lore noon she discovered that the other can
oioate was not a Catholic, but was a leading
member OF the church Of the same denom-
ihation to which she herself belonged. She
o aems .Len what happened. She went home
anu cried, and through the remaining days
man candidate Ava 'Ae
In the fifth ward occurred the liveliest
contest Of all. Three candidates were in the
neld. one woman. one preacher and a work
l u The woman made a very bitter
nsht against the preacher, and on election
LAY oaS ~ nahds turned out. Each Of the three
calculates had full force of workers on
nand; both male and female. and they lined
the SIDEWALKS for half block on both sides
OF the polling place. Men and women work
ers aEke puttonholed the voters as they ap-
preached. and finally became 30 troublesome
mat the police had to be called in to keen
order. The election resulted In the election
ot the workingman candidate by a plurality
oi ABOUT nrty over the preacher and the
woman candidate had only $50 votes ou, Of
LOCO cast. ~
In the fifth ward i'll feeling and animosi
Ties were aroused. especially among the
women, that will take months to wipe out
The women are unlike men. II a person
wishes otherwise than they wish they look
upon 1t as personal affront and that Is
an END to friendship in that quarter.
Test to be Made.
II the women vote in the municipal cleo
lions the ballot box will be hedsed about
with regulations and restrictions which are
not required in the school elections. The
Australian system Of voting will be OBJ
served. instead Of the old-fashioned ticket
and posters, and the secrecy of the ballot
will be preserved. The women in Detroit
expect to be allowed to vote in the munich
pal elections there in November and will
do so unless the superintend finds that
the law Is invaded.
Before the school election here City At
torney Taylor was asked to give his opinion
upon the subject enactment as II applied
to the election. and he put himself on
record regarding the general application OF
the law He held that the state constitu-
ton distinctly gives males only the right Of
franchise In the election Of state officers.
Supervisors. constables and justices Of the
peace are provided for In the state const.-
tuition to be elected by the qualified voters.
These officers are always elected on the
city ticket with aldermen, mayor and other
officers. He holds that II win be impossible
for women to vote for the purely municipal
offices without violating the secrecy Of The
ballot The law is incapable Of practical
application. His opinion has no weight of
course except as that Of any good lawyer
but 1t Is very likely he will be sustained by
the supreme court. No steps have been
taken yet to test the law, but undoubtedly
II will be tested before the municipal cleo
lions in Detroit in November This can be
done in the form of a mandamus upon the
registration board, and the test case will
probably take this form.