Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-11-02
A GOOD CHICAGO LETTER.
$4,000 Women will Vote Next
Tuesday.

The Probable Effect Of the Movement
Educators Unite to Help and save
the Unlettt4ed---NVhnt Hard Times
Mean in City like Chicogo---Per-
sOnal Instances In POint---the New ".
NJ. &. A. Building.
From our STAFF correspondent
CHICAGO, Oct. 20, 1894.
Editor Of The PhWnir:-
In 1894 law comforting upon women
the right to vote for trustees of the state
university was passed by the Illinois legis-
lature, and your correspondent is proud to
announce herself as one of the 5000
women of Chicago who intend to accept
the privilege thus given them. On Tues
day last she hied herself to a coal office, in
company with three friends, bravey an
swered all the questions put to her, and
came forth registered and ready to cast her
first ballot in November, 1894. She gave
her birthplace as the sturdy old Green
Mountain state, and was surprised, to say
the least, to see the man enter it in the
registration book as ''Va.," but consoled
herself by saying that such ignorance
would be done away with when once the
gentler sex get their full rights. Consider
ing that this whole proceeding is so new
to women, the Chicago registration is re-
markedly large and a fact to be noted is
that the largest figures come from the fine
residence wards. Mrs. Flower the Republi-
can candidate for university trustee, is per-
sonally known to your correspondent as a
woman of great ability and integrity.
She is New Highlander by birth, a sister
of Prof. Elliot Coues of Boston, but has
lived for many years in this city and taken
a leading place in social, philanthropic and
educational circles. Last year she was
member of the board of education, and la
bored untiringy to raise the standard of
the city schools. DR.. Julia Holmes Smith
the Democratic candidate, is also an able
woman and would make a good trustee, so
that the question as to which candidate is
elected IS not of great Importance; but
many woman feel that by showing a prop
er interest in this matter they may in the
future secure the privilege of voting on
other school questions if not on municipal
affairs in general. If they could do this,
our schools might be better-they certainly
could not well be worse in certain respects.
Our present board of education, as
whole, is a disgrace, and will continue so
until it ceases to be a part of the po-
litical machine. Not until teachers are ap-
pointed and retained on the basis of merit,
rather than las too often now through the
influence of some friend who can control
few votes, will Chicago schools bear any
comparison to those of the larger cities of
the East.
Speaking of schools leads me naturally
to mention a new branch of work to be
undertaken by the college settlement in
this city, which is under the charge of the
Northwestern university, an institution To-
Gated in that charming suburb, Evanston.
The new movement is one intended to save
the poor and unlettered from the rapacious
clutches of chattel-mortgage sh trks, bogus
collection and employment agencies, and
"shysters" generally by rendering gratu-
tous legal services TO persons too poor to
pay for them. Prof. Lee of the law de-
partment of the university has this good
work in charge, and associated with him
are several young lawyers and about 30
members of the senior class in the law
OF justice and women and children's pro-
tective agency are both engaged in a SINH
lar line of work, there is no danger of it
being overdone, as anybody who has had
the least experience in work among the
city's poor can call to mind scores of cases
like the one that came under my observa-
tion recently, where a woman, being press
ed for her rent, placed a chattel mortgage
of $50 on her furniture, and was to paw
80 per month interest. At that rate at the
end of the year she would have paid out
500, with the mortgage still remaining on
her furniture. Having become thoroughly
discouraged by this time, the chances are
that most women would give up trying to
lift the mortgage the loan agency would
step in and sell the furniture Originally
costing several hundred dollars, it may bel
for enough to satisfy their claim, thus
leaving the poor victim penniless and hope
less. Success TO Prof. Lee and his fellow
workers if they can lessen the number of
cases like this.
Everybody is prophesying that the COM
ing winter will see more restitution here
than that of '93-4. My own opinion is
that we will not have so many tramps and
transients-the "hotsam and jetsam" of
the Worlds Fair-but that it will be hard
er for class of working people who have
never yet been compelled to ask for chart
ty. Some employers, either from necess-
ty or because they found workmen so plen-
ty, have cut wages to such an extent that
weeks illness, or any other cause invov-
ing small extra expense, will force them
below the living point.
You will find it hard to believe me when
tell you OF young man, an engraver on
silver and gold, who has been working ten
hours day, six days in week, for three
dollars per week. He engaged a room for