The evening times., 1896-03-17
SOME COLORADO WOMEN.
Effects of the Suffrage Among the
Women of the West


No town IN Colorado is without its DO
iitical organization of women. / am told
that II has been rather overdone, that they
nave organized too much. The Republican
| party LII giving suffrage to women two
| years a go, TO save this State from Populist
rule, believed the female element would
vote with tie party who put it in power.
but individuals have shown great indie
pendence OF thou gbti in this ma tier, so much
50, That Populis;s and taxpayers Inde-
peDdeDts) )hayeDearlya as mu Oh support from
them as the Republicans.
The WomaD's Republican League of
Denver" has u membership of 600; the Y are
banded together reorganization hrou gIout
the State and have done some very good
work. The Democrats have a similar as
sodation as well as the Populists. These
bodies have succeeded in nominating and
ciecting county superintendcnts of public
lnstru ction throughout the State.
The Jewish women, whose husba nds
and brothers objected TO their being re-
resented III the parliament OF religions at
the Columbian Exposition OF 1898, have
formed a political club, and have begun
some excellent reform measures. To a
woman the club is studying parliamentary
la v, aud their president rivals Car Reed
himself as a pariilmentarian. The Vii
laSe Improvement Society," band of wo-
men at Colorado Springs, are doing good.
patriotic work, which is greatly needed, on
account of the large foreign element in that
town.
There are quite n number of clubs In
which both men and women participate.
Here the new woman seems to hold
her own with the rough mining eleme nt
and in a pioneer State like this, to ele-
yate, civiiize and reform is indeed an
Hercuean task. / learn at the court
house here that at least 80 per cent of the
Is represented; not only the weil-educated
miidie-class, but the society leaders as
well as the most frivolous women go to the
polls The greatest possible order and de-
corum prevails at the voting precincts,
whole families going together in their car
riages, and many of them taking theif
servants along TO ballot with them.
Ii is undoubtedly true that so far the
women fail to pull together as strongly
as men, the larger portion OF them hav-
ing entered politics for reform, and not
for revenue, and consequently vote for
the cfeanest man or woman for the Of
flee, independent of rarty. That they
should make mistakes sonnet lines, and
he laughed at, Is not in the least re-
markablc. for they are but two years
Old in tie management of affairs, while
the male citizen has one hundred and
twenty years of suffrage to his credit.
While the wages OF working women have
greatly improved with the suffrage, they
not yet egral those given men for doing
the same work.
The Bonita Mine" in Gunnison county.
Colo, is owned by a woman, entirely
managed and ofiiccrcti by the sex, ana has
been successfully operated for the past
six months. The ladies do not allow
their stock TO 80 on TIE Mining Exchange.
1t is sod by the company, and pays good
dividend to subscribers, hut cannot be used
for speculation
However, woman's mining exchange
Is being organized in Denver. which will
be in operation very shortly. Mrs. Helen
Miller. who will be the president. is q
stock broker who has among her patrons al
most as many men as woman, and she is re-
gardcd as shrewd and far-seeing in busi-
ness. Mrs. Miller is tall, fine looking. well
gowned. and has affable manners; and here,
where stock gambling is regarded as le
gitlmatc pursuit, she holds the respect OF
the common wealth. There are i number
OF women following the SAME calling, but
Mrs. Miller has the reputation OF being the
biggest hustler" in Denver.
The average WOMAN. even in this country,
seems to have unbounded respect for the
opinion of the male citizen. In clubs where
both men and women hold membership the
rivalry is sometimes too great tobe entirely
agreeable. Men seem to fear the power they
have given the woman. and now try in many
directions to hamper them.
For the short period that woman suffrage
has existed here, think. on the whole, it
may be said to be saccess. There are q
few ambitious women who, 10 gain political
prcfernient, have used measures not en-
tirciy to their credit, but they are SO much
In the minority that they should not bring
unfair criticism on a large body OF women J
who have worked carly and late to purify
and elevate the politics of their State.
AGNES OTIS SMEDES.