The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-05-21

Croker Of Beattfe. She removed when Q
! young girl from New York to Illinois,
| where she taught school and later came
to Kansas.
MY council and I are unit" she told
nae. "The saloon and gambling den must
go. The men made the prohibition law,
which they break. They must respect 1t
| or the women will show them how~t
ought TO be enforced"
Already there is a radical change in
the male population. The men in Beattie
never got such a surprise in their lives
| as the election of April T.
They were whipped so thoroughly that,
| to-day. there is not a meeker or more
orderly set of merchants, lawyers and
doctors and farmers in Christendom.
Now their wives and daughters smile
on them encouragingly, and promise that
before the end of their term Beattie will
come to mean Beattitude.
ITO one whose ears have cracked with
tales of former lawlessness, yet whose
eyes have seen the unequaled subjuga-
ton of man in Beattie, the promise seems
to have been nearly realized.
Houses have been burned In this town
because people have not dared to attempt
the prosecution of the whisky element"
Mayor Totten continued
IT expect to be burned out before I
| finish my administration, but will fulfill
the law. No saloon or gambling dive can
run in Beattie while 1 am Mayor
Then the Mayor objected to any traves-
| ty upon her administration.
"I want you to say distinctly" she re-
marked impressively, that this election
is not the result Of a woman suffrage
movement. We are not sufrragists.
I'VE are all plain, home-loving women.
| devoted to our husbands and families,
and who regard our places as here at our
hearthstones.'
Now, let me tell you a secret" she
began archly. We hitched our chairs
nearer.
'This whole thing was the scheme Of
men" She watched me to observe the ef-
feet. My face must have shown that the
secret was still safe.
well, the respectable element Of men
in Beattie either did not have the
moral courage or the resolution to stop
what we have undergone for two years.
So the brilliant idea of getting women to
run occurred to them. In Kansas, all
women vote in municipal elections
81 refused to accept a nomination three
times before 1 finally yielded. 1 felt that
1 was too busy managing my own af-
fairs. Then, all Of us Stunned the noto-
! riety, but we have been thrust there by
| the men, and now we are upon our met
tie and bound to make a record. Realiz-
/ ing that we are women, we naturally I'M
derestimate our ability, but 1 will say
that If we cannot do better than the pre-
vious administration we ought to be
ashamed of our intelligence and integ-
rity.
This town has been going to the rack
long enough. Our sons have been
ashamed to let their fathers see them
entering saloons operated under the
Burnett Hotel, kept by John Burnside.
Some time ago we did break up
gambling den conducted in the basement
Of private house, under the guise Of an
ice cream parlor.
I'VE have been very careful before we
! proceeded against the saloon question.
| We have consulted higher authorities
than County Attorney Ed Berry, who
| has failed to close the place for two
years, although we furnished the evil
/ dence."
Mayor Totten showed me bushel Of
J kilograms and letters she had received
! since the election, from papers in the
East, asking for an account Of the woman
| government and pictures of it's members.
With these were congratulations and in
| quiries from nearly all the leading wom-
ans rights advocates in the country.