Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1900-07-21

en- DO Not Take Very Kindly 10 Ac-
tive Politics, Especially Ia the city
of New York.
NEW York, July 19-[SpeciaL +
There are many indications that the
women Of the United States purpose
playing a bigger part in the current
presidential campaign than they ever
have before.
1t is the general impression that Mrs
Lease and Mrs. briggs, feminine spell
binders in the interest of Populism in
the west some years ago, were pioneers
in the sort of women's political work
which Is likely to be so much in evil
dence this year and probably they
were, though neither of these women
was anywhere near the first to make
a political address in the United States.
That distinction is said TO be due to
Aunt Susan =. Ar'aony, who is first
in q lun & OF L.rC lions. besides, of
course. ing always list in the hearts
of her .eilON women sudra 1ists All
the same it VIZ }e Mother populigt wo-
mon nor sCGIacist women nor Demo
cratic women who will work hardest
in the campaign this year. 1t is the
Republican women who are planning
to do the campaign work Of their lives
between now and next November.
Campaign work of Women.
Curiously enough, the Democratic
national campaign committees have
never seemed to take very kindly to
the notion OF receiving help from their
wives and sisters and daughters. This
is especially true here in New York. In
1897 when the Republican women
were straining every nerve to elect
General Tracy mayor and the Citizens
Union women were working quite as
hard for the success Of Seth Low, the
bare suggestion to the Tammany men
that the women should aid them was
secuted Indignantly. There were chief
headquarters and branch headquarters
and auxiliary clubs galore for both
Republican ana Citizens Union women, |
but the organization of Fammany wo-
men was a matter not to be thought of |
for single moment.
So firmly established as part of the
Republican campaign machinery in /
this city has Il woman's canvass now |
become that it is doubtful whether it !
could easily be dispensed with ut this !
time. Yet it is only the truth that |
there are many among the men high in |
the direction of Republican affairs who /
believe such canvass more likely to
produce harm than good. Conducted
as the Citizens Union women conduct
ed theirs in 1897 it would seem to the
outsider that it could produce little real
result of any sort
Two Kinds of Campaigns.
The Citizens Union women worked ;
earnestly and continuously from the
opening gun TIL the day before cleo
ton. but they devoted their energies
mainly to tanning the flame of enthu-
siasm among themselves and their own
men folk They held any number of
parlor meetings which were attended
by many women who could not vote
and by few men who were going to
vote for Mr.. Low anyway. Thus, al /
though they made a great showing .
among themselves and in the newspa-
pers, it is hardly probable that these
women helped their cause to any eX-
tent.
Judging by results. the Republican .
women did even worse than the Citi-
zens' Union women, for General Tracy, /
the Republican candidate came off .
third best. But the Republican wom-
en- certainly pursued a more rational F
plan Of operation than their rivals.
They held few meetings which were .
attended mostly by women, but they /
devoted the major part Of their cam
paignng energies to actual field work.
1t is true that only In comparatively +
few instances did they address the vot-
ers in meetings or labor with them +
personally. but they aimed to reach the
voters quite as effectively as they could .
by personal contact through the iEdi-
rect method of persuading the wives .
that General Tracy was the man who +
ought 10 be mayor, This work was
done almost wholly in that part Cf the
city known as the east side, the theory
being that the wives of the east side
workingmen. If convinced that Ira
cy's administration would be better .
than Van Wycl's, would labor to bring
their husbands 10 the same way of
thinking Thus. reasoned the women
campa.gners hundreds aud perhaps /
thousands Of votes might DE won.
Really Remarkable work.
No political organization eve. laid out
a campaign more systematically than
the Republican women laid out the
city campaign Of 1897 in this town.
They divided all the districts which
+bev decided to include in their efforts
into little sections, allotting one to ev-
every two or three women. These Sc
cured the names Of all voters and
made what was literally house to
house canvass of almost the entire east
side.
I'd and down the streets and up ana