Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-12-23
WHERE WOMEN VOTE.
How They Exercise the Prerosative in
Colorado.

The question has been asked so many
| times, do the better class of women vote
| III Colorado? 2. and it has been varia bly,
ana and c2ntradIc .tt answered that 'Ehe
question Tor Its readers in an authOrita-
| tive manner, and caused a representa- We
| to visit the different polling places in
| Denver to find out as an actual fact what
| proportion and what class of women we re
| represented at the polls. Never was the re
| than that of November Sth. 1t was warn
| sunny and still, with a sky like an il
Xerted howl OF ,clearest turquoise. and Il
| balny air more like that of May than NJ,
| Vember.
| Early in the morning there was an ur =
| before O'Clock streams of men amt
women, carriages. bicycles and automo
| biles were setting toward the polling
PWia .rS A. At one polling place in the Tentf
| cinct' 2S5 votes had been cast before 10
| ocloGk. a large proportion of them being
cast by women.
Election day in Denver is regarded as
| rather a gala occasion. and young men
and young women. old men and old
| women turned out to, vote as if they en-
| Joyed it. Many men, before going TO their
| business for the day. made a point of ac-
companying their wives to vote, and this
was. perhaps. the reason why in the early
morning hours one was obliged to stand
| in line before one could get booth in
which to prepare q ballot.
From CAPITOL Hill to Market St. from
u
the densely populated precincts of the
| downtown part every polling place was
visited. AS usual thing. the booths
We're arranged in vacant Storerooms. or
| new buildings. sometimes in a suburban
| drug store, sometimes in the front room
| of unoccupied residence and in one or
| two instances in unused rooms of pre-
| cinct houses
1t was a noticeable fact that in every
| tOwn-the polling places We're located in
| clean, respectable. well ventilated quar-
tiers. such as any woman might visit with
| impunity, and We're universally quiet. or
DERBY and unobjcctionable In the Tenth
! Ward: Fifth Precinct. the polling place
resembled the approach TO the scene of a
| tomobiles thronged the street. and fash
| ionably dressed men and women came and
went. stopping to joke and visit upon the
pavement, sometimes to compare notes
and discuss seriously the issues of the
campaign.
a notable feature of the day-and one
which was particularly striking to
stranger in Colorado-was the arrival of
| the family parties at the polls In many
| instances carriages and automobiles drew
| up at the curb and father. mother sons
srandmot til er--went into the polling places
to vote together. There were constantly
wives. brothers and sisters. often an aged
mother leaning on the arm of her son
| In fact as one drove about the city and
saw the, people going to and coming from
| the polls one might easily imagine that
it was Sunday, and tranquil family
parties aad sb We're gong to or coming home
| the respectable residence part of Denver
| there were women voting. many of them
accompanied by their husbands,-often by
| company with other women.
Occasionally one would come upon q
group or women in earnest discussion, and
| ''eectioneered.' But this was a feature
OF which the reporter saw little. Almost
every woman who went. to the polls
seemed to have her mind thoroughly made
up how she was going to vote, and in the
most business way-and in manner
which indicated that she had done it
| to booth, mark her ticket and deposit
her ballot in the ballot box.
| Passing from the upper wards of the
city through Wards Six and Seven. Three
and Four. the scene was widely different.
| Here and there small groups were gath
cred but there was no rioting no holster
voters did not arrive at the polling places
| in carriages or automobiles, and the So
cial. lightsome aspect of the hill was not
to be seen, Men and women went to the
polls calmly, seriously, as if they had a
grave duty to perform. The women with
shawls. or IN. the ever present white wooden
the men in their laboring clothes. and
with their pipes in their mouths. But
here. too. the family party was every
where present, and at every polling place
| men and their wives. brothers and their
sisters. sons and their mothers went to
the polls together.
The wife of the laboring man, as well
| as her more wealthy sisters of the hill,
| has read and observed, and has her own
opinion on the issues, and she went to
| the ballot box well prepared to vote them.
| Here and there carriage load of the
demi-monde of the city was seen to drive
up to the polling places. But, as usual
| thing. the disreputable women of the
state do not want to vote, and will not if
they can go out of it. Few of them have
any party Affiliations or political convic-
lions, they know little of the issues, are
not interested in the outcome, and do no.
wish to lose friends by voting for either
side. Occasionally. when an election is
liable TO be close they are Obliged to vote
in order to obtain police protection. and
sometimes they vote individually on de-
| count of personal prejudice but 1t is NH
versaly acknowledged by all ward worE
ers that 1t IS almost impossible to get
was informed by one cd optical work{r
known whole colonies Of tie disreputa BE
women to leave the CITY on election dan