Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-12-14
Feminine
Snapshots
Increasing Political Activ-
ity of Women.


l can remember have women been so
actively engaged in political work as
during the campaign this autumn in |
nearly every state in the Union. In the |
large cities feminine politics has been
red hot, usually on the side Of clean
government. it is only just to say. In
Philadelphia there was actually WON
ans official committee attached to one |
of the parties. The women of this com
miltee and their representatives made |
house to house canvass among |
doubtful and illiterate' voters and
eloquently impressed their principles
on these. The ladies displayed the par
ty flag from the windows of their
homes, and they held parlor meetings to
which speakers and voters were invit-
ed. In New York not only the organ
lied feminine political workers were
busy as bees, but there were morgan
lied ones who did something for their
candidates on their own account. Mrs
VeIma Swanston Howard, a refined,
cultured woman of Swedish birth, went
around among the voters of that ma
tionality giving information, persuad
ing and distributing literature, with the
result that she gained not only votes
for her candidate, but money for his
campaign fund, which last she had not
at all asked for Each year more and
more women campaign speakers are
employed by political parties, and some
of them are well paid for their elo
quence. Women may collect campaign
funds, distribute literature, hold meet
ings, gain thousands of votes for the
men candidates and yet-the doubled
and twisted, crisscrossed incongruity
of iti-not one of these influential wom-
en- herself has vote! When since the
world began was there ever such
situation before?
If every woman were brought up to
a trade or profession. no matter how
rich she might be prospectively; if ey-
cry woman were taught that it is dis
grace to hang dependent on man rel
alive by marriage or otherwise, there
would not be so many old women
slumping down for support on their
daughters generally grudging hus
bands; there would not be so many
grandmothers Shaving for their thank
less grandchildren in nurseries and
back kitchens; there would not be one
quarter so many useless and unwel
come women seeking refuge in old
womens homes that last resort for
feminine improvidence and inefhciency
9
Men universally complain poor in
nocent things how the women chase
them up, determined to marry them
whether they will or not. Well, the
way to stop this feroeious and terrible
man hunt is for men themselves to en-
courage by all means in their power
the entering of woman into trades and
professions in which she may earn her
own living independently. Then wen
see!
An English woman writer says that
the ordinary mother love for wom-
ans own offspring instead of being
sacred and holy" is in reality a mar
row, selfish, morbid animal instinct.
Mother love takes in all Gods children,
else it is no true mother love at all,
only the animal instinct abnormally
developed.
At Moscow, Russia, during one of
the fiercest encounters between Cos
sacks and strikers, the strikers, Oh
whom the soldiers were in the act OF
charging, showed signs of breaking and
retreating. At that moment young
girl with loose, flying hair ran in froat
of them just where the Cossack horses
would trample her and fell upon her
knees, face toward the strikers. She
cried out passionately to them not to
flee, but to stand and fight for human
liberty in Russia. Immediately the
wavering ranks reformed, and the de
voted strikers stood selid, waiting the
onslaught Of the Cossacks with their
sabers and whips. Seeing this, the
commanding officer of the troops, UNI
willing to be. responsible for so much
slaughter, withdrew his men. Then the
strikers raised the heroic girl upon
their shoulders and went through the
streets singing the "Marseillaise.'
g@
a farmer who sold nice fat heifer
to a butcher agreed to take IN part pay I
quarter of the beef. When he got +
the bill for the beef he did some
scratching of the head and some think
ing and wondered what sort of an all
round fool he was anyhow to give that +
butcher about one-haIf OF that nice beef
critter just for the killing. He went
home and told his neighbors about the
deal, and the upshot Is that co-opera
tive beef furnishing society has been
organized. A beef Is killed each week
and equitably divided up, each member
furnishing the beef IN turn, and the
butchers wagon Is seen no more IN {
that community The middIeman some
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