The Washington herald., 1906-11-06
WOMAN'S INTEREST
IN THE ELECTION

Even III ~ dSNiHElo Wuefe ndhoNdl
rather than local interest is evoked in
the outcome Of the first Tuesday in
November, women will respond 10 the
prevailing excitement Of ballot-casting.
At a luncheon on to-day's social ca
endaT. clever little bauot-boxes will De
the souvenirs. and many gay parties have
arranged TO combine pleasure with poli.-
ical information. The Iobbies Of the pop
ular hotels are invariably the scene Of in
formal gatherings on election night. II
is fad for society people % drift about
toTn in the evening. reading the returns
outside the newspaper offices, collecting
in groups inside restaurants and cafes
and prOlonging the evening hours until
there is definite news with regard TO
Who's Who" In politics.
Il is always a banner night AT the
theaters. and no one would dream Of re-
turning home after the play without in
duiging in a little supper as an excuse
10 stay out late, The women make q real
lark Of election night and in their abfl-
ity to do so, they enjoy the advantage
over the women OF less orderly cities than
Washington
Where there is voting. women do not
take to the sidewalks after dark. In the
cities Of Northern New York children
used to be kept from school on election
day, there was such universal dread Of
the intoxicated and riotous frequenters
Of the polls. and the streets presented d
deserted appearance. especially in the
shopping districts. After market time.
men and boys held the voting towns in
possession. They made time Of it. too.
after uightfaH. All manner Of campaign
clubs and t0rch-light professions added
their climaxing touch TO the general eX-
element. There was something nerceIy
thrilling in a flaming torch. and a fife
and drum cutting the midnight air, ana
frequently pistol shot rang out Blue
coated guardians Of the peace sounded
their rap-tap-tap at intervals on the flag
ing. or a shrill whistle in pursuit Of
scurrying feet trailed n cadence of polio
ins from block to block
None Of these conditions prevail in
Washington. They are still, in more or
less degree, part and pack Of mayor
guarded municipalities and boss towns.
and many Northern and Western cities
even those within distiuery States-en-
gage in "a guerrilla warfare on election
day that is menacing TO timid souls.
Washington is the big proscenium box
that holds the interested spectators. The
voting centers are the stage. upon which
everybody's eyes are glued. Tonight the
great Empire State viii play a star part
on the bill-bOards Of national politics. and
the real reason why all the women are
interested is William Randolph Hearst.
Ii is not the individual himself that
enlisJs the feminine sympathies of Wash
irgton. Il is not his money, his position
his wife or his yellow papers II is
his mother
one wonders what this gentle. retir-
ing. philanthTOpic mother has been think
ing during this period Of struggle and at
tack and sensational campaigning and
party wig-pulling. which bears the name
Of Hearstism. Surely she must have set
her lips closer than ever she did her
purse-strings at the hue-and-cry and
pack-hounding in which the heir to the
Hearst millions has become involved II
must mean everything TO her whether or
not her boy comes out whole OF winged
from the political New York melee.
Think OF a women Of Mrs. Hearst's
gentleness, whose fad Is the training Of
children by means Of kindergartens. and
who sows the seed Of benevoIence beneath
the closed eye of the public. behOlding
her son in such a glare of limelight as
has seldom. if ever, been thrown upon an
other. She must wonder and marvel at
the difference between her little child
and this grown man.
The most prejudiced Of Mr.. Hearst's s
critics among Washington women mod
crate their Utterances out of respect and
love for his mother II is not always the
young and beautiful woman who has fast
grip upon the regard of other women. It
is often. as in this case woman past
the prime, fair 9dd plain and just in her
character. her appearance. and her be-
Hevolence. She has a prior claim TO the
name that viii fash on the stereopticon
sheets and sound through the mega
phones tonight. In the gay automobile
loads that will animate the streets Of
Washington. and in the private offices
where special wires will facilitate election
news, whether the pendulum of luck
swings from or toward Hearst. a mitf-
eating circumstance of to-night's politi-
cal success or failure will be the remem-
brance of the candidates mother-af
least among the WOFDauf