Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-02-06
OUTSIDE POINT OF VIEW

These are the days that try the souls
of congressman and legislators. lhe
woman suffragists are now Appearing
to statesmen of the states to give them
the ballot and said statesmen pecom-
ing adopts from long previous expert
ence are promising what the house VIII
do. having previously ascertained that
the senate is composed of enough
bachelors and hard headed old chaps to
kin the whole business. Failing TINS,
woman suffrage can be easily killed III
committee. So its easy to promise.
But sad to relate there's the anti-won-
an suffrage association, composed en-
tirely Of women that are lobbying the
legislators to prevent any such Dill pc
coming a law. OF course these mis-
guided women don't know what Is good
for them. their Anticipated stories OF
being only good wives and good moth
ers. deserving of the uncivilized age
but lust IL sane, there is a large
number of e.cated, earnest women
these days trying to kill off woman
suffrage. So the legislator of 1907 mas
only two plans to consider. One TO
promise all things to all women, the
other to resign and go home.
. But the state legislator does not
know what real trouble, real grief is.
It's congressman that deserves our,
commiserati A few years ago. thou
sands of the best mentioned women
OF the country, forced congress
to pass the anti-canteen law
The word forced is used advised
ly and deliberately. All of US know we
have to give way when woman really
says must. 1t has become truism
that woman will get the ballot when
she wants it. But women did want
an anti-canteen law, and they got II.
Since then opposition to the law has
arisen. Officers of the regular army
watching the affairs of army life, favor
restoring the canteen. Many army
chaplains and some respectable min
listers outside of the army, in speech
and newspaper and magazine article,
favor the establishment of the can
teen in the regular army. And now
many hundred women throughout the
land have formed an association to help
restore the army canteen. The 1ndl-
yidual between the devil and the deep
sea was a happy man in comparison
with our congressman these days.
The good sister from Congressman AS
district manages to inform him, d.
rectly and indirectly, that If he votes
to restore the canteen, his name will
be Dennis But in his daily mail also
arrive letters from other sisters sug-
costing that in the cause of real tenn
perance the canteen must be restored.
"The soldier is entitled to his club room
as we'll as the congressman" and if he
fails to vote to restore the canteen, the
organization of which the writer is an
active member will unite to prevent his
reelection.
Down in Dayton, Ohio, there's a big
soldiers home. Several thousand vet
Grams are spending their last days
there in ease and comfort, gladly sup
ported by the tax payers of the coun-
try But. horrible to relate, they have
a canteen there. These old soldiers
actually drink beer sometimes two or
three glasses day. It's sold at a prof
it, and the profits furnish a fund that
gives a club room with modern con-
yeniences and fixtures for the free use
of all the occupants of the soldiers
home Such thing as an old soldier
getting drunk there is almost unknown,
but they do go to town, and they come
back drunk as lords and go to the
guard house as regularly as in ga An
officer in charge there is authority for
the statement that to end the canteen
system at this soldiers home would be
the most disastrous temperance meas
ure that could happen. But what does
all this prove? Nothing. Haven't we
now in these United States one organ
ization of good women that say the
canteen is horrible thing. Haven't
we another organization Of equally
good women that say it's good thing?
The writer and many others are too
wise to take sides.
A441L11a