Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-12-05

System of Government.
 New York, Dec. 1.-Two mass meet l ings for and against woman suffrage
 have turned New York into battle ground for suffragettes and antisuf- | fragists.
 Following a stormy meeting of anti
 suffragists in the Berkeley lyceum, | where fifty suffragettes made noisy
 disturbance, there was reception by I Mrs. Borrman Wells, just out of an | English prison, to hundreds who clam
 ored to meet her.
 But the climax to the day of demon | stration for votes for women was
 reached at Carnegie hall in speech | by Dr. Charles Aked, pastor of the
 Fifth Avenue Baptist church--Rocke-
 fellers church-in favor of votes for l women.
 The proceedings of the Carnegie hall | meeting were further enlivened when
 Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt. the chair
 man, characterized President Roose- | welt as tree toad"
 l At the antisuffragist meeting letters
 from President Roosevelt and Secre- tary Root were read by the Rev. Dr. l Lyman Abbott The president wrote: Personally I believe in woman suffrage. but am not an enthusiastic advocate of 1 it, because l do not regard 1t as a very | Important matter. l am unable to see that there has been any special improve | ment in the position of women in those states in the west that have adopted wo-
 man suffrage as compared with those ad- l joining them that have not adopted it. l I do not think that giving the women | suffrage will produce any marked im- | provement in the condition of women I | do not believe that it will produce any of | the evils feared. and am very certain l that when women. as whole, take any | special interest in the matter they will l have suffrage if they desire 1t. But at l present I think most of them are luke | warm. I find some actively for 1t and | some actively against it. I am, for the | reasons above given, rather what you l would regard as lukewarm or tepid in my l support of it, because, while I believe in 1t, I do not regard it as of very much im- l portance.
 | l believe that man and woman should l stand on an equality of right. but I do | not believe that equality of right means | identity of function, and l am more and | more convinced that the great field. the | indispensable field, for the usefulness of | woman is as the mother of the family It | is her work in the household in the home | her work in bearing and rearing the | children-which is more than any man s
 work, and 1t is that work which should | be normally the womans special work l just as normally the mans work should
 be that of the breadwinner, the supporter l of the home and if necessary the soldier
 who will fight for the home. There are exceptions as regards both
 man and woman. but the full and perfect | life the life of highest happiness and of | highest usefulness to the state, is the life | of the man and woman who are husband ! and wife, who live in the partnership of 1 love and duty, the one earning enough to | keep the home, the other managing the
 home and children.
 Secretary Root wrote:
 do not myself consider that the grant, ing of suffrage to women would under the existing conditions be any improve
 ment in our system of government. On the contrary, I think it would rather re- duce than increase the electoral efficiency
 of our people. I am inclined to think. l however that if the women of the United States or any large majority of them
 should really come to want the right of suffrage for themselves they would ulti-
 mately get it.
 For the purpose of exercising the right
 of suffrage if they should ever get it and for the purpose of determining intelli- gently whether they really want it the women of the country generally ought to
 have and to seize the opportunity for a
 greater degree of education in questions
 of government and in the practical art of government than they have had up to
 this time.
 The suffragettes shrieked and groan-
 ed as the letters were read and while
 Dr. Abbott spoke. His address turned
 finally to the number of divorces in
 America. He figured out million
 divorces in the last twenty years.
 Not of the suffragettesr' shouted a
 yellow ribboned enthusiast.
 Six policemen in uniform moved of
 one accord toward the suffragette sec-
 tion.
 There are fewer divorces in the
 states which give women votesr'
 shouted another of the band which de-
 mands the ballot.
 The police closed in and by flank
 movements squelched the opposition.