Los Angeles herald., 1908-12-05
ROOSEVELT IS
DENOUNCED BY
MANY WOMEN
RI0T0US SUFFRAGETTES CON-
DENIM POLICY
POLICEMEN CALLED TO PREVENT
THREATENED MELEE
Trouble Starts at Meeting of Organ
ization Opposed to Woman suf-
frage, Or. Lyman Abbott
Presiding
[By Associated Press. ]

AT EW YORK, Dec Anew York
Y was a storm center today of ar
~ gument for and against woman
suffrage, and the vortex of the whirl-
ing winds there remained, as it were,
a letter on the subject from the presi-
dent of the United States.
The storm centered in the meeting of
the national league for the civic edu-
cation of women, in the Berkeley thea
ter, where the subject of Universal
Suffrage for Woman was considered.
The organization is opposed to wom-
an suffrage.
Dr. Lyman Abbott was the principal
speaker, and it was he who presented a
letter from President Roosevelt.
The letter was interpreted in various
ways by the auditors, and DIR. Abbott
was often interrupted by applause and
by shouts of disapproval.
A climax came when a score or more
of suffragists united in denunciation
of the attitude of conservatism which
the president had taken in his letter.
The shouts of the suffragist leaders be-
came so troublesome that policemen
were asked to seek out the offenders.
They were threatened with ejectment
and finally the disturbance was quieted.
At the conclusion of the lecture, how
ever, the suffragists withdrew to the
sidewalk, where an Indignation meet
ing was held.
Came from England
Mrs. Norman Wells, who said she
had just come from England after
spending three weeks in Holloway jail
for having tried to break into the
house of commons, was one of the
leaders. At the meeting proper the
theater was well filled Richard Wat
son Glider presided and said that the
satxr i faCF hal
that woman should be burdened with
politics.
President Butler of Columbia univer-
sity spoke in sympathy with the
leagues work and read letter from
the secretary of state, Elihu Root
DR.. Abbotts lecture. including the
reading of President Roosevelt's letter,
then followed
Tonight at Carnegie hall the woman
sufragists had their turn under tho
auspices of the interurban woman suf-
frage council.
Mrs. Philip, Snowden, leader of the
suffragist movement in England; Mrs.
Clarence Mackay and DR.. Charles f.
Aked of the Fifth Avenue Baptist
church spoke.
The attitude of President Roosevelt
and Secretary of State Elihu Root on
the subject of woman suffrage was first
QlSclOS6u IOucy dI q lilOOlAAlS AAANNA tAAC
auspices of the National League OF
Civic Education of Women.
The Rev. DR.. Lyman Abbott, editor
of the outlook, in the course of an
address in opposition to granting the
right to vote to women, read the
letter from President Roosevelt,
which, he said, he read with the presi-
dents permission, although 1t was not
written for publication nor for this oc-
cation. The letter which caused all the
trouble is as follows:
practically l believe in woman suf-
frage' said Mr.. Roosevelt at the out
set of the letter, which is dated No
vember 10, 1908, "but l am not an en-
thusiastic advocate of it, because l do
not regard it as a very important mat
ter. | am unable to see that there has
been any special improvement in the
condition of women in those states in
the west that have adopted woman
suffrage, as compared with those states
adjoining them that have not adopted
it. / do not think that giving the
women suffrage will produce any
marked Improvement in the CONDITION
of women. l do not believe 1t will
prevent any of the evils feared, and
am very certain that when women, as
a whole, take any special interest in
the matter they will have the suffrage
if they desire it, but at present l think
most of them are lukewar. L ma
some actively for it and some actively
against it.
Is Rather LukeWarn
81 am, for the reasons given, rather
what you would regard as lukeWarm,
or tepid in my support of it, because
while 1 believe in it 1 do not regard it
as of very much Importance. I believe
that man and woman should stand on
an equality of right, but / do not be-
lieve that equality of rights means
identity of function, and l am more
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