The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-10-15
MRS. MACKAY TALKS ON EQUAL SUFFRAGE Does Not Believe In Militant
 Methods CAN WIN BY ARGUMENT Prominent New York Woman Thinks They Will Ultimately Achieve Their Object Without Resort
 to Sensationalism.

New York, October 14.-(Special) Mfrs Clarence H. Mackay having been asked to define the purposes and the position of the hqual Franchise society, of which she IS president, has given out the following statement for publication:
 The purpose of the Equal Franchise society Is to promote the welfare of wom- eh by securing the national. state and local electoral franchise for women heN cause the Equal Franchise society be- heVes In the political and civil equality of men and women
 The electorate should represent ths "iiois nation and system of government uaoer which one-half of the nation are oisfranehised is not a truly representati,a national system. We ale inviting neor,a to become members of our society n order to contribute to the advancement CT public education by the promotion oc our cause. We feel that in order to secure the enfranchisement of women it is not necessary for us to initiate methods which are being used in other countries. Amer iean manhod has always treated Arrer- lean womanhod in such a way as to make us feel that we shall ultimately achieve our aim without sensationalism.
 Will not indorse the militant methods It has been repeatedly said to me by men in public life and men in privara life that when the women of the UniteI States unite in demandng the vote they VIII get 1t, and l think that is perfectly true, and that, therefore what is needed to further the suffrage cause is to give all sorts and kinds of women the opnor- tunity of listening to speakers who will explain just what the suffrage will mean to Us all. Most of the men I have met are apparently willing to cooperate with us and have listened to what we have said with courtesy and consideration 1T has not seemed necessary in the past and do not think it will be necessary in the future, for us to go into street corn CTS and shriek our propaganda at tue passerby. We have but to plead our cause without raising our voice to those men and women who are not with us We can always assume that they are not sllfully ignorant of what woman suffrage should mean
 
 that throughout this country the strong est suffragists are those women who de- vote their best energies toward the de- veloping of their children in order to make them citizens worthy of our great country. We do not think that as an organization we have right to demand an expression of opinion from the candi- dates in this coming election. We prefer to leave politics alone until our sex is sharing the responsibility with the other sex. I feel that the main reason for suffrage is community of interest between the sexes; 1t is not in any sense fight for rights but the logical evolution of Jus tice. The equal franchiser surely wishes to establish a platform upon which such speakers as Bishop McVicar of Rhode Island, MT. Everett Colby and perhaps Mir Martin w. Iittleton will express their belief in suffrage, and for that reason we have leased the Garden theatre and arranged our course We wish to enlist that part of the community regardless of sex or creed, that will cooperate with us because of their loyalty to their coun- try.
 Among the most recent additions to our membership are such women as Mrs. Williab Schefflin, Mrs. Milton Barger Mrs. Rudolph Schirmer, Mrs. Archibald Alexander, Mrs. Everett Colby, Mrs Rich ard Stevens, Mrs. Walter Maynard, Miss Spence, Mrs. Paul Morton. Miss Elizabeth Berchinal, Miss Dorothy Whitney, and many others, as can be seen in our list"