Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-07
HOT FICHT FOR THE BALLOT
Mrs. Pankhurst's Strenuous Activities
for Woman Suffrage.
BRITISH LEADER IN AMERICA
Characteristics Of the Struggle in
England ana the Campaign
hat is Planned IN This
Country.

Mrs. Emeline Gould P~ankhurst. leader Of
the militant woman suffragists Of England,
founder Of the Women's Social and Poliu-
cal union, prophet and sponsor Of that ag-
greGsive form Of the woman suffrage
movement which in England has lifted the
question Of woman's enfranchisement from
the academic sphere into the realm OF
practical politics, chief Of the shrieking
sisterhood OF suffraRettes who have driven
fear into the hearts Of English statesmen.
most valiant Of the Amazons who have
struggled with London Boobies and most
jealous OF the martyrs who have sewed let
ter bags in Holloway jail, is in this country
winning advocates to her view that bizarre
and violent methods are needed II women
are TO be granted politicai rights equal TO
those held by men.
It is about four years since the speakers
at a Liberal meeting in England were in
%terrupted by a dark-eyed. dark-haired
young woman OF %, who asked, Are you
going 20 keep your promises to the women
OF England7" So insistent was she and the
turmoil which ensued was so confuslng
that she and Annie Kenney, a factory
worker from the north OF England, were
taken 20 jail for dlsorderly conduct h
young woman was Christabel. the daughter
and ardent disciple Of Mrs. Pankhurst-
Her interruption was the beginning OF a
careful planned campaign which has cen
tered the attention Of the world on the
women who are executing II.
For twenty years the Liberal party in
England has been busily promising all
things to all men and Acknowledgement to
women. It was one OF the party's pro-
fessed principles until a decided majority
OF the masculine votes returned It to Of
fire WITH actual nxva IN Nhagr banda
the leaders Of the Liberals seemed in no
haste to redeem their promises to women.
Deputations from various organizations OF
women urging the drafting and passing OF
a suffrage bill found ministers and Parlia-
ment Members too busy to listen to them.
An Active Campaign.
= Thereupon members Of the older and
more conservative organizatSsns held meet
ings and gently bewailed the perfidy of
mankind in particular. Not so the mem
bers of the Woman's Social and Political
union. The union-W. s.. p. u. for short
had, like the older organizations, supported
the Liberals. It was a young organization
which had held it's first meetings I'm Mrs.
Pankhurst's parlor In 1903. Even at that
time, Mrs. P%ankhurst was known to a GER
tain circle as one OF the most ardent work
ers for the cause of women. II was her
husband, an eminent batrister of Man
chester, who drafted the married woman's
act, and It was largely through his efforts
that the bill giving married women control
of their own property was passed. He
was in entire sympathy with his wife
and for thirty years they worked together
for the legal and political emancipation
of women. Their daughters-clever,
young, pretty, athletic, college trained
were bred and born in at atmosphere Of
emancipation.
At the time of his death, Mrs. Pank-
hurst was in the midst of a municipal
campaign ins which she was leading a
woman suffrage agitation. For the
woman suffrage movement is not a new
thing In England, where the women have
been granted the right to vote for every
office save that of member of Parliament
Even this they claim as an old right which
was theirs until the reform bill OF 1882 for
the first time inserted the word male be.
fore person.
Ever since the late sixties Of the nine
teenth century, when John Stuart Min in.
troduced the first suffrage iii asking that
this offensive word male be stricken out
SO that the suffrage would not be limited
by sex, Parliament has been besleged by
~suffragists. 1t has received more and
longer petitions concerning this subject
than any other. Between 1870 and 1906, the
year marked by the beginning OF militant
tactics on the part OF the women, 5000 pc.
tltions on woman suffrage, one Containing
$4,000 names, were addressed to the ma.
tons lawmakers.
Following the first agitation In 1866, the
National Union of Suffrage associations
was organized. Mrs. Fawcett, widow OF a
former postmaster, is president of this So
cisty, from which Mrs. Pankhurst with.
drew to organize the Woman's Social and
VPolitcaI union, The mere fact that in
England women do enjoy all Of the politi-
cal Fights save that of voting for member
ct Parliament shows that the more conser-
VatiVe organisation have accomplished
geed. But Mrs. Pankhurst wearied Of pas.
sive resistance and longed for more drastic
methods.
Army of Twenty thousand.
. Ths~small group of women who followed
her has been steadily augmented until the
Woman Social and Political union now
has 10000 members. Last spring, one mon
Eter demonstration was made by the suf-
fragsttes resulted in the arrest Of 3o
women Among these women were artists,
actresses, journalists, mill hands. factory
workers and women OF birth and breeding.
Mrs. Cobd~en-sanderson, daughter OF Rich
ard Golden. the great liberal leader, is
one OF those who have served sentences in
Holloway jail. A favorite question sd-
dressed by the s~uffrasette speakers to an
audience OF workingmen Is What DO you
think OF the arrest OF Richard Cobden'l
daughter for demanding her right OF citl-
1snshipT'
Mrs. Cobden-SandeTson visited the United
States last year and while here stated this
policy Of the militants as consisting Of
FIRST union OF women OF all shades OF
political thought and OF all ranks % so
ciety on the single issue OF political en-.
reimbursement; second, action independent
OF ali political parties OF men; third. undi-