The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-04-15
The President Had Said He
Was Not Altogether in Sym
pathy With the Suffrage
Movement and Was Kissed.
EXECUTIVE NOT PUT OUT,
BUT CONTINUED TO TALK
SmiIingIy He Called Attention
to the Fact that Women Who
Demanded the Ballot Should
Be Able to Exercise Restraint
APOLOGIES COME LATER
VxTASHINGT0N, April 14.-The
w President of the United States.

NTASHINGT0N, April 14.-The
w President Of the United States,
the first chief executive of the nation
ever to greet a convention of woman
suffragettes, tonight had the courage
to confess his opinion and was Kissed.
So great was the throng that
sought admission to the hall that
hundreds were turned away,
President Taft was welcoming to
Washington the delegates to the con-
vention of the National Woman
Suffrage association. Re told them
frankly he was not altogether in
sympathy with the suffrage move
ment, and was explaining why he
could not subscribe fully to its prin-
ciples.
He said he thought one of the
dangers in granting suffrage to wo-
men was that women, as whole,
were not interested in it and. the bal
lot, as far as women are concerned,
would be controlled by the ''less de-
sirable class"
When these words fell from the Presi-
dents lips, the walls Of the haH echoed
4 chorus of feminine misses IL was no
feeble demonstration of protest The COM
bined Kisses sounded as If a valve on a
steam engine had broken.
President Taft stood unm0Yed in the
demonstration OF hostility-fOr the kissing
continued but moment-and then, snil-
ing, as he spoke, he answered the I'M
favorable greeting with this retort:
Now, my dear ladies, you must show
yourselves capable OF suffrage by exer-
cisng that degree of restraint which is
necessary III the conduct OF government
affairs by not Kissing"
The women who had Kissed were re-
buked. The Presidents reply apparently
had taken hold. There were no more
Kisses while the President continued his
address, which he characterized as my
confession" on the woman suffrage ques-
tion. AT the conclusion of his talk he
wars applauded and some of the leaders
of the convention expressed to him their
sincere regret over the unpleasant Incl
dent.
President Taft assured them his feel
ings were not injured in the least.
MIR. Taft's Speech.
4 am not entirely certain said the
President, after he had been cOurteously
presented to the convention by Rachel
Foster Avery, vice president OF the assO-
citation. that | ought to have come here
tonight, but your committee assured me
l should be welcome even II l did not
support all the views which are to be
advanced in this convention. But I con-
slider this movement represents a suffi-
cient part of the Intelligence OF the COM
munity 10 justify my coming and well
coming you to Washington,
1.-THE difficulty l expect TO encounter IS
this-at least the difficulty which occurs
10 me as Judge OF my own feelings when
my interest In a campaign is aroused, TO
wit:
when 1 was 16 years old and was
graduated from the Woodward High
school in Cincinnati 1 took for my grad
uatiOn subject Women Suffrage and at
that time / was as strong an advocate
of woman suffrage as any delegate TO this
convention. I had read much on woman
suffrage and may father was a suffra-
gist."
The women oheered at this point in his
Address. The han was mass of waving
Continued on Page EIeVen)