The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1910-08-12

points on the market during the visit
to this city of two talented women,
Mrs. Philip Stafford and Mrs. Rose
Moore. of Spokane.
There was time-not so many years
back-that "woman's suffrage" was a
bogie, a nightmare, the thought of
which conjured in the mind of the aver
age man visions of terrible things. Tn
kempt children and untidy houses, mas
culine women, mans throne despoiled
and his idols shattered, and all that sort
of thing The thing he pretended to
fear most was the 'invasion of the
sancity of the home" and the Cheap
ening of women and the woman who
dared to come out openly and demand
the ballot was stigmatized until the
mind created a strident, coarsely ag-
gressive type of womanhood which
never had any foundation in fact.
The army of women who are now
leading the suffrage hosts are educated,
for the most part, refined, talented, and
best of all, womanly. So were their pre-
decessors, but we look at them differ
emily now because the cause they rep
result has lost it's terrors to the majority
of voters. The forerunners in the move
ment simply paid the penalty of mans
prejudice, which always exists toward
an unpopular cause.
1t is a pleasure and an inspiration to
hear these splendid Spokane women talk
of the work they are doing. The COM
prehensive grasp they have of the social
and economic problems of the age is a
revelation to mere man, who imagines
woman's limitations bind her to a
sphere outside of the social and econo
mic questions which make up the com
plex thing we call civilization. They
have learned what all must learn who
study deeply any single problem that
confronts society, that that problem is
inseparably related to other problems
and must be considered in the rela-
tion. 1t is that equation that has
brought them straight to the labor
problem and made them ardent advo-
Gates of trades unionism. They have
found their sisters in industrial slavery
and in seeking to better their condi-
tions through the ballot have found
their brothers in the industrial field
hold the key that will unlock the door
for male and female workers alike. Co.
education and cooperation 60 hand in
hand and in the organized forces of la
Dor lies the intelligent concentrated eff
fort woman needs for her political free
dom.
To quote from these women their own
words, will give better and clearer
idea of their investigations and conclu-
sions than pages of copy we might pro
duce.
Mrs. Stafford spoke in the Labor
Temple in part as follows:
1--WE feel it very natural in coming
before you as Labor Organizations and
asking for your help and endorsement
in any way or for any measure we may
be interested in. For the very reason
that caused You as individuals to band
together in these craft unions, are the
/ identical reasons that will cause you
as individuals and craft unionists, tt
work for and vote for our cause, that
of suffrage And we do not feel oul
motives to be selfish ones either, fol
this common question is but one phase
of your own problem. The position
woman occupies in industry today
makes your interests mutual.
"The idea of our present sanitary
commission, which was worked out IL
detail by the women of the Civil Wal
period, and the Red Cross Society, was
formulated by the exigencies of the ex
isting period. The Pennsylvania Pack
ct, speaking editorially, said: 'Womer
and men all over the globe, owe a debt
of gratitude to the American female
for demonstrating the fact that females
were capable of performing politica
virtue Their experiences during this
period forced the American woman to {
realization that she had a service t.
perform in presentation of the new
democracy in time of peace as well al
the time of war. And to do this sh'
| felt she must have the same degree o
education as did the man. There wal
no question of rights to the womel
of that period, bait simply the desire o
seryice-to feel herself able to cope will
democracy. As woman became bette
educated and the doors of the profes
sions-doctor, dentist and law-opene'
to her, she saw many existing condition
that were not conducive to correct leg
islation and living. So as individual
and collectively she dipped into cor
rective- remedial wants. And just a
often as she dipped, did she find oh
stacles staying and stopping her at
tempts, until in 1S4S women demande
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