The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1911-12-22
OF Congressman Sharp Dis.
CuSSeS Affairs
OF Interest To Women In
Interesting Way
Which Meets With The Ap.
prOvaI Of All Women

anu WdShiuBtOu, Wlle Oh Jne we'll
known congressman from this dis
trlct, Is the subject of an interview
published in the Philadelphia Record.
Although Mr.. Sharp is serving his sec.
ond term at Washington, Mrs. Sharp
has spent but little time at the capital
largely because she is deyoting her
self to the care of her five children
who range in age from to 16. This
year, however, Mr.. and Mrs. Sharp
have taken house at 1414 Sixteenth
street. This residence was formerly
occupied by Former Governor Merri-
am, of Minnesota.
81 think that the habit which Ameri.
can women have acquired of ordering
food through servants or over the tele-
phone has depleted the family ex-
chequer. For instance, few women or
dering food'over the phone, pause to
ask the price, or stop to consider
whether price suggested is fair and
according to the market quotations.
Yet this makes the bills much larger
when the end of the month comes.
Then how few housekeepers examine
the food which comes into their kitch-
ems? They pay the highest price but
often hey get an inferior quality or
at the best mixture of good and bad.
| think that no occupation is more ex-
alted FOR woman than a personal
supervision Of her home, To go to
market or at least to order necessities
herself and them to examine them on
delivery and to give intelligent faith.
full supervision of every detail is a
mission worthy of every woman, be
she queen of peasant.
Il am deeply concerned in all that
affects the welfare of women and in
all the movements which look to the
Improvement of present conditions. At
presentl womenHin my home. Geounty
vote on the school question and they
have proven themselves worthy of
higher responsibilities. AS for be-
slowing the ballot on women, | can
not say that l believe in such an in
novation in all it's aspects. Still
am strongly impressed by the logic of
the saying that women can never pre-
pare themselves for the ballot until
they get it.
81 do not say that women are more
conscientious than men, but certainly
they are equally so and by nature and
training are especially fitted to solve
the problems that pertain to the home,
to children and the schools.
"A phase Of the question involved
in votes for women in which / take
deep interest is that with the bestowal
of the ballot those women who per-
form the work of men will get equal
compensation. 1t is fact, and l think
no one can prove the contrary, that
the proportion of women teaching in
the national schools or private ones,
in the elementary divisions at least,
is larger than that of men, and the fe-
minine teachers are on the whole
more finely grained, more intellectual
and more imbued with the magnitude
of their work. 1t will be answered at
once that salaries paid to all manner
of teachers are so small that an in
tellectual man will not, and, there
fore, they must get man who is per-
haps not well equipped nor fitted by
nature and training to be preceptor OF
youth, rather than woman who has
every qualification and whose only
handicap is her SEX
in Ohio, and especially in my home,
the picturesque city of Elyria, we wo-
men take our responsibilities serious
ly. We know we shall get the vote
some day, If not this year, next year
or the year after. So we are prepar-
ing for the work, when 1t is given in
to our hands. There is political study
club in which women study the prob.
lens like an undergraduate, probing
for promotion. We have studied the
political history of our country, and
we have contemporary problems, and
we have weighed men and their mo-
tives. This club naturally is tending
toward becoming genuine suffragist
club, for it follows that when politics
is studied and the real truths of our
individual liberty are revealed through
study of the constitution, women
will arise in a body and demand their
rights"
Mrs. Sharp is among the younger
matrons in official society and is most
attractive in personal characteristics
as well as in appearance.
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