The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1911-01-20
50 What Women Have Actually Done Where They Vote 50

asked prominent woman VIII
these conditions were such in cite
where women voted. and she COZ
doned them as being incidental t
a Western town" Yet Los Angelo.
California Western town where VIC
men do not vote. banished it's objet
tionable district, relic of early days
| five years ago.
Nor have the women stamped on
polygamy, not evn when they hav
the ballot as in Utah. This on tn
statement of the most prominent pa
per in Salt Lake City, "The Salt LAX
Tribune which on August of thi
year G910) published a list of on,
hundred and fifty men who had con
tracted plural marriages recently.
AS for drinking among women.
was told, and ! saw for myself, tina
few cities in this country, not New
York, nor Chicago, nor San Francisco
are any worse in this respect thar
the capital f Colorado. Even some o
the drug stores in Denver, according
to good authority, serve whiskey and
brandy to unescorted girls.
Last year the police board of Den
yer passed a regulation prohibiting
all unescorted women from entering
cafes and restaurants where liquor
was sold after eight p. m. Instantly
a storm. of protest was raised, not by
the refined, respectable women, not
by the women of the streets, but by
political women. These political wo-
men complained that their rights
were being interfered with, that they
might be compelled to be on the
streets after eight p. M, and that it
would be an outrage to prohibit them
the use of restaurants after that hour.
Ladies" said the chief of police,
addressing committee of these wo-
men who visited him, 81 can prove
to you from the records here in my
Office, that the women of Denver
drink more whiskey than the men.
Shall l open my books and show
your"
They did not ask for proof They
withdrew their protest and that regu-
lation is in effect today. But this
regulation stands, not by reason of,
but in spite of, the political women
of Denver
Divorce Has Increased Largely i'm the
Four States.
My next step of investigation was
to see to what extent divorce had
been checked in the four States where
have voted for SO many years,
and in examining the divorce records
If these four States | found that the
avs are as lax as anywhere in the
Union. Except that each State re-
luires years residence they are as
ak as in Nevada and South Dakota.
Several attorneys in Denver told me
hat, except for years residence
against six months residence in
he other two States named. it is
ust as easy to get divorce in Colo
ado. All the ordinary pleas are SUBJ
tantial grounds, except Incompatible
ty of temper, and that bar against
asy divorce is more than made up
" the clause in the law which per-
nits a divorce on the ground of
mental cruelty" In one case a
nan did not speak to his wife at
reakfast and was adjudged to have
ommitted mental cruelty"
The newspapers of Denver con-
family carry advertisements of "di-
orce attorneys" and one of the Fri
ay morning diversions is to go to
he County Court and observe the |
divorce mill" Ordinarily the aver
&c time required to grind out" a
ivorce is four minutes and half.
The following table, taken from the
nited States Government statistics,
hows the increase of divorce in the
lcrease of divorce in the four States
nee equal suffrage became a law,
own to 1906, since when the figures
ave not been computed. In Wyo-
ing woman suffrage came in 1869,
Colorado in 1894, in Utah in 1895,
nd in Idaho in 1896.
ear Idaho Utah Wyo. Colo.
s94. 80 189 &c 1854
s95. 1874 2O2 II Ala
s96. .139 225 70 $50
397. 1923 22S SO 39S
s9S.. 1852 200 "a 437
800. 1876 234 80 426