Bisbee daily review., 1911-02-07

ights of franchise, and therefore have not had an opportunity to observe or study conditions personally. the ideas 1 present must necessarily be given at second hand. The authorities for the statements I shall made are men prominent in public affairs in states where equal suffrage exists. and, as such. have certainly hSd every opportunity to judge of the sit uation fairly The scope of this paper GlIeing necessarily limited. I | shall speak of suffrage only as it re lates to our own country, that beirls . of greater importance and interest . to us as Americans.
 sThe principal argument urged against equal suffrage is that women do not want to vote and would not exercise the right if it were granted them In Colorado. where women have voted for the past seventeen years, statistics show that from g to 4S per cent of the total vote is cast by women, and this in a state where women constitute 45 per cent of the population. The percentage Of registration to voting population runs higher in Colorado than in any other state. showing that the womens in terest in public aairs has caused in i terest and activity on the part of the | men.
 But, putting aside the lact that ! ..;. the opportunity. the argument that they do NOT falls flat when we stop to consider the fact that thousands of men of the better class take no inter est in politics. and, election after cleo ton, fail to vote. It is no unusual thing to find 100000 men absent from tine polls in single state, even at presidential election Senator Borah of Idaho says:
 T hold it to be the duty Of every citizen to take an active interest in politics, to study measures. and to vote. Instead of it's being an evi. dence of purity and patriotism to re nam out of politics it is genera ly cr evidence of utter selfishness or DC litical disappointment or an ostenta tious display of modern Phsriseeis:n. 9
 Another argument frequently ad vanced is that the vote of the ''un desirable class balances. even | it does not outweigh. ttp vote of the decent women Generalities prove nothing. What we want are con concrete examples where systematic investigations have been carried on In Denver. the "red-light" district i. confined to certain precincts, and thu board of election commissioners fur nishes these figures on female regis tration and voting: Registered. 176 voted IA. By reason of facts stated on the registration books. they ad wise that 10 per cent of this numbe be conseiered as respectable women wives of unskilled laborers, etc De ducting this 10 per cent, the tota registration If prostitutes at the las election was 159. with only 130 voting Chief of Police Armstrong of Denve pcts the number of professional pros titu:es at 50O. Even had they a voted. and voted solidly in som particular interest it could have ha litgle effect, ;.s e'Dost 3o.00) wome voted at the last election.
 Another fallacious argument is tha women will vote as the men of thei f1r~ les do. and that. con5equentll the -elative number of votes on eac sidc of a question will remain prai tically the same as when the me
 alone vote We may cdncede tn:
 the women and the men of hous
 hold are likely to vote together, bl investigation has proved that, in man instances. the influence of the woms decides the side upon which the vol is cast. At the risk of proving dI and monotonous, want to quote fro
 an article showing what woman su
 frage and wonEIts ingluence ha'
 done in Colorado:
 The Inter-PaT1iamentary Union.
 globe encircling organization of me is- and women who play important par ,d in the public affairs of their variOl of countries, is on record as declaril
 that Colorado has the sanest. | ns most humane, the most progressiy ,r most scientific laws relating to il
 child to be found on any statu
 books in the world And of the laws which drew such praise from ]
 partial socioligists. not one but h ,h- come into operation since Colorado on adoption of equal suffrage in 1S9 he not one but owes either it's incepti
 or it's success to the voting wOms ho Even in those cases where the ls he was not originated, not specified us- ehampioned by them, they elected {
 official responsible for the law he The list is as long as splendi as Laws establishing state home
 dependent children, three of the fl in members of the board to be wome
 making mothers joint guardians
 their children with their fathe
 raising the age Of protection for gi
 to eighteen years; creating juven