The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-07-13
SUFFRAGISTS DO THE WORK



 (By the Connecticut Woman Suffrage ASSociation)
 What the town officers up Salem way think of it has yet to be record ed. What the Suffragi think has been told with many shouts of laugh ter. The campaigners arrived in Sa- lem one night last week in an auto mobile with screaming siren and f1y- ing flags. They had engaged the town hall a month ahead of time and the town official who held the key had entirely forgotten the enga agement. So when the Suffragists arrived the hall was dark. In front of it stood some farm wagons loaded with men and women who had driven in to see the fun.
 Coming to the meeting?" asked Miss Josephine Mclaughlin, who is manag- ing the halls for the campaigners. ! = If they have one, I'll bethere, vol unteered one man of the crowd. The others looked at the dark hall smil- suffragists would do about it.
 s'Where's the key?" asked Miss Mo- Laughlin again,
 l Dunno" answered the man, .sthey l didn't rent the hall to me, never came near me about it. If they had. I'd l have had it open and lit up.''
 .% The man was evidently grieved that | l been favoregbi As it turned out the
 naal M Ms1Em the hall was rented 1 lives HlEee miles out on an almost i'm possible TpAd After a consultation at l the village store, a. man with another
 key was found Tn town. He was an
 amiable man and was willing to u11- lock the door and light up. The 1 town hall had no lamps of it's own and i lighting up meant carrying four lamps from the mans house half a mile away. In the meantime, the Suffra- l gists got down some old church pews that were piled against the wall and arranged seats for the audience. The l tove which occupied a big space ir the centre of the room was part of the l joke for the thermometer stood al ninety. When the Suffragists had ar
 ranged the seats. dusting them with
 an automobile veil. when the lamps l had arrived and windows were open 1 it was half past eight o'clock and full 1 ly fifty farmers and their wives sat IT their seat in their carriages outside
 Miss Emily Pierson, Organizer of the State Suffrage Association and the | leader of this campaign, went out doors and annouced that the meet l ing was about to begin. As many people as could get into the hal I crowded in. the others drew their car l riages close to the window where they could hear all that wet on.
 Miss Anne Forsythe of New York who made the speech of the evening 1 told about the need of the vote te l the housekeeper and honemaker. Her stories of food impurities, of child la I bor in the canneries and of the sweat 1 shops where clothing is made sc
 reused the women of the audience that they wanted to form a Suffrage League at once. F'orty-two of the l grown ups present joined the State | Association and the meeting ended fal more enthusiastically than it had be- gun The campaj gners are spending 1 the month at New London County traveling from town to town by au- l tomobile. Ali of the prominent suf- l fragists of the state are working with them and the party varies in size l sometimes there are as many as eight automobiles and again there is the | one big car that made the trip to Sa- l lar,