Arizona republican., 1912-10-07
ROOSEVELT 0N
 WOMEN'S VOTE
Women Who Attend to Their Own Homes Have Same Right to Speak in Politics as Their Illus bands

That man knows little of our DO, litical, social and industrial needs as nation who does not know that in political conventions the politics that ought to be relegatcd are the politics that affect women precisely as much as they affect men; and he must be unfortunate in his list of acquaintances if he does not know women whose advice and counsel are pre-eminently worth having in re- gard to the matters affecting our welfare which it is of most conse- quence to have dealt with by po- litical conventions. The women who bear children and attend to their own homes have precisely the same right to speak in politics that their hus- bands have who are the fathers of their children and who work to keep up their homes. It is emi- nently wise that the women should share in the political conventions, and that they should join with the men in regulating the politics, which are in no proper sense only the pol itics of the men,, as the Times says, because they are of as vital concern to the women as to the men.
 "I grew to believe in woman suf- frage, not because of associating with women whose chief interest was in woman suffrage. but because of find ing out that the women from whom l received most aid in endeavoring to grapple with the social and in dustrial problems of the day were themselves believers in woman suf- frage. For a long time l have been interested in such questions as the betterment of the tenement house conditions, the abolition of sweat shop factories in tenement houses. the betterment of the conditions of work and life of working girls, the establishment of children's courts
 the establishment of playgrounds, putting a stop to the employment of children, and dozens of other like matters Now, the way I got into touch with each different kind of such work was to get hold of some men or women who knew about it enable me to see for myself what the facts were. The man to whom I owe most in this matter is Jacob Riis. and I shall never forget all he did for me during the time l was police commissioner In exactly the same fashion I have prOfited by the teach ings and experience of Judge Ben Lindsey of Colorado. of Judge De Lacey of Washington, of Charles Stelzle, of Father Curran, of Homer Folks, of Paul Kellogg, of Mannis, of Raymond Robbins, of Weyl and Me Carthy and Kingsbury; of many, many men connected with the work of organized charity or with private or religious charity, and of many, many clergymen, priests and rabbis- I cannot begin to enumerate all of them. Well, in precisely the same way I grew acquainted with women who were doing the same kind of work-with Miss Addams, with Miss Keller, with Mrs. Kelly and many others I talked with them and work ed with them just as I did with men I found that they had the same zeal and earnestness and judgment that the men had, and differed among ! themselves just as the men did 1 also found that as a result of then | actual experience they felt that working girls would be helped by the suffrage just as the working mer l are helped, and that in our welfare 1 against certain dreadful evils of ou l social life the help of the Womer would be of peculiar value. Very 1 much of what I learned to believe from them they were quite uncon l scious of having taught me, and i was this largely unconscious teach | ing of theirs and my study of wha 1 had been done in the states wher' | suffrage exists that gradually turne'
 me into a believer that women shoul' | have the same right to vote that mel l have I do not believe that there |
 identity of functions between me
 and women, but l do believe tha | there should be equality of right.
 1 see no reason why voting should in ! terfere with Women's home life an
 more than it interferes with tn l every day work of the man Whicl
 enables him to support the home"