The Cairo bulletin., 1912-09-08
mrs. HARTMAN
| DNlSSkERSHAW
/ WORK FOR WILSON
Only Two Women Yet to Make
Speeches for Democratic
Nominee
ONE A SOCIETY LEADER
The Osher Is Mainly Interested in
Adjustment Of Child
Labor
ONE A SOCIETY LEADER

Nc" VI ~, pept' s---F OF lHe
first time in the history of the
country professional women are to
be real factors in the political situa-
ton this fall, The latest addition
! to the ranks Of women's political ac-
| tivties is the recently organized
Professional Womens Wilson and
| Marshall League" an organization
national in it's scope, with head
quarters in the Fifth Avenue build
ling, New York,
The organization was founded by
Miss Willette Kershaw, the actress
who did SO much for the Womens
Suffrage cause while touring the
country two years ago as the leading
woman in THE Country Boy" Last
Iyear George Bronson-Howard wrote
for her the suffrage play "Snobs, in
which she essayed the leading role.
Miss kershaw is also chairman of
the organization committee, which
| is composed of ten women drafted
from the following professions: Two
law, two stage, two medical, two
newspaper, one representative from
the Child's Welfare association, and
one woman thoroughly familiar with
factory and shop conditions through
out the country where women and
children are employed.
This committee is in turn assisted
by an advisory board composed of
national committeeman from each
state. Upon Miss Allyne e. Sheerer,
of Chicago, the national secretary,
has fallen the task of organization
The New York headquarters under
her leadership has developed into a
political beehive in the past week.
Miss kershaw is the first woman
of the league to take the stump. She
and Mrs. Borden Hartman, the New
York society leader, are in fact the
only two women who have thus far
addressed outdoor mass meetings on
behalf Of the Wilson campaign. Mrs,
Hartman has spoken at several
large meetings in New York, and on
Labor Day Miss Kershaw addressed
three thousand factory employees in
Philadelphia, where she opened her
new suffrage play, "Whom Does
Helen Belong TO-"
During her two weeks engaga-
ment in Philadelphia she was dis
ltributing literature and buttons at
| her various meetings and devoting
her specific arguments to the indus
trial legislation as 1t effects women
and children, at the tariff as it eff
fects the home,
In an interview given out after
| her meeting at Philadelphia yester-
| day Miss Kershaw said, irrespective
of party affiliations, | believe women
| should turn heaven and earth in an
effort to influence the vote of the
man who has the interests of the
| workingwoman and child at heart,
and when a man already in office has
done so much to further legislation
| to thsi end, | believe he deserves the
support of women everywhere 1t is
a crime and disgrace to this nation
to allow great corporations to fat
ten on the labor of poor, halfstarved
children. The stage to my mind is
the most fagrant example of this
corporate greed, and ] speak from
Experience. ] played my first juven-
lie part when | was seven years old,
and was cprted back and forth all
over the map in the next seven
years. 7 had no childhood. When
| | grew up | vowed that if l could
ever help cause that would abolish
Ichild labor | would consider that my
great achievement in life.
| 81 have watched Governor Will
sons record very closely. He has
made good, and all we ask is that
Intelligent women of the country
read this record and the hand that
rocks the cradle will bring to bear
more influence than the combined eff
forts of all the political spell-binders
in the country,
II am not a suffragette, and the
women in our organization are not
working for the ballot just now
That will come later. have in
iuenced audiences all my life, but
the only audience we want the aver
age woman to Influence in this cam
ipaign is the one opposite her at the
breakfast table,