Connecticut western news., 1912-08-15
Letters From the People
A Plain Talk About Suffrage Leagues
 and the Need ot Civic Glasses.
To The Editor of The News:

All over the country these leagues have sprung up like mushrooms in the night Their object Is to promote the cause of equal franchise; ill other words, votes for women. If political equality means that all men are equal as voters, then it means the same for women, and yet our leagues do not, in practice, carry out that theory. They have re- solved themselves mostly Into social functions, differing from other gather ings only in that fewer women take part, and there is no card playing or dancing, and while the talk is mostly about the suffrage, only very few do the talking. These gatherings are meant primarily for all sorts and con ditions of women. In a word, they are theoretically democratic, but i'll practice they are not so. The cook, the waitress, chambermaid, washwoman, and all the labor army of women and girls who give their lives to honest trial, that the more favored may be cOnlfOl tabie-au these are noticeably absent at our League meetings. and yet, as future voters, they stand on the democratic basis of perfect equality with all classes of women.
 Our Leagues will not grow as they should until We cut this social rope that hampers and binds, and let all the future voters in the Leagues. We hear it said, No one has kept them out; we want all the wOmen." That is true in measure. No one, or a dozen women keep the rest out, but the conditions do. To hold meetings at a few private homes, is to exclude many. The plain truth is that there is all immense amount of self-respect, keenness of intel lect, sensitiveness and good, red-blOoded l. Alo r,l who perform the humber tasks of the world, than is generally supposed. A woman or girl will not go to a private house whose inmates have had nothing to do with her as all equal, and never rexpect to have, just to hear about suf frage. No one set of women in all the world needs the vote so much as they whom our social system shuts out of our private houses. Good, true, and sin cerely democratic as they who help to form the Leagues may wish to be, and really are, the fact remains that a sense of being under a social COndescenSlOu, so to speak, is detestable to any right feeling person.
 That brings us to the point, which is, that public meetings should be the rule and not the exception. In our own town, there is Odd Fellows hall, a place digniied enough to suit the fastldlous, large enough for all ordinary gatherings; also central, and should we wish to serve refreshments, as no doubt we should at times, there are good facilities for doing so. This will break up the sense of clique or class, the last thing that should pervade the atmosphere of a Woman's Equal Franchise League.
 This is only a suggestion from one who holds the suffrage cause to be the most important question to the women and girls of today. All other work, valuable as 1t may be for the betterment of the sex, Is left handed work, leaving the right hand, which should hold the ballot, empty and almost useless.
 The Canaan Equal Franchise League should be the means of starting a class for the study of civics. We have got ten beyond the spectacular. The good, patient people, who keep right on work ing-plain, honest men, supporting their families, plain, honest women, cooking, washing, tending children, and doing all the dear, old, blessed things of ines timable value and worth to the home, the community and the world, are no doubt bit tired of finding suffrage lit erature ln their toe, on their cupboard shelves, and IL iIUop I>uDi.G places. We hat Lr,.c,> ~lj akera U. ,,,4J 4.I9 C, greoS of excellence t,II Aa WAuJ, when, and why the women should vote, but no one has told her how to vote, and the study of civics is now the practical, sensible need of the present, so as to be prepared for the future. On no one subject is there greater interest expressed than on that of starting a class, in the near future. for the study of civics. The class should be intended for men, wo-. men, and even children who are old enough to attend. The truth is, there are men Ill all towns who know as little about politics and civil government as do the majority of women. Such class, held in the evening, under the supervis- ion and management of thoroughly competent teacher, would be of sound, practical benefit to the town, as an off set to the endless succession of dances, bridge parties, stomach sOciables, and a dozen other social affairs that, though we'll enough as means of recreation, cause thoughtful people to ask, What does it all amount tO?"
 As for the Franchise League, its work for the dissemination of literature and Knowledge pertaining to the suffrage, should be regarded as finished Signing oNANA A0"eoO 01PSS "hOll pASkby uShI hlI IldN6 done so, is also nearly finished work. The interest in the suffrage will grow only as we make it grow along new lines that appeal to the practical, and by adopting sound reasonable methods that will show at the end of another year, real beneicial-to-al results. The day of the speaker-in-the-auto is over in this locality ; so Is the rain of flyers and leaflets or you can spell it reign-and banners and votes for women posters We have learned, even the most ignor- ant of us, what it is all about. Now let us get down to, "How to go about it'' if It should come upon us. The ignor- ance of the men and women on this question that is before us at this present time, namely the school, and how shall women be made voters after registering, is a case in point of how greatly the need IS of civic study for all, or nearly all. XXX.
 Canaan, Aug 12.
 "Truth is stranger than fction," NI tnH hn