New Ulm review., 1912-10-30
ROOSEVELT BAIT
FOR SUFFRAG|STS
Third Term Candidate Was Con.
sistentIy Their Enemy TIL
He Needed Their Votes.
COULD HAVE CARRIED OHIO
But Bic Bull Moose Took to the veN
mont Woods-Noted Woman Ex-
poses Ills Change Of Front.
BY IDA husTED HARPER.

BY IDA HUeTED HARPER.
The Progressive party had its flrst
opportunity to show it, loyalty to the
woman suffrage plank in its platform
when the vote was taken In Ohio on
new constitution. Forty-two amend
ments were on the ballot. and all were
adopted except the one for woman
suffrage!
Ohio 10 one Of the banner" Progress
8sive states. and Mr.. Roosevelt expects
to secure ito electoral vote. In order
to do this plurality Of the electors
must be Progressives, and they could
therefore have. easily carried the SUI
frage amendment II all the others had
voted against it, az the vote on the
constitution was very light. only .
few hundred thousand out of more
than million who were eligible. Did
he issue any orders to this effect? Did
he say to his followers: "Now, here is
our first chance to show the women
that we mean business. OF course II
we win in November we will give the
franchise to all in the United States
but Just now we can make good by
giving it to those In Ohio, so let every
Progressive vote for the woman sui
frage amendment" Did he do this!
On the contrary, he completely t.
nored the matter, although he passed
through Ohio the very day OF the slsc-
tion..
/ 4 few days bs(ore, at st. Johnsbury.
W, Mr. Roosevelt had devoted . large
part Of his speech 70 showing how
strongly hs believed In the ballot for
women and how anxious he was for
them to ct It. The question was n6s
n issue thses o. likely to b. but Il
was vital issue In Ohio. 70 b settled
II four days. and yet not BY spoken or
written word did he show 70 the Deo'
Die OF Ohio that he knew Of it, q.
istence.
Two days after the Progressive par
ty In Ohio permitted the defeat Of this
amendment its state convention met.
II any women were elected delegates
the press dispatches failed to mention
It, and in the platform woman sur
frage plank was conspicuous by its ab.
sence. "The Progressive party pledges
itself to the task of securing equal SUI.
frage to men and women alike" says
its national platform, and Ohio has
just given the first example OF the
way it apparently means to keep that
pledge.
In Mr.. Roosevelt's second term the
suffragists determined to make every
possible effort to secure an indorse-
ment from him. Az Miss Susan b.
Anthony's most eloquent letters to
him received no answer, she went In
person to see him in November. 1905,
Just four months before her death
with all her powers Of persuasion she
pleaded with him TO recommend In his
forthcoming message some recognition
OF woman's claim to . voice in the
government. Laying her hand on hfa
arm, she looked up into his face and
said, II beg Of you to be the emanct'
pator Of woman ~ Lincoln was the
emancipator Of the slave" He was not
resembling Lincoln 20 much In those
days % he 10 at present, and he re-
mained totally unmoved by her ar
psals.
seant Courtesy at White House. =
Shortly before he left the Whits
House several officers of tho National
Suffrage association, realizing his
great influence on public opinion.
made one last effort to have him
speak a favorable word. He came into
the outside lobby Of the executive of:
nee, required them to state their bust.
ness before the crowd waiting to see
him and would hardly give them
chance to speak, but kept saying, Go
. and get another state He shrugged
his shoulders and turned on his heel.
and then they said, IF we will get up
q petition of million names will that
influence you?" NO" he replied, mot
one particle"
That was in 1909. The next year q
letter from him was read at an anti.
suffrage meeting In the Berkeley thea
ter, New York, in which he said: Il
am very tepid on woman suffrage"
The cause Of woman's enfranchise.
rment has no more implacable enemy
than the Outlook, and Mr.. Roosevelt
fs on the editorial staff. Last Feb
ruary he had in that magazine a ten.
column article entitled ''Woman's
Rights" but the only right considered
was that Of the suffrage. The article
was such an excellent exposition OF
the attitude Of women who do not
Wish to vote that the Anti-suffrage as
sociation ordered copies for distribu
ton. In this article he said again.
"1n our western states where the suf
frage has been granted to women am
unable to see that any great differ
ence has been caused as compared
with neighboring states"
And yet just four months after this
qualification, when Mr.. Roosevelt had
adefinitely decided to make the contest
Tor the presidential nomination, all his
iscruples about forcing suffrage on q
hostile and Indifferent majority van.