The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1912-10-24
Third Term Candidate Was Con-
siste1tIy Their Enemy Till
He Needed Their Votes.
COULD HAVE CARRIED OHIO
But Bio Bull Moose Took to the Yer
mont Woods-Noted Woman Ex-
poses His Change Of Front.
By IDA Hustled HARPER.


new constitution. Forty-two amend
ments were on the ballot, and all were
adopted except the one for woman
suffrage!
Ohio Is one Of the banner" Progress
sive states, and Mr. Roosevelt expects
to secure Its electoral vote. In order
to do this a plurality of the electors
must be Progressives, and they could
therefore have easily carried the SUI
frage amendment If all the others had
voted against 1t, as the vote on the
constitution was very light, only
few hundred thousand out Of more
than a 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, 30 let every
Progressive vote for the woman suf'
frage amendment?" Did he do this?
On the contrary, he completely 1g'
nored the matter, although he passed
through Ohio he very day Of the cleo
ton.
A few days before, at st. Johnsbury,
W, Mr. Roosevelt had devoted large
part of his speech to showing how
strongly he believed in the ballot for
women and how anxious he was for
them to get 1t. The question was not
an issue there or likely to be, but 1t
was a vital issue in Ohio, to be settled
in four days, and yet not by spoken or
written word did he show to the peo-
ple\oi Ohio that he knew Of its e1.
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
1t, and in the platform woman SUI
frage plank was conspicuous by its alb
sence. The Progressive party pledges
itself to the task of securing equal suf-
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. AS 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 his
arm. she looked up into his face and
said, 'I beg Of you to be the emanci-
pator Of woman as Lincoln was the
emancipator Of the slave" He was not
resembling Lincoln so much in those
days as he Is at present, and he re-
mained totally unmoved by her ap-
peals
Scant Courtesy at White House.
Shortly before he left the White
House several officers Of the 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
fee. required them to state their busi-
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
a petition of a million names will that
influence youa" No" he replied. mot
one particle"
That was in 1909. The next year a
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-
ment has no more implacable enemy
than the Outlook, and Mr.. Roosevelt
Is on the editorial staff. Last Feb
ruary he had In that magazine 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,
"In 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
publication, when Mr.. Roosevelt had
definitely decided to make the contest
for the presidential nomination, all his
scruples about forcing suffrage on
hostile and Indifferent majority van.
ished in thin air because million and
a half already had votes and the colo;
mel wanted them, and he knew they
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