New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-12-14
Ru Ida Husted Harper.

BY iQd F1NSANN 'Ni FN''
Whatever plan for the much-talked-ot
,eoreauizarion OF the Republican party
may be adopted will have % recognize
th,, claims Of women FOR political rights
II il is 10 succeed. Ever since these
demands took definite shape soon aIter
the close OF the Civil War the TWO dom
fnant parties have felt entirely sale lh
treating them with contempt ana nave
dome so TIL Democratic party mas pold-
" proclaimed itself the great exponent o.
the equal rights Of all the people, ana
without shame has steadily repudiated
the. rights Of one-half Of them. The fe-
l,u,bhcan party has founded its platform
on che supreme and sovereign right OF
avery lawful citizen 10 cast one free bal
Aoe IN all public elections and have that
bollot duly counted" and has unoiushlhE-
Nv said that this did not include lawtul
women citizens. Neither party can
Longer continue this injustice without
,being made TO suffer for IL. in past years
rhs women asking for the suffrage nave
been weak and friendless, no" they are
,stronS I'm numbers, with more IMAM
million votes 10 back their demand ana
"a big political parts behind them Never
AMIN will they have 10 endure without
heoress the contemptuous and humiiat-
kng treatment that both the doInlnahI
lnarties have meted out 10 them during
The last forty years.
Based on rs past record the Demo'lduV
marty has very small claim on the SUI
ifragists. 50 far as known to the pres
Asnt writer. no Democratic LeSlslaIuie
ever submitted an amendment Tor woman
xuffrage. The leaders OF the party nom
~rbomas jefferson TO william J. Bryan
rhave declared themselves opposed to H.
IND the women never have looked TO
them for any help. within the las' I'VE
wears. however, number OF state CON
ventions have put a plank In their pia'-
form asking for the submission OF the
question 10 the voters and probably theT
.reeo,a IN this respect is about the same
AS that Of the Republicans, while there
Is fqrtiaps the same proportion Oh favor
able sentiment in the individual men o.
the two parties.
Republican leaders. ON the contrary
beginning with Lincoln, have fuzzy recos-
n niYsd the Justice Of woman suffrage. Inc
leaders OF the AboHuonists were Us
strongest advocates. and during and Tor
many years after the Civil " al the Ieaa-
ling Republicans IN both houses Oh Con
stess were avowed believers ia the IIsht
OF women 10 the franchise. For THIS
,eason their continued refusal 10 secure
this right for women during all the years
they have been in power has been douDi!
renrehensibIe In New York State, FOR
instance. where the Republicans were IN
complete control OF every Legislature
until the last for fifteen years, 1t was
utterly impossible u have an amendment
subul.tted 10 the electors. ON the other
hand. while an the states where this mas
been done il was due TO Republican leg
jslatufes. il IL equally true that in every
state where such an amendment was de-
fested the Republicans carried the eiec-
lions that wear. And yet by pretended
friendship this party has always man
aged to retain a half-hearted allegiance
Of many prominent suffragists, daughters
of old ADolitionists or of those VINO
helped 10 reconstruct the Union atter us
darkest DAYS. women who chung to the
faith that a party which could give per-
sonal freedom to an entire race could
not fail eventually TO give political Tree
dom to that half Of the people who were
deprived of it. Faith, however, has
steadily weakened as the party Itself has
moro and more departed from its early
IDEALS: as its Old leaders have been re-
placed by those with totally different
standards. and as new generation Of
women have come into the movement
who call for less tradition and more per-
formanos
The climax was reached at the National
Republican Convention last June, when II
was known that the influence OF the
Roosevelt adherents had compelled the
acceptance OF a woman suffrage plank by
The resolutions committee and that when
this influence was removed the 'regu-
lars" took cut the blank! Charles w.
Fairbanks. its chairman, had always
been an avowed believer in the enfran-
chtsement OF women; just before going to
Chicago he had welcomed the State Suf-
frage Convention 10 indianapolis and dur
ing the convention the suffrage societies
Of that city gave garden party at ms
residence. The majority Of the committee
admitted freely the justice Of the women's
demand. and yet only five minutes TO pre-
sent It were allowed Miss Jane Adams
and her distinguished companions, and it
received no more recognition than il had
during the preceding forty years that the
women had been making il.
No one can hear Miss Adams tell of her
expeFience with that committee and fail
10 understand the burning Indignation
with which she left ii or to sympathize
with the eagerness with which she &C
cepted the freely proffered support OF the
new party. The only reason that thousands
inetead OF hundreds of sufrragists did not
follow her was because OF their deep re-
sentiment toward Theodore Roosevelt and
their intense distrust Of his sincerity In
this new role. Their resentment at his
discreditable record on this question dur