Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-11-24
MRS. PANKHURST'S PLEA
FOR MILITANT METHODS.
Her Last Lecture in America
Delivered Yesterday at
Columbia Theater.
English Suffragette Justifies Cam
paign by British Women for the
Elective Franchise.

MIS-. EHlIneIlHe fdnkHuTSt, l6aUer OF the
English militant suffragists, delivered a
lecture, the last to be given in Amer
lea during her present tour. at the CO.
lumbia Theater yesterday afternoon. She
was greeted by large crowd. in which
women predominated. She was intro
duced by Miss Alice Paul. Her recep-
ton was enthusiastic.
Mrs. Pankhurst. <naQdishly gowned, and
smiling during almost her entire address,
told in detail of the events leading up to
the adoption of militant methods in Eng
land. She said that when men adopted
the same methods used by the English
women they were loudly praised. She
spoke of the Ulstermen in Ireland as an
example of this
No Other Way, She Declares.
you are constantly asking the ques-
ton, why have you adopted militancy?
We answer that in England there is no
other way" said Mrs. Pankhurst. I'VE
tried other methods first and found them
useless. We begged. We cajoled. But
those days have gone. Now We look men
in the face and demand of them: Who
gave you the right to say whether We
women shall have the vote or not?'
Some say We should put our faith In
evolution. But while evolution is in
progress thousands of women and little
children are dying pitiful deaths that we
could prevent If we could help give them
justice. Should we wait in the face of
such conditions? We do not think So
We feel that our fight Is justified.
Il am supposed to be In jail, and 1t cost
me nearly my life to be here. But l and
other women are proving that not even
all the organized forces Of government
can keep us in prison longer than we
want to be there. Naturally, we can't
less We feel that we are absolutely right.
And we do. We are fighting for the
greatest thing in human life-liberty.
Good for Both Sexes.
THE attitude Of militancy has been
good for men and women. The men who
favored woman suffrage used to patronize
us; now they work with US as comrades.
There is need of a women's civil war in
England. The woman point of view has
been left out. Woman's grievances have
been forgotten so long that civil war is
needed. We are making the same fight
against an obstinate British government
that the American revo-utionaries made.
We are attacking private property, as
they did. Only when you touch the indi-
viduafs purse can you put the necessary
upon government.
But there are deeper reasons for mill
fancy. l say, better broken windows than
broken lives. Social conditions as affect
ing women are getting worse and worse;
women are becoming more and more de-
graded; the evil effects are extending to
the children 1t Is only by revolutionary
methods that We can arrest the rapid
race degeneration in our country
In present conditions women can't do
YIN ha Oh
asserted. after describing the prevalence
of social diseases. 1T is impossible
for Englishwomen to be healthy mothers .
Get Rid of Homes.
'They can sell themselves into that
trade at the age Of sixteen by act of
parliament" she said. When we went
to tell the house of commons that they
threw us into prison and told us we
ought to stop at home. But we could
not stop at home as long as We felt we
had such grave duties abroad. So far
from stopping at home most of us have
gotten rid Of our homes
Mrs. Pankhurst discussed the lSWS af-
fecting women in England as affording
legal excuses for their revolution.
These inequalities come out of age
long subjection-from an age when wom-
en- were property. The initial mistake
the alphabet
Mrs. Pankhurst last night dined with
Mrs. John ]. White at her home. 24O3
Massachusetts, avenue Other guests at
the dinner were Miss Alice Paul. Miss
Lucy Burns, Mrs. Rheta Childe Dorr
and Mrs. Jessie Hardy Stubs. Mrs.
Pankhurst left at 1890 o'clock this morn
ing for New York. where she will hold
another suffrage meeting and address a
congress of physicians. She will sail for
England Wednesday.