Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-14
THE EVENING STORY.
The Conversion Of Alder
man Murphy.
BY FLORENCE wooIsToN.

| Schwind put the turkeY-red cushion over
the window sill and leaned out. She had
| few pleasures and il was a diversion 10
| look into the street She liked to watch
| the heavily laden trucks on the way 10
the river; she enjoyed calling greeting
| to her neighbers as they passed; ana
above all, she could keep an eye on the
several little Schwinds distributed con-
spicuously throughout the alley. Hardy
had she taken her place when there came
| a loud rap at the door
| Mother of Pearl she said, Il bet II
one of them settlement teachers"
The woman who stood without, how
| ever. was a stranger.
| Pardon me, madam she asked with
the air of a professional questioner, Il
came to inquire whether you believe IN
equal suffrage?''
| IF you mean that sufferin should be
equal, + guess 1 do" replied Mrs. Schwind
| hes;tatingly.
II thirk you do not quite get my point;
| By equal suffrage mean the poiitlcai
| enfranchisement of women. Do you be-
| lieve that women should vote?
Il Amt hardly thought much about 1t
yet" said Mrs Schwind You see, I've
got twelve children Hvin'. and one that
| died on me, and It keeps me- pretty busy
! Won't you come imp
The canva-sser for the Manhattan Wom-
ems Elective Franchise Association de-
clineC with Il gesture. n am sure that
when you do think about it you will JOIN
| our ranks. Consider how much more
| you could do for your children II you
| We're only a citizen.
| Mrs. Schwind liked the idea, for imme-
diately visions of herself riding beside
Jim on the Annual Excursion OF the
Braves Of the Wigwam" came to her
mind.
| II suppose she said. both Jim and
| me could go to the chowders, and II we
could get to take two or three of the
children it would help considerable. !
! amt gotSno objection at all. jest amt
never Thought about ii.
Then you simply must join our suf-
| frage club. Come over to the big mass
meeting at Solenskis hall tomorrow and
| we'll tell you all about it. -
| Mrs. Schwind resumed her position at
| the window from force of habit, but the
sights and sounds of the street had lost
their attraction for her. In all her life
she had never suspected that there was
even a remote possibility of joining Jim
| in politics. and now she was dreaming Of
participating in the gayest revels at Tom
kMurplfy.s- Tom was such good friend
FtostffenE He came to the rescue when
Fever thereTNas trouble. 1t was due to
him that Jim had his new job. The pos
sibility. of doubling these benefits was
very alluf1ng.
VI suppose she unused, they'd have
I Monster. Ladies Outings and little Tom
could ride in the tally-ho in my lap.
Mebbe + could get ito the Red Mems and
Lady sduaws' Masked Ball. too
| : After supper, when the older little
clubs and. the. younger ones were
Easleep, she unmarked with obvious non
cha1ance, There was a lady here today,
jim askin' me to VOTE
I; ~ a =. N:
Exclaimed, .4ieres Here. Where won't
i them suffrase. women folks sc next?
1oId. better look OUT, Ma; they're
4 l"Mebbe they be;3 but I'm goin' to the
meetint tomorrow. anyhow. 1t kinder
seems as though they might be some
| thin init" she replied. half wistfully as
she hung I'D the dishcloth
WELL all got to say is you'd better
look ont, ma" replied Jim, as he re-
summed: hts paper,
Mrs.. SchWind was one of the first ar.
fsfyais at S0leuskis the next day. She fol-
loved the.akers with eager interest
TWAS all,s0s4sew, so different. When the
chairman concluded by SAYING:
Now, ladies, We have done with theory.
| To accomplish this thing we must go into
politics. We have begun by opposing
every local candidate who is against
Votes for Women Mr.. Thomas Muir
ply. the alderman of this district, is most
| unfavorably disposed toward us; in fact
| he was distinctly rude to US. Does any
| one here know him?" x
Mrs. Schwfnd was filed with conflicting
emotions She had known Tom Murphy
| for years. She could easily guess what
| epithets he had hurled at his callers, and
| she was ashamed for him. She remem-
bered, nevertheless, that he was kind. He
paid their rent when Jim was SICK and it
| was he who gave little Mabel a funeral
which was still the talk of Pearl alley.
When the chairman second time i'm
pressively demanded. Does any one here
know him?" she faltered, II do but he
amt never done nothing to me-"
Il should say, answered the chairman,
that any man who opposed your enfran-
chisement had done something to you.
We must look at this thing impersonaIly,
as men do.
After some further discussion it was
voted that six residents of the district be
appointed a committee to see what effect
militant tactics would have ON the Hon.
orable Tom Murphy. Mrs. Schwind did
not know what militant tactics Were but
her bosom swelled with pride when her
name was announced as one of the six. A
wave of nervousness succeeded the rush
of joy, however, when the chairman eX-
planned the duties of the committee.
What they says all right" she
thought, "but they amt never seen Tom
mad"
When Jim came home that night he
was very curious about the meeting. and
his greeting was: We'll ma [ suppose
you've got things all fixed Mp. But you're
gettin' pretty fat to be sandwich. I /
seen one of them in the streets today. |
with lot of printing about voting
Much 2 experience had taught Airs. |
sScifwind the art of omission in family
life, and she replied carelessly, "Oh, I
had a good enough time.
She was far from feeling, the unconcern
that her manner bespoke however, and
that night she dreamed that they were
dispossessed. While she sat on the side |
walk, her children and her furniture
about her. Tom Murphy passed and jeered
at her: Now let them voting women pay
your remit!
The depression caused by this dream
possessed her when she arose in the
morning.
There's somethin' in what they said,
jest the same, she murmured obstinate
ly. But Jim will be awful mad, and
generally knows"
Although not church members frequent
christenings brought the Schwinds into
contact with st. Johns Chapel Before
the children returned from school she ran
over and laid the case before the rector.
IT see." he said, firmly. Temptation
comes in many ways to women. This is
n new one. Mrs. Schwind, do You con-
slider the Virgin Mary great woman"
Mrs Schwind nodded.
Well triumphantly. as though he had
achieved a great moral victory, ''she did
not win her glory by mixing with the af-