New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-02-10
Pour Tea Before the Battle.

rea was poured AT the beginning. Mrs.
Batch and Mrs. Harper drank several
cups together amicably Then Mrs. Riatch
Jumped into the ring. Her opening thrust
was mild. She just gave Mrs. Harper the
merry ha-ha. FOR having attacked the
IIinman clause Republican measure,
in her articles in The Tribune.
Mrs Harper must have been mapping
when that was printed, she SAID in mel
!ifuous tones
Not az all: not al al.' cried Mrs
Harper. her plumes trembling. But /
am perfectly non-partsan, and when !
engaged 70 write suffrage articles ] did
80 upon the understanding that ! vas TO
have a free hand"
Mrs. Blatch's next thrust was tnat she
did think IL funny that Mrs. Harper spe".
50 much ammunition upon that IIinman
clause. when IL never even came out o.
committee. 1t was another and much
simpler clause that was passed with the
measure why hadn't Mrs. Harper i'll
formed herschY
Mrs Harper rctorted tartiy that she
had informed hcrself-from "the Women =
Political World published by Mr.
Blatch's organization.
The suffrage amendment, with the
Human clause. was on the 'front.' PaS
OF your paper she said And Miss
Mills. Miss Harriet Nav Mills. OF the
Stete Suffrage Association, had u in an
article I'm The Woman Voter $780,
Miss Mills didn't know what she was
Il L.
Wei. how was to know that another
naturalization clause had been subs'itul-
edo" demanded Mrs Harper
1t wasn't 10 any OF the papers. AMI
when / began to'get Black Hand letters.
mcIoslng my articles. all written over in
red ink. Why don't you find out what
YOU are talking about? and so on. was
perfectly surprised"
The combatants paused 20 take breath
here. and then went ahead on another
tack leaving the audience hay. but with
general idea that though Mrs. iiarpes
wasn't ~ much against the clause that
went through as she was against the
Iinman one, she considered b mIstak.
20 have any In.
But I'm good loser" she explained.
I've had three fights In the last few
months, and I've lost 'em all. but I'm as
hot on the suffrage trail as ever | tried
10 keep the women from stampedng into
the Progressive party. and failcd-lots Of
them went: and they're pretty sorry now
and pretty sore over the way the party
has treated them. [ tried 70 keep tn"
National Suffrage Association from per-
hitting its officers L. mix In partisan
politics and / was voted down ten 10
one. And now I've failed on this nat
uralization clause question. But these
defeats don't hurt me, as long as We
sufrra cists are getting on TO victory.
The Progressives put a suffrage plank
in their platform. and that forced the
Democratic ard Republican parties TO do
like wise
"Not at all" exclaimed Mrs Batch
vino had sat sti,l as long as she was
going 10. The women. by being politi-
cally alive. forced the Democrats and
Republicans to recognize them. II wasn't
the Progressive party. Why, the indie
pendence League put suffrage in its plat
form. and Me two old parties didn't fol-
low suit
The League wasn't a strong orsanizs-
tionn cried Mrs. Harper
1t had TO be cheated out of the
mayoralty, which II won at the polls. and
il had more Senators and Assemblymcn
than the Progressive party has retorted
Mrs. Batch.
Mrs Harper reiterated that the Pro-
grCssive party had made suffrage planks
fashionable IL know I've attacked the
head Of that party" she said, and III
attack MIN again. III hit that head when
ever IL hobs up. for ! know his record on
suffrage"
Then Mrs Harper said some nice things
about President Taft. while Mrs. Batch
tCyed with her eyeglasses and obviously
restrained herself.
The third and last round OF the battle
was over whether suffrage would sweep
from the West TO the East. or from the
East TO the West Mrs. Batch said 1t
would do the latter, beginning with New
York In 1915.
Mrs. Harper was proving the opposite
when time was called and the combatants
sat douu