The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-08-30
CALLS SUFFRAGE
WORKERS Snare
Miss Pitt Says Only ThreeEm-
ployed Women in Every
Hundred Want Ballot.
GIVES FIGURES AS PROOF
AMT" Bases Assertion on Canvass and
on Own Arguments Advanced
by Advocates of Vote.
By MISS NJ. EMMILINNE PITT.

By MISS NJ. EMMILINNE PITT.
Former secretary Iron City Central Trades Council.
Of Pittsburgh. field secretary Pennsylvania Asso
ciation opTosed 10 Woman Suffrage.
One of the most plausible pleas made
by the woman suffragist is that the self
supporting woman, who completes with
man in industry or business, should
have the franchise.
Obviously, the woman who works. her
self. should know whether the vote is
desirable thorough canvass OF thou
sands of women employed in practically
every occupation open TO Pennsylvania
feminine workers has extended over a
period OF several years. with the result
that a great mass OF data has been gath
cred on this subject by the anu-suffrage
workers. The import of this statistical
study is that about three working women
out Of every hundred consider woman
suffrage desirable.
Anti" figures that are gathered on
the firing line" are always considered
to have a partisan bias, and there is no
use in producing them until the show
downs" come before the legislature or at
the polls. controversy over figures at
this time would be no more interesting
to the general public than are some of
the wild war rumors that are premature
ly put out by the French, Germans or
English.
Attempt to HypnotIEe Public"
The suffrag!sts have always been in
the habit of using imposing numbers in
an attempt to hypnotic an unwilling
public into the belief that woman suf-
fTage is surely coming" when as a mat
ter Of fact its history in recent years
the overwhelming defeats at the polls in
Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. its repeal
in Switzerland. and its population last
week by the Swedish Parliament-is a
record of rejection from some Of the
more forward looking commemorative
in the world.
One Of the suffrage slogans that has
been introduced at every recent conven-
ton is Eight million women who are
wage workers demand the ballot for
their protection"
OF course. it is not set forth that the
said eight million" Cs.075.772 according
to the CensUs) includes every feminine
worker in the United States over the age
Of ten years, Nor vet is It considered
good policy by the suffragists to tell us
that the largest proportion of these fem
mime workers in any age period. are
those between sixteen and twenty. where
the percentage is 500; and where the bal
lot would be utterly useless unless wom-
en- were allowed to vote before they were
twenty-one.
Neither is it mentioned that 249 per
cent. or 2.m3.9Sl OF tho eight million
are negroes. nor that the Pennsylvania
sufTragists hired a giant auditorium last
spring at an advanced expense Of 500
to rally the negro women of Philadel-
phia to the equal franchise standard, and
got Just four. il is said, to attend the
Would-be convention that had to be
abandoned, Even the race Of women
who do the hardest manual work and
most often compete with men at tasks
requiring great muscular exertion. could
not be persuaded to listen to their
''emancipators."
Women Workers Indifferent.
OF the feminine workers. over half. or
4, 337 are engaged in agricultural pur-
suits or employed as domestic strvants
Obviously, the ballot could not benefit
either OF these classes. Neither agricuI-
tural workers nor domestic servants
come under the provisions of the work
mans compensation acts. limitation OF
hours, and other legislation for the pro-
lection OF women in industry. This ma
pority OF women workers then, ballot
or no ballot must depend on the direct
action OF masters and mistresses, and
not on the piece Of paper in a ballot
box"
Inc S,ESbSSl FEMININE workers engaged
in the manufacturing industries. trade, |
transportation. professional and public !
service and clerical occupations cannot |
be deeply interested in woman suffrage, |
or the total number Of suffragists ac-
knowledged last month, 654.0O0. would !
represent more than one-hfth the num- |
Der of such workers.
No matter how we compare the total |
suffrsgist figures with women workers. |
the result makes their eight million"
claim ridiculous.
The number of women who demand to |
be "emancipated' is only per cent Of !
the PASS. 754 women over voting age in
America-three women in a hundred the |
same proportion we got in our canvasses
of Pennsylvania women. II Is less than
one-third the number Of negro women
painfully occupied: about one-seventh Of
the -four million women who vote now"
in suffrage pamphlets. The actual
number enfranchised in nine States, 70