The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-08-20
THE OPEN FORUM.
Wedding Rings and Thimbles in the
Melting Pot.

To the Edito-: Having heard and read
so much about the suffrage melting
pot" I was interested to know whether
/ or not il had proved popular. knowing
as l do that most men and women are
opposed TO equal suffrage. l had believed
that the appeal for jewelry and curios
for the melting pot would prove futile
/ Newspapers for some weeks made a
great TODD about the melting pot,
telling that so many things had been re-
ceived that 1t was decided TO hold an
auction last Friday at the Philadelphia
suffrage headquarters. on Chestnut
street near Seventeenth The suffrag1sts
have not since announced the result OF
/ this auction. Why? Because it was fail
ure. and sutf-agistS are not admitting
| failures publicly. On account OF the
failure Friday. was told at their head
quarters. another auction is planned two
weeks hence But meanwhile. here Is
what I saw in the melting pot on that
| day:
The suffrage melting pot consisted OF
| two shallow vi cker trays. one for gold
and one for silver OF eighteen gold rings
| in one tray. nine were wedding rings!
! In fact outside Of thimhles, there were
more wedding rings visible on auction
Iday than OF any other single piece Of
jewelry.
Besides the wedding and other rings,
the gold tray contained two open faced
ladies gold filled watches, two brace
lets. two ladies' watch chains. neck
lace. a mans watch Grain, two pairs OF
grandfathers' spectacles, child's silver
| knife. a ring box, and several other
trinklets.
There were seen women in the place
at that time.
| The silver tray contained teapot, a
Ibabv's mug, napkins rings, a cigar
holder, match boxes, several pairs OF
scissors, many thimbles, and some table
ware.
II the popularity and extent of the suf-
! frage sentiment is represented by this
! assortment Of curios in the Philadelphia
melting pot II is hardly worth noticing.
But It is significant, perhaps, that rings,
especially wedding rings, and thimbles
are the most easily sacrificed tokens
that the suffragists can gather.
| Last spring one Of the suffrage leaders,
who has expressed most feministic views
as to what suffrage would do to the
home and marriage, threw her wedding
ring into the Holland Canal. Nine have
cast theirs into the suffrage melting
pot for the cause" Four or FIVE hun
dred thousand married Philadelphia
women, however, still retain them.
There is every evidence that this wide
ly heralded melting pot was unpopular;
that 1t was a sore disappointment
miserable failure here; that few women
could be persuaded TO give up the we'd
ding ring, the emblem OF love, and the
thimble, the symbol of service. Was the
suffrage melting pot merely hoax? And
another proof of how much easier 1t Is
for suffragi to plan than to execute?
Twas ever thus. The great majority OF
women are so indifferent to the elusive
ballot with its bother, its burden, and
its battle, that the dean Of sufrragist
writer's herself confesses that two gen
erations OF workers have already grown
white haired in the struggle and three
more will~pass away before the battle
is won in some Of the States"
| Though another TODD was made by
the suffragists about arrangements hav-
ing been made at the United States Mint
at Philadelphia to assay and reduce the
| suffrage trtnkets TO coin, a inquiry