Norwich bulletin., 1914-06-06
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Secured by votsIess Women.

Mir. Editor: think MT Holdsworth,
 in his letter of the 4th, must refer to the Consumers league 55 hour bill for
 women and children which went into
 enect January 1st, 1914. It is meas
 ure reducing hours. but not pay, thus
 indirectly raising wages MT. Holds
 worth says "aH piece workers got an
 increase of five per cent" That di-
 rect raise was given by the employers
 and not by the law. The employers
 realized that the piece workers would
 have lessened wages under the nevf
 law
 The direct connection between the
 Do hour bill and the voters, is that the
 voters voted for the members of the
 legislature who voted for the bill.
 Who presented this bill? A non-par-
 tisan body largely composed of vote less women, the Consunners' League
 of Connecticut Was it necessary for
 them to have votes to have the bill reported fayorably and passed quite easily It was not.
 MT. Holdsworth says: The vote has secured the factory acts which pro-
 tect women from dangerous machinery give her decent toilet Accommodations.
 clean water. fire escapes. etc, and secured the compensation law" Whose
 voteE The mems. Was the woman's
 vote necessary No. Then why does
 the passage of the present 55 hour law secured without her vote show tue great need of votes for women. If no stronger argument can be put for
 ward" for woman suffrage than this
 law" secured without womans vote,
 the rest must be weak
 The Consumers league legislative report says, the passage of this bill
 secures certain privileges in regard
 and children" and Incidentally will
 secure the same privileges for many
 men" the voters, men, will secure Bprfyileges through law passed for
 the special protection of the yoteless
 women and children.
 Mir. Holdsworth says that the req
 son mercantile establishments have a 5S hour law against 55 hours in man macturing and mechanical establish ments is because there are more vot- bhtrary statement Would not com mon sense suggest that the tremen- dQus difference in the righteousness of the work accounted for the difference ini hours. understand that the act usl work in the stores occupies much les5s than ffty hours.
 According to MT. Holdsworth. the eight hour day for women, the min
 mum wage law, and the maternity benefit "can, and will be introduced in Cdnnecticutfwhen women get the vote.-
 Have they proved desirable?
 Being a socialist, NIT. Holdsworth
 would naturally favor the mothers epena1on law. which is socialistic in tOi4e1iSS-. 4SOtu llldl diio lAle Illlnl.1uIu wage are still prob1ematic in their ssuccess- If Australia has the lowest death rate of any country in the world Rboth in children and in adults is it aproved tofbe due to the woman's vote ! and the maternity benefit, and not stol the conditions of climate and life. Is the. death rate noticeably lower Fin; our four oldest woman suffrage astates. Wyoming and Colorado. Utah land Idaho. than in our male suffrage lstates?
 Why not study the conditions in Australia and New Zealand in non tpsrtisan spirit, without reference to sthe women alone. but to the well being sof the whole communities, the agri- cultural. social and labor conditions tThe last are very lively in New Zea- sland just now. It is a good thing Eto get outside of the little whirlwind hof woman suffrage and study the re- asults of the governmental and social Eistic experiments In these young coun- | tries. One comes back with a mind waEned. refreshed and broadened to our own problems
 AN ANTI-SUFFRAGIST. Norwich. June 5, 1914.