New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-06-23
BABY INSURANCE
SUFFRACISTS' AIM
Would Make the Fathers
Work, in Place of Pen
siOns for Mothers.
FAVOR LAW TO
STOP DISCRETION
Compulsory Registration OF
Births Also Promised When
Women Vote.


This is the new slogan of the suf-
fragists. adopted yesterday in honor
of the queen Of BABY Week"
Maternity insurance. compulsory
registration of births, stricter main
tenance laws, cleaner milk and better
schools are among the benefits. women
propose to bestow upon babies by
means of their votes.
at is primarily for the sake OF
their children that women want the
vote anyway" said Mrs. Mary Ware
bennett, secretary of the National
Woman Suffrage Association, yester-
day. 1--WE don't want the vote for
what we will get out of it ourselves,
and we certainly wouldn't go to all
this trouble for the sake of getting
laws TO help the men.
What will the women do for babies
when they get the vote? Well, one
of the first things will be to force
the passage of federal law against
deserticn. Under existing laws. any
man who wants to get rid of the
bother of supporting his wife and
family can just step across the state
border and the law cannot touch him.
"This is a condition which directly
affects the welfare of babies, because
it is usually on account of the baby
that a husband deserts his family,
and the baby is the one that suffers
from the ensuing poverty. Sutfragists
do not believe in mothers pensions.
They believe in making fathers work.
another thing the women want 20
establish is compulsory registration of
babies. There is no federal law TO
compel registration of births, and in
great many states there is either 10
law at all or it is not enforced. There
IL absolutely no record of a great num-
Der of children who are born without
the attendance Of physician.
another question that is very dear
10 the hearts Of suifragists is that Of
the little mother. It is unfortunately
ton. If it could, we would soon put
law on the statute books forbidding
girls Of ten and twelve to be burdened
with the care of baby during the
hours when they ought to be playing.
The problem IS one Of poverty. not OF
social usaGes, however, and il can't be
solved by one law"
Mrs. Waiston Hill Brown. president
o. the Child Welfare League, said that
the most important thing women's
votes could do for babies was to OBJ
tain the passage of federal law for
maternity insurance.
I'VE do not believe in mothers pen
sions,' she said. eve believe each
man should support his own babies.
We believe in encouraging the feeling
Of parental responsibility, which is too
often lacking, anyway, in these care
less days. Our society is at present
working on the matter Of insurance for
babies"
Mrs. James Lees Laidlaw said that
she hoped women would use their votes
to force the passage of the eugenic
marriage law.
Mrs. Harriet Stanton Blatch con-
fessed her great desire was primary
education. When women get the vote
she is going TO urge them to use 1t to
make better schools for babies.
Nathan Straus gave orders yesterday
that attendants at all his pasteurized
milk depots on the recreation piers and
in the parks should supply free milk
to-day for all babies brought to the
milk stations. SO that nothing may be
lacking to convince baby that he IS
king for week. the attendants will
warm the milk for each applicant.
There are ten Straus depots and
seventy-seyen ordinary milk stations
in the city. At fifty of the stations
there will be special exercises to-day
and a delegation Of city officials, start
ing from the Health Centre. at ll9
Washington st., will visit the stations
The Straus depots are at Battery
Park, City Hall Park, Seward Park
the Educational Alliance, Roof Garden
Central Park; piers at East Sd St.
East oath ST., East 1l2th ST., Barrow
st. and West 50th s..