The Washington herald., 1914-11-01
BY IDA Hustled HARPER.


The anti-suffragists are not game
sports, hut when they lose they immedI-
Rtely begin TO cry fraud" gag rule"
illegal" Unconstitutional" and abuse
the victor. When the suffragists are
bOwled over they get up smiling and
Immediately go into training for another
contest To be sure they have had a
longer experience in defeats than the
''antis," because they have been in the
fray about fifty years longer, but prob
ably the actual number is no larger, as,
with the exception of the victories won
by the ''antis' and their allies in Wiscon-
sin. Michigan and Ohio, they have had
continuous reverses during the last five
years. Perhaps they really deserve some
credit for keeping up the struggle at all
with the odds so vastly against them, and
they might be entitled to sympathy if
only they would fight fair, but they
don't
The latest Waterloo of the exclusively
feminine branch of the anti-suffragists
has just occurred at the annual meeting
OF the Pennsylvania Federation of
Women's Club in Pittsburgh, when their
right flank, their left flank and most of
their center went down before the enemy.
The rumbling of the suffrage artillery
was heard through all the meeting, as the
favorable sentiment cropped out in
speech after speech, and when the gen.
eral engagement took place on the last
day and the battle of votes ,Tyas ended
the record showed $50 for woman suffrage,
twenty-eight opposed and fifteen or tEen-
" remaining on the barbed-wire fence.
The delegates to any convention are sup
posed TO represent the sentiment of the
organizations that sent them, and these
were the representatives of more than
5000 women Mrs. Horace Brock,
former president of the State Federation
and now president of the State Anti
Suffrage Association. led the fight against
the resolution from the platform, but
with all this official prestige could secure
only per cent of the votes, and two of
these were of suffragists who were
swayed by her impassioned argument
that the action was unconstitutional" "
Whether it was or not, II a majority of
even one had been opposed to suffrage
the resolution could have been defeated.
At the next session the "antis" brought in
a protest to which their utmost efforts
had been able to obtain only ten sigma
lures.
May Try Secession.
It is said now that Mrs. Brock will
use her influence to bring about 4 Sc
Cession Of clubs from the State Fedora
tiOn. but the general opinion seems
that this will result merely in the
withdrawal of two anti-sunrage socie-
ties which came in only few months
ago. possibly to perform the service
of Mrs. harrington with her broom. 1t
will be in a small way like the case
of Mrs. Humphrey Ward. The most
influential oranization OF women in
Great Britain is the National Coun-
Gil and Union of Women Workers, com
posed of 1856 national societies of all
kinds, with l.43l branches. Since 1902
II has annually adopted a strong reso-
luton in favor of woman suffrage, but
last year Mrs. Ward was determined
this should not be done. She made an
eloquent speech Of several thousand
words, but was able to muster only
forty-four votes. Then she snatched
away her little society Of 127 members
like a brand from the burning. and the
National Association went right on