The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-01-03
CONNECTICUT
 SUFFRAGE NEWS
CA. e. Porritt.l

Not only in Connecticut but all over the United States the Sufragists are
 confidently looking forward to a Hap | py New ear. The outstanding feat
 ure of 1913 was the granting of the vote to the women of Illinois. The | imp portance of this success for Woman Suffrage can hardly be -estimat-. | ed. Not only did 1t bring the move rnent across the Mississippi but by giving the right to vote for presiden-, I tiaI candidates to- oyer two million l more women, it made of woman suf- frage a definitely national party ques- ton and made the woman vote a de- sirable prize for any of the great na-
 tional parties that adopts it as g prominent plank iD it's national plat l form. Besides Illinois. the territory of
 Alaska was added to the suffrage map. and Iceland and Denmark have adopt ed woman suffrage and thus extend E ed the territory in Europe in which women vote. Besides these complete successes. ten States took one step to- lwards enfranchising their women. Bills for amending their constitutions
 were passed by the Legislatures of lNevada, North and South Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin, Michigan. New York, New Jersey and Iowa. In
 Wisconsin and Michigan the amend lments were defeated when submitted Ito the voters, and in New Jersey the I bill was not published as required, 90 days before the election in Novern- Der, and will consequently have to pass the Legislature again. Hence Ithere are seven States in which con lstitutiona1 amendments are pending
 In 1914 there are four States where l the suffrage amendment will be sub- nnitted to a popular vote. These are l Nevada. North and South Dakota and Montana The Suffragists are conf1- dent of adding all these western states to the suffrage territory. Tn rj Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio sigma lures are now being collected in or der that suffrage amendments may be submitted by means of the initia- ] tive If these petitions for initiative are successful it is quite within the l probabilities that these three States may also be won over for Votes for
 Women. No further action on the IconstitutfonaI amendment can be ta- ken in New York until 1915.
 While all this work is going on in the individual States suffragists are more and more concentrating their lhopes and expectations on the action have plainly shown that this move lnent for Votes for Women is a. na- itionaI and not a sectional issue. It is as much a national issue as was the T old issue of slavery, and the women lof 2. State which has granted woman Isuffrage will never rest so long as any
 A American women are left uneufrar- lchised. Instead then of scattered ef- forts and divided strength. it seems II the line of greatest economy for the isuffragfsts Of all the States to pour their chief efforts into work for an amendment to the United States Con I stitution that shall bring the whole movement at once to a successful is- lsuk.
 Bills for woman suffrage amend tments were introduced last season in Ikoth House and Senate. The Semitic IWonaAn Suffrage Committee reported I favorabIy; but nothing further was done. At the opening of the regular sessions these bills were again intro- iGuced, and 1t is expected that the II House of Representatives will create Ia women suffrage committee in res lponse to the pleas of the suffragists presented at the hearings on Decem- Der 3rd. Should the amendment be successful all that will remain to be II done will be to obtain the ratification of the amendment by the State Legis- Ilatures-not difficult matter in view of the readiness with which the States tf ratified the amendment for the direct Ielection3 of Senators.
 In the meanWhile Connecticut suf- ffragists will keep hard at work a throughout the year. They will sece ond the efforts of the CongressionaI l Union at Washington and at the pres ent time they are addressing letters to Congressman Henry, Chairman of the Rules Committee, asking him to lconsider favorably the plea for a Wo- man Suffrage Committee of the II House. They will also go steadily on Il with the work of converting their own II State It is of the utmost import ance that the political parties should officially endorse the demand for wo-
 man suffrage, and much stress will be
 laid on the work of convincing the I politicians of the practical value to ' the political parties of this endorse ment. No legislature will be in ses-
 sion this year, but propaganda work can go on just as energetically as Ithough the Legislature had a woman suffrage bill before it.