The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1914-07-07
WILL WOMEN VOTE
DERMIT me as one of your old
time readers to make a few

comments upon your editorial
of May 4, entitled "The Parade anc
the Ballot" First, / would suggest
that, instead of spending time and
thought in specializing upon the ques-
ton as to whether women will vote
in any numbers if they have a chance,
and secondly, whether their vote will
do any good, yea make inquiry on
these points in the states where they
row have the franchise. Woman stuff
rage in the United States has long
since passed its experimental stage.
Women have been voting in this
country for forty-fve years. Wyom-
ing, after having had an experience
with woman suffrage as territory
for five years in 1869 refused ad-
mission to the union as a state, un-
less it could bring in it's women as
electors with men, to which demand
congress at last gave reluctant con-
sent. Since then eight states and one
territory have followed the example
of Wyoming, till we now have ten
woman suffrage states and territory.
Therefore, there is no longer any need
of specializing whether women will
vote or how they will vote. Simply
inquire in these states of the sena-
tors and members of congress, the
judges and court officials, the minis
tiers and educators and of responsible
men in all walks of life.
About ten years ago Mrs. Julia
Ward Howe took census Of the min
listers of four leading denominations
in the four oldest suffrage states. Out
of GA answers SIC were favorable.
At the same time she took a census
of the editors, and their replies were
favorable, more than eight to one.
Since then woman suffrage sentiment
in these same states has strengthened
with every succeeding year.
To enumerate the thirty-four bene-
fetal legislative enactments that have
been placed upon the statue books
of Colorado chiefly by the women's
vote, according to legislators of that
state, would take up far more space
than could be allowed me. The far
famed juvenile court of Colorado,
model for the world could never, ae-
cording TO Judge Lindsay, have been
established but for the women vot-
ers. Briefly, here are a few more
of these laws: Child labor law. tax
ing little children under IA out of
factories, stores and mines; local OPP
ton law, eight-hour law for working
women, mothers pension law, mini
mum wage commission with power
to act, factory inspection law, aboli-
ton of the infamous redlight district
in Denver.
The fight upon commercalized vice
has been waged relentlessly by the
California women, beginning with the
recall of Judge Weller of San Fran
cisco. When the men declared that
prostitution was "a necessary evil
and that "a wide open town was good
for business" the women answered
"if drunkenness and debauchery are
necessary to make business good.
then the sooner we get rid of that
sort of business the better" They
went ahead with their cleaning up
of the vice districts of the city and
joined with other women of the state
in winning the law known as the Iowa
injunction and abatement act from
the legislature, the most powerful
weapon for the destruction of COM
mercialized vice yet invented.
Will the women vote if they have
a chance? In Los Angeles at the first
election after their enfranchisement
70 per cent of the women registered
and s5 per cent of that number voted.
In Illinois in February the women
registered in amazing numbers, 1885,
600 in Chicago, and when election day
came around last month 70 per cent
of those registered voted, as against
73 per cent of the men. How did
they vote? With such clear vision as
to add twenty-five counties to the
"dry' list in that state and to put
1900 saloons out of business.-Ches-
tina 5. Thorp, in Minneapolis Jour
nal.