Norwich bulletin., 1914-06-04
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Farewell to BaeheIor.

MT. Editor: If read the signs of the times alright, Bachelor is about ready to quit. Being himself. he will not admit defeat, but wishes to leave the appearance of victory. He thinks now that a newspaper is not the place to discuss a mothers training, but only a short time ago he thought it Just the place to ridicule women He did not expect to be answered, but he has found in this little war of words that there have been blows to take as well as blows to give" to quote from Daniel Webster. How often it happens that the poisoned arrows we aim at others glance harmlessly from them and, act- ing as boomerangs, pierce ourselves Bachelor dozed over his jimmy pipe so long that he awoke to find a new order of women-capable of thinking and speaking for themselves. In his an- swer to the woman who remarked that he might remain a bachelor for all of her he has given us his true meas ure. I would not be too hard on him, however, and in bidding him farewell would say that perhaps after all he is more to be pi.ied than censured."
 AN ORDINARY WOMAN.
 Plainfield, June 3, 1914.
 Not Fable.
 MT. Editor: In your issue of May S0th. that egotistical mountain of knowledge CD who signs himself Bachelor asks the question, What about that greatest of all suffrage fa- bles that the vote will raise the work ing woman's wages and says that any one of ordinary intelligence knows that this is not true."
 I can imagine him congratulating himself when he wrote this, thinking he had the suffragists up a tree. To ask a question like this in the face of ztc 0r 1ry t,f ignorance of industrial conditions for working women. but also shows that he belongs to that class of people who do not care to know anything about them.
 Instead of this being a fable, it is the most truthful of the suffragist claims, and any working woman who is working in any of the factories in Norwich would be able to inform Bach elor of this and give him the facts, though some of these woman are not able even to read or write.
 On the 1st of January, 1914, the 55 hour bill went into effect in the state of Connecticut in every manufacturing establishment that employed women and minors.
 If you will refer to the newspapers Of that time you will lind that in near ly every instance the wages of the women were raised so that they would get as much for 55 hours as they did for 6s hours. and all piece workers got an increase of per cent.
 Now the 56 hour law was secured by political action, which is the express sion of the vote.
 The vote has secured the factory acts which protect the women from danger ous machinery. give her decent toilet accommodations, clean drinking water, fire escapes and other beneficial things. The vote secured the compensation law, which has already proved a great boon to many working women.
 There were six women delegates sent to the public hearings on the 55 hour bill, all of whom were indifferent to votes for women before they went, but after their experience at Hartford they were convinced of the value of the suf- frage for women and they are now all enthusiastic suffragists, and one of them was a delegate from Will1mantic that made up the 800 working women who interviewed President Wilson.
 No stronger argument can be put forward for suffrage or the greater need of votes for women shown than the present law limiting the hours of women and minors.
 In manufacturing and mechanical establishments the hours are limited to 55 per week. In these industries there are about 40 per cent. men who can vote and 50 per cent. women who can not vote. In mercantile establishments the hours are uInlteo to 70 Der Weens an increase of three hours. In this in- dustry there are about 10 per cent. men who can vote and 90 per cent. women who cannot vote.
 Why did the legislators allow that industry which has only 10 per cent. voters to work their women and minors three hours a week longer than those industries which have 40 per cent. voters?
 Will Bachelor or some of the antis please answer?
 The vote can and does help the working women. Oregon. Washington, California, Idaho and Colorado are states that give pensions to poor moth CTS; but these laws were passed after the women of these states became vot- CTS, Thus far the enly states having an eight hour day for women are states where women vote,
 In Australia and New Zealand wom