Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1914-01-09
EFFECTS OF The PANKHURST POLICY

back the brutality of forcible feeding
from which parliament thought Eng
land safely delivered. The women re-
double their efforts to burn and wreck
and terrorize and destroy.
Meanwhile, what of the effect on the
cause of woman suffrage9 For the time
being it is ruined. And no man or
woman sees one faintest ray of hope for
action by the present house of COM
mons, The last meeting at which
spoke in London before coming to live
in this country was suffrage demon
stration in Exeter hall. Mrs. Pank-
hurst was in the chair, Miss Christabel
Pankhurst was one Of the speakers.
l had sat under the gallery in the
house of commons for hours, following
with bated breath the debate upon o
woman suffrage bill The speaker al.
lowed it to be talked out. made my
way to the Dexter hall meeting dis
couraged and sick at heart. Perhaps
my speech showed too plainly the dis
couragement. Ny friend, Keir Hardie,
took upon himself to reproach me in
his own big, brotherly fashion. He de-
clared that this temporary setback not
withstanding, by dint of little effort,
the women would secure enfranchise-
ment during that session of parliament.
This was more than six years and
half ago! And the women of Great
Britain are immeasurably farther from
victory than they were then. They
have had victory snatched from their
grasp by Mrs Pankhurst and her fol,
lowers.
The English newspapers contain a
verbatim report of Lloyd Georges re-
ply to a woman suffrage deputation in
troduced to him at Swindon by q bril-
liant young friend of my own, one of
the coming preachers of England. The
chaneellor's reply has deadly signifi-
cance. It is pity the whole of it can
not be printed in these columns. Here
is an extract from it:
"I am more Of a woman s suffragist
today than l have ever been. But it
is no use denying facts The one fact
is that in parliamentary sense the
movement has gone back. In 1906 there
was huge majority in parliament for
it, In the last two sessions we have
been beaten, and you may depend upon
it that in movement like that parlia-
ment represents the temporary mood
of the nation.
CHOW, it is no use Understanding
the effect Of militancy The effect to
has been enormous, but it has been to
convert indifference into something
like bitter hostility, / can see it in my
own constituency, Afew years ago
there was very considerable suffrage
feeling; the majority Of the people
were, I should say, Indifferent. But
the eruption Of militancy in Wales has
outraged national sentiment. At our
national festivals there is hostility now
which never existed before against wo.
men s suffrage. You will find that in
every part of the country. Now, what
has happened in Ireland2 In Ireland
the militants have gone out Of their
way to create anti.suffrage feeling
which never existed there before. They
went to Dublin. So far as can see,
they tried to murder the Irish leader
by flinging a hatchet at his head. They
tried to break up a great nationalist
meeting at Belfast. What is the result1
Irish sentiment is against it, where be.
fore, on the whole, it was inclined 10
be friendly. 1t is no use denying these
facts. For the moment they have ere
ated a situation which is the worst
have ever seen of woman's suffrage in
parliament.