New Britain herald., 1914-07-14
ROOSEVELT DESIRES
 WOMEN DELEGATES
Says Fair Sex Should Be Admitted
 to Constitutional Convention.

New York, July 14.-Col. Theodore Roosevelt wants women delegates elected to the constitutional convert tion next year. He says so emphatl- cally in letter which he has written from Oyster Bay to Lillian D. Wald. chairman of a committee that Is struggling to that end. The colonel says it will be rank injustice" if Zyomen are not elected to the conven- tion.
 '1 write to say,'' runs the letter, ''that I trust that open action will be taken by the progressive party to insist upon the election of women delegates to the constitutional con- yention next year.
 Women Now Hold Office.
 Ut seems to me- the letter goes fon that any discussion as to wheth- CT women are eligible to hold public office in this state is really academic. in view of the fact that, thanks to the change m the will of the people, many women do at the present mo- ment hold public office in this state. D For example, the state, through lts supreme court has decided, in effect, that women can be notaries public, although the position of notary pub- ltc is a constitutional and nor merely ministerial office. Now the making or revising of a constitution is a fun damental act on the part of the state and there can, in my judgment. be no limitation to the eligibility of any per son to represent the people in such convention, except those which the people themselves have inserted in the existing constitution under which the convention is called.
 There are at present at least fifty women serving, on the boards of state asylums, hospitals, reformatories, 1n- dustrial schools and special schools for the blind and crippled. There are two women on the state commission for the blind and two on the widowed mothers pension commission. In our private charitable work, women stand ahead of men in the importance or the functions they perform. There are S0O,00O women wage earners in New York city alone, and this fact is recognized by the bureau of factory inspection, under which sixteen wo- men are inspectors. The majority of teachers in our public schools are wo- men, Surely there can be no more Important work than thie of educat- ing the next generation. Women are very heavy investors. 1t has recently been shown that in 252 railways and industrial corporations which were invested in, there were 310,000 worn- en shareholders.
 Sex Has Vital Interests.
 "A mere consideration of the above facts is enough to show that in the first place women are now serving as public officials and in the next place that they have vital interests, which must be considered as in some de- gree apart from the interests of men. 1t is to my mind rank injustice to fail to have women represented in the constitutional convention. Moveover, many of the women can give infor- fnation and assistance such as few me can give in matters in which men themselves are primarily interested. I. earnestly hope the progressive party will give a full representation Of womn on its constitutional ticket"
 Colonel Roosevelt will be the guest sof honor at luncheon to be given by the State Woman Progressives at the Colony club tomorrow afternoon. The luncheon will be given in con- nection with conference on state matters of Interest to women.