The Washington herald., 1914-09-06

submitting their amendments nv initil-
tive petition" said Mrs. bennett These
states are Nebraska, Missouri. and Ohio.
The initiative laws vary in these States.
Nebraska having n secure a petition
signed by r per cent of the voters; Ohio
il per cent: Missouri. per cent in two
thirds OF the Congressional districts. The
States vary also in the SIZE Of the v"''.
which is finally required when the
amendment is submitted. In Ohio. the
amendment requires a simple majority
vote 70 pass: in Nebraska, II must re-
ceive s. per cent Of the total vote cast
at the election: in Missouri. It must
receive a majority Of all votes cast at the
election.
Nebraska fully expects that the rNluI-
site number of signatures will he secured
by March l. The State has two head
quarters, one in Lincoln and one m
Omaha. Cards have been widely dis
tributed. showing the exact number OF
signatures which must he secured IN
each county before March J. and the
suffraEists are not only securing the sig
natures, but are utilizing that process for
carrying on A vigorous campaign Of edu-
cation among the voters Statewide de-
hates among students have been planned.
some little suffrage plays will he pre-
sented in various cities OF the State; the
frage information and news. Altogether
The outlook IS very en'oura EinE.
Trickcry in Missouri.
In Missouri. the women have a special
incentive. in that the State was gully
Of a most incredible piece of political
trickery last year. when the amendment
had been sent to engrossment in the
house and the senate had voted in favor,
- to :. II was obvious that the measure
was about TO he passed. when suddenly
the enemy woke up and decided that II
must he stopped Pressure was put on
and the result was that the Senate re-
ferred the resolution back TO the COM
mitee on the flimsy ground that they
wanted TO hear more from the women
The Missouri president is Mrs. Walter
McNahb Miller. wife of a university
professor. The headquarters are at CO.
lumbia. Mrs. Miller is travelling about
the State getting organizations in work
ing order. The petition signatures are
piling up and suffrage sentiment is
steadily growing and the campaign is
strengthened by the support Of several
newspapers.
"Ohio's late campaign. that OF the
summer OF 1872, is still wildly in the
minds Of all suffragists. 1t was a de-
feat. to be sure, hut defeat in which
was pOlled the largest number of pro-
suffrage votes on record in any State.
nearly a quarter OF a million. All the
experience the suffrage workers then had
is just so much to the good now. and
they have been gathering momentum
that should bring a big victory when the
comes up for vote. Petitions
are now being signed. OhiOs large pop
IlatiOn means large number OF sigma
lures which must be got by patient suf-
frage workers
In the light OF history" concluded
Mrs. bennett. probably one of the most
amazing features Of the suffrage move T
nent will be the results obtained by
relatively little labor. time. and money.
md the fact that the women have proved
themselves able to achieve wonderful po-
itical victories, working as amateurs.
and without any OF the backing and
strength that men have in their political
work."