The Washington herald., 1914-12-13
Do ma HusrEp HARPER.

The vote on the woman suffrage
amendment in Ohio. Missouri and Ne
braska has been officially announced
and the figures are an interesting
study. The question went 10 the elee-
tors OF Ohio last year in the form of
a clause in a new constitution and the
result stoou, ayes, 24s,420; noes, $685.
SIS; majority opposed. S7,455. These
represented what might be termed the
normal sentiment on the measure at
that time and also the largest favor
able vote ever casa in any Stete-ai-
most a quarter OF q million The ng-
ures for 1914 are: Ayes. 3S5.3eo; noes.
52s,ss5: majority opposed, lsz.ssS-an
abnormal opposition. There was In
ohio the biggest and hottest night be-
Tween the liquor and anti-hquor FORCES
fhut ever took place, and more un-
fortunate time for the submission OF
q woman suffrage amendment coulo NOT
have been found The liquor interests
without any additional expense or
trouble could include 1t in their cam
paign against prohibition and for the
repeal Of local option. which was done.
and they admit spending over half
million dollars. At all times and
places they emphasized that their WORK
would go for naught il votes should
be placed in the hands Of women. and
this arrayed against woman suffrage
not only those who wanted the state
wide open and wet but also the
more temperate who feared the loss OF
revenue to the State, the confiscatton OF
property. "Fanatical" legislation etc.
AntI-SaIOonIsts Not Loyal.
The .'antI-saIoon'' people themselves
were not loyal TO ~the suffrage move
ment, as shown by the fact that it ran
many thousands of votes behind the one
for prohibition and stiu more behind the
one TO retain county option. Sufragists
never should have a campaign in any
State at the same time as one for the
restriction of the liquor trafic. Aside
from this feature, however, Wisconsin.
Michigan and now Ohio twice have
shown that for various causes hard
struggle is ahead for woman suffrage
east of the Mississippi River. Probably
after It has reached that boundary It
Will have 10 turn for awhile TO the
Southern States for its victories. A few
years ago there was not n more un-
promising State than Missouri and yet
on November 3, $4,000 men voted for
a woman suffrage amendment. The re-
turns showed that S22.OOO voted against
it. an adverse majority Of $4,000. This
would not have been at all surprising. but
now it is reported that about 10000
ballots had line drawn through all
amendments ana Inat IneSe "eEe COuulSN
in the negative when they should not
have been counted at all. This would
mean a defeat by only 1900 in State
where until this year there has been a
very small amount of organized work,
and it is so little discouraging that the
sufTragists will endeaver to inaugurate
another campaign at once.
Talk OF Nebraska Recount.
In Nebraska the suffrage amendment
called .out the large vote of 1S9.s1S, al
thought the Presidential vote in 1912 was
only 249. iS1. The figures stood: for, 3d.
7S2; against, 99OSs-defeated by a major
ity OF s,254. Here the women discovered
that in the country districts those who
did not vote at all were counted as vot-
ing the negative and there is talk of
calling for a recount. The women's
branch Of the ''antis" protest loudly be-
cause the suffragists persist in linking
them with the liquor dealers in these
amendment campaigns, without one
atom of proof that would convince a
jury Of ten-year-old children" says Mrs.
Dodge in her last weeks syndicate ar
ticle. IL that is the case let Secre-
tary of State Bryan give his testimony.