The Washington herald., 1914-09-20

and the torture was % great that she
said each time 1t happened she felt she
could not live through it again.
At length she found a way to barricsde
her door with her plank bed, and, re.
fusing to let any one in. the guards broke
the window and PLAYED the hose upon
her until the water was six inches deep
around her as she sat on the plank hold
ing II down.
Played. Water on Weak Women.
Can the reader imagine what tragedy
it was to plav the fun force of a hose
pipe. with, ice-cold water. upon a woman
already weak from several days fast
ing? The wsrders only got in by taking
down the heavy iron door. Her condi-
ton was such that she had to be 'Imme-
diately released. and as soon as she was
able she brought, action against the Wis
iting justices who had ordered the as
sault upon her and won nominal dam
ages. This one of many instances in her
career illustrates the courage which en-
sbled her 10 step in front Of the horse.
to what she would know was certain
death. The horse was unhurt, the jockey
only slightly hurt, and the woman had
given her life that others might be free.
On the Saturday following, June a.
1913, 5000 women walked in white behind
the remains Of Miss Dawson, their purple
sashes more than ever denoting courage
and their palms speaking of the certain
victory to come. At the same. time a
little group of women Of many lands and
tongues met in a hall in Budapest where
the International Woman Suffrage Con-
gress was being held. and gave their
sympathy TO those of Miss Davison's
English friends who were present. In ad-
dttion to the part the women took, the
minister OF the Anglican Church in Buda-
pest oficisted in the memorial rites. =.
Procession Helps Suffrage.
Keir Hardie told me that that pro-
cession did more for~the suffrage cause
than anything else that ever happened
in London: and n was my lot later to
listen to the speaking of baiIies and
councillors from Scotland. who had come
to London on behalf Of the women, and
more than one OF them attributed his
immediate personal interest to the death
of Miss Dawson. IT," said one. the
time has come when women are willing
to die for their freedom. it Is time we
men took hold to help them"
The last OF US returned from European
wanderings over what were then happy
countries, finding only br6thers, sisters,
and friends everywhere (makinE this
seem truly fratricidal war;, in time TO
participate in the great pilgrimage, which
was made under the auspices OF the Ma
tonal Union Of Woman Suffrage So
cieties who felt that some great demon
stration must be made by the non-mili-
tant in order 10 impress it on peoples
minds that the majority OF suffragists
were still lawabiding
From Carlisle on the northwest New
castle on the north; from DARLINGTON on
the northeast, from the south IN shorter
routes these hundreds of miles women
marched during the months Of June and
July, stopping at every city to hold
meetings, and leaving literature at every
house on the way, hundreds of them,
every where being Joined by those who
could go only shorter distances, and so
they wended their way towards London.
all arriving on the morning OF July 26.
and marching to Hyde Park where from
many platforms the vast crowd was ad-
dressed.
Pilgrimage Aids Cause.
The pilgrimage did a great deal Of good
and principally in giving the daily papers
a chance to say something favorable to
the nonmilitant methods, which they
never would have thought Of approving
Or noticing, IL it had not been by way of
contrast The Daily News, for instance,
announced as a new discovery that 1t
Is clearly not enough to have a House of
Commons committed to woman suffrage
We have had that a long time without
result. The only sure way to success is
10 have a government committed TO |
woman suffrage" This was just what !
the women had been insisting on for a |
long time.
And what was the government doing? /,
1t had revived an old act of Edward III |
TO enable it to commit George Lansbury |
10 prison, for nobody seemed to know |
what offense but it was said it was sedi- |
dous according to this act passed $50 |
years ago, and which had been lying in |
abeyance ever since They wanted to |
silence George Lansbury' and the way |
they went at it gave him the chance of l
his life to talk.
I heard him a week later at TrafaIsar
Square at a monster meeting arranged |
by the Free Speech Defense League. Mr..
Lansbury had adopted the hunger strike
tut of sympathy with the women. and
hree days Of # had reduced him to such
condition that he had to be let out
md Mr.. and Mrs. Joseph Fels had taken
lin to their home and 41ursed him back
o health, but not to full strength; and
thought of "the weaker sex who were
not only the hunger. but the
hirst strike for many days. Mrs, -Pank-
Iurst has undergone it for nine days and
epeatedly as soon as she had recovered
measure Of strength she was clapped
n prison again.) Mr.. Lsnsbury was, like
he women, out on the cat and mouse
Ct" and so was Sylvia Pankhurst, who
lad been in for the same offense, and
he was re-arrested that day and was /
eing re-arrested on the same offense
very few days, and Mr.. Lansbury never
las been re-arrested or made TO serve
ny portion of his unexpired term. And
that act Of Edward III was not dead
efore, this meeting certainly killed it.
dr.. Lansbury repeated the offending re-
mark, everybody else repeated IT; they
houted II In chorus and they printed Il