New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-04-29
THE POSTWAR SPEAKS
Giving His Reasons for Hoping Work
ing Women Will Soon Vote.

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: As I sat up here on the hills yester-
day, tucked away in a protected corner of
the piazza reading my Tribune, upon which
have been brought up daily for 10! these
sixty years, my very intelligent letter carrier
came by and asked me what was reading.
pointed to the account of the anti-sufrage
meeting held at 5S West Forty-eghth Street,
at which Henry w. Hayden said, in bitter
sarcasm that
when nurses, laundresses, housemaids and
cooks are given the vote it will add a won
derful measure of intelligence to the guild
ance of affairs"
Ny letter carriers face flushed as he
caught the irony of it, and he shot back; 81
presume that ant-suffrage man wouldn't
speak to such low-down trash as letter car
riers, or motormen, or conductors! He ought
TO have street set aside for him to walk
on, where he wouldn't rub against those who
do the work of the world, like myself, for ex-
| ample. | don't see how he manages 70 eat
the food that women, for whom he has such
contempt cook; or how he condescenGs to
accept it from the hands of so unintellgent
person as waitress; or how he wears the
clothes that such an ignorant woman as a
laundress irons
"My wife is one of the cleverest fnancers
ever knew. She takes the best care of our
children and me; makes a dollar 90 three
times as far as | could. never knew any
one like her; she never wastes a cent; if we
had a few women like her up in Albany in
charge OF the Finance Department the peo-
pies money wouldn't be squandered or stolen.
She sees the Importance of the vote for her
self as much as do.
"And do you mean to tell me that those
women sat there and heard those men speak
so contemptuously of their sex and never
resented it, but applauded? Well, | guess
Vice-President Marshall was right when he
said the other day that lots of Americans are
snobs and don't believe in democracy, nor be-
long in this country
mo one need be afraid Of the vote Of the
working women. They are not ignorant
They are more intelligent, when you come
right down to it, than the men of the work
ing class. The women handle all the money,
they do all the buying and know where they
can get the best and most for il; they look
into the schools where their children go;
they know the need of Fairgrounds for their
little ones; the Importance of good water
and clean food to keep away sickness, and so
| might go on. | tell you We working men
know and appreciate the value of our women!
And none of us would dare to talk to them
as those men talked to those anti women at
that meeting! If women had say in the
government | know they'd never fling the let
ter carriers out onto the scrap heap when
they get old and decrepit, after they have
served their country faithfully thirty and
forty years! They'd see that we got a PEN
sion, and so do our work cheerfully, and not
have to look forward with dread to the ad-
vancing years.
We'll" he said, as he shifted his heavy
bag to the other shoulder 81 must trot along.
Just ask The Tribune to please let US know
who Henry W. Hayden is. 1t doesn't seem to
me- II ne has been correctly reported, that he
belongs to the twentieth century,"
And so, raising his hat, my postman has.
tened down the hill. NJ. S. l..
New York, April &c, 1918.