New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-17
MACHINES FIGHT
VOTES IN SECRET
Jersey City Suffragist
Charges Liquor Interests
Aid Politicians.
ONE WOMAN LEADS
FRANCHISE CAMPAIGN
Mrs. Mccormack Might Carry
Town if She Had
Assistants.
Nv ELEANOR BOOTH SIMMONS.

By ELEANOR BOOTH SIMMONS.
go down on any Of the streets near
this courthouse" one of the clerks In
the office of J. ]. Kinkead, Sheriff OF
! Hudson County, dared me yesterday
TASK fifty men, just as they come, what
! about the woman suffrage amendment :.
and you'll find that not ten of the htty
even know that such an amendment Is
| TO be voted on in this state October ~
took his dare, and it turned out
that he was about right. But what can
/ the sufragists expect. when IN town
! Of 267.779 inhabitants they aren't mold
! ing more than four street meetings
! day. and are canvassng hardly at all
There are a good many women in Jer-
sew CITY who want the vote, but, with
the exception Of a few laborers IN the
I vineyard like Mrs. NJ +. McCormack,
president of the local Women's Politi,.
cal Union, they don't want II nara
enough to work for 1t.
Ants Work in Secret.
The anti-suffragists apparently are
not doing anything at all to advertise,
October 10. searched four hours and
couldn't find so much an antl-suhrage
tea or any intention of one. Felix Iu-
multy, secretary to Mayor Mark Pagan
saws that there is great deal OF MD
den work against the amendment
THE liquor dealers and the corrupt
politicians are campaigning against II
in ways we are not allowed to see" he
told me. But. other members OF the
city administration assure me that TINS
is not so, that the machines are not
paying any attention to woman sui
/ frage, because they don't care anything
( about it.
! Outwardly a goodly number Of prom
| inent Jersey City men are for the
amendment. The sufragists roll or
any number of names with great deal
/ of pride, but that doesn't mean that the
vote is won, and some of the sutfragsts
1 are in danger of feeling that it does.
/ Sheriff Kinkead is one of the men
who have declared for suffrage. Others
are Surrogate John ?. Egan, Con-
! gresham James A. Hamill, Colonel
! George T. Vickars, II. Otto Wlttpenn,
who lately married the wealthy Mrs.
/ Alexander the names could b. null
] tlDlled almost lHucHulttlS' pOiAN W
/ these men actually get out and speak
/ for suffrage. Mr.. Tumulty Is also one
of those who speak at suffrage meet
ings. and the Mayor, too, IS very ear
nest in the cause.
"Gt's the expedient thing for the poll
ticians TO get on the suffrage band
wagon" ur. Tumulty said, for if the
amendment should carry they will be
all right, and if it loses they can say,
! 'Oh, well, the time isn't ripe for the re
form yet. But some of these men will
knife them when the time comes.
must say, however, that | admire Nu-
gent. of Essex County, for one thing
he at least opposes woman suffrage IN
the open; he doesn't pretend to be
friend and then knife it,"
Mr.. Tumulty says the amendment
hasn't a chance of winning in New Jer-
sey.
Suffragists Will Be to Blame.
81 am sorry, very sorry" he said. Il
would like it TO carry. But 1t won't,
this time, and it's the fault of the wom-
en-. The fatal error in their campaign
is that they don't take "A definite stand
about things. There's the liquor ques-
ton. do believe that If they came out
openly against the saloon and conduct
ed their campaign on that basis they
would win. There's got TO be something
virile, some definite, out-from-the-
shoulder issue. And yet when touched
on the saloon evil at one OF their meet
ings was told afterward that mustn't
do it again"
Other men. however, assured me that
tn suffragists would poll no vote at all
in Jersey City if they took that tack.
There are three suffrage organlza-
tions in Jersey City. One is the De
Hart Equal Suffrage League, which has
been in existence for long while. Miss
NJ. L. McNaughton Is the president
Mrs. A. A. Kraetser the executive sec
rotary and Miss Bessie Pope, sister of
James +. Pope. does a lot of the work
The headquarters is at 10 Newark
Avenue, and Mrs. Hiram Smell, OF
Washington, has volunteered to work
there till October 10. The other or
CARNATIONS are the Equal Franchise
League, of which Mrs. George I. Wick
ars is head, and the Hudson County
Woman's Suffrage League, of which
Mrs. NJ. +. Mccormack, of 1872 Grand
Street is about the whole thing.
If the amendment carries in New
Jersey il will be due 70 women like Mrs
I Mccormack. She is one Of those who
keep alive the cause when everybody
else grows faint hearted. At the same
time she is an example as wife and
mother. to which suffragists can point
with pride, and she is likewise a power
in the community, and knows the poll
ticians so well that she calls them all
by their first names.
called on Mrs. Mccormack on
Wednesday evening and found her pre-
paratory to starting out for street
meeting. 1t wasn't two minutes before
she found out that | hadn't had any
supper.
"Ah, now, think can fix up some
for YOU" she said, and soon she gave
me cold ham and salad and tea and
cake and pickles and various other
things. would like to write column
about Mrs. Mccormack and Pop
otherwise Mr. Mccormack. and the chill
dren, but it's enough to say that they're
shining proof that suffrage doesn't
cause dissension in homes necessarily.