The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1915-03-01
FATE OF WOMAN
SUFFRAGE HANGS
ON SILENT VOTE
Mrs. A. G. Porritt Tells Far
mer Readers of Progress of
Movement In New York

The amount of suffrage sentiment
in New Y ork State, shown in the
reception given to campaign WORK
ers and. speakers, is truly astonasn-
ing. If the question: were decided by
what is generally known as public
opinion there would be little DOUBT
of the outcome Of the vote IN NO
ve1Iber But besides the people
who can make their opinion known
in spoken or written words there is
the great mass of silent voter-s-tae
men who make their opinion felt
only at the ballot box In this case
every man in New York State is SOY
ereign and every woman is subject,
and the sovereigns at the ballot box
will decide the fate of their subjects,
without the subjects being able to cast
a single vote on their own behalf. If
suffrage is beaten in New DIRK State
it will be the silent vote that will de-
feat 1t, and the defeat will be a
striking object Lesson of the power OF
the silent voters in deciding ques-
lions of supreme Importance
Probably every newspaper and Pc
riodicaI published in New York will
show it's special interest in the worn-
an suffrage question by the publca-
ton Of an issue or issues devoted to
Votes for Women Already we have
had a number of these special is
cues Even the New York Times,
which in it's editorial columns OPP
poses woman suffrage, made spe-|
cia1 suffrage number Of its Sunday
edition a couple Of weeks ago and
gave six pages to contributions in the
form of letters to the editor of worn-G
an suffrage. Puck has had it's spe-
ciaI suffrage number and last Thurs
day the New York Evening Post
brought out an issue devoted to the
cause which the Evening Post sup
ports editoria1ly. The effect Of all
this propaganda. is being strongly
felt in Connecticut. Connecticut PEG
pie read New York newspapers and
periodicals. and there cannot be an
| active crusade going on In our big
nefghboT1ng state without our feel
ing the effects As a similar crusade
| is also going ON in Massachusetts, it
| Is clear that suffragists in Connect
cut Will benefit on all sides by the
| work of our neighbors' suffrage as
sociatfona and the Connecticut legis-
Iafure Will feel lonesome and be1ated
| il tt fails to pass through its prelfm-
| mary stage the suffrage amenrnent
to the constitution of Connecticut.
The hearing on woman suffrage
/ before the House Constitution, Amend
uent Committee Is to be held next
/ "Wednesday. It is to take place in the
/ Chamber of the House of Representa-
fives which will be loaned by che
House for the purpose. It is the in
! tendon of the sufragists to have wo-
men from every town in the state
present at the hearing to testify to
the suffrage sentiment in their own
4 co 1unities. This time no MEM
Der viii be able to say-what some
members said two years ago-that
! there is no demand whatever In their
/ towns for votes for women. There
! is not a town in Connecticut that has
not expressed more or less desire for
| votes for women, and some of the
| towns into which the Connecticut
| Woman Suffrage association had not
penetrated two years ago, have now
/ most enthusiastic and vigorous suf-
/ women actively working to obtain the
/ right to vote.
Much impression has evidently been
made on the minds OF many of the
! members of the House Of Represen-
| tatives by the speeches and arg1-
ents of the sufhagists on the three
j occasions when receptions have been
i held and continuous speaking has
been feature OF the occasion.
! Among the wonnen-an Connecticut
| men-who have spoken on these
occasions within the last three weeks
are Mrs. Hepburn, Mrs. Bennett and
Mrs. PorTitt of Hartford, Mrs. Carlos
Stoddard and Mrs. Geseu of New Ha-
| ven, Miss Emily Pierson and Miss
A1yse Gregory, the organizers. Mrs
Ernest Thompson Seton of Green
i wich and Mrs. Henry Wade Rogers
wife of Dean Rogers of the Yale Law
i School. Last Tuesday the speaking
was at the Allyn House; the week
before at the Bond. and the week be
fore that at the Heublein The at
| tendance showed a steady increase
week by week. and there was certain
" a marked increase in interest In
| what the sufragists had to say in
defence OF their case.