The farmer and mechanic., 1915-10-19
WOMAN AS A VOTER
(By a MANI

Inc Woman Who Answers OnaS
uohs is what they call her. Her roo,
ns me is Mary Sumner Boyd and her
oiliclal tltle is Chief of the Data De- |
paItHhent or the National American
woman Suffrage Association.
tut at the Headquarters Of tho Ma
iohal Association at sos Fifth Avenue
Ne" orK City, Mrs. Boyd is known
oLieny as the woman who tells peonle
What they want to know about snf-
irage. She is the one who dies nm on
demand, the facts regarding the SUI
rage movement. the laws concerning
women and children, and who tabu-
iates the pet arguments of the antis
with the answers thereto. Seated at
her desk, f1anked by files and REPORTS
ana interrupted constantly by the tele-
phone at her elbow, Mrs Boyd Sits
the statistics and data which the suf
frage speakers need in the field.
1t is no easy task
Demands for facts and fieJ~es in
regard to woman suffrage come ucur-
ing into the national Headquarters
from all corners Of the United States
d. wen as from foreign countries, and
Mrs. BOyd's task is to answer any
question which may be sent in
will you tell me how many states
have equal guardianship laws?" comes
| q voice over the telephone, and Mrs.
| Boyd has the states on the tip Of her
| tongue.
| will you tell me which states have
the initiative and referendum, and in
which Of these suffrage petitions are
now being circulated?"
When Mrs. BOyd's telephone rings
there is no telling what question is
waiting for her at the other end Of the
line, and every morning the mail
brings letters asking more questions
There is little doubt that there is o
lively interest in the subject Of wo-
man suffrage judging by the inquiries
which come pouring into head
quarters.
A postal card received by Mrs. Boy6
the other day reads as follows
"Please tell me if the IA and Il
amend say yes all men and womer
Il years Of age must read and rit,
English. Before he or she can vote
| My reason for asking you is I doan
X know; %osn Ans z please" The writer wa
Mrs. Boyd was chosen as head o
the data department because of he
t long experience in collecting data il
statistical and research work. She
: graduate Of Columbia, and a forme
editor of the survey. She is thorou
ghly at home III law library as wei
e Anyone who is permitted to becom
at all familiar with Mrs. Boyd's film
!! | system is at once impressed with tn
I mass Of accurate material which tn
head Of the data department has go,
/ ten together and the orderly arrange
. n'ent Of 1t. Someone has remarke
= that if a person is at all anxious
Il lose sight Of an item or a letter, tn
: most effective way Of going about it
e to have his stenographer file it. NJ
;, SO with the system which Mrs. Boy
y has put into operation. Child labo
y working hours for women IN ever
- state in the union, illiteracy table
q lists of organizations and individual
q who have endorsed woman suffrag
- newspaper clippings and the gre;
~ mass Of material which has to do wit
% woman suffrage is to be found careful
Il ly and Systematically catalogued an
"a labelled in Mrs Boyds file.
vl There is a constantly increaslr
It demand from speakers. from student
it from the general public and the pre-
it for data on woman suffrage, and tt
to national association acts as a cleari1
e: house for such information.