The Washington herald., 1915-02-15
EXPLAINS may" VOTE
ON SUFFRAGE BILL
kindel Believes in Women's Ballot,
but Says No. State Should
Dictate to Others.

representative Kindel. of Colorado. is
one of the few members of Congress from
Il woman suffrage State who voted
against the proposed amendment to the
Constitution extending the vote to women
and his explanation of his vote contains
interesting views on the question of the
equal ballot.
Il firmly believe in woman sharing i'll
the affairs of government" says Mr..
kindel. but / do not believe that the
people of Colorado should dictate to the
people of other States that they must
adopt the rules of enfranchisement that
prevail in Colorado. l believe women
should enjoy every privilege given man.
however.
In the South the rank and file of
Wume'I arc not educated up to the stand
aid of the average woman of my section.
SOuthernerS know this, and that is why
they protest vigorously against outsiders
,.!ctating in what they consider strictly
local affairs.
states that desire woman enfranchise-
mcmt should do as Colorado and ten other
States have done-hold an election and
vote for its adoption independent of any
other State or the nation. When the
question Of woman enfranchisement was
up in my State ! voted against it.
''I?cims of German origin. | believed
women TO he above politics and that We
should regard them as our queens and
treat them as the beloved queens of our
I most sacred edfice-the home. Since
the women have had the franchise in
Colorado have hoped that they would
make a much better job of government
than we men folk have done.
That there are some of the most eS-
timable. intelligent and patriotic women
in politics it would be folly to deny.
The most prevalent trouble | find is the
indifference and apathy of most good
women to study political questions. and
their neglect or refusal to vote. This is
generally emphasized in my own family
and kinsfolk.
Il wish to quote Representative Webb,
OF North Carolina, on this question. He
SAYS:
'SuNragists always have claimed that
the ason why none of the woman suf-
fraGe States has been voted dry was
hecausa there were so many more men
than women in those States Two years
ago Colorado voted wet by about 1900.
this year it voted dry by 1900. AS the
same proportion of men and women still
exist it must have been the men and
PINOT the women who caused that State to
join the dry column.
The woman of Colorado cannot claim
I'M" credit ne pOIpOrtlOH VI NollieH 10
men in Colorado is much greater than In
three other States that voted dry. At
any rate. if they voted wet in Colorado
two years ago and dry now. it was not
the woman's vote that made the State
dry. but general public sentiment worked
up for prohibition. the same as the sem
timent in Virginia where men alone
vote
Representative Kindel said: Il am
reminded BY Robert Burns: Gently scan
your fellow-man, still gentler sister
woman.
Representative Kindel is from Denver
In 1872 he began contesting freight and
express rates and by this means got into
politics. He is well known as A critic
of the Interstate Commerce Commission
and the Postoffice Department for what
he calls inconsistent and illogical parcel
post and express rates and classifcations
now in force.