The Washington times., 1915-12-31
I'VE Leave All Public Mat
ters to Our Mel" Says
Pretty Senora Eduardo de
Monteverdc, and Then
She Tells Innocently of
Her Countrywomen's In-
tereStS.
BY ROBERTA Y. BRADSHAW.

T1WN in tn" "H'''rrisinE and
highly cultured vity OF Mon
- tcvidco. capital az tho repub-
lie OF I'ruguar. South Amer
lea. tho Use Of sc nG" is rapidly
falling into disr>Du.H.
Cana is tho .r,iurt'vc and intoxicat-
ing native drink. The saloons in Mon
tevidCo sci cuau ~ iust the same
way and for just the same purpose
that similar Dla cs sell whisky in
America. In the bettCT class saloons
and at the clubs an uuadulterated
cana Is on SI!H and IN its pure state
the drink is rot particularly harm
ful. In the lower class drinking
places and in the saloons patronizcd
by the laboring mon, n very much
mixed cana Is dispensed, and this is
about as "frenzied" Il typo OF boy
eragc as the mind Of man could con-
Ceiyc, .. .
Now. the average Latin American
woman. when approached as 20 her
view of affairs Of public moment.
VIII shake her head gently. and. If
she is not too forcthoughtful of the
predictions of the average Ameri-
can woman on rhc matter OF Doliti-
cal equality. she will start to throw
up her hands in Il sort of half holy
horror.
I'VE leave all public matters to
the men," they reply sweetly and
simply, with fnality that admits
of no compromise.
I'VE have rlany, many children,
very large houses. very many Serv-
ants. ana there is very, very much
for us to do at all times. When the
children grow up and get married
al tn
live in the same house, which Is
then very, very much bigger,
No Time for Politics.
I'VE have no time TO study polti-
cal questions. dnd we. could not take
part in what 'rc do not know any
thing about. Therefore, VIC leave
all public matters to the men"
Having had this doctrine cx-
pounded explicitly but politely and
invariably by the various members
or the South american delegation
to the Pan american Scientific
Conference, the short. tcrse history
of the practical adoption of prohi-
bition by the city of Montevideo
assumed, rather. romantic phase.
for cana was pr marilv displaced
through the efforts of the women.
The mere fact that the men and
women worked together Is in itself
an indication that im -stand-pat
conservative South America the
leaven of fcminism Is working ever
so slightly and possibly without
the knowledge Of the women them
selves. The thing Ia In the air. and
they are just naturally coming on
with il.
Anyway. the Montevideans put
cana out of business in little less
than a Years time. and men and
women worked together in Curtail-
ing tho consumption of cana.
The way things.Stand now prohi-
hilton by governmental decree
stands fair 'hanCc Of becoming a
national fact within a short tine.
Miss Hardyllia *. Norvillc, an
American woman. delegate from
the National WOmen's Christian
Temperance Union, arrived at the
l'ruguavan capital last spring. The
wives Of the senators. of the physi-
clans. of the publicists. of the
Iiterati. of the scholars and stu
dents rallied about her. The men
gave their counsel and encourage
mcnt. and in less time than it takes
to write IT down there were commit
tees and subcOmmIttecs working
overtime:
The wife OF the minister Of war
presided over the committee which