The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-08-15
NO OFFICE GRABS,
SAYS MISS DAVIS
Mayors Woman Commissioner
Asserts Suffragists Seek
Few Places.
ALREADY DO REAL WORK

Commissioner Of Correction Dr..
Katharine b. Davis 10. as II we'll known.
an ardent suffragift. and In n recent
speech before the local woman suffrage
association In Oceanside. l.. l., replied
forcibiy and entertainingly to q question
which she said had been asked Of her
more than once by friends who had
argued with her on the subject.
The question. as h stated II. was
whether she would favor the idea of
women holding any or all Of h o6hces
Tow held by men. In case woman SUI
fraee shall become an accomplished
fact. And. further. h said, the idea
was advanced that In case women hould
come to enjoy all the privileges now
open to men there would be likely to
ensue a mad scramble for office on the
part Of the women. and a consequent
disruption OF man homes.
Miss Davis said that her answer TO
that was that she saw no prospect
Of women holding all the Offices. nor
did she regard II as desirable that they
should.
However" she continued. II see no
reason why n woman should not be Sc
lected for any Office for which she shows
her fitness. We are accustomed to see
men undertake work that has from
time immemorial been regarded as Pc
culiariy ht for women. Take the mat
ter OF designing women's dress. All
that pertains to sewing and the making
and designing Of female apparel IL gen.
orally considered to be peculiarly fem
mine work. or has been so regarded
until recently. but when n man IKE
Poiret, for example. who was recently
In New York. comes along and Shove his
fitness for the job we let him go ahead
and take II.
Precisely In the same n ! believe
that women should be entitled to hold
! n position for which they are indi.
vidually and personally adapted.
Moreover. this is exactly what In now
happening. Under the civil service sys'
TEN places In the public service are now
open to women which a generation age
were supposed TO be and were occupied
by men only. And SO far from this be.
, ing a failure. I N personally OF sew
eral departments In the Government IL
which the routine work Ia carried or
from one administration to another b,
women The heads Of the department,
are changed from time to time as one
party displaces another. but the routin,
work goes on just as IL there had beer
no change and women do II.
AS to the disruption OF families. Il
does not seem as IL hat would he an,
VI stUctituo cNu. VI pdTtiCutis u
serious. out Of a undred million peopl,
we only have one President AZ on,
time, so that even II We should choos,
when the time comes - have a woman
for President there would be only on,
home disrupted. Possibly there migh
not he even one. for AZ We. would b.
likely to select a woman OF SUFFICIENT ag,
20 have more than ordinary discretion I
In probable that her family would hav,
reached the time when they could o.
least be entrusted to the care OF gov
ernesses without breaking up the solid
arity Of the family. Or perhaps W,
might selet some woman like lane Ad
dams. who has no children TO interior
with her public duties.
And supposing We had a womin ~
Mayor OF New York. There are 1--WE o
six million people in New York and onl,
one Mayor. 40 there would not be yer,
many families broken up by that. An,
there Is only one Comptroller In the city
80 II would not lead to any great dis >
ter 10 family ties II the Comptroile
were a woman. Personally ] do no
think ] should recommend the appoin,
! ment OF any woman OF my acquaintanc