Arizona republican., 1915-10-11
Where the People
 May Have Hearing
THE CONGRESSIONAL UNION

!
 held in Phoenix under the auspices
 of the Congressional Union. 1 take this as an effort on the part of 1 these overzealous, ladies to enthuse the women of Arizona into a spirit of militancy over the proposition of l forcing congress to pass the nation
 al woman suffrage amendment
 1 The following is an editorial from | the pen of Alice Stone Blackwell the 1 daughter of Alice Stone and Henry l Blackwell. Miss Blackwell is a bril- | liant lawyer and is now the editor 1 of the Womans Journal, published in l Boston.
 "En Impractical Policy
 People ought not to join the Union unless they really believe in 1 its program. Its program is to fight the national party in power and to get the women voters of the western states to oppose it's congressional candidates until it submits the na tion- wide suffrage amendment. In our judgment this is a wholly wis
 ionary plan. Ever since women be-
 gan voting in the west, now nearly
 a half century ago, their most con-
 spicuOuS trait as voters has been
 that they pay more attention to a
 candidates character and record than
 to his party label. This is their in
 veterate tendency; and it is through l
 this tendency that they are consider . |
 ed to have rendered their greatest l
 service to the enfranchised states |
 The Union hopes in course of time !
 to build up a large opposition 70 |
 the dominant party among the wom-
 en voters: but We believe that fol- 1 lowing this line of effort is chasing a will of the wisp It diverts money
 and energy from more useful and
 fruitful methods, and so far as it has any effect upon the campaign states, the effect is bad.
 Tt is sometimes said that the leaders of the Congressional Union are not at present opposing any par ty. They are not at this moment because this is the interval between elections; but they did it at the last election, and they mean to do it at the next, unless in the meantime the the amendment
 The leaders of the Union mean well. Their enthusiasm and conse- cration are beautiful, and their fer vor is like a fire in the bones: but this very intensity carries with il at times a certain narrowness, an rr- ablIlty to see any point of view but their own. To them all times and seasons are appropriate for making a protest; and they could not see that they would not really be serving the cause by pressing it upon the presidents s attention at a time which both the president and the general pubic would regard as highly un- fitting.
 The leaders of the Union are not . to he blamed. They believe that the anti-party policy which they have struck out is the best and quickest i way to carry the nation wide suff- rage amendment, and they naturally make straight for their goal through , thick and thin. and try to rally to their banner all possible support IAose who believe in their policy , ought to give it their support But those who do not believe Tn it ought , to sunport the organizations which : gre following a wiser method .
 The question is or should be one nf program and not of personalities; = and we should line up with the one :. society or the other. according as we believe that the one policy or the :. other will be the more helpful to the cause"
 Miss Blackwell voices the senti- ments of all who are working for equal suffrage according to the plan outlined by the National Woman Suffrage association when she says that s1e believes that the Congress , Slonal Union is chasing a 'will-o the I wisp,' and that the result for suff- rage as shown so far is bad.
 There is great anxiety in the four campaign states where the suffrage ( amendment is now pending and is to be voted on the second of November { next. I
 Numerous inquiries have come to ( me as to the attitude of Arizona to- I ward this militant movement. and the fear is freely expressed that if q one of the enfranchised states give t IL countenance that it will greatly | ieopardize the chances for success in c the campaign states. I have answer / ed that there is no cause for alarm a as far as Arizona is concerned and t that they may have implicit faith in the good judgment of our women
 Not long after the ballot was a granted the women of Arizona. lead t PTS of the Congressional Union en- V listed my support by setting forth [ speclous arguments in behalf of their r plan. Carried away with enthusi- r asm over my own enfranchisement t 1onged to break the chains of all l. In my fiery zeal over q the end to be obtained I lost sight V of the means by which it was to be l. accomplished and so I became d a member of the Congressional Union t
 I had not followed their lead very ong before I saw that their plan of I work savored of political tricke,y and t at which I turned aside in c disgust. Y
 The methods of the Union are so \ unfair and double dealing D that do not hesitate to give it as t. my opinion that the leaders don't b nope or really care to defeat the V democratic party here or elsewhere. f They only hope to invite the women D If all other parties against the demo- a