Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-02-12
LRN Ora WIlliams.l

n / Des NOineS FeN. l. Thumhing mt
musty leaves OF little pam phlet tina
has laid on the desk Of the writer these
: many years, a name VAS encountered
:. that was suggestive ~ train OF
5 thought The writer hal just attended
, a fine meeting on Sunday afternoon
addressed by the head of the woman
suffrage association in the United
States. The pamphlet was a report by
! Herbert F'aira!l on Iowa at the New
orleans exposition in 1SS4-6. There
vas chapter on Iowa Women in
Business" and part Of the exhibit had
been 20 demonstrate that Iowa women
thirty years ago were taking an active
part in business affairs. There were
references to lecturers like Matilda
Fletcher and ] Ellen Foster; to elo-
cuiionists like Matte Cope and Ella
June Meade. 10 preachers like Mary
Stafford and Ida Hultin; TO Octave Tha-
net, Jennie Wilson. Ada LangTorthy
and Ella \. Hamilton. But there was
also included in the list as one dis
tinguishei in newspaper work the
! name Of Mrs. Leo Chapman And Mrs.
+ Gait was Mrs. Leo Chapman. But
! Mrs. Gait came and went from Iowa
and nobody mentioned that at one
| time she vas a newspaper reporter in
! DeS Moines and IN QeIvspa per work as
! in other things she was a leader II
would not have been inappropriate to
/ have had an Invitation out for Mrs.
! Cart TO remain and he at The news
paner convention Of the week. for she
learned al least something Of how to
meet and face great questions OF the
| day while doing newspaper work In
| Iowa. But she was also a teacher and
/! II vas while she was a tea her thai
she became active in woman suffrage
work. She told OF the fact that she
had at one time canvassed the towns
along the northern line Of the Mil
waukee for names for a petition in
favor Of equal rights. She told an
other very interesting thing, and that
was, that many years ago when the
question Of amending the constitution
Of the United States was I'D to remove
the color distinction between citizens
Harper's Weekly conducted a refer
endu-n to find out how many of its
readers would also be willing to re-
move the sex difference and that the
largest number of votes for the re-
form came from Iowa. Which showed
that even then Iowa people were fairly
we'll grounded in support Of the prin-
cipie Of equality between all people
everywhere on all matters of public
concern ~ q.
Mrs. Gait delevered splendid ad-
dress. Those who heard her here could
no longer be asking why she has been
chosen as the national leader. What
she said was pertinent, convincing.
logical: the manner In which she said
it was superb Her manner is quite
different from that OF Mrs. Foster or
Matilda Fletcher, or Helen Cougar,
but it is simply perfect.
Altho there were not 80 many OF
them, the newspaper editors in the
days when Mrs. Gait was newspaper
Ing did not have facilities for meeting
each other often. When the newspaper
boys got together here this week It
was remarked that no more prosperous
looking convention had been held for
a long time The newspaper editor Of
today is not subsisttng half on charity
ard is not advertising to take IN corn
and pumpkins on subscription. Ac-
cording to the census Of 1876 there
we're about $50 newspapers of all kinds
in Iowa at that time: now there are
over 1000. The census of 1880 fed
eral census. very inrperfectiy showed
thirty-two daily newspapers but with
an aggregate circulation for the en-
<ire state Of only 1850. The sixty
two daily papers now probably sell
more than half million every day
| Something OF the change which has
| come over American nswspapering was
| shown ny the fact of the featuring Of
! Mr.. Brisbane. one Of Mr.. Hearsts high
! priced writers, as the big thing of the
! convention this week. Twenty years
/ ago It would hardly have been pos
! sible to secure such recognition for
! anyone connected in any way with
Hearst journalism. But now It has
! been forced upon the attention Of
newspaper men everywhere that there
was something Of real merit IN the
Hearst idea and he has had greater
influence in changing the whole fabric
of American Journalism than any man
Of his generation.
There is small occasion for any stir
about the matter in Iowa. unless It be
to aid in providing the sinews Of war,
but the fact is that the Cunmins can
didacy Tor president is moving straight
! forward in a manner that is beginning
to attract the serious attention Of the
! whole country. For sot1e time the
eastern newspapers have been disposed
to kill off Cunmins by silence. They
can do so no longer. One by one they
are being driven to discussion OF him.
The fight is apparently over in Mime
| sofa and won by CuIpmins simply be-
cause nobody else could make a show
against him. The scheme of favorte
son opposition IS still being worked in
| Nebraska on behalf Of one who comes
direct from Wall street Wisconsin is
going to get back of LaFollette again,
but for which fact 1t would be for
Cummins. North Dakota also desires to
select LaF'oIlette delegation and the
Cummins people probably will make no
| fight to prevent it. But in Montana,
South Dakota, Kansas and other mid
. die states the Cummins movement Is
we'll under way. News from Oklahoma
is contradictory. Charley Phillips, OF
the state board of agriculture, who
lives, in Oklahoma, says the 1owans
| down there are all for Cummins. There
are great many of them, too. Illinois
; is going to be for Sherman. But the
Burton boom seems never to have got
a start as nation " ito proposition
and the root boom has languished. The
Weeks movement in Massachusetts has
: come down simply to a last chance q