The bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-05-12

COulO llOC COIlc " d udLlOIl6l SGtLkS~
ment on the question of suffrage was
because they knew that if they asked
for "woman suffrage" that would in-
clude the Negro woman also-that
the voting white southerner did not
want, so you will find that the states
that are most prejudiced are Texas,
Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama and
Florida-and all of the outhern states,
because they haven't decided how they
could manage to grant the white wo-
man the vote and exclude the Negro
woman at the same time.
Now we"t,'' q Des Moines for in-
instance, in free for all state, our
race is segregated in all social lines
of amusement-but the Iowa state
laws are not the back of it; we'll,
what is the back of it? The preju-
diced southerner, who has come here
and poisoned the good feelings Of the
opposite race with the Negro race. We
women are handicapped. We have no
vote. But we are asked by the good
white women to lend them a hand To-
secure a vote for all women. Are our
men SO blind that they can't see how
the suffrage Bill can help Is, thrice
more than any other so-called FREQ
woman on the globe. .%
Just suppose now iw "The Birth Of
alton" would have shown here next
year, about this time, and the legis-
lature, meeting here this fall, and the
women would get the vote on June s
this year, what do you think would
become of the play? l can tell you.
with the 1000 white club women Of
this city, together with our club wo-
men, and the voting males that ara
against it now, there would be no
chance other than defeat, and it would
not even enter the state. That is the
way to do business.
The men are dependent on our wo-
men and they can't deny it. For in-
stance, look how quick the men APP
pealed to the federated club women
of this city in the prevention Of the
play I've just mentioned. The women
in body had session with the coun-l
Gil and made good, tring appeals
against the play. Finally the coun-.
cilmen ana mayor just hooted them
off by saying, "Oh, we'll, we can do as
we please about this play; the women
have no vote, they can't hurt us any.
way. But yet our men can't see that
We want the men to understand that
we don't want the vote to take full
charge of the government, but we
want to help them. 1t isn't because
they don't mean we'll, but there are;
things that are overlooked by men
that women would be wide-awake to.
if only given chance. .5.. "
A certain senator from Mississippi
said on one occasion that "Whv, the.
women don't need the vote, for this
reason, that they could generally in-I
fluence their husbands to vote the
way they wanted them to anyway,
but this statement has been p@ovenI
false here in this state. How is It'll
when the man doesn't bother himselfs
about voting at all? Then there isl
not a single vote cast in that family.s
Since the national suffrage bill Isl
at stake, it has been claimed that
there are twice as many men voting
now than before. Why? Because
they don't want the women to walk M
| and catch them mapping. From ALI
indications 7 am forced to believe that
the reason our men don't want theirs
! women to vote is because they SEEM
| quite worried, thinking that we might
! win out ahead of them. Why is it that
they never think that going out doing
extra work away from home VIE
| make women more masculine, and yeN
casting their ballot will make them, Evld q /,
so? When the woman leaves home
and works all day and returns ans
| works half of the night TO makl q
thinrs pleasant at home, then why
can't .he be pleasured enough, + y ihss n
her desi, d, to give her the ballot! 1;
Now the only way for the men s, I,
| prove their unselfshness, progressiys
mesa and fairness Is to vote on June 4
for woman suffrage.
Irdorsed by Des Moines suffragg 4.
club, Des Moines, Iowa. l.
wanted Colored barber. Addrs
= McDavis, 11s Iowa avenue, Ioye ysej