Arizona sentinel Yuma southwest., 1916-01-20
DUTCH WOMEN ARE IN FAIR WAY. ID SECURE vO1EAND HOLD OFFICE
Associated Press)

Associated Press)
 THE HAGUE, Neither lands, Jan. 18.-A step in the direction of according politi- cal rights to Dutch women is taken in a bill to amend the Netherlands constitution re- gently introduced into the Parliament at The Hague by Premier Cort van der Lin den. The bill, which has yet to be voted on, does not ac- tually give women the bal lot, but removes the consti- tutional obstacles hitherto placed in the way of their right to vote. Should it pass, then the electoral law will have to be amended before women are really enabled to exercise the political fran chise.
 The proposed constitution al amendment goes even far ther than recognizing wo- mems right to vote. It also includes their right to be elected, a concession which had not been looked for at this stage.
 Dutch women, although welcoming the suggested reform, are inclined to display dissatisfaction with the limita- tions of the franchise they may ulti- mately obtain under it's provisions, and in their discontent they are now joined by the men, who suffer from the same restrictions.
 The basis of the Dutch constitution is that men (and under the proposed amendment also women) of 25 years of age are entitled to vote for the 100 members of the Second Chamber, which is the direct representative body for the people of the Neither lands The attainment of the age of 25 is, however, not all that is neces- sary. The would-be voter must be able to prove that he Cor she) has "a certain minimum yearly income, varying according to the locality from S110 to $220-the latter in big cities such as Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Besides this, there are exceptions made against persons who receive | municipal assistance under the poor laws and naturally also against crimi- nals and lunatics, while soldiers and sailors under a certain rank are pro hibited from voting while on service with the colors.
 These various disabilities a1ecl nearly half million of the Dutch men of 25 years and over-the approx innate figures for the Netherlands be- ing 1,467,0OO men qualified by age, of whom only 1,O16,569 have votes. As is pointed out by Mrs. Aletta, president of the Womans Suffrage Association of Holland, "the present composition of society offers no ob- stacles to the immediate granting of | the right to vote to all women" She, | however, argues that the limitation under the constitution would permit very few women to vote, for in most cases they have no separate incomes. She is of the opinion that the vote should be given to all mental and morally sound persons of both sexes without any property restrictions. Other Dutch women in the van of the women's movement declare the proposed constitutional reform is a | happy result of the agitation recently carried on by women of all countries, but still others are of opinion that the war has done more to awaken thu self-confidence and independence of women than all their strivings on the platform and has compelled men to learn the lesson that woman is a part of the political fabric. They ar gue that while the men have been oc- cupied in fighting or, as in the Meth erlands, guarding the neutrality of the country against attack, woman has shown she can fill their places fr other spheres of life equally import ant for the public welfare.
 All political parties in the Neither lands appear to have become more or less reconciled to the demand for and need of some such reform in favor of women as that proposed by the Premier, and the nation awaits with interest the outcome of the debates in the chambers