Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1916-08-27
THE W0MAN'S VOTE.
,e shipped

was outfiguring Mr.. Wilson on the
woman's suffrage question. Mr.. Hughes
went off on tangent; while Mr.. Will
son played according to form.
The Albany Herald has the follow
ing editorial on the question:
Mr.. Hughes is openly bidding for the
female vote. He has openly declared
in favor of granting the ballot to the
women of the country by amendment
to the federal constitution, and during
his touring through the West, where
sentiment in favor of votes for wo-
men" has scored its most substantial
gains, he has tried to make himself
solid with the petticoat army whose
ballots will mingle with those of mere
men" when the nation goes to the polls
in November.
President Wilson believes that wo-
men should be allowed to vote but CON
siders the matter one which should be
left to the states for settlement. He
does not think other states should be
allowed to dictate whether women
shall or shall not vote in Georgia, for
Instance. He is not in favor of fore
/ ing the ballot into the hands of the wo-
men of state when perhaps no more
than small minority of the women
directly affected have more than casual
interest in the matter Mr.. Hughes has
declared in favor of federal amend
ment to settle the question for all
states, regardless of how the latter
may chance to feel on the subject.
Therefore the issue, such as it is, has
found its way into the campaign, and
we suppose that Mr. Hughes will get
as his reward the bulk of the militant
stffragette vote in those states where
women will help decide the coming
presidential election.
But We imagine there is going to be
another feminine factor in the Novem-
Der election which will far outweigh
that to be welded by those female poll
iticians of the West who are trying to
make a sort of twin battle cry out of
votes for women" and votes for
Hughes" We refer to those millions
4 of mothers, wives, sisters and sweet
hearts whose hearts are grateful for
the answering fidelity of the calm
faced man with the strong chin and
square jaw who, sitting in the place Of
greatest power and opportunity in the
nation, has steered it safely through
tie most critical period of its history
since the Civil War.
In France, Russia, Germany, Aus
tria, Italy and half dozen smaller
countries of Europe, millions of men.
the very flower of Old World citizen
ship, have been killed or manned for
life on the bloodiest battle fields that
men have died upon since wars began.
The British Isles alone have sent to the
[ war, or will have sent before the con-
flict is decided one way or another, a
total of five millions of men, hundreds
of thousands of whom will never see
home again, and other hundreds of
thousands of whom will go through
life with empty sleeves and on artificial
I limbs.
But for the clear judgment the I'M
failing forbearance, the exalted patro-
tism of Woodrow Wilson there might
today be thousands of new wooden
crosses marking the graves of those
who were of the flower of our own
country's manhood-the sons, broth
ers, husbands and sweethearts of wo>
men who would be sitting today, red
eyed and heartsore, in homes as des-
olate as are millions of homes in Eu-
rope, But for Wilson, a great Ameri-
can army would have been in Mexico
months ago, fighting not only the SOL
diers of that unhappy land, but its
whitening heat and dread diseases. But
for Wilson, we would have been in
yolved in the war in Europe long ago.
The women who do not vote-who
love home in the old fashioned way
and who thank God that ours, at least,
among the great nations of the earth,
is at peace-these will also thank God
for Wilson! Not many of them may
vote, but their influence over those
who do will be powerful factor in
the great bloodless battle to be fought
next November.