The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-06-25
ACTION IS SIGNIFICANT

| grand Olu party IS opposed to the enIran- chisement of women. All the parties are l committed to the principles of suffrage ACTION IS SIGNIFICANT ''The action of the two great parties in suddenly needing the call of the women is significant. It proves the chief conten- 1 ton which has been made by the suf- l fragists-that the ballot is supreme. Does | any one believe for a moment that either 1 of them would have indorsed suffrage 1 had it not been for the fact that there were 100000 women about to participate l in a national election?
 l Were they not moved by the fact that 1 91 electoral votes probably hung ingthe balance with the women holding the de- ciding hand? It has always been con tended that when women were given the ballot they would receive the considera ton from the political powers to which they were entitled. It was declared that many reforms, and countless measures favored by women for the improvement of conditions and for the betterment of the country would be put through by the lawmakers. No finer example of the power of the ballot could be wanted
 than the action of the republican and democratic parties in simultaneously g1v ing to the women an 1ndorSement of equal uffrage-possibly not exactly what they asked or desired, but an indorSement
 none the less.
 T am frequently asked if the women voters of the nation feel that the demo- cratic plank was in every way satisfac- tory? The plank we had requested pro- vided merely for an indorsement of the principles for which we stood, with no reference to the manner of it's adoption. The democrats added the provision favor
 ing this by the adoption of the states.
 The republican plank merely indorsed the
 principle of woman suffrage.
 "Our organization has never played
 partisan politics. We have worked for
 suffrage, either in the states or through
 Congress. Our idea is to get suffrage
 the quickest way possible, and we feel
 that each time a state was added, the
 nearer we were to the goal. The con
 gressional union, another organization
 which favors suffrage, works only through Congress. The union is opposed to the doctrine of states rights. Our as- socation has no fight to make on that doctrine. The congressional union tries to hold the party in power responsible for the outcome of it's efforts for suf- frage. Thus when the efforts to get Con- gress and the President to aid in pass ing the federal amendment for submit ting the suffrage question to the several states failed, the union began a de- termined fight on all democrats, even
 going so far as to fight members of that party who were strongly in favor of suf- frage
 we are opposed to any such action. It seems to us to be the height of folly to work against democratic congressman who favored suffrage merely because his party failed to give us the vote. Our or ganization has also looked with disfavor and has frowned upon some of the ac- tons of the union, it having been felt that their methods were not sufficiently dignifed and smacked somewhat of mili- tancy, although they have never resorted 1 to any of the so called strong arm meth l ods of the English women.