New Britain herald., 1916-06-22
SUFFRAGISTS START
 BERLIN CAMPAIGN
Excellent Addresses Delivered at
 Open Meeting Last Evening

en- campaign was nred III the nelSH- boring town of Berlin last evening. Un- der the auspices of the Berlin Equal Suffrage League, an open meeting was held in the Grange hall and large number of citizens were in attendance. The speakers of the evening were Miss Adele D. Murray of Berlin, Mrs. Ed ward M. Porritt of Hartford and Dr. VaIeria H. Parker of Greenwich. That they made a distinct impression is evil denced by the fact that many women remained after the meeting for the purpose of enrolling for the cause.
 Miss Murrays Speech.
 Miss Adele D. Murray president of the local league, presided at the meet ing and made the first plea for the cause. She spoke in part as follows:
 For the second time within a very short time, I am taking unto myself the privilege of extending a most cor dial welcome to you,-rather, 1 would congratulate you this time upon your attendance at the first public meet ing of the Berlin Suffrage League. I trust you'll feel there is cause for congratulations before the evening is done For the officers and directors,
 
 small at present-of the Berlin Sui frage League, I tend you a real wei come. Though I am honored much in having been chosen the first presi- dent of the league, I feel keerlv my own limitation
 I am not versed in suffrage argu- ments at all,-until I began to think what one might offer-knowing I to a- thing-it seemed to me rather a pre- sumption to talk even a little. But recognizing that in the audience per hsps there might be many by whom my appeal-because of my acknowi- edged ignorance-migh be we'll un- derstood, so few of us are versed in the necessity for, in the demanding why of the big need for Women's voices in the affairs universal of this dem ocracy, I became almost conf dent that I should say just my few thoughts to you.
 Woman's Rights Denied.
 I direct my thought to only these of you who recognize the inalienable right of the free-born, a right now being denied women for no reason other than that they are women. This is a dem ocracy and the word Is wrongly applied in most of our states Connecticut among them for democracy means rule of all the peo- ple-by all the people-not by all the men! And we call ourselves a re- public, and we say ours Is repre- sentative government. It's nothing Of the kind. A representative is a deputy chosen by the people, given h1- t0
 Government Misnamed.
 If women be people-and In the United States census statistics they count us people, then our govern ment is misnamed also just how can Berln's representative be said 10 represent the people of Berlin, when 20 per cent. of Berlin's taxpayers you may be interested in knowing the townswomen do pay 20 per cent. of the tax 1ist-haven't had single thing to do with his having been chosen.
 I know 8 company which pays big dividends and on one of it's floors the whole floor of girls are re- ceiving less than $5 weekly-and a charming lady stock holder bids them to silly little entertainments and tells them what lovely evenings she is pro- viding for their minds culture. Some of them may have had to sell their souls to dress their poor tired bodies in order to get their minds bol- stered up Isn't 1t pitiful joke.
 Suffrage, An Asset.
 For such as these the right of suf- frage is business asset and the business sense of men ought to ack- nowledge the cruel selfshness of their denial to those whom a driving necessity has forced into the ranks of working people. Women are not just crazy about sweating in factories! Why don't those opposed to suffrage whose one whine Is "Women belong in the Home," see to it that they aren't forced to struggle against odds when they do have to get out and compete with males in order to live, to live in the nasty little bedroom of someone else's home and ofttimes they haven't even the price of that!
 There's no such thing as equal pay for equal work in the factories of this cOuntry-there's no such thing as equal pay for equal work in any line wherein men and women are con- peting for the right to exist-I ask you men who say "Women don't need the vote-really womanly won1- en don't want the vote." I ask you has the voting privilege anything to co with such conditionss? Has ito I just wonder. Women of wealth may not need the vote-you'H note I say may not and need-and my kind of woman can get her way without the vote as plain gabster, but surely those who are made to work under laws in the making of which they've had no voice; they surely have had forced upon the knowledge that the vote counts.
 MOnp1 itr