The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-04-19
|SUFFRACISTS DEFEATED' IN TWO
 MEASURES, ARE STILL HOPEFUL
 OF CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT I


 prevented action by the president As an issue of fairness, he argued the class distinction now existing should be wiped out. He would not put it on party grounds, he said, but as a matter of justice.
 Representative Leonard Smith of Mansfield, a clergyman, made a speech on the bill.
 MT. Smith expressed the hope that in the body which he was address ing there was a descendant of the Boston patriot who cried out, as a protest against taxation without rep resentation. '"To hell win the king of Bnglandv' Applause greeted the speaker when he said the women would not sell their votes for $2 each as the men did. "and I know what afm talking about he added. The clergyman told of his experience in acting as political agent few years ago in being asked for $3 by voter in his town whom he had asked to at- tend caucus. He declared himself a "dyed in -the-woor' supporter of the suffrage bills.
 Minority Leader John c. Geary of Waterford told the republicans to take care of their own cattle. The dem- ocrats were a minority party two years ago and to his knowledge the minority was not allowed to control the house. An effort was made to put the saddle upon the wrong horse.
 "Mr. Martin hoped that the repub- lican party would rise to the occasion and it is about time that the repub- lican party rose to something" said the democratic leader, who contin- from Orange. cause believe in American woman hood" he said, land if the repubi- cans want to do the same let them march up to the captains office and do it without further ado"
 F. J. Corbett of Hartford compar- ed the opposition to the bill to the attitude of the farmer who would not blow up rock in his oat field because 1t had always been there. Let us give the women what they. want" he said. He disputed the claim that the increased vote would add to the cost of election. He described the attitude of the democratic party on suffrage as explained by the slogan Equal rights to all and special priv ileges to none"
 Representative Jervis Brown of Milford spoke in opposition. In 1912 he said, Illinois invented this plan and he called it the Illinois swindle. He had heard threats that anyone vot- ing against suffrage, might as well re! tire to the wilderness, but he was not to be deterred from his duty by such threats. There was no knowing whether suffrage for women by statu- tory enactment would be held constf- tutional by the supreme court. He would vote against the bill and if nec- essary would go to the wilderness.
 Representative Martin Caine of Naugatuck made speech against the bill. He did not regard the time for suffrage ripe and said no report had yet been made on the constitutional amendInent giving the vote to women! A statement that 80 per cent of the women of the state did not want the vote, made upon the floor of the house went uncontradicted, he asserted. He declared against statutory enactment. < Representative Willard Rogers of Manchester differed with his colleague MT. Bowers. and, replying to the statement of the latter that the .'wo- men cleaned up San Francisco,Y said: "A few years ago Hartford was just as bad as San Francisco and it was cleaned up by men, The statutory bills, he said. were not the bills en- dorsed in the party platforms and had no claim upon them for support.
 MT. Dillon of Huntington claimed that no man had given any reason why the women should not be grant ed the vote Reverting to the Ram kin incident, he said the democratic leader in congress voted as Miss Ran kin. did and shed tears too. He trac- ed the growth of sentiment in the house by saying that six years $ago there were 69 votes for suffrage in the house, 79 four years ago and 107 two years ago.
 "It is time Connecticut fell into ine,' he said.
 Representative Hiscox of Woodbury said if the suffrage plank was. good eight months ago it was good now.
 Representative F. Healey of Water bury supported the bill and opposed the acceptance of the committee re- port.
 MT. Rose of Essex did not think the question should be settled in the legis- lature The people should decide '' he said. 8 fA s @
 MT. Fox of New London would not vote for statutory legislation, but. he said he would vote to send the con- stitutional amendment to the people. He produced laugh by saying that he was democrat because his fath- CT was republican.
 MT. Peasley, the majority leader, said 1t was not fair to quote the grange as favoring these statutory bills. He was member of the grange and he had not taken a.'vote on it. The leader proceeded to answer all the arguments for the passage of the bill.
 "If congress was full of Jeanette Rankins,' he said, '.it would be neces- sary to open the doors and let the flood of tears flow outward"
 He hoped he would never see wo- men members of the house. It was no place for them, he said.
 Rep. Harry R. Sherwood declared the reason no good arguments had been advanced against extending the suffrage to women was that there was no such things, as good argument.
 Others who took part in the argu- ments for the measure were William H, Heald of Stafford, John F. Hen non of Griswold, Maurice E.. Minor of Plymouth, Thomas M. Stocking of Bedding, William H. Goddard of wallingford. John H. Fish of New