The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-02-28
Charges of Duplicity and >Chicanery Are Thrust Upz on the Equal Suffragists By Their Opponents, Who Declare They Are Trying to Avoid Submission of Question to the Whole People.
(Special to The Farmer.)

(SpeciaI to The Farmer.)
 Hartford, Feb. 2S.-Acting upon the assumption that to give women the right to vote on excise questions means to establish prohibition in Con- necticut, the liquor interests of the State pooled their strength with the Connecticut, Society Opposed to WO- man Suffrage, in the first big clash this year between the opponents and adv0cates of equal suffrage in the state capitol, in the hall of the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon.
 The hearing of the committee on the Judiciary, on the two suffrage measures-oAe giving women the right to vote on excise questions, the other giving to women the right to vote on national and municipal mat ters- attracted a gathering that over flowed from the floor of the house into the galleries From all parts of the state they came-the suffragis car rying little tri-colors symbolic of their cause. For five hours the debate waged. usually at high tension, some times acrimonious, often frightened by sallies of wit.
 Opening as a debate upon the mer- it's of woman suffrage, the hearing quickly developed into a fight on the liquor question, and for a long time the smoke of the excise battle obscur- ed the field of suffrage. Charges were frequent that the suffragists had re- sorted to duplicity in enlisting in the cause of prohibition, or in having lin- ed up the 1Prohibftionists in their cause, and this recalled an interest ing bit of history in regard to the laA bor and the suffrage movements in the state.
 At the State Federation of Labor's S convention last year, by vote of 72 to 58, the delegates endorsed woman suffrage.
 Several of those who voted against the measure were women delegates who did so on the principle that the question of woman suffrage did not come within the scope of the labor or ganizations. And when opponents of the pending measures cited the fact that the women delegates voted against it, Miss Emily Pearson, the indefatigable state organizer of the Connecticut Equal Franchise League, lost no time in telling the legislators that the very night that this action had been taken by the state federation, the league had sent into Bridgeport, the home of several of these delegates, a representatives who obtained the un- animous endorsement, for equal suff- rage, of the Corset Workers union at a mass meeting 5000 strong.
 Bitter indeed was the attack upon the suffragists by counsel for the state liquor interests. Attorney Cornelius Danaher of Meriden, assailed the suf- fragists for resorting to intrigue, chi canery, and michiavellian tactics, in their alliance with the Prohibition ists.
 And the Prohibitionists' spokesmen who warmly espoused the equal suf- fragists' cause, declared that the ques- tion of Woman's right to. vote was be ing obscured in the controversy over liquor.
 Freely, too, did the opponents o1 the equal suffragists make the charge that they were resorting to cowardlJ trick, in seeking toN obtain a broaden ing of their franchise by legislative act rather than by constitutions amendment. Such a move disap pointed many of their former advo- yates, it was said.
 Mrs. Thomas N. Hepburn, state president of the suffragists, marshall led her forces strongly. No match fol her in debate is Mrs. Daniel A. Mark. ham, president of the society opposed to woman's voting, yet Mrs. Markham sprang pair of real surprises on the hearing in the persons of Miss Mar jorie Dorman, Virginia girl, whlrl- wind of oratory and logic, and Miss Lucy G. Price, a master of debate Miss Dorman is a law student in Co., lumbia university, Miss Price for mer newspaper worker in Cleveland O., now of New York city.
 But Mrs. Hepburn, quick to turr any point to the advantage of hel cause, paid the brilliant opponents 2 generous tribute. Their skill in hand ling their subject, she declared, ought in itself to convince the committee on the judiciary of the ability of wo- men to vote intelligently, if she only had the right to vote.
 / Mrs. Markham was placed inSan em' barrassing position, from which the action of Senator George Klett, o1 New Britain, chairman of the commit tee, relieved her.
 After spokesmen for the liquor in terests and spekesmen for the anti: had stormed Mrs. Hepburn's forces she demanded of Mrs., Markham a1 expression as to where she stood o1 the bill which gave women the righ to vote on excise.
 Mrs. Markham, an advocate of pro hibition, hesitated, while the suffra gists, realizing, her embarrassment applauded and shouted their insist ence for an answer.
 Miss Price arose to Mrs. Mark hams assistance.
 "But I want to hear from Mrs Markham, not Miss Lucy Price of Nev York city, insisted Mrs. Hepburn. Mrs. Markham began to declare he A1Unf1dence in men to settle the ques