The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-01-09
EXPECT At1|DdeltfNF|
Christian Science Monitor
Sees Progressive Force
in Miss Rankin.

soula was elected to the national con-
gress. flippant and careless Journalism
depicted her ms freak. Newspapers
interested enough to inquire have
to predict that Miss Rankin will stand
in the house a. an earnest and in
formed progressive. The Christian
Science Monitor Of Boston says In a
recent EDITORIAL:
There appears to be little doubt now
that Miss Jeanette Rankin, the first
woman to win seat In the congress
OF the United States. will act with the
independent group in the house Of rep
resentatives. This would be only
characteristic Of her, for her whole
public course has been along indie
pendent and progressive lines, and this
fact adds to the interest the country
Is manifestiRg in her career. Certain
features of that career are well worth
consideration. Miss Rankin is the
daughter Of q well-known pioneer citi-
zen of Montana who went west and
"roughed it" in the days when that
part of the country was In the maxi
ing. A fair estimate of the quality OF
the Rankin family may be obtained
from the fact that it embraces one
brother and four or five sisters. all of
| whom are university graduates. Miss
Jeanette is n graduate of the Univer.
sity of Montana. Almost as soon AS
she left college she began to take an
/ interest in political affairs and while
still inexperienced in what are often
described as the intricacies of the
biggest of all games," she displayed
oratorical ability that never failed to
attract large audiences. She has
talked in practically every neighbor-
hood in the mountain state, and long
ago made an extended acquaintance
and fast friends among Its inhabitants
That these subordinated partisan po-
itical opinion to personal regard, to a
large degree, in voting for Miss RAN
kin. is n fact established clearly by
the returns. While Montana went over
| whelmingly Democratic. giving Mr..
Wilson a plurality of something like
10000 votes over Mr.. Hughes it went
Republican so far as Miss Rankin was
| concerned. giving her an unquestion-
| able majority over the Democratic
masculine citizen who opposed her.
Personal liking. it is true, had much.
but not everything, to do with this
Montana would not have chosen her
as a representative in congress if she
| had nothing to offer but a pleasant
| face, a musical voice. an easy flow Of
language and agreeable manners. She
| had, to begin with, become proficient
IN practical politics.; she had taken a
comprehensive grasp on the great
public questions Of the hour; she ask
ed for nothing on purely sentimental
grounds: she promised to give her
time and talents to her country first
Of all, to remember the interests of
her state next, to think of her con-
stituents in the third place. and to con-
slider herself last
| In New York she had taken n course
at the School OF Philanthropy, and one
of her early teachers, now of Manhat-
| tan. after telling of her devotion to
| studies in this line. and her working
| out of problems in reform. political
and industrial, recalls how she pre-
pared herself first to understand and
| next to grapple through the spoken
word, with fundamentals. "She worked
| over her speeches. says this teach
| err. Miss Lita Barnett. MY! how she
worked! She herself was her own
most severe critic. Every address that
Miss Rankin could find time to make
she accepted. Together we criticized
and labored over her development. 1t
was not long before her exceptional
ability to know persons enabled her to
reach audiences of every kind"
A characteristic incident is told
about her first appearance before the
Montana legislature in behalf of suf-
frage. This was In the year when the
| first suffrage amendment to the con-
stitution was submitted. The men,
bers listened to her attentively and APP
plauded her generously. They did not
attempt to hide their admiration. And
they thought they were doing all she
had a right to expect when they
| SnOWeFeu compliments upon sner ana
presented her with n basket of beau
tiful violets. But what she really
wanted was their votes. and she came
back and told them SO later, when she
| was made president of the suffrage
organization of her state. This time
the lawmakers understood her better.
They saw that she wanted something
more than a personal triumph, that
she was working for her cause. not
for herself. and she won the lcgis-
lature over to suffrage.
Miss Jeanette Rankin is no novice
In public life, and she Is no stranger
to the country. Her name has been
In the newspapers a great deal in re-
cent years. When the presiding Of
ficer in the next house of representa-
tives recognizes THE lady from Mon
tana," no timid. hesitating. thin. or
waverins voice will begin with. Mr..
Speaker" but rather. a voice pure and
steady and resonant, and one certain,
| mt oplv IN np1iot tho AT ~