The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-02-28

ton, spoke of the wave of prohibition that is sweeping the country, and was about to go further when Mrs. Hep burn again insisted for a direct an swer as to just where she stood on this particular measure, when Sena- tor Klett declared ten minute recess ,- gppa-- etaoin etaoin etaion etao
 Mrs Caroline B. Buell., perennia, advocate of prohibition as the presi- dent of the Womens Christian Tenn perance Union of the state, argued for women's voice in tHe excise ques- tions as a speedy means to effect pro- hibition.
 Mrs. Hepburn opened the suffrage hearing with an eloquent argument for equal suffrage, reviewing the his tory of the franchise in this state. Women were left out of the voting class when the constitution as drawn because conditions then were differ ent But woman is a responsible hu- man being before the civil and the criminal law; than why not let her be a responsible human being before the political law.
 t'Women, children, and men con- victed of heinouA crime are the dls- franchised citizens of Connecticut" concluded Mrs. Hepburn. Some com mittee of this legislature-and hope it will be this committee will decide to remove women from the disfran- chised class
 Mrs. M Toscan Bennett of Hart ford pointed out that both the Demo cratic and Republican party blanks J0v~1x fny man suffrage She said she hoped 1t would not. be said there was mem Der of the present judiciary committee who like the member of two years ago believed that party platforms are merely devices to catch votes.
 She pointed out that Il states have equal suffrage, that Illinois has law sure like the proposed Connecticut law giving women the vote on municipal and presidential elections, that since the last election both North Dakota and Ohio have passed a presidential suffrage measure, and that in Indiana such a bill even now awaits the gover- nor's signature to become law. In 1912 there were six states, and in 1915, 12 states, where women voted for the president. And in these states are elected 1855 presidential electors, just 25 per cent. of the total vote.
 Mrs. valeria Parker spoke on the broad principles of equal suffrage, ad- vocating votes for women on humani- tarian grounds. Give women the vote in Connecticut, she argued, and the State will have an opportunity to make use of the intelligence, and energy and interest of it's woman citizens then Connecticut may not be back ward in the care of it's paupers, it's in sane, it's delinquents, the state may not have to acknowledge that it has the fourth highest mortality in the na- ton.
 Then came Miss Pearson, whose presence in the capitol throughou legislative sessions, ever reminds the hostile legislator that his doings art under scrutiny, read a dozen tele grams from United States Senators Congressmen and other notables, en dorsing equal suffrage. Among tht senders were Senator Curtis of Kan sas; Senator Jones of Washington Senator Shafroth of Colorado; Con gressman Hayes of California; Con gressman Hawley of Oregon. Mis- Pearson also stated that Gov. Hol comb had received. from the legisla ture of the state of Idaho memor ial urging Connecticut to adopt equa suffrage.
 When Miss Pearson spoke of thu various forces of the state workins for and against equal suffrage sh' fired shrapnel into the liquor inter ests. She said she had not pait much heed to the liquor question un til she discovered it's opposition tt equal suffrage. And then she be came convinced, she said, that ''it i indeed very vicious influence in ou state
 ''The bartenders, brewers helpers unions and other allied trades tried t. defeat our measure at the state con vention,'' said Miss Pearson, "but tn clean, decent workingmen of Connec l ticut, union and ,non-union, believ 1 that women should vote" I The leaders of the suffrage count, 1 organizations then spoke, one for eacl l county. Mrs. H. H. Knox was tn speaker for Fairfield county, with it I18 leagues and membership oe ', 1 900
 Before the opposition began it | hearings, Representative William M | Foord of Stamford, Rep. Jonathan B | Bliss of Clinton. Rep. Leonard Smitl of Mansfield, Rep. Samuel c. Shaw O | Bedding, and Rep. Paul P. Ives O Guilford, asked the committee tt record them as in favor of both meas
 ures.
 
 tion to the bill with the declaration that there is no growing desire on tht part of the Connecticut women fol the vote. About 4 per cent. of the | women of the state wanted it year. ago; about the same percentage wan it now.
 She created something of a sensa ton when she challenged Dr. Parker! humanitarian plea with the declara tion that the advocates of suffrage have pledged themselves not to give to the aid of charities until they art given the vote. Kisses and. jeer i greeted this statement but Mrs. Mark ham, undaunted, declared she hat , documentary proof of her statement. It remained for Miss Dorman tt fairly sweep the galleries with hel dynamic defense of the anti-suffra l gists. Only per cent of the wome1 | live to be 60 without escaping matri mony she declared. and at 20 on1. 1915 per cent. are still unmarried. Sh'
 ridicu1ed the argument that womel
 would make for better legislation, ant
 with the force of much argument de 1 clared that the right to vote, vested | in women, would tend to sex distinc