Iditarod pioneer., 1917-03-17
TEMPTING BAIT IS DANGLED BEFORE EYES OF DEMOCRATS
 BY WOMAN SUFFRAGISTS

'If the Democratic party will put through federal amendment in the coming session of congress providing for national woman suffrage, the party will remain in power for at least another fifty years was the confident assertion of Mrs. Abby Scott Baker of Washington, who has returned to the capital after a two months stumplng tour of the Western states
 "The one great paramount issue in the West" she said, has been the woman sui frage issue In the presidential election of 1916 there were approximately 100000 women who were entitled to vote, of which number about 100000 enjoyed the right for the first time The Democrats realized the importance of the suffrage issue far more than did the Republicans, and they kept bringing it to the attention of the Western voters The slogan, He voted for woman suffrage, was, equally with the cry of He kept us out of war the cause of President Wilson's enormous and almost un- expected strength in the West
 The 4,O00, 900 women voters of the coun- try will have, therefore, an enormous power when congress cOnyenes. We can command enough votes practically to compel action on the part of congress. If the Democrats do not pass the Susan B. Anthony amend ment to the federal constitution, which pro- vides for the national enfranchisement of women, then all the efforts of the National Woman's Party will be devoted to securing the return to power of the Republican party whose defeated candidate for the presidency had pledged himself to support our cause. But if the Democrats, as they easily can pass the woman's suffrage amendment to the constitution they will remain in power for at least another fifty years. For in this case they will have the support of the South and the West and of the millions of women who will see in them the party which freed them from the bonds of polti cel slavery.
 When asked why, in her recent stumping in behalf of the Women's Congressional Union, she had urged her hearers to sup port the Republican ticket, Mrs. Baker replied that 1t was then her belief that the Republican party would better meet the wishes of the sufragists than the party in power.
 Tt was the aim of the WomGn's Con gressonal Union," she pointed out, Ito have the women of the West vote for Mir. Hughes in order to register protest against the failure of the Democratic party to pass the Susan B. Anthony amendment in the last session of congress.
 "Unfortunately from our point of view, the Republican campaign managers did not make it clear enough that the candidate had indorsed the woman suffrage plank. As a result, despite all our efforts to make this point clear thousands of women voters were msled by the clever Democratic arguments and voted for the reelection of the Presi- dent. But enough women in these pivotal Western states did vote for Mir. Hughes clearly to show that 8 vote of protest had been registered against the attitude of in difference as shown by tis actions, of the Democratic party It is for this reason that we are approaching congress with an optl- mism which we have never before known We know that we have got behind us hun dreds of thousands of votes, and because of our rapidly growing political power we believe that an amendment providing for national woman suffrage will be passed by the next session of congress.
 When the Susan B. Anthony amendment was voted upon in the senate, on March g, 1914, there were registered thirty-fye yeas and thirty-four noes, which was eleven short of the necessary two-thirds vote. In he house, when the amendment was voted upon, on January l2, 1915, there were IT yeas and 204 noes, which was seventy eight less than the necessary two-thirds majority. But so strong has the sentiment for woman suffrage shown itself in the campaign just closed that I do not believe that there will be a single congressman or senator who will dare to stand up on the floor of con- gress and openly oppose the passage of a federal amendment calling for the enfran- chisement of the women of the country"