Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-11-24
c.,srapists Will Decide Fu-
0' ,ure War Strength Of
Province
,,,rREC pACIFIsT FACTOR
vreoch Element Refuses to
Share Patriotic Sentiment
That Inspires Country
D., RHETA CHILDE DORR
OTTAWA. Canadl, Nov "a

coyery ,,nhcrs, are its most important
coitcal c'pu.'
ppo,tical factors
pO ,cxt general election when VIII take
the ,So,,,ber II, will be decided by the
pl.ce 81 women. and as the eiectlon goes
votes ory ~ largely depend the future war
.,reng,h of Canaua'
,,a,,er. therefore. will carry on the war
a.. canada or they viii spoil the spsndid
io' "a established during the last three
bv the Canadian troops IN France.
oro great issue of the general cleo
I". he held next month is conscription.
w" nu canada proceed along the old SLOW
one os,eful and discriminating method Of vol
e,ary enlistment or shall she adopt the
o.nid certain and democratic method of
,sa seIectivc draft as worked out in the
Tn,,ed states? That is Canada's big prob
lam lust now. and women will have to
decide 1t.
7, is well known that Canadi's situation
,omen and all. is complicated by its age
AID race problem the struggle between the
Tnrlish and French population which
seems Just as far removed from settlement
rs II was a century ago.
The French Canadians have been luke
varm toward the war. They have no
s.e,ing that France is their mother coun-
,rv any more than the Kansas farmer feels
mat England is his ancestor The French
tends very little beyond the boundaries
o,ebec which he would like to see n sepa-
rate and independent commonwealth.
THE IRELAND OF CANADA.
Quebec Is, indeed. the Ireland of Canada.
mite as rebellous and proud and unrcaSon-
ng as the emerald isle of the North seas
ouebec and it's citizens who have settled
sutside it's borders see no reason why they
Sshould go to war for France or England
ar any other country. In fact. they see
some reasons why they should not.
II was largely on account of the refusal
AZ all except a small contingent of French
canadians to enlist in the overseas army
that five provinces of British Canada
adopted woman suffrage. These provinces,
british Columbia, Alberta. Saskatchewan,
Manitoba and ontario, clearly perceived the
necessity of swelling their electorate. and
making up for the lost votes of the fight
Ing men
Sir Robert Borden: Premier of Canada.
has long been an advocate of suffrage for
al Canadian women. but has never been
able to carry his party with him on the
Issue The Conservatives were afraid of
4 the French woman vote, and they took
refuge in the old states rights argument
which has so far kept the Federal amend
ment in the background in Congress.
Premier Borden paid a visit to England
to Canada determined to put through a
conscrption measure. The situation. as he
saw IT, was too grave, the crisis too imme-
date to permit longer the old system of
voluntary enlistment.
As a measure of justice to the men
hghtng overseas. an emergency woman
suffrage measure was included in the war
time election act. This gave the vote to
all women in the Dominion who had
next Of kin soldier or sailor fighting over
seas dead in past battles or honorably dis
charged.
Next of kin nurses serving overseas were
= likewise enfranchsed. Every wife, mother,
sister or daughter of fighting man or a
nurse was thus given a vote for the dura-
ton of the war The vote of tho women
in the five suffrage provinces was tempo
rarly suspended
LAURIERS THREAT CHECKS DRAFT
Both the conscription act and the war
time suffrage act were bitterly contested
by the Liberal party under the leadership
Of Sir Wilfrd Laurier. Sir Wilfrid issued
manifesto announcing that in case lhe
was elected to Parliament, which means
that he would become Premier he would
suspend the operation of the conscription
act until a referendum to the country could
be voted upon. He was wise enough to
add he was in favor of full suffrage for all
Canadian women, splitting even on this
issue with Premier Borden.
The result of Sir Wifrid Laurier's mani
festo has been to halt conscription to "a
very great extent. OF the men drawn, a
very large number claim eXemption-some-
times on frivolous grounds.
No one knows how the woman vote Is
going. or even how many women will 60
on record either for or against conscrip-
ton system of enumeration has been
eevised enumerators going from house to
house throughout the Dominion, enrolling
those women who are entitled to "a vote.
More than 100000 women are entitled
TO vote under the new wartime elections
act If enough of them get on the rolls,
and II majority of those vote for Borden,
the conscription policy will be established
IN Canada and the war will be fought by all
classes and by French as well as English.
WOMAN VOTE A PUZZLE
But there is no possible way of judg-
ing how the women will vote. On the one
hand 1t would seem that every woman with
son. husband. father or brother fighting
for his country on the seas or in the mud
and blood of the trenches would favor con-
scription. On the other hand, many women
are indignant that their full suffrage has
been taken away from them by Premier
Borden. Sir Wilfrid Laurier has promised
10 restore full suffrage. and then the won-
en- will all be able to vote for conscrption
they want to-
Meanwhile the loyal women of Canada
are working hard in all the cities to get
legally entitled women on the voting list
They have organized in election districts
everywhere. and are holding drawing-ro
and other meetings. appointing district cap
tains and In every way trying to bring out
the woman vote.
One of Borden's strongest supporters in
his war policies is Lady Pope. of Ottawa, a
members of one of the Oldest French fami-