The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1917-02-15
The Suffrage Situation.
By FREDERIC J:HASKlN

for some reason or other, and fix
qualifications which would keep them
from voting, but as a result its repre-
sentation in Congress would be cut
down IN like proportion.
The amendment speaks of the male
inhabitants of such state, 81 years of
age, and citizens of the United States"
The Poindexter resolution would cut
out the word male" In other words.
the representation of state would be
figured in proportion to the number of
its inhabitants, male and female, who
are over 81 years of age, and citizens
of the United States. Any state in
which both men and women voted
would get full representation, calcu-
lated on this basis, while a state with
only male suffrage would have Its rep
resentation almost or quite cut in two.
And yet the privilege of deciding who
should vote and who should not vote
would be left in the hands of the state,
the federal government only reserving
the right to determine the represen-
tation of the state in national matters
on the basis of the states own action
in the matter of suffrage. The prece-
dent for such course is found in the
Fourteenth Amendment itself, which
considers the way each state delimits
its body of voters in determining it's
representation.
The Poindexter resolution is thus
seen to bring up the federal suffrage.
problem from a new angle. The reso-
luton will hardly succeed in passing
Congress. 1t may get the support CT
the representatives of the eleven suff-
rage states, but the forces that have
rejected the idea of federal amend
ment granting woman suffrage will
doubtless view this new approach to
the question as merely the identical
proposal in new guise. The officers
of the National Suffrage Association
themselves hail the resolution merely
as IAN educational agent of large
value"
Doubtless to be regarded in similar
light, from the national point of view,
is the Cary bill, providing for a refer
endum in the District of Columbia on
various matters. The District is at
present agitated over the prohibition
problem. Congress is about to provide
that the District shall be dry. The
Cary bill proposes to put the question,
along with several others up to a vote
of the people of Washington; and the
bill would provide that men and women
shall vote on the matters therein con-
tanned on equal terms. While apply
ing to purely local matters. the pro-
vision has more than a local slgnif-
canoe, according to the suffragists, for
it shows sentiment for equal suffrage
in Congress.
Measures like those of Senator Poin-
dexter and Mr.. Cary are keeping the
suffragists in good cheer, although
their fight for federal amendment is
still apparently long ways from a
successful issue. They are finding new
arguments for their cause in the con-
duct of the women of Europe. There
I is little doubt that mighty changes in
the status of women in the principal
belligerent countries will follow the
war, and American suffragists believe
that our progressive tendencies will not
permit US to lag behind the procession
in this matter.
The European suffragists are man.
aging for the most part to maintain
their records of patriotism without the
internecine strife that has character
lied even the fraternities of art and
letters, and the Socialists party in
Europe. The women are doing all sorts
of war work; number of them have
been decorated for bravery in various
branches of service, and withal thew
are to certain extent keeping in touch
with each other on questions of suff-
rage and women's rights. The publ
cation of the International Alliance for
woman suffrage still contains articles
from France, England, Germany and
Austria on single page.
The suffragists do not claim, or wish
to be, opposed to nationalism, and they
would resent any imputation that they
are less patriotic than their fathers and
brothers. But what must seem one of
their weightiest claims to attention in
any country, is the contention that their
influence would be toward a peaceable
settlement of international disputes,
whenever such a settlement seemed
possible.