Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-09-08
WATERVILLE
MAKES VOTES
Waterville Has Rousing
Suffrage Meeting
Speakers Are Mrs. Deborah Knox liv.
insston. Mrs. Carrie Chapman Gait
and Hon. Charles r. johnson

A very largely attended equal suffrage
/ meeting was held in City hall, Waterville,
( Friday evening at which the speakers
were Hon. Charles F. johnson. Mrs Deb
orah Knox Livingston and Mrs. Carrie
| Chapman Gait. The speakers all present
ed some very strong arguments for the
cause and they were frequently applauded
by the people in attendance. The meet
/ ing was the most successful yet held by
! the suAragsts and many people present
expressed the opinion that it had made
many votes
The meeting was called to order by
Hon. Charles F. Johnson and the audi
ence ;oined in singing America" Mr..
Johnson then announced that he had an
easy and pleasant task-easy because he
! believed in the cause, pleasant that he
was to introduce such brilliant and tai
ented ladies who have given so much time
/ to the work of their cause. He spoke of
/ how hard it is to get a two-thirds vote
| through the Legislature and how it was
accomplished for suffrage last winter He
said that he had this day talked with Il
justice of the supreme court who said
that he had been studying the question
and that he was unable 10 find a reason
against it. He spoke Of the conservatism
of Maine people. which he thought likely
the workers had found. but that he
thought the men of Maine had studied
the question and would vote to give the
ladies the ballot. so to have more intelli
gence to the vote of the STATE.
\ Mrs. Deborah Knox Livingstone
He then introduced Mrs. Livingston,
who spoke in part as follows: She told
of her work in the campaigns in the
western states and that she believed the
test of citizenship was whether a person
was fit; that now the women should show
that they are fit for the vote; that the
women of Maine are fit to exercise the
rights OF citizenship. due 10 high intelli-
gence Of the women of the State.
! In the educational world there is no
distinction between men and women, so
! there should be none in the question OF
citizenship. The women of Maine are as
fit through education to share the bur-
dens Of government the men. No
group Of women during the Civil War dii
more than the women of Maine. Should
not the women become trained In govern
ment. as in the reconstruction they must
take their place?
OF the 10 civilians necessary In England
to keep one soldier In the trenches, seven
were women. In this country 10 million
of women were In industry before the
war now there are Il million and increas-
ing every day; there are now more than
200 women employed on the railroads
LAS | have studied the conditions
of women in industrial life in Maine
/ believe that they are capable of
the vote. she said.
The third thing proven to me is
that the women In the home are fit
to vote. The women in the home
should have share Of the government
and in clothing, feeding and caring
for her family she has a great need
to have control of food consumption
then she should have voice in the
! matter of the laws that control of
these things"
she cited instances where the poll
tics Of some cities affected the home.
TIE feeding and clothing of the fam
lily is the duty of the mother and that
is surrounded by government and she
should have word in that govern
ment. She also took up the question
OF education.
She said that no mother has a
word to say about where her child
shall go or what he shall study and
that she believed that. if for no other
reason, the mothers should have the
right to vote. What is needed now
is cooperation between the fathers
and mothers in all matters. The wo-
men of Maine should be granted full
suffrage on next Monday. Many thou
sands of women in Maine do want the
ballot and they should be granted 1t.
Many thousands of men did not vote
but that is no reason why men should
not have the ballot. So it is unrca =
sonable for group of women to say
that women do not want the ballot.
There are two classes in the world.
the strikers and the workers, and no
suffrs gists belong 70 the forrnc! class
She told how hard the women had
worked to get the ballot and how thew
had worked to be granted the right of
equal suffrage.
MIS-. Livingston paid her respects to
tte man VINO SAID that in Colorado
Woman's suffrage was failure She
also paid her respects to the pa.rpl,
let called The. Case" which has been
distributed in the various States
where there has been a fight on equal
! suffrage and is now being distributed
IN Maine. She told how Alice Stone
Blackwell has answered the pamph.
let. Many men throughout the coun-
try have said the" could find moth
Ing against equal suffrage.
She then mentioned Woodrow Will
son and many others as being in ia :
vnr of equal suffrage and told OF the
various churches that are in favor of
1t. The church universal now stands
for woman's suffrage. as do the great
educational bodies, the woman's clubs
and various other great ORGANIZATIONS.
showing the company that the suf-
, rage cause keeps"
She said she spoke of how all the
great leaders are for women suffrage
because II has proved good in so MANY
places. We come to you to ask ey-
cry man in the State to make us
your equals politically as YOU have in
otner ways. IF there is no such thin o.