Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1917-09-13
WOMAN SUFFRAGE LOSES
IN MAINE ELECTION

The state of Maine which ultl-
mately, along with the rest of the
United States, will "go suffrage"
turned down constitutional SUI
frage amendment at a special cleo
ton held Monday by a vote of nearly
two to one. The equal rights forces
had fought long for the privilege of
holding such an election. They cam
paigned vigorously in the weeks that
preceded it. In their efforts they
were assisted by personal indorse-
ment of their cause given by Pres
ident Woodrow Wilson. Words OF
approval were spoken also with char
acteristic vigor by ex-Ppresident
Roosevelt. Emphasis was given to
the suffrage cause in general by the
action of Dudley Field Malone in
resigning as collector of the port of
New York because the national DEM
Ocractic party had not taken steps
to redeem promises made by him to
the suffragists of the west during
the last campaign. The impulse to-
ward granting the franchise to wo-
men had been also advanced by the
parliamentary success won in Eng
land, where leaders of the nation,
including even the hitherto unsym-
pathetic Mr.. Asquith, are fully agreed
that woman suffrage must come and
come soon. While the effect OF
Russian radicalism probably cannot
be counted upon as having any con-
siderable weight in American poll
tics, yet certainly no harm was done
to the women's cause by the favor
with which most Russian leaders
seem to regard the idea of univer-
sal suffrage without distinction as to
sex.
Conditions, in other words, looked
propitious. If the suffrage captains
of Maine had any doubt as to victory
and possibly they entertained them
they at least were not prepared for
a defeat that partook of a slaughter.
Sinse that has come, there is nothing
to do but to take it cheerfully and
to seek to find out what was wrong
with the campaign, what influences
1t was that prevented woman suf-
frage in Maine from making even
fair showing at the polls.
Whether it be correct or not, the
people of the United States have an
already formed answer to that query.
The people of the United States are
strongly of the opinion that the con-
ouCI VI Aui. hdlOuc D DuI
temperamental women in the neigh
borhood of the presidents official
residence during the last few months
had more than any other single fac
tor to do with making suffrage de-
feat in Maine humiliating. At q
time when the nation has been grid
ing itself for war, these women have
been making themselves nuisances.
Devoted to their cause, apparently,
they have realistically thrust their
cause to the fore ground in the most
Ill judged manner and at the most
Ill judged time that could possibly
have been selected. Instead of prov
ing intelligent patriots presumably
entitled to the ballot, they have dem
onstrated that they are stubborn
annoyers, who ought not to be en-
trusted with it. They have not only
been discourteous and unfair to the
president of the United States at a
time when all great political cleav-
ages have been ignored in order to
give him the support he needs, but
they have been rude in their behav-
for to the nations official guests.
They have set out to insist upon the
consideration by the president of ma