Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-06-21
Seditious Suffrage Picketing.

Seditious Suffrage Picketing.
Friends of the cause of woman suf-
frage sincerely depiore the spectacle
presented by a squad of misguided
women standing daily in front of the
Presidents house displaying banners Of
an offensive nature, in pursuit Of pol
icy Of nagging and annoyance practiced
by the woman's party, formerly the Con-
gressional Union. This picketing has
done no good to the cause itself and has
indeed in some instances distinctly
turned support from it in Congress.
Yesterday crowd Of men, angered by
q banner which went to the point OF ac-
tual sedition, tore the offending inscrip-
ton from its support. When the obno1i-
Gus inscription appeared again today it
was once more promptly destroyed by
indignant citizens. The women who dis
played the banner declared in the most
public manner that the President and his
special ambassador, Mr.. Root, were de-
ceiving the people of Russia. The banner
was designed to convey to the Russian
missioners at that very time calling at
the White House that the United States
is hypocritical in its claim Of democracy
on the ground that the suffrage is de-
MED to women. It was an outrage upon
American citizenship and an affront to
the President which doubtless would
have been Immediately checked by the
police, before the crowd displayed its
anger had not the President previously
ordered that the pickets should not be
molested.
At the outset of the picketing the
President decided to ignore the annoy
ance as a harmless and prosecution-in-
viting device Of an unrepresentative
faction Of the suffragists Of America,
intent upon advertisement and martyr
dom. Now the case would seem to call
for different treatment. The banner
that has aroused the just indignation of
the people is designed to injure the
United States before the world, and par
ticularly in the eyes Of Russia, whose
cooperation in war this country is at
this moment seeking earnestly and
whose representatives are present in
Washington. Already statement Of the
disorder has been sent to Russia, in
terms calculated to do harm to the
United States. That which is compare
lively innocent in time Of peace may
be positively reasonable in time Of war.
This country is at war today and the
banner that the women's party persists
in Haunting is deliberately designed to
weaken the national cause as means
Of promoting relatively minor inter
est by particular method. It Is un-
fortunate that the peculiar circum-
stances that attend the suffrage picket
ing compel the people to take into their
own hands the reputation Of that which
Is fragrant to all rs at the least un-
patriotic If not actually seditious.
This incident shows clearly that all
forms of picketing in front Of such
places as the White House are danger
GUS. If a comparatively innocent in
scription can be displayed one Of Of
fensive nature can be shown The whole
procedure is bad. 1t is provocation to
disorder. It is an Indictment to riot.
Censorship over the banners is out OF
tho nuasfion The aimnlo ramedY Is to
prohibit the display Of any banners at
all in such proximity to the official resi-
dence of the chief executive, where their
purpose is avowedly to afront the Presi-
dent and to impress his official callers.
It is understood to be the chief desire
Of the leaders of this organization
who are bringing such discredit upon
the cause they urge, despite the fact that
they are in a very small minority-to be
prosecuted for these militant actions.
They want to be arrested, in order that
they may suffer martyrdom. One of
them, their leader in chief, has herself
served term in a British Jail, where
she went on "hunger strike" She longs
for similar treatment here. For months
she and her colleagues have been going
far to this end. and yesterday they went
so far that it would not be strange IL
they were arrested, not for simple dis
orderly conduct, but ON the charge of
sedition.