Norwich bulletin., 1918-04-05
WOMEN HOLD MEETING
 IN SUFFRAGE CAUSE.
Town Hall is Packed to Capacity to
 Hear Mrs. N. NJ. Schconmaker.

f
 The town hall was packed with about 500 men and women Thursday evening for a meeting held in the in terests of the Connecticut suffragists. The speaker of the evening was Mrs. Nancy M Schoonmaker of New York.
 The hall was decorated with Amer ican flags and the purple and green banners of the votes for women.
 The meeting was formally opened by Selectman E. F. Chesbro. The Lib erty chorus then sang America, the audience standing.
 Mss Katherine Luddington was then introduced as the chairman of the meeting. She gave the two aims of the meeting, to show why work in get ting the women to vote should not be stopped during the war because of wartime necessity and why the wom- en should be given the vote. Mrs. Schoonmaker was then intro duced. Mrs. Schoonmaker spoke at length on her topic, which was very interesting and convincing, the gist of which follows: ! She started with a review of the work toward the enfranchisement of women, both in America and abroad, how. the women were working against great odds at first, up, to the. present time, when they are needed. A short time ago, when the women asked for the vote, they we're asked what they knew about war, and told that war was, mans 3ob: but this has been changed now. When the war was started the Eng fish women formed a hospital unit, but it was refused by the British govern ment while now their services are in demand, and more than a million of them are working in the munitions factories in work that is very danger ous. ,.e At this time the lights in the hall, electric. supplied by the Rockville Willimantic Lighting company, went out and remained out for short time. Mrs. Schoonmaker continued to talk during the time the lights were out, In France and in Italy the woman working power has been assembled and 1 they are doing fine work. Woman is l finding her place on the battlefield, in the hospitals and on ambulances, and 1 the governments have realized that women will be needed to solve the problems after peace is declared, and are ready to give the vote.
 In America woman's place has been raised. The slogan is Food Will Win the War, and women will help, espe cially in that line. It would be dis loyal for the women not to work for ! the franchise now, as the government needs them, and says so. War is not won by munitions but by the working l line, which is now largely composed oi women.
 ] She then gave some of the many reasons advanced why the womer should not vote. refuting each one. i The polls are not a fit place for the women. That is true. but they should be fixed.
 When women gets the vote there won't be square meal in the house l Woman needs half an hour at the most, while the men take whole day Woman's place is in the home, talk ing care of her children. In 26 states the children belong to the father, whC has absolute control over them, an( can give them away.
 The men say: Ask us to do wfa you want done. and we will do it
 that is the indirect influence. Massa
 chusetts women tried to have a peti
 ton passed in the legislature for 6 years, but the men were too busy
 A large, ignorant class of peopl would be added to the voting popuia
 ton. More girls graduate from higl
 school than boys, and women are no
 more immoral than the men,
 If they get the vote, what will the,
 do, what have they done? In Chicago
 when they got the vote, they cleane,
 up the vice problem, and have passet important laws in California of su
 preme importance. heretofore un
 thought of.
 women can answer questions relat
 ing to children better than the mer
 She signifies mercy and justice and
 in general, stands for good.
 collection was then taken yo t aid the work, while the Liberty choru sang La Marseillais,
 Other speakers were heard on uthe
 lines of the work