Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-08-29
"Votcs For Women"
Off to One Side
By Fredesic ]. Haskin

Several times of late q very orderly
little drama has been enacted in Lafayette
Park, Washington without attracting
much more attention than a dog fight.
IL always proceeds thus:
A group OF well-dresscd women parades
solemnly across the park and stops before
n statue One Of them ascends the
pedestal and assumes m orntor'cal
attitude.
A squad Of blue-cost ed polio emen, with
| equal solcmnity and dignity hns approach
| cd from another direction, and now SUR
| rounds the feminine group like respect
| full audience. The lady On the pedestal
clears her thront and says:
I'VE protest ]"
A red-hnired police sergpaut pushes 20
her side and lifts his cnp politely
Have you permission to speak,
Have you permission To speak
msdam7" he inquiries.
No"
Then we must ask you To stop"
| II refuse" ssys the speaker quietly,
| Men" saws the sergesnt in a bored
| tone, "Piace tbese ladies under arrest. !"
| He slwnys snys ladies" The ladies are
then conducted tn jnil
orr TO ONE srnn NOW
| The interest Of this almost formal pro
| ceeding lies in the fact that II IL militant
| demonstration in favor Of national woman
| suffrage, which is now on the eve Of
decision. How completely the country
is absorbed in the ar is shown by the
| fact tnat even a fairly careful newspaper
rnader may scarcely be awnre of this
.fact
| When the new and complex draft
| regulations sponsored by the War De
partment have been disposed of, and
when, one way or the other, decision
has been effected regnriins Prohibition,
| il il likely that the national woman
suffrage amendment Will again be brought
before the Senate. According 10 canvasses
made both by party politicians and stIf-
rage leaders there is little likelihood that
| the amendment will be defeated
| if it comes 70 direct vote. Yet-as was
| the case a. it's former presentation
| opponents Of tho amendment may sue
| eeed by flibuster in having u tabled until
| the present Congress adJourns.
| The close Of summer preceding a
| congressional election is trying time for
| Senators Representatives, and, indeed,
politicians Of any sort. They are dispos-
| ed 10 step carefully around many deli cate
issues and to warily dodge legislation
| which may have doubtful return Of
| political capital Safety first" says
| the Congressman, awalsing with the
! FIRST breath Of autumn, and transferring
! his thoughts from the Constitution 10 the
Constituency.
HOW 1T ia ELSEWHERE.
Now, it may very well be Questioned
whether the country il really for woman
suffrage at all It cannot be doubted,
| though, that the world is for It. Since
war began, more than 100000 women
| in Russia, Denmark, England and Ice
! land have been enfranchlsed and agitation
| for the vote has reached the women Of
such obscure countries "a Korea and
India
But we Of America areslt once the most
liberal and most reactionary people Of the
globe, and in this particular instance
there is no telling IN which direction the
wind is blowing Certainly, President
Wilson's bland reversal of his attitude
regarding the Federal amendment carried
with II quite a deal of favorable sentiment
on the part of the American people.
But there is a disposition IN some quarters
and this is true of the Capitol-to
wonder if the President were speaking ex
cathedra when he said in his letter to
Senator Shields:
II beg very earnestly that you
will lend your aid IN clearing
away the difficulties which will beset US
If the amendment Is not adopted"
In his letter 70 Mrs. Carrie Chapman
Gait, of the National American Woman
Suffrage Association, the President was
little more direct. 1T IS high time,
he wrote, that our gratitude Ito women
should be acknowledged.
NEVER PARTY ISSUE.
The question of suffrage viii never be
made a party issue again. In the con-
ventions of 1916 both sides adopted a
suffrage plank, phrased with sufficient
ambiguity to permit of both strict and
loose construction Both Republican and
Democratic national committees have
declared in favor of it and, of Late, few of
the rank and file of either following, have
given voice to decided opposition.
1t may be that an indication of sentl-
ment in this country can be determined
from the ways IN which various States
have aligned themselves for or against
woman suffrage.
Twelve States Of the union have grant /
ed full suffrage to women. These are: /
Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, California, /
Washington, Oregon, Montana, Nevsda, /
Idaho, Arizona, Kansas and New York. !
Seven States have granted to their women /
citizens a partial suffrage. These are.
Illinois, North Dakota, Arkansas, Nebras-
ka, Michigan, Rhode Island and Yer
mont.
In ten States woman suffrage, when !
presented through petit on or referendum, |
has been defeated. viz: Iowa, Missouri, |