The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-11-05
ITALIANS ADOPT
WOMAN SUFFRAGE
80 81
Both Chambers of Parlia-
ment We're Strong for
the Measure
TIME REQUIRED
FOR REGISTRATION
Expected They Will Have Power to
Vote By Next July Women In
different About it, Preferring Duties
of Home Church Urged It.

ROME, Nov. 5.-The Italian chamber
has accepted by majority of ll9 in a !
secret vote the bill for comforting upon
women the same electoral rights at both
political and municipal elections as those
enjoyed by men, and the senate has APP
proved the decision of the chamber. Thus,
woman suffrage has been adopted in Italy,
with, however, the proviso that it is not
to come into operation in political cleo
tons until the next dissolution but one,
that IS to say, in, at most, five years
time. This limitation is only due to the
practical difficulty of preparing the new
register, containing some 100000 of
women voters, in time for the next gem
eral election, which Is to be held in Oc-
tober, or, at the latest, in November.
As the present Italian chambers legis-
lative mandate expired last October, and
was extended for another year only in
consideration of the very exceptional cir
cumstances of the war, it was obviously
impossible to have further postpone
ment of the overdue dissolution, merely
N order to enable women to vote imme-
/ diately. That, however, is a question OF
administrative details; the salient fact is
that Italy, like Great Britain, has adopted
woman suffrage with the logical corollary
| that women may sit in parliament, as well
as vote for deputies. Mr.. Nitti, the Ital-
ian premier, made that clear in his speech,
| and he added that women would have an
opportunity of exercising their votes for
the elections of town and county councils
all over Italy as early as July 81 of next
year. Meanwhile, Italian women will
| have time to form political organizations,
hitherto mainly lacking even among men,
That there is any general desire for the
suffrage among Italian women outside a
| small class of intellectuals, no one who
knows Italy would pretend The Italian
woman, especially among the peasants of
| the south, Is for the most part a wholly
| domestic person, occupied with her home
and her family and little interested in
politics. Even much higher up the social
scale, the wives of Italian ministers. most
~ drawn from the professional middle
| class, hold themselves aloof from public
affairs and the great world, and political
salons scarcely exist in a country where
the aristocraey stands, with very few ex.
ceptions, outside parliamentary life
| But even in Italy there has been a
considerable change in the position and
attitude of women toward public affairs
during recent years. At the last general
election of 1913 there were examples of la
dies who supported the claims of this OF
that candidate; and. while the Socialists
naturally contend that women operatives
should have voice in determining the
laws regulating their industries, the new
INFORMED Roman Catholic popular party
through the mouth of its spokesman. Mr.
Michel, supported the proposal in the
interests of the church. of which, especial
" in the SOUTH the women are faithful dc
votees. Various speakers. notably Mr.
Tittoni, the Socialist chief also pointed
out during the debate that the part tax
en- by women in doing mems work durin,
the war entitled them to equal politica
rights with the men, and Mcneil ever
urged that, if all women could not be in
scribed on the register in time for I'll,
approaching general election, at least tn
DEPENDENTS of fallen soldiers should b,
allowed to vote at once