The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-02-04
CBy Annie G. Porritt)

(By Annie G. POrritt)
 One bit of good news to have to- words the close of January was the victory for partial suffrage in Nebras- ka. So little did the daily newspapers have to say about this victory that 1t was not until the report was received of the Victory Celebration got up by the Suffra gists of Nebraska that peo- pie in the East really became aware that the fight in Nebraska had ended in favor of the Suffragists.
 The fight was over an act passed by the Nebraska State Legislature in 1917, granting to the women of the state presidential and municipal sui frage to a similar degree to that en- joyed by the women of Illinois since 1913. The bill was passed by large majorities in both houses of the legis- lature and received the signature of the governor. But in Nebraska it is possible for the opponents of the measure to obtain a referendum up- on it, upon the presentation of pc tition signed by eight per cent of the number of voters at the previous cleo ton for governor, U. s. senator or state senator or representative
 Immediately after the passage of the partial suffrage act in 1917 the oppon- ents of woman suffrage began to get up a petition for a referendum on the measure. They had an uphill task and when an effort was made to file the petition in July 1917, the Suffra- gists appealed against it on the ground of gross frauds and of illegal practices in getting the signatures. It was .,I,- IN1r ,1-r, I,o been circulated by liquor dealers whose trade had just been outlaWed by a prohibition amendment to the state constitution which went into force on May 1st of that year. It was also shown that dozens of the sigma l lures were in the same handwriting; | that there were signatures of dead men, and men who had left the State ! long before, and that in fact the whole i petition reeked of fraud and illegal | ity.
 The Sufffragists had hoped to pre- l vent the filing of the petition. The court however refused to take the l course of enjoining the filing; but 1 took the policy of permitting the fil- | ing, in order that if the petition were proved to be in order and legal the referendum might be held on the bill in 1918. Before holding the 'referen- dunn, however the Suffragists were given the opportunity of proving their .charges. In the meanwhile, in ac- cordance with the Constitution of Ne braska, the measure was suspended. This followed from the fact that pe- ton had been filed against it.
 The fight on the petition lasted for
 over year, and the Anti-Suffrag gists
 took it for granted that their case was
 won, so far as securing the referen-
 dunn was concerned. How the vote
 on this referendum would have turned
 out will never be known, because, be- , fore the date of the November cleo ton, 1918 the courts decided in favor of the contentious of the Suffragists ) and threw out the petition as illega , and fraudulent.
 The -Suffragists have conse l uuently again found themselves ir
 very bad company-distressin bad
 company for the ladies who are or ganized to oppose the enfranchise
 ment of their own sex. They have
 found themselves in the company O l men who did not hesitate to fake sig
 natures to a petition and to use al
 kinds of fraud to swell the number of names on the petition to the re i ouired total. Many of these men wer' } undoubtedly men interested in the Ii ouor trade Probably the women hat
 nothing to do with these frauds; bu s all the same it cannot be agreeabl t to have the courts so pronounce ol
 the character of oile's friends and al
 lies.
 il The referendum having been throwl
 out 3e partial suffrage measure 10
 the women of Nebraska automatical : ly came into operation, and the wom
 en of Nebraska are now added to tn
 many women who enjoy the right t k lvote for President of the United State md also for all municipal and som