The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-05-13
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
BUREAU
FREDERIC J. HARKIN, Director.
Washington, D. C
"WHERE WILL THEY STOP?"
Meaning Those Suffrage Ladies'.

Meaning Those Suffrage Ladies.
Washington, d. c., May 10.-There
are still some towns in the southwest
that are fairly wild. woody in spots, and
wide open. The telegraph and the
railroad have not civilized them. De-
spite the safety razor and vacuum
cleaner, they remain uncouth. The
soda fountain has been unable to lure
them away from the saloon.
But Nemesis follows them, and her
name is The Woman Vote. Less than
two years ago, for example, certain
! Oklahoma town had reputation for
| hardness of which some of its citizens
were even known to boast. In 1918
the women of Oklahoma were given
the ballot The first thing the women
| of this town did was to nominate an
all-feminine reform ticket, which they
! backed up to a woman.
When the town boss. who was the
| high priest of the towns hardness,
heard this piece of news, he staggered
with some difficulty into that back
room of q saloon, where, as everyone
knows all political bosses caucus with
| their henchmen.
| They've started" he gasped. dra-
matically. "Moy God, where will they
stop?"
1t is with practically the same
thought in their minds that the ra-
| tional managers and plotters of both
the Democratic and Republican par
| ties are now watching the maneuvers
of the enfranchised women. and es-
| pecially of that new organization, the
| League of Women Voters. The poll
! tician (F0, to borrow a term from the
| navy. has been factor in the politi-
cal game for some years. But now
she has gone and organized!
No longer can it be pretended that
women do not use their votes, and
with a presidential election drawing
near, the League of Voters is viewed
with frank apprehension.
The women themselves have sought
to allay all fears. They have no in
| tention, they assert, of massing wom-
| en- voters against the men. Women
in the new league will vote both the
| Republican and Democratic tickets.
| They are not leagued against any one
party. But they are leagued for the
passing of laws for better social con-
| ditions.
Nevertheless, the political bosses
are not convinced. They are keenly
| aware that in the next presidential
| election women will be able to vote
| for presidential electors in twenty
| eight states. 1t is estimated that at
| least twelve million women will be
able to take advantage of the fran
| chise to elect president. And the
| question which is interesting our two
| large political parties is whether
| considerable ma jOrity of these women
can be organized to vote one way.
Both parties are putting forth ex-
| raordinary efforts to win the women
voters. The Democratic party has
national committee of women, with
| the same number and representation
| as the male national committee. The
| Republicans also have a feminine
branch of their national committee,
! altho it is not quite so large as that
of hn nnT1 1-1f n IT lie
| strongly determined to keep it's femi-
nine constituency faithful and at
tached.
| Woman's Suffrage association. which
| started all this agitation by urging the
| created of a League of Woman Voters,
is very much amused, and a little bit
irritated. 1t is in the delicate posi-
| ton of a young lady, courted by two
rivals of equal charm, each of whom
| suspects her of secretly planning to
elope with the other And all the
| time she has no intention of clipping
at all, but is pledged to a sort of
higher type of settlement work.
| The League of Women Voters was
| organized in st. Louis on March "a
| to 20, inclusive, at the fifteenth an
nual convention of the National
American Suffrage association. After
| a discussion of the past years achieve
| InenIS, 1t was u6clQed that IH0 leu
| eral suffrage amendment could not fail
| to pass the SiX-y-sixth congress. The
gentlemen, one a Democrat and one IA
| Republican, who had voted against the
| amendment in the last congress, had
been defeated thru the efforts of the
| association. The new members were
| pledged to support it. Early ratifica-
| ton of the amendment was assured.
| The objects of the association, for
which it had toiled for half a century,
were almost achieved.
THE natural question: said Jane
! NJ Brooks. chairman of the new
league, therefore arose: Shall tbs
! association make plans to dissolve i'm
mediately upon rati ication of the fed
eral suffrage amendment or is the re
reason for its continuance
The convention decided not to dis
solve this highly efficient organization
of women with the passage of the
amendment. Instead, it will simply
change its name to the League of
Women Voters. Meantime. the league
is to consist, merely of the suffrage Cr-
CARNATIONS of the states which per
init women to vote, and is to We rlx
as a department of the National
American Woman Suffrage associa-
ton. In other words it is the active
limb of the fettered suffrage body. 1t
is to do the social reforming until the
Hateful amendment passes, and the
| women of the rest of the states join
the clan. The work of the league has
already been decided upon and divid-
ed among eight committees, with a
national chairman and one women
from each state on each committee.
The league. thru its committee on
industry, has endorsed the majority Of
the measures on the program of the
National Women's Trade Union league,
and intends to work for legislatio
enacting them. Thru it's child welfare
committee, the women voters of the
country will be organized to vote for
legislation protecting children Thru
its citizenship committee. organiza-
tions of women voters will be formed
in every suffrage state to Americanize
fnrainrn- horn n nd u ~