The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-07-19
BETTER FOR ALL CONCERNED + WOMEN WERE IN Party and Voters Alike
 Would Gain. CONSTRUCTIVE WORK
 BY ORGANIZATION Can't Be Outsider and Meet
 Obligation.
(By MRS. GEORGE BASS.)

S.
 The question is often asked me, Why do you think women should en- ter into the regular parties, rather than remain non-partisan and thus hold the balance of power, which would make all parties nominate bet ter candidates and adopt more pro i gressive platforms? 1
 My reason for thinking that women | shoull' ally themselves with their par ties are quite plain and simple. In l the first place, it is better for the women, and in the second place it 1 is better for the party. To assume i that a large group of people can have l immense influence with the parties | by the simple process of staying out i of them is to accept as a. fact some l thing which has yet to be proved | It Is perfectly true that the parties do pay increasing heed to the inde- 1 pendent vote, but it Is equally true that the independent vote which wishes to exercise real power tends in comparatively short time to ally itself with the national party which i comes nearest standing for it's poli- l cies. The Progressive campaign of 1912 l swept into its ranks most of the dis | contented Republicans, who saw lit 1 tie resem mblance between the party of i Lincoln and the party of Lodge and | Penrose, and many radical Demo- i crats. In 1916 actically all the Dem ocrats had returned to their original allegiance, and thousands of Progress sives bore witness publicly that the : Wilson Administration had carried out the pledges they had made four : or five years earlier, and enrolled themselves under the Democratic ! standard. Some of the leaders re- 1 turned to the Republican party, for ] reasons, which were convincing to ! them, and now find themselves once more under the leadership repudiated
 by Roosevelt That is their affair. The reason so many of the Pro- l gressives entered the Democratic par ty formally is that they might have hand in creating it's policies. Men and women who want to do construc- tive work know that they must be a
 part of the rank and file of their or
 ganization. When they work for and
 with a party they have a right. to ex- press their wishes as to it's platform and its candidates The principle of
 the direct primary has been very gen
 eral1y adopted as a recognition of this
 right.
 The independent voter who stays
 outside of all party lines is compelled
 to choose, between candidates and
 
 regular parties, when he might bet
 ter have had a determining voice in
 the selection of the candidates and
 the construction of the platform. Far
 from compelling the parties to make
 better nominations and more advanc-
 ed platforms, the very reverse often
 happens. At a time like this in the
 worlds history the sincerely patriotic
 citizen cannot be content to be a mere bystander.
 This does not mean that there is no
 place for good work of a non-partt- san character. Most of the work
 women have done for the betterment of their communities is non-partfsan
 and there is no thought that they will
 ever cease doing this work. They
 work in their churches and in their
 clubs, in the Red Cross, the Y. w. C.
 A, the w. c. T. .U., fraternaI organi-
 cations, of which there are many, and
 a dozen other lines of activity. Much
 of their work is really political in it's character, though they might not
 have thought of it in that light. In municipal campaigns there are many
 elements that enter into each elec- , i ton contest. In some cities partisan
 nominations are practically forbidden. | Since United States Senators are elected by the people there is much less of the old-faShioned partisanship l of the narroweSt variety in the cleo
 tion of legislators. It is inevitable thai
 women will vote for legislators wh 0 , | are willing to enact those laws in | behalf of women and children which i have long been advocated rby women
 very generally without any thought
 to their political significance. In all
 these ample fields non-partisan ship will continue to have the last word , in the future as it has in the past.
 But the woman who takes her ctti , zenship seriously, who believes that . she owes a debt to her country, and Is enxious to pay it, will find that she
 cannot be content to watch the process sion go by She will want to be a , part of it. She will want to be able . to give a reason for her political , , faith, and to bear testimony that will inspire others to join the party she , has chosen.
 If on investigation she become con- vinced that she believes in higher pro- | tecttSe tariff even though by tradi- ton she Is a Democrat, she will find . herself more in harmony with the
 tenets of the Republican party. If she l believes that the rights of human be- ings are to be considered before and above the rights of property, and looks f upon the splendid record of the laws enacted under the present Admins | t,ation as program worthy of her | earnest support, then she belongs with ) the ranks of the Democratic party, I no matter what her family connec- tions or views may have been in the | past.
 c We believe that we have a program to offer for the future as well as a r record of achievement of which we I are justly proud. We ask the women : of the United States to exa1n.-.e that c record and then join Sna.nds with us r and go on to better things in an as- :. sured and glorious future.
 d When beating up the whites of = eggs add tiny pinch of salt. You r will be surprised to find how much