Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-03-13


Chicago this same argument was brought
up, but when 5000 women marched In,
all carrying suffrage banners, the men
began to believe that they did want to
vote. In New York the suffragists said
that they knew that one million women
wanted the vote. To prove their point
they took census and found that
10000 women wanted 1t. 1t was granted
them and over a million voted.
There are as many women in the coun- 4
try who want to vote as there are men
who do vote. The proof as to whether
they want to vote is shown every time
they are given the opportunity" Mrs.
Gait quoted figures to show the enor-
nous number of women already voting
in the United States. She said: Never
was a democracy of any class of people
in the world no nearly unanimous for
anything as the women are in their de-
mand for enfranchisement. One man in
Wyoming found that the women could
think just like the men. In New York
hundreds of thousands of prominent men
who voted against 1t are now in favor.
Many of our prominent men in the
country are being converted. In 1917
one Of them was against suffrage. Now,
because the women of the West voted
the democratic ticket. he is for them.
Taft is a recent convert. He has been
changing his mind on several things, but
he Is strong one thing, the league OF
nations, and / agree with him there.
He found that the women are for the
league of nations and so he is for the
women.
"Since the war suffrage sentiment has
doubled easily. There are as many
men for woman suffrage to-day as
voted IL 1916. Political parties are
all for it. In Al States the Democratic
and Republican parties passed resolu-
lions favoring 1t: 25 State Legislatures
passed resolutions asking the Senate
to pass it. The chairman of the ma
tional Republican party and the chair
man of the national Democratic party
tried to put 1t through. There is a
stand-pat element that is against it,
but the real people of the world want
1t.
"The press is strong for suffrage
Recently / found that out of SO papers
500 were for the federal amendment
FIVE were for suffrage but not for the
amendment, and five were against suf-
frage Many of the leading papers of
the South are fighting for it.
But the best proof of the change of
sentiment toward suffrage is in the
cartoons. Years ago an ants were
well dressed and the men who sup
ported their side wore silk hats. and
the suffragists were frowsy. Now the
sufrragists are well dressed and the
ants are frowsy.
The end of our struggle will not be
later than 1921. The sentiment of our
country is with us. Men in all walks
of life are fighting for us. The real
American does not like the idea that
our one-time mother country has more
confidence in her women than we have
In ours 1t Is still more humiliatng to
look over into Canada and see that the
women there have the vote.
"As to the question, rs 1t worth
while" There is no place in our
country where it is SO hard to demon
strate the power of woman as in New
York city. Yet it has been proved
that the women did clean up the poll
ing places in that city. They are
officers of election there, and very
! efficient ones. too.
I'm New York city. in one of the
schools, there is now a polling place
where the voting is done as quietly
| as at a prayer meeting. This Is n
| perfect polling place" Mrs. Gait des-
| cribed how the voting was doEs there
But these are only details. Women
| have more interest In giving their
! children a better government, cleaner
| surroundings and good laws. The men
think of some reforms, the women of
others and together they will think
| Of everything that is for the good of
the country. To keep the vote in
| mems hands is a monopoly and this
country is against monopoly.
Some people say if the women vote,
! they must do what The men do, they
must fight. think in this war the
| women did fight Mrs. Gait told of
the numerous women who went over
seas as nurses, some of them giving
their lives and all willing to, and of
| the women who worked for England
behind the lines. fearless though
they were bombed continually. She
told of how when gas unit was to
be formed and the women were told
| they would probably lose their lives
| or their health, there were many more
applicants than they could use.
Great Britain recognized that the
women. like the men. We're RESPONSE
BILE for the great victory. for while
the men were making the supreme
sacrifice, the women were making
that sacrifice possible.
IF 1t hadn't been for the wom-
en- in this country. we couldn't have
saved food. we couldn't have bought
bonds. and we couldn't have carried
on the war camp community service.
Life Is n partnership, between hus-
band and wife. between father and
mother. in the church and in the
school. Even war is a partnership
and when a war is titanic it can't be
won without the women. Great Britain
has recognized this and said it and 1t
would be an outrage if the greatest
republic In the world did not recog-
nize the same fact.
Our boys are coming back. They have
been face to face with death. One boy
wrote; 1T Is terrible. mother, to walk
among the dead and dying after battle
Some of the men who do this commit
suicide. some go mad but the others are
stronger because Of IL. 1t transfers itself
into a spiritual influence which fills the
minds of men with a sense OF justice and
the souls of men with an inspiration of
right Those boys will I'LL our Legisla-
ture. our gubernatorial chairs, and our
presidential chair. They will run the
country and l believe We will see such
wave OF reformation as has never be-
fore been seen. The vision of those
battlehelds will still be with them.
But we are not going to wait for the
boys to come home. We must catch the
vision and correct the defects In this
nation and thus Drenara tho u,a,, for