The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1920-08-27

protect "life, liberty and happiness
than ;nything that has been written
since the Declaration of Independ-
ence. These are: the Prohibition
and Woman Suffrage Amendments
to the Constitution
These two great causes have cam
paigned side by side with mutual
sympathy and mutual cooperation,
even though not interlocking.
In every step OF progress they
have had to fight one common enemy
the organized liquor traffic, and the
two causes, if not allies, fought side
by side as an entente. Every victory
for Prohibition prepared the way for
suffrage, and suffrage victory as
sured Prohibition in the near future.
This intcrdependence was forcefully
expressed in an editorial in the Phila-
delphia North American of April q,
1917 as follows:
"The chief benefit derived from the
reverse the other day is the demon
straton that equal suffrage will not
be won until the liquor traffic has
been destroyed. Thus success is
foreshadowed in the spread of Pro-
hibtion, which is now in effect in
more than half the states of the
Union. Prohibition is nationally
stronger than suffrage, because the
latter is complicated in the south by
the negro problem. But in such
states as Massachusetts,, New York,
New Jersey and Pennsylvania the
sole obstruction to suffrage reform
is liquor; and the day that National
Prohibition wins will signalize the
victory of suffrage for women"
Liquor Backed the Ants
The horns and barbed tail of the
liquor traffic showed themselves in
every state suffrage campaign, and
were very pronounced i'll Oregon,
Montana and Michigan referendums.
DIR. Anna Howard Shaw, speaking
in the Broad Street Theater, Phila-
delphia, April 7, 1913, openly charged
an alliance between the ants and the
liquor forces, in which the latter fur
nished the sinews of war, and she
proved it by documentary evidence.
In her address before the Congress
sional Committee at Washington, D..
c., DIR. Shaw said: 7a1
1--WE do not fear that little land
of professional anti-women going
around the@couitry advocating home,
heaven and mother We are not lat
all disturbed by them. The only pur-
pose they serve is that by holding out
thefr skirts they act as a screen for
the liquor traffic, the gamblers, the
vicious, and those interested in dance
halls and places where young girls
are ruined. These people have a good
screen behind which they can hide
and carry on their antagonism and
their opposition to our movement
New Jersey Liquor Forces Fought
Suffrage
During the referendum campaign
in New Jersey, the election being
held October, 1915, the liquor dealers
everywhere we're extremely active to
defeat the amendment. This was
made manifest in the returns in the
wet and dry districts of the cities.
In the extra-wet city of Hoboken,
for instance, the vote stood as fol-
lows: For suffrage, 2,105; opposed
to suffrage, 400. The wetter the
district, the greater the anti-suifrage
preponderance. In Jersey City, the
only two wards. that were carried for
suffrage were the Republican Eighth
and Ninth wards, which are both very
fine residential sections; whereas, in
the downtown wards--which were
extremely wet-the vote was over
whelmingly anti" being against suf-
frage , and 3 to |. as, for instance,
in the First ward, whe~c the vote was
for suffrage, $40; against suffrage,
S33. In the Second ward for suffrage,
412; against suffrage, l,010. In the
Fifth ward the vote stood: for suf-
frage, 200; against, 8l8.
During the suffrage campaign in
the state of Washington, Progress,
the official liquor dealers organ, is
sued special edition with illustra-
tons and cartoons, opposing woman
suffrage. The leading article was
headed, "Give ballot to women and
industry goes to smash" In this ar
ticle is was stated, There is one word
that is a perfect definition for woman
suhfrage-Prohibition. 1t is Prohibi-
ton not woman's suffrage. /.
1t means that the breweries must sus-
pend business; it means that the sa-
looms must close" The women gave
them what they feared-Prohibition
In the Montana campaign the Ma
tional Forum, a liquor organ, de-