The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-10-28
Mrs. Shell
 Arden Threat Of
 Suffrage Repeal
Fairfield County Leader Reassures the Women Voters on the State ment Made By the Woman Sent to This State By the Republi- can National Commit.
 tee.

So much comment has been made locally on the statement given out by
 Mss Arden to the effect that she had been sent by Republican national headquarters to warn the women of Connecticut that unless they mend their ways, the vote might be taken | away from them as it was taken away from the women of New Jersey a hum dred years ago, that Mrs. Frank Hi | ram Shell, of Washington, D. C., or ganizer for the Fairfield Co. Suffrage association, was sought out in an ef- fort to obtain an authoritative state | ment of the viewpoint of the national
 suffrage organization. Mrs. Shell was | at first reluctant to make a statement | because of her belief that the women l of Bridgeport were better qualified to
 answer Miss Arden's attack and give the local attitude towards it. When it was conveyed to Mrs. Shell that
 what was desired was a statement
 from her as organizer. for the Fair
 answer to the threat against suffrage
 carried into Bridgeport by Miss Ar den, as representing herself to be an agent of the Republican national or. ganiza ton, she consented to make a brief statement. | She said:
 ''When I read the statement of
 Miss Arden I smiled little bit, be- cause it didn't seem possible when women are out so much and work so much and have worked for suf- rage so many years. and understand . about Congressional bills and amend = mentS and the relations of the states
 and the United States to the suffrage
 situation that any woman would have
 said all that in real earnest. On the i other hand it didn't seem possible
 that any lady would like to write her
 self down as not knowing that.''
 Mrs. Shell was asked if Miss Ar
 den's statement made any women not
 actively connected with the suffrage
 movement or not thoroughly conver- ' sant with the rfal effect of the Federal amendmsnt fearful of losing
 Shell expressed herself as being
 doubtful whether any considerable number of well-inforned women g could be deceived by such a state nnent as that issued by Miss Arden. but admitted that some had been f made fearful, saying:
 T was called up by lady in some
 excitement. Those dreadful things. !, , is all quite wrong. You can't change a Federal amendment Sbe said: No,
 Mrs. Shell, we don't know it. It cc- Q cured to me it was just well to say something about it. The some thing is simplys this, that an amend . ment can be made to the Federal z constitution but not one of the Is amendments has ever been unmade :. There are rather complicated rules II II for getting an amendment through C C to the cvonstitution. The lady needn'i , bother about our welfare in that re- :, | spect.'
 , What about Miss Arden's state . ment that it would be just as easy l. to take suffrage away now as it was e i taken away in New Jersey a hundred = years ago?" Mrs. Shell was asked. Mrs. Shell smiled before answering U U and in her smile could be read he1 7, opinion of the absurdity of Miss AT. . den's threat. Then she said: "I e necessarily follows that it is not as = = easy to take suffrage away as wher a they did it in New Jersey a hundred s years ago. She doesn't understand IF the difference between a fedora | amendment and a state Legislative = | nactment. In New Jersey a hundred i, years ago the legislature gave O (Coninued on Page 6.)