The Washington herald., 1920-04-09
WOMEN VOTERS
PUSH PLATFORM
New Citizens Plan Laws to
Raise Moral Plane
OfU. S.
URGE MARRIAGE LAWS
Many Important Meetings
Arranged to Take Place
In April.
URGE MARRIAGE LAWS
BY CONSTANCE DRExEL.

BY CONSTANCE DRExEL.
The American woman with her
new power OF full citizenship is go
ing to take her courage In both
hands and go after some OF the
weaknesses Of our sex education and
some OF the faIlacies In our attitude
toward the great fundamental ques-
tion of sex. Men have often de-
plored the entrance of sex" into
politics; they have feared a "sex
antagonism;" they have been afraid
that woman, with her new powers,
would pit herself against man, to
prove that she is at least as strong.
A study into the attitude Of the
American woman as she is facing
her new citizenship does not reveal
any entrance of sex antagonism:"
but it does reveal the entrance of
sex" into politics. No one can
deny that. So far, government has
been built on the mans point Of
view; no one can deny that woman
is on a higher plane of morals and
all that pertains to the personal re-
lations of the two sexes than man.
This is not so much to woman's
credit as due to natures great
scheme of creation.
Ready 10 Speak.
So far woman has kept very silent
on these subjects, but now she is
going to speak. She is going to
bring these vital, fundamental ques-
tions into legislative halls, where
they belong, and il is no mean guess
to predict that woman's greatest
contribution to the good of this
country will be her insistence on
more of the woman's point of view,
the mothers point of view il you
will, in our government and legis-
lation.
Principles of Platform.
1t is therefore not surprising to
hnd that one of the five programs
for the legislative efforts of the
new National League of Women
voters should be on social hygiene
the committee which prepared the
platform on this subject adopted at
the Chicago convention. last month.
had DR.. Valeria H Parker. Of Hart
FORD. Conn, as its chairman. The
detailed program may be obtained
by application to the new head
quarters of the National League Of
Women Voters just established in
Washington in 91S Munsey Build
ing. or to the offices of the Woman
Citizen: III Madison avenue, New
York, the official organ of the Ma
tional American Woman Suffrage AS
sociation and of the National League
of Women Voters.
We give here only tho general
platform of principles with which
the committee preceded the report:
Whereas. The United States gov
crnment during the world war es-
tablished a program of protection of
moral and physical health which
recognized confluence as the best
possible means of such protection;
Be IL Resolved. That the members !
OF the social hygiene committee Of
the National League of Women vot- !
ers desiring to assist in the per-
manent establishment of a program
of moral and physical protection. ,
hereby declares itself TO be in favor |
of the following principles:
A. That we urge the impartial
administration Of all laws and reg
ulations since. when they are en-
forced more vigorously toward wo- |
men than toward men. it seems to |
give governmental sanction OF the /
dOubl" standard and also fails ade-
To protect the health Of !
women. who constitute one-haIr of !
the entire public.
i. That some form of law re-
quiring fitness for marriage as a |
requisite for procuring marriage /
licenses he recommended. form of !
such law to be recommended after
study by the committee.
G. That uniform marriage and
divorce laws should maintain /
throughout the United States. the .
respective standards to be recon- /
mended after careful study by the .
d. That the social hygiene COM
mittee Of the National League of |
Women Voters believes in the right /
of the individual to knowledge of
laws of physical. mental and racial !
health and stands ready to lend its |
support to public appropriations for
agencies qualified to disseminate |
such education.
Z. That the social hygiene COM !
mittee of the National League of |
Women Voters shall cooperate |
with all recognized agencies es-
tablished for the purpose of pro-
noting the social hygiene program
by means of educational, recrea-
tional: remedial and legislative ef- |
fort.
Five Programs Adopted.
This report ends the rendering of |
the five programs adopted at the |
joint convention of the Ma !
tional American Woman Suffrage |
and National League of |
Women Voters as the basis of their |
legislative efforts. The five pro-
grams dealt with child welfare, |
women in industry, unification of |
laws concerning women. food sup
ply and demand and social hygiene. |
The coming months will see the |
most important national and inter
national conventions of women held |
since before the war. First in April, |
from the 18th to the Goth, in Cleve-
land, comes the first national con-
vention in five years of the Y. w. |