Smyrna times., 1920-05-12
WOMEN VOTERS
HAILED BY WOOD
Their Advent in Politics viii Brinu
Wholesome Effect, He
Believes.

u
ly the advent of women to active par.
ticipation in our political life. He has
been impressed, in the course of q "a.
reer that has shown him manv varied
phases of the modern widening of wo-
mans influence, that the coming of tba
so called gentler sex into public affairs
is gain for civilization and will re.
suit in renewed hope for the world ot
large. Wood has endeared himself to
American women for his humanitarian
| achievements in various fields of on.
deavOr, in which he was enabled to
bring vastly improved conditions tn
the homes, schools, hospitals and char.
itaDle institutions under his influence.
In connection with this subject Wood
says:
women are bringing an elevating
influence into public life that will tend
to correct many, of the evils to which
our present unrest is due. One of the
reasons for the growth of undesirable
tendencies In our country has been the
regretable fact that countless men.
qualified by education and character
for public service, have wantonIy neg
lected their civic duties.
with the coming OF women to the
polls, these men will be ashamed to
disregard the political duties they for
merly shirked. A man who spends
election day at his club while his wife
was at the polls is sure to forfeit the
respect of the community.
Il believe woman suffrage will have
a vast and uplifting effect upon our "a.
tonal life. Public morality will be in
creased housing conditions improved.
the problems of child labor satisfactory
ly solved, sweat-shop evils minimized
and the training given to children in
our schools purged of its present de-
fects.
"Our women must take up the ques-
ton of the social evil. To that and to
other of our vital problems they now
come with the power of the ballot.
Women realize that our American civ
ilizatiOn can never be what it should
be until we give as much care to the
upbringing of our children as we do to
the breeding of our cattle
Women's Great War Service.
'In short, the difficulties that ap-
parently beset our national future
would confront us as immensely more
insuperable If we could not look for
ward to overcoming them through the
assistance of voting women. The
granting of suffrage to women gives us
the promise of an amazingly better
world in the years to come.
''There is one field into which the
women are coming that can be called
the big field. 1t is the field of national
politics. Personally, having seen what
the women did during the war, both at
home and abroad, feel very confident
that the entrance of American women
into the field of American politics is
going 20 have a very helpful and good
influence. l think they are going to
bring a healthy influence, one which
will make our politics cleaner and in
trOduce better spirit into the political
field.
"We have reason to be proud of the
American women during the war. do
not know of any part of the country
where American women did not take
hold of the situation with keen energy.
| know from personal experiences in
the Middle West and neighbOring
states the women did everything hui
manly possible to send our men over
seas sound in body and clean in soul.
They looked after the men in the towns
near the camps; they maintained ex-
cellent conditions of public morality !;
they looked after the men when they
were en- route to the sea-; they were
at the ports of embarkation to give the
last help they could give. and when the
men arrived on the other side they
found American women scattered at
various points of activity from the
ports of debarkation up to the fighting
line. We found the women of the Red
Cross, the women of the Salvation
Army and others actually in the battle
area doing work. In fact, the work of
IL LII