Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-10-20
WOMEN TO VOTE AS CITIZENS,
NOT AS PETTlcoAT WEARERS
They Seen, to Be Agreeing with Senator
Harding That a Class Party
is I'm. A american

L'NTREME fcmnists will get little con
IL ISOLATION from the attitude Of Senator
Harding or that Of the leaders of tho League
of Women Voters.
The extremists have been talking nj a
womans party. organized by women and
devoted to fighting for the rights Of women
as such. They are the people who tell us
that there is a sex war in society and that
there can be no peace between the mon and
the women They cite the psychologists
and the psyche. analysts in support Of their
contention Much feminist literature has
been produced based on the actuolity OF this
alleged warfare II It exists at all II IL
psycholog,ral and not political
II il becomes political We shall have TO
change orr ideas about demoCrac% and about
the equality of all before thr law. The most
influential leaders among the women are
we'll enough grounded in the essentials OF
| democracy TO perceive that 1t would be
fatal error for the women to band them
>clrs together aS political unit. Mrs.
George W. Piersol. chairman of the League
Of Women Voters in this country, has clearly
sct forth tho purposes Of those who are try
| ing to prepare the newly cnfranchiScd voters
for their political duties.
I'VE are not educating Il womans
| party" says Mrs. Picrsol. Far from 1t.
! Sufrragists from the beginning have worked
! against segregation. We want to Shar" re-
| sponSibiliticS and work with tho mon TO
! solve the problems of government. In
| order TO couip themselves 10 share those re-
! sponsibilitirs Mrs. Prrsol and hcr associates
| are dcvotng themselves at the present tim"
! To- tcarhing the worncu the mechanics of an
election ns we'll as the elements Of politics
| \ rollinc booth is stranger to n woman than
a kitchen Is to n man. and hnllOt is moro
I VI curiosity to her than n drCSS pattern
| is to him. Tho ballot Is n new tool for
women ard thcy must learn how I" Ms" 1t
| before they hcCin to do anything with It on
| their own account.
In addition to teaching the new voters
! the mechanics Of elections. the League OF
! Women Voters is teaching them how to make
| a choice between the parties by showing
| them what questions are to be- settled by
political action and presenting to them tho
attitude Of the parties on those questions.
| In brief they arc attempting to provide tho
| information on which the women may act
when they decide whether to vote ms their
| husbands do or to vote in accordance with
their own convictions independently ar
| rived at
But these activities Of the Lcagu" Of
| Women Voters are not participated i'll by
tho women who wish to form a separate
arc making stir enough to justify tho rc'
marks of senator Harding to the crowd of
- 600 people who assembled in front Of his
house in Marion this week.
He told them that at would be the su
promo disappointment If the coming OF
women into our political life should mean tn"
organization Of any considerable part Of
them into a woman'S party built up on a
spirit Of demand. and thereby made rrpuc
nant to that consrCration which must be the
foundation Of American citizenship
\ w"mnn's party would hc a class party
committed to class interests. American
democracy is founded on tho assumption that
there are no classes in society to BE- rccog
uizcd poitirally. Tho parties are composed
Of sovereign citizens who 20 70 th" polls "a
cuuaIs The rich man stands beside tho
poor man aud the educated and tn" ignorant
rcrovr tho same ballot, and the man without
Il grandfather has as much power in the
election booth as the man who traces his
descent from the baronS who forced King
John at Runnymedc to respect their rights.
| The now voters in pcttCoats have tn"
same political interests as the old voters in
trousers. There is not ono kind of freedom
for men and another kind for women. There
i, not one process of law for women and an
other for men The property rights Of tho
| two are identical aS far aS protection by
tho courts is concerned The political rights
arc also identical.
Attempts have been made to organize class
parties in America. but they have failed,
for the reason that the common sense Of the
average American voter has kept him from
banding himself with others to secure sN"-
rinl class treatment. Tho American voter
has regarded himself as an American citizen
I,.. r,,la rCfItSn1 sgpk Drivi lnun
for himself which he would not grant 10 all
Others
The most notable collapse Of tho class
party movement occurred when an attempt
was made to organize tho knights of Labor
into political part. The hackers of this
Dartv had a fine theory that with n mass ri
voters at their command they could hold the
hnancr nf power between the two great par
tics and could force from one or tho other
ANYTHING which they chos" to demand. But
tho theory did not work out in practice
Not only did the labor party collapse, bu
rho knights Of Labor was wrecked anC
superseded by another and moro powerful
labor organization.
, Tho intelligent working mon knew that th'
, success Of the movement would have dom
, them more harm than good, \ party mad
; ur Of labor would have been followed by
narty made UP Of capital. And the labo
, party would have split up into factions com
, posed of labor in factories and labor Ol
Z farms and labor in othccs and we shoul
E all have been at one anothers throats unit
: we camc to our senses and decided TO reaig
, ourselves politically into parties devoted I
the common good, ono party seeking it b
: one way and the other by another route,
4 What has happened in the states whic
9 have had equal suffrage for years is nov
2 likely to happen in tho nation at large
h There is no woman's party in those states
The women have discovered that they d
1 not need to form n separate party, and the
have also learned that the old parties com
I posed of men and women are just as cage
. as any wOman's party could be to serve tn
n women we'll where there is need for a modi
n fcation in the laws. Women hold office
L those states because they have proved them
selves fitted for Office When they ha,
I pnssed their political apprenticeship
d Pennsylvania they are likely to hold ofliC