The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1920-09-16
COLLEGE CLUB
HEARS POLITICS
Miss Alice Thompson, Chi
cago Attorney, Arouses
Interest in Politics.
PLAN BUSY SEASON

The first meeting of the Kenosha
College club for the 1920-21 club year
held at the Girls Community Service
League rooms Saturday afternoon,
was indicative Of the intense interest
which women will take in local and
national politics. Guided by sugges-
,tions that women take measures to
prepare themselves for the use Of the
ballot in the coming fall elections, the
members of the Kenosha College club
have secured eminent speakers on po-
.litical subjects to address the club.
Miss Alice Thompson, Chicago attor-
ney, who has seen much activity in
suffrage movements and civic move
ments generally, gave an instructive
md interesting non-partisan talk at
the Saturday meeting.
"There really is very little ! can say
that you do not know" said Miss
Thompson, ~but the women of Ameri-
ca are facing for the first time a
great responsibility and l think it be-
hooves us to discuss il little with
each other to see just what condi-
tions are now when we are to vote as
a nation of women for the first time"
Women Improve Politics?
Then ensued brief discussion of
the manner in which women secured
the vote, a lengthy process because OF
a single word in the constitution. Con-
tinuing with her talk of present con-
ditions now that national suffrage has
been assured Miss Thompson said:
at has been said that women will
improve conditions in politics; that
politics will be purified. It is up to
us this fall to prove this statement
true. Personally | am rather skeptical
that will will improve things much.
Some stands, such as prohibition and
social measures, | think women will
support strongly, but when it comes to
voting in general l do not think we
will be much better than the men. We
are just human being and we will vote
as human beings
zone of the first things we must
lose is our consciousness that we are
women. This consciousness has proved
deplorables in number of instances.
Women have worked against certain
men who have opposed suffrage re-
gardless of the fact that their record
on other important movements has
been excellent. 1t seems to me that
man who had been conscientiously
opposed to woman suffrage and who
realized that the day of universal suf-
I,frage was not far distant is to be re-
spected for his integrity. We have
now reached the place in politics
where we must take our place as citi-
zens.
policies, Not Man, Count"
"This fall you hear much about vot-
ing for measures; not for men. Here.
tofere women have been non-partisan
striving to secure the ballot, Now
that we have the means Of expressing
our ideals by the vote it is time ia
act and to align ourselves with one OF
the big parties. j would advise af:
citations with one of the two big par.
IS. Certain points in the platforms
of several Of the smaller parties are
excellent, anu ny Lie way you Will III
tice that the best of these have been
taken into the platforms of the big
parties, but just now we wish our
vote to count rather than just to reg
lister a protest. If you. are interested
in politics for the first time this fall
get the party platforms and speeches
of acceptance Of the presidential can
didates and after careful perual of
these documents decide with which
party your views are more in keeping
This fall we are not concerned with
dead issues; we are concerned with
conditions which must be faced with
in the next four years. The problem
of the wounded soldier, reconstruc-
ton; the league of nations; the high
cost of living. Remember that the
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