The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1920-11-22
TIIL TEE UNTTED STYTESEVER
HAVE A WOMAN PRESIDENT !?
BY ZOE sEcKLEY

NEW HAVEN, NOV. 1o.-ShHl
y ever have a woman president
WHEN / put this query to the on
living e%x-preBident OF the Unit,
ed,States he threw back his head
md laughed-and the Honorable
William Howard Taft's laugh Is
Tnfdue and contagious.
Itgbeg1ns with the slow cTinkling
pfsa pair Of eyes, which nearly dis
appear, leaving only brief hoTizont'
& 5lineg to mark the place. A dou-
bIegFow OF sturdy teeth appear, aid
I'd and abetted by q tremendously
iolly idimple in the right check
Then surges up q rumbltng roar
such as marks the emotions OF the
graud stand when Babe Ruth cracks
homer. This becomes rapidly
Observation-Disclosures and Is sus'
tafrcd on a brave strong note grad
naIly easing off to pTofundo-dtminu-
endo ,et cetera, ad ininitum.
lie Good to Hear Taft's Laugh
1t is good to hear-Mr. TEft's
Before he has even attempted to
answer your question you feel some
how cheered, and as II women are
the;hope Of the world, perhaps. or
81 least that there's no sense Ce-
spairing Of their being president
some day, and fixing up all the
fhinRs that are now so veXipg and
puzslinE to the human race.
The laugh never quite ends. II
onIy diminishes in a degree which
makes speech practicable. 1t sort
Of ripples around in the distance,
IKE q breeze after the high wind
has passed.
5E{aAnd why" counters the owner
of the laugh, do you ask me such
d big; question?"
TO which there is but one obvi-
0is answer.
0Ah!1f replies Mr.. Taft, but l
am not so big any more"
Wiether he means that to refer
/ his enormous dimensions or to
his pSace in the government, you
can only guess.
aTrue, Women Voted About as
Men Did"
so.you say something about the
election. And how women did not
vote In the Sentimental" way
prognosticated by those who felt
thesfemfnine ballot would be over
wtielmingly for the League that
shouldstnsure peace as outlined by
HE man whose health has been
shattered in the labors of his cause.
AndSMr. Taft replies:
tsThatfs true. Women have voted
prettymuch as men have. / do be-
Heye5 however," he goes on, look
ing as nearly serious as his eyes
permit, shat women have a tenden'
cystos choose candidates on a some
what higher moral standard than
men do.
EWomen are not strongly inclin-
ed toward machine politics. They
select ON personal rather than on
fractional issues. Which is n rea-
son why their influence is so good"
You thank Mr.. Taft for his com
pfirnent, and gently but kindly lead
him back to the "big question
shall we ever have a Madame Pres
ident?
Realizing that he is in for it, and
no escape is possible, the former
president sets his back to the wall
and answers II don't know!"
a,How Can Anyone Answer III"
t6ow can anyone answer such a
+ question:" he defends, woman her.
sell cannot answer 1t.
IN this election Just past there
Nareta number Of women candi-
dates. Did the feminine vote sup
mort them I am afraid we must
admit 1t did not, for few were elect
ed Women did not solidly sup
port women"
siThen you think there is an I'M
dercurrent OF hostility between the
woman candidate and the woman
; Voter?H
The Taft smile broke out again
benfgnly.
Ah-=you can answer that better
6han II" said the leader OF the
League to Enforce Peace. "Therc
ts very nice psychological question
involved =
fundamentally l can see nc
great difference between the work,
ing Of man's mind and of woman's.
The division of labor, however, ma
t1rally leads to different interests