Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-10-14
TIE iMPONDERABlE

OBSERVERS with an eye for odd political
~ phenomena and time to wander about the
camps of the parties where reports arrive
daily from the armies Of freedom believe
that they have made discovery Of the first
magnitude in relation to national affairs.
They feel certain that mnnv and perhaps
even n majority Of the 26.00o.000 women
voters of the country will vote for-or
aSninst-Mrs. Harding. Mrs. Cox. Mrs.
Roosevelt or Mrs. Coolidge rather than for
either of the four ma or candidates.
Women are learning to cheer with the rrat
Of us whenever an important candidate an
pears on the skyline and tunes his voice for
speech. but their cheering Is to great
extent automatic and lacking the ring of real
enthusiasm. Tt is when the wifo Of con-
spicuous candidate appears in public that
feminine interest Is actually aroused. Mrs.
Harding and Mrs. Cox have felt the nccrs-
sity Of declaring their views before critical
audiences of women voters. Mrs. Coolidge
in New York the other day. for a first ap
prarancp amid the forces Of destiny. was
ruthcssly quizzcd and mcrcilessly lorgnotted
hv representatives of all classes Of the voting
sistorhoOd
1t is easy to say again that women will vote
according to prejudice rather than according
to conviction. That probably is not true.
It is more probable that the women Of the
countr. are reacting. consciously or uncon-
sciously, to a subtPr knowledge than is
usually given to more experienced voters
They know how far woman's word carries
in the home. and they realize how greatly
even President may be swayPd in some in
stances by the lady who shares his burdens
in and out of office.
Certainly. under tho newer laws of the
land the wife Of President will achieve
added prestige and influence. She will be n
voter in her own right. and it Is not too
much to suppose that in the course of time
she will be the accepted voice OF tho women
of her party and the trusted representative
in the high places Of government of those
causes which are nearest, to the feminine
heart.
So, If women are In a mood to vote for
or against-Mrs. Harding or Mrs. Cox they
may be said to be moving in logical way
toward ends of their own.
They could not do better than seek direct
representation Of favorable sort at the
White House. Presidents wives in thr
times to come WILL of course, acquire n good
working knowledge Of politics and a genuine
interest in national affairs. And the First
Lady of the Land may prove in the future
to be a most desirable substitute for the
woman Vice President Of whom some Of the
more advanced suffragists already have
begun to dream.
We may expect to soc women named by
the fcminists for tho most important offices
in Washington. 1t is doubtful whether such
candidates ever could have any remote chance
of success For women. whether they are
suffragists or ants. are still disposed to trust
to the leadership of men In practical affairs.
Moreover. there is that in most women
which would not permit them to think scri
ously about a woman senator or woman
Vice President. The time will probably
never come in the United States when n
high hated. white vested parsonage might
be presented to an audience as "the husband
of the President-the First Gentleman OF
the Land" But the wives of Presidents
will help from this on to inspire political
policies. They will be held to account in
some degree by women voters for any failure
of an administration to safeguard women S
interests. They will have TO make speeches
and give assurances to their followers. They
will be the special Representatives in Wash
ington Of the newly enfranchiscd half of the
country. Women already realize this, And
that in all probability is why women voters
are disposed nowadays to look at the wife
of a major candidate first and at the cand
date himself afterward.