The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1921-02-13
MIST BEGIN AT
FOUNTAIN.HEAD
No Reform Can Get Any
where That Does Not
Begin at Bottom
MRS. LAHMAN TALKS
Good Advice to Women That
Men Might Profitably Take
to Their Hearts

4. .is no dream that politics ,au hc
...,rifisd by women, but thc purifi-
,ii1u cannot be brought about by
This vas the hopr and tho warn
.,g held cut at one and the same
inc by Mrs. Charles T.. lahman,
.rtls, county republican chairman,
, . talk on precincts and pr-
u,aricS' delivered at the school OF
.nuruction for republican women Of
.as oklahoma las week in Mus
.ngcc Mrs. lAhman then described
how the most cffectual work for
.ood IN party and for the nomi-
nation Of good candidates must
needs bc done at the primaries.
Her speech, which was made in
.eroHiug by Illus ration, ran in part.
when the nineteenth amendment
doubled the number OF voters in Ne
and. u vast majority of women
f,und themselves possessed OF "A
Iranrhisc which they did not know
now 10 use. Perhaps a few know
nov. to mark "A ballot, but even tho
most enlightened of US und>stood
.,boui as much OF tho workings of ths
political machine as they did Of
ginsteiu = theory of the fourth di-
nension. We were told repeatedly
hat since we had the vote 1t was
,ur duty to use IL and so become
hat elcvating influence in politics
which had been the chief argument
IN favor of suffrage. Very we'll.
Assumed to the satisfaction OF every
ono that we would clean up the po-
litical arena. the next question was
how Nobody had said anything to
ms about that. Even the ladies in
those earlier favored states seemed
lo think that this consisted merely
IN going to questionable voting
places and casting ballot. ! asked
a lady from Kansas to tell mo her
experience. She said she never paid
any attention to party lines but al
ways voted for the best man.
You mean, | suppose, that you
vote for that one OF two opposing
candidates whom you think IL the
better man" l persisted.
"Or do you manage to have a
man YOU know is good on the
ticket2'
She was dubious. why no, I lust
And suppose he does not turn out
20 bc a best man after all? What
lhon? what then indeed.
Il was in this haZy state OF mind
that we began TO study the workings
Of the political machine. not in
books but from personal experience.
because the first thing we discovered
was that outlines OF civil government
do not mention the human nature
element, yet this very thing is the
chef factor in elections and there
loro in our system Of popular gov
rrnment
Must Mind Rules OF Game.
BcS,dcs tho introduction into the
political game of an entirely new
class OF voters, an untried factor big
enough 10 be n balance of power,
made 1t necessary 10 modify the
rules by which the game usually has
been played. Probably you are all
familiar with the first instance of
tms KIND, namely the appointment
OF cOmnitteowomen 10 parallel tho
mems organization. This was deemed
necessary because IL was the quick
est way of showing recognition 20
the new voters and, as ii soon be-
came apparent, because IL took WO-
mon 10 get other women registered
so they could vote. MY subject does
not deal whit he organization ot
tho women. The point | do wish 70
make here, however. Is that UP tC
November .. tho leaders in that or.
sanitation had all they could do "a
Get their women registered and later
10 see that they went to the polls
There was little time to educat,
them In party politics. Vote. in
blind Ignorance. perhaps, but jus
20 and vote, We will explain thing
later, was tho attitude we had tc
take
Tho fact that II was a presidential
campaign made the work easier be.
cause many a woman was Interested
enough to vote for president who
would have refused to be bothered
with county election. SO It hap,
poned that, when a year ago, th'