Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-10-15
WOMEN TO FIND
OUT WHY MEN DO
NOT GO TO POLLS
Canvass of City Planned to
Obtain Data for Regional
Conference.

To secure material for study and dis
eussion at the efficiency In government in
gtitute TO be held by the National League
Of Women Voters in Chicago Dec /, 2
and 3 in connection with the convention
Of the fourth region, comprising seven
States. women will probe the reasons
made voters have for their failure to vote
IN the last primary. city and national
elections.
The fourth region incfudex Indiana Ir1s-
Dois, Ohio, Michigan. West Virginia,
Kentucky and Wisconsin. Ten cities and
i've rural districts in each of these seven
States have been selected for the purpose
of getting '+why men do not vote" data.
Miss Alma Sickler president of the
indianapolis League has accepted an as
signment of the canvass for indianapolis
and will canvass four city precincts
selected to give representation of the
various classes of citizens in the city.
QUESTIONABLE cards have been issued by
the league and will be given to the men
and women who did not vote in recent
elections, to be filled out The card con-
tains a list of reasons for not voting.
The non-voting individual is asked to
check the reason he had for not casting
his vote or to write such reason if not
listed. The idea is an innovation in the
annals of the league and promises to
be a big undertaking in local precincts,
says Miss Seeker asin her own precinct
tIere were 200 persons not voting which
would mean that approximately 500
cards may have to be distributed and
collected by the Indianapolis League
workers.
That the data will be quite represen-
tative and a real contribution to the dis
- ~ e.. - NI.-N
each State surveys will be made in dis
tricts including the largest city, the State
capitol and a number of small cities,
towns and rural districts. With the larg-
est city in Indiana, for example, shows
will indicate what the conditions are in
cities of similar size in other States which
MIGHT not be selected as survey centers.
Miss Helen C. Benbridge of Terre
Haute, chairman of the Indiana Depart
ment for Efficiency in Government is in
CHARGE Of the survey to be made in this
State, In the five days, Oct. II to p. All
rererts are to be completed and sent in
on Saturday to the State chairman.
Asked why only men would be ques-
Toned about their voting, Miss Ben
bridge answered ''that full suffrage for
women was too recent a privilege to
make data on their voting records of
any real value or significance.
She further explained that the why
men do not vote" canvass is one of the
results of the League of Women Voters
belief that the enfranchisement of women
should bring into the electorate a new
clement with q characteristic wOman's
point of view, and that women voters
should study public questions not as
good citizens, only, but as women citi-
zens In working for greater efficiency
in governmental structure and admins
tration and for stricter law enforcement,
women can render invaluable service,
therefore a department for efficiency IN
government was organized to devote it.
self to such subjects. The Indiana cities
chosen for making the survey are Indi-
annapolis, FIT Wayne. Terre Haute, South
Bend, Michigan City, East Chicago,
Bloomington. Peru. Anderson, Marion,
Howe, HagerstOwn, Aurora and New
burgh. Rural districts in three counties,
Tippecanoe, Fayette and Jasper, will be
surveyed unde- the direction of League
Chairmen Mrs. A. T. Stuart of Lafayette,
Mrs Christian Ely, Connersville, and
Mrs. Ora 7. Ross of Rensselaer,. It is
expected that unusually interesting as
well as valuable information will be Sc
cured during this canvas.