South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-05-10
WOMEN OF ITALY
BATTLE FOR VOTE
Feminine Leaders Will Hold
Conference In Rome to
Plan Campaign.

ROME. May 9-Now that Italy
has temporarily settled her political
difficulties by choosing a new pre-
mier, the women of this country are
preparing 70 present her with a new
problem They have taken hope for
their old demand for suffrage. For
two years the bill presented by Mod
1 igliani. Socialist Deputy, demanding
votes for the women Of Italy has
/ been sleeping almost undisturbed in
Parliamentary quarters.
/ The women OF Italy now declare
/ that they have been patient more
/ than long enough and say that they
will at once organize a plan OF action
/ that will force Parliament 70 discuss
bill for national woman suffrage.
! For this purpose they have called to
| Rome one Of their most courageous
| leaders. Professor Margherita Anco-
ma of Milan 20 conduct a conference
| of suffrage leaders.
] Italy has never resorted 20 mill
/ tant action 10 get woman suffrage
/ but IL is we'll known that Signorina
| Ancona. who is Sicilian by birth and
I ready to make a fight against any
( Injustice. has more than once de-
clared that the only reason Italian
women do not have the vote already
/ is because italian politicians are not
+ afraid Of them. Let the women OF
Italy frighten their politicians as the
/ women OF England and America did
and We would have the vote, too,
she told me
Apathy Toward Suffrage.
The conference will be largely
| controlled by her. and it remains to
be seen what her program will be.
( Women leaders in Rome are not a
4 little discouraged over the apathy
shown toward the question of the
womans vote among both men and
women.
According 10 Madame Alice Schio
voni Bosio. cha lrmau OF the Associa-
/ zione per Ia Donna. and one or the
most active workers i'm Rome for
woman suffrage:
The reason women do not have
the vote in Italy is because every
+ political party is afraid the other
parties will gain too many votes
! from the women Each one seems to
/ be afraid that it has nothing 10 offer
/ 20 women and so will lose their sup
port TO some other party. The So
/ cialists are afraid Of the Popolare.
/ The Popolare are afraid Of the So
+ cialists The Liberals are afraid OF
everybody. and even some women
are in the same state of mind. The
one hope for suffrage lies in the
fact that the Popolare and the So
cialistists both want women 10 vote.
and they are az last considering a
coalition for other political reasons
and SO may be persuaded 10 put the
\ Dill through as a matter OF political
expediency. which they can easily do
with their combined vOti n &
/ strength"
Contessina Maria Loschi, who Is
: well known i'm feminist groups in
America as one of Italy's foremost
women writer's, declares that the en-
tire discussion of votes for women
has been relesated.
No One Thinks of Them"
"No one thinks that women are
important politically" she says. mo
one thinks of them at all. There are
over 100. 600 women unemployed. ac-
cording 10 statistics. and as many
more. not registered. without work
and Vet women have done nothing
about this. nor has the Government.
/ Politicians i'm italy. as in all other
/ countries, are interested TN getting
employment for the people who vote,
and So women are not considered
any more. During the war they we're
the angels OF humanity. but when
men came back from the front with
out employment the women became
/ silly. frivolous creatures. who were
taking the bread out Of mems
mouths in order TO supply themselves
with silk stockings Italy is ready TO
give the vote TO women. bat until
/ politicians are forced 10 do so they
will never give it,
The ore very hopeful woman Of all
I the leadv.s In Rome is Madame
Cassartelli Cabrini. organizer of wo-
mems trade union leagues in Italy
and official representative of the
Italian Women's Syndicates in the
/ international Federation of working
/ Women
/ These" she says. ARE the women
7 who viii be demanding the vote be
+ fore long They have had no educa-
ton politically as yet. but there is
/ every opportunity TO work among
them now. and when 200 600 indus
+ trial working women and as many
/ more agricultural workers demand
/ the vote they Will get il.
( This. she says is only one part OF
/ the program that the syndicate
movement plans now that It has OBJ
/ tanned a separate bureau for the
I women's syndiCates In the Italian