South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-05-11

WATCH THEM GENTLEMEN.

That portion Of the male population given to
politics ar a matter of speculation or of direct
interes, should watch that convention OF women
now bens held AZ Lafayette
They may remember that they sagey predict
81 ma. when woman got the ballot that she would
be interested only d the good looking candidate
that her MEETINGS would be devoted TO discussions
of fashion and that by training education and
i'm pulse she had no capacity for government
They reneuber. perhaps that they prorhesied
that the woman in politics would be ruled entirely
.l- some male member Of the family and that the
whole thug was farc.caI as 1t would merely double
the size OF the vote without changing the result.
They may revise their opinions when they learn
what these women are thinking about when they
Set together as they today in the convention OF
the League Of Women Voters.
It IS true thar they know nothing Of politics as
the male mind understands the term-but they are
interested very much in government
II is true that they do meet in little cliques
and plan on how to get the vote Of natonalties,
-creeds and supposedly large-szed blocks OF votes
by catering and trading and barterng of Influences
But they arc interested in discovering why things
Happen and what reason lies behind the things that
follow the elections of officials
The program ast night for instance. was given
&c the discussion OF the proportional system Of
representation in government.
The ladies arc interested this thing. but they
study o. they uud mat III uoeb not reldle az al 10
that old maze problem Of getting a who could
carry the Second or the Seventh ward or the pick
ling of the fellow who was popular with lodges
churches. saloons or business men.
They are disco, ering that it Is a plan whereby
the minorties in elections have some representation
and that it devised TO meet the demand that the
people who vote for others than the winners have
chance to get their viewpoint properly repre-
eented.
They got this bit OF political history from the
speaker:
"The system has been developed to get rid of three
crying evils iu methods of eectng rerresen-
tatye bodies The commonest OF these occurs in
election Icy wards or by singIe-member districts
This results in virtually disfranchising, so far as
Representation goes all the voters in each district
who do not vote for the winning candidate The
voters thus shut may be great part Of the
entire number In the state OF Indiana in 9t2 this
amounted in the congressional elections nifty four
per cent Tor 327646 voters voted but succeeded in
electine nobody. while the 2912SS other voters
elected all thirteen congressman
Doesn't sound much like discussion OF bobbed
hair or the latest thing in face powders does it?
Doesn't have much of the echo OF what candidate
would mako the handson1est president or show
much evidence OF turning TO Rudolph Valentino
or wauy Reid as senatorial timber?
The must learn that the ladies. who are not
at all interested in politics have a deep interest in
government They know what makes tha;
particular clock click and will probably discover
also why frequently fails 20 click