The Washington times., 1923-04-18
MRS. BELMONT
SEES WOMEN
SLIPPING
National Women's Party Chief
Says They Are Losing
Gains of Years.
By Cosmopolitan News Service.

NEW YORK, April 1S.-"The
American woman is being squeezed
down again into the down-trodden
position she has occupied for TWEEN
ty centuries, and she hasn't spine
Ienough to defend herself
Men are forcing her out of bust
ness, out OF education, out of poll
tics. and she sits idly by, as blind
and self-satisfied and complacent
as a house cat tapping up cream"
Mrs. oliver H. P. Belmont, pion
eer suffragist and founder of the
National Woman's party, just re-
turned from Europe, sat in her
suite at the Ambassador today and
thus criticised the American WON.
an for sluggishness in rising to
hold fast laboriously won ''women's
rights.
Everywhere in this country you
Il see women being forced to step
back and down, to make room for
men in the big jobs that are really
worth holding" Mrs. Belmont con-
tinued.
Sees Sex Warfare.
Are women really too indiffer.
ent to keep that which has been
won for them at such sacrificial
cost by the early pioneers? / can
hardly believe it. And yet all the
ground gained will soon be lost un
less women unite and defend them
selves.
Women have been too success
full in the business and professional
world; they have more than made
good so men fear their competi.
ton. Rivalry between men and
women is now big factor in the
economic world. The result is that
men are combining to push women
out
This is the more easily done
because men are by nature loyal
to men, while women do not under.
stand the vital necessity of stick.
ling together The result will be
the complete rout of the whole
woman's movement and her ulti-
mate subsection again if women do
mot combine as women, to present
women's views to the world and
enforce women's opinion.
How can women tamelv stand
by and see men take all the best
Jobs for themselves. How can they
humbly accept inferior positions at
half pay when many of them are
better fitted to hold responsible
positions. than men are?
Cites Chicago Case.
Take the Chicago schools, where
a single register has for years been
maintained Tor both men and women
teachers from which important TO-
lsitions were filled strictly upon
merit. Today all that is changed
two registers are now being kept,
one for Women and one for men.
The reason for that Is the preva.
Hence of women at the. top of the
| list. If positions We're filled on
merit alone, too few men would
be available for the big jobs.
"Sly means like this OF excluding
women from important positions
are being taken on all sides. Chi.
cago teachers complain, but they do
not unite and fight. Why not?
! 1t is nothing less than shameful
disloyalty to their sex that permits
] millions Of women to stand by and
see swept away the rewards won
| for them by the heart-breaking
labors of a few
With Miss Alice Paul. national
| secretary of the Woman's Party,
Mrs. Belmont will tour the East,
South ans Middle West in a private
car beginning, May /, to form units
in every branch of women's en-.
deavor to fight for equal opportunity
for women within that particular
group.
The tour will close at Seneca
Falls, n. Y. where to two-day
! conference will be held in comment
Grafton Of the first 'wonan's
rights" meeting, held in that city
in 184S under the leadership of
Lucretia Mott.