The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-06
ELECTION SWUNGi BY FAIR SEX V0TES|
New Member Of Parliament Gives Her Views On
 Situation
--snrr CT~

If ,auoi cap,ner cc.ues into power in Britain it is expected that one of the min,
 Votes of British working women helped women now hold a number of seats in commons. Labor's domestic program in- cludes many points vitally effecting tho
 In the following article Miss Dorothy Jewson. newly elected laborite member of Parliament. shows how the labor platform grips the working woman, and gives an insight into the spirit and ideals of women in the labor movement.
 By MISS DOROTHY HENSON Newly Elected Labor Member Of
 British Parliamet
 tWritten for The Ags.Heraid: by
 Arrangement with "The Labor
 Press," London)
 LONDON, Jan. 1.-The American working women have 8 song:
 AS we come marching. marching.
 We bring the greater days
 The rising of the women means the
 Rising of the race.-"
 There is no doubt that. so far as British women are concerned since they were given the vote. they have advanced by enormous strides in po- Ntical knowledge, and, during the tlection, they have played bigger part than ever before.
 One of the conservative leaders, Loro 1ounBer, even soos so Aol ~ attribute the defeat of his party to women. '1t is the women who have done it." hex said. They have been frightened by the stories of dearer food, for which there is no founda- ton and have swung right over. Women Swung Election.
 Certainly, if Norwich, my Sonstitu- ency, Is any criterion 1 am inclined to agree with him that they swung right over," though fear was not the cause. Indeed, if they had yielded to fear. the lying conservative poster of the clutching hand over their home and piano would have prevented them voting labor. It was not rear that turned votes so much as disgust at the failure of past governments to deal with those questions wnich yitally concern women-unemploy- ment, housing, and the welfare or the child.
 On these matters labor's program always makes a special appeal to women-if you can only overcome Ine difficulty of getting 1t to them. Cn- doubtediy the solution of this diff culty was greatly helped by the eiec- tion of a woman candidate. It ap- healed to the imagination and sym pathies of women that one out or tne six candidates was member or tneir own sex.
 Many who had never attended labor meeting before came out oi curiosity to see the woman candidate, and once there, splendid band or speakers converted them to the lapor cause.,
 Women respect sincerity. They want to hear all sides, but they VIII not be played with. The, oratory or MT. Lloyd George had no erect on on Norwich women. They welcomed the clean fight labor was making. always avoiding personalities.
 O O O
 Little Sex Prejudice.
 Moreover our canvassers 's:"n oxoanq iouna very little sex prejudice, except among the class of women whose in- terests are bounded by the four walls of their house. Such women tnotght that "Woman's place was the nome looking after her husband and chil- dren:" and, when our canvassers ex- nIained that I had neither husband nor children. they promptly contra. dicted themselves by saying what fhey really meant was that 1t was mothers and not single women wno were needed in Parliament.
 There is no equality in the present franchise law for men and women over 30. Men can qualify after SIX months residence, but women must be occupiers of premises Tn Wnlch they reside-or the wives or sucn oc- cupiers It is estimated that IT the same six months residential quaniI- cation were accepted for women as for men, 1.500,000 more women over 20 would have the vote. But the fact is large bodies of working women including numbers who occupy tlr- nished rooms-nurses, companions goyernesses, domestic and hotel sery- snts are altogether disfranchised, and suffer an inferior status in con- sequence. ,,,, these anomalies.