The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-11-03
KEEPING UP
With
THE NE WIS
BY LUDWELL DENNY

or six million new women voters are
apt to determine the election next
Tuesday, but naturally Republicans
and Democrats can not agree on
how women will determine it.
Although the most accurate thing
that can be written on this major
election factor still is a question
mark, certain general trends in the
woman vote" have been discovered
by the politicians.
There are:
l. The woman vote" does not
exist. That is, women by and large
do not vote as women, but as in
dividuals. 1t has taken the poll
ticians a long time to learn the
same thing about the farm vote"
the labor vote" the foreign vote"
the Negro vote" and other sup
posed blocs which exist only on
paper. Like these other classes, the
woman vote is divided, not only by
individual differences, but also by
geographical, economic, cultural,
and other distinctions.
2. The familiar argument of pre-
suffrage days that wives would vote
like their husbands and daughters
like their fathers is not supported
by evidences in this campaign. Po-
litically split households seem to be
the rule rather than the exception.
3. The women voters, and eSpe-
cially the new women voters. ap-
parently are giving more individual
thought to campaign issues and
candidates than are men, if for no
other reason than because a fresh
duty is taken more seriously and
because flovices more frankly
recognize their lack of knowledge.
4. Women voters are apt to be
predominantly interested in those
campaign issues in which they see
a moral" or humanitarian Signi-
ficance, and to permit such issues
to determine their vote But, as
indicated, this tendency is not so
absolute as to create a distinct and
separate woman vote" on any given
issue.
A THOUGH most politicians and
"a observers probably are fairly
well agreed as to these four gen.
Civilizations. there is less agreement
in applying such generalizations to
the benefit of Smith or of Hoover.
Take the sectarian issue, which
both candidates and both parties
officially disavow, but which cor
respondents and POLITICAL scouts adj
nit is major issue. AS there are
more women church members than
men, probably more women will be
swayed by the sectarian political
issue.
The fact that Protestant women
far outnumber Catholic women
would indicate superflcially that
this trend would elect Hoover. But,
because of the electoral vote system,
the sectarian Protestant women's
vote can be discounted in southern
states, where Smith will win any,
way and in certain northern Re-
publican strongholds like Ohio,
where Hoover would win anyway.
This leaves the doubtful states
as the only important points, and
in these the electoral votes of such
states as New York, Massachusetts
and Rhode Island where Catholics
hold the balance of power, are more
than double the electoral votes of
the close Protestant states, such as
Oklahoma, Kentucky and Tennes-
see.
The same applies to prohibition.
More women than men probably will
disregard other issues and vote
either as vets or drys. And it is
clear that a large majority Of Wom-
en- are drys. This is shown by the
entire history of the prohibition
movement, by women membership
in Protestant Evangelical churches.
and by the woman membership in
the Anti-Saloon League and Wom-
ems Christian Temperance Union,
contrasted with the small number
of women in wet organizations.
DUT here again, although the
ID country as a whole is dry, the
large electoral vote eastern states,
which Smith must gain to win, are
wet. So Smith, who has the dry
south anyway, perhaps will be
helped almost as much by the east
ern wet vote of women as he will be
injured by the larger women's dry
vote in the country as a whole.
This might be summarized by the
statement that the number OF
women who will vote against Smith
on the sectarian or liquor issues is
sufficiently large to prevent AL from
sweeping the country, but the num-
Der of women votes which he will
receive on these issues in strategic
eastern states might help to elect
him when added to the solid south.
Finally, it is believed that women
tend to vote against change, when
the issues are political" rather than
moral" This was true in the re-
cent German election, one of the
few instances in which a careful
study has been made of the womens
vote.
If this holds on Nov. 6, it will Of
course go long way toward SWELL
ing the normal Republican major
ity and electing Hoover.