Evening star., 1928-09-10
Women's Activity in Campaign
FOreshadOWs Record Total Vote

after all, equal suffrage will have ac-
complished nothing until the women
accomplish independence of action. If
they are to be merely the rubber stamp
for the political opinion of the male
members Of the family, who have been
wont to dictate the course of the fam
lily political decisions. then equal SUI
frage will have done nothing more than
TO give the man an additional vote.
There probably are to be many family
Jars over the campaign as 1t develops,
but there could be no better time Tor
showdown as to whether equal suffrage
is in effect what it was designed to be-"
Both political parties" reports the
Minneapolis Tribune, "are preparing 10
place a larger dependence. this year,
than ever before, on women voters Ill
shaping and carrying on campaign de-
tails, getting into direct contact with IN
dividual voters. and increasing the per-
centage of qualified voters going to the
polls. Naturally, the activity Of women
leaders in 1924 was greater than their
activity in 1920, when Federal equ9l
suffrage was still very young. accom-
plished fact. having been proclaimed on
August IS of that year to be IN erect.
It is expected to be proportlonately
greater this year. There are
at least 26.00O.OO qualified women
voters in the country. and any woman
vote counts for as much as any man
vote. These figures become the more
impressive when it is rememoered una
in 1924 the total vote for all candidates
aggregated only little over 29ooo'ooo'
Attention is directed by the Fort
Worth Star-Telegram to the conclusion
that IF the woman vote Is at all pro-
nortional to the active campaign work
women are doing in both parties. it VIII
be a large one. And the women" con-
tinues that paper. ARE filling many I'M
portant positions. There is, in illustra-
ton, the case of New York, Where tne
unusual situation is found of women
heading both the Democratic ana Re
nuhlican State committees. Wonl-
On indeed are performing much of the
active work of this campaign in many
states which would seem to warrant
the impression that they are growing
to like the game of politics, new as 1t
is to most of them. and that they are
likely to vote in proportionately as large
percentages as men do"
A protest against any tendency to-
ward alignment according to sex Is
made by the Helena Montana Record
Herald, with the argument: 1T would be
exceedingly unfortunate for campaign
work among women to result in
the emergence of a women's bloc. The
women workers realize this and are
avoiding it. With the advent of equal
suffrage. sex distinctions in the realm
of politics were abolished once and for
all AS active factors in the American
electorate, women have assumed their
rightful role--they are citizens. con-
cerned primarily with the broad prob
lens of citizenship"
In criticism of the activities OF some
of the women. the Baltimore Evening
Sun says: 1T requires no very long
memory to recall the roSeate promises
of those who Championed votes for
women. When women were given the
ballot and permitted to hold public
Office. 1t was claimed they would purify
the muddy streams of politics and a
golden era of honesty and idealism
would set IN. Those promises scarcely
conform with the actual facts. The ad-
minlstration Of Ma Ferguson as Cover
nor of Texas left behind it record to
which the proponents of woman suf-
frage could not point with pride And
now is added the conviction Of Mrs
Florence E. S. Knapp, former Secre-
tary Of State of New York. the first
woman in the East to hold an pnpor-
tant Office" -