The Wilmington morning star., 1940-10-21
BY MORGAN M. BEATTY
APP Feature Service Writer

AP Feature Service Writer
WASHINGTON Oct. 2O.-Polls of
public opinion or no polls, both
major parties swing into the home
stretch of the 1910 campaign with
out Knowing which way-if any
10 or 20 million women are, going
to jump on election day.
That means the women's vote
is the big mystery in politics. Just
as it has been in all of the six
Presidential elections since 1920
when the women got the vote.
There are those in high places
in both political parties who feel
that women may be the nucleus
of the great independent vote in
American politics. Some ever sug-
gest that sweeping landslides like
the swing from Hoover in 1928
to the avalanche for Roosevelt in
1936-only eight years later-are
possible only because the women
are less party-bound than men.
There are rs, O00, 900 Americans
of voting ages. Something less than
half, or about IS, 900, 900, are
women. Only about half of our
citizens over 81 actually vote, as
a rule. 1t is generally assumed by
the high commands of both parties
that the same holds. true for
women. Fifteen million women's
votes would be a sensible estimate
in a fairly lively presidential cam
paign.
On rare occasions the women's
vote has been sampled with the
idea of finding out what Sex does
to the ballot. With the help of the
National League of Women Voters,
Samuel P. Hayes, Jr., of Mount
Holyoke college sampled the views
o f>women in 81 states just before
the election in 1882.
He applied rigid statistical con.
trolls to the result and concluded
women were more liberal-minded,
more Observation-Disclosures, and
more socialist-minded than men
For instance, a greater percent
age of the sampled women than
men favored government owner.
ship of railroads and were against
the government staying out of bust.
ness. More women than men favor.
ed the World court at that time.
But even he took these tendencies
with a grain of salt, for in spite oil
them, he said his general conclus.
ion was that women reacted tc
candidates and issues generally
about as men do. He didn't put
any stock in that old gag about
women changi-g their minds. Al
least that played no part in his
survey.
Harold F. Gosnell of the Uni.
versity of Chicago made a dis
covery in 1927 that still gives the
political master minds the jitters-
namely, the old suffrage issue isn't
quite dead. In hunting for reasons
why people didn't vote, he found
enc Of the two major causes was
the belief that women shouldn't
vote. The other was indifference.
Countering this in more recent
years, however, is the fact that
such organizations as the Nationa.
League of Women Voters are
steadily gaining in membership
and financial backing. Also it is
known that the more astute ma.
tional leaders frequently consult
the National League about national
and international policy. This re-
fleets their belief that women are
sensitive barometers of public opin-
ion.
Taken altogether, these odds and
ends of information explain why
presidential contenders VOC h e
women's vote subtly, unobtrusive-
ly, avoid stressing sex in politics.
President Roosevelt has appoint
ed women to high places in his
administration. Frances Perkins is
in his cabinet, Florence Allen is
on the federal court of appeals
bench. But he made no sex dis
tinction in his appointments, and
has similarly welcomed women in
to platform-making in the Demo-
cratic party without special fam
fare.
Willkie in his campaign tour
showed his respect for the wo-