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The Commoner
MAY, 1915
29
Votes for Women
I have been an advocate of wo
man's suffrage for many years. I am
proud of the fact my mother and only
sister live in a state which has unlim
ited suffrage, the state of Oregon. I
am sure that state has not suffered at
the hands of the women, neither has
the citizenship deteriorated on ac
count of their having had the right
to vote.
From 1898tol902I served as city
clerk in the city of Lafayette, Ind.
It was my duty to make the tax Du
plicates for the city. There I found
a very substantial reason why women
should be permitted to vote. Many
women in that city carry a consider
able burden of taxation. Yet it is a
case of "taxation without representa
tion." Women the country over aro bread
winners. They have taken their po
sitions in the business world and
they ought to have the right to give
expression at the polls on the things
that affect them.
IP WOMEN- CAN TEACH MEN,
WHY NOT VOTE?
I think I am safe in saying 90 per
cent of the teachers in the graded and
high schools are women. They are pre
pared to Instruct the youth and to fit
them for higher education. Is it not
good reasoning to suppose they know
as much or more about the funda
mental principles of government than
do the men? If this be true, then
why are they not entitled to equal
suffrage- with the men?
We have three classes of people in
the states which have not adopted
equal suffrage who are not entitled
to vote, namely, idiots, criminals
persons convicted for crime and incar
cerated in the jails and penitentiaries,
and who in some instances are dis
franchised on account of crimes com
mitted and. iWomen., ., , . ;
I am in favor of taking the women
of the state of Indiana out of this
class and putting them where they
rightfully belong on an absolute
equality with men.
I am opposed to those who are re
sponsible for women not having the
right to vote. You will find these op
ponents to suffrage representing the
special interests of the country. The
strongest force in our state against
suffrage is the liquor interest. This
same interest is against all progres
sive legislation. These are the men
who take the nosition that women
are not properly educated to vote on
questions of government. This is not
their real reason. If you could get a
orewer or distiller or a saloon Keeper
to tell you his real reason, it would
be that women, with equal suffrage,
would put him out of business.
My opinion of equal suffrage has
been strengthened within the last
few weeks. When the woman's suf
frage bill passed the senate a few
weeks ago, the following Sunday
evening, after the passage of this bill,
the opponents of woman's suffrage
came to Indianapolis from all parts
of the state.
Ar I Rat in the lobbv of one of the
leading hotels that Sunday evening
and the following "Monday evening
and studied that crowd, I thought
what a wonderful opportunity the
democratic party had if that party
would only take advantage of it. The
democrats could have traded the
brewers and distillers, and those wno
profit on account of the liquor traffic,
for the support of the women of the
state of Indiana.
I think the rank and file of the
democratic party of the state of In
diana were, during the legislature,
and are now, in favor of making this
exchange. But the special interests,
with the assistance of those charged
with political power in the state op
pose such an amalgamation. James
Kirby Risk, in the Indiana Daily
Times.
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THE MAT THAT GROWS WHITER EVERY YEAR
White States: Full suffrage. Shaded states: Taxation, bond or school suit
frage. Dotted state: Presidential, partial county and state, municipal;
suffrage. Black states: No suffrage. From the Suffrage Number of the
New York Evening Post.
PRERHUMS AND DEPOSITS
No one ever heard a savings bank
depositor talk about what his depos
its cost him. Ha never says: "It
costs me $120.00 or $360.00 a year
to keep up iny savings-bank account."
His deposits are -savings, just that
much to the- good.
It is almost as absurd to talk about
the cost. of keeping up the premiums
on life insurance. While in one view,
premiums for life insurance are an
expense, it is only 'in the sense that
it costs present money; but all this
. money, and in most cases much more,
will at some time be paid to the wid
ow, children, or the estate of the in
sured. Insurance premiums are not
an expense within the meaning that
clothing, fuel or groceries are an ex
pense. By the way, this is an excel
lent time to take a policy in
TheMiqwestLife
OF IrtNCOLN.TfEBRASKA
STOCK COHrAHY SELLING
IttJUAHTEEP COST LIFE INSUMHCE
o
HERALDS OF BETTER TIMES
Industrial Revival is Taking Placo
and Business is on tlie Mend
t
That the Pennsylvania railroad is
arranging to buy and build a total of
10.000 freicht cars while not less
than 50,000 cars are idle on the sys
tem is a curious instanco of the man
ner in which a railroad must en
deavor to forecast the future and be
prepared for it. This equipment will
hardly be ready for service before Au
gust 1. There may be no pressing
use for it for some weeks thereafter.
Much of the material and labor en
tering into construction will be an
unproductive investment during all
,that intervening time, to say nothing
of the $50,000,000 or more in exist
ing equipment that is for the present
nnrnlner nothinC
Evidently the theory is that the
railroad can afford to carry any
amount of unproductive Investment
through months of light traffic better
than shippers can affdrd to wait for
cars when the traffic is heavy. The
theory would not be so bad if due
recognition were given it in the rough
and ready methods by which railroad
profits are regulated. -
of iii fhnf ia hv the way. For the
general public the chief interest in
the Pennsylvania's car and material
-.i,. i imf u indicates a settled
belief on the part of the Pennsylvania
management that an industrial re
vival is taking place. The crop out
look is promising, but that by itself
is not enough to account for the
road's desire for more cars Last
year's crops were bountiful, but the
railroads moved them, without any
??:":" Min a nar shortage, ex-
'ept for aTempoYary condition due
entirely to the lack of ships at At
lanic and Gulf ports early in the war.
Other signs are not lacking : that
railroad business is on the mend,
JSm which it follows that other busi
ues which originates traffic, is gain-
lng in like proportion. It is import
ant to bear in mind, of course, that
the only figures by which the situa
tion can bo tested make comparisbn
with the depression of this time last
year. This is particularly true of the
net earnings and gives the large not
gains of February and those that
some roads will report for March a
somewhat exaggerated effect. Never
theless, If the present season Is even
a little better than a poor correspond
ing season last year, this year as a
whole is so much the more likely to
turn out satisfactorily. And such
tendencies in business, as Is well
known, are usually cumulative.
Hence the dplslon of the Pennsyl
vania to provide more cars without
waiting for the old ones to be filled
with freight. The judgment of the
Pennsylvana directors is not neces
sarily conclusive as to what is imme
diately ahead of us. But that road
has more than once taken a lead in
the resumption of constructive activ
ity which other roads have followed.
Wall Street Journal.
DANIELS VINDICATED
It is only about one year since Sec
retary Daniels of the United States
navy issued an order banishing intox
icating liquors from the navy and
naval stations. When the order was
Issued there was a great fuss made
about it in some quarters. Many
naval officers sneered at it; many re
publican papers and republi
can speakers made fun of the
"grape juice navy." The Wilson ad
ministration, of which Secretary Dan
iels is a part, came in for a share of
ridicule and adverse crltloism from
the liquor Interests and from opposi
tion political sources. But Secretary
Daniels hold to the order and the
navy went dry. And now ro see the
position of this democratic secretary"
vindicated by the action of other
countries, whore rum is being pro
hibited in army and navy ranks;
Other countries, profiting by the
stand taken by this democratic naval
secretary, have come to see that the
efficiency of fighting men is decreased,
by the use of liquor and it is being
abolished. Russia has banished vod
ka to the end that the army may bo
more efficient; France has placed a
ban upon absinthe drinking for the
same reason; Great Britain now ar
sorts that the drink peril is greater
than the perils of war and is consid
oring severe restrictive legislation,.
In Canada we see two provinces movjr
ing toward the closing of all saloons
during the war.
Foreign governments, disposed to
criticize Secretary Bryan as the
"grape juice statesman," and Dark;
Iels as a "tea drinking .naval secret
tary," have quit scoffing and are urgjr
ing stops to restrict the drinking of
strong liquors in their army and
navy. A democratic administration
in the United States set an example
which all the world Is now glad to
follow and yoa will note that it re;
mained for a democratic administra
tion to set thiJ example. Mankatj?
(Kansas) Western Advocate,
7
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