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VOLUME XVII. WOMEN TO VOTE IN 1912 Equal Suffrage May Be Factor in Presiden tial Election Matter Which Chairmen of Na tional Committees Will Be Called Upon to Consider— Some of the Laws for Which Women Are Responsible, At tributed Directly to Their Vote and Influence. WASHINGTON.—AImost 1,000,- 000 women will be eligible to vote for their choice for president of the United States in 1912. Those worn- w en are to be found in the six western states which have already granted equal suffrage, the number of women in each state who are eligible to vote being about as follows: California, 500,000; Colorado, 160,000; Idaho, 48,- 000; Utah, 65,000; Washington, 120,- 000, and Wyoming, 35,000, or a total of 928,000. Thu^e figures are not exact, but constitute the best possible estimate until such time as the census bureau gets out its figures showing the analy sis of the population by states. It is possible that before the election in 1912 more states may give the women a chance to vote for the presidential candidates, as the equal suffrage cam paigners have such states as Nevada, Oregon, Kansas and Wisconsin marked as trembling in the balance on the suffrage question. There are in the United States to day just 19 states which have no form of suffrage for women, although some cities in them have. Those states are Nevada, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Indiana, Kentucky, Ten- nessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Vir ginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Penn sylvania, Rhode Island and Maine. On October 12 last California joined the states granting equal suffrage to women, the vote on that occasion be ing 119,056 for and 117,408 against the measure, or a majority of 1678 for equal suffrage, with some minor towns to hear from. California had rejected the proposition in 1896, Oregon and several of the other western states have several times rejected the amendment, and Massachusetts in 1895 voted on the question and refused equal suffrage, the vote in this state at that time being: Yes, 109,204; No, 187,840, or 78,636 majority against equal suffrage. Since then the ques tion has not been brought to the ref erendum in this commonwealth. In the western states the question has come before the voters quite reg ularly, for, according to some of the opponents of the equal suffrage in that section of the country, “a ‘yes’ vote settles the matter and a ‘no’ vote sim ply means tbe question comes up again in a couple of years.” Kentucky Pointed the Way. Kentucky was the first state in this country to give women the right to vote. In 1838 that state gave the school suffrage to widows with chil dren of school age, and in 1861 Kansas gave the school suffrage to all women. Year by year from then on the move- Jrwtntim Inlhtin. NUMBER 7. ment for woman's suffrage gained strength throughout the country, but it was always granted in modified form as the right to vote on school matters, local tax questions, municipal suffrage, etc. In 1869 Wyoming gave the full suffrage to women, being the first state in the country to do so. School suffrage was granted to the women of New Hampshire in 1878, by Massachusetts in 1879, by Connecticut in 1893 and Vermont in 1880. In addi tion to the six states in this country which have given the full suffrage to women, there are many countries which have given a modified form of suffrage to women and full suffrage has been granted the women by the Isle of Man, New Zealand, South Aus tralia, West Australia, and in 1902 full suffrage was granted the women of Federated Australia and New South Wales. In Utah the reports show that 75 per cent of the women voted In Bear River, 95 per cent voted in Garden City, 95 per cent voted in Grouse Creek, 90 per cent voted in Keysville, 90 per cent voted In Logan and 90 per cent voted In Nephi. In Kansas the reports from these same sources show that 80 per cent voted as Eskridge and 80 per cent voted at Miltonvale. Seem to Prize Vote. In Wyoming the reports state that the women voted as gtrongly in pro portion to registration as did the males, if not to a larger extent. In Denver, Colo., in the election of 1909, no less than 30,000 women voted and only about 500 of that number were classified as vicious women. In other words, in that Denver election 43 per cent of the vote was cast by women and only 40 per cent of the vote was cast by males. Both houses of the National Parlia ment of Federated Australia for the session of 1909-10 passed a resolution saying that after 66 years of woman’s suffrage in varying parts of the coun try and nine years as a common wealth, the reform has justified the hopes of Its supporters. Relative to the percentage of wom en voting in the states where they have that right, the woman’s suf frage organizations point out that men do not exercise their right to vote as they should, and that, therefore, the question as to women doing so is not very material. They point out that in the presiden tial election of 1904, the vote cast was only 13,961,560, while 21,000,000 men were eligible to vote. Then again, they say that in the city election in Phila delphia, in 1903, the Reform party re ports that 49 per cent of the men fail- ed to vote, and that in the same year in the election in New York city 60,000 registered voters failed to cast their ballots. Their Choice of Political Offices. In the states where full suffrage has been granted to women for some time experience has shown that wom en do not to. any great extent run for political office. Going through the records of those states it will appear that, for the most part, women have been candidates for educational posi tions and for the office of county or state treasurer. Those are the two classes of offices which they seem to have singled put as being most desir able from their standpoint, and to which they have been most generally elected. In several of the states giving full equal suffrage women have sat on ju ries and have done acceptable service, but there are no statistics available to show the number who have done such duty. Laws Women Have Helped to Make. The male mind naturally inquires as to what laws the women in the equal suffrage states have been responsible for? For this■ question the women’s suffrage organizations have evidently primed themselves. Here are some of the laws adopted in the equal suffrage states since women had the right to vote, which they maintain have been championed by women, and that wom en are practically responsible. IR WINTON, WILKINSON COUNTY, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1911. Colorado gave equal suffrage In 1893, and since that time the women claim responsibility for securing the passage of laws forbidding the insur ance of children under ten years old; establishing a state home for depen dent children, with two of the five members of its trustees to be women; statute requiring three out of the six county visitors to be women; estab lishing a state Industrial home for girls, three of the five trustees to be women; statute making women equal guardians of their children; statute raising the age of protection for girls to 18 years; requiring one woman on the board of the State Insane asylum; establishing parental or truant schools, providing for the care of the feeble minded; providing for tree preserva tion; requiring public school teachers to teac^ humanity to animals; making the Humane society a state bureau of child and animal protection; establish ment of juvenile courts; compulsory education; establishing state traveling libraries, commission of five women; against the employment of child labor in mines; providing accident and for eign life insurance companies that have to be sued be made to pay the costs; restricting hours of labor for children, and for women; free em ployment bureaus; making It a misde meanor to neglect to support aged or Infirm parents; abolishing system binding out girls of the Industrial school; and in Denver other beneficial legislation has been secured by them. Work of Women In Idaho. Idaho gave equal suffrage in 1896. Since then women claim to have been instrumental in securing these laws. Making gambling illegal; raisingc-the age of protection for girls to 18 years; establishment of libraries and reading rooms; requiring 3 per cent of the school funds to be expended for school libraries, the books to be chos en by the State Board of Education; establishing the State Library com mission; providing for a department of domestic science in the State uni versity; providing for a course of do mestic science in the Academy of Idaho; establishment of the industrial reform school; pure food act; statute giving married women the same right to dispose of her property as men. Utah gave full suffrage to women in 1896. Since then the women claim these laws as a result of their efforts: Requiring that women teachers be paid the same salaries as male teach ers; raising the age of protection of girls to 18 years; establishing free public libraries in cities and towns; requiring in all educational institu tions supported by public funds in struction in physiology and hygiene; creating a state art institute; provid ing free lecture courses each year at the capital on sanitary sciefite. hy giene and nursing; curfew bell; mak ing it a misdemeanor to sell tobacco, etc., to minors; providing for the pro tection of dependent boys under 14 and girls under 16 years and the pun ishment of persons responsible for their care, neglect or ill-treatment; re quiring the establishment of kinder gartens in all school districts of a population of 2,000 or more. Record in Wyoming. Wyoming gave equal suffrage In 1869. These laws made since that time women ciaim chief responsibility for: Equal pay for men and women teachers; raising the age of protection for girls to 18 years; making child neglect, abuse, etc., punishable; for bidding the employment of boys under 14 and girls of any age in the mines; forbidding the employment of children under 14 years in any public exhibi tion. In ten years of equal suffrage In Colorado only one woman has been convicted of illegal voting. Relative to the intelligence of women as voters the equal suffrage organizations point out that the 1907 report of the Na tional Educational commission says 54,183 girls were graduated from the public high schools as compared to 33,202 boys from the same schools, and there were 116.841 more girls than boys in the public high schools. THE BIG STORE TREATS YOU RIGHT Bill Siggins Says: “The only thing 1 ever see any one get for nothin’ was a zero with the rim knocked off.” We want to commend Mr. Siggins’ saying as wise and true. In these days you see so much of the something for nothin’ that you don’t know where to land. Our idea has been, is, and always will be===a good, square deal to all. We only handle goods of known values; goods that their trade mark is “HALLMARK” of quality. We believe in the advertised lines===as we know a brand of merchant dise that has stood the test of the ad man’s work for years must be right. Each week we are going to tell you of one line well known that we sell, and we want you to watch for same. We want you to come to Milledge* / ville; come to the big store and let us show you. W. S. MYRICK & CO. Milledgeville’s Only Department Store SI.OO A YEAR.