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Show SUFFRAGE ACCOMPLISHES GREAT GOOD IN UTAH X If for no other reason than that It has united the women of two strongly strong-ly opposed religious sects, suffrage) has Justified Itself In Utah. Mormon and Gentile, tho women votors of Utah have pledged themselves to secure se-cure government and civic Improvements, Improve-ments, and they aro working Bldo by side to ghtn that end, despite most L-fk pronounced religious differences. It " -y is not going far to assert that tho whole world awaits tho result with Intense Interest. Tho following Is quoted from an article entitled "Equal Suffrage in tho Stato of Utah," one of a great series on Suffrage appearing appear-ing In June Pictorial Hevlow: Utah may be llckened to Galatea. It was created as n beautiful Ideal. In "Equsl Suffrogo In tho Stato of reality It was only an Imago of tho real thing. It was not Intended that the Mormon women should have Independent In-dependent Ideas as how to vote. Equal suffrage, like Galatea at its birth was only a fair dummy. In courso of time It came or Is coming to life. The very act of casting a vote made ttto women of Utah think about that vote. They legan to see posslbliltes that lay In their ballot. If the vote was given to them, they asked themselves why shouldn't they use It as they saw fit? Furthermore equal suffrage In the home meant equal discussion In tho home. Also meant Injection of the feminine view-point Into politics. Little by little step by step, the Mormon women began to assert their independence. In this way, perhaps they wcro only keeping pace with the men not only In Utah, but or all the world. This Independence, this gradual grad-ual breaking away from authority, is well shown In tho election figures of the last dozen years. In 1900, more than 50 per cent of the vote of Utah went for McKlnley. In 1912 on We other hand less thnn 37 per cent of the vote of Utah was cast for tho Republican party. And the combined vote for Mr. Wilson and Mr. Roosevelt Roose-velt was half as large again ns the vote for Mr. Tnft. Slowly but surely tho electors of Utah ore learning to vote according to their own con-i con-i sciences. What Is truo of the electorate at large Is truo of tho feminine part of It. One great obstaclo that for many i - years prevented tho political co-oper- ' lTt9 atlon of tho Mormon women and the Christian women was mutual distrust. Each sldo feared that any mensuro x proposed by tho other sldo was some scheme for partisan advantage. Hut slowly, as rock Is worn by tho con stant dripping of water, that feeling is being obliterated. For this happy , consummation, equal suffrage and tho women's clubs are responsible. Thero nro forty of theso clubs In tho Stato Federation. Tho membership Is made up of both Mormons and non-Mormon people. Organized nt first to read Browning or dabble In art these associations as-sociations have now evolved to the point where tho discussion of Drowning Drown-ing has been replaced by tho consideration consider-ation of such topics as the social evil the effect of impure milk on babies and the economic barm of occupational occupation-al diseases. When any ono man or woman falls to discussing such quest-Ions quest-Ions thero can bo but one result. And so, little by little tho women of tho Stato of Utah are coming 'together to work for civic betterment. Although the womon electod to tho legislature) wero elected on a partisan ' ticket they will have tho united back ing of tho CO.O0O women voters; for In the federation of clubs, tho women possess a means of unity that men in different parties do not possess. When It comes to measures affecting tne public good tho women know no party par-ty lines. To reach this condition of unity has taken them a decado and a halt. Fifteen years may seem a long time to hdvo waited for equal suffrage to Justify Itself. In reality, It was a remarkably re-markably short period. Defaro women wo-men could learn to act togother, they had first to learn to overcome their prejudices, to forget their religious differences, to learn to Judgo by n broader standard. Charity and breadth of view are not easy to acquire ac-quire Particularly are they difficult of acquirement by women, who In a sense lead cloistered lives. Nothing but a desire to effect a common end and that end something so lofty as to appeal to tho best In their womanhood, woman-hood, could ever have brought tho women of Utah Into tho position they now occupy. If their unity bo still not absolute, at least hatred has given way to kindly consideration and religious differences havo been put aside for tho consummation of a great end. That end is the welfare of Utah. Month by month tho women wom-en of that state are being drawn closer clo-ser togother by their common doslro for social service. To them as to the women of other states has come tho lesson that It they want their homes, their cities and their states to bo clean and decent, and their children to ue kept from evil, thoy themselves must bear a hand in sailing sail-ing the ship of state. They have found but ono wny effectually to assistby as-sistby getting the voto and using It. Utah Is a better stato and will bo-como bo-como a better stato still because tho women of Utah havo tho ballot. In tho way of legislation, it is truo that they havo as yet accomplished llttlo. Dut thoy havo been getting ready to do great things. "To him wno is destined des-tined to arrive," says Kenneth Gra-name, Gra-name, "tho fates never fall to afford, on their way,, their small encouragements." encourage-ments." At tho outset, wo said that tho laws secured by tho women wero not a triumph for equal suffrage. Thoy wore, however, tho small encouragements en-couragements vouch safed by tho I fates to those who aro destined to arrlvo. "To travel hopefully," says Stcphensen, "is better than to arrlvo, nnd the truo success is In labor." Cer-tnlnly Cer-tnlnly the womon of Utah aro traveling trav-eling hopefully. Already thoy nave reached tho truo success of labor." |
