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Show 0N SUFFRAGE Roosevelt Tells Why He Believes In Votes For Women Spokane, Wash , Sept. 9. When Colonel Roosevelt climbed on board his private car tonight to wend his way westward onco more, on the last stage of his Journey from the Atlantic Atlan-tic to the Pacific, he turned to look back at the city fVom the -vantage-point of the observation platform, and romarked: "By George! Spokane has given me what I might call a middling lively day." The colonel made four speeches, at tended a breakfast, a luncheon and a dinner, talked politics with tho progressive pro-gressive leaders and headed a parade through the city. In his speeches Colonel Roosevelt gave his views of woman suffrago, replied to "Woodrow Wilson's criticism criti-cism of the progressive proposal for minimum wage HcaleB, assailed the position of tho Democratic party and talked of the tariff, the courts, the high -cost of living and the farmers. He said llttlo of the Republican party, on the ground that 'ho never discussed discus-sed dead folks." Speaks to Women. Colonel RooBevelt gavo over most of tho afternoon to the women of Spokane. A meeting exclusively for women was hold in the auditorium and another theater was engaged for an overflow meeting. Tho colonel said that he had not been Induced to take up tho cause of woman suffrago by women who devoted de-voted their time to advocating It, but by women whom he bad consulted in regard to other matters. Ho found that womon like Miss Jane Addaras of Chicago, ho said, whom he had consulted with regard to social and economic conditions among the workers work-ers of their sox, were virtually all in favor of woman suffrage because thoy believed it would assist women to lmpovo their condition. Another condition lu inducing him to accept this point of vlow, ho said, wa3 the influence in behalf of good government govern-ment whioh women had exercised through tho ballot in the western states m which they already vote Why Women Should Vote. "The argument that participation in politics will take women from the home," he continued, "Is just as well grounded as It would bo to say that men should not vote because It would take them from their business. It is not so much that women need to spend tlmo as political workers as that they need to work out the questions ques-tions connected with our government and then lake the right action at the polls." Colonel Roosevelt admonished his hearers that thej must not fail to go to the polls. "You are noc to be excused," he told them; "if you don't come out and exercise with intelligence the right of suffrage that is yours in this state. You mu6t not treat it as an interesting interest-ing addition to your privileges. You must troat it as a duty rather than a right. More and more the states In which women vote will he watched all over tho country for the results. If there Is not a measureablo Improvement Improve-ment in conditions as a result of yonr exercise of the franchise there will bo felt a certain disappointment and discouragement everywhere among your sisters. Claims Right. "I think I have the right to ask the men of Washington to stand by the Progressive party If wo don't have the right typo of political life it will he difficult permanently to have the right typo of family life. Wo Progressives haTe set ourselves seriously se-riously to the task of Improving social so-cial and economic conditions. Ours is a program which ought to appeal especially to the mothers, on behalf of the welfare of their boys." The largest crowd of the day was that which assembled in front of the Masonic temple to hear the colonel's colo-nel's first speech. It was in this address ad-dress that he devoted particular attention atten-tion to Governor Wilson's criticism of tho Progressive party's position. At a noonday meeting of business men, tho colonel discussed the Progressive Pro-gressive party's proposals regarding control of the trusts Attacks Commerce Cotirt. "I think In recent years a very great backward step was taken," he said, "bv the creation of the so-called commerce court. Tho creation of that court came pretty near undoing tho good Wo had succeeded in getting done. "Mr Wilson, Bpeaking for the Democratic Dem-ocratic party, has objected violently to our proposals to regulate trusts, and said that In turnin? from that proposition, it was a relief to get out into the free air of tho policy formulated formu-lated by the groat Democratic thinkers think-ers who mado the Baltimore platform. plat-form. "J love the implication that thought had anything to do with tho Baltimore convention. Thero never was a platform plat-form In this country so wholly free from any taint of thought as the Democratic Dem-ocratic platform adopted at Baltimore." |