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Show 1 Changing A Man's Mind ;"he f I fc RS. SCHWIND leaned IT d&S8f3&k3 "ut window and fiAJHWEfywiT indulged in her daily MOvvyi tm diversion of looking i HB&mjS 91 intn t'i strr'r'' ! W fjwraj Bp In that waj she dj8rjtfrA keep an eye on eSgRgjflsB the several little ftZjvaSlPH Schwinds distributed pHCjJpf ii s p i c u o u s 1 y throughout the alley. Hardly had she taken tak-en her place when there came a loud rap at the door. "Mother of Petri,! she said, ' I bet it s one of them settlement teachers." The woman who stood - without, however, was a stranger "Pardon me. madam." she asked with the air of a professional questioner, ques-tioner, "I came to inquire whether ! yon believe in equal suffrage?" "If yon mean that sufferin' should be equal, I guess I do," replied Mrs. Schwind. hesitatingly. "I think you do not quite get my point. By equal suffrage 1 mean the political enfranchisement of women, Do you believe that women should vote?" "I ain't hardly thought much about it yet," said Mrs Schwind. "You see. , I've got 12 children livin", and one j that died on me, and it keeps me pret- I tj buSy. Won't you come In?" The canvasser for the Manhattan V.' omen's Elective Franchise Association Associa-tion declined with a gesture. "I am sure that when you do think about it you will join our ranks Consider Con-sider how much more you could do for your children if you were only a citizen." Mrs Schwind liked the idea for' immediately visions of herself tiding : beside Jim on the ' Annual Excursion , I of the Braes of the Wigwam" came to her mind. "I suppose," she said, 'both Jim and me could go to the chowders, and If we could get to take two or three of the children it would help ronsid- j erable I ain't got no objection at j y n all. I jest ain't never thought about I it" 'Then you simply must Join our suf- i frage club. Come over to the big mass-meeting at Solenski's Hall tomorrow to-morrow and we'll tell ou all about it" Mrs Schwind resumed her position at the window from force of habit, but the sights and sounds of the street had lost their attraction for her. In all her life sh,- had never suspected su-spected that there was even a remote JHHHBBLi possibility of joining Jim in politics, I and now she was dreaming of partici-! partici-! pating in the gayest revels at Tom Murphy's. Tom was such a good friend to them He came to the rescue whenever when-ever there was trouble. It was due , to him that Jim had his new job. The . possibility of doubling these benefits I was very alluring. I "I suppose," she mused, "they'd i have 'Monster Ladies' Outings.' and I little Tom could ride In the tallyho I in my lap. Mebbe I could get to the ! 'Red Men's and Lady Squaw's Masked Ball,' too ' Mrs Schwind was one of the first ; arrivals at Solenski's the next day. j She followed the speakers with eager j interest. It was all so new, so dlflfer-! dlflfer-! ent When the chairman concluded by saying "Noyv, ladies, we have done with theory. To accomplish this thing we . must go into politics. We have begun be-gun by opposing every local candidate i who is against 'Votes for Women.' Mr. Thomas Murphy, the alderman of this district, is most unfavorably disposed toward us, in fact, he was distincth rude to us. Does any one here know him1" Mrs. Schwind was filled with conflicting con-flicting emotions. She had known Tom Murphy for Years. She could easily guess what epithets he had hurled at his callers, and she was ashamed for him. She remembered, nevertheless, that he was kind. He paid their rent when Jim was sick, and it was he w ho gave little Mabel a funeral which was still the talk of Pearl alley. When the chairman a second time Impressively demanded. "Does any one here know him0 " she faltered, "I do, but he ain't never done nothing to me." "I should say," answered the chair- ' man, "that any man who opposed your enfranchisement had done something some-thing to you We must look at this thing impersonally, as men do." After some, further discussion it was Yoted that six residents of the district be appointed a committee to see what effect militant tactics would have on the Honorable Tom Murphy. Mrs Schwind did not know what militant mili-tant tactics wore, but her bosom swelled with pride when her name was announced as one of the six. A wQe of nervousness succeeded the rush of jo . however, when the chairman explained the duties of the committee. "What they say's all right," she m Lmn9 I thought, "but they ain't never seen I Tom mad." When Jim came home that night he I was very curious about the meeting, i and his greeting was: "Well, Ma, I I suppose you've got things all fixed up Bui you're getting pretty fat to be a sandwich. I seen one of them in the streets today, with a lot oi printing about voting." Much experience had taught Mrs I ! Schwind the art of omission in family j ' life, and she replied carelessly, "O, I bad a good enough time." She was far from feeling the unconcern un-concern that her manner bespoke, however, and that night she dreamed that they were dispossessed. While she sat on the sidewalk, her children and her furniture about her, Tom Murphy passed and jeered at her: "Now let them "oting women pay ! your rent ! " The, depression caused by this dream possessed her when she arose In the morning "There's somcthin' in what they said, jest the same," she murmured obstinately 'But Jim will be awful mad, and I guess I'd better ask Mr Williams; he generally knows." Although not church members, frequent fre-quent christenings brought the Schwinds Sch-winds into contact with St. John's Chapel. Before the children returned home from school she ran over and laid the case before the rector. "I sec," he said, firmly. "Temptation "Tempta-tion comes in many ways to women This is a new one. Mrs Schwind. do you consider the Virgin Mary a great woman?" Mrs Schwind nodded. "Well," triumphantly, a? though he had aehieed a great moral victory, "she did not Yvin her glory by mixing with the affairs of men. The home Is woman's sphere, Mrs. Schwind. LeaYe Tom Murphy to Mr. Schwind. You can do more for humanity by taking care of Why. little Tom Murphy is our youngest, isn't he? You'd better join our Mothers' Aid Societv" "Thank you," said Mrs. Schwind, "I j guess I II have to." She was not prepared to oppose Tom Murphy. Mr Williams and Jim; : submission was then the only course Rebellion was a new sensation, but on the w-a home certain phases of 1 life came to her in a new light. "It's easy enough for them all to talk, but after a woman's had 'em, and nursed 'em, and scrubbed for 'em, and fed 'em, it does Beem as if she ought to get some fun. There's a lot in what was said to the meeting, so L-L there is! Men has got most everything every-thing " She finished the morning's work Yvith a rising, mutinous feeling, and then prepared dinner for the children. The older ones went back to school Tom Murphy Jr. was cutting a tooth and too peeush to stay In the day nursery. Roial and Patricia did not go to the settlement playroom, and she gae herself to caring for them all. Dearly as she loved her brood, she thought it would be pleasant to change places With Jim once in a while. Standing by a subway ticket chopper all day was easy compared with cooking cook-ing for 12, sewing for 12, and straining strain-ing every nerve to make ends meet on the pittance that was theirs. Jim came home in a jovial mood and made preparations for shaving. "Goin out again?" she inquired. "Sure thing! The boys is givin' Tom Murphy a racket tonight. Grandest Grand-est spree the Alley over seen." "Don't you never take your wim-men wim-men folks'" 'Sure not! What do they want of a racket' Ma, you're gettin' queer notions since you was to the meet-in'." meet-in'." "I guess I be," she said. But she thought 'That's just what the lady said about our place. Just , home No racket, no chowders, no I tally-ho's, no nothin'; and Mr. Will-I Will-I iams. too. with his 'woman's spear.' 1 alnt fair." Jim did not return till long past midnight, and when Mrs. Schwind tried to arouse him he refused to get up "I work hard." he muttered "and I've got a call to take a day off when I please. You mind your own busl-1 busl-1 ness." "Then you stay here and mind the house," said his wife "I'm goin' 1 out.'' The day before she had decided not to serve on the suffrage committee; but Jim's conduct stirred her to action. ac-tion. Moreover, she was angry with Tom Murphy for letting Jim drink too much "This will put us back in the rent again,'' she said grimly, as she walked I to Solenski's Hall to attend the com-I com-I mlttee meeting of the precinct suf-' suf-' frage captain "If Jim didn't go to Tom's and spend his money, there'd ' be uo need of Tom helpln' with ihe ' rent. I guess It would be good to learn him a lesson about women i folks." Mrs Hanchett, the chairman, wan dressed in violet broadcloth and wore ermine. For once Mrs Schwind war, not in aYve of elegance She felt that every woman was her friend. There was considerable discussion about Thomas Murphy. It was decided decid-ed that the first step toward militancy should be a boycott of his saloon. j "We will have pickets," said the chairman. "It will be juBt like a strike, and the pickets will walk up and down and tell people not go in." I Mrs. Schwind, still thinking of Jim and the racket, volunteered for picket duty at once. She was sure that Jim would drift over to Tom's to talk over the night festivities and probably to drink more. "I can help the women," she reasoned, "and mebbe give Jim a scare, too " Tom Murphy could hardly believe his eyes when he saw Mrs. Schwind and the gorgeously dressed Mrs Hanchett Han-chett stationed a few feet from his door. Curiosity turned to rage when their purpose dawned upon him. "If you interfere with my busineas I'll have you pinched, you voting women!" he shouted. "Pay no attention to him," said the calm Mrs. Hanchett. "We are quite i within our rights if we walk up and down " Her cool manner Irritated Tom still i further, and he began a volley of oaths. Seeing that this made no impression im-pression he banged the door and went ! Inside; but he watched through the screen. A few minutes later he said to his bartender: "Them windows needs cleaning Fetch out the hose." j Mrs Schwind and Mrs Hanchett watched Tom and his hose with vnry- ! ing emotions He began by playing ' water against the window?. He dared I not point the stream at them directly, but he managed by tYvists and turns to give them both a drenching. Still ; they stood their ground and accosted j prospective customers with: "Please don't patronize Mr. Murphy. He's against Votes for women.' " The majority brushed by with a jeer, but two or three men actually j refused to enter the Excelsior Caf By and by, with his hat at a jaunty angle, his hands in his pockets, look- 1 ing but little the worse for the night's ! debauch, Jim Schwind came down the , street He was whistling merrily, when , suddenly he saw his Yvife. Her clothes j were wet and her hair disorderly, but I she presented a formidable figure flanked as sho was by the wet but) unruffled Mrs. Hanchett. "Hello there, what you doing, Ma?" he asked with easy familiarity Yvhlch he was far from feeling. "I'm doin' my duty as I see it," replied re-plied Mrs. Schwind, with an air of official firmness. "You go right back home. You're taking care of the children today." Mrs. Schwind, who for 16 years had been absorbed in home duties, was having the time of her life. She tried not to neglect the children, and they looked up to her with new respect Eloise begged ardentlv for picket duty. The neighbors were divided In their attitude; but all enjoyed having some new excitement in Pearl Alley. The Rev. Mr. Williams was shocked, but I I his pleadings were of little avail. "I'll Join the 'Mothers' Aid' by and by," condescended Mrs. Schwind. "I'm j too busy now." No one knew how she reveled in being a person of some Importance Im-portance for once. Mrs. Hanchett announced a new plan at the next meeting of the committee. com-mittee. "You know," she said, "my husband owns a brewery Well, I've persuaded him to start a new saloon opposite Mr. Murphy's. He says he will put in a pianola and have free lunch He's promised to hire a bartender who's a suffragist, too." Mrs. Schwind gasped. This meant ruin for Tom Murphy. She had not meant to go quite so far. In spite of his bad temper and his treatment of the suffrage committee, he had been her friend once The reJolndeT was so unexpected that Jim obeyed. This side of his wife's character was a new development develop-ment and he was in no condition to fight. "Gosh, ain't women the limit?" he grumbled to himself. "Always buttln" into something." The more he reflected the more convinced con-vinced he became that he was a much-abused much-abused man. "Ma's led astray," he thought. "Getting "Get-ting in with them sporty suffragite woman folks and leaving her natural duties! Taln't right!" However, he decided to ignore the matter for the present. When Mrs. Schwind came home he did not refer to It The next morning he went to work For several days Mrs. Schwind and her companions did picket duty in front of Tom's saloon. But Tom appeared not to notice ftf them after the first day. Neither did thoy affect patronage to any extent, for the main stream of callers found it just as conY-enlent to use the back f door, which YvaB not covered by the H?! pickets. On the whole, the boycott tj. I was a failure. f; n'V "You really won't put him down and ' V out?" she asked. I ' "Of course wo will," replied the chairman. "We must look at these jt I things impersonally, as men do. Some I I one has to suffer to win a great I ,'.'; cause." Ip Mrs. Schwind left the meeting in a " V. perturbed 6tate of mind. Tom's place ;V :" was old and small and she knew that 1 , I he could not compete th a saloon If. I which had "attractions." I "He can never run against a pianola ! and a free lunch," she said to herself, "It'll put him right out on the street. J I And ho buried Little MabeJ so good, , I too!" That evening, after Jim was eatab- I lished with his paper and hi6 pipe, j she slipped out Hurriedly crossing t the street, she passed through a court- I yard and knocked at the back door of I Tom's saloon. Tom's face turned red with anger f when he opened the door and saw her. t "Get out of here, you suffragette." If he shouted. "Tryln' to spoil my busl- I ness. You needn't come around here." f "Ssh! Tom, dou't! I come to tell . I you somcthin'. Let me in; it's big ; business." Impressed by her earnestness. Tom snarled an ungracious, "Well, then, I I come in." She entered the little hack room with its bare tables and its smell of I stale beer and tobacco, and bravely delivered herself of her message. ; "Tom, all you've got to do Is to tell the ladles you ain't no objection to j them votin'. If you don't they're go-in' go-in' to put a saloon opposite with a j piano and a picture show. The. purple lady's husband owns the brewery, and he's goin" to put you out of business,' Tom looked at her blankly 'Is that the truth, or be ye jest bluffin'?" he demanded. 5 "It's true enough," she replied, "And they'd kill me for tellln' you. But if you change your mind just let 'em know tomorrow." When Mrs. Hanchett came down Pearl Alley the next day a white card stood primly against the row of bot- ties in Tom's window proclaiming idj large black type: "Alderman Murphy favors women I Y'otlng." H |