Show ike chair C acl i ir recognizes R e co W E i zes the t e gentlewoman e anit JG AS as A ge Agae iii 4 fa av 0 fig mra W A xo 01 alvr arc D y too roil A ajo 4 7 11 4 I 1 t t 4 ao 50 W A I 1 1 14 X 11 A SPEAKER LONGWORTH ap ans CONG not tow mix alk THE THREE RUTHS 1 1 ito R RUTH OWEN OWE M RUTH PRATO HANNA mc CORM ICK by ELMO SCOTT WATSON GEN the seventy first congress opens speaker nicholas U longworth probably VV bill viivi have frequent occasion to say the chair recognizes tile lie gentlewoman from and arkansas california florida illinois kentucky massachusetts new jersey or new york may be the state which he will name to complete that statement for the new congress will have in its membership no less than eight women members of the th chouse house of representatives ahe he largest f number in its history I 1 in 1917 1017 jeannette rankin nankin of mon alon tana attracted nationwide attention as C tile first woman to be elected to con gress as did miss bliss alice robertson of Ok oklahoma lahonia when she was sent to washington by the voters of the sooner ger state in 1921 but so accustomed chave have we become to the idea of wom en D in high public office that the seat scat 4 ing of eight women in congress this byear byear will not cause as much comment as ai the seating of but one did twelve years ago to the of the congresswomen an twe the roll call in the house of representatives III be no special novelty for all of them served in the sev t congress in fact that con gress gresa represented the second term tor for three of them mrs florence prag kahn of california mrs edith nourse rogers of massachusetts and mrs mm it mary T norton of new jersey mrs katherine KaU KrIne langley of kentucky was elected to the seventieth congress and t mrs william A oldfield of arkansas was appointed to that body to fill the s term of her husband who 4 bad died 4 all five of thee congresswomen were elected reelected re elc arted to the seventy first congress last as t november and the new congress will see ahlo th in the g house augmented by the three ruths ai 1 a mrs ruth bryan owen of florida mrs alm ruth hanna mccormick of 0 illinois anil and mrs ruth pratt of new york in a name was asked once more nhen they were candidates in the last election and there was evidently something in ID the name ruth for all three were elected or if you pre prefer er a biblical ca figure gure to 0 a shakespearean can it might be said t that at these three modern ruths were successful gleaners cleaners glea ners of votes in the political field of 1928 of the group of five congresswomen who have served previous terms mrs norton Is the only one who may be said to liae hae come to congress in tier her own right all of the others in a fash fashion lon inherited their congressional mantles from their husbands mrs kahn mrs rogers and mrs oldfield are widows who were appointed or elected after the lie deaths of their bus husbands mrs airs langley was elected by tile the people of tier her state lis as a i indication of her husband formerly a representative who volio had been convicted of violation of th the e prohibition laws of the three new congresswomen two may iray also be said bald to have inherited their mantles lit fril a different fashion mrs CornAck Is the daughter of the late senator mark uanna hanna of ohio and the widow of the late senator medill mccormick act of III illinois innis mrs ovien Is the lie daughter of william jennings bryan once a member of congress but more famous as a candidate for president in IM and it 1908 and secretary of state under president wilson mrs owen has another distinction that of being the only former british subject t since the early days of the republic to be elected defied to a seat in congress she Is the widow of lit maj reginald owen of ohp british army who died in 1927 from wounds received in campaigns against the turks during the world war although mrs pratt fruit has no such political heritage as the other two ruths site she had bad achieved distinction in her own state before she entered the national oat lonal arena As a member of the board of 0 aldermen of new york anity slie she enjoyed more than local fame its the lady astor of manhattan politics and as the principal baiter ot of the tammany tiger on ninny many civic problems in fact all of 0 the congresswomen have bad political experience which fits them for the roles they are to play in the new congress with its record number of women members mrs AIM micks introduction to public life mas a as as secretary to her father senator mark hanna during the second SIc mckinley Kinley campaign As a helpmate tor for her husband during his ca reer in washington her knowledge know ledga a of politics increased although mrs airs langley was her husbands successor in congress she had bad political experience of her own before that time she was the first woman member of the republican state central committee in kentucky nod and served as vice chairman she was the first chairman of the state slate organization of republican women an alternate to the national republican convention in 1920 and a del agate in 1924 1024 mrs airs nortons Nor tons distinction lies in the tact fact that she was the first democratic woman to be elected to congress she has been a social sen ice worker la in the day nurseries in jersey city noil bad served on the democratic state committee was delegate at large to the democratic national committee and has been a member of the new jersey hatate legislature except as coin congressional gressl on al wives mrs kahn and mrs rogers had had us no political experience previous to their election to congress neither had Ms mrs oldfield but as tile the wife of the democratic whip in the house who vibo was always successful la in lining up op members of his bis party in critical measures she always manifested a keen interest in the work of tant body anti thus was amply educated for her duties ihen hen she was elected to 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