LADIES AND THE VOTE

Southland Times, Issue 17305, 29 March 1913, Page 6

LADIES AND THE VOTE

A REAL LIVE MILITANT VISITING INVERCARGILL. THE WHY AND THE WHEREFORB ' OF THE CAMPAIGN. A demure little lady, soberly attired and almost apologetic in manner, walked into the Southland Times office last evening, and presented her card to a member of our literary -staff. Th* ■ legend on the little bit of cardboard was J . Harriet C. Newcomb. International Women’s Franchise Club, London. A second scrutiny of the visitor did not reveal that she had any lethal weapons about her. She carried a sombre parasol instead of the axe or hammer whidil one associates with the British ,suffra-

gette, and if she had any explosives concealed about her they did not go off. OoT' reporter produced his fountain pen, and. proceeded to interview the first real liv* ■militant he had ever met. Miss Newcomb explained that eh* with her friend Miss Hodge, had mad* tliis (rip- to New Zealand to see som* friends. She was honorary secretary and treasurer in London of what was called the Australian and New Zealand Women’s Voters’ Association, which eociety was formed in’ 1911, and which bad done a great deal to help the women's suffrage societies, although It was not connected with Any of them. They had been seeing how easily the women’s vote worked in Australia and New Zealand. They found when they came t# the dominion that there were some very} erroneous feelings prevailing towardi* the women who in England were serlou*-! ly fighting for the vote. j “Of course,” said Miss Newcomb, “th* cables are very meagre and really v£ry one-sided. If you were to judge from the cables alone you might think that) these women are the fanatics they liavst been called. But we know the extremeJ ly level-headed women they are, and what they are doing tills for.” The reporter drew a brief picture o£ the suffragettes’ campaign of Smash and bash, and asked Miss Newcomb if th* ladles pleaded guilty. “Not quite all,” she replied, with • bright and appreciative smile at th* scribe’s descriptive effort. “The suffragettes are most seriously attacking property—that is the war they have declared. But they are being accused o£ things which they would not do.” “What Is their justification?” th* pressman asked. "The apathy of the publiCi” replied) Miss Newcomb, promptly. “The apathy) which is letting this evil of sweated wo-J men, and all the horrible wrongs that) grow out of it, grow and accumulate* year after year. The very first thing) the women will do after they get the| vote will be to agitate for a revision o£| the wages of working women. It is aj curious thing, but this economic qaes-j tlon is at the bottom of the whole thing* Of course it is the prppertied women who are making this agitation, hut it la not for themselves. . It is to right tha wrongs of the poor. These suffragettes are social. reformers—many of them grey-headed women, who have given uj»l their lives to the service of the poor,*! Miss Newcomb continued, in eloquently) sincere tones. "The charity of Londoaj has been like pouring water into asieve. We are not remedying evils' when w® feed the poor and try to- make up ta them for the, wretched, wages they receive. We are getting every year at more and more demoralised class among our poor.” “And your remedy?” the reportal asked. “These wrongs Will nearer be righted until legislation has been taken seriously in hand for the better payment of tha working classes. Women are equally as skilful as men at some work, and theyj are paid perhaps two-thirds of wages. The ■ consequence is that employers prefer to employ women. Tha men find that'they cannot get work— i and I cannot tell you how many cases I know where men have honestly tried* They simply have to loaf about, and their wives go but. The men get Into bad company, get drinking, and from being , honest and willing breadwinners, , they are content to live on th® earnings* Of their wives.” “How will the women’s vote help?” “There will be no attempt to remedy these wrongs till we -get the vote,” Mis* Newcomb replied. “Much of Lloyd George's is splendid, but It does not go down to" the ’root' of the matter. It is the horrible under-paying of women workers, and the replacement of the men' by this cheap labour, that w« are fighting. The Government, stranger to say, Is one of the very worst employers in that respect.” “The suffragettes blew up Mr Lloyd George’s house,” the reporter reminded. Miss Newcomb, very gently. “His empty house !” Miss NewcomMi corrected, smiling brightly. “I have nq doubt that that was part of their work, I don’t ll)ink they burned Lady White’# house. They blame the suffragettes e for the British Museum fire, but they did not do that. They will never attack a thing that cannot be replaced, and they will never attack human life.” “Human life Is in danger when explosives are sent through the post," th* reporter suggested.. Miss Newcomb laughed outright, “These ‘ explosives ’ are merely used t* give the recipients a "fright,” she explained. “They are the simple and harmless things that children use : We hav« to keep the public alive.” • “The suffragettes are keeping them, alive all right,” the pressman assented, “Well, you know, when the Titani* went down how the Whole world talked about it for a month —and then forgot. They would forget about the women’* vote—if we let them. We don’t intend to let them. It is not at all unlikely that some of these women will die. They don’t want to die, but they are prepared to do so rather than leave their work.” Miss Newcomb added Hi at the suffragette movement had been in progress for sixty years, though the militant campaign was of recent origin. Certala women had the vote in England prior t# the passing of the Reform Bill In 1832, which restricted the vote to “persons.* When a woman went to vote afterwards she was challenged, and on contesting 1 the point in court the judge ruled that a woman was not a Then a, woman trespassed on places where it was stated that "persons who trespass will be prosecuted.” She was prosecuted, and the judge held that a woman, was a person as regarded penalties, but was not a person as regarded privileges, "A most extraordinary state of things,* was Miss Newcomb’s comment. •‘You are confident of ultimate victory?” the reporter asked, rather unnecessarily, perhaps. “Absolutely ! Absolutely !” Miss Newcomb declared, with fervent emphasis, “But I am afraid that we have still a> terrible fight before us.” she concluded. With a sigh. Miss Newcomb then informed our reporter tliat Miss Hodge and she would speak at Amethyst Hall on Sunday af-. ternoon, as advertised. She gathered up her handbag and parasol again, and departed—a bright, enthusiastic, and determined little representative of the ladies who are making history in old England to-day.