The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, October 4, 1920, Page 12

September Proves a Record Month ‘Clubs Breaking Records New National Manager Starts Active Cam- paign—Minnesota Membership Doubled N THE month of September all records for new clubs and new memberships in the affiliated Women’s Nonpartisan clubs were broken. Since it has be- come a certainty that women will vote in November the women in all Leag'ue states have been flocking to the League standard in readiness for a stirring campaign. North Dakota still holds the leadership in the num- ber of clubs, having passed the 150 mark. The first club was organized at Bis- marck in February, 1919. Active organization work did not get under way un- til some months later, however. Now every coun- ty in the state has one or more clubs and many of them, with five or more clubs, have their county federations. Minnesota is pressing close upon North Dakota, however. As this article is written, in the middle of September, Minnesota had 102 clubs and half of these had been organized . in the last three weeks. -The first Minnesota club was organ- ized in August, 1919, at Eagle Bend. This club, however, affiliated for the time with the North Dako- ta clubs. State headquar- ters were mot started and organization work put under way until February, ' 1920. Many of the new Minnesota clubs are being organized in the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. St. Paul now has a headquarters of its own. Wives of workingmen are just as much interested in the use of the ballot in Minnesota as are the wives of the farmers. Montana is at present the third state in the list, with 30 clubs, but Colorado and Nebraska are press- ing close behind. Colorado has some of the largest clubs of any of the states, running as high as 85 members. Idaho, South Dakota, Wisconsin and other good League states are fast falling into line. A. C. Townley Says: The following excerpts are-taken from a letter from President A. C. Townley of the National Non- partisan league to all women members: “The day is past when man alone is in- terested in politics. Husband and wife are alike interested in those things which affect their welfare. With the help of the women we feel that our strength is more than doubled. “The great world conflict has brought upon the people of the United States a greater responsibility than ever before. We feel another war MUST be avoided. “War touches the lives of women more vitally even than it does men—they always suffer most. Therefore they can most ef- fectively influence the trend against war. No one can make war upon war to better advantage than the women of America. “War is not the only thing to be guarded against. Conditions of peace as regards the high cost of living are as bad as in times of war, if not worse. Those who profiteered during the war are still en- gaged in their unholy work. As a result women on the farm are every day finding it more difficult to meet the cost of living with their daily income. “The National Nonpartisan league has the way out. It is @ peaceful way—by the ballot. The necessities of life, which are being hoarded and stored by the profiteers, Miss Kate L. Gregg, national man- ager Women’s Nonpartisan clubs, who is putting as much “pep” in the clubs as A. C. Townley put into the Nonpartisan league. “Where the mothers are the children will be also;” Robertson of Bozemarn, Mont., sending this picture of Montana club No. 11 to thie Leader. THE FARM WOMAN’S PAGE must be handled by the state itself. To make this remedy effective the League membership must have your assistance and hearty co-operation. Women can do much to extend the influence of this organization. “Will you help? We KNOW you will.” New National Manager Miss Kate L. Gregg, who has become national manager of the Women’s Nonpartisan clubs, is put- ting on an active membership campaign to enroll thousands of new members before the November election. Miss Gregg re- signed from the faculty of the Univer- of Washington, where she has been an instructor in English literature for the last four years, to take up the work of helping to organize the new voters of the Northwest. Miss Gregg graduated from the University of Washington, with the degtee of bache- lor of arts, in 1908. She spent 1911 and 1912 at Yale, returning to Wash- ington to take her doctor’s degree. Miss Gregg has been actively interested at all times in problems con- fronting the common peo- ple of the country and was one of the leaders in the movement that resulted in starting a workers’ college at Seattle. Besides being national manager of the Women’s Nonpartisan clubs, Miss Gregg has been appointed state organizer by the ‘Working People’s Nonpar- tisan league of Minnesota, the organization of city workers that co-operates with the farm- ers’ Nonpartisan league in state polities. Miss Gregg is planning to devote much of her time to field work. She has just returned from a trip in North Da- kota, on which she was accompanied by Mrs. Howard R. Wood, president of the North' Dakota Women’ s Nonpartisan - clubs, and Miss Ruth Johnson, League candidate for state superintendent of -instruction in North Dakota. Addresses were delivered at Jamestown, Marion, Nome and Lishon to large and appreciative audi- ences. Miss Gregg will be available for speaking and ‘organization trips in other states between now and election. "More women’s news on pages 13 and 14. much to do with the recent sweeping victory of the organized farmers in the Treasure state. PAGE TWELVE Mrs. Margaret A. Hannah, Demo- cratic candidate for state superin- tendent of schools in Montana, in- dorsed by the League. nah had .no opposition at the recent Democratic primaries. writes Mrs. D. A. The 30 Montana clubs, working hard to get out the vote of their neighborhoods for the League ticket, had Why Women Must " Vote in November Appeals to New Voters Montana Writer Demolishes Arguments Against Women in Politics BY MRS. M. I. THOMPSON Manhattan, Mont. HERE are many women who have the privilege of voting who do mot avail yourselves of this privilege. Women have always had the right to work, to suffer, many to be slaves to their hus- bands or someone else, and to bear children,-but it is only a comparatively short time since women were first granted the right to have a voice in the government of-themselves and their children. Many of you do not think of -the efforts put forth by men and women for years to secure the ballot for women. Many devoted their: lives and their money and many suffered hardships and humiliation for this right which some of you appre- ciate so little. You say you “do not have the time to register to vote.” We hear much of the “idle rich.” How- ever idle they may be, the majority will most likely register and vote. For your interests? No, they will vote as they are ad- vised to do by the men of their family, and this ad- vice will, no doubt, be in direct opposition to your interests. You say you “do mnot know anything about pol- itics,” and some add, “do not care anything about them.” But you do know something about the questions that face you daily of how you are go- ing to meet the high prices of the necessities of life and how you are going to educate your children. It would seem that it is the part of wis- dom to try to learn how these questions may be solved through the use of the ballot. ONE VOTE MAY TURN THE TIDE OF AN ELECTION 3 You say, “What’s the use, what would my vote amount to?” Your vote amounts to just as much as the vote of any one else, no matter who or where. If it amounts to nothing more it at least offsets the vote of someone votmg against your interests. The right to vote is both a privilege and a duty Mrs. Han- - In the case of unmarried women and widows it is l ONE OF THE NEW MONTANA CLUBS l more often regarded as a privilege because many are taxpayers and it is an official rec- ognition of their rights and intelligence, though many of them are interested in the welfare of others to the extent that they regard it as a duty also, and it JS right that they should. To you who are mothers it would seem that it would present itself first as a duty to have a voice in how your children shall be governed and educated and how economic conditions shall be bettered for them. If - you let these excuses keep you from exer- cising your right you will have . time enough and be interested enough in poli- . tics, after election, to complain about the officeholders and about economic condi- tions. ' If you feel inclined to do this just take a little time to realize that the office- holders are the ones the people have voted into office and economic conditions are of- ten bad because you did nothing toward electing the people you would have liked to see in office and did nothing to try to better conditions. ‘Women who value your homes and your famxhes and your country, register; if you live in a state where registration is re- quired, and go to the polls on November 2 and vote for your candidates without fail.