196 



The Review of Reviews. 



THE WOMAN'S MOVEMENT. 



WHAT THE WOMEN'S VOTE HAS 



DONE. 



Writing in the Grande Revue of July 10, Marie 

 Louise Le Verrier recounts the chief results due to 

 the women's vote in those countries where woman 

 suffrage exists. 



THE PIONEER SUFFRAGE STATE. 



The countries where women have the right to the 

 parliamentary vote include six States in America. 

 In the granting of the vote to women Wyoming 

 appears to be the pioneer, not only in the United 

 States, but in the world. In 1869, when woman 

 suffrage was introduced, Wyoming did not belong to 

 the Union, and when it became a State in 1890 it was 

 still the first suffrage State. In 1893 its House of 

 Representatives passed a resolution unanimously 

 declaring that not only had the exercise of the suffrage 

 wrought; no harm, but it had done great good m 

 many ways. It had largely aided in banishing crime, 

 pauperism, and vice from the State, and that without 

 any violent or oppressive legislation ; it had secured 

 peaceful and orderly elections and good government, 

 etc., and as the result of its experience Wyoming 

 urged every civilised community on earth to enfranchise 

 its women without delay. 



WHERE WOMEN VOTE. 



In the same year (1893) Colorado took the advice 

 offered and proclaimed political equality of the sexes. 

 Utah and Idaho followed in 1896, Washington in 1909, 

 and California in 191 1. In Washington women have 

 made great use of the " Recall," which permits electors 

 to recall officials whose performance of their duties is 

 unsalisfactor)-. The case of the Mayor of Seattle will 

 still be fresh in the minds of most readers. 



While the women of Wyoming have been exercising 

 ihc political vote for over forty years, the women of 

 Great Britain have been agitating for it in vain for 

 close upon half a century. Meanwhile certain British 

 colonies have shown themselves more enlightened in 

 this respect than the Mother Country. New Zealand 

 set the example in 1893, Southern Australia followed 

 suit in 1895, then came Western Australia in 1899, 

 New South Wales in 1902, Tasmania in 1904, Queens- 

 land in i<)05, and linall)- Victoria in 1908. In addition, 

 the federal suffrage, with the right to be elected, was 

 extended to all women in 1899. 



In Europe we have to look to the Scandinavian 

 countries for examples of the benefits derived from 

 the women's vote. Here Finland was the first to take 

 its courage in botli hands in 1906, and Norway followed 

 in 1907. In Iceland the ((uestion is practically settled. 

 In Sweden, though woman suffrage has figured in the 

 King's Speech, and the King has expressed himself in 

 sympathy, no Bill has yet become law. 



WAR ON ALCOHOL. 



Having briefly enumerated the rights accorded to 

 women, municipal and otherwise, in various other 

 countries, the writer draws attention to the main 

 influences of the women's vote. The most noteworthy 

 point about the countries where women exercise the 

 vote is that practically everywhere women have not 

 begun by asserting their own personal claims. Their 

 first act has been to declare war on alcohol, and their 

 next concern has been laws for the protection of 

 children. ' We hear of the great prohibition victory 

 at Caldwell (Idaho), where the women recalled the 

 Mayor and the Jlunicipal Council. In New Zealand, 

 also, feminine direct influence has had excellent results 

 in the cause of temperance. In 1894 the country- 

 was divided into sixty-two districts for the purpose 

 of dealing with the drink question. Thanks to 

 the women, thirty-nine districts nominated a com- 

 mission of temperance moderates, while twenty-three 

 elected prohibitionists. Since 1894 the women have 

 learnt to co-ordinate their efforts, and recently absolute 

 prohibition for the whole of New Zealand has been 

 passed. But it is in Scandinavia where women have 

 achieved their most brilliant successes in their war 

 against alcohol. In Norway there is now only one 

 cabaret to 20,000 inhabitants, and suicide, crime, and 

 , poverty have greatly decreased. In Finland, where 

 drunkenness, as in Sweden and Norway, was a national 

 vice, local option, which was adopted in 1886-1892. 

 gave way to prohibition in 1893. Later still steriier 

 measures were introduced, but it has not been found 

 possible to enforce them rigorously. 



PROTECTION OF YOUNG GIRLS. 



Before making laws for the general welfare of 

 children, the women's ardent desire is to raise the 

 age of protection of young girls, one of the most 

 difficult of reforms to obtain. The women of Colorado, 

 who were politically enfranchised in 1893, introduced 

 a Bill in 1894 to raise the age from fourteen to twenty- 

 one. The Senators were in consternation at such a 

 propo.sal and resisted it \iolcntly, with the result that 

 the age was raised to eighteen, a victory of four years 

 for the women. Similar laws have been passed in 

 Utah and in Idaho; and in Australia the legislation 

 on this question is much more complete. 



CHILDREN, EDUCATION, HYGIENE. 



On the whole, however, it is the children who have 

 most to gain by the women's vote ; and it is not only 

 the strong and healtliy, luit the feeble-minded and the 

 criminals among them, to whom women extend their 

 solicitude. It was the women who were the means 

 of instituting in Colorado in 1903 the famous courts 

 for child delinquents. Most of the laws regulating 

 child-labour arc also due to them. In matters relalinu 

 to education their influence has everywhere been most 

 beneficent. They decide questions relating to th< 



