MILITANT METHODS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 5, 31 December 1912, Page 8

MILITANT METHODS.

LADY STOUT DEFENDS THEM. .“I want to give Australian women a correct idea, of the suffrage movement in England. The only information they ever get is about window-smash-ing or other militancy. 'Then Renter cables all sorts of ‘tarradiddles.’ ” It was in this way that Lady Stout, of New Zealand, on her return from the Old Country, began to talk to a ‘Daily Telegraph’ representative on board the R.M.S. Malwa.

“I have just returned from my first trip to England, where I spent three years and nine' months. 'Three years ago only three societies were pledged to support the women’s franchise. Now there are over 30, which include the National Franchise Union, headed by Mrs. Fawcett, LL.D.; Women’s Social and Political League, with Mrs. Pankhurst as leading light; Conservative Women’s Suffrage League, with the Countess of Selbourne as president; the Freedom League, presided over by Mrs. Dcspard, a daughter of Major-General French; the English Church Society, whose president, the Bishop of Lincoln, holds special services for suffragettes previous to a meeting; Free Church Society, under Ilev. Flemming Williams; the Roman Catholic League; the Actresses’ Franchise League, with famous actresses as members; and the Women Writers’ League. Some of these societies are militant, and others non-militant. Members of all the militant ones, including the church Societies, have suffered imprisonment for the cause. There are three men’s societies, and the men belonging to them have gone to prison and been forcibly fed. When the suffragettes have a procession these men carry the banners.

“You would be astonished at the prominent people that favour militancy Mrs. Plowden, wife of the London Magistrate, approves of it. Several Anglican clergymen’s wives have refused to do any church work till they get the vote, and their husbands uphold them. The two daughters of the late General Blackenbury, and his widow, who is over 80, have all been in prison for militancy.” “I Broke the Suffrage Opp:siti:n.” “Are you militant or non-militant, Lady Stout?”

“1 am both.” “Then how did you manage to keep out of prison?” “Oh, I never broke, any wdndows. I only broke the opposition to the franchise. Of course, I was a free lance. Besides, I thought it -was better to be out of prison, speaking for those who were in it. I have spoken in all sorts of places, even from a lorry in the park, and have converted numbers to the cause. All classes of people speak in the parks on the suffrage. You will sometimes see an immaculately-dress-ed Cambridge student holding forth there On votes for women.’

“But do you believe in windowsmashing?” “What else can they do? It is the only way to get prominence in the press. For instance, we had an enormous meeting, at which £10,500 was collected, and the press only gave us a few lines, whereas when a sixpenny window was smashed we got two paragraphs.” 1 John Bull Asleep.

“Nothing short of a shock will rouse English people from their apathy, you no doubt have noticed how they walk along the street, in one groove, as it were, never looking to the right or left of them, and observing nothing. They badly need rousing. “When Miss Bai-bara Wylie, a nicelooking, neatly-addressed, little Scotch woman, w r ho has now gone to Canada in the suffrage cause, was asked by the Judge why a woman of her r.veet appearance should be guilty of window-smashing, she replied, ‘John Bull is sound asleep; it is his fault, not ours, that he requires so much arousing.’ Women in Australia have no idea of how things are in the Old Country. It is part of our constitution to send deputations to Parliament, but whenever deputations of Englishwomen, militant or non-mili-tant, have waited on Mr. Asquith he has always refused to .see them. The ventilation of grievances, however real, is not allowed. It is so unfair, as women in England go in far more for political campaigning than we do. They do it under more trying circumstances, too, for they go into the vilest slums and meet the rowdiest people. Neither our slums nor people are anything like as bad as they are in England. Whenever elections are on, Mr. Harcourt gets suddenly ill, and Mrs. Harcourt has to carry on the campaign alone. Taxation without RepresentaMon. “Then there is the Tax Resistance League, whose members refuse to pay taxes till they get the vote. English women pay £26,000,000 in taxes and yet have no representation. Mrs. Louis Fagan, a sister of Mr. Purvis, a Melbourne legal luminary, is one of the principal speakers for tax-resist-ance. She has a fihe fiat in London, keeps a carriage, has armorial bearings, and liveried .servants, and positively refuses to pay taxes, and they cannot make her. But when Mr. Wilks —a schoolmaster with an annual income of £l6O, whose wife is a doctor with about £BOO per year—was asked to pay the tax on his wife’s income, because she refused to do so, there was great talk about the hardship of a poor down-trodden man being asked to pay his wife/s income tax when lie had not the money.

“Bernard Shaw married a wealthy woman, and he 'has not paid his wife’s income taxes for years. He simply says he cannot pay them because he does not know what his wife’s income is, and he would not have the impertinence to ask her. Then, look what a fuss was made over the Insurance Bill, but it seems all the wrongs of women do not count against the licking of three postage stamps.

Census Evaders. “I must tell you what happened at census time. A number of us spent the night in the skating rink to evade it, for we were determined not to he counted among the citizens if we had not the right of citizenship. When we went into the rink in the evening the policeman smiled at us, and smiled again when we came out in the morning. We heard some working men remark : ‘Them there ladies don’t want to tell their ages, and they try to make out it’s for ’igh and mighty reasons.’

“The comradeship of British women is really beautiful. In the suffrage procession Countesses walked hand in hand with factory girls, and in the Home Rule procession Roman Catholic and Orange women clasped hands. 'Once when I spoke at Birmingham the president of the National Union, in introducing me, denounced militancy, but I replied that all pioneer women had been denounced for organising any movement ahead of the times. ‘What about Elizabeth Fry?’ I said, ‘and Josephine Butler, who was stoned for trying to bring in legislation to protect young girls? Also Florence Nightingale, who was cut by her family and friends and called an “indecent hussy” because she put off her crinoline and put ou nurse’s uniform.’ They talk about the franchise destroying home life in New Zealand and Australia. But we afe far more capable and versatile domestically than our English sisters, who always express surprise at the number of things we can do. When my daughter Janet, who is with me, announced in a London drawing-room one day that I was a great gardener, and loved my garden so well that I even did digging, an old dowager adjusted her eyeglasses, stared at her, and exclaimed in horrified tones, ‘Digging! Did I understand you to say?’

Platform Planks. ‘ ‘The planks of our platform are the abolition of the white slave traffic, sweating of women in trades, the liquor traffic, secret references, and we demand equal pay for equal work. Do you know women were working in London at chain-making for 4s 6d £ week, and when they struck for an increase of 6d it was refused them ? Healthy and Happy Australians. “You can think what a load it was off my soul when I arrived at Tre mantle and saw the happy, content ed, well-dressed, and well-fed women and children. I did not see a single face like the anxious, careworn, hopeless ones you see thousands of in the London streets. Sydney women seem especially happy, healthy, and carefree.

“Lord Meath has' given mo permission to start a Duty and Discipline Club in New Zealand. This club embodies a new method of training children. I am also going to establish a Women’s Sick, and Wounded Convoy Corps. This is a corps which in war time fills up the space between the

ambulance and the hospital. Among other tilings, the women are faugh’ how to carry ambulances over ditches and rough conptry. Lady Liverpool has promised her assistance in these move ments. I have been associated ir some way with all women and child ren’s movements in England, and fee’ I could talk for ten hours about them.” AT AUCKLAND. On the boat’s arrival at Auckland Lady Stout informed a representative of the Auckland ‘Star’ that in her op inion the cause is hound to win out for the reason that the strength o'. its current will bo simply irresistible. “I had hoped to witness the pro cession of victory before leaving Eng land,” she remarked. “Perhaps you may he privileged tc return for that,” the interviewer observed.

“Oh,” came the answer, “I hope ii will occur long before I am able tf go to England again.” Lady Stout explained that she re mained in England longer than was* intended, owing to her daughter’s edu cation.

Asked how many women aproxi mately had come into the movement ir England, Lady Stout replied that a 1 the suffragette procession just befort the Coronation 50,000 women took par Each of these would represent from 2 to 30 other supporters who had beer, unable to go to London, or who were engaged at the time in selling suf fragette newspapers in the streets. “Yes,” said Lady Stout, “women ol all stations sell these papers. Why, or the first occasion on which I met -uady Constance Lytton she had just come from a turn of paper selling on the streets.” 1

In the procession referred to Lady Stout headed the contingent of enfranchised women from New Zealand. The contingent was in a prominent position, and came in for excellent receptions on the line of march. The returned New Zealander described the varying methods of the 30 suffragette leagues or societies which aro struggling to bring about votes for women. She belongs to most of them herself and in token thereof possesses some 15 different badges. Her Ladyship was wearing the brooch of the militafit suffragettes, a neat little cross bar ol purple, white, and green at her throat while on either side of her Mouse wen the badges of the national union ol suffragettes and of the Australian and New Zealand leagues. Some of the 3( suffragette bodies referred to are mili taut and some are not, but Lady Stou lias been energetically helping thorn all.

“Do you think that militant tactics are of help to the movement?” “Of course I do,” and in support of the contention said that they put the suffragette clock forward. She men tioned that the week following tin Bond Street window breaking episode the sales of the ‘Votes for Women newspaper increased by 8000 copies. That was how the movement was growing. Differences in rank were

cast aside when women awoke to a realisation of the justice of .the cause, with the result that in the processions titled ladies and factory girls marched side by side. The largo bulk of mem.bers in England were composed of educated and thinking people, more especially of university students. There were numbers of ladies with claims to high rank in society who actively assisted the cause, and it was really surprising to note how readily people of the smarter set came over when once convinced of the good of the cause. In coming, too, some of them even brought their diamonds to augment the funds. It was estimated, said Lady Stout, that campaign funds were being raised at the rate of £120,000 per annum, and the contributions were growing all the time. Eventually their claims to participate in the franchise must he recognised by Parliament. Those claims were being advanced too strongly to be resisted. Lady Stout remarked that besides the female workers many men were coming into the movement, and the wearing of suffragette badges was becoming quite fashionable. Once again her Ladyship advanced a sound" belief in the ultimate triumph of the movement.