WHY WE GO ON
Now that the ballot for women is
so nearly won, why should not the
National American Woman Suffrage
Asociation prepare to disband? This
question is sometimes asked. It was
well and clearly answered by the Na-
tional corresponding secretary, Mrs.
Shuler, in a recent address before the
Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Asso-
ciation; she said, in part:
"It is asked why we should not
give up our organization, instead of
changing it into a League of Women
Voters. -
"In the first place, our work is not
done. We have not yet secured the
ratification of the Federal Suffrage
amendment by the necessary 36 leg-
islatures
"In the second place, the machinery
of our organization has enabled us to
keep together a band of women who
are courageous, and willing to undertake legislative work. We should take
hold of the constructive work now
needing to be done. When the gov-
ernment had big work to do during
the war, it called upon the suffragists,
and they made a colossal record.
"Another reason why we should not
disband our national organization is
that so many of the questions in which
women are interested are national questions, and therefore cannot be turned
over wholly to the state legislatures.
"Again, there must always be some
grea t force which agitates and educates, if the country is to advance: we
ought to be it.
"Finally, we ought to maintain our
organization because, while we have in
our suffrage work some women of
great breadth of vision, yet the rank
and file of women—and of men, too,
for that matter—are uneducated in political affairs, and we must educate
both the women and the men."
A. S. B.
