I* if a iong time si lien Fairbanks
has had anything that has caused
so much talk, exci'ed 30 much in
terest and occasioned so much spec
ulation as the woman’s meeting
that have beou held in this city du
ring the past three weeks.
Curiosity is a hum.’]) eharaeier
fsde Bird when it con es to this
trait, wo en ir^ very human.
Somehow cr otl.er the first meet
ing of the series brought out a large
audience. Long before the women
convened there were ru n rs afloat
in the air *f to what was tile pur
pos* of the meeting. Some t-aid it
was merely to get the w iwei inter
ested in :he me '.mg. others e*id it
was to plate a womon’s ticket in
the he'd. Oihers >-aid the activity
• of certain city council aspirants
and politicians was significant.
When the first meeting was over
the air was buzzing with storie? a
to whet bad happened. The tu
mor? that have been aflaat for the
past two weeks serve as a fine i’lus
tration of how some people let
their prejudice influence them in
judging of any m atter and to whet
extent the human itamagination
can gi.
In all that body of women there
were only two bona fidesoe’alist wo
men. Only two who had member
ship cards on the party; and yet
rumor? were flying thick and fa-t
next day to the effect of how thp
tocialii-ts had oaptued the meeting
Now what had really happened?
The women had voted to place a
.u^nipee for the school beard ir.
the fie!d and they had voted to
form a woman’s civic club. Was
that all? Well, no nat exactly ail.
M rs. Lewis had made a short spee h
relating some historical incidents
of the suffrage movement in Wyo
ming. Out of all this spread the
story that the socialists Lad captur
ed the meeting.
A week rolled by and another
met-,ing was called. As one lo.ked
over the audience it looked as if
nearly every woman in the town
was there.
And what heppened at this m^et
ing? Nothing very much. Only this,
that the women decided that they
were not ready to organize a civic
club at that meeting.
But they did vote almost unani
mously to hold a political mass
mass meeting at whicn time all the
candidates were inv.ted to appear
in person and deliver a five minute
ipeeeh or send a paper to be read
on that occasion. And the women
also voted by a good majority to
place Mrs Z nimerrcan in the fie d
as a candidate for clerk of the
school bo rd.
Th« next day found the pollti
eiane in a quandary as to what
they were going to do about that
mats meeting. So long as woman
ha 1 no vot® it was an ea=y n.' at' -
to ignore th-ir requests when vh<
I interfered withma e’s pi n« ana i
dea? ot thing?, but now t: at they
uav ili» rtte the situation is alto
ether diiisruv.. Not d ir ng to o; en
y lguutu l.:e wonnn, the nc-xt b*st
eheme j;i- to ?,r*-id t'a- rumor
that the meeting was to Li a ■ id
ist meetii g and this was qtiiie
enough t iuisoietit it in the .ye of
m ny jeogie.
However thi? did cot ,-e-ve to
•te-p pi pl« .*v." ty and judjin.
from the number of in - who Mere
(■n-sei.t, it i? very eviiie it last the
masculine memo .-is or society ate
quite a? human a- the feminine.
i he election of Mrs. Lew s to the
chair was a Mire sign tr.at en. t
tuoir the women h* d been dupid
and that the eat a ista " ie g<>ii g
ia have everything all Unit oivu
way. Bat the ?;• c ins
politician* once court pi red wrong
And way?
Because the women who were
largely ins rumental in ge t.r.g the,
women lo vote to Lave such a mo l
ing had r.o ulterior motives in do
ing eo, they meant just wbat they
said. Mo better methoAeonl.i be
vised to give publicity to tbe city
campaign than by b-d hng si. b a
meeting aB tbe women planned fir.
It was the ffio-t effective way to tit
the women interested in ihe elec
tion.
divert- candidate w;*.' placed on e
qu-.l foiling with ev-ry other .cat:
didale. Ibe tomen e. cted a tiu.e
keeper so that the chair would be
releived of the re.-po sibilitv cf t'n.
i,.g the speakers, and the ch: r s..
f.-.r as po.-rf le kept the spoaltera ta
the subject in band.
The meet ng went a; mg a? the
women had planned it sml the only
reason why tho-e v. ho were rumor
ed to have come them to create
rough house or freak up the meet
ing failed to accomplish their pur
pose wad because they had credited
•h-1 women witn motives and
schemes that ha 1 no bast-* other
jthanthe immaginition of toe
brains of a tow politician?.
The woman’s political m.vs meet
ing of the first munit.pil el»cii >11
in which women participated, is
now a matter of history. Summing
it all up, the women demonstrated
that they were ineirncst and that
the program lor the m ss me«tir.g
was arrange i for in good faith.
From tr.istimeun men will have
| to reckon wi'.h women in the settlirg
ofpeltical is-ues and the electing
. of officials in Alaska. Specul tinns
based on prejudice will so n<r or
later fall to j ieces, and triose who
play fair in a contest anoengrompe
! titors will al ways win friends a
mong right minded people. T e
men have le<.r >c i a few lessens and
i so have the women.
I
ADVERTISE IN
The Free Press.
! u9 average n r'-paper posing
lucatVr’ is i spot
hat caiYn 1 be pr
analysed in a w words
<!o nit est idish r.tNispa
: evs f’.ir the expr-ss purpose o:
ug the Id, hut ratnyei
u prim what a large nutnhai
if v:opit- in a particnlar con:\
mmiitv want to read and are wi!
I:ng to pay for V newspaper i
-luiplya mirror iu whieli the
. muni y s«e - itself, not as it
diould be hut as it acu.iil - >s.
It i po' the inrither but the
daughter f public opinion.
The printing press is a mighty
phonograph that echos hack the
joy and t s ■ 11 >w. the glor y
i;d t!-c -h •;;> ■ >f the genera
tion it i=>r"-s. I have no more
q arced ”T’i editors for filling
heir columns with inanities
J
hanlhnvp with them for cast
ing shadows when they stand in j
the Sun. They know what kind:
of stuff their people crave, and]
they are no more in business for1
their health than is the mer
k. k. <
If till test for exclueii n
-Tp:'c ?VT to sums of The (. Tteuilf
*t El'.ia I-E..3, th v woclil have
La*d * rkfjc- ;:r.-into the . vjrtrv
and Jrius ChrEt \vv,M certainly
he ■ t, ’ ' jy ibfc? cfli taJs if he
apo’.it for r- taii»e: •"*. v.'ere e'onr>' < f
the mb'i'>: 5 n i-.n n .’re*a by C>
rus L. i.z* c-e* rf-penitt)? a «■
ference on im: .igretion in N.
j
I
Use Socialis |
Ctatn?
JtdlU
J
The pr.:nt:r. g machine, the mecfc !
snism for the enlargement of statu
ary from model*, ;? being used fori
;he lint time iu the or' deport
ment of a great «po»jti-:-ri in toe
Panama-Pacific Nai.oual i-xposi
tion stuJ;03,
The inventor is Robert T ine, o!
Hoboken, N. J., an active member
I of the Socialist ynriy. The machine
| completes work on these F'atuer
[ in one mu'.h that formerly con
i sumed a year.
9
Subscribe ip'
The / ;
Free Pra^ss;
; |Char.*. They know that should
jthe.v print tho grandest sermon
11 that ever fell fnm any sfcy-ni
j'Ot’s lips, not 20 pc-r cent, even
»f(he professedly pious, wou''
read i.; hut that a detailed ae
p'ount of an unfoun ded salacious
scandal or international prize
fight will cause 90 per cent of
Vthe very select of the land to
swoop down upon it like a hun
i'rv hen-hawk on an unripe gos
ling and fairly devour it, then
.roil their eves to heaven like a
jcnii with the colic and wonder
Mi at this wicked old world i=
i<*osu5ng to. The editor knows
that halt the people who pretend
to ho tided to overflowing with
the grace of God are only perain
bulatiiig-pillars of purs Gall.
He knows that the very
plewho cr.iiciae liiiu for print
ing accounts of cria^s und mak
ing spreads on ?tmrting events,
would transfer their patronage
to other papers if he heeded
their how’ing-tiiat they are talk
ing through their hats.
I
Dovvh River
flakes His
Last Trip
i
In One Week'
LEAVE ORDERS AT
JOKES.
I'litre are some poiDl8 of np_
speech that I find it hard lo 'under
etind,’» °er
’ ‘Poi,lt ’e® onf replied fhe>-at
| states ni m ‘-.ml I'll rewrite .heoth
ter portions. I intended the enti.e
etch to be that way, »
‘‘T.o k here, *siter i’m very »nr
r-vbot IVp °nly euffi-ien- ir-n-y
Wlth me to pay the bill and nrth
n* Ifft frr a tip fo” vo , ”
“Would yon roiod juit l^ttin
mo ave another look at tbs bill V,
sir.”
How dtd old Bankroll p*
much dongh?"
i.tr the flour
H>‘ was president , , .
trust and they ,tnofc
Wijfg- I fi -' ,hink muoh
Bjones, in - ,leo,lh‘,tf!t tb,lt b'‘
• , . boasiing of his birth and
is al ivp °
.href"'
xVagS!: We’l, oven in'bbie blood
vou will oft‘u had a‘.streak of yal
iow.
t~he: M sn ara more conceited
than women
Hk Nonsense. ’ Every m«n at
sometime in his lire he.« told some
woman that he wasn’t worthy of
her
I IT UOU w'ant |
-
Clean Wood
. iManm
(Jail Up
Dan Callahan
The
CALIFORNIA
ESTER
Auto Service
Leaves
ISj c-rcLaie Hotel
T7*icn T>ai]y
j GERMANIA RESTAURANT j
ij first CLASS MEALS j
i 3IIAD3 vlND JOHNSON, Props •
FRONT STREET, FAIRBANKS I
Do You want to enjoy yoursef?
• JE FMBTION
! is the attraction
W.F. Kr»tmer, Prop,