Ashby After Catt

At the Rome Congress of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, the presidency passed from America to England. Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, veteran president of the Alliance, refused renomination. Mrs. Corbett Ashby, English feminist, was elected in her place.

Mrs. Ashby has had previous experience of public life. As spokes- woman of a British delegation she consulted with President Wilson and Samuel Gompers at the Peace Conference in 1919. She twice ran for election to the British Parliament, in 1918 and 1920, both times on Liberal platforms, both times badly defeated.

The Congress developed itself as follows:

1) Strong opposition to " social morality." This was a surprise. A recommendation that people should be compelled to pass a physical examination before marriage was defeated.

2) Prohibition not officially dealt with. Miss Eleanor Rathbone of England stated that " prohibition is not practical politics in England now." Inquiries failed to reveal a single prohibitionist among the French or Italian delegates. All the Dutch delegates were strongly against prohibition. Miss Bertha Lutz of Brazil asserted that the working women of Brazil were " in favor of prohibition on moral grounds, because their husbands spent money on wine."

3) Women in industry. The American delegates carried a motion favoring protective legislation against strong opposition from European delegates who favored absolute equality with men in this regard.

4) A separate Woman's Political Party in individual countries. This motion was defeated. Mrs. Gifford Pinchot, wife of the Governor of Pennsylvania, opposed it. She declared : " I believe in the active participation of women in politics inside the political parties. ... I have found that they are realists in politics as opposed to the widespread sentimentality among men. . . . they still tend to resort to public opinion to support their program."

Many different languages were used, but only English, French and Italian were official. Every speech had to be translated two or three times.