From the middle ages friends of humanity requested equality of rights between man and wife.

In 1776, at the time of the Continental Congress, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband: "If the future constitution does not pay more attention to women, then women must become rebels, and we will not obey laws which prevent us from defending our interests.

But the new constitution did not give any rights to women. Not until today different lands and states of this Union gave to women some rights either in full or in part among them the State of Illinois. The right of women to vote increased with the number of women employed.

More than nine millions of women are wage-earners in America today. From that number are many single women. These women work under the same conditions as men. Very often the situation is less good for women. For that reason, why not give women equal rights with man?

2

Are men not bent to improve their wage and working conditions through legislative channels?

Women are working in the glass industry, in stone quarries, railroad construction, as common laborers; in mines, in tobacco factories and other places. Why should women not have the right, through legislatures, to decide if they are able to do such work or to better their condition?

Women have good reasons to change their position today. Hardly is more exploitation exercised anywhere than over unprotected women.

Just let us go in one of the big department stores in Chicago where many a girl earns only five or even three dollars a week.

Investigations established long ago that if a girl wants to live decently, she needs at least $8 in the East and $9 in the West. What can a girl do with $4 wages? How many girls must help their relatives besides? But not only are wages low, but working conditions are miserable.

Here we have to count also millions of those housewives and mothers 3whose husbands do not get enough pay to cover family expenses. Must these women not be interested whether the legislature prevents the manipulation of the price of foodstuffs by trusts and large corporations or not?

What mother is unconcerned of what kind is the school where she sends her children?

According to the latest statistics of the State of Illinois, from among one hundred thousand children twenty thousand to twenty-one thousand die in one year. In most cases these children could be saved if they had air, light, food and care.

Is it not of interest for women to protest against conditions which murder their children? The woman is partner of hardships and burdens with man; sometimes hers are greater than man's. Consequently, why does not a woman try to get equal rights with man?

The situation warrants women the right to vote, which right must be 4extended to all women over the land.

No doubt women do not use their right to vote for the best, but how many men exercise this right wisely? Women must be taught what power they acquire by their right to vote.

Uneducated men could not educate women properly. It seems the Socialist movement will give to women a better education, something that the bourgeoisie could not give either men or women.

At the last election in Chicago the number of Socialist women's votes increased, while one hundred thousand votes were cast less than in the preceding year. Evidently only women in Socialist ranks understand their duty regarding the right to vote, while bourgeois women do not care or think they do not have to vote when called upon.