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Since we are so conWdent, so sure, why this impatience, why 1920? For my part, it is not because I expect it will make any great di¤erence in the practical result, that I would have women vote in 1920, but, believing as I do, that the greatest menace to democracy is the lack of interest on the part of the governed, and believing that the Wrst greatest beneWt to the state of votes for women is the increased interest in public a¤airs which the discussion of political problems in the home inevitably brings, for this reason, I think it would be of immense value to the nation if women are enfranchised at the beginning of a presidential campaign, when the greater political enthusiasm will naturally tend to stimulate the largest number of women to register and to exercise the privilege of voting. The issues of the coming campaign—peace and war, government ownership, industrial questions, universal military training, the high cost of living—are all problems within the experience and understanding and close to the hearts of women. For women to assume a direct share of the responsibility in government, at this great crisis in the world’s history, will give tremendous impetus to the patriotism and fervor of all the people in the solution of problems now confronting us. —Belle Case La Follette was a writer, editor, su¤ragist, and champion of civil rights for African Americans. The wife of Fighting Bob La Follette, she helped keep The Progressive going after his death in 1925. Women’s Wages in Government Mary Anderson, Women’s Bureau of the Labor Department, as recorded by Belle Case La Follette december 1926 I am sorry to say that through the information we receive in our investigations we Wnd that many women, far too many, are not even receiving a living wage. We also Wnd that, in comparison to wages paid to men, women’s wages are very far down the scale—so far, in fact, that there is little semblance of equality between the wages of men and women. One of the prevailing thoughts which has fostered this inequality of wages has been that men are providers for the family and that women have only themselves to support, with their incomes supplemented by other members of the family when living at home. But in investigations made by the Women’s Bureau we have found that women are often providers for the family, and that they supplement the man’s wages, while young girls more often than young boys take unopened pay envelopes home to their mothers. We have found, too, that the women have family responsibilities in addition to the matter of pay—the work in the home being left almost entirely to the women to perform after a day’s work in the factory. 82 p a r t 4 campaigning for women’s equality There are over 8.5 million gainfully employed women in the United States, and of these there are over 4 million employed in the producing and distributing trades. From the facts we have gathered we know that the future of the girl today is closely linked up with the conditions which prevail in the places where she works. We want to see the girl made an eªcient part of industry’s machinery, but we also want to see that industry o¤ers a future for the woman and is an institution which the girl can enter, and in which she can stay and prosper and grow. The beginning has been made, and we Wnd many places in many industries which are o¤ering to women a living wage, hours short enough to allow for education and recreation after the day in the factory is over, working conditions which eliminate fatigue as far as possible, and an opportunity to advance in industry through opening up new activities for women, and through paying wages based on the job and not on the sex of the workers. We who have worked in the industrial Weld for many years see much to encourage us, but we know there is still much to be done. The thing of the Wrst importance to know is that women are an important factor and that they are a permanent factor in the industrial world. We know that the girl who goes into the factories and workshops of the country does so to meet a real need. We know that she is indispensable...

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