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and received some serious rebuffs. In the elections of 1912 Arizona, Kansas and Oregon accepted "equal suffrage." Michigan rejected it by a majority of a few hundred and Ohio by a majority of 90,000. In 1913, the new territorial legislature of Alaska gave full suffrage to women; and the legislature of Illinois went as far as the State constitution allowed, by granting suffrage to women in elections for the Presidency and local offices. On a second trial Michigan went decidedly against woman suffrage.

In 1914 Montana and Nevada voted for woman suffrage. In 1915 both the friends and opponents of the new system made a strenuous campaign, but it was defeated in the four States of New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania, by majorities, in most cases, of about two to one. In Ohio, South Dakota and West Virginia, provision was made for a test vote in 1916. The result of the State movement down to the middle of 1916 was that in eleven States and one Territory women had full suffrage, on equal terms with men; in one State, Illinois, partial suffrage in political matters; in nineteen other States, women voted in school or municipal matters, or both.

The suffrage forces also turned to Congress in the hope of securing a National constitutional amendment. They influenced a committee of the Senate to report in 1913 what was commonly called the Susan B. An

thony Amendment. On a test vote, March 19, 1914, the vote in the Senate was 35 to 34, which was not the necessary two-thirds. Great efforts were made to induce President Wilson to commit himself to the change, but though he was willing to express his belief in votes for women, he was not in favor of a Federal amendment. January 12, 1915, the House voted against an amendment by 174 to 204. The States which down to 1916 adopted equal suffrage formed a compact block extending from the Pacific coast eastward to the Missouri River, with the addition of Illinois. No New England, Middle, or Southern State had as yet given its adherence to full suffrage, and the defeats in four States in 1915 were a set-back to the movement. In the suffrage States women have been members of legislatures, and have held other elective offices, especially as superintendents of education, and a few of them have been delegates to nominating conventions. It must be expected that they will be more frequently elected to offices of various kinds, and that they will appear as heads of some of the State departments and in Congress. Whatever the final result of this nation-wide movement, it has been educative both to the "suffragites and the "antis."

Liquor Legislation.

Another far-reaching movement was the strong pressure for the prohibition of the manufacture and sale

LIQUOR LEGISLATION.

of liquors. The first prohibition laws go back to the early fifties. At the beginning of 1913, there were eight prohibition States - Maine in New England; Kansas, North Dakota and Oklahoma in the West; Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee in the South. In 36 other States there were local option laws of various kinds. The national temperance forces were organized in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, numerous national orders and societies, the Anti-Saloon League of America, and the National Prohibition Party. As far back as 1890 the first of the "Original Package Acts " was passed by Congress; it was intended to prevent the shipment of liquor into prohibition States. The whole movement took on a new aspect after 1910. In February, 1913, Congress passed over the veto of President Taft a much more stringent bill against interstate traffic into prohibition States. Congress also regulated the sale of liquor in the District of Columbia; and the Isthmian Canal Commission refused to issue further licenses for the sale of liquor in the Canal Zone. Then a determined attempt was made to put through Congress a National prohibition amendment. It failed in the House December 22, 1914, by a vote of 187

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California and Ohio. In the local option States there was a decided increase in the area of "dry territory." In 1915 Iowa, Arkansas, Alabama and Idaho adopted prohibition, and in 1916 prohibition went into effect in Virginia, making a total of 18 dry States besides South Carolina, where the prohibitory law was being held up by a suit before the courts. It was estimated that somewhere from a third to a half of the people in the United States were living under a régime of prohibition in 1916. Prohibition laws, however, were far from bringing about complete prohibition. Large quantities of liquor were sold in cities, counties, and other districts covered by local option votes; and in most of the prohibition States liquor was freely sold in cities and towns.

The forces in favor of the movement were greatly aided by employers of labor, who became convinced that part of the industrial accidents were caused by the effect of heavy drinking upon the nerves of the workmen, that the use of liquor tended to make the work irregular, and that railroad men and others in charge of machinery must be free from any influence that weakened their minds. Notwithstanding the movement, the sales of fertomented liquors were reported to be

In the same year 1914 five States adopted prohibition as their policy: West Virginia, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. State prohibition amendments were defeated in

somewhat on the increase. Down to 1917 none of the very populous States of the Union had adopted full prohibition, and hardly one of the large cities outside the prohibition States, or even inside them, was free from the traffic.

Immigration.

The two principal restrictions on intercourse with foreign nations in 1913 were the tariff and regulations on immigration. For many years the stream of immigrants was hardly restrained at all. Then from 1880 to 1910 numerous laws were passed to exclude convicts, contract laborers, people afflicted with contagious diseases, paupers, anarchists and other undesirable classes. An Immigration Commission, created in 1907, reported in 1910, urging more limitations; especially that adults who were unable to read or write in some language should not be received. In 1913, the Dillingham bill was passed by both Houses upon these general lines. This bill was vetoed by President Taft a few days before the expiration of his term, for the reason given by President Cleveland for vetoing a similar bill in his term, viz., that the education clause would shut out desirable immigrants.

The agitation went on and in January, 1915, both Houses passed the Burnett bill and sent it to President Wilson, who, in his turn, vetoed it. He objected to a clause against the entrance of revolutionists because "It seeks to all but close entirely the gates of asylum, which have always been open to those who could find nowhere else the right and opportunity of constitutional agitation for what they conceive to be the natural and inalienable rights of men." He also opposed the

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These figures show an astonishing number of departures, due in part to hard times in America, and in part to the European War. In 1914-15 scores of thousands of men were called home to take their places in the various armies. The consequence was a net immigration probably smaller than at any time since 1859.

This discussion on limiting immigration brought out a rivalry between the labor unions, which included many

immigrants, and the employers,

especially of crude labor. The great steel works, mines, and other large enterprises employed hundreds of thousands of unskilled laborers who earned little at home and were willing to take what seemed to American laborers like small wages. In the view of labor leaders this depressed

THE SEAMEN ACT.

the whole labor market. A new labor combination called the I. W. W. (International Workers of the World), which was formed in 1912, sought to organize these unskilled foreigners into a powerful body which might compel the unions of skilled laborers to throw in their lot in one common mass, which should then take over the whole control of industry.

Seamen and Shipping.

Another question of combined labor and commerce was an act for the regulation of merchant seamen, which was passed by the two Houses of Congress in March, 1913, and was killed by a pocket veto of President Taft, on the ground that it conflicted with foreign treaties. The act was revived in 1914 by Senator Robert M. La Follette, of Wisconsin, passed against formidable opposition, and was signed by President Wilson, March 4, 1915. It secured to seamen shorter hours of labor, enabled them to draw pay in a foreign port and prohibited corporal punishment of every kind. One of the most important provisions was that at least three-fourths of every crew must be able to understand the orders given by the officers.

The purpose of this act was not only to improve the condition of the sailor, but to take away the power of the master of a ship to enforce the specific performance of the sailors' labor contracts. In no other employment, except that of the soldier, could a man be compelled by force to remain

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in the employment of any one if he did not choose to work. The threefourths clause was intended to prevent the use of large numbers of Chinese or Lascars on American merchant ships.

During the debate it was freely predicted that the measure would ruin American shipping; and it was shortly announced that the Pacific Mail Steamship Company was about to sell the ships on its trans-Pacific lines. That company, however, had long been unprosperous. The labor men stood firmly on the principle of the bill, and were not at all moved by the argument that if the conditions of life and labor aboard American ships were improved, foreign trade would pass into the hands of nations, such as the Japanese, whose sailors accepted still lower wages and conditions. The movement hoped to compel all foreigners who engaged in American trade to give their men the same advantages.

American shipping was not in a very prosperous condition, except that portion which was engaged in coastwise trade, and was therefore protected from the competition of foreign ships by act of Congress. The greater part of the shipments to and from other continents was carried on in foreign vessels. To aid the American shipowners, moderate mail subsidies were provided by a special act of March 3, 1891. A part of the general system of protection to American industries was to encourage American

shipping which would otherwise feel the loss of trade caused by a high tariff.

The outbreak of the European War brought into relief the small amount of American shipping available, and President Wilson strongly urged that the United States government should itself enter the shipping business. A bill was therefore introduced, in September, 1914, for a shipping corporation in which the United States should own the majority of the stock. The immediate demand for private vessels, however, was so great that the shipyards were crowded with orders; and it was difficult to see whence a government merchant fleet could come. The experience of the United States in running its own transports between the Pacific Coast and the Philippines was not encouraging. Nevertheless, President Wilson stood firmly in favor of some such measure. He argued that "It is not a question of the government monopolizing the field. It should take action to make it certain that transportation at reasonable rates will be promptly provided, even if the carriage is not at first profitable." The idea of special aid to shipping was carried out by an act (September 24, 1914) creating a temporary Bureau of War Risks, to take care of American interests which were endangered by foreign ships of war.

In accordance with Wilson's wishes, a second government shipping bill was introduced and hotly debated

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Alongside the debates in Congress on great public measures, ran a group of minor discussions which concerned the smoother running of the government.

President Wilson was a civil service reformer and followed the example of every President since the passage of the Pendleton Act of 1882, by enlarging the "classified list," covering employees who came into office on competitive examination. President Taft, shortly before the end of his term, put 20,000 navy yard employees and the remaining fourthclass postmasters into the classified service. President Wilson (May, 1913) provided competitive tests for future postal appointments, but later refused to renew the appointment of E. M. Morgan, who had come up from the ranks to be postmaster of New York. Congress showed its distaste for the "merit system " when a new body of employees was needed for the collection of the income and

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