national relations. For a generation the South was excluded from
any real participation in national affairs and was wholly occupied with
local questions. It is therefore difficult for such men to realize the
present position of the United States in world politics. With much
perturbation of spirit the rank and file followed the President in the
steps leading up to the Great War, though some of the would-be leaders
attempted to rebel. On the other hand, some of the most valuable men in
the great crisis were Southerners.

The dominant party in the South is called Democratic, but the name has
little of its original significance today. The representative is likely
to follow the sentiment of his district if he can discover it. Some of
the Southern Democrats advocate doctrines which are far removed from
traditional democracy, for Populistic ideas have not entirely died out
and some of the farmers still demand special privileges, which, however,
they would be the first to deny to any one else. Democracy in the South
really means the white man's party, and the Democratic doctrines are
those in which it is thought the majority of the white men of the State
or section believe for the time. Though the negro is no longer a voting
power, the malign influence of the negro question persists.

Since the South as a whole favors prohibition of the liquor traffic the
representatives of the people are almost unanimously in favor of
prohibition, forgetting all constitutional scruples and all questions of
state rights. The sentiment for woman suffrage is not yet overwhelming
and consequently, as might be surmised, conscientious scruples prevent
representatives from voting for the extension of the franchise. In two
States, however, the friends of woman suffrage, though not strong enough
to pass a constitutional amendment, have realized their aim by a
brilliant _coup_. Since most elections are practically settled in the
primaries, the legislatures of Texas and Arkansas gave women the right
to vote in such elections. In other words, women were given the right to
help nominate candidates, though they are excluded from the formal
elections. Whether these acts will stand in the courts has not been
determined. Missouri and Tennessee have recently given national suffrage
to women, and Oklahoma has given full suffrage.

The negro has been practically eliminated as a voter, but the decision of
the Supreme Court in the Oklahoma case may make necessary