heir political programme. If the friends of woman's
suffrage treat the matter seriously, they must either convert their
colleagues or resign. As long as they do not do that, they are merely
playing with woman's suffrage and the women think it necessary to "heckle"
them. The women who ask the questions are often ejected from the meetings
in a very rough way.[36]

The suffragettes give the government conclusive proof of their political
power when they oppose Liberal candidates at all by-elections and
contribute to the defeat of the candidates or cause a reduction of their
votes. To the present this has occurred in fourteen cases. It is due to
the success of these tactics that the whole world is to-day speaking about
woman's suffrage, which has become a burning political question in
England. All along the people and the press are giving greater support to
the suffragettes who have the courage to brave the horrors of the London
prison, and there become acquainted with the distress of the poor, the
destitute, and the helpless.

During the last three or four years of the activity of the suffragettes a
great number of woman's suffrage organizations were founded: The Woman's
Freedom League (Mrs. Despard), The Men's League for Woman's Suffrage, The
Artists' Suffrage League, The Conservative and Unionist Women's Franchise
Association, The Actresses' Franchise League, The Writers' League, etc.
Scotland and Ireland have their own woman's suffrage associations.

In opposition there have been formed the National Women's Antisuffrage
Association and a Men's League for Opposing Woman's Suffrage (those are
supported chiefly by the aristocratic circles). They declare that woman
does not need the right to vote since she exercises an "enormous indirect
influence"; that woman does not _wish_ the right to vote; that her
subordination is based on natural law since brute force rules the world;
woman's suffrage would result in England's destruction, if a majority of
women voters (England has a majority of women) were permitted to decide
questions concerning the army and navy.

The leader of the suffragettes, Mrs. Fawcett, recently established the
fact that the newly formed Association has a considerably smaller number
of prominent names among its members _than the organization formed two
years ago_, which soon came to an inglorious end. She emphasized the fact
that the two important women, who at that time still favored the
antisuffrage move