ead
to a marked change in the handling of such problems as the liquor
traffic and the control of red light districts. Of woman's superior
moral standards there can be no doubt; of the actual effect of her vote
upon these questions there is a great deal of doubt. While I was in
Idaho, the question of local option came up before the voters of Salt
Lake City, in the neighboring equal suffrage State of Utah, and the
"wets" won by a vote of 14,775 to 9,162. Thousands of women must have
voted for license to bring about this result. In April, 1911, the
question of license or no license was voted on in Boise. In this case
again the "wets" won by a considerable majority.

Take another case. For several years in Boise, until 1909, the red light
district was segregated in two alleys in the heart of the city. In the
municipal election of that year this issue came fairly before the
voters, and the democratic nominee for mayor, who was pledged to break
up the system, was elected by a considerable majority, though the city
is strongly republican. This result was undoubtedly due to the women's
vote. After two years, the issue came up again; and the republican
nominee, who was opposed to the scattering policy though not pledged to
segregation, was elected; and this result must again have been due to
the woman's vote. Prominent women of the city told me that during the
two years when the scattering policy prevailed, the evil was very
conspicuous, and women going about alone felt far less comfortable than
under the older system.

There are two ways to explain the fact that, after fifteen years of
political experience, the women of Boise voted in large numbers for
license and for a policy in handling the red light district which they
knew would mean a return to police control. In the first place, it may
be said that fifteen years of steady contact with political life had
blunted the sensibilities of women and dulled their moral feeling. On
the other hand, it may be held that practical experience, under the
steady pressure of responsibility, had made them realize the
difficulties involved in the handling of these great social problems and
had made them feel that a law which could command the support of public
opinion, even though it regulated these difficulties, was better than a
law which they might consider ideal, but which was incapable of
execution.

In Idaho, as in Colorado, the payment of women political workers seems
to have beco