Life, 1916-10-19 · page 37 of 42
Life — October 19, 1916 — page 37: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical article mocks politicians' anxiety about newly enfranchised women voters. The cartoon "His Arch Enemy" depicts a small dog confronting a larger, aggressive cat—likely representing politicians' exaggerated fear of the "Woman Vote" as a unified political force. The text argues that while politicians nervously anticipate women voting as a coordinated bloc (like existing "Farmer Vote," "Labor Vote," etc.), this fear is overblown. The author claims these categorical voting groups are largely mythical—used mainly for campaign fundraising rather than actual political action. The satire's point: politicians unnecessarily panic about women's voting power, when historical experience shows no demographic group actually votes as a monolith. The author dismissively suggests women especially won't maintain solidarity, characterizing them as indecisive ("so fond of changing its mind"), thereby undercutting his own argument about the meaninglessness of group voting categories.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
entation from six 1e. 1¢ Only ne ever jedal at AUC] + CHICOW)) ! MIS ARCH ENEMY The Woman Vote E already have woman suffrage in many of the states of the Union The result of this is to give us a Wom- an Vote. We have had the Farmer Vote and the Labor Vote and the Sa- loon Vote and the Temperance Vote and the German Vote, the Catholic Vote and a few other categoried votes for a long time. They have always been a source of bother to the poli- tician, and now the Woman Vote comes along to add to his troubles. But troubles like these affect new poli- ticians more than old __ politicians. Young and inexperienced politicians easily visualize pictures of these dif- ferent groups marching up to the polls in formidable phalanx to register their political demands according to their own well-thought-out interests. Old and hardened politicians, how- There is no more fascinating study than Natural Science. If you know what to look for, a microscope will reveal undreamed-of wonders in simple things. There are schools that have especially complete equip- ment for teaching Science. The announcements of the best schools can be found in Scribner's Magazine everymonth. If detailed information is desired, address SCRIBNER'S MACAZINE SCHOOL AND COLLEGE SERVICE DEPARTMENT Scribner Building, Fifth Avenue Room 740 - - New York LV rite tt on the filu— at the time Record the ““Who, When, Where’”’ on every negative. It’s the work of an instant with an Autographic KODAK All folding Kodaks and folding Brownies are now autographic. EASTMAN KODAK CO.,, ROCHESTER, N. Y. ever, know that these votes are mainly myths, hardly more than bugaboo catchwords which they use to “shake down” candidates and other contribu- tors to the campaign funds. Before every election much specula- tion is expended on what these various “votes” are going to do, but after election nobody ever knows what they did, and the reason for this is that they didn’t do anything. That is to say, they didn’t vote as groups or ac- cording to the general interests of their respective groups. On the con- trary, each individual figured things out for himself according to the petty little data which he found in his own narrow horizon. And so it will be with the Woman Vote in spite of the most blustering talk of feminine solidarity. A sex that is so fond of changing its mind at the last minute will never accumulate much solidarity.