Miss Phipps and the Cattle Baron by Patricia Watters Page A

spinster had been
deserted to sit alone with her picnic basket and eat the delicacies
she had prepared, while the handsome, wealthy British lord slipped
away and picnicked with a beautiful and charming woman more fitting
for a man of his station. How shocked Edith and the others would be
to learn that prim and proper Miss Valentine had not only
been thoroughly kissed by Lord Whittington, but that she had lost
complete control of herself during that kiss...
    Trudy, who was reading over Priscilla's
shoulder, said, "What does Mrs. W. M. Coggswell mean when she says 'the man who has a wife controls two votes instead of one, and
he who has grown daughters controls as many as he has
daughters? '"
    Priscilla glanced over her shoulder at Trudy.
"That letter written by Mrs. Coggswell was read in the
Massachusetts House of Representatives during a debate on suffrage
and used it as an example of why enfranchising women was
pointless."
    Trudy looked at Priscilla, puzzled. "Is that
true what Mrs. Coggswell said, that if I were grown, my father
would take my vote from me?"
    "Not exactly," Priscilla said. "Women in
Wyoming Territory can vote as they wish, but most don't bother to
do so, and those who do, vote as their husbands dictate."
    "Well, when I am old enough, I will vote as I
please," Trudy huffed.
    "Then you had better marry a man who will not
challenge you, or you will have a very troubled household,"
Priscilla said. "But even if women start exercising their right to
vote, they are still not allowed to vote when nominating men for
office, or in primaries and conventions. But after the delegates
have made the primaries, the men up for election are very glad for
women to come in and help elect them."
    Trudy's face brightened. "Then I shall help
my father get elected as mayor by writing things about him that you
can post in The Town Tattler ," she said.
    Priscilla looked at Trudy with concern.
Taking an open political position at this point would alienate many
potential subscribers. But she didn't want to put a damper on
Trudy's new-found interest in suffrage. Wyoming Territory, being
the first government to allow women the vote, was a maverick in
America. Offering a compromise, she said, " The Town Tattler will not be taking sides in the upcoming race for mayor, but I will
be holding what I will call Town Tattler Meetings, where I'll talk
to women about suffrage and temperance and other issues that are
important to women. Perhaps you'd like to attend the meetings and
pass out some leaflets about your father there."
    Trudy broke into a wide grin. "Yes, I'd very
much like that, and I'll start at once designing the leaflets.
Would I be able to print them here?" she asked.
    Priscilla considered that. Being involved in
her father's election would take Trudy's mind off Tom Rafferty. For
that reason, Adam might approve of her interest in women's rights.
"I'll talk to Mr. Jackson and see if it's something we can do on
our press."
    Trudy clasped her hands in delight. "When I
distribute the leaflets I'll tell the women about the importance of
voting. My father is the smartest and the most handsome of the
candidates, so the women will certainly vote for him over the other
candidates. "
    Trudy's enthusiasm was contagious, and
Priscilla found herself saying, "You're absolutely right about
impressing on women the importance of voting. If they don't
exercise their right, other states and territories who haven't yet
given women the right to vote will see no reason to grant it, and
our sisters all over the country will remain in bondage to their
husbands, and to men's laws. As it stands, all over the country
intelligent women are denied the right to vote, while ignorant,
drunken and immoral men can cast their ballots. It is grossly
unfair to women."
    Trudy looked at Priscilla, fervor in her
eyes, and said, "Do you have any literature on women's suffrage
that I can read?"
    "Yes, right over here." Priscilla lifted a
stack of newspaper clippings of