Woman's work in municipalities

by Mary Ritter Beard

Although disappointed that the abatement law was not to go into effect in August, some of the women leaders saw an opportunity in this delay to educate citizens further in the intent of the law itself. In this way they could insure more intelligent public support when it should finally become operative. At this stage of readjustment the questionable methods and support behind the anti-abatement referendum were suddenly exposed by the discovery that hundreds—and since then, thousands—of signatures to the petitions were not genuine. So many, indeed, that, if the facts had been known before the petitions were certified, there might have been enough to invalidate the referendum itself.

The Property Owners’ Protective Association had declared that they would get these signatures outside the bay cities in order to prove that the country was as much opposed as the cities to the law. But a scrutiny of the petitions from each county shows that out of a total of 31,930 signatures certified, 53 per cent. (17,119) were from San Francisco alone and that Alameda and San Francisco counties together furnished 60 per cent. of the whole, while Los Angeles gave only 19 per cent., Sacramento less than 5 per cent. and each of the other counties a negligible hundred or two names.

These figures showed where the enemy lived. The fight against this law was being made by the vice-and-liquor combination of San Francisco and Oakland, backed by property owners who were reaping the rentals of the tenderloin districts but dared not let their names be known. Against such as these, women citizens had no direct recourse. But they addressed themselves to the district attorney of San Francisco, whose duty it was to prosecute the offenders.

But in spite of the fact that forged names appeared on the referendum petitions, no indictments were made. Early in December it looked as if nothing further would be done about these frauds. The district attorney gave little evidence of continuing the cases. But until he definitely refused to take action, the governor could not be expected to direct the attorney-general to take the matter out of the district attorney’s hands.

Various committees of women continued to urge action upon the district attorney, and one group from the San Francisco Center of the California Civic League made it their business to visit him week after week to inquire what he intended to do about these forgeries. On each occasion he refused to commit himself definitely, but he could not put his polite questioners out of the office—they were women of too much social backing. Besides, all these committees of women were voters and leaders, perhaps, of unnumbered feminine electors. An uncomfortable plight certainly for an official who might not wish to go on record on a ticklish question.

The district attorney, in search of further evidence, finally sent to the office of the secretary of state at Sacramento for the original petitions. Although he declared that he had been shamefully abused by some of these groups of women, he was nevertheless compelled to take the forgery cases before a new grand jury. And, meanwhile, the press of the state was demanding results and insisting that the attorney general should prosecute the cases if the district attorney failed.

About the middle of February the district attorney again presented the matter before the grand jury. Indictment of one Belle Weil, who had circulated one of the referendum petitions, resulted.

In a struggle against entrenched and highly profitable evils, women may seem to be at great disadvantage. In this case there is also a body of men—small, perhaps, but of a sort that cannot be pooh-poohed—who have been carrying on an equally effective campaign of publicity and education. Women, in fact, have some advantages over men in such a contest against the powers of evil. They have as yet no party traditions to hamper them; no direct business relations to be jeopardized; and, above all, they have a larger amount of daytime leisure in which to do detail reform work and to convert small groups of people.

The various bodies of organized women who were behind the demand for the abatement and injunction law last year are now pouring out thousands of leaflets which defend and explain the cause in a simple and effective way. They are training women to speak on the subject and providing them with carefully digested information. In Berkeley the education committee of the civic center is prepared to send a speaker to any meeting where the subject may be presented; and is, moreover, asking every social, civic and religious organization—of which there are over a hundred in the town—to give time for a statement of the issues involved in the anti-abatement referendum.

Whatever the fate of the referendum, the campaign of education, which is now going on, is of the highest value to the citizens of the state. And since this referendum has been invoked by vicious methods it becomes evident that the very principles of direct legislation are at stake. If this law may be held up and perhaps defeated by forgeries, then any other may be.