It was impossible to obtain the vote of Wichita in 1901 but the registration was 6,546 men, 4,040 women, and out of these 10,586, there were 8,960 who voted. One of the most prominent lawyers in Wichita writes of this election: "The women fully maintained the ratio of the registration. The vote was small on account of inclement weather but I am sure that it kept away more men than women."

At one election it is recorded the vote of women exceeded that of men in one second-class and three third-class cities. In one instance all but two of the women of Cimarron cast their ballots. In Lincoln for several years women have polled 46 per cent. of the entire vote. The percentage of males in the State by the census of 1900 was 52.3.

The question frequently is asked why, with the ballot in their hands, women do not compel the enforcement of the prohibitory law, as it is generally supposed that Municipal Suffrage carries with it the right to vote for all city officials. The same year that women were enfranchised, the Legislature, for whom women do not vote, passed a law authorizing the Governor, for whom women do not vote, to appoint a Board of Police Commissioners for each city of the first class, with power to appoint the police judge, city marshal and police, and have absolute control of the organization, government and discipline of the police force and of all station-houses, city prisons, etc. Temperance men and women strongly urged this measure as they believed the Governor would have stamina enough to select commissioners who would enforce the prohibitory law. This board was abolished at the special session of the Legislature in 1897, as it was made a scapegoat for city and county officers who were too cowardly or too unfriendly to enforce the liquor ordinances, and it did not effect the hoped-for reforms.

In 1898 City Courts were established. By uniting the townships with cities and giving these courts jurisdiction over State and county cases, to relieve the congested condition of State courts, women are deprived of a vote for their officers. The exercise of the Municipal Franchise at present is as follows:

MEN VOTE FOR
Mayor,
Councilmen,
School Board,
City Attorney,
City Treasurer,
City Clerk,
Judge of City Court,
Clerk of City Court,
Marshal of City Court,
Two Justices of the Peace,
Two Constables.
WOMEN VOTE FOR
Mayor,
Councilmen,
School Board,
City Attorney,
City Treasurer,
City Clerk.
APPOINTED BY MAYOR
Police Judge,
City Marshal,
Chief of Police.

In cities of less than 30,000 the Police Judge is elected and women may vote for this officer. In the smallest places the City Marshal is also Chief of Police.

It will be seen that even for the Police Court in the largest cities women have only an indirect vote through the Mayor's appointments. In all the cities and towns liquor sellers when convicted here simply take an appeal to a higher court over which women have no jurisdiction. They have no vote for sheriff, county attorney or any county officer. These facts may in a measure answer the question why women are helpless to enforce the prohibitory law or any other to which they are opposed.

Nevertheless even this small amount of suffrage has been of much benefit to the women and to the cities. As the years go by the general average of the woman-vote is larger. Municipal voting has developed a stronger sense of civic responsibility among women; it has completely demolished the old stock objections and has familiarized men with the presence of women at the polls. Without question a higher level in the conduct of city affairs has resulted. It may, however, well be questioned as to whether Municipal Suffrage has not militated against the full enfranchisement of women. Politicians have been annoyed by interference with their schemes. Men have learned that women command influence in politics, and the party machine has become hostile to further extension of woman's opportunity and power to demand cleaner morals and nobler standards.[277]

Judge S. S. King, Commissioner of Elections at Kansas City, has given the suffrage question much thought, and he has gleaned from the figures of his official records some interesting facts. Alluding to the mooted question of what class of women vote he says: