WOMEN: Fifth in Sight

By virtue of two male voices upraised last week, it was virtually assured that another woman will enter Congress soon. At present there are four U. S. Congresswomen—Mrs. Florence Prag Kahn of California, Mrs. Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts, Mrs. John W. Langley of Kentucky, Mrs. Mary P. Norton of New Jersey. The new & likely candidate is Mrs. Ruth Hanna McCormick, daughter and widow of politicians, who wittily copied President Coolidge and “chose” to run for Republican Congresswoman-at-large from Illinois. The male voices which last week boomed Mrs. McCormick’s nomination in the primary next spring and her election next autumn, came from the heights and depths of her party. From the depths came a throaty rumble of assent from William Hale (“Big Bill”) Thompson, blatant Mayor of Chicago. From the heights, at a luncheon of the Illinois Republican Women’s Clubs, came the staccato bark of Vice President Charles Gates Dawes, who said: “I am for the women. I recognize their sincerity. When it comes to making mistakes I think the men can give women cards and spades.† “I am so much for the women that I am for Mrs. Ruth Hanna Mc-Cormick. . . . I’ve known her since she was a girl and at such a time as this I think it’s a pretty poor sort of man who wouldn’t stand up for his friends.”

†Term from the card game called Casino. There are 11 points possible in this game (not counting “sweeps”). “Cards” (taking most tricks) counts 3 points. “Spades” (taking most of the suit) counts 1. To “give cards in spades” is, therefore, to give a 36% handicap.