Page:The case for women's suffrage.djvu/50

 with being financed and engineered by the Tories. Now that the Labour Party has grown strong Liberals dare not utter such slanders concerning Labour men, but they think they can afford to traduce the women's movement in their accustomed way. Quite undeterred, encouraged rather, by their attacks the Women's Social and Political Union holds firmly to its by-election policy.

The elections are fought on strictly independent lines. Naturally if the Liberal candidate has only one opponent he, whether he be Labour man or Unionist, reaps the whole benefit of the votes detached from the Liberal. If three or more candidates are in the field the Liberal is opposed, and the Union observes a neutral attitude towards the remaining candidates.

Many Liberal candidates are prepared to declare in favour of Women's Suffrage, but we nevertheless oppose such candidates. Already the House of Commons contains 420 members who before their election promised to support Women's Suffrage. Several of these gentlemen explain that they made the pledges without any intention of fulfilling them. Those who profess to be in earnest are quite inactive. Liberal members refuse to embarrass the Government, and if they were to show signs of doing so, would be restrained by the Liberal executives in their constituencies. Let those who plead for mercy to be shown to the Liberal candidates who are "in favour" of Women's Suffrage reflect that no man who really believes in that reform would consent to stand as a candidate under Liberal auspices while the policy of