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