Akron Daily Democrat, May 27, 1901

CORNERSTONE

Gives Newspapers a “Jolly.”

Ohio Prohibition Not Opposed to Womans’ Suffrage.

Speaking of the Akron convention, the Cornerstone, the official organ of the Prohibition party of Ohio says:

“In this connection it is due to the press of Akron, especially the Beacon-Journal and the Democrat, to say that in reporting the proceedings of the convention, it was enterprising, gave liberally of its space and was so courteous, fair and kind that it won the respect and best wishes of every delegate. The Associated Press report which appeared in the papers generally throughout the country, was misleading so far as the question of woman’s suffrage was concerned. The Prohibitionists have not gone back on woman suffrage and when the question if submitted to a vote of the people the rank and file of the Prohibition party will be found doing all in its power to secure its adoption. By the suggestion and on the advice of leading advocates of the suffrage movement among the women themselves the usual specific suffrage plank was omitted from the platform and not because the Prohibition party had changed its belief on this subject. The matter of extending suffrage to the women of Ohio requires an amendment to the constitution and as the Prohibition party could not give women the right to suffrage by legislative enactment even of it was in power, the best judgement of intelligent women who are devoted to the cause was that the endorsement of suffrage by the party would do no good and was liable to do harm. This view was approved by the strongest friends of suffrage in the convention and it was their interest in the cause of woman suffrage that secured this approval and not their opposition.”

The Akron Daily Democrat, which ran from 1892 to 1902, was known for its outright support of Democratic candidates in the Akron area. By the paper’s first election season, it propelled every county Democratic candidate it supported to victory. The owners used “strong-armed methods” to find information, which at first upset the status quo present in Akron’s political scene. The newspaper’s goal was to report news that was central to lives of those in the greater-Akron area, and it often reported international news that the writers could tie back to Akron if possible.

The Cornerstone, the political publication and annual conference for the Prohibition Party, was held the Prohibitionist’s annual convention to nominate candidates to Ohio political offices from the party. The Prohibition Party was active in Ohio politics from 1869 to 1919; while it sometimes nominated candidates from its own ranks, it more often threw its support behind candidates from the larger parties, usually the Republican party. The Prohibition Party, careful to not add too much to their list of demands while fighting for their own amendment that would make Ohio a dry (free of alcohol) state, decided to not endorse women’s suffrage publicly although it was sympathetic to the proposed amendment that would allow women to vote. 

The Beacon-Journal referred to in the article was a newspaper in Akron published from 1897-1903. It was formerly a Republican-centric newspaper that covered topics relating to Akron. Today, it is the Akron Beacon-Journal.