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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 19, 1959)
t ' LEGISLATOR ,c 'ontinued) 375 and not morie than 400 members," which means the number is just under 400. This huge group, representing one of the least populous states, has been criticized as "inefficient, unwieldy, and amorphous," and defended as "truly representative, fair to all groups, and impossible to buy." This is not the place to argue the matter, but even if the number of representatives were cut in half, it would still be possible for a "represent ative to represent." That is why membership in the body is an exciting and interesting privilege, even though the $200 salary for a two year, one-session term, plus mileage for daily attendance during the session, is no prime attraction. There is no bet ter training for a political career than a state legislature. I n my case, serving in the legislature filled a long-standing desire for some practical experience in government, a subject which I had studied and taught for years. In 1950, when certain per sonal responsibilities lessened for me and there appeared to be a vacancy coming up for representative from our town, I responded to the suggestion that I run and filed my candidacy at the very opening of the filing period. A local gentleman listed himself to oppose me at once, and much to the surprise of both of us, the incumbent whose ill health was supposed to have taken him out of the race, filed too. I had to get to work, so I went up hill and down dale ringing doorbells and seeing people. Some wanted a complete run-down on matters I might have to vote on if elected. Some didn't ask me a thing about the issues they just want ed to get acquainted. During the campaign one of my op ponents was reported to have said, "She's a nice lady, but this is no job for a lady." He made the mistake of saying this in the hearing of two very ener getic women. Personal campaigning is strenuous but it has wonderful compensations. You discover so many talented and ac complished people. In our small town I talked to craftsmen, artists, farmers who owned prize-winning green pas tures and record-breaking dairy herds, skilled machinists, housewives, and lumber experts. Also, you get to know your constituency in a way that is im possible when you must depend on radio, television, and the mail to reach the voters. Most seasoned politicians will say there is no substitute for the personal handshake as an effective way of getting votes. I'll go further and say there is no substitute for personal con versation as an effective way of getting to "know your town." If you are elected this personal knowledge is invaluable. At any rate, I became very "bullish" about the town, and perhaps this feel ing of pride carried over to my fellow citizens and helped elect me the town's first woman representative. Particularly trying for a woman in the New Hampshire legislature is the Family Weekly, April 19, 1959 fTS Built tags for. products bn " 1 i 1 I----H--T ) r - in .-1 "-jr.rCi:-; . ,-,': t y - iv IN USE Atlas Plycron Cushionaire'Tires Extra safety. . .extra stamina . . .extra long life . . . Atlas Automotive Specialists build and test Atlas Products to specifications even higher than for those that came on your new car! No wonder more dealers sell Atlas Tires and Batteries than any other brand in the world. No wonder their guarantee is honored on the spot coast-to-coast. Yet, you pay no more than for ordinary products! SOLD AND GUARANTEED AT 38.000 ordeal of taking the floor. No speeches are allowed from the member's seat in the House, so anyone desiring to speak must climb over fellow members (there are no desks, because there is no room stand up under the roughest going without damage. ' for 400), walk down the aisle to the microphone, adjust the instrument, and summon courage. But if it's rare that you speak on the floor of the House, it isn't at committee to even ..even holes like this, because. TESTED IN LAB AND FIELD. THEN TORN APART and analyzed... Atlas Batteries must grove tnei' extra power, long life and sure-starting ability fdvipf CTATIONS m.mwi w - - meetings. Before committees, a repre sentative can appear with; an assurance of ample opportunity to - present con stituents' views, and a woman gets the same attention as a male member. higher standards brand IN TESTS Atlas gives them the most wriv-ritn-r-iTiTTnnvi-?Tmni DESIGNED TO STOP YOU ON A DIME. ..Atlas Brake Fluid must give outstanding braking power before Atlas Automotive Specialists will pass it. Such constant testing is your guarantee of proved top value. IN ALL 49 STATES AND CANADA - - - - - " - THDE-MHK "ATL1,' This is important because it is in committee that most of the work is dore in any legislature, and especially n u large one. So most of your time is sPent attending your own committee new cars 8 O If I Si! . J . - "1 thorough going-over... like this test isnown in picture fell r T "II j ' wSib-i" ' BwliwWB???w't" '-''H I,T"'"- '""Trr?":t.L ' 3 GUARANTEE HONORED ON THE SPOT. Ask your Atlas dealer to show you the famous written guarantee on Atlas Tires and Batteries. It's honored wherever you go, from coast to coast. ,, . ..euaxioNAIIIK' mo. u.. pt. off. OopyrlgM WBQ. aii umly Oowinny, Nwrt , H. J. n-Tvnun " sessions, or "representing" at the hear ings of others. As a lawyer's daughter I wanted to be on the Judiciary Committee and realized that ambition during my sec than aoove, w cnec ure ond term. It is a busy and important committee, and serving on it with at tendance to other committees made my schedule a busy one. On a typical legislative day, com mittee work begins at 9:30 or 10 a.m. and continues until the House session at 11 a.m. Usually the session lasts an hour or two. Sometimes, though, the House gets tangled up in a long debate and stays in session until late afternoon. After the session and a luncheon respite, committee work begins again, and if you are on a busy committee, you have to get excused to appear be fore others where bills which you intro duced are being heard, or where your constituents want you to air their views, or where you escort them so they can air their own. One committee which has seen a lot of me is the Fish and Game Committee. The landowners tell me to "let them know up there in Concord" that they are sick of having hunters walk over their garden plots, shoot their goats and cows which they mistake for deer, and pick off birds so close to their dwellings they leave bloodstains on the clap boards. My beaver-trapping friends say that beaver has dropped in price and the committee should lower the tagging fee. The apple growers have been pest ered by porcupines and insisted on get ting the bounty raised. It took a lot of committee work to get this one through. As a former teacher and a representa tive from a town which has a growing school population without a propor tionate growth in revenue, I visit the Education Committee often, too. Long before Sputniks and Vanguards were roaring above, we were grappling with the problem of better standards in our rural areas and coping with the night mare of increased school costs. All this committee work doesn't leave much time for another phase of a rep resentative's work doing errands for the townspeople. Sometimes the errand consists of bringing home license plates or special publications. Often it is get ting the answer to a question. It's only natural for people to dread govern mental red tape, and many don't know where to seek information. As a fresh man legislator I used up a lot of shoe , leather rinding the right places to take these problems. Some of the queries I've taken to the capital are: "How can I get my well water test- ed for purity?" "Does the state do anything to control wood ticks?" "Can the State Welfare Department help me adopt a child?" "How do I get a state flag for my boy away in the service?" "Are book record albums available for the blind?" "What must I do to become a real ' estate agent?" Most representatives are willing to do these errands, not only to accommodate the voters but to learn something. The answers to the above are educational all right. If we had the paid staffs of wealthier legislatures, these matters would be attended to as routine detail, but for us they make one more way of representing. It's all in the day's work. And if you aren't convinced that it is a day's work to represent even a small constituency, come up to New Hamp shire and see for yourself! Family Weekly, April It, 1959 17
