But the very demand for the vote was, in itself, merely a confirmation of the view, held by ourselves and a few others, that no possible good could come from Feminism, that it offered no hope of a better world, and that it was a quack remedy for our sickness. For, if there had been any intrinsic quality in it, any political or other genius peculiarly feminine and foreign in kind and degree to anything found in man, how can we explain that one of its first claims was to obtain a political privilege, the futility and undesirability of which had been demonstrated _ad nauseam_ long before this century dawned? Modern democracy with its political machinery is so thoroughly discredited, and is moreover such a menace to our national greatness, that, if there had been any social acumen or shrewdness in woman, she would have proved it by utterly scouting this political _faux pas_ of degenerate manhood. A creative woman’s movement, if such an idea can possibly be conceived, would have introduced something new and hopeful into our political life. It might, at least, have tried to resuscitate the best in our pre-democratic past; and, even if it did not show this amount of flair, it might, when it got the vote, straight-way have shown its power by initiating reforms that are peculiarly within woman’s province. It might have demanded a reform of our food-conditions, and of the proprietary-food, patent-medicine and culinary-aid industries, which are in a scandalous state; or a reform of the conditions under which midwifery is practised in this country. But it neither attempted, nor showed any inclination to attempt, any one of these feats. It demanded the preposterous vote; and, having got it, proceeded, both in Parliament and out, to try to effect only Puritanical reforms, some of which were frankly hostile to men. We are likely to suffer a rude awakening, therefore, if we look to Feminism for any marked improvement in our affairs. Nobody with any profound understanding of woman’s nature, and of her past achievements, can possibly expect it. What we can expect, however, when once the forces of Feminism are completely organized, is a systematic intensification of all the tendencies that have culminated in the modern Women’s Movement.