The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-04-03
The Woman's Rights Bill and the Civil
Rights Bill.
FROM the Herald.

LfOft tt6 AItIutU
The women of America have sense enough to
perceive that their time has come. They are
determined that the agitation in Congress about
universal suffrage shall not be understood to
refer to negro suffrage alone. They claim the
right to vote, aud in circular, which we pub.
Hshed IN yesterdays paper, they have called ma
tiona convention, TO meet at the Church of the
Puritans, on Thursday next in order to direct
the attention Of Congress and the people to this
important subject. All distinctions of color
having been abolished, Mesdames Stanton and
Anthony now demand the abolition OF all dis
tinCtIOns OF sex. The negro is not to be eX-
Cluded from the ballot-bOX on account of his
skin, and why should a woman be excluded on
account OF her petticoats? Great stress has been
laid upon the fact that the word slave does not
occur in the Constitution; but the word woman
is also ignored in that ancient and respected
document.
There is not an argument used in favor of
negro suffrage which is not quite as potential
in favor of woman suffrage. On the other hand,
most OF the arguments used against giving the
ballot 10 the negro fail to apply in the case of
the woman. Al negroes served the country
negroes are born free and equal, so are women.
But the accusation of want of intelligence, so
often urged against the blacks, cannot be MADE
against our iair female friends. Nor can it be
said OF women, as it i OF the negroes that they
will be too much under the influence of the
white men, since the contrary is nOtoriousy
the case. The time, then, is propitous. We
have a Congress ready for any extravaganza
Let some radical member present Womans
Rights bill, and it will pass more easily than the
Civil Rights bill. and be much more acceptable
TO the people.
BY way of hints or texts for the addresses to
be delivered ''by persons 10 be hereafter an
nouEced," Mrs. Elizabeth Cady StantOns Cir
cular places before us a few of the reasons why
women, as well as negroes, should be allowed
to vote. And let us declare in advance, lest
this conjunction of women and negroes should
prove offensive, that the association is suggested
by the circular Itself, and is indeed, one of the
very strongest points upon which the women of
America rely in their appeals to the tyranr, man,
Tor Justice and equal rights In the most logical
and irresistible manner they take it for granted
| that this Government is a failure and then eX-
! PLAN that this is because our practice has not
| been according to our princples-that is 10 say,
! because we have not given equal rights to all
! men, women and negroes. Wen. If the Govern
ment is failure, We think that the above eX
PLANTATION Is about as good as any other. The
next step of tins sublime argument is very plain.
! Ii the Government Is atailuTe, and ii Withholding
equal rights is the cause thereof, then we have
| only to bestow equal rights in order to make
/ the Government a success. And here Mrs.
! Stanton and the other women find fault with
! Congress, which only proposes to give equal
| rights TO the negroes. Why, that will not
/ remedy the evil. That will not 'COme one line
! not 'al." Women, too, must be endowed with
/ those rights, privileges and immunitesn be-
| tore we can reconstruct the Government on
the one enduring basis that has never yet been
! tTied.' There Is the whole matter in nut
smell, as clear as the sky in June and as irrefu-
table as the logic OF events. Ii is true that Mrs
| stanton and her lovely assistants did not have
! space enough in their circular to tell us why
| this Government is failure, or to prove that
the founders OF the republic, the originators of
| our republican idea,n intended that women and
negroes should votes Lor to inform us how a
basis that has never yet been triedn can be 80
confidently pronounced 'the one enduring
basis;" but all these tufng omissions will doubt
less be supplied at the convention next Thurs
day. Mrs, Stantons circular reminds us of Cal
houn's speeches, because If YOU admit its ore
misses you cannot deny its conclusions. But in
this respect its logic is also not so very different
from that of the famous stanza familiar in all
well-regulated households
Ifa man who turnips cries
| Cries not when his father dies,
Ills proof that he would rather
Have tuTnlp than his father
In practical point of view, we have not the
slightest doubt that the present Congress viii
give woman the suffrage after il gets through
with the negro. Senator Sumner, the radca
leader, shows great lack of galantry in no
allowing the women the preference, Mrs. Stan
ton Indignantly asks "Should not our petition
command as respectful hearing in repub
} can Senate as a speech of Victoria in tn
House of Lords W But she might ask, still NOR
! Indignantly, should not a Senate of whit
I men attend 10 the rights and wrongs O
{ | fifteen millions of white women who pa
: taxes, instead of devoting themselves eXclu
. sively to three millions of ignorant negroes
I One of Mrs. Stanton's other queries-"Shall a
a American Congress pay less honor to tn
D daughter of President than British Paria
| ment 70 the daughter OF a k1ngW-may as We
L | no omitted in fufupp nuhlioatiOngs if1 fOpp