Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1867-07-12
SOCIAL BQUALITT.

SOCIAL EOUALITK.
one of the most egregious hum bugs
! by which Democracy seeks to prejudice
the public mind against equal suffrage
is the oft repeated representation that
it will, if enacted, establish the social
equality of the blacks. The idea is
absurd, prepOsterous. ridiculous, and
it is strange indeed that any man of
common sense should be misled by it
for a moment.
Are white men who vote socially
equal2 VIII any Democrat be good
enough to point out two white men
enjoying in this community or in any
community the right of suffrage who
are precisely equal to each other in
social privileges and standing If any
two such beings could be found in the
universe there is no reasonable person
who would not concede that such a
phenomenon must be owing to other
circumstances than. political equality
But we defy any Democrat to
demonstrate the exact social equality
of any two voters in the land.
In many social circles men and women
are estimated far more by the quality
of the clothes they wear than they are
by the circumstance Of their voting or
not voting. And It is not uncommon
to see politicians admitting, or rather
drawing into their closest confidence
and friendship on election day persons
OF humblest rank whom they keep afar
of on every other day of the year. The
two associate at the polls and in the
caucuses but nowhere else. Why, il
political equality makes social equality
then women belong to oneof the lowest
orders of society, since they have no
political privileges, except, perhaps,
that of paying taxes. And yet what
would society amount to without the
refining and elevating influence Of
woman
Let any one compare the influence of
the ballot as a social elevator with that
of wealth, and mark the difference.
How often, by the death Of some rich
and forgotten ancestor. or by some
other unIooked-for turn Of fortune, has
the ragged occupant of the cellar or the
hovel, who moved among soap-bOilers
and rssg- -piekers been lifted from poverty
to luxury and upper-tendOm. Has the
elective franchise. ever done that for
anybody2 How often, by misfortune
in business, dissipation, or some other
calamity have individuals been
precipitated from the highest social
position to the lowest degradation. Has
the mere loss of the right to vote ever
done that for any one? A few lucky
s--, - g., l,-s ,,,,+ Tobr, AFo.-rissorr -,
Congress, but the value and influence Of
his. vote never could have brought him
fortune or honor above that of an
obscure day laboreF.
The fortunate discovery OF a gold
nugget or an oil spring, or a sudden
imitation of stocks or advance in gold
has lifted many an ignoranlus to a social
standing he could never have attained
by his personal virtues, but who has
ever been so elevated by the use of the
ballot i? 1t does sometimes seem a
misfortune that votes are not weighed
instead Of counted, but even iftaey were
weighed, nine times out Of ten their
worth would be set down at their value
in gold rather than in individual merit
True, society is less artificial and it may
be combines less Fictitious aristoeracy
in America than in any other country,
yet even here, it is by no means the
universal rule to gauge social standing
by the maxim that,
"Worth makes the man, and want Of it the
fellow"
10 is certainly quite as far from being
the rule to guage it by political rights.
Next to wealth Though they ought to
De before it, intelligence and moral
virtue may be considered most
powerful influences in commanding
social POSITION. without these, especially |
il wealth be also wanting, a mans
social status, whatever, his political
privileges may be cannot be very
enviable, An individual who is so
unfortunate as to have neither learning, !
good character or money viii generally |
occupy a very low place in the social |
scale, although at the ballOt-box he may |
be the peer Of any one. On the other |
hand a person who has a cultivated |
intellect, polished manners, and an
irreproaehable moral character, will |
occupy a high place in the estimation
of all good men and women despite his /
complexion, and even though our laws
may debar him from the privilege Of
voting.
But the Democratic 1ogieians tell us
that if we confer the ballot upon negros
it will cause them to intermarry .
with the whites. It is impossible to see
how this could be unless the aforesaid /
whites should be willing. and il is not /
known to us that there is any fear of
outside the Democratic party.
In this matter every one is left to his
own taste and Democratic anxiety on