The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-08-09
woman and Polltics.


HE agitation cannot but be beneficial in many
respects. It is, for instance, Of no inconside-
Fable advantage that the whole company of
hoticians have been brought to the confess
sional. and induced to acknowledge the
Thoroughly bad character of their business.
Heretofore they have exposed, without stint,
fbe scoundrelism of their opponents, but now,
when there is prospect of woman's coming
10 Judgment like ga second Daniel, all start
up in a flutter of alarm, voclferating, with
marvellous unanimity, that all alike are inta-
mously bad, too bad for the cooperation and
comnanionship of woman; that politics are so
corrnnt and oOntaminating that woman cannot
everoise the ballot without Generalization and
the loss of the most precious attributes of her
character
The testimony on this point is almost unani-
NOUS. Old politicians and public function
aries assert it-men who have passed their
whole life in the pestilential quagmire, and
who ought, therefore, to be intimately ac-
uuainted with its pollutions. Amateur dema-
gOgues, also, who have only cautiously waded
along the shadows of the pool, reiterate the
same cry, and warn all womankind from the
Injected atmosphere of politics. Can there
be any doubt that woman ought to heed this
warningH Is it not uttered with the sole pur-
oose of guarding her from harm, and preserv-
Ing her as the one sacred depository of hea-
ven's choicest blessings upon earth What
praise and gratitude do not these persons de-
serve from woman
Conscious of their position in the depths of
corruption, they magnanimously decline to
alleviate their wretchedness and secure their
lalvation through her interposition, but
b rOically prefer to suffer and perish alone,
rather than that she should risk contamination
by breathing one Whit of the infectious air.
Marvellous spirit of self-sacrifce To prompt
l.. L..
these men, what an overpowering love of
4ruth purity, and honor must still flourish in
Eheir souls And how wonderful that, in
spite of their lifelong exposure to the contami-
nation of politics. the ideals of virtue should
thus remain bright, and even grow brighter by
9he ordealI What sublime example of the
power of virtue in the masculine soul to
resist and overcome vice, is afforded in the
lives of these poor political hacks /"
How fortunate that Providence made vir-
tue in the masculine soul so much less liable
to infection and decomposition than it is in the
feminine By this wise provision politics
become possible, and man may enter the quag-
nire and uphold the order of the universe,
while lovely woman may be preserved in
blissful unsophistication to devote the high
qualities of soul with which the Creator en-
dowed "his last best work." for the important
services of the kitchen, laundry, nursery, and
milliner's shop.
Can there be any mistake in these infe-
rencesH Does not the confession of politicians
deserve implicit relianceH What other motive
can they have than the good of woman and
The public9 Is it because they fear to lose
power that they oppose woman's having a
voice in matters of the common welfare Do
they admit hordes of benighted, mindless
negroes, and exclude woman because they
think the former will prove more servile tools
10 accomplish their party and personal ends
If such is their thought, are they not wholly
right Bring these charlatans before the criti-
Gism and Judgment of the matrons of the
Hand, and their hollow insincerity and impu-
dent trickery will not wait long for rebuke.
They rightly discern that newly emancipated
Negroes are the best possible material for their
Nse, and that woman, with her noble unselfsh-
hess and clear perception of character, uner-
hing save when blinded by affection, is the
Rery last sheep that should be admitted into
Ehe political fold. The old law of self-preser-
walton, therefore, and perhaps also vague
presentiment of the predicted "bruising of
the serpent's head, - must be accepted in ex-
PLANTATION of much of the opposition which the
proposed enfranchisement of woman meets
from party leaders and their followers.
But, after all, are not politics as corrupt as
represented Undoubtedly; they could not
possibly be otherwise while under the control
of the present managers. And is it not equally
true that woman could not take part in poll
tios and mingle with the bruisers, the shoul-
der-hitters, and the bawling mob of the politi-
cal contest, without loss of self-respect, and
the sacrifice of the noblest and holiest attri-
butes of her nature? Most certainly, she
could not become one of the mob without
sharing its boorish spirit and brutal instincts
But the very supposition is absurd. The same
law of her nature that makes her the arbitel
Of manners, the exponent of the social CON
Science, and the chief source of the amenities
and refnements of civilized life, will prevent
her transformation into a political bully anc
blackguard. Into whatever sphere of politics
she may enter, she will carry the same in
Auences and behavior which have ever char
acterized her elsewhere.
Pettifogging lawmakers may remember will
profit that weman is not woman by virtue o
legislative enactments, and, therefore, is not
dependent on legal and conventional limita-
lions to preserve her distinctive character and
prevent her activities from rushing into alb
normal channels, and subverting the eterna
order OF the universe. Is there any more po
tent spell in politics to effect her transforma
Eion than in other spheres of action 2 Is no
money-getting the most absorbing and sordiC
of all pursuits Is not money the acknow
1edged ''root of all evil"-the fatal root tina
hides to groveling humanity the regeneratin
light of Paradise2 Yet how uniformly ha
woman shown herself proof against tempta
4ions to excess in this pursuit. OF the in
Vulnerable caravan of misers, extortioners
piratss, robbers, swindlers, and gamblers, hoy
few have been furnished by the more un