Litchfield enquirer., 1867-10-10
Temperance and the Suffrage.

We alluded briefly, last week, to the sig nifcance of the action of the Kansas Tenn perance Convention in recommending temperance men to sustain the Woman's s Suffrage Amendment. Without at present entering into the question of the expedi- ency of legislation as means of stopping or at least restricting the sale of liquor, it cannot but be evident how much strength legislation of that kind will receive from giving the suffrage to women.
 A comparison of the composition of our present body of electors with what we should have, if all our adult women were voters, will readily prove this:
 We have now considerable class of electors more or less enslaved by appetite, or pecuniarily interested in pandering to that appetite. This class is of sufficient number to be of great political account, and they do not hesitate to use this power against whatever men or party undertake to resist the sale of liquor. On the other hand, we doubt whether the total absti- hence men, proper, have preponderatlng force. A very large majority of our voters undoubtedly desire the suppression of dram drinking, and of iquor-saloons, but they are not much in earnest in the matter; they are only influenced by a general de- sire for the public good, feeble motive compared with the raging thirst of the drunkard, and the intense personal inter- est of the drunkard-maker. The result from suclt state of facts is what we might naturally expect. It is not difficult to arouse public feeling to the point of at tacking this detested traffic, generally with teemporary success; but it fails in persisten- cy. The fitful and somewhat inconsistent vir tue of the better half of our present body of electors proves unequal to the untiring interruptions energy of interest and appe tite combined. Although it would be toe much to say that temperance men are prescribed class, they are an unpopular class, politically speaking. The men who can poll the largest vote at local elections, are those who are on sufficiently good terms with the liquor interest to gain thei1 votes without being so identified with them as to lose respectable support; it is unne- cessary to say that these are very seldom strong temperance men.
 With women admitted to vote, no one can doubt that the standard of morality in the electoral body will be greatly raised. While men are generally temperate, wo- men are universally so. While men dis like iquor-selling and iquor-drinking, wo. men hate it. But perhaps the most inn portant difference of all will arise from the fact that while few men are injured by u1.41a.~.4..~~- I-.-- 1-~..a@- 4har,. selves, such is not the case with women the wives and daughters of drunkards suf fer directly and keenly. Here, therefore is class personally interested against this monstrous evil, and who can be relied upon to oppose it with all the energy and persis. tency with which the seller and drinkel now support it. This influence is the nat ural antidote. of the baleful rum influence that does so much to corrupt ou1 politics. Yet our present policy sacrifices such allies, and hands them over, bound hand and foot, to the tender mercies of the enemy. After arming vice, it actually dis. arms virtue Give woman the ballot, and some short space of time to learn the use of. that tremendous weapon, and we firmly believe the political power of Rum will be at an end.