White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1867-09-19
Corresponding.
Woman Suffrage

waiting some time to see some man n, -,
equally profound sake up our ffieud's ar,;cIa
and examine his positions-tha. is, such ~
then Is are ersninsbis. Disappointed in this,
I do il II yself. 81
He starts out BY asking, " Whence does the
right Of Suffrage eone7' And then, after
treating hia readers 10 about half column of
very lucid thoughts about Public Authority"
he comes to the conclusion that it is conferred
by the State-that it is +" Creature of Gov.
ernment; right conferred by Government,
and, 'as We have seen, eondisonal right"
And because thus conferred. suffrage is not
natural right And now for the cliuch, which
Mr.. esq forgot to put on his Argument. And
because suffrage is not natural right, therefore
rsmea saoaia aes pe,e. Which is to say,thas
women are 70 have only such rights a. are con-
ferred BY nature. They breathe, eat, sleep and
walk, because nature gave them this right;
but they must not votc, because nature has
omitted to lbestoW the right. But men may
vote without this natural right. And why
Because Government has bestowed the right
Well, why may not Government extend the
right to women7 Let our friend 49," answer,
for he has raised the same inquiry. Govern.
ment should not confer this right ON women,
because it withholds 1t from young men of Is.
~ and % years Of age, and from foreigners.
In respect to Foreigners, this is not true; for
they are enfranchised as fast q they come.
In regard to the young men, the argument is,
that the Government should not confer the
right Of suffrage upon women who ore old
enough to vote, because it withholds Il from
young men who are not old enough to vote.
He asks the question. why except any one,
if women msy not be excepted in the exercise
of this right7 No one should be excepted, un.
less there are good reasons for it. There are
good reasons for Withholding it from idiots,
from the insane, from traitors, and from bows
and girls. But there are no good reasons for
Withholding it from sensible, sane, mature and
loyal women. ..-..r
Now, hold that, in accordance with the
principles Of our Government, no conditions can
be interposed between the citizen and the bal
lot, but luch as, in the nature of the case, are
necessary to secure the ends Of good govern
ment. This principle is fundamental, and ap-
peals to our nob!est Judgment for its validity.
But the question of sex is not such condition.
No man Of sound sense can claim this. Color
is not such a'condition. Physical health is no,
such condition. Possession of wealth by the
voter is not such condition. But the question
of loyalty may be such . condition. Sound.
ness of mind may be such condition. Intel.
ligence may be such . condition. But let i,
be understood that, whatever condition is i'm
posed, it must bear upon all citizens alike, in
order to make it valid; for the principles ol
this Government recognize no favored classes
"All men are created equal" Favoritism
cannot exist under our Government, except by
stealth. 1
Again: Our Troy friend opposes female suf-
frage, because woman's rights are already de-
| fined and protected by our State Constitution
and laws. He quotes the statute, showing
that woman may hold property, independent
Of her husband-that she NAV engage in any
/
that she may sue and be sued, Just the same as
if she were a man, and haze the avails of her
labor and skill, and can dispose Of them with
! out let or hindrance from her husband. Hence,
it seems that she only difference between men
and women. in respect to civil and political
rights, in this State, is that of suffrage; and
the conclusion he draws from these facts is,
that since women have all these privileges
guaranteed to them BY law, they ought to be
satisfied, without clamorine for the ballot. But
does not our Troy friend know ch is the
condition Of human nature, II higher
human beings rise in the scale Of civil and po-
litical rights. the higher they will aspire to 60,
till they finally rise to the top1 And instead
of these rights having the power to satisfy,
they have, and ought to have, the effect to
whet the appetite for still higher rights and
privileges. Why. If a woman may sue and be
sued, why may she not vote7 If she may en-
gage in commerce, trade, speculation, or any
thing she pleases, according to law, the same
as men, what good reason can be urged why
she shall not vote, the same ss men7 II you
grant her some of the civil and political rights
which belong to the citizen, why not grant aH1
And what right have We to withhold any Of
those privileges. that does not imply the right
to withhold sli7 We have the same right to
say that women shall not sue and be sued, ss
to say she shall not vote. If We say she shall
not vote, We may say she shall not hold prop
erty apart from her husband. Why ssy that
woman may have all other rights which man
possesses, except that to votei She is just as
we'll qualified to vote as 70 engage in these
other activities, which the Law permits. If
shs has the capacity to engage In sli these
avocations, (Which the lsv assumes,) she has
the capacity to vote. Asd n she Is not too
delicate tosrappls With the stern duties and
responsibilities Of business, she is not 100 DELI
cate to vote. So we see, that On the simple
ground Of consistency, this unnatural disability
ought 10 be removed. .1si '3n Oh s'5so"ct
n Our Troy ffie5d thinks that extending The
light Of suffrage ard multiplying voters, win
not be for the /" better protection Of life. lib-
erty, &c." Then, Of course, he cannot favor
negro suffrage, and VIII enter the ring with all
those persons Of doubtful loyalty, whose spe-
ciai object in this life seems to be 70 hate
"niggers" and free institutions. But IL eEten-
ding the right Of suffrage uill not conducs 70
good government. contracting IL Of course,
win; 90. instead Of making more voseu, We
had better commence making les, aad enact
that 10 man sh,ll vote Who was not born on