Buchanan County bulletin and guardian. (Independence, Iowa) 1866-1869, 1868-01-17

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reason and justice are on the other RI In
his country, where prorress is the corher.
stone Of oar civilization, whose government
is founded on democratic principles which
the world has very recently bagun 10 tolar>
| ate where slavery has been abolished,
most time honore5 institution, sanctioned by
ihe usage Of thousands of ycare, ineintaiaed
IN the palniest days Of the Greek republic,
and mentioned in the Oh Testament-shaH
we say Of any reform that it ought not to be,
| simply because i. never has been?
| Iae question whether Or net the righ. Of
\ suffrage Is noin-al right, which occupies
50 prominent place in the receE. discuss
ions about woman Suffrage, seems 70 Lae,
confess, 10 have very li!t'e bearing on tie
! subject. Unless those who maintain that
the right Of sufFrage Is rot nataral tight
can deiuee as logical conclusion from their
premises that the men alone have e natural
right 70 acquire il. / DO not SEQ that any
amount os 1!tini;ion Of a natural r;ght-iG~
taressing and valuable as such definitions
doubtless are In themselves, as matters Of
political philosophy--is Of the sligh:es. rae
teal importance in discussing h@2s .at
| question. 1t just, it is .ssyysl. ~
indeed, what il JUS: cssssysss8 s8 & 4 IA Il.
ter to be e&pedi9s,,X q
with men riais Il ss]' 4; ss-
acquired, nndxs q SssE n here
alone lies tie - 20
Whether the rigat OF suffrage is CT is not
natural right, it can hardly, / think, be
questioned that, according to the principles
Of democratic government, political rights
Should be shared By al classes os the citi-
zans not incompetent 70 exercise them tina,
every class has right 10 the protection Of
! ~ o.H Interests as Interpreted by Itself, IN
80 far that this end can be secured by the
| votes 0! is members that every class has .
ri gllt 10 its share Of influence in those pnb>
ic questions which aiEec. the whole con n a
! ni.y .ha. i; is, moreover, for the adyan g &c
Of the state that each individual citizen
/, should have an INTEL gent aud responsible
| interest in general questions. Vow, these
principles nus. app.5 10 women as 10 men,
unlessit can BE proved .hat they are incom.
ps,ent to exercise political rights: that, un>
like all other classes, they have no special
interests requiring protection that those
public questions which a.sec. the whole CON-
Eupity DO not affect them; Or tia. il IS for
the advantage Of the state sha. women should
not take an intelligent aud responsible M
.eress 10 general questions, that the great
influence which they ines itably exert should
be as Jar as possible IN irrational influence.
It is on these four grounds, aceordingly.
that propose 70 argue this much debated
question.
First-Are women compeieu. to vote ?
Women are unquesfionetly inferior to men
IN physical strength 10 al extent which ua-
Hts .le,p nfas- ,ftsAtse rarttys,. ,ss1
sor many OF the more arduoas professions,
and /: is often urged that they are on this
secoant rightfGlly excluded from the polls
that Ii. ballet and the ballot should 20 to,
gether, though /. Is difficult to see on what
ground thispFinciple applies 70 women only;
why rsen whom age or physical weakness
exenpts from military service should not al
so be disfrsnchisei. In ancien. fines, when
! q ts,c.of war was the normal state of tie
community, when a citizen aud warrior
we're Synonymous terms, aGl men proved
;heir right to vote BY coming armed 10 the
polls IA custom which still survives III one OF
| the Swiss cansons,l theory OF citizenship
which confined its rights ana its duties to
| those who we're able to defend them by the
sword WIS the inevitable and logiea, delgc-
ton from the social conaitou which aecom>
/ panied il. But with the progress Of eiyili-
| zaiion The condition OF society has changed,
and a change il political theories naturally
fellows. The great republics Of antiquity
and oigarchical states, in which minority
| of the citizens, carefully trained to the hie.-
es; point Of physical and mentt.! superiority
maintained and defended their government
az i the interest: of civilization against the
hostile nations around hem, though repub,
l.can, were in no sense democratic states
aud the great republic o. to-day las luss
fought through one o. TIE biSoliest wars oa
record TO put down forever the theory u gov
ernment founded on harbarisn, aad slavery,
and which ouly tie prevalence OF bari a.isn
aud slavery eaa maintain and exease, that
one class is justified in governing others BY
virtue its power 10 do so.
Itwomen formed separate body in tie
community, eut Off from close social ties Ike
The priesthood Ia Catholic countries, then
Indeed We uigh, fear to trust power over tie
government 10 large class who could not
be called upon to risk anything very dearto
them in is defense. But until domestic ties
cease to exist, women, though unable 10 risk
their lives for their country, are in ,iile CT
war called upon no less thaa men 70 sacri>
ice themselves in It's defense. When man
enlists, leaving his wife with the care and.
in case Of his death, tie mainter ance. Of
family ot children, does lie risk ousy his own
life for the caGse he serves? WHO that has
lived in this country since 1861 does net
know that when our soldiers marched out to
battle !; WAS not their owu lives alone that
they carried in their hands, that Ia tie
graves which cover the lonely ta,tle>felis
0fthc South or crowd our national een4eter>
les, not mems bodies only but women'S
hearts and hepes lie buried And if this Is
so, for those women whose homes never be- /
seaule I. seat Of war. vlen se think Of a..
the personal danger tins. war mus. bring 10
the women amongst whom it is carried on.
can we doubt thar in Questions et peace aud
war w3meu's interests ars at stake ne less
than mems! At the bsl,ot>bex men can
not represent women, far in the EXPIRE s.ioa
OF opinion one class cannot represent anoth- |
or but on the battlefield. when the inter
es,s d, stake are those of the whole country
and OF each individual ID L. mea 90. indeed. |
represent women, or if they do no, they have
no business 70 be there. The nlen of the
coaa;ry have no more right TO exact of vo-
men without their calcens the sacrifices
which war involves than the women 10 sen.i
the mcu out unwiliiueiv to the .ield. Ii is |
as much the interest ef women as OF men
that just and necessary war should be
fought through to its legitimate end, right
oous peace and this the women of America |
have proved their capacity 10 understand
it is as much their interest as that Of men
that the strength ard resources Of the coun-
try should not be wasted in unjus. and un,
necessary wars, aud / see no reason why |
they should fail 10 understand this Issue Us |
wei as the other.
Another argument agaias. wemens ca
pacity to vote Is found III the fact that, ow>
ing to he natural division OF labor between
the sexes by which domestic occupations |
and the cary education Of children that IS |
of the whole human raee) are almost entile>
ly IN their hands, Woman lie IS usually |
more retired and domestic than a mans |
that, mixing less than men in ective life, /
they acquire less practical experience in !
reference to public questions. This is plau-
siole and, 10 certain extent, undoubtedly |
true though, practically, hardly see tia,
the greater part Of mems avoeations are any 1
more calculated 10 make them wise law.is> /
ers than those OF women. Why should a |
carpenter, blacksmith, a mechanic neces~ !
saray acquire in the exercise of his trade !
more laeid political views than his wife who