The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-01-23

ural consequence, she sees with deep inward
shame not unmixed with pity that mental
idleness, lack of interest in life, poverty, weak
ness and bad teachings, have made women
ready TO accept any sort OF marriage, and toe
often the womanly name is lightly spoken, the
womanly assent lightly valued"
That which should be to men the prize oi
life they count but an ordinary commodity.
Wires are to be selected, not won. Love Is
serving man. not conqueror. Marriage is
provision, an occupatian, an arrangement
any coarse and common thing, and Dr. Iodd
will have it SO.
And all the Wackford SOU u,erses VINO nave
gone into the business of newspaper editing
smack their lips over this tw0penn'or OF
milk in mug of luke warm water, and cry
out to their unlucky readers, Here's rich
nessw
And in another place she says pungenty:
The Mohammedan and the Mormon doc
trines are that women have no life in the
next world except through their husbands.
The Christian doctrine is that they have
none in his. man." says popular lecturer
'needs the conscious affection of a female
heart to soften the aspelities OF his own, and
to give completeness to his being" But
what OF the female heart while it is thus soft
ening his asperities and completing bis being
Is asperity-sottening pleasant work? Will
it be likely to give completeness to the fe-
male being? or is she supposed 10 be already
complete? SIN order to found home" says
the same lecturer, according to the newspaper
report, 'the first thing to do do is to look
around for woman who would make good
partner in this home business, "a woman
pure, good, sensible, modest, tidy, good look
ing and Intelligent" should say, decidedly
the first thing tor him is to take good long
lock at himself, and make sue that he is
pure, good, sensible, modest, tidy, good
looking and intelligent, and therefore fit
Ierson for woman Of such qualities to as
sociate with.
Marriage, she asserts, should be something
far higher than is conceived by these writers.
We quote one more paragraph in referepce to
this point:
| wish our grave and reverend teachers
could know how deep, how thorough, how
abiding is the repugnance felt by every wo-
man not debased by corrupt male influence
towards those who. instead of teaching men
to be so pure and highmipded as to be worthy
of becoming husbands and fathers spend their
strength in inculcating upon women the duty
OF becoming wives and mothers, enforcing
that by argument which should only be done
by grace, degrading into a means OF coarse
material prosperity that which is meant to
minister the finest spiritual suecor, till all the
sacraments of life seem likely to be swept
away.
The question of woman suffrage is very
thoughtfully and wisely discussed, and with a
candor and clearness of insight which are not
too often brought to the consideration OF this
subject. Miss Dodge believes fully in its right
and justice; theoretically she admits, and
even asserts its propriety; but she is not at all
enthusiastic about its immediate good effects,
not really able to say what is to be its prac-
tical utility. We cannot refrain from quoting
paragraph or two in relation to this:
Female suffrage is not an affair Of antagon-
ism between man and woman. 1t is not a
struggle in which women are to be the gain
ers and men the losers. 1t Is one in which
both are to gain or both to lose alike. II wo-
men ought to vote, a woman's vote is as much
maD's right as it is woman's right. II
women ought not TO vote, woman's vote is
as great an impertinence to woman as to
man. 1t is not even whether women wish to
vote: 1t is whether they have right to vote
whether they ought TO vote; whether the
country needs the votes of her women, and
can afford to do without them.
Ii society were millenal, ii men and women
were inlallible, if every woman on arriving at
maturity became the justly beloved and hon
ored wife of a justly beloved and honored
husband, and remained so during all the years
of their lives, she might safely trust her inter-
ests in his hands; but with a society so lar
detected from uprightness as ours, with hll-
man life SO far from its ideal, there is no class
that can safely delegate its interests to an
other class. 1t Is because human nature Is
defective that human laws are made; and hui
man nature being detective, 1t is never safe 10
trust it with irresponsible power.
/ But viii the incursion of women upon the
ballot-box seriously mend matters? / fear
not Accomplished in the manner and to
the extent proposed, honestly think not
The association OF men and women is natural,
Their dissertation in politics is unnatural.
The exclusion OF any one class from an equal
position with another class regarding affairs
in which both have an equal interest, and to
which both contribute an equal support, is
arbitrary and unnatural, and all things un-
natural are wrong and hurtful. On this
ground female suffrage seems to me right
and wise measure, and its prohibition an ab-
surdity. But beyond this all is tog. What
definite benefit is to accrue to woman or to
the state from ndiscriminate female suffrage,
| must confess. after all the talk, L fail TO see.
The volume OF the vote will be increased, but
do9 NOT see Una. It's proportion VIII pe anected;
,,r,o iS tho r., ~ ,.b;o, da,o'. s sS oo
ems. True, in a Republican government the
broader the basis, the better, provided it be
sounui put IL ii oe hot souna now can IT'S
as do mnst firmly that tbe rigbt Of srfrraas
belongs TO women in nrecise1v tba sams
measIye as 10 man.-ro mora and M laSsN
and that il will do for women pTeciseIv what
il doas for man.-no better and no worse -
still. ,rere the alternative presented 10 me of
chqnoino the basis of sufraoe. either IN, er-
,romen oy Iu stiU turtle, restr;ct;a9 n
apono men. Think 7 sbouId ,nIesitnt;noi,,
CHOOSE the latter. r ,ro,,Id for soo,e, trs,st
The ,reyG,re ortbe county,, to tIe freoJ, act'
inn ,r;sJon, of;nteIi;oonf onJ ,;.;,,os,s ,,o,,
tb9n IN The ,n;s,5on, of i,teJi;oent onJ r;.t,,
o,,s mon and ,romep bo,nno,eJ brMod a.,a
orerbogae h, he foi,,, ~ ,,a;,,teJ;Us,.t J; ~
r;c;o,,s ,e,a mi ',o,,sor " N's'"' ""''
~,
"hat ihcitemeht 10 honor, pront, or educa-
ton women miss in missing the ballot, Miss
Oodoe ia unahle tn see The brilliant nr;yes
c.-,,
" n'e "ie '''ie"uy opeh W 'enna'e oouipe'''ioh'
Ihere are stu unequal laws, but not SO many
or so severe, as TO prevent any woman's be-
COMING whatever she has nower m bacore IN
80, FL, ,f I;ea go, ~ o,,.,s,
@"' wan " '"e eAoop' 'ne poutio"i' "nnin
her grasp hes an the freedom which she has
the nerve to secure. Nevertheless she admits