The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-12-28
DAILY PRESS.
PORTLAND.
Monday Morning, December 28, 1868.

PORTLAND.

Are Women PersonsS
The POWER AND Duty OF CONGRESS rs
RESPECT TO SUFFRAGE, by Israel Wash
burn, Jr, PIP. 81.
| Whether intended or rot, this admirable
argument for the authority of Congress over
the whole question of suffrage, is not only
conclusive as to male suffrage, but absolutely
conclusive and unanswerable, as to female
suffrage. Wedo not know, but must believe
until assured by Ex-Governor Washburn
himself, that he does not mean to overlook,
much less to deny the right of suffrage to
women as well as to men, without respect to
color.
Let us follow him in his bold and generous
reasoning for half dozen paragraphs.
| 1.-The United States shall guarantee to
every State in the Union, Republican form.
Of government" Const. Art VISA.
3.-"Governments derive their just powers
from the consent Of the governed" Ib.
2-"Congress has the power to modify,
change and correct these regulations (of the
| several States), $50 far as may be necessary
to make them consistent with the funda-
mental idea of a republican form of govern-
| D,ent." p.8.
4.-"The House of Representatives shall be
| composed of members chosen every second
year--by the men ofthe United States ?-no, but
by the people Of the United States" Const.
Art. so. But who are the people2 Are
not women part of the people?
5.-Mr. Madison says in.the Federalist-No.
52-that "The definition ofthe rights of suf-
| frage isjustly regarded as a fundamental ar
ticle of republican government" !" and "If so."
| says Gov. Washburn, cit follows that, as the
United States is required to guarantee repub-
lican governments to the States, whenever in
this fundamental article of suffrage, the
States have made unconstitutional provisions
| their work must be corrected by the former"
But more than one-half of all the people of
the United States, since the waste of men by.
our late war, are now disqualified by the
States; whereby the minority are enabled to
| govern the majority, and our republican form
| OF government becomes either an aristocracy
or an oligarchy, and may degenerate by oper-
alton of the same law, into an autocracy or
downright despotsm.
6.-"Let me now ask" says Mr.. Madison
in No. 81, "What circumstance there is in the
constitution of the House of Representatives
that violates the principles of republican
government, or facors the elevation of the
fen on the ruin of the many?" Had not
Madison ever heard Of the many who are
called women?-or has he overlooked or
forgotten them, or only overlooked them?
Let me ask" he continues, whether ev-
cry circumstance is not, on the contrary,
strictly cOnformable to the principles, and
scrupulously impartial to the rights and pre-
tensions Of every class and description OF
citizens? But who are the citizens? Are
not women citizens?" We shall see before
we get through.
"And who are to be the electors of the fed
eral representatives ?" he asks. And what is
the answer? "The electors ara to be the
great body ofthepeeple of the United States.o
But If women are neither citizens nor of the
people, what are they? Slaves?
Mr.. Cabot, in the Massachusetts Conven-
tion says: estate legislatures might make an
unequal and partial division of the States-or
they might eren disqaalify one third of the
electors" One third Have they not already
disqualified more than one half, without be-
ing called to account9
"But," says Mr. Washburne (p 1s), "wbile
the trainers of the constitution understood
that suffrage would not be exercised by fe-
males, minors nor slavesn-he might have
added since they are always cassed together
by our lawgivers-married women, idiots.
lunatics and persons beyond sea 'they did
not mean that an acknowledged citizen of the
United States should be deprived of it, sim
ply because OF his race or color"-to say
nothing offs But again we beg to know If
women are not citizens? And, if not. what
the plague are they9
In February 1867, the Legislature of Maine
resolved, first, that "all men are created
equal"-overlooking the scomen-and that
"this was selfevident truth; and secondly.
that political power being an Inherent rioht
Of the citizens-impartial suffrage should be
the uniform rule of all the States of the
Union, either by the authority already pos
sessed by Congress, or by the necessary
amendment of the Constitution" p. 20. But
again we ask, who are the citizens9
By the 14th amendment, s 1, it is declared
that sail persons born or naturalized in the
United States, and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof are citizens of the United States, and
of the State wherein they reside"
Are women persons? If so, they are citi-
gems; and If citizens, then are a part of the
people. If not-wby not?
"Can that be a republican government"
"asks Mr. Washburne, "of which a male cit-
zen"-of course, then, there are female
citizens-"of which male citizen of twen-
ty-one years of age, and unaccused of
crime (unconvicted of crime would be
better, since mere accusation would
not disqualify) is deprived of the right
of suffrage, simply because he is of Celtic,
Teutonic or an African race? and if he is, is
he not abridged of one of his dearest privi-
leges?"
Let us apply this home question
to women, and ask if that can be
republican government of which a fe-
male citizen, which after all is bat snoth-
er name for inhabitant, of twenty-one years
of age, unconvicted of crime, and being nei-
ther lunatic nor an idiot, nor even pauper'
is deprived of the right of suffrage simply be-
cause she is not male? And if she is, is she
not "abridged" Of one of her dearest privi-
leges?
Yet, when the Constitution was adopted,
says Mr. Washburu, the right of suffrage was
all but universally regarded as right of
which the citizen could not be abridged.
But conceding all this-conceding that
women are not only people but persons and
citizens, it is continually urged that they are
virtually represented by their husbands and
fathers and brothers and sons, whose inter-
ests are said to be identical, and who can
have no interest in wrongng or depressing
them.
To which we answer, first That inasmuch
as uirtoal representation did not satisfy our
fathers, there is no reason why it should sat
isfy their daughters; that after struggle of
eight years our people had judgment of all
the nations that virtual representation was
not actual representation. !
Secondly. That the interests of women are
never identical with the interests Of men;
that the interests of no two bunian beings
can ever be identical, so long as they have