The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1869-03-05
Is 1T BEST?

~ - OAASA
There are few readers of the JEFF
who did not peruse "Observer's'
article in ore of the late numbers ol
that paper on the subject of "Wo
mans Equality with Man. with inter
est. But while we may admire the
end which the writer had in view. VIC
doubt the adaptness of the mean.
thereto.
The question of female suffrage il
one of great interest, not only to The
ladies of our State, but also to the
gentlemen. 1t, therefore, demand.
not ridicule but argument.
That woman should be educated
equally with man, that she is in every
respect his equal, that man. would
consult his own interests were he II
forward all movements calculated t.
elevate her, and that when he block.
the car Of her progress he but clog
the great drive-wheel Of human en-
lightenment, are propositions freely
admitted; but that giving her thu
ballot is subvservient to this end W,
most emphatically deny, and shall
;poict an fba nrnofo
We freely admit that woman should
have her rights the difference o.
opinion is in regard to the nature and
extent thereof. That is, her rights
if L may so speak, which, instead oI
degrading, will elevate and make hel
better. Anything short of this are
not rights but fanaticism. In decid
ing this question we should first take
into consideration the interest ol
woman and, in reference thereto,
we might inquire is it best for her to
give her the ballot?
We hold that it is not. Woman
occupies the dearest place in the
heart of man. She is enshrined on
its altar, and her image is stamped
on its every chamber. As the ivy
clings to the giant oak, even when
the rude winds and the woodman's
axe have laid the monster low, so
does woman twine herself into the
rugged recesses Of his nature, and,
whether standing or fallen, blooms
into life and beauty, shedding a ray
of light along his darkest paths
Next to God, her name is to him the
boliest, as it is synonymous with
everything chaste and beautiful to his
eye. 1t breathes q fragrance not of
earth it speaks with an eloquence
that melts the heart and makes it
purer and nobler. And why? Sim
ply because God intended it should
be so. Man loves not his equal, but
bis superior, and, knowing this, il
appears to have been sepecial design
of Providence that woman should
occupy that position in which she
could best win respect and love by
those little acts of kindness which
smile away the clouds that gather
around him. People may talk all
they please about the equality of the
sexes, but l don't believe syllable
of it. They are not equal, and what
is more they never can be.
Woman is certainly superior to
man. She has finer qualities Of head
and heart, possesses all his. virtues,
with but few of his faults, and moves
in sphere peculiarly her own, out
of which she would be like fish out
of water. Nor would we have it
otherwise. 1t is right, it is just that
it should be so and by not permit
ting her to tamper with that which
has a tendency to degrade her we
must always keep her thus pure, thus
worthy of our regard. What gentle
man wishes to see his sisters and
mother engaged in the villainies Of
avaricious office-seekers I? In the
vast struggle for power, position and
spoil, who would wish their wives
and daughters to engage? "Ah |!
but we'd soon change that" doubt
it. Brass is brass, and all the beat
ing and moulding in the world won't
transform it into gold. If Gabriel
was to occupy the Plymouth pulpit
instead of Beecher, 1 doubt whether
he would Christianize "Five Points"
one whit sooner, even though he
spake in thunder tones-so great is