The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-03-29
DAILY JOURNAL
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 1870.
boston correspondence Hartford Courantl
Massachusetts, Town MeStiDgs.-Wild
Women.


A large portion of the towns of this
state chose town officers on Monday.
Politics enter into these contests par
TALLY, but not nearly as much as they
formerly did. In towns In the vein
ity of Boston not more than a fifth to
a quarter of the voters go to the polls,
and those who do business at home
have their own way generally. The
meeting at the new town, Hyde Park,
which is situated about eight miles
from the centre Of Boston, haa created
considerable talk. Some of the Wo-
men there undertook to make a dem
onstration, and succeeded IN appear
ing surprisingly ridiculous. They
held a caucus before the day OF cleo
ton. and arranged with certain men
who were a trihe more foolish than
the women were wild, to have a bal
lot box placed in the town house, In
which the women should deposit bal
lots. 1t doesn't quite appear what
thew expected to gain by this, for of
course the ballots would have no legal
effect: but It is probable that they
thought the demonstration would be
an imposing one, which should imress
all who heard of it with the dignity
and power of the sex, and perhaps
pave the way to q more serious exer-
else of the suffrage. Their male al
lies succeeded in getting together in
sufficient numbers to choose q meder-
ator who should aid this purpose; and
the fact that their candidate was the
celebrated but erratic Sylvanus Cobb,
ir.. the well known novelist" per-
--.I~I ALn-n - &hVo and MY
Cobb was elected, and soon after the
farce began to be played. The women
met at a hotel near, In a driving storm.
They had to wait a good while for
preliminary business to be disposed
of. At last, Mr.. Cobb, with the great
est gravity, announced that they were
near, and that the performance would
begin. II would consist, he said, of
tleir marching across the room to q
ballot box especially provided for
them, and he requested all men pres
ems wh3 were favorable TO the cause
70 join A. ha end Of this and vote
with thsn. The neau u the ools@a
then appeared. It was headed by two
venerable ladies, over eighty years Of
age. This fact afforded probably q
partial protection to the party; but it
ul0 uOb pIGN6ub u uASCA 6ulJdDlC duQ uC-
moralizing scene. There we're out
cries, groans, Kisses, CT t-calls and ev-
cry conceivable kind of noise, jeering
and ridicule, cast upon the column.
A rush was made upon tie platform
where the voting was to take place,
and there was imminent danger of it
giving way. Very near a panic was
raised as regarded the safety of the
whole building. Amid all this tur-
moil and bedlam fifty-eight women
marched in and out, and the farce was
ended. The exhibition was pitable.
It evineed a want of common sense
and discretion on the part of those
who planned it, and a want of propri-
ETY. that was inevitable. in the thought
less crowd that turned it into ridicule.
l don't think there is any difference of
opinion here as to the effect it has
had in aid of the movement towards
woman suffrage. Worse ridicule could
hardly have been cast upon it, and we
have never heard of q reform" that
could so little bear ridicule as this
0na