Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-03-24
THE RUTLAND HERALD
FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 1870.
Reply TO s. A Vermont woman

Immediately after the Woman Suffrage
Convention at Montpelier, All article APP
peared in the Waterman and Journal,
over the signature of "a Vermont Wo-
man" claiming to represent the views of
"th-r women of Vermont, and ev,dtntlv
written with intent to kill" Findiug
this article going the rounds, being re-
published in other papers and widely cir
oulated, took occasion to review it while
IN Manchester but owing to the short
ness OF the time given me then, was un-
able to do this as fully as desired, being
obliged to leave Manchester before eight
o'clock, in order to be in Rutland the fol-
lowing morning, to fulfill other engage
ments. regretted this, particularly as
some of my statements were denied by
legal gentlemen present, and had time
permitted l think an argument could
have been reached, as 1 have no doubt
these gentlemen have the same desire that
| have TO serve the truth. Allow me,
therefore, to repeat my review of this ar
ticle through the columns of your paper,
hoping that if speak aught but the truth
it will meet with prompt refutation, in
manner suited to the dignity of the ques-
ton at issue 1t is much to be regretted
that some of the papers of Vermont have
suffered themselves to be made the vehi-
cles of low blackguardism against the
al nf fbia raforpo auI altbnuuh
this has, and always will, help our cause,
since decent people at once turn from the
side that has only such mean weapons,
yet for the regard all should have for the
aourtesies demanded by a Christian civili-
zation, it is to be hoped the freedom of
the press" will not be construed to mean
freedom to use rude, vulgar and abusive
language to those who, while they may
chance 10, be the advocates of an unpopu-
lar cause, yet have claim. to decent and
manly treatment.
A Vermont Woman says:
"They tell us, over and over, that wo-
men ought to vote, because Indians, me-
groes and foreigners are allowed the
right, utterly ignoring, it would seem,
the fact that the relation of woman to
man is SUI gene,5s relation, and all ar
guments from Indians, negroes and for
eigners are irrelevant to the question"
Not at all irrelevant to the question,
since we are discussing the relation OF
woman to the State, not her relation to
man, and the relation of woman to the
State is just that of Indians, negroes and
foreigners to the State, and they very
properly come into the consideration of
this question.
"Again it is said, 'all just government
is based upon the consent of the gov
erned' Now if this is strictly and liter
ally true, and not a 'glittering generality,
as Mrs. Blackwell says, then what is to be
said about the consent of the minority ?"
They have consented to be governed by
the majority. This majority is the gov
eminent. The minority are governed
aoiM their consent. The women ask moth
ing more than this privilege of helping
to make the majorities or minorities.
ain answer to the question, what good
will come of voting?' Mrs. Blackwell
says, TT is protection women now re-
ceive half the pay of men, We know,
there are thousands of overworked, under
paid women, whose suffering calls for our
deepest sympathy, and whose condition
offers a problem that ought in some way
to DO solved. But it seems to us that, if
marriage is at the foundation of all G ris-
tian civilized society,-if laws are to be
made for the class, and not for exceptional
cases, and if the present law, which re-
quires the man to provide for the support
of the family, is just law (and we have
yet to learn that any advocates of the
reform" object to thisl then it is fair
that man should have more pay than wo-
man for the same work"
Do women receive half the pay OF men
because they are single, and not required
by law to support families? If the pay
of men was regulated by marriage, as is
implied, we should find fewer bachelors
azaong US, l think. But | have yet to
learn that the man with family of ten
receives more pay than a bachelor. Yet,
GA bachelor
May thrive by observation on little.
A single life's no burden; hut to draw
In yoke is chargeabe, and will require
A double maintenance"
Marriage and wages (perhaps unfortun-
ately) have nothing to do with each other,
but voting and wages have, else the
Labor Reform party in this counazy
would only evoke smile from the capital
list. And since women do the saIaa work
Just as we'll as men and receive ealy half
pay, let them have a chance 10 rsform, by
voting this great Inequality, for, as a
vermont woman" says: at is very hard,
It's true, for 2, aiever woman to see a
stupid Iaan getting double the pay she
gets for work which she could do twice as
well, and it is especially hard ii she have
any dependent on her for support"
But it is not true that many woman
have reached the sublime height of self
abnegation that our Vermont friend has,
as she continues: "But if she be an intel
ligent, unselhsh woman, she will accept
the hardship for the sake OF the greater
good to the greater number. So that if
equal wages with man, are to DO the
first blessing of this new 'reform,' we
say without hesitation, women the ugh We
are, and women working for wages too,
some OF us-that we do not want IT,"
In justice to the other women though.
! will vanture the assertion that this
woman is not making caps for four cents
piece, or heavy overooats at eighty-seven
cents, she is not starving on three crackers
day in the loneliness of a great city, or
teaching county district school at three
dollars week and boarding round. She
cannot represent even the widows with
dependant young families, in her own
State who in more than one town where