Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1871-10-27
Woman Suffrage and varietism. -"

We are far from imputing to all the advocates
Of Woman Suffrage. the vsgsries and immorah-
ties which chsraoterize portion Of their mum
Der. There are plenty Of sincere aud honest
and earnest believers in the propriety OF forcing
women to Sc,ept the burdens Of political iiie'
who are az pure and proper and estimsbe men
and women, as any on the footstool- But IN the
progress Ct the D." movement these are placed
pretty thoroughly in the background. The ad-
vancei wing Of the reformers, seems to be clearly
in the Ascendant, and, daily growing holder
its organs and opponents make it very plain that
with them woman suffrage is bat lever to
bring about. and step towards, universal IL
cenee. the complete overturning Of all that has
heretofore been considered decent and Of good
report in social life. Mrs. woodruff is saluted
by Mrs. Hooker IS the acknowledge IS Queen
of the movement, aud her Teekly lie, We sup
pose, beyond question. in holiness, ability, cir
culation and in the number Of its followers, the
leading Woman Rights journal. Mrs Stanton
in a letter to Mr.. T,on, published in his paper,
declares exultugly thar sll the " sinners IN the
movement are on their side. leaving to 1.-THE Boz
ton moralists, Mrs Howe, Blackwell, Livermore
& Co., at whom she sneers with undsguised
contempt, only the saints, who, she is doubtless
right in assuming, form al uncomfortable min
oritY.
What this majority Of the reformers are sim
ing at. is, as We have said, made very plain. 1t
Is unbushingly ayowed by Stephen Pearl An
drews, who is one of the editors Of TIoodbuH q
Clafias TeekIv. and notorious free-loyer.
1t is as plsinly declared by smother writer in
that precious sheet, Who declares himself to be
"a vsrietist, :" which, it would seem, is Wood
hull x Clsan for slulterer, and who thus gives
his theory (.nd prsctioe) Of marriage:
You will yet see, if you do not feel, thst you
hsve no more right over the exercise Of your
wife's amativeness than you have over her cauf-
ality, ccnscentiousness or respiration True
freedom has its limits, but who's to state the
limits? / bold esch and every one for himself
and herself Your basis Of marriage IL like the
story Of the dog in the msnger on the hSy. Mine
is expressed in the language Of the Prince Of
8ards, 20 lie that's robbed, not wanting Whist is
stolen. is not robbed at all" | am
content to take life as it is, 10 initiate the hum
bic bee-to zip honey from every flower. As
well might you confne the process Of this AMI
imal-the bee-to one class Of flowers as to linz
it the fully developed social nature to one kind
of social aliment.
Mr. Theodore Tlton only stops short Of this
extreme, when he svows, as he has repeatedly
Of late. that he would remove all restrictions Of
civil law from marriage and divorce. In other
words be would leave the duration Of the mar
riAge union. in each case, absolutely to the will
or caprice of the parties, or of either Of them.
If they choose to be constant, well If not, let the
partnership be dissolved, and each left free, in
the fgurstive but really foul language Of the
"v.retist" above, to sip honey from some other
flower 1t is as a means to suoh ends as these,
that these leaders Of the movement desire VIC
man suffrage Time was, when, it could he sad
that such as these, formed bu; faction and an
inoonsiderable one, in the female suffrage ranks.
That s true no longer. They have pressed into
the very front Of the movement, and it remains
for pure, decent and respectable people to decide
whether they will continue TO train in an army
so offered.