Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-05-11
sex An Politics.

The article in the Nation, entitled
q Sex in Politics, on which the Tribune
commented, has attracted so much at
tention that it may be we'll to place its
more striking passages before our
readers
/ "We confess for, ourselves
that there is nothing which has inspired
us with as much distrust of the move
ment as the persistence with which its
promoters ignore the influence of the
sexual passion on nearly every field of
human activity. No people can safely
heed the political counsels of persons
who take no note Of this most tremend-
ous of all the social forces. Let us go
back ever so far into the night of the
ages, and we find it there, shaping
nearly every one of the problems by
which the race has ever since been
vexed. Go down as far as we can into
the recesses of human character, and
we find it there; it may be enriching
and elevating, it may be dwarfng and
degrading, but still active and potential.
There is no custom or habit which it
has not originated or colored; no war
or migration which has not owed some
thing to its instigation. 1t has had to do
with the building up and the downfall of
great empires, and with the fighting of
great battles. 1t has blasted some of
the greatest names of history, and
adorned others. 1t has been, in short,
the source in all ages of the greatest vir-
tues and foulest vices. In fact, if his
tory as we'll as individual experience
teaches us anything clearly, it is that no
system of society or government which
does not take note of its tremendous en-
ergy can hope for long or prosperous
existence. No man can tell what would
be the effect on such persons as now
compose our legislatures if the accession
of body of women who, in all proba-
bility, as soon as the first excitement
and novelty was over, would devote them
selves to the work of politics. They
might be Motts, Howes, and Livermores,
but, reasoning from experience, the great
mass Of them would be-but we will not
mention names; and we should then
have added to the corruption of money,
which is bad enough, deeper and
darker corruption still.
w ldJ has DdSStu III w III
the case of the Winnie Ream statue, is
enough to set thoughtful people thinking
very hard. We know of nothing against
Miss Ream character, but there seems
TO be no doubt that the serious business
of making statue to public man--the
honoring of whom, at this moment, is a
solemn duty-was in her case committed
by legislators to a young person, and
large sum of public money voted to pay
her, who had never made statue in her
life, in disregard of the claims of a
dozen American sculptors of established
reputation, under the influence that
comes from curls and bright eyes, and
the pats of pretty hand and the be
seeching tone of soft voice. In other
words, legislators did what legislators
have done thousand times before, made
asses of themselves under the influence
of what are called female charms, but
which, for the purposes of this dis
cussion which requires exceedingly
plain speaking-we shall call by its
proper name, the sexual passion. Sup
pose this influence to. be organized and
systematized in the person of large
body Of female members of Congress,
and brought to bear on land grants,
subsidies, tariffs, charters, and public
offices, what kind of thing would
our legislation be2 What kind of
place would the republic soon become,
if every State capital was stage on
which female adventurers could push
their fortunes, cheek by jowl, with the
Irvings, and Tweeds, and Morrisseys? F?
A curious and striking Illustration, too,
of the constant preoccupation of the
lower order of female suffragists, with
the probable influence of this passion
on all relations of men with women, is
found in the fact that they account for
hostile comments of leading newspaper
on their own performances, or those of
their favorites, by ascribing them to the
editors having offered his hand and
heart unsuccessfully to divers female
agitators, lecturers, authors, and poets.
Fancy the Washington correspondents,
who now so freely ascribe base motives
to the opponents or supporters of this
or that measure, telegraphing long spec
ulations as to the probable influence Of
Mr.. Smith lidisoR with Miss Brown on
their both voting against the San Do
mingo annexation or the duty on pig
iron, and we shall have some idea of the
sink of iniquity into which false step
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