The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1871-05-25
THE CONTROVERSY.

THE CONTROVERSY.
My opponent of last week confronts
me with the hairy fierceness of polar
bear, but his teeth are melted out by the
extraordinary heat of his subject. 1 have
to smile as he shoots at me his paper
wads from his bell-meaihed blunderbuss.
His sentiments fall like shower of geese
feathers. Doubtless he thinks that said
feathers nave the fabulous sire power
of the dragons teeth sown by Cadmus;
and that theretrom will spring loving dis
ciples ever ready to sweetly hug their
great prototype and to kick me-his an
tagonist. Hitherto, my opponent has
shown to great degree that kind of
spirit which naturally results hem the
compromising OF lamb and poet, but
in his last article he gives new signs of
shaggy virtues.
search for his arguments among his
breezy paragraphs. but it is like search
ing for needle in a kay-mow." He
argument, but his promises are as value
less as the monied securities of super
animated pauper He virtually admits
that most political duties are above the
power of women. He makes defense
of confession, but sets up no facts In
avoidance hence Judgment should be
entered against him. After sweating Ink
over many inches of paper, he brings out
the gist of his effort, which is the calling
of my argument stale. Now | will
ask if saying stale is sufficient de-
Tense to a serious argument based on
facts? IF such defense is sufficient,
then can all the philosophers of the world
be worsted in their arguments for i'm
mortality by some scurvy infdel pointing
his crooked finger at them and saying
'stale.''
En- his attempted answer to my argu
ment as to what constitutes an authori
tative precedent, he only burns his own
fingers. That is, he would have as I'M
derstand that it makes no difference by
whom a transaction takes place, to make
said transaction governing example.
Let us apply his beautiful doctrine and
see how it viii work. The inhabitants
of the Feejee Islands require just twice
the evidence to convict rich man of
crime as they do to convict poor man.
Therefore the enlightened judges of
Christendom marking the precedent
should do likewise. Common sense
teaches that precedent. to have author
/ ity, should haye a reasonable extent over
the subject-matter What if certain
women have voted for certain parish Off
GERS in England for seventy-fve years or
more? Such affords only the hint of an in
| novation whose effects in its very narrow
compass are practically concealed in COM
paratlve agitation by the tremendous con-
sentative qualities peculiar to the English
people. 1t is the business of statesman
to study all the conditions of a people be-
fore he renders conclusion of such ire
mendous import. To say that such di-
mensionless example as that of England in
women's Suffrage affords an authoritative
precedent, is as absurd as it would be to
say that single chalk line drawn over an
extended plane determines the color of
the whole plane.
Our critic thinks that the Athenians
might have been still more civilized if they
had adopted women's suffrage. have
the same authority to suppose that If the
tribes of Upper Zambesi should abandon
their women rights idea they would be-
Bishop Butler saws that the man that
does not base his actions upon probabili-
ties (when he has only probabilities to
work FROM is as foolish as he who does
not base his actions upon certainties.
So neglect to study tendencies, as we'll
as neglect to study certainties, renders
man unit to be statesman. L claim
that the admission of woman's suffrage
would tend to increase the number of
divorces. Aud [ here lay down the
broad premise (which [ believe meets
the universal appreciation Of the better
part of mankind) that whatever tends to
increase divorces is to that extent mis-
ehievous. Hence, if the weight of argu-
ment proves that the admission of wo-
mems suffrage would have such ten
dency my point in that respect is gained.
Now It is known that the separation of
man and wife tends to overthrow social
security which is an essential part of the
foundation of civilization Hence the
powerful consideration for rendering the
marriage contract as inviolable as possible
Now it is known that in this nineteenth
century, as the religious consideration in
marriage becomes less and less, the mar
riage contract becomes more and more
regarded as civil contract The best
ends of society demand that the marriage
contract should be considered more sacred
than common bill of sale. If all pre-
ventives are removed, the world will in a
short time regard marriage as a naked
civil contract; from which popular idea
would issue laws rendering divorce ex-
ceedingly easy; for it is known that laws
are strong in proportion to the popular
sense of the sacredness of the thing to be
fnI h
that are left against the DEGRADATION of
the marriage contract, are the observance
of certain prophecies which nature seems
to have established between the sexes.
Difference of occupation creates feeling
of inter-dependence, and inter-depen-
dence increases that feeling of essential
relationship upon which the permanence
| of the marriage state depends. The love
Of the sexes depends upon their differ.
| ence. This difference should be sutain-
ed in happy analogy by difference of oc-
| cupatlon. Let women wear men cloth
es by custom and they would not be so
much respected by men for the reason
that woman would be lO1inaa .fIcie denied
by outward appearance. So In proper
ton that women exercise as a gratuity
those duties which are peculiarly mascu-
line, they diminish. that feeling of deli
cate regard which men have for them.
For instance, let them wear men clothes
| or engage in the raw work of politics
l do not believe that my opponent
could have much tenderness for a woman
of suah raw physical powers as to be
fully equal with the hand-spike to the
boss of the log-drivers this spring. He
would rather she would attend to the
amenities of the Preside. and see fully to
the exercise of those charms in which
her sex is SO exquisite. Complementary
colors are the most pleasing to cultivat-
i IL l..