The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-10-24

There was not a very large audience gathered
in Fluent Hall last evening to listen to an adj
dress on Woman Suffrage, by Mrs Margaret
Campbell of Washington, but all seemed very
much interested in the views presented by the
speaker, and frequently interrupted her re-
marks with applause.
Mrs. Campbell was introduced to her audi
ence by Hon. c. j. Morris in a short but appro-
pirate speech. The lady then came forward to
the reading desk and addressed her audience
with rather rapid delivery which, coupled
with the fact that the hall was not full, render
ed it difficult at times to catch portions of SEN
| fences.
The speaker commenced by remarking that
| the Woman Question was the most important
| now before the public, and she desired her au-
| dience to look at it from woman's standpoint.
| This movement was not woman's crusade
| against men; it is not intended to take from
them the places of trust they now occupy and
put women in them. The women merely de-
sire what is just and right, and that both sexes
| shall live and work together in harmony. All
the privileges enjoyed by the world to-day have
| been wrung from usurpers The case of the
Pilgrims was cited. They fled from religious
tyranny but when they had obtained political
and religious liberty they were unwilling to
fathers had thrown off the British yoke and
gained their freedom, they Incorporated slave
ry. Think of men declaring all Others free and
equal, and then selling their fellow creatures,
male and female, on the auction block. When
must wait for the negro They waited, but af-
ter the 18th and 14th amendments had been
secured then the women said, ''our question is
next" and Garrison said, eyes, the door is
Constitution speaks of the fright of the peo-
pie" Now, said she, we 100000 of women
call ourselves people" although government
has not recognized us as such. We have
right by that article of the constitution to be
protected in our rights, and if we are the weak
er half we need every man to protect u.s. We
claim that we are able to use the ballot, and
until our ability has been tried it cannot be
called failure
In the times of the colonies taxation without
representation proved failure, and now zoe
,oon,ea sag taxation without representation is
failure. In Massachusetts, women are taxed
on S131 100000 property, besides what they
have deposited in the Savings Banks. And
yet woman cannot have voice as to the
very sidewalk before her door, while the drunk
en- sot that lies in the gutter has the ballot ard
decides the matter for her.
Some men say that women don't earn this
money that they desire to represent; that it
was left to them by their fathers, husbands,
and brothers. What of that? The same thing
can be said of men, and the tax collector don't
bother his brains al to how or when the prop
erty comes into the owners possession. WO-
men desire to put clean men in office. The ma
jority of meu in Office to-day fear neither God
nor man, and the women of the country now
demand equality before the law so that they
may put the right men in power. They don't
ask for this equality, they demand it. Men
have assumed the right TO govern from the
heathern nations who built up barriers against
woman's progress, and the men of the present
generation fl nd these old landmarks standing
and don't want to take them down; but we
Al~o.-~ VI
men were meant to work together. 1t takes
both halves of pair of scissors to cut Eow
ridiculous is the attempt of man to keep house
without woman. Everything is confusion
Did man ever think of being tried by jury of
the other sex, of changing places with wo-
man? 1t is said that women don't want the
ballot. 1t was said some years ago that we
shouldn't discuss slavery because the slaves
didn't wish their freedom. Wendall Phillips
said when a slave has lost the desire to be free,
it shows he has lost his manhood Wien
woman don't want to vote she has lost her wo-
manhood 1t is the millions of toiling women
that want the ballot not the women reared in
Injury, with every wish gratitied, that never
knew how hard it was to earn cent.
A complaint is made that SO many bad wo-
men would vote. To prevent that apply the
same tests to women as to men whether edu-
cationa1, temperance, honesty, or virtue; on
ly prove that manhood is better than woman
hood, and we are dumb Others say the filthy
pool of politics will drag women down. 1t is
men who have made it so filthy that they need
their mothers and wives to clean it up. Why
should we be more contaminated voting with
them than by living with them all their lives
Neither should we forsake onr business any
more than men do on election day.
Now women wish to change things, Some
say they are ignorant That's our weak point,
five knew more about politics as a sex, we
should not be asking this justice to-day. We
have been in the category of the rebels who
killed our sons in the war long enough-that of
DISTINGUISHED persons. This movement is
bound to succeed. Like the anti-slavery move
ment in counted its first audiences by the units
but its coming ones number thousands. We
shall triumph in the end and the man who
wants to dig his own grave will oppose woman
suffrage to-day. Already it is receiving atten-
ton in Massachusetts,, and in Maine it ne 'rly
triumphed in the last legislature.
Commemorative was SO not $500 as stated
l