The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1873-09-19
DR.. Holland on Suffrage.


remarks that the August number OK
rial on the Liquor INTEREST," from tha
the ScTt61eT's Monthly contains a Wig
orous, sensible and well-written etfito-
pen of DR.. Holland. He considers it
the most important question of the day
before the American people, and We ara
not disposed to dispute his position
But he could not present his discussion
OF the temperance question without tha
following uncalled-for sneer concerning
Woman Suffrage:
a hue and cry is raised about WOm-
an Suffrage, as if any wrong which may
be involved in wOman's lack of the suf.
frage could be compared to the wrongs
attached TO the liquor interest. Does
any sane woman doubt that women are
suffering a thousand times more from
rum than from any political disabil-
ity ?'
Well, what advocate of Woman Suf-
frage claims that the 'wrOug involved
in woman's lack of the suffrage" il
equal or unequal to the "wrongs at
tached to the liquor interest ?" Who
has attempted to make any cOmparisOn
between the two, except DIR. Holland"
But right here it is pertinent to ask the
sneering Doctor if he means TO convey
the idea that because one social or pOlit-
ical wrong is less than another, there
fore it is not worth arguing about at allI
If not, why did he introduce a compare
son between the two wrongs. Ii he
does, familiar acquaintance with
Whately is not necessary to show that
the Doctor is guilty of q logical absurd
ity.
But Dr. Holland is so absorbed with
his one-sided ideas that he seems never
to have discovered that one of the
strongest reasons urged in favor of
Woman Suffrage, by the friends of that
cause, is the tremendous power it would
put into the hands of women for the
suppression Of those very "wrOngs at
tached to the liquor interest" about
which the well-meaning Doctor is SO
Justly exercised. Can't he see that if
women were allowed to vote ninety
nine hundreds of them would vote
against the ''liquor interest" every
time? "DOes any sane woman" he in
quires, "dOubt that women are suffering
thousand times more from rum than
from any political disability ?' This
question we can answer from our own
experience, by saying that every sane
woman in our acquaintance in favor of
Womau Suffrage, and we know any
number of them, distinctly recognizes
the fact that this very ''pOlitical disa-
bility,n of which DIR. Holland speaks so
slightingly, is one of the primary causes
OF their terrible sufferings from rum.
Those who sell and drink rum now have
ali the power in their own hands, while
women, who are the principal sufferers
from the accursed traffic, are altogether
without power. The only effective
means ofsuppressing the indiscriminate
sale of intoxicating drinks is through
the ballot, and yet DR.. Holland would
deny the ballot to the only class, ninety
nine hundreds of whom would use it
every time in voting against the ali
quOr interest," The illogical Doctor
chides women for not paying more at
tention to the restriction of the "wrongs
attached to the liquor Interest," and yet
fOrbids their use Of the only weapon
which has any potency in restraining
! these wrongs, namely, the ballot. In
other words, he binds the hands of the
women firmly together by legal cords,
and then rebukes them because they do
not use their hands in striking vigOr-
Gus blows against a bitter enemy. This
I is more unreasonable than requiring the
ancient Isralites to make brick without
straw.
Modifying the inquiry of DR.. Holland
/ somewhat, it would read thus: "DOes
any sane person suppose that women
would suffer thousandth part as much
/ from rum as they now do if their pOliti-
i cal disability were remOved?' In other
words does not every sane person know
/ that ii women had the ballot, and the
question of "IicenSe or No License ?1
were before the community, and i'm ad-
ditiOn to that, the question of Temper
/ ate or Incorporate men for Office ?u the
liquor cause and the liquor men would
be defeated every time?
! It is positively ridiculous, not to say
] impudent, for DIR. Holland to sit OH his
I editorial tripod and chide the women of
/ America for not combining against the
great wrong of intemperance, from
which their seveTest sufferings flow,
when at the same time he is i'm favor of
continuing their political disability
which is one of the chief causes of their
continued sufferings from intemperance.
The inconsistent Doctor first binds
women hand and foot, piles upon them
all the laws, and constitutions and Judi
cial decisions OF past ages, politically
disabling them, and then turns about
and sneers at and abuses them because
they do not march against the enemy.
And yet we suppose DIR. Holland takes
pride in his logic VOnldR's Journal.