Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1873-10-02

should have one vote apiece for them
selves and one for every child they had I;
this last would elevate the Arpiad family
about elektion times shore. According
TO Solomon, all sich ought 10 have heap
OF privileges, for II amt no pikyune bis
ness to raise big drove OF children.
Jest let any hide bound bachelor try il
and see. look upon respectable chill
dren as the hope OF the State, aud il
had my way these stagnant old ribs who
wont marry, but prowl round and live
easy and die rich and leave no sign, at
least none to speak OF, should be taxed
heavy and the money appropriated TO
the orfn's fund. What's man worth
to the State who leaves no defender after
he's ded and gone, who patronizes no
Sunday schools or Munday schools
buys no candy or baby clothes, or balls,
or barlow knives, or long stock
ins, or jackonet muslin, or hoop
skirts, or galluses. What intrust
has he got in perpetuatin great princi-
ples2 Why chronick old bachelor can
just turn over in his one-horse bed and
die and not keer a darn if the world
Gums to an end in fifteen minutes. He
wouldn't keer il the devil was to break
loose and eat up the women and children
alive.
Now Tn not sayin word agin them
married foex who sumhow or sumhow
else haint accidentally been blessed with
efisprings. Byno means. They show a
Willingness to hav and that's enuf for me.
I've always apologized for peepLl who
done the best they could, whether they
sukseeded or not. / aint no Bonyparte
to chop a mans head of for losin bat.
tie. whether he was to blame or not. I'm
friend TO married foax, children or no
children. Lawful wedlock is society's
main spring-it's backbone-it's life in
shoorance. I've no patience with these
stingy old stays who wont marry without
they git pile of penshun money, who
want to be hired to do it, who hang
around town waitin for sum rich gal to
turn up, while there's lots Of poor ones,
purity and cluver, jest waitin to take
shoogar in thern.
Now / don't want to be misundei stood
about this votin bisness | ain in favor
of women mixin up with the skalawags
and trash at the polls. By no means. |
want the moral strength and influence of
their votes bekaus they are batter and
purer and honester than the men, but
would hav EN- stay at home and let their
fathers or their next friend vote for them
as the case may be. If a man fooled his
wife out of her vote it wouldent exactly
be the clean thing, but family matter,
and nobody's bisness. 1t wouldent be
the only thing that some men fool EN-
about. There's strong minded women
and weak minded men, and in such cases
would let the longest pole knock down
the persimmon. The time used to was
when a married woman dident have no
voice in nuthin-exsept maxim baby |
clothes. She cohlient own any property |
-ske had no sivil existence. Ifanybody |
Civ her anything the law required man
to keep it for her. If she couldent live
with a drunken husband and quit him
the law Civ him all the children. But as
the world grows older she keeps step |
pin up higher. Now she can own as
much property as anybody, and she can
make q will, and in 2 cases out Of 10 she
gets the children when there is Q divorce.
Sum Of EN- are studyin medisin and |
make the best sort of doctors for chill
dren a half hour old and under. They |
do clerkiR sad book-keepin and tele-
graphin and can keep a postoliis better
than man and never steal q sent If
they do peep into otLer women's letters |
it's only out Of curiosity, and they |
always seal EN- up again. Take it alto
getber it looks to me like the time has
come when the men hay got to admit
that woman is just as good as a man,
il not better, in most everything that
requires more senss than mgseel. ! wont
say she ort to vote if she don't want to,
but do say that no politishpn could buy
her vote with drink. BILL ARR.