Los Angeles daily herald., 1874-07-11
Woman Suffrage.

Have the contests under Local Op-
tion advanced the cause of woman
suffrage? A number of leading jour
nails have reached conclusion that it
has. From our own standpoint the
question presents a different aspect.
After the first few elections the posi-
tive influence of women over voters
appeared great, and it really was such,
but it was waning power and faded
like morning dew before parching
sun. Later elections have demon
strated that women can neither per-
suade nor awe men into voting other
as their interests or INCLINATION die
tate. How this undeniable fact will
advance the cause Of woman suffrage,
we are unable to determine. AS an
argument it certainly requires careful
and logical handling. Unless the
ladies' efforts produce better results in
the future than have followed their
labors for some time past, public faith
in their power as street electioneerers
will undergo n radical change, and
this change cannot but adversely
affect the popularity of the woman
suffrage proposition. In fact, We
doubt if the more intelligent, thinking
class of men and women are now, or
ever will be, strongly impressed with
the theory that great beneficial results
will flow from investing women with
the ballot. They believe that woman
commands most when she seems to
follow. That her influence on the
politics of the nation as an adviser
and counselor is. greater than when
she appears as principal and contest
ant: that as the home oracle she does
more to win the victory than when
she goes to the field as an armed bel
ligerent. Intelligent, thinking men
do not wish to transform women into
men, and they think that when a
woman becomes street politi-
clan, she unsexes herself and di-
vests herself of all those gentle
qualities and refined and refining traits
which make her q woman and make
men love her because she is woman.
A woman's very weakness is an ele-
ment OF strength. 1t is because she is
weak and helpless that man loves and
protects her. When she asserts her
right and ability to protect herself
when she denies that she is weak-she
at once deprives herself of that power
which comes of her weakness-which
she holds over man because she is a
woman. There is another argument
which may be urged against woman
suffrage. The ballot is abused now.
Too many men have the right to use
it who lack both the intelligence and
principle to use it properly. If all the
women in the United States were legal
voters, not one-half of them would ex-
ercise the privilege. With men, it is
the better class who remain away
from the polls. The same popularity
will be noticeable when women vote.
The better portion will seldom vote,
while the worser class will vote early
and often. Again, the influence of the
husband over the wife's vote would be
greater among those men who sell
their own vote than with the intelli-
gent liberal classes who would scorn to
exercise an influence over the vote of
wife or of anyone. On the whole,
we are not yet convinced of the great
good which will result to woman or
the nation by extending the right of
suffrage to all citizens of given age,
without regard to sex, color, or pre-
vious condition of servitude.