The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1874-01-30

tory. The law not only allows the
wives, but the daughters OF male ciu-
zens to vote, 1ithout reference to age
and '0ithout naturalization, requiring no
time Of residence except on the part OF
the husband, and thus We are over
borne by tide of ignorance and IA
natacism in defiance of all right or JUS
tice.
"foueall Senator Frelinghuysen's Bill
a serpent If you had felt the ser
pent's tooth that this Bill proposes to
extract you would not thus speak. l
yield to no one in the sincerity of my
advocacy of the doctrine of Universal
Suffrage; but its application must,
like all other measures, be governed by
circumstances of time and place. You
seem not to comprehend that you cannot
apply the same rule to set Of ignorant
crazy fanatics that you could to 4 civil
lized and sane community. Remember
that when you deal with lunaties you
may have TO put them into straight
Jacket treatment; and rules perfectly ap-
plicabie TO other Territories cannot be
adopted in Utah. Her people must first
be emancipated from religious fanati-
cism; must realize something of
the responsibilities Of citizens before
they can be trusted with those sacred
privileges which eyen'the best-informed
often abuse"
II our friend doesn't want us to print
what he writes, he mustn't write such
good letters. And with this apology
for publishing so much of his letter as
relates TO Senator Frelinghuysen's Bill,
we now proceed to notice the main fea-
ture of the Bill, which is the determi-
nation to disenfranchise the women of
/ Utah:
We have no doubt but our friend
truthfully portrays the system of COM
pelling Mormon wives to vote accord
ing to the dictates of their masters; but
we fail to see why the women, only,
should be deprived of the right of suf-
frage because the Mormon men compel
them to abuse the right. We should
/ heartily second the passage of Bill to
I disfranchise both men and women who
live in polygamy, but, despite our CORE
spondent's disclaimer, We emphatieally
insist that any legislation which makes
invidious distinction against women as
American citizens is a serpent more dan
gerous than the deadliest Cobra.
/ We all know that the old English
common law recognizes no property
rights in woman which her husband is
bound to respect. And while the right
of dover to the first, or lawful wife, in
! Utah, or anywhere else, should be re-
spected, We must not forget that there
are thousands of Mormon women
whom the provisions OF this Bill would
cut Off from any claim to a support from
their fractional husbands for themselves
and children. These women are just as
good, morally, as the illegal" or first
wives, many of whom espoused Nor
monism, polygamy and all, of theiI
own free-will and choice. They
and their children have moral
rights, despite their degradation, which
the legal wife and children cannot
rightfully ignore.
II the ballot in their bands, ant
those of their masters, is a fetter, strik,
it from the hands of both oppressor ant
oppressed and We shall not complain
but let Congress pass the Infamous Bill o
insidious class legislation now pending
and the Nation shall witness a clamol
compared TO which that over the back
salary steal was mere child's play.