, 1874-08-16

W0MAN-sUFFRAGE AND LIQUOR LEGISLA.
TI0N.
Next October, the Association for the Advance
ment Of Women is to bless Chicago by holding
its Congress hero. In order to avoid our sudden
conversion, n. n,asse, by the suTragis:s who
! will gather hero then, We will do well to con-
slider the question beforehand. No single article
can cover lie whole ground. We propose to
take the subject in detail. Our theme to-tiay il
| woman-sutfrago considered from the standpoint
| of liquor legislation.
| The position the State should assume in re-
gard to the sale OF alcoholic drinks sperhaps tho
greatest politico-social question of tho day. It
gland and A,nerica, each political party bids for
| support by taking up, now one sitlo now tho
! other, Of this yexed poiur- Our Western States
| have Just suffered from so-calicd "crusade
| against the sale Of liquor. which para
lyzed business, promoted hypocrisy, incu1-
| Gated contempt for the slow processes Of
tho law, and paved the way for
great reaction. The question is one of especial
weight III the United States, because large mi~
nority Of our population have come Litber from
their Fatherland with very pronounced views,
already formed, against auy prohibitory legisla-
ton on tie liquor question, or, to speak more
particularly, the beer question
Common sense teaches US that we should
find out, before granting womau-sutfrngc,
what 1ts effect upon this momentous
point of liquor legislation would bo.
There is, unfortunately, little doubt Women
would, with very few exceptions, cast their votes
for prohibition. Tho 'cr11sade" was emphatic
ally feminine concern. The only man promi-
ncnt in it had to bs paid for Ills SERVICES. cir
cular WAS recently sent to the women Of Michi-
Sau, asking them whether they wished to vote;
whether, if they Ind the ballot aud did not gen.
orally use it, they woull vote on the temperance
issue; and whether, if SO, they would support
prohibition. OF those who answered, q minority
said "yes" to the first query, q majority said |
''yes to the second, and majority of the lat |
ter said "yes" to the third. 1t is q p7-iori !
probable that women would array themselves in |
the prohibition ranks. They suffer especially |
from the effects OF intemperance and are, there
fore, the more rendy to take any extreme meas |
ures which they ignorantly suppose will check
the evil. Moreover, they arc intensely
religious, and they make total abstinence
part Of their religion, despite Cane
Of Galilee. Again, they are emotional and IN
appeal to their feelings outwejghs all the argu-
ments Of cold. calculating reason. Tie prohibi-
ton theory is the emotional one; the license
theory the reasonable one. And, finally, theyare
even more ignorant than most men in regard to
the facts taught by scientific treatment OF this
subject. Given, on one side, a physician and
armed With argument, and on the
other minister and "refor1ned du,nkard,"
Dvcrdowing with emotional rhapsodics,--and the
latter couple will persuade nine women out of
ten.
We Cannot afford to have q prohibition law
forced upon us by feminine votcs Il is likely
That, at the next election, tho polls would be
aiken possession OF by men who would not suf-
Ter single woman to reach the balot-box. Is
ong IS an-suffiage means the passage OF a
INV which cannot be enforced which. If backed
y physical force, would at once be resisted, At
he risk OF 3 revolution /; md which is an un-
unwise. and unscien1ilc interfer-
nco with individual tastes 90 long is woman
infringe unadyisable. When women aro edu-
ated to be citizens, and not merely to be capa~
lie OF marrying citizens. their claims to the fran
hise may be differently considered.