The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1874-03-06
LETTER FROM SAN FRANCISCO.

the California Woman Suffrage Associ-
alton having named me as one the del
gates to represent the State Society at
your Anniversary on the 18th and 18th
OF February, beg to state that it would
afford me great pleasure to be present
and contribute my voice and feeble in
fiuence towards making the occasion a
great success, but professional duties in-
terpose their veto, much to my regret.
From every quarter of our common
country the great cause which you are
assembled to advance wears q hopeful
and healthy aspect. The preparatory
suffrage labors during the last quarter OF
century, like those of the few first
years of the early settlers on the great
western wilderness of our continent,
which to the superficial observer seems
barren of important results, were never
theless prophecies of fiocks and herds, Of
bountiful harvests and beautiful homes.
Like those hardy sons of toll, our pio-
neers were charged with the laborious
duty of performing an important pre-
liminary work. Those younger workers
who now sail on the comparatively
smooth sea of Woman Suffrage can
form but a faint and imperfect idea of
their trials and hardships, fatigues and
self-denials. They loved to cut highways
through the thick underbrush of super
stitiOn; clear away for seeding the great
forests of intolerance, and plow through
and turn over the thick and wiry prairie
sod Of hereditary prejudice. More than
this, they were forced to ditch the
marshes of envy, drain the swamps of
jealousy, heap up the stones of hatred
and extract from their costly clearings
the deep-rooted stumps of misapprehen-
sion. Never in its most pestiferous
temper did the Mississippi, Alabama,
Wabash, Miami nor other sluggish
stream exhale its sickening breath
upon the unfortunate emigrants who
disturbed its bilious banks, than did
commerce, the professions, industrial
educational, political and other parties
generate and pour out a destructive
moral miasma upon our hated cause and
its advocates, in order to destroy the
personnel of its admirers, thin its ranks,
break its columns and scatter its forces.
Thousands upon thousands of the i'm
pulsive thoughtless and ambitious
those who were pleased with the novelty
and excitement-laid earnest hands
upon the plow, but looking back, they
sickened by the malarious infections,
fell behind and disappeared. They did
their work in their day and had their
reward.
Other thousands of brave and noble
spirits sleep their last sleep. They fell
with their armor on, facing the foe. Let
us-each of us-pause for n moment and
silently monument their memories with
n sigh aud n tear. Ii the departed con-
linue TO interest themselves i'm mundane
affairs, and silently cooperate with
sympathizing friends on this side of the
river, TO fruit the shrubs which their
own mortal hands had planted, watered
and nurtured, then may not your assem-
blage be silently but effectively influ-
enced by the unseen presence of good
Samuel J. May, profound John Stuart
Mill, or the earnest patient and perse-
vering Sarah Grimke, or Others of the
heroic departed.
Other thousands of early veterans
bearing the scars of many hard fought
battles still survive, and who, inspired
by faith, hope and persevering determi-
nation, have enrolled themselves for the
war.
These early soldiers, by comparing the
present temper of the public mind with
that of the early period of our struggle,
touching its estimate of the nature and
character OF the rights of woman; by
noting the many notifications of the
asperities of the common law in her IA
vor; the great enlargement of her edu-
cational and industrial range; the gem
eral augmentation throughout the
country of her personal, marital and
property rights; her great success in the
discharge of the responsible duties Of an
enfranchised citizen in Wyoming and
I Utah; her prosperous career in the
learned professions in the very teeth of
professional GOODNESS, contempt and op-
position; her praiseworthy achieve
ments in those high departments Of
learning formerly considered beyond the
reach of her capacity, and especially
adapted to the higher range of mascu-
line minds; her mastery triumphs both
as teacher and disciplinarian; her skill
in the discharge of the various and re-
sponsible duties Of public officials; her
tact in the management of business op-
erations; her instructive perception of
character and ability to govern by her
consummate suavity OF manner; herad
mission into and large influence over the
affairs OF numerous and influential be-
nevolent, beneficial and other voluntary
associations composed of both sexes, I
repeat it, that by comparing the past
with the present status of woman, these
veterans who were educated in schools
OF former generation consider the
change in her behalf as immense and
strong in the belief that the great bulk
OF the self-denying and martyrizing la
bors have been already accomplished,
and that the ballot, for which the peo-
pie are fast ripening, will come at an
early day, though it may, and probably
will, be preceded by the removal of all
the minor disabilities which State and