Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1876-12-07
Woman Suffrage.
BY REV. G. BUsHBY.

Ia It's favor, though IL must be con-
coded that it's advocates have not
been entirely unsuccessful in their
untiring efforts to bring this subj ect
into public notice.
Our readers, in general, may not
be very deeply interested in this wo-
man question, but deeming it the
province of public journal to keep
to patrons awake on all real or pro-
spective issues, we present, in brief,
few passing observations for the
consideration of all whom it may
concern.
So far as we are concerned individ-
ually, we have no objection to woman
suffrage, whenever the people of these
United States are 10 favor of such a
measure, or when it can be clearly
demonstrated that greater good than
evil will be the result to male and
female alike. This last proposition,
however, is the main question at
issue.
One of the principle arguments
presented in favor of the oourted
ballot, is that of intellectual capacity.
1t is gravely asserted that women of
| the present age are becoming SO
thoroughly educated as to procure
for her the right and prerogative of
exercising the elective franchise.
However such arguments may strike
the minds of other people, to US they
appear the vilest insult to our moth
| ers, sisters, wives and sweethearts.
When we consider the scholarly at
| tainments of unnumbered masculine
voters, tens of thousands of whom
cannot distinguish between the al
phabet aud vacancy, majority Of
whose ballots are purchased with a
| few drains of rotten whisky, who
can hear public speakers, male or
female, pirate about women being
competent to cast al intelligent vote,
without experiencing q sensation of
supreme disgust Let us have an
| eternal truce to all such mandy.
PANTY arguments for woman suf-
frage. Let all intelligent ladies resent
with honest and indignant pride
such specieus pleas for "woman's
rights" 60 called. Instead of
strengthening the claims of woman
for the ballot, it seems to US to
be prodigious argument against
its feasibility. Woman is SO far SUI
perior, generally speaking, to the
mass of those who assemble at the
polls on election days, that we fail TO
see any possible inducement for her
to make much effort to modify her
political status in the direction pro-
posed by some well-meaLing, but we
think, misguided people. We antici-
pate the rejoinder that woman g pres.
euce at the polls will tend to correct
many of its abuses and purify the
ballot box. 1t may prove to be the
case to some extent, but whether on
the whole the proposed innovation
will result in elevating the degraded,
or degrading the elevated whether
politics will be cleansed and purified
by woman's influence, or woman de-
based and polluted by politics, are
questions demanding solution at the
hands of would-be reformers. To
illustrates Does the Mississippi river
clarity the Missouri, or does the Mis-
souri, river make the Mississippi tur-
bid and were those the only waters
for domestic use who would wish to
have them blended into one murky
stream?
We often hear it affirmed boast
ingly that woman has as good nat>
uraI right to participate in political
affairs as man. Be it 80. Has she
not the same equal right to run a
foot race, wear gentlemen's attire,
&c.2 People may have q natural
right to do many things that pru-
dence would decry. Will some en-
tbusiastic devotee of woman suffrage
who has discovered that nature in-
tended woman to be the equal of man
in all respects toll US why the latter
is so much superior to the former in
sizs of body and strength of limb :?
Why were they not created the same
in stature, and why has nature made
this distinction in all the animal king
dom? Was it all q natural 5lunder,
or the result of wise design? If to
offset this superior corporosity, it is
affirmed that woman is made of finer
clay than man, we would ask if the
same argument would apply to fin
ger on the hand always smaller than
the others? IF woman is naturally us
adapted to political life as man, and
as capable of governing as he, how is
| it and why is it that the latter has,
from time immemorial, administered
to the affairs of state to the almost
total exclusion of the former? They
begin life together equal in number,
and with equal desire, and equal
ability to rule, is it not passing
strange that masculine hands should
always hold the reins of government
except in few isolated oases2 Her
comparative size of head, weight a
brain, and strength of intellect,
amounts to nothing at all in the face
of such positive evidence, as the his
| torx- nc mankind Draganta that wn.