The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1876-07-28
THOUGHTS FOR THE CANDID.
BY MRS. J. a. JOHNS.

4
tablished. Possibly it is; but that is no
evidence that it is free government.
1t is doubtless as free as 1t was possible
for small body of liberal-minded men
to establish century ago. We should
ever bear in mind the fact that the
poorly-informed ecclesiastics held prin-
cipal control over the populaee at that
time, and that the errors taught by them
ment of equity. Slavery for women
and other unfortunates then, as now,
was taught to be one of Gods COM
mandments. Those erroneous teachings
lead from error to error, and will con-
tinue to leal until common sense rules
in lieu of mythical dogmas. Occa-
sionally, however, the wheel of progress
rolls around, although much as if it
were ascending a slippery hill, where
out of three steps, but one is gained.
Men Of avaricious principles and thiev-
ish propensities, forgetting their
boasted strength of mind and ability for
self-government, foolishly and wickedly
resorted to bullets, instead of ballots,
and now claim that, by this fool-hardy
and wicked strife, they are entitled to
much credit for having freed the en-
shaved! Is this proof that this is free
republican government when the masses
rule by the ballot? After the great loss
of life, the misery endured, and money
spent, men, from purely selfish motives,
enfranchised the ignorant slave to rule
over the poor, miserable, but innocent
victims of those wealthy, unprincipled,
and cruel rulers in high places who as
sisted in plunging the nation into the
horrors of civil war. And still this gov
ernment is called a free Republic.
All who exercise common sense must
agree that this is not, and never was a
| free government.
! This government for number of years
was under the control of the principle
misnamed democracy, and men prided
themselves in calling it free govern
ment, while yet it held millions of hu-
man beings in bondage. Large num-
bers of slaves or dependent drudges
still exist. The daughters that are
termed the dependent, protected"
ones, are nothing else. The others were
termed chattel property, and many of
them, while yet bought and sold, were
equally as white as were their white
but free fathers; and those fathers were
far from being the low and ignorant;
nay, they were the high-born, intelli-
gent, and aristocratic! Most ludicrous-
nay, worse, most Infamous of all-was
the strong objections to freeing this
amalgamated race, lest they would in
termarry with white women. This was
the Democratic TIE Deun1 for several
years. Thus were men judging women
from mans standpoint. And now our
lords of to-day are contending that if
women become Independent individu-
ais, they will become demoraliZed, and
plunge into all manner of vice equal to,
if not worse, than men.
But the question is, where is the evil
dence? Let us take, for instance, the
Irish women of low estate, and will any
one assert that the working women of
this nation are not more refined than
those of Europe, who belong to the op-
pressed class? We know these women
are debased; oppression is debasing,"
liberty ennobling. That women of
America are free in comparison to the
poorer class of European women all will
admit; but our crowded cities furnish
proof sufficient to convince all honest
thinkers how demoraliZing oppression
is. A true and genuine democracy is
founded on justice. Justice regards and
rewards all mankind equally and i'm
partially; "all mankind should be en-
dOwed with the liberty of individual rex
sponsibility," and to be truly demo-
cratic government it must guarantee to
each and every one a full and
equal measure of justice! And when,
either for selfishness or base policy,
men dare to hold an unoffending, intel
ligent citizea-of this nation in subjec-
ton, they prove beyond doubt that
they disregard justice" When men,
whether from policy or piety, set up a
system contrary to nature, they commit
fraud. Individual sovereignty rightly
belongs to all intelligent citizens
equally.
Why women are not born free and
equal in respect to all political and So
cial rights it ever will be difficult fol
man to explain! Is there one, even
amongst the creed-bound, that will dare
to say that women have not a right to
resist oppression? None but knaves OF
fools will deny the fact of w0man's
being oppressed. A Democratic repre-
sentative of Marion county admitted
this fact, on the floor of our legislative
hall, although he voted to continue the
oppression. Did he not vote the senti-
ments of his constituents? Yet / re-
spect him for his honesty by this con-
fession of the truth, that woman was
oppressed, and also for his "integrity to
his constituents" But man, with all
his boasted ability, is governed more by
prejudice than by good common sense.
The men who framed our government
: Iono