Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1876-02-17

in force, In the third Legislature the
Democrats were still largely predomi-
nat and could have repealed the law
had they been SO disposed. But pub
lie sentiment had changed; there was
less opposition. In the last Legislat-
ure (1S75) only one member was an
Incorporate person, formerly Post
master at Cheyenne, who had become
a defaulter, had drifted off to anoth
part of the territory and was there
elected. This man made motion to
repeal, but could not find any one to
second it, and was actually hooted
down; and, when he returned home,
his constituents threatened to lynch
him.
This change of public sentiment is
radical. Our Congressional delegate,
Col. Steele, was formerly bitterly op-
posed, aad in the Legislature Of 1871
made a violent speech against it. Now
he is strongly in its favor, and SO is
his wife. Another leading opponent,
member from Wisconsin, an ardent
Democratic politician. was bitterly hos
tile, and so was his wife, But last
summer he announced that he and his
wife had altered their minds it had
done great deal of good F.; he should
oppose its repeal. He was elected
Speaker of the House, and he and his
wife and daughter are entirely convert
ed. A similar change has taken place
i'll the views of intelligent women gen.
orally. For instance, [ will name most
charitable and exemplary english lady,
the wife of bank president in Laramie
City, an Episcopalian, who thought it
was religiously wrong, and who opposed
it as unfeminlne. unladylike and unchris-
tian. Now she is earnestly in its fav-
or, takes a personal interest in the Sc
lection Of candidates, goes to her
neighbors to ask them to vote for good
men and against bad men. She now
regards the exercise Of Suffrage as a
duty. | conld name many others
the change of sentiment is so general
oio0 ho dIoChiP Po W lCpCdl GtS Id"
would now avail. | do not think you
could get dozen respectable men in
any LOCALITY to oppose it.
Women sometimes hold office not
very often. In some cases they have
been candidates and have been elected;
in others, they have been defeated
They very often serve on school COM
mitUees /; in some cases have been elect
ed County Clerk, and in several cases
have served as Justice of the Peace
One lady, Mrs. Esther Morris, was ap-
pointed by the Governor, Justice Of the
Peace, on petition numerously sign
ed by her neighbors. She tried more
than forty cases, many of them cases
where the sum in dispute was S100,
and where strong feelings existed. In
no case was any appeal taken from her
decision, and she gave entire satisfac-
tion to the lawyers and to the public.
There was another Justice Of the
Peace, a man, in the same village, but
Mrs. Morris was generally preferred,
and did almost all the business.
As jurors women have done excel
lent service. They are less subject to
the distracting influences which some
times sway the action Of men in the
jury box. With a stronger tension on
the conscience, they seem more anx-
ious to do right. Take, for instance,
the enforcement of the Sunday Law.
In new country the tendency is to
disregarded the Sabbath, A man liv-
with his family in canvas tent, ex-
posed to the inclemency Of the wealth
er, is not likely to stop bnilding his
house on account of Sunday. Miners
do not stop work, or they go to town
to do their trading. Stores and sa-
looms make money by keeping open,
men form the habit of not observing
Sunday, and decline to enforce the law
Grand luries refuse to indict for such
offences. This was the case III Laramie
City. But the first grand jury which
was composed in part Of women, al
though there were not enough Of wom-
en- to compel the action of the men,
yet these women managed to secure
sufficient cooperation of the male jur-
ors to indict every storekeeper and sa-
loon-keeper in Laramie City who kept
open on sunday, (and the practice
was almost universally The Court
was at first in some perplexity, for the
culprits include almost all our infuen-
tial citizens. But the Judges suspen-
ded proceedings in such cases upon
their promise not to violate the law
again, and the city has ever since had
as quiet and orderly Sunday as any
New England village. The women
vigorously ferreted out other offences.
They knew where young men were
spending their lives and money. and
they applied the lash with wholesome
and successful vigor
On petit juries the women held the
men up to higher tone of morality
and stricter sense of honesty than they
would have exercised if left to them
selves. 1t was hard to convict of mur-