The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1876-10-20
CORRESPONDENCE o. S. W. S. A.

Sisters Although unknown to you,
perhaps even by name, feel impelled,
on the occasion of this yourannual Con-
vention, to send you a few words of
friendly greeting.
The far-off shores of the Pacific are
not too distant for sister-love to reach,
and the East stretches out her hands in
sympathy and encouragement to the
West in their mutual work of uphold
ing the weak and Strengthening the fee
BILE of our sex.
The women of the Northwest have
gone into this labor of love determined
to conquer or to die. That is evident in
every page of your bright, breezy pa
pers, in every line of your spoken utter
ances, and you a0iU not fail! No an
cient Greek ever went forth to do battle
with his mothers words, "Either lUith
your shield or on it ~ ringing in his
ears with a more devoted heart than
you have shown. Not one of you, God
grant, but will return from this present
warfare with her shield untarnished
and unbroken.
wish greatly might be with you to
add my mite of words; but circum-
stances prevent, and 1 must be content
with sending these few lines. 1 believe
we should agree that the two main
points most essential to be recognized
are the acknowledgment of the right of
bd6edS corpus in the case of women and
her equal right to pecuniary independ
ence. The first, the dearest right of the
citizen, is for her entirely suspended.
Even the unmarried, who fondly imag-
| ines herself free, will find the barrier
against her, turn which way she may.
! Women never for one moment OlUn
their o1Un bodies. They may not sue for
sued for by some other-the nearest
friend" so-called-and, strange incon-
sistency of that which Lord Bolingbroke
has pronounced the perfection of hui
man reason"-the common laval
though she may not sue for herself, she
is graciously permitted to stand "near-
est friend" for some other woman. To
the married woman this suspe nsion of
Justice is productive of infinitely greater
evil consequences. Not only is her
property not her own, except in some
few States, but her very children, born
in anguish of bod y and soul, may be
willed away from her while even yet
unborn. Her too often rebelliOus body
is her legal masters property, and she
may not even protest against its abuse
without being subjected to the keen
shafts of public scorn and contempt
From first to last, under its Infamous
power, she is a slave, and her children
born in slavery must, by natural law,
inherit the vices of the slave.
Her condition of pecuniary depend.
ence fills the world to-day with sys.
TEN of marriage that is little better thar
Iegalized prostitution, and our street:
and jails with an army of scarcely more
unhappy martyrs. Both these abuse:
have made of Gods devoutest gift tC
humanity-the true, divine, marriage
tie-a Pandemonium that civilization
shudders at and philosophy and religion
alike stand appalled, at the sight of.
Let us then fight for the abolition o
these two giant abuses, and we shall be
gin to see the dawn of that day in whicl
) the true Republic will be born, the day
when social and political purity shall b.
demanded of man and woman alike
and when women shall stand side b!
side with their fathers, brothers, an,
husbands in every good work.
God speed you in your labors
strengthen and guide you, and brini
you out as victors in the fight.
> Yours for the cause,
ELIZABETH DE LoZIER WOOD,
Vice Pres't w. f. Association.
Washington, D. c., Sept. IA, 1876.
To the aUOnlen in Contention at Salem
Oregon-Dear Friends and Sisters =
t Unable to be with you in person, sem
a hearty greeting in my own and in th
, name of the Woman Franchise Associa
ton of the District of Columbia, c
E which I am at present Secretary.
Our sympathies are with you in til
! noble work in which you are engage
e for our common cause, and as earnest
ness and energy are the warranty c
success, you cannot fail to secure at las
= 4 the reward you are all so nobly earning
. Never before in the history of tn
] country have women had such advant
Q ages as they now enjoy; never befor
+ have they had such opportunities t
: prove their ability for judging of TIA
t political questions of the day and 70
T using their influence to direct the same
' The whole country is stirred to tn
depths, and woman's interest in the re
r suit is vital. Let every woman of tn
f land bear in mind that the Republica
t party at least gave her nominal recog
! milton in their platform, whilst tn
: Democrats ignored her; let them sho'
e just appreciation, and even more tina
that, a gracious recognition of tn
. twelfth plank of the Republican plat
3 form; let women prove that they ca
> work-do hard, campaign work for th