New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-12-17


Maryland, the following sksteh, to The
Women's Journal:
4 One by ono tho Pct theories of conserva,
tism gives way before the stern logic Of
faosD, the ad1augiuks tide Of iconoclast5c
thought. In theiast ten years neasly every
irsEs o1oe hsld hes IN sieAer chsneed 81
finally abandoned. The assertion 20 boldly
1hade few years ago, that women were the
mental interiors Of men, We now seldom
heae. The tendency now = to aseert that
they are 20 much superior to man that they
can feel no interest in his low, groveling
ambitions. Tho once popular assertion that,
becouDe women do not servo - soldiers,
| government, We now hear lees often than
/ formerly. The position Paul assigned to the
women of Greece IL hurled at odr heads
with nuoh less persistence than IL once was.
With us, the one argument, that powers
all others, and to which the conservatives
| seem to think there can be no anewer, is the
one that We have placed Ut The head Of this
article-that no lady will mingle with the
crowd around the. polla upon election day.
I TO make the statement palmer, the coun.
Ey's s0vereigns they who make it's laws,
the purer, better part of the people should
\ meet with them to take part in selecting
our rulers. To follow ont the idea to it,
logical conclusion, half the people are 10
rough and brutal that they should be al
lowed to rule the purer. better half.
Among my bOyh0Od's recOllections few
ideas are more vivid than my early wonder
Why 1t was that my mother could not vote
~ father did. Among the few books with
in my reach in those days was an old COPY
Of "Bunysns Pilgrims Progress" bearing
date IN the last century, and embellished
with the execrable wood engrsvings of that
period. l had read this book BY The fire.
light Of the old-fashioned fireplace until it,
giants and demons were almost - tangible
TO my infantile Imagination as were INV
playmates. Once in . while stray news
ed with an avidity Of which the fortunate
ones to whom the mail daily brings
the news Of the world can have
but little idea. Through their col.
ums had heard of Neal Dow and
the Maine law. Lucy Stone and woman's
rights, and. worst Of I'LL, Of Sumner, CARR.
,s0n and Aboliti0hism. The Usual mode Of
treatment OF the frat two ideas WAS by
ridicqle, Of the second BY vulgar abuse.
at last what sort of animals these people
were, If they had split hoofe, forked tails
and barbod tongues. like the devils that
whispered around Christian in the "Vallev
of the Shadow of Death"
It Nae some such ideas - theog that filed
my brain whom, . musing boy of nine,
cav father 60 to vote for Buchanan, in
order 70 cave the country from the horrors
Of AeOlitio1, or the almost equally terrible
designs Of, Fillmore and tho. "Kuow-
Nothings." thought it stranGe that in the
country's, hour Of dmger, when every
vote was needed, mother did
not 60 too. Then it was that I LEARNED for
the first time that the polls were not Q fit
place for woman. When saw how few
men managed to get homo sober Was not
; Easy allow in in deciding that 'uoh VI. the
One by ono tho years went by, while I
was bordering why many of the thipgs
ghiCh met me ct every corner should be 30.
AZ the winter school the girls were quiet |
md orderly, and ct the head Of nearly all |
The classes. Why was 1t that 1t twenty |
me they could not vote ss we'll Is the boye! |
There va very SIMPLE answer; they were |
yirls, and tho polls were not At for girls.
Much the same process of reasoning was |
applied to my boys wonder on the subject |
If slavery. Living almost on the line, it
was nothing unusual to hear that Joe. or /
(sck. OF Tom had run away, and to listen |
20 the discussions as to the probability OF |
Ills recapture. Ny anxiety to know why
Tom should be slave any moro than his
Rhiter neighDor was answered by the equal
y convincing statement: Freedom Amt
! fit thing for niggers."
The first time ever tried to speak in pub
10 was in country schoolhouse, in small
debating society. The question wae: "Shall
women be allowed to vOte7' The one un- |
lnswerable argument was: 1.-The pulls are
lot fit place for women"
So on down until to day, no matter what
,ther ideas have given way in the current
# argument, this old fallacy still boldly
,onfronts every ono who asks for equal
uture, the last timid conservative, carried
~ the tide of modern thought away from
he Sodom of dead ideas, dead creeds and
slse logic, bat still looking back like Lots
wife to the broken idols of the past, the |
ast words upon his lips as he feels himself
urning into pillar of ealt as warning to
progressive world, will be, "The polls are
ot ft place for women"
Our county was org anized in 1773. Henry
he last Proprietary Governor of Maryland.
Ie and his council thought that ak was the
roper number Of polling places in the new
ounty. While century has passed eince
be machinery of Lord BaltimOre's govern
1ent fell into wreck, our local rulers still /
hink that we can vote ct the Same plsces l.
9 did the mon who fought on Long leland,
r followed Howard and Dekslb to Camden.
t 10 true We have not kept pace in growth
population of 5000 has grown
. 30, 900. But our fathers cast their votes
t six polling places and NO innovations can
9 allowed. A Hartford county Rip Van
Vinkle might have gone to sleep in 1856
nd, waking in 1876, would have thought
ne same election was going on, if it had
OF been that instead Of being slaves tho
lacks are now voters, and instead of every
ne beng drunk, who would drink at ali,
10 grogshops are closed with certainty
OF known to any other day of the Year.
The memorable seventh of November
roke gloomy and dieagreeable; . rainy
le. Our district has 1850 voters upon it's | ,
,gistry list, 500 Of them colOred. This vote
lust be polled in nine hours or not at all.
he average Republican majority is 25, in 1
reased year ago to 200. No one doubted
he vote of the State, but, for Congress-
ian, every vote counted. When the polls i
pened half the voters were on hand, some
aving walked ten miles through the mud.
o attempt to keep the voters in line was
ade. and for nine hours the mass Of free !
en struggled around the window in the !
lin and mud; hats were crushed and coats
ere torn, while the judges puzzled in vain
yer the list of names, fading some and I'M
bic to find Others. Many went home in
sgust, and at last the window closed with 4
10 voters shut out of the franchise. As I q
lrned from this exhibition of official stu 7
dlty and conservatism, for the first time {
scented to the oft-repeated assertion that
10 polls were not fit place for women,
1T was disposed to amend the proposition I
mething as follows: 1.-THE pole, a. held Z
our county, are not fit places for women 9
for men either" To this added the |
'rnest PRAYER, "May God hasten the era e
woman suffrage, that We men may be 8
liza to Yota onca in our lives in decent | i