Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-10-31
gos Su9eles 9erald.
Woman Suffrage in Wyoming.

woman Suffrage In wyoming.
The editors OF The Womans
Hour have been permitted to make
extracts from private letter writ
ten by Mrs. -, formerly Miss
Llde Eaton, a teacher in the public
schools Of Des Moines, and we'll
known to the President of this AS
sociation and many others as an
estimable lady of intelligence and
culture:
LARAMIE CITY, Wyo. Ter.
Dear Hiend: l have 1t In my
mind to write you at greater length
than have yet done of Woman
Suffrage In our renowned Wyom-
ing.
Shall / tell you something of its
effects: First-At the polls. Sec-
ond-At home. From babyhood,
almost, have 1 heard of the vile
talk, the intemperance, the general
indecency Of behavior attending
elections, aud can remember being
cautioned when q child never to
pass the Courthouse on my way to
school election days on these ac-
counts.
have now lived in Wyoming
Territory over two years, and, as
you know, / came here a theoretic-
al believer in woman suffrage, so
you may we'll imagine 1 have been
to the polls with open eyes, on cleo
tion days. / have gone alone, have
gone with lady friends, have gone
with my husband, and in one in
stance with my baby boy, and L
have yet to see the first drunken
man or hear the first oath around
the polls. Perfect order and deco
rum have prevailed in every case,
and men as well as women seem to
go about their business after hav.
Ing deposited their ballots, SO that
in point of unpleasantness, lady
has not SO much to encounter and
dread as is often the case In pass
ing the "animated dry.goods
boxesn on the business streets of
small towns.
at the polls. Allow me to quote
from q local daily paper of year
ago, whose editor is one of the pio.
neer men:
I'VE did not have single elec-
tion here without drunkenness,
rowdyism, gambling, fighting and
bloodshed, until our wives, moth
ers, sisters and daughters were
permitted to accompany us to the
polls. We we'll remember the
time when many a man stayed
away from the polls, losing his
right of citizenship rather than en-
counter the danger and rowdyism
he must in order to exercise it.
But all this is changed. Our elec-
tions go off as quietly as any other
social gathering, no matter how
heated a political campaign may
be, or how important the issue is
. at stake"
Instead of writing to of you the
effect of Woman Suffrage in the
homes of our Territory, wish you
could 60 with me into the Lara
mie homes, whose mistresses vote.
Could the opponents Of Woman
Suffrage visit these, they would
have ample opportunity to dispel
the horrors that haunt them in
the shape of neglected husbands,
unkempt children, masculine w0-
men and general slackness. Such
happy .well-kept homes as know
many of them to be where both
husband and wife vote, and by no
means always the same ticket; for
tits as possible to "agree to disa-
gree" in political matters as in
matters of religious belief o. any
thing else. l have never lived in
= %1Jaas .shasa the average home
known more womanly women,
have never seen roster, happier
children, and, may I add, more
4umeculaH shirt fronts than in
Laramie.
In fact, Woman Suffrage has
here had a severe trial-as rigid as
1t could well be subjected to.
Politics were formerly in the
hands of an unusually hard class
of men, so that if participation in
public matters could have degraded
women anywhere, it would have
done so In Wyoming. And here
may / again quote from the Senti
mel: 1--WE never had term 0l
Court here, held in a decent and
comfortable place, with its pro.
ceedings marked throughout with
decency and decorum and divested
of everything pertaining to black
Euardism, till our ladies were sum.
nl0ned to participate in it. We
never had o Grand Jury here that
boldly and unflinchingly took hold
to Investigate offenses against de-
cency and morality, and hunt out
and bring offenders to punishment,
till we had Grand Jury com mposed
largely of ladies'"