Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1878-08-09
Mrs. L,ermore and The Wyoming Women.

| Mrs. LhermOre ana the wyoming women.
Mrs. Livermore has been lccturing in Lor-
don at " a numerously attended and inauen-
tial gathering. including the very elite of that
part Of London society which interests itself
in the Advancement of women" She review
ed briefly the history Of the woman's rights
movement in America for the last thirty
years. and, We are informed, her best hit
was touching the Territory of Wyoming,
where for eight years past women have pos
sessed precisely the same rights as male citi-
Gems At the time when this privilege was
conceded by the Democrats, Mrs. Lyermore
said, there were not above eight hundred
women in the whole Territory, and their
political influence was regarded as nil. She
said
When the first election came rouId the women
looked at the Democratic ticke: and found that the
candidates were decidedly a bad lot. The ladies,
therefore, went TO the committee, and said We
wont have men like these TO represent US; give US
better candidates or we1l 90 and see what the Re
publicins will do DO as you like, and vote as
you like, bluutly replied the committee you can't
hurt or hep the election-one way or another
Thus repulSed. the women turned to the Republi-
cans, who provided candidates Of uneYceptionable
respectabllity. Then the ladies set to work in
son and ont Of season. and succeeded in carrying
the Republican candidates. who have kept the VIC
tory thus gained ever since"
The right to vo:e and hold office was ex-
tended to the women of Wyoming by a ter
ritorial act of December 10, 1869. Women
first voted in 1870. when Mr.. Jones. Repub-
lican, was elected to Congress by 227 major
ity, the total poll being 3,2O2 About six
hundred women voted at this election The
IF hos r. 81
Council, > being Independents. and of l3
members of the House, being Indepen.
dents. Somehow this does not leave on our
minds the impression that the women 'ssuc-
ceeded in carrying the Republican candi-
dates" to any great extent. How is it about
keeping the victory thus gained ever
since? In 1872, Mr.. Steele, Democrat,
was elected to Congress by a ma
jority of 81 in poll of 3,2l3. In
1874, the Democratic delegate was re-
elected by majority of COG in q poll
of $40, there being evidently a full
female vote polled this time on Mrs. Liver
more's hypothesis. All this time the Legis-
lature, if We are to believe the almanacs,
continued Democratic indeed, in 1875 the |
Republicans had only 3 of Is councillors and |
/ of - members Of the House. In 1876 Mr.. |
Corlett. Republican. was elected to Congress |
by ,lOl Majority on a total vote of 6,624,
hut the Legislature remained Democratic, |
the Democrats having the Council by to 5 |
and the House by Is to 9. In the face of |
these figures Mrs. Livermore is encouraging
the women of England and running down
the Democracy of America by preaching the
success of the female suffrage experiment in
She might be interested in read
ing this testimony from an Omaha letter to
the Philadelphia Republic.
"As happened to be in Wyoming last Fall | |
made II point TO visit Cheyenne on election day
expressly TO see the workings of the new system
j did not see single respectable woman at the
polls On the contrary, they were all of the lowest
neutrality-suspicious. in low variety halls
waiter girls in beer saloons and well-known women
OF the town. They were driven TO the polls In open
wagons by the blacklegs, gamblers and worst
characters Of the town, generally the whole outfit
being pretty well under the influence of tangle- |
foot. must mention in connection with this affair
that wagons were sent TO Fort Russell, a military |
post, four miles distant to induce the lauudreses
attached to the garrison to 20 TO town and vote. |
heard afterwards that nearly all refused saying If
their husbands couldn't vote because they were |
soldiers. they didn't think they had right to-"
Mrs. Livermore either knew or did not
know the facts when she made her address
in London, and it does not much matter
which, 1t is precisely this sort of misstate-
ment by the advocates of female suffrage
which most damages their cause.-N. Y.
World.