The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1878-04-05


cohtrOl congress. He wanted me to
get an article published on the subject,
and send him the paper. I had to tell
him L didn't know anything about rail-
roads. l think women would have a
little more general information if thew
had the vote. But 1 have known a GOOD
many women who knew quite as much
as their husbands. The voters who rule
over US are not always the most inteli-
gent people in the world. I saw a Del
aware woman in Washington. She
mad been a Shareholder. Her servants
still lived with her, but not as slaves.
She paid three hundred and seventy-fve
dollars in taxes the past year. One OF
her negroes went TO her to ask her if he
/ had better vote. She told him certainly;
and added if she had a chance she would
vote in a moment. he went to the
polls. When he returned she asked
| him how he voted. "Oh," he said, II
voted as / was a mind to-" "But whom
| did you vote for ?' she asked. "Oh,"
/ he replied, "the Democrats hOllered,
Come here come here and the Re
I publicans, they hOllered, Come here
come here pr "But for whom did you
vote ?n still persisted the lady. "Why
/ put in my pOll-tax and came of, and
that was all, 'said the negro. Laughter.
/
above his intelligent mistress.
Miss Smith here told the story of the
cows, aud also about her calves, Taxey
and Votey, which amused the commit
tee, as we'll as the audience.
+. +. Burr, of Hartford, addressed the
committee for a few minutes, and was
followed by Mr.. John Hooker, who gave
an able plea for the ballot for taX-pay-
ing women. He said the legislature of
Maine had just received a report from
their committee on suffrage favoring
the ballot for women in municipal elec-
tions. With regard to tax-paying wOm-
en-, he called the attention of the COM
mittee to the large amount Of property
throughout the country owned by wOm-
en-. Four hundred millions are owned
by unmarried women alone. Mr. Hooker
read from statistics in different States
showing some Of the sums women are
taxed. In a town in Massachusetts
there is a woman who pays as much as
six hundred voters. Six hundred men
can vote away her property and she
alone pays in taxes as much money as
all Of them together. The same thing
occurs in various towns. To Illustrate,
here is a woman in HartfOrd-Mrs. Colt
who pays a larger amount of taxes
than any man, with perhaps an eXcep-
tion or two, and her Irishmen and
menials can vote as to the disposition of
those taxes, while she is utterly power
less in the matter. / say IL is no more
than simple justice that women should
have the right to vote. Il is a principle
We apply everywhere else but in the
case of women. It is a wrong to indi-
viduals and a damage to the community.
Another point, women are more eco
nomical than men. They make little
20 a grea: way. They deal with de-
tails; men more in a wholesale way.
/ We have reached point where this
economy is of immense Importance to
/ the country. In New York City the
past year, twelve million dollars were
distributed for school money alone, says
Governor Robinson. There is vast room
there for leakage. tt is Of great import
ance that women be allowed to apply
their economy there. The Springfield
Republican Of April 6, 1877, speaking of
the appropriation made by the legisla-
ture for two State prisons, one for men,
and managed by men, and Que for wOm-
en-, and managed by women, says: at
will hardly be credited that the commits
sioners, architects, and civil engineers
have already drawn for their own eX-
penses more than SEQ, 600, and expect to
draw SIS, 600 more. Ten per cent. of the
appropriation is already used up, while
the whole amount used by the women
does not exceed four per cent. The men
have spent ten per cent. and the women
four. If Mrs. Chickering and Mrs.
Leonard had not been twice as ecOnOm-
ical as the men in the management of
their expenses, the women's prison
would have cost $500, ,OOO." The State of
Massachusetts saved more than $50. 900
on the wOmen's prison. The Hartford
COtTGnt, paper not particularly favor
able TO Woman Suffrage, in a recent
article on the Union for Home Work.
fOrgets its occasional filings at the
"wOman question" and says: 1--WE are
perfectly aware that no association of
men could have done anything like the
amount of good that these women have
done. They neglect no work Of charity,
and no detail in economy. Their ex-
penses are 500 less than the estimates.
We should like to see these ladies' take
charge Of the business Of Congress for a
year, l say this economical manage
ment is greatly needed i'm state affairs.
We have reached point where taxa
tiOn has almost become cOnfiscatiOn.
Women make good officers, and those
men who argue that unfit women would
be elected show the weakness of their
logic. Only capable women would get
a majority vote. We need not raise the
I bugbear of unfit women clutching for
Office, for none such would ever get it.
| There are now seventy-twO pOstmis-
tresses in the United States, and the re-
/ ports in the national post Office at Wash
/ ingtOn show that their offices are the
/ best managed of any. Miss Nina
Hodges in the Des Moines post Office
/ has handled and paid out four million
/ dollars, and not a cent has fallen short.
/ Her management has been strict and
perfect. City affairs should be man
aged on purely business principles.
1 There is nothing more fatal to it than
/ this introduction Of politics. Take a
bank, for instance. Every year they
/ choose their officers. Now inaugurate
this political fight, one side for Repub-
/ licans, and the other for Democrats, and
where would your bank be in two years?
/ The deposits would all be withdrawn;
and IL a new bank were to be inaugu-
rated on that principle, nobody would
take stock in il. The same thing should
apply to city affairs. We are not organ
ized as city for the purpose of running
a political machine, but for the mutual
benefit of those who form the CITY. In
these matters women could be of vast
help, and do a work that men alone
cannot. Mr.. Hooker touched on some
other points showing the need Of wom-
ans vote. His plea was clear and log
ieal, and was closely listened to.
An Iowa man thinks there must be
something wrong in modern fashion