The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-03-03
WYOMING WOMEN.
Howithey Vote In tho Territory aud.thc
Moral Effect.

Mrs. L. f. Stevens, of Laramie City, WV
oming, read paper before the Femal
Suffrage Association, Friday, giving th,
result other observation ofthe operation o
equal suffrage in that Territory. She be
gins and closes with arguments fo- e1ua
suffrage. but the body of her article is dc
voted to the subject az applied to Wyom
ing and is rs follows:
fortune to be citizen and voter Of wy,
oming. will try to give briefly some
account of the operation Of women votinf
there. When Wyoming Territory wa,
organized, in the article defining whe
should be voters, no alusion was made tc
sex. All citizens 81 years of age, ninety
days resident in tho Territory, were made
voters. From that day the women Of
Wyoming have had, an1, Judging from
the use they have made of it, have cnioy.
ed the right of voting. They nearly all
vote at every election. At least as
large percentage Of them as oi
the men vote. So far they have
held but few Offices, although cligi.
BILE on exactly the same con9..tions us
the men. They have never IT. de them.
selves candidates for party nominations
as understand is usual for men to do
who want office. They have taken no
part IN caucuscs or conventions, but
| should they see fit TO do SO l have nc
| doubt they would receive all the defer.
! ence due them, and their wishes would
have respectful consideration. Though
absent from caucus, their influence is
very strongly felt in the consultation of
both parties. 1t has come TO be known
that man who is Incorporate, or immor-
nj, or dishonest, cannot draw the vote OF
the women Of his party. There are q
, large number of women in each party
who will not vote for such men. In Lar
annie City, where there were % saloons.
at the election two years ago, every Cuun-
ty official elected was q strictly temper.
ance man, and of irreproachable charac.
ter. At the election last Fall the candi-
dates of both parties were claimed by
those who were personally acquainted
with them to be with one or two excep.
tions, 50 far AS character and habits we're
concerned, all suitable persons for the
Offices for which they were nominated.
am told by those who used to attend
elections in the States that the method
OF canvasses and elections is much better
in Wyoming than where women do not
vote. In the first place. they say there
Is not near so much Of personal detrac-
ton and abuse of candidates, and ut the
the election there is better order. T~o
or three days before election each party
| sends to every house in the precinct sew
eral of its tickets and circular setting
forth their claims. The night before
election all saloons are closed and are
NOT allowed to open until the voting is
done.
Excepting the Inspectors and Clerks
OF Election, and one challenger for each
party, no one is allowed to remain within
fifteen feet OF the polls longer than is nec-
essary to vote. One man of each party
stands in the hall to furnish tickets, but
has little to do, as nearly every one brings
their ticket, prepared as they want it.
The tickets are printed, or miay'be written
on paper furnished by the County. uni.
form, for all parties. in shape color and
texture, and without distinguishing marks.
Espionage is not possible. There is no
opportunity OF soliciting votes near the
polls. l am told by those whose duties
kept them at the polls all day, that, from
morning until night, there was not the
slightest breach of decorum in or about
the court h ,e. This is remarkable
when we cons,Ler, that between the hours
of nine and five, twelve hundred and one
ballots were deposited in one box, dispos-
ing of twenty-three Offices, carrying with
them annual salaries amounting in the
aggregate to rs many thousand dollars.
aud more than thirty candidates living
within ten minutes walk of the polls.
l have never seen anything like rudeness
at the polls, and have never heard anv
woman complain of any.
There is less likelihood of woman's
enconntering rude treatment at the polls
than in any other place of public assem-.
bling. / knew by repeated experiences,
that women are nowhere treated with
greater Difference than where they hold
the ballot in their hand.
am told that here in Colorado it ia
frequently asserted thai only the lowest
and worst class of ". en- in Wyoming
vote. The worst class can, and believe
generally 90, vote. But / wish.to assert
with all earncstness that nearly all wo-
men vote, and that those recognized as
the best and leading class ara Sha most
Jealous political workers and tho most
unfailing voters tA.- ; a
1presume there are men and women in
the Territory who are opposed to women'a
suffrage, but have not met them or heard
OF them. There is certainly nothing like
a. 'htty opuUoeu tu IL. IL Is accepted on
all hands as an accomplished fact, and
the people of Wyoming are proud Of the
fact.
Three years ago one man introduced
into the Legislature bill to do away
with woman suGr-' but bis motion re.
ceived no second, and he and his measure
were promptly laughed down and out.
many improvements that may be expec.
ted from women's voting have not yet
been accomplished or, even attempted in
Wyoming. To all of us taking part in
politics is new thing. Most OF us have
come 10 the Territory within FIVE or six
years, are comparative strangers to each
other. Many brought prejudices against
voting that required time to overcome.
There arc probably, not one.half as
| many women as men in the Territory.
a largepart of the men are unmarried rail
road employees, stock ranchmen and mi
ners without families. We are not in q
situation to control or even to make great
innovations. There has been no attempt
at concert of action as women, and prob.
ably it is best there should be none.
Sclidifying in that way would be likely to
produce counter Denrer
Tribune.
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