The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-01-18
THE EQUAL SUFFRAGISTS.
An Enthusiastic Meeting at the Park
Theater.


|
good, and the audience thoroughly in SYM
pathy with the object of the meeting A num-
Der of prominent citizens occupied seats upon
| the stage. which was very tastefully decorated,
| and several members OF the General Assembly,
Tor whose especial benefit the meeting was in
| tended, were present
Mrs. z. G. Wallace, the president OF the State
| organization of the Equal Suffragists, opened
the meeting with few pertinent remarks upon
| the question OF woman suffrage, speaking
particularly of the absurdi6y of the argument
that the right to vote should be restricted
solely to the masculine part of the popu-
| iaton. II the line is to be drawn
on masculinity. why not, she asked, confer
| the right to vote upon the OK, the mule and the
masculine animals. The question, however was
one OF universal morality, universal intelligence
| and universal suffrage The right OF suffrage
should rest upon mental conditions and not phy-
| sicaI. She closed her remarks by stating that
the women OF the suffrage organizations had
some designs upon the Legislature. and would
peslege lis members this winter, in the hope of
obtaining some recognition OF their rights.
Senator Dudley FOulke then introduced
and spoke as follows:
| MR.. FoULKEs ADDRESS.
| Fellow-ctizens-I may call you all that-.the
law says you are all citizens. Though it deprives
many of you of the most important privilege of
citizenship, trust may soon call you all fell
| lOw-voters
Mrs. Wallace spoke of the dangerous classes of
| society and pointed significantly to the legisla-
! tors. know not if she embraced us in that cat
egory, but if so, much of the legislation on our
statute book would seem to Justify the remark
L think they will not be worse when
you ladies help us to make the laws
1t is curious to watch the progress of new idea;
wnen IL conflicts with our preconeelved notions
of things, to see how it fights its way inch by
lnch how the lines of defense of established Gus
toms change; how error shifts its ground and re-
tires from one fertilization to another before the
advance of a new truth. We have been advanc-
ing IN this manner in the matter of woman's
rights. The progress of nations Thought Is
clearly traced In the changes of Jurisprudence.
Now, under the common law, the wife had
scarcely any rights which her husband was
bound to respect The personal pronertv in her
possession became his by the very act of mar
riase, her outstanding claims soon as he saw
her real estate were his during the marriage
and IT a child was born to them, a.
right to control the disposition Of farm mo 40
money or foot of ground save as ha migbt d..
rect However brutal and unfaithfnl he might
6rsS sue hi hau no leave him Their emil
=. Will, just as the teacher to-day, by a strange
11nalt-N& OF barbarism, may beat his pupil, that
,|.cgal outrage being in like manner euphemisti-
cally called moderate physical correction"
and the only limit was that the rod should be no
thicker than the Judges thumb. Gradually the
barriers of this legazed tyranny gave way. The
reform at first, however, was confined to the
estates of the wealthy alone. Where property
Son1s put in oni trust for her the
separate estate therein and her
right to dispose of it as she pleased. "Mod-
past. Then came the enabling statute, giving
her power to hold properly, whetherlit had been
left in trust or not, and IN some cases to carry
on business in her own name, and in some in |
stances, tOo her earnings were secured to her,
though this provision was not made in our State
of Indiana until two years ago.
reputation, the right to sue belonged to the hus-
band alone, The smart was hers; the smart
money Was his
The notion used to be, that the wife was pre- |
sumed to be under the coercion Of her husband; |
hence any contract that she made was presumed |
to be involuntary upon her part, and she was |
not bound by it. The present statute forbids |
her to become surety for her husband or any |
other person, upon the notion that the husbands
influence over her, In this respect, may induce |
her to make contract injurious to herself. The |
law ia wrong in theory. Married women, as well |
as single women and men. ought to be entrusted |
with the protection of their own rights, and
then matters will all regulate themselves.
Now the ballot Is simply means of self-pro- |
lection. 1t has been wrlng from the grasp OF
arbitrary power by one class after another who
suffered from it's oppression. The gradual ex-
tension of the right of representation in England
and America is an illustration of the progress of
that great law of sef-protection which has been
applied to one class after another until now it
embraces nearly all. What we ask is that it
shall become absolutely universal among all.
But we see the gradual progress of the
only in its laws, but in the changes of
social ideas and the constant enlargement of
that uncertain quantity known as woman's
to stay at home and mind the children. Now, If
she have monet 1t makes no difference. She
should stay at home and mind the children that
she ought to have Washing, ironing, cooking,
nursing her sphere Other empoyments
were barred. Why in shakspeare's time a wo-
man could not be an actress, and the female
parts were performed by BOYS Yet never hear
any one suggest that we should go back 20 the
good OLD days IN this respeet. AS 10 woman pc,
ing a physician, the world used
to think great heavens what are
we coming to when women take to studying
medicine! AS to the pulpit, the command was,
"Let the women keep silent in the churches"
yet VINO has sat under the ministry of that
angel light, Lucretia Mott, in her quiet Quaker
garb, and has felt that she was transcending
her proper spheref Yet, who ever heard of
woman being LAWYER, or congressman
queen she can always be, president never
Yet, who that looks at the intrinsic quality of
the two offices can see any difference in her
adaptibility to one and not to the other.
Thus we see that many barriers are
behind us, but there are some
Notifications stil to carry. Not one Of us is free
thing mpartially it s little hard for us to see
| the precise distinction upon which our preju-
| dces rest. Neither women nor any other class
| of human beings should be excluded from any
| employment which the laws of competition and
supply and demand will permit her to fill. Her
| sphere is large as the whole universe of law
| full human avocatlons. There are some things
that women can do better than most men; there
TO most women But under thu
| free rules of competition both women and
men would naturally take the places for which
| they are best fitted Men say that government
| is against the nature of woman. have the ut
most confidence in the power OF nature to work
| out its own salvation.
AS 10 very many women probably this ia true,
| but such will not assume the reins of govern
! ment. AS to some it Is not true. Such women
ought 10 take part in public affairs, and the laws
OF competition will determine who they 1t
| seems to me now that hearty every act of
| woman which we are apt to CONSIDER out of her
! sphere is only so because IL is strange. The pro-
| pretor of the Turkish harem would Undoubtedly
| consider a woman unveiled en- the street very
much ont of her sphere.
The great weapon of our adversaries is ridi-
| Guile Women are placed in some unusual ana
| unaccustomed situation, and they say: GLOW