Morning journal and courier., 1883-11-27

you be so good as to print just one commu- nication out of the many columns of testi. mony from responsible parties writing over their own signatures and stating what they claim to be fact, that the influence of wo- man suffrage in Wyoming has been good and only good from the beginning to the date of their several statements? X.
 WOMAN SUFFRAGE IN WYOMING.
 From the Laramie Sentinel, J. H. Hsyford, Edi-
 tor, Saturday, February 3, 1s83.l
 We received letter this week from lady in Whitewater, Wisconsin, making some in- quiries about the history and practical work ing of woman suffrage in Wyoming. We re- ceivs SO many such letters, 1t involves good deal of time and labor to answer them, and therefore we will try to reply to them all at once through the columns of the Sentinel.
 The law conferring political rights upon women was passed in 1869, and has been in operation ever since. Under this law the women of Wyoming enjoy every political office, and even of paying poll tax.
 The legislature which passed this law was composed entirely, in both branches, of Dem- ocrats. Little or no influence was brought to bear to secure the passage of the law. There was not, we believe, 8 single woman suffragist-by profession-in the territory at the time it was passed. The motive which VII legislators, who thought it would immortal ize them and advertise the territory.
 "They builded better than. they knew"
 John A. Campbell of Ohio, was Cover nor at the time of the passage of the act, and he, and since him, Governor John W. Hoyt all the Governors we have had-have uni formly endorsed and spoken in the highest terms of it's practical workings, in all their messages and official documents.
 Whafavar divArEitv 0f oT1infon fh6ra may have been among our people as to the policy and propriety of the measure at the time of it's passage, the result of the experiment has been eminentIy satisfactory, and no one could now be found to oppose it who wants to see good laws and good government in the territory.
 The women of Wyoming prize and exer- else their political rights as highly and as generally as the men. There is probably less percentage of women who stay away from she polls thani of the men. Women are not as persistent and hungry offiee-seek- CTS as men, and, as consequence, are not so frequently elected to office, but in a good many instances they have been elected to off, flee, and in every case have discharged the duties imposed upon them with credit to themselves and to the satisfaction of the public.
 In the early history of woman suffrage here women served on juries, and under bQ6lE lhW WaS 6uIOEc6Q ana crime punished more effeotually than ever before or since. We could easily give the reason why the practice fell into disuse when we got different class of judges, but we will only remark that it is not on account of the unfitness or incompetency of women to serve or of the adverse public sentiment of the community.
 Woman's natural love of justice, her in- stinctiVe consciousness of weakness and con- sequent need of and desire for the protec- ton of good laws, faithfully executed, usu- ally prompts her to vote for what she consid- CTS the best men and the best measures, ire g: sctive = political prS3iisciions or exsernai inAfoeates.
 It is no uncommon thing for a wife to think and vote differently from her husband. But here among the semi-barbarians CD of the frontier there is manhood, chivalry and tolerance enough to permit our wives to have enough liberty of conscience and action to vote as they please. We have known instan- ces where wife worked and voted for one ticket when her husband was candidate for office on the opposite ticket, and 1t would simply be regarded as good joke; but we have never known or heard of an instance of domestic infelicity growing out of differ ence in political views between husband and wife. We never heard of one of the pio- neers saying that If his wife did not vote to suit him there would be a row." or any
  ever, be the case in the more enlightened CD regions of the East.
 Our elections, which were formerly an ina proved and revised edition of e Donny brook fair, where such scenes were acted as ''made the miider devils blush, and good men from the place retire abashed, are, under the re- fning influence of woman's presence, as civil, quiet and orderly as are our churches or any other social gathering.
 We have found out that woman, who can associate with the opposite sex in all other relations in life, from the cradle to the grave, can even go up to the polls and deposit her ballot with husbands, fathers, sons and brothers once 8 year, without being utterly ruined and demoralized.
 We have found that woman's influence in the government of the State is just as neces- sary and beneficial as in the government of the family.
 We have found that because woman is more afraid of the evils and dangers which crime, vice and immortality bring upon 8 than man, because she is great or sufferer from them, because she IS more solicitous for the safety of sons, husbands, fathers and lovers than they are for them selves, therefore, when the power to do so is put into per hands, she is more likely than man is to use it in every possible way to do away with these evils and to remove these from the path of those she loves.
  and as general rule do, vote as do their hus- bands. yet we recognize that it is the home and home influence in the government which it's better element; that men with wives, children and homes are more interest ed in good government than those not brought under such influences, and that, therefore, by conferring the right Of suffrage upon women we sRe doubling the power and influence of the better element of the gov ernment by introducing the principle of household suffrage.
 In the foregoing remarks we have, we be- lieve, gone pretty we'll over the ground usu- ally embraced in the questions we receive. The replies are necessarily brief, but we trust they will be satisfactory. We will cnly add that having been all the timo resident of this territory for the past fifteen years. having been in public and official life, we have had abundant opportunity to know whereof we speak, and "we speak that we do know" and as an evidence of good faith we write and publish it here at home, where all the facts are known, and where. if we misstated OF misrepresented the matter, it would be at our own peril