The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1883-03-14
Woman Suffrage.

LtT, " WIN w WV FlNNFs " v WV
that the reading Of it, and, perhap
the sentiments, met with applause. liac
We been there We would have applaudcd
il, too, just as We would anything good
MS a thing Of pnslime. Coming, too,
from n clever, intelligent gentleman like
Mr.. Beasley, date Grcenback candidate
for Governor, and deserving in all the
essentials not practicalitics--oi
morality and honesty) we would have
been foremost in applause. But Mr..
b. is sincere in his essay. He verify be-
lieves that women ought to vote. lie
and Mrs Susan B. Anthony, Mrs. DR..
Walker, Mrs. Woodruff, and n few
other women who have been clamoring
for the right to vote for 10! these many
years-are all sincere. We affirm our
belief in their utmost sincerity, conse'
qnently cannot indulge in any nnkind
or pugnacions criticism, for il is prin-
ciplc Of our nature TO never condemn
any one for expressing his or her honest
belief. III fact, We cannot believe God
will punish even the Moslcm if he hon
estly believes in the Koran. and that 50
far rs final rewards and punishmenls
are concerned, il matters not at all what
particular religious sect you belong to
On earth provided you are sincere, and
not actualed by hopes Of personal adj
vanccment in the way of ambition,
money, or other selfish desire.
Now, our friend, Hon. Jno. X. b., is
sincere in believing women should have
the right to vote conferred upon them.
That they have the moral right he is
fully persuaded. lie now wants the
civil right conferred. Here comes the
rub. We want to know Of him what
hope he should have for such a consum.
nation when the only powcr-ihc pres,
cnt votcrs--is so corrupt and 50 opposed
to his plan. We venture the assertion
that ninc.tenths Of the qualified voters
in the United States are opposed 10
comforting upon women the right to sex.
crcisc the elective franchise" Also,
that ninc-tenths Of the women in said
land are content with Tie law as it is,
and look upon all such phantoms MS Mr..
Bensley and Mrs. Woodruff, Ct ol5., in.
dulge in, as merely social courtcscs.
Because Shakespeare, in one of his plays,
makes Portia II Judge or that Caliror-
MIA and other States have admitted wo-
men to the practice Of law, is no reason
why Mr.. b. should conclude that if uni
versal suffrage were bestowed on wo.
men rs upon men, therefore would fol-
low the wonderful and partly,dcsirablc
results he predicts IN the last three sen
fences Of his essay. AS to the practice
oflaw, medicine, or aught else for pccu.
mary or social gain or advancement, We
say woman should have as full and free
license as man, aud having obtained
these rights, we ask: Wherein would
tho comforting Of the elective franchise
upon her be benciicialY Would it not
double the number of voters ? In fact,
there nrc more women than men in the |
world, and We opiuc that our voting
population would be more than doubled,
especially if We should make eighteen
years OF age in n woman the proper
age for her to become free. Away
back yondcr, hundreds Of years before
the birth Of Christ, we read that various
ages generally from II to 2l-were
even established by law as marriageablc
ages for women, while males had to be
generally, from five to ten years older
as companions. Then, too, if the white ,
women vote, negro women must vote
also. We will have to pay double taxes ,
~ order to support double number of ,
Snngrcssmen and n double number off
members to our State Legislature The
Federal Constitution aud Constitutions
OF all the States must be changed in or.
der to meet this addition to our taxes
Surely Mr.. Bcaslcy and Mrs. Wood.
hull, Mrs. Anthony, Ct id omne genus,
are pursuing phantoms, or ignis iatuii.
Webster tells us that an ignis-iatuus is a
"meteor or light that appears in the
night, over marshy grounds, supposed
. bo occasionod by the decomposition !
t animal or vegetable substances, or by Il
ome inilammablc gas"
We dislike TO disagree with DR. cl
sehster--a man who surmountcd intel. hi
'ctual and other difficulties to produce pit
dictionary that the world will never u"
ct de, and for which he deserves ,h
monument of gold to his memory Ms A
high as Heaven; disl;lo % ,.L CO
away from such a book single thing, OF
But, verify, if he were alive now ho
you'd issue new edition and define W
gns tatu's ms "a phantom, supposed to NJ
. occasioncd by the decomposition of a
nc brain, admixed with some innamma. !