Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1884-05-02

The majority report Of the house ju-
ilciary committee relative TO extending
the right of suffrage to women IS unwor
hy of ward caucus. The arguments,
it they may be dignifled by such term,
are founded in political bigotry and hav'
hcen etfectually answered thousa nc
lines by school boys IN their rural debates
1t assumes that the extension of the yot
ing privilege as proposed would bring
political contention into,,th home CIRCLE;
that it would be useless if the man and
wife agree and if they disagree it would
be perni.ious, as in the former case j,
would only swell the volume of votes
without changing the result, and IN the
latter the contentment OF the home would
be exchanged for the bedlam of political
contention and debate; that the refined
and judicious would with becoming mod
esty shrink from contact with the crowd,
leaving the vile and ignorant to represent
the gentler sex at the polls.
The minority report says that the asso
citation of the sexes IN the family circle,
10 society and in business, having been
demonstrated to improve both, there Is
neither history, reason nor sense to justi
fy the assertion that an association in
politics will lower one or demoralize the
other; that no good reason can be gwen
by those who claim suffrage as the right
OF manhood which does not make 1t the
right of womanhood also; thai If suffrage
is given to man to protect him in h,s life,
liberty and property the same reasons urge
that it be given woman, for she has like
wise life, liberty and property to protect.
However much politicians may resist
and rldicnle it the sentiment for univer-
sal suffrage is growing rapidly and "efore
many more presidential campaigns it will
be engrafted into our political system, for
it is the basis of republican government,
and the political party that takes stand
against it Will write its own death war.
rant. 1t is principle OF right in our sys-
tenn Of government that will prevail soon-
er or later as other progressive movements
have done. The party that stands III the
way Of progress excavates for its own in-
terment.
Scarcely more than twenty years ago
the democratic party were still resisting Z
the enfranchlsement of the negro, and
have never since been able to convince
the colored man that they didn't mean It..
When the Chicago Times, the leading
organ Of democracy IN the west, kicked
out of the old rut and took an advance
step in the progress OF the age and nation
by advocating negro suffrage, it was
damned and read out of the party by the
mossbacks and the party has never since
been able to overtake it nor has the Times
ever since recognized any allegiance to
the democratic party.
1t is suggestive that the majority Of the
committee making the reports on the fe-
male suffrage bill was democratic and
that the members making the minority
report IN favor of the bill were every one
republicans, viz: Reed. of Name, Tay
lor, of Ohio, McCoid, of Iowa, and Brown
OF Pennsylvania. It is probable the re-
publican party before another pres:den
tial campaign will take decided stand
in favor of extending the right of suffrage
to women, and is not improba that the
democratic party will sustain its traditions
oy opposing 1t.