Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-04-14
WOMAN sUFFRAGE.

Bow Experience of its Workings in
Wyoming has Changed the Opinions
of a Former Advocate.
The following letter from a lady resi-
dent of Wyoming Territory, says the New
York Times, was read in the Massachu-
setts House of Representatives by Mr..
Williams, of FoXborO, during the recent
debate on woman suffrage, Mr.. Williams
explaining that the letter was written by
one who was herself an advocate of
woman suffrage before she saw how the
''reform" worked in Wyoming:
WYOMING TERRITORY, Jan. 27.-Nr
Williams. l received a few days since a
request to make statement with regard
to wOman-sufrage in Wyoming. | pre-
sumo you wish my opinion of its work
luz 5-rr I4v the "a
looks to me like this: The man who has
a wife controls two votes instead of one,
and he who has grOwn-up daughters con-
trolls just as many as he has daughters.
Women are emotional. and will invariably
do as desired to make the home pleasant.
/ have lived in Wyoming eight years, and
in a town where 500 votes are polled, and
/ have looked into this matter with good
deal Of interest, and as yet / have not
known One-half dozen women to
vote different to the male members
of the family. And l have seen
and known of very bitter feelings being
engendered because one woman did not
vote for another wOman's husband when
he was running for office. [ have talked
with many women, not only in R, but
in Lawrence City, with regard to whether
they wished to vote, and without eXcep-
tiOn they unanimously vote it a bore and
dread election time. / am Republican,
and naturally wish to see that party tri-
and / foil pqnHfflu I N4snrrfd
never vote only that my vote will make
some Democratic WOman's vote null. i
cannot say how woman suffrage would
work in Massachusetts. There the women
are better educated and desire suffrage,
and many women pay taxes on property;
here l don't know of one who pays any
thing but a poll tax, and our population
is largely foreign, being made up
of ali nationalities, and, indeed, i
know very few have any idea of politics
and could not tell what Democracy con-
sisted OF, and have not the least idea OF
the difference between a Democrat and
Republican. Now, we i'll territory only
vote for county officers, and we women
have no Voice IN nominating men for
office, primaries and conventions being
only open to men; but after delegates
have made the nominations they are very
glad to have the women come in and help
to elect them, and they can make them
selves (these candidates) very agreeable
to the ladies up to election time and ig-
more them after. We women might,
Of course, demand to be admit
ted to primaries, but l have
been unable, after considerable ef-
fort, to get one halfdOzen who would go.
They simply don't care anything about il
only so far as helping some one they are
interested in who is running for office.
Now, we all readily admit that the best
man should be elected, regardless Of par
ty; yet | venture to say no two women in
the Territory would vote for a Republican
if her husband were a Democrat. or vice
versa, and, indeed, most women take their
tickets from their husbands and never
look at them at all, but cast them in, and
if there is any scratching done it is never
by the women. This is a brief statement
Of the question as 1 see il.