Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1884-04-10
HOW WESTERN WOMEN VOTE.

"When discussing the question OF now
woman suffrage works in Wyoming, you
must Danish from your mind all notion of
SEX" remarked Mr.. William T. Shaffer to-
day, "for the franchise recognizes no dis
tinction whatever" Mr.. Shaffer, Penn
sylvanian by birth, is now editor of the
Ctieftaua, at Evanston, in Wyoming, only
about 100 miles from Salt Lake.
"There is," he continued, "exactly the
same requirement for both sexes. They
must be 81 years of age and citizens of the
United States, native or naturalized."
"Is the privilege popular among you and
generally taken advantage of by the Wo-
men 2"
"Why, certainly it is popular. If the
question was put to vote to-day in the Ter
ritory don't believe there would be doz-
en- in favor of a change. But you Eastern
folks can't fully realize how it works and
the practical benefits we get from the sys-
tenn, because the only idea you can form of
polling-place includes lot Of pushing and
disorderly ward bummers bowling from
sunrise to sunset, and visiting the neighbor-
paign ammunition. The ballot is quite as
important a feature of our Government as
religion, or education, or the courts. Why
not carry it on in the same way? Why not
surround the polling-place with just the
same orderly influences that surround the
courts and the schools? Make it respecta-
BILE, decent and respected. No man can ex-
plain why the important function of citi-
zenship should be singled out for Donny-
brook 'hoorah" and turned into riotous
travesty on society. We do things differ
emily in Wyoming, very much, no doubt,
and possibly altogether, because of the ap-
pearance of women at the ballot-box with
the same rights and powers we have. We
could not tolerate rufianism in the presence
of our wives and daughters and our cleo
day School board or graveyard directory"
"HoW do the women vote ?"
"Well, we have two approaches to the
polls-one for people afoot and the other for
carriages. On election day every team
available is engaged by the contending po-
litical parties, and you can't find more re-
spectful and goodnatured chivalry any
where than is shown in getting the ladies
out to vote. It's regular New Years holi-
day. The workers are told just what time
to call for the fair sex, and they are gallant
ly driven to the ballot-box through the car
riage-way, deposit their tickets without
getting out, and then 60 home. Oh, yes,
they challenge just like men for under-age,
non-residence or non-citizenship. So it
works in the towns. AS to the country,
where the voter has miles to 60, he simply
takes the whole family instead of the boys
just few more in the spring wagon, that's
all. No other difference in the principle
and it's practical application"
GLOW long has woman suffrage been in
vogue there ?"
"About fifteen years, nearly ever since
the Territory was established, and the law
was passed for this reason A new country
like that will naturally be infested with a
lot Of transient adventures, such as herders,
cowboys and prospectors. They are here
to-day and gone tomorrow have no inter-
est whatever in the welfare of the Territory
unless it happens tominster at once to their
greed If they remain in any one locality
long enough to vote, the man who has come
to stay and settled permanently on a rancho
and has everything staked on orderly gov
ernment and good legislation, stands slim
chance at the ballot-boX with these ire
sponsible parties. Now the man who comes
to settle "for keeps" generally brings his
family along, and it was in order to protect
this class and give them chance for secu-
rity through the polls that the Legislature
granted women also the right to vote.
Brigham Young was shrewd enough to see
that the same principle applied to Utah
would give MOrmonism a tremendous ad-
vantage over both internal and external
foes, and the experiment, as all know, has
met with such wonderful success that Utah
goes right along maintaining quiet def
ance, to the prejudice of the entire country
and the most adroitly framed laws that
Congress can invent"