The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1886-06-03
ARIIITYHAS 81.


Among the speakers aud writers on
the question o. woman suffrage, Il is
the practice 70 refer with more or less
contsmpt 10 the Ignorant foreigner"
That this thoughtleas onstoB oan BE-
productive Of no good and muca
harm saema not % have besn taken
late scooans; and the fsei that he
"furriner" by no means nionspOllzes
the ignorance existing In America,
appears TO have slipped from memory
and observation. The fOrelgn-bOrn
dweilers Ia this land do not sic alone
in the shadows OF ignoranee, super
stition and narroWness. Witness the
fact o. the iOng-eOntinued. and many
times repeated refusals Of various
Legislatures, composed chiefly Of
American born men, TO grant even
such q mOlety TO women ~ munich
pal suffrage. What more exaspeFat-
ing, hide-bOund and unjust thing
could tine Ignorant foreigner" have
perpeirated than senator Eusiis' at
tempt 10 dlspOssess The women
Of Washington Territory Of
suiFrage2 We have little room 70
talk Of the Ignorant foreigner while
the foremost men Of our nation are
exhibiting the One-sldedness, aud the
metropolitan spirit 10 be found In
the arguments on the woman Ques-
ton In the u. =. Senate. IL any for
elgn-b0rn citizen Of kansas can be
stow any more eOntemptuOus or
classic epithets upon equal suftrHgists
than can cur senior Kansas senator,
he has not yet been heard from.
But we suppose this custom 10 =
relic Of the barbRrism which we have
not yet OutgrOWn. Even the lower
orders Of creation have an antlpathy
20 the alien and while this christian
nation has made laws favoring emil
grafton, and while Il really welcomes
10 her shores the foreigner with such
Z generosity as IL 10 be met with no
Were else; and although all this Is
tie legitimate and logical Outcome Of
UuHrepubliean institutions, there re-
mains yet this bit Of Original sin" In
the hearts Of the people which brings
out this sc0rnful hing ct the "ignO-
rant foreigner" Let the American
who Is tempted thus 10 speak, be first
assured that the American skirt Is
clean. Women are, however, almost
exeusAble for this practice, u any
body ever IL eXcusable for doing
wrong. When q woman who has =
stake here, who has spent her money
on our institutions in her own educa-
ton, ON improvements here; whose
powers and accomplishments have
gone 10 help build up society snd pro-
mote morality whose children are
an honor TO their State when such
women see the foreigner without any
stake here. with an Imperfect knOWl-
edge Of our language and
almost no understanding Of our
Institutions invited 10 the polls FROM
which she IL excluded, and assisting
in making laws by which she Is to be
guided aiid punished, and which she
h. 30 vastly much better fitted 70 do
than Is he, Il n little 70 be wondered
al, that she, I'm sore aud bitter feeling
should inveigh against the Ignorant
fOreiguern and his superior political
privilege. But let us keep IN mind
that we, who are crying out against
tlAG III unAlCc lAAeAcu blN ~ uuG SEA taau
endeavOring 10 broaden the views Of
the world ON the woman question,
must ever stand on the side Of fair
play and justice 10 all, remembering
that this Henseless repetition Of this
ecOrnful mis- homer has no winning
tendency, and that we have gnpat
need 0f the warm hearts and good
help Of these fOTeign-bOFn Americans
In the solving of the great problem OF
this age. They are among our best
citizens, and we not only need but
must warmly welcome and gladly ae-
cept their cooperation; and In SRlina
and Saline county the members Of the
=. ). A. and the w. g. T. u. ngTet
that the foreign born population do
not come into these organizations In
greater numbers. We have common
cause. Let Us work together.