The National tribune., 1886-02-25
WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
The Weeks DOingS at The Ma
tiOnal Capital.


upon the best means TO advance the cause OF
woman suffrage made any perceptihie headway
ia their long and patient campaign TO capture
the ballot-box or at least one end of It, But
they have a prodigious faith that their laboss
will not be ia vain; that the seed they are so
diligently sowing will be like that IN the parable
which fell on good ground, and VIII bring
forth fruit, some thirty, some sixty, and some
an hundrcdlold." The yolubility of these
very excellent ladies exceeds anything else of
its kind OH csrih. Their meetings furnish
much wegdty evidence that the many proverbs
relative 10 the capabilities of wGman's tongue
are. at least, like many romanceS, founded on
fact Bat they talk well. Their numerous
addresses, covering every conceivable phase of
the subject. are polished and scholarly, always
entertaining, if not always convincing, TO the
listener.
This observation is intended especially 10
apply to such Of the sterner sex as may be de-
coyed 10 their meetings. To the ladies who
go no argument is of course, necessary. They
are already more than convinced that they
should nc permitted to attend the caucuses
march in political professions and 90 to the
polls clothed in the full psnoply OF citizenship
Nor will we take issue with them and say they
ought not 10 have all these ineStimable priyi
leges. The fact is their arguments contain
good deal of logic that cannot easily he over
turned. Ii the most 0bdurate man can fully
d!yest himself of his prejudices. and calmly
listen to their presentation of the case, he Is
likely 10 find himself under the necessity of
brushing around right smart" rs the South
era people say. to find any good reason, salts
factory even 20 himself, why women should
not be allowed to vote if they want to.
The greatest obstacle in the way Of these po-
lemic apostles Of refsrm is the fact that their
refined rhetoric and soft eloqucnce are gen
orally wasted on their own sex. They talk
only to the anoiuted. They do not reach the
unregenerate hearts Of the other half of the
race, whose conversion is indispensable to their
success. Less than quarter of those who at
tended The sessions here were men. and many
of these were CT that class whose lives have
been devoted TO "isms" and hobbies. For
years the sufiragists have been training their
heaviest artillery upon Congress, in the belief
that they can only reach the goal by way of
the Capitol So they lay siege to the Congress
men by all the subtle and ingenious processes
that the feminine mind can devise. They
move upon them by regular system of sap
ping aud mining, advancing their parallels
from time 10 tine with consummate skill But,
although here and there fa5hy Member yields
20 the meli0wing influences that are brought
20 bear upon him, nearly all of them steel their
stubborn hearts. Gently but firmly they repel
the tender assaults and refuse all negotia-
tiOns looking TO a surrender.
Senators aud Representatives were solicited
personally and by a constant bombardment Of
letters and circular invitations to attend the
sessions of this convention, but very few of
them went. Like those We read OF in the
Scriptures who were invited to the marriage
supper, ." they all with one consent began to
make cxcusc." Great efforts have been made to
reach the incorrigible Statesmen through the
medium Of their wives and daughters, most of
She lawsivers being supplied with those valua-
ole adiuncts 70 4 well-ordered existence. 1t is
3 depressing truth however. that nine -tcnths
sf the wives and daughters need some such
visitation as that which bcfelI Saul of Taisus
10 make them give heed to these things that
make for their temporal and political saliva
ton. To put it in rude language, they don't
care continental for woman suffrage so long
ss their respective husbands supply them with
funds to buy lovely hats, and laces and things
cut bias, and there are receptions. and ger
mans. and dinners to go to. While this condition
Of Affairs eXists-and it must be confessed there
are no symptoms of speedy change-thc pres
ent laReatabic indifference of COngressmenS
wives, and therefore of the Congressman them
selves, i likely 10 continue and the women of
America Will have to rub along somehow with
out the privilege Of voting. There are a few
exceptions, bus any person with the full COM
plement Of fingers and thumbs has enough on
which to count them.
1t cannot be denied that great progress has
been made in the advancement of woman. 1t
is equally true that, whether or not they may
be any nearer the point of actual suffrage, there
has been very Hetsbic Improvement III the
ability and culture of its public advocates. Com
parison may be made with 20 years ago, when
abby Kelly strobe the platforms of the cOun-
try and har&ucued the people on " Women's
Rights She was followed by q crop of crusa-
Gcrs III boomers" shoTt-haired and saucy.
The chief result of their efforts was to create a
prejudice IN the public mind that even the tenn
,ieTatc appeals and persuasive rhetoric of the
present generation Of missionaries has not been
July able 10 overcome. Socially and in public
the daily walk and conversation" Of these
ladies rcbuke the popular stigma of strong
mlnd6duesS" 5" that is so fippantly applied TO
them. True. they do not appear Oh social occas-
ions locking as if they had left part of their
clothes a. home, but they are not on that ac-
count any the less brilliant and attractive
Their perseverance and pluck" in the fight
against such odds are phenomenal. and COM
mand our boandless admiration. But there is
one feature OF their conventions that should be
reformed. They ought rot to permit long
haired men Of the crank :" genus to make any
speeches. Wheneyer one of them shows a dis
position to disturb the placid flow of the pro-
ceedings, he should be, to use the phrase OF the
day. promptly fired" The women are the
plaintiffs IN this ease and should do their own
talking. Nine ont Of every ten men who un-
dertake to speak at a woman suffrage conven-
tion are rs sure to make failure of II as a
rooster is if he tries TO lay eggs.
HE WAITED LONG FOR 1T.
If Job had lived to prosecute claim against
the United States Government, he would have
been in great danger of spelling his proverbial
record for patience. Another illustration has
just been afforded of the many long years of
working and waiting that are often necessary
to get Uncle Sam to pay his bills. If he were
only a common individual he would have been
1iack-iisted 10y The tTadcsmen long ago. In
o63 Joseph w. Parish had q contract to furnish
.ce along the Mississippi River for hospital and
rher army uses. He furnished the ice in ac-
srdance with the terms of his bargain, but
9r some unexplained reason the Government
ticers iciuscd TO receive it. In consequence
hrish found himself in Midsummer with
nre than 1900 tons of ice on hand and the
nrcury at 100 in the shade good part of the
the. Ice. rs property, under such conditions,
Goe not have that degree of permanence that
nIet be desired. Mr.. Parish's ice gradually
meltd. dissolYing at the time all the
monY lie had put into it. He figured it up
and ound that the Government owed him
S's,3F. For 3 years he has been trying to
coiiee his money. 1t was rejected by the
Court OF Ciaims, but this Judgment was re-
Versee by the Supreme Court and as there was
no hlgher tribunal having jurisdiction in the
ease theGoveTnment concluded to pay it, Both
Houses # Congress have passed the necessary
bill and Ar Parish will get the amount in cash
He has been living in Washington for the mast
IL years devotiug himself TO pushing his
lain.
DUn