The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1888-12-14
WOMAN'S DEPARTMENT.
PUT INTO PRACTICE.

/ tfOn.
Bunyan. in his "Pilgrim's Progress,
found the lions which filled him will
terror at distance all chained whel
he came near enough to see them clos,
at hand. It is SO with woman suffrage
The old idea that politics is ga filth,
pool" that If women have any share il
it, it will pollute and degrade them, rol
them Of their modesty. ''unsex them,
''make men Of them" etc., is still per
vasive. Is it strange that many women
like Bunyam's Pilgrim, are filled with
dread at the idea of votingP
But take practical illustration.
woman voter in Wyoming Territor,
said, when interrogated: 1--WE were
very shy of voting at first, but when we
found what we could do by it, we have
voted ever since" what could you
do by ite" she was asked. She said
"When we came to the Territory we
had no houses, but lived in tents and
emigrant wagons. Our men began to
build houses, working every day, Sun
days, as well, so that all days were
alike-shops, stores, saloons, open all
the time. When our houses were built,
so that there was no excuse for Sunday
work, saloons and shops kept open just
the same, and We had no quiet Sum
days. But when the next election was
coming, the men and women who
wished to have business suspended on
Sunday agreed upon a ticket which, if
elected, would secure what they de-
sired. The day came. The men who
wanted open bars and stores went early
and voted, and seemed likely to carry
every thing their own way. The men
opposed to open bars were in a minor
ity. They came to urge the women
voters to do their duty, but we could
not go till after dinner, for in this Ter
ritory every woman has to do her own
work. But we hurried, got the dinner,
washed the dishes as soon as we could,
and went and voted. And our votes,
added to the votes of the men who
agreed with us, made a majority, and
We elected the right kind of a city gov
eminent. Now Cheyenne is as quiet
on Sunday as any Eastern city. So
when we found what we could do by
our votes, we have rot been afraid to
vote ever since"
These women did not think they were
urging "a reform against nature"
They were very busy, too, but it was
worth while. for the welfare of the
community, to drop other things to
help elect good men to govern the city.
Take another case of practical poll
tics. In certain town in Kansas was
an old, dilapidated log schoolhouse,
with great cracks in the floor and in
the walls, by which the children got
chilblains and colds. 1t had been
patched and mud-plastered again and
again, but it was only an old rattle-trap,
which the most careful parents wished
to replace by a new schoolhouse.
While majority of men grudged the
money new schoolhouse would cost,
and would not vote the necessary funds,
every mother. and the men who felt
that the health of the children was not
to be measured by money, adding their
votes together, made majority. They
voted the appropriation, got the new
schoolhouse, and had the comfort of
feeling that the children were snug and
They were very busy
women who thus helped by their votes.
But they thought it worth while to drop
some other thing while they in this
way took care of their children.
Take another case. A woman said to
me, with ill-concealed contempt in her
tone: 81 don't want to vote and make a
man of myself" But l remembered
hat her town were in sore need of a
good water supply. There was not
enough for domestic use, still less to
put out a fire. said to her: eff you
could help by your vote to secure an
abundant water supply for your town,
would you not vote for that?" With
put a moments hesitation she said,
why. yes. I would vote for
hat" ''And be the same modest
woman that you are now, and not
make man of yourself" saidI. swell,
would vote for that" said she. "And
f you could vote to cleanse the school,
house in your neighborhood, that was
n so unsanitary a condition that the
children died of scarlet fever and diph- |
iberia, would you not vote for that?"
why, yes," said she, 81 would vote
or that" "And not make man of |
Yourself, but be the same modest woman
hat you are nowP" / said. To which |
he replied: 81 suppose you will think,
Ifter what said, that am not consist
mt, but would vote to renovate that
Now, here was practical politics.
roper, sensible, necessary. The
lions" did not even appear. 1t is the
anne all the way through. The law
ouches the baby in the cradle, and in
'early all the States denies to the
mother any legal right to or control of
he child, unless the marriage has been
roken up by death or divorce. The
busiest mother would see that to vote
Dr. legislators who would make the
aw equal for both parents was so i'm
ortant matter that many other
Kings might be omitted, if need were,
lille she attended to this.
This is the only one point of interest.
he law lays its hands on her property,
er right to own, to buy, to sell, to
ill, to deed. What is more proper
han that she should have power to
clip make the law just in regard to
lese rights? In the great national in