Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-12-28
TIE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN.
BY Mary "A. Livermore.

itScAe pook enClVleu Ine History OF Ply
mouth" and began to read, as if l had
never read it before, the HISTORY of our
State government in it's very begin
nings. How, in the cabin Of the May
flower, one hundred and one people
came together and made that compact
which was the beginning Of our gov
ernment. Forty-seven men, 1 think
they were, who wrote out the compact,
and then they signed it for the remain
der, who were mostly women. That is
just as matters are done now. Theu
went on to road what I had forgotten,
that when they came to the matter of
voting, only church members were al
owed to vote. In that infant commu-
nifty where the voting was done by
men, only one-fourth of the men were
allowed to vote. When l read that, l
said to myself, Well, it is pity that
they ever changed that. They had a
suffrage based upon church member
ship for half a century. II they had
not changed that basis Of suffrage, we
women should be administering the
government Of the United States today.
Instead of its being the Democratic
party in power it would be the woman
party in power, for we women make
up most of the church membership
The first Sunday in this month count
ed the members in Il certain church,
the men and the women,-and there
were ten women to every man. Ten to
one. You see, it that had not been
changed, we should today have had the
whole thing in our hands, and we should
have had men holding manhood suf-
frage conventions, and making pleas
That they might have the right to vote.
and insisting that church membership
was not the right basis.
AL that has changed: First there
came the property qualiiicatian. No
body could vote unless he paid taxes to
such an amount and unless he had SO
much money. That again was swept
away, ard all white men were allowed
to vote: and then the standard was up
lifted, and all men, black and white,
could vote. Race distinction was
swept away, and today only women
are left outside.
am astonished, when go over the
subject, that men halt, that they look
twice at the question, if they are i'm
bued with sense Of justice. Why
| should women not have 81 voice in the
government under which they live?
In the talk given by the remonstcants
Il little while ago, a great deal OF light
was thrown upon this subject. Judge
Lowell decided that suffrage was not
a natural right but q political right.
Political right is associated with polit-
ical freedom. You do not hear ANY,
thing about political rights in Russia,
because there, people are obliged to
obey laws which they have had no
voice in making; they are obliged to
pay taxes which they have had no
part in imposing. They arc governed
by people whom they have had no
chance to elect. Itis exactly the same
with women here in the United States.
The male portion of the people de-
nounce the government of Russia and
say it is tyranny; it IS held UP to ridl-
Guile. 1t is exactly the sort Of tyranny
under which we women are living.
| We have had no voice in making the
laws which we are obliged to obey, no
voice in imposing the taxes which we
are obliged to pay
Are the women not competent to
vote? Why, the women of America
are as competent to vote on every cues
ton as are the men. Just IS compe-
tent. One night last week, in crossing
the city near midnight with my, hus-
band to our own railroad station, we
had to pass good many saloons. My
husband is "a tremendous woman suf-
lfragist, ! have to continually hold
| him back. He is too hard or men. l
am obliged to counsel him to, be lit
tie more tender, a little more careful.
| / should not dare to say the things he
says. In front Of every saloon, as q
batch of drunkards came out, he would
say, suere, wife! here are sour politi-
cal superiors; here are the men who
make laws for you. These are the men
to whom you are not equal. You do
not know enough to vote, and they dc"
lie seems to take delight in saying
these aggravating things. But IT IS
really so. That is the category in which
the law places us, and in which we are
all held today. ~ the side OF the
drunkards who reel cut of the saloons,
by the side Of the gamblers who come
out Of the gambling hells, we women,
the best of us, are as nothing politically.
They are put ever our heads. They 90
have a voice ii the making OF the laws
"; which we are governed. They 90
carry their influence in the courts.