The Monitor., 1888-04-27
To,ne women OF New Jersey.

1t has been for long time the belief of
many thoughtful persons in your state that
the women of New Jersey have now, and
have always had, the constitutional right
of suffrage, and that the exercise of this
right Is denied to them not only uhjustly
but illegally. The facts are these ::
On the 2d of July, 177G (two days before
the Declaration of Independence, the Pro-
vincial Congress of New Jersey, at Bur
lington, adopted Constitution which re-
mained in force until 1874, of which Sec. 4
is as follows Qualification Of Electors
for Members of Legislatures. Az inAabi-
tt,ets Of this Colonp of full age who are
worth ESQ, Proclamation money, clear cs-
tate, in the same, and have resided within
the county, in which they claim vote, for
twelve months Immediately preceding the
election, shall be entitled to vote for rep
resentatives in council aad assembly, and
also for all other public officers that shall
be elected by the people of the county at
large"
In $780, committee of the Legislature
reported a bill regulating elections in
which the words she or she" were applied
to voters, thus giving legislative endorse
ment to the alleged meaning of the consti-
tuition.
In 1901 the legislature passed an act to
regulate elections, containing the following
provisions
Sec. o. every voter shall openly and
in full view deliver his or her ballot, which
shall be single written ticket containing
the names Of the person, or persons, for
whom lie or she v0tes," etc.
Sec. II "All free Inhabitants of full age
who are worth ESQ Proclamation money,
and have resided within the county in
which they claim vote for twelve months
Immediately preceding the election, shall
be entitled to vote for all public officers
which shall be elected by virtue of this act,
and no person shall be entitled to vote in
any other township or precinct, than that
in which lie, or size, does actually reside at
the time of the election
For thirty -one years the right Of suffrage
thus secured to the women Of New JERSEY
was freely exercised by them. Mr.. Will
liam A. Whitehead, Of Newark, in a paper
read before the Historical Society of New
Jersey, in 1859, carefully reviewed all the
evidence in proof of this. In 1897 many wo-
men voted for members of the legislature
at Elizabethtown. About the same time
the Newark Centjnel records that ''no less
than 70 women were polled at the late cleo
tion in neighboring borough" In the
presidential election of 1900, between
Adams and jefferson, females voted gen
orally throughout the state
But it is not necessary to pile up evil
dence on this matter, the fact that women
had the right Of suffrage under the original
constitution, and that they exercised it for
over thirty years is beyond dispute.
The legislature of 1907 first interfered
with this right by passing, November 10,
an act restrctin ing the suffrage to "white
male adult citizens"
in the constitution of adding to it the
words "white" and "male," as qualfica-
tion for voters. Now the contiIution of the
state at that time provided that it could
only be amended by the passage Of
such amendment through both houses of
two successive legislatures, and the ratifi-
cation thereof by the vote of the people at
special election. No attempt was made
to fulfill these requisites and make these
radical amendments OF binding force
In 1914 the present constitution was
adopted and then for the first time the
word "male' was incorporated in the con
stitution as qualification for voters. But
even this did not legalize the former lille
gal act of the legislature. Women had the
right of suffrage on equal terms with men
by the original constitution. That consti-
tuition provided, as has been said, that it
could only be amended by passing an