St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-11-04

Mrs. John f. Fulton, caught on the
wing, said she had never given the
woman suffrage question much thought
If the franchise were granted women,
however, she would exercise it as mat
ter of duty, though her lncllnatlonS
would not speed the day on which she
must cast her ballot.
Mrs. II. {. Burbank, questioned ii she
would vote if she could, answered with
mock solemnity that, given the privi-
lege, she certainly would feel it her
sacred duty to add one intelligent vote
to the balancing of public affairs. Then
speaking seriously, she said she thinks
''the unrestricted extension of the ballot
to women would only serve to increase
the blind vote OF the country. Preiu-
dice, passion and the almighty dollar
would operate upon women as upon
men. and the vote of women no more
than men would be guided by intelli-
gent comprehension Of the principles at
stake. The right Of suffrage. rather
than extended, might better be limited
and established Oh basis Of intelli-
gence.'
Mrs. Furness said she had not given
the subject thought enough to have an
opinion upon it, and could not tell
whether she would vote il she had the
right.
Mrs. James Gilfillan answered decid-
edly that she would not exercise the
elective franchise if she possessed it.
II have no time to investigate public
matters and | could not vote in igno-
rance of them. | think women are
quite as competent to vote as men, I'M
less they are disqualified by superior
conscience. There are women who
have the time to enlighten themselves
Oh affairs of state and who al
ways cast their ballot when they may
as a matter of duty. L know there are
women here who vote on school queS-
tions; Mrs. Banning is once of them. and
there are many others. l never have,
because. 9s / said, lack the time to
give the matter proper attention.
Mrs. Z. w. Peet said emphatically
that she would not vote. Women, she
declared. are great power in politics
as affairs now exist. and that when they
go among men to cast their vote at the
polls they will lose all the influence for
good they now possess. She said she
believes III women being we'll informed
OIL all matters of general interest, but
she does not believe in their playing
public part in them.
Mrs. Pascal Smith said she would like
to vote, to make our just government
consistent, II Tor no other reason. She
finds it as impossible to believe in taxa
ton without representation as did our
revolutionary sires, and thinks the gov
ernment that graciously permits
woman property holder to pay taxes OH
her possessions ought as graciously to
permit her to have voice in assessing
those taxes. Mrs. Smith is Canadian
by b nth. and she says there seems
more logic in the administration
of affairs in Canada, which. while not
granting the elective franchise to
women, makes property the basis of
that privilege among men. Mrs. Smith is
one of the women who have voted on the
school questions here; and, so far as her
experience Went, she found nothing in
the dschargesof< her duty that is in
compatible With womanly dignity Or
threatening to the dignity Of our com
m0nweath.
Miss Ida G. Stowell, who is one of the
most extensive woman property holders
in the city, natluallyis of somewhat the
same bias as Mrs. Smith on the suffrage
question. Miss STOW ell's experience in