The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1888-05-24
SHALL WOMEN voTE7
heavyweight Argument Bearing on
MOmentous Question.

Heavy Weight Argument Bearing on :
Momentous Question.
At the crisis we stand The woman
question is being agita.ed around the
world. It presents itself III four prom
inent phases: az Education. (2) EN-
ploymcnts. (3) Civil franchise. (D
Religious activity.
The question of higher or lower edu-
cation for women is being extensively
and spiri,cd'y discussed. Time forbids
inquiry into this subject in this paper.
The question Of employments for
women is about settled. When the
equal rights agitation began women
were employed in less than a score Of
occupations. They are now employed
in 90 of the 265 different occupations
enumerated in our census of $780,
The next phase that presents itself is
civil franchise, woman's suffrage. l
approach the subject with profound re-
spcct-for the subject and its opposers.
], myself. was once an opposer. alas.
in nv blindness But where as | was
blind, now see. Woman is not pray
ing for chance at the honors of the
State, but she is pleading for the right
to throttle the viper that stares her in
the face. Our mothers did not need to
ask for the right to use the tomahawk
or knife OH the Seminoles or Chippewas
that came to murder their children.
But now an enemy confronts her who
takes husband and brother as well as
children and drags them down to hell
Do you wonder that she supplicates for
weapon of defense? Can you hear
| the
'.Mothcrand children pleading.
That Heaven relief would quickly send"
| and disregard the cry? That the sa-
| loon element fights woman's suffrage
is not remarkable. but why will Chris
tan men do so? That politics are
dirty, and are becoming more and
more SO. is only another reason why
woman's refining influence should be
brought to bear upon them. If poll
tics were necessarily such then Chris
tian men should leave them alone.
But they arc not, and it is every Chris
tian's duty to see that they are puri-
1 fed. And the welfare of the nation
depends upon it. Scores. hundreds.
thousands of Nihilistic. Socialistic.
beer-drinking. law-breaking foreign.
crs every year come to our shores.
| For five dollars each one of them is al
lowed to help in making laws for the
country, while the pure women Of the
land are repulscd when they stand
pleading for the privilege to counter.
act the great evil.
DO you deny her because you arc
SO solfcitions of her good name? Dc
you fear she will be any less the wo
man? God himself is no more fixed
in his nature than is woman. God
laws never 60 wrong. A woman vii
be woman to the end of time.
woman's woman, ..for a that and a
that"
Do you say that women should no
vote because they can not go to war:
Military statistics show that not more
than onc-quarter of the men are unf
for military service. Will you take tho
vote from these journalists and preach
ers. physicians and lawyers. who ar.
the disqualified ones. aad give it alone
to the hardy mechanics and artisans:
1t is said, mo true woman woul,
want to go into n saloon to vote" No
emphatically. But let her vote. an(
she won't allow any saloon around t.
| -, Nus Hn,h;,, ,A.. ~
ist of Chicago, says that the vast ma
jority of women do not want to vote
Alas, It's true. It's pity. Neither d
the majority want the Saviour. But i
is the good women who want it.
Much has been done. and the futur
Is bright with hope. In twelve State
suffrage in some form has been grante
to women. In Wyoming the objector
have been converted or silenccd. TIL
one election in Kansas since she con
ferred municipal suffrage upon woman
has resulted in victories for law an
order in most Of her cities and towns
Governor Ames, of Massachusetts,. an
Governor Larrabee, Of Iowa, recon-
mend municipal suffrage for women i
words of frank manliness. The We
mans Christian Temperance Union
100000 strong, are asking for SUI
frage.
. The cloud Of 4 hand s-hreadth IS Ell
comprising the world. The victory
as good rs won. The pioneer work
about done. 1t only remains for til
skilled workmen to build up the vast
places Mary J. Speichcr, IN Stan.
Grd.