Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1888-05-31
SHALL WOMEN vOTE7
Heavy Weight Argument Bearing on n
MomentOus Question.


Momentous Question.
At tho crisis we stand. The woman
question is being agita cd around the
world. 1t presents itself in four prom
inent phases: Q) Education. (2) En-
ployments. (3) Civil franchise. (D
Religious activity.
The question of higher or lower edu-
cation for women is being extensively
and piritcdy discussed. Time forbids
inquiry into this subject in this paper.
he question of cmployments for
women is about settled. When the
equal rights agitation began women
were employed in less than a score of
occupations. They arc now employed
in 222 of the 265 different occupations
enumerated in our census of 1880.
The next phase that presents itself is
civil franchise, woman's suffrage. !
approach the subject with profound re-
spcct-for the subject and its opposers
]. myself. was once an opposcr. alas
in my blindness. But where rs | 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 starcs her in
the face. Our mothers did not need to
ask for the right to use the tomahawk
or knife on the Seminolcs or Chippcwas
that came to murder their children.
But now an enemy confronts her who
takes husband and brother rs well rs
children and drags them down to hell.
DO you wonder that she supplicates for
weapon of defensc9 Can you hear
the
"Mothcrand children pleading
That Heaven relief would quickly send"
and disregard the cry? That the sa-
loon element fights womans suffrage
is not remarkable, but why will Chris
tan men 10 50? 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
ties wcrc necessarily such then Chris
tian men should leave them alone.
But they arc not. and it is every Chris
tians duty to see that they arc puri-
liud. And the welfare of the nation
depends upon it. Scores, hundreds,
thousands of Nihilistic, Socalistic,
bcer-drinking, law-breaking foreign
crs every year come to our shores.
For five dollars each one of them is al
lowed 10 help in making laws for the
country, while the pure women OF the
land are rcpulscd when they stand
pleading for the privilege to counter
act the great evil
Do you deny hcr because you are
so solici,ious of her good name? Dc
you fear she will be any less the wo
manP God himself is no more lixe6
in his na'ui- than is woman. God''
laws never 60 wrong. A woman viii
be a woman to the end Of time. \
woman s 4 woman, 'for a that and q
that"
Do you say that women SHOULD no
vote because they can not 60 to war
Military statistics show that not NOR,
tha,. Gnc-Glsgrter oi the men are untl
for military service. Will you take tn
vote fiom these journalists and preach
ers, physicians and lawyers, who al
the disqualified ones, and give it alone
t the hudy mechanics and artisans
T. ,aEI .sNA rynull
! want to 70 into saloon to vote" No
emphatically. But let her vote, AM
she won't allow any saloon around t
vote in. Mrs. CorLin. an anti-suifrae
ist of Chicago, says that the vast ma
, jority OF women do not want 10 vote
Alas, II, true. It's pity. Neither d
the majority want the Saviour But
, is The good women who want it
Much has been done. and the futur
is brisht with hope. in twelve State
suaia.c IN some form has been granite
. TO women In Wyoming the objcctor
have been conN erred or silcnced. Tn
ono election IN Kansas since she cor
:. ferred mdn cipal suffrage upon woman
has rcsu tod in victories for law an
order in n.Cs. of her cities and town'
J Governor Ames. of Massachusetts, an
Governor Larrabee, of Iowa, recon
" mend municipal suffrage fol- women
: words OF frank nanliness. The w,
v mans Christian Temperance UnioI
9 200, 900 strong, arc asking for su
: fragc
o The cioul of hand s-breadth is OF
comprising the world, The victory
o as good as won. The pioneer work
|; about done. 1t only remains for Il
e skilled workmcn 10 build up the was
}; PAGES Harry !. Speicher. ia Stan