St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-20
WOMAN IN POLITICS.

WOMAN IN POLITICS.
!, aThe Fate Of stumbled down one
I of the dark stairways
Princes. of the state capitol on
Thursday night with
Senator Ward, just after the caucus had
defeated Senator Sabin. The senator's
grief at this result prompted him to
|, say; eo4 -, .,,
of men,"
He had no sooner said it than there
came to my lips the question:
''And what of the princesseS?"
He did not hear, so that in time
framed an answer to my own question,
} part of which you may read here.
The princesses of politics are not, to
my notion, the Susan B. Anthony types,
nor the Belva LockwOodS, who are moth
ing but the invaluable members of the
universal museum of freaks. The hum
BILE rulers of the hearth and home; the
hands that rock the cradle and the feet
that take so many steps for man-theSe
are the princesSes of politics; the wom-
en- who play infinitely more impor-
tant parts in the hidden history of parties
than their holder sisters of bifurcated
skirts and presidential aspirations. 1t
has not been infrequent in the political
history of this country that the kiss or
the plea or the comfort given by some
unknown woman to husband, lover or
friend has been the starting point for
the overthrow of parties and the ami
hilatiOn of thousand ambitions.
*x*
IN ga
night Thursday night
Bear. ! was called to hotel
at therequest of man
who has been conspicuous in the poll
ties of the state for decade. went to
his room at once and found him on his
bed, the picture of abject despair, AS
soon as | entered he exclaimed, while
the tears ran down his face:
''All gOne-all gOne-all g0ne!"
Knowing that he had been attached
to the cause of the defeated candidate,
I-Supposed that he referred to the am
billions lost that fateful night. But the
words took on a deeper significance
when he confided to me that he was
hundreds of dollars in debt, his re-
sources exhausted, and his wife and
child away in their country home penni-
less.
81 don't care for myself" he walled,
''but think of her and what can do?'
It was Burke who wrote so charming
ly of the part his wife played in his
proved to be in his hours of torment;
and knowing this mans wife to be one
of the heroic, silent natures of this
world, could imagine how she would
bear this blow. He was no better nor
worse than the man who plays at pol
itics as he would with dice or cards.
But his triumphS and his misfortuneS
had been her own, and in this final
overthrow it was only too apparent to
me that the burden, the sharpness of
his loss would strike her the most cruel
blow. The pinching economy of the
months to come, his gloominess and
groanS, the desperate attempt to save
home and precious things from a
debtors foes, will in the very nature of
the case bear harder upon her life than
( his
A Woman Of know of a success
rs full politician of Min
Pluck. nesota, whose name is
often upon the register
( Of Wizards, at Washington, who some
years ago fell under the blow of 5000
majority. To add to his grief he had
m0rtgaged his home for campaign eX-
! penses, and the morning after election
found himself sans occupation OF money.
He told me afterwards that when he re-
allied his condition he made up his
mind that drink was the only solace left
for him IN life. Fortunately for him, his
. wife, approaching where he stood, by
that hocus-DOcuS of caressment which
all men cannot resist, induced him to
postpone bis cOnvivial intentions to an
Indefinite date. Then she filled their
home up with boarders, made him an
advisory agent to herself, packed their
boy off to local grocery as clerk, held
on to the old red COW and sold milk to
the neighbors. and by the time the next
campaign came round they were free of
debt and on their feet again. He was
nominated again by his party, and the
night after the convention this little
woman said to her lord and master:
''Let me keep track Of your campaign
expenses"
He consented, and when the fight
ended was not only victor, but fnan-
cially ahead. Since that time he has
had no trouble. But not one person in
hundred who has watched his career
with mingled envy and admiration
knows that there was ga woman at the
bottom of it," playing the cards of love
against those Of fate for the man who
was all to her.
-
The Wrecks Of AS a personal opin-
~ ion venture the state
Politics. ment that strictly
political life contains
more seeds of ruin in it than any other
form of passion, save perhaps gambling,
I of Int I ynr,Ih
that also. 1t is hardly true that politics
is any nastier to-day than it was when
Horace satirized the Roman wlre-pull-
erS, or Cicero made plant of shameful
corruption. The atmosphere surround
ing office-seeking has experienced but
little change in any age. 1t remains
now as it has been, and probably will
be, one of the most powerful induce
ments in existence for mans bec0m-
ing almost everything that is des-
picable in man. And the disaster fol-
lowing in the wake of this strikes deep
est in the hearts of the women whose
fortunes are linked to those Of ambi-
tiOuS men.
II shall never forget" said the wife
of one of the members of the house to
me, ''the feeling of horror and anguish
which. swept over me during the last
Champaign, Wuou dnoDy NOUS letteTS
came to me accusing my husband of the
vilest deeds possible. 1t was not that
thought of their truth entered my mind,
but that men would stoop to such
things and use them to strike at a de-
fenSel0SS woman"
another, speaking of her expe-
rience. said: sThe saddest part of my
burden was to see men whom nv hus-
band had loved and respected for years
turn against him and lend their names
to awful attacks upon him, solely be-
cause he sought an office which they de-
sired to cOntrol.'
Still another told how, during his cam.
paign speech-making, her husband had
suffered from hemorrhageS. Night after
,;crh fooI. of h1c