The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-05-11

The views of women on what is termed the
woman question are as diverse as their style OF
beauty and womanhood There are women of
culture and high intelligence, for instance, who
do not believe in woman suffrage. One OF these
is Mrs. William ID. Owen, wife OF Representa-
tive Owen, from Logansport, Ind. Mrs. owen
is a gentle little woman of the thoroughly femi-
nine type, apparently engrossed with society af-
fairs, but by no means so in reality.
ssI am not in favor of suffrage for women,"
Mrs Owen said. 81 think it would have a ten
dency to cheaper her in the estimation of man
kind. But do believein in women understanding
business, and having every opportunity to fur
ther their interest in that way. My heart is
often panied at the sight of woman struggling
for livelihood, but their want of success is
often as much want of tact as anything else.
They expect privileges because they are women,
and take unbusiness-like advantages. l can
make a legal document, pay my taxes, and buy
or sell a piece of land without the help
of a man. At least. have done so several
times. / was widow for five years, and had
more land in western Iowa than any other one
woman To illustrate what mean Will tell
YOU an incident. Once when in Chicagol called
to see a gentleman about purely business
transaction, and he, thinking to treat me first as
a woman and possibly then as client, invited
me to ride round the parks in his carriage.
IT, ii
matter of business. We will settle that, if you
please. You can make up my account, and then
if you see fit to show me any little social atten-
tions, all right. This is business interview.
That at once restored the gentleman to busi-
ness basis, and we conducted the affair to
happy issue, just as two gentlemen would
never went outside of my sphere to engage in
business, but my first husband thought he dis
covered in me good business capabilities and
instead of discouraging he often encouraged me
by consulting me about his business transactions,
and my suggestions happened to prove happy
hits he sometimes would insist on me conducting
business transaction throughout. thus be-
came familiar with the forms of the business
world, and afterward came to regard it as very
valuable bit of knowledge. If more sheltered
women in ha4py homes had little training of
this kind from fathers, husbands, or brothers,
so many women during sorrow and bereavement
would not find their property jeopardiZed or
dispersed by inscriptions men,
Mrs Carey, wife of Judge Carey, Delegate
from Wyoming Territory, was next called upon.
Mrs. Carey is at that charming period in life
when she is neither young nor old. She has
outgrown the illusions and delusons OF youth
and entered upon the era of a fully developed
mental womanhood She is slender woman,
with dark hair and eyes She came tripping
down stairs in graceful morning gown OF
crimson India silk, with white crepe Fedora
front
In response to the question, "What do you
think of woman suffrage and woman in business
life ?" she said, without hesitation, 81 now be-
lieve in woman suffrage with all my heart.
Having voted ever since l was twenty-one,
think | ought to be able to judge something of
its effects upon women and upon community
There is no question in my mind but that it
does help women in all the relations of life. L
cast my first vote just as kind of joke, merely
because | could | did not then think so much
of it as since have come to. woman who
has vote in her hand is always treated with
more respect than when she is without it. She
becomes more intelligent, for having vote is
alc of q on
if he can vote, and we women of Wyoming have
found that it is the secret of power 1t opens
business doors and fixes salaries on an equal
basis for an equal amount OF work well done,
for men and women alike"
''Does it not have tendency to disturb the
domestic relations of life, to bring discord into
the homeW
NO. do not think it does, l do not think
there is any place on earth where there are more
happy homes than in Wyoming have even
known women to vote differently from their
husbands without producing an earthquake or
invoking the aid of divorce to keep the peace.
If woman thinks deeply, intellgently of af-
fairs and wants to vote, with us she just goes
and registers as man does, and walks up on
election day and deposits her vote without mo-
lestation or any unpleasant consequences.
have come to consider my vote in a light of both
privilege and duty. 1t is all right to laugh at
woman suffrage, even when you enjoy it-unti
you are in danger of losing it. | would prefer
to live in q Territory and enjoy my political
to live in State without it, and it is my belief
that Wyoming will prefer to forego the privileges
of Statehood before she will disfranchise some OF
her best and most intelligent women citizens,
women who are large propertY-holders, having
ranches and mining interests of great value, and
who ought to continue to have the privilege OF
making laws for domestic or home government.
Last year many women waited to be called for
with carriages to be taken to the voting places,
but this year they did not wait to be called for,
when their privilege was, in a sense, in jeopardy.
/ think if some of our Southern Senators, who
can get off such sentimental gush,' such side
splitting Jokes at the expense of woman suffrag-
ists would take trip of inspection into Wyo-
ming about election time they might have some
of their thousands of years old prejudices
slightly shaken"
Mrs. Mary S. Lockwood, who is representa-
tive suffragist and good business woman, finds
time even amid the cares OF managing large
private hotel to write about the "Historic Homes
of Washington - but she always can spare mo-
ment to consider any important question. 81
never,n she said, ''gave the subject of suffrage
for women thought while had husband OF
father, but when thrown upon my own re-
sources, and found could not get lease on
property without first engaging responsible
man to stand sponsor for it, or sell my OWL
property without putting it into the hands OF
trustees, my eyes were opened. Its the womeI
who are not brought into conflict with the ac
Qualities of life, and are cared for by husbands OF
fathers, who, without reflection upon the sub
ject, are as a rule the opponents of woman suf
fraUa - 10. l.. =.