The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-07-03
GOVERNMENT BY WOMEN.

By Legislative enactment women are
allowed to vote and hold office in all the
cities and villages of Kansas. One
avowed object for asking the assistance
OF women in governing municipalities
was to crush out the Illicit liquor traffic.
Rigid prohibition prevails in Kansas, and
temperance men found themselves un-
able to stop the sale of liquor contrary to
law. In nearly every city and village of
the State the stuff was clandestinely sold,
and the population in many sections was
decreasing, either for moral or financial
reasons, or for both. But majority of
the people were determined to crush out
the traffic, if it could be done by law, and
so the suffrage was conferred upon wO-
men at all municipal elections, and their
aid invoked in the work of its suppress
sion.
At Edgerton about two months ago a
full ticket composed of women was elect
ed by good majority. The Mayor, Mrs.
Kelly, had babe two weeks old when
elected. Her husband was miller He
had been Town Clerk for three or four
years and assisted his wife, the Mayor,
all he could. The women, having all the
offices, also had policy. ave were GO
ing to build new sidewalks, clean out the
hard cider joints and see that no whiskey
was sold,' said Mrs. Kelly. But matters
would not go according to the policy laid
down. Although her husband wanted
her ito stick it out" yet she got SO
tired of wrangling and the nOtOriety,
and baby was so small and the men were
so mean," that she resigned.
The Police Judge, Mrs. Greer, wife of
a druggist, is described as a bright wo.
man, % years old, who proposed to stop
lawlessness among those who, she says,
'either club together and send fOI
whiskey or buy it here, and then fight
and become drunk and disorderly. Her
husbands store was an "Original pack
age" establishment. One day tramp,
who was howling drunk, was arrested
and brought before her.
'What have you to say for yourself,
you filthy man?' asked the Judge, with
a look of intense disgust.
Nothing" said the tramp.
'Where did you get yonr whiskey, you
unfortunate creature?n
''In your husbands store" was the
crushing reply.
you ought to be fined, you nasty
BRUTE" she gasped. But he had nc
money.
There was no place to lock him up, as
under the previous rule by the wicked
men the marshal furnished the lookup
for such offenders, and the fair Judge
ordered the prisoner taken to a pump
which was done by lot of boys, the fe'
male marshal not being equal to the task
of carrying out the sentence.
Two months after the election, al
which seven women were chosen to run
the municipality, all had resigned, and
again the men are running the municipal
canoe in Edgerton. Perhaps in a more
civilized State than Kansas, with its So.
600 Republican majority, women could
do better. zone swallow does not make
a spring." nor does one failure at muni
cipal government pIove that women are
unequal to the job; but, it must be con
fessed, that arresting drunken tramp
by female marshal and ducking him al
the municipal pump by lot of howling
boys, in carrying out sentence not pro
vided by law, is more funny than condu
Give to the maintenance oflaw and order
jackson, Mich. Patriot