The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-12-29

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the capacity Of the college is not -suffic-
philanthropic person, with money to
spare, will change this condition of the
college right speedily. Many of the
girls who have graduated from Rates
are making their mark in the world and
becoming useful and popular by the de-
velopment of their powers. The papers
lately announced one of them as having
been elected attorney general for Monta-
ma. believe it was denied later, but at
any rate she was nominated and received
an almost majority of votes, which was
stride forward.
Mrs Lucinda Stone of Michigan, a
leading pioneer on the woman question,
mentions that her daughter was the first
woman to enter the great Michigan Uni
versity, and that she was
Stunned as one who was trying
to get out of her sphere; so much so that
high honors at the closing reception, but
one lady, the wife of President Angel,
land grand woman she isl, spoke to
the young collegian at all. Times have
changed! Four Thousand young women
are now in the colleges of the country,
and their acquaintance and friendship is
esteemed an honor by all intelligent per-
sons.
I'm one of the towns of Connecticut
the public archives still show that a mo-
ton was made and adopted by the
s.school trustees within couple of
generations past, to the following effect:
1T is the sense of this meeting that it
would be a misuse of public funds to
teach girls the back part of the arithme-
tic
Now, in this top of the nineteenth CEN
tury, since woman can be educated and
can legally hold property in her own
right, let her be enfranchised as the
next great step towards elevating our
race; for to elevate the mothers is to
elevate the race No stream can rise
higher than its fountain.
] belive with our national leaders in
this cause that whether we view the
suffrage as a privilege or as a natural
right, it belongs equally to every citizen
of good character and legal age, under
government; hence women as well as
men should enjoy the dignity and pro-
lection of the ballot in their own
hands,
'sThe God who gave us life said JEFF
ferson, gave us liberty at the same
time. The hand of force may destroy,
but cannot disjoin them Women are
the class of citizens still wholly unrepre-
sented in the government, and yet they
have every requisite qualification for
voters. They possess property and
education; they take out naturaliza-
ton papers and passports; they pre-
empt lands, pay taxes and the penalty of
their own crimes. They lack but one
requ red qualification for voters, namely
sex which is an insurmountable qualifi-
cation, and therefore almost equivalent
to bill of attainder against one-half the
people, power which no body of state
or national legislators can exercise. Our
rulers have the right to regulate the
suffrage, but they cannot justly abolish
it altogether for any class of citizens.
1.-THE whole aim of government,
again says Jefferson, Consists in being
honest"
We sometimes hear it said that women
do not want the ballot. This is doubt
less true to a certain extent with both
men and women. Some men never vote,
and woman need not be obliged to vote
if she had the privilege, but how she can
be reconeiled to being kept in state of
political bondage with paupers, crimi-
mails and idiots, by disfranchisement,i is a
mystery to me.
l have heard a few women in this state
remark hat they did not care for the
power to vote, but believe no one can
say this, intelligently, if she is patriotic
or unselfish in the least. Surely she
cannot understand what advantages
might come to her or her family and
loved ones by her having the power of
the ballot to change some of our unjust
and unequal laws.
Women in Maine
as political factors, have no recognition.
They are not recognized as people until
the sheriff or tax collector is after them.
They have no legal control of their chill
dren after the age of infancy unless they
are illegitimate mothers.
A father can will away his children to
the care of a guardian with the approval
of the Judge of probate. A father may,
during good conduct, be the guardian of
his children though he marrieS as often
as he pleases. A mother can only be the
guardian of her fatherless children while
She remains widow. A man in Maine
can convert his property into
cash with which he can purchase timber
land and leave his wife pauper, for a
woman has no right in uneultivated
lands. Two years ago women petitioned
the legislature to raise the age of protec-
ton Tor girls from Twelve TO elgnIeen,
and after hard fight got it raised to
fourteen.
Women have proved themselves bet
ter fitted by nature and in all respects, to
instruct. care for and govern the young,
than are men, hence the profession of
teacher has numerous following
among women. Women are rapidly
proving their ability and Divine ap-
pointment to preach theGospel. Many are
successful editors, authors, stenogra-
pliers, typewriters, lawyers, doctors and
dentists. There are $4,000 women
who are telegraph operators in the
United States, and the number is rapid
ly increasing.
Many other trades are open to them
today, and there are women who have
carried on large business enterprises
with marked financial success.
We doubt not the women of the future
will fill places of statesmen, governors
and presidents. Why not a noble, intel
ligent woman on the throne of state in a
republic as we'll q, on the throne of Eng
land?
Is it not compatible with democratic
principles?
In Iceland men and women are in ev-
cry respect