Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1892-09-01
why One Woman would Vote.

Printed by Request.
I desire the suffrage, first, because
lam human being, and am con-
cerned in the welfare of the race.
The human question" lies at the
foundation of the woman question"
The uplifting of the race is the d.
vine problem for whose solution
Christ gave the Golden Rule. Any
restriction upon the development of
woman breaks that rule. and hinders
the progress of the race. Mankind
cannot rise above the mothers of
mankind. Any measure, therefore,
which liberates and develops the
powers of woman is of universal
value. Whether suffrage be a right
or a privilege, if it is of value to one
half of mankind it is of value to all.
To continue one-half of the race in
tutelage after they have reached
years of majority is bad for both par
ties to the transaction. Train your
boy to swim, but keep your girl in ig-
norance; if they fall into deep water,
what? The chivalrous boy seizes the
girl, perhaps, or the despairing girl
grasps the boy, and in either event
they go down. Better teach both to
swim and breast the waves of life
with equal stroke.
The human question will never be
answered by imposing equal burdens
upon mankind and denying equal
rights. Men and women must rise or
fall together. Hence, the advocate of
woman suffrage is no special pleader,
whether a Plato or Lincoln His is
that ideal republic, yet to be realized,
a government not of men, by men,
for men; but of the people, by the
people, for the people.
lam a suffragist, second, because I
am q qCOmdn, and believe in the
equality of the sexes. L find in ma
ture a three-fold equation, physical,
intellectual, moral. Woman, it is
true, has smaller bones and weaker
sinews than man; but so has the
nightingale than the ostrich, the deer
than the elephant. Woman does not
(as rule) carry the bod or handle
the pickax, but she does turn the roll
ling-pln and ply the needle. She
offsets strength with delicacy, PROV
ess with endurance. If not the bur-
den-bearer, she is the pain-bearer of
the world Though she does not
build pyramids or fight battles. she
brings forth men-children and nerves
them to be heroes.
The equality of woman beng con-
coded, the right of man to legislate
for her must be denied, as an act both
inexpedient and unjust. Inexpedi-
emf, because it deprives legislation OF
one-half of the mental and moral
force which should seek that channel;
unjust, because it always has been
true, and from the necessities OF
logic forever must be true. that ''the
unrepresentedo or misrepresented class
goes to the wall" AS a single case
in point, within few years, a large
body of Christian women, in person
petitioned the mayor of Chicago t,
right fragrant wrong, and were me
with the sheer, you have no votes,
while he turned a respectful ear t.
the wrong doors who had elected hin
to office.
1t is an axiom of history that n
class can legislate fairly for sub
ject class. In spite of the fact tina
through the agitation of suffragist
during the last twenty-five years
many laws unjust to women hav
been repealed, we have only to tur
the leaves of our statute books toda
to prove that men, as a class, fail t
treat fairly their political inferior
Such injury and insult would be in
possible if women had an equal voic
IN government.
Lastly, 1 am suffraglst, because
am a Christian, responsible to m
God. AS an accountable being q
ready standing before Gods judI
ment bar erected in her own sou
woman is bound to seek her ON
highest development. The consciel
tious exercise of suffrage is a NOR
educator The woman who vot
will study history as one who is ma
ing history, civil government as c
izen, logic and morals as a think
who must act. Ella @. ices in iSto
and Home.
Examine the Platform.