The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-01-06
WOMAN SUFFRAGE.

I "onAS sur
The select committee on woman suffrage
has re ported to the United States senate
! joint resolution to amend the constitution
| by extending the right Of suffrage to
women. This report is made regularly at
every session of congress and the resolu-
ton is always voted down by large ma
| jority. Hoar, of Massachusetts, IS the
zone altogether lovely chief among ten
! thousand" champions of woman SUIT
rage. About one-ouarter of the vote
| Of Wyoming is cast by women. Con-
| trary to the predictions of the evan
gelists of woman suffrage the women
| Of Wyoming are passive on moral
| questions in politics. There has never
| been in the state prohibition movement
| of any consequence Gambling is licensed
| and there are games in every saloon in
! every town. Every settlement has its
| bawdy houses. There Is not an institu-
ton or society for the redemption of
| fallen women. There are no women
| lawyers or doctors. Married women in
| Wyoming generally vote with their hus-
| bands.
| Outside Of Wyoming full woman suf-
| frage Is unknown. In fourteen states
| women vote on school questions, and they
have full municipal suffrage in Kansas.
| Woman suffrage bills for many years have
been regularly presented to the legis-
| latures of several of the Northern states,
| and have been invariably rejected by de-
| cisive majoritIes. At the East woman
| suffrage is weaker than it was twenty
| years ago. 1t is hopeless to ask men for
| the suffrage so long as the great mass Of
women are not only Indifferent to the
appeal but aggressively opposed to its
| grant. On question of religious belief
| or prejudice or temperance legislation
| women will sometimes register in large
| numbe and cast an emotional and gener-
| ally injurious vote. but even an ordi-
| nary school election does not interest
| them. Since 1871 woman suffrage has
| steadily declined in New england, until
| in 1883 fierce religious quarrel in Boston
| stimulated certain bigoted Protestant
| ministers to urge their woman commune
| cants to register and vote against the re-
| election of a Catholic school board, and
the women. obedient to this call Of their
clergy, registered and voted to the number
OF 1900, or 50 per cent. of the number
registered. Under the same stimulus of
a religious quarrel over Catholic school
board the women registered and voted in
large numbers few years ago in Pough-
keepsie, n. Y, and it will always be
30 when the priests, who as a rule
carry the SURFACES of the women in
| the hollow of their hand, exhort
women to go to the polls. These excep-
tional school elections at the East confirm
the view that women, if given the suffrage,
would generally neglect it save when some
emotional appeal from the pulpit swept
them to the polls. or when their men were
deeply interested enough to urge the
| women to vote. The occasions are rare
when the men will ask the women to vote,
for that is but duplicating the masculine
vote and is practically stand off between
the parties, but when the pulpit, using
emotional appeal. creates an atmos-
| phere of sentimental rather than
| practical politics. then the women
will be sure to vote and will gen.
| orally vote wrong, because they would
as rule vote with the reformers who are
called ''cranks" in religion and politics.
| The Boston women have had the right of
school suffrage for years, but disdained to
exercise it. although questions of very
| serious practical interest to the welfare of
| schools have been presented, but plain
| questions of good government do not
interest women any more than they do
| feminine-minded men.
| Probably a larger feminine vote could be
secured on the question of a state flower
than could possibly be secured On any
pam, practical question of school admin
istration unmixed with any sectarian
| feeling The Boston school suffrage was
silent until the pulpit, which is generally
the custodian of the average feminine
| conscience, raised the sectarian cry and
| bade the women go TO the polls, and the
women, whose sense of social propriety is
| ordinarily limited by fashion, and whose
sense of public and political duty is gener-
ally defined and dictated by their pulpit,
| instantly obeyed the call and voted because
| the minister had made an inliammatorv
| emotional appeal TO so to the polls.
Woman suffrage would probably. therefore.
be silent in the practical politics that
! makes for good government but would be
an ELUSIVE unit in the sentimental poll
tics that always establishes bad govern
ment. because it thinks the true art and
aim and end OF all government to
sponge out every sin with q statute.
There has as yet been produced no evil
dence that any appreciaole number of
women desire 10 assume the responsibility
of suffrage. lfthey did manifest this de-
sire woman suffrage would go at the
charging step. With the present political
curse Of plenty Of men who shIrk the
duties of citizenship as far IS possible.
II would not De expedient 10 enormously
enlarge the suffrage BY forcing i
upon q sex that not only do not want
it. DO not largely exercise it under the
form of school and municipal suffrage, but
oppose its grant today, not simply by the
mouths OF foolish women, bu: by the
action and petition OF thousands Of the
best, most intelligent aud thoughtful
women " the land. The truth is that so
far as the gilt Of the full ballot 20 women