Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1893-05-30


work, congresses, etc. at the Worlds
Fair without experiencing thrill of
pleasure and pride. and asking herself.
whittier are we tending?" The barri-
srs of prejudice are being knocked
aside, and where men used to oppose
us, the best of them are now aiding us.
Who can say what another 100 years
may bring about. BY the end of this
century we will have attained "A degree
of freedom and independence not even
dreamed of by our mothers.
4 Womans View of the suffrage Question
The disagreement which took place
at the meeting of the British Woman's
| Temperance Union" has been much
criticised and commented upon by the
papers on this side of the water. Lady
Henry Somerset wished the Temper
ance Union to take up the woman suf-
frage question as a regular department
of work; some of the members are anti
suffragists. hence the disagreement.
| This by no means gives the American
papers the right to say that Lady Som
erset only joined the w. c. 7. U. for
the purpose of advancing her suffrage
opinions or that she is at heart Lii
quor woman, being "owner of 10 or u
saloons" Her husband may own and
run 100 saloons without attaching any
blame to her, but it is on the suffrage
question that | wish to make a few re-
marks. There are hundreds and hun
dreds of suffragists belonging to the
w. G. L. u, yet that gives no one the
right to say that the organization is
one for the promotion of woman's
rights" There are hundreds and hun
dreds of suffragists who are members
of the Methodist and others churches,
but did anyone ever dream of calling
them woman's rights societies: 1t is a
fact that the very best church workers
the best educated and most intelligent
women in fact. the ledding women,
even in the conservative South are
dSC UtCduSC tIlC
men are forcing them to it! Now the
masculine theory of life wherein the
men are all brave and strong, all gal
liant protectors of the weak, burden
bearers and wage earners. while the
women are all weak, clinging, helpless.
dependent creatures, who have no need
for strength as there are no battles for
them to fight, no need for anything but
to look pretty and dependent is ideal
and mythical in the extreme, for there
are creatures who are called men and
and who exercise all the prerogatives
of men, elect our rulers and make our
laws. who are weak towards. who Meth
er protect the women and children nor
earn any wages; while there are women
who have nothing to cling to and are
forced out to work for themselves, and
children, who need every bit of their
strength. for they have the hardest
kind of battles to fight, and beauty is
actually curse to them. But the
laws are made by men and from their
theoretical standpoint. There are wo-
men who will not believe this until it is
forced upon them. How does the w.
c. T. U. do this?
Let us suppose case. Here are IL
set of women who have suffered from
the liquor traffic. They are kept in
dire poverty, they and their children
bear the marks OF ill usage, and worse,
the little ones have an inherited ten
dency to vice. They are homeless and
hopeless. Well, the w. c. T. U. would
come along with petition something
like this:
To the honorable Legislators Of
We, the undersigned, have felt and
suffered from the curse of the liquor
traffic. We know that it brings only
sin and sorrow; therefore we earnestly
beseech your honorable body to take
steps for its suppression or total aboli-
ton.
(Signed.)
After the petition is signed by num-
bers Of women it is presented and
never heard from! On inquiry it is
found that after being indifferently
listened to, some man remarked. "Oh.
some cranky woman's fool notion,
and that was all. ''Oh," says the wo-
man, "but that is not fair, are are the
sufferers and we are not to be listened
to at ALL" A politician will answer,
you see those liquor associations are
very powerful and wealthy"
. Just so. The pocket books of the
liquor dealers outweigh, in the eyes of
of the lawmakers, the hearts, nay, the
very souls of these women and child
rem, and ere you know it that woman
exclaims, Il just wish could vote, and
} ought to, too, as l have to suffer
through the votes of others"
And so your woman suffragist is
made! And when this woman concludes,
} as many have, Il among that number
that Prohibition, social purity and
many other needed reforms will never
win without the aid of woman's votes,
! then she wiz try to get the w. G. T. U.