The Portland daily press., 1893-03-22

SO great that men were entirely under it's
control. Mr.. Sylvester would not add to
their cares by imposing additional duties
upon them.
Dr.. Morrill, of Madison said that God
had created man a little lower than the
| angels but man had retrograded. Wo-
man had maintained her position and
Dr.. Morrill, protested against legislation
which he believed would bring women
down to the level of man.
Mr. Pratt explained that he did not in
tend to imply in his remarks that he
based his opposition to the measure on
the physical superiority of men.
Mr.. Bean of Mason opposed the
bill. He thought that if women were
obliged to go into such polling places as
those he had recently visited in Augusta,
the effect would be to lower women to
the standards of men, instead of uplift-
ing the men.
Mr.. Littlefeld of Poland said that wo-
man was to be the helpmeet of man and
he saw no reason why she should not be
his helpmeet in the affairs of citizenship
as well as in the duties of domestic life.
Littlefeld thought that that the presence
of women in the polling places would
the womenl He thought that that mas
culine celebration OF which the gentle
man from Monson had spoken would not
have taken place had the wives of the
participants been IN Augusta.
Mr.. Sprague-I guess that's so.
Mr.. Littlefield said that the House had
often listened with pleasure to the elo-
quent remarks of the gentleman from
Turner, but when that gentleman spoke
against this bill, he did it in halting
and heslIat 'ng manner. Was he afraid
of W nat Nigh happen when he got home?
DR.. Rogers o. Bar Harbor said he was
in dilemma. He did not like to disap-
p..int tie eminent ladies he saw gath red
hel but neither did he like to disap-
point the Aftle womas at home. He
confessed that be vas entirely under
vomnn's influence. "he yoke was
light one and he liked to hrs it. When
he came av y, the little woman a. home
had told him that if he voted for this
bill ho needn't come back. Now, said
Dr.. Rogers, we have heard great deal
of the state prison features of life here.
What would you do? Vote for the bill
and stay here or vote against it and go
home?
Hon. n.LlewellynPo Powers spoke eloquent
1y and convincingly for the bill. He said
that this reform must come sooner or
later anyway. He believed it was as
sure to come as the tides and the sum
rise. We have not yet gotten entirely
rid of the idea that might makes right
Why, if the power is inherent in the
people, should not women have the right
of suffrage? At no hearing during the
session at which Mr.. Powers had been
present had the arguments been better
presented than when the eminent ladies
who advocated this reform, had present
ed their case to the Judiciary committee.
We always find a class of men who be-
lieve they have the divine right to make
laws for others. He had heard
press his fears that women
might be brought down to the mascu-
line standard. That was the old cry of
the shareholders who did not want their
slaves turned out into the cold world.
Coming events casS their shadows be-
fore, and while Mr.. Powers was not
sure that it should pass at this time, he
knew that it must come.
DR.. Morrill, of Madison said that he
found that gentlemen took sides on this
question largely in accordance with the
ideas of the women under whose infu-
ence they were. He had married into
branch of the Powers family and was
much opposed to this bill as the result
of home influence. The honorable gen.
tleman from Houlton, he believed, advo-
Gated this measure either from motives
of policy OF because he had married into
a family of different ideas from those
held by the women of the branch of the
Powers family into which DIR. Morrill,
had married.
Mr.. Woodbury. of Deering opposed the
bill. AS to taxation, he said that it
was not on minors, aliens or women that
taxation was laid, but npon property. Ii
the argument that women should vote
because they paid taxes on property was
carried out there was no reason under
it why a man who owned property in
three places for instance, should not
vote in each of the three.
The vote was then taken on a motion
to substitute the minority for the major
ity report, tns minority report submit
ting bill granting municipal suffrage
to women. The women's advocates were
beaten by only nine otes, as follows:
Yeas-Messrs. Abbott of Bucksport, Abbott
OF of
Churchill, Cook, Dickey, Drake, Dudley, Dut-
ton, Fowle Garcelon, Cover, Hamlin, Harris
GSbH Of aoy d son
Littleteld of Poland Lothrop, Maddocks,
Marston.. Mitchell, Morrill, Of Gray, Morrill, of
Portland, Penney, Poor. Powers of Houlton.
Inns. Sawyer Of Millbridge, Seward, Shaw of
Portland, Smith OF Presque Isle, Stickney, |
Stoddard, True, Webster, Weeks of Fairfield, |
Weeks of Oldtown, York.-54.
Nays-Messrs; Alden, Aver, Bailey, Barlow
Bean, Belleau, Bird, Brackett. Buck, Cahill' |
Clark, Coffin. Cornish, Dow, Drew, Eaton, Far
banks. Ferguson.. Fuller, Getchell, Hanson,
gan, Landers, Lane, Lawrence, Leyeque, Little
field of Prospect. Mccullough, McGregor, Nc
Kenney of Biddeford, McKenney of Surry Mer- |
gett, Murch, Noyes, Oakes, Paine Pare, Phil
brook. Pinkham, Pratt Purington, Reed, Rog |
ers, Russell, Sargent, Sawyer Of Portland, |
lane, sylvester. Twitchell, Varrell, Warren,
Welt, Woodbury.-63.