New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-05-13
THOUGHTS ON WOMAN SUFFRAGE.
THE BALLOT CAN BE HAD FOR THE Ashi"u'
BI'r is 1T BEST TO ASK IT?

BI'T is 1T BEST TO ASK IT?
NJ q Van Rensselaer, in The New-York World
whenever the women Of the United states W NAM
said by al reasoning men In TIE Unted SAT- a
WET Is he pe women Of of' the Empire state be al
lowed vote-unanimously or In any ,tif
bchooves to know thoroughly well Just wma. GU,
demand would involve. whether we ycritaoiya wan
to make and 1Ss T bresent TG sn0ua
'" Need evs5y Conscientious woman make up her
nonoan suffraee no But we have recently been
implored to say that do believe In II so hrmy
that We wish for its establishment here ana now
we have been implored and challenged IN suGh
way that our silence will assuredy De AZ no, has q.
iieve in woman suffrage thus firmly ana dehniteyo
If in any manner or degree sne n as nowHen she
should sign the protest against Its & @ mt for
orr imitation But their experience has been too
brief to prove anything The experience or W yomhs
has not been so encouraging az the advocates OF
suffrage here desire us to believe Ana even II l.
had been ii would still prophesy ntte VIII,
10 the state of New-York. he island OF Mahha'-
" Some people are passonatey asserting that they
know il would work well just here and noW-eyen
that they know Just how It would work we'll But
they have no right assert this unless they claim
reasons. no tangible Endorsements. to give for what
they call their EnS~ G 9y say yho 0F hsvs
possessed political rights tnan tney would ba
possessed them for more than century Thcy
Saw that good women. intelligent women, would vote
and they say that ignorant women and bad women
would not vote Tor would vote in compaTauVeH
harmless numbers. or that they, too. would vote
more conscientiously and wisely than the men or
their kind Some people boldly declare TINS, ana al
who ask for woman suffrage imply that they beileNe
II For unless the average of intelligence ana con-
scentiousness to be raised at the polls certainly
no sane person can wish TO Ne the suffrage IN any
way extended. .., - +,
The men OF New-York. l say have been tested AMI
rnInutey studied for hundred year,. VINO can
nredict from year year, how they Will vote -
After almost every recent election the general ee-
ing has hoe on of
come Of all these uncertainties. And yet we are
assured that when for the first time. more thaiI
a million entirely unframed and hitherto uhiniet :
ested women are called 10 the polls. We shaii no.
be surrlsed-wc shall oresee just how they VIII ac'
and shall know that their action VIII distinctly ne
for good. We should not know. We cannot daie 10
predict We can only guess. In TINS case II
would be hard to overestimate the magnitude OF thc
risk. 1t would innovation or unpardAeeu
significance with regard to the future or our women
and Of our men; with regard to our poitca course,
our social conditions and the status or the nome ana
family. And II would mean an innovation anccthS
What Wyoming does the rest OF the States may dis
regard But what NeW-NOrk does tn rest OF me
states must at least consider and most probably
would initiate. We must think q: the tens or thou-
sands Of i,literate and vicious women IL Ne"-N DIX
civ and lust carefully Of the scores OF thousands
OF ignorant ncgresses at the South All toId Inc
women OF the United states outnumber me men
Think Of the enormous burden OF responsibility !oi
the welfare Of our whole fatherland which we, the
women OF New-York State. are asked 10 assume
Are We prepared just here AMI now. 70 assume III