The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-06-06
Mrs. Young at Lexington.
Mrs. NJ. 4. Corlev, in Woman's Journal

Mrs. NJ. \. Corley, IN Woman s journal
LEXINGTON, S. c., May II. 1894.
Our little town was highly hon
ored yesterday by the smiling pres
ence of one Of South Cardinals dis
tinguished daughters, Mrs. Virginia
D. Young, of Fairfax. In the eve
ming the court room was illuminated
and frightened by flowers, for her
reception, and an intelligent audience
assembled to hear what she had to
say in behalf of equal suffrage for
women.
She was conducted to the stand
by Mrs. NJ. Y. Harth, president Of
our organization, and Rev. J. e.
Graichen, Lutheran pastor, whose
cordial introduction lent inspiration
to her earnest soul, and, as she
gracefully arose to her feet, she was
greeted by rounds Of applause.
She held the attention Of her au
dience for nea'ly an hour. and her
happy blending Of argument, query,
repartee and humor was we'll calcu-
lated to please and interest. So en-.
thusiastic was the cheering that
Rev. Mr.. Graichen felt called upon
to tone it down little, lest in prove
embarrassing to the speaker. She
referred to the patriotism of our an
cestors in battling against taxation
without representation" and showed
how it's practice at this day is op-
pressive to women. She said there
we're $4,000 intelligent women IN
South Carolina, who, if armed with
the ballot, would be a power for
good in the emancipation OF woman,
and, through her, of humanity. No-
man suffrage with an educational
Qualification would be the best
means of maintaining white su-
prena " in the State, thus oil V a ing
the necessity of "rcpeating and
ballot box stufing." The applause
that followed, though a humillatlng
admission of the corrupt condition
of politics, seemed a good omen, as
it showed that the public conscience
is still alive and ready for reform.
Mrs. Young claimed that mothers
ought by all means to have the priv:
ilege Of saying q no should teach and
influence the plastic minds of their
children, and to know that they were
sober and moral. No one need be-
come less gentle or womanly by vot-
ING, for q vote was simply an opinion
expressed or a piece Of paper, and
women did have opinions, and ex.
pressed them. too. The greatest
opposition did not come from men
Of wisdom and experience, but from
young men, and she wondered why
To me the reason is obvious. With
such leaders as Box" of the Ladies
Home Journal, it really seems "a big
thing" to ridicule women, and say,
as one of them did to her, Girls
can't vote. They haven't got sense
enough She thought girls were
lust a, bright as boys, but admitted
that, after the age of about ten years:
they labored under much greater
disadvantages, and she thought girls
should have an equal chance with
BOYS for development and education,
and be as free from health-destloy-
inc environments and restrictions OF
fashion and dress. There was no
danger that enlarged opportunities
for women would endanger the do
nestle circle. Mrs. Young referred
US to her happy home, where she
took good care that the domestic
machinery should run smoothly till
her return. The babies need not
suffer, for the mothers could take
them to the polls as they did when
they went to church.
At the close Of her address, Mrs.
Young was literally loaded with
, lovely bouquets of choice flowers,
whose fragrance will doubtless ingerI
with her in sweet token of the cordial
reception rendered her by the his
toric town Of Lexington.
May her winning, womanly ways,
her sunny smiles and atfectionate
words of tongue and pen prove a
talisman to charm away the remnants
of prejudice and opposition to tbs