Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-06-19
Continued from last aceek.
PRESIDENTS ANNUAL ADDRESS.
Read Before the State Convention at Can
ton, MAY 5, 1894.

Read Before the State Convention at Cah-
ton, Nav 5, 1894.
If / might have my way in regard to
our Departmental of Work for the next
five years, l would say that Loyal Tenn
perance Legion, Sunday School work
especially, pledging the children to to-
tai abstinence from liquor and tobacco,
Scientific Temperance Instruction in
schools, Medal contests, Physical Gull
ture, Purity, Health and Heredity
should absorb the time and efforts OF
the older branch of the w. G. T. U. For
the Young Woman's branch, l would
recommend Flower Missions and Social
entertainments, enlisting their help
also in the Juvenile work. Evangelis-
tic work properly belongs with all our
departments and we cannot have too
much of it.
There is one department of the Ma
tional w. G.. T. U. that we have not
taken up nor do / think it advisable
that we should at present if ever, but l
would be glad to have our women think
and study along the lines it has mark
ed out. / refer to the suffrage ques-
ton. l believe almost every woman in
our ranks and many more outside, as
we'll as men, are at heart convinced
that there is no good reason why we
should be denied the franchisN. If
you doubt this just begin to talk to
any thoughtful woman on the subject
Even the little girls are thinking this
way. This is not accidental God is
turning the thought of the world in
this direction. Christ who began the
emancipation of woman nineteen hun
dred years ago will complete this work
in righteousness. There is compare
lively little opposition to overcome in
Mississippi. Our Constitutional Con-
vention when it seriously considered
the question of giving the women of
the State the ballot, removed the en-
barge from the subject and opened
the way for it's advocates. Then our
Legislature of two years ago gave to
freeholders, which includes women, the
right to say whether they preferred
that the cattle or the crops be fenced.
Under this law hundreds of women,
good and true, have voted, and yet re-
tain all their womanly modesty and
dignity. This has destroyed one of the
oldest and strongest arguments of the
"Remonstrants." One other of equal
age and sanctity is yet adduced at
times and that is, the soul, stirring
question of who will take care of the
children when the women go to the
polls? In Kansas and the far West
this difficulty is solved by the women
who have little children, not the ma
jority in any State, taking the babies
with them. In our own Mississippi we
have only to answer, "Those who take
care of them while the mothers are at
Church or at the Progressive Euchre
party" Recently passed house and
saw lady standing on the porch sur
rounded by little children that she
was ''mothering" for few days for a
friend. At the gate was another with
a little girl that she was taking care of
during the mothers absence. A few
steps further met another Temporal
rily "mitherless BARN." his hands filled
with roadside blossoms, followed by a
reliable looking nurse. One mother
had gone to a Womans' Missionary
Conference.-The others were on pleas
nre trips
There remains but one argument and
this is that women will vote with their
male protectors and while the number
of ballots cast will be increased, the
result will remain the same. Well,
then things will be no worse and in
performing an act of simple justice our
men run no risk. But some men do
not think this. 1t is charged in the
newspapers that Gov. Waite's action
in removing corrupt officials was a
movement against the gamblers in or
der to conciliate the vote of the con,en
of Colorado. Whether this be true or
not womens' wishes will not be consid-
cred by politicians until they get po-
litical power.
In the recent debate on woman sufx
frage in the Massachusetts, Legislature,
Mr.. Darling, of Hyde Park, said:
Whether it is right born in woman
or not, does not matter to me in the
slightest. / urge the passage of this
bill as mig right, as the right of the
men of this Commonwealth. Look
over all the departments of life with
which you and come in contact every
day, and you viii believe, with me, that
there has been steady march of prog
ress and advancement in the last gen.
Grafton except one, and that is the po-
litical part Of our government. No
man will deny that our political life
has been sbased, and is being abased