Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1894-02-01

The renewed activity of the advocates Of
woman suffrage in Massachusetts led the
FREE Pass the other day to draw paral-
lei between the movement in the Bay State
and that which makes its appearance i'm Yer
mont periodically with the converting of the
Legislature. and to give some of the reasons
for the very slow progress which the cru
SADIE has made generally in the Eastern
States. We have frequently stated our be-
lief that when the great ma ioritv of the
women of Vermont desired to vote, the men
of Vermont were gallant if not fair enough
to see that they had the opportunity but at
the same time we have commended their
general good Judgment in not joining the
woman rights crusade, and we have been
unSparing in our criticism of those who
seemed anxious to take advantage of this
agitation to make capital for themselves.
The esteemed st Adams Messenger ignor-
ing our well known position. took exception
to our remarks and INDUCED in lengthy
dissertation on the abstract right of women
to participate in the affairs of the govern
ment. There is a great variety of schemes
in this world which look beautifllin theory
but which lose much of their attractiveuess
when put into practice. Free trade is one
of these: woman suffrage is another Both
of these projects have been tried, and have
passed beyond the limits of the experimental
stage, and the thing to do now is not to
theorizc but to study results.
The Messenger states at the outset that
The reasons advanced by the FREE Press
are not new nor are they peculiar to that
journal. and it then proceeds to advance
arguments when may be new and 'pccu-
liar To the Messenger. but which to the
general public will have a strangely familiar
sound, even if they do not recall that
remote age when the woman's rights move
ment boosted Of such names as Victoria
Woodruff and Tcnny Clahin
The esteemed Messenger must have al,
lowed its zeal to overcome its regard for
the facts however. We showed that the
woman's rights movement made the most
marked progress in some of the Western
States where the popuist fallacies and all
sorts of 'isms flourish, while in the Eastern
States, which are supposed to stand for the
advanced civilization of our country. only
a comparatively small portion of the women
feel even enough interest in the matter
to sign petitions in favor of thor
receiving the right of suffrage.
To prove that even in that favored
section women were finding out that
politics was not the tempting fruit
for their sex which il had been
painted, we quoted the statement that
the notorious Mrs. Lease had enjoyed all the
political experience that she cared for and
was to retire from the field. This announce
mcnt was tclcgraphed East only day on Sc
previous, SO that this argument was at least
comparatively new; but the Messenger
atudousy gnOreda all reference TO this woman
suffrage Garden of Eden, knowing full we'll
that such reference would hardly strengthen
its argument for the participation of women
in politics.
We agree entirely with our contemporary
that some influence that will elevate the po-
litical standards and purify our political
methods is the demand Of the hour, but So
far rs women have participated in politics
the desired results have not followed, for the
simple reason that it is not the best class of
women who come to the front. 1t is true
that the advocates Of this cause
have included some of our no
host men and our grandest women,
| as have those of many other Utopian
schemes; but that fact did not prove that
those projects We're commendable or even
practicable. 1t is not this class who shape
the influence of their sex, as a rule, how
ever, when actual political work is con
cerned. The moral support of such a man as
Maynard by woman sutiragists in New York in
the last campaign, as well as in previous
years, is hardly promising for those who look
to woman suffrage for leaven which will
eayen the whole lump of politics and raise
il to higher level.
Turning in other directions, the same
results of applied politics for women is
| found While the enfranchisement OF
woman has been favored by such noble
ornaments Of their sex as Lucy Stone and
Julia Ward Howe, the practical operation OF