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

their scheme has resulted in the ovolu ion
of such characterless female agltators as
Mary Lease. There is no reason why other
and far ADLER women than she should not
have eXerted an opposite and stronger in
fluencc that would have purified and elcvat-
ed the political atmosphere of Kansas, but
they did not appear and so long ms the
present standards of womanlinesS prevail
they are not likely to appear. Those who
are looking for higher political ideals must
therefore for the present give up the search
for female Moses to lead them to the
political promised land.
So far as the State of Vermont is con
cerned, it can not he truthfully claimed that
our various Legislatures have failed to re-
spond to any marked public sentiment which
| demanded enlarged opportunities or the
right of suffrage for women. As far back
as 1880 the State Legislature passed law
which provided that women should have the
same right to vote as men have in all school
district meetings, and in the election of
school commissioners in towns and cities.
and the same right to hold Offices relating
to school affairs In spite of the fact that
women are intimately interested in
schools and are largely employed
as teachers. with comparatively
few exceptions the good women of the State
have wholly neglected to exercise these
rights. The law declaring women 20 be
eligible TO the offices of town superintendent
of schools and town clerk was passed by the
same Legislature and it had practically the
same effect as had the other. The existence
Of the rights guaranteed by the two laws
named are almost entirely ignored. and the
women Of Vermont as whole have said as
plainly as they could that they do not care
to vote in any form.
| But says the Messenger. in effect, only
| give woman the right to vote and Justice
will he done, no matter whether the right is
exercised or not. 1t is just this attitude
with reference to the suffrage that is ac-
countable for 50 much evil in our local.
State and national government. The fact
that the right of suffrage involves duties and
obligations is apparently overlooked. If vot-
ing was the only obligation of citizenship it
would be comparatively easy matter to be
IL good citizen The disposition. however.
| is for the man with ten talents to remain
|
talent to shape legislation, and this one in
clnation is responsible for a very large por-
tion of our misgoverument
An argument which must he somewhat
new, although il is not peculiar to the
| Messenger, is embodied in the following ex-
tract from our esteemed contemporary 5
columns:
As it was no answer to the demand for the
| enlranC hi~Cmrnt of the slave to assert or even
! 10 prove. il possible, great majority of them
| did not desire Freedom and were far better of
| in bondage. 80 il is no argument in opposition
| to woman suffrage that 4 majority Of women
| do not want or care for il. The obligation to
! deal justly is personal one and i not de-
| pendent upon muluritic~.
An argument similar to the above was
made few day. before 10y the Troy Press,
which concluded its colored parallel to the
woman's right, situation in the following re
markable language;
They had become - degraded a. TO he salts
! fled with slavery. and when human beings
! become 80 dead 10 all he pul~ation- of man
| hood and WumHnhood ~ not to care for lib
ertN 50 long ~ their animal want. are sup
| piled. hey may properly be said to furnish in
a moral sense the missing link of the Darwin
| ian creed.
If such arguments as these are to be re-
sorted to. the good women of our land de-
! serve to be saved from their alleged friends
| It is hardly complimentary. much less gal
liant to compare the condition of the fair
sex in relation to the suffrage to the situa-
! ton Of thc slaves. The women of Yer
mont in particular are intelligent enough
and courageous enough, when they feel that
they should vote, to say so without having
| to he convinced 10y others of their sex who
! claim TO be possessed of superior wisdom
! from having dreamed dreams ON the sub
! icct. Much less do the Green Mountain
girls need to be told to demand the suffrage
| by men who hope to secure official position
or gain other advantage through the med
UNI of their support
| EcDublicuus Elected to prntect American