The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-10-01
WOMAN'S
DEFEAT or THE SUFFRAGE ADvo-
Gates IN NEW YORK.

Women a. Wage EarnernEwomcn's Fads
NowAdays-skilled Girl JeweIers-Ame-
lie Rlves of Today-For Her Dainty Foot.
English Ladies' In Knickerboekers.
So far as the present constitutional
convention is concerned, woman suf-
frage has been defeated by the adoption
of the adverse report of the suffrage
committee ON Wednesday, but the adj
vocates of the innovation have good rea.
son for encouragement as to the future,
for Of the votes cast more than one
third, or So out of 155, were in their
favor. In the last constitutional con-
vention. in 1867, they had only 10
votes with them, and the proposition
was treated both by the delegates gen.
orally and the great mass Of the public
as o mere exhibition of ~eccentricity ON
the part of a few impracticable indi-
viduals.
Really it was not until this year,
and a short time only before the assem-
bling Of the constitutional convention,
that any considerable part Of the wom-
en- Of the state began to take enough in
terest in the question to form any opin-
ion about it. Feminine sentiment re-
specting woman suffrage was undiscov-
cradle, for practically there was none
outside of the small number of unrepre-
sentative feminine agitators. Even
women who had broken through the re-
straints which oldtime conventions put
upon the enlargement of the sphere of
their activities gave little thought to
the subject. They were too much occu-
pied with their struggle for social free
dom to have time to spend In contend
ing for political privileges. The mass,
including the most intelligent, passed
the subject by with utter indifference.
Suddenly, a few months ago, a great
change occurred. The question of wom-
IN suffrage began to interest women of
the very social circles in which before
it had always been ignored. A strong
and decided feminine sentiment as to
the subject began to be manifested, and
serious discussions of it took place in
quarters where once it's very mention
would have provoked derision. The ad-
vocacy of woman suffrage became even
fashionable. but it provoked correspond
ing opposition, and the division of SEN
timent was sharp. Petitions in favor of
the measure were counteracted by petit
tions against it, and when the constitu-
tional convention met the delegates
were between two fires. No single prop
osition before them has excited so much
public interest as this of woman suf-
frage, and their decision has been anx-
iously awaited by many thousands of
women in all parts of the state who
hitherto have taken only a reflected in
terest in political questions.
The agitation for woman suffrage,
therefore, has made great progress very
rapidly. It has not succeeded in its first
real battle, but it has demonstrated
that it is a force powerful enough to
make It's future victory probable. III not
inevitable. It has made the question .
serious question of practical politics by
finally arousing feminine interest in it
to a wide extent, so that more than one
third of the vote in the constitutional
convention on Wednesday was favor
able to the innovation. That is as we'll
as the advocates of it could have hoped
to do reasonably, considering the exist
ing division of feminine sentiment as
to the proposition. The result Of this
initial contest indicates that whenever
the women of the state generally ask
for the ballot they will get it. When
ever they agree in wanting to vote, men
will give them the privilege Of voting.
New York Sun.