Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1895-01-10
Correspondence.
Women at the Polls.
ELLSWORTH, Me, Jan. )

4 'e'''''
During he past two weeks have been
circulating the annual petition to our
-. ,..s..t:. Pc.
for women. | obtained one hundred and
eighty signatures With the exception
of five, every business man in town VIII
ingly signed it and expressed SYM
pathy wit h the cause. Those who refused
to sign gave as a reason that they were
afraid bad women would vote, or that
women would become contaminated. As
would like to quiet the fears of those
gentlemen ask space to print the follow
ing from Hon. James S. GARRISON.
ANN F. GREEDY.
WOMAN SUFFRAGE IN COLORADO.
Hon. James 5. GARRISON, after seeing
how the women voted i'll Colorado, wrote
as follows to his paper, the Iowa State
Register:
The many good women who read the
REGISTER and believe in woman suffrage,
will be interested in knowing something
of the details of the first election In
Colorado in which women have had equal
privileges OF suffrage in all respects with
the men. | was so much interested IN II
myself that / came to Denver purposely
polls and see for myself the bearing OF
women as voters-the effect of their
presence at the polls, their effect on the
crowd, the effect of the crowd on them,
the part they would take in the contest,
and how they would appear and act while
doing it.
Some six weeks before, ] had visited
Denver and Colorado with the object of
seeing t he women in the activities OF the
campaign their feeling OF interest or
indifference, their comprehension of pub
lie affairs and their duties voters, the
work they would attempt, the work they
could properly do in the campaign, the
stability and courage OF their devotion to
party and principle, and the comparative
intelligence of them rank and file, in
telligent and ignorant, good and bad, as
compared with men had never know
any reason why women, i'll the sense of
abstract right or duty. should not vote As
well a. men had felt, IL my judgment,
passive resistance to woman suffrage
only from fear that part IClpation i'll pub
lie affairs might in some degree be hurt
full to the delicacy and tenderness of re-
fined woman hood; tha, 1t might make
woman more Gssertive. more masculine,
less feminine. and therefore less lovahie,
Having seen them III september in the
activities of a very exciting pelifleai CAN
i pa;gu, one i'll which ut least ninety per
cent OF all good and intelligent and IT
taking part. not merely na~-lNely, tut
actively, and having spent the whole dry
Tuesday visiting the polls i'll THIS city,
where probably thirty Thousand women
voted, and not only voted but bore ihef@
part n the party and public duties OF
the day. | am lett to the frank and manly
duty OF saying hat even thi, last feeling
of fear as 10 Woman suffrage on my part
is gone; and that the highest -s9inGed
man, however jealous ard she.tcrlns h
may he of his wife, mother, or daughter,
a. against contact with any rude tunch OF
the world, could not haze found cause fer
objection al any of these polls.
In the country districts II = reported
that the women voted Their maximum
strength even more nearly than the
women in the city. Instead of rough or
Vicious men, or even drunken men. treat
ing women viii ilsresPect, Tie presence
of 4 single good woman at the polls
seemed 70 make ne " hole crowd OF men
as =peCt fui and quiet as at | he theatre
or church. For the credi; Of American
men 1t it said hat he presence of one
Wume;' or girl at the polls, the wife or
daug att: of the humhiest mechanic has
a. good an effect on tn, crowd he
presence of the grandt5t dame or the
most fashionable belle.
The difference in American and Euro
pean Difference to woman | have never
seen 50 strikingly illustrated and proved
as IN these throngs OF people at the polls
of this excited and most serious election
of TGesdey The American woman is
clearly as much OF queen at the poiis,
in her own bearing and the Difference
paid her, A. in the draw ing room or al
he opera. | feel more pride than ever in
American manhood and American wo-
mauhood since seeing these gatherings
on Tut sday, where American men and
women of all classes and conditions met
in their own neighborhood to perform
with duty and dignity the selection of
their own rulers, and To give their APP
proVal TO the principles to guide such
official. when chosen No woman was
less in dignity O. sweetness of woman
nouo after such participation in public
dut ies. and do not believe there is a man
OF sensibility in Colorado to-day who
does not love his wife. daughter, sister or
mo, her the more
Election morning the women. instead