Birmingham state herald., 1895-10-13

] seeing herself as others see her." while l she stalks triumphant in the midst of her i precious fad. If she had once obtained l a glimpse of the actually ridiculous sit
 uation I incline to the idea that she would l have desisted and retired to enjoy l hearty laugh at her own expense. She
 has succeeded in rousing degree of diss l eontented stir among women who do not enjoy too happy domestic relations, and i she has not made those disappointed wo-
 men one whit happier either.
 Some Women who are more fortunately situated have also taken up woman i suffrage as 8 fad with which they pro- 1 pose to amuse themselves under the spe cious pretext of ameliorating the cruel conditions under which our feminine sex is said to now labor. Pads, fads. The world is full of them, but 1t is sad to contemplate the possibility of the. l seuth's being despoiled of her chief at | traction-dellcate womanhood-by the uncongenial invasion of northern fad | ideas. The south already had to confess !, some vices as typical of the section, but why should we consent to the importa- ton of other vices which are most de- cidedly not typical of southern women? The Times critic remarks that Cuba Grey calmly scontemplates a question fraught with the interests of over 1,500,-
 900 women of this country with the eyes 1 of one woman who has always been for 1 tunate in possessing all that she could 6esire, and that such a fact makes great difference, for, had all women been so fortunate, not one of them would ever have raised the cry for suffrage. Now, Cuba Grey does not view this pres ent complex situation with "calmness; but, on the reverse, regards 1t with emo tions of direst anxiety and horror. Mad women are scarcely viewed calmly even when we realize that restraints of a safe asylum hedge us from the chance of their | frenzied attack. I entertain only the fan6nPosf carra fOf my own or the masculine sex. indulge in frequent lectures to the latter regard ing their various peccadilloes, and the dear fellows accept those lectures in re-
 markedly gallant spirit of amendment. I love my own sex gently, sympathetic ally, but I will not deny that southern | men find a very soft spot in my heart.
 I admire a manly man, and truly love a womanly woman, but can ill tolerate those specimens whose aim seems to be that of unsexing themselves. Cuba Grey has never been so fortunate s to possess all that she could desire" but has unde-
 niab1y been endowed with sufficient men tafs balance and considerative faculty to
 refrain from "squaling for the moon as a plaything" or constituting herself
 more ludicrous spectacle than uncompro-
 missing nature decreed 1t her sad fate to
 present. Nature has not qualified wo-
 man for contesting the physical arena
 with men. If it had done so, then Susan
 
 more magnificent than the hirsute glory | assigned by partial fate to "Peffer." Su san ought, by all laws of "equal rights,' to have just such whiskers
 Think of Cuba Grey with the smooth face of one woman, calmly contemplating the caper of Dame Nature, which cruelty denies full blown whskers to over one and half million struggling women. l declare that I am shame convicted upon that score. If every woman in the world itY, bod I,illya nr,1 d 6 | service, enter army ranks, knock about the ballot boxes and vote creation into chaotic anarchy, what divinely grand aspect would this mundane sphere pre- sent to the view of gods and men! How successfully would homes be conducted then, when mothers, wives sisters and daughters managed affairs hitherto con- | signed solely to the direction and eXecu | tion of masculine genius? It is my opin- | ion that if one woman fails in properly | influencing masculinity of her own inn mediate family she is scarcely likely to | exert beneficial or purifying" Influence | in connection with the coveted ballot. | A lady may direct the higher nature | of man, but an Amazon would probably 1 call forth his baSer traits. The Times | critic denies that 1t requires physical | strength to cast vote" Certainly not, | but men are quite frequently obliged to l exhibit some degree of physical force | when merged in rowdy election u. | come off in a fracas where her delicate nose was in danger of being altered out | of symmetric proportion by some other violently inclined lady, who desired to confer "black eye" upon the fair coun- tenance of an offending sister? Woman l ly ladies might be capable of casting re- ally intelligent ballots, if those votes | could just be sent by mail. do not de- preciate the mental status Of many wom- en, but I simply emphatically do deem lad nf | sphere when she approaches the rude | precinct of a ballot box. If women per sist in urging that question, and it meets | legislative sanction, then comes the tug | of war, where Greek meets Creek It will therefore, result in type of guer- l rilla contest between the sexes. No | quarter asked by the men, and none | granted women who have transgressed, with temerity. all bounds which protect | ed them. We could hardly retire upon | the score of our womanly privileges when | once we had "bearded the lion" of mas | culinity In it's own "den"-the ballot box. Men would speedily relegate us to the doubtful position of brazen womankind by their slight display of respect for us. The ballot box cannot be purified by | admixture of female voters. Could any one put one bushel of snow into recepta- | cle already containing two bushels Of | coal dust with the fatuous expectation of | finding that ccal dust turn white? So it WOulQ De WILL WOIldH Suhi oSO oo Poii | fying the ballot box. One good woman might nobly influence votes to be cast by several men, but the "lady" had always best steer clear of the polls. The Times critic has remarked that the principle in volved in casting a vote is one and the same with writing political articles. May I respectfully correct the critics state ment just there? I may write such polit- cal articles as my mental capacity shall evolve, and those articles find avenue of
 expression through the press, which l have previously complimented upon its eallantry to the female luminares who elect to shine, through it's columns. If my efforts please certain tastes, while possibly offending others, then have &C., | complshed modicum of good or i'll, but | have escaped the total surrender of wo manly secusion that would inevitably attend my appearance at the polls. Gen | tlemen may freely criticise my subject l matter and style of political articles whenever offer them for public inspec- | ton, and would not unduly resent such l treatment. I might escape from the fire l of criticism with mental vanity not seri- ously injured; but venture to the polls,