The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-03-13
DON'T VIOLATE SACRED PLEDGES.

Maine. though not blessed with such
an abundance of the fair sex as Mas
sachugetts, is much more liberal to the
ladies. A woman suffrage bill has
passed the lower House of the for
mer state. The vote was SO to SIS. Mas
sachusetts has repeatedly refused to
grant the elective franchise to wo-
men. Perhaps the men who hold the
governing power are afraid that the
women. who are largely In the ma
jority there. would take the political
control of affairs and monopolize the
offices, with their enoluments.
The consideration of this question
presses on the convention now engaged
in framing an organic law for Utah.
One thing must not be lost sight Of in
this connection. The Democratic party
in Utah is committed in cne most posi-
tive manner to the political equality Of
the sexes. If there are any Individual
Democrats who do not personally favor
woman suffrage. they must remember
that they went before the people as
candidates for election on the Demo
suffrage as a prominent plank.
The Republican platform. though
not SO emphatic and pronounced, was
yet understood to mean a similar
thing, and was intended to make the
women of Utah believe that the Re-
publican party was pledged to equal
suffrage. But if Republicans recede
from or dodge that issue, the Demo
cratic members will not be justified in
taking a similar course.
Our morning contemporary endsav-
ors to get up a scare against the in
corporation OF an equal suffrage plank
in the Constitution. It is the alleged
danger of people voting against the
Constitution If it contains such pro
vision. That is held up by some one
entirely unfamiliar With the great
body of the population. Nothing
evoked more enthusiasm during the
campaign last fall than the announce
ment, on either side. that the elective
franchise would be restored to the WO-
men of Utah.
II will be found that the opponents
of woman suffrage In this territory are
comparatively few. The overwhelming
majority are in its favor. The notion
that the Constitution would be in any
way endangered By endowing Wo-
men with a voice in the franz
ing of laws which they have to
obey, is utterly groundless. and is put
forth as a paltry excuse for hostile
feeling which the writer is rot fair
enough openly to express.
The pledges of both parties viii be
shamefully ignored. if the convention
shall fail to do that justice 10 the Wo-
men citizens of Utah. which has been
promised in party declarations and in
orations from the public ToStrum.
There are two ways in which Wo-
men in Utah may be endowed with the
franchise which they claim. not as an
inherent right as unfairly set forth by
contemporary. but as a privilege to
which they have as good natural
right as men. One is the plain,
Straightforward and better way taken
in the resolution introduced on Mon
day. The other is by dropping the
word male from the provision for
the elective franchise. which would
answer the purpose and might not stir
I'D the animals quite SO fercely as
would the direct Wyoming method.
In any event we say to our Demo-
cratic friends, don't go back on the
party, but stand firm on the platform
on which you were elected TO repre-
sent the people Of Utah!