The Iuka vidette., 1895-04-04
The Point of view.
EDITOR VIDETrE

State, by Miss Elizabeth U. Yates OF
Maine, has doubtless, to certain ex-
tent, set us all to thinking, by bring
ing US face to face with one grave is
sue OF the day-how in great Repuh-
lie, the right of fran chise being given
by an instantaneous process OF natural
ization to ignorant foreign migrants
and by the fifteenth amendment to the
negroes, the intelligent few can con-
troll affairs political.
Surely no small dangers lurk in a
tangled situation where thousands OF
more or less undiscipined and igno-
rant men are suddenly given the pow
er to vote in measures for good or i'll
and who too often are bought by DEM
agogucs to carry tho elections in thoir
own selfish interest. 1t certainly re-
quires cool head and q stout heart, to
believe that out of all this turmoil and
confusion, cnly we'll ordered intelli.
gent and peace full suffrage will emerge.
Miss Yates -eloquently upheld her
opinion that the bsst solution OF this
grave problem is, suffrage given IT,
respective of sex upon an educa tioaal
qualif cation.
As Southerners it is harder for us TO
think OF woman in politics than for
our more advanced brothers and sis
ters Of the North harder for us to re-
concjle, so far as woman is Interested
Home and State, but Miss Yates hand
led this difficult theme forcibly and
logically Her lecture was touched
here and there with genuine pathos
and her clear strong reasoning was
| frightened by flashes of wit. Like
George Eliot's sharp-tongued Mrs.
Poyser, she does not believe woman is
an angel or all Mrs. Solomon's, but
that if she is weak and foolish, God
made her so to match the men and
since God has endowed woman equally
with man, as man should share equal
homo life, she should share with him
responsibilities legally and politically.
In other words there should be more
father in the home and more mother
in the state.
While we do not agree with Miss
Yates on Woman's suffrage, we can
but applaud her sincere zeal in her
efforts to uplift humanity, especially
womanhood. Since Americas homes
are her standing army, if woman can
be educated TO higher sense of duty
to home through politics, then by all
means legislate to that end.
When | think of all the isms OF the
atheists and skeptics, the pernicious
theories OF frec-!ove and communism,
the utter disregard Of the marriage
vow, the growing increase OF divorces,
the thousands of homes in which
woman ignores the responsibilities OF
wifehood and motherhood for the
frivolities of society or in visionary
SCneln6S, L l1elnOlS 1OF l09 DOHlcS Ol
America Unquestionably woman is
the homc-keeper and our standing
army is moulded greatly by her influ-
ence the American woman more than
all others, should be sincere, earnest
and intelligent, keenly alive and in
touch with the issues the day. If she
can not vote in person, she should
through her influence have at least one
good representative.
We can only hope from out these
grave crises of home church and state,
in the revolutions that will inevitably
come about in the twentieth century
when the conservatism OF tho century
shall be broken up, woman's true
sphere will then be known and defined.
and she will go onward and upward to
more glorious aud exalted WON an
hood, to perfection and infinite good
ness. MADAMoISELLE.