The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-12-30
Assertions Without Proof.

| Mrs Lille DevereauX Blake has ad-
| dressed to Governor-elect Black, OF
New York, an open letter in which she
| makes an earnest plea for woman sui
frage and urges him to add his nilu-
ence to that cause. Among other things
she says:
The preamble to our constitution de-
clares that it was established ITO secure
the blessings of freedom to the people ol
the state" In taking your oath ot ONCE
YOU will swear to uphold and TO enforce
| the provisions of this instrument. so
| long as onc-haf the people are taxed With
out representation and governed without
their consent the fundamental principles
of the constitution are violated. we pray
you soemnly to consider this when ABOUT
| To pledge Yourself to the fultlment of your
high duties Today, in this state when
claims to guarantee equal privileges 10
every member of the community, the wo-
men citizens are Disseminated against
by the various departments of the govern
ment itself. i'm that smaller salaries are
paid to the women in its employment
whether as clerks or as school teachers,
than to men performing similar services.
You are earnestly entreatcd to call at
tpntion to this oppression in your mes
sage and recommend that this injustice
be rcctiiied. The party which you repre-
sent in its great convention at ST. Louis
adopted a resolution declaring that it
favored "equal pay for equal work VIII
YOU now reiteratc these manly words and
by upholdng the cause of that portion of
the people least able to protect itself, of
that sex which comprises the mothers
of the state show yourself to be the wor-
thy chief officer of all the people of the
commonwealth?
The plea of Mrs. Blake for equal pay
for equal work. rests upon such sub
stantial foundation of justice that it
cannot well be ignored. 1t will take
time to reach this plane of equality.
but the tendency toward it among en-
ployers. if slow. Is unmistakable. But
the remainder of her letter is certain
ly open to question. She says onehalf
the people are taxed under male suf-
frage without representation Liter
ally, If we take account of minors,
four-ffths of the people are taxed
without power to vote, although the
tax on minors is Indirect But as a
matter of fact, they all are represented,
and in the main quite as fairly as If
the right to vote We're unrestricted.
AS to one-half the people being gov
erned without their consent" this is a
mere assertion. When the question of
extending the suffrage to women was
under discussion before the New York
constitutional convention two years
ago the petitions from women Oppos-
ing the experiment contained a greater
number of signatures than We're pre-
scented in the affirmative. This ratio
probably prevails throughout the coun-
try at all events, the outspOken advo-
Gates of woman suffrage form a clear
minority.
As We have said on previous occas-
ions, the weakness of the woman suf-
frage movement is substantially the
weakness of the present system of
giving the voting prcrogative to good,
bad and Indifferent males. indiscrimin-
ately. We have trouble enough as it is,
without opening the franchise flood
gates to Il new deluge of uncertain fac
tors tending TO pcrplex the safe work
ing out of popular government.