The San Francisco call., 1896-06-07
WHY WOMAN SHOULD VOTE
By Her Healing Touch the Pool
Of Politics May Be
Purified.
If Men Are as Bad as They Paint Them.
selves They Are Not Good Enough
TO Represent Women.

While at Stanford University. attending
the commencement exercises, inquired
how it happened that the new Professor
Powers was invited to speak before the
Woman's Congress. / learned that the
secretary wrote DIR. Ross of the economics
department, asking him to recommend
some one DR.. Ross thought it would be a
nice thing to give the new professor a
chance, so be asked him how he stood on
woman suffrage. II have no objections to
it." said Professor Powers, and therefore
his name was sent to the secretary. The
public knows the result. The professor
learned one thing at least, by his expert
ence. l asked DR.. Jordan how the profess
sor happened to stray into the Stanford
paddocks, where he seemed very much out
of place. "Weu," he said, with his quiz
zical smile, "aIl his life he has been teach
ing in down East sectarian schools. He
must have time to become broadened and
enlis htened in this free atmosphere"
Then, for the credit of the university,
keep him at home until the process
is completed" l replied. The president
laughed and said he never tried to control
the opinions of any member of the faculty
l wonder how many college presidents
could say as much?
found Professor Griggs enduring with
as much philosophy as he could command
the position into which the newspapers
had forced him as the Ideal Man"
'"There is nothing to do but bear it in
silence the nine days till something new
catches the public fancy" he said. Il am
going to write to THE CALL" said Mrs.
Griggs land say that l have lived with
him seven years and found that he is not
an ideal man." Several times nine days
have come and gone and the newspaper
paragrapher is still having his small fun.
And to think that, with all this fuss, Anna
Shaw never said that Professor Griggs is
her ideal man." All she said, after listen
ing 10 his magnificent lecture on 1.-The
Modern Change in the Ideals of Woman
hood was, THE man who thinks these
thoughts and lives this life is the man to
go with that ideal woman" Only this,
and the newspapers have done all the rest.
Nothing seems to cause men so much
amusement as the thought that a woman
can find any ideals" among them, and
nothing makes them dislike a man more
than to have him admired by women
They experience no keener pleasure than
In discovering and pointing out the flaws
in such a man. nave thought many
times. during the present suffrage cam
paign, that if our women said one half the
mean things about men that they say
dpOub IuSluoelNeSs Iu6y WOulQ De JuSLlueQ
In refusing us anything we ask. From
one end OF the State to the other a chorus
| of male editors and male contr butors beg
and 1mploTe US not to step down to the
level OF men; not to soil our spotless 70 bes
by coming In contact with them; not TO
delude ourselves with the hope of ever
being able to reclaim men from their low
estate, or to lift them up from the depths
into which they are plunged and appar-
emily enjoying themselves. 1t does not
seem to cause these men any anxiety be-
cause we come in contact with them every
day and on every Dossible occasion, in the
streets, on the ferries, at the market, in
the theater, the church. the drawing
They do not hesiLute even to ask us to as
sumo the close relations of marriage, and
consider they have honored US by so
doing. 1t is only when we talk of coming
into politics, that, like the lcper, they
gather their garments about them and cry
out, 'Unclean, unclean."
There is Just one Of all the varied de-
partments of life that men have tried to
conduct entirely by themselves, and that
is the department of politics. What is the
result? 1t is in such a state that they are
positively afraid to let respectable women
enter it. Now, if political conditions
affected only the men themselves we might
be tempted to let them pay the penalty of
their own neglect and mismanagement
but every evil in the body polite affects
directly the women, the children, the
home, the whole social organization. We
are so thoroughly conscious of our own
strength and integrity that we cannot be
frightened by all the eliminating things
men say about themselves and their polit-
ical domain. 1t will be remembered that
the famous pool of Bible history had no
healing qualiti s until an angel stepped
down and touched the waters. 1t is about
time that the waters of the pool of politics
responded to a purifying touch. We de-
cline to believe that men are as bad as
they paint themselves, but if they are one
half as bad, then they certainly are not
good enough to represent women, and the
latter are justified in demanding that they
be allowed to represent themselves,
The masculine opponents of equal suf-
frage are not satisfied with telling us what
vile creatures they are and warning US not
to come among them, but they paint us
such a picture of ourselves as would make
the old masters discouraged. The latter,
it will be remembered, were fond of de.
picting their women sitting on the edge of
cloud, with halo around their heads
and far-away expression on their faces
as if they never had spanked a baby or
cooked meal o. victuais or sat up till
daylight waitin for a convivial husband
to come home, To read the fiowery edi-
torials and interviews one would suppose
all the women of California were crowned
with flowers and sitting on pedestals with
harps in their hands, while one or more
adoring men sat at their feet ready to
obey t cir slightest wish. Or, to put the
matter little less POLITICALLY, one would
think every woman was queen of happy
home, with q faithful and devoted nus