Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1896-01-31
". c. T. I. SELECTIONS.
CONDUCTED BY EMELISE STEWART.
woman Suffrage in Kansas.

all Otner SURFACES nau always pceh
proGtably used; as though men voters
had never made any mistakes, never
used any but high plane methods and
always made an unquestionable sue
cess of voting. And furthermore, our
experiment in partial woman suffrage
is discussed as though there existed no
reason that women vote at all except
that she do it better than men and
accomplish more good with the ballot.
All these peculiar features OF our case
must be remembered in talking about
the advantages of municipal woman
suffrage.
If our voting is to be measured up
with the voting OF men / insist that 1t
should be said that the suffrage OF
woman ought to have less required OF
it instead of more, and that its short
comings are excusable as those OF our
brothers are not, because men have
had long experience, practical train
ing, the prestige of custom and the
friendliness OF public opinion, besides
the stimulation of selfish considera-
tions which are almost wholly absent
in the case of women voters in the
cities of Kansas.
Nevertheless the fruit of woman's
Acknowledgement in our cities is good.
The results are good to women them
selves in the widening of their thought
and interests, and in the greater self
determination and self-respect it
brings to them. It brings them to
greater sex respect and higher self
valuation. Women have not gener-
ally thought we'll enough OF their own
claims and abilities. They have been
too ready to share the contempt oil
men for woman's powers and charac.
teristics.
The municipal ballot is advantag-
eous to women in Kansas in strength.
ening and multiplying many fold
their moral influence The men who
exercise the powers that make for evil
much desire that woman may be sat
listed to use only moral influence
That class of man are not much afraid
of woman's moral influence on cleo
ton day. For on that day the infiu'
ence they expect and the influence
that is potent is that which can ex-
press itself at the polls.
Our degree of suffrage has not been
as strong as to enforce the prohibitory
law as some think it ought to have
proved itself, for the reason that all
the enforcement OF that law does not
rest in the hands of the city official
The best of work in this direction by a
city officer, elected by sobriety loving
women, can be stopped short OF sue
cess by the county attorney, whom
women may not help to elect.
In our first class cities all power to
effect enforcement of prohibitory law,
or any other coming under police su-
pervision, is removed from tbc-hands
of the voters and vested in the Gov
ernor, who has the power to appoint
police commissioners. In many cities
the voting women have made them
selves felt as a strong factor for good
in the election OF men who see to ii
that Joints are closed and houses oil
prostitution shut up. Our modicum
of political power makes us stronger to
affect legislation. even though we can.
not make or unmake legislators.
Whether or not the exercise of mu.
nicipal suffrage is a help to getting
full enfranchisement is q mooted
question. II our amendment had
carried I would think that municipal
woman suffrage had been helpful
that the slice had helped to get us the
whole loaf; but as it is I am inclined
to think the question resolves itsel
into the balancing of the friends we
make in city elections and the foes We
make on the same occasions. We al
ways defeat somebody, and somebody
always lays that up against us to take
it out upon us when we come up to
ask for the full ballot. To be sure we
always make some friends by our good
works, but somehow those same
friends we're not as active as our foes
and they were, at least large numbers
of them, willing to trade on the
amendment for any advantage they
could thus bring to their respective
parties.
An important advantage of the mu'
nicipal woman's ballot is its educa.
tional influence upon women and
men, and particularly upon the young
1t helps boys to the conclusion that
their mothers do "belong," and that
they may be of almost as much i'm.
portance in the world as the fathers
1t helps TO clear the boys minds oil
the notion that "the male is the
race" as Goodwin Smith so arrogantly
and insultingly put it. To make the
municipal ballot of greater advantage
to all concerned women should use it,
Whether there is one ticket or more
whether the right candidate is sure oil
election or not; whether the election
is important or not, our women
should 60 out to vote. They should
vote on principle. The menace to
our government is the carelessnesa
and the neglect OF the average voter.
Let women with their little bit of the
| an ffroOo sot an oYaunlo nj thot g no.