The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-04-06
WHY WOMEN DON'T VOTE
mrs. ISABELLA BEECHER HOOK
ER'S EXPLANITION.

She Has Figured 1t Down to a Nlcety-The
Various Why's and Wherefores On the
Subject
Mrs. Isabella Beecher Hooker, writing
to the Hartford Times, answers the ques-
tion. why do not all women who have
registered vote at every opportunity?"
as follows:
1--Because in the present state of at
fairs 1t is a disagreeable and trying
duty. The men who manage the prim-
aries and the polls do not want US there,
and as a general rule will do nothing
to make it easy for us to participate In
an election but what they are absolute
ly compelled by law to do. This we
feel as one does an iceberg towering
over ship. and some of us say we will
never vote again till we are co-equals
and not suppliants. We are compelled
to go to an engine house or some worse
place, and are stared at by men ana
boys standing round, while it rare
thing that any one offers to show us the
way in, and not a carriage has been
provided for the sick or the timid or the
Indifferent. If we are really of the
slightest Importance to any party we
should not lack coach or escort, and
clean, comfortable public halls would
be provided, such as men ought to de-
sire for their own use. The chief rea-
son why any of US vote at all, under
these circumstances, Is that we are
sure political responsibilities are soon
nnf and need
training for the new duties of citizen
ship, so we pioneers who have become
tough and callous by years Of contume-
Iy and neglect accept the unwelcome
. duty of going where we are not wanted,
and live in the hope of better days.
1.-The second reason is that so little
can be accomplished by this limited
vote that it is hardly worth the cost.
. The party tickets are made up without
our advice, and so far as the school
ticket is concerned (and this is the only
one we can use) the gentlemen nomi-
mated by each of the leading parties are
as a general rule good men for the Of
fees and it is of no consequence which
are elected. What we want is an equal
number of men and women on all the
. school boards. We do not care for
. politics in this matter and are willing
. to vote for the candidates of the party
which will put the names of women
on its ticket.
1t must be remembered also that the
women who have already registered in
this state are the ones who have been
storming the citadel of conservatism in
this icy cold little state Of ours for
many weary years, and they have spent
all the time and all the money they had
to spare in working our slow legislature
up to the passage of the school bill.
In addition to all this let it not be
forgotten that this matter of voting is
something new to u.s. and that it takes
time and experience to bring ourselves
to the exercise of a right so long de-
MED, and duty which our brothers
have claimed as their sole prerogatives.
However, If here in Hartford we have
$10O to expend in printing circulars of
instruction and hiring carriages on
election day, I think over 1000 of the
LOO women registered would be seen at
the polls. But we have need of all the
money we can command in other parts
of our work, while for reasons I have
given the gain we should make by
such use of our money would not be
worth the cost. That more women do
not register and that all who have
registered do not vote is not to be re-
garded as evidence that women are in
different to the right to vote. When we
have full and equal suffrage I cannot
doubt that we shall take a general and
intelligent, and earnest interest in the
administration of public affairs, and
shall be glad of the opportunity to do
our share in directing such affairs by
our vote.