Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1896-12-19
No. Il.

out against womans enfranchise-
ment on the score of grief to come
to home and children thereby, has
been disarmed by the demonstra-
tion that voting is no more incom-
patible with washing little faces,
sewing on buttons, and sweeping
floors, than it is with merchandise
ing, blacksmithing, or farming.
Woman suffrage in actual operation
demonstrates that the exercise of
suffrage by woman does not lessen
mother love, diminish wifely devo-
ton, or weaken woman's loyalty to
home and it's dearest interests.
Though women here are eligible
to city office on equal terms with
men, only 15 of the nearly 300
Mayors chairs have been occupied
by women in the ten years of their
enfranchisement If woman had
held city offices in equal proportion
with men about | 800 woman would
have acted as Mayors in Kansas,
but our women have not much de-
sired office, and have been elected
generally for some specific purpose.
When some violation of law has
been endured far past the point Of
toleration, then in at least a dozen
cities women have been put forward
to perform a service from which
men shrink as likely to ''hurt their
business" or as being an ungrateful
task. AS the "business" of women
is mainly safeguarding their child
ren, they do not find the conducting
of city administration, according
to the laws of decency, sobriety and
morality, hurtful to their dearest
interests. 1t is therefore that city
governments are put in their hands,
and with proper sense OF their re-
sponsibility, to have performed
their in excellent passion. Concern
ing the effect of woman's ballot up
on city government we hasten to
say that we have not brought on a
municipal millennium. We have,
however, made it imperative upon
men to put up candidates of higher
moral character than formerly If a
man Of known immoral character
is proposed the "sun- bonnet tele-
graph" is potent to make the facts
known, and to bring upon him a
storm of women's ballots under
which he is buried out of sight.
Party consideration is not weighty
enough with women to overbalance
the question of character in officials
Whether women poll their whole
vote or not at every election, the
fact that ''they are there to do it,
prevents the nomination of any ex-
cept good and upright men for mu
nicipal offices. 1t is not uncommon
for men to go to women voters and
say to them: eve can accomplish
our high moral purpose in this cleo
tion only by your help" And our
woman do vote-always polling
their largest vote when some moral
question is the issue, but by no
means neglectful Of material inter-
ests They act with intelligent help
fulness on questions of public i'm
provements. Our women do not
vote for the sake of voting, but al
ways for the sake of accomplishing
something And so when there is
but one candidate, or two candi-
dates, of equal merits, the women
are apt to remain at home on cleo
ton day. OF course we have made
mistakes in our choice of men at
times and the result in such cases
were distinctly disappointing, but
we have learned that high morality
must needs be joined with executive
ability and business experience to
make an efficient city official We
have come in contact with those
difficulties which put represent
ative form of government to the
test, and out of this widening of our
knowledge and experience comes
intenser loyalty and strengthening
of that patriotism OF peace, which