The herald., 1896-06-21
Women and the Ballot

600 words: written iesibly on one side Of
Women and the Ballot
Most of the leading newspapers have
opened up their columns to the fair dis
cussion pro and con of woman suffrage,
and those that heretofore haveshunned
the subject, save as q target at which
to aim their arrows of ridicule and even
abuse, today are forced to consider the
question seriously, not as football to
be kicked about at play, but a live issue
before the American people for solution
in which Is involved real question OF
truth and justice. The press is every
where discussing the suffrage amend
ment, and while they are many times
far from expressing themselves as we
would like to have them do. In keeping
the matter before the public much good
results in our favor. The question or
equality before the law has been pretty
we'll discussed in all parts Of the United
States during the past two years, anc
constitutional amendments are now be-
fore the people In five different states.
Hon. j. c. Borrows says in govern
ment like ours resting on free and popu-
lar suffrage, 1t Is not only the right but
the duty of the citizen to vote.
The injustice that we have been hght-
ing for the last fifty years, and that the
public have at last awakened to, Is the
fact that as women we have not been
classed either as persons, people or citi-
Gems Of the United States. We certainly
belong to the human family, and as such
have claimed our natural right to rec
ognition in the government whose laws
we are compelled to obey.
Why should not women have voice
in the government under which they
live? Political rights are associated
fraadnn1 We hear MOTH
ing of political rights in Russia, be-
cause the people are obliged to obey laws
which they have had no voice In MAX
Ing; they are compelled to pay tax
they have had no part in imposing and
governed by people they have had nc
part in choosing. The men In our coun-
try denounce the laws of Russia as un-
Just and tyrannical, yet this Is exactly
the condition under which the women of
the United States live today. We have
had no voice in making the laws we are
compelled to obey or in electing to Office
men we would wish to execute them
or in imposing the taxes we have to pay
The stamp act, which stirred the blood
of our forefathers to indignation an,l
which they absolutely refused to pay
was not expected to yield more than
$50O,000 to the British government; yet
in the state of Massachusetts, alone
where the women outnumber the men
Dy OO,UUU, anu pay dIIludIy 2SOUu,OUV VI
taxes, women are wholly unrepreSented
having no voice in the assessment nor in
the expenditure of this vast amount OF
public money.
Are women competent to vote? In
some cases they are not Neither are
many men who for years have enjoyed
the franchise.
That women are competent to trans
act business. accumulate large fortunes
and manage their own affairs no one will
deny, and that they are as a rule more
honest and upright in their business
dealings than men cannot be gainsaid.
We know of but four women default
ers who have been entrusted with money
In governmental affairs and have yet to
hear of the first woman going into In
solvency or taking advantage of the
bankrupt law to shirk payment of hon
est debts. while the press is full of blots
placed upon it's pages by men who either
through ignorance or lack of principle
avail themselves of either opportunity
to enrich themselves. We believe the
average intelligent woman of America
are quite as well qualified to vote as the
average man.
If you do not think SO, read up a little
and post yourself upon any of the live
issues. such as finance, direct legislation,
suffrage, land, transportation, tariff, or
protection, and then draw out the vot-
ers nearest about you, and you will soon
find that what they do not know would
fill big book, and agree with me that
what we want Is more intelligent vote
upon all questions of public policy.
This Is government of parties,
springing from the people, and the indi-
vidual must speak through party organ
ization or not at all; and while parties
do not create principles or issues, the
ever-changing surroundings and in
creasing necessities of the people with
varied experiences forces new issues
and problems for solution. Thus new
parties spring into existence, that indi-
vidual thought may be materialized into
action.
To this end political organizations Sc
lect delegates to state and national con-
ventiOns, empowering them to promul-
gate party principles and carry them
into effect. That these men are some
times false to the principles embodied
In their platforms and greatly wrong
their constituents, and bring calamity
upon the people, we all know. For this
reason politics, which consists of men
and measures, the action and results of
which must effect every individual in
every department of social and business
life, should be carefully studied before
casting your vote, otherwise how can
you know whether your vote will bring
0OWH SHOWcI VI CyClOHe your
head or that of your neighbor.
The ballot box is the only medium
through which we can make effective
any question of public policy. or secure
their crystalization into law. 1t is there
fore the first duty of the voter to have
just conception of the duty he or she
owes to the home, society, and the state,
and to carefully and consistently exam
inc every question upon which they are
to pass their judgment, and first reach
a conclusion with regard to the public
good.
So we. the women of California, ask
the voters of this state to carefully and
conscientiously examine the suffrage
question. When you vote upon this
question next fall can you, who believe
that just government derives its DOW
ers from the consent of the governed.
and who so dearly love your own free
dom, and so highly prize the ballot in
your own hand, consistently withhold