The Press., 1897-09-16
w. C. T. U.
Law and the Ballot,

tuo SdIue us lI lS roQulToQ Oy law or men. |
 Section 2. All acts or parts of acts in- consistent herewith are hereby repealed.
 This law passed by the recent legislature requiring women to register as do male voters, in order to vote upon school quest ions, has been interpreted by some of the newspapers of the state as being retroac- tive and so compelling the re-registering of all women whose names are already on the voting lists in their respective towns. So unjust and entirely unprecedent an inter- pretation of the law would doubtless never have occurred to any one, if the citizens in question had been of the masculine gender and a number of prominent lawyers in Connecticut, one of them member of the judiciary committee of the legislature, have expressed themselves as confident that no such construction of the law would be sustained by the supreme court. Never theless 1t is most earnestly to be desired that every woman who has the good of our public schools at heart (and upon tue work of our schools the well-being of our state must largely depend), will be willing to hand in her name for the list of voters to be made" and then, after registration, will conscientously perform her duty at the ballot box, and thus speak where 1t most counts for good, clean public schools for her children and for all our children.
 If it Is true that i've learn by doing" 1t is equally true that we show what we can do by doing 1t. Women have some form of school suffrage in more than half the states. This gives an opportunity to ad- vance the cause of education as we'll as that of woman suffrage. Let women use their ballots to secure better schools, and they will not only increase their own self respect but win that of all good citizens.
 In republic the state has no more im- portant duty than the education of its citi- zen-sovereigns and as women are the God ordained instructors of youth they should have large share in the management of our schools. School officers and teachers should be watched, not only to see they do no wrong, but to encourage them when they do we'll. Many @ good teacher has degenerated from the lack of this stimulant.
 When the children were chiefly taught at home 1t might have been well to tell mothers to "stay at home and take care of their children" But now when they all go out to school, the mothers care should surely follow them. Think of the inf1u- ence teacher may have on our little ones. She has them under her authority five and six hours day, five days in the week, for ten months year, for nearly a dozen years. Should she not be the very salt of the earth to be so trusted? And when such a teacher is secured should she not be honored and paid in way that is very seldom done2
 Rev. Joseph Cook, upon being introduced at a certain convention, said in part: have always occupied conservative posi- tion on the subject of woman's ballot. venture in this rather radical company to suggest a watch-word for the twentieth century. I should like across the walls of | this hall to write these words: "No simple tons, no shirks, no Sex in Suffage" By | ''no simpletons' mean the reading test for both male and female. By 'no shirks'' I mean compulsory voting, Give me those two strategic safeguards, the reading test and compulsory votes, and then and not until then l will say mo sex in suffrage" " My impression is that most of this audi ence don't know that the leading advance suffragists of this country are ready to
 have the reading test applied to both male and female voters. Of course I would not ta ka tho hallot from aDv roan 1pho hoe If
 now, but so help me Heaven. would fol
 low the advice of Gen. Grant, and many
 another of our great statesmen, and pro.
 claim by law that all who come into this country by birth or immigration after a
 certain date, say 1900 or 1925, and have
 the privileges of our common schools and
 do not learn to read and write shall never
 vote until they do learn. I am sure the
 time is coming in the history of our civi
 lization when we shall have to call upor
 the women to lift us out of the Slough O.
 Despond. think we shall be doing il
 within twenty-five or thirty years, and
 am so sure we shall need that help that
 want to be sure that we raise up the safe
 guards absolutely necessary to make this
 help effective, to make 1t permanently valuable to our civilization When I ob
 tain those two safeguards, the reading test and compulsory voting, will vote fol unlimited suffrage for women.
 At this same convention Rev. Anna H
 Shaw, M. D.. was the next and last speak , CT. Her closing remarks were, "I believe : tbof ho ,,il{oy, o0rd xub{oh oboll driu. voters to the ballot box will be given whel
 mothers are teachers of their boys in thei political duties and political service, ant
 the mothers and wives will drag recrean husbands and sons to the polls when thu whole family go together to the polls.
 , II believe that the school has come tt
 stay, the family has come to stay, tn
 church has come to stay, but If the churcl
 has come to stay it will only be when il
 the church women stand equally with tn,
 men, or the church will go back. The
 school will come to stay only when woman
 stands equal with the man in the school O. , the school will go back The family ha come to stay when the woman stands equa with the man in the family or the famil,
 will go back. This republic has come t. } stay when the woman stands by the sid
 of the man or the republic will go bacl F and we will have the dark ages over again
 Then will justice, truth and righteousness reign; we will grow and prosper together ) men and women as God put them"
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 1I From Sire to on. ,..-.. l As family medicine, Bacon's Celer. King for the Nerves passes from sire t.