New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-05-24
WONEN ~ PUBLIC OFFICE.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: There appears in your issue OF May 10 an
article entitled Should Women Hold Public Of
nce?" and it IS an extract from the negative side
of a debate. from which It is TO be inferred that
I. was the only side presented TO you The Tribune
is apt to be fair in the hearing Of such questions
This encourages one TO present the answer 10 the
arguments. The first statement IS that 1t cannot
be admitted that women as ofice-holders would
remedy social evils from which they now believe
they are the chief sufferers. because those who
think they suffer most from evil would be
mos, benefited by reform are not competent
Judges of It's relative importance to the community
a whole.
Women alone would be just as sided as men.
but they would represent their point Of view which
is the fair thing and necessary to counteract the
incubus from the other side
The next statement which Is unsupported by
argument Is Woman Is not fitted TO hold public
office II is not her sphere in life
Every woman upon a Board OF Education every
woman who Is a school Inspector. factory in
spector a police matron, or every woman on
State board Of any kind. is woman who holds
public office The fruits Of the labors OF such wom-
on in this State too we'll known 10 need any
vindication from this attack. The reply from
perience Is eloquent II is an instance where the
talk about sphere is thin air.
Who shall draw this circular line? The Creator
of Heaven and earth: and lie places 1t in every
goes on to state instance of the general in
capacity OF woman for office that a woman In
Florida wished to count that State for Hayes when
Il did not belong TO him. because other States
which did not belong to Tilden were counted for
him. We have something more TO the point In the
fact that numberless men who have been elected
or appointed 10 public Office did not seem TO be
BILE 10 distinguish between what belonged 10 them
and what belonged to the public treasury, He
states further, that I'm politics the virtues OF wom
on would sometimes be- dangerous their
faults" but one little evidence that politics
Is suffering from any ones virtues: and again.
That they Will be outvoted In their own kitchen"
Possibly but not in proportion TO the men that are
outvoted In their own factories. The debater then
goes back in history TO prove that because the
relative position OF the sexes has been essentially
the same In all IL will always continue the
same one can easily grant that such evolution
as there has been for both sides Will continue to
be.
The next sentence ls most astonishing: Women
have great special tasks assigned them In the
works OF life. and men have not
The first clause Is assurediy true. but that men
are mere cumberers OF the earth's surface with no
special tasks" Is beyond conception. Men gen
orally think their part as great and "a important
as that OF women and quite as busily engaged.
This man simply makes the usual mistake OF as
suming that all the women In the world put
here TO rear families of small children. IL Provi-
dence has not assigned them this task, or II they
are quite through with L. this man has no use for
them MARIANA w. CHAPMAN.
OF the New-York State Woman Suffrage
Association.