The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-09-27
women don't know anything and there
fore should not vote?


fore should not vote?
BY common consent men have turned
over to women tho repairing of the dam
ages wrought by society. My mother used
to tell me, wheno would ask her to
throw away old clothes that she was
mending and which were only fit for the
rag bag, that women could not earn,
but that their mission was to save. To-
day women are wage earners and property
holders. and still men turn over to her
to repair not only all the old clothing
and worn socks, but the damages of So
ciety as well. All the great charities are
carried on by women. In 1876 Gov. Til
den of New York appointed Josephine
Shaw Lowell as a member of the state
board of charities, the first woman ever
selected for such position in New York.
Men who served with her on that board
said that she was the most capable of
them all and yet she never received a
position from the state in that work
which ever paid dollar. The men got
them all. Why? Because she did not vote
and people who don't vote can't get po-
sitions in politics which pay salaries.
All of the great reform work for re-
claiming drunkards and the fallen, for
teaching children to be better than their
parents and all the broken lives are
thrown over to the women to repair and
build up. Man, who manufactures these
wrecks of society turns them over to the
women to take care of and man who does
this has the right to vote. while women
who might reform the world II they had
the power are denied the power Of doing
this because they can't vote.
When men take hand in these reforms
they are called old grannies and looked
down upon by other men because they
wish to better the condition of society.
In 1858 attended the first school teach
ers' convention in New York. Old Prof.
Davies of West Point was the president
In front of Ihimynear the platform and
i'll the front rows, sat 200 men. while
about 1000 women sat behind them In the
body of the hall A committee OF. reso-
lutions was appointed, from among the
men, and came back with resolution to
the effect that the world did not appre-
ciate teachers. They were not respected
as highly as were tho lawyers, doctors or
ministers, though their work was far
mora important to the human family
These men discussed why this should be
and talked about 1t for an hour or more.
Finally T, who was reared Quaker and
who believed tnat all men and women
were equal, arose to my feet and said:
"Mr. President"
Prof. Davies finally heard me and COM
ing down to the edge Of the platform,
asked: "What does the lady want9"
1t never occurred to him that arose
to speak on that resolution. he never
dreamed of such thing and SO when I
said that I desired to speak on the subject
he appeared utterly dumbfounded. Tho
women, school teachers, all of them like
myself, craned their necks to look at me
and I thought that should die with
shame. But was determined to speak
and wouldn't give my right to the floor
or sit down.
Prof. Davies finally looked down to the
200 men, ignoring the 1000 women. and
asked what is the pleasure of the conyen-
ton?
These men discussed for half an hour
whether or not should be allowed to
speak. By small majority the conven-
ton allowed me to speak. Can you
imagine how my heart arose in my throat
and how my. voice sounded when began
to talkY
said: ''Mr. President and gentlemen
and ladies of the convention, fitlseems to
me you don't comprehendlthe cause for
the disrespeot with which you are treated
in this world. Don't you see that as long
as you look downsupon women, while
the world looks up: to doctors and law
yers and professional men that you are
teaching the world to look down upon
your The world says, these men teach
school, woman has brains enough to
teach school and SO you class yourselves
with women. You should teach the world
to respect women and then it will re-
spect you" -
And then, to the shame of the women,
be it said, that as I walked out of that
hall some of these women looked up. at
me and asked one another SO could
hear them ''Who is that creature?' But
all of this was nearly so years ago.
I pity the ministers because men DOM
care any more for what they say than
they care for what women say. Human
nature is SO constructed that man cares
nothing about what aFperson says unless
that person has the power to hinder or
hurt them. Now 500 ministers may go
to the legislature of this state and ask
for some legislation which may be wise
and for the good of the state. The legis-
lature will listen to them, hear what they
have to say, bow them politely away and
pay no further attention to them.
Miss Anthony illustrated this state
ment by telling of the BIZ partisan cleo
ton bill which Gov. Flower OF New
York vetoed because Senator3 Murphy,
the political boss of Troy, N. Y, told