The sun., 1899-05-14
MRS CRlHNELL's ANTT-sUFFRA9E RE
FORT.
Unfair Criticism Of II, She Says, and Un-
truthful Statemenfa About II.


truthful Statements About 1t.
To THE EDITOR OF THE suN-Sir: have
passed by without answering the many at
tacks upon me in your columns by the women |
suffraRists. but there are times when to be |
| silent Is to seem to give assent to assertions |
made. and have been persuaded to believe |
that the last attack on me- by Ida Hustled Harper |
on May Z may injure. II unanswered. the work |
in which arm interested. II will probably be
believed that am more competent to state |
how and why aud where went last fall than
any OF the suffragists who continually are
asking for space to inform people OF what l |
have done
In the spring OF 1893 the ant-suffrage asso-
Citations in the East were appealed to by women
In South Dakota and Washington to send some
one to them to help organize in opposition to
the forcing Of suffrage upon the women Of
those States. My name had become familiar
| to those Western women through my efforts to
| prevent the adoption Of woman suffrage planks
| in the national. Republican and Democratic
| platforms. and they asked me to come to their
| aid. 1 was so situated that l could do 30.
| the youngest OF my little children" who
| have troubled the suffragists that they
! have had to write article after article
| about my neglect OF them. being ready to
| enter college. I did not 60 campaigning
| through the State" T went directly to a clergy
| plan for me partial itinerary. had believed
| my work was TO be the organizing OF associa-
| tions Of women. who would do the other work
| necessary. but found 1t had been planned
| that should speak to the voters well as to
| the women. as It was felt that the amendment
| had been worded so ambiguously that many
| voters would fail to recognize 1t as mean
| ing simply the granting OF suffrage to
| women. The policy OF the suffragists.
| foI Inn ~ kon
opposition. but to win through what they
termed a still hunt" as the amendment would
| garry by the majority OF the votes cast on it.
Consequently l addressed men and women
reach in the three weeks that had at my dis
posal in South Dakota. spoke in each town at
women. and when 1 left for Washington had
to refuse thirty-three nytations to speak ,Sn,.a
off in m the vote tessainst woman suffrage in South
Dakota In ls''S as against 1890. but they al,
sSs 9s n t aSe
in 1890! 1t ia true that the vote against woman
5uT onS reason ws for that lay n the Fact that in
| 1870 the Eastern suffragists went through
har 2Fcf sr
spread knoSledge was given OF the TACT that that
renF VIII to ns yGfs that %
State Of such vast -. distances three
weeks work hSLIy ~ tsa co1 to
dton tG'y to The voter There were
questions that seemed to be OF paramount In
terest to be voted on. SO that many Of the peo-
Pile lost sight Of tho fact that there was woman
suffrage amendment to be voted on: On,
Whether it was defeated by one or by one thou
sand votes does not affect me. went there to
help the women who were opposed and tho
TO show That there is a difference Of opinion on
work between the written sentiment OF the
sufrragists Of the East aud the people who
I am sure. Il quote from letter received by
me from the. editor of one OF the brightest
I'VE know. however. that the suffrage amend
ment has been defeated and the question now now
stsfe aep probabiy Of d saved the day m ''
There were thirteen suffragists working In
% and the % greater % part OF Of the foreign eli lemsnt.
maj mSIoriy Ss Of % at least i5.ooo The local press
speakjne ot the outlook 1 for the women NJ cam am
pagasrs IN the fall eestS ar Emma Cram nd
one who Is as closely in touch with the actual
situation as any one. has this to say:
frage amendment has never before been bright.
sS in sns ns Rs. ms, NTH
;S@ IN iss h SSasy 5 P ftr . .uas. RoTi
ad % S ss .ss grin e as Tes
and Tn Of sioux fsE ss and I.
ardent suttragist and his outspoken utteranGes Will
Roman Catholics of the State
Despite which the amendment was lost by
nearly 1000 majority, .
! fore election, found in Spokane. upon con-
; work, to do was to have the active women op-
posed use the press in order & to awaken @ other s
, enee to defeat the amend ment
; When it is considered that the Populistio
indorsed the woman suffrage amendment. and
that many speakers made i part Of their
8 isAed with majority Of nearly 10000.
= Your correspondent says: This anti-Suff-
ann So ass that
= Jections to the enfranchisement OF women are
logic, reason and practical experience" and. by
3 impl lication. rohS the suffrage arguments OF
Q sentiment and theory, and gives them all the
r logic and reason and practical experience.
This statement is not borne out in fact. The
reason that SO many suffrage articles are e un
8 suffrage will ACCOMPLISH such and such results.
/, and without any authority for her statement.
it. ans Is Ph hs Is n this EnG
Regarding the practical experience let a,, the
for u.s. not the manitestoS prepared by the
4 woman suffraasts and taken by % them n to the the
"e our oiiisiais in New York State 70 sien sirsa;
them. and which they hoped would reelect them
=. II Iudiciously pampered. was good thing
|
= Legislature last winter. which was a sort OF
a boomerang to the Eastern suffragists who
were present when II was offered. and had be:
lieyed it would go through unanimously and I'D
a the suffragsts themselves. For instance Mrs
q Sarah S. Platt Of Denver. Col. is leader Of the
= suffrage clans OF that State and the candidate
t for Governor. In the Woman's Journal o
r Sept. "a. 1899. she answers what she calls the
g four points of inquiry
9 ''Flrst-Do the earnest. highminded women
9 OF Colorado vote 2"
q Her reply to this, stripped Of it's verbiage. Ia
7 Yes; the best women OF Colorado have more
a onscience in exercising their responsibilities
9 as voters than the men OF the same class"
o One Of the growing evils OF our republican
form of government Is that the best men dc
u not always vote and the answer. therefore
y does not convey satisfactory idea to the in
a quirer. n... .,,o -, ,,. 1,,.o,,,,
y table low class of women counterbalance the
n vote OF the cultivated thinking class?"
3, And the answer is that The women OF th(
't half-world do not vote. as they are constantly
changing their residences and names. and pre-
E fer TO remain unknown ?. but that OCCASIONAL!
= some dlsreputable master compels these slaves
Is to vote for his own purposes"
10 This needs comment.