The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-06-03
QUALIFIED WOMAN SUFFRAGE.


O0ciol Testimony ~ 70 How the
RiGht II Exercised.
In those states-forty-one Of the forty
hye-in which fun female suffrage does no.
exist some effort has been made to de-
fermsne the propriety or advantage Of
qualified female suffrage for municipal Of
'icsrs. SEINE have female suffrage for those
paying taxes for a certain amount, and
some have female suffrage regulated by
local authority. In New York the law
providing for school elections accords SUI
frags to all persons OF full age, and thirty
aays residence In the school district, who
cwn or hire or are in possession Of real
property in such district liable to taxa.
ton for school purposes, or who are the
parents OF children attending school with
In that district during the year preceding
The concluding part OF the state statute
Is: NO person shall be deemed TO be
ineligible to vote at any schoo, district
meeting by reason OF sex" In Massachus-
eits. section II Of the electoral statute pro-
vides that every female citizen having
the qualifications OF a male voter may
have her name entered upon the list Of yot-
ers for SCHOOL committee, and shall have
the r,sh, 10 vote for members OF the
school committee"
In the state OF Massachusetts the records
OF public elections. as kept by the secre-
more comprehensive and thorough charac-
ter than perhaps those in any other state
OF the country. There are thirty-two cit
ties In Massachusetts, and there are In all
$40 voting precincts Ia the state Of which
ls1 are in the city OF Boston and 212 In
the small towns There has recently ap-
peared under official authority the record
of the December elections of 1885 for city
and school officers and they show some
49,
women utilize the right OF suffrage In Mas
sachusetts. In the state election of 1885,
at which the vote was wholly cast for
male citizens there were 734 voters In
Massachusetts, In the city and town cleo
ton succeeding the total number OF male
voters was 3G6.1s5. or 5000 more than at
the November election. while the number
of female voters in the entire state was
only l2.o59. total of 800 less than that at
the similar city and county election OF the
year before.
OF l2n59 votes. 5.30i were cast in the city
OF Boston, but were unevenly distributed
throughout that city. In the Sixth ward OF
Boston. for instance. In which there were
900 male voters. there were only twenty
eight female voters. The Sixth ward OF
Boston includes most of the water from,
from the Charles river bridge on the south
end OF the town To Central wharf. opposite
East Boston. ana corresponds quite closely
to the Fourth and Sixth wards of New
York. In the Weather parts of town. on
the other hand. the proportion of the fe-
male vote was larger and In the Twelfth
or Back Bay ward the division was as
follows: Male, 2.aa2. and female. 2a4 In
the manufacturing city of Fall River. the
total female vote cast was S65. and In the
manufacturing city of Lynn 1t was l93.
In the town OF Pitts'eid In Western Massa-
chuse,ts in the heart of rich agricultural
district. there were only three female votes
cast. In the city of Springfield there were
80, In Taunton q and in Worcester $50
In Holyoke. which has very large
gFench-(-anadan population. there were Il
female votes cast, and in FHcnburg. In
which the proportion OF native-born popu-
latiou Is much larger the number was a9.
In Somervillc. long noted for the contro-
yersy waged In II on the temperance ques~
ticn there were only IS female votes cast.
In New Bedford there were 10. In Medford
where the rum comes fr9m-s3, In Chel-
sea- i2s. and In Cambridge. the university
town. isi
Both the advocates and opponents OF the
principle of woman suffrage find encour~
agement IN the figures shown at the las
election in Massachusetts,. and IL may be
said generally. without special reference 10
the views Of either, that while the disn-
eiinasion to vote under the prescribed con-
dliions ~ suffrage Is almost general In
Massachusetts, the exercise OF the fran
chsse ~ women Is greatess IN those c m
uuuii!es I'm which the standard Of inieli-
g,uce IL highest New York Sun.