The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-03-11
THE CAUSE OF WOMAN.
CONGRESSMAN BAILEY As CONTRTBU.
1OR TO 4 FASHION y.
His Essay on wi Women Fail ns Pntlia-
m.ntarian.'- His Views On the Subject
piscu.s.d DR.. Talm,g- ON woman
work Of New Orleans Women Voters.

work Of New Orleans Women Voters.
,.rt the great State Of Texas in Congress he
announced among other things that he should
r.y.r wear a dress suit, bu, in n short time he
~.s putting one on every evening Tor dinner,
and Welding In various other particulars to the
society demands Of the national capital So II
n, not altogether a matter Of surprise tina, We
behold HIM now In the role Of contributor 10 Har
,,, Ba.dr, a Heading magazine of fashion There
was some doubt as to where the Hon MI Bahey's
article would he found among all the irlls and
fufbelows We searched for 1t under the heads
Of Every Woman Her own Dressmaker," New
Designs IN Fruits Salads, Latest Styles Of Lin
sere," but found it not Then We looked in vain
through the departments Of food Form" Polite
Fiction" wit and Humor.- but felt sure va had
discovered it in Letters IN a Nervous Woman ~
When at las, II was run down it turned out to be
not on Spring Novelties" but on the far less
Important topic, Where Women Fail as Paria
msntarisns"
Mr. Bailey gives Ave reasons why they fail
First, because they have no legislative busi
ness ~ sufficient Importance 10 compel them 10
master parliamentary methods. second, because
they lack The necessary mental calibre tn com
prehend them; third, because. assuming their
knowledge in the abstract. they have no oppor
tunity to acquire the skill of practice; fourth, he
cause the feminine temperament is consttu.
tionally opposed to the perfect mental poise alb
solu,ely essential to success In governing a de
Lucrative body: Attn, because parliamentary
practice Is wholly outside a womars spher"
To prove this last statement MIR bailey de
clares that this sphere is defined by the law Of
the United States the Constitution which in
diligently excludes woman from the sphere II
government. save by representation in the ex
plid, unit q political power the adult male
citizen" We women always have been taught
that our sphere was clearly marked out several
years before the institution wss framed, al
the time Of the Creation, in fact, and the explicit
unit, the adult male citizen" never has allowed
ps to forget IT. Asa matter Of Truth the fire. mrrs
81 the Constitution did not exclude women from
the sphere Of government, and the word male"
was not used in that Instrument until after our
late Civil War. when it was '~1ntelligentlv" put
into the Fourteenth Amendment in order to en-
franchise the negro men without eniranchisins
the negro women. There is nothing whatever
IN the original Constitution which excludes women
from government 1t IL the State constitutions
alone which do this. The twaddle about "womsn's
sphere WAS founded at first on bible authority
Now lis proposed to base II on the Consti tuition
Of the United States, but if SE Barley will lnyes
tigate a little he will find that IT comes from no
higher source than the individual opinion Of
that explicit unit Of political power the adult
male citizen.
In regard to that perfect mental poise," that
necessary equanimity" that absolute self-con
troll, the member rom Texas expresses his doubts
"whrther the emotional nature II woman wall
permit its development" With al apology for
h.ilu uaFsnnll Ma cal attention a. fhn fact that
within the past week Mr. Bailey himself became
30 angry and excited in a debate on the floor u
the House that Tn" Speaker was obliged 20 al.
monish him 10 keep coil" and several lines 10
call him 10 ORDER very sharply, whIlt a little
later. on a point of pa rlam"ntary law, he was
defeated by a large majority Such Instances
are Of such frequent occurrence as not 90 attract
notice except that the gentleman is claiming
women cannot be paria mentarians and must
not participate in governmental affairs because
they hav. not the necessary perfect mental pose.
e~quanimlty and self-cuntrul
Mr. Bailey asserts that women fail as pa ria
penta rams because they have no legislative
business of sufficient Importance o. compel hem
20 master the methods. and also because they
have not the opportunity To acquire the sail only
10 be had from much experience" and then he
prop yses that they never shall have the legl>
latye business or the opportunity Tor cA pcrIenc".
When he says that women lall As parlanentr
mans because they have not the necessary mental
calibrc," h" simply makes n ridiculous statement
No man in the country ~ a bette r pa rliamontAran
than Mrs May Wright Sewall. President of the
lnbrrnhtllnhl toul'l ol women. MISS susan
i Anthony can preside over a deliberate body
with a skill and ability that are not exceeded.
Rev Anna shaw Is a noted authority on parlla
mpntary rules. Miss Frances T.. Willard could
pilot the ~'urmlrst convention through the break
erS with a parliamentary knowledge which was
unsurpassed. Their" are a number Of the leaders
OF the suffrage AMI II the ". {. L L, orGanIa
tons WHICH have had a longer experience than
most Others, who ore excellent parha mentarianS.
\ woman Was selected by the Speaker II the
Colorado Legislature tr preside over he HOUSE
during his RhSpngn n nd she lil N mast arrpDfgI1,
At the recent Democratic Convention In Utah
State Senator Martha Hughes Cannon was elected
vice chairman
Mr. Ralnv would have been correct If he had
sad that tn vast majority II wouen know moth
ing Of parliamentary Inv The same Is true
OF the vast majority ot men. Vet the latter hive
hai many %C'nturrS Of experience. while nifty
years ago such a thIng rs \ WunNn'S presiding
over n hpiN was unknown 1t is only within
tina last Tn rtv veal r. that II hns become p matter
at frequent occurrence. aud on generation hHs
not vet passed away Sll"' thu first few attampts
began Ia b. mad. II Is tn" that the legislative
business which occupies the attention 4 women
seams 81 small consequence CuMpHrrl 10 the
vast affairs 81 government conluc.rl by men,
but II must hn rrm"mr'r'd Tint from all If the
latter woman * rcIily barred uu' 10y the Mr.
IBanevs in political power md III" las NJ choice
hut o. contlnn her activities 10 the smaller con
Germs ~ life. To say, however. that women
have not tn" mental Calihr" to understand PAR
ham-ntary rules" = absurd whom w. consider
the thousanl Is Of them IN our universities pursu
ing exactly the samn courses ~ study rs the men,
OlI'n III lW' WlNl NlIllNlllI anu NIlfllN' SllDl'tiS,
with a stan ling equal avi frequently superior
q that Of their masculin"
The most amazing or amusing par, Of Mr.
Railev's article i found in the paragraph whirh
follows tho statement that "the Federal ionStitu
non intallig nifty excludes women from a share
In the government 40 ha SUR" he saws
there arr statutes in the several States operating
contrary 10 this principle 81 IN" Constitution,
but n the mind ~ woman were logical She must
perceive That any concession 81 political power
she may enjoy m municipal " STAT" governments
~ raducNd ~ ~ RbSuriltv by III" Constitution.
tWhera ~ Nr Bailey theory Of States rights
Nnman'S right, 'NrrCiSrd under such
statute " ordnance, 50 far from extending her
impo'taurn. increasing her glory, advancing
her inter 'Sts. are an emhaTr sSm"nt to her woman
hopd ana a blot upon her LOYALTY To- her country
What about the Logical minds Of the men
who fraNHi these statutes ur passed thes" ameni
IN the government In Colorado and Idaho
the woman sutfrar' amendment was submitted
nv lsgI latlr'S Of men, indOr> ed by conventions
Of men and carried BY votes of men. In Wyoming
and tab II was Inc0tpDratrl ia the proposed
State institution by men, thoroughly discussed
snl finally adopted 10y the L nited States Congress
composed entirely Of men, 81 II IL the masculine
nnd not the feminine logic, or want Of il, upon
which the omnlsCrnt VI { should tram his bug
guns. Iut he GOES StAl further and declares
that the States IN granting the franchise to women
have violated the Federal Constitution Evi-
IDENTIFY the mental chlihrr' If the statesman from
TEXAS DOES not permit him to understand that one
OF the fundamental laws Of our Oyemme IL
shat every State shall prescribe tho qualifications
~ its electors This law was sustained by a
Supreme Court decision handed down hy chief
Ju'Ica Waite, March -. l,15, declaring, THE
United states has no Nuu'r, al It's own creation.
The national Constitution does NOT confer the
vnyAt - artFF ~ IL ~ .r,sa .,. I-s A -