Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1900-03-08
A REPLY TO Mrs. BABCOCK.

A. l
From Every Evening, March 9Th.
Editor Every Evening: May ask
you to print the following in answer
to Mrs, Elnora Babcock's letter in your
issue of last Saturday? Her arguments
are not new, and this was accordingly
prepared by the 'remonstrants" Lately
for such occasions.
Emily P. Bissell.
woMAN's PROGRESS VERSUS WoMAN's
SUFFRAGE.
The suffrage movement is more than |
so years old, and has therefore run !
parallel with the progress Of women |
which has marked this era. Sutfragists
declare that much Of this progress is
due to the woman-suifrage movement,
which the opponents Of such suffrage
deny, because they believe that the
principles and the results Of the sutf-
rage agitation are at variance with any
true advancement either of woman or
of the State.
Evidence that woman suffrage is not
| deemed progressive Is seen in the fol-
| lowing facts: .gt.
In making up their reviews of the
years progress, the public prints make
no mention of the successes OF woman
suffrage.
The States where woman has made
most progress are those in which
woman suffrage bills have been most
standby and decisivey defeated.
There has been slight, if any, inn
I provement in the laws Of the States
where women vote, due to the fact Of
that vote; and, in some ways. the
progress of those States is behind that
OF other States.
| IF the suffrage movement were to
disband today and no woman ever vote,
not single great interest would suffer-
None of woman's wide philanthropies
would he harmed the women IS colleges
would be unaffected; the professions
would continue to give diplomas to
qualified women; tradesmen would still
employ women; good laws would not
be repealed, and bad laws would be NO
more likely to be framed; literature
would not suffer; homes would be no
less secure; woman's civic work would
not cease; nor would there be any
more disposition than there is today to
remove to State where woman still
had freedom. Ut is interesting to
note that there has never been such Il
migration of women to the suffrage
| 0LdIbS us W OfGEpuItloH Lno
The suffrage movement is today allied
with co, education as against woman's
higher education in colleges of her own /;
with 'isms" as against tried princi-
pies; with prohibition as against tenn
perance: with Mormonism as against
separation Of church and State; with
socialism az against representative gov
ernment; with radical labor movements
ns against the best organized and un-
organized efforts of wage earning men
and women; with economic indepen-
dence'' and the cooperative household
as against family life and the home.
Higher education for woman has been
the special mark Of her progress in
) this era; but the men and women who
founded her colleges received neither
inspiration nor aid from suffrage work
ers who strove chiefly to ''break down
the sex barrier in education" and di.
; rected their efforts to the advocacy OF
co-education rather than to the estab-
lishment of the higher education.
. Enlightened discussions of great
questions of public policy should be
called out by the suffrage idea; but
there are none on record. For example,
f, divorce for several causes was the frs
, legislation demanded by the suffrag
I lists, and today their standing commit
!. tee Oh the "divorce reform demand:
!, Joint legislative action by women, con
!; corning divorce, but makes no sugges
Il ton as to the value or trend of suct
/. action.
Nor do they give intelligent reasons
. for such bills as the one SO long urgec
y by them, asking that the wife shoult
y have separate earnings and a valuation
placed upon her labor in the household
1t is most fortunate that no amount o
u such pressure has made American legis
o lators look upon marriage as bushes
y co-partnership or consider that progress
3 required them to place wives in tn
q attitude of hired servants of thei
husbands. ...
o Education as we'll as religious decenc
received blow from these professe,
. friends Of woman's progress when tn
authoritative members of the Associa
q tion issued the "Woman's Bible''
u The hollowness of suffrage claims t
10 be progressive may be further judge
by the fact that no writings concernin
the condition or needs of the publ
schools have been published by thos
who were using school suffrage as
stepping stone to political advance
n Suffrage agitation has secured schoc
suffrage for women in 25 States, but
10 has. not succeeded in inducing an
F. great number Of women to 60 10 tn
70 polls and vote on school matters. o
N the contrary, the unwise pressur
y brought to bear on legislatures an
to public officials by suffrage workers ha
~ hindered the natural progress of wome
1T in connection with on-political public
school work. The small, huotuatin
and sometimes manipulated school sui
,e frage vote is proving ii little advantag
~ and an expense, and therefore in tw
10 States, Connecticut and Ohio, II
., abolition has been proposed. Schot
is suffrage bills have been defeated j
to five States during the past three year
and bill making women eligible a
d. school trustees was defeated in Ker
SO lucky in 1897, and one requiring that {
n least ono-third of the members {
ne boards of education appointed b
CO mayors should be women, was delicate
pc in New York in 1899.
ne Suffrage leaders claim that til
III change in laws, making them moi
al favorable to women, is largely owing
s. their demands, but this can be di
b tinctly disproved In their publishe
MS history the leaders say that one of II
at causes that led to their movement W;
1Ef8he discussion in several of the Sta
Legislatures Of property questions
be regard to married women" shewir
ny that this agitation preceded the work
OF the suffrage organization. The suifras
l tN,.k