Evening star., 1902-02-12

for faith and superstition, while wars lot
conquest were becoming less coiiiiloit ai,. .
periods of peace more frequent ailu
longer duration. there was SLOWLY pul 80
ily growing in the minds OF men seii SCI
respect a self-reliance, an lndlI iuuail.s
which would sooner or later ask why so'iie
men should be born to rule ana otheis ~
obey ~.
"I,h,s question" declared Mrs. Gait.
"chanced to be formulated first by the
American colonists.' She thought II u
had not come from America 1t wouid nave
come from somewhere else as the tlme was
ripe for it. 1t was a world moEellei', a
world crisis and it came, she salu' pecause
the rank and file Of men had begun TO
think.
The American Idea.
s.The little band Of Americans who Initial
ed the modern movement said Mrs. oat''
would never have predicted that within
century taxation Of men without repre-
sentation is tyranny would have been
written into the fundamental law or all
the monarchies Of Europe, except Russia
and Turkey and that even there sel1-goVern-
ment should obtain IN the municipalleieis, o'7id
The most optimistic seer among them would
not have prophecied that Mongollan Japan,
then tightly shutting her gates against the
commerce Of the world and jealousy guard
ing her orient customs. would before the
century closed have welcomed western civ
iization and established universal Suffrage
for its men. He would not have dreamed
that every inch Of the great continent OF
South America, then chiefly an uneXplored
region over which bands OF savages roved
ut will, would be covered by written con-
stitutions guaranteeing self-goVernment 70
men, based upon declarations OF independ-
ence similar to their own. That the settle
ments in Mexico and Central America and
many islands Of the ocean would grow into
republics, and least of all that the island
continent of Australia with its associates
Of Iaa1 In nd nd
p,ored wildernesses would become great
democracies. where self-government would
be carried on with such enthusiasm, ferVor
and wisdom that they would give lessons in
methods and principles to all the rest OF
the world.
yet" declared Mrs. Gait, ut has come
about in a hundred years that civilized ma
tions are governed by the sovereign will Of
men instead Of monarchs. 1t is true, she
admitted, "kings and queens still occupy
the thrones Of Europe, but they are maJes-
ties robbed of the power over the lives and
liberties of men which belonged to their
predecessors, and the power behind the
throne is the voice Of the people
With ringing emphasis Mrs. Gait asserted
that real monarchical and aristocrauc
power have gone forever Wherever self
government for men exists 1t will stay, and
where 1t does not exist 1t will come She
said that many there We're who declared
that democracy Is failure" and that
they enforce their opinion by doing moth
out that the evolution OF society pointing
to government Of the people, by the people
and for the people has made a steady
march forward, and in all the centuries 1t
has known no serious check, and she de-
clared, there can be no turning back now"
Mrs. Gait then sketched briefly the story
Of how the tyranny OF empire had been re-
placed by a tyranny Of democracy which
she firmly believed that the intelligence
and public spirit that had made this coun-
try a nation would in the end remedy the
i'll and democracy, purified by its errors,
would rise triumphant, the only ideal form
OF government.
The Elective Franchise.
Coming to the matter Of the ballot, she
said that hard upon the track Of the man
suffrage movement presses the movement
for woman suffrage, a logical step onward.
1T has come inevitably" she declared.
Mrs. Gait then went over all the arguments
Of taxation without representation and
governments deriving their just powers
from the consent Of the governed" axi-
oms" she said, (which have been trans
lated into every tongue and thundered forth
in eloquent plea in every civilized land"
In the words Of Victor Hugo, she de-
clared. 1.-The future belongs to the book,
not the sword; it belongs to life and not to
DEATH" "Then," she asked, "since women
may read and write the book, why should
she not share in the government Of which
the book stands the chief prop and sup
port?'
Mrs Gait very cunningly wove into her
talk quotations from Balzac and Ingersoll,
which she applied to show that woman's
day had surely come. She also quoted from
Mr.. Low in the New York campaign, in
which he said that it was the duty OF wO-
men Of the city, who had more time to
study the situation. to instruct the men
how to vote. If women are competent to
teach men how to vote" she asked, why
Then Mrs. Gait proceeded to show how
simple matter woman suffrage Is She
humorous1y referred to the varieties Of
opinion on the subject.
when a great church official exclaims
petulantly that II women are not more
modest in their demands men may be
obliged to take to drowning female in
fants again; when a renowned United
States senator declares no human being
can find an answer to the arguments for
woman suffrage but with all the force of
his position and influence he will oppose It;
when popular woman novelist speaks of the
advocates Of the movement as the Shrek
ing sisterhood;" when prominent politi-
clan says, to argue against suffrage Is to
repudiate the Declaration OF Independence,
yet he hopes 1t may never come the Ques-
ton flies entirely outside the domain Of
reason, and retreats within the realm of
sex prejudice, where neither logic nor COM
mon sense can dislodge It,.
.Sex prejudice" she declared, sis the
chief tower and fortress of the opposition
to equal rights to women" She then pro-
ceeaed to show that this sex prejudice Is
the outgrowth Of centuries. in which men
have dominated the world. when women
were auxiliaries or dependents. and. as
Grant Allen had stated. were simply told
OFF, for the express purpose OF prooreation.
in the same manner as are drones in hive
Of bees, and had no other place in So
ciety." The subordination Of women, she
declared, was traceable to this theory. She
then sketched graphically the evolution of
ciety woman.
'.Now" she said, "if we find woman in
ferior to man. 1t is not in her natural en-
dowment, but in the environment which
warped her growth"
She then went on to demonstrate how
women have entered all the caliings and
professions OF men and reign supreme
everywhere.
Education Extends Hope. -
"Education,''s she declared, 'sex xtends it's