The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1902-01-23
THURSDAY, JANUARY 2s, 1909,
SUFFRAGE IN
SCHOOL ELECTIONS

SCHOOL ELECTIONS
The Paducah delegation that hs
gone to Frankfort, seeking charte
amendments, is committed against tn
woman suffrage provision in the sec
ond class charter In Lexington tn,
women have risen in the ir indignation
AM drafted protest to the legisla
ture II is claimed that many Of the
women who have signed the protest
have never taken the trouble to vote
under the provision they are now seek
ing to preserve. They ave fighting
the proposed repeal of the law on tho
principle of right They think women
have as much right to vote as men,
and ought to be allowed to do it. II
is fact, nevertheless, that tine women
do not vote, right or not right. even
when they have the power, There
may be some truth in the argument
that the small scrap Of suffrage &C.
corded them is not sufficient to arouse
interest, and for this reason they do
aot vote in school elections.
However, as the Lexington Herald
suggests, il the women who are doing
the protesting, and who take the most
Interest in such matters when there is
legislation promised or sought, were as
active after they secured such
concessions, even as insignificant as
suffrage in school elections. the pres
ent arguments, that the women who
should do not avail themselves of the
privilege, and leave it to be prosti.
tuted by illiterate and worse
women. could not be made.
The Herald says further:
Our schools can never DO up to the
best possible standard until the public
is much more alive to their interests
than it is now, until citizens generally
are informed as to school improve.
mems and advances in other places
and are eager to obtain these i'm
provements for our own schools it is
possible, even probable, that this in
terest may be constantly increased by
the women electors whom an effort is
now being made to shut out Of all par
ticipation in school affairs"
The Herald then signifies its OBJ
lection to the women suffrage clause
OF the second class charter as il now
stands, and suggests that there be an
educational qualification, because
there is no reason for further in
creasing the illiterate vote Of ons
community, as was done by the
granting Of the school suffrage to all
women of voting age. 1.-THE South
has suffered already too much from
enforced engagements of the suf-
frage," il declares, ito be willing
to commit itself rashly to still
greater .enlargements. To us, the
granting of a school suffrage for
women with an educational qualih-
cation would have seemed much |
wiser experiment-and a mach just |
er one for the woman's cause, IL their |
cause was to be judged by its re-
sults-than the ono that was made.
The question, which is commended,
of the abstract right Of women to
any suffrage privileges accorded to
men we are not now debating. The
question to our minds Is one of
good, of expediency, to the whole
community. II the educational quail.
flcstion is to be tried In this country,
1t seems fitting to apply it first 70 the
vote on educational matters; il it is
ever to be applied universally the en-
tering wedge can be made most easily
whore the suffrage is extended. We
can not but believe that those women
suifragists who look upon any ques-
tion Of public interest not from the
standpoint of citizens desiring the
good, just rs they would
have masculine voters in national
affairs look upon public questions
neither as Republicans nor as Demo
rats. but as Americans, that such
vomen sulfragists would be found in
ne accord with us IL test could be
made ON this question Of the granting l
( the school suffrage to women with G
IN educational qualification. Would
lot such an educational amendment /
be perhaps the way out of the present
Might not such compro- I,
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