The Penn's Grove record., 1903-01-02
IN THU BUUTH
SOUTHERN WomEN FAST DOMINO 70
TAE faoNf-6TErs q PaoohEsa

-
Alabsma and LeuistapS Dineule Rse1ssns
Partlal snsrags - wfnen--IAddes Wsa-
coined i tn. POLLS Il Nov orisans and
10 Good Service Thet4,
The news that thb CONVENTIONAL
Convention Of Alaban1 q came very near
granting suffrage women. has
aroused oouc1desable surprise. - the
South was long ressSted as the most
conservative section 1pf the country
On tho woman question. Alabama,
however, was Influenced by the exam-
PIE set By Louisiaua three years ago.
The women of that tar Southern
State now enjoy . measure Of SUI
4nge not possessed BY the women Of
Boston or Chicago.
Louiedana'e experience with partial
suffrage wae SO satisfactory that It
has had much to do with inducing
Alabama to conAider 8 similar In
novation. When Louisiana gave tax
paying women the right to vote upon
al questions submitted to the tax
payers. the first use the women made
81 their new privilege was to vote for
q special tax to provide New Orleans
With improved sewerage, drainage.
and q pure water supply. They car-
ried the day by their work, their en-
thusiasm and their vbtes. and they
were treated with the utmost courtesy
at the polls.
The Hon. B. H. Cfaag. the cham.
pion Of woman's ballpt IN the Ala
bama convention. waa able to fortify
his plea BY letters from prominent
men and women Of Louisiana. testify
ing to the excellent results Of WOMAN
suffrage In that State. land urging Ala
bama to adopt It. He was also backed
by q petition from a humber Of Ala
bama ladies, we'll known and highly
esteemed. Il was headed by Mrs.
Virginia Clay CloptonJ q woman be-
loved throughout the State and
throughout the South
Miss Frances Griffin, Of Alabama, IN
her recent address before tho CoAsti-
tutional Convention, qsed n quaint
and novel argument, which called out
greet applause, not only from the
ladies who crowded the gallery, but
from the members of the Convention.
After advocating thief franchise for
women upon general grounds, this
gifted daughter Of Alabama said in
conclusion: II have not discussed
the color question, because for a long
time the darkies and VIE stood by each
other. You know thefe was q time
when the criminals. dae insane peo-
pie. traitors, idiots, Negroes and won.
en- were not allowed tp vote. Now I
understand that my gardener is going
to be disfranchised. He has been the
only thing that represented US at.
the polls. live In q household OF
women, Of educated wdH men. My SIS
ters are widows and I am unmarried.
There Il not q man on the face of the
earth interested particularly in how
the affairs Of our household go. We
have no more voice in that neighbor-
hood than II we were q party OF AM
orleans set down in Russia. There is
= Negro gardener who( works In our
neld. who Is our hostBer and major
dpfno. He fwhs a little over twenty
phe whom he came to lbs. He said he
had been ct school ten years, and he
was at the first pages Of the second
reader. but when the voting time
came he went v to the village and
did the voting for our family. And
now. as you are taking that one prop
from under us. we ask you at least
to glve us his leavings!"
MI. Craig did not get what he asked
for, which was full suffrage for wom-
en-; but nevertheless bis name Will
live In history as the first man in
Alabama to champion publicly and
prominently a reform which Is sure
In time to see Its full fruition. Emily
De Saussure.