The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-14


patton In locnl politics. that the admIpistru-
ton Of local AFFAIRS could at least be no worse
through their taking hand. Tho pro-
fessional advocates Of suffrage make their
halt for full and com plete rights to the ballot;
but suffrage limited 10 municipal elections
has a chance Of winning the app roval Of male
voters where the other has not. and has also
this In It's favor; II will help toward that de-
srable end. the divorce Of municipal from
national politics.
1t Ia doubtful II woman suffrage would
have this effect, as they are too closely
interviewer The many experiments which
have been made In electing reform munlci-
pal administrations have demonst rated that
they are directly influenced by State poll
ramihcations Of national politics. It is very
far from sure that We would get the best
municipal government for all u only tax
paying men could vote, and the same Is
true in regard to tax-paying women, but
reimbursement from financial. where
they cannot do so from moral point of
view. II Ia a very considerable advance
when a paper with the wide influence of
the journal comedies the desirability Of
even partial suffrage for women
The important interview with Prof.
W. H. H. fart of Harvard University on
the race problem, which has been pub
lished during the past week. contained
this strong assertion:
In the end whatever may be- the condition
now. the right of suffrage must be the sword
and the shield Of I'LL the people OF democracy.
In a monarchy it is the duty of the mobiles to
guard. protect and help the subject classes.
but Ia democracy such as ours the ballot is
absolutely the only protection OF the citizen,
and II is as necessary in the long run to the
man whose skin Is dark as to him whose
skin is light; and when the race question is
properly settled it can only be on tn e theory
that the perpetuty OF the nation depends
upon the equality before the law OF all it's
citizens
This vital fact never has been more for
chilly expressed. In the final analysis of
freedom and equal rights the only safe
guard Of both is found In the power OF the
ballot. and it matters not whether the
citizen be black man or a white woman
The latter perhaps may receive more pro-
lection from others than does the former,
but its utter inadequacy may be seen in
the terrible oppression and injustice OF
past ages and the countless inequalities Of
the present. As women enter more kecnly
into industrial competition with men, and
as in greater numbers they remain I'M
married, the obligation which man has to
provide for the helpless and the incentive
to guard his own property. will grow less
and more than ever women will need the
sword and shield of the people in
democracy
The official statistics just published in
England show that since the legal bars
have been lowered there is a remarkable
increase Of divorces. In 1893 there were
so5 DEGREES or III for 100 900 of population
in 1901 the number had risen to 1890, or
o2F per cent. eleven times as many as
eight years before. There we're several
striking features in the report, one Of them
that London showed the smallest per-
centage: another that nearly twice az many
petitions we're filed by husbands as by
wives. In America these latter figures
are more than reversed his does not
indicate however, that husbands are better
in England than in the United States, but
it is probably due to three reasons
The English laws Of divorce are much
more favorable to men than to women.
1t is only within short period that wife
could secure divorce for adultery, while
a husband always could do So and it is
only within year that habitual drunken
ness has been made cause. second
reason Ia found in the few chances which
English women have for marriage They
the poverty OF younger sons among the
upper classes and the small salaries and
wages among the lower classes make mar
riaRe luxury which is not possible for all:
The wife who separates from husband
is likely to do without partner for the rest
of her life, and to many women this would
be deemed a hardship. The principal
reason. however. is undoubtedly the ire
mendous difficulty which women have
in making a living The avenues Of en-:
ployment are crowded to the limit and
wages are at the lowest point. Marrage.asa
rule, is followed by great brood Of chill
dren. and the wife and mother has prac-
tically no alternative but 10 submit to what
ever Providence has sent her in the shape
Of husband.
A woman who has been appointed as
sistant in the Munich City Library passed
examinations at the University OF Rome.
most of them with high honors, in the
following courses: Theoretical philosophy.
logic, metaphysics, mathematical geo.
eraphy. philology, Italian, Greek and Latin
grammar and literature. pedagogy. classic
and Sanscrit languages. ancient and modern
history. moral and experimental phi
losophy.
fessors weighing brains and writing trea-
tises to prove that women are not capable
of the higher education.
A significant feature of the recent laundry
strike in Chicago was that over so per cent.
OF the 1000 strikers were girls. without
any regard to the questions involved.
one point has been settled which hereto-
fore has been stoutly disputed viz: that
women can be brought into an organiza-
ton and held in line in case of a strike.
The belief that this could not be done has
been great objection by the labor organ
zations to women in the industrial Aeld.
The unions will find, however. that when
they attempt to enforce their demands
through political influence, as almost
inevitably becomes necessary. the women
members will be only 80 much dead weight:
1t is most earnestly to be hoped that
President Roosevelt will not have his hands
so full with the Post Office scandal that he
cannot spare a few moments to look into he
question Of those women inspectors. To be
sure, they are backed only by organizations
OF women, who will not have the slightest
influence in the approaching campaign.
but cannot this one small moral question
he settled on the ground of merit instead
of politics? IDA Hustled HARPER.