The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-19
THE CAUSE OF sVOIAE.
INTERESTING QUESTION RAISED
BY A KENTUCkIANS BOOK.

BY A KENTUCKIANs BOOK.
In "Republics versus woman Mrs. woisey
Attempts to SHOW That Her Sex Has
a Higher Position Under Monarchies
man Under Republics-Her Arsu.
ment, and the Other Side Of the Case.
When q woman writes a book to prove
that the position Of her sex is higher under
, monarchy tnan under Q republio-or. In
Is the one principally considered-she
cannot fail TO arouse controversy. This
has been done by Kentuckian, Mrs. VOL
eey, in a little volume entitled Republics
versus Woman While all her statements
are one sided there Is a strong foundation
Of truth for some Of them. She scouts
the idea that .'the republics Of France.
Brazil, Mexico or any others give to woman
kind the position, influence or esteem
granted by any aristocracy Of Europe
and says: 1T Is always the classes. never
the masses, who set up elevated ideals Of
womanhood. and it In only where the In
Auence OF the classes In paramount that
woman need look for the highest recog-
milton
If by the masses" Mrs. Wolsey means
the great body OF the illiterate. unframed
and undeveloped. who are engaged in a
daily hand-to-mouth struggle and have
few instincts beyond the animal, then II
NAV be answered that they have no 1ele-
waited ideals Of either manhood or woman
hood. But II she includes what in the
United States are known as the middle
classes then the reply can be emphatically
made that not only do they possess high
ideal OF womanhood, but that this Ia the
one and only country In all the world which
affords an opportunity for realizing these
ideals.
The position OF woman Is not one OF re-
publics or monarchies but OF race. and
the Anglo-Saxon race alone has approached
a recognition OF her equality Of rights
The South American republics are not
worth considering in this connection.
Mexico has grasped the republican idea,
hut her people in their thoughts and Gus
toms are thoroughly Spanish. clinging to
old traditions and under the domination
OF medieval Catholic church. In Europe
II is true that the legal position Of women
IL no better in the republics Of France and
Switzerland than in the absolute monarchies
position Is not nearly 30 good. In the two
republics women have no vote or voice
whatever In public matters, while In the
majority OF the monarchical countries
they have some form OF suffrage. ranging
from all but the Parliamentary vote In
Great Britain, Sweden and Norway, to
municipal suffrage In some and a ballot
by male proxy in various others. It must
he remembered. however, that In all OF
these countries IL IL not the man or the
woman but the property that votes. The
Government does not recognize individual
but only property riE I1s.u.,. ..x.v.,
OF the equal rights Of women in large
sense We must come to the Anglo Saxon
race. The oldest Government by this race
Is found In Great Britain, a constitutional
monarchy. which did not allow any par.
two generations ago when John Bright
secured the franchise for workingmen
who paid taxes A. generation later,
through the efforts Of John Stuart Mill
and JSoe Bsh x this Es sn %ss eS
taxes or rents. but 1t does not include the
most important vote Of .all--the Parlia:
,IpentaEy-s1d he vast majority Of married
is, however. the recognition Of Q principle
hold in the United States The nearest
approach TO . genuine republic which the
world has yet seen Is found In New Zealand
and Australia, where the women have full
national or federal suffrage on the same
terms as men. But in the former they are
forbidden q seat in the Parliament and
barred from most OF the offices and boards.
while in the latter they are deprived OF the
Of the commonwealth. 30 that q true de-
mocracy is far from being achieved. II
must be admitted, however, even BY the
most patriotic American, that Great Britain
and her colonies have granted political
wholly denied them by the United States.
In her arraignment OF this country Mrs.
Wolsey says:
The founders OF the republic ignored and os;
sS1eS the v,y ss ~hG hao rs Ts sS
which a woman ms, made and uniuried 20 the
X hS sS "Sa S me,
70 Establish they did not gran, her equal iSsi,y:
TIE q .hs Sss %
ant yet they made her seq captive therein ,n "A
Il .nS Ss Of The
10 which these women had belongcd,yst they
AND %sde p all sond~omeu 70 the lowest races and
orders OF manhood.
All this Is Gospel truth, but II must be
remembered in extenuation that the idea OF
self-government and equality for men them
selves was tne tnOtt IHtIcdi diiet iiidt NciiOuS
ever entertained. The ignorance and in:
experience OF the women Of those times and
their total absorption In their large families
and heavy domestic duties precluded all
thought Of their participation in Govern
ment which was the most momentous
experiment ever made. This does not,
however, furnish the slightest excuse for
their exclusion at the present day, when
ali OF those old disabilities have been re-
moved. The writer quotes the great ia
Hung Chang as saying: Nothing OBJ
served in my tour OF the world caused me
such surprise as the position of women
IN the American Republic-I found II "a
far below that OF her sex In Christian mon
arches as had expected to find 1t above:
All / had heard about the 'queenship' OF
American women. inquiry proved to be
the merest pretence and humbug. Her
crown is tinsel, her throne In nil. The
Republic has increased the rights and
privileges OF It's men over its women'to a
degree that il not tolerated by monarchy.
There is no Government which is neces-
sariiy so antagonistic to all women as
republic, none in which the entire female
sex may logically hope for 30 little. MIS-.
Wolsey adds to this the declaration: Re.
publicanism Ii, In It's entire nature and
const ruction, q masculine monopoly. IL is