Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-11-25
MRS. NJ. SEWALL
WAKES INDIGNANT
Honorary President Of the Inter
national Council Of Women
Raises Protest
WRITES TO MRS. {. B. WELLS.
Seeks Co.Op:ratiOn of Utah Ladies to
See New States Have Suffrage
Ia Constitution

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Mrs Emmeline y, Wells today re-
oelyed the following communication
which was addressed to the women OF
the United states Of America and sign
ed by May Wright sewall, honorary
president OF the international Council
OF Women;
Some weeks ago / received a letter
asking that | should add my signature
10 many others which were affixed 10
protest against the admission OF am
more states into the Union under con-
situations providing for the dlsiran-
chisement Of women. ! gladly acceded
to the request but | confess that | did
not at the time quite understand the
enormity Of the offensc (which, from my
point OF view, is being committed
against American w0manhoOd Had !,
| should have wished to write my name
IN capitals and long ago should have
appealed to my cOuntrywomen 70 join
me In an expression OF resentment
against the bill proposing the admis-
sion OF four OF our territories as two
new states, which | understand Is now
in the hands OF the committee on ter
ritorIAs. No objection have to having
the indian territory and Oklahoma,
New Mexico and ARIZONA pass from
the tutelage Of territorial government
into the 10y and dignity Of sovereign
statehood, but do protest against ha'-
ing any bill looking TO this transition
indicate to the incipient states mat
they may be admitted 70 the Union
under constitutions which disfranchlse
their women. | consider the terms OF
this bill particularly obnoxious IL
seems that the following occurs twice
appearing first In paragraph Ave, Sec
ton three. Of the bill, and repeated In
paragraph Ave of section q. The part
Of the bill which excites my resentment
Is as follows:
That said state shall never enact
any law restricting or abrldginB the
right Of suffrage on account OF race
color, or previous condition OF seryi-
tude or Oh account Of any other condl-
lions or qualifications, save any except
on account Of llliteracy, minority SEX
conviction Of felony mental condition
or residence, provided however, that
any such restrictions shall be uniform
and applicable alike TO all citizens.
THE presentation OF O bill including
this obnoxious paragraph In Congress
apparently gives to the disfranchise-
ment Of women not only passive ac-
ceptance on the part Of the general
government, but II seems like an ex-
preston of It's active desire, Note the
position OF the word sex, Placed be-
tween the phrases minority" and Com
victlon of felony" II Is made TO seem
either condition OF partial develop
nlent or OF absolute disgrace. More
over, this condition, being born 70 be-
come "A woman, however Il may nave
been regarded by undeyeloped races IN
former times, has always been and now
Is Considerd by developed peoples an
election 20 particular sacredness ana
dignity. The passage OF such bill cam
not but have a degrading social inllu-
ence. 1t is equivalent TO declaration
by the general government that II II NJ
best an unfortunate or evil thing to be
! born woman.
1.-THE general government on all oc-
caslons declares what all good patriots
| are bound to believe, that citizenship
! IN the republic Is lofty nriyllege that
IN republic the sign OF sovereignty
| lts instrument and Us weapon Is the
| ballot,
with the exception Of women, all
classes which by this bill are excluded
| from the exercise Of the ballot, suffer
from limitation which IN It's very ma
ture is or may be temporary Minors
have only to wait for their jubilee BIRTH
day; illiterates have 10 exert them
selves only sufficiently to learn to read;
| felons may By the expiration OF the
| term Of years involved In the sentence
| be restored TO society, or with or With
out repentance may receive guberna-
| torial pardon and gain Herewith the
elective franchise. Even lunatlcs may
| be restored to sanity, or without such
restoration, 10 freedom.
1T Is sufficiently humlliatlng 10 have
aspiring territories knock for entrance
into the ssterhOod OF states bearing
a proposed constitution which looks
to the Acknowledgement Of half Of their
| admit population, but TO have the
I'm ted states government say to an
| aspiring territory that the constitution
| to be acceptable must brand wOman-
| hood with lndlgn!ty Is a still more
| giieyous thing 10 bear. This oondl-
ton IL harder to bear now that IN
four states Of the Union women do pos
| sess the power OF acknowledged citizen
ship, than Il was when women through
out the country were equally helpless
ana dlsfranchise. IL Is most lmprob-
| able that members Of Congress from
Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Colorado
! viii vote In favor OF this section OF the
| proposed bin; for, whore women al
ready enjoy the right OF suffrage men
| pay 10 their opinions the real homage
which theoretically is always given to
the eternal feminine
81 call the particular attention Of the
women OF the country to the fact that
on the Sth day OF June at a business
session OF the Third qulnquennial OF the
International Council, the representa-
/ tives Of nineteen national councils, in
| Guiding an Individual membership Of
| several millions of women all voted
without one dissenting voice that
| thenceforth the international council
| should stand everywhere committed to
the policy included in the following
| declarations
THAT inasmuch as an governments
| equally affect the men and women llv-
ing under them, therefore. be 1t re-
solved that under all governments,
whether nominally Republican or Mon
archlcal, whatever political rights or
privileges are accorded to men ought on
corresponding conditions to be accorded
| 10 women.
"The debate upon this subject oc-
cupled three hours. The agreements
for the most part, concerned only the
form under which this large conviction
OF the council should be expressed.
There was material agreement among
the women Of all countries embraced
within the Council concerning the pro-
prlety OF the essential proposition In
the end Il was In the form cited above.
the broadcast In which II was presented.