The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-10-08

| NdllllS tendency.
Not Creditable Showing in Colorado
l hope it will not be deemed ungrac-
| louS II l refer to another circumstance
| which is at least interesting as a coin
c1dence. Of the four States permit
ting full woman suffrage, Colorado
should certainly be regarded as afford
| ing the best illustration of it's results,
/, as this State is most like the older
States of the East in point of urban
population, in the variety and extent
| Of its business interests. and in the
| proportion of women to men among It's
| residents of voting age. Less than
| two years ago a member of the House
| of Representatives from that State,
| holding his place by virtue of an appa-
! rent majority of the direct votes of the
| men and women of his district, re-
signed his seat for the reason, as he
openly declared that fraudulent votes
had been cast for his In the election.
An investigation of the case by a Con-
gressional Committee developed the
fact that some of the most glaring
frauds were committed by women. A
New York newspaper in February,
1904, published a summary of the evil
dence taken by the committee. from
which it appeared that one woman.
admitting her participation in these
frauds, confessed among other pOliti-
cal sins that she gave directions to
the women who were to do repeating
at the polls, and that two other women
were associated with her in the manip-
ulation of ballots, one of whom ar
ranged to have fight started at the
election place, to afford opportunity to
throw out the watchers and challen-
gers of the other party. The resign
ing Congressman, with a SHOW of
characteristic masculine gallantry,
gave it as his opinion that of the per-
sons implicated very few were women
mot more than one In ten at the
outside" 1t seems to me that this
statement falls far short of mitigating
the situation. The most gluttOnous
suffrage corruptor in the world ought
to be a happy Scoundrel If he could
''implicate" in bringing about his ends
ten out of every hundred voters.
One DelusiOn of Female Suffrage.
1 have sometimes wondered, if the
really good women who are inclined
to approve this doctrine of female suf-
frage are not deluding themselves with
purely sentimental views of the SUBJ
ject. Have they not in some way al
lowed the idea to gain place in their
minds that if the suffrage were ac-
corded to w5men it would be the pure,
the honest, the intelligent and the
patriotic of the sex who would avail
themselves of it? If they are drifting
on the smooth surface of such a pleas
ing conceit as this 1t behooves them to
take soundings and locate landmarks.
They can perhaps thus bring them
selves to realization of the fact that
among women, as is, unfortunately,
the case now among men, it would
not be the best and most responsible
that would most intelligently use their
voting powers, and that, even if every
woman in the land should exercise the
suffrage, the votes of the thoughtful
and conscientious would almost GER
tainly be largely outweighed by those
of the disreputable, the ignorant, the
thoughtless, the purchased and the CO.
creed. 1t is not to the purpose to say
that even with all this the condition
among women with the suffrage
would be no worse than it now is
among men. We need something bet
ter for the improvement of our Suf-
f'Iage. not an addition of the bad
already existing. Do respectable and
public-spirited women who favor fe-
male suffrage have d vague idea that
all women endowed with the franchise
can be taught to exercise the privilege
intelligently- and honestly. Who. is to
undertake this duty. and how? They
may rely upon it that the condition of
civic fitness in which the suffrage finds
g u
worse instead of better. Vested with
the power of suffrage equally with the
best of their sex, the unintelligent and
characterlesS would be inclined to
resist the approach of those who as
sumo with an air of authority to give
them instruction in voting duty Nor
could such approach be expected to
end with mere resistance to teaching
and influence. We all know how much
further women go than men in their
social rivalries and jealouSies. Wo-
man suffrage would give to the wives
and daughters of the poor a new OPP
portunity to crafty their envy and
mistrust of the rich. Meantime these
new voters would become either the
purchased or cajoed victims of plaus-
ible political manipulators. or the in
Inundated and helpless voting vassals
of imperious employers.
This phase of the suffrage question
cannot better be presented than in the
following words of another: women
change politics less than politics
change women"
The Effect OF the Ballot on Woman.
l take the following quotation from
a book I have lately read, written by
d very painstakipg and conscientious
woman who has spent much time in
personal investigation of all questions
pertaining to womans welfare and inn
provement. She is zealouSy in favor
of Woman'S clubs, and, it seems to me,
would be glad to advocate woman suf-
frage if she could; but not being q
theorist, but a careful, practical in
Vestigator her experience and observa-
ton do not permit her to go to that
length. After spending considerable
time and mingling with all sorts Of
people in Colorado. where the prob
lem of woman suffrage can be better
studied than anywhere else in the
United States she presents the result
OF her examination in language which
appropriate as my concluding words:
However suffrage may be regarded
as an abstract problem. it is not to be
denied that in Colorado it's use by
women has. whatever else it may have
done or failed to do. brought grave
disaster upon those women. The pos
session of the ballot and the employ
ment of that possession have hurt the
women of Colorado as women can
least afford to be hurt. Her
ideals have been lowered the delicacy
of her perception of right and
wrong has been dulled. Whatever
good she may be able to render to her
State and to the Nation by her vote,