The Irish standard., 1905-09-30
CLEVELAND HAS COURAGE.

EA-TIeSlueuC OleVelduu is certainly
maintaining his reputation for cour-
age. Not long ago he contributed an
article to magazine condemning the
women's clubs. This article made
him the object of attack of all the
new women in the country. He seems
to have outlived the attack and now
comes forward with another article
contributed to the same magazine,
The Ladies' Home Journal" in which
he opposes woman suffrage. He evil
IDENTIFY takes delight in his old age in
stirring up trouble. AS is usual with
the Ex-President in his public papers,
he says something worth reading.
Even such an old and frayed-out ques-
ton as woman suffrage which has
been debated in every schoolhouse in
the country, presents material which
Mr.. Cleveland finds of interest.
He is diplomatic in his treatment
of the question. The article is cal
culated to enlist on his side the SYM
pathy of the average woman. No
doubt the women for whose opinions
men most care, will take side with
the Ex-President. 1t is equally GER
tain that those women for whose
opinions nobody seems to care will
rally to another attack. The manner
in which the Sage of Princeton ap-
proaches the subject is worthy of his
palmiest political days. He says,
Thoughtful and right-minded men
base their homage and consider
alton for women upon an in
stinctive conscience that her I'M
masculine qualities whether called
weakness, frailties or what we WILL
are the source of her characteristic
and especial strength within the area
of her legitimate endeavor. They
know that if she is not gifted with the
power of clear and logical reason she
has a faculty of intuition which By a
shorter route leads her to abstract
moral truth; that if she deals mis-
takenly with practical problems it is
because sympathy or sentiment clouds
her perception of the relative value of
the factors involved: that if she is I'M
business-like her truthfulness and
charity stand in the way of cold blood
ed calculation; that il she is occasion
ally stubborn it is because her beliefs
take a strong hold upon her, and that
If she is sometimes fitful and petulant
it is but the prelude to bright smiles
and sunny endearments. They know
she is loving, long suffering, self
sacrificing and tender, because God
has made her so, and with all that
gratefully realize that whatever she
has or lacks the influence and mini
strations of woman give firm roofing
and full growth to mans best efforts"
Just imagine the women who go
about the country advocating woman
suffrage. approving any such nom
sense as the above. We can hear
them even now calling down all sorts
of imprecations upon "the horrid old
thing" They are no doubt even now
telling one another how cruel and in
human he must be toward his wife.
Upon the other hand the average
normal woman will find nothing derog-
atory in the Ex-President's words, but
on the other hand will rightly construe
them as a high tribute to the sex. 1t
is mistake for anyone in discussing
a question like woman suffrage to at
tempt to compare the relative mental
or moral power of the sexes. Nature
has pretty we'll assigned to each it's
legitimate field of endeavor.
If the women of the United States
really desire the privilege Of the ballot
they would have no difficulty what
ever in securing it. The men Of the
United States would quickly grant the
desires of their womankind. AS one
woman said in discussing this ques-
ton before a committee of the United
States Senate a few years ago, ut is
not the tyranny but the chivalry of
men that we American women have to
fear. The men of America want to
give us everything that we need and
the danger is that they will mistake
a minority for a majority" The
women who are contending for the
privilege of suffrage are very small
minority indeed. This has shown re-
peatedly. Not long ago the question of
allowing women to vote at municipal
elections was submitted in Massachu-
sets to all voters eligible to vote for
school committees. Women in that
state were eligible to vote on this
question of whether or not they should
have the right to vote in municipal
elections. The number of women in
that state eligible to vote was almost
six hundred thousand. Less than
twenty-five thousand voted. The av.
erage of intelligence in the State of
massachusetts, is certainly as high as
that of any state in the Union. That
election showed conclusively that the
average woman does not desire to
vote.
Z