The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-04-02
CALLS SUFFRAGE
DISAPPOINTING
Mrs. W. H. Dale Addresses Ladies
Literary Club on Women Voting.
DREAMS ARE SHATTERED
CONCLUDES THAT RESULTS ARE
LITTLE CHANGED.
DREAMS ARE SHATTERED

Women-s suffrage, while perhaps not
2 failure. has been disappointment,
according TO Mrs. William II. Dale In
a short paper read before the Ladies'
Literary club Friday afternoon, Mrs.
Dale advanced views on the subject
which have caused considerable dis
cussiou among women:
1t is within tho memory OF all of
you, that period, some eight years ago
when the full political rights of citi-
ZenShip were conferred upon the women
OF this state, with the attendant re-
sponsibilities- Many woman then be
Ueved the time had at last come when
the wrongs i'm the administration of
public affairs were to- be TiEhtcd. the
sins Of omission and commission TO be
Tcctitied. only a few good men and
many women were thereafter to be
elected to Office and the power OF the
ward heller was to be broken for
ever What sort of am individual the
ward heller was, she did not exactly
know, never having met him IN society,
but had an idea that he voted with
great CELEBRITY and facility and sppar-
emily always belonged to the majority
side, the minority being entirely COM
posed OF gentlemen and patriots.
Dreams of Reform,
Visions. perchauce. came to her OF
roft-voICed msideus filling the public
offices. the air rCdOleut with the per
fume Of flowers instead Of bad cigars.
And d. a. grand elimination, the some
time election of a. gray-haired, dignl-
fled matrOn to the first office of the
state as governor cor shall 1 say gov
eTneSS2) The city councils nightly
meetings would cease to he filled with
discussions in heated and hybrid Eng
liSh. but would he changed to delight
fUI affairs At in the afternoon. while
Tho city physician. with her corps of
assistants would make quarantine a
pleasant paStime and vaccination days
a social function. With what zeal we
entered upon the enjoyment of the new
citizenship by an attendance upon the
party primary meeting. and with what
swelling pride. concealed by modest
bushes. did we receive the announce
ment that we had been elected dele
gates to the coming party convention.
and the proud satisfaction with which
we viewed our names among the print
cd list in the papers next morning
Experiences in Convention.
When the convention day came
around serene I'm the knowledge that we
were becOmingly EOWued, and that "A
love of "A hat added the last touch to
our costume, we arrived at the COnNen-
tiOu hall. and after piuninE ON the
badge and noting that it blended beau
tifUIlN with our gowns. i'm some trepi-
dItiOu sought our delegation upon the
floor. NV what lot of men. and what
am august animal man is, and what
Il conspicuous position he always OcCu-
pies But then, we are only women
and to woman man is. after all, the
most beautiful object in all this mum
dane sphere. even the mention of the
name man. uueQudlled in the annals
of time for simplicity. fills us with ad-
miration and with awe Then what
matter n there were far more men than
women Amid the wild riot Of that
dreadful day. sitting i'm the confusion,
surrounded by the sickening odor of
bccr-Iadeu breathS and cheap cigars.
how earnestly We CndeaVOTed to keep
track of the proceedings, clinSing
teuaciUuSlN although with some in
ward doubtsD 10 the idea that a great
step was being taken toward purer and
better government by the coming re-
suits of that convention,
Dubious Over Candidates.
'.Truth comueIs us to admit that
some candidates had been chosen whose
wives were not upon our calling list.
and. further. the remarks of acceptance
ny some of these same candidates. and
their personal appearance when called
before the convention produced some
mlSgiNIugS as To whether a mistake had
not been made i'm selecting them TO lead
"a reform movement We were quoted
however. with the explanation that this
one was needed TO catch the ScdudiuB-
Wan vote. and another was absolutely
vital to our obtaining the support of the
hud carriers union. and that a third
was walking delegate of the sons of
Rest Wprkingmen'S club This. the
chairman told us. was called practical
politics. and of course. "a woman always
wants 10 he practical. and we were con-
tent. finding some consolation that a
woman had been named for one of the
places upon the ticket II Is true tn,
lady candidate was neither a society
nor club leader. and an introduction
found her manners. perhaps. a triffe too
masculine. her hair somewhat frOWSy
her hat and dress undoubtedly a little
passee. and her hands evidently maC-
Uuaiutcd with the services of a mani
cure. yet il was a concession and Tecog-
milton of our heretOfore-but never q
Zoe agaiu-diSfraUChiscd sex
Solicitudc by the Males.
After all the tickets had been uomi-
mated We recall what AN object of Sc
,icitud- We at once became to the party
managers and with what seIf-stcritic-
ing labor the male members OF the
family at once undertook to see that we
voter Alright We remember the calm
assumption that of course we would
wish To vote the same ticket as did our
lords and masters, and the dubiCty
with which we learned that all the con-
dldatcs upon our ticket were angels
of sweetness and light while the other
party had nominated a gang guilty of
every crime i'm tho calendar. With
what fear and trembling we uedrcd the
voting booth on. election day. sample
ballot in hand. on which We had car
fully and prayerfully marked our Sc
lection of the hest men ON each ticket
to he voted for, but when over, tho
modification to recall that under tho
excitement and confusion Of the mo
mcut the sample ballot and high re-
solves alike had been forgotten and we
had bliudly followed the instructions OF
the party chairman 10 place the cross
up by the flag or rooster and let it go
at that
Affairs Not Bettered.
we determined to do better the next
time. but the years have come and
gone election has succeeded election
and il can hardly be truthfully said
public affairs have been bettered- Just
as many incompetent men are now
elected 10 office as was the case before
the franchise was granted to women.
Ward heeIers and diSrcputable poll
ticians WELD as much power at the
primaries and the polls as before, and
the nomination of a woman for any
elective Onfc- is now considered by all
the party managers as an element OF
v.ca kncss rather than strength lndif-