Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-02-14
Iowa House Hears an Interest
ing Debate on the Suffrage
Amendment
TEMPLE AND CUMMINGS SPEAK
Marshall County Representative Fav-
ors Giving the People Chance to
Vote on the Question-kendaII and
Temple Oppose Submission of the
Amendment.
[By Ora williamsl
i to Tfmes-Republican.

in not advertising the debate on the
woman suffrage question. 1t came en-
tirely without warning yesterday. 1T
was very good. For a week the house
had apparently been lodging every
thing interesting. Monday forenoon
was spent in dry routine. Just before
the hour for adjournment at noon Ep-
person called up the joint resolution
for a constitutional amendment and
yielded the floor to Wright. who pro-
ceeded in a 15-minute speech to open
on an afternoon session to finish 1T up
The wind was blowing a gale and snow
was drifting in at the windows and
the chance for elbow room on the floor
of the house was good. The members
were in mood for talk to fin
ish.
The resolution failed when the vote
was reached late in the afternoon-42
to As. The records will look differ
ent but that was the actual vote when
the clerk ceased to call the roll.
Changes were made in the vote so as
to permit of reconsideration, and then
some other changes. The attitude of
the thirteen men not present might
make some difference.
Those who spoke for the resolution
were Wright, Cobb, Teter Cummings
Hambleton, Dow, McAllister and
Dashien. Those who spoke against it
were Temple, Kendall Hart, Jepson
and Wise.
The debate promised little of inter-
est until Temple applied his learning
and reason. In the first part of his
address, in which he discussed the
| whole range of the philosophy of civ
ilization, Mr.. Temple presented mas
terly argument against woman suf-
frage. He viewed government as or
ganized for the protection of the weak
/ and repression of the evil minded, that
citizenship was a duty and respon-
sibility, that those who have the ca
pacity to enforce laws should alone
have the right to say what the laws
are that he would not shirk the re-
sponsibility nor ask that it partly be
shouldered upon the women of the
state. This would be a backward step
| in civilization.
! Mr. Kendall adverted to the obliga-
| ton resting on everyone to
pass personally upon the mer-
its of the measure. He de-
clared petitions were of small value,
and asked if there was any real de-
mand for this legislation coming from
the women of Iowa. He believed a
vast majority of the home making and
Of or
! actually opposed to the measure. Not
one woman from Monroe county had
asked him to vote for the measure HE
also referred to the fact that this is TO
be a great year politically in Iowa, and
he did not think it we'll to add to other
burdens that of defending this measure
| before the people.
| While Mr.. Wright had, in opening
! the debate, spoken briefly of the mer-
it's of the measure, it remained for Mr.
! Cummings to open up in a general way
the case for the affirmative. He had
observed that such resolutions as this
are necessary; they act as a sort OF
safety valve; and until they are dis
posed of the house never does any
thing. In answer to Kendalls insnu-
alton that there was no demand Tor
the, amendment he declared that the
women of Iowa had been knocking at
the door of the legislature for ~ years;
the fact that the women of the state
are not present in the hall is no crl-
terion: they are interested, but they
could not know that this debate was
to come off at this time. He could not
see how adoption of the resolution
which would refer it to the voters three
years hence, would cloud the political
sky in Iowa this year But he be-
lieved that when women are permitted
to express their views on great polit-
ical questions in Iowa it will take away
much of the political miasma of which
complaint is made. Mr.. Temple had
spoken of the protecting arm of man,
but never was a brave man born,
whether he went to war or not. but
that a good woman's life was endan-
gered He had admired Mr.. Temple
| and he knew that he must nave had
1 good associations somewhere; but he
never understood it until last session
he met Temples wife, and the speak
| err felt sure the member from Clarke
| would never have been able to be here
and speak his piece but for the sup
port of that good woman. Something
had been said about women voting.
Iowa has not more than 2 per cent of
had women, or those of criminal ten
denotes; can the same be said of the
| men? Iowa will suffer nothing from
woman voting We need not be afraid
| that Iowa women would not vote. They
would vote and they would vote right.
In his remarks on the subject Mr..
Dow caused some merriment by a
| eulogy of the girl clerks in the legis-
| lature. He declared that in great
! majority of cases they are the real
power behind the throne: they write
the bills and they decide for the MEM
bers how they shall vote. Mr.. Hart
/, called attention to the duty of each
member here and now to vote on
! the merits of the question. Mr.. Teter
and Mr.. Hambleton had rather indi-
Gated they would vote to submit, but
did not wish to be committed to the
measure. McAllister eulogized women,
as did Cobb and Dashiell.
/, The roll call on the woman suffrage
| resolution was as follows:
Ayes-Bailey. BiXby. Boland, Buck
ingham, Garden, Cheney, Cobb, Crosse,
Darrah. Dashiell. Dow. English. Epper-
son. Freeman. Hambleton. Hollembeak,
I Hume. Laird, Leecl, Lowery. Nc
clurkin, McCulloch, McElrath. Monte,
Maben, Meredith, Morris, Nichols,
| Robinson, sankey, shaffer, Spaulding,