New-York tribune., 1907-12-26
WOMEN IN POLITICS.
r Of The Tribune.

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: In your issue of Saturday. December z you
give a somewhat facetious account OF the meeting
Of the Equal Suffrage League and refer to certain
remarks made by Mrs. Stanton Batch and rnyseIf
on the subject Of the political rights of women
In England. As the report might be misunder-
the following short explanation:
Mrs. Stanton Blatch, for whom have a sincere
admiration raised a point of historical accuracy.
which can easily be examined as the facts admit
OF dispute, but she did not question the correct
Of my argument.
advanced the statement that although women
in England at one time had the right of election
to school boards and TO certain municipal bodies
not county councils they had in course Of legis-
lation been deprived of THESE rights, and |
argued therefrom that unless insist on full
political equality and are thus in position to
exercise a direct influence legislation their
position in public life will never be secure for
what is granted to-day can be taken away to-
morrow.
The facts are as follows: At the first elections
held under the education acts of 1870. which Gre
ated the school boards, women returned not
only in London, but in various parts England,
and in some instances headed the polls; they con-
tinued on and off as elected members of school
boards until these under the Education of 1902
were destroyed. Under this education act
women were no longer eligible for election.
With regard to the position of women on other
bodies beg to point out that when the local gov
ernment (England and Walesl act of 1894 was be-
fore Parliament, then, in order to safeguard the
eligibility OF women as parish councillors, urban
and rural district councillors. poor law guardians
and members of Vestries, it enacted that
no person shall be disqualified by
riage.'' However, the London government act of
1S99 which transformed the old vestries into rnu-
nicipal borough councils, withdrew from women
the power to continue on these councils (Which,
though new in name. but old in duties) the
admirable work which many of them had been do
Ing in the past the previously existing bodies.
AS far the county councils concerned,
there is doubt that when london County
Council was created, in 1888. 1t generally un-
derstood that women were entitled to sit in thai
body and, matter OF fact, three elected,
and not until they had acted for tme-more
than six naonths-were their elections voded on q
legal quibble. maintain that had women possessed
the Parliamentary vote that injustice would
have been perpetrated would most certainly have
been at remedied.
To sum UP, the English women, owing to their
inability to directly influence legislation failed to
enforce their right to sit in county councils and
lost their positions elected members Of school
joyed right of election to the local ntrused
with the municipal government OF metropolitan bor-
oushs.
These are simple facts which allow OF no dis
pute, and / think 1t will be admitted that they
fully confirm the statements I made.
IL not until the active and militant agita-
tion of the present sufragiSt bodies awoke Eng
land q recognition OF the wrongs which women
suffer politically that the present government Of
fered them a tar6y measure of justice by remov-
in- In bi,l passed In the last session of Parlia-
,nent. the disqualification Of local gov
ernment bodies The moral is obvous-women can
best secure this kind OF reform by directing all
their energies to obtaining full measure of pol;ti
cal enfranchisement. Women must demand a COM
pete removal of all the present arbitrary and un-
Just disabilities and take their stand side by side
with men in the enjoyment OF all the privileges
the discharge of all the duties of citizens. We
reforms tends merely TO diffuse energies and
weaken the force of our attack.
MRS. b. BORRMANN WELLS.
York, Dec Is. 1901.