The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1907-11-09
copyright, by Joseph B. Bowles.)

'ad0' J
copyright, by Joseph B. Bowles.)
{Susan B. Anthony's name is known
everywhere as that Of one Of the strong
est, cleverest women OF the age. 1t is
anonymous with the marvellous evolution
In the status Of woman in which from the
early '40s until her death early In the
present year she was the central figure.
The transition Of the young quaker girl.
AFRAID Of the sound Of her own voice, into
the reformer and orator is no more Won
aerfu1 than the great change which have
been brought about in the condition Of
women largely through her efforts.)
Half century ago, when the agita-:
ton for woman suffrage was first COM
menced, il the outlook for it's
success had been what it is to.
day, the question would long since
have been settled, the friction of
the new regime smoothed away and
the general public oblivious to the fact
that there ever had been struggle to
bring all this about. The present gen.
Grafton has not the slightest concep.
ton of the conditions which existed at
the time when the first demand was
made that the ballot should be placed
in the hand of woman. The wife who
today rests secure in the ownership
of the home and of all the property
which comes to her, who manages it
herself and enjoys the profits; the
other one who, compelled to work for
wages to support her children, col
lects and uses them according to her
Judgment; the mother who, widowed
by death or divorce, rejoices in the
possession of her children; the wom-
en- who, in every possible vocation, are
earning livelihood and often a COM
petence-all of these are in utter ig-
norance of the efforts which were
made by the women of the past to Sc
cure for them these privileges.
They do not dream that so years ago
no married woman could legally own
a dollars worth of property and none
could collect or expend the wages she
earned except by the husbands con-
sent; that the courts recognized the
fathers absolute ownership of the
children, to the extent of disposing
of them by will; that there was not
an institution in the United States
where a girl could get the higher edu-
cation, and that there were not more
than half dozen occupations in which
she could make a living and none in
which competence was possible.
But such was the situation when the
astounding proposition was first made
that women should have the SUFFRAGE!
Undoubtedly there had been always an
inward rebellion on the part of women
against the gross injustice which they
suffered, but it was not until the clos
ing years of the first half of the cen.
fury that this began to find public ex-
preston and even then only the small
est fraction of those who protested
were clear-sighted and philosophical
enough to see that the speediest rem
edy for these evils would be the DOS
session of the franchise. Had this
been granted it would not have re-
auired so years to remove the cruel
determinations, which are by no
means yet entirely obliterated.
Year after year when the women
went to the legislatures to have the
vicious laws abolished they met de.
feat, because they did not form a part
of the constituency, and the para
mount aim Of every member was so
to crafty his constituents as to secure
a reelection for himself and further
the interests Of his party. To neither
of these ends could women contribute
in the slightest degree. Therefore thew
had to depend entirely upon the slow
process of educating public sentiment
until it was far enough advanced tn
supply the necessary backing for the
repeal of these obnoxious laws.
We have now reached the point
where the antagonism against the
equal rights of women is confined al
most wholly to that of the suffrage
In practically all other respects thew
are conceded and while some states
are slow in changing their laws to con-
form to the new dispensation the ius-
tice of it is admitted and it will nre-
vail universally in the near future. so
far as the statutes are concerned. The
battle henceforth must be for the
franchise. The vital question thus
becomes: What is the outlook for
the ultimate success of this last con
feaf2 c>A =. IL. i. =.