New-York tribune., 1909-02-07
BALLOTS AND BONNETS
Would Woman Suffrage Mean
Fashionable Tailor for PRESIDENT
To the Editor of The Tribune.


To the Editor OF The Tribune.
Sir: It does not seem to occur 10 the women who
are camorine for the ballot that one strong ergu-
ment Why they should not get the right of suffrage
Is the exceedingly poor showing they have made in
certain line to which they have paid devoted at
tentton for centuries
Good Judgment would seem to be the prime requi-
site of a voter, and when dspassiOTEately looks
into this subject of vast Importance to NyOmen-che
one to which they devote the deepest attention and
to which they give their almost undivided interest.
namely, dress-one cannot find that in this field
show good Judgment. or. to be quite exact
anything approximatng a capacity TO judge since
Judgment implies the exercise OF reason.
Just what process of mental activity IS responsl-
BILE for womans adoption OF hat so heavy that
she has collected wrinkles headaches, nervousness
and has even tainted beneath It's weight it would
be impossible for mere human intelligence to de
terrnine Women have persisted in wearing his
enorrnlty in headgear even when by so doing hat
brins have scratched and bruised the faces OF other
persons inflicted painful injuries TO their eyes dis
arranged their apparel and hair and made ali With
IN reach of the hard, offending brims exceedingly
uncomfortable. Selfshness and cruelty carried to
such extent are not good arguments in favor OF
equal suffrage with men. One has yet TO find that
any form of millinery offered 70 women as stylish .
however eccentric outrageous It might prove has
failed to find : ready welcome. What reason Is
there 10 suppose that a stylish candidate for po-
IiticaI honors would not meet with as unQuestouing
appreciation?
1t would not be fair to judge woman wholly hy
the top Of her costume. The dispassonate observer
looks at her feet and sees that she wades through
icy slush IN low-cut shoes and thin hosiery. Doc
tors have talked themselves hoarse against this
practice and feminine patients have laughed in
their faces and continued it. What a mere baga-
teIle is health compared 10 q smartly clad fcOtl
Even the surgeons knife has held terrors for
the feminine devotee TO high heels and tight cloth
ing; yet wearers of high heels have gone through
-~E-r
clothing have endured more for the sake Of dress
ing as they pleased They have not seemed to mind
the suffering brought upon themselves nor the anX
iety inflicted upon others by reason Of their whimS
Were these women empowered to vote whom
would they elect? Why, the man who expresses
the most admiration for d fascinating foot" and
''sylphlike FORM OF course,
II wisdom sits neither upon the crown of the
average woman's head nor the arch Of her insteD
neither may this priceless possession be found any
where else In her clothes. These in cut make AID
material obey the behests OF fashion 20 the utmost
limit of folly and crime That visitor who turns
away from the doors Of infant idiot asylIms and
homes for epileptC and defOrmed children sick at
heart at such reveaIment Of helpless misery. and
asks the physician in charge the cause Of SO much
woe meets with one answer: "WOman's folly in
dress and living"
This accusation has many notifications Not all
the Affections due to the criminal foolishness
and vanity of hers. but most are \ large mum
Der of women exist who perfectly willing to
jeopardize the lives OF their children. their own
good health and the future welIbeng OF their souls
in order appear dressed in the latest fashion and
squeezed into the latest form. There women to
be found-and one doesn't conduct an exhausty
search 10 discover tIem-whO perfectly willing
to exchange most that they have I'm this world and
all that they expect in the next for a wonderful
coifreur an enormous hat, a skin tight gown and a
sweetly silly expression
If the country elected TO office those men in
whom majority Of its women exhibit most in crest
and about whom they are best informed We would
have d tailor for President. milner as alterUa-
tive, beauty specialist for Secretary Of War a
hairdresser as Secretary Of the Navy. ccullon
leader as Secretary Of the Interior. and like as
sortment efficient ministers TO wumen.s Vhins
and pleasures filling other executive Offices not de
sired by women for themselves.
Whether "a woman could succeed in being elected
TO high onice BY other women is another story
Most Of the appeaers for tie ballot have not stated
what-or whom-they wanted ii for. As a class
women are not untntelligent-far from il They are
merely unreasonable
Hundreds OF learned men and women have lert-
ured to packed audiences Of women upon the evil
effects of tight IacIng. and perhaps have brought
change Of mind land Of torm-iO one woman III ii
thousand. Would it Le any more possible &C. con-
vince a body Of women voters OF the ohjecll"naple
ness OF Il candidate for whom they wanted 10 vote
Women have been told how their eyesisIt be-
comes injured By means of tight sun ana hlsH
reckuea They don't discard the neok"ear II IL Is
i'm fashion. they merely visit Oca!Sts as occasion
arises.
Not long since fashion decreed that women should
be ont at elbows and out to the wtntry blast pOked
all shapes and sizes OK purple and red elbows.
famed on one side by long glove and on the other
nv q short sleeve. Now the sleeve must be long
and tight 10 prevent free circulation IN arm and
hand and preserve the general long, tight con-
tour OF the fern feminine, whereby circulation is
trnpeded 70 the point OF making the circulatory
organs wonder what they we're created for any
way.
Said a great New York jurist: Women don't
want the ballot When they 90 they will get IT,"
As q woman l ask How women-the majority
Of women want tao ballet whsn ii takes al their
time to keep up with a knowledge or prevailing
STYLES and 10 gown themselves IN the mode Can
a woman be expected to sacrifice her standing in
society and her personal appearance in order TO
study political questions?
II is aid by some that women are not educated
up 10 ii. 'ellot to a fitness fE IT. BY way OF
answer I.-.. say that II men mad to attire them
selves in as constantly changing and as great "a
variety Of styles do. they. too would
scarcely be able distinguish between ballot and
9 bonnst AMANDA 6TaGR
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