The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-04-27

read, write and cipher TO the rule of
three and who does not pay taxes on
at least q hundred dollars worth Of
property. Every sane and single Wo-
man who has property to be taxed
and is not represented by q guardian
agreed to by herself should be given
the ballot. Within such limitations
upon either sex. the franchise thus
revised would work at least better than
the present indiScriminate lOllyDOD of
masculine ignorance, ntemperance
and corruption. But to augment his
by introducing an equal quantum of
similar ignorance, intemperance and
corruption would be not only to mul-
tiply every evil, but at the same time
to create evils to the exist
ing public and domestic fabric.
Col. Harvey tells us tina the wo-
men of a century. or even half a cen
fury, g were VIGOROUSLY untitled for
the performance Of political acts. They
possessed neither of the requisites
education and experience. cut mighty
progress began with the recognition
of mental a~lertneSs as the chief in
gredient of real attractiveness in wo-
men" This is to say that the Very
bumptious, bad-mannered girls who
pique themselves upon knowing as
much-of eVil-as the boys constitute
a finer type Of WOmanhood than the
mothers who toiled SO nobly and
wrought so nimbly in the days OF
1861-1S65. and he grandmOthers, who.
in the Revolution and the War Of
1912. fit the British, gol darn their
souls" I do not believe it.
However, let Col, Harvey make his
own case. Here is his closing sum
mary. I am going to take issue with
each of his three counts:
The three evils most menacing to
the country today are Cd dcbasement
Of moral standards in politics and
business: 90 absorption 10y a few, at
unwarrantdd cost to the man of
the common wealth, and 80 unreal
sOnable and violent expression Of re-
sentiment by the multitude. With
each of these perils the American Wo-
man is quite as competent to cope as
the American man. That she would
be less tolerant of moral deficiency IN
a candidate for public office requires
no demonstration; that, as a careful
householder and ambitious mother
constantly practicing economies for
the advancement of her children. she
would take an active part IN restrain
ing mOnOpOlieS from adding undue
profits to the cost of general living
seems evident; tina her keen personal
interest in the preservation and pro-
lection of homes and property would
inevitably constitute her a conserVa-
tive balance against the increasing
horde of foreign-bOrn voters may also,
we submit, be accepted as a cCr-
tainty."
In a world Of imperfections visible
on every hand, complicated by mys-
teries unfathonable, n thing seems
definite and certain in the autonomy
of o. and Nature. and that one
thing is the relation and obligation
of the Man and the Woman.
The Man was created and equipped
to fight the battles, do the work and
Dr0Vidp he means. the w oman To-
make and maintain the home. to bear
and to rear the children. The one
function is as important as the other;
the equality of the sexes Is absolute.
Man has no natural right not
possessed by the Woman. But. the
better to order the essential and large
ly artificial arrangements OF human
society, certain allotments were lnstl-
tuted, and these in the beginning were
wise and fair. If subsequent custom;
the physical weakness Of the Woman:
the "cussedness'' or selishness of the
Man; the inequalities of condition mat
gradually crept into government, d1-
verted them, subordinating the Wo-
man. that was the fault CT clrcum-
stances. not Of the original design.
If at this late day universal sur
frage could mend it. I should say
it along" But. in my opinion,
it would not mend it. ON the con-
trary. if would ~aggravate many evils
Of which We now complain ana ere
new ones hitherto unknown.
THE Conservative says Emerson,
the Reformer from going too
fast. and the Reforfner prevents the
Conservative from standing still. My
is that in all things the course
Of wisdom lies between the two. Ifefe
are brutal men and q few brutal Wo-
men There are many foolish men
many foolish ONE But. IN the
man is the lave OF the
world woman its moral light. We do
not need T~hackeray to tell us that WEI
should relapse into saVa@ery except
for our women.
look upon the professional sui
"a eette'' with horror and disgust
she is not a crank, pure ana