Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-02-13
HOW WILL THIS co IN THE
SOUTH!

II there ever was any chance of the
female suffrage movement spreading
to the South and securing a substan-
tial foothoId here it has been effeetu-
ally scotched by the actions Of Mrs,
Belmont, chief high priestress of the
fad in New York city, in inviting ne
gro women there to participate in the
conferences and public meetings and
otherwise JOIN hands with her and her
associates in securing the freedom of
the sex"
It is possible that there may have
been number of women in the South
inclined, either from curiosity, the
desire for a change, the Introduction
Of some new novelty in their lives. or
from a conscientious belief that the
best interests Of the sex and of the
nation as a whole would be promoted
thereby, to join in the movement hav-
ing for its purpose the securing of the
suffrage for women But this earlv
wiping out of the color line in the
suffrage cam In the North will have
the effect of putting an effectuaI dam
per upon any effort to inaugurate such
a movement in this section. The South
has enough problems of its own at
this time without Introducing the new
ones that would arise from the intro
duction of female suffrage. The real
ization that female suffrage means not
only the right conferred upon the
white women, but also upon the col
ored women, to vote and to generally
participate in politics, is well calcu-
lated to put Quietus on any adv9-
Gates Of such an innovation who may
wander this way from the North.
Just to show where the suffrage
movement is tending in the North we
give below some extracts from a news
item appearing in the papers of that
section, under a New York date line:
Mrs. o. H. P. Belmont crossed the
color line today in her fight for poll
IcaI equals y, when she entered the
Mount Olivet Baptist Church to get
the negroes into the equality line and
form the first colored branch of her
organization. There was a large at
tendance at the meeting, including
considerable number of men. Mrs.
H. Norman, president Of the Negro
Women's Business League, who had
arranged the meeting with Mrs. Bel
mont, said:
Mrs. Belmont invites us to join her
political equality association. If pol
itics are dirty it's the men who have
made them dirty, and it is for US now
to clean them up"
Mrs. Belmont, who was seated on
the platform with Mrs. Henry Willard
and Mrs Ella Hawley Crossett, presi-
dent of the New York State Women's
Suffrage Association, and others, said:
Already, although you may not
KNOW 1t, you perhaps feel the call to
the great work before us. Unless this
call means freedom and equality for
all, It is a failure. The women of the
country are still slaves in the tWenti-
eth century. We need earnest work.
ers IN the woman suffrage cause.
earnestly invite you all to join, and
the smallest contributions are CRATE
fully received"
Mrs. Willard, who was introduced rs
the daughter of William Lloyd Gar
rlson, said; Il need not assure this
audience that I have a deep interest
In the people of the negro race. I feel
that philanthropy cannot be well done
untn women have voice in the NUM-
capal housekeeping. The ballot is the
great thing that is needed to upIift the
unIortunates, who, without it, must
stay as they are, and not only imperil
themselves, but imperil the whole
We should all stand togeth-
er The freedom of the body was
good thing. Freedom Of the mind is a
much greater thing"