The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-10-16

movement. This is the su-
perncial and Inadequate manner with
which the movement has been
fragists. i'm their spoken and pub
lished utterantcs reveal, that While
they propose a stupendous govern
mental change they have little knowl-
edge OF the fundamentals Of govern
ment, the evolution OF representation.
the history OF politics. or the genesis.
scope and meaning of suffrage. In
their treatment of suffrage. In
hopelessiy confuse po pol G'eG phiians
throplc. socialistic and economic
questions; nor do they seem able to-
discriminate between objects of ma
tional and State or municipal regula-
the principles Of government; few suf-
fragists perhaps could explain Off
hand, why the House OF Representa-
tives has O Committee on Foreign A.
fairs. and the Senate has Commit
tee on Foreign Relations. Fewer still
probably understand the connection
between the first Parliament Of Henry
~. and the absence of a Ways and
Senate Yet. these are among the
alphabet OF representative govern
ment and 70 attempt enormous gcv-
ernmontal changes without knowing
the integral and dlffercntial calculus
without knowing the ground rules OF
arithmetic.
Not Always Logical.
The DIRECTORS to woman suffrage
have not always given logical or prac-
tical reasons against 1T. They feel an
instructive dislike to the overturning
OF the social order which woman suf-
soned but little more than person
reasons who runs indoors from hall
Etorm. The Inconvenience Of remain
ing exposed to a hail-storm are so
nj In tunr In ma r.
ter out logically. but act on instinct,
which, unlike reason. makes no mis-
takes. Still. II an effort were made
TO forcibly exoose persons to hail
might be found why they should go
indoors. William Dean Howells has
said that ne has heard many appeals
against woman suffrage. but he has
It. eve Yet there are ars eem nno rea.
sons against IT, They have not been
much in evidence because the debate
has been chiefly in the hands OF wo.
principles is meagre. Both sides,
whether for or against have assumed
that the revolution would be over
when woman can walk up to the
the box. 1t is at this point, however.
that the revolution would begin. 1t
Is true that limited suffrage prevails
N twentys s,or States; and fun suffrage
ind Utah-and still, there Is no gen
eral revolution. But 1t must be re-
membcred that in the States where
There Is limited suffrage. women have
crcising suffrage, while the expert
ment in the four crude and sparsely
settled States in which there is full
outrage affords no adequate test for
full suffrage in great centres OF civil
lzation, and in vast and crowded COM
munitics. with immense and diversified
interests. wyoming is State OF cow
boys and cattle ranges. Idaho is
dominated TO a great degree by the
Mormon Church. which has ever been
the good friend and the most power
ful advocate woman suffrage has yet
had. In Utah. the women voters under
the lead OF Mormon!sm. have voted
rteadiiy in favor OF polygam!sts and
lawbreakers, who have been sent to
Congress in defiance OF the law. By
the votes Of women. In Colorado, the
States. the suffrage experiment has
not been entirely successful. as will
be shown farther on. The near view
Of suffrage does not seem to help Il.
:ornia, South Dakota. Washington and
Oregon have all defeated suffrage
amendments to their Constitutions.
Two Basic Principles.
There are two basic principles
principle works with the merciIess
mechanism OF natural law like
gravitetton. and Is, indeed. natural
Law. II may be violated for q time,
just as a stick may be thrust in the
cogs of a machine. but the machine
Will not work until the stick is re-
moved, and the event always dam
suffragists who have detied basic
principle, but At Is within the memory
OF living men when the government
OF the United States. through some
of u al NJ = alt
legislators, violated every principle OF
constitutional government, OF common
sense. as well as common justice. by
placing the ballot IN the hands OF
could neither read nor write, and We're
without property. BY the fourteenth
amendment to the Constitution. in five
States of the Union, all power and
combined vice and illiteracy of those
states BY the fifteenth amendment, a
coach and horses We're driven through
the Constitution OF the United States
civil rights to be given 10 the recently
emancipated slaves only a few gener-
atoms removed from cannlbalisnl. as
to the highest type of the Caucasian
ization behind 1t. If civilization could
be destroyed by Legislative enactment
it would have been destroyed in the
five Southern States which were thus
ization cannot be destroyed by leGisla-
tive enactment. It may be grievously
injured, and frightful disorders and
lasting wrong may be done, but the
basic and natural law will always In
such dreadful events, rise above the
statute law and civilization will main
tain itself at all costs.
Experiment Fully, Tried.
The reason for the disfranchise-
ment of women bears no relation what
ever to the reason for the practical
Acknowledgement of the negro Which
now prevails throughout the south
ern States. 1t may rather be COM
pared to the disfranchisement of all
the citizens OF that district which has
the highest percentage of literacy Of
any district In the world, and the
highest percentage OF Individual
wealth. and in wnlch the government
disburses s3l2,000,0o0 a year in wages.
This is the District of Columbia, CON.
tanning population of 34S,005 souls
No citizen of the District has vote
The experiment of giving these cit
liens votes had been fully tried, w;en.
less than forty years ago two of the
greatest jurists of the age--the late
Senator Thurman, of Ohio, and former
Senator Edniunds, of Nermont-carried
through without division of party a
scheme of dlsffanchising every cit
izen in The most intelligent munici-
patty in tho country. Two reasons
were given for this. One was to pre-