The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-05-27
EQUAL RIGHTS

To The Forum: An eminent woman
lawyer of Illinois, who has shown hel
ability to handle legal questions equal
ly as well as her male peers has re-
FUSED, 1t is said, to pay the taxes as
Gessed against her property, and pro-
4 poses to fight their collection in the
courts.
1t would really seem, in this day OF
broad culture and liberal thought, that
i II should not be possible to find an
educated man, whose sense of justice
and moral rectitude would give assent
to such a violation Of the constitution
Of our country. Government can only
derive Its just powers from the con-
sent Of the governed is our fundamen-
tai principle, and how 1t is outraged In
its application, under our present man
made laws. The census shows that
the larger half Of the citizens of the
United States are women, and large
portion of these are tax payers, de-
prived of any voice in the govern
ment they help to support.
It would really seem that every just
man should enlist himself in the cause
of woman's enfranchisement and never
lay down his sword until equal justice
has been accorded to her.
heard an argument advanced by an
anti suffragist recently to the erect
that women should not vote because
they do not carry arms In the wars.
! Are we nation advocating wars and
desolation, or a nation striving for
peace and a knowledge of the higher
life and light?
But even II it were fact that the
world was in the turmoil Of wars, as
in the olden days, the argument would
be too weak to stand because 1t is an
established fact that woman has al
ways borne her share Of the work, and
the sorrow, and prlvations, OF war
since primeval history; and IL men
bear firearms, and stand up to be shot
at, 1t must be borne in mind that for
every warrior so enlisted some woman
went down into the valley OF the
shadow Of death, to give him life and
the agony endured by women in CIV
ing birth to the race during one year,
exceeds all the wounds and death
agonies Of men in wars, covering a
hundred years.
Such arguments against the en-
franchisement Of women are as weak
as they are futile. A large body of
women are deeply aroused over what
they esteem tyranny as great as our
forefathers resolved to throw on, one
hundred and thirty-five years ago.
These women are daughters of those
fathers, who then resolved to be free,
and they too resolve to be free, and
do you think they who inherit the old |
spirit will ever yield? They |
will not down, until justice is assured |
Men of North Dakota, swing our great |
state into line with the other progress
sive states Of the west. The women of |
North Dakota believe the large ma
Iority of you are just and generous. |
They believe you honor your wives and |
daughters. they believe you have the |
courage of just convictions and in this /
lay, when reconstruction, and reor- |
sanization are clasping hands every
where, they believe you will confer |
Justice, even upon the unwilling wo-
men, who say they do and want to
1ote and don't want other women to
De allowed TO either.
A great American man has said: /
Slaves do not know they wear
any more than the fishes
know they swim the seas"
Helen deLendrecie.