The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-04-06
ARGUMENTS FOR WOMAN SUFFRAGE
 AT THE CAPITOL
Brilliant Connecticut Women Plead Their Cause Before Committee = Some of the Speakers

Hartford, April e.-It was woman suffrage day at the Capitol yesterday when the first hearing of the session was held on the suffrage question. Preliminary to the opening of the hearing Senate Chairman Archibald McNeil, Jr., fixed rules of debate. The affirmative side was to be heard first, in a series of ten-minute speech es. then the negative side was to be afforded its hearing. following which the affirmative were to have the privilege of a thirty minute rebuttal.
 After Senator McNeil, Jr., had read a telegram from Colonel Norris G. Osborne of New Haven, which ex- pressed his regret at being unavoid- ably detained in New Haven because of business pressure and his desire to be placed on record as favoring equal rights for women, a large number of women writers, lecturers, scholars and social workers of national repute, and at least one male lawyer and poli- tician of equal renown, proceeded to train their intellectual guns on the so-called impenetrable armor of Con- necticut conservatism.
 The crush in the House chamber was great, but as only the affirmatives were heard 1t is impossible to state what proportion of the crowd was for or against the enfranchisement of women
 Mrs. Thomas N. Hepburn, president of the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association, who introduced the vari- ous speakers, preluded the formal opening of the hearing with speech of her own. She pointed out as an example of the insignificance of many of the objections raised against wo- man suffrage. the favorite objection of one member of the House, who personally was not opposed to equal rights. but who said he would not vote for the amendment because his wife was very much opposed to It. He had a great deal of confidence in what she thought and knew of her sex. Mrs. Hepburn considered this a very personal reason for legislator 10 bring up.
 Mrs. N J. Reynolds of Colorado spoke on the meaning of the fact that all the suffrage states were neighbors. She said that she could prove in less than the ten minutes allotted her that woman suffrage was good. She showed that Wyoming, Colorado. Utah and 1d- zho got the right of suffrage in regu- lar progression, just as the states in Australia got i tone by one in regu- lar sequence
 Dr. Caroline Runtz-Rees said, in mart that the women want to vote because we have in a Democracy a government for the people and by the people-that they have a right to be n@aTu OT1 Ll6L S1OGHu 1nC WOLlCll, she asserted. pay their share of the taxes. direct or indirect, and pay the penalty if they break the law. Ours is not a governmnt by all of the peo- pie for some of the people and not the rest.
 Mrs. Ernest Thompson-Set gave brief. but scholarly address. Her ar Euments were that it seems but log icai that all men and women. who have stopped to consider the human structure. should believe in equality, the union of man and women, and the significance of the fact that what up- lifts man uplifts woman. and what de- grades him degrades her also.
 Miss Emily Pierson@ state organizer for the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association. said in part, that it was perfectly ridiculous that Connecticut women were not enfranchised. If you have a Democracy at all. she said. the only reasons against woman suffrage are mental, physical and moral in- competence Women. she asserted. do not recognize the physical incompe- tence As for mental competence. she pointed out that the usual grouping was idiots, who have no minds, crim- fnals who misuse their minds. chill dren. who have not arrived at the age or discretion to use their minds and women
 The speaker pointed out that women were earning their own living today the same as the men were, that al- though they were formerly protected