Fitzgerald enterprise. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1895-1912, 1911-08-15
Flimsy Objections To
Wonan's Suffrage.
Editor Fitzgerald Enterprise:

nave lSCCiFCu ~ iiA0Ay CAPlOo
sions of satisfaction from ladies for
my articles in favor of giving wo-
men the ballot. that | vase quite
surprised to see in your last Satur-
days issue communication from
the editress of the Woman's NUM-
cipal League Department in which
she places herself fairly and square
ly in opposition to this worldwide
movement for equal suffrage re-
gardless of sex. Thus she says:
I'VE can't vote, we don't want to;
we can't 90 out, and spend a few
hours day from our business in
order to see that we have a good
clean government for the next two
years. We don't want to do it.
Strong argument THAT. against
granting women the elective fran
chise! Just as though they would
be COMPELLED to 90 out and
spend few hours each day from
their business q. e. household du-
ties) to eIectioneer for this or that
candidate! Are male voters Obliged
70 10 this? They can do lust as
they please about it-stay at home
and tend to their business, Or take
an active part in a political cam
paign. But the above quotation
shows on what fimsy grounds the
opposition to woman's suffrage is
based-9rounds which exist only in
the DIRECTORS Imagination, they
having no existance in reality at
all.
The editres5 Of said department
seeks to fortify her position with
this biblical admonitiOn: Let your
women keep silence" i Cor. IA, 81.
Is this injunction not as applicable
to many other vacations besides
that of voting? Paul could not
have had this in mind when he ut
tered it, for at that time equal fran
chise was not even "dreamt" Of
But does the editress live up to it
herself? Her weekly ebullitions do
not look like it. Nor her PEN
CHANT for haranguing the Com
mon Council and other assemblaGeS
on municipal matters. That seems,
indeed, to be her FORTE-do any
thing but keep silence" But this
appears to be quite incompatible
with her objection to vote, since this
would give her an opportunity to
exercise and develop her oratorical
powers to the fullest extent. Con
sistency, thou art a Wel'-quoting
her own words in another editorial
of hers.
Moreover, the right to vote does
not in the least interfere with Pauls
advice to the Athenians, for women
(and men too, for that natter may
observe the utmost silence while in
the discharge of their voting privi-
lege. In fact, the less talking there
is done at the polls, the more salts
factory is the result. So women
could vote while observing Pauls
mandate to the Ietter-at home and
abroad. What a blessing that
would bel 1t would make for
many husbands veritable Heaven
on Earth. Divorces would be re-
duced to a minimum, and the Mile
mum would be in sight. | think
Paul had this in view and not the
elective franchise when he wrote
those words. Neither could he
have referred to those women who
do not abuse their Godgiven power
of speech, by which no personal re-
Election is intended, only general
principles" being considered.
In conclusion, however, l cannot
refrain from saying that | had no
idea that there were women in this
city to whom President Taft allud-
ed in the following ungentlemanly
manner in his address to the Wo-
mans National Suffrage Convention
at Washington, last year.
"One condition that should be i'm
posed before granting suffrage to
any class, is that the class should
be intelligent enough to know its
1 "