The Washington herald., 1911-03-19
By FRANK PARKER sToCkBRIDGE

in any civilized community of the world
had the right to vote at any time on any
question, no matter how vitality her own
interests were affected. To-day in one
nation, three autonomous colonies, and
five States of the Union. every woman
may vote at any election and hold any
public office; in twenty-one States women
may vote on all school questions. includ-
ing the election of school trustees: in six
States women taxpayers may vote on all
questions of taxation; in ten Self-EoNern-
ing provinces. comprising among them
nearly all of the Dominion OF Canada,
New Zealand. and Tasmania women have
unlimited suffrage in municipal matters,
while i'm Great Britain and Ireland every
woman may vote for or hold any office
except that of member of Parliament. and
on the Isle of Man they even vote Tor
their member IF Parliament.
The whole woman suffrage movement Is
less than one hundred years Old and it has
been a really live issue barely half CEN
tury Indeed. it is only about two hundred
wears ago. in 1898. that the first suGg"s-
tiOn that women might, could. or should
receive education WAS mad" by an Eng
lish writer. DAME! Detoc. Defoc was ridt-
cuI,d in his day much as the earliest ad-
VOCates Of woman suffrage were r!dlcul"d.
But women were, finally. given cduca-
tional opportunities, and it was only a
hundred and fifty years or 50 thereafter
before they began to demand the right
to vote. They seem TO be getting it with
quite startling rspidity.
The first recorded instance "f women
being permitted to vote was in Kentucky.
wherC, IN 1888 WIDOWS with children in
school were given the right to vote on
school questions. That was the enter
ing wedge In lN,2 the province Of on
tarIo. Canada. gave all women the right
TO vote ON school mattcrs-"sC school sut-
fragc," the suffragists term this limited
privilege In 1851 Kansas followed with
school suffrage and in the same year New
South Wales gave women full municipal
suffrage In l>6J England gave all single
women and willows full municipal suf-
frage. and the province Of Victoria did
the same. The year 1859 is banner
year for the suffragStS. for il was then
that Wyoming. then Territory. gave
women the full right of suffrage. In
1871 West Australia gave them municipal
suffrage and in l>7I Michigan and Mime
sofa gave Item school sufrag'. Colo
rado gave them school suffrage in 1876.
New Zealand in M. New Hampshire and
Oregon in l>.>. Massachusetts in 1873, and
New York and Vermont in lNN.I
The year 1881 iS another milestone in tie
onward march OF woman suffrage. for
not only did Scotland stlc single women
and widows municipal suffrage, but the
first ABSOLUTELY equal suffrage Tor all Offices
was granted in that year. in the old and
ancient community Of tn" Isl" Of Man.
where women were given full parliament
AIRY suffrage AMI nave IOted ever
since for their representative in the
province OF Ontario and the Island
OF Tasmania gave women municipal
Suffrage in 1881. New Zealand and n
Brunswick followed the example in lH>5,
and Kansas. Nova Scotia, and Manitoba
in 1851 In the same year North and
South Dakota. Montana, Arizona. and
New Jersey gave women school suffrage.
and Montana extended 10 women taXpay-
crS the right to vote on tax o.CEtions.
England extended the right OF women to
vote in / ~ bv permitting them to partic!-
pate in county "a well as municipal cleo
Northwest Territory now subdlvId"d into
several Canadian provinces. gave them
municipal suffrage. Scotland followed
with county suffrage in 1859. and in the
same year the province of Quebec gave
municipal suffrage to single women and
widows. Illinois gave them school SUI
fraGc IN 1901 and Connecticut in 1893. In
the Same year women got the full right
Of suffrage in Colorado and New Zealand.
Ohio gave them school suffrage in 1894,
and Iowa sufTrag" on bond issues. Eng
land made another step forward in tn"
same year and extended the suffrage to
women on parish and district matters.
In 1895 South Australia gave them full
state suffrage. and in 1895 tab and Idaho
gave them the full right OF suffrage, as
Wyoming and Colorado had done
In 1895 the women of ireland were en-
frauchiscd, with the right to vote at all
except parliamentary elections, Minnesota
gave women the suffrage on library trust
ccs. Delaware and Louisiana gave women
taxpayers the suffrage, the first on school
matters. the second on taxation questions.
The first extension of the suffrage to
women outside Of the EnGlish-speakinS
countries occurred in 1895, when France
gave women engaged in commerce the
right to vote at the election of CONNER
ciaI Judges. In 1909 Wisconsin gave wo-
men the school suffrage, and West Aus
tralia gave them full state suffrage. In
1901 the woman taxpayers OF New York
got the right to VOte'at tax elections and
the women of Norway got municipal Suf-
frage The year 1907 marked the first ap-
DroXimation to full national suffrage for
women when the autonomous Australia
federation gave its women the same cleo
tOral rights as men. New South Wales
gave them full state suffrage in the same
year. Kansas in 1908 gave women the suf-
frage on bond issues. Tasmania admitted
them TO full state suffrage in the same
year and Queensland followed In lSJ5
Another milestone in the history OF the
women suffrage movement is the year
1906. when Finland gave women the full
right of suffrage throughout the nation
Norway followed with parliamentary suf-
frage in 1907. giving the women of that
country as full electoral rights as men
have. Sweden in the same year made
women eligible for municipal offices.
Oklahoma gave them the school suffrage,
Denmark gave them the suffrage Tor
charity boards, and England made them
eligible for all city and county offices.
In 1908 Michigan gave women taxpayers
the tax and franchise suffrage. and IN
the same year Denmark gave women
taxpayers and the wives OF taxpayers
full suffrage rights except for members