Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-12-05
Question Answered For
Republican Readers
WOULD HELP MAKE LAWS
Writer Believes if Women
Share the Responsibilities
of Government They
Should Also Help Admin
lister it.

The following letter on the subject
OF equal suffrage has been submit
t,d by a reader of the Republican
While il relates specifically To the
recent campaign in California. in
which constitutional amendment
VAS adopted giving To the women %
that state the right of suffrage. IL Is
believed ii viii interest many of the
readers o. this paper:
This question is often asked by
the men OF America, who say thar
american women in particular, have
everything our own way anyhow, 50
why do we want To- mix up in poll
tics when they are 50 able L. pro-
tect orr interest along that line. You
are amply able. my brother. but You
do not give MS that protection We
need. So | am going To answer this
question today, in such a way that
YOU cannot help but see why we want
the ballot and that it is our just due
H. view Of the fact that after look
ing 10 You men for over a hundred
years we if anything, are in worse
condition under the law than Were
our savage mothers with no law other
than the law of nature that called
upon every male to protect his femal"
and his young in the old savage
Way.
II You viii look at the laws Of
the various states you will find that
not one OF them gives the woman
equal authority over the property ac-
cumulated by the husband and wife,
as it does the husband, and in more
than half the states the woman Is
deprived of the right to handle and
manage the property that she owned
before she met and married the man.
How is this for Justice
Now look at the laws Of the var
icus states relative to the relation Of
the mother 10 the child. II the
mother dies the father is the natural
guardian, and in many states there
need be no process Of law 20 estab
fish the right Of the father to handle
and control the property Of the child,
but suppose the father dies. then the
law steps i'm and says the mother is
not the natural guardian and pro-
Ce"ds To appoint a guardian. In some
cases they appoint the mother, but
h. many others they appoint some
man who has no interest at ali in
the child other than the profit he
gets out Of handling the property Of
the child Don't YOU think that
mothers love would be a better
guardian % the rights % a child
than merely the little profit that is
To be derived from the handling Of
the child's property, especially in view
Of the fact that il is conceded by all
races and ages that a mothers love
is the most tangible and lasting thing
on earth. Is it not just then chat
she should be given equal civil rights
with the father over their children
Again look book over the long
vista of years at the way the little
children have been enslaved by men.
and made to work far beyond their
strength and in the most unsanitary
conditions without = word of pro-
test fron other men, who had the
power to change this by their vote.
and WHO owed it to the future gen
eratiOns 70 see to il that they We're
not robbed Of their vitality by their
parents being stunted in their devel-
"pment by overwork and underfeed-
ing. If You viii look into this ques-
zion carefully You will find that in