The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-04-08
EQUAL RIGHTS

To The Forum: This question OF
women asking for votes has more than
political significance. 1t is more than
a political movement 1t fs a great
moral movement, which is permeatins
the whole world today. affecting wo-
| men every where. Even the women oil
China are awaking, and in Turkey
many women are walking the streets
/ without wells on their faces. This is
] said to be owing to the attitude of
the young men, who have brought
pressure to bear upon the sultan, fol
an amelioration of the oppression of
I women. 1t is a promising feature OF
/ our own cause in our own country,
that the majority OF our young men
are for equal rights. They are educat
ed with the girls, they study to-
gether. play games together, contest
for prizes on the same terms, and vote
; together on all school or college mat
ters, and 1t seems perfectly natural
| to the young man that his co-ed should
have the same political rights as HIM
self.
10 ] am wondering IL one half the men
were disfranchised, or had only linn
tied suffrage. if they would not feel
the stigma and would not be eagerly
searching our constitution and under
its provisions be insisting upon their
full rights? am sure hey would
clamor as we do now, and wish our
brothers would bear in mind that It
was only yesterday in history, when
a large body of men had only limited
rights, and that body vigorously clam
ered for fuller rights, as women do
now. It is only yesterday in history
when William and Mary were not al
lowed to land until they signed the
bill of rights.
Remember these things brothers. and
be just to us. No movement of equal
magnitude was ever inaugurated be-
fore. No such numbers of petitioners
for a reform, were ever before treated
as have been the suffragists through
these many years.
Look at the legislatures that
have been beseiged this year: Kan
sas, South Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois,
Pennsylvania, Washington, where
suffrage was given women, Oregon
where 1t was defeated by the LIQUOR
element; California, where the amend
ment to submit carried by a large ma
jority and North Dakota, where the
amendment to submit was lost by Mrs.
deLendrecie, so Senator Steele says.
Funny, very, that one lone woman had
stronger influence to emphasize tyr
amy and injustice, than all the hun
dreds of earnest men and women who
petitioned for suffrage had power to
awaken a moral sense of Justice and
human rights Now IL Mrs. deLen-
drecie was an anti suffragist she
would of course feel highly compli.
mented for having so greatly aided
that side of the question. Speaking
Of sides, in the contention for suffrage
or no, which is on now and will never
be downed, let us look az some facts.
The anti's say I'VE want women edu-
Gated as well as men, we want women
lawyers, women physicians, women
clerks, women stenographers, women
teachers, women landlords, women in
business, women to work for chart
table institutions for prison reforms,
for temperance. for lettering of homes,
women to work for every uplifting of
humanity, and innumerable other
things which suffragists want also.
The difference then seems to lie in tho
ways and means to get the most for
women.
The anti suffragists say to get them
by sweet womanly influence, by silent
example by pleading Gas has been
done, without avail, these many, many
years. on Bonded knees with fearful
eyes, any way in the world except en-
tering horrid booth, and dropping
dreadful little white slip in box.
The suffragists say that just to vote
Is the proper way to get what women
want. Now men Of North Dakota
what are you going to do about it? L |
quote from grand lecture, by strong
man. suffragist given a few nights ago
Are you going to keep the daughters |
who honor you, the mothers who bore |
you, the sisters who love you, and the |
wives you have sworn to love and |
honor and protect, at your feet, or |
are you going to say as a grand old |
king Of long ago said to the woman |
kneeling before him, mot at my feet |
like slave, but up here, on my throne. |
beside me my comrade, my equal in |
all things, my queen"
Votes for women can alone place |
them upon equal terms with men, and |
nothing less than absolute equality |
will satisfy the awakened woman.
Helen del ,andracfa