Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1912-10-07
ANNA SHAW
SPEAKS HERE
GREATEST EQUAL
SUFFRAGE ADVOCATE HEARD.
LARGE CROWD GREETS Her
Suffragist Leader Discussed Issue at
Length and Handled the Subject
in Most Mastery and Convincing
Manner.

IN MOSt mastery ana convincing
Manner.
Ashland is frequently favored with
visits from personages of national
and international Importance, so no
great stir was created Saturday af-
ternoon when Rev. Anna Shaw, the
leader of all the equal suffrage advo-
Gates in the western continent, spoke
at the Chautauqua tabernacle. 1t is
doubtful, however, if a more logical
and convincing argument has ever
been presented beneath Chautauqua'
classic dome. The average woman
reaches her conclusions by intuition
rather than reason, and that mental
process does not appeal to the aver
age man. Rev. Shaw, however pre-
sents her arguments as clearly and
convincingly as any lawyer, clinching
them with the cold logic of reason,
welded and copper-riveted with
premises and conclusions which SIM
| ply cannot be disputed.
The meeting opened with the sing
ing of The New America" and an
equal suffrage song written by Rev.
Howell Isaac, who led the music,
assisted by a number of Ashland's
prettiest young lady suffragettes.
Dr. Matte Shaw then introduced the
speaker in a few well-chOsen remarks
upon the subpect of the meeting.
Rev. Shaw speaks rapidly and en-
Enthusiastically and for over an hour
held the applauding interest of the
/ FOL ig n1N
brief outline of some of the main
points touched upon in the speakers
address:
Equal suffrage is not woman's
question, because any question that
is to be voted upon is a mans ques-
tion. Every argument against wom-
an suffrage is just as strong when
applied to man suffrage.
Every opponent of equal suffrage
is an opponent lof democracy and an
advocate of an aristocracy. To eX-
press a doubt as to the ability of
woman to vote implies a doubt of
humanity, a distruct of the wisdom
of permitting people to govern them
selves,
"The United States is not a repub-
that a republic is country governed
by representatives elected by the
people. Where only part of the peo-
pie are permitted to elect their rep
resentatives the country is called an
aristocracy. In this country only
half the people have this privilege,
which makes the United States an
aristocracy.
Our country was first a hierarchy
I of the church, since no one could vote
who was not member of certain
church. After the Revolutionary
war, the privilege of voting was eX-
tended to all white men who paid
taxes upon $3.50 worth of property.
which constituted an aristocracy of
wealth. Thomas jefferson secured
the extension of suffrage to all men,
rich and poor who were white. This
was an oligarchy of race or color.
After the civil war the color line was
wiped out but the sex restriction re-
tanned. Now we have an aristocracy
of sex. Qualifications for citizenship
should apply fairly to all. In the
United States sex is made an in
superable barrier
Woman suffrage is being EXTEND
ed faster in monarchical countries
than in our half-republic, because it
is easier to manage one man or one
parliament than twenty-million men
and forty-eight legislatures Women
have secured other things from con-
gress and the state legislatures be-
cause they didn't have to appeal to
the voters, as they do for equal suf-
frage.
Even in the czar's dominions Rus
sian women are governed by Russian
men, but in our country American
women are governed by negro men
and men of various other races and
colors, many of them vastly inferior
to the white American women whom
they govern through their ballots
Is this justice?
cat the recent international suf-
frage convention at Stockhold twen-
/ ty-two different nations were repre-
sented by delegates from woman
suffrage organizations. Men are
recognizing that pure democracy is
a universal spirit and cannot be con-
fined to any part of the world. 1t
never enters into the founders of
new republic, such as Portugal or
| China, not to grant woman suffrage.
How shall we account for the
great moral and religious spirit
which pervaded the first convention
of the new progressive party? 1t was
because Jane Adams and other
women like her were there and lent
their influence to the movement.
Our opponents tell us that wom-
en- don't want to vote True, but we
want some things which we cannot
get without voting. We need the bal
lot just as we need a stove to get
dinner or as a carpenter needs tools
with which to build house.
Some men say they fear the ball
lot will drag women down. You have
already dragged us down to the lev
ell, politically, of male idiots, pau
pers, lunatics and criminals behind
the bars. Granting the right of