The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1913-09-18
HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL
SUFFRAGE MEETING
At the Maryland Theatre Where An
Attentive Audience Heard Arguments.

N'N ''N' 'NhN MI
Attentive Audience Heard Arguments.
The first real Simon pure suffrage
meeting ever held in Oakland was that
of last Thursday evening in the Mary
land Theatre, when Rev. DR.. A. B.
Riker, pastor of ST. Paul's M. E. church,
presided, and opened the meeting with
prayer.
Mrs. Mary Realty Clagget, of Wash
lngtOn, d. c., an artist of note, and
Miss L. C. TraX, secretary of the Just
Government League of Maryland, made
addresses. the latter's address being
published in full in this column.
A discussion followed the speaking
Written questions were passed up to the
platform and current objections were
considered for probably twenty minutes.
Miss TraX's address follows:
There are three very quick ways of
getting a message around the world
one Is, to telephone; another, to tele-
graph; and the third is. to tell a-woman.
We suffraglsts have found out that it is
almost as quick way to tell-a-man;
so that is why we come before groups
| of people like this, and tell them the
truth about woman's suffrage as we
! see it.
The idea has been growing that there
are some limitations to the pleasant
task of being a woman. An elderly
woman was visiting a mother who had
two study sons. She said: What
fine boys you have! What pity one of
them is not a gir!' The boy who was
standing near replied: well, who'd a
been her? Bill wouldn't "a been her,
and | wouldn't a been her, now who d
been herr" Men are not willing to
| exchange places with US in our present
unenfranchised position, with all its
limitations. and we find that more and
and more men are urging the equality
of women in all the various fields; and
last but not least, the political field
Much has been said, however, about
the new woman, and suffragists are
frequently called the newest of the new
women. The fact is, we are not new
women at ALL We are the same kind
VI NOllltli Jul cat \ ldilIlllblIltIS were.
| only we are facing life under different
| conditions. The idea of women casting
a ballot is almost as old as the history
of MARYLAND. and the idea of women
voting is almost as old as the history OF
| the world
1t was in 1917 that Mistress Margaret
Brent, a Maryland woman, led the
world of women in demanding a vote
Lord Cecil Calvert had gone to England,
leaving her in charge of his estate At
| that time, there was only property
vote. The Legislature was in session,
and she demanded two votes. one for
her own estate, and one for the estate
of Lord Calvert. There was stormy
session for two hours, and she was
denied, simply because she was a
woman. In the tribal days. men gath
cred around their chef to vote yes or
no on his decisions. In the DAYS of our
| SaXOny ancestors, the men voted by
striking their sword against their shield.
The women stood in a circle outside and
voted by reclamation; and they were
brave men indeed who voted against
the wishes of the majority of the
woman of the tribe.
1t has been a long time since l647
when Margaret Brent asked for vote.
until the present time, when Maryland
women in considerable numbers are ask
ing for the ballot. There are two very
| good reasons for this; one, because
women have acquired property; the
other, because they have become more
educated.
The ballot in its inception in the
| Middle Ages was an instrument for the
protection of property. At the time of
Miss Brent, very few women had prop
| erty. Now, very considerable number
of women own much property The
property laws have responded and
today in Maryland, women in this
respect stand before the law equal to
men. With the acquisition of the
property, came the demand tor the in
strument for its protection, the ballot.
Up to the Colonial period women
were uneducated. Only boys went to
! school. only men understood children
well enough to teach them how to read
and write. The women were at home,
doing the house work and caring for the
children. Then the men went to war with
England; there were not sufficient num-
bers of men to keep the schools going
and when the world needed the work
of women in the schools, it was found
out that women had sense enough to
teach children how to read and write
| Following the colonial period we find
girls in the schools, and some women
school teachers. In 1917, very won
derful thing happened. A textile ma
| chine was put up in Falls River, Massa-
chusetts. These new machines were
too big to be put in corner of the
| kitchen or under the back shed, and so
special building was made for them,
which we now have come to know as a
factory. Women could weave cloth much
better than men. Every inducement
was offered them to leave their homes
to do the old work in the new way. One
woman ventured Hannah BOrder-then
more and more, until today we have
900, 600 women textile workers alone in
the United States. In 1861, the men
again went to war, and there was not
a sufficient number of people to keep
the stores and Offices going. When the
world needed the work of women out
side the home in stores and factory.
then the world found out that women
had sense enough to do that work.
With their recognition as an economic
factor, came the elevation of woman in
social status. TO meet all the new
issues, women found they must be bet
ter educated. Following the Civil War
more and more girls entered school until
today, we are graduating from our high
schools two or three times as many girls
as boys. Were we to add women to the
electorate we would not have a more
illiterate electorate; on the contrary we
would have proportionallY much better
| educated electorate.