New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-11-20
sufragists Hear Varying
Views of Their Status
in Community.
LAWYER SAYS THEY
ARE FORCED TO LIE
pabbi Silverman Upholds the
"Antis," While J. S. Crosby
Speaks for Cause"

A group Of women, members OF the
Good Government Club, heard the two
,,5.s OF the suffrage question presented
:. two men-Rabbi Joseph Silverman, of
r.mple EMANUEL and John Sherwin
c,osbv-at meeting at the Plaza Hotel
yesterday afternoon. Mr.. Crosby. suffra
,,st told them that they were slaves.
"a NJ. SHERMAN anti" said they were
EMS masters. The women agreed with
Mr. Grossly.
esome Of my lawyer friends" Mr..
crosby said. declare that women are
nat TO be believed that they cannot tell
the truth. on oath. Well. If women lie. 1
do not blame them. For ages they have
been compelled TO duck and deceive and
resort TO suhterfuge. II is true that
ron,en are not to-day what they might
have been II they had had square
chance.
"Man has arrogated 10 himself the right
n tell woman what was good for her, and
this government is continuing the treat
rent they have received so long. Why.
women who belong to a corporation can
vote the stock in that corporation. but in
The great corporation of the government
they have no vote,
men mean WELL they want to treat
r-n1i hut q no M
man. the women of New York. these
women before US, are slaves"
"You sweet. gentle slaves" exclaimed
Or. SHERMAN. as he stood up.
Nobody smiled at this bit of sarcasm,
and DR.. Silverman went on:
You are not slaves. Why, you have
rot the American Constitution. The men
made it and gave il to you as present.
The stock suffrage argument that there
should be no tax without representation
is an empty one. We are not taxed in
this country The government asks US
for contributions TO help support the
teachers and the firemen and the police,
and so on And there are many men who
have no vote.
the age limit set at twenty-one. There
are any number of boys of seventeen.
eighteen, nineteen. who know government
and history and are far better fitted to
vote than the hordes of ignorant men who
go TO the polls. If 10 one is TO be taxed
without representation We ought to go
into the hospitals and the prisons and tell
the inmates to go forth and vote"
DR.. silverman argued that we didn't
really need government. anyway THE
doves. ccoing in pairs upon the trees, do
not think of government. The angels have
no government The law of evolution
rules this world. God rules-not the gov
eminent at Washington. The doves COO
Ing in pairs are fulfilling natural law. We
are here TO perpetuate the race. mans
mission is TO be a husband and father,
and womans mission is 10 be a wife
and mother. The woman who is not
wife and mother is a failure"
At this point one Of the serried rows
Of unmarried women who made the chief
part OF the audience remembered that
the speaker in the beginning Of his ad-
dress had paid a high compliment TO
Miss Jane Adams and Or. Anna Howard
Shaw as splendid women" and she rose
10 ask him II he considered them failures.
But the chairman, Mrs. Ella Guilford'
frowned her down.
Dr. Silverman drew dark picture of
politics and asked the women If they
wanted 10 pollute themselves by going
into such n cesspool.
III you do he warned them, you are
going 10 introduce the sex question into
politics. The sex element in politics Is
dreadful thing. DO you know what
they call 1t out West? They call II the
new bribery Moreover. when women
vote there will he division In the homes.
II already exists in the West. ] know,
through letters ! have received, of hus-
bands and wives who stand on opposite
sides of political questions.
I even know" ended he speaker. of
Young men who will not marry women
Who believe I'm suffrage"
This did not dismay the unmarried DR..
Mary Halton. executive meber of the
Good Government Club, for she immedi-
ttey rose and made spirited defence of
me suffrage cause.