Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-11-03
Shall the Majority Prevail?
Suffragists Admit They Are
1 A Minority.

The columns of the state press fol
several weeks have carried plate mat
ter furnished by the %suffragists set
ting out the suffragist's reasons why
the voters should vote for the suf'
frage amendment. y
1nese columns r invariably
headed with a list of men who are re.
ported to have endorsed woman sui.
frage. 1t is a significant fact that the
men referred to have not spoken dur
ing the campaign il favor Of the
amendment, nor are the two leading
candidates for governor advocating it.
1t is also significant that the suffra'
gists have not published the names
of the other candidates and the hun.
dreds Of other public men and the
thousands of we'll known men who dc
not endorse woman suffrage.
The fact is, as everyone should
know, that planks were presented by
the suffrage organization to the parry
committees at Bismarck, Sept. 2, 1914,
for the purpose of endorsing woman
suffrage. The endorsements were re
jected by both the Republican and
Democratic parties. These commit
tees officially represented the voters
of these Two dominant parties; that is
according to the 1912 votes, they rep
resented 39,S11 Republicans and 81,
J44 Democrats. Both parties refused
to accept woman suffrage as an arti
Gle Of their political faith or as a cor
rect-principle OF government
THESE FACTS ARE 'SIGNlFI
CANT AND EVERY VOTER
SHOULD PONDER THEM WELL.
s%uffragists Minority.
The woman suffrage organization Of
the state has issued dodgers Claiming
to represent 10000 North Dakota Wo
men in their request for the ballot,
The fact is that there are over 100000
women in North Dakota Of voting
age. The su%ffragists then, ty their
own admission, are in the minority.
The question is, shall the wishes .;
women who, by their own statement
are in the minority prevail, or shall
the majority Of women who do no:
want the ballot prevail? If yol be
lieve in a democratic form of govern,
ment and that the majority should
. rule, YOU should vote against the
franchise to women against the will
of the great majority of the sex. Here
are the facts.
The, suffrage association podsibly
has 1000 members. The states Wo'
ems clubs have a membership of less
than 5000. The members themselves
arc very much divided on the subject
The endorsement at jamestown with
approximately $50 voting was far from
unanimous. The North Dakota W.. C.
7. U. has a membership of about 1000.
The State Teachers Association has
probably a membership of 1000, in.
Guiding both men and women; and
the State Nurses Association proba.
bly, 100. Many teachers and w. c.
r. U. women and club women. are
members Of the suffrage Organization
so that there is much duplication; but
assuming that there is no duplication
Of membership, and that all of the
members are suffragiats, there. is only
about $500 of them. Where are the
rest Of the 10000 women they speak
of? It must be that they, have count
ed the Sunday School children and
the members of the Epworth League
as they also claim to have the en-;
dorsements Of these organizations.
It is true that the women who do
not want the ballot, and who feel that
woman suffrage is a menace to the
home, only recently Started to organ
ize.. They have had no large cam
paign fund and practically no news
papers in which to make themselves
heard. These women are not by ma
ture public agitators but are content
to occupy the highest place in life
the dominion of the home, They do
not aspire to make political speeches
from soap boxes and street corners. I
Danger Of Woman Suffrage.
These women know that they are
now Well represented. They realize
that they cannot be both politicians
and true, woma2ly women. It is
against nature and against reason and
experience. These women know that
they have far greater Influence. and
power from the harth than in politics
and at the voting booth. They realize
that woman suffrage is but a step TO-
ward feminism..
Feminism, through its more advanc-
ed advocates, practically ayoWs itself
as an enemy Of the man-made world.
and all Of its institutions, including
marriage and the home. It proposes
the abolition Of the womanly woman,
as we have known her, and the max
ing over Of woman into the imitation
Of a man.
Women who realize ithe Importance
Of this amendment are opposed to It.
They know that they have a suffi-