The central record. (Lancaster, Ky.) 18??-current, 1914-08-27

EAT all agree that women are
RsSs better of today than they
:. Wv have ever been since the be-
ginning of our civilization.
Why then aren't We content? Unfor-
tunately some Of us are. But some OF
US have been content ever since the
days whel- we were denied souls. If it
had not been for the Disseminated ones
we should still be soulless as we'll as
voteless. When We
wanted to gain the
privilege of souls
| We were met with %S 49,
certain objections; w vi
| when We reYOlted W
against the power of
life and death which
the Roman father or IA.
husband held over ,axsSs ssss
US We were met 10 ~
with similar Opposi- rs 5SS
| ton; when We VEN b SsSSs
| tured TO think we M B $s$S$$#
should own and CON
troll our own proper
ty, here they came vIRA BoARMAN
again, our old oppo- WHITEHoUsE.
| nents, the objections to women's ad-
vance
And now today, when we are ask
Ing for the political equality which all
men in this country have, the very
same age old enemies are marshaled
| in force against us
A Debate In 1853.
Here are some extracts from a de-
bate in the English house of commons
in 1SGS. They might well be used to-
day as anti-suffrage arguments:
This is Il measure which is calcu-
lated TO destroy that good feeling
which it is 50 desirable should exist
between husband and wife"
1T will add another clement TO deter
m0ny by introducing new seeds of dis
cord"
- proposal such as that now made
would result if passed into law in
turning England into beer garden
and every woman into a shrew."
An honorable member. Mr.. Lopes,
moved the rejection of this measure,
saying. There are not > per cent of
the married women of England in IA
vor of the bill"
Another honorable gentleman. de
Tending the bill. Ic!t that instead of
ieSseiinS the respect of men for WON
en- with an Increase Of independence
such - this bill WI! secure there will
be an increase of respect for women
of real raspcct-which is Il thousand
times more valuable than the conven-
tional politeneSs which it is always SO
easy to pay"
Her Own Not Hers.
Arthur Hobhouse, in writing some
what later on the same subject, said,
NO wonder if by all who are timid, by
all who are superStitious. by the ma
jority of those who obey sentiment
rather than reason and by many who
possess 4 large share of reason and
judgment, any alteration of such Il law
is regarded, according to the character
of the mind, with fear. with horror.
with disgust or with calm disapproval."
But the measure under discussion
was not woman suffrage bill, as one
might we'll suppose. 1t was Il bill to
allow married women to own their
own property.
That mysterious and sacred thing,
the common law, decrecd that the per-
sOnal property of married woman,
whether possessed before or acquired
after her marriage, was not hers at
all. but was the absolute possession
of her husband.
Old Law "Not Harsh"
Whatever our view on the subject is
today. Lord PenZance found in 1865
that not only. in short, is the COM
mon law not Unduly harsh in the case
of the married woman. but it is en-
tirely in accordance with the feelings
of the people of this country and pro-
ceeds on the Ineligible principle that
the vie is the weaker vessel and that
the husband should be ut the head of
the establishment"
We had. however. Il liberal defender,
who explained that the common law
was founded on the physical incapaci-
ty of the wife to perform the feudaI
duties in times when property WAS in
separately connected with military
services" those times presumably
having passed G.way.
In America the same opposition was
encountered. and even greater diSas-
tiers were predicted. In Ohio in 1850
it was urged against n similar bill that
ito adopt it would throw whole pop
ulation. morally and politically, into
confusion and that this doctrine
of separate estate will stifie all the
finer feelings and blast the brightest.
fairest, happiest, hopes of the human
family
1t is now argued that women will
be no better off with the ballot and
that the majority of women do not
want to vote. But neither did they
want to own their property.
The objections to woman suffrage