Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-03-11
M|L|TANTS SCORED
BY MRS. REYNOLDS
Suffragist Tells Summit Audi
ence Their Methods Are
Entirely English.
Especial to the Evening star.I

/
method"
Mrs. Reynolds declared that English
men had secured their right of SUI
| frage only after years of rioting, dun
/ ing which tremendous destruction of
property resulted. Prior to the Re
| form act 1892. Mrs. Reynolds said, the
| English landlord would send repre-
sentative to Parliament while large
cities such as Birmingham had no
representative.
1.-THE women in this country rely
solely on the sense of fair play of the
| American man, and this spirit will
give us what we ask, equal suffrage"
the speaker said.
I'VE do not acknowledge the right
of anyone to ask us what we will do
with the vote after we get it," Mrs.
Reynolds continued. No such de-
mand was ever made of the negro,
to whom the right, of the ballot was
handed on a silver platter after the
Civil War; no such demand was made
on the Indians of the West, to whom
the privilege of the vote has been ex-
tended or almost enforced cpon them;
no such demand is made on the lmmi-
grant, who is ifnorant of our history,
our traditions and even our language,
nor is any such demand made of the
citizen who is allowed to vote when
he attains the age of twenty-one
years. 1t is not because of what he
has done or what he promises to do
with his vote that he is givens the
privilege of the ballot, but it is be-
cause our constitution provides that a
citizen shall have direct representa-
ton in the conduct of public affairs,
said Mrs. Reynolds.
Class Vote.
at doesn't make SO much differ
ence," Mrs. Reynolds went on to say.
IF a man doesn't exercise his right
to vote as long as the class to which
he belongs votes. Do you suppose If
college presidents were not permitted
to vote that Woodrow Wilson would
now be President? If class, nation
atty or sect were singled out and
prohibited from voting would they
occupy the position they do in this
country today? And yet we women
are a class of population which is
excluded from participation in the
conduct of our government. We VINO
are struggling for equal suffrage VIII
never move one iota from the stand
we have taken that we are not seek
ing the right of suffrage for what we
promise to do after we get vote"
Mrs. REYNOLDS told of what women's
votes had ACCOMPLISHED in Colorado.
She declared that among the laws
enacted since women were given the
ballot are the equal guardianship
statute. which was enacted within tif-
teen minutes after it's introduction in
the Colorado Senate, while 1t took
lust fifty-five years to enact similar
law in Massachusetts,; the equal in
heritance law, which provides Tor
equal sharing of bequeathed property
A. xyifns fhn Rioht-nO1r
workday law for women; the mini
mum wage law for teachers and the
eighteen-year women's consent age
limit law, as we'll as statute re-
ouirins a physicians certificate as 10
physical condition before marriage.
says Bill Was smothered.
"In this state, however, Mrs. Rey-
nolds said, "when Mrs. Caroline b.
Alexander, one of the most sincere
philanthropists in the state, Appealed
to our legislative bodies at trenton
for the passage of law similar TO
colora dos eighteen-year consent law
the measure was smothered in COM
mittee. In effect, our state holds
that n girl at sixteen hasn't sense
enough to dispose of property and
must attain the age of twenty-one
wears. but she Is amply adequate
mentally to make a legal decision as
to her life when she is sixteen. rms
age limit, which is responsible Tor
the escape from justice of many men
for the ruination of the lives OF girls
for which they have been RESPONSE
hle. is at n horrifyingyl low limit,
the sneaker asserted. Delaware has
a law making the consent limit ten
wears This state is not civilized,
declared Mrs. Reynolds
Selling the Vote.
In answer to "a question as to
whether she believed n certain class
of women If given the vote would
sell their ballot, Mrs. Reynolds an
sWered that in her opinion the men
who barter their ballot are largely
the illiterate aliens. AS only one
third of the immigrants to this coun-
try are women, the speaker declared,
the intelligent woman voter would
be double the ignorant voters, so that
she saw little to fear from that point.
1.-The enormous value of the fran
chise created corruption in in our
State and national government,
said Mrs. Reynolds land we will
never have perfect government until
our people are perfect. You can't
make the government better until
orr people are better. The vote il
not a test of character. The vote
was discovered by our race as a
method by which every class in this
country of ours may
have a hand in our government.
Newark's Infant Mortality.
AS an Illustration of what women
might do if given the vote, Mrs. Rey-
nolds asserted that, despite the eff
forts of women to induce the health
authorities of Newark to appoint
physician, whose duty 1t would be to
Instruct mothers as to the care or
their children, nothing has been done,
land in consequence Newark TO-DAY
has the highest infant mortality rate
of any city in the world declared the
speaker
'When women get the vote, con-
trary to the opinion of some people,
they will still remain women just the
same. They will still remain a spe-
cies of womanl<ind, although, thanks
Ia our difference in laws, when ] get
ON the train to leave my home in Den
Yer | knew enough to vote, and when
I arrived in Newark / found | didn't
know enough to vote" said the
speaker.
Rev. Frank c. Doane presided at
the meeting, at which There were
about 100 women present. About
twenty-five members signed the menu
bershin blanks of the Women's Politi-
cal Union, which were passed around.
There was a large delegation of the
local Women's Good Government Club.
which is in favor of woman suffrage,
and which was organized here about
two wears ago.