Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-09-26
A Reply to Miss Bates.
tor Kennehec Journal:


in which she criticises statements
| given In a paper by myself at the
| hcme of Mrs. John +. Hill, may be
! accurate or may be mistaken; That
| l do not know, and l have no means
of obtaining the facts, did l desire
so to do; but having the pleasure of
| a personal acquaintance with Miss
Bates, l have no doubt of their ac-
curacy, so far as her knowledge goes.
But 1 wonder. does she think these
| statements prove anything, either for
| or against woman suffrage?
Miss Bates, however, if she will par
| don my using the same means she
employed. In replying to her. is in
| error when she says: Her principle
argument against equal suffrage was
| that she had found it a failure in Col
| orado, and that social workers there
| believed that they could do better
work without the ballot, than with
it."
| While this stands as a fact true, l
did not present it as an argument at
all. Contrary to this, after l had
given a few opinions, chief among
which was that of Mrs. Francis w.
Goddard, woman of well-known So
cial and civic prominence, which
closed with these unmistakable words:
Frankly, the experiment is failure.
1t has done Colorado no good; 1t has
done woman no good. The best thing
for both, would be- If Tomorrow the
ballot for women could be abolished
After these opinions, repeat, / made
the following statement-verbatim:
These are strong opinions by strong
women. but they are for the State of
Colorado alone. and 1t would not be
fair TO judge by one State,-nor would
it be fair to Judge from personal opin-
ion--at ALL think
Those in favor of votes for women.
have repeatedly said, that If the bal
lot were given to women the following
recults could be counted upon as in
evitable.
Higher wages and better hours
for working women.
2-Great reforms in child labor laws.
"A decided decrease in divorce and
better marriage laws
"A positive regulation of the social
evil.
Therefore when I, member of an
equal suffrage club, was asked to
speak in a debate, taking the anti
suffrage side, 1t seemed to me, I must
first try to find out, not by the ex-
preston Of personal opinions. but from
the actual state records and laws,
from authoritative officials. exactly
what better laws for women and chill
dren existed in those state, where
women had voted long enough to over
come conditions, and show what they
would do. by means Of the ballot In
other words. to try to and out what
women had actually done with their
ballots, to raise the legal protective
stspdards Of childhood, wonnanhood,
and the home where they had long
had the power to effect the reforms.
which in the east, the suffrasists
claim. would be brought about, If the
vote We're given to women"
Finding after reading a good deal,
that / was becoming very much in
terested, and also surprised I made
some considerable effort to obtain the
facts and results which I presented,
at Mrs. Hills home, to the lanse num-
be. of ladies who were present
It seems to me that while We all
deplore some of the present conditions
in our homes. cur cities. our State,
our Country. and are eager to help up
| to our ability. in the betternent Of
these evils, one has but to look back
short time, to realize how they have
been uncovered. and are being rapidly
eradicated; through women largely,
perhaps. but by the votes Of men.
And my object in speaking or writ
ing on this subject is not to try to
convince women. but to urge them TO
| arouse themselves from the indiffer-
ence SO many confess to feeling.
want them to cease thinking 1t isn't
to impress upon them, that they will
sooner or later be held responsible If
the evil of woman suffrage is forced
upon the women of this State. And
want them to refuse to be led, or mis-
led, or influenced, by the expressed
opinions of any one. be he Mormon,
Socialist or woman suffragist. I do
not say, that all suffragists are Nor
mons or Socialists, but 7 have good
authority for saying that all Nor
mons and all Socialists are woman
suffragists. And we read that in the
suffrage parade of not long ago, i'm
mediately following the yellow BAN
ners of the suffragist supporters, on
Fifth avenue, came the biood-red ban
ners of the Socialists, as they march
ed to the stirring music Of the Marseil-
laise the anthem of the first French
Rev olution.
And urge upon all women, young
er and older, the Importance, the al
most vital importance, Of deciding,
each one for herself, whether she be-
lieves she is better fitted to take upon
her conscience and her shoulders, the
onerous burdens Of political life, than
are her men folk. If not, then why as
sumo them?
Miss Bates can be no stronger adj
vocate of the good influence that wo-
men can and should exert in this
beautiful world of ours, but we are
not agreed, as to the best way to
bring about the benefits we so much
wish for. She believes it can be done
by wornen's votes. I believe that 1t
has been proved, by the experience
OF the past, that politics will never do
the whole business of purifying. even
Of pacifyins life; it never did. it new
er will. And, I further believe that
compelling our women to vote, would