The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-10-15
WOMAN AND VOTES.
\ Plea for Cipbers and the Federation
OF Hash.

~ wv .'phVt' 49, Wv
OF Hash.
To THE EDITOR OF THE SUN-Sir: I
have read with much interest the page
in your Sunday issue giving some pro-
fessional women's reasons for wanting the
vote One wants II because a woman Is
a responsible human being" Another
because the economic responsibility OF
life has been thrust upon women whether
they wanted II or not" Janet Scudder
Graves It as a working woman. and for
those who do not find their outlet IN
child bearing and house management.
She believes in suffrage "as opening up
fields of work and serving to elualize
as helping to remove the handlcapping
that political inequality has caused"
Is II political inequality that handicaps
woman? Even II this Is true never
theless without the vote. women appar-
emily have been able TO enter into almost
every field Of industry. In many instances
crowding out the men In offices as type
writer's. In factories In all positions, IN
short where her employer Is man.
Where her employer IL woman, as IN
domestic service. is a large field IN which
women formerly labored that Is neglected
and left untitled. 1t ls not necessary to go
into the economic reason for this There
Is one, no doubt Just as there 10 another
very automatic reason for the exodus of
women from domestic service into the in
| dustrial fields OF men. II is true that none
will give good service TO an employer who
has himself lost Interest In his work and
| spends his time In trying to run every
| other business but his own.
Another wishes for the vote 80 that she
may withdraw from the four classes who
are not allowed to VOTE namely. idiots.
! criminals. children and women" II lie
conceivable that granting her this, n later
and moro sensitive civillzat ton may OBJ
| ject to having Its children classed with
| criminals and idiots: even the children.
we may imagine, clamoring successfully
| for the vote. still later the criminal
may urge his clcverness against tho
stupidity OF the idiot as a reason why he
| too must vote. And the blissful idiot
| will be left undlsturbed alone voteless
| but happy, not knowing what he has
missed
| wishes for sclf-government. What has
self-government TO DO with votes? Does
she mean that she wants to govern her
| self Nothing could be simpler And n
| each Individual did this righteously there
would be little need for votes or laws.
Women will always be the makers OF
! men until there are no more men and
no more women In the world. II the men
make horrid laws what OF her early in
| fiuence, what Of her training. what OF her
| IDEALS Not now that evil has come,
! perhaps, but before when IL was all in
| her power to lnstil the knowledge Of good
! and of cvil2 DO the reformers OF social
! conditions imagine that giving the vote
to women who neglect their offspring
when young and malleable will trans
| form such women into serious. respor ST.
| bile human beings? Is neglect OF duty
| In one position a recommendation invit-
| ing confident belief?
| Another Of these professional women
| desiring the vote speaks OF the wrongs
to which she IL Obliged to submit and OF
tho ''!ntoerahle position or being a
| cipher" II Is n pity that all cannot be
| the dominant figure, but was II not al
ways so? The amiable cipher Is OF ac-
| knowledged Importance. II converts the
one dollar into million. Without the
| cipher In It's redupllcation there would
be but the Insignificant figure one
| Ciphers. to be sure. are nothing without
| tho dominant figure at their head But
| all must admit that In order to advance
| ard grow We must have ciphers of some
sort. nice round, symmetrical. beautiful
! clpherS Personally ! sign for the old
| time lovely cipher. There are women who
were dominant figures in their day, but
| history. mostly man writer's. to be sure.
does not often present them as pleasing
types.
"As is the great, so is the small as vs.
the small no is the great" Imagine /
! family OF adults or adults and children
where each member insists stimuli, a neously
| upon giving vent to her own self-axpres-
| sion In running the household! II the
/ family life ls 20 be one OF harI. onv there
| must he a few willing ciphers. Otherwise
| even in the small matter OF hash there
/ might he discord. As a matter OF home
| economics hash IL sometimes "A necessity.
| Yet, not liking hash, my indignation over
| this wrong to which | must submit as
! an lnconspicuous member OF this house
| hold might lead me Into forming another
| Of my own where, no, not all would have
| the say, not at all but where I would
| be boss Yet, ! dare say, II did this.
| too might find Il necessary to have hash
occasionally. even II 1t did cause lndigna-
| ton to swell In the breasts OF those less
| knowing than myself
| As for desiring the vote ito equalize,"
| that alone would damn II forever for me
| can imagine nothing more stupid and
inane than absolute equality. and no
| greater possible confusion than a condition
| resulting from universal bellwetherdom.
rejoice unstintlngly IN mans superiority.
which is not all physical, by any manner
! OF means. | admire frankly those quail
ties that make him TO differ from me,
Just az | smile secretly over my own
intricacies that keep him forever puz-
! cling about me- He In as he Is, and
as ! am. May we never become equal
| led or like unto each other.
In truth. have never been able to see
why existing conditions should be
changed about to suit the abnormal
woman who has been forced or has
elected to live outside the normal life Of
/ woman.
on tho contrary. would like 10 see the
mon stronger and the women little
weaker in their vocferatons 1t Is more
becoming 10. ELIzABETH T. GOLDSMITH
NEW YoRK, October IL
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