The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-07-27
Fargo, N. D.

denied or taken away only by the
the will Of the people.
The basis of government is force.
It's stability rests upon it's physical
power to enforce it's laws. Force
converts law into government. The
ballot in the hands of women is a
blank cartridge ballot. If a majority
of women and a minority of men
should enact laws against the wish of
a majority of men. such laws could
not be enforced.
only a small minority Of women
want the franchise. In the sixty-tive
years the question has been agitated,
less thai 10 per cent of the women
want it. according to the membership
lists of the national association. At
the primary held in Cass county on
June "a, only thirty-one women went
to HI polls to exercise their vote on
the educational issue of county and
state superintendent. Of these twen-
ty were Fargo women Mrs. Poppler,
who has resided in the state more than
a year and in the precinct more than
ninety days, did not vote.
The great majority of the women Of
Fargo, of Cass county, Of North Da-
kota, do not want to vote. Their alb
sence from the polls was proof. If
the suffragists really want the vote,
where were they On primary election
morning? Either the number of suf-
fragists in Fargo has been vastly
overrated or else these suffragists carry
their burdens very lightly.
The stay-at-home vot and the I'M
enforced law are the causes Of the
worst political ills of our country. The
volume Of each cannot fail to be aug
mented by woman suffrage. The alb
sentee on election day is the bane Of
politics; when the full vote is polled
the right side usually wins. Because
Of the stay-at-home vote, every wo-
man suffrage state Is wet" Not one
state where woman has voted on the
question has gone dry"
Reform does not begin in the ballot
box, but in the cradle, working from
the bottom up. Care of the helpless
is woman's particular field. and at
present she is free to appeal to the
best element in all political parties.
With political rights, woman will be
never free of political entanglements.
o all the states in the union, North
Dakota has least cause to complain Of
it's man-made laws. You have the
best pure food laws of any state; you
have statewide prohibition; your an
ti-snuff and anti-cigaret laws are ex-
cellent. The best way to help a man
40 " AIClp IlIIII hCSp LAo - ~ 4AlAL1
self. All wise women know this, and
that is what North Dakota women
have done for their men-helped them
to keep faith in themselves"
Excitement was intense as Mrs.
Poppler rose to reply.
Every argument" said Mrs. Pop
pier, that has just been used is also
an argument against man suffrage.
Every argument that you have just
hoa rI N1yoc mead M lnuu thar oipntx
years g against the education of
women. In 1926 the first high school
ever open to girls was forced to close
in Boston because an outraged public
opinion declared that If women were
educated they would cease to become
mothers and would be like the men.
1t is true / did not vote on primary
day. I wish I could tell you the story
of the young girl I was trying to save
all during those hours. A new life for
her I thought meant more than cast
ing a vote for ~unorposed candidates.
When men only vote, as in the park
election, where there was no opposi-
ton, the vote was light. Mr.. Riley
here had no opposition n there was
no need to vote. Men could vote on
every Office, we on unopposed officers.
The comparison is not fair. AS to pro-
hibition, the speaker has given you a
town here and a town there. In Cali
fornia there are 800 more dry towns
than there were two years ago. Why
| doesn't she tell you that? In Chicago
70 per cent Of the Women and 70 per
| cent of the men voted at the last cleo
ton and LOB saloons were wiped out.
I have the facts for other states as
well right here"
Miss Dorman then arose for her last
rebuttal and read a lengthy selection
from an article by Roosevelt opposing
suffrage before he went cunning for
votes.
AS Miss Dorman concluded she was
heartily applauded. A rapid speaker,
she had a wonderful grasp OF figures