The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1914-08-16

| to cooperate with him in doing still
! greater and grander things for our less
! favored brothers and sisters, in the
! reorganization OF all social, political,
/ and industrial interests and institu-
/ tions.
have no quarrel with the men; it
{ has been my privilege through life to
! know, and be associated with men of
| integrity and character, with noble,
] loyal men. 1t is to these great hearted
/ American men that we look for the
ballot. through them we will obtain
/ It, And among those to whom we must
4 look come first the Judges and law
yers of bench and bar, the legislators
i from the assemblies, all we'll aware
: of the responsibilities Of their official
trust. And 1t IS well for US that this
is true.
That a great many Of our strongest
! and most patriotic men have declared
in favor of equal suffrage is no small
argument for it; that peerless states
man, Secretary William Jennings
Bryan has only lately gone on record
. as an equal suffragist; Honorable
Champ Clark has declared unqua1i
f1edly in favor of it; Mr.. Justice David
Brewer in a. forceful article has given
it his support. The endorsement of
the "A movement by the National Fed
Grafton of Women's Clubs: the decis-
ion of the Illinois supreme court: land
the recent endorsement Of the Ma
tional Association speaks volumes.
These men are only following the
i11ustrious examples Of some Of the
mightiest intellects Of the race from
Plato down to the present time, some
of the rarest minds of Germany,
France and England, have successfully
yielded their assent to the fact that
woman is, not perhaps identically, but
equally, endowed with man in all in
tellectual capabilities. 1t is generally
the second-rate men who doubt-per-
haps because they fear a fair field.
He either fears his fate too much,
Or his deserts are small,
Who fears to put it to the touch,
To gain or lose 1t ALL
But, I wish to emphasize this fact,
that we do not attempt to settle what
shall be the education, profession,
employment Of women. We have not
that presumption. What we ask is
simply this, what all other classes
have asked before:
Leave it to woman herself to choose
her education, profession, and sphere.
Do not handicap her by allowing these
second-rate men, perhaps bar-room
brawiers. and third-rate scrfbblers, to
arrogate to themselves the right to
determine what that irridescent soap
bubble, SO g1ibly denomjnated by them
as Woman's Sphere, shall be. The
sphere OF eueE, ,r.~-,-af- ZACH y.onaan
is that sphere which he can, WITH
the highest exercise Of his powers,
fill
The chief obstacle in our way is
that most formidable one, custom. Wo-
men never have had equal rights with
men. The claim in their behalf to the
common rights of mankind is looked
upon as barred by universal practice.
This strongest of prejudices, the preju
dice against whatever is new and un-
known, has indeed, in this age Of
change, lost much of its force, but to
many, even to this date, 1T has always
been So closes discussion.
AS question of justice, the case
seems too clear for dispute. That Wo-
men have as good a right to the sIff
rage as men, it would be difficult for
any one to deny. 1t cannot, certainly,
be consistently denied by any citizen
of the United States of America. Our
democratic institutions rest vitality
upon the inherent rights of every one
to voice in the government.
The preamble to the Declaration of
independence af1irns that:
We hold these things to be self
equal; that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain inaliepable
rights; that among these rights are
life, liberty, and me pursuit of happi-
ness; that to secure these rights gov
ernments are instituted among men,
consent OF the governed"
| do not imagin that any Amerl-
can Democrat will seek to eVade the
force OF these expressions by the petty
sUbterfuge that Man" in this me-
Inorable document does not stand for
human beings, but for one sex only;
that life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness are the inalienable rights of
only one moiety of the human species;
and that by the governed, whose con-
sent is affirmed to be the only source
of power, is meant that half OF man
kind only who, in relation to the other,
have hitherto assumed the character
of governors.
1t is therefore on grounds Of nat
ural justice, on the grounds OF the
highest eXpediency, and beca use WO-
man as an immortal and intellectual
being has a right to all means of edu-
cation. that we claim the civil rights
and privileges that man enjoys.
We ask nothing as a favor, but we
claim the right to be acknowledged as .
moral, responsible beings. Whatever
may have been wisest to the eX-i
tension of suffrage to women in thei
past, there now seems to be no valid
reason assignable for longer withhold
ing it. i
Mrs Eugene Reese, whose charm o.
delivery and perfect poise, addict
much to her message, read an az
count OF the Melting Pot, and its sig
I--ElaLce, and snort poem, WhlH1
closed the program which had proven |
50 Eul of interest to the large nunb.r
= women assembled to do honor 10 !.
the day. Il
The southern loggia, which opas 4
above the San Carlos court, was vty 4
beautiful with its quantities of ferns Il
palms and trailing vines. with many
yellow blossoms.
The suffrage colors were also ar
ried out in the name cards with w ch
each woman was presented in oner
that there need be no necessity OF i'm
productions. and the Melting Pot MAS
covered, too, in the suffrage colort
The program committee, Miss - Jude
Suter, chairman, Miss Margaret Min
tyre, Mrs. J. Z. Taylor, and Mrs. Hank
Tracy, were assisted by Mrs. ! f.
Saunders, Mrs. Dan Sheppard, Ms. A.