The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-03-26
WOMEN WILL KEEP Up FIGHT.
Suffragist Point Out Some of the
Mistakes of the Fathers.

North Carolina is becoming inter-
ested.
why, you should make trip
through North Carolina if you do not
believe that the suffragists are gain
ing ground" said a charming Tar
Heel woman here the other. day
Il am alarmed about the situation.
Three society girls in my town are
rank voters for women advocates. y
Three old maids" declared the
husband Of the talker.
But they are not quite that said
the wife.
This is a sample of the conversa-
tions one hears from North Caro-
linians on female suffrage.
The suffragists leaders here have
learned how to get publicity. They
talk in rag time.
The following statement was issued
to-day, Sunday being the busy day
of the suffragist:
80 they've called me traitor,
have they. And all because l said
that the wisdom of the world did not
perish with the fathers who made
the constitutions said Mrs. Antoin-
cite Funk of the congressional COM
mittee of the National Suffrage as
sociation. well, it cant be helped.
Every person that ever departed from
beaten path has been called a
crank, crook, traitor, anarchist, or
some other opprobious name.
But nevertheless and notwith-
standing, the fathers did make mis-
takes. At least II have been cor
rected by the people by amending
the constitution Why these fathers
left out the bill of rights and
Thomas Jefferson forced, it to be in
serted by amendment.
And here is another important
fact: Jefferson had to utterly ignore
and violate the constitution which
the fathers made when he pur-
chased Louisiana.
"By common consent and usage the
constitution has been ignored in the
most important matter it contains,
the election of the president. The
| fathers did not intend that the peo-
pie should elect their president, yet
that is what now happens.
.'It was because of a mistake of
the fathers who made the consti-
tuition that caused the bloodiest war
in history. If they had simply in
serted line saying that no State
shall separate itself from this union.
there never would have been a civil
war.
''The mistakes of the fathers have
been shown in many cases by Judi
cial interpretation or when as Doo-
ley says, the Supreme Court fol-
lows the-illickshun returns That
was true Of the green-back decision,
and again when it was decided that
| the constitution was only about in
speaking distance with the flag in the
Philippines.
The thousands of cases that have
been taken before the courts in or
der to have the constitution legally
interpreted; the months of endless
debate in congress as to what the
constitution means; are also evi-
dences that the fathers were not
infallible; that they were human and
made mistakes, just as do other peo-
pie
Il am not saying that they did
not try to do the best they could.
They were working with the knowl-
edge of the time, but their great
error was in assuming that the con-
ditions would not change; that prog
ress never would be made, that gen.
erations of the future would not need
different constitutions. They should
have made their constitutions, ma
tional and State, more easy to amend.
I'VE who want woman suffrage
know all about the constitutional diff
ficulties which stand in our way.
We have found them in every State
in the union, these man-made legal
barriers which deny one-half of the
citizenship the right to participate
in the government which is for all
the people, If criticism of the wis
dom Of the men who erected their
barriers to the rights Of women con-
stitutes treason then | will con-
tinue to be a traitor for some time
to come. And I fear the ants can't
do much about it till they get a
vote; then perhaps they can enact
a law that I and my kind may be
taken out and shot before sunrise.
H. E. G.. Bryant in Charlotte OBJ