The Donaldsonville chief., 1914-03-28
WOMAN SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT
An interesting Record of Its Origin
and Progress-Gaining Ground
at Home and Abroad-struggIe
Dates Back to f84S.

and Proaress-Gaining Ground
at Home and Abroad-struqgIe
Dates Back to 1a4s.
From the always valuable and en-
| tertaining Questions and Answers
department of the most recent Mon
day issue of the New Orleans Times
Democrat is copied the following re-
ply to a. correspondent who asks for
| information concerning the origin
and progress of the woman suffrage
movement:
stOriginally the woman suffrage
movement was not protest against
personal. legal, or social restrictions,
per Sc, but against the fundamental
| Injustice underlying an artificial divi-
sion of labor which permitted women
to expend their best efforts in any
| noble cause, and yet refused them
recognition, public responsibility
and free speech. With the dawning
consciousness Of political and per
/ sona1 rights women found themselves
pitted against the whole established
system of conventions and laws, tradi.
tions and customs. The first woman
suffrage convention was called to-
| gether in Seneca Falls. N. Y, IN
184S, by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Su-
san B. Anthony and Lucretia Mott.
Simply, directly and naiVely these wo-
men fought for what they felt was a
| God-giVen right. For over sixty
years, from Massachusetts, to Cali
| fornia, the struggle has gone on,
growing constantly more complex and
more involved.
In the United States women pos
sess suffrage upon equal terms with
men at all elections in Wyoming, es-
tablished in 1869; in Colorado, in
1893; in Idaho, in 1896; in Washing
ton, in 1910; in California, in 1911,
and in Arizona, Kansas and Oregon,
| in 1912. During 1913 the territorial
frage to women, and the state legis-
lature Of Illinois extended all the
franchise rights within its power
to bestoW, namely, for all tle offices
not created by the state constitu-
ton. This includes presidential elect.
ors, certain county and state Off
GERS, and all municipal officers ex-
cept justices of the peace.
During 1913 bills asking for sub
mission to the voters OF. woman suf-
frage amendments to the state con
stitutions Were introduced into the
state legislatures of f twenty eight
states In nine states these bills
passed both houses. In four-N forth
and South Dakota, Montana and Ne
Ivada-they are, therefore, actually
before the voters and will be voted
on in the November elections Of
1914. In three--NeW York, Penn
sylVanfa and IoWa-the measure will
have to pass O. second session of the
legislature before going to the voters.
In New Jersey, the measure was de-
e1ared void because it had not been
advertised as prescribed by law.
In Wisconsin it was vetoed by the
governor.
Women have school suffrage in
Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota,
| Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexi-
/ EOs NEW 1OIh, NULL DdhSLd, oA1O,
Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont
and Wisconsin.
In Iowa, New Jersey and New
York bills were passed in 1913 to
provide for a popular expression of
opinion on woman suffrage in the
state elections. These bills must
be adopted also by the legislatures
at their next regular sessions, to
become effective. The legisla-
lures of North Dakota, Pennsylvania
and Texas also passed referendum
bills in 1918
Abroad, women have full parli-
amentary suffrage in Australia, New
Zealand, the Isle Of Man, Finland,
Norway and Iceland They have mu-
nicipal suffrage on the same terms as
men throughout the British Isles and
in Denmark and Sweden; and GER
tain measure Of municipal franchise
rights in nine Of the provinces of
Canada, and in the cities Of Belize
in British Honduras, Rangoon in
Burmah, and Baroda and Bombay in
British India. In Belgium, Bull
garia, France, Italy, the Netherlands,
Roumania and Switzerland women
have no political rights whatever,
but are permitted to vote for GER
tain administrative boards-eduea.
tional, philanthropic, correctional or
industrial.
J sl-