The Washington herald., 1914-04-26

| their civic and property rights in Eng
land since 1870. that they have not availed
themselves of the vote in municipal cleo
tiOns they already have: and that they
even now help TO govern by sitting on
| royal commissions having TO do with the
administration Of the poor laws and di-
vorce: and that the militant movement is
a purely social issue. the reason for II
being that there are 100000 unmarried
women in England between the ages OF
twenty and fifty who are without the
natural poise. occupation and attachments
that surround the majority of their nor
NAL sisters. who represent England's fe-
male population.
1--WE Are But IndIviduaIs.''
And" she added. that sounds true
to me because 1t confirms my own expert
ence. have found in my work with the
suffragistsz that il is almost impossible
to get a happy or a busy woman to see
that her husband and her sons are max
ing slaves OF herself and her daughters
unless they are granted the privilege OF
the ballot. II one is very logical and can
quote enough authority, II is possible to
bewilder these women into saying that
they suppose suffrage is right but they
do not feel that il is either necessary or
important
I'VE are after all. but an aggregation
Of individuals, and we are all uncon-
sciously thinking that We will solve the
problems of the whole race just like we
solve our own individual and family
problems. II we are happy. contented
women. we believe that other women
ought to be happy and contented. II we
are miserable, we wonder how others can
be so shallow and selfish and cheerful. II
we are doing our duty. we think that
women who shirk theirs ought to be pun
ished. And il We want to be perfectly
free and irresponsible and bad ourselves
We want all women to be the same. so
that we can call ourselves natural
Another suffragist was impressed by
the argument for efficiency.
She said. lit Is certainly a fact that
doubling the vote will not purify the
ballot if it is going to increase the stay
at home citizen and multiply the num-
Der of ignorant voters that are bossed
by cunning politicians. l was in Chi
cago during the last election and saw
the Hon. BathhOuse John poll a larger
majority against a woman candidate
with women voting than he could pos
sibly have gained against a good man
with only male suffrage. Many intelli-
gent male voters abstained from the polls
because they would neither help an in
experienced woman try to represent the
most congested ward in the United
States nor further Bathhouse Johns in
terests. with the result that the Ques-
ton was decided by the ignorant mob
in the usual way"
Not Anxious to Vote.
1t seems. as Mrs. George. in her splen-
did talk on How Women Shall Best
Serve the State" told us, that since
women were given the partial suffrage
in Massachusetts, last year marked the
lowest percentage of women who availed
themselves of the privilege of oting
since 1873 This is certainly not a proof
that women are as anxious for the vote
on all questions as we are sometimes
lead to believe. If man is hungry, he
does not reject the half-loaf. and we
have right to assume that If he does
reject it. he was not hungry. The fact
of the matter is that the suffragists are
having hard time trying to stir up this
appetite for freedom and equality"
They think women ought to have that
appetite. just as an advertiser thinks that !
people ought to like his breakfast food |
What are We going to do after we sue
ceed in making the women hungry for |
the vote if the vote will not nourish |
and sustain their womanhood. nor get |
them better conditions to live in? 1t is
true that there are more laws for the |
protection of women in male suffrage
States. man is not going to bother
about protecting any one who claims
from the house-tops that she Is mentally,
morally, and physically his equal And
yet what women must have is protec-
ton. as Mrs. George said. and it is not
very pleasant to contemplate a future
State where women will be without
brothers, and husbands to help
them. l would not be happy IL the
State gave women the absolute freedom
that the feminists want and made them
pay for 1t by giving up all family and
friendly ties. Freedom is indeed a reIa-
tive term. and after il exceeds the bounds
Of rights and duties, it means nothing
but criminal license
Tells of Chinese .Freedom."
The Chinese are the most free and
people in the world. One can
10 anything one wants in China but
'teal No one will interfere and no one
will help. People are so free that IL
iou drop from exhaustion in the street,
'r fall in the Shanghai River, they will
Kindly watch you and let you die or
irown. rather than interfere with YOUR
reedom. The women vote in China inst
he same as the men. and vet IL Is a
act that the President of China Is really
IN appointee OF the several great powers, ,
coward and degenerate who betrayed !
very cause he was ever allied with A /
'erson the Chinese have hated and I
cared for fourteen years rules them
without their consent. by grace of for
ign power. and tnir ballots cannot ef-