The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-02-22
Ready for the Hattie.

TO the E-GttQr OF me IImeS-DlSpatCn.
Stiff We were to form our opinion
of the prescnt-day men of America by
the statements made by some men and
women. who. in their overweening zeal
for the cause of woman suffrage. have
lost all sense of balance and proper
ton. az well as sight of the teachings
and of the everyday object lessons all
around us. how poor and base and
destitute OF true manhood would those
men nppear To say that the women
of America are oppressed and over
ridden and defrauded of their rights
by the laws. III the making of which
an insult to the men OF our country
as cnn well be conceived.
Here is the testimony OF one who
is in position to form q correct 5udg--
mcnt as to tho status of the women or
or our country:
After having crossed the Atlantic
visited the best OF the European coun-
tries again and again, / am prepared
10 say that 80 far as l know there Is
the men, as rule, so universally re.
spect, protect and defend womanhood
ms in the United states Of America.
hour OF the day, and almost any hour
OF the night, unattended, and pretty
much every man she meets is her pro-
tector and defender. In Europe 1t Is
not so: instead OF protecting. respect.
ing and defending. the moro general
spirit is one of making a prey OF wo-
once is pcrccptible to any woman who
travels In America she feels safe;
in Europe the conditions which she
finds everywhere make her apprehen-
sive. In America the attentions which
are shown her upon steamboat. rail-
way train, upon the street and every
where are respectful and sincere. In
Europe she is constantly made to feel
that any attentions from men whom
she mSets while travelling arc sinister,
insincere and only intended to entrap
her.
American manhood! WHO is rash
enough to gainsay It? Surely mono
but the ignorant or the heterogeneous.
This being true, is 1T conceivable that
men who show such consideration. such
thoughtful solicitude for the welfare
OF women in the daily amenities of life
should mctamorphose themselves Into
semibarbarians when they come to,
deal with her in her legal aspects and
rotations as touching those things
which relate to her bread and butter?
I think not: 1t is neither conceivable
nor true, and it is time for those men
and women who make such assertions
to step down from an attitude which is
ridiculous and Il position which is un-
tenable. II there are reasons why Wo-
men should vote they must be sought
elsewhere. and am persuaded that the
great majority Of the men and women.
particularly of Virginia. are looking
at this matter with q desire to know
tho truth about II. and that the stock
arguments which are presented In It's
favor by its ovcrZealous advocates nro
by no means convincing. Some one
has recently said that none but blind
prophets deny the coming of universal
woman suffrage; that may be true,
but it is equally true that false proph-
cts may not be blind and Dllnd prophets
may not be false
This whole question, as ] take It, is
not an academic, but practical one.
moral or equality with man is not an
issue: but the question of her funda-
mental and divnely appointed differ
and tremendously vital one And
upon the conservation and preserva-
ton Of that fundamental difference or
nature and function depends the wei
fare of the whole race. Those who
choose to ignore these things may 20
on in their headlong, fatuous advocacy
problematical guess or experiment, bur
TO a sober mind the cardinal virtues
OF love, mercy and truth and the daily
culture of these in the hearts and prac-
tice OF them In the lives OF men and
women would seem to be of infinitely
more Importance TO both than the con
ferment of the franchise upon woman.
The truth Of the matter is that there
is no necessity, urgent or remote, Tor
the direct participation of women in
politics; but there Is necessity.
mighty, imminent, urgent. that the best
and the highest, both OF the manic God
and womanhood of America. shall stand
like n stone wall aud with united front
iu opposition To the evil tendencies,
rampant, insidious and tricky, Of the
present era, ana CnltI among inc 0c-
sidciata that we are TO contend for is
the faith once delivered TO the saints"
We who. oppose this movement for wo
man suffrage are not moved by the
speclous pleas founded on the so
called new conditions" the spirit of
the, times," the call of. woman TO
wider spheres OF activity" and so on
The basic and fundamental principles
OF human life are the same as when
the Highest Authority declared that
adam was first formed and then Eve"
and that man il the head of the wo-
man" These modern false doctrinaircs.
both male and female. leap wide OF the
mark when they hie themselves away
10 the Scriptures to find arguments in
T woman suffrage YLn
hey viii swallow camels" in
.Au effort TO discover Alternatives
.erc only rsentives abound, Let this
question he. subnyit,td to the electorate
of Virginia, and the result will show
who are the false prophets and who
the lrue--,Judce Clark. OF North Caro-
lima, and all others like him, notwith-
standing. The suifragettes and their
misguided male allies are clamorine
for tcst vote on the issue, and III
they will have ii So we who 4ppose