The farmer and mechanic., 1915-10-26


lust determinations created by judges. |
Women, however, cannot expect re- |
mOVal Of all unjust diScrimina tiOnS
against them. which can be renewed
by construction OF some court aS fast
as legislatures remove them, until
they possess the power Of the ballot.
Now women have to beg and beseech
FOR Justice and an equal opportunity
to r1ave living. With the ballot IN
their hands they can command Of
legislatures and all others, justice for
themselves.
There are 10 iniuuities greater than
those caNsed by war. No suffering
that CnmnareS to that inflicted by it.
II it were required that no country
should enter uDon war without re-
ferendnm to the ballot box there
would be few wars, and if the referen-
aun were made TO an electorate one
halt of whom are women. uDOn whom
chiefly falls the burdens and UiSeriHS
| Of war. we should st last see that day
| foretold by the prophets Of old when
| there shall be no more War-and
! not till then.
Arguments AGAINST.
| IT may be well to notice a few Of
| the areun1e ents urged AGAINST this great
| act Of justice to One-halt of our DeOn1o
an7 by no means the worst half, Mr.
| Taft. who is one CT the few men OF
| national imnOrtance who still avOWs
his opposition to suffrage. in q recent
| article was fair enOu@h to admit tina t
| the hoary areument that because wO-
men do not bear arms thew should not
cast votes has no validity for he
| frankly said that very large proper
| ton. more than half Of the men who
DO vote. by reason of age. or phvsical
| debility are incompetent to be soldiers
He also frankly admitted that there
were 10.000,0O0 women who We're
earning their own livelihood in this
country and who were not voting
through their husbands because 9 mil
itons Of them had no husbands or were
widows and that In, many cases the
husband did not vote the wishes or fO1
the interests Of the wife. Certainly
the men who vote on the side OF 1iGour
could in very rare Instances be said tC
represent the views Of their wives
Mr.. Taft was driven as the last resort
to the proposition that where edua
suffrage had been tried while it hai
not brought about prophesied evils +
had accomplished no good in particu
lar. That position is utterly illOgica
because If the suffrage is a ciphe1
where it has been adopted how can /
be a prospective harm in the state:
y where it has not been adopted?
Wo,ld Not Be Compulsory
o| The only other argument Mr.. Taf
!. could advance was that the women die
= not care for the suffrage. This Is ais.
: illogical for how has it ha opened tina
4 SO many states and countries hav
s adopted it and that it is pending II
e 60 many more as in Italy. Holland
e Eneland and Canada besides tn
: states Of this Union which are to vot
= on the question in the next few days
: Surely some women must be in favo
= of the measure. 1t is true that al
: women do not want it but that is n
e reason why those who do wish j
should be disqualified. There Is n
n law requiring men to vote nor Wi
n there be any requiring women to q
Is SO. We know that In this State no
t. more than 70 per cent Of the whit
IL men entitled TO vote go to the bal)c
II box at any election. And that is tn
Is average in most Of the States Owe
- there in Virginia I believe only 40 pc
30 cent voted al the last election, and i
Mississippi not more than 10 or
rer cent voted. But no one woul
think Of restricting male suffrage upO
=, that ground. In States where the We
g. men vote about the same per centae 2
ot of men and women go to the poll
re This is a complete answer to thos
who say that women do not wish
ts vote.
~ As To Womans Sphere.
A. Then there is the triumphant argl
is ment that "woman's sphere is
n home" This is the argument of tho.
IN who at heart believe. like the Turl
e, that every wife should be a prisone
Id iE her husbands house. But the,
e. are some 10.O0O.00O women in tn
* country whose daily sphere is not ;
lie home but in toiiing in the great i,
al dustries Of the country, helping
r create it's wealth to maintain the go,
to erHfnent and to alleviate sufferin
st, Some time ago the women in Ne
nd York proposed to test this question