El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-05-22

II APERlENCE tells US that an IN
r., jury to one is the concern Of all
A denial Of your liberty is a de-
NAL of mine
The right Of women TO vote is not n
sex question. but one Of human liberty
as large as the whole human family; in
which every man is as deeply and vi
tally interested as woman Humanity
is composed Of men and women in near
" equal proportions. and by inherited
barbarous customs, we have deprived
one half Of the people Of their lnalien-
able right to share in the making OF
the laws under which they exist This
custom comes to US from the dark saw
agery of the original man. who secured
his wife BY capture or purchase. Mans
dominion over woman has ever been
world wide and world old; and was the
result of his superior physical strength
over woman
The powerful have always asserted
and exercised dominion over the weak
as shown in the condition OF master
and slave all over the world Have you
ever heard of the master allowing the
slave the right to vote in making the
laws under which both lived2 Woman
is now and ever has been the slave
Of custom, both social and legal; and
until very recently has been the slave
men who bOastfully proclaim that they
are the masters in their own household
the head Of the home
When the American colonies made
their complaint Of England's tyranny,
was not their main cry Of the injustice
Of taxation without representa- tion2'
Do you not remember the heart thrill
ing cry Give me liberty, or give me
death" Our sister, woman, is oppressed
by this same injustice-she pays taxes
and is denied representation and this
same heartfelt cry for liberty from our
long suffering sisters now appeals 10
you. Win you lend a helping hand?
The Wife's Wages
Do you blame our fOrefathers for
their militant acts when denied this in
defeasible right2 NO2 Then viii you
blame your sister, woman, II she ander
like prOvOcatiOn resorts TO violence.
Another injustice TO woman THAI cries
aloud for redress is the position she
occupies under our marriage system
Ny conception Of the marriage relation
is that of an equal partnership bIrt DO
our laws and social customs give equal
rights TO both partners2 No. Let US
see Woman's rights under our laws. The
courts have held that the wages or sal
airy of the married woman Is co-nmu-
nifty prOuerty. and a. such. that the
husband has the right to collect same
over her protest and spend II as he sees
fit Did you ever hear Of the wife be
ing given the right to collect the hus-
bands wages and spend them as 70 her
seemed good2 Suppose a wife did such
a thingi Can't you imagine the dem
onstration that would take place.
4 Wife's Property.
Likewise the courts have said the
rents and profits Of the separate prop
erty Of the wife are community crop
erty and that the husband has the light
10 collect and spend them according to
his sweet Will
Again our unjust laws have specifi-
cally provided that the wife cannot
ALLEVIATE her separate real property
without the written consent and sigma
nature Of the husband
Do YOU believe that woman ever will
fngly consented to such stupendOus IN
justice? Would yOu2 1 ask you, my
brothers, to put yourselves In Woman'S
place. Would you, as men, be willing
TO grant such privileges TO woman over
your acts and property 1 think not
Protect the Weak"
The object of all laws should be the
protection Of the weak from the oppres-
sion of the strong. and the only way
TO accomplish this is TO allow the weak
an equal vote in the making CT the
laws that govern them all, yet under
our systematic relic Of cruel barbar-
ism-woman, the weaker human. Is al
lowed no voice in the creation Of these
laws.
The welfare Of all human beings Is
alike by the laws; eacn has
the same interest in good government,
and each should have an equal share in
making the laws. Woman being the
weaker as well as the more delicate,
has more need Of this protection, yet
is denied it. No man or class OF men
have ever been allowed the elective
franchise until they were powerful