Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-08-31
WOMAN'S ENTRANCE
INTO CIVIC LIFE
How It Has Reinforced the Social
Conscience and Accelerated the
Movement Toward Equal
Suffrage
BY WILLIAM JEwETT TUCKER

| II SUFFRAGE is anybody's right If, that
is. the political obligation or privilege Is
Of the nature OF a right Il is not logical to
make Il matter OF sex. The final reference
OF the question to physical force-the right
to vote must rest on the ability to fight
would, II insisted upon withdraw the ballot
from all men unable or unwilling to fight
! The ballot should then rest on conscription.
! The compromise frequently suggested-that
women be allowed TO vote when the ma
! jority declare themselves in favor of suf
frage-has this to commend IL: It seeks to
guard against the danger to the State from
the extension of unoccupied rights. But
even this danger cannot fairly be said to
invalidate the rights Of the individual
SUCH whatever others Of a given class may
or may not care to do. It simply raises the
question of eXpedency. The danger from
unoccupied rights is far less than the dan
ger from the denial Of rights.
And yet In spite of the unanswerableness
of the argument from rights, the movement
for suffrage made little headway from the
force of the argument alone. Militancy
would have brought it to a standstill. The
acceleraton of the movement for woman's
suffrage has come from the demonstration of
her capacity for civic life.
This capacity has resulted in large degree
from the educational and industrial training
of women. A great many are seen to be
fitted for doing, and many are seen to be
doing. the very things for which it has been
assumed that suffrage would prepare the
way Their example has had the twofold
effect of making suffrage seem at once less
necessary and more logical; certainly 1t has
made more evident the Inconsistency of
denying suffrage to those well qualified
to exercise it. Such has been the effect of
the public services rendered by the residents
of Hull House and of like settlement houses
operated by women; such the effect of the
influence of many women in official positions
such the effect of the executive ability dis
played by certain women in the management
Of estates. l recall a remark of Judge Theo-
dore W. Dwight, that the decline of Rome
was marked by the transfer of great for
tunes to the widows of wealthy men, who
became thereby the prey Of adventurers.
The like transfer of fortunes in this country
within recent years gives striking proof
of progress, disclosing in many cases an
equal if not superior competency on the part
of women in dealing with the highest uses
OF money glance through the Woman's
Who's Who in America shows both suffra-
gists and anti-suffragists to be in agreement
in the estimate they place upon civic duties
and in their willingness to assume them
Whenever and wherever suffrage comes it
is quite sure to appear that it has been
anticipated in many of the civic reSponsl-
bilties, some Of them Official at which it
aims,-a fact which ought to reduce suf-
frage to its fit proportion in the general ad-
vance of woman, and likewise take away
any fear of its assumed unnaturaness or
impracticability.
Moral reform Is quite sure to suffer from
the lack of singleness of purpose and from
the lack Of persistence. The average citizen
is willing to support a reform movement
if it does not conflict too much with other
interests and if it does not take too much
of his time. These limitations characterize
the action of most men in business. The
professional anti-reformers understand per-
fectly these elements of human weakness in
reform and simply give them time to pro-
duce their effect. There has been no.
ticeable change in the spirit of civic reforms
since women became more directly con-
cerned in them. They are kept to their pur-
pose and held to their accomplishment. The
charge is made that where women have the
right to vote they seldom register in full
numbers for general elections. Doubtless
the charge is true. The compensating fact
appears in the definiteness Of their interests
and in their tenacity Of purpose.
Women the Best Experts
Any one who follows the course of legisla-
tion must take note of the vast increase of
legislative action on subjects which invite
especially the judgment the intelligence and
the experimental knowledge of women
The widening of the field of investigation
for clot
directions in which women Of trained minds
can best act as experts And many of the
administrative positions created within this
widening field under legislative supervision
can best be filled by women
| am well aware of the protest which
may be made at this point in behalf of the
home and its duties and am in sympathy
with its intent. But there are two consid-
erations to be kept in mind when this pro-
test is unduly urged. In the first place IL
is unfair to the individual woman and to
society TO hold all women in reserve for
duties which may never come to some OF
them. 1t is Of no advantage to the home
to keep up a large waiting list of unoccupied
women. Marriage has the acknowledged
right of way. There are very few occupa-
tions which cannot be adjusted to it's re-
qurements, or which will not be surrendered
on its demands And in the second place,
many civic duties are in no way incompatible
with those of the home They are, in fact,
simply an extension of these duties The
question of the use of time is very largely
personal In most families allowance is
made for reading. recreation and the vari-
Gus social conventions. The vast amount OF
time consumed in bridge" for example, has
been taken from the home rather than from
the school, the office, the factory or the store.
There seems TO be no sufficient reason for