El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-04-16
MANS GHIVALRY FAILS WOMAN Of
TEXAS WHEN SHE ASKS SUFFRAGE
Representative R. F. Burgess Gives History of Woman s
Fight in Texas for Ballot and her Legal Rights
Says ga Democrat Would Rather Die by Prece-
dent Than Be Saved by Innovation"

tt~HE action OF the men Of our
legislature who opposed the
L married woman's rights bill
and who later opposed the equal SUI
fraEe amendment has disproved the
argument advanced by opponents OF
woman's suffrage rhat mans chivalry
VIII give TO women all that she needs
and more than she would ask for her
self and that therefore she does not
need the ballot TO use for herself" said
Richard +. Burgess, in a lecture Thurs
day night under the auspices of the
Equal Franchise league
Up 10 two years ago a married WorD-
an had no right to any possession that
might have been hers before her mar
rage The income from any property
that she may have owned. inherited or
mad given to her, was not hers to COL
lect. but her husbands. Neither was
any money which she may have earned
by her own industry and handiwork
hers to spend. but her husbands, and
II her employer, or her house tenants,
paid her the husband had the right
10 collect the money again on the
grounds that il was paid TO an IN
authorized agent If she had any sum
Of money. given her by her parents or
inherited or received in other ways
and deposited il in the bank, her hus-
band had the right to withdraw il from
the bank and spend it as he pleased
without her knowledge or consent
This is, by the way, still the law
Of the state of New York. so the west
is not hopeless1y behind in civilization
after all. This was the law Of the state
Of Texas in spite Of the masculine
calvalry Of the state. until the SD leg
1slature met in 1913, yet when it was
proposed to amend these laws, we were
told from the floor Of the house by the
man who was also the leading suffrage
amendment opponent, that II the right
TO retain their own earnings and money
was given to the married women the
farmers wives might eXpend fOOlishly
the money they earned for fancy pat
ent churns
When the voting on the suffrage
amendment occupied the house, 1 con-
suited the record and found that Of 20
men who opposed the passage Of the
suffrage amendment IS had also earn
estly opposed the married Woman's
property rights law
Opposition Arguments.
Mr. Burgess said he bad come to favor
woman suffrage only after much
would rather die by precedent than be
saved by innovation. I have always
tried TO keep reasonably open mind
IN al questions concerning pubic
duty" he said 4 GndeaTOred 70 de-
eide on the suffrage question as i'm
partially as on any other question Of
public duty. No man ever heard dis
cuss il in a public speech ever ad-
vanced one Intelligent reason why suf-
frage should not be given to women
The opponents Of suffrage advance
the argument that suffrage is not a
right, but a privilege. Yet in our decla-
ration OF independence IL explicitly
states that al governments derive
their just powers from the consent of
the governed If this be ture. and
believe il is, then whenever we single
out one class and withhold from an
other class, the right TO be heard on
fundamental governmental questions,
We contradict our declaration OF in {
If1~n y n-HHH rr@H
The opponents Of Woman's suf- j
frage also object on the grounds that 4
the women themselves do not want to /
vote A very brilliant woman once said I
this to me. I told her she was cOnfus- I
ing the suffrage amendment with the ]
education law. also at that 1
time under consideration. and that use I
OF suffrage would not be be compul- /
sorry She Immediately answered. Wen, !
if every other woman had the right to j
vote 7 certainly would vote too
another argument against equal /
suffrage for women in the state OF /
Texas is that it viii enfranchise 1
SOC. coo negro women; but If 100000 I
negro women Of Texas receive the 4
franchise this law viii accomplish for 4
them something that no law has been !
able to accomplish for their husbands, I
fathers and sons
when the question Of the enfran- /
chlsement Of women is viewed oiSpas-
the plain fact is that One-half 1
other half the right TO have voice IN 4
the laws under which they all are gov
erned. The world would 20 on just the I
same If for instance only broWa-eyed I
men should be allowed to exercise the
Franchise but if such a ruling were To
BE- made I venture to say there would 7
be at least mild protest from the
blue-eyed men
In the history Of the struggle Of the
world for suffrage. not only Of women. /
but for the wider extension OF suffrage
that has been fought for all over the
world during the last century and
half al Of the opposition raised bv Il
those VINO held the voting Tower. /
against those who desired that power {
was on the grounds that those who I
wanted to vote were seeking to pull
Town abe ut their foolish heads the tenn
pie Of civilization.
Would BE Used Rightly.
1T is a fact, amply proved BY the I
history Of the last 100 years. that every /
class TO whom suffrage has been ex-
tended has improved its own condition
he census shows that in Texas
mere are S5S, 900 women earning their
OWN livelihood
'-DeaEers in opposition TO equal suf-