El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-04-16

frage have attempted to divert their
I hearers from the main and vital issue,
( by depicting an ideal condition. where
l the woman is happily married. and sur
I rounded by loving children and hus-
! band and too interested in these TO have
! time for aught else. Yet in the complies
! conditions Of our modern civilization
! conditions arise every wear that vftalIv
/ affect me home household and chill
] dren and the woman-conditiOns that
| the woman could help to remedy and in
{ which she would be interested enough
( . take the time to vote TO improve con-
I ditiCnS.
In spite Of this home and children
picture, the fact arises neverrheless
J that more and more women are forced
e"efy year TO earn their own living in
competition with men. I am lOvaI
IeNan and do not wish to speak in dis
arrangement OF the male population of
Inls commonwealth, but the fact re-
rains mat until Two years ago when
the married Women's property rights
bill gave her a meager measure of 577s
uce, the laws on the statute books
proved that this much talked of cbiv-
dependable thing.
"One-ninth Of all property rendered
Tor IaXauon IN the city of FL Paso is
rendered by women Therefore women
pay cne-ninth Of the taxes. This Der
cent IS much larger in other cities m
TIE state Yet any man, who renders A
watch. horse and buggy, or a bicvcle
for taxation can vote on saw a bond is
sue involving many hundreds Of fhoU-
sands OF dollars, but no woman may
nave voice IN the matter, regardless
OF now much money she may spend for
taxes upon her property.
The argument most raised py the
opponents IS that acknowledgements
would defeminize women. As early as
300 ne comm onWealth Of Kentucky gave
the right 20 It's women 70 vote on school
issues They have enjoyed this right
10Y o years yet 1 believe that no one
would say thar the women Of Kentucky
mi r-Hf IL
Charm In 1868 the then territory Of I
Wyoming extended universal suffrare
TO women It has been nv good forru0e
81 ~ SistS IN Jhat state and 1 could not
1emlnlzed by the right to vote
World Wide Movement
Many OF the opponents 10 this cues
ton are singularly ignorant that there
North America which 10 women errfreI,,
deny the right to vote. In the Isle Of (
Man. women have the right of parlia-
Lnenlary Suffrage Women have the
right OF voting in municipal elections
IN many parts Of Great Britain. In cer-
tam parts Of Russia, Germany and Aus
ira women have the right Of suffrage
on certain questions. Therefore Russia !
is more progressive than Texas On rI7aT
4uestlOLl with the exception of Italv
switzerland, France and Belgium. there /
= haruly a country Of Europe where /
me women nave not the right of suf-
rage on some questions In Norv-ov- !
tnere is equal suffrage. In apDroxi 4
mately one-ham of our states WON
eIs, HaIe the right ato vote in certain 1
SieCtleilsi Such as school elections
pond issues, and municipal elections
-, ~ mas always struck me as a little
-lIosISa1 when the opponents OF uni
Versal suffrage are willing TO let wou1-
en- vote on one thing and would pre- I
~ -lef from voting on another They |
oppose universal suffrage in an SIM
ceElly- The sincerity with which reoDIa |
hold Iallacious and ridiculoue or{T;55-S
civilization u OuF
on analysis Of the subject, I am con-
strained to believe that there is a deem l
seated reluctance on the part Of +5osa
eIIIrancnised, TO divide the power that
the franchise gives them. In every
struggle, the root Of the opposftfon's
argument against widening the frsD-
chise was that il would DESTROY civiIiz-
atlon 10 extend the franchise auv fur
Their than themselves.
Not a New Idea.
II IS wise instinct that warns US
against new and sudden movements.
out the suffrage movement is not new !
80 early as 1857 John Stuart Mill laid
II down as a fundamental argument !
that women should be relieved Of the
legal conditions that held them in re-
straint and subservience to the other
sex clergyman recently said that
WOmaHs suffrage was against the law
Of God and man To this answer was
made by a Texas editor that the women
Of II states had been able to repeal the
law Of God and man and get along bet
ter by so doing.
If suffrage is good for man, If man
has been able TO improve his scale and
conditions Of living. as he has in every
instance when the franchise has been
more widely EXTENDED, why would SUI
frage not be equally beneficial to Z
women II woman be the weaker ami
nal OF the human species and man the
stronger animal, why handicap her fur
-her by denying her the ballot and a
voice in the laws which govern her?
The Country Is Safe.
The argument that the extension Of /
suffrage to women viii destroy domes-
tic felicity is no more true than the ar
guments that were advanced when the
neager extension Of rights of married
women TO that Of the disposal of their
own property, was granted two years I
lgO- The opponents all foresaw that |
the married woman's property rights