The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1915-06-04

and made fine impression. Next was
musical reading by Miss Grace Glover.
Miss Glover was accompanied by Mr..
Ownby. She recited in rhyme and it
was very interesting contribution to
the class exercises.
THE DEBATE.
Next was the debate, THAT Suf-
frage Right be Extended to Wo-
men" Robert Mcconnell appeared
for the affirmative with a reference
to the States which have equal suf-
frage and the good work done by
the women in those States. He felt
that women should be emancipated
from slavery, that they should be
given representation with taxation,
and should enjoy all the rights and
privileges of the franchise. David
Caldwell appeared for the negative,
and here was the prize speech of the
evening. The young man had
studied his subject carefully. He
was in earnest. The orator is the
man who has a message and knows
how to tell it. David came charged
with his subject. He had searched
the history of governments and the
encyclopedia of knowledge. He
was firmly convinced that woman's
sphere was the purity and sanctity
of home, exalted motherhood and
wifehood. She could not enjoy the
privilege of the ballot without its
contamination. She could not full
| fill her mission as wife and mother
with the cares of State and its de
grading influences. Suffrage may
be uplifting to the ignorant negro,
but it cannot serve the sphere of
true womanhUod The young man
presented a formidable array of
facts and figures to establish his
conviction of the equity of the bal
lot He spoke at length and on fa-
miliar terms with the line of argu-
ment adduced by the best authority
on the subject, and, standing why
consummate tact and self possession,
he impressed these facts upon the
audience in a convincing manner.
But there was still another surprise
when Miss Evelyn Naylor appeared
in the defense of equal suffrage.
Here was one of the best addresses
of the school. If Mr.. Caldwell had
taken considerable pains to prepare
his subject, Miss Naylor had also
given it exhaustive study. She was
certainly an able exponent of equal
suffrage. She unraveled the subject
it thread by thread until she had
torn down many of the fortresses of
the affirmative. She did not believe
that woman had yet fully emerged
from a condition of slavery. That
those women who had to manage
and conduct their own business af-
fairs should be at the mercy of an
ignorant voter, either black or
white, is an imposition that cannot
be successfully challenged by an in
telligent mind, that those women
and children who toll in the fac
tories at the will of an unfeeling
and unprincipled superintendent
should be denied the principle of
appeal to the ballot is intolerable;
that women cannot sustain their re-
lations to society while performing
the function of voter is a position
false and untenable; that
she cannot safely maintain, while
enjoying the privilege of the ballot,
her home and station in their pris-
tine purity, is to reflect on her in
-elligence and character. These
stock arguments are used by those
politicians who desire to keep alive
he organization of machine politics,
10 control factions and to disrupt
and destroy the vital and essential
elements of good government Miss
Naylor was second only, in the eff
of her speech, to Mr..
Caldwell. Probably we are mistak-
IN, but should the young lady have
been given an opportunity to make
| rejoinder, we are sure there would
nave been no grounds for doubt.
Miss Berdie Erwin was an able ally
If Mr.. Caldwell. She dealt on the
phases of the subject already touch
ID upon, but brought out the points
n new and intelligent light. Her
'aper was rather an essay on the ill
fleets of equal suffrage rather than
discussion of its merits and de-
merits. Mr.. Caldwell and Mr.. Nc
'onnell were then given an oppor-
unity for rejoinder, which they &C
epted for few minutes.
The class exercises closed with
he valedictory by Harold Thomp-
on. This young man reviewed the
work and the associations of the
chOOl the Dleasant reIatinnS of tho