Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1915-06-16
MRS. GOODWIN
ARGUES AGAINST
WOMEN'S VOTE
Doesn't Believe in Giving Them
Responsibility Over the
Men.

1ority of the women are over twenty
one years of age. as we believe them
to be, to give them the ballot would
mean that they would outnumber the
men as voters. With the women
would then rest the responsibility for
government, while the power to en-
force the laws would rest with the
men, as now
This was the argument against
woman suffrage made at a monday
meeting in this city today by Mrs
| Frank J. Goodwin, of Westtield, this
State. The meeting was held in the
headquarters of the New Jersey Asso-
citation Opposed to Woman Suffrage
in the Kinney building. While the
audience was small, consisting OF
about ten men and five or six women
the interest was keen, and the
speaker was listened to with atten-
| tion.
Mrs. Goodwin comes from the
famous Dufiield family, which has
| been prominent in social and religious
activities in New Jersey since Colo
| NAL times. Her father was John u.
Duffield, a noted clergyman and hym-
nologist. She talks in plain and
unassuming manner, but with direct
| ness.
Here for Business.
| I'VE are here for business she
said in opening, land our first object
| is to get the men TO realize that this
is a political subject and not a re-
| ligious one. There are lots of men
who are willing to give the ballot to
women if the women want it. In my
opinion there is not much respect due
| to a man who gives the vote to
women merely because some girl
asks him.
1.-The question to be considered is
whether woman's suffrage is good
! for the country. If the men have
made a mess of their franchise, then
let the women vote, but If not there
is no need to- give women the ballot
| There are now eleven nations at war.
In this great crisis the women who
favor equal suffrage were asked TO
drop the agitation for the ballot for
the present, but they refused so to
do. The women want to revolution
ize this government and they regard
| the securing of the ballot as more
| important than the great problems
that are now confronting the govern
ment.
The large majority of the people of
this country live east of the Mis-
sissippi river. East of the Mississlp-
pi the women outnumber the men,
while in the west there are more men
than women.
IF the women of this country Sc.
cured the ballot and all the women
voted the men would be outnumbered
Is the doubling of the electorate q
good thing? Is there not enough
trouble in counting the votes and ar.
ranging for the casting of the ballot
at the present time? Women's in.
terests and mems are the same, anc
| can see no reason for doubling tn,
cost of elections by giving womel
the ballot.
Liquor Interests Not with AntIs.
THE suffragists say they will pu
the liquor dealers out of business anC
declare that our movement has tn,
backing of the liquor interests.
am tired of this sort of talk. Liquor
has nothing to do with our attitude
If women get the ballot the men will
have to pay the extra cost of elec.
tions.
"As -suffragists we believe thai
a woman's greatest sphere is the
home and that her duty consists in
raising clean, honest, righteous chill
dren and not in hanging about the
| polls Only Is per cent. of the wom-
en- are suffragists, but from the noise
they make you would think they were
the whole show. Eighty per cent. OF
our women are home women. Now
nobody admires the man who washes
and dresses the baby and does the
womans work. Men and womer
have different spheres of activity
and woman's is the home.
Equal suffrage would not do any
IN tta iTrt II
en-. Forty per cent. of this class are
servants in other peoples houses, ant
so the compensation laws would mo-
| do them any good.
Il want to see women succeed II
anything they undertake, but / dc
not think they should attempt to en-,
ter the realm of politics. In the cit,
of Chicago $4,000 women voted for tn,
budget of expenditures for the hous,
of correction, and $4,000 were agains
it. There were 81 900 women voting
in favor of the house of shelter farmi
and $1,000 against. There were 1900
against the installation of garbag,
reduction plant and $4,000 in favor oi
it. The opponents probably though
the garbage could dispose of itself
There were 45,445 women agains
Fairgrounds, which ought to appea
to the heart of any woman, this
number being more than so per cent
as great as the total of $4,000 women
in favor of Fairgrounds.
Every good thing in government
has been secured by men, and the
statement that women will vote fol
! the good Things is not true, as was
evidenced by the vote in Chicago
| They say men have lost interest In
voting. This is idiotic. Men have tc
- Ill u
they are interested in everything thai
may benefit their communities. The
| best things that have been done for
| Mnn1en have hnen done hX men"