Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1915-02-04

Illinois fight with the card index of |
the legislators and one affinity" as
signed to each lawmaker were touched ,
upon, also the blacklist" on which |
one Vermont senator appears. when
the democrats turned down suffrage |
in Congress. the women conducted an
anti democratic campaign in every |
congressional and senatorial fight |
They did not show results. for all but
one State so contested showed in =
creased dem ocratic majoritics. Their !
methods, she said. were those of cor
rupt big business.
The cost OF woman suffrage was pointed
out by Mrs. George. IF 1t accomplished
good things it would be worth the cost.
but it doesn't" AS an example she cited
Utah. State about equal in population
to Vermont. The last senatorial vote cost
two and half times as much in Utah as
in Vermont. With increased expenses
and taxes this side is important
Only the suffra gists Mrs. George assert
ed. made the claim that anyone considered
women as inferior. They are simply fitted
for different responsibilities than the mon.
Mrs. Clarence Morgan presided at the
meeting. During the evening it was an
nounced that over 300 names had been
signed to a petition which was now in
the hands OF Senator Carver Of the Senate
committee. These names are from repre-
sentative business men and women OF
voting age. large percentage Of the
women are wage-earners.
MIR. MATTHEWS SPEAKS.
Mrs. George was gre I'd with frequent
applause
The second speaker Of the evening was
John A. Mathews, a New Jersey legis-
lator. He took for his subject the failure
OF suffrage elsewhere and its inexpediency
in Vermont. Woman suffra gists, he said.
have always argued that industrial
betterment moral and social uplift fol-
lowed In he wake of woman suffrage.
In refutation of this he mentioned
ana chistic and chaotic Colorado with
a spineess government which had come
as the result of too much mothering;
the polygamous States of the West
where Mormonism and poygamy are
spreading and the votes Of the women
have not been an influence AGAINST 1t;
two States with no child labor; the cleo
ton of Bath House John" Of Chicago
as alderman and democratic committee
man by the votes of women; and several
instances where expediency rather than
moral issues determined the positions OF
women when choosing candidates. Wom-
EN- soon become willy politicians instead
| of non partisan social workers, after they
get the suffrage.
WOMEN DON'T WANT BALLOT
ut is serious thing to double the
electorate. You double the vicious and
the stay at home vote as well as the good
vote. You double the foreign vote which
| is a serious thing In the large cities. Are
you going to double the vote out Of
spirit Of false gallantrv?
"The majority of the women in Yer
mont don't want 1t, as Mrs. George has
shown. Aren't you of the opposition
starting in wrong to force it on the
State by coming to the Legislature with
your blll?"
| In New Jersey, said Mr. Mathews.
women had first cried for equal rights
and equal opportunity. He went into
the statute books and found no in
equality So their cry then was, we
want the vote Another old cry was
against man made laws" as if ndvi e.
duals were the creators and authors of
/ laws. instead of public opinion. Their
next cry is votes for women" The
speaker quoted Senator Helen Robinson
of Colorado who when asked what suf-
| frage had done for that state. said
that it had produced "a higher grade
of spiritual comradeship between men
and women" When he looked at their
divorce rate, said Mr.. Mathews, he
doubted this.
you can't legislate morality" said
Mr.. Mathews. Morality begins at
home at the mothers knee. Most So
cial evils come from defective mother
ing. The women in the home are a
greater moral force than when they
drop in their little slip of paper"
There were no questions asked. nor
Iany discussion at the close Of the meet
ling.