The farmer and mechanic., 1915-06-29
SENATOR CLAPP TELLS WHY
HE IS FOR WOMAN SUFFRAGE
What Women Have Done or Failed to Do With Vote has
Nothing, He Declares, to Do With Question OF 1helr
RIGHTS in the Matter.

ing, he was a student IN JOhn =.
Spooners law office at Hudson, Wis
1t was about the time that young
Mr. Spooner made a high-falutin'
Fourth Of July speech to the inhabi-
tants of that region. Clinton, an
other lawyer, read the Declaration of
independence. Il liked your speech,
Johnny a lumberman said to
| Spooner, as he was wiping his brow
after the meeting, "but I'll confess
that Clintons suited my taste good
deal better
| Il got to thinking Senator Clapp
/ continued, referring to his early con-
victions on the suffrage question that
the United States was a democracy
but that half of the adult population
had no part in the government OF the
| country.
! "NOw government is established for
| two purposes. First for cO-Opera-
ton. The individual cannot by him
self have good roads, schools, lighted
streets and so on. Joining with others
tribute to his comfort and prosper
ity.
Secondly, government is establish
ed for protection against all those
who selfishly exploit the human units
constituting society. Caesar was an
Alexander the Great. Napoleon is
the third one I shall Misunderstanding
him to be the last of my illustrations,
and not wanting to approach the
present generation any nearer.
Does Man Protect Woman?
''The second functions of govern
ment then, as l have said, is to pro-
tect the people from Caesars, Alex
anders and Napoleons as we'll as from
burglars, swimmers and murderers.
Coming to the basic fact Of the mat
. ter, government is, above all things
to1S rolx irCf
means in the last analysis the su-
premacy Of right over wrong.
, Thinking of the subject in such a
, way, 1 realized that women had no
part whatever in giving energy to
) right, vitality to right or success to
: woman. so we learned at the knees
, OF our mothers, from our literature
? and from our pulpits, platforms and
newspapers, was the one lE1erring and
trustworthy moral force within the
Q nation.
'The answer then Gas the answer is
r now) was that man, the husband, is
O the protector of his household; Of his
e wife, to make the matter palmer. But
t is that invariably so2 There arc
thousands of wives who would be bet.
e ter off in every particular were they
deprived Of the protection giver
: them by their husbands, But will
a not got into that phase of very pain
# full subject.
a I'VE do know, however, and it cal
e be stated without offense, that multi
: tudes are widows. Moreover, ever,
It married woman lives many years, a
: one time of her life and another, with.
l. out the guardian angelship of a hus
a band. She has no husband befor,
r her marriage and mortality recor6
show that she is very likely to sur
e vive.
a "In my view, the protection theor,
IS unsound. How many divorces ar,
d there annually? In each case Of do
'e mestic unhappiness and appeal to th
e courts the supposed protection ha
y broken down. Theoretically, man !
Y, Woman's protector. but who protect
s the female clerk, school teacher o
Istenographer? The moment a woman
k goes to work for a man In store o
lg an ofhce, they meet face to face, no
er as defender and ward, but, to a de
gree, as antagonists.
h The argument that the husban
SnGo1a aeioHa DO all the voting is also fal
e. husband is ideal in all ways-that h
s. IS sensible, just, intelligent and goo6
or Even were the argument Well-founde
ID woman suffrage would be indispensa
Die, as matter of justice In de
or mocracy But the ideal husband
is not found at every house of ever
se street in every town. Like everythin
I'd else that is ideal, he is often desired
e. but rarely is existent, Woman
a actually and not only in theory, NOR
1T. frequently approxfmates towards tn
IS, Ideal than does man
n Woman, We are told, should re
main at home and care for her Chi
dren while her husband is out in tn
be world getting living for his famil,
l." Into the management and custody
at the mother, largely. are placed th
We training and characters of her chi
in dren. Usually,-it is wisely SO place,
A A mother, naturally, has better ne,
-, sonal standards than has a father
We Although the mother in most i,
We stances takes the responsibility for II
re rearing OF her sons and daughtel
as forces are at work out Of doors tn;
lc- increase her difficulties and oftoh ~,