Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-03-18

unanimous consent TO speak from this
desk. THE request was granted
! Fellow Senator's:
! The pending question is. shall the
rien of this Legislature submit to the
! voters Of Maine this resolve granting
/ equal suffrage to the women of Maine ;
I This resolve comes from the COM
mittee with divided report, eight in
/ favor and two opposed I cannot I'M
derstand why the committee should
| not be unanimous in its favor. 7.
seems to me at the present time that
! this Legislature should, without a dis
| senting vote, submit this resolve to
, the voters of Maine
| The Republican and Progressive
| parties are pledged in their platform
! to submit this resolve. and the Demo-
Gratis have no plank in their platform
| IN opposition to it. 1t therefore can
| not be political issue. Political is
! sues are made by one political party
| advocating certain principle or pol
! lev in its platform, and another poiiti-
cal party opposing it in its platform.
and this makes an issue between them.
/ On this question the Democratic mem
! bers are not bound, but are free to
! vote as they please. and their duty
seems TO me to be very plain.
! The Waterville Sentinel, the State
organ OF Democracy says editorialiy.
! When the final vote is taken in the
House OF Representatives on the pas
sage Of the resolve submitting TO
| popular vote an amendment TO the
| constitution providing for equal suf
! frage for men and women, there are
certain matters which the Democratic
members ought to take into considera-
ton.
4 1t should be remembered that if this
resolve is defeated it will be by Demo
cratic votes, and the responsibility for
its defeat Will rest upon the Demo-
cratic party The Progressives viii
vote for the resolve 1t is a part OF
their party policy to support equal
suffrage. The Republicans will vote
for it with practical unanimity. Moth
ing can defeat it. excepting Demo
cratic votes.
( Can Democrats AFFORD to defeat it?
Can Democrats logically vote against
it? Is it not clearly and plainly the
duty OF Democrats TO support it?
! 1t is a cardinal principle of Democ-
racy that the people must be allowed
to rule, 10 run the government accord
| ing to their own ideas and in their
| own way. that the mass OF voters
should be given the largest possible
! share in the work of government.
Hence, We have adopted and applied
/ wherever practicable. the principle OF
the referendum. We have argued
| that il is always safe to trust the
people, We have tainted our or
| ponents with being afraid TO trust the
/ people. We have proclaimed from i
! thousand platforms the doctrine tina.
wherever substantial number Of
| people desire the opportunity to vote
| on any important question, they ought
! to be given that opportunity
How shall we square our professions
! oith our practice if we vote down the
! equal suffrage resolve% The question
! before The Legislature is not Shall
women vote Il is Shall the peopia
! of Maine be allowed To decide whether
| or not women shall vote"
No man who believes i'll the referen-
dun can fail to answer that question
IL the affirmative 4 legislator who
does no: believe in woman suffra sc Al
al and who intends 10 vote against il
II fhe polls can still vote to submit
the question 10 The people and justify
Einlself III 50 doing How can q Demo-
rat justify himself in taking an op-
pos!te position.
nitcu states Senators Johnson and
Eurleigh from Maine both favor wo-
mans suffrage. so any attempt 20
make it a political question must seem
absurd ana ridiculous.
! My only excuse for speaking this
/ morning is that j may present to you
some ideas that to my mind make, our
duty very plain. Ideas that have no:
been touched upon by any discussions
Of the question so far as ] have dis
covered.
) In Maine there are about 235, 600 wo-
! men of voting age. and who would he
! entitled to the ballot if this resolve
! should become a. part Of our constitu
/ ton. and the practical question press
ing upon us is-Would the addition o.
these $4,000 women 10 the franchise
and voting forces Of the State endan-
! ger our institutions and lower the
-'eAi'No'b Vi tiilEeIlSli4p IL 81. t!ltI
It may be our duty TO push woman
aside. no matter how insistent her de-
mands. and deny her right which
/ would ripen into a wrong.
\ We have heard much about the
great states of the West, where eleven
states and one territory are clustered
together, all having full suffrage for
I women, and we are told truly how
successful ana satisfactory has been
that ballot in the hands Of the wo-
men and how no attempt has been
| made to repeal the law. and how after
forty years OF experience new states
are constantly coming to join in The
! Triumphant march of woman's
emancipation: and vet, il the women
| of Maine are inferior to the women ot
I the West. if their intellect and char
( acters. aims and purposes in life are
far below the women of the western
states, and they are not so we'll fitted
and qualified for the ballot as their
sisters in the land of the prairie then
there might be some reason why We
should deny them the ballot
Last month the Boston Post said this
| in an editorial: "in the month that IS
! just passing Massachusetts joined the
ranks OF the states that have recently
decided. through their legislatures to
send the question OF 7oman'S suffra pe