El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-05-22


} would SEEM" he added, as if married
! men had no rights"
I Blackstone, in the closing sentence Of
! his chapter on husband and wife, uses
I this language: These are the chief
/ legal effects Of marriage during the
! coverture; upon which, We may OBJ
serve that even the disabilities which
the wife lies under are for the most
/ part intended for her protection and
benefit; so great q IaVorite is the 1e-
male sex OF the laws Of England" and
( why, may I ask, has woman always
D been such a fayOrits2 Simply because
the laws Of the land are made by the
: fathers Of the land; find me a father
{ who is not going to protect the inter
! ests Of his daughter
Would Women Purify BaIIOtF
Another argument the particular
! favorite Of those who wish TO tickle the
Nancy Of the prospective woman voter,
is that we need wOman's moral and
purifying influence in politics; that
conditions have grown so corrupt the
only salvation is the giving Of the
ballot to the weaker sex. 1t Is true
our politics are more or less corrupt,
caused by the presence Of purchas-
able vote, INSCRIPTIONS leaders and
ofttimes q general lack Of interest. But
would the entry of woman have the
desired effect2 We must not forget
that while most women are pure and
moral there are many who are not
I ten times more penetrating and goes
I ten times farther than that Of bad
man
If a law could be framed to keep
out the INSCRIPTIONS and vicious wom-
en-. then it would be equally easy to
frame one to keep out the unscrupulous
men-and with the added advantage Of
not disturbing the present status.
The PurchasabIe Vote.
Certainly the advent Of woman
= go 80 h.
purchasable and ignorant vote; be-
cause, if a man is ignorant or sells his
vote, what reason is there to believe
that his wife or daughter or sister is
not also ignorant and would not also
sell her vote2 And again, although
men have a tendency to lack interest
in politics, women, in the states
where they are allowed to vote, have
shown a very much greater tendency
to do so. Indeed, when one considers
the history Of civilization, the argu-
ment that government is a failure and
that woman should actively participate,
is absurd.
Advance Of Woman Made by Man.
Compare the condition Of the aver
age American woman Of today and
those Of the white woman thousands
Of years ago And what made possible
this wonderful advance?-Inventions-
And what made possible Inventions
Stable and liberal forms Of government
And what has woman had to do with
the creating or perfectlng OF the one
or the other? What governments has
woman established2 What inventions
has she wrought These questions
answer themselves; wig even the
crimpled hairpin was invented by
man
Were it not for the work Of man.
woman would today be living in z
cave. fireless and cherries. She
would not be claiming a right to the
ballot. because there would be no bal
lot. Yet, after all this great advance,
this wonderful progress, the result OF
the males creative ability and inven-
tive genius, enters the suffraget, and,
with the assurance Of a boy wanting
to run his fathers business, SAYS: Mr..
Mani you are making failure Of gov
eminent: let me show you how to do
it." / would suggest 10 the women who
feel this burning desire for reform
that there are many fields outside OF
the political arena One Of these is
Woman's dress. When the corset and
the French heel have been relegated
to the garbage can, perhaps then the
woman may with some right demand
entry into Dolitics-
Majority Do Not Want Ballot.
Now, that We have taken up the
leading arguments in favor Of wOman's
suffrage, what arguments may be ad-
vanced against it, There are many;
but, 10 my mind, there are two which
so completely .overshEdoW the rest,
that, in this brief discourse, / will
touch upon them only. The first is,
that woman does not want TO vote. The
second is, the American home.
But" you say, extend the ballot to
women; those who wish to vote may
vote; those who do not win not be
compelled to-" However the power to
cast a vote implies not only a privi-
lege but a duty. he who is allowed a
voice in political affairs and does not
exercise 1t is a traitor to his coun-
try; more harm oftlme arises from
passivity than from activity.
And it is not fair for a small minor
ity Of the women Of this land to force
upon a large majority, duties which
they do not feel called upon to under
take. Take a census in the state OF
Texas Of the women over p years Of
age; then open the polls, and allow
every woman who wants WOman's
suffrage TO come to the polls ana vote
for it and you would find that not ten
per cent Of the women OF this state
had voted in favor Of the measure.
II you do not agree with me, try 1t;
I do not believe there is one man IN
the state opposed to wOman's suffrage
who would not give the plan his
hearty Endorsement in order TO be rid
of this agitation for score or more
The Home and the Ballot.
And now we arrive at the second ar
namely. the American home What is
q home2-jUst home, that's all There
is not another word nor group Of
words in the English language capable
Of conveying the same meaning as
that one little word. home A home
implies a wife and mother, husband
and father; the first occupied within
its sacred precincts. caring for her
children and arranging her abode; the
second outside battling with a cold
and ofttimes cruel world
The duties Of the father bring him
into close touch with matters finan-
ciaI and political; he is able to judge,
does judge, and votes for what he
deems the best interests Of his family
Could more be desired2 What does
and what should the normal Ameri-
can woman know about political af-
fairs2-very little; her place, thank
God. is in the home, occupying her time
and talents with matters far more i'm
portant than anything which can be
done outside the home.
What we, as good Americans, must
do is, found more homes, have more
children; the innocent glance, the
happy laugh, the cheerful prattle of a
little child are worth more than the
applause Of multitudes and the admi-
ration Of thousands This wonderful
country, the gift Of our ancestors,
Oh ~