The Alaska citizen., 1915-11-01
Human Pre- udice Is Stubborn Thing Woman's Rights as Voter are Advocated
By Geo. w. Pennington

pUtIS, Has Sdlu that llo Nhoh D quite so difficult as tC educate pre-. conceived opinions and prejudice out of the human mind"
 It takes almost half lifetime to unlearn the false and foolish things that We absorb from our associo- ton with those who are not accu- rately informed, and. therefore. not in any sense qualified to teach. Many of Us acquire the habit ot thirking along certain conservative lines until We have nice comforta- ble groove worn for ourselves, where the travelling is easy, and every thing moves along without friction Then we become either too indolen or too indifferent to hew out new and original path of thought or aC- ton. and soon We have settled into a condition of intellectual stagna tion
 It saves so much bother and ef tort U have others dS our thinking for us. that vast majority of the human family are satisfied to take opinions and convictions at second hand and there seems to be good and sufficient reason to believe th,t even in this age of mental activity and unrest, there are thousands uf voters in the sovereign state of New Jersey who would be startled al- nest out of their wits if an original n -.'@ft seeking a vacuum. should chance to pop into their minds. Years ago I once heard trite ani homely old story that illustrates fairly well the intellectual depen- dence of about half the human race, It runs something like this
 An honest, industrious old farmer who rarely read anything but his country paper and heartily disa greed with any progressive idea that made it's pages really worth willie was accustomed 70 carry grain to mill on the back of his favorite old mare. He would carefully mea sure out a bushel of grain in tive bushel sack, then place on top of the grain a rock weighing about fifty pounds, with as much solemnity aa though the fate of an empire do. pended upon his actions. and tying ab- the middle of the sack a rope so that the boulder and grain couli not mix, he would fling the loa" on his old nag and complacently jog rff tC the mill site by the dam side One day his boy, who had become a pupil of nearby public schoC., whose fresh young mind was be- ginning to expand. and whose ideas were growing and sprouting in every direction, said: Father. lets try an experiment; I believe we can easily leave the rock at home Let's tax. the grain to mill without the rock.
 For a moment the old gentleman was too much astonished to speak thon in r dliet voira, that reallv sounded rather ominous for the youngster, said:
 My boy, in my jedgment il cant be done, but, I'm willn' to try yer scheme. I'm from Missouri show me"
 The boy quickly dumped the rock from the sack divided the grain ir either end. and. swinging the load over the horses back, exclaimed: l: Father, there you are That load will ride just as safely without the rock as it will with it, and be sides, it will save old Nell that much load, or enable you to carry dou- ble the quantity of grain if you wish"
 Now this was too much for the old man; in his eyes that boy was becoming a rank iconoclast; he was tearing down and smashing up some reverently wors'lipped family idols He was offering an untried, friv- olous substitute for method that had become sacred with age. and one that was to him a time-honored inheritance from his great forbear5. Such Sacrilege was more than he could endure, so. grasping the boy by the ear, he gently, but firmly, led him to the quiet arena of 8 nearby woodshed, and within that hallowed enclosure there was, for a time, sounds of animation and revelry, When they emerged the lads coat was turned wrong side before, and the expression that il lumined his countenance plainly in dicated that never again would he offer to his father a new idea, or suggest any innovation in the way of transportation.
 Now this homely old story would fit like a glove thousands of voters today in these great United States of America, in their attitude to- ward the enfranchisement of wo man.
 Every citizen who takes pride in the rights of citizenship, especially in right of franchise, would fight to the last ditch, would foment revolution, would invoke every law in the code relative to his case, or would resort to any violence rather than suffer deprivation Of those rights: and one would suppose that after reading comparative history, each well-informed and thoughtful man could form some fair and just conception of what a devilish and hateful thing tyranny really is, aud would learn just what his progeni- tors have suffered and fought through to win for him the liberty that, with each succeeding year. becomes more dear.
 One would also feel that every citizen, through experience and the knowledge thus obtained. would ac- Quire such love of fair play that nothing could induce him to deny to another those privileges so dear ly bought and highly prized, but it doesn't seem to work out that way
 In New Jersey, on Tuesday, Oct 18th, by an overwhelming majority the voters of that progressive state denied to woman the simple rights of citizenship a right she is fairly entitled to; one she has never dis honored by improper use, and which to deprive her of, is to violate every principle of equality and jus