The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1915-10-09
FACTS To SHOW
"AREA DOES VOTE"
Powerful Illustration In the
United States Senate.
ALSO IN THE CONSTITUTION

Misleading Leaflet Conveys Impression
That When Population Is Spread Out
Over Large Areas 1t Loses Its Moral
and Political vaIue-Common I'M
preston Just the Opposite.
The anti-suffragists ask, Does area
voter The Rev. Clarence Hall Wilson,
writing in the Montclair Times, an
swers their question in the affirmative:
There has come into my hand a lit
tie leatet put forth by the Montclair
branch, New Jersey Association Op-
posed to Women Suffrage, entitled
Area Does Not Vote There are some
inaccuracies of statement and some
fallacies in reasoning in this leafet
which call for correction.
ITO begin with, the title is a mis-
statement. Area does vote. 1t votes
in the United States senate. In the
house of representatives population
votes; in the senate areas vote. Each
state has its two votes in the senate.
no matter what its population.
"Area also votes on all amendments
to the constitution, as it did in the
original acceptance and adoption of
the constitution. In order that an
amendment shall become a part of the
constitution it must be approved by
three-fourths of the states without any
regard whatever to the population of
the states 50 approving. Upon some
supremely important occasions it will
be observed that area does vote.
"Now, | will quote a paragraph from
the leafet: The combined population
of the suffrage states and Alaska is
13,S92,416. The population of CONT
mental United States, including Alas
ka, is 81. 972 ,266. This makes the suf-
Taking the congressional representa-
ton. 6S of 1856 from the same area.
the result is the same, 10 per cent
hardly half. Certainly in 10 organiza-
ton does the vote of 10 per cent of its
members carry any measure This is
astounding. President Wilson was
elected by a popular vote of 6,298,S57,
less than half the population of the
suffrage states.
1.-THE leat1et conveys the curious i'm
preston that when population Is
spread out over large areas it loses its
moral and political value. Now the
common impression has been quite the
opposite. We have generally suppos-
ed that the farmer vote was less cor
ruptible than the vote of the congested
cit slum. Is there any reason why the
100000 people in California should
not know what they are cbout quite as
well as the 100000 people in New Jer-
sey? Does the fact that they occupy
more ground constitute such a reason?
Eat the end of the leafiet comes an
astonishing statement. There are ad-
mitted to be some 10000 members of
suffrage organizations in New Jersey
There are in New Jersey 1.250, 704
women This makes our suffrage
friends number about 3 per cen of
the women of our commonwealth
aye gods and little fishes, what a
non sequitur. How many women are
there in the anti organizations? It
never occurred to me to want to know
any such inconsequential thing as
that. But will the author of the leaf1et
accept the enrolment of the anti So
cieties as the total number of women
in New Jersey opposed to suffrage? 1
trow not. Nobody knows how MANY
of the women of New Jersey want the
ballot. There is at present no way of
finding out. The number of women
who want it has nothing whatever to
do with the case. Areas do vote, but
women don't. We treat the areas with
respect in u system of government;
we treat the women with contempt.
Some of the women seem to like it,
but l don't. And, you see, | will have
something to say about this matter,
for l am a a