The Northwest worker. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1915-1917, 1916-09-21

than almost any woman viii ever nd
init that she is old. (Laughter)
The Socialist Party was the frs
party in the world to declare fol
woman suffrage. That took place il
Switzerland at the conference of tn,
International Workingmen's Party il
1868. But seventy years ago the SO
cialist writer's and thinkers of tina
day were blazing n path through the
world by writing and speaking il
favor of woman suffrage, and to tha
precedent we have always been true
Our Party is party of women M
less than of men. The women who
belong to our party have an equa
voice with men in voting within that
party. Only few days ago a woman
was elected member of committe,
of five-our National Executive Com.
mittee-which manages and conducts
the administrative affairs of our
party.
But let me add this: If you care
nothing about the Socialist program
except the suffrage plank, there is
in my opinion, no reason whatever
why you should vote the Socialist
ticket.
The suffrage question, important
as it is, is but very minor matter
in our platform. 1t has not much
more to do with our platform than a
paraffin cup has to do with the TWEEN
, tieth Century express. And if any
one who had a particular liking for
drinking out of paraffin paper cup
were to come to me and ask me if
would advise him to buy ticket to
New York because they have that
kind of cups on the train, would say
"No, if that is all you like about the
train you can get those cups for less
money elsewhere-and you won't
| want to be in New York after you get
there, anyway" And if you were to
vote the Socialist ticket merely be-
cause you thought we could help you
in regard to suffrage, you perhaps
would not like anything else in our
platform. | imagine most of you
know no more about Socialism than
the men do, and most men know
mighty little.
We are very respectful in our at
tention to you politically. We hope
very much that you will give our
party and our principles due consider
alton. We feel that it is the business
of every intelligent person in this
world not to know little about So
cialism, but to know precisely what
it is. We feel that as new voters that
duty is particularly incumbent upon
you.
We do not feel that the mere vote
amounts to anything. We feel about
the mere vote the same as we dc
about the mere telephone or the mere
tongue-the mere ability to speak
We do not consider that because 8
person knows how to speak he neces
sarily knows anything worth saying
We do not feel that for you to get the
vote will necessarily Immediately con
tribute in the slightest degree to the
political wisdom of this country. We
doubt very much-if l may for brie1
moment interpret the feeling of the
party-we doubt very much whether
the women have any more wisdom tt
contribute to the sum total than have
the men.
We do not believe that you know
any more about how to get rid Of
child labor than men do. We do no
believe you detest poverty any more
than men do. We believe that you
like the men, do not know how to get
rid of these things. The men viii
gladly try to get rid of these thing!
if they can be convinced that a Ger
tain method will do it.
| buI VIC pldCC Jul DdChlllB VI WOIIldI
suffrage on a very much more funda
mental ground than whether you dc
or do not know how to vote. We
know that most men do not know how
to vote, and therefore we would moi
be surprised if you did not. We place
it on a much more important ground
We say that if you had nothing but
ignorance you have a right to con.
! tribute that ignorance to the conduct
of this country. (Applause.) sale
/ if you had nothing but that you have
that right l mean it precisely as
say it. | would rather be governed
by my own ignorance than by the
other man, who is clever and shrewc
and may use that cleverness against
me. (Applause.)
And that is why have always beer
and shall always be in favor of WON.
an suffrage. | was for it long before
| | became Socialist, and ! should be