The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1916-10-11

can deny that they were sincere and
honest men; and they established
their colony: and these men who be-
leved that divine truth-the right
OF the human soul to worship divine
creRtor-had hardly established their
colony until they began to prosecute
others In the same way that they
themselves had been prosecuted, so
that their ideas OF freedom extended
only to themselves, but not to groups
beyond themselves. We have gone
on In the evolution OF our govern
ment. extending the suffrage to larg-
er bodies Of men, but always holding
1t back for some group OF people. In
the beginning when the question was
asked: Who shall govern? It was
decided; Let all church members gov
ern themselves and everybody else:
and after the close OF the war II was
decided that any man who had stake
In the government should have the
right to share In the administration
of the government. Then they said,
What shall that stane bel" and you
would have thought that any man
who had signed the Declaration Of In
dependence written by Thomas Jeffer-
son, would have said: That stock is
himself. But they did say, why,
every man who has stock in the gov
eminent equal TO $3.50 on which he
pays taxes" and so the highest con-
ception Of the liberty Of men was here
agreed to be $3.50. A money basis
for citizenship was such an absurdity
that no wonder that the men protest.
ed against It.
think the lowest basis upon which
have ever known citizenship TO be
placed, was in little town named
Pottstown. A member of the school
board died and they had an election
to I'LL the vacancy. Now you wouldn't
think an office Of this kind would be
so attractive to the politicians. but
both political parties were very anx-
lous to secure II, and so both parties
had their men entered in the race.
Near the close OF the election, the
members of one party believed that
their candidate was losing by only
few votes, SO he went out to get men
to vote for him before the polls closed
and when the vote was counted 1t was
discovered that this party had won
by two votes-two which had been
brought in ut the last. Then the
election was protested on the ground
that these two men had not paid their
poll tax and it was taken into court.
The court decided that the election
should stand, ON the ground that
while these two men had not paid a
poll tax, both had paid dog tax.
These two dogs were what elected
that member of the school board. for,
II the days had died, the election
would have gone the other way.
Then, when the next change took
place, they struck out the words tax
payers" and wrote the word white"
And they sung the Land Of the Free
and the Home OF the Brave" and they
talked as beautifully about mother
you ever heard. Yet they sold moth
er's babies on the action block. Then
the Republican party said: This is a
government Of men and so 1t ruled
out the word white" and wrote the
word male" and 1t stood all by it,
self because they couldn't think of
anything else to put in there. Men,
drunk and sober, Ignorant and intelll-
gent, moral and immoral, just men.
Strike Word Out.
We are here for the especial pur-
pose of telling men that God said in
the beginning that 1t was not good
for men to stand alone. So we are
asking the men, not Republicans, nor
Democrats, not Socialist. not labor,
but men of all politics and all posi-
lions, independent men, to strike that
word male" out of the constitution
and let the constitution stand as 1t
should have been in the beginning.
Every citizen possessing the necessary
qualifications should be entitled to
cast one ballot ut every election every
year. The anti-suffragist says that If
women voted they would over-turn
the government. We do not want
to do this; but what we do want is
to keep right on in the way Of our
ancestors. going right SSt of mon
archy into a republic, and there is but
one step left to be taken before we
become republic. to strike the word
male" out of the constitution and
permit men and women to cost their
ballot because they are human be-
ings interested IN the country I'M
which they live.
1 had handed to me today in the
city of Fairmont, a pamphlet which
Is being sent out all over the state,
and letter sent out by gentleman
Il mean a person who looks like a
gentleman-and in this letter he
charges the women of the suffrage
movement of being immoral charac-
tiers, vicious women, who are not fit
to vote. Here are some Of the wom-
en- in the suffrage movement:
Jane Addams-when 1 was presi-
dent of the National Suffrage Associa-
ton, she was for several years vice
president-than whom America never
produced a citizen more worthy OF
this country, Jane Adams.
Francis E. Willard, whose name
will mark the records of this country
forever glorious because of her work
for the uplift of humanity.
Mrs. Boring, who in the city of
Chicago, is going such great work in
the domestic courts, bringing together
husband and wife, helping them to an
understanding OF their differences.
Mary Mcdowell, who is an angel
of mercy among the Italians and