Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1916-05-03
EQUAL SUFFRAGE.
Would il Benefit The state? "A. Nj.
May of Waukon Has the Follow
ing TO Say on the Subject i'm
WaukOn Republican.

State.
Said Bonaparte: THE true victor
les are those won over ignorance. The
employment most honorable and
most profitable to the people is the
labor for the diffusion and extension
of the ideas of men," That is, the
accumulated wisdom, or knowledge
of mankind.
By the report of the United States
Bureau of Education for 1912, the
number of teachers in the United
States was 547,2S9; Of these 432,906
were women and 114,3S3 men, the
women teachers outnumbering the
men by 31S,523.
Are soldiers, the representatives Of
brute force, more fit to vote than
these women teachers, the represen-
tatives of the moral and intellectual
forces of the country?
Here it might be we'll to remember
that in the graduating classes of the
the women far outnumber the men,
land carry off the largest proportion
of the highest prizes for scholarship.
The true power and greatness of
any nation does not depend on the
capacity Of the people to bear arms,
Or the invincible courage and grand
heroism of it's armies. A nations
power, vitality and durability and
civilization depend on its morality.
its intelligence, and its capacity for
labor which includes the power of ma
itional defense. The most moral ma,
lions have always been those which
eXerted the most labor power, gov
erned by just principles. 1t used to
be said that nations, like individuals,
have their youth, manhood, and de-
cay, and death. Not necessarily so.
A nations life may be measured by
its morality. The experiences of the
late wars have shown that the most
sober and moral nations are the VIM
ming ones. A thoroughly moral and
just nation, so long as it remains
such, practically has a continued
lease of life. A nations safety, pros
perity, greatness, depend upon the
character and condition of the actual
possessors of the soil. Said Lori
Chatham in 1775, a country's true
strength and stamina are to be look
ed for in the cultivation OF the
land Said President Jackson: am
dependent farmers are the true basis
of society everywhere, and the true
friends of liberty" These cultivators
of the soil, these farmers, are made
up of men and women, their sons and
daughters. Our government is built
upon this theory, and not on the "bul-
let and bayonet right to vote" theory
1t is because our forefathers recog.
nized public conscience and the |
law of nature and Of natures God"
and erected our political edifice in !
accordance Herewith that we are en-
abled to present to the world the SUBJ
blime spectacle of American Nation
atty and power, the practical appli- |
cation of the principle has been short |
of the demand. They acted in accor-
dance with the belief that "All men |
are created equal" and endowed |
with certain inalienable rights" and |
that governments derive their Just |
power from the consent of the govern
ed though in their day they failed |
to make the application as broad rs
the principle. Beyond that limit they |
saw as through a glass, darkly.
1t is the true principle of citizen
whatsoever we would that |
men should do unto you, do We even |
so unto them They that take the |
sword will perish by the sword" is
as true of nations as of men. The |
Bible, after all of mans wisdom, con-
tains the true political philosophy. It |
teaches that the theories of govern
ment founded On bullets and bayonets |
are practically wrong. More than |
this, it awakens us to thought and |
action, and investigation. 1t reveals |
to us the whole catalog of rights and |
duties. 1t tells me, and every other
person without distinction of sex-I |
am responsible. For every act ! per-
form / am held accountable. The
mean plea Of Adam-"The woman
tempted me-" will not suffice. Neither
can the woman shift her du0.es and
responsibilities on the man. The
Bible tells me that have claims too.
that for every one of these response
bilities and liabilities there is append
ed bill of rights" of which no one
can justly deprive me. That if the
government holds me personally re-
sponsible to any extent, then Justly /
have right to voice in the govern
ment. 1t has no right to hold me, nc-
any other person responsible TO any