The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-09-08
THE SOUTH is
APATHETIC ABOUT
WOMEN VOTING
Mrs. Guilford Dudley Declared to Ma
tional American Woman Suffrage
Association at Atlantic

Atlanta City, n. j., Sept. s.--The Ma
tional American Woman Suffrage asso-
citation held Dixie session" last night
at which number of women suffrage
leaders from the South made interesting
reports of progress in that section.
Mrs. Guilford Dudley, president of the
Tennessee Equal Suffrage association, de-
liyered an address on The Southern
Temperament as Related to Woman Suf-
frage." She said, in part;
The only business southern girl is
ever taught, or is born with knowledge
of, is the business of hearts-the way to
win them, the way to hold them-some-
times, the way to destroy them, but
more often the way to cherish them
through life. So what had woman's suf-
frage to do with us? Our laws were bad
particularly those affecting women and
children, but then our men were so much
better than our laws so why worry? The
much Wanted southern chivalry was so
real that it was almost impossible to
convict a woman in court, and the south
ern men so imbued with the idea OF pro-
tecting women that the lawmakers would
not permit married woman to make a
contract in her own name until two years
ago.
"Now, it seems to me that with us, !
much of the opposition to woman suf-
frage is founded on the supposition that |
men and women are ideal creatures-that |
men are always going to protect women, |
and no woman is ever going to need pro-
lection against men.
1--WE are a race of dreamers in the |
South. by choice and because OF climatic
Doing things makes no APP
peal to us as long as we can sit and |
think about them. That is why we are
still doing the rough work OF the world.
instead of turning out the finished prod
uct; sending our lumber to eastern mar
kets to receive the mark OF the master
sending our cotton every
where to be turned into the finest fabrics.
and that is why we haven't already got
woman suffrage throughout the South
to-day.
As long as it was question of wom-
ans rights; as long as the fight had any
appearance of being against man; as
ong as there seemed to be vestige of
sex antagonism, the southern woman
stood with her back turned squarely to-
ward the cause. She wouldn't even turn
lround to look at it, She would have
ZONE of it at ALL But when she awoke
lowly to a social consciousness, when
yes and brain were at last free, after
errible reconstruction period to look out
lpon the world as whole; when she
ound particularly among the more for
innate classes that her leisure had come
o mean laziness, when she realized that
Trough the changed conditions of mod
m life so much of her work had been
aiken out of the home, leaving her to
hoose between following it into the
-orld or remaining idle; when in a clearer
ision she saw that man needed her help
! governmental affairs, particularly
here they touched her own interests
ne said. oh, that is so differenti'
Right about face she turned, and she
nd to the southern man: L don't wish
, usurp your place in government. but it
time J had my own
Not only the southern woman but the
'uthern man Is now awake. and present
'ndltions strongly Indicate that before
mother year has passed we will have
me form Of suffrage for the women OF
IT states. We are essentially an mag
alive, Romantic people and we have
en- vIsion-the vision Of a time when
woman home viii be the whole wide
orld. and her children all those whose
et are bare; and her sisters. all those
10 need helping hand. A vision Of a
" knighth0od a new chivalrv. when
sn viii not only tight for women. but
r the rights Of women You know the
meal French phrase. wherever there il
5uble. eherzec a femme. We do not &C.
p i. We believe that wherer = man
? reached the heights. there you may.
Iced, look for the woman