Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-02-22
n.ux urN~rprr JOURNAL. THURSDAY FEBRUARY %, 1917

7 don't know whether he KNOWS ladt
or not. The Democratic members met
last night and decided not to make
marty measure of this. 1t was clearly
understood in that caucus that no pol
itics or no party pressure shouio NC
brought to bear upon any man, but
that II was a question for his own con-
.cience 7 do not know whether the dis
tinguished gentleman knew that OF
mt he left the caucus. However. II he
owes an apology to my party-and l
do not know that he does that either
want to give his excuse which is TINS:
THAT IS what you get by wrltlng
speech, giving it to the newspapers,
then having the facts changed ana not
having the ability to get on your 1eet
ard change your speech" | am not
going to speak on woman's suffrage.
l simply say this to put my party in
its proper place l make no defense Tor
myself: leave my reputation and l.
everything else with the gentlemen who
know me. (Applause).
Mr.. ROUNDS Of Portland: Mr.
Speaker this resolve in my opinion is
the most important matter OF any that
will be passed upon by this Legisla-
ture. Therefore, as some OF the news
papers throughout the State have
quoted and misquoted me, I ask the
indulgence of this House to read few
lines that ! have to say.
The first question which the men,
hers of this House should ask them
selves in considering the important
matter now before them is this:
Do the majority of the women of the
of Naive the n1 Hot ?
: To my mind, it is question before
which all the arguments advanced in
favor of equal suffrage during this
Legislative session seem of little
weight, unless il can be answered in
the affirmative. Have any 1acts or fig
ur.s been produced that would show a
p,eponderanco Of suffrage sentiment
among our home makers? Have the
proponents to this resolve been able to
GiSprovo the contention Of the anti
suffragists that only small percent
age of Maine women seek the privilege
of voting? Had there been the slightest
indication that the majority OF them
wanted the same right as the men in
this respect, | believe that Maine would
have long ago ceased to be battle
ground of the suffrage and ant-suf-
rage forces. | have faith enough in the
men Of this State TO believe that they
would have cheerfuly granted their
wives, sisters and daughters the bal
lot, had they feult sure that the great
er part OF them were deslrous OF OBJ
tanning it. so far as | can learn, how
ever, the sulfragiStS are Stlll a small
minority, and for that reason, II for
no other | think that this resolution
should not receive passage. 1t is APP
parent that the women of the old Pine
Tree State are still willing to trust
/ their men folks to choose other men
to make their laws and bring about
needed reforms, and so long as they
! are, why make the change? We have
been doing pretty well up IN TINS
northeastern corner Of the country
with respect to legislation for the i'm
provement of conditions among the
women and children, and | believe that
we are not going to halt in our onward
march. even if the women are not per-
mitted to go to the polls with the men
on every election day.
But if we were to give a little con-
sideration to the argument that votes
for women will produce more reforms
and bring them about more rapidly,
we must remind those who make such
an argument that bad women are going
TO vote. as well as good women. 1t Is
reasonable TO suppose that the oppo-
nents OF any reform measure would be
! lust as active in rounding up the bad
women to vote against it, as they
would in seeing to it that the Dad men
were all brought to the polls.
voted the DrOnlDiIlOu
issue in California last November, but
California did not go dry. for the rea-
son that the women of the so-cailed
enId coast turned out in large numbers
and hclped roll up a tremendous anti
prohibition majority in San Francisco
colorado has been a suffrage state for
some wears And il was not so long
ago that we w,re reading of conditions
4 of anarchy in that state which sent
+ shudder throughout the entire country
. The women have voted in Colorado since
/ 1898, and during that period the state
/ has had 400 divorces to every 1OO.0Vo
of married population. while the adjoln-
! ing male suffrage state of Nebraska has
had only 226. One of the most promi-
ncnt clergymen in Denver said in Feb
ruary 1915, that in Denver the preced-
ing wear they had 1865 divorces out of
! $500 marriages Does this show that d.
vorces decrease where the women have
the ballot?
J What does a brief glance at other
suffrage states show? The women of
Reno Nevada, voted for the first time
i in the spring of 1915, and trey voted
against the proposition to reduce the
number of saloons from so to 40, for
which they We're publicly thanked by
the liquor interests for standing by
them Just before the city election in
Chicago in the spring of 1915 1873 per
cent of the total number of legal fe-
male voters registered, leaving SOL per
cent. to neglect their political duties.
Only 17.3 per cent. of the men were
guilty of like neglect. Utah women
have had the right to vote since 1895,
but they have not shaken off the insti-
tutions of Mormonism. on the contra
, ry, their votes help to sustain these
institutions Seattle and Tacoma. in
the state OF Washington. are Suffrage
cities. There the women helped to re-
call corrupt mayors and then faced
about within a short time and reinstall-
ed them. There are numerous other in
stances of the failure of suffrage to
. bring about radical reforms, but I do not