Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1917-09-04
No Longer I Joke.

No Longer Z Joke.
(By Rev. A. T. Mcwhorter.)
The title Of the article ID correct. The
Woman Suffrage question 10 no longer o
joke In Maine or anywhere else. It 10 q
stern reality. Next September the voters
Of Maine are to give their verdict on one
OF the most vital State issues since 1911,
when prohibition Was In danger. And
IL 10 very unfortunate that such an Issue
should be forced upon 10 In the midst Of
. great international war In which our
nation 10 involved. But the voters must
face the fact and answer the question:
Shall women vote In Msinep find there
10 considerable uncertainty In the minds
of voters a. to whether they shall vote
eyes" or "No." The purpose of this
article 10 to put myself on record az OPP
posed to Woman Suffrage, and ] am
quite certain that am making no mis-
take. For years Was An ardent sdvo-
cate Of the Suffrage cause, but on more
mature thought and investigation I have
changed my views which have now set
tied into conviction.
God and nature have placed men and
women in different regions and assigned
them entirely different tasks as their
contribution to the general good. God
and nature never intended q woman to
be carpenter, soldier, sailor,
blacksmith, sewer.digger, miner, q
woodsman, an engineer, . bricklayer, or
any other job that demands great lphysi-
cal strength doubt very much If God
and nature ever intended woman to be
minister but there are extraordinary
circumstances, as in the present Euro
pesn war, when women will rise to the
apex of heroism and do mans task.
That's different from deliberately select
ing such task as life work. When
that happens heroism ceases. lam only
illustrating what I mean. There are
some things natural to man, some
natural to woman. The region of
politics seems to me to be unnatural to
woman. It Is not her native air. I
refuse to be party to taking woman out
of the region where she is now crowned
queen and holds sway, and placing her
in region where she may lose her
crown and her fine womanly charms. I
refuse to help to deaden the finer quail
tiles of women, as mixing in politics Is
bound to do in time. It's Psychological
law. There is no argument against it.
The finer the violin the more easily
ruined by crude treatment. Every WON.
an suffragett or anti-suffragett, who by
constant appearance on the public plat
form shows by voice, gesture, manner
and dress mannish tendencies is herself
the most powerful of all arguments
against woman suffrage!
| If, as Is said by the advocates of wom-
ans rights, the church, the prayer meet
ing, the missionary societies are run by
women, how long after they become
voters will they be interested in this
splendid spiritual work? Women, like
men, are limited In interests and energy
Miss jeanette Rankin of Montana is a
fine specimen of womanhood. I have
no patience with her critics among the
ants. ! wish that she was not 80 favor.
able to the I. W. W. atthis critical time
when the call Is for patriots, not rank
traitors. She did right to weep and vote
according to her convictions. But how
long will she be able to mix In politics
In Washington and still be able to shed
tears that indicate real womanlinessf
How long before her fine womanly
charms are deadened? You, who believe
Ia woman suffrage, answer. Miss Ran
kin is q womanly woman in the wrong
place. There may be some gain In WON
an suffrage, but fear the awful loss In
real womanhood.
Again, woman suffrage Is not remedy
for all social evils as figures and facts
conclusively prove. l know that Johr
Kendrick Bangs has recently come out
with bang In favor of suffrage. HI
says he was converted to the cause
through Julia Ward Howe. He says II
is not fair to deprive such woman oil
the ballot while one Murphy of New
York, q corrupt political boss, has thai
sacred privilege. Mr.. Bangs argument
would be telling one II 1t was not fol
Murphy's wife. She votes. Her vote
offsets the vote of Mrs. Howe. vii
MRS. Murphy vote against her husbandi
Well, women are human. I'm mighty
glad they are. No, suffrage Is not {
remedy for all social evils. Here are {
few testimonies:
Judge Lindsay of Denver (still suf
gist):-"The women are as free OIL
the power of the Beast as the men are
and no freer. Their leaders in politics
are politicians. Women in politics art
human beings and they are unable t
free rs because they are not free them
selves. "-Everybody's Magazine, May
l191O.
"Where Is our adult probation law,
We are suffrage state. Massachuset.
is not, but they have an adult probation
law. Where Is our home finding society
We have suffrage, but our dependen
children are put in homes for dependen
children instead of being given the right
Of family ties. We are twenty year
behind Massachusetts, In spite OF sui
frage." From an address delivered at
Susan B. Anthony banquet in Denver
COL, 1915.
Mrs. R. @. Campbell of the Colorado
State Board for the Care of Depsnden
Children: 1--WE did believe, of course
in our hearts that women in public lif
would purify politics and would max
for higher moral and political standard
After twenty years we are forced to ad
NIT that human nature as displayed b,
women Is not different from that dis
played by men, and il the appeal ha,
been made on the ground of uplift o
, politics 1t would have been disproved b,
the facts"
Judge W. d. Smell of Tacoma, Wash
ington:-" favored Woman Suffrage IL
Washington and voted for it. But ! an
so greatly disappointed at the way it hs
worked out that would today welcom
an opportunity to vote for its with
drawsl; and I believe if 1t were resub
mitted to the people Of Washington, anc
every man and woman of voting az
were compelled to vote upon 1t, Woman
Suffrage would be defeated by an over
whelming majority. From the Boston
Post, March 81, 1915.
Mrs. Francis w. Goddard, one of Colo
radios most prominent and respected
women:-"For years I believed In Won
an Suffrage and have worked day in ant
day out for 1t. now see my mistake
The experiment is failure. 1t has dom
Colorado no good. It has done womel
no good. The best thing for both woult
be If tomorrow the ballot for womel