Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-02-02

cisco paper favorable to suffrage that
| at the election in California all the
women from Barbary Coast dance halls
and inmates of houses on Commercial
| srteet were taken to the polls and from
remarks made at the polls it appeared
that those women voting against Pro-
hibition were in the majority. A Pa
cine coast liquor paper had declared,
he said, that liquor interests have
nothing to fear from womens votes.
He cited an instance of fragrant cleo
| ton fraud under the leadership Of a
woman politician in Colorado in 1904
OF another argument. he said: This
is not something l read or heard; it's
something somebody told my wife"
His remark was greeted with loud
laughter from the suffrage side. Turn
ing to the committee he said: There
MIR. Chairman, 1 thought I'd get there.
| never failed yet in legislative hear
ing to demonstrate that women have
not the power to follow a reasonable
argument"
would you ask those nearest and
dearest to go into the hurry burly of
political life when you realize what it
means?' he asked the committee. He
said he would rest his whole case upon
the committees inquiring of the so
women near them whether they want
ed to vote. The suffrage question is
part Of the program of the feminist
movement, which means the destruc-
ton of the family and the glorifcation
OF the family, he declared
Il Women should not be given the priv
llnpa of tho n ha <bax
are ready to undertake it's duties of
jury service, police service and mill
tary service. Should the question of
/ peace or war be settled by those who
have to fight or by those who can re-
main safely at home? There are two
I functions in society-the function of
making the home and the function Of
fighting to protect the home and he
declared they can never be fused
Mrs. Deborah Knox Livingston
In rebuttal Mrs. Livingston said she
was convinced that the very best ar
gument for granting the suffrage to
women are usually given by the oppo-
nents to suffrage. In reply to an anti
suffrage speaker who had said women
were not strong enough for this right
she asked what strength would be re-
quired to deposit a ballot.
Exhibiting a suffrage map as the
strongest argument in favor of suffrage
she asked if all the evils of which the
opposition had spoken were to follow
suffrage why Colorado had followed
Wyoming and later had been followed
by Idaho and Utah and all the rest
in granting suffrage to women.
The anti suffragists, she said, had
brought to the attention Of the COM
mittee that there were bad women as
well as good women. IF you have very
many more men than women in the
penitentiary and very many more
women than men in the churches why
should you fear the ballots of the bad
women of Maine?" she asked.
Comparison of a prohibition map
and suffrage map, she said. would
show that all the suffrage states ex
! cept one or two are also prohibition
states. Concerning the claim that Wy
oming with 40 years of suffrage was
still wet she said that in Wyoming
are two men voters to every woman
voter, also that bill for referring pro-
hibition to the people has just passed
tne wyoming Legislature uHdHiiiiouS-
ly.
I'VE come as Maine women and
Maine men to ask that you shall con-
slider this resolution. / speak for the
mothers of Maine. | speak for the
wives of Maine. If we could be ade
quately represented by our men folks
we would not be here but it is because
they find it difficult to have one ballot
represent the whole family that we are
here.
I'VE believe that we are worthy of
your consideration, we rest the case
with you, believing that in justice, in
fairness, the resolve will be reported
favorably and that next September the
women of Maine will cease to have any
further need for troubling the Legisla-
ture on this subject"