New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-11-01
An Appeal to the Anh-Suthogist
The Reasons Which Distinguished Sut Gaze an Old r"end 0' supporting
he Amendment Granting the Vote to The Women OF Nw 1ors
Ru President Jacob Gould SchWmon OF IorneH o"'0eS"s

into q uisapprehensio, regarding the cen.
.;m.rts Of the women of the state on Ia
question of woman suffrage. From the fac.
that majority Of nearly two HUNDRED
thousand men voted against woman suffrage
two years ago you draw the conclusion that
an equal majority Of women--indeed. larger
majority Of women-are to-day opposed tok
I do not understand this logic. And bes
to remind you that that amendment was VOTED
upon by the citizens Of the state along with
other constitutional amendments submitted
BY the Constitutional Convention presided
over by the Hon. Elihu Root, of which had
also tie honor of being member. Have yca
forgotten the significant fact that the amend.
nent in favor of woman suffrage received
larger vote than any other of the constitu.
tional amendments that were submitted 70
the voters at that time? II the sentiment
against all constitutional amendments had
not been so strong, if woman suffrage had
come before the voters as the only amend.
ment, IL is quite possible that it would have
been adopted
Women Who Want the Vote
However. the sentiment of the men who
voted on that proposal is no criterion Of the
attitude Of women themselves on the subject
the most specific information. Let me lay
the evidence before you. In order to answer
this very question large numbers Of the
supporters of the cause of woman suffrage
spent much time in canvassing as many
women as they were able 70 reach IN this
state and securing their views concerning
equal suffrage.
Notwithstanding the we'll known t.midity
of women in regard to making public state
ments of belief 1013,S00 women citizens Of
New York State twenty-one years or more Of
age signed the following statement: 81 be.
lieve the vote should be granted the women
Of New York State" These names are on
file at the headquarters of the New York
State Woman Suffrage party in New York
and are open to inspection.
What more precise information could be
asked than this? Here you have over
a million women definitely on record in favor
of woman suffrage in O state in which the
total number Of voters on any question, in
Guiding both those for and those against, has
never been greater than a million and three
quarters.
There is, however, another piece of evil
dence regarding the sentiment of women
which you may consider as still more con-
elusive. / refer to the sentiment Of the
women in the states in which equal suffrage
has already been granted them Now, it is an
indisputable and unchalenged fact that in
not one of those states would the women, af
ter experience, now consent to surrender the
right t, vote. | am willing to stake the whole
issue o. an experiment of that kind. Let the
women of New York State who are speaking
against suffrage try by their eloquence to IL
duce the women in the equal suffrage states
to renounce their enfranchisement. If they
succeed, / shall be silent But till they sue
coed | shall not cease to advocate cause
which is based alike on justice, common
sense and thoroughgoing democracy.