Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1918-06-14
BORAH WILL NOT VOTE
FOR SUFFRAGE Amendment
In Letter to S. D. Taylor the Senator States
Plainly Why He Cannot Support the Mea-
sure--Says It Will Pass the Senate.

every man. woman and child in Ida
no will know that am changing my
vote not because have changed my
mind but out of sheer political cow
ardice. They will know, because the
record is open and Ii is written over
and over in the Congressional Record
and in my letters, that | have given
mp what / have previously announced
as my conviction concerning a most
material matter simply to protect my
political interests at home. This is
too much to give for mere political
axpediency. If 1t hurts my party and
my party is unable to carry the load
that can be very easily arranged.
do not want to stand in the way of
party success and | shall not II it
seems that am doing so. There are
some things which to my mind
transcends party
Two Sides to Question.
Another thing, Mr. Taylor, / think
the good women OF my state overlook
the fact that there are two sides to
this question from the woman's
standpoint alone. Since ! took the
position / have with reference to this
matter ] have had thousands of let
ters and many many visitors from
the south, women who beg me not to
let this be imposed upon them at
this time Very many OF these wo-
men, in fact / think practically all
that have written or visited me are
in favor of woman suffrage so long as
it is left to the action of the states,
but they insist that to force IL upon
the south at this time is manifest
Injustice to the whole civic commu-
nifty of the south.
The race question in the south
makes II impossible to force this up
on the south without doing a most
signal injustice to the southern peo-
pie, and II IL is once forced upon
them there is no possible remedy for
IT, 1t is not like the enactment of a
statute which might be repealed by
1 bare majority. but IL enacted into
the fundamental law 1t can only be
repealed by three-fourths of the
states, and OF course there being only
IL or 15 southern states most mate
rally affected they never could Sc
cure It.
Protection OF Minority.
Now, republican government. II
understand 1t correctly. is organized
not alone to take care of the rights
OF the majority but also to protect
the rights of the minority. While the
minority has rights which IL wholly
disregarded the government is a
brutal despotism whatever form or
structure 1t may have. Suppose we
write this into the fundamental law,
Taylor, are you in favor of imposing
upon the south three and one-half
million unlettered. unframed negro
women voters. and do you think IL
such a thing is attempted by the
north it will result in anything else
than either a breakdown of large
communities in the south or else the
melting to riots. murder, etc. But
you say. of course, what the women
here say to me. that will not happen
because they will disfranchise the ne
gro women of the south as they dis
franchise the men. ] have no doubt
that is likely what would happen. In
other words, / am asked to help write
into the fundamental law that which
would be to a large portion of the
people OF the country a cowardly lie.
The north has sat still for 10 years
and witnessed the Acknowledgement
of the negroes of the south, and now
they want their representatives fo
write aother solemn clause into the
charter and sit still for 40 years or
interminably while the negro women
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