Year: 1867

dlVlduallze, 10 make every individual
man vote, was preposterous and mis-,
cbievons. Z He was in peck of trouble
"a whole bushel of trouble, 10 the arti-
Gle rolling through them as so many
specks Of charcoal on blank leaf of pa.
per. The family was once the unit in
the old patriarcba aud Roman day;
but. the true distinction between that
civilization and modern ciVilization is
this-that now the Individual isthe unit
of society, and not the family, and that
there can be no greaterblunder in phil
osophic statement than to hold anything
else in our day. Do we hear in our
laws anything of the familya Notla
word, You cannot find a word of ref
erence in which the family appears be-
fore the law. In thearmX ID taxation,
it is per capita; in the householder, it is
the citizen; in military servicey in
drafts, all elements of political power
are conferred equally on the citizen,
never on the family. And this Just
brings me to consider an objection that
is made in a religious journal. If wo-
men, it is said, are to,be thrust forward.
into all the places that men occupy, they
must perform all the functions that men
perform she must be a, fireman, and
soldier be drafted into the militia, and
fight. Now, stop moment Every
body don't fight zinc time of war
Laughter. It-is understood that there
are some men better fitted for that than
others. It's one of the functions that
can be deputized; and the State recog-
nizes the principle that men over As are
not to be called upon until the lower
grade of the levies is exhausted; only
those that are under certain age, and
those best fitted, are first called upon.
If it is said that women ought to do
military duty, whenever tits under
stood that in any community women
will fight better than men, l say-Let
'em goitl Applause and laughter. !
But if they are better fitted to stay at
home, and men are better fitted to go to
camp, this is a foolish objection. But,
it is said, participation in these public
matters would destroy domesticity, and


set women running hither and thither.
Does it set men running hither and
thitherY Think awoman's head is fil-
! ly as strong as that of a mans; and if
l am correct judge, it is not the women
that have a good deal in their heads
that run here and there; it is those that
have got but little, and the way to bal
ance them is to put more fhere-more
thought, more responsibility, more NOR
al sense, more education, more duty.
That viii steady them But it is said
if women did vote they would vote just
as their husbands and fathers told them
to- All! is that the case in your fam
ily [ Laughter ALLOW me to con-
graduate you. Laughter and APP
plause / think | can answer this by
stating the next objection. If women
voted, they would split the family up
with quarrels. Well now bothiof these
can't be true. If1they voted just as
their fathers, and brothers,an hus-
bands told them, there would be unity
and if there should be quarrels, it would
be because they would not all vote
blindly. Now, neither of them is true.
Itwould be in matters of politics Just
as it is now in matters of religion. AS
a general thing, families cohere aDd go
together to the same church and reli-
gion. Now and then there is differ
ence which is settled by ygoOd sense and
good feeling; and they consent, the one
to 90 one way, and the other the other.
Ordinarily the whole family go togeth-
er. Now and then there will be a case
of quarrel, if not of animosity but in
80 cases out Of 100, they would agree to
differ But, says one, if aman votes,
and woman votes in the same way,
that is just the same thing over again.
Well, that is true. But suppose it was
a man whose vote was Influenced by
another man on the other side of the
street. Is it not as we'll for womanito
vote as her husband does as it is for me
to be guided in my vote by the vote Of
somebody else Votes don't have any
sex in them when they are counted.
The woman's votei is just as NO as
mans vote, and just as YES, when it
\ goes into the ballot-box. But it is said,


why not let a woman influence her son
or her husband, and let them vote for
herr Ha! Then you will admit that
she has right to think on the subject,


That is the most mischievous part OF
parties-giyiDg up her mind, her choice,
70 another, She has right to lead the


men, but must not follow them to the
1 ballot-box She has right to lead her
husbands willgobut the mere fact of put
4 ting the ballot IN the box is much more
| fiagraut.arA And say some, 1t is impossi-
| bic for them to vote in places where the


ballots are usually cast. That is the
very reason / want them to vote, be-
cause want to vote for once in my life
in decent place. Laughter and ap-
\ plause. | But why should woman
| who is competent to influence her son


and her husband not be competent to
vote herselfl Look at it, You say to
| your lawyer, "Let me vote for you"
and he says TO the mechanic, "Let me
vote for you."' The rich man says to the
i moor man. It is a great deal better for