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The Commoner
VOL. 16, NO. 9
6
All the Presumptions Favor Woman Suffrage
Tho man who opposes the extension of suffrage
to women on equal terms with men, has upon
him tho burden of proof to show why woman,
who has lived up to every othor responsibility,
could not bo expected to live up to tho respon
sibility that rests upon tho voter. Fivo undis
puted facts,, among many, may bo mentioned,
upon each of which rests a presumption in fa
vor of woman's capacity for suffrage.
First Man manifests his confidence in wo
man when ho gives himself to hor. From tho
tirao of his marriage sho, more than anyone else,
yes, moro than all others, influences his happi
noss and his success. If man is willing to put
his own happiness and success in tho Hooping of
'a woman it would seem to raise a presumption
in favor of hor capacity for suffrage, unless ho
regards tho ballot as moro important than him
solf, or moro difllcult to handlo wisely.
Second Man manifests his confidence in wo
man whon tho father turns over to tho mother
tho physical, mental, and moral development of
tho childron. If woman can safoly bo entrusted
with tho body and tho mind and tho soul of a
child, docs it not raiso a presumption that sho
can bo trustod with tho ballot?
Third Tho wifo is tho husband's partner in
tho finances of tho family and tho more fully
she is taken into partnership, tho better, as a
rulo, are tho family finances managed. If a man
can trust his wife as a partner in family affairs,
does it not raiso a presumption that sho is worthy
to bo trustod as his partner in politics?
Fourth Most of tho men who voto never have
gone boyond tho eighth grade of tho common
school, and therefore all that they have ever
learned from books on tho science of govern
ment thoy havo learned from women teachers,
since nearly all tho teachers in the graded
schools aro women. .Question If women know
enough to teach men all thoy ever know of the
science of government from books, do they not
know enough to voto themselves?
Fifth Tho test of a political theory is in ex
perience under it when tried. Measured by this
test, woman's suffrage is successful. No nation
that has ever tried it has gone back to manhood
monopoly of tho ballot. No state that has ever
adopted it has ever abandoned it. Why not? It
is not everything that is tried in politics that
succeeds on tho first trial. Take the tariff for
instance it has been a matter of discussion for
moro than a century, and high tariff and the low
tariff each had its ebb and flow. Whenever
tho tariff is raised there is always a party trying
to lower it; whenever the tariff is lowered, there
is always a party trying to raise it. Whether it
is put high or put low, it will not stay put any
where. It is a comfort to find something which,
when you get it, you have it and do not have to
fight to retain it. The suffrage revolution never
turns backward. There is not only no return,
but there is no agitation for a return.
If woman's suffrage is, as somo claim to think,
a menace to tho home, why have not tho women
in suffrage states organized for the protection of
the homes against this "menace"? When in all
history have women failed to fight anything
that they believed a menace to the home?
And what about the men in the suffrage states?
Would they not be quick to advocate the aboli
tion of woman's suffrage if, in practice, they
found it a menace to the home? Why do they,
after trial, support woman's suffrage? Will any
one say that these men lack intelligence to un
derstand the effect of woman's suffrage? Or do
thoy recognize it as a menace and lack the cour-1
ago to oppose it?
The home is safe in the hands of woman, and
tho ballot increases her power to defend the
homo and to protect the children, her special
care. W. J. BRYAN.
Three Good Things
Undor tho abovo heading one of the country
newspapers (tho namo has been forgotten) con
tained tlio following editorial with roferonce to
threo subjects now attracting first importance:
"Edgar Howard, the democratic nominee for
lieutenant-governor, is speaking to Nebraska
audiences in a language which they understand,
and about things in which every Nebraskan is
vitally and intensoly interested.
Howard takes tho position that the waters
in the creeks and rivers of Nebraska belong to
tho whole people, and should not be alienated
to the private profit of any person or corpora
tion. Ho advocates legislation (a constitutional
amendment, if necessary) which will enable the
people to form districts and construct plants for
the generation of electricity, so that tho homes
and barns of farmers may bo lighted by elec
tricity, as well as the homes and business
houses in tho towns and cities. Edgar Howard
declares that competent civil engineers have
told him that the waters in Nebraska creeks and
rivers will, if properly hamosscd, produce elec
tric current at a cost so low that it will not bo
necessary or desirable to burn a pound of coal
in this state, and that there would be sufficient
of the current to heat and light every building
in tho state, turn all the machinery wheels i
factory and on farms, and cook all tho food for
all tho people. If any of the politicians have
any doubt about tho popularity of this effort to
preserve to the whole people this precious Ne
braska asset of regularly flowing waters in
creeks, and rlvors, that doubt will bo removed
if they shall attend any of the public meetings
which jEdgar Howard mav address and note the
satisfaction with which tho peQplo hear his
wordSj
"Another popular subject in tho Howard
speeches is tho warehouse subject. For several
years Edgar Howard has advocated a warehouse
law, modeled upon the principle of tho bank
guarantee law. He contends that if we had been
fortunate to have such a law . on the books
in Nebraska the growors of wheat could
have slaved more than a million dollars during
tho post sixtv days. Thousands of Nebraska
farmers hurried their wheat from tho shock to
tho thresher and from tho thresher to market,
simply because they did not havo any place to
store it. Because of this scarcity of storage many
farmers were compelled to sell wheat just at
a time when the big speculators wanted them to
dispose of it, and at a price far below its actual
worth. Howard believes his plan for a ware
house law will enable the farmer to hold his
wheat until he gets ready to sell, and not always
be, compelled to sell when the grain speculators
want him to sell. Howard does not claim any
patent on his plan for such a warehouse system,
although he is quite generally regarded as the
father of the plan. But certain it is that the
plan is very popular. At the close of his two
speeches in this county many farmers waited to
shake hands with the speaker and to tell him
that they fully endorsed the plan.
"The third subject which Edgar Howard is
making popular among Nebraska people is his
proposed law to establish a maximum charge
for 'long-distance' telephone messages in this
state. Ho calls the present tolls nothing less
than highway robbery. He wants the new max
imum telephone toll law to be just like our
present maximum telegraph toll law. A man
can send a telegraph message anywhere in Ne
braska for 25 cents. But the monster corpora
tion which controls the toll telephone lines in
this state demands a fee as high as $2.50 and
more for, a three-minute telephone message be
tween some towns. Howard proposes that the
maximum telephone toll for a three-minute talk
shall be limited by law. He says 25 cents may
not be enough to enable the telephone company
to pay present expenses, but he will insist that
the rate come down as near to that sum as pos
sible, and still allow the company to pay its
telephone girls a minimum salary of fifty dollars
a month. Howard says that present high prices
make necessary a salary of at least fifty dollars
a month for all telephone girls, because thev
can not buy proper food and clothes for less
money. It was interesting to watch the big pic
nic crowd when Howard was talking about tele
phone robbery. Nearly every family in Nebraska
lms at some time or other been robbed by the
bis company which handles the long-distance
tolenlione business, and every time the speaker
won Id point out some of the meanest features
of the telephone robbery you could see many
heads nodding approval. y
"These three things which Erljrar Howard ft
preaching are the three live subjects in S
present campaign. Neither tho republican no?'
tho democratic state platforms nav anvth"
about tho legislation which Howard proposes
Indeed he does not claim that either is a n
measure. In hia address here he extend y
earnest invitation to our county legislative Lm
inees, both democrats and republicans to it
him in advocating these things so much neede!
in Nebraska, and in our judgment all our Z
lative. nominess in this senatorial district win
soon be talking favorably about the leKiBlaHm,
of which Edgar Howard is regarded is?,?
original promoter." uie
A SUGGESTION
The following is a copy of a letter that ha
been sent to the democratic national committeo
by a prominent democrat of Kansas:
Kingman, Kansas, Aug. 23 1916
The Democratic National Committee,
New York, 30 East 42nd St.
Gentlemen:
lihavo just perused the last issue of The
Commoner, Mr. Bryan's monthly, and I beg to
commend it to the consideration of the National
committee.
I believe a few hundred thousand of this edi
tion, or, a similar special edition distributed
among the voters in a few of the doubtful states
of the middle west, would do more good than
any other literature that could be sent out. I
handed my copy of The Commoner to a voter in
Kingman, and it has been going the rounds for
several days. I have heard more favorable com
ments from various parties as a result of read
ing this issue than from any other source.
Whatever opinion the east may entertain to
ward Mr. Bryan, we of the middle west know
him to be the greatest power for democracy than
any other in the nation.
I am sure satisfactory arrangements can be
made with the publishers for a few hundred
thousand copies of The Commoner as reasonable
as for other literature.
I am personally very much interested in the
outcome of the election this fall, and I know
that people will read this paper if they get hold
of it, for I have tried the experiment out fully.
I would be pleased and honored to hear from
the committee.
Comptroller John Skelton -Williams is a late,
target for the republican attack. The letter sent
out from national headquarters says that "Wil
liams has used his power as comptroller to per
secute the national banks, almost ruining some
of them, and in this course he has continuously
enjoyed the backing of McAdoo and Wilson."
The national bankers' idea of persecution is to
make them obey tire spirit as well as the letter
of the law, and this policy "of Mr. Williams is so
decided a change from the republican way that
it is unpalatable. It is safe to predict that Mr.
Williams will not step out of office into the pres
idency of some great metropolitan bank, the
usual procedure of his republican predecessors.
Senator Beveridge, when a member of the
United States senate, fought in vain for suffi
cient aid to get a child labor bill passed. He
obtained neither help nor sympathy from his re
publican colleagues or the republican president.
This failure to enlist his party support was one
of the reasons why the senator left the repub
licans and joined the progressives. A democratic
senate, through timely aid given by President
Wilson, has passed the bill. Do these facts con
stitute any appeal to the former senator?
A stock speculator with sufficient securities in
his hands has been able for years to secure from
the banks at a low rate of interest the money
with which to conduct his gambling. It remained
for the democratic administration to open for
the honorable operations of the farmers of the
country the vast reservoir of cash and credit tniu
republicans barred them from for years.
THE PENITENTIARY ARGUMENT
The voter needs, above all other things, intel
ligence and morality; do women lack either .
Examine the records of the penitentiaries ana
you will find that the men are in an overwhelm
ing majority in--every penitentiary of the ian.
More than that-i-you will not a find a peirten
tlary in the civilised world where women are m
the majority. But go to church, and you wu
find women in tli'd majority there.
Here are the Da'dtsvhow do you explain tnen
If women have setae enough to keep out ot in
penitentiary amVfnoTality enough to go to churui
who will say that women lack the intelligence
and morality necessary to use the ballot w.seiy.
W.' J. BRYAN.