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The Commoner
-VOL. 15, NO. 9,
Judge Clark on Equal Suffrage
Address of Chief Justice Walter
Clark, of tho North Carolina Supremo
Court, boforo tho Equal Suffrage
league, Greensboro, N. C, February
22, 1916.
Ladies and Follow Citizens: '
It will not bo long boforo it shall
bo Budlciont in North Carolina, as
well as olsowhoro, to say simply, "fel
low citizons." It is a pleasure, al
ways, to come to Greensboro. Your
peoplo aro progressive and open
minded. You are willing to hoar
both sides of any proposition and
then give your voice to the side that
seems to bo tho bettor cause. You
stand for tho betterment of condi
tions, and form your opinions only af
ter hearing what can bo said for and
against any measure. In short, this
town is not fossilized. Its people be
long to tho twentieth century. Ono
of tho leaders down at Raleigh in tho
light to confer equal suffrago and
just rights upon women is a distin
guished son of your town Senator
Hobgood. Ho had the courage to
stand for tho right, and will be heard
from, in the years to come, as a lead
er. Wo havo heard much of tho "sub
merged tenth." I am hero to say a
word for justice to the "disfranchised
half." Whon our constitution was
formed at Halifax in 1776 and at
Philadelphia in 1787 representative
government was new. For thousands
of years, down to that time, tho peo
plo had not governed themselves, but
they had been governed by whatever
power hold tho sword. Only a partial
experiment had been made in a few
cities like Athens and Homo, where
corruption and 'military violence had
dominated, and for three or four
centuries the landed interests in
-JT"
FRESH AT NIGHT
If Ono Uses tho Right Kind of Food
If by proper selection of food one
can feel strong and fresh at tho end
of a day's work, it is worth while to
know tho kind of food that will pro
duco this result.
A school teacher out in Kans. says
in this connection:
"At the time I commenced the use
of Grape-Nuts my health was so poor
that I thought I would have to givo
up my work altogether. I was rap
idly losing in weight, had little ap
petite, was nervous and . sleepless,
and experienced, almost constantly;
a ieenng or exhaustion,
"I tried various remedies without
good results; then I deterjiiined to
give particular attention to, my food,
and have learned something of the
properties of Grape-Nuts for rebuild
ing body, brain and nerves.
"Since using Grape-Nuts I have
made a constant and rapid improve
ment in health, in spite of tho fact
that all this timo I have been en
gaged in strenuous and exacting
work.
"I havo gained twelve pounds in
weight and have a good appetite, my
nerves are steady and I sleep sound.
I have such strength and reserve
force that I feel almost as strong
and fresh at tho close of a day's
Work as at tho beginning.
"Before using Grape-Nuts I was
.troubled much with weak eyes but
as my vitality increased the eyes be
came stronger.
"I never heard of another food as
nutritious and economical as Grape
Nuts." ; "There's a Reason."
Name givon by Postum Co., Battle
Creek, Mich.
" Ever read tho above letter? A new
oe appears from timo to time. They
are genuine, true, and full of human
jiktereet. v
Great Britain had some voice in tho
government checked, however, by
corruption and intrigue.
They aro poor students of history
who think that in 1776 wo reached a
democratic form of government, as
wo now understand popular govern
ment. Our state constitution at Hal
ifax allowed the manhood of the state
to vote only for the lower house of
tho legislature. The senate was
chosen only by voters who owned 50
acres of land or more. The judges
were elected by the legislature for
life, and tho governor and the other
state officers were also elected by the
general assembly, which body chose
tho magistrates, who in turn chose the
sheriff and other co.nty officers except
the clerk of the court, who was ap
pointed by the judges for life. Prop
erty was evidently afraid of manhood
suffrage, and checked it on all sides
so as to make it merely a delusion.
It was GO years before the people
were allowed to vote for governor;
nearly 80 years passed before they
woro allowed to vote for state sen
ators, and 92 years before they were
allowed to vote for judges.
In tho federal constitution formed
at Philadelphia then was the same
discrimination. The people were en
trusted with the election of only one
sixth of the government, i.e., with
one-half of the legislative depart
ment the lower house of congress
while the senate was made,elective.
at second hand through state legis
latures, and it took us 115 years to
acquire for the people the right to
elect United States senators. Last
year was the first time the people of
North Carolina over had that priv
ilege. Tho president was made elec
tive at third hand by electors to be
chosen by the state legislature. But
after the lapse of 40 or 50 years the
peoplo, without any constitutional
amendment, forced the choice of
electors to be made at the ballot box,
with the. result that they became
mere figureheads, and we thus
achieved practically the election of
the president by the people con
trary to the evident intention of the
constitution. The third department
of the government the judges
were made appointive at fourth hand
by tho president, who was intended
to be chosen at third hand by the
electors selected by the legislatures
and subject to confirmation by a sen
ate chosen at second, hand, and they
were given life tenures, to be beyond
any consideration of the popular
will. The last matter still remains
in that archaic state. The United
States judges are not yet made elec
tive by the people, and, still hold for
life, though Mr. Jefferson one hun
dred years ago contended that they
should be mado elective and serve
for a term of years.
I have thus instanced the growth
of manhood suffrage, first to point
out to you that this movement for
suffrago to the women is the logical
outgrowth of this great democratic
movement to place the government
in the hands of the people, and, sec
ondly, to point out that while men
have been slow in achieving their own
emancipation, and that manhood suf
frage is still denied as to one-third
of the federal government. tho
choice of the judiciary this move
ment for tho enfranchisement of the
women has progressed far mnm vnn.
indly. Beginning some 40 years ago
and practically becoming active only
in the last 15 years, it has already
become a part of the constitution in
twelve great states of this country
and ono territory, and covers 49 per
cent of the area of tho continental
United States. Already one-fourth t
the United States senators, one-sixth
or the house or representatives, and
one-fifth of the presidential electors
are chosen by states in which -women
havo equal suffrage with the men.
MOVEMENT ACQUIRES SPEED
In the last thirty days the move
ment has acquired accelerated speed.
A constitutional amendment to con
fer equal suffrage has passed the New
York legislature by a unanimous vote
in both houses. One man spoke
against it, but there his obstinacy
failed and he voted for the measure.
The equal suffrage amendment has
passed also by overwhelming major
ities in the legislatures of Massachu
setts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Iowa, South Dakota, West Virginia,
Tennessee, and Arkansas. It passed
one house in Maine, but lacked one
vote of the necessary two-thirds in
the other house, and in Texas. It is
pending in several other states. All
this has happened in tho last thirty
days. North Carolina's is the only
legislature this year that so far has
refused to allow the people to vote
upon the question.
Besides tho above progress, there
are some twenty other states in the
union, in addition to the twelve, that
have full suffrage, in which the wo
men have municipal suffrage or vote
for school officers and on local tax
assessments.
The movement, too, is world-wide.
The women have equal suffrage with,
the men in Denmark, Iceland, Nor
way, Sweden, and Finland in the
north of Europe, and in the Union of
Australia and in all its states and in
New Zealand. In "addition, the wo
men have municipal suffrage in all
the provinces of Canada (a country
territorially as largo as the United
States) and in England, Scotland,
Ireland and Wales. Indeed, in the
British Isles the women vote for ev
erything, and aro eligible for every
office, except member of parliament,
and they aro sure to get that at the
first parliament held after the var
closes. This is practically agreed
upon.
NO MERE FAD
A movement that is thus world
wide in its scope and which is moving
onward with accelerated speed is no
mere fad, but has its foundation in
the justice of the demand and in the
need for the suffrage based on econ-
uimu causes, n nas been proven ben
eficial in the countries and states
which have adopted it.
Though formerly suffrage was
based upon property and other con
siderations, tho present constitution
of North Carolina recognizes that all
adults, native born or naturalized,
are entitled to it except those who
aro mentally or morally deficient.
Let us examine the clause in our con
stitution on suffrage. It admits to
the ballot all adults who .'-are native
born or naturalized, except four
classes. What are these classes that
aro aisquanneay They are: (1) Idiots
and lunatics because they ar&inent
ally defective. (2) Convicts be
cause they are moral defectives. (3)
Illiterates unless their grandfathers
could vote because, as a class, ne
groes are deemed mentally and mor
ally unfit; and (4) Women.
Are the mothers, the wives, sis
,an du&hters t the white men
of North Carolina disfranchised be
cause they are morally defective or
because they are mentally defective?
Unless thev are. thov iio1u
right to vote as the men, and are as
competent to exercise the right of
mSSf0' ?h?Y can not be deemed
morally defective, for the records of
our courts, our jails, and state pris-
T fM7 at there are son twenty
or thirty times as many men tried
and convicted of crime as women
Are they mentally defective? That
is the only remaining ground which
can be urged. Judging by the evasive
and often iiiniHnni .?!? aBlve.
1 against elual sirEo b7 BpeSs
Who bestow exacrerRmtofi ,.
rights, this must be the belief 5
many of the opponents. I nave nev2
KiobnUt8q0uareTy " T Jtltcd
thcfiESff bounty Yna8an,a2f
mobile and stopped at a country Xt"
one Saturday afternoon, where iZl
were several men, some of nEom
knew me, and the subject of equS
suffrage was mentioned. A raCJ
dilapidated specimen of a man wim
was whittling a dry-goods box, gnoko
up and said: "Weemen ain't fitteii to
vote. They ain't got no sinse. t
knows 'em." I told Mm he was en
titled to the credit of having tho
courage M his convictions, and if hj3
statement was correct, the women
ought not to vote; that ho was the
only man I had ever heard give a rea
son for opposing equal suffrage; bur
that when he said women had no
sense he reminded me of a man from
the "dark corner of Wake" (as wo
call it), who came down to Raleigh
to see Ringling's circus. It was the
nrst one he had seen, and with round
eyed wonder he looked at the camels
elephants, lions, and tigers. But he
did not notice one animal lying down
in tho corner chewing some hay.
Presently the giraffe began to get up
and unfold himself until his head
touched the tent pole. The country
man staggered back and said: "They
ain't no sich animal!" And I told
him that when a man said that the
women did not have at least as much
sense as the men, I would say to him,
"They ain't no sich animal!"
THE ELEMENTS OF OPPOSITION
The elements that really oppose
woman's suffrage are: (1) The liquor
interests, who know that women are
in earnest in opposing their business.
Votes of the women at the last elec
tion carried the only four states that
voted for prohibition, atid every one
knows that in all the other states
that have prohibition their indirect
influence has been the great motive
power for prohibition. If they had
the ballot they. would have voted li
quor out of all the states long since.
(2) The political, machines aro op
posed to equal suffrage, for whore
they have the men rounded up they
fear to loso their control, for they
know that they can not fool the wo
men as readily. Then there is the
vice trust and those who make their
profit by handling child labor and by
oppressing the women in sweat shops,
and all those who are opposed to a
cleaning up, of the community moral
ly and physically.
I do not mean to say, by any
means, that . U who aro opposed
to woman's suffrage belong to one or
more of these classes. This would he
untrue ana unjust. The largest num
ber of those who oppose the suffrage
do not belong to these classes; hut
the classes I name are those pecuni
arily interested in opposing tho ad
mission of women to the suffrage.
SOME OF THE OBJECTIONS
I will mention briefly some of the
objections that are made to this
movement:
First. It is said that it is a fad
and a mere temporary delusion. Tho
sketch I have given of what equal
suffrage has achieved in the last fif
teen years throughout the world and
the marvelous progress that has been
made in the last thirty days is a suffi
cient answer to this. No movement
unless based upon the fundamental
economic needs of the age could make
such world-wide and irresistible pro
gress. If it were a fad, it would bo
repealed when experience had dem
onstrated that it was injurious or
needless. But It has not been re
pealed .anywhere, and, on the con
trary, wherever it has been tried n
has spread to the adjoining states.
Second. It is said that women are
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