Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1915)
.i$5W!y3S,wflrj'w. 4" ' SEPTEMBER, 1915 The Commoner too emotional for the ballot. When Mr. Bryan put Wilson in nomination at Baltimore the demonstration last ed for nearly an hour before any one could be heard, and the tramping and marching and shouting resembled mat of a lunatic asylum. When Roosevelt was put in nomination at Chicago this record was more than surpassed. I might mention many other instances, i am not condemn ing the enthusiasm of the men on ihuse occasions. But I wish to say mat the women never equaled such emotional displays as those. Third. It has been said seriously that if women are allowed to vote they will vote for the handsomest man. I now understand why some politicians are opposed to women vot ing. fourth. It is urged that the vote is not necessary for women, because they vote through their husbands. But do husbands always vote the views of -their wives? If they did, we would have a cleaner government and cleaner towns everywhere. We would have had prohibition long ago and have had it enforced. We would have seen other evils disappear which are now tolerated, though for bidden by law. Who casts the vote that expresses the views of the drunkard's wife? Then there are in the United States 8,000,000 of adult women who have not chosen to marry. What man casts the ballot expressing the views of those 8,000, 000? Then there are several millions of men who have no wives. What woman's views do they vote? Fifth. It is said that ballots are a substitute for muskets, and there fore women have no right to vote. More than one-half of the men who have a right to vote would be re jected by any recruiting office in the world. And, on the other hand, one half of the men who fight are under 21 and have no right to vote. So those who carry muskets and those who vote are by no means the same element. Besides, if the women do not bear arms, they raise the soldiers who do carry the muskets, and should have a voice in saying whether there should bo war or not. If the women vote, they will soon abolish war and its villainies as they are abolishing liquor and child labor and other in iquities. Sixth. It is said that woman's sphere is her home, and that she can not leave th children to vote. It will not take on an average more than a half hour once in two years for a woman to cast her ballot, and if she is so overwhelmed by her du ties that she can not get that much leisure, she certainly needs the bal lot badly. We might as well say that a man's sphere is his store, his office, his workshop, and following the plow, and that he can not neglect these things to cast a ballot. That was the argument in old times, and the class with leisure and wealth as sumed the control of the government and opposed manhood suffrage upon the identical ground now urged against woman's suffrage that the masses had to make a living and were not competent to aid in governing. Seventh. It is said that women have no experience in politics. Their, brothers when they become 21 have hud no experience, bu't -they are at once admitted to the ballot. Girls when they become 21 are in exactly the same state of preparation for tak ing a part in the government which i3 to tax them and their property and to pass laws governing their con duct. Eighth. It is said that there is too much filth and mire in politics, and women should not be exposed to it. If there is filth and mire in politics, the mn put it 'here, for they alone have been running the business. And it is high time we gave the women a chance at housecleaning. This is ex- 21 actly what has happened in suffrage states. The women have caused the polling places to be removed from the barrooms and placed in decent surroundings, and then they have proceeded to remove the barrooms themselves out of the community. Ninth. A very popular opposition argument at one time iii the south was that to permit the women to vote would be to allow the negro women to vote. As the grandfather clause would apply to negro women equally with negro men, there is no reason to believe that the "chivalry" will be less able to keep the negro cooks from the polls than they have been in keeping the husbands of the negro cooks from voting. They can not bo chivalrous if they can do less for their wives and daughters than they have done for themselves. Besides. they are only some 125,000 adult ne gro women in North Carolina, and 275,000 adult white women. The votes of the white women, therefore will be 25,000 more than those of the negro women and of the negro men combined, if the latter should be re admitted to the suffrage by a decision of the United States supreme court under the grandfather clause. In deed, if the latter event should hap pen, the votes of the white women will be necessary to maintain white supremacy. I do not say that all the white women will vote the democratic ticket. Equal suffrage has never pro ceeded along party lines, and the women would scorn the suffrage if they were not free to vote for what measure and parties they saw fit. But I do say that the vote of the white women will be solid as one woman in maintenance of the integrity of the white race and of the right of their children to control this country. Tenth. It is said that if the wo men vote some bad women will vote. Menyhave never been disfranchised because there are some bad men who will vote. And the proportion of bad men is very far greater than that of bad women. The records of your courts and jails will demonstrate that. Eleventh. There are ,those who say that women do not want to vote. The best proof of this is that they have already achieved the ballot in so many states and countries and have made such wonderful progress as I have told you, in the last thirty days. In the states and countries where they vote about the same per centage of men and women vote. In some states equal suffrage was car ried on the first trial at the ballot box. In some states it was voted on twice before they got it. In others three times, and in Oregon it was only carried when it was submitted to the ballot box for the sixth time, for you will remember that only the men vote on the matter. Wherever the measure has been beaten, the next morning the women have reor ganized their lines and started a new campaign. After the recent defeat of the measure in Ohio at the last election a New York newspaper said that the measure had been over whelmingly defeated in Ohio. The editor of the Springfield Republican in Massachusetts, with more experi ence, said that that was Impossible, because if an earthquake had shaken Ohio up so that no more ground was left than the size of a cart-wheel the women would be organizing on it the next morning for equal suffrage. When a man volunteers to say that the women do not want the suffrage it reminds me of an instance that took place down here in Pamlico at a wedding. When the preacher got to that part where he asked the wo man "Will you take this man to be your wedded husband?" etc., the re sponse came in a deep masculine voice, "I will." Thinking that there was some mistake, he repeated the question, and there was the same response in bass. Thereupon a little fellow in front, seeing the embarrass ment, shouted to the preacher, "Par son, she is deef, and 1 am answering for her." Thesj men scorn to thlnjc that tho women are deaf and de ficient. Twelfth. It is said that politics will degrade women. It has not had that effect in any state, county or town that has ever tried it. It it had, the movement would not continue to grow. Suffrage has not degraded the men, but it has elevated and broad ened them. It will have exactly tho same effect on tho women with this addition, that the women will broad en and eievato politics. SOME REASONS WHY Only a few words now as to why suffrage for women is Just and is needed. 1. Wo fought tho revolutionary war upon tho principle that there should be no taxation without repre sentation. Our government is found ed upon that proposition. The wo men in North Carolina own probably one-third of its property. Whatever share they own be it little or more, is taxed; yet they are denied the right of any voice in saying how much should bo taken from them for taxes and for what purposes It should be spent. Mr. Jefferson said that it was "incomprehensible that govern ment should refuse the ballot to the most intelligent women while giving it to tho most besotted and ignorant i men. 2. Tho women boar tho burdens of government even mere than the men. If thero Is lack of sanitation, tholr chlUrcn miff or and die. If public morals aro not guarded, th evils fall upon tholr sons. If war consume tho youth of the land, they suffer moro than tho fathom. They have oven moro interest in good gov ernment and in preventing bad gov ernment than tho men. They arc aa Intelligent and ns patriotic as the men. It will add to tho stability of tho government to give them a share in its control. 3. Mr. Lincoln In his celebrated Gettysburg speech said that thin is a. "government of tho people, by the people, and for tho people," Tho United States supremo court has sol emnly decided that women aro peo ple. Wo knew It beforo tho court told us so. Yet wo have a govern ment of all the people, for all the people, but by half tho people. No wondor Mr. Lincoln said that it was unjust to exclude tho women from tho suffrage. 4. There aro those who aro afraid that tho women will seek office and thereby crowd out the men. But that has not been the experience where equal suffrage obtains. As a rule, they do not seek office. They have moro se.nso than men in this regard, as well as In some others. Their In terest Is moro in obtaining good gov- M iMiro iiMt i ESTEY PIANOS For more than 69 years the name ESTEY has stood for merit in the manufacture of musical instruments. An ESTEY in your home is a testimonial to your good judgment ESTEY PIANO CO. Executive Office and Salesrooms 23 West 42nd Street New York City 1 t c, i Ao HftMH-t-i