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About The new Northwest. (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 1880)
t -,-: FHES RrEECU, FWEE PBKSS, FKEB PBOPLK. VOLUME X.--2f0.r Sr TOUTLANi), OREGONY THURSpAY, OCTORER 14, IH. rhiti Yea it $3 bo. . '. " ' 'Y" 'j ... . s - r. . - ! , - ffttr :A3r -Ay-vy - f : A- A SIGNAL' TRIUMPH. APOPTIOX OP A WOXAX SUFFRAGE RESOLUTION . BV BOTH BRANCHES OF THE. ORE-. - " .; . gftjy LEGISLATURE. ' ' ITlf Or THE MEMBER FKESKST WAHSllT A ijlAJORITV Or THE EXTIRE HOUSE. SENATE. Promptly'arthe appointed hoar' (2 o'clock p. Mr rf OctolnT 5thXthOivgln Suiemet to consider the resolution for submitting the lUifrancTilsehienT of women to lie decision of the voters of the State. In two minutes after the-calling' of the roll, Miv Fulton of Clatsop, who had Introduced the resolu tion, moved that the discussion l postned until Thursday 'at :30 P. M. The motion prevailed, ami the Senate, proceeded to other business, therehy lsappointin-:larpe-frathering of women -w had assembled to learn tiieir fate. But they were again out in augmented force on Thursday even ing aFThe hour named, accompanied by such a crowd of" Interested gentlemen friends,, the lead 'ing mlmU of ,the State a well as the Capital, that they had gisd reason to lie greatly encour aged over the.Jelf-evldent ', popularity of their cause. y ' , of the voters. If you will "but rant them their husbands, fathers, brother and-sons the. power to decide that their wives-and mhra shall have the same right to llfej liberty ami the, pursuit of happiness that you claim. for yourselves. I do not believe that the Senators will feel that they can afford to establish the dangerous precedent that -Wouhl-result- f rom-the prewwleclsioirthitt ttTTY would . not vbe possible to submit another 'ainoiiiK ment to any part of the. State Constitution while two7br,hiore'amendmentfare""'pending.- It wa wisdom on the part of the framersof the Constitu tion to-provide that no amendment to a euding amend men t "could teoffered by the " Iglslat ure la-fore which-such amendment, while- tending, must go for ratification. The manVIio, In cross ing a stream, used the handle of ascytlic fr a bridge, but failed to see, till It w too late, that in so doing the blade, of the Instrument mut swing-round and cut oft hi head, was not-ope; whit more short-sighted than the Senator who lKiLwould be.-willing toso-eonstrue a single clause of the Constitution as to make the Constitution itself Inoperative- as ,a whole,' or even in part. Mr. .ehTj"T learned, while vet a little child, when rest attending school in a little log cabin In the heart of 9 frontier wilderness, to revere the Immortal words; of Thomas Jefferson, All men are created equal; ; endowed by their Creator with certain in alienable' rights; that among thesearelitcj Hlierty portunlty to lead the van In the great galaxy of States that will surely fall into line when you shall have set the grand example, and your de seenduntsshall see her shine In the history of the centuries to come with a luster fhaf shall iflin the glory of a Massachusetts, a ??orth Carolina or an Old Virginia. Mr. President, I know that this Is OTie'tlhie or" place Tor discussing tTie;ro and" con 'of this woman movement. These will Ik? considered In their proper place liefore the innqde after the action of this Honorable Body,, for which we now pray, shall have made It possible for them to give or withhold'thelr votes upou It. Thank ing you, r gentlemen of the Senate, for the high honor you have conferred ujion me in the name of womanhood, In listening thus profoundly to my feeble utterances, I rest our case in your hands.1' Tiie President did not attempt to check tlie hearty applause that followed ' Mr. Duniway's aTMres. When it died away, a strange silence fell usm the assembled multitude and continued for f ullv-half a minute. J t was finally broken by a voice from the lobby. "Say,1 Mr. President!" it 'exclaimed, in excited tones,- "is-this a free tight This brought to. his feet the Senator from Polk, the llight Hon. J. I). Lee, who statn that if the question of Woman Suffrage was to 1h tlebatil on Mlitical gnunds, he had no objection to make; that politically woman should be entitled. to all ought to Ik allowed to Tote. Sir, the day Is not ' far distant,, when a woman probably the lady who ha addressed us' to-night will occupy your seat as President of this Senate Chamber. And why not? May not a woman of tOregon occupy chair like that If Queen Victoria can occupy throne ?Veullhe spared thedisgraceiulaeenes that mar the good name of the Federal Congress. when women take their proptr place as co-workers with men In making laws. I shall vote for the resolution.'-- f ' : ' Mr. Starkweather, Senator from Clackamas, ex pressed his fear that the Constitution could not be amended at this time. His argument sounded too much Itke a rehash of the Drcd ScoTt tleclsiou to carry weight, and was a disaptointment to"hls friends, who expected something .letter from so aide a source. Mr. IMIyeu, of Linn, was the next speaker. He said the provision in the Constitution to pre- vent multiplying amendments to pending amend-' .f ments had no reference to any other amendments than such as might already. le pending. The sec-v tion did not limit the nufnln-r of proitosed amend-. jH-ndlng, the wonl mrr evldenlly referring to an Indefinite numU'r. He believed In the enfran chisement of wonvin. He was ready tosubmlt the qnestlon to the eople. He Ulievel 4hey were ready for It. He was surult would citrry, and he ' Mr. Fulton oiienejil the discussion in an able, -"logical, coniprehehslve" and unanswerable speech . of half an hour's duration, confining his remarks ..principally, to the. section of the Constitution rela tive to amending jroposd amendment., and, .proving to "every comprehensive thinker present -the. constitutional fact that .Vail iower Is Inherent ic ppople.-nnd they have the right at H-t4 and the pursuit of happiness; that governments derive their JuM' xwers from the const-nt of the governed; and that, whenever any form of gov ernment Jecoiues destructive ot these ends, It is the right of the people to alter .or aUdlsh It. I believe the Inspiration of Liberty was born with every wise woman's existence. Certain am I that to alter, amend or abolish the"govemment as they I with her strength?, and I well rememWr the the rights that Tndongto man ; but that there is another side to the question ; that the spheres of the sexes are not- the same; that this change would bring alsut a revolution in natural laws; that It would cause woman to forget the high du ties of maternity and Impose her duties upon man; that woman should be the wife, and mother, .shall think proper;" and this being a part of the fundamental law of the Federal as well as the State Constitution, it M'as, clear that there yra no Intention on the part of the framersof the latter to Insert a clause of a, nature to conflief with the higher law nor with Article 1 of the Pill of Rights of the State ""tltution, upon .which every other section of the same Is founded. lie concluded rwlth a stirring appeatto the patrtotlsra and1iter ality of the Senators, "rglng:them to roye-iy people arejaxeHnfItlont rcpresentatlonHiml r,t hei ract t ha t-t ley7Werenot-af ra b ;to-subm 1 1 at. all times "to the people" tlrt free use of that "in- ' hercut power" which IsHhe foundation of all gov ernments.He Indieve! the voters of Oregon were ready to grant wonncn the right of suffrage. ; They .1. ought to have the Tight to the. free ballot ; It I In alienable; and the right of representation In the - Legislature is a right as inestiniable to women as to men, and Is formidable totyrants only.- At the close of Mr. Fulton's address, which was listened to with profound -attention -by'' the 'vast " assembly that crowded the corridors and, doors. and lobby, a Senator moved .that Mrs." A. 8. Pun! way Is? Invited to present the views of the ladies pon-theaubJect-iinder discussion. The .motion TB Trt twoUKly earrled, awd-M n-1. was es- corted by the Sergeant-at-Arms to the chair of the President of the Senate, Mr. Hlrsch, who Intro duced her with his usual gentlemanly and courte ous demeanor. trncd witlwmfojtsent.- This government Is not a democracy, nor a republic It is a government of one-half of "the ieople by theother half, instead It Is an aristocracy of sex, wherein one-half of the citizens enjoy a monojwly of the rights and Im tnunities which are denied to the other half. It h nof necessary for me to insult the intelligence of an august Senate .like this to make the explana tion that the irenerlctermmrnf as applied fto the InaUenable rights of the human family, Includes women. Men Are always willing to admit this fact whenwomen's taxes are due, or when -a woman breaks a law that all persons of her sex are - denied a voice In making. The man has ai)un ran Mrs. Dunlway expressed, lier decp,apprt"ciatlon of the high honor-the-8enate, by its Invitation, had conferred upon her as a representative of the great class of otherwise unrepresented though tax paying citizens of this Commonwealth, "who," he said, "have commissioned me, as their humble servant," to appear before you on their behalf, and urge you.to grant to the voters of Oregon the privilege and power to decide whether or not your wives, your mothers, your sisters and your daugh ters shall be accorded the right to a voice in mak ing the laws of agovernment which they" are taxed to sustain, and to the statutes of which they are held amenable. ' We are not unmindful that I am here to-night by your courtesy, rather than by acknowledged right, and 1 confess that I find It a rather difficult task to stated before you and. by. your consent make a complaint which you have thewwerbut for your magnanimity to deprive me .of opportunity, to make at all. Hut, If you could read the letters I get from,.almostejrery quarter, and by almost every post written b.ir electric 'thrills that stlrrel we dn every sentient nler of my nature, when, as a child, the heroic struggles -of the revolutionary fatltersaiul nxtli- ) Is ec, wlio freely plelgel and frei-ly gave their lives. their fortunes and their snored honor that Culum bia might be free, were taught In our K'h'JolsThe Dnistitutlon'expressly provides that every cltlzcl) shall Is? guaranteed thejjHiual protection of the laws-rAnd yet, -Mr?? PresMent one-half of -the 1 iwistHl to changing these relation of the sexe 11 It has Im-cii arguel," he said, "that women are rated with Chinamen. I object to that? My wife better than a Chinaman. I have no patience with any nnn who says his wife makes half the living. I support my wife.- Women nrould lose the. high regard men have for them If they should A'otero,-Mr. Presldent.we win not allowthem to vote,. We prefer them as they are. We want thm to 1each their growing sons 'how to vote. WiMlon't want, women to lie men." r- never yet-livedw ieted of-crin, 'May It pleasu t he-Court and-t Jury, represent this woman. Punish me? Women complain tlmt they are. rate! InTaw M-Itli Idiots, Insane persons, criminals and Chinamen. Time, was when they had the negro for company; but ' modern legislation has reached out its hand and lifted .the colored citizen unon the hlc-b ptnlestal of equality before the law; and to-day i is a United States Marshal, a Senator or Repre sentative In Congress; a law-maker, before whose mandate your wives and mothers must tmw while they proclaim-thelesson taught by your govern ment that taxation withoutrepresentatIon .Is tyrannyv We ask you, Mr. President, and gentle men of the Senate, to take the. necessary steps to submit this lesolution for amending the Constitu tion to the votes of the aons of women. We be? lleve that you will do your duty. The eyes of the world are upon you. Oregon has already written hefnarae higher than that of any other State In the Union In her recognition of equal right for the mothers of men. - Her legislation has been liberal because her sons have been free; ' Let the grand "picturebrihe Father brhis Country beam upon you to-night with an Inspiration of Irresisti ble power. ' you are making history. Tlie same spirit of liberty that presided over the destinies of The Right Honorable Senator took hi seat amid' demonstration of applause from "a few rough's' In' the lobby, which the President promptly suppressed. " ' . . The nexlVeaker was Senator Humphrey, from Llnripwho said: " "Mr. President, t hav'e' Utm thlnklngJht, If Itwere really true that no ameiulment to any other tart of the Constitution could leubmltteil to the people while an amend ment uion one part was pending," ft woufl take one hundriMl and six years for a suffering jnople to amend the entire instrument. This, to, my mind, is proof enough that Senators who claim that Me cannot at this time amend the Constitu tion jire laboring under a mistake. I ani in favor h "f grunf tng the ftglltqfjy jyg. to the women of Oregon.' niey naveeamei it ana are enfltkstto lt.Tlie gentleman from Polk assures us that his wife Is better than a Chinaman. I cordlally agree with h.lm in that. She is not only better than a Chinaman, but she Is U'tter tlanhe IsIIe says that women ough'tTto raise 4 he voters and teach them how to vote. This they do already ; and they have been at Work at It for the past hundred year. And it I- folly to say that a woman who is capable of Instructing and Influencing voters Is not fit to vote, herself. Many of them are much wiser than we are,' Mr.-President ; and all of them have the same physical and mental necessi ties that we pos'ssLand the same Inherent, in alienable right to liis?rtyand the pursuit of happi ness. Women are not complaining about natural laws. So faK as I know, no woman who wants the ballot wishes to be a man; and, even should they wish to be men In ouT stead, the Senator from Polk needn't 1 afraid of the consequences, for there Is a higher law than man can make or woman can break that settles that question. Tlie Senator" lsnTrveTygood-look!ngtand it Is.Jut possible that he' may not get the votes of women to return him ojpffice ; but have no fear on that score 'I shall vote for the resolution was ren-ly to oeieml the coustltutionallty of the people's decision In'fore the Supreme Court if any IsHly shnld attempt to wntcst IL Tlie Senator's - pech "throughout evlncel a clear unlerstandlng of logic, law and ethics, and created a profoundly favorable Impression upon the silently thoughtful multitude. qyof Curry, said lio was wUUug4MiU mlt. t he quest Ion to a vote of the icople, but that he did iiotiTdeTstand the-questlon himself, ano? did not know how he should vote if It were smV mittel. He thought "women-have' more rightV already than men have; they have no pidl-tax to pay, and always win their cases In the cbu.rt;. Women are cruel to each other. -Men are women'a - f rlend,' etc., etc. He continued In this stralirfp:r half an hour, and it was a pity to see so sensible a . man on some subjects so willing to be silly on thiar ne ' : . - - ' - ' When Mr. Siglin took hi seat, Mr.- Rosf of JaeKson, m'oveI the previous question ; lost. 7 A -motion to adjourn was carried. Tlie question was again taken up at the opening session on the. 8th Inst. -Mr. 'Ros. again moved the previous quest lonj carried. - J Tlie resolution M-as then adopted by thefollow Ing vot: ; Ayes ApiHTson, Rllyeu, Iturch, Ctdvig, Fulton, Orim, Haines, Humphrey, Knight, McConnell; Ross, Siglin, Smith, Starkweather, Stearns, TysotV, Waldo, Waters, Woodward, Wright, Mr. Presi dent 21. '. s Noes CloWj On-hran, Davidson, dates, Hen dricks, Lee, Pennington, Simony Sifers 9. HOTWr.. ; ' Last (Wednesday) evening the House met at 7:30 o'clock. . ; The Speaker stated that the special order before- the House was the consideration of House .Co q.t current Resolution 13, for the submission of a con stitutional amendment'allowlpg the right of suf- frage to'cltlzen irrespective of sex. Senate Joint Resolution 2, being identical with House Concurrent ItesOiutlon 13, was substituted1: therefor. . . Mrs, A. S. Duuiway, on motion of Iiftwrence, -was Invited to address the House. She briefly stated that she felt that she was In the presence of her friends, and lelievlng that the House was not . afraid td trust the voice of the people on this measure, she would make no argumentdeeming none necessary. . Tlie question was then discussed In an animated and spirited manner and at great length, nearly all the members taking part. , When the question was ordered, Mr. Lawrence moved to call the House to order-and put every member on"record. ' . . The Sergeant-at-Arms was ordered to close the doors and bring in the absen ttmr to aourn was JprtT A further call of the House was dispensed with. women who wora, ai lue iooui, or iu euurii-uasn, JlJhewftsbtboardrJJiejkI through their labor in rearing sons and daughters, are taxed to sustain the government and uphold tlheJkwfc.whichyottrreire-t would not wonder that I, also a mother of men," have the courage to discharge my duty on their behalf to the best of my humble but earnest abil ity. 'Courage these Spartan wives and mothers write tome; weare-t home, praying for ou. And, Mr. President, I feel the Inspiration of their prayers to-night They bid me tocome hefore yon as their standard-bearer and your friend, to assure you that their Interests are your interests, and they will do you good and not evil all the days of your lives: They are willing to trust the voice ' - - - - ' . ' ' - "Washington . aliundredyear agoIs presiding over the destinies of the people of Oregon to-dsy. H is In your power, to write the name of. your young ami growing Commonwealth jet higher Mrn Ial nerSenalor TromTIaker, nexT soeTn favor of the resolution, substantially as follows; "Mr. President, the Earl of A I rile, from the klng- and the resoTution ireceived the following vote 2, 2 aye, t he highest of allj.n the mighty. constellation of the United states of America It Is In your power to place the honor Upon the brow of Oregon that alone can accrue to the State which shall take the lead in this grand movement for theenfranchlse ment of the mothers of men. ' The blue air of the hoary mountains has answered back to the pellu cid atmosphere of the billowy ocean, and filled the men and Women of this grand young State with the electric fires of an exalted patriotism. Our people "havisjnhaled the spirit of liberty with their verybreath. Let them give Oregon an op-' doai of Great - llriUioris-rrmklng Qifgou a I IniLj111 iXouare a'ware thalA rut amount ot-Scotch capi tal is being, invested among us, and that many of our greatest enterprises for transportation are in the hands of England's subJcct.Ther Is now a project In progress for cutting a canal through the Isthmus of I'anama, and It Is to be backed princi pally by English capital. ""And It does seem to me that If Queen Victoria can manager with unpar alleled success, the greatest financial schemes of the world, and preside with becoming wisdom arid proper dignity over the kingdom that controls a Gladstonejor a fieaconsfield, the Women of Qregon 1 -"-"-t- Ttie resolution was then announced by the- Speaker ascwrurred" tn,'tut "li disputed on the claim that It requires a majority of all the mem bers to pejM the resolution. " " Tlie latest in regard to Hancock as the "hero of Octtysburg," is that General Howard solecled the battlefield, located the positions of troops and - placed the; batteries of artillery. He should be given the credit for the result. Neither Hancock nor Blocum arrived till late In the afterndonUfteti the preparations were made. " - . - X.