The new Northwest. (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, March 03, 1881, Image 1

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KRKB HrKBCH, Tbkb Pxkm, PksbPboplk.
. -. VOLUME X.NO. 25. . ;.
; IX)RTLAND, OHKGON, THURSDAY, MARCH fl-18dl
' PER YHR$3 00.
WHttn for f b 5V Xort h wet-l
WHO THEY-ARE.
BY GEORGE M'lIEELKK.
means of their use of tneballot,we may prevail
LLupon our luotherx, wlven and ulsters to awUt x In
voting tltem down. We are sanguine that auch a t
thing might be done. ' And while under our Im
maculate protection (?1 we feel assured that they
would not materially suffer from contamination:
But we will give plae to '.Objection No. Two."
He looks weak and kick. He is evidently suffer
ipg. lie feels bad ln'every way, but he assures us
Tlier are always two sides to any .question, and
each of these demaudti investigation.
"Shall we let the women rote Tl -
T .1. - ...... t. I t,ll.t..
gratifying manner.of putting this quesUonlthtoFint
" tickles our vanity."
, "Shall we" that is, the voters of America, the
lords of the great; creation, .the strength of a
mighty nation "let" we l,oTe to. linger, over
that word "the women vote?" If makes tut
little difference whether they, as law-abiding individuals,-
have - the right- to - vote or not. -The
power of allowing them jto do so rests solely In
J our bands. . Gloilous, IsnH it? v .
J Now, here comes "Objection Ncf. One." He Is one
of that class who would dearly like the world to
- consider him progressively In keeping witli this
age of advancement, but who cannot rid ills mind
of the rank fallacies of the rankest sort of old-
-fogylsin.- They are as deeply Ingrafted la his
soulor rather heart for serious doubts are enter
tained whether such persons have souls as Is the
conviction that his neighbor, who cheated him
yesterday In a horse-trade, will eventually navl
gate through the, brimstone fumes of the future
realm of the wicked. Pretty soon he will die;
and would to God his Thirteenth Century Ideas
might die with htm t But no. His semi-barbaric
notions la regard to women are thoroughly In
tilled into the minds of his offspring, and it will
require at least a century to root them out. He it
Suffrage question, replies,' after a degre of pre-'
llmlnary profundity :
-'iWellt sir, as a matter of National Improve
ment, I am not in favor of IU. .-As.a .question of
light and wrong. I am in favor of It. Yen, sir, It's
a good thing a very good thing. If the women
want to vote, why Just let 'em 1 But, sir, It's Just
as my wife says; The couutry Isn't ready for It.
The change would be too sudden. Women need
more experience mdre education. On iolitical
; questions they, are mere children. Besides this,
even. If the question were brought to an issue, If it
became. a law. opsone in a huudred of the best
' class of women would exercise the privileges of
the ballot; while, on the other hand, every low
character,, ' every demoralized woman, every
.courtesan, would claim her rights. And, instead
of aiding and advancing the great cause which
the women who are agitating this subject claim
4batej Ulll VU) , 1 Instead of kill 11' lUxlllarleak,
to the right, 'their power would prove a positive
If II V w w III ffl w I I v ma I m m . i v a n s a b 1
thing.'? '
, Poor deluded mortal I - We pity while we de
spise him. Ie-presents his ideas, with all the
confidence of a child. He imagines them fresh,
sound and weighty, little dreaming that they were
exploded at the very beginning of the fight. But
bis wife said so, and of 'course .It is so. pitiable
object ! He does-noLcojnprehend that, even now,
wblle f he Imagines that he Is runnlug the.lnstitu
tlon,he is entirely controlleil by a woman 1 He
would reject the insinuation as an insult to his
manhood. As far as; his arguments go, , they
amount to nothing, as is . usual. They are stale
and trite, his wife to the contrary notwithstand
ing. The country Is Just as ready tonlay for' the
acceptance of Woman Suffrage as It ever will be.
There Is a possibility of obtaining altogether too
much of a certain sort of education, especially In
politics. Oiir National Government could exist
In fact, would be better off if some of Its leaders
-poBsess4HlaJlUleJe8spMhissae
Atid, after all, It does not require a lifetime to ac
quire an Insight Into the party Intrigues and cor
ruptions of the present age. Another Morey letter
or two would enlighten the most darkened Intel
lect. That portion tf his argument Is as weak as
his own befoggled mind. .Now comes bis heavy
gunt ' . ; ...r , ' : ::
"Would the best class of women exercise their
privilege T' . . '
That, of course,; remains to be seen.- Ills wife
says not, Wfe entertain widely different ideas.
-We-k now fif-mtny nnhla women In our own
neighborhood, and have Incidentally heard of
, others, who have expressed their willingness and
tbelr desire to cast. the ballot to have a voice in
the affairs of state and government Jtibly
tbere are others whom we have never heard of
'Who would do the same.
Abandoned women have Just the same right to J
jKwalfcirj
Their class ir not so extensive that our Govern
mcntwed4rewW-a4UveU. Besides, taken Ml body-Ought
general rale, they are more intelligent, more In
dependent and honMrthin ihemenrotTtbc-samei
grade. . Bheuld they become troublesome by
voting would not alter the general result one" par
ticle. He says this with ail abortive attempt at
faeetiousness which apieals directly to our sense
of the absurd. He informs us (hat women have
no particular mind of their own, and that for his
part he thinks they need protection from the
cares and adversities of fortune more than they do
the ballot. He is a minister's son, and delights to
quote Paul's advice that the women keep silence
in the .churches. He considers Paul excellent au
thority oh the-: Woman Suffrage question. His
pet hobby Is that man should bear the brunt of
worldly storms, and allow woman the protection
of her .own kitchen, and that, owing to her deli
cate physical organization, she is unfitted for the
arduous duties of life.. We called at his house the
other day. His wife 'was chopping wood that
her protector's supper might beooked. Her pro--tector
was down at the corner saloon 4 talking
politics and Woman Suffrage. -"-We consider the
evidence conclusive. ' . V - -
"Objection-No. Three" Is not only a minister's
son, but a minister himself-a real, genuine old
'Hardshell." He U an objection. -You can see
tlmt all o'verhlm. He Is a sort of "Christian
without bate," or claims to be. Ills mouth Is
never told us anything about Divine love, never
preached from the text "Jesus wept," But he as
sures us that we are abandoned sinners, and as
sinner -we will certainly: be damned; and he
leaves us with an unpleasant sensation that we
are the sinners and heirs to damnation, while lie
is not one of us, but is to reside in a sort of ethe
real paradise of bis own and God's manufacture,
where' we can never enter. He is a good man,
though, and honest, and we resject him.
We Interrogated hlra yesterday on thrsuffrage
question. His features became frigid at once.
He gave us an impression that the whole thing
was a movement of the devil. We began to think
he was right, and decided to abandon it. How
ever, we have altered our mind since, 'lie said
that he belie:ed lu "one God, one President, and
one ruler of the household." He said that he had
always 'ruled, his. house, and consldoiwl hlmwplf
It ,strlkes us that It Is time to leave.
he says.
We go.
. Now, young man, to which class do you propose
to ally yourself? Will you be identified with'the
men who are everywhere notorious for Ignorance
and stupidity? whoare remarkable for nothing
save their ancient IdeTas that they were born to
lord Itoyer their physically weaker sisters ? In
terrogate the most blindly stupid blockhead In
your community, and in-ninety-nine cases you
will find him an opponent to the Woman Suffrage
movement, and In fact to any other scheme that
has for its object the advancement and enlighten
ment of the human family. Wherever you find
an intelligently honest and well-posted man, you
will also find an earnest friend to thisrause. Now,
recollect tliat you cannot sit astride the fence and
say you know it Is a good thing but you don't be
lieve In It. That tldng is played out In America.
By and by some other man, seeing your itositlon
and deeming It tenable, will mount your shoul
ders and you will certainly be split asunder. The
question Is, when this matter comes to the test, as
It Is sure to do sooner or later, how will you vote?
Will you vote for advancement or stupidity ?
Will you Vote for your mother, your wife and your
sister, or for the saloon-keeper down on the cor
ner? Think it over, young man; hluk It over.
MAN'S FOLLY WOMAN'S GUILT.
" -7 '"irfowTllirTlBytoni (W. T.) Chronicle.
"What's folly in a man is guilt in a woman."
Upon reading the strictures of the Waltsburg
perfectly capable of doing so yet. His wife en
tered tit that-momcnt, a weak-looking little thing,
lug to her skirts. We at once perceived the truth
of his remarks, but for all that we failed to com
prehend Tnjwhat resieet they applied to the ques
tion under consideration. Doubtless he fully un
derstood it, for he was very decided and energetic
In his denunciation of the whole scheme, and said
that in his opinion the devil, was at the bottom of
It, tempting woman as he did of old. We left him
and sought other fields. .
- We met down ou the corner 'i Objection No.
FourjLZlIlTwaius
lous, and he Improved the opportunity. He said
that he was bitterly opitosed to the movement ;
that he had no desire to have his rights usurped
or encroached upon by any one, white or black, of
either sex or none. He was down on the whole
thing. He said he had opposed "nigger en
franchisement." We "discovered' that he hailed
from Georgia, andlfelt In our soul that he spoke
the truth. He said that If we allowed the women
power, as we had the "nigger," that by and by we
.wpulilJhaveJLhe Chinaman, and then the squaw;
and after a little while, the Esquimaux in Alaska
would be sending a. fat-eating representative to
Washington. Ills remarks were not particularly
chaste or spiritual, but he spoke fluently, and the
aroma of whisky enriched their effect.' -We asked
him which way he should vote should the ques
tion come to a final Issue, and he said, "Ag'ln 'em
ev'ry pop I" f"
"Objection No. Five" steps firmly to the front
There Is blood In bis eye.- His coat is off, and he
resembles a prize-fighter In the ring. He is one
of. the most earnest and devoted 'protectors of
women, lie is aiso a raioon-aeeper, ano; as such
controls more votes than all the best men In town.
He tells us very decidedly that, so long as whisky
can rule an election, women win stay in tnelr
kitchens, where they belong. He says he knows
what women can do. They nearly broke up his
business once by prayer, and he is certain they
tlV4Jewy4tsvar
running .now. . Ills language is very forcible and
nergeticrthongli not Tcmarkabhf for ptrrltyr- He
is also somewhat profane, but he. mean what
ant,,wewereT6rvTD quo
tation, which, It seems, Is -the gist of the argu
ment 'of our worthy contemporary. He seems to
Ignore the fact that a woman's reputation is her
all, and that, this being lost, she is ostracized
from society, which hurls Its scorn upon her
alone, while It lavishes Its smiles and favors Upon
the cause of her ruin. In such cases the woman Is
generally more sinned against than sinning, the
man being the guiltier of the two; but society,
striking at the weak and cringing to tlie strong,
condemns and spurns the defenseless victim, while
It gives countenance and supftort to the heartless
seducer who Is. able to defend himself. The poor
girl must be avoided as a moral -leper; at the
same time, her partner in crime is considered eli
gible company for the retiring and modest
daughters of the best families in town. It was
theltnowledge of these Idiosyncrasies of our mod-
' EDITORIAL CORRESPONDKCE: .
Dui Riadiim or m Niv N'vrtuwwti
-Our sudden Journey to Albany last weeek, and'
the melancholy occasion which caused it forced
us to omit the mention which we had intended to
make of the Sunday evening meeting at the First
Congregational Church on the 20th ultimo under
the auspices of the State Temperance Allianc
But It is not yet too late to speak of the courtesy
of Rev. JN A. Cruzan in placing the church at the
disposal of the undersigned for the meeting above
named ; nor is It too late to speak of the reverend
gentleman's excellent and thrilling address:
Professor Cook's large anl well-trained choir ;of
the vast crowd that literally packed the audito
rium and vestibule ; of the interesting and beaiiti- '
ful essay of Miss Maggie Foster, and the rapt at
tention accorded throughout the exercises by he
large multitude. Miss Foster will always com
mand an attentive hearing in Portland. , Her
womanly manner, half diffident and wholly earn
est and her thoroughly Christian teachings,
would do lasting good In any community where
she could be induced to let her voice' be heard.
The public is anxious to know more of her. At
the Methodist church, on the same evening, there
was no lack of speakers, but the audience was
comparatively smalt Portland Is afflicted by
persons, ambitious to be heard, who can never get
audiences on their own account, but who are al
ways ready to take the time when; others call a
meeting. The speaking mania, like the Presiden
tial fever, Is irrepressible in some eople. - -The
temperance cause Is oaa popular footing in
Portland, though. we think Rev. J. H. Acton, who
spoke under the auspices of the Open Temperance
of
Timet on the Dayton .papers for their language
concerning the "Seduction Case," in which a
hold from the public, for the present, .tlie name of
jtheaccu'ttlUrUUUxast
ments" were of a - general nature, and apply
equally as well to the paitand tlie future as to the
present The Chronicle believes In "equal Justice
and equal rights" for all, women as well as men.
Such rights being denied by statutory and social
law, we take the side of the weak against, the
strong, calling no one guilty until so proven,"and
ever ready to do Justice to injured innocence.
- ..
. ..j i
j- In December lastMrs. Annie T. Connors, of
San Francisco, obtained a divorce from her hus
baTdVWmTConno ttleTioir
being awarded to her, at which her father,. Robert
Jagoe, who had unsuccessfully endeavored to stop"
the proceedings .for a divorce, was dissatisfied.
Like many othen men,. be believes woman has no
rights which man is bound XA respect, and accord
ingly, aided by his son Thomas and the child's
father, he forcibly carried It from Its natural
and lawful guardian.1 Tlie mother did not tamely
suBmit to the thieving outrage, but swore .out a
warrant for the arrest of the trio, and they are
now awaiting trial on a-rhargeof felony, to-wit;
kidnapping. In the meantime, they twill have
time to reflect over the'fact that the era of equal
ity is dawning, and that even a woman may occa
sionally be able to defend herself ags Inst oppres
sion ; and they will doubtless mourn the degener
acy of the times that sanctions a woman's rebel
lion against tyranny and her claim to the care of
her offspring. r .
Mr. J. G. Whlttler, in a letter to the Boston
AdvertUer, writes: "As respects suffrage for
women, whatever objection's may be made to It
as" arm&tter of expcdicncyythcTe la no pusslblear-
gument against it oh the ground of principle.
No one can read William Bowdltch's essay on
the taxation of women In Massachusetts and not
be convinced that the time is hot far distant when
a sense of simple justice and fair dealing will
compel our' legislators to confer the privileges of
evening of the 27th ultimo, tells the plain truth.
about the Hons In the way. - A conspicuous lack
of practical knowledge distinguishes many of the
most ardent of our temperance workers the world
over. ; There Is no speedy triumph in store for us.
Woman's ballot potent as it must become, will
will not destroy drunkenness In a day or a decade,
nor will prohibition accomplish that which Its
strongest advocates claim for it All of which tbe
world must see.
But to return to our Journey Ings." The burial of
Mrs. Foster was conducted amid solemn and Im
pressive ceremonies, and In presence of one of the
largest assemblies ever convened in 'Albany.' It
is' sweet to die among so many loving friends,
since die we must May all" of us go to our graves
as she did, in the midst of good deeds." Tbe obse
quies over,' we bade her bereft family, and .hosts of.
other friends adieu and on Friday took tbe north.-;
bound train. ' "
A ppltfal nl'U.Lm O I W a tut tnl Itii. .
Jlil t ii. awill'l "T1 Vr" Til. -tTTTZ r.lll-.l j.jL a .
, . i hi me viifiiif fii, Miiiei loriii w waiisiy aome Oi
the financial demands of the People's Paper,
which, like the horse-leech, cries to those
whose dues are maturing, "Give t (Jive !" Found,
the frleiuls of equal rights In good spirits and;
ready for organized work, and spent a pleasant
hdiir with Mrs. Graves, Mrs. Reed, MrsMallory,
Mrs. Minto, Mrs. Strong, Mrs. Johns, Mrsrltr
and Mrs. Cllne. Salem seems quiet, but we are
L told that business is . good. Our stay was short,
but pleasant and .we took the Satunlay afternoon -train
for home ylth renewed faith In the zeal an I:
courage of the frleiids of human rights.'
Portland, February 28. . A. S. D.
. 1 A I t. !. Al - .1
An Wi If. M. ...fn... I. ciuieBuif u wuw iron, wwumw, vum
imate and is anctl6nedt)y4aw, and that ereiyVp1"
'hUllpsi pithily saysT ".o reform.
moral or Inlellectual, ever came down from the
trpper classes -of ocietyrT-Eachr-arid-al t tomsns p
from the protest of martyr and victim."
The North Americtm Review for March must at-.-,
tract attention by the. timeliness of the topics dis
cussed. First, there is a thoughtful and moderate
article by Bishop Coxe on 'Theology in the Pub
lic. Schools." The author would sternly exclude
from, the school -room all sectarian dogmas,
whether Papist or Protestant, but he Insists on
the retention of the Blblexbecause that bookiathal
prlnciial fountain of our English speech, and
really the base of our social system. The second
article Is byjCaptaln Ends, who endeavors., to show
the practicability of his shi)-rallway, Its advan
tages over all canal schemes, .and why the United
States can without risk guarantee the payment of
6 penent Interest on $o0,0()0,ou of the capital
stock of the proposed com jany. The other articles,
are "The Effects of Negro Suffrage," by Judge If.
H. Chalmers; ".Tlie Success of the Free School
System," by John D. Phllbrlek, being a reply to
the recent trlctujgsjoiMr,- Richard GrantWhtte-
" Despotism fn Lunatio
"The Political Attl-
on the public schools;
Asylums," by D. B. Eaton ;
tude of the Mormons," by Judge C. C Goodwin
"Theological Charlatanism," by Mr. John Flske,
whose typical theological charlatan is Mr. Joseph
Cook;and, finally, a review of some recent publi
cations In physics, by Prof. A, W. Wright
oneis biewari, Me u a oil aTJnicKr-l CTUlTre rir
to. their iormcr selection of Port Orford as tbe
mostjlUbleplace-fof thft Paclflo Coast Ilarbor-
ofltefuge, while ColoheTAVIlllamson maintain!
that Trinidad is the proper location.
.-- ,r-- i
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