, .
FBB HrKBCH, BBB PBRH,' rBB tCOPUB.
, rORTLAyP, bitEOON, TIIUK3DAY, MAY. 19.
VOLUME X. NO. 88.
PER YEAR $3 (XV
I'
1
rWrltfen for Oi tNw Northwest.1
WHO SHOUij) VOTE?
A GENTLEMAN OK HOTTIIERIf OREGON CXJXTR1B
UTES HIS. MITE TO THE EQUAL
h '' RIGHTS AGITATIO.X.
Tfow that the subject of Woman BufThige a be
fore the people of , thl State, and .will become s
prominent factor III-. the next general election, I
wish to ' ay ; 'fewwortlij by wajjr)faddlngni
Tmlte toT thecauwTliough an uncomproinlBlng
friend of this measure, I have hitherto preferred
to bear and read the arguments of those better
qualified than myself to discuss-It especially of
those who feel most keenly the Injustice rof being
-denied the right inherent in every citizen In a re
publican form of government, the laws of which
women citizens as well as men citizens are com
pelled to obey and taxed to support. ., 1
It Is not possible for those who enjoy a privilege
to feel hat degree of nettled disquietude or un
easiness that disturbs those who are deprived of
Jt. ' Wemay clearly perceive the Injustice that la
wrought them by such denial, and sympathize
with them in their affliction, and do much to as
sist them-inr renting their wrongs,- bat we lack
that energizing inspiration that spurs them on to
vigorous action for the attainment of those rights
. that justly belong to them.
In my daily communication with' the "lords ofJ
creation" in business affairs, the subject of Wom
an Hufntige freiuentiy unIer VevIevf--ls
argued pro and con. with much, earnestness,. It js
maintained by ,some, that woman' a- brains are
smaller than man's, and therefore she is naturally
incapacitated to perform that' degree of mental
-labor necessary to attend to the affairs of state or
,the intricacies of. business in the great drama of
life, and therefore should not be clothed with the
elect! yelfranch Ise. To di ve . Into, a .jxteta physical
" dissertation upon this quentlon would riot satisfy
or convince the common" Voter, who walks leis
urely to the polls on election. day t-rolllng his quid
of tobacco over his tongue with a self-complacent
air of Jordly importance, and deposits his choice
ln the balloUboxr wlth scarct'lya th9Ught of the
-gTeat responsi bi 1 Itjr Test I n g u pon h 1 m aye, per
" haps perfectly indifferent of his duty or the conse
quences of his acts. I will, therefore, answer a
fool accord l his fnllj'T'amaHty that an ele--hinnrTlasa
bigger brain tTidn any man, and
hence, if the size of the brain is a measure of one's
fitness to vote, the elephant is better entitled to
the ballot than any man.
It Is my opinion that it is the quality of brain and
disposition of the heart and culture that best fit
one for the exercise of thlainesttmable privilege.
-The truth of the matter ls,lhat ' the elective fran
chlse la an acquired .right, and does not depend
upon sex or any other natural condition. It is
purely a municipal right that is correlated to our
form, ofjgovernment. that the governed are" the
governors, who express their executive will by
the ballot. This Is the boasted principle of self
government In a republican forma principle for
which our ancestors struggled eight-long years.
This principle is axiomatic with Americans. If;
then, woman Is forced to obey the laws the same
as mau, 4 1 Is a logical conclusion that she should
have a voice In making the laws she Is forced to
obey, and In choosing 'persons to execute them.
Tills seems to be'self-evident, and no reasonable
person, it appears to me, will try to disprove It.
If it could be made to appear that wo men as -a
class would abuse the right of suffrare, if possessed
of It, then it would be good policy not to give it toJ
them ; but that Is begging the question. Iu clvie
societies where woman exercises the right, ho
complaint has ever been made against her, for its
abuse. Then why withhold It from heri as a citi
zen? ' .- .
It-IrlsorIahnbvhrWTWQH)tro
Suffrage. that woman, by reason kot the maternal
relation, would not be. able to perform the duties
Of official Life, could not act as sheriff1, constable,
surveyor, etc., and that therefore she should not
be granted the right to vote. : The Greeley argu
ment that to the bullet belongs the ballot, though
exploded long since, still occasionally finds an ad
vocate. Masculine cripples and men over a cer
tain age are not compelled to shoulder the musket
In defense of the state ; yet they can vote. Why
not women as well? '
-The only-plausible-argument that I have ever
heard advanced against Woman Suffrage Is this :
If women are allowed to vote, there will be a cor-,
responding Increase vof fraudulent and corrupt
voting done. This seeming good reason for wom
an's not voting may be urged against young men
and immigrants coming Into the State and In
creasing the population there would be an In
crease In fraudulent and corrupt voting. There
fore no Immigrant, by a like parity of reasoning,
should be allowed to vote. .
Again, the unreasonable objector says J "De
prai "-n w?Bij rnnJi f0 tn, pniu, whllo
virti
uoos
Tlie Yamhill County WDJn Suffrage Associa
tion met 'lnthe church atLafayette. on W10
day evening, May 11th, at 7X0 o'clock. ,
The Association was callel to order by the Pres
ident, Mrs. Loughary. i: ; '"
runl hv the Mbuwsnoval was well JecelvedLwi.
Jlon. lee laugtiiln was introduced Dy me itcs
Ident as oncof the speakers of the evening. Ills
address was listened to with marked attention by
the audience, who seemed to eujoy the sensible
talk. ' - j t
Music was furnished by six little folks.
Recitation by Laura Martin, entitled "The
Men." ' z
Mrs. Loughary addressed the meeting for about
half an hour on "Liberty," telling many plain
truths q her usual Interesting manner.
A mlpJy3llnpVIlIIJIarrta waa well received.
Meeting adjourned to meet in the Court House
at half-past nine on Thursday morning.
" BECONIH TA Y.
f Called to order by the President. f
Minutes of previous meeting read and approved,
JUemarks were made by Mr, Laughlln.
Suggestions were offered by Mrs. Martin as to
the manner of holding future meetings. .
MraXoughary delivered a short address.
It was voted that the next meeting should he
held at North Yamhill. ;
are prlvilegel to enjoy them.'N" -y '
Absolute monarchies have no use for the sub
jects' vote, and limits monarchies care but little
for the subjects' withes in governmental matters,
for the simple reason that they, the governing
1 power, are not to any great extent amenable to
the laws they make; but when the law-maker is
answerable before the laws' he writes, he then be
comes, through self-Interest, concerned about
the character of those laws, because his own
rJghUrJv4vIAiKl-Iiefriwr-forrn-T)f
government, the governed being the governors,
tltey are all Interested In the laws by which they
mutually agree to be governed, and so long as
each and every one's rights are recognized by all,
theyjare satisfied and happy but when any per
son oc class of persons are denied rights they In
stinctively fee are theirs, they are correspond
ingly uneasy, fretful, captious and complaining,
and, consequently, unhappy.
The answer, then, to the question, "Who shall
vote?" Is self-apparent ,4The governed should
vote-."- .: - - "
. Then the question, In the form of a syllogism,
stands:; " ' . y f
Major lremlse In a republican form of govern
ment, the governed are the governors who express
their executive will by means of the ballot ; . V
Minor Premise Women are governed b the
laws the same as men are ;
Inference Therefore, women are Justly entitled
to the same means of expressing their executive
will that men have ; .namely, the ballot " . - -
- - W. P. B. .:
The Dallas ittmltr has been enlarge-to a
.'AMIIILJCOUSTXIlWAOISm
MINUTES OK THE
I
RECENT CONVENTION AT LA"
FAYCTTK. ,
This Is all mere assumption a hypothetical con
dltion'assumed as a fact, wlthoqt reason or logic
to Support if. The rlght.jjcltren does not de-
eiid upon the possibility ofJ)Js aUuse of It. , If he
has an Inherent right, that right should be guar
antee I by law. If he abuses It, lie shouhtbe pun
ished by aw for the-abusej and notlenled- his
right, because, forsooth, httmiyht abuse it. It Is
also claimed that women would not, as a rule, ex
ercise the right. What nonsense I One moment
these senseless objectors will claim that woman
would abuse It, and the next that she-would not
use It at all. To me, such talk Is like the dog's
baying at the moon it is sound, but not sound
sense. ' " . -- "Z'.'. ' . ."' r . ,
Many seem to think that the elective franchise
belongs to man as naturally as his masculiulty
thatjecause he J born a mate he is therefore born
an elector. Such a line o 'argment w.as once
used by the advocates of slavery ; the negro was
born a slave, and had no rights the free-born was
bound to respect, .Such has been the opposition
totberights-of-man-nalutaliied by tyrantsnever
since the formation of human society, the rights
of women being no exception to the rule.
1 If women, as eitlzenst are Justlyntltled to the
elective franchise, it Is tyranny to .. withhold 4t
from them. If no more than one woman- In a
thousand would avail herself of the privilege, sImJ
should have it If It is hers by right.
The elective franchise is not ajnatural right,
llkcthatof defending Jife by means oLhysIcal
force, common to all animal life, but Is a right
that has grown out of the social relation correl
ated and inseparably attached by Inherent right
to every accountable member of society, and, un
der laws regulating: its use and punishing Its
abuse, belonging alike to all, women as well as
men. ' -
The right to vote does not depend upon the in
clination or disinclination to exercise It, but upon
a higher and more sacred principle that of self
government -The Indian has been clothed with
this right upon condition -of adopting the habits
of civilized life, aud the foreigner upon the oath
of adjuration and allegiance, and the negro Is now
politically equal to the whites, while women are
pdllUcally classed . wlth untamed savage,. -criminals,
lunatics and fools. Every member of any
society, social, civil or political, who Is amenable,
to that society for any.vioIatloh of its rules or
regulations, is Justly entitled to an equal voice In
determining what those rules and regulations
shall be, who shall execute them, and the. manner
and- mode of punishing , members for .violating
them. This is axiomatic, and cannot be sucoess
fully disproved.
jrhla,equaljrJghu". movement . mustWanetoind
determined ujon the principles of truth and right,
Justice an J humanity. The quest ionJWlwsliall , I
vote?" Is ever knocking at the door of Reason, de
manding a solution. Reason will answer : "Oov
ernments are" Instituted to" secure "the rlghts7f
person and property, to maintain Inviolate life,
liberty andthc pursuit of happiness, and that the
governed, under the salutary regulations that ex
perience shall make manifest, are all Justly enti
tled to stand before- the law equal; and . that no
person' or class of persons, who are responsible for
shouM be denied any of those-rlghts while othersi"1 B" long M n,en cor tlielr mothers of
" v ' I I . : a ft. . m a. sa.a ' a
uiiiiur inipunanre, ine ueieai would oe mucil
more humiliating If the succeful candidate were
a woman. . "
If either the Republican or the Democratic
party were as sure of the vote of women (with but
little competition for fat offices and cany por
tions) as General (Jarfleld was of the vote of tlie
Illiterate negroes, every President's message
would be saturated with tears on account of
women's political disabilities. It is .no more
llhanuliisUce thst the negro-han-tlxr-baHot If
he did not, he would be again the. equal of
women. If the ballot Is of Such Incalculable ben
efit to the colored men. It will surely do the white
women some good. Yours for Justice,
- .; 'J..;;. .:. Emma RlCKEIU - -
P. 8. As my subscription time has again come
'round, I enclose you three dollars. I can get
On motion, a committee was appointed, consist
ing of Mrs. Martin, of Xafayette, Mr. Loe laugh
lln, of rth yamhlll, and Miss Virginia Olds, of
McMlnnvllle, to arrange a programme for the next
meeting. '.
Moved that the Recording Secretary, furnish a
list of the names of members of the Association
to prominent members of each precinct, so that
the dues can be moreieadiiy collected and for
warded to the Treasurer, Miss V. M. Olds. ; :
Dues Were collected to the amount of $3 25.
Moved that the Corresponding Secretary be al
lowed one dollar for necessary stationery.
AdJottraedmH'ra?
thlrdWednesday In November. x :
Mum. II. A. IiiiuaifAKY;
, Nan R. Martin, . . Iresldentr.
:Vi'. ..Secretary.
WOMEN Va NEOROES.
Norfolk, Oregon, MajrA, 1881.
To tub Kditob or tin New North wkhti
' In addition to the" manyfaxorablei)rcsa com
meets on the result of women's voting In
Wyoming, the testimony, of several prominent
riien, published in your paper of April 28tS, Is
conclusive evidence to any fair-minded terson
tliattlie ballotlullie hands of women will prove
beneficial rather than , Injurious.. Whenthat
point is acknow!elged, there will no exeuse left
the oppoaefHS of equal rights but the one horn of
selfishness In the human breast, Jealousy, (unless
it bcttiat they are afraid the women will all vote
ther prohibition ticket). Tliere Is no man that
foes not hate to be beaten In the race for an office.
along without a great many things easier than
without the People's Paper. Have senj sample
copies to different parties, but find It difficult to
get newspaper subscribers In a community where
there-are none-tt hert hair-worki n g TneiTa ud
women. If the women ever get hold of a dollar,
tliere are so many things the children need, etc
A small portion of the-money spent by many
men for tobacco, to say nothing of whisky, would
make their wives life subscribers to the New
Northwest. - ' E. It '
The two
From a Massachusetts exchange!
jteavlesi-Ufpajreis in CrooHTfne are women,
Mrs. Elizabeth R. Bo wd itch paying $10,814 and
Miss Adele O. Thayer $9480. But at the Brook
line town meeting the men voted that women
sCouTd not vote on levying the Uxestoronthense
A LADY TO THE DEFENSE.
"t " ' 'rnm lbs Indepeadeae' Hirer Wd.J'
Editor Jilrrr We. Tlie following mve-pi
rather out of date ; nevertheless, as a slmpleaCt of
Justice to parties In this town, I hope you will
publish It ' ' ,
In -the first place, I would remark that If a
note man, a leader on any question of Import
ance, a Mason, 0ldi Fellow; Workman, or' any
one, of note, is traveling in the Interest tf a cause,'"
some personal friend, or friend of the Institution .
to which he belongs, or of the cause which he ad
vocates, will a.sk him to accept his hospitality.
Not to do so would be a rudeness of which few
would be guilty. And yet, if a woman venture
to visit a towuln the jnterest of, a great cause,"
and , a man and his wife meet her at the depot
conduct her to their residence and treat her as a
lady should be treated, then some one calling
himself "Nat" must Insult the lady (the hostess)
by calling her "tbejsoftest headed of the soft-
headed." Why? I suppose It must be because
she dclrrt to think for herself and form her own
opinions.' Now, "Nat" is the last one I would
have Imagined could be guilty of flinging insults
at a woman, and In the public prints at that; yet
that Is Just what he has done, and Mrs. G. feels ft
so. But that Is not all, He goes so far as to say,
in effect, that decent people, who have any re
spect for the morals of their children, refuse t
admit the New Northwest Into their families.
Now, "Nat," if I were to tell youlhat you know
better than that, yott would probably characterize
this article as "slangy,', "blackguardism," "bil
lingsgate," etc., and characterize the writer as
"naffron-hued." But I will give you the credit bf
Ignorance not Ignorance In general, by any
means, but on this particular subject You, no
doubt, suppose that all the hoodlums of 'both
sexes belong to families who take and reeid:the
New Nortiiweht, and that all wo me a a",,Bdf
froiuhued." "Nat,". Is Jt- gentleinaarjr o call
women names? In the rwipers, too? women who
are the mothers of families, and whom you know
are "rferenc" (your own rords again). Now, we
all know that Vosy-cheeked" women have more
Influence over the men than those who aro no
longer young and healthy and handsome; but
we did not know that "rosy-eheeked" women had
anymore sense. Well, we Kave learned by ex
perience, Mrs. "Orand I, that there Isn't much
chivalry left for women who have either lost or
never had any "rosy cheeks." "Nat," we may be ,
"saffron-hued," but we have opinions. In the
near future you may have cause to remerriber
that , ... . r. . . ; :.
Now, rM rr-Etl I tor, yoqwll l-comeln" f oryou i r
share, and I want you to take it without flinching.
I Why do you recommend Blood Purifier to Mrs.'
D. and not to "Nat ?" Isn't he a little "bullous
too T If he gee any worse after reading this, rec
ommend - him - to- take - bittern, too won't you? '
or do men never get billlous r
x Mrs. S. A. McKunk.
Amity, . Oregon, May 4, I88t
BLUE RIBBON CLUB.
' ' East PoRTtANnyMay 17,-l88t
lO Til R I MUTOK OF Til ITTS rWTT OK I II ajgl i
Tlie meeting of the Blue Ribbon Club of this
city at Neppach's Hall on lat Monday evening
was the moid Interesting for some time, the exer
cises being & complete success, as a large audience
could testify, everyone seeming to be well satis
fied with the evening's entertainment The mu
sical selections by Dr. and MnCO.Np. Bird on the
flute and piano were highly appreciated. A brief
address by Mr. J..E, D'Arcy was very acceptable,
although rather too sfi'ort to1 suit the ladles, who
JllJUtlioqgr
move the grand cause of temperance along to a
final success A temperance song by two little
girls was well rendered. MrCHi Marvin's read
ing, descriptive of a JJttle. orphan boy"will!ng io
die for the truth," was so natural as to; All many"
eyes with tears, showing the presence of sympa
thy forthe good' In hearts we little dream .of,
Judglng"from external apioranties. Mrs. Bird
next favored the audience with a ballad, which
was listened to with pleasure Next came the-
reading by Mr.il73IcOuIionrabeirs1Vniam-
tte-Brtdge-e ftUdlenlpeTlnost of whom Irve
on the "narrow patch of land,"- could almost Im
agine thatgrlm skeleton sitting on thrlatk,
muttering In unearthly tones : . ,
) " Thiy rs golnc to build, I jWl It yet, - '
. Atrldf acrona the Wlllamett.n
- A cotnlc song bjTDr. O. B. Bird, wtrcrrWas en
cored, closed the exercises, and Rev. MjvBower
of Holladay's Addition was annoinwafl n ih
speaker for next Monday evening.
As long as we have such talented persons to
help us work In the temperance cause asre have
been favored with of late, we will -flgt Vf p.
put, a jib me persevering youth sitting pon the
oana oi-m-vtamee. we. Iiv Otwfa
rielnr
iWtttlriefuWye
u.
it