OCR Text |
Show 1 . THE SACK E D.N ESS OF PLEDGES. The Salt Lake Herald is very pronounced pro-nounced in its advocacy of a provision in the new constitution enfranchising women. Last fall both the repub'icans and the democrats, in the bitter struggle strug-gle for votes and thinking to win influence in-fluence by the measure, adopted planks pledging their several parties to advocate advo-cate the "sacred cause" of female suffrage. suf-frage. That paper now calls lustily for the democrats to redeem the pledge then made and also intimates that the republicans haL better go and do likewise. like-wise. In the first place the demo-"cratic demo-"cratic convention had no right to make Buch a pledge. It was, and is, altogether alto-gether againEt the whole history and genius of the democracy. Several states of this union haye moved for female suffrage and two at least have accomplished it, but it is a notable fact that all this sort of "progress" has been as yet, confined to republican etates. The simple fact is that the whole thing is anti-democratic and foreign to all history, precedent and policy of democracy, de-mocracy, Not a single line of Jefferson even suggests such a principle. Nor can such a line be found in any work by any one of the democratic fathers, either ancient or modern. Then a democratic minority in our constitu tional convention may very well ignore if it chooses, a hasty and foolish pledge made by a convention, and still do no great violence either to principle or usage. If a foolish fellow in his cups pledges himeelt to swallow an ounce of morphine, he must make good the pledge when he is sober. There are some pledges more honored in the breech than the observance, and that pledge last fall is one of this character. As this is the only argument the J Herald presents we naturally conclude that it is having a bit of darkly concealed con-cealed fun at somebody's expense. We do not want to see the franchise forced upon oar fair Bisters whether or no, in any such way, tor we feel sure that if submitted to a I vote of the women themselves the preposition pre-position would be voted down by a tremendouB majority. The ardor of the thick and win advocates of the measure is only simulated. It is not real. It ie not real gallantry and devotion de-votion to the Bex which induces young and enthusiastic men to rush into the breech against all history ,a?l precedent and all nte-to force niodeet and jointing womanhood into the full blare and blaze of partisan politics. The ladies read this as the callow and devil-mav-care ebullition of immature statesmanship, states-manship, seeking for that notoriety noto-riety which is denied to its adyocates in the legitimate channels of political ambition. The theory is that if this "great boon" is conferred by the efforts ef-forts of this tender and criep sort -of statesmanship, the newly enfranchised can do nothing less than vote for their benefactors to the end of the chapter. Take the women who have as yet taken hold of this matter, and who can say how much ambition to hold office has been implanted in their own tender bosoms, and this iort of assumed obli -gation to refrain themselves and vote for the champions instead would be found to have a very bitter taste and the women would indignantly refuse to carry out that assumed or implied pledge, if she neyer did another purely political act in her life. "The enthusiasm en-thusiasm eyoked last fall" by the adop- 1 tinn of tha tilnnlr trill ha fnnnH in Ki very limp and unseawoithy this fall. The franchise enjoyed by the dear ladies in Utah several years Eince, when the government of the territory was a theocracy was a very different proposition to political enfranchisement enfranchise-ment such as is proposed now, or such as Colorado is "blessed" with. The only excuse for the suffrage offered, is i the necessity for reform. Yet after nearly two years experience with it, our neighbor state fin da hernlf with just as many saloons open, just as many gambling houses and, Bhall we say it, with just as much of the -social evil as she ever contended with. Two years is a good long time and much can be done in two years, when people try. The trouble with our Colorado sisters ie, they have epent more effort and far more thought in the scramble ' for mere office than they have for either political, social or drink reform. Now we rate the women of Utah as among the very cream of Amer'can womanhood, woman-hood, but are they so much better than the Colorado women that in two years they will solve the problem of the ages and stamp out vice in all of its hideous forms? If so, then we are for the suffrage, but if nbt, we prefer to see the ladies in their old time-honored ephere, blessing our lives and shedding their old accustomed effulgence upon a world, none too bright for alJ of it, at best. We sadly fear that the gallant up-to-day editor of the Herald is talking into his No. 6 hat when he says that the opponents of female Buff rage will be found to be comparatively few, and their opposition can saiely be ignored. ig-nored. Would the women of Utah, even if they were enfranchised, refuse ' to consider minorities? Would they, by reason of overwhelming voting strength, Eimply count noses and ig-noie ig-noie everything else, even nature, and set up the rule that "might is right?" We do not believe it, and we do not think they will value very highly the implied "compliment." The convention conven-tion had better go slow in this matter, bscjauee all is not progress which is called by that name. Let us wait three years and see how Colorado come3 out at the end of her first half decade of experience. |