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Show Woman's Enfranchisement In Utah I By PARLEY P. JENSON H The enfranchisement of women from legal disabilities or rather the agitation which has led to that end began many years ago. It has been stated by those who favor their full enfranchisement that it in reality began when the common schools were first thrown open to l them and it became a certainty when the higher institutions of learn ing admitted female students to their halls. Agitation for the removal oi political disabilities may be safely said to have had its beginnng in 1848, at the meeting of the woman's convention at Seneca, New York. At this convention which was ostensibly called for the purpose of demanding equal rights pertaining to property and in the government III Mattie Hughes Cannon, Utah's Only Woman ex-State Senator. Alice Merrill Home, ex-Member of Utah House of Representatives. in the family, there was a resolution adopted demanding the political enfranchising of women with the right to vote and hold public office co-equal with man. It is this latter phase of this question that this article has to deal, more especially where the right to vote and hold office has been given to women in the United States, and by giving a concise history of the political enfranchisement of women in Utah, to lay out a ground for discussion as to whether this enfranchisement has been a success or if it has accomplished what it was hoped it would accomplish. The first move made looking towards the granting of the elective elec-tive franchise to women in the then territory of Utah was in the year 1869. At the session of congress then convened at Washington, a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Mr. Jullian of Indiana and another looking to the same end was introduced in the Senate by Senator Pomeroy of Kansas. These bills were introduced with the express purpose of checking the growth of polygamy in the territory by giving the women of Utah an opportunity of passing laws cr influencing legislation against plural marriage. At this time the agitation against polygamy had reached the national legislature and i H the bill known as the "Edmunds Act" was before Congress. So' 1 harsh were the measures embodied in this bill that it caused a strong protest from the women of Utah. A general mass meeting of women was held in Salt Lake City at which resolutions were passed condemnatory condemn-atory of the measure which practically disfranchised the Mormon people of Utah. This meeting was held January 13th, 1870, and one month later (February 12th) the measure having passed the territorial territor-ial legislature, acting governor S. A. Mann approved the following bill: "An Act giving women the elective franchise in the Territory of. Utah. Section 1. Be it enacted by the governor and legislative as- Isembly of the Territory of Utah that every woman of the age of twenty-one years who has resided in this Terrritory six months next preceding any general election, born or naturalized in the United 4 States, or who is the wife or widow or the daughter of a naturalized citizen of the United States, shall be entitled to vote at any election in this territory." Utah thus became the second territory to give the elective franchise fran-chise to women, Wyoming having granted that right about a year earlier. I For seventeen years the voting power was retained by woman, the right being withdrawn upon the passage of the Edmonds-Tucker Ac by Congress in 1887. During this time however many abortive attempts were made to make the act inoperative and more than once bills looking to its ab-rogation ab-rogation were before Congress. When at last statehood was granted Utah the Constitutional con-vention con-vention provided for the political enfranchisement of women. As to what has been accomplished by the voting power and its consequent, the office holding power, being granted, depends on the point of view from which the question is approached. In territorial days three women, Mrs. EmmelineB. Wells, Mrs. Sarah M. Kimball and Mrs. Elizabeth Howard held seats as delegates in the Constitu-tjonal Constitu-tjonal convention of 1882. These were the onb women who ever held positions of that kind in the United States. Since statehood, not to exceed twenty women have held elective offices in the State. Of these Mrs. Mattie H. Cannon held a seat in the state Senate and Euretha K. Le Barthe, Sarah A. Anderson and Alice Merrill Home in the House of Representatives. For the first six or eight years a few women held county offices throughout the state. Since then, however, they have rarely been placed upon the tickets of any party. This, notwithstanding the fact that fully fifty per cent, of the voting is done by the women of the state. The elec- fl tion returns also show that the women on a ticket are always at the bottom of the list as vote getters, showing that women voters will not as freely vote for women as for men. In the matter of appointive office only one state office has been held by a woman, Mrs. Emma J. McVicker occupying an unfinished term as Superintendent of Public Instruction of the state. t Of the minor state offices two women, Mrs. Dr. Cannon and Har-riet Har-riet M. Emerson, have served on the board of the Deaf and Dumb In- stitute; two, Mrs. McVicker and Mrs. Little on the board of regents H of the University of Utah, and five women formed the state board of H sericulture. H As legislators the women representatives have introduced and H succeeded in passing a number of bills, of these Mrs. La Barthe has H Mrs. Emmelinc B. Wells, I Utah'a Prominent Woman's Suffrage Advocate. I (Continued on page 14) I WOMAN'S ENFRANCHISEMENT IN UTAH (Continued from Paee 3) the credit for the act compelling women, patrons of places of amusement amuse-ment to remove their hats during performances and Mrs. Cannon as state senator championed the creation of the State Board of Health and was appointed one of its first members. She also introduced the bills relating to the erection of a hospital for the institution of the deaf, dumb and blind, and the education of these unfortunates at the expense of the state, Mrs. Home stands sponsor for the Utah Art Institute, she also championed the bill giving one hundred free normal school appointments. She also had the distinction of being the only woman member of the third state legislature. As to the executive ability of women in public office it is rarely that they have held an elective office for more than one term. As superintendents of county schools women have proven very acceptable. accept-able. For the past few years women have almost entirely ceased to hold elective offices in Utah. Political conventions are often held without the sex being at all represented in its membership. This ' condition seems to have been brought about by the consent and even by the active efforts of women voters even at the primaries, where they arc generally present. As a voter she is quiet and elections in Utah are always conducted con-ducted in an orderly manner. And now, after all, is woman' suffrage in Utah a success? |
