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Show CALIFORNIA'S SUFFRAGE TEST. On Oetober 10 of thia year the voters of California Cali-fornia will accept or reject the proposed amendment amend-ment to their atate constitution, giving women the right, or privilege, rather, of voting. The California Califor-nia papers' tell na the women hava organized and have opened campaign appealing primarily to the intelligence of voters. Our idea ia that women should vote if they de- sire to. Wa know of no good reason why men should take it "upon themselves to oppose a woman wom-an 'a desire. to vote; that tha privilege of voting is an inherent perogativa of woman if aha desires to vota, and that man haa no more right to question ques-tion that deairo than to prescribe whether a woman should wear a hobble skirt or a Navajo blanket. But what proportion of California women hava any desire to possess that privilege f Wa wish that the authorities of that state would aet aaide ballot boxea in every preeinot of California and ask the women to vote, merely to teat that queation. Wa do not. believe that 10 per eent of them would go to the polls at all to vote, for not mora than ona woman in a hundred earea for the boon. Tha arguments argu-ments generally used 'that it will change tha characters char-acters of women do not' count. A very few in a stata will bt. induced to make politics a hobby, but without tha privilege each women would pick up tome other hobby. The best way would be to test women's desires in tha matter by fixing ft) r thorn a place to vote. |