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Show WD 146 ANOTHER WOMAN'S OPINION. 1 women of.Utati Partly to oblige a dear friend and partly from the lively- interest I feel In our common cause, I venture to address you on a subject of vital interest to us all, viz. The action of the Territorial Legislature in relation te thn Bill concerning the Political Disabilities of women. To begin with the phrase has a very unpleasant sound to my ears. Why not the political disabilities of men as well, or rather, the political disabilities of citizens of both sexes, when ignorance, vice, or mental incapacity render "it subversive, of the public Weal to allow such persons to receive offices of public trust. But why this invK dious distinction as regards sex. Is not the average woman morallyand mentally equal to the average man? Does it follow from the mere fact of a public officer's being aworaan citizen and in every way fitted for the duties of her office, except of course the grave offence of being a woman, that she will any the less faithfully and conscientiously perform those duties from the mere accident of sex, or is she any more liable to perjure herself and abscond with the pnblic funds whleh may be entrusted to her keeping, than her brother man under the same circumstances. I hope and trust that our wise law.maker3 will cease to allow such a libel on their wives, mothers and daughters to exist except as a relic of the superstition of a past age. And here another important phase of this voxed question presents itself. Granted for argument's sake that woman is eligble to public office does it not naturally follow that If she perforins the same work - t should sho receivo the same remunreation? It is sometimes argued that men should receive more wages than women on the ground i t hey:;have families to support either present or prospective, In my humble opinion this is a distinction without a difference, for In my experience I have Bever known a single instance where a true wife and mother has used her personal earnings (when she is so fortunate as to have any) for self aggrandizement, the result is always apparent In some added home comfort, something for the little ones thus lightening her husbands burdens, or in a gift to the poor and needy. Such being the case shculd shejnot have the and satisfaction of knowing that her time and brains are as valuable as her husband's, when the same duties. And here arises another difficulty. Many of our opponents seem to think if the Woman's Bill eventually becomes a law that all women, regardless of home duties or qualifications for office will speedily degenerate into tbaV most contemptiblo class of God's creatures ofllco seekers. Now, from my knowledge of our virtues And their aims and purposes a greater fallacy does not exist. Certainly not one woman in a hundred can leave her home to preform the duties pertaining to any public office probably a less proportioq have any inclination in that direction, but we wish to feel that we have the right to hold positions of public trust, where we are mentally and morally capable and when we represent the will of a majority of our fellow citizens. In short we have grown tired, as Mrs. Stanton, pertinently remrks of being classed with Idiots, lunatics and crimiuals. It is ue we nave me right or suffrage hut Is this all,this shadow-withou- t the that our brethren can' afford to substance, the self-respec- t per-'termin- . give us, HI N g S E X P 0 N E N T. with them In the redemption ofZion, and the upbuilding of the kingdom of the Latter days. Nevertheless wTe feel and believe that our cause .will eventually prevail and in that day we 8hall.be proud toremember andjlo honor ia our gallant defenders. ' Although our political fate is still trembling Jn the balance, yet ,wo hope against hope that our Legislators'will be the pioneers in this great refbrm,as well as in many other great and good works heretofore. is allowed to ?ui tno be now too late to two years hence may pa33 confer iippn them the being firdt to bestow political freedom upon any portion of the female citizens of this great Republic. However liberty is worth waiting for and we bide our time trusting to an overruling Providence for the result. , CORRESPONDENCE. co-work- ers Morgan City Feb. Dear Editok I see in your last issue a report which, a vote was taken on.what is termed the Woman's Bill, with this result: It only carried a minority. "AJ1 the most intelligent ladies voted for it." Your reliable Informant says'the majority did not understand it." How veTy obtuse! Thn parsons who mke the assertion, or it's equivalent i. e. that the intelligent oor. r&tion&f this community is the minority (for suchls the inference) ought to give us their names. I beg leave to refute the assertion. The portion of the audience who did not vote for the Bill, acted thus, from a senbe of truthfulness to themselves, and hot from ignorance. They thought that by helping themselves to many offices, now held by men, they would perchance be bartering their womanly modesty and gentleness, for, an easier life or a little more money. The "intelligent" portion of a com. munity, may be, a mixture of the bold and self reliantjdemonstrativo and conceited, the conservative, reserved, dignified, reflecting and cautious. Each one perhaps, bright and intelligent, but scarcely all balanced by wisdom. While I strenuously hold, that woman ought to have a voice" In the election of officers, who aie to rule over, and make i jja f.tr tha urmon nnrl nhilil rrtn & wall :IH the men: I think that the ladies eligible to offices are so few, not from want of capability but on account of youth, or family duties, vraud-jliiliiivttans- &t, Equal Rights. WHO ARE NOT ENTITLED. Should women, because they are women, really not be entitled to hold offices of trust or profit, in States and Territories? In the name of common sense, wo ask, why? To be entitled must in' reason mean to be qualified to do the most and best good, in that office for the public welfare. To say, that there are ho public offices of trust and profit, that woman can fill as well as man; is an assertion, which is not worthy of being disproved. Wo will merely any, there is nota man, whose opinion a woman should care anything about, but what ' knows better. It has been sown broadcast, that the care of "home" devolving upon woman, (lis? qualifies her to hold offices of trust and profit But it is just for theisake of that Home, that qualified persons, whether men or women, de3iro to bo entitled to hold offices of trust and profit. We maintain, that, to assert that women os account of being women, should be unfit to hold offices of trust and profit, ii sheer nonsense, and does not merit to be met ... 1 by the passing of such a Bill, are at par, with the benefit to bo derived therefrom. I entreat you, my dear sister, let us not have party spirits and contentions among us, on this or any. other subject; let us not snap at one another because we cannot all faults," ahd Is more according with the Spirit of our Divina Master. YourJSister in the Gospel. with an argument. A thiel,a liar, a drunkard, a debauchee, a profanor of the name of God, will wherever put, be a traitor to the trust of an office in the public service. He may be ever so intelligent a rascal, he is uufit,nevertheless. But, that women should be because they are women, n outrage upon reason, and a torture to sound, sense. We do not consider it' good policy, to court public litigation in our behalf. And we do not do it. Pleso don't infringe upon the ''right" of our Exponent. We do like, non-entitl- ed, fire our say la 'ur own war And there will be no litigation, when the time comes, this little deformity in our Statutes will be set right, and without lit- sec-tion- - Gunnison Feb. 16th 1880. E. F. place, "damme It's too bad," said Mr, Plu unconsciously quoting from "Pinafore.' igation, wo venture to predict. We 8oe that the seeming suddenness of this question has had a queer effect on some brains. But, a little time for consideration, on the sweeping term of the language of our Statute: "Neither shall' any person be entitled to hold any office of trust or profit, in the territory unless "he" is a ''male'' (the ludlcrousness of thelanguago almost nullifies the intended meaning of the ) citizen of the United States, will settle that question for the good- - of all. Truth will prevail." C. Too many Girls. "Them girls'Il be the death of mo," sighed Mr. Plug this morning as he came up street. Why I thought they were very nice girls," said a sympathizing friend. "So they are nice enough, but there's too many on 'em, an' they're too attractive," said the disconsolate patriarch. "Thorn three daughters of mine were enough in all conscience, but now my niece Is up here from Boston, and it seems as if the old scratch had got in 'em, I don't object to young folks havin' a good time, and girls havin'beaux and all that,but when it comes to havin sparkin' going on all over tho is-a- To of a meet, ing of the R. 8, of Morgan Stake during gLPP'lnUy Manti Feb. 15, 1880. 9, 1880. H. M. : Last night Sue. had a feller courtin' her at the front t gate, and Julia had her chap in the parlor, and when I got ready to go to bed, bless me, if Andromache that's my nieco from Boston) didn't have young Start spooning heron the stairs. She says that'sI Newport style. Cuss such nonsense! couldn't get up stairs to go to bed without climbin' over them, so I 'thought I'd go cut to the barn and sleep on the hay but darn my pictur, if I didn't fall oyer Miliy and some young snoozer 'nuther settin' in the barn door. This thing's got to stop before the cold weather,for I can't afford wood and karrysene for any such nonsense when it too cold for outtdoor sparkin." |