| Show woman suffrage not despaired of they havea have a saying in norway to this effect that the lord will certainly come though he may not come oil on horseback we commend this bit of scandinavian wisdom to our friends who are inclined to be downhearted down hearted and croaky ky over the outlook for woman suffrage inthe if the reform is as they believe it to be a genuine and needed one then it is bound to come that it may not come at a time or iu in the way they have taught themselves to expect it is very likely looking the whole field over we cannot farour part see tilly any real cause for discouragement ingream in great britain certainly the reform is making maung converts influence and roadway generally ai ni never before john stewart milpa voice was never so powerful never so persuasive as it is today to day never has he ho had bad so large and sympathetic an rudi rudl audience ence in this country the surface aspect of things is we ave must admit J not noi ot nearly so satisfactory wha what t with the stu stupidity vc city of some would be leaders the intellectual and moral eccentricities of others and the operation of natural calces the reform does not seem to bo be gettin getting oil on as wo could wish vish there has ha s been a good deal of wrangling alienation and backsliding back sliding some sonic have grown cold some ii have ave fallen asleep conventions are not so frequent nor so well attended as they were a while since the public reems seems to take but a languid interest in woman suffrage periodicals or discussions the short cut dut experiment from which so much was hoped in some quarters has not proved a success quite the ue contra ry zy gen grant and the republican party arty seem to have forgotten or broken their ante aute election pledges all this is of course discouraging enough to reformers who do not look beneath the surface because they cannot detect the silent operation of the leaven they hastily jump to the conclusion that it is inert and lifeless because they cannot see the seed bursting and sprouting in the ground they throw up their hands in desp despair air t the tho c labor of sowing has all been wasted it is useless to expect any harvest reasonable people who observe and think do not share these gloomy feelings they recognize the fact that in the case of every great reform there must be an interval between planting and harvesting that after wo we have done our part we must give the great forces operating cooperating co with us time to do theirs that IM impatience allence and fretfulness argue in tte tto the last analysis a want of faith in tho the vitality of the seed these people insist that the argument for woman suffrage is now pretty familiar to intelligent people the country over and is steadily i undermining prejudices ex exciting citing doubts stimulating inquiry and working conviction further that the emphatic utterances of such men as bishop simpson and the late salmon saimon P chase chaee have reached and thrilled conservative classes in the comma community anity that would have forever remained deaf to bishop haven and wendell phillips further that the marked increase in the respect paid to wo mans intellectual and business qualities in our popular church organizations shows that public opinion is drifting in the right direction finally they triumphantly cite the facts chatin several sta state e women are now not only eligibly eligible under the laws to elective office but are actually running for it that in other states their services are being sought as school superintendents etc and that both in public trusts in colleges and in the professions they are beginning to command success by deserving it they think these facts significant and encouraging ing and che the republican quite agrees with them there is one auxiliary of reform which perhaps has hitherto failed to get proper recognition and credit the mixed secret society every good Temp lars lodge in the land is whether consciously or unconsciously matter a picket of woman suf sul suffrage it is constantly educating young t women in botin voting and being voted for while it accustoms accustoms young men to see these novel proceedings with entire of mind the new farmers organization if it adheres to the ideas and justifies the expectations of its founders will do more in the next five years to bring in woman suffrage than all tile the woman sufi suffrage age conventions that could be held from now till the end of the century in the grange we are told there is no discrimination against sex the women vote and hold oace office on equal terms with the men our farmers as a class are very conservative but they are well stocked with common sense and homely practical logic if they find this sex equality work well in the c g grange m n they will presently be for 0 r t trying zvi ng in in inthe in the little local township elections or at any rate will not oppose any ver very y determined resistance to those who do want to try it that point carried the day is won woman suffrage ceases from that moment to be a 9 bugaboo and becomes a matter of course fact like ilko majority rule or jury trial spring rne fie d mass be iee publican |
