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Show Kate Field on the fcnnragc Sixteen months ago, on the platform of the World's fair congresses in Chicago, Chi-cago, I Btated that, never having believed be-lieved in universal suffrage nnallied to suffrage. Logically I have always believed be-lieved that women had as much right to the ballot as men. I denied the right to both sexes. I have always claimed that suffrage is a privilege and should be granted as a reward of merit regardless of sex. If woman suffrage leaders had taken the same ground, I would have joined them long ago. I was convinced that whenever a majority ma-jority of American women wanted the ballot they would get it. I never met a man who did not assent to this conviction convic-tion and who did not second xay assertion asser-tion that the worst opponents to female suffrage are women themselves. Why, then, did I experience a cnange I of heart in Chicago? Because I had begun be-gun to look into our naturalization laws and was terrified at facts. Because I discovered that the new 6tates were in the hands of aliens, not citizens of th United States. Because I saw that female fe-male immigration was much less than male immigration; that ,1 large majority major-ity of female voters would bo American born, and that the sooner the forces of anarchy and rebellion were met by the aonservators of home and law the better for the country. I heard the threatening? of riot that broke out a year later, and it 6eemedto me time for women to come to the fore. What I thought 16 months ago I firmly firm-ly believe now. |