49th Congress, 
 1st Session. 
 
 SENATE. 
 
 ( Report 70, 
 
 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 AniiL 2D, 1886. — Ordered to be priuted. 
 
 Mr. Brown, from the Committee on Woman Suffrage, submitted the 
 
 following 
 
 VIEWS OF THE MINORITY: 
 
 [To accompany S. Res. 5.] ^ 
 
 The undersi<^necl minority of the Committee of the Senate on Woman 
 Sntfrage, to whom was referred Senate Resohition No. 5, proposing an 
 amentiment to the (Constitution of the United States to grant the right 
 to vote to tbe women of the United States, beg leave to submit the ful- 
 fowing minority report, consisting of extracts from a littk^ volume enti- 
 tled, ^'Letters from a Chimney Corner," written by a highly (•nltivatcd 
 lady, ]\Irs. , of Chicago. This gifted lady has discnssed the ques- 
 tion with so much clearness and force that we make no apology to the 
 Senate for substituting quotations from her book in ])lace of anything we 
 might produce. We quote first from chai)ter ."5, which is entitled, " The 
 value of suffrage to women much overestimated." 
 
 The fair authoress says : 
 
 If women were to be considered in their highest and final estate as merely individ- 
 ual beings, and if the right, to the baUot were to be conce(UHl to man as an individ- 
 nal, it might perhaps be logically argued that women also possessed the inherent 
 right to vote. But tVoin the oldest limes, and throngh all the history of the race, has 
 rnn the glimmer of an idea, more or less distingnishable in different ages and nnder 
 different circumstances, that neither man nor woman, is, as such, individual ; that 
 neither being is ot itself a whole, a unit, but- each rec^uires to be supplemented by tlio 
 other before its true strnetural integrity can l)e aclreved. Of this idea, the science of 
 botany furnishes the. most [)erfect illustration. Thci stamens on the one hand and the 
 ovary and pistil on the other, may indeed reside in one blossom, which then exists in 
 a married or leprodnctive state. But eijually well, the stamens or male organs m.iy 
 reside iuone plant, and theovary and i)isiil or female organs may reside in another, la 
 that case, the two plants are reijuireil to make one structurally complete organization. 
 Each is but half a i>lant. an incomplete individual by itself. Tae lite princl|de of 
 each must be united to that of the otlu-r; the twain must l)e indeed one llesh before 
 the organization is either structurally or functionally complete. 
 
 Now, everywhere throughout nature, to the male and female ide il, certain distinct 
 powers and properties belong. The lines of demarkai ion are not ahvavs clear, not al- 
 ways straight lines; they aie frequently wavering, sliadovvy, and ditlicnlt to follow; 
 yet on the wlude, wherever physical strength, personal aggressiveness, the iuiellectual 
 scope and vigor which manage vast material enterprises are emi)haMized. there tiie 
 masculine idt-al is present. On the other hand, wherever retineim nt. tenderness, deli- 
 cacy, sprightiiness. spiritual acumen, and force are to the fore, there the leupiiine 
 ideal is rei>resented, and th''se terms will be found nearly enough, for all i)ractical 
 purposes, to re]»re.sent th.e differing endowments of actual men and w iiiieu. Ditfci ent 
 })Owers snggest different aciivities, and under i he division of labor here indicated ihe 
 C(mtrol of the state, leg slation, the jmwer ol the ballot would s»'em ti» Call to the 
 share of man. Nor does this decision carry with it any injustice, any r<»bberv of just 
 or natural right to woman. In lier hands is placed a mi>ral and spiritual i»<»wer, tar 
 greater than the power of the ballo". In her married orreproductivest.ite, the form- 
 ing and shaping of human souls in their most plastic period is her destiny. Nor do 
 her labors or her responsibilities end with infancy or childhood. Throughout his eu- 
 
2 
 
 WOMAN SUFFRAGE. 
 
 tire course, from the cradle to the jrrave, man is ever under the moral and spiritual 
 infliu'uce and control of woman. With tliis power ooes a tremendous responsiltility 
 for its true management and use. If woman sliail ever rise to the fall heij^ht of her 
 power and ])rivile<^es i"n this direction, she will have enough of the world's workuiion 
 her hiinds without ntteui]>tin<;- h'gislatiou. 
 
 It may be ar<j;ued that the possession of civil power confers dignity, and is of itself 
 are-enforcement of whatever n.'it nral [>ower an individual may possess ; but the dig- 
 nity of womanhood, when it is fully undi'rstood an<l appreciated, needs no such re-en- 
 forcement, nor are the jieculiar needs of woman such as the law can reach. When- 
 ever laws are needed for the protection of her legal stat us and rights, there has been 
 found to be little difticulty in obtaining them by means otl^the votes of men; but 
 the deeper and more vital needs of wouiun and of society are those which are out- 
 side altogether of the |)ale of the law, and whicu can only be reached by the moral 
 forces lodged in the hands of woman herself, acting in an enlarged and general 
 capacity. For ins auce, whenever a man or woman has been wronged in marriage, 
 the law may indeed step in with a divorce ; but does that divorce give back to either 
 party the dream of love, the happy home, the prattle of children, and the sweet out- 
 look for future years which were destroyed by that wrong? It is not a legal i)ower 
 w^hich is needed in this.case; it is a moral power, which shall i^revent the wrong, or, 
 if committed, shall induce penitence, forgiveness, a i)uier life, and the healing of the 
 ■wound. This power has been lodged by the Creator in the hands of woman herself, and 
 if she has not been rightly trained to us«} it there is no redress for her at the hands of 
 the law. The hiw alone can never conipel men to respect the chastity of women. 
 They must first recognize its value in themselves, and by their own courageous and 
 upright living — by living up to the high level of their duties as maidens, wives, and 
 mothers — they must impress men with the beauty and sacredness of purity, and then 
 whatever laws are necessary and available for its protection will be easily obtained, 
 with a certainty, also, that they can be enforced, because the moral sentiments of 
 men will be enlisted in their support. 
 
 Privileges bring responsibilities, and before women clamor for more work to do, it 
 were better that they should attend more thoughtfully to the duties wiiich lie all 
 about them, in the home and social circle. Until society is cleansed of the moral 
 foulness which infests it, which, as we have seen, lies beyond the reach of civil law, 
 Avomen have no call to go forth into wi<ler fields, claijuing to be therein the rightful 
 and natural purifiers. Let them first make the home sweet and pure, and the streams 
 which How therefrom will sweeter^ and purify all the rest. 
 
 As between the power of the ballot and this moral force exerted by women there can- 
 not be an instant's doubt as to the choice. Nor is it very plain to be seen how wo- 
 men can yield both. It is a quest ion of having your cake and eating it too. In natu- 
 ral refinement and elevation of character the ideal woman stands a step above the 
 ideal man. If she descends from this fortunate posiiion to take part in the coarse 
 scramble for material power, what chance will she have as against man's aggressive 
 forces; and what can she possibly gain that she cannot win more directly, more ef- 
 fectually, and with far more dignity and glory to herself by the exercise of her own 
 womanly prerogatives ? She has, under Go<l, the formation and rearing of men in her 
 own hands. If they do not turn out in the end to be men who respect woman, who will 
 protect and defend her in the exercise of every one of her God-given rights, it is be- 
 cause she has failed in her duty toward them ; has not been taught to compreh<*nd 
 her own power and to use it to its best ends. For women to seek to control men by 
 the power of suffrage is like David essaying the armor of Saul. What woman needs 
 is her own sheepskin sling and her few smooth pebbles from the bed of the brook, and 
 then go forth in the name of the Lord God of Hosts, and a victory as sure and de- 
 cisive as that of the shepherd of Israel awaits her. 
 
 Again, in Chapter 4, entitled, *' The i)Ower of the home,'' the author 
 says : 
 
 It is perhaps of minor consequence that women should have felt themselv^es eman- 
 cipated from buttons and bread-making ; but that they should have learued to look 
 in the least degree slightingly upon the great duties of women as lovers of husbands, 
 as lovers of children, as the fountain and source of what is highest and purest and 
 holiest, and not less of what is homely and comfortable and satisfying in the home, 
 is a serious misfortune. Women can hardly be said to have lost, perlia])S what they 
 have SO rarely in any age generally attained, that dignity which knows how to com- 
 mand, united with a sweetness which seems all the while to be complying ; the power, 
 Bupplo and strong, which rescues the character of the ideal woman fronj the charge of 
 weakness, and at the same time exhibits its utmost of grace and fascination. But that 
 of late years the gilt has not been cultivated, has not, in fact, thrown out such natural 
 off-shoots as gave grace and glory to some earlier bocial epochs, must he evident, it 
 would seem, to any thoughtful observer. 
 
 If, instead ofstriving to grasp more material power, women would pursue those studies 
 
WOMAN SUl^FRAGE. 
 
 3 
 
 and iiivosti<?ation8 wliich tend to mnko tlioin fiuuiliar with n-liat soieneo tear'lios con- 
 cern in the iiitliieiiee ot' t he mother and the homo ii poti I he ehihl, of how compkitely t he 
 Creator in <;'iviii<^ thei <»ene;si8 of tlie human race into lh(^ hands of woman, has mado 
 her notonl.N ca])al»leof, Imt responsible for, npon th(M-ej;-en«'raf ion of the world; if they 
 wonhl n lh'cr that natnre by makin<r man tht) bon(i-sh-i ve of his passions, haspnt the 
 lever in the lumds of woman by which she may control him, and if they wonhl h am 
 to use these powers not as bad women <h), for viloand svllishends, l)nt as th(^ mothers 
 of tlm race on<j,ht, for pure an<l holy, and redempti v»' purposes, then Avonld the sphere 
 of women be enlai'*2;ed to somii purpose ; t he at mospbere of thi^ home would Ix; pnrilied 
 and vitalized, and the work of redeemin<^ man fr*)m lii-» vices would be hopefully l)e;;un. 
 
 From Chapter 1 we make the folio win extract: 
 
 Is this em incipation of woman, if that is the i)roi)er phrase for it, a final end, or 
 only the nieans to an end ? Are w»)men to be as the outcome of it emancipated 
 froni their workl-old " sjjliere " of marriage and motherhood and control of the 
 moral and spiritual destinies of the race, or are th(!y to Ix^ emancipated, in onha* to 
 the i)roper fullilhnent of these functions ? It wo dd seem that most of the advanced 
 •women of thi; day would answer the tirst of these (luestions aflirnniti vely. Women, 
 1 think it. has been authoritatively ^stated, are to l>e emancipated in order that they 
 may become fully developed human bein<;s, something broader and stronger, some- 
 thing higher and finer, tnore delicate, more aesthetic, u.ore generally raretied and 
 sublimated than tiie ()ld-fashi«)ned type of wouniidiood, the wife and mother. And 
 tiie lesult of the woman movement seems more or less in a line thus far with this 
 theoretic aim. Of advanccvl women, a less proportion are inclined to marry than of 
 the old-fashioned tyi)e ; of these wlio do nnirry, a great ])roportion are resiU ss in 
 marriage bomis or seek release from them, while of those who do remain in married 
 life, many bear no children, and few indeed Itecome mothers of large families. The 
 woman's vitality is concentrated in the l>rain, and friu tilies more in intellectual than 
 p.hysi' al forms. Now women who do not marry are one of two things, either they be- 
 long to a class which we shrink from naming, o they become old nmids. An old maid 
 may be in herself a very useful and commendable person, a valuable member of so- 
 ciety — many are all this — bnt she has still this sad (Irawl)ack, she cannot perpetuate 
 herself; and since all history and ol>servation go to prove that the great final eml of 
 creation, whatever it may be, can only t e achieved throngh the i)eri)etnity and in- 
 creasing ]>rogress of the race, it follows that unmarried woman isnotthe most neces- 
 sary, the imlispensable type of woiuan. If there were no other class of females left 
 upon the earth bnt the women who do not bear children, then the world would be a 
 failure, creation would lie non])lussed. 
 
 If, then, the movement for the emancipation of woman has for its final end the 
 making of never so fine a (i|nality, never so sublimated a sort of non-child-bearing 
 women, it is an ahsur<lity upon the face of it. 
 
 From the standpoint of the Chimney Corner, i appears that too many even of the 
 most gilted and liberal mindt'd of the leaders in the woman's rights movement have 
 nor yet iliscovered this flaw in their logic. Tbey seek to individualize women, not 
 seeing ap[)arently that individualized women, old maids, and indi vidualizeti men, 
 old bachelors, though they may be useful in certain minor ways, are, after all, to 
 speak with the relentnessiiess of scieni;e, fragmentary and abortive, so far as the great 
 scheme of the uinverse is conrerned, and often become in addition seriously detri- 
 menral to the right progress of society. The man and woman united in marriage form 
 the unit of the lacti ; they alone rightly wield theself-])erp(!tuating power upon which 
 all human ]irogress depends ; without which the race itself must perish, the universe 
 become null. 
 
 Rea< hing this point of the argument, it becomes evident that while the develop- 
 ment of the individual man or indivulnal woman is no doubt of great importance, 
 since, as Margaret VulhT has justly said, " There must be uiuts before there can 
 be union," it is chiefly so because of th<'ir ndation to each other. TUeir chaiactt'rs 
 should he (h;velopt;d with a view to their future union with each other, and not to bo 
 inde})cndent of it. \Vhen the leaders of the woman's movement fully realize this, and 
 shape tln ir course accordingly, they will have made a great advance, both in the 
 value of tln'ir work and in its claim upon public sympathy . Moreover, they will have 
 reached a ]>oint from which it will be possible, for them to investigate, reform and 
 idealize the relations existing between men )»n(l wome?., as it is now impossii)Ie for 
 them to do, and to meet in a practical manner the question whitdi more than all others 
 ai)])alls the philanthropist and staggers the practical reft)rmer, namely, the preven- 
 tion and cure of licentinusness. 
 
 We make a few additional (flotations from the a])i)on(lix, entitled, 
 ^'Tbe relation of woman to the state; praciieal sng:gvstions." 
 
 A publication of the foregoing letters in the Chicago Inter-Ocean brought out so 
 many protests from the "women suflVagists that in submitting the letters to iho public 
 
4 
 
 WOMAN SUFFRAGE. 
 
 the wrifer feels constrainefl to add a few words coiiceruing what appears to her to be 
 the true ]>lace of woman in the state. 
 
 To say lliat llie ]»ower of woman is essentially a moral one does not necessarily im- 
 ply that all women are more moral than all men, nor even that in any given commu- 
 nity a majority of women, if allosved to vote, would be found upon the side of nu-as- 
 nres proi»osed in the interest of abstract nuual excellence. In mont communities, 
 notably in large cities, where ^prostitntes abound, and where thieves and gamblers and 
 paloon kt epers, and the vicious classes generally have their multitude of female ad- 
 herents, and where, on the other hand, frivolity and.the fashionable forms of vice absorb 
 so jnany women, it may well be doubted if upon any great moral question the ma- 
 jority of women wonhl be found on the side of even practicaHuorality. 
 
 0\\f^ strong ass<'rtion — it can Iiardly be called an argument — of the women sutfra- 
 gists is, tluit if the wives and mothers of any conmiunity were allowed to vote they 
 would close saloons, brothels, and gambling houses. But setting aside the question 
 vf Avliether the ab.solute closing of these ])laces would be, on the whole, a irain to so- 
 ciety in its present condition of imiturity ; whether the best that can be done is not 
 to heal the open ulcer, which indicates and at the same time gives relief to the in- 
 famous disease within, but rather so to restrain and circumscribe it that it may not 
 8X)read the plague by its foul inoculation. Setting t his (piestion wholly aside, it is by 
 no means clear to the minds of some who liave given the matter deep and prayerful 
 consideration, that the niajoi ity of all tin; women of any community in which vice is 
 openly ram])ant would vote for such suppression. The good wives and mothers, t he pure 
 and true women generally, of any connnunity are, indeed, invested with amoral torce, 
 ■which, if intelligently wielded, is well nigh supreme; butitis not a force of numbers, 
 like that which ])revails in the political world. Asa voter, a good woman hasnonu)re 
 power in the state than a bad one. At the p<dls the woman of gifts, cultuie, of em- 
 inent social posiilion, puts herself upon an absolute equality with the vilest drab ia 
 the streets. This fact, asexpressed in manhood sutiVage— the abscdute {)olitical equality 
 of all male voters — already constitut<'8 in the eyesof many wise statesmen an imminent 
 and deadly peril to the Republic ; a p^ril which would not be in any wise lessened, 
 but greatly complicated by the admission of all women to the privilege of the ballot. 
 In England, ^^hele suffiago is bestowed by classes, the torce of this objection is 
 greatly diminished. Much as some female leaders of opinion in that country may de- 
 sire the parliamentary vote lor themselves, I greatly doubt if they would rejoice to 
 see it bestowed upon the women of St. Giles and Billingsgate. 
 
 Ought then this moral power, which resides in the good and true women of any 
 community, to beexcluded fiom influence upon the state? By no means. Probably 
 few women have deeper, more ])ositive, or more earnest convictions upon this subject 
 than the writer of these lines. But let us examine briefly the foundations upon which 
 the state rests. 
 
 One of the wisest and purest of European republicans, Joseph Mazzini, is recorded 
 as believing that not right, but duty, is the watchword of human j)rogress. Not au 
 nnconditional liberty is the foundation of a true state, but the restrained and orderly 
 exercise of proper individual prerogatives. 
 
 Long before you can predicate j)olitical duties for woman, you mnst recognize her 
 duty as wife and mother; as the queen regnant of thehome, as the fountain of order, 
 jnsiice, viitue, and charity, the giver of life, and the former of character for future 
 generations. Heaven's supreme excellerces center around and find their best earthly 
 expression in the ideal woman and her work. 
 
 To this hi^h office, the duty of man is subordinate. He is to furnisi\ the mate- 
 rial supplies by means of which the great work of re-cr ation may be carried on. Ifc 
 is his duty to sn])port the family by his labor, to give it the strength of his counsels, 
 and the protection of his val()r. Few women who are good, and true, and faithful 
 iiu)thers, would not resent the idea that it was their duty, also, to furnish the mate- 
 rial supi)lie8 which nourish the outward form or body of the home. 
 
 "No," they would say, and say rightly; "We ])eril our lives for our children, we 
 give our da vs and nights to care and anxiety, to burdens of pain and perph^xity, 
 which men know nothing of. It is their duty to minister to the material necessities of 
 ourselves and our children, without toiler trouble on our part." 
 
 Let us carry a sitnilar division of labor into the state. Does not the voice of the 
 true woman respond, "We furnish citizens, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh; 
 we train them uj) to manhood in all manly, noble virtues ; we givetheni our patience, 
 our faith, our watchfulness, our prayers, and it is little to ask in return that tlie 
 state, which is managed by them, sliall be just and impartial, nay, generous and 
 munificent, to us, who trust our all in their hands." As a matter of fact, women have 
 too seldom put forth such apjieals as t>is, but whenever and wherever they have done 
 so, at least in this American Republic, they have always Ibund a respectful hearing 
 and a generous response ; and the simple and sole reason why women are not endowed 
 Avith suflrage to-day is, that the majority of the wives and mothers, and good vvomen 
 generally, of this laud, have never asked for nor desired it. 
 
WOMAN SUFFRAGE. 
 
 5 
 
 Civil law is the j^rowtli of the agos, andjikcs nil other imiiipniorial institutions, it 
 cherishes many iinpei lections ; bnt these are l>ein<x removed as rapidly, perhaps, ;is is 
 consistent with trne ])foi:r< ss. That there still rcunain laws upon I h(^ stat ntti hooks 
 Avhich ;iro reliesof biuharism, and hoar h.irdly npon woman, is true enough; hut let 
 the women of ;iny connnnnity nnite to deline these wrongs ami sn^jL^est tiie re«lress, 
 and thern will be no diiticnlty in obtaining it, not in spite of nien, bnt by nutans of 
 them. If a wonnni wants a new house s'.ie does not <;o at W(\rk with a pick and s])ado 
 and tiowel to build ir herself; she sim])ly sets the men al>out it, and if she is worthy 
 of a home at all, she has her parlur .ind kitchen and closets just where she wants 
 them, too. If she desires civil or political improvements, let her <ifo about the work 
 in t he s.-inn^ I'.ishion. 
 
 It is tnis united action, the i s])iration coming from women, the execution from men, 
 and the two forces workinj^ harnM)niously and lovingly to<;ether, not pulling awk- 
 wardly and an<;rily apart, that is destined to save the state and save the worhl. 
 
 The above quotations, froin tbe valnablo Uttle book ali^eady mentioned 
 by oar j^itted auliioress, are so ai)i)ropi iate, vso well and so forceibly ex- 
 ])ressed, that we clieei lnlly, as already stated, substitute them in pbico 
 of any })Toduction of our own, and resi)eetfully commend them to tlie 
 Senate and to the country as worthy of careful consideration and re- 
 flection. 
 
 We also append hereto the minority report submitted by the under- 
 signed in the Forty-eighth Congress. 
 
 JOSEPH E. BROWN. 
 F. M. COOKKELL. 
 
 rSenate Report No. 399, Part 2, Forty-eighth Congro.ss, first ses.sion.j 
 
 The nvderfigvcd mivoritij of the CommWee of the. Senate on JVontan Snffraqe, to u-hom was 
 ref rred S. Ii'ts. 19, propoHiuq an amendment 1o the Constitution of the United Siaten, 
 granting the ri(jhi to vote to the women of the United States, beg leave to submit the fol- 
 lowing report : 
 
 The nndersi<;ned believe that the Creator intended that the sphere of the males and 
 fenujles of our race should be ditfereut, and that their duties and oblijiations, while 
 they ditfer nniterially, are ecinally imiiortant and ecinally honoralde, and that each 
 Bex is equally well qualilied by natural endowments for the (lischar<jfe of the impor- 
 tant duties which pertain to each, and that each sex is equally competent to dis- 
 cbarjie those duties. 
 
 We find an abundance of evidence both in the works of nature and in the Divine 
 revelation to establish the fact that trie family y)roperly re<rulated is the fonndation 
 and pillar of society, and is the most important of any other human institution. 
 
 In the Divine economy it is provided that the man shall i)e th^ head of the family, 
 and shall take upon himself the solemn obh<;atiou of prov idiu<5 for auil protectin;^ the 
 fannly. 
 
 Man, by reason of his physical stren<rth, and his other endowments and faculties, 
 is qnalitied for the dischar<xe of those duties that require strt'ni;th and ability toc un- 
 hat with the sterner re;i1ities and difficulties of life. The <litferent classes of outdoor 
 labor, which require i)hysical strength and endurance, are by nature assi<riied to man, 
 the head of the family, ns part of his task. He discharges such labors as recpiire 
 greater ])hysical endurance ami strength than the female sex are nsinilly found to pos- 
 sess. It is not only his duty to provide for and ])rot<'et the family, hut as a memlxT 
 of the comnnmity it is also his duty to discharge the Inborious and responsibhiobliixa- 
 tions which the family owe to the State, and which (d)ligaiion must be discharged by 
 the head of the family, until the nnile mem hers of the fmiily have grown np to man- 
 hood and are at)le to aid in the discharge of those obligations, wh<*n it becomes their 
 duty in their turn to take charge of and rear each a family, for which he is responsi- 
 l)le. 
 
 Among other duties which the liead of the Aimily owes to the state is military duty 
 in time of war, which he, when able-bodie<l, is able to discharge, and which the fe- 
 nnile members of the family are unable to dis(diarge. 
 
 He is silso under obligaiion to discharge jury duty, and by himself or his represent- 
 ative to discharge his partof the labor necessary to construct ami kt'ej) in proper order 
 roa<ls, bridges, streets, and all grades of ])ublic highways. And in this progressive 
 age upon the male sex is devolved the duty of constrncting our railroads, and the 
 
6 
 
 WOMAN SUFFRAGE. 
 
 engines and other rolling-stock with which they are operated, of bnilding, equipping, 
 and launching shipping and other water crafts of every character necessary for tho 
 tran8portati6n of passengers and freight upon our rivers, our lakes, and upon the 
 high seas. 
 
 The labor in our fields, sowing, cultivating, and reaping crops must be discharged 
 mainly by the male sex, as the female sex, for want of physical strength, are gener- 
 ally unable to discharge these duties. 
 
 As it is the duty of the male sex to perform the obligations to the state, to society, 
 and to the family, already mentioned, with numerous others that might be enumer- 
 ated, it is also their duty to aid in the government of the state, which is simply a 
 great aggregation of families. Society cannot be preserved nor can the peoj)le be 
 prosperous without good government. The Governmeut of our country is a govern- 
 ment of the people, and it becomes necessary that t hat class of people upon whom the 
 resptinsibility rests should assemble together and cousider and discuss thegreat qnes- 
 tious of governmental policy which from time to time are presented for their decision. 
 This often recjuires the assembling of caucuses iu the night-tiuie as well as public as- 
 semblages in the day-time. It is a laborious task for which the male sex is intinitely 
 better fitted than the female sex, and after proper consideration and discussion of the 
 measures that may divide the country from time to time, the duty devolves upon those 
 who are responsible for the Government, at times and places to be fixed by law, to meet 
 and by the ballot to decide the great questions of government upon which the prosperity 
 of the country depends. These aresomeof theactiveand sternerdutiesof life to which 
 the male sex is by nature better fitted than the female sex. If in carrying out the policy 
 of the state on great measures adjudged vital, such policy should lead to war, either 
 foreign or domestic, it would seem to follow very naturally that those who have been 
 responsible for the management of the state should be the parties to take the hazards 
 and hardships o.f the struggle. 
 
 Here, again, man is fitted by nature for the discharge of the duty — woman is unfit 
 for it. So much for some of the<luties imposed upon the male sex, for the discharge of 
 which the Creator has endowed them with proper strength and faculties. 
 
 On the other hand, the Creator has assigned to woman very laborious and responsi- 
 ble duties, by no m^ans less important than those imposed upon the male sex, though 
 entirely difterent in their character. In the family she is a queen. She alone is fitted 
 for the discharge of the; sacied trust of wife and the endearing relation of mother. 
 While the man is contending with the sterner duties of life, the whole time of the 
 noble, atfectionate, and true woman is required in the discharge of the delicate and 
 difficult duties assigned her in the family circle, in her church relations, and in the 
 society where her lot is cast. When the husband returns home weary and worn in 
 the discharge of the difficult and laborious task assigned him, he finds in the good 
 wife solace and consolation which is nowhere else afforded. If he is despondent and 
 distressed, she ch^^ers his heart with words of kindness; if he is sick or languishing, 
 she soothes, comforts, and administers to him as no one but an afiVctionate wife can 
 do. If his bunlens are onerous, she divides their weight by the exercise of her love 
 and her sympathy. 
 
 But a still more important duty devolves upon the mother. After having brought 
 into existence the offspring of the nuptial union, the children are dependent upon the 
 mother as they are not upon any other human being. The trust is a most sacred, 
 most responsible, and most important one. To watch over them in their infancy, and, 
 as the mind begins to expand, to train, direct, and educate it into the paths of virtue 
 and usefulness, is the high trust assigned to the mother. She trains the twig as the 
 tree shotild be inclined. She molds the character. She educates the heart as w^ell as 
 the intellect, and she prei)ares the future man, now the boy, for honor or dishonor. 
 Upon the manner in which she discharges her duty depends the fact whether he shall 
 iu future be a useful citizen or a burden to society. She inculcates lessons of patriot- 
 ism, manliness, religion, and virtue, fitting the man by reason of his training to bean 
 ornament to society, or dooming him by her neglect to a life of dishonor and shame. 
 Society acts unwisely when it imposes upon her the duties that by common consent 
 have always been assigned to the sterner and stronger sex, and the discharge of which 
 causes her to neglect those sacred and all-important duties to her children, and to the 
 society of which they are members. 
 
 In the church, by her piety, Iter charity, and her Christian purity she not only aids 
 society by a proper training of her own children, but the children of others, whom 
 she encourages to come to the sacred altar, are taught to walk in the paths of recti- 
 tude, honor, and religion. In the Sunday-school room the good woman is a princess, 
 and she exerts an infinence which ]uirities and ennobles society, training the young 
 in the truths of religion, making the Sunday-school the nursery of the chutcli and 
 elevating society to tlie higher planes of pure religion, virtue, and patriotism. 
 
 In the sick room and among the humble, the poor, and the suftering, the good 
 woman, like an angel ot light, cheers the hearts and revives the hopes of the poor, the 
 suffering, and the despondent. 
 
WOMAN SUFFRAGE. 
 
 7 
 
 It \v()ul<l be a vain attoni[)t to undertake to onDinerate the retiiiiui;-, ('ii(U'ariii<;, and 
 ennobliui; inlluences exercised by the true Avr»nian in lier reflations to tlie family anil 
 to society when she occn|)ies the sphtre assijiiied her by the laws of nature and the 
 Divine inspiration, whicli are our surest "uide ibr the present and the future life. 
 But howcau woman beexpected to meet these heavy responsibilities and to discharj^e 
 these delicate an<l most important duti«'s of wife, Christian, teacher, minister of mercy, 
 friend of the sutferin*;, and consoler of the despondent and the needy, if we impose 
 upon her the j^rosser, rougher, and harsherduties which nature has assi<;ned to the male 
 sex ? 
 
 If the wife and tlie mother is required to leave the sacred ])recincts of lK)me, and 
 to attempt to do military duty when the state is in i)eril, or if she is lo be re(|uired 
 to leave her home from day to ilay in attendance njiou the court as a juror, and to be 
 shut up in the jury-room from ni<;ht to ninht, with men who are strau«;ers, while a 
 question of life orpro))t rty is beiu<»; considered, if she is to attend political meetiujrs, 
 take i^art in political discussions, and min<;le wilh the male sex at political <;ather- 
 in^s, if she is to become an active; ])olitician, if she is to atteml ])olitical caucuses at 
 late hours of the ni<iht, if she is to take part in all the unsavory work that may be 
 deemed necessary for the triumph of her party, and if on election day she is to leave 
 her home and go upon the, streets electioneering for votes for the candidates who re- 
 ceive her support, and mingling among the crowds of men who gather around the 
 polls, she is to press her way through them to the ballot-box and deposit her sutirage, 
 if she is to take ])art in the corporate struggles of the city or town in which she re- 
 sides, attend to the duties of his honor the mayor, of council tuau, or of policeman, 
 to say nothing of the many other like obligations which are disagreeable even to ther 
 male sex, how is she, with all the^>e heavy duties of citizen, i)()litician, and otlice- 
 holder resting upon her shoulders, to attend to the niore sacred, delicate, and relining 
 trust to which we have already referred, and for which she is peculiarly titted by 
 nature ? If she is to discharge the duties last mentioned, how is she, in connection 
 ■with them; to discharge the more retiuing, elevating, and ennobling duties of wife, 
 m-otlier, Christian, and friend, which are found in the sphere were nature has placed 
 berf 
 
 Who is to care for and traiu the children while she is absent in the discharge of 
 these masculine duties ? 
 
 If It were proper to reverse the order of nature and assign woman to the sterner 
 duties devolved upon the n)ale sex and to attempt to assign man to the more refining, 
 delicate, and ennobling duties of the woman, man would be found entirely incompe- 
 tent to the discharge of the obligations which nature has devolved upon the gentler 
 sex, and society must be greatly injured by the attempted change. But if we are 
 tohl that the object of tliis mo\ ement is not to reverse this order of nature, but only 
 to devolve upon the gentler sex a portion of the more rigorous duties imposed by na- 
 ture upon tlie stronger sex. we reply that society must be injured, as t}ie wouian 
 would not Be able to discharge thost; duties so well, by reason of her waat of physi- 
 cal strength, as the male, upon whom they are devolved, and to the extent that the 
 duties are to be divided the male would be iutinitely less competent to discharge the 
 delicate and sacred trusts Avhich nature has assigned to the female. 
 
 But it has been said that the present law is unjust to woman ; that she is often re- 
 quired to pay taxes on proi)erty she holds without being permitted to take part in 
 framing or administering the laws by which her property is governed, and that she 
 is taxed without representation. That is a great mistake. 
 
 It may be very doubtful whether the male or the female sex, in the present state of 
 things, has more influence in the administration of the affairs of the Government, and 
 the enactment of the laws by which we are governed. 
 
 While the woman does not discharge military duty, nor does she attend courts and 
 serve on juries, nor does she labor upon the pul)lic streets, bridges, or highways, nor 
 does she engage actively and publicly in the discussion of political affairs, nor does 
 she enter the cro\Aded precincts of the ballot-box to deposit her suffrage, still tiie in- 
 telligent, cultivated, noble woman is a oower behind the throne. All heriutluence is 
 in favor of morality, justice, and fair dealing; all her efforts and her counsel are in 
 favor of good government, wise and wholesome regulations, and a faithful admiuis- 
 tration of the laws. Such a woman, by her gtuitleness, kindness, and Christian bear- 
 ing, impresses her views and her counsels upon her father, herhuslnind, her brothers, 
 her sons, and her other male friends, who imi)erceptibly yield to her iiillneiice many 
 times, without even being conscious of it. She rules not with a rod of iron, but with 
 the queenly scepter ; she binds not with hooks of ste.l, but with silken cords; she 
 governs not by physical efforts, but by moral suasion and feminine purity and deli- 
 cacy. Her dominion is one of love, not of arbitrary power. 
 
 We are satisfied, therefore, that the pure, cultivated, and ])ious ladies of this coun- 
 try now exercise a very powerful but quiet, imperceptible iutiuence in popular affairs, 
 much greater than they will ever again exercise if female suffrage should be enacted 
 
8 
 
 WOMAN SUFFRAGE. 
 
 and they sbonld be compelled actively to take part in the affairs of state and the cor- 
 ruptions of [larty ]><>litics. 
 
 It would lye a gratification, and we are always ^jlad to see the hidies gratified, to 
 many who have espoused the canst? of woman sntfiagc if thev could take active part 
 in political afltairs, and go to the ])olls and cast tlieir votes alongside the male sex; 
 hut while this would be a gratiticat ion to a large number of very wor thy and excellent 
 ladies, Avho take a difierent view of the question from that w hich we entertsiin, we 
 feel that it would be a great cruelty to a much larger number of the culti vated, re- 
 tined, delicate, and lovely women of this country who seek no such distinction, who 
 would enjoy no such ])rivilege, who would with woman-like <lelicacy shrink from the 
 discharge of any such obligation, and w ho would sincerel.\'-''regret that what they 
 consider the folly of the state had im]»used upon them any such unpleasant duties. 
 
 But should female suffrage be once established it would become an imperative ne- 
 cessity that the very large class, indeed much the largest class, of the women of this 
 country, of the character last described, should yiehl, contrary to their inclinations 
 and their wishes, to the necessity which would .compel them to engage in political 
 strife. We apprehend no one who lias properly considered this question will doubt, 
 if female suffrage should be establish(;d, that the more ignorant and less refined })or- 
 tions of the female i)oi)ulation of this conntrv, to say nothing of the basi-r class of 
 females, laying aside female delica< y, and disregarding the sacred duties devolving 
 upon them to which we have alreacly reierred, would rush to the polls and take pleas- 
 ure in the crowded association which the situation would compel of the two sexes in 
 political meetings and at the ballot-box. 
 
 If all the baser and all the more ignorant portion of the female sex crowd to the 
 polls and deposit their sufirage, this compels the very large class of intelligent, vir- 
 tuous, and refined females, including the wives and niothers who have much more 
 important duties to perform, to leave their sacred labors at home, relinquishing for a 
 time the God-giving impoitant tiust which has been placed in their hands, to go con- 
 trary to their wishes to the polls and vole, to couiiteract the suffrage of the less wor- 
 thy class of our female j)opulation. 
 
 If they fail to do this the best interests of the country must suffer. 
 
 It is now a problem which perplexes the brain of the ablest statesman to determine 
 how we will best preserve our republican system as against the demoralizing influ- 
 ence of the large class of our present citizens and voters, who, by reason of their il- 
 literacy, are unable to read or write the ballot thej'^ cast. 
 
 Certainly no statesman who haw carefully observed the situation would desire to 
 add very largely to this burden of ignorance. But who does not apprehend the fact 
 if universal female suffrage should be established that we will, especially iu the 
 Southern States, add a very large number to the voting population whose ignorance 
 utterly disqualifies them to discharge the trust. If our colored population, w'ho were 
 60 recently slaves that even the males who are voters have had but little opportu- 
 nity to educate theujselves, or to be educated, whose ignorance is now et;citiug the 
 liveliest interest of our statesuien, are causes of serious apprehension, what is to be 
 said in favor of adding to the v(>ting population all the females of that race, who, on 
 account of the situation iu which they have been ])laced, have had much less oppor- 
 tunity to be educated than even the males of their own race? We do not say it is 
 their fault that they are not educated; but the fact is undeniable that they are 
 grossly ignorant, with very few exceptions, and probably noC one in a hundred of 
 them could read and write the ballot they would be authorized to cast. What says 
 the statesnmn to the propriety of adding this immense mass of ignorance to the vot- 
 ing population of the Union in its [)resent condition f 
 
 It may be said that their votes C'»uld be offset by the ballots of the educated and 
 refined ladies of the white race in the same section, but who does not know that the 
 ignorant voters would be at the polU tn manse, while the refined and educated, shrink- 
 ing from puldic contact on such occasions, would remain at home and attend to their 
 domestic and other important duties, leaving the country to the control of those who 
 could afford, under the circumstances, to take part in the strifes or ])oliiics, and to 
 come iti contact with the unpleasant surroundings before they could reach the polls. 
 
 Are we ready to expose the country to the demoralization, and our institutions to 
 the strain, which would thus be jilaced upon them, for the gratification of a minority 
 of the virtuous and tlui good of our female po])ulatiou, at the expense of the mortifi- 
 cation of a much larger majority of the same class? 
 
 It has been frequently urged with great earnestness by those who advocate woman 
 sullrage that the ballot is necessary to the women to enal)le them to protect them- 
 selves in securing occupatioiiH, and to enable them to realize the same compensation 
 for the like labor which is received by men. This argument is plausible, but upon a 
 closer e\amination it will be found lo pos^^ess but little real force. The price of labor 
 is, and must continue to be, governed by the law of supply and demand ; and the per- 
 son who has the most physical strength to labor, and the niost pursuits requiring 
 such strength open for employment, will always command the higher prices. 
 
WOMAN SUFFRAGE. 
 
 9 
 
 Ladies ninkc .'xcellont fcacliers in the public scliools ; many of thorn are every way 
 tilt" equals of tluMr niaU^ competitors, and siill they secure less waives than males. The 
 reason isohvions. 'J'he numl)er of ladies who olfcr t hemsci ves as teachers is nuich lar<;er 
 than the nnniher of males who are willing to teach. The larger number of lemales 
 otter to teach because other occujiations are not open to rheiu. The smaller nuiuhor 
 of males otfer to teach because other more ]>rotitable occupations are open to moat 
 males who are competent to reach. The resulr is that the competition for ]iositioa3 
 f.f teachers to he tilled by ladies is so »;r»'at as to reduce the price, but as males can- 
 not be employed at that price, and are necessary in certain i)lacesin the suhools, tlu)8e 
 6e. kin<; their si'rvices have to pay a hiirher rate for them. Persons hav in<; a larger 
 nutnher of i)laces open to the n with fewer co upetitors command higher w.iges than 
 t hose who have a smal'er numher of ]>Ia{'es 0[)en to them witli more conij) ititors. This 
 is the law of society. It is the law of supi)ly and demand, which cannot be changed 
 by legi>lation. 
 
 1'hen it follows that the ballot cannot enable those who have to compete with the 
 larger number to command the same ])rices as those who C()m])ete with the smaller 
 number in the labor market. As the legislature has no i)ower to regulate in practice 
 that of which the advocates of female si'.tiVage complain the ballot in the han<ls of 
 females could not aid its regulation. The ballot cannot impart to the female phys- 
 ical strength which she does not possess, nor can it o])en to her i)ursuifs which she 
 does not have ])hysical ability to etigage in; and as long as she lacks the physical 
 Btrength to compete with nun in the ditferetit departments of labor there will be 
 more competition in her de]iartmen(, and she must necessarily leceive le^s wages. 
 
 But it is claimed again that females should have the ballot as a ]n'otection against 
 the tyr.-inny of bad husbands. This is also delusive. Jf the husband is brutal, ar- 
 bitrary, or tyrannical, and tyrannizes over her at home, the ballot in her hatids would 
 be no protection against such injustice, but the husband who compelled h«'r to con- 
 form to his wishes in other res])ects would also compel her to use the ballot if she 
 ,p<»ssessed it, as he might ]dease to dictate. The ballot could therefore be of no as- 
 sistance to the w ife in such case, nor could it heal family strifes or dissensions. On 
 the contrary, one of the gravest objections to ])laciiig the ballot in the hands of the 
 fejuale sex is that ir would promote unhappiuess and dissensions in the family circle. 
 There should be unity in the family. 
 
 At ])resent the man represents the family in meeting the demands of the law and 
 of society uptui the family. So far as the rougher, coarser duties are concernr'd, the 
 man represents the family, and the individuality of the woman is not brought into 
 prominence, but when the ballot is placed in the iiands of th<' woman her individu- 
 ality is enlarged and she is expected to answer for herself the demands of the law and 
 of society on her individual account, and not as the weaker member of the family to 
 answer by her husband. This naturally draws her out from tlie dignified and culti- 
 vated retim-ment other womanly jiosition, and brings her into a closer contact with the 
 rcmgher elements of society, which tends to <lestroy that higher reverence and respect 
 which her refinement and diunity in the relation of wife ami mother have always in- 
 spired in those who a|)proached her in her useful and honorable retirement. 
 
 When she becomes a voter she will be more or less of a politician, and will form 
 political allianci'S. or unite with ]iolitical parties, which will fiequently be antago- 
 nistic to those to which her husband belonij;s. This will introduce into the family 
 circle new elements of disagreement and discord, which will frequently end in un- 
 happy divisions, if not in s» ]iai ation or divorce. This must frequently occur aaIicd 
 8he becomes an active politician, identified with a party which is distasteful to her 
 husband. On the other hand, if she unites with her husband in party associations, 
 ami votes with him on all occasions, so as not to disturb the h irmony and happiness 
 of rhe fan ily. then the ballot is of no service, as it simply du])licates tl^e vote of the 
 male on each s'de of the question, and leaves the result the same. 
 
 Again, if the fa.ihily is the unit of soci-ty, and the State is composed of an aggreg.v 
 tioii of families, then it is important to society that there be as many happy familiea 
 a-* possilde, and it becomes the duty of man and woman alike to unite in the holy re- 
 lation of matrimony. 
 
 As this is rhe. only legal and proper mode of rendering obedience to th« early com- 
 mand to multii)ly and ie]>lenish the ear.h, whatever tends to discourage the holy ro- 
 bition of matrimony, is in disobedience of this command, and any change which en- 
 courages smh disoliedience is violative of the Divine law, and cannot result in ad- 
 Yanta«;e to the State, Before forming this ivlntion it is the duty (.f young men who 
 have to take u])ou themselves the responsibilities of providing for ami protecting the 
 family to select some profession or pursuir. that is most congenial to their tastes, uud 
 in which they will be most likely to be successful; but this is not permitted to the 
 young ladies, or if permitted, it cannot practically carried out after matrimony. 
 As it might fre(iuently happen that the young man had selected one ])rofessiou or pur- 
 suit and the young l.kly another: the result would be that after marriage she must 
 drop the profession or pursuit of her choice and employ herself iu the sacred duties of 
 
 S. Rep. 70, pt. 2 2 
 
10 
 
 % 
 
 WOMAN SUFFRAGE. 
 
 wife and mother at liome, and ift rearing, educating, and elevating the family, wliUe 
 the husband jjursues the profession of liis choice. 
 
 It may be said, however, that there is a class of young ladies who do not choose to 
 marry, and who select professions or avocatious and follow them for a livelihood. 
 This is true, but this ch\ss compared with the number who unite in matrimony with 
 the husbands of their choice is comparatively very small ; and it isthe duty of society to 
 encourage the increase of marriages rather than of celibacy. If the larger number of 
 females select pursuits or professions which requite them to decline marriage, society 
 to that extent is deprived of the advantages resulting from the increase of pojiulation , 
 by marriage. 
 
 It is said by those who have examined the question closely that the largest number 
 of divorces is now found in the communities where the advocates of female suffrage 
 are most numerous, and where the individuality of wonmn as related to her husband, 
 which such a doctrine inculcates, is increased to the greatest extent. It this be true, 
 and it seems to be well authenticated, it is a strong plea in the interest of the family 
 and of society against granting the petition of the advocates of woman sutfrage. 
 After all, this is a local question, which properly belongs to the difl'erent, States of the 
 Union, each acting for itself, and to the Territories of the Union, when not acting in 
 coniiict with the Coi^stitution and laws of the United States. 
 
 The fact that a State adopts the rule of female suffrage neither increases nor di- 
 minishes its power in the Union, as the number of Representatives in Congress to 
 which each State is entitled, and the number of members of the electoral college ap- 
 pointed by each, is determined by its aggregate X)Oi)ulation, and not by the jjropor- 
 tion of its voting population, so long as no race or class is excluded from the exercise 
 of the right of sutlrage. 
 
 While the undersigned would vote against female suffrage if the question were to 
 arise in th(nr respective States, they admit the power of the States over the subject- 
 matter. Entertaining these views, they protest against a cousiitutional amendment 
 which w^ould confer the right of female suffrage in all parts of the Union, without regard 
 to the wishes of the different States at anytime after the adoption of the said amend- 
 ment. They believe that the noble, true, good women of the country should be heard, 
 and as an expression of their views there is hereto appended Woman's Protest against 
 Woman Suflrage," known as the Lorain Memorial against Woman .Suffrage, ])resented 
 to the Ohio legislature and signed by a large number of the most thoughtful and in- 
 telligent women of the cities of Oberliu and Elyria, Ohio, iucluding lady teachers and 
 wives of professors in Oberliu College. 
 
 JOSEPH E. BROWN. 
 F. M. COCKRELL. 
 
 woman's protest against woman suffrage. 
 
 We acknowledge no inferiority to men. We claim to have no less ability to per- 
 form the duties which God has imposed upon us than they have to perform those im- 
 posed upon theuj. 
 
 We believe that God has wisely and well adapted each sex to the proper perform- 
 ance of the duties of each. 
 
 We believe our trusts to be as important and sacred as any that exist on earth. 
 
 We believe woman suffrage would relatively lessen the iutiuenceof the intelligent 
 and trui', and increase the intiutnce of the ignoi ant and vicious. 
 
 We feel that our present duties till up the whole measure of our time and ability, 
 and are such as none but ourselves can pertbrm. Our ai)pre<*iation of their impor- 
 tance requires us to protest against all efforts to infringe upon our rights by imposing 
 upon us those obligations which cannot be separated from suffrage, but which, as we 
 think, cannot be performed by us without the sacrifice of the highest interests of our 
 families and of society. 
 
 It is our fathers, brothers, husbands, and sons who'represent us at the ballot-box. 
 Our fathers and our brothers love us ; our husbands are our choice and one with us; 
 our sons are what we make 1 hem. We are content that they represent us in the corn- 
 field, on the battle-lield, and at the ballot-box, and we ihcm in the school-room, at the 
 fireside, ami at the cradle, believing our representation even at the ballot-box to be 
 thus more full and impartial than it would be were the views of the few who wish 
 suffrage adopted, contrary to the judgment of the many. 
 
 We do therefore respectfully protest against any legislation to establish " woman 
 suffrage" in yur land, or in any part of it. 
 
 o 
 
 I SEYMOUR DURST