842 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY, 



d^ovvcsp omXjCiicje. 



WOMAN'S CLAIMS TO THE BALLOT. 



Editor Popular Science Monthly : 



Sir : The " antagonism of the sexes " sug- 

 gested in your criticism of my paper on 

 Woman and the Ballot, in the June number 

 of the Monthly, must have been read between 

 the lines, as I have not the least feeling of 

 that nature to betray. 



I confess, however, that I have a passion- 

 ate love of justice which is apt to be aroused 

 by any attempt to forestall judgment such 

 as was made by Mrs. Linton and Mr. Talbot 

 in announcing the raison d^etre for woman. 

 Believing, as I do, that neither they nor any 

 one else can give one iota of proof in regard 

 to " causes of existence," whether of an 

 amoeba or woman, a little irony is pardonable. 



No attempt whatever was made to give the 

 important arguments in favor of woman suf- 

 frage, as these were ignored in Mr. Talbot's 

 article, his efforts being mainly directed to 

 the testimony of " Nature " against a femi- 

 nine share of government. 



One of the best reasons I can urge for 

 the gift of the franchise to woman is its edu- 

 cative effect upon herself. I hold strongly 

 to the doctrine of personal responsibility, and 

 think enough evil has been accomplished by 

 " trusteeship," however generously and con- 

 scientiously it may be exercised in particular 

 instances. 



The special laws referred to as resultants 

 of woman's effort were: The bill granting 

 property rights to women in the State of 

 Vermont, October, 1847; the removal of dis- 

 abilities from the women of Kansas in 1869 ; 

 and the granting of property rights to the 

 women of Connecticut in IsVY. The testi- 

 mony in regard to these is as follows : " From 

 1843 to 1853, inclusive, I edited The Wind- 

 ham County Democrat, published by my hus- 

 band, George W. Nichols, at Brattleboro. 

 Early in 1847 I addressed to the voters of 

 the State a series of editorials setting forth 

 the injustice and miserable economy of the 

 property disabilities of married women. In 

 October of the same year Hon. Larkin Mead, 

 of Brattleboro, ' moved,' as he said, by Mrs. 

 Nichols's presentation of the subject in the 

 Democrat, introduced in the Vermont Sen- 

 ate a bill securing to the wife real and per- 

 sonal property with its use and power to de- 

 fend, convey, and devise, as if sole. The bill 

 as passed secured to the wife real estate 

 owned by her at marriage," etc.* 



* neminiscenccs of Clarinda I. Howard Nich- 

 ols, History of Woman Suiirage, vol. i, p. 175. 



In 1859 Mrs. Nichols addressed the Con- 

 stitutional Convention in Kansas upon equal 

 legal and political rights for women. Three 

 of the four petitions presented by her were 

 granted, the report being adopted by a solid 

 vote of the Democrats and enough Republi- 

 cans to make a majority.* 



The Connecticut law of 1877 giving prop- 

 erty rights to women was passed upon Gov- 

 ernor Hubbard's recommendation, who, in a 

 personal letter to Mrs. Isabella Hooker, ac- 

 knowledged her influence. " Thank your- 

 self and such as you for what there is 

 of progress in respect to woman's rights 

 among us." \ 



If these women did not supply the mo- 

 tive power that stimulated the sluggish mas- 

 culine " sense of equity and right," then we 

 are wrong in ascribing causative value to any 

 pleading. It is not a case of post hoc, prop- 

 ter hoc, merely ; it has the connection of the 

 match and the flash. 



As for all generalizations concerning the 

 mental characteristics of women, I think we 

 have as yet no adequate data, and therefore 

 that all books founded on such premises are 

 entirely valueless from a scientific point of 

 view. Alice B. Tweedy. 



New Yoek, August 25, 1896. 



A CORRECTION. 



Editor Popvlar Science Monthly : 



Dear Sir : On page 669 of the August 

 number of the Monthly E. W. Moir makes the 

 statement that he treated certain cases " ho- 

 mcjBopathically." The cases were patients 

 suffering with what has been called " caisson 

 disease." The cause of this disease is the 

 too sudden removal of supernormal atmos- 

 pheric pressure, or the too rapid removal of 

 one from a chamber of compressed air. 



To relieve the paralysis thus caused we 

 are told that the patients were again put 

 into a heavy atmosphere. As it was the re- 

 moval from a heavy atmosphere that caused 

 the disease, certainly reintroducing a patient 

 into a heavy atmosphere can not be called 

 homoeopathic treatment. There are many 

 others who misuse medical terms quite as 

 recklessly as the word " homceopathically " 

 is in the instance mentioned above. 



Respectfully, J. M. G. Carter, M. D. 

 Waukegan, III., August 1, 1896. 



* nistory of Woman Sivffrage, vol. i, pp. 1S2, 



193. 



t History cf Woman SuHrage, vol. iii, p. 3C6. 



