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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



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WOMAN'S CLAIMS TO THE BALLOT. 



Editor Popular Science Monthly : 



Sie : 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 wa3 made by Mrs. Linton and Mr. Talbot 

 in announcing the ration 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 1859 ; 

 and the granting of property rights to the 

 women of Connecticut in 1877. 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.* 



* Reminiscences of Clarinda I. Howard Nich- 

 ols, History of "Woman Suffrage, 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." f 



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 York, August 25, 1896. 



A CORRECTION. 



Editor Popular Science Monthly : 



Dear Sir : On page 569 of the August 

 number of the Monthly E. W. Moir makes the 

 statement that he treated certain cases " ho- 

 moeopathically." 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. 



103 



* History of Woman Suffrage, vol. i, pp. 192, 

 t History cf Woman Suffrage, vol. iii, p. 326. 



