Women–To the Polls!

By Inez Milholland

For those New Yorkers not in the loop, there has been a great storm of debate raging in a little restaurant called Polly’s down on Sixth Avenue. Discussion about suffrage, labor, and the values of a bohemian lifestyle have dominated the forefront thus far, but things seem to be coming to a head as the final sessions draw near and decisions must be made.

I have submitted this article as yet another plug for getting women the right to vote. Finding that among so many wonderful voices at Polly’s, one individual’s could be lost, and also wishing to spread the message to a wider audience, I have turned to a more public forum—The Forum. So please, all you Forumites, hear my plea: GIVE WOMEN THE VOTE!

There are those that would scoff at this, and say, “What do women need it for?” That is hardly the question. The real question is: why don’t we already have it? Are we not citizens of the United States, just as much as men are? Have we not given our fathers and brothers and sons and husbands to defend this country?  Have we not given our time and our support to keeping America as stable as possible? What would this country be without the women? Where would you MEN be without us?

I can tell you: you would be nowhere! You’d have no clothes on your backs, no socks on your feet! You’d have no one to cook you supper at night, breakfast in the morning! You’d be childless and lonely! Women are the providers of future generations—does that not garner some respect? And if man knew any better, he’d show appreciation for all the woman has done for him since the very dawn of time, even, and give her the right to vote now that she wants it!

And you, women, FIGHT FOR IT! Stand up and let your voice be heard! Can the President ignore us if we are shouting in his ear? Can you allow your husbands to deny you what you want when they have already taken everything from you? If you want the Vote, and you should, for without it we are merely SLAVES to the men, unable to speak for ourselves! Would you let a man cut out your tongue to keep you silent? Will you let him deny you the Vote any longer?

I have heard what the Antis are saying, and I say to them: don’t start carping on about our responsibilities in the home! If a woman can educate herself in Latin and Politics and Science prove she is as knowledgable as a man in these areas, who’s to say a man can’t learn how to manage a home and raise children? Aren’t they the more “capable sex”?

But why do we need to split hairs? Can’t men and women work alongside each other equally? With the Vote, women will be on equal political standing with men! Already there are husbands and wives who hold separate jobs and raise their children together. There are even some couples that have flouted convention altogether and refused to change the woman’s name to match the man’s! Why does a woman need to sacrifice her independence for a man?

Please, women of New York—nay, of the United States of America— remember what I’ve said here, and vote for suffrage! GIVE WOMEN THE VOTE!