ing office shall be exercised only by citizens of the
United States, and those who shall have declared on oath,
before a competent court of record, their intention to
become such, and shall have taken an oath to support the
Constitution and Government of the United States.

Mr. EDMUNDS.--That does not relate to the first election.

Mr. SARGENT.--That objection applies to the details of the bill;
it does not apply to my amendment.

Mr. EDMUNDS.--That is true.

The PRESIDING OFFICER.--The Senator from Wisconsin is entitled to
the floor.

Mr. CARPENTER.--Mr. President, as the yeas and nays have been
ordered on this question and I shall vote for this amendment,
without going into any argument of the general question, I desire
to say one word as to the reason why I shall so vote.

I believe it is not one of woman's rights, but it is one of man's
that the franchise should be extended to women. I believe there
is no situation in which man can be placed where the aid of woman
is not beneficial; that in all the relations of life, in all the
occupations and all the duties of life it was the intention of
God in creating the race that woman should be the helpmate of
man, everywhere and in all circumstances and occupations. Look
through your country, look in your railroad cars, look in your
post-offices, look in your dry-goods stores, and there you see
everything decent and orderly and quiet. Why? Because women go
there. The only place in this country from which they are
excluded by law is the voting place, and in many of our large
cities those places are the most disgraceful that can be found
under our institutions. Now, I believe if the elections were open
to ladies as well as gentlemen, to women as well as men, there
would be as much order, quiet, and decency at the voting places
as there is in a railroad car, and for precisely the same reason.
If our wives and mothers and daughters were going to these
election places there would be order and decency there, or there
would be a row once for all that would make them decent. I have
more confidence in the influence of women at the elections in New
York City to reform the condition of things that exists there and
bring about decency and order at the elections and the prevention