on,
has entirely disappeared. From the experiment made under my own
eyes I can state in all candor that suffrage has been a real
benefit to women. It gives them a character and standing which
they would not otherwise possess. It does not lower a woman to be
consulted about public affairs, but is calculated to make her
more intelligent and thoughtful in matters that concern her own
household, especially in bringing up her sons and daughters. It
increases her interest in those things which concern the great
body of the people. Men in office and out of office, particularly
those who expect to serve the public, are compelled to be more
considerate of her wishes, and more desirous of doing those
things which will secure her approval. The greater the number of
persons living under a government who are interested in the
administration of its affairs, its well-being and the perpetuity
of its institutions, the stronger the government and the more
difficult it will be to compass its overthrow....

We frequently hear it said that women will not vote if they have
the opportunity; or, if permitted to vote, such an inconsiderable
number will exercise the privilege that it will not be worth
while to encumber the electoral system by granting it. In all
matters in which women have an interest, as large a percentage
vote as of the other sex. They have the same interest in all
which pertains to good government. They have exercised the
privilege of voting not in a careless and indifferent manner but
in a way reflecting credit on their good sense and judgment.

I know women who have exercised the fullest political rights for
a period of more than twenty years. They have taken the deepest
interest in the political affairs of the Territory and young
State. Neither in their homes nor in public places have they lost
one womanly quality; but their minds have broadened and they
have become more influential in the community in which they live.
During these years I have never heard of any unhappiness brought
into the home on account of women's exercising their political
rights. A fair and unbiased test of this question has been made
by the people of Wyoming, and no unprejudiced man or woman who
has seen its workings, can now raise a single honest objection.
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