oes? You do not force men to vote; women, as a rule, have not
given this subject the attention they should; many of them are as
ignorant of the advantages the ballot would secure as were the
negroes when John Brown raised the insurrection at Harper's
Ferry."

There is a trite saying: "The darkest hour is just before the
dawn." The day cannot be far distant when Dakota's women will be
free; for the most intelligent men, and those occupying the most
prominent positions in our territory, are avowed friends of
suffrage. Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court for Dakota, Hon. A.
J. Edgerton, said in his Fourth of July oration here: "How
necessary it is for us to elect only good and honest men to
office! To do this, woman likewise must act her part in the labor
of arresting the advance of crime and corruption, although
through timidity the politician is slow to invest her with the
higher duties and obligations of American citizenship."

This same just judge has appointed a woman (Mrs. Washburn of
Chamberlain) stenographer of his judicial district--the best
salaried office in his gift.[454] With the assistance of this
grand man (occupying the highest position in our territory), and
many others equally efficient, it is not to be supposed that our
most intelligent women will be obliged to wait for the education
of the most ignorant men to consent to their enfranchisement.

In the last legislature (1885) Major John A. Pickler introduced a
bill enfranchising the women of the territory, which, after full
discussion, passed the House by 29 to 18,[455] and the Council by
14 to 10. The hopes of the friends were soon disappointed by the
governor's veto:

EXECUTIVE OFFICE, BISMARK, D. T., March 13, 1885.

_To the Speaker of the House of Representatives:_

I herewith return House file No. 71, with my objections to
its becoming a law. A measure of this kind demands careful
and candid consideration, both because of its importance and
because of the acknowledged sincerity and high character of
those who favor it. There are certain reasons, however, why
I cannot approve such a measure at this time, and other
reasons why I cannot approve this particular bill. It is
desirable, in my judgment, that we