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The Xviith Amendment

The Xviith Amendment image
Parent Issue
Day
29
Month
April
Year
1870
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

It would geera aa i! tb ere was no way iti whiub a in a ti of u reformatory turn could do iis nwcb just now for liuinanity as by OQutriving gome modo of giving llio ballot to buliiüs - tliat is pomo mudo of enabütig tliem to get ïhe ticket icto the bux. Ot' tiicii' ttncss lo voie, in uli othcr respcc.s, it is lmppily bot peruiit tfd to us :niy longer to doubt. According lo the argumenta by wliich in'icy re;it uien and etiil greater woiueu have been for ihü )as.t five years ailvocaling tlio cxteusiüii of tbe buffnige, a voter viots not need lo have the power oí judginjí oí measurea or of forecastiug eóDsequenoee. llo does not KteJ to knuvr bow to read, wiitu, (ir cipiitr. AU he does need is the capacily of ii oertaia niou and dislikii-g others; and ibis is compatible with tlie veiy lowest coüditioii ot ihu buman intelüg'nee, hay, i not eotirely Dcompatibla witb. idiocy. Wlen, for instaiicc, cur oorrespondent, '■M. C. Vf." íaid last weck, us'uig ono oí tho slump phruses in oommuD use (uiing tbe wur in support of tho thoorj tbat a voter does not uecd edaoatiou, "that the gnor&DtBlav8 knew euough to be loyal, wiiicli waa more tlian their niBsters dicl," what she meant ws. that the negro disiikeil tbo people wbo kept bim in uluvcry and Uoged Lira, wbilo bo iiked tbosu v? lio be believed wero going to delivsr hini from tbat condition. ISosv, oi' Li.ia liko and disüko of persona, of a partiality for t!io?e who give thcni t'uod and foiuilu them, and of a ropugnancu to tboso wbo do not givo them food aud piucb or spank them, there is no deuying that the uaass of bables are fully capable. Arnouyst very young babics, we aihnit, this po7er of disoriminatión i uot slwaya apparent; but it would bo worderful if it were. The cause of their iudifferenos is to bo found in the i'uet that, up to tbe prBJt:t, ih.y uave h-d no motive ior exercisuiff tl, o i'nculty of discriunnatioii. Let thein like or disüko ever 80 mueh, it could make no change in their cooJition. Tho detestad uurse was stil! sure to be lufc in charge of them ; liiey were alowcd i;o liberty of' dioico íimong posiblo nurscs ; so tht'j' very naturally feU i uto tlio habit of Kiaking tho best of their lot, or, whcu bndiy usec], ituiicating their dissatisfuction by apparently scuseless aud inai ticulate crips. We say "apparently" seusuless aul martioulate ; (o thosc who havo Btndièd the prohlcm of the baby's oondition in society, thoae crios always have been full of rery Joep meaniog. The wny to induce the b;iby to oecopy iteelf seriously wilh tho chaiacter and qualificatiims of tLoso v.'ho have charge of i t , is, as it seems to us, to furnish it with some formal and organized means of udica'iuti its preferenoe. Ti:e rueaus oi' extreising the faculty of discrimination ouco hupplied, tho faculty itself, thero is good reason to blii;ve, will show itself, and will grow rapidly. Tliat very young bibics have never ghown this facultv hitherto seemsraiher a poor argument agoinst the theory tbat it exiet?. Notliiog, or very Kale, ia as yet known, let us muv, aboul the nüiuro of babics. Their condition is wbat woinen have niiidu it. SwaJdled, cabiued, cribbed, and cotifined frorn tbe moment of tbeir birtb, and cïeprivod cl the power of speech, it Las be60 open to tticir mnthers and nui-ses to spread and perpetnate atiy notiimn thfty pleased about iheir needs and capacity. Give them ilio ballot - tbat is, a legal means of indicaüng to wbose liandn tbcy wished to be entrus'.etl, wit.h wbat kind of diet they withed to be sustaincd, end of wliHt procesa of tiaiuing they wbhed to bc the object, and, our word for it, the literatura, both cf j-lnuolooy and of sducation woald be greatly tnriched, lüd ihe mawkish stuíf wbioh oac meets with so uiuch in bouks and poriodicalf, and in societv, about baby "nnocenco,'; F.nd "prattle," and "diuiples," and "sweot uess," and "()retty wajs," would be hcard uo mora. Moreover, wo shou'd have un eud oftbe corrupt jargon kuown as "baby talk," in whicu uaotbars and nurscs now en largely iudnlSa, and wliic'.i, as it cousists simply in the dcb.:seuicnt of the popular ppeech, and is used f'eoly in iuttrcouric with childrcD who eithcr uuderstaud no langugu at all or undorstaiid correct English perfoctly well, Í3 plaiuly used as a rneans o! retardiog the dcvclopment of tho infant rnind, and thus strengtheniDg and protrauting adult ascouduncy. It is, bowever, ivhen we come to considcr biüics as a class affected by maternal control tliat the nccessily for armin them with sou:j mentís cf protectin theinsiilvea against their mothcra bc cu. ics more apparent. It is constantiy said tliat we can ro'y on the natural inBtÏDOta of psreotB to have juetice done to the olispring ; and tliat this rcay bo relied on iu a great numbor of cases ia no doubt truc. The dabies as sensible, intelligent and kiiid parunts tf course ceed uothicg more, but wliat about tliat inunde Cl asa oí uabieí whose parc:its are Dèithei kind dot sensible, nor iutc!:igmt, and who, far frora dctiriug of loving children, fee] tln-ia to be a burdcn ■and a uuisancc ï Tliat the number of adulta who do not liko or wunt childreu grows ii) every country, and grows, unbappily, in tiiö ratio oí tho culture and culture of the commumty - or, iii otlicr worda, in tho rntio of its oivilizatioo - is unhuppüy 'too Irue. It is wlint statistics lol us i'very day. Jliuistürsare pre.icbing about it, ]i!nlosopbcrB tliscuss it, u;.d doctora decouocing it tvery wet1!:. In short, it Idoï-'s more tod ïaoro aa il babiea would shonly bi r.ot ooly the ene in tlie opmoiuoitj uuprotfctrd by lfgislation, but the c!uLs most Deediog legit!ative prutection. Tho oostojn of hundiug over tbc bubics, as s'ü!i aftor birlh as ihey eau leftvo tbeir bi usea, tOBtraoge and ignorant pensant womeo, to 'uu carried off, ifi;ii in ihi! deptb of winter, to ülthy, ill-ventil:ital hi mes, to bo treatcd in sunli maunor as thesi! icuurant psasauts ma; ihinJt proper, wilh cue chance in two of perjjsbing misrably, nid seeiog father and raotlier :.o piore, all tho nulborities agree, is novr all but universal ai:ioi)j;st uil Parifiao woinen wbo oa:i ü iï' ; r ; 1 lo pay tho cuatofoary four dol tra ;i iiiontb. tíouie do not nurse tticir own children because it is not the fashion ; others becnuso tby are DOt atrong enougb ; others becauso their profegsion al dulies will ooi permit it - they haT i o ha in tho storo or counticg room. NcTcrïüelc:?, thora aro no motbars who, if their children manage to survivebabjbood, aro more tendcrlj attacbcd to theni thaa tho French motbera. Non inako grest')r sacriDce for tbem ; nona take greator pains wi'h their education, and niuke grsatcr efforts to cstablish and push ti-.ooi on ta the world. They are, ia faet, apparently ready to do anyiiiiug but Dursc tbem - that is, care for thom at ilia ngc vvhen nobody's bnt a molhcr'i oaro will do. A better illutrution than tliis afiVds, tborefoie, of tho ucc;3-sity of aiming bubies with tho pnwer ;! protaeting tiiomselTCf, of forcing inotheis sr.d fiithoiíí to do thoir duty, of putting down the peores ol baiburoua practico-i ty wbial) infant lifo is cut short, and agaiDst which tho church ihunders in vain, wo noicl not ask for. Thosü who ore di-posed - aod wo fear thcre will be msny suo!; - to laugh at t!,e idta ol gÏTiDg them the sufïrage, and teil i:s we kuis', rely for thu ameliuratiou of tho cenditien of infants on the oultivation of humano instinct, on awakeni g tl.c seuse of the 6anctity of tue varif us touial obligationi, and, above all, :lio.-o aiisiog out o! tbc family stute, and ornd oí Tvhich iro just tifW in a bad way, ca" hardly be in the habit of Intento the v:irious acciu:it- ofl the propertts of tfie tallot wliich icay now bo heard nihtly fron: hundreda of gifted lips. Kobotiy is too ynung, or too oíd, or too s'.uid, cr too gnorant for it to (!o liiin good. Tor tliose who are in any way dopendtint on other people, thero is no ot'icr lulp uinler the suu; and they cauuot usa it very leng without becoming i b!cs3Ítig to eretv one who bas to do with them. Tho effect of infant s :;ífraíío ou mothors and nurses would be eten greater than on ths infants ffernselves. Colic would certainiy vield to it, and so w.uld most of the troubl8 of U'cthing, Ti:e Sevoteenth Amendluent - for so we take leavo ta eali it- once paascJ, the souod of waiiing whioh i hüw he.ird uigbt'-' frow Maine to California, would die out ; thousaods would go calmly to bed who now walk to aud ïo. That mothers will oppoeo tbe movoment ia to be oxpeeted ; powor long held is tiaver lihtly relinquiehed. That Mrs. Winslow will oppose it, too, tliere is little doubt; for no chiid armed with tb ballot would ever again ollow itsaif to be made a receptado for the "iáooíluDg Svrup;" but that infant lifa would be msde bro&cer, freer, nobler and more bsautiful by it, and that it was ordained before all worlds tha babies should vote, no oandid wotnan, in our day, wiil we trust, vontaro publicly to dony.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus