Women -- Suffrage -- History; Women -- Suffrage -- United States -- History; Women's rights -- History; Women's rights -- United States -- History
THE OHIO WOMEN'S CONVENTION.
DAYTON, _Sept. 24, 1853_.
To-day the Ohio State Women's Temperance Society held a meeting
at this place. The attendance was not large, but was respectable,
both in number and talents. Mrs. Bateman, of Columbus, presided,
and a good officer she made. Parliamentary rules prevailed in
governing the assembly, and were enforced with much promptness
and dignity. She understood enough of these to put both sides of
the question--an attainment which, I have noticed, many Mr.
Presidents have often not reached.
The enactment of the Maine law in Ohio is the principal object at
which they appeared to aim. Its constitutionality and effect were
both discussed, decisions of courts criticised, and all with much
acuteness and particularly happy illustrations. In reference to
the practicability of enforcing it, when once passed, one woman
declared, that "if the men could not do it, the women would give
them effectual aid."
In the course of the meeting, two original poems were read, one
by Mrs. Gage, formerly of this State, and now of St. Louis, and
one by Mrs. Hodge, of Oberlin. There were also delivered three
formal addresses, one by Mrs. Dryer, of Delaware County, Ohio,
one by Mrs. Griffing, of Salem, Ohio, and the other by Mrs. Gage,
either of which would not have dishonored any of our public
orators if we consider the matter, style, or manner of delivery.
Men can deal in statistics and logical deductions, but women only
can describe the horrors of intemperance--can draw aside the
curtain and show us the wreck it makes of domestic love and home
enjoyment--can paint the anguish of the drunkard's wife and the
miseries of his children. Wisdom would seem to dictate that those
who feel the most severely the effects of any evil, should best
know how to remove it. If this be so, it would be difficult to
give a reason why women should not act, indeed lead off in this
great temperance movement.
A most exciting and interesting debate arose on some resolutions
introduced by the Secretary, Mrs. Griffing, condemnatory of the
action of the World's Temperance Convention in undelegating Miss
Brown, and excluding her from the platform.
These resolutions are so pithy, that I can not refrain from
furnishing them in full. They are as follows:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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