That no temporary or administrative interests of government will ever displace the zeal of our people in defense of the primary rights of citizenship, and that the power of public opinion will override all political prejudices and all sectional and State attachments in demanding that all over our wide territory the name and character of citizen of the United States shall mean one and the same thing and carry with them unchallenged security and respect. Let me suggest what he ought to have said unless he intended to include women, although I am afraid that Mr. Hayes, when he wrote this, forgot that there were women in the United States, notwithstanding that his excellent wife, perhaps, stood by his side. He ought to have said: An act having been passed to enforce the rights of _male_ citizens to vote, the true vigor of _half_ the population is thus expressed, and no interests of government will ever displace the zeal of _half_ of our people in defense of the primary rights of our _male_ citizens. _The prosperity of the States depends upon the protection afforded to our male citizens_; and the name and character of _male_ citizens of the United States shall mean one and the same thing and carry with them unchallenged security and respect. If Mr. Hayes had thus expressed himself, he would have made a perfectly logical and clear statement. Gentlemen, I hope that hereafter, when speaking or voting in behalf of the citizens of the United States, you will bear this in mind and will remember that women are citizens as well as men, and that they claim the same rights.