They believe that their power over the minds of a great number of women, and especially of those belonging to the proletariat, is still strong enough for them to be able to make use of the unemancipated women as against the men that are already emancipated. They reckon on this modified Woman Suffrage to act as a counterpoise against the increasing growth of free thought among men, and to counteract the steady march of Catholic working men into the camp of Social-Democracy. This is a reason why in some countries, and not only in the ranks of the middle class, but also among Social-Democrats, many persons are opposed to the movement in favour of Woman Suffrage. Thus in Holland Troelstra has stated that if the question of extending the franchise was brought forward he would vote against it, because it would undoubtedly lead to a strengthening of reaction, because the women there are still unemancipated. Footnote 2: An allusion to the opinion of St. Paul I. Timothy C. II., 12.—J.B. So that where Clericalism rules there will be a strong movement against Woman Suffrage, because it will be thought to be a source of danger, as by means of it the Clericals would receive such an increase of support that the political class struggle of the proletariat would for a long time be in danger. It would be foolish to deny that directly Woman Suffrage was granted, a certain number of women would at once give their votes to reactionary candidates, and so strengthen the party of reaction. But that is no reason for withholding the vote from women. If it were so, the proletariat ought never to agitate for an extension of the Suffrage. For every fresh democratisation of the Suffrage allows large masses of men to take part in voting whose political education is imperfect, and who have not yet been properly trained as to how they should vote. But we ask for Universal Suffrage, not as a means for a political dodge, but as a working means of training and organising the masses properly. If we acted otherwise we should always have to disfranchise a large number of citizens. The “Revue Socialiste” had a series of articles on this question of granting the Suffrage to women. Comrades from different countries sent contributions, and they were all agreed that the backwardness of women from a political point of view was no reason not to give them the vote, because the very possession of that right would act as a corrective to the danger. Allemane, for the French Socialists, Ferri for the Italian, Keir Hardie and MacDonald for the English, and Kautsky and Bernstein for the German, all took the same view of the question. This alleged danger of Woman Suffrage to the cause of the proletariat affords no ground for an alteration of the programme of Social-Democracy.