“The ballot is the weapon that men use in defending their rights. It is the voice with which men express their opinions, their wishes, as to law, in the more settled civilization where the ballot is the recognized power. Little by little the mass of the people—that is to say, of the men—have got the ballot. Originally there was no ballot. Savage tribes held disorganized meetings, and shouted their opinions. The loudest shouters won, and the man who could hit the hardest led the others. Little by little the big man formed his own opinions, alone reached his own decisions, and the others had nothing to say. The expression of opinion was confined to one, or to a few leaders, gathered under a chief, or, where religion ruled, opinion was controlled by the priests in the old temples making up their minds what would be good =for them=, and forcing their will on ignorant people. For many centuries the kings, the nobles and the priests ruled—and the people had nothing to say. =Men and women alike were without the vote.= “Little by little, the men got the vote, and now, in civilized countries, universal suffrage became the rule, =as regards men=. The women were shut out because men always have had the idea that voting was in some way connected with fighting. Their thoughts went back to the old savage mob shouting its determination to attack and kill—leaving the women at home. And the ignoring of women persists, although little by little the voting power has been used, not to make war, =but to prevent war=. “Now, in every country calling itself civilized, the chief use of the ballot is to express ideas of peace—justice. The ballot that was once the expression of man’s fighting quality is now the expression of his =better nature=, and for that reason it is time to give that ballot to the better half of the human race, to the women that have civilized it.