Declaration of Independence from the tyranny of England by pledging "their
lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor" to attain it. The Mothers of
the Woman's Rebellion closed their Declaration of Independence from the
tyranny of man, and especially from the tyranny of the United States
Government, with a pledge to distribute tracts and hold conventions, while
they depended upon the courtesy of the tyrants to protect them in the
peaceful execution of their design. Is it any wonder that the descendants
of the old heroes who had fought their way to our liberties smiled when
the by-laws of the would-be revolt were handed to them?

When the attention of the women was called to the fact that force was
needed, and that women were exempt from military service and jury and
police duty, they answered that "In an age when the wrongs of society are
adjusted in the courts and at the ballot-box, material force yields to
reason and majorities." So successful has our Government been in carrying
out the benign purposes for which its heroes staked their lives, their
fortunes, and their sacred honor, that in ordinary times we see little of
the strength that stands quietly but firmly behind every law's enactment
and every poll's decision. The "strong arm" of the law would lose its
power to compel obedience if behind the decree of judge, jury, and
legislators there was not a sheriff or a body of militia ready to commit
the unconsenting criminal to prison, or to take care of an unruly
minority. At an election, the minority do not acquiesce in the decision of
the majority because the outcome of the vote has convinced them that the
majority were right, and they were wrong. They have not become suddenly
converted to the views of the majority. That decision, as recorded by the
ballot, shows that if the minority do not keep their opinion in abeyance,
there are men enough on the other side to compel them. Civilization has
advanced so far that, instead of blows there are arguments in court,
instead of bullets there are ballots at the polls; but the blows and the