With this promise of definite action, the Woman’s Party immediately ceased their demonstrations4.
On September 26, Senator Jones brought the Amendment up. Maud Younger says, in her Revelations of a Woman Lobbyist:
Discussion began. Discussion went on. For five whole days it lasted, with waves of hope and waves of dismay, and always an undercurrent of uncertainty5. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, the speeches went on. On Monday word went forth6 that the President would address the Senate on behalf of our Amendment.
I hurried to Senator Curtis, who was in his office signing letters. He said: “The other side claim that they have their men pledged: that the President comes too late. What do you expect?”
“I don’t know what I should expect. I hope.”
I went over to the Senate. There was very great excitement; a sense of something wonderful impending7. On the floor there was the ceremonious atmosphere that attends the President’s coming.
“Look,” said a newspaper man in the gallery beside me, “he’s brought all his heavy artillery8 with him.” There on the floor of the Senate were the members of the Cabinet. Lesser9 dignitaries were scattered10 about the room. Congressmen stood, two-deep, 367lining the walls. The Sergeant-at-Arms announced in clear tones: “The President of the United States.”
The President came in, shook hands with the presiding officer, turned and read his speech. There is always an evenness about his public utterances11, in manner, in voice, in reading; yet I thought he read this message with more feeling than his War message, or his Fourteen Points.
The President said:
Gentlemen of the Senate: The unusual circumstances of a world war in which we stand and are judged in the view not only of our own people and our own consciences but also in the view of all nations and peoples will, I hope, justify12 in your thought, as it does in mine, the message I have come to bring you.
I regard the concurrence14 of the Senate in the constitutional Amendment proposing the extension of the Suffrage to women as vitally essential to the successful prosecution15 of the great war of humanity in which we are engaged. I have come to urge upon you the considerations which have led me to that conclusion. It is not only my privilege, it is also my duty to apprise16 you of every circumstance and element involved in this momentous17 struggle which seems to me to affect its very processes and its outcome. It is my duty to win the war and to ask you to remove every obstacle that stands in the way of winning it.
I had assumed that the Senate would concur13 in the Amendment because no disputable principle is involved but only a question of the method by which the Suffrage is to be extended to women. There is and can be no Party issue involved in it. Both of our great national Parties are pledged, explicitly18 pledged, to equality of Suffrage for the women of the country.
Neither Party, therefore, it seems to me, can justify hesitation19 as to the method of obtaining it, can rightfully hesitate to substitute Federal initiative for State initiative, if the early adoption20 of this measure is necessary to the successful prosecution of the war and if the method of State action proposed in Party platforms of 1916 is impracticable within any reasonable length of time, if practicable at all.
And its adoption is, in my judgment21, clearly necessary to the successful prosecution of the war and the successful realization22 of the object for which the war is being fought.
That judgment I take the liberty of urging upon you with solemn earnestness for reasons which I shall state very frankly23 and which I shall hope will seem as conclusive24 to you as they seem to me.
This is a peoples’ war and the peoples’ thinking constitutes 368its atmosphere and morale25, not the predilections26 of the drawing-room or the political considerations of the caucus27.
If we be indeed Democrats28 and wish to lead the world to democracy, we can ask other peoples to accept in proof of our sincerity29 and our ability to lead them whither they wish to be led nothing less persuasive30 and convincing than our actions. Our professions will not suffice. Verification must be forthcoming when verification is asked for. And in this case verification is asked for—asked for in this particular matter. You ask by whom?
Not through diplomatic channels; not by foreign ministers. Not by the intimations of parliaments. It is asked for by the anxious, expectant, suffering peoples with whom we are dealing32 and who are willing to put their destinies in some measure in our hands, if they are sure that we wish the same things they do.
I do not speak by conjecture33. It is not alone the voices of statesmen and of newspapers that reach me, and the voices of foolish and intemperate34 agitators35 do not reach me at all. Through many, many channels I have been made aware what the plain, struggling, workaday folk are thinking upon whom the chief terror and suffering of this tragic36 war falls.
They are looking to the great, powerful, famous Democracy of the West to lead them to the new day for which they have so long waited; and they think in their logical simplicity37, that democracy means that women shall play their part in affairs alongside men and upon an equal footing with them. If we reject measures like this, in ignorance or defiance38 of what a new age has brought forth, of what they have seen but we have not, they will cease to believe in us; they will cease to follow or to trust us.
They have seen their own governments accept this interpretation39 of democracy—seen old governments accept this interpretation of democracy—seen old governments like that of Great Britain, which did not profess31 to be democratic, promise readily and as of course this justice to women, though they had before refused it, the strange revelations of this war having made many things new and plain, to governments as well as to people.
Are we alone to refuse to learn the lesson? Are we alone to ask and take the utmost that our women can give—service and sacrifice of every kind—and still say we do not see what title that gives them to stand by our sides in the guidance of the affairs of their nation and ours?
We have made partners of the women in this war; shall we admit them only to a partnership40 of suffering and sacrifice and 369toil and not a partnership of privilege and right? This war could not have been fought either by the other nations engaged or by America, if it had not been for the services of the women—services rendered in every sphere—not merely in the fields of effort in which we have been accustomed to see them work, but wherever men have worked, and upon the very skirts and edges of the battle itself.
We shall not only be distrusted but shall deserve to be distrusted if we do not enfranchise42 them with the fullest possible enfranchisement43, as it is now certain that the other great free nations will enfranchise them.
We cannot isolate44 our thought and action in such a matter from the thought of the rest of the world. We must either conform or deliberately45 reject what they propose and resign the leadership of liberal minds to others.
The women of America are too noble and too intelligent and too devoted46 to be slackers whether you give or withhold47 this thing that is mere41 justice; but I know the magic it will work in their thoughts and spirits if you give it to them.
I propose it as I would propose to admit soldiers to the Suffrage, the men fighting in the field for our liberties and the liberties of the world, were they excluded. The task of the woman lies at the very heart of the war, and I know how much stronger that heart will beat if you do this just thing and show our women that you trust them as much as you in fact and of necessity depend upon them.
Have I said that the passage of this Amendment is a vitally necessary war measure, and do you need further proof? Do you stand in need of the trust of other peoples and of the trust of our own women? Is that trust an asset or is it not?
I tell you plainly, as the commander-in-chief of our armies and of the gallant48 men in our fleets, as the present spokesman of this people in our dealings with the men and women throughout the world who are now our partners, as the responsible head of a great government which stands and is questioned day by day as to its purposes, its principles, its hopes, whether they be serviceable to men everywhere or only to itself, and who must himself answer these questions or be shamed, as the guide and director of forces caught in the grip of war and by the same token in need of every material and spiritual resource this great nation possesses—I tell you plainly that this measure which I urge upon you is vital to the winning of the war and to the energies alike of preparation and of battle.
And not to the winning of the war only. It is vital to the 370right solution of the great problems which we must settle, and settle immediately, when the war is over. We shall need then in our vision of affairs, as we have never needed them before, the sympathy and insight and clear moral instinct of the women of the world. The problems of that time will strike to the roots of many things that we have not hitherto questioned, and I for one believe that our safety in those questioning days, as well as our comprehension of matters that touch society to the quick, will depend upon the direct and authoritative49 participation50 of women in our counsels. We shall need their moral sense to preserve what is right and fine and worthy51 in our system of life as well as to discover just what it is that ought to be purified and re-formed. Without their counselings we shall only be half wise.
That is my case. That is my appeal. Many may deny its validity, if they choose, but no one can brush aside or answer the arguments upon which it is based. The executive tasks of this war rest upon me. I ask that you lighten them and place in my hands instruments, spiritual instruments, which I do not now possess, which I sorely need, and which I have daily to apologize for not being able to employ.
In this speech, the President had said: “The voices of foolish and intemperate agitators do not reach me at all.”
It was generally felt that the President, there, indicated the Woman’s Party. Commenting on that phrase the next day, the Republican Senators remarked, “Why it was that which brought him there!”
During the course of the debate between Poindexter and Pitman, Poindexter asked, “Wasn’t it the pickets52 that got the President?”
The next afternoon when the vote was called for, and the last Senator had answered to his name, the presiding officer announced the result:
“The joint53 resolution does not pass.”
The Suffrage Amendment still lacked two votes.
Miss Younger says in her Revelations of a Lobbyist:
Stunned54, as though unable to grasp it, hundreds of women sat there. Then slowly the defeat reached their consciousness, and they began slowly to put on their hats, to gather up their wraps, and to file out of the galleries, some with a dull sense of injustice55, some with burning resentment56. In the corridors they began 371to form in groups. Every one wanted to discuss it. But Alice Paul took my arm.
“Come,” she said, “we must find out about the short-term candidates and go into the election campaign at once.”
Immediately after the vote was taken and defeated, Senator Jones of New Mexico changed his vote and moved that the measure be reconsidered; thereby57 placing it again on the Senate Calendar, ready to be called up any time and voted on.
By going to the Senate in this manner, the President had made his own record clean to the country at large. But he had not made it clean to the National Woman’s Party, because, although he had done something, he had not done enough. He appeared to be doing more than he was, but there was a great deal more that he could have done. He did not, for instance, start his appeal to the Senate early enough. That appeal came only a fortnight before the vote was taken. Possibly he had underestimated the opposition58; probably he had overestimated59 the strength of his own influence. But the country at large of course did not understand that. For the time being, therefore, the Woman’s Party concentrated their drive on another point in the enemy line.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
suffrage
|
|
| n.投票，选举权，参政权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
amendment
|
|
| n.改正，修正，改善，修正案 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
demonstrations
|
|
| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
uncertainty
|
|
| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
impending
|
|
| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
artillery
|
|
| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
lesser
|
|
| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
utterances
|
|
| n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
justify
|
|
| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
concur
|
|
| v.同意，意见一致，互助，同时发生 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
concurrence
|
|
| n.同意；并发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
prosecution
|
|
| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
apprise
|
|
| vt.通知，告知 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
momentous
|
|
| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
explicitly
|
|
| ad.明确地，显然地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
hesitation
|
|
| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
adoption
|
|
| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
judgment
|
|
| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
realization
|
|
| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
frankly
|
|
| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
conclusive
|
|
| adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
morale
|
|
| n.道德准则，士气，斗志 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
predilections
|
|
| n.偏爱，偏好，嗜好( predilection的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
caucus
|
|
| n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
democrats
|
|
| n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
sincerity
|
|
| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
persuasive
|
|
| adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
profess
|
|
| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
dealing
|
|
| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
conjecture
|
|
| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
intemperate
|
|
| adj.无节制的，放纵的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
agitators
|
|
| n.（尤指政治变革的）鼓动者( agitator的名词复数 )；煽动者；搅拌器；搅拌机 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
tragic
|
|
| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
simplicity
|
|
| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
defiance
|
|
| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
interpretation
|
|
| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
partnership
|
|
| n.合作关系，伙伴关系 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
enfranchise
|
|
| v.给予选举权，解放 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
enfranchisement
|
|
| 选举权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
isolate
|
|
| vt.使孤立，隔离 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
deliberately
|
|
| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
withhold
|
|
| v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
gallant
|
|
| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
authoritative
|
|
| adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
participation
|
|
| n.参与，参加，分享 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
pickets
|
|
| 罢工纠察员( picket的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
joint
|
|
| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
stunned
|
|
| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
injustice
|
|
| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
resentment
|
|
| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
thereby
|
|
| adv.因此，从而 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
opposition
|
|
| n.反对，敌对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
overestimated
|
|
| 对（数量）估计过高，对…作过高的评价( overestimate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |