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a^    SWW 

THE    HISTORY 


OF 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE 


EDITED    BY 


SUSAN  B.  ANTHONY  & 

IDA  RUSTED  HARPER 


ILLUSTRATED    WITH    COPPERPLATE    AND    PHOTOGRAVURE 
ENGRAVINGS 


IN  FOUR  VOLUMES 

VOL.  IV. 
1883  —  1900 


"PERFECT  EQUALITY  OF  RIGHTS   FOR  WOMAN,  CIVIL,  LEGAL 
AND   POLITICAL" 


SUSAN  B.  ANTHONY 
17  MADISON  STREET,  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 


COFYKIGHT,    I90Z,   BY    SUSAN    B.    ANTHONY 


THE   HOLI.ENBr.CK    PHEM 
INDIANAPOLIS 


*  *  *  *  Make  me  respect  my  material  so 
much  that  I  dare  not  slight  my  work.  Help 
me  to  deal  very  honestly  with  words  and  with 
people,  because  they  are  both  alive.  Show  me 
that,  as  in  a  river,  so  in  writing,  clearness  is  the 
best  quality,  and  a  little  that  is  pure  is  worth 
more  than  much  that  is  mixed.  Teach  me  to 
see  the  local  color  without  being  blind  to  the 
inner  light.  Give  me  an  ideal  that  will  stand 
the  strain  of  weaving  into  human  stuff  on  the 
loom  of  the  real.  Keep  me  from  caring  more 
for  books  than  for  folks,  for  art  than  for  life. 
Steady  me  to  do  my  full  stint  of  work  as  well 
as  I  can,  and  when  that  is  done,  stop  me,  pay 
me  what  wages  thou  wilt,  and  help  me  to  say 
from  a  quiet  heart  a  grateful  Amen. 

HENRY  VAN  DYKE. 


PREFACE 

i 

After  the  movement  for  woman  suffrage,  which  commenced 
about  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  had  continued  for 
twenty-five  years,  the  feeling  became  strongly  impressed  upon 
its  active  promoters,  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  and  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Cady  Stanton,  that  the  records  connected  with  it  should  be 
secured  to  posterity.  With  Miss  Anthony,  indeed,  the  idea  had 
been  ever  present,  and  from  the  beginning  she  had  carefully  pre- 
served as  far  as  possible  the  letters,  speeches  and  newspaper  clip- 
pings, accounts  of  conventions  and  legislative  and  congressional 
reports.  By  1876  they  were  convinced  through  various  circum- 
stances that  the  time  had  come  for  writing  the  history.  So  little 
did  they  foresee  the  magnitude  which  this  labor  would  assume 
that  they  made  a  mutual  agreement  to  accept  no  engagements  for 
four  months,  expecting  to  finish  it  within  that  time,  as  they  con- 
templated nothing  more  than  a  small  volume,  probably  a  pam- 
phlet of  a  few  hundred  pages.  Miss  Anthony  packed  in  trunks  and 
boxes  the  accumulations  of  the  years  and  shipped  them  to  Mrs. 
Stanton's  home  in  Tenafly,  N.  J.,  where  the  two  women  went 
cheerfully  to  work. 

Mrs.  Stanton  was  the  matchless  writer,  Miss  Anthony  the 
collector  of  material,  the  searcher  of  statistics,  the  business  man- 
ager, the  keen  critic,  the  detector  of  omissions,  chronological 
flaws  and  discrepancies  in  statement  such  as  are  unavoidable  even 
with  the  most  careful  historian.  On  many  occasions  they  called 
to  their  aid  for  historical  facts  Mrs.  Matilda  Joslyn  Gage,  one 
of  the  most  logical,  scientific  and  fearless  writers  of  her  day. 
To  Mrs.  Gage  Vol.  I  of  the  History  of  Woman  Suffrage  is 
wholly  indebted  for  the  first  two  chapters — Preceding  Causes 
and  Woman  in  Newspapers,  and  for  the  last  chapter — Woman, 
Church  and  State,  which  she  later  amplified  in  a  book ;  and  Vol.  II 
for  the  first  chapter — Woman's  Patriotism  in  the  Civil  War. 

When  the  allotted  time  had  expired  the  work  had  far  exceeded 


VI  PREFACE. 

its  original  limits  and  yet  seemed  hardly  begun.  Its  authors 
were  amazed  at  the  amount  of  history  which  already  had  been 
made  and  still  more  deeply  impressed  with  the  desirability  of  pre- 
serving the  story  of  the  early  struggle,  but  both  were  in  the 
regular  employ  of  lecture  bureaus  and  henceforth  could  give  only 
vacations  to  the  task.  They  were  entirely  without  the  assistance 
of  stenographers  and  typewriters,  who  at  the  present  day  relieve 
brain  workers  of  so  large  a  part  of  the  physical  strain.  A  labor 
which  was  to  consume  four  months  eventually  extended  through 
ten  years  and  was  not  completed  until  the  closing  days  of  1885. 
The  pamphlet  of  a  few  hundred  pages  had  expanded  into  three 
great  volumes  of  1,000  pages  each,  and  enough  material  re- 
mained unused  to  fill  another.* 

It  was  almost  wholly  due  to  Miss  Anthony's  clear  foresight 
and  painstaking  habits  that  the  materials  were  gathered  and  pre- 
served during  all  the  years,  and  it  was  entirely  owing  to  her  un- 
equaled  determination  and  persistence  that  the  History  was  writ- 
ten. The  demand  for  Mrs.  Stanton  on  the  platform  and  the 
cares  of  a  large  family  made  this  vast  amount  of  writing  a  most 
heroic  effort,  and  one  which  doubtless  she  would  have  been  tempt- 
ed to  evade  had  it  not  been  for  the  relentless  mentor  at  her  side, 
helping  to  bear  her  burdens  and  overcome  the  obstacles,  and  con- 
tinually pointing  out  the  necessity  that  the  history  of  this  move- 
ment for  the  emancipation  of  women  should  be  recorded,  in  justice 
to  those  who  carried  it  forward  and  as  an  inspiration  to  the 
workers  of  the  future.  And  so  together,  for  a  long  decade, 
these  two  great  souls  toiled  in  the  solitude  of  home  just  as  to- 
gether they  fought  in  the  open  field,  not  for  personal  gain  or 
glory,  but  for  the  sake  of  a  cause  to  which  they  had  consecrated 
their  lives.  Had  it  not  been  for  their  patient  and  unselfish  labor 
the  story  of  the  hard  conditions  under  which  the  pioneers  strug- 
gled to  lift  woman  out  of  her  subjection,  the  bitterness  of  the 
prejudice,  the  cruelty  of  the  persecution,  never  would  have  been 
fold.  In  all  the  years  that  have  passed  no  one  else  has  attempted 

*  The  reader  can  not  fail  to  be  interested  in  the  personal  story  of  the  writing  of  these 
books  as  related  in  the  Reminiscences  of  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  and  the  Life  and  Work 
of  Susan  H.  Anthony — the  many  journeys  made  by  the  big  boxes  of  documents  from  the 
home  of  one  to  that  of  the  other;  the  complications  with  those  who  were  gathering  data  in 
their  respective  localities;  the  trials  with  publishers;  the  delays,  disappointments  and 
vexations,  all  interspersed  and  brightened  with  many  humorous  features. 


PREFACE.  Vii 

to  tell  it,  and  should  any  one  desire  to  do  so  it  is  doubtful  if, 
even  at  this  early  date,  enough  of  the  records  could  be  found  for 
the  most  superficial  account.  In  not  a  library  can  the  student 
who  wishes  to  trace  this  movement  to  its  beginning  obtain  the 
necessary  data  except  in  these  three  volumes,  which  will  become 
still  more  valuable  as  the  years  go  by  and  it  nears  success. 

Miss  Anthony  began  this  work  in  1876  without  a  dollar  in  hand 
for  its  publication.  She  never  had  the  money  in  advance  for  any 
of  her  undertakings,  but  she  went  forward  and  accomplished 
them,  and  when  the  people  saw  that  they  were  good  they  usually 
repaid  the  amount  she  had  advanced  from  her  own  small  store. 
In  this  case  she  resolved  to  use  the  whole  of  it  and  all  she  could 
earn  in  the  future  rather  than  not  publish  the  History.  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Thompson,  of  New  York,  a  generous  patron  of  good 
works,  gave  her  the  first  $1,000  in  1880,  but  this  did  not  cover 
the  expenses  that  had  been  actually  incurred  thus  far  in  its 
preparation.  She  was  in  nowise  discouraged,  however,  but  kept 
steadily  on  during  every  moment  which  could  be  spared  by  Mrs. 
Stanton  and  herself,  absolutely  confident  that  in  some  way  the 
necessary  funds  would  be  obtained.  Her  strong  faith  was  justi- 
fied, for  the  first  week  of  1882  came  a  notice  from  Wendell 
Phillips  that  Mrs.  Eliza  Jackson  Eddy,  of  Boston,  had  left  her  a 
large  legacy  to  be  used  according  to  her  own  judgment  "for  the 
advancement  of  woman's  cause."  Litigation  by  an  indirect  heir 
deprived  her  of  this  money  for  over  three  years,  but  in  April, 
1885,  she  received  $24,125. 

The  first  volume  of  the  History  had  been  issued  in  May,  1881, 
and  the  second  in  April,  1882.  In  June,  1885,  Mrs.  Stanton  and 
Miss  Anthony  set"  resolutely  to  work  and  labored  without  ceasing 
until  the  next  November,  when  the  third  volume  was  sent  to  the 
publishers.  With  the  bequest  Miss  Anthony  paid  the  debts  that 
had  been  incurred,  replaced  her  own  fund,  of  which  every  dollar 
had  been  used,  and  brought  Out  this  last  volume.  All  were  pub- 
lished at  a  time  when  paper  and  other  materials  were  at  a  high 
price.  The  fine  steel  engravings  alone  cost  $5,000.  On  account 
of  the  engagements  of  the  editors  it  was  necessary  to  employ 
proofreaders  and  indexers,  and  because  of  the  many  years  over 
which  the  work  had  stretched  an  immense  number  of  changes 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

had  to  be  made  in  composition,  so  that  a  large  part  of  the  legacy 
was  consumed. 

The  money  which  Miss  Anthony  now  had  enabled  her  to  carry 
out  her  long-cherished  project  to  put  this  History  free  of  charge 
in  the  public  libraries.  It  was  thus  placed  in  twelve  hundred  in 
the  United  States  and  Europe.  Mrs.  Stanton  and  Mrs.  Gage, 
who  had  contributed  their  services  without  price,  naturally  felt 
that  it  should  be  sold  instead  of  given  away,  and  in  order  to  have 
a  perfectly  free  hand  she  purchased  their  rights.  In  addition  to 
the  libraries,  she  has  given  it  to  hundreds  of  schools  and  to  count- 
less individuals,  writers,  speakers,  etc.,  whom  she  thought  it 
would  enable  to  do  better  work  for  the  franchise.  For  seven- 
teen years  she  has  paid  storage  on  the  volumes  and  the  stereotype 
plates.  During  this  time  there  has  been  some  demand  for  the 
books  from  those  who  were  able  and  willing  to  pay,  but  much 
the  largest  part  of  the  labor  and  money  expended  were  a  direct 
donation  to  the  cause  of  woman  suffrage. 

From  the  time  the  last  volume  was  finished  it  was  Miss  An- 
thony's intention,  if  she  should  live  twenty  years  longer,  to  issue 
a  fourth  containing  the  history  which  would  be  made  during 
that  period,  and  for  this  purpose  she  still  preserved  the  records. 
As  the  century  drew  near  a  close,  bringing  \vith  it  the  end  of 
her  four-score  years,  the  desire  grew  still  stronger  to  put  into 
permanent  shape  the  continued  story  of  a  contest  which  already 
had  extended  far  beyond  the  extreme  limits  imagined  when  she 
dedicated  to  it  the  full  power  of  her  young  womanhood  with  its 
wealth  of  dauntless  courage  and  unfailing  hope.  She  resigned 
the  presidency  of  the  National  Association  in  February,  1900, 
which  marked  her  eightieth  birthday,  in  order  that  she  might 
carry  out  this  project  and  one  or  two  others  of  especial  import- 
ance. Among  her  birthday  gifts  she  received  $1,000  from 
friends  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  this  sum  she  resolved  to 
apply  to  the  contemplated  volume.  One  of  the  other  objects 
which  she  had  in  view  was  the  collecting  of  a  large  fund  to  be 
invested  and  the  income  used  in  work  for  the  enfranchisement 
of  women.  Already  about  $3,000  had  been  subscribed. 

By  the  time  the  first  half  year  had  passed,  nature  exacted 
tribute  for  six  decades  of  unceasing  and  unparalleled  toil,  and 


PREFACE.  IX 

it  became  evident  that  the  idea  of  gathering  a  reserve  fund 
would  have  to  be  abandoned.  The  donors  of  the  $3,000  were 
consulted  and  all  gave  cordial  assent  to  have  their  portion  applied 
to  the  publication  of  the  fourth  volume  of  the  History.  The 
largest  amount,  $1,000,  had  been  contributed  by  Mrs.  Pauline 
Agassiz  Shaw,  of  Boston.  Dr.  Cordelia  A.  Greene,  of  Castile, 
N.  Y.,  had  given  $500  and  Mrs.  Emma  J.  Bartol,  of  Philadelphia, 
$200.  The  other  contributions  ranged  all  the  way  down  to  a  few 
dollars,  which  in  many  cases  represented  genuine  sacrifice  on  the 
part  of  the  givers.  It  is  not  practicable  to  publish  the  list  of  the 
women  in  full.  They  will  be  sufficiently  rewarded  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  having  helped  to  realize  Miss  Anthony's  dream  of 
finishing  the  story,  to  the  end  of  her  own  part  in  it,  of  a  great 
progressive  movement  in  which  they  were  her  fellow-workers 
and  loyal  friends. 

Mrs.  Gage  passed  away  in  1898.  Although  Mrs.  Stanton  is 
still  living  as  this  volume  goes  to  the  publishers  in  1902,  and 
evinces  her  mental  vigor  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven  in  frequent 
magazine  and  newspaper  articles,  she  could  not  be  called  upon 
for  this  heavy  and  exacting  task.  It  seemed  to  Miss  Anthony 
that  the  one  who  had  recently  completed  her  Biography,  in  its 
preparation  arranging  and  classifying  her  papers  of  the  past 
sixty  years,  and  who  necessarily  had  made  a  thorough  study  of 
the  suffrage  movement  from  its  beginning,  should  share  with  her 
this  arduous  undertaking.  The  invitation  was  accepted  with 
much  reluctance  because  of  a  full  knowledge  of  the  great  labor 
and  responsibility  involved.  It  must  be  confessed  that  even  a 
strong  sense  of  obligation  to  further  the  cause  of  woman's  en- 
franchisement would  not  have  been  a  sufficient  incentive,  but 
personal  devotion  to  a  beloved  and  honored  leader  outweighed  all 
selfish  considerations.  It  is  to  Miss  Anthony,  however,  that  the 
world  is  indebted  for  this  as  well  as  the  other  volumes.  It  was 
she  who  conceived  the  idea ;  through  her  came  the  money  for  its 
publication;  for  several  years  her  own  home  has  been  given  up 
to  the  mass  of  material,  the  typewriters,  the  coming  and  going  of 
countless  packages,  the  indescribable  annoyances  and  burdens 
connected  with  a  matter  of  this  kind.  In  addition  she  has  borne 
from  her  private  means  a  considerable  portion  of  the  expenses, 


X  PREFACE. 

and  has  endured  the  physical  weariness  and  mental  anxiety  at  a 
time  when  she  has  earned  the  right  to  complete  rest  and  freedom 
from  care.  There  is  not  a  chapter  which  has  not  had  the  in- 
estimable benefit  of  her  acute  criticism  and  matured  judgment. 

The  peculiar  difficulties  of  historical  work  can  be  understood 
only  by  those  who  have  experienced  them.  General  information 
is  the  easiest  of  all  things  to  obtain — exact  information  the 
hardest,  and  a  history  that  is  not  accurate  has  no  practical  utility. 
If  a  reader  discover  one  mistake  it  vitiates  the  whole  book.  Every 
historian  knows  how  common  it  is  to  find  several  totally  dif- 
ferent statements  of  the  same  occurrence,  each  apparently  as 
authentic  as  the  others.  He  also  knows  the  eel-like  elusiveness 
of  dates  and  the  flat  contradictions  of  statistics  which  seem  to  dis- 
prove absolutely  the  adage  that  "figures  do  not  lie."  He  has 
suffered  the  nightmare  of  wrestling  with  proper  names;  and  if 
he  is  conscientious  he  has  agonized  over  the  attempt  to  do  exact 
justice  to  the  actors  in  the  drama  which  he  is  depicting  and  yet 
not  detract  from  its  value  by  loading  it  with  trivial  details,  of 
vital  moment  to  those  who  were  concerned  in  them  but  of  no 
importance  to  future  readers.  All  of  these  embarrassments  are 
intensified  in  a  history  of  a  movement  for  many  years  unnoticed 
or  greatly  misrepresented  in  the  public  press,  and  its  records 
usually  not  considered  of  sufficient  value  to  be  officially  preserved. 
None,  however,  has  required  such  supreme  courage  and  faithful- 
ness from  its  adherents  and  this  fact  makes  all  the  more  obligatory 
the  preserving  of  their  names  and  deeds. 

To  collect  the  needful  information  from  fifty  States  and  Ter- 
ritories and  arrange  it  for  publication  has  required  the  careful 
and  constant  work  of  over  two  years.  It  has  been  necessary 
many  times  to  appeal  to  public  officials,  who  have  been  most 
obliging,  but  the  main  dependence  has  been  on  the  women  of 
various  localities  who  are  connected  with  the  suffrage  associa- 
tions. These  women  have  spent  weeks  of  time  and  labor,  writing 
letters,  visiting  libraries,  examining  records,  and  often  leaving 
their  homes  and  going  to  the  State  capital  to  search  the  archives. 
All  this  has  been  done  without  financial  compensation,  and  it  is 
largely  through  their  assistance  that  the  editors  have  been  able  to 
prepare  this  volume.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  exacting  work 


PREFACE*  XI 

required  it  may  be  stated  that  to  obtain  authentic  data  on  one 
particular  point  the  writer  of  the  Kansas  chapter  sent  198  letters 
to  178  city  clerks.  The  meager  record  of  Florida  necessitated 
about  thirty  letters  of  inquiry.  Several  thousand  were  sent  out 
by  the  editors  of  the  History,  while  the  number  exchanged  within 
the  various  States  is  beyond  computation. 

The  demand  is  widespread  that  the  information  which  this 
book  contains  should  be  put  into  accessible  shape.  Miss  Anthony 
herself  and  the  suffrage  headquarters  in  New  York  are  flooded 
with  inquiries  for  statistics  as  to  the  gains  which  have  been  made, 
the  laws  for  women,  the  present  status  of  the  question  and 
arguments  that  can  be  used  in  the  debates  which  are  now  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  Legislatures,  universities,  schools  and 
clubs  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  Practically  everything  that  can 
be  desired  on  these  points  will  be  found  herein.  The  first  twenty- 
two  chapters  contain  the  whole  argument  in  favor  of  granting 
the  franchise  to  women,  as  every  phase  of  the  question  is  touched 
and  every  objection  considered  by  the  ablest  of  speakers.  It  has 
been  a  special  object  to  present  here  in  compact  form  the  reasons 
on  which  is  based  the  claim  for  woman  suffrage.  In  Chapter 
XXIV  and  those  following  are  included  the  laws  pertaining  to 
women,  their  educational  and  industrial  opportunities,  the  amount 
of  suffrage  they  possess,  the  offices  they  may  fill,  legislative  action 
on  matters  concerning  them,  and  the  part  which  the  suffrage 
associations  have  had  in  bringing  about  present  conditions. 
There  are  also  chapters  on  the  progress  made  in  foreign  countries 
and  on  the  organized  work  of  women  in  other  lines  besides  that 
of  the  franchise.  All  the  care  possible  has  been  taken  to  make 
each  chapter  accurate  and  complete. 

Beginning  with  1884,  where  Vol.  Ill  closes,  the  present  volume 
ends  with  the  century.  This  is  not  a  book  which  must  necessarily 
wait  upon  posterity  for  its  readers,  but  it  is  filled  with  live,  up-to- 
date  information.  Its  editors  take  the  greatest  pleasure  in  pre- 
senting it  to  the  young,  active,  progressive  men  and  women  of 
the  present  day,  who,  without  doubt,  will  bring  to  a  successful 
end  the  long  and  difficult  contest  to  secure  that  equality  of  rights 
which  belongs  alike  to  all  the  citizens  of  this  largest  of  republics 
and  greatest  of  nations.  I.  H.  H. 


INTRODUCTION. 


It  has  been  frequently  said  that  the  first  three  volumes  of  the 
History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  which  bring  the  record  to  twenty 
years  ago,  represent  the  seed-sowing  time  of  the  movement. 
They  do  far  more  than  this,  for  seeds  sown  in  the  early  days 
which  they  describe  would  have  fallen  upon  ground  so  stony  that 
if  they  had  sprung  up  they  would  soon  have  withered  away.  The 
pioneers  in  the  work  for  the  redemption  of  women  found  an  un- 
broken field,  not  fallow  from  lying  idle,  but  arid  and  barren,  filled 
with  the  unyielding  rocks  of  prejudice  and  choked  with  the 
thorns  of  conservatism.  It  required  many  years  of  labor  as  hard 
as  that  endured  by  the  forefathers  in  wresting  their  lands  from 
undisturbed  nature,  before  the  ground  was  even  broken  to  receive 
the  seed.  Then  followed  the  long  period  of  persistent  tilling  and 
sowing  which  brought  no  reaping  until  the  last  quarter  of  the 
century,  when  the  scanty  harvest  began  to  be  gathered.  The 
yield  has  seemed  small  indeed  at  the  end  of  each  twelvemonth 
and  it  is  only  when  viewed  in  the  aggregate  that  its  size  can  be 
appreciated.  The  condition  of  woman  to-day  compared  with 
that  of  last  year  seems  unchanged,  but  contrasted  with  that  of 
fifty  years  ago  it  presents  as  great  a  revolution  as  the  world  has 
ever  witnessed  in  this  length  of  time. 

If  the  first  organized  demand  for  the  rights  of  woman — made 
at  the  memorable  convention  of  Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y.,  in  1848 — 
had  omitted  the  one  for  the  franchise,  those  who  made  it  would 
have  lived  to  see  all  granted.  It  asked  for  woman  the  right  to 
have  personal  freedom,  to  acquire  an  education,  to  earn  a  living, 
to  claim  her  wages,  to  own  property,  to  make  contracts,  to  bring 
suit,  to  testify  in  court,  to  obtain  a  divorce  for  just  cause,  to  pos- 
sess her  children,  to  claim  a  fair  share  of  the  accumulations  dur- 
ing marriage.  An  examination  of  Chap.  XXIV  and  the  follow- 
ing chapters  in  this  volume  will  show  that  in  many  of  the  States 

xiii 


XIV  INTRODUCTION. 

all  these  privileges  are  now  accorded,  and  in  not  one  are  all  re- 
fused, but  when  this  declaration  was  framed  all  were  denied  by 
every  State.  For  the  past  half  century  there  has  been  a  steady  ad- 
vance in  the  direction  of  equal  rights  for  women.  In  many 
instances  these  have  been  granted  in  response  to  the  direct  efforts 
of  women  themselves;  in  others  without  exertion  on  their  part 
but  through  the  example  Of  neighboring  States  and  as  a  result  of 
the  general  trend  toward  a  long-delayed  justice.  Enough  has  been 
accomplished  in  all  of  the  above  lines  to  make  it  absolutely  certain 
that  within  a  few  years  women  everywhere  in  the  United  States 
will  enjoy  entire  equality  of  legal,  civil  and  social  rights. 

Behind  all  of  these  has  been  the  persistent  demand  for  political 
rights,  and  the  question  naturally  arises,  "Why  do  these  continue 
to  be  denied  ?  Educated,  property-owning,  self-reliant  and  pub- 
lic-spirited, why  are  women  still  refused  a  voice  in  the  Govern- 
ment? Citizens  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word,  why  are  they 
deprived  of  the  suffrage  in  a  country  whose  institutions  rest  upon 
individual  representation  ?" 

There  are  many  reasons,  but  the  first  and  by  far  the  most  im- 
portant is  the  fact  that  this  right,  and  this  alone  of  all  that  have 
had  to  be  gained  for  woman,  can  be  secured  only  through  Con- 
stitutional Law.  All  others  have  rested  upon  statute  law,  or 
upon  the  will  of  a  board  of  trustees,  or  of  a  few  individuals,  or 
have  needed  no  official  or  formal  sanction.  The  suffrage  alone 
must  be  had  through  a  change  of  the  constitution  of  the  State  and 
this  can  be  obtained  only  by  consent  of  the  majority  of  the  voters. 
Therefore  this  most  valuable  of  all  rights — the  one  which  if 
possessed  by  women  at  the  beginning  would  have  brought  all 
the  others  without  a  struggle — is  placed  absolutely  in  the  hands 
of  men  to  be  granted  or  withheld  at  will  from  women.  It  is 
an  unjust  condition  which  does  not  exist  even  in  a  monarchy 
of  the  Old  World,  and  it  makes  of  the  United  States  instead  of 
a  true  republic  an  oligarchy  in  which  one-half  of  the  citizens  have 
entire  control  of  the  other  half.  There  is  not  another  country 
having  an  elected  representative  body,  where  this  body  itself  may 
not  extend  the  suffrage.  While  the  writing  of  this  volume  has 
been  in  progress  the  Parliament  of  Australia  by  a  single  Act  has 
fully  enfranchised  the  800.000  women  of  that  commonwealth. 
The  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  has  conferred  on  women  every 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 

form  of  suffrage  except  that  for  its  own  members,  and  there  is 
a  favorable  prospect  of  this  being  granted  long  before  the  women 
of  the  United  States  have  a  similar  privilege. 

Not  another  nation  is  hampered  by  a  written  Federal  Constitu- 
tion which  it  is  almost  impossible  to  change,  and  by  forty-five 
written  State  constitutions  none  of  which  can  be  altered  in  the 
smallest  particular  except  by  consent  of  the  majority  of  the  voters. 
Every  one  of  these  constitutions  was  framed  by  a  convention 
which  no  woman  had  a  voice  in  selecting  and  of  which  no  woman 
was  a  member.  With  the  sole  exception  of  Wyoming,  not  one 
woman  in  the  forty-five  States  was  permitted  a  vote  on  the  con- 
stitution, and  every  one  except  Wyoming  and  Utah  confined  its 
elective  franchise  strictly  to  "male"  citizens. 

Thus,  wherever  woman  turns  in  this  boasted  republic,  from 
ocean  to  ocean,  from  lakes  to  gulf,  seeking  the  citizen's  right  of 
self- representation,  she  is  met  by  a  dead  wall  of  constitutional 
prohibition.  It  has  been  held  in  some  of  the  States  that  this  ap- 
plies only  to  State  and  county  suffrage  and  that  the  Legislature 
has  power  to  grant  the  Municipal  Franchise  to  women.  Kansas 
is  the  only  one,  however,  which  has  given  such  a  vote.  A  bill 
for  this  purpose  passed  the  Legislature  of  Michigan,  after  years 
of  effort  on  the  part  of  women,  and  was  at  once  declared  un- 
constitutional by  its  Supreme  Court.  Similar  bills  have  been 
defeated  in  many  Legislatures  on  the  ground  of  unconstitutional- 
ity.  It  is  claimed  generally  that  they  may  bestow  School  Suf- 
frage and  this  has  been  granted  in  over  half  the  States,  but  fre- 
quently it  is  vetoed  by  the  Governor  as  unconstitutional,  as  has 
been  done  several  times  in  California.  In  New  York,  after  four 
Acts  of  the  Legislature  attempting  to  give  School  Suffrage  to  all 
women,  three  decisions  of  the  highest  courts  confined  it  simply  to 
those  of  villages  and  country  districts  where  questions  are  decided 
at  "school  meetings."  Eminent  lawyers  hold  that  even  this  is 
"unconstitutional."  (See  chapter  on  New  York.)  The  Legis- 
lature and  courts  of  Wisconsin  have  been  trying  since  1885  to 
give  complete  School  Suffrage  to  women  and  yet  they  are  en- 
abled to  exercise  it  this  year  (1902)  for  the  first  time.  (See 
chapter  on  Wisconsin. )  Some  State  constitutions  provide,  as  in 
Rhode  Island,  that  no  form  even  of  School  Suffrage  can  be  con- 


XVI  INTRODUCTION. 

ferred  on  women  until  it  has  been  submitted  as  an  amendment 
and  sanctioned  by  a  majority  of  the  voters. 

The  constitutions  of  a  number  of  States  declare  that  it  shall 
not  be  sufficient  to  carry  an  amendment  for  it  to  receive  a  ma- 
jority of  the  votes  cast  upon  it,  but  it  must  have  a  majority  of 
the  largest  vote  cast  at  the  election.  Not  one  State  where  this 
in  the  case  ever  has  been  able  to  secure  an  amendment  for  any 
purpose  whatever.  Minnesota  submitted  this  question  itself  to 
the  electors  in  1898  in  the  form  of  an  amendment  and  it  was  car- 
ried, receiving  a  total  of  102,641,  yet  the  largest  number  of  votes 
cast  at  that  election  was  251,250,  so  if  its  own  provisions  had  been 
required  it  would  have  been  lost.  Nebraska  is  about  to  make  an 
effort  to  get  rid  of  such  a  provision,  but,  as  this  can  be  done  only 
by  another  amendment  to  the  constitution,  the  dilemma  is  pre- 
sented of  the  improbability  of  securing  a  vote  for  it  which  shall  be 
equal  to  the  majority  of  the  highest  number  cast  at  the  general 
election.  Since  it  is  impossible  to  get  such  a  vote  even  on  ques- 
tions to  which  there  is  no  special  objection,  it  is  clearly  evident 
that  an  amendment  enfranchising  women,  to  which  there  is  a 
large  and  strong  opposition,  would  have  no  chance  whatever  in 
States  making  the  above  requirement. 

It  then  remains  to  consider  the  situation  in  those  States  where 
only  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  upon  the  amendment  itself  is  re- 
quired. One  or  two  instances  will  show  the  stubborn  objection 
which  exists  among  the  masses  of  men  to  the  very  idea  of  woman 
suffrage.  In  1887  the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey  passed  a  law 
granting  School  Suffrage  to  women  in  villages  and  country  dis- 
tricts. After  they  had  exercised  it  until  1894  the  Supreme  Court 
declared  it  to  be  unconstitutional,  as  "the  Legislature  can  not 
enlarge  or  diminish  the  class  of  voters."  The  women  decided 
it  was  worth  while  to  preserve  even  this  scrap  of  suffrage,  so  they 
made  a  vigorous  effort  to  secure  from  the  Legislature  the  sub- 
mission of  an  amendment  which  should  give  it  to  them  consti- 
tutionally. The  resolution  for  this  had  to  pass  two  successive 
Legislatures,  and  it  happened  in  this  case  that  by  a  technicality 
three  were  necessary,  but  with  hard  work  and  a  petition  signed 
by  7,000  the  amendment  was  finally  submitted  in  1897.  The 
unvarying  testimony  of  the  school  authorities  was  that  the 
women  had  used  their  vote  wisely  and  to  the  great  advantage  of 


INTRODUCTION.  XV11 

the  schools  during  the  seven  years;  there  was  no  organized  op- 
position from  the  class  who  mieht  object  to  the  Full  Suffrage  for 
women  lest  their  business  should  be  injured,  or  that  other  class 
who  might  fear  their  personal  liberty  would  be  curtailed;  yet  the 
proposition  to  restore  to  women  in  the  villages  and  country  dis- 
tricts the  right  simply  to  vote  for  school  trustees  was  defeated 
by  75,170  noes,  65,029  ayes — over  10,000  majority. 

South  Dakota  as  a  Territory  permitted  women  to  vote  for 
all  school  officers.  It  entered  the  Union  in  1889  with  a  clause 
in  its  constitution  authorizing  them  to  vote  "at  any  election  held 
solely  for  school  purposes."  They  soon  found  that  this  did  not 
include  State  and  county  superintendents,  who  are  voted  for  at 
general  elections,  and  that  in  order  to  get  back  their  Territorial 
rights  an  amendment  would  have  to  be  submitted  to  the  electors. 
This  was  done  by  the  Legislature  of  1893.  There  had  not  been 
the  slightest  criticism  of  the  way  in  which  they  had  used  their 
school  suffrage  during  the  past  fourteen  years,  no  class  was  an- 
tagonized, and  yet  this  amendment  was  voted  down  by  22,682 
noes,  17,010  ayes,  an  opposing  majority  of  5,672. 

With  these  examples  in  two  widely-separated  parts  of  the 
country,  the  old  and  the  new,  representing  not  only  crystallized 
prejudice  in  the  one  but  inborn  opposition  in  both  to  any  step 
toward  enfranchising  women,  and  with  this  depending  absolutely 
on  the  will  of  the  voters,  is  it  a  matter  of  wonder  that  its  progress 
has  been  so  slow  ?  If  the  question  were  submitted  in  any  State 
to-day  whether,  for  instance,  all  who  did  not  pay  taxes  should  be 
disfranchised,  and  only  taxpayers  were  allowed  to  vote  upon  it,  it 
would  be  carried  by  a  large  majority.  If  it  were  submitted 
whether  all  owning  property  above  a  certain  amount  should  be 
disfranchised,  and  only  those  who  owned  less  than  this,  or  noth- 
ing, were  allowed  to  vote,  it  would  be  carried  unanimously.  No 
class  of  men  could  get  any  electoral  right  whatever  if  it  depended 
wholly  on  the  consent  of  another  class  whose  interests  supposedly 
lay  in  withholding  it.  Political,  not  moral  influence  removed 
the  property  restrictions  from  the  suffrage  in  order  to  build  up 
a  great  party — the  Democratic — which  because  of  its  enfran- 
chisement of  wage-earning  men  has  received  their  support  for 
eighty  years.  After  the  Civil  War,  although  the  Republican 

party  w;as  in  absolute  control,  amendments  to  the  State  consti- 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— ii 


xviii  INTRODUCTION. 

tutions  for  striking  out  the  word  "white,"  in  order  to  enfranchise 
colored  men,  were  defeated  in  one  after  another  of  the  Northern 
States,  even  in  Kansas,  the  most  radical  of  them,  all  in  its  anti- 
slavery  sentiment.  It  finally  became  so  evident  that  this  conces- 
sion would  not  be  granted  by  the  voters  that  Congress  was 
obliged  to  submit  first  one  and  then  a  second  amendment  to  the 
Federal  Constitution  to  secure  it.  But  even  then  the  ratification 
of  the  necessary  three-fourths  of  the  Legislatures  could  be  ob- 
tained only  because  it  was  positively  certain  that  through  this 
action  an  immense  addition  \vould  be  made  to  the  Republican 
electorate.  Now  after  a  lapse  of  thirty  years  this  same  party 
looks  on  unmoved  at  the  violation  of  these  amendments  in  every 
Southern  State  because  it  is  believed  that  thus  there  can  be, 
through  white  suffrage,  the  building  up  of  the  party  in  that  sec- 
tion which  the  colored  vote  has  not  been  able  to  accomplish. 

The  most  superficial  examination  of  the  conditions  which 
govern  the  franchise  answers  the  question  why,  after  fifty  years 
of  effort,  so  little  progress  has  been  made  in  obtaining  it  for 
women.  Of  late  years  every  new  or  "third"  party  which  is  or- 
ganized declares  for  woman  suffrage.  This  is  partly  because 
such  parties  come  into  existence  to  carry  out  reforms  in  which 
they  believe  women  can  help,  and  partly  because  in  their  weak 
state  they  are  ready  to  grasp  at  straws.  While  giving  them  full 
credit  for  such  recognition,  whatever  may  be  its  inspiring  motive, 
it  is  clearly  evident  that  the  franchise  must  come  to  women 
through  the  dominant  parties.  If  either  of  these  could  have  had 
assurance  of  receiving  the  majority  of  the  woman's  vote  it 
would  have  been  obtained  for  her  long  ago  without  effort  on  her 
part,  just  as  the  workingman's  and  the  colored  man's  were  se- 
cured for  them,  but  this  has  been  impossible.  Even  in  the  four 
States  where  women  now  have  the  full  suffrage  neither  party 
has  been  able  to  claim  a  distinct  advantage  from  it.  At  the  last 
Presidential  election  two  of  the  four  went  Democratic  and  two 
Republican.  In  Colorado,  where  women  owed  their  enfranchise- 
ment very  largely  to  the  Populists,  that  party  was  deposed  from 
power  at  the  first  election  where  they  voted  and  never  has  been 
reinstated.  Although  there  was  no  justification  for  holding 
women  responsible,  they  were  so  held,  and  the  party  consequently 
did  not  extend  the  franchise  to  women  in  other  States  where  it 


INTRODUCTION.  XIX 

might  have  done  so.  Many  consider  that  the  principles  of  the 
Republican  party  in  general  would  be  more  apt  to  commend 
themselves  to  women  than  those  of  the  Democratic,  but  others 
believe  that,  so  great  is  their  antipathy  to  war  and  all  the  evils 
connected  with  it  and  the  consequences  following  it,  they  would 
have  opposed  the  party  responsible  for  these  during  the  past  four 
years.  It  may  be  accepted,  however,  as  the  most  probable  view 
that  women  will  divide  on  the  main  issues  in  much  the  same  pro- 
portion as  men.  From  this  standpoint  neither  party  will  see 
any  especial  advantage  in  their  enfranchisement,  and  both  will 
look  with  disfavor  upon  adding  to  the  immense  number  of  voters 
who  must  now  be  reckoned  with  in  every  campaign  an  equally 
great  number  who  are  likely  to  require  an  entirely  different  man- 
agement. There  is  a  certain  element  in  the  leadership  of  all  par- 
ties which  is  not  especially  objectionable  to  men,  but  would  not 
be  tolerated  by  women.  Candidates  who  would  be  perfectly  ac- 
ceptable to  men  if  they  were  sound  on  the  political  issues  might 
be  wholly  repudiated  by  the  women  of  their  own  party.  If  tem- 
perance and  morality  were  made  requisites  many  leaders  and 
officials  who  now  hold  high  position  would  be  permanently  re- 
tired. These  are  all  reasons  which  appeal  to  politicians  for  de- 
ferring the  day  of  woman  suffrage  as  long  as  possible. 

Each  of  the  two  dominant  parties  is  largely  controlled  by  what 
are  known  as  the  liquor  interests.  Their  influence  begins  with 
the  National  Government,  which  receives  from  them  billions  of 
revenue ;  it  extends  to  the  States,  to  which  they  pay  millions ;  to 
the  cities,  whose  income  they  increase  by  hundreds  of  thousands ; 
to  the  farmers,  who  find  in  breweries  and  distilleries  the  best  mar- 
ket for  their  grain.  There  is  no  hamlet  so  small  as  not  to  be 
touched  by  their  ramifications.  No  "trust"  eve'r  formed  can 
compare  with  them  in  the  power  which  they  exercise.  That  their 
business  shall  not  be  interfered  with  they  must  possess  a  certain 
authority  over  Congress  and  Legislatures.  They  and  the  various 
institutions  connected  with  them  control  millions  of  votes.  They 
are  among  the  largest  contributors  to  political  campaigns.  There 
are  few  legislators  who  do  not  owe  their  election  in  a  greater  or 
less  degree  to  the  influence  wielded  by  these  liquor  interests, 
which  are  positively,  unanimously  and  unalterably  opposed  to 
woman  suffrage.  This  can  be  gained  only  by  the  submission  of 


XX  INTRODUCTION. 

an  amendment  to  the  National  or  State  constitutions,  and  for  that 
women  must  go  to  the  Congress  or  the  Legislatures.  What  can 
they  offer  to  offset  the  influences  behind  these  bodies?  They 
have  no  money  to  contribute  for  party  purposes.  They  repre- 
sent no  constituency  and  can  not  pledge  a  single  vote,  a  situation 
in  which  no  other  class  is  placed.  They  ask  men  to  divide  a 
power  of  which  they  now  have  a  monopoly;  to  give  up  a  sure 
thing  for  an  uncertainty ;  to  sacrifice  every  selfish  interest — and 
all  in  the  name  of  abstract  justice,  a  word  which  has  no  place  in 
politics.  Was  there  ever  apparently  a  more  hopeless  quest  ? 

With  the  exception  of  the  three  amendments  made  necessary 
by  the  Civil  War,  the  Federal  Constitution  has  not  been  amended 
for  ninety-eight  years,  and  there  is  strong  opposition  to  any 
changes  in  that  instrument.  If  Congress  would  submit  an  ar- 
ticle to  the  State  Legislatures  for  the  enfranchisement  of  women 
the  situation  would  be  vastly  simplified  and  eventually  the  requi- 
site three-fourths  for  ratification  could  be  secured,  but  undoubt- 
edly a  number  of  States  will  have  to  follow  the  example  of  those 
in  the  far  West  in  granting  the  suffrage  before  this  is  done.  The 
question  at  present,  therefore,  may  be  considered  as  resting  with 
the  various  Legislatures.  With  all  the  powerful  influences  above 
mentioned  strongly  intrenched  and  pitted  against  the  women  who 
come  empty-handed,  it  is  naturally  a  most  difficult  matter  to 
secure  the  submission  of  an  amendment  where  there  is  the  slight- 
est chance  of  its  carrying.  With  the  two  exceptions  of  Colorado 
and  Idaho,  it  may  be  safely  asserted  that  in  every  case  where  one 
has  been  submitted  it  has  been  done  simply  to  please  the  women 
and  to  get  rid  of  them,  and  with  the  full  assurance  that  it  would 
not  be  carried.  Two  conspicuous  examples  of  the  impossibility 
of  obtaining  an  amendment  where  it  would  be  likely  to  receive  a 
majority  vote  are  to  be  found  in  California  and  Iowa.  In  the 
former  State  one  went  before  the  electors  in  1896,  and,  although 
the  conditions  were  most  unfavorable  and  the  strongest  possible 
fight  was  made  against  it,  so  large  an  affirmative  sentiment  was 
developed  that  it  was  clearly  evident  it  would  be  carried  on  a 
second  trial.  Up  to  that  time  the  women  of  this  State  had  very 
little  difficulty  in  securing  suffrage  bills,  but  since  then  the  Leg- 
islature has  persistently  refused  to  submit  another  amendment. 
(See  chapter  on  California.) 


INTRODUCTION.  XXI 

( 

In  probably  no  State  is  the  general  sentiment  so  strongly  in 
favor  of  woman  suffrage  as  in  Iowa,  and  yet  for  the  past  thirty 
years  the  women  have  tried  in  vain  to  secure  from  the  Legisla- 
ture the  submission  of  an  amendment — simply  an  opportunity  to 
carry  their  case  to  the  electors.  (See  chapter  on  Iowa.)  The 
politics  of  that  State  is  practically  controlled  by  the  great  brew- 
ing interests  and  the  balance  of  power  rests  in  the  German  vote. 
It  is  believed  that  woman  suffrage  would  be  detrimental  to  their 
interests  and  they  will  not  allow  it.  Here,  as  in  many  States,  a 
resolution  for  an  amendment  must  be  acted  upon  by  two  succes- 
sive Legislatures.  If  a  majority  of  either  party  should  pass  this 
resolution,  the  enemy  would  be  able  to  defeat  its  nominees  for 
the  next  Legislature  before  the  women  could  get  the  chance  to 
vote  for  them.  In  other  words,  all  the  forces  hostile  to  woman 
suffrage  are  already  enfranchised  and  are  experienced,  active  and 
influential  in  politics,  while  the  women  themselves  can  give  no 
assistance,  and  the  men  in  every  community  who  favor  it  are 
very  largely  those  who  have  not  an  aggressive  political  influence. 
This  very  refusal  of  certain  Legislatures  to  let  the  voters  pass 
upon  the  question  is  the  strongest  possible  indication  that  they 
fear  the  result.  If  women  could  be  enfranchised  simply  by  an 
Act  of  Congress  they  would  have  an  opportunity  to  vote  for  their 
benefactors  at  the  same  time  as  the  enemies  would  vote  against 
them,  and  thus  the  former  would  not,  as  at  present,  run  the  risk  of 
personal  defeat  and  the  overthrow  of  their  party  by  espousing 
the  cause  of  woman  suffrage. 

If,  however,  Legislatures  were  willing  to  submit  the  question 
it  is  doubtful  whether,  under  present  conditions,  it  could  be  car- 
ried in  any  large  number  of  States,  as  the  same  elements  which 
influence  legislators  act  also  upon  the  voters  through  the  party 
"machines."  Amendments  to  strike  the  word  "male"  from  the 
suffrage  clause  of  the  Constitution  have  been  submitted  by  ten 
States,  and  by  five  of  these  twice — Kansas,  1867-94;  Michigan, 
1874;  Colorado,  1877-93;  Nebraska,  1882;  Oregon,  1884-1900; 
Rhode  Island,  1886;  Washington,  1889-98;  South  Dakota,  1890- 
98;  California,  1896;  Idaho,  1896.  Out  of  the  fifteen  trials  the 
amendment  has  been  adopted  but  twice — in  Colorado  and  Idaho. 
In  these  two  cases  it  was  indorsed  by  all  the  political  parties  and 
carried  with  their  permission.  Wyoming  and  Utah  placed  equal 


INTRODUCTION. 

suffrage  in  the  constitution  under  which  they  entered  Statehood. 
In  both,  as  Territories,  women  had  had  the  full  franchise — in 
Wyoming  twenty-one  and  in  Utah  seventeen  years — and  public 
sentiment  was  strongly  in  favor.  In  the  States  where  the  ques- 
tion was  defeated  it  had  practically  no  party  support. 

Aside  from  all  political  hostility,  however,  woman  suffrage 
has  to  face  a  tremendous  opposition  from  other  sources.  The 
attitude  of  a  remonstrant  is  the  natural  one  of  the  vast  majority 
of  people.  Their  first  cry  on  coming  into  the  world,  if  trans- 
lated, would  be,  "I  object."  They  are  opposed  on  principle  to 
every  innovation,  and  the  greatest  of  these  is  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  women.  To  grant  woman  an  equality  with  man  in  the 
affairs  of  life  is  contrary  to  every  tradition,  every  precedent, 
ever)'  inheritance,  every  instinct  and  every  teaching.  The  ac- 
ceptance of  this  idea  is  possible  only  to  those  of  especially  pro- 
gressive tendencies  and  a  strong  sense  of  justice,  and  it  is  yet  too 
soon  to  expect  these  from  the  majority.  If  it  had  been  necessary 
to  have  the  consent  of  the  majority  of  the  men  in  every  State 
for  women  to  enter  the  universities,  to  control  their  own  prop- 
erty, to  engage  in  the  various  professions  and  occupations,  to 
speak  from  the  public  platform  and  to  form  great  organizations, 
in  not  one  would  they  be  enjoying  these  privileges  to-day.  It 
is  very  probable  that  this  would  be  equally  true  if  they  had  de- 
pended upon  the  permission  of  a  majority  of  women  themselves. 
They  are  more  conservative  even  than  men,  because  of  the  nar- 
rowness and  isolation  of  their  lives,  the  subjection  in  which  they 
always  have  been  held,  the  severe  punishment  inflicted  by  society 
on  those  who  dare  step  outside  the  prescribed  sphere,  and,  strong- 
er than  all,  perhaps,  their  religious  tendencies  through  which  it 
has  been  impressed  upon  them  that  their  subordinate  position 
was  assigned  by  the  Divine  will  and  that  to  rebel  against  it  is  to 
defy  the  Creator.  In  all  the  generations,  Church,  State  and 
society  have  combined  to  retard  the  development  of  women,  with 
the  inevitable  result  that  those  of  every  class  are  narrower,  more 
bigoted  and  less  progressive  than  the  men  of  that  class. 

While  the  girls  are  crowding  the  colleges  now  until  they 
threaten  to  exceed  the  number  of  boys,  the  demand  for  the  higher 
education  was  made  by  the  merest  handful  of  women  and  granted 
by  an  equally  small  number  of  men,  who,  on  the  boards  of  trus- 


INTRODUCTION.  XX111 

tees,  were  able  to  do  so,  but  it  would  have  been  deferred  for  dec- 
ades if  it  had  depended  on  a  popular  vote  of  either  men  or 
women.  The  pioneers  in  the  professions  found  their  most  trying 
opposition  from  other  women,  instigated  by  the  men  who  did 
their  thinking  for  them  to  believe  that  the  whole  sex  was  being 
disgraced.  Married  women  almost  universally  were  opposed  to 
laws  which  would  give  them  control  of  their  property,  being  as- 
sured by  their  masculine  advisers  that  this  would  deprive  them  of 
the  love  and  protection  of  their  husbands.  Public  sentiment  was 
wholly  opposed  to  these  laws  and  no  such  objections  ever  have 
been  made  in  Legislatures  even  to  woman  suffrage  as  were  urged 
against  allowing  a  wrife  to  own  property.  The  contest  was  won 
by  the  smallest  fraction  of  women  and  a  few  strong,  far-seeing 
men,  the  latter  actuated  not  alone  by  a  sentiment  of  justice  but 
also  by  the  desire  of  preventing  husbands  from  squandering  the 
property  which  fathers  had  accumulated  and  wished  to  secure  to 
their  daughters,  and  fortunate  indeed  was  it  that  this  action  did 
not  have  to  be  ratified  by  the  voters. 

There  are  in  the  United  States  between  three  and  four  million 
women  engaged  in  wage-earning  occupations  outside  of  domestic 
service.  Would  this  be  possible  had  they  been  obliged  to  have 
the  duly  recorded  permission  of  a  majority  of  all  the  men  over 
twenty-one  years  old?  If  the  question  were  submitted  to  the 
votes  of  these  men  to-day  whether  women  should  be  allowed  to 
continue  in  these  emplovments  and  enter  any  and  all  others, 
would  it  be  carried  in  the  affirmative  in  a  single  State? 

And  yet  this  prejudiced,  conservative  and  in  a  degree  ig- 
norant and  vicious  electorate  possesses  absolutely  the  power  to 
withhold  the  suffrage  from  women.  A  large  part  of  it  is  com- 
posed of  foreign-born  men,  bringing  from  the  Old  World  the 
most  primitive  ideas  of  the  degraded  position  which  properly 
belongs  to  woman.  Another  part  is  addicted  to  habits  with 
which  it  never  would  give  women  the  chance  to  interfere.  Boys 
of  twenty-one  form  another  portion,  fully  imbued  with  a  belief 
in  woman's  inferiority  which  only  experience  can  eradicate. 
Men  of  the  so-called  working  classes  vote  against  it  because  they 
fear  to  add  to  the  power  of  the  so-called  aristocracy.  The  latter 
oppose  it  because  they  think  the  suffrage  already  has  been  too 
widely  extended  and  ought  to  be  curtailed  instead  of  expanded. 


\\i\-  INTRODUCTION. 

The  old  fogies  cast  a  negative  ballot  because  they  believe  woman 
ought  to  be  kept  in  her  "sphere,"  and  the  strictly  orthodox  be- 
cause it  is  not  authorized  by  the  Scriptures.  A  large  body  who 
are  "almost  persuaded,"  but  have  some  lingering  doubts  as  to  the 
"expediency,"  satisfy  their  consciences  for  voting  "no"  by  saying 
that  the  women  of  their  family  and  acquaintance  do  not  want  it. 
Thus  is  the  most  valuable  of  human  rights — the  right  of  in- 
dividual representation — made  the  football  of  Legislatures,  the 
shuttlecock  of  voters,  kicked  and  tossed  like  the  veriest  play- 
thing in  utter  disregard  of  the  vital  fact  that  it  is  the  one  prin- 
ciple above  all  others  on  which  the  Government  is  founded. 

Nevertheless  there  is  abundant  reason  for  belief  that,  in  the 
face  of  all  the  forces  which  are  arrayed  against  it,  this  measure 
could  be  carried  in  almost  any  State  where  the  women  them- 
selves were  a  unit  or  even  very  largely  in  the  majority  in  favor 
of  it.  In  the  indifference,  the  inertia,  the  apathy  of  women  lies 
the  greatest  obstacle  to  their  enfranchisement.  Investigation 
in  States  where  a  suffrage  amendment  has  been  voted  on  has 
shown  that  practfcally  every  election  precinct  where  a  thorough 
canvass  was  made  and  every  voter  personally  interviewed  by  the 
women  who  resided  in  it,  was  carried  in  favor.  Some  men  of 
course  can  not  be  moved,  but  many  who  never  have  given  the 
subject  any  thought  can  be  set  to  thinking;  while  there  is  in  the 
average  man  a  latent  sense  of  justice  which  responds  to  the  per- 
suasion of  a  woman  who  conies  in  person  and  says,  "I  ask  you  to 
grant  me  the  same  rights  which  you  yourself  enjoy;  I  am  your 
neighbor ;  I  pay  taxes  just  as  you  do ;  our  interests  are  identical ; 
give  me  the  same  power  to  protect  mine  which  you  possess  to 
protect  yours."  A  man  would  have  to  be  thoroughly  hardened 
to  vote  "no"  after  such  an  appeal,  but  if  he  were  let  alone  he 
could  do  so  without  any  qualms.  The  same  situation  obtains  in 
the  family  and  in  social  life.  The  average  man  would  not  vote 
against  granting  women  the  franchise  if  all  those  of  his  own 
family  and  the  circle  of  his  intimate  friends  brought  a  strong 
pressure  to  bear  upon  him  in  its  favor.  The  measure  could  be 
carried  against  all  opposition  if  every  clergyman  in  every  com- 
munity would  urge  the  women  of  his  congregation  to  work  for 
it,  assuring  them  of  the  sanction  of  the  church  and  the  blessing 


INTRODUCTION.  XXV 

of  God,  and  showing  them  how  vastly  it  would  increase  their 
power  for  good. 

Every  privilege  which  has  been  granted  women  has  tended  to 
develop  them,  until  their  influence  is  incomparably  stronger  at 
the  present  time  than  ever  before.  Their  great  organizations 
are  a  power  in  every  town  and  city.  If  these  throughout  a  State 
would  unite  in  a  determined  effort  to  secure  the  franchise,  bring- 
ing to  bear  upon  legislators  the  demands  of  thousands  of  women, 
high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  of  all  classes  and  conditions,  they 
would  be  compelled  to  yield;  and  the  same  amount  of  influence 
would  carry  the  amendment  with  the  voters.  But  the  petitioners 
for  the  suffrage  are  in  the  minority.  There  are  many  obvious 
reasons  for  this,  and  one  of  them,  paradoxical  as  it  ftiay  seem,  is 
because  so  much  already  has  been  gained.  Woman  in  general  now 
finds  her  needs  very  well  supplied.  If  she  wants  to  work  she  has 
all  occupations  to  choose  from.  If  she  desires  an  education  the 
schools  and  colleges  are  freely  opened  to  her.  If  she  wishes  to 
address  the  public  by  pen  or  voice  the  people  hear  her  gladly. 
The  laws  have  been  largely  modified  in  her  favor,  and  where 
they  might  press  they  are  seldom  enforced.  She  may  accumu- 
late and  control  property ;  she  may  set  up  her  own  domestic  estab- 
lishment and  go  and  come  at  will.  If  the  workingwoman  finds 
herself  at  a  disadvantage  she  has  not  time  and  often  not  ability 
to  seek  the  cause  until  she  traces  it  to  disfranchisement,  and  if 
she  should  do  so  she  is  too  helpless  to  make  a  contest  against  it. 
Those  women  who  "have  dwelt,  since  they  were  born,  in  well- 
feathered  nests  and  have  never  needed  do  anything  but  open  their 
soft  beaks  for  the  choicest  little  grubs  to  be  dropped  into  them," 
can  not  be  expected  to  feel  or  see  any  necessity  for  the  ballot. 
Nor  will  the  woman  half  way  between,  absorbed  in  her  church, 
her  clubs,  her  charities  and  her  household,  make  the  philosophical 
study  necessary  to  show  that  she  could  do  larger  and  more  effect- 
ive work  for  all  of  these  if  she  possessed  the  great  power  which 
lies  in  the  suffrage.  Even  women  of  much  wealth  who  are  not 
idle,  self-centered  and  indifferent  to  the  needs  of  humanity,  but 
are  giving  munificently  for  religious,  educational  and  philanthro- 
pic purposes,  have  not  been  aroused  in  any  large  number  to  the 
necessity  of  the  suffrage,  for  reasons  which  are  evident. 

Reforms  of  every  kitjd  are  inaugurated  and  carried  forward 


INTRODUCTION. 

by  a  minority,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  this  one  should  prove 
an  exception.  In  not  an  instance  has  a  majority  of  any  class  of 
men  demanded  the  franchise,  and  there  is  no  precedent  for  ex- 
pecting the  majority  of  women  to  do  so.  It  will  have  to  be 
gained  for  them  by  the  foresight,  the  courage  and  the  toil  of  the 
few.  just  as  all  other  privileges  have  been,  and  they  will  enter 
into  posession  with  the  same  eagerness  and  unanimity  as  has 
marked  their  acceptance  of  the  others. 

\Yith  this  mass  of  prejudice,  selfishness  and  inertia  to  overcome 
is  there  any  hope  of  future  success  ?  Yes,  there  is  a  hope  which 
amounts  to  a  certainty.  Nothing  could  be  more  logical  than  a 
belief  that  where  one  hundred  privileges  have  been  opposed  and 
then  ninety-nine  of  them  granted,  the  remaining  one  will  ulti- 
mately follow.  While  women  still  suffer  countless  minor  disad- 
vantages, the  fundamental  rights  have  largely  been  secured  except 
the  suffrage.  This,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  is  most  difficult  to 
obtain  because  it  is  intrenchediin  constitutional  law  and  because 
it  represents  a  more  radical  revolution  than  all  the  others  com- 
bined. The  softening  of  the  bitter  opposition  of  the  early  days 
through  the  general  spirit  of  progress  has  been  somewhat  coun- 
teracted by  a  modern  skepticism  as  to  the  supreme  merit  of  a 
democratic  government  and  a  general  disgust  with  the  prevalent 
political  corruption.  This  will  continue  to  react  strongly  against 
any  further  extension  of  the  suffrage  until  men  can  be  made  to 
see  that  a  real  democracy  has  not  as  yet  existed,  but  that  the 
dangerous  experiment  has  been  made  of  enfranchising  the  vast 
proportion  of  crime,  intemperance,  immorality  and  dishonesty, 
and  barring  absolutely  from  the  suffrage  the  great  proportion 
of  temperance,  morality,  religion  and  conscientiousness ;  that,  in 
other  words,  the  worst  elements  have  been  put  into  the  ballot- 
box  and  the  best  elements  kept  out.  This  fatal  mistake  is  even 
now  beginning  to  dawn  upon  the  minds  of  those  who  have  cher- 
ished an  ideal  of  the  grandeur  of  a  republic,  and  they  dimly  see 
that  in  woman  lies  the  highest  promise  of  its  fulfilment.  Those 
who  fear  the  foreign  vote  will  learn  eventually  that  there  are 
more  American-born  women  in  the  United  States  than  foreign- 
born  men  and  women;  and  those  who  dread  the  ignorant  vote 
will  study  the  statistics  and  see  that  the  percentage  of  illiteracy 
is  much  smaller  among  women  than  among  men. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXV11 

The  consistent  tendency  since  the  right  to  individual  repre- 
sentation was  established  by  the  Revolutionary  War  has  been  to 
extend  this  right,  until  now  every  man  in  the  United  States  is 
enfranchised.  While  a  few,  usually  those  who  are  too  exclusive 
to  vote  themselves,  insist  that  this  is  detrimental  to  the  electorate, 
the  vast  majority  hold  that  in  numbers  there  is  the  safety  of  its 
being  more  difficult  to  purchase  or  mislead ;  that  even  the  ignorant 
may  vote  more  honestly  than  the  educated ;  that  more  knowledge 
and  judgment  can  be  added  through  ten  million  electors  than 
through  five;  and  also  that  by  this  universal  male  suffrage  it  is 
made  impossible  for  one  class  of  men  to  legislate  against  an- 
other class,  and  thus  all  excuse  for  anarchy  or  a  resort  to  force 
is  removed.  Added  to  these  advantages  is  the  developing  in- 
fluence of  the  ballot  upon  the  individual  himself,  which  renders 
him  more  intelligent  and  gives  him  a  broader  conception  of  jus- 
tice and  liberty.  All  of  these  conditions  must  lead  eventually  to 
the  enfranchising  of  the  only  remaining  part  of  the  citizenship 
without  this  means  of  protection  and  development. 

The  gradual  movement  in  this  direction  in  the  United  States 
is  seen  in  the  partial  extension  of  the  franchise  which  has  taken 
place  during  the  past  thirty-three  years,  or  within  one  genera- 
tion. During  this  time  over  one-half  of  them  have  conferred 
School  Suffrage  on  women ;  one  has  granted  Municipal  Suffrage ; 
four  a  vote  on  questions  of  taxation ;  three  have  recognized  them 
in  local  matters,  and  a  number  of  cities  have  given  such  privileges 
as  were  possible  by  charter.  Since  1890  four  States,  by  a  ma- 
jority vote  of  the  electors,  have  enfranchised  200,000  women  by 
incorporating  the  complete  suffrage  in  their  constitutions,  from 
which  it  never  can  be  removed  except  by  a  vote  of  women  them- 
selves. During  all  these  years  there  have  been  but  two  retro- 
gressive steps — the  disfranchising  of  the  women  of  Washington 
Territory  in  1888  by  an  unconstitutional  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  dictated  by  the  disreputable  elements  then  in  control ;  and 
the  taking  away  of  the  School  Suffrage  from  all  women  of  the 
second-class  cities  in  Kentucky  by  its  Legislature  of  1902  for  the 
purpose  of  eliminating  the  vote  of  colored  women.  In  every 
other  Legislature  a  bill  to  repeal  any  limited  franchise  which  has 
be'en  extended  has  been  overwhelmingly  voted  down. 

Another  favorable  sign  i?  the  action  taken  by  Legislatures  on 


xxviii  INTRODUCTION. 

bills  for  the  full  enfranchisement  of  women.  Formerly  they 
were  treated  with  contempt  and  ridicule  and  either  thrown  out 
summarily  or  discussed  in  language  which  the  descendants  of  the 
honorable  gentlemen  who  used  it  will  regret  to  read.  Now  such 
bills  are  treated  with  comparative  courtesy ;  a  discussion  is  avoid- 
ed wherever  possible,  members  not  wishing  to  go  on  record,  but 
if  forced  it  is  conducted  in  a  respectful  manner;  and,  while  usual- 
ly rejected,  the  opposing  majority  is  small,  in  many  instances  only 
just  large  enough  to  secure  defeat,  and  frequently  members  have 
to  change  their  votes  to  the  negative  as  they  find  the  measure  is 
about  to  be  carried.  Several  instances  have  occurred  in  the  last 
year  or  two  where  the  bill  passed  but  during  the  night  the  party 
whip  was  applied  with  such  force  that  the  affirmative  was  com- 
pelled to  reconsider  its  action  the  next  day.  There  is  little  doubt 
that  even  now  if  members  were  free  to  vote  their  convictions  a 
bill  could  be  carried  in  many  Legislatures. 

A  most  encouraging  sign  is  the  attitude  of  the  Press.  Al- 
though the  country  papers  occasionally  refer  to  the  suffrage  ad- 
vocates as  hyenas,  cats,  crowing  hens,  bold  wantons,  unsexed 
females  and  dangerous  home-wreckers — expressions  which  were 
common  a  generation  ago — these  are  no  longer  found  in  metro- 
politan and  influential  newspapers.  Scores  of  both  city  and 
country  papers  openly  advocate  the  measure  and  scores  of  others 
would  do  so  if  they  were  not  under  the  same  control  as  the  Leg- 
islatures. Ten  years  ago  it  was  almost  impossible  to  secure 
space  in  any  paper  for  woman  suffrage  arguments.  To-day 
several  of  the  largest  in  the  country  maintain  regular  depart- 
ments for  this  purpose,  while  the  report  of  the  press  chairman 
of  the  National  Association  for  1901  stated  that  during  the  past 
eight  months  175,000  articles  on  the  subject  had  been  sent  to  the 
press  and  a  careful  investigation  showed  that  three-fourths  of 
them  had  been  published.  In  addition  different  papers  had  used 
150  special  articles,  while  the  page  of  plate  matter  furnished 
every  six  weeks  was  extensively  taken.  New  York  reported  400 
papers  accepting  suffrage  matter  regularly;  Pennsylvania,  368; 
Iowa,  253;  Illinois,  161 ;  Massachusetts,  107,  and  other  States  in 
varying  numbers.  Since  this  question  is  very  largely  one  of 
educating  the  people,  the  opening  of  the  Press  to  its  argument's 
is  probably  the  most  important  advantage  which  has  been  gained. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXIX 

The  progress  of  public  sentiment  is  strikingly  illustrated  in  a 
comparison  of  the  votes  in  those  States  which  have  twice  sub- 
mitted an  amendment  to  their  constitution  that  would  give  the 
suffrage  to  women.  In  Kansas  such  an  amendment  in  1867  re- 
ceived 9,070  ayes,  19,857  noes;  in  1894,  95,302  ayes,  130,139 
noes.  The  second  time  it  was  indorsed  by  the  Populists  and 
not  by  the  Republicans,  therefore  the  latter,  who  in  that  State  are 
really  favorable  to  the  measure,  largely  voted  against  it  in  order 
that  the  Populists  might  not  strengthen  their  party  by  appearing 
to  carry  it,  and  yet  the  percentage  of  opposition  was  considerably 
decreased.  In  Colorado  in  1877  the  vote  stood  6,612  ayes, 
14,055  noes;  in  1893  tne  amendment  was  carried  by  35,698  ayes, 
29,461  noes — a  majority  of  6,237.  Oregon  in  1884  gave  11,223 
ayes,  28,176  noes;  in  1900,  26,265  ayes,  28,402  noes — an  increase 
of  226  opponents  and  15,042  advocates.  The  vote  in  Washing- 
ton in  1889  was  16,527  ayes,  35,917  noes;  in  1898,  20,171  ayes, 
30,497  noes — the  opposing  majority  reduced  from  19,396  to 
10,326,  or  almost  one-half. 

One  is  logically  entitled  to  believe  from  these  figures  that  the 
question  will  be  carried  in  each  of  those  States  the  next  time  it  is 
voted  on.  It  must  be  remembered  that  women  go  into  all  these 
campaigns  with  no  political  influence  and  practically  no  money, 
not  enough  to  employ  workers  and  speakers  to  make  an  approach 
to  a  thorough  organization  and  canvass  of  the  State ;  totally  with- 
out the  aid  of  party  machinery;  with  no  platform  on  which  to 
present  their  cause  except  such  as  is  granted  by  courtesy;  and 
with  no  advocacy  of  it  by  the  speakers  on  the  platforms  of  the 
various  parties.  The  increased  majorities  indicate  solely  that 
men  are  emerging  from  the  bondage  of  tradition,  prejudice  and 
creed,  and  that  when  they  can  escape  from  the  bondage  of  politics 
they  will  grant  justice  to  women. 

The  very  fact  that  women  themselves  are  arousing  from  their 
inertia  to  the  extent  of  organizing  in  opposition  to  what  they 
term  "the  danger  of  having  the  ballot  thrust  upon  them"  shows 
life.  While  their  enrollment  is  infinitesimal  it  has  set  women  to 
thinking,  and  a  number  who  have  signed  the  declaration  that 
they  do  not  want  the  franchise,  have  for  the  first  time  been  com- 
pelled to  give  the  matter  consideration  and  have  decided  that 
they  "do  want  it.  The  facts  also  that  within  a  few  years  the 


XXX  INTRODUCTION. 

membership  of  the  National  Suffrage  Association  has  doubled; 
that  auxiliaries  have  been  formed  in  every  State  and  Territory ; 
that  permanent  headquarters  have  been  established  in  New  York ; 
and  that  the  revenues  (almost  wholly  the  contributions  of 
women)  have  risen  from  the  $2,000  or  $3,000  per  annum,  which 
it  was  barely  possible  to  secure  half-a-dozen  years  ago,  to  $10,345 
in  1899,  $22,522  in  1900  (including  receipts  from  Bazar),  $18,- 
290  in  1901 — these  facts  are  indisputable  evidence  of  the  growth 
of  the  sentiment  among  women.  In  this  line  of  progress  must  be 
placed  also  the  thousands  of  other  organizations  containing 
millions  of  women,  which,  although  not  including  the  suffrage 
among  their  objects,  are  engaged  in  efforts  for  better  laws,  civic 
improvements  and  a  general  advance  in  conditions  that  inevitably 
will  bring  them  to  realize  the  immense  disadvantage  of  belonging 
to  a  class  without  political  influence. 

Nothing  could  be  more  illogical  than  the  belief  that  a  republic 
would  confer  every  gift  upon  woman  except  the  choicest  and  then 
forever  withhold  this ;  or  that  women  would  be  content  to  possess 
all  others  and  not  eventually  demand  the  one  most  valuable.  The 
increasing  number  who  are  attending  political  conventions  and 
crowding  mass  meetings  until  they  threaten  to  leave  no  room  for 
voters,  are  unmistakable  proof  that  eventually  women  themselves 
and  men  also  will  see  the  utter  absurdity  of  their  disfranchised 
condition.  The  ancient  objections  which  were  urged  so  forcibly 
a  generation  or  two  ago  have  lost  their  force  and  must  soon  be 
retired  from  service.  The  charge  of  mental  incapacity  is  totally 
refuted  by  the  statistics  of  1900  showing  the  percentage  of  girls 
in  the  High  Schools  to  be  58.36  and  of  boys,  41.64 ;  the  number  of 
girl  graduates,  39,162;  boys,  22,575;  70  per  cent,  of  the  public 
school  teachers  women;  40,000  women  college  graduates  scat- 
tered throughout  the  country  and  30,000  now  in  the  universities, 
with  the  percentage  of  their  increase  in  women  students  three 
times  as  great  as  that  of  men,  and  431,153  women  practicing  in 
the  various  professions. 

The  charge  of  business  incompetency  is  disproved  by  the  503,- 
574  women  who  are  engaged  in  trade  and  transportation,  the 
980,025  in  agriculture  and  the  1,315,890  in  manufacturing  and 
mechanical  pursuits.  Every  community  also  furnishes  its  special 
examples  of  the  aptitude  of  women  for  business,  now  that  they 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXI 

are  allowed  a  chance  to  manifest  it.  Statistics  show  further  that 
one-tenth  of  the  millionaires  are  women  and  that  they  are  large 
property  holders  in  every  locality.  Whether  they  earned  or  in- 
herited their  holdings,  the  fact  remains  that  they  are  compelled  to 
pay  taxes  on  billions  of  dollars  without  any  representation. 

The  military  argument — that  women  must  not  vote  because 
they  can  not  fight — is  seldom  used  nowadays,  as  it  is  so  clearly 
evident  that  it  would  also  disfranchise  vast  numbers  of  men ;  that 
the  value  of  women  in  the  perpetuation  of  the  Government  is  at 
least  equal  to  that  of  the  men  who  defend  it ;  and  that  there  is  no 
recognition  in  the  laws  by  which  the  franchise  is  exercised  of  the 
slightest  connection  between  a  ballot  and  a  bullet. 

The  most  persistent  objection —  that  if  women  are  allowed  to 
enter  politics  they  will  neglect  their  homes  and  families — is  con- 
clusively answered  in  the  four  States  where  they  have  had 
political  rights  for  a  number  of  years  and  domestic  life  still 
moves  on  just  as  in  other  places.  In  two  of  the  four  while  Ter- 
ritories women  had  exercised  the  franchise  from  seventeen  to 
twenty-one  years,  and  yet  a  large  majority  of  the  men  voted  to 
grant  it  perpetually.  Women  do  not  love  their  families  because 
compelled  to  do  so  by  statute,  or  cling  to  their  homes  because 
there  is  no  place  for  them  outside.  This  same  direful  prediction 
was  made  at  every  advanced  step,  but,  although  the  entire  status 
of  women  has  been  changed,  and  they  are  largely  engaged  in  the 
public  work  of  every  community,  they  are  better  and  happier 
wives,  mothers  and  housekeepers  because  they  are  more  intelli- 
gent and  live  a  broader  life.  But  they  are  learning,  and  the 
world  is  learning,  that  their  housekeeping  qualities  should  extend 
to  the  municipality  and  their  power  of  motherhood  to  the  children 
of  the  whole  nation,  and  that  these  should  be  expressed  through 
this  very  politics  from  which  they  are  so  rigorously  excluded. 

The  objections  of  the  opponents  have  been  so  largely  confuted 
that  they  have  for  the  most  part  been  compelled  to  make  a  last 
defense  by  declaring:  "When  the  majority  of  women  ask  for 
the  suffrage  they  may  have  it."  By  this  very  concession  they 
admit  that  there  is  no  valid  reason  for  withholding  it,  and  in  thus 
arbitrarily  doing  so  they  are  denying  all  representation  to  the 
minority,  which  is  wholly  at  variance  with  republican  principles. 
This  is  excused  on  the  ground  that  the  franchise  is  not  a  "right" 


xxxii  INTRODUCTION. 

but  a  privilege  to  be  granted  or  not  as  seems  best  to  those  in 
power.  This  was  the  Tory  argument  before  the  American  Revo- 
lution, and,  carried  back  to  its  origin,  it  upholds  "the  divine  au- 
thority of  kings."  The  law  to  put  in  force  the  one  and  only 
amendment  ever  added  to  our  National  Constitution  to  extend 
the  franchise  was  entitled,  "An  act  to  enforce  the  right  of  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  to  vote;"  and  the  amendment  itself 
reads,  "The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall 
not  be  denied  or  abridged."  (See  Chap.  I.) 

The  readers  of  the  present  volume  will  not  find  such  a  story  of 
cruel  and  relentless  punishment  inflicted  upon  advocates  of  woman 
suffrage  as  is  related  in  the  earlier  volumes  of  this  History,  but 
the  passing  of  rack  and  thumbscrew,  of  stake  and  fagot,  does  not 
mean  the  end  of  persecution  in  the  world.  Those  who  stand  for 
this  reform  to-day  do  not  tread  a  flower-strewn  path.  It  is  yet 
an  unpopular  subject,  under  the  ban  of  society  and  receiving  scant 
measure  of  public  sympathy,  but  it  must  continue  to  be  urged. 
If  the  assertion  had  been  accepted  as  conclusive,  that  a  measure 
which  after  years  of  advocacy  is  still  opposed  by  the  majority 
should  be  dropped,  the  greatest  reforms  of  history  would  have 
been  abandoned.  The  personal  character  of  those  who  represent 
a  cause,  however,  sometimes  carries  more  weight  than  the  num- 
bers, and  judged  by  this  standard  none  has  had  stronger  support 
than  the  enfranchisement  of  women.* 

The  struggle  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  was  the  transference 
of  power  from  one  man  or  one  class  of  men  to  all  men,  it  has  been 
said,  and  while  but  one  country  in  1800  had  a  constitutional  gov- 
ernment, in  1900  fifty  had  some  form  of  constitution  and  some 
degree  of  male  sovereignty.  Must  the  Twentieth  Century  be 
consumed  in  securing  for  woman  that  which  man  spent  a  hundred 
years  in  obtaining  for  himself?  The  determination  of  those  en- 
gaged in  this  righteous  contest  was  thus  expressed  by  the  presi- 
dent of  the  National  Suffrage  Association  in  her  address  at  the 
annual  convention  of  1902: 

Refore  the  attainment  of  equal  rights  for  men  and  women  there 
will  1>e  years  of  struggle  and  disappointment.  We  of  a  younger 
generation  have  taken  up  the  work  where  our  noble  and  consecrated 
pioneers  left  it.  We,  in  turn,  are  enlisted  for  life,  and  generations 

•For  partial  list,  see  Appendix  —  Eminent  Advocates  of  Woman  Suffrage. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXX111 

yet  unborn  will  take  up  the  work  where  we  lay  it  down.  So,  through 
centuries  if  need  be,  the  education  will  continue,  until  a  regenerated 
race  of  men  and  women  who  are  equal  before  man  and  God  shall 
control  the  destinies  of  the  earth. 

But  have  we  not  reason  to  hope,  in  this  era  of  rapid  fulfilment 
— when  in  all  material  things  electricity  is  accomplishing  in  a  day 
what  required  months  under  the  old  regime — that  moral  progress 
will  keep  pace  ?  And  that  as  much  stronger  as  the  electric  power 
has  shown  itself  than  the  coarse  and  heavy  forces  of  the  stone  and 
iron  periods,  so  much  superior  will  prove  the  noblesse  oblige  of 
the  men  and  women  of  the  present,  achieving  in  a  generation 
what  was  not  possible  to  the  narrow  selfishness  and  ignorant 
prejudice  of  all  the  past  ages  ? 

A  part  of  the  magnificent  plan  to  beautify  Washington,  the 
capital  of  the  nation,  is  a  colossal  statue  to  American  Woman- 
hood. The  design  embodies  a  great  arch  of  marble  standing  on 
a  base  in  the  form  of  an  oval  and  broken  by  sweeps  of  steps.  On 
either  side  are  large  bronze  panels,  bearing  groups  of  figures. 
One  of  these  will  be  a  symbolic  design  showing  the  spirit  of 
the  people  descending  to  lay  offerings  on  woman's  altar.  Lofty 
pillars  crowned  by  figures  representing  Victory,  are  to  be  placed 
at  the  approaches.  Surmounting  the  arch  will  be  the  chief  group 
of  the  composition,  symbolizing  Woman  Glorified.  She  is  rising 
from  her  throne  to  greet  War  and  Peace,  Literature  and  Art, 
Science  and  Industry,  who  approach  to  lay  homage  at  her  feet. 
Inside  the  arch  is  a  memorial  hall  for  recording  the  achievements 
of  women. 

How  soon  this  symbol  shall  become  reality  and  woman  stand 
forth  in  all  the  glory  of  freedom  to  reach  her  highest  stature,  de- 
pends upon  the  use  she  makes  of  the  opportunities  already  hers 
and  the  fraternal  assistance  she  receives  from  man.  Fearless  of 
criticism,  courageous  in  faith,  let  each  take  for  a  guide  these  in- 
spiring words  which  it  has  been  said  the  Puritan  of  old  would 
utter  if  he  could  speak :  "I  was  a  radical  in  my  day ;  be 
thou  the  same  in  thine!  I  turned  my  back  upon  the  old  tyran- 
nies and  heresies  and  struck  for  the  new  liberties  and  beliefs ;  my 
liberty  and  my  belief  are  doubtless  already  tyranny  and  heresy  to 
thine  age ;  strike  thou  for  the  new !" 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— iii 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

ANTHONY.  SUSAN  B. . *. Frontispiece 

ANTHONY,  MARY  S. 848 

AVERY,  RACHEL  FOSTER 270 

AVERY,  SUSAN  LOOK 678 

BLACKWELL,  ALICE  STONE 270 

BLANKENBURG,  LUCRETIA  L    75° 

CATT,  CARRIE  CHAPMAN 388 

CHAPMAN,  MARIANA  W 848 

CLAY,  LAURA 270 

COGGESHALL,  MARY  J 948 

EATON,  DR.  CORA  SMITH 518 

GORDON,  KATE  M 678 

GREENLEAF,  JEAN  BROOKS 848 

GREGG,  LAURA  A 518 

HALL,  FLORENCE  HOWE 750 

HARPER,  IDA  HUSTED 1042 

HATCH,  LAVINA  A .- 750 

HAYWARD,  MARY  SMITH 948 

HOWARD,  EMMA  SHAFTER 518 

HOWLAND,  EMILY 848 

JENKINS,  HELEN  PHILLEO 678 

JOHNS,  LAURA  M 948 

McCuLLOCH,  CATHARINE  WAUGH 270 

MEREDITH,  ELLIS 518 

MILLS,  HARRIET  MAY 750 

NELSON,  JULIA  B 948 

OSBORNE,  ELIZA  WRIGHT 848 

SHAW,  REV.  ANNA  HOWARD 128 

SOUTHWORTH,  LOUISA 678 

SPENCER,  REV.  ANNA  GARLIN 750 

STANTON,  ELIZABETH  CADY 188 

SWIFT,  MARY  WOOD 518 

THOMAS,  MARY  BENTLEY 678 

UPTON,  HARRIET  TAYLOR 270 

WELLS,  EMMELINE  B 948 


XXXIV 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

REVIEW  OF  THE  SITUATION xiii-xxxiii 

Pioneers  break  the  ground — All  their  demands  now  practically  con- 
ceded except  the  Franchise — Why  is  this  still  refused? — All  other 
rights  depend  on  Statute  Law,  suffrage  on  change  of  Constitution — No 
other  nation  thus  fettered — Further  almost  insurmountable  ob- 
stacles— Experience  in  many  States — Either  dominant  party  would 
enfranchise  women  if  it  were  sure  of  their  votes — Liquor  interests 
and  political  "machines"  allied  in  opposition — They  control  the  situa- 
tion— Figures  of  votes  on  Amendments — Majority  of  people  born 
opponents  of  all  innovations — Character  of  electorate  on  which  women 
must  depend — Indifference  of  women  themselves — Reaction  against  a 
democratic  government — Facts  showing  steady  progress  of  Woman 
Suffrage — All  signs  favorable — Women  in  education  and  business — 
Old  objections  dying  out — Personal  character  of  advocates — Perse- 
cution not  obsolete  but  the  enfranchisement  of  women  inevitable. 

CHAPTER  I. 

WOMAN'S  CONSTITUTIONAL  RIGHT  TO  VOTE 1-13 

Early  State  constitutions  provided  against  Woman  Suffrage — First 
demand  for  it — Women  after  the  Civil  War — "Male''  first  used  in 
National  Constitution — Fourteenth  Amendment — Endeavor  to  make 
it  include  women — They  attempt  to  vote — Susan  B.  Anthony's  trial 
— Case  of  Virginia  L.  Minor — Supreme  Court  decisions — Suffrage  as 
a  right — Arguments  for  the  Federal  Franchise — National  Association 
decides  to  try  only  for  new  Amendment — Hearings  before  Congres- 
sional Committees — Reports  of  these  committees — Debate  in  Congress. 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  NATIONAL  SUFFRAGE  CONVENTION  OF  1884 14-30 

Forming  of  National  Association  in  1869 — Washington  selected  for 
annual  conventions — Call  for  that  of  '84 — Extracts  from  speeches  on 
Kentucky  Laws  for  Women — Woman  before  the  Law — Outrage  of 
Disfranchisement — Ethics  of  Woman  Suffrage — England  vs.  the 
United  States — Bishop  Matthew  Simpson  in  Favor  of  Woman's  En- 
franchisement— Resolutions  and  Plan  of  Work — Memorial  to  Wendell 
Phillips — Miss  Anthony  on  Disfranchisement  a  Disgrace — Matilda 
Joslyn  Gage  on  The  Feminine  in  the  Sciences. 

XXXV 


xxxvi  TABLE   OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III. 

CONGRESSIONAL  HEARINGS  AND  REPORTS  OF  1884 • 3i~55 

Debate  in  the  House  on  a  Special  Woman  Suffrage  Committee— Ex- 
tracts from  speeches  of  John  H.  Reagan  on  Awful  Effects  of  Woman 
Suffrage— James  B.  Belford  on  Woman's  Right  to  a  Special  Commit- 
tee—J.  Warren  Keifer  on  Justice  of  the  Enfranchisement  of  Women 
—John  D.  White  on  Woman's  Right  to  be  Heard— Hearing  before 
Senate  Committee— Interdependence  of  Men  and  Women— Woman 
Suffrage  a  Paramount  Question— A  Right  does  not  Depend  on  a  Ma- 
jority's Asking  for  It— Woman's  Ballot  for  the  Good  of  the  Race- 
Preponderance  of  Foreign  Vote— Miss  Anthony  on  Action  by  Con- 
gress vs.  Action  by  Legislatures— Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  on  Self- 
Government  the  Best  Means  of  Self-Development;  moral  need  of 
woman's  ballot,  men  as  natural  protectors,  inherent  right  of  self- 
representation— Favorable  Senate  Report— Adverse  House  Report  by 
William  C.  Maybury— Editorial  comment— Luke  P.  Poland  on  Men 
Should  Represent  Women— Strong  Report  in  Favor  by  Thomas  B. 
Reed,  Ezra  B.  Taylor,  Moses  A.  McCoid,  Thomas  M.  Browne. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  NATIONAL  SUFFRAGE  CONVENTION  OF  1885 56-69 

Startling  descriptions  of  delegates'  attirfr— Mrs.  Stanton  on  Separate 
Spheres  an  Impossibility — Discussion  on  resolution  denouncing  Reli- 
gious Dogmas — Criticism  by  ministers — Great  speech  in  favor  of 
Woman  Suffrage  in  the  U.  S.  Senate  by  Thomas  W.  Palmer;  action 
by  Congress  a  necessity,  Scriptures  not  opposed  to  the  equality  of 
woman,  figures  of  women's  vote,  State  needs  woman's  ballot. 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  NATIONAL  SUFFRAGE  CONVENTION  OF  1886 70-84 

Relation  of  the  Woman  Suffrage  Movement  to  the  Labor  Question — 
Take  Down  the  Barriers — German  and  American  Independence  Con- 
trasted— Resolution  condemning  Creeds  and  Dogmas  again  discussed 
— Woman's  Right  to  Vote  under  Fourteenth  Amendment — Disfran- 
chisement  Cuts  Women's  Wages — One-half  No  Right  to  a  Vote  on 
Liberties  of  Other  Half — Woman  Suffrage  Necessary  for  Life  of 
Republic — America  lags  behind  in  granting  political  rights  to  women 
— Minority  House  Report  in  favor  of  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  by 
Ezra  B.  Taylor,  W.  P.  Hepburn,  Lucian  B.  Caswell,  A.  A.  Ranney; 
men  hold  franchise  by  force,  women  require  it  for  development,  his- 
tory of  woman  one  of  wrong  and  outrage,  Government  needs  woman's 
vote,  no  excuse  for  waiting  till  majority  demand  it. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

FIRST  DISCUSSION  AND  VOTE  IN  U.  S.  SENATE,  1887 * .  85-111 

Joint  Resolution  for  Sixteenth  Amendment  extending  Right  of  Suf- 
frage to  Women — Able  speech  of  Henry  W.  Blair;  Government 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  XXXV11 

founded  on  equality  of  rights,  no  connection  between  the  vote  and 
ability  to  fight,  property  qualification  an  invasion  of  natural  right, 
man's  deification  of  woman  a  shallow  pretense,  no  such  thing  as  house- 
hold suffrage  here,  maternity  qualifies  woman  to  vote,  fear  of  family 
dissension  not  a  valid  excuse — Joseph  E.  Brown  replies;  Creator  in- 
tended spheres  of  men  and  women  to  be  different,  man  qualified  by 
physical  strength  to  vote,  caucuses  and  jury  duty  too  laborious  for 
women,  they  are  queens,  princesses  and  angels,  they  would  neglect 
their  families  to  go  into  politics,  the  delicate  and  refined  would  feel 
compelled  to  vote,  only  the  vulgar  and  ignorant  would  go  to  the  polls, 
ballot  would  not  help  workingwomen,  husbands  would  compel  wives 
to  vote  as  they  dictated — Editorial  comment — Joseph  N.  Dolph  sup- 
ports the  Resolution ;  if  but  one  woman  wants  the  suffrage  it  is  tyranny 
to  refuse  it,  neither  in  nature  nor  revealed  will  of  God  is  there  anything 
to  forbid,  contest  for  woman  suffrage  a  struggle  for  human  liberty, 
its  benefits  where  exercised — James  B.  Eustis  objects — Georg«  G.  Vest 
depicts  the  terrible  dangers,  negro  women  all  would  vote  Republican 
ticket,  husband  does  not  wish  to  go  home  to  embrace  of  female  ward 
politician,  women  too  emotional  to  vote,  suffrage  not  a  right,  we  must 
not  unsex  our  mothers  and  wives — Editorial  comment — George  F. 
Hoar  defends  woman  suffrage ;  arguments  against  it  are  against  popu- 
lar government,  Senators  Brown  and  Vest  have  furnished  only  gush 
and  emotion — Senator  Blair  closes  debate  with  an  appeal  that  women 
may  carry  their  case  to  the  various  Legislatures — Vote  on  submitting 
an  Amendment,  16  yeas,  34  nays. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  NATIONAL  SUFFRAGE  CONVENTION  OF  1887 112-123 

Bishop  John  P.  Newman  favors  Woman  Suffrage — Mrs.  Stanton's 
sarcastic  comments  on  the  speeches  of  Senators  Brown  and  Vest — 
Lillie  Devereux  Blake's  satire  on  the  Rights  of  Men — Isabella  Beecher 
Hooker  on  the  Constitutional  Rights  of  Women — Woman  of  the  Pres- 
ent and  Past — Delegate  Joseph  M.  Carey  on  Woman  Suffrage  in 
Wyoming — Authority  of  Congress  to  Enfranchise  Women — Zerelda 
G.  Wallace  on  Woman's  Ballot  a  Necessity  for  the  Permanence  of 
Free  Institutions ;  the  lack  of  morality  in  Government  has  caused  the 
downfall  of  nations — Resolutions — U.  S.  Treasurer  Spinner  first  to 
employ  women  in  a  Government  department. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

INTERNATIONAL  COUNCIL  OF  WOMEN — HEARING  OF  1888 124-142 

Origin  of  the  Council — Call  issued  by  National  Suffrage  Association 
— Official  statistics  of  this  great  meeting — Eloquent  sermon  of  the 
Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  on  the  Heavenly  Vision ;  release  of  woman 
from  bondage  of  centuries,  crucifixion  of  reformers,  the  visions  of  all 
ages — Miss  Anthony  opens  the  Council — Mrs.  Stanton's  address; 
psalms  of  women's  lives  in  a  minor  key,  sympathy  as  a  civil  agent 
powerless  until  coined  into  law,  women  have  been  mere  echoee  of 


XXXV111  TABLE   OF    CONTENTS. 

men — Council  demands  all  employments  shall  be  open  to  women,  equal 
pay  for  equal  work,  a  single  standard  of  morality — Forming  of  perma- 
nent National  and  International  Councils — Convention  of  Suffrage 
Association — Mrs.  Stanton  expounds  National  Constitution  to  Senate 
Committee  and  shows  the  violation  of  its  provisions  in  their  applica- 
tion to  women — Mrs.  Ormiston  Chant  makes  address — Also  Julia 
Ward  Howe— Frances  E.  Willard  pleads  for  enfranchisement. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  NATIONAL  SUFFRAGE  CONVENTION  OF  1889 I43~I57 

Official  Call  shows  non-partisan  character  of  the  demand  for  Woman 
Suffrage — Senator  Blair  makes  clear  presentation  of  woman's  right 
to  vote  for  Representatives  in  Congress  under  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion— Mrs.  Stanton  ridicules  women  for  passing  votes  of  thanks  to 
men  for  restoring  various  minor  privileges  which  they  had  usurped 
— Hebrew  Scriptures  not  alone  the  root  of  woman's  subjection — 
Representative  William  D.  Kelley  speaks — Foreign  and  Catholic  vote 
contrasted  with  American  and  Protestant — The  Position  of  Woman  in 
Marriage — Miss  Anthony  on  Woman's  Attempt  to  Vote  under  the 
Fourteenth  Amendment — The  Coming  Sex — Woman's  Bill  of  Rights 
— Favorable  report  from  Committee,  Senators  Blair,  Charles  B.  Far- 
well,  Jonathan  Chace,  Edward  O.  Wolcott. 

CHAPTER  X. 

NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1890 158-174 

Mrs.  Stanton  addresses  Senate  Committee;  the  South  has  not  treated 
negro  men  more  unjustly  than  the  North  has  treated  all  women, 
women  never  can  fully  respect  themselves  or  be  respected  while  de- 
graded legally  and  politically.  Queen  Victoria  contrasted  with  Ameri- 
can women  who  do  not  wish  to  vote — Zebulon  B.  Vance  questions 
Mrs.  Stanton  and  Miss  Anthony — Committee  reports  in  favor — Cele- 
bration of  Miss  Anthony's  Seventieth  Birthday — First  convention  of 
the  two  united  associations — Striking  resolutions — Address  of  Wm. 
Dudley  Foulke;  fundamental  right  of  self-government,  equal  rights 
never  conceded  to  women,  a  just  man  accords  to  every  other  human 
being  the  rights  he  claims  for  himself,  if  one  woman  insists  upon  the 
franchise  the  justice  of  America  can  not  afford  to  deny  it — Miss 
Anthony  demands  free  platform — Chivalry  of  Reform — Mrs.  Wallace 
on  A  Whole  Humanity;  woman  is  teacher,  character-builder,  soul- 
life  of  the  race,  not  a  question  of  woman's  rights  but  of  human  rights 
— Washington  Star's  tribute  to  Miss  Anthony. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1891 175-184 

Triennial  meeting  of  National  Council— Hail  to  Wyoming! — Mrs. 
Stanton  on  the  Degradation  of  Disfranchisement ;  women  suffer  from 
the  disgrace  just  as  men  would,  State,  Church  and  Society  uphold 


TABLE   OF    CONTENTS.  XXXIX 

their  subordination,  all  must  be  brought  into  harmony  with  the  idea 
of  equality — Lucy  Stone  speaks — The  Rev.  Frederick  A.  Hinckley 
on  Husband  and  Wife  are  One;  together  they  must  establish  justice, 
temperance  and  purity — U.  S.  Senator  Carey  tells  of  the  admission 
of  Wyoming,  first  State  with  full  suffrage  for  women ;  tribute  to  their 
influence  in  government — The  Rev.  Miss  Shaw  describes  recent  cam- 
paign in  South  Dakota,  Indians  given  preference  over  women. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

NATIONAL- AMERICAN  CONVENTION  AND  HEARINGS  OF  1892 185-201 

Discussion  on  Sunday  opening  of  Columbian  Exposition — Last  ap- 
pearance of  Mrs.  Stanton  at  a  national  convention  after  an  attendance 
of  forty  years — Miss  Anthony  elected  President — Value  of  Organiza- 
tions for  Women — First  hearing  before  a  Democratic  House  Com- 
mittee— Mrs.  Stanton  on  the  Solitude  of  Self ;  the  right  of-  individual 
conscience,  individual  citizenship,  individual  development,  man  and 
woman  need  the  same  preparation  for  time  and  eternity — Lucy  Stone 
pleads  for  the  rights  of  women,  for  justice  and  fair  play,  for  the 
feminine  as  well  as  the  masculine  influence  in  Government — Mrs. 
Hooker  speaks — Senate  Committee  addressed  by  Carrie  Chapman 
Catt,  and  other  noted  women — Miss  Shaw  on  an  Appeal  to  Deaf 
Ears ;  time  will  come  when  ears  will  be  unstopped,  voice  of  the  people 
is  voice  of  God,  but  voice  of  the  whole  people  never  has  been  heard — 
Miss  Anthony  compliments  Senator  Hoar — Committee  report  in  favor 
by  Senators  Hoar,  John  B.  Allen,  Francis  E.  Warren;  Vance  and 
George  dissent. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1893 202-220 

Washington  Evening  Nezvs  pays  a  compliment  to  the  Association — 
Memorial  service  for  George  William  Curtis,  John  G.  Whittier  and 
others — Frederick  Douglass  speaks  of  other  days — Miss  Shaw  on  Mrs. 
Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  and  the  Rev.  Anna  Oliver — Miss  Anthony 
tells  what  has  been  gained  in  fourscore  years — Woman  Independent 
only  when  She  Can  Support  and  Protect  Herself — The  Girl  of  the 
Future — Opinions  of  Governors  of  States  on  Woman  Suffrage — Last 
Message  from  Lucy  Stone — U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Labor,  Carroll 
D.  Wright,  on  the  Industrial  Emancipation  of  Women — Miss  An- 
thony on  publishing  a  paper — Discussion  on  Sunday  Observance — 
Resolutions — Miss  Anthony  opposes  national  conventions  outside  of 
Washington — Majority  votes  for  alternate  meetings  elsewhere — 
Bishop  John  F.  Hurst  in  favor  of  Woman  Suffrage. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1894 221-235 

Interesting  picture  of  convention  in  Woman's  Journal — Miss  Anthony 
describes  forty  years'  wandering  in  the  wilderness — Colorado  women 
present  her  with  flag — She  declares  the  suffrage  association  knows  no 
section,  no  party,  no  creed — Memorial  service  for  Lucy  Stone  and 


Xl  TABLE   OF    CONTENTS. 

other  distinguished  members,  with  addresses  by  Mrs.  Howe,  Mr. 
Foulke,  Mr.  Blackwell  and  others— Many  interesting  speeches— Miss 
Shaw's  anecdotes— Her  Sunday  sermon,  "Let  no  man  take  thy 
crown ;"  this  was  written  to  the  church  and  includes  woman,  respon- 
sibility should  be  placed  on  women  to  steady  them  in  the  use  of 
power— Letter  commending  Woman  Suffrage  from  Gov.  Davis  H. 
Waite  of  Colorado— Rachel  Foster  Avery  tells  of  Miss  Anthony's  part 
in  securing  the  World's  Fair  Board  of  Lady  Managers— Discussion 
on  Federal  Suffrage— Kate  Field  states  her  position. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1895 236-251 

The  Atlanta  convention  first  one  held  outside  of  Washington — Cor- 
dial reception  by  press  and  people — Miss  Anthony's  charm  as  presid- 
ing officer — Examples  of  bright  informal  business  meetings — Addresses 
of  welcome  by  Mayor  and  others — Woman  as  a  Subject — Out  of  Her 
Sphere — The  New  Woman  of  the  New  South— Woman  Suffrage  a 
Solution  of  the  Negro  Problem— Good  suggestions  for  Organization 
and  Legislative  Work— Three  Classes  of  Opponents. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1896 252-269 

The  Rev.  Miss  Shaw's  account  of  Miss  Anthony's  and  her  trip  to  the 
Pacific  Coast — Philosophy  of  Woman  Suffrage — Universal  not  Lim- 
ited Suffrage — Memorial  service  for  Frederick  Douglass,  Theodore 
Lovett  Sewall,  Ellen  Battelle  Dietrick  and  others — Welcome  to  Utah, 
a  new  State  with  Full  Suffrage  for  Women — Response  by  Senator 
Frank  J.  Cannon  and  Representative  C.  E.  Allen — Contest  over  the 
resolution  against  Mrs.  Stanton's  Woman's  Bible — Miss  Anthony's 
eloquent  protest — Resolution  adopted — Women  as  Legislators — 
Charlotte  Perkins  Stetson  on  The  Ballot  as  an  Improver  of  Mother- 
hood— Congressional  Hearings — Representative  John  F.  Shafroth  on 
the  good  effects  of  Woman  Suffrage  in  Colorado — Paper  of  Mrs. 
Stanton  picturing  dark  page  which  present  political  position  of  woman 
will  offer  to  historian  of  the  future. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1897 270-287 

Annual  meeting  in  Des  Moines  welcomed  by  the  Governor,  the  Mayor, 
the  Rev.  H.  O.  Breeden  and  others — Miss  Anthony  in  her  president's 
address  describes  campaigns  the  previous  year  in  Idaho,  where 
Woman  Suffrage  was  carried,  and  in  California  where  it  was  de- 
feated— Eulogized  by  the  Leader — Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  receives  an 
ovation — Mrs.  Colby  presents  memorial  resolutions  for  nearly  forty 
faithful  friends — President  George  A.  Gates  of  Iowa  College  advo- 
cates woman  suffrage — Maternal  Love  High  but  Narrow — Domestic 
Life"  of  Suffragists — Should  the  Advocates  of  Woman  Suffrage  Be 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  xli 

Strictly  Non- Partisan? — Celebration  in  honor  of  the  Free  States, 
Wyoming,  Colorado,  Utah  and  Idaho — All  God's  Works  Recognize 
Co-equality  of  Male  and  Female — Letter  from  daughter  of  Speaker 
Reed — Press  Work — Presidential  Suffrage. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

NATIONAL- AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1898. . .' 288-321 

Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  First  Woman's  Rights  Convention — Chief 
obstacle  to  organization  is  women  themselves — Gains  of  half-a- 
century — Miss  Anthony's  birthday  luncheon — Mrs.  Stanton's  paper  on 
Our  Defeats  and  Our  Triumphs — The  Distinguished  Dead — Mrs. 
Hooker  and  Miss  Anthony  in  pretty  scene — Roll-call  of  Pioneers — 
Letter  from  Abigail  Bush,  president  of  first  convention — Greetings 
from  Lucinda  H.  Stone,  Dr.  Elizabeth  Blackwell  and  many  individ- 
uals and  associations — Addresses  by  Mrs.  Cannon,  a  woman  State 
Senator  from  Utah,  Mrs.  Conine,  a  woman  State  Representative  from 
Colorado,  Miss  Reel,  State  Superintendent  of  Instruction  from  Wy- 
oming, U.  S.  Senators  Teller  and  Cannon,  and  others — Senate  Hear- 
ing— Wm.  Lloyd  Garrison  on  The  Nature  of  a  Republican  Form  of 
Government — May  Wright  Sewall  on  Fitness  of  Women  to  Become 
Citizens  from  the  Standpoint  of  Education  and  Mental  Develop- 
ment— The  Rev.  Anna  Garlin  Spencer  on  Moral  Development — Laura 
Clay  on  Physical  Development — Harriot  Stanton  Blatch  on  Woman 
as  an  Economic  Factor — Florence  Kelley,  State  Factory  Inspector  of 
Illinois,  on  the  Workingwoman's  Need  of  the  Ballot — Mariana  W. 
Chapman  on  Women  as  Capitalists  and  Taxpayers — Elizabeth  Burrill 
Curtis,  Are  Women  Represented  in  Our  Government? — Henry  B. 
Blackwell,  Woman  Suffrage  and  the  Home — Mrs.  Stanton,  The  Sig- 
nificance and  History  of  the  Ballot — House  Hearing — Practical 
Working  of  Woman  Suffrage — Alice  Stone  Blackwell  on  The  Indiffer- 
ence of  Women — Miss  Anthony  Closes  Hearing. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

NATIONAL- AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1899 322-348 

Excellent  arrangements  at  Grand  Rapids — Welcome  from  women's 
organizations — Miss  Anthony's  response;  counting  negro  men  and 
refusing  them  representation  no  worse  than  counting  all  women 
and  refusing  them  representation,  not  discouraged,  help  of  the  press 
— The  Rev.  Anna  Garlin  Spencer  on  Our  Duty  to  Our  New  Posses- 
sions; strong  protest  against  giving  their  men  political  power  and 
refusing  it  to  their  women — Discussion;  commissions  sent  to  in- 
vestigate commerce,  finance,  everything  but  social  conditions,  demand 
for  commission  of  women,  in  all  savage  tribes  women  superior  to 
men,  they  should  have  ballot  in  Hawaii  and  the  Philippines — Letter 
from  Samuel  Gompers — Care'  to  secure  soldiers'  votes — Effects  of 
Suffrage  Teaching — Mrs.  Sewall  on  True  Civilization — Miss  Shaw 
speaks — Mrs.  Stanton  on  Women  Alone  Left  to  Fight  their  own  Bat- 
tles— Women  and  War — Epigrams  from  Southern  women — Miss  An- 


Xlii  TABLE   OF    CONTENTS. 

thony  on  Every  Woman  Can  Help— Resolutions  of  encouragement — 
Memorial  services  for  Parker  Pillsbury,  Robert  Purvis,  Matilda 
Joslyn  Gage  and  many  others,  with  Mrs.  Stanton's  tribute— Efforts 
of  the  National  Association  to  secure  equal  rights  for  Hawaiian 
women — Shameful  action  of  Congressional  Committee — Unimpeach- 
able testimony  from  the  Philippines., 

CHAPTER  XX. 

NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1900 349~384 

Woman  suffrage  editorial  in  Washington  Post— Large  number  of 
young  college  women  present — Miss  Anthony's  last  opening  address 
as  President — Miss  Shaw  tells  joke  on  her  and  then  describes  Inter- 
national Council  of  Women  in  London — Miss  Anthony  reports  as 
delegate  to  the  Council,  which  was  in  effect  a  big  suffrage  meeting — 
The  Winning  of  Educational  Freedom  for  Women— Woman  Suf- 
frage in  Colorado — New  Professions  for  Women  Centering  in  the 
Home — Justice  of  Woman  Suffrage — Federation  of  Labor  for  wom- 
an's enfranchisement — Conditions  of  Wage-earning  Women — Miss 
Shaw's  sermon  on  the  Rights  of  Women — Woman  Suffrage  in  the 
South — Work  done  in  Congress  and  Miss  Anthony's  part  in  it — 
Congressional  Hearings — Woman's  Franchise  in  England — Mrs. 
Chapman  Catt  on  Why  We  Ask  for  the  Submission  of  an  Amend- 
ment— Miss  Anthony  closes  Senate  hearing  with  touching  appeal — 
Constitutional  Argument  before  House  Committee  by  Mrs.  Blake 
— Mrs.  Stanton's  annual  State  paper — The  Economic  Basis  of  Woman 
Suffrage — The  Protective  Power  of  the  Ballot — Miss  Shaw's  plea  for 
justice  and  liberty — First  appearance  of  Anti-Suffragists — Their  amus- 
ing inconsistencies — Charges  made  by  them  officially  refuted — Miss 
Anthony's  reception  by  President  and  Mrs.  McKinley. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1900  CONTINUED 385-405 

Miss  Anthony's  determination  to  resign  the  presidency — Her  address 
to  the  convention — Affecting  scene  at  the  election  of  Carrie  Chap- 
man Catt — Her  acceptance — Press  notices  of  the  new  President — 
Birthday  gifts  to  Miss  Anthony — Interesting  occurrences  of  the  last 
session — The  retiring  president  introduces  her  successor,  who  makes  a 
strong  address — Miss  Anthony's  Farewell — Birthday  Celebration  in 
Lafayette  Opera  House — Program  and  Woman's  Tribune  report — 
Women  in  all  professions  bring  tributes  of  gratitude — Organizations 
of  women  send  greetings — Colored  women  express  devotion — Pres- 
ents from  the  "four  free  States"  and  from  the  District  of  Columbia 
— Mrs.  Coonley-Ward's  poem — Mrs.  Stanton's  daughter  brings  her 
mother's  love — Miss  Shaw's  inspiring  words — Miss  Anthony's  beau- 
tiful response — Evening  reception  at  Corcoran  Art  Gallery  attended 
by  thousands — Great  changes  wrought  in  one  life-time. 


TABLE   OF    CONTENTS.  xliii 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  AMERICAN  WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  ASSOCIATION 406-433 

Annual  meeting  of  1884  in  Chicago — Lucy  Stone's  account  in  Woman's 
Journal — Work  in  the  South — Resolutions  and  plan  of  work — Memo- 
rial service  for  Wendell  Phillips,  Frances  Dana  Gage  and  others — 
List  of  officers — Annual  meeting  of  1885 — Welcomed  by  Mayor  of 
Minneapolis — Julia  Ward  Howe  responds — Letters  from  Louisa  M. 
Alcott,  Mary  A.  Livermore,  Chancellor  Wm.  G.  Eliot,  Dr.  Mary  F. 
Thomas — Major  J.  A.  Pickler  tells  of  Woman  Suffrage  in  South  Da- 
kota— Need  of  converting  women — Lucy  Stone  on  Fair  Play — Annual 
meeting  of  1886 — Cordial  greeting  of  Topeka — Addresses  of  wel- 
come review  history  of  Woman  Suffrage  in  Kansas — President  Wm. 
Dudley  Foulke  and  Mrs.  Howe  respond  with  tributes  to  men  of 
Kansas — Speech  of  Prof.  W.  H.  Carruth — Mr.  Foulke  on  the  Value 
of  Dreamers — Many  letters  and  telegrams — Annual  meeting  of  1887 — 
.  State  Senator  A.  D.  Harlan  gives  welcome  of  Philadelphia — Col. 
T.  W.  Higginson's  address — Report  of  Lucy  Stone,  chairman  of 
executive  committee — Resolutions  congratulating  Kansas  women  on 
the  granting  of  Municipal  Suffrage — Great  suffrage  bazar  in  Boston 
-^-Annual  meeting  of  1888 — Favorable  comment  of  Cincinnati  papers 
— Letter  from  Clara  Barton — Address  of  Henry  B.  Blackwell — Lucy 
Stone's  description — Large  amount  of  work  done — Committee  to  ar- 
range for  union  with  National  Suffrage  Association — In  1889  delegates 
from  both  organizations  perfect  arrangements — Appeal  of  Mrs.  Stone, 
Mrs.  Howe  and  Mrs.  Livermore  to  constitutional  conventions  of 
Dakota,  Washington,  Montana  and  Idaho — Visit  of  Mr.  Blackwell  to 
first  three  to  secure  Woman  Suffrage  Amendments — In  1890  the  two 
associations  hold  joint  convention  in  national  capital. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

SUFFRAGE  WORK  IN  POLITICAL  AND  OTHER  CONVENTIONS 434-449 

Mrs.  Stanton  and  Miss  Anthony  make  first  appeal  to  political  conven- 
tions in  1868 — Faint  recognition  of  National  Republican  Convention 
in  1872,  1876,  1888,  1892,  1896 — No  Democratic  national  platform  ever 
noticed  women — Record  of  Populists  on  Woman  Suffrage — Course 
pursued  by  Prohibition  and  other  parties — Women  as  delegates — 
Miss  Anthony's  work  in  various  conventions — Unusual  efforts  made 
in  1900 — Letters  and  Memorial  to  all  parties — Amazing  result  .in  Re- 
publican platform — Ignored  by  Democrats  and  Populists — Sentiment 
developed  among  delegates — Petitions  to  non-political  conventions — 
Approval  of  Labor  organizations — Effect  in  Brewers'  Convention — 
Strong  testimony  from  Wyoming — Thousands  of  letters  written — 
Petitions  for  Woman  Suffrage  representing  millions  of  individuals 
sent  to  Congress. 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  RIGHTS  OF  WOMEN  IN  THE  STATES 450-464 

Status  of  woman  at  close  of  the  century  as  shown  in  Organization, 
Legislative  Action,  Laws,  Suffrage,  Office-holding,  Occupations  and 


xliv  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

Education — Part  of  different  associations  in  securing  present  condi- 
tions—Every State  shows  progress— Legal  and  civil  rights  of  women 
now  approximate  those  of  men — Property  laws  for  wives — Guardian- 
ship of  children— Causes  for  divorce  in  various  States— "Age  of 
protection"  for  girls— The  amount  of  suffrage  women  now  possess— 
Women  in  office  in  various  States— Occupations  open  to  women- 
Educational  advantages. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

ALABAMA   465-469 

Organization  for  suffrage — Legislative  action  and  laws — Office-hold- 
ing— Occupations — Education — Clubs. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

ARIZONA   47°~474 

Same  as  above — (School  Suffrage). 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

ARKANSAS 475~477 

Same  as  above. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

CALIFORNIA    478-494 

Early  efforts  for  the  suffrage — Woman's  Congress — Amendment  sub- 
mitted to  voters — Great  campaign  of  1896 — National  officers  go  to  its 
assistance — Experience  with  State  political  conventions — Favorable 
attitude  of  the  Press — Liquor  dealers  fight  Woman  Suffrage — Treach- 
ery of  party  managers — Defeat  and  its  causes. 

SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA  494-508 

First  suffrage  society — Woman's  Parliament — Organization  and  work 
for  the  great  campaign — Methods  worthy  of  imitation — Friendly  spirit 
of  the  press  and  many  associations — Southern  California  declares 
for  Woman  Suffrage — Laws  for  women — Ellen  Clark  Sargent's  test 
case  in  San  Francisco  for  the  franchise — Large  donations  of  women 
for  education. 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

COLORADO 509-534 

Organization  for  Woman  Suffrage — Question  submitted  to  voters — 
Endorsed  by  all  political  parties — Work  of  women  in  the  cam- 
paign— Eastern  anti-suffragists  and  Western  liquor  dealers  join 
hands — Amendment  carries  by  over  6,000 — Reasons  for  success — After 
the  battle — Political  work  of  women — Only  three  per  cent,  failed  to 
vote  in  1900 — Laws — Legislature  of  1809  urges  all  States  to  enfran- 
chise women — General  effects  of  woman  suffrage. 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

CONNECTICUT 535-542 

Organization  for  suffrage — Legislative  action  and  laws — School  Suf- 
frage— Office-holding  of  women — Occupations — Education — Clubs. 


TABLE   OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

DAKOTA  543~544 

Suffrage  work  in  the  Territory. 

NORTH  DAKOTA S44~552 

Efforts  of  women  for  the  franchise  in  first  constitutional  conven- 
tion— Organization  of  suffrage  clubs  to  secure  amendment  of  constitu- 
tion— Legislative  action  and  laws — School  Suffrage — Office-holding 
of  women — Occupations — Education — Clubs. 

SOUTH  DAKOTA 552-562 

Same  as  above — Campaign  of  1890  to  secure  Woman  Suffrage  Amend- 
ment— Assistance  of  National  Association — Hardships  of  the  canvass 
— Treachery  of  politicians — Amendment  defeated  by  nearly  24,000 — 
Second  attempt  in  1898 — Defeated  by  3,285. 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

DELAWARE \ 563-566 

Organization  for  suffrage — Legislative  action  and  laws — School  Suf- 
frage— Office-holding  of  women — Occupations — Education — Clubs. 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA 567-576 

Peculiar  position  of  women — Work  of  Suffrage  Association  with 
Congressional  Committees — Property  rights  secured — Women  on 
School  Board — Women  in  Government  Departments — Woman's  Col- 
lege of  Law — Other  things  accomplished  by  women  of  the  District. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

FLORIDA  577~s8o 

Organization  for  suffrage — Effort  to  raise  "age  of  protection"  for 
girls  and  its  failure — Laws — Occupations — Education. 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

GEORGIA  581-588 

Same  as  above — Annual  convention  of  National  Association  in  1895. 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

IDAHO    589-597 

First  work  for  woman  suffrage — Submission  of  Amendment — Cam- 
paign of  i8o6-^Favored  by  all  political  parties — Carried  by  large  ma- 
jority— Favorable  decision  of  Supreme  Court — Women  elected  to 
office — Percentage  of  women  voting — Effects  of  woman's  vote — 
Endorsement  of  prominent  men — Laws,  etc. 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

ILLINOIS 598-613 

Organization — Obtaining  School  Suffrage — Supreme  Court  gives  wide 
latitude  to  Legislature — Women  trustees  for  State'  University — Equal 


xlvi  TABLE   OF    CONTENTS. 

guardianship  of  children  for  mothers — Many  women  in  office — 
Women's  part  in  Columbian  Exposition — Remarkable  achievement  of 
two  teachers  in  compelling  corporations  to  pay  taxes — Education. 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

INDIANA    614-627 

Early  suffrage  organization — Efforts  in  political  conventions — Work  in 
Legislature — Laws — Amazing  decisions  of  Supreme  Court  on  the  right 
of  women  to  practice  law,  keep  a  saloon  and  vote — Struggle  for 
police  matrons — Women  organized  in  fifty  departments  of  work. 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

IOWA    628-637 

Long  years  of  organized  work — Continued  refusal  of  Legislature  to 
submit  a  Woman  Suffrage  Amendment  to  voters — Convention  of  the 
National  Association  in  1897 — Liberal  laws  for  women — Many  holding 
office — Bond  Suffrage. 

CHAPTER  XL. 

KANSAS 638-664 

Organization  work  and  large  number  of  conventions — Granting  of 
Municipal  Suffrage — Alliance  with  parties — Efforts  for  Full  Suffrage — 
Amendment  submitted — Republicans  fail  to  endorse — Campaign  of 
1894 — National  Association  and  officers  assist — Amendment  defeated 
by  defection  of  all  parties — Attempt  to  secure  suffrage  by  statute — 
A  pioneer  in  liberal  laws  for  women — They  hold  offices  not  held  by 
those  of  any  other  State — Official  statistics  of  woman's  vote — 
Many  restrictions  placed  on  Municipal  Suffrage — Class  of  women 
who  use  the  franchise. 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

KENTUCKY   665-677 

Organization— Efforts  to  secure  Full  Suffrage  from  Constitutional 
Convention — State  Association  succeeds  in  revolutionizing  the  prop- 
erty laws  for  women— School  Suffrage— Educational  facilities,  etc. 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

LOUISIANA 678-688 

Women's  work  at  Cotton  Centennial  and  in  Anti-lottery  Campaign — 
Organization  for  suffrage— Efforts  in  Constitutional  Convention  of 
1898— Taxpayer's  Suffrage  granted  to  women— Campaign  in  New  Or- 
leans for  Sewerage  and  Drainage— Measure  carried  by  the  women- 
Napoleonic  code  of  laws. 

CHAPTER  XLIII. 

MAINE  689-694 

Organization  for  suffrage— Legislative  action  and  laws— Office-holding 
of  women— Occupations— Education— Clubs. 


TABLE   OF    CONTENTS.  xlvii 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 

MARYLAND   695-700 

Same  as  above — Pioneers  in  Woman's  Rights — Women  vote  in  An- 
napolis— Contest  of  Miss  Maddox  to  practice  law— Work  of  women 
for  Medical  Department  of  Johns  Hopkins  University. 

CHAPTER  XLV. 

MASSACHUSETTS  7oi~75° 

Pioneer  work  for  suffrage — New  England  and  State  Associations  and 
May  Festivals — List  of  Officers — Death  of  Lucy  Stone — Anti-  Suf- 
frage Association  formed — Fifty  years  of  Legislative  Work — Repub- 
licans declare  for  Woman  Suffrage — Submission  of  Mock  Refer- 
endum— Campaign  in  its  behalf — Activity  of  the'  "antis" — Measure 
defeated,  but  woman's  vote  more  than  ten  to  one  in  favor  in  every 
district — Laws — Equal  guardianship  of  children — School  Suffrage — 
Women  in  office — Education — Pay  of  women  teachers. 

NATIONAL  SUFFRAGE  ASSOCIATION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  % 750-754 

Organization — Efforts  to  secure  large  school  vote — Legislative 
work — Assistance  in  Referendum  Campaign — Press  work — Many 
meetings  held. 

CHAPTER  XL VI. 

MICHIGAN  755~77i 

Organization — Efforts  in  political  conventions — Municipal  Suffrage 
granted  to  women — Declared  unconstitutional  by  Supreme  Court — 
Coarse  methods  of  opponents — Convention  of  National  Association 
in  1899 — Laws — School  Suffrage — Woman  can  not  be  prosecuting  at- 
torney— Education,  etc. 

CHAPTER  XLVII. 

MINNESOTA 772-782 

Organization — Legislative  action  and  laws — School  and  Library  Suf- 
frage— Women  in  office — Occupations — Education — Clubs. 

CHAPTER  XL VIII. 

MISSISSIPPI    783-789 

Organization — Legislative  action — Good  property  laws — Efforts  to 
secure  suffrage  for  women  from  Constitutional  Convention — Frag- 
mentary franchise — Education. 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 

MISSOURI 790-795 

Organization — Legislative  action  and  laws — Office-holding — Education. 

CHAPTER  L. 

MONTANA  796-801 

Organization — Attempt  to  obtain  Woman  Suffrage  from  first  Constitu- 
tional Convention — School  and  Taxpayers'  Suffrage  granted; — Legisla- 
tive action  and  laws — Office-holding — Women's  work  for  location  of 
capital  and  at  World's  Fair. 


Xlviii  TABLE   OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  LI. 

NEBRASKA  802-809 

Same  as  above— (School  Suffrage). 

CHAPTER  LII. 

NEVADA   810-814 

Same  as  above. 

CHAPTER  LIII. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE 815-819 

Same  as  above— School  Suffrage. 

CHAPTER  LIV. 

NEW  JERSEY 820-834 

Organization — Attempt  for  amendment  for  School  Suffrage1 — Defeated 
by  10,000  majority — Legislative  action  and  laws — First  State  in  which 
women  voted — How  they  were  deprived  of  the  ballot — Franchise  now 
possessed — Office-holding — Women  in  professions. 

CHAPTER  LV. 

NEW  MEXICO 835-838 

Organization — Legislative  action  and  laws — Office-holding — Educa- 
tion— Equal  rights  for  women  among  Spanish-Americans. 

CHAPTER  LVI. 

NEW  YORK 839-873 

Battle-ground  for  Woman  Suffrage — Conventions  for  fifty  years — 
Great  campaign  in  1894  to  secure  amendment  from  Constitutional 
Convention — Governors  Hill  and  Flower  recommend  women  dele- 
gates— Parties  refuse  to  nominate  them — Miss  Anthony  speaks  in  all 
the  sixty  counties — Vast  amount  of  work  by  other  women — In  New 
York  and  Albany  women  organize  in  opposition — 600,000  petition  for 
suffrage,  15,000  against — Convention  refuses  to  submit  Amendment 
to  voters — Long-continued  efforts  in  Legislature — Liberal  laws  for 
women — School  and  Taxpayers'  Suffrage — Many  women  in  office — 
Superior  educational  advantages — Political  and  other  clubs. 

CHAPTER  LVII. 

NORTH  CAROLINA 874-876 

Agitation  of  suffrage  question — Legislative  action  and  laws — Education. 

CHAPTER  LVIII. 

OHIO  877-885 

Organization — Mrs.  Southworth's  excellent  scheme  of  enrollment — 
Legislative  action  and  laws — Successful  contest  in  Legislature  and 
Supreme  Court  for  School  Suffrage — Women  on  School  Boards — 
Education — Clubs — Rookwood  pottery. 


TABLE   OF    CONTENTS.  xllX 

CHAPTER  LIX. 

OKLAHOMA 886-890 

Organization — Legislative  action  and  laws — Attempt  to  secure  Full 
Suffrage  from  Legislature  of  1899 — Eastern  "antis"  and  Oklahoma 
liquor  dealers  co-operate — Treachery  of  a  pretended  friend — Office- 
holding — School  Suffrage. 

CHAPTER  LX. 

OREGON  891-897 

Organization — Congress  of  Women — Legislature  submits  Suffrage 
Amendment — Defeated  in  1900  by  only  2,000  votes,  nearly  all  in  Port- 
land— Excellent  laws  for  women — School  Suffrage — Occupations. 

CHAPTER  LXI. 

PENNSYLVANIA 898-906 

Organization — Press  work — Philadelphia  society — Women  taxpay- 
ers— Legislative  action  and  laws — Office-holding — Hannah  Penn  a 
Governor — Women  in  professions — Oldest  Medical  College  for  Wom- 
en— Educational  advantages — Clubs. 

CHAPTER  LXII.. 
RHODE  ISLAND 907-921 

Early  organization — State  officers — Legislative  action  and  laws — 
Campaign  for  Woman  Suffrage  Amendment  in  1887 — Ably  advocated 
but  defeated — Efforts  to  secure  Amendment  from  Constitutional 
Convention  in  1897 — Women  in  office — Admitted  to  Brown  Univer- 
sity— Clubs  and  Local  Council  of  Women. 

CHAPTER  LXIII. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA 922-925 

Organization — Legislative  action  and  laws — Office-holding — Education. 

CHAPTER  LXIV. 

TENNESSEE' 926-930 

Organization — Protest  of  women  against  disfranchisement — Legis- 
lative action — Cruel  laws  for  women — Occupations — Education. 

CHAPTER  LXV. 

TEXAS  931-935 

Organization — Laws — Office-holding — Occupations — Education. 

CHAPTER  LXVI. 

UTAH  936-956 

Women  enfranchised  by  Territorial  Legislature  in  1870 — Woman's 
Exponent — Congress  disfranchises  women  in  1887 — They  organize  to 
secure  their  rights — Canvass  the  State  and  hold  mass  meetings — 
Appear  before  Constitutional  Convention  and  ask  for  Suffrage 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— iii 


TABLE   OF    CONTENTS. 

Amendment,  which  is  granted— Miss  Anthony  and  the  Rev.  Anna 
Howard  Shaw  visit  Salt  Lake  City— Amendment  carried  by  large 
majority  in  1895— Official  statistics  of  woman's  vote — Laws — Office- 
holding— Women  legislators— Women  delegates— Education— Clubs. 

CHAPTER  LXVII. 
VERMONT 

Organization — Legislative  action  and  laws — School  Suffrage — Women 
office-holders — Education — Progressive  steps. 

CHAPTER  LXVIII. 

VIRGINIA 964-966 

Agitation  of  suffrage  question — Laws  for  women — Education — 
Woman  head  of  family. 

CHAPTER  LXIX. 

WASHINGTON 967-979 

Women  enfranchised  by  Territorial  Legislature  in  1883 — Figures  of 
vote — Unconstitutionally  disfranchised  by  Supreme  Court — Suffrage 
Amendment  refused  in  Constitutional  Convention  for  Statehood — 
Submitted  separately  and  defeated  in  1889 — Action  of  political  con- 
ventions in  1896 — Experience  in  Legislature — Amendment  again  sub- 
mitted— Campaign  of  1898 — Defeated  by  majority  less  than  one- half 
that  of  nine  years  before — Organization — Legislative  action  and  laws — 
School  suffrage — Office-holding — Occupations. 

CHAPTER  LXX. 

WEST  VIRGINIA 980-984 

Organization — Legislative  action  and  laws — Office-holding — Education. 

CHAPTER  LXXI. 

WISCONSIN   985-993 

Organization — Canvass  of  State — Long  but  successful  struggle  to  se- 
cure School  Suffrage — Decisions  of  Supreme  Court — Laws — Women 
in  office — Education. 

CHAPTER  LXXII. 

WYOMING 994-101 1 

First  place  in  the  United  States  to  enfranchise  women — Territorial 
Legislature  gave  Full  Suffrage  in  1869 — People  satisfied  with  it — 
Constitutional  Convention  for  Statehood  unanimously  includes  Woman 
Suffrage — Strong  speeches  in  favor — Fight  against  it  in  Congress — 
Debate  for  amusement  of  present  and  wonder  of  future  generations — 
Men  of  Wyoming  stand  firm — Finally  admitted  to  the  Union — Cele- 
bration in  new  State — Honors  paid  to  women — Miss  Anthony  and  the 
Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  visit  Cheyenne — Interesting  scene — Highest 
testimony  in  favor  of  Woman  Suffrage — Legislature  of  1901  urges 
every  State  to  enfranchise  its  women — Women  on  juries — Effects  of 
woman's  vote— Laws— Office-holding. 


TABLE   OF    CONTENTS.  H 


CHAPTER  LXXIII. 

GREAT  BRITAIN. 

EFFORTS  FOR  PARLIAMENTARY  FRANCHISE 1012-1037 

Household  suffrage  for  men  proves  a  disadvantage  to  women — 
Primrose  League  and  Liberal  Federation — Women  in  politics — Vote 
on  Suffrage  Bill  in  1886 — Nineteenth  Century  and  Fortnightly  Re- 
view open  their  columns  to  a  discussion — Parliamentary  tactics  in  1891 
to  defeat  the  Bill — Vote  in  1892  shows  opposing  majority  of  only 
17  out  of  367 — Great  efforts  of  women  in  1895-6 — Petition  of  257,796 
presented — In  1897  the  Bill  passes  second  reading  by  majority  of 
71 — Kept  from  a  vote  since  then  by  shrewd  management — Its  friends 
and  its  enemies — Franchise  given  to  women  in  Ireland — Efforts  of 
wage-earning  women — Death  of  Queen  Victoria. 

LAWS  SPECIALLY  AFFECTING  WOMEN 1021 

Guardianship  of  children,  property  rights  of  wives,  etc. 

LAWS  RELATING  TO  LOCAL  GOVERNMENT 1022 

Municipal  Franchise  for  women  of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland — 
Women  on  school  boards,  county  councils,  poor-law  boards,  etc. — 
Deprived  of  seats  in  borough  councils. 

WOMEN  IN  PUBLIC  WORK 1023 

On  Royal  Commissions,  as  factory,  school  and  sanitary  inspectors. 

STEPS  IN  EDUCATION 1024 

Admission  to  Universities  and  opening  of  Woman's  Colleges. 

THE  ISLE  OF  MAN 1025 

Full  Suffrage  granted  to  women. 

NEW  ZEALAND  1025 

Steps  for  the  Parliamentary  Franchise — Granted  in  1893 — Statistics 
of  woman's  vote. 

SOUTH  AUSTRALIA  1027 

As  above — Granted  in  1894. 

WEST  AUSTRALIA 1029 

As  above — Granted  in  1899. 

NEW  SOUTH  WALES 1029 

As  above — Granted  in  1902. 

VICTORIA 1031 

Efforts  for  Parliamentary  Franchise. 

QUEENSLAND  1032 

As  above. 

TASMANIA   1033 

As  above. 

SOUTH  AFRICAN  AND  OTHER  COLONIES 1033 


Hi  TABLE   OF    CONTENTS. 

DOMINION  OF  CANADA 1034 

Efforts  for  Parliamentary  Franchise — Present  political  conditions- 
Municipal  and  School  Suffrage  in  the  various  Provinces— Right  of 
women  to  hold  office. 

CHAPTER  LXXIV. 

WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  IN  OTHER  COUNTRIES 1038-1041 

A  limited  vote  granted  in  most  places — Situation  in  Germany — 
Woman's  franchise  in  Russia — Advanced  action  in  Finland — Situa- 
tion in  Belgium — Many  rights  in  Sweden  and  Norway. 

CHAPTER  LXXV. 

NATIONAL  ORGANIZATIONS  OF  WOMEN 1042-1073 

First  societies  on  record — Progress  by  decades — Women's  club 
houses — Changed  status  of  women's  conventions — List  of  National 
Associations — Evolution  of  their  objects — Women  gradually  learning 
the  disadvantages  of  disfranchisement — 4,000,000  enrolled  in  organ- 
ized work  for  the  good  of  humanity — Must  necessarily  become  great 
factor  in  public  life — Government  will  be  obliged  to  have  their  assist- 
ance. 


APPENDIX. 

EMINENT  ADVOCATES  OF  WOMAN  SUFFRAGE 1075-1085 

Presidents,  Vice-presidents,  Supreme  Court  Judges,  U.  S.  Senators 
and  Representatives,  Governors  of  States,  Presidents  of  Universities, 
Clergymen  and  other  noted  individuals  who  advocate  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  women. 

TESTIMONY  FROM  WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  STATES 1085-1094 

Signed  statements  from  the  highest  authorities  in  Colorado,  Idaho, 
Utah  and  Wyoming  as  to  the  value  of  woman's  vote  in  public  affairs 
and  the  absence  of  predicted  evils. 

NEW  YORK 1094-1096 

Legal  opinion  on  Suffrage  and  Office-holding  for  Women. 

WASHINGTON 1096-1098 

Detailed  statement  of  women's  voting  and  their  unconstitutional  dis- 
franchisement by  the  Territorial  Supreme  Court. 

CONSTITUTION  OF  NATIONAL-AMERICAN  WOMAN   SUFFRAGE  ASSOCIATION 

1098-1104 

Resume"  of  its  principal  points — Officers — Standing  and  Special  Com- 
mittees— Life  Members — List  of  delegates  to  national  conventions. 

ALPHABETICAL  INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS  1105-1121 

ALPHABETICAL  INDF.X  OF  PROPER  NAMES 1122-1144 


CHAPTER  I. 
WOMAN'S  CONSTITUTIONAL  RIGHT  TO  VOTE. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  movement  to  enfranchise  women,  no 
other  method  was  considered  than  that  of  altering  the  constitu- 
tion of  each  individual  State,  as  it  was  generally  accepted  that 
the  right  to  prescribe  the  qualifications  for  the  suffrage  rested 
entirely  with  the  States  and  that  the  National  Constitution  could 
not  be  invoked  for  this  purpose.  While  the  word  "male"  was  not 
used  in  this  document,  yet  with  the  one  exception  of  New  Jersey, 
where  women  exercised  the  full  suffrage  from  the  adoption  of 
its  first  constitution  in  1776  until  1807,  there  is  no  record  of  any 
woman's  being  permitted  to  vote.  At  the  inception  of  the  re- 
public women  were  almost  wholly  uneducated;  they  were  un- 
known in  the  industrial  world;  there  were  very  few  property 
owners  among  them;  the  manifold  exactions  of  domestic  duties 
absorbed  all  their  time,  strength  and  interest;  and  for  these  and 
many  other  causes  they  were  not  public  factors  in  even  the  small- 
est sense  of  the  word.  One  could  readily  believe  that  the  found- 
ers of  the  Government  never  imagined  a  time  when  women 
would  ask  for  a  voice  were  it  not  for  the  significant  fact  that 
every  State  constitution,  except  the  one  mentioned  above,  was 
careful  to  put  up  an  absolute  barrier  against  such  a  contingency 
by  confining  the  elective  franchise  strictly  to  "male"  citizens — 
and  there  it  has  stood  impassable  down  to  the  present  day. 

It  was  almost  the  exact  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  be- 
fore the  first  demand  was  made  by  women  for  the  right  to  rep- 
resent themselves — the  right  for  which  their  forefathers  had 
fought  a  seven-years'  war,  and  the  one  which  had  been  made  the 
corner-stone  of  the  new  Government.  The  complete  story  of  the 
startling  results  which  followed  this  demand  never  has  been  told 
but  once,  and  that  was  when  Vol.  I  of  this  History  of  Woman 
Suffrage  was  written.  It  was  related  then  by  the  two  who  were 

i 


2  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

the  principal  personages  in  a  period  which  tried  women's  souls 
as  they  were  never  tried  before — Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  and 
Susan  B.  Anthony.* 

This  movement  for  the  freedom  of  women  was  scarcely 
launched  when  the  long-threatened  Civil  War  broke  forth  and 
precipitated  the  struggle  for  the  liberty  of  another  class  whose 
slavery  seemed  far  more  terrible  than  the  servitude  of  white 
women.  The  five  years'  ordeal  which  followed  developed  women 
as  all  the  previous  centuries  had  not  been  able  to  do,  and  when 
peace  reigned  once  more,  when  an  entire  race  had  been  born 
into  freedom  and  the  republic  had  been  consecrated  anew,  the 
whole  status  of  the  American  woman  had  been  changed  and  the 
lines  which  circumscribed  her  old  sphere  had  been  forever  ob- 
literated. Women  were  studying  laws,  constitutions  and  public 
questions  as  never  before  in  all  history,  and,  as  they  saw  millions 
of  colored  men  endowed  with  the  full  prerogatives  of  citizenship, 
they  began  to  ask,  "Am  I  not  also  a  citizen  of  this  great  republic 
and  entitled  to  all  its  rights  and  privileges  ?" 

Up  to  this  time  the  word  "male"  never  had  appeared  in  the 
Federal  Constitution.  In  1865,  when  the  leaders  among  women 
were  beginning  to  gather  up  their  scattered  forces,  and  the  Four- 
teenth Amendment  was  under  discussion,  they  saw  to  their  amaze- 
ment and  indignation  that  it  was  proposed  to  incorporate  in  that 
instrument  this  discriminating  word.  Miss  Anthony  was  the  first 
to  sound  the  alarm,  and  Mrs.  Stanton  quickly  came  to  her  aid  in 
the  attempt  to  prevent  this  desecration  of  the  people's  Bill  of 
Rights.  The  thrilling  account  of  their  efforts  to  thwart  this  high- 
handed act,  their  abandonment  in  consequence  by  nearly  all  of 
their  co-workers  before  and  during  the  war,  their  anger  and 
humiliation  at  seeing  the  former  slaves,  whom  they  had  helped  to 
free,  made  their  political  superiors  and  endowed  with  a  personal 
representation  in  Government  which  women  had  been  pilloried  for 
asking — all  this  is  graphically  told  in  Vol.  II  of  the  History  of 
Woman  Suffrage,  Chaps.  XVII  and  XXI.  The  story  with 
many  personal  touches  is  also  related  in  the  Life  and  Work  of 
Susan  B.  Anthony,  Chaps.  XV  and  XVI. 

•  The  part  of  this  record  with  which  Miss  Anthony  herself  was  directly  connected, 
and  which  comprises  by  far  the  Rreater  portion  of  the  whole,  is  given  with  many  per- 
•onal  incidents  in  her  Life  and  Work.  [Husted-Harper.] 


WOMAN'S  CONSTITUTIONAL  RIGHT  TO  VOTE.  3 

The  Fourteenth  Amendment  was  declared  adopted  July  28, 
1868,*  and  the  women  felt  that  the  ground  had  been  swept  from 
'beneath  their  feet,  as  now  the  barriers  opposed  to  their  enfran- 
chisement by  all  the  State  constitutions  had  been  doubly  and 
trebly  strengthened  by  sanction  of  the  National  Constitution. 
The  first  ray  of  encouragement  came  in  October,  1869,  when,  at 
a  State  woman  suffrage  convention  held  in  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
Francis  Minor,  a  leading  attorney  of  that  city,  declared  that  this 
very  Fourteenth  Amendment  in  enfranchising  colored  men  had 
performed  a  like  service  for  all  women.  His  argument  was  em- 
bodied concisely  in  the  following  resolutions,  which  were 
adopted  by  that  convention  with  great  enthusiasm, .  and  by  the 
National  Association  at  its  annual  convention  in  Washington, 
D.  C.,  the  next  January: 

WHEREAS,  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States, 
and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United 
States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they  reside ;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  L.  That  the  immunities  and  privileges  of  American 
citizenship,  however  defined,  are  national  in  character  and  para- 
mount to  all  State  authority. 

2.  That  while  the  Constitution  oi  the  United  States  leaves  the 
qualification  of  electors  to  the  several  States,  it  nowhere  gives  them 
the  right  to  deprive  any  citizen  of  the  elective  franchise  which  is 
possessed  by  any  other  citizen — to  regulate  not  including  the  right 
to  prohibit. 

3.  That,  as  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  expressly  de- 
clares that  no  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  laws  that  shall  abridge 
the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  those 
provisions  of  the  several  State  constitutions  which  exclude  women 

•ARTICLE  XIV. 

Section  I.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States  and  subject  to  the 
jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they 
reside.  No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or 
immunities  of  citizens;  nor  shall  any  State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty  or 
property,  without  due  process  of  law,  or  deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction 
the  equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

Section  2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several  States  according 
to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole  number  of  persons  in  each  State,  ex- 
cluding Indians  not  taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote  at  any  election  for  the  choice 
of  electors  for  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  Representatives  in 
Congress,  the  Executive  and  Judicial  officers  of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  Legis- 
lature thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State,  being  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  way  abridged,  except  for 
participation  in  rebellion  or  other  crime,  the  basis  of  representation  therein  shall  be 
reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the  number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the 
\vhole  number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such  State. 


4  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

from  the  franchise  on  account  of  sex  are  violative  alike  of  the  spirit 
and  letter  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

4.  That,  as  the  subject  of  naturalization  is  expressly  withheld 
from  the  States,  and  as  the  States  clearly  have  no  right  to  deprive 
of  the  franchise  naturalized  citizens,  among  whom  women  are  ex- 
pressly included,  still  more  clearly  have  they  no  right  to  deprive 
native-born  women  citizens  of  the  franchise. 

In  support  of  these  resolutions  various  portions  of  the  National 
Constitution  were  quoted,  including  Article  IV,  Section  2 :  "The 
citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  im- 
munities of  citizens  in  the  several  States;"  and  Section  4:  "The 
United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this  Union  a  re- 
publican form  of  government."  Many  other  authorities  were 
cited,  including  numerous  court  decisions,  as  to  the  right  of 
women  to  the  suffrage  now  that  their  citizenship  had  been  clearly 
established  and  the  protection  of  its  privileges  and  immunities 
guaranteed. 

This  position  was  sustained  by  many  of  the  best  lawyers  in 
the  United  States,  including  members  of  Congress.  fThe  previous 
May  the  National  Woman  Suffrage  Association  had  been  formed 
in  New  York  City,  and  henceforth  this  right  to  vote  under  the 
Fourteenth  Amendment  was  made  the  keynote  of  all  its  speeches, 
resolutions,  etc.,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  History  of  Woman  Suf- 
frage, Vol.  II,  Chap.  XXIII. 

For  the  first  time  the  Federal  Constitution  had  defined  the 
term  "citizen,"  leaving  no  doubt  that  a  woman  was  a  citizen  in 
the  fullest  meaning  of  the  word.  Until  now  there  had  been  but 
one  Supreme  Court  decision  on  this  point — that  of  Chief  Justice 
Taney  in  1857,  in  the  Dred  Scott  Case,  which  declared  that  citi- 
zens were  "the  political  body  who,  according  to  our  republican 
institutions,  form  the  sovereignty  and  hold  the  power,  and  con- 
duct the  Government  through  their  representatives."  This 
plainly  had  barred  negroes  and  white  women  from  citizenship. 

At  the  next  general  election,  in  1872,  women  attempted  to  vote 
in  many  parts  of  the  country,  in  some  cases  their  votes  being  re- 
ceived, in  others  rejected.*  The  vote  of  Miss  Anthony  was 
accepted  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  and  she  was  then  arrested  for  a 

•  Women  also  had  attempted  to  vote  in  local  and  State  elections  in  1870  and  1871. 
An  account  of  the  trials  and  decisions  which  followed  will  be  found  in  the  History  of 
Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  II,  Chap.  XXV. 


WOMAN  S    CONSTITUTIONAL    RIGHT    TO    VOTE.  5 

criminal  offense,  tried  and  fined  in  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  at 
Canandaigua,  by  Associate  Justice  Ward  Hunt  of  the  U.  S. 
Supreme  Court.  There  is  no  more  flagrant  judicial  outrage  on 
record.  The  full  account  of  this  case,  in  which  she  was  refused 
the  right  of  trial  by  jury  as  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution,  will 
be  found  in  Vol.  II,  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  p.  627  and 
following;  also  much  more  in  detail  in  the  Life  and  Work  of 
Susan  B.  Anthony,  p.  423,  with  her  great  Constitutional  Argu- 
ment delivered  in  fifty  of  the  postoffice  districts  of  the  two 
counties  before  the  trial,  p.  977  and  following. 

The  vote  of  Mrs.  Virginia  L.  Minor  was  refused  in  St.  Louis 
and  she  brought  suit  against  the  inspectors  of  election.  The  case 
was  decided  against  her  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  county 
and  the  Supreme  Court  of  Missouri.  She  then  carried  it  to  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States — Minor  vs.  Happersett  et  al. 
No.  182,  October  term,  1874.  The  case  was  argued  by  her  hus- 
band, Francis  Minor,  and  after  the  lapse  of  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury it  is  still  believed  that  his  argument  could  not  have  been 
excelled.  The  decision  was  delivered  by  Chief  Justice  Waite, 
March  29,  1875,  and  was  in  brief:  "The  National  Constitution 
does  not  define  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens.  The 
United  States  has  no  voters  of  its  own  creation.  The  Constitu- 
tion does  not  confer  the  right  of  suffrage  upon  any  one,  but  the 
franchise  must  be  regulated  by  the  States.  The  Fourteenth 
Amendment  does  not  add  to  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  a 
citizen;  it  simply  furnishes  an  additional  guarantee  to  protect 
those  he  already  has.  Before  the  passage  of  the  Fourteenth  and 
Fifteenth  Amendments  the  States  had  the  power  to  disfranchise 
on  account  of  race  or  color.  These  Amendments,  ratified  by  the 
States,  simply  forbade  that  discrimination  but  did  not  forbid 
that  against  sex." 

The  full  text  of  argument  and  decision  will  be  found  in  the 
History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  II,  p.  715  and  following.  In 
making  this  decision  the  Court  was  compelled  to  reverse  abso- 
lutely its  own  finding  of  three  years  previous  in  what  was  known 
as  the  Slaughter  House  Cases  (16  Wallace)  which  said:  "The 
negro  having  by  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  been  declared  to  be 


6  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  is  thus  made  a  voter  in  every 
State  in  the  Union." 

The  Fifteenth  Amendment  says:  "The  right  of  citizens  of 
the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the 
United  States  or  by  any  State  on  account  of  race,  color  or 
previous  condition  of  servitude."  No  right  is  conferred  by  this 
amendment.  It  simply  guarantees  protection  for  a  right  already 
existing  in  the  citizen,  and  the  negro  having  been  declared  a 
citizen  by  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  is  thus  protected  in  his 
right  to  vote.  But  whence  did  he  obtain  this  right  unless 
from  the  National  Constitution,  which  the  Supreme  Court  in  the 
Minor  decision  declares  "does  not  confer  the  right  of  suffrage 
upon  any  one"  ?  Volume  II  of  this  History  of  Woman  Suffrage, 
containing  nearly  1,000  pages,  is  devoted  mainly  to  a  recital  of 
the  efforts  on  the  part  of  women  to  obtain  and  exercise  the  fran- 
chise through  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Amendments.  This 
decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  destroyed  the  last  hope,  although 
it  did  not  shake  the  belief  of  the  leaders  of  this  movement  in  the 
justice  and  legality  of  their  claim. 

A  number  of  the  women  contended  that,  if  the  National  Con- 
stitution did  not  confer  Full  Suffrage,  it  did  at  least  guarantee 
Federal  Suffrage — the  right  to  vote  for  Congressional  Repre- 
sentatives— and  in  this  opinion  they  were  sustained  by  eminent 
lawyers.  The  National  Association,  however,  never  made  an 
issue  of  this  question,  considering  that  it  would  be  useless,  but 
it  has  a  Standing  Committee  on  Federal  Suffrage  empowered  to 
make  such  efforts  in  this  direction  as  it  deems  advisable.* 

The  assertion  is  made  that  if  Congress  had  no  authority  over 
the  election  of  its  own  members,  it  would  be  wholly  unable  to 
perpetuate  itself  should  the  States  at  any  time  decide  that  they 
no  longer  care  to  be  under  the  authority  of  a  central  governing 
body,  and  refuse  to  elect  Representatives.  Many  able  reports 
have  been  made  by  this  Standing  Committee,  and  the  question 
"was  clearly  stated  in  an  article  in  The  Arena,  December,  1891, 
by  Francis  Minor,  who  gave  the  question  of  woman  suffrage  a 

•  The  most  earnest  advocates  of  the  constitutional  right  of  women  to  Federal  Suffrage 
are  Mrs.  Sallie  Clay  Bennett,  Ky.;  Mrs.  Clara  B.  Colby,  D.  C.;  Mrs.  Martha  E.  Root. 
Mich.;  Miss  Sara  Winthrop  Smith,  Conn.  They  have  done  a  large  amount  of  persistent 
but  ineffectual  work  in  the  endeavor  to  obtain  a  recognition  of  this  right. 


WOMAN  S    CONSTITUTIONAL    RIGHT    TO    VOTE.  ? 

more  thorough  legal  examination,  perhaps,  than  any  other  man. 
He  prepared  the  following  bill  which  was  presented  in  the  House 
of  Representatives,  April  25,  1892,  by  the  Hon.  Clarence  D. 
Clark,  member  from  Wyoming: 

AN  ACT  TO  PROTECT  THE  RIGHT  OF  CITIZENS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  TO 
REGISTER  AND  TO  VOTE  FOR  MEMBERS  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRE- 
SENTATIVES. 

WHEREAS,  The  right  to  choose  Members  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives is  vested  by  the  Constitution  in  the  people  of  the  several 
States,  without  distinction  of  sex,  but  for  want  of  proper  legislation 
has  hitherto  been  restricted  to  one-half  of  the  people ;  for  the  pur- 
pose, therefore,  of  correcting  this  error  and  of  giving  effect  to  the 
Constitution : 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled:  That  at  all 
elections  hereafter  held  in  the  several  States  of  this  Union  for  mem- 
bers of  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  right  of  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  of  either  sex,  above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  to 
register  and  to  vote  for  such  Representatives  shall  not  be  denied 
or  abridged  by  the  United  States,  or  by  any  State,  on  account  of  sex. 

The  argument  for  the  authority  of  Congress  to  pass  this  law 
is  based  partly  on  Article  I  of  the  Federal  Constitution: 

SECTION  2.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of 
members  chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several 
States ;  and  the  electors  in  each  State  shall  have  the  qualifications 
requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the  State  Leg- 
islature. 

SECTION  4.  The  time,  place  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for 
Senators  and  Representatives  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State  by 
the  Legislature  thereof,  but  the  Congress  may  at  any  time  by  law 
make  or  alter  such  regulations,  except  as  to  the  places  of  choosing 
Senators.* 

Congress  is  here  endowed  unquestionably  with  the  right  to 
regulate  the  election  of  Representatives.  James  Madison,  one  of 
the  framers  of  the  Constitution,  when  asked  the  intention  of  this 
clause,  in  the  Virginia  convention  of  1788,  called  to  ratify  this 
instrument,  answered  that  the  power  was  reserved  to  Congress 
because  "should  the  people  of  any  State  by  any  means  be  de- 
prived of  the  right  of  suffrage,  it  was  judged  proper  that  'it 
should  be  remedied  by  the  General  Government."  [Elliott's 
Debates,  Vol.  II,  p.  266.] 

*  Senator  John  Sherman  did  at  one  time  introduce  a  bill  for  this  purpose. 


8  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Again  Madison  said  in  The  Federalist  (No.  54),  in  speaking 
of  the  enumeration  for  Representatives : 

The  Federal  Constitution,  therefore,  decides  with  great  propriety 
in  the  case  of  our  slaves  when  it  views  them  in  the  mixed  character 
of  persons  and  property.  This  is  in  fact  their  true  character.  It 
is  the  character  bestowed  on  them  by  the  laws  under  which  they 
live :  and  it  will  not  be  denied  that  these  are  the  proper  criteria ;  be- 
cause it  is  only  under  the  pretext  that  the  laws  have  transformed 
the  negroes  into  subjects  of  property,  that  a  place  is  disputed  them 
in  the  computation  of  numbers;  and  it  is  admitted  that,  if  the  laws 
were  to  restore  the  rights  which  have  been  taken  away,  the  negroes 
could  no  longer  be  refused  an  equal  share  of  representation. 

Therefore,  as  women  are  counted  in  the  enumeration  on  which 
the  Congressional  apportionment  is  based,  they  are  legally  en- 
titled to  an  equal  share  in  direct  representation. 

In  1884  the  case  of  Jasper  Yarbrough  and  others  who  had 
been  sentenced  to  hard  labor  in  the  penitentiary  in  Georgia  for 
preventing  a  colored  man  from  voting  for  a  member  of  Congress, 
was  brought  to  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  by  a  petition  for  a  writ 
of  habeas  corpus.  The  decision  rendered  March  2,  virtually  nul- 
lified that  given  by  this  court  in  the  case  of  Mrs.  Minor  in  1875, 
as  quoted  above,  which  held  that  "the  National  Constitution  has 
no  voters,"  for  this  one  declared: 

But  it  is  not  correct  to  say  that  the  right  to  vote  for  a  member  of 
Congress  does  not  depend  on  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 
The  office,  if  it  be  properly  called  an  office,  is  created  by  the  Consti- 
tution and  by  that  alone.  It  also  declares  how  it  shall  be  filled, 
namely,  by  election.  Its  language  is :  "The  House  of  Representa- 
tives shall  be  composed  of  members  chosen  every  second  year  by 
the  people  of  the  several  States ;  and  the  electors  in  each  State  shall 
have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  numerous 
branch  of  the  State  Legislature." 

The  States  in  prescribing  the  qualifications  of  voters  for  the  most 
numerous  branch  of  their  own  Legislature,  do  not  do  this  with 
reference  to  the  election  for  members  of  Congress.  Nor  can  they 
prescribe  the  qualifications  for  those  eo  nomine  [by  that  name]. 

They  define  who  are  to  vote  for  the  popular  branch  of  their  own 
Legislature,  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  says  the  same 
persons  shall  vote  for  members  of  Congress  in  that  State. 

It  adopts  the  qualification  thus  furnished  as  the  qualification  of 
its  own  electors  for  members  of  Congress.  It  is  not  true,  therefore, 
that  the  electors  for  members  of  Congress  owe  their  right  to  vote 
to  the  State  lau1  in  any  sense  which  makes  the  exercise  of  the  right 
to  depend  exclusively  on  the  law  of  the  State. 


WOMAN  S    CONSTITUTIONAL    RIGHT    TO    VOTE.  9 

Counsel  for  petitioners  seizing  upon  the  expression  found  in  the 
opinion  of  the  Court  in  the  case  of  Minor  vs.  Happersett,  "that  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  does  not  confer  the  right  of 
suffrage  upon  any  one,"  without  reference  to  the  connection  in  which 
it  is  used,  insists  that  the  voters  in  this  case  do  not  owe  their  right  to 
vote  in  any  sense  to  that  instrument.  But  the  Court  was  combating 
the  argument  that  this  right  was  conferred  on  all  citizens,  and  there- 
fore upon  women  as  well  as  men.( !) 

In  opposition  to  that  idea  it  was  said  the  Constitution  adopts,  as 
the  qualification  for  voters  for  members  of  Congress,  that  which 
prevails  in  the  State  where  the  voting  is  to  be  done ;  therefore,  said 
the  opinion,  the  right  is  not  definitely  conferred  on  any  person  or 
class  of  persons  by  the  Constitution  alone,  because  you  have  to  look 
to  the  law  of  the  State  for  the  description  of  the  class.  But  the 
Court  did  not  intend  to  say  that,  when  the  class  or  the  person  is 
thus  ascertained,  his  right  to  vote  for  a  member  of  Congress  was 
not  fundamentally  based  upon  the  Constitution  which  created  the 
office  of  member  of  Congress,  and  declared  it  should  be  elective,  and 
pointed  to  the  means  of  ascertaining  who  should  be  electors. 

The  Fifteenth  Amendment  of  the  Constitution,  by  its  limitation 
of  the  power  of  the  States  in  the  exercise  of  their  right  to  prescribe 
the  qualifications  of  voters  in  their  own  elections,  and  by  its  limita- 
tion of  the  power  of  the  United  States  over  that  subject,  clearly 
shows  that  the  right  of  suffrage  was  considered  to  be  of  supreme 
importance  to  the  National  Government  and  was  not  intended  to  be 
left  within  the  exclusive  control  of  the  States. 

In  such  cases  this  Fifteenth  Article  of  amendment  does  proprio 
vigore  [by  its  own  force]  substantially  confer  on  the  negro  the  right 
to  vote,  and  'Congress  has  the  power  to  protect  and  enforce  that 
right.  In  the  case  of  United  States  vs.  Happersett,  so  much  relied 
on  by  counsel,  this  Court  said,  in  regard  to  the  Fifteenth  Amend- 
ment, that  it  has  invested  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  with  a 
new  constitutional  right  which  is  within  the  protecting  power  of 
Congress.  That  right  is  an  exemption  from  discrimination  in  the 
exercise  of  the  elective  franchise  on  account  of  race,  color  or  pre- 
vious condition  of  servitude. 

This  new  constitutional  right  was  mainly  designed  for  [male] 
citizens  of  African  descent.  The  principle,  however,  that  the  pro- 
tection of  the  exercise  of  this  right  is  within  the  power  of  Congress, 
is  as  necessary  to  the  right  of  other  citizens  to  vote  in  general  as  to 
the  right  to  be  protected  against  discrimination. 

This  legal  hair-splitting  is  beyond  the  comprehension  of  the 
average  lay  mind  and  will  be  viewed  by  future  generations  with 
as  much  contempt  as  is  felt  by  the  present  in  regard  to  the  infa- 
mous decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  Dred  Scott  case  in 
1857.  If  it  decides  anything  it  is  that  the  right  to  vote  for  Con- 
gressional Representatives  is  a  Federal  right,  vested  in  all  the 


IO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

people  by  the  National  Constitution,  and  one  which  it  is  beyond 
the  power  of  the  States  to  regulate.  Therefore,  no  State  has  the 
power  to  deprive  women  of  the  right  to  vote  for  Representatives 
in  Congress. 

Those  who  hold  that  women  are  already  entitled  to  Federal 
Suffrage  under  the  National  Constitution,  further  support  their 
claim  by  a  series  of  decisions  as  to  the  citizenship  of  women  and 
the  inherent  rights  which  it  carries.  They  quote  especially  the 
case  of  the  United  States  vs.  Kellar.  The  defendant  was  indicted 
by  a  Federal  grand  jury  in  Illinois  for  illegal  voting  in  a  Con- 
gressional election,  as  he  never  had  been  naturalized.  He  and 
his  mother  were  born  in  Prussia,  but  came  to  the  United  States 
when  he  was  a  minor,  and  she  married  a  naturalized  citizen. 
The  case  was  tried  in  June,  1882,  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  the 
United  States  for  the  Southern  District  of  Illinois,  by  Associate 
Justice  Harlan  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court,  who  discharged  the 
defendant.  He  held  that  the  mother,  having  become  a  citizen 
by  marriage  while  the  son  was  a  minor,  transferred  citizenship 
to  him.  In  other  words  she  transmitted  a  Federal  Citizenship 
including  the  right  to  vote  which  she  did  not  herself  possess, 
thus  enfranchising  a  child  born  while  she  was  an  alien.  The 
whole  matter  was  settled  not  by  State  but  by  Federal  authority.* 
If  a  mother  can  confer  this  right  on  a  son,  why  not  on  a  daugh- 
ter? But  why  does  she  not  possess  it  herself  ?  The  clause  of  the 
National  Constitution  which  established  suffrage  at  the  time  that 
instrument  was  framed,  does  not  mention  the  sex  of  the  elector. 

The  argument  for  Federal  Suffrage  was  presented  in  a  mas- 
terly manner  before  the  National  Convention  of  1889  by  U.  S. 
Senator  Henry  W.  Blair  (N.  H.)  ;  and  it  was  discussed  by  Miss 
Anthony  and  Mrs.  Minor.  See  present  volume,  Chap.  IX. 

From  this  bare  outline  of  the  claim  that  women  already  pos- 
sess Federal  Suffrage,  or  that  Congress  has  authority  to  confer 
it  without  the  sanction  of  the  States,  readers  can  continue  the 
investigation.  Notwithstanding  its  apparent  equity,  the  leaders 
of  the  National  Association,  including  Miss  Anthony  herself, 
felt  convinced  after  the  decision  against  Mrs.  Minor  that  it 
would  be  useless  to  expect  from  the  Supreme  Court  any  inter- 

*  This  U  precisely  what  was  done  in  the  case  of  Susan  B.  Anthony  above  referred  to. 


WOMAN  S    CONSTITUTIONAL    RIGHT   TO    VOTE.  1 1 

pretation  of  the  Constitution  which  would  permit  women  to 
exercise  the  right  of  suffrage.  They  had  learned,  however, 
through  the  passage  of  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Amend- 
ments, that  it  had  been  possible  to  amend  this  document  in  such  a 
way  as  to  enfranchise  an  entire  new  class  of  voters — or  in  other 
words  to  protect  them  in  the  exercise  of  a  right  which  it  seemed 
that  in  some  mysterious  way  they  already  possessed.  As  the 
Fourteenth  Amendment  declared  the  negroes  to  be  citizens, 
and  the  Fifteenth  forbade  the  United  States  or  any  State  to  deny 
or  abridge  "the  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote,  on 
account  of  race,  color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude,"  it  was 
clearly  evident  that  this  right  inhered  in  citizenship.  This  being 
the  case  women  must  already  have  it,  but  as  there  was  no  national 
authority  prohibiting  the  States  from  denying  or  abridging  it, 
each  of  them  did  so  by  putting  the  word  "male"  in  its  constitu- 
tion as  a  qualification  for  suffrage;  just  as  many  of  them  had 
used  the  word  "white"  until  the  adoption  of  the  Fifteenth 
Amendment  by  a  three-fourths  majority  made  this  unconstitu- 
tional. Therefore,  since  the  Minor  vs.  Happersett  decision,  the 
National  Association  has  directed  its  principal  efforts  to  secure 
from  Congress  the  submission  to  the  several  State  Legislatures 
of  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  which  should  prohibit  disfranchise- 
ment  on  account  of  "sex,"  as  the  Fifteenth  had  done  on  account 
of  "color." 

The  association  does  not  discourage  attempts  in  various 
States  to  secure  from  their  respective  Legislatures  the  submission 
of  an  amendment  to  the  voters  which  shall  strike  out  this  word 
"male"  from  their  own  constitutions.  On  the  contrary,  it  as- 
sists every  such  attempt  with  money,  speakers  and  influence,  but 
having  seen  such  amendments  voted  on  sixteen  times  and  adopt- 
ed only  twice  (in  Colorado  and  Idaho),  it  is  confirmed  in 
the  opinion  that  the  quickest  and  surest  way  to  secure  woman 
suffrage  will  be  by  an  amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution. 
In  other  words  it  holds  that  women  should  be  permitted  to  carry 
their  case  to  the  selected  men  of  the  Legislatures  rather  than  to 
the  masses  of  the  voters. 

From  1869  until  the  decision  in  the  Minor  case  in  1875,  the 
National  Association  went  before  committees  of  every  Congress 


12  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

with  appeals  for  a  Declaratory  Act  which  would  permit  women  to 
vote  under  the  Fourteenth  Amendment.  Since  that  decision  it 
has  asked  for  a  Sixteenth  Amendment.  In  both  cases  it  has 
been  supported  by  petitions  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  names. 

The  ablest  women  this  nation  has  produced  have  presented 
the  arguments  and  pleadings.  Many  of  the  older  advocates 
have  passed  away,  but  new  ones  have  taken  their  place.  It  is  the 
unvarying  testimony  of  the  Senate  and  House  Committees  who 
have  granted  these  hearings,  that  no  body  of  men  has  appeared 
before  them  for  any  purpose  whose  dignity,  logic  and  acumen 
have  exceeded,  if  indeed  they  have  equaled,  those  of  the  mem- 
bers of  this  association.  They  have  been  heard  always  with  re- 
spect, often  with  cordiality,  but  their  appeals  have  fallen,  if  not 
upon  deaf,  at  least  upon  indifferent  ears.  They  have  asked  these 
committees  to  report  to  their  respective  Houses  a  resolution  to 
submit  this  Sixteenth  Amendment.  Sometimes  the  majority  of 
the  committee  has  been  hostile  to  woman  suffrage  and  presented 
an  adverse  report:  sometimes  it  has  been  friendly  and  presented 
one  favorable;  sometimes  there  have  been  an  opposing  majority 
and  a  friendly  minority  report,  or  vice  versa ;  but  more  often  no 
action  whatever  has  been  taken.  During  these  thirty  years  eleven 
favorable  reports  have  been  made — five  from  Senate,  six  from 
House  Committees.* 

In  the  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vols.  II  and  III,  will  be 
found  a  full  record  of  various  debates  which  occurred  in  Senate 
and  House  on  different  phases  of  the  movement  to  secure  suf- 
frage for  women  previous  to  1884,  when  the  present  volume 
begins.  In  1885  Thomas  W.  Palmer  gave  his  great  speech  in 

*  The  first  report,  in  1871,  was  signed  by  Representatives  Benjamin  F.  Butler  (Mass.) 
and  William  A.  Loughridge  (la.):  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  II,  p.  464- 

The  second,  in  1879,  was  signed  by  Senators  George  F.  Hoar  (Mass.),  John  H. 
Mitchell  (Ore.),  Angus  Cameron  (Wis.):  Id.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  131. 

The  third,  in  1882,  was  signed  by  Senators  Elbridge  G.  Lapham  (N.  Y.),  Thomas 
W.  Ferry  (Mich.),  Henry  W.  Blair  (N.  H.),  Henry  B.  Anthony  (R.  I.):  Id.,  p.  231- 

The  fourth,  in  1883,  was  signed  by  Representative  John  D.  White  (Ky.):     Id.,  p.  263. 

For  the  fifth  and  sixth,  in  1884,  see  Chap.  Ill  of  present  volume;  for  the  seventh 
and  eighth,  in  1886,  Id.,  Chap.  V.  (See  also,  Chap.  VI.);  for  the  ninth  and  tenth,  in 
1890,  Id.,  Chap.  X;  for  the  eleventh,  in  1892,  Id.,  Chap.  XII. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  from  1879  to  1891,  inclusive,  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  was 
enabled  to  spend  the  congressional  season  in  Washington  [see  pp.  188,  366],  and  during 
this  time  nine  of  these  eleven  favorable  reports  were  made. 

For  adverse  reports  see  History  of  Woman  Suffrage:  1871,  Vol.  II,  p.  461;  1878,  Vol. 
Ill,  p.  112;  1882,  Id.,  p.  237;  1884,  present  volume,  Chap.  Ill  (see  also,  Chap.  VI);  1892, 
Id..  Chap.  XII;  1894,  Id.,  Chap.  XIV;  1896,  Id.,  Chap.  XVI. 


WOMAN'S  CONSTITUTIONAL  RIGHT  TO  VOTE.  13 

the  United  States  Senate  in  advocacy  of  their  enfranchise- 
ment; and  in  1887  occurred  the  first  and  only  discussion  and 
vote  in  that  body  on  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  for  this  purpose, 
both  of  which  are  described  herein  under  their  respective  dates. 

In  the  following  chapters  will  be  found  an  account  of  the 
annual  conventions  of  the  National  Suffrage  Association  since 
1883,  and  of  the  American  until  the  two  societies  united  in  1890, 
with  many  of  the  resolutions  and  speeches  for  which  these  meet- 
ings have  been  distinguished.  They  contain  also  portions  of  the 
addresses,  covering  every  phase  of  this  subject,  made  at  the 
hearings  before  Congressional  Committees,  and  the  arguments 
advanced  for  and  against  woman  suffrage  in  the  favorable  and 
adverse  reports  of  these  committees,  thus  presenting  both  sides  of 
the  question.  Readers  who  follow  the  story  will  be  obliged  to  ac- 
knowledge that  the  very  considerable  progress  which  has  been 
made  toward  obtaining  the  franchise  is  due  to  the  unceasing 
and  long-continued  efforts  of  this  association  far  more  than  to 
all  other  agencies  combined;  and  that  the  women  who  compose 
this  body  have  demonstrated  their  capacity  and  their  right  to  a 
voice  in  the  Government  infinitely  beyond  any  class  to  whom  it 
has  been  granted  since  the  republic  was  founded. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  NATIONAL  SUFFRAGE  CONVENTION  OF  1884. 

The  first  Woman's  Rights  Convention  on  record  was  held  in 
Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y.,  in  July,  1848;  the  second  in  Salem,  O.,  in 
April,  1850;  the  third  in  Worcester,  Mass.,  in  October,  1850. 
By  this  time  the  movement  for  the  civil,  educational  and  political 
rights  of  women  was  fully  initiated,  and  every  year  thenceforth 
to  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War  national  conventions  were  held 
in  various  States  for  the  purpose  of  agitating  the  question  and 
creating  a  favorable  public  sentiment.  These  were  addressed 
by  the  ablest  men  and  women  of  the  time,  and  the  discussions 
included  the  whole  scope  of  women's  wrongs,  which  in  those 
days  were  many  and  grievous. 

Immediately  after  the  war  the  political  disabilities  of  the  negro 
man  were  so  closely  akin  to  those  of  all  women  that  the  advo- 
cates of  universal  suffrage  organized  under  the  name  of  the 
Equal  Rights  Association.  The  "reconstruction  period,"  how- 
ever, engendered  so  many  differences  of  opinion,  and  a  platform 
so  broad  permitted  such  latitude  of  debate,  the  women  soon 
became  convinced  that  their  own  cause  was  being  sacrificed. 
Therefore  in  May,  1869,  under  the  leadership  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Cady  Stanton  and  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  the  National  Woman 
Suffrage  Association  was  formed  in  New  York  City,  having  for 
its  sole  object  the  enfranchisement  of  women.  From  this  time 
it  held  a  convention  in  Washington,  D.  C,  every  winter. 

The  above  mentioned  associations  and  conventions,  as  well  as 
the  American  Woman  Suffrage  Association,  formed  at  Cleve- 
land, O.,  in  November,  1869,  under  the  leadership  of  Mrs.  Lucy 
Stone,  are  described  in  detail  in  the  preceding  volumes  of  this 
History.  The  present  volume  begins  with  the  usual  convention 
of  the  National  Association  in  Washington  in  1884.  This  place 

14 


NATIONAL   SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1884.  15 

was  selected  for  a  twofold  purpose :  because  here  a  more  cosmo- 
politan audience  could  be  secured  than  in  any  other  city,  includ- 
ing representatives  from  every  State  in  the  Union  and  from  all 
the  nations  of  the  world ;  and  because  here  the  association  could 
carry  directly  to  the  only  tribunal  which  had  power  to  act,  its  de- 
mand for  a  submission  to  the  State  Legislatures  of  an  amend- 
ment to  the  Federal  Constitution  which  should  forbid  disfran- 
chisement  on  account  of  sex.  During  each  of  these  conventions 
it  was  the  custom  for  committees  of  the  Senate  and  House  to 
grant  hearings  to  the  leading  advocates  of  this  proposition. 

The  Sixteenth  of  these  annual  conventions  met  in  Lincoln 
Hall,  in  response  to  the  usual  Call,*  March  4,  1884,  continuing 
in  session  four  days.f 

On  the  evening  before  the  convention  a  handsome  reception 
was  given  at  the  Riggs  House  by  Charles  W.  and  Mrs.  Jane 
H.  Spofford  to  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  which  was  attended  by 
several  hundred  prominent  men  and  women.  Delegates  were 
present  from  twenty-six  States  and  Territories.  \  Miss  Anthony 
was  in  the  chair  at  the  opening  session  and  read  a  letter  from 
Mrs.  Stanton,  who  was  detained  at  home,  in  which  she  paid  a 
glowing  tribute  to  Wendell  Phillips,  the  staunch  defender  of  the 
rights  of  women,  who  had  died  the  preceding  month. 

Mrs.  Mary  B.  Clay,  in  speaking  of  the  work  in  her  State,  said : 

In  talking  to  a  Kentuckian  on  the  subject  of  woman's  right  to 
qualify  under  the  law,  you  have  to  batter  down  his  self-conceit  that 

*  The  Call  ended  as  follows:  "The  satisfactory  results  of  Unrestricted  Suffrage  for 
Women  in  Wyoming  Territory,  of  School  Suffrage  in  twelve  States,  of  Municipal  and 
School  Suffrage  in  England  and  Scotland,  of  Municipal  and  Parliamentary  Suffrage 
in  the  Isle  of  Man,  with  the  recent  triumph  in  Washington  Territory;  also  the  con- 
stant agitation  of  the  suffrage  question  in  this  country  and  in  England,  and  the  de- 
mands that  women  are  everywhere  making  for  larger  liberties,  are  most  encouraging 
signs  of  the  times.  This  is  the  supreme  hour  for  'all  who  are  interested  in  the  enfran- 
chisement of  women  to  dedicate  their  time  and  money  to  the  success  of  this  movement, 
and  by  their  generous  contributions  to  strengthen  those  upon  whom  rests  the  responsi- 
bility of  carrying  forward  this  beneficent  reform. 

"ELIZABETH    CADY    STANTON,    President. 

"SUSAN    B.    ANTHONY,    Vice-Pres't    at    Large. 

"MAY   WRIGHT    SEWALL,    Ch.    Ex.    Committee. 

"JANE  H.   SPOFFORD,  Treasurer." 

t  The  report  of  this  convention,  edited  by  Miss  Anthony  and  Mrs.  Stanton,  is  the 
most  complete  of  any  ever  issued  by  the  association  and  has  been  placed  in  most  of 
the  public  libraries  of  the  United  States. 

%  A  list  of  delegates  and  those  making  State  reports  from  year  to  year  will  be  found 
in  the  last  chapter  of  the  Appendix. 


1 6  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

he  is  just  and  generous  and  chivalric  toward  woman,  and  that  she 
can  not  possibly  need  other  protection  than  he  gives  her  with  his 
own  right  arm — while  he  forgets  that  it  is  from  man  alone  woman 
needs  protection,  and  often  does  she  need  the  right  to  protect  herself 
from  the  avarice,  brutality  or  neglect  of  the  one  nearest  to  her. 
The  only  remedy  for  her,  as  for  man  himself,  in  this  republic,  is  the 
ballot  in  her  hand.  He  thinks  he  is  generous  to  woman  when  he 
supplies  her  wants,  forgetting  that  he  has  first  robbed  her  by  law 
of  all  her  property  in  marriage,  and  then  may  or  may  not  give  her 
that  which  is  her  own  by  right  of  inheritance.  .  .  . 

A  mother,  legally  so,  has  no  right  to  her  child,  the  husband  hav- 
ing the  right  to  will  it  to  whom  he  pleases,  and  even  to  will  away 
from  the  mother  the  unborn  child  at  his  death.  The  wife  does  not 
own  her  own  property,  personal  or  real,  unless  given  for  her  sole  use 
and  benefit.  If  a  husband  may  rent  the  wife's  land,  or  use  it  during 
his  life  and  hers,  and  take  the  increase  or  rental  of  it,  and  after  her 
death  still  hold  it  and  deprive  her  children  of  its  use,  which  he  does 
by  curtesy,  and  if  she  can  not  make  a  will  and  bequeath  it  at  her 
death,  then  I  say  she  is  robbed,  and  insulted  in  the  bargain,  by  such 
so-called  ownership  of  land.  "A  woman  fleeing  from  her  husband 
and  seeking  refuge  or  protection  in  a  neighbor's  house,  the  man 
protecting  her  makes  himself  liable  to  the  husband,  who  can  recover 
damages  by  law."  "If  a  husband  refuse  to  sue  for  a  wife  who  has 
been  slandered  or  beaten,  she  can  not  sue  for  herself."  These  are 
Kentucky  laws. 

Mrs.  Harriette  R.  Shattuck  closed  her  record  for  Massa- 
chusetts by  saying:  "The  dead  wall  of  indifference  is  at  last 
broken  down  and  the  women  'remonstrants,'  by  their  active  re- 
sistance to  our  advancing  progress,  are  not  only  turning  the 
attention  of  the  public  in  our  direction  and  making  the  whole 
community  interested,  but  also  are  paving  the  way  for  future 
political  action  themselves.  By  remonstrating  they  have  ex- 
pressed their  opinion  and  entered  into  politics." 

Mrs.  Abigail  Scott  Duniway  gave  a  full  report  of  the  situa- 
tion in  Oregon,  and  a  hopeful  outlook  for  the  success  of  the 
pending  suffrage  amendment.*  This  was  followed  later  by  a 
strong  address.  A  letter  was  read  from  Mrs.  Sallie  Clay  Ben- 
nett (Ky.).  Dr.  Clemence  S.  Lozier  (N.  Y.)  spoke  briefly,  say- 
ing that  for  eleven  years  her  parlor  had  been  opened  each  month 
for  suffrage  meetings,  and  that  "this  question  is  the  foundation 
of  Christianity;  for  Christians  can  look  up  and  truly  say  'Our 
Father'  only  when  they  can  treat  each  other  as  brothers  and  sis- 

•  The  history  of  the  work  in  the  various  States,  as  detailed  more  or  less  fully  in  these 
reports  from  year  to  year,  will  be  found  recorded  in  the  State  chapters. 


NATIONAL  SUFFRAGE  CONVENTION  OF  1884.        IJ 

ters."  Mrs.  Mary  Seymour  Howell  (N.  Y.)  gave  an  eloquent  ad- 
dress on  The  Outlook,  answering  the  four  stock  questions :  Why 
do  not  more  women  ask  for  the  ballot  ?  Will  not  voting  destroy 
the  womanly  instincts?  Will  not  women  be  contaminated  by 
going  to  the  polls?  Will  they  not  take  away  employment  from 
men? 

At  the  opening  of  the  evening  session  Miss  Anthony  read  a 
letter  from  Mrs.  Millicent  Garrett  Fawcett  of  England,  and  an  ex- 
tract from  a  recent  speech  by  her  husband,  Henry  Fawcett,  mem- 
ber of  Parliament  and  Postmaster  General,  strongly  advocating 
the  removal  of  all  political  disabilities  of  women.  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Boynton  Harbert  (Ills.)  spoke  on  The  Statesmanship  of 
Women,  citing  illustrious  examples  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  (N.  Y.)  gave  a  trenchant  and 
humorous  speech  on  The  Unknown  Quantity  in  Politics,  show- 
ing the  indirect  influence  of  women  which  unfortunately  is  not 
accompanied  with  responsibility.  She  took  up  leading  candidates 
and  their  records,  criticising  or  commending;  illustrated  how  in 
every  department  women  are  neglected  and  forgotten,  and  closed 
as  follows: 

It  is  better  to  have  the  power  of  self-protection  than  to  depend 
on  any  man,  whether  he  be  the  Governor  in  his  chair  of  State,  or 
the  hunted  outlaw  wandering  through  the  night,  hungry  and  cold 
and  with  murder  in  his  heart.  We  are  tired  of  the  pretense  that  we 
have  special  privileges  and  the  reality  that  we  have  none ;  of  the 
fiction  that  we  are  queens,  and  the  fact  that  we  are  subjects;  of  the 
symbolism  which  exalts  our  sex  but  is  only  a  meaningless  mockery. 
We  demand  that  these  shadows  shall  take  substance.  The  coat  of 
arms  of  the  State  of  New  York  represents  Liberty  and  Justice  sup- 
porting a  shield  on  which  is  seen  the  sun  rising  over  the  hills  that 
guard  the  Hudson.  How  are  justice  and  liberty  depicted?  As  a 
police  judge  and  an  independent  voter?  Oh,  no;  as  two  noble  and 
lovely  women !  What  an  absurdity  in  a  State  where  there  is  neither 
liberty  nor  justice  for  any  woman!  We  ask  that  this  symbolism 
shall  assume  reality,  for  a  redeemed  and  enfranchised  womanhood 
will  be  the  best  safeguard  of  justice. 

Mrs.  Blake  was  followed  by  Mrs.  Martha  McClellan  Brown, 

of  Cincinnati  Wesleyan  College,  who  spoke  on  Disabilities  of 

Woman.     Miss  Anthony  read  the  report  from  Missouri  by  Mrs. 

Virginia  L.  Minor,  who  strongly  supported  her  belief  in  the  con- 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 2 


1 8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

stitutional  right  of  women  to  the  franchise.  A  letter  of  greeting 
was  read  from  Miss  Fannie  M.  Bagby,  managing  editor  St.  Louis 
Chronicle;  Miss  Phoebe  W.  Couzins  (Mo.)  gave  a  brilliant  ad- 
dress entitled  What  Answer  ? 

At  the  evening  session  the  hall  was  crowded.  The  speech  of 
Mrs.  Belva  A.  Lockwood  (D.  C),  the  first  woman  admitted  to 
practice  before  the  Supreme  Court,  was  a  severe  criticism  on  the 
disfranchising  of  the  women  in  Utah  as  proposed  by  bills  now 
before  Congress.  It  was  a  clear  and  strong  legal  argument 
which  would  be  marred  by  an  attempt  at  quotation. 

In  an  address  on  Women  Before  the  Law,  the  report  says : 

Mrs.  Helen  M.  Cougar  of  Indiana  traced  the  development  of 
human  liberty  as  shown  in  the  history  of  the  ballot,  which  was  at 
first  given  to  a  certain  class  of  believers  in  orthodox  religions,  then 
to  property  holders,  then  to  all  white  men.  She  showed  how 
class  legislation  had  been  gradually  done  away  with  by  allowing 
believer  and  unbeliever,  rich  and  poor,  white  and  black,  to  vote  un- 
questioned and  unhindered,  and  as  a  result  of  this  onward  march 
of  justice,  the  last  remaining  form  of  class  legislation,  now  shown 
by  the  sex  ballot,  must  pass  away.  She  declared  the  sex-line  to  be 
the  lowest  standard  upon  which  to  base  a  privilege  and  unworthy 
the  civilization  of  the  present  time.  She  answered  many  of  the 
popular  objections  to  woman  suffrage  by  showing  that  if  education 
were  to  be  made  the  test  of  the  ballot,  women  would  not  be  the  dis- 
franchised class  in  America,  as  three-fifths  of  all  graduates  from 
the  public  schools  in  the  last  ten  years  have  been  women.  If  moral- 
ity were  to  be  made  a  test,  women  would  do  more  voting  than  men. 
The  ratio  of  law-abiding  women  to  men  is  as  one  to  every  103 ;  of 
drunken  women  to  drunken  men,  one  to  every  1,000.  Reasoning 
from  these  facts,  if  sobriety,  virtue  and  intelligence  were  necessary 
qualifications,  women  enfranchised  would  largely  reflect  these  ele- 
ments in  the  Government. 

At  noon  on  March  6  the  delegates  were  courteously  received 
at  the  White  House  by  President  Chester  A.  Arthur. 

During  the  afternoon  session  the  Pennsylvania  report  was  pre- 
sented by  Edward  M.  Davis,  son-in-law  of  Lucretia  Mott,  and 
an  exhaustive  account  of  Woman's  Work  in  Philadelphia  by 
Mrs.  Lucretia  L.  Blankenburg.  A  letter  from  Mrs.  Anna  C. 
Wait  (Kas.)  was  read  by  Mrs.  Bertha  H.  Ellsworth,  who  closed 
with  a  tribute  to  Mrs.  Wait  and  a  poem  dedicated  to  Kansas. 

The  guest  of  the  convention,  Mrs.  Jessie  M.  Wellstood  of 
Edinburgh,  presented  a  report  made  by  Miss  Eliza  Wigham, 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1884.  1 9 

secretary  of  the  Scotland  Suffrage  Association,  prefaced  with 
some  earnest  remarks  in  which  she  said : 

To  those  who  are  sitting  at  ease,  folding  their  hands  and  sweetly 
saying:  "I  have  all  the  rights  I  want,  why  should  I  trouble  about 
these  matters?"  let  me  quote  the  burning  words  of  the  grand  old 
prophet  Isaiah,  which  entered  into  my  soul  and  stirred  it  to  action : 
"Rise  up,  ye  women  that  are  at  ease ;  hear  my  voice,  ye  careless 
daughters,  give  ear  unto  my  speech ;  many  days  shall  ye  be  troubled, 
ye  careless  women,  etc."  It  is  just  because  we  fold  our  hands  and 
sit  at  ease  that  so  many  of  our  less  fortunate  fellow  creatures  are 
leading  lives  of  misery,  want,  sin  and  shame. 

In  the  evening  Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall  (Ind.)  delivered  a 
beautiful  address  on  Forgotten  Women,  which  she  .closed  with 
these  words :  "It  was  not  a  grander  thing  to  lead  the  forlorn 
hope  in  1 776,  not  a  grander  thing  to  strike  the  shackles  from  the 
black  slaves  in  1863,  than  it  would  be  in  1884  to  carry  a  presi- 
dential campaign  on  the  basis  of  Political  Equality  to  Women. 
The  career,  the  fame,  to  match  that  of  Washington,  to  match  that 
of  Lincoln,  awaits  the  man  who  will  espouse  the  cause  of  for- 
gotten womanhood  and  introduce  that  womanhood  to  political 
influence  and  political  freedom." 

Interesting  addresses  were  made  by  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Haggart 
(Ind.),  Why  Do  Not  Women  Vote?  and  by  the  Rev.  Phebe  A. 
Hanaford,  pastor  of  the  Second  Universalist  Church,  Jersey 
City,  on  New  Jersey  as  a  Leader — the  first  to  grant  suffrage  to 
women.  They  voted  from  1776  until  the  Legislature  took  away 
the  right  in  1807. 

At  the  afternoon  session  of  the  last  day  Mrs.  Lizzie  D.  Fyler, 
a  lawyer  of  Arkansas,  gave  an  extended  resume  of  the  legal  and 
educational  position  of  women  in  that  State,  which  was  shown  to 
be  in  advance  of  many  of  the  eastern  and  western  States. 
George  W.  Clark,  one  of  the  old  Abolition  singers  contempo- 
raneous with  the  Hutchinsons,  expressed  a  strong  belief  in  wo- 
man suffrage  and  offered  a  tribute  of  song  to  Wendell  Phillips. 
Brief  addresses  were  made  by  Mrs.  J.  Ellen  Foster  (la.)  and 
Mrs.  Morrison  ( Mass. ) .  A  letter  of  greeting  was  read  from  the 
corresponding  secretary,  Rachel  G.  Foster,  Julia  and  Mrs.  Julia 
Foster  ( Penn. ) ,  written  in  Florence,  Italy.  Mrs.  Caroline  Gilkey 
Rogers  described  School  Suffrage  in  Lansingburgh,  N.  Y. 


2O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

An  eloquent  address  was  made  by  Mrs.  Caroline  Hallowell 
Miller  (Md.),  in  which  she  said: 

There  are  a  great  many  excellent  people  in  the  world  who  are 
strongly  prejudiced  against  what  they  designate  "isms,"  but  who  are 
always  glad  of  any  opportunity  of  serving  God,  as  they  express  it. 
I  ask  what  can  finite  beings  do  to  serve  Omnipotence  unless  it  be  to 
exert  all  their  powers  for  the  good  of  humanity,  for  the  uplifting 
of  man,  which,  if  aught  of  ours  could  do,  must  rejoice  our  Creator. 
When  we  see  more  than  one-half  of  the  adult  human  family — rea- 
sonably industrious  and  intelligent,  if  we  make  for  them  no  larger 
claim,  and  certainly  the  raison  d'etre  of  the  other  half — called  to  ac- 
count by  the  laws  of  the  land  and  held  in  strict  obedience  to  them 
without  the  slightest  voice  in  their  making,  with  neither  form  nor 
shadow  of  representation  before  State  or  country,  do  we  not  see  that 
there  rests  upon  the  entire  race  a  stigma  that  materialist  and  idealist, 
agnostic  and  churchman,  should  each  and  all  hasten  to  remove  ? 

"Behold,  the  fields  are  white  unto  harvest,  but  the  laborers  are 
few !"  How  can  it  be  longer  tolerated  that  the  wives  and  mothers, 
the  sisters  and  daughters,  of  a  land  claiming  the  highest  degree  of 
civilization  and  boasting  of  freedom  as  its  watchword,  should  still 
rank  before  the  law  with  criminals,  idiots  and  slaves?  I  feel  as 
confident  as  I  do  of  my  existence,  that  the  apathy  which  we  are  now 
fighting  against,  especially  among  our  own  sex,  springs  mainly 
from  want  of  thought ;  the  women  of  culture  throughout  the  country 
placidly  accept  the  comfortable  conditions  in  which  they  find  them- 
selves. They  receive  without  question  the  formulated  theories  of 
woman's  sphere  as  they  accept  the  formulated  theories  of  the  ortho- 
dox religions  into  which  they  may  chance  to  have  been  born ;  occa- 
sionally an  original  thinker  steps  out  of  the  ranks  and  finds  herself 
after  a  while  with  a  few  followers.  They  remain  but  few,  however, 
for  it  is  too  much  trouble  to  think. 

At  the  evening  session  the  Rev.  Florence  Kollock  ( Ills. )  spoke 
on  The  Ethics  of  Woman  Suffrage,  saying  in  part : 

By  what  moral  right  stands  a  law  upon  the  statute  books  that 
infringes  upon  the  rights  and  duties  of  womanhood,  that  prohibits 
a  mother  from  the  full  discharge  of  the  duties  of  her  sacred  office, 
as  all  are  prohibited  through  the  law  that  forbids  them  the  oppor- 
tunity of  throwing  their  whole  moral  strength,  influence  and  convic- 
tions against  the  existence  and  growth  of  social  and  political  iniqui- 
ties and  in  defense  of  truth  and  purity  ?  The  great  evils  of  our  day 
are  of  such  a  nature  that  all.  regardless  of  moral  principles  or  sex, 
suffer  from  their  effects,  proving  clearly  that  all  have  a  moral  obliga- 
tion in  these  matters,  and  the  fact  that  one  human  being  suffers  from 
an  evil  carries  with  it  the  highest  authority  to  remove  that  evil. 

The  silent  influence  of  woman  has  failed  to  accomplish  the  desired 
good  of  humanity,  has  failed  to  bring  about  the  needed  moral  re- 
forms, and  all  observing  persons  are  ready  to  concede  that  posing 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1884.  21 

is  a  weak  way  of  combating  giant  evils — that  attitudism  can  not  take 
the  place  of  activity.  To  suppress  the  full  utterance  of  the  moral 
convictions  of  those  who  so  largely  mold  the  character  of  the  race  is 
a  crime  against  humanity,  against  progress,  against  God. 

Mrs.  Shattuck,  in  discussing  the  question,  said: 

It  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  improvement  of  the  race  that  the 
manly  and  womanly  elements  shall  be  side  by  side  in  all  walks  of 
life,  and  the  fact  that  our  social  status,  our  literature  and  our  educa- 
tional systems  have  been  greatly  improved  by  woman's  co-operation 
with  man,  points  to  the  eternal  truth  that  man  and  woman  must  work 
hand  in  hand  in  the  State  also,  in  order  that  it  shall  be  uplifted  and 
saved.  Woman  herself  will  not  be  harmed  by  the  ballot,  for  the 
acquisition  of  greater  responsibilities  improves  and  not  degrades 
the  recipient  thereof.  If  the  ballot  has  made  man  worse  it  will  make 
woman  worse,  and  not  otherwise.  Whoever  studies  the  history  of 
the  race  from  age  to  age  and  nation  to  nation  finds  the  world  has 
advanced  and  not  retrograded  by  giving  responsibility  to  the  indi- 
vidual. The  opposition  to  woman  suffrage  strikes  a  blow  at  the 
foundation-stone  of  this  republic,  which  is  self-representation  by 
means  of  the  ballot.  At  the  bottom  of  this  opposition  is  a  subtle  dis- 
trust of  American  institutions,  an  idea  of  "restricted  suffrage"  which 
is  creeping  into  our  republic  through  so-called  aristocratic  channels. 

A  distinguishing  feature  of  this  convention  was  the  large  num- 
ber of  tetters  and  reports  sent  from  abroad,  undoubtedly  due  to 
the  fact  that  Mrs.  Stanton  and  Miss  Anthony  had  spent  the  pre- 
ceding year  in  Europe,  making  the  acquaintance  and  arousing 
the  interest  of  foreign  men  and  women  in  the  status  of  the  suf- 
frage question  in  the  United  States.  Among  these  letters  was 
one  from  Miss  Frances  Power  Cobbe  in  which  she  said:  "The 
final  and  complete  emancipation  of  our  sex  ere  long,  I  think,  is 
absolutely  certain.  All  is  going  well  here  and  I  hope  with  you 
in  America;  and  with  all  my  heart,  dear  Miss  Anthony,  I  wish 
you  and  the  woman's  convention  triumphant  success." 

Miss  Jane  Cobden,  daughter  of  Richard  Cobden,  said  in  the 
course  of  her  letter:  "I  feel  all  the  more  certain  of  the  right- 
eousness of  the  work  in  which  I  am  so  much  engaged,  because  I 
know  from  words  spoken  and  written  by  my  father  as  far  back 
as  1845,  that  nad  he  been  living  at  the  present  day  I  should  have 
had  his  sympathy.  He  was  nothing  if  not  consistent,  and  so  he 
said  in  a  speech  delivered  in  London  that  year  on  Free  Trade: 
There  are  many  ladies  present,  I  am  happy  to  say.  Now  it  is  a 


22  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

very  anomalous  and  singular  fact  that  they  can  not  vote  them- 
selves and  yet  they  have  the  power  of  conferring  votes  upon 
other  people.  I  wish  they  had  the  franchise,  for  they  would  often 
make  a  much  better  use  of  it  than  their  husbands.' ' 

Miss  Caroline  Ashurst  Biggs,  for  many  years  editor  of  the 
Englishwoman's  Review,  sent  a  full  report  of  the  situation  in 
England.  There  was  a  letter  of  greeting  also  from  Miss  Lydia 
Becker,  editor  of  the  Women's  Suffrage  Journal  and  member 
of  the  Manchester  School  Board.  John  P.  Thomasson  and  Peter 
A.  Taylor,  members  of  Parliament,  favored  woman  suffrage  in 
the  strongest  terms,  the  latter  saying:  "Justice  never  can  be 
done  to  the  rising  generations  till  the  influence  of  the  mother  is 
freed  from  the  ignominy  of  exclusion  from  the  great  political 
and  social  work  of  the  day."  Mrs.  Thomasson,  daughter  of 
Margaret  Bright  Lucas,  and  Mrs.  Taylor,  known  as  the  or- 
ganizer of  the  women's  suffrage  movement  in  England,  also 
sent  cordial  good  wishes.* 

The  wife  of  Jacob  Bright,  who  was  largely  responsible  for  the 
Married  Women's  Property  Bill,  presented  a  review  of  present 
suffrage  laws ;  his  sister,  Mrs.  Priscilla  Bright  McLaren,  wife  of 
Duncan  McLaren,  M.  P.,  and  the  great  Abolitionist,  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Pease  Nichol  of  Edinburgh,  sent  long  and  valuable  letters. 
Mrs.  McLaren  wrote : 

I  was  in  Exeter  Hall,  London,  on  the  day  our  Parliament  assem- 
bled ;  a  prayer-meeting  was  held  there  the  whole  of  that  day.  Earn- 
est were  the  intercessions  that  the  hearts  of  our  rulers  might  be 
influenced  to  repeal  every  vestige  of  the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts ; 
and  the  women  especially  prayed  that  our  men  might  be  led  to  send 
representatives  to  Parliament  of  much  higher  morality  than  such 
Acts  testified  to,  and  that  the  eyes  of  the  women  of  their  country 
might  be  opened  to  see  the  iniquity  of  such  legislation.  I  venture 
to  express  that  the  burden  of  my  prayer  had  been,  whilst  sitting  in 
that  meeting,  that  the  eyes  of  the  women  there  assembled,  and  of  the 
women  throughout  our  country,  might  be  opened  to  see  that  we  could 
not  expect  men  who  did  not  consider  morality  to  be  a  necessary 
part  of  their  own  character,  to  regard  it  as  needful  for  the  men 
who  were  to  represent  them  in  Parliament ;  that  we  needed  a  new 

"Letters  were  received  from  S.  Alfred  Steinthal,  treasurer  of  the  Manchester  society; 
F.  Henrietta  Muller.  member  of  the  London  School  Board;  Frances  Lord,  poor-law 
guardian  in  London;  Eliza  Ormc,  England's  first  woman  lawyer;  Dr.  Agnes  McLaren, 
Hannah  Ford,  Mary  A.  Estlin,  Anna  M.  and  Mary  Priestman,  Margaret  Priestman 
Tanner,  Rebecca  Moore,  Margaret  E.  Parker,  all  distinguished  English  women. 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1884.  23 

moral  power  to  be  brought  into  exercise  at  our  elections,  and  as 
Parliament  was  meeting  that  day  and  one  of  its  first  acts  would  be 
to  bring  in  a  new  reform  bill,  that  we  might  unite  in  prayer  that 
the  petitions  so  long  put  forth  by  many  of  the  women  of  this  land, 
that  their  claim  to  the  suffrage  should  be  included  in  this  new  Act 
for  the  extended  representation  of  the  people,  might  be  righteously 
answered ;  and  the  power  given  to  women  not  only  to  pray  for  what 
was  just  and  right,  but  to  have  by  the  Parlimentary  vote  a  direct 
power  to  promote  that  higher  legislation  which  they  all  so  much  de- 
sired. I  know  nothing  which  calls  for  more  faith  and  patience  than 
to  hear  women  pleading  for  justice,  and  refusing  to  help  get  it  in  the 

only  legitimate  way 

Whilst  we  have  our  anomalies  here,  you  have  a  glaring  inconsist- 
ency in  your  country.  It  is  not  a  property  qualification  which  gives 
a  vote  in  America.  Is  not  every  human  being,  who  is  of  age,  accord- 
ing to  your  Constitution,  entitled  to  equal  justice  and  freedom? 
Are  you  women  not  human  beings?  The  lowest  and  most  ignorant 
man  who  leaves  any  shore  and  lands  on  yours,  ere  he  has  earned  a 
home  or  made  family  ties,  becomes  a  citizen  of  your  great  country ; 
whilst  your  own  women,  who  during  a  life-time  may  have  done  much 
service  and  given  much  to  the  State,  are  denied  the  right  accorded 
to  that  man,  however  low  his  condition  may  be.  You  are  fighting 
to  overcome  this  great  monopoly  of  citizenship.  We  watch  your 
proceedings  with  deep  interest.  We  rejoice  in  your  successes  and 
sympathize  with  you  in  your  endeavors  to  gain  fresh  victories. 

Congratulatory  letters  were  received  from  Ewing  Whittle, 
M.  D.,  of  the  Royal  Academy,  Liverpool,  and  Miss  Isabella  M.  S. 
Tod,  the  well-known  reformer  of  Belfast.  M.  Leon  Richer,  the 
eminent  writer  of  Paris,  and  Mile.  Hubertine  Auclert,  editor  of 
La  Citoyenne,  sent  cordial  words  of  co-operation.  There  were 
also  greetings  from  Mrs.  Ernestine  L.  Rose,  a  Polish  exile,  one 
.of  the  first  women  lecturers  in  America;  from  the  wife  and 
daughter  of  A.  A.  Sargent,  U.  S.  Minister  to  Berlin ;  from  Theo- 
dore Stanton;  Miss  Florence  Kelley,  daughter  of  the  Hon. 
William  D.  Kelley ;  the  wife  of  Moncure  D.  Conway ;  Rosamond, 
daughter  of  Robert  Dale  Owen ;  Mrs.  Charlotte  B.  Wilbour  and 
Dr.  Frances  E.  Dickinson,  all  Americans  residing  abroad. 

Among  the  noted  men  and  women  of  the  United  States  who 
sent  letters  endorsing  equal  suffrage,  were  George  William  Curtis, 
William  Lloyd  Garrison,  U.  S.  Senators  Henry  B.  Anthony  and 
Henry  W.  Blair,  the  Hon.  George  W.  Julian,  the  Hon.  William 
I.  Bowditch,  Robert  Purvis,  the  Rev.  Anna  Oliver,  Mrs.  Zerelda 


24  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

G.  Wallace,  the  "mother"  of  Ben  Hur,  and  Mrs.  Abby  Hutchin- 
son  Patton.* 

To  this  assembly  Bishop  Matthew  Simpson,  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  sent  almost  his  last  public  utterance : 

For  more  than  thirty  years  I  have  been  in  favor  of  woman  suf- 
frage. I  was  led  to  this  position  not  by  the  consideration  of  the 
question  of  natural  rights  or  of  alleged  injustice  or  of  inequality 
before  the  law,  but  by  what  I  believed  would  be  the  influence  of 
woman  on  the  great  moral  questions  of  the  day.  Were  the  ballot 
in  the  hands  of  women,  I  am  satisfied  that  the  evils  of  intemperance 
would  be  greatly  lessened,  and  I  fear  that  without  that  ballot  we 
shall  not  succeed  against  the  saloons  and  kindred  evils  in  large 
cities.  You  will  doubtless  have  many  obstacles  placed  in  your  way ; 
there  will  be  many  conflicts  to  sustain ;  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  the 
coming  years  will  see  the  triumph  of  your  cause ;  and  that  our  higher 
civilization  and  morality  will  rejoice  in  the  work  which  enlightened 
woman  will  accomplish. 

The  resolutions  presented  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Boynton  Harbert 
(Ills.),  chairman  of  the  committee,  were  adopted. 

WHEREAS,  The  fundamental  idea  of  a  republic  is  the  right  of  self- 
government,  the  right  of  every  citizen  to  choose  her  own  representa- 
tives to  enact  the  laws  by  which  she  is  governed ;  and 

WHEREAS,  This  right  can  be  secured  only  by  the  exercise  of  the 
suffrage ;  therefore 

Resolved,  That  the  ballot  in  the  hand  of  every  qualified  citizen 
constitutes  the  true  political  status  of  the  people,  and  to  deprive  one- 
half  of  the  people  of  the  use  of  the  ballot  is  to  deny  the  first  principle 
of  a  republican  government. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  Congress  to  submit  a  Sixteenth 

*  California — Clarina  I.  H.  Nichols,  Mrs.  S.  J.  Manning,  Sarah  Knox  Goodrich;  Colo- 
rado— Dr.  Alida  C.  Avery,  Henry  C.  Dillon;  Connecticut — Frances  Ellen  Burr;  District 
of  Columbia — Cornelia  A.  Sheldon;  Illinois — Dr.  Alice  B.  Stockham,  Ada  H.  Kepley, 
Pearl  Adams,  Lucinda  B.  Chandler,  Annette  Porter,  M.  D.;  Iowa — Caroline  A.  Ingham, 
Jonathan  and  Mary  V.  S.  Cowgill,  M.  A.  Root;  Kansas — Ex-Governor  and  Mrs.  J.  P. 
St  John,  Mary  A.  Humphrey,  Lorenzo  Westover,  Susan  E.  Wattles,  Mrs.  Van  Coleman; 
Kentucky — Ellen  B.  Dietrick;  Massachusetts — Lilian  Whiting;  Michigan — Catharine  A. 
F.  Stebbins,  Mrs.  R.  M.  Young,  Cordelia  F.  Briggs;  Maine — Ellen  French  Foster, 
Lavina  M.  Snow;  Minnesota — Eliza  B.  Gamble,  Laura  Howe  Carpenter,  Mrs.  T.  B. 
Walker;  Missouri — Elizabeth  Avery  Meriwether,  Annie  R.  Irvine;  Nebraska — Judge 
and  Mrs.  A.  D.  Yocum,  Madame  Charlton  Edholm,  Harriet  S.  Brooks;  New  Jersey — 
Theresa  Walling  Seabrook,  Augusta  Cooper;  New  Hampshire — Armenia  S.  White, 
Eliza  Nforrill;  New  York — Madame  Clara  Neymann,  Mary  F.  Seymour,  Jean  Brooks 
Greenleaf,  Mary  F.  Gilbert,  Mathilde  F.  Wendt,  Helen  M.  Loder,  Augusta  Lilienthal, 
Amy  Post,  Sarah  II.  Hallock,  Elizabeth  Oakes  Smith;  Ohio — Frances  Dana  Gage;  Penn- 
sylvania— Adeline  Thomson,  Deborah  A.  Pennock,  Matilda  Hindman,  Hattie  M.  Du 
Bois,  Mrs.  Lovisa  C.  McCullough;  Rhode  Island — Catherine  C.  Knowles;  Texas — 
Jennie  Bland  Beauchamp;  Virginia — N.  O.  Town;  Washington  Ty. — Barbara  J.  Thomp- 
son; Wisconsin — Almeda  B.  Gray,  Evaleen  L.  Mason,  Mathilde  Anneke;  Canada — 
Dr.  Emily  H.  Stowe. 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1884.  25 

Amendment  to  the  National  Constitution,  securing  to  women  the 
right  of  suffrage ;  first,  because  the  disfranchisement  of  one-half  of 
the  people  deprives  that  half  of  the  means  of  self -protection  and 
support,  limits  their  resources  for  self-development  and  weakens 
their  influence  on  popular  thought;  second,  because  giving  all 
men  the  absolute  authority  to  decide  the  social,  civil  and  political 
status  of  women,  creates  a  spirit  of  caste,  unrepublican  in  ten- 
dency; third,  because  in  depriving  the  State  of  the  united  wisdom 
of  man  and  woman,  that  important  "consensus  of  the  competent," 
our  form  of  government  becomes  in  fact  an  oligarchy  of  males  in- 
stead of  a  republic  of  the  people. 

Resolved,  That  since  the  women  citizens  of  the  United  States  have 
thus  far  failed  to  receive  proper  recognition  from  any  of  the  existing 
political  parties,  we  recommend  the  appointment  by  this  convention 
of  a  committee  on  future  political  action. 

Resolved,  That  as  there  is  a  general  awakening  to  'the  rights  of 
women  in  all  European  countries,  the  time  has  arrived  to  take  the 
initiative  steps  for  a  grand  International  Woman  Suffrage  Conven- 
tion, to  be  held  in  either  England  or  America,  and  that  for  this  pur- 
pose a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  at  this  convention  to  corres- 
pond with  leading  persons  in  different  countries  interested  in  the 
elevation  of  women. 

Miss  Couzins  submitted  the  following,  which  was  unanimously 
accepted : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Wendell  Phillips  the  nation  has 
lost  one  of  its  greatest  moral  heroes,  its  most  eloquent  orator  and 
honest  advocate  of  justice  and  equality  for  all  classes ;  and  woman 
in  her  struggle  for  enfranchisement  has  lost  in  him  a  steadfast 
friend  and  wise  counselor.  His  consistency  in  the  application  of  re- 
publican principles  of  government  brought  him  to  the  woman  suf- 
frage platform  at  the  inauguration  of  the  movement,  where  he  re- 
mained faithful  to  the  end.  The  National  Woman  Suffrage  Associa- 
tion in  convention  assembled,  would  express  their  gratitude  for  his 
brave  words  for  woman  before  the  Legislatures  of  so  many  States 
and  on  so  many  platforms,  both  in  England  and  America,  and  would 
extend  their  sincere  sympathy  to  her  who  was  his  constant  inspira- 
tion to  the  utterance  of  the  highest  truth,  his  noble  wife,  Ann  Green 
Phillips. 

Resolved,  That  the  services  of  Anna  Ella  Carroll  of  Maryland, 
who  directed  the  armies  of  the  republic  up  the  Tennessee  river  and 
then  southward  to  the  center  of  the  Confederate  power  to  its  base 
in  northern  Alabama,  cutting  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad 
and  thus  breaking  the  backbone  of  the  rebellion,  entitle  her  justly 
to  the  name  of  the  military  genius  of  the  war ;  that  her  long  strug- 
gle for  recognition  at  the  hands  of  our  Government  commends  her 
to  the  sympathy  of  all  who  believe  in  truth  and  justice;  and  the 
continued  refusal  of  the  Government  to  acknowledge  this  woman's 
service,  which  saved  to  us  the  Union,  defeated  national  bankruptcy 


26  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

and  prevented  the  intervention  of  foreign  powers,  merits  the  con- 
demnation of  all  lovers  of  right,  and  we  hereby  not  only  send  to  her 
our  loving  recognition  and  sympathy,  but  pledge  ourselves  to  arouse 
this  nation  to  the  fact  of  her  services.* 

The  plan  of  work  submitted  by  Mrs.  Cougar,  chairman  of  the 
committee,  was  adopted.!  This  was  supplemented  by  sugges- 
tions of  the  national  board  as  to  methods  of  organization.  \ 

*  For  a  full  account  of  Miss  Carroll's  services  and  such  congressional  action  as  was 
taken,  see  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  II,  pp.  3  and  863.  It  is  the  story  of  a 
national  disgrace. 

t  Resolved,  'That  we  hold  a  convention  in  every  unorganized  State  and  Territory  during 
the  present  year,  as  far  as  possible,  at  the  capital. 

Resolved,  That  we  consider  the  enfranchisement  of  the  women  citizens  of  the  United 
States  the  paramount  issue  of  the  hour;  therefore 

Resolved,  That  we  will,  by  all  honorable  methods,  oppose  the  election  of  any  presi- 
dential candidate  who  is  a  known  opponent  to  woman  suffrage,  and  we  recommend 
similar  action  on  the  part  of  our  State  associations  in  regard  to  State  and  congressional 
candidates;  and  further 

Resolved,  That  the  officers  of  this  convention  shall  communicate  with  presidential 
nominees  of  the  several  political  parties  and  ascertain  their  position  upon  this  question. 

Resolved,  That  all  Legislatures  shall  be  requested  to  memorialize  Congress  upon  the 
submission  of  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution;  this  to  be  the  duty  of  the 
vice-presidents  of  the  States  and  Territories. 

WHEREAS,  The  National  Government,  through  Congress  and  the  Supreme  Court,  has 
persistently  refused  to  protect  the  women  of  the  several  States  and  Territories  in  "the 
right  of  the  citizen  to  vote;"  therefore 

Resolved,  That  this  association  most  earnestly  protests  against  national  interference 
to  abolish  the  right  where  it  has  been  secured  by  the  Legislature — as,  for  example, 
the  Edmunds-Tucker  Bill,  which  proposes  to  disfranchise  all  the  women  of  Utah,  thus 
inflicting  the  most  degrading  penalty  upon  the  innocent  equally  with  the  guilty,  by 
robbing  them  of  their  most  sacred  right  of  citizenship. 

t  The  method  of  organization  must  be  governed  by  circumstances.  In  some  localities 
it  is  best  to  call  a  public  meeting,  in  others  to  invite  the  friends  of  the  movement  to  a 
private  conference.  Both  women  and  men  should  be  members  and  co-operate,  and  the 
society  should  be  organized  on  as  broad  and  liberal  a  basis  as  possible. 

Hold  conventions,  picnics,  teas,  and  occasionally  have  a  lecture  from  some,  one  who 
will  draw  a  large  crowd.  Utilize  your  own  talent;  encourage  your  young  women  and 
men  to  speak,  read  essays  and  debate  on  the  question.  Hold  public  celebrations  of  the 
birthdays  of  eminent  women,  and  in  that  way  interest  many  who  would  not  attend  a 
pronounced  suffrage  meeting. 

Persons  who  can  not  be  induced  to  attend  a  public  meeting  will  often  accept  an  invita- 
tion to  a  parlor  conference  or  entertainment  where  woman  suffrage  can  be  made  the 
subject  of  conversation.  Cultured  women  and  men,  who  "have  given  the  matter  no 
thought,"  can  be  interested  through  a  paper  presenting  the  life  and  work  of  such  women 
as  Margaret  Fuller,  Abigail  Adams,  Lucrctia  Mott,  etc.,  or  showing  the  rise  and 
progress  of  the  woman  suffrage  movement,  giving  short  biographies  of  the  leaders. 

Advocate  suffrage  through  your  local  papers.  Send  them  short,  pithy  communica- 
tions, and,  when  possible,  secure  a  column  in  each,  to  be  edited  by  the  society. 

Invite  pastors  of  churches  to  select  from  the  numerous  appropriate  texts  in  the  Bible, 
and  preach  occasionally  upon  this  subject. 

A  strong  effort  should  be  made  to  circulate  literature.  Every  society  should  own  a 
copy  of  the  Woman  Question  in  Europe,  by  Theodore  Stanton;  of  the  History  of  Woman 
Suffrage,  by  Mrs.  Stanton,  Miss  Anthony  and  Mrs.  Gage;  of  Mrs.  Robinson's  Massa- 
chusetts in  the  Woman  Suffrage  Movement;  of  T.  W.  Higginson's  Common  Sense  for 
Women;  of  John  Stuart  Mill's  Subjection  of  Women,  and  of  Frances  Power  Cobbe's 
Duties  of  Women.  These  will  furnish  ammunition  for  arguments  and  debates. 

Suffrage  leaflets  should  be  circulated  in  parlors  and  places  of  business;  and  "pockets" 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1884.  2/ 

The  following  officers  were  elected :  president,  Elizabeth 
Cady  Stanton,  N.  Y. ;  vice-presidents-at-large,  Susan  B.  An- 
thony, Matilda  Joslyn  Gage,  N.  Y.,  the  Rev.  Olympia  Brown, 
Wis.,  Phoebe  W.  Couzins,  Mo.,  Abigail  Scott  Duniway,  Ore. ; 
recording  secretaries,  Ellen  H.  Sheldon,  D.  C,  Julia  T.  Foster, 
Penn. ;  Pearl  Adams,  Ills. ;  corresponding  secretary,  Rachel  G. 
Foster  (Avery),  Penn.;  foreign  corresponding  secretaries,  Caro- 
line Ashurst  Biggs,  Lydia  E.  Becker,  England ;  Marguerite  Berry 
Stanton,  Hubertine  Auclert,  France;  treasurer,  Jane  H.  Spof- 
ford,  D.  C. ;  auditors,  Ruth  C.  Dennison,  Julia  A.  Wilbur.  D.  C. ; 
chairman  of  executive  committee,  May  Wright  Sewall,  Ind.,  and 
vice-presidents  in  every  State. 

The  financial  report  showed  the  receipts  for  1884  to  be  in 
round  numbers  $2,000,  and  a  balance  of  $300  still  remaining  in 
the  treasury. 

In  her  address  closing  the  convention  Miss  Anthony  said : 

The  reason  men  are  so  slow  in  conceding  political  equality  to 
women  is  because  they  can  not  believe  that  women  suffer  the  humili- 
ation of  disfranchisement  as  they  would.  A  dear  and  noble  friend, 
one  who  aided  our  work  most  efficiently  in  the  early  days,  said  to  me, 
"Why  do  you  say  the  'emancipation  of  women  ?'  "  I  replied,  "Be- 
cause women  are  political  slaves !"  Is  it  not  strange  that  men  think 
that  what  to  them  would  be  degradation,  slavery,  is  to  women  eleva- 
tion, liberty?  Men  put  the  right  of  suffrage  for  themselves  above 
all  price,  and  count  the  denial  of  it  the  most  severe  punishment.  If 
a  man  serving  a  term  in  State's  prison  has  one  friend  outside  who 
cares  for  him,  that  friend  will  get  up  a  petition  begging  the  Governor 
to  commute  his  sentence,  if  for  not  more  than  forty-eight  hours 
prior  to  its  expiration,  so  that,  when  he  comes  out  of  prison  he  may 
not  be  compelled  to  suffer  the  disgrace  of  disfranchisement  and  may 
not  be  doomed  to  walk  among  his  fellows  with  the  mark  of  Cain 
upon  his  forehead.  The  only  penalty  inflicted  upon  the  men,  who 
a  few  years  ago  laid  the  knife  at  the  throat  of  the  Nation,  was  that 
of  disfranchisement,  which  all  men,  loyal  and  .disloyal,  felt  was  too 
grievous  to  be  borne,  and  our  Government  made  haste  to  permit 
every  one,  even  the  leader  of  them  all,  to  escape  from  this  humilia- 
tion, this  degradation,  and  again  to  be  honored  with  the  crowning 

should  be  filled  and  hung  in  railroad  stations,  post-offices  and  hotels,  that  "he  who  runs 
may  read."     Over  these  should  be  printed  "Woman  Suffrage — Take  and  Read." 

All  the  above  methods  aim  rather  at  the  education  of  the  popular  mind  than  the 
judiciary  and  legislative  branches  of  the  Government.  The  next  step  is  to  educate  the 
representatives  in  Congress  and  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  principles 
of  constitutional  law  and  republican  government,  that  they  may  understand  the  justice 
of  the  demands  for  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  which  shall  forbid  the  several  States  to  deny. 
or  abridge  the  rights  of  women  citizens  of  the  United  States. 


28  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

right  of  United  States  citizenship.  How  can  men  thus  delude  them- 
selves with  the  idea  that  what  to  them  is  ignominy  unbearable  is  to 
women  honor  and  glory  unspeakable.* 

An  able  address  from  Mrs.  Matilda  Joslyn  Gage  (N.  Y.)  ar- 
rived too  late  for  the  convention.  It  was  a  denial  of  the  superi- 
ority of  man  from  a  scientific  standpoint,  and  was  so  original  in 
thought  that  it  deserves  to  be  reproduced  almost  in  full : 

.  .  .  .  We  must  bear  in  mind  the  old  theologic  belief  that  the 
earth  was  flat,  the  center  of  the  universe,  around  which  all  else  re- 
volved— that  all  created  things,  animate  and  inanimate,  were  made 
for  man  alone — that  woman  was  not  part  of  the  original  plan  of 
creation  but  was  an  after-thought  for  man's  special  use  and  benefit. 
So  that  a  science  which  proves  the  falsity  of  any  of  these  theological 
conceptions  aids  in  the  overthrow  of  all. 

The  first  great  battle  fought  by  science  for  woman  was  a  Geo- 
graphical one  lasting  for  twelve  centuries.  But  finally,  Columbus, 
sustained  and  sent  on  his  way  by  Isabella  in  1492,  followed  by 
Magellan's  circumnavigation  of  the  globe  twenty  years  later,  settled 
the  question  of  the  earth's  rotundity  and  was  the  first  step  toward 
woman's  enfranchisement. 

Another  great  battle  was  in  progress  at  the  same  time  and  the 
second  victory  was  an  Astronomical  one.  Copernicus  was  born,  the 
telescope  discovered,  the  earth  sank  to  its  subordinate  place  in  the 
solar  system  and  another  battle  for  woman  was  won. 

Chemistry,  long  opposed  under  the  name  of  Alchemy,  at  last 
gained  a  victory,  and  by  its  union  of  diverse  atoms  began  to  teach 
men  that  nature  is  a  system  of  nuptials,  and  that  the  feminine  is 
everywhere  present  as  an  absolute  necessity  of  life. 

Geology  continued  this  lesson.  It  not  only  taught  the  immense 
age  of  creation,  but  the  motherhood  of  even  the  rocks. 

Botany  was  destined  for  a  fierce  battle,  as  when  Linnaeus  declared 
the  sexual  nature  of  plants,  he  was  shunned  as  having  degraded  the 
works  of  God  by  a  recognition  of  the  feminine  in  plant  life. 

Philology  owes  its  rank  to  Catherine  II  of  Russia,  who,  in  as- 
sembling her  great  congress  of  deputies  from  the  numerous  prov- 
inces of  her  empire,  gave  the  first  impetus  to  this  science.  Max 
Miiller  declares  the  evidence  of  language  to  be  irrefragable,  and  it  is 
the  only  history  we  possess  prior  to  historic  periods.  Through 
Philology  we  ascend  to  the  dawn  of  nations  and  learn  of  the  domes- 
tic, religious  and  governmental  habits  of  people  who  left  neither 
monuments  nor  writing  to  speak  for  them.  From  it  we  learn  the 
original  meaning  of  our  terms,  father  and  mother.  Father,  says' 
Miiller,  who  is  a  recognized  philological  authority,  is  derived  from 
the  root  "Pa,"  which  means  to  protect,  to  support,  to  nourish. 
Among  the  earliest  Aryans,  the  word  mater  (mother),  from  the 

•  Muw  Anthony  never  wrote  her  addresses  and  no  stenographic  reports  were  made. 
Brief  and  inadequate  newspaper  accounts  are  all  that  remain. 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1884.  2Q 

root  "Ma,"  signified  maker ;  creation  being  thus  distinctively  associ- 
ated with  the  feminine.  Taylor,  in  his  Primitive  Culture  says  the 
husband  acknowledged  the  offspring  of  his  wife  as  his  own  as  thus 
only  had  he  a  right  to  claim  the  title  of  father. 

While  Philology  has  opened  a  new  fount  of  historic  knowledge, 
Biology,  the  seventh  and  most  important  witness,  the  latest  science 
in  opposition  to  divine  authority,  is  the  first  to  deny  the  theory  of 
man's  original  perfection.  Science  gained  many  triumphs,  con- 
quered many  superstitions,  before  the  world  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
result  toward  which  each  step  was  tending — the  enfranchisement  of 
woman. 

Through  Biology  we  learn  -that  the  first  manifestation  of  life  is 
feminine.  The  albuminous  protoplasm  lying  in  silent  darkness  on 
the  bottom  of  the  sea,  possessing  within  itself  all  the  phenomena  ex- 
hibited by  the  highest  forms  of  life,  as  sensation,  motion,  nutrition 
and  reproduction,  produces  its  like,  arid  in  all  forms  of  life  the 
capacity  for  reproduction  undeniably  stamps  the  feminine.  Not 
only  does  science  establish  the  fact  that  primordial  life  is  feminine, 
but  it  also  proves  that  a  greater  expenditure  of  vital  force  is  requi- 
site for  the  production  of  the  feminine  than  for  the  masculine: 

The  experiments  of  Meehan,  Gentry,  Treat,  Herrick,  Wallace, 
Combe,  Wood  and  many  others,  show  sex  to  depend  upon  environ- 
ment and  nutrition.  A  meager,  contracted  environment,  together 
with  innutritious  or 'scanty  food,  results  in  a  weakened  vitality  and 
the  birth  of  males ;  a  broad,  generous  environment  together  with 
abundant  nutrition,  in  the  birth  of  females.  The  most  perfect  plant 
produces  feminine  flowers ;  the  best  nurtured  insect  or  animal  dem- 
onstrates the  same  law.  From  every  summary  of  vital  statistics  we 
gather  further  proof  that  more  abundant  vitality,  fewer  infantile 
deaths  and  greater  comparative  longevity  belong  to  woman.  It  is  a 
recognized  fact  that  quick  reaction  to  a  stimulus  is  proof  of  superior 
vitality.  In  England,  where  very  complete  vital  statistics  have  been 
recorded  for  many  years,  it  is  shown  that  while  the  mean  duration 
of  man's  life  within  the  last  thirty  years  has  increased  five  per  cent, 
that  of  woman  has  increased  more  than  eight  per  cent.  Our  own 
last  census  (tenth)  shows  New  Hampshire  to  be  the  State  most 
favorable  for  longevity.  While  one  in  seventy-four  of  its  inhabit- 
ants is  eighty  years  old,  among  native  white  men  the  proportion  is 
but  one  to  eighty,  while  among  native  white  women,  the  very  great 
preponderance  of  one  to  fifty-eight  is  shown. 

That  the  vitality  of  the  world  is  at  a  depressed  standard  is  proven 
by  the  fact  that  more  boys  are  born  than  girls,  the  per  cent,  varying 
in  different  countries.  Male  infants  are  more  often  deformed,  suffer 
from  abnormal  characteristics,  and  more  speedily  succumb  to  in- 
fantile diseases  than  female  infants,  so  that  within  a  few  years,  not- 
withstanding the  large  proportion  of  male  births,  the  balance  of  life 
is  upon  the  feminine  side.  Many  children  are  born  to  a  rising  peo- 
ple, but  this  biological  truth  is  curiously  supplemented  by  the  fact 
that  the  proportion  of  girls  born  among  such  people,  is  always  in 


3O  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

excess  of  boys ;  while  in  races  dying  out,  the  very  large  proportion 
of  boys'  births  over  those  of  girls  is  equally  noticeable. 

From  these  hastily  presented  scientific  facts  it  is  manifest  that 
woman  possesses  in  a  higher  degree  than  man  that  adaptation  to  the 
conditions  surrounding  her  which  is  everywhere  accepted  as  evidence 
of  superior  vitality  and  higher  physical  rank  in  life ;  and  when  biol- 
ogy becomes  more  fully  understood  it  will  also  be  universally  ac- 
knowledged that  the  primal  creative  power,  like  the  first  manifesta- 
tion of  life,  is  feminine. 


CHAPTER  III. 

CONGRESSIONAL    HEARINGS   AND   REPORTS   OF    1884. 

Both  Senate  and  House  of  the  preceding  Congress  had  ap- 
pointed Select  Committees  on  Woman  Suffrage  to  whom  all  pe- 
titions, etc.,  were  referred.*  The  Senate  of  the  Forty-eighth 
Congress  renewed  this  committee,  but  the  House  declined  to  do 
so.  Early  in  the  session,  Dec.  19,  1883,  the  Committee  on  Rules 
refused  to  report  such  a  committee  but  authorized  Speaker  War- 
ren Keifer  of  Ohio  to  present  the  question  to  the  House.  A 
spirited  debate  followed  which  displayed  the  sentiment  of  mem- 
bers against  the  question  of  woman  suffrage  itself.  John  H. 
Reagan  of  Texas  was  the  principal  opponent,  saying  in  the 
course  of  his  remarks : 

I  hope  that  it  will  not  be  considered  ungracious  in  me  that  I 
oppose  the  wish  of  any  lady.  But  when  she  so  far  misunderstands 
her  duty  as  to  want  to  go  to  working  on  the  roads  and  making  rails 
and  serving  in  the  militia  and  going  into  the  army,  I  want  to  protect 
her  against  it.  I  do  not  think  that  sort  of  employment  suits  her  sex 
or  her  physical  strength.  I  think  also,  when  we  attempt  to  over- 
turn the  social  status  of  the  world  as  it  has  existed  for  six  thousand 
years,  we  ought  to  begin  somewhere  where  we  have  a  constitutional 
basis  to  stand  upon 

But  I  suppose  whoever  clamors  for  action  here  finds  a  warrant 
for  it  in  the  clamor  outside,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  look  to  the 
Constitution  for  it ;  it  is  not  necessary  to  regard  the  interests  of  civ- 
ilization and  the  experience  of  ages  in  determining  our  social  as  well 
as  our  political  policy ;  but  we  will  arrange  it  so  that  there  shall  be 
no  one  to  nurse  the  babies,  no  one  to  superintend  the  household,  but 
all  shall  go  into  the  political  scramble,  and  we  shall  go  back  as  rap- 
idly as  we  can  march  into  barbarism.  That  is  the  effect  of  such 
doings  as  this,  disregarding  the  social  interests  of  society  for  a 
clamor  that  never  ought  to  have  been  made. 

Mr.  Reagan  then  rambled  into  a  long  discussion  of  the  rights 

*  For  an  interesting  account  of  the  Struggle  to  secure  these  committees  see  History 
of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  198. 

31 


32  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

allowed  under  the  Constitution,  although  no  action  had  been  pro- 
posed except  the  mere  appointment  of  a  Select  Committee,  to 
whom  all  questions  relating  to  woman  suffrage  might  be  referred, 
such  as  already  existed  in  the  Senate. 

James  B.  Belford  of  Colorado  in  an  able  reply  said : 

I  have  no  doubt  that  this  House  will  be  gratified  with  the  profound 
respect  which  the  gentleman  from  Texas  has  expressed  for  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  country.  The  last  distinguished  act  with  which  he 
was  connected  was  its  attempted  overthrow ;  and  a  man  who  was 
engaged  in  an  enterprise  of  that  kind  can  fight  a  class  to  whom  his 
mother  belonged.  I  desire  to  know  whether  a  woman  is  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States  or  an  outcast  without  any  political  rights  what- 
ever  

What  is  the  proposition  presented  by  the  gentleman  from  Ohio? 
That  we  will  constitute  a  committee  to  whom  shall  be  referred  all 
petitions  presented  by  women.  Is  not  the  right  of  petition  a  consti- 
tutional right  ?  Has  not  woman,  in  this  country  at  least,  risen  above 
the  horizon  of  servitude,  discredit  and  disgrace,  and  has  she  not  a 
right,  representing  as  she  does  in  many  instances  great  questions  of 
property,  to  present  her  appeals  to  this  National  Council  and  have 
them  judiciously  considered?  I  think  it  is  due  to  our  wives,  daugh- 
ters, mothers  and  sisters  to  afford  them  an  avenue  through  which 
they  can  legitimately  and  judicially  reach  the  ear  of  this  great  nation. 

Moved  by  Mr.  Reagan's  attacks,  Mr.  Keifer  made  a  strong 
plea  for  the  rights  of  women,  which  deserves  a  place  in  history, 
saying  in  part : 

We  must  remember  that  we  stand  here  committed  in  a  large  sense 
to  the  matter  of  woman  suffrage.  In  the  Territories  of  Wyoming 
and  Utah  for  fifteen  years  past  women  have  had  the  right  to  vote 
on  all  questions  which  men  can  vote  upon ;  and  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  has  stood  by  without  disapproving  the  legislative  acts 
of  those  Territories.  And  we  now  have  before  us  a  law  passed  at  the 
last  session  of  the  Legislature  of  Washington,  giving  to  its  women 
the  right  to  vote.  We  have  not  passed  upon  the  question  one  way  or 
the  other,  but  we  have  the  right  to  pass  upon  it.  This,  I  think, 
seems  to  dispose  sufficiently  of  the  question  of  constitutional  legis- 
lative power  without  trampling  upon  the  toes  of  any  State-rights 
man. 

The  right  of  petition  belongs  to  all  persons  within  the  limits  of 
our  republic,  and  with  the  right  of  petition  goes  the  right  on  the  part 
of  the  Congress  through  constitutional  means  to  grant  relief.  Do 
gentlemen  claim  it  is  unconstitutional  to  amend  the  Constitution? 
I  know  that  claim  was  made  at  one  time  on  the  floor  of  this  House 
and  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate.  When  it  was  proposed  to  abolish 
slavery  in  the  United  States,  distinguished  gentlemen  argued  that  it 


CONGRESSIONAL    HEARINGS    AND    REPORTS   OF    1884.  33 

was  unconstitutional  to  amend  the  Constitution  so  as  to  abolish 
slavery.  .  But  all  that  has  passed  away  and  we  now  find  ourselves, 
in  the  light  of  the  present,  seeing-  clearly  that  we  may  amend  the 
Constitution  in  any  way  we  please,  pursuing  always  the  proper  con- 
stitutional methods  of  doing  so. 

There  are  considerations  due  to  the  women  of  this  country  which 
ought  not  to  be  lightly  thrust  aside.  For  thirty-five  years  they  have 
been  petitioning  and  holding  conventions  and  demanding  that  certain 
relief  should  be  granted  them,  to  the  extent  of  allowing  them  to 
exercise  the  right  of  suffrage.  In  that  thirty-five  years  we  have 
seen  great  things  acomplished.  We  have  seen  some  of  the  subtleties 
of  the  Common  Law,  which  were  spread  over  this  country,  swept 
away.  There  is  hardly  anybody  anywhere  who  now  adheres  to  the 
doctrine  that  a  married  woman  can  not  make  a  contract,  and  that 
she  has  no  rights  or  liabilities  except  those  which  are  centered  in  her 
husband.  Even  the  old  Common-Law  maxim  that  "husband  and 
wife  are  one,  and  that  one  the  husband,"  has  been  largely  modified 
under  the  influence  of  these  patriotic,  earnest  ladies  who  have  taken 
hold  of  this  question  and  enlightened  the  world  upon  it.  There  are 
now  in  the  vaults  of  this  Capitol  hundreds  of  thousands  of  petitions 
for  relief,  sent  in  here  by  women  and  by  those  who  believed  that 
women  ought  to  have  certain  rights  and  privileges  of  citizenship 
granted  to  them.  For  sixteen  years  there  has  been  held  in  this  city, 
annually,  a  convention  composed  of  representative  women  from  all 
parts  of  the  country.  These  conventions,  as  well  as  various  State 
and  local  conventions,  have  been  appealing  for  relief ;  and  they 
ought  not  to  be  met  by  the  statement  that  we  will  not  even  give  them 
the  poor  privilege  of  a  committee  to  whom  their  petitions  and  me- 
morials may  be  referred. 

We  have  made  some  progress.  In  1871  there  was  a  very  strong 
minority  report  made  in  this  House  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage. 
Notwithstanding  the  notion  that  we  must  stand  by  all  our  old 
ideas,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  after  deliberately 
considering  the  question,  admitted  a  woman  to  practice  at  the  bar  of 
that  Court.*  A  hundred  years  ago,  in  the  darkness  of  which  some 
gentlemen  desire  still  to  live,  I  suppose  they  would  not  have  done 
this.  Favorable  reports  on  this  subject  were  made  by  the  Com- 
mittee on  Privileges  and  Elections  in  the  Senate  of  the  Forty-fifth 
Congress,  and  in  the  last  Congress  by  a  Select  Committee  of  the 
Senate  and  of  the  House.  The  Legislatures  of  many  of  the  States 
have  expressed  their  judgment  on  the  matter.  There  has  been  a 
great  deal  of  progress  in  that  direction.  The  Senate  and  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  last  Congress  provided  Select  Committees 
to  whom  all  matters  relating  to  woman  suffrage  could  be  referred. 
Will  this  House  take  a  step  backward  on  this  question  ? 

*  But  it  was  after  five  years  of  persistent  appeal  to  Congress  by  Mrs.  Belva  A.  Lock- 
wood,  and  the  enactment  of  a  law,  by  overwhelming  majorities  in  both  Houses,  prohibit- 
ing the  Supreme  Court  from  denying  admission  to  lawyers  on  account  of  sex,  that  this 
act  of  justice  was  accomplished. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 3 


34  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

I  want  especially  to  notify  the  gentleman  from  Texas  that  we  are 
not  standing  still  on  this  matter.  Eleven  States — New  Hampshire, 
Vermont.  Massachusetts,  New  York,  Michigan,  Kentucky,  Minne- 
sota, Nebraska,  Kansas,  Colorado  and  Oregon — have  authorized 
women  to  vote  for  school  trustees  and  members  of  school  boards. 
Kentucky  extends  this  right  to  widows  who  have  children  and  pay 
taxes.  Women  are  nominated  and  voted  for  not  only  in  the  eleven 
States  and  three  Territories,  but  in  nearly  all  the  Northern  and 
Western  States.  Pennsylvania,  Illinois,  Iowa  and  other  States  have 
large  numbers  of  women  county  superintendents  of  public  schools. 
And  let  me  say,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Democratic  party,  that  in  the 
great,  progressive  western  State  of  Kansas  the  Democracy  rose  so 
high  as  to  nominate  and  vote  for  a  woman  for  State  Superintendent 
of  Public  Instruction  at  the  last  election.  So  there  has  been  a  little 
growing  away  from  those  old  ideas  and  notions,  even  among  the 
Democracy.  We  are  permitting  women  to  fill  public  offices.  Why 
should  they  not  participate  in  the  election  of  officers  who  are  to 
govern  them  ?  We  require  them  to  pay  taxes  and  there  are  a  great 
many  burdens  imposed  upon  them.  Kansas,  Michigan,  Colorado 
and  Nebraska  have  in  recent  years  submitted  the  question  of  woman 
suffrage  to  a  vote  of  the  people  and  more  than  one-third  of  the 
electors  of  each  voted  in  favor.  Oregon  has  now  a  similar  proposi- 
tion pending. 

By  the  laws  of  all  the  States  women  are  required  to  pay  taxes; 
but  we  are  practically  working  on  the  theory  that  these  women  shall 
be  taxed  without  the  right  of  representation.  Taxation  without 
representation  led  to  the  separation  of  the  colonies  from  the  mother 
country.  They  were  not  so  much  opposed  to  being  taxed  as  they 
were  to  being  taxed  without  representation.  Trie  patriots  of  that 
day  conceived  the  idea  that  there  was  a  principle  somewhere  in- 
volved in  the  right  of  representation.  So  they  evolved  and  form- 
ulated that  Revolutionary  maxim,  "Millions  for  defense,  but  not  one 
cent  for  tribute."  The  basis  of  that  maxim  was  that  they  would  not 
give  to  the  payment  of  taxes  without  the  right  of  representation. 
Revolution  and  war  made  representation  and  taxation  correlative. 
But  the  States  tax  all  women  on  their  property.  For  illustration, 
8,000  women  of  Boston  and  34.000  in  Massachusetts  pay  $2,000,000 
of  taxes,  one-eleventh  of  the  entire  tax  of  that  great  and  wealthy 
State.  The  same  ratio  will  be  found  to  prevail  in  all  the  other 
States. 

Progress  has  gone  on  elsewhere  than  in  the  United  States.  Eng- 
land has  been  moving  forward  in  this  matter,  and  we  should  not 
stand  behind  her  in  anything 

I  am  one  of  those  who  do  not  believe  that  to  give  to  women  com- 
mon rights  and  privileges  will  degrade  them,  but  on  the  contrary  I 
believe  it  will  ennoble  them ;  and  I  believe  further  that  to  put  them  on 
an  equality  in  the  matter  of  rights  and  privileges  with  men  will  en- 
hance their  charms  and  not  lessen  their  beauty. 

The  vote  resulted — yeas,  85;  nays,  124;  not  voting,  112.     Of 


CONGRESSIONAL    HEARINGS    AND    REPORTS    OF    1884.  35 

the  affirmative  votes  72  were  Republican,  13  Democratic;  of  the 
negative,  4  were  Republican,  120  Democratic. 

In  January,  1884,  after  the  return  of  the  members  from  their 
holiday  recess,  Miss  Anthony  addressed  letters  to  the  112  ab- 
sentees, asking  each  how  he  would  have  voted  had  he  been  pres- 
ent. Fifty-two  replies  were  received,  26  from  Republicans,  all 
of  whom  would  have  voted  yes;  26  from  Democrats,  10  of  whom 
would  have  voted  yes,  10,  no,  and  6  could  not  tell  which  way  they 
would  have  voted. 

In  the  hope  that  this  respectable  minority  could  be  increased 
to  a  majority,  the  Hon.  John  D.  White  (Ky.)  made  a  further 
attempt,  Feb.  7,  1884,  to  secure  the  desired  committee,  say- 
ing in  his  speech  upon  this  question: 

It  seems  to  me  to  be  an  anomalous  state  of  affairs  that  in  a  great 
Nation  like  this  one-half  of  the  people  should  have  no  committee  to 
which  they  could  address  their  appeals. 

Women  consider  they  have  the  same  political  rights  as  men.  I 
might  read  from  such  distinguished  authority  as  Miss  Susan  B. 
Anthony,  whose  name  has  been  jeered  in  her  native  State,  and 
who  has  been  prosecuted  there  for  voting,  but  who  stands  before  the 
American  people  to-day  the  peer  of  any  woman  in  the  nation,  and 
the  superior  of  half  the  men  occupying  a  representative  capacity. 
It  does  seem  to  me  hard  that  when  a  woman  like  this  comes  to 
Congress,  instructed  by  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  her  sex, 
in  order  to  be  heard  she  should  be  compelled  to  hang  around  the 
doors  of  the  Judiciary  Committee,  or  of  some  other  committee,  pre- 
eminently occupied  with  other  matters.  But  we  are  told  there  is  no 
room.  Yet  we  have  a  room  where  lobbyists  of  every  sort  are  pro- 
vided for.  And  are  we  to  be  told  that  no  room  in  this  wing  of  the 
Capitol  can  be  had  where  respectable  women  of  the  nation  can  pre- 
sent arguments  for  the  calm  consideration  of  their  friends  in  this 
body?  I  ask  simply  for  the  opportunity  to  be  afforded  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  political  rights  of  women  to  be  heard  in  making 
respectful  argument  to  the  law-making  power  of  the  nation. 

Byron  M.  Cutcheon  (Mich.)  also  spoke  in  favor  of  the  com- 
mittee, saying: 

Ever  since  the  organization  of  this  House  I  have  received  petitions 
from  my  constituents  in  regard  to  this  matter  of  the  political  rights 
of  women,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  committee  to  which  they  could 
properly  be  referred.  A  few  years  since,  when  this  question  of 
woman  suffrage  was  submitted  to  the  people  in  my  State,  more  than 
40,000  electors  were  in  favor  of  it.  It  seems  to  me,  without  com- 
mitting ourselves  on  the  question  of  the  political  rights  of  women, 


36  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

it  is  but  respectful  to  a  very  large  number  of  people  in  all  our  States 
that  there  should  be  a  committee  to  receive  and  consider  and  report 
upon  these  petitions  which  come  to  us  from  time  to  time. 

The  House  refused  to  allow  a  vote. 

The  Senate  Committee  on  Woman  Suffrage  granted  a  hearing 
March  7,  1884,  at  10:30  a.  m.,  in  the  Senate  reception  room,  to 
the  speakers  and  delegates  in  attendance  at  the  convention,  the  en- 
tire committee  being  present.*  In  introducing  the  speakers 
Miss  Anthony  said:  "This  is  the  sixteenth  year  that  we  have 
come  before  Congress  in  person,  and  the  nineteenth  by  petitions, 
asking  national  protection  for  the  citizen's  right  to  vote,  when 
the  citizen  happens  to  be  a  woman." 

MRS.  HARRIET  R.  SHATTUCK  (Mass.)  :  We  canvassed  four  local- 
ities in  the  city  of  Boston,  two  in  smaller  cities,  two  in  country  dis- 
tricts and  made  one  record  also  of  school  teachers  in  nine  schools 
of  one  town.  The  teachers  were  unanimously  in  favor  of  woman 
suffrage,  and  in  the  nine  localities  we  found  that  the  proportion  of 
women  in  favor  was  very  much  larger  than  of  those  opposed.  The 
total  of  women  canvassed  was  814.  Those  in  favor  were  405,  those 
opposed,  44;  indifferent,  166;  refused  to  sign,  160;  not  seen,  39. 
These  canvasses  were  made  by  respectable,  responsible  women,  and 
they  swore  before  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  as  to  the  truth  of  their 
statements.  Thus  we  have  in  Massachusetts  this  reliable  canvass 
of  women  showing  those  in  favor  are  to  those  opposed  as  nine  to 
one 

MRS.  MAY  WRIGHT  SEWALL  (Ind.)  :  .  .  .  .  My  friend  has 
said  that  men  have  always  kept  us  just  a  little  below  them  where 
they  could  shower  upon  us  favors  and  they  have  done  that  gener- 
ously. So  they  have,  but,  gentlemen,  has  your  sex  been  more  gener- 
ous to  women  than  they  have  been  generous  toward  you  in  their 
favors  ?  Neither  can  dispense  with  the  service  of  the  other,  neither 
can  dispense  with  the  reverence  of  the  other  or  with  the  aid  of  the 
other  in  social  life.  The  men  of  this  nation  are  rapidly  finding 
that  they  can  not  dispense  with  the  service  of  woman  in  business  life. 
I  know  that  they  are  also  feeling  the  need  of  the  moral  support  of 
woman  in  their  political  life. 

You,  gentlemen,  by  lifting  the  women  of  the  nation  into  political 
equality  would  simply  place  us  where  we  could  lift  you  where  you 
never  yet  have  stood — upon  a  moral  equality  with  us.  I  do  not 
speak  to  you  as  individuals  but  as  the  representatives  of  your  sex, 
as  I  stand  here  the  representative  of  mine,  and  never  until  we  are 
your  equals  politically  will  the  moral  standard  for  men  be  what 

'This  committee  was  composed  of  Senators  Cockrell  (Mo.),  Fair  (Nev.),  Brown 
(Ga.),  Anthony  (R.  I.),  Blair  (N.  H.).  Palmer  (Mich.).  Lapham  (N.  Y.). 


CONGRESSIONAL    HEARINGS    AND    REPORTS   OF    1884.  37 

it  now  is  for  women,  and  it  is  none  too  high.  Let  woman's  standard 
be  still  more  elevated,  and  let  yours  come  up  to  match  it. 

We  do  not  appeal  to  you  as  Republicans  or  as  Democrats.  ,  We 
were  reared  with  our  brothers  under  the  political  belief  and  faith  of 
our  fathers,  and  probably  as  much  influenced  by  that  rearing  as  they 
were.  WTe  shall  go  to  strengthen  both  the  parties,  neither  the  one 
nor  the  other  the  more,  probably.  So  this  is  not  a  partisan  measure ; 
it  is  a  just  measure,  which  is  our  due,  because  of  what  we  are,  men 
and  women  both,  by  virtue  of  our  heritage  and  our  one  Father,  our 
one  Mother  eternal. 

MRS.  HELEN  M.  COUGAR  (Ind.)  :  I  maintain  there  is  no  political 
question  paramount  to  that  of  woman  suffrage  before  the  people  of 
America  to-day.  Political  parties  would  have  us  believe  that  tariff 
is  the  great  question  of  the  hour.  It  is  an  insult  to  the  intelligence 
of  the  present  to  say  that  when  one-half  of  the  citizens  of  this  repub- 
lic are  denied  a  direct  voice  in  making  the  laws  under  which  they 
shall  live,  that  the  tariff,  the  civil  rights  of  the  negro,  or  any  other 
question  which  can  be  brought  up,  is  equal  to  the  one  of  giving 
political  freedom  to  women. 

I  ask  you  to  let  me  have  a  voice  in  the  laws  under  which  I  shall 
live  because  the  older  empires  of  the  earth  are  sending  to  the  United 
States  a  population  drawn  very  largely  from  their  asylums,  peni- 
tentiaries, jails  and  poor-houses.  They  are  emptying  those  men 
upon  our  shores,  and  within  a  few  months  they  are  intrusted  with 
the  ballot,  the  law-making  power  in  this  republic,  and  they  and  their 
representatives  are  seated  in  official  and  legislative  positions.  I,  as 
an  American-born  woman,  enter  my  protest  at  being  compelled  to 
live  under  laws  made  by  this  class  of  men  while  I  am  denied  the 
protection  that  can  only  come  from  the  ballot.  While  I  would  not 
have  you  take  this  right  from  those  men  whom  we  invite  to  our 
shores,  I  do  ask  you,  in  the  face  of  this  immense  foreign  immigra- 
tion, to  enfranchise  the  tax-paying,  intelligent,  moral,  native-born 
women  of  America. 

.  .  .  .  We  have  in  our  State  the  signatures  of  over  5,000  of 
the  school  teachers  asking  for  woman's  ballot.  I  ask  you  if  the 
Government  does  not  need  the  voice  of  those  5,000  educated  teachers 
as  much  as  it  needs  the  voice  of  the  240  criminals  who  are,  on  an 
average,  sent  out  of  the  penitentiary  of  Indiana  each  year,  to  go  to 
the  ballot-box  upon  every  question,  and  make  laws  under  which 
those  teachers  must  live,  and  under  which  the  mothers  of  our  State 
must  keep  their  homes  and  rear  their  children  ? 

On  behalf  of  the  mothers  of  this  country  I  demand  that  their 
hands  shall  be  loosened  before  the  ballot-box,  and  that  they  shall 
have  the  privilege  of  throwing  the  mother  heart  into  the  laws  which 
shall  follow  their  sons  not  only  to  the  age  of  majority,  but  even  after 
their  hair  has  turned  gray  and  they  have  seats  in  the  United  States 
Congress ;  yes,  to  the  very  confines  of  eternity.  This  can  be  done 
in  no  indirect  way ;  it  can  not  be  done  by  silent  influence ;  it  can  not 
be  done  by  prayer.  While  I  do  not  underestimate  the  power  of 
prayer,  I  say  give  me  my  ballot  with  which  to  send  statesmen  in- 


38  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

stead  of  modern  politicians  into  our  legislative  halls.  I  would  rather 
have  that  ballot  on  election  day  than  the  prayers  of  all  the  disfran- 
chised women  in  the  universe ! 

.  .  .  .  Our  forefathers  did  not  object  to  taxation,  but  they 
did  object  to  taxation  without  representation,  and  we  object  to  it. 
We  are  willing  to  contribute  our  share  to  the  support  of  this  Gov- 
ernment, as  we  always  have  done;  but  we  demand  our  little  yes 
and  no  in  the  form  of  the  ballot  so  that  we  shall  have  a  direct  in- 
fluence in  distributing  the  taxes. 

I  am  amenable  to  the  gallows  and  the  penitentiary,  and  it  is  no 
more  than  right  that  I  shall  have  a  voice  in  framing  the  laws  under 
which  I  shall  be  rewarded  or  punished.  It  is  written  in  the  law  of 
every  State  in  this  Union  that  a  person  tried  in  the  courts  shall  have 
a  jury  of  his  peers ;  yet  so  long  as  the  word  "male"  stands  as  it  does 
in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  the  States,  no  woman 
can  have  a  jury  of  her  peers.  I  protest  in  the  name  of  justice  against 
going  into  the  court-room  and  being  compelled  to  run  the  gauntlet 
of  the  gutter  and  saloon — yes,  even  of  the  police  court  and  of  the 
jail — as  is  done  in  selecting  a  male  jury  to  try  the  interests  of 
woman,  whether  relating  to  life,  property  or  reputation 

The  political  party  that  presumes  to  fight  the  moral  battles  of  the 
future  must  have  the  women  in  its  ranks.  We  are  non-partisan. 
We  come  as  Democrats,  Republicans,  Prohibitionists  and  Green- 
backers,  and  if  there  were  half  a  dozen  other  political  parties  some 
of  us  would  affiliate  with  them.  We  ask  this  beneficent  action  upon 
your  part,  because  we  believe  the  intelligence  and  justice  of  the  hour 
demand  it.  We  ask  you  in  the  name  of  equity  and  humanity  alone, 
and  not  in  that  of  any  party 

You  ask  us  if  we  are  impatient.  Yes ;  we  are  impatient.  Some 
of  us  may  die,  and  I  want  our  grand  old  standard-bearer,  Susan  B. 
Anthony,  whose  name  will  go  down  to  history  beside  those  of 
George  Washington,  Abraham  Lincoln  and  Wendell  Phillips — I 
want  that  woman  to  go  to  Heaven  a  free  angel  from  this  republic. 
The  power  lies  in  your  hands  to  make  all  women  free. 

MRS.  CAROLINE  GILKEY  ROGERS  (N.  Y.)  :  It  is  often  said  to  us 
that  when  all  the  women  ask  for  the  ballot  it  will  be  granted.  Did 
all  the  married  women  petition  the  Legislatures  of  their  States  to 
secure  to  them  the  right  to  hold  in  their  own  name  the  property 
which  belonged  to  them?  To  secure  to  the  poor  forsaken  wife  the 
right  to  her  earnings?  All  the  women  did  not  ask  for  these  rights, 
but  all  accepted  them  with  joy  and  gladness  when  they  were  ob- 
tained, and  so  it  will  be  with  the  franchise.  Woman's  right  to  self- 
government  does  not  depend  upon  the  numbers  that  demand  it,  but 
upon  precisely  the  same  principles  on  which  man  claims  it  for  him- 
self. Where  did  man  get  the  authority  which  he  now  exercises  to 
govern  one-half  of  humanity ;  from  what  power  the  right  to  place 
woman,  his  helpmeet  in  life,  in  an  inferior  position?  Came  it  from 
nature?  Nature  made  woman  his  superior  when  it  made  her  his 
mother — his  equal  when  it  fitted  her  to  hold  the  sacred  position  of 
wife.  Did  women  meet  in  council  and  voluntarily  give  up  all  their 


CONGRESSIONAL    HEARINGS    AND    REPORTS    OF    1884.  39 

right  to  be  their  own  law-makers  ?  The  power  of  the  strong  over  the 
weak  makes  man  the  master.  Thus,  and  thus  only,  does  he  gain 
the  authority.  > 

It  is  all  very  well  to  say,  "Convert  the  women."  While  we  most 
heartily  wish  they  could  all  feel  as  we  do,  yet  when  it  comes  to  the 
decision  of  this  great  question  they  are  mere  ciphers,  for  if  it  is 
settled  by  the  States  it  will  be  left  to  the  men,  not  to  the  women,  to 
decide.  Or  if  suffrage  comes  to  women  through  a  Sixteenth 
Amendment  to  the  National  Constitution,  it  will  be  decided  by  Leg- 
islatures elected  by  men  only.  In  neither  case  will  women  have  an 
opportunity  of  passing  upon  the  question.  So  reason  tells  us  we 
must  devote  our  best  efforts  to  converting  those  to  whom  we  must 
look  for  the  removal  of  the  barriers  which  now  prevent 'our  exer- 
cising the  right  of  suffrage 

MRS.  MARY  SEYMOUR  HOWELL  (N.  Y.)  :  We  ask  for  the  ballot 
for  the  good  of  the  race.  Huxley  says :  "Admitting/  for  the  sake 
of  argume/it,  that  woman  is  the  weaker,  mentally  and  physically, 
for  that  very  reason  she  should  have  the  ballot  and  every  help  which 
the  world  can  give  her."  When  you  debar  from  your  councils  and 
legislative  halls  the  purity,  the  spirituality  and  the  love  of  woman, 
then  those  councils  are  apt  to  become  coarse  and  brutal.  God  gave 
us  to  you  to  help  you  in  this  little  journey  to  a  better  land,  and  by 
our  love  and  our  intellect  to  help  make  our  country  pure  and  noble, 
and  if  you  would  have  statesmen  you  must  have  stateswomen  to 
bear  them 

MRS.  LILLIE  DEVEREUX  BLAKE  (N.  Y.)  :  It  is  often  said  that  we 
have  too  many  voters ;  that  the  aggregate  of  vice  and  ignorance 
among  us  should  not  be  increased  by  giving  women  the  right  of 
suffrage.  In  the  enormous  immigration  which  pours  upon  our 
shores  every  year,  numbering  nearly  half  a  million,  there  come  twice 
as  many  men  as  women.  What  does  this  mean?  It  means  a  con- 
stant preponderance  of  the  masculine  over  the  feminine ;  and  it 
means  also,  of  course,  a  preponderance  of  the  voting  power  of  the 
foreign  men  as  compared  to  the  native  born  men.  To  those  who 
fear  that  our  American  institutions  are  threatened  by  this  gigantic 
inroad  of  foreigners,  I  commend  the  reflection  that  the  best  safe- 
guard against  any  such  preponderance  of  foreign  influence  is  to  put 
the  ballot  in  the  hands  of  the  American  born  woman,  and  of  all  other 
women  also,  so  that  if  the  foreign  born  man  overbalances  us  in  num- 
bers we  shall  be  always  in  a  majority  on  the  side  of  the  liberty  which 
is  secured  by  our  institutions 

MRS.  ELIZABETH  BOYNTON  HARBERT:  From  the  great  State  of 
Illinois  I  come,  representing  200,000  men  and  women  of  that  State 
who  have  recorded  their  written  petitions  for  woman's  ballot,  90,000 
of  these  being  citizens  under  the  law,  male  voters  ;  those  90,000  have 
signed  petitions  for  the  right  of  woman  to  vote  on  the  temperance 
question ;  90,000  women  also  signed  those  petitions ;  50,000  men  and 
women  signed  the  petitions  for  the  school  vote,  and  60,000  more 
have  signed  petitions  that  the  full  right  of  suffrage  might  be  accord- 
ed to  woman. 


4O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

This  growth  of  public  sentiment  has  been  occasioned  by  the  needs 
of  the  children  and  the  working  women  of  that  great  State.  I  come 
here  to  ask  you  to  make  a  niche  in  the  statesmanship  and  legislation 
of  the  nation  for  the  domestic  interests  of  the  people.  You  recog- 
nize that  the  masculine  thought  is  more  often  turned  to  material 
and  political  interests.  I  claim  that  the  mother-thought,  the  woman- 
element  needed,  is  to  supplement  the  statesmanship  of  American 
men  on  political  and  industrial  affairs  with  domestic  legislation. 

In  her  closing  address  Miss  Anthony  took  up  the  question  of 
obtaining  suffrage  for  women  through  the  States  instead  of  Con- 
gress and  said : 

My  answer  is  that  I  do  not  wish  to  see  the  women  of  the  thirty- 
eight  States  of  this  Union  compelled  to  leave  their  homes  to  can- 
vass each  one  of  these,  school  district  by  school  district.  It  is  ask- 
ing too  much  of  a  moneyless  class.  The  joint  earnings  o$  the  mar- 
riage co-partnership  in  all  the  States  belong  legally  to  the  husband. 
It  is  only  that  wife  who  goes  outside  the  home  to  work  whom  the  law 
permits  to  own  and  control  the  money  she  earns.  Therefore,  to  ask 
of  women,  the  vast  majority  of  whom  are  without  an  independent 
dollar  of  their  own,  to  make  a  thorough  canvass  of  their  several 
States,  is  asking  an  impossibility. 

We  have  already  made  the  experiment  of  canvassing  four  States 
—Kansas  in  1867,  Michigan  in  1874,  Colorado  in  1877,  Nebraska  in 
1882 — and  in  each,  with  the  best  campaign  possible  for  us  to  make, 
we  obtained  a  vote  of  only  one-third.  One  man  out  of  every  three 
voted  for  the  enfranchisement  of  the  women  of  his  household,  while 
two  out  of  every  three  voted  against  it 

We  beg,  therefore,  that  instead  of  insisting  that  a  majority  of  the 
individual  voters  must  be  converted  before  women  shall  have  the 
franchise,  you  will  give  us  the  more  hopeful  task  of  appealing  to  the 
representative  men  in  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States.  You 
need  not  fear  that  we  shall  get  suffrage  too  quickly  if  Congress  sub- 
mits the  proposition,  for  even  then  we  shall  have  a  long  siege  in  go- 
ing from  Legislature  to  Legislature  to  secure  the  vote  of  three- 
fourths  of  the  States  necessary  to  ratify  the  amendment.  It  may  re- 
quire twenty  years  after  Congress  has  taken  the  initiative  step,  to 
obtain  action  by  the  requisite  number,  but  once  submitted  by  Con- 
gress it  always  will  stand  until  ratified  by  the  States. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton's  paper  on  Self -Government  the 
Best  Means  of  Self -Development  was  read  to  the  committee.  A 
few  extracts  will  serve  to  show  its  broad  scope : 

The  basic  idea  of  a  republic  is  the  right  of  self-government,  the 
right  of  every  citizen  to  choose  his  own  representatives  and  to  have 
a  voice  in  the  laws  under  which  he  lives.  As  this  right  can  be  se- 
cured only  by  the  exercise  of  the  suffrage,  the  ballot  in  the  hand  of 


CONGRESSIONAL    HEARINGS    AND    REPORTS    OF    1884.  4! 

every  qualified  citizen  constitutes  the  true  political  status  of  the  peo- 
ple in  a  republic. 

The  right  of  suffrage  is  simply  the  right  to  govern  one's  self. 
Every  human  being  is  born  into  the  world  with  this  right,  and  the 
desire  to  exercise  it  comes  naturally  with  the  feeling  of  life's  re- 
sponsibilities. Those  only  who  are  capable  of  appreciating  this  dig- 
nity, can  measure  the  extent  to  which  women  are  defrauded,  and 
they  only  can  measure  the  loss  to  the  councils  of  the  nation  of  the 
wisdom  of  representative  women.  They  who  say  that  women  do  not 
desire  the  right  of  suffrage,  that  they  prefer  masculine  domination 
to  self-government,  falsify  every  page  of  history,  every  fact  in  hu- 
man experience. 

It  has  taken  the  whole  power  of  the  civil  and  canon  law  to  hold 
woman  in  the  subordinate  position  which  it  is  said  she  willingly  ac- 
cepts. If  woman  naturally  has  no  will,  no  self-assertion,  no  opin- 
ions of  her  own,  what  means  the  terrible  persecution  of  the  sex  un- 
der all  forms  of  religious  fanaticism,  culminating  in  witchcraft  in 
which  scarce  one  wizard  to  a  thousand  witches  was  sacrificed?  So 
powerful  and  merciless  has  been  the  struggle  to  dominate  the  fem- 
inine element  in  humanity,  that  we  may  well  wonder  at  the  steady, 
determined  resistance  maintained  by  woman  through  the  centuries. 
To  every  step  of  progress  which  she  has  made  from  slavery  to  the 
partial  freedom  she  now  enjoys,  the  Church  and  the  State  alike  have 
made  the  most  cruel  opposition,  and  yet,  under  all  circumstances  she 
has  shown  her  love  of  individual  freedom,  her  desire  for  self-gov- 
ernment, while  her  achievements  in  practical  affairs  and  her  courage 
in  the  great  emergencies  of  life  have  vindicated  her  capacity  to  ex- 
ercise this  right 

The  right  of  suffrage  in  a  republic  means  self-government,  and 
self-government  means  education,  development,  self-reliance,  inde- 
pendence, courage  in  the  hour  of  danger.  That  women  may  attain 
these  virtues  we  demand  the  exercise  of  this  right.  Not  that  we 
suppose  we  should  at  once  be  transformed  into  a  higher  order  of  be- 
ings with  all  the  elements  of  sovereignty,  wisdom,  goodness  and 
power  full-fledged,  but  because  the  exercise  of  the  suffrage  is  the 
primary  school  in  which  the  citizen  learns  how  to  use  the  ballot  as  a 
weapon  of  defense ;  it  is  the  open  sesame  to  the  land  of  freedom  and 
equality.  The  ballot  is  the  scepter  of  power  in  the  hand  of  every  cit- 
izen. Woman  can  never  have  an  equal  chance  with  man  in  the 
struggle  of  life  until  she  too  wields  this  power.  So  long  as  women 
have  no  voice  in  the  Government  under  which  they  live  they  will  be 
an  ostracised  class,  and  invidious  distinctions  will  be  made  against 
them  in  the  world  of  work.  Thrown  on  their  own  resources  they 
have  all  the  hardships  that  men  have  to  encounter  in  earning  their 
daily  bread,  with  the  added  disabilities  which  grow  out  of  disfran- 
chisement.  Men  of  the  republic,  why  make  life  harder  for  your 
daughters  by  these  artificial  distinctions?  Surely,  if  governments 
were  made  to  protect  the  weak  against  the  strong,  they  are  in  greater 
need  than  your  stalwart  sons  of  every  political  right  which  can  give 
them  protection,  dignity  and  power 


42  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  disfranchisement  of  one-half  the  people  places  a  dangerous 
power  in  the  hands  of  the  other  half.  All  history  shows  that  one 
class  never  did  legislate  with  justice  for  another,  and  all  philosophy 
shows  they  never  can,  as  the  relations  of  class  grow  out  of  either 
natural  or  artificial  advantages  which  one  has  over  the  other  and 
which  it  will  maintain  if  possible.  It  is  folly  to  say  that  women  are 
not  a  class,  so  long  as  there  is  any  difference  in  the  code  of  laws  for 
men  and  \vomen,  any  discrimination  in  the  customs  of  society,  giv- 
ing advantages  to  men  over  women ;  so  long  as  in  all  our  State  con- 
stitutions women  are  ranked  with  lunatics,  idiots,  paupers  and  crim- 
inals. When  you  say  that  one-half  the  people  shall  be  governed  by 
the  other  half,  surely  the  class  distinction  is  about  as  broad  as  it 
can  be 

The  disfranchisement  of  one-half  the  people  deprives  the  State  of 
the  united  wisdom  of  man  and  woman — that  "consensus  of  the  com- 
petent" so  necessary  in  national  affairs — making  our  Government  an 
oligarchy  of  males,  instead  of  a  republic  of  the  people,  thus  per- 
petuating with  all  its  evils  a  dominant  masculine  civilization.  But 
in  answer  to  this  it  is  said  that  although  women  do  not  vote,  yet 
they  have  an  indirect  influence  in  Government  through  their  hus- 
bands and  brothers.  Yes,  an  "irresponsible  power,"  of  all  kinds  of 
influence  the  most  dangerous 

The  dogged,  unreasonable  persecutions  of  sex  in  all  ages,  the  evi- 
dent determination  to  eliminate,  as  far  as  possible,  the  feminine  ele- 
ment in  humanity,  has  been  the  most  fruitful  cause  of  the  moral 
chaos  the  race  has  suffered,  under  every  form  of  government  and 

religion The  loss  to  women  themselves  of  the  highest 

development  of  which  they  are  capable  is  sad,  but  when  this  in- 
volves a  lower  type  of  manhood  and  danger  to  our  free  institutions, 
it  is  still  more  sad.  The  primal  work  in  every  country,  for  its  own 
safety,  should  be  the  education  and  freedom  of  woman. 

The  arguments  before  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  House 
were  given  the  next  morning,  March  8,  twelve  of  the  fifteen 
members  being  present.*  Miss  Anthony  opened  the  hearing  with 
an  earnest  address  in  which  she  referred  to  the  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  petitions  which  had  been  sent  to  Congress  for  woman 
suffrage — far  more  than  for  any  other  measure — and  continued : 

Negro  suffrage  was  again  and  again  overwhelmingly  voted  down 
in  various  States — New  York,  Connecticut,  Ohio,  etc. — and  you 
know,  gentlemen,  that  if  the  negro  had  never  had  the  right  to  vote 
until  the  majority  of  the  rank  and  file  of  white  men,  particularly 
foreign-born  men,  had  voted  "Yes,"  he  would  have  gone  without  it 

*J.  Randolph  Tucker,  Va.;  Nathaniel  J.  Hammond,  Ga.;  David  B.  Culberson,  Tex.; 
Samuel  W.  Moulton,  Ills.;  James  O.  Broadhead,  Mo.;  William  Dorsheimer,  N.  Y. ; 
Patrick  A.  Collins,  Mass.;  George  E.  Seney,  O. ;  William  C.  Maybury,  Mich.;  Thomas 
B.  Reed,  Me.;  Ezra  B.  Taylor,  O.;  Moses  A.  McCoid,  la.;  Thomas  M.  Browne,  Ind.; 
Luke  P.  Poland,  Vt;  Horatio  Bisbee,  jr.,  Fla. 


CONGRESSIONAL    HEARINGS    AND    REPORTS    OF    1884.  43 

till  the  crack  of  doom.  It  was  because  of  the  prejudice  of  the  un- 
thinking majority  that  Congress  submitted  the  question  of  the  ne- 
gro's enfranchisement  to  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States,  to  be 
adjudicated  by  the  educated,  broadened  representatives  of  the  peo- 
ple. We  now  appeal  to  you  to  lift  the  decision  of  woman  suffrage 
from  the  vote  of  the  populace  to  that  of  the  Legislatures,  that  you 
may  thereby  be  as  considerate,  as  just,  to  the  women  of  this  nation 
as  you  were  to  the  male  ex-slaves. 

Every  new  privilege  granted  to  women  has  been  by  the  Legisla- 
tures. The  liberal  laws  for  married  women,  the  right  of  the  wife 
to  own  and  control  her  inherited  property  and  separate  earnings,  the 
right  of  women  to  vote  at  school  elections  in  a  dozen  States,  the  right 
to  vote  on  all  questions  in  three  Territories,  have  all  been  gained 
through  the  Legislatures.  Had  any  one  of  these  beneficent  propo- 
sitions been  submitted  to  the  masses,  do  you  believe  a  majority  would 
have  placed  their  sanction  upon  them?  I  do  not. 

It  takes  all  too  many  of  us  women,  and  too  much  of  our  hard 
earnings,  from  our  homes  and  from  the  works  of  charity  and  educa- 
tion of  our  respective  localities,  even  to  come  to  Washington,  session 
after  session,  until  Congress  shall  have  submitted  the  proposition, 
and  then  to  go  from  Legislature  to  Legislature,  urging  its  adoption ; 
but  when  you  insist  that  we  shall  beg  at  the  feet  of  each  and  every 
individual  voter  of  each  and  every  one  of  the  thirty-eight  States, 
native  and  foreign,  white  and  black,  educated  and  ignorant,  you 
doom  us  to  incalculable  hardships  and  sacrifices  and  to  most  exas- 
perating insults  and  humiliations.  I  pray  you,  therefore,  save  us 
from  the  fate  of  working  and  waiting  for  our  freedom  until  we  shall 
have  educated  the  masses  of  men  to  consent  to  give  their  wives  and 
sisters  equality  of  rights  with  themselves.  You  surely  will  not  com- 
pel us  to  wait  the  enlightenment  of  all  the  freedmen  of  this  nation 
and  all  the  newly-made  voters  from  the  monarchial  governments  of 
the  Old  World ! 

Liberty  for  one's  self  is  a  natural  instinct  possessed  alike  by  all, 
but  to  be  willing  to  accord  liberty  to  another  is  the  result  of  educa- 
tion, of  self-discipline,  of  the  practice  of  the  golden  rule — "Do  unto 
others  as  you  would  that  others  should  do  unto  you."  Therefore 
we  ask  that  the  question  of  equality  of  rights  to  women  shall  be  ar- 
bitrated upon  by  the  picked  men  of  the  nation  in  Congress,  and  the 
picked  men  of  the  several  States  in  their  respective  Legislatures. 

THE  REV.  FLORENCE  KOLLOCK  (Ills.)  :  .  .  .  .  Called  as  I 
am  into  the  homes  of  the  people  through  the  requirements  of  my  of- 
fice, I  know  whereof  I  speak  when  I  say  that  I  am  as  faithfully  ful- 
filling its  sacred  duties  when  I  come  before  you  urging  this  claim, 
as  when,  on  my  bended  knees,  I  plead  at  the  throne  of  God  for  the 
salvation  of  souls. 

I  know  too  well  the  suffering  that  might  be  alleviated,  the  terrible 
wrongs  that  might  be  righted,  the  sins  that  might  be  punished, 
could  the  moral  power  of  the  women  of  our  land  be  utilfeed — could 
it  be  brought  to  bear  on  those  great  questions  which  affect  so  vitally 
the  welfare  of  society.  The  gigantic  evil  of  intemperance  is  pros- 


44  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

trating  the  finest  powers  of  our  country  and  threatening  the  life  of 
social  purity :  it  is  in  truth  the  fell  destroyer  of  peace,  virtue  and  do- 
mestic and  national  safety,  and  upon  the  unoffending  the  blow  falls 
with  the  greatest  weight.  Why  should  not  they  who  suffer  the  most 
deeply  through  this  evil,  be  authorized  before  the  law  of  the  land  to 
protect  themselves  and  their  loved  ones  from  its  fearful  ravages? 
Is  it  other  than  simple  justice  which  I  ask  for  them?  I  have  listened 
to  too  many  sad  stories  from  heart-broken  wives  and  mothers  not  to 
know  that  the  demand  which  the  women  of  the  land  make  in  this 
matter  comes  not  from  love  of  power,  is  not  prompted  by  false  ambi- 
tion, springs  not  from  unwomanly  aspirations,  but  does  come  from  a 
direful  need  of  self -protect  ion  and  an  earnest  desire  to  protect  those 
dearer  than  life  itself. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Judiciary  Committee,  in  the  same  spirit  in  which 
I  seek  the  aid  of  Heaven  in  my  endeavor  to  promote  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  mankind,  I  now  and  here  seek  your  aid  in  promoting  the 
highest  moral  welfare  of  every  man,  woman  and  child.  This  you 
will  do  in  giving  your  vote  and  influence  for  the  equality  of  women 
before  the  law,  and  as  you  thus  confer  this  new  power  upon  the  wo- 
men of  our  land,  like  the  bread  cast  upon  the  waters,  it  shall  come 
to  you  in  a  higher,  nobler  type  of  womanhood,  in  sweeter  homes,  in 
purer  social  life,  in  all  that  contributes  to  the  welfare  of  the  individ- 
ual and  the  state. 

MRS.  MARY  B.  CLAY  (Ky.)  :  We  do  not  come  here  to  plead  as  in- 
dividual women  with  individual  men,  but  as  a  subject  class  with  a 
ruling  class ;  nor  do  we  come  as  suffering  individuals — though  God 
knows  some  of  us  might  do  that  with  propriety — but  as  the  suffering 
millions  whom  we  represent 

We  are  born  of  the  same  parents  as  men  and  raised  in  the  same 
family.  We  are  possessed  of  the  same  loves  and  animosities  as  our 
brothers,  and  we  inherit  equally  with  them  the  substance  of  our  fath- 
ers. So  long  as  we  are  minors  the  Government  treats  us  as  equals, 
but  when  we  come  of  age,  when  we  are  capable  of  feeling  and  know- 
ing the  difference,  the  boy  becomes  a  free  human  being,  while  the 
girl  remains  a  slave,  a  subject,  and  no  moral  heroism,  no  self-sacri- 
ficing patriotism,  ever  entitles  her  to  her  freedom.  Is  this  just?  Is 
it  not,  indeed,  barbarous  ? 

If  American  men  intend  always  to  keep  women  slaves,  political 
and  civil,  they  make  a  great  mistake  when  they  let  the  girl,  with  the 
boy,  learn  the  alphabet,  for  no  educated  class  will  long  remain  in 
subjection.  We  are  told  that  men  protect  us ;  that  they  are  gener- 
ous, even  chivalric  in  their  protection.  Gentlemen,  if  your  protectors 
were  women,  and  they  took  all  your  property  and  your  children,  and 
paid  you  half  as  much  for  your  work,  though  as  well  or  better  done 
than  your  own,  would  you  think  much  of  the  chivalry  which  per- 
mitted you  to  sit  in  street-cars  and  picked  up  your  pocket-handker- 
chief? 

Each  one  of  you  is  responsible  for  these  laws  continuing  as  they 
are,  and  you  can  not  avoid  responsibility  by  saying  that  you  did  not 
help  to  make  them.  Great  injustice  is  done  us  in  the  fact  that  we 


CONGRESSIONAL    HEARINGS    AND    REPORTS    OF    1884.  45 

are  not  tried  by  a  jury  of  our  peers.  Great  injustice  is  done  us 
everywhere  by  our  not  having  a  vote.  Human  nature  is  naturally 
selfish,  and,  as  woman  is  deprived  of  the  ballot,  and  powerless  either 
to  punish  or  reward,  man,  loving  his  bread  and  butter  more  than 
justice,  will  ever  thrust  her  aside  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  can 
help  him,  those  with  ballots  in  their  hands. 

.  .  .  .  All  that  is  good  in  the  home,  and  largely  the  highest 
principles  taught  in  your  youth,  were  given  by  your  mothers.  How 
then  it  is  possible  for  you  to  return  this  love  and  interest,  as  soon  as 
you  are  capable  of  acting,  by  riveting  the  chains  which  hold  them 
still  slaves;  politically  and  civilly  ? 

You  need  woman's  presence  and  counsel  in  legislation  as  much 
as  she  needs  yours  in  the  home ;  you  need  the  association  and  influ- 
ence of  woman ;  her  intuitive  knowledge  of  men's  character  and  the 
effect  of  measures  upon  the  household ;  you  need  her  for  the  eco- 
nomical details  of  public  work;  you  need  her  sense  of  justice  and 
moral  courage  to  execute  the  laws;  you  need  her  for  all  that  is  just, 
merciful  and  good  in  government.  But  above  all,  women  them- 
selves need  the  ballot  for  self-protection,  and  as  we  are  by  common 
right  and  the  laws  of  God  free  human  beings,  we  demand  that  you 
no  longer  hold  us  your  subjects — your  political  slaves. 

MRS.  MARY  E.  HAGGART  (Ind.)  :  When  Abraham  Lincoln  pen- 
ned the  immortal  emancipation  proclamation  he  did  not  stop  to  in- 
quire whether  every  man  and  every  woman  in  Southern  slavery  did 
or  did  not  want  to  be  free.  Whether  women  do  or  do  not  wish  to 
vote  does  not  affect  the  question  of  their  right  to  do  so.  The  right 
of  man  to  the  ballot  is  a  logical  deduction  from  the  principles  enun- 
ciated in  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  And  singular  to  say, 
while  this  inheres  in  all  people  alike,  the  privilege  of  exercising  it  is 
withheld  from  women  by  a  class  who  have  no  right  to  say  whether 
they  are  willing  or  not  that  women  should  vote.  Their  right  to  the 
ballot  was  long  ago  settled  beyond  a  quibble,  by  laws  and  principles 
of  justice  which  are  superior  to  the  codes  of  men,  who  have  usurped 
the  power  to  regulate  the  voting  privileges  of  citizens.  If  this  right 
be  inherent  and  existing  in  the  great  body  of  society  before  govern- 
ments are  formed,  it  follows  that  all  citizens  of  a  republic,  be  they 
male  or  female,  are  alike  entitled  to  its  exercise. 

.  .  .  .  Is  there  a  man  among  you  willing  to  resign  his  own 
right  to  the  ballot  and  to  place  his  own  business  interests  and  general 
welfare  at  the  mercy  of  the  votes  of  others  ?  Would  you  not  resent 
an  attempt  on  the  part  of  any  man,  or  set  of  men,  to  fix  your  mental 
status,  assign  your  work  in  life  and  lay  out  with  mathematical  pre- 
cision your  exact  sphere  in  the  world?  And  yet  men  undertake  to 
adjust  the  limitations  of  the  Elizabeth  Cady  Stantons,  the  Susan  B. 
Anthonys,  the  Harriet  Beecher  Stowes,  the  Frances  E.  Willards, 
the  Harriet  Hosmers  of  the  world,  and  continue  to  talk  with  pa- 
tronizing condescension  of  female  retirement,  female  duties  and 
female  spheres. 

The  question  is  not  whether  women  want  or  do  not  want  to  vote, 
but  how  can  republican  inconsistencies  be  wiped  out,  justice  univer- 


46  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

sally  recognized  and  impartially  administered,  and  the  civil  and  po- 
litical errors  of  the  past  effectually  repaired.  Whoever  admits  that 
men  have  a  right  to  the  franchise  must  include  in  the  admission 
women  also,  for  there  are  no  reasons  capable  of  demonstrating  an 
abstract  right  in  behalf  of  one  sex  which  are  not  equally  applicable 
to  the  other.  .... 

The  assertion  that  women  do  not  want  to  vote  is  absolutely  with- 
out authority,  so  long  as  each  individual  woman  does  not  speak  out 
for  herself.  In  Ohio  225,000,  and  in  Illinois  185,000,  have  signified 
a  desire  to  use  the  ballot  for  home  protection,  and  yet  it  is  still  as- 
serted in  those  States  that  women  do  not  want  it.  Over  loo.ooo 
women  have  already  notified  this  Congress  that  they  desire  equality 
of  political  rights,  and  still  it  is  declared  all  around  us  that  women 
do  not  want  to  vote.  Gentlemen,  this  is  most  emphatically  an  as- 
sertion which  no  individual  can  be  justified  in  making  for  another. 

Since  the  elective  franchise  is  the  parent  stem  from  which 
branch  out  legal,  industrial,  social  and  educational  enterprises  neces- 
sary to  the  welfare  of  the  citizens,  it  will  be  readily  seen  how  women 
engaged  in  reforms,  public  charities,  social  enterprises,  are  hampered 
and  trammeled  in  their  progress  without  the  ballot.  Women  have 
beheld  their  plans  frustrated,  their  Herculean  labor  undone,  their 
lives  wasted,  for  want  of  legislative  power  through  the  citizen's  em- 
blem of  sovereignty 

All  ranks  and  occupations  are  beginning  to  realize  that  monstrous 
evils  must  ever  crowd  upon  both  classes  while  one  side  of  humanity 
only  is  represented,  and  while  one  sex  has  the  irresponsible  keeping 
of  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  other.  To-day,  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  our  land,  woman  finds  the  greatest  need  of  the 
ballot  through  an  almost  overpowering  desire  to  have  her  wishes  and 
opinions  crystallized  into  law. 

I  have  no  hesitancy  in  saying  that  if  the  conditions  which  sur- 
round the  women  of  this  nation  to-day  were  the  conditions  of  the 
male  citizens  of  the  country,  they  would  rise  up  and  pronounce  them 
the  exact  definition  of  civil  and1  political  slavery,  instead  of  the  true 
interpretation  of  natural  justice  and  civil  equity. 

Many  persons  claim  that  men  are  born  with  the  right  to  vote,  as 
they  are  to  the  right  of  life,  liberty  and  happiness ;  that  suffrage  is 
the  gift  of  the  State,  and  that  the  State  has  a  right  to  regulate  it  in 
any  way  that  it  may  deem  best  for  the  common  good.  If  men  are 
born  with  the  right  to  life,  liberty  and  happiness,  they  are  also  born 
with  the  right  to  give  expression  as  to  how  these  are  to  be  main- 
tained ;  and  in  this  nation,  which  professes  to  rest  upon  the  consent 
of  the  governed,  this  .expression  is  given  through  the  ballot.  Con- 
sequently the  expression  of  a  freeman's  will  is  as  God-given  as  his 
right  to  be  free.  Since  the  year  of  Magna  Charta  we  have  repudi- 
ated the  idea  of  representation  by  proxy. 

We  all  know  that  there  are  thousands  of  women  in  this  na- 
tion who  are  owners  of  property,  mothers  of  children,  devoted  to 
their  homes  and  families  and  to  all  the  duties  and  responsibilities 
which  grow  out  of  social  life,  and  hence  are  most  deeply  interested 


CONGRESSIONAL    HEARINGS    AND    REPORTS    OF    1884.  47 

in  the  public  welfare.  They  have  just  as  much  at  stake  in  this  Gov- 
ernment, which  affords  them  no  opportunity  of  giving  or  withhold- 
ing their  consent,  as  men  who  are  consulted.  John  Quincy  Adams 
said  in  that  grand  speech  in  defense  of  the  petitions  of  the  women 
of  Plymouth :  "The  women  are  not  only  justified,  but  exhibit  the 
most  exalted  virtue,  when  they  do  depart  from  the  domestic  sphere 
and  enter  upon  the  concerns  of  their  country,  of  humanity  and  of 
God." 

Miss  Phoebe  W.  Couzins  (Mo.)  in  closing  her  address  said: 
"At  the  gateway  of  this  nation,  the  harbor  of  New  York,  there 
soon  shall  stand  a  statue  of  the  Goddess  of  Liberty,  presented  by 
the  republic  of  France — a  magnificent  figure  of  a  woman,  typify- 
ing all  that  is  grand  and  glorious  and  free  in  self-government. 
She  will  hold  aloft  an  electric  torch  of  great  power  which  is  to 
beam  an  effulgent  light  far  out  to  sea,  that  ships  sailing  towards 
this  goodly  land  may  ride  safely  into  harbor.  So  should  you 
thus  uplift  the  women  of  this  nation,  and  teach  these  men,  at  the 
very  threshold,  when  first  their  feet  shall  touch  the  shore  of  this 
republic,  that  here  woman  is  exalted,  ennobled  and  honored ;  that 
here  she  bears  aloft  the  torch  of  intelligence  and  purity  which 
guides  our  Ship  of  State  into  the  safe  harbor  of  wise  laws,  pure 
morals  and  secure  institutions." 

It  had  been  the  custom  of  these  committees,  when  they  reported 
at  all,  to  delay  doing  so  until  the  following  year.  In  1884,  how- 
ever, those  of  both  Senate  and  House  submitted  reports  soon  after 
the  hearings.  The  favorable  recommendation  was  presented 
March  28,  1884,  signed  by  Thomas  W.  Palmer,  Henry  W.  Blair, 
Elbridge  G.  Lapham  and  Henry  B.  Anthony.  Senators  Francis 
Marion  Cockrell  and  Joseph  E.  Brown  dissented.*  The  name 
of  Senator  James  G.  Fair  does  not  appear  on  either  document, 
but  he  had  signed  an  adverse  report  in  1882. 

An  adverse  majority  report  from  the  House  Judiciary  Com- 
mittee was  presented  by  William  C.  Maybury  (Mich.)  and  began 
thus: 

The  right  of  suffrage  is  not  and  never  has,  under  our  system  of 
government,  been  one  of  the  essential  rights  of  citizenship 

*  Their  report,  dated  April  23,  1884,  was  used  entire  by  Senator  Brown  in  the  debate 
on  woman  suffrage  which  took  place  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  January  25, 
1887,  and  will  be  found  in  Chapter  VI,  which  contains  also  a  portion  of  the  majority 
report  included  in  the  speech  of  Senator  Blair. 


48  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

What  class  or  portion  of  the  whole  people  of  any  State  should  be 
admitted  to  suffrage,  and  should,  by  virtue  of  such  admission,  ex- 
ert the  active  and  potential  control  in  the  direction  of  its  affairs,  was 
a  question  reserved  exclusively  for  the  determination  of  the  State. 

[The  report  loses  sight  entirely  of  the  point  that  this  question 
was  not  and  never  has  been  left  to  "the  people"  of  a  State,  but 
that  men  alone  usurped  the  right  to  decide  who  should  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  suffrage,  arbitrarily  excluded  women  and  have  kept 
them  excluded.] 

Under  the  influence  of  a  just  fear  that  without  suffrage  as  a  pro- 
tective power  to  the  newly-acquired  rights  and  privileges  guaranteed 
to  the  former  slave  he  might  surfer  detriment,  and  with  this  domi- 
nant motive  in  view,  originated  the  Fifteenth  Amendment.  It  will 
be  noted  that  by  this  later  amendment  the  privilege  of  suffrage  is  not 
sought  to  be  conferred  on  any  class ;  but  an  inhibition  is  placed  upon 
the  States  from  excluding  from  the  privilege  of  suffrage  any  class 
on  account  of  race,  color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

[The  Fifteenth  Amendment  does  not  mention  the  "privilege" 
of  suffrage.  It  says  expressly,  "The  right  of  citizens  of  the 
United  States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged."  But 
whether  it  be  a  "right"  or  a  "privilege,"  where  did  the  negro  get 
that  which  the  States  are  forbidden  to  deny  or  abridge,  if  it  does 
not  inhere  in  citizenship?  The  report  is  incorrect  in  saying  that 
the  State  is  prohibited  from  excluding  any  "class ;"  it  is  only  the 
"males"  of  any  class  who  are  protected  from  exclusion.  The 
same  right  or  privilege  belongs  to  women,  but  they  are  not 
protected  in  the  exercise  of  it.  Women  never  have  asked  Con- 
gress to  grant  them  any  new  right  or  privilege,  but  only  to  pro- 
hibit the  States  from  denying  or  abridging  what  is  already  theirs, 
as  it  did  in  the  case  of  negro  men.] 

Woman's  true  sphere  is  not  restricted,  but  is  boundless  in  re- 
sources and  consequences.  In  it  she  may  employ  every  energy  of 
the  mind  and  every  affection  of  the  heart,  while  within  its  limitless 
compass,  under  Providence,  she  exercises  a  power  and  influence 
beyond  all  other  agencies  for  good.  She  trains  and  guides  the  life 
that  is,  and  forms  it  for  the  eternity  and  immortality  that  are  to  be. 
From  the  rude  contact  of  life,  man  is  her  shield.  He  is  her  guar- 
dian from  its  conflicts.  He  is  the  defender  of  her  rights  in  his  home, 
and  the  avenger  of  her  wrongs  everywhere. 

[That  is,  what  man  considers  her  true  sphere  is  not  restricted, 
but  she  is  not  allowed  to  decide  for  herself  what  shall  be  its 


CONGRESSIONAL    HEARINGS    AND    REPORTS   OF    1884.  49 

dimensions.  "Her  power  for  good  is  beyond  all  other  agencies," 
but  it  is  not  wanted  in  affairs  of  State,  where  surely  it  is  needed 
quite  as  badly  as  in  any  place  in  the  world.  "Man  is  her  shield, 
guardian,  defender  and  avenger."  Witness  the  Common  Law 
of  England,  made  by  men,  under  which  women  lived  for  centu- 
ries and  which  is  still  in  force  in  a  number  of  the  States ;  witness 
the  records  of  the  courts  with  the  wife-beaters  and  slayers,  the 
rapists,  the  seducers,  the  husbands  who  have  deserted  their  fam- 
ilies, the  schemers  who  have  defrauded  widows  and  orphans — 
witness  all  these  and  then  say  if  all  men  are  the  natural  pro- 
tectors of  women.  But  even  if  they  were,  witness  the  millions 
of  women  who  are  not  legally  entitled  to  the  protection  and  as- 
sistance of  any  man.  However,  the  report  does  not  forget  these 
women.] 

The  exceptional  cases  of  unmarried  females  are  too  rare  to  change 
the  general  policy,  while  expectancy  and  hope,  constantly  being  real- 
ized in  marriage,  are  happily  extinguishing  the  exceptions  and  bring- 
ing all  within  the  rule  which  governs  wife  and  matron. 

To  permit  the  entrance  of  political  contention  into  the  home  would 
be  either  useless  or  pernicious — useless  if  man  and  wife  agree,  and 
pernicious  if  they  differ.  In  the  former  event  the  volume  of  ballots 
alone  would  be  increased  without  changing  results.  In  the  latter, 
the  peace  and  contentment  of  home  would  be  exchanged  for  the  bed- 
lam of  political  debate  and  become  the  scene  of  base  and  demoraliz- 
ing intrigue. 

[What  a  breadth  of  statesmanship,  what  a  grasp  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  a  republican  form  of  government,  to  see  in  the  voting 
of  husband  and  wife  only  an  "increase  of  ballots ;"  what  a  reflec- 
tion upon  men  to  assume  that  if  there  were  an  honest  difference 
of  opinion  "the  home  would  become  a  scene  of  base  and  demoral- 
izing intrigue;"  what  a  recognition  of  justice  to  decree  that, 
since  possibly  there  might  be  a  disagreement,  the  man  should 
do  the  voting  and  the  woman  should  be  forbidden  a  voice !] 

In  respect  to  married  women,  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether 
the  influences  which  result  from  the  laws  of  property  between  hus- 
band and  wife,  would  not  make  it  improbable  that  the  woman  should 
exercise  her  suffrage  with  freedom  and  independence.  This,  too,  in 
despite  of  the  fact  that  the  dependence  of  woman  under  the  Common 
Law  has  been  almost  entirely  obliterated  by  statutory  enactments. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 4 


5O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

[Almost,  but  not  quite,  and  it  would  still  prevail  everywhere 
had  its  obliteration  depended  upon  the  committee  making  this 
report.  Think  of  saying  in  cold  blood  that,  as  the  husband  holds 
the  purse-strings,  the  wife  would  not  dare  vote  with  freedom  and 
independence !] 

Your  committee  are  of  the  opinion  that  while  a  few  intelligent 
women,  such  as  appeared  before  the  committee  in  advocacy  of  the 
pending  measure,  would  defy  all  obstacles  in  the  way  of  their  cast- 
ing the  ballot,  yet  the  great  mass  of  the  intelligent,  refined  and  ju- 
dicious, with  the  becoming  modesty  of  their  sex,  would  shrink  from 
the  rude  contact  of  the  crowd  and,  with  the  exceptions  mentioned, 
leave  the  ignorant  and  vile  the  exclusive  right  to  speak  for  the  gen- 
tler sex  in  public  affairs. 

[This  opinion  has  been  wholly  disproved  by  the  experience  of 
States  where  women  do  vote.  The  "intelligent  and  judicious" 
have  learned  that  there  is  more  "rude  contact"  in  going  to  the 
market,  the  theater,  the  train  and  the  ferry-boat,  than  in  a  quiet 
booth  where  no  man  is  permitted  to  come  within  a  hundred  feet. 
But  women  are  not  so  "modest  and  refined"  as  to  shrink  from 
"rude  contact"  even,  if  it  would  give  them  the  opportunity  to 
control  the  conditions  which  surround  and  influence  their  hus- 
bands, their  children,  their  homes  and  their  community.] 

Your  committee  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  general  policy  of 
female  suffrage  should  remain  in  abeyance,  in  so  far  as  the  general 
Government  is  concerned,  until  the  States  and  communities  directly 
chargeable  under  our  system  of  government  with  the  exercise  and 
regulation  of  this  privilege,  shall  put  the  seal  of  affirmation  upon  it ; 
and  there  certainly  can  be  no  reason  for  an  amendment  of  the  Con- 
stitution to  settle  a  question  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  States, 
and  which  they  should  first  settle  for  themselves. 

[Of  course,  according  to  this  logic,  after  the  States  settle  the 
question  and  put  the  seal  of  affirmation  on  it,  then  the  general 
Government  will  take  a  hand !] 

This  House  Report  (No.  1330)  was  not  drastic  enough  to 
suit  the  Hon.  Luke  P.  Poland  (Vt.),  so  he  made  his  own,  in 
which  he  said : 

No  government  founded  upon  the  principle  that  sovereignty  re- 
sides in  the  people  has  ever  allowed  all  the  people  to  vote,  or  to  di- 
rectly participate  in  making  or  administering  the  laws.  Suffrage 
has  never  been  regarded  as  the  natural  right  of  all  the  people  or  of 


CONGRESSIONAL    HEARINGS    AND    REPORTS    OF    1884.  5! 

any  particular  class  or  portion  of  the  people.  Suffrage  is  represen- 
tation, and  it  has  been  given  in  free  governments  to  such  class  of 
persons  as  in  their  judgment  [whose  judgment?]  would  fairly  and 
safely  represent  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  whole.  The  right 
has  generally,  if  not  universally,  been  conferred  on  men  above  twen- 
ty-one years  of  age,  and  often  this  has  been  restricted  by  requiring 
the  ownership  of  property  or  the  payment  of  taxes.  [Which?] 

The  great  majority  of  women  are  either  under  the  age  of  twenty- 
one,  or  are  married  and  therefore  under  such  influence  and  control 
as  that  relation  implies  and  confers.  Is  there  any  necessity  for  the 
protection  and  preservation  of  the  rights  of  women,  that  they  must 
be  allowed  to  vote  and,  of  course,  to  hold  office  and  directly  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  administration  of  the  laws  ? 

Nearly  every  man  who  votes  has  a  wife  or  mother  or  sisters  or 
daughters;  some  sustain  all  these  relations  or  more  than  one.  I 
think  it  certain  that  the  great  majority  of  men  when  voting  or  when 
engaged  as  legislators  or  in  administering  the  laws  in  some  official 
character,  are  fully  mindful  of  the  interests  of  all  that  class  with 
whom  they  are  so  closely  connected,  and  whose  interests  are  so 
bound  up  with  their  own,  and  that,  therefore,  they  fairly  represent 
all  the  rights  and  interests  of  women  as  well  as  their  own.  Per- 
sons who  have  been  accustomed  to  see  legal  proceedings  in  the 
courts,  and  occasionally  to  see  a  female  litigant  in  court,  know  very 
well  whether  they  are  apt  to  suffer  wrong  because  their  rights  are 
determined  wholly  by  men.*  There  is  just  as  little  reason  for  sus- 
picion that  their  rights  are  not  carefully  guarded  in  legislation,  and 
in  every  way  where  legislation  can  operate. 

There  is  another  reason 'why  I  think  this  proposal  to  enlist  the 
women  of  the  country  as  a  part  of  its  active  political  force,  and  to 
cast  upon  them  an  equal  duty  in  the  political  meetings,  campaigns 
and  elections — to  make  them  legislators,  jurors,  judges  and  execu- 
tive officers — is  all  wrong.  I  believe  it  to  be  utterly  inconsistent 
with  the  very  nature  and  constitution  of  woman,  and  wholly  subvers- 
ive of  the  sphere  and  function  she  was  designed  to  fill  in  the  home 
and  in  society.  The  office  and  duty  which  nature  has  devolved  upon 
woman  during  all  the  active  and  vigorous  portion  of  her  life  would 
often  render  \\  impossible,  and  still  more  often  indelicate,  for  her  to 
appear  and  act  in  caucuses,  conventions  or  elections,  or  to  act  as  a 
member  of  the  Legislature  or  as  a  juror  or  judge. 

I  can  not  bring  myself  to  believe  that  any  large  portion  of  the  in- 
telligent women  of  this  country  desire  any  such  thing  granted  them, 
or  would  perform  any  such  duties  if  the  chance  were  offered  them. 

[To  comment  upon  this  would  be  "to  gild  refined  gold,  to  paint 
the  lily,  to  throw  a  perfume  on  the  violet."  It  would  be  positively 
"indelicate."] 

William  Dorsheimer  (N.  Y.)  agreed  with  the  committee  to 

*  Would  the  m'en  whose  crimes  very  often  have  sent  these  "female  litigants"  into 
the  courts,  be  willing  to  have  their  cases  tried  before  a  jury  of  women? 


52  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

table  the  resolution,  but  did  not  endorse  their  arguments.  He 
signed  the  following  statement:  "I  think  it  probable  that  the 
interests  of  society  will  some  time  require  that  women  should 
have  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  I  am  not  willing  to  say  more 
than  that  the  present  is  not  an  opportune  time  for  submission  to 
the  States  of  the  proposed  amendment." 

In  this,  it  will  be  observed,  there  is  no  recognition  of  woman's 
right  to  represent  herself,  no  disposition  to  grant  her  petition  for 
her  own  sake,  but  simply  the  opinion  that  should  there  ever  be 
a  crisis  when  her  suffrage  was  needed  it  should  be  allowed  as  a 
matter  of  expediency. 

In  the  eyes  of  posterity  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  this  Forty- 
eighth  Congress  will  be  redeemed  from  the  disgrace  of  these 
reports  by  that  of  the  minority,  signed  by  Thomas  B.  Reed,  after- 
wards for  many  years  Speaker  of  the  House;  Ezra  B.  Taylor 
(O.);  Moses  A.  McCoid  (la.);  Thomas  M.  Browne  (Ind.). 
The  question  of  woman  suffrage  never  has  been  and  never  can 
be  more  concisely  and  logically  stated. 

No  one  who  listens  to  the  reasons  given  by  the  superior  class  for 
the  continuance  of  any  system  of  subjection  can  fail  to  be  impressed 
with  the  noble  disinterestedness  of  mankind.  When  the  subjection  of 
persons  of  African  descent  was  to  be  maintained,  the  good  of  those 
persons  was  always  the  main  object.  When  it  was  the  fashion  to 
beat  children,  to  regard  them  as  little  animals  who  had  no  rights,  it 
was  always  for  their  good  that  they  were  treated  with  severity,  and 
never  on  account  of  the  bad  temper  of  their  parents.  Hence,  when 
it  is  proposed  to  give  to  the  women  of  this  country  an  opportunity 
to  present  their  case  to  the  various  State  Legislatures  to  demand 
equality  of  political  rights,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that  the  rea- 
sons on  which  the  continuance  of  the  inferiority  of  women  is  urged 
are  drawn  almost  entirely  from  a  tender  consideration  of  their  own 
good.  The  anxiety  felt  lest  they  should  thereby  deteriorate  would 
be  an  honor  to  human  nature  were  it  not  an  historical  fact  that  the 
same  sweet  solicitude  has  been  put  up  as  a  barrier  against  all  the 
progress  which  women  have  made  since  civilization  began. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  if  to-day  in  Turkey  or  Algiers,  countries 
where  woman's  sphere  is  most  thoroughly  confined  to  the  home  cir- 
cle, it  was  proposed  to  admit  them  to  social  life,  to  remove  the  veil 
from  their  faces  and  permit  them  to  converse  in  open  day  with  the 
friends  of  their  husbands  and  brothers,  the  conservative  and  judi- 
cious Turk  or  Algerine  of  the  period,  if  he  could  be  brought  even  to 
consider  such  a  horrible  proposition,  would  point  out  that  the  sphere 
of  woman  was  to  make  home  happy  by  those  gentle  insipidities 
which  education  would  destroy ;  that  by  participating  in  conversation 


CONGRESSIONAL    HEARINGS    AND    REPORTS    OF    1884.  53 

with  men  they  would  debase  their  natures,  and  men  would  thereby 
lose  that  ameliorating  influence  which  still  leaves  them  unfit  to  asso- 
ciate with  women.  He  would  point  out  that  "nature"  had  deter- 
mined that  women  should  be  secluded  ;  that  their  sphere  was  to  raise 
and  educate  the  man-child,  and  that  any  change  would  be  a  violation 
of  the  divine  law  which,  in  the  opinion  of  all  conservative  men,  or- 
dains the  present  but  never  the  future. 

So  in  civilized  countries  when  it  was  proposed  that  women  should 
own  their  own  property,  that  they  should  have  the  earnings  of  their 
own  labor,  there  were  not  wanting  those  who  were  sure  that  such  a 
proposition  could  work  only  evil  to  women,  and  that  continually. 
It  would  destroy  the  family,  discordant  interests  would  provoke  dis- 
pute, and  the  only  real  safety  for  woman  was  in  the  headship  of 
man ;  not  that  man  wanted  superiority  for  any  selfish  reason,  but  to 
preserve  intact  the  family  relation  for  woman's  good.  To-day  a 
woman's  property  belongs  to  herself ;  her  earnings  are  her  own ;  she 
has  been  emancipated  beyond  the  wildest  hopes  of  any  reformer  of 
twenty-five  years  ago.  Almost  every  vocation  is  open  to  her.  She 
is  proving  her  usefulness  in  spheres  which  the  "nature"  worshiped 
by  the  conservative  of  the  last  generation  absolutely  forbade  her  to 
enter.  Notwithstanding  all  these  changes  the  family  circle  remains 
unbroken,  the  man-child  gets  as  well  educated  as  before,  and  the 
ameliorating  influence  of  woman  has  become  only  the  more  marked. 
Thirty  years  ago  hardly  any  political  assemblage  of  the  people  was 
graced  by  the  presence  of  women.  Had  it  needed  a  law  to  enable 
them  to  be  present,  what  an  argument  could  have  been  made  against 
it!  How  easily  it  could  have  been  shown  that  the  coarseness,  the 
dubious  expressions,  the  general  vulgarity  of  the  scene,  could  have 
had  no  other  effect  than  to  break  down  that  purity  of  thought  and 
word  which  women  have,  and  which  conservative  and  radical  are 
alike  sedulous  to  preserve.  And  yet  the  actual  presence  of  women 
at  political  meetings  has  not  debased  them  but  has  raised  the  other 
sex.  Coarseness  has  not  become  diffused  through  both  sexes  but 
has  fled  from  both.  To  put  the  whole  matter  in  a  short  phrase: 
The  association  of  the  sexes  in  the  family  circle,  in  society,  and  in 
business,  having  improved  both,  there  is  neither  history,  reason  nor 
sense  to  justify  the  assertion  that  association  in  politics  will  lower 
the  one  or  demoralize  the  other. 

Hence,  we  would  do  well  to  approach  the  question  without  trepi- 
dation. We  can  better  leave  the  "sphere"  of  woman  to  the  future 
than  confine  it  in  the  chains  of  the  past.  Words  change  nothing. 
Prejudices  are  none  the  less  prejudices  because  we  vaguely  call  them 
"nature,"  and  prate  about  what  nature  has  forbidden,  when  we  only 
mean  that  the  thing  we  are  opposing  has  not  been  hitherto  done. 
"Nature"  forbade  a  steamship  to  cross  the  Atlantic  the  very  moment 
it  was  crossing,  and  yet  it  arrived  just  the  same.  What  the  majority 
call  "nature"  has  stood  in  the  way  of  all  progress  of  the  past  and 
present,  and  will  stand  in  the  way  of  all  future  progress.  It  is  only 
another  name  for  conservatism.  With  conservatism  the  minority 
have  no  quarrel.  It  is  essential  to  the  stability  of  mankind,  of  gov- 


54  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ernment  and  of  social  life.  To  every  new  proposal  it  rightfully 
calls  a  halt,  demanding  countersign,  whether  it  be  friend  or  foe. 
The  enfranchisement  of  women  must  pass  this  ordeal  like  everything 
else.  It  must  give  good  reason  for  its  demand  to  be,  or  take  its 
place  among  the  half-forgotten  fantasies  which  have  challenged  the 
support  of  mankind  and  have  not  stood  the  test  of  argument  and 
discussion. 

The  majority  of  the  committee  claim  that  suffrage  is  not  a 
right  but  a  privilege  to  be  guarded  by  those  who  have  it,  and  to 
be  by  them  doled  out  to  those  who  shall  become  worthy.  That 
every  extension  of  suffrage  has  been  granted  in  some  form  or  other 
by  those  already  holding  it  is  probably  true.  In  some  countries, 
however,  it  has  been  extended  upon  the  simple  basis  of  expediency, 
and  in  others  in  obedience  to  a  claim  of  right.  If  suffrage  be  a 
right,  if  it  be  true  that  no  man  has  a  claim  to  govern  any  other  man 
except  to  the  extent  that  the  other  man  has  a  right  to  govern  him, 
then  there  can  be  no  discussion  of  the  question  of  Woman  Suffrage. 
No  reason  on  earth  can  be  given  by  those  who  claim  suffrage  as  a 
right  of  manhood  which  does  not  make  it  a  right  of  womanhood  also. 
If  the  suffrage  is  to  be  given  man  to  protect  him  in  his  life,  liberty 
and  property,  the  same  reasons  urge  that  it  be  given  to  woman,  for 
she  has  the  same  life,  liberty  and  property  to  protect.  If  it  be  urged 
that  her  interests  are  so  bound  up  in  those  of  man  that  they  are  sure 
to  be  protected,  the  answer  is  that  the  same  argument  was  urged  as 
to  the  merging  in  the  husband  of  the  wife's  right  of  property,  and 
was  pronounced  by  the  judgment  of  mankind  fallacious  in  practice 
and  in  principle.  If  the  natures  of  men  and  women  are  so  alike  that 
for  that  reason  no  harm  is  done  by  suppressing  women,  what  harm 
can  be  done  by  elevating  them  to  equality?  If  the  natures  be  dif- 
ferent, what  right  can  there  be  in  refusing  representation  to  those 
who  might  take  juster  views  about  many  social  and  political  ques- 
tions ? 

Our  Government  is  founded,  not  on  the  rule  of  the  wisest  and  best, 
but  upon  the  rule  of  all.  The  learned  and  the  ignorant,  the  wise  and 
the  unwise,  the  judicious  and  the  injudicious  are  all  invited  to  assist 
in  governing,  and  upon  the  broad  principle  that  the  best  government 
for  mankind  is  not  the  government  which  the  wisest  and  best  would 
select,  but  that  which  the  average  of  mankind  would  select.  Laws 
are  daily  enacted,  not  because  they  seem  the  wisest  even  to  those 
legislators  who  pass  them,  but  because  they  represent  what  the  whole 
people  wish.  And,  in  the  long  run,  it  may  be  just  as  bad  to  enact 
laws  in  advance  of  public  sentiment  as  to  hold  on  to  laws  behind  it. 
Upon  what  principle  in  a  Government  like  ours  can  one-half  the 
minds  be  denied  expression  at  the  polls  ?  Is  it  because  they  are  un- 
trained in  public  affairs?  Are  they  more  so  than  the  slaves  were 
when  the  right  of  suffrage  was  conferred  on  them?  It  is  objected 
that  to  admit  women  would  be  temporarily  to  lower  the  suffrage  on 
account  of  their  lack  of  training  in  public  duties.  What  is  now 
asked  of  us  is  not  immediate  admission  to  the  right,  but  the  privilege 
of  presenting  to  the  Legislatures  of  the  different  States  the  amend- 


CONGRESSIONAL    HEARINGS    AND    REPORTS    OF    1884.  55 

ment,  which  can  not  become  effective  until  adopted  by  three-fourths 
of  them.  It  may  be  said  that  the  agitation  and  discussion  of  this 
question  will,  long  before  its  adoption,  have  made  women  as  familiar 
with  public  affairs  as  the  average  of  men.  for  the  agitation  is  hardly 
likely  to  be  successful  until  after  a  majority,  at  least,  of  women  are 
in  favor  of  it. 

We  believe  in  the  educating  and  improving  effect  of  participation 
in  government.  We  believe  that  every  citizen  in  the  United  States 
is  made  more  intelligent,  more  learned  and  better  educated  by  his 
participation  in  politics  and  political  campaigns.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  education,  like  all  things  else,  is  relative.  While  the 
average  American  voter  may  not  be  all  that  impatient  people  desire, 
and  is  far  behind  his  own  future,  yet  he  is  incomparably  superior  to 
the  average  citizen  of  any  other  land  where  the  subject  does  not  fully 
participate  in  the  government.  Discussions  on  the  stump,  and  above 
all  the  discussions  he  himself  has  with  his  fellows,  breed  a  desire  for 
knowledge  which  will  take  no  refusal  and  which  leads  to  great  gen- 
eral intelligence.  In  political  discussion,  acrimony  and  hate  are  not 
essential,  and  have  of  late  years  quite  perceptibly  diminished  and  will 
more  and  more  diminish  when  discussions  by  women,  and  in  the 
presence  of  women,  become  more  common.  If,  then,  discussion  of 
public  affairs  among  men  has  elevated  them  in  knowledge  and  intel- 
ligence, why  will  it  not  lead  to  the  same  results  among  women  ?  It 
is  not  merely  education  that  makes  civilization,  but  diffusion  of  edu- 
cation. The  standing  of  a  nation  and  its  future  depend  not  upon 
the  education  of  the  few,  but  of  the  whole.  Every  improvement  in 
the  status  of  woman  in  the  matter  of  education  has  been  an  im- 
provement to  the  whole  race.  Women  have  by  education  thus  far 
become  more  womanly,  not  less.  The  same  prophecies  of  ruin  to 
womanliness  were  made  against  her  education  on  general  subjects 
that  are  now  made  against  her  participation  in  politics. 

It  is  sometimes  asserted  that  women  now  have  a  great  influence 
in  politics  through  their  husbands  and  brothers.  This  is  undoubted- 
ly true.  But  that  is  just  the  kind  of  influence  which  is  not  whole- 
some for  the  community,  for  it  is  influence  unaccompanied  by  re- 
sponsibility. People  are  always  ready  to  recommend  to  others  what 
they  would  not  do  themselves.  If  it  be  true  that  women  can  not  be 
prevented  from  exercising  political  influence,  is  not  that  only  another 
reason  why  they  should  be  steadied  in  their  political  action  by  that 
proper  sense  of  responsibility  which  comes  from  acting  themselves? 

We  conclude  then,  that  every  reason  which  in  this  country  bestows 
the  ballot  upon  man  is  equally  applicable  to  the  proposition  to  bestow 
the  ballot  upon  woman,  and  that  in  our  judgment  there  is  no  founda- 
tion for  the  fear  that  woman  will  thereby  become  unfitted  for  all  the 
duties  she  has  hitherto  performed. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   NATIONAL   SUFFRAGE   CONVENTION   OF    1885.* 

The  Seventeenth  of  the  national  conventions  was  held  in  Lin- 
coln Hall,  Washington,  D.  C,  Jan.  20-22,  1885,  preceded  by 
the  usual  brilliant  reception,  which  was  extended  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Spofford  each  season  for  the  twelve  years  during  which  the 
association  had  its  headquarters  at  the  Riggs  House. 

It  is  rather  amusing  to  note  the  custom  of  the  newspaper  re- 
porters to  give  a  detailed  description  of  the  dress  of  each  one  of 
the  speakers,  usually  to  the  exclusion  of  the  subject-matter  of  her 
speech.  On  this  occasion  the  public  was  informed  that  one  lady 
"spoke  in  dark  bangs  and  Bismarck  brown;"  one  "in  black  and 
gold  with  angel  sleeves,  boutonniere  and  ear-drops ;"  another  "in 
a  basque  polonaise  and  snake  bracelets;"  another  "in  black  silk 
dress  and  bonnet,  gold  eye-glasses  and  black  kid  gloves."  One 
lady  wore  "a  small  bonnet  made  of  gaudy-colored  birds'  wings ;" 
one  "spoke  with  a  pretty  lisp,  was  attired  in  a  box-pleated  satin 
skirt,  velvet  newmarket  basque  polonaise,  hollyhock  corsage  bou- 
quet;" another  "addressed  the  meeting  in  low  tones  and  a  poke 
bonnet;"  still  another  "discussed  the  question  in  a  velvet  bonnet 
and  plain  linen  collar."  "A  large  lady  wore  a  green  cashmere 
dress  with  pink  ribbons  in  her  hair ;"  then  there  was  "a  slim  lady 
with  tulle  ruffles,  velvet  sacque  and  silk  skirt."  Of  one  it  was 
said :  "Her  face,  though  real  feminine  in  shape,  was  painted 
all  over  with  business  till  it  looked  like  a  man's,  and  her  hair  was 
shingled  and  brushed  in  little  banglets."  "Miss  Anthony,"  so 
the  report  said,  "wore  a  blue  barbe  trimmed  in  lace,"  while  Mrs. 
Stanton  "was  attired  in  a  black  silk  dress  with  a  white  handker- 
chief around  her  throat."  One  record  declares  that  "there  was 
not  a  pair  of  earrings  on  the  platform,  but  most  of  the  ladies 
wore  gold  watch-chains." 

These  extracts  are  taken  verbatim  from  the  best  newspapers 

*  This  chapter  closes  with  the  speech  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage  by  Thomas  W. 
Palmer  in  the  U.  S.  Senate. 

56 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1885.  57 

of  the  day.  The  conventions  had  passed  the  stage  where,  accord- 
ing to  the  reporters,  all  of  the  participants  had  short  hair  and 
wore  bloomers,  but,  according  to  the  same  authority,  they  had 
reached  the  wonderful  attire  described  above.  This  was  fifteen 
years  ago.  The  proceedings  of  the  national  convention  of  1900 
occupied  from  four  to  seven  columns  daily  in  each  of  the  Wash- 
ington papers,  and  one  or  more  columns  were  telegraphed  each 
day  to  the  large  newspapers  of  the  United  States,  and  yet  it 
may  be  safely  said  that  there  was  not  one  line  of  reference  to  the 
costumes  of  the  ladies  in  attendance.  The  business  meetings, 
speeches,  etc.,  were  reported  with  the  same  respect  and  dignity 
as  are  accorded  to  national  conventions  of  men.  The  petty  per- 
sonalities of  the  past  were  wholly  eliminated  and  women  were 
presented  from  an  intellectual  standpoint,  to  be  judged  upon 
their  merits  and  not  by  their  clothes.  This  result  alone  is  worth 
the  fifty  years  of  endeavor. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  presided  over  all  of  the  sessions. 
Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  gave  a  full  report  of  the  legislative 
work  done  in  New  York  during  the  past  year.  In  the  address 
of  Mrs.  Harriette  R.  Shattuck  (Mass.)  she  laid  especial  stress 
on  the  need  for  women  to  be  invested  with  responsibility.  Mrs. 
Matilda  Joslyn  Gage  (N.  Y.)  discussed  the  woman  question 
from  a  scientific  standpoint.  She  was  followed  by  Mrs.  Laura 
de  Force  Gordon,  the  second  woman  admitted  to  practice  before 
the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court,  who  answered  the  question,  Is  our 
Civilization  Civilized?  and  described  the  legal  status  of  women 
in  California.  Mrs.  Caroline  Gilkey  Rogers  (N.  Y.)  gave  a 
spirited  talk  on  the  Aristocracy  of  Sex.  The  principal  address 
of  the  "evening  was  by  Mrs.  Stanton,  a  long  and  thoughtful 
paper  in  which  she  said : 

Those  people  who  declaim- on  the  inequalities  of  sex,  the  disabili- 
ties and  limitations  of  one  as  against  the  other,  show  themselves  as 
ignorant  of  the  first  principles  of  life  as  would  that  philosopher  who 
should  undertake  to  show  the  comparative  power  of  the  positive  as 
against  the  negative  electricity,  of  the  centrifugal  as  against  the 
centripetal  force,  the  attraction  of  the  north  as  against  the  south 
end  of  the  magnet.  These  great  natural  forces  must  be  perfectly 
balanced  or  the  whole  material  world  would  relapse  into  chaos.  Just 
so  the  masculine  and  feminine  elements  in  humanity  must  be  exactly 
balanced  to  redeem  the  moral  and  social  world  from  the  chaos 


58  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

which  surrounds  it.  One  might  as  well  talk  of  separate  spheres 
for  the  two  ends  of  the  magnet  as  for  man  and  woman ;  they  may 
have  separate  duties  in  the  same  sphere,  but  their  true  place  is  to- 
gether everywhere.  Having  different  duties  in  the  same  sphere, 
neither  can  succeed  without  the  presence  and  influence  of  the  other. 
To  restore  the  equilibrium  of  sex  is  the  first  step  in  social,  religious 
and  political  progress.  It  is  by  the  constant  repression  of  the  best 
elements  in  humanity,  by  our  false  customs,  creeds  and  codes,  that 
we  have  thus  far  retarded  civilization.  .  .  . 

There  would  be  more  sense  in  insisting  on  man's  limitations  be- 
cause he  can  not  be  a  mother,  than  on  woman's  because  she  can  be. 
Surely  maternity  is  an  added  power  and  development  of  some  of  the 
most  tender  sentiments  of  the  human  heart  and  not  a  "limitation." 
"Yes,"  says  another  pertinacious  reasoner,  "but  it  unfits  woman 
for  much  of  the  world's  work."  Yes,  and  it  fits  her  for  much  of  the 
world's  work ;  a  large  share  of  human  legislation  would  be  better 
done  by  her  because  of  this  deep  experience.  .  .  . 

If  one-half  the  effort  had  been  expended  to  exalt  the  feminine 
element  that  has  been  made  to  degrade  it,  we  should  have  reached  the 
natural  equilibrium  long  ago.  Either  sex,  in  isolation,  is  robbed  of 
one-half  its  power  for  the  accomplishment  of  any  given  work.  This 
was  the  most  fatal  dogma  of  the  Christian  religion — that  in  propor- 
tion as  men  withdrew  from  all  companionship  with  women,  they 
could  get  nearer  to  God,  grow  more  like  the  Divine  Ideal. 

Telegrams  of  greetings  were  received  from  many  associations 
and  individuals.  Miss  Frances  Ellen  Burr,  who  made  a  fine 
stenographic  report  of  the  entire  convention,  spoke  for  Connecti- 
cut, closing  with  an  ideal  picture  of  civilization  as  it  might  be 
with  the  wisdom  of  both  sexes  brought  to  bear  on  the  problems 
of  society.  The  following  resolutions  were  written  by  Mrs.  Clara 
Bewick  Colby : 

WHEREAS,  The  dogmas  incorporated  in  the  religious  creeds  de- 
rived from  Judaism,  teaching  that  woman  was  an  afterthought  in 
creation,  her  sex  a  misfortune,  marriage  a  condition  of  subordina- 
tion, and  maternity  a  curse,  are  contrary  to  the  law  of  God  as  re- 
vealed in  nature  and  the  precepts  of  Christ ;  and, 

WHEREAS,  These  dogmas  are  an  insidious  poison,  sapping  the 
vitality  of  our  civilization,  blighting  woman  and  palsying  humanity ; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  denounce  these  dogmas  wherever  they  are 
enunciated,  and  we  will  withdraw  our  personal  support  from  any 
organization  so  holding  and  teaching ;  and, 

Resolved,  That  we  call  upon  the  Christian  ministry,  as  leaders  of 
thought,  to  teach  and  enforce  the  fundamental  idea  of  creation  that 
man  was  made  in  the  image  of  God,  male  and  female,  and  given 
equal  dominion  over  the  earth,  but  none  over  each  other.  And  fur- 
ther we  invite  their  co-operation  in  securing  the  recognition  of  the 


NATIONAL   SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1885.  59 

cardinal  point  of  our  creed,  that  in  true  religion  there  is  neither 
male  nor  female,  neither  bond  nor  free,  but  all  are  one. 

The  resolutions  were  introduced  and  advocated  by  Mrs.  Stan- 
ton,  who  said:  "Woman  has  been  licensed  to  preach  in  the 
Methodist  church;  the  Unitarian  and  Universalist  and  some 
branches  of  the  Baptist  denomination  have  ordained  women, 
but  the  majority  do  not  recognize  them  officially,  although  for 
the  first  three  centuries  after  the  proclamation  of  Christianity 
women  had  a  place  in  the  church.  They  were  deaconesses  and 
elders,  and  were  ordained  and  administered  the  sacrament.  Yet 
through  the  Catholic  hierarchy  these  privileges  were  taken  away 
in  Christendom  and  they  have  never  been  restored.  Now  we 
intend  to  demand  equal  rights  in  the  church." 

This  precipitated  a  vigorous  discussion  which  extended  into 
the  next  day.  Miss  Anthony  was  opposed  to  a  consideration  of 
the  resolutions  and  in  giving  her  reasons  said : 

I  was  on  the  old  Garrisonian  platform  and  found  long  ago  that 
this  matter  of  settling  any  question  of  human  rights  by  people's  in- 
terpretation of  the  Bible  is  never  satisfactory.  I  hope  we  shall  not 
go  back  to  that  war.  No  two  can  ever  interpret  alike,  and  discus- 
sion upon  it  is  time  wasted.  We  all  know  what  we  want,  and  that 
is  the  recognition  of  woman's  perfect  equality — in  the  Home,  the 
Church  and  the  State.  We  all  know  that  such  recognition  has  never 
been  granted  her  in  the  centuries  of  the  past.  But  for  us  to  begin 
a  discussion  here  as  to  who  established  these  dogmas  would  be  any- 
thing but  profitable.  Let  those  who  wish  go  back  into  the  history 
of  the  past,  but  I  beg  it  shall  not  be  done  on  our  platform. 

Mrs.  Mary  E.  McPherson  (la.)  insisted  that  the  Bible  did  not 
ignore  women,  although  custom  might  do  so.  The  Rev.  Dr. 
McMurdy  ( D.  C. )  declared  that  women  were  teachers  under  the 
old  Jewish  dispensation;  that  the  Catholic  church  set  apart  its 
women,  ordained  them  and  gave  them  the  title  "reverend ;"  that 
the  Episcopal  church  ordained  deaconesses.  He  hoped  the  con- 
vention would  not  take  action  on  this  question.  John  B.  Wolf 
upheld  the  resolution.  Mrs.  Shattuck  thought  the  church  was 
coming  around  to  a  belief  in  woman  suffrage  and  it  would  be  a 
mistake  to  antagonize  it. 

Mrs.  Colby  insisted  the  resolutions  did  not  attack  the  Bible, 
but  the  dogmas  which  grew  out  of  man's  interpretation  of  it, 
saying: 


6O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

This  dogma  of  woman's  divinely  appointed  inferiority  has  sapped 
the  vitality  of  our  civilization,  blighted  woman  and  palsied  humanity. 
As  a  Christian  woman  and  a  member  of  an  orthodox  church,  I  stand 
on  this  resolution ;  on  the  divine  plan  of  creation  as  set  forth  in  the 
first  chapter  of  Genesis,  where  we  are  told  that  man  was  created 
male  and  female  and  set  over  the  world  to  have  equal  dominion ; 
and  on  the  gospel  of  the  new  dispensation,  in  which  there  is  neither 
male  nor  female,  bond  nor  free,  but  all  are  one.  This  resolution 
avows  our  loyalty  to  what  we  believe  to  be  the  true  teachings  of  the 
Bible,  and  the  co-operation  of  the  Christian  ministry  is  invited  in 
striving  to  secure  the  application  of  the  golden  rule  to  women. 

Edward  M.  Davis  (Penn.)  declared  that,  while  individual 
members  might  favor  woman  suffrage,  not  one  religious  body 
ever  had  declared  for  it,  and  the  convention  ought  to  express 
itself  on  this  subject.  Mrs.  Gordon  pointed  out  the  difference 
between  religion  and  theology.  Mrs.  Stanton,  being  called  on 
for  further  remarks,  spoke  in  the  most  earnest  manner : 

You  may  go  over  the  world  and  you  will  find  that  every  form  of 
religion  which  has  breathed  upon  this  earth  has  degraded  woman. 
There  is  not  one  which  has  not  made  her  subject  to  man.  Men  may 
rejoice  in  them  because  they  make  man  the  head  of  the  woman.  I 
have  been  traveling  over  the  old  world  during  the  last  few  years 
and  have  found  new  food  for  thought.  What  power  is  it  that  makes 
the  Hindoo  woman  burn  herself  on  the  funeral  pyre  of  her  husband  ? 
Her  religion.  What  holds  the  Turkish  woman  in  the  harem?  Her 
religion.  By  what  power  do  the  Mormons  perpetuate  their  system 
of  polygamy?  By  their  religion.  Man,  of  himself,  could  not  do 
this ;  but  when  he  declares,  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  of  course  he  can 
do  it.  So  long  as  ministers  stand  up  and  tell  us  that  as  Christ  is  the 
head  of  the  church,  so  is  man  the  head  of  the  woman,  how  are  we 
to  break  the  chains  which  have  held  women  down  through  the  ages  ? 
You  Christian  women  can  look  at  the  Hindoo,  the  Turkish,  the  Mor- 
mon women,  and  wonder  how  they  can  be  held  in  such  bondage. 
Observe  to-day  the  work  women  are  doing  for  the  churches.  The 
church  rests  on  the  shoulders  of  women.  Have  we  ever  yet  heard 
a  man  preach  a  sermon  from  Genesis  i  :27~28,  which  declares  the 
full  equality  of  the  feminine  and  masculine  element  in  the  Godhead  ? 
They  invariably  shy  at  that  first  chapter.  They  always  get  up  in 
their  pulpits  and  read  the  second  chapter. 

Now  I  ask  you  if  our  religion  teaches  the  dignity  of  woman?  It 
teaches  us  that  abominable  idea  of  the  sixth  century — Augustine's 
idea — that  motherhood  is  a  curse ;  that  woman  is  the  author  of  sin, 
and  is  most  corrupt.  Can  we  ever  cultivate  any  proper  sense  of 
self-respect  as  long  as  women  take  such  sentiments  from  the  mouths 
of  the  priesthood?  .  .  .  The  canon  laws  are  infamous — so 
infamous  that  a  council  of  the  Christian  church  was  swamped  by 
them.  In  republican  America,  and  in  the  light  of  the  nineteenth 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1885.  6l 

century,  we  must  demand  that  our  religion  shall  teach  a  higher  idea 
in  regard  to  woman.  People  seem  to  think  we  have  reached 
the  very  end  of  theology ;  but  let  me  say  that  the  future  is  to  be  as 
much  purer  than  the  past  as  our  immediate  past  has  been  better  than 
the  dark  ages.  We  want  to  help  roll  off  from  the  soul  of  woman 
the  terrible  superstitions  that  have  so  long  repressed  and  crushed  her. 

Through  the  determined  efforts  of  Miss  Anthony  and  some 
others  the  resolution  was  permitted  to  lie  on  the  table. 

Miss  Matilda  Hindman  (Penn.)  gave  an  address  on  As  tfre 
Rulers,  So  the  People,  well  fortified  with  statistics.  The  Rev. 
Olympia  Brown  (Wis.)  made  a  stirring  appeal  under  the  title 
All  Are  Created  Equal.  Among  the  many  excellent  addresses 
were  those  of  Mrs.  Colby,  Mrs.  Annie  L.  Diggs  (Kas.)  and  Dr. 
Alice  B.  Stockham  ( Ills. ) .  The  usual  resolutions  were  adopted, 
and  the  memorial  called  forth  a  number  of  eulogies : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  the  Hon.  Henry  Fawcett,  of  Eng- 
land, Senator  Henry  B.  Anthony,  the  Rev.  William  Henry  Chan- 
ning,  ex-Secretary  of  the  Treasury  Charles  J.  Folger,  Bishop  Mat- 
thew Simpson,  Madame  Mathilde  Anneke,  Kate  Newell  Doggett, 
Frances  Dana  Gage,  Laura  Giddings  Julian,  Sarah  Pugh  and  Eliza- 
beth T.  Schenck,  the  year  1884  has  been  one  of  irreparable  losses  to 
our  movement. 

Among  the  many  interesting  letters  written  to  the  convention 
was  one  from  Wm.  Lloyd  Garrison,  inclosing  letters  received  in 
times  past  expressing  sympathy  with  the  efforts  of  the  suffrage 
advocates,  from  his  father,  from  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  and  from 
the  Rev.  William  Henry  Channing,  whose  body  at  this  very  time 
was  being  borne  across  the  ocean  to  its  resting  place  in  this 
country.  A  touching  message  was  read  from  that  faithful  and 
efficient  pioneer,  Clarina  I.  H.  Nichols,  of  California,  which 
ended :  "My  last  words  in  the  good  work  for  humanity  are,  'God 
is  with  us.'  There  can  be  no  failure  and  no  defeat  outside  our- 
selves." The  writer  passed  away  before  it  reached  the  convention. 
Other  encouraging  letters  were  received  from  the  Reverends 
Anna  Garlin  Spencer  (R.  I.),  Ada  C.  Bowles  and  Phebe  A.  Hana- 
ford  (Mass.)  ;  from  Mrs.  Julia  Foster  and  her  daughters,  Rachel 
and  Julia,  in  Berlin;  from  Mrs.  Caroline  E.  Merrick  (La.),  Mrs. 
Emma  C.  Bascom,  of  Wisconsin  University,  and  friends  and 
workers  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

The  convention  adopted  a  comprehensive  plan  of  work  sub- 


62  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

mitted  by  Mrs.  Blake,  Miss  Hindman  and  Mrs.  Colby.*  At  the 
last  session  Miss  Anthony  made  a  strong,  practical  speech  on  the 
Present  Status  of  the  Woman  Suffrage  Question,  and  Mrs.  Stan- 
ton  closed  the  convention. 

A  number  of  ministers  on  the  following  Sunday  took  as  a  text 
the  resolution  which  had  been  discussed  so  vigorously,  and  used 
it  as  an  argument  against  the  enfranchisement  of  women,  some 
of  them  going  so  far  as  to  denounce  the  suffrage  advocates  as 
infidels  and  the  movement  itself  as  atheistic  and  immoral.  They 
wholly  ignored  the  facts — first,  that  the  resolution  was  merely 
against  the  dogmas  which  had  been  incorporated  into  the  creeds, 
and  was  simply  a  demand  that  Christian  ministers  should  teach 
and  enforce  only  the  fundamental  declarations  of  the  Scriptures ; 
second,  that  there  was  an  emphatic  division  of  opinion  among  the 
members  on  the  resolution ;  third,  that  by  consent  it  was  laid  on 
the  table;  and  fourth,  that  even  had  it  been  adopted,  it  was 
neither  atheistic  nor  immoral. 

On  February  6,  1885,  Thomas  W.  Palmer  (Mich.)  brought 
up  in  the  Senate  the  joint  resolution  for  a  Sixteenth  Amendment 
which  had  been  favorably  reported  by  the  Select  Committee  on 
Woman  Suffrage  the  previous  winter,  and  in  its  support  made 
a  masterly  argument  which  has  not  been  surpassed  in  the  fifteen 
years  that  have  since  elapsed,  saying  in  part : 

•The  primal  object  of  the  National  Woman  Suffrage  Association  has*  been  from  its 
foundation  to  secure  the  submission  by  the  Congress  of  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  which 
shall  prohibit  the  several  States  frdm  disfranchising  United  States  citizens  on  account 
of  sex.  To  this  end  all  State  societies  should  see  that  senators  and  members  of  Con- 
gress are  constantly  .appealed  to  by  their  constituents  to  labor  for  the  passage  of  this 
amendment  by  the  next  Congress. 

Woman  suffrage  associations  in  the  several  States  are  advised  to  push  the  question  to 
a  vote  in  their  respective  Legislatures.  The  time  for  agitation  alone  has  passed,  and 
the  time  for  aggressive  action  has  come.  It  will  be  found  by  a'  close  examination  of 
many  State  constitutions  that  by  the  liberal  provisions  of  their  Bill  of  Rights — often 
embodied  in  Article  i — the  women  of  the  State  can  be  enfranchised  without  waiting  for 
the  tedious  and  hopeless  proviso  of  a  constitutional  amendment 

In  States  where  there  has  been  little  or  no  agitation  we  recommend  the  passage  of 
laws  granting  School  Suffrage  to  women.  This  first  step  in  politics  is  an  incentive  to 
larger  usefulness  and  aids  greatly  in  familiarizing  women  with  the  use  of  the  ballot. 

We  do  not  specially  recommend  Municipal  Suffrage,  as  we  think  that  the  agitation 
expended  for  the  fractional  measure  had  better  be  directed  towards  obtaining  the  passage 
of  a  Full  Suffrage  Bill,  but  we  leave  this  to  the  discretion  of  the  States. 

The  acting  Vice-President  in  every  State  must  hold  a  yearly  convention  in  the  capital 
or  some  large  town.  No  efficient  organization  can  exist  without  some  such  annual  re- 
union of  the  friends. 

In  each  county  there  should  be  a  county  woman  suffrage  society  auxiliary  to  the 
State;  in  each  town  or  village  a  local  society  auxiliary  to  the  county.  Friends  desirous 
of  forming  a  society  should  meet,  even  though  few  in  number,  and  organize. 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1885.  63 

This  resolution  involves  the  consideration  of  the  broadest  step  in 
the  progress  of  the  struggle  for  human  liberty  that  has  ever  been 
submitted  to  any  ruler  or  to  any  legislative  body.  Its  taking  is 
pregnant  with  wide  changes  in  the  pathway  of  future  civilization. 
Its  obstruction  will  delay  and  cripple  our  advancement.  The  trinity 
of  principles  which  Lord  Chatham  called  the  "Bible  of  the  English 
Constitution,"  the  Magna  Charta,  the  Petition  of  Rights,  and  the 
Bill  of  Rights,  are  towering  landmarks  in  the  history  of  our  race, 
but  they  immediately  concerned  but  few  at  the  time  of  their  erection. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  by  the  colonists  and  its  success- 
ful assertion,  the  establishment  of  the  right  of  petition,  the  abolition 
of  imprisonment  for  debt,  the  property  qualification  for  suffrage  in 
nearly  all  the  States,  the  recognition  of  the  right  of  women  to  earn, 
hold,  enjoy  and  devise  property,  are  proud  and  notable  gains. 

The  emancipation  of  4,000,000  slaves  and  the  subsequent  exten- 
sion of  suffrage  to  the  male  adults  among  them  were  measures  en- 
larging the  possibilities  of  freedom,  the  full  benefits  of  which  have 
yet  to  be  realized ;  but  the  political  emancipation  of  26,000,000 
of  our  citizens,  equal  to  us  in  most  essential  respects  and  superior 
to  us  in  many,  it  seems  to  me  would  translate  our  nation,  almost  at 
a  bound,  to  the  broad  plateau  of  universal  equality  and  co-operation 
to  which  all  these  blood-stained  and  prayer-worn  steps  have  surely 
led. 

Like  life  insurance  and  the  man  who  carried  the  first  umbrella, 
the  inception  of  this  movement  was  greeted  with  derision.  Born  of 
an  apparently  hopeless  revolt  against  unjust  discrimination,  unequal 
statutes,  and  cruel  constructions  of  courts,  it  has  pressed  on  and 
over  ridicule,  malice,  indifference  and  conservatism,  until  it  stands 
in  the  gray  dawn  before  the  most  powerful  legislative  body  on  earth 
and  challenges  final  consideration. 

The  laws  which  degraded  our  wives  have  been  everywhere  re- 
pealed or  modified,  and  our  children  may  now  be  born  of  free 
women.  Our  sisters  have  been  recognized  as  having  brains  as  well 
as  hearts,  and  as  being  capable  of  transacting  their  own  business 
affairs.  New  avenues  of  self-support  have  been  found  and  profit- 
ably entered  upon,  and  the  doors  of  our  colleges  have  ceased  to 
creak  their  dismay  at  the  approach  of  women.  Twelve  States  have 
extended  limited  suffrage  through  their  Legislatures,  and  three  Ter- 
ritories admit  all  citizens  of  suitable  age  to  the  ballot-box,  while 
from  no  single  locality  in  which  it  has  been  tried  comes  any  word 
but  that  of  satisfaction  concerning  the  experiment. 

The  spirit  of  inquiry  attendant  upon  the  agitation  and  discussion 
of  this  question  has  permeated  every  neighborhood  in  the  land,  and 
none  can  be  so  blind  as  to  miss  the  universal  development  in  self- 
respect,  self-reliance,  general  intelligence  and  increased  capacity 
among  our  women.  They  have  lost  none  of  the  womanly  graces, 
but  by  fitting  themselves  for  counselors  and  mental  companions  have 
benefited  man,  more  perhaps  than  themselves. 

In  considering  the  objections  to  this  extension  of  the  suffrage  we 
are  fortunate  in  finding  them  grouped  in  the  adverse  report  of  the 


64  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

minority  of  your  committee,  and  also  in  confidently  assuming,  from 
the  acknowledged  ability  and  evident  earnestness  of  the  distin- 
guished Senators  who  prepared  it,  that  all  is  contained  therein  in 
the  way  of  argument  or  protest  which  is  left  to  the  opponents  of 
this  reform  after  thirty-seven  years  of  discussion.  I  wish  that 
every  Senator  would  examine  this  report  and  note  how  many  of  its 
reasonings  are  self-refuting  and  how  few  even  seem  to  warrant 
further  antagonism. 

They  cite  the  physical  superiority  of  man,  but  offer  no  amendment 
to  increase  the  voting  power  of  a  Sullivan  or  to  disfranchise  the 
halt,  the  lame,  the  blind  or  the  sick.  They  regard  the  manly  head 
of  the  family  as  its  only  proper  representative,  but  would  not  ex- 
clude the  adult  bachelor  sons.  They  urge  disability  to  perform 
military  service  as  fatal  to  full  citizenship,  but  would  hardly  con- 
sent to  resign  their  own  rights  because  they  have  passed  the  age  of 
conscription ;  or  to  question  those  of  Quakers,  who  will  not  fight, 
or  of  professional  men  and  civic  officials,  who,  like  mothers,  are  re- 
garded as  of  more  use  to  the  State  at  home. 

They  are  dismayed  by  a  vision  of  women  in  attendance  at  cau- 
cuses at  late  hours  of  the  night,  but  doubtless  enjoy  their  presence 
at  balls  and  entertainments  until  the  early  dawn.  They  deprecate 
the  appearance  of  women  at  political  meetings,  but  in  my  State 
women  have  attended  such  meetings  for  years  upon  the  earnest 
solicitation  of  those  in  charge,  and  the  influence  of  their  presence  has 
been  good.  Eloquent  women  are  employed  by  State  committees 
of  all  parties  to  canvass  in  their  interests  and  are  highly  valued  and 
respected.  .  .  . 

They  object  that  many  women  do  not  desire  the  suffrage  and  that 
some  would  not  exercise  it.  It  is  probably  true,  as  often  claimed, 
that  many  slaves  did  not  desire  emancipation  in  1863 — and  there  are 
men  in  most  communities  who  do  not  vote,  but  we  hear  of  no  f reed- 
man  to-day  who  asks  re-enslavement,  and  no  proposition  is  offered 
to  disfranchise  all  men  because  some  neglect  their  duty. 

The  minority  profess  a  willingness  to  have  this  measure  consid- 
ered as  a  local  issue  rather  than  a  national  one,  but  those  who  recall 
the  failures  to  extend  the  ballot  to  black  men,  in  the  most  liberal 
Northern  States,  by  a  popular  vote,  may  be  excused  if  they  question 
their  frankness  in  suggesting  this  transfer  of  responsibility.  The 
education  of  the  people  of  a  whole  State  on  this  particular  question 
is  a  much  more  laborious  and  expensive  work  than  an  appeal  to  the 
several  Legislatures.  The  subject  would  be  much  more  likely  to 
receive  intelligent  treatment  at  the  hands  of  the  picked  men  of  a 
State,  where  calm  discussion  may  be  had,  than  at  the  polls  where 
prejudice  and  tradition  oftentimes  exert  a  more  potent  influence 
than  logic  and  justice.  To  refuse  this  method  to  those  to  whom 
we  are  bound  by  the  dearest  ties  betrays  an  indifference  to  their  re- 
quests or  an  inexplicable  adhesion  to  prejudice,  which  is  only  sought 
to  be  defended  by  an  asserted  regard  for  women,  that  to  me  seems 
most  illogical. 

I  share  no  fears  of  the  degradation  of  women  by  the  ballot.     I 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1885.  6$ 

believe  rather  that  it  will  elevate  men.  I  believe  the  tone  of  our 
politics  will  be  higher,  that  our  caucuses  will  be  more  jealously 
guarded  and  our  conventions  more  orderly  and  decorous.  I  be- 
lieve the  polls  will  be  freed  from  the  vulgarity  and  coarseness  which 
now  too  often  surround  them,  and  that  the  polling  booths,  instead 
of  being  in  the  least  attractive  parts  of  a  ward  or  town,  will  be  in 
the  most  attractive ;  instead  of  being  in  stables,  will  be  in  par- 
lors. I  believe  the  character  of  candidates  will  be  more  closely 
scrutinized  and  that  better  officers  will  be  chosen  to  make  and  ad- 
minister the  laws.  I  believe  that  the  casting  of  the  ballot  will  be 
invested  with  a  seriousness — I  had  almost  said  a  sanctity — second 
only  to  a  religious  observance. 

The  objections  enumerated  above  appear  to  be  the  only  profferings 
against  this  measure  excepting  certain  fragmentary  quotations  and 
deductions  from  the  sacred  Scriptures;  and  here,  Mr.  President,  I 
desire  to  enter  my  most  solemn  protest.  The  opinions  of  Paul  and 
Peter  as  to  what  was  the  best  policy  for  the  struggling  churches 
under  their  supervision,  in  deferring  to  the  prejudices  of  the  com- 
munities which  they  desired  to  attract  and  benefit,  were  not  in- 
spirations for  the  guidance  of  our  civilization  in  matters  of  political 
co-operation ;  and  every  apparent  inhibition  of  the  levelment  of  the 
caste  of  sex  may  be  neutralized  by  selections  of  other  paragraphs 
and  by  the  general  spirit  and  trend  of  the  Holy  Book.  .  .  .  Sir, 
my  reverence  for  this  grandest  of  all  compilations,  human  or  divine, 
compels  a  protest  against  its  being  cast  into  the  street  as  a  barricade 
against  every  moral,  political  and  social  reform ;  lest,  when  the 
march  of  progress  shall  have  swept  on  and  over  to  its  consumma- 
tion, it  may  appear  to  the  superficial  observer  that  it  is  the  Bible 
which  has  been  overthrown  and  not  its  erroneous  interpretation. 

If  with  our  present  experience  of  the  needs  and  dangers  of  co- 
operative government  and  our  present  observation  of  woman's  social 
and  economic  status,  we  could  divest  ourselves  of  our  traditions  and 
prejudices,  and  the  question  of  suffrage  should  come  up  for  incor- 
poration into  a  new  organic  law,  a  distinction  based  upon  sex  would 
not  be  entertained  for  a  moment.  It  seems  to  me  that  we  should 
divest  ourselves  to  the  utmost  extent  possible  of  these  entangle- 
ments of  tradition,  and  judicially  examine  three  questions  relative 
to  the  proposed  extension  of  suffrage :  First,  Is  it  right  ?  Second, 
Is  it  desirable?  Third,  Is  it  expedient?  If  these  be  determined 
affirmatively  our  duty  is  plain. 

If  the  right  of  the  governed  and  the  taxed  to  a  voice  in  determin- 
ing by  whom  they  shall  be  governed  and  to  what  extent  and  for 
what  purposes  they  may  be  taxed  is  not  a  natural  right,  it  is  never- 
theless a  right  to  the  declaration  and  establishment  of  which  by  the 
fathers  we  owe  all  that  we  possess  of  liberty.  They  declared  taxa- 
tion without  representation  to  be  tyranny,  and  grappled  with  the 
most  powerful  nation  of  their  day  in  a  seven-years'  struggle  for 
the  overthrow  of  such  tyranny.  It  appears  incredible  to  me  that 
any  one  can  indorse  the  principles  proclaimed  by  the  patriots  of 
1776  and  deny  their  application  to  women. 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 5 


66  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Samuel  Adams  said :  "Representation  and  legislation,  as  well  as 
taxation,  are  inseparable,  according  to  the  spirit  of  our  Constitution 
and  of  all  others  that  are  free."  Again,  he  said :  "No  man  can  be 
justly  taxed  by,  or  bound  in  conscience  to  obey,  any  law  to  which 
he  has  not  given  his  consent  in  person  or  by  his  representative." 
And  again :  "No  man  can  take  another's  property  from  him  with- 
out his  consent.  This  is  the  law  of  nature ;  and  a  violation  of  it  is 
the  same  thing  whether  it  is  done  by  one  man,  who  is  called  a  king, 
or  by  five  hundred  of  another  denomination." 

James  Otis,  in  speaking  of  the  rights  of  the  colonists  as  descend- 
ants of  Englishmen,  said  they  "were  not  to  be  cheated  out  of  them 
by  any  phantom  of  virtual  representation  or  any  other  fiction  of  law 
or  politics."  Again :  "No  such  phrase  as  virtual  representation  is 
known  in  law  or  constitution.  It  is  altogether  a  subtlety  and  illu- 
sion, wholly  unfounded  and  absurd." 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  asserts  that,  to  secure  the  in- 
alienable rights  to  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  gov- 
ernments are  instituted  among  men,  "deriving  their  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed." 

Benjamin  Franklin  wrote  that  "liberty  or  freedom  consists  in 
having  an  actual  share  in  the  appointment  of  those  who  frame  the 
laws  and  who  are  the  guardians  of  every  man's  life,  property  and 
peace;"  that  "they  who  have  no  voice  nor  vote  in  the  electing  of 
representatives  do  not  enjoy  liberty,  but  are  absolutely  enslaved  to 
those  who  have  votes  and  to  their  representatives." 

James  Madison  said :  "Under  every  view  of  the  subject,  it  seems 
indispensable  that  the  mass  of  the  citizens  should  not  be  without 
a  voice  in  making  the  laws  which  they  are  to  obey,  and  in  choosing 
the  magistrates  who  are  to  administer  them."  .... 

The  right  of  women  to  personal  representation  through  the  ballot 
seems  to  me  unassailable,  wherever  the  right  of  man  is  conceded 
and  exercised.  I  can  conceive  of  no  possible  abstract  justification 
for  the  exclusion  of  the  one  and  the  inclusion  of  the  other. 

Is  the  recognition  of  this  right  desirable?  The  earliest  mention 
of  the  Saxon  people  is  found  in  the  Germany  of  Tacitus,  and  in  his 
terse  description  of  them  he  states  that  "in  all  grave  matters  they 
consult  their  women."  Can  we  afford  to  dispute  the  benefit  of  this 
counseling  in  the  advancement  of  our  race  ? 

The  measure  of  the  civilization  of  any  nation  may  be  no  more 
surely  ascertained  by  its  consumption  of  salt  than  by  the  social, 
economic  and  political  status  of  its  women.  It  is  not  enough  for 
contentment  that  we  assert  the  superiority  of  our  women  in  intelli- 
gence, virtue,  and  self-sustaining  qualities,  but  we  must  consider 
the  profit  to  them  and  to  the  State  in  their  further  advancement. 

Our  statistics  are  lamentably  meager  in  information  as  to  the 
status  of  our  women  outside  their  mere  enumeration,  but  we  learn 
that  in  a  single  State  42,000  are  assessed  and  pay  one-eleventh  of  the 
total  burden  of  taxation,  with  no  voice  in  its  disbursements.  From 
the  imperfect  gleaning  of  the  Tenth  Census  we  learn  that  of  the 
total  enumerated  bread-winners  of  the  United  States  more  than  one- 


NATIONAL   SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1885.  67 

seventh  are  women That  these  2,647,157  citizens  of 

whom  we  have  official  information  labor  from  necessity  and  are 
everywhere  underpaid  is  within  the  knowledge  and  observation  of 
every  Senator  upon  this  floor.  Only  the  Government  makes  any 
pretense  of  paying  women  in  accordance  with  the  labor  performed 
— without  submitting  them  to  the  competition  of  their  starving  sis- 
ters, whose  natural  dignity  and  self-respect  have  suffered  from 
being  driven  by  the  fierce  pressure  of  want  into  the  few  and  crowded 
avenues  for  the  exchange  of  their  labor  for  bread.  Is  it  not  the 
highest  exhibit  of  the  moral  superiority  of  our  women  that  so  very 
few  consent  to  exchange  pinching  penury  for  gilded  vice  ? 

Will  the  possession  of  the  ballot  multiply  and  widen  these  avenues 
to  self-support  and  independence?  The  most  thoughtful  women 
who  have  given  the  subject  thorough  examination  believe  it,  and  I 
can  not  but  infer  that  many  men,  looking  only  to  their  own  selfish 
interests,  fear  it. 

History  teaches  that  every  class  which  has  assumed  political  re- 
sponsibility has  been  materially  elevated  and  improved  thereby,  and 
I  can  not  believe  that  the  rule  would  have  an  exception  in  the  women 
of  to-day.  I  do  not  say  that  to  the  idealized  women  so  generally 
described  by  obstructionists — the  dainty  darlings  whose  prototypes 
are  to  be  found  in  the  heroines  of  Walter  Scott  and  Fenimore 
Cooper — immediate  awakening  would  come ;  but  to  the  toilers,  the 
wage-workers  and  the  women  of  affairs,  the  consequent  enlargement 
of  possibilities  would  give  new  courage  and  stimulate  to  new  en- 
deavor, and  the  State  would  be  the  gainer  thereby. 

The  often-urged  fear  that  the  ignorant  and  vicious  would  swarm 
to  the  polls  while  the  intelligent  and  virtuous  would  stand  aloof,  is 
fully  met  by  the  fact  that  the  former  class  has  never  asked  for  the 
suffrage  or  shown  interest  in  its  seeking,  while  the  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  petitioners  are  from  our  best  and  noblest  women,  in- 
cluding those  whose  efforts  for  the  amelioration  of  the  wrongs  and 
sufferings  of  others  have  won  for  them  imperishable  tablets  in  the 
temple  of  humanity.  Would  fear  be  entertained  that  the  State 
would  suffer  mortal  harm  if,  by  some  strange  revolution,  its  exclu- 
sive control  should  be  turned  over  to  an  oligarchy  composed  of 
such  women  as  have  been  and  are  identified  with  the.  agitation  for 
the  political  emancipation  of  their  sex  ?  Saloons,  brothels  and  gam- 
ing-houses might  vanish  before  such  an  administration ;  wars  avoid- 
able with  safety  and  honor  might  not  be  undertaken,  and  taxes 
might  be  diverted  to  purposes  of  general  sanitation  and  higher 
education,  but  neither  in  these  respects  nor  in  the  efforts  to  lift  the 
bowed  and  strengthen  the  weak  would  the  right  to  life,  liberty  and 
the  pursuit  of  happiness  be  placed  in  peril.  Women  have  exercised 
the  highest  civil  powers  in  all  ages  of  the  world — from  Zenobia  to 
Victoria — and  have  exhibited  statecraft  and  military  capacity  of 
high  degree  without  detracting  from  their  graces  as  women  or  their 
virtues  as  mothers 

The  preponderance  of  women  in  our  churches,  our  charitable  or- 
ganizations, our  educational  councils,  has  been  of  such  use  as  to  sug- 


68  .  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

gest  the  benefit  of  their  incorporation  into  our  voting  force  to  the 
least  observant.  A  woman  who  owns  railroad  or  manufacturing 
or  mining  stock  may  vote  unquestioned  by  the  side  of  the  brightest 
business  men  of  our  continent,  but  if  she  transfers  her  property  into 
real  estate  she  loses  all  voice  in  its  control. 

Their  abilities,  intellectual,  physical  and  political,  are  as  various 
as  ours,  and  they  err  who  set  up  any  single  standard,  however 
lovely,  by  which  to  determine  the  rights,  needs  and  possibilities  of 
the  sex.  To  me  the  recognition  of  their  capacity  for  full  citizenship 
is  right  and  desirable,  and  it  only  remains  to  consider  whether  it  is 
safe,  whether  it  is  expedient.  To  this  let  experience  answer  to  the 
extent  that  the  experiment  has  been  made. 

During  the  first  thirty  years  of  the  independence  of  New  Jersey, 
universal  suffrage  was  limited  only  by  a  property  qualification ;  but 
we  do  not  learn  that  divorces  were  common,  that  families  were  more 
divided  on  political  than  on  religious  differences,  that  children  were 
neglected  or  that  patriotism  languished,  although  the  first  seven 
years  of  that  experiment  were  years  of  decimating  war,  and  the 
remaining  twenty-three  of  poverty  and  recuperation — conditions 
most  conducive  to  discontent  and  erratic  legislation. 

The  reports  from  Wyoming,  which  I  have  examined,  are  uniform 
in  satisfaction  with  the  system,  and  I  do  not  learn  therefrom  that 
women  require  greater  physical  strength,  fighting  qualities  or  mas- 
culinity to  deposit  a  ballot  than  a  letter  or  visiting  card ;  while  in 
their  service  as  jurors  they  have  exhibited  greater  courage  than  their 
brothers  in  finding  verdicts  against  desperadoes  in  accordance  with 
the  facts.  Governors,  judges, 'officers  and  citizens  unite  in  praises 
of  the  influence  of  women  upon  the  making  and  execution  of  whole- 
some laws. 

In  Washington  Territory,  last  fall,  out  of  a  total  vote  of  40,000 
there  were  12,000  ballots  cast  by  women,  and  everywhere  friends 
were  rejoiced  and  opponents  silenced  as  apprehended  dangers  van- 
ished upon  approach.  Some  of  the  comments  of  converted  newspa- 
per editors  which  have  reached  us  are  worthy  of  preservation  and 
future  reference.  The  elections  were  quiet  and  peaceable  for  the 
first  time ;  the  brawls  of  brutal  men  gave  place  to  the  courtesies  of 
social  intercourse ;  saloons  were  closed,  and  nowhere  were  the  ladies 
insulted  or  in  any  way  annoyed.  Women  vote  intelligently  and 
safely,  and  it  does  not  appear  that  their  place  is  solely  at  home  any 
more  than  that  the  farmer  should  never  leave  his  farm,  the  mechanic 
his  shop,  the  teacher  his  desk,  the  clergyman  his  study,  or  the  pro- 
fessional man  his  office,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  his  wishes 
and  opinions  at  the  tribunal  of  the  ballot-box. 

To-day — and  to  a  greater  extent  in  the  near  future — we  are  con- 
fronted with  political  conditions  dangerous  to  the  integrity  of  our 
nation.  In  the  unforeseen  but  constant  absorption  of  immigrants 
and  former  bondmen  into  a  vast  army  of  untrained  voters,  without 
restrictions  as  to  the  intelligence,  character  or  patriotism,  many 
political  economists  see  the  material  for  anarchy  and  public  demoral- 
ization. It  is  claimed  that  the  necessities  of  parties  compel  sub- 
serviency to  the  lawless  and  vicious  classes  in  our  cities,  and  that, 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1885.  69 

without  the  addition  of  a  counterbalancing  element,  the  enactment 
and  enforcement  of  wholesome  statutes  will  soon  be  impossible. 
Fortunately  that  needed  element  is  not  far  to  seek.  It  stands  at  the 
door  of  the  Congress  urging  annexation.  In  its  strivings  for  jus- 
tice it  has  cried  aloud  in  petitions  from  the  best  of  our  land,  and 
more  than  one-third  of  the  present  voters  of  five  States  have  in- 
dorsed its  cause.  Its  advocates  are  no  longer  the  ridiculed  few,  but 
the  respected  many.  A  list  of  the  leaders  of  progressive  thought  of 
this  generation  who  espouse  and  urge  this  reform  would  be  too  long 
and  comprehensive  for  recital. 

Mr.  President,  I  do  not  ask  the  submission  of  this  amendment, 
nor  shall  I  urge  its  adoption,  because  it  is  desired  by  a  portion  of 
the  American  women,  although  in  intelligence,  property  and  num- 
bers that  portion  would  seem  to  have  every  requisite  for  the  enforce- 
ment of  their  demands ;  neither  are  we  bound  to  give  undue  regard 
to  the  timidity  and  hesitation  of  that  possibly  larger  portion  who 
shrink  from  additional  responsibilities ;  but  I  ask  and  shall  urge  it 
because  the  nation  has  need  of  the  co-operation  of  women  in  all 
directions. 

The  war  power  of  every  government  compels,  upon  occasion,  all 
citizens  of  suitable  age  and  physique  to  leave  their  homes,  families 
and  avocations  to  be  merged  in  armies,  whether  they  be  willing  or 
unwilling,  craven  or  bold,  patriotic  or  indifferent,  and  no  one  gain- 
says the  right,  because  the  necessities  of  State  require  their  services. 
We  have  passed  the  harsh  stages  incident  to  our  permanent  institu- 
tion. We  have  conquered  our  independence,  conquered  the  respect 
of  European  powers,  conquered  our  neighbors  on  the  western  bor- 
ders, and  at  vast  cost  of  life  and  waste  have  conquered  our  internal 
differences  and  emerged  a  nation  unchallenged  from  without  or 
within.  The  great  questions  of  the  future  conduct  of  our  people 
are  to  be  economic  and  social  ones.  No  one  doubts  the  superiority 
of  womanly  instincts,  and  consequent  thought  in  the  latter,  and  the 
repeated  failures  and  absurdities  exhibited  by  male  legislators  in  the 
treatment  of  the  former,  should  give  pause  to  any  assertion  of  su- 
periority there. 

The  day  has  come  when  the  counsel  and  service  of  women  are 
required  by  the  highest  interests  of  the  State,  and  who  shall  gainsay 
their  conscription?  We  place  the  ballot  in  the  keeping  of  immi- 
grants who  have  grown  middle-aged  or  old  in  the  environment  of 
governments  dissimilar  to  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  ours,  and  we  do 
well,  because  the  responsibility  accompanying  the  trust  tends  to 
examination,  comparison  and  consequent  political  education ;  but  we 
decline  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  aid  of  our  daughters,  wives  and 
mothers,  who  were  born  and  are  already  educated  under  our  system, 
reading  the  same  newspapers,  books  .and  periodicals  as  ourselves, 
proud  of  our  common  history,  tenacious  of  our  theories  of  human 
rights  and  solicitous  for  our  future  progress.  Whatever  may  have 
been  wisest  as  to  the  extension  of  suffrage  to  this  tender  and  humane 
class  when  wars  of  assertion  or  conquest  were  likely  to  be  consid- 
ered, to-day  and  to-morrow  and  thereafter  no  valid  reason  seems 
assignable  for  longer  neglect  to  avail  ourselves  of  their  association. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    NATIONAL   SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1 886. 

The  Eighteenth  national  convention  met  in  the  Church  of  Our 
Father,  Washington,  D.  C,  Feb.  17-19,  1886,  presided  over 
by  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  vice-president-at-large,  with  twenty- 
three  States  represented.  In  her  opening  address  Miss  Anthony 
paid  an  eloquent  tribute  to  her  old  friend  and  co-laborer,  their 
absent  president,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton ;  sketched  the  his- 
tory of  the  movement  for  the  past  thirty-six  years,  and  described 
the  first  suffrage  meeting  ever  held  in  Washington.  This  had- 
been  conducted  by  Ernestine  L.  Rose  and  herself  in  1854,  and 
the  audience  consisted  of  twenty  or  thirty  persons  gathered  in 
an  upper  room  of  a  private  house.  To-night  she  faced  a  thou- 
sand interested  listeners. 

The  first  address  was  given  by  Mrs.  Sarah  M.  Perkins  (O.), 
Are  Women  Citizens?  "While  suffrage  will  not  revolutionize 
the  world,"  she  said,  "the  door  of  the  millennium  will  have  a  little 
child's  hand  on  the  latch  when  the  mothers  of  the  nation  have 
equal  power  with  its  fathers." 

In  the  evening  Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby  addressed  the  au- 
dience on  The  Relation  of  the  Woman  Suffrage  Movement  to 
the  Labor  Question.  She  began  by  saying,  "All  revolutions  of 
thought  must  be  allied  to  practical  ends."  After  sketching  those 
already  attained  by  women,  she  continued : 

The  danger  threatens  that,  having  accomplished  all  these  so  thor- 
oughly and  successfully  that  they  no  longer  need  our  help  and 
already  scarcely  own  their  origin,  we  will  be  left  without  the  con- 
necting line  between  the  abstract  right  on  which  we  stand  and  the 
common  heart  and  sympathy-  which  must  be  enlisted  for  our  cause 
ere  it  can  succeed.  Why  is  it  that,  having  accomplished  so  much, 
the  woman  suffrage  movement  does  not  force  itself  as  a  vital  issue 
into  the  thoughts  of  the  masses?  Is  it  not  because  the  ends  which 
it  most  prominently  seeks  do  not  enlist  the  self-interest  of  mankind, 

70 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1 886.  7 1 

and  those  palpable  wrongs  which  it  had  in  early  days  to  combat 
have  now  almost  entirely  disappeared?     .     .    .. 

We  need  "to  vitalize  our  movement  by  allying  it  with  great  non- 
partisan  questions,  and  many  of  these  are  involved  in  the  interests 
of  the  wage-earning  classes.  .  .  .  We  need  to  labor  to  secure  a 
change  of  the  conditions  under  which  workingwomen  live.  We 
need  to  help  them  to  educative  and  protective  measures,  to  better 
pay,  to  better  knowledge  how  to  make  the  most  of  their  resources, 
to  better  training,  to  protection  against  frauds,  to  shelter  when 
health  and  heart  fail.  We  must  help  them  to  see  the  connection  be- 
tween the  ballot  and  better  hours,  exclusion  of  children  from  fac- 
tories, compulsory  education,  free  kindergartens ;  between  the  ballot 
and  laws  relating  to  liability  of  employers,  savings  banks,  adultera- 
tion of  food  and  a  thousand  things  which  it  may  secure  when  in  the 
hands  of  enlightened  and  virtuous  people. 

Miss  Ada  C.  Sweet,  who  for  a  number  of  years  occupied  the 
unique  position  of  pension  agent  in  Chicago,  supplemented  Mrs. 
Colby's  remarks  by  urging  all  women  to  work  for  the  ballot 
in  order  to  come  to  the  rescue  of  their  fellow-women  in  the 
hospitals,  asylums  and  other  institutions.  She  emphasized  her 
remarks  by  recounting  instances  of  personal  knowledge. 

The  Rev.  Rush  R.  Shippen,  pastor  of  All  Souls  Unitarian 
Church  of  Washington,  a  consistent  advocate  of  equal  suffrage, 
spoke  on  woman's  advance  in  every  department  of  the  world's 
work,  on  the -evolution  of  that  work  itself  and  the  necessity  for 
a  continued  progress  in  conditions. 

Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall  presented  a  comprehensive  report 
of  the  year's  work  of  the  executive  committee.  The  Edmunds 
Bill  had  been  a  special  point  of  attack  because  of  its  arbitrary 
disfranchisement  of  Utah  women,  and  Mrs.  Zerelda  G.  Wallace 
(Ind.)  had  written  a  personal  plea  against  it  to  every  member 
of  the  House.  At  the  close  of  this  report  a  vote  on  woman  suf- 
frage was  called  for.  The  audience  voted  unanimously  in  favor, 
except  one  man  whose  "no"  called  forth  much  laughter.  Miss 
Anthony  said  she  sympathized  with  him,  as  she  had  been  laughed 
at  all  her  life. 

Mrs.  Sallie  Clay  Bennett  (Ky.),  whose  specialty  was  the  Bible 
argument  for  woman's  equality,  said  in  the  course  of  her  re- 
marks :  "I  am  rilled  with  shame  and  sorrow  that  from  listening 
to  men,  instead  of  studying  the  Bible  for  myself,  I  did  once  think 
that  the  God  who  said  He  came  into  the  world  to  preach  glad 


72  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

tidings  to  the  poor,  to  break  every  yoke  and  to  set  the  prisoners 
free,  had  really  come  to  rivet  the  chains  with  which  sin  had 
bound  the  women,  and  to  forge  a  gag  for  them  more  cruel  and 
silencing  than  that  put  into  their  mouths  by  heathen  men;  for 
in  many  heathen  nations  women  were  once  selected  to  preside  at 
their  most  sacred  altars." 

Miss  Mary  F.  Eastman  (Mass),  in  an  impressive  address, 
said : 

I  asked  a  friend  what  phase  of  the  subject  I  should  talk  about  to- 
night. She  answered,  "The  despair  of  it."  .  .  .  Can  you  con- 
ceive what  it  is  to  native-born  American  women  citizens,  accus- 
tomed to  the  advantages  of  our  schools,  our  churches  and  the  min- 
gling of  our  social  life,  to  ask  over  and  over  again  for  so  simple  a 
thing  as  that  "we,  the  people,"  should  mean  women  as  well  as  men ; 
that  our  Constitution  should  mean  exactly  what  it  says?  .  .  . 

Men  tell  us  that  they  speak  for  us.  There  is  no  companionship  of 
women  as  equals  permitted  in  the  State.  A  man  can  not  represent  a 
woman's  opinion.  It  was  in  inspiration  that  magnificent  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  was  framed.  Men  builded  better  than  they 
knew ;  they  were  at  the  highest  perception  of  principles ;  but  after 
declaring  this  magnificent  principle  they  went  back  on  it.  ... 

Although  I  hold  the  attitude  of  a  petitioner,  I  come  not  with  the 
sense  that  men  have  any  right  to  give.  Our  forefathers  erected 
barriers  which  exclude  women.  I  want  to  press  it  into  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  legislator  and  of  the  individual  citizen  that  he  is 
personally  responsible  for  the  continuance  of  this  injustice.  We 
ask  that  men  take  down  the  barriers.  We  do  not  come  to  pledge 
that  we  will  be  a  unit  on  temperance  or  virtue  or  high  living,  but  we 
want  the  right  to  speak  for  ourselves,  as  men  speak  for  themselves. 

Mrs.  Caroline  Hallowell  Miller  (Md.)  spoke  strongly  on  A 
Case  in  Point.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Avery  Meriwether,  of  St.  Louis, 
devoted  her  remarks  chiefly  to  a  caustic  criticism  of  Senator 
George  G.  Vest,  who  had  recently  declared  himself  uncompro- 
misingly opposed  to  woman  suffrage.  He  was  made  the  target 
of  a  number  of  spicy  remarks,  and  some  of  the  newspaper  corre- 
spondents insisted  that  the  presence  of  the  suffrage  convention  in 
the  city  was  responsible  for  the  Senator's  severe  illness,  which 
followed  immediately  afterwards.  Mrs.  Meriwether's  son,  Lee, 
paid  a  handsome  tribute  to  "strong-minded  mothers." 

Mrs.  Harriette  R.  Shattuck  (Mass.)  addressed  the  convention 
on  The  Basis  of  Our  Claim,  the  right  of  every  individual  to 
make  his  personality  felt  in  the  Government.  Madame  Clara 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1 886.  73 

Neymann  ( N.  Y. )  gave  a  scholarly  paper  on  German  and  Amer- 
ican Independence  Contrasted,  in  which  she  said : 

The  difference  between  the  German  and  the  American  is  simply 
this :  Germans  believe  in  monarchism,  in  the  rule  of  the  Emperor 
and  Prince  Bismarck,  while  Americans  believe  in  the  government  by 
all  the  people,  high  or  low,  rich  or  poor.  You  have  conferred  the 
blessings  of  free  citizenship  upon  the  negro;  you  invite  the  hum- 
blest, the  lowest  men  to  cast  their  vote ;  you  make  them  feel  that  they 
are  sovereign  human  beings;  you  place  those  men  above  the  most 
virtuous,  intelligent  women;  you  set  them  above  your  own  daugh- 
ters. Yes,  your  own  child,  if  born  a  girl  on  this  free  soil,  is  not 
free,  for  she  stands  without  the  pale  of  the  Constitution.  She,  and 
only  she,  is  deprived  of  her  rightful  heritage. 

Oh,  shame  upon  the  short-sightedness,  the  delinquency  of  Amer- 
ican statesmen,  who  will  quietly  look  on  and  suffer  such  an  injustice 
to  exist !  Nowhere  in  the  world  is  woman  so  highly  respected  as  in 
free  America,  and  nowhere  does  she  feel  so  keenly  and  deeply  her 
degradation.  The  vote — you  know  it  full  well — is  the  insignia  of 
power,  of  influence,  of  position.  And  from  this  position  the  Amer- 
ican woman  is  debarred. 

Do  you  wonder  at  the  low  estimate  of  American  politics?  The 
exclusion  of  women  means  the  exclusion  of  your  best  men.  Not 
before  the  husband  can  take  his  wife,  the  brother  his  sister,  the 
father  his  daughter  to  the  primary  meeting,  to  the  political  assembly 
and  to  the  polls,  will  he  himself  become  interested  and  fulfil  his 
duty  as  a  voter  and  a  citizen.  .  .  . 

"Look  at  the  homes  of  the  wealthy,  or  even  of  the  large  middle- 
class,"  it  is  often  said ;  "what  shallowness  and  pretense  among  the 
women ;  how  they  shrink  from  the  responsibility  of  motherhood ; 
how  they  spend  their  days  in  idle  gossip,  in  hollow  amusements ; 
how  they  waste  their  hours  in  frivolities ;  see  what  extravagant,  un- 
hallowed lives  they  lead."  Sad  and  true  enough !  For  there  is  no 
aristocracy  so  pernicious  as  a  moneyed  aristocracy — no  woman  so 
dangerous  as  she  who  has  privileges  and  no  corresponding  duties. 
There  is  nothing  so  wasteful  as  wasted  energies,  nothing  so  harm- 
ful as  powers  wrongfully  directed ;  and  the  gifts  and  powers  of  our 
wealthy,  well-to-do  women  are  wrongfully  directed.  They  are  em- 
ployed in  the  interest  of  vanity,  of  worldly  ambition,  of  public  dis- 
play, of  sense  gratification. 

From  whence  arises  this  misdirected  ambition?  The  harm  is 
caused  by  the  false  standard  man  holds  up  to  woman.  If  men 
would  no  longer  admire  the  shallowness  of  such  women  they  would 
undoubtedly  aim  higher.  On  the  one  side  man  subordinates  him- 
self to  woman's  whims  and  caprices,  and  on  the  other  side  she  is 
made  conscious  all  the  time  of  her  dependence  and  subordination  in 
all  that  pertains  to  the  higher  interests  of  life ;  and  while  he  makes  a 
slave  of  her,  she  revenges  herself  and  makes  a  slave  of  him.  See 
how  these  women  hold  men  down  to  their  own  low  level ;  for  women 
who  have  no  higher  aspirations  than  their  own  immediate  pleasure 


74  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 

will  induce  men  to  do  the  same.  There  is  an  even-handed  justice 
that  rules  this  world.  For  every  wrong  society  permits  to  exist, 
society  must  suffer.  Look  what  fools  men  are  made  by  foolish 
women — women  who  are  brought  up  with  the  idea  that  they  must 
be  ornamental,  a  beautiful  toy  for  man  to  play  with.  See  how  they 
turn  around  and  make  a  toy  of  him,  an  instrument  to  play  upon  at 
their  leisure. 

\Yhat  we  ask  in  place  of  all  this  indulgence  is  simple  justice,  a 
recognition  of  woman's  higher  endowment.  In  giving  her  larger 
duties  to  perform,  nobler  aims  to  accomplish — in  making  her  a  re- 
sponsible human  being — you  not  only  will  benefit  her,  but  will  re- 
generate the  manhood  of  America.  .  .  . 

To  make  the  advocates  of  suffrage  responsible  for  the  sins  of 
American  women  is  simply  atrocious,  since  it  is  from  these  very 
advocates  that  every  reform  for  and  among  women  has  started ;  it  is 
they  who  preach  simplicity,  purity,  devotion,  and  who  would  gird  all 
womanhood  with  the  armor  of  self-respect  and  true  womanliness. 
That  such  women  are  compelled  to  come  before  the  public,  before 
the  Congress  and  the  Legislatures,  and  pray  for  such  rights  as  are 
freely  given  to  every  unenlightened  foreigner  is  a  burning  shame 
and  reflects  badly  upon  the  intelligence,  the  righteousness  of  Legis- 
latures and  people. 

Much  indignation  was  expressed  during  the  convention  over 
the  recent  action  of  Gov.  Gilbert  A.  Pierce,  of  the  Territory 
of  Dakota.  The  Legislature,  composed  of  residents,  the  previous 
year  passed  a  bill  conferring  Full  Suffrage  on  women,  which  was 
vetoed  by  the  Governor,  an  outsider  appointed  a  short  time  before 
by  President  Chester  A.  Arthur.  With  a  stroke  of  the  pen  he 
prevented  the  enfranchisement  of  50,000  women. 

Hundreds  were  turned  away  at  the  last  evening  session  and 
there  was  scarcely  standing  room  within  the  church.  A  witty 
and  vivacious  speech  by  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Gougar  (Ind.)  was  the 
first  number  on  the  program.  Mrs.  Julia  B.  Nelson  (Minn.) 
followed  in  an  original  dialect  poem,  Hans  Dunderkopf's  Views 
of  Equality.  Mrs.  Sewall  showed  the  Absurdity  of  the  Ameri- 
can Woman's  Disfranchisement  :t : 

The  inconsistency  of  the  present  position  of  the  American  woman 
is  forcibly  shown  in  that  she  is  now  making  such  an  advance  in 
education,  studying  political  science  under  the  best  teachers  of  con- 
stitutional law,  and  enjoying  such  advantages  at  the  expense  of  the 
Government,  yet  is  not  allowed  to  make  use  of  this  knowledge  in 
the  Government.  .  .  . 

Much  has  been  said  about  the  need  of  the  ballot  to  protect  the  in- 
dustrial interests  of  men,  but  is  it  not  as  ungallant  as  it  is  illogical 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1 886.  75 

that  they  should  have  the  ballot  for  their  protection  while  women, 
pressed  by  the  same  necessities,  should  be  denied  it  ?     .     .     . 

I  may  perhaps  put  it  that  man  is  composed  of  brain  and  heart  and 
woman  of  heart  and  brain.  We  must  have  the  brain  of  man  and  the 
heart  of  woman  employed  in  the  higher  developments  to  come. 
There  can  be  no  great  scheme  that  does  not  require  to  be  conceived 
by  our  brains,  quickened  by  our  hearts  and  carried  into  execution  by 
our  skilled  hands.  The  activities  which,  are  considered  the  especial 
sphere  of  woman  need  more  brain ;  the  realm  of  State  developed  by 
the  brain  of  man  needs  more  heart.  Home  and  State  have  been  too 
long  divided.  Man  must  not  neglect  the  interests  of  home,  woman 
must  care  for  the  State.  Our  public  interests  and  private  hopes  need 
all  the  subtle  forces  of  brain  and  heart. 

An  interesting  feature  of  these  national  conventions  was  the 
State  reports,  which  contained  not  only  valuable  specific  informa- 
tion, but  often  felicitous  little  arguments  quite  equal  to  those  of 
the  more  formal  addresses.  Such  reports  were  received  in  1886 
from  thirty  different  States.  A  large  number  of  interesting  let- 
ters also  were  read,  among  them  one  from  George  W.  Childs, 
inclosing  check;  John  W.  Hutchinson,  Belva  A.  Lockwood,  the 
Hon.  J.  A.  Pickler,  Madame  Demorest,  Dr.  Mary  F.  Thomas, 
Lucinda  B.  Chandler,  the  Rev.  Olympia  Brown,  Mary  E.  Hag- 
gart,  Armenia  S.  White,  Emma  C.  Bascom,  Almeda  B.  Gray 
and  many  others. 

A  letter  from  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  urged  that  the 
question  of  woman  suffrage  should  now  be  carried  into  the 
churches  and  church  conventions  for  their  approval,  and  that 
more  enlightened  teaching  from  the  pulpit  in  regard  to  women 
should  be  insisted  upon.  The  letter  was  accompanied  by  a  resolu- 
tion to  this  effect,  both  expressed  in  very  strong  language.  They 
were  read  first  in  executive  session.  The  following  extracts  are 
taken  from  the  stenographic  report  of  the  meeting : 

Mrs.  Helen  M.  Gougar  (Ind.)  moved  that  the  resolution  be  laid 
upon  the  table,  saying :  "A  resolution  something  like  this  came  into 
the  last  convention,  and  it  has  done  more  to  cripple  my  work  and 
that  of  other  suffragists  than  anything  which  has  happened  in  the 
whole  history  of  the  woman  suffrage  movement.  When  you  look 
this  country  over  you  find  the  slums  are  opposed  to  us,  while  some 
of  the  best  leaders  and  advocates  of  woman  suffrage  are  among  the 
Christian  people.  A  bishop  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  stood 
through  my  meeting  in  Peoria  not  long  since.  We  can  not  afford  to 
antagonize  the  churches.  Some  of  us  are  orthodox,  and  some  of  us 


/6  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

are*  unorthodox,  but  this  association  is  for  suffrage  and  not  for  the 
discussion  of  religious  dogmas.  I  can  not  stay  within  these  borders 
if  that  resolution  is  adopted,  from  the  fact  that  my  hands  would  be 
tied.  I  hope  it  will  not  go  into  open  convention  for  debate. 

MRS.  PERKINS  (O.)  :  I  think  we  ought  to  pay  due  consideration 
and  respect  to  our  beloved  president.  I  have  no  objection  to  send- 
ing missionaries  to  the  churches  asking  them  to  pay  attention  to 
woman  suffrage;  but  I  do  not  think  the  churches  are  our  greatest 
enemies.  They  might  have  been  so  in  Mrs.  Stanton's  early  days, 
but  to-day  they  are  our  best  helpers.  If  it  were  not  for  their  co- 
operation I  could  not  get  a  hearing  before  the  public.  And  now 
that  they  are  coming  to  meet  us  half  way,  do  not  throw  stones  at 
them.  I  hope  that  resolution,  as  worded,  will  not  go  into  the  con- 
vention. 

MRS.  MERI WETHER  (Mo.)  :  I  think  the  resolution  could  be 
amended  so  as  to  offend  no  one.  The  ministers  falsely  construe  the 
Scriptures.  We  can  overwhelm  them  with  arguments  for  woman 
suffrage — with  Biblical  arguments.  We  can  hurl  them  like  shot 
and  shell.  Herbert  Spencer  once  wrote  an  article  on  the  different 
biases  which  distort  the  human  mind,  and  among  the  first  he  reck- 
oned the  theological  bias.  In  Christ's  time  and  in  the  early  Chris- 
tian days  there  was  no  liberty,  every  one  was  under  the  despotism 
of  the  Roman  Caesars,  but  women  were  on  an  equality  with  men, 
and  the  religion  that  Christ  taught  included  women  equally  with 
men.  He  made  none  of  the  invidious  distinctions  which  the 
churches  make  to-day. 

MRS.  SHATTUCK  (Mass.)  :  We  did  not  pass  the  resolution  of  last 
year,  so  it  could  not  have  harmed  anybody.  But  I  protest  against 
this  fling  at  masculine  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures. 

MRS.  MINOR  (Mo.)  :  I  object  to  the  whole  thing — resolution 
and  letter  both.  I  believe  in  confining  ourselves  to  woman  suffrage. 

MRS.  COLBY  (Neb.)  :  I  was  on  that  committee  of  resolutions  last 
year  and  wrote  the  modified  one  which  was  presented,  and  I  am 
willing  to  stand  by  it.  I  have  not  found  that  it  hurts  the  work,  save 
with  a  few  who  do  not  know  what  the  resolution  was,  or  what  was 
said  about  it.  The  discussion  was  reported  word  for  word  in  the 
Woman's  Tribune  and  I  think  no  one  who  read  it  would  say  that  it 
was  irreligious  or  lacked  respect  for  the  teachings  of  Christ.  I 
believe  we  must  say  something  in  the  line  of  Mrs.  Stanton's  idea. 
She  makes  no  fling  at  the  church.  She  wants  us  to  treat  the  Church 
as  we  have  the  State — viz.,  negotiate  for  more  favorable  action. 
We'have  this  fact  to  deal  with — that  in  no  high  orthodox  body  have 
women  been  accorded  any  privileges. 

EDWARD  M.  DAVIS  (Penn.) :  I  think  we  have  never  had  a 
resolution  offered  here  so  important  as  this.  We  have  never  had  a 
measure  brought  forward  which  would  produce  better  results.  I 
agree  entirely  with  Mrs.  Stanton  on  this  thing,  that  the  church  is 
the  greatest  barrier  to  woman's  progress.  We  do  not  want  to  pro- 
claim ourselves  an  irreligious  or  a  religious  people.  This  question 
of  religion  does  not  touch  us  either  way.  We  are  neutral. 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1 886.  77 

MADAME  NEYMANN  (N.  Y.)  :  Because  the  clergy  has  been  one- 
sided, we  do  not  want  to  be  one-sided.  I  know  of  no  one  for  whom 
I  have  a  greater  admiration  than  for  Mrs.  Stanton.  Her  resolution 
antagonizes  no  one. 

MRS.  BROOKS  (Neb.)  :  Let  us  do  this  work  in  such  a  way  that  it 
will  not  arouse  the  opposition  of  the  most  bigoted  clergyman.  All 
this  discussion  only  shows  that  the  old  superstitions  have  got  to  be 
banished. 

MRS.  SNOW  (Me.)  :     Mrs.  Stanton  wishes  to  convert  the  clergy. 

MRS.  DUNBAR  (Md.)  :  I  don't  want  the  resolution  referred  back 
to  the  committee,  out  of  respect  to  Mrs.  Stanton  and  the  manner  in 
which  she  has  been  treated  by  the  clergy.  I  do  not  want  to  lose  the 
wording  of  the  original  resolution,  and  therefore  move  that  it  be 
taken  up  here. 

MRS.  GOUGAR  :  I  think  it  is  quite  enough  to  undertake  to  change 
the  National  Constitution  without  undertaking  to  change'  the  Bible. 
I  heartily  agree  with  Mrs.  Stanton  in  her  idea  of  sending  delegates 
to  church  councils  and  convocations,  but  I  do  not  sanction  this  resolu- 
tion which  starts  out — "The  greatest  barrier  to  woman's  emancipa- 
tion is  found  in  the  superstitions  of  the  church."  That  is  enough 
in  itself  to  turn  the  entire  church,  Catholic  and  Protestant, 
against  us. 

MRS.  NELSON  (Minn.)  :  The  resolution  is  directed  against  the 
superstitions  of  the  church  and  not  against  the  church,  but  I  think 
it  would  be  taken  as  against  the  church. 

Miss  ANTHONY  (N.  Y.)  :  As  the  resolution  contains  the  essence 
of  the  letter,  I  move  that  the  whole  subject  go  to  the  Plan  of  Work 
Committee. 

The  meeting  adjourned  without  action,  and  on  Friday  morning 
the  same  subject  was  resumed.  A  motion  to  table  Mrs.  Stanton's 
resolution  was  lost.  Miss  Anthony  then  moved  that  both  letter  and 
resolution  be  placed  in  her  hands,  as  the  representative  of  the  presi- 
dent of  the  association,  to  be  read  in  open  convention  without  in- 
dorsement. "I  do  not  want  any  one  to  say  that  we  young  folks 
strangle  Mrs.  Stanton's  thought." 

THE  REV.  DR.  McMuRDY  (D.  C.)  :  I  do  not  intend  to  oppose  or 
favor  the  motion,  but  as  a  clergyman  and  a  High  Church  Episco- 
palian, I  can  not  see  any  particular  objections  to  Mrs.  Stanton's 
letter.  The  Scriptures  must  be  interpreted  naturally.  Whenever 
Paul's  remarks  are  brought  up  I  explain  them  in  the  light  of  this 
nineteenth  century  as  contrasted  with  the  first. 

It  was  finally  voted  that  the  letter  be  read  without  the  resolution. 

The  resolution  was  brought  up  later  in  open  convention  and 
the  final  vote  resulted  in  32  ayes  and  24  noes.  This  was  not  at 
that  time  a  delegate  body,  but  usually  only  those  voted  who  were 
especially  connected  with  the  work  of  the  association.  Before 
the  present  convention  adjourned  a  basis  of  delegate  representa- 


78  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

tion  was  adopted,  and  provision  made  that  hereafter  only  regu- 
larly accredited  delegates  should  be  entitled  to  vote. 

The  resolution  calling  upon  Congress  to  take  the  necessary 
measures  to  secure  the  ballot  for  women  through  an  amendment 
to  the  Federal  Constitution,  was  vigorously  opposed  by  the  South- 
ern delegates  as  contrary  to  States'  Rights,  but  was  finally  adopt- 
ed. There  was  some  discussion  also  on  the  resolution  which 
condemned  the  disfranchising  of  Gentile  as  well  as  Mormon 
women,  but  which  approved  the  action  of  Congress  in  making 
disfranchisement  a  punishment  for  the  crime  of  polygamy.  A 
difference  of  opinion  was  shown  in  regard  to  the  latter  clause. 
This  closed  the  convention. 

As  a  favorable  Senate  report  was  pending,  no  hearing  was  held 
before  that  committee. 

The  House  Judiciary  Committee*  granted  a  hearing  on  the 
morning  of  February  20.  The  speakers,  as  usual,  were  intro- 
duced to  the  chairman  of  the  committee  by  Miss  Anthony.  The 
first  of  these,  Mrs.  Virginia  L.  Minor,  had  attempted  to  vote  in 
St.  Louis,  been  refused  permission,  carried  her  case  to  the  Su- 
preme Court  and  received  an  adverse  decision.!  Miss  Anthony 
said  in  reference  to  this  decision :  "Chief  Justice  Waite  declared 
the  United  States  had  no  voters.  The  Dred  Scott  Decision  was 
that  the  negro,  not  being  a  voter,  was  not  a  citizen.  The  Su- 
preme Court  decided  that  women,  although  citizens,  were  not 
protected  in  the  rights  of  citizenship  by  the  Fourteenth  Amend- 
ment." Mrs.  Minor  said  in  part : 

I  do  not  stand  here  to  represent  rich  women  but  poor  women. 
Should  you  give  me  the  right  to  vote  and  deny  it  to  my  sister  I 
should  spurn  the  gift.  Without  the  ballot  no  class  is  so  helpless  as 
the  working  women.  If  the  ballot  is  necessary  for  man,  it  is  neces- 
sary for  woman.  We  must  have  one  law  for  all  American  citizens. 

The  Supreme  Court  has  half  done  the  work.  When  my  case 
came  up,  and  I  asked  them  that  the  same  law  should  protect  me  as 
protected  the  negro,  the  court  said,  "When  the  State  gives  you  the 
right  to  vote,  we  will  perpetuate  it ;  the  United  States  has  no  voters." 
I  want  to  ask  you  one  question.  If  there  are  no  United  States  voters, 

*  John  Randolph  Tucker,  Va. ;  Nathaniel  J.  Hammond,  Ga. ;  David  B.  Culberson,  Tex. ; 
Patrick  A.  Collins.  Mass.;  George  E.  Seney,  O.;  William  C.  Gates,  Ala.;  John  H. 
Rogers,  Ark.;  John  R.  Eden,  111.;  Risden  T.  Bennett,  N.  C;  Ezra  B.  Taylor,  O.; 
Abraham  X.  Parker,  N.  Y.;  Ambrose  A.  Ranney,  Mass.;  William  P.  Hepburn,  la.; 
John  W.  Stewart,  Vt.;  Lucien  B.  Caswell,  Wis. 

t  See  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  II,  p.  715. 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1 886.  79 

what  right  has  the  U.  S.  Court  to  go  into  the  State  of  New  York, 
arrest  Susan  B.  Anthony  and  condemn  her  under  Federal  Law?* 

Another  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  said  in  relation  to  the 
Fourteenth  Amendment,  that  the  negro,  because  of  citizenship,  was 
made  a  voter  in  every  State  of  the  Union.  The  court  went  on  to 
say  that  it  had  a  broader  significance,  that  it  included  the  Chinese  or 
any  nationality  that  should  become  citizens.  That  court  has  said  we 
are  citizens.  If  the  Chinese  would  have  the  right  to  vote  if  they 
were  citizens,  have  not  we  the  right  to  vote  because  of  citizenship  ? 

A  third  decision  was  in  the  case  of  the  United  States  vs.  Kellar 
in  the  State  of  Illinois.  A  man  arrested  for  illegal  voting  was 
brought  before  the  court ;  he  was  born  abroad  and  was  the  son  of  an 
American  woman.  Justice  Harlan  held  that  because  his  mother  was 
a  citizen,  she  had  transmitted  citizenship  to  her  son,  therefore  he  had 
a  right  to  vote.  This  right  must  have  been  inherent  in  the  mother, 
else  she  could  not  have  transmitted  it  to  her  son. 

Mrs.  Julia  B.  Nelson  (Minn.),  who  had  been  for  many  years 
teaching  the  freed  negroes  of  the  South,  said : 

What  are  the  obligations  of  the  Government  to  me,  a  widow, 
because  my  husband  gave  his  life  for  it?  I  have  been  forced  to 
think.  As  a  law-abiding  citizen  and  taxpayer  and  one  who  has 
given  all  she  could  give  to  the  support  of  this  Government,  I  have  a 
right  to  be  heard.  I  am  teaching  for  it,  teaching  citizens.  I  began 
teaching  freedmen  when  it  was  so  unpopular  that  men  could  not 
have  done  it.  The  voting  question  met  me  in  the  office  of  the  mis- 
sion, which  sends  out  more  women  than  men  because  better  work  is 
done  by  them.  A  woman  gets  for  this  work  $15  per  month;  if 
capable  of  being  a  principal  she  has  $20.  A  man  in  this  position 
receives  $75  a  month.  There  must  be  something  wrong,  but  I  do 
not  need  to  explain  to  you  that  an  unrepresented  class  must  work  at 
a  disadvantage. 

If  it  were  granted  to  women  to  fill  all  positions  for  which  they  are 
qualified,  they  would  not  be  so  largely  compelled  to  rush  into  those 
occupations  where  they  are  unfairly  remunerated.  As  so  many 
people  have  faith  that  whatever  is  is  right,  the  law  as  it  stands  has 
great  influence.  If  it  puts  woman  down  as  an  inferior,  she  will 
surely  be  regarded  as  such  by  the  people.  If  I  am  capable  of  pre- 
paring citizens,  I  am  capable  of  possessing  the  rights  of  a  citizen 
myself.  I  ask  you  to  remove  the  barriers  which  restrain  women 
from  equal  opportunities  and  privileges  with  men. 

Mrs.  Meriwether  pointed  out  the  helplessness  of  mothers  to 
obtain  legal  protection  for  themselves  and  their  children,  or  to 
influence  the  action  of  municipal  bodies,  without  the  suffrage. 
Miss  Eastman  said  in  the  course  of  her  address : 

The  first  business  of  government  is  foreshadowed  in  the  Consti- 

*  This  had  been  done  when  Miss  Anthony  voted  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  in  1872. 


8O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

tution,  that  it  is  to  secure  justice  between  man  and  man  by  allowing 
no  intrusion  of  any  on  the  rights  of  others.  This  principle  is  large 
in  application  although  simple  in  statement.  The  first  words,  "We, 
the  people,"  contain  the  foundation  of  our  claim.  If  we  limit  the 
application  of  the  word  "people,"  all  the  rest  falls  to  the  ground. 
Whatever  work  of  government  is  referred  to,  it  all  rests  on  its  being 
managed  by  "We,  the  people."  If  we  strike  that  out,  we  have  lost 
the  fundamental  principle.  Who  are  the  people?  I  feel  that  it  is 
not  my  business  to  ask  men  to  vote  on  my  right  to  be  admitted  to  the 
franchise.  I  have  been  debarred  from  my  right.  You  hold  the  po- 
sition to  do  me  justice.  Why  should  I  go  to  one-half  of  the  people 
and  ask  whether  so  clear  and  explicit  a  declaration  as  this  includes 
me  ?  The  suffrage  is  not  theirs  to  give,  and  I  would  not  get  it  from 
them  easily  if  it  were.  Neither  would  you  get  even  education  if  you 
had  to  ask  them  for  it.  This  question  is  not  for  the  people  at  large 
to  settle.  Justice  demands  that  we  should  be  referred  to  the  most 
intelligent  tribunals  in  the  land,  and  not  remanded  to  the  popular 
vote. 

Mrs.  Clay  Bennett  based  her  argument  largely  on  the  authority 
of  the  Scriptures.  Mrs.  Gougar  said : 

We  do  not  come  as  Democrats  or  Republicans,  not  as  Northern 
or  as  Southern,  but  as  women  representing  a  great  principle.  This 
is  in  line  with  the  Magna  Charta,  with  the  Petition  of  Rights,  with 
the  Articles  of  Confederation,  with  the  National  Constitution.  This 
is  in  direct  line  of  the  growth  of  human  liberty.  The  Declaration 
of  Independence  says,  "Governments  derive  their  just  powers  from 
the  consent  of  the  governed."  Are  you  making  a  single  law  which 
does  not  touch  me  as  much  as  it  does  you  ? 

Questions  are  upon  you  which  you  can  not  solve  without  the 
moral  sentiment  of  womanhood.  You  need  us  more  than  we  need 
suffrage.  In  our  large  cities  the  vicious  element  rules.  The  re- 
serve force  is  in  the  womanhood  of  the  nation.  Woman  suffrage  is 
necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the  life  of  the  republic.  To  give 
women  the  ballot  is  to  increase  the  intelligent  and  law-abiding  vote. 
The  tramp  vote  is  entirely  masculine.  By  enfranchising  the  women 
of  this  country,  you  enfranchise  humanity. 

Mrs.  Colby  thus  described  to  the  committee  the  recent  vote  in 
Nebraska  on  a  woman  suffrage  amendment : 

The  subject  was  well  discussed ;  the  leading  men  and  the  majority 
of  the  press  and  pulpit  favored  it.  Everything  indicated  that  here 
at  last  the  measure  might  be  safely  submitted  to  popular  vote.  On 
election  day  the  women  went  to  the  polling  places  in  nearly  every 
precinct  in  the  State,  with  their  flowers,  their  banners,  their  refresh- 
ments and  their  earnest  pleadings.  But  every  saloon  keeper  worked 
against  the  amendment,  backed  by  the  money  and  the  power  of  the 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1 886.  8l 

liquor  league.^  The  large  foreign  vote  went  almost  solidly  against 
woman  suffrage.  Nebraska  defies  the  laws  of  the  United  States  by 
allowing  foreigners  to  vote  when  they  have  been  only  six  months  on 
the  soil  of  America.  Many  of  these,  as  yet  wholly  unfamiliar  with 
the  institutions  of  our  country,  voted  the  ballot  which  was  placed  in 
their  hands.  The  woman  suffrage  amendment  received  but  a  little 
over  one-third  of  the  votes  cast. 

Men  were  still  so  afraid  women  did  not  want  to  vote  that  only 
one  thing  remained  to  convince  them  we  were  in  earnest,  and  that 
was  for  us  to  vote  that  way.  So  the  next  session  we  had  another 
amendment  introduced,  to  be  voted  on  by  the  men  as  before,  but  not 
to  take  effect  until  ratified  by  a  majority  of  the  women.  We  were 
willing  to  be  counted  if  the  Legislature  would  make  it  legal  to  count 
us.  It  refused  because  the  question,  it  said,  had  already  been  settled 
by  the  people.  Although  we  had  worked  and  pleaded  and  done  all 
that  women  could  do  to  obtain  our  rights  of  citizenship,  yet  the 
Legislature  looking  at  "the  people"  did  not  see  us,  and  refused  to 
submit  the  question  again.  Having  failed  to  obtain  our  rights  by 
popular  vote,  we  now  appeal  to  you. 

Miss  Anthony  related  the  unsuccessful  efforts  of  Mrs.  Caro- 
line E.  Merrick  and  other  ladies  of  Louisiana  to  have  women 
placed  on  the  school  boards  of  that  State,  due  wholly  to  their 
disfranchisement.  In  a  forcible  speech  Mrs.  Sewall  declared: 

In  coming  here  my  sense  of  justice  is  satisfied,  for  we  belong  to 
this  nation  as  well  as  you.  This  room,  this  building,  this  committee, 
the  whole  machinery  of  government  is  supported  in  part  by  the 
money  of  women  and  is  for  their  protection  as  well  as  for  that  of 
men.  .  .  . 

Our  question  should  never  be  partisan.  We  do  not  wish  to  go 
before  our  State  Legislatures  crippled  with  the  fact  that  an  amend- 
ment has  been  submitted  by  one  party  rather  than  the  other.  The 
Republican  party  gave  the  ballot  to  the  negro  and  claimed  its  vote  in 
return.  We  do  not  wish  any  party  to  feel  it  has  a  right  to  our  vote. 
The  Senate  now  has  a  majority  of  Republicans  and  the  House  of 
Democrats,  consequently  any  measure  which  is  passed  by  this  Con- 
gress will  be  unpartisan.  This  question  should  receive  support  of 
both  parties  by  the  higher  laws  of  the  universe.  Another  name  for 
life  is  helpfulness.  Separation  of  parts  belonging  to  one  whole  is 
death.  Separation  of  parties  on  questions  not  of  partisan  interest  is 
death  to  many  issues.  It  is  in  your  power  to  bring  the  parties  to- 
gether by  that  higher  law  of  the  universe  on  this  proposition  to  sub- 
mit a  Sixteenth  Amendment  to  our  Legislatures,  that  without  en- 
tanglement of  partisan  interests  this  question  can  be  decided. 

The  committee  were  so  interested  in  the  address  of  Madame 
Neymann  that  the  time  of  the  hearing  was  extended  in  order  that 
she  might  finish  it.     She  said  in  part : 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 6 


82  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Why  Americans,  so  keen  in  their  sense  of  what  is  right  and  just, 
should  be  so  dull  on  this  question  of  giving  woman  her  due  share  of 
independence,  I  can  not  comprehend.  Is  not  this  the  land  where 
foreigners  flock  because  they  have  heard  the  bugle  call  of  freedom  ? 
Why  then  is  it  that  your  own  children,  the  patriotic  daughters  of 
America,  who  have  been  reared  and  nurtured  in  free  homes,  brought 
up  under  the  guidance  and  amidst  the  blessings  of  freedom — why  is 
it  that  you  hold  them  unworthy  of  the  honor  of  being  enrolled  as 
citizens  and  voters  ?  England,  Canada  and  even  Ireland  have  gone 
ahead  of  us,  and  was  not  America  destined  by  its  tradition  to  be 
first  and  foremost  in  this  important  movement  of  making  women  the 
equal,  the  true  partner  of  man  ? 

In  a  free  country  the  national  life  stands  in  direct  relation  to  the 
home  life,  the  public  life  reacts  upon  the  family,  and  the  family  fur- 
nishes the  material  for  the  State.  The  lives  and  the  characters  of 
our  children  are  influenced  by  the  manners  and  methods  of  our 
Government,  and  to  say  that  mothers  have  no  right  to  be  concerned 
in  the  politics  of  the  country  is  simply  saying  that  the  life  and  char- 
acter of  our  children  are  of  no  concern  to  us. 

The  citizen's  liberty  instead  of  being  sacrificed  by  society  has  to 
be  defended  by  society.  Who  defends  woman's  individuality  in  our 
modern  State?  Universal  suffrage  is  the  only  guarantee  against 
despotism.  Every  man  who  believes  in  the  subjection  of  woman 
will  play  the  despot  whenever  you  give  him  an  opportunity. 

We  have  no  right  to  ask  if  it  is  expedient  to  grant  suffrage  to 
women.  We  recognize  that  the  principle  is  just  and  justice  must  be 
done  though  the  heavens  fall.  It  is  small  minds  that  bring  forth 
small  objections.  The  man  who  believes  in  a  just  principle  trusts 
and  confides  in  it,  and  thus  we  ask  you  to  confide  in  suffrage  for 
women. 

On  May  6,  1886,  the  committee  report,  made  by  the  Hon.  John 
W.  Stewart  (Vt),  stated  that  the  resolution  was  laid  on  the 
table.  The  following  minority  report  was  submitted : 

In  a  Government  by  the  people  the  ballot  is  at  once  a  badge  of 
sovereignty  and  the  means  of  exercising  power.  We  need  not  for 
our  present  purpose  define  the  right  to  vote,  nor  inquire  whence  it 
comes.  Whether  it  is  a  natural  or  a  political  right,  one  arising  from 
social  relations  and  duties,  or  a  necessity  incidental  to  individual 
protection  and  communal  welfare,  is  immaterial  to  the  discussion. 
Let  the  advocates  of  man's  right  to  participate  in  governmental 
affairs  choose  their  own  ground  and  we  will  be  content.  The  vot- 
ing franchise  exists,  and  it  exists  because  it  has  been  seized  by  force 
•or  because  of  some  right  antedating  its  sanction  by  law.  Nativity 
does  not  confer  it,  because  aliens  exercise  it ;  it  does  not  arise  from 
taxation,  for  many  are  taxed  who  can  not  vote  and  many  vote  who 
-are  not  taxed.  Ability  to  bear  arms  is  not  the  test  of  the  voting 
franchise,  as  many  legally  vote  who  were  never  able  to  bear  arms, 
and  others  who  have  become  unable  to  do  so  by  reason  of  sickness, 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1 886.  83 

accident  or  age ;  nor  does  education  mark  the  line,  for  the  learned 
and  the  illiterate  meet  at  the  ballot  box. 

With  us  a  portion  of  the  adult  population  have  assumed  to  exer- 
cise the  right,  admitted  to  exist  somewhere,  of  governing,  and  have 
forced  another  portion  into  the  position  of  the  governed.  That  this 
assumption  is  just  and  wise  is  averred  by  some  and  denied  by  others. 
If  we  call  upon  these  rulers  for  a  copy  of  their  commission  they 
present  one  written  by  themselves. 

Children,  idiots  and  convicted  felons  properly  belong  to  the  gov- 
erned and  not  to  the  governing  class,  as  they  are  intellectually  or 
morally  unfit  to  govern.  Necessity  only  places  them  there;  neces- 
sity is  an  absolute  monarch  and  will  be  everywhere  obeyed.  To  this 
governed  class  has  been  added  woman,  and  we  beg  the  House  and 
the  country  to  inquire  why.  They  are  also  "people"  and  we  sub- 
mit that  they  are  neither  moral  nor  intellectual  incapabl.es,  and  no 
necessity  for  their  disfranchisement  can  be  suggested ;  on  the  con- 
trary, we  believe  that  they  are  now  entitled  to  immediate  and  abso- 
lute enfranchisement. 

First :  Because  their  own  good  demands  it.  Give  woman  the 
ballot  and  she  will  have  additional  means  and  inducements  to  a 
broader  and  better  education,  including  a  knowledge  of  affairs,  of 
which  she  will  not  fail  to  avail  herself  to  the  uttermost ;  give  her  the 
ballot  and  you  add  to  her  means  of  protection  of  her  person  and 
estate.  The  ballot  is  a  powerful  weapon  of  defense  sorely  needed 
by  those  too  weak  to  wield  any  other,  and  to  take  it  from  such  and 
give  to  those  already  clothed  in  strength  and  fully  armed,  would 
appear  to  be  unjust,  unfair  and  unwise  to  one  unaccustomed  to  the 
sight.  Long  usage  "sanctions  and  sanctifies"  wrongs  and  abuses, 
and  causes  cruelty  to  be  mistaken  for  kindness. 

The  history  of  woman  is  for  the  most  part  a  history  of  wrong  and 
outrage.  Created  the  equal  companion  of  man,  she  early  became 
his  slave,  and  still  is  so  in  most  parts  of  the  world.  In  many  so- 
called  Christian  nations  of  Europe  she  is  to-day  yoked  with  beasts 
and  is  doing  the  labor  of  beasts,  while  her  son  and  husband  are 
serving  in  the  army,  protecting  the  divine  right  of  kings  and  men  to 
slay  and  destroy.  In  the  farther  East  she  is  still  more  degraded, 
being  substantially  excluded  from  the  world.  Man  has  not  been 
consciously  unjust  to  woman  in  the  past,  nor  is  he  now,  but  he  be- 
lieves that  she  is  in  her  true  sphere,  not  realizing  that  he  has  fixed 
her  sphere,  and  not  God.  This  is  as  true  of  the  barbarian  as  of  the 
Christian,  and  no  more  so.  If  the  "unspeakable  Turk"  should  be 
solicited  to  open  the  doors  of  his  harem  and  let  the  inmates  become 
free,  he  would  be  indignant,  doubtless,  and  would  swear  by  the 
beard  of  the  Prophet  that  he  never  would  so  degrade  lovely  woman, 
who,  in  her  sphere,  was  intended  to  be  the  solace  of  glorious,  su- 
perior man. 

Yet,  as  man  advances,  woman  is  elevated,  and  her  elevation  in 
turn  advances  him.  No  liberty  ever  given  her  has  been  lost  or 
abused  or  regretted.  Where  most  has  been  given  she  has  become 


84  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

best.     Liberty  never  degrades  her;  slavery  always  does.     For  her 
good,  therefore,  she  needs  the  ballot. 

Second:  Woman's  vote  is  needed  for  the  good  of  others.  Our 
horizon  is  misty  with  apparent  dangers.  Woman  may  aid  in  dis- 
pelling them.  She  is  an  enemy  of  foreign  war  and  domestic  tur- 
moil; she  is  a  friend  of  peace  and  home.  Her  influence  for  good 
in  many  directions  would  be  multiplied  if  she  possessed  the  ballot. 
She  desires  the  homes  of  the  land  to  be  pure  and  sober;  with  her 
help  they  may  become  so.  Without  her  what  is  the  prospect  in  this 
regard  ? 

We  do  not  invite  woman  into  the  "dirty  pool  of  politics,"  nor  does 
she  intend  to  enter  that  pool.  Politics  is  not  necessarily  unclean  ;  if 
it  is  unclean  she  is  not  chargeable  with  the  great  crime,  for  crime  it 
is.  Politics  must  be  purified  or  we  are  lost.  To  govern  this  great 
nation  wisely  and  well  is  not  degrading  service;  to  do  it,  all  the 
wisdom,  ability  and  patriotism  of  all  the  people  is  required.  No 
great  moral  force  should  be  unemployed. 

But  it  is  sometimes  said  that  women  do  not  desire  the  ballot. 
Some  may  not ;  very  many  do  not,  perhaps  a  majority.  Such  in- 
difference can  not  affect  the  right  of  those  who  are  not  indifferent. 
Some  men,  for  one  or  other  insufficient  reason,  decline  to  vote ;  but 
no  statesman  has  yet  urged  general  disfranchisement  on  that  ac- 
count. It  may  be  true,  and  in  our  judgment  it  is,  that  those  in- 
dividuals who  so  fail  to  appreciate  the  rights  and  obligations  of 
freemen  as  to  deliberately  refuse  to  vote  should  be  disfranchised 
and  made  aliens,  but  their  offense  should  not  be  visited  on  vigilant 
and  patriotic  citizens.  Neither  male  nor  female  suffragists  can  be 
forced  to  use  the  ballot,  and  while  the  individuals  of  each  class  may 
fail  to  appreciate  the  privilege  or  recognize  the  duty  the  franchise 
confers,  in  the  main  it  will  result  otherwise. 

The  conservative  woman  who  feels  that  her  present  duties  are 
as  burdensome  as  she  can  bear,  when  she  realizes  what  she  can  ac- 
complish for  her  country  and  for  mankind  by  the  ballot,  will  as 
reverently  thank  God  for  the  opportunity  and  will  as  zealously  dis- 
charge her  new  obligations,  as  will  her  more  radical  sister  who  has 
long  and  wearily  labored  and  fervently  prayed  for  the  coming  of 
the  day  of  equality  of  rights,  duties  and  hopes. 

E.  B.  TAYLOR. 
W.  P.  HEPBURN. 
L.  B.  CASWELL. 

I  concur  in  the  opinion  of  the  minority  that  the  resolution  ought 
to  be  adopted. 

A.  A.  RANNEY. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FIRST  DISCUSSION  AND  VOTE  IN  THE  U.  S.  SENATE 1887. 

Although  the  Senate  Select  Committee  on  Woman  Suffrage 
had  reported  several  times  in  favor  of  a  Sixteenth  Amendment 
to  the  Federal  Constitution  which  should  prohibit  disfranchise- 
ment  on  account  of  sex,  and  although  Thomas  W.  Palmer,  in 
1885,.  had  delivered  a  speech  on  the  question  in  the  Senate,  it 
never  had  been  brought  to  a  discussion  and  vote.*  Urged  by 
the  members  of  the  National  Association,  and  by  his  own  strong 
convictions  as  to  the  justice  of  the  cause,  Senator  Henry  W. 
Blair  (N.  H.),  on  Dec.  8,  1886,  called  up  the  following,  which 
he  had  reported  for  the  majority  of  the  committee  on  February 
2  of  that  year: 

JOINT  RESOLUTION  PROPOSING  AN  AMENDMENT  TO  THE  CONSTITU- 
TION OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  EXTENDING  THE  RIGHT  OF  SUFFRAGE 
TO  WOMEN. 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled  (two-thirds  of 
each  House  concurring  therein),  That  the  following  article  be  pro- 
posed to  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States  as  an  amendment 
to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States ;  which,  when  ratified  by 
three-fourths  of  the  said  Legislatures,  shall  be  valid  as  part  of  said 
Constitution,  namely: 

SECTION  I.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote 
shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States  or  by  any  State 
on  account  of  sex. 

SECTION  2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power,  by  appropriate  leg- 
islation, to  enforce  the  provisions  of  this  article. 

Senator  Blair  supported  this  resolution  in  a  long  and  com- 

*  The  only  time  the  direct  question  of  woman  suffrage  ever  had  been  discussed  and  voted 
on  in  the  U.  S.  Senate  was  in  December,  1866,  on  the  Bill  to  Regulate  the  Franchise 
for  the  District  of  Columbia — History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  II,  p.  102;  and  in  May, 
1874,  on  the  Bill  to  Establish  the  Territory  of  Pembina — the  same,  p.  545;  but  these 
were  entirely  distinct  from  the  submission  of  a  constitutional  amendment. 

85 


86  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

prehensive  speech,  that  will  be  recorded  in  history  as  one  of  the 
ablest  ever  made  on  this  subject,  in  the  course  of  which  he  said  :* 

Upon  solemn  occasions  concerning  grave  public  affairs,  and  when 
large  numbers  of  the  citizens  of  the  country  desire  to  test  the  senti- 
ments of  the  people  upon  an  amendment  of  the  organic  law  in  the 
manner  provided  by  the  provisions  of  that  law,  it  may  well  become 
the  duty  of  Congress  to  submit  the  proposition  to  the  amending 
power,  which  is  the  same  as  that  which  created  the  original  instru- 
ment itself — the  electors  of  the  several  States.  It  can  hardly  be 
claimed  that  two-thirds  of  each  branch  of  Congress  must  necessarily 
be  convinced  that  the  Constitution  should  be  amended,  before  it 
submits  the  same  to  the  judgment  of  the  States. 

If  there  be  any  principle  upon  which  our  form  of  government  is 
founded,  and  wherein  it  is  different  from  aristocracies,  monarchies 
and  despotisms,  that  principle  is  this:  Every  human  being  of  ma- 
ture powers,  not  disqualified  by  ignorance,  vice  or  crime,  is  the 
equal  of  and  is  entitled  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  which  belong 
to  any  other  human  being  under  the  law. 

The  independence,  equality  and  dignity  of  all  human  souls  is  the 
fundamental. assertion  of  those  who  believe  in  what  we  call  human 
freedom.  But  we  are  informed  that  women  are  represented  by 
men.  This  can  not  reasonably  be  claimed  unless  it  first  be  shown 
that  their  consent  has  been  given  to  such  representation,  or  that 
they  lack  the  capacity  to  consent.  But  the  exclusion  of  this  class 
from  the  suffrage  deprives  them  of  the  power  of  assent  to  repre- 
sentation even  when  they  possess  the  requisite  ability.  .  .  . 
The  Czar  represents  his  whole  people,  just  as  much  as  voting  men 
represent  women  who  do  not  vote  at  all. 

True  it  is  that  the  voting  men,  in  excluding  women  and  other 
classes  from  the  suffrage,  by  that  act  charge  themselves  with  the 
trust  of  administering  justice  to  all,  even  as  the  monarch  whose 
power  is  based  upon  force  is  bound  to  rule  uprightly.  But  if  it  be 
true  that  "all  just  government  is  founded  upon  the  consent  of  the 
governed,"  then  the  government  of  woman  by  man,  without  her 
consent  given  in  a  sovereign  capacity,  even  if  that  government  be 
wise  and  just  in  itself,  is  a  violation  of  natural  right  and  an  enforce- 
ment of  servitude  against  her  on  the  part  of  man.  If  woman,  like 
the  infant  or  the  defective  classes,  be  incapable  of  self-government, 
then  republican  society  may  exclude  her  from  all  participation  in  the 
enactment  and  enforcement  of  the  laws  under  which  she  lives.  But 
in  that  case,  like  the  infant  and  the  idiot  and  the  unconsenting  sub- 
ject of  tyrannical  forms  of  government,  she  is  ruled  and  not  repre- 
sented by  man.  This  much  I  desire  to  say  in  the  beginning  in  reply 
to  the  broad  assumption  of  those  who  deny  women  the  suffrage  by 

•  Extended  space  is  accorded  this  discussion,  as  it  might  reasonably  be  expected  that 
on  the  floor  of  the  United  States  Senate  would  be  made  the  most  exhaustive  arguments 
possible  on  both  sides  of  this  important  question. 


DISCUSSION    AND   VOTE    IN    U.    S.    SENATE 1887.  8j 

saying  that  they  are  already  represented  by  their  fathers,  their  hus- 
bands, their  brothers  and  their  sons. 

The  common  ground  upon  which  all  agree  may  be  stated  thus: 
All  males  having  certain  qualifications  are  in  reason  and  in  law 
entitled  to  vote.  These  qualifications  affect  either  the  body  or  the 
mind  or  both.  The  first  is  the  attainment  of  a  certain  age.  The 
age  in  itself  is  not  material,  but  maturity  of  mental  development  is 
material,  although  soundness  of  body  in  itself  is  not  essential,  and 
want  of  it  never  works  forfeiture  of  the  right.  Age  as  a  qualifica- 
tion for  suffrage  is  by  no  means  to  be  confounded  with  age  as  a 
qualification  for  service  in  war.  Society  has  well  established  the 
distinction,  and  also  that  one  has  no  relation  whatever  to  the  other — 
the  one  having  reference  to  physical  prowess,  while  the  other  re- 
lates only  to  the  mental  state.  This  is  shown  by  the  ages  fixed  by 
law,  that  of  eighteen  years  as  the  commencement  of  the  term  of  pre- 
sumed fitness  for  military  service  and  forty-five  as  the  period  of  its 
termination;  while  the  age  of  presumed  fitness  for  the  suffrage, 
which  requires  no  physical  superiority  certainly,  is  set  at  twenty-one 
years  when  still  greater  strength  of  body  has  been  attained  than  at 
the  period  when  liability  to  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  war  be- 
gins. There  are  at  least  three  million  more  male  voters  in  our  coun- 
try than  of  the  population  liable  by  law  to  the  performance  of  mili- 
tary duty.  It  is  still  further  to  be  observed  that  the  right  of  suffrage 
continues  as  long  as  the  mind  lasts,  while  ordinary  liability  to  mili- 
tary service  ceases  at  a  period  when  the  physical  powers,  though 
still  strong,  are  beginning  to  wane.  The  truth  is  that  there  is  no 
legal  or  natural  connection  between  the  liability  to  fight  and  the 
right  to  vote. 

The  right  to  fight  may  be  exercised  voluntarily,  or  the  liability 
to  fight  may  be  enforced  by  the  community,  whenever  there  is  need 
for  it,  and  the  extent  to  which  the  physical  forces  of  society  may  be 
called  upon  in  self-defense  or  in  justifiable  revolution  is  measured 
not  by  age  or  sex,  but  by  necessity,  which  may  go  so  far  as  to  call 
into  the  field  old  men  and  women  and  the  last  vestige  of  physical 
force.  It  can  not  be  claimed  that  woman  has  no  right  to  vote  be- 
cause she  is  not  liable  to  fight,  for  she  is  so  liable,  and  the  freest 
government  on  the  face  of  the  earth  has  the  reserved  power  under 
the  call  of  necessity  to  place  her  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle  itself ; 
and  more  than  this,  woman  has  the  right,  and  often  has  exercised  it, 
to  go  there.  If  any  one  could  question  the  existence  of  this  reserved 
power  to  call  woman  to  the  common  defense,  either  in  the  hospital 
or  the  field,  it  would  be  woman  herself,  who  has  been  deprived  of 
participation  in  the  Government  and  in  shaping  public  policies  which 
have  resulted  in  dire  emergency  to  the  State.  But  in  all  times,  and 
under  all  forms  of  government  and  of  social  existence,  woman  has 
given  her  body  and  her  soul  to  the  common  defense. 

The  qualification  of  age,  then,  is  imposed  for  the  purpose  of  secur- 
ing mental  and  moral  fitness  for  the  suffrage  on  the  part  of  those 
who  exercise  it.  It  has  no  relation  to  the  possession  of  physical 
powers  at  all. 


88  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  property  qualification  for  suffrage  is,  to  my  mind,  an  invasion 
of  natural  right,  which  elevates  mere  property  to  an  equality  with 
life  and  personal  liberty,  and  it  ought  never  to  be  imposed.  But, 
however  that  may  be,  its  application  has  no  relation  to  sex,  and  its 
only  object  is  to  secure  the  exercise  of  the  suffrage  under  a  stronger 
sense  of  obligation  and  responsibility.  The  same  is  true  of  the 
qualifications  of  sanity,  education  and  obedience  to  the  laws,  which 
exclude  dementia,  ignorance  and  crime  from  participation  in  the 
sovereignty.  Every  condition  or  qualification  imposed  upon  the 
exercise  of  the  suffrage,  save  sex  alone,  has  for  its  only  object  or 
possible  justification  the  possession  of  mental  and  moral  fitness,  and 
has  no  relation  to  physical  power. 

The  question  then  arises  why  is  the  qualification  of  masculinity 
required  ?  The  distinction  between  human  beings  by  reason  of  sex 
is  a  physical  distinction.  The  soul  is  of  no  sex.  If  there  be  a  dis- 
tinction of  soul  by  reason  of  the  physical  difference,  woman  is  the 
superior  of  man.  In  proof  of  this  see  the  minority  report  of  this 
committee  with  all  the  eulogiums  of  woman  pronounced  by  those 
who,  like  the  serpent  of  old,  would  flatter  her  vanity  that  they  may 
continue  to  wield  her  power.  I  repeat  that  the  soul  is  of  no  sex, 
and  that  so  far  as  the  possession  and  exercise  of  human  rights  and 
powers  are  concerned,  sex  is  but  a  physical  property,  whose  posses- 
sion renders  the  female  just  as  important  as  the  male,  and  in  just  as 
great  need  of  power  in  the  government  of  society.  If  there  be  a 
difference,  however,  her  average  physical  inferiority  is  really  com- 
pensated for  by  a  superior  mental  and  moral  fitness  to  give  direc- 
tion to  the  course  of  society  and  to  the  policy  of  the  State.  If,  then, 
there  be  a  distinction  between  the  souls  of  human  beings  resulting 
from  sex,  woman  is  better  fitted  for  the  exercise  of  the  suffrage 
than  man. 

It  is  asserted  by  some  that  the  suffrage  is  an  inherent  natural 
right,  and  by  others  that  it  is  merely  a  privilege  extended  to  the  in- 
dividual by  society  at  its  discretion.  However  this  may  be,  its  ex- 
tension to  any  class  must  come  through  the  exercise  of  the  suffrage 
by  those  who  already  possess  it.  Therefore,  the  appeal  by  those 
who  have  it  not  must  be  made  to  those  who  are  asked  to  part  with  a 
portion  of  their  own  power.  It  is  only  human  nature  that  the  male 
sex  should  hesitate  to  yield  one-half  of  its  power  to  those  whose 
cause,  however  strong  in  reason  and  justice,  lacks  that  physical 
force  by  which  so  largely  the  masses  of  men  themselves  have  wrung 
their  own  rights  from  rulers  and  kings. 

It  is  not  strange  that  when  overwhelmed  with  argument  and  half 
won  by  appeals  to  his  better  nature,  and  ashamed  to  refuse  blankly 
that  which  he  finds  no  reason  for  longer  withholding,  man  avoids 
the  dilemma  by  a  pretended  elevation  of  woman  to  a  higher  sphere, 
where,  as  an  angel,  she  has  certain  gauzy,  ethereal  resources  and 
superior  attributes  and  functions  which  render  the  possession  of 
mere  earthly,  every-day  powers  and  privileges  non-essential  to  her, 
however  mere  mortal  men  may  find  them  indispensable  to  their  own 
freedom  and  happiness.  But  to  the  denial  of  her  right  to  vote, 


DISCUSSION    AND   VOTE    IN    U.    S.    SENATE 1887.  89 

whether  that  denial  be  the  blunt  refusal  of  the  ignorant  or  the  pol- 
ished evasion  of  the  refined  courtier  and  politician,  woman  can  op- 
pose only  her  most  solemn  and  perpetual  appeal  to  the  reason  of 
man  and  to  the  justice  of  Almighty  God.  She  must  continually 
point  out  the  nature  and  object  of  the  suffrage  and  the  necessity  that 
she  possess  it  for  her  own  and  the  public  good. 

\Yhat,  then,  is  the  suffrage,  and  why  is  it  necessary  that  woman 
should  possess  and  exercise  this  function  of  freemen?  I  quote 
briefly  from  the  majority  report  of  the  Senate  Committee:* 

"The  rights  for  the  maintenance  of  which  human  governments 
are  constituted  are  life,  liberty  and  property.  These  rights  are 
common  to  men  and  women  alike  and  both  are  entitled  to  the  sov- 
ereign power  to  protect  these  rights.  This  right  to  the  protection 
of  rights  appertains  to  the  individual,  not  to  the  family,  or  to  any 
form  of  association,  whether  social  or  corporate.  Probably  not 
more  than  five-eighths  of  the  men  of  legal  age,  qualified  to  vote,  are 
heads  of  families,  and  not  more  than  that  proportion  of  adult  women 
are  united  with  men  in  the  legal  merger  of  married  life.  It  is, 
therefore,  quite  incorrect  to  speak  of  the  State  as  an  aggregate  of 
families  duly  represented  at  the  ballot-box  by  their  male  head.  The 
relation  between  the  government  and  the  individual  is  direct;  all 
rights  are  individual  rights,  all  duties  are  individual  duties. 

"Government  in  its  two  highest  functions  is  legislative  and  ju- 
dicial. By  these  powers  the  sovereignty  prescribes  the  law  and  di- 
rects its  application  to  the  vindication  of  rights  and  the  redress  of 
wrongs.  Conscience  and  intelligence  are  the  only  forces  which 
enter  into  the  exercise  of  these  primary  and  highest  functions  of 
government.  The  remaining  department  is  the  executive  or  ad- 
ministrative, and  in  all  forms  of  government  the  primary  element 
of  administration  is  force,  but  even  in  this  department  conscience 
and  intelligence  are  indispensable  to  its  direction. 

"If,  now,  we  are  to  decide  who  of  our  sixty  millions  of  human 
beings  are,  by  virtue  of  their  qualifications,  to  be  the  law-making 
power,  by  what  tests  shall  the  selection  be  determined?  The  suf- 
frage is  this  great  primary  law-making  power.  It  is  not  the  ex- 
ecutive power.  It  is  not  founded  upon  force.  Never  in  the  history 
of  this  or  any  other  genuine  republic  has  the  law-making  power, 
whether  in  general  elections  or  in  the  framing  of  laws  in  legislative 
assemblies,  been  vested  in  individuals  by  reason  of  their  physical 
powers.  .  .  . 

"The  executive  power  of  itself  is  a  mere  physical  instrumentality 
— an  animal  quality — and  it  is  confided  from  necessity  to  those  who 
possess  that  quality,  but  always  with  danger,  except  so  far  as  wis- 
dom and  virtue  control  its  exercise.  Therefore  it  is  obvious  that 
the  greater  the  spiritual  forces,  whether  found  in  those  who  execute 
the  law,  or  in  the  large  body  by  whom  the  suffrage  is  exercised,  and 
who  direct  its  execution,  the  greater  will  be  the  safety  and  the  surer 
will  be  the  happiness  of  the  State. 

*  This   report  had  been  presented   Mar.   28,    1884,   by   Senators   T.   W.    Palmer,   H.   W. 
Blair,  E.  G.  Lapham  and  H.  B.  Anthony. 


9O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

"It  is  too  late  to  question  the  intellectual  and  moral  capacity  of 
woman  to  understand  political  issues  and  intelligently  decide  them 
at  the  polls.  Indeed  the  pretense  is  no  longer  advanced  that  woman 
should  not  vote  because  of  her  mental  or  moral  unfitness  to  perform 
this  legislative  function ;  but  the  suffrage  is  denied  to  her  because 
she  can  neither  hang  criminals,  suppress  mobs  nor  handle  the  en- 
ginery of  war.  We  have  already  seen  the  untenable  nature  of  this 
assumption,  because  those  who  make  it  bestow  the  suffrage  upon 
very  large  classes  of  men  who,  however  well  qualified  they  may  be 
to  vote,  are  physically  unable  to  perform  any  of  the  duties  which 
appertain  to  the  execution  of  the  law  and  the  defense  of  the  State. 
Scarcely  a  Senator  on  this  floor  is  liable  by  law  to  perform  military 
or  other  administrative  duty,  yet  this  rule  set  up  against  the  right 
of  women  to  vote  would  disfranchise  nearly  this  whole  body. 

"But  it  is  unnecessary  to  grant  that  woman  can  not  fight.  His- 
tory is  full  of  examples  of  her  heroism  in  danger,  of  her  endurance 
and  fortitude  in  trial,  of  her  indispensable  and  supreme  service  in 
hospital  and  field.  .  .  .  It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  consider 
this  trivial  objection — that  she  is  incompetent  for  purposes  of  na- 
tional murder  or  of  bloody  self-defense — as  the  basis  for  denying  a 
fundamental  right,  when  we  consider  that  if  this  right  were  given 
to  her  she  would  by  its  very  exercise  almost  certainly  abolish  this 
great  crime  of  the  nations,  which  has  always  inflicted  upon  woman 
the  chief  burden  of  woe." 

Mr.  Blair  then  demonstrated  the  intellectual  ability  of  the 
woman  of  the  present  day,  proving  in  this  respect  her  capacity 
and  fitness  to  vote.  He  quoted  from  the  minority  report  of  the 
Senate  Committee,  which  had  been  submitted  by  Senators  Brown 
and  Cockrell,  saying : 

It  proceeds  to  show  that  both  man  and  woman  are  designed  for 
a  higher  final  estate — to-wit,  that  of  matrimony.  It  -seems  to  be 
conceded  that  man  is  just  as  well  fitted  for  matrimony  as  woman 
herself,  and  the  whole  subject  is  illuminated  with  certain  botanical 
lore  about  stamens  and  pistils,  which,  however  relevant  to  matri- 
mony, does  not  prove  that  woman  should  not  vote  unless  at  the 
same  time  it  proves  that  man  should  not  vote.  And  certainly  it 
can  not  apply  to  those  women,  any  more  than  to  those  men,  whose 
highest  and  final  estate  never  is  merged  in  the  family  relation  at 
all.  .  .  . 

The  right  to  vote  is  the  great  primitive  right  in  which  all  freedom 
originates  and  culminates.  It  is  the  right  from  which  all  others 
spring,  in  which  they  merge,  and  without  which  they  fall  whenever 
assailed.  This  right  makes  all  the  difference  between  government 
by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  governed,  and  government  without 
and  against  the  consent  of  the  governed ;  and  that  is  the  difference 
between  freedom  and  slavery.  If  the  right  to  vote  be  not  that  dif- 
ference, what  is?  If  either  sex  as  a  class  can  dispense  with  the 


DISCUSSION    AND  VOTE   IN    U.    S.    SENATE 1887.  QI 

right  to  vote,  then  take  it  from  the  strong  and  do  not  longer  rob  the 
weak  of  their  defense  for  the  benefit  of  the  strong.  But  it  is  impos- 
sible to  conceive  of  the  suffrage  as  a  right  dependent  at  all  upon 
such  an  irrelevant  condition  as  sex.  It  is  an  individual,  a  personal 
right,  and  if  withheld  by  reason  of  sex  it  is  a  moral  robbery. 

It  is  said  that  the  duties  of  maternity  disqualify  for  the  perform- 
ance of  the  act  of  voting.  It  can  not  be,  and  I  think  is  not  claimed 
by  any  one,  that  the  mother  who  otherwise  would  be  fit  to  vote  is 
rendered  mentally  or  morally  less  fit  to  exercise  this  high  function 
in  the  State  because  of  motherhood.  On  the  contrary,  if  any 
woman  has  a  motive  more  than  another  person,  man  or  woman,  to 
secure  the  enactment  and  enforcement  of  good  laws,  it  is  the  mother, 
who,  besides  her  own  life,  person  and  property — to  the  protection  of 
which  the  ballot  is  as  essential  as  to  those  of  man — has  her  little 
contingent  of  immortal  beings  to  conduct  safely  to  the  portals  of 
active  life  through  all  the  snares  and  pitfalls  woven 'around  them 
by  bad  men  and  bad  laws,  and  to  prepare  rightly  for  the  discharge 
of  all  the  duties  of  their  day  and  generation,  including,  if  boys,  the 
exercise  of  the  very  right  denied  to  their  mother. 

Certainly  if  but  for  motherhood  woman  should  vote,  then  ten 
thousand  times  more  necessary  is  it  that  the  mother  should  be 
armed  with  this  great  social  and  political  power  for  the  sake  of  all 
men  and  women  who  are  yet  to  be.  It  is  said  that  she  has  not  the 
time.  Let  us  see.  By  the  best  deductions  I  can  make  from  the 
census  and  from  other  sources,  of  the  women  of  voting  age  in  this 
country  not  more  than  one-half  are  married  and  still  liable  to  the 
duties  of  maternity;  for  it  will  be  remembered  that  a  considerable 
proportion  of  the  mothers  at  any  given  time  are  below  the  voting 
age,  while  another  large  proportion  have  passed  beyond  the  point 
of  this  objection.  Then  why  disfranchise  the  half  to  whom  your 
objection,  even  if  valid  as  to  any,  does  not  apply  at  all ;  and  most  of 
these,  too,  the  most  mature  and  therefore  the  best  qualified  to  vote 
of  any  of  their  sex  ? 

But  how  much  is  there  of  this  objection  of  want  of  time  or 
physical  strength  to  vote  in  its  application  to  those  women  who  are 
bearing  and  training  the  coming  millions?  .  .  .  The  average 
mother  will  attend  church  at  least  forty  times  yearly  from  her  cra- 
dle to  her  grave ;  and  there  is,  besides,  an  infinity  of  other  social, 
religious  and  industrial  obligations  which  she  performs  because  she 
is  a  married  woman  and  a  mother  rather  than  for  any  other  reason 
whatever.  Yet  it  is  proposed  to  deprive  all  women  alike  of  an  in- 
estimable privilege  for  the  reason  that  on  any  given  day  of  election 
perhaps  one  woman  in  twenty  of  voting  age  may  not  be  able  to 
reach  the  polls.  .  .  . 

When  one  thinks  of  the  innumerable  and  trifling  causes  which 
keep  many  of  the  best  of  men  and  the  strongest  opponents  of  woman 
suffrage  from  the  polls  upon  important  occasions,  it  is  difficult  to  be 
tolerant  of  the  objection  that  woman  by  reason  of  motherhood  has 
no  time  to  vote.  .  .  . 

It  is  urged  that  woman  does  not  desire  the  privilege.     If  the  right 


92  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

exist  at  all  it  is  an  individual  right,  and  not  one  which  belongs  to 
a  class  or  to  the  sex  as  such.  Yet  men  tell  us  that  they  will  vote  to 
give  the  suffrage  to  women  whenever  the  majority  of  women  desire 
it.  What  would  we  say  if  it  were  seriously  proposed  to  recall  the 
suffrage  from  all  colored  or  from  all  white  men  because  a  majority 
of  either  class  should  decline  or  for  any  cause  fail  to  vote  ?  If  one 
or  many  choose  not  to  claim  their  right  it  is  no  argument  for  de- 
priving me  of  mine  or  one  woman  of  hers.  There  are  many  reasons 
why  some  women  declare  themselves  opposed  to  the  extension  of 
suffrage  to  their  sex.  Some  well-fed  and  pampered,  without  seri- 
ous experiences  in  life,  are  incapable  of  comprehending  the  subject 
at  all.  Vast  numbers,  who  secretly  and  earnestly  desire  it,  from  the 
long  habit  of  deference  to  the  wishes  of  the  other  sex  upon  whom 
they  are  so  entirely  dependent,  and  knowing  the  hostility  of  their 
"protectors"  to  it,  conceal  their  real  sentiments.  The  "lord"  of  the 
family  referring  this  question  to  his  wife,  who  has  heard  him  sneer 
or  worse  than  sneer  at  suffragists  for  half  a  lifetime,  ought  not  ex- 
pect an  answer  which  she  knows  will  subject  her  to  his  censure  and 
ridicule.  It  is  like  the  old  appeal  of  the  master  to  his  slave  to  know 
if  he  would  like  to  be  free.  Full  well  did  the  wise  and  wary  slave 
know  that  happiness  depended  upon  declaring  contentment  with  his 
lot.  .  .  . 

We  are  told  that  husband  and  wife  will  disagree  and  thus  the 
suffrage  will  destroy  the  family  and  ruin  society.  If  a  married 
couple  will  quarrel  at  all,  they  will  find  the  occasion,  and  it  would  be 
fortunate  indeed  if  their  contention  might  concern  important  af- 
fairs. There  is  no  peace  in  the  family  save  where  love  is,  and  the 
same  spirit  which  enables  husband  and  wife  to  enforce  the  toleration 
act  between  themselves  in  religious  matters  will  keep  the  peace  be- 
tween them  in  political  discussions.  At  all  events  this  argument 
is  unworthy  of  notice  unless  we  are  to  push  it  to  its  logical  conclu- 
sion, and,  for  the  sake  of  peace  in  the  family,  to  prohibit  woman 
absolutely  the  exercise  of  free  speech  and  action.  Men  live  with 
their  countrymen  and  yet  disagree  with  them  in  politics,  religion  and 
ten  thousand  of  the  affairs  of  life,  as  often  the  trifling  as  the  im- 
portant. What  harm,  then,  if  woman  be  allowed  her  thought  and 
vote  upon  the  tariff,  education,  temperance,  peace,  war,  and  what- 
soever else  the  suffrage  decides. 

We  are  told  that  no  government  of  which  we  have  authentic  his- 
tory ever  gave  to  women  a  share  in  the  sovereignty.  This  is  not 
true,  for  the  annals  of  monarchies  and  despotisms  have  been  ren- 
dered illustrious  by  queens  of  surpassing  brilliance  and  power.  But 
even  if  it  be  true  that  no  nation  ever  enfranchised  woman — even  so 
until  within  one  hundred  years  universal  or  even  general  suffrage 
was  unknown  among  men. 

Has  the  millennium  yet  dawned ?  Is  all  progress  at  an  end?  If 
that  which  is  should  therefore  remain,  why  abolish  the  slavery  of 
men? 

We  are  informed  that  woman  does  not  vote  when  she  has  the 
opportunity.  Wherever  she  has  the  unrestricted  right  she  exer- 


DISCUSSION    AND   VOTE   IN    U.    S.    SENATE 1887.  93 

cises  it.     The  records  of  Wyoming  and  Washington  demonstrate 
this  fact. 

Mr.  Blair  then  quoted  the  statistics  embodied  in  the  report  of 
the  committee,  showing  the  slow  but  sure  progress  of  the  enfran- 
chisement of  women,  and  concluded : 

It  is  sometimes  urged  against  this  movement  for  the  submission 
of  a  resolution  for  a  National  Constitutional  Amendment  that  wom- 
en should  go  to  the  States  and  fight  it  out  there.  But  we  did  not 
send  the  colored  man  to  the  States.  No  other  amendment  touching 
the  general  national  interest  has  been  left  to  be  fought  out  by  in- 
dividual action  in  the  separate  States.  .  .  . 

We  only  ask  for  woman  an  opportunity  to  bring  her  suit  in  the 
great  court  for  the  amendment  of  fundamental  law.  It  is  impos- 
sible for  any  right  mind  to  escape  the  impression  of  solemn  re- 
sponsibility which  attaches  to  our  decision.  Ridicule  and  wit  of 
whatever  quality  are  here  as  much  out  of  place  as  in  the  debates 
upon  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  We  are  affirming  or  deny- 
ing the  right  of  petition  which  by  all  law  belongs  as  much  to  women 
as  to  men.  .  .  . 

Let  us  by  our  action  to-day  indorse,  if  we  do  not  initiate,  a  move- 
ment which,  in  the  development  of  our  race,  shall  guarantee  liberty 
to  all  without  distinction  of  sex,  even  as  our  glorious  Constitution 
already  grants  the  suffrage  to  every  male  citizen  without  distinction 
of  color  or  race. 

As  Senator  Brown  was  absent,  Senator  Cockrell  objected  to 
a  consideration  of  the  resolution  and  it  was  postponed.  The 
minority  report  of  the  Select  Committee  on  Woman  Suffrage 
signed  by  these  two  Senators  consisted  wholly  of  extracts  from 
a  series  of  anonymous  articles  which  had  appeared  in  the  Chicago 
Tribune,  entitled  "Letters  from  a  Chimney-Corner." 

On  January  25,  1887,  Senator  Blair  again  called  up  his  resolu- 
tion and  a  spirited  debate  followed.  Senators  Joseph  E.  Brown 
(Ga.)  and  George  G.  Vest  (Mo.)  represented  the  negative; 
Henry  W.  Blair  (N.  H.)  and  Joseph  N.  Dolph  (Ore.)  the  affirm- 
ative. Senator  Brown  opened  the  discussion  by  presenting,  word 
for  word,  the  report  signed  by  Senator  Francis  M.  Cockrell 
(Mo.)  and  himself  in  1884.  It  embodied  the  stock  objections  to 
woman  suffrage,  practically  all  in  fact  which  are  ever  made,  and 
was  in  part  as  follows  :* 

Mr.  President,  the  joint  resolution  introduced  by  my  friend,  the 

*  The  italics  are  made  by  the  editors  of  the  History. 


94  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Senator  from  New  Hampshire,  proposing  an  amendment  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  conferring  the  right  to  vote  upon 
the  women  of  the  United  States,  is  one  of  paramount  importance,  as 
it  involves  great  questions  far-reaching  in  their  tendency,  which 
seriously  affect  the  very  pillars  of  our  social  fabric,  which  involve 
the  peace  and  harmony  of  society,  the  unity  of  the  family,  and 
much  of  the  future  success  of  our  Government.  .  .  . 

I  believe  that  the  Creator  intended  that  the  sphere  of  the  males 
and  females  of  our  race  should  be  different,  and  that  their  duties 
and  obligations,  while  they  differ  materially,  are  equally  important 
and  equally  honorable,  and  that  each  sex  is 'equally  well  qualified  by 
natural  endowments  for  the  discharge  of  the  important  duties  which 
pertain  to  each,  and  that  each  sex  is  equally  competent  to  discharge 
those  duties. 

We  find  an  abundance  of  evidence,  both  in  the  works  of  nature 
and  in  the  Divine  revelation,  to  establish  the  fact  that  the  family 
properly  regulated  is  the  foundation  and  pillar  of  society,  and  is 
the  most  important  of  any  other  human  institution.  In  the  Divine 
economy  it  is  provided  that  the  man  shall  be  the  head  of  the  family, 
and  shall  take  upon  himself  the  solemn  obligation  of  providing  for 
and  protecting  the  family. 

Man,  by  reason  of  his  physical  strength,  and  his  other  endow- 
ments and  faculties,  is  qualified  for  the  discharge  of  those  duties 
that  require  strength  and  ability  to  combat  with  the  sterner  realities 
and  difficulties  of  life.  It  is  not  only  his  duty  to  provide  for  and 
protect  the  family,  but  as  a  member  of  the  community  it  is  also  his 
duty  to  discharge  the  laborious  and  responsible  obligations  which 
the  family  owe  to  the  State,  and  which  obligations  must  be  dis- 
charged by  the  head  of  the  family,  until  the  male  members  have 
grown  up  to  manhood  and  are  able  to  aid  in  the  discharge  of  those 
obligations,  when  it  becomes  their  duty  each  in  turn  to  take  charge 
of  and  rear  a  family,  for  which  he  is  responsible. 

Among  other  duties  which  the  head  of  the  family  owes  to  the 
State  is  military  duty  in  time  of  war,  which  he,  when  able-bodied, 
is  able  to  discharge  and  which  the  female  members  of  the  family 
are  unable  to  discharge.* 

He  is  also  under  obligation  to  discharge  jury  duty,f  and  by  him- 
self or  his  representatives  to  perform  his  part  of  the  labor  neces- 
sary to  construct  and  keep  in  order  roads,  bridges,  streets  and  all 
grades  of  public  high  way  s.J  And  in  this  progressive  age  upon 
the  male  sex  is  devolved  the  duty  of  constructing  and  operating  our 
railroads,  and  the  engines  and  other  rolling  stock  with  which  they 
are  operated ;  of  building,  equipping  and  launching  shipping  and 
other  water  craft  of  every  character  necessary  for  the  transportation 
of  passengers  and  freight  upon  our  rivers,  our  lakes,  and  upon  the 
high  seas. 

•  Senator  Brown  did  not  enter  the  army  during  the  Civil  War. 

t  As  a  lawyer  Senator  Brown  was  always  exempt  from  jury  service. 

J  Senator  Brown  had  this  done  by  his  representatives,  as  any  woman  could  da 


DISCUSSION    AND   VOTE    IN    U.    S.    SENATE 1887.  95 

The  labor  in  our  fields,  sowing,  cultivating  and  reaping  crops 
must  be  discharged  mainly  by  the  male  sex,  as  the  female  sex, 
for  want  of  physical  strength,  are  generally  unable  to  discharge 
these  duties.  As  it  is  the  duty  of  the  male  sex  to  perform  the  ob- 
ligations to  the  State,  to  society  and  to  the  family,  already  men- 
tioned, with  numerous  others  that  might  be  enumerated,  it  is  also 
their  duty  to  aid  in  the  government  of  the  State,  which  is  simply  a 
great  aggregation  of  families.*  Society  can  not  be  preserved  nor 
can  the  people  be  prosperous  without  good  government.  The  gov- 
ernment of  our  country  is  a  government  of  the  people,  and  it  be- 
comes necessary  that  the  class  of  people  upon  whom  the  respon- 
sibility rests  should  assemble  together  and  consider  and  discuss  the 
great  questions  of  governmental  policy  which  from  time  to  time 
are  presented  for  their  decision. 

This  often  requires  the  assembling  of  caucuses  in  the  night  time, 
as  well  as  public  assemblages  in  the  daytime.  It  is  a  laborious  task, 
for  which  the  male  sex  is  infinitely  better  fitted  than  the  female  sex ; 
and  after  proper  consideration  and  discussion  of  the  measures  that 
may  divide  the  country  from  time  to  time,  the  duty  devolves  upon 
those  who  are  responsible  for  the  government,  at  times  and  places  to 
be  fixed  by  law,  to  meet  and  by  ballot  to  decide  the  great  questions 
of  government  upon  which  the  prosperity  of  the  country  depends. 

These  are  some  of  the  active  and  sterner  duties  of  life  to  which 
the  male  sex  is  by  nature  better  fitted  than  the  female  sex.  If  in 
carrying  out  the  policy  of  the  State  on  great  measures  adjudged 
vital  such  policy  should  lead  to  war,  either  foreign  or  domestic,  it 
would  seem  to  follow  very  naturally  that  those  who  have  been  re- 
sponsible for  the  management  of  the  State  should  be  the  parties  to 
take  the  hazards  and  hardships  of  the  struggle,  f  Here  again  man 
is  better  fitted  by  nature  for  the  discharge  of  the  duty — woman  is 
unfit  for  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Creator  has  assigned  to  woman  very 
laborious  and  responsible  duties,  by  no  means  less  important  than 
those  imposed  upon  the  male  sex,  though  entirely  different  in  their 
character.  J  In  the  family  she  is  a  queen.  She  alone  is  fitted  for 
the  discharge  of  the  sacred  trust  of  wife  and  the  endearing  relation 
of  mother.  While  the  man  is  contending  with  the  sterner  duties  of 
life,  the  whole  time  of  the  noble,  affectionate  and  true  woman  is  re- 
quired in  the  discharge  of  the  delicate  and  difficult  duties  assigned 
her  in  the  family  circle,  in  her  church  relations  and  in  the  society 
where  her  lot  is  cast.  When  the  husband  returns  home  weary  and 
worn  in  the  discharge  of  the  difficult  and  laborious  tasks  assigned 
him,  he  finds  in  the  good  wife  solace  and  consolation  which  is  no- 
where else  afforded. 

But  a  still  more  important  duty  devolves  upon  the  mother.     After 

*  As  every  private  family  urgently  needs  the  man  and  the  woman,  why  are  both  not 
needed  in  this  "great  aggregation?" 

t  Do  women  have  no  hardships  or  hazards  in  time  of  war? 

$  If  her  duties  are  just  as  laborious,  responsible  and  important  as  man's,  do  they  not 
entitle  her  to  a  voice  in  the  Government? 


96  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 

having  brought  into  existence  the  offspring  of  the  nuptial  union, 
the  children  are  dependent  upon  the  mother  as  they  are  not  upon 
any  other  human  being.  The  trust  is  a  most  sacred,  most  respon- 
sible and  most  important  one.  She  molds  the  character.  She  edu- 
cates the  heart  as  well  as  the  intellect,  and  she  prepares  the  future 
man,  now  the  boy,  for  honor  or  dishonor.  Upon  the  manner  in 
which  she  discharges  her  duty  depends  the  fact  whether  he  shall  in 
future  be  a  useful  citizen  or  a  burden  to  society.  She  inculcates 
lessons  of  patriotism,  manliness,  religion  and  virtue,  fitting  the  man 
by  reason  of  his  training  to  be  an  ornament  to  society,  or  dooming 
him  by  her  neglect  to  a  life  of  dishonor  and  shame.  Society  acts 
unwisely,  when  it  imposes  upon  her  the  duties  that  by  common  con- 
sent have  always  been  assigned  to  the  stronger  and  sterner  sex,  and 
the  discharge  of  which  causes  her  to  neglect  those  sacred  and  all- 
important  duties  to  her  children  and  to  the  society  of  which  they 
are  members.* 

In  the  church,  by  her  piety,  her  charity  and  her  Christian  purity, 
she  not  only  aids  society  by  a  proper  training  of  her  own  children, 
but  the  children  of  others,  whom  she  encourages  to  come  to  the 
sacred  altar.  In  the  Sunday-school  room  the  good  woman  is  a 
princess  and  she  exerts  an  influence  which  purifies  and  ennobles  so- 
ciety. In  the  sick  room  and  among  the  humble,  the  poor  and  the 
suffering  the  good  woman  is  an  angel  of  light.  .  .  . 

If  the  wife  and  the  mother  is  required  to  leave  the  sacred  pre- 
cincts of  home  and  to  attempt  to  do  military  duty  when  the  State 
is  in  peril ;  or  if  she  is  to  be  required  to  leave  her  home  from  day 
to  day  in  attendance  upon  the  court  as  a  juror,  and  to  be  shut  up  in 
the  jury  room  from  night  to  night  with  men  who  are  strangers, 
while  a  question  of  life  or  property  is  being  discussed ;  if  she  is  to 
attend  political  meetings,  take  part  in  political  discussions  and  min- 
gle with  the  male  sex  at  political  gatherings ;  if  she  is  to  become  an 
active  politician ;  if  she  is  to  attend  political  caucuses  at  late  hours 
of  the  night ;  if  she  is  to  take  part  in  all  the  unsavory  work  that 
may  be  deemed  necessary  for  the  triumph  of  her  party;  and  if  on 
election  day  she  is  to  leave  her  home  and  go  upon  the  streets  elec- 
tioneering for  votes  for  the  candidates  who  receive  her  support,  and 
mingling  among  the  crowds  of  men  who  gather  round  the  polls, 
she  is  to  press  her  way  through  them  to  the  precinct  and  deposit 
her  ballot;  if  she  is  to  take  part  in  the  corporate  struggles  of  the 
city  or  town  in  which  she  resides,  attend  to  the  duties  of  his  honor, 
the  mayor,  the  councilman,  or  of  policeman,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
many  other  like  obligations  which  are  disagreeable  (  !)  even  to  the 
male  sex,  how  is  she,  with  all  these  heavy  duties  of  citizen,  poli- 
tician and  officeholder  resting  upon  her  shoulders,  to  attend  to  the 
more  sacred,  delicate,  refining  trust  to  which  we  have  already  re- 
ferred, and  for  which  she  is  peculiarly  fitted  by  nature  ?  Who  is  to 

*  Since  this  tremendous  responsibility  is  placed  upon  woman,  why  should  she  not  have 
a  voice  in  the  conditions  which  surround  these  children  outside  the  home?  Why  should 
man  alone  determine  these  conditions  which  often  counteract  all  the  mother's  training? 


DISCUSSION    AND   VOTE   IN    U.    S.    SENATE 1887.  97 

care  for  and  train  the  children  while  she  is  absent  in  the  discharge 
of  these  masculine  duties?* 

But  it  has  been  said  that  the  present  law  is  unjust  to  woman; 
that  she  is  often  required  to  pay  tax  on  the  property  she  holds  with- 
out being  permitted  to  take  part  in  framing  or  administering  the 
laws  by  which  her  property  is  governed,  and  that  she  is  taxed  with- 
out representation.  That  is  a  great  mistake.  It  may  be  very  doubt- 
ful whether  the  male  or  female  sex  in  the  present  state  of  things 
has  more  influence  in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  gov- 
ernment and  the  enactment  of  the  laws  by  which  we  are  governed.! 

While  the  woman  does  not  discharge  military  duty,  nor  does  she 
attend  courts  and  serve  on  juries,  nor  does  she  labor  on  the  public 
streets,  bridges  or  highways,  nor  does  she  engage  actively  and  pub- 
licly in  the  discussion  of  political  affairs,  nor  does  she  enter  the 
crowded  precincts  of  the  ballot-box  to  deposit  her  suffrage,  still 
the  intelligent,  cultivated,  noble  woman  is  a  power  behind  the  +hrone. 
All  her  influence  is  in  favor  of  morality,  justice  and  fair  dealing, 
all  her  efforts  and  her  counsel  are  in  favor  of  good  government, 
wise  and  wholesome  regulations  and  a  faithful  administration  of  the 
laws.  I  .  .  . 

It  would  be  a  gratification,  and  we  are  always  glad  to  see  the 
ladies  gratified,  to  many  who  have  espoused  the  cause  of  woman 
suffrage  if  they  could  take  active  part  in  political  affairs  and  go  to 
the  polls  and  cast  their  votes  alongside  the  male  sex ;  but  while  this 
would  be  a  gratification  to  a  large  number  of  very  worthy  and  ex- 
cellent ladies  who  take  a  different  view  of  the  question  from  that 
which  we  entertain,  we  feel  that  it  would  be  a  great  cruelty  to  a 
much  larger  number  of  the  cultivated,  refined,  delicate  and  lovely 
women  of  this  country  who  seek  no  such  distinction,  who  would 
enjoy  no  such  privilege,  who  would  with  womanlike  delicacy  shrink 
from  the  discharge  of  any  such  obligation,  and  who  would  sincerely 
regret  that  what  they  consider  the  folly  of  the  State  had  imposed 
upon  them  any  such  unpleasant  duties.  But  should  female  suffrage 
be  once  established  it  would  become  an  imperative  necessity  that 
the  very  large  class,  indeed  much  the  largest  class,  of  the  women  of 
this  country  of  the  character  last  described  should  yield,  contrary 
to  their  inclinations  and  wishes,  to  the  necessity  which  would  com- 
pel them  to  engage  in  political  strife. 

We  apprehend  no  one  who  has  properly  considered  this  question 
will  doubt,  if  female  suffrage  should  be  established,  that  the  more 
ignorant  and  less  refined  portions  of  the  female  population,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  baser  class  of  females,  laying  aside  feminine  delicacy 
and  disregarding  the  sacred  duties  devolving  upon  them,  to  which 

*  Senator  Brown  assumes  that  all  women  are  wives  and  the  mothers  of  young  chil- 
dren, and  that  the  mother's  sense  of  duty  would  not  hold  her  to  the  care  of  her  children 
if  she  had  a  chance  to  go  into  politics. 

t  Would  any  man  be  willing  to  exchange  his  influence  for  that  of  a  woman  in  the 
affairs  of  government? 

t  This  would  seem  to  be  the  very  influence  which  ought  to  be  enforced  by  a  vote. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 7 


9  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

we  have  already  referred,  would  rush  to  the  polls  and  take  pleasure 
in  the  crowded  association  which  the  situation  would  compel,  of 
the  two  sexes  in  political  meetings  and  at  the  ballot-box.  .  .  . 

It  is  now  a  problem  which  perplexes  the  brain  of  the  ablest  states- 
men to  determine  how  we  will  best  preserve  our  republican  system 
as  against  the  demoralizing  influence  of  the  large  class  of  our' pres- 
ent citizens  and  voters  who  by  reason  of  their  illiteracy  are  unable 
to  read  or  write  the  ballot  they  cast.  If  our  colored  population, 
who  were  so  recently  slaves  that  even  the  males  who  are  voters 
have  had  but  little  opportunity  to  educate  themselves  or  to  be  edu- 
cated, whose  ignorance  is  now  exciting  the  liveliest  interest  of  our 
statesmen,  are  causes  of  serious  apprehension,  what  is  to  be  said 
in  favor  of  adding  to  the  voting  population  all  the  females  of  that 
race,  who,  on  account  of  the  situation  in  which  they  have  been 
placed,  have  had  much  less  opportunity  to  be  educated  than  even 
the  males  of  their  own  race?* 

It  may  be  said  that  their  votes  could  be  offset  by  the  ballots  of  the 
educated  and  refined  ladies  of  the  white  race  in  the  same  section; 
but  who  does  not  know  that  the  ignorant  female  voters  would  be 
at  the  polls  en  masse,  while  the  refined  and  educated,  shrinking 
from  public  contact  on  such  occasions,  would  remain  at  home  and 
attend  to  their  domestic  and  other  important  duties  ?f  Are  we 
ready  to  expose  the  country  to  the  demoralization,  and  our  institu- 
tions to  the  strain,  which  would  be  placed  upon  them,  for  the  grati- 
fication of  a  minority  of  the  virtuous  and  good  of  our  female  popu- 
lation at  the  expense  of  the  mortification  of  a  very  large  majority 
of  the  same  sex? 

It  has  been  frequently  urged  that  the  ballot  is  necessary  to  women 
to  enable  them  to  protect  themselves  in  securing  occupations,  and  to 
enable  them  to  realize  the  same  compensation  for  the  like  labor 
which  is  received  by  men.  This  argument  is  plausible,  but  upon  a 
closer  examination  it  will  be  found  to  possess  but  little  real  force. 
The  price  of  labor  is  and  must  continue  to  be  governed  by  the  law  of 
supply  and  demand,  and  the  person  who  has  the  most  physical 
strength  to  labor,  and  the  most  pursuits  requiring  such  strength 
open  for  employment,  will  always  command  the  higher  prices. 

Ladies  make  excellent  teachers  in  public  schools ;  many  of  them 
are  every  way  the  equals  of  their  male  competitors,  and  still  they 
secure  less  wages  than  males.  The  reason  is  obvious.  The  num- 
ber of  ladies  who  offer  themselves  as  teachers  is  much  larger  than 
the  number  of  males  who  are  willing  to  teach.  The  larger  number 
of  females  offer  to  teach  because  other  occupations  are  not  open  to 
them.  The  smaller  number  of  males  offer  to  teach  because  other 
more  profitable  occupations  are  open  to  most  males  who  are  com- 
petent to  teach.  .  .  . 

The  ballot  can  not  impart  to  the  female  physical  strength  which 

*  In  readjusting  the  qualifications  for  the  suffrage  the  Southern  States  have  been  very 
careful  to  secure  the  right  to  all  the  illiterate  white  men. 

t  Senator  Brown  says  in  the  preceding  paragraph  that  the  "delicate  and  lovely  women" 
would  not  remain  at  home  but  would  consider  it  an  imperative  duty  to  go  to  the  polls. 


DISCUSSION    AND   VOTE    IN    U.    S.    SENATE 1887.  99 

she  does  not  possess,  nor  can  it  open  to  her  pursuits  which  she  does 
not  have  physical  ability  to  engage  in ;  and  as  long  as  she  lacks  the 
physical  strength  to  compete  with  men  in  the  different  departments 
of  labor,  there  will  be  more  competition  in  her  department,  and  she 
must  necessarily  receive  less  wages.* 

But  it  is  claimed  again  that  females  should  have  the  ballot  as  a 
protection  against  the  tyranny  of  bad  husbands.  This  is  also  de- 
lusive. If  the  husband  is  brutal,  arbitrary  or  tyrannical,  and  tyran- 
nizes over  her  at  home,  the  ballot  in  her  hands  would  be  no  protec- 
tion against  such  injustice,  but  the  husband  who  compelled  her  to 
conform  to  his  wishes  in  other  respects  would  also  compel  her  to 
use  the  ballot,  if  she  possessed  it,  as  he  might  please  to  dictate.  The 
ballot  would,  therefore,  be  of  no  assistance  to  the  wife  in  such  case, 
nor  could  it  heal  family  strifes  or  dissensions.  On  the  contrary, 
one  of  the  gravest  objections  to  placing  the  ballot  in  the  hands  of 
the  female  sex  is  that  it  would  promote  unhappiness '  and  dissen- 
sions in  the  family  circle.  There  should  be  unity  and  harmony  in 
the  family,  f  .  .  . 

When  woman  becomes  a  voter  she  will  be  more  or  less  of  a  poli- 
tician, and  will  form  political  alliances  or  unite  with  political  par- 
ties which  will  frequently  be  antagonistic  to  those  to  which  her  hus- 
band belongs.  This  will  introduce  into  the  family  circle  new  ele- 
ments of  disagreement  and  discord  which  will  frequently  end  in 
unhappy  divisions,  if  not  in  separation  and  divorce.  This  must 
frequently  occur  when  she  becomes  an  active  politician,  identified 
with  a  party  which  is  distasteful  to  her  husband.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  she  unites  with  her  husband  in  party  associations  and 
votes  with  him  on  all  occasions  so  as  not  to  disturb  the  harmony 
and  happiness  of  the  family,  then  the  ballot  is  of  no  service,  as  it 
simply  duplicates  the  vote  of  the  male  on  each  side  of  the  questien 
and  leaves  the  result  the  same.J  •  •  • 

It  may  be  said,  however,  that  there  is  a  class  of  young  ladies  who 
do  not  choose  to  marry,  and  who  select  professions  or  avocations 
and  follow  them  for  a  livelihood.  This  is  true,  but  this  class,  com- 
pared with  the  number  who  unite  in  matrimony  with  the  husbands 
of  their  choice,  is  comparatively  very  small,  and  it  is  the  duty  of 
society  to  encourage  the  increase  of  marriages  rather  than  of 
celibacy.  If  the  larger  number  of  females  select  pursuits  or  pro- 
fessions which  require  them  to  decline  marriage,  society  to  that  ex- 
tent is  deprived  of  the  advantage  resulting  from  the  increase  of 
population  by  marriage. 

*  Is  it  because  women  lack  physical  strength  that  they  are  not  allowed  to  practice  law 
in  Georgia  or  to  act  as  notaries  public  or  to  fill  any  office,  even  that  of  school  trustee, 
and  that  no  woman  is  permitted  to  enter  the  State  University?  The  men  should  at 
least  give  their  "queens"  and  "princesses"  and  "angels"  an  education. 

t  Yes,  if  the  husband  has  to  enforce  it  with  a  club.  This  paragraph  does  not  tally 
with  the  one  in  the  early  part  of  the  Senator's  speech  where  all  women  were  placed  on 
a  throne,  and  all  men  were  declared  to  be  their  natural  protectors. 

J  The  picture  of  family  life  in  Georgia  is  not  alluring,  but  the  Senator  takes  small 
account  of  the  woman  who  does  not  happen  to  possess  a  "male,"  or  rather  to  be  pos- 
sessed by  one. 


IOO  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

It  is  said  by  those  who  have  examined  the  question  closely  that 
the  largest  number  of  divorces  is  now  found  in  the  communities 
where  the  advocates  of  female  suffrage  are  most  numerous,  and 
where  the  individuality  of  woman  as  related  to  her  husband,  which 
such  a  doctrine  inculcates,  is  increased  to  the  greatest  extent.*  .  .  . 

Senator  Brown  then  introduced  a  long  quotation  from  the 
"Chimney-Corner,"  covering  so  exactly  the  ground  of  his  speech 
and  in  so  nearly  the  same  language  as  to  suggest,  if  not  collusion, 
at  least  "two  souls  with  but  a  single  thought,"  which  he  thus 
emphasized  in  closing : 

The  woman  with  the  infant  at  the  breast  is  in  no  condition  to 
plow  on  the  farm,  labor  hard  in  the  workshop,  discharge  the  duties 
of  a  juryman,  conduct  cases  as  an  advocate  in  court,  preside  in  im- 
portant cases  as  a  judge,  command  armies  as  a  general,  or  bear  arms 
as  a  private.  These  duties,  and  others  of  like  character,  belong  to 
the  male  sex ;  while  the  more  important  duties  of  home,  to  which  I 
have  already  referred,  devolve  upon  the  female  sex.  We  can 
neither  reverse  the  physical  nor  the  moral  laws  of  our  nature,  and 
as  this  movement  is  an  attempt  to  reverse  these  laws,  and  to  devolve 
upon  the  female  sex  important  and  laborious  duties  for  which  they 
are  not  by  nature  physically  competent,  I  am  not  prepared  to  sup- 
port this  bill. 

He  was  followed  by  Senator  Dolph,  who  said : 

Mr.  President,  I  shall  not  detain  the  Senate  long.  I  do  not  feel 
satisfied,  when  a  measure  so  important  to  the  people  of  this  country 
and  to  humanity  is  about  to  be  submitted  to  a  vote  o'f  the  Senate,  to 
remain  wholly  silent. 

Fortunately  for  the  perpetuity  of  our  institutions  and  the  prosper- 
ity of  the  people,  the  Federal  Constitution  contains  a  provision  for 
its  own  amendment.  The  framers  of  that  instrument  foresaw  that 
time  and  experience,  the  growth  of  the  country  and  the  consequent 
expansion  of  the  Government,  would  develop  the  necessity  for 
changes  in  it.  Under  this  provision,  at  the  first  session  of  the  First 
Congress,  ten  amendments  were  submitted  to  the  Legislatures  of 
the  several  States,  in  due  time  ratified  by  the  constitutional  number, 
and  thus  became  a  part  of  the  Constitution.  Since  then  there  have 
been  added  to  the  Constitution  by  the  same  process  five  different 
articles.  To  secure  an  amendment  requires  the  concurrent  action  of 
two-thirds  of  both  branches  of  Consjess  and  the  affirmative  action  of 
three-fourths  of  the  States.  The  question  as  to  whether  this  reso- 
lution shall  be  submitted  to  the  Legislatures  for  ratification  does  not 
involve  the  right  or  policy  of  the  proposed  amendment.  . '  .  . 

•  Therefore  the  wife  should  not  be  allowed  any  individuality.  Statistics,  however, 
from  the  States  where  women  do  vote  prove  exactly  the  opposite  of  this  assertion  in 
regard  to  divorce. 


DISCUSSION    AND   VOTE    IN    U.    S.    SENATE 1887.  IOI 

No  question  in  this  country  has  been  more  ably  discussed  than 
this  has  been  by  the  women  themselves.  I  do  not  think  a  single  ob- 
jection which  is  made  to  woman  suffrage  is  tenable.  No  one  will 
contend  but  that  women  have  sufficient  capacity  to  vote  intelligently. 
Sacred  and  profane  history  is  full  of  the  records  of  great  deeds  by 
women.  They  have  ruled  kingdoms,  and,  my  friend  from  Georgia 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  they  have  commanded  armies. 
They  have  excelled  in  statecraft,  they  have  shone  in  literature,  and, 
rising  superior  to  their  environments  and  breaking  the  shackles  with 
which  custom  and  tyranny  have  bound  them,  they  have  stood  side 
by  side  with  men  in  the  fields  of  the  arts  and  the  sciences. 

If  it  were  a  fact  that  woman  is  intellectually  inferior  to  man, 
which  I  do  not  admit,  still  that  would  be  no  reason  why  she  should 
not  be  permitted  to  participate  in  the  formation  and  control  of  the 
government  to  which  she  owes  allegiance.  If  we  are  to  have  as  a 
test  for  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  suffrage  a  qualification  based 
upon  intelligence,  let  it  be  applied  to  women  and  to  men  alike.  If 
it  be  admitted  that  suffrage  is  a  right,  that  is  the  end  of  contro- 
versy ;  there  can  no  longer  be  any  argument  made  against  woman 
suffrage ;  because,  if  it  is  her  right,  then,  if  there  were  but  one  poor 
woman  in  all  the  United  States  demanding  the  right  it  would  be 
tyranny  to  refuse  the  demand. 

But  our  opponents  say  that  suffrage  is  not  a  right;  that  it  is  a 
matter  of  grace  only ;  that  it  is  a  privilege  which  is  conferred  upon 
or  withheld  from  individual  members  of  society  by  society  at  pleas- 
ure. Society  as  here  used  means  man's  government,  and  the  propo- 
sition assumes  that  men  have  a  right  to  institute  and  control  gov- 
ernments for  themselves  and  for  women.  I  admit  that  in  the  gov- 
ernments of  the  world,  past  and  present,  men  as  a  rule  have  assumed 
to  be  the  ruling  class ;  that  they  have  instituted  governments  from 
participation  in  which  they  have  excluded  women;  that  they  have 
made  laws  for  themselves  and  for  women,  and  have  themselves  ad- 
ministered them.  But,  that  the  provisions  conferring  or  regulating 
suffrage,  in  the  constitutions  and  laws  of  governments  so  consti- 
tuted, have  determined  the  question  of  the  right  of  suffrage,  can  not 
be  maintained. 

Let  us  suppose,  if  we  can,  a  community  separated  from  all  others 
— having  no  organized  government,  owing  no  allegiance  to  any  ex- 
isting governments,  without  any  knowledge  of  the  character  of  those 
present  or  past,  so  that  when  they  come  to  form  one  for  themselves 
they  can  do  so  free  from  the  bias  or  prejudice  of  custom  or  educa- 
tion— a  community  composed  of  an  equal  number  of  men  and 
women,  having  equal  property  rights  to  be  defined  and  to  be  pro- 
tected by  law.  When  such  community  came  to  institute  a  govern- 
ment— and  it  would  have  an  undoubted  right  to  institute  one  for 
itself,  and  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  would  soon  lead  it  to  do 
so — will  my  friend  from  Georgia  tell  me  by  what  right,  human  or 
divine,  the  male  portion  could  exclude  the  female  portion,  equal  in 
number  and  having  equal  property  rights,  from  participation  in  the 
formation  of  such  government  and  in  the  enactment  of  its  laws? 


IO2  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

I  understand  that  the  Senator,  if  he  would  answer,  would  say  that 
he  believes  the  author  of  our  existence,  the  ruler  of  the  universe, 
has  given  different  spheres  to  man  and  woman.  Admit  that;  and 
still  neither  in  nature  nor  in  the  revealed  will  of  God  do  I  find  any- 
thing to  lead  me  to  believe  that  the  Creator  did  not  intend  that  a 
woman  should  exercise  the  right  of  self-government. 

During  the  consideration  by  this  body,  at  the  last  session,  of  the 
bill  to  admit  Washington  Territory  into  the  Union,  referring  to  the 
fact  that  in  that  Territory  woman  already  had  been  enfranchised,  I 
briefly  submitted  my  views  on  this  subject,  which  I  now  ask  the 
Secretary  to  read. 

The  Secretary  read  as  follows :  "...  I  do  not  believe  the 
proposition  so  often  asserted  that  suffrage  is  a  political  privilege 
only,  and  not  a  natural  right.  It  is  regulated  by  the  constitution 
and  laws  of  a  State,  I  grant,  but  it  needs  no  argument  to  show  that 
a  constitution  and  laws  adopted  and  enacted  by  a  fragment  only  of 
the  whole  body  of  the  people,  but  binding  alike  on  all,  are  a  usurpa- 
tion of  the  powers  of  government. 

"Government  is  but  organized  society.  Whatever  its  form,  it  has 
its  origin  in  the  necessities  of  mankind  and  is  indispensable  for  the 
maintenance  of  civilized  society.  It  is  essential  to  every  govern- 
ment that  it  should  represent  the  supreme  power  of  the  State,  and 
be  capable  of  subjecting  the  will  of  its  individual  citizens  to  its 
authority.  Such  a  government  can  derive  its  just  powers  only 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed,  and  can  be  established  only  under 
a  fundamental  law  which  is  self-imposed.  Every  person  of  suitable 
age  and  discretion  who  is  to  be  subject  to  such  a  government  has, 
in  my  judgment,  a  natural  right  to  participate  in  its  formation.  It 
is  a  significant  fact  that,  should  Congress  pass  this  bill  and  au- 
thorize the  people  of  Washington  Territory  to  frame  a  State  con- 
stitution and  organize  a  State  government,  the  fundamental  law  of 
the  State  would  be  made  by  all  the  citizens  who  were  to  be  subject 
to  it,  and  not  by  one-half  of  them.  And  we  shall  witness  the  spec- 
tacle of  a  State  government  founded  in  accordance  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  equality,  and  have  a  State  at  last  with  a  truly  republican 
form  of  government.* 

"The  fathers  of  the  republic  enunciated  the  doctrine  'that  all  men 
are  created  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  cer- 
tain inalienable  rights;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness.'  It  is  strange  that  any  one  in  this  enlightened 
age  should  be  found  to  contend  that  this  declaration  is  true  only  of 
men,  and  that  a  man  is  endowed  by  his  Creator  with  inalienable 
rights  not  possessed  by  a  woman.  The  lamented  Lincoln  immor- 
talized the  expression  that  ours  is  a  government  'of  the  people,  by 
the  people  and  for  the  people/  and  yet  it  is  far  from  that.  There 
can  be  no  government  by  the  people  where  one-half  of  them  are  al- 
lowed no  voice  in  its  organization  and  control.  I  regard  the  strug- 
gle going  on  in  this  country  and  elsewhere  for  the  enfranchisement 

*  For  account  of  the  unconstitutional  disfranchisetnent  of  the  women  of  Washington 
Territory  by  its  Supreme  Court,  see  chapter  on  that  State. 


DISCUSSION    AND   VOTE   IN    U.    S.    SENATE 1 887.  103 

of  women  as  but  a  continuation  of  the  great  struggle  for  human 
liberty  which,  from  the  earliest  dawn  of  authentic  history,  has  con- 
vulsed nations,  rent  kingdoms  and  drenched  battlefields  with  human 
blood.  I  look  upon  the  victories  which  have  been  achieved  in  the 
cause  of  woman's  enfranchisement  in  Washington  Territory  and 
elsewhere,  as  the  crowning  victories  of  all  which  have  been  won  in 
the  long-continued,  still-continuing  contest  between  liberty  and  op- 
pression, and  as  destined  to  exert  a  greater  influence  upon  the  hu- 
man race  than  any  achieved  upon  the  battlefield  in  ancient  or  mod- 
ern times." 

Mr.  President,  the  movement  for  woman  suffrage  has  passed  the 
stage  of  ridicule.  The  pending  joint  resolution  may  not  pass  dur- 
ing this  Congress,  but  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  in  every 
State  of  the  Union  and  in  every  Territory  women  will  be  admitted 
to  an  equal  voice  in  the  government,  and  that  will  be  done  whether 
the  Federal  Constitution  is  amended  or  not.  .  .  . 

No  measure  involving  such  radical  changes  in  our  institutions 
and  fraught  with  so  great  consequences  to  this  country  and  to  hu- 
manity has  made  such  progress  as  the  movement 'for  woman  suf- 
frage. Denunciation  will  not  much  longer  answer  for  arguments 
by  the  opponents  of  this  measure.  The  portrayal  of  the  evils  to 
flow  from  woman  suffrage  such  as  we  have  heard  pictured  to-day 
by  the  Senator  from  Georgia,  the  loss  of  harmony  between  husband 
and  wife  and  the  consequent  instability  of  the  marriage  relation, 
the  neglect  of  husbands  and  children  by  wives  and  mothers  for  the 
performance  of  their  political  duties,  in  short  the  incapacitating  of 
women  for  wives  and  mothers  and  companions,  will  not  much 
longer  serve  to  frighten  the  timid.  Proof  is  better  than  theory. 
The  experiment  has  been  made  and  the  predicted  evils  to  flow  from 
it  have  not  followed.  On  the  contrary,  if  we  can  believe  the  almost 
universal  testimony,  wherever  it  has  been  tried  it  has  been  followed 
by  the  most  beneficial  results. 

In  Washington  Territory,  since  woman  was  enfranchised,  there 
have  been  two  elections.  At  the  first  there  were  8,368  votes  cast 
by  women  out  of  a  total  vote  of  about  34,000.  At  the  second  elec- 
tion, which  was  held  in  November  last,  out  of  48,000  votes,  12,000 
were  cast  by  women. 

I  desire  also  to  inform  my  friend  from  Georgia  that  since  women 
were  enfranchised  in  Washington  Territory  nature  has  continued  in 
her  wonted  course.  The  sun  rises  and  sets ;  there  are  seed-time  and 
harvest ;  seasons  come  and  go.  The  population  has  increased  with 
the  usual  regularity  and  rapidity.  Marriages  have  been  quite  as 
frequent  and  divorces  have  been  no  more  so.  Women  have  not  lost 
their  influence  for  good  upon  society,  but  men  have  been  elevated 
and  refined.  If  we  are  to  believe  the  testimony  which  comes  from 
lawyers,  physicians,  ministers  of  the  gospel,  merchants,  mechanics, 
farmers  and  laboring  men — the  united  testimony  of  the  entire  people 
of  the  Territory — the  results  of  woman  suffrage  there  have  been  all 
that  could  be  desired  by  its  friends.  Some  of  the  results  have  been 
seen  in  its  making  the  polls  quiet  and  orderly,  awakening  a  new  in- 


IO4  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

terest  in  educational  questions  and  those  of  moral  reform,  securing 
the  passage  of  beneficial  laws  and  the  proper  enforcement  of  them, 
elevating  men,  and  doing  so  without  injury  to  women. 

Senator  James  B.  Eustis  (La.)  inquired  whether,  if  the  right 
of  suffrage  were  conferred,  women  ought  to  be  required  to  serve 
on  juries.  To  this  Senator  Dolph  replied :  "I  can  answer  that 
very  readily.  It  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  because  a 
woman  is  permitted  to  vote  and  thus  have  a  voice  in  making  the 
laws  by  which  she  is  to  be  governed  and  by  which  her  property 
rights  are  to  be  determined,  she  must  perform  such  duty  as 
service  upon  a  jury.  But  I  will  inform  the  Senator  that  in 
Washington  Territory  she  does  serve  upon  juries,  and  with  great 
satisfaction  to  the  judges  of  the  courts  and  to  all  parties  who 
desire  to  see  an  honest  and  efficient  administration  of  law."  The 
following  colloquy  then  ensued : 

MR.  EUSTIS:  I  was  aware  of  the  fact  that  women  are  required 
to  serve  on  juries  in  Washington  Territory  because  they  are  allowed 
to  vote.  I  understand  that  under  all  State  laws  those  duties  are 
considered  correlative.  Now,  I  ask  the  Senator  whether  he  thinks 
it  is  a  decent  spectacle  to  take  a  mother  away  from  her  nursing  in- 
fant and  lock  her  up  all  night  to  sit  on  a  jury? 

MR.  DOLPH  :  I  intended  to  say  before  I  reached  this  point  of 
being  interrogated  that  I  not  only  do  not  believe  that  there  is  a  sin- 
gle argument  against  woman  suffrage  which  is  tenable,  but  also  that 
there  is  not  a  single  one  which  is  really  worthy  of  any  serious  con- 
sideration. The  Senator  from  Louisiana  is  a  lawyer,  and  he  knows 
very  well  that  a  mother  with  a  nursing  infant,  that  fact  being  made 
known  to  the  court,  would  be  excused.  He  knows  himself,  and  he 
has  seen  it  done  a  hundred  times,  that  for  trivial  excuses  compared 
to  that,  men  have  been  excused  from  service  on  a  jury. 

MR.  EUSTIS  :  I  will  ask  the  Senator  whether  he  knows  that  under 
the  laws  of  Washington  Territory  this  is  a  legal  excuse  from  serv- 
ing on  a  jury? 

MR.  DOLPH  :  I  am  not  prepared  to  state  that  it  is ;  but  there  is 
no  question  in  the  world  but  that  any  Judge,  this  fact  being  made 
known,  would  excuse  a  woman  from  attendance  upon  a  jury.  No 
special  authority  would  be  required.  I  will  state  further  that  I 
have  not  learned  that  there  has  been  any  serious  objection  on  the 
part  of  any  woman  summoned  for  jury  service  in  that  Territory  to 
performing  that  duty.  I  have  not  learned  that  it  has  worked  to  the 
disadvantage  of  any  family,  but  I  do  know  that  the  judges  of  the 
courts  have  taken  especial  pains  to  commend  the  women  who  have 
been  called  to  serve  upon  juries  for  the  manner  in  which  they  have 
discharged  their  duty. 

I  wish  to  say  further  that  there  is  no  connection  whatever  between 


DISCUSSION    AND   VOTE    IN    U.    S.    SENATE 1887.  IO5 

jury  service  and  the  right  of  suffrage.  The  question  as  to  who  shall 
perform  jury  service,  who  shall  perform  military  service,  who  shall 
perform  civil  official  duty,  is  certainly  a  matter  to  be  regulated  by 
the  community  itself ;  but  the  question  of  the  right  to  participate  in 
the  formation  of  a  government  which  controls  the  life,  the  property 
and  the  destinies  of  its  citizens,  I  contend  is  one  which  goes  back  of 
these  mere  regulations  for  the  protection  of  property  and  the  pun- 
ishment of  offenses  under  the  laws.  It  is  a  matter  of  right  which 
it  is  a  tyranny  to  refuse  to  any  citizen  demanding  it. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  I  shall  close  by  saying,  God  speed  the  day 
when  not  only  in  all  the  States  of  the  Union  and  in  all  the  Terri- 
tories, but  everywhere,  woman  shall  stand  before  the  law  freed  from 
the  last  shackle  which  has  been  riveted  upon  her  by  tyranny  and  the 
last  disability  which  has  been  imposed  upon  her  by  ignorance — not 
only  in  respect  to  the  right  of  suffrage  but  in  every  other  respect  the 
peer  and  equal  of  her  brother,  man. 

Senator  Vest  then  entered  into  a  long  and  elaborate  discussion 
of  the  resolution,  in  which  he  said : 

Mr.  President,  any  measure  of  legislation  which  affects  popular 
government  based  on  the  will  of  the  people  as  expressed  through 
their  suffrage  is  not  only  important  but  vitally  so.  If  this  govern- 
ment which  is  based  on  the  intelligence  of  the  people,  shall  ever  be 
destroyed  it  will  be  by  injudicious,  immature  or  corrupt  suffrage. 
If  the  Ship  of  State  launched  by  our  fathers  shall  ever  be  destroyed, 
it  will  be  by  striking  the  rock  of  universal,  unprepared  suffrage. 
Suffrage  once  given  can  never  be  taken  away.  Legislatures  and 
conventions  may  do  everything  else ;  they  never  can  do  that.  When 
any  particular  class  or  portion  of  the  community  is  once  invested 
with  this  privilege  it  is  fixed,  accomplished  and  eternal* 

The  Senator  who  spoke  last  on  this  question  refers  to  the  suc- 
cessful experiment  in  regard  to  woman  suffrage  in  the  Territories 
of  Wyoming  and  Washington.  It  is  not  upon  the  plains  of  the 
sparsely-settled  Territories  of  the  West  that  woman  suffrage  can 
be  tested.  Suffrage  in  the  rural  districts  and  sparsely-settled  re- 
gions of  this  country  must  from  the  very  nature  of  things  remain 
pure  when  corrupt  everywhere  else.  The  danger  of  corrupt  suf- 
frage is  in  the  cities,  and  those  masses  of  population  to  which  civ- 
ilization tends  everywhere  in  all  history.  Wyoming  Territory! 
Washington  Territory!  Where  are  their  large  cities?  Where  are 
the  localities  in  which  the  strain  upon  popular  government  must 
come? 

The  Senator  from  New  Hampshire,  who  is  so  conspicuous  in  this 
movement,  appalled  the  country  some  months  since  by  his  ghastly 
array  of  illiteracy  in  the  Southern  States.  .  .  .  He  proposes  to 
give  the  negro  women  of  the  South  this  right  of  suffrage,  utterly 
unprepared  as  they  are  for  it.  In  a  convention  some  two-years- 

*  This  does  not  seem  to  apply  to  negro  suffrage  in  the  Southern  States. 


IO6  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

and-a-half  ago  in  the  city  of  Louisville  an  intelligent  negro  from 
the  South  said  the  negro  men  could  not  vote  the  Democratic  ticket 
because  the  women  would  not  live  with  them  if  they  did.  The 
negro  men  go  out  in  the  hotels  and  upon  the  railroad  cars ;  they  go 
to  the  cities  and  by  attrition  they  wear  away  the  prejudice  of  race; 
but  the  women  remain  at  home,  and  their  emotional  natures  aggre- 
gate and  compound  the  race-prejudice,  and  when  suffrage  is  given 
them  what  must  be  the  result  ? 

Mr.  President,  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  speak  of  the  inconveniences, 
for  they  are  nothing  more,  of  woman  suffrage.*  I  trust  that  as  a 
gentleman  I  respect  the  feelings  of  the  ladies  and  their  advocates.  I 
am  not  here  to  ridicule.  My  purpose  only  is  to  use  legitimate  argu- 
ment as  to  a  movement  which  commands  respectful  consideration  if 
for  no  other  reason  than  because  it  comes  from  women.  But  it  is 
impossible  to  divest  ourselves  of  a  certain  degree  of  sentiment  when 
considering  this  question.  I  pity  the  man  who  can  consider  any 
question  affecting  the  influence  of  woman  with  the  cold,  dry  logic  of 
business.  What  man  can,  without  aversion,  turn  from  the  blessed 
memory  of  that  dear  old  grandmother,  or  the  gentle  words  and  ca- 
ressing hand  of  that  blessed  mother  gone  to  the  unknown  world,  to 
face  in  its  stead  the  idea  of  a  female  justice  of  the  peace  or  township 
constable?  For  my  part  I  want  when  I  go  to  my  home — when  I 
turn  from  the  arena  where  man  contends  with  man  for  what  we 
call  the  prizes  of  this  paltry  world — I  want  to  go  back,  not  to  be  re- 
ceived in  the  masculine  embrace  of  some  female  ward  politician,  but 
to  the  earnest,  loving  look  and  touch  of  a  true  woman.  I  want  to 
go  back  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the. wife,  the  mother;  and  instead  of  a 
lecture  upon  finance  or  the  tariff  or  the  construction  of  the  Consti- 
tution, I  want  those  blessed,  loving  details  of  domestic  life  and  do- 
mestic love. 

I  have  said  I  would  not  speak  of  the  inconveniences  to  arise  from 
woman  suffrage — when  the  mother  is  called  upon  to  decide  as  a 
juryman  or  jury  woman  rights  of  property  or  rights  of  life,  whilst 
her  baby  is  "mewling  and  puking"  in  solitary  confinement  at  home. 
There  are  other  considerations  more  important,  and  one  of  them  to 
my  mind  is  insuperable.  I  speak  now  respecting  women  as  a  sex. 
I  believe  that  they  are  better  than  men,  but  I  do  not  believe  they  are 
adapted  to  the  political  work  of  this  world.  I  do  not  believe  that 
the  Great  Intelligence  ever  intended  them  to  invade  the  sphere  of 
work  given  to  men,  tearing  down  and  destroying  all  the  best  influ- 
ences for  which  God  has  intended  them. 

The  great  evil  in  this  country  to-day  is  in  emotional  suffrage. 
The  great  danger  to-day  is  in  excitable  suffrage.  If  the  voters  of 
this  country  could  think  always  coolly,  and  if  they  could  deliberate, 
if  they  could  go  by  judgment  and  not  by  passion,  our  institutions 
would  survive  forever,  eternal  as  the  foundations  of  the  continent 
itself;  but  massed  together,  subject  to  the  excitement  of  mobs  and 

*  One  hearing  Senator  Brown's  blood-curdling  descriptions  would  think  they  were  more 
than  "inconveniences." 


DISCUSSION    AND   VOTE    IN    U.    S.    SENATE 1887.  IO/ 

of  these  terrible  political  contests  that  come  upon  us  from  year  to 
year  under  the  autonomy  of  our  government,  what  would  be  the  re- 
sult if  suffrage  were  given  to  the  women  of  the  United  States  ? 

Women  are  essentially  emotional.  It  is  no  disparagement  to  them 
they  are  so.  It  is  no  more  insulting  to  say  that  women  are  emo- 
tional than  to  say  that  they  are  delicately  constructed  physically  and 
unfitted  to  become  soldiers  or  workmen  under  the  sterner,  harder 
pursuits  of  life.  What  we  want  in  this  country  is  to  avoid  emo- 
tional suffrage,  and  what  we  need  is  to  put  more  logic  into  public 
affairs  and  less  feeling.* 

There  are  spheres  in  which  feeling  should  be  paramount.  There 
are  kingdoms  in  which  the  heart  should  reign  supreme.  That  king- 
dom belongs  to  woman,  the  realm  of  sentiment,  the  realm  of  love, 
the  realm  of  the  gentler  and  holier  and  kindlier  attributes  that  make 
the  name  of  wife,,  mother  and  sister  next  to  that  of  God  himself. 

I  would  not,  and  I  say  it  deliberately,  degrade  woman  by  giving 
her  the  right  of  suffrage.  I  mean  the  word  in  its  full  signification, 
because  I  believe  that  woman  as  she  is  today,  the  queen  of  home  and 
of  hearts,  is  above  the  political  collisions  of  this  world,  and  should 
always  be  kept  above  them 

Sir,  if  it  be  said  to  us  that  this  is  a  natural  right  belonging  to  wo- 
men, I  deny  it.  The  right  of  suffrage  is  one  to  be  determined  by 
expediency  and  by  policy,  and  given  by  the  State  to  whom  it  pleases. 
It  is  not  a  natural  right ;  it  is  a  right  that  comes  from  the  State,  f 

It  is  claimed  that  if  the  suffrage  be  given  to  women  it  is  to  protect 
them.  Protect  them  from  whom?  The  brute  that  would  invade 
their  rights  would  coerce  the  suffrage  of  his  wife  or  sister  or  mother 
as  he  would  wring  from  her  the  hard  earnings  of  her  toil  to  gratify 
his  own  beastly  appetites  and  passions. \ 

It  is  said  that  the  suffrage  is  to  be  given  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of 
woman's  influence.  Mr.  President,  it  would  destroy  her  influence. 
It  would  take  her  down  from  that  pedestal  where  she  is  today,  in- 
fluencing as  a  mother  the  minds  of  her  offspring,  influencing  by  her 
gentle  and  kindly  caress  the  action  of  her  husband  toward  the  good 
and  pure.** 

Senator  Vest  then  presented  a  list  of  two  hundred  men  from 
Massachusetts,  among  them  forty-five  clergymen,  remonstrating 
against  any  further  extension  of  suffrage  to  women.  He  next 
presented  the  old-time  letter  of  Mrs.  Clara  T.  Leonard  of  that 

*  Observe  that  Senator  Vest's  entire  argument  against  woman  suffrage  is  based  wholly 
on  sentiment  and  emotion  and  is  entirely  devoid  of  logic. 

t  The  Senator  meant  that  it  is  a  right  which  comes  from  the  men  of  the  State,  from 
one-half  of  its  people. 

J  Because  of  a  few  such  brutes  millions  of  women  must  be  deprived  of  the  suffrage. 
If  women  had  some  control  over  the  conditions  which  tend  to  make  men  brutes,  might 
the  number  not  be  lessened?  The  Senator  ignores  entirely  the  secret  ballot  which  would 
prevent  the  aforesaid  brutes  from  knowing  how  the  women  voted. 

**  In  the  preceding  paragraph  she  did  not  seem  to  be  on  a  pedestal. 


IO8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

State  protesting  against  the  enfranchisement  of  women.  Sena- 
tor Hoar  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  writer  herself  was 
an  office-holder,  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of  Lunacy  and 
Charity,  to  which  Senator  Vest  answered : 

Ah !  but  what  sort  of  an  office-holder  ?  She  held  the  office  dele- 
gated to  her  by  God  himself,  a  ministering  angel  to  the  sick,  the  af- 
flicted and  the  insane.  What  man  in  his  senses  would  take  from 
woman  this  sphere?  What  man  would  close  to  her  the  charitable 
institutions  and  eleemosynary  establishments  of  the  country  ?  That 
is  part  of  her  kingdom ;  that  is  part  of  her  undisputed  sway  and 
realm.  Is  that  the  office  to  which  woman  suffragists  of  this  country 
ask  us  now  to  admit  them?  Is  it  to  be  the  director  of  a  hospital? 
Is  it  to  the  presidency  of  a  board  of  visitors  of  an  eleemosynary  in- 
stitution? Oh,  no;  they  want  to  be  President,  to  be  Senators  and 
Members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  and,  God  save  the  mark, 
ministerial  and  executive  officers,  sheriffs,  constables  and  marshals. 
Of  course,  this  lady  is  found  on  this  board  of  directors.  Where 
else  should  a  true  woman  be  found?  Wrhere  else  has  she  always 
been  found  but  by  the  fevered  brow,  the  palsied  hand,  the  erring  in- 
tellect, aye,  God  bless  them,  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave  the  guide 
and  support  of  the  faltering  steps  of  childhood  and  the  weakening 
steps  of  old  age.* 

Oh,  no,  Mr.  President,  this  will  not  do.  If  we  are  to  tear  down 
all  the  blessed  traditions,  if  we  are  to  desolate  our  homes  and  fire- 
sides, if  we  are  to  unsex  our  mothers  and  wives  and  sisters  and 
turn  our  blessed  temples  of  domestic  peace  into  ward  political-as- 
sembly rooms,  pass  this  joint  resolution.  But  for  one  I  thank  God 
that  I  am  so  old-fashioned  that  I  would  not  give  one  memory  of  my 
grandmother  or  of  my  mother  for  all  the  arguments  that  could  be 
piled,  Pelion  upon  Ossa,  in  favor  of  this  political  monstrosity. 

I  now  present  a  pamphlet  sent  to  me  by  a  lady.  I  do  not  know 
whether  she  be  wife  or  mother.  She  signs  this  pamphlet  as  Adeline 
D.  T.  Whitney.  I  have  read  it  twice,  and  read  it  to  pure  and  gen- 
tle and  intellectual  women.  I  shall  not  read  it  today  for  my 
strength  does  not  suffice. f  .  .  .  There  is  not  one  impure,  un- 
intellectual  aspiration  or  thought  throughout  the  whole  of  it. 
Would  to  God  that  I  knew  her,  that  I  could  thank  her  on  behalf  of 
the  society  and  politics  of  the  United  States  for  fnis  production. 
She  says  to  her  own  sex :  "After  all,  men  work  for  women ;  or, 
if  they  think  they  do  not,  it  would  leave  them  but  sorry  satisfaction 
to  abandon  them  to  such  existence  as  they  could  arrange  without  us." 

Oh,  how  true  that  is,  how  true! 

*  The  advocates  of  woman  suffrage  have  repeatedly  had  bills  in  the  various  Legis- 
latures asking  that  women  might  be  appointed  on  the  boards  of  all  State  institutions, 
and  as  physicians  in  all  where  women  and  children  are  placed,  but  up  to  the  present 
day  not  one  woman  is  allowed  this  privilege  in  Senator  Vest's  own  State  of  Missouri. 

t  This  does  not  accord  with  the  argument  of  Senator  Brown  that  man  must  do  the 
voting  for  the  family  on  account  of  his  superior  physical  strength. 


DISCUSSION    AND   VOTE   IN    U.    S.    SENATE 1887.  IOO, 

This  pamphlet  of  over  five  thousand  words  which  began,  "What 
is  the  law  of  woman-life?  What  was  she  made  woman  for, 
and  not  man?" — might  be  described  as  the  apotheosis  of  the  sen- 
timental effusions  of  Senators  Brown  and  Vest. 

During  the  discussion  Senator  George  F.  Hoar  (Mass.)  said: 

Mr.  President,  I  do  not  propose  to  make  a  speech  at  this  late  hour 
of  the  day,  it  would  be  cruel  to  the  Senate,  and  I  had  not  expected 
that  this  measure  would  be  here  this  afternoon.  I  was  absent  on  a 
public  duty  and  came  in  just  at  the  close  of  the  speech  of  my  honor- 
able friend  from  Missouri.  I  wish,  however,  to  say  one  word  in 
regard  to  what  seemed  to  be  the  burden  of  his  speech. 

He  says  that  the  women-  who  ask  this  change  in  our  political  or- 
ganization are  not  simply  seeking  to  be  put  upon  school  boards  and 
upon  boards  of  health  and  charity  and  to  fulfil  all  the  large  number 
of  duties  of  a  political  nature  for  which  he  must  confess  they  are  fit, 
but  he  says  they  will  want  to  be  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
Senators  and  marshals  and  sheriffs,  and  that  seems  to  him  supreme- 
ly ridiculous.  Now  I  do  not  understand  that  this  is  the  proposition. 
What  they  want  is  simply  to  be  eligible  to  such  public  duty  as  a 
majority  of  their  fellow-citizens  may  think  they  are  fitted  for.  The 
most  of  the  public  duties  in  this  country  do  not  require  robust,  phy- 
sical health,  or  exposure  to  what  is  base  or  unhealthy;  and  when 
those  duties  are  imposed  upon  anybody  it  will  be  only  upon  such 
persons  as  are  fit  for  them. 

My  honorable  friend  spoke  of  the  French  revolution  and  thf  hor- 
rors in  which  the  women  of  Paris  took  part,  and  from  that  he  would 
argue  that  American  wives  and  mothers  and  sisters  are  not  fit  for 
the  calm  and  temperate  management  of  our  American  republican 
life.  His  argument  would  require  him  by  the  same  logic  to  agree 
that  republicanism  itself  is  not  fit  for  human  society.  The  argu- 
ment is  against  popular  government,  whether  by  men  or  women, 
and  the  Senator  only  applies  to  this  new  phase  of  the  claim  of  equal 
rights  what  his  predecessors  would  have  argued  against  the  rights 
which  men  now  enjoy. 

But  the  Senator  thought  it  was  unspeakably  absurd  that  woman 
with  her  sentiment  and  emotional  nature  and  liability  to  be  moved 
by  passion  and  feeling  should  hold  the  office  of  Senator.  Why,  Mr. 
President,  the  Senator's  own  speech  is  a  refutation  of  its  own  argu- 
ment. Everybody  knows  that  my  honorable  friend  from  Missouri 
is  one  of  the  most  brilliant  men  in  this  country.  He  is  a  logician, 
he  is  an  orator,  he  is  a  man  of  wide  experience,  he  is  a  lawyer  en- 
trusted with  large  interests ;  yet  when  he  was  called  upon  to  put 
forth  this  great  effort  of  his,  this  afternoon,  and  to  argue  this  ques- 
tion which  he  thinks  so  clear,  what  did  he  do?  He  furnished  the 
gush  and  the  emotion  and  the  eloquence,  but  when  he  wanted  an 
argument  he  had  to  call  upon  two  women  to  supply  it.  If  Mrs. 
Leonard  and  Mrs.  Whitney  have  to  make  the  argument  in  the  Sen- 


HO  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ate  of  the  United  States  for  the  distinguished  Senator  from  Mis- 
souri, it  does  not  seem  to  me  so  absolutely  ridiculous  that  they 
should  have,  or  that  women  like  them  should  have,  seats  in  this  body 
to  make  arguments  of  their  own. 

Senator  Blair  closed  the  debate  by  saying  in  part : 

I  appeal  to  Senators  not  to  decide  this  question  upon  the  argu- 
ments which  have  been  offered  here  today  for  or  against  the  merits 
of  the  proposition.  I  appeal  to  them  to  decide  it  upon  that  other 
principle  to  which  I  have  adverted,  whether  one-half  of  the  Ameri- 
can people  shall  be  permitted  to  go  into  the  arena  of  public  discus- 
sion in  the  various  States,  and  before  their  Legislatures  be  heard 
upon  the  issue,  "Shall  the  Federal  Constitution  be  so  amended  as  to 
extend  this  right  of  suffrage?"  If,  with  this  opportunity,  those 
who  believe  in  woman  suffrage  shall  fail,  then  they  must  be  con- 
tent; for  I  agree  with  the  Senators  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the 
chamber  and  with  all  who  hold  that  if  the  suffrage  is  to  be  extended 
at  all,  it  must  be  by  the  operation  of  existing  law.  I  believe  it  to 
be  an  innate  right ;  yet  even  an  innate  right  must  be  exercised  only 
by  the  consent  of  the  controlling  forces  of  the  State.  That  is  all 
woman  asks — that  an  amendment  be  submitted. 

The  opposition  had  presented  three  documents,  each  represent- 
ing the  views  of  one  woman,  and  one  of  these  anonymous.  Sen- 
ator Blair  presented  a  petition  for  the  suffrage  from  the  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union  of  200,000  members,  signed  by 
Miss  Frances  E.  Willard,  president,  and  the  entire  official  board. 
This  was  accompanied  by  a  strong  personal  appeal  from  a  number 
of  distinguished  women,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  petitions 
had  been  previously  sent.  The  Senator  also  received  permission 
to  have  printed  in  the  Congressional  Record  the  arguments  made 
by  the  representatives  of  the  suffrage  movement  before  the  Senate 
committee  in  1880  and  1884.* 

A  vote  was  then  taken  on  the  resolution  to  submit  to  the  State 
Legislatures  an  amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution  forbid- 
ding the  disfranchisement  of  United  States  citizens  on  account 
of  sex,  which  resulted  in  16  yeas,  34  nays,  26  absent.!  Of  the 

*  These  were  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Nancy  R.  Allen,  Lillie  Devereux  Blake,  Lucinda  B. 
Chandler,  Abigail  Scott  Duniway,  Helen  M.  Cougar,  Mary  Seymour  Howell,  Elizabeth 
Boynton  Harbert,  Dr.  Clemence  S.  Lorier,  Julia  Smith  Parker,  Caroline  Gilkey  Rogers, 
Elizabeth  Lyle  Saxon,  May  Wright  Sewall,  Mary  A.  Stuart,  Sara  Andrews  Spencer, 
Harriette  R.  Shattuck,  Zerelda  G.  Wallace,  Sarah  E.  Wall — nearly  all  of  national 
reputation. 

t  YEAS:  Blair,  N.  H.;  Bowen,  Col.;  Cheney,  N.  H.;  Conger,  Mich.;  Cullom,  Ills.; 
Dolph,  Ore.;  Farwell,  III.;  Hoar,  Mass.;  Manderson,  Neb.;  Mitchell,  Ore.;  Mitchell, 
Penn. ;  Palmer,  Mich.;  Platt,  Conn.;  Sherman,  O. ;  Teller,  Col.;  Wilson,  Iowa — 16. 


DISCUSSION    AND   VOTE    IN    U.    S.    SENATE 1887.  Ill 

absentees  Senators  Chace,  Davves,  Plumb  and  Stanford  announced 
that  they  would  have  voted  "yea;"  Jones  of  Arkansas  and  Butler 
that  they  would  have  voted  "nay." 

Thus  on  January  25,  1887,  occurred  the  first  and  only  discus- 
sion and  vote  in  the  United  States  Senate  on  the  submission  of  an 
amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution  which  should  forbid  dis- 
franchisement  on  account  of  sex,  that  took  place  up  to  the  end  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 

NAYS:  Beck,  Ky.;  Berry,  Ark.;  Blackburn,  Ky.;  Brown,  Ga.;  Call,  Fla.;  Cockrell, 
Mo.;  Coke,  Tex.;  Colquitt,  Ga.;  Eustis,  La.;  Evarts,  N.  Y.;  George,  Miss.;  Gray,  Del.; 
Hampton,  S.  C. ;  Harris,  Tenn. ;  Hawley,  Conn.;  Ingalls,  Kan.;  Jones,  Nev. ;  McMillan, 
Mich.;  McPherson,  N.  J.;  Mahone,  Va. ;  Morgan,  Ala.;  Morrill,  Vt;  Payne,  O. ;  Pugh, 
Ala.;  Saulsbury,  Del.;  Sawyer,  Wis. ;  Sewell,  N.  J. ;  Spooner,  Wis. ;  Vance,  N.  C. ;  Vest, 
Mo.;  Walthall,  Miss.;  Whitthorne,  Tenn.;  Williams,  Cal.;  Wilson,  Md. — 34. 

ABSENT:  Aldrich,  R.  I.;  Allison,  la.;  Butler,  S.  C.;  Camden,  W.  Va. ;  Cameron,  Penn. ; 
Chace,  R.  I. ;  Dawes,  Mass. ;  Edmunds,  Vt. ;  Fair,  Nev. ;  Frye,  Me. ;  Gibson,  La. ;  Gor- 
man, Md. ;  Hale,  Me.;  Harrison,  Ind. ;  Jones,  Ark.;  Jones,  Fla.;  Kenna,  W.  Va.;  Maxey, 
Tex.;  Miller,  N.  Y.;  Plumb,  Kan.;  Ransom,  N.  C. ;  Riddleberger,  Va.;  Sabin,  Minn.; 
Stanford,  Cal.;  Van  Wyck,  Neb.;  Voorhees,  Ind. — 26. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1 887. 

The  Nineteenth  national  convention  assembled  in  the  M.  E. 
Metropolitan  Church  of  Washington,  Jan.  25,  1887,  continu- 
ing in  session  three  days.  On  no  evening  was  the  building  large 
enough  to  accommodate  the  audience.  The  Rev.  John  P.  New- 
man, pastor  of  the  church,  prayed  earnestly  for  the  blessing  of 
God  "on  these  women,  who,  through  good  and  evil  report,  have 
been  striving  for  the  right."*  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  came 
directly  from  the  Capitol  and  opened  the  convention  by  reading 
a  letter  from  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  who  was  in  England. 
She  then  referred  to  the  fact  that  while  this  convention  was  in 
session  the  United  States  Senate  was  discussing  the  question  of 
woman  suffrage.  There  would  be  taken  the  first  direct  vote  in 
that  body  on  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  to  enfranchise  women. 
The  attention  of  the  advocates  of  woman  suffrage  was  directed 
to  Congress  for  the  first  time  when  the  Fourteenth  Amendment 
was  under  discussion  in  1865.  That  article  in  the  beginning 
was  broad  enough  to  include  women  but  political  expediency 
inserted  the  word  "male,"  so  that  if  any  State  should  disfranchise 
any  of  its  male  citizens  they  should  be  counted  out  of  the  basis 
of  representation.  She  continued  : 

This  taught  us  that  we  might  look  to  Congress.  We  presented 
our  first  petition  in  1865.  In  December,  1866,  came  the  discussion 
in  the  Senate  on  the  proposition  to  strike  the  word  "male"  from  the 
District  of  Columbia  Suffrage  Bill  and  nine  voted  in  favor.  From 

*  Dr.  Newman  was  an  advocate  of  suffrage  for  women.  After  he  became  Bishop  he 
wrote  for  publication,  July  12,  1894:  "The  exalted  mission  of  Christianity  is  to  reverse 
the  verdict  of  the  world  on  the  rights  of  woman.  Until  Christ  came  she  had  been  re- 
garded by  State  and  Church,  in  the  most  highly  civilized  lands,  as  the  servant  of  man, 
created  for  his  pleasure  and  subordinated  to  his  authority.  Her  rights  of  life,  property 
and  vocation  were  in  his  hands  for  control  and  final  disposition. 

"Against  this  tyranny  we  wage  a  war  of  extermination.  Henceforth  in  State  and 
Church,  in  business  and  pleasure,  whether  married  or  single,  woman  is  to  be  esteemed 
an  individual,  one  of  the  two  equal  units  of  humanity,  to  count  one  the  whole  world 
over,  and  to  possess  and  exercise  the  rights  of  'life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.'  " 

112 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1887. 

that  day  we  have  gone  forward  pressing  our  claims  on  Congress. 
Denied  in  the  construction  of  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Amend- 
ments we  have  been  trying  for  a  Sixteenth  Amendment.  We  have 
gained  so  much  as  a  special  committee,  who  hear  our  arguments 
and  have  four  times  reported  in  our  favor ;  Senator  Hoar,  chairman 
in  1879,  Senator  Lapham  in  1882,  Senator  Palmer  in  1884,  and 
Senator  Blair  in  1886.  This  is  the  bill  which  is  pending  now.  We 
are  not  asking  Congress  to  enfranchise  us,  because  it  does  not  pos- 
sess that  power.  We  are  asking  it  to  submit  a  proposition  to  be 
voted  on  by  the  Legislatures. 

Mrs.  Stanton's  letter  said  in  part : 

For  half  a  century  we  have  tried  appeals,  petitions,  arguments, 
with  thrilling  quotations  from  our  greatest  jurists  and  statesmen, 
and  lo !  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1887,  the  best  answer  we  can  wring 
from  Senators  Brown  and  Cockrell,  in  the  shape  of  a  minority  re- 
port, is  a  "chimney  corner  letter"  written  by  a  woman  ignorant  of 
the  first  principles  of  republican  government,  which,  they  say,  gives 
a  better  statement  of  the  whole  question  than  they  are  capable  of 
producing.  Verily  this  is  a  new  departure  in  congressional  pro- 
ceedings !  Though  a  woman  has  not  sufficient  capacity  to  vote,  yet 
she  has  superior  capacity  to  her  representatives  in  drawing  up  a 
minority  report.  .  .  . 

But  if  Senators  Cockrell  and  Brown  hope  to  dispose  of  the  ques- 
tion by  remanding  us  to  "the  chimney  corner"  we  trust  their  constit- 
uents will  send  them  to  keep  us  company,  that  they  may  enliven  our 
retirement  and  make  us  satisfied  'in  the  sphere  where  the  Creator 
intended  we  should  be'  by  daily  intoning  for  us  their  inspired  minor- 
ity report. 

The  one  pleasant  feature  in  this  original  document  is  the  harmony 
between  the  views  of  these  gentlemen  and  their  Creator.  The  only 
drawback  to  our  faith  in  their  knowledge  of  what  exists  in  the 
Divine  mind,  is  in  the  fact  that  they  can  not  tell  us  when,  where  and 
how  they  interviewed  Jehovah.  I  have  always  found  that  when  men 
have  exhausted  their  own  resources,  they  fall  back  on  "the  inten- 
tions of  the  Creator."  But  their  platitudes  have  ceased  to  have  any 
influence  with  those  women  who  believe  they  have  the  same  facili- 
ties for  communication  with  the  Divine  mind  as  men  have. 

The  right  and  liability  to  be  called  on  to  fight,  if  we  vote,  as  con- 
tinually emphasized  by  our  opponents,  is  one  of  the  greatest  barriers 
in  our  way.  If  all  the  heroic  deeds  of  women  recorded  in  history 
and  our  daily  journals,  and  the  active  virtues  so  forcibly  illustrated 
in  domestic  life,  have  not  yet  convinced  our  opponents  that  women 
are  possessed  of  superior  fighting  qualities,  the  sex  may  feel  called 
upon  in  the  near  future  to  give  some  further  illustrations  of  their 
prowess.  Of  one  thing  they  may  be  assured,  that  the  next  genera- 
tion will  not  argue  the  question  of  woman's  rights  with  the  infinite 
patience  we  have  had  for  half  a  century,  and  to  so  little  purpose. 
VOL.  IV  WOM,  SUF.— 8 


114  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

To  emancipate  woman  from  the  fourfold  bondage  she  has  so  long- 
suffered  in  the  State,  the  church,  the  home  and  the  world  of  work, 
harder  battles  than  we  have  yet  fought  are  still  before  us. 

Mrs.  Caroline  Hallowell  Miller  (Md.)  paid  a  beautiful  tribute 
to  Miss  Anthony,  "the  Sir  Galahad  in  search  of  the  Holy  Grail," 
and  closed  with  an  eloquent  prophecy  of  future  success.  Mrs. 
Lillie  Devereux  Blake  (N.  Y.)  gave  a  clever  satire  on  The  Rights 
of  Men,  which  was  very  imperfectly  reported. 

.  .  .  Surely  it  is  time  that  some  one  on  this  platform  should 
say  something  for  this  half  of  humanity,  which  we  really  must  con- 
fess after  all  is  an  important  half.  Ought  we  not  admit  that  men 
have  wrongs  to  complain  of?  Are  they  not  constantly  declaring 
themselves  our  slaves  ?  Is  it  not  a  well  known  fact,  conceded  even 
here,  that  women  shine  in  all  the  tints  of  the  rainbow  while  men 
must  wear  only  costumes  of  dull  brown  and  somber  black?  Nor  is 
this  because  men  do  not  like  bright  colors,  for  never  a  belle  in  all 
the  sheen  of  satin  and  glimmer  of  pearls  looks  half  so  happily  proud 
as  does  a  man  when  he  has  on  a  uniform,  or  struts  in  a  political  pro- 
cession with  a  white  hat  on  his  head,  a  red  ribbon  in  his  buttonhole 
and  a  little  cane  in  his  hand. 

Then,  too,  have  not  men,  poor  fellows,  had  to  do  all  the  talking 
since  the  world  began?  Have  we  not  heretofore  been  the  silent 
sex  ?  Even  to-day  a  thousand  men  speak  from  pulpit  and  platform 
where  one  woman  uplifts  her  voice. 

But  let  us  pass  to  other  and  more  important  rights  which  have 
been  denied  to  man  in  the  past.  The  first  right  that  any  man  ought 
to  be  allowed — a  right  paramount  to  all  others — is  the  right  to  a 
wife.  But  look  how  even  in  this  matter  he  has  been  hardly  dealt 
with.  Has  he  had  just  standards  set  before  him  as  to  what  a  wife 
should  be?  No,  but  he  has  been  led  to  believe  that  the  weak 
woman,  the  dependent  woman,  is  the  one  to  be  desired.  .  .  . 

Look  again  at  the  unhappy  mess  into  which  man  all  by  himself 
has  brought  politics  and  public  affairs.  Is  it  not  too  bad  to  leave 
him  longer  alone  in  his  misery?  Like  the  naughty  boy  who  has 
broken  and  destroyed  his  toys,  who  needs  mamma  to  help  him  mend 
them,  and  perhaps  also  to  administer  to  him  such  wholesome  disci- 
pline as  Solomon  himself  has  advised — so  does  man  need  woman  to 
come  to  his  rescue.  Look  what  politics  is  now.  Who  to-day  can 
tell  the  difference  between  a  Democrat  and  a  Republican?  Even  a 
Mugwump  is  becoming  a  doubtful  being 

Do  not  these  wrongs  which  men  suffer  appeal  to  our  tenderest 
sympathies?  Is  it  not  evident  that  the  poor  fellows  can't  go  on 
alone  much  longer,  that  it  is  high  time  we  should  take  the  boys  in 
hand  and  show  them  what  a  correct  government  really  is  ? 

There  is  another  question  which  deserves  our  gravest  considera- 
tion. Man  sinks  or  rises  with  woman;  if  she  is  degraded  he  is 
tempted  to  vice;  if  she  is  oppressed  he  is  brutalized.  What  is  the 
industrial  condition  of  women  to-day  ?  .  .  .  . 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1887.  1 15 

In  behalf  of  the  sons,  the  brothers  and  the  husbands  of  these 
wage-earning  women  we  ask  for  that  political  power  which  alone 
will  insure  equality  of  pay  without  regard  to  sex.  For  the  sake  of 
man's  redemption  and  morality  we  demand  that  this  injustice 
shall  cease,  for  it  is  not  possible  for  woman  to  be  half-starved  and 
man  not  dwarfed;  for  many  women  to  be  degraded  and  all  men's 
lives  pure ;  for  women  to  be  fallen  and  no  man  lost. 

We  all  know  that  man  himself  has  been  most  willing  to  grant  to 
women  every  right,  every  opportunity.  If  he  has  hesitated  it  has 
been  rather  from  love  and  admiration  of  woman  than  from  any 
tyrannical  desire  of  oppression.  He  has  said  that  women  must  not 
vote  because  they  can  not  perform  military  duty.  Can  they  not 
serve  the  nation  as  well  as  those  men,  who  during  the  last  war 
sent  substitutes  and  to-day  hold  the  highest  places  in  the  Gov- 
ernment ?  But  we  ask  one  question :  Which  every  year  does  most 
for  the  State,  the  soldier  or  the  mother  who  risks  her  life  not 
to  destroy  other  life  but  to  create  it  ?  Of  the  two  it  would  be  bet- 
ter to  disfranchise  the  soldiers  and  enfranchise  the  mothers.  For 
much  as  the  nation  owes  to  the  soldiers,  she  owes  far  more  to  the 
mothers  who  in  endless  martyrdom  make  the  nation  a  possibil- 
ity. .  .  . 

Man  deserves  that  we  should  consider  his  present  unhappy  con- 
dition. In  all  ages  he  has  proved  his  reverence  for  woman  by  em- 
bodying every  virtue  in  female  form,  and  has  left  none  for  himself. 
Truth  and  chastity,  mercy  and  peace,  charity  and  justice,  all  are  rep- 
resented as  feminine,  and  lately,  as  a  proof  of  his  devotion,  he  has 
erected  at  the  entrance  to  the  harbor  of  our  greatest  metropolis  a 
statue  of  liberty  and  this  too  is  represented  as  a  woman.  .  .  . 
And  so  we  hail  the  men,  liberty  enlightening  a  world  where  woman 
and  man  shall  alike  be  free. 

One  interesting  address  followed  another  throughout  the  con- 
vention, presenting  the  question  of  suffrage  for  women  with 
appeal,  humor,  logic,  statistics  and  every  variety  of  argument. 

Mrs.  Harriette  Robinson  Shattuck  (Mass.)  presented  in  strik- 
ing contrast  The  Women  Who  Ask  and  the  Women  Who  Ob- 
ject. Mrs.  Elizabeth  Boynton  Harbert  in  a  fine  address  told  of 
Our  Motherless  Government.  Mrs.  Isabella  Beecher  Hooker 
{  Conn. )  gave  for  the  first  time  her  masterly  speech,  The  Constitu- 
tional Rights  of  the  Women  of  the  United  States,  which  has  been 
so  widely  circulated  in  pamphlet  form,  and  which  closed  with  this 
peroration : 

There  are  those  who  say  we  have  too  many  voters  already.  No, 
we  have  not  too  many.  On  the  contrary,  to  take  away  the  ballot 
even  from  the  ignorant  and  perverse  is  to  invite  discontent,  social 
disturbance,  and  crime.  The  restraints  and  benedictions  of  this  lit- 


Il6  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

tie  white  symbol  are  so  silent  and  so  gentle,  so  atmospheric,  so  like 
the  snow-flakes  that  come  down  to  guard  the  slumbering  forces  of 
the  earth  and  prepare  them  for  springing  into  bud,  blossom,  and 
fruit  in  due  season,  that  few  recognize  the  divine  alchemy,  and 
many  impatient  souls  are  saying  we  are  on  the  wrong  path — the  Old 
World  was  right — the  government  of  the  few  is  safe ;  the  wise,  the 
rich,  should  rule;  the  ignorant,  the  poor,  should  serve.  But  God, 
sitting  between  the  eternities,  has  said  otherwise,  and  we  of  this 
land  are  foreordained  to  prove  His  word  just  and  true.  And  we 
will  prove  it  by  inviting  every  newcomer  to  our  shore  to  share  our 
liberties  so  dearly  bought  and  our  responsibilities  now  grown  so 
heavy  that  the  shoulders  which  bear  them  are  staggering  under  their 
weight ;  that  by  the  joys  of  freedom  and  the  burdens  of  responsibil- 
ity they,  with  us,  may  grow  into  the  stature  of  perfect  men,  and  our 
country  realize  at  last  the  dreams  of  the  great  souls  who,  "appealing 
to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world  for  the  rectitude  of  their  inten- 
tions," did  "ordain  and  establish  the  Constitution  for  the  United 
States  of  America" — the  grandest  charter  of  human  rights  that  the 
world  has  yet  conceived. 

In  an  impassioned  address  Mrs.  Mary  Seymour  Howell 
(N.  Y.)  contrasted  The  Present  and  the  Past,  saying : 

The  destiny  of  the  world  to-day  lies  in  the  hearts  and  brains  of  her 
women.  The  world  can  not  travel  upward  faster  than  the  feet  of 
her  women  are  climbing  the  paths  of  progress.  Put  us  back  if  you 
can ;  veil  us  in  harems ;  make  us  beasts  of  burden ;  take  from  us  all 
knowledge ;  teach  us  we  are  only  material ;  and  humanity  will  go 
back  to  the  dark  ages.  The  nineteenth  century  is  closing  over  a 
world  arising  from  bondage.  It  is  the  grandest,  sublimest  specta- 
cle ever  beheld.  The  world  has  seen  and  is  still  looking  at  the  lumi- 
nous writing  in  the  heavens — "The  truth  shall  make  you  free" — and 
for  the  first  time  is  gathering  to  itself  the  true  significance  of  liberty. 
All  the  progress  of  these  years  has  not  come  easily  or  from  con- 
servatism, but  from  the  persistent  efforts  of  enthusiastic  radicals, 
men  and  women  with  ideas  in  their  heads  and  courage  in  their 
hearts  to  make  them  practical. 

Ever  since  woman  took  her  life  in  her  own  hands,  ever  since  she 
began  to  think  for  herself,  the  dawning  of  a  great  light  has  flooded 
the  world.  We  are  the  mothers  of  men.  Show  me  the  mothers  of 
a  country  and  I  will  tell  you  of  the  sons.  If  men  would  ever  rise 
above  their  sensuality  and  materialism,  they  must  have  mothers 
whose  pure  souls,  brave  hearts  and  clear  intellects  have  touched 
them  deeply  before  their  birth  and  equipped  them  for  the  journey  of 
life 

It  is  the  evening  of  the  nineteenth  century,  but  the  starlight  is 
clearer  than  the  morning  of  its  existence.  I  look  back  and  see  in 
each  year  improvement  and  advancement.  I  see  woman  gathering 
up  her  soul  and  personality  and  claiming  them  as  her  own  against 
all  odds  and  the  world.  I  see  her  asking  that  this  personality  may 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1887. 

be  impressed  upon  her  nation.  I  see  her  speaking  her  soul  from 
platforms,  preaching  in  pulpits  of  a  life  of  which  this  is  the  shadow. 
I  see  her  pleading  before  courts,  using  her  brains  to  solve  the  knotty 
questions  of  the  law.  Woman's  sphere  is  the  wide  world,  her  scep- 
tre the  mind  that  God  has  given  her,  her  kingdom  the  largest  place 
that  she  has  the  brains  to  fill  and  the  will  to  hold.  So  is  woman  in- 
fluencing the  world,  and  as  her  sphere  widens  the  world  grows  bet- 
ter. With  the  freedom  she  now  has,  see  how  she  is  arousing  the 
public  conscience  on  all  questions  of  right.  .  .  . 

What  is  conservatism  ?  It  is  the  dying  faith  of  a  closing  century. 
What  is  fanaticism?  It  is  the  dawning  light  of  a  new  era.  Yes, 
a  new  era  will  dawn  with  the  twentieth  century.  I  look  to  that 
time  and  see  woman  the  redeeming  power  of  the  world. 

Mrs.  Pearson  of  Nottingham  gave  a  glowing  account  of  the 
progress  of  suffrage  in  England  and  the  work  of  the  Primrose 
League ;  Madame  Clara  Neymann  ( N.  Y. )  made  a  scholarly  ad- 
dress entitled  Skeptics  and  Skepticism ;  Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby 
(Neb.),  the  Rev.  Rush  R.  Shippen  of  Washington  City  and  Miss 
Phoebe  W.  Couzins  ( Mo. )  were  among  the  speakers.  Delegate 
Joseph  M.  Carey  (Wy.)  said  in  the  course  of  his  address: 

Eighteen  years  ago  the  right  of  suffrage  was  given  to  the  women 
of  Wyoming.  Women  have  voted  as  universally  and  as  conscien- 
tiously as  men.  I  have  had  the  honor  of  voting  for  women  and  of 
being  voted  for  by  them.  There  are  not  three  per  cent,  of  women  old 
enough  who  do  not  vote  in  every  part  of  the  Territory.  In  intelli- 
gence, beauty,  grace,  in  perfection  of  home  and  social  duties,  the 
women  of  Wyoming  will  compare  favorably  with  those  of  any  other 
State.  I  have  been  asked  if  they  neglect  home  affairs  on  account  of 
politics.  I  have  never  known  an  instance  of  this.  I  have  never 
known  a  controversy  to  arise  from  the  wives  voting  differently  from 
their  husbands,  which  they  often  do.  If  women  could  vote  in  the 
States  to-day  they  would  vote  as  wisely  as  men.  .  .  . 

I  will  say  to  woman's  credit  she  has  not  sought  office,  she  is  not 
a  natural  office-seeker,  but  she  desires  to  vote,  has  preferences  and 
exercises  her  rights.  The  superintendents  in  nearly  all  the  coun- 
ties are  women.  They  have  taken  a  deep  interest  in  school  matters 
and  as  a  rule  they  control  school  meetings.  Three-fourths  of  the 
voters  present  at  these  are  women.  In  Cheyenne  they  alone  seem 
to  have  the  time  to  attend.  Give  woman  this  right  to  vote  and  she 
will  make  out  of  the  boys  men  more  capable  of  exercising  it.  I 
have  seen  the  results  and  am  satisfied  that  every  woman  should  have 
the  suffrage. 

Mrs.  Carey  sat  on  the  platform  with  Miss  Anthony,  Mrs. 
Hooker  and  other  prominent  members  of  the  convention.  The 
eloquent  address  of  Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall  ( Ind. )  on  The  Con- 


Il8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ditions  of  Liberty  attracted  special  attention.  Mrs.  Caroline 
Gilkey  Rogers  (N.  Y.)  proved  in  an  original  manner  that  There 
is  Nothing  New  under  the  Sun.  In  a  statesmanlike  paper  Airs. 
Matilda  Joslyn  Gage  (  N.  Y. )  set  forth  the  authority  of  Congress 
to  secure  to  woman  her  right  to  the  ballot : 

To  protect  all  citizens  in  the  use  of  the  ballot  by  national  author- 
ity is  not  to  deprive  the  States  of  the  right  of  local  self-government. 
When  Andrew  Jackson,  who  had  been  elected  as  a  State's  Rights 
man,  asserted  the  supremacy  of  the  National  Government,  that  as- 
sertion, carried  out  as  it  was,  did  not  deprive  States  of  their  power 
of  self-government.  Neither  did  the  Reconstruction  Acts  nor  the 
adoption  of  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Amendments.  Yet  in 
many  ways  it  is  proved  that  States  are  not  sovereign.  Besides 
their  inability  to  coin  money,  to  declare  peace  and  war,  they  are 
proved  by  their  own  acts  not  even  to  be  self-protective.  If  women 
as  individuals,  as  one-half  of  the  people,  call  upon  the  nation  for 
protection,  they  are  doing  no  more  nor  less  than  so-called  sovereign 
States  themselves  do.  National  aid  has  been  frequently  asked  to 
preserve  peace,  or  to  insure  that  protection  found  impossible  under 
mere  local  or  State  authority.  .  .  . 

In  ratifying  an  amendment  States  become  factors  in  the  nation, 
the  same  as  by  the  acts  of  their  representatives  and  senators  in  Con- 
gress. A  law  created  by  themselves  in  this  way  can  be  no  interfer- 
ence with  their  local  rights  of  self-government ;  because  in  helping 
enact  these  laws,  either  through  congressional  action,  or  by  legisla- 
tive ratification  of  amendments,  each  State  has  arisen  above  and  be- 
yond itself  into  a  higher  national  realm. 

The  one  right  above  all  others  which  is  not  local  is  the  right  of 
self-government.  That  right  being  the  corner  stone  on  which  the 
nation  was  founded,  is  a  strictly  national  right.  It  is  not  local,  it  is 
not  State.  .  .  . 

It  does  not  matter  by  what  instrumentality — whether  by  State 
constitution  or  by  statute  law — woman  has  been  deprived  of  her  na- 
tional right  of  self-government,  it  is  none  the  less  the  duty  of 
Congress  to  protect  her  in  regaining  it.  Surely  her  right  to  govern 
herself  is  of  as  much  value  as  the  protection  of  property,  the  quell- 
ing of  riots,  the  destruction  or  establishment  of  banks,  the  guarding 
of  the  polls,  the  securing  of  a  free  ballot  for  the  colored  race  or 
the  taking  of  it  from  a  Mormon  voter. 

In  her  address  on  The  Work  of  Women,  Miss  Mary  F.  East- 
man (Mass.)  said:  "Men  say  the  work  of  the  State  is  theirs. 
The  State  is  the  people.  The  origin  of  government  is  simply 
that  two  men  call  in  a  third  for  umpire.  The  ideal  of  the  State 
is  gradually  rising.  No  State  can  be  finer  in  its  type  of  govern- 
ment than  the  individuals  who  make  it.  We  enunciate  a  grand 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1 887.  119 

principle,  then  we  are  timid  and  begin  restricting  its  application. 
We  are  a  nation  of  infidels  to  principle." 

The  leading  feature  of  the  last  evening  was  the  address  of  Mrs. 
Zerelda  G.  Wallace  (Ind.)  on  Woman's  Ballot  a  Necessity  for 
the  Permanence  of  Free  Institutions.  A  Washington  paper 
said :  "As  she  stood  upon  the  platform,  holding  her  hearers  as 
in  her  hand,  she  looked  a  veritable  queen  in  Israel  and  the  per- 
sonification of  womanly  dignity  and  lofty  bearing.  The  line 
of  her  argument  was  irresistible,  and  her  eloquence  and  pathos 
perfectly  bewildering.  Round  after  round  of  applause  greeted 
her  as  she  poured  out  her  words  with  telling  effect  upon  the  great 
congregation  before  her,  who  were  evidently  in  perfect  accord 
with  her  earnest  and  womanly  utterances." 

An  imperfect  extract  from  a  newspaper  report  will  suggest  the 
trend  of  her  argument : 

In  this  Nineteenth  annual  convention,  reviewing  what  these  nine- 
teen years  have  brought,  we  find  that  we  have  won  every  position  in 
the  field  of  argument  for  our  cause.  By  its  dignity  and  justice  we 
have  overcome  ridicule,  although  our  progress  has  been  impeded  by 
the  tyranny  of  custom  and  prejudice. 

I  will  ask  the  American  question  "will  it  pay"  to  enfranchise  the 
women  of  this  nation — I  will  not  say  republic?  The  world  has 
never  been  blessed  with  a  republic.  Those  who  think  this  is  a  nar- 
row struggle  for  woman's  rights  have  never  conceived  the  height, 
length  and  breadth  of  this  momentous  question. 

The  purpose  of  divinity  is  enunciated  in  that  it  is  said  He  would 
create  humanity  in  His  image.  The  purpose  of  the  Creator  is  that 
the  two  are  to  have  dominion ;  woman  is  included  in  the  original 
grant.  Free  she  must  be  before  you  yourselves  will  be  free.  The 
highest  form  of  development  is  to  govern  one's  self.  No  man  gov- 
erns himself  who  practices  injustice  to  another.  .  .  . 

We  have  passed  through  one  Gethsemane  because  of  our  refusal 
to  co-operate  with  the  Deity  in  His  purpose  to  establish  justice  and 
liberty  on  this  continent.  It  took  a  hundred  years  and  a  Civil  War 
to  evolve  the  principle  in  our  nation  that  all  men  were  created  free 
and  equal.  Will  it  require  another  century  and  another  Civil  War 
before  there  is  secured  to  humanity  the  God-given  inalienable  right 
to  "life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness?"  The  most  superfi- 
cial observer  can  see  elements  at  work,  a  confusion  of  forces,  that 
can  only  be  wiped  out  in  blood,  unless  some  new,  unifying  power 
is  brought  into  Government.  No  class  was  ever  known  to  extend 
a  right  or  share  the  application  of  a  just  principle  as  long  as  it 
could  safely  retain  these  exclusively  for  itself. 

We  have  no  quarrel  with  men.  They  are  grand  and  just  and 
noble  in  exact  proportion  as  their  spiritual  nature  is  exalted.  As 


I2O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

sure  as  you  live  down  low  to  the  animal  that  is  in  you,  will  the  ani- 
mal dominate  your  nature.  Woman  is  the  first  to  recognize  the 
Divine.  When  God  was  incarnated  in  humanity,  when  the  Word 
was  made  flesh  and  born  of  a  woman,  the  arsenal  of  Heaven  was 
exhausted  to  redeem  the  race.  .  .  . 

Woman  is  your  last  resource,  and  she  will  not  fail  you.  I  have 
faith  that  humanity  is  to  be  perfected.  Examine  the  record  for 
yourselves.  I  do  not  agree  with  the  view  of  some  of  our  divines. 
We  find  the  Creator  taking  a  survey,  and  man  is  the  only  creation 
he  finds  imperfect.  Therefore  a  helpmeet  is  created  for  him.  Ac- 
cording to  accepted  theology  the  first  thing  that  helpmeet  does  is  to 
precipitate  him  into  sin.  I  have  unbounded  faith  in  the  plans  of 
God  and  in  His  ability  to  carry  them  out,  and  when  He  said  He 
would  make  a  helpmeet  I  believe  He  did  it,  and  that  Eve  helped 
Adam,  gave  him  an  impetus  toward  perfection,  instead  of  causing 
him  to  fall.  Man  was  a  noble  animal  and  endowed  with  intellectual 
ability,  but  Eve  found  him  a  moral  infant  and  tried  to  teach  him  to 
discriminate  between  good  and  evil.  That  is  the  first  and  greatest 
good  which  comes  to  anybody,  and  Adam,  instead  of  falling  down 
when  he  ate  the  apple,  rose  up.  There  is  no  moral  or  spiritual 
growth  possible  without  being  able  to  discern  good  from  evil. 
Adam  was  an  animal  superior  to  all  others  that  preceded  him,  but  it 
needed  a  woman  to  quicken  his  spiritual  perceptions. 

Eve  having  taken  it  upon  herself  to  teach  man  to  know  the  differ- 
ence beUveen  good  and  evil,  the  responsibility  rests  upon  woman  to 
teach  man  to  choose  the  good  and  refuse  the  evil.  She  will  do  this 
if  she  has  freedom  of  opportunity. 

Man  has  been  given  schools  to  develop  brain  power,  and  I  do  not 
underrate  their  value.  He  has  nearly  entered  into  his  domain  as 
far  as  the  material  forces  are  concerned,  but  there  is  a  moral  and 
spiritual  element  in  humanity  which  eludes  his  grasp  in  practically 
everything  he  undertakes.  This  lack  of  the  moral  element  is  to-day 
our  greatest  danger.  We  do  not  ask  for  the  ballot  because  men  are 
tyrants,  but  because  God  has  made  us  the  conservators  of  the  race. 
To-day  we  are  queens  without  a  scepter ;  the  penalty  to  the  nation  is 
that  men  are  largely  indifferent  to  its  best  interests  and  many  do  not 
vote.  Men  are  under  the  influence  of  women  during  the  formative 
period  of  their  lives,  first  of  their  mothers,  then  of  women  teachers ; 
how  can  they  do  otherwise  than  underestimate  the  value  of  citizen- 
ship? How  can  the  young  men  of  this  nation  be  inspired  with  a 
love  of  justice?  It  is  a  dangerous  thing  that  the  education  of  citi- 
zens is  given  over  to  women,  unless  these  teachers  have  themselves 
the  rights  of  citizens.  How  can  you  expect  such  women  as  have 
addressed  you  here  in  this  convention  to  teach  the  youth  to  honor  a 
Government  which  thus  dishonors  women? 

The  world  has  never  known  but  one  Susan  B.  Anthony.  God  and 
the  world  needed  her  and  God  gave  her  to  the  world  and  to  hu- 
manity. The  next  Statue  of  Liberty  will  have  her  features.  Of 
all  the  newspaper  criticisms  and  remarks  which  have  been  made 
about  her  I  read  one  the  other  day  which  exactly  suited  me ;  it  called 
her  "that  grand  old  champion  of  progress." 


NATIONAL   SUFFRAGE   CONVENTION   OF    1887.  121 

The  women  are  coming  and  the  men  will  be  better  for  their  com- 
ing. Men  say  women  are  not  fit  to  govern  because  they  can  not 
fight.  When  men  live  upon  a  very  low  plane  so  there  is  only  one 
way  to  manage  them  and  that  is  to  knock  them  on  the  head,  that  is 
true.  It  probably  was  true  of  government  in  the  beginning,  but  we 
are  to  grow  up  out  of  this  low  state. 

When  we  reach  the  highest  development,  moral  and  spiritual 
forces  will  govern.  That  women  can  and  do  govern  even  in  our 
present  undeveloped  condition  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  three- 
fourths  of  our  educators  are  women.  I  remember  when  it  used  to 
be  said,  "You  can  not  put  the  boys  and  girls  into  the  hands  of 
women,  because  they  can  not  thrash  them."  To-day  brute  force  is 
almost  entirely  eliminated  from  our  schools.  That  women  should 
not  take  part  in  government  because  they  can  not  fight  was  probably 
true  in  ages  gone  by  when  governments  were  maintained  by  brute 
force,  but  it  does  not  obtain  in  a  government  ruled  by  public  opinion 
expressed  on  a  little  piece  of  paper.  Women  as  a  class  do  not  fight, 
and  that  is  the  reason  they  are  needed  to  introduce  into  government 
a  power  of  another  kind,  the  power  with  which  women  govern  their 
children  and  their  husbands,  that  beautiful  law  of  love  which  is  to  be 
the  only  thing  that  remains  forever.  .  .  . 

Our  statesmen  are  doubting  the  success  of  self-government.  They 
say  universal  suffrage  is  a  failure,  forgetting  that  we  have  never 
had  universal  suffrage.  The  majority  of  the  race  has  never  ex- 
pressed its  sense  in  government.  We  are  a  living  falsehood  when 
we  compare  the  basic  principles  of  our  Government  with  things  as 
they  are  now.  It  is  becoming  a  common  expression,  "The  voice  of 
the  people  is  not  the  voice  of  God."  If  you  do  not  find  God  in  the 
voice  of  the  people  you  can  not  find  him  anywhere.  It  is  said, 
"Power  inheres  in  the  people,"  and  the  nation  is  shorn  of  half  its 
power  for  progress  as  long  as  the  ballot  is  not  in  the  hands  of 
women. 

What  has  caused  heretofore  the  downfall  of  nations?  The  lack 
of  morality  in  government.  It  will  eat  out  the  life  of  a  nation  as  it 
does  the  heart  of  an  individual.  This  question  of  woman's  equal 
rights,  equal  duties,  equal  responsibilities,  is  the  greatest  which  has 
come  before  us.  The  destiny  of  the  whole  race  is  comprised  in  four 
things :  Religion,  education,  morals,  politics.  Woman  is  a  re- 
ligious being ;  she  is  becoming  educated ;  she  has  a  high  code  of 
morals  ;  she  will  yet  purify  politics. 

I  want  to  impress  upon  the  audience  this  thought,  that  every  man 
is  a  direct  factor  in  the  legislation  of  this  land.  Every  woman  is 
not  a  direct  factor,  but  yet  is  more  or  less  responsible  for  every  evil 
existing  in  the  community.  I  have  nothing  but  pity  for  that  woman 
who  can  fold  her  hands  and  say  she  has  all  the  rights  she  wants. 
How  can  she  think  of  the  great  problem  God  has  given  us  to  solve — 
to  redeem  the  race  from  superstition  and  crime — and  not  want  to 
put  her  hand  to  the  wheel  of  progress  and  help  move  the  world  ? 

Mrs.  Hannah  Whitall  Smith  ( Penn. )  pronounced  the  benedic- 
tion at  the  closing  session. 


122  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Sixteen  States  were  represented  at  this  Nineteenth  convention, 
and  reports  were  sent  from  many  more.  Mrs.  Sewall,  chairman 
of  the  executive  committee,  presented  a  comprehensive  report  of 
the  past  year's  work,  which  included  appeals  to  many  gatherings 
of  religions  bodies.  Conventions  had  been  held  in  each  congres- 
sional district  of  Kansas  and  Wisconsin.  She  referred  particu- 
larly to  the  completion  of  the  last  of  the  three  volumes  of  the 
History  of  Woman  Suffrage  by  Miss  Anthony,  Mrs.  Stanton 
and  Mrs.  Gage.  An  elaborate  plan  of  work  was  adopted  for  the 
coming  year,  which  included  the  placing  of  this  History  in  pub- 
lic libraries,  a  continuation  of  the  appeals  to  religious  assemblies, 
the  appointment  of  delegates  to  all  of  the  approaching  national 
political  conventions,  and  the  holding  by  each  vice-president  of  a 
series  of  conventions  in  the  congressional  districts  of  her  State. 
It  was  especially  tlesired  that  arrangements  should  be  made  for 
the  enrollment  in  every  State  of  the  women  who  want  to  vote, 
and  Mrs.  Colby  was  appointed  to  mature  a  suitable  plan. 

Among  the  extended  resolutions  adopted  were  the  following : 

WHEREAS,  For  the  first  time  a  vote  has  been  taken  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States  on  an  amendment  to  the  National  Constitution 
enfranchising  women;  and 

WHEREAS,  Nearly  one-third  of  the  Senators  voted  for  the  amend- 
ment ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  rejoice  in  this  evidence  that  our  demand  is 
forcing  itself  upon  the  attention  and  action  of  Congress,  and  that 
when  a  new  Congress  shall  have  assembled,  with  new  men  and  new 
ideas,  we  may  hope  to  change  this  minority  into  a  majority. 

WHEREAS,  The  Anti- Poly  gamy  bill  passed  by  both  Houses  of 
Congress  provides  for  the  disfranchisement  of  the  non-polygamous 
women  of  Utah  ;  and 

WHEREAS,  The  women  thus  sought  to  be  disfranchised  have  been 
for  years  in  the  peaceable  exercise  of  the  ballot,  and  no  charge  is 
made  against  them  of  any  crime  by  reason  of  which  they  should 
lose  their  vested  rights ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  this  association  recognizes  in  these  measures  a 
disregard  of  individual  rights  which  is  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of 
all;  since  to  establish  the  precedent  that  the  ballot  may  be  taken 
away  is  to  threaten  the  permanency  of  our  republican  form  of  gov- 
ernment. 

Resolved,  That  we  call  the  attention  of  the  working  women  of 
the  country  to  the  fact  that  a  disfranchised  class  is  always  an  op- 
pressed class  and  that  only  through  the  protection  of  the  ballot  can 
they  secure  equal  pay  for  equal  work. 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  as  hopeful  signs  of  the  times  the 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1887.  123 

indorsement  of  woman  suffrage  by  the  Knights  of  Labor  in  national 
assembly,  and  by  the  National  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union,  and  that  we  congratulate  these  organizations  upon  their 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  ballot  in  the  hands  of  woman  is  nec- 
essary for  their  success. 

Resolved,  That  we  extend  our  sympathy  to  our  beloved  president, 
in  the  recent  death  of  her  husband,  Henry  B.  Stanton ;  and  we  recall 
with  gratitude  the  fact  that  he  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  con- 
sistent advocates  of  human  liberty. 

Thanks  were  extended  to  the  United  States  Senators  who  voted 
for  a  Sixteenth  Amendment.  A  committee  was  appointed,  Mrs. 
Blake,  chairman,  to  wait  upon  President  Grover  Cleveland  and 
protest  against  the  threatened  disfranchising  of  the  women  of 
Washington  Territory ;  also  to  secure  a  hearing  before  the  proper 
congressional  committee  in  reference  to  the  Edmunds-Tucker  Bill, 
which  proposed  to  disfranchise  both  the  Gentile  and  Mormon 
women  of  Utah.  The  usual  large  number  of  letters  were  re- 
ceived.* 

The  following  letter  was  read  from  ex-United  States  Treas- 
urer F.  E.  Spinner,  the  first  official  to  employ  women : 

I  am  eighty-five  years  old,  and  I  can  no  longer  look  forward  for 
future  earthly  happiness.  All  my  joys  are  now  retrospective,  and 
in  the  long  vista  of  years  that  I  constantly  look  back  upon,  there  is 
no  time  that  affords  me  more  pleasure  than  that  when  I  was  in  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States.  The  fact  that  I  was  instrumental  in 
introducing  women  to  employment  in  the  offices  of  the  Government, 
gives  me  more  real  satisfaction  than  all  the  other  deeds  of  my  life. 

A  committee  consisting  of  the  national  board  and  chairman  of 
the  executive  committee  was  appointed  to  arrange  for  a  great 
international  meeting  the  next  year. 

On  the  opening  day  of  this  convention  a  vote  on  woman  suf- 
frage was  taken  in  the  United  States  Senate  as  described  in  the 
preceding  chapter;  at  its  close  a  telegram  was  received  that  a 
Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  had  been  passed  by  the  Kansas  Legisla- 
ture ;  and  its  members  separated  with  the  consciousness  that  two 
distinctly  progressive  steps  had  been  taken. 

•Among  the  writers  were  Harriot  Stanton  Blatch  of  England,  the  Rev.  Frederick  A. 
Hinckley,  Philadelphia;  Prudence  Crandall  Philleo  (Kan.);  Mary  V.  Cowgill,  Mary  J. 
Coggeshall,  editor  Woman's  Standard,  (la.);  Belva  A.  Lockwood  (D.  C.);  General  and 
Mrs.  Rufus  Saxton,  Sallie  Clay  Bennett  (Ky.);  Alice  M.  Pickler  (Dak.);  Sarah  R. 
Langdon  Williams,  Sarah  M.  Perkins  (O.);  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McClung  (Tenn.)j  telegram 
signed  by  Emmeline  B.  Wells  and  a  long  list  of  names  from  Utah. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

INTERNATIONAL  COUNCIL  OF  WOMEN HEARING  OF   1 888. 

The  year  1888  is  distinguished  for  the  largest  and  most  repre- 
sentative woman's  convention  held  up  to  that  time — the  Interna- 
tional Council  of  Women,  which  met  in  Washington,  D.  C, 
March  25,  continuing  until  April  i.  The  origin  of  this  great 
body  is  briefly  stated  in  the  official  report  as  follows :  "Visiting 
England  and  France  in  1882,  Mrs.  Stanton  conceived  the  idea 
of  an  International  Council  of  Women  interested  in  the  movement 
for  suffrage,  and  pressed  its  consideration  on  the  leading  re- 
formers in  those  countries.  A  few  accepted  the  idea,  and  when 
Miss  Anthony  arrived  in  England  early  the  following  year,  they 
discussed  the  question  fully  with  each  other,  and  seeing  that  such 
a  convention  was  both  advisable  and  practicable,  they  resolved 
to  call  it  in  the  near  future.  On  the  eve  of  their  departure,  at  a 
reception  given  them  in  Liverpool,  the  subject  was  presented  and 
favorably  received.  Among  the  guests  were  Priscilla  Bright 
McLaren,  Margaret  Bright  Lucas,  Alice  Scatcherd  and  Margaret 
E.  Parker.  The  initiative  steps  for  an  International  Council  were 
then  taken  and  a  committee  of  correspondence  appointed.* 

"When  Mrs.  Stanton  and  Miss  Anthony  returned  to  America 
it  was  decided,  in  consultation  with  friends,  to  celebrate  the 
fourth  decade  of  the  woman  suffrage  movement  by  calling  an 

*The  following  report  was  prepared  by  Mrs.  Parker:  At  a  large  and  influential  gather- 
ing of  the  friends  of  woman  suffrage,  at  Parliament  Terrace,  Liverpool,  November  16, 
1883,  convened  by  E.  Whittle,  M.  D.,  to  meet  Mrs.  Stanton  and  Miss  Anthony  prior  to 
their  return  to  America,  a  resolution  was  proposed  by  Mrs.  Parker  of  Penketh,  seconded 
by  Mrs.  McLaren  of  Edinburgh,  and  unanimously  passed:  "Recognizing  that  union  is 
strength  and  that  the  time  has  come  when  women  all  over  the  world  should  unite  in  the 
just  demand  for  their  political  enfranchisement;  therefore 

"Resolved,  That  we  do  here  appoint  a  committee  «f  correspondence,  preparatory  to 
forming  an  International  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 

"Resolved,  That  the  committee  consist  of  the  following  friends,  with  power  to  add  to 
their  number. 

"For  the  American  Center — Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony, 
Miss  Rachel  G.  Foster.  For  Foreign  Centers — (An  extended  committee  was  named  of 
prominent  persons  in  Great  Britain,  Ireland  and  France)." 

124 


INTERNATIONAL   COUNCIL   OF   WOMEN — 1 888.  125 

International  Council.  At  its  nineteenth  annual  convention,  Jan- 
uary, 1887,  the  National  Suffrage  Association  had  resolved  to 
assume  the  entire  responsibility  and  to  extend  the  invitation  to 
all  associations  of  women  in  the  trades,  professions  and  reforms, 
as  well  as  those  advocating  political  rights.  The  herculean  task 
of  making  all  the  necessary  arrangements  fell  chiefly  on  Miss 
Anthony,  Miss  Rachel  G.  Foster  (Avery)  and  Mrs.  May  Wright 
Sewall,  as  Mrs.  Stanton  and  Mrs.  Spofford  were  in  Europe.  To 
say  nothing  of  the  thought,  anxiety,  time  and  force  expended, 
we  can  appreciate  in  some  measure  the  magnitude  of  the  under- 
taking by  its  financial  cost  of  nearly  $12,000. 

"This  was  the  first  attempt  to  convene  an  international  body  of 
women  and  its  conception  would  have  been  possible  only  with 
those  to  whom  the  whole  cause  of  woman  is  indebted  for  its  most 
daring  and  important  innovations.  The  call  for  this  meeting 
was  issued  in  June,  1887 : 

The  first  public  demand  for  equal  educational,  industrial,  profes- 
sional and  political  rights  for  women  was  made  in  a  convention  held 
at  Seneca  Falls,  New  York,  in  the  year  1848. 

To  celebrate  the  Fortieth  Anniversary  of  this  event,  an  Interna- 
tional Council  of  Women  will  be  convened  under  the  auspices  of 
the  .National  Woman  Suffrage  Association,  in  Albaugh's  opera 
house,  Washington,  D.  C,  on  March  25,  1888. 

It  is  impossible  to  overestimate  the  far-reaching  influence  of  such 
a  Council.  An  interchange  of  opinions  on  the  great  questions  now 
agitating  the  world  will  rouse  women  to  new  thought,  will  intensify 
their  love  of  liberty  and  will  give  them  a  realizing  sense  of  the 
power  of  combination. 

However  the  governments,  religions,  laws  and  customs  of  nations 
may  differ,  all  are  agreed  on  one  point,  namely :  man's  sovereignty 
in  the  State,  in  the  Church  and  in  the  Home.     In  an  International 
Council  women  may  hope  to  devise  new  and  more  effective  methods 
for  securing  in  these  three  institutions  the  equality  and  justice  which 
they  have  so  long  and  so  earnestly  sought.     Such  a  Council  will 
impress  the  important  lesson  that  the  position  of  women  anywhere  , 
affects  their  position  everywhere.     Much  is  said  of  universal  broth-  , 
erhood,  but  for  weal  or  woe,  more  subtle  and  more  'binding  is  uni-  \ 
versal  sisterhood. 

Women  recognizing  the  disparity  between  their  achievements  and 
their  labors,  will  no  doubt  agree  that  they  have  been  trammeled  by 
their  political  subordination.  Those  active  in  great  philanthropic 
enterprises  sooner  or  later  realize  that,  so  long  as  women  are  not 
acknowledged  to  be  the  political  equals  of  men,  their  judgment  on 
political  questions  will  have  but  little  weight. 


126  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

It  is,  however,  neither  intended  nor  desired  that  discussions  in  the 
International  Council  shall  be  limited  to  questions  touching  the  po- 
litical rights  of  women.  Formal  invitations  requesting  the  appoint- 
ment of  delegates  will  be  issued  to  representative  organizations  in 
every  department  of  woman's  work.  Literary  Clubs,  Art  Unions, 
Temperance  Unions,  Labor  Leagues,  Missionary,  Peace  and  Moral 
Purity  Societies,  Charitable,  Professional,  Educational  and  Indus- 
trial Associations  will  thus  be  offered  equal  opportunity  with  Suf- 
frage Societies  to  be  represented  in  what  should  be  the  ablest  and 
most  imposing  body  of  women  ever  assembled. 

The  Council  will  continue  eight  days,  and  its  sixteen  public  ses- 
sions will  afford  ample  opportunity  for  reporting  the  various  phases 
of  woman's  work  and  progress  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  during  the 
past  forty  years.  It  is  hoped  that  all  friends  of  the  advancement  of 
women  will  lend  their  support  to  this  undertaking. 
On  behalf  of  the  National  Woman  Suffrage  Association : 

ELIZABETH  CADY  STANTON,  President. 

SUSAN  B.  ANTHONY,  First  Vice-Pres. 

MATILDA  JOSLYN  GAGE,  Second  Vice-Pres. 

RACHEL  G.  FOSTER,  Corresponding  Sec'y. 

ELLEN  H.  SHELDON,  Recording  Sec'y. 

JANE  H.  SPOFFORD,  Treasurer. 

MAY  WRIGHT  SEW  ALL,  Chairman  Ex.  Com. 

"All  of  the  intervening  months  from  June  until  the  next  March 
were  spent  in  the  extensive  preparations  necessary  to  the  success 
of  a  convention  which  proposed  to  assemble  delegates  and  speak- 
ers from  many  parts  of  the  world.  As  the  funds  had  to  be  raised 
wholly  by  private  subscription,  no  bureau  with  an  expensive 
pay-roll  was  established  but  the  entire  burden  was  carried  by  a 
few  individuals,  who  contributed  their  services."* 

*  There  were  printed  and  distributed  by  mail  10,000  Calls  (four  pages  each) ;  10,000 
Appeals  (two  pages  each);  sketches  were  prepared  of  the  lives  and  work  of  a  number 
of  the  delegates  and  circulated  by  means  of  a  Press  Committee  of  over  ninety  persons 
in  various  cities  of  many  States.  On  March  10,  the  first  edition  (5,000)  of  the  sixteen- 
page  program  was  issued;  this  was  followed  by  five  other  editions  of  5,000  each  and  a 
final  seventh  edition  of  7,000  copies.  Each  edition  required  revision  and  the  introduc- 
tion of  alterations  made  necessary  by  changing  conditions.  There  were  written  in 
connection  with  the  preparations  about  4,000  letters.  Including  those  concerning  rail- 
road rates,  there  were  not  less  than  10,000  more  circulars  of  various  kinds  printed  and 
distributed.  A  low  •estimate  of  the  number  of  pages  thus  issued  (circulars,  calls,  pro- 
grams, etc.)  gives  672,000.  During  the  week  of  the  Council  and  the  following  con- 
vention of  the  N.  W.  S.  A.,  the  Woman's  Tribune  was  published  by  Mrs.  Clara  Bewick 
Colby  eight  times  (four  days  sixteen  pages,  four  days  twelve  pages),  the  daily  edition 
averaging  12,500  copies. 

The  receipts  from  contributions  and  memberships  were  in  round  numbers  $5,000; 
from  sale  of  seats  and  boxes  at  opera-house  $5,000,  and  from  sale  of  daily  Woman's 
Tribune,  photographs  and  badges,  collections,  advertisements,  etc.,  $1,500,  making  a 
total  of  nearly  $12,000.  The  largest  sums  were  from  Julia  T.  Foster,  $400;  Elizabeth 
Thompson,  $250;  Mrs.  Leland  Stanford,  $200;  Rachel  G.  Foster,  $200;  and  $100  each 
from  Adeline  Thomson,  Ellen  Clark  Sargent,  Emma  J.  Bartol,  Margaret  Caine,  Sarah 


INTERNATIONAL    COUNCIL   OF    WOMEN 1 888.  127 

Fifty-three  organizations  of  women,  national  in  character,  of 
a  religious,  patriotic,  charitable,  reform,  literary  and  political 
nature,  were  represented  on  the  platform  by  eighty  speakers  and 
forty-nine  delegates,  from  England,  Ireland,  France,  Nor- 
way, Denmark,  Finland,  India,  Canada  and  the  United  States. 
Among  the  subjects  discussed  were  Education,  Philanthropies, 
Temperance,  Industries,  Professions,  Organizations,  Social 
Purity,  Legal,  Political  and  Religious  Conditions.  While  no  re- 
striction was  placed  upon  the  fullest  expression  of  the  most  widely 
divergent  views  upon  these  vital  questions  of  the  age,  the  sessions, 
both  executive  and  public,  were  absolutely  without  friction. 

A  complete  stenographic  report  of  these  fifty-three  meetings 
was  transcribed  and  furnished  to  the  press  by  a  thoroughly  or- 
ganized corps  of  women  under  the  direction  of  Miss  Mary  F. 
Seymour  of  New  York  City,  an  unexcelled  if  not  an  unparalleled 
feat.*  The  management  of  the  Council  by  the  different  commit- 
tees' was  perfect  in  every  detail,  and  the  eight  days'  proceedings 
passed  without  a  break,  a  jar  or  an  unpleasant  circumstance. 

Saturday  evening,  March  23,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spofford,  of  the 
Riggs  House,  gave  a  reception  to  enable  the  people  of  Washing- 
ton to  meet  the  distinguished  speakers  and  delegates.  The  large 
parlors  were  thrown  open  and  finally  the  big  dining-room,  but  the 
throng  was  so  dense  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  move  from 
one  room  to  another. 

President  and  Mrs.  Grover  Cleveland  received  the  Council  Fri- 
day afternoon.  Monday  evening  a  reception  was  given  by  Sen- 
ator and  Mrs.  Thomas  W.  Palmer  of  Michigan,  for  which  eight 
hundred  invitations  were  sent  to  foreign  legations,  prominent 
officials  and  the  members  of  the  Council.  Senator  and  Mrs. 
Leland  Stanford  opened  their  elegant  home  on  Tuesday  after- 

Knox  Goodrich,  Mary  Hamilton  Williams,  Lucy  Winslow  Curtis,  Mary  Gray  Dow,  Jane 
S.  Richards,  George  W.  Childs  and  Henry  C.  Parsons.  The  cost  of  the  Tribune  (printing, 
stenographic  report,  mailing,  etc.)  was  over  $3,600;  hall  rent,  $1,800.  When  one  con- 
siders the  entertainment  of  so  many  officers,  speakers  and  delegates,  printing,  postage,  the 
salary  of  one  clerk  for  a  year  (whose  board  was  a  contribution  from  Miss  Adeline 
Thomson  and  Miss  Julia  Foster  of  Philadelphia),  and  the  thousand  et  ceteras  of  such  a 
meeting,  the  total  cost  of  about  $12,000  is  not  surprising.  An  international  convention  of 
men,  held  in  Washington  within  the  year,  cost  in  round  numbers  $50,000. 

*  After  the  Council  Mrs.  Stanton,  Miss  Anthony  and  Miss  Foster  remained  in  Wash- 
ington for  six  weeks  preparing  a  complete  report  of  the  addresses  and  proceedings  which 
filled  nearly  500  pages.  Five  thousand  copies  of  these  were  printed,  a  large  number  of 
which  were  placed  in  the  public  libraries  of  the  United  States  and  foreign  countries. 


128  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 

noon  in  honor  of  the  pioneers  in  the  woman  suffrage  movement. 
In  addition  to  these  many  special  entertainments  were  given  for 
the  women  lawyers,  physicians,  ministers,  collegiate  alumnae, 
etc.,  and  those  of  a  semi-private  nature  were  far  too  numerous 
for  mention. 

Albaugh's  Opera  House  was  crowded  to  its  capacity  at  all  of 
the  sixteen  sessions.  Religious  services  were  held  on  both  Sun- 
days, conducted  entirely  by  women  representing  many  different 
creeds.  Some  of  the  old-time  hymns  were  sung,  but  many  were 
from  modern  writers — Whittier,  Samuel  Longfellow,  John  W. 
Chadwick,  Elizabeth  Boynton  Harbert,  Julia  Mills  Dunn,  etc. 
The  assisting  ministers  for  the  first  Sunday  were  the  Reverends 
Phebe  A.  Hanaford,  Ada  C.  Bowles,  Antoinette  Brown  Black- 
well,  Amanda  Deyo.  The  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  gave  the 
sermon,  a  matchless  discourse  on  The  Heavenly  Vision. 

"Whereupon,  O,  King  Agrippa,  I  was  not  disobedient  unto  the 
heavenly  vision."  Acts,  xxvi:i9. 

In  the  beauty  of  his  Oriental  home  the  Psalmist  caught  the 
vision  of  the  events  in  the  midst  of  which  you  and  I  are  living 
to-day.  And  though  he  wrought  the  vision  into  the  wonderful 
prophecy  of  the  68th  Psalm,  yet  so  new  and  strange  were  the 
thoughts  to  men,  that  for  thousands  of  years  they  failed  to  catch  its 
spirit  and  understand  its  power. 

The  vision  which  appeared  to  David  was  a  world  lost  in  sin.  He 
heard  its  cry  for  deliverance,  he  saw  its  uplifted  hands.  Every- 
where the  eyes  of  good  men  were  turned  toward  the  skies  for  help. 
For  ages  had  they  striven  against  the  forces  of  evil ;  they  had  sought 
by  every  device  to  turn  back  the  flood-tide  of  base  passion  and 
avarice,  but  to  no  purpose.  It  seemed  as  if  all  men  were  engulfed 
in  one  common  ruin.  Patient,  sphinx-like,  sat  woman,  limited  by 
sin,  limited  by  social  custom,  limited  by  false  theories,  limited  by 
bigotry  and  by  creeds,  listening  to  the  tramp  of  the  weary  millions 
as  they  passed  on  through  the  centuries,  patiently  toiling  and  wait- 
ing, humbly  bearing  the  pain  and  weariness  which  fell  to  her  lot. 

Century  after  century  came  forth  from  the  divine  life  only  to  pass 
into  the  great  eternity — and  still  she  toiled  and  still  she  waited.  At 
last,  in  the  mute  agony  of  despair,  she  lifted  her  eyes  above  the  earth 
to  heaven  and  away  from  the  jarring  strifes  which  surrounded  her, 
and  that  which  dawned  upon  her  gaze  was  so  full  of  wonder  that 
her  soul  burst  its  prison-house  of  bondage  as  she  beheld  the  vision 
of  true  womanhood.  She  knew  then  it  was  not  the  purpose  of  the 
Divine  that  she  should  crouch  beneath  the  bonds  of  custom  and 
ignorance.  She  learned  that  she  was  created  not  from  the  side  of 
man,  but  rather  by  the  side  of  man.  The  world  had  suffered  be- 


THE  REV.  ANNA  HOWARD  SHAW, 
Vice-President-at-Large  of  National-American  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 


INTERNATIONAL    COUNCIL   OF    WOMEN 1888.  129 

cause  she  had  not  kept  her  divinely-appointed  place.  Then  she  re- 
membered the  words  of  prophecy,  that  salvation  was  to  come  to  the 
race  not  through  the  man,  but  through  the  descendant  of  the  woman. 
Recognizing  her  mission  at  last,  she  cried  out :  "Speak  now,  Lord, 
for  thy  servant  heareth  thee."  And  the  answer  came :  "The  Lord 
giveth  the  Word,  and  the  women  that  publish  the  tidings  are  a  great 
host." 

To-day  the  vision  is  a  reality.  From  every  land  the  voice  of 
woman  is  heard  proclaiming  the  word  which  is  given  her,  and  the 
wondering  world,  which  for  a  moment  stopped  its  busy  wheel  of  life 
that  it  might  smite  and  jeer  her,  has  learned  at  last  that  wherever 
the  intuitions  of  the  human  mind  are  called  into  special  exercise, 
wherever  the  art  of  persuasive  eloquence  is  demanded,  wherever 
heroic  conduct  is  based  upon  duty  rather  than  impulse,  wherever 
her  efforts  in  opening  the  sacred  doors  for  the  benefit  of  truth  can 
avail — in  one  and  all  these  respects  woman  greatly  excels  man. 
Now  the  wisest  and  best  people  everywhere  feel  that  if  woman 
enters  upon  her  tasks  wielding  her  own  effective  armor,  if  her  in- 
spirations are  pure  and  holy,  the  Spirit  Omnipotent,  whose  influence 
has  held  sway  in  all  movements  and  reforms,  whose  voice  has  called 
into  its  service  the  great  workmen  of  every  age,  shall,  in  these  last 
days,  fall  especially  upon  woman.  If  she  venture  to  obey,  what  is 
man  that  he  should  attempt  to  abrogate  her  sacred  and  divine  mis- 
sion? In  the  presence  of  what  woman  has  already  accomplished, 
who  shall  say  that  a  true  woman — noble  in  her  humility,  strong  in 
her  gentleness,  rising  above  all  selfishness,  gathering  up  her  varied 
gifts  and  accomplishments  to  consecrate  them  to  God  and  humanity 
— who  shall  say  that  such  an  one  is  not  in  a  position  to  do  that  for 
which  the  world  will  no  longer  rank  her  other  than  among  the  first 
in  the  work  of  human  redemption?  Then,  influenced  by  lofty  mo- 
tives, stimulated  by  the  wail  of  humanity  and  the  glory  of  God, 
woman  may  go  forth  and  enter  into  any  field  of  usefulness  which 
opens  up  before  her.  .  .  . 

In  the  Scripture  from  which  the  text  is  taken  we  recognize  a 
universal  law  which  has  been  the  experience  of  every  one  of  us. 
Paul  is.  telling  the  story  of  a  vision  he  saw,  which  became  the  in- 
spiration of  his  life,  the  turning  point  where  his  whole  existence  was 
changed,  when,  in  obedience  to  that  vision,  he  put  himself  in  relation 
with  the  power  to  which  he  belonged,  and  recognizing  in  that  One 
which  appeared  to  him  on  his  way  from  Jerusalem  to  Damascus  his 
Divine  Master,  he  also  recognized  that  the  purpose  of  his  life  could 
be  fulfilled  only  when,  in  obedience  to  that  Master,  he  caught  and 
assimilated  to  himself  the  nature  of  Him,  whose  servant  he 
was.  .  .  . 

Every  reformer  the  world  has  ever  seen  has  had  a  similar  experi- 
ence. Every  truth  which  has  been  taught  to  humanity  has  passed 
through  a  like  channel.  No  one  of  God's  children  has  ever  gone 
forth  to  the  world  who  has  not  first  had  revealed  to  him  his  mission, 
in  a  vision. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 9 


132  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ifestations  of  power,  but  it  will  shrink  from  you  as  soon  as  power 
and  greatness  are  no  longer  on  your  side.  This  is  the  penalty  paid 
by  good  people  who  sacrifice  themselves  for  others.  They  must 
live  without  sympathy ;  their  feelings  will  be  misunderstood ;  their 
efforts  will  be  uncomprehended.  Like  Paul,  they  will  be  betrayed 
by  friends ;  like  Christ  in  the  agony  of  Gethsemane,  they  must  bear 
their  struggle  alone. 

Our  reverence  for  the  reformers  of  the  past  is  posterity's  judg- 
ment of  them.  But  to  them,  what  is  that  now  ?  They  have  passed 
into  the  shadows  where  neither  our  voice  of  praise  or  of  blame  dis- 
turbs their  repose. 

This  is  the  hardest  lesson  the  reformer  has  to  learn.  When,  with 
soul  aglow  with  the  light  of  a  great  truth,  she,  in  obedience  to  the 
vision,  turns  to  take  it  to  the  needy  one,  instead  of  finding  a  world 
ready  to  rise  up  and  receive  her,  she  finds  it  wrapped  in  the  swad- 
dling clothes  of  error,  eagerly  seeking  to  win  others  to  its  conditions 
of  slavery.  She  longs  to  make  humanity  free ;  she  listens  to  their 
conflicting  creeds,  and  yearns  to  save  them  from  the  misery  they  en- 
dure. She  knows  that  there  is  no  form  of  slavery  more  bitter  or 
arrogant  than  error,  that  truth  alone  can  make  man  free,  and  she 
longs  to  bring  the  heart  of  the  world  and  the  heart  of  truth  to- 
gether, that  the  truth  may  exercise  its  transforming  power  over  the 
life  of  the  world.  The  greatest  test  of  the  reformer's  courage  comes 
when,  with  a  warm,  earnest  longing  for  humanity,  she  breaks  for  it 
the  bread  of  truth  and  the  world  turns  from  this  life-giving  power 
and  asks  instead  of  bread  a  stone. 

It  is  just  here  that  so  many  of  God's  workmen  fail,  and  them- 
selves need  to  turn  back  to  the  vision  as  it  appeared  to  them,  and  to 
gather  fresh  courage  and  new  inspiration  for  the  future.  This,  my 
sisters,  we  all  must  do  if  we  would  succeed.  The  reformer  may  be 
inconsistent,  she  may  be  stern  or  even  impatient,  but  if  the  world 
feels  that  she  is  in  earnest  she  can  not  fail.  Let  the  truth  which  she 
desires  to  teach  first  take  possession  of  herself.  Every  woman  who 
to-day  goes  out  into  the  world  with  a  truth,  who  has  not  herself 
become  possessed  of  that  truth,  had  far  better  stay  at  home. 

Who  would  have  dreanied,  when  at  that  great  anti-slavery  meet- 
ing in  London,  some  years  ago,  the  arrogance  and  pride  of  men  ex- 
cluded the  women  whom  God  had  moved  to  lift  up  their  voices  in 
behalf  of  the  baby  that  was  sold  by  the  pound — who  would  have 
dreamed  that  that  very  exclusion  would  be  the  keynote  of  woman's 
freedom?  That  out  of  the  prejudice  of  that  hour  God  should  be 
able  to  flash  upon  the  crushed  hearts  of  those  excluded  the  grand 
vision  which  we  see  manifested  here  to-day?  That  out  of  a  longing 
for  the  liberty  of  a  portion  of  the  race,  God  should  be  able  to  show  to 
women  the  still  larger  vision  of  the  freedom  of  all  human  kind  ? 

Grand  as  is  this  vision  which  meets  us  here,  it  is  but  the  dawning 
of  a  new  day ;  and  as  the  first  beams  of  morning  light  give  promise 
of  the  radiance  which  shall  envelop  the  earth  when  the  sun  shall 
have  arisen  in  all  its  splendor,  so  there  comes  to  us  a  prophecy  of 
that  glorious  day  when  the  vision  which  we  are  now  beholding, 


INTERNATIONAL    COUNCIL   OF    WOMEN 1888.  133 

which  is  beaming  in  the  soul  of  one,  shall  enter  the  hearts  and  trans- 
figure the  lives  of  all. 

The  formal  opening  of  the  Council,  Monday  morning,  March 
25,  was  thus  described:  "The  vast  auditorium,  perfect  in  its 
proportions  and  arrangements,  was  richly  decorated  with  the 
flags  of  all  nations  and  of  every  State  in  the  Union.  The  plat- 
form was  fragrant  with  evergreens  and  flowers,  brilliant  with 
rich  furniture,  crowded  with  distinguished  women,  while  soft 
music  with  its  universal  language  attuned  all  hearts  to  harmony. 
The  beautiful  portrait  of  the  sainted  Lucretia  Mott,  surrounded 
with  smilax  and  lilies  of  the  valley,  seemed  to  sanctify  the  whole 
scene  and  to  give  a  touch  of  pathos  to  all  the  proceedings." 

This  great  meeting,  like  so  many  before  and  since  that  time, 
was  -opened  by  Miss  Anthony.  After  the  invocation  and  the 
hymn,  she  said  in  part : 

Forty  years  ago  women  had  no  place  anywhere  except  in  their 
homes ;  no  pecuniary  independence,  no  purpose  in  life  save  that 
which  came  through  marriage.  From  a  condition,  as  many  of  you 
can  remember,  in  which  no  woman  thought  of  earning  her  bread  by 
any  other  means  than  sewing,  teaching,  cooking  or  factory  work,  in 
these  later  years  the  way  has  been  opened  to  every  avenue  of  indus- 
try, to  every  profession,  whereby  woman  to-day  stands  almost  the 
peer  of  man  in  her  opportunities  for  financial  independence.  What 
is  true  in  the  world  of  work  is  true  in  education,  is  true  everywhere. 

Men  have  granted  us,  in  the  civil  rights  which  we  have  been  de- 
manding, everything  almost  but  the  pivotal  right,  the  one  that  under- 
lies all  other  rights,  the  one  with  which  citizens  of  this  republic  may 
protect  themselves — the  right  to  vote. 

I  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  to  you  this  morning  the  woman 
who  not  only  joined  with  Lucretia  Mott  in  calling  the  first  conven- 
tion, but  who  for  the  greater  part  of  twenty  years  has  been  president 
of  the  National  Suffrage  Association — Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton. 

The  entire  audience  arose  with  clapping  of  hands  and  waving 
of  handkerchiefs  to  greet  this  leader,  who  had  come  from  Eng- 
land to  attend  the  Council.  In  the  course  of  a  long  and  dignified 
address  of  welcome,  she  said : 

Whether  our  feet  are  compressed  in  iron  shoes,  our  faces  hidden 
with  veils  and  masks ;  whether  yoked  with  cows  to  draw  the  plow 
through  its  furrows,  or  classed  with  idiots,  lunatics  and  criminals  in 
the  laws  and  constitutions  of  the  State,  the  principle  is  the  same ;  for 
the  humiliations  of  spirit  are  as  real  as  the  visible  badges  of  servi- 
tude. A  difference  in  government,  religion,  laws  and  social  customs 


134  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

makes  but  little  change  in  the  relative  status  of  woman  to  the  self- 
constituted  governing  classes,  so  long  as  subordination  in  all  coun- 
tries is  the  rule  of  her  being.  Through  suffering  we  have  learned 
the  open  sesame  to  the  hearts  of  each  other.  With  the  spirit  for- 
ever in  bondage,  it  is  the  same  whether  housed  in  golden  cages  with 
every  want  supplied,  or  wandering  in  the  dreary  deserts  of  life, 
friendless  and  forsaken.  Long  ago  we  of  America  heard  the  deep 
yearnings  of  the  souls  of  women  in  foreign  lands  for  freedom  re- 
sponsive to  our  own.  Mary  Wollstonecraft,  Madame  de  Stael, 
Madam  Roland,  George  Sand,  Frederica  Bremer,  Elizabeth  Barrett 
Browning,  Frances  Wright  and  George  Eliot  alike  have  pictured 
the  wrongs  of  woman  in  poetry  and  prose.  Though  divided  by  vast 
mountain  ranges,  oceans  and  plains,  yet  the  psalms  of  our  lives  have 
been  in  the  same  strain — too  long,  alas,  in  the  minor  key — for  hopes 
deferred  have  made  the  bravest  hearts  sometimes  despairing.  But 
the  same  great  over-soul  has  been  our  faith  and  inspiration.  The 
steps  of  progress  already  achieved  in  many  countries  should  encour- 
age us  to  tune  our  harps  anew  to  songs  of  victory _ 

I  think  most  of  us  have  come  to  feel  that  a  voice  in  the  laws  is 
indispensable  to  achieve  success;  that  these  great  moral  struggles 
for  higher  education,  temperance,  peace,  the  rights  of  labor,  interna- 
tional arbitration,  religious  freedom,  are  all  questions  to  be  finally 
adjusted  by  the  action  of  government  and  thus,  without  a  direct 
voice  in  legislation,  woman's  influence  will  be  entirely  lost. 

Experience  has  fully  proved  that  sympathy  as  a  civil  agent  is 
vague  and  powerless  until  caught  and  chained  in  logical  propositions 
and  coined  into  law.  When  every  prayer  and  tear  represents  a 
ballot,  the  mothers  of  the  race  will  no  longer  weep  in  vain  over  the 
miseries  of  their  children.  The  active  interest  women  are  taking  in 
all  the  great  questions  of  the  day  is  in  strong  contrast  with  the 
apathy  and  indifference  in  which  we  found  them  half  a  century  ago, 
and  the  contrast  in  their  condition  between  now  and  then  is  equally 
marked.  Those  who  inaugurated  the  movement  for  woman's  en- 
franchisement, who  for  long  years  endured  the  merciless  storm  of 
ridicule  and  persecution,  mourned  over  by  friends,  ostracized  in 
social  life,  scandalized  by  enemies,  denounced  by  the  pulpit,  scarified 
and  caricatured  by  the  press,  may  well  congratulate  themselves  on 
the  marked  change  in  public  sentiment  which  this  magnificent  gath- 
ering of  educated  women  from  both  hemispheres  so  triumphantly 
illustrates 

We,  who  like  the  children  of  Israel,  have  been  wandering  in  the 
wilderness  of  prejudice  and  ridicule  for  forty  years  feel  a  peculiar 
tenderness  for  the  young  women  on  whose  shoulders  we  are  about 
to  leave  our  burdens.  Although  we  have  opened  a  pathway  to  the 
promised  land  and  cleared  up  much  of  the  underbrush  of  false  senti- 
ment, logic  and  rhetoric  intertwisted  with  law  and  custom,  which 
blocked  all  avenues  in  starting,  yet  there  are  still  many  obstacles  to 
be  encountered  before  the  rough  journey  is  ended.  The  younger 
women  are  starting  with  great  advantages  over  us.  They  have  the 
results  of  our  experience ;  they  have  superior  opportunities  for  edu- 


INTERNATIONAL    COUNCIL   OF    WOMEN 1 888.  135 

cation ;  they  will  find  a  more  enlightened  public  sentiment  for  dis- 
cussion ;  they  will  have  more  courage  to  take  the  rights  which  belong 
to  them.  Hence  we  may  look  to  them  for  speedy  conquests.  When 
we  think  of  the  vantage-ground  woman  holds  to-day,  in  spite  of  all 
the  artificial  obstacles  placed  in  her  way,  we  are  filled  with  wonder 
as  to  what  the  future  mothers  of  the  race  will  be  when  free  to  have 
complete  development. 

Thus  far  women  have  been  the  mere  echoes  of  men.  Our  laws 
and  constitutions,  our  creeds  and  codes,  and  the  customs  of  social 
life  are  all  of  masculine  origin.  The  true  woman  is  as  yet  a  dream 
of  the  future.  A  just  government,  a  humane  religion,  a  pure  social 
life  await  her  coming 

At  the  close  of  this  address  Miss  Anthony  presented  greetings 
from  the  Woman's  Liberal  Association  of  Bristol,  England, 
signed  by  many  distinguished  names ;  from  the  Woman  Suffrage 
Association  of  Norway,  and  from  a  number  of  prominent  women 
in  Dublin.*  There  were  also  individual  letters  from  Mrs.  Pris- 
cilla  Bright  McLaren  and  many  other  foreigners,  f 

Dr.  Elizabeth  C. 'Sargent  and  eight  other  women  physicians 
of  San  Francisco  sent  cordial  good  wishes.  Congratulations 
were  received  from  many  Americans,!  and  a  cablegram  from 
Mrs.  Harriot  Stanton  Blatch,  of  England. 

Miss  Anthony  then  presented  the  foreign  delegates :  England, 
Mrs.  Laura  Ormiston  Chant,  Mrs.  Alice  Scatcherd,  Mrs.  Ashton 
Dilke,  Madame  Zadel  B.  Gustafson;  Ireland,  Mrs.  Margaret 
Moore;  France,  Madame  Isabella  Bogelot;  Finland,  Baroness 

*  Anna  Maria  Haslam,  Honorable  Secretary  Woman's  Suffrage  Association ;  Mary 
Edmundson,  Honorable  Secretary  Dublin  Prison  Gate  Mission;  Hannah  Maria  Wigham, 
President  Women's  Temperance  Association,  Dublin,  and  Member  of  Peace  Committee; 
Wilhelmina  Webb,  Member  of  Ladies'  Sanitary  Committee,  Women's  Suffrage,  etc.; 
Rose  McDowell,  Honorable  Secretary  Women's  Suffrage  Committee;  Isabella  Mulvany, 
Head  Mistress  Alexandra  School,  Dublin;  Harriet  W.  Russell,  Member  of  Women's 
Temperance  Association;  Deborah  Webb,  late  Honorable  Secretary  Ladies'  Dublin  Con- 
tagious Diseases  Act  Repeal  Association;  Lucy  Smithson,  Member  of  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mittee and  Women's  Suffrage  Association;  Emily  Webb,  Member  of  Women's  Suffrage 
Association;  Agnes  Mason,  Medical  Student  and  Member  of  the  Women's  Suffrage 
Committee;  Ellen  Allen,  Member  of  Women's  Temperance  and  Peace  Associations. 

t  Among  these  were  Elizabeth  Pease  Nichol,  Eliza  Wigham,  Edinburgh;  Mrs.  Jacob 
Bright,  Catherine  Lucas  Thomasson,  Margaret  E.  Parker,  Jane  Cobden,  Margaret  Bright 
Lucas,  Caroline  Ashurst  Biggs,  Frances  Lord,  F.  Henrietta  Muller,  England;  Isabella  M. 
S.  Tod,  Belfast;  Caroline  de  Barrau,  Theodore  Stanton,  Hubertine  Auclert,  editor  of 
La  Citoyenne,  Maria  Deraismes,  Eugenie  Potonie,  M.  Dupuis  Vincent,  France;  Johanna 
Frederika  Wecket,  Germany;  Prince  Kropotkin,  Russia. 

t  John  G.  Whittier,  T.  W.  Higginson,  Oliver  Johnson,  George  W.  Julian,  Samuel  E. 
Sewall,  Amelia  Bloomer,  Dr.  James  C.  Jackson,  Theodore  D.  Weld,  Elizabeth  Buffam 
Chace,  Rev.  T.  De  Witt  Talmage,  Abigail  Scott  Duniway,  Mrs.  Frank  Leslie,  Dr.  Laura 
Ross  Wolcott,  Charlotte  B.  Wilbour,  Dr.  Agnes  Kemp,  Augusta  Cooper  Bristol,  Dr.  Seth 
and  Mrs.  Hannah  Rogers,  Dr.  Alida  C.  Avery,  Harriet  S.  Brooks,  Sarah  Burger  Stearns, 
Helen  M.  Cougar,  Caroline  B.  Buell,  Lucy  N.  Colman. 


136  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Alexandra  Gripenberg ;  Denmark,  Madame  Ada  M.  Frederiksen ; 
Norway,  Madame  Sophie  Magelsson  Groth;  Italy,  Madame 
Fanny  Zampini  Salazar;  India,  Pundita  Ramabai  Sarasvati; 
Canada,  Mrs.  Bessie  Starr  Keefer. 

After  all  had  acknowledged  the  introduction  with  brief  re- 
marks, Miss  Anthony  presented,  amid  much  applause.  Lucy 
Stone,  Frances  E.  Willard,  Julia  Ward  Howe,  Isabella  Beecher 
Hooker,  Matilda  Joslyn  Gage,  Clara  Barton — the  most  eminent 
galaxy  of  women  ever  assembled  upon  one  platform.  Frederick 
Douglass  and  Robert  Purvis  were  introduced  as  pioneers  in  the 
movement  for  woman  suffrage. 

It  would  be  impossible  within  the  limits  of  one  chapter  to  give 
even  the  briefest  synopsis  of  the  addresses  which  swept  through 
the-  week  like  a  grand  procession.  The  program  only  could  con- 
vey an  idea  of  the  value  of  this  intellectual  entertainment  which 
called  together,  day  after  day  and  night  after  night,  audiences 
that  taxed  the  capacity  of  the  largest  opera  house  in  Washing- 
ton.* 

On  the  second  Sunday  afternoon,  Easter  Day,  the  services  con- 
sisted of  a  symposium  conducted  by  sixteen  women,  of  all  re- 
ligious faiths  and  of  none.  In  the  evening,  when  as  in  the 
morning  a  vast  and  interested  audience  was  present,  brief  fare- 
wells were  spoken  by  a  number  of  the  foreign  delegates.  The 
leading  address  was  by  Mrs.  Zerelda  G.  Wallace  on  the  Moral 
Power  of  the  Ballot.  Mrs.  Stanton  closed  the  meeting  with  a 
great  speech,  and  the  following  resolution  was  adopted : 

It  is  the  unanimous  voice  of  this  International  Council  that  all 

*  Among  those  not  mentioned  above  who  gave  addresses  were  E.  Florence  Barker, 
Susan  H.  Barney,  Leonora  M.  Barry,  Isabel  C.  Barrows,  Cora  A.  Benneson,  Ada  M. 
Bittenbender,  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  Lillie  Devereux  Blake,  Martha  McClellan  Brown,  Dr. 
Mary  Weeks  Burnett,  Helen  Campbell,  Matilda  B.  Carse,  Ednah  D.  Cheney,  Sarah  B. 
Cooper,  "Jennie  June"  Croly,  Caroline  H.  Ball,  Abby  Morton  Diaz,  Mary  F.  Eastman, 
Martha  A.  Everett,  Martha  R.  Field,  Alice  Fletcher,  J.  Ellen  Foster,  Caroline  M.  S. 
Frazer,  Helen  H.  Gardiner,  Anna  Gordon,  Elizabeth  Boynton  Harbert,  Frances  E.  W. 
Harper,  Marilla  M.  Hills,  Clara  C.  Hoffman,  Laura  C.  Holloway,  John  W.  Hutchinson, 
Mary  H.  Hunt,  Laura  M.  Johns,  Mary  A.  Livermore,  Huldah  B.  Loud,  Ella  M.  S.  Marble, 
Marion  McBride,  Laura  McNeir,  Prof.  Rena  A.  Michaels,  Harriet  N.  Morris,  Amelia  Had- 
ley  Mohl,  Mrs.  John  P.  Newman,  Clara  Neymann,  ex-U.  S.  Senator  S.  C.  Pomeroy,  Anna 
Rice  Powell,  Amelia  S.  Quinton,  Emily  S.  Richards,  Victoria  Richardson,  Harriet  H.  Rob- 
inson, Elizabeth  Lisle  Saxon,  Lita  Barney  Sayles,  Harriette  R.  Shattuck,  Hannah  Whitall 
Smith,  Elizabeth  G.  Stuart,  Prof.  Louisa  Reed  Stowell,  Dr.  Sarah  Hackett  Stevenson,  M. 
Louise  Thomas,  Esther  M.  Warner,  Dr.  Caroline  B.  Winslow,  Jennie  Fowler  Willing,  Dr. 
Ruth  M.  Wood,  Anna  M.  Worden. 

On  Pioneers'  Evening  about  forty  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  old  workers  were  on 
the  platform.  » 


INTERNATIONAL    COUNCIL    OF    WOMEN 1 888.  137 

institutions  of  learning  and  of  professional  instruction,  including 
schools  of  theology,  law  and  medicine,  should,  in  the  interests  of 
humanity,  be  as  freely  opened  to  women  as  to  men,  and  that  oppor- 
tunities for  industrial  training  should  be  as  generally  and  as  liber- 
ally provided  for  one  sex  as  for  the  other.  The  representatives  of 
organized  womanhood  in  this  Council  will  steadily  demand  that  in 
all  avocations  in  which  both  men  and  women  engage,  equal  wages 
shall  be  paid  for  equal  work;  and  they  declare  that  an  enlightened 
society  should  demand,  as  the  only  adequate  expression  of  the  high 
civilization,  which  it  is  its  office  to  establish  and  maintain,  an  iden- 
tical standard  of  personal  purity  and  morality  for  men  and  women. 

During  the  month  of  preparation  for  this  International  Coun- 
cil, the  idea  came  many  times  to  Mrs.  Sewall  that  it  should  result 
in  a  permanent  organization.  The  other  members  gave  a  cordial 
assent  to  this  proposition,  and  the  necessary  committees  were  ap- 
pointed. Before  the  delegates  left  Washington  both  a  National 
and  International  Council  of  Women  were  formed.* 

Immediately  following  the  Council  the  National  Woman  Suf- 
frage Association  held  its  Twentieth  annual  convention  in  the 
Church  of  Our  Father,  April  3,  4,  1888.  As  there  had  been 
eight  days  of  continuous  speech-making  this  meeting  was  devoted 
principally  to  the  presenting  of  State  reports  and  transacting  of 
necessary  business.  There  were,  however,  a  number  of  addresses 
from  the  distinguished  women  who  remained  after  the  Council 
to  attend  this  convention. 

The  Committee  on  National  Enrollment,  Mrs.  Louisa  South- 
worth  of  Ohio,  chairman,  reported  40,000  names  of  adult  citizens 
who  favored  equal  suffrage ;  9,000  of  these  were  from  Ohio  and 
9,000  from  Nebraska.  Women  were  urged  to  send  petitions  to 
members  of  Congress  from  their  respective  States.  Mrs.  Stan- 
ton  was  requested  to  prepare  a  memorial  to  be  presented  to  each 
of  the  national  political  conventions  to  be  held  during  the  year, 
and  committees  were  appointed  to  visit  each  for  the  purpose,  of 
securing  in  their  platforms  a  recognition  of  woman  suffrage. 

The  most  interesting  feature  was  the  hearing  before  the  Senate 
Committee  on  Woman  Suffrage,  which  took  place  April  2.f  Mrs. 

*  The  officers  of  the  National  Council  were:  President,  Frances  E.  Willard,  111.; 
vice-president-at-large,  Susan  B.  Anthony,  N.  Y.;  cor.  sec.,  May  Wright  Sewall,  Ind. ; 
rec.  sec.,  Mary  F.  Eastman,  Mass.;  treas.,  M.  Louise  Thomas,  N.  Y.  Officers  of  the 
International  Council:  President,  Millicent  Garrett  Fawcett,  England;  vice-president-at- 
large,  Clara  Barton,  United  States;  cor.  sec.  Rachel  G.  Foster,  United  States;  rec.  sec., 
Kirstine  Frederiksen,  Denmark. 

t  This    committee  consisted    of   Senator    Francis    M.    Cockrell,    Mo.;    Joseph   E.    Brown, 


138  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Stanton  made  the  opening  address,  in  which  she  took  up  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Federal  Constitution,  one  by  one,  and  showed  how 
they  had  been  violated  in  their  application  to  women,  saying : 

Even  the  preamble  of  the  Constitution  is  an  argument  for  self- 
government — "We,  the  people."  You  recognize  women  as  people, 
for  you  count  them  in  the  basis  of  representation.  Half  our  Con- 
gressmen hold  their  seats  to-day  as  representatives  of  women.  We 
help  to  swell  the  figures  by  which  you  are  here,  and  too  many  of  you, 
alas,  are  only  figurative  representatives,  paying  little  heed  to  our 
rights  as  citizens. 

"No  bill  of  attainder  shall  be  passed."  "No  title  of  nobility 
granted."  So  says  the  Constitution ;  and  yet  you  have  passed  bills 
of  attainder  in  every  State  of  the  Union  making  sex  a  disqualifica- 
tion for  the  franchise.  You  have  granted  titles  of  nobility  to  every 
male  voter,  making  all  men  rulers,  governors,  sovereigns  over  all 
women. 

"The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  the  Union  a 
republican  form  of  government."  And  yet  you  have  not  a  repub- 
lican form  of  government  in  a  single  State.  One-half  the  people 
have  never  consented  to  one  law  under  which  they  live.  They  have 
rulers  placed  over  them  in  whom  they  have  no  choice.  They  are 
taxed  without  representation,  tried  in  our  courts  by  men  for  the 
violation  of  laws  made  by  men,  with  no  appeal  except  to  men,  and 
for  some  crimes  over  which  men  should  have  no  jurisdiction.  .  .  . 

Landing  in  New  York  one  week  ago,  I  saw  400  steerage  passen- 
gers leave  the  vessel.  Dull-eyed,  heavy-visaged,  stooping  with  huge 
burdens  and  the  oppressions  endured  in  the  Old  World,  they  stood 
in  painful  contrast  with  the  group  of  brilliant  women  on  their  way 
to  the  International  Council  here  in  Washington.  I  thought,  as  this 
long  line  passed  by,  of  the  speedy  transformation  the  genial  influ- 
ences of  equality  would  effect  in  the  appearance  of  these  men,  of  the 
new  dignity  they  would  acquire  with  a  voice  in  the  laws  under  which 
they  live,  and  I  rejoiced  for  them ;  but  bitter  reflections  filled  my 
mind  when  I  thought  that  these  men  are  the  future  rulers  of  our 
daughters ;  these  will  interpret  the  civil  and  criminal  codes  by  which 
they  will  be  governed ;  these  will  be  our  future  judges  and  jurors  to 
try  young  girls  in  our  courts,  for  trial  by  a  jury  of  her  peers  has 
never  yet  been  vouchsafed  to  woman.  Here  is  a  right  so  ancient 
that  it  is  difficult  to  trace  its  origin  in  history,  a  right  so  sacred  that 
the  humblest  criminal  may  choose  his  juror.  But  alas  for  the 
daughters  of  the  people,  their  judges,  advocates,  jurors,  must  be 
men,  and  for  them  there  is  no  appeal.  But  this  is  only  one  wrong 
among  many  inevitable  for  a  disfranchised  class.  It  is  impossible 

Ga.;  Samuel  Pasco,  Fla.;  Henry  W.  Blair,  N.  H.;  Thomas  W.  Palmer,  Mich.;  Jonathan 
Chace,  R.  I.;  Thomas  M.  Bowen,  Colo.  No  hearing  was  held  before  the  Judiciary  Com- 
mittee of  the  House,  but  on  April  24  Mrs.  Sallie  Clay  Bennett  of  Kentucky  obtained 
an  audience  and  made  an  extended  and  unanswerable  argument  from  two  points  of  view, 
the  Scriptural  and  the  Constitutional.  Her  address  is  printed  in  full  in  the  Woman's 
Tribune  of  April  28,  1888. 


INTERNATIONAL    COUNCIL   OF    WOMEN 1 888.  139 

for  you,  gentlemen,  to  appreciate  the  humiliations  women  suffer  at 
every  turn.  .  •  .  . 

You  have  now  the  power  to  settle  this  question  by  wise  legislation. 
But  if  you  can  not  be  aroused  to  its  serious  consideration,  like  every 
other  step  in  progress,  it  will  eventually  be  settled  by  violence.  The 
wild  enthusiasm  of  woman  can  be  used  for  evil  as  well  as  good. 
To-day  you  have  the  power  to  guide  and  direct  it  into  channels  of 
true  patriotism,  but  in  the  future,  with  all  the  elements  of  discon- 
tent now  gathering  from  foreign  countries,  you  will  have  the  scenes 
of  the  French  Commune  repeated  in  our  land.  What  women,  ex- 
asperated with  a  sense  of  injustice,  have  done  in  dire  extremities 
in  the  nations  of  the  Old  World,  they  will  do  here 

I  will  leave  it  to  your  imagination  to  picture  to  yourselves  how 
you  would  feel  if  you  had  had  a  case  in  court,  a  bill  before  some 
legislative  body  or  a  political  aspiration  for  nearly  half  a  century, 
with  a  continual  succession  of  adverse  decisions,  while  law  and 
common  justice  were  wholly  on  your  side.  Such,  honorable  gentle- 
men, is  our  case 

In  the  history  of  the  race  there  has  been  no  struggle  for  liberty 
like  this.  Whenever  the  interest  of  the  ruling  classes  has  induced 
them  to  confer  new  rights  on  a  subject  class  it  has  been  done  with  no 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  latter.  Neither  the  American  slave  nor 
the  English  laborer  demanded  the  right  of  suffrage.  It  was  given 
in  both  cases  to  strengthen  the  Liberal  party.  The  philanthropy 
of  the  few  may  have  entered  into  those  reforms,  but  political  ex- 
pediency carried  both  measures.  Women,  on  the  contrary,  have 
fought  their  own  battles  and  in  their  rebellion  against  existing  con- 
ditions have  inaugurated  the  most  fundamental  revolution  the  world 
has  ever  witnessed.  The  magnitude  and  multiplicity  of  the  changes 
involved  make  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  success  seem  almost  in- 
surmountable  

Society  is  based  on  this  fourfold  bondage  of  woman — Church, 
State,  Capital  and  Society — making  liberty  and  equality  for  her 
antagonistic  to  every  organized  institution.  Where,  then,  can  we 
rest  the  lever  with  which  to  lift  one-half  of  humanity  from  these 
depths  of  degradation,  but  on  "that  columbiad  of  our  political  life — 
the  ballot — which  makes  every  citizen  who  holds  it  a  full  armed 
monitor  ?" 

Miss  Anthony  then  introduced  a  number  of  the  foreign  dele- 
gates who  had  been  in  attendance  at  the  National  Council.  Mrs. 
Laura  Ormiston  Chant  of  England,  in  an  eloquent  address,  said : 

I  stand  here  as  the  grandniece  of  one  of  the  greatest  orators  and 
clearest  and  wisest  statesmen  that  Europe  has  known,  Edmund 
Burke.  It  seems  to  me  an  almost  overwhelming  humility  that  I 
should  be  compelled  to  echo  the  magnificent  impeachment  that  he 
made  against  Warren  Hastings,  in  our  House  of  Commons,  on  be- 
half of  the  oppressed  women  of  Hindostan,  in  this  my  passionate 
appeal  on  behalf  of  oppressed  women  all  over  the  world.  .  .  •  •  « 


I4O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

By  all  you  have  held  most  sacred  and  beautiful  in  the  women  who 
have  loved  you  and  made  life  possible  for  you — for  their  sake  and 
in  their  name — I  do  intreat  that  you  will  not  allow  your  grandest 
women  to  plead  for  another  half  century.  Say  rather  "the  past  has 
been  a  long  night  of  wrong,  but  the  day  has  come  and  the  hour  in 
which  justice  shall  conquer." 

Mrs.  Alice  Scatcherd,  delegate  from  the  Liberal  and  the  Suf- 
frage Associations  of  Leeds  and  neighboring  cities,  gave  an  in- 
teresting account  of  the  manner  in  which  Englishwomen  exercise 
the  franchise  and  the  influence  they  wield  in  politics. 

Miss  Anthony  then  said,  "I  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing 
to  you  the  woman  who,  twenty-five  years  ago,  wrote  the  Battle 
Hymn  of  the  Republic,  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe."  Mrs.  Howe 
spoke  briefly,  saying:  "My  heart  has  been  full  with  the  words 
of  others  which  have  been  here  uttered;  but  a  single  word  will 
enable  me  to  cast  in  my  voice  with  theirs  with  all  the  emphasis 
that  my  life  and  such  power  as  I  have  will  enable  me  to  add. 
Gentlemen,  what  a  voice  you  have  here  to-day  for  universal 
suffrage.  Think  that  not  only  we  American  women,  your  own 
kindred,  appear  here — and  you. know  what  we  represent — but 
these  foremost  women  from  other  countries,  representing  not 
alone  the  native  intelligence  and  character  of  those  countries,  but 
deep  and  careful  study  and  precious  experience,  and  think  that 
between  them  and  us  who  ask  for  suffrage,  there  is  entire  una- 
nimity. We  all  say  the  same  words;  we  are  all  for  the  same 
thing.  ..." 

Mrs.  Caroline  E.  Merrick,  wife  of  the  former  Chief  Justice  of 
Louisiana,  addressed  the  committee  with  that  deep  and  touching 
earnestness  so  characteristic  of  Southern  women. 

After  saying  that  women  were  present  from  every  State  and 
Territory  who  would  add  their  pleadings  if  there  were  time,  Miss 
Anthony  introduced  Mrs.  Bessie  Starr  Keefer  of  Canada,  who 
told  of  the  good  effects  of  woman  suffrage  in  that  country. 
Miss  Anthony  then  said:  "Gentlemen  of  the  committee,  here 
stands  before  you  one  who  is  commander-in-chief  of  an  army  of 
250,000  women.  It  is  said  women  do  not  want  to  vote,  but  this 
woman  has  led  this  vast  army  to  the  ballot-box,  or  to  a  wish  to 
get  there.  I  present  to  you  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard." 

This  was  the  only  time  Miss  Willard  ever  appeared  before  a 


INTERNATIONAL    COUNCIL   OF    WOMEN 1888.  141 

Suffrage  Committee  in  the  Capitol,  and  she  was  heard  with  much 
interest.  Beginning  with  the  playful  manner  which  rendered  her 
speeches  so  attractive,  she  closed  with  great  seriousness : 

I  suppose  these  honorable  gentlemen  think  that  we  women  want 
the  earth,  when  we  only  want  half  of  it.  We  call  their  attention  to 
the  fact  that  our  brethren  have  encroached  upon  the  sphere  of 
woman.  They  have  definitely  marked  out  that  sphere,  and  then 
they  have  proceeded  with  their  incursion  by  the  power  of  inven- 
tion. They  have  taken  away  the  loom  and  the  spinning- jenny,  and 
they  have  obliged  Jenny  to  seek  her  occupation  somewhere  else. 
They  have  set  even  the  tune  of  the  old  knitting-needle  to  humming 
by  steam.  So  that  we  women,  full  of  vigor  and  desire  to  be  active 
and  useful  and  to  react  upon  the  world  around  us,  finding  our  in- 
dustrial occupations  largely  gone,  have  been  obliged  to  seek  out  a 
new  territory  and  to  pre-empt  from  the  sphere  of  our  brothers  some 
of  that  which  they  have  hitherto  considered  their  own. 

I  know  it  is  a  sentiment  of  chivalry  in  some  good  men  which 
hinders  them  from  giving  us  the  ballot.  They  think  we  might 
not  be  what  they  admire  so  much ;  they  think  we  should  be  lack- 
ing in  womanliness  of  character.  I  ask  you  to  notice  if  the  wom- 
en who  have  been  in  this  International  Council,  if  the  women 
who  are  school  teachers  all  over  this  nation,  if  these  hundreds  of 
thousands  are  not  a  womanly  set  of  women,  and  yet  they  have  gone 
outside  of  the  old  sphere.  We  believe  that  in  the  time  of  peace 
women  can  come  forward  and  with  peaceful  plans  can  use  weapons 
which  are  grand  and  womanly,  and  that  their  thoughts,  winged 
with  hope  and  the  force  of  the  heart  given  to  them,  will  have  an 
effect  far  mightier  than  physical  power.  For  that  reason  we  ask 
you  that  they  shall  be  allowed  to  stand  at  the  ballot-box,  because 
we  believe  that  there  every  person  expresses  his  individuality.  The 
majesty  or  the  meanness  of  a  person  comes  out  at  the  ballot-box 
more  than  anywhere  else.  The  ballot  is  the  compendium  of  all 
there  is  in  civilization,  and  of  all  that  civilization  has  done  for  us. 
We  believe  that  the  mothers  who  had  the  good  sense  to  train  noble 
men,  like  you  who  have  achieved  high  positions,  had  the  good  sense 
to  train  your  sisters  in  the  same  way,  and  that  it  is  a  pity  the  State 
has  lost  that  other  half  of  the  conservative  power  which  comes  from 
a  Christian  rearing  and  a  Christian  character. 

I  have  spoken  thus  on  the  principles  which  have  made  me,  a  con- 
servative woman,  devoted  to  the  idea  of  the  ballot,  and  one  in  heart 
with  all  these  good  and  true  suffrage  women,  though  not  one  in  or- 
ganic community.  I  represent  before  you  the  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union  and  not  a  suffrage  society,  but  I  bring  these 
principles  to  your  sight,  and  I  ask  you,  my  brothers,  to  be  grand 
and  chivalrous  towards  us  in  this  new  departure  which  we  now 
wish  to  make. 

I  ask  you  to  remember  that  it  is  women  who  have  given  the  cost- 
liest hostages  to  fortune,  and  out  into  the  battle  of  life  they  have  sent 


142  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

their  best  beloved  into  snares  that  have  been  legalized  on  every 
hand.  From  the  arms  which  held  him  long,  the  boy  has  gone  for- 
ever, for  he  will  not  come  back  again  to  the  home.  Then  let  the 
world  in  the  person  of  its  womanhood  go  forth  and  make  a  home  in 
the  State  and  in  society.  By  all  the  pains  and  dangers  the  mother 
has  shared,  by  the  hours  of  patient  watching  over  beds  where  little 
children  tossed  in  fever  and  pain,  by  the  incense  of  ten  thousand 
prayers  wafted  to  God  from  earnest  lips,  I  charge  you,  gentlemen, 
give  woman  power  to  go  forth,  so  that  when  her  son  undertakes 
life's  treacherous  battle,  his  mother  will  still  walk  beside  him  clad 
in  the  garments  of  power. 

Miss  Anthony,  who  knew  better  than  anyone  else  when  not 
another  word,  was  needed,  said  at  the  close  of  Miss  Willard's 
touching  address :  "Now,  gentlemen,  we  are  greatly  obliged  to 
you.  I  feel  very  proud  of  all  my  'girls'  who  have  come  before 
you  this  morning,  and  you  may  consider  the  meeting  adjourned." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   NATIONAL   SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    I 

The  Twenty-first  annual  convention  of  the  National  Associa- 
tion met  in  the  Congregational  Church  at  Washington,  Jan. 
21-23,  1889,  in  answer  to  the  official  Call: 

Neither  among  politicians,  nor  among  women  themselves,  is  this 
in  any  sense  a  party  movement.  While  the  Prohibition  party  in 
Kansas  incorporated  woman  suffrage  in  its  platform,  the  Repub- 
licans made  it  a  fact  by  extending  municipal  suffrage  to  the  women 
of  that  State.  The  Democrats  of  Connecticut  on  several  occasions 
voted  for  woman  suffrage  while  Republicans  voted  against  it.  In 
the  New  York  Legislature  Republicans  and  Democrats  alike  have 
advocated  and  voted  for  the  measure.  In  Congress  the  last  vote 
in  the  House  stood  eighty  Republicans  for  woman  suffrage  and 
nearly  every  Democrat  against  it,  while  not  a  single  Democrat  voted 
in  favor  of  it  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate.  Both  the  Labor  and  Green- 
back parties  have  uniformly  recognized  woman  suffrage  in  their 

platforms Our  strength  for  future  action  lies  in  the 

fact  that  woman  suffrage  has  some  advocates  in  all  parties  and 
that  we,  as  an  association,  are  pledged  to  none. 

The  denial  of  the  ballot  to  woman  is  the  great  political  crime  of 
the  century,  before  which  tariff,  finance,  land  monopolv,  temper- 
ance, labor  and  all  economic  questions  sink  into  insignificance ;  for 
the  right  of  suffrage  involves  all  questions  of  person  and  of  property. 

While  each  party  in  power  has  refused  to  enfranchise  woman, 
being  skeptical  as  to  her  moral  influence  in  government,  yet  with 
strange  inconsistency  they  alike  seek  the  aid  of  her  voice  and  pen 
in  all  important  political  struggles.  While  not  morally  bound  to 
obey  the  laws  made  without  their  consent,  yet  we  find  women  the 
most  law-abiding  class  of  citizens  in  the  community.  While  not 
recognized  as  a  component  part  of  the  Government,  they  are  most 
active  in  all  great  movements  for  education,  religion,  philanthropy 
and  reform. 

The  magnificent  convocation  of  women  from  the  world  over — 
held  in  Washington  last  March — a  Council  more  important  than 
any  since  the  Diet  of  Worms — was  proof  of  woman's  marvelous 
power  of  organization  and  her  clear  comprehension  of  the  under- 
lying principles  of  all  questions  of  government.  With  such  evi- 
dence of  her  keen  insight  and  executive  ability,  we  invite  all  inter- 

143 


144  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ested  in  good  government  to  give  us  the  inspiration  of  their  pres- 
ence in  the  coming  convention. 

In  the  absence  of  Mrs.  Stanton  Miss  Anthony  presided,  open- 
ing her  address  with  the  sentence,  "Here  we  have  stood  for  the 
last  twenty-one  years,  demanding  of  Congress  to  take  the  neces- 
sary step  to  secure  to  the  women  of  this  nation  protection  in  the 
exercise  of  their  constitutional  right  to  a  voice  in  the  govern- 
ment." She  introduced  the  Hon.  Albert  G.  Riddle  (D.  C),  who 
in  1871  had  made  an  argument  before  the  Joint  Judiciary  Com- 
mittee in  favor  of  woman's  right  to  vote  under  the  Fourteenth 
Amendment;  and  later  had  argued  before  the  Supreme  Court 
her  right  to  vote  in  the  District.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks 
he  said :  "All  the  changes  in  favor  of  woman — everything  in- 
deed that  has  been  achieved — has  been  in  consequence  of  this 
contest  for  woman  suffrage.  Its  advocates  began  it;  they  trav- 
eled along  with  it ;  and  all  that  has  been  gained  in  the  statutes  of 
the  various  States  and  of  the  United  States  has  been  by  their 
efforts;  whatever  has  taken  a  crystallized  form  of  irrepealable 
law  is  because  of  this  discussion,  because  of  this  agitation." 

Mrs.  Isabella  Beecher  Hooker  (Conn.)  read  the  resolution 
demanding  a  representation  of  women  in  the  Centennial  Celebra- 
tion of  the  Adoption  of  the  United  States  Constitution  soon  to 
be  held  in  New  York  City.  Miss  Anthony  then  introduced 
Senator  Henry  W.  Blair  (N.  H.),  who  was  received  with  much 
applause,  as  the  unswerving  champion  of  woman  suffrage.  In 
an  address  considering  the  constitutional  phase  of  the  question, 
he  said : 

There  has  been  such  progress  in  the  formulation  of  the  State  and 
the  national  law  that  it  has  become  necessary  for  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  to  decide  that  we  are  not  a  sovereign 
people,  that  we  have  no  nation  at  all,  in  order  to  prevent  woman 
from  exercising  the  right  of  suffrage  throughout  this  country.  In 
that  decision  which  deprived  Mrs.  Virginia  L.  Minor  of  her  right, 
the  Supreme  Court  was  driven  to  the  necessity  of  deciding  in  ex- 
press terms,  "The  United  States  has  no  voters  of  its  own  crea- 
tion." If  the  United  States  has  no  voters,  then  the  old  doctrine 
of  State  sovereignty  is  the  true  one  and  there  is  no  nation.  We 
are  subservient  and  subordinate  to  the  power  of  the  States  to-day 
by  virtue  of  this  decision  just  exactly  as  it  was  claimed  we  were 
prior  to  the  recent  war.  We  thought  the  war  established  the  fact 
that  we  were  a  nation ;  that  the  controversy  which  led  up  to  the  war 


NATIONAL   SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1889.  145 

had  been  decided  in  favor  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  nation.  Under 
our  republican  form  of  government  the  sovereignty  is  lodged  in 
the  masses  of  the  people.  If,  therefore,  it  is  not  in  the  man  who 
votes  by  virtue  of  his  membership  in  the  association  of  the  peo- 
ple known  as  the  United  States,  then  there  is  no  sovereignty 
there 

As  the  law  now  is,  in  the  Federal  Constitution  there  must  always 
have  been  such  a  voter  of  the  United  States,  for  in  the  second 
clause  of  the  first  article  it  is  provided  that  there  shall  be  a  House 
of  Representatives  "elected  by  the  people  in  the  States."  Where 
that  provision  is  made  it  says  that  the  electors  shall  have  the  quali- 
fications of  the  electors  in  the  States.  But  it  does  not  say  that  they 
shall  be  the  same  individuals ;  it  does  not  say  that  they  are  to  act 
in  the  same  capacity.  They  might  vary  in  different  portions  of  the 
country,  in  different  States ;  but  nevertheless,  in  giving  to  the  peo- 
ple of  the  States  the  right  to  specify  the  qualifications  which  should 
belong  to  the  electors  of  the  United  States,  the  Constitution  did  not 
give  up  the  power  to  create  electors  itself 

Take  the  Fifteenth  Amendment.  There  is  the  first  instance  in 
the  entire  Constitution  where  we  find  the  franchise  declared  to  be  a 
"right,"  and  in  specific  terms  alluded  to  as  such.  And  there  it  is 
provided  that  a  right  already  recognized  as  existing  shall  not  be 
abridged  by  the  United  States  or  by  the  States — a  right  already 
existing,  not  established.  And  by  virtue  of  that  amendment  and 
the  provision  that  this  existing  right  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged 
on  account  of  "race,  color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude,"  either 
by  the  United  States  or  by  the  States,  the  national  existence  of  the 
voter  is  established 

I  think  our  great  difficulty  about  this  is  that  women  perhaps  do 
not,  to  the  extent  that  they  should,  place  their  cause  upon  the  plat- 
form that  it  is  a  right;  that  to  uphold  that  it  is  not  a  right  is  a 
wrong  greater  than  any  which  has  been  perpetrated  in  the  past ; 
that  freedom  to  half  the  human  race  is  a  glorious  achievement  which 
it  still  remains  for  mankind  to  accomplish 

There  is  no  way  in  which  you  can  do  so  much  for  this  world  as  by 
giving  liberty  to  those  who  are  the  mothers  of  the  generations  past 
and  to  come ;  so  that  freedom  to  think,  freedom  to  formulate  opin- 
ions, freedom  to  decide  by  the  majority  of  the  whole  of  mature 
human  nature,  shall  be  the  universal  boon  as  far  as  the  human  race 
extends 

Miss  Anthony  then  read  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Stanton  which 
embodied  that  spirit  of  independence  possessed  by  her  almost 
beyond  all  other  women : 

I  notice  that  in  some  of  our  conventions  resolutions  of  thanks  are 

passed   to   senators,   congressmen   and   legislators   for   advocating 

some  minor  privileges  which  have  been  conceded  to  women,  such 

as  admission  to  colleges  and  professions,  limited  forms  of  suffrage, 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 10 


146  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

etc.  Now  I  do  not  see  any  occasion  for  gratitude  to  these  honorable 
gentlemen  who,  after  robbing  us  of  all  our  fundamental  rights  as 
citizens,  propose  to  restore  a  few  minor  privileges.  There  is  not 
one  impulse  of  gratitude  in  my  soul  for  any  of  the  fragmentary 
privileges  which  by  slow  degrees  we  have  wrung  out  of  our  op- 
pressors during  the  last  half  century,  nor  will  there  be  so  long  as 
woman  is  robbed  of  all  the  essential  rights  of  citizenship. 

If  strong  appeals  could  induce  the  highway  robber  to  return  a 
modicum  of  what  he  had  stolen,  it  might  mitigate  the  miseries  of 
his  victim,  but  surely  there  would  be  no  reason  for  gratitude,  and 
an  expression  of  thanks  to  him  would  be  quite  as  much  out  of  place 
as  are  complimentary  resolutions  passed  in  our  conventions  to  leg- 
islators for  their  concessions  to  women.  They  deserve  nothing  at 
our  hands  until  they  make  full  restitution  of  all  we  possessed  in  the 
original  compact  under  the  colonial  constitutions — rights  over  which 
in  the  nature  of  things  men  could  have  no  lawful  jurisdiction  what- 
ever  Woman  has  the  same  right  to  a  voice  in  this 

government  that  man  has,  and  it  is  based  on  the  same  natural  de- 
sire and  capacity  for  self-government  and  self-protection 

Until  woman  is  recognized  as  an  equal  factor  in  civilization,  and 
is  possessed  of  her  personal  property,  civil  and  political  rights,  all 
minor  privileges  and  concessions  are  but  so  many  added  aggrava- 
tions, and  are  insulting  mockeries  of  that  justice,  liberty  and  equal- 
ity which  are  the  birthright  of  every  citizen  of  a  republic.  "Uni- 
versal suffrage,"  said  Charles  Sumner,  "is  the  first  proof  and  only 
basis  of  a  genuine  republic." 

Mrs.  Stanton  referred  to  the  bravery  of  recent  women 
writers  in  attacking  social  problems,  citing  Mrs.  Humphrey 
Ward,  Margaret  Deland,  Olive  Schreiner,  Mona  Caird  and  Helen 
Gardiner.  She  closed  with  a  tribute  to  the  co-laborers  who  had 
died  during  the  past  year,  among  them  the  Rev.  James  Free- 
man Clarke,  Judge  Samuel  E.  Sewall,  Dr.  Clemence  S.  Lozier, 
Dr.  Mary  F.  Thomas,  Miss  Abby  W.  May  and  numerous  others. 

During  the  second  day's  proceedings  the  Rev.  Alexander 
Kent,  of  the  Church  of  Our  Father  (Universalist),  addressed 

the  convention,  saying  in  part : 

^.  * . 

It  is  not  uncommon  among  writers  on  woman  suffrage  to  find 
the  root  of  the  trouble  in  those  notions  of  the  creation  and  fall  set 
forth  in  the  ancient  Jewish  Scriptures — notions  which  have  very 
generally  prevailed  throughout  Christendom  until  recently,  and 
which  even  yet  have  a  large  hold  upon  many  people  professing  to 
be  Christians.  In  the  account  of  the  origin  of  evil  gjven  by  the 
ancient  Hebrew  writer,  woman  is  the  chief  offender,  and  upon  her 
falls  the  burden  of  the  penalty.  In  sorrow  she  is  to  bring  forth  her 
children ;  her  desire  is  to  be  to  her  husband  and  he  is  to  rule  over 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1889.  147 

her.  Unquestionably  this  has  tended  to  prolong  the  reign  of  brute 
force  in  Christendom  by  perpetuating  a  belief  in  the  rightful  head- 
ship of  man  in  the  family  and  State.  But  it  is  a  great  mistake  to 
see  in  this  Scripture  the  root  of  the  evil.  It  is  only  the  record  of  a 
theory  offered  to  explain  a  fact — which  antedated  both  the  theory 
and  the  record.  We  find  the  fact  to-day  even  where  we  do  not  find 
the  record — the  woman  ruled  by  the  man  in  places  where  there  is 
no  knowledge  whatever  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  I  doubt  not 
that  among  the  founders  of  our  Government — meaning  the  people 
generally — this  doctrine  of  the  rightful  headship  of  man  and  the 
subordination  of  woman  was  sacredly  held  as  a  part  of  the  revealed 
word  of  God,  and  that  as  such  it  operated  to  keep  the  women  as 
well  as  the  men  of  that  day  from  perceiving  the  full  significance, 
the  comprehensive  scope  of  the  principles  affirmed  by  their  leaders, 
in  the  Constitution  and  the  Declaration  of  Independence 

If  the  ballot  in  the  hands  of  woman  is  to  do  a  great  work  for  so- 
ciety, it  will  be  first  and  foremost  because  of  its  wholesome  influ- 
ence on  herself — because  it  rouses  in  her  more  of  hope,  more  of 
laudable  ambition,  more  of  earnest  purpose,  more  of  self-reliance, 
more  independence  of  the  fashions,  frivolities  and  conventionalities 
of  society  and  the  dictates  of  the  church 

Praying  for  the  speedy  coming  of  this  day,  and  hoping  it  may 
work  gradually  toward  a  purer  and  happier  social  life,  and  a  further 
companionship  in  thought  and  feeling,  in  purpose  and  effort,  be- 
tween men  and  women,  and  especially  between  husbands  and  wives 
in  the  life  of  the  home,  I  express  my  sympathy  with  the  purpose  of 
this  convention. 

Mrs.  Caroline  Hallowell  Miller  (Md.)  took  the  ground  that, 
after  fifty  years  of  argument,  women  now  should  unite  in  a  con- 
tinuous demand  for  the  rights  of  citizenship. 

In  introducing  the  Hon.  William  D.  Kelley  (Penn.)  Miss 
Anthony  said  that  not  only  in  Congress,  where  he  was  known 
as  the  Father  of  the  House,  but  years  ago  in  his  own  State  Legis- 
lature, he  advocated  the  political  equality  of  women.  After 
paying  a  tribute  to  his  mother,  to  Mary  Wollstonecraft  and  to 
Frances  Wright,  he  said :  "I  am  here,  because  I  feel  that  I 
should  again  declare  publicly  the  justice  of  the  enfranchisement 
of  women,  which,  having  cherished  through  youth  and  early 
manhood,  I  asserted  in  a  public  address  in  Independence  Hall, 
at  high  noon  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1841,  before  there  was  any 
organization  for  promoting  woman's  rights  politically."  He  then 
sketched  results  already  achieved  and  urged  women  to  keep  the 
flame  burning  for  the  benefits  which  would  come  to  posterity. 

The  Rev.  Olympia  Brown '(Wis.)   spoke  on  Foreign  Rule, 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

and  after  pointing  out  the  glory  of  a  country  which  offered  a 
home  to  all,  and  expressing  a  belief  in  universal  suffrage,  she 
continued : 

In  Wisconsin  we  have  by  the  census  of  1880  a  population  of  910,- 
072  native-born,  405,425  foreign-born.  Our  last  vote  cast  was 
149,463  American,  189,469  foreign;  thus  you  see  nearly  1,000,000 
native-born  people  are  out-voted  and  out-governed  by  less  than 
half  their  number  of  foreigners.  Is  that  fair  to  Americans?  Is  it 
just  to  American  men?  Will  they  not,  under  this  influence,  in  a 
little  while  be  driven  to  the  wall  and  obliged  to  step  down  and  out  ? 
When  the  members  of  our  Legislatures  are  the  greater  part  foreign- 
ers, when  they  sit  in  the  office  of  mayor  and  in  all  the  offices  of  our 
city,  and  rule  us  with  a  rod  of  iron,  it  is  time  that  American  men 
should  inquire  if  we  have  any  rights  that  foreigners  are  bound  to 
respect 

The  last  census  shows,  I  think,  that  there  are  in  the  United  States 
three,  times  as  many  American-born  women  as  the  whole  foreign 
population,  men  and  women  together,  so  that  the  votes  of  women 
will  eventually  be  the  only  means  of  overcoming  this  foreign  in- 
fluence and  maintaining  our  free  institutions.  There  is  no  possible 
safety  for  our  free  school,  our  free  church  or  our  republican  gov- 
ernment, unless  women  are  given  the  suffrage  and  that  right  speed- 
ily  The  question  in  every  political  caucus,  in  every 

political  convention,  is  not  what  great  principles  shall  we  announce, 
but  what  kind  of  a  document  can  we  draw  up  that  will  please  the 
foreigners?  .... 

When  we  remember  that  the  first  foot  to  touch  Plymouth  Rock 
was  a  woman's — that  in  the  first  settlement  of  this  country  women 
endured  trials  and  privations  and  stood  bravely  at  the  post  of  duty, 
even  fighting  in  the  ranks  that  we  might  have  a  republic — and  that 
in  our  great  Western  world  women  came  at  an  early  day  to  make 
the  wilderness  blossom  as  the  rose,  and  rocked  their  babies'  cradles 
in  the  log  cabins  when  the  Indians'  war-whoop  was  heard  on  the 
prairies  and  the  wolves  howled  around  their  doors — when  we  re- 
member that  in  the  last  war  thousands  of  women  in  the  Northwest 
bravely  took  upon  themselves  the -work  of  the  households  and  the 
fields  that  their  husbands  and  sons  might  fight  the  battles  of  lib- 
erty— when  we  recollect  all  this,  and  then  are  told  that  loyal  women, 
pioneer  women,  the  descendants  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  are  not 
even  to  ask  for  the  right  of  suffrage  lest  the  Scandinavians  should 
be  offended,  it  is  time  to  rise  in  indignation  and  ask,  Whose  country 
is  this  ?  Who  made  it  ?  Who  have  periled  their  lives  for  it  ? 

Our  American  women  are  property  holders  and  pay  large  taxes ; 
but  the  foreigner  who  has  lived  only  one  year  in  the  State,  and  ten 
days  in  the  precinct,  who  does  not  own  a  foot  of  land,  may  vote 
away  their  property  in  the  form  of  taxes  in  the  most  reckless  man- 
ner, regardless  of  their  interests  and  their  rights.  Women  are 
well-educated;  they  are  graduating  from  our  colleges;  they  are 


NATIONAL   SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1 859.  149 

reading  and  thinking"  and  writing" ;  and  yet  they  are  the  political  in- 
feriors of  all  the  riff-raff  of  Europe  that  is  poured  upon  our  shores. 
It  is  unbearable.  There  is  no  language  that  can  express  the  enor- 
mous injustice  done  to  women 

We  can  not  separate  subjects  and  say  we  will  vote  on  temper- 
ance or  on  school  matters,  for  all  these  questions  are  part  of  gov- 
ernment  When  women  as  well  as  men  are  voters,  the 

church  will  get  some  recognition.  I  marvel  that  all  ministers  are 
not  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage,  when  I  consider  that  their  audi- 
ences are  almost  entirely  composed  of  women  and  that  the  church 
to-day  is  brought  into  disrepute  because  it  is  made  up  of  disfran- 
chised members.  The  minister  would  stand  a  hundred-fold  higher 
than  he  does  now  if  women  had  the  suffrage.  Everybody  would 
want  to  know  what  the  minister  was  saying  to  those  women  voters, 

We  are  in  danger  in  this  country  of  Catholic  domination,  not  be- 
cause the  Catholics  are  more  numerous  than  we  are, -but  because 
the  Catholic  church  is  represented  at  the  polls  and  the  Protestant 
church  is  not.  The  foreigners  are  Catholic — the  greater  portion  of 
them ;  the  foreigners  are  men — the  greater  part  of  them,  and  mem- 
bers of  the  Catholic  church,  and  they  work  for  it  and  vote  for  it. 
The  Protestant  church  is  composed  of  women.  Men  for  the  most 
part  do  not  belong  to  it ;  they  do  not  care  much  for  it  except  as 
something  to  interest  the  women  of  their  household.  The  conse- 
quence is  the  Protestant  church  is  comparatively  unrepresented  at 
the  ballot-box 

I  urge  upon  you,  women,  that  you  put  suffrage  first  and  foremost, 
before  every  other  consideration  upon  earth.  Make  it  a  religious 
duty  and  work  for  the  enfranchisement  of  your  sex,  which  means 
the  growth  and  development  of  noble  characters  in  your  children ; 
for  you  can  not  educate  your  children  well  surrounded  by  men  and 
women  who  hold  false  doctrines  of  society,  of  politics,  of  morals. 
Leave  minor  issues,  leave  your  differences  of  opinion  about  the 
Trinity,  or  the  Holy  Ghost,  or  endless  misery ;  about  high  license 
and  low  license;  or  Dorcas  Societies  and  Chautauqua  Circles.  Let 
them  all  go ;  they  are  of  no  consequence  compared  with  the  enfran- 
chisement of  women. 

Mrs.  Mary  Seymour  Howell  gave  a  humorous  series  of  Suf- 
frage Pictures  in  New  York,  which  was  greatly  relished  by  the 
audience.  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns  described  Municipal  Suffrage 
in  Kansas  in  an  enthusiastic  and  interesting  manner.  The  Rev. 
Anna  Howard  Shaw  then  delivered  her  lecture,  which  has  since 
become  so  famous,  The  Fate  of  Republics,  tracing  the  rise 
and  fall  of  the  republics  of  history,  which  grew  because  of  ma- 
terial prosperity  and  failed  because  of  moral  weakness.  All  were 
in  the  hands  of  men,  and  women  were  excluded  from  any  share.* 

*  It  is  a  loss  to  posterity  that  Miss  Shaw  never  writes  her  addresses.  She  is  beyond 
question  the  leading  woman  orator  of  this  generation,  and  is  not  surpassed  in  power  by 
any  of  the  men. 


I5O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Mrs.  Harriette  R.  Shattuck  gave  an  account  of  the  recent 
school  election  in  Boston  where  19,490  women  voted,  a  much 
higher  percentage  of  those  registered  than  of  the  men,  and  thus 
defeated  the  dangerous  attempt  which  had  been  made  by  the 
Church  to  interfere  with  the  State.  Richard  W.  Blue,  State 
Senator  of  Kansas,  was  called  to  the  platform  by  Mrs.  Gougar 
as  one  who  had  greatly  aided  its  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill. 

Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall  (Ind.)  spoke  on  Women  in  the 
Recent  Campaign.  In  the  National  Prohibition  Convention  they 
sat  as  delegates  and  served  on  committees.  In  all  parts  of  the 
country  Republican  and  Democratic  women  organized  clubs  and 
marched  in  processions;  but  she  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
these  methods  are  not  advocated  by  the  suffrage  societies  so  long 
as  women  remain  disfranchised.  Over  two  hundred  clubs 
were  formed  for  political  study.  All  of  the  parties  placed  women 
on  their  platforms  to  speak  in  behalf  of  the  candidates.  A  Cen- 
tral Republican  Headquarters  was  opened  in  New  York  and 
put  in  charge  of  a  national  committee  of  women  who  sent  out 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  campaign  documents.  When  election 
day  came  not  one  of  all  these  women  could  put  her  opinion  in 
the  ballot-box. 

At  the  evening  session  Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  (N.  Y.) 
in  her  trenchant  way  discussed  Political  Methods  and  pointed 
out  the  inconsistent  and  illogical  declarations  of  platforms  and 
speakers  when  applied  to  women,  also  the  delight  afforded  to 
men  by  the  tin  horns  and  fireworks.  She  suggested  for  Presi- 
dent Harrison's  Cabinet,  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  Secretary  of 
State ;  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Secretary  of  War ;  May  Wright  Sew- 
all,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury;  Zerelda  G.  Wallace,  Secretary 
of  the  Navy ;  Clara  Barton,  Secretary  of  the  Interior ;  Laura  de 
Force  Gordon,  Attorney-General. 

Mrs.  Sarah  M.  Perkins  (O.)  spoke  on  The  Concentration  of 
Forces,  showing  how  prone  women  are  to  organize  for  every 
object  except  suffrage,  and  yet  the  majority  of  these  workers 
would  rejoice  to  have  the  power  which  lies  in  the  ballot  and 
would  be  infinitely  better  equipped  for  their  work. 

Mrs.  Mary  B.  Clay  (Ky.)  opened  the  last  day's  session  with 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    I 

a  forcible  address  entitled,  Are  American  Women  Civil  and 
Political  Slaves?  She  proved  the  affirmative  of  her  question  by 
quoting  the  spoken  and  written  declarations  of  the  greatest  states- 
men on  the  right  of  individual  representation  and  the  exceptions 
made  against  women,  citing  Walker,  the  legal  writer:  "This 
language  applied  to  males  would  be  the  exact  definition  of  polit- 
ical slavery;  applied  to  females,  custom  does  not  so  regard  it." 

Mrs.  Abigail  Scott  Duniway  (Ore.)  described  the  recent  arbi- 
trary and  unwarranted  disfranchisement  of  the  women  of  Wash- 
ington Territory.  Frederick  Douglass  was  loudly  called  for  and 
in  responding  expressed  his  gratitude  to  women,  "who  were 
chiefly  instrumental  in  liberating  my  people  from  actual  chains 
of  bondage,"  and  declared  his  full  belief  in  their  right  to  the 
franchise. 

Mrs.  Helen  M.  Gougar  (Ind.)  made  a  strong  speech  upon 
Partisan  or  Patriot?  In  her  address  on  Woman  in  Marriage 
Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby,  editor  of  the  Woman's  Tribune,  said : 

It  is  customary  to  regard  marriage  as  of  even  more  importance 
to  woman  than  to  man,  since  the  maternal,  social  and  household 
duties  involved  in  it  consume  the  greater  portion  of  the  time  and 
thought  of  a  large  majority.  Love,  it  is  commonly  said,  is  an  in- 
cident in  a  man's  life,  but  makes  or  mars  a  woman's  whole  ex- 
istence. This,  however,  is  one  of  the  many  popular  delusions 
crystallized  into  opinion  by  apt  phraseology.  To  one  who  believes 
in  the  divinely  intended  equality  of  the  sexes  it  is  impossible  to  con- 
sider that  any  mutual  relation  is  an  incident  for  the  one  and  the 
total  of  existence  for  the  other.  We  may  lay  it  down  as  a  premise 
upon  which  to  base  our  whole  reasoning  that  all  mutual  relations  of 
the  sexes  are  not  only  divinely  intended  to,  but  actually  do  bring 
equal  joys,  pains,  pleasures  and  sacrifices  to  both.  Whatever  mis- 
take one  has  made  has  acted  upon  the  other,  and  reacted  equally 
upon  the  first. 

The  one  great  mistake  of  the  ages — since  woman  lost  her  primal 
independence  and  supremacy — to  which  is  due  all  the  sins  and  sor- 
rows growing  out  of  the  association  of  the  sexes,  has  been  in  mak- 
ing woman  a  passive  agent  instead  of  an  equal  factor  in  arranging 
the  laws,  customs  and  conditions  of  this  mutual  state.  Whether 
marriage  be  a  purely  business  partnership  for  the  care  and  main- 
tenance of  children,  or  whether  it  be  a  sacrament  to  which  the 
benediction  of  the  church  gives  peculiar  sanctity  and  perpetuity  and 
makes  the  parties  "no  more  twain  but  one  flesh,"  in  either  case  it 
is  an  absurdity,  which  we  only  tolerate  because  of  custom,  for  men 
alone  to  make  all  the  regulations  and  stipulations  concerning  it. 

This  unnatural  and  strained  assumption  by  one  sex  of  the  control 


152  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

of  everything  relating  to  marriage,  and  the  equally  unnatural  and 
mischievous  passivity  on  the  part  of  the  other,  have  given  birth  to 
the  meek  maiden  waiting  for  her  fate,  to  the  typical  disconsolate 
and  forlorn  "superfluous  woman,"  to  the  two  standards  of  morality 
for  the  sexes,  to  the  mercenary  marriage  with  all  its  attendant 
miseries,  to  the  selfish,  exacting,  querulous  wife,  to  the  disappointed 
or  tyrannical  husband;  and  of  late,  with  the  wider  possibilities  of 
individual  pleasure  and  satisfaction,  to  the  growing  aversion  of 
young  people  to  matrimony,  and  the  rush  of  women  to  the  divorce 
courts  for  freedom  from  the  galling  bonds ;  all  these  and  a  thou- 
sand variations  of  each,  until  the  nature  of  both  sexes  is  so  per- 
verted that  it  is  impossible  to  decide  what  is  nature. 

A  letter  was  read  from  Mrs.  Matilda  Joslyn  Gage  (N.  Y.) 
urging  women  individually  to  petition  Senators  and  Representa- 
tives for  the  removal  of  their  political  disabilities,  because  by  this 
means  these  men  were  compelled  to  think  on  the  question. 

Mrs.  Virginia  L.  Minor  (Mo.)  addressed  the  convention  on 
The  Law  of  Federal  Suffrage,  a  legal  argument  on  the  right  to 
vote  conferred  by  the  Constitution.  Miss  Anthony  supplemented 
Mrs.  Minor's  argument  with  a  history  of  the  Fourteenth  Amend- 
ment, in  which  she  said : 

When  that  Fourteenth  Amendment  was  under  discussion — when 
it  was  proposed  to  put  the  word  "male"  into  the  second  section — it 
read :  "If  any  State  shall  disfranchise  any  of  its  citizens  on  ac- 
count of  color,  all  of  that  class  shall  be  counted  out  of  the  basis  of 
representation."  But  there  were  timid  souls  on  the  floor  of  Con- 
gress at  the  close  of  the  war,  as  well  as  at  other  periods  of  our 
history,  and  to  prevent  the  enfranchisement  of  women  by  this 
amendment  they  moved  to  make  it  read :  "If  any  State  shall  dis- 
franchise any  of  its  male  citizens,  all  of  that  class  shall  be  counted 
out  of  the  basis  of  representation."  Male  citizens!  For  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  our  Government  that  discriminating  adjective 
was  placed  in  the  Constitution,  and  yet  the  men  on  the  floor  of  Con- 
gress, from  Charles  Sumner  down,  all  declared  that  this  amendment 
would  not  in  any  wise  change  the  status  of  women ! 

We  at  once  asserted  our  right  to  vote  under  this  amendment: 
"All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and  sub- 
ject to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  of  the  State  wherein  they  reside.  No  State  shall  make  or 
enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities 
of  citizens  of  the  United  States."  Our  first  trial  was  on  civil  rights, 
when  Mrs.  Myra  Bradwell  of  Chicago,  who  had  been  for  some  time 
publishing  a  law  journal  which  every  lawyer  in  the  State  said  he 
could  not  afford  to  do  without,  applied  for  admission  to  the  bar, 
and  these  same  lawyers  denied  it.  She  appealed  to  the  Illinois 
Supreme  Court  and  it  confirmed  the  denial,  because  she  was  nojt  only 


NATIONAL   SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    lOOQ.  153 

a  woman  but  a  married  woman.  Then  she  appealed  her  case  to  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  a  majority  of  this  court 
decided  that  the  right  to  be  a  lawyer  was  not  especially  a  citizen's 
right  and  that  therefore  the  State  of  Illinois  could  legally  abridge 
the  privileges  and  immunities  of  its  women  by  denying  them  admis- 
sion to  the  bar. 

I  shall  never  forget  how  our  hearts  sank  when  in  1871  that  de- 
cision came,  declaring  the  powerlessness  of  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion to  protect  women  in  their  civil  right  of  being  eligible  to 
the  legal  profession.  When  we  said  if  these  rights  which  it  is 
meant  to.  protect  are  not  civil  they  must  be  political  rights,  we 
thought  we  had  the  Supreme  Court  in  a  corner.  But  when  my 
trial  for  voting  came  on,  Justice  Hunt  said  that  the  right  to  vote  was 
a  special  right  belonging  to  men  alone.  We  didn't  believe  that  this 
decision  could  be  confirmed,  but  it  was,  when  Mrs.  Minor,  who  at- 
tempted to  vote  at  the  same  election  in  her  State  of  .Missouri,  ap- 
pealed her  case  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  It  was 
argued  by  her  husband,  the  ablest  of  lawyers,  and  when  the 
Judges  brought  in  their  decision  it  was  to  the  effect  that  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  has  no  voters.  Thus  it  is  that  we 
have  two  Supreme  Court  decisions  relative  to  the  powers  of  the 
Fourteenth  Amendment  to  protect  women,  and  in  both  cases  they 
have  been  excluded  absolutely  from  its  provisions. 

I  remember,  Mrs.  Minor  (turning  to  that  lady),  how  we  dis- 
cussed these  questions  in  those  early  years.  We  weren't  sleepy 
in  our  talk  as  we  were  being  cut  off  inch  by  inch  from  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Constitution.  I  remember  how  Mrs.  Stanton  said  in  a 
public  address :  "If  you  continue  to  deny  to  women  the  protection 
of  this  amendment,  you  will  finally  come  to  the  point  when  it  will 
cease  to  protect  even  black  men,"  and  we  have  lived  to  see  that  day. 

The  address  on  The  Coming  Sex  by  Mrs.  Eliza  Archard  Con- 
nor, a  well-known  journalist  of  New  York,  was  declared  by  the 
press  to  be  in  its  delivery  "the  gem  of  the  convention."  She 
said  in  part : 

It  is  my  conviction  that  women  are  the  natural  orators  of  the 
race.  They  have  keener  sympathies  and  quicker  intuitions  than 
men.  They  have  a  gift  of  language  that  not  even  their  worst  ene- 
mies will  deny,  and  these  are  just  the  qualities  which  go  to  make 

the  orator The  time  is  coming  when  we  shall  need  all 

our  eloquence,  all  our  intellectual  power  and  all  our  love.  The  day 
is  approaching  when  men  will  come  with  ballots  in  their  hands,  beg- 
ging women  to  use  them 

Wherever  you  go,  wake  women  up,  tell  them  to  learn  every- 
thing. Tell  them  to  study  with  all  their  might  history,  civil  gov- 
ernment, political  economy,  social  and  industrial  science — for  the 
time  is  coming  when  they  will  need  them  all 

This  is  the  work  before  us.     This  is  the  meaning  of  the  desperate 


154  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

unrest  and  unhappiness  of  women.  It  is  this  that  has  drawn  us 
here  to  enter  our  protest  against  the  wicked,  old,  one-legged  order 
of  things.  Our  honored  Miss  Anthony  has  gone  through  fire  and 
hail  while  she  worked  for  her  convictions.  All  of  us  have  wrought 
as  best  we  might  for  the  higher  education  of  women,  for  their  pe- 
cuniary independence,  for  their  civil  and  political  rights,  fighting 
the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil. 

My  own  work  has  been  in  the  field  of  journalism.  For  nearly 
twenty  years  I  have  faced  here  every  form  of  disability  because  I 
am  a  woman,  have  met  defeat  after  defeat,  till  the  iron  has  entered 
my  soul.  Yet  every  day  I  have  thanked  God  that  I  have  been  per- 
mitted to  bear  my  share  in  the  tremendous  struggle  for  the  develop- 
ment of  women  in  the  nineteenth  century.  Struggle  means  develop- 
ment ;  it  can  come  in  no  other  way,  and  this  will  be  the  grandest 
since  creation  began — the  crowned,  perfected  woman.  For  this 
the  cry  of  womanhood  has  risen  out  of  the  depths  through  the  cen- 
turies. Up  through  agony  and  despair  it  has  come,  through  sin 
and  shame,  through  poverty  and  martyrdom,  through  torture  which 
has  wrung  drops  of  blood  from  woman's  lips,  still  up,  up,  till  it  has 
reached  the  great  white  throne  itself. 

The  enrollment  committee  reported  a  list  of  about  one  hundred 
thousand  names  of  persons  asking  for  woman  suffrage.  The 
treasurer  announced  the  receipts  for  1888  to  be  $12,510.  All  of 
the  expenses  of  the  great  International  Council  had  been  paid  and 
a  balance  of  nearly  $300  remained. 

The  resolutions  might  be  described  as  an  epitomized  recital 
of  wrongs  and  a  Bill  of  Rights. 

WHEREAS,  Women  possessed  and  exercised  the  right  of  suffrage 
in  the  inauguration  of  this  Government ;  and, 

WHEREAS,  They  were  deprived  of  this  right  by  the  arbitrary 
Acts  of  successive  State  Legislatures  in  violation  of  the  original 
compact  as  seen  in  the  early  constitutions ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  several  States  to  make  prompt 
restitution  of  these  ancient  rights,  recognized  by  innumerable  pre- 
cedents in  English  history,  and  to-day  by  the  gradual  extension  of 
the  suffrage  over  vast  territories. 

WHEREAS,  Woman's  title  deed  to  an  equal  share  in  the  inher- 
itance left  her  by  the  fathers  of  the  Republic  has  been  examined  and 
proved  by  able  lawyers ;  and, 

WHEREAS,  This  right  is  already  exercised  in  some  form  in  one 
hundred  localities  in  different  parts  of  the  world ;  therefore, 

Resolved.  That  sex  is  no  longer  considered  a  bar  to  the  exercise 
of  suffrage  by  civilized  nations. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  Congress  to  pass  a  declaratory 
act,  compelling  the  several  States  to  establish  a  "republican  form 
of  government"  within  their  borders  by  securing  to  women  their 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    1889.  155 

right  to  vote,  thus  nullifying  the  fraudulent  Acts  of  Legislatures 
and  making  our  Government  homogeneous  from  Maine  to  Oregon. 

Resolved,  That  the  question  of  enfranchising  one-half  the  people 
is  superior  to  that  of  Indian  treaties,  admission  of  new  States, 
tariff,  international  copyright  or  any  other  subject  before  the  coun- 
try, and  that  it  is  the  foremost  duty  of  the  Fiftieth  Congress  at  this, 
its  last  session,  to  submit  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  forbid- 
ding States  to  disfranchise  citizens  on  account  of  sex. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  question  of  ethics  the  difference  between  put- 
ting a  fraudulent  ballot  in  the  box  and  keeping  a  rightful  ballot 
out  is  nothing,  and  that  we  condemn  the  action  which  prevents 
women  from  casting  a  ballot  at  any  election  as  a  shameful  evidence 
of  the  corruption  of  dominant  political  parties  in  this  country. 

WHEREAS,  The  Legislature  of  Washington  Territory  has  twice 
voted  for  woman  suffrage — women  for  the  most  part  having  gladly 
accepted  and  exercised  the  right,  Governor  Squire  in  his  report  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  in  1884  having  declared  that  it  met 
the  approval  of  a  large  majority  of  the  people;  and, 

WHEREAS,  In  1887,  after  the  women  had  voted  for  three  and  a 
half  years,  the  Territorial  Supreme  Court  pronounced  the  law  in- 
valid on  the  ground  that  the  nature  of  the  bill  must  be  described  in 
the  title  of  the  act ;  and, 

WHEREAS,  In  January,  1888,  another  bill  passed  by  the  Legisla- 
ture gave  to  this  law  an  explicit  title ;  and  the  bill,  again  granting 
suffrage  to  women,  was  signed  by  Governor  Semple,  thus  triumph- 
antly showing  the  approval  of  the  people,  the  Legislature  and  the 
Governor;  and, 

WHEREAS,  The  Territorial  Supreme  Court,  in  August,  1888, 
again  rendered  a  decision  against  the  right  of  the  women  of  the 
Territory  to  vote,  basing  their  decision  upon  the  false  assumption 
that  Congress  had  never  delegated  to  the  Territories  the  right  to 
define  the  status  of  their  own'voters ;  and, 

WHEREAS,  This  decision  strikes  a  blow  at  the  fundamental  powers 
of  the  United  States  Congress,  confounding  laws  delegated  to  the 
Territories  by  the  Organic  Act  of  1852,  which  vests  in  their  Legis- 
latures the  power  to  prescribe  their  qualifications  for  voting  and 
holding  office — with  State  governments  which  limit  legislative  en- 
actments by  constitutions  of  their  own  making — thus  setting  at 
naught  the  will  of  the  people ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  earnestly  and  respectfully  petition  Congress 
that  in  passing  an  enabling  act  or  acts  for  the  admission  of  the  other 
Territories  there  be  incorporated  a  clause  allowing  women  to  vote 
for  delegates  to  their  constitutional  conventions,  and  at  the  election 
for  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  in  every  one  where  the  Legisla- 
ture has  granted  woman  suffrage  and  such  law  has  not  been  re- 
pealed by  a  subsequent  Legislature. 

WHEREAS,  In  the  year  1873  our  leader,  Susan  B.  Anthony,  was 
deprived  of  the  right  of  trial  by  jury,  by  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  simply  because  she  was  a  woman,  it  is 
the  duty  of  all  women  to  resent  the  insult  thus  offered  to  woman- 


156  HISTORY    OF    WOMAX    SUFFRAGE. 

hood  and  demand  of  the  men  of  this  closing  century  of  constitu- 
tional government  such  condemnation  of  this  infamous  decision  of 
Judge  Ward  Hunt*  as  shall  teach  the  coming  generation  of  voters 
that  the  welfare  of  the  republic  demands  that  women  be  protected 
equally  with  men  in  the  exercise  of  citizenship ;  and, 

WHEREAS,  In  the  great  Centennial  Celebration  of  1876  women 
were  denied  all  participation  in  the  public  proceedings  commemo- 
rating the  birth  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  though  they 
sought  earnestly  and  respectfully  to  declare  their  sentiments  of 
loyalty  to  the  great  principles  of  liberty  and  responsibility  there 
enunciated,  they  should  now  demand  official  recognition  by  Con- 
gress and  the  State  Legislature  on  all  the  Boards  of  Commission- 
ers which,  at  the  public  expense,  are  to  initiate  and  carry  out  the 
august  ceremonials  of  the  coming  Constitutional  Celebration  in  New 
York  in  April,  1889,  to  the  end  that  taxation  without  representation 
shall  no  longer  be  acknowledged  a  just  and  constitutional  policy  in 
this  government  nominally  of  the  people,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  by  the  National  W.  S. 
A.  to  memorialize  Congress  on  this  subject,  and  to  take  such  other 
action  as  shall  bring  before  the  enlightened  manhood  of  our  country 
their  duty  of  chivalry  no  less  than  justice  in  this  important  matter. f 

WHEREAS,  The  question  of  woman's  enfranchisement  is  funda- 
mental and  of  paramount  importance ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That,  while  the  National  Woman  Suffrage  Association 
welcomes  and  claims  the  support  of  persons  of  all  parties  and  be- 
liefs, it  desires  to  strongly  reassert  the  position  which  it  has  held  of 
being  nonpartisan. 

A  hearing  was  granted  by  the  Senate  Committee  on  Woman 
Suffrage  the  morning  of  January  24.  Mrs.  Hooker,  Mrs.  Minor, 
Mrs.  Duniway,  Mrs.  Johns,  the  Rev.  Olympia  Brown,  the  Rev. 
Miss  Shaw  and  Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell  were  introduced  to 
the  committee  by  Miss  Anthony,  and  each  from  a  different  stand- 
point presented  the  arguments  for  the  submission  of  a  Sixteenth 
Amendment  enfranchising  women. 

On  February  7,  Senator  Blair  reported  for  the  committee — 
Senators  Charles  B.  Farwell  (111.),  Jonathan  Chace  (R.  I.), 
Edward  O.  Wolcott  (Col.),  in  favor  of  the  amendment.  After 
an  able  and  exhaustive  argument  the  report  closed  as  follows : 

Unless  this  Government  shall  be  made  and  preserved  truly  re- 
publican in  form  by  the  enfranchisement  of  woman,  the  great  re- 
forms which  her  ballot  would  accomplish  may  never  be;  the  de- 
moralization and  disintegration  now  proceeding  in  the  body  politic 
are  not  likely  soon  to  be  arrested.  Corruption  of  the  male  suffrage 

*  Sec  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  II,  p.  647. 

t  This  was  done,  but  no  representation  was  allowed  women  in  the  celebration. 


NATIONAL    SUFFRAGE    CONVENTION    OF    l88q.  I  S7 

^  \J  / 

is  already  a  well-nigh  fatal  disease ;  intemperance  has  no  sufficient 
foe  in  the  law-making  power;  a  republican  form  of  government 
can  not  survive  half-slave  and  half-free. 

The  ballot  is  withheld  from  women  because  men  are  not  willing 
to  part  with  one-half  the  sovereign  power.  There  is  no  other  real 
cause  for  the  continued  perpetration  of  this  unnatural  tyranny. 

Enfranchise  women  or  this  republic  will  steadily  advance  to  the 
same  destruction,  the  same  ignoble  and  tragic  catastrophe,  which 
has  engulfed  the  male  republics  of  history.  Let  us  establish  a  gov- 
ernment in  which  both  men  and  women  shall  be  free  indeed.  Then 
shall  the  republic  be  perpetual. 

The  women  of  the  nation  are  deeply  indebted  to  Senator  Blair 
for  his  able  and  persistent  efforts  in  their  behalf.  Year  after 
year,  in  the  midst  of  the  great  pressure  of  duties  connected  with 
his  office,  he  carefully  prepared  these  constitutional '  and  legal 
reports  knowing  that  they  could  have  only  the  indirect  results  of 
educating  public  sentiment  and  contributing  to  the  history  of 
this  great  movement  for  the  political  rights  of  half  the  race. 

The  other  members  of  the  committee,  Senators  Zebulon  B. 
Vance  (N.  C),  Joseph  E.  Brown  (Ga.),  J.  B.  Beck  (Ky.),  an- 
nounced that  they  should  present  a  minority  report  in  opposition, 
but  as  "Letters  from  a  Chimney  Corner,"  by  Mrs.  Caroline  F. 
Corbin,  and  "The  Law  of  Woman  Life,"  by  Mrs.  A.  D.  T. 
Whitney,  apparently  had  been  exhausted,  and  as  no  other  woman 
had  provided  them  with  the  necessary  ideas,  the  report  never 
materialized.  Senator  Vance,  however,  as  chairman  of  this  Se- 
lect Suffrage  Committee  asked  for  a  clerk  at  this  time,  to  be  paid 
out  of  the  contingent  fund. 

The  House  Judiciary  Committee  granted  a  hearing  January 
28,  which  was  addressed  by  Miss  Anthony,  Mrs.  Hooker,  Mrs. 
Duniway,  Mrs.  Minor,  the  Rev.  Olympia  Brown,  Mrs.  Colby, 
Miss  Lavina  A.  Hatch  (Mass.)  and  Mrs.  Ella  M.  Marble 
(Minn.).  The  committee  took  no  action. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION   OF 

The  winter  of  1890  brought  the  usual  crowd  of  eminent 
women  to  Washington  to  attend  the  Twenty-second  national 
convention  of  the  suffrage  association,  February  18-21.  As  the 
president,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  was  to  start  for  Europe 
on  the  i  Qth,  the  congressional  hearings  took  place  previous  to 
the  convention  and  consisted  only  of  her  address.  The  Senate 
hearing  on  February  8  was  held  for  the  first  time  in  the  new 
room  set  apart  for  the  Select  Committee  on  Woman  Suffrage, 
but  much  objection  was  made  because  on  account  of  its  size  only 
a  small  audience  could  be  admitted.  Senators  Vance,  Fanvell, 
Blair  and  John  B.  Allen  of  the  new  State  of  Washington  were 
present.  Mrs.  Stanton  said  in  part : 

For  almost  a  quarter  of  a  century  a  body  of  intelligent  and  law- 
abiding  women  have  held  annual  conventions  in  Washington  and 
made  their  appeals  before  committees  of  the  House  and  the  Senate, 
asking  to  be  recognized  as  citizens  of  this  Republic.  A  whole  gen- 
eration of  distinguished  members,  who  have  each  in  turn  given  us 
aid  and  encouragement,  have  passed  away — Seward,  Sumner,  Wil- 
son, Giddings,  Wade,  Garfield,  Morton  and  Sargent — with  Hamlin, 
Butler  and  Julian  still  living,  have  all  declared  our  demands  just, 
our  arguments  unanswerable. 

In  consulting  at  an  early  day  as  to  the  form  in  which  our  claims 
should  be  presented,  some  said  by  an  amendment  to  the  Constitu- 
tion, others  said  the  Constitution  as  it  is,  in  spirit  and  letter,  is  broad 
enough  to  protect  the  rights  of  every  citizen  under  our  flag.  But 
when  the  war  came  and  we  saw  that  it  took  three  amendments  to 
make  the  slaves  of  the  South  full-fledged  citizens,  we  thought  it 
would  take  at  least  one  to  make  woman's  calling  and  election  sure. 
So  we  asked  for  a  Sixteenth  Amendment.  But  learned  lawyers, 
Judges  and  Congressmen  took  the  ground  that  women  were  already 
enfranchised  by  the  Fourteenth  Amendment.  The  House  minority 
report  in  1871,  signed  by  Benjamin  F.  Butler  and  William  Lough- 
ridge,  held  that  view.  It  is  an  able,  unanswerable  argument  on  the 
whole  question,  based  on  the  oft-repeated  principles  of  the  Repub- 

158 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1890.  159 

lican  party  at  that  time.  It  stands  to-day  a  living  monument  of  the 
grossest  inconsistencies  of  which  the  Republican  party  ever  was 
guilty.*  .... 

We  can  not  play  fast  and  loose  with  the  eternal  principle  of  jus- 
tice without  being  caught  sooner  or  later  in  the  net  of  our  own 
weaving.  The  legitimate  results  of  the  war  have  been  all  frittered 
away  by  political  maneuvering.  While  Northern  statesmen  have 
made  a  football  of  the  rights  of  12,000,000  women  as  voters,  and  by 
Supreme  Court  decisions  driven  them  from  the  polls,  why  arraign 
the  men  in  the  South  for  treating  1,000,000  freedmen  in  the  same 
way?  Are  the  rights  of  that  class  of  citizens  more  sacred  than 
ours  ?  Are  the  violations  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  Gov- 
ernment in  their  case  more  dangerous  than  in  ours  ?  .  .  .  . 

In  addressing  those  who  already  enjoy  the  right  of  suffrage,  one 
naturally  would  suppose  that  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  enlarge 
on  the  advantages  of  having  a  voice  in  deciding  the  laws  and  the 
rulers  under  which  one  lives.  And  neither  would  it  if  each  mem- 
ber of  this  committee  understood  that  woman's  wants  and  needs 
are  similar  to  his  own ;  that  the  cardinal  virtues  belong  to  her  as 
well  as  to  him ;  that  personal  dignity,  the  power  of  self-protection, 
are  as  important  for  her  as  for  him ;  that  woman  loves  justice,  equal- 
ity, liberty,  and  wishes  the  right  to  give  her  consent  to  the  Govern- 
ment under  which  she  lives,  as  much  as  man  does.  Matthew  Ar- 
nold says :  "The  first  desire  of  every  cultured  mind  is  to  take  part 
in  the  great  work  of  government."  .... 

If  we  would  rouse  new  respect  for  womanhood  in  the  hearts 
of  the  masses,  we  must  place  woman  in  a  position  to  respect  her- 
self, which  she  can  never  do  as  long  as  her  political  status  is  be- 
neath that  of  the  most  degraded,  ignorant  classes  of  men.  To  make 
women  the  political  equals  of  their  sons,  or  even  of  their  gardeners 
and  coachmen,  would  add  new  dignity  to  their  position;  and  to 
change  our  laws  and  constitutions  in  harmony  with  the  new  status 
would  have  its  influence  on  the  large  class  of  young  men  now  devot- 
ing themselves  to  the  study  of  the  law.  Lord  Brougham  said  long 
ago  that  the  Common  Law  of  England  for  women,  and  all  the  stat- 
utes based  on  such  .principles,  were  a  disgrace  to  the  Christianity 
and  civilization  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Do  you  think  our  sons 
can  rise  from  such  studies  with  a  high  ideal  of  womanhood?  And 
with  what  feelings  do  you  suppose  women  themselves  read  these 
laws,  and  the.  articles  in  the  State  constitutions,  rating  them  with 
the  disreputable  and  feeble-minded  classes?  Can  you  not  under- 
stand the  dignity,  the  pride,  the  new-born  self-respect  which  would 
thrill  the  hearts  of  the  women  of  this  nation  in  their  enfranchise- 
ment? It  would  elevate  their  sphere  of  action  and  every  depart- 
ment of  labor  in  which  they  are  occupied  ;  it  would  give  new  force  to 
their  words  as  teachers,  reformers  and  missionaries,  new  strength 
to  their  work  as  guardians  of  the  young,  the  wayward  and  the  un- 
fortunate. It  would  transform  them  from  slaves  to  sovereigns, 

*  See  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  II,  p.  464. 


l6o  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

crowned  with  the  rights  of  citizenship,  with  the  ballot,  that  scepter 
of  power,  in  their  own  right  hands 

If  there  are  any  who  do  not  wish  to  vote,  that  is  the  strongest 
reason  for  their  enfranchisement.  If  all  love  of  liberty  has  been 
quenched  in  their  souls  by  their  degraded  condition,  the  duties  of 
citizenship  and  the  responsibility  of  self-government  should  be  laid 
upon  them  at  once,  for  their  pitiful  indifference  is  merely  the  result 
of  their  disfranchisement.  Would  that  I  could  awake  in  the  minds 
of  my  countrywomen  the  full  significance  of  this  demand  for  the 
right  of  suffrage;  what  it  is  to  be  queens  in  their  own  right,  in- 
trusted with  the  power  of  self-government,  possessed  of  all  the 
privileges  and  immunities  of  American  citizens 

Whoever  heard  of  an  heir  apparent  to  a  throne  in  the  Old  World 
abdicating  her  rights  because  some  conservative  politician  or  austere 
bishop  doubted  woman's  capacity  to  govern?  History  affords  no 
such  example.  Those  who  have  had  the  right  to  a  throne  have  in- 
variably taken  possession  of  it  and,  against  intriguing  cardinals,  am- 
bitious nobles  and  jealous  kinsmen,  fought  even  to  the  death  to 
maintain  the  royal  prerogatives  which  by  inheritance  were  theirs. 
When  I  hear  American  women,  descendants  of  Jefferson,  Hancock 
and  Adams,  say  they  do  not  want  to  vote,  I  feel  that  the  blood  of 
the  revolutionary  heroes  must  long  since  have  ceased  to  flow  in 
their  veins. 

Suppose  when  the  day  dawned  for  Victoria  to  be  crowned  Queen 
of  England  she  had  gone  before  the  House  of  Commons  and  begged 
that  such  terrible  responsibilities  might  not  be  laid  upon  her,  de- 
claring that  she  had  not  the  moral  stamina  nor  intellectual  ability 
for  the  position ;  that  her  natural  delicacy  and  refinement  shrank 
from  the  encounter;  that  she  was  looking  forward  to  the  all-ab- 
sorbing duties  of  domestic  life,  to  a  husband,  children,  home,  to  her 
influence  in  the  social  circle  where  the  Christian  graces  are  best 
employed.  Suppose  with  a  tremulous  voice  and  a  few  stray  tears 
in  her  blue  eyes,  her  head  drooping  on  one  side,  she  had  said  she 
knew  nothing  of  the  science  of  government ;  that  a  crown  did  not 
befit  a  woman's  brow ;  that  she  had  not  the  physical  strength  even 
to  wave  her  nation's  flag,  much  less  to  hold  the  scepter  of  power 
over  so  vast  an  empire ;  that  in  case  of  war  she  could  not  fight  and 
hence  could  not  reign,  as  there  must  be  force  behind  the  throne, 
and  this  force  must  be  centered  in  the  hand  which  governed.  What 
would  her  Parliament  have  thought?  What  would  other  nations 
have  thought?  .... 

None  of  you  would  admit,  honorable  gentlemen,  that  all  the  great 
principles  of  government  which  center  round  our  theories  of  justice, 
liberty  and  equality  in  favor  of  individual  sovereignty  have  not  as 
yet  produced  as  high  a  type  of  womanhood  as  has  a  monarchy  in 
the  Old  World.  We  have  a  large  number  of  women  as  well  fitted 
as  Victoria  for  the  most  responsible  positions  in  the  Government, 
who  could  fill  the  highest  places  with  equal  dignity  and  wisdom. 

There  is  no  subject  more  intensely  interesting  to  men  than  the 
science  of  government,  and  when  their  wives  are  intelligent  on  all 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1890.  l6l 

the  questions  it  comprises  they  will  be  far  more  valuable  companions 
than  they  are  to-day.  Marriage  means  companionship,  a  similarity 
of  tastes  and  opinions,  and  where  one  of  the  parties  has  no  interest 
in  or  knowledge  of  those  subjects  most  absorbing  to  the  other,  the 
bonds  of  union  necessarily  are  weakened.  So  long  as  woman's 
thought  is  centered  in  personal  and  family  aggrandizement,  her 
strongest  influence  will  be  used  to  keep  man's  interest  there  also. 
The  virtue  of  patriotism  would  be  far  greater  among  men,  their 
devotion  to  the  public  good  far  more  earnest,  if  the  influences  of 
home  life  were  not  continually  drawing  them  into  a  narrow  selfish- 
ness. 

Women  naturally  take  no  interest  in  questions  where  their  opin- 
ions have  no  weight,  in  a  sphere  of  action  from  which  they  are  ex- 
cluded. They  are  not  supposed  to  know  what  is  necessary  for  the 
public  good,  hence  how  could  they  influence  their  husbands  to  make 
that  their  first  duty  when  in  public  life  ?  But  when  women  are  en- 
franchised their  interest  in  the  State  will  deepen.  They  will  see 
that  the  welfare  of  their  own  children  depends  as  much  on  the  con- 
ditions of  the  outside  world  as  on  the  environments  of  their  own 
homes.  This  settled  discontent  of  women  is  exerting  an  insidious  in- 
fluence which  is  undermining  the  very  foundations  of  the  home  as 
well  as  the  State.  We  must  rouse  them  to  new  hopes,  new  ambitions, 
new  aspirations,  through  the  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  freedom 
and  self-government. 

Moreover,  an  active  participation  in  the  practical  duties  of  gov- 
ernment by  educated  women  would  bring  a  new  and  needed  ele- 
ment to  the  State.  We  can  not  overestimate  the  influence  women 
exert,  whether  for  good  or  ill,  hence  the  immense  importance  of 
their  having  right  views  on  all  questions  of  public  interest  and 
some  knowledge  of  the  requirements  of  practical  politics.  But 
their  power  to-day  is  wholly  irresponsible  and  hence  dangerous. 
Lay  on  them  the  responsibility  of  legislating,  with  all  the  criti- 
cism and  odium  of  a  constituency  and  a  party,  in  case  they  make 
some  blunder,  and  you  render  them  wiser  in  judgment  and  more 
deliberate  in  action.  To  secure  this  large  disfranchised  class  as 
allies  to  one  of  the  leading  parties  would  be  a  wise  measure  for  that 
party  and  bring  a  new  element  of  morality  and  intelligence  into  the 
body  politic.  Women  are  now  taking  a  more  active  part  in  public 
affairs  than  ever  before  and,  with  political  freedom,  always  will  be 
the  reserved  moral  power  to  sustain  great  men  in  their  best  en- 
deavors. 

An  interesting  conversation  followed.  Chairman  Zebulon  B. 
Vance  (N.  C.)  asked  Mrs.  Stanton  if  women  would  be  willing 
to  go  to  war  if  they  had  the  ballot.  She  answered  that  they 
would  decide  whether  there  should  be  war.  He  inquired  whether 
women  would  not  lose  their  refining  influence  and  moral  quali- 
ties if  they  engaged  in  men's  work.  She  replied  that  there  would 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF— ii 


1 62  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

have  to  be  a  definition  of  "men's  work"  and  that  she  found  the 
latter  in  many  avocations,  such  as  washing,  cooking,  and  selling 
needles  and  tape,  which  might  be  considered  the  work  of  women. 
"The  moral  qualities,"  she  said,  "are  more  apt  to  grow  when  a 
human  being  is  useful,  and  they  increase  in  the  woman  who  helps 
to  support  the  family  rather  than  in  the  one  who  gives  herself 
to  idleness  and  fashionable  frivolities.  The  consideration  of 
questions  of  legislation,  finance,  free  trade,  etc.,  certainly  would 
not  degrade  woman,  nor  is  her  refinement  so  evanescent  a  virtue 
that  it  could  be  swept  away  by  some  work  which  she  might  do 
with  her  hands.  Queen  Victoria  looked  as  dignified  and  refined 
in  opening  Parliament  as  any  lady  one  ever  had  seen." 

Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  who  was  never  so  happy  as  when  her 
beloved  friend  was  scoring  a  victory,  said  there  would  always 
be  a  division  of  labor,  in  time  of  war  as  in  time  of  peace. 
Women  would  do  their  share  in  the  hospitals  and  elsewhere, 
and  if  they  were  enfranchised,  the  only  difference  would  be  that 
they  would  be  paid  for  their  services  and  pensioned  at  the  close 
of  the  war.  Mrs.  Colby  reminded  the  committee  that  the  report 
.of  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Labor  showed  that  the  largest 
proportion  of  immoral  women  came  from  home  life  and  the  more 
feminine  occupations. 

Mrs.  Stanton  drew  from  the  chairman  the  admission  that  his 
wife  wanted  the  franchise,  and  he  laughingly  admitted  that  he 
had  had  the  worst  of  the  discussion.  Senator  Allen  expressed 
himself  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage,  and  Senator  Charles  B. 
Farwell  said,  "The  suffragists  have  logic,  argument,  everything 
on  their  side." 

Another  heawng  was  granted  by  the  Senate  Committee,  Feb- 
ruary 24,  when  they  were  addressed  by  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard 
Shaw,  Mrs.  Sallie  Clay  Bennett,  Mrs.  Virginia  L.  Minor  and 
Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby. 

Later  in  the  session  Senator  Henry  W.  Blair  (N.  H.)  pre- 
sented the  majority  report  of  the  Committee  (No.  1576),  the 
usual  strong,  dignified  statement.  It  closed  as  follows:  "To 
deny  the  submission  of  this  joint  resolution  to  the  action  of  the 
Legislatures  of  the  States  is  analogous  to  the  denial  of  the  right 
of  justice  in  the  courts.  It  is  to  say  that  no  plaintiff  shall  bring 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1 890.  163 

his  suit;  no  claimant  of  justice  shall  be  heard;  and  whatever 
may  be  the  result  to  the  friends  of  woman  suffrage  when  they 
reach  the  Legislatures  of  the  States,  it  is,  in  our  belief,  the  duty 
of  Congress  to  submit  the  joint  resolution  and  give  them  the 
opportunity  to  try  their  case." 

Mrs.  Stanton  presented  the  same  address  before  the  House 
Judiciary  Committee,  February  n,  with  the  result  that  for  the 
first  time  in  history  a  majority  House  report  in  favor  of  a  Six- 
teenth Amendment  was  submitted.  It  was  presented  by  Lucien 
B.  Caswell  (Wis.)  and  said  in  conclusion:  "The  disfranchise- 
ment  of  twelve  millions  of  people,  who  are  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  should  command  from  us  an  immediate  action.  Since 
the  women  of  this  country  are  unjustly  deprived  of  a  right  so 
essential  to  complete  citizenship  in  a  republic  as  the  elective  fran- 
chise, common  justice  requires  that  we  should  submit  the  prop- 
osition for  a  change  in  the  fundamental  law  to  the  State  Legisla- 
tures, where  the  correction  can  be  made."* 

The  fiftieth  birthday  of  Susan  B.  Anthony  had  been  celebrated 
in  New  York  City  in  1870  by  a  large  number  of  prominent  men 
and  women,  the  first  instance  of  the  kind  on  record.  It  had  been 
decided  by  her  friends  that  her  seventieth  birthday  should  re- 
ceive a  similar  recognition,  but  that  it  should  be  more  national 
in  character.  The  arrangements  were  made  by  Mrs.  May  Wright 
Sewall  and  Mrs.  Rachel  Foster  Avery,  and  on  the  evening  of 
February  15  a  distinguished  company  of  two  hundred  sat  around 
the  banquet  tables  in  the  great  dining-room  of  the  Riggs  House. 
Miss  Anthony  occupied  the  place  of  honor,  on  her  right  Senator 
Blair  and  Mrs.  Stanton,  on  her  left  Robert  Purvis,  Mrs.  Isabella 
Beecher  Hooker  and  Mrs.  Sewall,  who  presided.  In  addition 
to  the  after-dinner  speeches  of  these  distinguished  guests  there 
were  clever  and  sparkling  responses  to  toasts  by  the  Rev.  Anna 
Howard  Shaw,  Mrs.  Matilda  Joslyn  Gage,  Miss  Phoebe  W.  Cou- 
zins.  the  Rev.  Frederick  A.  Hinckley,  Representative  J.  A.  Pickler 
(S.  D.),  Mrs.  Colby,  Mrs.  Stanton's  two  daughters — Mrs.  Har- 
riot Blatch  and  Mrs.  Margaret  Lawrence — Mrs.  Laura  Ormiston 

•The    other   members    in    favor    of   this  report   were    Ezra    B.    Taylor,    O.,    Chairman; 

George    E.    Adams,   111.;    James   Buchanan,  N.    J.;    Albert   C.    Thompson,    O.;    H.    C.    Mc- 

Cormick,   Perm.,   and  Joseph   R.    Reed,   la.  The  six   members   from   the   Southern    States 
were  opposed. 


164  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Chant  of  England,  and  others.  Mrs.  Stanton  began  her  address 
by  saying :  "If  there  is  one  part  of  my  life  which  gives  me  more 
intense  satisfaction  than  another,  it  is  my  friendship  of  more  than 
forty  years'  standing  with  Susan  B.  Anthony."  The  key-note 
to  Miss  Anthony's  touching  response  was  struck  in  the  opening 
sentence :  "The  thing  I  most  hope  for  is  that,  should  I  stay  on 
this  planet  twenty  years  longer,  I  still  may  be  worthy  of  the  won- 
derful respect  you  have  manifested  for  me  to-night." 

Among  the  more  than  two  hundred  letters,  poems  and  tele- 
grams received  were  those  of  George  William  Curtis,  William 
Lloyd  Garrison,  John  G.  Whittier,  George  F.  Hoar,  Lucy  Stone, 
Frances  E.  Willard,  Speaker  Thomas  B.  Reed,  Mrs.  John  A. 
Logan,  Thomas  W.  Palmer,  the  Rev.  Olympia  Brown,  Harriet 
Hosmer,  Elizabeth  Boynton  Harbert,  Alice  Williams  Brotherton, 
Charles  Nordhoff,  Frank  G.  Carpenter,  U.  S.  Senator  Henry  L. 
Dawes,  Neal  Dow,  Laura  M.  Johns,  T.  V.  Powderly  and  Leonora 
M.  Barry.  Most  of  the  prominent  newspapers  in  the  country 
contained  editorial  congratulations,  and  the  Woman's  Tribune 
issued  a  special  birthday  edition. 

The  convention  opened  in  Metzerott's  Music  Hall,  February 
1 8,  1890,  continuing  four  days.  The  feature  of  this  occasion 
which  will  distinguish  it  in  history  was  the  formal  union  of  the 
National  and  the  American  Associations  under  the  joint  name. 
For  the  past  twenty-one  years  two  distinctive  societies  had  been 
in  existence,  both  national  as  to  scope  but  differing  as  to  meth- 
ods. Negotiations  had  been  in  progress  for  several  years  toward 
a  uniting  of  the  forces  and,  the  preliminaries  having  been  satis- 
factorily arranged  by  committees  from  the  two  bodies,*  the 
officers  and  members  of  both  participated  in  this  national  con- 
vention of  1890. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  the  newly-elected  president  of 
the  united  societies,  faced  a  brilliant  assemblage  of  men  and 
women  as  she  arose  to  make  the  opening  address.  Having  de- 

*  National: — May  Wright  Sewall,  Chairman;  Isabella  Beecher  Hooker,  Harrietts  R. 
Shattuck,  Olympia  Brown,  Helen  M.  Cougar,  Laura  M.  Johns,  Clara  Bewick  Colby,  Vir- 
ginia L.  Minor,  Abigail  Scott  Duniway,  Matilda  Joslyn  Gage,  Mary  B.  Clay,  Mary  F. 
Eastman,  Clara  Neymann,  Sarah  M.  Perkins,  Jane  H.  Spofford,  Lillie  Devereux  Blake, 
Elizabeth  Boynton  Harbert,  Rachel  Foster  Avery,  Secretary.  American: — Julia  Ward 
Howe,  Chairman;  Wm.  Dudley  Foulke,  Margaret  W.  Campbell,  Anna  Howard  Shaw, 
Mary  F.  Thomas,  Hannah  M.  Tracy  Cutler,  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  Secretary. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1890.  165 

clared  that  in  going  to  England  as  president  of  the  National- 
American  Association  she  felt  more  honored  than  if  sent  as  min- 
ister plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States,  she  spoke  to  a  set  of 
resolutions  which  she  presented  to  the  convention.*  After  re- 
viewing the  history  of  the  movement  for  the  rights  of  woman 
and  naming  some  of  its  brilliant  leaders  she  said : 

For  fifty  years  we  have  been  plaintiffs  in  the  courts  of  justice, 
but  as  the  bench,  the  bar  and  the  jury  are  all  men,  we  are  non- 
suited every  time.  Some  men  tell  us  we  must  be  patient  and  per- 
suasive ;  that  v/e  must  be  womanly.  My  friends,  what  is  man's 
idea  of  womanliness?  It  is  to  have  a  manner  which  pleases  him — 
quiet,  deferential,  submissive,  approaching  him  as  a  subject  does  a 
master.  He  wants  no  self-assertion  on  our  part,  no  defiance,  no 
vehement  arraignment  of  him  as  a  robber  and  a  criminal.  While 
the  grand  motto,  "Resistance  to  tyrants  is  obedience  to  God,"  has 
echoed  and  re-echoed  around  the  globe,  electrifying  the  lovers  of 
liberty  in  every  latitude  and  making  crowned  heads  tremble  on 
their  thrones ;  while  every  right  achieved  by  the  oppressed  has  been 
wrung  from  tyrants  by  force ;  while  the  darkest  page  on  human 
history  is  the  outrages  on  women — shall  men  still  tell  us  to  be  pa- 
tient, persuasive,  womanly? 

What  do  we  know  as  yet  of  the  womanly  ?  The  women  we  have 
seen  thus  far  have  been,  with  rare  exceptions,  the  mere  echoes  of 
men.  Man  has  spoken  in  the  State,  the  Church  and  the  Home,  and 
made  the  codes,  creeds  and  customs  which  govern  every  relation  in 

*  The  resolutions  declared  the  constitutional  right  of  women  to  vote,  and  continued: 

Resolved,  That  as  the  fathers  violated  the  principles  of  justice  in  consenting  to  a  three- 
fifths  representation,  and  in  recognizing  slavery  in  the  Constitution,  thereby  making  a 
civil  war  inevitable;  so  our  statesmen  and  Supreme  Court  Judges  by  their  misinterpreta- 
tion of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment,  declaring  that  the  United  States  has  no  voters  and 
that  citizenship  does  not  carry  with  it  the  right  of  suffrage,  not  only  have  prolonged 
woman's  disfranchisement  but  have  undermined  the  status  of  the  freedman  and  opened 
the  way  for  another  war  of  races. 

WHEREAS,  It  is  proposed  to  have  a  national  law,  restricting  the  right  of  divorce  to  a 
narrower  basis,  and 

WHEREAS,  Congress  has  already  made  an  appropriation  for  a  report  on  the  question, 
which  shows  that  there  are  10,000  divorces  annually  in  the  United  States  and  the  majority 
demanded  by  women;  and 

WHEREAS,  Liberal  divorce  laws  for  wives  are  what  Canada  was  for  the  slaves — a  door 
of  escape  from  bondage;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  there  should  be  no  farther  legislation  on  this  question  until  woman  has 
a  voice  in  the  State  and  National  Governments. 

Resolved,  That  the  time  has  come  for  woman  to  demand  of  the  Church  the  same  equal 
recognition  she  demands  of  the  State;  to  assume  her  right  and  duty  to  take  part  in  the 
revision  of  Bibles,  prayer-books  and  creeds;  to  vote  on  all  questions  of  business;  to  fill 
the  offices  of  elder,  deacon,  Sunday-school  superintendent,  pastor  and  bishop;  to  sit  in 
ecclesiastical  synods,  assemblies  and  conventions  as  delegates;  that  thus  our  religion  may 
no  longer  reflect  only  the  masculine  element  of  humanity,  and  tnat  woman,  the  mother 
of  the  race,  may  be  honored  as  she  must  be  before  we  can  have  a  happy  home,  a  rational 
religion  and  an  enduring  government. 

They  concluded  with  a  demand  that  the  platform  of  the  suffrage  association  should 
recognize  the  equal  rights  of  all  parties,  sects  and  races. 


l66  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

life,  and  women  have  simply  echoed  all  his  thoughts  and  walked  in 
the  paths  he  prescribed.  And  this  they  call  womanly!  When 
Joan  of  Arc  led  the  French  army  to  victory  I  dare  say  the  carpet 
knights  of  England  thought  her  unwomanly.  When  Florence 
Nightingale,  in  search  of  blankets  for  the  soldiers  in  the  Crimean 
War,  cut  her  way  through  all  orders  and  red  tape,  commanded  with 
vehemence  and  determination  those  who  guarded  the  supplies  to 
"unlock  the  doors  and  not  talk  to  her  of  proper  authorities  when 
brave  men  were  shivering  in  their  beds,"  no  doubt  she  was  called 
unwomanly.  To  me,  "unlock  the  doors"  sounds  better  than  any 
words  of  circumlocution,  however  sweet  and  persuasive,  and  I  con- 
sider that  she  took  the  most  womanly  way  of  accomplishing  her 
object.  Patience  and  persuasiveness  are  beautiful  virtues  in  dealing 
with  children  and  feeble-minded  adults,  but  those  who  have  the  gift 
of  reason  and  understand  the  principles  of  justice,  it  is  our  duty  to 
compel  to  act  up  to  the  highest  light  that  is  in  them,  and  as  prompt- 
ly as  possible. 

Mrs.  Stanton  urged  that  women  should  have  more  power  in 
church  management,  saying: 

As  women  are  taking  an  active  part  in  pressing  on  the  considera- 
tion of  Congress  many  narrow  sectarian  measures,  such  as  more 
rigid  Sunday  laws,  the  stopping  of  travel,  the  distribution  of  the 
mail  on  that  day,  and  the  introduction  of  the  name  of  God  into  the 
Constitution ;  and  as  this  action  on  the  part  of  some  women  is  used 
as  an  argument  for  the  disfranchisement  of  all,  I  hope  this  conven- 
tion will  declare  that  the  Woman  Suffrage  Association  is  opposed  to 
all  union  of  Church  and  State,  and  pledges  itself  as  far  as  possible 
to  maintain  the  secular  nature  of  our  Government.  As  Sunday  is 
the  only  day  that  the  laboring  man  can  escape  from  the  cities,  to 
stop  the  street-cars,  omnibuses  and  railroad  trains  would  indeed 
be  a  lamentable  exercise  of  arbitrary  authority.  No,  no,  the  duty 
of  the  State  is  to  protect  those  who  do  the  work  of  the  world,  in 
the  largest  liberty,  and  instead  of  shutting  them  up  in  their  gloomy 
tenement  houses  on  Sunday,  to  open  wide  the  parks,  horticultural 
gardens,  museums,  libraries,  galleries  of  art  and  the  music  halls 
where  they  can  listen  to  the  divine  melodies  of  the  great  masters. 

She  demanded  that  women  declare  boldly  and  decisively  on 
all  the  vital  issues  of  the  day,  and  said : 

In  this  way  we  make  ourselves  mediums  through  which  the  great 
souls  of  the  past  may  speak  again.  The  moment  we  begin  to  fear 
the  opinions  of  others  and  hesitate  to  tell  the  truth  that  is  in  us, 
and  from  motives  of  policy  are  silent  when  we  should  speak,  the 
divine  floods  of  light  and  life  flow  no  longer  into  our  souls.  Every 
truth  we  see  is  ours  to  give  the  world,  not  to  keep  for  ourselves 
alone,  for  in  so  doing  we  cheat  humanity  out  of  their  rights  and 
check  our  own  development. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1 890.  1 67 

As  Mrs.  Stanton  finished  she  introduced  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
Blatch,  a  resident  of  England,  who  in  a  few  impressive  remarks 
showed  that  on  the  great  socialistic  questions  of  the  day — capital 
and  labor,  woman  suffrage,  race  prejudice — England  was  liberal 
and  the  United  States  conservative;  that  the  latter  had  beautiful 
ideas  but  did  not  apply  them,  and  tended  too  much  to  the  worship 
of  legislation. 

The  Hon.  Wm.  Dudley  Foulke,  retiring  president  of  the 
American  Association,  an  uncompromising  advocate  of  woman's 
enfranchisement,  then  made  a  strong  and  scholarly  address  in 
the  course  of  which  he  said : 

The  fundamental  rights  of  self-government,  the  right  of  each  man 
to  cast  his  single  vote  and  have  it  counted  as  it  is  cast,  is  of  greater 
and  more  lasting  importance  than  any  of  the  temporary  conse- 
quences which  flow  from  the  result  of  any  election.  Beyond  all 
matters  of  expediency  and  good  administration  lies  the  great  ques- 
tion of  human  liberty  and  equality,  which  can  only  be  maintained 
by  the  uncorrupted  equal  suffrage  of  every  citizen ;  and  so  sacred  is 
this  in  the  eyes  of  the  law  that  years  of  penitentiary  service  are  pre- 
scribed for  the  interference  with  the  right  of  a  single  human  being 
of  the  male  sex  to  cast  the  vote  which  the  law  allows  him. 

But  there  may  be  a  moral  guilt  outside  the  law,  of  a  character 
quite  similar  to  that  which  is  so  punished  when  it  comes  within  the 
terms  of  the  statute,  and  it  may  be  the  crime,  not  of  a  single  law- 
breaker, but  of  the  entire  community  that  establishes  the  constitu- 
tions and  enacts  the  statutes,  which  denies  these  equal  rights  to 
citizens  who  are  subject  to  equal  burdens.  Wherever  the  rule  of 
power  is  substituted  for  the  just  and  equitable  principle  that  all  who 
are  subject  to  government  should  have  a  voice  in  controlling  it,  we 
are  guilty  under  the  form  of  law  of  the  same  violation  of  the  just 
rights  of  others  for  which  the  corruptor  of  elections  and  the  forger 
of  tally-sheets  is  tried,  convicted  and  incarcerated.  Yet  from  the 
remotest  times  the  world  has  done  this  thing,  for  equal  rights  have 
never  been  conceded  to  women,  and  so  warped  are  our  convictions 
by  custom  and  prejudice  that  a  denial  of  their  political  equality 
seems  as  natural  as  the  breath  we  draw 

Paternalism  in  government,  which  seeks  to  do  good  to  the  people 
against  their  will,  is  wrong  in  the  Czar  of  Russia  and  in  old  King 
George,  but  is  quite  right  and  just  when  it  affects  only  our  wives, 
sisters  and  daughters!  They  have  everything  they  need,  why  ask 
the  ballot?  Ah,  my  friends,  so  long  as  they  have  not  the  right  to 
determine  the  thing  they  need,  so  long  as  the  ultimate  sovereignty 
remains  with  men  to  say  what  is  good  and  what  is  bad  for  them,  they 
are  deprived  of  that  which  we,  as  men,  esteem  the  most  precious  of 
all  rights.  I  suppose  there  never  was  a  time  when  men  did  not  be- 
lieve that  women  had  everything  they  ought  to  want ;  that  they  had 


1 68  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

as  much  as  was  good  for  them.  The  woman  must  obey  in  consider- 
ation of  the  kind  protection  which  her  lord  vouchsafes  to  her.  The 
wife's  property  ought  to  belong  to  the  husband,  because  upon  him 
the  law  casts  the  burden  of  sustaining  the  family.  There  must  be  a 
ruler,  and  the  husband  ought  to  be  that  one.  But  this  is  the  same 
principle  which,  during  thousands  of  years,  maintained  the  divine 
right  of  kings.  When  we  apply  it  to  our  system  of  suffrage  the 
number  of  sovereigns  is  increased,  that  is  all.  It  is  a  recognition  of 
the  divine  right  of  man  to  legislate  for  himself  and  woman  too.  It 
is  only  a  difference  in  the  number  of  autocrats  and  the  manner  in 
which  their  decrees  are  promulgated 

By  what  argument  can  a  man  defend  his  own  suffrage  as  a  right 
and  not  concede  an  equal  right  to  woman?  A  just  man  ought  to  ac- 
cord to  ever}r  other  human  being,  even  his  own  wife,  the  rights 
which  he  demands  himself. 

"But  she  has  her  sphere  and  she  ought  not  go  beyond  it."  My 
friend,  who  gave  you  the  right  to  determine  what  that  sphere  should 
be?  If  nature  prescribes  it,  nature  will  carry  out  her  own  ordi- 
nances without  your  prohibitory  legislation.  I  have  the  greatest 
contempt  for  the  sort  of  legislation  which  seeks  to  enable  nature  to 
carry  out  her  own  immutable  laws.  I  would  have  very  little  respect 
for  any  decree,  enacted  with  whatever  solemnity,  which  should  pre- 
scribe that  an  object  shall  fall  towards  the  earth  and  not  from  it; 
and  I  have  just  as  little  respect  for  any  statute  of  man  which  enacts 
that  women  shall  continue  to  love  and  care  for  their  children  by 
shutting  them  out  from  political  action  and  preferment  lest  they 
should  neglect  the  duties  of  the  household.  .... 

"But,"  say  you,  "woman  is  already  adequately  represented.  She 
does  not  form  a  separate  class.  She  has  no  interests  different  from 
those  of  her  husband,  brother  or  father."  These  arguments  have 
been  used  even  by  so  eminent  an  authority  as  John  Bright.  Is  it 
indeed  a  fact?  Wherever  woman  owns  property  which  she  would 
relieve  from  unjust  taxation;  wherever  she  has  a  son  whom  she 
would  preserve  from  the  temptations  of  intemperance,  or  a  daugh- 
ter from  the  enticements  of  a  libertine,  or  a  husband  from  the  con- 
scriptions of  war,  she  has  a  separate  interest  which  she  is  entitled  to 
protect. 

"But  she  can  control  legislation  by  her  influence."  If  it  were  pro- 
posed to  take  away  our  right  to  vote,  we  would  think  it  a  satisfac- 
tory answer  that  our  influence  would  still  remain?  If  she  has  in- 
fluence she  is  entitled  to  that  and  her  vote  too.  You  have  no  right 
to  burn  down  a  man's  house  because  you  leave  him  his  lot. 

"But  woman  does  not  want  the  suffrage."  How  do  you  know? 
have  you  given  her  an  opportunity  of  saying  so?  Wherever  the 
right  has  been  accorded  it  has  been  generally  exercised,  and  the  best 
proof  of  her  wishes  is  the  actual  use  which  she  makes  of  the  ballot 
when  she  has  it.  But  it  makes  no  difference  whether  all  women 
want  to  vote  or  whether  most  women  want  to  vote,  so  long  as  there 
is  one  woman  who  insists  upon  this  simple  right,  the  justice  of 
America  can  not  afford  to  deny  it 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1 890.  169 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Foulke's  address  Mrs.  Stanton  was  obliged 
to  leave  in  order  to  reach  New  York  City  in  time  for  her  steamer. 
The  entire  audience  arose,  the  women  waving  handkerchiefs  and 
the  men  joining  in  three  farewell  cheers. 

One  splendid  address  followed  another,  morning  and  evening, 
while  the  afternoons  were  occupied  with  business  meetings,  and 
even  here  there  were  many  little  speeches  which  were  worthy  of 
preservation.  Among  them  was  one  of  Miss  Anthony's,  in  which 
she  said:  "If  it  is  necessary,  I  will  fight  forty  years  more 
to  make  our  platform  free  for  the  Christian  to  stand  upon, 
whether  she  be  a  Catholic  and  counts  her  beads,  or  a  Protestant 
of  the  straightest  orthodox  sect,  just  as  I  have  fought  for  the 
rights  of  the  'infidels'  the  last  forty  years.  These  are  the  prin- 
ciples I  want  to  maintain — that  our  platform  may  be  kept  as 
broad  as  the  universe,  that  upon  it  may  stand  the  representatives 
of  all  creeds  and  of  no  creeds — Jew  and  Christian,  Protestant 
and  Catholic,  Gentile  and  Mormon,  believer  and  atheist." 

Mrs.  Isabella  Beecher  Hooker  (Conn.)  discussed  The  Centen- 
nial of  1892,  demanding  the  recognition  of  women.  Mrs.  Mary 
Seymour  Howell  (N.  Y.)  spoke  on  the  Present,  the  Destiny  of 
To-day.  Mrs.  Ormiston  Chant  ( Eng. )  depicted  the  glory  of  The 
Coming  Woman.  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt  made  her  first 
appearance  on  the  national  platform  with  an  address  on  The 
Symbol  of  Liberty,  describing  political  conditions  with  a  keen 
knowledge  of  the  facts  and  showing  their  need  of  the  intelligence, 
morality  and  independence  of  women.  The  subject  selected  by 
Miss  Phoebe  W.  Couzins,  herself  an  office-holder,  was  Woman's 
Influence  in  Official  Government. 

Henry  B.  Blackwell  made  a  strong  speech  on  Woman  Suffrage 
a  Growth  of  Civilization.  He  read  a  letter  from  Lucy  Stone,  his 
wife,  who  was  to  have  spoken  on  The  Progress  of  Women  but 
was  prevented  by  illness,  in  which  she  said:  "The  time  is  full 
of  encouragement  for  us.  We  look  back  to  our  small  beginnings 
and  over  the  many  years  of  constant  endeavor  to  secure  for 
women  the  application  of  the  principles  which  are  the  foundation 
of  a  representative  government.  Now  we  are  a  host.  Both 
Houses  of  Congress  and  the  legislative  bodies  in  nearly  all  the 
States,  have  our  questions  before  them.  So  has  the  civilized 


I7O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

world.  Surely  at  no  distant  day  the  sense  of  justice  which  ex- 
ists in  everybody  will  secure  our  claim,  and  we  shall  have  at  last 
a  truly  representative  government,  of  the  people,  by  the  people 
and  for  the  people,  We  may,  therefore,  rejoicing  in  what  is  al- 
ready gained,  look  forward  with  hope  to  the  future." 

A  large  audience  listened  to  the  address  of  Mrs.  Julia  Ward 
Howe  on  The  Chivalry  of  Reform,  during  which  she  said : 

The  political  enfranchisement  of  woman  has  long  been  sought  up- 
on the  ground  of  abstract  right  and  justice.  This  ground  is  surely 
the  soundest  and  safest  basis  for  any  claim  to  rest  upon.  But  man- 
kind, after  yielding  a  general  obedience  to  the  moral  law,  will  re- 
serve for  themselves  a  certain  freedom  in  its  application  to  particu- 
lar things.  Even  in  so  imperative  a  matter  as  the  salvation  of  their 
own  souls  they  will  not  be  content  with  weights  and  measures.  The 
touch  of  sentiment  must  come  in,  uplifting  what  law  knocks  down, 
freeing  what  it  trammels,  satisfying  man's  love  for  freedom  by  min- 
istering to  his  sense  of  beauty.  When  this  subtle  power  joins  itself 
to  the  demonstrations  of  reason,  the  victory  is  sure  and  lasting. 

It  is  in  the  grand  order  of  these  ideas  that  I  stand  here  to  advocate 
the  enfranchisement  of  my  sex.  Morally,  socially,  intellectually 
equal  with  men,  it  is  right  that  we  should  be  politically  equal  with 
them  in  a  society  which  claims  to  recognize  and  uphold  one  equal 
humanity.  I  do  not  say  it  is  our  right.  I  say  it  is  right — God's 
right  and  the  world's. 

In  the  name  of  high  sentiment  then,  in  the  name  of  all  that  good 
men  profess,  I  ask  that  the  gracious  act  may  be  consummated  which 
will  admit  us  to  the  place  that  henceforth  befits  us,  that  of  equal  par- 
ticipants with  you  in  the  sovereignty  of  the  people.  Do  this  in  the 
spirit  of  that  mercy  whose  quality  is  not  strained.  Remember  that 
the  neglect  of  justice  brings  with  it  the  direst  retribution.  Make 
your  debt  to  us  a  debt  of  honor,  and  pay  it  in  that  spirit ;  if  you  do 
not  pay  it,  dread  the  proportions  which  its  arrears  will  assume.  Re- 
member that  he  who  has  the  power  to  do  justice  and  refrains  from 
doing  it,  will  presently  find  it  doing  itself,  to  his  no  small  discom- 
fiture  

Women,  trained  for  the  moral  warfare  of  the  time,  armed  with 
the  fine  instincts  which  are  their  birthright,  are  not  doomed  to  sit 
forever  as  mere  spectators  in  these  great  encounters  of  society. 
They  are  to  deserve  the  crown  as  well  as  to  bestow  it ;  to  meet  the 
powers  of  darkness  with  the  powers  of  light ;  to  bring  their  potent 
aid  to  the  eternal  conquest  of  right.  And  let  me  say  here  to  those 
women  who  not  only  hang  back  from  this  encounter  but  who  throw 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  true  reform  and  progress,  that  the  shallow 
ground  upon  which  they  stand  is  within  the  belt  of  the  moral  earth- 
quake, and  that  what  they  build  upon  it  will  be  overthrown.  .  .  . 

The  Rev.  Miss  Shaw,  in  an  address  filled  with  humor  as  well 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1890. 

as  logic,  treated  of  Our- Unconscious  Allies,  among  whom  she 
included  clergymen  who  oppose  equal  suffrage,  the  women 
remonstrants  with  their  weak  documents,  the  colleges  which  try 
to  keep  out  girls,  and  the  many  cases  of  outrage  and  wrong  com- 
mitted by  "our  motherless  Government."  The  Rev.  Olympia 
Brown  replied  to  the  question,  Where  is  the  Mistake?  With 
great  power  and  earnestness  she  pointed  out  the  mistakes  made 
by  our  Government  during  the  century  of  its  existence  and  de- 
manded the  correction  of  the  greatest  one  of  all — the  exclusion 
of  women. 

The  address  of  Mrs.  Zerelda  G.  Wallace  (Ind.),  A  Whole 
Humanity,  aroused  the  universal  sympathy  and  appreciation  of 
the  audience,  permeated  as  it  was  with  the  spirit  of  love,  charity 
and  justice : 

.  .  .  .  The  animus  of  this  movement  for  woman's  freedom 
has  been  mistaken  in  the  idea  that  it  meant  competition  between 
women  and  men ;  to  my  thought  it  simply  means  co-operation  in  the 
work  of  the  world.  The  man  is  to  bring  the  physical  forces,  and 
he  has  done  that  work  magnificently.  I  never  go  over  this  continent 
and  see  what  men  have  done,  that  I  do  not  feel  like  bowing  my  head 
in  reverence  to  their  wisdom,  their  strength,  their  power,  and  I 
think  the  nearest  thing  we  see  to  divinity  is  the  incarnation  of  the 
God-head  in  a  grand  good  man. 

But  there  are  other  forces  which  must  be  brought  into  subjection 
to  humanity  before  we  reach  the  highest  development,  and  those  are 
the  moral  and  spiritual  forces.  That  is  woman's  share  largely,  not 
that  I  exempt  man,  but  pre-eminently  woman  is  the  teacher  of  the 
race;  in  virtue  of  her  motherhood  she  is  the  character  builder;  she 
forms  the  soul  life ;  she  rears  the  generations.  It  is  not  part  of 
woman's  work  to  contend  with  man  for  supremacy  over  the  material 
forces.  It  was  never  told  to  woman  that  she  should  earn  her  bread 
by  the  sweat  of  her  brow.  That  was  man's  curse.  He  was  to  earn 
his  bread  and  woman's  too,  if  he  faithfully  performed  his  duty,  and 
we  are  not  "dependents"  even  if  he  does  that.  I  never  allow  a  man 
to  say  in  my  presence  that  he  "supports"  his  wife,  and  I  want  every 
woman  to  take  the  same  position.  I  would  correct  any  man  and  tell 
him  he  was  mistaken  in  his  phraseology  if  he  should  say  anything  of 
that  kind.  You  have  something  different  to  do,  my  sisters.  You 
shall  hate  evil,  was  said  to  woman,  and  evil  shall  hate  you.  There 
shall  go  forth  from  you  an  influence  which  shall  ultimately  extermi- 
nate evil The  men  of  this  nation  would  never  have 

made  the  success  they  have  in  the  material  world,  if  some  stronger 
force  had  limited  them  on  all  sides. 

I  said  a  moment  ago  that  I  do  not  like  the  idea  of  dependence  of 
women  on  men,  or  the  dependence  of  men  on  women.  I  do  not  like 


I72  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

the  word  independence,  but  I  do  like  the -word  interdependence.  It 
is  said  of  this  beautiful  country,  "United  we  stand,  divided  we  fall." 
It  is  the  same  with  men  and  women.'  Men  without  women  would 
go  back  to  barbarism,  and  women  without  men  would  be  most  friv- 
olous and  vain.  If  we  work  not  in  competition  but  in  co-operation 
and  harmony  we  shall  bring  the  race  to  its  ultimate  inheritance, 
which  is  rulership  over  the  universe. 

Now  to  deprive  woman  of  the  right  to  express  her  thought  with 
authority  at  the  ballot-box  in  regard  to  the  laws  under  which  she  is 
governed,  puts  a  mark  of  imbecility  upon  her  at  once.  So  far  as  the 
Government  is  concerned  we  are  held  in  perpetual  tutelage,  we  are 
minors  always,  and  while  good  men  wrill  act  justly  towards  women, 
it  is  an  excuse  for  every  bad  and  foolish  man  to  oppress  them,  and 
every  unfledged  boy  to  make  them  the  subject  of  ridicule 

I  believe  the  great  majority  of  American  men  love  our  free  insti- 
tutions ;  I  believe  they  have  hope  and  pride  in  the  future  of  this  na- 
tion ;  but  as  sure  as  you  live,  every  argument  you  use  against  the  en- 
franchisement of  women  deals  a  death-blow  against  the  fundamental 
principle  which  lies  at  the  base  of  our  government,  and  it  is  treason 
to  bring  an  argument  against  it. 

Another  thing  which  you  permit  is  reacting  now  to  the  detriment 
of  our  free  institutions ;  if  from  prejudice  or  expediency  you  think 
you  have  a  right  to  withhold  the  ballot  from  the  women  of  this  na- 
tion, you  have  but  to  go  one  step  further  and  deprive  any  other  class 
of  a  right  they  already  have,  should  you  think  it  expedient  to  do  so. 
It  is  beginning  to  bear  its  fruit  now  in  your  elections.  You  are  be- 
coming demoralized;  ballots  are  bought  and  sold;  you  have  your 
blocks  of  five ;  and  in  some  entire  communities  the  men  are  deprived 
of  the  right  of  suffrage.  It  is  simply  a  question  of  time  how  long 
you  will  be  able  to  maintain  the  freedom  you  cherish  for  yourselves. 

If  we  women  are  citizens,  if  we  are  governed,  if  we  are  a  part  of 
the  people,  according  to  the  plain  declarations  of  the  fundamental 
principles  which  underlie  this  nation,  we  are  as  much  entitled  to  vote 
as  you,  and  you  can  not  make  an  argument  against  us  that  would  not 
disfranchise  yourselves. 

I  feel  this  phase  of  the  question  more  acutely  than  any  other  be- 
cause I  think  from  a  fundamental  standpoint  the  progress  of  the 
race  is  bound  up  in  republican  institutions.  It  is  not  a  question  of 
woman's  rights,  it  is  a  question  of  human  rights,  of  the  success  or 
failure  of  these  institutions,  and  the  more  highly  cultured  a  woman 
is  the  more  deeply  she  feels  this  humiliation 

I  do  not  think  it  weakness  to  say  that  women  love,  and  that  love 
predominates  in  their  nature,  because,  my  friends,  love  is  the  only 
immortal  principle  in  the  universe.  Love  is  to  endure  forever. 
Faith  will  be  swallowed  up  in  knowledge  after  a  while,  and  hope  in 
fruition,  but  love  abides  forever.  It  is  peculiarly  an  attribute  of  our 
feminine  nature  to  love  our  offspring  over  everything  else ;  for  them 
we  would  peril  our  lives ;  and  for  the  men  of  this  nation,  under  our 
form  of  government,  to  say  to  us  that  we  shall  not  have  the  power 
which  will  enable  us  through  laws  and  legislation  to  decide  the  con- 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1890. 

ditions  which  shall  surround  them,  and  throw  the  mother  love 
around  these  children  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  is  an  inhuman 
use  of  their  authority 

The  Washington  Star  said :  "If  the  first  day  of  the  conven- 
tion was  Mrs.  Stanton's,  the  rest  have  belonged  to  Miss  Anthony, 
'Saint  Susan/  as  her  followers  love  to  call  her.  As  vice-presi- 
dent-at-large  she  presided  over  every  session,  and  never  was  m 
better  voice  or  more  enthusiastic  spirits.  As  she  sat  by  the  table 
clad  in  a  handsome  dress  of  black  satin,  she  was  the  life  and  soul 

of  the  meetings She  does  not  make  much  noise  with 

her  gavel,*  nor  does  she  have  to  use  it  often,  but  she  manages 
to  keep  the  organization  over  which  she  presides  in  a  state  of 
order  that  puts  to  shame  many  a  convention  of  the  other  sex. 
Business  is  transacted  in  proper  shape,  and  every  important 
measure  receives  its  due  share  of  attention.  There  is  no  filibus- 
tering. The  speakers  who  have  been  invited  to  address  the  con- 
vention are  listened  to  with  attention  and  interest.  When 
speeches  are  on  the  program  they  are  made.  When  resolutions 
are  desired  they  are  presented,  discussed,  rejected  or  adopted  as 
the  case  may  be.  ...  There  are  no  attempts  to  pus'h 
through  unsuitable  measures  in  haste  and  without  the  necessary 
attention.  If  any  of  those  who  have  not  attended  the  meetings 
of  the  association  are  of  the  opinion  that  serious  breaches  of 
parliamentary  usage  are  committed  through  ignorance  or  with 
intent,  they  are  laboring  under  a  decided  delusion." 

The  business  meeting  devoted  to  a  discussion  of  Our  Attitude 
toward  Political  Parties  proved  to  be  the  most  exciting  of  the 
series.  Among  the  speakers  were  Mr.  Foulke,  Mrs.  Sewall, 
Mrs.  Howe,  Miss  Blackwell,  Mrs.  Blake,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hinckley, 
Mrs.  Alice  M.  A.  Pickler,  Mrs.  Ellen  Sully  Fray,  Mr.  Black- 
well,  Miss  Shaw,  Mrs.  Martha  McClellan  Brown,  the  Rev.  Mrs. 
Brown,  Mrs.  Martha  E.  Root  and  Miss  Mary  Desna.  Without 
exception  the  sentiment  was  in  favor  of  keeping  strictly  aloof 
from  all  political  alliances.  It  was  pointed  out  that  repeatedly 
the  promises  made  by  politicians  were  violated  and  the  planks 
in  the  platforms  ignored;  it  was  shown  that  the  suffrage  can  be 
gained  only  through  the  assistance  of  men  in  all  parties ;  and  it 

There  is  no  woman  in  the  world  who  has  wielded  the  gavel  at  as  many  conventions  as 
has  Miss  Anthony. 


174  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

was  proved  beyond  doubt  that  in  the  past,  where  members  had 
allied  themselves  with  a  political  party  it  had  injured  the  cause 
of  woman  suffrage. 

In  addition  to  the  speakers  already  mentioned  Wm.  Lloyd 
Garrison,  Col.  D.  R.  Anthony,  Ellen  Battelle  Dietrick,  Laura 
Clay,  the  Hon.  J.  A.  Pickler,  Sallie  Clay  Bennett,  Margaret  W. 
Campbell,  Laura  M.  Johns,  Frances  Ellen  Burr,  Frances  Stuart 
Parker,  Dr.  Frances  Dickinson  and  others  participated  in  the 
various  discussions  of  the  convention. 

A  deep  interest  was  felt  in  the  pending  woman  suffrage  amend- 
ment in  South  Dakota.  The  subject  was  presented  by  Represent- 
ative and  Mrs.  Pickler,  national  speakers  were  appointed  to  can- 
vass the  State  and  a  fund  of  over  $5,000  was  eventually  raised. 

Tributes  of  respect  were  paid  to  Caroline  Ashurst  Biggs  and 
Margaret  Bright  Lucas  of  England,  U.  S.  Senator  Elbridge  G. 
Lapham,  Maria  Mitchell,  the  great  astronomer,  Prudence  Cran- 
dall  Philleo,  Harriet  Winslow  Sewall,  Amy  Post,  Wm.  D.  Kelley, 
M.  C,  Dinah  Mendenhall,  Emerine  J.  Hamilton,  Amanda  Mc- 
Connell  and  other  friends  and  supporters  of  woman  suffrage  who 
had  passed  away  during  the  year. 

The  vote  for  officers  of  the  united  association,  which  was 
limited  strictly  to  delegates,  stood  as  follows :  For  president,  Eliz- 
abeth Cady  Stanton,  131;  Susan  B.  Anthony,  90;  scattering,  2: 
for  vice-president-at-large,  Susan  B.  Anthony,  213;  scatter- 
ing, 9.*  Rachel  Foster  Avery  was  elected  recording  secretary; 
Alice  Stone  Blackwell,  corresponding  secretary;  Jane  H.  Spof- 
ford,  treasurer;  Lucy  Stone,  chairman  of  the  executive  commit- 
tee by  unanimous  vote ;  Eliza  T.  Ward  and  the  Rev.  Frederick  A. 
Hinckley,  auditors.  The  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  was  ap- 
pointed national  lecturer. 

*  For  account  of  Miss  Anthony's  determination  not  to  accept  the  presidency  see  her 
Life  and  Work,  p.  631. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE   NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION   OF    1 89 1. 

Immediately  preceeding  the  Twenty-third  annual  suffrage  con- 
vention in  1891,  the  first  triennial  meeting  took  place  of  the  Na- 
tional Council  of  Women,  which  had  been  formed  in  1888.  It 
was  held  in  Albaugh's  Opera  House,  Washington,  beginning 
Sunday,  February  22,  and  continuing  four  days,  an -assemblage 
of  the  most  distinguished  women  of  the  nation  in  many  lines  of 
work.  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard  presided  and  the  other  officers 
contributed  to  the  success  of  the  Council — Miss  Susan  B.  An- 
thony, vice-president;  Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall,  corresponding 
secretary ;  Miss  Mary  F.  Eastman,  recording  secretary ;  Mrs.  M. 
Louise  Thomas,  treasurer.  Ten  national  organizations  were 
represented  by  official  delegates  and  forty  sent  fraternal  dele- 
gates. 

The  Sunday  services  were  conducted  entirely  by  women,  the 
Rev.  Ida  C.  Hultin  giving  the  sermon  from  the  text,  "For  the 
earth  bringeth  forth  fruit  of  herself ;  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear, 
after  that  the  full  corn  in  the  ear."  "And  I  saw  a  new  heaven 
and  a  new  earth."  The  program  of  the  week  included  Charities, 
Education,  Temperance,  Religion,  Organized  Work,  Political 
Status  of  Women,  etc.*  On  Saturday  evening  Mrs.  Jane  H. 
Spofford  gave  a  large  reception  at  the  Riggs  House  to  the 
Council  and  the  Suffrage  Association.  The  latter  held  its  ses- 
sions February  26-March  i,  occupying  the  same  beautifully 
decorated  opera  house  which  had  been  filled  for  four  days  by  aud- 
iences in  attendance  at  the  Council,  who  kept  on  coming,  scarcely 
knowing  the  difference. 

The  Call  for  this  convention  expressed  the  great  joy  over  the 

*  A  complete  report  of  the  able  addresses  made  by  specialists  in  these  subjects  was 
prepared  by  the  new  corresponding  secretary,  Mrs.  Rachel  Foster  Avery,  and  placed  by 
Miss  Anthony  in  the  large  libraries  of  the  country. 

175 


I?  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

action  of  Congress  during  the  past  year  in  admitting  Wyoming 
as  a  State  with  woman  suffrage  in  its  constitution : 

The  admission  of  Wyoming  into  the  Union  as  a  State  with  equal 
rights  for  women  guaranteed  in  its  organic  law,  not  only  sets  a  seal 
of  approval  upon  woman  suffrage  after  a  practical  experience  of 
twenty-one  years,  but  it  makes  woman  a  recognized  factor  in  na- 
tional politics.  Hereafter  the  Chief  Executive  and  both  Houses  of 
Congress  will  owe  their  election  partly  to  the  votes  of  women.  The 
injustice  and  absurdity  of  allowing  women  in  one  State  to  be  sov- 
ereign rulers,  and  across  the  line  in  every  direction  obliging  them  to 
occupy  the  position  of  a  subject  class,  taxed  without  representation 
and  governed  without  consent — and  this  in  a  nation  which  by  its 
Constitution  guarantees  equal  rights  to  all  the  States  and  equal  pro- 
tection to  all  their  citizens — must  soon  be  manifest  even  to  the  most 
conservative  and  prejudiced.  We  therefore  congratulate  the  friends 
of  woman  suffrage  everywhere  that  at  last  there  is  one  spot  under 
the  American  flag  where  equal  justice  is  done  to  women.  Wyo- 
ming, all  hail ;  the  first  true  republic  the  world  has  ever  seen ! 

The  program  attracted  considerable  attention  from  a  design 
on  the  cover  showing  a  woman  yoked  with  an  ox  to  the  plow, 
and,  looking  down  upon  them  a  girl  in  a  college  cap  and  gown 
with  the  inscription,  "Above  the  Senior  Wrangler,"  referring  to 
the  recent  victory  at  Cambridge  University,  England,  by  Philippa 
Fawcett,  in  outranking  the  male  student  who  stood  highest  in 
mathematics.  The  first  session  was  opened  by  the  singing  of 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Boynton  Harbert's  inspiring  hymn,  The  New 
America.  After  a  welcome  by  Mrs.  Ella  M.  S.  Marble,  president 
of  the  District  W.  S.  A.,  Miss  Anthony  read  the  address  of  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  who  was  in  England,  entitled,  The  Deg- 
radation of  Disfranchisement,  which  said  in  part : 

Disfranchisement  is  the  last  lingering  shadow  of  the  old  spirit  of 
caste  which  always  has  divided  humanity  into  classes  of  greater  or 
less  inferiority,  some  even  below  certain  animals  that  were  consid- 
ered special  favorites  with  Heaven.  One  can  not  contemplate  these 
revolting  distinctions  among  mankind  without  amazement  and  dis- 
gust. This  spirit  of  caste  which  has  darkened  the  lives  of  millions 
through  the  centuries  still  lives.  The  discriminations  against  color 
and  sex  in  the  United  States  are  but  other  forms  of  this  same  hate- 
ful spirit,  still  sustained  by  our  religion  as  in  the  past.  It  is  the  out- 
growth of  the  false  ideas  of  favoritism  ascribed  to  Deity  in  regard  to 
races  and  individuals,  but  which  have  their  origin  in  the  mind  of 
man.  Banish  the  idea  of  divine  authority  for  these  machinations  of 
the  human  mind,  and  the  power  of  the  throne  and  the  church,  of  a 
royal  family  and  an  apostolic  order  of  succession,  of  kings  and 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1891.  1 77 

queens,  of  popes  and  bishops,  and  man's  headship  in  the  State,  the 
Church,  and  the  Home  will  be  heard  of  no  more  forever 

All  men  of  intelligence  appreciate  the  power  of  holding  the  ballot 
in  their  own  hands ;  of  having  a  voice  in  the  laws  under  which  they 
live ;  of  enjoying  the  liberty  of  self-government.  Those  who  have 
known  the  satisfaction  of  wielding  political  influence  would  not  will- 
ingly accept  the  degradation  of  disfranchisement.  Yet  men  can  not 
understand  why  women  should  feel  aggrieved  at  being  deprived  of 
this  same  protection,  dignity  and  power.  This  is  the  Gibraltar  of 
our  difficulties  to-day.  We  can  not  make  men  see  that  women  feel 
the  humiliation  of  their  petty  distinctions  of  sex  precisely  as  the 
black  man  feels  those  of  color.  It  is  no  palliation  of  our  wrongs  to 
say  that  we  are  not  socially  ostracized  as  he  is,  so  long  as  we  are  po- 
litically ostracized  as  he  is  not.  That  all  orders  of  foreigners  also 
rank  politically  above  the  most  intelligent,  highly-educated  women — 
native-born  Americans — is  indeed  the  most  bitter  drop  in  the  cup  of 
our  grief  which  we  are  compelled  to  swallow 

Again,  the  degradation  of  woman  in  the  world  of  work  is  another 
result  of  her  disfranchisement.  Some  deny  that,  and  say  the  labor- 
ing classes  of  men  have  the  ballot  yet  they  are  still  helpless  victims 
of  capitalists.  They  have  the  power  and  hold  the  weapon  of 
defense  but  have  not  yet  learned  how  to  use  it.  The  bayonet,  the 
sword,  the  gun,  are  of  no  value  to  the  soldier  until  he  knows  how  to 
wield  them.  Yet  without  the  weapons  of  defense  what  could  indi- 
viduals and  nations  do  in  time  of  war  for  their  own  protection? 
The  first  step  in  learning  to  use  a  gun  or  a  ballot  is  to  possess 
one 

Man  has  the  prestige  of  centuries  in  his  favor,  with  the  force  to 
maintain  it,  and  he  has  possession  of  the  throne,  which  is  nine-tenths 
of  the  law.  He  has  statutes  and  Scriptures  and  the  universal  usages 
of  society  all  on  his  side.  What  have  women  ?  The  settled  dissat- 
isfaction of  half  the  race,  the  unorganized  protests  of  the  few,  and 
the  open  resistance  of  still  fewer.  But  we  have  truth  and  justice 
on  our  side  and  the  natural  love  of  freedom  and,  step  by  step,  we 
shall  undermine  the  present,  form  of  civilization  and  inaugurate  the 
mightiest  revolution  the  world  has  ever  witnessed.  But  its  far- 
reaching  consequences  themselves  increase  the  obstacles  in  the  way 
of  success,  for  the  selfish  interests  of  all  classes  are  against  us.  The 
rulers  in  the  State  are  not  willing  to  share  their  power  with  a  class 
over  whom  as  equals  they  could  never  obtain  absolute  control,  whose 
votes  they  could  not  manipulate  to  maintain  the  present  conditions 
of  injustice  and  oppression.  .... 

Again,  the  rulers  in  the  church  are  hostile  to  liberty  for  a  sex  sup- 
posed for  wise  purposes  to  have  been  subordinated  to  man  by  divine 
decree.  The  equality  of  woman  as  a  factor  in  religious  organiza- 
tions would  compel  an  entire  change  in  church  canons,  discipline,  au- 
thority, and  many  doctrines  of  the  Christian  faith.  As  a  matter  of 
self-preservation,  the  church  has  no  interest  in  the  emancipation  of 

woman,  as  its  very  existence  depends  on  her  blind  faith 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 12 


178  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Society  at  large,  based  on  the  principle  that  might  makes  right, 
has  in  a  measure  excluded  women  from  the  profitable  industries  of 
the  world,  and  where  she  has  gained  a  foothold  her  labor  is  at  a  dis- 
count. Man  occupies  the  ground  and  holds  the  key  to  the  situation. 
As  employer,  he  plays  the  cheap  labor  of  a  disfranchised  class 
against  the  employe,  thus  in  a  measure  undermining  his  independ- 
ence, making  wife  and  daughter  in  the  world  of  work  the  rivals  of 
husband  and  father. 

The  family,  too,  is  based  on  the  idea  of  woman's  subordination, 
and  man  has  no  interest,  as  far  as  he  sees,  in  emancipating  her  from 
that  despotism  by  which  his  narrow,  selfish  interests  are  maintained 
under  the  law  and  religion  of  the  country. 

Here,  then,  is  a  fourfold  bondage,  so  many  cords  tightly  twisted 
together,  strong  for  one  purpose.  To  attempt  to  undo  one  is  to 
loosen  all To  my  mind,  if  we  had  at  first  bravely  un- 
twisted all  the  strands  of  this  fourfold  cord  which  bound  us,  and  de- 
manded equality  in  the  whole  round  of  the  circle,  while  perhaps.  \ve 
should  have  had  a  harder  battle  to  fight,  it  would  have  been  more  ef- 
fective and  far  shorter.  Let  us  henceforth  meet  conservatives  on 
their  own  ground  and  admit  that  suffrage  for  woman  does  mean 
political,  religious,  industrial  and  social  freedom — a  new  and  a  high- 
er civilization 

Woman's  happiness  and  development  are  of  more  importance  than 
all  man's  institutions.  If  constitutions  and  statute  laws  stand  in 
the  way  of  woman's  emancipation,  they  must  be  amended  to  meet 
her  wants  and  needs,  of  which  she  is  a  better  judge  than  man  pos- 
sibly can  be.  If  church  canons  and  scriptures  do  not  admit  of 
woman's  equal  recognition  in  all  the  sacred  offices,  then  they  must 
be  revised  in  harmony  with  that  idea.  If  the  present  family  life  is 
necessarily  based  on  man's  headship,  then  we  must  build  a  new  do- 
mestic altar,  at  which  the  mother  shall  have  equal  dignity,  honor 
and  power ;  and  we  do  not  propose  to  wait  another  century  to  secure 
all  this ;  the  time  has  come 

Miss  Anthony,  with  an  allusion  to  pioneer  days,  then  intro- 
duced Lucy  Stone,  who,  amid  much  applause,  said  that,  while  this 
was  the  first  time  she  had  stood  beside  Susan  B.  Anthony  in  a 
Washington  suffrage  convention,  she  had  stood  beside  her  on 
more  than  one  hard-fought  battle-field  before  many  of  those  pres- 
ent were  born.  After  sketching  briefly  the  progress  of  the  last 
forty  years  and  giving  some  trying  personal  experiences,  she  said 
in  conclusion :  "The  vote  will  not  make  a  man  of  a  woman,  but 
it  will  enable  her  to  demand  and  receive  many  things  which  are 
hers  by  right ;  to  do  the  things  which  ought  to  be  done,  to  prevent 
what  ought  not  to  be  done.  Women  and  men  can  help  each 
other  in  making  the  world  better.  This  is  not  an  anti-man  move- 
ment, but  an  effort  toward  the  highest  good  of  the  race.  We  can 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1891.  179 

congratulate  ourselves  upon  what  we  have  gained,  but  the  root 
of  the  evil  still  remains — the  root  of  disfranchisement.  All  or- 
ganizations of  women  should  join  with  us  in  pulling  steadily  at 
this  deeply-planted  and  obstinate  root." 

Mrs.  Isabella  Beecher  Hooker  (Conn.)  read  an  able  paper  on 
Woman  in  Politics  and  Jurisprudence,  in  which  she  showed  the 
necessity  in  politics  and  in  law  of  a  combination  of  the  man's 
and  the  woman's  nature,  point  of  view  and  distinguishing  char- 
acteristics. 

The  second  evening  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe  gave  an  address 
on  The  Possibilities  of  the  American  Salon,  and  the  Rev.  Anna 
Garlin  Spencer  considered  The  Democratic  Principle.  Mrs. 
Spencer  pointed  out  that  the  reason  why  the  advance'  in  the  spe- 
cific line  of  woman  suffrage  had  not  been  so  great  as  in  some  other 
directions  was  because  its  advocates  had  to  contend  with  a  reaction 
of  disbelief  in  the  democratic  principle.  In  expressing  her  own 
faith  in  this  principle  she  said :  "There  are  wisdom  enough  and 
virtue  enough  in  this  country  to  take  care  of  all  its  ignorance 
and  wickedness.  The  difficulty  is  that  the  average  American  cit- 
izen does  not  know  that  he  wears  a  crown.  And  oh,  the  pity  of 
it,  and  the  shame  of  it,  when  some  of  us  women,  who  do  feel  the 
importance  of  the  duty  of  suffrage  and  who  need  no  man  to  teach 
us  patriotism,  wish  to  help  in  this  work  that  any  man  should  say 
us  nay !" 

Miss  Florence  Balgarnie,  who  brought  the  greetings  of  a  num- 
ber of  great  English  associations,*  gave  a  comprehensive  sketch 
of  The  Status  of  Women  in  England.  The  Rev.  Ida  C.  Hultin 
(Ills.)  followed  in  an  eloquent  appeal  that  there  should  be  no 
headship  of  either  man  or  woman  alone,  but  that  both  should  rep- 
resent humanity ;  government  is  a  development  of  humanity  and 
if  woman  is  human  she  has  an  equal  right  in  that  development. 
Mrs.  Ellen  Battelle  Dietrick  (Mass.)  showed  that  the  present 
supremacy  of  men  was  a  reaction  from  the  former  undue  su- 
premacy of  women,  and  brought  out  many  historical  points  of 
deep  interest.  Mrs.  Josephine  K.  Henry  spoke  on  The  Ken- 
tucky Constitutional  Convention,  illustrating  the  terrible  injus- 

*  The  Central  National  Society  for  Women's  Suffrage;  the  Women's  Franchise  Leagues 
of  Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  Bedford,  Bridgeport,  Leicester,  Nottingham  and  York;  the  Bristol 
Woman's  Temperance  Association;  the  International  Arbitration  and  Peace  Society;  the 
Woman  Councillors'  Society;  the  Women's  Federal  Association  of  Great  Britain. 


l8o  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

tice  of  the  laws  of  that  State  in  regard  to  women  and  the  vain 
efforts  of  the  latter  to  have  them  changed.  The  Rev.  Frederick 
A.  Hinckley  ( R.  I. )  lifted  the  audience  to  the  delectable  heights, 
taking  as  a  text,  "Husband  and  Wife  are  One."  After  illustrat- 
ing the  tendency  of  all  nature  and  all  science  toward  unity  and 
harmony,  he  said : 

Humanity  is  the  whole.  Men  alone  are  half  a  sphere;  women 
alone  half  a  sphere;  men  and  women  together  the  whole  of  truth, 
the  whole  of  love,  the  whole  of  aspiration.  We  have  come  to  recog- 
nize this  thought  in  nearly  all  the  walks  of  life.  We  want  to  ac- 
knowledge it  in  the  unity  of  mankind.  The  central  thought  we  need 
in  our  creeds  and  in  our  lives  is  that  of  the  solidarity  and  brother- 
hood of  the  race.  This  movement  derives  its  greatest  significance 
not  because  it  opens  a  place  here  and  there  for  women ;  not  because 
it  enables  women  to  help  men ;  but  because  in  all  the  concerns  of  life 
it  places  man  and  woman  side  by  side,  hand  in  hand,  shoulder  to 
shoulder,  putting  their  best  thought,  their  finest  feeling,  their  high- 
est aspiration,  into  the  work  of  the  world.  This  reflection  gives  us 
a  lasting  and  sublime  satisfaction  amid  defeat  and  derision.  What- 
ever of  fortune  or  misfortune  befalls  the  Suffrage  Association  in  the 
carrying  on  of  its  work,  this  belief  is  the  root  which  is  calculated  to 
sustain  and  inspire  us — that  this  movement  is  the  next  step  in  the 
progress  of  the  race  towards  the  unification  of  humanity 

I  look  forward  to  the  time  when  men  and  women,  labor  and  cap- 
ital, all  classes  and  all  sections,  shall  work  side  by  side  with  one 
great  co-operative  spirit,  the  denizens  of  the  world  and  the  keepers 
of  human  progress.  When  that  time  comes  we  may  not  have 
reached  the  millennium  but  we  shall  be  nearer  to  it.  We  shall  then 
together  establish  justice,  temperance,  purity  of  life,  as  never  has 
been  done  before.  Earth's  aspirations  then  shall  grow  to  events. 
The  indescribable — that  shall  then  be  done. 

U.  S.  Senator  Joseph  M.  Carey  was  introduced  by  Miss  An- 
thony as  "the  man  who  on  the  floor  of  Congress  fought  Wyom- 
ing's battle  for  Statehood."  His  address  on  Wyoming,  the  True 
Republic,  was  a  leading  feature  of  the  convention.  He  said  in 
part: 

On  the  tenth  day  of  July  last,  the  State  of  Wyoming  was  born 
and  the  forty-fourth  star  took  its  place  on  the  old  flag.  Never  was 
first-born  more  warmly  welcomed,  for  not  only  had  a  commonwealth 
been  created,  but  the  principle  of  equality  of  citizenship  without 
regard  to  sex  had  been  fully  recognized  and  incorporated  as  a  part 
of  the  constitution  of  the  new  State. 

The  adoption  of  a  woman  suffrage  bill  by  the  first  Territorial 
Legislature  was  graphically  described,  and  after  relating  the  sub- 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1891.  l8l 

sequent  efforts  for  its  repeal,  and  its  incorporation  finally  into 
the  State  constitution,  he  told  of  the  struggle  in  Congress  and 
said: 

While  I  would  not  make  invidious  distinctions  by  giving  the 
names  of  those  in  both  branches  of  Congress  who  favored  Wyom- 
ing's admission,  I  wish  to  say  that  I  was  agreeably  surprised  to  have 
many  of  the  ablest  members,  both  in  public  and  private,  disclose  the 
fact  that  they  firmly  believed  the  time  would  come  when  women 
would  be  permitted  to  exercise  full  political  rights  throughout  the 
United  States.  They  rejoiced  that  an  opportunity  had  presented  it- 
self by  which  they  could  show  they  had  no  prejudice  or  opposition  in 
their  hearts  to  women's  exercising  the  rights  of  citizenship. 

He  closed  with  the  following  strong  argument  for  the  enfran- 
chisement of  women : 

Suffrage  should  be  granted  to  women  for  two  reasons :  first,  be- 
cause it  will  help  women ;  and  second,  because  it  will  promote  the 
interests  of  the  State.  Whatever  doubt  I  may  have  entertained  in 
the  past  concerning  either  the  first  or  second  proposition,  has  entire- 
ly disappeared.  From  the  experiment  made  under  my  own  eyes  I 
can  state  in  all  candor  that  suffrage  has  been  a  real  benefit  to 
women.  It  gives  them  a  character  and  standing  which  they  would 
not  otherwise  possess.  It  does  not  lower  a  woman  to  be  consulted 
about  public  affairs,  but  is  calculated  to  make  her  more  intelligent 
and  thoughtful  in  matters  that  concern  her  own  household,  especial- 
ly in  bringing  up  her  sons  and  daughters.  It  increases  her  interest 
in  those  things  which  concern  the  great  body  of  the  people.  Men  in 
office  and  out  of  office,  particularly  those  who  expect  to  serve  the 
public,  are  compelled  to  be  more  considerate  of  her  wishes,  and  more 
desirous  of  doing  those  things  which  will  secure  her  approval.  The 
greater  the  number  of  persons  living  under  a  government  who  are 
interested  in  the  administration  of  its  affairs,  its  well-being  and  the 
perpetuity  of  its  institutions,  the  stronger  the  government  and  the 
more  difficult  it  will  be  to  compass  its  overthrow 

We  frequently  hear  it  said  that  women  will  not  vote  if  they  have 
the  opportunity ;  or,  if  permitted  to  vote,  such  an  inconsiderable 
number  will  exercise  the  privilege  that  it  will  not  be  worth  while  ta 
encumber  the  electoral  system  by  granting  it.  In  all  matters  in 
which  women  have  an  interest,  as  large  a  percentage  vote  as  of  the 
other  sex.  They  have  the  same  interest  in  all  which  pertains  to 
good  government.  They  have  exercised  the  privilege  of  voting  not 
in  a  careless  and  indifferent  manner  but  in  a  way  reflecting  credit  on 
their  good  sense  and  judgment. 

I  know  women  who  have  exercised  the  fullest  political  rights  for 
a  period  of  more  than  twenty  years.  They  have  taken  the  deepest 
interest  in  the  political  affairs  of  the  Territory  and  young  State. 
Neither  in  their  homes  nor  in  public  places  have  they  lost  one  wo- 


1 82  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

manly  quality ;  but  their  minds  have  broadened  and  they  have  be- 
come more  influential  in  the  community  in  which  they  live.  During 
these  years  I  have  never  heard  of  any  unhappiness  brought  into  the 
home  on  account  of  women's  exercising  their  political  rights.  A 
fair  and  unbiased  test  of  this  question  has  been  made  by  the  people 
of  Wyoming,  and  no  unprejudiced  man  or  woman  who  has  seen  its 
workings,  can  now  raise  a  single  honest  objection.  Where  women 
have  voted,  the  family  relation  has  not  been  destroyed,  men  have 
loved  them  none  the  less,  the  mountains  have  not  been  shaken  from 
their  foundations,  nor  have  social  earthquakes  or  political  convul- 
sions taken  place 

In  order  that  women  shall  be  more  influential  citizens  of  the  State 
and  better  qualified  to  raise  noble  men  and  women  to  fight  the  bat- 
tles of  life,  and  to  carry  out  the  true  purpose  of  this  republic,  they 
must  possess  the  full  rights  of  citizenship. 

At  the  close  of  his  speech  the  Senator  was  presented  with  a 
large  basket  of  roses  from  the  delegates. 

Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  (N.Y.)  spoke  on  The  Right  of  a 
Citizen  to  a  Trial  by  a  Jury  of  His  Peers,  showing  that  women 
never  have  possessed  this  right ;  that  in  many  criminal  cases,  such 
as  seduction  and  infanticide,  women  could  better  understand  the 
temptations  than  could  men ;  that  the  feminine  heart,  the  maternal 
influence,  are  needed  in  the  court-room  as  well  as  in  the  home. 
Mrs.  Lida  A.  Meriwether  (Tenn.)  spoke  in  a  keen,  sarcastic 
but  humorous  manner  of  The  Silent  Seven,  "the  legally  mute" — 
minors,  aliens,  paupers,  criminals,  lunatics,  idiots  and  women. 

The  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  took  for  her  subject  Women  vs. 
Indians,  and  reviewed  the  suffrage  amendment  campaign  in 
South  Dakota  the  previous  year.  In  an  address  brimming  and 
bubbling  over  with  wit,  satire  and  pathos,  she  showed  how  much 
greater  consideration  the  Indians  received  from  the  men  of  that 
State  than  did  women.  She  told  how  45  per  cent,  of  the  votes 
cast  the  preceding  year  were  for  male  Indian  suffrage  and  only 
37  per  cent,  for  woman  suffrage;  how  Indians  in  blankets  and 
moccasins  were  received  in  the  State  convention  with  the  greatest 
courtesy,  and  Susan  B.  Anthony  and  other  eminent  women  were 
barely  tolerated ;  how,  while  these  Indians  were  engaged  in  their 
ghost  dances,  the  white  women  were  going  up  and  down  the 
State  pleading  for  the  rights  of  citizens ;  how  the  law  in  that  State 
gives  not  only  the  property  but  the  children  to  the  husband,  in 
the  face  of  all  the  hardships  endured  by  those  pioneer  wives  and 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1 89 1.  183 

mothers.  She  suggested  that  the  solution  of  the  Indian  question 
should  be  left  to  a  commission  of  women  with  Alice  Fletcher  at 
its  head,  and  said  in  closing:  "Let  all  of  us  who  love  liberty 
solve  these  problems  in  justice ;  and  let  us  mete  out  to  the  Indian, 
to  the  negro,  to  the  foreigner,  and  to  the  woman,  the  justice 
which  we  demand  for  ourselves,  the  liberty  which  we  love  for  our- 
selves. Let  us  recognize  in  each  of  them  that  One  above,  the 
Father  of  us  all,  and  that  all  are  brothers,  all  are  one." 

The  Moral  and  Political  Emergency  was  presented  by  Mrs. 
Emma  Smith  DeVoe  (S.  D.).  Henry  B.  Blackwell  and  Mrs. 
Alice  M.  A.  Pickler  described  the  South  Dakota  Campaign.  Rep- 
resentative J.  A.  Pickler  was  introduced  by  Miss  Anthony  as  the 
candidate  who,  when  told  that  if  he  expressed  his  views  on 
woman  suffrage  he  would  lose  votes,  expressed  them  more  freely 
than  ever  and  ran  ahead  of  his  ticket ;  and  his  wife  as  the  woman 
who  bade  her  husband  to  speak  even  if  it  lost  him  the  office,  and 
who  was  herself  the  only  Congressman's  wife  that  ever  took  the 
platform  for  the  enfranchisement  of  women. 

Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby  took  for  her  subject  Ibsen's 
drama,  A  Doll's  House,  and  discussed  its  ethical  problems,  clos- 
ing with  the  sentence:  "As  long  as  the  fighting  qualities  of 
woman  remain,  there  is  a  chance  for  the  nation  to  make  a  robust, 
steady  progress;  but  if  these  die  out  and  woman  willingly  sur- 
renders herself  for  the  sake  of  selfish  ease  to  the  dominance  of 
man,  civilization  is  arrested  and  true  manhood  becomes  impossi- 
ble." The  convention  ended  with  a  scholarly  address  by  Wm. 
Lloyd  Garrison  (Mass.)  on  The  Social  Aspect  of  the  Woman 
Question. 

The  present  officers  were  re-elected.  Mrs.  Lucia  E.  Blount 
(D.  C.),  chairman  of  the  committee  appointed  to  push  the  claim 
of  Anna  Ella  Carroll,  reported  that  a  great  deal  of  work  had  been 
done  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Melvin  A.  Root  of  Michigan,  Mrs.  Colby 
and  herself.  Every  possible  effort  had  been  made  but  the  pros- 
pect was  that  Congress  would  do  nothing  for  Miss  Carroll.  Miss 
Frances  E.  Willard  brought  an  invitation  from  Mrs.  Harrison 
to  the  National  Council  of  Women  and  the  members  of  all  its 
auxiliary  societies  to  attend  a  reception  at  the  White  House,  which 
was  accepted  by  the  convention.  Mrs.  Ellen  M.  Henrotin  pre- 


184  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

sented  in  the  name  of  Mrs.  Bertha  Honore  Palmer  an  official 
invitation  to  the  association  to  meet  in  Chicago  during  the  Colum- 
bian Exposition,  promising  a  hall  which  would  seat  five  thousand. 

Miss  Anthony  announced  that  she  had  engaged  permanent 
headquarters  for  the  association  in  the  Wimodaughsis  club  build- 
ing, which  action  was  ratified.  It  was  decided  to  give  especial 
attention  to  suffrage  work  in  the  Southern  States  during  the 
year.  The  wives  of  the  two  senators  from  Wyoming,  Mrs. 
Warren  and  Mrs.  Carey,  occupied  seats  on  the  platform. 

Mrs.  Blake  reported  the  work  done  by  the  Platform  Committee 
in  having  suffrage  resolutions  endorsed  by  a  large  number  of 
Labor  Unions.  Miss  Sara  Winthrop  Smith  had  been  equally 
successful  in  Granges  and  branches  of  the  Knights  of  Labor. 
Dr.  Frances  Dickinson,  Dr.  Lucy  Waite,  Mrs.  Corinne  S.  Brown 
and  Mrs.  Colby  had  visited  the  National  Convention  of  Locomo- 
tive Engineers  and  secured  the  endorsement  of  a  suffrage  pe- 
tition. They  obtained  also  the  cordial  approval  of  T.  V.  Pow- 
derly  and  the  Knights  of  Labor,  and  of  Samuel  Gompers  and 
the  Federation  of  Labor.  The  Illinois  Trade  and  Labor  Assem- 
bly endorsed  their  petition.  All  of  these  bodies  circulated  suf- 
frage petitions  among  their  members,  as  also  did  the  Illinois 
Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association  and  the  Grand  Army 
Posts,  a  number  of  which  were  reported  as  heartily  recommend- 
ing the  enfranchisement  of  women.  Signatures  representing 
millions  of  voters  were  thus  obtained.* 

In  addition  to  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  convention  bear- 
ing directly  on  suffrage,  there  was  a  demand  for  women  on 
school  boards  and  as  physicians,  matrons  and  managers  in  all 
public  institutions  containing  women  and  children;  and  for  a 
revision  of  the  laws  on  marriage  and  property. 

On  Sunday  afternoon  a  great  audience  assembled  for  the  clos- 
ing exercises.  The  sermon  was  given  by  the  Rev.  Caroline  J. 
Bartlett  from  the  text,  "The  night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is  at 
hand."  It  had  been  said  on  the  preceding  Sunday  that  the  ser- 
mon of  Miss  Hultin  could  not  be  equalled.  The  verdict  now  was 
that  the  honors  must  be  evenly  divided. 

•  The  funds  necessary  for  this  work  were  furnished  by  J.  W.  Hedenberg  of  Chicago, 
who  also  made  a  personal  appeal  to  many  of  these  bodies;  but  he  claimed  possession  of  the 
petitions,  and  for  some  reason  never  permitted  them  to  be  presented  to  Congress. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  AND  HEARINGS  OF  1892. 

The  Twenty-fourth  annual  woman  suffrage  convention,  held 
in  the  Church  of  Our  Father,  Washington,  D.  C,  Jan.  17-21, 
1892,  was  preceded  by  the  usual  services  at  three  o'clock  on  Sun- 
day afternoon.  The  text  of  the  sermon,  by  the  Rev.  Mila  Tup- 
per,  was  "Think  on  these  things"  and  it  was  devoted  to  a  lofty 
consideration  of  "success  through  the  moral  power  of  ideals." 
Unexpectedly  the  congressional  hearings  were  set  for  Monday 
morning,  which  called  to  the  Capitol  both  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady 
Stanton  and  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  president  and  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  association.  The  convention  was  called  to  order  by 
the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  and  Mrs.  Caroline  McCullough 
Everhard  ( O. )  was  made  chairman  pro  tern.  Twenty-six  States 
were  represented  by  seventy-six  delegates,  the  reports  showed  a 
year  of  unprecedented  activity  and  there  were  requests  from  every 
State  for  speakers  and  organizers.  The  treasurer  reported  re- 
ceipts for  the  past  year,  $3,830. 

The  executive  sessions  throughout  the  convention  were  spir- 
ited and  interesting.  After  some  discussion  it  was  decided  to 
carry  the  work  into  the  Southern  States,  and  also  to  appropriate 
money  and  workers  for  Kansas,  where  it  was  likely  that  an 
amendment  for  full  suffrage  soon  would  be  submitted.  It  was 
voted  to  accept  the  space  offered  at  the  Columbian  Exposition, 
to  furnish  and  decorate  a  booth,  circulate  literature,  etc.  The 
motion  to  have  the  next  meeting  in  Chicago  during  the  Fair  re- 
newed the  question  of  holding  alternate  conventions  in  some 
other  city  besides  Washington,  but  the  measure  was  defeated. 

Mrs.  Stanton  introduced  a  resolution  in  favor  of  keeping  the 
World's  Fair  open  on  Sunday,  which  was  advocated  and  opposed 
with  great  earnestness.  The  majority  of  opinion  evidently  was 
in  favor  of  opening  the  gates  on  Sunday  but  many  felt  that  the 

18-, 


1 86  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

subject  was  not  germane  to  the  purposes  of  the  association, 
while  others  were  conscientiously  opposed  to  Sunday  opening. 
Finally,  in  the  midst  of  the  controversy  Mrs.  Stanton  withdrew 
her  resolution,  saying  that  she  had  offered  it  largely  for  the  sake 
of  discussion.  Miss  Shaw  presented  a  resolution  opposing  the 
sale  of  intoxicating  liquor  on  the  Fair  Grounds,  saying  that  she 
did  so  as  a  matter  of  conscience  and  in  order  that  it  might  go  on 
record.  It  was  voted  to  call  an  international  suffrage  meeting 
at  Chicago  during  the  Columbian  Exposition.  Miss  Anthony 
urged  more  systematic  organization,  special  efforts  with  the 
Legislatures,  the  securing  of  a  Woman's  Day  at  all  Chautauqua 
Assemblies,  county  fairs,  camp  meetings,  etc. 

At  the  earnest  request  of  Mrs.  Stanton,  who  had  now  reached 
the  age  of  seventy-six,  she  was  permitted  to  retire  from  the 
presidency,  and  Miss  Anthony,  aged  seventy-two,  was  elected  in 
her  place.  The  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  was  made  vice-presi- 
dent-at-large.  Lucy  Stone,  who  was  now  seventy-four,  begged  to 
be  released  as  chairman  of  the  executive  committee,  which  was 
then  abolished,  the  duties  being  transferred  to  the  business  com- 
mittee consisting  of  all  the  officers  of  the  association.  Mrs. 
Stanton  and  Mrs.  Stone  were  made  honorary  presidents. 

This  was  Mrs.  Stanton's  last  appearance  at  a  national  con- 
vention after  an  attendance  of  forty  years,  but  she  never  failed  to 
take  an  active  interest  in  the  proceedings  and  to  send  her  speech 
to  be  read  by  Miss  Anthony.  This  also  was  the  last  time  Lucy 
Stone  appeared  upon  the  national  platform,  as  she  died  the  next 
year,  and  Miss  Anthony  alone,  of  this  remarkable  trio  of  women, 
was  left  to  carry  forward  the  great  work. 

The  addresses  of  this  convention  were  up  to  the  high  standard 
of  those  which  had  preceded  them  during  the  past  years,  and  no 
organization  in  existence,  of  either  men  or  women,  can  show  a 
more  brilliant  record  of  oratory.  As  Mrs.  Stanton,  Lucy  Stone 
and  Miss  Anthony  came  on  the  platform  the  first  evening  they 
were  enthusiastically  applauded.  The  mental  and  physical  vigor 
of  Mrs.  Stanton  was  much  commented  upon  as  in  a  rich  and 
resonant  voice  she  read  the  speech  which  she  had  that  morning 
delivered  before  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  House.  It  was 
entitled  The  Solitude  of  Self,  and  is  considered  by  many  to  be 
her  masterpiece. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1892.  1 87 

Lucy  Stone  discussed  The  Outlook  with  clear  vision.  She  con- 
trasted the  woman  of  the  past,  her  narrow  life,  her  limited  educa- 
tion, her  inferior  position,  with  the  educated,  ambitious,  indepen- 
dent woman  of  to-day,  and  urged  that  the  latter  should  be  equal 
to  her  opportunities,  lay  aside  all  frivolous  things  and  labor  un- 
ceasingly to  secure  for  her  sex  an  absolute  equality  of  civil  and 
political  rights. 

In  the  half-humorous  address  of  Mrs.  Caroline  Hallowell 
Miller  ( Md. )  on  The  Golden  Rule,  she  said : 

I  am  firmly  convinced  that  our  present  powerless — I  may  almost 
say  ignominious — position  arises  not  so  much,  as  many  aver,  from 
the  lukewarmness  of  our  own  sex  as  from  the  supreme  and  absolute 
indifference  of  men.  With  a  few  honorable  exceptions',  men  do  not 
care  one  iota  whether  we  vote  or  not 

Xow  if  only  men  would  take  to  betting  on  this  question  of  woman 
suffrage,  if  we  could  open  it  up  as  a  field  of  speculation,  if  we  could 
manipulate  it  by  some  sort  of  patent  process  into  stocks  or  bonds 
and  have  it  introduced  into  Wall  Street,  we  should  very  soon  find 
ourselves  emancipated.  I  keep  on  hoping  that,  by  some  fortuitous 
chance,  fate  may  eventually  execute  for  us  as  brilliant  a  coup  d'etat 
as  did  General  Butler  for  the  colored  slaves  when  he  made  them 
contraband  of  war,  so  that  we  shall  just  tumble  into  freedom  as  they 
did  very  soon  thereafter.  Until  then  let  us  trust  in  God,  keep  our 
powder  very  dry  and  our  armies  well  drilled  and  disciplined. 

In  an  inspiring  address  on  The  True  Daughters  of  the  Repub- 
lic, Mme.  Clara  Neymann  (N.  Y.)  pointed  out  the  splendid 
material  progress  of  our  country  under  the  guidance  of  men, 
and  urged  that  women  should  be  the  power  to  lift  it  up  to  an 
equally  exalted  spiritual  plane.  The  paper  of  Mrs.  Clara  Bewick 
Colby  (D.  C.)  on  Wyoming,  in  which  as  a  Territory  women 
had  voted  for  twenty  years  and  as  a  State  for  two  years,  pre- 
sented a  most  convincing  array  of  statistics  proving  the  benefits 
of  equal  suffrage.  •  Ex-Governor  John  W.  Hoyt  of  Wyoming 
came  to  the  platform  and  corroborated  these  statements,  paying 
a  fine  tribute  to  the  political  influence  of  women.  He  was  fol- 
lowed by  Mrs.  Lida  A.  Meriwether  (Tenn.),  whose  reputation 
as  a  humorist  was  fully  sustained  in  her  clever  portrayal  of 
Dreams  that  Go  by  Contraries.  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt 
(N.  Y.)  gave  a  brilliant  address  on  The  Mission  of  a  Republic. 

In  discussing  The  Value  of  Organizations  for  Women,  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Lyle  Saxon  (La.)  said: 


1 88  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Among  the  various  organizations  of  women  the  suffrage  society 
must  rank  first,  for  its  demands  have  reached  out  and  embraced 
even'  reform  which  comes  under  the  head  of  right,  justice  or  char- 
ity ;  and  I  am  firmly  persuaded  that  if  the  demand  for  the  ballot,  the 
full  right  of  citizenship,  had  not  been  made  the  foundation  of  all 
other  advantages,  our  organization  would  have  fallen  apart  and 
drifted  into  the  more  conservative  and  popular  lines  along  which  less 
courageous  women  have  successfully  worked 

Financial  independence  has  been  gained  by  many  women,  who, 
proud  of  their  own  success,  never  try  to  benefit  others,  and  fail  to 
comprehend  the  debt  they  owe  to  the  brave,  unselfish  ones  who 
first  made  demands  for  them  and  who  never  ceased  their  efforts  until 
one  after  another  the  barriers  were  removed  and  opportunities  se- 
cured for  thousands  which  they  never  could  have  found  themselves. 
It  was  this  stanch  band  of  pioneers,  defying  criticism,  scorn  and 
hate,  who  forced  open  college  doors,  invaded  the  law  courts  and 
stubbornly  contested  every  inch  of  ground  so  persistently  held  by 
fraud  or  force  from  the  daughters  of  the  great  republic 

Organized  as  women  now  are,  they  could  pour  such  an  over- 
whelming moral  influence  into  the  political  life  of  the  country  as  to 
become  its  saving  grace ;  for  when  women  vote  they  will  show  good 
men,  who  have  weakly  shrunk  from  political  duty,  that  they  have  a 
moral  and  clean  constituency  to  stand  with  them. 

The  platform  proceedings  of  the  convention  closed  with  Miss 
Shaw's  splendid  delineation  of  The  Injustice  of  Chivalry. 

Every  suffrage  convention  for  the  last  twelve  years  had  been 
preceded  by  a  handsome  reception  at  the  Riggs  House.  This 
well-known  and  commodious  hotel  had  been  the  convention  head- 
quarters, and  it  also  had  been  the  winter  home  of  Miss  Anthony, 
where  she  remained  as  a  guest  of  the  proprietor,  C.  W.  Spofford, 
and  his  wife,  being  thus  enabled  to  do  a  vast  amount  of  congres- 
sional and  political  work,  such  as  never  has  been  done  since.  The 
hotel  now  had  passed  into  other  hands  and  the  Washington  Post, 
in  speaking  of  this  matter,  said:  "The  delegates  feel  like  lost 
sheep  without  Mrs.  Spofford's  hospitality  at  the  Riggs  House, 
which  has  always  been  headquarters  for  suffragist  and  all  wom- 
en's conventions.  Probably  no  one  but  those  in  the  inner  circle 
will  ever  know  just  how  much  Mrs.  Spofford  has  done  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  women  in  every  direction.  Whatever  was  hers 
was  at  the  disposal  of  the  leaders,  and  in  the  absence  of  so  much 
assistance  it  is  appreciated  more  nearly  at  its  real  worth." 

The  new  club  house  of  Wimodaughsis  was  opened  for  a  recep- 
tion to  the  delegates  by  the  District  W.  S.  A.,  with  Miss  An- 


MRS.  ELIZABETH  CADY  STANTON, 
Honorary  President  of  National-American  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1892.  189 

thony,  Lucy  Stone,  Mrs.  Stanton,  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  and  Miss 
Shaw,  president  of  Wimodaughsis,  as  guests  of  honor.  All  made 
clever  little  speeches  toward  the  close  of  the  evening,  which  were 
supplemented  with  remarks  by  Senator  Joseph  M.  Carey  ( Wy. ) , 
Representatives  J.  A.  Pickler  (S.  D.),  Martin  N.  Johnson  (N. 
D. )  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Corey  of  the  Metropolitan  church. 

The  hearing  on  January  17  was  held  for  the  first  time  before 
a  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  House,  the  majority  of  which 
was  Democratic.*  The  Washington  Star  said:  "The  new- 
members  of  the  committee  were  apparently  surprised  at  receiv- 
ing such  a  talk  from  a  woman  and  there  was  the  most  marked 
attention  on  the  part  of  every  one  present.  Their  surprise  was 
still  greater  when  they  found  that  Mrs.  Stanton  was  not  a  phe- 
nomenal exception,  but  that  every  woman  there  could  make  an 
argument  which  would  do  credit  to  the  best  of  public  men." 

The  hearing  before  the  Senate  Committee  on  Woman  Suffrage 
was  held  the  morning  of  February  20.  Four  of  the  greatest 
women  this  nation  ever  produced  addressed  this  committee,  ask- 
ing for  themselves  and  their  sex  a  privilege  which  is  freely 
granted  without  the  asking  to  every  man,  no  matter  how  hum- 
ble, how  ignorant,  how  unworthy,  who  is  not  included  within 
the  category  of  the  insane,  the  idiotic,  the  convicted  criminal — 
Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Lucy  Stone,  Isabella 
Beecher  Hooker.  Mrs.  Stanton  ( N.  Y. )  gave  her  address,  The 
Solitude  of  Self,  in  place  of  the  old  arguments  so  many  times 
repeated,  saying  in  part : 

The  point  I  wish  plainly  to  bring  before  you  on  this  occasion  is 
the  individuality  of  each  human  soul — our  Protestant  idea,  the  right 
of  individual  conscience  and  judgment — our  republican  idea,  indi- 
vidual citizenship.  In  discussing  the  rights  of  woman,  we  are  to 
consider,  first,  what  belongs  to  her  as  an  individual,  in  a  world  of 
her  own,  the  arbiter  of  her  own  destiny,  an  imaginary  Robinson 
Crusoe  with  her  woman  Friday  on  a  solitary  island.  Her  rights 
under  such  circumstances  are  to  use  all  her  faculties  for  her  own 
safety  and  happiness. 

Secondly,  if  we  consider  her  as  a  citizen,  as  a  member  of  a  great 

•David  B.  Culberson,  Tex.;  William  C.  Gates,  Ala.;  Thomas  R.  Stockdale,  Miss.; 
Charles  J.  Boatner,  La.;  Isaac  H.  Goodnight,  Ky. ;  John  A.  Buchanan,  Va. ;  William  D. 
Bynum,  Ind. ;  Alfred  C.  Chapin,  N.  Y.;  Fernando  C.  Layton,  O. ;  Simon  P.  Wolverton, 
Penn. ;  Case  Broderick,  Kan.;  James  Buchanan,  N.  J.;  George  W.  Ray,  N.  Y. ;  H.  Henry 
Powers,  Vt 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

nation,  she  must  have  the  same  rights  as  all  other  members,  accord- 
ing to  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  Government. 

Thirdly,  viewed  as  a  woman,  an  equal  factor  in  civilization,  her 
rights  and  duties  are  still  the  same — individual  happiness  and  devel- 
opment. 

Fourthly,  it  is  only  the  incidental  relations  of  life,  such  as  mother, 
wife,  sister,  daughter,  which  may  involve  some  special  duties  and 
training.  In  the  usual  discussion  in  regard  to  woman's  sphere,  such 
men  as  Herbert  Spencer,  Frederick  Harrison  and  Grant  Allen  uni- 
formly subordinate  her  rights  and  duties  as  an  individual,  as  a  citi- 
zen, as  a  woman,  to  the  necessities  of  these  incidental  relations,  some 
of  which  a  large  class  of  women  never  assume.  In  discussing  the 
sphere  of  man  we  do  not  decide  his  rights  as  an  individual,  as  a  citi- 
zen, as  a  man,  by  his  duties  as  a  father,  a  husband,  a  brother  or  a 
son,  some  of  which  he  may  never  undertake.  Moreover  he  would 
be  better  fitted  for  these  very  relations,  and  whatever  special  work 
he  might  choose  to  do  to  earn  his  bread,  by  the  complete  develop- 
ment of  all  his  faculties  as  an  individual.  Just  so  with  woman. 
The  education  which  will  fit  her  to  discharge  the  duties  in  the  larg- 
est sphere  of  human  usefulness,  will  best  fit  her  for  whatever  special 
work  she  may  be  compelled  to  do. 

The  isolation  of  every  human  soul  and  the  necessity  of  self-de- 
pendence must  give  each  individual  the  right  to  choose  his  own  sur- 
roundings. The  strongest  reason  for  giving  woman  all  the  oppor- 
tunities for  higher  education,  for  the  full  development  of  her  facul- 
ties, her  forces  of  mind  and  body ;  for  giving  her  the  most  enlarged 
freedom  of  thought  and  action;  a  complete  emancipation  from  all 
forms  of  bondage,  of  custom,  dependence,  superstition ;  from  all  the 
crippling  influences  of  fear — is  the  solitude  and  personal  responsi- 
bility of  her  own  individual  life.  The  strongest  reason  why  we  ask 
for  woman  a  voice  in  the  government  under  which  she  lives ;  in  the 
religion  she  is  asked  to  believe ;  equality  in  social  life,  where  she  is 
the  chief  factor;  a  place  in  the  trades  and  professions,  where  she 
may  earn  her  bread,  is  because  of  her  birthright  to  self-sovereignty ; 
because,  as  an  individual,  she  must  rely  on  herself 

To  throw  obstacles  in  the  way  of  a  complete  education  is  like  put- 
ting out  the  eyes ;  to  deny  the  rights  of  property  is  like  cutting  off 
the  hands.  To  refuse  political  equality  is  to  rob  the  ostracized  of  all 
self-respect,  of  credit  in  the  market  place,  of  recompense  in  the 
world  of  work,  of  a  voice  in  choosing  those  who  make  and  adminis- 
ter the  law,  a  choice  in  the  jury  before  whom  they  are  tried,  and  in 
the  judge  who  decides  their  punishment.  Shakespeare's  play  of 
Titus  and  Andronicus  contains  a  terrible  satire  on  woman's  position 
in  the  nineteenth  century — "Rude  men  seized  the  king's  daughter, 
cut  out  her  tongue,  cut  off  her  hands,  and  then  bade  her  go  call  for 
water  and  wash  her  hands."  What  a  picture  of  woman's  position ! 
Robbed  of  her  natural  rights,  handicapped  by  law  and  custom  at 
every  turn,  yet  compelled  to  fight  her  own  battles,  and  in  the  emer- 
gencies of  life  to  fall  back  on  herself  for  protection 

How  the  little  courtesies  of  life  on  the  surface  of  society,  deemed 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1892. 

so  important  from  man  towards  woman,  fade  into  utter  insignifi- 
cance in  view  of  the  deeper  tragedies  in  which  she  must  play  her  part 
alone,  where  no  human  aid  is  possible ! 

Nothing  strengthens  the  judgment  and  quickens  the  conscience 
like  individual  responsibility.  Nothing  adds  such  dignity  to  char- 
acter as  the  recognition  of  one's  self-sovereignty ;  the  right  to  an 
equal  place,  everywhere  conceded — a  place  earned  by  personal  merit, 
not  an  artificial  attainment  by  inheritance,  wealth,  family  and  posi- 
tion. Conceding  then  that  the  responsibilities  of  life  rest  equally 
on  man  and  woman,  that  their  destiny  is  the  same,  they  need  the 
same  preparation  for  time  and  eternity.  The  talk  of  sheltering 
woman  from  the  fierce  storms  of  life  is  the  sheerest  mockery,  for 
they  beat  on  her  from  every  point  of  the  compass,  just  as  they  do  on 
man,  and  with  more  fatal  results,  for  he  has  been  trained  to  protect 
himself,  to  resist,  to  conquer 

In  music  women  speak  again  the  language  of  Mendelssohn,  Bee- 
thoven, Chopin,  Schumann,  and  are  worthy  interpreters  of  their 
great  thoughts.  The  poetry  and  novels  of  the  century  are  theirs, 
and  they  have  touched  the  keynote  of  reform  in  religion,  politics  and 
social  life.  They  fill  the  editor's  and  professor's  chair,  plead  at  the 
bar  of  justice,  walk  the  wards  of  the  hospital,  speak  from  the  pulpit 
and  the  platform.  Such  is  the  type  of  womanhood  that  an  enlight- 
ened public  sentiment  welcomes  to-day,  and  such  the  triumph  of  the 
fac  ts  of  life  over  the  false  theories  of  the  past. 

Is  it,  then,  consistent  to  hold  the  developed  woman  of  this  day 
within  the  same  narrow  political  limits  as  the  dame  with  the  spin- 
ning wheel  and  knitting  needle  occupied  in  the  past  ?  No,  no !  Ma- 
chinery has  taken  the  labors  of  woman  as  well  as  man  on  its  tireless 
shoulders ;  the  loom  and  the  spinning  wheel  are  but  dreams  of  the 
past ;  the  pen,  the  brush,  the  easel,  the  chisel,  have  taken  their  places, 
while  the  hopes  and  ambitions  of  women  are  essentially  changed. 

We  see  reason  sufficient  in  the  outer  conditions  of  human  beings 
for  individual  liberty  and  development,  but  when  we  consider  the 
self-dependence  of  every  human  soul,  we  see  the  need  of  courage, 
judgment  and  the  exercise  of  every  faculty  of  mind  and  body, 
strengthened  and  developed  by  use,  in  woman  as  well  as  man 

With  the  earnest  persuasiveness  for  which  she  had  been  noted 
nearly  half  a  century,  Lucy  Stone  (Mass.)  said: 

I  come  before  this  committee  with  the  sense  which  I  always  feel, 
that  we  are  handicapped  as  women  in  what  we  try  to  do  for  our- 
selves by  the  single  fact  that  we  have  no  vote.  This  cheapens  us. 
You  do  not  care  so  much  for  us  as  if  we  had  votes,  so  that  we  come 
always  with  that  infinite  disadvantage. 

But  the  thing  I  want  to  say  particularly  is  that  we  have  our  im- 
mortal Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  various  bills  of  rights 
of  the  different  States  (George  Washington  advised  us  to  recur 
often  to  first  principles),  and  in  these  nothing  is  clearer  than  the 
basis  of  the  claim  that  women  should  have  equal  rights  with  men. 
A  complete  government  is  a  perfectly  just  government 


I92  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

What  I  desire  particularly  to  impress  upon  this  committee  is  the 
gross  and  grave  injustice  of  holding  thirty  millions  of  women  abso- 
lutely helpless  under  the  Government.  The  laws  touch  us  at  every 
point.  From  the  time  the  girl  baby  is  born  until  the  time  the  aged 
woman  makes  her  last  will  and  testament,  there  is  not  one  of  her  af- 
fairs which  the  law  does  not  control.  It  says  who  shall  own  the 
property,  and  what  rights  the  woman  shall  have;  it  settles  all  her 
affairs,  whether  she  shall  buy  or  sell  or  will  or  deed 

Persons  are  elected  by  men  to  represent  them  in  Congress  and 
the  State  Legislatures,  and  here  are  these  millions  of  women,  with 
just  the  same  stake  in  the  Government  that  men  have,  with  a  class 
interest  of  their  own,  and  with  not  one  solitary  word  to  say  or  power 
to  help  settle  any  of  the  things  which  concern  them. 

Men  know  the  value  of  votes  and  the  possession  of  power,  and  I 
look  at  them  and  wonder  how  it  is  possible  for  them  to  be  willing 
that  their  own  mothers,  sisters,  wives  and  daughters  should  be  de- 
barred from  the  possession  of  like  power.  We  have  been  going  to 
the  Legislature  in  Massachusetts  longer  than  Mrs.  Stanton  has  been 
coming  here.  We  asked  that  when  a  husband  and  wife  make  a  con- 
tract with  each  other,  as  for  instance,  if  the  wife  loan  the  husband 
her  money,  the  contract  should  be  considered  valid  just  as  it  would 
be  between  any  other  parties — for  now  in  case  the  husband  fails  in 
business,  she  can  not  get  her  money — and  the  Legislature  very  kind- 
ly gave  us  leave  to  withdraw.  Then  we  asked  that  when  a  man  dies 
and  the  wife  is  left  alone,  with  the  whole  burden  of  life  on  her 
shoulders,  the  law  might  give  her  more  than  forty  days  in  which  to 
stay  in  her  home  without  paying  rent.  But  we  could  not  defeat  one 
of  our  legislators,  and  they  cared  not  a  cent  for  our  petition  and 
less  than  a  cent  for  our  opinion ;  and  so  when  we  asked  for  this 
important  measure  they  gave  us  leave  to  withdraw. 

They  respect  the  wants  of  the  voter,  but  they  care  nothing  about 
the  wants  of  those  who  do  not  have  votes.  So,  when  we  asked  for 
protection  for  wives  beaten  by  their  husbands,  and  that  the  husband 
should  be  made  to  give  a  portion  of  his  earnings  to  support  the 
minor  children,  again  we  had  leave  to  withdraw 

I  can  think  of  nothing  so  helpless  and  humiliating  as  the  position 
of  a  disfranchised  person.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  am  treading 
on  dangerous  toes  when  I  say  that,  after  the  late  war  the  Govern- 
ment in  power  wished  to  punish  Jefferson  Davis,  and  it  considered 
that  the  worst  punishment  it  could  inflict  upon  him  was  to  take  away 
his  right  to  vote.  Now,  the  odium  which  attached  to  him  from  his 
disfranchisement  is  just  the  same  as  attaches  to  women  from  their 
disfranchisement.  The  only  persons  who  are  not  allowed  to  vote 
in  Massachusetts  are  the  lunatics,  idiots,  felons  and  people  who  can 
not  read  and  write.  In  what  a  category  is  this  to  place  women, 
after  one  hundred  years  and  at  the  close  of  this  nineteenth  century? 
And  yet  that  is  history.  In  Massachusetts  we  are  trying  to  get  a 
small  concession — the  right  to  vote  in  the  cities  and  towns  in  which 
we  live  in  regard  to  the  taxes  we  have  to  pay.  In  1792,  in  Newbury- 
port,  Mass.,  it  was  not  thought  necessary  to  give  women  education. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1 892.  1 93 

At  that  time  there  were  no  schools  for  girls ;  the  public  money  was 
not  so  used,  and  when  one  man  said  he  had  five  daughters,  and  paid 
his  taxes  like  other  men,  and  his  girls  were  not  allowed  to  attend 
school,  and  that  they  ought  to  give  the  girls  a  chance,  another  man 
said,  "Take  the  public  money  and  educate  shes  ?  Never !" 

Remember  this  was  one  hundred  years  ago.  Some  of  the  fathers 
urged  that  the  girls  should  be  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and 
so  the  men — God  forgive  them ! — said,  "We  will  let  the  girls  go 
in  the  morning  between  6  and  8  o'clock,  before  the  boys  want 
the  schoolhouse."  Just  think  of  the  time  those  girls  would  have  to 
rise  in  order,  to  have  a  little  instruction  before  the  boys  got  there ! 
This  plan  did  not  work  well,  and  the  teacher  was  directed  not  to 
teach  females  any  longer.  Every  descendant  of  those  men  now  feels 
ashamed  of  them ;  and  I  think  that  in  one  hundred  years  the  children 
of  the  men  who  are  now  letting  us  come  here,  year  after  year,  plead- 
ing for  suffrage,  will  feel  ashamed.  Men  would  rather-  lose  any- 
thing than  their  votes ;  they  would  fight  for  their  right  of  suffrage, 
and  if  anybody  attempted  to  deprive  them  of  it  there  would  be  war 
to  the  knife  and  the  knife  to  the  hilt.  We  come  here  to  carry  on  our 
bloodless  warfare,  praying  that  the  privilege  granted  in  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Government  should  be  applied  to  women 

What  we  look  forward  to  is  part  of  the  eternal  order.  It  is  not 
possible  that  thirty  millions  of  women  should  be  held  forever  as  luna- 
tics, fools  and  criminals.  It  is  not  possible,  as  the  years  go  on,  that 
each  person  should  not  at  least  have  the  right  to  look  after  his  or 
her  own  interests.  As  the  home  is  at  its  best  when  the  father  and 
mother  consult  together  in  regard  to  the  family  interests,  so  it  is 
with  the  Government.  I  do  not  think  a  man  can  see  from  a  man's 
point  of  view  all  the  things  that  a  woman  needs,  or  a  woman  from 
her  single  point  of  view  all  the  things  that  a  man  needs.  Now  men 
have  brought  their  best,  and  also  brought  their  worst,  into  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  it  is  all  here,  but  the  thing  you  have  not  at  all  is  the 
qualities  which  women  possess,  the  feminine  qualities.  It  has  been 
said  that  women  are  more  economical,  peaceful  and  law-abiding 
than  men,  and  all  these  qualities  are  lacking  in  the  Government  to- 
day  But  whether  this  be  so  or  not,  it  is  right  that  every 

class  should  be  heard  in  behalf  of  its  own  interest 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  hope  you  will  try  to  make  this  case  your  own. 
It  is  simple  justice  and  fair  play,  and  it  is  also  a  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  the  Government.  Here  we  are  trying  to  have  a  complete 
republic,  and  yet  there  are  twelve  millions  of  disfranchised  adults. 
I  believe  that  among  the  great  people — and  by  the  people  I  do  not 
mean  men,  but  men  and  women,  the  whole  people — nothing  creates 
such  disrespect  for  a  fundamental  principle  as  not  to  apply  it. 
The  Government  was  founded  upon  the  principle  that  those  who 
obey  the  laws  should  make  them,  and  yet  it  shuts  out  a  full  half. 
As  long  as  this  continues  to  be  done,  it  certainly  tends  to  create 
disrespect  for  the  principle  itself.  Do  you  not  see  it?  Why  not 
reach  out  a  hand  to  woman  and  say,  "Come  and  help  us  make  the 
laws  and  secure  fair  play"  ? 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF—  13 


194  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

At  the  close  of  this  argument  Miss  Anthony  said :  "We  have 
with  us  one  not  so  old  in  our  cause  as  Mrs.  Stone — I  never  call 
myself  old  because  I  shall  be  young  until  the  crack  of  doom — 
and  that  is  Mrs.  Hooker,  a  sister  of  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe  and 
Henry  Ward  Beecher.  The  world  has  always  made  special  place 
for  the  family  of  Beechers." 

Mrs.  Hooker  (Conn.)  spoke  very  briefly,  saying:  "You  all 
know  those  old  Jewish  words  in  the  Decalogue,  'Honor  thy  father 
and  thy  mother  that  thy  days  may  be  long  in  the  land  that  the 
Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee.'  If  we  want  to  help  the  republic,  if 
we  want  to  perpetuate  the  institutions  our  fathers  brought  across 
the  water,  we  must  honor  the  mothers  equally  with  the  fathers 
in  the  Government.  To-day  the  laws  compel  our  sons  the  mo- 
ment they  are  twenty-one  to  come  to  us  and  say:  'My  mother, 
I  owe  you  much ;  sometimes  I  think  all  that  is  good  in  me  has 
come  from  you,  but  to-day  you  will  retire  and  I  will  rule.  I  will 
no  longer  listen  to  your  counsel ;  but  I  will  make  the  laws  for  you 
and  my  sisters,  and  you  must  obey  them.  Henceforth  I  am  your 
ruler.'  Now,  friends,  a  Government  can  not  last  long  which 
teaches  its  sons  disrespect  to  its  mothers.  It  is  in  line  with  our 
principles  that  we  recognize  the  mother  element  in  the  Govern- 
ment as  well  as  in  the  family." 

Miss  Anthony  closed  the  hearing  with  a  strong  appeal  for  a 
report  from  the  committee  which  should  recommend  Congress 
to  submit  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  and  allow  the  women  of  the 
country  to  carry  their  case  to  the  State  Legislatures.  The  com- 
mittee seemed  much  impressed  by  the  arguments,  but  evidently 
there  was  no  change  of  opinion.* 

A  hearing  was  granted  February  17  by  the  House  Judiciary 
Committee,  with  delegates  present  from  twenty-six  States.  Ad- 
dresses were  made  in  part  as  follows : 

MRS.  CHAPMAN  CATT:  ....  You  know  that  in  these  mod- 
ern years  there  has  been  a  great  deal  of  talk  about  natural  rights, 
and  we  have  had  an  innumerable  host  of  philosophers  writing  books 
to  tell  us  what  natural  rights  are.  I  believe  that  to-day  both  scien- 
tists and  philosophers  are  agreed  that  they  are  the  right  to  life,  the 
right  to  liberty,  the  right  to  free  speech,  the  right  to  go  where  you 
will  and  when  you  please,  the  right  to  earn  your  own  living  and  the 

*  Zebulon  B.  Vance,  N.  C. ;  John  G.  Carlisle,  Ky. ;  J.  Z.  George,  Miss. ;  George  F.  Hoar, 
Mass.;  John  B.  Allen,  Wash.;  Matthew  S.  Quay,  Penn. ;  Francis  E.  Warren,  Wyo. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1892.  195 

right  to  do  the  best  you  can  for  yourself.  One  of  the  greatest  of 
those  philosophers  and  writers,  Herbert  Spencer,  has  accorded  to 
woman  the  same  natural  rights  as  to  man.  I  believe  every  thought- 
ful man  in  the  United  States  to-day  concedes  that  point. 

The  ballot  has  been  for  man  a  means  of  defending  these  natural 
rights.  Even  now  in  some  localities  of  the  world  those  rights  are 
still  defended  by  the  revolver,  as  in  former  days,  but  in  peaceable 
communities  the  ballot  is  the  weapon  by  means  of  which  they  are 
protected.  We  find,  as  women  citizens,  that  when  we  are  wronged, 
when  our  rights  are  infringed  upon,  inasmuch  as  we  have  not  this 
weapon  with  which  to  defend  them,  they  are  not  considered,  and  we 
are  very  many  times  imposed  upon.  We  find  that  the  true  liberty 
of  the  American  people  demands  that  all  citizens  to  whom  these 

rights  have  been  accorded  should  have  that  weapon 

MRS.  LIDA  A.  MERI WETHER  (Tenn.)  :  "Oh,  Caesar,  we  who  are 
about  to  die  salute  you !"  was  the  gladiators'  cry  in  the  arena,  stand- 
ing face  to  face  with  death  and  with  the  Roman  populace.  All  over 
this  fair  city,  youth  and  beauty,  freshness  and  joy,  stand  with  wel- 
coming hands,  calling  you  to  all  pleasures  of  ear  and  eye,  of  soul 
and  sense.  But  here,  into  the  inner  sanctuary  of  your  deepest, 
gravest  thought,  come,  year  after  year,  a  little  band  of  women  over 
whose  heads  the  snows  of  many  winters  and  of  many  sorrows  have 
sifted.  Here  "we  who  are  about  to  die  salute  you."  We  do  not 
come  asking  for  gifts  of  profit  or  preferment  for  ourselves ;  for  us 
the  day  for  ban  or  benison  has  almost  passed.  But  we  ask  for 
greater  freedom,  for  better  conditions  for  the  children  of  our  love, 
whom  we  shall  so  soon  leave  behind.  In  the  short  space  allowed 
each  petitioner  we  have  not  time  to  ask  for  much.  But  in  my  State 
the  grandmothers  of  seventy  are  growing"  weary  of  being  classed 
with  the  grandsons  of  seven.  They  fail  to  find  a  valid  reason  why 
they  should  be  relegated  to  perpetual  legal  and  political  childhood. 

Years  ago,  when  the  bugle  call  rang  out  over  this  unhappy  land, 
as  the  men  rallied  to  the  standard  of  their  State,  we,  the  wives  and 
mothers,  who  had  no  voice  in  bringing  about  those  cruel  conditions, 
were  called  to  give  up  our  brightest  and  best  for  cannons'  food. 
We  furnished  the  provisions,  ministered  on  the  battlefield,  nursed  in 
the  hospital ;  we,  equally  with  our  brothers,  regarded  "our  lives,  our 
fortunes  and  our  sacred  honor"  only  as  gifts  held  in  trust  to  spend 
and  be  spent  for  home  and  State.  And  to-day  when  we  see  the 
wayfaring  man,  who  probably  hails  from  a  penal  institution  of  the 
Old  World,  who  honors  no  home,  no  country  and  no  political  faith, 
freely  enjoying  the  right  to  say  who  shall  make  and  who  shall  en- 
force the  laws  by  which  we  women  are  governed,  we  grow  weary  of 
being  classed  as  perpetual  aliens  upon  our  nation's  soil. 

The  honest,  industrious,  bread-winning  women  of  Tennessee  do 
not  enjoy  the  knowledge  that  the  pauper  of  their  State  is  their  po- 
litical superior.  Four  years  ago  we  saw  it  practically  demonstrated 
that  when  a  great  moral  issue  was  at  stake  the  male  pauper  could 
cast  his  ballot  without  hindrance  from  the  penal  code,  but  if  the 
widow  or  the  single  woman,  who  earned  and  owned  property  and 


196  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

paid  her  quota  of  the  tax  for  his  support,  should  attempt  to  cast  a 
counteracting  ballot,  her  penalty  would  be  fine  or  imprisonment. 

Year  after  year  we  have  journeyed  to  the  Mecca  of  the  petitioner 
— the  legislative  halls.  There  we  have  asked  protection  for  our 
boys  from  the  temptation  of  the  open  saloon ;  we  have  asked  that 
around  our.  baby  girls  the  wall  of  protection  might  be  raised  at  least 
a  little  higher  than  ten  years ;  we  have  asked  for  reform  schools  for 
boys,  where  they  should  not  be  thrown  in  daily  contact  with  old  and 
hardened  criminals.  Year  after  year  we  have  pleaded  for  better 
conditions  for  the  children  to  whom  we  have  given  the  might  of  our 
love,  the  strength  and  labor  of  our  lives ;  but  in  not  one  instance  has 
that  prayer  been  granted.  And  at  last  we  have  found  the  reason 
why.  A  senator  in  a  sister  State  said  to  a  body  of  petitioners: 
"Ladies,  you  won't  get  your  bill,  but  your  defeat  will  be  a  paying 
investment  if  it  only  teaches  you  that  the  politician,  little  or  big,  is 
now,  always  was,  and  always  will  be,  the  drawn  image,  pocket  edition, 
safety  valve  and  speaking-trumpet  of  the  fellow  that  voted  him  in." 

Gentlemen,  we  ask  your  help  to  the  end  that  not  we,  perhaps,  but 
the  daughters  and  granddaughters  whom  we  leave  behind,  may  be 
counted  with  "those  that  voted  him  in." 

MRS.  JEAN  BROOKS  GREENLEAF  (N.  Y.)  :  Soon  after  I  came  to 
Washington  to  make  it  my  home  for  two  years,  one  clear,  bright 
morning  I  drove  up  to  this  Capitol  with  a  friend.  As  we  ascended 
the  hill  on  the  left  we  warmly  expressed  our  admiration  for  the 
beautiful  structure  within  whose  walls  we  are  now  standing,  and 
were  enthusiastic  in  our  admiration  for  those  who  so  nobly  planned 
that,  with  the  growth  of  the  nation,  there  could  be  a  commensurate 
outstretching  of  its  legislative  halls  without  loss  to  the  dignity  of  the 
whole.  We  drove  slowly  around  the  front  and  commenced  the 
descent  on  the  opposite  side,  when  I  called  to  the  driver  to  stop  in 
order  that  we  might  feast  our  eyes  on  the  inspiring  view  which  lay 
before  us.  There  rose  Washington  Monument  so  simple  yet  so 
grand,  and  I  recalled  the  fact  that  in  its  composition  it  fitly  repre- 
sented the  Union  of  the  States.  My  heart  swelled  and  my  eyes 
overflowed  as  I  thought  of  the  grand  idea  embodied  in  this  Govern- 
ment, the  possibilities  of  this  country's  future.  The  lines  of  "My 
country,  'tis  of  thee,"  rose  to  my  lips,  but  they  died  there. 

Whence  came  my  right  to  speak  those  words  ?  True  I  was  born 
here  ;  true  I  was  taught  from  my  earliest  youth  to  repeat  the  glorious 
words  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  Roger  Sherman  and  other  patriots ;  but 
when  I  grew  to  womanhood  I  had  to  learn  the  bitter  lesson  that 
these  words  applied  only  to  men  ;  that  I  simply  counted  as  one  in  the 
population ;  that  I  must  submit  to  be  governed  by  the  laws  in  the 
selection  of  whose  makers  I  had  no  choice;  that  my  consent  to  be 
governed  would  never  be  asked ;  that  for  my  taxation  there  would  be 
no  representation ;  that,  so  far  as  my  right  to  "life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness"  was  concerned,  others  must  judge  for  me; 
that  I  had  no  voice  for  myself ;  that  I  was  a  woman  without  a  coun- 
try, and  only  on  the  plane  of  political  equality  with  the  insane,  the 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1892.  197 

idiot,  the  pauper,  Indians  not  taxed,  the  criminal,  and  the  unnat- 
uralized  foreigner. 

Honorable  gentlemen,  women  come  here  annually  to  ask  that 
these  wrongs  be  righted.  To-day  we  have  come  again  to  entreat 
that,  as  you  have  extended  this  building  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
people,  you  will  extend  your  thought  of  the  people  and  make  it  pos- 
sible that  the  principle  underlying  the  Government  of  this  country 
may  be  embodied  in  a  law  which  will  make  the  daughters  of  the  land 
joint  heirs  with  the  sons  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  an  en- 
franchised people.  In  the  name  of  the  women  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  I  ask  it. 

Miss  ALICE  STONE  BLACKWELL  (Mass.)  :  Except  where  there 
is  some  very  strong  reason  to  the  contrary,  it  is  generally  admitted 
that  every  man  has  a  right  to  be  consulted  in  regard  to  his  own  con- 
cerns. The  laws  which  he  has  to  obey  and  the  taxes  he  has  to  pay 
are  things  that  do  most  intimately  concern  him,  and  the  only  way  of 
being  directly  consulted  in  regard  to  them,  under  our  form  of  gov- 
ernment, is  through  the  ballot.  Is  there  any  very  good  reason  why 
women  should  not  be  free  to  be  consulted  in  this  direct  manner? 
Let  us  consider  a  few  of  the  reasons  which  are  generally  given 
against  this  freedom  of  women,  and  see  whether  they  are  good. 

It  is  said  that  women  do  not  need  to  vote,  because  they  are  virtually 
represented  by  their  husbands,  fathers  and  brothers.  The  first  trou- 
ble with  this  doctrine  of  virtual  representation  is  that  it  is  not  ac- 
cording to  numbers.  I  know  a  man  who  had  a  wife,  a  widowed 
mother,  four  unmarried  daughters  and  five  unmarried  sisters.  Ac- 
cording to  this  theory  his  vote  represented  himself  and  all  those 
eleven  women.  Yet  it  counted  but  one,  just  the  same  as  the  vote  of 
his  next-door  bachelor  neighbor  without  a  female  relative  in  the 
world. 

Then,  again,  suppose  that  all  the  women  in  one  family  do  not 
think  alike.  A  member  of  our  Massachusetts  Legislature  had  two 
daughters.  One  was  a  suffragist,  the  other  was  so  much  opposed 
that  she  used  to  burn  the  Woman's  Journal  as  soon  as  it  came  in  the 
house.  How  was  that  man  to  represent  both  his  daughters  by  his 
single  vote  on  the  suffrage  question?  Instead  of  two  daughters 
he  might  have  had  three,  one  a  Republican,  one  a  Democrat  and  the 
other  a  Prohibitionist.  How  could  he  have  represented  all  of  them 
by  his  one  vote  unless  he  had  voted  "early  and  often  ?" 

Again,  in  order  to  represent  the  women  of  his  family  a  man  may 
have  to  go  without  representation  himself.  There  was  a  case  of  an 
old  gentleman  in  Chicago,  a  Greenbacker,  who  had  three  daughters, 
all  of  whom  were  Republicans.  When  election  day  approached  his 
three  daughters  said  to  him  that  he  was  the  natural  representative  of 
their  family — he  had  always  told  them  so,  and  they  fully  agreed 
with  him — and  they  pointed  out  to  him  how  very  wrong  it  would  be, 
when  that  family  consisted  of  three  Republicans  and  only  one  Green- 
backer,  with  but  one  ballot  to  represent  the  family,  that  it  should  be 
cast  for  the  Greenback  candidate.  The  old  gentleman  was  consci- 
entious and  consistent  and,  although  he  was  a  man  of  strong  Green- 


19  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

back  convictions,  he  actually  voted  the  Republican  ticket  in  order  to 
represent  his  daughters.  It  was  the  nearest  he  could  come  to  rep- 
resenting them  under  this  theory.  But  did  it  give  that  family  any 
accurate  or  adequate  representation?  Evidently  not.  The  Green- 
back candidate  was  entitled  to  one  vote  from  that  family,  and  he  did 
not  get  it ;  and  the  Republican  candidate  was  entitled  to  three  bal- 
lots, and  he  got  only  one.  And  then,  in  order  to  represent  his 
daughters,  that  chivalrous  father  had  to  go  without  any  representa- 
tion himself.  It  is  evident  that  the  only  fair  way  to  get  at  public 
sentiment  in  such  a  case  is  for  each  member  of  the  family  to  have 
one  vote,  and  thus  represent  himself  or  herself. 

Another  proof  that  women  are  not  virtually  represented  is  to  be 
found  in  the  laws  as  they  actually  exist.  These  one-sided  laws  were 
not  made  because  men  meant  to  be  unjust  or  unkind  to  women,  but 
simply  because  they  naturally  looked  at  things  mainly  from  their 
own  point  of  view.  It  does  not  indicate  any  special  depravity  on  the 
part  of  men.  I  have  no  doubt  that  if  women  alone  had  made  the 
laws,  those  laws  would  be  just  as  one-sided  as  they  are  to-day,  only 
in  the  opposite  direction. 

It  is  said  that  if  women  are  enfranchised,  husbands  and  wives 
will  vote  just  alike,  and  you  will  simply  double  the  vote  and 
have  no  change  in  the  result.  Then,  in  the  next  breath,  it  is  said 
that  husbands  and  wives  would  vote  for  opposing  candidates,  and 
then  there  would  be  matrimonial  quarrels.  If  they  vote  just  alike 
there  will  be  no  harm  done,  and  this  good  may  be  done — the  women 
will  be  broadened  by  a  knowledge  of  public  affairs,  and  husband 
and  wife  will  have  a  subject  of  mutual  interest  in  which  they  can 
sympathize  with  each  other.  In  cases  where  husband  and  wife  do- 
not  think  alike  as  to  who  will  make  the  best  selectmen,  for  instance, 
you  will  admit  that  is  hardly  sufficient  to  cause  them  to  quarrel ;  but 
if  they  should  think  differently  on  very  many  other  points,  they 
would  quarrel  anyway,  so  that  politics  would  not  make  much  differ- 
ence with  them. 

Then  it  is  said  that  women  do  not  want  to  vote,  and  in  proof  it  is 
said  they  do  not  vote  generally  for  school  committeemen  where 
allowed  to  do  so.  We  all  know  that  the  size  of  the  vote  cast  at  any 
election  is  just  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  interest  that  elec- 
tion calls  forth.  At  a  Presidential  election  nearly  all  the  voters  turn 
out ;  in  an  ordinary  State  election  only  about  half ;  at  a  municipal 
election  only  a  small  fraction  of  the  men  take  the  trouble  to  vote. 
The  Troy  Press  states  that  at  a  recent  election  in  Syracuse  for  a 
board  of  education,  out  of  about  3,000  qualified  voters  only  40  voted. 

Then,  it  is  said  that  this  movement  is  making  no  progress ;  that 
while  the  movements  along  other  lines  are  largely  succeeding,  there 
has  been  no  advance  along  this  line.  Twenty-five  years  ago,  with 
insignificant  exceptions,  women  could  not  vote  anywhere.  To-day 
they  have  school  suffrage  in  twenty-three  States,  full  suffrage  in 
Wyoming,  municipal  suffrage  in  Kansas,  and  municipal  suffrage  for 
single  women  and  widows  in  England,  Scotland  and  most  of  the 
British  provinces.  The  common  sense  of  the  world  is  slowly  but 
surely  working  toward  the  enfranchisement  of  women. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1892.  199 

MRS.  ANNIE  L.  DIGGS  (Kan.):  You  remember  the  time  when 
the  theoretical  objection  was  often  urged  that  if  the  suffrage  was 
given  to  women,  men  would  cease  to  show  them  the  proper  respect. 
For  instance,  the  weighty  argument  was  made  that  they  would  not 
raise  their  hats  when  they  met  women  on  the  street,  and  that  they 
would  not  give  up  their  seats  in  the  cars.  But,  gentlemen,  you 
should  just  see  how  they  take  off  their  hats  to  us  in  Kansas,  and 
how  every  man  of  them  gets  up  and  offers  us  his  seat  when  we  come 
into  a  street  car ! 

It  was  also  urged  that  if  the  ballot  were  put  into  the  hands  of 
women  it  would  be  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the  home.  There 
is  not  a  man  in  the  State  to-day  who  would  venture  to  go  before  a 
Kansas  audience  and  urge  that  objection.  There  is  not  a  man  there 
who  would  be  willing  to  jeopardize  his  political,  social  or  business 
interests  by  casting  any  kind  of  obloquy  upon  the  women  who  have 
exercised  the  right  of  the  elective  franchise  for  the  last -five  years. 
This  is  the  result  of  success.  We  have  Municipal  Suffrage.  One 
little  ounce  of  fact  outweighs  whole  tons  of  theory 

THE  REV.  ANNA  HOWARD  SHAW  (Penn.) :  Yesterday  I  noticed 
in  a  report  of  our  hearing  before  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the 
House  the  headline,  "Appeals  to  Deaf  Ears."  And  I  said,  "Has  it 
come  to  this,  that  when  earnest  and  sincere  women  of  this  great 
country  make  an  appeal  to  the  heads  of  the  Government  it  is  dubbed 
an  'Appeal  to  Deaf  Ears'?"  Time  was  when  the  British  Govern- 
ment thought  our  ancestors  had  not  sufficient  merit  in  their  cause 
to  be  heard,  and  when  they  made  an  "appeal  to  deaf  ears." 
But  the  time  came  when  those  ears  were  unstopped  and  they  heard, 
and  what  they  heard  was  the  cry  of  victory  by  a  free  people.  We 
may  be  appealing  to  deaf  ears  to-day,  but  the  time  is  coming  when  it 
will  not  be  so.  Men  will  hear  and,  hearing,  they  will  answer,  be- 
cause ultimately  men  desire  the  right.  If  I  were  asked  what  I 
conscientiously  believe  the  real  condition  of  the  hearts  of  most  men 
to  be,  I  should  say  they  are  positively  ignorant  in  regard  to  the 
justice  of  this  matter,  and  if  it  could  be  brought  properly  before  them, 
they  would  stand  on  the  side  of  justice  and  right  for  women. 

Therefore  I  desire  only  to  say  that  I  know  from  my  travels  all 
over  the  country,  conferring  with  the  intelligent  women  to  bring 
before  them  this  great  principle,  that  the  good  work  is  going  on.  It 
may  be  deafness  yesterday  and  partial  hearing  to-day,  but  it  will  be 
full  hearing  to-morrow.  To-day  we  may  be  blind  to  the  truth ;  to- 
morrow we  shall  see  the  whole  truth.  We  may  not  have  another 
centennial  before  we  shall  see  justice  for  all  human  kind. 

You  know,  gentlemen,  that  this  Government  exists  for  only  three 
things,  and  in  those  every  woman  is  as  much  interested  as  every 
man.  It  exists  for  the  administration  of  justice,  for  the  pro- 
tection of  person  and  property,  and  for  the  development  of  society. 
Just  as  you  and  all  men  have  persons  and  property  to  protect,  so  we 
women  have.  We  are  because  of  our  nature  and  because  it  seems 
as  if  the  Almighty  had  intended  it  should  be  so,  more  inter- 
ested than  men  in  the  development  of  society.  Wherever  there  is 


2OO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

any  movement  for  the  Uplifting  of  society  you  will  find  women  in 
the  forefront.  There  never  has  been  any  great  movement  in  this 
nation  when  women  have  not  stood  side  by  side  with  the  noblest 
and  truest  men. 

We  do  to-day  nine-tenths  of  the  philanthropic  work,  nine-tenths 
of  the  church  work,  and  form  three-fourths  of  the  church  member- 
ship. We  are  the  teachers  of  the  young ;  we  are  the  mothers  of  the 
race.  If  you  want  the  noblest  men  you  must  have  the  noblest 
mothers.  "Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  hath  ear  heard,  nor  hath  it  en- 
tered into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive"  the  kind  of  men  and  women 
God  had  in  view  when  He  created  man  in  His  own  likeness  and 
gave  to  male  and  female  dominion  over  the  world,  to  subdue  it  and 
to  bring  out  of  it  the  best  things. 

You  who  talk  of  a  great  Government  in  which  the  voice  of  God  is 
heard  must  remember  that,  if  "the  voice  of  the  people  is  the  voice  of 
God,"  you  never  will  know  what  that  is  until  you  get  the  voice  of 
the  people,  and  you  will  find  it  has  a  soprano  as  well  as  a  bass. 
You  must  join  the  soprano  voice  of  God  to  the  bass  voice  in  order 
to  get  the  harmony  of  the  Divine  voice.  Then  you  will  have  a  law 
which  will  enable  you  to  say,  "We  are  a  people  justly  ruled,  because 
in  this  nation  the  voice  of  the  people  is  the  voice  of  God,  and  the 
voice  of  the  people  has  been  heard." 

Mrs.  Ellen  M.  Bolles  (R.  I.)  said  in  the  course  of  her  re- 
marks: "The  conditions  surrounding  women  to-day  are  quite 
different  from  what  they  were  in  the  days  of  our  grandmothers. 
Women  are  becoming  property  earners  and  owners,  as  they  were 
not  in  those  former  times  before  they  began  asking  for  the  ballot. 
Twenty-five  per  cent,  or  more  of  the  women  of  this  country  are 
property  owners.  Nearly  nine-tenths  of  the  laws  are  made  for  the 
protection  of  property  and  of  those  who  own  it  and  who  earn 
wages.  Now  it  seems  to  me  that  this  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the 
women  should  have  a  voice  in  the  making  of  laws  for  the  protec- 
tion of  their  property  and  of  their  right  to  earn  a  living.  ... 

Mrs.  Colby  thus  closed  her  address  on  Wyoming:  "Having 
thus  shown  that  the  twenty-two  years'  experience  of  woman 
suffrage  has  been  satisfactory  to  the  citizens  of  Wyoming;  that 
it  has  conduced  to  good  order  in  the  elections  and  to  the  purity 
of  politics;  that  the  educational  system  is  improved  and  that 
teachers  are  paid  without  regard  to  sex;  that  Wyoming  stands 
alone  in  a  decreased  proportion  of  crime  and  divorce ;  and  that  it 
has  elevated  the  personal  character  of  both  sexes — what  possible 
good  is  there  left  to  speak  of  as  coming  to  that  State  from  woman 
suffrage  save  its  position  as  the  vanguard  of  progress  and  human 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1892.  2OI 

freedom.  Not  the  Bartholdi  statue  in  New  York  harbor,  but 
Wyoming  on  the  crest  of  the  continent,  the  first  true  republic, 
represents  Liberty  enlightening  the  world." 

Short  addresses  were  made  also  by  Mrs.  Caroline  McCullough 
Everhard,  Mrs.  Mary  Jewett  Telford,  the  Rev.  Mila  F.  Tupper, 
Mrs.  Marble,  Dr.  Frances  Dickinson,  Miss  H.  Augusta  Howard, 
Mrs.  Saxon,  Mrs.  Hannah  J.  Bailey,  Mrs.  Evaleen  L.  Mason 
and  Mrs.  Olive  Pond  Amies.* 

The  Post,  in  an  account  of  the  Senate  hearing,  said : 
"Miss  Anthony  called  attention  to  Senator  Hoar  as  the  gentle- 
man who  had  presented  the  first  favorable  suffrage  report  to  the 
Senate  in  1879.  Everybody  shouted  "Stand  up,"  and  as  he 
retired  deeper  into  his  leather  chair  they  continued 'to  cry,  "Up, 
up !"  It  was  a  tableau  when  the  Senator  found  his  feet,  and  at  the 
same  time  was  confronted  with  a  round  of  applause  and  a  volley 
of  white  handkerchiefs  waved  at  him  in  Chautauqua  style.  He 
capped  the  climax  by  moving  at  once  a  favorable  report.  Laurel 
wreaths  and  bouquets  would  have  been  Senator  Hoar's  portion 
if  they  had  been  available,  but  the  women  all  assured  him  after- 
ward of  their  sincere  appreciation.  The  hearing  was  held  in  the 
ladies'  reception  room,  which  was  completely  filled." 

These  matchless  arguments  had  no  effect  upon  the  Demo- 
cratic members  of  the  committee,  but  Senator  Warren  of  Wy- 
oming made  a  favorable  report  for  himself,  Senators  Hoar  of 
Massachusetts,  Quay  of  Pennsylvania  and  Allen  of  Washington, 
which  concluded  by  saying :  "The  majority  of  the  members  of 
this  committee,  believing  that  equal  suffrage,  regardless  of  sex, 
should  be  the  legitimate  outgrowth  of  the  principles  of  a  repub- 
lican form  of  government,  and  that  the  right  of  suffrage  should 
be  conferred  upon  the  women  of  the  United  States,  earnestly 
recommend  the  passage  of  the  amendment  submitted  herewith." 

Senators  Vance  of  North  Carolina  and  George  of  Mississippi 
filed  the  same  minority  report  which  already  had  done  duty  sev- 
eral times,  although  the  former  was  said  to  have  declared  that 
the  speeches  of  the  women  surpassed  anything  he  ever  had  heard, 
and  that  their  logic,  if  used  in  favor  of  any  other  measure,  could 
not  fail  to  carry  it. 

*  After  the  convention  had  adjourned  Miss  Sara  Winthrop  Smith  (Conn.)  made  an 
argument  on  Federal  Suffrage  before  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  House.  See  Chap.  I 
for  general  statement  of  position  taken  by  its  advocates. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1893. 

At  the  close  of  the  Twenty-fifth  annual  meeting  the  Washing- 
ton Evening  News  said :  "There  will  be  an  exodus  from  Wash- 
ington during  the  next  three  days — an  exodus  of  some  of  the 
intellectually  powerful  and  brilliant  women  who  participated  in 
what  was  agreed  to  be  the  brightest  and  most  successful  conven- 
tion ever  held  by  the  National  Suffrage  Association.  Whatever 
may  be  the  opinion  of  the  world  at  large  upon  the  feasibility  or 
desirability  of  granting  the  franchise  to  women,  none  who  at- 
tended their  annual  reunion  of  delegates  or  listened  to  the  ad- 
dresses of  their  orators  and  leaders,  can  deny  that  the  convention 
was  composed  of  clever,  sensible  and  attractive  women,  splendidly 
representative  of  their  sex  and  of  the  present  time." 

After  complimentary  notices  of  the  leading  members,  it  con- 
tinued :  "  'One  very  pleasant  thing  connected  with  our  business 
committee  is  the  beautiful  relations  existing  among  its  mem- 
bers,' said  one  of  the  officers  the  other  evening.  'We  all  have 
our  opinions  and  they  often  differ,  but  we  are  absolutely  true  to 
each  other  and  to  the  cause.  We  are  most  of  us  married,  and 
all  of  us  have  the  co-operation  of  our  husbands  and  fathers. 
Of  the  business  committee  of  nine,  six  are  married.  For  the 
past  two  years  we  have  had  one  man  on  our  board,  the  Hon. 
Wm.  Dudley  Foulke,  but  as  a  rule  men  have  not  the  time  and 
thought  to  give  this  subject,  as  they  are  engaged  in  more  re- 
munerative employment.'  The  self-control  and  good-nature  pre- 
vailing even  in  the  heated  debate  on  the  religious  liberty  inter- 
ference resolution  have  already  been  alluded  to  in  our  columns." 

Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  presided  over  the  convention,  Jan.  16- 
J9»  J893,  neld  in  Metzerott's  Music  Hall  and  preceded  by  the 
usual  religious  services  Sunday  afternoon.  The  sermon  was  given 
by  the  Rev.  Annis  F.  Eastman  (N.  Y.),  an  ordained  Congrega- 
tional minister,  from  the  text  in  Isaiah,  "Take  away  the  yoke." 

202 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1893.  2O3 

The  memorial  service,  which  was  of  unusual  impressiveness, 
opened  with  the  reading  by  Miss  Anthony  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Cady  Stanton's  tribute  to  the  distinguished  dead  of  the  past  year 
who  advocated  equality  of  rights  for  women — George  William 
Curtis,  John  Greenleaf  Whittier,  Ernestine  L.  Rose,  Abby  Hutch- 
inson  Patton  and  others.*  Of  Mr.  Curtis  she  said: 

If  the  success  of  our  cause  could  be  assured  by  the  high  character 
of  the  men  who  from  the  beginning  have  identified  themselves  with 
it,  woman  would  have  been  emancipated  long  ago.  A  reform  advo- 
cated by  Garrison,  Phillips,  Emerson,  Alcott,  Theodore  Parker, 
Gerrit  Smith,  Samuel  J.  May  and  George  William  Curtis  must  be 
worthy  the  consideration  of  statesmen  and  bishops. 

For  more  than  one  generation  Mr.  Curtis  maintained  a  brave 
attitude  on  this  question.  As  editor  of  Harper's  Magazine,  and  as  a 
popular  lecturer  on  the  lyceum  platform,  he  was  ever  true  to  his 
convictions.  Before  the  war  his  lecture  on  Fair  Play  for  Women 
aroused  much  thought  among  the  literary  and  fashionable  classes. 
In  the  New  York  Constitutional  Convention  in  1867,  a  most  con- 
servative body,  Mr.  Curtis,  though  a  young  man  and  aware  that  he 
had  but  little  sympathy  among  his  compeers,  bravely  demanded  that 
the  word  "male"  should  be  stricken  from  the  suffrage  article  of  the 
proposed  constitution.  His  speech  on  that  occasion,  in  fact,  philos- 
ophy, rhetoric  and  argument  never  has  been  surpassed  in  the 
English  language.  From  the  beginning  of  his  public  life  to  its 
close  Mr.  Curtis  was  steadfast  on  this  question.  Harper's  Magazine 
for  June,  1892,  contains  his  last  plea  for  woman  and  for  a  higher 
standard  for  political  parties 

Mrs.  Ernestine  L.  Rose,  exiled  from  Poland  on  account  of  her 
religious  faith,  married  an  Englishman  and  came  to  America, 
where  she  was  one  of  the  first  and  most  eloquent  of  the  women 
who  spoke  on  the  public  platform.  In  1836  she  circulated  peti- 
tions for  the  property  rights  of  married  women,  in  company 
with  Mrs.  Paulina  Wright  (Davis),  and  presented  them  to  the 
New  York  Legislature.  For  forty  years  she  was  among  the  ablest 
advocates  of  the  rights  of  women,  lecturing  also  on  religion, 
government  and  other  subjects.  Mrs.  Abby  Hutchinson  Patton 
was  lovingly  referred  to,  the  last  but  one  of  that  family  who  had 
sung  so  many  years  for  freedom,  not  only  for  the  negro  but  for 
woman.  Whittier,  the  uncompromising  advocate  of  liberty  for 
woman  as  well  as  for  man,  was  eulogized  in  fitting  terms. 

*  Bishop  Phillips  Brooks,  who  declared  himself  unequivocally  for  woman  suffrage,  died 
the  week  following  the  convention. 


2O4  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  Hon.  A.  G.  Riddle  (D.  C.)  offered  a  fine  testimonial  to 
Francis  Minor  and  Gen.  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  saying:  "Mr. 
Minor  was  the  first  to  urge  the  true  and  sublime  construction  of 
that  noble  amendment  born  of  the  war.  It  declares  that  all  per- 
sons— not  simply  males — born  or  naturalized  in  the  United 
States  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein 
they  reside.  Those  who  are  denied  or  are  refused  the  right  to 
exercise  the  privileges  and  franchises  of  citizenship  are  less  than 
citizens.  Those  who  still  declare  that  women  may  not  vote,  sim- 
ply write  'falsehood'  across  that  glorious  declaration."  General 
Butler,  as  a  leading  member  of  the  House  Judiciary  Committee, 
in  a  matchless  argument  had  asserted  the  right  of  women  to  vote 
under  the  Fourteenth  Amendment,*  and  used  all  his  influence  to 
secure  suffrage  for  women.  Miss  Anthony  said  in  part : 

The  good  of  this  hour  is  that  it  brings  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
young  the  work  of  the  pioneers  who  have  passed  away.  It  seems 
remarkable  to  those  standing,  as  I  do,  one  of  a  generation  almost 
ended,  that  so  many  of  these  young  people  know  nothing  of  the 
past;  they  are  apt  to  think  they  have  sprung  up  like  somebody's 
gourd,  and  that  nothing  ever  was  done  until  they  came.  So  I  am 
always  gratified  to  hear  these  reminiscences,  that  they  may  know 
how  others  have  sown  what  they  are  reaping  to-day. 

One  of  the  earliest  advocates  of  this  cause  was  Sally  Holly,  the 
daughter  of  Myron  Holly,  founder  of  the  Liberty  Party  in  the  State 
of  New  York,  and  also  founder  of  Unitarianism  in  the  city  of  Roch- 
ester. Frederick  Douglass  will  say  a  few  words  in  regard  to  Sally 
Holly,  and  of  such  of  the  others  as  he  may  feel  moved  to  speak ; 
and  I  want  to  say  that  when,  at  the  very  first  convention  called  and 
managed  by  women,  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  read  her  resolution 
that  the  elective  franchise  is  the  underlying  right,  there  was  but  one 
man  to  stand  with  her,  and  that  man  was  Frederick  Douglass. 

Mr.  Douglass  (D.  C)  told  of  attempting  to  speak  in  Buffalo 
against  slavery  in  1843,  when  every  hall  was  closed  to  him  and 
he  went  into  an  abandoned  storeroom : 

I  continued  from  day  to  day  speaking  in  that  old  store  to  laborers 
from  the  wharves,  cartmen,  draymen  and  longshoremen,  until  after 
awhile  the  room  was  crowded.  No  woman  made  her  appearance  at 
the  meetings,  but  day  after  day  for  six  days  in  succession  I  spoke — 
morning,  afternoon  and  evening.  On  the  third  day  there  came  into 
the  room  a  lady  leading  a  little  girl.  No  greater  contrast  could 
possibly  have  been  presented  than  this  elegantly  dressed,  refined  and 

•  See  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  II,  p.  482. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1893.  2O5 

lovely  woman  attempting  to  wend  her  way  through  that  throng.  I 
don't  know  that  she  showed  the  least  shrinking  from  the  crowd,  but 
I  noticed  that  they  rather  shrank  from  her,  as  if  fearful  that  the  dust 
of  their  garments  would  soil  hers.  Her  presence  to  me  at  that 
moment  was  as  if  an  angel  had  been  sent  from  Heaven  to  encourage 
me  in  my  anti-slavery  endeavors.  She  came  day  after  day  there- 
after, and  at  last  I  had  the  temerity  to  ask  her  name.  She  gave  it — 
Sally  Holly.  "A  daughter  of  Myron  Holly?"  said  I.  "Yes,"  she 
answered.  I  understood  it  all  then,  for  he  was  amongst  the  fore- 
most of  the  men  in  western  New  York  in  the  anti-slavery  movement. 
His  home  was  in  Rochester  and  his  dust  now  lies  in  Mt.  Hope,  the 
beautiful  cemetery  of  that  city.  Over  him  is  a  monument,  placed 
there,  by  that  other  true  friend  of  women,  Gerrit  Smith  of  Peter- 
boro 

I  have  seen  the  Hutchinson  family  in  a  mob  in  New  York.  When 
neither  Mr.  Garrison.  Mr.  Phillips  nor  Mr.  Burleigh,  nor  any  one 
could  speak,  when  there  was  a  perfect  tempest  and  whirlwind  of 
rowdyism  in  the  old  Tabernacle  on  Broadway,  then  this  family 
would  sing,  and  almost  upon  the  instant  that  they  would  raise  their 
voices,  so  perfect  was  the  music,  so  sweet  the  concord,  so  enchanting 
the  melody,  that  it  came  down  upon  the  audience  like  a  summer 
shower  on  a  dusty  road,  subduing,  settling  everything. 

I  can  not  add  to  the  paper  which  Mrs.  Stanton  has  sent.  After 
her — silence.  Your  cause  has  raised  up  no  voice  so  potent  as  that 
of  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton — no  living  voice  except  yours,  Madame 
President. 

How  delighted  I  am  to  see  that  you  have  the  image  of  Lucretia 
Mott  here  [referring  to  her  marble  bust  on  the  stage].  I  am  glad 
to  be  here,  glad  to  be  counted  on  your  side,  and  glad  to  be  able  to 
remember  that  those  who  have  gone  before  were  my  friends.  I 
was  more  indebted  to  Whittier  perhaps  than  to  any  other  of  the 
anti-slavery  people.  He  did  more  to  fire  my  soul  and  enable  me  to 
fire  the  souls  of  others  than  any  other  man.  It  was  Whittier  and 
Pierpont  who  feathered  our  arrows,  shot  in  the  direction  of  the 
slave  power,  and  they  did  it  well.  No  better  reading  can  now  be 
had  in  favor  of  the  rights  of  woman  or  the  liberties  of  man  than  is 
to  be  found  in  their  utterances 

Miss  Clara  Barton  ( D.  C. )  spoke  in  a  touching  manner  of  the 
great  service  rendered  to  humanity  by  Dr.  Harriet  N.  Austin, 
who  assisted  Dr.  James  C.  Jackson  to  establish  the  "Home  on 
the  Hillside,"  the  Dansville  (N.  Y.)  Sanitorium.  Henry  B. 
Blackwell  told  of  John  L.  Whiting,  "a  power  and  a  strength  to  the 
Massachusetts  Suffrage  Association  for  many  years,  one  of  those 
rare  men  not  made  smaller  by  wealth,  and  always  willing  to 
give  himself,  his  mind,  his  heart,  his  money,  to  help  the  cause 
of  woman."  The  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  said  in  part : 


2C>6  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

I  have  been  asked  to  speak  a  word  of  Mrs.  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 
It  has  been  said  by  some  people  that  we  have  wrongfully  quoted 
Mr.  Emerson  as  being  on  our  side.  His  biographers  appear  to  have 
put  in  his  early  statements  and  forgotten  to  include  his  later  declara- 
tions, which  were  all  in  favor  of  the  enfranchisement  of  women. 

I  was  once  sent  to  Concord  by  the  Massachusetts  society  to  hold  a 
meeting.  The  churches  were  closed  against  suffrage  speakers  and 
there  was  not  money  enough  to  pay  for  a  hall.  Mrs.  Ralph  Waldo 
Emerson  heard  the  meeting  was  to  be  given  up,  and  she  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  the  lady  having  the  work  in  charge,  saying:  "Shall  it  be 
said  that  here  in  Concord,  where  the  Revolutionary  war  began, 
there  is  no  place  to  speak  for  the  freedom  of  women  ?  Get  the  best 
hall  in  town  and  I  will  pay  for  it."  So  on  that  occasion  and  on  an- 
other Mrs.  Emerson  paid  for  the  hall  and  sent  a  kind  word  to  the 
meeting,  declaring  herself  in  favor  of  the  suffrage  for  women,  and 
stating  that  her  husband's  views  and  her  own  were  identical  on  this 
question.  She  had  the  New  England  trait  of  being  a  good  wife,  a 
good  mother  and  a  good  housekeeper,  and  Mr.  Emerson's  home  was 
a  restful  and  blessed  place.  We  sometimes  forget  the  wives  of 
great  men  in  thinking  of  the  greatness  of  their  husbands,  but  Mrs. 
Emerson  was  as  great  in  her  way  as  Mr.  Emerson  in  his,  and  no 
more  faithful  friend  to  woman  and  to  woman's  advancement  ever 
has  lived  among  us.* 

A  word  as  to  the  Rev.  Anna  Oliver,  the  first  woman  to  enter  the 
theological  department  of  Boston  University.  She  was  much  be- 
loved by  her  class.  She  was  a  devoted  Christian,  eminently  ortho- 
dox, and  a  very  good  worker  in  all  lines  of  religious  effort.  After 
Miss  Oliver  graduated  she  was  ambitious  to  become  ordained,  as  all 
women  ought  to  be  who  desire  to  preach  the  gospel ;  and  so  after  I 
had  graduated  from  the  theological  school,  the  year  following,  we 
both  applied  to  the  conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
for  admission.  Miss  Oliver's  name  beginning  with  O  and  mine 
with  S,  her  case  was  presented  first.  She  was  denied  ordination  by 
Bishop  Andrews.  Our  claims  were  carried  to  the  general  confer- 
ence in  Cincinnati,  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  denied 
ordination  to  the  women  whom  it  had  graduated  in  its  schools  and 
upon  whom  it  had  conferred  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  divinity.  It 
not  only  did  this,  but  it  made  a  step  backwards ;  it  took  from  us  the 
licenses  to  preach  which  had  been  granted  to  Miss  Oliver  for  four 
years  and  to  myself  for  eight  years. 

But  Miss  Oliver  was  earnest  in  her  efforts,  and  so  she  began  to 
preach  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  and  with  great  courage  bought  a 
church  in  which  a  man  had  failed  as  a  minister,  leaving  a  debt  of 
$14,000.  She  was  like  a  great  many  other  women — and  here  is  a 
warning  for  all  women.  God  made  a  woman  equal  to  a  man,  but 
He  did  not  make  a  woman  equal  to  a  woman  and  a  man.  We 
usually  try  to  do  the  work  of  a  man  and  of  a  woman  too ;  then  we 
break  down,  and  they  say  that  women  ought  not  to  be  ministers 

*  For  other  instances  see  Life  and  Work  of  Susan  B.  Anthony,  pp.   132,  251. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1892.  2O/ 

because  they  are  not  strong  enough.  They  do  not  get  churches  that 
can  afford  to  send  them  to  Europe  on  a  three  months'  vacation  once 
a  year.  Miss  Oliver  was  not  only  the  minister  and  the  minister's 
wife,  but  she  started  at  least  a  dozen  reforms  and  undertook  to 
carry  them  all  out.  She  was  attacked  by  that  influential  Method- 
ist paper,  the  Christian  Advocate,  edited  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  James  M. 
Buckley,  who  declared  that  he  would  destroy  her  influence  in  the 
church,  and  so  with  that  great  organ  behind  him  he  attacked  her. 
She  had  that  to  fight,  the  world  to  fight  and  the  devil  to  fight,  and 
she  broke  down  in  health.  She  went  abroad  to  recover,  but  came 
home  only  to  die.* 

The  death  of  those  less  widely  known  was  touchingly  referred 
to  by  women  of  the  different  States.  Miss  Anthony  closed  the 
services  by  saying:  "I  am  just  informed  that  we  must  add  to 
this  list  the  revered  name  of  Abby  Hopper  Gibbons,  of  four-score- 
and-ten,  who  with  her  father,  Isaac  T.  Hopper,  formed  the 
Women's  Prison  Association,  and  who  has  stood  for  more  than 
the  allotted  years  of  man  the  sentinel  on  the  watch-tower  to  guard 
unfortunate  women  and  help  them  back  into  womanly  living." 

At  the  first  evening  session  Miss  Anthony,  in  her  president's 
address,  answered  the  question,  "What  has  been  gained  by  the 
forty  years'  work?"  She  called  attention  to  the  woman  who 
had  preached  the  day  before,  ordained  by  an  orthodox  denomina- 
tion; to  the  women  alternate  delegates  to  the  late  National  Re- 
publican Convention;  to  the  recommendation  of  Gov.  Roswell 
P.  Flower  that  women  should  be  delegates  to  the  approaching 
New  York  Constitutional  Convention.  She  pointed  out  rapidly 
many  other  straws  showing  the  direction  of  the  wind,  saying: 
"Wendell  Phillips  said  what  he  wanted  to  do  on  the  abolition 
question  was  to  turn  Congress  into  an  anti-slavery  debating  so- 
ciety. That  is  what  we  have  done  with  every  educational,  indus- 
trial, religious  and  political  body — we  have  turned  them  all  into 
debating  societies  on  the  woman  question." 

U.  S.  Senator  Joseph  M.  Carey  (Wy.)  sent  a  letter  reaffirm- 
ing his  conviction  that  the  granting  of  full  political  rights  to 
women  would  be  for  the  best  interests  of  the  country.  Mr. 
Blackwell  sketched  the  successive  extensions  of  suffrage  to 
women,  and  set  forth  the  special  importance  of  their  trying  to 
secure  the  Municipal  and  the  Presidential  franchises,  both  of 

*  The  Rev.  Anna  Oliver  left  $1,000  to  the  National  Suffrage  Association. 


2O8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

which  could  be  granted  by  the  Legislature.  Mrs.  Ellen  Battelle 
Dietrick  (Mass.)  read  an  able  paper  on  The  Best  Methods  of 
Interesting  Women  in  Suffrage,  in  which  she  said : 

The  truth  is,  the  American  woman  has  been  so  pleasantly  soothed 
by  the  sweet  opiate  of  that  high-sounding  theory  of  her  "sover- 
eignty," that  until  very  recently  she  could  not  be  aroused  to  examine 
the  facts.  Forty  years  ago  the  voices  of  a  few  crying  in  the 
wilderness  began  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  present  awaken- 
ing. .... 

The  deliverance  of  woman  must  have  as  its  corner-stone  self- 
support.  The  first  step  in  this  direction  must  be  to  explode  the 
fallacy  that  marriage  is  a  state  of  being  supported.  As  men  are 
most  largely  the  gatherers  of  money,  it  is  mistakenly  assumed  that 
they  are  most  largely  the  creators  of  wealth.  The  man  goes  abroad 
and  gives  his  daily  labor  toward  earning  his  board  and  clothes ;  but 
what  he  actually  receives  for  his  work  can  neither  be  eaten  nor 
worn.  It  does  nothing  whatever  until  he  puts  it  into  his  wife's 
hands,  and  upon  her  intelligence,  energy  and  ability  depend  how 
much  can  be  done  through  the  using  of  it.  Not  until  her  labor  in 
transforming  raw  material,  in  cooking,  sewing,  and  rendering  a 
house  habitable,  is  joined  to  his,  can  a  man  be  said  to  have  really 
received  anything  worth  having.  He  begins,  she  completes,  the  mak- 
ing of  their  joint  wealth.  Their  dependence  is  mutual ;  the  position 
of  the  one  who  turns  the  money  into  usable  material  by  her  labor 
being  equally  important,  equally  valuable,  with  that  of  him  who 
turned  his  labor  into  money ;  and  this  must  be  fully  recognized  if 
woman  is  ever  to  come  into  her  true  relation  to  man.  She  supports 
him  exactly  as  he  supports  her,  and  this  is  equally  the  case  with  the 
wife  who  herself  produces  directly,  or  the  one  who  gives  her  time 
and  intelligence  to  direct  the  production  of  others 

Closely  allied  to  the  fallacy  that  man  supports  woman  is  the  fal- 
lacy that  man  protects  woman,  and  has  a  right  to  control  her  by  vir- 
tue of  this  protection.  There  was  a  period  in  the  world's  transition 
from  savagery  to  civilization  when  mankind  had  so  little  concep- 
tion of  the  mutuality  of  human  interests  that  war  was  a  perpetual 
condition  of  society.  Originally  women  also  were  fighters ;  just  as 
the  lioness  or  tigress  is  as  capable  as  her  mate  of  self-defense  and 
protection  of  her  young,  so  the  savage  woman,  when  necessity  re- 
quired, was  equally  capable  of  conducting  warfare  in  the  same  cause. 
But  long  before  men  had  given  up  killing  each  other  for  the  better 
business  of  trading  with  and  helping  each  other  woman  had  ceased 
to  be  a  fighter.  She  was  the  first  to  see  the  advantages  of  peace, 
both  because  she  was  the  earliest  manufacturer  and  trader  and  be- 
cause it  cost  her  more  in  the  production  of  every  soldier  than  it  cost 
man.  Instinct  directed  her  toward  peace  long  before  reason  made 
it  possible  for  her  to  explain  why  she  hated  war,  and  she  hated  it 
as  an  occupation  for  herself  long  before  it  occurred  to  her  to 
despise  it  as  an  occupation  for  man.  To-day  the  love  of  peace  and 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1893.  2O9 

hatred  for  war  which  she  is  rapidly  spreading  through  the  world  is 
the  real  protector  of  woman ;  she  is  a  self-protector  by  virtue  of  this 
proclivity,  and,  as  war  is  equally  the  enemy  of  man,  here  again 
woman  gives  to  man  as  much  as  she  receives.  Whatever  force  the 
argument  based  on  the  right  of  soldiers  to  rule  may  once  have  had  is 
rapidly  passing  away.  The  era  of  the  destroyer  is  dying,  the  epoch 
of  the  Creator  is  coming  in 

The  subjugation  of  woman  doubtless  arose  from  an  honest  de- 
sire of  man  to  protect  her.  His  mistake  lay  in  assuming  that  his 
mind  and  will  could  do  private  and  public  duty  for  both.  Woman's 
mistake  lay  in  assuming  that  she  might  with  safety  permit  man's 
mind  and  will  to  discharge  the  duties  nature  meant  to  be  fulfilled 
by  her  own.  Unhappily  nature  has  a  way  of  allowing  the  human 
race  to  learn  by  its  own  experience,  even  though  the  lesson  consume 
ages  of  time ;  and  she  has  also  a  rule  that  unused  faculties  and  func- 
tions fall  into  a  state  of  atrophy.  It  was  by  such  a  substitution  of 
masculine  for  feminine  will  that  woman  fell  so  far  behind  him  whom 
she  originally  led  in  the  race,  industrial  and  intellectual.  If  they 
are  ever  to  march  side  by  side  as  true  comrades  and  free  partners, 
it  must  be  by  a  voluntary  resumption  of  independence  in  feminine 
mind  and  will.  In  this  man  can  assist  by  stimulating  her  spirit  of 
independence,  or  he  can  discourage  it  by  a  contrary  course,  but  the 
final  result  lies  with  woman  herself.  She  alone  can  free  herself 
from  the  habits  of  thought  and  action  engendered  by  thousands  of 
years  of  slavery. 

The  steps  toward  the  emancipation  of  women  are  first  intellectual, 
then  industrial,  lastly  legal  and  political.  Great  strides  in  the  first 
two  of  these  stages  already  have  been  made  by  millions  of  women 
who  do  not  yet  perceive  that  it  is  surely  carrying  them  towards  the 
last. 

In  the  address  of  Mrs.  Ruth  C.  D.  Havens  (D.  C.)  on  The 
Girl  of  the  Future,  which  was  greatly  enjoyed,  she  said : 

The  training  and  education  of  the  girl  of  the  present  have  seldom 
been  discussed  except  from  one  standpoint — her  suitable  prepara- 
tion for  becoming  an  economical  housekeeper,  an  inexpensive  wife, 
a  willing  and  self-forgetful  mother,  a  cheap,  unexacting,  patient, 
unquestioning,  unexpectant,  ministering  machine.  The  girl's  use- 
fulness to  herself,  to  her  sex  and  race,  her  preferences,  tastes,  hap- 
piness, social,  intellectual  or  financial  prosperity,  hardly  have  en- 
tered into  the  thought  upon  this  question 

If  woman  would  be  a  student,  a  scientist,  a  lecturer,  a  physician ; 
if  she  would  be  a  pioneer  in  a  wilderness  of  scoffers  to  make  fair 
roads  up  which  her  sex  might  easily  travel  to  equal  educational  and 
legal  rights,  equal  privileges  and  pay  in  fields  of  labor,  equal  suf- 
frage— she  must  divide  her  eager  energies  and  give  the  larger  half 
to  superior  homekeeping,  wifehood  and  motherhood,  in  order  that 
her  new  gospel  shall  be  received  with  any  respect  or  acceptance. 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 14  i 


2IO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

And  probably  no  class  of  women  have  been  such  sticklers  for  the 
cultivation  of  all  woman's  modest,  unassuming  home  duties  as  have 
been  the  great,  ambitious  teachers  on  this  suffrage  platform.  .  .  . 

But  this  will  not  be  the  training  of  the  girl  of  the  future.  It  is 
not  the  sort  of  preparation  to  which  the  boy  of  the  present  is  urged. 
"Jack  of  all  trades,  good  at  none"  is  the  old  epithet  bestowed  upon  a 
man  who  thus  diffuses  his  energies.  You  do  not  expect  a  dis- 
tinguished lawyer  to  clean  his  own  clothes,  a  doctor  to  groom  his 
horse,  a  teacher  to  take  care  of  the  schoolhouse  furnace,  a  preacher 
to  half-sole  his  shoes.  This  would  be  illogical,  and  men  are  noth- 
ing if  not  logical.  Yet  a  woman  who  enters  upon  any  line  of 
achievement  is  invariably  hampered,  for  at  least  the  early  years, 
with  the  inbred  desire  to  add  to  the  labor  of  her  profession  all  the 
so-called  feminine  duties,  which,  fulfilled  to-day,  are  yet  to  be  done 
to-morrow,  which  bring  to  her  neither  comfort,  gain  nor  reputa- 
tion, and  which  by  their  perpetual  demand  diminish  her  powers  for 
a  higher  quality  of  work 

Everywhere  there  is  too  much  housekeeping.  It  is  not  economy 
of  time  or  money  for  every  little  family  of  moderate  means  to  un- 
dertake alone  the  expensive  and  wearing  routine.  The  married 
woman  of  the  future  will  be  set  free  by  co-operative  methods,  half 
the  families  on  a  square,  perhaps,  enjoying  one  luxurious,  well- 
appointed  dining-room  with  expenses  divided  pro  rata.  In  many 
other  ways  housekeeping  will  be  simplified.  Homes  have  no  longer 
room  for  people — they  are  consecrated  to  things.  Parlors  and  bed- 
rooms are  full  of  the  cheap  and  incongruous  or  expensive  and  har- 
monious belongings  of  a  junk  shop.  Plush  gods  hold  the  fort. 
All  the  average  house  needs  to  make  it  a  museum  is  the  sign, 
"Hands  off."  .... 

The  girl  of  the  future  will  select  her  own  avocation  and  take  her 
own  training  for  it.  If  she  be  a  house  worker,  and  many  will  pre- 
fer to  be,  she  will  be  so  valuable  in  that  line  as  to  command  much 
respect  and  good  wages.  If  she  be  an  architect,  a  jeweler,  an 
electrical  engineer,  she  will  not  rob  a  cook  by  mutilating  a  dinner, 
or  a  dressmaker  by  amateur  cutting  and  sewing,  or  a  milliner  by 
creating  her  own  bonnet.  The  house  helper  will  not  be  incompe- 
tent, because  the  development  and  training  of  woman  for  her  best 
and  truest  work  will  have  extended  to  her  also,  and  she  will  do 
housework  because  she  loves  it  and  is  better  adapted  to  it  than  to 
any  other  employment.  She  will  preside  in  the  kitchen  with  skill 
and  science. 

The  service  girl  of  the  future  will  be  paid  perhaps  double  or 
treble  her  present  wages,  with  wholesome  food,  a  cheerful  room, 
an  opportunity  to  see  an  occasional  cousin  and  some  leisure  for 
recreation.  At  present  this  would  be  ruinous,  and  why?  Because 
too  frequently  the  family  has  but  one  producer.  The  wife,  herself 
a  consumer,  produces  more  consumers.  Daughters  grow  up  around 
a  man  like  lilies  of  the  field,  which  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin. 
Every  member  of  every  family  in  the  future  will  be  a  producer  of 
some  kind  and  in  some  degree.  The  only  one  who  will  have  the 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1893.  211 

right  of  exemption  will  be  the  mother,  for  a  child  can  hardly  be 
born  with  cheerful  views  of  living  whose  mother's  life  has  been, 
for  its  sake,  a  double  burden.  From  this  root  spring  melancholy, 
insanity,  suicide.  The  production  of  human  souls  is  the  highest 
production  of  all,  the  one  which  requires  most  preparation,  truest 
worth,  gravest  care  and  holiest  consecration.  If  the  girl  of  the 
future  recognizes  this  truth,  she  will  have  made  an  advance  indeed. 
But  apart  from  the  mother  every  member  of  the  family  should  be  a 
material  producer;  and  then  there  will  be  means  sufficient  for  the 
producer  in  the  kitchen  to  get  such  remuneration  for  her  skill  as 
will  eliminate  the  incompetent,  shirking,  migratory  creature  of  to- 
day  

I  hardly  need  say  to  this  audience  that  the  girl  of  the  future  will 
vote.  She  will  not  plead  for  the  privilege — she  will  be  urged  to 
exercise  the  right,  and  no  one  will  admit  that  he  ever  opposed  it,  or 
remember  that  there  was  a  time  when  woman's  ballot  w,as  despised 
and  rejected  of  men.  She  will  not  be  told  that  she  needs  the  suf- 
frage for  her  own  protection,  but  she  will  be  urged  to  exercise  it  for 
the  good  of  her  country  and  of  humanity.  It  will  not  be  known 
that  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  once  a  dead  letter.  No 
one  will  believe  that  it  ever  was  declared  that  the  Constitution  did 
not  protect  this  right.  It  will  be  incredible  that  women  were  once 
neither  people  nor  citizens,  and  yet  were  the  mothers,  and  in  so  much 
the  creators,  of  the  men  who  governed  them.- 

Mrs.  Mary  S.  Lockwood  (D.  C),  member-at-large  of  the 
World's  Fair  Board  of  Lady  Managers,  read  a  carefully  pre- 
pared statement  of  the  methods  and  aims  of  that  body,  which 
began :  "The  Board  of  Lady  Managers  owe  their  existence  to 
Susan  B.  Anthony  and  her  co-workers.  It  was  these  women  who 
went  before  Congress  and  not  only  asked  but  demanded  that 
women  should  have  a  place  in  the  management  of  this  Columbian 
Exposition — and  they  got  it"  !*  She  closed  as  follows : 

I  have  been  greatly  impressed  as  I  have  come  into  this  hall  from 
day  to  day,  and  have  looked  upon  the  sweet  representative  face  in 
marble  of  Lucretia  Mott  and  the  benign,  glorified  face  of  Mrs.  Stan- 
ton,  with  Susan  B.  Anthony  as  the  central  figure  of  the  trio,  and 
have  thought  of  the  years  they  have  lifted  up  their  voices  praying 
they  might  see  the  glory  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord ;  and  I  have 
felt  if  only  I  could  bring  before  them  the  sheaves  which  we  are 
gathering  from  the  women  of  the  earth  for  this  great  exposition ; 
if  only  I  could  show  them  how  their  work  has  put  the  women  of  this 
nation  in  touch  with  the  women  of  every  other  country,  awakening 
them  to  new  aspirations,  new  hopes,  new  efforts,  to  whom  the  dawn 
of  a  brighter  day  is  visible — these  pioneers  would  say,  "Our  eyes 

*  For  the  part  of  Miss  Anthony  and  others  in  securing  this  board,  see  Chap.  XIV. 


212  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

are  indeed  opened ;  a  handful  of  corn  planted  on  the  top  of  the 
mountain  has  been  made  to  shake  all  Lebanon." 

Miss  Mary  H.  Williams  ( Neb. )  reported  that,  as  chairman  of 
a  committee  for  this  purpose,  she  had  sent  letters  to  forty-nine 
Governors  of  States  and  Territories ;  twenty-one  replies  had  been 
received — nine  in  favor  of  full  suffrage  for  women,  two  of 
school  suffrage  only,  three  were  totally  opposed  and  the  others 
made  evasive  replies.  The  nine  in  favor  were  Governors  Barber 
of  Wyoming,  Routt  of  Colorado,  Mellette  of  South  Dakota, 
Winans  of  Michigan,  Thomas  of  Utah,  Burke  of  North  Dakota, 
Humphrey  of  Kansas,  Colcord  of  Nevada,  Knapp  of  Alaska.  All 
of  these  were  Western  men  and  all  Republicans  but  Winans. 
Tillman  of  South  Carolina  and  Willey  of  Idaho  favored  school 
suffrage  alone.  Stone  of  Mississippi  and  Fleming  of  West  Vir- 
ginia answered  "no."  Gov.  James  E.  Boyd  of  Nebraska  was  op- 
posed, although  he  would  allow  women  to  vote  on  school  ques- 
tions. Governor  Boyd's  election  had  been  contested  on  the  ground 
that  his  father  had  not  been  properly  naturalized. 

Gov.  Thomas  M.  Holt  of  North  Carolina  replied :  "I  am  ut- 
terly opposed  to  woman  suffrage  in  any  shape  or  form.  I  have 
a  wife  and  three  daughters,  all  married,  who  are  as  much  opposed 
to  women  going  into  politics  as  I  am,  and  they  reflex  the  senti- 
ment of  our  Southern  women  generally." 

Gov.  Francis  P.  Fleming  of  Florida  gave  nine  reasons  why  he 
was  opposed,  but  concluded:  "The  above  objections  would  not 
as  a  rule  apply  to  church  or  school  elections,  and  as  women  are 
usually  much  more  pious  than  men  and  take  more  interest  in 
church  matters,  I  am  inclined  to  think  it  would  be  well  for  them 
to  vote  at  church  elections,  and  am  not  aware  of  any  particular 
objection  to  their  voting  at  school  elections." 

The  address  of  Mrs.  Orra  Langhorne  (Va.)  was  read  by  her 
niece,  Miss  Henderson  Dangerfield.  It  gave  a  charming  picture 
of  the  oldtime  Southern  woman,  her  responsible  social  position, 
her  care  for  her  great  household  in  her  own  small  world;  de- 
scribed how  she  was  handicapped  by  tradition  and  lack  of  intel- 
lectual training;  depicted  the  changed  conditions  since  the  war 
and  her  gradual  awakening  to  the  demands  of  modern  life  and 
the  need  of  larger  rights. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1893.  213 

Lucy  Stone  was  not  able  to  be  present  and  a  letter  from  her 
was  read  by  her  husband,  Mr.  Blackwell : 

DEAR  FRIENDS: — Wherever  woman  suffragists  are  gathered  to- 
gether in  the  name  of  equal  rights,  there  am  I  always  in  spirit  with 
them.  Although  unable  to  be  present  in  person,  my  glad  greeting 
goes  to  you,  every  one,  to  those  who  have  borne  the  heat  and  burden 
of  the  day,  and  to  the  strong,  brave,  younger  workers  who  have 
come  to  lighten  the  load  and  help  bring  the  victory.  The  work 
still  calls  for  patient  perseverance  and  ceaseless  endeavor;  but  we 
have  every  reason  to  rejoice  when  there  are  so  many  gains  and 
when  favorable  conditions  abound  on  every  hand.  The  end  is  not 
yet  in  sight,  but  it  can  not  be  far  away.  The  road  before  us  is 
shorter  than  the  road  behind. 

This  was  her  last  message  to  the  association.  She  passed 
away  in  October  of  this  year,  having  labored  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury for  the  enfranchisement  of  women. 

Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  in  an  address  entitled  Compari- 
sons Are  Odious,  showed  the  contrast  between  the  Govern- 
ment's treatment  of  the  Sioux  Indians,  exempted  from  taxation 
and  allowed  to  vote,  and  of  law-abiding,  intelligent  women  in 
the  same  section  of  the  country,  compelled  to  pay  taxes  and  not 
allowed  to  vote.*  Miss  Elizabeth  Upham  Yates  closed  the  even- 
ing with  a  brilliant  address. 

Before  adjourning  Miss  Anthony  read  Gov.  Roswell  P. 
Flower's  certificate  appointing  her  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Managers  of  the  State  Industrial  School  at  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
She  took  considerable  satisfaction  in  pointing  out  that  it  referred 
to  her  as  "him,"  because  she  had  always  contended  that,  if  the 
masculine  pronoun  in  an  official  document  is  sufficient  to  send 
a  woman  to  the  jail  or  the  gallows,  it  is  sufficient  to  enable  her  to 
vote  and  hold  office. 

On  the  last  evening,  the  Hon.  Carroll  D.  Wright,  U.  S.  Commis- 
sioner of  Labor,  delivered  a  valuable  address  on  The  Industrial 
Emancipation  of  Women,  in  which  he  said : 

Until  within  a  comparatively  recent  period,  woman's  subjection 
to  man  has  been  well-nigh  complete  in  all  respects,  whether  such 
subjection  is  considered  from  a  social,  political,  intellectual  or  even 
a  physical  point  of  view.  At  first  the  property  of  man,  she  emerged 
under  civilization  from  the  sphere  of  a  drudge  to  that  of  a  social 

*  As  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  spoke  always  without  MS.,  it  is  impossible  to  give  extracts 
from  her  speeches,  which  were  among  the  ablest  made  at  the  national  conventions. 


214  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

factor  and,  consequently,  into  the  liberty  of  cultivating  her  mental 
faculties 

Industrial  emancipation,  using  the  term  broadly,  means  the  high- 
est type  of  woman  as  the  result,  the  word  "industrial"  comprehend- 
ing in  this  sense  all  remunerative  employment.  The  entrance  of 
woman  into  the  industrial  field  was  assured  when  the  factory  sys- 
tem of  labor  displaced  the  domestic  or  hand  labor  system.  The 
age  of  invention,  with  the  wonderful  ramifications  which  invention 
always  has  produced,  must  be  held  accountable  for  bringing  woman 
into  a  field  entirely  unknown  to  her  prior  to  that  age.  As  an  eco- 
nomic factor,  either  in  art,  literature  or  industry,  she  was  before  that 
time  hardly  recognizable.  With  the  establishment  of  the  factory 
system,  the  desire  of  woman  to  have  something  more  than  she  could 
earn  as  a  domestic  or  in  agricultural  labor,  or  to  earn  something 
where  before  she  had  earned  nothing,  resulted  in  her  becoming  an 
economic  factor,  and  she  was  obliged  to  submit  to  all  the  conditions 
of  this  new  position.  It  hardly  can  be  said  that  in  the  lower  forms 
of  industrial  pursuits  she  superseded  man,  but  it  is  true  that  she 
supplemented  his  labors 

Each  step  in  industrial  progress  has  raised  her  in  the  scale  of 
civilization  rather  than  degraded  her.  As  a  result  she  has  con- 
stantly gone  up  higher  and  gained  intellectual  advantages,  such  as 
the  opening  to  her  of  the  higher  institutions  of  learning,  which 
have  in  turn  equipped  her  for  the  best  professional  employment. 
The  moral  plane  of  the  so-called  workingwoman  certainly  is  higher 
than  that  of  the  woman  engaged  in  domestic  service,  and  is  equal 
to  that  of  any  class  of  women  in  the  community 

As  women  have  occupied  the  positions  of  bookkeepers,  telegraph- 
ers and  many  of  what  might  be  called  semi-professional  callings, 
men  have  entered  engineering,  electrical,  mechanical  and  other 
spheres  of  work  which  were  not  known  when  women  first  stepped 
into  the  industrial  field.  As  the  latter  have  progressed  from  entire 
want  of  employment  to  that  which  pays  a  few  dollars  per  week,  men, 
too,  have  progressed  in  their  employments,  and  occupied  larger 
fields  not  existing  before 

Woman  is  now  stepping  out  of  industrial  subjection  and  coming 
into  the  industrial  system  of  the  present  as  an  entirely  new  economic 
factor.  If  there  were  no  other  reasons,  this  alone  would  be  suffi- 
cient to  make  her  wages  low  and  prevent  their  very  rapid  increase. 
.  .  .  .  The  growing  importance  of  woman's  labor,  her  general 
equipment  through  technical  education,  her  more  positive  dedica- 
tion to  the  life-work  she  chooses,  the  growing  sentiment  that  an 
educated  and  skilful  woman  is  a  better  and  truer  companion  in  mar- 
riage than  an  ignorant  and  unskilful  one,  her  appreciation  of  the 
value  of  organization,  the  general  uplifting  of  the  principle  of  in- 
tegrity in  business  circles,  woman's  gradual  approach  to  man's 
powers  in  mental  achievement  also,  her  possible  and  probable  po- 
litical influence — all  these  combined,  working  along  general  avenues 
of  progress  and-  evolution,  will  bring  her  industrial  emancipation, 
by  which  she  will  stand  on  an  equality  with  man  in  those  callings 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1893.  21 5 

in  life  for  which  she  may  be  fitted.  As  she  approaches  this  equality 
her  remuneration  will  be  increased  and  her  economic  importance 
acknowledged 

If  woman's  industrial  emancipation  leads  to  what  many  are 
pleased  to  call  "political  rights,"  we  must  not  quarrel  with  it.  It 
is  not  just  that  all  other  advantages  which  may  come  through  this 
emancipation  shall  be  withheld  simply  because  one  great  privilege 
on  which  there  is  a  division  of  sentiment  may  also  come. 

One  of  the  greatest  boons  which  will  result  from  the  industrial 
emancipation  of  woman  will  be  the  frank  admission  on  the  part  of 
the  true  and  chivalric  man  that  she  is  the  sole  and  rightful  owner 
of  her  own  being  in  every  respect,  and  that  whatever  companion- 
ship may  exist  between  her  and  man  shall  be  as  thoroughly  honor- 
able to  her  as  to  him. 

Miss  Harriet  May  Mills  (N.  Y.)  gave  a  paper  on  The  Present 
Political  Status  of  Woman,  which  showed  the  trained  mind  and 
logical  method  of  thought  one  would  expect  from  a  graduate  of 
Cornell  University.  The  last  address  of  the  convention  was 
given  by  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  entitled  The  America 
Undiscovered  by  Columbus.  This,  like  so  many  of  Miss  Shaw's 
unsurpassed  lectures,  will  be  lost  to  posterity  because  unwritten 
and  not  stenographically  reported. 

In  her  report  as  vice-president-at-large  Miss  Shaw  announced 
that  she  had  given  during  the  year  215  lectures  for  which  she 
had  received  pay,  twenty-five  of  these  for  suffrage  associations 
and  the  rest  for  temperance  and  literary  organizations,  but  on 
every  occasion  it  had  been  a  suffrage  lecture.  In  addition  she 
had  given  gratuitously  to  the  service  of  this  cause  lectures  which 
at  her  regular  price  would  have  amounted  to  $1,265.  She  also 
related  the  following  incident:  "I  was  present  at  the  National 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  in  Denver,  and  Miss 
Willard  introduced  me  as  a  fraternal  delegate  from  the  National 
Suffrage  Association.  I  made  my  little  speech  and  the  whole  con- 
vention arose  and  waved  their  handkerchiefs  at  the  message  sent 
by  this  body.  One  woman  jumped  to  her  feet  and  moved  that  a 
telegram  be  returned  from  that  convention,  giving  its  sisterly 
sympathy.  Miss  Willard  got  up  and  said,  'Shoo,  ladies;  this  is 
different  from  what  it  was  in  Washington  in  1881,  when  you 
refused  to  let  me  have  Miss  Anthony  on  my  platform.  Things 
are  coming  around,  girls.' ' 

The  corresponding  secretary,  Mrs.  Rachel  Foster  Avery,  an- 


2l6  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

nounced  that  thirty-three  State  associations  were  auxiliary  to  the 
national.  Miss  Adelaide  Johnson  was  introduced  as  the  sculptor 
who  had  modeled  the  fine  busts  of  Lucretia  Mott,  Mrs.  Stanton 
and  Miss  Anthony,  which  were  on  the  platform.  Miss  Laura  Clay 
reported  on  the  work  that  had  just  been  commenced  in  the 
Southern  States,  which  she  considered  a  most  hopeful  field.  In 
the  discussion  on  Press  Work,  when  it  was  proposed  that  the 
association  start  an  official  paper,  Miss  Anthony  said  with  much 
feeling:  "I  had  an  experience  in  publishing  a  paper  about 
twenty-five  years  ago  and  I  came  to  grief.  I  never  hear  of  a 
woman  starting  a  suffrage  paper  that  my  blood  does  not  tingle 
with  agony  for  what  that  poor  soul  will  have  to  endure — the 
same  agony  I  went  through.  I  feel,  however,  that  we  shall  never 
become  an  immense  power  in  the  world  until  we  concentrate  all 
our  money  and  editorial  forces  upon  one  great  national  daily 
newspaper,  so  we  can  sauce  back  our  opponents  every  day  in  the 
year ;  once  a  month  or  once  a  week  is  not  enough. 

The  resolutions  presented  by  the  chairman,  Mrs.  Dietrick,  were 
adopted  without  dissent,*  except  the  last : 

WHEREAS,  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  promises  non- 
interference with  the  religious  liberty  of  the  people ;  and 

*  Resolved,  That  without  expressing  any  opinion  on  the  proper  qualifications  for  voting, 
we  call  attention  to  the  significant  facts  that  in  every  State  there  are  more  women  who  can 
read  and  write  than  the  whole  number  of  illiterate  male  voters;  more  white  women  who 
can  read  and  write  than  all  negro  voters;  more  American  women  who  can  read  and  write 
than  all  foreign  voters;  so  that  the  enfranchisement  of  such  women  would  settle  the  vexed 
question  of  rule  by  illiteracy,  whether  of  home-grown  or  foreign-born  production. 

Resolved,  That  as  all  experience  proves  that  the  rights  of  the  laboring  man  are  best  pre- 
served in  governments  where  he  has  possession  of  the  ballot,  we  therefore  demand  on 
behalf  of  the  laboring  woman  the  same  powerful  instrument,  that  she  may  herself  protect 
her  own  interests;  and  we  urge  all  organized  bodies  of  working  women,  whether  in  the 
field  of  philanthropy,  education,  trade,  manufacture  or  general  industry,  to  join  our  asso- 
ciation in  the  endeavor  to  make  woman  legally  and  politically  a  free  agent,  as  the  best 
means  for  furthering  any  and  every  line  of  woman's  work. 

Resolved,  That  in  all  States  possessing  School  Suffrage  for  women,  suffragists  are  ad- 
vised to  organize  in  each  representative  district  thereof,  for  the  purpose  of  training  and 
stimulating  women  voters  to  exercise  regularly  this  right,  using  it  as  a  preparatory  school 
for  the  coming  work  of  full-grown  citizenship  with  an  unlimited  ballot  We  also  advise 
that  women  everywhere  work  for  the  election  of  an  equal  number  of  women  and  men 
upon  school  boards,  that  the  State  in  taking  upon  itself  the  education  of  children  may 
provide  them  with  as  many  official  mothers  as  fathers. 

WHEREAS,  Many  forms  of  woman  suffrage  may  be  granted  by  State  Legislatures  with- 
out change  in  existing  constitutions;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  suffragists  in  every  State  should  petition  for  Municipal,  School  and 
Presidential  Suffrage  by  statute,  and  take  every  practicable  step  toward  securing  such 
legislation. 

Resolved,  That  we  urge  all  women  to  enter  protest,  at  the  time  of  paying  taxes,  at 
.  being  compelled  to  submit  to  taxation  without  representation. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1893. 

WHEREAS,  Congress  is  now  threatening  to  abridge  the  liberties 
of  all  in  response  to  ecclesiastical  dictation  from  a  portion  of  the 
people;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  this  association  enters  a  protest  against  any  na- 
tional attempt  to  control  the  innocent  inclinations  of  the  people 
either  on  the  Jewish  Sabbath  or  the  Christian  Sunday,  and  this  we 
do  quite  irrespective  of  our  individual  opinions  as  to  the  sanctity 
of  Sunday. 

Resolved,  That  we  especially  protest  against  this  present  attempt 
to  force  all  the  people  to  follow  the  religious  dictates  of  a  part  of 
the  people,  as  establishing  a  precedent  for  the  entrance  of  a  most 
dangerous  complicity  between  Church  and  State,  thereby  subtly  un- 
dermining the  foundation  of  liberty,  so  carefully  laid  by  the  wisdom 
of  our  fathers. 

This  precipitated  the  discussion  as  to  the  opening  of  the 
World's  Fair  on  Sunday  which  had  been  vigorously  waged  dur- 
ing two  preceding  conventions  without  resulting  in  definite  ac- 
tion. It  was  now  continued  during  three  sessions  and  then,  by 
majority  vote,  indefinitely  postponed.  Mrs.  Avery,  chairman 
of  the  Columbian  Exposition  Committee,*  closed  her  report  as 
follows :  "As  we  are  to  be  represented  in  so  many  ways  during 
the  World's  Fair — i.  e.,  at  the  World's  Congress  of  Representa- 
tive Women,  in  the  Suffrage  Congresses,  in  the  meetings  to  be 
held  in  the  auditorium  of  the  Woman's  Building,  in  the  program 
to  be  presented  by  us  for  the  approval  of  the  Committee  on 
General  Meetings  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers — I  would 
strongly  urge  against  attempting  to  hold  a  separate  Suffrage 
Congress,  either  national  or  international,  during  the  Exposi- 
tion." This  was  agreed  to. 

The  Congressional  Committee,  through  Mrs.  Harriet  Taylor 
Upton,  reported  that  375  letters  had  been  sent  to  members  of 
Congress  asking  for  an  expression  on  the  question  of  woman 
suffrage.  Of  those  who  responded  fifty-nine  were  in  favor  of 
full  suffrage;  twenty-five  of  qualified  suffrage;  sixty-five  wholly 
opposed.  The  remainder  did  not  reply,  although  stamps  were 
enclosed.  This  committee  also  arranged  for  the  printing,  pur- 
chasing and  distributing  of  23,000  copies  of  the  Senate  and 
House  hearings.  The  report  concluded:  "The  time  has  come 

*  Rachel  Foster  Avery,  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Alice  Stone  Blackwell,  Ellen  Battelle  Diet- 
rick,  Elizabeth  Boynton  Harbert,  the  Rev.  Florence  Kollock,  Lida  A.  Meriwether,  the 
Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  May  Wright  Sewall,  Mrs.  Leland  Stanford,  Elizabeth  Cady 
Stanton,  Lucy  Stone,  Jane  H.  Spofford,  Harriet  Taylor  Upton. 


2l8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

when  women  wanting  legislation  must  proceed  exactly  as  men 
do  who  want  it.  No  man  procures  an  office  for  himself  or  a 
friend,  nor  does  any  man  or  association  get  an  Act  passed,  unless 
the  claim  is  persistently  pressed,  not  only  upon  the  members  of 
the  committee  in  charge  of  it  but  upon  his  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances in  Congress.  There  is  no  use  in  supposing  the  justice  or 
right  of  a  question,  without  persistent  work,  is  going  to  bring 
about  a  reform."* 

Mrs.  Colby,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Federal  Suffrage, 
appointed  to  urge  the  legal  right  of  women  to  vote  for  Repre- 
sentatives under  the  U.  S.  Constitution,  reported  that  she  had  sent 
a  copy  of  Francis  Minor's  argument  to  every  member  of  the  Ju- 
diciary Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  with  a  per- 
sonal letter  asking  for  an  opinion,  and  that  not  one  replied. 
Petitions  were  sent  from  twenty  States,  including  suffrage 
associations,  temperance  societies,  granges,  etc.  Letters  asking 
an  opinion  were  written  to  nineteen  Senators  who  were  considered 
friendly  to  the  enfranchisement  of  women,  and  only  one  answered, 
Joseph  N.  Dolph  of  Oregon.  Miss  Sara  Winthrop  Smith 
(Conn.)  opened  the  discussion. f 

The  motion  of  Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell  to  amend  the  con- 
stitution so  that  it  would  not  be  obligatory  to  hold  every  annual 
convention  in  Washington,  was  amended  by  Mrs.  Avery  to  the 
effect  that  "the  annual  delegate  convention  shall  be  held  in  Wash- 
ington during  the  first  session  of  each  Congress,  in  order  to  in- 
fluence national,  legislation ;  the  meeting  of  the  alternate  conven- 
tions to  be  left  an  open  question."  Miss  Anthony  was  greatly 
opposed  to  holding  any  of  the  national  meetings  outside  of 
Washington,  and  in  a  forcible  speech  she  said : 

The  sole  object,  it  seems  to  me,  of  this  organization  is  to  bring 
the  combined  influence  of  all  the  States  upon  Congress  to  secure  na- 
tional legislation.  The  very  moment  you  change  the  purpose  of 
this  great  body  from  National  to  State  work  you  have  defeated  its 
object.  It  is  the  business  of  the  States  to  do  the  district  work;  to 
create  public  sentiment ;  to  make  a  national  organization  possible ; 

•  During  the  years  when  Mrs.  Upton's  father,  the  Hon.  Ezra  B.  Taylor  of  Ohio,  was 
in  Congress,  she  made  it  her  especial  business  to  press  this  matter  upon  the  members.  At 
least  two  favorable  reports  were  due  to  her  efforts,  and  the  association  greatly  missed  her 
congressional  work  when  she  left  Washington. 

t  The  arguments  for  Federal  Suffrage  are  contained  in  Chapter  I. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1893.  2IQ 

and  then  to  bring  their  united  power  to  the  capital  and  focus  it  on 
Congress.  Our  younger  women  naturally  can  not  appreciate  the 
vast  amount  of  work  done  here  in  Washington  by  the  National  As- 
sociation in  the  last  twenty-five  years.  The  delegates  do  not  come 
here  as  individuals  but  as  representatives  of  their  entire  States. 

We  have  had  these  conventions  here  for  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
and  every  Congress  has  given  hearings  to  the  ablest  women  we 
could  bring  from  every  section.  In  the  olden  times  the  States  were 
not  fully  organized — they  had  not  money  enough  to  pay  their  dele- 
gates' expenses.  We  begged  and  worked  and  saved  the  money 
and  the  National  Association  paid  the  expenses  of  delegates  from 
Oregon  and  California  in  order  that  they  might  come  and  bring  the 
influence  of  their  States  to  bear  upon  Congress. 

Last  winter  we  had  twenty-three  States  represented  by  delegates. 
Think  of  those  twenty-three  women  going  before  the  Senate  com- 
mittee, each  making  her  speech,  and  showing  these  Senators  the  in- 
terest in  all  these  States.  We  have  educated  at  least  a  part  of  three 
or  four  hundred  men  and  their  wives  and  daughters  every  two 
years  to  return  as  missionaries  to  their  respective  localities.  I  shall 
feel  it  a  grave  mistake  if  you  vote  in  favor  of  a  movable  convention. 
It  will  lessen  our  influence  and  our  power;  but  come  what  may,  I 
shall  abide  by  the  decision  of  the  majority. 

Miss  Anthony  was  strongly  supported  by  Miss  Shaw,  Mrs. 
Colby,  Mrs.  Louisa  Southworth,  Mrs.  Rosa  L.  Segur,  Mrs. 
Olivia  B.  Hall,  Mrs.  Jean  Brooks  Greenleaf  and  others. 

Mrs.  Claudia  Quigley  Murphy  (  O. )  expressed  the  sentiment  of 
the  other  side  in  saying : 

It  seems  better  to  sow  the  seed  of  suffrage  throughout  the  coun- 
try by  means  of  our  national  conventions.  We  may  give  the  people 
mass  meetings  and  district  and  State  conventions  and  various  other 
things,  but  we  can  never  give  them  anything  as  good  as  the  national 
convention.  We  must  get  down  to  the  unit  of  our  civilization, 
which  is  the  individual  voter  or  person.  We  have  worked  for 
twenty-five  years  here  among  the  legislators  at  Washington;  we 
have  gone  to  the  halls  of  Congress  and  to  the  Legislatures,  and  we 
have  found  the  average  legislator  to  be  but  a  reflex  of  the  sentiment 
of  his  constituents.  If  we  wish  representation  at  Washington  we 
can  send  our  delegation  to  the  halls  of  Congress  this  year  and  next 
year,  the  same  as  we  have  done  in  the  past.  This  great  convention 

does  not  go  to  Congress ;  it  sends  a  committee Let  us 

get  down  to  the  people  and  sow  the  seed  among  them.  It  is  the 
people  we  want  to  reach  if  we  expect  good  results. 

The  amendment  was  warmly  advocated  by  Mr.  and  Miss 
Blackwell,  Miss  Clay,  Mrs:  Dietrick,  Mrs.  Esther  F.  Boland  and 
others.  It  was  finally  adopted  by  a  vote  of  37  yeas,  28  nays. 


22O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Among  the  many  excellent  State  reports  that  of  Kansas,  pre- 
pared by  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns  and  read  by  Miss  Jennie,  daughter 
of  Representative  Case  Broderick,  was  of  special  interest,  as  a 
suffrage  campaign  was  imminent  in  that  State  and  the  National 
Association  had  resolved  to  contribute  speakers  and  money.  It 
spoke  of  the  great  canvass  of  thirty  conventions  the  previous 
year,  with  Mrs.  Johns  as  chairman  and  a  large  corps  of  speak- 
ers from  outside  and  inside  the  State;  of  their  cordial  reception 
by  the  Republican  State  Convention ;  of  the  benefits  of  Municipal 
Suffrage;  and  ended  with  an  earnest  appeal  for  the  friends  to 
rally  to  the  support  of  Kansas. 

Brief  remarks  were  made  by  the  wives  of  Representatives 
John  G.  Otis  of  Kansas  and  Halbert  S.  Greenleaf  of  New  York. 
Letters  of  greeting  were  received  from  Mrs.  Annie  Besant  of 
England,  and  many  others.  Bishop  John  F.  Hurst,  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  in  regretting  that  it  was  impossible  to  ac- 
cept the  invitation  to  address  the  convention,  said:  "I  have  the 
fullest  sympathy  with  your  work  and  have  had  for  many  years. 
I  believe  that  every  year  brings  nearer  the  great  achievement  when 
women  will  have  the  right  of  the  ballot  if  they  please  to  use  it." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1894. 

The  Call  for  the  Twenty-sixth  annual  convention  contained  this 
paragraph  of  hope  and  joy :  "The  Government's  recognition  of 
women  on  the  Board  of  Managers  for  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition;  the  World's  Congress  of  Representative  Women — 
the  greatest  convocation  of  women  ever  assembled ;  their  partici- 
pation in  the  entire  series  of  Congresses;  the  gaining  of  Full 
Suffrage  in  Colorado — all  give  to  our  demand  for  equality  for 
women  unprecedented  prestige  in  the  world  of  thought." 

The  meetings  were  held  in  Metzerott's  Music  Hall,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.,  Feb.  15-20,  1894.  An  excellent  summary  of  the  week 
was  given  by  the  secretary,  Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell,  in  the 
Woman's  Journal,  of  which  she  was  editor : 

Over  the  platform  was  draped  a  large  suffrage  flag,  bearing  two 
full  stars  for  Wyoming  and  Colorado,  and  two  more  merely  out- 
lined in  gold  for  Kansas  and  New  York,  which  have  equal  suf- 
frage amendments  now  pending  and  hope  to  add  their  stars  to  the 
galaxy  next  November.  Instead  of  "Old  Glory,"  the  equal  rights 
banner  might  be  called  "New  Glory."  Beside  it  hung  the  Amer- 
ican flag,  the  great  golden  flag  of  Spain  with  its  two  red  bars,  the 
crimson  flag  of  Turkey  with  its  crescent  and  star,  and  the  British 
flag — these  last  three  in  honor  respectively  of  Senorita  Catalina  de 
Alcala  of  Spain,  Madame  Hanna  Korany  of  Syria  and  Miss  Cath- 
erine Spence  of  Australia,  who  were  on  the  program.  At  one  side 
the  serene  face  of  Lucy  Stone  looked  down  upon  the  audience.  On 
the  afternoon  of  the  memorial  service  the  frame  of  the  portrait 
was  draped  with  smilax,  entwining  bunches  of  violets  from  South 
Carolina,  and  beneath  stood  a  jar  of  great  white  lilies 

Kansas  and  New  York  divided  the  interest  of  the  convention, 
and  the  importance  of  the  two  campaigns  was  ably  presented  by  the 
respective  State  presidents,  stately  Mrs.  Greenleaf  and  graceful 
Mrs.  Johns.  The  appeals  of  the  former  were  warmly  supported  by 
Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake,  and  of  the  latter  by  Mrs.  Annie  L. 
Diggs.  Mrs.  Johns  is  a  strong  Republican,  and  Mrs.  Diggs  an 
equally  ardent  Populist,  but  they  were  perfectly  agreed  in  their 
devotion  to  the  woman  suffrage  amendment  and  in  their  desire  that 

221 


222  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

help  should  be  given  to  the  Kansas  campaign.  Both  are  small 
women  of  gentle  and  feminine  aspect,  though  known  as  mighty 
workers;  and  when  Mrs.  Diggs,  a  soft-voiced,  bright-eyed  mor- 
sel of  humanity,  said  in  presenting  the  needs  of  the  Kansas 
Equal  Suffrage  Association,  "Mrs.  Johns  is  our  president,  and  I 
am  vice-president ;  she  is  the  gentle  officer,  I  am  the  savage  one ; 
my  business  is  to  frighten  people" — the  audience  roared  with 
laughter.  The  New  York  women  generously  declared  that  they 
would  carry  the  financial  burden  of  their  own  campaign  and  would 
ask  no  outside  help  except  in  speakers  and  sympathy.  This  left 
the  field  clear  for  Kansas  and  more  than  $2,200  were  raised  at  one 
session  towards  the  expenses  of  the  campaign 

The  two  delegates  from  Colorado,  Mrs.  Ellis  Meredith  and 
Mrs.  Hattie  E.  Fox,  were  the  objects  of  much  interest  and  of 
hearty  congratulations.  They  seemed  very  happy  over  their  re- 
cent enfranchisement,  as  they  well  might  be.  Mrs.  Meredith,  who 
is  very  small,  looked  up  brightly  at  a  tall  Maryland  lady,  who  was 
congratulating  her,  and  said,  "I  feel  as  tall  as  you."  These  two 
ladies  looked  just  like  other  women  and  had  developed  no  horns 
or  hoofs  or  other  unamiable  and  unfeminine  characteristics  in  con- 
sequence of  their  having  obtained  the  right  to  vote 

The  Southern  women  have  distinguished  themselves  in  the  na- 
tional suffrage  conventions  during  the  last  few  years.  This  year, 
on  "presidents'  evening,"  among  a  number  of  brilliant  addresses 
that  of  Mrs.  Virginia  D.  Young  of  South  Carolina  fairly  brought 
down  the  house 

A  beautiful  silk  flag,  bearing  the  two  suffrage  stars,  was  pre- 
sented to  Miss  Anthony  in  honor  of  her  seventy-fourth  birthday, 
on  the  first  evening  of  the  convention,  a  gift  from  the  enfranchised 
women  of  Wyoming  and  Colorado.  One  of  these  women  had  been 
called  upon  to  act  as  a  judge  of  elections  and  had  received  three 
dollars  for  her  services.  She  spent  two  dollars  on  shoes  for  her 
little  boy  and  sent  the  third  dollar  as  her  contribution  toward  the 
suffrage  flag. 

It  was  a  pleasure  to  see  the  gathering  of  the  clans — so  many  good 
and  able  and  interesting  women  assembled  together  to  report  their 
work  for  equal  rights  and  to  plan  more  for  the  future.  One  with 
a  pleasant,  honest  face  and  wistful  brown  eyes,  had  been  lecturing 
in  the  interest  of  the  amendment  in  the  country  districts  of  New 
York,  riding  from  village  to  village  in  an  open  sleigh,  with  the 
thermometer  many  degrees  below  zero,  and  speaking  sometimes  in 
unwarmed  halls.  She  did  not  expect  to  take  a  day's  rest  until  the 
6th  of  next  November,  and  then  if  the  amendment  carried,  she  said 
quietly,  she  should  be  willing  to  lie  down  and  die 

It  is  pleasant  also  to  note  the  increasing  number  of  bright, 
sensible,  earnest  young  women  coming  from  all  parts  of  the  country 
to  aid  the  older  workers  and  to  close  up  their  thinning  ranks.  The 
sight  would  be  a  revelation  to  ttiat  Massachusetts  legislator  who 
was  lately  reported  as  saying  that  the  petitioners  who  had  been  ask- 
ing for  suffrage  for  so  many  years  were  fast  dying  off,  and  soon 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1894.  22$ 

there  would  be  none  left.  He  would  have  seen  how  greatly  he 
was  reckoning  without  his  host — or  his  hostesses.  A  sound  and 
righteous  reform  does  not  die  with  any  leader,  however  beloved. 

The  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  pronounced  the  invocation  at 
the  opening  session.  In  the  course  of  her  president's  address 
Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  said: 

For  the  twenty-sixth  time  we  have  come  together  under  the 
shadow  of  the  Capitol,  asking  that  Congress  shall  take  the  neces- 
sary steps  to  secure  to  the  women  of  the  nation  their  right  to  a 
voice  in  the  national  government  as  well  as  that  of  their  respective 
States.  For  twelve  successive  Congresses  we  have  appeared  before 
committees  of  the  two  Houses  making  this  plea,  that  the  underlying 
principle  of  our  Government,  the  right  of  consent,  shall  have  prac- 
tical application  to  the  other  half  of  the  people.  Such  a  little  sim- 
ple thing  we  have  been  asking  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  For  over 
forty  years,  longer  than  the  children  of  Israel  wandered  through 
the  wilderness,  we  have  been  begging  and  praying  and  pleading  for 
this  act  of  justice.  We  shall  some  day  be  heeded,  and  when  we 
shall  have  our  amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
everybody  will  think  it  was  always  so,  just  exactly  as  many  young 
people  believe  that  all  the  privileges,  all  the  freedom,  all  the  enjoy- 
ments which  woman  now  possesses  always  were  hers.  They  have 
no  idea  of  how  every  single  inch  of  ground  that  she  stands  upon 
to-day  has  been  gained  by  the  hard  work  of  some  little  handful  of 
women  of  the  past. 

This  was  Miss  Anthony's  birthday  and  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt 
concluded  her  little  speech  in  presenting  a  silk  flag  by  saying: 
"And  now,  our  beloved  leader,  the  enfranchised  women  of  Wy- 
oming and  Colorado,  upon  this  the  seventy-fourth  anniversary 
of  your  life — a  life  every  year  of  which  has  been  devoted  to  the 
advancement  of  womankind — have  sent  this  emblem  and  with 
it  the  message  that  they  hope  you  will  bear  it  at  the  head  of 
our  armies  until  there  shall  be  on  this  blue  field  not  two  stars 
but  forty-four.  They  have  sent  it  with  the  especial  wish  that  its 
silent  lesson  shall  teach  such  justice  to  the  men  of  the  State  of 
New  York  that  in  November  they  will  rise  as  one  man  to  crown 
you,  as  well  as  their  own  wives  and  daughters,  with  the  sover- 
eignty of  American  citizenship." 

For  a  few  moments  Miss  Anthony  was  unable  to  reply  and 
then  she  said:  "I  have  heard  of  standard  bearers  in  the  army 
who  carried  the  banner  to  the  topmost  ramparts  of  the  enemy, 
and  there  I  am  going  to  try  to  carry  this  one.  You  know  without 


224  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

my  telling  how  proud  I  am  of  this  flag  and  how  my  heart  is 
touched  by  this  manifestation."  Large  boxes  of  flowers  were 
sent  her  from  Georgia  and  South  Carolina,  a  telegram  of  greet- 
ing was  received  from  ex-Governor  and  Mrs.  Routt  of  Colorado, 
and  there  were  many  other  pleasant  remembrances. 

The  convention  was  welcomed  by  the  Hon.  John  Ross,  com- 
missioner of  the  District  of  Columbia.  Miss  Catherine  H. 
Spence  of  South  Australia  said  in  speaking  of  the  suffrage  there : 
"This  country  was  not  only  the  birthplace  of  the  Australian  bal- 
lot, by  which  you  now  vote  in  the  United  States,  but  it  was  the 
birthplace  of  woman  suffrage,  because  six  years  before  the  Mu- 
nicipal Franchise  was  granted  to  women  in  England  it  was  in 
effect  in  the  towns  and  cities  in  South  Australia."  At  a  later 
session  Miss  Spence  gave  a  practical  illustration  of  what  is 
known  as  proportional  representation.  Miss  Windeyer  also  rep- 
resented the  women  electors  of  Australia. 

In  response  to  Mrs.  Young,  bearing  the  greetings  of  South 
Carolina,  Miss  Anthony  said  with  much  feeling : 

I  think  the  most  beautiful  part  of  our  coming  together  in  Wash- 
ington for  the  last  twenty-five  years  has  been  that  more  friendships, 
more  knowledge  of  each  other,  have  come  through  the  hand-shakes 
here  than  would  have  been  possible  through  any  other  instrumental- 
ity. I  shall  never  cease  to  be  grateful  for  all  the  splendid  women 
who  have  come  up  to  this  great  center  for  these  twenty-six  con- 
ventions, and  have  learned  that  the  North  was  not  such  a  cold  place 
as  they  had  believed ;  I  have  been  equally  glad  when  we  came  down 
here  and  met  the  women  from  the  sunny  South  and  found  they 
were  just  like  ourselves,  if  not  a  little  better.  In  this  great  asso- 
ciation we  know  no  North,  no  South,  no  East,  no  West.  This  has 
been  our  pride  for  all  these  years.  We  have  no  political  party. 
We  never  have  inquired  what  anybody's  religion  is.  All  we  ever 
have  asked  is  simply,  "Do  you  believe  in  perfect  equality  for 
women?"  This  is  the  one  article  in  our  creed. 

Senator  Joseph  M.  Carey  of  Wyoming  and  Representative  La- 
fayette Pence  of  Colorado  referred  with  great  pride  to  the  en- 
franchisement of  the  women  of  their  respective  States.  Mrs. 
Johns  was  introduced  by  Miss  Anthony  as  "the  general  of  the 
Kansas  army;"  Mrs.  Greenleaf  as  the  Democratic  nominee  for 
member  of  the  N.  Y.  Constitutional  Convention ;  Mrs.  Henry  as 
the  woman  who  received  4,500  votes  for  Clerk  of  the  Supreme 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1894.  225 

Court  of  Kentucky.  Miss  Anthony's  spicy  introductions  of  the 
various  speakers  were  always  greatly  relished  by  the  audiences. 
No  more  impressive  or  beautiful  memorial  service  ever  was 
held  than  that  in  remembrance  of  Lucy  Stone.  The  principal 
address  was  made  by  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe  (Mass.),  in  the 
course  of  which  she  said : 

In  all  action  taken  under  her  supervision,  Mrs.  Stone  was  most 
careful  that  the  main  issue  should  be  constantly  presented  and  kept 
in  view.  While  welcoming  every  reform  which  gave  evidence  of 
the  ethical  progress  of  the  community,  she  yet  held  to  woman  suf- 
frage, pure  and  simple,  as  the  first  condition  upon  which  the  new 
womanhood  should  base  itself.  Efforts  were  often  made  to  en- 
tangle suffrage  with  the  promise  of  endless  reforms  in  various  di- 
rections, but  firm  as  Cato,  who  always  repeated  his  words  that 
Carthage  should  be  destroyed,  Lucy  Stone  always  asked  for  suf- 
frage because  it  is  right  and  just  that  women  should  have  it,  and 
not  on  the  ground  of  a  swiftly-coming  millennium  which  should 
follow  it 

When  Lucy  Stone  first  resolved  to  devote  her  life  to  the  re- 
habilitation of  her  sex,  to  what  a  task  did  she  pledge  herself !  The 
high  road  to  reform  which  she  held  so  dear  was  not  even  measured 
before  her.  The  ground  was  covered  with  a  growth  of  centuries. 
Could  this  small  hand  that  held  a  sickle  hope  to  cut  down  those  for- 
ests of  time-honored  prejudice  and  superstition?  What  had  she  to 
work  with?  A  silver  voice,  a  winning  smile,  the  great  gift  of  a 
persuasive  utterance.  What  had  she  to  work  from?  A  deep  and 
abiding  faith  in  divine  justice  and  in  man's  ability  to  follow  its  laws 
and  to  execute  its  decrees. 

The  prophetic  sense  of  good  to  come,  vouchsafed  to  her  in  the 
morning  of  life,  did  not  forsake  her  at  its  close.  Her  mind  was  of 
a  very  practical  cast  and  in  her  many  days  of  labor  her  eyes  were 
always  fixed  upon  her  work.  But  when  her  work  was  taken  from 
her,  she  saw  at  once  the  heavens  open  before  her  and  the  eternal 
life  and  light  beckoning  to  her  to  go  up  higher.  With  a  smile  she 
passed  from  the  struggle  of  earthly  existence  to  the  peace  of  the 
saints  made  perfect.  Here  she  was  still  debarred  the  right  to  cast 
her  ballot  at  the  polls,  but  lo,  in  the  blue  urn  of  heaven  her  life  was 
received,  one  glowing  and  perfect  vote  for  the  rights  of  women, 
for  the  good  of  humanity,  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth. 

A  few  sentences  may  be  given  as  the  key-note  of  the  eulogy 
of  the  Hon.  Wm.  Dudley  Foulke  (Ind.)  :  "Her  career,  while 
different  from  that  of  most  women,  was  characterized  through- 
out by  entire  and  consistent  womanliness.  Among  the  many 
admirable  qualities  that  she  possessed,  it  is  difficult  to  single  out 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 15 


226  HISTORY  OF   WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 

the  one  for  which  she  will  hereafter  be  best  remembered,  but  as 
dauntless  moral  courage  is  a  rarer  quality  perhaps  than  any 
other,  it  seems  to  me  that  this  will  remain  her  brightest  jewel." 
In  the  address  of  Mrs.  Josephine  K.  Henry  ( Ky. )  she  referred 
to  the  marriage  of  Lucy  Stone  and  Henry  B.  Blackwell  as  fol- 
lows: 

Their  matrimonial  contract  is  the  grandest  chart  of  the  absolute 
equality  of  man  and  woman  that  has  ever  been  made,  and  it  throws 
a  new  halo  of  consecration  and  sanctity  around  the  institution  of 
marriage.  It  has  not  yet  been  written  in  our  ecclesiastical  and 
civil  codes  that  every  woman  shall  retain  and  dignify  her  own 
name  through  life,  but  civilization  is  preparing  now  to  issue  this 
edict.  The  coming  woman  will  not  resign  her  name  at  the  mar- 
riage altar,  and  it  will  be  told  in  future  years  of  these  two  great 
souls  who  were  the  first  to  recognize  the  dignity  of  human  in- 
dividuality. The  domestic  life  of  this  couple  who  set  up  the 
standard  of  absolute  equality  of  husband  and  wife  was  an  exquisite 
idyl,  fragrant  with  love  and  tenderness,  a  poem  whose  rhythm 
was  not  marred,  a  divine  melody  that  rose  above  the  discords  and 
dissensions  of  domestic  life  upon  the  lowlands  where  man  is  the 
ruler  and  woman  the  subject. 

In  the  touching  tribute  of  Miss  Laura  Clay  ( Ky. )  she  said : 
"Lucy  Stone  is  one  of  those  who  paid  what  must  be  paid  for  lib- 
erty or  for  any  high  good  of  humanity.  She  made  sacrifices  and 
did  things  that  none  of  us  to-day  would  be  called  upon  to  do,  did 
them  bravely,  did  them  without  shrinking,  did  them  almost  with- 
out knowing  that  she  was  doing  anything  which  would  call  forth 
the  blessing,  the  gratitude  of  the  human  race." 

Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  (N.  Y.)  referred  more  especially 
to  the  domestic  qualities,  saying: 

When  the  gift  of  a  little  child  came  it  was  more  to  her  than  all 
else  beside.  For  a  while  the  world  centered  in  that  tiny  cradle,  and 
the  hand  which  rocked  that  cradle  had  rather  perform  this  gentle 
office  than  rule  the  world.  It  will  ever  be  thus.  With  the  true 
woman,  dearer  than  wealth  or  fame  is  the  touch  of  baby  hands, 
sweeter  than  the  applause  of  multitudes  is  the  ripple  of  a  baby's 
laughter.  As  the  years  passed  by,  the  mother  gave  more  of  her 
life  to  the  public,  but  always  with  the  thought  of  the  young  girl 
who  was  growing  up  beside  her  and  making  of  her  home  the  dear- 
est and  most  sacred  spot. 

This  part  of  the  memorial  services  appropriately  closed  with 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1894. 

the  tender  reminiscences  of  forty-five  years  of  married  life,  by 
the  husband,  Mr.  Blackwell. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  ( N.  Y. )  sent  an  eloquent  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  Lucy  Stone,  Leland  Stanford,  George  W. 
Childs,  Elizabeth  Oakes  Smith  and  Elizabeth  Peabody.  After 
reciting  the  contributions  of  each  in  the  cause  of  woman,  she 
closed  with  these  words  from  The  Prince  of  India  in  reference 
to  the  last  great  record :  "There  is  thy  history  and  mine,  and  all 
of  little  and  great  and  good  and  bad  that  shall  befall  us  in  this 
life.  Death  does  not  blot  out  the  records.  Everlastingly  writ, 
they  shall  be  everlastingly  read;  for  the  shame  of  some,  for  the 
glory  of  others." 

Mrs.  Lucretia  L.  Blankenburg  of  Philadelphia  told  of  the  loy- 
alty to  women  of  Mr.  Child's  paper,  the  Public  Ledger,  and  of 
his  many  benefactions.  Frederick  Douglass  gave  the  offering 
of  his  eloquence  and  ended  as  follows : 

It  is  not  alone  because  of  the  goodness  of  any  cause  that  men  can 
safely  predicate  success.  Much  depends  on  the  character  and  qual- 
ity of  the  men  and.  women  who  are  its  advocates.  The  Redeemer 
must  ever  come  from  above.  Only  the  best  of  mankind  can  afford 
to  support  unpopular  opinions.  The  common  sort  will  drift  with 
the  tide.  No  good  cause  can  fail  when  supported  by  such  women 
as  were  Lucretia  Mott,  Abby  Kelly,  Angelina  Grimke,  Lydia  Maria 
Child,  Maria  W.  Chapman,  Thankful  Southwick,  Sally  Holly,  Er- 
nestine L.  Rose,  E.  Oakes  Smith,  Elizabeth  Peabody  and  the  noble 
and  gifted  Lucy  Stone.  Not  only  have  we  a  glorious  constellation 
of  women  on  the'  silent  continent  to  assure  us  that  our  cause  is  good 
and  that  it  must  finally  prevail,  but  we  have  such  men  as  William 
Lloyd  Garrison,  Wendell  Phillips,  William  Henry  Channing,  Fran- 
cis Jackson,  Gerrit  Smith,  Samuel  J.  May,  Samuel  E.  Sewall — 
now  no  longer  with  us  in  body,  but  in  spirit  and  memory  to  cheer 
us  on  in  the  good  work  of  lifting  women  in  the  fullest  sense  to  the 
dignity  of  American  liberty  and  American  citizenship. 

Miss  Anthony  closed  the  services  with  heartfelt  testimonials 
to  Mrs.  Myra  Bradwell,  one  of  the  first  woman  lawyers  and 
founder  and  editor  of  The  Legal  News;  Miss  Mary  F.  Sey- 
mour, founder  of  The  Business  Woman's  Journal;  and  Col.  John 
Thompson,  a  founder  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  the  first  na- 
tional organization  of  men  to  indorse  woman  suffrage. 

At  one  of  the  evening  sessions  Miss  Anthony  presented  Dr. 
John  Trimble,  secretary  of  the  National  Grange,  and  Leonard 


228  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Rhone,  chairman  of  its  executive  committee.  The  latter  said  in 
course  of  a  few  brief  remarks :  "When  the  farmers  of  this  coun- 
try organized  they  took  with  them  their  wives  and  daughters, 
and  for  twenty-seven  years  we  have  tried  woman  suffrage  in  the 
Grange  and  it  has  worked  well.  What  we  have  demonstrated 
by  experience  in  our  organization  we  are  ready  to  indorse,  and 
by  almost  a  unanimous  vote  at  our  last  national  convention  we 
passed  a  resolution  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage." 

Mrs.  Orra  Langhorne  read  a  clever  paper  on  House  Cleaning 
in  Old  Virginia,  describing  present  social  and  political  conditions 
and  showing  the  need  of  woman's  participation.  Mrs.  Mary 
Lowe  Dickinson  (N.  Y.),  secretary  of  the  King's  Daughters, 
gave  a  talk  which  sparkled  with  anecdotes  and  illustrations,  every 
one  scoring  a  point  for  woman  suffrage.  Madame  Hanna  Kor- 
any,  from  Syria,  told  in  her  soft,  broken  English  how  the  women 
of  the  old  world  looked  to  those  of  America  to  free  them  from  the 
slavery  of  customs  and  laws. 

Mrs.  Miriam  Howard  DuBose  took  for  her  subject  Some 
Georgia  Curiosities,  which  she  showed  to  be  "men  who  love  wo- 
men too  dearly  to  accord  them  justice ;  women  who  are  deceived 
by  such  affection;  the  self-supporting  woman,  who  crowds  all 
places  where  there  is  any  money  to  be  made  without  encounter- 
ing the  masculine  frown  and  declares  she  has  all  the  rights  she 
wants.  Georgia's  motto  should  read:  Unwisdom,  Injustice, 
Immoderation." 

Miss  Harriet  A.  Shinn  (Ills.),  president  of  the  National  As- 
sociation of  Women  Stenographers,  gave  unanswerable  testi- 
mony from  employers  in  many  different  kinds  of  business  ex- 
pressing a  preference  for  women  stenographers.  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Upham  Yates  (Me.)  illustrated  how  class  distinctions,  pub- 
lic schools,  religious  liberty  and  social  life  have  been  affected  by 
the  thought  of  the  times,  by  fashionable  thought.  The  official 
report  said:  "So  bristling  with  humor  was  this  address  that 
there  were  several  times  when  the  speaker  had  to  stop  and  wait 
for  the  laughter  to  subside.  At  the  conclusion,  her  effort  was 
acknowledged  by  long  applause." 

Miss  Shaw  closed  an  evening  which  had  been  full  of  mirth, 
saying  in  the  course  of  her  vivacious  remarks : 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1894.  229 

I  spoke  at  a  woman's  club  in  Philadelphia  yesterday  and  a  young 
lady  said  to  me  afterwards :  "Well,  that  sounds  very  nice,  but  don't 
you  think  it  is  better  to  be  the  power  behind  the  throne?"  I  an- 
swered that  I  had  not  had  much  experience  with  thrones,  but  a 
woman  who  has  been  on  a  throne,  and  who  is  now  behind  it,  seems  to 
prefer  to  be  on  the  throne.*  Mr.  Edward  Bok,  editor  of  the  Ladies' 
Home  Journal,  says  that  by  careful  watching  for  many  years,  he 
has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  no  woman  has  had  any  business 
relations  with  men  who  has  not  been  contaminated  by  them;  and 
this  same  individual  who  does  not  want  us  to  have  business  relations 
with  men,  lest  we  be  contaminated  by  the  association,  wants  us  to 
marry  these  same  men  and  live  with  them  three  hundred  and  sixty*- 
five  and  one-fourth  days  a  year! 

On  Sunday  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  gave  a  sermon  in  the  People's 
Church,  Mrs.  Ellen  Battelle  Dietrick  in  All  Soul's  Church  (Uni- 
tarian), and  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  in  Metzerott's  Music 
Hall.  At  the  last  named  meeting  Mrs.  Howe  offered  the  prayer 
and,  at  the  close,  recited  her  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic.  Miss 
Shaw  preached  from  the  text,  "Let  no  man  take  thy  crown." 

.  .  .  .  Since  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  those  who 
have  expounded  the  Scriptures  have  been  principally  men,  and  the 
Gospel  has  been  presented  to  us  from  the  standpoint  of  men.  In 
all  these  interpretations  Heaven  has  been  peopled  with  men,  God 
has  been  pictured  as  a  man,  and  even  the  earth  has  been  represented 
as  masculine. 

In  the  beginning  this  was  wise,  because  people  have  always  been 
more  impressed  by  law,  order,  system  and  government  than  by  the 
spirit  of  faith.  But  we  have  passed  the  stage  of  force  in  nature, 
of  force  in  physical  life,  and  have  arrived  at  the  age  of  spiritual 
thought  and  earthly  needs  when  the  mother  comes  to  the  front.  In 
the  Old  World  I  have  seen  venerable  men,  strong  men,  and  women 
kneeling  together  at  the  shrine  of  Mary  pouring  out  their  suffer- 
ings into  the  mother  heart  of  the  Virgin  and  rising  refreshed  and 
solaced.  What  Catholicism  has  done  for  its  church,  Protestantism 
must  do  for  Christianity  everywhere,  by  revealing  the  mother-life 
and  the  mother-spirit  of  divine  nature.  In  the  lesson  of  life  there 
is  not  only  a  father  but  a  mother-love. 

Jesus  Christ,  we  are  told,  was  a  man  and  so  were  His  disciples, 
and  this  is  given  as  the  reason  why  men  only  should  preach  the 
Gospel,  yet  the  Scriptures  tell  us  that  the  first  divinely-ordained 
preacher  was  a  woman.  All  the  way  down  in  the  history  of  Chris- 
tianity are  found  women  side  by  side  with  men,  always  ready  and 
willing  to  bear  the  burdens  and  sorrows  of  life  in  order  to  better 
their  fellows.  In  this  country  every  reformation  has  been  urged  by 

*  The  Hawaiian  ex-queen,  then  in  the  United  States  endeavoring  to  have  her  throne 
restored  to  her. 


230  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

women  as  well  as  men.  The  names  of  William  Lloyd  Garrison 
and  Wendell  Phillips  will  go  down  to  posterity  linked  with  those 
of  Lucretia  Mott,  Harriet  Beecher  Stovve  and  Susan  B.  Anthony. 
In  the  great  temperance  movement  the  name  of  Gough  will  at  once 
bring  to  mind  Frances  E.  Willard.  There  is  no  name  more  promi- 
nently identified  in  the  effort  to  uplift  the  Indian  than  that  of  Helen 
Hunt  Jackson.  Wherever  there  has  been  a  wrong  committed  there 
have  always  been  women  to  defend  the  wronged.  Julia  Ward 
Howe  gave  us  the  "Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic,"  while  Lucy 
Stone's  last  words  should  be  the  motto  of  every  young  girl's  life, 
"^fake  the  world  better." 

With  respect  to  my  text,  "Let  no  man  take  thy  crown,"  these 
words  were  written  to  the  church,  and  not  to  the  men  alone,  and 
the  command  should  be  obeyed  by  every  woman.  If  the  churches 
then  were  anything  like  the  churches  of  to-day,  they  were  com- 
posed of  three-fourths  women.  Hence  this  injunction  was  intended 
especially  for  women.  This  crown,  I  take  it,  means  the  crown  of 
righteousness,  of  regeneration,  of  redemption,  of  purity,  and  ap- 
plies to  the  whole  body  of  the  church.  I  believe  the  crown  of 
womanhood  in  its  highest  sense  means  womanly  character  and  na- 
ture. We  never  can  wear  a  higher  or  nobler  crown  than  pure  and 
womanly  womanhood 

The  world  has  always  been  more  particular  how  we  did  things 

than  what  things  we  did All  human  beings  are  under 

obligations  first  to  themselves.  If  self-sacrifice  seems  best,  then  we 
should  practice  that ;  while  if  self-assertion  seems  best,  then  we 
should  assert  ourselves.  The  abominable  doctrine  taught  in  the 
pulpit,  the  press,  in  books  and  elsewhere,  is  that  the  whole  duty  of 
women  is  self-abasement  and  self-sacrifice.  I  do  not  believe  sub- 
jection is  woman's  duty  any  more  than  it  is  the  duty  of  a  man  to  be 
under  subjection  to  another  man  or  to  many  men.  Women  have 
the  right  of  independence,  of  conscience,  of  will  and  of  respon- 
sibility. 

Women  are  robbed  of  themselves  by  the  laws  of  the  country  and 
by  fashion.  The  time  has  not  passed  when  women  are  bought  and 
sold.  Social  custom  makes  the  world  a  market-place  in  which 
women  are  bought  and  sold,  and  sometimes  they  are  given  away. 
In  the  marriage  ceremony  woman  .loses  her  name,  and  under  the 
old  Common  Law  a  married  woman  had  no  legal  rights.  She  oc- 
cupied the  same  position  to  her  husband  as  the  slave  to  his  master. 
These  things  degraded  marriage,  but  the  home  would  be  the  holiest 
of  spots  if  the  wife  asserted  her  individuality  and  worked  hand-in- 
hand  with  her  husband,  each  uplifting  the  other.  Women  are 
robbed  of  the  right  of  conscience.  Their  silence  and  subjection  in 
the  church  have  been  the  curse  not  only  of  womanhood  but  of  man- 
hood. No  other  human  being  should  decide  for  us  in  questions  per- 
taining to  our  own  moral  and  spiritual  welfare.  Women  are  be- 
ginning to  believe  that  God  will  listen  to  a  woman  as  quickly  as  to  a 
man.  The  time  has  come  when  councils  of  women  will  gather  and 
do  their  work  in  their  quiet  way  without  regard  to  men. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1894.  23! 

No  person  is  human  who  may  not  "will"  to  be  anything  he  can  be. 
When  the  woman  says  "I  will,"  there  is  not  anything  this  side  of  the 
throne  of  God  to  stop  her,  and  the  girls  of  the  present  day  should 
learn  this  lesson.  Now  there  is  placed  upon  women  the  obligation 
of  service  without  the  responsibility  of  their  actions.  The  man  who 
leads  feels  the  responsibility  of  his  acts,  and  this  urges  him  to  make 
them  noble.  Women  should  have  this  same  responsibility  and  be 
made  to  feel  it.  The  most  dangerous  thing  in  the  world  is  power 
without  responsibility 

Monday  night's  session  was  designated  "president's  evening" 
and  many  short,  clever  talks  were  given.*  James  L.  Hughes, 
Superintendent  of  Schools  in  Toronto  and  president  of  the 
Equal  Suffrage  Association  of  that  city,  told  how  the  women  of 
Canada  voted,  sat  on  the  public  and  High  School  boards  and 
even  served  as  president  of  the  Toronto  board. 

At  the  Tuesday  evening  meeting  Miss  Anthony  introduced 
Senator  W.  A.  Peffer  and  Representatives  Jerry  Simpson,  John 
C.  Davis,  Case  Broderick  and  Charles  Curtis  of  Kansas,  and 
Henry  A.  Coffeen  of  Wyoming.  Ex-Senator  Blanche  K.  Bruce 
of  Mississippi  was  invited  to  the  platform  and  responded  by 
saying  he  hoped  to  see  the  day  when  every  qualified  woman 
could  exercise  the  suffrage.  The  Hon.  Simon  Wolf,  commis- 
sioner of  the  District,  urged  equality  of  rights  for  women. 

Grace  Greenwood  was  presented  as  one  of  the  pioneer  woman 
suffragists.  Mrs.  Mary  Seymour  Howell  (N.  Y.),  the  heroine 
of  many  campaigns,  in  a  stirring  speech  related  her  varied  experi- 
ences and  said:  "Ours  is  one  of  the  greatest  wars  of  the  cen- 
turies. Indeed,  it  is  a  continuation  of  the  same  battle  which  has 
been  waged  almost  since  the  world  began  but  carried  on  with 
different  tactics.  It  stands  unique.  No  cannon  is  heard.  No 
smoke  tells  of  defeat  or  victory.  No  bloody  battlefields  lift  their 
blushing  faces  to  the  heavens.  It  is  a  battle  of  ideas,  a  battle  of 
prejudices,  the  right  and  the  wrong,  the  new  and  the  old,  meet- 
ing in  close  contact.  It  is  the  'war  of  the  roses,'  if  you  so  please 
to  call  it.  It  is  the  motherhood  of  the  republic  asking  for  full 
political  recognition." 

*  Among  the  speakers  were  Mrs.  Mary  L.  Bennett,  Mrs.  Lucretia  L.  Blankenburg, 
Miss  Laura  Clay,  Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby,  Mrs.  Etta  Grymes  Farrah,  Mrs.  Jean  Brooks 
Greenleaf,  Mrs.  Florence  Howe  Hall,  Mrs.  Rebecca  Henry  Hayes,  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns, 
Mrs.  Emily  B.  Ketcham,  Mrs.  Claudia  Howard  Maxwell,  Mrs.  Ellis  Meredith,  Mrs.  Mary 
Bentley  Thomas,  Mrs.  Emmeline  B.  Wells,  Mrs.  Virginia  D.  Young. 


232  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  last  address  of  the  convention  was  made  by  the  Rev.  Ida 
C.  Hultin,  on  the  Crowning  Race,  whose  men  and  women  should 
be  equally  free.  Gov.  Davis  H.  Waite  of  Colorado  sent  a  letter 
in  relation  to  the  enfranchising  of  women  the  previous  year,  in 
which  he  said : 

The  Populists  more  than  any  other  political  party  in  Colorado 
favored  equal  suffrage,  but  many  Republicans  and  Democrats  also 
voted  for  it,  and  in  my  opinion  the  result  may  be  considered  as  due 
to  the  enlightened  public  sentiment  of  the  common  people  of  the 
State.  The  more  I  consider  the  matter  the  more  it  grows  upon  me 
in  importance,  and  the  more  I  realize  the  fact  that  all  the  patriotism, 
all  the  intelligence  and  all  the  virtue  of  the  commonwealth  are  neces- 
sary to  preserve  it  from  the  corrupt  and  mercenary  attacks  made 
upon  it  from  all  points  by  corporate  trusts  and  monopolies.  Equal 
suffrage  can  not  fail  to  encourage  purity  in  both  private  and  public 
life,  and  to  elevate  the  official  standard  of  fatness. 

A  letter  from  Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall,  regretting  her  en- 
forced absence,  closed  by  saying: 

Many  of  you  know  that  the  last  few  months  I  have  spent  in  edit- 
ing the  papers  presented  at  the  World's  Congress  of  Representative 
Women,  held  in  Chicago  last  May.  It  is  a  remarkable  and  to 
me  quite  an  unexpected  fact  that  the  papers  upon  the  subject  of 
Civil  and  Political  Reform  are  hardly  more  earnest  appeals  for 
political  equality  than  are  the  addresses  to  be  found  in  every  other 
chapter.  Hereafter  if  one  asserts  that  the  interest  in  the  woman 
suffrage  movement  is  not  growing,  let  him  be  cited  to  this  galaxy 
of  witnesses,  whose  testimony  is  all  the  more  valuable  because  in 
the  large  majority  of  instances  it  proceeds  from  women  who  never 
have  identified  themselves  with  it,  and  are  not  at  all  known  as 
advocates  of  political  equality.  The  meaning  of  the  entire  report 
is  equality,  co-operation,  organization ;  that  is,  the  demand  made  by 
the  National  Suffrage  Association  is  the  demand  borne  to  us  by  the 
echoes  of  that  great  congress. 

Among  the  committee  reports  that  of  Mrs.  Rachel  Foster  Avery, 
Chairman  of  Columbian  Exposition  Work,  attracted  especial  at- 
tention and  was  in  part  as  follows : 

There  is  a  most  valuable  and  interesting  bit  of  unpublished  his- 
tory which  seems  to  me  to  form  an  integral  part  of  your  commit- 
tee's report.  It  concerns  the  origin  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Man- 
agers, and  this  association  should  be  proud  to  be  able  to  feel  that 
to  our  president  is  largely  due  the  recognition  of  women  in  official 
capacity  at  the  World's  Fair.  The  fact  that  women  were  not  offi- 
cially recognized  during  the  Centennial  Exposition  in  1876  was  a 
great  disappointment  to  all  interested  in  the  advancement  of  woman- 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1894.  233 

kind,  and  while  it  was  suggested  on  every  side  that  women  must 
have  a  voice  in  the  management  of  the  World's  Fair  in  1893,  it  re- 
mained for  Susan  B.  Anthony  to  take  the  initiatory  step  which  led 
to  the  creation  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers.  She  had  invita- 
tions sent  to  women  of  official  and  social  position  to  meet  in  the 
Riggs  House  parlors  to  consider  this  matter,  in  December,  1889. 
At  this  meeting  Mrs.  Conger,  wife  of  Senator  Omar  D.  Conger 
of  Michigan,  was  made  chairman,  and  Mrs.  Harriet  Taylor  Upton, 
secretary.  Miss  Anthony  was  not  present,  fearing  lest  her  well- 
known  radical  views  might  hinder  the  progress  of  affairs  in  the 
direction  she  wished  them  to  take,  but  she  restlessly  walked  about 
her  room  in  the  hotel  anxiously  awaiting  the  result. 

Several  meetings  followed  this  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
wait  upon  Congress,  asking  that  the  commission  should  consist  of 
both  men  and  women.  Meanwhile  the  World's  Fair  Bill  had 
been  brought  before  the  House  and  Miss  Anthony  soon  saw  that 
there  would  not  be  time  for  this  committee  to  act.  She  therefore 
prepared  petitions,  sent  them  to  women  in  official  life  and  asked 
them  to  obtain  signatures  of  official  people.*  On  the  strength  of 
these  petitions  there  was  added  to  the  bill,  in  March,  1890,  an 
amendment  providing  for  the  appointment  of  women  on  the  Board. 

Miss  Anthony's  self-effacement  was  perhaps  the  wisest  thing 
under  the  circumstances,  for  the  Board,  as  appointed,  being  uncon- 
nected with  woman  suffrage,  proved  an  immense  source  of  educa- 
tion to  the  conservative  women  of  the  whole  world — an  education 
not  needed  by  the  radical  women  of  our  own  ranks.  I  think  the 
time  has  surely  come  when  the  truth  of  this  history  should  be 
known  to  all. 

The  election  of  officers  resulted  in  Miss  Anthony's  receiving 
for  president  139  out  of  140  possible  votes;  Miss  Shaw  for  vice- 
president-at-large,  130;  Rachel  Foster  Avery  for  corresponding 
secretary,  unanimous;  Alice  Stone  Blackwell  for  recording  sec- 
retary, 136;  Harriet  Taylor  Upton  for  treasurer,  unanimous. 

During  the  convention  the  death  of  Miss  Anna  Ella  Carroll 
was  announced.  A  resolution  of  sympathy  with  her  sister  was 
adopted  and  a  collection  was  taken  up,  as  had  been  done  for  Miss 

*  Miss  Anthony  herself  also  went  among  prominent  persons  of  her  owm  acquaintance 
obtaining  signatures.  In  a  few  days  in  names  were  secured  of  the  wives  and  daughters 
of  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Cabinet,  Senators,  Representatives,  Army  and  Navy 
officers — as  influential  a  list  as  the  national  capital  could  offer.  These  names  may  be 
found  in  the  published  minutes  of  this  convention  of  1894,  p.  135. 

At  the  lime  Miss  Anthony  secured  this  petition  no  organization  of  women  had  con- 
sidered the  question  and,  if  she  had  not  been  on  the  ground  and  taken  immediate 
action,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  bill  would  have  passed  Congress  without 
any  provision  for  a  board  of  women.  For  a  further  account  <jf  this  matter,  and  for  a 
description  of  this  great  Congress  of  Women,  see  Life  and  Work  of  Susan  B.  An- 
thony, Chap.  XLI;  also  chapter  on  Illinois  in  this  volume  of  the  History. 


234  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Carroll  a  number  of  times  during  the  past  twenty-five  years, 
which  resulted  in  over  forty  dollars. 

Mrs.  Sallie  Clay  Bennett  (  Ky. ) ,  the  faithful  champion  of  Fed- 
eral Suffrage,  insisted  that,  instead  of  asking  for  an  amendment 
to  confer  suffrage,  we  should  demand  protection  in  the  right 
already  guaranteed  by  the  U.  S.  Constitution :  "Even  when  ask- 
ing for  Municipal  Suffrage,  we  never  should  fail  to  assert  that  it 
is  already  ours  under  the  Constitution,  and  that  there  is  strength 
enough  in  our  national  government  to  protect  every  woman  in 
the  Union  provided  the  men  had  interpreted  the  laws  right." 
Miss  Sara  Winthrop  Smith  (Conn.)  supported  Mrs.  Bennett, 
saying:  "It  is  useless  labor  to  petition  for  a  Sixteenth  Amend- 
ment— we  do  not  need  it.  Our  fundamental  institutions  most 
adequately  protect  the  rights  of  all  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
irrespective  of  sex.  In  the  twenty-four  years  since  the  passage 
of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment,  300  amendments  to  the  Constitution 
have  been  introduced  into*  Congress  which  never  met  with  any 
approval  from  either  House.  I  think  it  is  wasted  time  for  us  to 
continue  in  this  work,  and  therefore  I  feel  that  it  concerns  our 
dignity  as  a  part  of  the  people  of  this  great  United  States  that  we 
declare  and  ask  only  for  that  which  recognizes  the  dignity  of 
such  citizens."  Mrs.  Diggs,  Mrs.  Dietrick,  Mrs.  Colby  and  oth- 
ers supported  this  view. 

In  expressing  his  dissent  Mr.  Blackwell  said:  "I  do  not  be- 
lieve in  Federal  Suffrage.  I  agree  with  the  State's  Rights  party 
in  their  views."  Miss  Blackwell  and  others  took  the  same  posi- 
tion, and  Miss  Anthony  closed  the  debate  by  saying:  "There  is 
no  doubt  that  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution  guarantees  full  equal- 
ity of  rights  and  the  protection  of  citizens  of  the  United  States 
in  the  exercise  of  these  rights,  but  the  powers  that  be  have  de- 
cided against  us,  and  until  we  can  get  a  broader  Supreme  Court 
— which  will  not  be  until  after  the  women  of  every  State  in  the 
Union  are  enfranchised — we  never  will  get  the  needed  liberal 
interpretation  of  that  document."  The  majority  concurred  in 
this  view. 

The  most  spirited  discussion  of  the  convention  was  in  regard 
to  the  place  of  holding  the  next  annual  meeting.  Urgent  invita- 
tions were  received  from  Detroit  and  Cincinnati,  but  the  persua- 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1894.  235 

sive  Southern  advocates,  Claudia  Howard  Maxwell,  Miriam 
Howard  DuBose  and  H.  Augusta  Howard,  three  Georgia  dele- 
gates, carried  off  the  prize  for  Atlanta. 

This  was  the  first  and  last  appearance  on  the  suffrage  platform 
of  Miss  Kate  Field,  who  was  introduced  by  Miss  Anthony  with 
her  characteristic  abruptness :  "Now,  friends,  here  is  Kate  Field, 
who  has  been  talking  all  these  years  against  woman  suffrage. 
She  wants  to  tell  you  of  the  faith  that  is  in  her."  Miss  Field 
responded  quickly: 

I  take  exception  to  what  Miss  Anthony  has  said,  because  I  think 
she  has  misconstrued  my  position  entirely.  I  never  have  been 
against  woman  suffrage.  I  have  been  against  universal  suffrage 
of  any  kind,  regardless  of  sex.  I  think  that  morally  woman  has 
exactly  as  much  right  to  the  suffrage  as  man.  It  is  a  disgrace  that 
such  women  as  you  and  I  have  not  the  suffrage,  but  I  do  think  that 
all  suffrage  should  be  regarded  as  a  privilege  and  should  not  be  de- 
manded as  a  right.  It  should  be  the  privilege  of  education  and,  if 
you  please — I  will  not  quarrel  about  that — of  a  certain  property 
qualification.  I  have  not  changed  my  opinion,  but  I  did  say  that  I 
was  tired  of  waiting  for  men  to  have  common  sense,  that  there 
evidently  never  would  be  any  restriction  in  suffrage  and  that  I 
should  come  in  for  the  whole  thing,  woman  included.  Now,  that 

is  my  position I   withdraw  my  former  attitude   and 

take  my  stand  on  this  platform. 

The  usual  able  "hearings"  were  held.  Before  the  Senate  com- 
mittee— Senators  Hoar,  Teller,  Wolcott,  Blackburn  and  Hill — 
the  speakers  were  the  Rev.  Ida  C.  Hultin,  Miss  Blackwell,  Mrs. 
Lucretia  Mitchell,  Mrs.  Diggs,  Mrs.  Phoebe  C.  Wright,  Miss 
Alice  Smith,  Mrs.  Bennett,  Mrs.  Colby,  Representative  John  C. 
Davis  of  Kansas.  Although  the  majority  of  the  committee  were 
in  favor  of  woman  suffrage  no  report  was  made. 

The  Hon.  Isaac  H.  Goodnight  (Ky.)  was  in  the  chair  of  the 
House  Judiciary  Committee,  which  was  addressed  by  the  Rever- 
ends Miss  Shaw  and  Miss  Hultin,  Mrs.  Young,  Mrs.  Emily  G. 
Ketcham,  Miss  Lavina  A.  Hatch,  Prof.  Jennie  Gifford,  Mrs. 
Alice  Waugh,  Mrs.  Pickler,  Miss  Howard,  Mrs.  Meredith,  Mrs. 
Greenleaf,  Mr.  Blackwell.  Miss  Anthony  presented  the  speak- 
ers and  closed  the  discussion.  Later  Mr.  Goodnight  submitted 
an  adverse  report  for  a  majority  of  the  committee. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1895. 

The  Twenty-seventh  annual  convention — Jan.  3i-Feb.  5,  1895 
— possessed  an  unusual  interest  because  of  its  being  held  outside  of 
Washington.  The  American  society  had  been  accustomed  to 
migratory  conventions,  but  the  National  had  gone  to  the  capital 
for  twenty-six  winters.  The  Woman's  Journal,  whose  editors 
were  strongly  in  favor  of  the  former  plan,  said  of  the  Atlanta 
meeting : 

There  had  been  some  fears  that  holding  the  convention  so  far 
south  might  result  in  a  smaller  attendance  of  delegates  than  usual ; 
but  there  were  ninety-three  delegates,  representing  twenty-eight 
States,  and  also  a  large  number  of  visitors.  Some,  like  Mrs.  Abi- 
gail Scott  Duniway  of  Oregon,  had  come  nearly  4,000  miles  to  be 
present.  De  Give's  Opera  House  was  crowded.  Even  at  the  morn- 
ing meetings  the  seats  were  full  and  men  stood  for  hours,  several 
rows  deep  all  around  the  sides  and  back  of  the  house — a  novel  and 
gratifying  sight  at  a  business  meeting.  The  proportion  of  men 
among  the  delegates  and  in  the  audiences,  both  day  and  evening, 
was  larger  than  usual 

Over  the  platform  hung  two  large  flags,  that  of  the  association, 
with  the  two  stars  of  Wyoming  and  Colorado,  and  another  flag,  the 
work  of  Georgia  ladies,  on  which  was  ingeniously  depicted  the  rela- 
tive standing  of  the  different  States  on  this  question.  The  States 
where  women  have  no  form  of  suffrage  were  represented  by  black 
stars.  Those  where  they  can  vote  for  school  committee  or  on  cer- 
tain local  questions  had  a  golden  rim.  Kansas  and  Iowa  had  a 
wider  golden  rim,  to  indicate  municipal  and  bond  suffrage.  Wyo- 
ming and  Colorado  shone  with  full  and  undimmed  luster.  Portraits 
of  Lucy  Stone  and  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  draped  in  yellow, 
adorned  opposite  sides  of  the  platform. 

Many  of  the  delegates  were  from  the  Southern  States,  and  some 
of  them  strikingly  illustrated  Miss  Anthony's  assertion,  "These 
Southern  women  are  born  orators."  In  sweetness  of  voice,  grace 
of  manner  and  personal  charm  they  have  all  the  qualities  to  make 
most  effective  speakers,  while  in  the  fervor  of  their  equal  rights 
sentiments  they  go  even  beyond  their  sisters  from  the  North  and 
West.  One  handsome  young  lady,  who  sat  on  the  platform  a  good 

236 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1895.  237 

deal  of  the  time,  was  supposed  to  be  from  New  England,  because 
she  wore  her  hair  short.  It  turned  out,  however,  that  she  was  from 
New  Orleans  and  was  a  cousin  of  Jefferson  Davis.  The  announce- 
ment of  this  fact  caused  her  to  be  received  by  the  audience  with 
roars  of  enthusiasm. 

The  Atlanta  papers  devoted  columns  every  day  to  friendly  re- 
ports and  innumerable  portraits.  Ministers  of  different  denomina- 
tions opened  the  convention  with  prayer  and  their  pulpits  afterwards 
for  addresses  by  the  ladies.  Some  of  the  best  people  of  the  city 
took  visitors  into  their  homes,  entertaining  them  hospitably  and  de- 
lightfully, and  showing  them  what  a  Southern  home  is  like.  The 
national  officers  and  speakers  were  entertained  by  the  Georgia  W. 
S.  A.  at  the  Aragon,  and  the  State  officers  generously  insisted  upon 
taking  almost  the  entire  expenses  of  the  great  convention  upon 
their  own  young  shoulders.  These  "Georgia  girls"  devoted  un- 
limited time,  thought  and  work  to  getting  up  the  convention,  and 
then  effaced  themselves  as  far  as  possible * 

Perhaps  no  one  person  did  more,  unintentionally,  to  promote  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  convention  than  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hawthorne,  a  Bap- 
tist preacher.  He  had  felt  called  upon  to  denounce  all  woman 
suffragists  from  his  pulpit,  not  only  with  severity  but  with  dis- 
courtesy, and  had  been  so  misguided  as  to  declare  that  the  husbands 
of  suffragists  were  all  feeble-minded  men.  As  the  average  equal- 
rights  woman  is  firmly  convinced  that  her  husband  is  the  very  best 
man  in  the  world,  this  remark  stirred  the  women  up  to  a  degree  of 
wrath  which  no  amount  of  abuse  leveled  against  themselves  would 
have  aroused.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Atlanta  people,  even  those 
who  were  not  in  favor  of  suffrage,  felt  mortified  by  this  unprovoked 
insult  to  their  guests,  and  many  of  them  took  occasion  in  private 
to  express  their  regret.  Several  speakers  at  the  convention  criti- 
cised Dr.  Hawthorne's  utterances,  and  every  such  allusion  was  re- 
ceived with  warm  applause  by  the  audience 

At  the  beginning  of  the  convention  four  announcements  were 
made  which  added  much  to  the  general  good  cheer — that  South 
Australia  had  followed  the  example  of  New  Zealand  in  extending 
Full  Suffrage  to  women;  that  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio  had 
pronounced  the  School  Suffrage  Law  constitutional;  that  the 
Governor  of  Illinois  had  filled  a  vacancy  on  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  the  State  University  by  appointing  a  woman;  that  the  Idaho 
Legislature  had  submitted  a  woman  suffrage  amendment. 

The  most  perfect  arrangements  had  been  made  for  the  meet- 
ings, and  the  novelty  of  the  occasion  attracted  large  crowds,  but 

*  The  three  sisters,  Claudia  Howard  Maxwell,  Miriam  Howard  Du  Bose  and  H.  Augusta 
Howard,  who  as  delegates  at  Washington  the  previous  winter  had  invited  the  association 
to  Atlanta,  bore  the  principal  part  of  these  expenses  and  were  largely  responsible  for 
the  success  of  the  convention. 


238  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

there  was  also  much  genuine  interest.  The  success  was  partly 
due  to  the  excellent  work  of  the  press  of  Atlanta.  There  was, 
however,  no  editorial  endorsement  except  by  The  Sunny  South, 
Col.  Henry  Clay  Fairman,  editor. 

The  national  president,  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  said  in  open- 
ing the  convention:  "With  this  gavel  was  called  to  order  in 
1869  that  Legislature  of  Wyoming  which  established  the  first 
true  republic  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes  and  gave  the  franchise 
to  what  men  call  the  better-half  of  the  people.  We  women  do 
not  say  that,  but  we  do  claim  to  be  half." 

Miss  Anthony  seldom  made  a  stated  address  either  in  opening 
or  closing,  but  throughout  the  entire  convention  kept  up  a  running 
fire  of  quaint,  piquant,  original  and  characteristic  observations 
which  delighted  the  audience  and  gave  a  distinctive  attraction  to 
the  meetings.  It  was  impossible  to  keep  a  record  of  these  and  they 
would  lose  their  zest  and  appropriateness  if  separated  from  the 
circumstances  which  called  them  forth.  They  can  not  be  trans- 
mitted to  future  generations,  but  the  thousands  who  heard  them 
during  the  fifty  years  of  her  itineracy  will  preserve  them  among 
their  delightful  memories.  Perfectly  at  home  on  the  platform, 
she  would  indulge  in  the  same  informality  of  remarks  which 
others  use  in  private  conversation,  but  always  with  a  quick  wit, 
a  fine  satire  and  a  keen  discrimination.  Words  of  praise  or  criti- 
cism were  given  with  equal  impartiality,  and  accepted  with  a 
grace  which  would  have  been  impossible  had  the  giver  been  any 
other  than  the  recognized  Mentor  of  them  all.  Her  wonderful 
power  of  reminiscence  never  failed,  and  she  had  always  some  per- 
sonal recollection  of  every  speaker  or  of  her  parents  or  other  rela- 
tives. She  kept  the  audience  in  continuous  good-humor  and  fur- 
nished a  variety  to  the  program  of  which  the  newspaper  reporters 
joyfully  availed  themselves.  At  the  morning  business  meetings 
which  were  always  informal  there  would  often  be  a  running  dia- 
logue something  like  the  following,  when  Mrs.  Alberta  C.  Taylor 
was  called  to  the  platform : 

Miss  ANTHONY:  This  is  an  Alabama  girl,  transplanted  to  the 
Rockies — a  daughter  of  Governor  Chapman  of  Alabama.  She  is 
as  good  a  Southerner  as  any  one,  and  also  as  good  a  Northerner 
and  Westerner. 

MRS.  TAYLOR  :     A  Southern  paper  lately  said  no  Southern  woman 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1895.  239 

could  read  the  report  of  the  late  election  in  Colorado  without  blush- 
ing. I  went  through  the  election  itself  without  blushing,  except 
with  gratification. 

Miss  ANTHONY:  Instead  of  degrading  a  woman  it  makes  her 
feel  nobler  not  to  be  counted  with  idiots,  lunatics  and  criminals. 
It  even  changes  the  expression  of  her  face. 

VOICE  IN  THE  AUDIENCE:  How  many  women  are  there  in  the 
Colorado  Legislature? 

MRS.  TAYLOR  :     Three. 

Miss  ANTHONY  :  It  has  always  been  thought  perfectly  womanly 
to  be  a  scrub-woman  in  the  Legislature  and  to  take  care  of  the  spit- 
toons ;  that  is  entirely  within  the  charmed  circle  of  woman's  sphere ; 
but  for  women  to  occupy  any  of  those  official  seats  would  be  de- 
grading. 

Miss  LUCY  E.  ANTHONY:  What  salaries  do  the  women  legisla- 
tors receive? 

MRS.  TAYLOR  :  The  same  as  the  men,  $4  a  day.  The  pay  of  our 
legislators  is  small.  A  prosperous  business  man  has  to  make  a 
great  sacrifice  to  go  to  the  Legislature,  and  we  can  not  always  get 
the  best  men  to  serve.  This  is  an  additional  reason  for  making 
women  eligible.  There  are  more  first-class  women  than  first-class 
men  who  have  the  leisure. 

Miss  SHAW  :  We  are  accused  of  wishing  to  belittle  men,  but  in 
Colorado  they  think  a  man's  time  is  worth  only  as  much  as  a 
woman's. 

MRS.  CLARA  B.  COLBY:  The  Hon.  Mrs.  Holley  has  just  intro- 
duced in  the  Colorado  House,  and  carried  through  it  against  strong 
opposition,  a  bill  raising  the  age  of  protection  for  girls  to  eighteen 
years. 

MRS.  DUNIWAY  :  I  was  in  the  Colorado  House  and  saw  it  done. 
The  women  members  are  highly  respected.  I  have  never  seen 
women  so  honored  since  those  of  Washington  were  disfranchised. 
The  leading  men  are  as  proud  of  the  enfranchisement  of  their 
women  as  Georgia  men  will  be  when  the  time  comes.  The  Colo- 
rado women  have  organized  a  Good  Government  League  to  promote 
education,  sanitation  and  general  prosperity. 

MRS.  TAYLOR  :  A  bookseller  in  Denver  told  me  that  since  wom- 
en were  given  the  suffrage  he  had  sold  more  books  on  political 
economy  than  he  had  sold  since  Colorado  was  admitted  into  the 
Union. 

Miss  ANTHONY  :  The  bill  raising  the  age  of  protection  for  girls 
shows  that  suffrage  does  not  make  a  woman  forget  her  children, 
and  the  bookseller's  remark  shows  that  she  will  study  the  science 
of  government. 

MRS.  MARY  BENTLEY  THOMAS:  One  of  our  most  conservative 
Maryland  women,  who  married  in  Colorado  ten  years  ago,  writes  to 
me:  "I  enjoyed  every  moment  of  the  campaign,  especially  the 
primary  meetings."  A  Virginia  woman  who  also  married  a  Colo- 
rado man  writes  back:  "Come  West,  where  women  are  appre- 
ciated, and  where  they  are  proud  and  happy  citizens."  She  adds : 


240  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

"If  you  will  come  I  will  show  you  the  sweetest  girl  baby  you  ever 
saw." 

MRS.  HENRY:  Let  it  be  recorded  that  the  first  bill  introduced 
by  a  woman  member  in  any  State  Legislature  was  a  bill  for  the  pro- 
tection of  girls. 

On  motion  of  Mrs.  Colby,  it  was  voted  to  send  a  telegram  of 
congratulation  to  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Holley. 

Again : 

Before  introducing  the  president  of  the  Florida  W.  S.  A.  Miss 
Anthony  said :  "For  several  years  a  big  box  of  oranges  has  come 
to  me  from  Florida.  Not  long  ago,  I  got  home  on  one  of  the  cold- 
est nights  of  the  year,  and  found  a  box  standing  in  my  woodshed, 
full  of  magnificent  oranges.  Next  morning  the  papers  reported 
that  all  the  oranges  in  Florida  were  frozen ;  but  the  president  of 
the  suffrage  association  saved  that  boxful  for  me." 

MRS.  ELLA  C.  CHAMBERLAIN  :  Those  were  all  we  saved 

A  man  in  Florida  who  hires  himself  and  his  wife  out  to  hoe  corn, 
charges  $1.25  for  his  own  services  and  75  cents  for  hers,  although 
she  does  just  as  much  work  as  he,  so  the  men  who  employ  them 
tell  me.  It  costs  his  wife  50  cents  a  day  to  be  a  woman. 

VOICE  IN  THE  AUDIENCE:  And  the  75  cents  paid  for  her  work 
belongs  to  her  husband. 

Miss  ANTHONY:   I  suppose  those  are  colored  men. 

MRS.  CHAMBERLAIN  :     No,  they  are  white. 

Miss  ANTHONY  :  White  men  have  always  controlled  their  wives' 
wages.  Colored  men  were  not  able  to  do  so  until  they  themselves 
became  free.  Then  they  owned  both  their  wives  and  their  wages. 

The  delegate  from  the  District  of  Columbia  answered  in  a  very 
faint  tone  of  voice,  and  Miss  Anthony  remarked  that  "this  was 
through  mortification  because  even  the  men  there  had  no  more 
rights  than  women."  When  another  delegate  could  not  be  heard 
she  said:  "Women  have  always  been  taught  that  it  is  im- 
modest to  speak  in  a  loud  voice,  and  it  is  hard  for  them  to  get  out 
of  the  old  rut."  At  another  time : 

Miss  LA  VINA  A.  HATCH  :  In  Massachusetts  there  are  between 
103,000  and  105,000  families  which  have  no  male  head.  Some  of 
these  pay  large  taxes  and  none  of  them  has  any  representation. 

MRS.  MARIANA  W.  CHAPMAN  :  In  about  two-thirds  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  and  not  including  New  York  City,  women  are  as- 
sessed on  $348,177,107. 

MRS.  LOUISA  SOUTHWORTH  :  This  year,  with  the  new  income 
tax,  I  shall  pay  in  taxes,  national,  State  and  municipal,  $5,300. 

Miss  ANTHONY  :  Yet  why  should  she  have  a  right  to  vote  ?  In- 
consistency is  the  jewel  of  the  American  people. 

MRS.  MERIWETHER  :    Tennessee  caps  the  climax  in  taxation  with- 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1895.  24! 

out  representation.  In  Shelby  County  there  are  two  young  women, 
sisters,  who  own  farms.  Both  are  married,  and  both  were  sensible 
enough  to  have  their  farms  secured  to  themselves  and  their  chil- 
dren. In  one  case,  at  least,  it  proved  a  wise  precaution.  One  of 
these  young  women  asked  the  other,  when  she  went  to  town,  to 
pay  a  few  bills  for  her  and  settle  her  taxes.  Accordingly  she  went 
to  the  tax  office,  and  as  she  handed  in  the  papers  she  noticed  writ- 
ten at  the  foot  of  her  sister's  tax  bill,  "Poll  tax,  $1.00."  She  ex- 
claimed, "Oh,  when  did  Mrs.  A.  become  a  voter?  I  am  so  glad 
Tennessee  has  granted  suffrage  to  women !"  "Oh,  she  hasn't ;  it 
doesn't,"  said  the  young  clerk  with  a  smile.  "That  is  her  husband's 
poll  tax."  "And  why  is  she  required  to  pay  her  husband's  poll 
tax?"  "It  is  the  custom,"  he  said.  She  replied,  "Then  Tennessee 
will  change  its  custom  this  time.  I  will  see  the  tax  collector  dead 
and  very  cold  before  I  will  pay  Mr.  A.'s  poll  tax  out  of  my  sister's 
property  in  order  that  he  may  vote,  while  she  is  not  allowed  to  do 
so!" 

Miss  ANTHONY:  It  seems  to  me  that  these  Southern  women 
are  in  a  state  of  chronic  rebellion. 

MRS.  MERIWETHER  :     We  are. 

In  closing  this  meeting  Miss  Anthony  said :  "Now,  don't  all 
of  you  come  to  me  to  tell  me  how  glad  you  are  that  I  have  worked 
for  fifty  years,  but  say  rather  that  you  are  going  to  begin  work 
yourselves." 

The  delegates  were  eloquently  welcomed  in  behalf  of  the  South 
by  Bennett  J.  Conyers  of  Atlanta,  who  declared  that  "suffrage 
for  women  is  demanded  by  the  divine  law  of  human  develop- 
ment." He  said  in  part : 

The  work  of  Miss  Anthony  needs  no  apology.  She  has  blazed  a 
way  for  advanced  thought  in  her  lonely  course  over  the  red-hot 
plowshares  of  resistance.  Now  almost  at  the  summit  she  looks 
back  to  see  following  her  an  army  with  banners.  May  she  long 
worship  where  she  stands  at  Truth's  mountain  altar,  as,  with  the 
royal  sunset  flush  upon  her  brow,  she  catches  the  beckoning  of  the 

lights  twinkling  on  the  heavenly  shore The  South  is  a 

maiden  well  worthy  of  the  allegiance  of  this  cause,  and  when  her 
aid  is  given  it  will  be  as  devoted  as  it  has  been  reserved.  The 
South  is  the  land  where  has  lingered  latest  on  earth  the  chivalry 
which  idealized  its  objects  of  worship.  What  though  it  may  have 
meant  repression?  Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  tender  grace  of  a 
day  that  is  dead  even  now  lingers  and  makes  men  loath  to  welcome 
change?  Perhaps  it  can  not  be  told  how  much  it  has  cost  men  to 
surrender  the  ideal,  even  though  it  be  to  change  it  for  the  per- 
fected womanhood 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 16 


242  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  address  of  welcome  for  the  State  was  made  by  Mrs.  Mary 
L.  McLendon,  who  spoke  earnestly  in  favor  of  equal  suffrage, 
saying : 

If  Georgia  women  could  vote,  this  National  Convention  could 
hold  its  session  in  our  million  dollar  capitol,  which  rears  its  grand 
proportions  on  yonder  hill.  Crowning  its  loftiest  pinnacle  is  the 
statue  of  a  woman  representing  Liberty,  and  on  its  front  the  motto, 
"Justice,  Wisdom  and  Moderation."  It  was  built  with  money  paid 
into  our  State's  treasury  by  women  as  well  as  men,  both  white  and 
black ;  but  men  alone,  white  and  black,  have  the  privilege  of  meeting 
in  legislative  session  to  make  laws  to  govern  women.  Men  are  also 
allowed  to  hold  their  Democratic,  Republican,  Prohibition  and  Pop- 
ulist Conventions  in  its  halls.  It  is  with  difficulty  that  women  can 
secure  a  hearing  before  a  legislative  committee  to  petition  for  laws 
to  ameliorate  their  own  condition,  or  to  secure  compulsory  training 
in  the  public  schools,  that  their  children  may  be  brought  up  in  the 
way  they  should  go,  and  become  sober,  virtuous  citizens. 

Major  Charles  W.  Hubner  extended  the  welcome  of  the  city, 
saying  in  conclusion :  "Reason  and  right  are  with  you,  and  these, 
in  the  name  of  God,  will  at  last  prevail."  Afterwards  he  contrib- 
uted the  poem,  "Thank  God  that  Thought  is  Free."  Miss  An- 
thony was  presented  by  Miss  H.  Augusta  Howard  and,  after  a 
speech  complimentary  to  Southern  women,  introduced  Mrs.  Lillie 
Devereux  Blake  (N.  Y.),  who  eulogized  Southern  Chivalry,  and 
Mrs.  Lida  A.  Meriwether  (Tenn.),  who  spoke  in  behalf  of 
Motherhood.  Miss  Elizabeth  Upham  Yates  (Me.)  made  the 
closing  address,  in  which  she  said :  "As  surely  as  I  want  to  vote 
— and  nothing  is  more  certain — the  man  for  whom  I  have  most 
wished  to  vote  was  your  own  beloved  Henry  W.  Grady.  There 
is  something  else  for  women  to  do  than  to  sit  at  home  and  fan 
themselves,  'cherishing  their  femininity.'  Womanliness  will 
never  be  sacrificed  in  following  the  path  of  duty  and  service." 

One  of  the  principal  addresses  of  the  convention  was  that  of 
Gen.  Robert  R.  Hemphill  of  South  Carolina,  who  began  by  say- 
ing that  in  1892  he  introduced  a  woman  suffrage  resolution  in 
his  State  Senate,  which  received  fourteen  out  of  thirty-five  votes. 
He  closed  as  follows :  "The  cause  is  making  headway,  though 
slowly  it  is  true,  for  it  has  the  prejudices  of  hundreds  of  years  to 
contend  against.  The  peaceful  revolution  is  upon  us.  It  will 
not  turn  backward  but  will  go  on  conquering  until  its  final  tri- 
umph. Woman  will  be  exalted,  she  will  enjoy  equal  rights ;  pure 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1895.  243 

politics  and  good  government  will  be  insured,  the  cause  of  moral- 
ity advanced,  and  the  happiness  of  the  people  established." 

Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell  (Mass.)  discussed  The  Strong- 
holds of  Opposition,  showing  what  they  are  and  how  they  must 
be  attacked.  Woman  as  a  Subject  was  presented  by  Mrs.  Caro- 
line E.  Merrick  (La.),  who  said  in  part: 

Women  are,  and  ever  will  be,  loyal,  tender,  true  and  devoted  to 
their  well  beloved  men ;  for  they  naturally  love  them  better  than 
they  do  themselves.  It  is  the  brave  soldier  submissive  to  authority 
who  deserves  promotion  to  rank  and  honor;  so  woman,  having 
proved  herself  a  good  subject,  is  now  ready  for  her  promotion  and 
advancement.  She  is  urgently  asking,  not  to  rule  over  men,  but  to 
take  command  of  herself  and  all  her  rightful  belongings 

As  a  self-respecting,  reasonable  being,  she  has  grave 'responsi- 
bilities, and  from  her  is  required  an  accountability  strict  and  severe. 
If  she  owns  stock  in  one  of  your  banks,  she  has  an  influence  in  the 
management  of  the  institution  which  takes  care  of  her  money.  The 
possession  of  children  makes  her  a  large  stockholder  in  public  mor- 
ality, but  her  self-constituted  agents  act  as  her  proxy  without  her 
authorization,  as  though  she  were  of  unsound  mind,  or  not  in  ex- 
istence. 

The  great  truths  of  liberty  and  equality  are  dear  to  her  heart.  She 
would  die  before  she  would  imperil  the  well-being  of  her  home. 
She  has  no  design  to  subvert  church  government,  nor  is  she  organ- 
ized to  tear  up  the  social  fabric  of  polite  society.  But  she  has  now 
come  squarely  up  to  a  crisis,  a  new  epoch  in  her  history  here  in  the 
South,  and  asks  fqr  a  womanly  right  to  participate  by  vote  in  this 
representative  government. 

Gentlemen,  you  value  the  power  and  privilege  which  the  right  of 
suffrage  has  conferred  upon  you,  and  in  your  honest,  manly  souls 
you  can  not  but  disdain  the  meanness  and  injustice  which  might 
prompt  you  to  deny  it  to  women.  Language  utterly  fails  me  when 
I  try  to  describe  the  painful  humiliation  and  mortification  which  at- 
tend this  abject  condition  of  total  disfranchisement,  and  how  anx- 
iously and  earnestly  women  desire  to  be  taken  out  of  the  list  of 
idiots,  criminals  and  imbeciles,  where  they  do  not  belong,  and  placed 
in  the  respectable  company  of  men  who  choose  their  lawmakers,  and 
give  an  intelligent  consent  to  the  legal  power  which  controls  them. 

Do  women  deserve  nothing?  Are  they  not  worthy?  They  have 
a  noble  cause,  and  they  beg  you  to  treat  it  magnanimously. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Lyle  Saxon  (La.)  described  in  an  interesting 
manner  Club  Life  among  the  Women  of  the  South.  Mrs.  Blake 
gave  a  powerful  address  on  Wife,  Mother  and  Citizen.  Miss 
Shaw  closed  the  meeting  with  an  impromptu  speech  in  which, 
according  to  the  reporter,  she  said :  "It  is  declared  that  women 


244  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

are  too  emotional  to  vote;  but  the  morning  paper  described  a 
pugilistic  encounter  between  two  members  of  Congress  which 
looked  as  if  excitability  were  not  limited  to  women.  It  is  said 
that  'the  legal  male  mind'  is  the  only  mind  fit  for  suffrage."  Miss 
Shaw  then  made  her  wit  play  around  the  legal  male  mind  like 
chain  lightning.  "It  is  said  that  women  are  illogical,  and  jump 
to  their  conclusions,  flea-like.  I  shall  not  try  to  prove  that  women 
are  logical,  for  I  know  they  are  not,  but  it  is  beyond  me  how  men 
ever  got  it  into  their  heads  that  they  are.  When  we  read  the 
arguments  against  woman  suffrage,  we  see  that  flea-like  jumping 
is  by  no  means  confined  to  women." 

On  one  evening  the  Hon.  Henry  C.  Hammond  of  Georgia  made 
the  opening  address,  which  was  thus  reported  : 

After  declaring  that  the  atmosphere  of  the  nineteenth  century  is 
surcharged  with  the  sentiment  of  woman's  emancipation,  he  traced 
the  gradual  evolution  of  this  sentiment,  showing  that  one  by  one 
the  shackles  had  been  stricken  from  the  limbs  of  woman  until  now 
she  was  making  her  final  protest  against  tyranny  and  her  last  ap- 
peal for  liberty.  "What  is  meant,"  said  he,  "by  this  mysterious 
dictum,  'Out  of  her  sphere  ?'  It  is  merely  a  sentimental  phrase  with- 
out either  sense  or  reason."  He  then  proceeded  to  say  that  if  woman 
had  a  sphere  the  privilege  of  voting  was  clearly  within  its  lim- 
itations. There  was  no  doubt  in  his  mind  as  to  woman's  moral  su- 
periority, and  the  politics  of  the  country  was  in  need  of  her  purify- 
ing touch.  In  its  present  distracted  and  unhappy  condition,  the 
adoption  of  the  woman  suffrage  platform  and  the  incorporation  of 
equal  rights  into  the  supreme  law  of  the  land  was  the  only  hope  of 
its  ultimate  salvation.  .  .  .  . 

J.  Colton  Lynes  of  Georgia,  taking  for  his  subject  Women  to 
the  Front,  gave  a  valuable  historical  review  of  their  progress 
during  the  last  half  century.  Mrs.  Josephine  K.  Henry  was  in- 
troduced as  "the  daughter  of  Kentucky,"  and  the  Constitution 
said  the  next  day:  "If  the  spirit  of  old  Patrick  Henry  could 
have  heard  the  eloquent  plea  of  his  namesake,  he  would  have  had 
no  reason  to  blush  for  a  decadence  of  the  oratory  which  gave  the 
name  to  the  world."  In  considering  Woman  Suffrage  in  the 
South,  Mrs.  Henry  said : 

It  is  asserted  on  all  sides  that  the  women  of  the  South  do  not  want 
the  ballot.  The  real  truth  is  the  women  of  the  South  never  have 
been  asked  what  they  want.  When  Pundita  Ramabai  was  in  this 
country  she  saw  a  hen  carried  to  market  with  its  head  downward. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1895.  245 

This  Christian  method  of  treating  a  poor,  dumb  creature  caused  the 
heathen  woman  to  cry  out,  "Oh,  how  cruel  to  carry  a  hen  with  its 
head  down !"  and  she  quickly  received  the  reply,  "Why,  the  hen  does 
not  mind  it" ;  and  in  her  heathen  innocence  she  inquired,  "Did  you 
ask  the  hen  ?"  Past  civilization  has  not  troubled  either  dumb  crea- 
tures or  women  by  consulting  them  in  regard  to  their  own  affairs. 
For  woman  everything  in  sociology,  law  or  politics  has  been  ar- 
ranged without  consulting  her  in  any  way,  and  when  her  rights  are 
trampled  on  and  money  extorted  from  her  by  the  votes  of  the  vicious 
and  ignorant,  the  glib  tongue  of  tyranny  says,  "Tax  her  again,  she 
has  no  wish  or  right  to  tell  what  she  wants."  '  .  .  .  . 

Where  the  laws  rob  her  in  marriage  of  her  property,  she  does 
want  possession  and  control  of  her  inheritance  and  earnings. 
Where  she  is  a  mother,  she  wants  co-guardianship  of  her  own  chil- 
dren. Where  she  is  a  breadwinner  she  wants  equal  pay  for  equal 
work.  She  wants  to  wipe  out  the  law  that  in  its  savagery  protects 
brutality  when  it  preys  upon  innocent,  defenseless  girlhood.  She 
wants  the  streets  and  highways  of  the  land  made  safe  for  the  child 
whose  life  cost  her  a  hand  to  hand  conflict  with  death.  She  wants 
a  single  standard  of  morals  established,  where  a  woman  may  have 
an  equal  chance  with  a  man  in  this  hard,  old  world,  and  it  may  not 
be  possible  to  crowd  a  fallen  woman  out  of  society  and  close  against 
her  every  avenue  whereby  she  can  make  an  honest  living,  while  the 
fallen  man  runs  for  Congress  and  is  heaped  with  honors.  More 
than  all,  she  needs  and  wants  the  ballot,  the  only  weapon  for  the 
protection  of  individual  rights  recognized  in  this  government. 

In  short,  this  New  Woman  of  the  New  South  wants  to  be  a  citi- 
zen queen  as  well  as  a  queen  of  hearts  and  a  queen  of  home,  whose 
throne  under  the  present  regime  rests  on  the  sandy  foundation  of 
human  generosity  and  human  caprice.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  the  women  of  the  South  are  the  daughters  of  their  fathers, 
and  have  as  invincible  a  spirit  in  their  convictions  in  the  cause  of  lib- 
erty and  justice  as  had  those  fathers. 

We  come  asking  the  men  of  our  section  for  the  right  of  suffrage, 
not  that  it  be  bestowed  on  us  as  a  gift  on  a  suppliant,  but  that  our 
birthright,  bequeathed  to  us  by  the  immortal  Jefferson,  be  restored 
to  us.  .  „  .  . 

The  most  pathetic  picture  in  all  history  is  this  great  conflict  which 
women  are  waging  for  their  liberty.  Men  armed  with  all  the  death- 
dealing  weapons  devised  by  human  ingenuity,  and  with  the  wealth 
of  nations  at  their  backs,  have  waged  wars  of  extermination  to  gain 
freedom ;  but  women  with  no  weapon  save  argument,  and  no  wealth 
save  the  justice  of  their  cause,  are  carrying  on  a  war  of  education 
for  their  liberty,  and  no  earthly  power  can  keep  them  from  winning 
the  victory. 

The  Next  Phase  of  the  Woman  Question  was  considered  by 
Miss  Mary  C.  Francis  (O.)  from  the  standpoint  of  a  practical 
newspaper  woman.  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  na- 


246  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

tional  organization  committee,  made  the  last  address,  taking  for 
a  subject  Eternal  Justice.  The  Constitution  said :  "As  a  rapid, 
logical  and  fluent  speaker  it  is  doubtful  if  America  ever  has  pro- 
duced one  more  gifted,  and  the  suffrage  movement  is  fortunate 
in  having  so  brilliant  a  woman  for  its  champion." 

Henry  B.  Blackwell  urged  the  South  to  adopt  woman  suffrage 
as  one  solution  of  the  negro  problem: 

Apply  it  to  your  own  State  of  Georgia,  where  there  are  149,895 
white  women  who  can  read  and  write,  and  143,471  negro  voters,  of 
whom  116,516  are  illiterates. 

The  time  has  come  when  this  question  should  be  considered.  An 
educational  qualification  for  suffrage  may  or  may  not  be  wise,  but  it 
is  not  necessarily  unjust.  If  each  voter  governed  only  himself,  his 
intelligence  would  concern  himself  alone,  but  his  vote  helps  to  govern 
everybody  else.  Society  in  conceding  his  right  has  itself  a  right  to 
require  from  him  a  suitable  preparation.  Ability  to  read  and  write 
is  absolutely  necessary  as  a  means  of  obtaining  accurate  political  in- 
formation. Without  it  the  voter  is  almost  sure  to  become  the  tool 
of  political  demagogues.  With  free  schools  provided  by  the  States, 
every  citizen  can  qualify  himself  without  money  and  without  price. 
Under  such  circumstances  there  is  no  infringement  of  rights  in  re- 
quiring an  educational  qualification  as  a  pre-requisite  of  voting.  In- 
deed, without  this,  suffrage  is  often  little  more  than  a  name.  "Suf- 
frage is  the  authoritative  exercise  of  rational  choice  in  regard  to 
principles,  measures  and  men."  The  comparison  of  an  unintelligent 
voter  to  a  "trained  monkey,"  who  goes  through  the  motion  of  drop- 
ping a  paper  ballot  into  a  box,  has  in  it  an  element  of  truth.  So- 
ciety, therefore,  has  a  right  to  prescribe,  in  the  admission  of  any 
new  class  of  voters,  such  a  qualification  as  every  one  can  attain  and 
as  will  enable  the  voter  to  cast  an  intelligent  and  responsible  vote. 

In  the  development  of  our  complex  political  society  we  have  to- 
day two  great  bodies  of  illiterate  citizens :  In  the  North,  people  of 
foreign  birth ;  in  the  South,  people  of  the  African  race  and  a  consid- 
erable portion  of  the  native  white  population.  Against  foreigners 
and  negroes,  as  such,  we  would  not  discriminate.  But  in  every 
State,  save  one,  there  are  more  educated  women  than  all  the  illiterate 
voters,  white  and  black,  native  and  foreign. 

The  convention  proper  closed  on  Saturday  night,  but  the  ex- 
ercises Sunday  afternoon  may  be  said  to  have  been  a  continuation 
of  it.  The  official  report  said : 

The  services  began  at  3  o'clock  and  more  than  half  an  hour  be- 
fore this  time  the  theatre  was  filled  almost  to  its  fullest  capacity. 
When  the  opening  hour  arrived  there  was  not  an  empty  chair  in  the 
house,  every  aisle  was  crowded,  and  people  anxious  to  hear  the  ser- 
mon of  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  had  invaded  the  stage.  So 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1895.  247 

dense  became  the  crowd  that  the  doors  were  ordered  closed  and  peo- 
ple were  refused  admission  even  before  the  services  began.  After 
the  doors  were  closed  the  disappointed  ones  stood  on  the  stairs 
and  many  of  them  remained  in  the  streets.  The  vast  congregation 
was  made  up  of  all  classes  of  citizens.  Every  chair  that  could  be 
found  in  the  theatre  had  been  either  placed  in  the  aisles  or  on  the 
stage,  and  then  boxes  and  benches  were  pressed  into  service.  Many 
of  the  most  prominent  professional  and  business  men  were  stand- 
ing on  the  stage  and  in  different  parts  of  the  house. 

Miss  Shaw  gave  her  great  sermon  The  Heavenly  Vision.  She 
told  of  the  visions  of  the  man  which  it  depended  upon  himself 
to  make  reality ;  of  the  visions  of  the  woman  which  were  forever 
placed  beyond  her  reach  by  the  church,  by  society  and  by  the 
laws,  and  closed  with  these  words :  "We  ask  for  nothing  which 
God  can  not  give  us.  God  created  nature,  and  if  our  demands 
are  contrary  to  nature,  trust  nature  to  take  care  of  itself  without 
the  aid  of  man.  It  is  better  to  be  true  to  what  you  believe,  though 
that  be  wrong,  than  to  be  false  to  what  you  believe,  even  if  that 
belief  is  correct." 

Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby  (D.  C. )  preached  to  more  than  a 
thousand  people  at  the  Bethel  (colored)  Church;  Mrs.  Meri- 
wether  at  the  Unitarian  Church;  Miss  Yates  and  Miss  Emily 
Howland  (N.  Y.)  also  occupied  pulpits. 

The  evening  programs  with  their  formal  addresses  naturally  at- 
tracted the  largest  audiences  and  occupied  the  most  space  in  the 
newspapers,  but  the  morning  and  afternoon  sessions,  devoted  to 
State  and  committee  reports  and  the  business  of  the  association, 
were  really  the  life  and  soul  of  this  as  of  all  the  conventions. 
Among  the  most  interesting  of  the  excellent  State  reports  pre- 
sented to  the  Atlanta  meeting  were  those  of  New  York  and  Kan- 
sas, because  during  the  previous  year  suffrage  campaigns  had 
been  carried  on  in  those  States.  The  former,  presented  by  Mrs. 
Jean  Brooks  Greenleaf,  State  president,  said  in  part : 

The  New  York  Constitutional  Convention  before  whom  we  hope- 
fully carried  our  cause — "so  old,  so  new,  so  ever  true" — is  a  thing 
of  the  past.  We  presented  our  petition,  asking  that  the  word  "male" 
be  eliminated  from  the  organic  law,  with  the  endorsement  of  over 
half  a  million  citizens  of  the  State.  We  laid  before  the  convention 
statistics  showing  that  outside  the  city  of  New  York  the  property 
on  which  women  pay  taxes  is  assessed  at  $348,177,107;  the  number 
of  women  taxed,  146,806  in  571  cities  and  towns ;  not  reported,  389. 


248  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

We  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  the  delegates  assembled 
were  kept  upon  a  strong  equal  suffrage  diet  for  days  and  nights  to- 
gether. At  the  public  hearings,  graciously  granted  us,  we  saw  the 
great  jury  listen  not  only  with  patience  but  with  evident  pleasure 
and  enthusiasm,  while  women  representing  twenty-six  districts  gave 
reasons  for  wanting  to  be  enfranchised ;  and  we  also  saw  the  crea- 
tive body  itself  turned  into  a  woman  suffrage  meeting  for  three 
evenings.  At  the  close  of  the  last  we  learned  that  there  were  in 
this  convention  ninety-eight  men  who  dared  to  say  that  the  freemen 
of  the  State  should  not  be  allowed  to  decide  whether  their  wives, 
mothers  and  daughters  should  be  enfranchised  or  not.  We  learned 
also,  that  there  were  fifty-eight  men,  constituting  a  noble  minority, 
who  loved  justice  better  than  party  power,  and  were  willing  to  risk 
the  latter  to  sustain  the  former.* 

The  report  of  the  Press  Committee  Chairman,  Mrs.  Ellen  Bat- 
telle  Dietrick  (Mass.),  called  especial  attention  to  the  flood  of 
matter  relating  to  the  woman  question  which  was  now  appearing 
in  the  newspapers  and  magazines  of  the  country,  to  the  activity 
of  the  enemy  and  to  the  necessity  for  suffragists  to  "publish  an 
antidote  wherever  the  poison  appears."  The  Legislative  Com- 
mittee, Mrs.  Blake,  Mrs.  Henry  and  Mrs.  Diggs,  closed  their 
report  as  follows: 

In  a  State  where  there  is  hope  of  support  from  the  political  par- 
ties, where  there  has  been  long  agitation  and  everything  points  to  a 
favorable  result,  it  is  wise  to  urge  a  constitutional  amendment  strik- 
ing out  the  word  "male"  as  a  qualification  for  voters.  This  must 
pass  both  Houses  in  the  form  of  concurrent  resolution ;  in  some 
States  it  must  pass  two  successive  Legislatures ;  and  it  must  be  rati- 
fied at  the  polls  by  a  majority  of  the  voters. 

When  the  conditions  are  not  yet  ripe  for  a  constitutional  amend- 
ment, there  are  many  measures  which  are  valuable  in  arousing  pub- 
lic interest  and  preparing  the  way  for  final  triumph,  as  well  as  im- 
portant in  ameliorating  the  condition  of  women.  Among  these  are 
laws  to  secure  school  suffrage  for  women  ;  women  on  boards  of  edu- 
cation and  as  school  trustees;  equality  of  property  rights  for  hus- 
bands and  wives ;  equal  guardianship  of  children  for  mother  and 
father;  women  factory  inspectors;  women  physicians  in  hospitals 
and  insane  asylums ;  women  trustees  in  all  State  institutions ;  police 
matrons ;  seats  for  saleswomen ;  the  raising  of  "the  age  of  consent." 

The  report  of  the  Plan  of  Work  Committee,  Mrs.  Chapman 
Catt,  chairman,  began  by  saying : 

The  great  need  of  the  hour  is  organization.     There  can  be  no 

•  The  facts  and  figures  presented  in  the  report  from  Kansas  oy  the  president,  Mrs. 
Laura  M.  Johns,  will  be  found  in  the  chapter  on  that  State. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1895.  249 

doubt  that  the  advocates  of  woman  suffrage  in  the  United  States 
are  to  be  numbered  by  millions,  but  it  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  our 
organization  can  count  its  numbers  only  by  thousands.  There  are 
illustrious  men  and  women  in  every  State,  and  there  are  men  and 
women  innumerable,  who  are  not  known  to  the  public,  who  are 
openly  and  avowedly  woman  suffragists,  yet  we  do  not  possess  the 
benefit  of  their  names  on  our  membership  lists  or  the  financial  help 
of  their  dues.  In  other  words,  the  size  of  our  membership  is  not 
at  all  commensurate  with  the  sentiment  for  woman  suffrage.  The 
reason  for  this  condition  is  plain ;  the  chief  work  of  suffragists  for 
the  past  forty  years  has  been  education  and  agitation,  and  not  or- 
ganization. The  time  has  come  when  the  educational  work  has 
borne  its  fruit,  and  there  are  States  in  which  there  is  sentiment 
enough  to  carry  a  woman  suffrage  amendment,  but  it  is  individual 
and  not  organized  sentiment,  and  is,  therefore,  ineffective. 

The  audience  was  greatly  amused  when  Miss  Anthony  com- 
mented on  this :  "There  never  yet  was  a  young  woman  who  did 
not  feel  that  if  she  had  had  the  management  of  the  work  from  the 
beginning  the  cause  would  have  been  carried  long  ago.  I  felt 
just  so  when  I  was  young."  There  was  much  laughter  also  over 
one  of  Mrs.  Abigail  Scott  Duniway's  short  speeches  in  which 
she  said : 

There  are  in  Oregon  three  classes  of  women  opposed  to  suffrage. 
i.  Women  who  are  so  overworked  that  they  have  no  time  to  think 
of  it.  They  are  joined  to  their  wash-tubs ;  let  them  alone.  But  the 
children  of  these  overworked  women  are  coming  on.  2.  Women 
who  have  usurped  all  the  rights  in  the  matrimonial  category,  their 
husbands'  as  well  as  their  own.  The  husbands  of  such  women  are 
always  loudly  opposed  to  suffrage.  The  "sassiest"  man  in  any  com- 
munity is  the  hen-pecked  husband  away  from  home.  3.  Young 
girls  matrimonially  inclined,  who  fear  the  avowal  of  a  belief  in  suf- 
frage would  injure  their  chances.  I  can  assure  such  girls  that  a 
woman  who  wishes  to  vote  gets  more  offers  than  one  who  does  not. 
Their  motto  should  be  "Liberty  first,  and  union  afterwards."  The 
man  whose  wife  is  a  clinging  vine  is  apt  to  be  like  the  oaks  in  the 
forest  that  are  found  wrapped  in  vines — dead  at  the  top. 

When  Miss  Anthony  said,  "One  reason  why  politicians  hesi- 
tate to  grant  suffrage  to  woman  is  because  she  is  an  unknown 
quantity,"  Mrs.  Henry  responded  quickly,  "There  are  two  great 
unknown  forces  to-day,  electricity  and  woman,  but  men  can 
reckon  much  better  on  electricity  than  they  can  on  woman."  A 
resolution  was  adopted  for  a  public  celebration  in  New  York  City 


250  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton's  eightieth  birthday,  November 
12,  by  the  association.* 

The  treasurer,  Mrs.  Harriet  Taylor  Upton,  reported  the  re- 
ceipts of  the  past  year  to  be  $5,820,  of  which  $2,571  went  to  the 
Kansas  campaign.  The  contributions  and  pledges  of  this  con- 
vention for  the  coming  year  were  about  $2,000.  In  addition, 
Mrs.  Louisa  Southworth  of  Cleveland  gave  $1.000  to  Miss 
Anthony  to  use  as  she  thought  best,  and  she  announced 
that  it  would  be  applied  to  opening  national  headquarters.  A 
National  Organization  Committee  was  for  the  first  time  formally 
organized  and  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  was  made  its  chairman  by 
unanimous  vote. 

Mrs.  Colby  presented  the  memorial  resolutions,  saying  in  part : 

During  the  past  year  our  association  has  lost  by  death  a  number  of 
members  whose  devotion  to  the  cause  of  woman's  liberty  has  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  position  she  holds  to-day,  and  whose  labors 
are  a  part  of  the  history  of  this  great  struggle  for  the  amelioration 
of  her  condition.  Among  these  beloved  friends  and  co-workers 
three  stood,  each  as  the  foremost  representative  in  a  distinct  line  of 
action:  Myra  Bradwell  of  .Chicago,  Virginia  L.  Minor  cf  St.  Louis, 
Amelia  Bloomer  of  Council  Bluffs,  la. 

Mrs.  Bradwell  was  the  first  to  make  a  test  case  with  regard  to  the 
civil  rights  of  women,  and  to  prove  that  the  disfranchised  citizen  is 
unprotected.  [Her  struggle  to  secure  from  the  U.  S.  Supreme 
Court  a  decision  enabling  women  to  practice  law  was  related.] 
The  special  importance  of  Mrs.  Minor's  connection  with  the  suf- 
frage work  lies  in  the  fact  that  she  first  formulated  and  enunciated 
the  idea  that  women  have  the  right  to  vote  under  the  United  States 
Constitution.  [The  story  was  then  told  of  Mrs.  Minor's  case  in  the 
U.  S.  Supreme  Court  to  test  the  right  of  women  to  vote  under  the 
Fourteenth  Amendment.]  f  Mrs.  Amelia  Bloomer  was  the  first 
woman  to  own  and  edit  a  paper  devoted  to  woman  suffrage  and 
temperance,  the  Lily,  published  in  Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y.  She  was 
also  an  eloquent  lecturer  for  both  these  reforms  and  one  of  the  first 
women  to  hold  an  office  under  the  Government,  as  deputy  post- 
master. The  costume  which  bears  her  name  she  did  not  originate, 
but  wore  and  advocated  for  a  number  of  years. 

Of  the  noble  band  that  started  in  1848,  few  now  remain,  but  a 
host  of  young  women  are  already  on  the  stage  of  action,  even  bet- 

•  For  an  account  of  this  beautiful  celebration  in  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House  with 
an  audience  of  3,000,  see  Life  and  Work  of  Susan  B.  Anthony,  p.  848;  also  Reminiscences 
of  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton. 

t  For  account  of  Mrs.  Bradwell's  case  sec  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  II,  p. 
601;  of  Mrs.  Minor's,  same,  p.  715. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1895.  2Sl 

ter  equipped  than  were  our  pioneers  to  plead  their  own  cases  in  the 
courts,  the  halls  of  legislation,  the  pulpit  and  the  press. 

Two  large  receptions  were  given  to  the  delegates  and  visitors, 
one  at  the  Hotel  Aragon,  and  one  by  Mrs.  W.  A.  Hemphill, 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  Professional  Work  of  Women 
at  the  approaching  Cotton  States  Exposition  soon  to  be  held  in 
Atlanta.  She  was  assisted  by  Mrs.  W.  Y.  Atkinson,  wife  of  the 
newly-elected  Governor  of  Georgia. 

During  several  weeks  before  the  convention  Miss  Anthony 
and  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  had  made  a  tour  of  the  Southern  States, 
speaking  in  the  principal  cities  to  arouse  suffrage  sentiment,  as 
this  section  was  practically  an  unvisited  field.  Immediately  after 
the  convention  closed  a  mass  meeting  was  held  in  the  court-house 
of  Atlanta.  Afterwards  Mrs.  Blake  was  requested  to  address 
the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina,  Miss  Anthony  lectured  in  a 
number  of  cities  on  the  way  northward,  and  others  were  invited 
to  hold  meetings  in  the  neighboring  States.  Most  of  the  speakers 
and  delegates  met  in  Washington  on  February  15  to  celebrate 
Miss  Anthony's  seventy-fifth  birthday  and  participate  in  the  tri- 
ennial convention  of  the  National  Council  of  Women. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF   1896. 

The  suffrage  association  held  its  Twenty-eighth  annual  con- 
vention in  the  Church  of  Our  Father,  Washington,  D.  C,  Jan. 
23-28,  1896.  In  her  opening  remarks  the  president,  Miss  Susan 
B.  Anthony,  said : 

The  thought  that  brought  us  here  twenty-eight  years  ago  was 
that,  if  the  Federal  Constitution  could  be  invoked  to  protect  black 
men  in  the  right  to  vote,  the  same  great  authority  could  be  invoked 
to  protect  women.  The  question  has  been  urged  upon  ever}7  Con- 
gress since  1869.  We  asked  at  first  for  a  Sixteenth  Amendment 
enfranchising  women;  then  for  suffrage  under  the  Fourteenth 
Amendment;  then,  when  the  Supreme  Court  had  decided  that 
against  us,  we  returned  to  the  Sixteenth  Amendment  and  have 
pressed  it  ever  since.  The  same  thing  has  been  done  in  this  Fifty- 
fourth  Congress  which  has  been  done  in  every  Congress  for  a  dec- 
ade, namely,  the  introducing  of  a  bill  providing  for  the  new  amend- 
ment  

You  will  notice  that  the  seats  of  the  delegation  from  Utah  are 
marked  by  a  large  United  States  flag  bearing  three  stars,  a  big  one 
and  two  smaller  ones.  The  big  star  is  for  Wyoming,  because  it 
stood  alone  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  as  the  only  place  where  women 
had  full  suffrage.  Colorado  comes  next,  because  it  is  the  first 
State  where  a  majority  of  the  men  voted  to  grant  women  equal 
rights.  Then  comes  Utah,  because  its  men  in  convention  assem- 
bled— in  spite  of  the  bad  example  of  Congress,  which  took  the 
right  away  from  its  women  nine  years  ago — those  men,  having  seen 
the  good  effects  of  woman  suffrage  for  years,  voted  by  an  over- 
whelming majority  to  leave  out  the  little  word  "male"  from  the  suf- 
frage clause  of  their  new  State  Constitution,  and  their  action  was 
ratified  by  the  electors.  Next  year,  if  I  am  here,  I  hope  to  rejoice 
with  you  over  woman  suffrage  in  California  and  Idaho. 

Some  one  whispered  to  Miss  Anthony  that  the  convention  had 
not  been  opened  with  prayer,  and  she  answered  without  the 
slightest  confusion :  "Now,  friends,  you  all  know  I  am  a  Quaker. 
We  give  thanks  in  silence.  I  do  not  think  the  heart  of  any  one 
here  has  been  fuller  of  silent  thankfulness  than  mine,  but  I  should 
not  have  remembered  to  have  the  meeting  formally  opened  with 

252 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1896. 

prayer  if  somebody  had  not  reminded  me.    The  Rev.  Anna  How- 
ard Shaw  will  offer  prayer." 

Miss  Shaw's  report  as  vice-president-at-large  was  full  of  the 
little  touches  of  humor  for  which  she  was  noted : 

The  report  of  my  specific  work  would  not  take  long ;  but  the  work 
that  really  did  count  for  our  association  began  last  May,  when  your 
president  and  I  were  invited  to  California.  On  the  way  we  stopped 
first  at  St.  Louis,  where  Miss  Anthony  spoke  before  the  Women's 
Federation,  the  Woman's  Council,  and  the  State  W.  S.  A.  From 
there  we  went  to  Denver,  where  we  had  a  remarkable  meeting,  and  a 
warm  greeting  was  given  to  Miss  Anthony  by  the  newly  enfran- 
chised women  of  Colorado.  It  was  pleasant  to  find  them  so  grate- 
ful to  the  pioneers.  The  large  opera  house  was  packed,  and  a  re- 
ception, in  which  the  newspapers  estimated  that  1,500  persons  took 
part,  was  afterwards  given  at  the  Palace  Hotel. 

From  Denver  we  went  to  Cheyenne,  where  we  addressed  the  citi- 
zens, men  and  women.  For  once  there  were  present  at  our  meeting 
quite  as  many  men  as  women,  and  not  only  ordinary  but  extraor- 
dinary men.  After  introducing  us  to  the  audience,  Mrs.  Theresa 
A.  Jenkins  introduced  the  audience  to  us.  It  included  the  Governor, 
Senators,  Representatives,  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  city  offi- 
cials, and  never  so  many  majors  and  colonels,  and  it  showed  that 
where  women  have  a  vote,  men  think  their  meetings  are  worth  go- 
ing to.  We  were  the  guests  of  the  Governor  during  our  stay  in 
Colorado,  and  guests  of  a  U.  S.  Senator  in  Wyoming.  At  Salt 
Lake  all  the  city  turned  out,  and  I  spoke  in  the  Tabernacle  to  the 
largest  audience  I  ever  had.  It  was  sympathetic  too,  for  Utah  peo- 
ple are  accustomed  to  go  to  church  and  listen.  At  Ogden  they  had 
to  take  two  buildings  for  the  meeting.  At  Reno,  Nevada,  there  was 
a  large  audience. 

The  Woman's  Congress  at  San  Francisco  was  the  most  marvel- 
ous gathering  I  ever  saw.  The  newspapers  said  the  men  were  all 
hypnotized,  or  they  would  not  stand  on  the  sidewalk  two  hours  to 
get  into  a  church.  Every  subject  considered  during  Jhe  whole 
week,  whether  it  was  the  care  of  children  or  the  decoration  of  the 
home,  turned  on  the  ballot  for  women,  and  Susan  B.  Anthony  was 
the  belle  of  the  ball.  The  superintendent  of  San  Francisco  closed 
the  schools  that  Miss  Anthony  might  address  the  900  teachers. 
The  Ministers'  Association  passed  resolutions  favoring  the  amend- 
ment. We  went  the  whole  length  of  the  State  and  the  meetings 
were  just  as  enthusiastic. 

The  Citizens'  Committee  asked  women  to  take  part  in  the  Fourth 
of  July  celebration.  The  women  accepted  more  than  the  men  meant 
they  should,  for  they  insisted  that  a  woman  should  be  on  the  pro- 
gram. The  Program  Committee  refused,  and  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee said  if  they  did  not  put  a  woman  on  they  should  be  dis- 
charged. Instead  of  this  they  proposed  that  Mrs.  Sarah  B.  Cooper 
should  provide  sandwiches  for  over  5,000  kindergarten  children. 
That  was  the  kind  of  work  they  invited  such  women  to  do. 


254  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  Program  Committee  discussed  the  matter,  and  their  discus- 
sion could  be  heard  four  blocks  away,  but  they  finally  yielded  and  in- 
vited me  to  speak.  So  Miss  Anthony  and  I  rode  for  three  miles  in 
a  highly-decorated  carriage,  just  behind  the  mayor  and  followed  by 
a  brass  band  and  the  fire  brigade,  and  I  wore  a  big  badge  that  al- 
most covered  me,  just  like  the  badge  worn  by  the  masculine  orator. 
The  dispute  between  the  Executive  and  the  Program  Committees 
had  excited  so  much  interest  that  there  were  more  cheers  for  your 
president  and  vice-president  as  we  passed  along  than  there  were  for 
the  mayor 

They  wanted  us  both  to  come  back  in  the  fall.  I  went  and  spoke 
thirty-four  times  in  thirty-seven  evenings. 

As  the  vice-president  finished,  Miss  Anthony  observed  in  her 
characteristic  manner :  "Miss  Shaw  said  she  only  went  to  Cali- 
fornia to  hold  Miss  Anthony's  bonnet,  but,  when  we  left,  every- 
body thought  that  I  had  come  to  hold  her  bonnet.  It  is  my  delight 
to  see  these  girls  develop  and  outdo  their  elders.  There  is  another 
little  woman  that  I  want  to  come  up  here  to  the  platform,  Mrs. 
Chapman  Catt.  While  she  is  blushing  and  getting  ready,  there 
is  a  delegation  here  from  the  Woman's  National  Press  Associa- 
tion." Mesdames  Lockwood,  Gates,  Cromwell  and  Emerson 
were  introduced,  and  Miss  Anthony  remarked :  "Our  movement 
depends  greatly  on  the  press.  The  worst  mistake  any  woman 
can  make  is  to  get  crosswise  with  the  newspapers."* 

By  this  time  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  had  reached  the  platform, 
and  Miss  Anthony  continued :  "Mrs.  Catt  went  down  South 
with  me  last  year  to  hold  my  bonnet ;  and  wherever  we  were,  at 
Memphis  or  New  Orleans  or  elsewhere,  when  she  had  spoken, 
Miss  Anthony  was  nowhere.  It  is  she  who  has  done  the  splendid 
organization  work  which  has  brought  into  the  association  nearly 
every  State  in  the  Union,  and  every  Territory  except  the  Indian 
and  Alaska  and  we  shall  have  them  next  year." 

An  able  address  was  given  by  Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby  (D. 
C.)  on  The  Philosophy  of  Woman  Suffrage,  in  which  she  said: 

Woman  suffrage  is  in  harmony  with  the  evolution  of  the  race. 
The  progress  of  civilization  has  developed  the  finer  forces  of  man- 
kind and  made  ready  for  the  entrance  of  woman  into  government. 
As  long  as  man  was  merely  a  slayer  of  men  and  animals  he  did  not 

*  Letters  and  telegrams  of  greeting  were  received  from  the  Hon.  Mrs.  C.  C.  Holly, 
member  Colorado  Legislature,  Mrs.  Henry  M.  Teller,  Mrs.  Francis  E.  Warren,  Mrs. 
Foster,  from  the  National  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  State  and  local  associa- 
tions of  various  kinds. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1896.  255 

feel  the  need  of  the  co-partnership  of  woman,  but  as  his  fatherhood 
was  developed  he  felt  his  inadequacy  and  the  necessity  of  the  ma- 
ternal element  by  his  side.  Woman  suffrage  is  in  harmony  with  the 
growth  of  the  idea  of  the  worth  of  the  individual,  which  has  its  best 
expression  in  our  republic.  Our  nation  is  heir  of  all  the  struggles 
for  freedom  which  have  been  made 

The  Magna  Charta  belongs  to  us  as  much  as  does  the  Declaration 
of  Independence.  In  all  these  achievements  for  liberty  women  have 
borne  their  share.  Not  only  have  they  inspired  men  but  the  record 
of  the  past  is  illumined  with  the  story  of  their  own  brave  deeds. 
Women  love  .liberty  as  well  as  men  do.  The  love  of  liberty  is  the 
corollary  of  the  right  of  consent  to  government.  All  the  progress 
of  our  nation  has  been  along  the  line  of  extending  the  application  of 
this  basic  idea 

Woman  suffrage  is  in  harmony  with  the  evolution  in  the  status  of 
women.  They  always  have  done  their  share  in  the  development 
of  the  race.  There  always  has  been  a  "new  woman,"  some  one 
stepping  out  in  advance  of  the  rest  and  gaining  a  place  for  others  to 
stand  upon We  have  no  cause  to  blush  for  our  ances- 
tors. We  may  save  our  blushes  for  the  women  of  to-day  who  do 
not  live  up  to  their  privileges. 

Now  that  woman  has  made  such  advance  in  personal  and  property 
rights,  educational  and  industrial  opportunities,  to  deny  her  the  bal- 
lot is  to  force  her  to  occupy  a  much  more  degrading  position  than 
did  the  women  of  the  past.  We  think  the  savage  woman  degraded 
because  she  walks  behind  her  husband  bearing  the  burden  to  leave 
his  hands  free  for  the  weapon  which  is  his  sign  of  sovereignty ; 
what  shall  we  say  of  the  woman  of  to-day  who  may  not  follow  her 
husband  and  brother  as  he  goes  forth  to  wield  the  weapon  of  civili- 
zation, the  ballot?  If  the  evolution  in  the  status  of  woman  does  not 
point  to  the  franchise  it  is  meaningless. 

Mrs.  Colby  was  followed  by  Miss  Julie  R.  Jenney,  a  member 
of  the  bar  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  with  a  thoughtful  address  on  Law 
and  the  Ballot.  She  showed  that  woman's  present  legal  rights 
are  in  the  nature  of  a  license,  and  therefore  revocable  at  the  will 
of  the  bodies  granting  them,  and  that  until  women  elect  the  law- 
makers they  can  not  be  entirely  sure  of  any  rights  whatever. 
Between  Daybreak  and  Sunrise  was  the  title  of  the  address  of 
Mrs.  May  Stocking  Knaggs  (Mich.),  who  pleaded  for  the  op- 
portunity of  complete  co-operation  between  men  and  women, 
declaring  that  "each  human  being  is  a  whole,  single  and  responsi- 
ble ;  each  human  unit  is  concerned  in  the  social  compact  which  is 
formed  to  protect  individual  and  mutual  rights." 

This  was  the  first  appearance  of  Mrs.  Stetson  on  this  national 
platform.  She  came  as  representative  of  the  Pacific  Coast 


256  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Woman's  Congress  and  California  Suffrage  Association.  The 
Woman's  Journal  said  :  "Those  of  us  who  have  for  years  admired 
Mrs.  Stetson's  remarkably  bright  poems  were  delighted  to  meet 
her,  and  to  find  her  even  more  interesting  than  her  writings.  She 
is  still  a  young  woman,  tall,  lithe  and  graceful,  with  fine  dark 
eyes,  and  spirit  and  originality  flashing  from  her  at  every  turn  like 
light  from  a  diamond.  She  read  several  poems  to  the  convention, 
made  an  address  one  evening  and  preached  twice  on  Sunday ;  and 
the  delegates  followed  her  around,  as  iron  filings  follow  a  magnet." 

Mrs.  Catharine  E.  Hirst,  president  of  the  Ladies  of  the  G.  A. 
R. ;  Mrs.  Lillian  M.  Hollister,  representing  the  Supreme  Hive 
Ladies  of  the  Maccabees;  Miss  Harriette  A.  Keyser,  from  the 
Political  Study  Club  of  New  York ;  Mrs.  Rose  E.  Lumpkin,  pres- 
ident Virginia  King's  Daughters,  were  presented  as  fraternal 
delegates.  Grace  Greenwood  and  Mrs.  Caroline  B.  Buell  were 
introduced  to  the  convention. 

Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  spoke  for  the  Course  of  Study  in  Political 
Science,  which  had  been  in  operation  only  five  months,  had  sold 
five  hundred  full  sets  of  books  and  reported  over  one  hundred 
clubs  formed.  The  committee  on  credentials  reported  138  dele- 
gates present,  and  all  the  States  and  Territories  represented  ex- 
cept thirteen.  A  very  satisfactory  report  of  the  first  year's  work 
of  the  organization  committee  was  presented  by  its  chairman, 
Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  which  closed  as  follows : 

Our  committee  are  more  than  ever  convinced  that  it  is  possible  to 
build  a  great  organization  based  upon  the  one  platform  of  the  en- 
franchisement of  women.  With  harmony,  co-operation  and  deter- 
mination we  shall  yet  build  this  organization,  of  such  numbers  and 
political  strength  that  through  the  power  of  constituency  it  can  dic- 
tate at  least  one  plank  in  the  platform  of  every  political  party,  and 
secure  an  amendment  from  any  Legislature  it  petitions.  We  be- 
lieve it  will  yet  have  its  auxiliaries  in  every  village  and  hamlet, 
township  and  school  district,  to  influence  majorities  when  the 
amendment  is  submitted.  More — we  believe  ere  many  years  its 
powers  will  be  so  subtle  and  widespread  that  it  can  besiege  the  con- 
servatism of  Congress  itself,  and  come  away  with  the  laurel  wreath 
of  victory. 

Nearly  $3,300  were  at  once  pledged  for  the  committee,  Miss 
Anthony  herself  agreeing  to  raise  $600  of  this  amount. 

Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  presented  also  a  detailed  Plan  of  Work, 
which  included  Organization,  Club  Work,  Letter  Writing,  Rais- 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1896.  257 

ing  of  Money  and  Political  Work.  Of  the  last  she  said :  "The 
time  has  fully  come  when  we  should  carry  the  rub-a-dub  of  our 
agitation  into  'the  political  Africa/  that  is  into  every  town  meet- 
ing of  every  township  of  every  county,  and  every  caucus  or  pri- 
mary meeting  of  every  ward  of  every  city  of  every  State.  .  .  . 
For  a  whole  half  century  we  have  held  special  suffrage  meetings, 
with  audiences  largely  of  women ;  that  is,  women  have  talked  to 
women.  We  must  now  carry  our  discussion  of  the  question  into 
all  of  the  different  political  party  gatherings,  for  it  is  only  there 
that  the  rank  and  file  of  the  voters  ever  go.  They  won't  come 
to  our  meetings,  so  we  must  carry  our  gospel  into  theirs.  It  will 
be  of  no  more  avail  in  the  future  than  it  has  been  in  the  past  to 
send  appeals  to  State  and  national  conventions,  so  long  as  they 
are  not  backed  by  petitions  from  a  vast  majority  of  the  voting 
constituents  of  their  members." 

With  the  thousand  dollars  which  had  been  put  into  Miss  An- 
thony's hands  by  Mrs.  Louisa  South  worth  of  Cleveland  the  pre- 
ceding year,  national  headquarters  had  been  opened  in  Phila- 
delphia with  Mrs.  Rachel  Foster  Avery,  corresponding  secretary, 
in  charge.  Mrs.  Harriet  Taylor  Upton,  treasurer,  reported  total 
receipts  for  1895  to  be  $9,835,  with  a  balance  of  several  hundred 
dollars  in  the  treasury. 

The  principal  feature  of  the  Saturday  evening  meeting  was  the 
address  of  Miss  Elizabeth  Burrill  Curtis,  daughter  of  George 
William  Curtis,  on  Universal  Suffrage.  She  said  in  part : 

I  find  many  people  in  my  native  State  of  New  York  who  are  lean- 
ing toward  a  limited  suffrage,  and  therefore  I  am  beginning  to  ask, 
"What  does  it  mean?  Is  democratic  government  impossible  after 
all  ?"  For  a  government  in  order  to  be  democratic  must  be  founded 
on  the  suffrages  of  all  the  people,  not  a  part.  A  republic  may  exist 
by  virtue  of  a  limited  suffrage,  but  a  democracy  can  not,  and  a  dem- 
ocratic government  has  been  our  theoretical  ideal  from  the  first. 
Are  we  prepared,  after  a  hundred  and  twenty  years,  to  own  our- 
selves defeated  ?....*  Universal  suffrage,  to  me,  means  the 
right  of  every  man  and  woman  who  is  mentally  able  to  do  so,  and 
who  has  not  forfeited  the  right  by  an  ill  use  of  it,  to  say  who  shall 
rule  them,  and  what  action  shall  be  taken  by  those  rulers  upon  ques- 
tions of  moment 

This  brings  me  to  what  I  wish  to  say  about  those  who  desire  a 
limited  suffrage.  Who  are  they,  and  to  what  class  do  they  belong? 
For  the  most  part,  as  I  know  them,  they  are  men  of  property,  who 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 17 


258  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

belong  to  the  educated  classes,  who  are  refined  and  cultivated,  and 
who  see  the  government  about  them  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
unintelligent  and  often  illiterate  classes  who  are  voted  at  the  polls 
like  sheep.  Therefore  these  gentlemen  weep  aloud  and  wail  and 
say :  "If  we  had  a  limited  suffrage,  if  we  and  our  friends  had  the 
management  of  affairs,  how  much  better  things  would  be !" 

Do  not  misunderstand  me  here.  I  am  far  from  decrying  the 
benefits  of  education.  Nobody  believes  in  its  necessity  more  sin- 
cerely than  I  do.  In  fact  I  hold  that,  other  things  being  equal,  the 
educated  man  is  immeasurably  in  advance  of  the  uneducated  one; 
but  the  trouble  is  that  other  things  are  often  very  far  from  being 
equal  and  it  is  utterly  impossible  for  the  average  man,  educated  or 
not,  to  be  trusted  to  decide  with  entire  justice  between  himself  and 
another  person  when  their  interests  are  equally  involved 

The  intelligent  voter  in  a  democratic  community  can  not  abdicate 
his  responsibility  without  being  punished.  He  is  the  natural  leader, 
and  if  he  refuses  to  fulfil  his  duties  the  leadership  will  inevitably 
fall  into  the  hands  of  those  who  are  unfitted  for  the  high  and  holy 
task — and  who  is  to  blame?  It  is  the  educated  men,  the  profes- 
sional men,  the  men  of  wealth  and  culture,  who  are  themselves  re- 
sponsible when  things  go  wrong;  and  the  refusal  to  acknowledge 
their  responsibility  will  not  release  them  from  it 

The  principle  of  universal  suffrage,  like  every  other  high  ideal, 
will  not  stand  alone.  It  carries  duties  with  it,  duties  which  are  im- 
perative and  which  to  shirk  is  filching  benefits  without  rendering  an 
equivalent.  How  dare  a  man  plead  his  private  ease  or  comfort  as 
an  excuse  for  neglecting  his  public  duties?  How  dare  the  remon- 
strating women  of  Massachusetts  declare  that  they  fear  the  loss  of 
privileges,  one  of  which  is  the  immunity  from  punishment  for  a 
misdemeanor  committed  in  the  husband's  presence  ?  "When  I  was  a 
child,  I  spake  as  a  child,  I  thought  as  a  child,  I  understood  as  a 
child ;  but  when  I  became  a  man,  I  put  away  childish  things." 

Throughout  history  all  women  and  many  men  have  been  forced, 
so  far  as  government  has  been  concerned,  to  speak,  think  and  under- 
stand as  children.  Now,  for  the  first  time,  we  are  asking  that  the 
people,  as  a  whole  body,  shall  rise  to  their  full  stature  and  put  away 
childish  things. 

The  sermon  on  Sunday  afternoon  was  given  by  Mrs.  Stetson 
from  the  topic  which  was  to  have  been  considered  by  the  Rev. 
Anna  Garlin  Spencer,  The  Spiritual  Significance  of  Democracy 
and  Woman's  Relation  to  It.  She  spoke  without  notes  and  illus- 
trated the  central  thought  that  love  grows  where  people  are 
brought  together,  and  that  they  are  brought  together  more  in  a 
democracy  than  in  any  other  mode  of  living.  "Women  have  ad- 
vanced less  rapidly  than  men  because  they  have  always  been  more 
isolated.  They  have  been  brought  into  relation  with  their  own 
families  only.  It  is  men  who  have  held  the  inter-human  relation. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1896.  259 

.  .  .  .  Everything  came  out  of  the  home;  but  because  you 
began  in  a  cradle  is  no  reason  why  you  should  always  stay  there. 
Because  charity  begins  at  home  is  no  reason  why  it  should  stop 
there,  and  because  woman's  first  place  is  at  home  is  no  reason  why 
her  last  and  only  place  should  be  there.  Civilization  has  been 
held  back  because  so  many  men  have  inherited  the  limitations  of 
the  female  sex.  You  can  not  raise  public-spirited  men  from  pri- 
vate-spirited mothers,  but  only  from  mothers  who  have  been  citi- 
zens in  spite  of  their  disfranchisement.  In  holding  back  the 
mothers  of  the  race,  you  are  keeping  back  the  race." 

At  the  memorial  services  loving  tributes  were  paid  to  the 
friends  of  woman  suffrage  who  had  passed  away  during  the  year. 
Among  these  were  ex-Secretary  of  the  Treasury  Hugh  McCul- 
loch,  ex-Governor  Oliver  Ames  (Mass.),  Dr.  James  C.  Jackson 
of  Dansville  (N.Y.),  Dr.  Abram  W.  Lozier  of  New  York  City, 
Thomas  Davis,  Sarah  Wilbur  of  Rhode  Island,  Marian  Skidmore 
of  Lily  Dale,  N.  Y.,  and  Amelia  E.  H.  Doyon  of  Madison,  Wis., 
who  left  $1,000  to  the  National  Association.  , 

Henry  B.  Blackwell  spoke  of  Theodore  D.  Weld,  the  great 
abolitionist,  leader  of  the  movement  to  found  Oberlin,  the  first 
co-educational  college,  and  one  of  the  earliest  advocates  of  equal 
rights  for  women.  He  told  also  of  Frederick  Douglass,  whose 
last  act  was  to  bear  his  testimony  in  favor  of  suffrage  for  women 
at  the  Woman's  Council  in  Washington  on  the  very  day  of  his 
death.  Mrs.  Avery  gave  a  tender  eulogy  of  Theodore  Lovett 
Sewall  of  Indianapolis,  his  brilliancy  as  a  conversationalist,  his 
charm  as  a  host,  his  loyalty  as  a  friend,  his  beautiful  devotion  to 
his  wife,  Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall,  and  his  lifelong  adherence  to 
the  cause  of  woman. 

The  loss  of  Mrs.  Ellen  Battelle  Dietrick  came  with  crushing 
force,  as  her  services  to  the  association  were  invaluable.  To  her 
most  intimate  friend,  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  was  assigned 
the  duty  of  speaking  a  word  in  her  memory,  and  in  broken  sen- 
tences she  said :  "I  never  knew  such  earnest  purpose  and  conse- 
cration or  such  a  fund  of  knowledge  in  any  one  as  Mrs.  Dietrick 
possessed.  She  never  stopped  thinking  because  she  had  reached 
the  furthest  point  to  which  some  one  else  had  thought.  She  was 
the  best  antagonist  I  ever  saw ;  I  never  knew  any  one  who  could 
differ  so  intensely,  and  yet  be  so  perfectly  calm  and  good-tern- 


26O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

pered.  What  she  was  as  a  friend  no  one  can  tell.  Her  death  is 
a  great  loss  to  our  press  work..  Perhaps  no  one  ever  wrote  so 
many  articles  in  the  same  length  of  time.  This  was  especially 
the  case  last  summer.  It  seemed  as  if  she  had  a  premonition  that 
her  life  would  soon  end,  for  she  sat  at  her  desk  writing  hour  after 
hour.  I  believe  it  shortened  her  life.  She  had  just  finished  a 
book — Women  in  the  Early  Christian  Ministry — and  she  left 
many  other  manuscripts.  It  would  be  a  pity  if  the  rich,  ripe 
thought  of  this  woman  should  not  be  preserved.  Her  funeral 
was  like  her  life,  without  show  or  display.  No  one  outside  the 
family  was  present  except  myself.  No  eulogy  was  uttered  there ; 
she  would  not  have  wanted  it.  Tennyson's  last  poem,  Crossing 
the  Bar.  was  recited  by  her  brother-in-law,  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Hamil- 
ton.*" Miss  Shaw  ended  her  remarks  by  reciting  this  poem. 

Miss  Anthony,  who  was  to  close  the  exercises,  was  too  much 
affected  to  speak  and  motioned  that  the  audience  was  dismissed, 
but  no  one  stirred.  At  length  she  said :  "There  are  very  few 
human  beings  who  have  the  courage  to  utter  to  the  fullest  their 
honest  convictions — Mrs.  Dietrick  was  one  of  these  few.  She 
would  follow  truth  wherever  it  led,  and  she  would  follow  no  other 
leader.  Like  Lucretia  Mott,  she  took  'truth  for  authority,  not 
authority  for  truth.'  Miss  Anthony  spoke  also  of  the  "less- 
known  women" :  "Adeline  Thomson,  a  most  remarkable  char- 
acter, was  a  sister  to  J.  Edgar  Thomson,  first  president  of  the 
Pennsylvania  railroad.  She  lived  to  be  eighty,  and  for  years 
she  stood  there  in  Philadelphia,  a  monument  of  the  past.  Her 
house  was  my  home  when  in  that  city  for  thirty  years.  We  have 
also  lost  in  Julia  Wilbur  of  the  District  a  most  useful  woman, 
and  one  who  was  faithful  to  the  end.  This  is  the  first  convention 
for  twenty-eight  years  at  which  she  has  not  been  present  with  us. 
We  should  all  try  to  live  so  as  to  make  people  feel  that  there  is 
a  vacancy  when  we  go;  but,  dear  friends,  do  not  let  there  be  a 
vacancy  long.  Our  battle  has  just  reached  the  place  where  it  can 
win,  and  if  we  do  our  work  in  the  spirit  of  those  who  have  gone 
before,  it  will  soon  be  over." 

There  was  special  rejoicing  at  this  convention  over  the  admis- 
sion of  Utah  as  a  State  with  full  suffrage  for  women.  Senator 
and  Mrs.  Frank  J.  Cannon  and  Representative  and  Mrs.  C.  E. 

•  Now  Bishop  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1896.  261 

Allen  of  Utah  were  on  the  platform.  In  her  address  of  welcome 
Miss  Shaw  said: 

Every  star  added  to  that  blue  field  makes  for  the  advantage  of 
every  human  being.  We  are  just  beginning  to  learn  that  we  are  all 
children  of  one  Father  and  members  of  one  family ;  and  when  one 
member  suffers  or  is  benefited,  all  the  members  suffer  or  rejoice. 
So  when  Utah  comes  into  the  Union  with  every  one  free,  it  is  not 
only  that  State  which  is  benefited,  but  we  and  all  the  world.  As  the 
stars  at  night  come  out  one  by  one,  so  will  they  come  out  one  by  one 
on  our  flag,  till  the  whole  blue  field  is  a  blaze  of  glory. 

We  expected  it  of  the  men  of  Utah.  No  man  there  could  have 
stood  by  the  side  of  his  mother  and  heard  her  tell  of  all  that  the 
pioneers  endured,  and  then  have  refused  to  grant  her  the  same  right 
of  liberty  he  wanted  for  himself,  without  being  unworthy  of  such  a 
mother.  They  are  the  crown  of  our  Union,  those  three'  States  on 
the  crest  of  the  Rockies,  above  all  the  others.  In  the  name  of  the 
National  American  Woman  Suffrage  Association,  we  extend  our 
welcome,  our  thanks  and  our  congratulations  to  Utah,  as  one  of  the 
three  so  dear  to  the  heart  of  every  woman  who  loves  liberty  in  these 
United  States. 

Senator  Cannon  said  in  response:  "  .  .  .  .  Only  one 
serious  question  came  before  our  constitutional  convention,  and 
that  was  whether  the  adoption  of  woman  suffrage  would  hinder 

the  admission  of  our  Territory  as  a  State But  our 

women  had  furnished  courage,  patience  and  heroism  to  our  men, 
and  so  we  said :  'Utah  shall  take  another  forty-nine  years  of 
wandering  in  the  wilderness  as  a  Territory  before  coming  in  as 
a  State  without  her  women.'  My  mother  wandered  there  for 
twelve  years.  Women  trailed  bleeding  feet  and  lived  on  roots 
that  those  of  to-day  might  reap  bounteous  harvests.  Utah  gave 
women  the  suffrage  while  still  a  Territory.  Congress,  in  its  not 
quite  infinite  wisdom,  took  it  away  after  they  had  exercised  it 
intelligently  for  seventeen  years ;  but  the  first  chance  that  the  men 
of  Utah  had  they  gave  it  back." 

Representative  Allen  was  called  on  by  Miss  Anthony  to  "tell 
us  how  nice  it  seems  to  feel  that  your  wife  is  as  good  as  you  are," 
and  said  in  part:  "Perhaps  you  have  read  what  the  real  estate 
agents  say  about  Utah — how  they  praise  her  sun  and  soil,  her 
mountains  and  streams,  and  her  precious  metals.  They  tell 
you  that  she  is  filled  with  the  basis  of  all  material  prosperity, 
with  gold,  silver,  lead  and  iron ;  but  greatness  can  not  come  from 
material  resources  alone — it  must  come  from  the  people  who  till 


262  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

and  delve.  Utah  is  great  because  her  people  are  great.  When 
she  has  centuries  behind  her  she  will  make  a  splendid  showing 
because  she  has  started  right.  She  has  given  to  that  part  of  the 
people  who  instinctively  know  what  is  right,  the  power  to  influ- 
ence the  body  politic This  movement  is  destined 

to  go  on  until  it  reaches  every  State  in  the  Union." 

Mrs.  Allen  and  Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Boyer  told  of  the  heroic  efforts 
the  women  had  made  for  themselves;  and  Mrs.  Emily  S.  Rich- 
ards, vice-president  of  the  Territorial  suffrage  association,  de- 
scribed in  a  graphic  manner  the  systematic  and  persistent  work 
of  this  organization.  The  tribute  to  its  president,  Mrs.  Emmeline 
B.  Wells,  whose  influence  had  been  paramount  in  securing  the 
franchise  for  the  women  of  Utah,  was  heartily  applauded  and  a 
telegram  of  congratulation  was  sent  to  her.* 

The  address  of  Mrs.  Ella  Knowles  Haskell,  Assistant  Attor- 
ney-General of  Montana,  on  The  Environments  of  Woman  as 
Related  to  her  Progress,  attracted  much  attention.  She  had  been 
the  Populist  candidate  for  Attorney-General  and  made  a  strong 
canvass  but  went  down  to  defeat  with  the  rest  of  her  party. 
Soon  afterward  she  married  her  competitor,  who  appointed  her 
his  assistant.  She  reviewed  the  laws  of  past  ages,  showing  how 
impossible  it  was  then  for  women  to  rise  above  the  conditions 
imposed  upon  them,  and  pointed  out  the  wonderful  progress  they 
had  made  as  soon  as  even  partial  freedom  had  been  granted. 

Mrs..  Virginia  D.  Young  (S.  C),  taking  as  a  subject  The  Sun- 
flower Bloom  of  Woman's  Equality,  gave  an  address  which  in 
its  quaint  speech,  dialect  stories  and  attractive  provincialisms 
captivated  the  audience. 

The  convention  received  an  invitation  from  Mrs*  John  R.  Mc- 
Lean for  Monday  afternoon  to  meet  Mrs.  Ulysses  S.  Grant  on 
her  seventieth  birthday.  The  ladies  were  welcomed  by  their  hos- 
tess and  Mrs.  Nellie  Grant  Sartoris,  while  Miss  Anthony,  who 
had  attended  the  luncheon  which  preceded  the  reception,  presented 
the  ladies  to  Mrs.  Grant. 

Mrs.  Rachel  Foster  Avery,  corresponding  secretary,  devoted  a 

*  George  W.  Catt  presented  a  significant  paper  showing  that  the  victory  of  Utah  was 
almost  wholly  due  to  the  excellent  organization  of  the  suffrage  forces,  as  with  a  popula- 
tion of  206,000  it  had  over  1,000  active  workers  for  the  franchise.  If  the  same  proportion 
existed  in  other  States  nothing  could  prevent  the  success  of  the  movement  to  enfranchise 
women.  This  report  was  printed  by  the  association  as  a  leaflet. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1896.  263 

portion  of  her  report  to  an  account  of  the  visit  made  by  the  dele- 
gates of  the  association  in  response  to  an  invitation  from  the 
Woman's  Board  of  Congresses  of  the  Atlanta  Exposition,  Oct.  17, 
1895.  The  principal  address  on  that  occasion  was  made  by  Mrs. 
Helen  Gardiner. 

This  convention  was  long  remembered  on  account  of  the  vig- 
orous contest  over  what  was  known  as  the  Bible  Resolution.  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  recently  had  issued  a  commentary  on  the 
passages  of  Scripture  referring  to  women,  which  she  called  "The 
Woman's  Bible."  Although  this  was  done  in  her  individual  ca- 
pacity, yet  some  of  the  members  claimed  that,  as  she  was  honor- 
ary president  of  the  National  Association,  this  body  was  held  by 
the  public  as  partly  responsible  for  it  and  it  injured  th'eir  work 
for  suffrage.  A  resolution  was  brought  in  by  the  committee 
declaring:  "This  association  is  non-sectarian,  being  composed 
of  persons  of  all  shades  of  religious  opinion,  and  has  no  official 
connection  with  the  so-called  'Woman's  Bible'  or  any  theolog- 
ical publication." 

The  debate  was  long  and  animated,  but  although  there  was 
intense  feeling  it  was  conducted  in  perfectly  temperate  and  re- 
spectful language.  Those  participating  wTere  Rachel  Foster 
Avery,  Katie  R.  Addison,  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  Alice  Stone 
Blackwell,  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  Annie  L.  Diggs,  Laura  M. 
Johns,  Helen  Morris  Lewis,  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  Frances  A. 
Williamson  and  Elizabeth  U.  Yates  speaking  for  the  resolution ; 
Lillie  Devereux  Blake,  Clara  B.  Colby,  Cornelia  H.  Cary,  Lavina 
A.  Hatch,  Harriette  A.  Keyser,  J.  B.  Merwin,  Caroline  Hallo- 
well  Miller,  Althea  B.  Stryker,  Charlotte  Perkins  Stetson,  Mary 
Bentley  Thomas  and  Victoria  C.  Whitney  speaking  against  it. 

Miss  Anthony  was  thoroughly  aroused  and,  leaving  the  chair, 
spoke  against  the  resolution  as  follows: 

The  one  distinct  feature  of  our  association  has  been  the  right  of 
individual  opinion  for  every  member.  We  have  been  beset  at  each 
step  with  the  cry  that  somebody  was  injuring  the  cause  by  the  ex- 
pression of  sentiments  which  differed  from  those  held  by  the  ma- 
jority. The  religious  persecution  of  the  ages  has  been  carried  on 
under  what  was  claimed  to  be  the  command  of  God.  I  distrust 
those  people  who  know  so  well  what  God  wants  them  to  do,  because 
I  notice  it  always  coincides  with  their  own  desires.  All  the  way 
along,  the  history  of  our  movement  there  has  been  this  same  contest 
on  account  of  religious  theories.  Forty  years  ago  one  of  our  noblest 


264  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

men  said  to  me:  "You  would  better  never  hold  another  convention 
than  allow  Ernestine  L.  Rose  on  your  platform ;"  because  that  elo- 
quent woman,  who  ever  stood  for  justice  and  freedom,  did  not  be- 
lieve in  the  plenary  inspiration  of  the  Bible.  Did  we  banish  Mrs. 
Rose?  No,  indeed! 

Every  new  generation  of  converts  threshes  over  the  same  old 
straw.  The  point  is  whether  you  will  sit  in  judgment  on  one  who 
questions  the  divine  inspiration  of  certain  passages  in  the  Bible 
derogatory  to  women.  If  Mrs.  Stanton  had  written  approvingly  of 
these  passages  you  would  not  have  brought  in  this  resolution  for 
fear  the  cause  might  be  injured  among  the  liberals  in  religion.  In 
other  words,  if  she  had  written  your  views,  you  would  not  have  con- 
sidered a  resolution  necessary.  To  pass  this  one  is  to  set  back  the 
hands  on  the  dial  of  reform. 

What  you  should  say  to  outsiders  is  that  a  Christian  has  neither 
more  nor  less  rights  in  our  association  than  an  atheist.  When  our 
platform  becomes  too  narrow  for  people  of  all  creeds  and  of  no 
creeds,  I  myself  can  not  stand  upon  it.  Many  things  have  been  said 
and  done  by  our  orthodox'  friends  which  I  have  felt  to  be  extremely 
harmful  to  our  cause ;  but  I  should  no  more  consent  to  a  resolution 
denouncing  them  than  I  shall  consent  to  this.  Who  is  to  draw  the 
line  ?  Who  can  tell  now  whether  these  commentaries  may  not  prove 
a  great  help  to  woman's  emancipation  from  old  superstitions  which 
have  barred  its  way  ? 

Lucretia  Mott  at  first  thought  Mrs.  Stanton  had  injured  the  cause 
of  all  woman's  other  rights  by  insisting  upon  the  demand  for  suf- 
frage, but  she  had  sense  enough  not  to  bring  in  a  resolution  against 
it.  In  1860  when  Mrs.  Stanton  made  a  speech  before  the  New  York 
Legislature  in  favor  of  a  bill  making  drunkenness  a  ground  for 
divorce,  there  was  a  general  cry  among  the  friends  that  she  had 
killed  the  woman's  cause.  I  shall  be  pained  beyond  expression  if 
the  delegates  here  are  so  narrow  and  illiberal  as  to  adopt  this  reso- 
lution. You  would  better  not  begin  resolving  against  individual 
action  or  you  will  find  no  limit.  This  year  it  is  Mrs.  Stanton ;  next 
year  it  may  be  I  or  one  of  yourselves  who  will  be  the  victim. 

If  we  do  not  inspire  in  women  a  broad  and  catholic  spirit,  they 
will  fail,  when  enfranchised,  to  constitute  that  power  for  better 
government  which  we  have  always  claimed  for  them.  Ten  women 
educated  into  the  practice  of  liberal  principles  would  be  a  stronger 
force  than  10,000  organized  on  a  platform  of  intolerance  and  big- 
otry. I  pray  you  vote  for  religious  liberty,  without  censorship  or 
inquisition.  This  resolution  adopted  will  be  a  vote  of  censure  upon 
a  woman  who  is  without  a  peer  in  intellectual  and  statesmanlike 
ability ;  one  who  has  stood  for  half  a  century  the  acknowledged 
leader  of  progressive  thoy^ht  and  demand  in  regard  to  all  matters 
pertaining  to  the  absolute  freedom  of  women. 

Notwithstanding  this  eloquent  appeal  the  original  resolution 
was  adopted  by  53  yeas,  41  nays.* 

*  Yeas:     Rachel   Foster  Avery,  Katie   R.  Addison,  Lucy  E.  Anthony,  Mary  O.  Arnold, 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1896.  265 

At  the  request  of  about  thirty  of  the  delegates,  mostly  from  the 
far  Western  States,  Miss  Anthony  sent  a  message  to  Mrs.  Cleve- 
land asking  that  they  might  be  permitted  to  call  upon  her,  and  she 
received  them  with  much  courtesy. 

The  association  decided  to  help  California  and  Idaho  in  what- 
ever manner  was  desired  in  their  approaching  campaigns  for  a 
woman  suffrage  amendment.  Invitations  for  holding  the  na- 
tional convention  were  received  from  Springfield,  111. ;  Denver, 
Col. ;  Cincinnati,  O. ;  St.  Louis,  Mo. ;  Portland,  Ore. ;  Charleston, 
S.  C.  It  was  voted  to  leave  the  matter  to  the  business  committee, 
who  later  accepted  an  invitation  from  Des  Moines,  la.,  as  the  suf- 
frage societies  of  that  State  were  organizing  to  secure  an  amend- 
ment from  the  Legislature. 

At  the  last  meeting,  on  Tuesday  evening,  every  inch  of  space 
was  occupied  and  people  were  clinging  to  the  window  sills.  Miss 
Anthony  stated  that  since  Frederick  Douglass  was  no  longer 
among  them  as  he  had  been  for  so  many  years,  his  grandson, 
Joseph  Douglass,  who  was  an  accomplished  violinist,  would  give 
two  selections  in  his  memory. 

Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  (N.  Y.),  spoke  on  Presidential  Can- 
didates and  the  Interests  of  Women,  outlining  the  attitude  of  the 
various  nominees  and  parties.  Miss  Harriet  May  Mills  (N.  Y.) 
discussed  Our  Unconscious  Allies,  the  Remonstrants,  illustrating 
from  her  experience  as  organizer  how  their  efforts  really  help 
the  cause  they  try  to  hinder.  Mrs.  Emma  Smith  DeVoe  (Ills.), 

Lucretia  L.  Blankenburg,  Caroline  Brown  Buell,  Sallie  Clay  Bennett,  Henry  B.  Blackwell, 
Alice  Stone  Blackwell,  Emma  E.  Bower,  Jennie  Broderick,  Jessie  J.  Cassidy,  Carrie  Chap- 
man Catt,  Mariana  W.  Chapman,  Mary  N.  Chase,  Laura  Clay,  Elizabeth  B.  Dodge,  Annie 
L.  Diggs,  Matilda  E.  Gerrigus,  Caroline  Gibbons,  John  T.  Hughes,  Mary  Louise  Haworth, 
Mrs.  Frank  L.  Hubbard,  Mary  N.  Hubbard,  Mary  G.  Hay,  Mary  D.  Hussey,  Hetty  Y. 
Hallowell,  Laura  M.  Johns,  May  Stocking  Knaggs,  Helen  Morris  Lewis,  Mary  Elizabeth 
Milligan,  Rebecca  T.  Miller,  Jessie  G.  Manley,  Alice  M.  A.  Pickler,  Florence  M.  Post, 
Florence  Post,  the  Rev.  G.  Simmons,  Anna  R.  Simmons,  Alice  Clinton  Smith,  Sarah  H. 
Sawyer,  Amanthus  Shipp,  Mrs.  M.  R.  Stockwell,  Mary  Clarke  Smith,  D.  Viola  Smith, 
Anna  H.  Shaw,  Sarah  Vail  Thompson,  Harriet  Taylor  Upton,  Laura  H.  Van  Cise,  Frances 
A.  Williamson,  Mary  J.  Williamson,  Eliza  R.  Whiting,  Elizabeth  A.  Willard,  Elizabeth 
Upham  Yates. — 53. 

Nays:  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Mary  S.  Anthony,  S.  Augusta  Armstrong,  Elizabeth  D. 
Bacon,  Lillie  Devereux  Blake,  Elisan  Brown,  Annie  Caldwell  Boyd,  Cornelia  H.  Cary, 
Clara  Bewick  Colby,  Dr.  Cora  Smith  Eaton,  Caroline  McCullough  Everhard,  Dr.  M.  Vir- 
ginia Glauner,  Mary  E.  Gilmer,  Mrs.  L.  C.  Hughes,  Lavina  A.  Hatch,  Emily  Rowland, 
Isabel  Rowland,  Julie  R.  Jenney,  Harriette  A.  Keyser,  Jean  Lockwood,  Orra  Langhorne, 
Mary  E.  Moore,  J.  B.  Merwin,  Harriet  May  Mills,  Mrs.  M.  J.  McMillan,  Julia  B.  Nelson, 
Adda  G.  Quigley,  Charlotte  Perkins  Stetson,  Althea  B.  Stryker,  Mary  B.  Sackett,  Harriet 
Brown  Stanton,  Mrs.  R.  W.  Southard,  Ellen  Powell  Thompson,  Helen  Rand  Tindall, 
Mary  Bentley  Thomas,  Martha  S.  Townsend,  Mary  Wood,  Victoria  Conkling  Whitney, 
Mary  B.  Wickersham,  Mrs.  George  K.  Wheat,  Virginia  D.  Young. — 41. 


266  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

in  demonstrating  that  The  Liberty  of  the  Mother  means  the 
Liberty  of  the  Race,  showed  the  need  of  truer  companionship 
between  man  and  woman  and  that  the  political  disabilities  of  wo- 
men affect  all  humanity.  This  was  further  illustrated  by  Mrs. 
Annie  L.  Diggs  (Kas.)  under  the  topic  Women  as  Legislators. 
She  said  in  part : 

You  have  before  you  a  great  problem  as  to  whether  republican 
government  itself  is  to  be  successful  at  this  time,  and  statesmen  to 
save  their  souls  can  not  tell  what  will  be  the  outcome.  We  believe 
that  women  have  in  their  possession  what  is  needed  to  make  it  a 
success — those  things  upon  which  are  built  the  home  life  and  the 
ethical  life  of  the  nation.  We  can  supply  what  is  lacking,  not  be- 
cause women  are  better  than  men,  but  because  they  are  other  than 
men ;  because  they  have  a  supplementary  part,  and  it  is  their  mis- 
sion to  guard  most  sacredly  and  closely  those  things  which  protect 
the  home  life.  Because  of  their  womanhood,  because  of  their 
divine  function  of  motherhood,  women  must  always  be  most  closely 
concerned  with  the  matters  that  pertain  to  the  home.  It  belongs  to 
man,  with  his  strong  right  arm,  to  pioneer  the  way,  and  then  woman 
comes  along  to  help  him  build  the  enduring  foundation  upon  which 
everything  rests. 

Miss  Shaw,  in  a  short,  good-naturedly  sarcastic  speech  on  The 
Bulwarks  of  the  Constitution,  showed  the  illogical  position  of 
President  Eliot  of  Harvard  in  declaiming  grand  sentiments  in 
favor  of  universal  suffrage  and  then  protesting  against  having 
them  applied  to  women.  The  last  number  on  the  program  was 
The  Ballot  as  an  Improver' of  Motherhood,  by  Mrs.  Stetson.  It 
was  an  address  of  wonderful  power  which  thrilled  the  audience. 
Among  other  original  statements  were  these : 

We  have  heard  much  of  the  superior  moral  sense  of  woman.  It 
is  superior  in  spots  but  not  as  a  whole Here  is  an  im- 
aginary case  which  will  show  how  undeveloped  in  some  respects 
woman's  moral  sense  still  is :  Suppose  a  train  was  coming  with  a 
children's  picnic  on  board — three  hundred  merry,  laughing  children. 
Suppose  you  saw  this  train  was  about  to  go  through  an  open  switch 
and  over  an  embankment,  and  your  own  child  was  playing  on  the 
track  in  front  of  it.  You  could  turn  the  switch  and  save  the  train, 
or  save  your  own  child  by  pulling  it  off  the  track,  but  there  was  not 
time  to  do  both.  Which  would  you  do  ?  I  have  put  that  question 
to  hundreds  of  women.  I  never  have  found  one  but  said  she  would 
save  her  own  child,  and  not  one  in  a  hundred  but  claimed  this  would 
be  absolutely  right.  The  maternal  instinct  is  stronger  in  the  hearts 
of  most  women  than  any  moral  sense 

What  is  the  suffrage  going  to  do  for  motherhood  ?    Women  enter 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1896.  267 

upon  this  greatest  function  of  life  without  any  preparation,  and 
their  mothers  permit  them  to  do  it  because  they  do  not  recognize 
motherhood  as  a  business.  We  do  not  let  a  man  practice  as  a  doctor 
or  a  druggist,  or  do  anything  else  which  involves  issues  of  life  and 
death,  without  training  and  certificates ;  but  the  life  and  death  of  the 
whole  human  race  are  placed  in  the  hands  of  utterly  untrained 
young  girls.  The  suffrage  draws  the  woman  out  of  her  purely 
personal  relations  and  puts  her  in  relations  with  her  kind,  and  it 
broadens  her  intelligence.  I  am  not  disparaging  the  noble  devotion 
of  our  present  mothers — I  know  how  they  struggle  and  toil — but 
when  that  tremendous  force  of  mother  love  is  made  intelligent,  fifty 
per  cent,  of  our  children  will  not  die  before  they  are  five  years  old, 
and  those  that  grow  up  will  be  better  men  and  women.  A  woman 
will  no  longer  be  attached  solely  to  one  little  group,  but  will  be  also 
a  member  of  the  community.  She  will  not  neglect  her  own  on  that 
account,  but  will  be  better  to  them  and  of  more  worth  as  a  mother. 

Mrs.  Stetson  closed  with  her  own  fine  poem,  Mother  to  Child. 

The  usual  congressional  hearings  were  held  on  Tuesday  morn- 
ing, January  28.*  The  speakers  were  presented  by  Miss  Shaw, 
who  made  a  very  strong  closing  argument.  At  its  conclusion 
Senator  Peffer  announced  his  thorough  belief  in  woman  suffrage, 
and  Senator  Hoar  planted  himself  still  more  firmly  in  the  favor- 
able position  he  always  had  maintained.! 

Miss  Anthony  led  the  host  before  the  Judiciary  Committee  of 
the  House,  and  opened  with  the  statement  that  the  women  had 
been  coming  here  asking  for  justice  for  nearly  thirty  years.  She 
gave  a  brief  account  of  the  status  of  the  question  before  Congress 
and  then  presented  her  speakers,  each  occupying  the  exa'ct  limit 
of  time  allotted  and  each  taking  up  a  different  phase  of  the  ques- 
tion. \  Miss  Anthony  called  on  Representative  John  F.  Shaf- 

*  The  Senate  Committee  on  Woman  Suffrage — Senators  Wilkinson  Call,  James  Z. 
George,  George  F.  Hoar,  Matthew  S.  Quay  and  William  A.  Peffer — were  addressed  by 
Elizabeth  D.  Bacon  (Conn.),  Sallie  Clay  Bennett  (Ky.),  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  (N.  Y.), 
Lucretia  L.  Blankenburg  (Penn.),  Mariana  W.  Chapman  (N.  Y.),  Mary  N.  Chase  (Vt.), 
Dr.  Mary  D.  Hussey  (N.  J.),  Mrs.  Frank  Hubbard  (Ills.),  Lavina  A%  Hatch  (Mass.),  May 
Stocking  Knaggs  (Mich.),  Helen  Morris  Lewis  (N.  C.),  Orra  Langhorne  (Va.),  Mary 
Elizabeth  Milligan  (Del.),  Caroline  Hallowell  Miller  (Md.),  Julia  B.  Nelson  (Minn.), 
Mrs.  R.  W.  Southard  (Ok.),  Ellen  Powell  Thompson  (D.  C.),  Victoria  Conkling  Whitney 
(Mo.),  Virginia  D.  Young  (S.  C.). 

t  On  April  23  Senator  Call  submitted  the  Bill  for  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  without  rec- 
ommendation; and  for  himself  and  Senator  George  the  same  old  adverse  report  which  had 
begun  to  do  duty  in  1882,  and  which,  he  said,  expressed  their  views.  It  will  be  found  in 
the  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  237.  Senator  Quay  evidently  allowed  him- 
self to  be  counted  in  the  opposition. 

\  The  members  of  the  committee  present  were  Representatives  David  B.  Henderson 
(chairman),  Broderick,  Updegraff,  Gillett  (Mass.),  Baker  (N.  H.),  Burton  (Mo.),  Brown, 
Culberson,  Boatner,  Washington,  Terry  and  De  Armond.  Absent:  Ray,  Connolly, 
Bailey,  Strong  and  Lewis.  The  speakers  were:  Mrs.  L.  C.  Hughes  (Ariz.),  Charlotte 


268  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

roth  of  Colorado,  who  was  among  the  listeners,  to  say  something 
in  regard  to  the  experiment  in  his  State.  He  spoke  in  unquali- 
fied approval,  saying:  "In  the  election  of  1894  a  greater  per 
cent,  of  women  voted  than  men,  and  instead  of  their  being  con- 
taminated by  any  influence  of  a  bad  nature  at  the  polls,  the  effect 
has  been  that  there  are  no  loafers,  there  are  no  drunkards,  there 
are  no  persons  of  questionable  character  standing  around  the 
polls.  One  of  the  practical  effects  of  woman  suffrage  will  be  to 
inject  into  politics  an  element  that  is  independent  and  does  not 
have  to  keep  a  consistent  record  with  the  party.  We  find  that 
the  ladies  of  Colorado  do  not  care  whether  they  vote  for  one 
ticket  or  the  other,  but  they  vote  for  the  men  they  think  the  most 
deserving.  Consequently  if  a  man  is  nominated  who  has  a  ques- 
tionable record  invariably  they  will  strike  the  party  that  does  it. 
That  tendency,  I  care  not  where  it  may  exist,  must  be  for  good." 
Miss  Anthony  closed  with  an  earnest  appeal  that  the  commit- 
tee would  report  in  favor  of  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution, thus  enabling  the  women  to  carry  their  case  to  the  Leg- 
islatures of  the  different  States  instead  of  to  the  masses  of  voters. 
She  then  submitted  for  publication  and  distribution  the  address 
of  Mrs.  Stanton,  which  said  in  part : 

There  is  not  a  principle  of  our  Government,  not  an  article  or  sec- 
tion of  our  Constitution,  from  the  preamble  to  the  last  amendment, 
which  we  have  not  elucidated  and  applied  to  woman  suffrage  before 
the  various  committees  in  able  arguments  that  have  never  been  an- 
swered. Our  failure  to  secure  justice  thus  far  has  not  been  due  to 
any  lack  of  character  or  ability  in  our  advocates  or  of  strength  in 
their  propositions,  but  to  the  popular  prejudices  against  woman's 
emancipation.  Eloquent,  logical  arguments  on  any  question,  though 
based  on  justice,  science,  morals  and  religion,  are  all  as  light  as  air  in 
the  balance  with  old  theories,  creeds,  codes  and  customs. 

Could  we  resurrect  from  the  archives  of  this  Capitol  all  the  peti- 
tions and  speeches  presented  here  by  women  for  human  freedom 
during  this  century,  they  would  reach  above  this  dome  and  make  a 
more  fitting  pedestal  for  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  than  the  crowning 
point  of  an  edifice  beneath  which  the  mother  of  the  race  has  so  long 
pleaded  in  vain  for  her  natural  right  of  self-government — a  right 
her  sons  should  have  secured  to  her  long  ago  of  their  own  free  will 
by  statutes  carved  indelibly  on  the  corner-stones  of  the  Republic. 

Perkins  Stetson  (Cal.),  Annie  L.  Diggs,  Katie  R.  Addison  (Kan.),  Elizabeth  Up- 
ham  Yates  (Me.),  Henry  B.  Rlackwell  (Mass.),  Harriet  P.  Sanders  (Mont.),  Clara  B. 
Colby  (Neb.),  Frances  A.  Williamson  (Nev.),  Dr.  Cora  Smith  Eaton  (N.  D.),  Caroline 
McCullough  Everhard  (O.),  Anna  R.  Simmons  (S.  D.),  Emily  S.  Richards  (Utah),  Jessie 
G.  Manley  (W.  Va.). 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1896.  269 

As  arguments  have  thus  far  proved  unavailing,  may  not  appeals 
to  your  feelings,  to  your  moral  sense,  find  the  response  so  long  with- 
held by  your  reason  ?  Allow  me,  honorable  gentlemen,  to  paint  you 
a  picture  and  bring  within  the  compass  of  your  vision  at  once  the 
comparative  position  of  two  classes  of  citizens:  The  central  object 
is  a  ballot  box  guarded  by  three  inspectors  of  foreign  birth.  On  the 
right  is  a  multitude  of  coarse,  ignorant  beings,  designated  in  our 
constitutions  as  male  citizens — many  of  them  fresh  from  the  steer- 
age of  incoming  steamers.  There,  too,  are  natives  of  the  same  type 
from  the  slums  of  our  cities.  Policemen  are  respectfully  guiding 
them  all  to  the  ballot  box.  Those  who  can  not  stand,  because  of 
their  frequent  potations,  are  carefully  supported  on  either  side,  each 
in  turn  depositing  his  vote,  for  what  purpose  he  neither  knows  nor 
cares,  except  to  get  the  promised  bribe. 

On  the  left  stand  a  group  of  intelligent,  moral,  highly-cultivated 
women,  whose  ancestors  for  generations  have  fought  the  battles  of 
liberty  and  have  made  this  country  all  it  is  to-day.  These  come 
from  the  schools  and  colleges  as  teachers  and  professors ;  from  the 
press  and  pulpit  as  writers  and  preachers ;  from  the  courts  and  hos- 
pitals as  lawyers  and  physicians;  and  from  happy  and  respectable 
homes  as  honored  mothers,  wives  and  sisters.  Knowing  the  needs 
of  humanity  subjectively  in  all  the  higher  wralks  of  life,  and  objec- 
tively in  the  world  of  work,  in  the  charities,  in  the  asylums  and 
prisons,  in  the  sanitary  condition  of  our  streets  and  public  buildings, 
they  are  peculiarly  fitted  to  write,  speak  and  vote  intelligently  on  all 
these  questions  of  such  vital,  far-reaching  consequence  to  the  wel- 
fare of  society.  But  the  inspectors  refuse  their  votes  because  they' 
are  not  designated  in  the  Constitution  as  "male"  citizens,  and  the 
policemen  drive  them  away. 

Sad  and  humiliated  they  retire  to  their  respective  abodes,  followed 
by  the  jeers  of  those  in  authority.  Imagine  the  feelings  of  these 
dignified  women,  returning  to  their  daily  round  of  duties,  compelled 
to  leave  their  interests,  public  and  private,  in  the  State  and  the 
home,  to  these  ignorant  masses.  The  most  grievous  result  of  war 
to  the  conquered  is  wearing  a  foreign  yoke,  yet  this  is  the  position 
of  the  daughters  of  the  Puritans.  .  .  . 

What  a  dark  page  the  present  political  position  of  women  will  be 
for  the  future  historian !  In  reading  of  the  republics  of  Greece  and 
Rome  and  the  grand  utterances  of  their  philosophers  in  paeans  to 
liberty,  we  wonder  that  under  such  governments  there  should  have 
been  a  class  of  citizens  held  in  slavery.  Our  descendants  will  be 
still  more  surprised  to  know  that  our  disfranchised  citizens,  our 
pariahs,  our  slaves,  belonged  to  the  most  highly  educated,  moral, 
virtuous  class  in  the  nation,  women  of  wealth  and  position  who  paid 
millions  of  taxes  every  year  into  the  State  and  national  treasuries ; 
women  who  had  given  thousands  to  build  colleges  and  churches  and 
to  encourage  the  sciences  and  arts.  From  the  dawn  of  creation  to, 
this  hour  history  affords  no  other  instance  of  so  large  a  class  of  such 
a  character  subordinated  politically  to  the  ignorant  masses. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1897. 

This  year  the  suffrage  association  took  its  convention  west  of 
the  Mississippi  River,  the  Twenty-ninth  annual  meeting  being 
held  in  Des  Moines,  la.,  Jan.  26-29,  1897.  Circumstances  were 
unfavorable,  the  thermometer  registering  twenty-four  degrees 
below  zero  and  a  heavy  blizzard  prevailing  throughout  the  West. 
Nevertheless  sixty-three  delegates,  representing  twenty  States, 
were  present.  All  the  visitors  were  entertained  in  the  hospitable 
homes  of  this  city,  and  the  entire  executive  board  were  the  guests 
of  James  and  Martha  C.  Callanan  at  their  handsome  home  in  the 
suburbs.  Receptions  were  given  by  the  Des  Moines  Woman's 
Club,  by  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  and  by  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  F.  M.  Hubbell  at  their  palatial  residence,  Terrace  Hill. 
The  convention  was  welcomed  in  behalf  of  the  State  by  Gov. 
Francis  M.  Drake,  who  paid  the  highest  possible  tribute  to  the 
social  and  intellectual  qualities  of  women,  pointed  out  the  liber- 
ality of  Iowa  in  respect  to  manhood  suffrage  and  congratulated 
the  association  generally,  but  was  extremely  careful  not  to  com- 
mit himself  on  the  question  of  woman  suffrage.  Mayor  John  Mc- 
Vicar  extended  the  welcome  of  the  city  in  eloquent  language. 
He  also  skirted  all  around  the  suffrage  question,  came  much 
nearer  an  expression  of  approval  than  did  the  Governor,  but  clev- 
erly avoided  a  direct  assertion  in  favor.  He  was  followed  by  the 
Rev.  H.  O.  Breeden,  pastor  of  the  Christian  Church  in  which  the 
convention  was  assembled.  Not  being  in  politics  he  dared  express 
an  honest  opinion  and  said  in  the  course  of  his  remarks : 

It  is  my  privilege  to  address  you  in  behalf  of  the  churches,  and  I 
do  so  with  great  pleasure,  because  I  have  a  robust  faith  that  you  are 
right,  and  also  that  the  churches  are  with  you  in  sympathy  and 
heart.  I  belong  to  one  which  welcomes  women  to  its  pulpit 
and  to  all  its  offices.  I  should  distrust  the  Christianity  of  any 
that  would  deny  to  my  mother  and  wife  the  rights  it  accords  to 

270 


(Miss  ANTHONY'S  CABINET  IN  1900.) 

CATHARINE  WAUGH  McCULLOCH,  ALICE  STONE  BLACKWELL, 

Second  Auditor.  Recording  Secretary. 

RACHEL  FOSTER  AVERY, 
Corresponding  Secretary  2 1  Years. 

LAURA  CLAY,  HARRIET  TAYLOR  UPTON, 

First  Auditor.  Treasurer. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1897.  27l 

my  father  and  myself.     We  welcome  you  to  this  city  of  churches 
and  to  the  churches  of  the  city,  and  to  its  homes. 

Woman  shows  her  capacity  for  the  highest  functions  in  propor- 
tion as  she  is  admitted  to  them.  I  hold  it  true,  with  Dr.  Storrs,  that 
as  Dante  measured  his  progress  in  Paradise  not  by  outer  objects 
but  by  the  increased  beauty  upon  the  face  of  Beatrice,  so  the  prog- 
ress of  the  race  is  measured  by  the  increasing  beauty  of  character 
shown  in  its  women.  The  fanaticism  of  yesterday  is  the  reform  of 
to-day,  and  the  victory  of  to-morrow.  Truth  always  goes  onward 
and  never  back.  The  day  of  equal  rights  for  women  is  surely 
coming.  You  are  fighting  a  good  warfare,  with  God,  with  con- 
science and  with  right  to  inspire  you,  and  the  triumph  is  near  at 
hand. 

Mrs.  Mattie  Locke  Macomber  extended  the  greetings  of  the 
Women's  Clubs  of  the  State ;  Mrs.  Adelaide  Ballard,  president  of 
the  Iowa  Suffrage  Association,  presented  its  welcome,  and  greet- 
ings were  read  from  various  Women's  Christian  Temperance 
Unions.  Miss  Anthony  responded  briefly,  contrasting  the  wel- 
come by  Governor,  mayor  and  different  societies  with  the  olden 
times  when  perhaps  not  one  person  would  extend  a  friendly  hand 
to  those  who  attempted  to  hold  a  suffrage  meeting.  "I  hardly 
know  what  to  say  now,"  she  continued.  "It  is  so  much  easier 
to  speak  when  brickbats  are  flying.  But  I  do  rejoice  with  you 
over  the  immense  revolution  and  evolution  of  the  past  twenty- 
five  years,  and  I  thank  you  for  this  cordial  greeting." 

The  meetings  were  held  in  the  large  and  well-arranged  Chris- 
tian Church,  with  an  auditorium  seating  1,500.  The  four  daily 
papers  gave  full  and  fair  reports  and,  although  there  was  no  ed- 
itorial endorsement,  there  was  no  adverse  comment.  The  Leader 
thus  described  the  opening  session,  Tuesday  afternoon : 

It  is  doubtful  if  the  church  ever  before  held  so  many  people. 
They  poured  in  at  all  the  doors,  and  the  great  audience  room,  with 
the  balconies  and  the  windows,  the  choir  and  the  aisles,  the  platform 
and  every  foot  of  available  space,  was  early  occupied.  There  were 
many  gentlemen  in  the  audience,  but  probably  four  of  every  five 
were  women.  The  men  had  come,  apparently,  to  see  and  hear  Miss 
Anthony ;  and  when  she  was  done  many  of  them  left.  It  was  such 
an  audience  as  is  not  often  seen.  The  ladies  were  generally  elderly, 
the  great  majority  beyond  middle-age;  they  had  braved  the  cold  and 
wind  to  hear  the  leader  whom  they  had  known  and  loved  for  many 
years,  but  whom  most  of  them  had  never  seen.  Their  bright  faces 
framed  in  silvery  hair,  with  brighter  eyes  upturned  to  the  speakers, 
must  have  been  an  inspiration  to  those  on  the  platform ;  in  the  case 


2/2  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

of  Miss  Anthony  it  was  plain  that  she  was  indeed  inspired  by  her 
audience. 

There  was  much  rejoicing  over  the  enfranchisement  of  the  wo- 
men of  Idaho  by  an  amendment  to  the  State  constitution  during 
the  past  year;  and  much  sorrow  over  the  defeat  of  a  similar 
amendment  in  California.  In  her  president's  address  Miss  An- 
thony said  in  part : 

The  year  1896  witnessed  greater  successes  than  any  since  the  first 
pronunciamento  was  made  at  Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y.,  July  19,  1848. 
On  January  6  President  Cleveland  proclaimed  Utah  to  be  a  State, 
with  a  constitution  which  does  not  discriminate  against  women. 
With  Utah  and  Wyoming  we  have  two  States  coming  into  the 
Union  with  the  principle  of  equal  rights  to  women  guaranteed  by 
their  constitutions. 

On  November  3  the  men  of  Idaho  declared  in  favor  of  woman 
suffrage,  and  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  judicial  decisions 
upon  the  enlargement  of  women's  rights,  civil  and  political,  a  Su- 
preme Court  gave  a  broad  interpretation  of  the  constitution.  The 
Supreme  Court  of  Idaho — Isaac  N.  Sullivan,  Joseph  W.  Huston, 
John  T.  Morgan — -unanimously  decided  that  the  amendment  was 
carried  constitutionally.  This  decision  is  the  more  remarkable  be- 
cause the  Court  might  as  easily  have  declared  that  the  constitution 
requires  amendments  to  receive  a  majority  of  the  total  vote  cast  at 
the  election,  instead  of  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  on  the  amend- 
ment itself.  By  the  former  construction  it  would  have  been  lost, 
notwithstanding  two  to  one  of  all  who  expressed  an  opinion  were  in 
favor. 

If  anyone  will  study  the  history  of  our  woman  suffrage  move- 
ment since  the  days  of  reconstruction  and  the  adoption  of  the  Four- 
teenth and  Fifteenth  Amendments  to  the  Federal  Constitution — 
taking  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in 
the  cases  of  Mrs.  Myra  Bradwell  for  the  protection  of  her  civil 
rights ;  of  Mrs.  Virginia  L.  Minor  for  the  protection  of  her  political 
rights ;  of  the  law  granting  Municipal  Suffrage  to  women  in  Mich- 
igan;  on  giving  women  the  right -to  vote  for  County  School  Com- 
missioners in  New  York,  and  various  other  decisions — he  will  find 
that  in  every  case  the  courts  have  put  the  narrowest  possible  con- 
struction upon  the  spirit  and  the  letter  of  the  constitution.  The 
Judges  of  Idaho  did  themselves  the  honor  to  make  a  decision  in 
direct  opposition  to  judicial  precedent  and  prejudice.  The  Idaho 
victory  is  a  great  credit  not  only  to  the  majority  of  men  who  voted 
for  the  amendment,  but  to  the  three  Judges  who  made  this  broad  and 
just  decision. 

After  sketching  the  situation  in  California,  and  relating  the 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1897.  2/3 

part  taken  by  the  National  Association  in  these  two  campaigns, 
she  concluded : 

In  every  county  which  was  properly  organized,  with  a  committee 
in  every  precinct,  who  visited  every  voter  and  distributed  leaflets  in 
every  family,  the  amendment  received  a  majority  vote.  This  ought 
to  be  sufficient  to  teach  the  women  of  all  the  States  that  what  we 
need  is  house-to-house  educational  work  throughout  every  voting 
precinct.  We  may  possibly  carry  amendments  with  education  short 
of  this,  but  we  are  not  likely  to.  I  believe  if  the  slums  of  San 
Francisco  and  Oakland  had  been  thus  organized,  even  the  men  there 
could  have  been  made  to  see  that  it  was  for  their  interest  and  that 
of  their  wives  and  daughters  to  vote  for  the  amendment.  But, 
while  the  suffragists  had  no  committees  whatever  in  those  districts, 
the  "liquor  men"  had  an  active  committee  in  every  saloon,  "dive" 
and  gambling  house.  I  am,  therefore,  more  and  more  convinced 
that  it  is  educational  work  which  needs  to  be  done.  It  is  of  little 
use  for  us  to  make  our  appeals  to  political  party  conventions,  State 
Legislatures  or  Congress  for  resolutions  in  favor  of  woman's  en- 
franchisement, while  no  appeal  comes  up  to  them  from  the  rank  and 
file  of  the  voters. 

Until  we  do  this  kind  of  house-to-house  work  we  can  never  expect 
to  carry  any  of  the  States  in  which  there  are  large  cities.  If  Idaho 
had  had  San  Francisco,  with  all  its  liquor  interests  and  foreigners 
banded  together,  she  would  probably  have  been  defeated  as  was 
California. 

So,  friends,  I  am  not  in  any  sense  disheartened,  and  while  I  re- 
joice exceedingly  over  Idaho,  I  also  rejoice  exceedingly  over  the 
grand  work  done  in  California,  and  over  the  110,000  votes  given  for 
woman  suffrage  in  that  State.  It  was  vastly  more  than  was  ever 
done  in  any  other  amendment  campaign.  Study  then  the  methods 
of  California  and  Idaho  and  improve  on  them  as  much  as  you  pos- 
sibly can. 

The  Des  Moines  Leader  thus  finished  its  report : 

It  was  not  difficult  for  one  who  saw  Miss  Anthony  for  the  first 
time  to  understand  why  she  is  so  well  beloved  by  her  associates. 
Seventy-seven  years  old,  she  is  the  most  earnest  worker  of  them  all ; 
she  is  not  only  their  leader  but  their  counsellor  and  friend.  While 
she  occupied  the  platform  the  utmost  solicitude  was  manifested  for 
her  on  the  part  of  everybody.  Once  a  glass  of  water  was  sent  for 
but  did  not  come  as  soon  as  it  should,  and  everyone  on  the  stage  was 
visibly  concerned  except  Miss  Anthony  herself,  who  calmly  ob- 
served, by  way  of  apology  for  a  trifling  difficulty  with  her  voice, 
that  she  was  not  accustomed  to  speak  in  public,  at  which  a  laugh 

went  round Her  silvery  hair  was  parted  in  the  middle 

and  brushed  down  over  her  ears.     Her  eyes  have  the  deep-set  ap- 
pearance which  is  characteristic  of  elderly  people  who  have  been 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 18 


274  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

hard  mental  laborers,  but  on  the  whole  she  did  not  look  all  her  years, 
though  older  than  most  of  her  hearers  had  expected  to  see  her. 
But  those  beaming,  earnest  eyes,  taking  in  her  whole  audience  as  she 
talked,  told  of  a  nature  tenacious  of  purpose  and  not  to  be  daunted 
by  any  obstacle — the  qualities  which  in  her  many  years'  work  in  the 
cause  Miss  Anthony  has  so  many  times  manifested. 

The  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  devoted  the  most  of  her  report 
as  vice-president-at-large  to  the  California  campaign,  as  she  had 
spent  the  greater  part  of  the  past  year  in  that  State.  She  closed 
by  saying:  "Our  reception  by  the  Californians  was  such  as  to 
make  them  forever  dear  to  us.  I  wish  you  could  have  seen  Miss 
Anthony  for  once  walking  ankle-deep  in  roses.  It  showed  that 
the  sentiment  for  suffrage  had  reached  the  point  where  its  ad- 
vocates not  only  were  tolerated  but  honored.  I  used  to  like  to 
see  her  sitting  in  a  chair  all  adorned  with  flowers  and  with  a  laurel 
crown  suspended  over  her  head,  and  to  feel  that  it  was  woman 
suffrage  that  was  crowned.  The  work  was  hard,  but  we  all  came 
back  from  California  better  in  health  and  stronger  in  hope." 

On  Wednesday  evening  the  crowd  was  so  great  it  became 
necessary  to  hold  an  overflow  meeting,  which  was  attended  by 
five  hundred  persons.  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  who  was  in- 
troduced as  "one  of  Iowa's  own  daughters,"  was  received  with 
great  applause.  She  said  in  part : 

I  have  a  deep  and  tender  love  for  Iowa.  When  I  cross  her 
boundary,  I  always  feel  that  I  am  coming  home.  In  my  travels 
through  the  West  I  meet  many  men  and  women  who  give  me  a 
warmer  hand-shake  because  they  too  are  from  Iowa.  But  this 
State  no  longer  occupies  the  first  place  in  my  heart.  There  are  four 
that  I  love  better,  and  every  woman  here  feels  the  same.  The  first 
is  Wyoming.  Many  pass  through  that  State  and  see  only  a  barren 
plain  covered  with  sage  brush,  but  when  I  cross  her  border,  I  feel  a 
thrill  as  sacred  as  ever  the  crusaders  felt  in  visiting  the  Holy  Land. 
The  second  State  is  Colorado,  the  third  Utah,  and  the  fourth  Idaho. 
All  of  us  Iowa  women  will  love  these  States  better  than  our  own 
until  it  shall  arouse  and  place  its  laws  and  institutions  on  an  equality 
for  women  and  men 

We  ask  suffrage  in  order  to  make  womanhood  broader  and 
motherhood  nobler.  Men  and  women  are  inextricably  bound  to- 
gether. If  we  are  to  have  a  great  race,  we  must  have  a  great  moth- 
erhood. Do  you  ask  why  people  can  not  see  this?  In  all  history 
no  class  has  been  enfranchised  without  some  selfish  motive  under- 
lying. If  to-day  we  could  prove  to  Republicans  or  Democrats  that 
every  woman  would  vote  for  their  party,  we  should  be  enfranchised. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1897.  2/5 

Do  you  say  that  whenever  all  women  wish  the  ballot  they  will 
have  it  ?  That  time  will  never  come.  Not  all  of  any  class  of  men 
ever  wanted  to  vote  till  the  ballot  was  put  into  their  hands.  When 
the  first  woman  desired  to  study  medicine,  not  one  school  would 
admit  her.  Since  that  time,  only  half  a  century  ago,  25,000  women 
have  been  admitted  to  the  practice  of  medicine.  If  a  popular  vote 
had  been  necessary,  not  one  of  them  would  yet  have  her  diploma. 
We  have  gained  these  advantages  because  we  did  not  have  to  ask 
society  for  them.  If  woman  suffrage  were  granted  in  Iowa,  women 
would  soon  wish  to  vote,  and  every  home  would  become  a  forum  of 
education.  .... 

There  never  had  been  so  many  deaths  in  the  ranks  as  during 
the  past  year.  The  following  were  among  the  names  presented 
by  Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby  as  those  whom  the  association  would 
ever  hold  in  reverent  memory : 

Hannah  Tracy  Cutler  of  Illinois,  former  president  of  the  Ameri- 
can Association  and  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  self-sacrificing 
of  woman  suffrage  lecturers ;  Sarah  B.  Cooper  of  California,  audi- 
tor of  this  association,  whose  labors  for  the  enfranchisement  of 
the  women  of  the  Pacific  coast  will  be  remembered  and  honored 
equally  with  her  beneficent  work  in  founding  and  sustaining  free 
kindergartens,  and  in  whatever  promoted  justice,  truth  and  mercy, 
so  that  on  the  day  of  her  funeral  all  the  flags  in  San  Francisco  were 
placed  at  half-mast ;  Mary  Grew,  who  began  her  work  for  free- 
dom as  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Philadelphia  Female  Anti- 
Slavery  Society  in  1834,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  New  (Jentury 
Club  of  Philadelphia,  and  of  the  Pennsylvania  Woman  Suffrage 
Association,  of  which  she  was  president  for  twenty-three  years ; 
Elizabeth  McClinto.ck  Phillips,  who  in  1848  signed  the  call  for 
the  first  convention  which  demanded  the  ballot  for  women ;  J.  Eliza- 
beth Jones  of  New  York,  a  pioneer  in  anti-slavery  and  woman  suf- 
frage ;  Judge  E.  T.  Merrick  of  New  Orleans,  whose  home  was  ever 
open  to  the  woman  suffrage  lecturers  in  that  section,  and  who  by 
his  eminent  position  as  Chief  Justice  of  Louisiana  for  many  years, 
.sustained  his  wife  in  work  which  in  earlier  days  but  for  him  would 
have  been  impossible ;  Eliza  Murphy  of  New  Jersey,  who  bequeathed 
five  hundred  dollars  to  this  association ;  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe 
of  Connecticut,  who,  although  the  apostle  of  freedom  in  another 
field,  yet  held  as  firmly  and  expressed  as  steadfastly  her  allegiance 
to  the  cause  of  woman  suffrage;  Dr.  Caroline  B.  Winslow,  the 
earliest  woman  physician  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  intrepid  as 
a  journalist,  successful  in  practice,  a  leader  in  many  lines  of  reform ; 
Maria  G.  Porter  of  Rochester,  N.  Y. ;  Sarah  Hussey  Southwick 
of  Massachusetts,  a  worker  in  the  cause  of  liberty  for  more  than 
sixty  years ;  Kate  Field  of  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Gov.  Frederick  T. 
Greenhalge  of  Massachusetts;  Dr.  Hiram  Corson  of  Pennsylvania, 
who  stood  for  the  full  opportunities  of  women  in  medicine,  and  se- 


2/6  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

cured  the  opening  to  them  of  the  conservative  medical  societies  of 
Philadelphia. 

The  names  of  over  thirty  other  tried  and  true  friends  who  had 
passed  away  during  the  months  since  the  last  meeting  were  given. 
Mrs.  Colby  closed  the  memorial  service  by  saying : 

The  best  that  comes  to  this  world  comes  through  the  love  of 
liberty.  These  were  souls  of  noble  aspiration  and  undaunted  cour- 
age. We  enter  into  their  labors ;  we  will  enshrine  them  in  the 
history  of  the  suffrage  movement  and  bear  them  gratefully  in  our 
hearts  forever.  May  our  lives  be  as  fruitful  as  theirs,  and  when  we 
too  pass  away  may  we 

"Join  the  choir  invisible 
Of  these  immortal  dead  who  live  again, 
In  minds  made  better  by  their  presence." 

Among  letters  received  was  one  from  Parker  Pillsbury  (N.  H.), 
now  88  years  old,  who.  had  spoken  so  eloquently  in  early  days 
for  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  and  the  freedom  of  women. 
One  of  the  many  excellent  addresses  was  on  the  general  topic 
Equal  Rights,  by  Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell  (  Mass. ) ,  illustrated 
by  a  number  of  the  piquant  and  appropriate  stories  for  which  she 
is  noted  and  which  perhaps  leave  a  more  lasting  impression  than 
a  labored  argument.  Mrs.  Catharine  Waugh  McCulloch,  a  prac- 
ticing lawyer  of  Chicago,  considered  the  hackneyed  phrase  All 
the  Rights  We  Want,  showing  up  in  a  humorous  way  the  legal 
disabilities  of  women  in  her  own  State.  The  wife's  earnings  may 
be  seized  to  pay  for  her  husband's  clothes;  she  can  not  testify 
against  her  husband ;  she  can  not  enter  into  a  business  partnership 
without  his  consent;  a  married  mother  has  no  right  to  her  chil- 
dren ;  the  age  of  protection  for  girls  is  only  fourteen,  etc. 

President  George  A.  Gates  of  Iowa  College  said  in  part:  "I 
never  heard  or  read  a  single  sound  argument  against  the  suffrage 
of  women  in  a  democracy.  There  are  a  hundred  arguments  for 
it.  The  question  now  is  one  of  organization,  of  agitation,  of  per- 
severance. In  my  judgment  he  who  sneers  at  suffrage  not  only 
proclaims  himself  a  boor  and  casts  discredit  on  at  least  four 
women — his  mother,  his  wife,  his  sister  and  his  daughter — but 
he  reveals  a  depth  of  ignorance  that  is  pitiable.  Let  the  appeal 
be  to  experience.  Not  one  of  the  direful  consequences  predicted 
has  come  to  pass  where  suffrage  is  enjoyed.  Homes  have  not 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1897.  277 

been  deserted,  bad  women  have  not  flocked  to  the  polls,  conjugal 
strife  has  not  been  aroused,  bad  effects  have  not  come  but  good 
effects  have.  Bad  men  seek  office  in  vain  where  women  have  the 
ballot.  New  States  are  coming  into  line  and  the  triumph  of  the 
cause  can  not  much  longer  be  delayed." 

Mrs.  Charlotte  Perkins  Stetson  spoke  with  her  usual  ability  on 
Duty  and  Honor : 

Underlying  the  objections  to  woman  suffrage  is  a  reason  of  which, 
as  an  American,  I  am  deeply  ashamed.  I  do  not  think  either  men 
or  women  have  the  same  honest  pride  in  our  democracy  that  they 
had  fifty  years  ago.  We  are  becoming  a  little  afraid  of  what 
Europe  has  always  told  us  was  an  experiment,  but  one  reason  it  has 
not  yet  been  all  we  could  wish  is  that  it  is  not  a  democracy 'at  all, 
but  a  semi-democracy,  one-half  of  the  race  ruling  over  the  other  half. 

Another  deep-seated  feeling  is  that,  while  development  is  the 
general  rule,  yet  the  production  of  the  best  men  and  women  requires 
"the  maternal  sacrifice,"  i.  e.  that  the  mother  shall  be  sacrificed  to 
her  children,  and  incidentally  to  her  husband.  If  the  sacrifice  is 
necessary,  well  and  good ;  but  how  if  it  is  not  ?  ....  It  has 
been  regarded  as  dangerous  to  improve  the  condition  of  women  for 
fear  they  would  not  be  as  good  mothers.  If  gain  to  the  mother 
means  robbery  to  the  child,  let  the  mother  remain  as  she  is.  But 
the  standard  is  the  amount  of  good  done  to  the  children,  not  the 
amount  of  evil  done  to  herself 

Grant  that  it  is  a  woman's  business  to  take  care  of  her  children — 
not  merely  of  her  own  children.  If  children  anywhere  are  not  un- 
der right  conditions,  women  ought  to  see  to  it.  The  trouble  is  we 
are  too  wrapped  up  in  my  children  to  think  of  our  children.  We 
can  not  keep  out  disease  by  shutting  our  own  front  door.  We  have 
to  know  and  care  about  the  world  outside  our  gates.  In  order  to  do 
our  duty  to  our  children  we  must  make  this  world  a  better  place  to 
live  in. 

Our  children  are  not  born  with  that  degree  of  brain  power  that  we 
could  wish.  They  will  not  be,  until  our  minds  are  widened  by  study 

of  the  whole  duty  of  a  human  being What  is  needed 

for  women  is  an  enlargement  of  their  moral  sense  so  as  to  include 
social  as  well  as  private  virtues.  We  have  been  taught  that  there  is 
only  one  virtue  for  us.  Our  morality  is  high  but  narrow.  It  is  not 
wholesome  to  limit  oneself  to  one  virtue,  or  to  six  or  to  ten.  Sons 
resemble  their  mothers.  While  mothers  limit  their  interests  to 
their  own  narrow  domestic  affairs,  regardless  of  the  world  outside, 
their  sons  will  betray  the  interests  of  the  country  for  their  own 
private  business  interests Women  and  men  are  so  con- 
nected that  we  can  not  improve  one  without  improving  the  other. 
Under  equal  rights  we  shall  raise  the  moral  sense  of  the  community 
by  the  natural  laws  of  transmission  through  the  mothers.  We  shall 


278  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

learn  to  blame  a  man  as  much  if  he  betrays  a  public  trust  as  we  do  if 
he  deserts  his  wife. 

Have  we  done  our  full  duty  when  we  have  loved  and  served  and 
taken  care  of  those  that  every  beast  on  earth  loves  and  serves  and 
takes  care  of — our  own  young?  That  is  the  beginning  of  human 
duty  but  not  the  whole  of  it.  The  duty  of  woman  is  not  confined  to 
the  reproduction  of  the  species ;  it  extends  to  the  working  of  the 
will  of  God  on  earth.  The  family  is  a  leaf  on  the  tree  of  the  State. 
It  can  grow  in  strength  and  purity  while  the  State  is  healthy,  but 
when  the  State  is  degraded  the  family  becomes  degraded  with  it. 
We  have  not  done  our  full  duty  to  the  family  till  we  have  done  our 
best  to  serve  the  State. 

Miss  Shaw  took  up  this  subject,  saying: 

The  millennium  will  not  come  as  soon  as  women  vote,  but  it  will 
not  come  until  they  do  vote.  If  a  woman  has  only  a  little  brain,  she 

has  a  right  to  the  fullest  development  of  all  she  has If 

we  are  to  keep  our  children  healthy,  as  Mrs.  Stetson  says  is  our 
duty,  pure  water  is  essential.  I  know  a  city  (Philadelphia)  where 
you  can  fast  for  forty  days,  drinking  only  water,  and  grow  fat — 
because  you  have  chowder  every  time.  Is  there  any  reason  why 
women  should  not  have  a  vote  in  regard  to  water- works  ?  A  woman 
knows  as  much  about  water  as  a  man.  Generally,  she  drinks  more 
of  it.  See  how  the  street  cleaners  sweep  the  dirt  into  heaps  on 
Monday  and  leave  it  to  blow  about  until  Saturday,  before  it  is  taken 
up.  Any  housekeeper  would  know  better.  Sewers  and  man-traps 
spread  disease  literally  and  also  metaphorically.  You  may  teach 
your  boy  every  precept  in  the  Bible  from  beginning  to  end,  and  he 
will  go  out  into  the  street  and  be  taught  to  violate  every  one  of  them, 
under  the  protection  of  law,  and  you  can't  help  yourself  or  him. 

At  one  of  the  morning  meetings  Miss  Anthony  said  in  response 
to  a  message  from  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  accompanied  by  a  great  bunch 
of  daisies :  "We  always  are  glad  to  receive  greetings  from  this 
society,  because  one  of  its  forty  departments  is  for  the  franchise. 
The  suffrage  association  has  only  one,  but  that  one  aims  to  make 
every  State  a  true  republic."  She  continued :  "A  newspaper  of 
this  city  has  criticized  the  suffrage  banner  with  its  four  stars  and 
has  accused  us  of  desecrating  our  country's  flag.  But  no  one 
ever  heard  anything  about  desecration  of  the  flag  during  the  po- 
litical campaign,  when  the  names  and  portraits  of  all  the  candi- 
dates were  tacked  to  it.  Our  critics  compare  us  to  Texas  and  its 
lone  star.  We  have  not  gone  out  of  the  Union,  but  four  States 
have  come  in.  Keep  your  flag  flying,  and  do  not  let  any  one  per- 
suade you  that  you  are  desecrating  it  by  putting  on  stars  for  the 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1897.  2/9 

States  where  government  is  based  on  the  consent  of  the  governed, 
and  leaving  them  off  for  those  which  are  not." 

State  Senators  Rowen,  Kilburn  and  Byers  brought  an  official 

essage  inviting  the  convention  to  visit  the  Senate  and  select  cer- 
tain of  their  members  to  address  that  body.  Each  of  these  gen- 
tlemen spoke  briefly  but  unequivocally  in  favor  of  the  enfran- 
chisement of  women. 

The  ladies  found  the  Senate  Chamber  crowded  from  top  to  bot- 
tom on  the  occasion  of  their  visit  Friday  morning,  and  they  were 
welcomed  by  Lieutenant-Governor  Parrott.  In  her  response 
Miss  Anthony  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  women  of  Iowa 
had  been  pleading  their  cause  in  vain  before  the  Legislature  for 
nearly  thirty  years.  Mrs.  Mary  C.  C.  Bradford,  Mrs.  Emmeline 
B.  Wells  and  Mrs.  Mell  C.  Woods  spoke  for  the  States  of  Colo- 
rado, Utah  and  Idaho,  which  had  enfranchised  women;  Mrs. 
Colby  represented  Wyoming.  Clever  two-minute  speeches  were 
made  by  Mrs.  Ballard,  Miss  Shaw  and  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  which 
were  highly  appreciated  by  the  legislators  and  the  rest  of  the  aud- 
ience. 

During  the  convention  an  informal  speech  of  Mrs.  Harriet 
Taylor  Upton  (O.),  As  the  World  Sees  Us,  was  much  enjoyed. 
In  the  course  of  her  remarks  she  said : 

The  world  thinks  our  husbands  are  inferior  men,  and  I  do  not  like 
it.  For  fifty  years  they  have  said  all  sorts  of  things  about  the  over- 
bearing suffragists — that  they  were  crazy,  tyrannical,  etc.,  but  they 
never  have  said  we  were  fools.  Why  should  they  think  that  we 
would  pick  out  fools  for  our  husbands?  .... 

The  world  also  thinks  the  suffrage  advocates  are  poor  house- 
keepers. I  know,  for  I  was  in  the  world  a  long  time  and  I  thought 
so.  When  I  was  brought  into  the  movement  and  visited  the  lead- 
ers, I  was  surprised  to  find  the  order  and  executive  ability  with 
which  their  homes  were  conducted. 

The  world  thinks  we  are  office-seekers.  Most  of  us  have  not  the 
slightest  wish  for  office,  but  we  do  want  to  see  women  serving  on 
all  boards  that  deal  with  matters  where  woman's  help  is  needed. 

The  world  thinks  we  are  irreligious ;  but  our  individual  churches 
do  not  think  so — for  most  of  us  are  members  of  churches  in  good 
and  regular  standing,  and  we  are  not  denied  communion.  We  can 
not  be  vestrymen,  but  if  the  church  wants  a  steam  heater  it  is  voted 
to  have  one,  without  a  cent  in  the  treasury,  because  the  women  are 
relied  upon  to  raise  the  money.  We  are  religious  enough  to  have 
oyster  suppers  in  aid  of  the  church  and  to  make  choir-boys'  vest- 


28O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ments  and  to  raise  the  minister's  salary  and  to  make  up  the  congre- 
gation. Religion  is  love  to  God  and  man.  If  it  is  not  religion  to 
.promote  a  cause  that  will  make  men  better  and  women  wiser  and 
happier,  what  is  it  ?  The  world  thinks  we  are  irreligious  because  in 
the  early  days  some  of  our  leaders  were  held  to  be  unorthodox. 
But  most  of  those  who  years  ago  were  looked  upon  as  such  are  re- 
garded as  orthodox  to-day.  The  eye-sight  of  the  world  is  much 
better  than  it  used  to  be 

The  discussion — Resolved,  That  the  propaganda  of  the  woman 
suffrage  idea  demands  a  non-partisan  attitude  on  the  part  of  indi- 
vidual workers — was  led  by  Miss  Laura  Clay  in  the  affirmative 
and  Henry  B.  Blackwell  in  the  negative.  Miss  Clay  said  in  part : 

It  is  a  well  established  rule  that  the  greater  should  never  be 
subordinated  to  the  less.  Therefore,  suffrage  should  never  be  made 
a  tail  to  the  kite  of  any  political  party.  There  are  momentous 
issues  now  before  the  people,  but  none  so  momentous  as  woman 
suffrage.  This  principle  appeals  to  the  conscience  of  the  people,  and 
will  ultimately  convince  all  those  who  cherish  the  political  principles 
of  our  fathers.  Already  we  believe  we  have  convinced  a  sufficient 
number  to  make  this  a  practical  question.  We  have  now  to  deal 
with  the  politicians.  They  may  be  divided  into  two  classes,  men  of 
high  ideals  and  those  who  cling  to  party,  right  or  wrong.  It  is 
necessary  to  gain  both  classes. 

Partisan  methods  are  not  suited  to  the  discussion  of  this  question. 
We  must  show  that  when  enfranchised  we  shall  hold  a  self-preserv- 
ative attitude ;  that  we  know  our  rights,  and,  knowing  them,  dare 
maintain.  Wisdom  is  less  tangible  than  force  but  more  powerful 
in  the  end.  Women  are  different  from  men  and  their  political 
methods  will  differ  from  those  of  men.  Women  will  never  win  so 
long  as  they  consent  to  barter  their  services  for  vague  promises  of 
what  will  be  done  for  them  in  the  future,  or  to  subordinate  woman 
suffrage  to  the  interests  of  any  party. 

MR.  BLACKWELL:  We  are  all  agreed  that  Woman  Suffrage 
Associations,  local,  State  and  national,  are  and  must  be  non-parti- 
san. But  a  clear  distinction  should  be  made  between  the  attitude  of 
a  society  and  that  of  the  individual  women  and  men  who  compose 
its  membership.  Suffrage  societies,  being  composed  of  men  and 
women  of  all  shades  of  political  belief,  can  not  take  sides  on  any 
other  question  without  violating  each  member's  right  and  duty  to 
have  and  express  personal  political  opinions.  But,  as  individuals, 
it  is  our  duty  to  be  partisans.  Woman  suffrage  is  not  the  only 
issue.  In  almost  every  political  contest  one  party  is  right  and  the 
other  wrong.  Everybody  is  bound  to  do  what  he  or  she  can  to  pro- 
mote the  success  of  the  right  side.  If  no  moral  questions  were  in- 
volved, political  contests  would  be  ignoble  and  insignificant.  We 
value  suffrage  mainly  because  questions  of  right  and  wrong  are 
settled  by  votes 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1897.  28l 

Every  woman,  equally  with  every  man,  should  be  affiliated  with 

3me  political  party Every  manifestation  by  women  of 

itelligent  interest  in  political  questions  helps  woman  suffrage.  Po- 
litical questions  necessarily  become  party  questions,  for  we  live 

ider  a  government  of  parties. 

A  non-partisan  attitude  is  a  phrase  which  needs  definition.  If 
'partisan"  means  "our  party,  right  or  wrong,"  then  no  woman  and 
10  man  should  be  a  partisan.  An  attitude  of  moderation  and  con- 
:iliation  befits  every  candid  person.  I  am  for  holding  equal  suf- 
frage paramount  to  ordinary  political  questions,  but  I  am  not  for 
spudiating  party  ties  altogether.  Woman  suffrage,  though  the 
lost  important  question,  is  not  always  the  one  to  be  first  settled. 
It  is  not  the  only  question.  Voting,  though  the  most  direct  form  of 
political  power,  is  not  the  only  political  power.  Women's  interests 
and  those  of  their  children  are  involved,  equally  with  those  of  men, 
in  every  question  of  finance,  currency,  tariff,  domestic  an.d  foreign 
relations.  They  have  no  right  to  be  neutral  or  apathetic.  So  long 
as  they  remain  silent  and  inert  they  command  no  attention  or  respect. 
I  maintain,  therefore,  that  affirmative  political  activity,  working  by 
and  through  party  machinery,  is  the  duty  of  every  individual  citi- 
zen— whether  man  or  woman. 

In  States  where  a  suffrage  amendment  is  pending,  in  meetings 
where  suffrage  is  advocated,  party  politics  should  be  laid  aside  for 
the  time  being.  In  religious  meetings  no  distinction  should  be 
made  between  Republicans,  Democrats  or  Populists.  In  political 
meetings  no  distinction  should  be  made  between  Methodists,  Bap- 
tists or  Presbyterians.  In  suffrage  meetings  there  should  be  no 
distinction  of  sect  or  party.  But  we  hold  our  individual  opinions 
all  the  same. 

Miss  ANTHONY  :  I  want  to  say  that  you  can  not  possibly  divide 
yourself  up  as  Mr.  Blackwell  suggests.  You  can  not  be  a  Repub- 
lican in  one  convention  to-day  and  non-partisan  in  another  to-mor- 
row. The  men  who  believe  in  suffrage  are  voters,  and  must  have 
their  parties,  of  course.  But  any  woman  who  champions  either 
political  party  makes  more  votes  against  than  for  suffrage.  I  could 
give  numerous  examples.  Do  not  be  deluded  with  this  idea  that 
one  party  is  right  and  the  other  wrong.  Which  is  it?  One  party 
seems  right  to  one-half  of  the  people,  and  the  other  party  to  the 
other  half.  As  long  as  women  have  no  votes,  any  one  of  them  who 
will  make  a  speech  either  for  gold  or  silver  or  for  any  party  issue  is 
lacking  in  self-respect. 

Miss  BLACKWELL:  Miss  Clay  seems  to  have  understood  the 
question  presented  for  discussion  in  a  different  sense  from  what  I 
did.  I  do  not  believe  in  making  suffrage  a  tail  to  any  party  kite,  of 
course ;  but  women  as  well  as  men  are  bound  to  do  what  they  can  to 
promote  good  government,  and  hence  to  promote  by  all  legitimate 
means  the  party  which  they  believe  to  be  in  the  right.  They  will 
inevitably  do  this  more  and  more  as  they  become  more  interested  in 
public  questions.  See  how  many  women  took  part  in  the  late  cam- 
paign, making  speeches  for  gold  or  silver,  not  with  any  eye  to 


282  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

woman  suffrage — for  neither  party  was  committed  to  it — but  purely 
for  the  sake  of  the  welfare  of  the  country,  as  they  understood  it.     I 

can  not  agree  that  they  were  lacking  in  self-respect 

Miss  SHAW  :  I  have  made  only  one  party  speech  in  my  life. 
That  was  ten  years  ago,  for  the  Prohibition  Party ;  and  if  the  Lord 
will  forgive  me,  I  will  never  do  it  again  till  women  vote. 

In  spite  of  the  lively  difference  of  opinion,  the  meeting  ad- 
journed in  great  good  humor  and  amid  considerable  laughter. 

The  last  session  of  the  convention  was  a  celebration  of  the  suf- 
frage victory  in  Idaho,  conducted  by  representatives  of  what  the 
association  liked  to  call  "the  free  States."  Mrs.  Colby  said  in 
behalf  of  Wyoming : 

.  .  .  .  No  matter  if  we  fill  the  field  of  blue  with  stars,  one 
will  always  shine  with  peculiar  lustre,  the  star  of  Wyoming,  who 
opened  the  door  of  hope  for  women. 

There  is  a  beautiful  custom  in  Switzerland  among  the  Alpine 
shepherds.  He  who,  tending  his  flock  among  the  heights,  first  sees 
the  rays  of  the  rising  sun  gild  the  top  of  the  loftiest  peak,  lifts  his 
horn  and  sounds  forth  the  morning  greeting,  "Praise  the  Lord." 
Soon  another  shepherd  catches  the  radiant  gleam,  and  then  another 
and  another  takes  up  the  reverent  refrain,  until  mountain,  hill  and 
valley  are  vocal  with  praise  and  bathed  in  the  glory  of  a  new  day. 

So  the  dawn  of  the  day  that  shall  mean  freedom  for  woman  and 
the  ennobling  of  the  race  was  first  seen  by  Wyoming,  on  the  crest 
of  our  continent,  and  the  clarion  note  was  sounded  forth,  "Equality 
before  the  law."  For  a  quarter  of  a  century  she  was  the  lone 
watcher  on  the  heights  to  sound  the  tocsin  of  freedom.  At  last 
Colorado,  from  her  splendid  snow-covered  peaks,  answered  back  in 
grand  accord,  "Equality  before  the  law."  Then  on  Utah's  brow 
shone  the  sun,  and  she,  too,  exultantly  joined  in  the  trio,  "Equality 
before  the  law."  And  now  Idaho  completes  the  quartette  of  moun- 
tain States  which  sing  the  anthem  of  woman's  freedom.  Its  echoes 
rouse  the  sleepers  everywhere,  until  from  the  rock-bound  coast  of 
the  Atlantic  to  the  golden  sands  of  the  Pacific  resounds  one  resolute 
and  jubilant  demand,  "Equality  before  the  law,"  and  lo,  the  whole 
world  wakes  to  the  sunlight  of  liberty ! 

Mrs.  Mary  C.  C.  Bradford,  in  speaking  for  Colorado,  said : 

Civilization  means  self-realization.  The  level  is  being  slowly  but 
surely  raised  and  the  atmosphere  improved.  Freedom  for  the  indi- 
vidual, properly  guarded,  is  the  ideal  to-day.  When  woman  is  free, 
the  eternal  feminine  shows  itself  to  be  also  the  truly  human.  Wit- 
ness Wyoming,  with  its  magnificent  school  system,  its  equal  pay  for 
equal  work.  Witness  Colorado,  where  women  cast  52  per  cent,  of 
the  total  vote  though  the  State  contains  a  large  majority  of  men. 
What  does  this  show  if  not  that  women  wish  to  vote  ?  We  women 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1897.  283 

believe  that  election  day  administers  to  each  of  us  the  sacrament  of 
citizenship,  and  we  go,  most  of  us,  prayerfully  and  thankfully  to 
partake  in  this  outward  and  visible  sign  of  an  inward  and  spiritual 
grace 

The  first  time  I  went  to  vote  I  was  out  of  the  house  just  nine 
minutes.  The  second  time  I  took  my  little  girl  along  to  school, 
stopped  in  to  vote,  and  then  went  down  town  and  did  my  market- 
ing ;  and  I  was  gone  twenty  minutes.  While  I  was  casting  my  vote 
the  men  gave  my  little  one  a  flower.  They  always  decorate  the 
polling-places  with  flowers  now,  for  they  know  women  love  beauty. 

The  tone  of  political  conventions  has  improved  since  suffrage  was 
granted  to  women.  So  has  the  character  of  the  candidates.  .  .  . 
There  is  no  character-builder  like  responsibility.  Every  woman's 
club  in  the  State  has  been  turned  into  a  study  club,  and  the  women 
are  examining  public  questions  for  themselves.  This  is  one  of  the 
best  results  of  equal  suffrage. 

When  women  obtained  the  ballot  they  wanted  to  know  about 
public  affairs,  and  so  they  asked  their  husbands  at  home  (every 
woman  wants  to  believe  that  her  husband  knows  everything),  and 
the  husbands  had  to  inform  themselves  in  order  to  answer  their 
wives'  questions.  Equal  suffrage  has  not  only  educated  women 
and  elevated  the  primaries,  but  it  has  given  back  to  the  State  the 
services  of  her  best  men,  large  numbers  of  whom  had  got  into  the 
habit  of  neglecting  their  political  duties 

Mrs.  Emmeline  B.  Wells  said  in  describing  the  conditions  in 
Utah: 

After  the  ballot  was  given  to  women  the  men  soon  came  to  us  and 
asked  us  to  help  them.  We  divided  on  party  lines  but  not  rigidly 
so.  We  helped  not  only  the  good  men  and  women  of  our  own 
party,  but  those  of  the  other.  If  they  put  up  a  Republican  or  a 
Democrat  who  is  not  fit  for  the  position,  the  women  vote  against 
him.  In  all  the  work  I  do  for  the  Republicans,  I  never  denounce 
the  Democrats 

This  year  the  men  were  more  willing  to  have  us  go  to  the  pri- 
maries than  we  were  to  go.  Even  the  women  who  had  not  wished 
for  suffrage  voted.  I  do  not  mind  going  to  the  primaries.  I  am 
not  afraid  of  men — not  the  least  in  the  world.  I  have  often  been  on 
committees  with  men.  I  don't  think  it  has  hurt  me  at  all,  and  I 
have  learned  a  great  deal.  They  have  always  been  very  good  to  me. 
We  must  stand  up  for  the  men.  We  could  not  do  without  them. 
Certainly  we  could  not  have  settled  Utah  without  them.  They 
built  the  bridges  and  killed  the  bears ;  but  I  think  the  women  worked 
just  as  hard,  in  their  way 

When  Mrs.  Mell  C.  Woods  came  forward  to  speak  for  Idaho 
the  audience  arose  and  received  her  with  cheers  and  the  waving 
of  handkerchiefs.  She  brought  letters  of  greeting  from  most  of 


284  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

the  women's  clubs  of  that  State,  and  in  a  long  and  beautiful  ad- 
dress she  said : 

With  her  head  pillowed  in  the  lap  of  the  North,  her  feet  resting 
in  the  orchards  of  the  South,  her  snowy  bosom  rising  to  the  clouds, 
Idaho  lies  serene  in  her  beauty  of  glacier,  lake  and  primeval  forest, 
guarding  in  her  verdure-clad  mountains  vast  treasures  of  precious 
minerals,  with  the  hem  of  her  robe  embroidered  in  sapphires  and 

opals As  representing  Idaho,  first  I  wish  to  express 

the  heartfelt  gratitude  of  even'  equal  suffragist  in  our  proud  and 
happy  State  to  the  National  Association  for  the  most  generous  help 
afforded  us  in  our  two  years'  campaign.  Without  the  aid  of  the 
devoted  women,  Mrs.  DeVoe,  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  Mrs.  Bradford 
and  Mrs.  Johns,  who  made  the  arduous  journey  to  organize  our 
clubs,  plead  our  cause  and  teach  us  how  to  work  and  win,  we  should 
not  be  celebrating  Idaho's  victory  to-night 

After  describing  the  great  output  of  the  mines  and  the  fruit- 
producing  value  of  the  State,  she  continued : 

I  fancy  few  of  you  know  much  of  the  conditions  existing  in 
the  mining  country,  dotted  with  camps  in  every  gulch ;  the  prepon- 
derance of  the  adult  males  over  the  women  of  maturity ;  the  power 
of  the  saloon  element,  and  the  cosmopolitan  character  of  the  people 
— men  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  ignorant  and  cultured,  depraved 
and  respectable,  seeking  fame  and  fortune  in  the  far  West — no 
reading-rooms,  no  lectures,  no  lyceums,  no  spelling-bees  or  corn- 
huskings,  the  relaxation  of  the  farm  hand ;  single  men  away  from 
home  and  its  influences,  forced  from  the  draughty  lobby  of  the  hotel 
or  tavern  to  the  warmth  and  comfort  of  the  well-appointed  saloon. 

The  missionary  suffrage  work  in  such  places  was  obliged  to  be 
quietly  done,  without  any  apparent  advocacy  on  the  part  of  men  who 
were  in  reality  ardent  supporters  of  our  cause,  lest  the  saloon  ele- 
ment should  organize  and,  by  concerted  action,  crush  the  movement 
as  they  did  in  the  State  of  Washington  in  1889;  and  California,  too, 
owes  her  defeat  of  the  amendment  at  least  partially  to  this  cause. 
Yet  you  may  go  far  to  find  nobler  men  than  we  have  in  Idaho,  and 
we  did  not  lack  able  champions.  Our  amendment  was  carried  by 
more  than  a  two-thirds  majority  of  the  votes  cast  upon  it. 

The  last  address,  by  the  Rev.  Ida  C.  Hultin  (Ills.),  The  Point 
of  View,  was  a  masterly  effort.  She  said  in  part : 

Before  any  woman  is  a  wife,  a  sister  or  a  mother  she  is  a  human 
being.  We  ask  nothing  as  women  but  everything  as  human  beings. 
The  sphere  of  woman  is  any  path  that  she  can  tread,  any  work  that 
she  can  do.  Let  no  one  imagine  that  we  wish  to  be  men.  In  the 
beginning  God  created  them  male  and  female.  The  principle  of  co- 
equality  is  recognized  in  all  of  God's  kingdom.  We  are  beginning 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1897.  285 

to  find  in  the  human  race,  as  in  the  vegetable  and  the  animal,  that 
the  male  and  the  female  are  designed  to  be  the  equals  of  each  other. 
It  is  because  woman  loves  her  home  that  she  wants  her  country  to 
be  pure  and  holy,  so  that  she  may  not  lose  her  children  when  they  go 
out  from  her  protection.  We  want  to  be  women,  womanly  women, 
stamping  the  womanliness  of  our  nature  upon  the  country,  even  as 
the  men  have  stamped  the  manliness  of  their  nature  upon  it.  The 
home  is  the  sphere  of  woman  and  of  man  also.  The  home  does  not 
mean  simply  bread-making  and  dish-washing,  but  also  the  place 
into  which  shall  enter  that  which  makes  pure  manhood  possible. 
Give  woman  a  chance  to  do  her  whole  duty.  What  is  education 
for,  what  is  religion  for,  but  as  a  means  to  the  end  of  the  development 
of  humanity?  If  national  life  is  what  it  ought  to  be  also,  a  means 
to  the  same  end,  it  needs  then  everything  that  humanity  has  to  make 
it  sweet  and  hopeful.  Women  have  moral  sentiments  and  they 
want  to  record  them.  That  is  the  only  difference  between  voting 
and  not  voting.  The  national  life  is  the  reflected  life  of  the  people. 
It  is  strong  with  their  strength  and  weak  with  their  weakness. 

A  letter  was  read  to  the  convention  by  Miss  Anthony  from 
Miss  Kitty  Reed,  daughter  of  Speaker  Thomas  B.  Reed,  who 
had  been  with  her  father  in  California  during  the  recent  suffrage 
campaign.  In  referring  to  this  she  said : 

There  and  elsewhere  the  thinking  women  who  opposed  it  used 
this  argument :  There  are  too  many  people  voting  already ;  the 
practical  effect  of  woman  suffrage  would  be  an  increase  in  the  illit- 
erate vote,  without  a  proportionate  increase  in  the  intelligent  vote. 
They  were  not  in  favor  of  it  unless  there  could  be  an  educational 
qualification.  In  other  words,  they  were  opposed  to  woman  suf- 
frage because  they  were  opposed  to  universal  suffrage.  I  have 
always  regarded  universal  suffrage  as  the  foundation  principle  of 
our  government.  If  "governments  deriving  their  just  powers  from 
the  consent  of  the  governed"  does  not  mean  that,  what  can  it  mean  ? 
So  I  tried  to  persuade  these  women  of  the  truth  of  that  which  I 
supposed  had  been  settled  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  years 
ago.  It  is  necessary  to  make  women  believe  that  suffrage  is  a  nat- 
ural right  rather  than  a  privilege ;  that,  while  abstractly  it  seems 
well  for  an  intelligent  citizen  to  govern  an  ignorant  one,  human 
nature  is  such  that  the  intelligent  will  govern  selfishly  and  leave  the 
ignorant  no  opportunity  to  improve. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  worst  obstacle  we  have  to  encounter  now 
is  not  the  prejudice  of  men  against  women's  voting,  but  a  misunder- 
standing on  the  part  of  women  of  the  real  meaning  of  government 
by  the  people.  This  may  be  ancient  history  to  you,  but  it  impressed 
me  deeply  while  I  was  in  California  and  that  is  why  I  write  it.  Of 
course  there  are  many  women  who  do  not  think.  When  they  hear 
woman  suffrage  spoken  of,  they  go  to  their  husbands  and  ask  them 
what  they  think  about  it,  and  their  husbands  tell  them  that  they  are 


286  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

too  good  to  vote,  and  those  women  are  content.  It  does  not  occur 
to  them  to  ask  why,  if  they  are  too  pure  and  good  to  vote,  they  are 
not  excused  from  obeying  the  laws  and  paying  taxes. 

The  report  of  the  first  year's  work  done  at  national  headquar- 
ters was  very  satisfactory.  In  regard  to  the  Press  it  contained 
the  following : 

The  year  1896  has  seen  the  beginning  of  an  effort  by  our  National 
Association  to  use  systematically  the  mighty  lever  of  the  public  press 
in  behalf  of  our  work.  We  have  sent  out  in  regular  weekly  issues 
since  March  hundreds  of  copies  of  good  equal  suffrage  articles. 
These  go  into  the  hands  of  Press  Committees  in  forty-one  States, 
and  now  between  six  and  seven  hundred  papers  publish  them  each 
week.  Of  forty-one  different  articles  by  about  thirty  different 
writers,  nearly  25,000  copies  have  been  distributed  to  newspapers. 
These  articles  reach,  in  local  papers,  not  less  than  one  million  read- 
ers weekly. 

We  have  taken  charge  of  the  National  Suffrage  Bulletin  which  is 
edited  by  the  chairman  of  the  organization  committee,  have  had  it 
printed  in  Philadelphia  and  mailed  from  the  headquarters.  In  the 
past  twelve  months  there  have  been  wrapped  and  sent  out  separately 
17,700  copies  of  the  Bulletin.  A  portion  of  the  expenses  has  been 
defrayed  by  special  contributions  of  $900  of  the  $1,000  given  to 
Miss  Anthony  by  Mrs.  Southworth,  and  $400  through  the  New 
York  State  Association,  from  the  bequest  of  Mrs.  Eliza  J.  Clapp  of 
Rochester  to  Miss  Anthony. 

Mr.  Blackwell,  as  usual,  reported  for  the  Committee  on  Presi- 
dential Suffrage,  suggesting  a  form  of  petition  as  follows : 

WHEREAS,  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  supreme 
law  of  the  land,  expressly  confers  upon  the  Legislature  of  every 
State  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  to  appoint  or  to  delegate  the  ap- 
pointment of  presidential  electors,  in  article  II,  section  i,  paragraph 
2,  as  follows :  "Each  State  shall  appoint  in  such  manner  as  the 
Legislature  thereof  may  direct  a  number  of  electors  equal  to  the 
whole  number  of  Senators  and  Representatives  to  which  the  State 
may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress  ;"  and 

WHEREAS,  In  some  of  the  States  said  appointment  has  been  re- 
peatedly made  by  the  Legislature ;  and 

WHEREAS,  Women  equally  with  men  are  citizens  of  this  State 
and  of  the  United  States ;  therefore, 

The  undersigned,  citizens  of  the  State  of ,  21  years  of  age 

and  upwards,  respectfully  petition  your  honorable  bodies  so  to 
amend  the  election  laws  as  to  enable  women  to  vote  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  presidential  electors.  , 

The  report  of  the  treasurer,  Mrs.  Upton,  showed  that  the  re- 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1897.  287 

ceipts  had  risen  to  $11,825  during  the  year  just  passed.  It 
ended  thus :  "In  closing  this  report  the  treasurer  would  like  to 
say  that  no  one  person  has  ever  been  to  the  treasury  what  Miss 
Anthony  has  been  and  is.  Every  dollar  given  to  her  for  any  pur- 
pose whatever,  she  feels  belongs  to  the  work  and  is  most  happy 
when  she  turns  it  in.  On  the  other  hand  the  association  does 
very  little  for  her.  She  pays  her  own  traveling  expenses  and 
her  own  clerk  hire.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  is  the  last  year  we 
ay  be  so  neglectful  in  this  direction." 

The  Congressional  Committee,  Mrs.  Ellen  Powell  Thompson, 
cting  chairman,  reported  as  a  part  of  the  work  done :  "To  still 
urther  advance  the  matter  we  determined  to  address  a  letter  to 
ch  member  of  the  House  and  Senate,  asking  his  opinion  on  the 
proposed  amendment  to  enfranchise  women.  At  least  three- 
fourths  of  these  letters  were  promptly  answered  in  most  gracious 
terms,  and  in  many  of  them  hearty  sympathy  with  the  purpose  of 
the  amendment  was  expressed.  Not  a  small  number  declared 
they  were  ready  to  vote  for  the  amendment  when  opportunity 
should  be  given." 

Among  the  State  reports  those  of  California,  by  Mrs.  Ellen 
Clark  Sargent,  and  of  Idaho,  by  Mrs.  Eunice  Pond  Athey,  were 
of  special  interest,  as  they  contained  an  epitomized  history  of  the 
recent  campaigns  in  these  States.  It  was  decided  that  there 
should  be  a  special  effort  to  make  the  next  annual  meeting  a  note- 
worthy affair,  as  it  would  celebrate  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of 
the  First  Woman's  Rights  Convention. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE   NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION   OF    I 

The  Thirtieth  annual  convention  of  the  suffrage  association 
took  place  in  the  Columbia  Theatre,  Washington,  D.  C,  Feb. 
13-19,  1898,  and  celebrated  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the 
First  Woman's  Rights  Convention.*  In  the  center  of  the  stage 
was  an  old-fashioned,  round  mahogany  table,  draped  with  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  and  the  famous  silk  suffrage  flag  with  its  four 
golden,  stars.  In  her  opening  address  the  president,  Miss  Susan 
B.  Anthony,  said:  "On  this  table  the  original  Declaration  of 
Rights  for  Women  was  written  at  the  home  of  the  well-known 
McClintock  family  in  Waterloo,  N.  Y.,  just  half  a  century  ago. 
Around  it  gathered  those  immortal  four,  Elizabeth  Cady  Stan- 
ton,  Lucretia  Mott,  Martha  C.  Wright  and  Mary  Ann  McClin- 
tock, to  formulate  the  grievances  of  women.  They  did  not  dare 
to  sign  their  names  but  published  the  Call  for  their  convention 
anonymously,  f  We  have  had  that  remarkable  document  printed 
for  distribution  here,  and  you  will  notice  that  those  demands 
which  were  ridiculed  and  denounced  from  one  end  of  the  coun- 
try to  the  other,  all  have  now  been  conceded  but  the  suffrage,  and 
that  in  four  States." 

This  convention  was  the  largest  in  number  of  delegates  and 
States  represented  of  any  in  the  history  of  the  association,  154 
being  in  attendance  and  all  but  four  of  the  States  and  Territories 
represented. 

The  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  devoted  the  most  of  her  vice- 
president's  report  to  an  account  of  the  work  to  secure  a  suffrage 
amendment  from  the  Legislature  which  was  being  done  in  Iowa, 
where  she  had  been  spending  considerable  time.  The  report  on 
Press  Work  by  the  chairman,  Miss  Jessie  J.  Cassidy,  stated  that 

*  The  Sunday  afternoon  preceding  the  convention  religious  services  were  held  in  the 
theatre,  which  was  crowded.  The  sermon  was  given  by  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw, 
from  the  text,  "One  shall  chase  a  thousand  and  two  put  ten  thousand  to  flight" 

t  A  most  interesting  account  of  that  historic  occasion  may  be  found  in  the  History  of 
Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  I,  p.  67. 

288 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1898.  289 


30,000  suffrage  articles  had  been  sent  from  headquarters  to  the 
various  newspapers  of  the  country  and  the  number  willing  to  ac- 
cept these  was  constantly  increasing.  The  headquarters  had  been 
removed  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York  City  during  the  year 
and  united  with  the  organization  office.  The  Committee  on 
Course  of  Study,  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman,  reported 
that  during  the  past  three  years  they  had  published  25,000  books 
and  pamphlets,  purchased  from  publishers  3,100  and  had  9,000 
contributed.  The  treasurer,  Mrs.  Harriet  Taylor  Upton,  an- 
nounced the  receipts  of  the  past  year  to  be  $14,055.  Bequests 
had  been  received  of  $500  by  the  will  of  Mrs.  Eliza  Murphy  of 
New  Jersey,  and  $500  from  Mrs.  A.  Viola  Neblett  of  South  Car- 
olina. 

The  report  of  the  Organization  Committee,  Mrs.  Chapman 
Catt,  chairman,  showed  a  large  amount  of  work  done  in  Iowa, 
Illinois,  South  Dakota  and  the  Southern  States,  the  writing  of 
10,000  letters,  the  holding  of  1,000  public  meetings  under  the 
auspices  of  this  committee.  It  closed  by  saying : 

The  chief  obstacle  to  organization  is  not  found  in  societies  op- 
posed to  the  extension  of  suffrage  to  woman,  nor  in  ignorance,  nor 
in  conservatism ;  it  is  to  be  found  in  that  large  body  of  suffragists 
who  believe  that  the  franchise  will  come,  but  that  it  will  come  in 
some  unaccountable  way  without  effort  or  concern  on  their  parf. 
It  is  to  be  found  in  the  hopeless,  faithless,  lifeless  members  of  our 
own  organization.  They  are  at  times  the  officers  of  local  clubs,  and 
the  clubs  die  on  their  hands ;  in  State  executive  committees,  and 
there,  appalled  by  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking,  they  decide 
that  organization  is  impossible  because  there  is  no  money,  and  they 
make  no  effort  to  secure  funds.  They  are  in  our  national  body, 
ready  to  find  fault  with  plans  and  results  and  to  criticise  the  con- 
scientious efforts  of  those  who  are  struggling  to  accomplish  good — 
yet  they  are  never  ready  to  propose  more  helpful  methods.  In 
short,  we  find  them  everywhere,  doing  practically  nothing  them- 
selves, but  "throwing  cold  water"  upon  every  effort  inaugurated 
by  others.  "It  can  not  be  done"  is  their  motto,  and  by  it  they  con- 
stantly discourage  the  hopeful  and  extract  all  enthusiasm  from  new 
workers.  Judging  from  the  intimate  knowledge  of  the  condition 
of  our  association  gained  in  the  last  three  years,  I  am  free  to  say 
that  these  are  our  most  effective  opponents  to-day,  and,  without 
question,  the  best  result  of  the  three  years'  work  is  the  gradual 
strengthening  of  belief  in  the  possibility  of  organization. 

Mrs.  Sallie  Clay  Bennett,  chairman,  presented  the  report  on 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 19 


290  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Federal  Suffrage;*  Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake,  chairman,  on 
Legislation;  and  Miss  Laura  Clay  on  the  Suffrage  Convocation 
at  the  Tennessee  Exposition  the  preceding  year.  The  Plan  of 
Work,  offered  by  the  chairman,  Mrs.  Mariana  W.  Chapman,  and 
adopted,  represented  the  best  result  of  many  years'  experience 
and  exemplified  the  aims  and  methods  of  the  association.  The 
old  board  of  officers  was  almost  unanimously  re-elected. 

The  afternoon  Work  Conferences,  to  exchange  ideas  as  to 
methods  for  organizing,  raising  funds,  etc.,  which  met  in  a  small 
hall,  aroused  so  much  interest  and  attracted  so  many  people  that 
it  was  necessary  to  transfer  them  to  the  large  auditorium.  The 
Resolutions  Committee  presented  by  its  chairman,  Mrs.  Ida 
Husted  Harper,  a  brief  summary  of  the  results  already  accom- 
plished and  the  rights  yet  to  be  secured,  in  part  as  follows : 

The  National-American  Woman  Suffrage  Association,  at  this  its 
thirtieth  annual  meeting,  celebrates  the  semi-centennial  anniver- 
sary of  the  first  Woman's  Rights  Convention,  held  in  1848  in  Seneca 
Falls,  N.  Y.,  and  reaffirms  every  principle  then  and  there  enunciated. 
We  count  the  gains  of  fifty  years  :  Woman's  position  revolutionized 
in  the  home,  in  society,  in  the  church  and  in  the  State ;  public  sen- 
timent changed,  customs  modified,  industries  opened,  co-education 
established,  laws  amended,  economic  independence  partially  secured, 
and  equal  suffrage  a  recognized  subject  of  legislation.  Fifty  years 
ago  women  voted  nowhere  in  the  world ;  to-day  Wyoming,  Colo- 
rado, Utah  and  Idaho  have  established  equal  suffrage  for  women, 
and  have  already  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  eight  Sena- 
tors and  seven  Representatives  with  women  constituents.  Kansas 
has  granted  women  Municipal  Suffrage,  and  twenty-three  other 
States  have  made  women  voters  in  school  elections.  This  move- 
ment is  not  confined  to  the  United  States ;  in  Great  Britain  and  her 
colonies  women  now  have  Municipal  and  County  Suffrage,  while 
New  Zealand  and  South  Australia  have  abolished  all  political  dis- 
tinctions of  sex.  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  hereby  express  our  profound  appreciation  of 
the  prophetic  vision,  advanced  thought  and  moral  courage  of  the 
pioneers  in  this  movement  for  equality  of  rights,  and  our  sincere 
gratitude  for  their  half  century  of  toil  and  endurance  to  secure  for 
women  the  privileges  they  now  enjoy,  and  to  make  the  way  easier 
for  those  who  are  to  complete  the  work.  We,  their  successors,  a 
thousandfold  multiplied,  stand  pledged  to  unceasing  effort  until 
women  have  all  the  rights  and  privileges  which  belong  equally  to 
every  citizen  of  a  republic. 

That  in  every  State  we  demand  for  women  citizens  equality  with 
male  citizens  in  the  exercise  of  the  elective  franchise,  upon  such 
terms  and  conditions  as  the  men  impose  upon  themselves. 

*  Federal  Suffrage  is  considered  in  Chapter  I. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1898.  29 1 

That  we  appeal  to  Congress  to  submit  a  Sixteenth  Amendment 
to  the  United  States  Constitution,  thereby  enabling  the  citizens  of 
each  State  to  carry  this  question  of  woman  suffrage  before  its  Leg- 
islature for  settlement. 

That  we;  will  aid,  so  far  as  practicable,  every  State  campaign  for 
woman  suffrage;  but  we  urgently  recommend  our  auxiliary  State 
societies  to  effect  thorough  county  organizations  before  petitioning 
their  Legislatures  for  a  State,  constitutional  amendment. 

WHEREAS,  The  good  results  of  woman  suffrage  in  Wyoming 
since  1869  have  caused  its  adoption  successively  by  the  three  ad- 
joining States ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  earnestly  request  the  citizens  of  these  four 
free  States  to  make  a  special  effort  to  secure  the  franchise  for  women 
in  the  States  contiguous  to  their  own. 

That  we  demand  for  mothers  equal  custody  and  control  of  their 
minor  children,  and  for  wives  and  widows  an  equal  use  and  in- 
heritance of  property. 

That  we  ask  for  an  equal  representation  of  women  on  all  boards 
of  education  and  health,  of  public  schools  and  colleges,  and  in  the 
management  of  all  public  institutions ;  and  for  their  employment 
as  physicians  for  women  and  children  in  all  hospitals  and  asylums, 
and  as  police  matrons  and  guards  in  all  prisons  and  reformatories. 

That  this  Association  limits  its  efforts  exclusively  to  securing 
equal  rights  for  women,  and  it  appeals  for  co-operation  to  the  whole 
American  people. 

Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell,  Mrs.  Ida  Porter  Boyer  and  Mrs. 
Harper  were  appointed  fraternal  delegates  to  the  Woman's  Press 
Association,  in  session  at  this  time  in  Washington. 

A  beautiful  feature  of  this  occasion  was  the  luncheon  given  by 
Mrs.  John  R.  McLean  to  Miss  Anthony  on  her  seventy-eighth 
birthday,  February  15,  attended  by  thirty-six  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished ladies  in  the  national  capital,  and  followed  by  a  re- 
ception to  the  members  of  the  convention.  Mrs.  McLean  was  as- 
sisted in  receiving  by  Miss  Anthony  and  Mrs.  Ulysses  S.  Grant. 
Seventy-eight  wax  tapers  burned  upon  the  birthday  cake,  which 
was  three  feet  in  diameter  and  decorated  with  flowers.  It  was 
presented  to  Miss  Anthony,  who  carried  it  in  triumph  to  the  con- 
vention in  Columbia  Theatre,  where  it  was  cut  into  slices  that 
were  sold  as  souvenirs  and  realized  about  $120,  which  she  donated 
to  the  cause. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two,  sent 
two  papers  for  this  fiftieth  anniversary,  one  for  the  congressional 
hearing,  on  The  Significance  of  the  Ballot;  the  other,  Our  De- 
feats and  our  Triumphs,  was  read  to  the  convention  by  Mrs. 


292  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Colby.  Both  displayed  all  the  old-time  vigor  of  thought  and 
beauty  of  expression.  The  latter,  filled  with  interesting  reminis- 
cence, closed  with  these  words : 

Another  generation,  has  now  enlisted  for  a  long  or  short  cam- 
paign. What,  say  they,  shall  we  do  to  hasten  the  work?  I  an- 
swer, the  pioneers  have  brought  you  through  the  wilderness  in 
sight  of  the  promised  land;  now,  with  active,  aggressive  warfare, 
take  possession.  Instead  of  rehearsing  the  old  arguments  which 
have  done  duty  fifty  years,  make  a  brave  attack  on  every  obstacle 

which  stands  in  your  way Lord  Brougham  said :  "The 

laws  for  women  [in-  England  and  America]  are  a  disgrace  to  the 
civilization  of  the  nineteenth  century."  The  women  in  every  State 
should  watch  their  law-makers,  and  any  bill  invidious  to  their  in- 
terests should  be  promptly  denounced,  and  with  such  vehemence 
and  indignation  as  to  agitate  the  whole  community 

There  is  no  merit  in  simply  occupying  the  ground  which  others 
have  conquered.  There  are  new  fields  for  conquest  and  more 
enemies  to  meet.  Whatever  affects  woman's  freedom,  growth 
and  development  affords  legitimate  subject  for  discussion  here. 
.  .  .  .  Some  of  our  opponents  think  woman  would  be  a  danger- 
ous element  in  politics  and  destroy  the  secular  nature  of  our  Govern- 
ment. I  would  have  a  resolution  on  that  point  discussed  freely,  and 
show  liberal  thinkers  that  we  have  a  large  number  in  our  associa- 
tion as  desirous  to  preserve  the  secular  nature  of  our  Government 

as  they  themselves  can  possibly  be When  educated 

women,  teachers  in  all  our  schools,  professors  in  our  colleges,  are 
governed  by  rulers,  foreign  and  native,  who  can  neither  read  nor 
write,  I  would  have  this  association  discuss  and  pass  a  resolution 
in  favor  of  "educated  suffrage."  .  .  . 

The  object  of  our  organization  is  to  secure  equality  and  freedom 
for  woman :  First,  in  the  State,  which  is  denied  when  she  is  not 
permitted  to  exercise  the  right  of  suffrage;  second,  in  the  Church, 
which  is  denied  when  she  has  no  voice  in  its  councils,  creeds  and 
discipline,  or  in  the  choice  of  its  ministers,  elders  and  deacons ; 
third,  in  the  Home,  where  the  State  makes  the  husband's  authority 
absolute,  the  wife  a  subject,  where  the  mother  is  robbed  of  the 
guardianship  of  her  own  child,  and  where  the  joint  earnings  belong 
solely  to  the  husband. 

.  .  .  .  Let  this  generation  pay  its  debt  to  the  past  by  con- 
tinuing this  great  work  until  the  last  vestige  of  woman's  subjection 
shall  be  erased  from  our  creeds  and  codes  and  constitutions.  Then 
the  united  thought  of  man  and  woman  will  inaugurate  a  pure  re- 
ligion, a  just  government,  a  happy  home  and  a  civilization  in  which 
ignorance,  poverty  and  crime  will  exist  no  more.  They  who  watch 
behold  already  the  dawn  of  a  new  day. 

The  Rev.  Antoinette  Brown  Blackwell  (N.  Y.),  the  first 
woman  to  graduate  in  theology  and  be  ordained,  delineated  The 
Changing  Phases  of  Opposition,  pointing  out  that  when  the  first 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1895.  293 

Woman's  Rights  Convention  was  held  the  general  tone  of  the 
press  was  shown  in  that  newspaper  which  said :  "This  bolt  is 
the  most  shocking  and  unnatural  incident  ever  recorded  in  the 
history  of  humanity ;  if  these  demands  were  effected,  it  would  set 
the  world  by  the  ears,  make  confusion  worse  confounded,  demor- 
alize and  degrade  from  their  high  sphere  and  noble  destiny 
women  of  all  respectable  and  useful  classes,  and  prove  a  mon- 
strous injury  to  all  mankind."  Yet  this  present  convention  was 
celebrating  the  granting  of  all  those  demands  except  the  suf- 
frage and  not  one  of  the  predicted  evils  had  come  to  pass.  The 
direful  prophecies  of  the  early  days  were  taken  up,  one  by  one, 
and  their  utter  absurdity  pointed  out  in  the  light  of  experience. 
Now  all  of  those  ancient,  stereotyped  objections  were  concen- 
trated against  granting  the  suffrage. 

Mrs.  Virginia  D.  Young  (S.  C.)  delighted  the  audience  with 
one  of  her  characteristic  addresses.  Prof.  Frances  Stewart 
Mosher,  of  Hillsdale  College  (  Mich. ) ,  gave  an  exhaustive  review 
of  the  great  increase  and  value  of  Woman's  Work  in  Church  Phi- 
lanthropies. Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall  (Ind.)  demonstrated  the 
wonderful  Progress  of  Women  in  Education.  The  New  Edu- 
cation possessed  the  charm  of  novelty  in  being  presented  by  Miss 
Grace  Espy  Patton,  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 
in  Colorado,  a  lady  so  delicate  and  dainty  that,  when  Miss  An- 
thony led  her  forward  and  said,  "It  has  always  been  charged  that 
voting  and  officeholding  will  make  women  coarse  and  unwoman- 
ly ;  now  look  at  her !"  the  audience  responded  with  an  ovation. 

Miss  Belle  Kearney  (Miss.)  discussed  Social  Changes  in  the 
South,  depicting  in  a  rapid,  magnetic  manner,  interspersed  with 
flashes  of  wit,  the  evolution  of  the  Southern  woman  and  the  rev- 
olution in  customs  and  privileges  which  must  inevitably  lead  up 
to  political  rights.  Mrs.  Mary  Seymour  Howell  (N.  Y.)  gave 
an  eloquent  review  of  the  splendid  services  of  Women  in  Philan- 
thropy. 

At  the  memorial  services  Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby  (D.  C.)  of- 
fered the  following  resolutions : 

It  is  fitting  in  this  commemorative  celebration  to  pause  a  moment 
to  place  a  laurel  in  memory's  chaplet  for  those  to  whom  it  was 
given  to  be  the  earliest  to  voice  the  demand  that  woman  should  be 
allowed  to  enter  into  the  sacred  heritage  of  liberty,  as  one  made 


2Q4  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

equally  with  man  in  the  image  of  the  Creator  and  divinely  appoint- 
ed to  co-sovereignty  over  the  earth.  To  name  them  here  is  to  rec- 
ognize their  presence  with  us  in  spirit  and  to  invoke  their  benedic- 
tion upon  this  generation  which,  entering  into  the  results  of  their 
labors,  must  carry  them  forward  to  full  fruition. 

Lucretia  Mott  always  will  be  revered  as  one  of  those  who  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  a  convention  to  make  an  organized  demand  for 
justice  to  women.  She  became  a  Quaker  preacher  in  1818  at  the 
ag^e  of  twenty-five,  and  the  last  suffrage  convention  she  attended  was 
in  her  eighty-sixth  year.  Her  motto,  "Truth  for  authority  and  not 
authority  for  truth,"  is  still  the  tocsin  of  reform.  Sarah  Pugh,  the 
lovely  Quaker,  was  ever  her  close  friend  and  helper. 

Frances  Wright,  a  noble  Scotchwoman,  a  friend  of  General  La- 
fayette, early  imbibed  a  love  for  freedom  and  a  knowledge  of  the 
principles  on  which  it  is  based.  In  this  the  land  of  her  adoption 
she  was  the  first  woman  to  lecture  on  political  subjects,  in  1826. 

Ernestine  L.  Rose,  the  beautiful  Polish  patriot,  sent  the  first 
petition  to  the  New  York  Legislature  to  give  a  married  woman  the 
right  to  hold  real  estate  in  her  own  name.  This  was  in  1836,  and 
she  continued  the  work  of  securing  signatures  until  1848,  when  the 
bill  was  passed.  She  was  a  matchless  orator  and  lectured  on  woman 
suffrage  for  nearly  fifty  years. 

Lucy  Stone's  voice  pleaded  the  wide  continent  over  for  justice 
for  her  sex.  Her  life-long  devotion  to  the  woman  suffrage  cause 
was  idealized  by  the  companionship  and  assistance  of  her  husband, 
Henry  B.  Blackwell,  the  one  man  in  this  nation  who  under  any  and 
all  circumstances  has  made  woman's  cause  his  chief  consideration. 
Her  first  lecture  on  woman's  rights  was  given  in  1847,  tne  year  of 
her  graduation  at  Oberlin  College,  and  her  life  work  was  epitomized 
in  her  dying  words,  "Make  the  world  better." 

Martha  C.  Wright,  Jane  Hunt  and  Mary  Ann  McClintock  were 
three  of  those  noble  women  who  issued  the  call  for  the  Seneca  Falls 
Convention,  and  were  ever  ready  for  service. 

Paulina  Wright  Davis,  who  called  the  first  National  Convention 
in  1850  and  presided  over  its  twentieth  celebration  in  1870,  was  one 
of  the  moving  spirits  of  the  work  for  more  than  twenty-five  years. 
Assisted  by  Caroline  H.  Dall,  she  edited  the  Una,  founded  in  1853, 
the  first  distinctively  woman  suffrage  paper. 

Frances  Dana  Gage,  better  known  by  her  pen-name,  "Aunt 
Fanny,"  was  farmer,  editor,  lecturer  and  worker  in  the  Sanitary 
Commission.  Of  her  eight  children  six  were  stalwart  sons,  and 
she  used  to  boast  that  she  was  the  mother  of  thirty-six  feet  of 
boys.  She  was  a  pillar  of  strength  to  the  movement  in  early  days. 

Clarina  Howard  Nichols  is  associated  with  the  seed-sowing  in 
Vermont,  in  Wisconsin  and  especially  in  Kansas,  where  her  labors 
with  the  first  constitutional  convention,  in  1859,  engrafted  in  organic 
law  many  rights  for  women  which  were  obtained  elsewhere,  if  at 
all,  only  by  slow  and  difficult  legislative  changes.  Susan  E.  Wattles 
led  the  Kansas  campaign  of  1859  with  Mrs.  Nichols. 

Emily  Robinson  of  Salem,  Ohio,  was  one  of  the  chief  movers  in 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1898.  295 

the  second  Woman's  Rights  Convention,  and  this  was  held  in  her 
own  town  in  1850.  From  that  time  until  the  present  year  she  has 
been  unfaltering  in  her  devotion. 

Dr.  Susan  A.  Edson,  who  was  graduated  in  medicine  in  1854, 
was  a  fellow-pioneer  in  the  District  of  Columbia  with  Dr.  Caroline 
B.  Winslow,  whose  death  preceded  hers  by  about  one  year.  She 
was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  army  nurses  and  the  friend  and 
faithful  attendant  of  President  Garfield.  For  many  years  she  was 
the  president  of  the  District  Woman  Suffrage  Association.  Among 
the  earlier  woman  physicians  who  espoused  the  cause  were  Dr. 
Harriot  K.  Hunt,  Dr.  Mary  B.  Jackson,  Dr.  Ann  Preston,  one  of  the 
founders  and  physicians  of  the  Woman's  Hospital  of  Philadelphia, 
and  Dr.  Clemence  S.  Lozier,  a  founder  and  physician  of  the  New 
York  Medical  College  for  Women. 

Sarah  Helen  WThitman  was  the  first  literary  woman  of  reputation 
who  gave  her  name  to  the  movement,  which  later  counted  among 
its  warmest  friends  Lydia  Maria  Child,  Alice  and  Phoebe  Cary  and 
Mary  Clemmer. 

Amalia  B.  Post  of  Cheyenne,  to  whom  the  enfranchisement  of 
the  women  of  Wyoming  was  largely  due,  was  ready,  as  she  often 
said,  at  the  first  tap  of  the  drum  at  Seneca  Falls.  She  occupied  the 
place  of  honor  by  the  side  of  the  Governor  on  that  proud  day  when 
the  admission  of  Wyoming  as  a  State  was  celebrated. 

Josephine  S.  Griffing,  organizer  of  the  Freedman's  Bureau ; 
Amelia  Bloomer,  editor  of  the  Lily,  the  first  temperance  and  wom- 
an's rights  paper ;  Mary  Grew,  for  twenty-three  years  president  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Woman  Suffrage  Association ;  Myra  Bradwell, 
the  first  woman  to  enter  the  ranks  of  legal  journalism ;  Virginia  L. 
Minor,  the  dove  with  the  eagle's  heart,  who  took  to  the  U.  S.  Su- 
preme Court  her  suit  against  the  Missouri  officials  for  refusing  her 
vote — all  these,  and  many  more  who  might  be  added,  form  the 
noble  galaxy  who  brought  to  the  cause  of  woman's  liberty  rare 
personal  beauty,  social  gifts,  intellectual  culture,  and  the  all-com- 
pelling .eloquence  of  earnestness  and  sincerity. 

Albert  O.  Willcox  of  New  York,  whose  eighty-seven  years  were 
filled  with  valuable  work  for  reforms,  was  drawn  to  the  conviction 
that  women  should  have  a  share  in  the  Government  by  a  sermon 
preached  by  Lucretia  Mott  in  1831,  and  from  that  time  declared 
himself  publicly  for  the  movement  and  was  its  life-long  supporter. 

James  G.  Clark,  the  sweet-souled  troubadour  of  reform,  sang  for 
woman's  freedom  in  suffrage  conventions  all  over  the  land. 

Joseph  N.  Dolph  was  always  to  be  counted  on  to  further  the 
political  emancipation  of  women,  both  in  his  own  State  of  Oregon 
and  in  the  U.  S.  Senate,  of  which  he  was  long  an  honored  member. 

To  name  the  men  who  have  been  counselors  and  friends  of  the 
woman  suffrage  movement  is  to  name  the  greatest  poets,  preachers 
and  statesmen  of  the  last  half  century.  Wherever  there  has  been 
a  woman  strong  enough  to  demand  her  rights  there  has  been  a 
man  generous  and  just  enough  to  second  her.  Surely  we  may  say 


296  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

that  "the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect"  are  our  strength  and 
our  inspiration. 

No  less  entitled  to  remembrance  and  gratitude  are  the  unnamed 
multitude  who  have  helped  the  onward  march  of  freedom  by  stand- 
ing for  the  truth  that  was  revealed  to  them.  Whether  they  pass 
away  in  the  beauty  of  youth,  the  strength  of  maturity  or  the  glory 
of  old  age,  they  who  have  given  to  the  world  one  impulse  on  the 
upward  path  to  freedom  and  to  light  are  not  dead.  They  live  here 
in  the  life  6f  all  good  things,  and,  because  of  strength  gained  in 
earthly  activity,  have  strength  to  perfect  in  other  spheres  what  here 
they  but  dreamed  of. 

The  Woman's  Tribune  thus  described  one  scene  of  the  conven- 
tion: 

The  opening  address  of  Wednesday  evening  was  by  Mrs.  Isa- 
bella Beecher  Hooker  (Conn.)  on  United  States  Citizenship.  She 
was  not  heard  distinctly  and  the  audience  was  very  fidgety.  Miss 
Anthony  came  forward  and  told  them  they  ought  to  be  perfectly 
satisfied  just  to  sit  still  and  look  at  Mrs.  Hooker.  She  is  always  a 
commanding  presence  on  the  stage,  and  on  this  evening,  impressed 
with  the  deep  significance  of  the  event,  and  clad  in  silver  gray, 
which  harmonized  beautifully  with  her  whitening  curls,  she  was  a 
picture  which  would  delight  an  artist.  But  notwithstanding  Miss 
Anthony's  admonition,  the  audience  really  wanted  to  hear  as  well 
as  to  see.  Mrs.  Hooker  realizing  this  at  last  said  impatiently,  "I 
never  could  give  a  written  speech,  but  Susan  insisted  that  I  must 
this  time,"  and,  discarding  her  manuscript,  she  spoke  clearly  and 
forcibly  with  her  old-time  power.  A  portion  of  her  address  was  a 
graphic  recital  of  Miss  Anthony's  trial  for  illegal  voting  in  1872. 

When  Mrs.  Hooker's  time  had  expired  Miss  Anthony  rose  and  put 
her  arm  around  her,  and  thus  these  striking  figures,  representing  the 
opposite  poles  of  the  woman  suffrage  force,  made  a  tableau  which 
will  never  pass  from  the  mental  vision  of  those  who  witnessed  it. 
At  the  close  of  her  remarks  Mrs.  Hooker  threw  her  arms  around 
Miss  Anthony  and  kissed  her.  The  latter,  more  moved  than  was 
her  wont,  gave  vent  to  that  strong  feeling  of  the  injustice  of  wom- 
an's disfranchisement  which  is  ever  present  with  her,  and  exclaimed : 
"To  think  that  such  a  woman,  belonging  by  birth  and  marriage  to 
the  most  distinguished  families  in  our  country's  history,  should  be 
held  as  a  subject  and  have  set  over  her  all  classes  of  men,  with  the 
prospect  of  there  being  added  to  her  rulers  the  Cubans  and  the 
Sandwich  Island  Kanakas.  Shame  on  a  government  that  permits 
such  an  outrage !" 

Mrs.  Caroline  Hallowell  Miller  (Md.),  one  of  the  first  suffrage 
advocates  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  gave  A  Glimpse  of 
the  Past  and  Present.  Dr.  Clara  Marshall,  Dean  of  the  Woman's 
Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania,  presented  the  history  of  Fifty 
Years  in  Medicine.  She  related  in  a  graphic  manner  the  strug- 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1898.  2Q7 

gle  of  women  to  gain  admission  to  the  colleges,  the  embarrass- 
ments they  suffered,  the  obstacles  they  were  obliged  to  overcome, 
reading  from  published  reports  the  hostile  demonstrations  of  the 
male  students.  In  closing  she  bore  testimony  to  the  encourage- 
ment and  assistance  rendered  by  those  men  who  were  broad- 
minded  and  generous  enough  to  recognize  the  rights  of  women  in 
this  profession  and  help  secure  them.  The  Ministry  of  Religion 
as  a  Calling  for  Women  was  the  subject  of  an  able  and  interesting 
address  by  the  Rev.  Florence  Buck  of  Unity  Church,  Cleveland, 
Ohio.  Mrs.  Ella  Knowles  Haskell,  assistant  attorney-general 
of  Montana,  spoke  on  Women  in  the  Legal  Profession,  giving 
many  incidents  of  the  practice  of  law  in  the  far  West. 

Samuel  J.  Barrows,  member  of  Congress  from  Massachusetts, 
was  called  from  the  audience  by  Miss  Anthony,  and  closed  his 
brief  remarks  by  saying:  "I  believe  in  woman  suffrage;  it  has 
in  it  the  elements  of  justice  which  entitle  it  to  every  man's  sup- 
port, and  we  all  ought  to  help  secure  it."  A  leading  feature  of 
the  program  was  the  speech  of  August  W.  Machen,  head  of  the 
free  delivery  division  of  the  national  post  office,  on  Women 
in  the  Departmental  Service  of  the  United  States.  He  gave  the 
history  of  their  employment  by  the  government,  declared  they  had 
raised  the  standard  of  work  and  testified  to  their  efficiency  and 
faithfulness. 

The  Civil  Rights  of  Women  were  ably  discussed  by  the  Rev. 
Frederick  A.  Hinckley  of  the  Second  Unitarian  Church,  Philadel- 
phia, who  reviewed  the  existing  laws  and  pointed  out  the  changes 
in  favor  of  women.  In  regard  to  the  prevalence  of  divorce  he 
said :  "There  is  a  large  class  of  our  fellow-citizens  who  greatly 
misinterpret,  in  my  opinion,  the  significance  of  the  increase  in  the 
number  of  divorces.  No  one  would  counsel  more  earnestly  than 
I,  patience  and  consideration  and  every  reasonable  effort  on  the 
part  of  people  once  married  to  live  together.  But  I  can  not  dis- 
pute the  proposition,  nor  do  I  believe  any  one  can  dispute  it,  that 
in  the  great  process  of  evolution  divorce  is  an  indication  of  grow- 
ing independence  and  self-respect  in  women,  a  proclamation  that 
marriage  must  be  the  union  of  self-respecting  and  mutually  re- 
spected equals,  and  that  in  the  ideal  home  of  the  future  that  hide- 
ous thing,  the  subjugation  of  woman,  is  to  be  unknown." 

Mrs.  Catharine  Waugh  McCulloch  (Ills.)  discussed  The  Eco- 


298  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

nomic  Status  of  Women.  Madame  Clara  Neymann  (N.  Y.) 
read  a  philosophical  paper  on  Marriage  in  the  Light  of  Woman's 
Freedom.  The  Progress  of  Colored  Women  was  pictured  in  an 
impassioned  address  by  Mrs.  Mary  Church  Terrell,  president  of 
the  National  Association  of  Colored  Women.  She  received  num- 
erous floral  tributes  at  its  close.  Mrs.  Emmy  C.  Evald  of  Chi- 
cago, with  an  attractive  foreign  enthusiasm,  told  of  the  work  of 
Swedish  women  in  their  own  country  and  in  the  United  States. 
Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  (N.  Y.)  with  clever  satire  and  amidst 
laughter  and  applause,  considered  Women  in  Municipalities. 

The  Pioneers'  Evening  was  one  of  great  interest,  when  Miss 
Anthony  marshalled  her  hosts  and  made  "the  roll-call  of  the 
years."  As  each  decade  was  called,  beginning  with  1848,  those 
who  began  the  suffrage  work  at  that  time  rose  on  the  stage  and 
in  all  parts  of  the  house  and  remained  standing.  Not  one  was 
there  who  was  present  at  the  original  Seneca  Falls  Convention, 
but  it  had  held  an  adjourned  meeting  at  Rochester,  three  weeks 
later,  and  Miss  Anthony's  sister,  Mary  S.,  responded  as  having 
attended  then  and  signed  the  Declaration  of  Rights.  The  daugh- 
ters of  Mrs.  Martha  C.  Wright,  who  called  this  convention — Mrs. 
Eliza  Wright  Osborne  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Lloyd  Garrison — and  also 
Mrs.  Millie  Burtis  Logan,  whose  mother,  Miss  Anthony's  cousin, 
served  as  its  secretary,  were  introduced  to  the  audience.  The 
children  of  Frederick  Douglass,  who  had  spoken  at  both  meet- 
ings, were  present  and  should  have  come  forward  with  this  group. 
The  Rev.  Antoinette  Brown  Blackwell  stated  that  she  had  spoken 
in  favor  of  woman's  rights  in  1846.  Among  the  earliest  of  the 
pioneers  present  were  John  W.  Hutchinson,  the  last  of  that  fa- 
mous family  of  singers ;  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  Mrs.  Helen  Philleo 
Jenkins  (Mich.),  Miss  Sarah  Wall  (Mass.)  and  Mrs.  Hooker. 
Many  of  those  who  arose  made  brief  remarks  and  the  occasion 
was  one  which  will  not  be  forgotten  by  those  who  witnessed  it. 

Among  the  letters  received  from  the  many  pioneers  still  living 
was  one  from  Mrs.  Abigail  Bush,  now  eighty-eight  years  old  and 
residing  in  California,  who  presided  over  the  Rochester  meeting, 
Aug.  2,  1848.  It  is  especially  interesting  as  showing  that  even 
so  advanced  women  as  Lucretia  Mott  and  Mrs.  Stanton,  al- 
though they  dared  call  such  a  meeting,  were  yet  so  conservative 
as  to  object  to  a  woman's  presiding  over  it : 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1898.  299 

To  SUSAN  B.  ANTHONY,  GREETING:  You  will  bear  me  witness 
that  the  state  of  society  is  very  different  from  what  it  was  fifty 
years  ago,  when  I  presided  at  the  first  Woman's  Rights  Convention. 
I  had  not  been  able  to  meet  in  council  at  all  with  the  friends  until  I 
met  them  in  the  hall  as  the  congregation  was  gathering,  and  then 
fell  into  the  hands  of  those  who  urged  me  to  take  part  with  the 
opposers  of  a  woman  serving,  as  the  party  had  with  them  a  fine- 
looking  man  to  preside  at  all  of  their  meetings,  James  Mott,  who 
had  presided  at  Seneca  Falls.  Afterward  I  fell  in  with  the  old 
friends,  Amy  .Post,  Rhoda  de  Garmo  and  Sarah  Fish,  who  at  once 
commenced  labors  with  me  to  prove  that  the  hour  had  come  when 
a  woman  should  preside,  and  led  me  into  the  church.  Amy  pro- 
posed my  name  as  president ;  I  was  accepted  at  once,  and  from  that 
hour  I  seemed  endowed  as  from  on  high  to  serve. 

It  was  a  two  days'  meeting  with  three  sessions  per  day.  On  my 
taking  .the  chair,  Lucretia  Mott  and  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  left 
the  platform  and  took  their  seats  in  the  audience,  but  it  did  not 
move  me  from  performing  all  my  duties,  and  at  the  close  of  the 
meeting  Lucretia  Mott  came  forward,  folded  me  tenderly  in  her 
arms  and  thanked  me  for  presiding.  That  settled  the  question  of 
men's  presiding  at  a  woman's  convention.  From  that  day  to  this, 
in  all  the  walks  of  life,  I  have  been  faithful  in  asserting  that  there 
should  be  "no  taxation  without  representation."  It  has  seemed 
long  in  coming,  but  I  think  the  time  draws  near  when  woman  will 
be  acknowledged  as  equal  with  man.  Heaven  grant  the  day  to 
dawn  soon ! 

Mrs.  Catharine  A.  F.  Stebbins  (Mich.),  who  had  attended  the 
Seneca  Falls  Convention  and  signed  the  Declaration  of  Rights, 
sent  an  interesting  descriptive  letter.  Mrs.  Lucinda  H.  Stone 
(Mich.),  the  mother  of  women's  clubs  and  a  pioneer  on  educa- 
tional lines,  wrote : 

You  wanted  I  should  write  you  any  anecdotes  of  early  interest 
in  woman  suffrage.  The  remembrance  of  Dr.  Stone's  waking  up 
to  that  subject  has  come  to  me,  and  I  have  thought  I  would  tell 
you  about  it. 

It  was  some  time  in  the  forties  that  he  was  requested  to  deliver 
a  Fourth  of  July  oration  in  Kalamazoo.  I  can  not  tell  the  exact 
year,  but  it  was  before  I  had  ever  heard  of  the  Rochester  Conven- 
tion, or  of  you  or  Mrs.  Stanton,  and  he  was  looking  up  all  that  he 
could  find  in  the  early  history  of  our  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  the  principles  of  Jefferson  and  the  early  revolutionists.  I  re- 
member his  coming  in  one  day  (it  must  have  been  before  1848), 
seeming  very  much  absorbed  in  something  that  he  was  thinking 
about.  He  threw  down  the  book  he  had  been  reading,  and  said 
to  me:  "The  time  will  come  when  women  will  vote.  Mark  my 
words !  We  may  not  live  to  see  it,  we  probably  shall  not,  but  it  will 
come.  It  is  not  a  woman's  right  or  a  man's  right ;  it  is  a  human 
right,  and  their  voting  is  but  a  natural  process  of  evolution."  .  .  . 


3OO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Mrs.  Esther  Wattles,  who  helped  secure  School  Suffrage  and 
equal  property  laws  for  women  in  the  State  constitution  of  Kan- 
sas in  1859,  sent  this  message :  "My  attention  was  first  called  to 
the  injustice  done  to  women  by  a  lecture  given  near  Wilmington, 
Ohio,  by  John  O.  Wattles  in  1841.  He  devoted  most  of  his  time 
to  lecturing  on  Woman's  Rights,  The  Sin  of  Slavery,  The  Tem- 
perance Reform  and  Peace.  I  heard  him  on  all  these  subjects,  off 
and  on,  till  1844,  when  we  were  married Seventy- 
nine  summers  with  their  clouds  and  sunshine,  make  it  fitting  I 
should  greet  you  by  letter  rather  than  personal  presence.  May 
the  cause  never  falter  till  the  victory  is  won." 

Most  of  the  letters  were  sent  to  Miss  Anthony  personally. 
Among  these  were  the  following : 

We,  the  members  of  the  National  Association  of  Woman  Stenog- 
raphers, take  great  pleasure  in  extending  congratulations  to  you 
on  the  occasion  of  your  seventy-eighth  birthday,  and  hope  that  the 
days  of  your  years  may  still  be  many  and  happy.  We  also  desire 
to  express  our  appreciation  of  and  gratitude  for  the  work  you  have 
done  in  securing  freedom  and  justice  for  women.  As  business 
women  we  are  better  able  to  comprehend  what  you  have  accom- 
plished, especially  for  those  who  are  bread-winners,  and  we  trust 
the  time  may  soon  come  when  we  shall  not  be  limited  to  under- 
standing what  freedom  is,  but  be  able  to  act  in  accordance  with 
its  principles. 

THE  NEVADA  EQUAL  SUFFRAGE  ASSOCIATION  :  Although  we  are 
young  in  the  ranks  and  few  in  number  compared  with  the  older 
States,  yet  we  are  none  the  less  loyal  to  the  principles  advocated  and 
established  by  the  National  Association.  We  are  brave  because 
we  draw  inspiration  from  the  thoughts  and  acts  of  that  Spartan 
band  of  suffragists  of  fifty  years  ago,  who  devoted  the  sunshine  of 
their  lives  and  the  energies  of  their  philosophic  minds  to  the  effort 
to  obtain  for  womankind  their  inherent  right  to  have  a  voice  in  the 
Government  which  derives  its  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the 
governed. 

ALFRED  H.  LOVE,  president  of  the  Universal  Peace  Union :  From 
our  rooms  in  the  east  wing  of  Independence  Hall,  I  send  greetings 
to  you  and  your  cause.  Your  cause  is  ours,  and  has  been  one  of  our 
essential  principles  since  our  organization.  Your  success  is  a 
triumph  for  peace. 

MARY  LOWE  DICKINSON,  secretary  of  the  International  Order  of 
the  King's  Daughters  and  Sons:  I  hope  you  will  live  to  see  the 
full  day  for  the  cause  whose  dawn  owed  so  much  to  your  labors, 
and  I  can  ask  nothing  better  for  you  than  that  you  have  "the  desire 
of  your  heart,"  which  I  am  sure  will  be  the  ballot  for  us  all. 

DR.   ELIZABETH   BLACKWELL,  the  first  woman   physician:     Al- 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    I»9».  30! 

though  I  can  not  respond  in  person  to  your  very  friendly  invitation 
to  be  a  representative  of  "the  pioneers,"  yet  I  gladly  send  my  hearty 
greeting  to  you  and  to  the  other  brave  workers  for  the  progress  of 
the  race — a  progress  slow  but  inevitable.  Amongst  all  its  steps  I 
consider  the  admission  of  women  to  the  medical  profession  as  the 
most  important.  Whilst  thankfully  recognizing  the  wonderful  ac- 
cumulations of  knowledge  which  generations  of  our  brethren  have 
gathered  together,  our  future  women  physicians  will  rejoice  to  help 
in  the  construction  of  that  noble  temple  of  medicine,  whose  founda- 
tion stone  must  be  sympathetic  justice.  Pray  allow  me  to  send  my 
warm  greeting  to  the  Congress  through  you. 

There  were  messages  and  grateful  recognition  from  so  many 
societies  and  individuals  in  the  United  States  that  it  would  be 
impossible  even  to  call  them  by  name ;  also  from  the  Dominion  of 
Canada  Suffrage  Club,  through  Dr.  Augusta  Stowe  Gullen;  the 
National  Union  of  Women's  Suffrage  Societies  in  Great  Britain, 
with  individual  letters  from  Lady  Aberdeen,  Mrs.Millicent  Gar- 
rett  Fawcett,  Mrs.  Priscilla  Bright  McLaren  and  others;  on  be- 
half of  the  Swedish  Frederika  Bremer  Forbundet,  by  Carl  Lind- 
hagen ;  on  behalf  of  Finnish  women  by  Baroness  Alexandra  Grip- 
enberg;  on  behalf  of  German  women  by  Frau  Hanna  Bieber- 
Bohm,  president  of  the  National  Council  of  Women;  on  behalf 
of  the  Woman  Suffrage  Society  of  Holland  by  its  secretary,  Mar- 
garethe  Galle ;  from  the  Norwegian  Woman  Suffrage  Club ;  from 
the  Verein  Jugendschutz  of  Berlin,  and  from  the  Union  to  Pro- 
mote Woman's  Rights  in  Finland. 

The  remarkable  scenes  of  the  closing  evening  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  the  large  audience.  After  fifty  years  of  effort  to 
overcome  the  most  stubborn  and  deeply-rooted  prejudices  of  the 
ages,  the  results  were  beginning  to  appear.  Among  the  speakers 
were  a  woman  State  senator  from  Utah,  Mrs.  Martha  Hughes 
Cannon;  a  woman  member  of  the  Colorado  Legislature,  Mrs. 
Martha  A.  B.  Conine;  a  woman  State  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction,  Miss  Estelle  Reel  of  Wyoming;  U.  S.  Senators 
Henry  M.  Teller  of  Colorado,  and  Frank  J.  Cannon  of  Utah, 
States  where  women  have  full  suffrage ;  Representative  John  F. 
Shafroth  of  Colorado — and  in  the  center  of  this  distinguished 
group,  Susan  B.  Anthony,  receiving  the  fruits  of  her  half  cen- 
tury of  toil  and  hardship. 

Miss  REEL  :     I  want  to  tell  you  a  little  about  our  work  in  Wyo- 


3O2  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ming,  where  women  have  been  voting  and  holding  office  for  nearly 
thirty  years,  and  where  our  people  are  convinced  that  it  has  been 
of  great  benefit.  Our  home  life  there  is  as  sacred  and  sweet  as  any- 
where else  on  the  globe.  Equal  suffrage  has  been  tried  and  not 
found  wanting.  You  may  ask,  What  reforms  has  Wyoming  to 
show  ?  We  were  the  first  State  to  adopt  the  Australian  ballot,  and  to 
accept  a  majority  verdict  of  juries  in  civil  cases.  We  are  noted  for 
our  humane  treatment  of  criminals,  our  care  of  the  deserving  poor 
and  the  education  of  our  young.  Child  labor  is  prohibited.  The  Su- 
preme Court  has  just  decided  that  every  voter  must  be  able  to  read 
the  Constitution  in  English.  We  have  night  schools  all  over  the 
State  for  those  who  can  not  attend  school  by  day.  Equal  suffrage 
was  given  to  help  protect  the  home  element,  and  the  home  vote  is  a 
great  conservative  force.  Woman  suffrage  means  stable  govern- 
ment, anchored  in  the  steadfast  rock  of  American  homes. 

Mrs.  Conine  was  commissioned  as  a  delegate  to  the  convention 
t>y  Gov.  Alva  Adams  of  Colorado.  She  read  the  statement  recent- 
ly put  forth,  testifying  to  the  good  results  of  equal  suffrage  and 
signed  by  the  Governor,  three  ex-Governors,  all  the  State  Sena- 
tors and  the  Representatives  in  Congress,  the  Chief  Justice  and 
the  Associate  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Judges  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  the  Judges  of  the  District  Court,  the  Secretary 
of  State,  the  State  treasurer,  auditor,  attorney-general,  the  mayor 
of  Denver,  the  presidents  of  the  State  University  and  of  Colo- 
rado College,  the  president  of  the  General  Federation  of  Women's 
Clubs  and  the  presidents  of  thirteen  women's  clubs,  and  said : 

During  the  session  of  the  Legislature  last  winter,  there  were 
three  women  in  the  House.  We  met  the  other  members  upon  terms 
of  absolute  equality.  No  thought  of  incongruity  or  unfitness  seems 
to  have  arisen,  and  at  the  same  time  those  little  courtesies  which 
gentlemen  instinctively  pay  to  ladies  were  never  omitted.  Each  of 
the  ladies  was  given  a  chairmanship,  one  of  them  that  of  the  Print- 
ing Committee,  and  the  printing  bill  was  lower  by  thousands  of  dol- 
lars than  for  any  previous  session.  The  women  were  as  frequently 
called  to  the  chair  in  Committee  of  the  Whole  as  were  the  men. 
One  of  them  was  placed  upon  the  Judiciary  Committee  at  the  re- 
quest of  its  chairman.  Every  honorary  committee  appointed  dur- 
ing the  session  included  one  or  more  of  the  ladies. 

Our  State  .Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  now  numbers  about 
100,  representing  a  united  membership  of  4,000.  They  are  largely 
occupied  in  studying  social  and  economic  questions,  earnestly  seek- 
ing for  the  best  methods  of  educating  their  children,  reforming 
criminals,  alleviating  poverty  and  purifying  the  ballot;  in  short, 
striving  to  make  their  city  and  their  State  a  cleaner,  better,  home 
for  their  families.  Their  work  receives  added  encouragement  from 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1.898.  303 

the  knowledge  that  by  their  ballots  they  may  determine  who  shall 
make  and  administer  the  laws  under  which  their  children  must  be 
reared.  The  home  has  always  been  conceded  to  be  the  woman's 
kingdom.  In  the  free  States  she  has  but  expanded  the  walls  of  that 
home,  that  she  may  afford  to  the  inmates,  and  also  to  those  who  un- 
fortunately have  no  other  home,  the  same  protection  and  loving 
care  which  was  formerly  limited  to  the  few  short  years  of  child- 
hood passed  beneath  the  parental  roof. 

SENATOR  TELLER  :  I  want  to  indorse  what  has  been  said  by  the 
two  members  from  Colorado  and  Wyoming.  The  former  is  rather 
young  as  a  suffrage  State,  but  we  are  living  side  by  side  with  the 
latter,  where  they  have  had  equal  suffrage  for  nearly  thirty  years. 
The  results  of  woman  suffrage  have  proved  entirely  satisfactory 
— not  to  every  individual,  but  to  the  great  mass  of  the  people?  I 
hear  it  said  in  this  city  every  day  that  if  women  are  allowed  to  vote 
the  best  women  will  not  take  part.  I  want  to  say  to  you  that  this 
is  a  mistake.  To  my  certain  knowledge,  the  best  women  do  take 
part.  When  I  went  back  to  Colorado,  after  the  granting  of  equal 
suffrage,  a  prominent  society  woman,  whom  I  had  known  for  years, 
telephoned  me  to  come  up  and  speak  to  the  ladies  at  her  house.  I 
found  her  big  parlors  full  of  representative  women — the  wives  of 
bankers,  lawyers,  preachers — society  women.  If  you  put  any  duty 
upon  women  they  are  not  going  to  shirk  it.  Those  who  feared  the 
responsibility  are  now  as  enthusiastic  as  those  who  had  been  "clam- 
oring" for  it.  In  the  past,  women  have  had  no  object  in  studying 
political  questions ;  now  they  have,  and  they  are  taking  them  up  in 
their  clubs.  We  find  that  women  are  less  partisan  than  men.  Why  ? 
Because  they  generally  have  more  conscience  than  men.  They  will 
not  vote  for  a  dissolute  and  disreputable  man  who  may  happen  to 
force  himself  on  a  party  ticket 

We  are  an  intelligent  community ;  we  have  long  had  a  challenge 
to  our  fellow-citizens  to  show  any  other  city  that  has  as  large  a 
proportion  of  college  graduates  as  Denver.  Colorado  people  are 
proud  of  equal  suffrage.  The  area  where  it  prevails  spread  last 
year  and  took  in  Utah  and  Idaho.  It  will  take  in  more  neighboring 
States.  I  predict  that  in  ten  years,  instead  of  four  suffrage  States, 
we  shall  have  twice  as  many — perhaps  three  or  four  times  that 
number. 

REPRESENTATIVE  SHAFROTH  :  I  want  to  say  this,  as  coming 
from  Colorado :  The  experience  we  have  had  ought  to  demonstrate 
to  every  one  that  woman  suffrage  is  not  only  right  but  practical. 
It  tends  to  elevate.  There  is  not  a  caucus  now  but  is  better  attend- 
ed and  by  better  people,  and  held  in  a  better  place.  I  have  seen  the 
time  when  a  political  convention  without  a  disturbance  and  the 
drawing  of  weapons  was  rare.  That  time  is  past  in  Colorado,  and 
it  is  due  to  the  presence  of  women.  Every  man  now  shows  that 
civility  which  makes  him  take  off  his  hat  and  not  swear,  and  deport 
himself  decently  when  ladies  are  present.  Instead  of  women's 
going  to  the  polls  corrupting  them  it  has  purified  the  polls.  Hus- 
band and  wife  go  there  together.  No  one  insults  them.  There  are 


304  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

no  drunken  men  there,  nothing  but  what  is  pleasant  and  decorous. 

Woman  is  an  independent  element  in  politics.  She  has  no  alle- 
giance to  any  party.  When  a  ticket  is  presented  to  her,  she  asks, 
"Are  these  good  men  ?"  A  man  is  apt  to  say,  "Well,  this  is  a  bad 
ticket,  but  I  must  stand  by  my  party."  He  wants  to  keep  his  party 
record  straight.  She  votes  for  the  best  man  on  the  ticket.  That 
element  is  bound  to  result  in  good  in  any  State. 

People  say  they  don't  know  how  it  will  work;  they  are  afraid 
of  it.  Can  it  be  that  we  distrust  our  mothers  and  sisters?  We 
shall  never  have  the  best  possible  government  till  women  partici- 
pate in  it. 

SENATOR  CANNON  :  No  nation  can  exist  half  slave  and  half  free. 
Ten  years  before  I  was  old  enough  to  vote,  my  mother  was  a  voter. 
I  learned  at  her  knee  to  vote  according  to  my  conscience,  and  not 
according  to  the  dictation  of  the  bosses.  The  strongest  argument 
for  the  suffrage  of  any  class  exists  in  behalf  of  womankind,  because 
women  will  not  be  bound  by  mere  partisanship.  If  the  world  is  to 
be  redeemed,  it  must  be  by  the  conscience  of  the  individual  voter. 
The  woman  goes  to  the  truth  by  instinct.  Men  have  to  confer 
together  and  go  down  street  and  look  through  glasses  darkly.  The 
woman  stays  at  home  and  rocks  the  cradle,  and  God  tells  her  what  to 
do.  The  suffrage  never  was  abused  by  women  in  Utah.  During  the 
seventeen  years  that  they  voted  in  the  Territory  there  was  not  a 
defalcation  in  any  public  office. 

I  believe  in  the  republic.  I  believe  that  its  destiny  is  to  shed 
light  not  only  here,  but  all  over  the  world.  If  we  can  trust  woman 
in  the  house  to  keep  all  pure  and  holy  there,  so  that  the  little  ones 
may  grow  up  right,  surely  we  can  trust  her  at  the  ballot-box.  When 
children  learn  political  wisdom  and  truth  from  their  mother's  lips, 
they  will  remember  it  and  live  up  to  it ;  for  those  lessons  are  the 
longest  remembered.  When  Senator  Teller  withdrew  from  a  po- 
litical convention  for  conscience's  sake,  a  man  said,  commenting  on 
his  action:  "It  is  generally  safe  to  stay  with  your  party."  His 
wife  said :  "And  it  is  always  safe  to  stay  with  your  principles." 

In  the  midst  of  the  convention  came  the  sad  news  on  February 
17  of  the  death  of  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard,  president  of  the  Na- 
tional Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union.  Affectionate 
tributes  were  offered  by  Miss  Anthony,  Miss  Shaw  and  other 
members ;  a  telegram  of  sympathy  was  sent  to  her  secretary  and 
close  companion,  Miss  Anna  Gordon,  by  a  rising  vote,  and  the 
audience  remained  standing  for  a  few  moments  in  silent  prayer. 
A.  large  wreath  of  violets  and  Southern  ivy,  adorned  with  min- 
iatures of  Mrs.  Stanton,  Miss  Anthony  and  other  pioneer  suf- 
frage workers  was  sent  by  the  delegates  to  be  laid  on  her  coffin. 

The  congressional  hearings  on  the  morning  of  February  15, 
Miss  Anthony's  birthday,  attracted  crowds  of  people  to  the  Cap- 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1 898.  305 

itol.  The  hearing  before  the  Senate  Committee  was  conducted 
by  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  and  considered  The  Philoso- 
phy of  the  Movement  for  Woman  Suffrage.  Only  two  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  were  present — James  H.  Berry  of  Arkan- 
sas, and  George  P.  Wetmore  of  Rhode  Island — but  a  number  of 
other  senators  were  interested  listeners,  and  the  large  Marble 
Room  was  crowded  with  delegates  and  spectators.  The  first 
paper,  by  Wm.  Lloyd  Garrison  (Mass.)  considered  The  Nature 
of  a  Republican  Form  of  Government : 

The  advocates  of  complete  enfranchisement  of  women  base  their 
demand  upon  the  principles  underlying  all  suffrage,  rather  than 
upon  the  question  of  sex.  If  manhood  suffrage  is  a  mistake ;  if 
voting  is  a  privilege  and  not  a  right ;  if  government  does  not  derive 
its  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed;  if  Lincoln's 
aphorism  that  ours  is  a  "government  of  the  people,  for  the  people 
and  by  the  people"  is  only  a  rhetorical  generality,  then  women  have 
no  case.  If  not,  they  see  no  reason  why,  as  they  are  governed,  they 
should  not  have  a  voice  in  choosing  their  rulers ;  why,  as  people, 
they  are  not  covered  by  Lincoln's  definition.  They  feel  naturally 
that  their  exclusion  is  unjust. 

Woman  suffragists  are  not  unconscious  of  the  glaring  contrast 
between  declared  principles  and  actual  practice,  and  they  venture 
to  believe  that  a  professed  self-government  which  deliberately  ig- 
nores its  own  axioms  is  tending  to  decadence.  They  are  not  un- 
mindful of  the  slow  evolution  of  human  government  from  earliest 
history,  beginning  in  force  and  greed,  reaching  through  struggles 
of  blood,  in  the  course  of  time,  to  the  legislative  stage  where  dif- 
ferences are  adjudicated  by  reason,  and  the  sword  reserved  as  the 
last  resort.  This  vantage  ground  has  been  gained  only  by  a  recogni- 
tion of  the  primal  right  of  the  people  to  be  consulted  in  regard  to 
public  affairs;  and  in  proportion  as  this  right  has  been  respected 
and  the  franchise  extended  has  government  grown  more  stable  and 
society  more  safe.  It  has  come  through  a  succession  of  steps,  in- 
variably opposed  by  the  dominant  classes,  and  only  permitted  after 
long  contest  and  a  changed  public  opinion. 

In  England,  where  the  progress  of  constitutional  government 
can  be  most  accurately  traced,  there  was  a  time  when  the  land- 
owning aristocracy  controlled  the  franchise  and  elected  the  mem- 
bers of  Parliament.  The  dawn  of  a  sense  of  injustice  in  the  minds 
of  the  mercantile  classes  brought  with  it  a  demand  for  the  exten- 
sion of  the  suffrage,  which  was  of  course  vigorously  combated.  It 
was  an  illogical  resistance,  which  ended  in  the  admission  of  the 
tradesmen.  Later  the  workingmen  awakened  to  their  political  dis- 
ability and  asserted  their  rights,  only  to  be  promptly  antagonized 
by  both  classes  in  power.  Eventually  logic  and  justice  won  in  this 
issue.  In  the  light  of  history  none  of  the  objections  urged  against 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 20 


3O6  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

the  extension  of  the  right  of  voting  have  been  sustained  by  subse- 
quent facts.  On  the  contrary,  the  broadening  of  the  suffrage  base 
has  been  found  to  add  stability  to  the  superstructure  of  British  gov- 
ernment and  to  have  been  in  the  interest  of  true  conservatism. 

In  the  course  of  time  the  woman's  hour  has  struck.  Her  cause 
is  now  going  through  the  same  ordeal  suffered  by  the  classes  re- 
ferred to.  Her  triumph  is  as  sure  as  theirs.  The  social  and  indus- 
trial changes  of  constitutional  government  in  all  countries  have 
revolutionized  her  condition.  Fifty  years  ago  the  avenues  of  em- 
ployment open  to  women  were  few  and  restricted.  To-day,  in 
every  branch  of  manufacture  and  trade,  and  in  the  professions  for- 
merly monopolized  by  men,  they  are  actively  and  successfully  en- 
gaged. Every  law  put  upon  the  statute  books  affects  their  inter- 
ests directly  and  indirectly — undreamed  of  in  a  social  order  where 
household  drudgery  and  motherhood  limited  a  woman's  horizon. 

It  is  inevitable,  therefore,  that,  feeling  the  pressure  of  legisla- 
tion under  which  they  suffer,  a  new  intelligence  should  stir  the 
minds  of  women  such  as  stirred  the  once  disfranchised  classes  of 
men  in  Great  Britain.  It  leads  to  an  examination  of  the  principles 
of  self-government  and  to  their  application  on  lines  of  equality 
and  not  of  sex.  In  them  is  found  no  justification  for  the  present 
enforced  political  disability.  Therefore  all  legislative  bodies  vested 
with  the  power  to  change  the  laws  are  petitioned  to  consider  the 
justice  and  expediency  of  allowing  women  to  register  their  opin- 
ions, on  the  same  terms  with  men,  at  the  ballot-box. 

The  principles  at  stake  are  rarely  alluded  to  by  the  opponents  of 
woman  suffrage.  The  battle  rages  chiefly  upon  the  ground  of  ex- 
pediency. Every  argument  formerly  used  by  the  English  Tories 
is  to-day  heard  in  the  mouths  of  men  who  profess  a  belief  in  a 
democratic  form  of  government 

In  the  discussion  of  the  rights  of  labor,  the  inadequacy  of  wages, 
the  abuses  of  the  factory  system,  the  management  of  schools,  of 
reformatory  and  penal  institutions,  the  sanitary  arrangements  of  a 
city,  the  betterment  of  public  highways,  the  encroachment  of  privi- 
leged corporations,  the  supervision  of  the  poor,  the  improvement 
of  hospitals,  and  the  many  branches  of  collective  housekeeping  in- 
cluded in  a  municipality — women  are  by  nature  and  educatic 
adapted  to  participate.  In  many  States,  certainly  in  Massachusetts, 
it  is  a  common  practice  to  appoint  women  to  responsible  positions 
demanding  large  organizing  and  directing  power.  If  thus  fitted 
to  rule,  are  women  unfitted  to  have  a  voice  in  choosing  rulers  ? 

The  true  advancement  of  common  interest  waits  for  the  active 
and  responsible  participation  of  women  in  political  matters.  In- 
direct and  irresponsible  influence  they  have  now,  but  indirection 
and  irresponsibility  are  dangerous  elements  in  governments  which 
assume  to  be  representative,  and  are  a  constant  menace.  If  this 
whole  question  of  equal  political  rights  of  women  is  considered  in 
the  light  of  common  sense  and  common  justice,  the  sooner  will  the 
present  intolerable  wrong  be  wiped  out  and  self-government  be  put 
upon  a  broader  and  safer  basis. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1898.  307 

Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall  (Ind.)  discussed  the  Fitness  of 
Women  to  Become  Citizens  from  the  Standpoint  of  Education 
and  Mental  Development. 

From  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  we  find  all  the  distinguished 
American  patriots  expressing  the  conviction  that  a  self-governing 
people  must  be  an  educated  people.  Hancock,  Jay,  Franklin,  Morris, 
Paine,  Quincy  Adams,  Jefferson,  Hamilton,  Washington,  all  urge 
the  same  argument  in  support  of  education.  It  is  no  longer  to  pro- 
duce an  educated  ministry,  but  to  insure  educated  citizens,  that 
schools  are  maintained  and  colleges  multiplied 

In  this  year  of  1897-98  not  less  than  20,000,000  pupils  and 
students  of  all  ages,  from  the  toddlers  in  the  kindergartens  to  the 
full-grown  candidates  for  post-graduate  honors,  are  registered  in 
the  schools,  academies,  colleges  and  universities  of  the  United 
States.  The  average  length  of  time  which  girls  spend  in  school 
exceeds  by  nearly  three  years  the  average  length  of  time  which 
boys  stay  there ;  while  the  number  of  girls  graduating  from  high- 
school  courses,  those  which  include  United  States  history  and  civil 
government,  is  almost  double  the  number  of  boys.  Thus,  at  the 
present  time,  largely  more  than  one-half  of  the  moneys  spent  by 
the  governments,  local  and  national,  in  support  of  free  schools,  is 
used  in  the  education  of  girls.  By  what  authority  does  the  Gov- 
ernment tax  its  citizens  to  support  schools  for  the  education  of  mil- 
lions of  women  to  whom,  after  they  have  received  the  education  de- 
clared necessary  to  citizenship,  this  is  denied? 

Is  it  urged  that  the  Government  gets  its  return  upon  its  invest- 
ment in  the  education  of  women  through  the  increased  intelligence 
with  which  women  rear  their  children,  manage  their  homes  and 
conduct  the  larger  social  affairs  outside  the  boundary  of  their  home 
life?  I  have  no  disposition  to  diminish  the  Government's  recogni- 
tion of  such  return,  but  I  wish  to  remind  you  that  no  one  has  ever 
justified  the  maintenance  of  public  schools,  and  an  enforced  at- 
tendance upon  them,  on  the  theory  that  the  Government  has  a  right 
to  compel  men  to  be  agreeable  husbands  and  wise  fathers,  or  that 
it  is  responsible  for  teaching  men  how  to  conduct  their  own  business 
with  discretion  and  judgment.  Quite  in  another  tone  is  it  urged 
that  the  schools  are  the  fountains  of  the  nation's  liberties  and  that 
a  government  whose  policy  is  decided  by  a  majority  of  the  votes 
cast  by  its  men  is  not  safe  in  the  hands  of  uneducated  voters. 
.  .  .  .  It  is  the  political  life  of  our  nation  which  stands  in  the 
sorest  need ;  yet  this  is  the  only  department  of  our  national  life 
which  rejects  the  aid  of  women. 

If  intelligence  is  vital  to  good  citizenship  in  a  republic,  it  would 
seem  that,  to  justify  the  exclusion  of  the  present  generation  of 
American  women,  whose,  intelligence  is  bought  at  so  high  a  price 
and  at  the  expense  of  the  whole  people,  there  must  be  some  proof 
that  they  have  qualities  which  so  vitiate  it  as  to  render  it  unservice- 
able. Such  proof  has  never  yet  been  presented. 

At  the  present  moment  the  education  and  the  intellectual  culture 


308  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

of  American  women  has  reached  a  plane  where  its  further  develop- 
ment is  a  menace,  unless  it  is  to  be  accompanied  by  the  direct  re- 
sponsibility of  its  possessors — a  responsibility  which  in  a  republic 
can  be  felt  only  by  those  who  participate  directly  in  the  election  of 
public  officers  and  in  the  shaping  of  public  policies. 

The  Rev.  Anna  Garlin  Spencer  (R.  I.)  considered  the  Fitness 
of  Women  to  Become  Citizens  from  the  Standpoint  of  Moral 
Development. 

Government  is  not  now  merely  the  coarse  and  clumsy  instrument 
by  which  military  and  police  forces  are  directed ;  it  is  the  flexible, 
changing  and  delicately  adjusted  instrument  of  many  and  varied 
educative,  charitable  and  supervisory  functions,  and  the  tendency 
to  increase  the  functions  of  government  is  a  growing  one.  Prof. 
Lester  F.  Ward  says :  "Government  is  becoming  more  and  more  the 
organ  of  the  social  consciousness  and  more  and  more  the  servant  of 
the  social  will."  The  truth  of  this  is  shown  in  the  modern  public 
school  system ;  in  the  humane  and  educative  care  of  dependent,  de- 
fective and  wayward  children;  in  the  increasingly  discriminating 
and  wise  treatment  of  the  insane,  the  pauper,  the  tramp  and  the 
poverty-bound ;  in  the  provisions  for  public  parks,  baths  and  amuse- 
ment places ;  in  the  bureaus  of  investigation  and  control  and  the  ap- 
pointment of  officers  of  inspection  to  secure  better  sanitary  and 
moral  conditions ;  in  the  board  of  arbitration  for  the  settlement 
of  political  and  labor  difficulties ;  and  in  the  almost  innumerable 
committees  and  bills,  national,  State  and  local,  to  secure  higher 
social  welfare  for  all  classes,  especially  for  the  weaker  and  more 
ignorant.  Government  can  never  again  shrink  and  harden  into  a 
mere  mechanism  of  military  and  penal  control. 

It  is,  moreover,  increasingly  apparent  that  for  these  wider  and 
more  delicate  functions  a  higher  order  of  electorate,  ethically  as 
well  as  intellectually  advanced,  is  necessary.  Democracy  can  suc- 
ceed only  by  securing  for  its  public  service,  through  the  rule  of  the 
majority,  the  best  leadership  and  administration  the  State  affords. 
Only  a  wise  electorate  will  know  how  to  select  such  leadership,  and 
only  a  highly  moral  one  will  authoritatively  choose  such.  .  .  . 

When  the  State  took  the  place  of  family  bonds  and  tribal  relation- 
ships, and  the  social  consciousness  was  born  and  began  its  long 
travel  toward  the  doctrine  of  "equality  of  human  rights"  in  govern- 
ment and  the  principle  of  human  brotherhood  in  social  organization, 
man,  as  the  family  and  tribal  organizer  and  ruler,  of  course  took 
command  of  the  march.  It  was  inevitable,  natural  and  beneficent 
so  long  as  the  State  concerned  itself  with  only  the  most  external 
and  mechanical  of  social  interests.  The  instant,  however,  the  State 
took  upon  itself  any  form  of  educative,  charitable  or  personally 
helpful  work,  it  entered  the  area  of  distinctive  feminine  training 
and  power,  and  therefore  became  in  need  of  the  service  of  woman. 
Wherever  the  State  touches  the  personal  life  of  the  infant,  the  child, 
the  youth,  or  the  aged,  helpless,  defective  in  mind,  body  or  moral 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1898.  309 

nature,  there  the  State  enters  "woman's  peculiar  sphere,"  her  sphere 
of  motherly  succor  and  training-,  her  sphere  of  sympathetic  and  self- 
sacrificing  ministration  to  individual  lives.  If  the  service  of  women 
is  not  won  to  such  governmental  action  (not  only  through  "influ- 
ence or  the  shaping  of  public  opinion,"  but  through  definite  and 
authoritative  exercise),  the  mother-office  of  the  State,  now  so  widely 
adopted,  will  be  too  often  planned  and  administered  as  though  it 
were  an  external,  mechanical  and  abstract  function,  instead  of  the 
personal,  organic  and  practical  service  which  all  right  helping  of 
individuals  must  be. 

In  so  far  as  motherhood  has  given  to  women  a  distinctive  ethical 
development,  it  is  that  of  sympathetic  personal  insight  respecting 
the  needs  of  the  weak  and  helpless,  and  of  quick-witted,  flexible 
adjustment  of  means  to  ends  in  the  physical,  mental  and  moral 
training  of  the  undeveloped.  And  thus  far  has  motherhood  fitted 
women  to  give  a  service  to  the  modern  State  which  men  tan  not 
altogether  duplicate 

Whatever  problems  might  have  been  involved  in  the  question  of 
woman's  place  in  the  State  when  government  was  purely  military, 
legal  and  punitive  have  long  since  been  antedated.  Whatever  prob- 
lems might  have  inhered  in  that  question  when  women  were  per- 
sonally subject  to  their  families  or  their  husbands  are  well-nigh 
outgrown  in  all  civilized  countries,  and  entirely  so  in*  the  most  ad- 
vanced. Woman's  nonentity  in  the  political  department  of  the 
State  is  now  an  anachronism  and  inconsistent  with  the  prevailing 
tendencies  of  social  growth 

The  earth  is  ready,  the  time  is  ripe,  for  the  authoritative  expres- 
sion of  the  feminine  as  well  as  the  masculine  interpretation  of  that 
common  social  consciousness  which  is  slowly  writing  justice  in  the 
State  and  fraternity  in  the  social  order. 

Miss  Laura  Clay  (Ky.)  illustrated  the  Fitness  of  Women  to 
Become  Citizens  from  the  Standpoint  of  Physical  Development. 

Among  the  objections  brought  against  the  extension  of  suffrage 
to  women,  that  of  their  physical  unfitness  to  perform  military  du- 
ties is  the  most  plausible,  because  in  the  popular  mind  there  is  an 
idea  that  the  right  of  casting  a  ballot  is  in  its  final  analysis  depend- 
ent upon  the  ability  to  defend  it  with  a  bullet 

It  is  by  no  means  self-evident  that  women  are  naturally  unfitted 
for  fighting  or  are  unwarlike  in  disposition.  The  traditions  of 
Amazons  and  the  conduct  of  savage  women  give  room  to  believe 
that  the  instinct  for  war  was  primitively  very  much  the  same  in  both 
sexes.  Though  the  earliest  division  of  labor  among  savages  known 
to  us  is  that  of  assigning  war  and  the  chase  to  men,  yet  we  have 
no  reason  to  believe  that  this  was  done  by  way  of  privilege  to  wom- 
en; but  in  the  struggle  for  tribal  supremacy  that  tribe  must  have 
ultimately  survived  and  succeeded  best  which  exposed  its  women 
the  least.  Polygamy,  universal  among  primitive  races,  could  in  a 
degree  sustain  population  against  the  ravages  among  men  of  con- 


3IO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAX    SUFFRAGE. 

tinual  warfare,  but  any  large  destruction  of  women  must  extinguish 
a  tribe  that  suffered  it.  So  those  tribes  which  earliest  engrafted 
among  their  customs  the  exclusion  of  women  from  war  were  the 
ones  that  finally  survived 

Military  genius  among  women  has  appeared  in  all  ages  and  peo- 
ple, as  in  Deborah,  Zenobia,  Joan  of  Arc  and  our  own  Anna  Ella 
Carroll.  The  prowess  of  women  has  often  been  conspicuous  in 
besieged  cities.  Our  early  history  of  Indian  warfare  recounts 
many  of  their  valiant  deeds.  It  is  well  known  that  in  the  late  war 
many  women  on  both  sides  eluded  the  vigilance  of  recruiting  officers, 
enlisted  and  fought  bravely.  Who  knows  how  many  of  such  wom- 
en there  might  have  been  if  their  enlistment  had  been  desired  and 
stimulated  by  beat  of  drum  and  blare  of  trumpet  and  "all  the  pomp 
and  circumstance  of  glorious  war?"  But  no  State  can  afford  to 
accept  military  service  from  its  women,  for  while  a  nation  may 
live  for  ages  without  soldiers,  it  could  exist  but  for  a  span  with- 
out mothers.  Since  woman's  exemption  from  war  is  not  an  un- 
bought  privilege,  it  is  evident  that  in  justice  men  have  no  superior 
rights  as  citizens  on  that  account. 

It  is  an  equally  fallacious  idea  that  sound  expediency  demands 
that  every  ballot  shall  be  defended  by  a  bullet.  The  theory  of  rej 
resentative  government  does  not  admit  of  any  connection  betwee 
military  service  and  the  right  and  duty  of  suffrage,  even  amonj 
men.  It  is  trite  to  point  out  that  the  age  required  for  military 
service  begins  at  eighteen  years,  when  a  man  is  too  young  to  vote, 
and  ends  at  forty-five  years,  when  he  is  usually  in  the  prime  of  his 
usefulness  as  a  citizen.  Some  very  slight  physical  defects  will  in- 
capacitate a  man  under  the  usual  recruiting  rules.  Many  lawyers, 
judges,  physicians,  ministers,  merchants,  editors,  authors,  legisla- 
tors and  Congressmen  are  exempt  on  the  ground  of  physical  in- 
capacity. A  citizen's  ability  to  help  govern  by  voting  is  in  no 
manner  proportioned  to  ability  to  bear  arms 

In  the  finest  conception  of  government  not  only  is  there  room  for 
women  to  take  part,  but  it  can  not  be  realized  without  help  fror 
them.  Men  alone  possess  only  a  half  of  human  wisdom ;  wome 
possess  the  other  half  of  it,  and  a  half  that  must  always  be  some- 
what different  from  men's,  because  women  must  always  see  from 
a  somewhat  different  point  of  view.  The  wisdom  of  men  must  be 
supplemented  by  that  of  women  to  discover  the  whole  of  govern- 
mental truth.  Women's  help  is  equally  indispensable  in  persuading 
society  to  love  and  obey  law.  This  help  is  very  largely  given  now, 
or  civilization  as  we  know  it  would  be  impossible.  But  the  best 
interests  of  society  demand  that  women's  present  indirect  and  half- 
conscious  influence  shall  be  strengthened  by  the  right  of  suffrage, 
so  that  their  sense  of  duty  to  government  may  be  stimulated  by  a 
clear  perception  of  the  connection  which  exists  between  power  and 
responsibility. 

Mrs.  Harriot  Stanton  Blatch  (Eng.)  treated  of  Woman  as  an 
Economic  Factor. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1898.  31 1 

It  is  often  urged  that  women  stand  greatly  in  need  of  training  in 
citizenship  before  being  finally  received  into  the  body  politic.  .  .  . 
As  a  matter  of  fact  women  are  the  first  class  who  have  asked  the 
right  of  citizenship  after  their  ability  for  political  life  has  been 
proved.  I  have  seen  in  my  time  two  enormous  extensions  of  the  suf- 
frage to  men — one  in  America  and  one  in  England.  But  neither  the 
negroes  in  the  South  nor  the  agricultural  laborers  in  Great  Britain 
had  shown  before  they  got  the  ballot  any  capacity  for  government ; 
for  they  had  never  had  the  opportunity  to  take  the  first  steps  in 
political  action.  Very  different  has  been  the  history  of  the  march 
of  women  toward  a  recognized  position  in  the  State.  We  have  had 
to  prove  our  ability  at  each  stage  of  progress,  and  have  gained 
nothing  without  having  satisfied  a  test  of  capacity 

The  public  demand  for  "proved  worth"  suggests  what  appears  to 
me  the  chief  and  most  convincing  argument  upon  which  our  future 
claims  must  rest — the  growing  recognition  of  the  economic  value  of 

the  work  of  women There  has  been  a  marked  change 

in  the  estimate  of  our  position  as  wealth  producers.  We  have  never 
been  "supported"  by  men ;  for  if  all  men  labored  hard  every  hour 
of  the  twenty-four,  they  could  not  do  all  the  work  of  the  world.  A 
few  worthless  women  there  are,  but  even  they  are  not  so  much 
supported  .by  the  men  of  their  family  as  by  the  overwork  of  the 
'"sweated"  women  a,t  the  other  end  of  the  social  ladder.  From 
creation's  dawn  our  sex  has  done  its  full  share  of  the  world's  work ; 
sometimes  we  have  been  paid  for  it,  but  oftener  not. 

Unpaid  work  never  commands  respect ;  it  is  the  paid  worker  who 
has  brought  to  the  public  mind  conviction  of  woman's  worth.  The 
spinning  and  weaving  done  by  our  great-grandmothers  in  their 
own  homes  was  not  reckoned  as  national  wealth  until  the  work  was 
carried  to  the  factory  and  organized  there ;  and  the  women  who 
followed  their  work  were  paid  according  to  its  commercial  value. 
It  is  the  women  of  the  industrial  class,  the  wage-earners,  reckoned 
by  the  hundreds  of  thousands,  and  not  by  units,  the  women  whose 
work  has  been  submitted  to  a  money  test,  who  have  been  the  means 
of  bringing  about  the  altered  attitude  of  public  opinion  toward  wom- 
an's work  in  every  sphere  of  life. 

If  we  would  recognize  the  democratic  side  of  our  cause,  and 
make  an  organized  appeal  to  industrial  women  on  the  ground  of 
their  need  of  citizenship,  and  to  the  nation  on  the  ground  of  its 
need  that  all  wealth  producers  should  form  part  of  its  body  politic, 
the  close  of  the  century  might  witness  the  building  up  of  a  true  re- 
public in  the  United  States. 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley,  State  Factory  Inspector  of  Illinois, 
showed  the  Working  Woman's  Need  of  the  Ballot. 

No  one  needs  all  the  powers  of  the  fullest  citizenship  more  urgent- 
ly than  the  wage-earning  \voman,  and  from  two  different  points  of 
view — that  of  actual  money  \vages  and  that  of  her  wider  needs  as  a 
human  being  and  a  member  of  the  community. 


312  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  wages  paid  any  body  of  working  people  are  determined  by 
many  influences,  chief  among  which  is  the  position  of  the  particular 
body  of  workers  in  question.  Thus  the  printers,  by  their  intelli- 
gence, their  powerful  organization,  their  solidarity  and  united  action, 
keep  up  their  wages  in  spite  of  the  invasion  of  their  domain  by  new 
and  improved  machinery.  On  the  other  hand,  the  garment-work- 
ers, the  sweaters'  victims,  poor,  unorganized,  unintelligent,  despised, 
remain  forever  on  the  verge  of  pauperism,  irrespective  of  their  end- 
less toil.  If,  now,  by  some  untoward  fate  the  printers  should  sud- 
denly find  themselves  disfranchised,  placed  in  a  position  in  which 
their  members  were  politically  inferior  to  the  members  of  other 
trades,  no  effort  of  their  pwn  short  of  complete  enfranchisement 
could  restore  to  them  that  prestige,  that  good  standing  in  the  es- 
teem of  their  fellow-craftsmen  and  the  public  at  large  which  they 
now  enjoy,  and  which  contributes  materially  in  support  of  their 
demand  for  high  wages. 

In  the  garment  trades,  on  the  other  hand,  the  presence  of  a  body 
of  the  disfranchised,  of  the  weak  and  young,  undoubtedly  con- 
tributes to  the  economic  weakness  of  these  trades.  Custom,  habit, 
tradition,  the  regard  of  the  public,  both  employing  and  employed, 
for  the  people  who  do  certain  kinds  of  labor,  contribute  to  determine 
the  price  of  that  labor,  and  no  disfranchised  class  of  workers  can 
permanently  hold  its  own  in  competition  with  enfranchised  rivals. 
But  this  works  both  ways.  It  is  fatal  for  any  body  of  workers  to 
have  forever  hanging  from  the  fringes  of  its  skirts  other  bodies  on  a 
level  just  below  its  own;  for  that  means  continual  pressure  down- 
ward, additional  difficulty  to  be  overcome  in  the  struggle  to  maintain 
reasonable  rates  of  wages.  Hence,  within  the  space  of  two  genera- 
tions there  has  been  a  complete  revolution  in  the  attitude  of  the 
trades-unions  toward  the  women  working  in  their  trades.  Where- 
as forty  years  ago  women  might  have  knocked  in  vain  at  the  doors 
of  the  most  enlightened  trade-union,  to-day  the  Federation  of 
Labor  keeps  in  the  field  paid  organizers  whose  duty  it  is  to  enlist  in 
the  unions  as  many  women  as  possible.  The  workingmen  have  per- 
ceived that  women  are  in  the  field  of  industry  to  stay ;  and  they  see, 
too,  that  there  can  not  be  two  standards  of  work  and  wages  for  any 
trade  without  constant  menace  to  the  higher  standard.  Hence  their 
effort  to  place  the  women  upon  the  same  industrial  level  with  them- 
selves in  order  that  all  may  pull  together  in  the  effort  to  maintain 
reasonable  conditions  of  life. 

But  this  same  menace  holds  with  regard  to  the  vote.  The  lack 
of  the  ballot  places  the  wage-earning  woman  upon  a  level  of  ir- 
responsibility compared  with  her  enfranchised  fellow  workingman. 
By  impairing  her  standing  in  the  community  the  general  rating  of 
her  value  as  a  human  being,  and  consequently  as  a  worker,  is  low- 
ered. In  order  to  be  rated  as  good  as  a  good  man  in  the  field  of 
her  earnings,  she  must  show  herself  better  than  he.  She  must  be 
more  steady,  or  more  trustworthy,  or  more  skilled,  or  more  cheap 
in  order  to  have  the  same  chance  of  employment.  Thus,  while 
women  are  accused  of  lowering  wages,  might  they  not  justly  reply 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1598.  313 

that  it  is  only  by  conceding  something-  from  the  pay  which  they 
would  gladly  claim,  that  they  can  hold  their  own  in  the  market, 
so  long  as  they  labor  under  the  disadvantage  of  disfranchise- 
ment?  .... 

Finally,  the  very  fact  that  women  now  form  about  one-fifth  of 
the  employes  in  manufacture  and  commerce  in  this  country  has 
opened  a  vast  field  of  industrial  legislation  directly  affecting  women 
as  wage-earners.  The  courts  in  some  of  the  States,  notably  in  Illi- 
nois, are  taking  the  position  that  women  can  not  be  treated  as  a 
class  apart  and  legislated  for  by  themselves,  as  has  been  done  in 
the  factory  laws  of  England  and  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  but 
must  abide  by  that  universal  freedom  of  contract  which  character- 
izes labor  in  the  United  States.  This  renders  the  situation  of  the 
working  woman  absolutely  anomalous.  On  the  one  hand,  she  is 
cut  off  from  the  protection  awarded  to  her  sisters  abroad ;  on  the 
other,  she  has  no  such  power  to  defend  her  interests  at  the  polls, 
as  is  the  heritage  of  her  brothers  at  home.  This  position  is  un- 
tenable, and  there  can  be  no  pause  in  the  agitation  for  full  political 
power  and  responsibility  until  these  are  granted  to  all  the  women  of 
the  nation. 

Mrs.  Mariana  W.  Chapman  ( N.  Y. )  spoke  from  the  standpoint 
of  Women  as  Capitalists  and  Taxpayers. 

The  first  impulse  toward  the  organization  of  women  to  protect 
their  own  rights  came  from  the  injustice  of  laws  toward  married 
women,  and  in  1848  it  manifested  itself  in  the  first  Woman's  Rights 
Convention  in  Seneca  Falls.  Slowly  the  leaven  spread.  There  was 
agitation  in  one  State  after  the  other  about  the  property  rights  of 

women Now  in  many  States  married  as  well  as  single 

women  are  proprietors  of  business  enterprises  upon  the  same  basis 
as  men,  and  are  interested  as  capitalists  and  tax-payers  in  every  law 
which  affects  the  country  industrially  or  financially. 

In  1894  a  careful  copy  was  made  of  the  women  taxpayers  of 
Brooklyn.  Names  with  initials  were  not  placed  on  the  list,  so  that 
the  total  was  probably  under  rather  than  over  estimated.  This 
showed  22.03,  or  nearly  one-fourth  of  all  the  assessable  realty  in 
the  names  of  women,  amounting  to  $110,000,000,  besides  many 
large  estates  in  which  they  were  interested.  In  1896  the  assessed 
value  of  real  estate  in  the  State  of  New  York  was  $4,506,985,694, 
which,  if  estimated  in  the  same  ratio,  would  give  taxable  property 
owned  by  women  to  the  extent  of  $1,124,221,423. 

They  are  agriculturally  interested,  inasmuch  as  they  are  fre- 
quently owners  of  large  tracts  of  land  in  the  West  as  well  as  of 
smaller  farms  in  our  Eastern  States.  What  shall  we  say  to  a  Gov- 
ernment that  gives  land  in  severalty  to  the  Indian,  supplies  him  with 
tools  and  rations,  puts  a  ballot  in  his  hand,  and  then  says  to  the 
American  woman  who  purchases  the  same  right  to  land,  "You 
shall  not  have  the  political  privileges  of  American  citizenship?" 
Under  the  laws  of  our  country  every  stock  company  is  obliged  to 


314  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

give  men  and  women  shareholders  a  vote  upon  the  same  basis,  and 
one  fails  to  see  why  a  government,  which  professedly  exists  to  main- 
tain the  rights  of  the  people,  should  practice  in  its  own  dealing  such 

flaunting  injustice 

Women  help  to  support  every  public  institution  in  the  State  and 
should  have  representation  upon  every  board,  and  in  the  laws  which 
control  them.  They  help  to  pay  the  army  pensions  and  should  be 
allowed  to  help  in  deciding  how  much  shall  be  paid.  They  help 
to  pay  for  standing  armies  and  for  navies  and  they  have  the  larger 
part  in  the  nurture  and  training  of  every  man  who  is  in  army  or 
navy,  and  this  is  not  the  smaller  part  of  the  tax,  since  it  is  at  times 
the  matter  of  a  life  for  a  life.  Women  pay  their  part  of  the  taxes 
to  support  our  public  schools  and  have  intense  interests  in  their  well- 
doing. Twenty-six  States  have  recognized  this  fact  and  have 
given  to  women  some  kind  of  School  Suffrage,  one  has  granted 
Municipal  Suffrage  and  four  Full  Political  Equality ;  but  this  is  only 
a  fraction  of  the  justice  which  belongs  to  a  government  founded  by 
statesmen  whose  watchword  was,  "No  taxation  without  representa- 
tion." 

Miss  Elizabeth  Burrill  Curtis  (N.  Y.)  -answered  the  question, 
Are  Women  Represented  in  our  Government  ? 

"Taxation  without  representation  is  tyranny"  was  one  of  the 
slogans  of  liberty  in  this  country  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  ago. 
Have  we  outlived  this  principle?  If  not,  why  is  it  supposed  to  have 
no  application  to  women? 

That  a  century  ago  the  latter  were  not  thought  of  as  having  any 
rights  under  this  motto  is  not  surprising.  So  few  women  then  held 
property  in  their  own  name  that  the  injustice  done  them  was  not 
so  apparent.  But  the  situation  is  changed  now,  and  the  right  of 
women  to  be  considered  as  individuals  is  everywhere  acknowledged 
save  in  this  one  particular.  Even  those  who  feel  that  the  granting 
of  universal  male  suffrage  was  a  mistake,  and  that  the  right  to  self- 
government  should  be  proved  by  some  test,  educational  or  other- 
wise— even  those  do  not  assert  that  it  would  be  anything  but  gross 
injustice  to  tax  men  without  allowing  them  a  voice  in  the  disposal 
of  their  money 

But  there  is  still  another  side  to  the  question.  It  is  not  only  that 
the  disfranchised  women  are  unfairly  treated,  but  the  public  good 
inevitably  suffers  from  the  political  nonexistence  of  half  the  citizens 
of  the  republic.  Either  women  are  interested  in  politics  or  they  are 
not.  If  the  former,  the  country  is  distinctly  injured,  for  nothing  is 
more  fatal  to  good  government  than  the  intermeddling  of  a  large 
body  of  people  who  have  never  studied  the  questions  at  issue  and 
whose  only  interest  is  a  personal  one.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  women 
are  not  interested  in  politics,  what  is  the  condition  of  that  country, 
half  of  whose  citizens  do  not  care  whether  it  be  well  or  ill  governed  ? 
That  women  influence  men  is  never  denied,  even  by  the  most  strenu- 
ous opponents  of  woman  suffrage.  It  is,  on  the  contrary,  most 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1898.  315 

violently  asserted  by  those  very  people ;  but  of  what  value  is  that  in- 
terest if  woman  is  utterly  ignorant  of  one  of  the  most  important 
duties  of  a  man's  life?  .... 

On  one  hand  the  public  good  demands  that  no  class  of  citizens  be 
arbitrarily  prevented  from  serving  the  commonweal ;  and  on  the 
other  hand  thinking  and  patriotic  women  are  crying  against  the  in- 
justice which  forbids  them  to  prove  their  fitness  for  self-govern- 
ment. What  shall  be  the  result  of  this  double  demand  ? 

Woman  Suffrage  and  the  Home  was  the  topic  of  Henry  B. 
Blackwell  (Mass.). 

One  of  the  objections  to  extending  suffrage  to  women  is  a  fear 
that  its  exercise  will  divert  their  attention  from  domestic  pursuits, 
and  diminish  their  devotion  to  husband,  children  and  home.  We 
believe,  on  the  contrary,  that  it  will  increase  domestic  happiness  by 
giving  women  greater  self-respect  and  greater  respect  and  consid- 
eration from  men. 

People  who  make  this  objection  seem  to  regard  the  conjugal  and 
maternal  instincts  as  artificial,  as  the  result  of  education  and  cir- 
cumstances, losing  sight  of  the  fact  that  these  qualities  are  innate 
in  the  feminine  soul.  Mental  cultivation  and  larger  views  of  life 
do  not  tend  to  make  women  less  womanly  any  more  than  they  tend 
to  make  men  less  manly.  No  one  imagines  that  business  or  politics 
diminishes  or  destroys  the  conjugal  and  paternal  instinct  in  men. 
We  do  not  look  for  dull  or  idle  or  indolent  men  as  husbands  for 
our  daughters.  Ignorant,  narrow-minded  men  do  not  make  the 
best  husbands  and  fathers.  Ignorant,  narrow-minded  women  do 
not  make  the  best  wives  and  mothers.  Mental  discipline  and  in- 
telligent responsibility  add  strength  to  the  conjugal  and  parental 
sentiment  alike  in  men  and  women 

But  fortunately  this  is  no  longer  a  question  of  theory.  We  ap- 
peal to  the  experience  of  the  four  States  which  have  extended  equal 
suffrage  to  women.  Wyoming  has  had  complete  woman  suffrage 
since  1869.  For  twenty-nine  years,  as  a  Territory  and  a  State, 
women  have  voted  there  in  larger  ratio  than  men.  Supreme  Judge 
J.  W.  Kingman  many  years  ago  testified  that  the  actual  proportion 
of  men  voting  had  increased  to  80  per  cent.,  but  that  90  per  cent,  of 
the  women  went  to  the  polls.  And  now,  after  a  generation  of  con- 
tinuous voting,  the  percentage  of  divorces  in  Wyoming  is  smaller 
than  in  the  surrounding  States  where  women  do  not  vote,  and  while 
the  percentage  in  the  latter  is  rapidly  increasing,  in  Wyoming  it  is 
steadily  diminishing.  \Vhere  women  have  once  voted  the  right 
has  never  been  taken  away  by  the  people.  In  Utah  women  voted 
for  seventeen  years  while  it  was  a  Territory,  until  Congress  abol- 
ished it  for  political  reasons.  But  when  Utah  was  about  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  statehood  the  men  in  framing  their  constitution  restored 
the  suffrage  to  women.  Would  they  have  done  so  if  it  had  proved 
injurious  to  their  homes?  Impossible!  You  have  eight  Senators 
and  seven  Representatives  in  Congress  from  the  four  States  where 


316  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 

women  have  the  full  franchise.     Ask  them  if  it  has  demoralized 
their  homes  or  the  homes  of  their  fellow-citizens,  and  your  fears, 

if  you  have  any,  will  be  forever  set  at  rest 

Believe  me,  gentlemen,  it  is  not  patriotism,  it  is  not  a  passion 
for  justice,  it  is  not  loyalty  to  sister  women,  it  is  not  a  desire  to 
better  her  country,  which  will  make  a  woman  neglect  her  husband. 
Society  women,  superficial,  selfish,  silly  women,  the  butterflies  of 
the  ballroom,  the  seekers  for  every  new  sensation,  the  worldly- 
minded  aspirants  for  social  position,  these  are  the  women  who 
neglect  their  homes ;  and  not  the  brave,  earnest,  serious-minded, 
generous,  unselfish  women  who  ask  for  the  ballot  in  order  by  its 
use  to  make  the  world  better.  In  the  twentieth  century,  already 
dawning,  we  shall  have  a  republican  family  in  a  republican  nation, 
a  true  democracy,  a  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and 
for  the  people,  men  and  women  co-operating  harmoniously  on  terms 
of  absolute  equality  in  the  home  and  in  the  State. 

The  Senate  Hearing  closed  with  the  paper  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Cady  Stanton  on  the  Significance  and  History  of  the  Ballot,  which 
was  in  part  as  follows : 

The  recent  bills  on  Immigration,  by  Senators  Lodge  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  Kyle  of  South  Dakota,  indirectly  affect  the  interests  of 
woman.  Their  proposition  to  demand  a  reading  and  writing  quali- 
fication on  landing  strikes  me  as  arbitrary  and  equally  detrimental 
to  our  mutual  interests.  The  danger  is  not  in  their  landing  and 
living  in  this  country,  but  in  their  speedy  appearance  at  the  ballot- 
box  and  there  becoming  an  impoverished  and  ignorant  balance  of 
power  in  the  hands  of  wily  politicians.  While  we  should  not  allow 
our  country  to  be  a  dumping  ground  for  the  refuse  population  of 
the  Old  World,  still  we  should  welcome  all  hardy,  common-sense 
laborers  here,  as  we  have  plenty  of  room  and  work  for  them.  Here 
they  can  improve  their  own  condition  and  our  surroundings,  de- 
veloping our  immense '  resources  and  the  commerce  of  the  country. 
The  one  demand  I  would  make  in  regard  to  this  class  is  that  they 
should  not  become  a  part  of  our  ruling  power  until  they  can  read 
and  write  the  English  language  intellieently  and  understand  the 
principles  of  republican  government.  This  is  the  only  restrictive 
legislation  we  need  to  protect  ourselves  against  foreign  domination. 
To  this  end  the  Congress  should  enact  a  law  for  "educated  suffrage" 
for  our  native-born  as  well  as  foreign  rulers. 

With  free  schools  and  compulsory  education,  no  one  has  an  ex- 
cuse for  not  understanding  the  language  of  the  country.  As  women 
are  governed  by  a  "male  aristocracy,"  they  are  doubly  interested 
in  having  their  rulers  able  at  least  to  read  and  write.  See  with 
what  care  in  the  Old  World  the  prospective  heirs  to  the  throne  are 
educated.  There  was  a  time  when  the  members  of  the  British  Par- 
liament could  neither  read  nor  write,  but  these  accomplishments 
are  now  required  of  the  Lords  and  Commons,  and  even  of  the  King 
and  Queen,  while  we  have  rulers,  native  and  foreign,  who  do  not 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1898.  317 

understand  the  letters  of  the  alphabet ;  and  this  in  a  republic  sup- 
posed to  be  based  on  intelligence  of  the  people ! 

Much  as  we  need  this  measure  for  the  stability  of  our  Govern- 
ment, we  need  it  still  more  for  the  best  interests  of  women.  This 
ignorant  vote  is  solid  against  woman's  emancipation.  In  States 
where  amendments  to  their  constitutions  are  proposed  for  the  en- 
franchisement of  women,  this  vote  has  been  in  every  case  against 
them.  We  should  ask  for  national  protection  against  this  hostile 
force  playing  football  with  the  most  sacred  rights  of  one-half  of  the 

people In  all  national  conflicts  it  is  ever  deemed  the 

most  grievous  accident  of  war  for  the  conquered  people  to  find  them- 
selves under  a  foreign  yoke,  yet  this  is  the  position  of  the  women  of 
this  republic  to-day.  Foreigners  are  our  judges  and  jurors,  our  legis- 
lators and  municipal  officials,  and  decide  all  questions  of  interest  to 
us,  even  to  the  discipline  in  our  schools,  charitable  institutions  and 
prisons.  Woman  has  no  voice  as  to  the  education  of  her  children  or 
the  environments  of  the  unhappy  wards  of  the  State.  The  love  and 
sympathy  of  the  mother-soul  have  but  an  evanescent  influence  in 
all  departments  of  human  interest  until  coined  into  law  by  the  hand 
that  holds  the  ballot.  Then  only  do  they  become  a  direct  and 
effective  power  in  the  Government 

The  popular  objection  to  woman  suffrage  is  that  it  would  "double 
the  ignorant  vote."  The  patent  answer  to  this  is,  "Abolish  the 
ignorant  vote."  Our  legislators  have  this  power  in  their  own  hands. 
There  have  been  serious  restrictions  in  the  past  for  men.  We  are 
willing  to  abide  by  the  same  for  women,  provided  the  insurmount- 
able qualification  of  sex  be  forever  removed.  Some  of  the  op- 
ponents talk  as  if  educated  suffrage  would  be  invidious  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  laboring  masses,  whereas  it  would  be  most 

beneficial  in  its  ultimate  influence Surely  when  we 

compel  all  classes  to  learn  to  read  and  write  and  thus  open  to  them- 
selves the  door  to  knowledge,  not  by  force,  but  by  the  promise  of 
a  privilege  which  all  intelligent  citizens  enjoy,  we  are  benefactors 
and  not  tyrants.  To  stimulate  them  to  climb  the  first  rounds  of  the 
ladder  that  they  may  reach  the  divine  heights  where  they  shall  be  as 
gods,  knowing  good  and  evil,  by  withholding  the  citizen's  right  to 
vote  for  a  few  years  is  a  blessing  to  them  as  well  as  to  the  State. 

We  must  inspire  our  people  with  a  new  sense  of  their  sacred 
duties  as  citizens  of  a  republic,  and  place  new  guards  around  our 
ballot-box.  Walking  in  Paris  one  day  I  was  greatly  impressed  with 
an  emblematic  statue  in  the  square  Chateau  d'Eau,  placed  there  in 
1883  in  honor  of  the  republic.  On  one  side  is  a  magnificent  bronze 
lion  with  his  fore  paw  on  the  electoral  urn,  which  answers  to  our 

ballot-box,  as  if  to  guard  it  from  all  unholy  uses As  I 

turned  away  I  thought  of  the  American  republic  and  our  ballot-box 
with  no  guardian  or  sacred  reverence  for  its  contents.  Ignorance, 
poverty  and  vice  have  full  access ;  thousands  from  every  incoming 
steamer  go  practically  from  the  steerage  to  the  polls,  while  educated 
women,  representing  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of  the  nation,  are 
driven  away.  I  would  like  to  see  a  monument  to  "educated  suf- 


3l8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

frage"  in  front  of  our  national  Capitol,  guarded  by  the  goddess 
Minerva,  her  right  hand  resting  on  the  ballot-box,  her  left  hand  on 
the  spelling  book,  the  Declaration  of  Rights  and  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution. It  would  be  well  for  us  to  ponder  the  Frenchman's  idea, 
but  instead  of  the  royal  lion,  representing  force  to  guard  the  sacred 
urn,  let  us  substitute  wisdom  and  virtue  in  the  form  of  Woman. 

The  Washington  Star  said  of  the  hearing  before  the  House 
Judiciary  Committee : 

The  members  paid  a  tribute  to  the  devotion  of  the  woman  suffrag- 
ists, and  at  the  same  time  showed  appreciation  of  it  by  nearly  all 
being  in  attendance  at  the  hearing  this  morning.  It  is  seldom  that 
more  than  a  quorum  of  any  committee  can  be  induced  to  attend  a 
hearing  of  any  sort.  To-day  fifteen  out  of  seventeen  members  were 
present  and  manifested  a  deep  interest  in  the  remarks  submitted  by 
the  women.  The  character  of  the  assemblage  was  one  to  inspire 
respect,  and  the  force  and  intelligence  of  what  was  said  warranted 
the  attention  and  interest  shown.  The  people  who  not  many  years 
ago  thought  that  every  woman  suffragist  was  a  masculine  creature 
who  "wanted  to  wear  the  pants"  would  have  been  greatly  embar- 
rassed in  their  theories  had  they  been  present  at  the  hearing  to-day. 
There  was  not  a  mannish-appearing  woman  among  the  number.  It 
was  such  an  assemblage  as  may  be  seen  at  a  popular  church  on  Sun- 
day, or  at  a  fashionable  afternoon  reception.  In  fact  there  was  not 
anywhere  such  an  affectation  of  masculinity  as  is  common  among 
the  society  women  of  the  period.  Each  year  there  have  appeared 
more  young  women  at  these  hearings,  and  the  average  of  youth 
seemed  greater  to-day  than  ever  before.  Fashionably  attired  and 
in  good  taste,  representative  of  the  highest  grade  of  American  wom- 
anhood, the  fifty  or  sixty  women  present  inspired  respect  for  their 
opinions  without  destroying  the  sentiment  of  gallantry  which  men 
generally  feel  that  they  must  extend  towards  women. 

The  speakers  before  this  committee*  presented  The  Practical 
Working  of  Woman  Suffrage.  Miss  Anthony  introduced  them. 
Limited  Suffrage  in  the  United  States  was  discussed  by  Prof. 
Ellen  H.  E.  Price  of  Swarthmore  College,  Penn.,  whose  address 
was  rendered  especially  valuable  by  a  carefully  compiled  table 
of  statistics  showing  the  amount  of  suffrage  possessed  by  women 
in  every  State  and  Territory.  Municipal  Suffrage  in  Kansas  was 
described  by  J.  W.  Gleed ;  Woman  Suffrage  in  Wyoming  by  ex- 
U.  S.  Senator  Joseph  M.  Carey ;  Woman  Suffrage  in  Colorado  by 

•  David  B.  Henderson,  la. ;  George  W.  Ray,  N.  Y. ;  Case  Broderick,  Kan. ;  Thomas 
Updegraff,  la.;  James  A-  Connolly,  111.;  Samuel  W.  McCall,  Mass.;  John  J.  Jenkins,  Wis. ; 
Richard  Wayne  Parker,  N.  J.;  Jesse  R.  Overstreet,  Ind.;  DeAlva  S.  Alexander,  N.  Y.; 
Warren  Miller,  W.  Va.;  William  L.  Terry,  Ark.;  David  A.  DeArmond,  Mo.;  Samuel  W. 
T.  Lanham,  Tex.;  William  Elliott,  S.  C;  Oscar  W.  Underwood,  Ala.;  David  H.  Smith,  Ky. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1898.  319 

the  Hon.  Martha  A.  B.  Conine,  member  of  its  State  Legislature ; 
Woman  Suffrage  in  Idaho  by  \Vm.  Balderston,  editor  of  the 
Boise  Statesman;  Woman  Suffrage  in  Foreign  Countries  by  Miss 
Helen  Blackburn,  editor  The  Englishwomen's  Review.*  Woman 
Suffrage  in  Utah  was  depicted  by  State  Senator  Martha  Hughes 
Cannon : 

.  .  .  .  The  history  of  the  struggle  in  Utah  for  equal  rights 
is  full  of  interest  and  could  be  recounted  with  advantage.  But, 
after  all,  the  results  which  have  been  attained  speak  with  such  un- 
erring logic,  and  vindicate  so  thoroughly  the  argument  that  woman 
should  take  part  in  the  affairs  of  government  which  so  vitally 
affect  her,  that  I  point  to  the  actual  conditions  now  existing  as  a 
complete  vindication  of  the  efforts  of  equal  suffragists,  and  as  the 
most  cogent  of  all  reasons  why  woman  should  have  the  right  to  aid 
in  nominating  and  electing  our  public  officers. 

I  can  say,  in  all  sincerity,  that  there  is  a  strong  and  cumulative 
evidence  that  even  those  who  opposed  equal  suffrage  with  the  great- 
est ability  and  vehemence  would  not  now  vote  for  the  repeal  of  the 
measure.  The  practical  working  of  the  law  demonstrates  its  wis- 
dom and  verifies  the  claims  which  were  advanced  by  its  ardent  ad- 
vocates. It  has  proved  to  the  world  that  woman  is  not  only  a 
helpmeet  by  the  fireside,  but  when  allowed  to  do  so  she  can  become 
a  most  powerful  factor  in  the  affairs  of  the  Government. 

None  of  the  unpleasant  results  which  were  predicted  have  oc- 
curred. The  contentions  in  families,  the  tarnishment  of  woman's 
charm,  the  destruction  of  ideals,  have  all  been  proved  to  be  but  the 
ghosts  of  unfounded  prejudices.  "The  divinity  which  doth  hedge 
woman  about  like  subtle  perfume''  has  not  been  displaced.  Women 
have  quietly  assumed  the  added  power  which  always  was  theirs  by 
right,  and  with  the  grace  and  ready  adaptation  to  circumstances 
peculiar  to  the  women  of  America,  they  have  so  conducted  them- 
selves that  they  have  gained  admiration  and  respect  while  losing 
none  of  their  old-time  prestige. 

Before  suffrage  was  granted  to  women  they  had  ideas  upon  pub- 
lic questions.  Suffrage  has  given  them  opportunity  for  practical  ex- 
pression of  these  views.  They  pay  more  attention  to  political  af- 
fairs. They  studied  political  economy  more  earnestly.  They  fa- 
miliarize themselves  with  public  questions,  and  their  mistakes,  if 
they  have  made  any,  have  not  thus  far  been  brought  to  light. 

Women  have  acted  as  delegates  to  county  and  State  conventions, 
and  represented  Utah  in  the  national  convention  of  one  of  the  great 
political  parties,  held  in  Chicago  in  1896.  They  have  acted  upon 
political  committees  and  have  taken  part  in  political  management, 
and,  instead  of  being  dragged  down,  as  was  most  feared,  their  en- 
franchisement has  tended  to  elevate  them.  Under  our  system  of 

*  The  main  facts  brought  out  in  all  these  addresses  are  fully  included  in  the  various 
State  chapters  in  this  volume. 


32O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

the  Australian  ballot,  they  have  found  that  the  contaminating  in- 
fluence of  which  they  had  been  told  was  but  a  bugbear,  born  of 
fright,  produced  by  shadows.  They  learned  that  to  deposit  their 
vote  did  not  subject  them  to  anything  like  the  annoyance  which 
they  often  experienced  from  crowds  on  ''bargain  days,"  while  their 
presence  drove  from  the  polls  the  ward  workers  who  had  been  so 
obnoxious  in  the  past. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  the  Governor  and  the  approval  of  the 
Senate  they  have  been  given  places  upon  various  State  boards,  and 
in  the  last  Legislature,  in  both  the  Senate  and  the  House,  they  rep- 
resented the  two  most  populous  and  wealthy  counties  of  Utah.  The 
bills  introduced  by  women  received  due  consideration,  and  a  ma- 
jority were  enacted  into  laws.  Whatever  they  have  been  required 
to  do  they  have  done  to  the  full  satisfaction  of  their  constituents,  and 
they  have  proved  most  careful  and  painstaking  public  officers. 

No  one  in  Utah  will  dispute  the  statements  I  have  made.  To  the 
people  of  that  young  commonwealth,  destined  by  its  manifold  re- 
sources and  the  intelligence  of  its  men  and  women  to  become  the 
Empire  State  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  I  refer  you,  in  the  fullest 
confidence  that,  with  scarcely  a  dissenting  voice,  they  will  say  that 
woman  suffrage  is  no  longer  an  experiment,  but  is  a  practical  reality, 
tending  to  the  well-being  of  the  State. 

Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell,  national  recording  secretary,  took 
for  a  subject  The  Indifference  of  Women : 

It  is  often  said  that  the  chief  obstacle  to  equal  suffrage  is  the  in- 
difference and  opposition  of  women,  and  that  whenever  the  ma- 
jority ask  for  the  ballot  they  will  get  it.  But  it  is  a  simple  historical 
fact  that  every  improvement  thus  far  made  in  their  condition  has 
been  secured,  not  by  a  general  demand  from  the  majority,  but  by 
the  arguments,  entreaties  and  "continual  coming"  of  a  persistent 
few.  In  each  case  the  advocates  of  progress  have  had  to  contend 
not  merely  with  the  conservatism  of  men,  but  with  the  indifference 
of  women,  and  often  with  active  opposition  from  some  of  them. 

When  a  man  in  Saco,  Me.,  first  employed  a  saleswoman  the  men 
boycotted  his  store,  and  the  women  remonstrated  with  him  on  the 
sin  of  which  he  was  guilty  in  placing  a  young  woman  in  a  position 
of  such  publicity.  When  Lucy  Stone  tried  to  secure  for  married 
women  the  right  to  their  own  property,  they  asked  with  scorn, 
"Do  you  think  I  would  give  myself  where  I  would  not  give  my  prop- 
erty?" When  Elizabeth  Blackwell  began  to  study  medicine,  the 
women  at  her  boarding  house  refused  to  speak  to  her,  and  those 
passing  her  on  the  streets  would  hold  their  skirts  aside  so  as  not  to 
touch  her.  It  is  a  matter  of  history  with  what  ridicule  and  opposi- 
tion Mary  Lyon's  first  efforts  for  the  education  of  women  were  re- 
ceived, not  only  by  the  mass  of  men,  but  by  the  mass  of  women  as 
well.  In  England  when  the  Oxford  examinations  were  thrown 
open  to  women,  the  Dean  of  Chichester  preached  a  sermon  against 
it,  in  which  he  said :  "By  the  sex  at  large,  certainly,  the  new  cur- 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1 898.  32! 

riculum  is  not  asked  for.  I  have  ascertained,  by  extended  inquiry 
among  gentlewomen,  that,  with  true  feminine  instinct,  they  either 
entirely  distrust  or  else  look  with  downright  disfavor  on  so  wild  an 
innovation  and  interference  with  the  best  traditions  of  their  sex." 
Pundita  Ramabai  tells  us  that  the  idea  of  education  for  girls  is  so 
unpopular  with  the  majority  of  Hindoo  women  that  when  a  pro- 
gressive Hindoo  proposes  to  educate  his  little  daughter  it  is  not  un- 
common for  the  women  of  his  family  to  threaten  to  drown  them- 
selves. 

All  this  merely  shows  that  human  nature  is  conservative,  and  that 
it  is  fully  as  conservative  in  women  as  in  men.  The  persons  who 
take  a  strong1  interest  in  any  reform  are  always  comparatively  few, 
whether  among  men  or  women,  and  they  are  habitually  regarded 
with  disfavor,  even  by  those  whom  the  proposed  reform  is  to  benefit. 
Thomas  Hughes  says,  in  School  Days  at  Rugby :  "So  it  is,  and 
must  be  always,  my  dear  boys.  If  the  Angel  Gabriel  weret  to  come 
down  from  heaven  and  head  a  successful  rise  against  the  most 
abominable  and  unrighteous  vested  interest  which  this  poor  old 
world  groans  under,  he  would  most  certainly  lose  his  character  for 
many  years,  probably  for  centuries,  not  only  with  the  upholders  of 
the  said  vested  interest,  but  with  the  respectable  mass  of  the  people 
whom  he  had  delivered." 

Many  changes  for  the  better  have  been  made  during  the  last  half 
century  in  the  laws,  written  and  unwritten,  relating  to  women. 
Everybody  approves  of  these  changes  now,  because  they  have  be- 
come accomplished  facts.  But  not  one  of  them  would  have  been 
made  to  this  day  if  it  had  been  necessary  to  wait  until  the  majority 
of  women  asked  for  it.  The  change  now  under  discussion  is  to  be 
judged  on  its  merits.  In  the  light  of  history  the  indifference  of 
most  women  and  the  opposition  of  a  few  must  be  taken  as  a  matter 
of  course.  It  has  no  more  rational  significance  than  it  has  had  in 
regard  to  each  previous  step  of  woman's  progress. 

Miss  Anthony  closed  with  an  impassioned  argument  which 
profoundly  moved  both  the  committee  and  the  audience.  The 
chairman  said  that  in  all  the  years  there  had  never  been  so  digni- 
fied, logical  and  perfectly  managed  a  hearing  before  the  Judiciary, 
and  several  of  its  members  corroborated  this  statement  and  as- 
sured the  ladies  present  of  a  full  belief  in  the  justice  of  their  cause. 
Yet  neither  the  Senate  nor  the  House  Committee  made  any  report 
or  paid  the  slightest  heed  to  these  earnest  and  eloquent  appeals. 


VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 21 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1899. 

A  departure  was  made  by  the  suffrage  association  in  1899 
in  having  its  convention  in  the  late  spring  instead  of  the  winter, 
the  Thirty-first  annual  meeting  being  held  in  Grand  Rapids, 
Mich.,  April  27-May  3.  It  was  thought  by  many  that  this  was 
an  unfavorable  season,  as  the  audiences  were  not  so  large  as 
usual,  but  in  all  other  respects  it  was  one  of  the  most  delightful 
of  these  many  gatherings.  The  meetings  \vere  held  in  the  hand- 
some St.  Cecilia  Club  House,  whose  auditorium  seats  1,200, 
and  the  official  report,  usually  confined  to  bare  details,  contains 
the  following  account: 

The  music  arranged  by  Mrs.  Rathbone  Carpenter  and  her  efficient 
committee  was  throughout  of  the  finest  character  and  fully  justified 
the  reputation  of  Grand  Rapids  as  a  musical  community.  Mrs.  W. 
D.  Giddings,  chairman  of  decorations,  worked  daily  with  different 
members  of  her  committee  in  arranging  the  cut  flowers  and  decora- 
tive plants  generously  furnished  by  different  florists,  so  that  the 
platform  was  beautiful  and  fragrant  from  beginning  to  end  of  the 
meetings.  At  the  evening  sessions  the  audience  was  seated  by  the 
help  of  young  lady  ushers  under  the  management  of  Mrs.  Marie 
Wilson  Beasley. 

The  Bureau  of  Information,  under  the  charge  of  Mrs.  H.  Mar- 
garet Downs ;  the  Courtesies,  chairman,  Mrs.  Delos  A.  Blodgett,  and 
the  opening  reception  on  the  first  evening  of  the  convention,  chair- 
man, Mrs.  William  Alden  Smith,  were  ably  managed.  But,  with 
the  exception  of  the  work  devolving  upon  Mrs.  Ketcham,  the  most 
constant  and  trying  labor  fell  to  the  chairman  of  entertainment, 
Mrs.  Allen  C.  Adsit,  who  cared  for  the  housing  of  all  the  delegates 
and  also  of  the  Michigan  friends  in  attendance. 

Of  the  efforts  of  Mrs.  Emily  B.  Ketcham  the  entire  convention 
bore  witness ;  it  went  to  Grand  Rapids  upon  her  invitation,  and  upon 
her  work  for  many  months  before  its  opening  depended  its  success, 
which  was  unquestioned.  At  one  of  the  evening  sessions  she  was 
surprised  by  the  presentation  of  a  handsome  souvenir  of  the  occa- 
sion containing  the  signatures  of  the  officers  of  the  association, 
the  speakers  and  many  of  the  local  workers.  At  the  close  of  the 
first  evening  the  National  officers,  assisted  by  Mrs.  Ketcham,  Mrs. 
William  Alden  Smith,  Mrs.  Julius  Burrows  and  several  of  the 

322 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1899.  323 

speakers,  received  in  the  beautiful  parlor  of  the  St.  Cecilia,  thus 
giving  delegates  and  visitors  an  opportunity  to  meet  the  people  of 
the  city  and  to  exchange  social  greetings  with  each  other. 

The  Ladies'  Literary  Club,  which  also  owns  its  home,  kept  open 
house  several  afternoons  from  four  to  six,  the  officers  receiving 
the  guests  and  serving  light  refreshments.  This  club  also  tendered 
the  freedom  of  its  house  for  any  and  all  hours  of  the  day  to  the 
delegates.  Saturday  afternoon  the  Federation  of  the  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Unions  of  Grand  Rapids  received  the  conven- 
tion at  the  Young  Woman's  Building,  where  a  substantial  supper 
was  served.  The  Bissell  carpet-sweeper  factory,  president,  Mrs. 
M.  R.  Bissell,  presented  to  the  delegates  one  hundred  and  fifty 
specially  made  small  carpet-sweepers,  each  marked  in  gilt,  National 
American  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 

But  to  the  Board  of  Trade  belongs  the  honor  of  having  out- 
rivaled all  the  other  kind  hosts  in  the  extent  of  their  hospitality. 
They  presented  to  the  convention  its  programs,  beautifully  print- 
ed or?  extra  fine  paper  and  bearing  a  picture  of  the  St.  Cecilia  Club 
House.  The  Board  also  sent  carriages  to  take  the  entire  working 
convention  for  a  drive  through  the  city,  a  visit  to  one  of  the  largest 
furniture  warehouses  and  to  the  carpet-sweeper  factory,  where  Mrs. 
Bissell  received  the  delegates  and  all  were  shown  through  the  works. 
A  handsome  souvenir  containing  many  views  of  the  city  was  given 
by  the  Board  to  every  delegate. 

The  ladies  of  the  St.  Cecilia  were  kindness  itself,  and  it  was  de- 
lightful to  hold  the  meetings  in  so  friendly  an  atmosphere,  as  well 
as  in  so  well  appointed  a  building.  The  president,  Mrs.  Kelsey, 
presented  to  the  badge  committee  St.  Cecilia  pins  having  a  repro- 
duction of  Carlo  Dolci's  head  of  the  musical  saint  aftef  whom  this 
club  is  named,  the  only  musical  society  of  women  in  the  United 
States  which  owns  a  club-house. 

Cordial  addresses  of  welcome  were  made  by  Emily  B.  Ketcham, 
president  of  Susan  B.  Anthony  Club ;  Mary  Atwater  Kelsey,  presi- 
dent of  St.  Cecilia ;  Josephine  Ahnafeldt  Goss,  president  of  Ladies' 
Literary  Club;  May  Stocking  Knaggs,  president  of  State  Equal 
Suffrage  Association ;  Martha  A.  Keating,  president  of  State  Fed- 
eration of  Women's  Clubs;  Mrs.  A.  S.  Benjamin,  president  of  State 
Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union ;  Mary  A.  McConnelly,  de- 
partment president  of  State  Woman's  Relief  Corps ;  Lucy  A.  Leg- 
gett,  president  of  State  Woman's  Press  Association,  and  Frances  E. 
Burns,  Great  Commander  Ladies  of  the  Maccabees. 

Mrs.  Ketcham  expressed  their  pleasure  in  having  Grand  Rap- 
ids selected  in  preference  to  several  larger  cities  which  had  ex- 
tended invitations;  referred  to  the  long  distances  many  of  the 
delegates  had  come  and  assured  the  convention  of  a  royal  wel- 
come, not  only  from  the  city  but  from  the  State.  Brief  extracts 
must  give  an  idea  of  the  scope  and  cordiality  of  these  addresses : 


324  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

MRS.  Goss:  This  has  been  called  the  woman's  century.  The 
past  centuries  might  have  been  called  man's,  because  of  the  great 
progress  he  has  made  in  them ;  and  it  is  now  conceded  that  God 
made  women  to  match  the  men.  The  next  will  be  the  children's 
century,  when  they  will  make  real  their  parents'  ideals.  After 
humanity  has  been  sufficiently  educated,  people  will  understand  that 
no  class  has  a  right  to  special  privileges,  or  can  appropriate  them 
without  injury  to  the  body  politic.  Then  a  woman  will  not  demand 
any  special  privilege  because  she  is  a  woman,  nor  be  denied  it  be- 
cause she  is  not  a  man.  As  a  result  of  this  movement,  old  lessons 
have  been  better  learned  and  old  burdens  more  easily  carried.  We 
advocate  equal  suffrage  not  alone  because  it  is  just  to  the  mothers, 
but  because  it  will  be  good  for  the  children,  good  for  man,  good  for 
all  humanity.  We  are  glad  to*  be  a  part  of  this  movement  for  a 
higher  civilization.  Grand  Rapids  is  noted  for  its  furniture  fac- 
tories, and  after  equal  suffrage  is  granted  it  will  supply  plenty  of 
material  for  the  President's  cabinet. 

MRS.  KNAGGS:  I  welcome  you  in  behalf  of  the  Michigan  E.  S. 
A.,  representing  the  women  of  this  State  who  are  especially  inter- 
ested in  woman's  enfranchisement.  We  have  looked  forward  to  the 
day  when  you  would  bring  us  the  inspiration  of  one  of  these  great 
meetings ;  we  needed  it.  We  are  told  that  women  are  indifferent. 
Many  are  so;  and  nothing  can  better  arouse  us  than  to  meet  those 
engaged  in  this  work  from  so  many  different  places. 

An  alderman  this  spring  boasted  that  he  had  been  elected  by  the 
votes  of  eight  nationalities.  He  enumerated  seven  of  them  but  for 
some  time  was  unable  to  think  of  the  eighth.  At  last  he  remem- 
bered ;  it  was  the  American.  The  ballot  in  the  hands  of  our  pres- 
ent voters  might  be  improved  by  the  intelligence  that  the  great  body 
of  Michigan  women  would  bring  to  it.  We  are  beginning  to  appre- 
ciate the  solidarity  of  women.  When  one  State  wins  suffrage1,  all 
the  others  are  gainers  by  it.  The  good  of  this  meeting  will  go 
abroad  over  the  country. 

MRS.  KEATING:  ....  In  the  happy  tone  of  welcome  that 
you  may  hear  rising  from  all  parts  of  our  State  the  club  women 
join,  with  voices  9,000  strong.  We  have  never  been  happier  than 
now,  even  during  the  annual  club  elections,  amid  the  joy  and  intelli- 
gence of  the  club  ballot.  Your  fame  has  preceded  you. 

MRS.  BENJAMIN  :  The  W.  C.  T.  U.  of  Michigan  numbers  about 
9,000  active  members,  and  I  bring  you  the  greeting  of  your  white- 
ribbon  sisters.  We  welcome  not  only  you  but  your  principles,  and 
your  avowed  determination  to  conquer  before  you  die.  A  good 
mother  works  in  the  home,  but  she  would  not  wish  to  be  forbidden 
to  cross  the  threshold.  For  the  good  of  her  child,  she  needs  some- 
times to  cross  it.  A  mother  should  guard  her  child  outside  the  home 
as  well  as  in  it.  Every  mother  worthy  of  the  name  wishes  to  pro- 
tect her  own  child  from  vice,  and  her  duty  extends  to  her  neighbor's 
child  also.  Equal  suffrage  is  coming,  friends,  and  coming  soon. 

MRS.  BURNS:  T  bring  you  the  welcome  of  the  45,000  Ladies  of 
the  Maccabees.  Times  have  greatly  changed  in  Michigan  since 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1899.  325 

seventy  years  ago,  when  the  Indian  squaws  did  all  the  manual  labor, 
and  the  braves  limited  themselves  to  the  noble  task  of  hunting. 
There  has  been  a  corresponding  change  in  the  condition  of  women 
all  along  the  line. 

In  the  response  of  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  the  national  pres- 
ident, she  said : 

Since  our  last  convention  the  area  of  disfranchisement  in  the 
possessions  of  the  United  States  has  been  greatly  enlarged.  Our 
nation  has  undertaken  to  furnish  provisional  governments  for  Ha- 
waii and  the  Philippine  Islands,  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico.  Hitherto 
the  settlers  of  new  Territories  have  been  permitted  to  frame  their 
own  provisional  governments,  which  were  ratified  by  Congress,  but 
to-day  Congress  itself  assumes  the  prerogative  of  making  the  laws 
for  the  newly-acquired  Territories.  When  the  governments  for 
those  in  the  West  were  organized  there  had  been  no  practical 
example  of  universal  suffrage  in  any  one  of  the  older  States,  hence 
it  might  be  pardonable  for  their  settlers  to  ignore  the  right  of  the 
women  associated  with  them  to  a  voice  in  their  governments. 

But  to-day,  after  fifty  years'  continuous  agitation  of  the  right  of 
women  to  vote,  and  after  the  demand  has  been  conceded  in  one-half 
the  States  in  the  management  of  the  public  schools ;  after  one  State 
has  added  to  that  of  the  schools  the  management  of  its  cities ;  and 
after  four  States  have  granted  women  the  full  vote — the  universal 
reports  show  that  the  exercise  of  the  suffrage  by  women  has 
added  to  their  influence,  increased  the  respect  of  men,  and  elevated 
the  moral,  social  and  political  conditions  of  their  respective  common- 
wealths. With  those  object-lessons  before  Congress,  it  would  seem 
that  no  member  could  be  so  blind  as  not  to  see  it  the  duty  of  that 
body  to  have  the  provisional  governments  of  our  new  possessions 
founded  on  the  principle  of  equal  rights,  privileges  and  immunities 
for  all  the  people,  women  included.  I  hope  this  convention  will 
devise  some  plan  for  securing  a  strong  expression  of  public  senti- 
ment on  this  question,  to  be  presented  to  the  Fifty-sixth  Congress, 
which  is  to  convene  on  the  first  Monday  of  December  next.  .  .  . 

During  the  reconstruction  period  and  the  discussion  of  the  negro's 
right  to  vote  Senator  Elaine  and  others  opposed  the  counting  of  all 
the  negroes  in  the  basis  of  representation,  instead  of  the  old-time 
three-fifths,  because  they  saw  that  to  do  so  would  greatly  increase 
the  power  of  the  white  men  of  the  South  on  the  floor  of  Congress. 
Therefore  the  Republican  leaders  insisted  upon  the  Fourteenth  and 
Fifteenth  Amendments  to  secure  the  ballot  to  the  negro  men.  Only 
one  generation  has  passed  and  yet  nearly  all  of  the  Southern  States 
have  by  one  device  or  another  succeeded  in  excluding  from  the 
ballot-box  very  nearly  the  entire  negro  vote,  openly  and  defiantly 
declaring  their  intention  to  secure  the  absolute  supremacy  of  the 
white  race,  but  there  is  not  a  suggestion  on  their  part  of  allowing 
the  citizens  to  whom  they  deny  the  right  of  suffrage  to  be  counted 
out  from  the  basis  of  representation.  Some  of  the  Northern  news- 


326  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

papers  have  been  growing  indignant  upon  the  subject,  declaring 
that  a  vote  in  South  Carolina  counts  more  than  two  votes  in  Xew 
York,  in  the  election  of  the  President  and  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives. It  seems  to  me  that  a  still  greater  violation  of  the  principle 
of  "the  consent  of  the  governed''  is  practiced  in  all  the  States  of 
the  Union  where  women,  though  disfranchised,  are  yet  counted  in 
the  basis  of  representation,  and  I  think  the  time  has  come  when 
this  association  should  make  a  most  strenuous  demand  for  an  amend- 
ment to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  forbidding  any  State 
thus  to  count  disfranchised  citizens 

The  increased  discussion  of  the  enfranchisement  of  women  in  the 
newspapers  throughout  the  country  evidences  the  larger  demand 
of  the  public  for  information  on  this  line,  and  a  vast  amount  of 
educational  work  is  being  done  in  this  way The  pre- 
sentation of  the  woman  question  in  the  New  York  Sunday  S nit- 
each  week  by  Mrs.  Ida  Husted  Harper,  with  the  articles  it  has 
elicited  from  the  opposition,  is  of  incalculable  value;  and  when  we 
add  to  the  number  of  people  who  read  the  Sun  the  vast  numbers 
who  read  the  copies  of  these  articles  made  by  the  many  newspapers 
between  the  two  oceans,  we  see  what  an  immense  reading  audience 
is  gained  by  getting  our  question  into  that  one  of  the  best  New 
York  dailies.  We  must  remember  that  these  papers  never  would 
have  copied  Mrs.  Harper's  or  any  other  literary  woman's  produc- 
tions had  they  been  first  published  in  one  of  our  special  organs ; 
therefore  one  very  important  branch  of  press  work  is  to  gain  access 
to  the  metropolitan  dailies.  Then  there  is  the  immense  work  done 
by  Mrs.  Elnora  M.  Babcock  for  the  State  of  New  York,  and  by  the 
chairmen  of  the  different  State  press  committees,  as  well  as  that 
done  by  our  national  organizer  from  the  headquarters.  Never  has 
the  press  of  the  entire  nation  been  kept  so  alive  with  discussions 
upon  the  woman  suffrage  question  as  during  the  past  year,  and  my 
hope  is  that  we  may  yet  have  upon  every  one  of  the  great  city  pa- 
pers a  strong,  educated  suffrage  woman,  as  editor  of  a  woman's 
page  or,  better  still,  as  writer  of  suffrage  articles  to  be  inserted 
without  a  special  heading  which  would  advertise  to  the  general 
reader  that  they  were  about  women. 

Though  we  have  not  obtained  the  suffrage  in  any  of  the  States 
where  we  had  hoped  to  do  so  during  the  past  year,  the  failures 
have  been  by  very  small  majorities.  In  South  Dakota,  where  eight 
years  ago  a  woman  suffrage  amendment  \vas  lost  by  a  majority  of 
over  23,000,  at  the  election  of  1898  the  opposing  majority  was  re- 
duced to  3,000;  while  in  Washington,  where  the  question  was  sub- 
mitted for  the  second  time,  it  was  lost  by  a  majority  less  than  one- 
half  as  large  as  that  of  nine  years  ago.  In  California  both  Houses 
of  the  Legislature  passed  the  School  Suffrage  Bill,  which  the  Gov- 
ernor refused  to  sign,  repeating  the  action  of  1894.  The  suffrage 
bills  in  the  Territorial  Legislatures  of  Oklahoma  and  Arizona  were 
carried  by  very  fine  majorities  through  both  lower  Houses,  but  were 
lost  in  both  upper  Houses  (as  will  be  stated  by  our  national  or- 
ganizer, who  led  our  suffrage  hosts  in  each  case)  through  a  shame- 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1899.  327 

ful  surrender  to  the  temptation  of  bribery  from  the  open  and  avowed 
enemies  of  woman's  enfranchisement,  the  liquor  organizations. 

None  of  these  so-called  defeats  ought  to  discourage  us  in  the 
slightest  degree.  Our  enemies,  the  women  remonstrants,  may  com- 
fort themselves  with  the  thought  that  the  liquor  interest  has  joined 
in  their  efforts,  but  we  surely  can  solace  ourselves  with  the  fact 
that  the  very  best  men  voted  in  favor  of  allowing  women  to  ex- 
ercise their  right  to  a  voice  in  the  conditions  of  home  and  State. 
So  we  have  nothing  to  fear  but  everything  to  gain  by  going  fonvard 
with  renewed  faith  to  agitate  and  educate  the  public,  until  the  vast 
majority  of  men  and  women  are  thoroughly  grounded  in  the  great 
principle  of  political  equality 

I  thank  you,  friends,  for  your  cordial  words  of  welcome.  We 
are  glad  to  come  here.  I  always  feel  a  certain  kinship  to  Michigan 
since  the  constitutional  amendment  campaign  of  1874,  in  which  I 
assisted.  I  remember  that  I  went  across  one  city  on  a  dray,-  the  only 
vehicle  I  could  secure,  in  order  to  catch  a  train.  A  newspaper  said 
next  day:  "That  ancient  daughter  of  Methuselah,  Susan  B.  An- 
thony, passed  through  our  city  last  night,  with  a  bonnet  looking  as 
if  she  had  just  descended  from  Noah's  Ark."  Now  if  Susan  B. 
Anthony  had  represented  votes,  that  young  political  editor  would 
not  have  cared  if  she  were  the  oldest  or  youngest  daughter  of 
Methuselah,  or  whether  her  bonnet  came  from  the  Ark  or  from 
the  most  fashionable  man  milliner's. 

There  are  women's  clubs  all  over  the  country ;  did  you  ever  hear 
of  one  organized  for  other  than  an  uplifting  purpose?  (Several 
voices:  "Yes,  the  Anti-Suffrage  Associations!")  Well,  even  the 
"antis"  wish  to  keep  the  world  just  as  it  is ;  they  do  not  aim  to  make 
it  worse.  Some  persons  have  tried  to  belittle  the  resolution  passed 
by  the  Colorado  Legislature  recently,  testifying  to  the  good  results 
of  equal  suffrage,  by  declaring  that  the  members  were  afraid  of  the 
women.  I  never  heard  before  of  a  Legislature  that  voted  solidly  in 
a  certain  way  for  fear  of  women.  We  have  with  us  to-day  Mrs. 
Welch,  the  president  of  the  Colorado  Equal  Suffrage  Association, 
of  whom  it  is  said  that  the  Legislature  was  so  afraid.  [Miss  An- 
thony led  forward  Mrs.  Welch,  a  pretty  little  woman  in  a  very 
feminine  bonnet,  who  shrank  away  slightly  from  the  compelling 
hand,  and  showed  shyness  in  every  line  of  her  figure,  as  she  felt 
the  eyes  of  the  audience  concentrated  upon  her.]  At  the  time  of 
the  first  recognition  of  women  in  the  early  Granger  days,  when 
the  farmers  used  to  harness  up  their  horses  to  their  big  wagons  and 
take  all  their  women  folks  to  the  meetings,  I  used  to  say  that  I 
could  tell  a  Grange  woman  as  far  off  as  I  could  see  her,  because  of 
her  air  of  feeling  herself  as  good  as  a  man.  Now  look  at  this 
woman  from  Colorado! 

MRS.  WELCH  :  When  I  came  before  the  Executive  Committee 
this  morning,  and  they  said  they  were  proud  of  me  as  a  free  woman, 
I  felt  almost  ashamed  to  be  a  free  woman.  I  thought  of  all  the 
tears  and  sorrows  and  struggles  of  Miss  Anthony  and  wondered 
if  she  ever  would  possess  the  ballot  for  which  she  had  done  so  much, 
and  I  so  little. 


328  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Miss  ANTHONY:  I  am  glad  you  have  it.  We  are  not  working 
for  ourselves  alone ;  that  is  one  reason  why  our  society  does  not 
grow  as  fast  as  some  others. 

The  paper  of  the  Rev.  Anna  Garlin  Spencer  (R.  I.)  was  a 
strong,  philosophical  presentation  of  our  Duty  to  the  Women  of 
Our  New  Possessions : 

.  .  .  .  Prof.  Otis  T.  Mason,  author  of  that  important  book, 
"Woman's  Share  in  Primitive  Culture,"  tells  us  that  "the  longer 
one  studies  the  subject  the  more  he  will  be  convinced  that  savage 
tribes  can  now  be  elevated  chiefly  through  their  women."  Why  is 
this  true?  For  the  reason  that  the  savage  is  in  the  stage  of  social 
order  through  which  all  civilized  nations  have  passed  at  some 
period — the  stage  of  the  mother-rule  more  or  less  modified  by  par- 
tial masculine  domination.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  of  human  his- 
tory and  prehistoric  record  that  the  Matriarchate,  or  the  mother- 
rule,  preceded  the  Patriarchate,  or  the  father-rule.  "All  the  so- 
cial fabrics  of  the  world  are  built  around  women.  The  first  stable 
society  was  a  mother  and  her  child."  The  reason  why  the  primi- 
tive descent  of  name  and  property,  and  the  first  fixed  stake  of  home 
life,  was  the  expression  of  this  maternal  relationship  is  obvious. 
Motherhood  was  demonstrated  by  nature  before  fatherhood  was 
definitely  known.  Inheritance  of  name  by  the  female  line  was 
alone  possible ;  and  that,  as  well  as  the  female  holding  and  trans- 
mitting of  property,  was  a  family  or  tribal  or  clan  relationship, 
women  always  retaining  rule  and  wealth  not  so  much  as  individuals 
as  custodians  of  communal  life  and  possessions.  Not  only  was  the 
mother  with  the  child  the  first  founder  of  human  society,  but  the 
woman  in  savage  life  was  the  first  inventor  and  originator  of  all 
life-sustaining  industries 

When  man  also  began  to  "settle  down" — whether  from  personal 
choice  or  from  social  pressure — when  he,  too,  began  to  learn  and 
practice  the  industrial  arts  heretofore  solely  in  the  hands  of  women, 
he  began  to  press  his  more  personal  and  individualistic  claims  of 
recognition  and  of  property-owning  against  the  family  wealth  of 
which  the  woman  was  the  custodian. 

As  man  more  and  more  assumed  the  burden  of  the  world's  in- 
dustries outside  the  home  (which  before  had  been  woman's  care 
alone),  and  as  woman  became  more  and  more  absorbed  in  purely 
domestic  concerns,  man's  individualism  assumed  greater  and  greater 
power  within  the  family  life,  and  he  gradually  acquired  the  des- 
potic family  headship  which  marked  the  ancient  patriarchal  order 
of  Rome.  This  was  not  a  social  descent,  but  an  immense  social 
uplift,  in  the  age  in  which  it  was  natural.  Professor  Mason  says, 
and  with  profound  truth,  "Matrimony  in  all  ages  is  an  effort  to 
secure  to  the  child  the  authenticity  of  the  father."  It  was  necessary 
for  social  growth  that  offspring  should  have  two  parents  instead 
of  one;  that  the  division  of  labor  should  be  more  equal,  and  man 
be  fastened  to  domestic  needs  bv  bonds  he  could  not  break,  and 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1899.  329 

through  labors  which  were  peaceful  as  well  as  arduous.  For  that 
process  his  individualism,  developed  through  ages  of  free  wander- 
ing and  purely  militant  life,  must  be  not  only  tamed  somewhat,  but 
harnessed  to- the  home  life. 

To  accomplish  that  mighty  social  uplift  by  which  offspring  se- 
cured two-  parents  instead  of  one,  woman's  subjection  to  man  was 
paid  as  the  price  of  the  higher  form  of  family  unity.  Nor  was  her 
subjection  to  man  in  the  ruder  ages  of  the  world  wholly  an  evil  to 
herself.  It  has  been  said  that  "woman  was  first  the  wife  of  any, 
second  the  wife  of  many,  and  third  one  of  many  wives."  Each  of 
these  steps  was  an  advance  higher  sexual  relationship.  All  were 
stepping-stones  to  the  monogamic  union  which  is  the  standard 
of  our  civilization,  and  the  realized  ideal  of  all  our  best  and  wisest 
men  and  women 

Bebel  says,  "Woman  was  the  first  human  being  to  taste  of  bond- 
age." True,  and  her  bondage  has  been  long  and  bitter-;  but  the 
subjection  of  woman  to  man  in  the  family  bond  was  a  vast  step 
upward  from  the  preceding  condition.  It  gave  woman  release 
from  the  terrible  labor-burdens  of  savage  life ;  it  gave  her  time  and 
strength  to  develop  beauty  of  person  and  refinement  of  taste  and 
manners.  It  gave  her  the  teaching  capacity,  for  it  put  all  the 
younger  child-life  into  her  exclusive  care,  with  some  leisure  at 
command  to  devote  to  its  mental  and  moral,  as  well  as  physical, 
well-being.  It  led  to  a  closer  relationship  between  man  and  woman 
than  the  world  had  known  before,  and  thus  gave  each  the  advan- 
tage of  the  other's  qualities.  And  always  and  everywhere  the  sub- 
jection of  woman  to  man  has  had  a  mitigation  and  softening  of 
hardships  unknown  to  other  forms  of  slavery,  by  reason  of  the 
power  of  human  affection  as  it  has  worked  through  sex-attraction. 
As  soon,  however,  as  the  slavery  of  woman  to  man  was  outgrown 
and  obsolete  it  became  (as  was  African  slavery  in  a  professedly 
democratic  country  like  our  own)  "the  sum  of  all  villainies."  And 
to-day  there  is  no  inconsistency  so  great,  and  therefore  no  condi- 
tion so  hurtful  and  outrageous,  as  the  subjection  of  women  to  men 
in  a  civilization  which  like  ours  assumes  to  rest  upon  foundations 
of  justice  and  equality  of  human  rights 

To-day  these  considerations  (especially  the  failure  fully  to  apply 
the  doctrine  of  equality  of  human  rights  to  women,  even  in  the 
most  advanced  centers  of  modern  civilization)  have  an  especial  and 
most  fateful  significance  in  relation  to  the  women  of  the  more  back- 
ward races  as  they  are  brought  into  contact  with  our  modern 
civilization.  I  said  the  pgoples  with  whom  we  are  now  being 
brought  as  a  nation  into  vital  relationship  may  be  still  in  the  matri- 
archate.  If  they  are  not,  most  of  them  are  certainly  in  some 
transition  stage  from  that  to  the  father-rule.  Not  all  peoples  have 
had  to  pass  through  the  entire  subjection  of  women  to  men  which 
marked  our  ancestral  advance.  The  more  persistent  tribal  rela- 
tionship and  collective  family  life  have  sometimes  softened  the 
process  of  social  growth  which  was  so  harsh  for  women  under  the 
old  Roman  law  and  the  later  English  common  law.  It  may  be 


33O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

that  the  dusky,  races  of  Africa  and  of  the  islands  of  the  sea,  as  well 
as  our  Aryan  cousins  of  India,  may  pass  more  easily  through  the 
stages,  of  attachment  of  man's  responsibility  to  the  family  life  than 
we,  with  our  tough  fiber  of  character,  were  able  to  do.  If  so,  in  the 
name  of  justice  they  should  have  the  chance! 

But  if  we,  who  have  not  yet  "writ  large"  in  law  and  political 
rights  that  respect  for  woman  which  all  our  education,  industry, 
religion,  art,  home  life  and  social  culture  express ;  if  we,  who  are 
still  inconsistent  and  not  yet  out  of  the  transition  stage  from  the 
father-rule  to  the  equal  reign  of  both  sexes ;  if  we  lay  violent  hands 
upon  these  backward  peoples  and  give  them  only  our  law  and  our 
political  rights  as  they  relate  to  women,  we  shall  do  horrible  in- 
justice to  the  savage  women,  and  through  them  to  the  whole  process 
of  social  growth  for  their  people.  When  we  tried  to  divide  "in 
severally"  the  lands  of  the  American  Indian,  we  did  violence  to  all 
his  own  sense  of  justice  and  co-operative  feeling  when  we  failed 
to  recognize  the  women  of  the  tribes  in  the  distribution.  We  then 
and  there  gave  the  Indian  the  worst  of  the  white  man's  relation- 
ship to  his  wife,  and  failed  utterly,  as  in  the  nature  of  the  case  we 
must  have  done,  to  give  him  the  best  of  the  white  man's  relation  to 
his  wife. 

When  in  India,  as  Mrs.  Garrett  Fawcett  has  so  finely  shown,  we 
introduce  the  technicalities  of  the  English  law  of  marriage  to  bind 
an  unwilling  wife  to  her  husband,  we' give  the  Hindoo  the  slavery 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  wife,  but  we  do  not  give  him  that  spirit  of 
Anglo-Saxon  marriage  and  home-life  which  has  made  that  slavery 
often  scarcely  felt,  and  never  an  unmixed  evil.  If,  to-day,  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  or  in  Cuba  we  fail  to  recognize  the  native  women, 
who  still  hold  something  of  the  primitive  prestige  of  womanhood, 
fail  to  recognize  them  as  entitled  to  a  translation,  under  new  laws 
and  conditions,  of  the  old  dignity  of  position,  we  shall  not  only  do 
them  an  injustice,  but  we  shall  forcibly  give  the  Hawaiian  and 
Cuban  men  lessons  in  the  wrong  side  and  not  the  right  side  of  our 
domestic  relations.  Above  all,  if  in  the  Philippines  we  abruptly 
and  with  force  of  arms  establish  the  authority  of  the  husband  over 
the  wife,  by  recognizing  men  only  as  property-owners,  as  signers  of 
treaties,  as  industrial  rulers  and  as  domestic  law-givers,  we  shall 
introduce  every  outrage  and  injustice  of  women's  subjection  to  men, 
without  giving  these  people  one  iota  of  the  sense  of  family  respon- 
sibility, of  protection  of  and  respect  for  woman,  and  of  deep  and 
self-sacrificing  devotion  to  childhood's  needs,  which  mark  the 
Anglo-Saxon  man. 

In  a  word,  if  we  introduce  one  particle  of  our  belated  and  il- 
logical political  and  legal  subjection  of  women  to  men  into  any 
savage  or  half-civilized  community,  we  shall  spoil  the  domestic  vir- 
tues that  community  already  possesses,  and  we  shall  not  (because 
we  can  not  so  abruptly  and  violently)  inoculate  them  with  the  vir- 
tues of  civilized  domestic  life.  Nature  will  not  be  cheated.  We 
can  not  escape,  nor  can  we  roughly  and  swiftly  help  others  to  es- 
cape, the  discipline  of  ages  of  natural  growth. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1899.  33! 

This  all  means  that  we  need  another  Commission  to  go  to  all  the 
lands  in  which  our  flag-  now  claims  a  new  power  of  oversight  and 
control — a  Commission  other  than  that  so  recently  sent  to  the 
Philippines — to  see  what  may  be  done  to  bring  order  to  that  dis- 
tracted group  of  islands.  We  need  a  Commission  which  shall  study 
domestic  rather  than  political  conditions,  and  which  shall  look  for 
the  undercurrents  of  social  growth  rather  than  the  more  showy 
political  movements.  We  should  have  on  that .  Commission  two 
archaeologists,  a  man  and  a  woman,  and  I  can  name  them — Otis  T. 
Mason  and  Alice  C.  Fletcher 

An  earnest  discussion  followed  this  paper,  in  which  Mrs.  Clara 
Bewick  Colby  (D.  C.),  Mrs.  Helen  Philleo  Jenkins  (Mich), 
Henry  B.  Blackwell  (Mass.),  Miss  Octavia  W.  Bates  (Mich.), 
Miss  Martha  Scott  Anderson  (Minn.),  and  Miss  Anthony  took 
part: 

MRS.  JENKINS  :  .  .  .  .  Whatever  power  in  government  may 
be  given  to  the  men  of  our  new  possessions  in  selecting  their  rulers, 
let  the  same  privilege  be  accorded  the  women.  It  may  be  said  that 
the  women  are  ignorant,  and  need  yet  to  be  held  in  .subjection — that 
they  are  unfit  to  have  a  voice  in  the  new  order  of  things.  Let  us 
not  be  deceived.  Probably  the  women  are  no  more  ignorant  and 
stupid  than  the  masses  of  men  in  these  newly  acquired  regions — 
excepting  always  the  few  men  whom  circumstances  have  devel- 
oped. The  ignorant  mother  can  guide  her  child  quite  as  safely  as 
its  ignorant  father.  Men  and  women  in  all  nations  and  tribes  are 
pretty  nearly  on  a  level  as  to  common  sense  and  forethought  for 
the  future  good  of  the  family.  Indeed,  the  interests  of  the  home, 
protection  of  the  children,  and  the  morals  and  behavior  of  the  com- 
munity make  the  standard  of  even  unlettered  women  one  notch 
higher  than  that  of  their  ignorant  husbands.  Let  us  of  this  na- 
tion hesitate  before  we  establish  a  sex  supremacy  that  it  may  take 
long  centuries  to  overcome 

Thousands  of  dollars  are  expended  on  a  military  commission ; 
it  is  sent  to  investigate  the  commercial  possibilities,  the  financial 
opportunities,  in  remote  lands;  but  the  army,  the  commerce,  the 
finance  are  not  all  there  is  of  a  nation.  There  are  more  vital  in- 
terests— there  is  something  which  lies  at  the  very  base  of  the  na- 
tion, without  which  it  could  not  exist — the  homes,  the  women  and 
the  children.  It  is  the  social  conditions  that  need  special  consid- 
eration in  our  country's  dealings  with  these  new  lands. 

Miss  BATES:  ....  In  the  presence  of  the  events  which 
have  transpired  during  the  past  year,  and  in  all  the  discussions 
pertaining  to  the  new  peoples  who  have  suddenly  become  our 
proteges,  seldom  if  ever  does  one  hear  a  word  about  the  women, 
who,  all  will  admit,  are  a  most  important  factor  in  the  civilization — 
or  the  lack  of  it — which  we  have  taken  under  our  control. 

We  women  are  here  at  this  time  to  do  our  best  to  awaken  the 


332  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

public  conscience  to  a  realizing-  sense  of  the  state  of  affairs.  We 
are  the -result  of  what  the  religion,  the  education  of  the  nineteenth 
century  and  the  liberty  which  it  has  granted  to  women  have  made 
us.  We  are  ready  and  willing  and  competent  to  befriend  our  less 
favored  sisters  beyond  the  seas,  and  to  extend  to  them  the  benefits 
we  enjoy,  so  far  as  they  are  able  to  receive  them ;  but — the  tragedy 
of  it — in  a  certain  sense  we  are  utterly  helpless  to  reach  them  and  to 
give  them  what  they,  unconsciously  to  themselves,  so  grievously 
need.  There  is  no  place  for  the  thought  of  the  women  of  this  land 
in  the  plans  of  the  nation  for  the  study  of  these  questions. 

No  matter  how  much  our  speaker  may  think  and  write  and  publish 
on  this  subject — aye,  and  women  like  her — no  matter  how  wise 
the  conclusions  they  reach,  is  it  at  all  likely  that  their  voices  will 
be  listened  to  in  the  din  and  blare  and  clash  of  warring  political 
parties,  or  respected  in  legislative  halls?  Or  is  it  probable  that  the 
advocates  of  territorial  expansion  will  pause  a  moment  to  ponder 
on  the  woman  side  of  that  question?  We,  to-day,  are  discussing 
this  subject  without  even  the  shadow  of  a  hope  of  putting  our  con- 
victions into  practice.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  women  at  large  are 
dead  to  the  importance  of  this  matter  ?..... 

I  am  in  favor  of  pushing  the  question  to  the  utmost — not  that  I 
have  any  hope  that  such  a  Commission  will  be  appointed,  but  be- 
cause it  furnishes  a  most  valuable  argument  for  extending  the  suf- 
frage to  women :  first,  in  order  that,  by  its  possession,  they  may 
have  an  uncontested,  legally-defined  right  of  serving  on  such  com- 
missions ;  and,  second,  because  of  the  opportunity  it  offers  for  prov- 
ing to  the  world  the  necessity  of  commissions  like  this  for  settling 
questions  and  conditions  of  which  women  form  a  central  and  in- 
tegral part.  Of  course  if  we  possessed  the  suffrage,  we  should  have 
no  necessity  for  a  discussion  like  the  present.  Everything  we  are 
saying  would  seem  like  truisms  then,  instead  of  being  contested 
point  by  point,  as  it  is  to-day 

MR.  BLACKWELL:  ....  In  those  islands  are  peoples  rang- 
ing from  absolute  savagery  to  mediaeval  civilization,  from  fighters 
with  blow-guns  and  bows  and  arrows  to  fighters  with  Mauser 
rifles  and  modern  artillery.  Laws  and  institutions  suited  to  the 
needs  of  one  tribe  are  unsuited  to  those  of  another.  Side  by  side 
are  Catholicism,  Mohammedanism  and  heathenism.  Their  amuse- 
ments vary  from  cannibalism  to  cock-fighting.  Their  racial  status 
ranges  from  barbarous  promiscuity  to  Moslem  polygamy  and  thence 
to  Hindoo  monogamy.  But  everywhere  exist  masculine  domina- 
tion and  feminine  subjection,  under  varied  forms  of  political  des- 
potism, tempered  with  Protestant  liberalism  in  the  case  of  Hawaii. 
To  establish  over  all  these  diverse  social  conditions  the  ri.gid  prin- 
ciples of  the  English  common  law,  which  prevail  largely  in  our 
jurisprudence,  will  perpetuate  and  intensify  the  tyranny  of  hus- 
band over  wife,  of  father  over  offspring. 

We  see  the  consequences  already  in  the  British  West  Indies, 
where  negro  women  generally  prefer  to  live  outside  of  legal  mar- 
riage because  as  wives  they  find  themselves  subjected  to  practical 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1899.  333 

serfdom.  In  Jamaica  75  per  cent,  of  the  births  are  illegitimate  for 
this  reason.  When  I  visited  Haiti,  I  was  told  to  my  great  sur- 
prise that  the  homes  and  small  farms  were  usually  owned  by  the 
women.  Expressing  my  admiration  of  this  chivalrous  recognition 
of  women's  right  to  the  homestead,  I  was  informed  that  there  was 
no  such  sentiment.  It  was^  solely  because  the  men  were  so  lazy 
and  unreliable  that  the  perpetuity  of  the  race  was  endangered.  The 
fathers  of  the  children  were  here  to-day  and  away  to-morrow. 
They  spent  their  time  in  loafing,  drinking,  gambling  and  plotting 
''revolutions."  The  women,  anchored  by  the  love  for  their  chil- 
dren, lived  in  the  little  huts  on  their  small  plantations,  raising 
yams  and  bananas,  and  if  the  men  became  too  drunken  and  abusive 
the  women  ordered  them  to  leave.  Among  those  people,  in  a 
tropical  climate,  with  land  to  squat  upon,  most  of  the  work  is  done 
by  the  women.  Let  no  one  imagine  that  the  so-called  "matri- 
archate"  of  early  ages  was  an  ideal  condition  of  society.  It  was  based 
primarily  upon  the  industrial  and  moral  irresponsibility  of  men. 

In  our  new  possessions,  side  by  side  with  these  primitive  condi- 
tions, we  have  great  bodies  of  Chinese  and  Hindoo  coolies,  who  rep- 
resent ancient  and  fossilized  types  of  civilized  society,  patient,  eco- 
nomical, industrious,  monogamous  and  exclusive  in  their  family 
relations.  The  trouble  is  that  where  Western  civilization  inter- 
feres with  Oriental  abuses  it  does  not  go  far  enough.  When  in 
India  the  British  government  prohibited  the  custom  of  burning 
widows  on  the  funeral  pyre  of  their  deceased  husbands,  widows  be- 
came the  slaves  of  their  husband's  relatives,  and  were  actually  be- 
lieved to  be  responsible  for  his  death  and  were  ill  treated  accord- 
ingly. When  infanticide  was  forbidden  and  peace  maintained,  pop- 
ulation multiplied  until  famine  became  chronic.  The  only  salva- 
tion for  the  women  of  our  new  possessions  lies  in  a  legal  recogni- 
tion of  their  personal,  industrial,  social  and  political  equality.  If, 
as  seems  too  probable,  their  rights  shall  be  simply  ignored  in  the 
reconstruction,  women  will  suffer  all  the  disabilities  of  the  law, 
without  the  practical  alleviations  afforded  by  an  enlightened  public 
opinion.  Such  women,  even  more  than  those  of  our  own  States, 
will  need  the  ballot  as  a  means  of  self -protection 

Miss  ANTHONY  :  I  have  been  overflowing  with  wrath  ever  since 
the  proposal  was  made  to  engraft  our  half-barbaric  form  of  govern- 
ment on  Hawaii  and  our  other  new  possessions.  I  have  been  study- 
ing how  to  save,  not  them,  but  ourselves  from  the  disgrace.  This 
is  the  first  time  the  United  States  has  ever  tried  to  foist  upon  a 
new  people  the  exclusively  masculine  form  of  government.  Our 
business  should  be  to  give  this  people  the  highest  form  which  has 
been  attained  by  us.  When  our  State  governments  were  originally 
formed,  there  was  no  example  of  woman  suffrage  anywhere,  but 
now  we  have  a  great  deal  of  it,  and  everywhere  it  has  done  good. 
The  principle  is  constantly  spreading 

We  are  told  it  will  be  of  no  use  for  us  to  ask  this  measure  of  jus- 
tice— that  the  ballot  be  given  to  the  women  of  our  new  possessions 
upon  the  same  terms  as  to  the  men — because  we  shall  not  get  it. 


334  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

It  is  not  our  business  whether  we  are  going  to  get  it ;  our  business 
is  to  make  the  demand.  Suppose  during  these  fifty  years  we  had 
asked  only  for  what  we  thought  we  could  secure,  where  should  we 
be  now  ?  Ask  for  the  whole  loaf  and  take  what  you  can  get. 

Mrs.  Mary  L.  Doe  (Mich.),  brought^greetings  from  the  Amer- 
ican Federation  of  Labor.  "Woman  suffrage  would  find  its  most 
hopeful  and  fertile  field  among  the  labor  organizations,"  she  said ; 
"the  workingmen  stood  for  weak  and  defenseless  women  even 
before  they  did  for  their  own  rights."  From  Samuel  Gompers, 
president  of  the  Federation,  she  read  the  following  letter : 

The  American  Federation  of  Labor,  at  every  convention  where 
the  subject  has  been  brought  up  and  discussed,  has  unfalteringly 
declared  for  equal  legal,  political  and  economic  rights  for  women. 
At  the  convention  held  in  Detroit,  some  thirteen  years  ago,  a  reso- 
lution to  that  effect  was  unanimously  adopted.  A  petition  to  Con- 
gress for  the  submission  of  a  constitutional  amendment  enfranchis- 
ing women  was  circulated  among  our  various  unions,  and  within 
two  months  it  received  nearly  300,000  signatures  and  indorsements. 

At  the  Kansas  City  convention  last  December,  the  question  of 
woman's  work  was  discussed,  and  the  following  declaration  was 
unanimously  adopted :  "In  view  of  the  awful  conditions  under 
which  woman  is  compelled  to  toil,  this,  the  eighteenth  annual  con- 
vention of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  strongly  urges  the 
more  general  formation  of  trade  unions  of  wage- working  women, 
to  the  end  that  they  may  scientifically  and  permanently  abolish  the 
terrible  evils  accompanying  their  weakened,  because  unorganized 
state;  and  we  emphatically  reiterate  the  trade-union  demand  that 
women  receive  equal  compensation  for  equal  service  performed." 

You  will  see  that  there  ought  to  be  no  question  as  to  the  attitude 
of  the  organized  labor  movement  on  this  subject,  notwithstanding 
the  designing  misrepresentations  of  enemies  of  our  cause,  who 
seek  to  place  our  movement  in  a  false  light.  Let  me  say,  too,  that 
the  declaration  just  quoted  is  not  for  compliment  merely,  for  mem- 
bers of  many  of  our  organizations  have  been  involved  in  long  and 
sacrificing  contests  in  order  to  secure  to  women  equal  pay  for  equal 
work.  Please  convey  fraternal  greetings  to  our  friends  who  will 
meet  at  Grand  Rapids. 

When  Mrs.  Loraine  Immen  came  forward  with  a  greeting 
from  the  Michigan  Elocutionists'  Association,  Miss  Anthony 
spoke  of  the  great  change  which  had  taken  place  in  wromen's 
voices  in  the  last  twenty-five  years.  At  an  early  Woman's 
Rights  Convention,  when  she  insisted  that  they  should  speak 
louder,  one  of  them  answered,  "We  are  not  here  to  screech ;  we 
are  here  to  be  ladies." 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1899.  335 

Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  (N.  Y.)  spoke  entertainingly  on 
The  Hope  of  the  Future : 

The  lessons  of  the  past  year  have  brought  home  to  many  of  us 
more  forcibly  than  any  other  recent  events  the  injustice  and  cruelty 
of  denying  to  women  their  proper  share  in  deciding  questions  for 
the  public  good.  We  have  seen  the  republic  plunged  into  war  in 
which  women  have  borne  a  heavy  share  of  the  burdens.  It  should 
be  the  rule  of  all  nations  that  no  contest  of  arms  should  be  entered 
into  without  the  consent  of  the  women 

Another  significant  object  lesson  grew  out  of  the  war.  When 
the  time  of  election  approached,  the  governmental  authorities  be- 
came much  exercised  over  the  means  of  providing  for  the  voting 
of  the  soldiers.  It  is  astonishing  how  much  men  think  of  their  own 
right  to  vote.  Extra  sessions  of  the  Legislatures  were  called  to 
provide  means  of  meeting  this  emergency.  In  this  dilemma  I  ven- 
tured to  write  to  the  Governor  of  my  State  and  suggest  that  he 
recommend  the  passing  of  a  law  empowering  each  soldier  and  sailor 
to  send  to  some  woman  at  home  a  proxy  permitting  her  to  vote 
for  him.  You  can  see  how  simple  a  plan  this  would  be.  Every 
man  would  have  a  beloved  mother,  a  dear  sister  or  some  adored 
damsel  whom  he  would  be  proud  to  have  represent  him  at  the  polls, 
and  the  amount  of  money  which  this  scheme  would  have  saved 
to  the  State  is  enormous.  The  counting  of  the  soldiers'  votes  when 
at  last  they  were  sent  to  New  York  cost  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
dollars.  In  one  instance,  in  a  certain  county  where  the  board  of 
supervisors  had  to  be  called  together  in  two  special  sessions  and 
the  county  officials  summoned  as  if  at  a  regular  election,  to  count 
six  votes,  the  amount  reached  $100  per  vote! 

Miss  Frances  A.  Griffin  (Ala.),  a  new  speaker  on  the  national 
platform,  captured  the  audience  with  her  rich  voice  and  southern 
intonation  as  she  discussed  The  Effects  of  Our  Teaching : 

The  thanksgiving  of  the  old  Jew,  "Lord,  I  thank  Thee  that  Thou 
didst  not  make  me  a  woman,"  doubtless  came  from  a  careful  review 
of  the  situation.  Like  all  of  us,  he  had  fortitude  enough  to  bear  his 
neighbors'  afflictions 

Miss  Anthony  deals  recklessly  with  years,  apportioning  them  to 
her  friends  as  liberally  as  Napoleon  dealt  out  kingdoms  and  duchies 
to  his  brothers  and  other  relations.  Her  example  has  strength- 
ened me ;  you  never  would  have  had  this  next  remark  but  for  Miss 
Anthony :  Thirty-five  years  ago  I  read  a  graduating  essay.  I 
knew  I  was  doing  an  unwomanly  thing,  and  in  order  to  preserve 
what  little  womanliness  I  might  have  left,  when  I  got  up  to  read 
it  I  whispered  the  whole  essay.  I've  quit  that.  Since  I  made  up 
my  mind  to  be  heard,  I  have  been  heard A  great  prog- 
ress of  women  has  gone  on  and  is  going  on.  Men  for  the  most 
part  are  manageable ;  women  are  the  converts  needed.  When  worn- 


33^  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

en  have  their  minds  made  up  to  vote,  it  will  be  with  them  as  it  was 

with  me  about  being  heard 

This  is  a  new  era  for  woman.  If  the  larger  sphere  now  open  to 
her  is  not  a  new  discovery,  it  is  at  least  a  new  testament.  The  day 
will  come  that  people  will  look  back  with  shame  on  the  time  when 
brains  and  virtue  were  shut  away  from  the  ballot-box,  if  they  be- 
longed to  a  woman.  .  .  . 

Miss  Anna  Caulfield  (Mich.)  pointed  out  The  Achievements 
of  Woman  in  Art.  Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall  (Ind.)  spoke  elo- 
quently on  The  True  Civilization  of  the  World,  saying  in  part : 

In  the  new  civilization  the  sense  of  personal  responsibility  is 
strong;  it  respects  the  child's  individuality  and  also  recognizes  the 
unity  of  all  educational  agencies — kindergarten,  school,  college  and 
university. 

There  is  also  a  new  theology,  in  which  individual  conscience  is 
substituted  for  the  dictates  of  authority,  and  which  distinguishes 
between  metaphysical  doctrine  and  practical  principle.  It  seeks 
the  higher  unity,  all  embracing. 

The  new  political  economy  recognizes  the  right  of  the  individual, 
and  the  body  politic  as  composed  of  units,  each  one  of  which 
must  be  respected.  Its  whole  effort  is  to  preserve  the  rights  of  em- 
ployers and  to  give  equal  recognition  to  the  employed ;  to  unify  all 
those  classes  that  have  heretofore  been  kept  divided. 

The  new  civilization  results  from  all  these.  The  difficulties  in 
realizing  this  perfect  unit  arise  from  selfishness.  We  have  long 
recognized  that  individual  selfishness  is  a  defect,  but  national 
selfishness  has  been  for  a  long  time  extolled  under  the  name  of 
patriotism,  and  has  gone  on  cleaving  great  chasms  between  differ- 
ent peoples.  In  the  new  civilization  the  individual  will  recognize 
himself  at  his  best  in  his  relation  to  the  whole.  The  different  pro- 
fessions will  recognize  that  what  each  contributes  bears  but  a  small 
ratio  to  what  each  receives  from  the  rest.  The  different  nationali- 
ties will  recognize  their  respective  dignities  in  just  the  proportion 
in  which  the  whole  must  transcend  any  part.  Then  humanity  will 
exceed  national  feeling  and  the  unity  of  the  race  will  exalt  the 
dignity  of  the  individual. 

The  resolution  presented  by  Mrs.  Sewall,  member  for  the 
United  States  of  the  International  Peace  Union,  rejoicing  over 
the  approaching  Peace  Conference  at  The  Hague  and  assuring 
the  commissioners  from  the  United  States  of  the  sympathy  of 
the  women  of  this  country,  was  unanimously  adopted. 

The  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  national  vice-president,  whose 
childhood  and  early  girlhood  had  been  spent  in  Michigan,  closed 
the  Saturday  evening  meeting  with  a  tender  address  on  Working 
Partners,  a  graphic  description  of  the  pioneer  days  of  this  State 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1899.  337 

and  the  hardships  of  its  women,  during  which  she  said :  "Women 
have  been  faithful  partners  and  have  done  their  full  share  of  the 
work.  A  gentleman  opposed  to  their  enfranchisement  once  said 
to  me,  'Women  have  never  produced  anything  of  any  value  to  the 
world.'  I  told  him  the  chief  product  of  the  women  had  been 
the  men,  and  left  it  to  him  to  decide  whether  the  product  was  of 
any  value.  Is  it  said  that  women  must  not  vote  because  they  can 
not  bear  arms?  Why,  women's  arms  have  borne  all  the  arm- 
bearers  of  the  world.  We  have  no  antique  art  in  America,  but 
we  have  antique  laws.  We  do  not  look  back  to  the  antiquity  of 
the  world,  but  to  the  babyhood  of  the  world.  Who  would  think 
of  calling  a  new-born  infant  antique?  Yet  laws  made  in  the 
babyhood  of  the  world  are  in  this  day  of  its  manhood  quoted 
for  our  guidance.  Much  has  been  said  lately  about  'the  white 
man's  burden',  but  the  white  man  will  never  have  a  heavier  bur- 
den to  take  up  than  himself." 

Twelve  churches  offered  their  pulpits,  which  were  filled  by  the 
women  speakers  Sunday  morning.*  The  regular  convention 
services  were  held  Sunday  afternoon  in  the  St.  Cecilia  building, 
a  large  audience  being  present.  The  Rev.  Antoinette  Brown 
Blackwell  led  the  devotional  exercises,  and  the  Rev.  Florence 
Kollock  Crocker  gave  the  sermon  from  the  text :  "Whether  one 
member  suffers,  all  the  members  suffer  with  it;  or  one  member 
be  honored,  all  the  members  rejoice  with  it."  Afterwards  Mrs. 
Sewall  spoke  on  the  coming  Peace  Congress  at  The  Hague  and, 
on  motion  of  Melvin  A.  Root,  a  resolution  was  adopted  that  on 
May  15,  the  opening  day  of  the  congress,  the  women  of  our 
country  assemble  in  public  and  send  to  it  the  voice  of  women  in 
favor  of  peace. 

A  touching  letter  from  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  was  read 
by  Miss  Anthony  during  the  convention,  in  which  she  said :  "We 

*  Miss  Anthony  spoke  to  a  crowded  house  in  the  Fountain  Street  Baptist  Church  on 
The  Moral  Influence  of  Women,  and  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  to  another  great  audi- 
ence in  the  Park  Congregational  Church  from  the  text,  "Only  be  thou  strong  and  very 
courageous."  Calvary  Baptist  Church  was  filled  to  overflowing  to  hear  Miss  Laura  Clay 
on  The  Bible  for  Equal  Rights.  Interested  congregations  listened  to  the  Rev.  Antoinette 
Brown  Blackwell,  who  preached  at  the  Division  Street  Methodist  Church  from  the  text, 
"Knowledge  shall  increase";  Miss  Laura  Gregg,  who  spoke  at  the  Second  Baptist  Church 
on  My  Country,  'Tis  of  Thee;  Mrs.  Colby,  at  the  Plainfield  Avenue  Methodist  Church,  on 
The  Legend  of  Lilith;  Miss  Lena  Morrow  at  Memorial  Church,  Miss  Lucy  E.  Textor  at 
All  Souls,  and  Mrs.  Harriet  Taylor  Upton  and  various  members  of  the  convention  in  other 
pulpits. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 22 


33^  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

seem  to  be  pariahs  alike  in  the  visible  and  the  invisible  world, 
with  no  foothold  anywhere,  though  by  every  principle  of  govern- 
ment and  religion  we  should  have  an  equal  place  on  this  planet. 
We  do  not  hold  the  ignorant  class  of  men  responsible  for  these 
outrages  against  women,  but  rather  the  published  opinions  of  men 
in  high  positions,  judges,  bishops,  presidents  of  colleges,  editors, 
novelists  and  poets — all  taught  by  the  common  and  civil  law. 
It  is  a  sad  reflection  that  the  chains  of  woman's  bondage  have 
been  forged  by  her  own  sires  and  sons.  Every  man  who  is  not 
for  us  in  this  prolonged  struggle  for  liberty  is  responsible  for 
the  present  degradation  of  the  mothers  of  the  race.  It  is  pitiful 
to  see  how  few  men  ever  have  made  our  cause  their  own,  but 
while  leaving  us  to  fight  our  battle  alone,  they  have  been  unspar- 
ing in  their  criticism  of  every  failure.  Of  all  the  battles  for  lib- 
erty in  the  long  past,  woman  only  has  been  left  to  fight  her  own, 
without  help  and  with  all  the  powers  of  earth  and  heaven,  hu.-  . 
man  and  divine,  arrayed  against  her." 

Monday  evening  Mrs.  Harriet  Taylor  Upton,  national  treas- 
urer, told  of  An  Ohio  Woman's  Experience  as  Member  of  a 
School  Board.  She  gave  a  lively  account  of  her  own  nomination 
and  election  in  Warren,  and  said  in  concluding :  "It  was  not  a  war 
of  women  against  men,  but  of  liberalism  against  conservatism, 
of  principle  against  prejudice,  of  the  new  against  the  old.  It 
does  not  take  any  more  time  to  clean  up  a  schoolhouse  and  keep 
out  scarlet  fever  than  it  does  to  nurse  the  children  through  the 
scarlet  fever." 

Mrs.  Flora  Beadle  Renkes,  School  Commissioner  of  Barry 
County,  Mich.,  described  Some  Phases  of  Public  School  Work.. 
She  advocated  industrial  and  moral  as  well  as  intellectual  train- 
ing and  all  of  this  equally  for  both  sexes. 

Mrs.  Minerva  Welch,  in  considering  Woman's  Possibilities, 
said :  "To  my  mind  it  is  given  to  woman  to  develop  the  greatest 
possibilities  in  all  the  world.  She  can  direct  the  character  of  gen- 
erations. If  woman  ever  gains  the  place  God  intended  her  to  have 
it  must  be  through  the  mother  element.  In  Denver  we  have  or- 
ganized women's  clubs  for  the  study  of  art,  literature  and  political 
science.  We  have  learned  to  fraternize.  Men  have  found  that 
women  bring  their  moral  influence  into  politics,  and  the  men  also 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1899.  339 

know  that  they  must  look  to  their  own  morals  if  they  want  office. 
Many  questions  have  been  sent  to  our  State  asking  about  the  new 
conditions.  Woman  suffrage  has  proved  a  success,  and  the 
women  can  stand  with  heads  erect,  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  any 
one,  knowing  that  they  are  full,  free  citizens  of  the  State  of  Col- 
orado and  of  the  United  States." 

Miss  Anthony  then,  by  special  request,  gave  a  recital  of  all  the 
facts  connected  with  her  arrest,  trial  and  conviction  for  voting  in 
1872.  Miss  Shaw  introduced  her  as  a  criminal,  and  Miss  An- 
thony retorted,  "Yes,  a  criminal  out  of  jail,  just  like  a  good  many 
of  the  brethren."  With  marvelous  power  she  recalled  all  the  de- 
tails of  that  dramatic  episode. 

Mrs.  Abigail  Scott  Duniway  (Ore.)  gave  an  address  on  How 
to  Win  the  Ballot,  containing  much  sound  sense.  It  was  published 
in  full  by  the  Grand  Rapids  Democrat.  Mrs.  Evelyn  H.  Belden, 
president  of  the  Iowa  Equal  Suffrage  Association,  spoke  on 
Women  and  War,  saying : 

Did  you  ever  have  to  live  with  heroes — with  men  who  have  sur- 
vived the  hardships  and  dangers  of  war?  One  of  the  reasons  for 
my  mildness  in  public  is  that  I  have  to  be  mild  at  home.  I  live  with 
the  heroes  of  two  wars.  The  elder  put  down  the  rebellion — so  he 
tells  me.  The  younger,  for  whom  I  am  responsible,  has  accom- 
plished an  even  more  perilous  feat ;  he  met  in  mortal  combat  every 
day  for  six  months  the  product  of  the  commissary  department  of 
our  late  war.  He  is  still  alive,  but  "kicking" — and  so  is  his  mother ! 

Note  that  there  were  no  women  on  the  War  Investigating  Com- 
mission. Brutal  officers,  incompetent  quartermasters  and  ignorant 
doctors  were  tried  before  a  jury  of  their  peers.  Every  department 
which  was  conducted  without  the  help  of  women  has  been  for 
months  writhing  under  the  probe  of  an  official  investigation,  and  is 
still  writhing  under  the  lash  of  public  opinion. 

When  the  war  broke  out,  the  women  of  Iowa,  with  the  suf- 
fragists at  their  head,  cheerfully  consecrated  themselves  to  the  serv- 
ice of  a  State  which  does  not  recognize  them  as  the  equals  of  their 
own  boys.  I  have  one  old  trunk  that  made  six  trips  to  Chicka- 
mauga  Park,  filled  with  delicacies  for  the  soldiers.  About  August 
I  made  up  my  mind  to  go  and  see  things  for  myself.  My  husband 
was  told  it  was  no  place  for  a  woman  there  among  60,000  men  and 
1,500  animals ;  but  he  had  business  at  home  which  he  did  not  think 
I  could  attend  to,  and  he  thought  I  could  go  to  Chickamauga  just 
as  well  as  he 

If  there  had  been  women  on  the  commission,  would  they  have 
pitched  the  camp  five  miles  from  water?  Or  provided  only  one 
horse  and  one  mule  to  bring  the  water  for  two  companies  ?  Or  or- 


34°  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

dered  the  soldiers  to  filter  and  boil  their  drinking  water,  without 
furnishing  any  filters  or  any  vessels  to  boil  it  in?  It  is  said  that 
suffragists  do  not  know  how  to  keep  house.  If  so,  the  men  who 
managed  the  war  must  all  be  suffragists. 

But  Clara  Barton  and  the  women  nurses  have  won  golden  opin- 
ions from  every  one.  If  any  man  had  given  a  tithe  of  what  Helen 
Gould  did,  he  could  have  had  any  office  in  the  gift  of  the  adminis- 
tration. So  could  she,  if  she  had  been  a  voter.  She  might  even 
have  been  Secretary  of  War. 

We  raise  our  sons  to  die  not  for  their  country — no  woman 
grudges  her  sons  to  her  country — but  to  die  unnecessarily  of  dis- 
ease and  neglect,  because  of  red  tape 

History  furnishes  no  parallel  to  the  women  of  America  during 
the  last  year's  war.  They  were  fully  alive  to  its  issues,  intelligently 
conversant  with  its  causes,  its  purposes  and  possibilities;  they 
studied*  camp  locations,  conditions  and  military  rules ;  and  through 
the  hand  the  heart  found  constant  expression,  as  many  a  company 
of  grateful  boys  can  testify.  The  experience  of  this  war  ought  to 
have  effectually  destroyed  the  last  trace  of  mediaeval  sentiment  con- 
cerning the  propriety  of  women  mixing  in  the  affairs  of  govern- 
ment, and  also  the  last  shadow  of  doubt  as  to  the  expediency  of 
recognizing  them  as  voters. 

Mrs.  Josephine  K.  Henry  (Ky.)  made  an  address  sparkling- 
with  the  epigrams  for  which  she  was  noted,  entitled  A  Plea  for 
the  Ballot : 

.  .  .  .  The  light  and  the  eager  interest  in  the  faces  of  Amer- 
ican women  show  that  they  are  going  somewhere ;  and  when  women 
have  started  for  somewhere,  they  are  harder  to  head  off  than  a 

comet All  roads  for  women  lead  to  suffrage,  even  if 

they  do  not  know  it.  We  are  Daughters  of  Evolution,  and  who  can 
stop  old  Dame  Evolution?  ....  We  must  live  up  to  our 
principles,  or,  as  a  nation,  we  are  not  going  to  live  at  all.  Then  it 
will  be  time  for  Liberty  to  throw  down  her  torch,  and  go  out  of  the 

enlightening   business "Woman's    sphere" — these   are 

the  two  hardest-worked  words  in  the  dictionary They 

call  in  the  mental  and  moral  wreckage  of  foreign  nations  to  help  rule 
us.  A  man  was  asked,  "How  are  you  going  to  vote  on  the  consti- 
tution?" He  answered:  "My  constitution's  mighty  poorly;  my 
mother  was  feeble  before  me."  There  is  deep  tragedy  in  giving 
such  men  control  of  the  lives  and  property  of  American  women. 
.  .  .  .  There  is  not  so  much  the  matter  with  the  U.  S.  Con- 
stitution as  with  the  constitutions  of  some  of  our  statesmen.  .  .  . 
It  is  not  an  expansion  of  territory  that  we  need  so  much  as  an  ex- 
pansion of  justice  to  our  own  women American  men 

have  had  a  hard  struggle  for  their  own  liberty,  and  some  of  them 

are  afraid  there  will  not  be  liberty  enough  to  go  around 

What  relation  is  woman  to  the  State  ?  She  is  a  very  poor  relation, 
yet  her  tax-money  is  demanded  promptly. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1899.  34 r 

Dr.  Mary  H.  Barker  Bates,  of  the  Denver  School  Board,  dis- 
cussed Our  Gains  and  Our  Losses,  and  said  in  closing:  "We 
have  learned  that  in  politics  we  must  have  a  machine,  only  it 
should  be  used  for  good  government,  not  for  corruption.  Make 
your  machine  as  perfect  as  you  can,  without  a  flaw  in  it  any- 
where, and  then  use  it  for  good  ends."  Mrs.  Mary  B.  Clay  (Ky.) 
gave  a  careful  survey  of  conditions  resulting  from  The  Removal 
of  Industries  from  the  Home,  which  had  forced  woman  to  follow 
them  and  made  her  an  industrial  factor  in  the  outside  world. 
Miss  Griffin  being  again  called  on  told  these  anecdotes : 

In  my  home  in  Alabama  there  are  four  educated  women.  My 
father  has  passed  away.  My  sisters  are  widows  and  I  am  an  old 
maid.  We  have  as  our  gardener  a  negro  boy  twenty-three  years 
old.  When  he  came  to  us  he  said  that  he  had  been  in  the  Second 
Reader  for  ten  years,  but  on  election  day  he  goes  over  and  votes  to 
represent  our  family.  If  we  complain  of  having  no  vote  on  the 
expenditure  of  our  tax-money,  we  are  told  we  must  "influence" 
men ;  in  other  words,  we  must  influence  that  gardener.  But  when 
we  start  to  do  so,  and  ask  him  how  he  means  to  vote,  he  says  he 
doesn't  know  yet,  because  he  hasn't  seen  "Uncle  Peter,"  the  col- 
ored minister. 

In  my  section  men  are  chivalric  and  say,  "Don't  you  know  that 
you  shall  have  everything  you  ask  as  ladies  ?  Don't  you  know  that 
we  are  your  natural  protectors  ?"  But  what  is  a  woman  afraid  of 
on  a  lonely  road  after  dark?  The  bears  and  wolves  are  all  gone; 
there  is  nothing  to  be  afraid  of  now  but  .our  natural  protectors. 

On  the  islands  off  our  coast  there  was  a  large  population  that 
could  not  read  or  write.  A  missionary-spirited  woman  went  there 
to  help  educate  them.  After  awhile  she  was  made  a  member  of  the 
school  board,  which  consisted  of  a  few  white  men  and  more  negroes. 
The  president  of  the  board,  a  colored  man,  was  disgusted  at  the 
elevation  of  a  woman  to  that  dignity,  and  when  she  was  sworn  in 
he  resigned,  saying,  "Now  you've  swore  her  in,  you've  got  to  swear 
me  out ;  I'm  not  going  to  sit  on  no  board  with  no  woman." 

During  the  convention  Miss  Anthony  made  an  earnest  appeal 
for  co-operation  in  the  equal  suffrage  work,  saying:  "Why  is 
it  the  duty  of  the  little  handful  on  this  platform  to  be  talking 
and  working  for  the  enfranchisement  of  women  any  more  than 
that  of  all  of  you  who  sit  here  to-night?  Every  woman  can  do 
something  for  the  cause.  She  who  is  true  to  it  at  her  own  fire- 
side, who  speaks  the  right  word  to  her  guests,  to  her  children  and 
her  neighbors'  children,  does  an  educational  work  as  valuable  as 
that  of  the  woman  who  speaks  from  the  platform."  She  also 


342  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

urged  a  wider  reading  of  the  equal  rights  papers,  the  Woman's 
Journal,  Tribune,  Standard,  Wisconsin  Citizen,  etc.,  and  suffrage 
pamphlets  and  leaflets.  She  defended  herself  against  the  accusa- 
tion of  abusing  the  men,  saying,  "We  have  not  been  fighting  the 
'male'  citizen  anywhere  but  in  the  statute  books." 

Eighty-seven  delegates  representing  twenty-two  States  were 
present  at  this  convention.  The  treasurer  reported  the  receipts 
of  the  past  year  to  be  $14,020.  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  chairman 
of  the  Organization  Committee,  related  the  work  done  by  the 
suffrage  organizations  in  behalf  of  the  Spanish-American  War. 
She  described  also  the  efforts  made  to  obtain  suffrage  for  women 
in  the  new  constitution  of  Louisiana  the  preceding  year,  which 
resulted  in  securing  the  franchise  for  taxpaying  women  on  all 
matters  submitted  to  taxpayers.  The  work  in  different  States 
and  Territories,  especially  in  Arizona  and  Oklahoma,  was 
sketched  in  detail,  and  will  be  found  in  their  respective  chapters. 

In  concluding  her  report  as  chairman  of  the  Legislative  Com- 
mittee, Mrs.  Blake  called  attention  to  the  more  hopeful  character 
of  this  record  as  compared  to  that  of  last  year,  and  urged  upon 
all  State  presidents  the  importance  of  having  some  one  to  repre- 
sent the  interests  of  women  constantly  at  their  capitals  during 
the  legislative  sessions,  not  only  to  secure  favorable  legislation 
but  to  prevent  that  inimical  to  their  interests,  citing  the  case  of 
New  Mexico,  where  a  law  which  infringes  on  the  right  of  dower 
was  recently  passed  without  the  knowledge  of  women. 

Mrs.  Elnora  M.  Babcock  (N.  Y.)  was  made  chairman  of  Na- 
tional Press  Work,  with  power  to  appoint  a  chairman  in  each 
State.  The  customary  telegram  of  congratulation  and  apprecia- 
tion was  sent  to  the  honorary  president,  Mrs.  Stanton.  Mrs. 
Eliza  Wright  Osborne  (N.  Y.)  was  appointed  fraternal  delegate 
to  the  International  Council  of  Women  to  meet  in  London  in  June. 
Greetings  were  received  through  fraternal  delegates,  Mrs.  Jes- 
sie R.  Denney,  from  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workingmen, 
and  Mrs.  Emma  A.  Wheeler  from  the  Canadian  W.  C.  T.  U. 
The  letter  to  Miss  Anthony  from  its  president,  Mrs.  Annie  O. 
Rutherford,  said :  "A  vigorous  campaign  is  being  carried  on  in 
every  Province  in  favor  of  equal  suffrage,  with  fair  hope  of 
success  in  most  of  them.  We  wish  for  your  convention  a  most 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1899.  343 

successful  issue,  and  that  your  life,  whose  grand  pioneer  work 
has  made  it  easy  for  those  who  follow  after,  may  be  spared  many 
years  yet  to  help  broaden  the  path  and  uplift  the  cause  of 
humanity."  Many  letters  and  telegrams  were  received  from 
State  suffrage  associations  and  from  individuals.  Mrs.  Belva  A. 
Lockwood  (D.  C.)  wrote:  "As  a  delegate  to  the  ninth  annual 
convention  of  the  International  League  of  Press  Clubs  just  held  in 
Baltimore,  I  succeeded  in  gaining  recognition  on  equal  terms  for 
women  journalists  in  the  space  to  be  allotted  to  men  journalists 
in  the  Exposition  at  Paris  in  1900." 

A  lively  discussion  was  caused  by  a  resolution  offered  by  Mrs. 
Lottie  Wilson  Jackson,  a  delegate  from  Michigan,  so  light-com- 
plexioned  as  hardly  to  suggest  a  tincture  of  African  blood,  that 
"colored  women  ought  not  be  compelled  to  ride  in  smoking  cars, 
and  that  suitable  accommodations  should  be  provided  for  them." 
It  was  finally  tabled  as  being  outside  the  province  of  the  con- 
vention.* 

*  The   following  resolutions  were  adopted: 

That  we  reaffirm  our  devotion  to  the  immortal  principle  that  governments  derive  their 
just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed,  and  we  call  for  its  application  in  the  case 
of  women  citizens. 

We  protest  against  the  introduction  of  the  word  "male"  in  the  suffrage  clause  of  the 
proposed  Constitution  of  Hawaii,  and  declare  that  upon  whatever  terms  the  franchise  may 
be  granted  to  men,  it  should  be  granted  also  to  women. 

In  all  the  great  questions  of  war  and  peace,  currency,  tariff  and  taxation,  annexation 
of  foreign  territory  and  alien  races,  women  are  vitally  interested  and  should  have  an 
equal  expression  at  the  ballot-box,  and  we  recommend  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  women  to  investigate  the  condition  of  women  in 
our  new  island  territories. 

We  congratulate  the  women  of  Ireland  who  have  just  voted  for  the  first  time  for 
municipal  and  county  officers,  and  we  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  75  per  cent,  of  the 
qualified  women  voted,  and  that  the  dispatches  say  they  discharged  their  duty  in  a  serious 
and  businesslike  spirit,  with  a  keen  eye  to  the  personal  merits  of  candidates. 

We  congratulate  the  women  of  Colorado,  whose  Legislature  lately  passed  a  resolution 
testifying  to  the  good  effects  of  equal  suffrage  by  a  vote  of  45  to  3  in  the  House,  and  30 
to  i  in  the  Senate. 

We  congratulate  the  women  of  New  Orleans,  who  are  about  to  vote  for  the  first  time, 
on  a  tax  levy  for  sewerage  and  drainage,  and  we  commend  their  patriotic  activity  in  col- 
lecting the  signatures  of  2,000  taxpaying  women  of  that  city  in  behalf  of  clean  streets  and 
a  pure  water  supply. 

We  congratulate  the  women  of  France,  who  have  just  voted  for  the  first  time  for  judges 
of  tribunals  of  commerce,  and  we  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  Paris,  of  the  qualified 
voters,  men  and  women  taken  together,  only  14  per  cent,  voted,  but  of  the  women  30  per 
cent,  voted.  / 

We  congratulate  the  women  of  Kansas  on  the  increased  municipal  vote  of  April,  1899, 
over  the  entire  State,  Kansas  City  alone  registering  4,800  women  and  casting  over  3,000 
women's  votes  at  the  municipal  election. 

\Ye  thank  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Oklahoma  for  its  vote  of  14  to  9,  and  of 
Arizona  for  its  vote  of  19  to  5,  for  woman  suffrage,  and  regret  that  the  question  did  not 
reach  the  Councils  of  these  Territories. 

We  thank  the  Legislature  of  California  for  its  enactment,  with  only  one  dissenting  vote 


344  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  memorial  resolutions  were  presented  by  the  Rev.  An- 
toinette Brown  Blackwell,  who  said :  "These  tributes  are  largely 
to  older  men  and  women  with  whom  I  was  associated  long  ago 
and  it  is  a  pleasure  to  recall  their  noble  services  to  humanity  in 
times  when  they  and  their  work  were  far  more  unpopular  than 
to-day.  There  are  twenty-five  on  my  list,  yet  I  think  there  was 
only  one  of  the  entire  number  who  was  not  more  than  fifty  years 
old,  and  most  of  them  reached  on  toward  the  eighties  and  nine- 
ties. All  were  earnest  advocates  of  equal  suffrage,  but  there 
were  kindred  causes  to  which  most  of  them  were  also  devoted. 

.  .  .  Laura  P.  Haviland  spent  seventy  years  of  her  life 
in  Michigan,  the  last  five  here  in  Grand  Rapids.  At  one  time 
she  assumed  the  care  of  nine  orphan  children ;  at  another,  during 
the  Civil  War  she  was  the  active  agent  who  freed  from  prison 
a  large  number  of  Union  soldiers  held  upon  false  charges.  She 
labored  for  every  good  cause  and  was  a  simple  Quaker  in  religion 
and  life.  .... 

"Parker  Pillsbury  of  New  Hampshire,  who  died  last  year, 
aged  88,  known  as  a  life-long  worker  for  the  oppressed  before  the 
Civil  War,  gave  much  of  his  energy  to  the  cause  of  anti-slavery. 
When  that  noble  philanthropy  was  split  in  two  throughout  its 
whole  length  because  one-half  would  not  let  women  serve  on 
committees  with  men  or  raise  their  voices  publicly  for  those  who 
were  dumb  and  helpless,  Parker  Pillsbury  stood  by  the  side  of 
Abby  Kelly  and  the  Grimke  sisters.  His  terse,  characteristic, 
uncompromising  language,  his  cheerful  braving  of  prejudice,  his 
sympathetic  claim  for  justice  to  womanhood,  made  him  one  of 
the  noblest  of  men 

in  the  House  and  six  in  the  Senate,  of  a  school  suffrage  law  (which  failed  to  receive  the 
approval  of  the  Governor) ;  also  we  thank  the  Legislatures  of  Connecticut  and  Ohio,  which 
have  defeated  bills  to  repeal  the  existing  school  suffrage  laws  of  those  States. 

We  thank  the  legislators  of  Oregon  who  have  just  submitted  an  amendment  granting 
suffrage  to  women  by  a  vote  of  48  to  6  in  the  House  and  25  to  i  in  the  Senate,  and  we 
hope  that  Oregon  will  add  a  fifth  star  to  our  equal  suffrage  flag. 

This  association  is  non-sectarian  and  non-partisan,  and  asks  for  the  ballot  not  for  the 
sake  of  advancing  any  specific  measure,  but  as  a  matter  of  justice  to  the  whole  human 
family.  In  all  the  States  where  equal  suffrage  campaigns  are  pending  we  advise  women 
and  men  to  base  their  plea  on  the  ground  of  clear  and  obvious  justice,  and  not  to  indulge 
in  predictions  as  to  what  women  will  do  with  the  ballot  before  it  is  secured. 

We  protest  against  women  being  counted  in  the  basis  of  representation  of  State  and 
nation  so  long  as  they  are  not  permitted  to  vote  for  their  representatives. 

We  appreciate  the  friendly  attitude  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  the  National 
Grange  and  other  public  bodies  of  voters,  as  shown  by  their  resolutions  indorsing  the  legal, 
political  and  economic  equality  of  women. 

We  rejoice  in  the  Peace  Congress  about  to  meet  at  The  Hague,  and  hope  it  may  be 
preliminary  to  the  establishment  of  international  arbitration. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1899.  345 

"In  the  long  and  many-sided  history  of  the  woman's  cause, 
Mrs.  Matilda  Joslyn  Gage  made  a  deep  and  lasting  mark.  I 
recall  her  as  she  came  first  upon  our  platform  at  the  Syracuse 
Woman's  Rights  Convention  in  1852,  a  young  mother  of  two 
children,  yet  with  a  heart  also  for  a  wider  cause.  Wendell  Phil- 
lips said  of  her  then,  'She  came  to  us  an  unknown  woman.  She 
leaves  us  a  co-worker  whose  reputation  is  established/  . 

"The  Hon.  Nelson  W.  Dingley  was  able  officially  to  help  our 
movement  with  efficient  good-will.  His  vote  was  recorded  for 
the  admission  of  States  with  a  woman  suffrage  constitution." 

Mrs.  Blackwell  paid  personal  tribute  to  most  of  those  who  had 
passed  away,  and  Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby  continued  the  memo- 
rial, speaking  at  length  of  the«  splendid  work  of  Mrs.  Gage ;  of 
Mrs.  Flora  M.  Kimball  and  Mrs.  Abigail  Bush,  of  California — 
but  early  Eastern  pioneers;  Mrs.  Sarah  M.  Kimball  of  Utah; 
Mrs.  Frances  Bagley  and  Dr.  Charlotte  Levanway  of  Michigan ; 
and  a  long  list  of  men  and  women  in  various  States  who  had 
done  their  part  in  aiding  the  cause  of  equal  suffrage.  She  con- 
cluded with  eloquent  words  of  appreciation  of  the  services  of 
Robert  Purvis  of  Philadelphia,  and  presented  the  following  reso- 
lutions sent  by  Mrs.  Stanton : 

During  the  period  of  reconstruction,  the  popular  cry  was,  "This 
is  the  negro's  hour,"  and  Republicans  and  Abolitionists  alike  in- 
sisted that  woman's  claim  to  the  suffrage  must  be  held  in  abeyance 
until  the  negro  was  safe  beyond  peradventure.  Distinguished  poli- 
ticians, lawyers  and  congressmen  declared  that  woman  as  well  as 
the  negro  was  enfranchised  by  the  Fourteenth  Amendment,  yet  re- 
formers and  politicians  denounced  those  women  who  would  not 
keep  silent,  while  the  Republican  and  anti-slavery  press  ignored 
their  demands  altogether.  In  this  dark  hour  of  woman's  struggle, 
forsaken  by  all  those  who  once  recognized  her  civil  and  political 
rights,  two  noble  men  steadfastly  maintained  that  it  was  not  only 
woman's  right  but  her  duty  to  push  her  claims  while  the  constitu- 
tional door  was  open  and  the  rights  of  citizens  in  a  republic  were 
under  discussion ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  women  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  Robert  Purvis 
and  Parker  Pillsbury  for  their  fearless  advocacy  of  our  cause,  when 
to  do  so  was  considered  to  be  treason  to  a  great  party  measure,  in- 
volving life  and  liberty  for  the  colored  race. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  men  of  such  exalted  virtue,  true 
to  principle  under  the  most  trying  circumstances,  sacrificing  the  ties 
of  friendship  and  the  respect  of  their  compeers,  they  are  conspicu- 
ous as  the  moral  heroes  of  the  nineteenth  century. 


34^  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  memorial  service  was  closed  with  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Anna 
Howard  Shaw,  who  voiced  the  gratitude  for  the  inspiration  of 
such  lives  as  these  and  the  hope  that  this  generation  might  carry 
the  work  on  to  its  full  fruition. 


The  keynote  to  the  speeches  and  action  of  this  convention  was 
the  status  of  women  in  our  new  possessions.  At  a  preliminary 
meeting  of  the  Business  Committee,  held  in  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Chapman  Catt  at  Bensonhurst-by-the-Sea,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  2,  1899, 
the  following  "open  letter"  had  been  prepared  and  sent  to  every 
member  of  Congress  : 

To  THE  SENATE  AND  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  :  We  respect- 
fully request  that  in  the  qualifications  for  voters  in  the  proposed 
Constitution  for  the  new  Territory  of  Hawaii  the  word  "male"  be 
omitted. 

The  declared  intention  of  the  United  States  in  annexing  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  is  to  give  them  the  benefits  of  the  most  advanced 
civilization,  and  it  is  a  truism  that  the  progress  of  civilization  in 
every  country  is  measured  by  the  approach  of  women  toward  the 
ideal  of  equal  rights  with  men.  * 

Under  barbarism  the  struggle  for  existence  is  entirely  on  the 
physical  plane.  The  woman  freely  enters  the  arena  and  her  failure 
or  success  depends  wholly  upon  her  own  strength.  When  life 
rises  to  the  intellectual  plane  public  opinion  is  expressed  in  law. 
Justice  demands  that  we  shall  not  offer  to  women  emerging  from 
barbarism  the  ball  and  chain  of  a  sex  disqualification  while  we  hold 
out  to  men  the  crown  of  self-government. 

The  trend  of  civilization  is  closely  in  the  direction  of  equal  rights 
for  women.  [Then  followed  a  list  of  the  gains  for  woman  suf- 
frage.] 

The  Hon.  John  D.  Long,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  calls  the  opposi- 
tion to  woman  suffrage  a  "slowly  melting  glacier  of  bourbonism 
and  prejudice."  The  melting  is  going  on  steadily  all  over  our 
country,  and  it  would  be  most  inopportune  to  impose  upon  our 
new  possessions  abroad  the  antiquated  restrictions  which  we  are 
fast  discarding  at  home. 

We,  therefore,  petition  your  Honorable  Body  that,  upon  what- 
ever conditions  and  qualifications  the  right  of  suffrage  is  granted  to 
Hawaiian  men,  it  shall  be  granted  to  Hawaiian  women.* 

Notwithstanding  this  appeal,  and  special  petitions  also  from 
the  Suffrage  Associations  of  the  forty-five  States,  our  Congress 
provided  a  constitution  in  which  the  word  "male"  was  introduced 
more  frequently  than  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  or 

•  See  also  Chap.  XXIII  tof  further  efforts  to  protect  the  womerf  of  Hawaii. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1899.  347 

of  any  State,  in  the  determination  to  bar  out  Hawaiian  women 
from  voting  and  holding  office.  It  was  declared  that  only  "male" 
citizens  should  fill  any  office  or  vote  for  any  officer,  a  sweeping 
restriction  which  is  not  made  in  a  single  State  of  our  Union.  Not 
satisfied  with  this  infamous  abuse  of  power,  our  Congress  re- 
fused to  this  new  Territory  a  privilege  enjoyed  by  every  other 
Territory  in  the  United  States — that  of  having  the  power  vested 
in  its  Legislature  to  grant  woman  suffrage — and  provided  that 
this  Territorial  Legislature  must  submit  the  question  to  the 
voters.  It  took  care,  however,  to  enfranchise  every  male  being 
in  the  Islands — Kanaka,  Japanese  and  Portuguese — and  it  will 
be  only  by  their  permission  that  even  the  American  and  English 
women  residing  there  ever  can  possess  the  suffrage. 

The  members  of  the  commission  who  drafted  this  constitution 
were  President  Sanford  B.  Dole  and  Associate  Justice  W.  F. 
Frear  of  Hawaii ;  Senators  John  T.  Morgan,  Ala. ;  Shelby  M.  Cul- 
lom,  Ills. ;  Representative  Robert  R.  Hitt,  Ills.  Justice  Frear 
said  over  his  own  signature,  Feb.  n,  1899:  "I  proposed  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Hawaiian  Commission  that  the  Legislature  be  per- 
mitted to  authorize  woman  suffrage,  and  President  Dole  sup- 
ported me,  but  the  other  members  of  the  commission  took  a 
different  view."  In  other  words,  the  Hawaiian  members  favored 
the  enfranchisement  of  their  women  but  were  overruled  by  the 
American  members.  If  but  one  of  the  latter  had  stood  by  those 
from  Hawaii  its  women  would  not  have  been  placed,  as  they  now 
are,  under  greater  subjection  even  than  those  of  the  United 
States,  and  far  greater  than  they  were  before  the  annexation  of 
the  Islands.  Yet  after  the  consummation  of  this  shameful  act  the 
world  was  asked  to  rejoice  over  the  creation  of  a  new  republic ! 

There  is  not  the  slightest  reason  to  hope  that  the  appeals  for 
justice  to  the  women  of  the  Philippines  will  meet  with  any 
greater  success,  as  it  is  the  policy  of  our  Government  to  give  to 
men  every  incentive  to  study  its  institutions  and  fit  themselves 
for  an  intelligent  voice  in  their  control,  but  to  discourage  all 
interest  on  the  part  of  women  and  to  prevent  them  absolutely 
from  any  participation.  Having  held  American  women  in  sub- 
jection for  a  century  and  a  quarter,  it  now  shows  a  determination 


HISTORY   OF   WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 

to  place  the  same  handicap  upon  the  women  of  our  newly-ac- 
quired possessions. 


During  the  spring  of  1902,  just  before  this  volume  goes  to  the 
publishers,  the  U.  S.  Senate  Philippine  Commission  has  been 
summoning  before  it  a  .number  of  persons  competent  to  give 
expert  testimony  as  to  existing  conditions  in  those  Islands. 
Among  these  were  Judge  W.  H.  Taft,  who  for  the  past  year  has 
been  Governor  of  the  Philippines  and  speaks  with  high  authority ; 
and  Archbishop  Nozaleda,  who  has  been  connected  with  the 
Catholic  church  in  the  Islands  for  twenty-six  years,  and  Arch- 
bishop since  1889,  and  who  has  the  fullest  understanding  of  the 
natives.  Governor  Taft  said  in  answer  to  the  committee : 

The  fact  is  that,  not  only  among  the  Tagalogs  but  also  among 
the  Christian  Filipinos,  the  woman  is  the  active  manager  of  the 
family,  so  if  you  expect  *to  confer  political  power  on  the  Filipinos 
it  ought  to  be  given  to  the  women. 

Archbishop  Nozaleda  testified  as  follows :  (  Senate  Document 
190,  p.  109.) 

The  woman  is  better  than  the  man  in  every  way — in  intelligence, 
in  virtue  and  in  labor — and  a  great  deal  more  economical.  She  is 
very  much  given  to  trade  and  trafficking.  If  any  rights  and  privi- 
leges are  to  be  granted  to  the  natives,  do  not  give  them  to  the  men 
but  to  the  women. 

Q.  Then  you  think  it  would  be  much  better  to  give  the  women 
the  right  to  vote  than  the  men  ? 

A.  O,  much  better.  Why,  even  in  the  fields  it  is  the  women  who 
do  the  work ;  the  men  who  go  to  the  cock  fights  and  gamble.  The 
woman  is  the  one  who  supports  the  man  there;  so  every  law  of  jus- 
tice demands  that  even  in  political  life  they  should  have  the  privilege 
over  the  men. 

The  action  which  our  Government  will  eventually  take  in  con- 
ferring the  suffrage  on  the  Filipinos  can  not  be  recorded  in  this 
volume,  but  the  prophecy  is  here  made  that,  in  spite  of  the  above 
testimony,  and  much  more  of  the  same  nature  which  has  been 
given  by  correspondents  in  the  Philippines  and  by  many  who  have 
returned  from  there,  the  Government  of  the  United  States  will 
enfranchise  the  inferior  male  inhabitants  and  hold  as  political 
subjects  the  superior  women  of  these  Islands.  And  again  the 
world  will  be  called  upon  to  greet  another  republic ! 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  IQOO. 

The  Thirty-second  annual  convention  of  the  suffrage  associa- 
tion, held  in  Washington,  D.  C,  Feb.  8-14,  1900,  possessed 
two  features  of  unusual  interest — it  closed  the  century  and  it 
marked  the  end  of  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony's  presidency  of  the 
organization.  The  latter  event  attracted  wide  attention. 
Sketches  of  her  career  and  of  the  movement  whose*  history  was 
almost  synonymous  with  her  own,  appeared  in  most  of  the  lead- 
ing newspapers  and  magazines  of  the  country;  special  reporters 
were  sent  to  Washington,  and  the  celebration  of  her  eightieth 
birthday  at  the  close  of  the  convention  was  in  the  nature  of  a  na- 
tional event.  On  the  opening  morning  the  Post  said  in  a  leading 
editorial : 

Washington  entertains  the  National  Woman  Suffrage  Associa- 
tion from  year  to  year  with  entire  complacency,  apart  from  any  po- 
litical prejudice,  without  any  sense  of  partisanship  and  in  a  spirit  of 
keen  interest  in  the  great  propaganda  which  is  being  thus  conduct- 
ed. There  was  a  time,  not  so  very  long  ago,  when  the  plea  for 
suffrage  was  ridiculed  far  and  wide;  but  the  women  have  worked 
ahead  undaunted  by  the  scoffings  of  the  world,  until  they  have 
actually  won  the  battle  in  such  a  marked  degree  as  to  give  them 
unbounded  assurance  for  the  future 

The  world  is  beginning  to  take  a  new  view  of  this  suffrage  ques- 
tion. The  advent  of  women  into  the  professions  and  even  the 
trades,  their  appearance  as  wage-earners  in  virtually  every  branch  of 
modern  activity,  and  their  success  in  these  various  enterprises  which 
they  have  entered,  have  worked  a  reform  even  more  significant  than 
the  absolute  and  universal  grant  of  the  suffrage  would  have  been. 
It  can  not  be  denied  by  men  to-day  that  the  women  have  become 
economic  factors  of  marked  importance,  and  this  appreciation  has 
had  a  great  influence  in  softening  the  sentiments  of  the  male  popula- 
tion toward  the  suffragists. 

One  of  the  foremost  arguments  formerly  urged  against  the  ex- 
tension of  the  suffrage  to  women  was  that  it  would  be  harmful  to 
woman's  moral  nature  to  thrust  her  into  contact  with  the  rough 
conditions  of  campaigning.  The  women  answered  that  their  en- 
trance would  perhaps  redeem  the  immoral  character  of  the  politics 
of  many  communities.  In  the  minds  of  impartial  observers  the 

349 


35°  HISTORY    OF    WOMAX    SUFFRAGE. 

argument  was  a  stand-off.  But  this  economic,  professional  ten- 
dency of  the  women  has  done  much  to  destroy  the  force  of  the  men's 
plea  to  preserve  the  women  from  contaminating  contact  with  harsh 
conditions.  The  security  of  the  average  woman  worker  in  the  vari- 
ous lines  of  honest  activity  which  the  sex  has  fearlessly  entered  has 
worked  a  revelation.  The  close  of  the  century  is  witnessing  a 
great  change  in  public  sentiment  in  this  regard.  The  demand  of 
the  suffragists  can  not  but  be  strengthened  by  the  demonstrated  fact 
that  women  can  become  workers  in  competition  with  men  without 
becoming  demoralized. 

Just  where  this  new  tendency  will  lead  in  an  economic  direction 
is  a  serious  question,  to  be  answered  by  facts  rather  than  by  the- 
ories. Some  students  of  the  science  believe  that  it  is  working  a 
revolution  and  is  affecting  the  whole  business  fabric.  There  may 
be  a  reaction  against  it,  affecting  in  turn  the  now  moderate  attitude 
of  most  men  toward  the  suffrage  question ;  but  in  any  event  it  is 
clear  that  this  great  agitation,  carried  on  by  the  association  now  in 
session,  has  been  of  serious  importance  and  not  without  palpable 
fruits. 

The  advocates  of  woman's  enfranchisement  never  were 
brighter,  happier  or  more  hopeful  and  courageous.  All  of  the 
States  but  four  were  represented  by  the  173  delegates  in  attend- 
ance. Some  of  them  were  white-haired  and  wrinkled  and  had 
been  coming  to  Washington  for  the  whole  thirty-two  years. 
Others  were  in  the  prime  and  vigor  of  life  and  had  entered  the 
movement  after  the  heaviest  blows  had  been  struck  and  the  hard- 
est battles  had  been  won,  but  now  they  had  enlisted  until  the  end 
of  the  war.  And  now  there  were  a  large  number  of  beautiful 
and  highly-educated  young  women,  graduates  of  the  best  col- 
leges, filled  with  the  zeal  of  new  converts,  bringing  to  the  work 
well-trained  and  thoroughly-equipped  minds  and  giving  to  the 
old  members  the  comforting  assurance  that  the  vital  cause  would 
still  be  carried  forward  when  their  own  labors  were  ended. 

The  Woman's  Journal  in  recounting  the  gains  for  suffrage 
concluded:  "In  this  year,  1900,  the  woman  suffragists,  after  a 
half-century  of  unbroken  national  organization,  can  go  before 
Congress  and  claim  the  support  of  members  from  four  States 
who  were  elected  in  part  by  the  votes  of  women.  They  can  en- 
force their  pleas  before  presidential  nominating  conventions  with 
the  concrete  fact  that  thirteen  members  of  the  electoral  college 
have  a  constituency  of  women  voters." 

Miss  Anthony  presided  at  three  public  sessions  daily  and  at 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  35 1 

all  the  executive  and  business  meetings,  went  to  Baltimore  and 
held  a  one-day's  conference  and  made  a  big  speech,  addressed  a 
parlor  meeting,  attended  several  dinners  and  receptions,  partici- 
pated in  her  own  great  birthday  festivities,  afternoon  and  even- 
ing, and  remained  for  nearly  a  week  of  Executive  Committee 
meetings  after  the  convention  had  closed. 

As  she  rose  to  open  the  convention,  clad  as  usual  in  soft  black 
satin,  with  duchesse  lace  in  the  neck  and  sleeves  and  the  lovely 
red  crepe  shawl  falling  gracefully  from  her  shoulders,  there  were 
many  a  moist  eye  and  tightened  throat  at  the  thought  that  this 
was  the  last  time.  Her  fine  voice  with  its  rich  alto  vibrations 
was  as  strong  and  resonant  as  fifty  years  ago,  and  her  practical, 
matter-of-fact  speech,  followed  by  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard 
Shaw's  lively  stories,  soon  dispelled  the  sadness  and  put  the  audi- 
ence in  a  cheerful  mood.  Miss  Anthony  commenced  by  saying : 

I  have  been  attending  conventions  in  Washington  for  over  thirty 
years.  It  is  good  for  us  to  come  to  this  Mecca,  the  heart  of  our 
nation.  Here  the  members  of  Congress  from  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try meet  together  to  deliberate  for  the  best  interests  of  the  whole 
government  and  of  their  respective  States.  So  our  delegates  as- 
semble here  to  plan  for  the  best  interests  of  our  cause  in  the  nation 
and  in  their  respective  States.  We  come  here  to  study  how  we 
may  do  more  and  more  for  the  spread  of  the  doctrine  of  equality, 
but  chiefly  to  study  how  to  get  the  States  to  concentrate  their  efforts 
on  Congress.  Our  final  aim  is  an  amendment  to  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution providing  that  no  citizen  over  whom  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
wave  shall  be  debarred  from  suffrage  except  for  cause.  I  am  al- 
ways glad  when  we  come  to  Washington,  and  in  our  little  pere- 
grinations over  the  country  I  have  been  more  and  more  impressed 
with  the  conviction  that,  while  we  should  do  all  the  good  work  we 
can  in  our  own  States,  we  ought  to  hold  our  annual  meeting  in 
the  national  capital. 

In  beginning  her  vice-president's  address,  which  as  usual  de- 
fied reporting,  Miss  Shaw  said : 

Before  giving  my  report  I  want  to  tell  a  story  against  Miss  An- 
thony. We  suffragists  have  been  called  everything  under  the  sun, 
and  when  there  was  nothing  else  quite  bad  enough  for  us  we  have 
been  called  infidels,  which  includes  everything.  Once  we  went  to 
hold  a  convention  in  a  particularly  orthodox  city  in  New  York,  and 
Miss  Anthony,  wishing  to  impress  upon  the  audience  that  we  were 
not  atheists,  introduced  me  as  "a  regularly-ordained  orthodox  min- 
ister, the  Rev.  Anna  H.  Shaw,  my  right  bower!"  That  orthodox 
audience  all  seemed  to  know  what  a  "right  bower"  is,  for  they 


352  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 

laughed  even  louder  than  you  do.  After  the  meeting  Miss  Anthony 
said  to  me,  "Anna,  what  did  I  say  to  make  the  people  laugh  so  ?'' 
I  answered,  "You  called  me  your  right  bower."  She  said,  "Well, 
you  are  my  right-hand  man.  That  is  what  right  bower  means, 
isn't  it?"  And  this  orthodox  minister  had  to  explain  to  her  Qua- 
ker friend  what  a  right  bower  is. 

The  chief  event  of  last  summer  was  the  quinquennial  meeting  of 
the  International  Council  of  Women  in  London.  The  Woman's 
National  Council  of  the  United  States  is  made  up  of  about  twenty 
societies  with  an  aggregate  membership  of  over  a  million  women. 
It  was  only  allowed  two  delegates  besides  its  president,  and  it  is 
not  a  suffrage  association,  yet  it  honored  two  women  who  have  been 
known  for  some  years  as  suffragists,  Miss  Anthony  and  myself,  by 
making  us  its  delegates  to  London.  They  said  they  did  this  because 
they  wanted  women  who  did  not  represent  anything  too  radical ! 

That  Congress  wras  the  greatest  assemblage  of  women  from  all 
parts  of  the  world  that  ever  had  taken  place,  and  therefore  the 
biggest  suffrage  convention  ever  held.  Suffrage  seemed  to  take 
possession  of  the  whole  meeting,  as  it  does  at  every  great  gathering 
of  women.  From  this  point  of  view  it  was  a  decided  and  emphatic 
success.  The  largest  meeting  of  all  was  the  one  held  by  the  Suffrage 
Association  and  every  suffrage  heart  would  have  swollen  so  large  it 
could  hardly  have  been  kept  within  the  bounds  of  the  body  if  it  had 
heard  the  applause  with  which  Miss  Anthony  was  greeted.  She 
could  not  speak  for  ten  minutes.  .  .  . 

In  England  I  entered  upon  a  role  I  had  never  filled  before,  or  had 
any  ambition  for — I  "entered  society,"  and  for  ten  days  I  was  in  it 
from  before  breakfast  till  after  midnight ;  and  I  prayed  the  prayer  of 
the  Pharisee — I  thanked  the  Lord  that  I  was  not  as  other  women  are 
who  have  to  go  into  society  all  the  time.  I  had  thought  that  travel- 
ing up  and  down  the  country  with  gripsack  in  hand  was  hard 
enough  ;  but  it  is  child's  play  to  hand-shaking  and  hob-nobbing  with 
duchesses  and  countesses.  However,  the  experience  was  good  for 
us,  and  it  was  especially  good  for  those  American  women  who  had 
thought  that  they  knew  more  than  other  women  till  they  met  them 
and  found  that  they  didn't. 

I  came  home,  spent  three  days  there,  and  then  took  my  grip  in 
hand  and  started  out  again  lecturing — mostly  for  the  Redpath 
bureau,  and  for  people  who  did  not  want  to  hear  about  suffrage ; 
so  I  spoke  on  "The  Fate  of  Republics,"  "The  American  Home," 
"The  New  Man,"  etc.  Under  these  titles  I  gave  them  stronger  doses 
of  suffrage  than  I  ever  do  to  you  here,  and  they  received  it  with 
great  enthusiasm,  because  it  was  not  called  suffrage.  I  spoke  the 
other  day  in  Cincinnati  to  about  3,000  people  and  they  were 
delighted,  and  did  not  suspect  that  I  was  talking  suffrage.  They 
don't  know  what  woman  suffrage  is.  They  think  it  only  means  to 
berate  the  men.  In  this  way  I  have  perhaps  done  the  best  suffrage 
work  I  possibly  could. 

Later  in  the  session  Miss  Anthony  made  her  report  as  delegate 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1900.  353 

from  the  National  Council  of  Women  of  the  United  States  to  this 
International  Congress  in  London,  in  which  she  said : 

During  the  last  seventeen  years  there  has  been  a  perfect  revolution 
in  England.  When  Mrs.  Stanton  and  I  went  there  for  the  first 
time,  in  1883,  just  a  few  families  were  not  afraid  of  us — the  Brights, 
Peter  Taylor's  household,  and  some  of  the  old  abolitionists  who 
knew  all  about  us.  When  it  was  proposed  to  get  up  a  testimonial 
meeting  for  us,  even  the  officers  of  the  suffrage  societies  did  not  dare 
to  sign  the  invitation.  They  thought  we  Americans  were  too 
radical.  .... 

This  time  when  we  reached  London  we  were  the  recipients  of  tes- 
timonials not  only  from  the  real,  radical  suffrage  people,  but  also 
from  the  conservatives.  At  that  magnificent  Queen's  Hall  meeting 
of  the  Suffrage  Association,  with  Mrs.  Fawcett  presiding,  three  or 
four  thousand  people  packed  the  hall.  It  was  a  representative 
gathering.  Australia  and  New  Zealand  were  there  to  speak  for 
themselves,  and  they  had  me  to  speak  for  the  United  States.  I 
tried  to  have  them  call  on  Miss  Shaw  instead,  but  they 
would  not  do  it 

Every  young  woman  who  is  to-day  enjoying  the  advantages  of 
free  schools  and  opportunities  to  earn  a  living  and  the  other*  enlarged 
rights  for  women,  is  a  child  of  the  woman  suffrage  movement.  This 
larger  freedom  has  broadened  and  strengthened  women  wonder- 
fully. At  the  end  of  the  Council,  Lady  Aberdeen,  who  had  been  its 
president  for  six  years,  in  a  published  interview  summing  up  the 
work  of  the  women  who  had  been  present,  said  there  was  no  denying 
that  the  English-speaking  women  stood  head  and  shoulders  above 
all  the  others  in  their  knowledge  of  Parliamentary  law,  and  that  at 
the  very  top  were  those  of  the  United  States  and  Canada — the 
two  freest  parts  of  the  world.  I  said:  "If  the  women  of  the 
United  States,  with  their  free  schools  and  all  their  enlarged  liberties, 
are  not  superior  to  women  brought  up  under  monarchical  forms  of 
government,  then  there  is  no  good  in  liberty."  It  is  because  of  this 
freedom  that  Europeans  are  always  struck  with  the  greater  self- 
poise,  self-control  and  independence  of  American  women.  These 
characteristics  will  be  still  more  marked  when  we  have  mingled 
more  with  men  in  their  various  meetings.  It  is  only  by  the  friction 
of  intellect  with  intellect  that  these  desirable  qualities  can  be.  gained. 

The  public  sessions  of  the  Council  were  all  that  heart  could  wish. 
I  was  present  at  only  a  few  of  them  because  the  business  meetings 
came  at  the  same  hour,  and  were  held  miles  away.  But  every  day 
people  would  say  to  me,  "Miss  Anthony,  you  yourself  could  not 
have  made  a  stronger  suffrage  speech  than  So-and-So  made  to-day 
in  such-and-such  a  section" — industrial,  professional,  etc.  In  the 
educational  section,  one  of  the  best  speeches  was  made  by  Miss 
Brownell,  dean  of  Sage  College,  Cornell  University,  on  co-education. 

It  was  a  great  occasion.  Here  were  the  advocates  of  this  move- 
ment for  absolutely  equal  rights  received  and  entertained  by  the 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF. — 23 


354  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

nobility  of  England — American  women  at  the  head.  Among  man) 
others  a  reception  was  given  by  the  Lord  Bishop  of  London  at  his 
home,  Fulham  Palace.  In  talking  with  Lady  Battersea,  daughte 
of  a  Rothschild,  I  caught  myself  repeatedly  addressing  her  as  "Mrs. 
Battersea,"  and  I  said,  "I  suppose  I  shock  you  very  much  by  for- 
getting your  title."  She  answered  emphatically:  "Not  at  all. 
like  an  American  to  be  an  American.  It  is  much  pleasanter  the 
when  they  come  cringing  and  crawling  and  trying  to  conform  to 
our  customs."  When  all  sorts  of  notables  were  giving  us  receptions, 
I  said  to  Lady  Aberdeen :  "If  this  great  Council  of  Women  of  ten 
nations  were  meeting  in  Washington,  we  would  be  invited  to  the 
White  House.  Can't  you  contrive  an  interview  with  the  Queen?" 

Miss  Anthony  then  described  the  reception  of  the  Congress 
by  the  Queen  at  Windsor  Castle,  the  serving  of  tea  in  the  great 
Hall  of  St.  George,  and  all  the  incidents  of  that  interesting  oc- 
casion, and  concluded :  "What  I  want  most  to  impress  upon 
you  is  this:  If  we  had  represented  nothing  but  ourselves  we 
should  have  been  nowhere.  Wendell  Phillips  said:  'When  I 
speak  as  an  individual,  I  represent  only  myself,  but  when  I  speak 
for  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  I  represent  every  one  in 
the  country  who  believes  in  liberty.'  It  was  because  Miss  Shaw 
and  I  represented  you  and  all  which  makes  for  liberty  that  we 
were  so  well  received ;  and  I  want  you  to  feel  that  all  the  honors 
paid  to  us  were  paid  to  you." 

A  paper  to  be  remembered  was  that  of  Mrs.  Isabel  C.  Barrows 
(Mass.)  on  Woman's  Work  in  Philanthropy.  After  tracing  the 
various  lines  of  philanthropic  effort  in  which  women  had  been 
distinguished,  she  said  in  conclusion  that  no  woman  who  ever  he 
lived  had  done  more  in  the  line  of  philanthropy  than  Susan  B. 
Anthony. 

Miss  Harriet  May  Mills  (N.  Y.)  gave  a  fine  address  on  The 
Winning  of  Educational  Freedom,  saying  in  part : 

Abigail  Adams  said  of  the  conditions  in  the  early  par 

of  the  nineteenth  century :  "Female  education  in  the  best  families 
went  no  farther  than  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic  and,  in  some 
rare  instances,  music  and  dancing."  A  lady  living  in  the  first 
quarter  of  the  century  relates  that  she  returned  from  a  school  in 
Charleston,  where  she  had  been  sent  to  be  "finished  off,"  with  little 
besides  a  knowledge  of  sixty  different  lace  stitches 

The  majority  of  women  were  content,  they  ask*ed  no  change;  they 
took  no  part  in  the  movement  for  higher  education  except  to  ridicule 
it.  This,  like  every  other  battle  for  freedom  which  the  world  has 
seen,  was  led  by  the  few  brave,  strong  souls  who  saw  the  truth  and 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1900.  355 

dared  proclaim  it.  In  1820  the  world  looked  aghast  upon  "blue- 
stockings." Because  a  young  woman  was  publicly  examined  in 
geometry  at  one  of  Mrs.  Emma  Willard's  school  exhibitions,  a  storm 
•of  ridicule  broke  forth  at  so  scandalous  a  proceeding.  It  was  ten 
years  after  Holyoke  was  founded  before  Mary  Lyon  dared  to  have 
Latin  appear  in  the  regular  course,  because  the  views  of  the  com- 
munity would  not  allow  it.  Boston  had  a  high  school  for  girls  in 
1825,  which  was  maintained  but  eighteen  months,  Mayor  Quincy 
declaring  that  "no  funds  of  any  city  could  stand  the  expense."  The 
difficulty  was  that  "too  many  girls  attended."  .... 

In  1877  President  Charles  W.  Eliot  of  Harvard  protested  against 
the  opening  of  the  Boston  Latin  School  to  girls,  saying:  "I  resist 
the  proposition  for  the  sake  of  the  boys,  the  girls,  the  schools  and 
the  general  interest  of  education."  Nearly  twenty  years  later,  he 
said  to  the  Radcliffe  graduates :  "It  is  a  quarter  of  a  century  since 
the  college  doors  were  open  to  women.  From  that  time,  where 
boys  and  girls  have  been  educated  together,  it  has  become  a  histor- 
ical fact  that  women  have  taken  a  greater  number  of  honors,  in  pro- 
portion to  their  numbers,  than  men."  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  next 
twenty  years  may  work  further  conversion  in  the  mind  of  this 
learned  president,  and  lead  him  to  see  that  equality  in  citizenship 
is  as  desirable  as  equality  in  education. 

One  learned  man  prophesied  that  all  educated  women  would 
become  somnambulists.  Another  declared  that  the  perilous  track  to 
higher  education  would  be  strewn  with  wrecks.  There  are  now 
over  thirty  thousand  of  these  college-educated  wrecks,  the  majority 
of  them  engaged  in  the  active -work  of  the  world.  It  was  found  in 
1874,  when  Dr.  E.  H.  Clarke's  evil  prophecies  as  to  higher  education 
were  attracting  attention,  that  at  Antioch,  opened  to  women  in 
1853,  thirteen  and  one-half  per  cent,  of  the  men  graduates  had  died, 
nine  and  three-fourths  per  cent,  of  the  women.  This  did  not  include 
war  mortality  or  accidental  death.  Three  of  the  men  then  living 
were  confirmed  invalids  ;  not  one  of  the  women  was  in  such  a  condi- 
tion. The  Association  of  Collegiate  Alumnae  has  compiled  later 
and  fuller  statistics.  The  results  show  an  increase  during  the  col- 
lege course  of  from  three  to  six  per  cent,  in  good  health,  and  the 
health  after  graduation  to  be  twenty-two  per  cent,  higher  among 
graduates  than  among  women  who  have  not  been  in  col- 
!ege 

Elizabeth  Blackwell  applied  to  twelve  colleges  before  she  gained 
admittance  to  the  Geneva  (N.  Y.)  Medical  School  in  1846,  and 
secured  the  first  M.  D.  ever  given  to  a  woman  in  this  country. 
To-day  1,583  women  are  studying  medicine.  Not  so  full  a  measure 
of  freedom  has  been  won  in  law  or  theology.  In  1897,  131  women 
were  in  the  law  schools,  193  in  the  theological  schools,  but  women 
are  still  handicapped  in  these  professions 

Unfortunately,  educational  freedom  has  not  been  followed  by 
industrial  freedom.  Of  the  leading  colleges  for  women  but  four 
have  women  presidents ;  but  one  offers  a  free  field  to  women  on  its 
professional  staff.  In  the  majority  of  co-educational  colleges  which 


356  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

give  women  any  place  as  teachers,  they  appear  in  smallNnumbers  as 
assistant  professors  and,  more  often,  as  instructors 

With  educational  freedom  partially  won  has  come  general  interest 
among  collegiate  and  non-collegiate  women  in  furthering  the  move- 
ment. Large  gifts  have  been  bestowed  for  scholarships  and  for 
colleges,  both  co-educational  and  separate.  Within  the  last  year 
thirty-four  women  have  given  $4,446,400  to  the  cause  of  education. 
Mrs.  Stanford's  munificent  benefactions,  and  other  lesser  ones,  swell 
the  amount  to  more  than  fifty  millions  from  women  alone.  As  a 
result  of  the  struggle  for  educational  freedom,  we  have  35,782 
women  in  the  colleges  of  the  country.* 

Educational  freedom  without  political  freedom  is  but  partial. 
Minerva  sprang  fully  armed  from  the  head  of  Jove;  not  only  had 
she  wisdom,  but  she  had  the  spear  and  the  helmet  in  her  hands — 
every  weapon  of  offense  and  defense  to  equip  her  for  the  world's 
conquest.  Standing  on  the  threshold  of  the  new  century,  we  behold 
the  woman  of  the  future  thus  armed;  we  see  the  fully  educated 
woman  possessed  of  a  truer  knowledge  of  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  government ;  we  see  her  conscious  of  her  responsibilities  as  a 
citizen,  and  doing  her  part  in  the  making  of  laws  and  in  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  ideal  of  democracy.  Educational  freedom  must  lead  to- 
political  freedom. 

Mrs.  Mary  C.  C.  Bradford,  a  leader  among  Colorado  women, 
spoke  eloquently  on  The  Social  Transformation,  following  the 
stages  in  evolution  expressed  in  the  words,  "I  dare,  I  will,  I  am." 
Describing  the  effects  of  woman  suffrage,  she  said : 

I  wish  I  could  make  you  all  understand  that  the  home  is  not 
touched.  Equal  suffrage  does  not  mean  destruction  or  disintegra- 
tion but  the  radiation  of  the  home — carrying  it  out  into  the  wider 
life  of  the  community.  The  ideal  of  the  family  must  pervade 
society ;  and  that  is  what  equal  suffrage  is  gradually  bringing  about. 
I  know  you  hear  all  sorts  of  things  about  woman  suffrage  in  Col- 
orado. Not  very  long  ago  certain  Eastern  papers  gave  great  promi- 
nence to  an  interview  with  a  "distinguished  citizen  of  Colorado," 
who  gave  a  hi'ghly  unfavorable  account  of  the  workings  of  woman 
suffrage  there.  The  "distinguished  citizen"  in  question  was  a 
prize-fighter  who  had  killed  three  men — a  gambler  driven  out  by 
woman  suffrage ;  and  he  naturally  said  that  woman  suffrage  was  a 

failure The  great  Woman's  Club  of  Denver  is  a  power 

for  good  in  the  city ;  it  is  carrying  on  schools  in  "the  bottoms/" 
night  schools,  kitchen  gardens,  traveling  libraries;  it  secured  the 
establishment  of  the  State  Home  for  Dependent  Children,  the 
removal  of  the  emblems  from  the  Australian  ballot,  and  other  good 
things 

I  would  that  you  could  all  go  out  to  Colorado  and  see  how  subtly, 

•The  statistics  used  in  this  paper  were  taken  from  the  report  of  the  U.  S.  Commis- 
sioner of  Education  for  1899. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  357 

yes.  and  how  swiftly,  the  social  transformation  is  going  on.  It  is  the 
home  transforming  the  State,  not  the  State  destroying  the  home.  A 
Denver  paper  lately  said  the  men  had  found  out  that  in  determining 
all  questions  of  morality,  sanitation,  etc.,  if  the  women  were  consult- 
ed, better  results  were  obtained.  We  have  more  intelligent  homes 
because  of  equal  suffrage.  Where  children  see  their  father  and 
mother  go  to  the  polls  together,  and  hear  them  talk  over  public  ques- 
tions, and  occasionally  express  different  views,  they  learn  tolerance. 
A  party  slave  will  not  come  out  from  such  a  home.  The  children 
will  grow  up  seeing  that  it  is  un-American  to  say  that  everybody  in 
the  opposite  party  is  either  a  fool  or  a  knave.  The  two  best  features 
of  equal  suffrage  are  the  improvement  of  the  individual  woman 
and  the  prospective  abolition  of  the  political  "boss." 

Introducing  Henry  B.  Blackwell  (Mass.)  to  report  on  Presi- 
dential Suffrage,  Miss  Anthony  said :  "Here  is  a  man  who  has 
the  virtue  of  having  stood  by  the  woman's  cause  for  nearly  fifty 
years.  I  can  remember  him  when  his  hair  was  not  white,  and 
when  he  was  following  up  our  conventions  assiduously  because 
a  bright,  little,  red-cheeked  woman  attracted  him.  She  attracted 
him  so  strongly  that  he  still  works  for  woman  suffrage,  and  will 
do  so  as  long  as  he  lives,  not  only  because  of  her  who  was  always 
so  true  and  faithful  to  the  cause — Lucy  Stone — but  also  because 
he  has  a  daughter,  a  worthy  representative  of  the  twain  who 
were  made  one." 

On  Friday  evening  Mrs.  Ida  Husted  Harper  gave  a  portion 
of  her  paper,  The  Training  of  the  Woman  Journalist,  which  she 
had  presented  at  the  International  Congress  in  London.  Miss 
Anna  Barrows  (Mass.),  literary  editor  of  The  American  Kitchen 
Magazine,  spoke  on  New  Professions  for  Women  Centering  in 
the  Home : 

The  main  objection  made  by  conservative  people  to  definite  occu- 
pations or  professions  for  women  has  been  that  such  callings  would 
inevitably  tend  to  destroy  the  home.  Once  let  women  prove  that 
they  can  follow  a  trade  or  profession  and  yet  make  a  home  for 
themselves  and  others,  and  such  objectors  have  no  ground 

left The  fear   is  sometimes  expressed  that   the  club 

movement  is  drawing  women  away  from  home  interests ;  but  the 
general  attention  now  given  to  household  economics  by  all  the 
women's  clubs  proves  that  women  are  realizing  that  knowledge  of 
history,  art  and  science  is  needed  to  give  the  broad  culture  necessary 
for  the  proper  conduct  of  the  home  life.  Although  as  yet  few 
women's  colleges  offer  adequate  courses  in  home  economics,  never- 
theless after  marriage  the  college  women  begin  to  study  household 
problems  with  all  the  energy  brought  out  by  the  college  training. 


358  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

A  very  general  comment  on  woman's  desire  for  a  share  in  munici- 
pal and  national  government  is  that  the  servant  question  is  yet 
unsolved;  that,  since  she  has  not  succeeded  in  governing  her  own 
domain,  she  has  no  rights  outside  of  it.  By  going  outside  of  her 
home  as  an  employe  herself  she  is  learning  to  deal  with  this  prob- 
lem. It  has  been  necessary  for  women  to  have  thorough  business 
training  in  other  directions  before  they  could  discover  how  unbusi- 
nesslike were  the  methods  pursued  in  the  average  household.  The 
more  women  have  gone  out  of  their  homes  into  new  occupations,  the 
more  they  have  realized  that  the  home  is  dependent  upon  the  same 
principles  as  the  business  world.  The  business  woman  understands 
human  nature,  and  therefore  can  deal  successfully  with  the  butcher, 
the  baker  and  other  tradespeople.  She  has  a  power  of  adapting 
herself  to  new  conditions  which  is  impossible  to  her  sister  accus- 
tomed only  to  the  narrow  treadmill  of  housework. 

Specialization  is  the  tendency  of  the  age,  and  by  wise  attention  to 
this  in  the  household,  as  elsewhere,  enough  time  should  be  saved  to 
each  community  for  the  world's  work  to  be  done  in  fewer  hours,  and 
for  men  and  women  to  have  time  besides  to  be  homemakers  and 
good  citizens.  Little  by  little  one  art  and  craft  after  another  has 
been  evolved  into  the  dignity  of  a  profession,  while  housework  as  a 
whole  has  been  left  to  untrained  workers.  Needle  work,  cookery 
and  cleaning  are  dependent  on  the  fundamental  principles  of  all  the 

natural  sciences There  is  need  also  of  trained  women 

to  lead  public  sentiment  to  recognize  the  dignity  of  manual  labor. 

The  statesmanlike  paper  of  Mrs.  Isabella  Beecher  Hooker 
(Conn.)  on  the  Duty  of  Woman  Citizens  of  the  United  States 
in  the  Present  Political  Crisis,  was  read  by  Mrs.  Mary  Seymour 
Howell  (N.  Y.),  who  enforced  its  sentiments  by  earnest  and 
stirring  remarks  of  her  own.  Mrs.  Mary  Church  Terrell,  A.  M. 
of  Oberlin  College,  president  of  the  National  Association  of 
Colored  Women  and  a  member  of  the  Washington  School  Board, 
considered  the  Justice  of  Woman  Suffrage : 

.  .  .  .  To  assign  reasons  in  this  day  and  time  why  it  is  unjust 
to  deprive  one-half  of  the  human  race  of  rights  and  privileges  freely 
accorded  to  the  other,  which  is  neither  more  deserving  nor  more 
capable  of  exercising  them,  seems  like  a  reflection  upon  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  audience.  As  a  nation  we  professed  long  ago  to  have 
abandoned  the  principle  that  might  makes  right.  Before  the  world 
we  pose  to-day  as  a  government  whose  citizens  have  the  right  to 
life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  And  yet,  in  spite  of  these 
lofty  professions  and  noble  sentiments,  the  present  policy  of  this 
government  is  to  hold  one-half  of  its  citizens  in  legal  subjection  to 
the  other,  without  being  able  to  assign  good  and  sufficient  reasons 
for  such  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  very  principles  upon  which  it 
was  founded. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  359 

When  one  observes  how  all  the  most  honorable  and  lucrative 
positions  in  Church  and  State  have  been  reserved  for  men,  accord- 
ing" to  laws  which  they  themselves  have  made  so  as  to  debar  women ; 
how,  until,  recently,  a  married  woman's  property  was  under  the 
exclusive  control  of  her  husband ;  how,  in  all  transactions  where 
husband  and  wife  are  considered  one,  the  law  makes  the  husband 
that  one — man's  boasted  chivalry  to  the  disfranchised  sex  is 
punctured  beyond  repair. 

These  unjust  discriminations  will  ever  remain,  until  the  source 
from  which  they  spring — the  political  disfranchisement  of  woman 
— shall  be  removed.  The  injustice  involved  in  denying  woman  the 
suffrage  is  not  confined  to  the  disfranchised  sex  alone,  but  extends  to 
the  nation  as  well,  in  that  it  is  deprived  of  the  excellent  service  which 
woman  might  render 

The  argument  that  it  is  unnatural  for  woman  to  vote  is  as  old  as 
the  rock-ribbed  and  ancient  hills.  Whatever  is  unusual  is  called 
unnatural,  the  world  over.  Whenever  humanity  takes  a  step  for- 
ward in  progress,  some  old  custom  falls  dead  at  our  feet.  Noth- 
ing could  be  more  unnatural  than  that  a  good  woman  should  shirk 
her  duty  to  the  State. 

If  you  marvel  that  so  few  women  work  vigorously  for  political 
enfranchisement,  let  me  remind  you  that  woman's  success  in  almost 
everything  depends  upon  what  men  think  of  her.  Why  the  majority 
of  men  oppose  woman  suffrage  is  clear  even  to  the  dullest  under- 
standing. In  all  great  reforms  it  is  only  the  few  brave  souls  who 
have  the  courage  of  their  convictions  and  who  are  willing  to  fight 
until  victory  is  wrested  from  the  very  jaws  of  fate. 

In  treating  of  Women  in  the  Ministry,  the  Rev.  Ida  C.  Hultin 
(Mass.)  considered  what  is  known  as  "the  woman  movement" 
from  a  broad  and  philosophical  standpoint,  which  carried  con- 
viction and  disarmed  opposition. 

At  the  opening  of  the  Saturday  evening-  meeting  a  telegram 
was  read  from  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  National  Anti- 
Trust  Conference,  in  session  at  Chicago :  "Hearty  congratula- 
tions to  the  distinguished  president  of  the  Woman  Suffrage  As- 
sociation, and  hopes  that  Miss  Anthony  may  enjoy  many  years 
of  added  happiness  and  honor.  This  cordial  salutation  includes 
Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  and  all  of  the  noble  souls  who  have 
wrought  so  great  a  work  in  the  liberation  and  advancement  of 
the  women  of  this  country."  A  letter  was  read  also  from  Frank 
Morrison,  secretary  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  with 
the  following  resolution,  which  was  passed  by  the  convention 
held  in  Detroit,  Mich.,  the  previous  December : 

WHEREAS,  Disfranchised  labor,  like  that  of  the  enslaved, 
degrades  all  free  and  enfranchised  labor;  therefore, 


360  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  earnestly 
appeals  to  Congress  to  pass  a  resolution  submitting-  to  the  Legis- 
latures of  the  several  States  a  proposition  for  a  Sixteenth  Amend- 
ment to  the  Federal  Constitution  that  shall  prohibit  the  States  from 
disfranchising  United  States  citizens  on  account  of  sex. 

Miss  Anthony  expressed  her  satisfaction  that  equal  suffrage 
was  endorsed  by  "the  hard-working,  wage-earning  men  of  the 
country,  each  of  them  with  a  good  solid  ballot  in  his  hand." 

Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby  (D.  C.)  gave  a  historical  sketch  of 
Our  Great  Leaders,  replete  with  beauty  and  pathos.  Miss  Kate 
M.  Gordon  spoke  entertainingly  on  the  possibilities  of  A  Scrap 
of  Suffrage.*  In  presenting  her  Miss  Anthony  said :  "The  right 
of  taxpaying  women  in  Louisiana  to  vote  upon  questions  of 
taxation  is  practically  the  first  shred  of  suffrage  which  those  of 
any  Southern  State  have  secured,  and  they  have  used  it  well. 
They  deserve  another  scrap,  and  I  think  they  will  get  it  before 
some  of  us  do  who  have  been  asking  for  half  a  century." 

Miss  Gail  Laughlin,  a  graduate  of  Wellesley  and  of  the  Law 
Department  of  Cornell  University,  discussed  Conditions  of  the 
Wage-Earning  Women  of  Our  Country,  saying  in  part : 

"Wage-earner"  among  women  is  used  in  a  broad  sense.  All 
women  receiving  money  payment  for  work  are  proud  to  be  called 
wage-earners,  because  wage-earning  means  economic  independence. 
The  census  of  1890  reports  nearly  400  occupations  open  to  women, 
and  nearly  4,000,000  women  engaged  in  them.  But  government 
reports  show  the  average  wages  of  women  in  large  cities  to  be  from 
$3.83  to  $6.91  per  week,  and  the  general  average  to  be  from  $5.00  to 
$6.68.  In  all  lines  women  are  paid  less  than  men  for  the  same  grade 
of  work,  and  they  are  often  compelled  to  toil  under  needlessly 
dangerous  and  unsanitary  conditions.  If  the  people  of  this  country 
want  to  advance  civilization,  they  have  no  need  to  go  to  the  islands 
of  the  Pacific  to  do  it. 

How  are  these  evils  to  be  remedied?  By  organization,  suffrage, 
co-operation  among  women,  and  above  all,  the  inculcation  of  the 
principle  that  a  woman  is  an  individual,  with  a  right  to  choose  her 
work,  and  with  other  rights  equal  with  man.  Our  law-makers  con- 
trol the  sanitary  conditions  and  pay  of  teachers.  Here  is  work  for 
the  women  who  have  "all  the  rights  they  want.'"  When  one  of 
these  comfortably  situated  women  was  told  of  the  need  of  the  ballot 
for  working  women,  she  held  up  her  finger,  showing  the  wedding 
ring  on  it,  and  said,  "I  have  all  the  rights  I  want."  The  next  time 
that  I  read  the  parable  of  the  man  who  fell  among  thieves  and  was 
succored  by  the  good  Samaritan,  methought  I  could  see  that  woman 
with  the  wedding  ring  on  her  finger,  passing  by  on  the  other  side. 

*  See  chapter  on  Louisiana. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  361 

It  is  said  that  every  woman  who  earns  her  living  crowds  a  man 
out.  That  argument  is  as  old  as  the  trade  guilds  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  which  tried  to  exclude  women.  The  Rev.  Samuel  G.  Smith 
of  St.  Paul,  who  has  recently  declared  against  women  in  wage-earn- 
ing occupations,  stands  to-day  just  where  they  did  seven  hundred 
years  ago * 

Mrs.  Helen  Adelaide  Shaw  (Mass.),  in  A  Review  of  the  Re- 
monstrants, was  enthusiastically  received.  Young,  handsome  and 
a  fine  elocutionist,  her  imitation  of  the  "remonstrants"  and  their 
objections  to  woman  suffrage  convulsed  the  audience  and  was 
quite  as  effective  as  the  most  impassioned  argument. 

The  speakers  of  the  convention  were  invited  to  fill  a  number  of 
pulpits  in  Washington  Sunday  morning  and  evening. .  In  the 
Unitarian  Church,  where  the  Rev.  Ida  C.  Hultin  preached,  there 
was  not  standing  room.  The  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  gave  the 
sermon  at  the  Universalist  Church,  of  which  the  Post  said : 

Never  in  the  history  of  the  church  had  such  a  crowd  been  in 
attendance.  The  lecture  rooms  on  either  side  of  the  auditorium  had 
been  thrown  open,  and  these,  as  well  as  the  galleries,  were  crowded 
almost  to  suffocation.  Women  stood  about  the  edges  of  the  room, 
and  seats  on  window  sills  were  at  a  premium.  Outside  in  the  ves- 
tibules of  the  church  women  elbowed  one  another  for  points  of 
vantage  on  the  gallery  stairs,  where  an  occasional  glimpse  might  be 
caught  of  the  handsome,  dark-eyed,  gray-haired  woman  who  looked 
singularly  appropriate  at  the  pulpit  desk.  The  congregation  hung 
upon  every  word,  and  her  remarks,  sometimes  bitter  and  caustic, 
were  met  with  a  hum  of  approval  from  the  crowded  auditorium. 

Perhaps  eight-tenths  of  the  congregation  were  women.  Miss 
Shaw's  pulpit  manner  is  easy,  but  her  words  are  emphasized  by 
gestures  which  impress  her  hearers  with  a  sense  of  the»  speaker's 
earnestness.  Her  voice,  while  sweet  and  musical,  is  strong,  and 
carries  a  tone  of  conviction.  Her  subject  last  night  was  "Strength 
of  Character."  The  text  was  chosen  from  Joshua,  1 19 :  "Have  I 
not  commanded  thee?  Be  strong  and  of  good  courage;  be  not 
afraid,  neither  be  thou  dismayed ;  for  the  Lord  thy  God  is  with  thee 
whithersoever  thou  goest." 

In  the  opening  remarks  the  speaker  said  it  was  now  time  that 
women  asserted  their  rights.  "Men  have  no  right  to  define  for  us 
our  limitations.  Who  shall  interpret  to  a  woman  the  divine  element 
in  her  being?  It  is  for  me  to  say  that  I  shall  be  free.  No  human 
soul  shall  determine  my  life  for  me  unless  that  soul  will  stand 

*  The  address  of  Miss  Laughlin  created  a  sensation.  A  member  of  the  United  States 
Labor  Commission  was  in  the  audience,  and  was  so  much  impressed  with  the  power  of  this 
young  woman  that  shortly  afterwards  she  was  made  a  member  of  this  commission  to  in- 
vestigate the  condition  of  the  working  women  of  the  United  States.  Her  valuable  report 
was  published  in  pamphlet  form. 


362  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

before  the  bar  of  God  and  take  my  sentence.  Men  who  denounce 
us  do  so  because  they  are  ignorant  of  what  they  do.  Woman  has 
broken  the  silence  of  the  century.  Her  question  to  God  is,  'Who 
shall  interpret  Thee  to  me?'  The  churches  of  this  day  have  not 
begun-  to  conceive  of  what  Christianity  means. 

"It  is  not  true  that  all  women  should  be  married  and  the  managers 
of  homes.  There  is  not  more  than  one  woman  in  five  capable  of 
motherhood  in  its  highest  possible  state,  and  I  may  say  that  not  one 
man  in  ten  is  fitted  for  fatherhood.  We  strongly  advocate  that  no 
woman  and  man  should  marry  until  they  are  instructed  in  the 
science  of  home  duties.  Instead  of  woman  suffrage  breaking  up 
families,  it  has  just  the  opposite  effect.  In  the  State  of  Wyoming 
where  it  has  existed  thirty  years,  there  is  a  larger  per  cent,  of  mar- 
riages and  a  less  of  divorces  than  in  any  other  State  in  the  Union. 
Because  a  woman  is  a  suffragist  is  no  reason  that  she  may  not  be  a 
good  housekeeper.  The  two  most  perfect  housekeepers  I  ever  knew 
in  my  life  were  members  of  my  congregation  in  New  England — one 
was  a  suffragist  and  the  other  had  no  thought  of  the  rights  of 
women.."  .... 

After  the»  services  almost  every  woman  in  the  congregation 
crowded  forward  to  shake  the  hand  of  the  speaker. 

On  Monday  evening  the  national  character  of  the  convention 
was  conspicuously  demonstrated,  as  the  speakers  represented  the 
East,  the  South,  the  Middle  West  and  the  Pacific  Slope.  Mrs. 
Florence  Howe  Hall  (N.  J.),  the  highly  educated  daughter  of 
Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe,  read  a  charming  farce  entitled  The 
Judgment  of  Minerva,  the  suffragists  and  the  antis,  as  god- 
desses, bringing  their  cause  before  Jupiter,  with  a  decision,  of 
course,  in  favor  of  the  former.  Miss  Diana  Hirschler,  a  young 
lawyer  of  Boston,  presented  Woman's  Position  in  the  Law  in  a 
paper  which  was  in  itself  an  illustration  of  the  benefit  of  a  legal 
training.  Mrs.  Virginia  D.  Young  (S.  C.)  told  the  Story  of 
Woman  Suffrage  in  the  South,  and  sketched  the  history  of  the 
progressive  Southern  woman,  beginning  as  follows : 

The  woman  suffragists  of  the  South  have  suffered  in  the  pillory 
of  public  derision.  It  has  been  as  deadly  a  setting  up  in  the  stocks 
as  ever  New  England  practiced  on  her  martyrs  to  freedom.  The 
women  who  have  led  in  this  revolt  against  old  ideals  have  had  to  be 
as  heroic  as  the  men  who  stormed  San  Juan  heights  in  the  contest 
for  Santiago  de  Cuba 

It  is  out  of  date  to  be  carried  in  a  sedan  chair  when  one  can  fly 
around  on  a  bicycle,  and  though  in  our  conservative  South,  we 
have  still  some  preachers  with  Florida  moss  on  their  chins,  who 
storm  at  the  woman  on  her  wheel  as  riding  straight  to  hell,  we 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  363 

believe,  with  Julian  Ralph,  that  the  women  bicyclists  "out-pace  rtheir 
staider  sisters  in  their  progress  to  woman's  emancipation." 

Clark  Howell,  the  brilliant  Georgian,  in  his  recent  address  before 
the  Independent  Club,  set  people  to  talking  about  him,  from  Niagara 
Falls  in  the  East  to  the  Garden  of  the  Gods  in  the  West,  by  his 
elucidations  of  "The  Alan  with  his  Hat  in  his  Hand  ;•"  but  I 
propose  to  show  you  to-night  a  greater — the  Woman  With  Her 
Bonnet  Off,  who  speaks  from  the  platform  in  a  Southern  city.  You 
know  how  the  women  of  the  stagnant  Orient  stick  to  their  veils, 
coverings  for  head  and  face,  outward  signs  of  real  slavery.  The 
bonnet  is  the  civilized  substitute  for  the  Oriental  veil,  and  to  take  it 
off  is  the  first  manifestation  of  a  woman's  resolve  to  have  equal 
rights,  even  if  all  the  world  laugh  and  oppose. 

In  South  Carolina  the  first  newspaper  article  in  favor  of  woman 
suffrage  written  by  a  woman  over  her  own  name,  was  met  by  the 
taunt  that  she  had  imbibed  her  views  from  the  women  of  the  North. 
But  this  was  merely  ignorance  of  history,  for  the  story  of  woman 
suffrage  in  the  South  really  antedates  that  in  New  England.  The 
new  woman  of  the  new  South,  who  asks  for  equal  rights  with  her 
brother  man,  is  in  the  direct  line  of  succession  to  that  magnificent 
"colonial  dame,"  Mistress  Margaret  Brent  of  Maryland,  who  asked 
for  a  vote  in  the  Colonial  Assembly  after  the  death  of  her  kinsman, 
Lord  Baltimore,  who  had  endowed  her  with  powers  of  attorney. 
Margaret  Brent  antedated  Abigail  Adams  by  over  a  century. 

Mrs.  Annie  L.  Diggs,  State  librarian,  depicted  Municipal  Suf- 
frage in  Kansas,  with  the  knowledge  of  one  who  had  been  a 
keen  observer  and  an  active  participant.*  Mrs.  Abigail  Scott 
Duniway  described  the  work  which  had  been  and  would  be  done 
in  the  interest  of  the  approaching  suffrage  amendment  campaign 
in  Oregon. 

On  Tuesday  evening  Mrs.  Mabel  Loomis  Todd  (Mass.),  un- 
der the  head  of  The  Village  Beautiful,  told  what  might  be  ac- 
complished toward  the  beautifying  of  towns  and  cities  if  the 
authority  and  the  means  were  allowed  to  women.  This  was 
followed  by  a  strong,  clear  business  talk  from  Mrs.  A.  Emma- 
gene  Paul,  superintendent  of  the  Street-Cleaning  Department  of 
the  First  Ward,  Chicago,  who  told  how  "crooked  contractors 
and  wily  politicians"  at  first  began  to  cultivate  her.  They  found, 
however,  that  they  could  not  shake  her  determination  to  make 
them  live  up  to  their  contracts;  they  had  agreed  to  clean  the 
streets,  they  were  receiving  pay  for  that  purpose,  and  she,  as  an 
inspector,  was  there  to  see  that  the  contracts  were  lived  up  to. 

*  See  chapter  on  Kansas. 


364  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Mrs.  Paul  was  appointed  when  the  municipal  government 
adopted  a  civil  service  system,  and  holds  her  position  by  virtue 
of -its 'examination.  She  has  checkmated  the  contractor  and  poli- 
tician, and  has  accomplished  a  long-needed  reform  in  the  street- 
cleaning  department  of  Chicago.* 

An  interesting  description  of  The  Russian  Woman  was  given 
by  Madame  Sofja  Levovna  Friedland,  who  said  that  there  is 
little  suffrage  for  either  men  or  women  in  Russia,  but  such 
as  there  is  both  alike  possess.  Mrs.  Amy.  K.  Cornwall,  president 
of  the  Colorado  Equal  Suffrage  Association,  related  the  Work 
accomplished  by  the  women  of  her  State  since  they  had  been 
enfranchised;  "only  six  years,"  she  said,  "and  yet  we  are  ex- 
pected to  have  cleaned  up  all  Colorado,  including  Denver." 
Grace  Greenwood  (Mrs.  Sara  J.  Lippincott)  was  introduced  by 
Miss  Anthony  as  a  suffragist  of  thirty  years'  standing.  The 
audience  was  greatly  amused  by  her  recital  of  the  answers  which 
she  had  made  to  the  "remonstrants"  more  than  a  quarter  of 
a  century  ago,  showing  that  they  were  using  then  exactly  the 
same  objections  which  are  doing  service  to-day.  Several  of  the 
speakers  having  failed  to  appear,  a  very  unusual  occurrence,  Mrs. 
May  Wright  Sewall,  president  of  the  International  Council  of 
Women,  was  pressed  into  service  by  Miss  Anthony.  She  intro- 
duced her  address  gracefully  by  saying :  "We  women  think  we 
believe  in  freedom,  but  we  are  often  told  that  we  love  best  the 
tyrant  who  can  make  us  obey,  and  I  can  testify  to  the  truth  of 
it,"  motioning  toward  Miss  Anthony.  She  then  made  an  eloquent 
and  convincing  plea  for  the  enfranchisement  of  women. 

The  mornings  were  devoted  to  committee  reports  and  to  ten- 
minute  reports  from  each  of  the  States,  often  the  most  interesting 
features  of  the  convention.  The  afternoons  were  given  to  Work 
Conferences,  when  all  the  various  details  of  the  work  were 
discussed  under  the  leadership  of  those  who  had  proved  most 
competent — methods  of  organization,  of  holding  conventions, 
etc.  The  treasurer,  Mrs.  Upton,  stated  that  the  receipts  for  the 
past  year  were  $10,345 ;  that  the  association  had  an  indebtedness 

•  Immediately  after  the  convention,  the  New  York  Times  published  an  alleged  interview 
with  Mrs.  Paul,  in  which  she  was  made  to  say  that  she  was  not  a  believer  in  suffrage  for 
women.  She  at  once  denied  this  emphatically  over  her  own  signature,  saying  that  the 
interview  was  a  fabrication  and  that  she  was  an  advocate  of  the  enfranchisement  of  women 
especially  because  of  the  need  of  their  ballot  in  city  government 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  365 

of  about  $1,400,  and  Miss  Anthony,  desiring  to  leave  it  entirely 
free  from  debt,  had  raised  almost  all  of  this  amount  herself;, 
that  the  books  now  showed  every  bill  to  be  paid.  Before  the  close 
of  the  convention  almost  $10,000  were  subscribed  toward  the 
work  of  the  coming  year.  It  was  decided  to  hold  a  National 
Suffrage  Bazar  in  New  York  City  before  the  holidays  in  order 
to  add  to  this  fund.* 

Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  Organization  Committee, 
reported  that  with  the  secretary  of  the  committee,  Miss  Mary  G. 
Hay,  she  had  visited  twenty  States,  lecturing  and  attending  State 
conventions,  giving  fifty-one  lectures  and  traveling  13,^000  miles. 
Ten  thousand  letters  had  been  sent  out  from  the  office. 

The  comprehensive  report  of  Mrs.  Elnora  M.  Babcock  (N. 
Y.),  chairman  of  the  Press  Committee,  showing  the  remarkable 
success  achieved  in  securing  the  publication  of  articles  on  suf- 
frage, seemed  to  offer  the  best  possible  proof  of  an  increasing 
favorable  public  sentiment.  Articles  had  been  furnished  regu- 
larly to  1,360  newspapers;  3,675  had  been  prepared  on  the  pres- 
ent convention  and  birthday  celebration;  altogether  31,800 
weekly  articles  had  been  sent  out  and,  so  far  as  could  be  ascer- 
tained, all  had  been  published.  The  number  of  papers  which 
would  use  plate  matter  on  suffrage  was  limited  only  by  the  money 
which  could  be  commanded  to  supply  it. 

Miss  Anthony,  in  reporting  for  the  Congressional  Committee, 
made  a  good  point  when  she  said : 

One  reason  why  so  little  has  been  done  by  Congress  is  because 
none  of  us  has  remained  here  to  watch  our  employes  up  at  the 
Capitol.  Nobody  ever  gets  anything  done  by  Congress  or  by  a 
State  Legislature  except  by  having  some  one  on  hand  to  look  out 
for  it.  We  need  a  Watching  Committee.  The  women  can  not  expect 
to  get  as  much  done  as  the  railroads,  the  trusts,  the  corporations 
and  all  the  great  moneyed  concerns.  They  keep  hundreds  of  agents 
at  the  national  Capital  to  further  their  interests.  We  have  no  one 
here,  and  yet  we  expect  to  get  something  done,  although  we  labor 
under  the  additional  disadvantage  of  having  no  ballots  to  use  as  a 
reward  or  punishment.  Whatever  takes  place  in  Washington  is 
felt  to  the  circumference  of  the  country.  I  have  had  nearly  all  the 
States  send  petitions  to  Congress  asking  that  upon  whatever  terms 
suffrage  is  extended  to  the  men  of  Hawaii  and  our  other  new  posses- 
sions, it  may  be  extended  to  the  women,  and  it  is  this  which  has 

*  This  was  held  the  first  week  in  December,  1901,  and  netted  about  $8,000  for  the  asso- 
ciation. 


366  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

stirred  up  the  anti-suffragists  in  Massachusetts,  New  York  and  Illi- 
nois to  their  recent  demonstrations Mrs.  Harper  has 

culled  extracts  from  all  the  favorable  congressional  reports  \ve  have 
had  during  the  past  thirty  years,  and  we  have  made  a  pamphlet  of 
them,  which  will  be  laid  on  the  desk  of  every  member  of  Congress.* 

Mary  F.  Gist,  Anna  S.  Hamilton  and  Emma  Southwick  Brin- 
ton  were  introduced  as  fraternal  delegates  from  the  Woman's 
National  Press  Association;  Mrs.  William  Scott,  from  the  Uni- 
versal Peace  Union;  Dr.  Agnes  Kemp,  from  the  Peace  Society 
of  Philadelphia;  Elizabeth  B.  Passmore  from  the  Baltimore 
Yearly  Meeting  of  Friends.  Letters  of  greeting  were  received 
from  Mrs.  Priscilla  Bright  McLaren  of  Scotland,  Mrs.  Mary 
Foote  Henderson,  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  many  others. 

Among  the  memorial  resolutions  were  the  following : 

In  reviewing  the  gains  and  losses  of  the  past  year,  we  recall  with 
profound  regret  the  loss  of  those  tried  and  true  workers  for  woman's 
enfranchisement,  George  W.  and  Mrs.  Henrietta  M.  Banker  of  New 
York,  who  died  within  a  few  days  of  each  other.  "Lovely  in  life, 
in  death  they  were  not  divided."  Although  we  shall  sorely  miss 
their  genial  and  inspiring  presence,  they  will  continue  by  the  munifi- 
cent provisions  of  their  wills  to  aid  the  cause. 

We  are  also  saddened  by  the  news  just  received  of  the  decease  of 
Dr.  Elizabeth  C.  Sargent  of  San  Francisco,  our  valued  co-worker  in 
the  recent  California  Suffrage  Campaign,  and  daughter  of  our  life- 
long friends,  U.  S.  Senator  Aaron  A.  and  Mrs.  Ellen  Clark  Sargent. 
All  advocates  of  equal  suffrage  unite  in  offering  to  the  bereaved 
mother  their  heartfelt  sympathy  in  her  loss. 

A  vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  Bishop  Spaulding  of  Peoria, 
Ills.,  Bishop  McQuaid  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.  (Catholics),  and  the 
Rev.  Frank  M.  Bristol  of  the  M.  E.  Metropolitan  Church,  Wash- 
ington (the  one  attended  by  President  McKinley),  for  their 
recent  sermons  referring  favorably  to  woman  suffrage.  These 
were  the  more  noticeable  as  during  this  convention  Cardinal 

*  It  will  be  noticed  in  this  pamphlet  that  all  but  one  of  the  favorable  reports  from  con- 
gressional committees  were  made  during  the  years  when  Miss  Anthony  had  a  winter  home 
at  the  Riggs  House,  through  the  courtesy  of  its  proprietors,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  W.  Spofford, 
and  was  able  to  secure  them  through  personal  attention  and  influence.  There  were  al- 
ways some  members  of  these  committees  who  were  favorable  to  woman  suffrage,  but  with 
the  great  pressure  on  every  side  from  other  matters,  this  one  was  apt  to  be  neglected  un- 
less somebody  made  a  business  of  seeing  that  it  did  not  go  by  default.  This  Miss  An- 
thony did  for  many  years,  and  during  this  time  secured  the  excellent  reports  of  1879, 
1882,  1883,  1884,  1886  and  1890.  The  great  speech  of  Senator  T.  W.  Palmer,  made  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1885,  was  in  response  to  her  insistence  that  he  should  keep  his  promise  to  speak 
in  favor  of  the  question.  In  1888-90  Mrs.  Upton,  who  was  residing  in  Washington  with 
her  father,  F.zra  B.  Taylor,  M.  C.,  did  not  permit  the  Judiciary  Committee  to  forget  the 
report  for  that  year,  which  was  the  first  and  only  favorable  House  Report. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  367 

Gibbons  of  Baltimore  devoted  his  Sunday  discourse  to  a  terrific 
arraignment  of  society  women  and  those  asking-  for  the  suffrage, 
denouncing  them  alike  as  destroyers  of  the  home,  etc. 

The  National  Association  requested  the  appointment  by  Presi- 
dent McKinley  of  Mrs.  Bertha  Honore  Palmer  as  National  Com- 
missioner from  the  United  States  to  the  Paris  Exposition,  and 
of  Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall  as  delegate  to  represent  the  organ- 
ized work  of  women  in  the  United  States.  Both  of  these  appoint- 
ments were  afterwards  made. 

The  corresponding  secretary  read  invitations  for  the  next 
annual  convention  from  the  Citizens'  Business  League  of  Mil- 
waukee; the  Business  Men's  League  and  the  Mayor  of  Cincin- 
nati ;  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Detroit ;  the  Business  Men's 
League  of  San  Antonio;  the  Cleveland  Business  Men's  Conven- 
tion League ;  the  Suffrage  Society  of  Buffalo  and  the  following : 
"The  Minnesota  Woman  Suffrage  Association  takes  great  pride 
in  being  able  to  invite  you  most  cordially  to  hold  your  annual 
meeting  for  1901  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis.  We  guarantee  $600 
towards  expenses  and  more  if  necessary.  Enclosed  are  invita- 
tions from  the  Board  of  Trade,  the  Mayor  and  our  three  daily 
newspapers,  all  assuring  us  of  financial  backing."  This  was 
signed  by  Mrs.  Martha  J.  Thompson,  president,  and  Dr.  Ethel 
E.  Hurd,  corresponding  secretary.  The  invitation  was  accepted. 

.The  usual  hearings  were  held  Tuesday  morning,  February  13, 
in  the  Marble  Room  of  the  Senate  and  the  committee  room  of 
the  House  Judiciary,  both  of  which  were  crowded  to  the  doors, 
the  seats  being  filled  with  women  while  members  of  Congress 
stood  about  the  sides  of  the  room.  That  before  the  Senate  Com- 
mittee— John  W.  Daniel  (Va.),  chairman;  James  H.  Berry 
(Tenn.);  George  P.  Wetmore  (R.  I.);  Addison  G.  Foster 
(Wash.) — was  confined  to  a  historical  resume  of  the  movement 
for  woman  suffrage,  the  speakers  being  presented  by  Miss  An- 
thony. The  Work  with  Congress  was  carefully  delineated  by 
Mrs.  Colby,  who  concluded :  "Everything  that  a  disfranchised 
class  could  do  has  been  done  by  women,  and  never  in  the  long 
ages  in  which  the  love  of  freedom  has  been  evolving  in  the  human 
heart  has  there  been  such  an  effort  by  any  other  class  of  people. 
Surely  it  ought  to  win  the  respect  and  support  of  every  man  in 


368'  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

this  republic  who  has  a  brain  to  understand  the  blessings  of  lib- 
erty and  a  heart  to  beat  in  sympathy  with  a  struggle  to  ob- 
tain it."* 

Municipal  Suffrage  in  Kansas  was  described  by  Mrs.  Laura 
M.  Johns.  Woman  Suffrage  in  Colorado  was  presented  by  Mrs. 
Bradford.  Mrs.  Harriot  Stanton  Blatch  told  of  Woman  Suf- 
frage in  England,  closing  as  follows : 

We  have  heard  about  the  suffrage  in  the  Western  States  of 
America,  and  the  reply  always  is:  "Oh,  that  is  all  very  well  for 
thinly  populated  countries."  Now  I  am  going  to  tell  you  a  little 
of  the  suffrage  question  in  England,  not  a  thinly  populated 
country,  with  its  20,000,000  of  people  crowded  in  that  small  space. 

Gentlemen  of  the  committee,  I  would  like  to  draw  your  attention 
to  one  thing,  which  is  true  in  America  as  well  as  in  England — that 
nothing  has  been  given  to  women  gratuitously.  They  have  had  at 
each  step  to  prove  their  ability  before  you  gave  them  anything  else. 
In  1870  England  passed  the  Education  Act,  which  gave  women  the 
right  to  sit  on  the  school  boards  and  to  vote  for  them.  It  was  the 
first  time  they  had  h?(d  elective  school  boards  in  England ;  before 
that  all  the  education  had  been  controlled  by  church  organizations, 
who  had  appointed  boards  of  managers.  Women  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  those  boards  and  so  admirable  had  been  their  work  that 
when  the  law  was  passed  in  1870  many  women  stood  for  election 
and  were  elected,  and  in  three  cases  they  came  in  at  the  head  of  the 
polls.  Five  years  after  that  a  verdict  was  passed  upon  the  work 
of  those  women  as  school  officials,  for  in  1875,  women  were  allowed 
to  go  on  the  poor-law  boards.  In  1894  the  law  was  further  modified 
so  that  it  contemplated  the  possibility  of  a  larger  circle  of  poor-law 
guardians.  Before  that  there  had  been  a  high  qualification — occupa- 
tion of  a  house  of  a  certain  rental,  etc.,  but  now  that  was  all  pushed 
aside.  What  was  the  result  ?  Nearly  1 ,000  women  are  now  sitting 
on  the  poor-law  boards  of  England ;  94  on  the  great  board  of  London 
itself. 

These  local  boards  deal  with  the  great  asylums,  with  the  great 
pauper  schools,  with  the  immense  poorhouses  and,  more  than  that, 
they  deal  with  one  of  the  largest  funds  in  England,  the  outdoor  and 
indoor  relief.  What  has  been  the  verdict  upon  the  work  of  those- 
women  on  the  poor-law  board?  In  1896  there  was  the  question, 
when  this  law  was  extended  to  Ireland,  whether  women  should  be 
put  on  those  boards.  The  vote  in  Parliament  was  272  in  favor  of 
the  women  and  only  8  against.  Eight  men  only,  so  unwise,  so 
foolish,  left  in  the  great  English  Parliament,  who  said  it  was  not  for 
women  to  deal  with  those  immense  bodies  of  pauper  children,  not 
for  women  to  deal  with  this  outdoor  relief  fund,  not  for  women  to 
deal  with  the  unfortunate  mothers  of  illegitimate  children 

Women  in  England,  qualified  women,  have  every  local  vote,  every- 

*  For  account  of  the  work  of  the  association  before  Congress  see  Chap.  I. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  369 

thing  which  would  correspond  with  your  State  and  municipal  vote 
here,  they  have  all  except  the  Parliamentary  vote. 

In  England  we  have  opponents,  just  as  you  have  here.  I  do  not 
know  whether  they  are  more  illogical  or  less  so,  but  they  certainly  do 
one  extraordinary  thing — they  are  in  favor  of  everything  that  has 
been  won  and  take  advantage  of  it.  A  large  number  of  the  2,000 
women  who  are  sitting  on  the  various  local  bodies  in  England  are 
opposed  to  the  Parliamentary  vote  for  their  sex,  and  yet  they  are 
really  in  political  life.  Now,  gentlemen,  if  you  want  to  have  the 
women  stop  coming  here,  give  us  the  vote  and  then  we  won't  come ; 
give  the  "antis"  the  vote,  and  then  they  will  have  the  political  life 
that  they  are  really  longing  for. 

Almost  always,  if  you  analyze  the  anti-suffrage  idea  in  either  a 
man  or  a  woman  you  find  it  is  anti-democratic.  I  have  begun  to 
think  that  I  am  the  only  good  democrat  left  in  America.  I  believe 
in  the  very  widest  possible  suffrage.  Why  do  I  believe  it  ?  Because 
I  have  lived  and  seen  the  other  thing  in  England,  and  I  have  seen 
that  as  democracy  broadened  politics  was  purified.  That  has  been 
the  history  from  the  beginning.  No  politics  in  the  world  was  more 
corrupt  than  the  English  at  the  beginning  of  this  century,  but  as 
democracy  has  come  farther  and  farther  into  the  field,  England  has 
become  politically  one  of  the  purest  nations  in  the  world. 

The  paper  on  Woman  Suffrage  in  the  British  Isles  and  Colo- 
nies was  prepared  by  Miss  Helen  Blackburn,  editor  of  the 
Englishwoman's  Review;  and  Woman  Suffrage  in  Foreign 
Countries  was  described  by  Mrs.  Jessie  Cassidy  Saunders.  The 
last  address  was  given  by  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt  (N.  Y.), 
Why  We  Ask  for  the  Submission  of  an  Amendment : 

A  survey  of  the  changes  which  have  been  wrought  within  the  past 
hundred  years  in  the  status  of  women — educational,  social,  financial 
and  political — fills  the  observing  man  or  woman  with  a  feeling  akin 
to  awe.  No  great  war  has  been  fought  in  behalf  of  their  emancipa- 
tion ;  no  great  political  party  has  espoused  their  cause ;  no  heroes 
have  bled  and  died  for  their  liberty;  yet  words  fail  utterly  to 
measure  the  distance  between  the  "sphere"  of  the  woman  of  1800 
and  that  of  the  woman  of  1900.  How  has  the  transformation  come  ? 
What  mysterious  power  has  brought  it? 

On  the  whole,  men  and  women  of  the  present  rejoice  at  every  right 
gained  and  every  privilege  conceded.  Not  one  jot  or  tittle  would 
they  abate  the  advantage  won;  yet  when  the  plea  is  made  that  the 
free,  self-respecting,  self-reliant,  independent,  thinking  women  of 
this  generation  be  given  the  suffrage,  the  answer  almost  invariably 
comes  back,  "When  women  as  a  whole  demand  it,  men  will  consider 
it."  This  answer  carries  with  it  the  apparent  supposition  that  all 
the  changes  have  come  because  the  majority  of  women  wanted  them, 
and  that  further  enlargement  of  liberty  must  cease  because  the 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 24 


370  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

majority  do  not  want  it.  Alas,  it  is  a  sad  comment  upon  the  con- 
servatism of  the  average  human  being  that  not  one  change  of  con- 
sequence has  been  desired  by  women  as  a  whole,  or  even  by  a  con- 
siderable part.  It  would  be  nearer  the  truth  to  say  women  as  a 
whole  have  opposed  every  advance. 

The  progress  has  come  because  women  of  a  larger  mold,  loftier 
ambitions  and  nobler  self-respect  than  the  average  have  been  willing 
to  face  the  opposition  of  the  world  for  the  sake  of  liberty.  More 
than  one  such  as  these  deserve  the  rank  of  martyr.  The  sacrifice  of 
suffering,  of  doubt,  of  obloquy,  which  has  been  endured  by  the 
pioneers  in  the  woman  movement  will  never  be  fully  known  or 
understood 

With  the  bold  demand  for  perfect  equality  of  rights  in  every  walk 
of  life  the  public  have  compromised.  Not  willing  to  grant  all,  they 
have  conceded  something;  and  by  repeated  compromises  and  con- 
cessions to  the  main  demand  the  progress  of  woman's  rights  has 
been  accomplished. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  restrictions  upon  human  liberty — the 
restraint  of  law  and  that  of  custom.  No  written  law  has  ever  been 
more  binding  than  unwritten  custom  supported  by  popular  opinion. 
At  the  beginning  of  our  century  both  law  and  custom  restricted  the 
liberty  of  women. 

It  was  the  edict  of  custom  which  prohibited  women  from  receiv- 
ing an  education,  engaging  in  occupations,  speaking  in  public, 
organizing  societies,  or  in  other  ways  conducting  themselves  like 
free,  rational  human  beings.  It  was  law  which  forbade  married 
women  to  control  their  own  property  or  to  collect  their  own  wages, 
and  which  forbade  all  women  to  vote.  The  changes  have  not  come 
because  women  wished  for  them  or  men  welcomed  them.  A  liberal 
board  of  trustees,  a  faculty  willing  to  grant  a  trial,  an  employer 
willing  to  experiment,  a  broad-minded  church  willing  to  hear  a 
woman  preach,  a  few  liberal  souls  in  a  community  willing  to  hear  a 
woman  speak — these  have  been  the  influences  which  have  brought 
the  changes. 

There  is  no  more  elaborate  argument  or  determined  opposition  to 
woman  suffrage  than  there  has  been  to  each  step  of  prog- 
ress  Had  a  vote  been  taken,  co-education  itself  wouk 

have  been  overwhelmingly  defeated.     In  1840,  before  women  hac 
studied  or  practiced  medicine,  had  it  been  necessary  to  obtain 
mission  to  do  so  by  a  vote  of  men  or  women,  8,000  graduated  worm 
physicians  would  not  now  be  engaged  in  the  healing  art  in  our  coun- 
try.    In  1850,  when  vindictive  epithets  were  hurled  from  press,  pul- 
pit and  public  in  united  condemnation  of  the  few  women  who  wer 
attempting  to  be  heard  on  the  platform  as  speakers,  had  it 
necessary  to  secure  the  right  of  free  public  speech  through  Legisla- 
tures or  popular   approval,  the  voices  of   women   would   still  be 

silent The  rights  of  women  have  come  in  direct  opj 

sition  to  the  popular  consensus  of  opinion.  Yet  when  they  have  on< 
become  established,  they  have  been  wanted  by  women  and  welcome 
by  men. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1900. 

There  are  a  few  fanatics  who,  if  they  could,  would  force  the 
women  of  this  generation  back  into  the  spheres  of  their  grand- 
mothers. There  are  some  pessimists  who  imagine  they  see  all  nat- 
ural order  coming  to  a  speedy  end  because  of  the  enlarged  liberties 
and  opportunities  of  women.  There  are  sentimentalists  who  believe 
that  the  American  home,  that  most  sacred  unit  of  society,  is  seriously 
imperiled  by  the  tendencies  of  women  to  adopt  new  duties  and  inter- 
ests. But  this  is  not  the  thought  of  the  average  American.  There 
are  few  intelligent  men  who  would  be  wilh'ng  to  provide  their 
daughters  no  more  education  than  was  deemed  proper  for  their 
grandmothers,  or  who  would  care  to  restrict  them  to  the  old-time 
limited  sphere  of  action.  Thinking  men  and  women  realize  that 
the  American  home  was  never  more  firmly  established  than  at  the 
present  time,  and  that  it  has  grown  nobler  and  happier  as  women 
have  grown  more  self-reliant.  The  average  man  and  woman  recog- 
nize that  the  changes  which  have  come  have  been  in  the  interest  of 
better  womanhood  and  better  manhood,  bringing  greater  happiness 
to  women  and  greater  blessings  to  men.  They  recognize  that  each 
step  gained  has  rendered  women  fitter  companions  for  men,  wiser 
mothers  and  far  abler  units  of  society. 

The  public  acknowledges  the  wisdom,  the  common  sense,  the 
practical  judgment  of  the  woman  movement  until  it  asks  for  the 
suffrage.  In  other  words,  it  approves  every  right  gained  because 
it  is  here,  and  condemns  the  one  right  not  yet  gained  because  it  is 
not  here. 

Had  it  been  either  custom  or  statutory  law  which  forbade  women 
to  vote,  the  suffrage  would  have  been  won  by  the  same  processes 
which  have  gained  every  other  privilege.  A  few  women  would 
have  voted,  a  few  men  and  women  would  have  upheld  them,  and, 
little  by  little,  year  after  year,  the  number  of  women  electors  would 
have  increased  until  it  became  as  general  for  women  to  vote  as  it  is 
for  men.  Had  this  been  possible  the  women  would  be  voting  to-day 
in  every  State  in  the  Union ;  and  undoubtedly  their  'appearance  at 
the  polls  would  now  be  as  generally  accepted  as  a  matter  of  fact 
as  the  college  education.  But,  alas,  when  this  step  of  advancement 
was  proposed,  women  found  themselves  face  to  face  with  the  stone 
wall  of  Constitutional  Law,  and  they  could  not  vote  until  a  majority 
of  men  should  first  give  their  consent.  Indeed  the  experiment  was 
made  to  gain  this  sacred  privilege  by  easier  means.  The  history 
of  the  voting  of  Susan  B.  Anthony  and  others  is  familiar  to  all,  but 
the  Supreme  Court  decided  that  the  National  Constitution  must  first 
be  amended.  It  therefore  becomes  a  necessity  to  convert  to  this  re- 
form a  majority  of  the  men  of  the  whole  United  States. 

When  we  recall  the  vast  amount  of  illiteracy,  ignorance,  selfish- 
ness and  degradation  which  exists  among  certain  classes  of  our 
people  the  task  imposed  upon  us  is  appalling.  There  are  whole 
precincts  of  voters  in  this  country  whose  united  intelligence  does 
not  equal  that  of  one  representative  American  woman.  Yet  to  such 
classes  as  these  we  are  asked  to  take  our  cause  as  the  court  of  final 
resort.  We  are  compelled  to  petition  men  who  have  never  heard  of 


3/2  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  who  have  never  read  the 
Constitution,  for  the  sacred  right  of  self-government ;  we  are  forced 
to  appeal  for  justice  to  men  who  do  not  know  the  meaning  of  the 
word;  we  are  driven  to  argue  our  claim  with  men  who  never  had 
two  thoughts  in  logical  sequence.  We  ask  men  to  consider  the 
rights  of  a  citizen  in  a  republic  and  we  get  the  answer'  in  reply, 
given  in  all  seriousness,  "Women  have  more  rights  now  than  they 
ought  to  have;"  and  that,  too,  without  the  faintest  notion  of  the 
inanity  of  the  remark  t>r  the  emptiness  of  the  brain  behind  it. 

When  we  present  our  cause  to  men  of  higher  standing  and  more 
liberal  opinion,  we  find  that  the  interest  of  party  and  the  personal 
ambition  for  place  are  obstacles  which  prevent  them  from  approving 
a  question  concerning  whose  popularity  there  is  the  slightest  doubt. 

The  way  before  us  is  difficult  at  best,  not  because  our  demand  is 
not  based  upon  unquestioned  justice,  not  because  it  is  not  destined 
to  win  in  the  end,  but  because  of  the  nature  of  the  processes  through 
which  it  must  be  won.  In  fact  the  position  of  this  question  might 
well  be  used  to  demonstrate  that  observation  of  Aristotle  that  "a 
democracy  has  many  striking  points  of  resemblance  with 
tyranny " 

It  is  for  these  reasons,  gentlemen,  that  we  appeal  to  your  committee 
to  aid  in  the  submission  of  a  Sixteenth  Amendment.  Such  an  amend- 
ment would  go  before  the  Legislatures  of  our  country  where  the 
grade  of  intelligence  is  at  least  higher  than  we  should  find  in  the 
popular  vote. 

Though  you  yourselves  may  doubt  the  expediency  of  woman  suf- 
frage, though  you  may  question  the  soundness  of  our  claim,  yet, 
the  name  of  democracy,  which  permits  the  people  to  make  anc 
amend  their  constitutions,  and  in  the  name  of  American  womanhood, 
prepared  by  a  century  of  unmeasured  advance  for  political  duties, 
we  beg  your  aid  in  the  speedy  submission  of  this  question.  We  asl 
this  boon  in  the  direct  interest  of  the  thousands  of  women  who  dc 
want  to  vote,  who  suffer  pangs  of  humiliation  and  degradatic 
because  of  their  political  servitude.  We  ask  it  equally  in  the  indirec 
interest  of  the  thousands  of  women  who  do  not  want  to  vote,  as 
believe  their  indifference  or  opposition  is  the  same  natural  conserva- 
tism which  led  other  women  to  oppose  the  college  education,  the 
control  of  property,  the  freedom  of  public  speech  and  the  right 
organization. 

Years  ago  George  William  Curtis  pleaded  for  fair  play  fc 
women.  It  is  the  same  plea  we  are  repeating.  We  only  petitic 
for  fair  play,  and  this  means  the  submission  of  our  question  to  the 
most  intelligent  constituency  which  has  power  to  act  upon  it.  If 
shall  fail,  we  will  abide  by  the  decision.  That  is,  4?e  will  wait  til 
courage  has  grown  stronger,  reason  more  logical,  justice  purer,  in 
the  positive  knowledge  that  our  cause  will  eventually  triumph.  As 
the  daughters  of  ZeJophehad  appealed  to  Moses  and  his  great  court 
for  justice,  so  do  the  daughters  of  America  appeal  to  you. 

Miss  Anthony  closed  the  hearing  in  a  speech  whose  vigor,  logic 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  3/3 

and  eloquence  were  accentuated  in  the  minds  of  the  hearers  by 
the  thought  that  for  more  than  thirty  years  she  had  made  these 
pleas  before  congressional  committees,  only  to  be  received  with 
stolid  indifference  or  open  hostility.  She  began  by  saying :  "In 
closing  I  would  like  to  give  a  little  object  lesson  of  the  two  meth- 
ods of  gaining  the  suffrage.  By  one  it  is  insisted  that  we  shall 
carry  our-  question  to  what  is  termed  a  popular  vote  of  each 
State — that  is,  .that  its  Legislature  shall  submit  to  the  electors 
the  proposition  to  strike  the  little  adjective  "male"  from  the  suf- 
frage clause.  We  have  already  made  that  experiment  in  fifteen 
different  elections  in  ten  different  States.  Five  States  have 
voted  on  it  twice."  She  then  summarized  briefly  the  causes,  of 
the  defeats  in  the  various  States,  and  continued : 

Now  here  is  all  we  ask  of  you,  gentlemen,  to  save  us  women  from 
any  more  tramps  over  the  States,  such  as  we  have  made  now  fif- 
teen times.  In  nine  of  those  campaigns  I  myself,  made  a  canvass 
from  county  to  county.  In  my  own  State  of  New  York  at  the  time 
of  the  constitutional  convention  in  1894,  I  visited  every  county  of 
the  sixty — I  was  not  then  80  years  of  age,  but  74 

There  is  an  enemy  of  the  homes  of  this  nation  and  that  enemy 
is  drunkenness.  Every  one  connected  with  the  gambling  house, 
the  brothel  and  the  saloon  works  and  votes  solidly  against  the 
enfranchisement  of  women,  and,  I  say,  if  you  believe  in  chastity,  if 
you  believe  in  honesty  and  integrity,  then  do  what  the  enemy  wants 
you  not  to  do,  which  is  to  take  the  necessary  steps  to  put  the  ballot 
in  the  hands  of  women 

I  pray  you  to  think  of  this  question  as  you  would  if  the  one-half 
of  the  people  who  are  disfranchised  were  men,  if  we  women  had 
absolute  power  to  control  every  condition  in  this  country  and  you 
were  obliged  to  obey  the  laws  and  submit  to  whatever  arrange- 
ments we  made.  I  want  you  to  report  on  this  question  exactly  as 
if  the  masculine  half  of  the  people  were  the  ones  who  were  deprived 
of  this  right  to  a  vote  in  governmental  affairs.  You  would  not  be 
long  in  bringing  in  a  favorable  report  if  you  were  the  ones  who  were 
disfranchised  and  denied  a  voice  in  your  Government.  If  it  were 
not  women — if  it  were  the  farmers  of  this  country,  the  manufactur- 
ers, or  any  class  of  men  who  were  robbed  of  their  inalienable  rights, 
then  we  would  see  that  class  rising  in  rebellion,  and  the  Government 
shaken,  to  its  very  foundation ;  but  being  women,  being  only  the 
mothers,  daughters,  wives  and  sisters  of  men  who  constitute  the 
aristocracy,  we  have  to  submit. 

The  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  (Penn.)  presided  over  the 
hearing  before  the  House  Judiciary  Committee.*  The  Constitu- 

*  George  W.    Ray,   N.    Y.,   chairman;   John   J.    Jenkins,   Wis. ;    Richard   Wayne   Parker, 


374  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

tional   Argument   was   made   by   Mrs.    Lillie   Devereux   Blake 
(N.  Y.),  who  said  in  the  course  of  a  long  and  logical  address : 

We  find  that  it  is  declared  in  Article  IV,  Section  4,  that  "the 
United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  the  Union  a  repub- 
lican form  of  Government."  What  is  a  republican  form  of  Govern- 
ment? In  a  monarchy,  the  theory  is  that  all  power  flows  directly 
from  the  monarch ;  even  in  constitutional  monarchies  each  conces- 
sion has  been  obtained  "by  consent  of  our  gracious  sovereign." 
When  the  laws  are  based  on  the  idea  that  the  caprices  of  the  ruler 
regulate  the  privileges  granted  to  the  people,  it  is  at  least  logical, 
even  if  it  is  cruel,  to  refuse  the  right  of  suffrage  to  any  class  of  the 
community.  You  will  agree  that  this  is  not  a  monarchy,  where 
power  flows  from  the  sovereign  to  the  people,  but  a  republic,  where 
the  sovereign  people  give  to  the  Executive  they  have  chosen  the 
power  to  carry  out  their  will.  Can  you  really  claim  that  we  live 
under  a  republican  form  of  government  when  one-half  the  adult 
inhabitants  are  denied  all  voice  in  the  affairs  of  the  nation  ?  It  may 
be-  better  described  as  an  oligarchy,  where  certain  privileged  men 
choose  the  rulers  who  make  laws  for  their  own  benefit,  too  often  to 
the  detriment  of  the  unrepresented  portion  of  our  people,  who  are 
denied  recognition  as  completely  as  was  ever  an  oppressed  class  in 
the  most  odious  form  of  oligarchy  which  usurped  a  government. 

Article  XIV,  Section  2,  provides  that  "Representation  shall 
apportioned  among  the  several  States  according  to  their  respectn 
numbers,  counting  the  whole  number  of  persons  in  each  State 
excluding  Indians,  not  taxed."  What  sort  of  justice  is  there 
excluding  from  the  basis  of  representation  Indians  who  are  nc 
taxed  and  including  in  this  basis  women  who  are  taxed? 
framers  of  this  amendment  were  evidently  impressed  with  the  tene 
that  taxation  and  representation  should  be  associated,  and  that 
the  Indian  paid  no  taxes,  and  was  not,  therefore,  forced  to  car 
the  burdens  of  citizenship,  he  might,  with  justice,  be  denied  tl 
privileges  of  citizenship.  But  by  what  specious  reasoning  can  an) 
one  maintain  that  it  is  honest  to  tax  the  great  body  of  women  ci 
zens,  to  count  them  in  the  basis  of  representation,  and  yet  deny 
them  the  right  of  personal  representation  at  the  ballot  box?  Whz 
excuse  can  be  made  for  this  monstrous  perversion  of  liberty  ? 
one  of  you,  gentlemen,  sits  here  as  the  representative  of  thousands 
of  women  who,  by  their  money,  have  helped  to  build  this  Capitol 
which  you  assemble  and  to  pay  for  the  seats  in  which  you  sit ;  na 
more,  they  pay  a  part  of  the  salary  of  every  man  here,  and  yet  whz 
real  representation  have  they  ?  How  often  do  you  think,  of  tl 
women  of  your  States  and  of  their  interests  in  the  laws  you  pass! 
How  much  do  you  reflect  on  the  injustice  which  is  daily  and  hourlj 

N.  J.;  Jesse  Overstreet,   Ind.;   De  Alva  S.  Alexander,   N.   Y.;    Vespasian   Warner,   111.; 
Winfield  S.  Kerr,  O.;  Charles  E.  Littlefield,  Me.;  Romeo  H.  Freer,  W.  Va.;  Julius  Kahr 
Calif. ;  William  L.  Terry,  Ark. ;  David  A.  De  Armond,  Mo. ;  Samuel  W.  T.  Lanham,  Tex. ; 
William  Elliott,  S.  C.;  Oscar  W.  Underwood,  Ala.;   David  H.   Smith,  Ky.;    William    H. 
Fleming,  Ga. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  375 

done  them  by  denying  to  them  all  voice  in  this  body,  wherein  you 
claim  to  "represent  the  people"  of  your  respective  States 

Some  years  ago,  when  the  bill  regulating  affairs  in  Utah  was 
under  discussion  Senator  Edmunds  said,  "Disfranchisement  is  a 
cruel  and  degrading  penalty,  that  ought  not  to  be  inflicted  except 
for  crime."  Yet  this  cruel  and  degrading  penalty  is  inflicted  upon 
practically  all  the  women  of  the  United  States.  Of  what  crime  have 
\ve  been  guilty  ?  Or  is  our  mere  sex  a  fault  for  which  we  must  be 
punished?  Would  not  any  body  of  men  look  upon  disfranchise- 
ment  as  "a  cruel  and  degrading  penalty?''  Suppose  the  news  were 
to  be  flashed  across  our  country  to-morrow  that  the  farmers  of  the 
nation  were  to  be  disfranchised,  what  indignation  there  would  be! 
How  they  would  leave  their  homes  to  assemble  and  protest  against 
this  wrong!  They  would  declare  that  disfranchisement  was  a  bur- 
den too  heavy  to  be  borne;  that  if  they  were  unrepresented  laws 
would  be  passed  inimical  to  their  best  interests ;  that  only  personal 
representation  at  the  ballot  box  could  give  them  proper  protection ; 
and  they  would  hasten  here,  even  as  we  are  doing,  to  entreat  you  to 
remove  from  them  the  burden  of  "the  cruel  and  degrading  penalty  of 
disfranchisement." 

And  now,  I  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  a  series  of  declarations 
in  the  Constitution  which  prove  beyond  all  possibility  of  contraven- 
tion that  the  Government  has  solemnly  pledged  itself  to  secure  to 
the  women  of  the  nation  the  right  of  suffrage. 

Article  XIV,  Section  i,  declares  that  "All  persons  born  or  natural- 
ized in  the  United  States,  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof, 
are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they 
reside."  The  women  of  this  country  are,  then,  citizens  thereof  and 
entitled  to  all  the  rights  of  citizens. 

Article,  XV  speaks  of  "the  right  of  a  citizen  to  vote,"  as  if  that 
were  one  of  the  most  precious  privileges  of  citizenship,  so  precious 
that  its  protection  is  embodied  in  a  separate  amendment. 

If  we  now  turn  to  Article  IV,  Section  2,  we  find  it  declares  that 
"the  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  and 
immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States." 

What  do  these  assertions  mean?  Is  there  one  of  you  who  can 
explain  away  these  noble  guarantees  of  the  right  of  individual  repre- 
sentation at  the  ballot  box  as  mere  one-sided  phrases,  having  no 
significance  for  one-half  the  people  ?  No.  These  grand  pledges  are 
abiding  guarantees  of  human  freedom,  honest  promises  of  protection 
to  all  the  people  of  the  republic. 

You,  gentlemen,  have  sworn  to  carry  out  all  the  provisions  of  the 
Constitution.  Does  not  this  oath  lay  upon  you  the  duty  of  seeing 
that  this  great  pledge  is  kept  and  that  the  Fifty-sixth  Congress 
sets  its  mark  in  history  by  fulfilling  these  guarantees  and  securing 
the  ballot  to  the  millions  of  women  citizens,  possessing  every  quali- 
fication for  the  intelligent  use  of  this  mighty  weapon  of  liberty? 

The  Dome  of  this  Capitol  is  surmounted  by  a  magnificent  statue 
representing  the  genius  of  American  freedom.  How  is  this  mighty 
power  embodied?  As  a  majestic  woman,  full-armed  and  panoplied 


3/6  HISTORY   OF    WOMAX    SUFFRAGE. 

to  protect  the  liberty  of  the  republic.  Is  not  this  symbol  a  mockery 
while  the  women  of  the  country  are  held  in  political  slavery  ?  \Ye 
ask  you  to  insist  that  the  pledges  of  the  republic  shall  be  redeemed, 
that  its  promises  shall  be  fulfilled,  and  that  American  womanhood 
shall  be  enfranchised. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  (N.  Y.),  as  had  been  her  cus- 
tom during  all  the  years  since  she  had  ceased  to  appear  in  person 
before  these  committees,  sent  a  strong  appeal  for  justice,  begin- 
ning as  follows : 

In  adjusting  the  rights  of  citizens  in  our  newly-acquired  posses- 
sions, the  whole  question  of  suffrage  is  again  fairly  open  for  discus- 
sion in  the  House  of  Representatives ;  and  as  some  of  the  States  are 
depriving  the  colored  men  of  the  exercise  of  this  right  and  all  of  the 
States,  except  four,  deny  it  to  all  women,  I  ask  Congress  to  submit 
an  amendment  to  the  National  Constitution  declaring  that  citizens 
not  allowed  a  voice  in  the  Government  shall  not  be  taxed  or  counted 
in  the  basis  of  representation. 

To  every  fair  mind,  such  an  amendment  would  appear  pre-emi- 
nently just,  since  to  count  disfranchised  classes  in  the  basis  of  rep- 
resentation compels  citizens  to  aid  in  swelling  the  number  of  Con- 
gressmen who  may  legislate  against  their  most  sacred  interests.  If 
the  Southern  States  that  deny  suffrage  to  negro  men  should  find  that 
it  limited  their  power  in  Congress  by  counting  in  the  basis  of  repre- 
sentation only  those  citizens  who  vote,  they  would  see  that  the  inter- 
ests of  the  races  lay  in  the  same  direction.  A  constitutional  amend- 
ment to  this  effect  would  also  rouse  the  Northern  States  to  their 
danger,  for  the  same  rule  applied  there  in  excluding  all  women  from 
the  basis  of  representation  would  reduce  the  number  of  their  mem- 
bers of  Congress  one-half.  And  if  the  South  should  continue  her 
suicidal  policy  toward  women  as  well  as  colored  men,  her  States 
would  be  at  a  still  greater  disadvantage 

By  every  principle  of  our  republic,  logically  considered,  woman's 
emancipation  is  a  foregone  conclusion.  The  great  "declarations," 
by  the  fathers,  regarding  individual  rights  and  the  true  foundations 
of  government,  should  not  be  glittering  generalities  for  demagogue 
to  quote  and  ridicule,  but  eternal  laws  of  justice,  as  fixed  in  the  world 
of  morals  as  are  the  laws  of  attraction  and  gravitation  in  the  ma- 
terial universe. 

In  regard  to  the  injustice  of  taxing  unrepresented  classes,  Lord 
Coke  says :  "The  supreme  power  can  not  take  from  any  man  his 
property  without  his  consent  in  person  or  by  representation.  The 
very  act  of  taxing  those  who  are  not  represented  appears  to  me  to 
deprive  them  of  one  of  their  most  sacred  rights  as  free  men.  and  if 
continued,  seems  to  be  in  effect  an  entire  disfranchisement  of  every 
civil  right ;  for  what  one  civil  right  is  worth  a  rush  when  a  man's 
property  is  subject  to  be  taken  from  him  without  his  consent  ? 

Woman's  right  to  life,  liberty  and  happiness,  to  education,  prop- 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1900.  377 

erty  and  representation,  can  not  be  denied,  for  if  we  go  back  to 
first  principles,  where  did  the  few  get  the  right,  through  all  time,  to 
rule  the  many?  They  never  had  it,  any  more  than  pirates  had  the 
right  to  scour  the  high  seas,  and  take  whatever  they  could  lay  hands 
upon. 

Miss  Elizabeth  Sheldon  Tillinghast  (Conn.)  -considered  The 
Economic  Basis  of  Woman  Suffrage : 

.  .  .  .  However  we  may  explain  it,  and  whether  we  like  it  or 
not,  woman  has  become  an  economic  factor  in  our  country  -and  one 
that  is  constantly  assuming  larger  proportions.  The  question  is 
now  what  treatment  will  make  her  an  element  of  economic  strength 
instead  of  weakness  as  at  present.  The  presence  of  women  in  busi- 
ness now  demoralizes  the  rate  of  wages  even  more  than  the  increase 
in  the  supply  of  labor.  Why  ?  Principally  because  she  can  be  bul- 
lied with  greater  impunity  than  voters — because  she  has  no  adequate 
means  of  self-defense.  This  seems  a  hard  accusation,  but  I  believe 
it  to  be  true. 

Trade  is  a  fight — an  antagonism  of  interests  which  are  compro- 
mised in  contracts  in  which  the  economically  stronger  always  wins 
the  advantage.  There  are  many  things  that  contribute  to  economic 
strength  besides  ability,  and  among  them  the  most  potent  is  coming 
more  and  more  to  be  the  power  which  arises  from  organization  ex- 
pressing itself  in  political  action.  Without  political  expression 
woman's  economic  value  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  scale.  She  is  the 
last  to  be  considered,  and  the  consideration  is  usually  about  ex- 
hausted before  she  is  reached. 

She  must  do  better  work  than  men  for  equal  pay  or  equal  work 
for  less  pay.  In  spite  of  this  she  may  be  supplanted  at  any  time  by 
a  political  adherent,  or  her  place  may  be  used  as  a  bribe  to  an  oppos- 
ing faction.  Women  are  weak  in  the  business  world  because  they 
are  new  in  it;  because  they  are  only  just  beginning  to  learn  their 
economic  value ;  because  their  inherent  tendencies  are  passive  instead 
of  aggressive,  which  makes  them  as  a  class  less  efficient  fighters  than 
men. 

For  these  reasons  women  are  and  must  be  for  years,  if  not  for 
generations,  economically  weaker  than  men.  Does  it  appeal  to  any 
one's  sense  of  fairness  to  give  the  stronger  party  in  a  struggle  addi- 
tional advantages  and  deny  them  to  the  weaker  one?  Would  that 
be  considered  honorable — would  it  be  considered  tolerable — even 
among  prize-fighters  ?  What  would  be  thought  of  a  contest  between 
a  heavy-weight  and  a  feather-weight  in  which  the  heavy-weight 
was  allowed  to  hit  below  the  belt  and  the  feather-weight  was  con- 
fined to  the  Marquis  of  Queensberry's  rules?  And  yet  these  are 
practically  the  conditions  under  which  women  do  business  in  forty- 
one  of  our  States. 

While  the  State  does  not  owe  any  able-bodied,  sound-minded  man 
or  woman  a  living,  it  does  owe  them  all  a  fair — yes,  even  a  generous 
opportunity  to  earn  their  own  living,  and  one  that  shall  not  be  pro- 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

longed  dying.  I  do  not  claim  that  woman  suffrage  would  be  a 
panacea  for  all  our  economic  woes.  But  I  do  claim  that  it  would 
remove  one  handicap  which  women  workers  have  to  bear  in  addition 
to  all  those  they  share  in  common  with  men.  I  do  claim  that  the  men 
of  the  future  will  be  healthier,  wiser  and  more  efficient  wealth-pro- 
ducers if  their  mothers  are  stimulated  by  a  practical  interest  in  public 
affairs.  I  do  claim  that  that  nation  will  be  the  strongest  in  which 
the  economic  conditions  are  the  most  nearly  just  to  all,  and  in  which 
co-operation  and  altruism  are  the  most  completely  incorporated  in 
the  lives  of  the  people. 

Mrs.  Hala  Hammond  Butt  (Miss.)  discussed  The  Changed 
Intellectual  Qualifications  of  the  Women  of  this  Century,  with 
the  intense  eloquence  of  Southern  women,  and  closed  as  follows : 

There  are  mighty  forces  striving  within  our  souls — a  latent 
strength  is  astir  that  is  lifting  us  out  of  our  passive  sleep.  Defense- 
less, still  are  we  subject  to  restrictions,  bonds  as  illogical  in  theory  as 
unjust  in  practice.  Helpless,  we  may  formulate  as  we  will;  but 
demonstrate  we  may  not.  The  query  persists  in  thrusting  itself 
upon  my  mind,  why  should  I  be  amenable  to  a  law  that  does  not  ac- 
cord me  recognition?  Why,  indeed,  should  I  owe  loyalty  and  alle- 
giance to  a  Government  that  stamps  my  brow  with  the  badge  of 
servility  and  inferiority? 

Our  human  interests  are  identical — yours  and  mine;  our  paths 
not  far  apart ;  we  have  the  same  loves,  the  same  hates,  the  same 
hopes,  the  same  desires ;  a  common  origin,  a  common  need,  a  com- 
mon destiny.  Our  moral  responsibilities  are  equal,  our  civil  liabili- 
ties not  less  than  yours,  our  social  and  industrial  exactions  equally 
as  stringent  as  yours,  and  yet — O,  crowning  shame  of  the  nineteenth 
century ! — we  are  denied  the  garb  of  citizenship.  Gentlemen,  is 
this  justice? 

Mrs.  Catharine  Waugh  McCulloch,  auditor  of  the  National 
Suffrage  Association  and  a  member  of  the  Chicago  bar,  demon- 
strated The  Protective  Power  of  the  Ballot : 

The  spirit  of  struggle  against  oppression  and  dependence  is  in  the 
air.  and  all  have  breathed  it  in — women  as  well  as  men.  They,  too, 
feel  the  desire  for  freedom,  opportunity,  progress ;  the  wish  for 
liberty,  a  share  in  the  government,  emancipation.  The  practical 
method  by  which  these  aspirations  can  be  realized  is  through  the 
ballot.  It  is  the  insignia  of  power.  The  Outlander  wants  it ;  so 
does  the  Filipino,  the  Slav,  the  Cuban ;  so  do  women.  Women  need 
the  ballot  not  only  for  the  honor  of  being  esteemed,  peers  among 
freemen,  but  they  want  it  for  the  practical  value  it  will  be  in  pro- 
tecting them  in  the  exercise  of  a  citizen's  prerogatives 

But,  it  is  asked,  "Have  not  women  had  some  sort  of  protection 
without  the  ballot?"  Yes,  but  it  has  been  only  such  protection  as 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  379 

the  caprice  or  affection  of  the  voting  class  has  given,  gratuities 
revocable  at  will.  The  man  of  wealth  or  power  defends  his  wife, 
daughter  or  sweetheart  because  she  is  his,  just  as  he  would  defend 
his  property.  His  own  opinions,  not  her  views,  decide  him  concern- 
ing the  things  from  which  she  should  be  protected.  Should  she 
ever  need  protection  against  "her  protector,"  there  is  no  one  to  give 
it 

Entrance  into  remunerative  employments  in  many  instances  has 
been  denied  women.  In  many  of  the  States  the  professions  of  law, 
medicine,  dentistry  and  all  the  elective  offices  are  closed  by  statute. 
Appointive  positions,  also,  which  women  might  legally  hold  are 
practically  withheld  from  them  because  of  their  lack  of  the  ballot. 
The  appointing  powrer — president,  governor,  mayor,  judge  or  com- 
missioner— all  owe  their  own  positions  to  voters  who  expect  some 
minor  appointment  in  acknowledgment  of  service. 

Even  large  private  corporations  not  supposed  to  be  influenced  by 
politics  have  occasionally  desired  and  received  governmental  help 
and  protection.  In  return,  the  employes  of  these  enterprises  have 
been  advised  to  vote  for  the  party  which  has  protected  their  employ- 
ers' business.  At  a  caucus,  a  street  parade  and  on  election  day,  the 
500  or  10,000  or  100,000  persons  employed  in  a  certain  industry 
make  a  considerable  political  showing  if  they  are  all  voters.  On 
such  occasions  women  employes  are  of  no  value.  Women  refused 
employment  in  various  enterprises  not  alone  are  injured  in  their 
feelings,  but  they  are  not  protected  in  their  right  to  earn  food,  shelter 
and  clothes. 

There  are  many  different  kinds  of  employment  which  do  not  debar 
women,  but  even  in  these  they  need  protection  in  securing  a  fair  re- 
turn for  their  labor.  In  an  investigation  conducted  by  the  U.  S.  De- 
partment of  Labor  concerning  the  wages  received  by  men  and  women 
it  appeared  that  in  75  per  cent,  of  the  782  instances  investigated,  men 
received  50  per  cent,  higher  wages  than  did  women  laboring  with  the 
same  degree  of  efficiency  on  the  same  kind  of  work. 

Women  also  need  protection  of  their  property.  A  man  who 
knows  the  inside  truth  says,  "Widows  and  minors  are  always  as- 
sessed higher  than  men."  If  the  assessor  desires  re-election,  one  of 
the  easiest  methods  of  securing  it  is  to  lower  the  assessments  of  the 
politicians  who  control  most  voters 

Women  also  want  protection  for  the  one  sphere  which  even  the 
most  conservative  loudly  proclaim  should  be  theirs — the  home. 
That  the  water  supply  is  good  and  abundant,  that  the  sewage  is 
carried  a\vay  properly  and  speedily,  that  contagious  cases  are  iso- 
lated, that  food  is  pure  in  quality  and  reasonable  in  price,  that  in- 
spection of  food  is  honest  and  scientific,  that  weights  and  measures 
are  true,  that  gas  and  electricity  are  inexpensive,  that  buildings  are 
strongly  constructed — these  are  all  matters  under  the  control  of  cer- 
tain officials  elected  by  voters 

Women,  too.  want  protection  for  the  children,  proper  regulations 
in  regard  to  the  schools,  the  trains  at  crossings,  seducers,  tramps 
and  child  abductors.  They  want  strict  laws  against  obscene  liter- 


380  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ature  and  the  unhealthy  cigarette;  and  what  is  equally  important, 

honest  enforcement  of  such  laws  and  ordinances 

One  class  can  not,  will  not,  legislate  better  for  all  classes  than 
they  can  do  for  themselves.  So  men  alone  can  not  legislate  better 
for  women  and  men  than  can  the  two  for  both.  Women  need  the 
ballot  to  protect  themselves  and  all  that  they  hold  dear. 

The  hearing  was  closed  by  Miss  Shaw,  who  said  in  ending  her 
remarks : 

Dire  results  have  been  predicted  at  every  step  of  radical  progress. 
When  women  first  enjoyed  higher  education  the  cry  went  out  that 
the  home  would  be  destroyed.  It  was  said  that  if  all  the  women 
were  educated,  all  would  become  bluestockings,  and  if  all  women 
became  bluestockings  all  would  write  books,  and  if  all  women  wrote 
books  what  would  become  of  the  homes,  who  would  rear  the  chil- 
dren? But  the  schools  were  opened  and  women  entered  them,  and 
it  has  been  discovered  that  the  intelligent  woman  makes  a  wiser 
mother,  a  better  homemaker  and  a  much  more  desirable  companion, 
friend  and  wife  than  a  woman  who  is  illiterate,  whose  intellectual 
horizon  is  narrowed. 

In  many  of  the  States  where  the  statutes  were  based  on  the  old 
English  common  law,  the  husband  absorbed  the  wife's  property  as  he 
absorbed  her  personal  rights.  Then  came  the  demand  for  property 
rights  for  wives,  but  the  cry  went  up  they  will  desert  their  homes. 
Then  it  was  found  there  were  thousands  of  women  who  could  have 
no  home  if  they  were  not  permitted  to  pursue  avocations  in  the  out- 
side world.  And  then  it  was  said  that  the  moral  life  of  women 
wrould  be  degraded  by  public  contact.  Yet  the  statistics  show  that 
in  those  occupations  in  which  women  are  able  to  earn  a  livelihood  in 
an  honorable  and  respectable  manner  they  have  raised  the  standard 
of  morality  rather  than  lowered  it. 

The  results  have  not  been  those  which  were  predicted.  The 
homes  have  not  been  broken  up ;  for  human  hearts  are  and  always 
will  be  the  same,  and  so  long  as  God  has  established  in  this  world 
a  greater  force  than  all  other  forces  combined — which  we  call  the 
divine  gravity  of  love — just  so  long  human  hearts  will  continue  to 
be  drawn  together,  homes  will  be  founded,  families  will  be  reared ; 
and  never  so  good  a  home,  never  so  good  a  family,  as  those  founded 
in  justice  and  educated  upon  right  principles.  Consequently  the 
industrial  emancipation  of  women  has  been  of  benefit  to  the  home, 
to  women  and  to  men. 

The  claim  is  made  that  we  are  building  a  barrier  between  men 
and  women ;  that  we  are  antagonistic  because  men  are  men  and  we 
are  women.  This  is  not  true.  We  believe  there  never  was  a  time 
when  men  and  women  were  such  good  friends  as  now,  when  they 
esteemed  each  other  as  they  do  now.  We  have  coeducation  in  our 
schools ;  boys  and  girls  work  side  by  side  and  study  and  recite  to- 
gether. When  coeducation  was  first  tried  men  thought  they  would 
easily  carry  off  the  honors;  but  soon  they  learned  their  mistake. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    1900.  38! 

That  experience  gave  to  men  a  better  opinion  of  woman's  intel- 
lectual ability. 

There  is  nothing"  in  liberty  which  can  harm  either  man  or  woman. 
There  is  nothing  in  justice  which  can  work  against  the  highest  good 
of  humanity ;  and  when  on  the  ground  of  expediency  this  measure 
is  opposed,  in  the  words  of  Wendell  Phillips,  "Whatever  is  j.ust,  God 
will  see  that  it  is  expedient."  There  is  no  greater  inexpediency  than 
injustice 

We  do  not  ask  the  ballot  because  we  do  not  believe  in  men  or  be- 
cause we  think  men  unjust  or' unfair.  We  do  not  ask  to  speak  for 
ourselves  because  we  believe  men  unwilling  to  speak  for  us ;  but  be- 
cause men  by  their  very  nature  never  can  speak  for  women.  It 
would  be  as  impossible  for  all  men  to  understand  the  needs  of  wom- 
en and  care  for  their  interests  as  it  would  be  for  all  women  to  under- 
stand the  needs  and  care  for  the  interests  of  men.  So  long  as  laws 
affect  both  men  and  women,  both  should  make  the  laws. 

Gentlemen,  we  leave  our  case  with  you.  I  wish  those  who  oppose 
this  measure  could  know  the  great  need  of  the  power  of  the  ballot 
in  the  hands  of  those  who  struggle  in  the  world's  affairs.  I  thank 
you  in  the  name  of  our  association  for  your  kindness  in  listening  to 
us.  There  will  never  be  laid  before  you  a  claim  more  just — one  more 
in  accord  with  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  national  life. 

No  one  can  read  the  arguments  for  the  enfranchisement  of 
women  as  presented  before  these  two  committees  without  a  pro- 
found conviction  of  the  justice  of  their  cause  and  the  imperative 
duty  of  those  before  whom  they  pleaded  it  to  report  in  favor  of 
submitting  the  desired  amendment.  This  report  would  simply 
have  placed  the  matter  before  the  respective  Houses  of  Congress. 
But  neither  committee  took  any  action  whatever  and  as  far  as 
practical  results  were  concerned  these  eloquent  pleas  fell  upon 
deaf  ears  and  hardened  hearts. 

A  unique  feature  was  added  to  the  hearings  this  year  because, 
for  the  first  time,  the  advocates  of  woman  suffrage  were  opposed 
before  the  committees  by  a  class  of  women  calling  themselves 
"remonstrants."  The  Woman's  Journal  said : 

About  a  dozen  women  from  New  York  and  Massachusetts,  with 
one  from  Delaware,  came  to  Washington  and  made  public  speeches 
before  Congressional  Committees  to  prove  that  a  woman's  place  is 
at  home.  They  said  they  were  led  to  take  this  action  by  their  alarm 
at  the  activity  of  the  National-American  W.  S.  A. 

The  party  of  "antis"  who  came  to  the  Senate  hearing  in  the  Mar- 
ble Room  would  not  have  been  able  to  get  in  but  for  Miss  Anthony. 
As  this  room  accommodates  only  about  sixty  persons,  admission 
was  by  tickets,  and  these  had  been  issued  to  delegates  only.  The 
"antis,"  having  no  tickets,  were  turned  away;  but  Miss  Anthony, 


382 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


learning  who  they  were,  persuaded  the  doorkeeper  to  admit  them, 
introduced  them  herself  to  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  and 
placed  them  in  good  seats  near  the  front,  where  they  certainly  heard 
more  about  the  facts  of  equal  suffrage  than  they  ever  did  before.* 
Mrs.  Arthur  M.  Dodge  and  Miss  Bissell  addressed  the  Senate 
Committee  on  Woman  Suffrage,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Russell,  Mrs. 
A.  J.  George,  Miss  Emily  Bissell  and  Mrs.  Rossiter  Johnson  ad- 
dressed the  House  Judiciary  Committee.  In  each  case  they  secured 
the  last  word,  to  which  they  were  not  entitled  either  by  equity  or 
custom,  by  asking  to  speak  at  the  conclusion  of  the  suffrage  hear- 
ing. It  was  trying  to  have  to  listen  to  egregious  misstatements  of 
fact,  and  to  hear  the  Woman's  Journal  audaciously  cited  as  author- 
ity for  them,  without  a  chance  to  reply. 

The  time  for  these  hearings  belonged  exclusively  to  the  suf- 
frage delegates,  the  chairmen  of  the  two  congressional  commit- 
tees stating  that  they  would  appoint  some  othftr  day  for  the  "re- 
monstrants." The  delegates,  however,  declaring  that  they  had 
no  objections,  the  "antis"  were  permitted  to  read  their  papers 
at  the  close  of  the  suffrage  hearing,  thus  having  the  benefit  of 
the  large  audiences,  but  furnishing  a  vast  amount  of  amusement 
to  the  suffragists,  f 

The  Woman's  Journal  said  in  its  perfectly  fair  description : 

The  chairman  of  the  House  Committee  asked  Mrs.  A.  J.  George 
of  Massachusetts,  who  conducted  the  hearing  for  the  "antis,"  a 
number  of  questions  that  she  could  not  answer,  and  Thomas  Russell 
of  that  State  had  to  prompt  her  repeatedly.  The  chairman 
would  ask  a  question ;  Mrs.  George  would  look  nonplussed ;  Mr. 
Russell  would  lean  over  and  whisper,  "Say  yes,"  and  she  would 
answer  aloud  "Yes."  The  chairman  would  ask  another  question ; 
Mr.  Russell  would  whisper,  "Say  no,"  and  Mrs.  George  would 
answer  "No."  This  happened  so  often  that  both  the  audience  and 
the  committee  were  visibly  amused,  and  several  persons  said  it  was 
Mr.  Russell  who  was  really  conducting  the  hearing.  He  is  a  Bos- 
ton lawyer  who  has  conducted  the  legislative  hearings  for  the 
"antis"  in  Massachusetts  for  some  years. 

*  That  this  was  a  mistaken  courtesy  was  proved  by  subsequent  events,  as  afterwards 
Mrs.  Dodge  came  out  with  a  card  in  the  New  York  Sun  denying  that  they  were  admitted 
through  the  intervention  of  Miss  Anthony. 

t  In  the  official  Senate  report  of  the  hearing  the  arguments  of  the  suffragists  filled  forty 
pages;  those  of  the  "antis"  five  pages.  They  consisted  of  brief  papers  by  Mrs.  Dodge  and 
Miss  Bissell.  The  former  took  the  ground  that  the  Congress  should  leave  this  matter  to 
be  decided  by  the  States;  that  women  are  not  physically  qualified  to  use  the  ballot;  and 
that  its  use  by  them  would  render  "domestic  tranquillity"  a  byword  among  the  people. 
Miss  Bissell  began  by  saying,  "It  is  not  the  tyranny  but  the  chivalry  of  men  that  we  have 
to  fear,"  and  opposed  the  suffrage  principally  because  the  majority  of  women  do  not 
want  it,  saving,  "I  have  never  yet  been  so  situated  that  I  could  see  where  a  vote  could 
help  me.  If  I  felt  that  it  would,  I  might  become  a  suffragist  perhaps." 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IpOO.  383 


Mrs.  Dodge,  in  her  speech,  begged  the  committee  not  to 
allow  the  "purely  sentimental  reasons  of  the  petitioners"  to  have 
any  weight,  and  said:  "The  mere  fact  that  this  amendment  is 
asked  as  a  compliment  to  the  leading  advocate  of  woman  suffrage 
on  the  attainment  of  her  eightieth  birthday,  is  evidence  of  the 
emotional  frame  of  mind  which  influences  the  advocates  of  the 
measure,  and  which  is  scarcely  favorable  to  the  calm  considera- 
tion that  should  be  given  to  fundamental  political  principles." 
Miss  Anthony's  birthday  had  not  been  mentioned  by  any  speaker 
before  either  committee,  and  the  suffragists  under  her  leadership 
had  been  making  their  pleas  and  arguments  for  a  Sixteenth 
Amendment  for  over  thirty  years. 

As  the  suffrage  ,  speakers  were  not  permitted  to  answer  the 
misstatements  and  prevarications  of  the  "remonstrants"  at  the 
time  of  the  hearings  and  these  were  widely  circulated  through 
the  press,  the  convention  passed  the  following  resolutions  on  mo- 
tion of  Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell  : 

WHEREAS,  At  this  morning's  Congressional  hearing  letters  were 
read  by  the  anti-suffragists  from  two  men  and  one  woman  in  Colo- 
rado, asserting-  equal  suffrage  in  that  State  to  be  a  failure  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  call  attention  to  a  published  statement  declar- 
ing that  the  results  are  wholesome  and  that  none  of  the  predicted 
evils  have  followed.  This  statement  is  signed  by  the  Governor  and 
three  ex-Governors  of  Colorado,  the  Chief  Justice,  all  the  Judges  of 
the  State  Supreme  Court,  the  Denver  District  Court  and  the  Court 
of  Appeals  ;  all  the  Colorado  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Con- 
gress ;  President  Slocum  of  Colorado  College,  the  president  of  the 
State  University,  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction, 
the  Attorney-General,  the  mayor  of  Denver,  prominent  clergymen 
of  different  denominations,  and  the  presidents  of  thirteen  of  the 
principal  women's  associations  of  Denver.  The  social  science  de- 
partment of  the  Denver  Woman's  Club  has  just  voted  unanimously 
to  the  same  effect,  and  the  Colorado  Legislature  lately  passed  a 
similar  resolution  by  a  vote  of  45  to  3  in  the  House  and  30  to  I  in 
the  Senate.  On  the  other  hand,  during  the  six  years  that  equal 
suffrage  has  prevailed  in  Colorado  the  opponents  have  not  yet  found 
six  respectable  men  who  assert  over  their  own  names  and  addresses 
that  it  has  had  any  bad  results. 

WHEREAS,  At  the  Congressional  hearing  it  was  asserted  that  equal 
suffrage  had  led  to  no  improvements  in  the  laws  of  Colorado  ;  there- 
fore, 

Resolved,  That  we  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  Colorado  owes  to 
equal  suffrage  the  laws  raising  the  age  of  protection  for  girls  to 
eighteen  years;  establishing  a  State  Home  for  Dependent  Children 


384 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


and  a  State  Industrial  School  for  Girls ;  making-  fathers  and  mothers 
joint  guardians  of  their  children ;  removing  the  emblems  from  the 
Australian  ballot ;  prohibiting  child  labor ;  also  city  ordinances  in 
Denver  providing  drinking  fountains  in  the  streets ;  forbidding  ex- 
pectoration in  public  places,  and  requiring  the  use  of  smoke-con- 
suming chimneys  on  all  public  and  business  buildings. 

This  anecdote  was  related  the  next  day:  "Miss  Anthony's 
love  of  the  beautiful  leads  her  always  to  clothe  herself  in  good 
style  and  fine  materials,  and  she  has  an  eye  for  the  fitness  of  things 
as  well  as  for  the  funny  side.  'Girls,'  she  said  yesterday,  after  re- 
turning from  the  Capitol,  'those  statesmen  eyed  us  very  closely, 
but  I  will  wager  that  it  was  impossible  after  we  got  mixed  to- 
gether to  tell  an  anti  from  a  suffragist  by  her  clothes.  There 
might  have  been  a  difference,  though,  in  the  expression  of  the 
faces  and  the  shape  of  the  heads,'  she  added  drily." 

On  Tuesday  afternoon  about  two  hundred  members  of  the 
convention  were  received  by  President  McKinley  in  the  East 
Room  of  the  White  House.  Miss  Anthony  stood  at  his  right 
hand  and,  after  the  President  had  greeted  the  last  guest,  he  in- 
vited her  to  accompany  him  upstairs  to  meet  Mrs.  McKinley,  who 
was  not  well  enough  to  receive  all  of  the  ladies.  Giving  her  his 
arm  he  led  her  up  the  old  historic  staircase,  "as  tenderly  as  if  he 
had  been  my  own  son,"  she  said  afterward.  When  she  was 
leaving,  after  a  pleasant  call,  Mrs.  McKinley  expressed  a  wish  to 
send  some  message  to  the  convention  and  she  and  the  President 
together  filled  Miss  Anthony's  arms  with  white  lilies,  which 
graced  the  platform  during  the  remainder  of  the  meetings. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  NATIONAL-AMERICAN  CONVENTION  OF  IQOO  CONTINUED. 

It  had  been  known  for  some  time  before  the  suffrage  convention 
of  Feb.  8-14,  1900,  that  Miss  Anthony  intended  to  resign 
the  presidency  of  the  national  association  at  that  time,  when 
she  would  be  eighty  years  old,  but  her  devoted  adherents 
could  not  resist  urging  that  she  would  reconsider  her  decision. 
When  they  assembled,  however,  they  found  it  impossible  to  per- 
suade her  to  continue  longer  in  the  office.  The  Washington  Post 
of  February  8  said : 

Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  has  resigned.  The  woman  who  for  the 
greater  part  of  her  life  has  been  the  star  that  guided  the  National 
Woman  Suffrage  Association  through  all  of  its  vicissitudes  until 
it  stands  to-day  a  living  monument  to  her  wonderful  mental  and 
physical  ability  has  turned  over  the  leadership  to  younger  minds  and 
hands,  not  because  this  great  woman  feels  that  she  is  no  longer 
capable  of  exercising  it,  but  because  she  has  a  still  larger  work  to 
accomplish  before  her  life's  labors  are  at  an  end.  In  a  speech  which 
was  characteristic  of  one  who  has  done  so  much  toward  the  uplifting 
of  her  sex,  Miss  Anthony  tendered  her  resignation  during  the  pre- 
liminary meeting  of  the  executive  committee,  held  last  night  at  the 
headquarters  in  the  parlors  of  the  Riggs  House. 

Although  Miss  Anthony  had  positively  stated  that  she  would 
resign  in  1900,  there  were  many  of  those  present  who  were  visibly 
shocked  when  she  announced  that  she  was  about  to  relinquish  her 
position  as  president  of  the  association.  In  the  instant  hush  which 
followed  this  statement  a  sorrow  settled  over  the  countenances  of 
the  fifty  women  seated  about  the  room,  who  love  and  venerate  Miss 
Anthony  so  much,  and  probably  some  of  them  would  have  broken 
down  had  it  not  been  that  they  knew  well  her  antipathy  to  public 
emotion.  In  a  happy  vein,  which  soon  drove  the  clouds  of  disap- 
pointment from  the  faces  of  those  present,  she  explained  why  she 
no  longer  desired  to  continue  as  an  officer  of  the  association  after 
having  done  so  since  its  beginning. 

"I  have  fully  determined,"  she  began,  "to  retire  from  the  active 

presidency  of  the  association.     I  was  elected  assistant  secretary  of 

a  woman  suffrage  society  in  1852,  and  from  that  day  to  this  have 

always  held  an  office.     I  am  not  retiring  now  because  I  feel  un- 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 25          385 


386  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

able,  mentally  or  physically,  to  do  the  necessary  work,  but  because 
I  wish  to  see  the  organization  in  the  hands  of  those  who  are  to 
have  its  management  in  the  future."  Then  jestingly  she  continued: 
"I  want  to  see  you  all  at  work,  while  I  am  alive,  so  I  can  scold  if 
you  do  not  do  it  well.  Give  the  matter  of  selecting  your  officers 
serious  thought.  Consider  who  will  do  the  best  work  for  the  po- 
litical enfranchisement  of  women,  and  let  no  personal  feelings  enter 
into  the  question." 

While  Miss  Anthony  seemed  at  the  height  of  her  physical  and 
mental  vigor,  those  who  loved  her  best  felt  it  to  be  right  that  she 
should  be  relieved  of  the  burdens  of  the  office  which  were  grow- 
ing heavier  each  year  as  the  demands  upon  the  association  became 
more  numerous,  and  should  be  free  to  devote  her  time  to  certain 
lines  of  work  which  could  be  done  only  by  herself.  They  tried 
to  imitate  her  own  cheerfulness  and  philosophy  in  this  matter,  but 
found  it  more  difficult  than  it  ever  before  had  been  to  follow 
where  she  led. 

The  last  of  the  resolutions,  presented  to  the  convention  a  few 
days  later  by  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  Henry  B.  Black- 
well,  read  as  follows :  "In  view  of  the  announced  determination 
of  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  to  withdraw  from  the  presidency  of 
this  association,  we  tender  her  our  heartfelt  expression  of  appre- 
ciation and  regard.  We  congratulate  her  upon  her  eightieth 
birthday,  and  trust  that  she  will  add  to  her  past  illustrious  serv- 
ices her  aid  and  support  to  the  younger  workers  for  woman's 
enfranchisement.  We  shall  continue  to  look  to  her  for  advice 
and  counsel  in  the  years  to  come.  May  the  new  century  witness 
the  fruition  of  our  labors." 

This  was  unanimously  adopted  by  a  rising  vote.  Observing 
that  many  of  the  delegates  were  on  the  point  of  yielding  to  their 
feelings,  Miss  Anthony  arose  and  in  clear,  even  tones,  with 
touch  of  quaint  humor,  said : 

I  wish  you  could  realize  with  what  joy  and  relief  I  retire  frc 
the  presidency.  I  want  to  say  this  to  you  while  I  am  still  alive 
and  I  am  good  yet  for  another  decade— don't  be  afraid.  As  long 
as  my  name  stands  at  the  head,  I  am  Yankee  enough  to  feel  that  I 
must  watch  every  potato  which  goes  into  the  dinner-pot  and  super- 
vise every  detail  of  the  work.  For  the  four  years  since  I  fixed  my 
date  to  retire,  I  have  constantly  been  saying  to  myself,  "Let  go.  let 
go,  let  go!"  I  am  now  going  to  let  go  of  the  machinery  but  not 
of  the  spiritual  part.  I  expect  to  do  more  work  for  woman  snf- 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  387 

frage  in  the  next  decade  than  ever  before.  I  have  not  been  for 
nearly  fifty  years  in  this  movement  without  gaining  a  certain  "noto- 
riety," at  least,  and  this  enables  me  to  get  a  hearing  before  the  an- 
nual conventions  of  many  great  national  bodies,  and  to  urge  on  them 
the  passage  of  resolutions  asking  Congress  to  submit  to  the  State 
Legislatures  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution 
forbidding  disfranchisement  on  account  of  sex.  This  is  a  part  of 
the  work  to  which  I  mean  to  devote  myself  henceforward.  Then 
you  all  know  about  the  big  fund  which  I  am  going  to  raise  so  that 
you  young  workers  may  have  an  assured  income  and  not  have  to 
spend  the  most  of  your  time  begging  money,  as  I  have  had  to  do. 

The  convention  proceeded  to  the  election  of  officers.  Mrs. 
Lillie  Devereux  Blake  (N.  Y.),  who  was  a  candidate  for  presi- 
dent, asked  permission  to  make  a  personal  explanation  and  said : 
"I  have  received  from  many  parts  of  the  United  States  expres- 
sions of  regard  and  esteem  that  have  deeply  touched  me.  But  in 
the  interests  of  harmony  I  desire  to  withdraw  my  name  from  any 
consideration  you  may  have  wished  to  give  me."  Of  the  278 
votes  cast  for  president  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt  (N.  Y.)  re- 
ceived 254;  eleven  of  the  remaining  twenty- four  were  cast  for 
Miss  Anthony  and  ten  for  Mrs.  Blake.  The  other  members  of 
the  old  board  were  re-elected  almost  unanimously.* 

The  Washington  Post  said :  "There  was  a  touching  scene 
when  the  vote  for  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  was  announced.  First 
there  was  an  outburst  of  applause,  and  then  as  though  all  at  once 
every  one  realized  that  she  was  witnessing  the  passing  of  Susan 

*  From  the  founding  of  the  National  Association  in  1869  the  presidency  was  usually 
teld  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  while  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  was  either  vice- 
president,  corresponding  secretary  or  chairman  of  the  executive  committee,  although  she 
sometimes  filled  the  presidential  chair.  Mrs.  Stanton  continued  as  president  until  1892, 
when  she  resigned  at  the  age  of  seventy-six.  Miss  Anthony  was  elected  that  year  and 
held  the  office  until  1900,  when  she  resigned  at  the  age  of  eighty. 

Mrs.  Rachel  Foster  Avery  served  as  corresponding  secretary  for  twenty-one  years,  from 
1880  to  1901.  Her  resignation  was  reluctantly  accepted  and  a  gift  of  $1,000  was  pre- 
sented to  her,  the  contribution  of  friends  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

The  other  officers  since  1884  have  been  as  follows:  Vice-presidents-at-large,  Miss  An- 
thony, Matilda  Joslyn  Gage,  the  Rev.  Olympia  Brown,  Phoebe  W.  Couzins,  Abigail  Scott 
Duniway  and,  from  1892,  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw;  treasurers,  Jane  H.  Spofford 
from  1880  to  1892,  and  since  then  Harriet  Taylor  Upton;  recording  secretaries,  Ellen 
H.  Sheldon,  Julia  T.  Foster,  Pearl  Adams,  Julia  A.  Wilbur,  Caroline  A.  Sherman,  Sara 
Winthrop  Smith,  Hannah  B.  Sperry  and,  since  1890,  Alice  Stone  Blackwell;  auditors, 
Ruth  C.  Denison,  Julia  A.  Wilbur,  Eliza  T.  Ward,  Ellen  M.  O'Connor,  the  Rev.  Frederick 

A.  Hinckley,  Harriet  Taylor  Upton,  the  Hon.  Wm.   Dudley  Foulke,  May  Wright  Sewall, 
Ellen  Battelle  Dietrick,  Josephine  K.   Henry,  H.  Augusta  Howard,  Annie  L.  Diggs,  Sarah 

B.  Cooper,  Laura  Clay,  Catharine  Waugh  McCulloch.     Mrs.   Sewall   was  chairman   of  the 
executive  committee  from    1882  until  she  resigned  in    1890  and   Lucy  Stone   was  elected; 
in  1892  she  begged  to  be  relieved  as  she  was  seventy-four  years  old.     The  committee  was 
then  abolished,  its  duties  being  transferred  to  the  business  committee. 


388  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

B.  Anthony,  their  beloved  president,  the  deepest  silence  prevailed 
for  several  seconds.  Lifelong  members  of  the  association,  who 
had  toiled  and  struggled  by  the  side  of  Miss  Anthony,  could  not 
restrain  their  emotions  and  wept  in  spite  of  their  efforts  at  con- 
trol." The  Washington  Star  thus  described  the  occasion : 

Mrs.  Blake  not  being  in  the  hall,  Miss  Anthony  was  made  a 
committee  of  one  to  present  Mrs.  Catt  to  the  convention.  The 
women  went  wild  as,  erect  and  alert,  she  walked  to  the  front  of  the 
platform,  holding  the  hand  of  her  young  co-worker,  of  whom  she 
is  extremely  fond  and  of  whom  she  expects  great  things.  Miss 
Anthony's  eyes  were  tear-dimmed,  and  her  tones  were  uneven,  as 
she  presented  to  the  convention  its  choice  of  a  leader  in  words 
freighted  with  love  and  tender  solicitude,  rich  with  reminiscences  of 
the  past,  and  full  of  hope  for  the  future  of  the  new  president  and 
her  work. 

"Suffrage  is  no  longer  a  theory,  but  an  actual  condition,"  she  said, 
"and  new  occasions  bring  new  duties.  These  new  duties,  these 
changed  conditions,  demand  stronger  hands,  younger  heads  and 
fresher  hearts.  In  Mrs.  Catt  you  have  my  ideal  leader.  I  present 
to  you  my  successor." 

By  this  time  half  the  women  were  using  their  handkerchiefs  on 
their  eyes  and  the  other  half  were  waving  them  in  the  air. 

The  object  of  all  this  praise  stood  with  downcast  eyes  and  evi- 
dently was  deeply  moved.  At  length  she  said  in  response : 

Good  friends,  I  should  hardly  be  human  if  I  did  not  feel  grati- 
tude and  appreciation  for  the  confidence  you  have  shown  me ;  but  I 
feel  the  honor  of  the  position  much  less  than  its  responsibility.  I 
never  was  an  aspirant  for  it.  I  consented  only  six  weeks  ago  to 
stand.  I  was  not  willing  to  be  the  next  president  after  Miss  An- 
thony. I  have  known  that  there  was  a  general  loyalty  to  her  which 
could  not  be  given  to  any  younger  worker.  Since  Miss  Anthony 
announced  her  intention  to  retire,  there  have  been  editorials  in 
many  leading  papers  expressing  approval  of  her — but  not  of  the 
cause.  She  has  been  much  larger  than  our  association.  The  pa- 
pers have  spoken  of  the  new  president  as  Miss  Anthony's  suc- 
cessor. Miss  Anthony  never  will  have  a  successor. 

A  president  chosen  from  the  younger  generation  is  on  a  level 
with  the  association,  and  it  might  suffer  in  consequence  of  Miss 
Anthony's  retirement  if  we  did  not  still  have  her  to  counsel  and 
advise  us.  I  pledge  you  whatever  ability  God  has  given  me,  but  I 
can  not  do  this  work  alone.  The  cause  has  got  beyond  where  one 
woman  can  do  the  whole.  I  shall  not  be  its  leader  as  Miss  Anthony 
has  been ;  I  shall  be  only  an  officer  of  this  association.  I  will  do 
all  I  can,  but  I  can  not  do  it  without  the  co-operation  of  each  of  you. 
The  responsibility  much  overbalances  the  honor,  and  I  hope  you 
will  all  help  me  bear  the  burden. 


MRS.  CARRIE  CHAPMAN  CATT, 

Successor  of  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  as  President  of  National-American 
Woman  Suffrage  Association, 


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NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  389 

It  was  voted  on  motion  of  Mrs.  Rachel  Foster  Avery  to  make 
Miss  Anthony  honorary  president,  which  was  done  with  applause 
and  she  observed  informally :  "You  have  moved  me  up  higher. 
I  always  did  stand  by  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  and  my  name  al- 
ways was  after  hers,  and  I  am  glad  to  be  there  again." 

The  press  notices  said  of  the  new  officer : 

Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  the  newly-elected  president  of  the 
National  Suffrage  Association,  is  a  young  and  handsome  woman 
with  a  charming  personality,  and  is  one  of  the  most  eloquent  and 
logical  speakers  upon  the  public  platform.  For  the  past  five  years 
she  has  been  lecturer  and  organizer  for  the  association,  where  she 
has  shown  rare  executive  ability  and  earnestness  of  purpose.  • 

She  has  traveled  from  east  to  west  and  from  north  to  south  many 
times,  lectured  in  nearly  every  city  in  the  Union  and  has  been  as- 
sociated with  every  important  victory  that  equal  suffrage  has  won  of 
late  years.  She  was  in  Colorado  during  the  amendment  campaign, 
and  the  women  attribute  their  success  to  her  more  than  to  any  other 
person  from  outside  the  State.  She  was  in  Idaho,  where  all  four 
political  parties  put  suffrage  planks  into  their  platforms  and  the 
amendment  carried.  She  went  before  the  Louisiana  constitutional 
convention,  by  the  earnest  invitation  of  New  Orleans  women,  and 
it  gave  tax-paying  women  the  right  to  vote  upon  all  questions  sub- 
mitted to  the  tax-payers. 

It  had  been  known  for  several  years  that  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt 
was  Miss  Anthony's  choice  as  her  successor ;  she  was  considered 
the  best-equipped  woman  in  the  association  for  the  position,  and 
the  vote  of  the  delegates  showed  how  nearly  unanimous  was  her 
election.  The  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  who  for  a  number  of 
years  had  been  vice-president-at-large,  could  have  had  Miss  An- 
thony's sanction  and  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  convention  if  she 
would  have  consented  to  accept  the  office. 

Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  opened  the  next  day's  meeting  by  saying : 

A  surprise  was  promised  as  part  of  this  afternoon's  program  and  a 
pleasant  duty  now  falls  to  me.  It  is  to  present  Miss  Anthony  with 
the  spirit  of  a  gift,  for  the  gift  itself  is  not  here.  Suffrage  people 
from  all  over  the  world  go  to  see  Miss  Anthony  at  her  home  in 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  and  consequently  the  carpets  of  the  parlor  and 
sitting-room  are  getting  a  little  worn.  When  she  goes  home  she 
will  find  two  beautiful  Smyrna  rugs  fitting  the  floors  of  those  two 
rooms — the  gift  of  her  suffrage  friends.  I  am  also  commissioned 
to  present  her  with  an  album.  Some  of  our  naughty  officers  have 
been  making  fun  of  it  and  saying  that  albums  are  all  out  af  date ; 
but  this  one  contains  the  photographs  of  all  the  presidents  of  the 


39°  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

State  Suffrage  Associations,  and  the  chairmen  of  standing  com- 
mittees. No  collection  of  "antis"  could  be  found  that  would  pre- 
sent in  their  faces  as  much  intelligence  and  strength  of  character. 

Miss  Anthony  expressed  her  thanks,  and  said:  "These  girls 
have  disproved  the  old  saying  that  a  secret  can  not  be  kept  by 
a  woman,  for  I  have  not  heard  a  word  of  a  rug  or  a  picture." 

From  the  Utah  Silk  Commission  composed  of  women  came  a 
handsome  black  brocaded  dress  pattern,  the  work  of  women,  from 
the  tending  of  the  cocoons  to  the  weaving  of  the  silk.  A  beau- 
tiful solid  silver  vase  was  presented  from  "the  free  women  of 
Idaho.**  There  was  also  from  this  State  an  album  of  two  hun- 
dred pages  of  pen  drawings,  water  colors  and  pressed  flowers, 
with  a  sentiment  on  each  page,  the  contributions  of  as  many  indi- 
viduals. California  sent  more  than  one  hundred  dollars.  From 
every  State  came  gifts  of  money,  silver-plate,  fine  china,  sofa 
cushions,  books,  pictures,  exquisite  jewelry,  lace,  chatelaine  bags 
and  every  token  which  loving  hearts  could  devise.  To  each  Miss 
Anthony  responded  with  a  terse  sentence  or  two,  half  tender,  half 
humorous ;  the  audience  entered  fully  into  the  spirit  of  it  all,  and 
the  convention  was  like  a  big  family  enjoying  the  birthday  of 
one  of  its  members. 

Of  the  last  session  on  February  14,  the  Washington  Post  said : 

A  vast  audience  consisting  of  both  men  and  women  witnessed 
at  the  Church  of  Our  Father,  last  evening,  the  passing  of  Susan  B. 
Anthony  as  president  of  the  National  Suffrage  Association.  It  was 
the  final  evening  session  of  the  Thirty-second  annual  convention, 
which,  Miss  Anthony  announced  at  its  close,  had  been  the  most 
successful  from  every  point  of  view  of  any  ever  held. 

Long  before  the  opening  hour  arrived  the  church  was  completely 
filled,  and  people  stood  eight  and  ten  deep  in  the  aisles,  sat  around 
the  edge  of  the  speakers'  platform  and  filled  the  approaches  to  the 
church.  Miss  Anthony  and  many  of  the  other  speakers,  who  ar- 
rived at  eight  o'clock,  had  great  difficulty  in  reaching  the  platform. 

John  C.  Bell,  member  of  Congress  from  Colorado,  made  the 
opening  address  in  which  he  said :  "The  greatest  obstruction  to 
human  progress  is  human  prejudice.  As  long  as  men  are  con- 
trolled more  by  their  prejudices  than  by  their  reason,  they  will  be 
slaves  to  habit.  If  women  had  voted  from  the  foundation  of  the 
Government  it  would  now  be  as  difficult  to  deprive  them  of  this 
privilege  as  it  would  be  to  repeal  the  Bill  of  Rights,  but  as  the 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  39 1 

men  have  done  the  voting  from  the  beginning,  the  force  of  habit 
is  successfully  battling  with  both  reason  and  justice."  He  re- 
futed the  charge  that  woman  suffrage  made  dissension  in  fami- 
lies, saying :  "You  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  extending  of  the 
elective  franchise  to  women  not  only  elevates  and  broadens  them 
but  the  men  as  well." 

The  address  of  Mrs.  Blatch  on  Woman  and  War  was  among 
the  most  notable  of  the  convention.  She  declared  that  one  of  the 
good  effects  of  war  was  that  "it  made  women  work."  The  Post 
said:  "Mrs.  Harriot  Stanton  Blatch,  a  daughter  of  Elizabeth 
Cady  Stanton,  whose  present  home  is  in  England,  laid  the  blame 
of  all  the  British  reverses  in  the  Transvaal  at  the  door  of  what 
she  termed  'the  evils  of  an  idle  aristocracy.'  In  a  most  dramatic 
manner  she  denounced  the  course  of  the  British  Empire.  After 
summing  up  the  war  situation  she  said:  'The  English  armies 
now  on  the  battle-fields  in  the  Transvaal  have  at  their  heads  as 
officers  sons  of  this  idle  aristocracy,  who  through  their  incompe- 
tency  are  not  fit  to  be  leaders.  They  are  beneath  contempt,  but 
to  the  English  soldier  all  honor  is  due.  He  is  all  right.' ' 

The  speech  of  the  pioneer  Quaker  suffragist,  Mrs.  Caroline 
Hallowell  Miller  (Md.),  delighted  the  audience,  and  her  com- 
parison of  Abraham  Lincoln  and  Susan  B.  Anthony,  "both  hav- 
ing devoted  their  lives  to  freedom,"  was  enthusiastically  received. 
Then  occurred  one  of  the  pleasant  diversions  so  characteristic  of 
these  suffrage  conventions.  During  the  interval  while  the  col- 
lection was  being  taken,  Mrs.  Helen  Mosher  James,  niece  of  Miss 
Anthony,  stepping  to  the  front  of  the  platform,  said :  "This  is 
the  Rev.  Anna  Shaw's  birthday.  Her  friends  wish  to  present 
her  with  an  easy  chair  to  await  her  when  she  comes  back  wearied 
from  going  up  and  down  the  land,  satchel  in  hand,  on  her  many 
lecture  tours.  Here  are  fifty-three  gold  dollars,  one  for  each  year 
of  her  life,  and  we  wish  her  to  buy  such  a  chair  as  suits  her  best." 

In  response  the  little  minister  said  in  part:  "I  am  not  like 
Miss  Anthony,  so  used  to  having  gifts  poured  in  upon  me  that  I 
know  just  what  to  say.  I  shall  buy  the  chair  when  I  have  been 
told  what  is  the  correct  thing  to  buy  by  another  niece  of  Miss  An- 
thony's, who  for  twelve  years  has  made  a  home  for  me.  If  you 


392 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


want  to  see  a  pretty  little  spot,  come  to  our  home,  and  every  one 
of  you  shall  sit  in  our  chair."* 

Then  Miss  Anthony,  clasping  the  hand  of  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt, 
led  her  forward  and  introduced  her  to  the  audience  as  "president 
of  the  National- American  Woman  Suffrage  Association."  The 
Woman's  Journal  thus  described  the  occasion : 

She  was  received  with  immense  applause,  the  great  audience 
rising  and  waving  handkerchiefs.  She  spoke  on  The  Three  Fs, 
showing  how  every  effort  of  women  for  improvement  was  called, 
first,  indelicate,  then  immodest,  and  finally  impracticable,  but  how 
all  the  old  objections  had  been  proved  to  be,  in  legal  phrase,  "in- 
competent, irrelevant  and  immaterial." 

The  woman's  rights  agitation  began  in  the  early  days  of  the  re- 
public, and  a  moral  warfare  along  that  line  has  been  waged  for 
more  than  a  hundred  years.  Each  step  has  been  fiercely  contested. 
The  advocates  of  every  claim  have  been  lovers  of  justice  and  the 
opponents  have  been  adherents  of  conservatism.  The  warfare  has 
been  waged  in  three  distinct  battles,  the  weapon  of  the  opponents 
always  being  ridicule,  that  of  the  defenders,  appeals  to  reason. 

In  the  early  days,  when  colleges  and  public  schools  were  closed 
to  women  and  the  education  of  girls  was  confined  to  the  three  R's, 
an  agitation  was  begun  to  permit  them  to  take  more  advanced 
studies.  Society  received  it  with  the  cry  "indelicate."  At  that  time 
delicacy  was  the  choicest  charm  of  woman  and  indelicacy  was  a 
crushing  criticism.  But  the  battle  was  won. 

The  second  great  battle  occurred  between  1850  and  1860.  Upon 
every  hand  incorrigible  woman,  with  a  big  W,  arose  to  irritate  and 
torment  the  conservatives  of  the  world.  She  appeared  in  the  pul- 
pit, on  the  platform,  in  conventions,  in  new  occupations  and  in 
innumerable  untried  fields.  Everywhere  the  finger  of  scorn  was 
pointed  at  her,  and  the  world  with  merciless  derision  pronounced 
her  immodest.  But  that  battle  was  won. 

We  are  now  in  the  heat  of  the  greatest  of  all  battles.  Woman 
asks  for  the  suffrage.  The  world  answers,  "impractical."  We 
are  told  that  this  movement  is  quite  different  from  all  others  be- 
cause there  is  an  organized  opposition  of  women  themselves  against 
it,  but  the  "remonstrant"  is  not  new.  This  century  has  witnessed 
ten  generations  of  remonstrants.  In  1800  the  remonstrant  was 
horrified  at  the  study  of  geography.  In  1810  she  accepted  geog- 
raphy but  protested  against  physiology.  In  1820  she  accepted  phys- 
iology but  protested  against  geometry.  In  1830  she  accepted  geom- 
etry but  protested  against  the  college  education.  In  1840  she  ac- 
cepted the  college  but  remonstrated  against  the  property  laws  for 
married  women.  In  1850  she  accepted  the  property  laws  but  re- 
monstrated against  public  speaking.  In  1860  she  protested  against 

•  Miss  Shaw  referred  to  Miss  Lucy  E.  Anthony,  who  for  twelve  years  had  been  her 
secretary  and  companion. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  393 

the  freedom  of  organization.  In  1870  she  remonstrated  against  the 
professions  for  women.  In  1880  she  protested  against  school  suf- 
frage. In  1890  she  protested  against  women  in  office.  In  1900  she 
accepts  everything  that  every  former  generation  of  remonstrants 
has  protested  against  and.  availing  herself  of  the  privilege  of  free 
public  speech  secured  by  this  women's  rights  movement,  pleads  pub- 
licly that  she  may  be  saved  from  the  burden  of  voting. 

The  remonstrant  of  1800  said  "indelicate,"  of  1850  "immodest," 
of  1900  "impractical."  That  the  forces  of  conservatism  will  sur- 
render as  unconditionally  to  the  forces  of  justice  in  the  great  battle 
of  the  impractical  as  they  did  in  the  battle  of  the  indelicate  and  of 
the  immodest  is  as  inevitable  as  that  the  sun  will  rise  tomorrow. 

At  the  close  of  her  fine  address,  of  which  this  is  the  barest  syn- 
opsis, Miss  Anthony  came  forward  and  asked  triumphantly,  "Do 
you  think  the  three  hundred  delegates  made  a  mistake  in  choos- 
ing that  woman  for  president?" — a  question  which  brought  out 
rene\ved  applause.  She  then  introduced  to  the  audience  the  other 
officers,  all  of  whom  except  Mrs.  McCulloch  had  served  in  their 
present  capacity  from  eight  to  ten  years,  Mrs.  Avery  having  been 
corresponding  secretary  twenty  years.  They  were  enthusias- 
tically greeted.  Afterwards  she  presented  Miss  Clara  Barton, 
the  president  of  the  Red  Cross  Association,  an  earnest  advocate 
of  suffrage,  and  as  the  cheers  for  her  rang  out,  Miss  Anthony  ob- 
served, "Politically  her  opinion  is  worth  no  more  than  an  idiot's." 

Miss  Anthony  came  forward  at  the  close  of  the  program  and, 
the  audience  realizing  that  she  was  about  to  say  good-bye,  there 
was  the  most  profound  stillness,  with  every  eye  and  ear 
strained  to  the  utmost  tension.  A  woman  who  loved  the  theatri- 
cal and  posed  for  effect  would  have  taken  advantage  of  this  op- 
portunity to  create  a  dramatic  scene  and  make  her  exit  in  the 
midst  of  tears  and  lamentations,  but  nothing  could  be  further 
from  Miss  Anthony's  nature.  Her  voice  rang  out  as  strong  and 
true  as  if  making  an  old-time  speech  on  the  rights  of  women, 
with  only  one  little  break  in  it,  and  she  covered  this  up  by  say- 
ing quickly,  "Not  one  of  our  national  officers  ever  has  had  a 
dollar  of  salary.  I  retire  on  full  pay !" 

The  Washington  Post  said  of  this  occasion : 

The  convention  closed  its  labors  with  the  farewell  address  of" 
Miss  Anthony.     The  retiring  president  paid  a  magnificent  tribute 
to  the  faithful  women  whose  aid  and  loyal  companionship  she  had 
enjoyed  for  so  many  years.     Emphatically  she  declared  that  she 


394  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

was  not  going  to  give  up  her  efforts  in  behalf  of  that  for  which  she 
had  struggled  so  long,  and  concluded:  "I  am  grateful  to  this 
association ;  I  am  grateful  to  you  all,  and  to  the  world,  for  the 
great  kindness  which  has  been  mine.  To-morrow  I  will  have  fin- 
ished fourscore  years.  I  have  lived  to  rise  from  the  most  despised 
and  hated  woman  in  all  the  world  of  fifty  years  ago,  until  now  it 
seems  as  if  I  am  loved  by  you  all.  If  this  is  true,  then  I  am  indeed 
satisfied." 

Miss  Anthony  lost  control  of  her  voice  for  a  moment.  She  soon 
regained  her  composure,  however,  and,  calling  the  officers  of  the 
association  to  her  side,  she  told  of  what  each  individual  had  done 
for  the  organization.  It  was  a  pretty  picture.  The  audience  caught 
the  spirit  of  determination  from  Miss  Anthony  and  a  thunderous 
applause  and  waving  of  handkerchiefs  followed. 

The  great  crowd  sang  the  doxology  and  even  then  seemed  un- 
willing to  disperse,  hundreds  of  people  staying  for  a  hand- 
shake and  a  few  personal  words  with  the  officers  and  delegates. 

The  day  following  the  close  of  the  convention  was  the  eightieth 
anniversary  of  Miss  Anthony's  birth,  and  many  suffrage  advo- 
cates from  different  parts  of  the  country  had  come  to,  the  national 
capital  to  assist  in  celebrating  it.  The  following  program  was 
handsomely  prepared  for  distribution  and  was  carried  out,  except 
that  Mrs.  Birney  and  Dr.  Smith  were  unavoidably  absent. 

CELEBRATION  OF  THE  EIGHTIETH  BIRTHDAY 

OF 

SUSAN  B.  ANTHONY, 

AT  THE 

LAFAYETTE  OPERA  HOUSE,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C,  FEB'Y  15,  1900. 

Song John  W.  Hutchinson 

Greetings  from 

National  Congress  of  Mothers, 

Mrs.  Theodore  Weld  Birney,  President 
National  Council  of  Women, 

Fannie  Humphreys  Gaffney,  President 
International  Council  of  Women, 

May  Wright  Sewall,  President 
Greetings  from  the  Professions : 

Ministry Rev.  Ida  C.  Hultin 

Law Diana   Hirschler 

Medicine Dr.  Julia  Holmes  Smith 

Violin  Solo — Hungarian  Rhapsodic  (Hansen)  .Joseph  H.  Douglass 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  395 

Greetings  from 

Business  Women Lillian  M.  Hollister 

Colored  Women Coralie  Franklin  Cook 

District  Equal  Suffrage  Association .  Ellen  Powell  Thompson 
Greetings  from  the  Enfranchised  States: 

Wyoming Helen   M.   Warren 

Colorado Virginia  Morrison  Shafroth 

Utah Emily  S.  Richards 

Idaho Mell  C.   Woods 

"Love's  Rosary"  (poem) Lydia  Avery  Coonley-Ward 

Greeting  from  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton ....  Harriot  Stanton  Blatch 
Greeting  from  the  National  American  Suffrage  Asso- 
ciation   Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw 

Response Susan  B.  Anthony 

To  SUSAN  B.  ANTHONY. 

The  gibe  and  ridicule  and  social  frown, 

That  through  long  years  her  faithful  life  assailed, 
Are  dead  and  vanished ;  as  a  queen  now  hailed, 

Upon  her  reverend  brow  rests  Honor's  crown, 

A  faith  that  faced  all  adverse  fortune  down, 
A  courage  that  in  trial  never  failed, 
A  scorn  of  self  that  grievous  weight  entailed, 

Have  blossomed  into  laurels  of  renown. 

As,  after  days  of  bitter  storm  and  blast, 

The  chilling  wind  becomes  a  breeze  of  balm, 

Billows  subside,  and  sea-tossed  vessels  cast 
Their  anchors  in  the  restful  harbor  calm, 

So  this  brave  life  has  gained  its  haven  blest, 

Bathed  in  the  sunset  glories  of  the  west. 

WM.  LLOYD  GARRISON. 

Birthday  Celebration  Committee : 

CARRIE  CHAPMAN  CATT,  Chairman,  New  York. 
REV.  ANNA  HOWARD  SHAW,  Pennsylvania. 
HARRIET  TAYLOR  UPTON,  Ohio. 
EMILY  M.  GROSS,  Illinois. 

FRANCES  P.  BURROWS,  Michigan. 
HELEN  M.  WARREN,  Wyoming. 
LUCY  E.  ANTHONY,  Pennsylvania. 
HARRIOT  STANTON  BLATCH,  England. 
MAY  WRIGHT  SEW  ALL,  Indiana. 
MARY  B.  CLAY,  Kentucky. 
RACHEL  FOSTER  AVERY,  Pennsylvania. 

Every  large  newspaper  in  the  country  had  a  description  of 
what  might  be  properly  considered  an  event  of  national  interest. 
The  Washington  Post  said :  "The  program,  though  a  long  one, 


396  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

was  replete  throughout  with  stirring  tributes  to  Miss  Anthony's 
great  career.  Eloquent  women  who  ascribed  the  opportunities 
which  they  had  been  allowed  to  enjoy  to  the  tremendous  effort  to 
which  their  beloved  leader  had  devoted  her  whole  life,  stood  be- 
fore the  audience  and  voiced  their  sentiments.  Tears  and  ap- 
plause mingled  swiftly  as  the  voices  of  the  speakers  rang  through 
the  theater,  recounting  the  hardships,  the  struggles,  and  at  last 
the  crowning  achievements  of  the  woman  whose  eightieth  birth- 
day was  being  celebrated." 

The  Woman's  Tribune  thus  began  its  report : 

There  never  has  been  before  and,  in  the  nature  of  things,  there 
can  never  be  again,  a  personal  celebration  having  the  significant 
relation  to  the  woman  suffrage  movement  which  marked  that  of 
Miss  Anthony's  eightieth  birthday.  When  Mrs.  Stanton's  eight- 
ieth birthday  was  celebrated  five  years  ago  she  had  already  retired 
from  the  active  leadership  of  the  organization ;  the  program  was 
in  charge  of  the  National  Council  of  Women  and  was  largely  in 
the  nature  of  a  jubilee  for  the  whole  woman  movement,  although 
rallying  around  Mrs.  Stanton  as  a  center.  Lucretia  Mott's  eightieth 
birthday  came  before  the  movement  had  gained  the  impetus  neces- 
sary for  such  a  celebration.  Lucy  Stone  passed  on  in  1893  before 
reaching  this  ripe  age,  and  now  there  is  no  one  left  in  the  lead  who 
represents  the  earliest  stage  of  the  work  but  Miss  Anthony. 

It  was  the  fairest  and  sunniest  day  of  all  the  good  convention 
weather,  and  Lafayette  Opera  House  was  full  to  the  remotest  part 
of  its  fourth  gallery  with  invited  guests  when  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt 
opened  the  program  at  3  o'clock.  On  the  stage  were  the  Birthday 
Committee,  a  large  number  of  persons  who  had  been  thirty  years 
or  more  in  the  work,  relatives  of  Miss  Anthony  and  the  national 
officers.  Miss  Anthony's  entrance  while  the  Ladies'  Mandolin 
Club  were  playing  was  greeted  with  long-continued  applause. 

John  W.  Hutchinson  was  first  introduced.  After  stating  that 
he  had  known  Miss  Anthony  for  fifty-five  years,  had  attended  in 
Ohio  in  1850  the  second  suffrage  convention  ever  held,  and  had  al- 
ways sympathized  with  the  cause,  he  sang  with  a  clear,  far-reaching 
voice  a  song  composed  by  himself. 

The  presiding  officer  stated  that  the  gains  of  the  last  half-century 
in  all  lines  relating  to  women  were  largely  due  to  the  guest  of  the 
occasion  and  her  fellow- workers,  and  said :  "When  Miss  Anthony 
began  her  labors  there  were  practically  no  organizations  of  women ; 
now  they  are  numbered  by  thousands.  The  crown  of  the  whole 
is  the  union  of  all  organizations,  the  National  Council  of  Women. 
Its  president  will  now  address  us." 

Mrs.  Gaffney  said  in  her  tribute : 

.     .     .     .    The   Christian  world  reckoned  by  centuries  is  just 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  397 

coming  of  age.  Therefore  women  are  beginning  to  put  away 
childish  things  and  to  realize  the  greatness  of  womanhood.  They 
have  had  to  let  ideals  wait.  They  submitted  to  conditions  because 
they  were  afraid  that  if  they  did  not  man  would  take  to  the  woods 
and  become  again  a  wild  barbarian.  They  were  flattered  by  the 
fact  that  men  liked  them  as  they  were,  and  they  failed  to  realize 
that  their  power  to  civilize  was  God-given. 

They  needed  a  leader  to  rally  them,  to  give  them  the  courage  of 
their  convictions ;  and  such  a  leader  Miss  Anthony  has  been.  She 
spoke  to  the  world  in  tones  which  rang  out  so  clear  and  true  that 
they  will  echo  down  the  centuries.  Some  who  had  been  protected 
and  petted  were  slow  to  rally;  others  who  had  broader  views  ac- 
cepted sooner  the  doctrine  of  rights — not  privileges — of  rights  for  all 
women.  Miss  Anthony  taught  us  the  sisterhood  of  woman,  and 
that  the  privileges  of  one  class  could  not  offset  the  wrongs  of  an- 
other  

Mrs.  Sewall,  president  of  the  International  Council  of  Women, 
composed  of  the  Councils  of  thirteen  nations,  and  the  largest  or- 
ganization of  women  in  the  world,  said  in  part : 

It  is  proper  that  the  International  Council  should  remember  to- 
day "to  render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,"  and  to  pay 
tribute  to  the  organization  which  it  may  not  regard  as  other  than 
its  direct  progenitor.  There  are  certain  incidents,  simple  in  them- 
selves, in  which  probably  the  actors  are  always  at  the  time  quite 
unconscious  of  their  perennial  significance,  and  yet  which  become 
landmarks  in  the  evolution  of  the  human  spirit.  Such  are  Ther- 
mopylae and  Marathon  and  Bunker  Hill.  Such  was  that  first  con- 
vention at  Seneca  Falls The  light  from  that  meeting, 

springing  from  a  vital  source,  has  vitalized  every  point  it  has 
touched.  Other  torches  lit  by  that  have  become  beacon  lights,  and 
every  one  has  stood  for  the  illumination  of  women 

In  the  name  and  in  the  blended  tongues  of  the  women  of  the 
different  nationalities  who  belong  to  the  International  Council,  I 

salute  and  congratulate  you T  beg  the  proud  honor  of 

placing  your  name,  Miss  Anthony,  among  the  list  of  Patrons  of  the 
Council  as  a  birthday  gift,  where  it  shall  one  day  be  pronounced  in 
every  language 

The  Rev.  Ida  C.  Hultin  brought  the  gratitude  of  the  minis- 
ters, saying: 

....  Women  have  failed  to  see  that  the  work  of  every 
woman  has  touched  that  of  every  other.  The  woman  who  works 
with  the  hand  helps  her  who  works  with  the  brain.  To-day  we 
know  there  could  be  no  choice  of  work  until  there  was  freedom  of 
choice  to  work.  O,  beloved  leader,  we  of  the  ministry,  as  they  of 
all  ministries  of  service,  bring  our  greetings  and  benediction.  I 
hear  the  voices  which  shall  tell  of  the  new  gospel  and  among  them 


398 


HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


are  the  glad  tones  of  women  and  the  intonations  of  this  one  who 
spake  in  tears,  who  dared  to  speak  before  other  tongues  were 
loosed.  Years  will  never  silence  that  voice.  Woman  in  her  high- 
est moods  will  catch  the  cadence  of  its  melody  and  in  the  future 
there  shall  be  that  which  will  work  back  and  forth  to  the  enlighten- 
ment of  the  world  because  you  have  lived  and  ever  shall  live.  .  .  . 

Miss  Hirschler  thus  closed  the  tribute  of  her  profession :  "In 
the  generations  to  come  when  courts  of  law  shall  have  become 
courts  of  justice,  women  lawyers  will  think  of  Susan  B.  Anthony 
as  one  who  paved  the  way  and  made  this  possible." 

Mrs.  Hollister  said  in  part:  "Miss  Anthony  has  opened  the 
portals  of  activities ;  has  dignified  labor ;  has  made  it  possible  for 
women  to  manage  their  own  affairs — four  millions  to-day  earn- 
ing independent  incomes.  Women  have  given  their  lives  for 
philanthropies  and  reforms,  but  the  one  we  honor  to-day  gave 
hers  for  woman.  Olive  Schreiner  tells  of  an  artist  who  painted 
a  wonderful  picture  and  none  could  learn  what  pigments  he  used. 
When  he  died  a  wound  was  found  over  his  heart ;  he  had  painted 
his  masterpiece  with  his  own  blood.  Such  women  as  Miss  An- 
thony are  painting  their  masterpieces  with  their  life's  blood." 

Mrs.  Cook,  with  a  dignity  and  simplicity  which  won  the  audi- 
ence, said: 

.  .  .  .  It  is  fitting  on  this  occasion,  when  the  hearts  of  wom- 
en the  world  over  are  turned  to  this  day  and  hour,  that  the  colored 
women  of  the  United  States  should  join  in  the  expressions  of  love 
and  praise  offered  to  Miss  Anthony  upon  her  eightieth  birthday. 
.  .  .  .  She  is  to  us  not  only  the  high  priestess  of  woman's 
cause,  but  the  courageous  defender  of  rights  wherever  assailed. 

We  hold  in  high  esteem  her  strong  and  noble  womanhood,  for  in 
her  untiring  zeal,  her  uncompromising  stand  for  justice  to  "women, 
her  unfailing  friendship  for  all  good  work,  she  herself  is  a  stronger 
and  better  argument  in  favor  of  woman's  rights  than  the  most 
gifted  orator  could  put  into  words.  When  she  first  championed 
woman's  cause,  humiliation  followed  her  footsteps  and  injustice 
barred  the  door  of  her  progress  among  even  the  most  favored 
classes  of  society;  while  among  less  enlightened  and  enslaved 
classes  the  wrongs  which  woman  suffered  were  too  terrible  to  men- 
tion. Carlyle  has  said,  "Beware  when  the  great  God  lets  loose  a 
thinker  upon  this  earth."  When  Susan  B.  Anthony  was  born,  a 
thinker  was  "let  loose."  Her  voice  and  her  pen  have  lighted  a 
torch  whose  sacred  fire,  like  that  of  some  old  Roman  temples,  dies 
not,  but  whose  penetrating  ray  shall  brighten  the  path  of  women 
down  the  long  line  of  ages  yet  to  come.  Our  children  and  our 
children's  children  will  be  taught  to  honor  her  memory,  for  they 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  399 

shall  be  told  that  she  has  been  always  in  the  vanguard  of  the  im- 
mortal few  who  have  stood  for  the  great  principles  of  human  rights. 
Grander  than  any  achievement  that  has  crowned  the  work  of  woman 
in  this  woman's  century  has  been  that  which  has  led  her  away  from 
the  narrow  valley  of  custom  and  prejudice  up  to  the  lofty  height 
where  she  can  accept  the  Divine  teaching  that  "God  hath  made  of 
one  blood  all  nations  of  men." 

Not  until  the  suffrage  movement  had  awakened  woman  to  her 
responsibility  and  power,  did  she  come  to  appreciate  the  true  signifi- 
cance of  Christ's  pity  for  Magdalene  as  well  as  of  His  love  for  Mary  ; 
not  till  then  was  the  work  of  Pundita  Ramabai  in  far  away  India 
as  sacred  as  that  of  Frances  Willard  at  home  in  America;  not  till 
she  had  suffered  under  the  burden  of  her  own  wrongs  and  abuses 
did  she  realize  the  all-important  truth  that  no  woman  and  no  class 
of  women  can  be  degraded  and  all  womankind  not  suffer  thereby. 

And  so,  Miss  Anthony,  in  behalf  of  the  hundreds  of  -colored 
women  who  wait  and  hope  with  you  for  the  day  when  the  ballot 
shall  be  in  the  hands  of  every  intelligent  woman ;  and  also  in  be- 
half of  the  thousands  who  sit  in  darkness  and  whose  condition  we 
shall  expect  those  ballots  to  better,  whether  they  be  in  the  hands 
of  white  women  or  black,  I  offer  you  my  warmest  gratitude  and 
congratulations. 

Mrs.  Thompson  presented  $200  from  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, with  the  following  affectionate  tribute : 

.  .  .  .  In  behalf  of  the  Suffragists  of  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia, both  men  and  women,  I  am  happy  to  say  I  am  deputized  to 
present  to  you  a  gift  which  expresses  their  regard  and  love  for  you 
as  well  as  their  appreciation  of  the  almost  superhuman  efforts  you 
have  made  for  the  past  fifty  years  to  secure  justice  and  civil  and 
political  equality  for  women. 

The  gift  is  in  the  form  of  what  is  often  called  "the  sinews  of 
war" — money.  Not  coarse,  dead  cash,  such  as  passes  from  hand 
to  hand  in  everyday  transactions,  but  money  every  penny  of  which 
is  alive  with  sincere  thanks  and  earnest,  loving  wishes  for  happi- 
ness and  continued  success  in  all  your  endeavors 

We  do  not  hail  you,  love  you,  as  one  who  has  made  woman's 
life  easier,  strewn  it  with  more  rose  leaves  of  idleness,  shielded  it 
from  more  stress  and  storm,  but  as  one  who  has  taken  the  grander, 
truer  view,  that  by  equally  sharing  stress  and  storm,  by  equal  effort 
and  work,  by  equality  in  rights,  privileges,  powers  and  opportuni- 
ties with  her  other  self — man — woman  will  evolve  and  will  reach 
her  loftiest,  loveliest  development.  Not  as  an  apostle  of  ease, 
parasitism  and  shrinking  fear  do  we  regard  you,  but  as  the  apostle, 
the  incarnation,  of  work,  of  high  courage  and  deathless  endeavor. 

We  wish  our  gift  were  myriad-fold  greater,  but  it  would  never 
express  more  appreciation  of  what  you  stand  for  and  what  you 
are — a  Liberator  of  Woman. 


4OO  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 

Mrs.  Helen  M.  Warren,  wife  of  the  Senator  from  Wyoming, 
speaking  in  a  fine,  resonant  voice  which  would  do  credit  to  any 
legislative  hall,  read  the  poem  written  by  Miss  Phoebe  Gary  for 
the  celebration  of  Miss  Anthony's  fiftieth  birthday,  presented  her 
with  a  brooch,  a  little  American  flag  made  of  gold  and  jewels, 
and  said:  "I  feel  honored  on  this,  your  eightieth  birthday,  to 
represent  the  State  of  Wyoming  which  has  espoused  your  cause 
for  more  than  thirty  years.  I  have  in  my  hand  a  flag,  which 
bears  on  its  field  forty-one  common  stars  and  four  diamonds,  rep- 
resenting the  four  progressive  or  suffrage  States — Wyoming,  the 
banner  State ;  Colorado,  Utah  and  Idaho.  The  back  of  the  flag 
bears  this  inscription:  'Miss  Anthony.  From  the  ladies  of 
Wyoming,  who  love  and  revere  you.  Many  happy  returns  of 
the  day.  1820-1900.'  We  hope  you  may  live  to  see  all  the  com- 
mon stars  turn  into  diamonds.  With  kindly  greetings  from 
Wyoming  I  present  you  this  expression  of  her  esteem. '' 

Mrs.  Shafroth,  wife  of  the  Representative  from  Colorado,  pre- 
sented a  gift  designed  and  made  by  the  women  of  her  State,  say- 
ing: "It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  I  bring  you  the  greeting 
from  the  sun-kissed  land  of  the  West,  where  the  flag  which  we 
all  love,  and  of  which  we  all  sing,  really  waves  over  the  land  of 
the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave.  Our  men  are  brave  and  gen- 
erous and  our  women  are  free.  You  and  your  noble  co-workers 
stormed  the  heights  of  ridicule  and  prejudice  to  win  this  freedom 
for  woman.  In  behalf  of  our  Non-Partisan  Equal  Suffrage  Asso- 
ciation, I  beg  you  to  accept  this  'loving  cup'  of  Colorado  silver." 

Mrs.  Emily  S.  Richards  brought  the  affectionate  greetings  of 
the  women  of  Utah,  and  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  referred  to  the  lov- 
ing testimonials  which  had  been  sent  by  the  Idaho  women.* 
Then  after  an  exquisite  violin  solo  by  Mr.  Douglass,  she  said: 
"The  liberties  of  the  citizens  of  the  future  will  be  still  more  an 
outgrowth  of  this  movement  than  those  of  the  present,"  and  to 
the  delighted  surprise  of  the  audience  the  following  scene  oc- 
curred, as  described  by  the  Post: 

The  most  beautiful  and  touching  part  of  the  program  was  when 
eighty  little  children,  boys  and  girls,  passed  in  single  file  across  the 
stage,  each  bearing  a  rose.  Slowly  they  marched,  keeping  time  to 

*  The  most  of  the  numerous  gifts  were  presented  during  the  convention,  as  related 
earlier  in  the  chapter. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  40! 

music,  and,  as  they  reached  the  spot  where  Miss  Anthony  sat,  each 
child  deposited  a  blossom  in  her  lap,  a  rose  for  every  year.  It  was 
a  surprise  so  complete,  so  wonderfully  beautiful,  that  for  a  few 
moments  she  could  do  nothing  more  than  grasp  the  hand  of  each 
child.  Then  she  began  kissing  the  little  people,  and  the  applause 
which  greeted  this  act  was  deafening.  The  roses  were  distributed 
among  the  pioneers  at  the  close  of  the  exercises  by  her  request. 

Mrs.  Coonley-Ward  of  Chicago  gave  an  eloquent  poem,  entitled 
Love's  Rosary,  which  closed  as  follows : 

Behold  our  Queen !     Surely  with  heart  elate 

At  homage  given  to  her  love  and  power, 
World-famed  associate  of  the  wise  and  great, 

She  is  herself  the  woman  of  the  hour. 

How  kindly  have  the  years  all  dealt  with  her  1 

She  proves  that  Bible  promises  are  true; 
She  waited  on  the  Lord  without  demur, 

And  He  failed  not  her  courage  to  renew. 

Oft  on  the  wings  of  eagles  she  uprose ; 

On  mercy's  errands  have  her  glad  feet  run ; 
And  yet  no  sign  of  weariness  she  shows ; 

She  does  not  faint,  but  works  from  sun  to  sun. 

Deep  in  her  eyes  burn  fires  of  purpose  strong; 

Her  hand  upholds  the  sceptre  of  God's  truth; 
Her  lips  send  forth  brave  words  against  the  wrong; 

Glows  in  her  heart  the  joy  of  deathless  youth. 

Kindly  and  gentle,  learned  too,  and  wise; 

Lover  of  home  and  all  the  ties  of  kin ; 
Gay  comrade  of  the  laughing  lips  and  eyes ; 

Give  us  new  words  to  sing  your  praises  in. 

Yet  let  us  rather  now  forget  to  praise, 

Remembering  only  this  true  friend  to  greet, 

As  drawing  near  by  straight  and  devious  ways, 
We  lay  our  hearts — love's  guerdon — at  her  feet. 

Blow,  O  ye  winds  across  the  oceans,  blow! 

Go  to  the  hills  and  prairies  of  the  West ! 
Haste  to  the  tropics,  search  the  fields  of  snow, 

Let  the  world's  gift  to  her  become  your  quest. 

Shine,  sun,  through  prism  of  the  waterfall, 
And  build  us  here  a  rainbow  arch  to  span 

The  years,  and  hold  the  citadel 

Of  her  abiding  work  for  God  and  man. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 26 


4O2  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

What  is  the  gift,  O  winds,  that  ye  have  brought? 

O,  sun,  what  legend  shines  your  arch  above? 
Ah,  they  are  one,  and  all  things  else  are  naught, 

Take  them,  beloved — they  are  love,  love,  love! 

Mrs.  Blatch  spoke  eloquently  for  her  mother,  saying  in  part : 

I  bring  to  you,  Susan  B.  Anthony,  the  greetings  of  your  friend 
and  co-worker,  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  greetings  full  of  gracious 
memories.  When  the  cause  for  which  you  have  worked  shall  be 
victorious,  then  as  is  the  way  of  the  world,  will  it  be  forgotten  that 
it  ever  meant  effort  or  struggle  for  pioneers ;  but  the  friendship 
of  you  two  women  will  remain  a  precious  memory  in  the  world's 
history,  unforgotten  and  unforgetable.  Your  lives  have  proved 
not  only  that  women  can  work  strenuously  together  without  jeal- 
ousy, but  that  they  can  be  friends  in  times  of  sunshine  and  peace, 
of  stress  and  storm.  No  mere  fair-weather  friends  have  you  been 
to  each  other. 

Does  not  Emerson  say  that  friendship  is  the  slowest  fruit  in  the 
garden  of  God?  The  fruit  of  friendship  between  you  two  has 
grown  through  half  a  hundred  years,  each  year  making  it  more 
beautiful,  more  mellow,  more  sweet.  But  you  have  not  been  weak 
echoes  of  each  other;  nay,  often  for  the  good  of  each  you  were 
thorns  in  the  side.  Yet  disagreement  only  quickened  loyalty.  Sup- 
plementing each  other,  companionship  drew  out  the  best  in  each. 
You  have  both  been  urged  to  untiring  efforts  through  the  sympathy, 
the  help  of  each  other.  You  have  attained  the  highest  achieve- 
ment in  demonstrating  a  lofty,  an  ideal  friendship.  This  friend- 
ship of  you  two  women  is  the  benediction  for  our  century. 

The  last  and  tenderest  tribute  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Anna 
Howard  Shaw  who  said,  in  rich,  musical  accents  and  with  a  man- 
ner which  seemed  almost  to  be  inspired,  what  can  only  be  most 
inadequately  reported : 

A  little  over  a  hundred  years  ago  there  came  men  who  told  us 
what  freedom  is  and  what  freemen  may  become.  Later  women 
with  the  same  love  of  it  in  their  hearts  said,  "There  is  no  sex  ir 
freedom.  Whatever  it  makes  possible  for  men  it  will  make  pos- 
sible for  women."  A  few  of  these  daring  souls  went  forth  to  blaze 
the  path.  Gradually  the  sunlight  of  freedom  shone  in  their  faces 
and  they  encouraged  others  to  follow.  They  went  slowly  for  the 
way  was  hard.  They  must  make  the  path  and  it  was  a  weary  task. 
Sometimes  darkness  settled  over  them  and  they  must  grope  their 
way.  Mott,  Stanton,  Stone,  Anthony — not  one  retraced  her  foot- 
steps. The  two  who  are  left  still  stand  on  the  summit,  great,  glori- 
ous figures.  We  ask,  "Is  the  way  difficult?"  They  answer. 
"Yes,  but  the  sun  shines  on  us  and  in  the  valley  they  know  nothing 
of  its  glory.  Their  cry  we  hear  and  are  calling  back  to  those 
who  are  still  in  the  valley." 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  403 

Leader,  comrade,  friend,  no  name  can  express  what  you  are  to 
us.  You  might  have  led  us  as  commander,  and  we  might  have 
followed  and  obeyed,  but  there  still  might  have  been  wanting  the 
divine  force  of  unchanging  love.  We  look  up  to  the  sunlight  where 
you  stand  and  say,  "We  are  coming."  When  we  shall  be  four- 
score we  shall  still  be  calling  to  you,  "We  are  coming,"  for  you  will 
still  be  beckoning  us  on  as  you  climb  still  loftier  heights.  Souls 
like  yours  can  never  rest  in  all  the  eternities  of  God. 

Then  a  hush  fell  on  the  people  and  all  waited  for  Miss  An- 
thony. During  the  afternoon  she  had  been  sitting  in  a  large  arm- 
chair that  was  almost  covered  by  her  cloak  of  royal  purple  velvet 
which  she  had  thrown  over  it,  the  white  satin  lining  forming  a 
lovely  background  for  her  finely-shaped  head  with  its  halo  of 
silver  hair.  No  one  ever  had  seen  her  so  moved  as  on  this  occa- 
sion when  her  memory  must  have  carried  her  back  to  the  days  of 
bare  halls,  hostile  audiences,  ridicule,  abuse,  loneliness  and  ostra- 
cism by  all  but  a  very  few  staunch  friends.  "Would  she  be  able 
to  speak?"  many  in  the  audience  asked  themselves,  but  the  near- 
est friends  waited  calmly  and  without  anxiety.  They  never  had 
known  her  to  fail.  The  result  was  thus  described : 

For  a  moment  after  gaining  her  feet,  Miss  Anthony  stood  bat- 
tling with  her  emotions,  but  her  indomitable  courage  conquered, 
and  she  smiled  at  the  audience  as  it  rose  to  greet  her.  She  wore 
a  gown  of  black  duchesse  satin  with  vest  and  revers  of  fine  white 
lace  in  which  were  a  few  modest  pinks,  while  she  carried  a  large 
bouquet  of  violets.  The  moment  she  began  talking  the  shadow 
passed  from  her  face  and  she  stood  erect,  with  head  uplifted,  full  of 
her  old-time  vigor. 

"How  can  you  expect  me  to  say  a  word?"  she  said.  "And  yet  I 
must.  I  have  reason  to  feel  grateful,  for  I  have  received  letters 
and  telegrams  from  all  over  the  world.*  But  the  one  that  has 
touched  me  the  most  is  a  simple  note  which  came  from  an  old  home 
of  slavery,  from  a  woman  off  of  whose  hands  and  feet  the  shackles 
fell  nearly  forty  years  ago.  That  letter,  my  friends,  contained  eighty 
cents — one  penny  for  every  year.  It  was  all  that  this  aged  person 
had 

I  am  grateful  for  the  many  expressions  which  I  have  listened  to 
this  afternoon.  I  have  heard  the  grandson  of  the  great  Frederick 
Douglass  speak  to  me  through  his  violin.  I  mention  this  because  I 
remember  so  well  Frederick  Douglass  when  he  rose  at  the  conven- 
tion where  the  first  resolution  ever  presented  for  woman  suffrage 
had  his  eloquence  to  help  it 

Among  the  addresses  from  my  younger  co-workers,  none  has 

*  Miss  Anthony  received  on  this  occasion  1,100  letters  and  telegrams,  every  one  of 
which  she  acknowledged  later  with  a  personal  message. 


404  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

touched  me  so  deeply  as  that  from  the  one  of  darker  hue 

Nothing1  speaks  so  strongly  of  freedom  as  the  fact  that  the  descend- 
ants of  those  who  went  through  that  great  agony — which,  thank 
Heaven,  has  passed  away — have  now  full  opportunities  and  can 
help  to  celebrate  my  fifty  years'  work  for  liberty.  I  am  glad  of  the 
gains  the  half-century  has  brought  to  the  women  of  Anglo-Saxon 
birth.  And  I  am  glad  above  all  else  that  the  time  is  coming  when 
all  women  alike  shall  have  the  fullest  rights  of  citizenship. 

I  thank  you  all.  If  I  have  had  one  regret  this  afternoon,  it  is 
that  some  whom  I  have  longed  to  have  with  me  can  not  be  here,  es- 
pecially Mrs.  Stanton.  I  want  to  impress  the  fact  that  my  work 
could  have  accomplished  nothing  if  I  had  not  been  surrounded 
with  earnest  and  capable  co-workers.  Then,  good  friends,  I  have 
had  a  home  in  which  my  father  and  mother,  brothers  and  sisters, 
one  and  all,  stood  at  my  back  and  helped  me  to  success.  I  always 
have  had  this  co-operation  and  I  have  yet  one  sister  left,  who  makes 
a  home  for  me  and  aids  my  work  in  every  possible  way 

I  have  shed  no  tears  on  arriving  at  a  birthday  ten  years  beyond 
the  age  set  for  humanity.  I  have  shed  none  over  resigning  the 
presidency  of  the  association.  I  am  glad  to  give  it  up.  I  do  it 
cheerfully.  And  even  so,  when  my  time  comes,  I  shall  pass  on 
further,  and  accept  my  new  place  and  vocation  just  as  cheerfully  as 
I  have  touched  this  landmark. 

I  have  passed  as  the  leader  of  the  association  of  which  I  have 
been  a  member  for  so  long,  but  I  am  not  through  working,  for  I 
shall  work  to  the  end  of  my  time,  and  when  I  am  called  home,  if 
there  exist  an  immortal  spirit,  mine  will  still  be  with  you,  watching 
and  inspiring  you. 

Miss  Anthony's  words  and  manner  thrilled  every  heart  and 
left  the  audience  in  a  state  of  exaltation. 

In  the  evening,  the  Corcoran  Art  Gallery;  one  of  the  world's 
beautiful  buildings,  was  thrown  open  for  the  birthday  reception. 
A  colored  orchestra,  under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Douglass, 
rendered  a  musical  program.  President  Kauffman,  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees,  presented  the  visitors  to  the  guest  of  honor,  and  the 
birthday  committee  assisted  in  receiving.  Although  Miss  An- 
thony had  attended  a  business  meeting  in  the  morning,  and  been 
the  central  figure  in  the  celebration  of  the  afternoon  lasting  until 
6  o'clock,  she  was  so  alert,  happy  and  vivacious  during  the  entire 
evening  as  to  challenge  the  admiration  of  all.  There  was  no 
picture  in  all  that  famous  collection  more  attractive  than  this 
white-haired  woman,  robed  in  garnet  velvet,  relieved  by  antique 
fichu,  collar  and  cuffs  of  old  point  lace.  The  city  press  said : 

For  two  hours,  without  a  moment's  intermission,  Miss  Anthony 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN    CONVENTION    OF    IQOO.  405 

clasped  hands  with  those  who  were  presented  to  her  and  listened 
to  congratulatory  expressions.  A  number  of  local  organizations 
of  women,  and  also  the  entire  membership  of  the  Washington  Col- 
lege of  Law,  for  women,  attended  the  reception  in  a  body. 

On  the  second  floor  hung  her  fine  portrait  which  was  presented 
to  the  Corcoran  Gallery  of  Art  last  night  by  Mrs.  John  B.  Hender- 
son, wife  of  the  former  Senator  from  Missouri.  The  portrait  is  in 
oil  and  represents  Miss  Anthony  in  full  profile,  attired  in  black  with 
lace  at  the  throat,  and  about  her  shoulders  the  red  shawl  which  has 
come  to  be  regarded  as  the  emblem  of  her  office  as  president  of  the 
National  Association. 

During  the  two  hours  it  seemed  as  if  every  one  who  greeted  Miss 
Anthony  had  met  her  at  some  time  or  at  some  place  long  ago. 
Everybody  wanted  to  stop  and  converse  with  her,  and  in  the 
brief  minute  they  stood  before  her  they  plied  her  with  countless 
questions.  In  speaking  of  the  event  after  she  had  returned  to  the 
Riggs  House,  she  said:  "Wasn't  it  wonderful?  It  seemed  as  if 
every  other  person  in  that  vast  throng  had  met  me  before,  or  that  I 
had  during  my  long  life  been  a  visitor  at  the  home  of  some  of  their 
relatives.  It  was  grand.  It  was  beautiful.  It  is  good  to  be  loved 
by  so  many  people.  It  is  worth  all  the  toil  and  the  heartaches." 

From  a  little  band  apparently  leading  a  forlorn  hope,  almost 
universally  ridiculed  and  condemned,  Miss  Anthony  had  in- 
creased her  forces  to  a  mighty  host  marching  forward  to  an  as- 
sured victory.  From  a  condition  of  social  ostracism  she  had 
brought  them  to  a  position  where  they  commanded  respect  and 
admiration  for  their  courageous  advocacy  of  a  just  cause.  The 
small,  curious,  unsympathetic  audiences  of  early  days  had  been 
transformed  into  this  great  gathering,  which  represented  the 
highest  official  life  of  the  nation's  capital  and  the  intellectual 
aristocracy  of  all  the  States  in  the  Union.  It  was  a  wonderful 
change  to  have  been  effected  in  the  lifetime  of  one  woman,  and 
all  posterity  will  rejoice  that  the  leader  of  this  greatest  of  pro- 
gressive movements  received  the  full  measure  of  recognition 
from  the  people  of  her  own  time  and  generation. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE   AMERICAN   WOMAN   SUFFRAGE   ASSOCIATION.* 

1884. — The  American  Woman  Suffrage  Association  which  was 
organized  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  November,  1869,  held  its  six- 
teenth annual  meeting,  November  19,  20,  at  Hershey  Hall,  Chi- 
cago. Lucy  Stone  in  the  Woman's  Journal  said : 

Beginning  with  a  good-sized  audience,  it  went  on  increasing  in 
numbers  until  the  gallery,  the  stairs  and  the  side  aisles  were  literally 
packed  with  people. 

Reports  of  the  work  done  by  auxiliary  and  other  societies  came 
in  from  Maine  to  Oregon  and  all  the  way  between,  showing  in  some 
cases  very  little  and  in  others  a  great  deal  of  good  work.  But  each 
one  was  helpful  in  its  measure  to  the  final  success,  just  as  streams 
of  all  sizes  flow  to  make  great  rivers  and  the  seas.  There  were 
present  some  of  the  oldest  workers — Dr.  Mary  F.  Thomas  of  In- 
diana and  Mrs.  Hannah  M.  Tracy  Cutler  of  Illinois — who,  having 
put  their  hands  to  the  plow  in  the  beginning  of  the  movement, 
have  never  looked  back.  To  supplement  and  continue  the  work 
there  were  noble  and  earnest  younger  women,  who  came  down  from 
Minnesota,  Iowa,  Wisconsin  and  Michigan  and  up  from  Ohio,  Mis- 
souri, Kansas,  Indiana  and  Illinois,  women  who  can  speak  well  for 
the  cause  and  whose  reports  show  that  they  know  how  to  work  well 
for  it,  too.  It  was  a  joy  and  a  comfort  to  meet  them.  .  .  . 

Not  the  least  pleasant  feature  was  the  cordial  friendliness  that 
seemed  all-pervasive.  Troops  of  women  we  had  never  seen  came 

to  shake  hands A  bevy  of  bright  girls  stood  below  the 

platform  on  the  last  evening  and,  looking  up,  they  said :  "We  are 
school-girls  now,  but  we  are  bound  to  help."  The  collections  more 
than  paid  the  expenses,  and  two  hundred  memberships  were  taken. 

All  the  local  arrangements  had  been  admirably  made  by  a  com- 
mittee of  influential  Chicago  women,  f  The  city  papers  gave 
friendly  reports,  those  of  the  Inter-Ocean  being  especially  full. 

The  convention  was  not  expected  to  open  till  Wednesday  even- 

•  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell,  editor  of  The 
Woman's  Journal,  Boston,  Mass.  For  early  accounts  of  this  organization  see  History  of 
Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  II,  Chap.  XXVI.  [Editors  of  History. 

t  Mrs.  Helen  Ekin  Starrett,  principal  of  Highland  Park  Academy;  Miss  Ada  C.  Sweet, 
head  of  the  Pension  Office  in  Illinois;  Mrs.  Mary  B.  Willard,  of  the  Union  Signal;  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Boynton  Harbert,  of  the  Inter-Ocean;  Dr.  Julia  Holmes  Smith,  Helen  K.  Pierce. 

4O6 


AMERICAN    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE    ASSOCIATION.  4OJ 

ing,  but  so  large  a  number  of  delegates  and  friends  met  in  the 
hall  in  the  afternoon  that  an  informal  meeting  was  held  in  ad- 
vance. Mrs.  Cutler  called  the  assembly  to  order,  and  the  Rev. 
Florence  Kollock  offered  prayer.  A  telegram  was  read  from 
Chief- Justice  Roger  S.  Greene,  of  Washington  Territory,  saying : 
"Be  assured  that  woman  suffrage  has  worked  well,  done  good, 
and  been  generally  exercised  by  women  at  our  State  election." 

Brief  addresses  were  made  by  Mrs.  Lucy  Stone,  Mrs.  Mary  A. 
Livermore  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Boynton  Harbert.  Dr.  Mary  F. 
Thomas,  in  the  name  of  the  Indiana  W.  S.  A.,  the  oldest  State 
association  in  the  country,  organized  in  1851,  presented  the 
association  with  a  bouquet  of  never  fading  chrysanthemums. 

On  Wednesday  evening  Mrs.  Helen  Ekin  Starrett  gave  the  ad- 
dress of  welcome.  In  referring  to  the  influence  of  the  woman 
suffrage  movement  upon  the  legal  status  of  women,  she  said  that 
Kansas  entered  the  Union  as  a  State  with  women's  personal  and 
property  rights  legally  recognized  as  never  before.  This  was 
largely  because  a  delegate  to  the  Kansas  constitutional  convention 
which  met  in  Leavenworth,  (Mr.  Sam  Wood),  wrote  to  Lucy 
Stone  at  her  home  in  Orange,  N.  J.,  asking  her  to  draft  a  legal 
form,  which  she  did,  with  her  baby  on  her  knee,  and  its  sugges- 
tions were  afterwards  incorporated  in  the  organic  law  of  that 
State.*  As  one  result  of  School  Suffrage  in  the  hands  of  women, 
Kansas  had  the  best  schools  in  the  United  States  while  the  people 
still  lived  in  cabins. 

Mrs.  Mary  B.  Clay,  of  Kentucky,  president  of  the  association, 
made  a  special  plea  for  work  in  the  South,  saying  in  part : 

Alabama  has  given  married  women  equal  property  rights  with 
their  husbands.  This  monied  equality  I  regard  as  one  of  the  most 
essential  steps  to  our  freedom,  for  as  long  as  women  are  dependent 
upon  men  for  bread  their  whole  moral  nature  is  necessarily  warped. 
There  never  was  a  truer  thought  than  that  of  Alexander  Hamilton, 
when  he  said,  "He  who  controls  my  means  of  daily  subsistence  con- 
trols my  whole  moral  being."  I  therefore  recommend  to  the  South- 
ern women  particularly  the  petitioning  for  property  rights,  because 

Mrs.  W.  O.  Carpenter,  Mrs.  H.  W.  Fuller,  Mrs.  George  Harding,  Mrs.  Catherine  V. 
Waite,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Loomis  and  the  Rev.  Florence  Kollock  composed  the  entertainment 
committee. 

*  Mr.  Wood,  in  many  public  addresses  made  during  the  first  Kansas  amendment  cam- 
paign in  1867,  attributed  this  action  of  the  Kansas  Constitutional  Convention  to  Mrs. 
Stone;  but  it  is  certain  that  other  influences  contributed  to  it.  [For  a  further  account  of 
these,  see  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  i,  p.  185.  Eds.] 


408  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

pecuniary  independence  is  one  of  the  most  potent  weapons  for  free- 
dom, and  because  that  claim  has  less  prejudice  to  overcome.  .  .  . 
Mississippi  also  has  made  equal  property  laws  for  women;  and 
Arkansas  allows  married  women  to  hold  their  own  property,  and 
all  women  to  vote  on  the  licensing  of  saloons  within  three  miles  of 
a  church  or  school-house.  A  lady  writing  from  there  says :  "The 
welcome  accorded  the  law  by  the  women  of  the  State  refutes  all  ad- 
verse theories,  and  establishes  the  fact  that  woman's  nature  pos- 
sesses an  inherent  strength  and  courage  which  no  surroundings  can 
extinguish,  and  which  only  need  the  light  of  hope  and  the  voice  of 
duty  to  call  them  into  action."  I  would  recommend  that  whenever 
it  is  possible,  we  hold  our  conventions  and  send  our  speakers 
through  the  South 

Henry  B.  Blackwell  said:  "This  is  not  an  anti-man  society. 
Suffrage  is  demanded  as  much  for  the  sake  of  men  as  for  the  sake 
of  women.  What  is  good  for  one  is  good  for  both ;"  and  Mrs. 
Livermore  said,  "Women  should  have  a  share  in  the  govern- 
ment because  the  whole  is  better  than  the  half." 

In  the  annual  report  of  Mrs.  Lucy  Stone,  chairman  of  the  ex- 
ecutive committee,  she  said  in  part :  "During  the  past  year,  the 
chief  effort  of  the  society  has  been  directed  to  aid  the  work  in 
Oregon,  where  a  constitutional  amendment  had  been  submitted 
to  the  voters.  One  thousand  dollars  were  raised  for  this  purpose 
by  our  auxiliary  societies,  and  forwarded  to  the  Oregon  Woman 
Suffrage  Association.*  The  society  has  also  printed  and  circu- 
lated at  cost  more  than  100,000  tracts  and  leaflets." 

Officers  for  the  next  year  were  elected,  as  follows :  President, 
the  Hon.  Wm.  Dudley  Foulke,  State  Senator  of  Indiana;  vice- 
presidents-at-large,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  the  Hon.  George 
William  Curtis,  N.  Y. ;  the  Hon.  George  F.  Hoar,  Mass. ;  Mrs. 
Mary  B.  Willard,  Mrs.  H.  M.  T.  Cutler,  111. ;  Mrs.  D.  G.  King, 
Neb. ;  Mrs.  R.  A.  S.  Janney,  O. ;  Mrs.  J.  P.  Fuller,  Mrs.  Rebecca 
N.  Hazard,  Mo. ;  Mrs.  Martha  A.  Dorsett,  Minn. ;  Mrs.  Mary  J. 
Coggeshall,  la. ;  Mrs.  Mary  B.  Clay,  Ky. ;  foreign  correspond- 
ing secretary,  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe;  corresponding  secretary, 
Henry  B.  Blackwell;  recording  secretary,  Mrs.  Margaret  W. 
Campbell;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Abbie  T.  Codman;  chairman  ex- 
ecutive committee,  Mrs.  Lucy  Stone,  f 

•  Massachusetts  gave  to  this  fund  $472;  Pennsylvania,  $201.50;  Indiana,  $146;  New 
Jersey,  $80;  Connecticut,  $50;  New  Hampshire,  $35;  Ohio,  $10;  Delaware,  $5;  New 
Brunswick,  Canada,  $10. 

t  Vice-presidents,  ex-officio:     Mrs.  E.  N.  Bacon,  Me.;  Mrs.  Armenia  S.  White,  N.  H.; 


AMERICAN    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE    ASSOCIATION.  409 

Mr.  Blackwell,  chairman  of  the  committee,  reported  resolutions 
which  were  adopted  with  a  few  changes  as  follows : 

Resolved,  In  the  words  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  That  "we  go  for 
all  sharing  the  privileges  of  the  government  who  assist  in  bearing 
its  burdens,  by  no  means  excluding  women ;"  that  a  government  of 
the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people,  must  be  a  government  of 
men  and  women,  by  men  and  women,  for  men  and  women ;  and  that 
any  other  form  of  government  is  unreasonable,  unjust  and  inconsist- 
ent with  American  principles. 

Resolved,  That  we  rejoice  in  the  triumph  of  woman  suffrage  in 
Washington  Territory ;  in  the  continued  success  of  woman  suffrage 
in  Wyoming;  in  the  exercise  of  School  Suffrage  by  the  women  of 
twelve  States ;  in  the  establishment  of  Municipal  Woman  Suffrage 
by  Nova  Scotia  and  Ontario,  and  in  the  steady  growth  of  woman 
suffrage  during  the  past  year  as  shown  by  more  than  21,600  peti- 
tioners for  it  in  Massachusetts,  by  increased  activity  in  Connecticut, 
New  York,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Kansas,  Nebraska, 
Kentucky,  Minnesota  and  Oregon,  by  the  recent  formation  of  an 
active  State  association  in  Vermont,  and  by  the  presence  with  us  to- 
day of  sixty-six  delegates  from  organized  societies  in  fifteen  States.. 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Association  is  non-partisan ;  that 
success  will  be  promoted  by  refusing  to  connect  woman  suffrage 
with  any  political  party,  or  to  take  sides  as  suffragists  in  any  party 
conflict ;  but  that  we  will  question  candidates  of  all  parties  for 
State  Legislatures,  and  use  every  honorable  effort  to  secure  the  elec- 
tion of  suffragists  as  legislators  irrespective  of  party  lines,  pro- 
vided they  be  men  of  integrity. 

Resolved,  That  this  association  expresses  its  appreciation  of  the 
services  rendered  by  the  co-workers  who  since  our  last  meeting 
have  been  gathered  with  the  honored  dead :  Mrs.  Frances  D.  Gage, 
who  from  the  beginning  of  our  movement  until  the  last  week  of  her 
life  never  ceased  to  do  what  she  could  for  its  success ;  Wendell 

Mrs.  M.  L.  T.  Hidden,  Vt.;  William  I.  Bow-ditch,  Mass.;  Mrs.  Elizabeth  B.  Chace,  R.  I.; 
Mrs.  Emily  P.  Collins,  Conn.;  Mrs.  Mariana  W.  Chapman,  N.  Y. ;  Kate  A.  Browning, 
N.  J. ;  Miss  Mary  Grew,  Penn. ;  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Heald,  Del.;  Mrs.  Frances  M.  Case- 
ment, O.;  Mary  F.  Thomas,  M.  D.,  Ind.;  Miss  Ada  C.  Sweet,  111.;  Lucy  C.  Stansell, 
Mich.;  Sylvia  Goddard,  Ky. ;  Mrs.  A.  E.  Dickinson,  Mo.;  Lizzie  D.  Fyler,  Ark.;  Jennie 
Beauchamp,  Tex.;  Emma  C.  Bascotn,  Wis. ;  Narcissa  T.  Bemis,  la.;  Gertrude  M.  Mc- 
Dowell, Neb.;  the  Hon.  Charles  Robinson,  Kan.;  Gen.  Theodore  F.  Brown,  Col.;  Jennie 
Carr,  Cal.;  Abigail  Scott  Duniway,  Ore.;  Martha  G.  Ripley,  M.  D.,  Minn.;  the  Hon.  J. 
W.  Hoyt,  Wy.  Ty.;  Elizabeth  Lyle  Saxon,  Tenn.;  Mrs.  Cadwallader  White,  Ga.;  the  Hon. 
Roger  S.  Greene,  Wash.  Ty. ;  Mary  J.  Ireland,  Md. ;  Caroline  E.  Merrick,  La. 

Executive  Committee:  Lucy  Stone,  chairman;  Mrs.  C.  A.  Quinby,  Me.;  Dr.  J.  H.  Gal- 
linger,  N.  H.;  Laura  Moore,  Vt.;  Mrs.  Judith  W.  Smith,  Mass.;  Mrs.  S.  E.  H.  Doyle, 
R.  I.;  the  Hon.  John  Sheldon,  Conn.;  Anna  C.  Field,  N.  Y.;  Cornelia  C.  Hussey,  N.  J.; 
John  K.  Wildman,  Penn.;  Dr.  John  Cameron,  Del.;  Jennie  F.  Holmes,  Neb.;  Prof.  W.  H. 
Carruth,  Kan.;  Mary  F.  Shields,  Col.;  Sarah  Knox  Goodrich,  Cal.;  Mrs.  N.  Coe  Stewart, 
O.;  Mary  E.  Haggart,  Ind.;  Helen  E.  Starrett,  111.;  Mrs.  Geary,  Va. ;  Jennie  A.  Crane, 
W.  Va.;  Mrs.  L.  S.  Ellis,  Mich.;  Laura  Clay,  Ky. ;  Charlotte  A.  Cleveland,  Mo.;  Rhoda 
Munger,  Ark.;  Mrs.  H.  Buckner,  Tex.;  Helen  R.  Olin,  Wis.;  Mary  A.  Work,  la.;  Laura 
Howe  Carpenter,  Minn.;  Mrs.  A.  S.  Duniway,  Ore.;  the  Hon.  J.  W.  Kingman,  Wy.  Ty. ; 
Mrs.  Smith  of  Seattle,  Wash.  Ty. 


4IO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Phillips,  who  as  early  as  1850  attended  a  woman's  rights  conven- 
tion at  Worcester,  Mass.,  and  made  an  argument  which  covered 
the  whole  ground  of  statement  and  defense,  and  with  serene  faith 
advised:  "Take  your  part  with  the  perfect  and  abstract  right  and 
trust  God  to  see  that  it  shall  prove  the  expedient."  Besides  these 
we  record  the  names  of  Kate  Newell  Doggett,  Laura  Giddings 
Julian,  Bishop  Matthew  Simpson,  Mrs.  L.  B.  Barrett,  Emily  J. 
Leonard  and  Jane  Gray  Swisshelm. 

Speaking  to  the  memorial  resolution  Mrs.  Cutler  said :  "Some 
years  ago  I  paid  a  visit  to  an  old 'and  valued  friend  who  had  long 
been  an  invalid,  though  never  so  absorbed  in  her  own  suffering 
as  to  forget  the  great  needs  of  her  human  brothers  and  sisters. 
Said  she,  'If  you  outlive  me,  I  hope  you  will  say  for  me  that  I 
tried  honestly  and  earnestly  to  do  my  duty.'  The  promise  then 
given  I  now  attempt  to  fulfil  in  behalf  of  Mrs.  Frances  Dana  Gage, 
our  beloved  'Aunt  Fanny,'  who  entered  upon  her  rest  Nov. 
10,  1884."  Mrs.  Cutler  gave  a  full  and  appreciative  review  of 
Mrs.  Gage's  life.  Dr.  Mary  F.  Thomas  spoke  feelingly  of  her, 
of  Mrs.  Julian  and  Mr.  Phillips;  and  Mrs.  Livermore  paid  a 
warm  tribute  to  Mr.  Phillips  and  Mrs.  Doggett. 

The  plan  of  work  adopted  was  in  part  as  follows : 

1.  That  the  officers  of  this  association  memorialize  Congress  in 
behalf  of  a  sixteenth  constitutional  amendment  prohibiting  all  po- 
litical distinctions  on  account  of  sex. 

2.  That  while  we  do  not  undervalue  any  form  of  agitation,  State 
or  national,  we  hold  that  practical  woman  suffrage  can  at  present 
be  best  promoted  by  urging  legislative  as  well  as  constitutional 
changes,  and  by  appealing  to  State  as  well  as  national  authority ; 
therefore  we  urge  the  establishment  of  active  State  societies,  with 
their  working  centers  in  the  State  capitals  and  their  corresponding 
committees  in  every  representative  district. 

3.  That  in  every  State,  at  each  session  of  its  Legislature,  peti- 
tions should  be  presented  by  its  own  citizens  asking  for  woman 
suffrage  by  statute  in  all  elections  and  for  all  officers  not  expressly 
limited  by  the  word  "male"  in  the  State  constitution. 

4.  That  School   Suffrage  having  been  secured  for  women  by 
statute  in  twelve  States,  our  next  demand  should  be  for  Municipal 
Suffrage  by  statute ;  also  for  Presidential  Suffrage  by  statute,  under 
Article  2,  Section  I,  par.  2,  of  the  United  States  Constitution. 

5.  And,  whereas,  in  three  Territories,  viz.,  Wyoming,  Utah  and 
Washington,  our  cause  is  already  won  by  statutes,  therefore  a  special 
effort  should  be  made  to   secure   similar   statutory  action  in  the 
remaining  Territories,  viz. :    Dakota,  Montana,  Idaho,  Arizona  and 
New  Mexico. 


AMERICAN    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE   ASSOCIATION.  411 

Addresses  were  made  by  the  Rev.  S.  S.  Hunting,  Mrs.  Mar- 
garet W.  Campbell  of  Iowa  and  Dr.  Thomas.  Mr.  Foulke,  Mrs. 
Mary  E.  Haggart  of  Indiana,  Mrs.  Livermore  and  Lucy  Stone 
addressed  the  evening  meeting,  and  the  singing  of  the  Doxology 
closed  a  memorable  convention. 

1885. — The  Seventeenth  annual  meeting  was  held  in  Minne- 
apolis, October  13-15,  in  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer  (Universal- 
ist),  the  finest  in  the  city,  which  was  given  without  charge. 
Here,  as  the  daily  papers  said,  "the  most  brilliant  audiences  that 
ever  assembled  in  Minneapolis"  gathered  evening  after  evening 
until  the  last  when  crowds  of  people  went  away  unable  to  find 
even  standing  room.  The  pulpit  steps  were  occupied,  extra  seats 
were  brought  in,  the  aisles  were  crowded,  and  as  far  as  one  could 
see  over  the  throng  that  filled  the  doorway,  was  another  assembly 
eager  to  hear  what  it  could.  The  earnest,  interested,  assent- 
ing faces  of  the  vast  audience  and  their  hearty  applause  attested 
their  sympathy  with  the  ideas  and  principles  expressed. 

Every  evening  several  of  the  speakers  addressed  large  audi- 
ences in  St.  Paul,  thus  carrying  on  two  series  of  meetings  con- 
temporaneously. The  Hon.  Wm.  Dudley  Foulke  occupied  the 
chair.  Mayor  George  A.  Pillsbury,  of  Minneapolis,  gave  the  ad- 
dress of  welcome,  which  he  closed  by  saying :  "Our  citizens  may 
not  all  agree  with  you,  yet  we  recognize  the  fact  that  some  of  the 
greatest  and  best  minds  in  the  country  are  engaged  in  this  work. 
I  have  never  identified  myself  with  your  organization  but  wish 
you  Godspeed,  and  hope  to  see  the  time  when  the  women  shall 
stand  with  the  men  at  the  polls." 

Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe  in  responding  said :  "We  are  glad  to 
be  welcomed  for  ourselves ;  we  are  still  more  gratified  by  the  wel- 
come extended  to  our  cause.  We  do  not  live  altogether  in  our 
magnificent  cities  and  houses ;  we  all  live  in  houses  not  made  with 
hands.  We  have  with  us  some  who  have  devoted  their  lives  to 
this  noble  work.  They  have  been  building  up,  stone  by  stone,  a 
mighty  structure,  and  it  is  to  lay  a  few  more  stones  that  we  have 
gathered  here." 

It  had  been  persistently  asserted  that  Mrs.  Howe  and  Louisa 
M.  Alcott  had  renounced  their  belief  in  equal  suffrage.  Mrs. 
Howe  was  present  to  speak  for  herself.  Miss  Alcott  wrote  from 
Concord,  Mass. : 


412  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

I  should  think  it  was  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  say  that  it  is 
impossible  for  me  ever  to  "go  back''  on  woman  suffrage.  I  earnestly 
desire  to  go  forward  on  that  line  as  far  and  as  fast  as  the  prejudices, 
selfishness  and  blindness  of  the  world  will  let  us,  and  it  is  a  great 
cross  to  me  that  ill-health  and  home  duties  prevent  my  devoting 
heart,  pen  and  time  to  this  most  vital  question  of  the  age.  After  a 
fifty  years'  acquaintance  with  the  noble  men  and  women  of  the 
anti-slavery  cause  and  the  sight  of  the  glorious  end  to  their  faithful 
work,  I  should  be  a  traitor  to  all  I  most  love,  honor  and  desire  to 
imitate  if  I  did  not  covet  a  place  among  those  who  are  giving  their 
lives  to  the  emancipation  of  the  white  slaves  of  America. 

If  I  can  do  no  more,  let  my  name  stand  among  those  who  are 
willing  to  bear  ridicule  and  reproach  for  the  truth's  sake,  and  so 
earn  some  right  to  rejoice  when  the  victory  is  won. 

Most  heartily  yours  for  woman  suffrage  and  all  other  reforms. 

Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps  wrote :  "With  all  my  head  and  with 
all  my  heart  I  believe  in  womanhood  suffrage ;  can  I  say  more  for 
your  convention  ?"  and  from  the  Rev.  James  Freeman  Clarke,  of 
Boston,  "Every  word  spoken  for  or  against  our  cause  helps  it 
forward.  I  feel  that  there  is  a  current  of  conviction  sweeping 
us  on  toward  the  day  when  there  shall  be  neither  male  nor  female, 
in  Church  or  State,  but  equal  rights  for  all,  and  the  tools  to  those 
who  can  use  them." 

Chief- Justice  Greene,  of  Washington  Territory,  sent  a  careful 
statistical  computation  in  regard  to  the  women's  votes,  and  said : 
"My  sober  judgment,  from  the  best  light  I  have  succeeded  in  get- 
ting, is  that  at  our  last  general  election  the  women  cast  as  full 
or  a  fuller  vote  than  the  men  in  proportion  to  their  numbers." 
Mrs.  Livermore  wrote : 

Whatever  may  be  the  apparent  direction  of  the  ripples  on  the 
surface,  facts  which  accumulate  daily  show  us  that  the  cause  of 
woman's  enfranchisement  progresses  with  a  deep  and  steady  under- 
current. The  long,  weary,  faithful  work  of  the  past,  covering 
almost  half  a  century,  has  resulted  in  a  radical  change  of  public 
opinion.  It  has  opened  to  woman  the  doors  of  colleges,  universities 
and  professional  schools ;  it  has  increased  her  opportunities  for  self- 
support  till  the  United  States  census  enumerates  nearly  300  employ- 
ments in  which  women  are  working  and  earning  livelihoods ;  it  has 
repealed  many  of  the  unjust  laws  which  discriminate  against 
woman ;  it  has  given  her  partial  suffrage  in  twelve  States  and  full 
suffrage  in  three  Territories. 

Courage,  then,  for  the  end  draws  near!  A  few  more  years  of 
persistent,  faithful  work  and  the  women  of  the  United  States  will 
be  recognized  as  the  legal  equals  of  men;  for  the  goal  towards 


AMERICAN    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE    ASSOCIATION.  413 

which  we  toil  is  the  enfranchisement  of  women,  since  the  ballot  is 
the  only  symbol  of  legal  equality  that  is  known  in  a  republic. 

Chancellor  Wm.  G.  Eliot,  of  Washington  University,  St. 
Louis,  wrote: 

Considered  as  a  right,  suffrage  belongs  equally  to  man  and 
woman.  They  are  equally  citizens  and  taxpayers.  They  share 
equally  in  the  advantages  of  good  government  and  suffer  equally 
from  bad  legislation.  They  equally  need  the  right  of  self-protection 
which  the  ballot  alone  can  give.  In  average  good,  practical  sense, 
wherever  fair  opportunity  is  permitted  women  are  equal  to  men. 
In  moral  perception  and  practice  women  are  at  least  equal — gen- 
erally the  superiors,  if  such  comparison  must  be  made.  There  is, 
therefore,  no  justification  in  saying  that  the  right  of  suffrage,  on 
whatever  founded,  belongs  to  man  rather  than  to  woman. 

Considered  as  a  privilege,  little  needs  to  be  said  on  either 

side Every  citizen  is  under  moral  obligation  to  take 

part  in  the  social  interests  and  welfare  of  the  community,  whether 
national  or  municipal.  Woman  equally  with  man  is  under  that 
moral  law.  In  a  republic  she  can  not  rightly  be  deprived  of  the 
opportunity  to  do  her  full  share  as  a  citizen  in  all  that  concerns  good 
government. 

This  seems  to  be  the  whole  story.  I  have  read  with  astonishment 
the  arguments  (so  called)  of  Francis  Parkman,  the  Rev.  Brooke 
Herford  and  Mrs.  Kate  Gannett  Wells.  They  scarcely  touch  the 
real  merits  of  the  case. 

Dr.  Mary  F.  Thomas,  of  Indiana,  wrote : 

As  I  see  pictured  before  me  all  of  you  gathered  from  different 
parts  of  this  great  sisterhood  of  States  to  discuss  the  grand  principle 
of  human  freedom,  I  can  but  compare  this  assembly  with  one  con- 
vened in  Philadelphia  over  a  hundred  years  ago  with  this  difference 
— they  declared  for  the  civil  and  political  freedom  of  all  men ;  you 
ask  to-day  that  all  human  beings  of  sound  mind  shall  enjoy  the  civil 
and  political  rights  which  they  are  entitled  to  by  virtue  of  their 
humanity.  As  the  judicious,  management  of  the  family  circle 
requires  the  combined  wisdom  and  judgment  of  father  and  mother, 
so  this  great  political  family,  whose  interests  are  identical,  can  only 
be  consistently  managed  by  the  complete  representation  and  con- 
currence of  each  individual  governed  by  its  laws. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  show  argument  for  this  statement, 
as  your  meeting  to-day,  composed  of  men  and  women  thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  great  truth  contained  in  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  will  supply  words  glowing  with  fervor  that 
can  not  be  written,  that  comes  with  a  full  conviction  of  the  magni- 
tude of  this  great  question,  involving  even  the  perpetuity  of  our 

government But  without  other  reasons  than  that  it  is 

right,  let  the  united  voice  of  your  meeting  demand  full  recognition 
of  the  political  rights  of  the  women  of  the  nation,  so  that  it  may 


414  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

stand  before  the  world  exemplifying  the  meaning  of  a  true  republic. 
After  near  half  a  century  of  earnest,  continued  pleading  we  see 
light  breaking  in  different  parts  of  the  political  horizon.  If  it  takes 
half  a  century  more,  nay,  even  longer  than  that,  to  establish  this 
truth  let  us  never  falter.  For  we  know  our  cause  is  just  and,  as 
God  is  just,  the  eternal  principles  of  right  must  succeed. 

Among  the  speakers  were  Mr.  Foulke,  Mr.  Blackwell,  Mrs. 
Alice  Pickler  of  Dakota,  Mrs.  Cutler,  Miss  Bessie  Isaacs  of 
Washington  Territory,  the  Rev.  Ada  C.  Bowles  of  Massachusetts, 
Mrs.  Abigail  Scott  Duniway,  editor  of  the  New  Northwest,  Ore- 
gon, and  from  Minneapolis  Mrs.  Sarah  Burger  Stearns,  C.  H. 
Du  Bois,  editor  of  the  Spectator,  Dr.  Martha  G.  Ripley,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  J.  H.  Tuttle,  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer,  the  Rev. 
Kristofer  Jansen,  of  the  Swedish  Unitarian  Church,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Williams  of  the  City  Mission,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Tabor  of  the  Friends' 
Church,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Harrington,  a  visiting  Universalist  minis- 
ter, and  Mrs.  Charlotte  O.  Van  Cleve,  of  the  Bethany  Home,  who 
spoke  of  herself  and  her  associates  as  "the  ambulance  corps,  to 
pick  up  and  care  for  the  fallen  and  wounded  of  their  sex." 

Judge  Norton  H.  Hemiup  of  Minneapolis,  read  a  humorous 
play  in  several  acts,  dramatically  representing  the  venerable 
widows  of  ex-presidents  and  wives  of  living  ones  going  to  the 
polls  in  their  respective  precincts  and  offering  their  votes  in  vain, 
while  those  of  the  late  slaves  and  of  men  half-drunk  and  wholly 
ignorant  were  received  without  a  question. 

Major  J.  A.  Pickler,  the  chivalrous  legislator  of  Dakota,  who 
championed  the  suffrage  bill  which  passed  both  Houses  and  was 
defeated  by  the  veto  of  Gov.  Gilbert  F.  Pierce,  was  invited 
to  tell  the  history  of  the  bill  and  did  so  in  a  vigorous  speech.  He 
said  its  passage  was  materially  aided  by  the  efforts  of  Eastern 
remonstrants  to  defeat  it,  and  added:  "There  are  peculiar  rea- 
sons why  our  women  should  have  their  rights,  as  they  own 
fully  one- fourth  of  the  land  and  are  veritable  heroines."  Dur- 
ing the  convention  the  men  and  women  present  from  Dakota  or- 
ganized an  association  to  carry  on  the  battle  for  equal  rights  in 
that  Territory. 

Mrs.  Howe  said  in  her  address : 

While  a  great  deal  needs  to  be  said  to  both  men  and  women  on  the 
subject  of  woman  suffrage,  I  am  one  who  thinks  that  most  needs 


AMERICAN    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE    ASSOCIATION.  415 

to  be  said  to  women.  This  is  quite  natural  both  because  of  their 
timidity  in  putting  themselves  forward  and  because  of  their  frequent 
ignorance  of  the  principles  upon  which  reform  is  based.  No  one 
could  be  more  opposed  to  woman  suffrage  than  I  was  twenty  years 
ago.  Everything  I  had  read  and  heard  seemed  to  point  in  exactly 
the  opposite  direction.  But  at  the  first  meeting  I  attended  I  heard 
Lucy  Stone,  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  and  other 
pioneers  of  the  cause,  found  nothing  but  reasonableness  in  their 
speech  and  their  arguments  and  so  was  speedily  converted. 

The  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic  was  then  sung  by  Prof. 
James  G.  Clark,  the  well-known  singer  of  anti-slavery  days,  the 
audience  rising  and  joining  in  the  chorus. 

Mrs.  Margaret  W.  Campbell  of  Iowa,  who  was  introduced  by 
Lucy  Stone  with  a  history  of  her  many  years  of  devoted  work  for 
the  cause,  said  in  part:  "Good  men  who  mean  well  often  say 
that  women  are  as  fit  to  vote  as  the  ignorant  foreigners  just  landed 
at  Castle  Garden  or  the  freedmen  who  can  not  read  or  write. 
Don't  say  that  any  more ;  you  don't  know  how  it  hurts.  Say  in- 
stead, 'You  are  as  fit  to  vote  as  we  are.'  The  names,  of  those  who 
emancipated  the  slave  will  be  written  in  letters  of  gold,  but  the 
names  of  those  who  have  helped  to  emancipate  the  women  of  this 
nation  will  be  written  in  letters  of  living  light." 

The  closing  address  was  made  by  Mrs.  Stone.  "Her  feeling 
and  womanly  appeals,"  said  the  Minneapolis  papers,  "were  such 
as  to  move  any  masculine  heart  not  thoroughly  indurated."  She 
said  in  part : 

If  the  question  of  the  right  of  women  to  a  voice  in  making  the 
laws  they  are  to  obey  could  be  treated  in  the  same  common-sense 
way  that  other  practical  questions  are  treated  it  would  have  been 
settled  long  ago.  If  the  question  were  to  be  asked  in  any  com- 
munity about  to  establish  a  government,  "Shall  the  whole  people  who 
are  of  mature  age  and  sound  mind  have  a  right  to  help  make  the 
laws  they  are  required  to  obey?"  the  natural  answer  would  be  that 
they  should  have  that  right.  But  the  fact  is  that  only  the  men  exer- 
cise it.  If  the  question  were  asked,  "Shall  the  whole  people 
who  are  of  mature  age  and  sound  mind  and  not  convicted  of  crime 
have  a  right  to  elect  the  men  who  will  have  the  spending  of  the 
money  they  pay  for  taxes  ?"  the  common-sense  answer  would  be  that 
they  should  have  that  right.  But  the  fact  is  that  only  men  are 
allowed  to  exercise  it.  So  of  the  special  interests  of  women,  their 
right  to  settle  the  laws  which  regulate  their  relation  to  their  children, 
their  right  to  earn  and  own,  to  buy  and  sell,  to  will  and  deed,  the 
application  of  the  simple  principles  of  fair  play,  would  have  given 
women  equal  voice  with  men  in  these  questions  of  personal  and 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

common  interest.     But  as  it  is  men  control  it  all,  whether  it  is  the 
child  we  bear,  the  dollar  we  earn  or  the  will  we  wish  to  make. 

One  would  suppose  that  under  a  government  whose  fundamental 
principle  affirms  that  "the  consent  of  the  governed"  is  the  just  basis, 
the  consent  of  the  governed  women  would  have  been  asked  for. 
The  only  form  of  consent  is  a  vote  and  that  is  denied  to  women.  As 
a  result  they  are  at  a  disadvantage  everywhere.  The  stigma  of 
disfranchisement  cheapens  the  respect  due  to  their  opinions, 
diminishes  their  earnings  and  makes  them  subjects  in  the  home  as 
they  are  in  the  State.  The  woman  suffrage  movement  means  equal 
rights  for  women.  It  proposes  to  secure  fair  play  and  justice. 

At  this  convention  valuable  reports  were  presented  from  twen- 
ty-six States.  Of  especial  interest  was  that  from  Texas,  where 
Mrs.  Mariana  T.  Folsom  had  done  seven  months'  work  under  the 
auspices  of  the  American  W.  S.  A.,  giving  nearly  200  public  ad- 
dresses in  advocacy  of  equal  rights.  Texas  was  virgin  soil  on 
this  subject,  and  Mrs.  Folsom's  description  of  the  conditions  she 
found  there  was  both  entertaining  and  instructive. 

The  old  officers  were  re-elected  with  but  few  changes.  Among 
the  resolutions  adopted  were  the  following: 

The  American  Woman  Suffrage  Association,  at  its  seventeenth 
annual  meeting,  in  this  beautiful  city  of  the  new  Northwest,  reaf- 
firms the  American  principle  of  free  representative  government,  and 
demands  its  application  to  women.  "Governments  derive  their  just 
powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed,"  and  women  are  gov- 
erned ;  "taxation  without  representation  is  tyranny,"  and  women  are 
taxed ;  "all  political  power  inheres  in  the  people,"  and  one-half  of 
the  people  are  women. 

Resolved,  That  women,  as  sisters,  wives  and  mothers  of  men,  have 
special  rights  to  protect  and  special  wrongs  to  remedy ;  that  their 
votes  will  represent  in  a  special  sense  the  interests  of  the  home :  that 
equal  co-operation  of  the  sexes  is  essential  alike  to  a  happy  home,  a 
refined  society,  a  Christian  church  and  a  republican  State. 

WHEREAS,  Under  the  Federal  Constitution,  "All  persons  born 
or  naturalized  in  the  United  States  are  citizens  thereof,  and  of  the 
States  in  which  they  reside;"  and,  by  the  decision  of  the  United 
States  courts,  "Women  are  citizens,  and  may  be  made  voters  by 
appropriate  State  legislation;"  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  this  association  regards  with  satisfaction  the 
acceptance  of  the  claim  of  Anna  Ella  Carroll  by  the  United  States 
Court  of  Claims,  by  which  the  remarkable  services  of  Miss  Carroll 
in  urging  the  campaign  of  Tennessee,  which  broke  the  force  of  the 
rebellion  and  gave  success  to  our  armies,  will  have  at  last,  after  more 
than  a  score  of  years,  their  late  reward.* 

*  Congress  never  could  be  persuaded  to  take  any  action  and  Miss  Carroll  died  in  pov- 
erty and  need.  [Eds. 


AMERICAN    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE    ASSOCIATION.  417 

Resolved,  That  the  association  send  a  deputation  to  Washington 
in  behalf  of  its  memorial  to  Congress  to  frame  a  statute  prohibiting 
the  disfranchisement  of  women  in  the  Territories,  and  to  co-operate 
with  the  National  Woman  Suffrage  Association  (at  its  January 
meeting)  for  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  forbidding  political  distinc- 
tions on  account  of  sex. 

The  great  success  of  this  convention  was  due  in  large  measure 
to  the  excellent  arrangements  made  by  the  friends  in  Minneapo- 
lis, especially  Dr.  Ripley  and  Mrs.  Martha  A.  Dorsett. 

The  association  sent  two  delegates,  Henry  B.  Blackwell  and 
the  Rev.  Anna  H.  Shaw,  to  Washington,  to  urge  upon  the  House 
Committee  the  duty  of  Congress  to  establish  equal  suffrage  in  the 
Territories.  They  were  given  a  respectful  hearing. 

1886. — The  Eighteenth  annual  meeting  was  held  in  Topeka, 
Kan.,  October  26-28.  The  morning  and  afternoon  sessions 
were  held  in  Music  Hall.  Above  the  platform  hung  the  beauti- 
ful banner  of  the  Minnesota  W.  S.  A.,  sent  by  Dr.  Martha  G. 
Ripley,  and  at  its  side  was  a  package  of  7,000  leaflets  for  distribu- 
tion contributed  by  Mrs.  Cornelia  C.  Hussey  of  New  Jersey, 
which  were  gladly  taken  for  use  in  different  States.  The  even- 
ing meetings  assembled  in  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, seating  1,200  persons;  the  floor  and  both  galleries  were 
crowded  with  the  best  citizens  of  Topeka ;  all  the  desks  were  taken 
out,  making  room  for  more  chairs,  and  even  then  hundreds  of 
people  were  turned  away.  Both  halls  were  given  free. 

All  the  preparations  had  been  admirably  made  by  Mrs.  Juliet 
N.  Martin,  Miss  Olive  P.  Bray,  Mrs.  S.  A.  Thurston  and  other 
Topeka  women,  who  had  a  collation  spread  in  Music  Hall 
for  the  delegates  on  their  arrival.  The  press  gave  full  and  cor- 
dial reports.  Lucy  Stone  wrote  in  the  Woman's  Journal: 

We  found  the  editors  of  the  four  daily  papers  all  suffragists. 
Among  these  was  Major  J.  K.  Hudson,  who  took  his  first  lessons 
in  equal  rights  on  the  Anti-Slavery  Bugle  in  Ohio  and,  reared 
among  "Friends,"  was  ready  to  continue  the  good  service  he  has  all 
along  rendered.  Here,  too,  we  found  our  old  co-worker,  William 
P.  Tomlinson,  who  at  one  time  published  the  Anti-Slavery  Standard 
for  Wendell  Phillips  and  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  and 
who  a  little  later,  in  his  young  prime,  devoted  his  time,  his  money 
and  his  strength  to  the  publication  of  the  Woman's  Advocate  in 
New  York,  of  which  he  was  proprietor  and  editor.  He  is  now 
editor  of  the  Topeka  Daily  Democrat.  Mr.  B.  P.  Bakerr  now  editor 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 27 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

and   proprietor  of  the   Commomvealth,   did   good   service   to   th 
woman    suffrage    cause    in    1867    in    the    Topeka    Record.     Mr. 
McLennan,  of  the  Journal,  is  also  with  us. 

The  whole  convention  was  interspersed  with  ringing  reminis- 
cences of  the  heroic  early  history  of  Kansas.  Mrs.  S.  N.  Wood, 
who  in  the  Border  Ruffian  days  went  through  the  enemy's  lines 
and  at  great  personal  peril  brought  into  beleaguered  Lawrence 
the  ammunition  which  enabled  it  to  defend  itself,  came  to  the 
platform  to  add  her  good  word  for  equal  suffrage.  It  was  a 
great  pleasure  to  the  officers  of  the  association  to  meet  her  and  the 
other  early  Kansas  workers,  many  of  whom,  like  Mrs.  J.  H. 
Slocum,  of  Emporia,  were  old  personal  friends. 

Mrs.  Anna  C.  Wait,  president  of  the  Kansas  W.  S.  A.  and  ed- 
itor of  the  Lincoln  Beacon,  gave  the  address  of  welcome  in  behal 
of  the  suffragists.     Referring  to  the  first  campaign  for  a  wor 
suffrage  amendment  in  1867,  when  Lucy  Stone  and  Henry  B. 
Blackwell  spoke  in  forty-two  counties  of  Kansas,  Mrs.  Wait  said 
"Nineteen  years  ago  when  you  came  to  Kansas  you  found  no  suf- 
frage societies  and  even  seven  years  ago  you  would  have  founc 
none.     To-day,  in  behalf  of  the  State  W.  S.  A.  and  its  mam. 
flourishing  auxiliaries,  I  welcome  these  dear  friends  who  come  t( 
us  from  the  rock-ribbed  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  from  the  coast  oi 
the  Pacific,  from  the  lakes  of  the  North  and  from  the  sunnj 
South,  a  veritable  gathering  of  the  clans  of  freedom." 

Major  Hudson,  in  his  address  of  welcome  in  behalf  of  the  city, 
reviewed  the  history  of  woman  suffrage  in  Kansas,  paid  a  tribute 
to  the  work  of  the  pioneer  suffragists,  and  said : 

We  welcome  you  to  Kansas,  because  it  has  been  good  battle 
ground  for  the  right.  ...  .  We  place  the  ballot  in  the  han 
of  the  foreigner  who  can  not  read  or  speak  our  language,  and  \vh 
knows  nothing  of  our  government;  we  enfranchised  a  slave  ra« 
most  of  whom  can  not  read;  and  yet  we  deny  to  the  women  of 
America  the  ballot,  which  in  their  hands  would  be  the  strongest 
protection  of  this  republic  against  the  ignorance  and  vice  of  the 
great  centers  of  our  population.  Give  to  woman  the  ballot,  and  you 
give  her  equal  pay  with  men  for  the  same  work;  you  break  down 
prejudice  and  open  to  her  every  vocation  in  which  she  is  competent 
to  engage ;  you  do  more — you  give  her  an  individuality,  and  equal 
right  in  life. 

The  president,  the  Hon.  William  Dudley  Foulke,  in  his  re- 


AMERICAN    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE    ASSOCIATION.  419 

sponse  to  the  welcome  of  the  suffrage  association  said :  "It  gives 
us  great  pleasure  to  visit  your  beautiful  city  and  fertile  State.  It 
gives  us  pleasure  not  because  your  State  is  fertile  and  your  city 
beautiful  but  because  it  is  in  these  Western  States  that  there  is 
most  hope  of  the  growth  of  the  woman  suffrage  movement.  The 
older  States  are  what  old  age  is  in  the  human  frame,  something 
that  is  difficult  to  change ;  but  where  there  is  young  blood  there 
is  hope  and  the  progress  of  a  new  idea  is  more  rapid." 

Mrs.  Howe,  responding  to  the  welcome  of  the  citizens,  said 
some  one  had  spoken  of  woman  suffrage  as  a  hobby;  she  ques- 
tioned whether  the  opposition  to  suffrage  was  not  the  hobby  and 
suffrage  the  horse.  The  discussion  of  these  great  questions  was 
doing  much  to  make  the  women  of  the  country  one  in  feeling,  and 
to  do  away  with  sectional  prejudices.  A  most  cordial  hearing 
was  given  to  the  Woman's  Congress  lately  held  at  Louisville, 
Ky.,  and  especially  to  the  woman  suffrage  symposium  which  oc- 
cupied one  evening.  Mrs.  Howe  spoke  of  the  wonderful,  provi- 
dential history  of  Kansas,  and  the  way  in  which  a  new  and  unex- 
pected chapter  of  the  country's  history  opened  out  from  the  ex- 
perience of  the  young  Territory.  She  remembered  when  the 
name  of  Kansas  was  the  word  which  set  men's  blood  at  the  East 
tingling.  She  continued : 

You  men  of  Kansas,  you  who  have  been  bought  with  a  price,  noble 
men  have  worked  and  suffered  and  died  that  you  might  be  free. 
For  you  Charles  Sumner  fell  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
He  fell  to  rise  again,  but  others  fell  for  whom  there  was  no  rising. 
Having  received  this  great  gift  of  freedom,  pray  you  go  on  to  make 
it  perfect.  You  may  think  that  you  have  a  free  State,  well  founded 
and  stable,  and  that  it  will  stand ;  but  remember  that  the  State,  like 
the  Church,  is  not  a  structure  to  be  built  and  set  up  but  a  living 
organism  to  grow  and  move.  Its  life  is  progress  and  freedom.  Do 
not  think  that  you  can  stay  this  great  tide  of  progress  by  saying, 
"Thus  far  shalt  thou  go  and  no  farther."  No  such  limitation  is 
possible.  That  tide  will  oversweep  every  obstacle  set  in  its  way. 

Why,  men  of  Kansas,  having  been  so  nobly  endowed  at  the  begin- 
ning, have  you  let  the  younger  children  in  the  nursery  of  our  dear 
mother  country  learn  lessons  that  you  have  not  learned?  Are  the 
women  of  Wyoming  and  Washington  better  than  your  women,  and 
do  the  men  of  those  Territories  love  their  women  better  than  you 
love  yours  ?  You  will  say  "no,"  with  indignation ;  but  remember 
that  love  is  shown  in  deeds  far  more  than  in  words.  Until  you  make 
your  women  free  I  must  hold  that  you  do  not  love  them  as  well  as 
those  do  who  have  given  their  mothers  and  sisters  the  gift  of 


42O  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

political  enfranchisement.  This  place  is  the  temple  of  your  liber- 
ties ;  here,  if  anywhere,  should  be  spoken  the  words  of  wisdom  and 
be  enacted  just  and  equal  laws.  However  grand  the  words  may  be 
which  have  been  spoken  here,  may  they  become  grander  and  better 
and  deeper,  until  to  all  your  other  glories  shall  be  added  that  of 
having  set  the  crown  of  freedom  upon  the  heads  of  the  women  of 
your  State ! 

Only  a  few  gleanings  ^rom  ..ne  many  speeches  can  be  given. 
Professor  W.  H.  Carruth,  of  the  Kansas  State  University,  said 
in  part : 

We  are  likely  to  meet  some  good-natured  person  who  will  say: 
"Why,  yes,  I  am  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage,  but  I  don't  see  that 
there  is  any  need  of  it  here  in  Kansas.  If  I  were  in  Rhode  Island 
or  Connecticut,  where  there  are  so  many  laws  unjust  to  women,  I 
would  petition  and  work  for  it ;  but  I  don't  see  that  it  is  worth  while 
to  make  a  fuss  about  it  here."  Now,  what  can  be  said  to  such  a 
person?  Weapons  are  both  defensive  and  aggressive.  The  ballot 
has  both  uses.  What  would  a  herdsman  say  if  you  told  him  his 
sheepfold  was  all  that  was  needed,  and  refused  to  give  him  a  gun? 
What  would  the  farmer  say  if  you  gave  him  a  cultivator  but  no 
plough?  What  would  Christianity  be  if  it  had  only  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments and  not  the  Golden  Rule? 

He  who  thinks  the  ballot  is  given  simply  as  a  means  of  protec- 
tion— protection  in  a  limited  sense,  against  fraud  and  violence — has 
but  a  limited  conception  of  the  duties  of  American  citizenship.  The 
old  let-alone  theory  of  government  has  been  found  a  failure,  and  in- 
stead of  it  people  are  coming  to  think  that  government  is  good  to  do 
anything  that  it  can  do  best — just  as  they  have  already  learned  that 
it  is  proper  for  woman  to  do  anything  that  she  can  do  well.  In  a 
word,  as  Mrs.  Howe  said  the  other  evening,  the  ballot  is  a  means  of 
getting  things  done  which  we  want  done. 

When  your  good  friend  with  a  kind  and  prosperous  husband,  a 
pleasant  home  and  nothing  lacking  which  better  laws  could  secure 
for  her,  says  she  thinks  women  are  already  pretty  well  treated  and 
she  doesn't  know  that  she  would  care  for  the  ballot,  ask  her  how 
she  would  feel  if  she  were  a  teacher  and  were  expected  to  work 
beside  a  man,  equal  work  and  equal  time,  he  to  get  $60  and  she  $40 
a  month?  Ask  her  whether  she  would  not  want  to  have  a  vote 
then  ?  Isn't  this  a  case,  kind  mistress  of  a  home,  where  you  should 
remember  those  in  bonds  as  bound  with  them?  I  very  much  fear 
there  never  will  be  a  time  when  all  the  good  people  in  this  world 
can  dispense  with  any  effective  weapon  against  wrong. 

And,  beyond  this,  there  are  all  the  offensive,  aggressive  uses  of 
the  ballot.  We  want  a  sewer  here,  a  bridge  there,  a  lamp-post  or  a 
hydrant  yonder.  A  woman's  nose  will  scent  a  defective  drain  where 
ten  men  pass  it  by,  but  votes  get  these  things  looked  after.  We 
want  a  new  schoolhouse,  or  more  brains  or  more  fresh  air  in  an  old 


AMERICAN    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE    ASSOCIATION.  42! 

one.     Don't  you  know  that  women  will  attend  to  such  needs  sooner 
than  men  ? 

Mr.  Foulke  said  in  part : 

It  is  said  that  woman  suffragists  are  dreamers.  There  was  a 
time  within  our  memory  when  human  flesh  in  this  our  free  America 
was  sold  at  auction.  In  those  days  a  few  earnest  men  dreamed  of 
a  time  when  our  flag  should  no  longer  unfurl  itself  over  a  slave. 
Inspired  by  this  great  vision  they  bore  the  persecution  and  con- 
tumely of  their  fellows.  In  season  and  out  of  season  they  preached 
their  glorious  gospel  of  immediate  and  unconditional  emancipation. 
Wild  visionaries  they,  incendiaries  whose  very  writings,  like  the 
heresies  of  old,  must  be  consigned  to  the  flames ;  impracticable 
enthusiasts,  seditious  citizens.  But  lo !  the  flame  of  war  passed  over 
us  and  their  dream  is  true ;  and  in  the  clearer  light  which,  shines 
upon  us  to-day,  we  can  hardly  realize  that  this  great  blot  upon  our 
civilization  could  have  existed,  the  time  seems  so  far  away. 

And  we  of  America,  we  who  have  reached  the  summit  of  the 
prophecies  of  centuries  past,  we  dream  of  new  and  loftier  moun- 
tains in  the  distance.  We  who  have  realized  in  our  political  institu- 
tions a  universal  equality  of  men  before  the  law,  find  that  we  have 
only  reached  the  foothills  of  the  greater  range  beyond.  There  are 
men  in  our  midst  who  are  dreaming  to-day  of  a  time  when  mere 
political  equality  shall  be  based  upon  that  broader  social  and 
economic  equality  which  is  so  necessary  to  maintain  it.  They 
dream  of  a  time  when  each  man's  reward  shall  be  proportioned  to 
his  own  exertions  and  his  own  desert,  and  nothing  at  all  shall  be 
due  to  the  accident  of  birth ;  dream  of  a  time  when  bitter,  grinding 
poverty,  save  as  a  punishment  for  idleness,  shall  no  longer  exist  in 
a  world  so  full  of  the  bounty  of  heaven.  Is  it  wilder  than  the 
dream  of  him  who,  under  the  despotism  of  the  Bourbons,  could 
dream  of  a  great  people  whose  birth  should  be  heralded  by  the 
cry  that  all  men  are  created  equal  ?  Is  it  wilder  than  the  dream  of 
him  who,  oppressed  by  the  tyranny  of  Alva,  could  dream  of  a  day  of 
perfect  religious  toleration?  Men  talk  with  contemptuous  pity  of 
the  dreamer.  But  he  rather  is  the  object  of  pity  who  bars  the 
windows  and  draws  the  curtains  of  his  soul  to  shut  out  the  light  of 
heaven  that  would  smile  in  upon  him.  Let  us  rather  pity  the  man 
who  fears  to  utter  the  divine  thought  which  fills  him.  Let  us  pity 
rather  that  man  or  that  nation  which  lives  in  the  complacent  con- 
sciousness of  its  own  virtue  and  blessedness,  and  dreams  of  no 
higher  good  than  it  possesses.  He  that  has  a  dream  of  something 
better  than  he  sees  around  him,  let  him  tell  it  though  the  world 
smile.  He  that  has  a  prophecy  to  utter,  let  him  speak,  though  men 
account  it  his  folly  as  much  as  they  will.  God  bless  the  dreamers 
of  all  just  and  perfect  dreams !  The  great  wheel  of  the  ages  with 
ever-increasing  motion  is  sure  to  roll  out  their  accomplishment. 

The  Rev.  Louis  A.  Banks,  lately  of  Washington  Territory, 
spoke  of  woman  suffrage  there.  He  said : 


422  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


The  fir  -  fact  proved  by  experience  is  that  women  do  vote.  Before 
the  law  was  enacted,  the  old  objection  used  to  meet  us  on  every 
hand,  "The  women  do  not  want  to  vote" — as  though  that,  if  true, 
were  a  valid  reason.  They  ought  to  want  to.  It  is  my  business  to 
urge  men  to  repent,  and  I  have  never  supposed  it  a  reason  to  cease 
preaching  to  them  because  they  did  not  want  to  repent ;  they  ought 
to  want  to.  But  our  experience  has  proved  that  Avomen  do  want 
to  vote.  It  was  universally  conceded  that  in  our  first  general  Terri- 
torial election  fully  as  many  women  voted  in  proportion  to  their 
numbers  as  men 

Woman's  influence  as  a  citizen  has  been  of  equal  value  in  the  jury- 
box.  Experience  shows  that  she  is  peculiarly  fitted  for  that  duty. 
Woe  to  the  gambler  who  enriches  himself  by  the  folly  or  innocence 
of  the  ignorant,  and  the  rum-seller  who  lures  boys  into  his  back- 
room !  Woe  to  the  human  vultures  who  prey  upon  young  lives, 
when  they  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  jury  of  mothers !  .  .  .  . 

You  W7ho  have  not  hitherto  been  woman  suffragists,  why  not 
espouse  this  cause  now,  when  it  is  in  the  full  flush  of  its  heroic 
struggle  ?  When  John  Adams  went  courting  Abigail  Smith,  her 
proud  father  said  to  her :  "Who  is  this  young  Adams  ?  Where  did 
he  come  from?"  Abigail  answered:  "I  do  not  know  wrhere  he 
came  from  and  I  do  not  care,  but  I  know  where  he  is  going  and  I  am 
going  with  him."  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  you  know  where  we  are 
going;  we  invite  your  company  for  the  journey. 

State  Senator  R.  W.  Blue  said:  "One  of  the  greatest  ques- 
tions of  the  day  is  how  to  counteract  the  influence  of  the  vicious 
vote  cast  every  year  in  the  large  cities.  I  believe  the  only  way 
to  do  that  is  to  enfranchise  the  women."  He  added  that  he  had 
worked  for  the  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  in  the  preceding  Legis- 
lature, and  should  do  so  in  the  next.  President  Foulke  compli- 
mented him  on  his  bold  and  outspoken  remarks,  and  said  he 
thought  a  man  in  politics  never  lost  anything  by  telling  the  people 
exactly  where  he  stood  on  vital  issues.* 

James  G.  Clark,  associate  editor  of  the  Minneapolis  Spectator, 
was  a  delegate,  and  delighted  the  audience  with  his  equal  rights 
songs.  A  letter  was  received  from  Dr.  Mary  F.  Thomas  and,  by 
a  rising  vote  of  the  convention,  it  was  decided  to  send  her  a  tele- 
gram of  greeting  and  congratulations  on  her  seventieth  birthday. 

Letters  were  read  from  Chief-Justice  Greene  of  Washington 

*  Among  the  other  speakers  were  Lucy  Stone  and  Henry  B.  Black  well,  of  Massachu- 
setts; Mrs.  Margaret  W.  Campbell  and  the  Rev.  S.  S.  Hunting,  of  Iowa;  Mrs.  Mary  E. 
Haggart,  of  Indiana;  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  of  Michigan;  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns, 
Mrs.  Hammer,  Mrs.  Barnes,  Mrs.  Annie  L.  Diggs,  Miss  Sarah  A.  Brown,  Mrs.  Brown 
of  Abilene,  William  P.  Tomlinson,  of  the  Topeka  Democrat;  the  Revs.  C.  H.  Lovejoy, 
H.  W.  George  and  Dr.  McCabe,  Dr.  Fisher,  Judge  W.  A.  Peffer,  Mrs.  M.  E.  De  Geer 
Call,  Mrs.  Martia  L.  Berry,  Col.  A.  B.  Jetmore,  J.  C.  Hebbard  and  Hon.  C.  S.  Gleed. 


AMERICAN    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE    ASSOCIATION.  423 

Territory,  and  from  Mrs.  Margaret  Bright  Lucas  of  England, 
sister  of  John  and  Jacob  Bright ;  also  telegrams  from  the  Minne- 
sota W.  S.  A.,  from  Major  and  Mrs.  Pickler  of  South  Dakota, 
and  from  others,  and  reports  from  the  different  State  societies. 

Chancellor  J.  A.  Lippincott,  of  the  State  University,  invited 
the  association  to  visit  that  institution,  and  Mrs.  Howe  and  Mrs. 
Stone  to  address  the  students.  Mrs.  Stone  wrote  in  the 
Woman's  Journal:  "It  was  worth  the  journey  to  receive  the 
warm  welcome  which  greeted  us  on  every  hand,  and  still  more 
to  see  the  progress  the  cause  has  made  in  the  nineteen  years  that 
have  passed  since  the  first  suffrage  campaign  in  Kansas.  It 
would  not  be  surprising  if  Municipal  Suffrage  should  be  secured 
in  this  State  at  the  next  session  of  the  Legislature.*  The  very 
air  was  full  of  suffrage,  even  in  the  midst  of  the  political  contest." 

1887. — The  Nineteenth  annual  meeting  was  held  in  Associa- 
tion Hall,  Philadelphia,  October  31,  November  i,  2.  The  plat- 
form had  been  beautifully  decorated  with  tropical  plants  and  foli- 
age by  Miss  Elizabeth  B.  Justice  and  other  Pennsylvania  friends. 
The  weather  was  fine,  the  audience  sympathetic  and  the  speak- 
ing excellent. 

State  Senator  A.  D.  Harlan  gave  the  address  of  welcome  in  be- 
half of  the  Pennsylvania  W.  S.  A.  President  Wm.  Dudley 
Foulke  in  responding  paid  a  tribute  to  the  Senator's  good  service 
in  the  Legislature  in  behalf  of  a  constitutional  amendment  for 
equal  suffrage.  A  letter  of  welcome  was  read  from  the  venera- 
ble and  beloved  president  of  the  association,  Miss  Mary  Grew, 
who  was  kept  away  by  illness.  Col.  T.  W.  Higginson  said : 

I  have  the  sensations  of  a  Revolutionary  veteran,  almost,  in  com- 
ing back  to  Philadelphia  and  remembering  our  early  suffrage  meet- 
ings here  in  that  time  of  storm,  in  contrasting  the  audiences  of  to-day 
with  the  audiences  of  that  day,  and  in  thinking  what  are  the  difficul- 
ties that  come  before  us  now  as  compared  with  those  of  our  youth. 
The  audiences  have  changed,  the  atmosphere  of  the  community  has 
changed ;  nothing  but  the  cause  remains  the  same,  and  that  remains 
because  it  is  a  part  of  the  necessary  evolution  of  democratic  society 
and  is  an  immortal  thing. 

I  recall  those  early  audiences ;  the  rows  of  quiet  faces  in  Quaker 
bonnets  in  the  foreground ;  the  rows  of  exceedingly  unquiet  figures 
of  Southern  medical  students,  with  their  hats  on,  in  the  background. 
I  recall  the  visible  purpose  of  those  energetic  young  gentlemen  to 

*  This  was  done. 


424  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


hear  nobody  but  the  women,  and  the  calm  determination  with  which 
their  bootheels  contributed  to  put  the  male  speakers  down.  I  recall 
also  their  too-assiduous  attentions  in  the  streets  outside  when  the 
meeting  broke  up 

Woman  suffrage  should  be  urged,  in  my  opinion,  not  from  any 
predictions  of  what  worhen  will  do  with  their  votes  after  they  get 
them,  but  on  the  ground  that  by  all  the  traditions  of  our  government, 
by  all  the  precepts  of  its  early  founders,  by  all  the  axioms  which  lie 
at  the  foundation  of  our  political  principles,  woman  needs  the  ballot 
for  self-respect  and  self-protection. 

The  woman  of  old  times  who  did  not  read  books  of  political 
economy  or  attend  public  meetings,  could  retain  her  self-respect; 
but  the  woman  of  modern  times,  with  every  step  she  takes  in  the 
higher  education,  finds  it  harder  to  retain  that  self-respect  while  she 
is  in  a  republican  government  and  yet  not  a  member  of  it.  She 
study  all  the  books  that  I  saw  collected  this  morning  in  the  politic 
economy  alcove  of  the  Bryn  Mawr  College ;  she  can  master  th« 
all ;  she  can  know  more  about  them  perhaps  than  any  man  of  he 
acquaintance ;  and  yet  to  put  one  thing  she  has  learned  there  in  prac- 
tice by  the  simple  process  of  dropping  a  piece  of  paper  into  a  ballot- 
box — she  can  no  more  do  that  than  she  could  put  out  her  slende 
finger  and  stop  the  planet  in  its  course.  That  is  what  I  mean  b) 
woman's  needing  the  suffrage  for  self-respect. 

Then  as  to  self-protection.  We  know  there  have  been  gre 
improvements  in  the  laws  in  regard  to  women.  What  brought 
about  those  improvements?  The  steady  labor  of  women  like  these 
on  this  platform,  going  before  Legislatures  year  by  year  and  asking 
for  something  they  were  not  willing  to  give,  the  ballot ;  but,  as  a 
result  of  it,  to  keep  the  poor  creatures  quiet,  some  law  was  passed 
removing  a  restriction.  The  old  English  writer  Pepys,  according  to 
his  diary,  after  spending  a  good  deal  of  money  for  himself  finds  a 
little  left  and  buys  his  wife  a  new  gown,  because,  he  says,  "It  is 
fit  that  the  poor  wretch  should  have  something  to  content  her.''  I 
have  seen  many  laws  passed  for  the  advantage  of  women  and  they, 
were  generally  passed  on  that  principle. 

I  remember  going  before  the  Rhode  Island  Legislature  once  with 
Lucy  Stone  and  she  unrolled  with  her  peculiar  persuasive  power  the 
wrong  laws  which  existed  in  that  commonwealth  in  regard  to 
women.  After  the  hearing  was  over  the  chairman  of  that  com- 
mittee, a  judge  who  had  served  on  it  for  years,  said  to  her:  "Mrs. 
Stone,  all  that  you  have  stated  this  morning  is  true,  and  I  am 
ashamed  to  think  that  I,  who  have  been  chairman  for  years  of  this 
judiciary  committee,  should  have  known  in  my  secret  heart  that  it 
was  all  true  and  should  have  done  nothing  to  set  these  wrongs 
right  until  I  was  reminded  of  them  by  a  woman."  Again  and  again 
I  have  seen  that  experience.  Women  with  bleeding  feet,  women 
with  exhausted  voices,  women  with  wornout  lives,  have  lavished 
their  strength  to  secure  ordinary  justice  in  the  form  of  laws  which 
a  single  woman  inside  the  State  House,  armed  with  the  position  of 
member  of  the  Legislature  and  representing  a  sex  who  had  votes, 


AMERICAN    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE    ASSOCIATION.  425 

could  have  had  righted  within  two  years.  Every  man  knows  the 
weakness  of  a  disfranchised  class  of  men.  The  whole  race  of 
women  is  disfranchised,  and  they  suffer  in  the  same  way. 

Among  the  other  speakers  were  the  Rev.  Charles  G.  Ames, 
Henry  B.  Blackwell,  the  Rev.  Antoinette  "Brown  Blackwell,  Dr. 
Thomas,  Mrs.  Campbell,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Haggart,  Mrs.  Frances 
E.  W.  Harper,  the  Rev.  S.  S.  Hunting,  Miss  Cora  Scott  Pond, 
the  Rev.  Ada  C.  Bowles  and  Mrs.  Adelaide  A.  Claflin. 

The  chairman  of  the  executive  committee,  Mrs.  Lucy  Stone,  in 
her  annual  report,  reviewed  the  year's  activities  and  continued : 

But  the  chief  work  of  the  American  Woman  Suffrage  Association 
during  the  past  year  has  been  to  obtain  wide  access  to  the  public 
through  the  newspapers.  Early  in  the  year  correspondence  was 
opened  with  most  of  the  papers  in  the  United  States.  The  editors 
were  asked  whether  they  would  publish  suffrage  literature  if  it  were 
sent  them  every  week  without  charge.  More  than  a  thousand 
answered  that  they  would  use  what  we  sent,  in  whole  or  in  part. 
Accepting  this  the  association  has,  for  the  last  eight  months,  fur- 
nished 1,000  weekly  papers  with  a  suffrage  column.  The  cost  of  it 
consumes  nearly  the  whole  interest  of  the  Eddy  Fund,  besides  much 
time  and  strength  gratuitously  given.  But  as  these  papers  come  to 
us  week  by  week  containing  the  suffrage  items  and  articles  which 
through  their  columns  reach  millions  of  readers,  we  feel  that  no 
better  use  could  be  made  of  money  or  time. 

The  Revs.  Anna  H.  Shaw  and  Ada  C.  Bowles  were  chosen 
national  lecturers.  Among  the  resolutions  were  the  following: 

We  congratulate  the  Legislature  of  Kansas  upon  its  honorable 
record  in  extending  Municipal  Suffrage  last  February  to  the 
women  of  that  State,  and  the  26,000  women  of  Kansas  by  whose  aid, 
last  April,  reformed  city  governments  were  elected  in  every  munici- 
pality ;  we  hail  the  National  W.  C.  T.  U.  as  an  efficient  ally  of  the 
woman  suffrage  movement ;  we  recognize  the  woman  suffrage  reso- 
lutions of  the  Knights  of  Labor,  the  Land  and  Labor  organizations, 
the  Third  Party  Prohibitionists  and  other  political  parties,  as  evi- 
dence of  a  growing  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  equal  rights  of 
women ;  we  rejoice  that  two-thirds  of  the  Northern  Senators  in  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  voted  last  winter  for  a  Sixteenth 
Constitutional  Amendment  prohibiting  political  distinctions  on 
account  of  sex ;  we  observe  an  increasing  friendliness  in  the  attitude 
of  press  and  pulpit  and  the  fact  that  1,000  newspapers  now  publish 
a  weekly  column  in  the  interests  of  woman  suffrage;  we  are 
encouraged  by  more  general  discussions  and  more  favorable  votes 
of  State  Legislatures  than  ever  before — all  indicating  a  sure  and 
steady  progress  toward  the  complete  enfranchisement  of  women. 


426  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

WHEREAS,  The  woman  suffragists  of  the  United  States  were  all 
united  until  1868  in  the  American  Equal  Rights  Association ;  and 

WHEREAS,  The  causes  of  the  subsequent  separation  into  the 
National  and  the  American  Woman  Suffrage  Societies  have  since 
been  largely  removed  by  the  adoption  of  common  principles  and 
methods,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  Mrs.  Lucy  Stone  be  appointed  a  committee  of 
one  from  the  American  W.  S.  A.  to  confer  with  Miss  Susan  B. 
Anthony,  of  the  National  W.  S.  A.,  and  if  on  conference  it  seems 
desirable,  that  she  be  authorized  and  empowered  to  appoint  a  com- 
-mittee  of  this  association  to  meet  a  similar  committee  appointed  by 
the  National  W.  S.  A.,  to  consider  a  satisfactory  basis  of  union,  and 
refer  it  back  to  the  executive  committees  of  both  associations  for 
final  action. 

A  pleasant  incident  of  the  convention  was  the  presentation  to 
the  audience  of  Mrs.  E.  R.  Hunter,  of  Wichita,  Kan.,  a  real 
voter.  Letters  of  greeting  were  read  from  Miss  Matilda  Hind- 
man  of  Pennsylvania,  Senator  M.  B.  Castle  of  Illinois,  Mrs.  Mary 
B.  Clay  of  Kentucky,  and  Judge  Stanton  J.  Peelle  of  Indiana. 
Mrs.  Stone,  the  Rev.  Antoinette  Brown  Blackwell  and  Mrs. 
Mary  A.  Livermore  were  elected  delegates  to  the  International 
Council  of  Women  to  be  held  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  in  1888, 
with  Dr.  Mary  F.  Thomas,  Miss  Mary  Grew  and  Mrs.  Hannah 
M.  Tracy  Cutler  as  alternates. 

After  Mrs.  Howe's  address  on  the  last  evening,  The  Battle 
Hymn  of  the  Republic  was  sung  standing,  the  great  assembly 
joining  in  the  chorus.  The  officers  had  the  pleasure  of  visiting 
Bryn  Mawr  College,  by  invitation  of  Dean  M.  Carey  Thomas, 
during  the  convention. 

In  December  of  this  year,  a  Suffrage  Bazar  was  held  in  Bos- 
ton for  the  joint  benefit  of  the  American  W.  S.  A.  and  of  the 
State  suffrage  associations  that  participated,*  which  was  a  suc- 
cess both  socially  and  financially.  The  Woman's  Journal  of  De- 
cember 17  said: 

Music  Hall  is  a  wonderful  sight;  the  green  and  gold  banner  of 
Kansas  occupies  the  place  of  honor  in  the  middle  of  the  platform, 
flanked  on  the  left  by  the  great  crimson  banner  of  Michigan  with  its 
motto  "Neither  delay  nor  rest,"  and  on  the  right  by  the  blue  flag  of 
Maine,  decorated  with  a  pine  branch  and  cones.  The  bronze  statue 
of  Beethoven  which  has  looked  calmly  down  upon  so  many  different 
assemblages  in  Music  Hall,  gazes  meditatively  at  the  Kansas  table, 

*  The  American  W.  S.  A.  afterwards  voted  to  give  to  each  State  the  entire  amount  of 
its  gross  sales. 


AMERICAN    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE    ASSOCIATION.  427 

with  a  large  yellow  sunflower  which  surmounts  the  Kansas  banner 
blazing  like  a  great  star  at  his  very  feet.  Next  comes  the  banner 
of  Vermont,  rich  and  beautiful,  though  smaller  than  the  rest,  in  two 
shades  of  blue,  with  the  seal  of  the  State  in  the  center  surrounded 
by  wild  roses  and  bearing  the  motto  "Freedom  and  Unity."  At 
the  extreme  right  of  the  platform  hangs  the  banner  of  Pennsylvania, 
yellow,  with  heavy  crimson  fringe  and  the  motto  "Taxation  with 
Representation."  On  the  other  side  of  Michigan  is  a  large  portrait 
of  Wendell  Phillips,  sent  by  friends  in  Minnesota.  At  the  left  are 
the  Woman's  Journal  exhibit,  press  headquarters  and  a  display  of 
exquisite  blankets  made  at  the  Lamoille  mills  and  contributed  to  the 
Vermont  exhibit  by  the  manufacturer,  Mrs.  M.  G.  Minot. 

All  down  the  hall  on  both  sides  and  across  the  middle  hang  the 
many  banners  of  the  Massachusetts  local  leagues,  of  all  sizes  and 
colors  and  with  every  variety  of  motto  and  device.  At  the  extreme 
end  hangs  the  white  banner  of  the  State  Association. 

This  handsome  banner,  bearing  the  motto,  "Male  and  female 
created  He  them,  and  gave  them  dominion,"  was  presented  to  the 
association  by  Miss  Cora  Scott  Pond  and  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard 
Shaw,  to  whose  energetic  work  the  success  of  the  bazar  was 
largely  due. 

Mrs.  Livermore,  the  president  of  the  bazar,  made  the  opening 
address  on  the  first  evening.  Floor  and  gallery  were  filled  and 
scores  of  yellow-ribboned  delegates  threaded  their  way  through 
the  smiling  crowd.  Mrs.  Howe  followed,  saying  in  part : 

Addresses  this  evening  are  something  like  grace  before  meat ;  they 
are  expected  to  be  short  and  sweet.  The  grace  is  a  good  thing 
because  it  reminds  us  that  we  do  not  live  by  bread  alone  but  by  all 
the  divine  words  with  which  the  Creator  has  filled  the  universe. 
The  most  divine  word  of  all  is  justice,  and  in  that  sacred  name  we 
are  met  to-night.  In  her  name  we  set  up  our  tents  and  spread  our 
banners 

In  the  suspense  in  which  we  have  so  long  waited  for  suffrage,  I 
sometimes  feel  as  if  we  were  in  a  dim  twilight  through  which  at 
last  a  single  star  sheds  its  way  to  show  us  there  is  light  yet,  and 
then  another  and  another  star  follow.  Wyoming  was  the  first,  the 
evening  star — we  may  call  her  our  Venus ;  then  came  Washington 
Territory,  and  then  Kansas.  What  sort  of  a  star  shall  we  call  Bos- 
ton? She  might  aptly  be  compared  to  sleepy  old  Saturn,  sur- 
rounded by  a  triple  ring  of  prejudice.  Dr.  Channing  was  asked 
once  if  he  did  not  despair  of  Harvard  College.  He  replied :  "No,  I 
never  quite  despair  of  anything."  Therefore,  following  his  good 
example,  I  never  quite  despair  of  Boston.  We  want  our  flag  to  be 
full  of  such  stars  as  those  I  have  mentioned. 

Mrs.  Lucy  Stone  closed  a  brief  address  by  saying :     "To-mor- 


428 


HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


row  will  be  election  day  and  the  papers  urge  all  citizens  to  go  and 
vote ;  but  there  are  60,000  women  in  Boston  who  have  the  same 
interest  in  the  city  government  that  men  have,  and  yet  can  have 
no  voice  in  the  matter.  Make  this  bazar  a  success  and  so  enable 
us  to  take  Massachusetts  by  its  four  corners  and  shake  it  till  it 
gives  suffrage  to  women." 

1888. — The  twentieth  annual  meeting  was  held  in  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  November  20-22,  with  large  crowds  in  attendance  and 
much  interest  shown.  The  Enquirer  said :  "The  audiences  may 
be  said  to  have  chestnutized  the  time-honored  assertion  that  ad- 
vocates of  the  ballot  for  the  fair  sex  are  unable  to  win  even 
womankind  to  their  way  of  thinking.  New  faces  of  ladies  of  the 
highest  standing  in  society  are  seen  at  every  succeeding  session. 
The  Scottish  Rite  Cathedral  has  rarely  or  never  held  as  large  a 
number  of  ladies,  and  equally  rarely  has  there  been  present  at  a 
meeting  of  woman  suffragists  so  large  a  proportion  of  men." 
And  the  Commercial  Gazette:  "The  Scottish  Rite  Cathedral 
never  held  a  finer-looking  company,  composed  as  it  was  of  a  large 
number  of  the  oldest  and  best  citizens." 

The  Hon.  Wm.  Dudley  Foulke  presided.*    Addresses  of  wel- 
come were  made  by  the  Hon.  Alphonso  Taft  and  Mrs.  McClellan 
Brown,  president  of  the  Wesleyan  Woman's  College.    Mrs.  Juli 
Ward  Howe  responded. 

In  a  letter  the  Hon.  George  William  Curtis  said:  "Every 
change  in  the  restrictive  laws  regarding  women  is  an  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  justice  of  the  demand  for  equal  suffrage.  The 
case  was  conceded  when  women  became  property  holders  and  tax- 
payers in  their  own  right.  In  every  way  their  interest  in  society 
is  the  same  as  that  of  men,  and  the  reason  for  their  voting  i 
school  meetings  is  conclusive  for  their  voting  upon  the  appropria- 
tion of  other  taxes  which  they  pay." 

U.  S.  Senator  George  F.  Hoar  wrote :  "My  belief  in  the  wis- 
dom and  justice  of  the  demand  that  women  shall  be  admitted  to 

*  Mr.  Foulke  served  as  president  from  1884  to  1890.  During  this  time  but  few  changes 
were  made  in  the  official  board.  In  1885  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Haggart  (Ind.)  was  added  to 
the  vice-presidents-at-large ;  in  1886  Dr.  Mary  F.  Thomas  (Ind.),  J.  K.  Hudson  (Kas.), 
the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  (Mass.);  1887,  Mrs.  May  Stocking  Knaggs  (Mich.);  1888, 
Miss  Clara  Barton  (D.  C.),  Mrs.  Zerelda  G.  Wallace  (Ind.),  Mrs.  Phebe  C.  McKell 
(Ohio).  In  1887  Mrs.  Martha  C.  Callanan  (Iowa)  was  elected  recording  secretary.  The 
various  State  auxiliaries  made  numerous  changes  in  vice-presidents  ex-officio  and  members 
of  the  executive  committee. 


AMERICAN    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE    ASSOCIATION.  429 

the  ballot  grows  stronger  every  year."    In  a  letter  to  Lucy  Stone, 
Clara  Barton  wrote : 

It  gives  me  pain  to  be  compelled  to  decline  your  generous  invita- 
tion to  attend  your  annual  meeting,  but  there  is  a  deep  pleasure  in 
the  thought  that  you  remembered  and  desired  me  to  be  with  you. 
Nowhere  would  I  so  gladly  speak  my  little  word  for  woman,  her 
rights,  her  needs,  her  privileges  delayed  and  debarred — yet  blessed 
with  the  grand  advance  of  the  last  thirty  years,  the  budding  and 
blossoming  of  the  seed  sown  in  darkness,  doubt  and  humiliation, 
scattered  by  the  winds  of  conscious  superiority  and  power  and  the 
whirlwinds  of  opposing  wrath — as  on  the  green,  native  soil,  the 
home  of  the  early  labors  of  its  sainted  citizen,  Frances  D.  Gage. 
Dear,  noble,  precious  Aunt  Fanny,  with  the  soul  so  pure  and  white, 
the  heart  so  warm,  the  sympathies  so  quick  and  ready,  the  sensitive, 
shrinking  modesty  of  self,  the  courage  that  scoffed  at  fear  when  the 
needs  of  others  were  plead;  the  friend  of  the  bondman  and 
oppressed,  who  knew  no  sect,  sex,  race  or  color,  but  toiled  on  for 
freedom  and  humanity  till  the  glorious  summons  came !  If  only  five 
minutes  of  her  clarion  voice  could  ring  out  in  that  meeting — 
McGregor  on  his  native  heath — "  'twere  worth  a  thousand  men." 
I  pray  you,  dear  friend,  whose  voice  will  reach  and  be  heard,  try  to 
point  out  to  the  younger  and  later  workers  of  the  grand,  old  State 
the  broad  stubble  swath  of  the  scythe  and  the  deep  blazing  of  the 
sturdy  axe  of  this  glorious  pioneer  of  theirs — the  grandest  of  them 
all — whose  sleeping  dust  is  an  honor  to  Ohio. 

It  is  nothing  that  I  am  not  there ;  it  is  much  that  you  will  be,  who 
carry  back  the  memories  of  your  girlhood,  your  school-life,  your 
earliest  labors,  to  lay  them  on  this  freely-proffered  altar,  in  a  spot 
where  then  there  was  no  room  for  the  tired  foot,  nor  scarce  safety 
for  the  head.  The  occasion  points  with  unerring  finger  to  the  hands 
on  the  dial  of  thirty  years  in  the  future.  We  need  not  to  see  it  then, 
for  it  is  given  us  to  foresee  it  now.  God's  blessing  on  this  work  and 
on  the  meeting,  and  on  all  who  may  compose  it  !* 

Henry  B.  Blackwell  said  in  his  address : 

In  equal  suffrage  lies  our  only  hope  of  a  representative  govern- 
ment. Women  are  one-half  of  our  citizens  with  rights  to  protect 
and  wrongs  to  remedy.  They  are  a  distinct  class  in  society,  differ- 
ing from  men  in  character,  position  and  interest.  Every  class  that 
votes  makes  itself  felt  in  the  government.  Women  will  change  the 
quality  of  government  when  they  vote.  They  are  more  peaceable, 
temperate,  chaste,  economical  and  law-abiding  than  men ;  less  con- 
trolled by  physical  appetite  and  passion ;  more  influenced  by  humane 

*  Among  speakers  not  elsewhere  mentioned  were  the  Rev.  Antoinette  Brown  Blackwell, 
Mrs.  Lucy  Stone,  Mrs.  Sarah  C.  Schrader,  Mrs.  Margaret  W.  Campbell,  Mrs.  Martha  C. 
Callanan,  Dr.  Caroline  M.  Dodson,  Madame  Calliope  Kachiya  (a  Greek  friend  of  Mrs. 
Howe's),  and  Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell.  Mrs.  Wessendorf  read  a  poem,  and  there 
were  songs  by  the  Blaine  Glee  Club  and  by  Miss  Annie  McLean  Marsh  and  her  little 
niece,  and  violin  music  by  Miss  Lucille  du  Pre. 


43O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

and  religious  considerations.  They  will  superadd  to  the  more  harsh 
and  aggressive  masculine  qualities  those  feminine  qualities  in  which 
they  are  superior  to  men.  And  these  qualities  are  precisely  what 
our  government  lacks.  Women  will  always  be  wives  and  mothers. 
They  will  represent  the  home  as  men  represent  the  business 
interests,  and  both  are  needed.  This  is  a  reform  higher,  broader, 
deeper  than  any  and  all  others.  Let  good  men  and  women  of  all 
sects,  parties  and  opinions  unite  in  establishing  a  government  of  and 
by  and  for  the  people — men  and  women. 

Lucy  Stone,  describing  the  convention  in  the  Woman's  Journal 
of  December  i ,  wrote : 

The  local  arrangements  had  been  carefully  made  by  Dr.  Juliet 
M.  Thorpe,  Mrs.  Ellen  B.  Dietrick  and  Miss  Annie  McLean  Marsh. 
The  spirit  and  temper  of  the  meeting  were  of  the  best.  Telegrams 
of  greeting  were  received  from  various  States,  and  from  far  and 
near  came  letters  from  those  who  were  already  friends  of  the  cause, 
and  others  who  wished  to  learn.  One  old  lady  with  snow-white  locks 
had  come  alone  forty  miles.  She  was  not  a  delegate  and  she  had  no 
speech  to  make,  but  her  heart  was  in  the  work  and  she  found  oppor- 
tunity to  speak  words  of  cheer  to  those  who  were  in  the  thick  of  the 
fight.  One  young  woman,  a  busy  teacher,  came  from  Knoxville, 
Tenn.  She  wanted  to  know  how  to  work  for  suffrage  in  that  State, 
and  said  she  thought  it  "the  best  way  to  come  where  the  suffrage 
was."  A  large  supply  of  leaflets,  copies  of  the  Woman's  Journal 
and  of  the  Woman's  Column,  were  given  her,  with  such  advice  and 
instruction  as  the  time  permitted.  Two  ladies  were  there  from 
Virginia.  This  was  their  first  suffrage  meeting,  but  they  listened 
eagerly,  subscribed  for  our  periodicals  and  gladly  accepted  leaflets. 
It  was  a  comfort  to  see  by  these  new  recruits  how  widely  the  idea 
of  equal  rights  for  women  is  taking  root.  At  these  annual  meetings 
the  workers  who  come  from  far  distant  States  and  Territories 
strengthen  each  other.  The  sight  of  their  faces  and  the  warm  grasp 
of  their  hands  serve  to  renew  the  strength  of  those  who  never  have 
flinched,  and  who  never  will  flinch  till  women  are  secure  in  posses- 
sion of  equal  rights. 

A  number  of  ladies  who  came  over  from  Kentucky  took  the 
opportunity  to  organize  a  Kentucky  Equal  Suffrage  Association. 

It  is  always  a  matter  of  regret  that  the  excellent  speeches  made  at 
these  meetings  can  not  be  phonographically  reported,  but  it  must 
suffice  to  say  that  they  covered  all  the  ground,  from  the  principles 
on  which  representative  government  rests,  to  the  teaching  of  the 
Bible,  which  Miss  Laura  Clay,  in  an  able  speech,  warmly  claimed 
was  on  the  side  of  equal  rights  for  women.  Mrs.  Zerelda  G.  Wal- 
lace, that  noble  mother  in  Israel,  agreed  with  her,  though  from  a 
different  point  of  view,  while  Frederick  Douglass  claimed  that  the 
"Eternal  Right  exists  independent  of  all  books." 

The  Cincinnati  press  gave  noticeably  friendly  and  fair  reports. 
Hospitality  to  delegates  was  abundant.  The  sunny  side  of  many  of 


AMERICAN    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE    ASSOCIATION.  43! 

the  best  people  of  the  Queen  City  was  evidently  turned  toward  this 
meeting.  A  distinguished  member  of  the  Hamilton  County  bar, 
who  had  not  been  thoroughly  converted  before,  said:  "When  you 
come  again,  let  me  make  the  address  of  welcome !" 

The  annual  report  of  the  chairman  of  the  executive  committee 
stated  that  the  association  had  continued  to  supply  with  suffrage 
matter  all  editors  who  would  use  it;  and  that  to  save  postage 
this  weekly  bulletin  had  been  put  into  the  form  of  a  small  news- 
paper, the  Woman's  Column: 

Its  woman  suffrage  arguments  come  back  to  us  in  papers  scat- 
tered from  Maine  to  California,  and  reach  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  readers  who  would  not  take  a  paper  devoted  specifically  to  this 

reform Twenty  thousand  suffrage  leaflets  were  given 

to  the  Rev.  Anna  H.  Shaw,  national  lecturer  for  the  American 
W.  S.  A.,  whose  position  as  national  superintendent  of  franchise 
for  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  enables  her  to  use  them  with  great  effect ;  7,700 
were  made  a  gift  to  the  Ohio  Centennial  Exposition  at  Cincinnati 
with  hundreds  of  copies  of  the  Woman's  Journal  and  Woman's 
Column;  also  many  to  the  exposition  at  Columbus;  1,000  leaflets 
were  sent  to  the  meeting  of  the  Wisconsin  W.  S.  A.  at  Milwaukee, 
and  500  to  its  recent  meeting  at  Stevens  Point ;  many  were  sent  to 
the  fair  at  Ottuaiwa,  la. ;  a  large  number  were  distributed  at  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  National  W.  C.  T.  U.  in  New  York,  and 
smaller  quantities  have  been  supplied  for  local  use  in  almost  all  the 
States  and  Territories.  Several  friends  have  made  donations  of 
money  for  this  purpose,  and  there  is  no  way  in  which  money  goes 
further  or  does  more  good.  In  August,  the  association  began  the 
publication  of  a  series  of  tracts  under  the  title  of  the  Woman  Suf- 
frage Leaflet.  The  association  has  given  $50  for  work  in  Montana, 
$50  in  Vermont,  $25  in  Wisconsin  and  $15  in  New.  York. 

Memorial  resolutions  were  adopted  for  Louisa  M.  Alcott,  Dr. 
Mary  F.  Thomas  and  James  Freeman  Clarke,  D.  D. 

The  following  committee  was  chosen  to  continue  the  negotia- 
tions for  union  with  the  National  Woman  Suffrage  Association, 
which  had  been  entered  upon  in  pursuance  of  the  resolution 
adopted  at  Philadelphia :  the  Hon.  William  Dudley  Foulke,  Indi- 
ana ;  the  Rev.  Anna  H.  Shaw,  Michigan ;  Miss  Laura  Clay,  Ken- 
tucky ;  Mrs.  Margaret  W.  Campbell,  Iowa ;  Prof.  W.  H.  Carruth, 
Kansas;  Miss  Mary  Grew,  Pennsylvania;  the  Rev.  Antoinette 
Brown  Blackwell,  New  Jersey;  Mrs.  Sarah  C.  Schrader,  Ohio; 
Mrs.  Catherine  V.  Waite,  Illinois;  Mrs.  May  S.  Knaggs,  Michi- 
gan ;  Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell,  Massachusetts. 

1889. — In  January  these  delegates  met  with  those  from  the 


432  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

National  Association  at  the  convention  of  the  latter  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.,  and  arrangements  for  the  union  of  the  two  societies 
for  the  following  year  were  practically  completed.* 

In  the  summer  an  appeal  was  addressed  by  Lucy  Stone,  Julia 
Ward  Howe  and  Mary  A.  Livermore  to  the  constitutional  con- 
ventions which  were  preparing  for  Statehood  in  Dakota,  Wash- 
ington, Montana  and  Idaho.  It  said  in  part : 

The  undersigned,  officers  of  the  American  Woman  Suffrage  Asso- 
ciation, though  not  properly  entitled  to  address  your  convention, 
nevertheless  ask  its  courtesy  on  account  of  the  great  interest  they 
feel  in  the  question  of  the  status  you  will  give  to  women. 

You,  gentlemen,  felt  keenly  the  disadvantage  you  were  under 
when  you  had  only  Territorial  rights.  If  you  will  consider  how 
much  greater  are  the  disadvantages  of  a  class  that  is  wholly  without 
political  rights,  you  will,  we  feel  sure,  pardon  our  entreaty  that  in 
building  your  new  constitution  you  will  secure  for  women  equal 
political  rights  with  men. 

The  men  of  the  older  States  inherited  their  constitutions,  with 
the  odious  features  which  the  common  law  imposes  upon  women. 
But  you  are  making  constitutions.  You  have  the  golden  oppor- 
tunity to  save  your  women  from  all  these  evils,  by  securing  their 
right  to  vote  in  the  organic  law  of  the  new  State.  By  doing  this, 
over  and  above  the  satisfaction  which  comes  from  having  done  a 
just  deed,  you  will  win  the  gratitude  of  women  for  all  time,  as  our 
fathers  won  the  gratitude  of  the  race  when  they  announced  the 
principle  which  we  ask  you  to  apply.  You  will  also  secure  the 

*  The  American  Woman  Suffrage  Association  was  indebted  for  State  reports  during 
the  past  years  to  the  following:  Arkansas,  Lizzie  Dorman  Fyler;  California,  Sarah  Knox 
Goodrich,  Elizabeth  A.  Kingsbury,  Sarah  M.  Severance,  Fannie  Wood;  Connecticut,  Emily 
P.  Collins,  Abby  B.  Sheldon;  Dakota,  Major  J.  A.  Pickler,  Alice  M.  Pickler;  Delaware, 
Dr.  John  Cameron;  Illinois,  Mary  E.  Holmes,  Catherine  G.  Waugh  (McCulloch) ;  Indiar 
Florence  M.  Adkinson,  Mary  S.  Armstrong,  Sarah  E.  Franklin,  Adelia  R.  Horn- 
brook,  Mary  D.  Naylor;  Iowa,  Mary  J.  Coggeshall,  Eliza  H.  Hunter,  Mary  A.  Work, 
Narcissa  T.  Bemis;  Kansas,  Prof.  W.  H.  Carruth,  Mrs.  M.  E.  De  Geer,  Bertha  H.  Ells- 
worth; Kentucky,  Mary  B.  Clay,  Laura  Clay;  Maine,  the  Rev.  Henry  Blanchard,  Mrs.  C. 
S.  Quinby;  Massachusetts,  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  Lucy  Stone;  Missouri,  Rebecca  N.  Hazard, 
Amanda  E.  Dickenson;  Minnesota,  Martha  Angle  Dorsett,  Ella  M.  S.  Marble,  Dr.  Martha 
G.  Ripley;  Michigan,  Mrs.  E.  L.  Briggs,  Mary  L.  Doe,  Emily  B.  Ketcham,  Mrs.  H.  L. 
Udell,  Mrs.  Ellis;  New  Hampshire,  Armenia  S.  White,  Mrs.  M.  H.  Ela;  New  Jersey, 
Cornelia  C.  Hussey,  Therese  M.  Seabrook;  New  York,  Lillie  Devereaux  Blake,  Mariana 
W.  Chapman,  Mrs.  E.  O.  Putnam  Heaton,  Anna  Holyoke  Howard,  Hamilton  Willcox; 
Nebraska,  Erasmus  M.  Correll,  Deborah  G.  King,  Lucinda  Russell,  Clara  Albertson 
Young;  Ohio,  Lou  J.  Bates,  Frances  M.  Casement,  Orpha  D.  Baldwin,  S.  S.  Bissell,  Mary 
J.  Cravens,  Mrs.  (Dr.)  Henderson,  Mrs.  M.  B.  Haven,  Martha  M.  Paine,  Mary  P. 
Spargo,  Rosa  L.  Segur,  Cornelia  C.  Swezey;  Oregon,  Abigail  Scott  Duniway,  W.  S.  Duni- 
way;  Pennsylvania,  Florence  A.  Burleigh,  Mary  Grew,  Matilda  Hindman;  Rhode  Island, 
Elizabeth  B.  Chace,  Marilla  M.  Brewster,  Sarah  W.  Ladd,  Mary  C.  Peckham,  Louise  M. 
Tyler;  Tennessee,  Lida  A.  Meri wether,  Elizabeth  Lyle  Saxon;  Texas,  Mariana  T.  Fol- 
som;  Vermont,  Laura  Moore;  Virginia,  Orra  Langhorne;  Washington  Territory,  Bessie  J. 
Isaacs;  Wisconsin,  Mary  W.  Bentley,  Alura  Collins;  Wyoming,  Dr.  Kate  Kelsey. 


AMERICAN    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE    ASSOCIATION.  433 

historic  credit  of  being  the  first  men  to  take  the  next  great  step  in 
civilization — a  step  sure  to  be  taken  at  no  distant  day.  ...  . 
Edward  Everett  once  said,  illustrating  the  effect  of  small  things 
on  character:  "The  Mississippi  and  the  St.  Lawrence  Rivers  have 
their  rise  near  each  other.  A  very  small  difference  in  the  elevation 
of  the  land  sends  one  to  the  ocean  amid  tropical  heat,  while  the*  other 
empties  into  the  frozen  waters  of  the  north."  So,  it  may  seem  a 
small  matter  whether  you  admit  or  shi.t  out  women  from  an  equal 
share  in  the  government.  But  if  you  exclude  them  you  shut  out  a 
class  of  citizens  pre-eminently  orderly,  law-abiding  and  peaceful, 
and  especially  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  home  and  the  safety 
of  society.  If,  at  the  same  time,  you  admit  all  classes  of  men,  how- 
ever worthless,  provided  they  are  out  of  prison,  and  if  you  make 
them  free  to  stamp  their  impress  upon  the  government,  in  the  long 
run  you  will  find  the  moral  tone  of  the  community  lowered  and 
cheapened,  and  your  most  sacred  institutions  imperiled  by  the  dan- 
gerous classes  to  whom  you  entrusted  the  power  which  you  denied 
to  orderly  and  good  women. 

Henry  B.  Blackwell,  secretary  of  the  association,  visited  North 
Dakota,  Montana  and  Washington,  and  personally  labored  with 
the  members  of  the  three  constitutional  conventions.  He  carried 
with  him  letters  written  expressly  for  these  conventions  by  Gov- 
ernor Francis  E.  Warren  and  U.  S.  Delegate  Joseph  M.  Carey 
of  Wyoming ;  Governor  Lyman  U.  Humphrey,  Attorney-General 
L.  B.  Kellogg,  Chief  Justice  Albert  H.  Horton  and  all  the  Judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Kansas ;  U.  S.  Senator  Henry  M.  Teller 
of  Colorado,  U.  S.  Senator  Cushman  K.  Davis  of  Minnesota, 
Governor  Oliver  Ames,  U.  S.  Senator  George  F.  Hoar,  William 
Lloyd  Garrison  and  others  of  Massachusetts,  commending  his 
mission  and  expressing  the  hope  that  the  new  States  would  in- 
corporate equal  suffrage  in  their  constitutions.  Copies  of  these 
letters  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  every  delegate.  Mr.  Black- 
well  devoted  over  a  month  to  the  journey  and  the  work  in  these 
Territories,  paying"  his  own  expenses  and  giving  them  and  his 
services  to  the  American  Suffrage  Association.  [Detailed  ac- 
counts of  these  efforts  will  be  found  in  chapters  on  these  three 
States.] 

1890. — In  February  the  American  and  the  National  Societies 
held  a  convention  in  Washington  under  the  name  of  the  Na- 
tional-American Association  and  this  body  has  continued  its  an- 
nual meetings  as  one  organization. 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 28 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

SUFFRAGE  WORK  IN  POLITICAL  AND  OTHER  CONVENTIONS. 

The  chapters  thus  far  have  given  some  idea  of  the  endeavor  to 
secure  the  ballot  for  women  through  national  suffrage  conven- 
tions, which  bring  together  delegates  from  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try and  send  them  back  to  their  respective  localities  strengthened 
and  fortified  for  the  work ;  and  which,  through  strong  and  logical 
arguments  covering  all  phases  of  the  question,  given  before  large 
audiences,  gradually  have  created  a  wide-spread  sentiment  in 
favor  of  the  enfranchisement  of  women.  There  have  been  de- 
scribed also  the  hearings  before  committees  of  Congress,  at  which 
the  advocates -of  this  measure  have  made  pleas  for  the  submission 
to  the  State  Legislatures  of  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  to  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution  which  should  prohibit  disfranchisement  on  ac- 
count of  sex,  as  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  does  on  account  of 
color — pleas  which  a  distinguished  Senator,  who  reported  against 
granting  them,  said  "surpassed  anything  he  ever  had  heard,  and 
whose  logic  if  used  in  favor  of  any  other  measure  could  not  fail 
to  carry  it"  (p.  201)  ;  and  of  which  another,  who  had  the  courage 
to  report  in  favor,  declared,  "The  suffragists  have  logic,  argu- 
ment, everything  on  their  side"  (p.  162). 

In  addition  to  this  national  work  the  following. chapters  will 
show  that  the  State  work  has  been  continued  on  similar  lines — 
State  and  local  conventions  and  appeals  to  Legislatures  to  submit 
an  amendment  to  the  electors  to  strike  the  word  "male"  from 
the  suffrage  clause  of  their  own  State  constitution.  These  ap- 
peals, in  many  instances,  have  been  supported  Sy  larger  petitions 
than  ever  presented  for  any  other  object. 

Further  efforts  have  been  made  on  a  still  different  line,  viz. : 
through  attempts  to  secure  from  outside  conventions  an  indorse- 
ment of  woman  suffrage,  not  only  from  those  of  a  political  but 
also  from  those  of  a  religious,  educational,  professional  or  indus- 
trial nature.  This  has  been  desired  in  order  that  the  bills  may  go 
before  Congress  and  Legislatures  with  the  all-important  sanction 

434 


•  SUFFRAGE    WORK    IN    CONVENTIONS.  435 

of  voters,  and  also  because  of  its  favorable  effect  on  those  com- 
posing- these  conventions  and  on  public  sentiment. 

The  idea  of  asking  for  recognition  from  a  national  political 
convention  was  first  suggested  to  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton 
and  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  in  1868.  By  their  protests  against 
the  use  of  the  word  "male"  in  the  Fourteenth  Amendment,  as 
described  in  Chap.  I  of  this  volume,  they  had  angered  the  Re- 
publican leaders,  some  of  whom,  even  those  who  favored  woman 
suffrage,  sarcastically  advised  them  to  ask  the  Democrats  for 
indorsement  in  their  national  convention  of  this  year  and  see 
what  would  be  the  response.  These  two  women,  therefore,  did 
appear  before  that  body,  which  dedicated  the  new  Tammany 
Hall  in  New  York  City,  on  July  4.  An  account  of  their  in- 
sulting reception  may  be  found  in  the  History  of  Woman  Suf- 
frage, Vol.  II,  p.  340,  and  in  the  Life  and  Work  of  Susan  B. 
Anthony,  p.  304.  They,  with  Abby  Hopper  Gibbons,  daughter 
of  Isaac  T.  Hopper,  and  Elizabeth  Smith  Miller,  daughter  of 
Gerrit  Smith,  previously  had  sent  an  earnest  letter  to  the  National 
Republican  Convention  which  had  met  in  Chicago  in  June,  asking 
in  the  name  of  the  women  who  had  rendered  the  party  such  faith- 
ful service  during  the  Civil  War,  that  it  would  recognize  in  its 
platform  their  right  to  the  suffrage,  but  the  letter  received  no 
notice  whatever. 

From  that  year  until  the  present  a  committee  of  women  has 
attended  every  national  convention  of  all  the  parties,  asking  for 
an  indorsement  or  at  least  a  commendation  of  their  appeal  for 
the  franchise.  Sometimes  they  have  been  received  with  respect, 
sometimes  with  discourtesy,  and  occasionally  they  have  been 
granted  a  few  minutes  to  make  their  plea  before  the  Committee 
on  Resolutions.  In  but  a  single  instance  has  any  one  of  these 
women,  the  most  eminent  in  the  nation,  been  permitted  to  address 
a  Republican  convention — at  Cincinnati  in  1876.  Twice  this 
privilege  has  been  extended  by  a  Democratic — at  St.  Louis  in 
1876  and  at  Cincinnati  in  1880.  A  far-off  approach  to  a  recogni- 
tion of  woman's  claim  was  made  by  the  National  Republican 
Convention  at  Philadelphia  in  1872,  in  this  resolution: 

The  Republican  party,  mindful  of  its  obligations  to  the  loyal 
women  of  America,  expresses  gratification  that  wider  avenues  of 
employment  have  been  opened  to  woman,  and  it  further  declares 


43^  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

that  her  demands  for  additional  rights  should  be  treated  with  re- 
spectful consideration. 

Again  in  1876  the  national  convention,  held  in  Cincinnati, 
adopted  the  following : 

The  Republican  party  recognizes  with  approval  the  substantial 
advance  recently  made  toward  the  establishment  of  equal  rights  for 
women  by  the  many  important  amendments  effected  by  the  Repub- 
lican (  !)  Legislatures,  in  the  laws  which  concern  the  personal  and 
property  relations  of  wives,  mothers  and  widows,  and  by  the  election 
and  appointment  of  women  to  the  superintendence  of  education, 
charities  and  other  public  trusts.  The  honest  demands  of  this  class 
of  citizens  for  additional  rights,  privileges  and  immunities  should  be 
treated  with  respectful  consideration. 


In  1880,  '84,  '88  and  '92  the  women  were  wholly  disregarded. 
The  national  platform  of  1888,  however,  contained  this  plank: 

We  recognize  the  supreme  and  sovereign  right  of  every  lawful 
citizen  to  cast  one  free  ballot  in  all  public  elections  and  to  have  that 
ballot  duly  counted. 

The  leaders  of  the  woman  suffrage  movement  at  once  tele- 
graphed to  Chicago  to  the  chairman  of  the  convention,  the  Hon. 
Morris  M.  Estee,  asking  if  this  statement  was  intended  to 
include  "lawful  women  citizens,"  and  he  answered,  "I  do  not 
think  the  platform  is  so  construed  here."  A  letter  was  addressed 
to  the  presidential  candidate,  Gen.  Benjamin  Harrison,  begging 
that  in  his  acceptance  of  the  nomination,  he  would  interpret  this 
declaration  as  including  women,  but  it  was  politely  ignored. 

In  1892  Miss  Anthony  appeared  before  the  Resolutions  Com- 
mittee of  the  national  convention  in  Minneapolis  and  in  an  ad- 
dress of  thirty  minutes  pleaded  that  women  might  have  recogni- 
tion in  its  platform.  At  the  close  many  of  the  members  assured 
her  of  their  thorough  belief  in  the  justice  of  woman  suffrage, 
but  said  frankly  that  "the  party  could  not  carry  the  load."*  The 
following  was  the  suffrage  plank  in  its  platform  that  year : 

We  demand  that  every  citizen  of  the  United  States  shall  be  al- 
lowed to  cast  one  free  and  unrestricted  ballot  in  all  public  elections, 
and  that  such  ballot  shall  be  counted  as  cast ;  that  such  laws  shall  be 
enacted  and  enforced  as  will  secure  to  every  citizen,  be  he  rich  or 
poor,  native  or  foreign,  white  or  black,  this  sovereign  right  guaran- 
teed by  the  constitution.  The  free  and  honest  popular  ballot,  the 

•  See  Life  and  Work  of  Susan  B.  Anthony,  p.   733. 


SUFFRAGE    WORK    IN    CONVENTIONS.  437 

just  and  equal  representation  of  all  the  people,  as  well  as  their  just 
and  equal  protection  under  the  laws,  are  the  foundation  of  our  re- 
publican institutions,  and  the  party  will  never  relax  its  efforts  until 
the  integrity  of  the  ballot  and  the  purity  of  elections  shall  be  guar- 
anteed and  protected  in  every  State. 

But  not  once  during  the  campaign  did  the  party  speakers  or 
newspapers  apply  this  declaration  to  the  women  citizens  of  the 
United  States. 

In  1896,  when  the  prospects  of  success  seemed  certain  enough 
to  justify  the  party  in  assuming  some  additional  "load,"  the 
women  made  the  most  impassioned  appeal  to  the  committee  at  the 
St.  Louis  convention,  with  the  following  remarkable  result : 

The  Republican  party  is  mindful  of  the  rights  and  interests  of 
women.  Protection  of  American  industries  includes  equal  oppor- 
tunities, equal  pay  for  equal  work,  and  protection  to  the  home.  We 
favor  the  admission  of  women  to  wider  spheres  of  usefulness,  and 
welcome  their  co-operation  in  rescuing  the  country  from  Demo- 
cratic mismanagement  and  Populist  misrule. 

A  whole  plank  to  exploit  Republicanism  and  a  small  splinter 
to  cajole  the  women,  who  had  not  asked  for  the  suffrage  to  "res- 
cue" or  to  defeat  any  political  party ! 

No  Democratic  national  platform  ever  has  recognized  so  much 
as  the  existence  of  women,  in  all  its  grandiloquent  declarations 
of  the  "rights  of  the  masses,"  the  "equality  of  the  people,"  the 
"sovereignty  of  the  individual"  and  the  "powers  inherent  in  a 
democracy." 

The  Populists  at  the  beginning  of  their  career  sounded  the 
slogan,  "Equal  rights  to  all,  special  privileges  to  none,"  and  many 
believed  that  at  length  the  great  party  had  arisen  which  was  to 
secure  to  women  the  equal  right  in  the  suffrage  which  thus  far 
had  been  the  special  privilege  of  men.  Full  of  joy  and  hope 
there  went  to  the  first  national  convention  of  this  party,  held  in 
Omaha,  July  4,  1892,  Susan  B.  Anthony  and  the  Rev.  Anna 
Howard  Shaw,  president  and  vice-president-at-large  of  the  Na- 
tional Suffrage  Association.  To  their  amazement  they  were 
refused  permission  even  to  appear  before  the  Committee  on  Reso- 
lutions, a  courtesy  which  by  this  time  was  usually  extended  at 
all  political  conventions.  The  platform  contained  no  woman 
suffrage  plank  and  no  reference  to  the  question  except  that  in 
the  long  preamble  occurred  this  sentence : 


HISTORY   OF   WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

We  believe  that  the  forces  of  reform  this  day  organized  will  never 
cease  to  move  forward  until  every  wrong  is  righted,  and  equal  rights 
and  equal  privileges  securely  established  for  all  the  men  and  women 
of  this  country. 

In  1896  the  Populist  National  Convention  in  St.  Louis  effected 
its  great  fusion  with  the  Democrats,  and  the  political  rights  of 
women  were  hopelessly  lost  in  the  shuffle.  By  1900  the  organiza- 
tion was  thoroughly  under  Democratic  control,  and  the  expec- 
tations of  women  to  secure  their  enfranchisement  through  this 
"party  of  the  people,"  created  to  reform  all  abuses  and  abolish 
all  unjust  discriminations,  vanished  forever.  It  must  be  said  to 
its  credit,  however,  that  during  its  brief  existence  women  re- 
ceived more  recognition  in  general  than  they  ever  had  had  from 
the  old  parties.  They  sat  as  delegates  in  its  national  and  State 
conventions  and  served  on  National  and  State  Committees; 
they  were  employed  as  political  speakers  and  organizers ;  and  they 
were  elected  and  appointed  to  official  positions.  Various  State 
and  county  conventions  declared  in  favor  of  enfranchising 
women,  the  majority  of  the  legislators  advocated  it,  and  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  in  those  States  where  an  amendment  to 
secure  it  was  submitted,  individual  Populists  very  largely  voted 
for  it. 

The  Prohibition  National  Conventions  many  times  have  put 
a  woman  suffrage  plank  in  their  platforms,  and  women  have 
served  as  delegates  and  on  committees.  The  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union  forrns  the  bulwark  of  this  party,  and,  like  its 
distinguished  president,  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard,  her  successor, 
Mrs.  Lillian  M.  N.  Stevens,  is  an  earnest  advocate  of  the  en- 
franchisement of  women,  which  is  also  true  of  the  vast  majority 
of  its  members,  so  it  has  not  been  necessary  for  the  Woman  Suf- 
frage Association  to  send  delegates  to  the  national  conventions, 
although  it  has  occasionally  done  so.  These  have  frequently 
failed,  however,  to  adopt  a  plank  declaring  for  woman  suffrage, 
the  refusal  to  do  so  at  Pittsburg  in  1896  being  a  principal  cause 
of  the  division  in  the  ranks  which  took  place  at  that  time. 

The  Greenback  party,  the  Labor  party,  the  various  Socialist 
parties,  and  other  reform  organizations  of  a  political  character 
have  made  unequivocal  declarations  for  woman  suffrage  and 
welcomed  women  as  delegates.  Whether  they  would  do  so  if 


SUFFRAGE    WORK    IN    CONVENTIONS.  439 

strong  enough  to  have  any  hope  of  electing  their  candidates  must 
remain  an  open  question  until  practically  demonstrated.  * 

Women  have  served  a  number  of  times  as  delegates  in  the 
national  conventions  of  most  of  the  so-called  Third  parties.  In 
1892  they  appeared  for  the  first  time  at  a  Republican  National 
Convention,  serving  as  alternates  from  Wyoming.  In  1896 
women  alternates  were  sent  from  Utah  to  the  Democratic  National 
Convention.  In  1900  Mrs.  W.  H.  Jones  went  as  delegate  from 
that  State  to  the  Republican,  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cohen  to  the 
Democratic  National  Convention,  and  both  discharged  the  duties 
of  the  position  in  a  satisfactory  manner.  Mrs.  Cohen  seconded 
the  nomination  of  William  J.  Bryan.  A  newspaper  correspond- 
ent published  a  sensational  story  in  regard  to  her  bold  and  noisy 
behavior,  but  afterwards  he  was  compelled  to  retract  publicly 
every  word  of  it  and  admit  that  it  had  no  foundation. 

Doubtless  Miss  Anthony  has  attended  more  political  conven- 
tions to  secure  recognition  of  the  cause  which  she  represents  than 
any  other  woman,  and  also  has  presented  the  subject  to  more 
national  conventions  of  various  associations.  In  early  days  this 
was  because  she  was  one  of  the  few  who  had  the  courage  to  take 
this  new  and  radical  step,  and  also  because  she  was  the  only  one 
who  made  the  suffrage  the  sole  object  of  her  life  and  was  ready 
and  willing  to  work  for  it  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances. 
In  later  days  her  name  has  carried  so  much  weight  and  she  is  so 
universally  respected  that  she  has  been  able  to  obtain  a  hearing 
and  often  a  resolution  where  this  would  be  difficult  if  not  impos- 
sible for  other  women.  However,  in  national  and  State  work  of 
this  kind  she  has  had  the  valuable  co-operation  of  the  ablest  wom- 
en of  two  generations.  In  no  way  can  the  scope  and  extent  of 
these  efforts  be  better  understood  than  by  reviewing  Miss  An- 
thony's report  to  the  National  Suffrage  Convention  of  1901,  as 

*  For  the  names  of  the  women  who  have  addressed  the  National  Conventions  and  Reso- 
lutions Committees  of  the  various  parties  in  the  effort  to  obtain  an  indorsement  of  woman 
suffrage,  and  for  a  full  account  of  their  reception,  of  the  memorials  presented  and  the 
results  which  followed,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  II, 
pp.  340  and  517;  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  22  and  177;  and  for  many  personal  incidents,  to  the  Life 
and  Work  of  Susan  B.  Anthony  in  the  chapters  devoted  to  the  years  of  the  various  presi- 
dential nominating  conventions,  beginning  with  1868. 

Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake,  from  the  National  Suffrage  Association,  and  Henry  B. 
Blackwell  and  Mrs.  J.  Ellen  Foster,  as  Republicans,  presented  the  question  to  the  Reso- 
lutions Committee  of  the  National  Republican  Convention  of  1896  in  St.  Louis,  above  re- 
ferred to;  Dr.  Julia  Holmes  Smith,  accompanied  by  a  committee  of  ladies,  to  that  of  the 
National  Democratic  Convention  in  Chicago  that  year. 


44°  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Convention  Resolutions.  It  is 
especially  interesting  as  a  fair  illustration  of  the  vast  amount  of 
work  which  women  have  been  doing  in  this  direction  for  the  past 
thirty  years. 

After  stating  that  the  names  and  home  addresses  of  most  of 
the  delegates  to  all  the  national  political  conventions  of  1900  were 
obtained.  Miss  Anthony  submitted  copies  of  four  letters  of  which 
4,000  were  sent  in  June  from  the  national  suffrage  headquarters 
in  New  York,  signed  by  herself  and  the  other  members  of  the 
committee — Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  Ida 
Husted  Harper  and  Rachel  Foster  Avery. 

(To  the  Republican  delegates.) 

The  undersigned  Committee,  appointed  by  the  National-Amer- 
ican Woman  Suffrage  Association,  beg  leave  to  submit  to  you,  as 
delegate  to  the  approaching  Republican  Convention,  the  enclosed 
Memorial. 

The  Republican  party  was  organized  in  response  to  the  demand 
for  human  freedom.  Its  platform  for  the  last  forty  years  has  been 
an  unswerving  declaration  for  liberty  and  equality.  Animated  by 
the  spirit  of  progress,  it  has  continued  to  enlarge  the  voting  con- 
stituency from  time  to  time,  thus  acknowledging  the  right  of  the 
individual  to  self-representation.  This  principle  was  embodied  in 
the  plank  adopted  at  the  Chicago  convention  of  1888,  and  has  been 
often  reaffirmed:  "We  recognize  the  supreme  and  sovereign  right 
of  every  lawful  citizen  to  cast  one  free  ballot  in  all  public  elections 
and  have  that  ballot  duly  counted."  We  appeal  to  the  Repub- 
lican party  to  sustain  its  record  by  applying  this  declaration  to  the 
lawful  women  citizens  of  the  United  States. 

You  will  observe  that  this  petition  does  not  ask  you  to  endorse 
the  enfranchisement  of  women,  but  simply  to  recommend  that  Con- 
gress submit  this  question  to  the  decision  of  the  various  State  Legis- 
latures. In  the  name  of  American  womanhood  we  ask  you  to  use 
every  means  within  your  power  to  bring  this  matter  to  a  discussion 
and  affirmative  vote  in  your  convention. 

(To  the  Democratic  delegates.) 

Since  its  inception  the  Democratic  party  has  had  for  its  rallying 
cry  the  immortal  words  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  "No  taxation  without 
representation,"  "Governments  derive  their  just  powers  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed."  Under  this  banner  wage-earning  men, 
native  and  foreign,  were  endowed  with  the  franchise,  by  which 
means  alone  an  individual  can  represent  himself  or  consent  to  his 
government,  and  by  this  act  the  party  was  kept  in  power  for  nearly 
sixty  years. 

At  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  this  was  a  broad  view  for 
even  so  great  a  leader  to  take.  In  this  closing  year  of  the  nine- 


SUFFRAGE    WORK    IN    CONVENTIONS.  441 

teenth  century  it  would  show  an  equally  progressive  spirit  if  his 
loyal  followers  would  carry  these  splendid  declarations  to  their 
logical  conclusion  and  enfranchise  women. 


(To  the  Populist  delegates.) 

At  the  very  first  National  Convention  of  the  People's  Party,  held 
at  Omaha  in  1892,  the  preamble  of  their  platform  declared  that 
"equal  rights  and  privileges  must  be  securely  established  for  all  the 
men  and  women  of  the  country."  In  the  majority  of  State  conven- 
tions held  since  that  time  there  has  been  specific  recognition  of  equal 
political  rights  for  women.  By  admitting  women  as  delegates  in 
their  representative  assemblies  and  by  appointing  them  to  State  and 
local  offices,  the  Populists  have  put  into  practice  this  fundamental 
principle  of  their  organization.  Therefore,  in  asking  you  to  give 
your  influence  and  vote  in  favor  of  this  petition,  we  are  proposing 
only  that  you  shall  reaffirm  your  previous  declarations. 


(To  the  Prohibition  delegates.) 

Judging  from  the  honorable  record  made  by  your  party  upon  this 
subject,  we  have  every  reason  to  hope  that  you  will  give  your  in- 
fluence and  your  vote  in  favor  of  the  petition  contained  herein. 

In  the  Democratic  letter  was  enclosed  an  Open  Letter  from 
Gov.  Charles  S.  Thomas  (Dem.)  of  Colorado,  setting  forth  in 
the  strongest  manner  the  advantages  of  woman  suffrage,  and  in 
all  was  placed  favorable  testimony  from  prominent  men  of  the 
respective  States,  accompanied  by  the  following  Memorial.  The 
latter  was  mailed  also  to  every  member  of  the  Resolutions  Com- 
mittees, and  10,000  copies  were  sent  to  editors  and  otherwise 
circulated  throughout  the  country. 

MEMORIAL 
To  THE  NATIONAL  PRESIDENTIAL  CONVENTION  OF  1900. 

GENTLEMEN  :  You  are  respectfully  requested  by  the  National- 
American  Woman  Suffrage  Association  to  place  the  following  plank 
in  your  platform : 

Resolved,  That  we  favor  the  submission  by  Congress,  to  the  vari- 
ous State  Legislatures,  of  an  Amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion forbidding  disfranchisement  of  United  States  citizens  on  ac- 
count of  sex. 

The  chief  contribution  to  human  liberty  made  by  the  United  States 
is  the  establishment  of  the  right  of  personal  representation  in  gov- 
ernment. In  other  countries  suffrage  often  has  been  called  "the 
vested  right  of  property,"  and  as  such  has  been  extended  to  women 
the  same  as  to  men.  Our  country  at  length  has  come  to  recognize 
the  principle  that  the  elective  franchise  is  inherent  in  the  individual 
and  not  in  his  property,  and  this  principle  has  become  the  corner- 


442  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

stone  of  our  republic.  Up  to  the  beginning-  of  the  twentieth  century, 
however,  the  application  of  this  great  truth  has  been  made  to  but 
one-half  the  citizens. 

The  women  of  the  United  States  are  now  the  only  disfranchised 
class,  and  sex  is  the  one  remaining  disqualification.  A  man  may  be 
idle,  corrupt,  vicious,  utterly  without  a  single  quality  necessary  for 
purity  and  stability  of  government,  but  through  the  exercise  of  the 
suffrage  he  is  a  vital  factor.  A  woman  may  be  educated,  indus- 
trious, moral  and  law-abiding,  possessed  of  every  quality  needed  in 
a  pure  and  stable  government,  but,  deprived  of  that  influence  which 
is  exerted  through  the  ballot,  she  is  not  a  factor  in  affairs  of  State. 
'Who  will  claim  that  our  government  is  purer,  wiser,  stronger  and 
more  lasting  by  the  rigid  exclusion  of  what  men  themselves  term 
"the  better  half"  of  the  people  ? 

Every  argument  which  enfranchises  a  man,  enfranchises  a  woman. 
There  is  no  escape  from  this  logic  except  to  declare  sex  the  just 
basis  of  suffrage.  But  this  position  can  not  be  maintained  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  women  already  have  full  suffrage  in  Wyoming, 
Colorado,  Utah  and  Idaho,  municipal  suffrage  in  Kansas,  school 
suffrage  in  twenty-five  States,  a  vote  on  tax  levies  in  Louisiana,  on 
bond  issues  in  Iowa,  and  on  minor  questions  in  various  other  States. 
They  have  every  franchise  except  the  Parliamentary  in  England, 
Scotland  and  Ireland,  the  full  ballot  in  New  Zealand  and  South  and 
West  Australia,  and  some  form  of  suffrage  in  every  English  colony. 
In  a  large  number  of  the  monarchical  countries  certain  classes  of 
women  vote.  On  this  fundamental  question  of  individual  sov- 
ereignty surely  the  United  States  should  be  a  leader  and  not  a  fol- 
lower. The  trend  of  the  times  is  clearly  toward  equal  suffrage. 
It  will  add  to  the  credit  and  future  strength  of  any  party  to  put 
itself  in  line  with  the  best  modern  and  progressive  thought  on  this 
question. 

In  the  division  of  the  world's  labor  an  equal  share  falls  to  woman. 
As  property  holder  and  wage-earner  her  material  stake  in  the  gov- 
ernment is  equal  to  that  of  man.  As  wife,  as  mother,  as  individual, 
her  moral  stake  is  certainly  as  great  as  his.  The  perpetuity  of  the 
republic  depends  upon  the  careful  performance  of  the  duties  of  both. 
One  is  just  as  necessary  as  the  other  to  the  growth  and  prosperity 
of  the  country.  All  of  these  propositions  are  self-evident,  but  they 
are  wholly  foreign  to  the  question  at  issue.  The  right  of  the  indi- 
vidual to  a  vote  is  not  founded  upon  the  value  of  his  stake  in  gov- 
ernment, upon  his  moral  character,  his  business  ability  or  his  phys- 
ical strength,  but  simply  and  solely  upon  that  guarantee  of  personal 
representation  which  is  the  essence  of  a  true  republic,  a  true  de- 
mocracy. 

The  literal  definition  of  these  two  terms  is,  "a  State  in  which  the 
sovereign  power  resides  in  the  whole  body  of  the  people  and  is  ex- 
ercised by  representatives  elected  by  them."  By  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  by  the  rules  of  equity,  by  the  laws  of  justice,  women 
equally  with  men  are  entitled  to  exercise  this  sovereign  power, 
through  the  franchise,  the  only  legal  means  provided.  But  what- 


SUFFRAGE    WORK    IN    CONVENTIONS.  443 

ever  may  be  regarded  as  the  correct  basis  of  suffrage — character, 
education,  property,  or  the  inherent  right  of  the  person  who  is  sub- 
cot  to  law  and  taxation — women  possess  all  the  qualifications  re- 

ired  of  men. 

At  this  dawn  of  a  new  century  are  not  the  sons  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary Fathers  sufficiently  progressive  to  remove  the  barriers  which 
for  more  than  a  hundred  years  have  prevented  women  from  exer- 
cising this  citizen's  right?  We  appeal  to  this  great  national  dele- 
gate body,  representing  the  men  of  every  State,  gathered  to  outline 
the  policy  and  select  the  head  of  the  Government  for  the  next  four 
years,  to  adopt  in  your  platform  a  declaration  approving  the  sub- 
mission by  Congress  of  an  amendment  enfranchising  women.  We 
urge  this  action  in  order  that  the  question  shall  be  carried  to  the 
various  Legislatures,  where  women  may  present  their  arguments 
before  the  representative  men,  instead  of  being  compelled  to  plead 
their  cause  before  each  individual  voter  of  the  forty-one  States 
where  they  are  still  disfranchised. 

We  make  this  earnest  appeal  on  behalf  of  the  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  women  who,  from  year  to  year,  have  petitioned  Congress 
to  take  the  action  necessary  for  their  enfranchisement ;  and  of  those 
millions  who  are  so  engrossed  in  the  struggle  for  daily  bread,  or  in 
the  manifold  duties  of  the  home,  that  they  are  compelled  to  leave 
this  task  to  others.  We  make  it  also  on  behalf  of  the  generations 
yet  to  come,  for  there  will  be  no  cessation  of  this  demand  until  this 
highest  privilege  of  citizenship  has  been  accorded  to  women. 

ELIZABETH  CADY  STANTON,  1  Hon  Presidents. 

SUSAN  B.  ANTHONY,  J  J 

CARRIE  CHAPMAN  CATT,  President. 

HARRIET  TAYLOR  UPTON,  ANNA  HOWARD  SHAW, 

Treasurer.  Vice-President-at- Large. 

LAURA  CLAY,  RACHEL  FOSTER  AVERY, 

First  Auditor.  Corresponding  Secretary. 

CATHARINE  WAUGH  McCuLLOCH,     ALICE  STONE  BLACKWELL, 

Second  Auditor.  Recording  Secretary. 

Headquarters,  National-American  Woman  Suffrage  Association, 
2008  American  Tract  Society  Building, 
New  York  City. 

Four  women  were  permitted  to  appear  before  a  sub-committee 
of  the  Committee  on  Platform  at  the  Republican  National  Con- 
vention at  Philadelphia,  in  1900.  They  met  with  a  polite  but 
chilly  reception  and  were  informed  that  they  could  have  ten 
minutes  to  present  their  case.  This  time  was  occupied  by  the 
president  and  the  vice-president-at-large  in  concise  but  forci- 
ble arguments  on  the  duty  of  the  party  to  recognize  their  claim 


444  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

for  enfranchisement.    The  platform  eventually  contained  the  fol- 
lowing plank : 

We  congratulate  the  women  of  America  upon  their  splendid  rec- 
ord of  public  service  in  the  Volunteer  Aid  Association,  and  as  nurses 
in  camp  and  hospital  during  the  recent  campaigns  of  our  armies  in 
the  Eastern  and  Western  Indies,  and  we  appreciate  their  faithful 
co-operation  in  all  works  of  education  and  industry. 

In  other  words,  being  asked  to  recognize  women  as  political 
factors,  the  committee  responded  by  commending  them  as  nurses ! 

This  plank  was  written  by  Mrs.  J.  Ellen  Foster,  who  as  presi- 
dent of  the  Woman's  National  Republican  League  and  a  cam- 
paign speaker,  has  done  far  more  for  the  party  than  any  other 
woman,  and  originally  it  ended  with  this  clause :  "We  regard 
with  satisfaction  their  unselfish  interest  in  public  affairs  in  the 
four  States  where  they  have  already  been  enfranchised,  and  their 
growing  interest  in  good  government  and  Republican  principles." 
But  even  so  small  a  recognition  as  this  of  women  in  political  life 
was  ruthlessly  struck  out  by  the  committee. 

Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  and  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay  attended  the 
Democratic  National  Convention  at  Kansas  City  and  were  not 
allowed  to  address  any  committee,  but  the  platform  contained  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  as  its  preamble ! 

The  Populist  national  platform  adopted  at  Sioux  City  did  not 
contain  even  a  reference  to  women  or  their  rights  and  privileges. 

The  Prohibition  convention  followed  its  action  of  1896  and 
put  no  woman  suffrage  plank  in  its  platform.  A  separate  reso- 
lution was  passed  expressing  a  favorable  regard  but  carrying 
no  official  weight. 

The  only  national  political  convention  in  IQCXD  which  adopted 
a  plank  declaring  for  the  enfranchisement  of  women  was  that  of 
the  Social-Democratic  party  at  Indianapolis. 

In  not  one  of  the  four  largest  parties  were  the  delegates  in 
convention  given  so  much  as  an  opportunity  to  discuss  and  vote 
on  a  resolution  to  enfranchise  women.  All  these  heroic  efforts, 
all  these  noble  appeals,  had  not  the  slightest  effect  because  made 
by  a  class  utterly  without  influence  by  reason  of  this  very  dis- 
franchisement  which  it  was  struggling  to  have  removed.  At 
every  political  convention  all  matters  of  right,  of  justice,  of  the 
eternal  verities  themselves,  are  swallowed  up  in  the  one  all-im- 


SUFFRAGE    WORK    IN    CONVENTIONS.  445 

portant  question,  "Will  it  bring  party  success?"  And  to  this  a 
voteless  constituency  can  not  contribute  in  the  smallest  degree, 
even  though  it  represent  the  Ten  Commandments,  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount,  the  Golden  Rule,  the  Magna  Charta  and  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence. 

Paradoxical  as  it  may  seem,  notwithstanding  the  refusal  of 
the  Resolutions  Committees  of  all  these  national  bodies  to  grant 
even  an  indirect  recognition  of  woman  suffrage  in  their  platforms, 
its  advocates  never  before  found  such  a  general  sentiment  in  its 
favor  among  the  individual  delegates.  In  a  number  of  instances 
they  were  told  that  a  poll  of  delegations  had  shown  a  majority 
of  the  members  to  be  ready  to  vote  for  it.  It  was  demonstrated 
beyond  doubt  that  the  rank  and  file  of  the  delegates,  if  freed  from 
hostile  influences  among  their  constituents  and  granted  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  political  leaders,  could  be  won  to  a  support  of  the  meas- 
ure, but  that  at  present  it  must  wait  on  party  expediency.  As 
every  campaign  brings  with  it  national  issues  on  which  each 
party  makes  a  fight  for  its  life,  and  which  it  fears  to  hamper  by 
any  extraneous  questions ;  as  the  elements  most  strongly  opposed 
to  the  enfranchisement  of  women  not  only  are  fully  armed  with 
ballots  themselves  but  are  in  complete  control  of  an  immense  force 
similarly  equipped ;  and  as  the  vote  of  women  is  so  problematical 
that  none  of  the  parties  can  claim  it  in  advance,  it  is  impossible  to 
foresee  when  and  how  they  are  to  obtain  political  freedom.  The 
one  self-evident  fact  is,  however,  that  in  order  to  win  it  they  must 
be  supported  by  a  stronger  public  sentiment  than  exists  at  present, 
and  that  this  can  be  secured  only  through  a  constant  agitation  of 
the  subject. 

A  return  to  Miss  Anthony's  report  will  illustrate  other  methods 
adopted  to  bring  this  question  to  the  attention  of  the  public. 
"During  the  year  I  have  also  sent  petitions  and  letters  to  more 
than  one  hundred  national  conventions  of  different  sorts — indus- 
trial, educational,  charitable,  philanthropic,  religious  and  politi- 
cal.* Below  are.  the  forms  of  petition :" 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Fifty-sixth 
Congress  of  the  United  States: 
The' undersigned  on  behalf  of  (naming  the  association)  in  annual 

*  Miss  Anthony  sent  a  special  letter  to  each  of  these  bodies  worded  to  appeal  particu- 
larly to  the  interests  it  represented. 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

convention  assembled  at  ,  1900,  and  representing 

fully members,  respectfully  ask  for  the  prompt  passage  by 

your  Honorable  Body  of  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  to  the  Federal 
Constitution,  to  be  submitted  to  the  Legislatures  of  the  several 
States  for  ratification,  prohibiting  the  disfranchisement  of  United 
States  citizens  on  account  of  sex. 

,   President. 

,   Secretary. 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Fifty-sixth 

Congress  of  the  United  States: 

WHEREAS,  The  trend  of  civilization  is  plainly  in  the  direction  of 
equal  rights  for  women,  and 

WHEREAS,  Woman  suffrage  is  no  longer  an  experiment,  but  has 
been  clearly  demonstrated  to  be  beneficial  to  society ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we,  on  behalf  of  [as  above],  do  respectfully  peti- 
tion your  Honorable  Body  not  to  insert  the  word  "male"  in  the 
suffrage  clause  of  whatever  form  of  government  you  shall  recom- 
mend to  Hawaii,  Cuba,  Porto  Rico  or  any  other  newly-acquired 
possessions.  We  ask  this  in  the  name  of  justice  and  equality  for 
all  citizens  of  a  republic  founded  on  the  consent  of  the  governed.* 

"A  number  of  large  associations  adopted  these  and  returned 
them  to  me  duly  engrossed  on  their  official  paper,  signed  by  the 
president  and  secretary  and  with  their  seal  affixed;  and  I  for- 
warded all  to  the  Senators  and  Representatives  whom  I  thought 
most  likely  to  present  them  to  Congress  in  a  way  to  make  an 
impression. 

"The  General  Federation  of  Labor  at  Detroit  was  the  first  to 
respond.  I  was  invited  to  address  its  annual  convention  and, 
after  I  had  spoken,  the  four  hundred  delegates  passed  a  resolution 
of  thanks  to  me,  adopted  the  above  petition  for  the  Sixteenth 
Amendment  by  a  rising  vote,  and  ordered  their  officers  to  sign 
it  in  the  name  of  their  one  million  constituents. 

"The  National  Building  Trades  Council  at  Milwaukee  had  an 
able  discussion  in  its  annual  meeting,  based  on  my  letter,  and 
adopted  both  petitions.  This  body  has  half  a  million  members. 

"The  Bricklayers'  and  Masons'  International  Union  of  Amer- 
ica was  held  in  Rochester,  and  invited  me  to  address  the 
delegates.  They  received  me  with  enthusiasm,  passed  strong 
woman  suffrage  resolutions  and  signed  both  petitions.  After- 
wards a  stenographic  report  of  my  speech,  covering  two  full 
pages  of  their  official  organ,  The  Bricklayer  and  Mason,  was 

*  For  the  answer  to  this  petition  see  Chap.  XIX. 


SUFFRAGE    WORK    IN    CONVENTIONS.  447 

published  with  an  excellent  portrait  of  myself,  thus  sending  me 
and  my  argument  to  each  one  of  their  more  than  sixty  thousand 
members,  all  of  whom  subscribe  to  this  paper  as  part  of  their 
dues  to  the  union. 

"The  National  Grange,  which  has  indorsed  woman  suffrage 
for  so  many  years,  adopted  the  resolutions  and  petitions. 

"At  the  Federation  of  Commercial  Schools  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  which  met  in  Chicago,  my  letter  was  read, 
the  question  was  thoroughly  discussed  and  the  suffrage  petitions 
were  adopted  almost  unanimously. 

"The  Columbia  Catholic  Summer  School,  held  at  Detroit,  gave 
a  hearing  to  our  national  president,  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  at  which 
she  is  said  to  have  made  many  converts.  A  strong  suffrage 
speech  was  made  by  the  Rev.  Father  W.  J.  Dalton,  and  other 
prominent  members  expressed  themselves  in  favor. 

"The  contents  of  my  letters  to  religious  and  educational  bodies 
can  readily  be  imagined,  and  one  which  was  sent  to  the  United 
States  Brewers'  Association,  in  convention  at  Atlantic  City,  N. 
J.,  may  be  cited  as  an  example  of  the  subject-matter  of  those  to 
other  organizations : 

GENTLEMEN:  As  chairman  of  the  committee  appointed  by  our 
National  Suffrage  Association  to  address  letters  to  the  large  conven- 
tions held  this  year,  allow  me  to  bring  before  you  the  great  need  of 
the  recognition  of  women  in  all  of  the  rights,  privileges  and  immuni- 
ties of  United  States  citizenship. 

Though  your  association  has  for  its  principal  object  the  manage- 
ment of  the  great  brewing  interests  of  this  country,  yet  I  have  noted 
that  you  have  adopted  resolutions  declaring  against  woman  suffrage. 
I  therefore  appeal  to  you,  since  the  question  seems  to  come  within 
the  scope  of  your  deliberations,  to  reverse  your  action  this  closing 
year  of  the  century,  and  declare  yourselves  in  favor  of  the  practical 
application  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  Government  to  all 
the  people — women  as  well  as  men.  Whatever  your  nationality, 
whatever  your  religious  creed,  whatever  your  political  party,  you 
are  either  born  or  naturalized  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and 
because  of  that  are  voters  of  the  State  in  which  you  reside.  Will 
you  not,  gentlemen,  accord  to  the  women  of  this  nation,  having  the 
same  citizenship  as  yourselves,  precisely  the  same  privileges  and 
powers  which  you  possess  because  of  that  one  fact  ? 

The  only  true  principle — the  only  safe  policy — of  a  democratic- 
republican  government  is  that  every  class  of  people  shall  be  pro- 
tected in  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  individual  representation.  I 
pray  you,  therefore,  to  pass  a  resolution  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage, 
and  order  your  officers,  on  behalf  of  the  association,  to  sign  a  peti- 


44-8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

tion  to  Congress  for  this  purpose,  and  thereby  put  the  weight  of 
your  influence  on  the  side  of  making  this  Government  a  genuine 
republic. 

Should  you  desire  to  have  one  of  our  best  woman  suffrage  speak- 
ers address  your  convention,  if  you  will  let  me  know  as  soon  as 
possible,  I  will  take  pleasure  in  arranging  for  one  to  do  so. 

"This  was  read  to  the  convention,  and  the  secretary,  Callus 
Thomann,  thus  reported  its  action  to  me : 

Mr.  Obermann  [ex-president  of  the  association  and  one  of  the 
trustees]  voicing  the  sentiments  of  the  delegates,  spoke  as  follows: 
"Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  is  entitled  to  the  respect  of  every  man  and 
woman  in  this  country,  whether  agreeing  with  her  theories  or  not. 
I  think  it  but  fair  and  courteous  to  her  that  the  secretary  be  in- 
structed to  answer  that  letter,  and  to  inform  Miss  Anthony  that  this 
is  a  body  of  business  men ;  that  we  meet  for  business  purposes 
and  not  for  politics.  Furthermore,  that  she  is  mistaken  and  mis- 
informed so  far  as  her  statement  is  concerned  that  we  have  passed 
resolutions  opposing  woman  suffrage.  We  have  never  -taken  such 
action  at  any  of  our  conventions  or  on  any  other  occasion.  I  submit 
this  as  a  motion." 

The  motion  was  unanimously  adopted,  and  that  part  of  Mr.  Ober- 
mann's  remarks  which  related  to  the  respect  due  Miss  Anthony 
was  loudly  and  enthusiastically  applauded. 

To  the  sentiment  thus  expressed,  permit  me,  dear  Miss  Anthony, 
to  add  personally  the  assurance  of  my  highest  esteem. 

"Among  the  results  of  the  work  with  State  conventions  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  the  Georgia  Federation  of  Labor,  the 
Minnesota  Federation  of  Labor,  the  State  Teachers'  Association 
of  Washington  and  the  New  York  State  Grange  signed  the  pe- 
titions and  passed  the  resolutions. 

"As  another  branch  of  the  work,  copies  of  these  two  petitions 
were  sent  to  each  of  the  fortv-five  States  and  three  Territories, 
with  letters  asking  the  suffrage  presidents,  where  associations 
existed,  and  prominent  individuals  in  the  few  States  where  they 
did  not,  to  make  two  copies  of  each  petition  on  their  own  official 
paper,  sign  them  on  behalf  of  the  suffragists  of  the  State,  and 
return  them  to  me  to  be  sent  to  the  members  of  Congress  from 
the  respective  districts.  This  was  done  almost  without  excep- 
tion and  these  petitions  were  presented  by  various  members,  one 
copy  in  the  Senate  and  one  in  the  House.  Of  all  the  State  peti- 
tions, the  most  interesting  was  that  of  Wyoming,  which,  in  de- 
fault of  a  suffrage  association  (none  being  needed)  was  signed 
by  every  State  officer,  from  the  Governor  down,  by  several 


SUFFRAGE    WORK    IN    CONVENTIONS.  449 

United  States  officials,  and  by  many  of  the  most  influential  men 
and  women.  With  it  came  a  letter  from  the  wife  of  ex-U.  S. 
Senator  Joseph  M.  Carey,  who  collected  these  names,  saying  the 
number  was  limited  only  by  the  brief  space  of  time  allowed. 

"In  all,  more  than  two  hundred  petitions  for  woman  suffrage 
from  various  associations  were  thus  sent  to  Congress  in  1900, 
representing  millions  of  individuals.  Many  cordial  responses 
were  received  from  members,  and  promises  of  assistance  should 
the  question  come  before  Congress,  but  there  is  no  record  of  the 
slightest  attempt  by  any  member  to  bring  it  before  that  body. 

"In  doing  this  work  I  wrote  fully  a  thousand  letters  to  associ- 
ations and  individuals,  in  all  of  which  I  placed  some  of  our  best 
printed  literature.  There  was  a  thorough  stirring  up  of  public 
sentiment  which  must  have  definite  results  in  time,  for  it  should 
not  be  forgotten  that  in  addressing  conventions  we  appeal  to  the 
chosen  leaders  of  thought  and  work  from  many  cities  and  States, 
and  so  set  in  motion  an  ever-widening  circle  of  agitation  in 
countless  localities." 

A  most  valuable  means  of  educating  public  sentiment  is  the 
securing  of  a  Woman's  Day  at  Chautauqua  Assemblies  and  State 
and  county  fairs,  when  good  speakers  present  the  "woman  ques- 
tion" in  its  various  phases,  including  always  the  need  for  enfran- 
chisement. The  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  and  Mrs.  Chapman 
Catt,  the  leading  orators  of  the  country,  have  addressed  Chau- 
tauquas  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  countless  other 
large  gatherings  which  have  no  connection  with  suffrage,  being 
thus  enabled  to  propagate  the  principle  over  a  vast  area.  It  can 
be  seen  from  the  above  resume  that  the  ground  of  effort  is 
widely  extended  and  that  the  harvest  is  ripening,  but  alas,  there 
is  a  constant  repetition  of  the  old,  old  cry,  "The  laborers  are 
few."  One  can  only  repeat  what  has  often  been  said,  that  never 
before  were  such  results  as  can  be  seen  on  every  hand  in  the 
improved  conditions  for  women  and  the  advanced  public  senti- 
ment in  favor  of  a  full  equality  of  rights,  accomplished  by  so 
small  a  number  of  workers  and  under  such  adverse  conditions. 
Perhaps  this  will  continue  to  be  said  even  unto  the  end,  but  their 
labors  will  know  neither  faltering  nor  cessation  until  the  original 
object,  as  announced  over  fifty  years  ago,  has  been  attained,  viz. : 

the  full  enfranchisement  of  women. 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 29 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  RIGHTS  OF  WOMEN  IN  THE  STATES. 

The  preceding  chapters  have  been  devoted  principally  to  efforts 
made  in  behalf  of  women  by  the  National-American  Suffrage 
Association  through  its  conventions,  committees,  officers,  speak- 
ers, organizers  and  members.  Contemporaneous  with  this  line 
of  action  there  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  a  similar  move- 
ment in  the  respective  States  carried  forward  through  their 
associations  auxiliary  to  the  National,  their  committees,  officers, 
speakers,  organizers  and  individual  membership.  Each  of  the 
two  divisions  has  been  largely  dependent  upon  the  other,  the 
States  forming  the  strength  of  the  national  body,  the  latter 
extending  assistance  to  the  States  whenever  a  special  campaign 
has  been  at  hand  or  help  has  been  needed  in  organizing,  con- 
vention or  legislative  work.  The  following  chapters  are  confined 
wholly  to  the  situation  in  the  various  States  and  are  subdivided 
into  Organization,  Legislative  Action,  Laws,  Suffrage,  Office- 
Holding,  Occupations  and  Education.  Their  object  is  to  give  a 
general  idea  of  the  status  of  woman  at  the  close  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  and  the  manifold  changes  of  which  it  is  the  result. 
It  is  desired  also  to  put  on  record  the  part  which  women  them- 
selves have  had  in  the  steady  advance  which  will  be  observed. 

The  account  of  only  the  past  seventeen  years  is  given,  as  the 
three  preceding  volumes  of  this  History  relate  in  detail  the  pio- 
neer work  and  the  gains  made  previous  to  1884.  Unfortunately 
it  is  inevitable  in  a  recital  of  this  kind  that  many  names  should 
be  omitted  which  are  quite  as  worthy  of  mention  as  those  that  find 
place,  for  in  some  instances  the  records  are  imperfectly  kept 
and  in  others  the  list  is  so  long  as  to  forbid  reproduction.*  It 

*  The  names  of  newspapers  which  have  supported  this  cause  are  not  given,  partly  for 
these  reasons  and  partly  because  on  this  question  they  reflect  simply  the  personal  views 
of  the  editors,  and  a  change  of  management  may  cause  a  complete  reversal  of  their  atti- 
tude toward  woman  suffrage. 

450 


THE    RIGHTS    OF    WOMEN    IN    THE    STATES.  45  I 

has  been  necessary  to  bar  compliments  in  order  to  avoid  unjust 
discrimination  and  to  meet  the  demands  of  limited  space.  To 
posterity  the  work  is  of  more  importance  than  the  workers,  and 
those  who  have  engaged  in  the  efforts  to  improve  the  condition 
of  women  necessarily  have  had  to  possess  a  spirit  of  self-abnega- 
tion and  self-sacrifice  which  neither  expected  nor  desired  per- 
sonal rewards. 

The  subject  of  Organization  in  most  of  the  States  is  treated 
in  the  briefest  possible  manner,  the  intention  being  merely  to 
show  that  in  every  State  and  Territory  there  has  been  some  at- 
tempt to  gather  into  a  working  force  the  scattered  individuals 
who  believe  in  the  justice  of  woman  suffrage  and  wish  to  obtain 
it.  More  extended  mention  of  course  is  due  to  the  older  States, 
where  there  has  been  continuous  organized  work  for  many  years, 
and  where  the  societies  have  remained  intact  and  held  their 
regular  meetings  in  spite  of  such  defeats  and  discouragements 
as  never  have  had  to  be  faced  by  any  other  cause.  It  is  most 
difficult  to  form  and  maintain  an  association  which  has  not  a 
concrete  object  to  labor  for,  and  when  a  campaign  for  an  amend- 
ment is  not  actually  in  progress,  the  suffrage  in  the  distant  future 
appears  largely  as  an  abstraction.  The  early  days  of  the  move- 
ment necessarily  had  to  be  given  to  creating  the  sentiment  which 
would  later  be  organized,  and  it  is  only  within  the  past  decade 
that  the  time  has  seemed  ripe  for  systematic  effort  in  this  direc- 
tion. The  lack  of  effective  organization  has  been  a  serious  but 
unavoidable  weakness  which  henceforth  will  be  remedied  as 
speedily  and  thoroughly  as  possible. 

It  is  a  favorite  argument  of  the  opponents  of  woman  suffrage 
that  the  many  gains  of  various  kinds  have  not  been  due  to  the 
efforts  of  women  themselves.  Under  the  head  of  Legislative 
Action  will  be  found  the  dates  and  figures  to  prove  that,  year 
after  year,  in  almost  every  State,  women  have  gone  to  the  Legis- 
latures with  appeals  for  every  concession  which  has  been  granted 
and  many  more  which  have  been  refused.  The  bills  presented 
by  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  have  not  been 
specifically  included  because  they  are  fully  recorded  in  the  publi- 
cations of  that  body,  and  because  this  volume  is  confined  almost 
exclusively  to  the  one  subject  of  enfranchisement.  While  the 


452  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Suffrage  Associations  have  directed  their  legislative  efforts  prin- 
cipally to  secure  action  for  this  purpose,  individual  members 
have  joined  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  innumerable  times  in  its  attempts 
to  obtain  other  bills  of  advantage  to  women  and  children,  and  in 
some  instances  this  has  been  done  officially  by  the  associations. 

Among  various  measures  in  which  the  two  organizations 
have  united  may  be  mentioned  the  raising  of  the  "age  of  protec- 
tion" for  girls;  the  securing  of  women  physicians  in  all  institu- 
tions where  women  and  children  are  confined,  and  women  on 
the  boards  of  all  such;  women  city  physicians;  matrons  at  jails 
and  station  houses;  better  conditions  for  working  women;  the 
abolition  of  child-labor;  industrial  schools  for  girls.  Measures 
which  have  been  especially  championed  by  the  W.  S.  A.,  but 
which  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  has  aided  officially  or  individually,  have 
been  those  asking  for  every  form  of  suffrage;  equal  property 
laws  for  wives;  the  opening  of  all  educational  institutions  to 
women;  their  admission  to  all  professions  and  occupations;  the 
repeal  of  laws  barring  them  from  office;  the  enactment  of  laws 
giving  father  and  mother  equal  guardianship  of  children.* 

The  W.  C.  T.  U.  alone  has  secured  temperance  measures  of 
many  kinds,  including  a  law  in  every  State  requiring  scientific 
temperance  instruction  in  the  public  schools ;  in  many  States  cur- 
few laws,  and  statutes  prohibiting  the  sale  of  cigarettes  and  of 
liquor  on  or  near  fair  grounds,  Soldiers'  Homes  and  school- 
houses,  and  preventing  gambling  devices,  immoral  exhibits,  etc. 
The  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  has  obtained  laws  for  free 
traveling  libraries  and  has  united  with  other  organizations  in  va- 
rious States  in  efforts  for  equal  guardianship  of  children,  school 
suffrage,  women  on  school  and  library  boards  and  the  abolishing 
of  child  labor.  Other  associations  have  joined  in  one  or  more 
of  the  above  lines  of  work  and  have  had  independent  measures  of 
their  own,  such  as  prison  reform,  social  purity,  the  assistance  of 
different  races — as  the  negro 'and  the  Indian — village  improve- 
ment, kindergartens,  public  playgrounds,  etc. 

It  would  not  be  possible  to  draw  a  distinct  line  dividing  the 

*  A  reading  of  these  chapters  will  show  that  the  suffrage  societies  have  started  many 
progressive  movements  and  then  turned  them  over  to  other  organizations  of  women,  be- 
lieving they  would  thrive  better  if  freed  from  the  effects  of  the  prejudice  against  woman 
suffrage  and  everything  connected  with  it. 


THE    RIGHTS    OF    WOMEN    IN    THE    STATES.  453 

legislative  work  of  one  association  from  the  others,  except  that  it 
may  be  said  the  suffrage  societies  have  made  the  franchise  their 
chief  point,  believing  it  to  be  the  power  with  which  the  rest  could 
be  gained,  and  the  temperance  unions  have  made  their  principal 
attack  upon  the  liquor  traffic,  considering  it  the  greatest  evil.  The 
objects  of  the  various  bodies  are  indicated  in  the  last  chapter 
of  this  volume  on  Organizations  of  Women,  but  whatever  these 
may  be,  if  they  include  any  direct,  practical  work  their  promoters 
usually  find  themselves  at  the  door  of  the  Legislature  asking  for 
help.  Here  they  get  their  first  lesson  in  the  imperative  necessity 
of  possessing  a  vote,  and  seeing  their  measures  fail  because  asked 
for  by  a  disfranchised  class,  to  whom  the  legislators  are  in  no 
way  indebted,  they  frequently  become  ardent  advocates  of  suf- 
frage for  women. 

As  it  would  be  wholly  impossible  in  the  small  space  which  can 
be  allowed  to  include  an  account  of  all  the  legislative  work  done 
by  women,  mention  is  made  principally  of  that  for  the  franchise. 
While  the  successes  have  been  few  compared  to  the  number 
of  bills  presented,  the  record  is  valuable  as  indicating  that  de- 
termined and  persistent  effort  will  not  be  relaxed  until  it  is  grant- 
ed in  every  State. 

Under  the  head  of  Legislation  is  related  also  the  attempts  to 
get  from  Constitutional  Conventions  an  amendment  striking  out 
the  word  "male"  as  a  qualification  for  suffrage.  It  includes,  be- 
sides, graphic  accounts  of  the  campaigns  made  in  behalf  of  such 
amendments  when  submitted  to  the  voters  by  the  Legislatures. 
Those  who  have  not  closely  followed  these  events  doubtless  will 
be  surprised  to  learn  the  amount  of  effort  which  has  been  ex- 
pended by  women  to  obtain  the  franchise.  It  is  infinitely  greater 
than  has  been  put  forth  for  this  purpose  by  all  other  classes  com- 
bined, since  the  Revolutionary  War  was  fought  to  secure  to  every 
citizen  the  right  of  individual  representation. 

The  Laws  regarding  women  as  here  given  are  in  no  sense  of 
the  word  a  "brief,"  but  merely  present  the  facts  in  the  language 
of  a  layman  and  in  the  simplest  and  most  concise  form.  Those 
relating  to  property  are  in  the  nature  of  a  curiosity.  An  attor- 
ney in  San  Francisco  who  was  asked  for  information  as  to  the 
laws  in  general  for  women  in  California,  answered  that  to  give 


454  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

in  full  those  of  property  alone  would  require  as  much  space  as 
could  be  granted  in  the  History  for  the  entire  chapter.  It  is  not 
possible  to  make  in  these  introductory  paragraphs  an  adequate 
digest  of  these  laws  in  various  States.  They  are  not  precisely 
the  same  in  any  two  of  the  forty-nine  States  and  Territories,  and 
they  offer  a  striking  illustration  of  the  attempts  of  law-makers, 
during  the  last  few  decades,  to  rectify  in  a  measure  the  legal  out- 
rages of  the  past,  and  of  their  inability  in  the  present  state  of  their 
development  to  grant  absolute  justice.  That  must  await  the  law- 
makers of  the  future,  and  probably  the  time  when  women  shall 
have  a  part  in  selecting  them. 

All  that  can  be  claimed  for  the  statutes  quoted  herein  is  that 
they  are  as  nearly  correct  as  it  has  been  possible  to  make  them. 
With  but  one  or  two  exceptions,  the  Attorney-Generals  in  every 
State  have  been  most  courteous  and  obliging  when  appealed  to 
for  assistance.  The  laws  for  women,  however,  have  been  so  taken 
from  and  added  to,  so  torn  to  pieces  and  patched  up,  that  the 
best  lawyers  in  many  States  say  frankly  that  they  do  not  know 
just  what  they  are  at  the  present  time.  Legislatures  and  code 
revision  committees  are  continually  tinkering  at  them  and  every 
year  witnesses  some  changes  in  most  of  the  States.*  A  very 
thorough  abstract  of  the  laws,  made  in  1886  by  Miss  Lelia  J.  Rob- 
inson, LL.  B.,  a  member  of  the  bar  in  Massachusetts,  was  of  al- 
most no  use  in  the  compilation  for  this  volume  because  of  the  end- 
less alterations  since  that  time.  The  Legal  Status  of  Women,  a 
condensed  resume  issued  in  1897  by  the  National  Suffrage  Asso- 
ciation, has  been  covered  thickly  with  pencil  marks  during  the 
preparation  of  this  summary,  as  the  reports  received  from  differ- 
ent States  have  shown  the  changes  effected  in  the  few  years  which 
have  since  elapsed.  A  new  book,  Woman  and  the  Law,  prepared 
by  a  lecturer  on  political  science  in  one  of  our  largest  universi- 
ties and  published  in  1901,  was  hailed  with  joy,  but  was  found 
to  include  a  number  of  laws  which  had  been  repealed  within  the 
past  four  or  five  years  and  to  omit  some  very  important  ones 

•  Notwithstanding  these  efforts,  the  very  statutes  which  are  intended  to  be  fair  to 
women  are  continually  found  to  be  defective,  and  whenever  any  doubt  arises  as  to  their 
construction  the  Common  Law  must  prevail,  which  in  all  cases  is  unjust  to  women.  An 
example  of  this  kind  will  be  found  in  the  chapter  on  New  York,  showing  that  it  was  held 
in  1901  that  a  wife's  wages  belonged  to  her  husband,  although  it  was  supposed  that  these 
bad  been  secured  to  her  beyond  all  question  by  a  special  statute  of  1860. 


THE    RIGHTS    OF    WOMEN    IN    THE    STATES.  455 

which  had  been  enacted  during  this  time,  as  well  as  to  contain 
frequent  mistakes  in  regard  to  others. 

These  instances  show  the  impossibility  of  an  absolutely  au- 
thentic presentation  of  the  laws  for  women  in  their  constantly 
changing  condition.  Although  it  was  the  intention  to  close  this 
History  with  1900,  in  several  States,  notably  Massachusetts,  Con- 
necticut, New  York,  Illinois  and  Wisconsin,  laws  have  been 
passed  since  that  date  of  sufficient  importance  to  demand  a  place. 
During  the  two  years  of  its  preparation  the  entire  codes  of  prop- 
erty laws  for  women  in  Massachusetts  and  Virginia  have  been 
revolutionized. 

An  amusing  part  of  a  difficult  task  has  been  the  reluctance  of 
men  to  admit  the  existence  of  laws  which  are  conspicuously  un- 
just to  women,  the  admission  being  frequently  accompanied  by 
the  statement  that  it  is  the  intention  to  change  them  at  an  early 
date,  or  that  it  would  only  be  necessary  to  call  the  attention  of 
the  Legislature  to  them  in  order  to  secure  their  repeal.  Even 
women  themselves  in  States  where  the  statutes  especially  discrimi- 
nate against  them,  have  written  that  these  must  not  be  published 
unless  those  from  all  the  others  are  given.  Whether  this  is  due 
to  State  pride  or  personal  humiliation  is  not  clearly  evident. 

The  one  encouraging  feature  is  that  in  almost  every  State 
decided  progress  is  shown  since  1848,  when  in  New  York  and 
Pennsvlvania  the  first  change  was  made  in  the  English  Common 
Law  which  then  everywhere  prevailed,  and  which  did  not  permit 
a  married  woman  to  hold  property,  to  buy  or  sell,  to  sue  or  be 
sued,  to  make  a  contract  or  a  will,  to  carry  on  business  in  her  own 
name,  to  possess  the  wages  she  earned,  or  to  have  her  "children 
in  case  of  divorce.  An  examination  of  the  laws  in  the  following 
chapters  will  show  that  the  wife  now  may  own  and  control  her 
separate  property  in  three-fourths  of  the  States,  and  in  the  other 
fourth  only  one  Northern  State  is  included.  In  every  State  a 
married  woman  may  make  a  will,  but  can  dispose  only  of  her 
separate  property.  In  about  two-thirds  of  the  States  she  pos- 
sesses her  earnings.  In  the  great  majority  she  may  make  con- 
tracts and  bring  suit.  The  property  rights  of  unmarried  women 
always  have  been  nearly  the  same  as  those  of  unmarried  men, 
but  the  Common  Law  declared  that  "by  marriage  husband 


456 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


and  wife  are  one  person  in  law  and  the  legal  existence  of 
the  wife  is  merged  in  that  of  the  husband.  He  is  her  baron  or 
lord,  bound  to  supply  her  with  shelter,  food,  clothing  and  medi- 
cine, and  is  entitled  to  her  earnings  and  the  use  and  custody  of 
her  person,  which  he  may  seize  wherever  he  may  find  it." 
(Blackstone,  I,  442.)* 

In  his  Commentaries,  after  enumerating  some  of  the  disabili- 
ties of  woman  under  these  laws,  Blackstone  calmly  argues  that 
the  most  of  them  were  really  intended  for  her  benefit,  "so  great 
a  favorite  is  the  female  sex  with  the  law  of  England."  He  strikes 
here  the  keynote  of  even  the  special  statutes  which  have  super- 
seded '  the  Common  Law  in  the  various  States,  all  have  been 
"intended  for  her  benefit,"  man  alone  being  the  judge  of  what 
she  needed  and  careful  while  providing  it  to  retain  within  him- 
self the  exclusive  power  of  law-making.  It  has  been  gradually 
dawning  upon  him,  however,  that,  as  a  human  being  like  himself, 
her  needs  are  very  similar  to  his  own,  and  where  he  has  failed  to 
see  it  she  has  reminded  him  of  it  as  she  has  slowly  learned  this 
fact  herself.  The  laws  show  an  awakening  conscience  on  the 
part  of  men  and  a  tardy  but  continuous  advance  toward  justice 
to  women,  although  there  is  yet  very  much  to  be  desired.  For 
instance,  in  reading  the  laws  regarding  the  inheritance  of  sepa- 
rate property,  which  in  a  number  of  States  is  now  made  the  same 
for  widow  and  widower,  the  first  thought  will  be,  "These  are 
absolutely  just."  But  a  little  investigation  will  show  that  the 
separate  property  of  either  is  what  he  or  she  possesses  at  marriage 
or  receives  afterwards  by  gift  or  inheritance,  while  all  that  is 
acquired-during  marriage  by  the  joint  earnings  of  the  two  belongs 
to  the  husband.  In  many  States  the  law  now  provides  that  if  the 
wife  engages  in  business  as  a  sole  trader  or  goes  outside  the 
home  to  work,  her  earnings  belong  to  her,  but  all  the  proceeds 
of  her  labor  within  the  household  are  still  the  sole  and  separate 
property  of  the  husband.  The  Common  Law  on  this  point, 
which  never  has  been  changed  in  a  single  State,!  makes  the  serv- 
ices of  the  wife  belong  to  the  husband,  and  in  return  she  is  legally 

*  For  abstract  of  the  Common  Law  in  regard  to  women  see  History  of  Woman  Suf- 
frage, Vol.  Ill,  p.  961. 

t  A  few  of  the  States  were  formed  under  the  Spanish  er  French  code  instead  of  the 
English  Common  Law,  but  neither  was  more  favorable  to  women. 


THE    RIGHTS    OF    WOMEN    IN    THE   STATES.  457 

entitled  only  to  food,  shelter  and  clothes,  and  these  of  such 
quality  and  quantity  as  the  husband  dictates.  She  can  not  dis- 
pose by  will  of  any  of  the  property  acquired  during  marriage,  nor 
has  she  any  control  of  it  during  the  husband's  lifetime. 

These  facts  should  be  borne  in  mind  when  reading  the  laws 
which  declare  that  husband  and  wife  have  the  same  power  to 
dispose  of  separate  property.  Comparatively  few  women  in  this 
country  have  property  when  married,  especially  if  young  at  the 
time,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  majority  of  men,  but  afterwards 
the  woman  may  never  hope  to  accumulate  any,  as  the  joint  earn- 
ings of  the  marriage  partnership  belong  exclusively  to  the  hus- 
band, and  the  duties  of  the  average  household  prevent  the  wife 
from  engaging  in  outside  work.  However,  in  order  that  she 
might  not  be  left  absolutely  penniless  after  years  of  labor,  the 
Common  Law  provided  that  she  should  be  entitled  to  "dower," 
i.  e.,  the  possession,  for  her  lifetime,  of  one-third  of  all  the  real 
estate  of  which  her  husband  was  possessed  in  fee  simple  during 
the  marriage.  That  is,  she  should  receive  the  life-use  of  one-third 
of  any  realtv  she  might  have  brought  into  the  marriage  and 
one-third  of  all  they  had  earned  together.  But  if  the  husband 
had  converted  these  into  cash,  bonds,  stocks  or  other  personal 
property,  she  could  legally  claim  nothing.  He  had  "curtesy," 
i.  e.,  the  life-use  of  all  her  real  estate,  (sometimes  dependent  on 
the  birth  of  children,  sometimes  not),  and  usually  the  whole  of 
her  personal  estate  absolutely. 

Curtesy  has  now  been  abolished  in  over  one-half  the  States. 
The  law  of  dower  still  exists  in  more  than  one-half,  but  special 
statutes  in  regard  to  personal  property  and  the  wife's  separate 
estate  have  been  made  so  liberal  that  in  comparatively  few  States 
is  she  left  in  the  helpless  condition  of  olden  times.  In  about  one- 
half  of  them  she  takes  from  one-third  to  the  whole  (if  there  are 
no  children)  of  both  real  and  personal  estate  absolutely;  but  in 
all  of  them  it  is  only  at  the  death  of  the  husband  that  she  has  any 
share  or  control  of  the  joint  accumulations  except  such  as  he 
chooses  to  allow.  At  the  death  of  the  wife  all  of  these  belong 
legally  to  the  husband  and  she  can  not  secure  to  her  children  or 
her  parents  any  part  of  the  property  which  she  has  helped  to 
earn.  Space  forbids  going  into  a  discussion  of  the  general  up- 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

heaval  which  follows  the  death  of  the  husband,  the  inventories 
which  must  be  taken,  the  divisions  which  must  be  made,  gen- 
erally resulting  in  the  breaking  up  of  the  home;  while  at  the 
death  of  the  wife  all  passes  peacefully  into  the  possession  of  the 
husband  and  there  is  no  scattering  of  the  family  unless  he  wishes 
it.  A  general  but  necessarily  superficial  statement  of  the  property 
laws  will  be  found  in  connection  with  each  State  in  the  following 
chapters,  and  they  represent  a  complete  legal  revolution  during 
the  past  half  century. 

Fathers  and  mothers  are  given  equal  guardianship  of  children 
in  the  District  of  Columbia  and  nine  States — Colorado,  Connecti- 
cut, Illinois,  Kansas,  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Nebraska,  New  York 
and  Washington.  (See  Pennsylvania.)  In  all  others  the  father 
has  the  sole  custody  and  control  of  the  persons,  education,  earn- 
ings and  estates  of  minor  children.  Where  this  right  is  abused 
the  mother  can  obtain  custody  only  by  applying  for  separation  or 
divorce  or  proving  in  court  the  unfitness  of  the  father.  In  a 
number  of  States  the  father  may  by  will  appoint  a  guardian  even 
of  a  child  unborn,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  mother.  In  others  the 
widow  is  legally  entitled  to  the  guardianship  but  forfeits  it  by 
marrying  again.  Others  do  not  permit  a  widow  to  appoint  by 
will  a  guardian  for  her  children.  Tennessee  and  Louisiana  offer 
examples  of  the  English  and  French  codes  in  this  respect. 

Although  the  father  is  the  sole  guardian  and  entitled  to  the 
services  of  the  children,  and  although  the  joint  earnings  of  the 
marriage  belong  exclusively  to  him,  and  in  a  number  of  States  he 
is  declared  in  the  statutes  to  be  the  "head  of  the  family,"  in  many 
of  them  the  mother  is  held  to  be  equally  liable  for  its  support. 
Her  separate  property  may  be  taken  for  this  purpose  and  she  is 
also  required  to  contribute  by  her  labor.  In  such  cases  the  hus- 
band decides  what  constitutes  "necessities"  and  the  wife  must 
pay  for  what  he  orders.  A  recent  decision  of  the  Illinois  courts 
compelled  a  wife  to  pay  for  the  clothes  of  an  able-bodied  husband. 
In  most  but  not  all  of  the  States  the  husband,  if  competent,  is 
punished  for  failure  to  support  his  family.  The  punishment  con- 
sists in  a  fine,  the  State  thus  taking  from  the  family  what  money 
he  may  possess ;  or  confinement  in  prison,  where  he  is  boarded  and 
lodged  while  the  family  is  in  nowise  relieved. 


THE    RIGHTS    OF    WOMEN    IN    THE    STATES.  459 

It  has  not  been  deemed  necessary  to  consider  at  length  the  sub- 
ject of  divorce,  except  to  mention  the  laws  of  the  few  States 
which  discriminate  against  women.  South  Carolina  is  the  only 
one  which  does  not  grant  divorce ;  New  York  the  only  one  which 
makes  adultery  the  sole  cause.  In  the  remainder  the  causes  have 
a  wider  range,  but  in  all  the  records  show  that  the  vast  majority 
of  divorces  are  granted  to  wives.  The  following  list  is  taken 
from  the  New  York  Sun  (1902)  and  corresponds  with  informa- 
tion gathered  from  other  sources: 

Habitual  drunkenness,  in  all  except  eight  States. 

Wilful  desertion,  generally. 

Felony,  in  all  except  three. 

Cruelty,  and  intolerable  cruelty,  in  all  except  five. 

Failure  by  the  husband  to  provide,  in  twenty. 

Fraud  and  fraudulent  contract,  in  nine. 

Absence  without  being  heard  from,  for  different  periods,  in  six. 

Ungovernable  temper,  in  two. 

Insupportably  cruel  treatment,  outrages  and  excesses,  in  six. 

Indignities  rendering  life  burdensome,  in  six. 

Attempt  to  murder  other  party,  in  three. 

Insanity  or  idiocy  at  time  of  marriage,  in  six.  Insanity  lasting 
ten  years,  in  Washington;  incurable  insanity,  in  North  Dakota, 
Florida  and  Idaho. 

Husband  notoriously  immoral  before  marriage,  unknown  to  wife, 
in  West  Virginia.  [Pregnancy  of  wife  before  marriage,  unknown 
to  husband,  in  many  States]. 

Fugitive  from  justice,  in  Virginia. 

Gross  misbehavior  or  wickedness,  in  Rhode  Island. 

Any  gross  neglect  of  duty,  in  Kansas  and  Ohio. 

Refusal  of  wife  to  remove  into  the  State,  in  Tennessee. 

Mental  incapacity  at  time  of  marriage,  in  Georgia. 

Three  years  with  any  religious  society  that  believes  the  marriage 
relation  unlawful,  in  Massachusetts;  and  joining  any  such  sect,  in 
New  Hampshire. 

When  parties  can  not  live  in  peace  and  union,  in  Utah. 

Vagrancy  of  the  husband,  in  Missouri  and  Wyoming. 

Excesses,  in  Texas. 

Where  wife  by  cruel  and  barbarous  treatment  renders  condition 
of  husband  intolerable,  in  Pennsylvania. 

By  reference  to  the  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  I,  pp. 
482,  717,  745  and  following,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  resolutions 
favoring  divorce  for  habitual  drunkenness  offered  in  the  first 
women's  conventions,  during  the  early  '50*5,  almost  disrupted  the 
meetings,  and  caused  press  and  pulpit  throughout  the  country 


460  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

to  thunder  denunciations,  but  half  a  century  later  such  laws  exist 
in  thirty-seven  of  the  forty-five  States  and  meet  with  general  ap- 
proval. It  is  frequently  charged  that  the  granting  of  woman  suf- 
frage has  been  followed  by  laws  for  free  divorce,  but  an  exami- 
nation of  the  statutes  will  show  that  exactly  the  same  causes  ob- 
tain in  the  States  where  women  do  not  vote  as  in  those  where  they 
do ;  that  there  has  not  been  the  slightest  change  in  the  latter  since 
the  franchise  was  given  them ;  and  that  in  Wyoming,  where  it  has 
been  exercised  since  1869,  there  is  the  smallest  percentage  of  di- 
vorce in  proportion  to  the  population  of  any  State  in  the  Union. 
The  three  places  which  are  so  largely  utilized  by  outsiders  who 
wish  a  speedy  divorce,  because  only  a  ninety  days'  residence  is 
required,  are  North  and  South  Dakota  and  Oklahoma,  in  neither 
of  which  have  women  any  suffrage  except  for  school  trustees. 

The  "age  of  consent  or  protection"  for  girls,  i.  e.,  the  age  when 
they  are  declared  to  have  sufficient  understanding  to  consent  to 
intercourse,  and  above  which  they  can  claim  no  legal  protec- 
tion, was  fixed  at  ten  years  by  the  Common  Law.  No  action  was 
taken  by  any  State  to  advance  the  age  up  to  which  they  might  be 
protected  until  1864,  when  Oregon  raised  it  to  fourteen  years. 
No  other  State  followed  this  example  until  1882,  when  Wyo- 
ming made  it  fourteen.  In  1885  Nebraska  added  two  years  mak- 
ing it  twelve.  At  this  date  women  commenced  to  besiege  the 
Legislatures  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  there  was  a  general 
movement  from  that  time  forward  to  have  the  age  of  protection 
increased,  but  in  almost  every  instance  where  this  has  been  accom- 
plished, the  penalty  for  violation  of  the  law  has  been  reduced,  and 
now  in  thirteen  States  no  minimum  penalty  is  named.  The  age 
still  remains  at  ten  years  in  Florida,  Georgia,  Mississippi,  North 
and  South  Carolina.  In  Kentucky,  Louisiana,  Tennessee  and 
West  Virginia  the  age  is  twelve  years,  but  in  Tennessee  it  is 
only  a  "misdemeanor"  between  twelve  and  sixteen.  (For  the 
recent  efforts  of  women  in  Georgia  and  Florida  to  have  the  age 
advanced,  and  their  failure,  see  the  chapters  on  those  States.) 
In  Delaware  the  Common  Law  age  of  ten  years  was  reduced  to 
seven  by  the  Legislature  in  1871,  and  no  protection  was  afforded 
to  infants  over  seven  until  1889  when  the  age  was  raised  to 
fifteen,  but  the  crime  was  declared  to  be  only  a  "misdemeanor." 


THE    RIGHTS    OF    WOMEN    IN    THE    STATES.  461 

Women  who  have  "all  the  rights  they  want,"  and  men  who  in- 
sist that  "the  laws  are  framed  for  the  best  interests  of  women," 
are  recommended  to  make  a  study  of  those  presented  herewith. 

Under  the  head  of  Suffrage  it  is  stated  whether  women  possess 
any  form  of  it  and,  if  so,  in  what  it  consists.  The  story  of  the 
four  States  where  they  have  the  complete  franchise — Wyoming, 
Colorado,  Utah  and  Idaho — naturally  is  most  interesting,  as  it 
describes  just  how  this  was  obtained  and  gives  considerable  in- 
formation on  points  which  are  not  fully  understood  by  the  gen- 
eral public.  The  chapter  on  Kansas  doubtless  will  come  next  in 
interest,  as  there  women  have  had  the  Municipal  ballot  since  1887. 
It  is  frequently  said  in  criticism  that  women  have  School  Suf- 
frage in  twenty-six  States  and  Territories,  including  the  five  men- 
tioned above,  but  they  do  not  make  use  of  it  in  large  numbers. 
What  this  fragmentary  suffrage  includes,  the  restrictions  thrown 
around  it  and  the  obstacles  placed  in  its  way,  are  described  in  the 
chapters  of  those  States  and  Territories  where  it  prevails — Ari- 
zona, Connecticut,  Delaware,  Illinois,  Kentucky,  Massachusetts, 
Minnesota,  Michigan,  Montana,  Nebraska,  North  Dakota,  New 
Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Ohio,  Oklahoma,  Oregon, 
South  Dakota,  Vermont,  Washington,  Wisconsin. 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  New  York  women  tax-payers  in  villages, 
and  in  Louisiana  and  Montana  all  tax-paying  women,  may  vote 
on  questions  submitted  for  taxation,  and  an  account  is  given  of 
the  first  use  which  women  made  of  this  privilege  in  Louisiana  in 
1899.  In  Iowa  all  women  may  vote  on  the  issuing  of  bonds.  In 
Mississippi  they  have  the  merest  form  of  a  franchise  on  a  few 
matters  connected  with  country  schools  and  the  running  at  large 
of  stock.  In  Arkansas  they  may  sign  a  petition  against  liquor 
selling  within  certain  limits  and  their  names  count  for  as  much 
as  men's.  After  a  careful  study  of  the  situation  the  wonder  will 
not  be  that  women  do  not  exercise  more  largely  these  grudgingly- 
given  and  closely-restricted  privileges,  but  that  in  many  States 
they  think  it  worth  while  to  exercise  them  at  all.  In  the  four, 
however,  where  they  have  the  Full  Suffrage,  and  in  Kansas 
where  they  have  the  Municipal,  the  official  figures  which  have 
been  carefully  tabulated  will  demonstrate  beyond  further  contro- 
versy that  where  they  possess  exactly  the  same  electoral  rights  as 


462  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

men  they  use  them  in  even  a  larger  proportion.  These  statistics 
answer  conclusively  the  question,  "Do  women  want  to  vote?" 

The  information  as  to  Office-Holding  is  necessarily  somewhat 
desultory  as  there  is  no  record  in  any  State  of  the  women  in  of- 
fice. This  is  true  even  of  those  pertaining  to  the  schools,  and  in 
very  few  cases  does  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion know  how  many  women  are  serving  as  county  superintend- 
ents and  members  of  school  boards.  The  information  on  these 
points  contained  in  the  State  chapters  was  secured  principally 
through  personal  investigation  and  by  an  extended  correspond- 
ence, and  while  it  is  believed  to  be  entirely  correct  so  far  as  it 
goes,  it  does  not  by  any  means  include  the  total  number  of  offices 
rilled  by  women.  Imperfect  as  is  the  list  it  will  be  a  surprise  to 
those  who  look  upon  office-holding  as  the  natural  prerogative  of 
man.  A  stock  objection  to  woman  suffrage  is  that  women  will 
be  wanting  the  offices.  An  examination  of  the  reports  here  sub- 
mitted will  disclose  the  surprising  fact  that  in  a  number  of  States 
where  women  do  not  vote  they  are  filling  as  many  offices  as  in 
those  where  they  have  the  full  franchise.  Probably  the  majority 
of  State  constitutions  declare  that  the  offices  must  be  held  by 
electors,  but  where  this  proviso  is  not  made,  women  have  been 
elected  and  appointed  to  various  offices  and  so  far  as  can  be 
learned  have  given  general  satisfaction.* 

The  necessity  for  matrons  at  police  stations  and  jails,  and  for 
women  physicians  in  all  institutions  where  women  and  children 
are  confined,  is  too  evident  to  need  any  argument  in  its  favor, 
and  yet  it  is  only  within  the  past  ten  years  that  they  have  been 
thus  employed  to  any  extent  and  even  now  they  are  found  in  only 
a  small  fraction  of  such  institutions.  The  objection  to  these  ma- 
trons on  the  part  of  the  police  force  has  been  strenuous,  and  yet, 
almost  without  exception,  after  they  have  gained  a  foothold,  the 
police  officers  testify  that  they  do  not  understand  how  the  depart- 
ment got  on  without  them.  It  ought  to  be  equally  evident  that 
there  should  be  women  on  the  boards  of  all  institutions  which 
care  for  women  and  children,  but,  although  in  most  instances 
these  positions  have  no  salary,  there  is  the  most  violent  opposition 
to  giving  women  a  place,  and  the  concession  has  had  to  be  wrung 

*  No  mention  is  made  of  women  postmasters  as   these  are    found   in  all   States.     The 
first  were  appointed  by  President  Grant  during  his  first  term  of  office,  1868-1873. 


THE   RIGHTS   OF    WOMEN    IN    THE    STATES.  463 

from  Legislatures  in  the  few  States  where  it  has  been  obtained. 
The  right  of  women  and  their  value  to  school  offices  is  now  partly 
conceded  in  about  half  the  States.  Women  librarians  also  have 
met  with  some  favor.  As  to  offices  in  general,  most  of  which 
carry  either  salary  or  patronage  or  both,  they  will  continue  to  be 
regarded  as  belonging  entirely  to  voters  and  as  perquisites  of 
party  managers  with  which  to  reward  political  service,  although 
all  of  them  are  proportionately  supported  by  women  tax-payers. 

As  regards  Occupations,  the  census  of  1900  shows  3,230,642 
women  engaged  in  wage-earning  employments,  exclusive  of  do- 
mestic service,  and  the  question  of  their  admittance  to  practically 
all  such  may  be  regarded  as  settled,  but  it  has  not  been  gained 
without  a  contest.  Women,  however,  are  still  barred  from  the 
best-paying  positions  and  are  usually  compelled  to  accept  unequal 
wages  for  equal  work.  This  is  partly  due  to  disfranchisement 
and  partly  to  economic  causes  and  can  be  remedied  only  by  time. 
In  many  of  the  States  of  which  it  is  said,  "No  profession  is  for- 
bidden to  women,"  the  test  has  not  been  made,  and  until  some 
woman  attempts  to  be  a  minister,  physician,  lawyer  or  notary 
public  it  can  not  be  known  whether  she  will  encounter  a  statutory 
prohibition. 

The  department  of  Education  presents  the  most  satisfactory 
condition.  The  battle  for  co-education,  which  means  simply  a 
chance  for  women  to  have  the  best  advantages  which  ex- 
ist, has  been  bitterly  fought.  A  guerilla  warfare  is  still  main- 
tained against  it,  but  the  contest  is  so  nearly  finished  as  to  warrant 
no  fears  as  to  the  future.  Every  State  University  but  those  of 
Georgia,  Louisiana,  North  Carolina  and  Virginia,  is  open  to 
women  on  exactly  the  same  terms  as  to  men  (with  the  exception 
of  some  departments  of  Pennsylvania) .  They  have  full  admission 
to  Chicago  and  Leland  Stanford  Universities,  two  of  the  largest 
in  the  United  States.  They  may  enter  the  post-graduate  de- 
partment of  Yale  and  receive  its  degrees.  Harvard  and  Prince- 
ton are  still  entirely  closed  to  them,  as  are  a  number  of  the  smaller 
of  the  old,  established  Eastern  universities,  but  this  is  largely 
compensated  by  the  great  Woman's  Colleges  of  the  East — Bryn 
Mawr,  Wellesley,  Smith  and  Vassar — which  accommodate  nearly 
4,000  students.  The  Medical  Department  of  Johns  Hopkins,  and 


4^4  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Medical,  Theological,  Law  and  Dental  Colleges  in  all  parts  of 
the  country,  admit  women  to  their  full  courses.  This  is  true 
also  of  Agricultural  Colleges  and  of  Technical  Institutes  such  as 
Drex^l  and  Pratt.  There  is  now  no  lack  of  opportunity  for 
them  to  obtain  the  highest  education,  either  along  the  line  of 
general  culture  or  specialized  work.* 

The  details  of  the  following  chapters  will  show  that  the  civil, 
legal,  industrial  and  educational  rights  of  women  are  so  far  se- 
cured as  to  give  full  assurance  that  they  will  be  absolute  in  the 
near  future.  The  political  rights  are  further  off,  for  reasons 
which  are  presented  in  the  introduction  to  this  volume,  but  the 
yielding  of  all  the  others  is  proof  sufficient  that  the  spirit  of  our 
institutions  will  eventually  find  its  fullest  expression  in  perfect 

equality  of  rights  for  all  the  people. 

' 

*  In  the  various  States  under  the  head  of  Education,  Roman  Catholic  colleges  and 
universities  are  not  considered,  as  they  are  nowhere  co-educational. 

The  public  school  statistics  are  taken  from  the  reports  for  1898-9  of  the  U.  S.  Com- 
missioner of  Education. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

ALABAMA.* 

Actual  work  for  woman  suffrage  in  Alabama  began  in  1890,  at 
the  time  the  constitutional  convention  of  Mississippi  was  in  ses- 
sion. The  editor  of  the  New  Decatur  Advertiser  opened  his 
columns  to  all  matter  on  the  question  and  thus  aroused  local  in-, 
terest,  which  in  1892  culminated  in  the  formation  in  that  town  of 
the  first  suffrage  club  in  the  State,  with  seven  charter  members. 
The  women  who  thus  faced  a  most  conservative  public  sentiment 
were  Mesdames  Harvey  Lewis,  F.  E.  Jenkins,  E.  G.  Robb,  A.  R. 
Rose,  B.  E.  Moore,  Lucy  A.  Gould  and  Ellen  Stephens  Hildreth. 

Before  the  close  of  the  year  a  second  club  was  formed  in  Ver- 
bena by  Miss  Frances  A.  Griffin,  who  has  since  become  noted 
as  a  public  speaker  for  this  cause.  Others  were  soon  established 
through  the  efforts  of  Mesdames  Minnie  Hardy  Gist,  Bessie 
Vaughn,  M.  C.  Arter,  W.  J.  Sibert  and  Miss  B.  M.  Haley. 

In  1892  and  1893  the  Woman's  Column,  published  in  Boston, 
was  sent  by  the  National  Association  to  1,500  teachers,  ministers, 
school  superintendents,  editors,  legislators  and  other  prominent 
people,  the  names  being  furnished  by  Mrs.  Hildreth.  A  State 
organization  was  effected  in  1893,  with  Mrs.  Hildreth,  president, 
and  Miss  Griffin,  secretary. 

In  1895  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  president  of  the  National 
Association,  and  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  its  or- 
ganization committee,  who  were  making  a  southern  tour,  were 
asked  by  the  New  Decatur  Club  to  include  that  city  in  their  itiner- 
ary. They  were  also  invited  by  Mrs.  Alberta  Taylor  to  address 
her  society  at  Huntsville.  These  visits  of  the  great  leader  and 
her  eloquent  assistant  aroused  much  interest,  but  the  financial 
depression  prevented  active  work. 

*  The  History  is   indebted   for  this   chapter   to    Mrs.    Ellen   Stephens   Hildreth   of   New 
Decatur,  the  first  president  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF— 30  465 


466  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Mrs.  Virginia  Clay  Clopton  was  elected  State  president  in 
1896;  Mrs.  Annie  D.  Shelby,  Mrs.  Milton  Hume  and  Mrs.  Tay- 
lor were  made  vice-presidents ;  Mrs.  Laura  McCullough  and  Mrs. 
Amelia  Billiard,  recording  secretaries;  Mrs.  Hildreth,  corre- 
sponding secretary;  and  Mrs.  E.  E.  Greenleaf,  treasurer.  Mrs. 
Clopton  represented  the  association  at  the  Tennessee  Centennial 
in  1898.  Opposition  is  so  great  that  it  has  been  deemed  wise  to 
do  nothing  more  than  distribute  literature  and  present  the  argu- 
ments in  the  press. 

A  State  convention  was  held  at  Huntsville,  Oct.  i,  1900, 
Mrs.  Taylor  presiding.  Mrs.  Clopton  being  obliged  to  resign, 
Miss  Griffin  was  made  president.  Mrs.  Hume  and  Mrs.  Robert 
Cunningham  were  chosen  vice-presidents;  Mrs.  Greenleaf,  treas- 
urer ;  Miss  Julia  Tutweiler,  State  organizer. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  In  January,  1893, 
through  the  influence  of  the  suffrage  association,  Senator  J.  W. 
Inzer  presented  a  bill  to  amend  the  State  constitution  so  as  to 
permit  women  to  vote  on  municipal  questions  and  prohibitory 
liquor  enactments.  It  never  was  reported  from  the  Judiciary 
Committee. 

In  1895,  at  the  desire  of  the  New  Decatur  Club,  Representative 
Osceola  Kyle  introduced  a  bill  raising  the  "age  of  protection"  for 
girls  from  ten  to  fourteen  years,  and  a  similar  one  was  offered  for 
the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union.  Although  these 
efforts  were  not  successful  then,  public  attention  was  drawn  to 
the  subject,  and  at  the  next  session,  in  1897,  the  age  was  raised  to 
fourteen  years  with  a  penalty  of  death  or  imprisonment  for  not 
less  than  ten  years  in  the  penitentiary. 

Previous  to  1886  legislation  and  public  sentiment  in  Alabama 
were  of  the  most  conservative  kind,  but  at  the  Constitutional  Con- 
vention held  that  year  changes  in  the  statutes  were  made  which 
gave  to  women  many  rights  and  privileges  not  before  possessed. 
Dower  but  not  curtesy  obtains.  If  there  are  no  lineal  descend- 
ants, and  the  estate  is  solvent,  the  widow  takes  one-half  of  the 
real  estate  for  life,  but  if  the  estate  is  insolvent,  one-third  only. 
If  there  are  lineal  descendants,  then  the  dower  right  is  one-third, 
whether  the  estate  is  solvent  or  not.  If  a  husband  die  without 
a  will,  his  widow,  if  there  are  no  children,  is  entitled  to  all  of  his 


ALABAMA.  467 

personal  property ;  if  there  is  but  one  child,  she  is  entitled  to  one- 
half ;  if  there  are  more  than  one  and  not  more  than  four  children, 
then  she  is  entitled  to  one  child's  portion.  A  homestead  to  the 
value  of  $2,000  is  exempt  to  her  from  all  creditors  and  no  will 
can  deprive  her  of  it,  unless  she  has  signed  a  mortgage  on  it.  If 
a  wife  die  without  a  will,  her  husband  is  entitled  to  one-half  of 
her  personal  property,  whether  there  are  children  or  not,  and  to 
the  life  use  of  all  her  real  estate. 

A  wife  may  will  her  property  to  whom  she  pleases,  excluding1 
her  husband  from  all  share.  He  can  do  this  with  his  property, 
but  can  not  impair  her  dower  rights.  She  can  not  sell  her  real 
estate  without  his  written  consent,  but  can  sell  her  persorial  prop- 
erty without  it.  He  can  mortgage  or  sell  his  real  estate,  except 
the  homestead,  and  can  dispose  of  his  personal  property,  without 
her  consent. 

A  married  woman  may  be  agent,  guardian  or  administrator. 
She  may  acquire  and  hold  separate  property  not  liable  for  the 
debts  of  her  husband,  though  necessaries  for  the  family  can  be  a 
liability.  Her  bank  deposit  is  her  own,  and  her  earnings  can  not 
be  taken  by  her  husband  or  his  creditors.  A  wife  can  not  become 
surety  for  her  husband.  Property  purchased  with  her  money 
will  be  returned  to  her  upon  application  to  the  court. 

A  wife  may  engage  in  business  with  her  husband's  written  con- 
sent. If  she  does  so  without  it  she  incurs  no  penalty,  but  it  is 
necessary  in  order  that  her  creditors  may  recover  their  money. 
She  must  sue  and  be  sued  and  make  contracts  jointly  with  the 
husband. 

If  a  woman  commit  a  crime  in  partnership  with  her  husband 
(except  murder  or  treason)  she  can  not  be  punished;  nor,  if  she 
commit  a  crime  in  his  presence,  can  he  testify  against  her. 

Common  law  marriage  is  valid  and  the  legal  age  for  a  girl  is 
fourteen  years. 

The  father  is  the  guardian  of  the  minor  children,  and  at  his 
death  may  appoint  a  guardian  to  the  exclusion  of  the  mother.  If 
this  is  not  done  she  becomes  the  legal  guardian  of  the  girls  till 
they  are  eighteen,  of  the  boys  till  fourteen. 

Alabama  is  one  of  the  few  States  which  do  not  by  law  require 
the  husband  to  support  the  family. 


468  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  convicted  father  of  an  illegitimate  child  must  pay  to  the 
Probate  Court  for  its  support  not  exceeding  $50  yearly  for  ten 
years,  and  must  give  $1,000  bond  for  this  purpose.  Failing  to 
do  this,  judgment  is  rendered  for  not  more  than  $625  and  he  is 
sentenced  to  hard  labor  for  the  county  for  one  year. 

It  is  a  criminal  offense  to  use  foul  language  to  or  in  the  hear- 
ing of  a  woman,  or  by  rude  behavior  to  annoy  her  in  any  public 
place;  or  to  take  a  woman  of  notorious  character  to  any  public 
place  of  resort  for  respectable  women  and  men.  Slander  against 
a  woman's  character  is  heavily  punished ;  a  seducer  is  sent  to  the 
penitentiary  if  his  victim  previously  has  been  chaste.  Procurers 
may  be  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary. 

The  "age  of  protection  for  girls"  is  14  years,  and  the  penalty  is 
death  or  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  from  ten  years  to  life. 

SUFFRAGE:     Women  have  no  form  of  suffrage.* 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  Women  are  not  eligible  to  any  elective 
office.  They  act  as  enrolling  clerks  in  the  Legislature.  Two 
women,  whose  fathers  died  while  holding  the  position,  were  made 
registrars  in  chancery.  Women  can  not  serve  as  notaries  public. 

There  are  no  women  trustees  on  the  board  of  any  State  insti- 
tution, although  the  charitable  and  benevolent  work  is  almost  en- 
tirely in  the  hands  of  women.  A  man  is  superintendent  of  the 
Girls'  Industrial  School  and  the  entire  board  is  composed  of  men. 
Limited  State  aid  is  extended  to  a  number  of  institutions  founded 
and  controlled  by  women,  including  the  Boys'  Industrial  Farm. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  Women  are  legally  prohibited  from  acting  as 
lawyers,  physicians  or  ministers.  They  are  not  allowed  to  en- 
gage in  mining. 

EDUCATION  :  All  educational  institutions  admit  women. 
The  State  Polytechnic  at  Auburn  was  the  pioneer,  offering  to 
women  in  1892  every  course,  technical,  scientific  and  agricultural. 
The  State  University  at  Tuscaloosa  opened  its  doors  to  them  in 
1896.  Two  scholarships  for  girls  are  maintained  here,  one  by 
the  ladies  of  Montgomery  and  one  by  those  of  Birmingham.  In 

•  In  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1901,  an  amendment  providing  that  any  woman 
paying  taxes  on  $500  worth  of  property  might  vote  on  all  bond  propositions  was  adopted 
with  great  enthusiasm,  but  the  next  day,  under  the  influence  of  the  argument  that  "it 
would  be  an  entering  wedge  for  full  suffrage,"  it  was  reconsidered  and  voted  down. 
U.  S.  Senator  John  T.  Morgan  urged  this  amendment  The  new  constitution  did  contain 
a  clause,  however,  providing  that  if  a  wife  paid  taxes  on  $500  worth  of  property  her  hus- 
band should  be  entitled  to  this  vote. 


ALABAMA.  469 

1900,  out  of  a  class  of  178  boys  and  23  girls,  two  boys  and  four 
girls  took  the  highest  honors. 

The  State  Industrial  School  for  Girls,  at  Montevallo,  was  es- 
tablished in  1896.  There  are  two  co-educational  Normal  Schools 
at  Florence  and  Troy. 

The  colored  men  and  women  have  excellent  advantages  in  sev- 
eral Normal  Schools  and  Colleges.  The  Tuskegee  Normal  and 
Industrial  Institute,  under  the  presidency  of  Booker  T.  Washing- 
ton, has  a  national  reputation.  Colored  children  have  also  their 
full  share  of  public  schools. 

There  are  in  the  public  schools  2,262  men  and  5,041  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $32 ;  of  the 
women,  $25.35. 

The  most  progressive  movement  in  the  State  is  that  of  the 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  formed  in  1895,  and  including  at 
present  fifty-eight  clubs.  Its  work  has  been  extremely  practical 
in  the  line  of  education  and  philanthropy.  The  most  important 
achievement  is  the  Boys'  Industrial  Farm,  located  at  East  Lake 
near  Birmingham.  This  is  managed  by  a  board  of  women  and 
has  a  charter  which  secures  its  control  to  women,  even  if  it  be- 
come entirely  a  State  institution.  The  club  women  have  for 
three  years  sustained  five  scholarships  for  girls,  two  at  Tusca- 
loosa  and  three  at  Montevallo.  They  have  organized  also  a  free 
traveling  library,  and  in  four  cities  free  kindergartens. 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  noted  that  the  strength  of  the  woman 
movement  in  the  State  has  been  wonderfully  developed  in  all 
directions  during  the  last  five  years. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

ARIZONA.* 

The  Territory  having  elected  delegates  to  a  convention  to  be 
held  in  Phoenix  in  August  and  September,  1891,  to  prepare  a  con- 
stitution for  Statehood,  Henry  B.  Blackwell  and  Lucy  Stone  of 
Massachusetts  sent  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns  of  Kansas  to  Arizona 
in  August  to  endeavor  to  secure  a  clause  in  this  constitution 
granting  suffrage  to  women.  She  was  received  in  Tucson  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hughes,  editors  and  proprietors  of  an  influential 
daily  paper,  who  gave  every  possible  assistance. 

Mrs.  Johns  soon  went  to  Phoenix,  where  the  convention  was 
in  session,  and  followed  up  a  previous  correspondence  with  the 
delegates  by  personal  interviews.  She  found  a  powerful  cham- 
pion in  ex-Attorney-General  William  Herring,  chairman  of  the 
committee  which  had  the  question  of  woman  suffrage  in  charge. 
When  she  asked  permission  to  address  this  committee  it  set  an 
early  date  and  suggested  that  it  might  be  pleasanter  for  the  ladies 
if  the  hearing  should  be  held  in  a  private  residence.  Accordingly 
Mrs.  E.  D.-Garlick,  formerly  of  Winfield,  Kansas,  opened  her 
parlor,  invited  a  number  of  ladies  who  were  interested  and  the 
committee  met  with  them  and  listened  courteously  to  their  plea 
for  the  ballot.  A  favorable  report  was  presented  to  the  conven- 
tion and  General  Herring,  Mrs.  Johns,  Mrs.  Hughes  and  others 
spoke  eloquently  in  favor  of  its  acceptance.  The  measure  was 
lost  by  three  votes. 

So  much  interest  had  been  manifested  that  a  Territorial  Suf- 
frage Association  was  formed,  with  Mrs.  Hughes  as  president 
and  Mrs.  Garlick  as  corresponding  secretary.  Mrs.  Johns  in- 
tended to  organize  the  Territory  but  was  suddenly  called  home 
by  a  death  in  her  family. 

*  The  History  is  indebted  to  Mrs.  L.  C.  Hughes  of  Tucson,  former  president  of  the 
Territorial  Woman  Suffrage  Association,  and  to  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns  of  Kansas  for 
material  used  in  this  chapter. 

470 


ARIZONA.  471 

Four  years  later,  in  1895,  while  she  was  working  in  New  Mex- 
ico for  the  National  Association,  she  was  requested  by  Mrs. 
Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  its  organization  committee, 
to  speak  at  the  annual  convention  in  Phoenix ;  and  on  the  way  she 
held  preliminary  meetings  at  Tucson,  Tempe  and  other  places. 

In  January,  1896,  Mrs.  Hughes,  whose  husband  was  now  Gov- 
ernor, went  to  the  convention  of  the  National  Association  in 
Washington  to  interest  that  body  in  Arizona,  which  it  was  then 
expected  would  soon  enter  Statehood.  She  made  a  strong  ap- 
peal, assuring  the  delegates  that  the  pioneer  men  of  the  Territory 
were  willing  to  confer  the  suffrage  on  the  women  who  had  braved 
the  early  hardships  with  them,  and  saying : 

It  is  of  the  most  vital  importance  that  our  women  be  enfranchised 
before  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  approaching  constitutional 
convention,  as  the  Congressional  enabling  act  provides  that  all  per- 
sons qualified  as  voters  under  the  Territorial  law  shall  be  qualified 
to  vote  for  delegates  to  this  convention  and  for  the  ratification  or 
rejection  of  the  same. 

If  our  women  are  enfranchised  before  the  enabling  act  is  passed, 
then  Arizona  is  safe  and  no  power  can  prevent  them  from  being 
accorded  their  rights  in  the  constitution,  and  if  their  rights  are  not 
conceded  they  will  see  to  it  that  the  constitution  fails  of  ratification. 

In  March  the  National  Association  sent  Mrs.  Johns  again  into 
the  Territory  and  she  remained  until  May.  In  company  with 
Mrs.  Hughes  she  made  a  successful  tour  through  the  Salt  River 
Valley,  receiving  generous  hospitality,  addressing  large  audiences 
and  forming  local  clubs.  The  two  ladies  then  crossed  the  Ter- 
ritory to  Yuma,  speaking  at  various  points  on  the  way,  and  went 
from  there  to  Prescott.  Governor  Hughes  himself  spoke  at  the 
meetings  held  in  Clifton.  Mrs.  Johns  then  went  to  the  Northern 
counties.  Altogether  most  of  the  towns  were  visited,  and  while 
the  distances  were  great  and  the  difficulties  numerous,  the  meet- 
ings were  well  attended  and  earnest  advocates  were  found  even  in 
small  mining  camps  among  the  mountains. 

Mrs.  Johns  returned  in  the  winter  of  1897  and  addressed  the 
Legislature  in  behalf  of  a  bill  for  woman  suffrage  but  no  action 
was  taken.  Among  the  friends  and  workers  not  elsewhere  men- 
tioned were  the  Hon.  and  Mrs.  George  P.  Blair,  ex-Mayor 
Gustavus  Hoff,  C.  R.  Drake,  John  T.  Hughes ;  the  other  officers 
of  the  suffrage  association  were  Mrs.  C.  T.  Hayden,  vice-presi- 


472  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

dent ;  Mrs.  R.  G.  Phillips,  corresponding  secretary ;  Mrs.  Lillian 
Collins,  recording  secretary;  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Hall,  treasurer. 

In  the  winter  of  1899  the  time  seemed  propitious  for  a  vigor- 
ous movement,  and  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  and  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay 
spent  a  month  at  Phoenix  during  the  legislative  session.  Every 
possible  effort  was  made,  there  seemed  to  be  a  remarkable  senti- 
ment in  favor  of  woman  suffrage  among  the  better  classes  and  it 
looked  as  if  it  would  be  granted.  The  final  result  is  thus  de- 
scribed in  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt's  report  to  the  national  convention 
the  following  April : 

Our  bill  went  through  the  House  by  an  unprecedented  majority, 
10  yeas,  5  nays,  and  then,  as  in  Oklahoma,  the  remonstrants  concen- 
trated their  opposition  upon  the  Council.  Here,  as  there,  the  work- 
ing opponents  were  the  saloon-keepers,  with  the  difference  that  in 
Arizona  they  are  often  the  proprietors  of  a  gambling  den  and  house 
of  prostitution  in  connection  with  the  saloons,  and  thus  the  opposi- 
tion was  more  bitter  and  intolerant  because  it  was  believed  greater 
damage  would  result  from  the  votes  of  women.  Every  member  ot 
the  Council  received  letters  or  telegrams  from  the  leading  proprie- 
tors of  such  resorts,  threatening  political  ruin  if  he  failed  to  vote 
against  the  measure.  It  was  well  known  that  money  was  contrib- 
uted from  these  same  sources.  Here,  as  in  Oklahoma,  a  majority 
were  pledged  to  support  the  bill,  but  here,  too,  they  played  a  filibus- 
tering game  which  prevented  its  coming  to  final  vote.  Pledges 
made  to  women  are  not  usually  counted  as  binding,  but  these 
pledges,  as  in  Oklahoma,  were  made  to  men  who  were  political  co- 
workers.  They  did  not  deem  it  prudent  to  break  these  pledges  by 
an  open  vote  against  the  bill,  but  they  held  that  they  were  not  vio- 
lated when  they  kept  the  matter  from  coming  to  a  vote.  The  oppo- 
sition was  led  by  the  proprietor  of  the  largest  and  richest  saloon  in 
the  Territory. 

I  have  never  found  anywhere,  however,  so  many  strong,  deter- 
mined, able  men,  anxious  to  espouse  our  cause  as  in  Arizona.  The 
general  sentiment  is  overwhelmingly  in  our  favor.  At  one  time 
three  prominent  men  were  in  Phoenix  to  do  what  they  could  for  the 
suffrage  bill,  each  of  whom  had  traveled  four  hundred  miles  for  this 
express  purpose.  Governor  N.  O.  Murphy  recommended  woman 
suffrage  in  his  message  and  did  all  that  was  possible  to  assist  its 
passage.  The  press  is  favorable,  the  intelligent  and  moral  citizens 
are  eager  for  it,  but  the  vicious  elements,  as  everywhere,  are  op- 
posed. For  a  month  the  question  was  bitterly  contested,  but  its 
foes  prevented  a  vote.  So  again  a  campaign,  which  was  sure  of 
victory  had  each  man  voted  his  conviction,  ended  in  crime  and 
bribery  won  the  day.  The  pay  of  legislators  in  the  Territories  is. 
very  small,  and  the  most  desirable  men  can  not  afford  to  serve.  In 
consequence  there  drifts  into  every  Legislature  enough  men  of  un- 


ARIZONA.  473 

principled  character  to  make  a  balance  of  power.  It  may  interest 
you  to  know  that  in  both  Territories  we  were  told  that  all  such  legis- 
lation is  controlled  by  bribery,  and  that  our  measure  could  be  put 
through  in  a  twinkling  by  "a  little  money  judiciously  distributed," 
but  to  such  suggestions  we  replied  that  what  the  suffragists  had  won 
they  had  won  honestly  and  we  would  postpone  further  advances  till 
they  could  come  in  the  same  way.  In  the  future  years  of  strife  over 
this  question  there  will  be  many  hands  stained  with  guilt,  but  they 
will  be  those  of  the  remonstrants  and  not  ours.  Though  crime 
prevented  the  victory,  yet  we  were  abundantly  assured  of  the  lasting 
results  of  the  campaign. 

LAWS:  Curtesy  and  dower  were  abolished  by  Territorial 
legislation,  but  in  1887  Congress  passed  an  act  granting  a  widow 
dower  in  all  the  Territories.  If  either  husband  or  wife  die  with- 
out a  will,  leaving  descendants,  out  of  the  separate  property  of 
either  the  survivor  has  one-third  of  the  personal  and  a  life  use  of 
one-third  of  the  real  estate.  If  there  are  no  descendants,  the 
survivor  has  all  of  the  personal  and  a  life  use  of  one-half  the 
real  estate;  if  there  are  neither  descendants  nor  father  nor 
mother  of  the  decedent,  the  survivor  has  the  whole  estate. 
The  community  property  goes  entirely  to  the  survivor  if  there  are 
no  descendants,  otherwise  one-half  goes  to  the  survivor,  in  either 
case  charged  with  the  community  debts.  If  the  widow  has  a 
maintenance  derived  from  her  own  property  equal  to  $2,000,  the 
whole  property  so  set  apart,  other  than  her  half  of  the  home- 
stead, must  go  to  the  minor  children.  If  the  homestead  was  se- 
lected from  the  community  property  it  vests  absolutely  in  the  sur- 
vivor. If  selected  from  the  separate  property  of  either,  it  vests 
in  that  one  or  his  heirs.  It  can  not  exceed  $5,000  in  value. 

Married  women  have  the  exclusive  control  of  their  separate 
property ;  it  is  not  liable  for  the  debts  or  obligations  of  the  hus- 
band ;  it  may  be  mortgaged,  sold  or  disposed  of  by  will  without 
his  consent.  The  same  privileges  are  extended  to  husbands. 

A  married  woman  may  sue  and  be  sued  and  make  contracts  in 
her  own  name  as  regards  her  separate  property,  but  she  must  sue 
jointly  with  her  husband  for  personal  injuries,  and  damages  re- 
covered are  community  property  and  in  his  control. 

If  a  married  woman  desire  to  become  a  sole  trader  she  must 
file  a  certificate  in  the  registry  of  deeds  setting  forth  the  nature 
and  place  of  business.  She  can  not  become  a  sole  trader  if  the 


474  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

original  capital  invested  exceeds  $10,000  unless  she  takes  oath 
that  the  surplus  did  not  come  from  any  funds  of  the  husband.  If 
the  wife  is  not  a  sole  trader  her  wages  are  community  property 
and  belong  to  the  husband  while  she  is  living  with  him. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  minor  children.  At  his 
death  the  mother  becomes  guardian  so  long  as  she  remains  un- 
married, provided  she  is  a  suitable  person. 

If  the  husband  fails  to  support  his  wife,  she  may  contract  debts 
for  necessaries  on  his  credit,  and  for  such  debts  she  and  her  hus- 
band must  be  sued  jointly  and  if  he  is  not  financially  responsible 
her  separate  property  may  be  taken. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10  to  14 
years  in  1887,  and  to  18  in  1895.  The  penalty  is  confinement  in 
the  penitentiary  for  life  or  for  not  less  than  five  years. 

SUFFRAGE:  Since  1887  every  person,  male  or  female,  twenty- 
one  years  old,  who  is  the  parent  or  guardian  of  a  child  of  school 
age  residing  in  the  district,  or  has  paid  Territorial  or  county 
school  tax,  exclusive  of  poll-tax,  during  the  preceding  year,  is 
eligible  to  the  office  of  school  trustee  and  entitled  to  vote  for  this 
officer  at  any  School  District  election.  This  includes  all  cities 
and  towns  in  the  Territory. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  Women  may  legally  serve  as  school  trus- 
tees, court  commissioners,  clerks  of  court,  official  stenographers, 
deputies  and  clerks  in  Territorial,  county  and  municipal  offices, 
and  notaries  public.  Very  few,  however,  are  filling  any  of  these 
offices. 

Governor  L.  C.  Hughes  held  that  women  were  qualified  to  sit 
on  any  State  Board  and  appointed  one  on  the  board  of  the  State 
Normal  School  and  one  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Insane 
Asylum.  None  have  since  been  appointed.  There  are  no  women 
physicians  in  any  public  institutions,  and  no  police  matrons  at 
any  jail  or  station-house. 

OCCUPATIONS:  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  for- 
bidden to  women. 

EDUCATION  :  The  State  University  is  co-educational.  In  the 
public  schools  there  are  122  men  and  257  women  teachers. 
The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $73.23 ;  of  the  women, 
$63.17. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

ARKANSAS.* 

In  1885  the  first  woman  suffrage  association  in  Arkansas  was 
formed  at  Eureka  Springs  by  Miss  Phoebe  W.  Couzins  and  Mrs. 
Lizzie  D.  Fyler,  who  was  made  president.  Miss  Susan  B.  An- 
thony lectured  in  February,  1889,  in  Helena,  Fort  Smith  and 
Little  Rock,  at  the  last  place  introduced  by  Gov.  James  B.  Eagle. 
On  Sunday  afternoon  she  spoke  at  a  temperance  meeting  in  this 
city,  to  a  large  audience  that  manifested  every  evidence  of  ap- 
proval although  she  advocated  woman  suffrage.  These  were  the 
first  addresses  on  woman's  enfranchisement  given  in  the  State. 

No  regularly  constituted  State  suffrage  convention  ever  has 
been  held,  but  at  the  close  of  the  annual  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union  convention  it  is  customary  for  the  members 
of  this  body  who  favor  the  ballot  for  woman  to  meet  and  elect 
the  usual  officers  for  that  branch  of  the  work. 

For  fifteen  years  before  her  death  in  1899,  Mrs.  Clara  A. 
McDiarmid  was  a  leader,  was  president  of  the  association  and 
represented  the  State  at  the  national  conventions.  Dr.  Ida  J. 
Brooks  is  an  earnest  worker,  and  valuable  assistance  has  been 
given  by  Mrs.  Fannie  L.  Chunn  and  Mrs.  Bernie  Babcock. 

In  1896  Mrs.  Lida  A.  Meriwether  of  Tennessee  gave  twelve 
lectures  under  the  auspices  of  the  National  Association.  Miss 
Frances  A.  Griffin  of  Alabama  also  spoke  here  on  this  subject. 

Not  even  this  brief  history  of  the  suffrage  movement  would  be 
complete  without  a  mention  of  the  Woman's  Chronicle,  estab- 
lished in  1888  by  Catherine  Campbell  Cunningham,  Mary  Burt 
Brooks  and  Haryot  Holt  Cahoon.  Mrs.  Brooks  was  principal  of 
the  Forest  Grove  School,  and  Miss  Cunningham  a  teacher  in  the 
public  schools  of  Little  Rock,  but  every  week  for  five  years  this 
bright,  newsy  paper  appeared  on  time.  It  was  devoted  to  the 
general  interests  of  women,  with  a  strong  advocacy  of  their  en- 
franchisement. During  the  General  Assembly  it  was  laid  each 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  the  material  for  this  chapter  to  Miss  Catherine  Campbell 
Cunningham  of  Little  Rock,  one  of  the  earliest  suffrage  workers  in  the  State. 

475 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Saturday  morning  on  the  desk  of  every  legislator.     Charles  E. 
Cunningham  encouraged  and  sustained  his  daughter  in  her  work. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  The  only  bill  for  woman 
suffrage  was  that  championed  in  the  Senate  by  J.  P.  H.  Russ,  in 
1891,  "An  act  to  give  white  women  the  right  to  vote  and  hold 
office,  and  all  other  rights  the  same  as  are  accorded  to  male 
citizens."  This  unconstitutional  measure  passed  third  reading, 
but  it  is  not  surprising  that  it  received  only  four  affirmative  votes ; 
fourteen  voted  against  it  and  fourteen  refrained  from  voting. 

In  1895  tne  ^aw  recognizing  insanity  after  marriage  as  a 
ground  for  divorce  was  repealed. 

This  year  a  law  was  passed  requiring  the  councils  of  all  first- 
class  cities  to  elect  a  police  matron  to  look  after  woman  prisoners. 

Dower  exists  but  not  curtesy,  unless  the  wife  dies  intestate 
and  there  has  been  issue  born  alive.  If  there  are  children  the 
wife  is  entitled  to  one-third  of  the  real  property  for  her  life  and 
one-third  of  the  personal  property  absolutely.  If  there  are  no 
children  living  she  takes  in  fee  simple  one-half  of  the  real  estate 
where  it  is  a  new  acquisition  and  not  an  inheritance,  and  one-half 
of  the  personal-  estate  absolutely  as  against  the  collateral  heirs ; 
but  as  against  creditors  she  takes  one-third  of  the  real  estate  in 
fee  simple  and  one-third  of  the  personal  property  absolutely.  If 
either  the  husband  or  the  wife  die  without  a  will  and  there  are 
neither  father,  mother,  nor  their  descendants,  nor  any  paternal 
or  maternal  kindred  capable  of  inheriting,  the  whole  estate,  bo 
real  and  personal,  goes  to  the  surviving  wife  or  husband. 

The  wife  may  sell  or  transfer  her  separate  real  estate  witho 
the  consent  of  the  husband.     He  can  do  the  same  with  his  rea 
estate  but  can  not  impair  her  dower.     A  transfer  of  the  home- 
stead requires  the  joint  signature. 

A  married  woman  as  sole  trader  may  engage  in  business  on 
her  own  account  and  have  the  profits  free  from  the  interference 
of  her  husband,  but  if  she  is  simply  working  for  wages  he  may 
sue  for  her  earnings  and  his  receipt  will  bind  her. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  children,  having  custody 
of  their  persons  and  property,  but  "no  man  shall  bind  his  child 
to  apprenticeship  or  service,  or  part  with  the  control  of  such 
child,  or  create  any  testamentary  guardianship  therefor,  unless 


; 


ARKANSAS.  477 

the  mother  shall  in  writing  signify  her  consent  thereto."  At  the 
father's  death  the  mother  may  be  guardian  of  the  persons  of 
the  children  but  not  of  their  property  unless  derived  from  her. 

There  is  no  law  requiring  the  husband  to  support  his  family. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  12  to  16 
years  in  1893,  with  a  penalty  of  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary 
not  less  than  five  years  nor  more  than  twenty-one.  In  1899  the 
minimum  penalty  was  reduced  to  one  year. 

SUFFRAGE:  Women  have  no  form  of  suffrage  except  under 
the  Three-Mile  Law.  This  provides  that,  on  petition  of  a  major- 
ity of  the  inhabitants  living  within  three  miles  of  any  church  or 
school,  the  court  shall  make  it  illegal  for  liquor  to  be  sold  within 
this  limit  for  two  years.  The  law  never  has  been  utilized  in  the 
larger  cities,  but  has  been  tried  in  numerous  small  towns  and  hun- 
dreds of  outlying  districts,  where  it  has  borne  the  test  bravely, 
ruling  out  completely  the  public  drink-houses.  Wherever  it  has 
been  put  into  force,  women  have  been  a  strong  factor,  giving  their 
own  signatures  in  its  favor  and  in  many  instances  making  house 
to  house  canvasses  to  obtain  signers. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  Women  are  not  eligible  for  any  elective 
office.  For  twenty-five  years,  however,  they  have  held  clerkships 
in  both  branches  of  the  General  Assembly.  In  1899  a  bill  to  dis- 
qualify them  from  holding  these  was  defeated  in  the  Lower  House 
by  a  considerable  majority.  But  this  same  Legislature  did  not 
hesitate  to  declare  women  not  qualified  to  serve  as  notaries  public, 
which  they  had  been  doing  for  several  years. 

There  are  police  matrons  in  Little  Rock  and  Hot  Springs. 

For  one  year  the  "visiting  committee"  appointed  by  the  School 
Board  was  composed  of  three  men  and  two  women.  The  latter 
made  a  written  report,  but  the  innovation  was  not  repeated. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  Women  are  not  permitted  to  practice  law. 
No  other  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  forbidden. 

EDUCATION:  All  of  the  universities  and  colleges  are  co- 
educational, even  the  Law  and  Medical  Departments  of  the 
State  University  being  open  to  women. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  4,515  men  and  2,558  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $49.22,  of 
the  women,  $35.52. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

CALIFORNIA.* 

The  first  woman  suffrage  meeting  on  the  Pacific  Coast  \va> 
held  in  San  Francisco  in  May,  1869,  and  a  State  association 
was  formed  in  January,  1870.  From  that  date  meetings  were 
held  regularly  and  a  committee  of  women  did  faithful  work  at 
the  Legislature  every  session,  securing  many  changes  in  the  laws 
to  the  advantage  of  women.! 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  association  in  San  Francisco  in 
December,  1884,  Mrs.  Laura  De  Force  Gordon  succeeded  Mrs. 
Clara  S.  Foltz  as  president  and  held  the  office  for  the  next  ten 
years.  During  this  time  she  attended  a  number  of  national  suf- 
frage conventions  in  Washington  and  delivered  addresses  in 
many  parts  of  the  United  States. 

In  the  political  campaign  of  1888  Mrs.  Gordon  and  Mrs. 
Foltz  were  employed  as  speakers  by  the  Democratic  Central 
Committee,  and  Miss  Addie  L.  Ballou  by  the  Republican.  The 
Populist  and  the  Labor  parties  selected  women  as  delegates  to 
their  State  conventions  and  placed  them  on  their  tickets  for  va- 
rious offices.  Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  of  New  York  and  Mrs. 
Marilla  M.  Ricker  of  New  Hampshire  visited  the  Pacific  Coast 
and  gave  very  acceptable  lectures  to  the  suffrage  societies. 

In  1889  Mrs.  Ellen  Clark  Sargent  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Knox 
Goodrich  each  subscribed  $100  to  send  Mrs.  Gordon  to  Wash- 
ington Territory  to  aid  the  women  there  in  securing  the  adoption 
of  a  suffrage  amendment  to  the  State  constitution.  She  can- 
vassed the  State,  contributing  her  services.  The  next  year, 
through  the  efforts  of  these  two  ladies  and  their  own  contribu- 
tions, over  $1,000  were  sent  to  South  Dakota  to  assist  the  women 
in  a  similar  attempt. 

Suffrage  meetings  for  various  purposes  were  held  in  1890, 
the  largest  being  a  grand  rally  at  Metropolitan  Temple,  July  4. 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  most  of  the  material  in  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Ellen  Clark 
Sargent  of  San  Francisco,  honorary  president,  and  Miss  Carrie  A.  Whelan  of  Oakland, 
corresponding  secretary,  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 

t  See  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  Ill,  Chap.  LIU. 

478 


CALIFORNIA.  479 

to  celebrate  the  admission  of  Wyoming  as  a  State  with  full  suf- 
frage for  women,  at  which  there  were  addresses  by  the  Hon.  T. 
V.  Cator,  the  Rev.  C.  W.  Wendte,  James  K.  Barry,  the  Hon.  P. 
Reddy,  the  Hon.  Charles  Summer,  Mrs.  Gordon  and  others. 
This  year  the  State  Grange  and  the  Farmers'  Alliance  cordially 
indorsed  woman  suffrage  at  their  conventions.  The  annual  suf- 
frage meeting  was  held  in  Washington  Hall,  San  Francisco, 
September  26.  Mrs.  Gordon  was  appointed  a  committee  to  se- 
lect her  own  assistants  and  have  full  charge  of  the  legislative 
work  during  the  winter. 

In  1891  practically  every  organization  of  either  men  or  women 
seemed  to  be  permeated  with  the  agitation  for  woman  suffrage. 
Among  the  most  effective  speakers  and  writers  were  Mrs.  Char- 
lotte Perkins  Stetson,  Mrs.  Sarah  B.  Cooper,  Miss  Agnes  Man- 
ning, Miss  Ina  D.  Coolbrith,  Mme.  A.  L.  Sorbier,  Mrs.  E.  O. 
Smith  and  Mrs.  Sara  A.  T.  Lemmon.* 

Many  informal  business  meetings  were  held  during  the  next 
two  years  in  Mrs.  Gordon's  law  office.  The  adoption  of  equal 
suffrage  by  Colorado  in  1893  inspired  the  California  women  to 
renewed  effort.  An  Equal  Rights  League  was  formed  of  experi- 
enced suffrage  workers.  This  was  followed  by  the  Young 
Woman's  Suffrage  Club,  Miss  Fannie  Lemme,  president,  which 
became  very  popular.  The  Political  Equality  Club  of  Alameda 
County  was  organized  in  April.  The  Portia  Law  Club,  Mrs. 
Foltz,  dean,  occupied  a  prominent  place.  The  Woman's  Federa- 
tion also  was  an  active  society. 

In  1893  tne  Trans-Mississippi  Congress  met  in  San  Francisco 
with  five  regularly  accredited  women  delegates  in  attendance. 
A  woman  suffrage  resolution  was  presented  for  their  indorse- 
ment and  eloquently  advocated  by  Mrs.  Mary  Lynde  Craig.  It 
was  bitterly  contested  but  finally  passed  by  251  yeas,  211  nays, 
amidst  cheers  and  the  waving  of  hats. 

In  1894  was  held  the  great  Midwinter  Fair,  and  the  Woman's 
Congress  Auxiliary  became  an  intellectual  focus  for  gifted 
women.  It  culminated  in  the  brilliant  convocation  which  was 
in  session  in  Golden  Gate  Hall,  San  Francisco,  for  a  week  in 

*  Other  names  which  appear  in  the  scant  records  are  Dr.  Cora  Morse,  Mesdames  Wil- 
liam A.  Keith,  A.  W.  Manning,  Helen  Moore,  Emily  Pitt  Stevens,  Julia  Schlessinger, 
Gertrude  Smythe — of  San  Francisco  and  the  towns  around  the  bay;  E.  -L.  Collins  of  the 
Stockton  Daily  Mail,  Mrs.  D.  P.  Burr  and  Mrs.  James  Gillis  of  Stockton. 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

May.  Its  promoters  were  Mrs.  John  Vance  Cheney,  Mrs.  Hor- 
ace Davis,  Mrs.  Cooper,  Miss  Hattie  Cooper,  Mrs.  Mary  S. 
Sperry,  Mrs.  Lovell  White,  Mrs.  William  A.  Keith,  Mrs.  Tupper 
Wilkes,  Mrs.  Alice  Moore  McComas,  Mrs.  Gordon  and  others. 
Mrs.  Irving  M.  Scott,  president  of  Sorosis,  received  the  Congress 
socially  in  her  elegant  home.  A  large  reception  was  given  also 
at  the  magnificent  country  residence  of  Mrs.  Frank  M.  Smith  in 
East  Oakland. 

The  Congress  was  followed  by  a  mass  meeting  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  suffrage  societies.  The  hall  would  scarcely  hold 
the  audiences,  which  were  especially  distinguished  by  the  large 
number  of  men,  and  noted  men  were  also  among  the  speakers. 
The  venerable  Alfred  Cridge  of  the  Single  Tax  League  created 
much  interest  by  a  practical  illustration  of  proportional  repre- 
sentation, the  candidates  for  president  and  vice-president  being 
Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  and  Susan  B.  Anthony,  the  women  do- 
ing the  voting.  Letters  of  regret  at  inability  to  be  present  but 
expressing  sympathy  with  the  object  of  the  meeting  were  re- 
ceived from  Gov.  James  H.  Budd,  President  David  Starr  Jor- 
dan of  Leland  Stanford  University,  U.  S.  Senator  Perkins, 
Supreme  Judge  McFarland,  Judge  James  G.  Maguire  and  others. 

This  year  the  State  Association  elected  as  its  president  Mrs. 
Nellie  Holbrook  Blinn,  who  had  been  an  ardent  worker  in  the 
cause  for  a  number  of  years  and  a  prominent  speaker  for  the 
Republican  party.  Mrs.  Annie  K.  Bidwell  was  made  vice-pres- 
ident ;  Mrs.  Hester  A.  Harland,  recording  secretary ;  Mrs.  Emily 
Pitt  Stevens,  corresponding  secretary;  Mrs.  Emma  Gregory, 
treasurer.  Meetings  were  held  every  fortnight  in  St.  George's 
Hall.  In  a  short  time  General  Warfield,  proprietor  of  the  Cali- 
fornia Hotel,  offered  the  society  the  use  of  its  parlors,  which 
was  gladly  accepted. 

In  August  a  reception  was  given  in  honor  of  the  National 
Press  Association,  then  holding  a  convention  in  San  Francisco, 
at  which  addresses  were  made  by  Mayor  Adolph  Sutro,  the  Hon. 
Samuel  Shortridge  and  others.  During  the  autumn  a  number 
of  large  and  enthusiastic  meetings  were  held. 

In  May,  1895,  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  and  the  Rev.  Anna 
Howard  Shaw,  president  and  vice-president  of  the  National 


CALIFORNIA.  481 

Association,  arrived  in  San  Francisco  in  response  to  a  cordial 
invitation  to  assist  in  the  Woman's  Congress  which  opened  on 
the  20th.  No  meetings  ever  held  were  more  beautiful  and  in- 
spiring than  these,  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Cooper.*  The  best 
speakers  in  the  State,  men  and  women,  participated  and  every 
possible  honor,  public  and  social,  was  conferred  upon  the  two 
Eastern  guests. 

After  the  congress  they  accepted  invitations  to  speak  in  San 
Jose,  Los  Angeles,  Pasadena,  Riverside,  Pomona  and  San 
Diego.  The  audiences  everywhere  were  large  and  cordial  and 
their  pathway  was  literally  strewn  with  flowers.  They  returned 
to  San  Francisco  and  again  addressed  great  audiences  in  that 
city  and  Oakland.  Miss  Shaw  accepted  the  invitation  of  the 
executive  committee  to  be  one  of  the  orators  at  the  Fourth  of 
July  celebration  in  Woodward's  Pavilion. 

On  July  2,  3,  these  ladies  met  with  the  State  Suffrage  Conven- 
tion in  Golden  Gate  Hall.  Under  their  wise  counsel  a  board  of 
officers  was  elected  which  proved  acceptable  to  all  the  members 
of  the  association,*  and  a  constitution  was  adopted  which  elimi- 
nated the  causes  of  past  contentions. 

The  State  was  now  thoroughly  aroused  over  the  submission 
by  the  Legislature  the  preceding  winter  of  an  amendment  con- 
ferring Full  Suffrage  on  women,  which  was  to  be  voted  on  the 
next  year.  Auxiliary  societies  were  reported  from  Oakland, 
San  Jose,  Stockton,  Los  Angeles,  Fresno  and  other  places  and 
300  new  members  were  enrolled.  The  big  hall  was  crowded  at 
the  evening  meetings  and  addresses  were  made  by  Mrs.  Sargent, 
the  new  president,  Miss  Anthony,  Miss  Shaw,  Mrs.  Cooper, 
Mrs.  Craig,  Mrs.  Blinn  and  others. 

The  officers  elected  at  this  time  continued  through  all  the 
long  and  trying  campaign  of  1896,  which  is  described  further 
on.  The  amendment  was  defeated  at  the  election  of  November 
3.  The  State  convention  was  called  for  November  5,  6,  in  order 
that  the  Eastern  women  might  be  present,  as  they  were  to  leave 

*  For  full  description  see  Life  and  Work  of  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Chap.   XLV. 

*  President,  Mrs.   Ellen  Clark   (Aaron  A.)   Sargent;   first  vice-president,  Mrs.  Annie  K. 
(General   John)    Bidwell;   second  vice-president,   Mrs.    Nellie   Holbrook   Blinn;    third   vice- 
president,  Mrs.   John    Spalding;   corresponding  secretary,    Mrs.   George   Oulton;    recording 
secretary,  Mrs.  Hester  A.  Harland;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Sarah  Knox  Goodrich;  auditors,  Mrs. 
Mary  Wood  (John  F.)   Swift  and  Mrs.  Isabel  A.  Baldwin. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 31 


482  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

on  the  7th.  A  magnificent  farewell  meeting  was  held  on  the  first 
evening  in  Metropolitan  Temple,  which  was  crowded  from  pit  to 
dome.  The  Call  declared,  "It  was  more  like  the  ratification  of 
a  victory  than  a  rally  after  defeat;"  and  at  the  close  of  the  con- 
vention said :  "It  furnished  during  its  entire  sessions  an  example 
of  pluck  and  patience  such  as  should  forever  quiet  the  calumny 
that  women  do  not  know  how  to  govern  themselves — that  they 
become  hysterical  in  the  face  of  defeat." 

The  committee*  reported  a  set  of  strong,  courageous  resolu- 
tions which  were  adopted  with  cheers.  The  last  one  declared: 
"While  we  accept  the  verdict  of  the  election  we  do  not  regard 
it  as  final,  but  believing  that  our  cause  is  just  and  must  prevail, 
we  will  enter  at  once  on  a  vigorous  campaign  which  will  end 
only  when  the  ballot  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  California  women." 

A  systematic  plan  of  work  was  adopted  and,  as  Mrs.  Sargent 
was  about  to  leave  for  a  year  abroad,  Mrs.  Mary  Wood  Swift 
was  elected  president.  Mrs.  Goodrich  and  Mrs.  Sargent  were 
made  honorary  presidents.  Twelve  hundred  dollars  were  raised 
to  pay  all  outstanding  campaign  debts,  and  the  convention  closed 
with  a  good-bye  reception  to  Miss  Anthony,  Miss  Shaw,  Mrs. 
Carrie  Chapman  Catt  and  the  other  ladies  from  the  East. 

The  annual  State  meeting  of  1897  was  held  in  San  Francisco, 
October  5,  6,  with  able  addresses  by  the  Rev.  E.  S.  Chapman, 
Albert  H.  Elliott,  a  San  Francisco  attorney,  Doctors  Beecher  and 
Bushnell,  representing  the  women  in  their  profession,  Mrs.  E.  0. 
Smith  and  many  others.  Mrs.  Swift  was  re-elected  president 
and  continued  to  serve  until  1900. 

The  convention  of  1898  also  was  held  in  San  Francisco,  Octo- 
ber 4-6,  and  was  made  a  jubilee  meeting  to  celebrate  the  calling 
of  the  First  Woman's  Rights  Convention  in  1848. 

In  1899  the  annual  State  meeting,  held  in  San  Francisco  X<> 
vember  7,  8,  was  greatly  stimulated  by  the  presence  of  Mrs. 
Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  national  organization  committee, 
and  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay,  its  secretary.  Active  societies  were 
reported  in  many  counties  and  a  large  amount  of  work  done 
by  the  press  committee  of  fourteen  members,  Mrs.  Mary  L. 
Wakeman  Curtis,  chairman.  It  was  announced  that  the  Susan 

«  Ida  Husted  Harper,  the  Rev.  Eliza  Tupper  Wilkes,  Mary  Wood  Swift,  Dr.  Ida  V. 
Stambach,  Harriet  E.  Cotton,  Ad»  H.  Van  Pelt 


CALIFORNIA.  483 

B.  Anthony  Club  would  hold  a  public  meeting  in  the  audience 
room  of  the  Century  Club,  February  15,  to  celebrate  that  lady's 
eightieth  birthday,  at  which  President  Jordan  and  Albert  H. 
Elliott  would  be  the  orators.  Addresses  were  given  by  Miss 
Sarah  Severance,  Mrs.  Julia  S.  Sanborn,  Mrs.  Mary  McHenry 
(\Vm.  A.)  Keith,  Mrs.  Smith,  Miss  Selina  Solomons  and  Miss 
Clara  M.  Schlingheyde. 

On  the  evening  of  November  9  the  convention  was  transferred 
to  Oakland  and  every  seat  in  the  large  Unitarian  church  was 
filled.  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  was  the  speaker,  introduced  by  the 
Rev.  J.  K.  McLean.  Mrs.  Baldwin,  president  of  the  Alameda 
County  society,  Mrs.  Swift  and  other  prominent  women -occu- 
pied the  beautifully  decorated  platform.  During  the  afternoon 
a  reception  had  been  given  in  the  artistic  home  of  Mrs.  Emma 
Shafter  Howard. 

The  convention  for  1900  was  held  in  San  Francisco  as  usual, 
December  14,  15.  Mrs.  Annie  R.  Wood  was  elected  president.* 

One  of  the  largest  auxiliary  societies  is  that  of  Alameda 
County  with  a  dozen  branches.  The  presidents  have  been  the 
Rev.  J.  K.  McLean,  Mrs.  M.  S.  Haight,  Mrs.  Alice  M.  Stocker, 
Mrs.  Isabel  A.  Baldwin,  Mrs.  H.  J.  D.  Chapman  and  Mrs.  Fran- 
ces A.  Williamson.! 

The  San  Jose  Club  was  formed  for  campaign  work,  Nov.  14, 
1895,  with  fifty-four  charter  members.  It  has  continued  to 
hold  weekly  meetings  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  AHda  C. 
Avery.t  There  are  a  number  of  other  efficient  clubs  in  Northern 
California. 

•The  others  who  have  held  office  in  the  State  association  since  1896  are — first  vice- 
presidents,  Mesdames  Frank  M.  Smith,  C.  R.  Randolph,  H.  J.  D.  Chapman,  Mary  Wood 
Swift;  second  vice-presidents,  Mrs.  Annie  K.  Bidwell,  Mrs.  E.  O.  Smith;  third  vice- 
presidents,  Mrs.  Elmira  T.  Stevens,  Mrs.  R.  H.  Pratt,  Mrs.  A.  K.  Bidwell;  corresponding 
secretaries,  Mrs.  Harriet  E.  Cotton,  Miss  Mary  E.  Donnelly,  Dr.  Amy  G.  Bowen,  Miss 
Carrie  A.  Whelan;  recording  secretaries,  Mrs.  Nellie  Holbrook  Blinn,  Miss  Mary  G.  Gor- 
ham,  Mrs.  Henry  Krebs,  Jr.,  Mrs.  Dorothy  Harnden;  treasurers,  Mrs.  Mary  S.  Sperry 
(six  years),  Miss  Clara  M.  Schlingheyde;  auditors,  Mrs.  Lovell  White,  Mrs.  George 
Oulton,  Miss  Mary  S.  Keene,  Dr.  Alida  C.  Avery,  Mrs.  Mary  Me.  H.  Keith,  Mrs.  Anna 
K.  Spero. 

t  Among  those  who  have  been  officially  connected  with  the  work  are  Col  P.  T.  Dickin- 
son, Col.  George  and  Mrs.  Olive  E.  Babcock,  Drs.  Alice  Bush,  Susan  J.  Fenton,  Kellogg 
Lane,  Carra  B.  Schofield,  Rev.  C.  W.  Wendte,  Rev.  Eliza  Tupper  Wilkes,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
John  L.  Howard,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Maurice  Woodhams,  Mesdames  A.  E.  S.  Banks,  S.  C. 
Borland,  J.  C.  Campbell,  Ella  E.  Greenman,  L.  G.  Judd,  Mary  McHenry  Keith,  A.  A. 
Moore,  M.  B.  Pelton,  Emily  M.  Vrooman,  C.  L.  Wood,  J.  A.  Waymire,  John  Yule; 
Misses  Mollie  E.  Connors,  Mary  S.  Keene,  Mary  Snell,  Winifred  Warner,  Carrie  A.' 
Whelan. 

t  Among  the  most  active  members  are  Mesdames  M.   B.  Braley,  Fred  L.   Foster,  Sarah 


484  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION:  As  early  as  1868,  and  for  many  years 
afterwards,  Mrs.  Laura  De  Force  Gordon  addressed  the  Legisla- 
ture in  behalf  of  political  rights  for  women,  and  from  then  until 
the  present  time  there  have  been  few  sessions  which  have  not 
had  the  question  brought  before  them.  A  large  number  of  legis- 
lators, lawyers  and  leading  women  have  contended  that  the  con- 
stitution of  the  State  is  so  worded  that  it  is  within  the  power  of 
the  Legislature  to  confer  the  full  franchise  by  statute,  but  bills 
for  this  purpose  always  have  been  defeated  by  a  majority  who 
hold  that. this  can  be  done  legally  only  by  an  amendment  to  the 
constitution  adopted  by  the  electors.  Mrs.  Nellie  Holbrook 
Blinn  has  spent  many  winters  at  Sacramento  in  the  interest  of 
suffrage  bills,  and  Mrs.  Clara  S.  Foltz  has  frequently  made  legal 
arguments  before  joint  committees.  Beginning  with  1891  Mrs. 
Sturtevant  Peet,  president  of  the  State  Woman's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union,  has  remained  through  every  legislative  session 
representing  that  organization,  with  bills  for  temperance  meas- 
ures, suffrage  and  other  matters  of  especial  interest  to  women. 
During  all  of  these  years  the  suffrage  bills  before  the  Legisla- 
ture have  been  reinforced  by  great  petitions  and  hundreds  of 
personal  letters  from  the  women  of  Southern  California. 

In  1889  Miss  Sarah  M.  Severance,  State  Superintendent  of 
Franchise  for  the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  went  to  Sacramento  with  a  large 
petition  asking  for  School  Suffrage.  Mrs.  Gordon,  a  practicing 
lawyer,  already  had  prepared  three  bills  asking  for  Municipal  and 
School  Suffrage  including  the  right  to  hold  every  educational 
office.  All  were  reported  favorably  from  the  Senate  committee. 
The  first  was  passed,  reconsidered  and  although  again  receiving 
a  majority  vote,  had  not  the  constitutional  two-thirds.  The 
School  Suffrage  Bill  passed  by  24  ayes,  7  noes.  In  the  Assembly 
it  received  36  ayes,  22  noes,  not  the  required  majority. 

In  1891  a  bill  was  presented  to  enfranchise  women  by  statute. 
It  was  championed  by  Senators  McGowan,  Dargie  and  Simpson 
of  the  northern,  and  Carpenter  and  McComas  of  the  southern 
part  of  the  State.  On  February  7  a  hearing  was  granted  by  the 
Judiciary  Committee,  and  Mrs.  Gordon  gave  a  strong  legal  argu- 
ment which  was  presented  to  the  members  as  a  "brief;"  and 

Knox  Goodrich,  J.  H.  Henry,  H.  Jennie  James,  A.  K.  de  Jarnette  (Spero),  E.  O.  Smith, 
Laura  J.  Watkins,  Alice  B.  Wilson. 


CALIFORNIA.  485 

addresses  were  made  by  Miss  Severance,  Mrs.  Addie  L.  Ballou 
and  Mrs.  Emily  Pitt  Stevens.  Before  the  vote  was  taken  in  the 
Legislature  Mrs.  Sturtevant  Peet  presented  the  great  petition  of 
the  W.  C.  T.  U.  containing  15,000  names,  and  many  were  of- 
fered by  senators  from  various  counties.  Individual  appeals 
were  sent  by  Mrs.  Ellen  Clark  Sargent,  Mrs.  Sarah  Knox  Good- 
rich, Dr.  Alida  C.  Avery,  Mrs.  E.  O.  Smith  and  many  other 
well-known  women.  The  bill  passed  the  Senate  by  21  ayes,  17 
noes.  It  had  been  delayed  so  long,  however,  that  it  was  too  late 
to  reach  the  Assembly. 

In  1894  the  State  Republican  Convention  adopted  a  plank  as 
follows:  "Believing  that  taxation  without  representation  is 
against  the  principles  of  the  Government  we  favor  the  extension 
of  the  right  of  suffrage  to  all  citizens  of  the  United  States,  both 
men  and  women." 

The  Legislature  of  1895  was  strongly  Republican  and  the  time 
seemed  to  be  highly  propitious  for  securing  woman  suffrage. 
To  this  end  a  number  of  influential  women  visited  Sacramento. 
The  first  bill  presented  called  for  enfranchisement  by  special 
statute  and  was  introduced  and  championed  in  the  Assembly  by 
Judge  E.  V.  Spencer.  On  the  afternoon  of  January  24  Mrs. 
Blinn  and  Mrs.  Foltz  addressed  the  Senate  Judiciary  Committee, 
and  in  the  evening  a  mass  meeting  took  place  in  the  Court 
House,  which  the  Judiciary  and  Elections  Committees  of  the 
Senate  and  House  attended  in  a  body,  as  did  also  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  members.  Mrs.  Gordon  made  the  leading  address  and 
Mrs.  Foltz  the  closing  speech.  Another  meeting,  held  in  the 
Assembly  Chamber  February  8,  was  addressed  by  Mrs.  E.  V. 
Spencer,  Mrs.  Blinn,  Miss  Laura  Tilden,  a  lawyer,  Mrs.  Gordon 
and  Mrs.  Peet.  Great  assistance  also  was  rendered  by  Mrs. 
Annie  K.  Bidwell,  Mme.  A.  L.  Sorbier,  Dr.  Lillian  Lomax  and 
Mrs.  Jennie  Phelps  Purvis. 

The  bill  came  to  a  vote  in  the  Assembly  February  n  and 
passed.  •  A  defect  was  then  discovered  in  the  title  and  it  was 
voted  on  again  February  19,  receiving  46  ayes,  29  noes.  In  the 
Senate  it  met  with  many  vicissitudes  which  need  not  be  re- 
counted, as  it  eventually  failed  to  pass.  This  was  largely  be- 
cause the  members  did  not  believe  it  would  be  constitutional. 


486  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

This  question  being  settled,  Senators  McGowan  of  Eureka, 
and  Bulla  of  Los  Angeles,  Assemblyman  Spencer  of  Lassen,  and 
others  championed  a  resolution  to  amend  the  constitution  by 
striking  out  the  word  "male"  from  the  suffrage  clause.  This 
was  adopted  in  March,  1895,  by  a  two-thirds  majority  of  both 
Houses,  and  signed  by  Gov.  James  H.  Budd.  The  story  of  the 
campaign  which  was  made  to  secure  the  adoption  of  this  amend- 
ment is  related  hereafter.  It  was  defeated  by  the  voters. 

Although  the  experienced  national  officers  told  the  California 
women  that  it  would  be  many  years  before  they  would  be  able 
to  secure  another  bill  they  did  not  believe  it,  but  went  to  the 
Legislature  of  1897  full  of  hope  that  an  amendment  would  be 
submitted  again  and  they  could  make  another  campaign  while 
their  organizations  were  intact  and  public  sentiment  aroused. 
Mrs.  Mary  Wood  Swift,  Mrs.  Mary  S.  Sperry  and  Mme.  A.  L. 
Sorbier  spent  much  of  the  winter  in  Sacramento,  and  enough 
members  were  pledged  to  pass  the  bill.  When  it  was  acted 
upon,  however,  while  it  received  a  majority  in  both  Houses,  it 
lacked  seven  votes  in  the  Assembly  and  one  in  the  Senate  of  the 
necessary  two-thirds.* 

In  1899  Representative  W.  S.  Mellick  of  Los  Angeles  intro- 
duced a  bill  giving  women  the  right  to  vote  for  school  trustees, 
and  at  elections  for  school  bonds  or  tax  levy.  It  passed  the  As- 
sembly with  only  one  dissenting  vote,  and  the  Senate  by  a  ma- 
jority of  six.  Gov.  Henry  T.  Gage  refused  to  sign  it  on  the  old 
ground  of  unconstitutionality. 

CONSTITUTIONAL  AMENDMENT  CAMPAIGN:  The  action  of 
the  Legislature  of  1895  m  submitting  an  amendment  to  the  voters, 
instead  of  conferring  the  franchise  by  statute,  was  somewhat 
of  a  disappointment  to  the  women  as  it  precipitated  a  cam- 
paign which  would  come  at  the  same  time  as  that  for  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  and  for  which  there  was  not  suf- 
ficient organization.  They  were  very  much  at  sea  for  a  while 
but  in  the  spring  of  1895  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  and  the  Rev. 
Anna  Howard  Shaw,  president  and  vice-president  of  the  Na- 
tional Association,  came  to  California  to  the  Woman's  Congress, 

*  Immediately  afterwards  the  ladies  said  to  one  of  the  members,  "Why  did  you  break 
your  pledge  to  us  and  vote  against  the  bill?"  Without  a  moment's  hesitation  he  an- 
swered, "Because  I  had  a  telegram  this  morning  from  the  Liquor  Dealers'  Association 
telling  me  to  do  so." 


CALIFORNIA.  487 

and  while  here,  having  had  much  experience,  helped  them  plan 
their  work  and  gave  every  possible  encouragement.  In  the 
autumn  Miss  Shaw  returned  and  held  meetings  throughout  the 
State,  managed  by  Miss  Harriet  Cooper.  The  next  year,  at  the 
urgent  request  of  the  State  Association,  Miss  Anthony  and  Miss 
Shaw  came  back  and  remained  from  the  first  of  March  until  after 
the  election  in  November,  rendering  all  the  assistance  within  their 
power  in  the  longest  and  hardest  campaign  ever  made  for  a 
woman  suffrage  amendment.  An  amendment  committee  had 
been  appointed  at  the  last  annual  convention  and  out  of  this  and 
the  State  officers  a  Campaign  Committee*  was  formed  and,  in 
addition,  a  State  Central  Committee  was  organized. 

Mrs.  Sargent  opened  her  handsome  home  for  headquarters 
the  first  three  months,  and  for  eight  months  she  and  her  daugh- 
ter, Dr.  Elizabeth  C.  Sargent,  gave  every  hour  to  this  work,  enter- 
taining as  guests  Miss  Anthony,  Miss  Shaw  and  other  workers 
and  contributing  large  sums  of  money.  In  February,  Dr.  Sar- 
gent and  Miss  Shaw's  secretary,  Lucy  E.  Anthony,  arranged  a 
series  of  two  days'  conventions  in  every  county  in  the  State. 
Miss  Harriet  May  Mills  and  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay  of  New  York, 
experienced  .organizers,  were  invited  to  California  to  manage 
these  conventions  and  remained  throughout  the  campaign.!  The 
Rev.  Miss  Shaw  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Upham  Yates  of  Maine 
were  the  speakers.  The  audiences  were  large  and  cordial,  clubs 
were  formed  and  the  meetings  more  than  paid  expenses. 

On  Sunday,  May  3,  the  San  Francisco  Call,  the  leading  Repub- 
lican paper,  under  the  management  of  Charles  M.  Shortridge, 
came  out  with  flaming  headlines  declaring  for  woman  suffrage, 
and  several  hundred  copies  were  sent  to  the  State  Republican 
convention  which  met  in  Sacramento  the  following  Tuesday. 
A  number  of  prominent  women  went  to  this  convention,  as  it 
was  considered  very  important  that  it  should  repeat  its  indorse- 
ment of  the  previous  year.  The  delegation  consisted  of  Miss 
Anthony,  Miss  Shaw,  Mrs.  Sargent,  State  president,  Mrs.  Mary 

*  Chairman,  Ellen  Clark  Sargent;  vice-chairman,  Sarah  B.  Cooper;  corresponding  secre- 
tary, Ida  Husted  Harper;  recording  secretary,  Harriet  Cooper;  treasurer,  Mary  S.  Sperry; 
auditors,  Mary  Wood  Swift  and  Sarah  Knox  Goodrich. 

State    Central    Committee:     Mrs.    Sargent,    Miss    Anthony,    Mrs.    Swift,    Mrs.    Sperry, 

I          Mrs.   Blinn,  with  Mary  G.   Hay,  chairman, 
t  Later  Mrs.  Ida  Crouch  Hazlitt  of  Colorado,  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Riddell  of  San  Diego  and 
other  State  women  were  added  t»  the  organizing  force. 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Wood  Swift,  Mrs.  Sarah  Knox  Goodrich,  Mrs.  Mary  S.  Sperry. 
Mrs.  Ida  Husted  Harper  and  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay,  members  of 
the  campaign  committee.  Miss  Anthony  and  Miss  Shaw  ad- 
dressed the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  and  the  next  day  a  plank 
declaring  for  the  amendment  was  adopted  by  the  big  convention 
with  only  one  dissenting  voice. 

On  May  12  most  of  these  ladies  attended  the  Populist  Conven- 
tion in  Sacramento.  They  were  received  with  cheers,  escorted 
to  front  seats,  invited  to  address  the  convention  and  the  plank 
was  unanimously  adopted.  From  here  a  part  of  them  went  to 
the  Prohibition  Convention  in  Stockton,  meeting  a  most  cordial 
reception  and  a  similar  result.  The  Socialist  Labor  and  the  Na- 
tional parties  also  indorsed  the  amendment. 

There  was  little  hope  for  the  indorsement  of  the  Democratic 
Convention,  but  the  ladies,  reinforced  by  Mrs.  Sarah  B.  and  Miss 
Harriet  Cooper,  Mrs.  Henry  Krebs,  Jr.,  Mrs.  Alice  M.  Stocke 
and  Mrs.  E.  O.  Smith  attended  it  on  June  16.  They  were  per- 
mitted to  address  the  Resolutions  Committee  and  present  a  peti- 
tion signed  by  about  40,000  men  and  women  of  the  State  asking 
for  the  amendment,  but  it  was  laid  on  the  table  almost  before 
they  had  left  the  room.* 

A  minority  report  was  at  once  prepared  by  Charles  Wesley 
Reed  and  signed  by  himself,  William  H.  Alford,  chairman  of 
the  committee,  and  two  other  members,  but  it  was  prevented 
from  coming  before  the  convention  by  order  of  its  chairman. 
Frank  Gould  of  San  Joaquin  County.  After  the  platform  had 
been  adopted  Miss  Anthony  and  Miss  Shaw  were  invited  to 
address  the  convention,  which  they  did  to  such  effect  that  when 
they  had  finished  the  minority  report  was  demanded.  It  was 
too  late  for  this  but,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  John  P.  Irish  and 
W.  W.  Foote  of  Alameda  County,!  and  others,  the  original  reso- 
lution declaring  for  an  amendment  was  brought  to  a  vote,  re- 
ceiving 149  ayes,  420  noes,  more  than  one- fourth  the  whole  num- 
ber. 

•  Dr.  Elizabeth  Sargent  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Petitions  for  Northern  and 
Mrs.  Alice  Moore  McComas  for  Southern  California.  As  the  names  had  to  be  collected 
in  the  winter  months  preceding  the  spring  campaign,  the  distances  to  be  covered  were 
long  and  the  labor  was  the  free  offering  of  busy  women,  it  is  surprising  that  the  list  was 
so  large.  It  by  no  means  represented  the  suffrage  sentiment  in  the  State. 

t  Alameda  had  sent  in  the  largest  petition  for  woman  suffrage  of  any  county  in  the 
State,  and  San  Joaquin  afterwards  gave  a  big  majority  vote  for  the  amendment 


CALIFORNIA.  489 

The  women  opened  their  campaign  a  few  days  later  with  an 
immense  ratification  meeting  in  Metropolitan  Temple.  All  of 
the  political  parties  were  represented  by  prominent  men  who 
made  strong  suffrage  speeches,  Congressman  James  G.  Maguire 
speaking  for  the  fraction  of  the  Democratic  party.  Most  of  the 
ladies  who  had  attended  the  conventions  made  addresses  and 
there  was  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  Miss  Anthony  was  invited 
to  speak  at  the  ratification  meeting  of  each  of  the  political  par- 
ties and  was  most  cordially  received.  No  suffrage  campaign 
ever  commenced  so  full  of  promise. 

Headquarters  were  opened  on  Main  Street  in  the  fine  new 
Parrott  Building,  five  rooms  being  donated  for  the  purpose  by 
the  manager  of  the  Emporium,  William  Harper.  The  furnish- 
ings were  contributed  by  different  firms  and  individuals,  and  a 
handsome  banner  was  swung  across  the  street.  Here  a  force  of 
women  worked  day  and  night  for  five  months,  most  of  them 
donating  their  services.* 

The  State  Board  and  all  the  committees  were  'composed  of 
women  of  good  position  and  especial  ability.  The  counties 
formed  their  own  organizations  and  all  the  important  towns 
had  active  local  clubs.  The  report  from  Southern  California 
appears  in  another  part  of  this  chapter.  In  San  Francisco  Mrs. 
Sarah  B.  Cooper  gave  generously  of  her  valuable  time  and  pow- 
erful influence.  Mrs.  Mary  Wood  Swift  and  Mrs.  Mary  S. 
Sperry  responded  many  times  when  the  finances  were  at  the  low- 
est ebb.  It  would  be  impossible  to  name  even  a  small  fraction  of 
those  who  freely  and  continuously  gave  labor  and  money. 

Each  of  the  eighteen  assembly  districts  of  San  Francisco  was 
organized  by  precincts,  regular  meetings  were  held,  a  personal 
canvass  was  made  and  an  immense  amount  of  literature  was 
distributed.  It  is  wholly  impracticable  in  a  limited  space  to 
mention  the  work  done  by  the  various  counties,  as  in  each  where 
the  amendment  was  carried  it  was  due  largely  to  the  wise,  faith- 
ful and  unwearying  efforts  of  its  own  women,  and  any  distinc- 
tion would  be  invidious. 

*  A  number  of  young  women  who  were  engaged  the  greater  part  of  every  day  in  teach- 
ing, stenography,  bookkeeping,  etc.,  gave  every  hour  that  could  be  spared  to  the  work  at 
headquarters,  a  free  will  offering.  Among  those  who  deserve  special  mention  are  Misses 
Mary,  Louise  and  Sarah  Donnelly,  Mary  Gorham,  Clara  Schlingheyde,  Effie  Scott  Vance, 
Evelyn  Grove,  Mrs.  N.  W.  Palmer,  Winifred  and  Marguerite  Warner  and  Carrie  A. 
Whelan.  Mrs.  Lelia  S.  Martin  also  contributed  five  months'  time. 


4QO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  work  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  deserves  a  prominent  place  in  the 
history  of  the  struggle,  as  all  the  powers  of  its  excellent  or- 
ganization and  experienced  workers  were  devoted  to  the  success 
of  the  amendment,  and  the  majority  in  several  counties  at  least 
was  due  to  its  efforts. 

For  the  usual  necessary  and  legitimate  campaign  purposes  a 
fund  of  about  $19,000  was  raised  and  sent  to  headquarters,  al- 
most wholly  the  contributions  of  women. 

Miss  Anthony  remained  in  San  Francisco  addressing  meet- 
ings in  that  city  and  making  many  short  trips  to  neighboring 
towns,  speaking  once  or  more  every  day  for  eight  months.  Dur- 
ing this  time  she  made  a  tour  of  Central  and  Southern  California, 
lecturing  in  halls,  churches,  wigwams,  parlors,  schoolhouses  and 
the  open  air.  In  some  places  the  train  was  stopped  and  she 
spoke  from  the  rear  platform  which  was  then  banked  with  flowers. 

The  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  spoke  every  night  for  seven 
months;  Miss  Yates  made  about  one  hundred  speeches;  Mrs. 
Chapman  Catt  spent  the  last  two  months  in  the  State  giving  sev- 
eral addresses  every  day.  Miss  Sarah  M.  Severance  spoke  under 
the  auspices  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  throughout  the  campaign.  Mrs. 
Naomi  Anderson  represented  the  colored  people.  Every  Cali- 
fornia woman  who  could  make  a  speech  was  pressed  into  service 
for  clubs,  ward  meetings,  etc.  Many  handsome  homes  were 
opened  for  parlor  lectures.  Miss  Anthony  herself  addressed 
great  political  rallies  of  thousands  of  people ;  church  conventions 
of  every  denomination;  Spiritualist  and  Freethinkers'  gather- 
ings; Salvation  Army  meetings;  African  societies;  Socialists; 
all  kinds  of  labor  organizations;  granges;  Army  and  Navy 
Leagues;  Soldiers'  Homes  and  military  encampments;  women's 
clubs  and  men's  clubs;  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s  and  W.  C.  T.  U.'s.  She 
spoke  at  farmers'  picnics  on  the  mountain  tops,  and  Bethel  mis- 
sions in  the  cellars  of  San  Francisco;  at  parlor  meetings  in  the 
most  elegant  homes ;  and  in  pool-rooms  where  there  was  printed 
on  the  blackboard,  "Welcome  to  Susan  B.  Anthony."  Her  serv- 
ices during  the  entire  time  were  a  personal  contribution. 

The  attitude  of  the  press  was  one  of  the  remarkable  features. 
Mrs.  Ida  Husted  Harper  was  made  Chairman  of  the  Press  Com- 
mittee which  had  local  members  in  every  community.  In  com- 


CALIFORNIA.  491 

pany  with  Miss  Anthony  every  editor  in  San  Francisco  was  vis- 
ited and  assurances  received  that  the  amendment  would  have 
respectful  treatment.  The  Call,  the  Record  and  the  Post  gave 
strong  editorial  indorsement,  the  latter  maintaining  a  daily  de- 
partment, the  responsibility  being  largely  taken  by  Dr.  Sargent. 
Mrs.  Harper  had  a  long  article  each  week  in  the  Sunday  Call  and 
many  weeks  one  in  the  Chronicle  also.  The  Examiner  placed  a 
column  on  the  editorial  page  of  its  Sunday  edition  at  the  disposal 
of  Miss  Anthony  and  she  filled  it  for  seven  months,  but  the 
paper  gave  no  official  approval.  The  Report  had  a  double  col- 
umn every  Saturday  edited  by  Miss  Winnifred  Harper.  The 
Bulletin  had  one  conducted  by  Miss  Eliza  D.  Keith,  but  editori- 
ally it  was  not  friendly.  Mrs.  Mary  L.  Wakeman  Curtis  ren- 
dered especially  valuable  service.  The  Populist  press  was  uni- 
versally favorable,  as  were  the  Star  and  other  labor  papers,  the 
temperance,  Socialist  and  A.  P.  A.  organs,  the  leading  Jewish 
papers,  those  of  the  colored  people,  several  published  in  foreign 
languages  and  many  in  the  interest  of  agriculture,  insurance,  etc. 
Before  the  close  of  the  campaign  the  press  chairman  was  in 
communication  with  250  papers  in  the  State  which  declared 
editorially  for  woman  suffrage.  Only  27  spoke  openly  against 
it,  prominent  among  these  being  the  San  Francisco  Chronicle, 
Argonaut,  Sacramento  Record-Union  and  Los  Angeles  Times. 
From  California  papers  alone  9,000  clippings  were  received  on 
this  subject. 

Had  it  not  been  the  year  of  a  presidential  election  it  is  proba- 
ble that  the  amendment  might  have  carried,  but  the  bitter  com- 
petition of  politics  soon  produced  many  complications  and,  al- 
though the  suffrage  question  was  kept  absolutely  non-partisan, 
it  could  not  escape  their  serious  effects.  The  demand  for  free 
silver  had  made  such  inroads  on  the  Republican  party  that  it  was 
threatened  with  the  loss  of  the  State,  and  it  was  soon  made  to 
understand  by  the  liquor  element  that  its  continued  advocacy 
of  the  suffrage  amendment  would  mean  a  great  loss  of  money 
and  votes.  It  was  found  that  the  chairman  of  the  State  Central 
Committee,  Major  Frank  M'Laughlin,  was  notifying  the  county 
chairmen  not  to  permit  the  women  to  speak  at  the  Republican 
meetings,  and  it  became  very  difficult  to  persuade  the  speakers 


492  HISTORY  OF   WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 

of  that  party  to  refer  to  the  amendment,  although  an  indorse- 
ment of  it  was  the  first  plank  in  their  platform. 

The  Populists  and  Democrats  found  themselves  in  accord  on 
financial  questions  and  in  most  localities  a  fusion  was  effected. 
While  the  former,  for  the  most  part,  were  loyal  to  the  amend- 
ment they  could  not  fully  control  the  speakers  or  platforms  at 
the  rallies  and  it  was  kept  out  of  sight  as  much  as  possible.  The 
A.  P.  A.  was  strongly  organized  in  California  and  was  waging 
a  bitter  war  against  the  Catholic  Church,  and  both  feared  the 
effect  of  the  enfranchisement  of  women,  although  at  the  begin- 
ning the  former  seemed  wholly  in  favor. 

The  women  made  a  brave  fight  but  these  political  conditions, 
added  to  insufficient  organization,  too  small  a  number  of  work- 
ers, lack  of  necessary  funds,  the  immense  amount  of  territory 
to  be  covered,  the  large  foreign  population  in  San  Francisco 
and  the  strong  prejudices  in  general  against  the  movement, 
which  must  be  overcome  everywhere,  made  defeat  inevitable. 
The  final  blow  was  struck  when,  ten  days  before  election,  the 
wholesale  Liquor  Dealers'  League,  which  had  been  making  its 
influence  felt  all  during  the  campaign,  met  in  San  Francisco  and 
resolved  "to  take  such  steps  as  are  necessary  to  protect  our  in- 
terests." One  of  these  steps  was  to  send  to  the  saloonkeepers, 
hotel  proprietors,  druggists  and  grocers  throughout  the  State 
the  following: 

At  the  election  to  be  held  on  November  3,  Constitutional  Amend- 
ment No.  Six,  which  gives  the  right  to  vote  to  women,  will  be 
voted  on. 

It  is  to  your  interest  and  ours  to  vote  against  this  amendment. 
We  request  and  urge  you  to  vote  and  work  against  it  and  do  all  you 
can  to  defeat  it. 

See  your  neighbor  in  the  same  line  of  business  as  yourself,  and 
have  him  be  with  you  in  this  matter. 

Although  the  women  had  the  written  promise  of  the  Secretary 
of  State  saying,  "The  amendment  shall  be  third  in  order  on  the 
ballot,  as  certified  to  me  by  the  various  county  clerks,"  it  was 
placed  last,  which  made  it  the  easy  target  for  the  mass  of  voters 
who  could  not  read.  Hundreds  of  tickets  were  cast  in  San  Fran- 
cisco on  which  the  only  cross  was  against  this  amendment,  not 
even  the  presidential  electors  voted  for. 

There  were  247,454  votes  cast  on  the  suffrage  amendment; 


CALIFORNIA.  493 

110,355  for;  137,099  against;  defeated  by  26,744.  The  major- 
ity against  in  San  Francisco  County  was  23,772;  in  Alameda 
County,  comprising  Oakland,  Alameda  and  Berkeley,  3,627; 
total  27,399 — 665  votes  more  than  the  whole  majority  cast 
against  the  amendment.  Berkeley  gave  a  majority  in  favor,  so 
in  reality  it  was  defeated  by  the  vote  of  San  Francisco,  Oakland 
and  Alameda.*  Alameda  is  the  banner  Republican  County  and 
gave  a  good  majority  for  the '  Republican  ticket.  There  never 
had  been  a  hope  of  carrying  San  Francisco  for  the  amendment, 
but  the  result  in  Alameda  County  was  a  most  unpleasant  sur- 
prise, as  the  voters  were  principally  Republicans  and  Populists, 
both  of  whom  were  pledged  in  the  strongest  possible  manner  in 
their  county  conventions  to  support  the  amendment,  and  every 
newspaper  in  the  county  had  declared  in  favor  of  it.  The  fact 
remains,  however,  that  a  change  of  13,400  votes  in  the  entire 
State  would  have  carried  the  amendment;  and  proves  beyond 
question  that,  if  sufficient  organization  work  had  been  done,  this 
might  have  been  accomplished  in  spite  of  the  combined  efforts  of 
the  liquor  dealers  and  the  political  "bosses."  f 

As  it  is  almost  universally  insisted  that  woman  suffrage 
amendments  are  defeated  by  the  ballots  of  the  ignorant,  the 
vicious  and  the  foreign  born,  an  analysis  of  the  vote  of  San 
Francisco,  which  contains  more  of  these  elements  than  all  the 
rest  of  California,  is  of  interest.  Not  one  of  the  eighteen  As- 
sembly Districts  was  carried  for  the  amendment  and  but  one 
precinct  in  the  whole  city.  It  is  not  practicable  to  draw  an  exact 
dividing  line  between  the  best  and  the  worst  localities  in  any 
city,  but  possibly  the  28th,  or  water  front,  district  in  San  Fran- 
cisco may  come  under  the  latter  head  and  the  4Oth  under  the 
former.  The  vote  on  the  amendment  in  the  28th  was  355  ayes, 

1.188  noes;  in  the  4Oth,  890  ayes,  2,681  noes,  a  larger  percentage 
of  opposition  in  the  district  containing  the  so-called  best  people. 
Districts  37,  39,  40,  41,  42,  43  would  probably  be  designated  the 
most  aristocratic  of  the  city.     Their  vote  on  the  amendment  was 

5.189  ayes,  13,615  noes,  an  opposing  majority  of  8,426,  or  about 
1,400  to  the  district.     This  left  the  remainder  to  be  distributed 

*  Los  Angeles  County  gave  a  majority  of  4,600  in  favor  of  the  amendment, 
t  Many  personal  incidents   and  anecdotes  of  this  campaign  will  be  found  in  the  Life 
and  Work  of  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Chap.  XLVII. 


494  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

among  the  other  eighteen  districts,  including  the  ignorant,  the 
vicious  and  the  foreign  born,  with  an  average  of  less  than  1.300 
adverse  votes  in  each  district. 

The  proportion  of  this  vote  was  duplicated  in  Oakland,  the 
most  aristocratic  ward  giving  as  large  a  negative  majority  as  the 
one  commonly  designated  "the  slums." 

SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA.* 

In  the  spring  of  1885  the  first  woman  suffrage  association  of 
Southern  California  was  organized  in  Los  Angeles  at  the  home 
of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  A.  Kingsbury,  a  lecturer  and  writer  of  ability 
and  a  co-worker  with  the  Eastern  suffragists  in  pioneer  days. 
This  small  band  of  men  and  women  held  weekly  meetings  from 
this  time  until  the  opening  of  the  Amendment  Campaign  in  1896, 
when  it  adjourned — subject  to  the  call  of  its  president — and  its 
members  became  a  part  of  the  Los  Angeles  Campaign  Committee. 

The  principal  work  of  this  early  suffrage  society  was  educa- 
tional. Once  a  month  meetings  were  held  to  which  the  public 
was  invited,  addresses  were  given  by  able  men  and  women,  good 
music  was  furnished  and  suffrage  literature  distributed.  For 
five  years  Mrs.  Kingsbury  continued  its  efficient  president  and 
then  returned  to  her  Eastern  home.  She  was  succeeded  by  Mrs. 
Margaret  V.  Longley,  another  pioneer  worker  from  the  East, 
who  served  acceptably  for  the  same  length  of  time,  when  Mrs. 
Alice  Moore  McComas  was  elected.  Under  her  regime  was 
called  the  first  county  suffrage  convention  ever  held  in  the  State. 

All  other  organizations  of  women  wholly  ignored  the  suf- 
frage association  during  these  years.  The  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union  had  its  franchise  department,  but  it  was  by 
no  means  so  popular  as  the  other  thirty-nine.  Discouragement 
was  met  on  every  hand,  but  the  faithful  few,  adhering  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  political  liberty,  saw  year  by  year  a  slow  but  certain 
growth  of  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  ballot  for  women. 

In  the  winter  of  1887,  an  effort  was  made  to  secure  a  bill  from 
the  Legislature  conferring  Municipal  Suffrage  upon  women. 

*  This  portion  of  the  chapter  was  prepared  by  Mrs.  Alice  Moore  McComas,  former 
president  of  the  Los  Angeles  Woman  Suffrage  Association  and  chairman  of  the  Southern 
California  press  committee  during  the  amendment  campaign  of  1896.  A  considerable 
amount  of  space  is  given  because  it  presents  so  admirable  an  example  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  work  in  such  a  campaign  should  be  done. 


CALIFORNIA.  495 

Hundreds  of  letters  were  written  and  a  large  petition  was  sent 
but  no  action  was  taken.*  Every  year  afterward  a  bill  asking 
for  some  form  of  suffrage  was  presented  to  the  Legislature,  ac- 
companied by  great  petitions  signed  by  representative  people, 
and  an  unremitting  agitation  was  kept  up  throughout  Southern 
California,  until  a  strong  sentiment  was  created  in  favor  of  the 
enfranchisement  of  women.  Among  those  who  championed 
the  cause  in  the  Legislature  in  those  days  were  R.  N.  Bulla,  R. 
B.  Carpenter,  Edward  Denio  and  W.  S.  Mellick.  U.  S.  Senators 
George  C.  Perkins  and  Stephen  M.  White  also  gave  their  in- 
fluence in  its  favor. 

In  the  autumn  of  1892  the  Southern  California  Woman's  Par- 
liament was  organized.  While  the  fact  was  emphasized  that  it 
was  "not  a  woman's  rights  society,"  the  suffragists  saw  here  an 
opportunity  for  good  work.  The  whole  membership  of  their 
various  organizations  went  into  this  parliament  and  were  active 
promoters  of  all  the  enterprises  taken  up,  fully  realizing  that, 
sooner  or  later,  in  a  body  where  all  phases  of  woman's  work — in 
the  home,  the  church,  the  school  and  society — were  discussed, 
woman's  political  limitations  could  not  fail  to  receive  attention. 
They  were  not  mistaken  for  in  a  short  time  its  sessions  might 
properly  have  been  called  "woman's  rights  meetings,"  but  none 
were  more  careful  not  to  mention  this  fact  than  the  "strong- 
minded"  members.  The  women  who  were  afraid  to  be  seen  at 
suffrage  meetings  were  being  so  quietly  converted  that  they  had 
no  idea  of  it.  The  sentiment  grew  and  grew — and  so  did  the 
suffrage  association — until,  after  consultation  with  various  mem- 
bers of  the  Legislature,  it  was  decided  to  ask  for  an  amendment 
to  the  State  constitution  which  would  enfranchise  women. 

Meanwhile  the  Los  Angeles  Suffrage  Association  called  a  con- 
vention of  delegates  from  the  southern  counties  in  April,  1894, 
and  a  central  committee  was  organized  consisting  of  one  repre- 
sentative woman  from  each  voting  precinct.  This  was  product- 
ive of  systematic  work,  and  when  the  Legislature  the  following 
winter  submitted  an  amendment,  workers  in  every  city,  town, 
hamlet  and  school  district  were  ready  for  the  campaign. 

County  campaign  committees  were  organized  of  which  that 

*  The  first  paper  to  establish  a  Suffrage  Column  was  the  Los  Angeles  Express,  in  1887, 
H.  Z.  Osborne,  editor.  This  was  conducted  by  Mrs.  McComas  for  three  years. 


49-6  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

of  Los  Angeles  was  the  leader,  and  from  its  headquarters  the 
main  work  was  carried  on.  These,  consisting  of  four  large 
rooms  on  the  second  floor  of  the  Muskegon  block,  a  fine  stone 
building  in  the  business  center  of  Los  Angeles,  were  donated  by 
T.  D.  Stimson.  They  were  handsomely  furnished  by  friends 
with  ever)r  requirement  for  office  work  and  semi-public  meet- 
ings. Leo  Alexander  and  William  D.  Hayward  contributed 
the  typewriters.  Their  arrangement  was  in  the  hands  of  Mes- 
dames  J.  H.  Braly,  A.  M.  Davidson,  R.  L.  Craig  and  Laura  B. 
Fay.  All  through  that  ever-to-be-remembered  hot  summer  of 
1896  these  dainty,  artistic  rooms,  constantly  supplied  with  fresh 
flowers,  afforded  a  cool  retreat  for  the  busy  suffragists,  as  well 
as  a  resting  place  for  their  less  active  sisters  who  were  invited  to 
visit  them,  even  if  not  in  sympathy,  and  none  left  without  some 
of  the  literature  and  a  gentle  hint  as  to  their  obvious  duty. 

In  San  Diego  the  work  was  led  by  the  president,  Mrs.  Flora 
M.  Kimball.  Mrs.  Kimball  was  the  first  woman  ever  elected 
Master  of  a  Grange,  and  was  for  eight  years  a  member  of  the 
San  Diego  school  board.  She  was  a  most  efficient  manager  and 
the  beautiful  grounds  around  her  home  were  the  scene  of  many 
gatherings.  A  gifted  writer  also,  her  satires  during  this  cam- 
paign, over  the  signature  "Betty  Snow,  an  anti-suffragist." 
made  many  converts. 

Prominent  among  the  workers  were  Mrs.  Annie  Bristol  Sloan, 
president  of  the  San  Diego  County  W.  S.  A.,  the  Rev.  Amanda 
Deyo,  Dr.  Lelia  Latta  and  Mrs.  Laura  Riddell ;  Mrs.  Helen  Jos- 
lin  Le  Boeuf  (Tustin),  organizer  of  Orange  County;  Mrs.  Liz- 
zie H.  Mills,  secretary  of  the  Southern  California  W.  C.  T.  U., 
and  its  president,  Mrs.  N.  P.  J.  Button,  who  kept  the  question 
prominently  before  the  people  of  Riverside  County.  Mrs.  Ida 
K.  Spears  led  the  work  in  Ventura  County  with  pen  and  voice. 
Kern  County  though  less  densely  settled  had  in  its  little  clusters 
of  humanity  staunch  friends  of  the  cause  under  the  leadership  of 
Mrs.  McLeod,  and  gave  also  its  majority  for  the  amendment. 
San  Bernardino  was  ably  marshaled  by  Mrs.  Ella  Wilson  Mer- 
chant, the  county  president.  In  Santa  Barbara  County  Mrs. 
Emily  Wright  had  stood  sponsor  for  the  cause  for  many  year?. 
and  Mrs.  S.  E.  A.  Higgins  assisted  with  her  facile  pen.  This 


CALIFORNIA.  497 

county  in  its  favorable  vote  ranked  next  to  Los  Angeles.     The 
work  was  tremendous  but  the  result  was  compensating. 

The  key-note  of  the  campaign  was  to  reach  every  voter  with- 
out regard  to  race  or  rank.  Therefore,  women  of  all  castes  and 
conditions  were  set  to  work  where  their  direct  influence  would 
be  most  effective.  Hundreds  of  precinct  meetings  were  held 
during  the  whole  summer.  Each  precinct  had  its  own  organiza- 
tion officered  by  its  own  people — men  and  women — a  vice-presi- 
dent being  appointed  from  each  of  its  churches,  and  this  was 

called  Campaign  Committee  Precinct  No. ,  pledged  to  work 

only    until    election.     The    meetings    numbered    from    five    to 
eighteen  a  day,  and  one  day  in  August  twenty-two  were  held  in 
a  single  county.     In  the  city  of  Los  Angeles  the  highest  number 
in  any  one  day  was  nine  precinct  meetings  and  one  public  rally 
in  the  evening,  near  the  close  of  the  campaign.     Mrs.  McComas 
addressed  four  of  these  meetings  and  spoke  at  the  rally — which 
was  not  unusual  work  for  the  speakers  in  the  field.     From  the 
afternoon  meetings,  held  generally  in  the  largest  homes  in  the 
precinct,  hundreds  of  leaflets  were  sent  out  and  every  effort  was 
made  to  increase  the  interest  among  women,  for  it  was  believed 
that  if  these  did  their  duty  the  votes  could  be  secured.     The 
evening  meetings   were   held   principally   in   halls   or   churches, 
though    frequently   the    larger   homes   and   hotel   parlors    were 
thrown  open  for  a  reception  where  men  were  the  honored  guests. 
The  churches  of  all  Protestant  denominations  were  offered  for 
debates  and  entertainments.     In  several  the  Rev.  Mila  Tupper 
Maynard — the    salaried    campaign    speaker — preached    Sunday 
evenings  on  texts  pertinent  to  the  subject,  and  many  pastors  de- 
livered special  sermons  on  equal  rights.     Leading  hotels  gave 
their  parlors  for  precinct  meetings  and  many  of  the  halls  used 
for  public  gatherings  were  donated  by  the  owners.     Noontide 
meetings  were  held  in  workshops,  factories  and  railroad  stations, 
and  while  the  men  ate  their  lunch  a  short  suffrage  talk  was  given 
or  some  good  leaflet  read  aloud.     The  wives  of  these  men  were 
invited  to  take  part,  or  to  have  full  charge,  and  many  earnest, 
competent  workers  were  found  among  them  who  influenced  these 
voters  as  no  one  else  could  do.     The  large  proportion  of  foreign 
citizens  were  thus  reached  in  a  quiet,  educational  manner. 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF— 32 


49^  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Another  most  effective  method  of  work  was  carried  on  by  the 
public  meeting  committee.  Every  political  organization  had  in 
its  ranks  some  father,  husband,  son  or  brother  who  was  pledged 
to  watch  the  suffrage  interests  and  report  to  this  committee — 
composed  of  men  from  these  organizations  and  women  from  the 
campaign  committees — when  and  where  a  wedge  could  be  put 
in  for  the  amendment.  Its  main  duty  was  to  present  at  political 
meetings,  through  the  most  distinguished  speaker  on  the  pro- 
gram, a  resolution  favoring  the  amendment.  In  this  way  it  was 
treated  as  one  of  the  general  issues  and,  being  brought  before 
the  voters  by  one  of  their  own  speakers,  did  not  give  the  annoy- 
ance that  is  sometimes  felt  when  a  lady  is  introduced  for 
this  purpose.  In  every  instance,  the  speaker  would  call  upon  the 
voters  to  "honor  themselves  in  honoring  the  women."  This 
method  became  very  popular  and  won  many  votes  where,  other- 
.wise,  a  hearing  could  not  have  been  secured. 

Another  popular  plan  was  that  of  utilizing  the  young  people, 
who  proved  effective  helpers.  Every  boy  and  girl  who  could 
sing,  play,  declaim,  write  an  essay  or  in  any  other  way  entertain 
was  enlisted  for  oratorical  debates,  prize  essays  and  public  meet- 
ings.* Through  their  work  many  a  young  man  cast  his  first 
vote  for  his  mother. 

Hearings  were  secured  before  clubs  and  organizations,  when 
short  addresses  were  made  and  resolutions  adopted.! 

The  W.  C.  T.  U.  was  throughout  the  campaign,  active,  efficient 
and  helpful,  while  its  members  were  found  on  all  the  suffrage 
committees.  Valued  assistance  was  given  also  by  the  Woman's 
Parliament,  the  church  auxiliaries,  labor  unions,  Christian  En- 
deavor Societies,  Epworth  Leagues,  theosophical  societies  and  the 

•  Among  the  many  were  Gertrude  Foster,  the  young  California  actress,  who  added 
attraction  to  many  programs  with  her  brilliant  readings,  and  Jessie,  daughter  of  Superior 
Judge  Waldo  York,  who  won  the  prize  of  $75  offered  by  Dr.  Ella  Whipple  Marsh,  super- 
intendent of  franchise  of  the  Southern  California  W.  C.  T.  U.,  for  the  best  essay  on 
woman  suffrage,  one  hundred  young  people  of  both  sexes  competing.  An  oratorical 
contest  for  young  college  men — original  orations  on  woman  suffrage — resulted  in  a  $: 
prize  to  Edwin  Hahn  of  Pomona  College,  five  young  men  participating.  Clare,  daughter 
of  Judge  C.  C.  McComas,  gave  highly-appreciated  recitations  on  the  woman  question, 
and  Miss  Nina  Cuthbert,  the  young  teacher  of  elocution,  delighted  many  audiences  with 
her  readings  and  wonderful  imitations. 

t  Prominent  among  these  were  the  Single  Tax  Club,  Royal  Arcanum,  Foresters,  Nativi 
Daughters  of  the  Golden  West,  Socialist  League,  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Carpenters'  Union 
Woman's  Relief  Corps,  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  Friday  Morning  Woman's  Club  and  the  Fraternal 
Brotherhood. 


CALIFORNIA.  499 

Southern  California  Federation  of  Woman's  Clubs — which  de- 
voted a  whole  session  of  its  annual  meeting  to  the  question. 

The  Afro-American  Congress,  convening  in  Los  Angeles, 
gave  up  an  afternoon  session  to  listen  to  Mrs.  Naomi  Anderson, 
the  salaried  organizer.  This  was  followed  up  with  faithful  work 
by  the  Colored  Woman's  Club,  its  president,  Dr.  Mary  T.  Long- 
ley,  assisted  by  Mesdames  Washington,  White,  Jackson,  Knott, 
Campbell,  Clarkson  and  others,  being  instrumental  in  converting 
many  of  the  colored  men  to  a  belief  in  suffrage  for  women.  A 
number  of  them  indeed  became  active  workers,  the  most  promi- 
nent being  the  Rev.  John  Albright.  Mrs.  McComas  addressed 
the  Los  Angeles  County  Republican  Convention,  which  put  in 
its  platform  a  resolution  in  favor  of  the  amendment. 

Literature  in  small,  concise  leaflets  was  hung  up  in  the  street 
cars,  railroad  offices,  hotels,  theaters  and  post-offices ;  wrapped  in 
dry-goods  and  grocery  parcels  and  placed  in  profusion  in  the 
public  libraries,  many  of  these  being  compiled  especially  to  suit 
certain  localities.  This  required  unceasing  labor  and  watchful- 
ness on  the  part  of  the  press  committee.  Much  original  matter 
was  used  to  show  the  people  that  the  women  of  their  community 
were  fully  capable  of  expressing  their  ideas  and  giving  their 
reasons  for  desiring  the  ballot. 

Fourteen  of  the  papers  published  in  Los  Angeles  were  friendly 
to  the  amendment  and  gave  it  more  or  less  editorial  support, 
while  three  used  their  influence  against  it.  The  Los  Angeles 
Times  was  unyielding  in  its  opposition  throughout  the  cam- 
paign, although  it  published  fair  reports  of  the  meetings.  The 
Sunday  World  kept  pace  with  the  Liquor  Dealer  in  its  coarse 
hostility,  while  the  Pasadena  Town  Talk  was  a  good  second  to 
both.  The  majority  of  the  newspapers  in  Southern  California 
were  favorable  to  the  proposed  measure  and  were  largely  re- 
sponsible for  its  success  in  this  section  of  the  State.* 

The  most  harmonious  spirit  existed  at  headquarters  and 
among  all  the  workers.  Enough  money  was  raised  to  pay  sal- 
aries to  county  presidents,  organizers,  corresponding  secretary 
and  one  speaker.  All  others  donated  their  services.  Among 
the  series  of  county  conventions  called  by  the  State  board,  Los 

*  It  is  regretted  that  the  carefully  compiled  list  of  these  papers,  sent  by  Mrs.  McComas, 
is  too  long  to  be  used.  [Eds. 


5OO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Angeles  not  only  .paid  its  own  expenses  but  contributed  $67  to 
the  general  State  fund.  This  money  was  freely  given  by  friends 
and  workers,  no  special  assessments  being  levied  and  no  collec- 
tions taken  at  public  meetings.  Those  who  could  not  give  large- 
ly worked  the  harder  to  secure  contributions  from  those  who 
could.  Great  credit  is  due  to  the  excellent  management  of  the 
financial  secretary,  Mrs.  Almeda  B.  Gray,  who  labored  constant- 
ly at  headquarters  from  May  to  November,  besides  contributing 
a  monthly  instalment  to  the  county  fund.  Much  of  it  was  also 
due  to  the  wise  and  conservative  policy  of  the  president  of  the 
campaign  committee,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  H.  Meserve. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  give  even  the  names  of  all  who  as- 
sisted in  this  long  and  arduous  campaign.  The  work  was  far- 
reaching,  and  many  were  modest  home-keepers  who  gave  effective 
service  in  their  own  immediate  neighborhood.* 

The  amendment  was  defeated — for  many  reasons.  Among 
the  most  conspicuous  were  ignorance  of  the  real  merits  of  the 
issue;  indifference — for  thousands  of  voters  failed  to  vote  either 
way ;  a  secret  but  systematic  opposition  to  woman's  voice  in  legis- 
lative affairs  from  the  only  organization  against  it — the  Liquor 
Dealers'  Association;  and,  most  potent  of  all,  a  political  combi- 
nation which  would  not  have  occurred  except  at  the  time  of  a 
presidential  election.  Every  county  in  Southern  California  gave 
a  majority  for  the  amendment,  Los  Angeles  County  leading  with 
4,600.  Miss  Anthony,  who  spent  the  summer  in  California  aid- 
ing and  encouraging  the  women  with  her  wisdom,  cheerfulness 
and  hope,  said  on  leaving:  "The  campaign  was  a  magnificent 

*  In  addition  to  men  and  women  already  mentioned  the  following  is  a  partial  list  of 
those  who  aided  in  various  ways:  Annie  B.  Andrews,  Alice  Armor,  Prof.  W.  C.  and 
Sarah  A.  Bowman,  Mary  M.  Bowman,  Mrs.  (Dr.)  B.  W.  Beacher,  Mary  E.  Benson, 
Mary  E.  Bucknell.  Alice  E.  Broadwell,  Rollo  K.  Bryan,  James  G.  Clark,  Mary  L.  Craw- 
ford, Lucy  E.  Cook,  Mary  Lynde  Craig,  Pauline  Curram,  Gen.  A.  B.  Campbell,  Edith 
Cross,  Adelaide  Comstock,  Prof.  G.  A.  Dobinson,  the  Hon.  C.  H.  Dillon,  Florence  Dun- 
ham, Virginia  W.  Davis,  Sallie  Markham  Davis,  Ella  H.  Enderline,  Katheryne  Phillips 
Edson,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  EH  Fay,  Ada  C.  Ferriss,  Mary  E.  Fisher,  Miss  M.  M.  Fette,  Kate 
Tupper  Galpin,  Mary  E.  Garbutt,  Prof.  Burt  Estees  Howard,  Emma  Hardacre,  Mary  I. 
Hutchinson,  Rachel  Handby,  Mrs.  C.  E.  Haines,  Georgia  Hodgeman,  Judge  and  Mrs. 
Ivan,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  and  Miss  Kinney,  Mrs.  E.  A.  and  Miss  Lawrence,  Alice  Beach 
McComas,  Ben  S.  May,  Susie  Munn,  Mattie  Day  Murphy,  Dr.  Mary  Nixon,  Mrs.  C.  Vi 
Parker,  Delia  C.  Percival,  Ursula  M.  Poats,  Mary  Rankin,  Rachel  Reid,  Aglea  Rothery, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  C.  B.  Randolph,  Caroline  M.  Severance,  Mrs.  Fred  Smith,  Dora  G. 
Smith,  Drusilla  E.  Steele,  Annie  B.  Smith,  Gabrella  Stickney,  Mrs.  A.  Tichenor,  Mrs. 
R.  H.  F.  Variel.  Dr.  Theoda  Wilkins,  Mrs.  (Dr.)  Wills,  Fanny  Wills,  Attorney  Sarah 
Wild,  Judge  Waldo  York,  Jessie  York. 


CALIFORNIA.  50! 

one,  and  it  has  developed  many  splendid  workers  who  will  be 
ready  for  the  next  which  is  sure  to  come." 

After  the  disappointing  result  the  Campaign  Committee  held 
a  meeting,  passed  resolutions  of  fealty  to  the  cause  and  adjourned 
sine  die.  But  in  order  to  perpetuate  the  work  already  done  and 
be  ready  for  "new  business"  at  any  time,  the  Los  Angeles  County 
Woman  Suffrage  League  was  organized  the  following  week, 
Mrs.  Elmira  T.  Stephens,  president ;  Mrs.  Gray,  chairman  of  ad- 
visory board ;  Mrs.  Craig,  secretary.  The  natural  reaction  after 
defeat  followed  and  no  work  was  done  for  several  years. 

In  November,  1900,  the  State  president,  Mrs.  Mary  Wood 
Swift,  came  to  Los  Angeles  and  gave  a  parlor  talk  at  the  home  of 
her  hostess,  Mrs.  I.  G.  Chandler,  and  later  an  address  at  a  public 
meeting  in  the  Woman's  Club  House,  of  which  Mrs.  Caroline  M. 
Severance  was  chairman.  Practically  all  were  in  favor  of  re- 
viving the  old  Woman  Suffrage  League  and  an  executive  com- 
mittee was  appointed,  Mrs.  Sarah  Burger  Stearns  (formerly  of 
Minnesota),  chairman. 

At  its  call  a  meeting  was  held  December  i,  and  the  league  re- 
organized: President,  Mrs.  Severance;  vice-president,  Mrs. 
Shelley  Tolhurst;  secretary,  Mrs.  Carl  Schutz;  treasurer,  Mrs. 
Amelia  Griffith ;  chairman  of  executive  committee,  Mrs.  Stearns. 
A  leaflet  announcing  the  formation  of  the  league,  its  plan  of 
work,  etc.,  was  largely  circulated.  A  committee  was  appointed 
who  went  before  the  Legislative  Conference,  which  was  held  later 
in  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  expressed  the  thanks  of  the 
league  for  the  efforts  of  the  Southern  California  members  who 
had  worked  and  voted  for  the  School  Suffrage  Bill  at  the  previ- 
ous session  of  1899. 

The  executive  committee  meets  once  a  month  and  special  ses- 
sions are  called  whenever  necessary.  The  plan  of  work,  as  out- 
lined by  Mrs.  Stearns,  was  sent  to  the  State  convention  at  San 
Francisco  and  cordially  approved. 

In  February  half  of  a  show  window  on  Broadway  was  secured, 
with  ample  floor  space  back  of  it.  With  the  donation  of  $100 
by  a  Los  Angeles  woman  both  were  made  attractive  with  flags, 
engravings  and  furnishings.  Above  a  handsome  desk  the  suf- 
frage flag  with  its  four  stars  is  draped  and  photographs  of  prom- 


5O2  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

inent  women  adorn  the  walls.  The  suffrage  papers  are  kept  on 
file  and  quantities  of  fresh  literature  are  ready  for  distribution. 
Stationery,  photographs,  medallions,  etc.,  are  for  sale,  a  register 
is  open  for  the  enrollment  of  friends  and  a  member  of  the  league 
is  always  in  attendance.  When  another  amendment  campaign 
is  to  be  made  Southern  California  will  be  found  ready  for  work 
and  will  declare  in  its  favor  by  a  largely  increased  majority. 

LAWS  :  The  original  property  law  of  California  is  an  inheri- 
tance from  the  Mexicans,  which  it  incorporated  in  its  own  code, 
and  it  is  quite  as  unjust  as  those  which  still  exist  on  the  statute- 
books  of  some  States  as  a  remnant  of  the  barbarous  old  English 
Common  Law.  Community  property  includes  all  which  is  ac- 
cumulated by  the  joint  labors  of  husband  and  wife  after  mar- 
riage. This  is  in  the  absolute  control  of  the  husband.  Previ- 
ous to  1891  he  could  dispose  of  all  of  it  as  if  he  had  no  wife, 
could  will,  sell,  mortgage,  pledge  or  give  it  away.  That  year 
the.  Legislature  enacted  that  he  could  not  make  a  gift  of  it  or 
convey  it  without  a  valuable  consideration,  unless  the  wife  con- 
sented in  writing,  although  he  could  still  dispose  of  it  in  ordinary 
business  transactions  without  her  knowledge  or  consent.  .  The 
decision  in  the  Spreckles  case  apparently  nullified  this  law,  as 
the  gift  was  made  in  1893  and  the  Supreme  Court  in  1897  de- 
clared it  legal.* 

In  1895  it  was  provided  that  at  the  husband's  death  the  wife  i> 
entitled  to  one-half  of  what  remains,  subject  to  one-half  of  the 
debts.  At  the  death  of  the  wife  the  whole  belongs  absolutely 
to  the  husband  without  administration.  If  some  portion  of  it 
may  have  been  set  apart  for  her  support  by  judicial  decree,  this 

*  Claus  Spreckles  gave  his  son  Rudolph  a  large  amount  of  sugar  stock  which  was  com- 
munity property,  and  Mrs.  Spreckles  did  not  join.  Afterwards  he  sued  to  recover  and 
the  Supreme  Court,  all  the  Judges  concurring,  decided  the  gift  was  legal.  Justice 
Temple  rendered  the  decision  as  follows: 

"All  these  differences  point  to  the  fact  that  the  husband  is  absolute  owner  of  the  com- 
munity property.  The  marital  community  was  not  acquired  for  the  purpose  of  accumulat- 
ing property,  and  the  husband  owes  no  duty  to  the  community  or  to  the  wife,  either  to 
labor  or  accumulate  money,  or  to  save  or  to  practice  economy  to  that  end.  He  owes  his 
wife  and  children  suitable  maintenance,  and  if  he  has  sufficient  income  from  his  separate 
estate  he  need  not  engage  in  business,  or  so  live  that  there  can  be  community  property. 
If  he  earns  more  than  is  sufficient  for  such  maintenance,  he  violates  no  legal  obligation 
if  he  spends  the  surplus  in  extravagance  or  gives  it  away.  The  community  property 
may  be  lost  in  visionary  schemes  or  in  mere  whims.  Within  the  law  he  may  live  his 
life,  although  the  community  property  is  dissipated.  Of  course  I  am  not  now  speaking 
of  moral  obligations." 


CALIFORNIA.  503 

is  subject  to  her  testamentary  disposition,  or,  if  she  makes  none, 
it  passes  to  her  heirs. 

A  homestead  to  the  value  of  $5,000,  which  must  continuously 
be  occupied  by  the  family,  may  be  selected  from  the  community 
property,  or  from  the  husband's  separate  estate,  or  from  the 
wife's  with  her  consent.  If  from  the  first-named  it  belongs  to 
the  survivor,  if  from  the  separate  property  it  descends  to  his  or 
her  heirs,  subject  to  the  power  of  the  court  to  assign  it  to  the 
family  for  a  limited  period.  During  marriage  it  can  not  be 
mortgaged  or  conveyed  without  the  signature  of  both.  In  case 
of  divorce,  if  it  has  been  selected  from  community  property,  it 
may  be  assigned  to  the  innocent  party  absolutely  or  for  a 'limited 
time,  or  it  may  be  sold  and  the  proceeds  divided,  according  to 
decree.  If  selected  from  separate  property  it  shall  be  returned  to 
the  former  owner,  but  the  court  may  assign  it  for  a  limited  time 
to  the  innocent  party. 

In  1897  a  law  was  passed  that  if  the  estate  is  less  than  $1,500 
it  shall  be  assigned  to  the  widow,  subject  to  incumbrances,  fun- 
eral charges  and  expenses  of  settlement. 

Separate  property  consists  in  what  was  possessed  before  mar- 
riage or  is  received  by  gift  or  inheritance  afterwards.  If  the 
deceased  leave  wife  or  husband  and  only  one  child,  or  the  lawful 
issue  of  one,  the  separate  estate  is  divided  in  equal  shares.  If 
there  be  more  than  one  child  or  the  issue  of  one,  the  widow  or 
widower  is  entitled  to  one-third.  If  there  is  no  issue  the  sur- 
vivor takes  one-half  and  the  other  half  goes  to  the  father,  mother, 
brothers  and  sisters  of  the  deceased.  If  none  exists,  the  sur- 
vivor is  entitled  to  the  whole  estate. 

Either  husband  or  wife  may  dispose  of  separate  property  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  other.  Until  1894  it  rested  upon  the  wife 
to  prove  that  property  was  her  separate  possession,  but  now  the 
proof  rests  upon  the  contestants.  .  Until  1897  she  was  compelled 
to  prove  that  it  was  not  paid  for  with  community  earnings. 
Neither  of  these  recent  laws  applies  to  property  acquired  pre- 
vious to  May  19,  1889. 

A  married  woman  may  be  administrator  or  executor.    (1891.) 

The  wife  may  engage  in  business  as  sole  trader  and  her  hus- 
band is  not  liable  for  her  contracts,  but  her  earnings,  and  also 


5O4  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

any  wages  she  may  make  by  her  labor,  are  community  property 
and  belong  absolutely  to  him,  and  suit  for  them  must  be  brought 
by  him.  By  becoming  a  sole  trader  she  makes  herself  liable  for 
the  support  of  the  family. 

A  married  woman  may  sue  and  be  sued  and  make  contracts 
in  regard  to  her  separate  property,  but  in  torts  of  a  personal  na- 
ture she  must  be  sued  jointly  with  her  husband,  although  the 
wife  may  defend  in  her  own  right. 

Until  1899  common  law  marriage  was  legal,  and  this  consisted 
merely  in  a  promise  and  the  mutual  assumption  of  marital  rights, 
duties  and  obligations.  That  year  a  law  was  passed  requiring 
a  license  and  a  civil  or  religious  ceremony.  The  law  declares 
specifically  that  "the  husband  is  the  head  of  the  family  and  the 
wife  is  subject  to  him." 

The  wife  may  sue  for  separate  maintenance  without  divorce. 

The  father  is  the  guardian  of  the  minor  children  and  entitled 
to  their  custody,  services  and  earnings.  At  his  death,  or  if  he 
has  abandoned  his  family,  the  guardianship  belongs  to  the  moth- 
er, if  suitable. 

The  husband  is  expected  to  give  his  family  proper  mainte- 
nance. There  is  no  penalty  for  not  supporting  a  wife  but  he 
can  be  arrested  for  failure  to  support  the  children.  If  he  have 
no  property  or  is  disabled  from  any  cause,  then  the  wife  must 
support  him  and  the  family  out  of  her  property  or  her  earnings. 
The  husband  decides  what  are  necessaries  and  may  take  even 
her  personal  belongings  to  pay  for  them. 

In  1887  the  W.  C  T.  U.  asked  to  have  the  "age  of  protection" 
for  girls  raised  from  10  to  18  years,  but  secured  only  14.  In  1895 
they  succeeded  in  having  a  bill  passed  for  18  years  but  it  was 
vetoed  by  Gov.  James  H.  Budd.  In  1897  they  obtained  one  for 
1 6  years  which  he  signed  and  it  is  now  the  law.  The  penalty  is 
imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  for  not  less  than  five  years. 

SUFFRAGE:     Women  possess  no  form  of  suffrage. 

In  1900,  to  make  a  test  case,  Mrs.  Ellen  Clark  Sargent  brought 
suit  before  Judge  M.  C.  Sloss,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  San 
Francisco,  to  recover  her  taxes  for  that  year,  about  $500.  The 
city  through  its  attorney  filed  a  demurrer  which  was  argued 
March  29  by  George  C.  Sargent,  son  of  the  plaintiff  and  a  mem- 


CALIFORNIA.  505 

ber  of  the  bar.  He  based  his  masterly  argument  on  the  ground 
that  a  constitution  which  declares  that  "all  political  power  is  in- 
herent in  the  people"  has  no  right  to  exclude  one-half  of  the  peo- 
ple from  the  exercise  of  this  inherent  power.  He  quoted  the 
most  eminent  authorities  to  prove  that  taxation  and  representa- 
tion are  inseparable ;  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  would 
have  been  slaves  if  they  had  not  enjoyed  the  constitutional  right 
of  granting  or  withholding  their  own  money ;  that  it  is  insepara- 
bly essential  to  the  freedom  of  a  people  that  no  taxes  can  be  im- 
posed upon  them  except  with  their  consent  given  personally  or 
by  their  representatives.  He  said  in  closing : 

If  Article  I  of  the  State  constitution  defines  inalienable  rights  and 
Article  II  abrogates  them,  it  is  monarchy.  The  Code  of  Civil  Pro- 
cedure says  that  where  one  of  two  constructions  is  in  favor  of  nat- 
ural right  and  the  other  against  it,  the  former  shall  be  accepted. 
The  question  is  whether  the  Court  shall  grant  this  right,  or  whether 
by  toil  and  struggle  it  shall  be  wrung  from  the  consciences  of  the 
electors. 

The  court  decided  that  the  case  required  a  mandamus  before 
the  Registrar.  Application  was  then  made  for  a  writ  of  man- 
date against  the  Registrar  of  Elections  to  compel  him  to  place 
Mrs.  Sargent's  name  upon  the  list  of  voters.  Should  this  be 
denied  she  asked  to  have  her  taxes  returned.  Both  demands 
were  refused  by  Judge  Sloss  in  the  Superior  Court.  He  took 
the  ground  that  if  Mr.  Sargent's  argument  should  be  carried  to 
its  logical  conclusion  it  would  enfranchise  idiots,  lunatics  and 
criminals;  that  if  there  is  a  conflict  between  the  two  sections  of 
the  constitution  cited  it  should  be  settled  in  favor  of  limiting  the 
suffrage  to  males,  as  where  a  general  and  a  particular  provision 
are  inconsistent  the  latter  is  paramount  to  the  former.  He 
quoted  various  State  Supreme  Court  decisions  and  declared  that 
he  decided  the  case  according  to  the  law.* 

As  Mrs.  Sargent  had  every  assurance  that  this  judgment 
would  be  sustained  by  the  Supreme  Court  she  did  not  carry  the 
case  further.  It  attracted  attention  and  comment  in  all  parts  of 
the  country  and  she  received  encouragement  and  wishes  for  her 
success  from  all  classes  of  society. 

*  During  this  trial  Mrs.  Sargent  and  her  friends  in  attendance  were  caricatured  in 
the  most  shameless  manner  by  the  San  Francisco  Call,  which  had  passed  under  a  new 
management 


5O6  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  The  Legislature  of  1873  made  women 
eligible  to  all  School  offices.  None  ever  has  been  elected  State 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  but  there  is  scarcely  a  coun- 
ty where  women  have  not  served  as  superintendents.  At  pres- 
ent seventeen  are  acting  in  this  capacity.  They  have  frequently 
been  elected  School  Trustees  and  a  woman  is  now  president  of 
the  San  Francisco  school  board  at  a  salary  of  $3,000  per  annum. 

The  constitution  is  interpreted  to  prohibit  women  from  holding 
any  other  office.  It  is  claimed  by  some  that  this  does  not  in- 
clude the  boards  of  State  institutions,  but  out  of  twenty-six  such 
boards  and  commissions  only  one  ever  has  had  a  woman  mem- 
ber— Mrs.  Phcebe  A.  Hearst,  who  is  on  the  Board  of  Regents  of 
the  State  University. 

There  are  women  on  local  library  boards.  A  woman  has  been 
assistant  State  Librarian,  and  there  have  been  women  deputies 
and  clerks  in  county  and  city  offices.  At  present  in  the  offices  of 
the  Attorney-General,  Board  of  Examiners,  State  Department 
of  Highways  and  Debris  Committee  women  hold  positions  as 
clerks  at  salaries  of  from  $1,200  to  $1,800.  They  may  serve  as 
notaries  public. 

In  the  autumn  of  1899  the  California  Woman's  Club  resur- 
rected an  old  law  which  never  had  been  enforced,  providing  for 
the  appointment  of  assistant  women  physicians  at  the  hospitals 
for  the  insane  "provided  there  are  already  three  assistant  male 
physicians."  They  petitioned  the  proper  authorities  and  the 
matter  was  presented  to  the  State  Lunacy  Commission  by  Gov. 
Henry  T.  Gage  with  his  earnest  indorsement.  From  highly 
qualified  candidates,  whom  the  club  had  in  readiness,  two  were 
appointed,  and  the  promise  was  made  that  others  should  be  at 
an  early  date.  In  a  short  time  the  superintendent  of  one  hos- 
pital wrote  that  he  did  not  see  how  they  ever  had  managed  with- 
out a  woman  physician. 

A  woman  physician  is  on  the  Board  of  Health  in  Oakland. 

In  1891  a  law  was  passed  providing  for  jail  matrons  in  cities 
of  100,000  and  over.  This  included  only  San  Francisco  and  was 
not  mandatory.  In  1901  a  law  was  secured  requiring  all  cities 
of  over  15,000  to  have  a  matron  at  jails  and  city  prisons,  to  be 


CALIFORNIA.  507 

appointed  for  two  years  at  a  salary  of  $50,  $65  or  $75  a  month, 
according  to  the  size  of  the  city. 

OCCUPATIONS:  After  the  hard  struggle  to  obtain  a  law  ad- 
mitting women  to  the  bar  in  1877,  a  long  contest  followed  to  se- 
cure their  admission  to  the  Hastings  College  of  Law,  a  branch 
of  the  State  University,  which  ended  in  a  favorable  decision  of 
the  Supreme  Court.*  As  a  result  of  these  efforts  the  constitu- 
tional convention  of  1879  incorporated  a  provision  that  "No  per- 
son shall,  on  account  of  sex,  be  disqualified  from  entering  upon 
or  pursuing  any  lawful  business,  vocation  or  profession."  This 
does  not,  however,  include  appointive  or  elective  offices. 

EDUCATION:  This  same  constitution  of  1879  provided  also 
that  "No  person  shall  be  debarred  admission  to  any  of  the  col- 
legiate departments  of  the  State  University  on  account  of  sex." 
Most  of  the  smaller  colleges  are  co-educational. 

The  assertion  will  hardly  be  questioned  that  the  gifts  of  women 
for  educational  purposes  in  all  parts  of  the  Union,  in  all  time,  do 
not  equal  those  made  by  the  women  of  California  within  the  last 
decade.  As  a  memorial  to  their  son,  U.  S.  Senator  and  Mrs. 
Leland  Stanford  erected  the  Leland  Stanford,  Jr.,  University 
at  Palo  Alto  in  1890  and  endowed  it  with  many  millions  of  dol- 
lars. Mr.  Stanford's  death  before  it  was  fully  completed  threw 
the  estate  into  litigation  for  a  number  of  years,  the  legality  of 
even  some  portion  of  the  university  endowment  being  in  doubt. 
He  left  the  bulk  of  his  great  fortune  to  his  wife,  and,  after  the 
estate  was  settled  and  free  from  all  encumbrances,  she  reaffirmed 
the  titles  of  all  previous  gifts  and  added  the  largest  part  of  her 
own  property.  The  endowment  is  now  about  $30,000,000,  all 
but  $4,000,000  of  this  having  been  given  by  Mrs.  Jane  Lathrop 
Stanford.  This  is  the  largest  endowment  ever  made  by  any  one 
person  for  one  institution,  and  places  Stanford  at  the  head  of 
the  endowed  universities  of  the  world.  It  has  been  co-educa- 
tional in  all  departments  from  the  beginning  and  the  tuition  is 
practically  free. 

In  1894  Mrs.  Miranda  Lux  of  San  Francisco  left  a  bequest  of 
$750,000  for  a  school  of  manual  training  for  both  sexes.  In  1898 
Miss  Cora  Jane  Flood  of  San  Francisco  conveyed  to  the  Univer- 

*  See  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  757. 


5O8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

sity  of  California  her  magnificent  estate  at  Menlo  Park  and  4,000 
shares  of  stocks,  valued  at  not  far  from  $1,000,000.  The  request 
was  made  that  the  income  should  be  devoted  to  some  branch  of 
commercial  education.  Mrs.  Jane  Krom  Sather  of  Oakland  has 
given  about  $200,000  to  the  University.  The  donations  of  Mrs. 
Phcebe  A.  Hearst  have  been  thus  far  about  $300,000,  but  this 
is  merely  preliminary  to  the  great  endowment  of  millions  for 
which  she  has  arranged.  It  is  exclusive  also  of  $30,000  a  year 
for  several  archaeological  expeditions.  Liberal  gifts  have  been 
made  by  other  women. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  1,722  men  and  6,425  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $81.08;  of 
the  women  $64.76.  As  a  law  of  1873  requires  equal  pay  of 
teachers  for  equal  work,  these  figures  show  that  the  highly  sala- 
ried positions  are  largely  occupied  by  men. 


Women's  clubs  play  a  very  prominent  part  in  the  social  life. 
Of  these,  in  with  a  membership  of  over  7,000  belong  to  the 
State  Federation.  The  oldest  in  the  State  is  the  Ebell  of  Oak- 
land, organized  over  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  having  now  a 
handsome  club  house  and  a  membership  of  500.  It  raised 
$20,000  to  purchase  a  site  for  the  new  Carnegie  Library.  The 
Century  Club  of  San  Francisco  with  275  members  is  one  of  the 
oldest  and  most  influential;  the  California  Club  has  an  active- 
membership  of  400 ;  and  there  are  a  number  of  other  flourishing 
clubs  in  that  city,  Oakland,  Berkeley,  Alameda  and  Sacramento,  of 
from  175  to  250  members.  The  Friday  Morning  Club  of  Los 
Angeles,  with  a  membership  of  500,  owns  a  beautiful  club  house. 
The  Ebell  of  that  city  has  300  members,  and  clubs  of  from  150 
to  200  are  found  in  various  places  in  Southern  California. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

COLORADO.* 

After  the  campaign  of  1877,  when  a  woman  suffrage  amend- 
ment was  defeated  in  Colorado,  the  first  really  important  step 
forward  was  the  organization  at  Denver,  in  1890,  of  a  little  club 
to  aid  the  campaign  in  South  Dakota.  In  April  Miss  Matilda 
Hindman,  who  was  working  there,  came  from  that  State  to  ask 
assistance  and  formed  a  committee  of  six,  who  pledged  them- 
selves to  raise  $100.  They  were  Miss  Georgiana  Watson,  pres- 
ident; Mrs.  Susan  Sharman,  secretary;  Mrs.  Mary  J.  Nichols, 
treasurer ;  and  Mesdames  Amy  K.  Cornwall,  Jennie  P.  Root  and 
Lavinia  C.  Dwelle. 

Shortly  afterward  Mrs.  Louise  M.  Tyler  removed  from  Bos- 
ton to  Denver,  bearing  a  letter  from  Lucy  Stone  urging  Colo- 
rado suffragists  to  unite  in  an  organization  auxiliary  to  the  Na- 
tional Woman  Suffrage  Association.  Mrs.  Tyler  heard  of  this 
small  band,  called  with  Mrs.  Elizabeth  P.  Ensley,  delivered  her 
message,  and  their  names  were  added  to  the  list  of  members.  The 
organization  was  completed  and  became  an  auxiliary. 

About  this  time  Mrs.  Leonora  Barry  Lake  followed  her  lecture, 
delivered  under  the  auspices  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temper- 
ance Union  by  an  appeal  to  the  women  of  the  audience  to  join  the 
suffrage  association ;  and  among  those  who  responded  were  two 
whose  ears  had  longed  for  such  a  gospel  sound,  Mrs.  Emily  R. 
Meredith  and  her  daughter  Ellis.  Temperance  women  who  re- 
peatedly had  found  their  work  defeated  by  the  lack  of  "the  right 
preservative  of  rights,"  such  women  as  Mrs.  Anna  Steele,  Mrs. 
Ella  L.  Benton,  Mrs.  Eliza  J.  Patrick  and  others,  thought  truly 
that  a  society  whose  sole  aim  should  be  the  ballot  was  a  necessity. 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Emily  R.  Meredith  and  her  daughter, 
Ellis  Meredith  of  Denver,  both  strong  factors  in  securing  suffrage  for  the  women  of  their 
State;  the  latter  is  on  the  staff  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  News  and  editor  of  the  Western 
Clubwoman. 

509 


5IO  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

At  this  time  the  meetings  were  held  in  Mrs.  Tyler's  parlor.  Miss 
Watson  was  much  occupied  with  school  duties,  and  in  the  fall 
of  1890  Mrs.  Tyler  was  chosen  president  in  her  stead. 

In  1891  a  petition  for  the  right  of  suffrage  by  constitutional 
amendment  was  presented  to  the  Legislature,  but  the  bill  not 
being  introduced  within  the  specific  time  it  went  by  default. 
Ashamed  of  their  lack  of  political  acumen,  the  women  then  per- 
suaded Representative  F.  F.  O'Mahoney,  who  had  a  bill  prohib- 
iting foreigners  from  voting  on  their  first  naturalization  papers, 
to  strike  the  word  "male"  from  his  measure,  thus  making  it  an 
equal  suffrage  enactment,  but  bill  and  rider  were  defeated.  The 
ladies  who  worked  for  suffrage  were  treated  with  such  scant 
courtesy  by  some  of  the  legislators,  and  the  general  sentiment 
was  so  adverse,  that  ultimate  success  looked  very  distant  to  the 
most  sanguine  friends. 

Some  of  the  club  even  questioned  the  advisability  of  giving 
an  afternoon  a  week,  as  they  had  been  doing,  to  the  study  of  a 
government  in  which  they  had  no  part  and  might  never  hope  to 
have.  Mrs.  Sharman,  a  small,  delicate  woman,  who  already  had 
passed  four-score  years,  was  its  inspiration.  She  advised  the 
members  to  remain  united,  ready  for  active  effort  when  opportu- 
nity offered,  and  in  the  meantime  to  continue  as  seed-sowers  and 
students  of  citizenship  in  the  preparatory  department. 

The  membership  slowly  increased.  Mrs.  Tyler  served  as  pres- 
ident until  1892,  when  Mrs.  Olive  Hogle  was  elected.  Mrs. 
Benton  (Adams)  had  given  the  use  of  her  rooms  in  the  central 
part  of  Denver,  and  the  society  remained  with  her  until,  having 
outgrown  its  quarters,  it  accepted  the  hospitality  of  Dr.  Minnie 
C.  T.  Love  early  in  1893. 

In  the  spring  of  1891  a  small  majority  of  its  members  had  put 
up  a  woman  candidate  for  the  East  Denver  school  board  and 
tried  their  "prentice  hands"  at  voting.  It  is  a  settled  fact  that 
a  partial  suffrage  seldom  awakens  much  interest.  The  school 
ballot  had  been  given  to  women  by  the  constitution  when  Colo- 
rado became  a  State,  but  here,  as  elsewhere,  they  exercised  it 
only  when  aroused  by  some  especial  occasion.  Mrs.  Scott  Sax- 
ton  was  the  candidate  selected.  The  wiser  of  the  suffragists 
thought  the  work  should  have  been  undertaken  sooner,  if  at  all, 


COLORADO.  511 

as  there  was  not  then  sufficient  time  for  canvassing,  and  the  re- 
sult proved  they  were  right.  More  women  voted  than  ever  before, 
but  the  men  opposed  to  women  on  the  school  board  came  out  in 
still  greater  numbers.  Twelve  hundred  ballots  were  cast — by 
far  the  largest  school  vote  ever  polled  in  the  district.  Of  these 
about  300  were  for  Mrs.  Saxton. 

Two  years  later  this  effort  was  repeated  and  other  organiza- 
tions of  women  aided  the  suffragists.  Mrs.  lone  T.  Hanna  was 
the  candidate.  There  were  four  tickets  in  the  field  and  over 
6,000  votes  were  cast.  This  time  both  men  and  women  voted 
in  favor  and,  in  the  face  of  bitter  opposition,  Mrs.  Hanna  was 
elected  by  1,900  majority. 

A  bill  providing  that  the  question  of  full  suffrage  for  women 
should  be  submitted  to  the  voters  at  the  next  general  election 
was  drawn  by  J.  Warner  Mills  and  presented  in  the  House  early 
in  1893  by  J.  T.  Heath.  On  this,  and  all  other  occasions  when 
advice  or  assistance  was  needed,  Mr.  Mills  gave  his  legal  serv- 
ices without  charge. 

This  was  indeed  the  golden  opportunity,  the  tide  which  taken 
at  the  flood  might  lead  on  to  fortune.  The  Populist  party,  which 
was  in  power,  had  a  suffrage  plank  in  its  State  platform ;  in  both 
the  other  parties  there  were  individuals  who  favored  it;  and,  if 
the  bill  passed,  the  Governor's  signature  was  a  certainty.  But 
there  are  as  many  vicissitudes  in  the  life  of  a  bill  as  in  that  of  an 
infant.  It  is  thrown  in  the  midst  of  its  fellows  to  struggle  for 
existence,  and  the  outcome  is  not  a  question  of  the  survival  of 
the  fittest  but  of  the  one  that  receives  the  best  nursing.  If  it 
escapes  the  death  that  lurks  in  the  committee  room,  it  still  may 
be  gently  crowded  toward  the  edge  until  it  falls  into  the  abyss 
which  awaits  bills  that  never  reach  the  third  reading. 

Mrs.  Tyler,  chairman  of  legislative  work,  gave  a  large  share 
of  her  time  during  the  entire  session  to  looking  after  the  bill  in 
the  House,  and  Miss  Minnie  J.  Reynolds  was  equally  untiring 
in  the  Senate.  Three  other  suffrage  bills  were  introduced  that 
session  but  two  yielded  precedence  to  the  one  prepared  by  the 
association.  The  author  of  the  third  believed  that  women  could 
obtain  suffrage  only  through  a  constitutional  amendment,  which 
was  what  his  bill  called  for.  The  women  received  such  contra- 


512  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

dictory  advice  on  this  point  as  to  awaken  much  anxiety.  How- 
ever, they  read  in  their  meetings  a  copy  of  the  statutes  of  Colo- 
rado, and  possessing  only  plain  common  sense  and  not  the  legal 
ability  which  would  have  qualified  them  for  a  place  in  the  Su- 
preme Court,  concluded  that  the  referendum  to  the  voters,  which 
their  bill  provided  for,  was  the  proper  thing  to  request. 

The  opposition  came  from  the  usual  sources.  After  the  bill 
was  presented,  the  Remonstrance,  the  organ  of  the  anti-suffrage 
society  in  Boston,  soon  appeared  on  the  desk  of  every  legislator. 
The  liquor  influence  also  \vas  prominent  in  the  lobby. 

The  bill  was  reported  from  the  committee  to  the  House  on 
Jan.  24,  1893,  with  the  recommendation  that  it  should  not 
pass  and  a  minority  report  in  favor.  The  former  was  rejected 
by  a  vote  of  39  to  21.  The  bill  was  brought  to  a  final  vote  on 
March  8.  A  number  of  the  members  of  the  suffrage  club  and 
some  other  women  who  approved  their  cause  were  present 
request  of  the  friends  in  the  House.  Some  of  the  argument 
used  were  peculiar.  Ruth  didn't  vote  and  she  married  very  wel 
(at  least  at  the  second  trial)  nor  did  any  of  the  women  referre 
to  in  the  Bible,  so  why  should  the  women  of  the  United  State 
do  so?  One  Representative  said  he  always  attended  to  affaii 
out  of  doors  and  left  those  within  to  his  wife.  He  thought  the 
was  the  right  way  and  didn't  believe  his  wife  would  vote  if  she 
could.  "But  she  says  she  would,"  declared  another,  who  w; 
prompted  by  Mrs.  Tyler,  and  a  ripple  of  laughter  arose  at 
speaker's  expense. 

There  was  the  customary  talk  about  neglected  homes  and 
plied  disbelief  in  woman's  ability  to  use  the  ballot  rightly,  bi 
only  one  man  tried  the  weapon  of  insult.  Robert  W.  Bonynj 
spoke  so  slightingly  of  the  character  of  women  who  upheld  eqi 
suffrage  that  one  incensed  woman,  not  a  member  of  the  associa- 
tion and  presumably  ignorant  of  parliamentary  courtesy,  gave  a 
low  hiss.  Immediately  he  assumed  the  denunciatory  and  threat- 
ened immediate  expulsion  of  all  persons  not  members  from  the 
House.  Frank  Carney  then  arose  and  referred  to  the  fact  that 
the  anti-suffrage  speakers  had  received  repeated  applause  from 
their  adherents  and  no  notice  had  been  taken  of  it,  although  it 


COLORADO.  513 

\vas  equally  out  of  place.  Mr.  Bonynge  subsided  from  his  posi- 
tion and  continued  his  speech.* 

The  bill  finally  passed  by  34  ayes,  27  noes ;  divided  politically 
as  follows:  Ayes,  22  Populists,  n  Republicans,  I  Democrat; 
noes,  3  Populists,  21  Republicans,  3  Democrats. 

Hamilton  Armstrong  had  introduced  the  bill  into  the  Senate, 
where  it  had  been  tabled  to  await  the  action  of  the  House.  It 
passed  on  April  3  by  20  ayes,  10  noes:  Ayes,  12  Populists,  8 
Republicans,  no  Democrat;  noes,  one  Populist,  4  Republicans,  5 
Democrats. 

The  bill  received  the  signature  of  the  Populist  governor,  Davis 
H.  Waite,  without  delay. 

A  general  election  was  to  be  held  in  the  fall  of  1893,  so  that 
the  verdict  of  the  voters  was  soon  to  follow.  At  the  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association  that  spring  the 
officers  chosen  were :  President,  Miss  Martha  Pease ;  vice-presi- 
dent, Mrs.  Ellis  Meredith;  secretary,  Mrs.  C.  S.  Bradley;  treas- 
urer, Mrs.  Ensley;  chairman  executive  committee,  Mrs.  Tyler. 
On  motion  of  Mrs.  Meredith,  the  name  of  the  society  was  changed 
to  the  Non-Partisan  Equal  Suffrage  Association  of  Colorado,  as 
in  the  word  "equal"  there  is  an  appeal  to  justice  which  does  not 
seem  to  exist  in  the  word  "woman." 

The  women  realized  the  conflict  before  them  in  the  near  future, 
and  Mrs.  Ellis  Meredith  volunteered  to  visit  the  Woman's  Con- 
gress, which  was  to  meet  at  Chicago  in  May,  during  the  World's 
Fair,  and  appeal  for  aid  to  the  representatives  of  the  National 
Association  who  would  be  there.  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony, 
Mrs.  Lucy  Stone  and  other  notables  were  present  and  ap- 
pointed a  meeting  to  listen  to  appeals.  These  asked  help  for  the 
Constitutional  Convention  Campaign  in  New  York  and  the  Kan- 
sas Amendment  Campaign,  which  were  both  considered  very 
hopeful  compared  to  what  was  thought  in  the  East  to  be  the 
almost  hopeless  campaign  in  Colorado.  Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux 
Blake  presented  the  claims  of  New  York,  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns 
of  Kansas,  and  Mrs.  Meredith  of  Colorado.  "Why  was  your 
campaign  precipitated  when  our  hands  are  so  full?"  was  one  of 

*  In  1900  Mr.   Bonynge   was  a  candidate    for  Congress  on  the   Republican  ticket  and 
was  overwhelmingly  defeated  by  the  votes  of  women. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 33 


514  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

the  discouraging  questions.  "Are  all  those  Mexicans  dead?" 
asked  Miss  Anthony,  referring  to  the  heavy  vote  against  equal 
suffrage  in  the  first  Colorado  campaign  of  1877.  "No,"  said 
Mrs.  Meredith,  "the  Mexicans  are  all  there  yet;"  but  she  ex- 
plained that  there  were  favorable  influences  now  which  did  not 
then  exist.  In  the  labor  unions  women  members  voted,  and  this 
fact  inclined  the  men  belonging  to  them  to  grant  the  full  fran- 
chise. The  W.  C.  T.  U.,  now  organized  throughout  the  State, 
had  become  a  firm  friend  and  advocate,  and  the  ruling  political 
party  was  favorable.  Clearly  this  was  the  time  to  strike. 

A  promise  of  consideration  and  such  aid  as  the  National  Asso- 
ciation was  able  to  furnish  was  given.  Later  they  decided  to 
send  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt  and  guarantee  her  expenses  in 
case  she  was  not  able  to  raise  them  in  the  State.  From  her  past 
record,  they  thought  it  likely  she  would  not  only  do  that  but 
put  money  in  the  treasury,  and  the  result  justified  their  expecta- 
tions. She  was  a  financial  help,  but,  much  as  money  was  needed, 
her  eloquence  and  judgment  were  worth  more,  and  she  always 
will  have  a  warm  place  in  the  hearts  of  Colorado  women  who 
were  active  in  the  campaign  of  1893. 

When  that  campaign  opened,  there  were  just  $25  in  the  treas- 
ury. Lucy  Stone  sent  a  donation  of  $100.  Iowa  and  California 
gave  aid,  and  there  were  small  contributions  in  money  from 
members  of  the  E.  S.  A.  and  from  auxiliary  clubs  formed  by 
Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  in  different  parts  of  the  State. 

Besides  these,  others  already  had  been  organized.  In  Long- 
mont  a  club  was  formed  in  the  spring  of  1893  by  Mesdames 
Mary  L.  Carr,  Orpha  Bacon,  Rosetta  Webb  and  Jane  Lincoln. 
They  took  up  the  study  of  laws  relating  to  the  property  rights 
of  women  and  endeavored  to  awaken  interest  in  the  question  to 
be  settled  the  following  November.  The  majority  which  Long- 
mont  gave  for  suffrage  is  a  testimony  to  the  value  of  their  work. 
In  Colorado  Springs  Mrs.  Mary  C.  C.  Bradford  was  president 
of  a  large  local  society  which  afterward  became  auxiliary  to  the 
State  association,  with  Mrs.  Ella  L.  C.  Dwinnell  as  president, 
and  did  excellent  work  in  El  Paso  County.  In  Greeley  many  of 
the  workers  of  1877  were  still  active.  Mrs.  Lillian  Hartman  John- 
son organized  a  club  in  Durango  and  spoke  for  the  cause.  Mrs. 


COLORADO.  515 

A.  Guthrie  Brown  formed  one  in  Breckinridge  of  which  Mes- 
dames  H.  R.  Steele,  C.  L.  Westermann  and  E.  G.  Brown  were 
active  members. 

All  these  clubs,  large  and  small,  scattered  throughout  the 
State,  assisted  in  arousing  public  sentiment,  but  the  situation  in 
Denver  was  the  one  of  most  anxious  interest.  It  is  always  in 
cities  that  reforms  meet  defeat,  for  there  the  opposing  interests 
are  better  organized  and  more  watchful.  In  no  other  State  is 
the  metropolis  so  much  the  center  of  its  life  as  is  Denver  of 
Colorado.  Through  this  modern  Palmyra,  which  stands  in  the 
center  of  the  continent  and  of  the  tide  of  commerce  from  East 
and  West,  flow  all  the  veins  and  arteries  of  the  State  life,  Ara- 
pahoe  County,  in  which  it  is  situated,  contains  more  than  one- 
fourth  of  the  population  of  the  entire  State.  Upon  the  women 
of  Denver,  therefore,  was  imposed  a  triple  share  of  responsibility. 
Besides  the  importance  of  the  large  vote,  there  rested  particu- 
larly upon  the  members  of  its  suffrage  club  the  burden  of  having 
invited  this  contest  and  made  it  a  campaign  issue. 

In  the  early  fall,  the  City  League  of  Denver  was  organized 
with  100  members  and  Mrs.  John  L.  Routt,  wife  of  the  ex-gov- 
ernor, as  president.  Mrs.  Thomas  M.  Patterson  and  Mrs.  N.  P. 
Hill  were  prominent  workers  in  this  club.  A  Young  Woman's 
League  was  formed  by  Misses  Mary  and  Margaret  Patterson 
and  Miss  Isabel  Hill,  and  there  were  other  leagues  in  various 
parts  of  the  city.  In  all  this  work  Mrs.  Tyler  was  indefatigable. 

Miss  Minnie  J.  Reynolds,  chairman  of  press  work,  enlisted 
the  help  of  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  newspapers.  In  some 
cases  editorial  approval  and  assistance  were  given,  in  others  space 
was  allowed  for  suffrage  matter.  In  August  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Tabor  donated  the  use  of  two  rooms  in  the  opera  house  block, 
one  large  enough  to  seat  several  hundred  persons,  the  other  a 
suitable  office  for  the  corresponding  secretary.  Dr.  Minnie  C.  T. 
Love  had  acted  gratuitously  in  that  capacity  and  opened  commu- 
nication with  suffragists  throughout  the  State,  but  it  was  now 
deemed  necessary  to  employ  some  one  who  could  devote  her  en- 
tire time  to  the  work.  Miss  Helen  M.  Reynolds  was  chosen  and 
added  to  unusual  capability  the  most  earnest  zeal.  The  rooms 
were  furnished  through  loans  of  rugs,  desks,  chairs,  etc. 


HISTORY   OF   WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Equal  suffrage  was  indorsed  by  the  county  conventions  of  the 
Republican,  Prohibition  and  Populist  parties,  and  also  at  a  called 
meeting  of  the  Democratic  State  Central  Committee.  Many 
ministers  and  lawyers  spoke  in  its  favor.  Among  the  latter  were 
Charles  S.  Thomas,  since  governor  of  the  State,  J.  Warner  Mills, 
Judge  L.  C.  Rockwell,  Charles  Hartzell,  Eugene  Engley  and 
Attorney-General  I.  N.  Stevens,  who  was  one  of  the  most  trusted 
advisers. 

There  were  also  women  speakers  of  experience :  Mrs.  Therese 
Jenkins  of  Wyoming,  Mrs.  Susan  S.  Fessenden  of  Massachusetts ; 
Mrs.  Dora  Phelps  Buell,  Mrs.  Mary  Jewett  Telford,  president  of 
the  Woman's  Relief  Corps  in  the  Department  of  Colorado  and 
Wyoming  and  also  president  for  several  terms  of  the  State  W. 
C.  T.  U.,  who  made  a  five-months'  speaking  tour ;  Mrs.  Leonora 
Barry  Lake  of  St.  Louis,  who  spoke  efficiently  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Knights  of  Labor.  Mrs.  Laura  Ormiston  Chant  of  Eng- 
land delivered  an  address  on  her  way  westward. 

Some  women  made  speeches  who  never  had  been  on  the  plat- 
form before  but  have  since  developed  much  oratorical  ability. 
When  needed,  women  who  did  not  dare  risk  an  unwritten  ad- 
dress read  papers.  Meetings  were  held  all  over  the  city  and  State. 
"I  should  think,"  said  a  banker,  "from  the  campaign  the  women 
are  running  that  they  had  a  barrel  of  money ;"  but  he  was  a  con- 
tributor to  the  fund  and  knew  it  was  very  limited.  In  all 
about  $2,000  were  raised,  over  $300  of  which  were  spent 
for  literature.  Some  of  the  most  efficient  leaflets  were  written 
by  members  of  the  association  and  printed  in  Denver.  Nearly 
150,000  of  these  were  issued. 

In  the  city  press  Mrs.  Patience  Mapleton  represented  the  cause 
in  the  Republican;  Mrs.  Ellis  Meredith  in  the  Rocky  Mountain 
News.  There  were  house  to  house  canvassers,  distributors  of 
literature  and  others  who  rendered  most  valuable  assistance  and 
yet  whose  names  must  necessarily  remain  unrecorded.  The  most 
of  this  service  was  given  freely,  but  some  of  the  women  who 
devoted  all  their  time  received  moderate  salaries,  for  most  of 
the  workers  belonged  to  the  wage-earning  class.  The  speakers 
asked  no  compensation  but  their  expenses  were  frequently  borne. 
Halls  and  churches  had  to  be  paid  for  and  on  several  occasions 


COLORADO.  517 

opera  houses  were  rented.  When  in  the  final  report  the  expenses 
of  election  day  were  given  as  $17  a  murmur  of  amusement  ran 
through  the  audience. 

The  women  who  "had  all  the  rights  they  wanted"  appeared 
late  in  the  campaign.  Some  of  them  sent  communications  to  the 
papers,  complaining  of  the  effort  to  thrust  the  ballot  upon  them 
and  add  to  the  already  onerous  duties  of  life.  When  told  that 
they  would  not  be  compelled  to  vote  and  that  if  silent  influence 
was  in  their  opinion  more  potent  than  the  ballot,  it  would  not 
be  necessary  to  cast  it  aside  for  the  weaker  weapon,  they  re- 
sponded indignantly  that  if  they  had  the  franchise  of  course  it 
would  be  their  duty  to  use  it.  Let  it  be  noted  that  many  of  them 
have  voted  regularly  ever  since  they  were  enfranchised,  though 
some  have  reconsidered  and  returned  to  their  silent  influence. 

The  liquor  element  slept  in  fancied  security  until  almost  the 
eve  of  election,  as  they  did  not  believe  the  amendment  would 
receive  popular  sanction.  When  they  awoke  to  the  danger  they 
immediately  proceeded  to  assess  all  saloon  keepers  and  as  many 
as  possible  of  their  prominent  patrons.  They  got  out  a  large 
number  of  dodgers,  which  were  put  into  the  hands  of  passers 
by.  These  were  an  attack  upon  equal  suffrage  and  the  women 
who  advocated  it,  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  first  issue  was  a 
brewer's  advertisement.  This  dodger  stated  that  "only  some  old 
maids  like  Lucy  Stone,  Susan  Anthony,  Frances  Willard,  Eliza- 
beth Stanton  and  Mary  Livermore  wanted  to  vote."  They  also 
employed  an  attorney  to  juggle  the  ballots  so  that  they  might 
be  thrown  out  on  a  technicality.  There  was  consternation  among 
the  suffragists  when  the  ballot  was  finally  produced  bearing  the 
words  "For  the  Amendment,"  "Against  the  Amendment,"  for  it 
was  well  known  that  the  measure  was  not  an  "amendment."  The 
best  legal  talent  in  Denver  was  consulted  and  an  opinion  ren- 
dered that  the  ruse  would  prove  of  no  avail,  as  the  intention  was 
still  clear.  The  women,  however,  issued  a  leaflet  instructing 
the  voters  just  where  to  put  the  cross  on  the  ticket  if  they  wished 
to  vote  for  equal  suffrage. 

The  suffragists  were  divided  in  opinion  as  to  the  presence  of 
women  at  the  polls  on  the  election  day  which  was  to  decide  their 
fate.  Some  thought  it  might  be  prejudicial,  but  the  friends 


5l8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

among  the  men  strongly  approved  their  presence  in  order  to  in- 
fluence voters.  What  future  election  could  be  of  more  importance 
to  women  than  this,  and  why  should  they  hesitate  to  show  their 
interest?  Under  directions  from  suffrage  headquarters  workers 
at  the  polls  distributed  the  leaflets,  often  supplementing  them  by 
their  own  eloquence.  No  woman  received  any  discourtesy. 

The  night  of  November  7  was  an  anxious  one.  Women  went 
home  and  lay  awake  wondering  whether  they  had  done  every- 
thing possible  to  insure  success,  or  whether  failure  might  be  the 
result  of  some  omission.  When  the  returns  published  the  next 
morning,  although  incomplete,  showed  that  success  really  had 
crowned  their  efforts  it  seemed  almost  too  good  to  be  true.  All 
day  long  and  in  the  evening  people  were  coming  and  going  at 
suffrage  headquarters  with  greetings  and  congratulations. 
Women  of  all  classes  seemed  drawn  together  by  the  new  tie  of 
citizenship. 

The  full  returns  gave  the  result  as  follows:  For  suffrage, 
35,798;  against,  29,451 ;  an  affirmative  majority  of  6,347. 


What  were  the  causes  of  this  unique  success  ?  First,  it  may  be 
claimed  that  Western  men  have  more  than  others  of  that  spirit 
of  chivalry  of  which  the  world  has  heard  so  much  and  seen  so 
little.  The  human  mind  inclines  to  justice,  except  when  turned 
aside  by  prejudice,  and  there  is  less  prejudice  against  and  a 
stronger  belief  in  equal  rights  in  the  newer  communities.  The 
pressure  of  hard  times,  culminating  in  the  panic  of  1893,  un- 
doubtedly contributed  to  the  success  of  the  Populist  party,  and 
to  its  influence  the  suffrage  cause  owes  much.  A  new  party 
boldly  accepts  new  principles  while  the  old  parties  are  struggling 
to  conform  to  precedents.  This  is  shown  clearly  in  both  the 
legislative  and  the  popular  vote.  It  was  in  the  counties  giv- 
ing Populist  pluralities  that  the  majority  of  6,8 1 8  in  favor  of 
equal  suffrage  was  found.  The  counties  which  went  Republican 
and  Democratic  gave  a  majority  of  471  against  the  measure. 
The  fact,  however,  that  in  all  parties  there  were  friends  who  were 
willing  to  work  and  speak  for  it,  and  also  the  number  of  suffrage 
bills  which  had  been  introduced  at  this  time,  showed  that  the 
State  was  ready  for  it. 


LAURA  A.  GREGG, 
Omaha,  Neb. 


EMMA  SHAFTER  HOWARD, 
Oakland,  Cal. 


ELLIS  MEREDITH, 
Denver,  Colo. 


MARY  WOOD  SWIFT 
San  Francisco,  Cal. 


DR.  CORA  SMITH  EATON, 
Minneapolis,  Minn. 


COLORADO.  519 

The  favorable  influence  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  and  the  labor  or- 
ganizations has  been  referred  to.  There  was  but  little  active  op- 
position from  women  and,  as  the  campaign  progressed,  indiffer- 
ence often  turned  into  sympathy.  Women  who  had  kept  silent 
even  at  home  for  fear  of  ridicule  were  surprised  and  delighted 
to  hear  their  husbands  express  approval.  Those  of  all  classes 
of  society  worked  unitedly  and  well.  They  could  not  have  done 
this  if  they  had  not  been  used  to  organized  effort  in  other  direc- 
tions. How  many  doors  stand  open  now  through  which  women 
freely  pass,  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  they  were  unlocked  by 
the  earlier  workers  in  the  suffrage  cause ! 

The  first  feeling  was  the  one  common  in  all  victories,  that  of 
joy  and  exultation,  but  the  weight  of  responsibility  was  soon 
felt.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  executive  board  of  the  equal 
suffrage  association  after  the  election,  Mrs.  Routt,  a  woman  of 
queenly  presence,  said  as  she  took  the  hand  of  another  member, 
"I  never  felt  so  weak  in  all  my  life."  Mrs.  Routt  was  the  first 
woman  in  the  State  to  register. 

It  was  natural  that  other  women  should  look  to  the  suffragists 
for  direction,  and  as  long  as  headquarters  were  kept  open  there 
were  frequent  calls  for  advice  and  instruction.  Foreign  women 
came  to  ask  concerning  the  measures  which  would  make  them 
naturalized  citizens;  there  were  inquiries  about  registration,  and 
the  question  often  came  from  those  in  humble  life:  "Now  that 
I  have  received  this  new  right,  what  books  shall  I  get  to  teach 
me  how  to  exercise  it?"  Surely  such  an  awakening  of  conscience 
ought  to  have  a  purifying  effect !  One  firm  in  Denver  stated  that 
they  sold  more  books  on  political  economy  in  the  first  eight 
months  after  the  suffrage  victory  than  in  twenty  years  before. 
The  suffrage  club  took  up  the  study  of  Fiske's  Civil  Government 
and  of  parliamentary  law,  and  as  long  as  it  existed  in  the  old  form 
was  actively  devoted  to  political  subjects. 

The  day  after  the  election  a  German  woman  came  out  of  her 
house  and  accosted  one  of  the  members  of  the  club  with  the 
exclamation,  "Ach,  Yon  he  feel  so  bad;  he  not  vote  any  more; 
me,  I  vote  now !"  When  assured  that  John  had  not  been  de- 
prived of  any  of  his  rights,  with  more  generosity  than  can  be  at- 


52O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

tributed  to  many  of  the  Johns,  she  called  her  husband,  exclaiming 
delightedly :  "Yon,  Yon,  you  vote  too ;  we  bofe  vote !" 

AFTER  THE  BATTLE  WAS  WON  :  Colorado  had  always  gone 
Republican  in  national  elections  until  1892,  when  the  People's 
Party  scored  an  overwhelming  majority.  In  1894,  while  still 
partially  a  unit  on  national  issues,  the  parties  were  widely  sep- 
arated on  State  affairs  and  each  put  a  ticket  in  the  field. 

The  reign  of  the  Populists  was  of  short  duration.  The  eccen- 
tricities of  Gov.  Davis  H.  Waite  brought  upon  his  party  an  un- 
merited degree  of  censure.  The  Republicans  raised  a  cry  of 
"Redeem  the  State!"  and  under  that  motto  called  to  their  aid 
women  of  former  Republican  affiliations.  At  no  subsequent 
election  have  women  given  such  close  allegiance  to  party  lines. 
Mrs.  J.  Ellen  Foster,  who  was  sent  by  the  National  Republican 
Committee  to  canvass  the  State,  probably  won  many  straight 
Republican  votes  by  arousing  in  the  minds  of  the  women  the 
fear  that  by  attempting  to  scratch  a  ticket  they  might  lose  their 
vote  entirely.  They  have  learned  since  that  the  Australian  ballot 
is  not  so  intricate  that  any  one  who  can  read  and  write  need 
stand  in  awe  of  it. 

The  Populist  women  had  formed  clubs  to  assist  that  party 
before  the  suffrage  was  granted.  In  February,  1894,  they  opened 
headquarters  in  Denver  and  began  organizing  throughout  the 
State.  Miss  Phoebe  W.  Couzins  of  St.  Louis  assisted  them  in  this 
campaign.  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Cougar  of  Indiana  worked  for  the 
Prohibitionists.  When  the  annual  convention  of  the  National 
Republican  League  Clubs  was  held  at  Denver,  in  June,  the  Re- 
publican women  were  as  yet  unorganized.  At  this  time  Mrs. 
Frank  Hall  was  persuaded  to  take  charge  of  that  department 
under  the  direction  of  the  State  Central  Committee.  Women's 
Republican  leagues  were  established  throughout  the  State,  and 
in  the  larger  towns  and  cities  complete  precinct  organizations 
were  effected.  In  Denver  women's  Republican  clubs  were  formed 
in  every  district  and,  with  their  committees  subject  to  the  county 
central  committee,  worked  separately  from  the  men.  That  known 
as  the  East  Capitol  Hill  Women's  Republican  League,  founded 
by  Mrs.  H.  B.  Stevens,  acquired  a  membership  of  1,000.  The 
East  Denver  Women's  Republican  Club,  president,  Mrs.  Alma 


COLORADO.  C2J 

Lafferty,  was  equally  successful.  These  were  very  active  in  man- 
aging the  large  mass  meetings  which  contributed  so  much  to 
the  success  of  their  party. 

The  Democratic  women  had  a  peculiar  task.  Their  party  was 
in  the  minority  and  it  was  divided  into  Silver  Democrats  and 
White  Wings  (Cleveland  Democrats).  The  women  refused  to 
acknowledge  either  faction.  Mrs.  Anna  Marshall  Cochrane  and 
Mrs.  Mary  C.  C.  Bradford  called  a  meeting  of  the  Democratic 
women  of  Denver  at  the  home  of  the  latter  in  May,  1894,  and 
organized  the  Colorado  Women's  Democratic  Club  with  a  mem- 
bership of  nine:  President,  Mrs.  Mary  V.  Macon;  secretary, 
Mrs.  Cochrane;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Mary  Holland  Kincaid.  The 
National  Committee  recognized  this  as  the  only  straight  Demo- 
cratic association  in  Colorado,  and  appointed  Mrs.  Bradford  as 
organizer.  She  canvassed  the  State  and  being  a  pleasant  and 
convincing  speaker  and  bringing  letters  from  the  chairmen  of 
the  two  State  committees,  both  factions  attended  her  meetings. 
She  formed  twelve  large  women's  clubs  and  set  them  to  work. 
When  the  two  State  conventions  met  in  Denver,  they  were  both 
quite  willing  to  acknowledge  delegates  from  these  clubs,  but  the 
delegates  refused  to  act  except  with  a  united  convention.  Mrs. 
Bradford  was  nominated  as  State  Superintendent  of  Public  In- 
struction, being  the  first  woman  named  in  Colorado  for  a  State 
office.  Mrs.  Macon  was  nominated  for  regent  of  the  State  Uni- 
versity. Since  there  was  no  chance  of  electing  their  ticket,  the 
principal  work  of  the  Democratic  women  in  this  campaign  was 
the  unifying  of  the  party. 

The  Republicans  elected  Mrs.  Antoinette  J.  Peavy  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction  and  three  women  members  of  the 
Legislature— Mrs.  Clara  Cressingham,  Mrs.  Frances  S.  Klock 
and  Mrs.  Carrie  C.  Holly. 

During  this  campaign  women  gained  a  good  deal  of  insight 
into  political  machinery  and  learned  much  which  dampened  their 
ardor  as  party  politicians.  The  idea  began  to  prevail  that  at 
least  in  municipal  government  the  best  results  could  be  attained 
by  non-partisan  methods. 

In  the  spring  of  1895  Mrs.  Hall,  as  vice-chairman  o 
publican    State    Central    Committee,   being   in   charge   of 


522  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

woman's  department,  called  a  conference  of  the  several  presi- 
dents of  the  women's  Republican  clubs  of  Denver.  Their  object 
was  to  purify  the  ballot  and  to  overcome  corrupt  gang  rule  and 
present  worthy  candidates.  A  meeting  of  all  the  clubs  was  called 
in  the  Broadway  Theater  and  the  house  was  crowded.  Mrs. 
E.  M.  Ashley  read  an  announcement  of  the  objects  to  be  accom- 
plished "in  the  party  if  they  could,  out  of  it  if  they  must."  At 
this  election,  for  the  first  time,  the  demi-monde  were  compelled 
to  register.  Desiring  to  avoid  it  they  sent  a  petition  to  this 
woman's  organization,  imploring  its  interference  in  their  behalf. 
A  committee  of  three  women  of  high  standing  was  appointed 
and  appeared  before  the  Fire  and  Police  Board  to  request  that 
these  unfortunates  should  not  be  forced  to  vote  against  their 
will.  The  board  promised  compliance  but  disregarded  their 
pledge  and  those  women  were  compelled  to  vote. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  other  organizations  sprang  up  in  rebellion 
against  such  corrupt  methods.  The  Tax-Payers'  Party  and  the 
Independent  Citizens'  Movement  were  examples  of  these  at- 
tempts, defeated  at  first  but  succeeding  later.  The  Civic  Federa- 
tion of  Denver,  an  outcome  of  these  efforts,  is  an  organization 
composed  of  women  from  all  parties,  which  has  endeavored  to 
enforce  the  selection  of  suitable  candidates, 

The  Silver  Issue  of  1896  created  a  division  in  the  ranks  of 
the  Republican  party  which  dissolved  many  of  its  women's  clubs. 
The  larger  wing,  under  the  name  of  Silver  Republican,  fused 
with  the  other  silver  parties  and  elected  their  State  ticket.  Miss 
Grace  Espy  Patton,  who  had  been  prominent  in  Democratic  poli- 
tics, was  chosen  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 
Three  women  were  elected  to  the  Lower  House :  Mrs.  Olive  C. 
Butler,  National  Silver  Party;  Mrs.  Martha  A.  B.  Conine,  Non- 
Partisan;  Mrs.  Evangeline  Heartz,  Populist,  all  of  Denver. 

In  the  campaign  of  1898  voters  were  divided  between  the 
National  Republican  party  under  U.  S.  Senator  Edward  O.  Wol- 
cott  and  a  fusion  of  the  Silver  Republicans,  Democrats  and  Pop- 
ulists under  the  leadership  of  U.  S.  Senator  Henry  M.  Teller, 
Thomas  M.  Patterson  and  Charles  S.  Thomas.  In  Arapahoe 
County,  owing  to  various  conflicting  interests  in  the  municipal 
government  of  Denver,  fifteen  tickets  were  filed.  Each  of  the 


COLORADO. 


principal  parties  appointed  a  woman  as  vice-chairman  of  the 
State  Central  Committee:  National  Republican,  Mrs.  lone  T. 
Hanna ;  Silver  Republican,  Mrs.  Arras  Bissel ;  Democratic,  Mrs. 
S.  E.  Shields;  Populist,  Mrs.  Heartz.  A  woman's  executive 
committee  was  formed  in  each  party. 

The  Fusion  party  elected  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Grenfell,  Silver  Re- 
publican,  as   State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction;  and 
'Mrs.  Frances  S.  Lee,  Democrat,  Mrs.  Harriet  G.  R.  Wright, 
Populist,  and  Dr.  Mary  F.  Barry,  Silver  Republican,  as  mem- 
bers of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Conditions  in  the  State  changed  materially  between  the  Presi- 
dential elections  of  1896  and  1900.  The  depression  in  the  price 
of  silver,  which  closed  many  mines  and  reduced  the  working 
force  in  others,  set  countless  men  adrift  and  led  to  much  pros- 
pecting and  the  discovery  of  new  gold  fields.  The  mines  of 
Cripple  Creek  gave  Colorado  the  foremost  place  among  gold- 
producing  States,  California  taking  second.  Consequently,  al- 
though interest  in  the  silver  question  did  not  cease,  its  pressure 
was  less  felt.  In  1896  the  McKinley  Republicans  had  no  hope 
of  carrying  the  State,  while  the  Silver  Republicans,  Populists 
and  Democrats  had  united  and  were  confident  of  the  success 
which  always  had  attended  a  complete  fusion  of  those  parties. 
Thus  in  both  cases  the  incentive  to  the  utmost  exertion  was 
wanting. 

In  1900  the  situation  was  different.    The  Republicans  thought 
there  was  a  chance  to  win  and  the  Fusionists  were  not  over-con- 
fident, hence  both  parties  were  stimulated  to  greater  efforts.     In 
1896  the  straight  Republicans  had  only  one  daily  and  not  more 
than  five  weekly  papers.    In  1900  they  had  fifteen  daily  and  103 
weekly  papers  supporting  their  ticket.     They  were  thoroughly 
organized  throughout  the  State.    In  Denver  a  Woman's 
lican  League  was  formed  which  vied  in  size  with  the  orga 
tion  of  1894.    Mrs.  Stanley  M.  Casper,  a  most  efficient  mem 
of  the  Equal  Suffrage  Club  in  the  campaign  of  1893,  was  pn 
dent;  Mrs.  A.  L.  Welch,  vice-president  and  Miss  Mary  I 
secretary.     They  organized  every  district  in  the  city  c 
appointing  women  to  look  after  the  registration,  s 
and  get  out  the  vote.    It  was  through  this  league  that  U.  b.  *. 


524  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ator  Henry  Cabot  Lodge  came  to  the  State.  Mrs.  J.  Ellen  Fos- 
ter and  U.  S.  Senator  J.  B.  Foraker  also  spoke  under  their 
auspices,  as  well  as  other  distinguished  orators,  and  from  their 
own  ranks  Mrs.  Hanna,  Mrs.  Lucy  R.  Scott,  Mrs.  Peavey  and 
Mrs.  Thalia  M.  Rhoads. 

The  Colorado  Woman's  Bryan  League  were  not  less  active, 
under  the  following  officers :  Chairman,  Mrs.  Salena  V.  Ernest ; 
vice-chairmen,  Mesdames  Sarah  Platt  Decker,  Katherine  A.  G. 
(Thomas  M.)  Patterson  and  Mary  L.  Fletcher;  secretary,  Mrs. 
Helen  Thomas  Belford;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Harriet  G.  R.  Wright. 

Both  organizations  kept  open  headquarters,  and  the  daily  pa- 
pers contained  long  lists  of  parlor  meetings  held  throughout  the 
city,  addressed  by  men  and  women  of  prominence.  The  Bryan 
League  was  fortunate  in  having  among  its  own  members  many 
excellent  speakers,  including  Mrs.  Decker,  Mrs.  Patton  Cowles, 
formerly  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  Dr.  Rose 
Kidd  Beare,  Mrs.  Bradford,  Mrs.  Dora  Phelps  Buell  and  Mrs. 
Wright.  Mrs.  Grenfell,  present  State  Superintendent,  and  Mrs. 
Heartz,  now  Representative,  both  candidates  for  re-election,  made 
many  speeches.* 

The  committees  of  men  and  women  worked  together.  On 
October  27  the  Woman's  Bryan  League  held  a  rally  of  the  Silver 
Parties  and  a  reception  to  U.  S.  Senator  Teller  at  the  Coliseum. 
The  same  evening  the  Woman's  Republican  League  gave  a  re- 
ception to  their  candidates  at  Windsor  Hall.  Women  seem  to 
have  an  unsuspected  gift  for  managing  large  meetings.  The 
Denver  Times  (Republican)  said:  "The  women  have  shown  an 
ability  to  handle  campaigns  for  which  they  never  were  given 
credit  in  the  past." 

In  the  election  of  1900  the  Republicans  not  only  lost  their 
electoral  ticket  but  carried  fewer  counties  than  they  had  done 
for  years,  yet  their  vote  of  26,000  for  McKinley  in  1896  was 
increased  to  93,000;  and  the  Bryan  vote  was  reduced  from  161,- 
ooo  to  122,700.  John  F.  Shafroth  and  John  C.  Bell,  Fusionists, 
both  strong  advocates  of  woman  suffrage,  were  elected  by  large 

*  Mrs.  Grenfell  was  re-elected  on  the  Fusion  ticket,  having  been  indorsed  by  the  heads 
of  all  the  State  institutions,  most  of  the  county  superintendents  and  all  the  prominent 
educators.  The  Republicans  had  a  woman  candidate  for  this  office.  Mrs.  Heartz  was 
re-elected  on  the  Fusion  ticket  There  was  a  Republican  woman  candidate  for  the  Legis- 
lature also. 


COLORADO.  r2e 

majorities.  The  Legislature  was  overwhelmingly  Democratic, 
which  defeated  the  re-election  to  the  U.  S.  Senate  of  Edward  O. 
Wolcott,  that  the  women  had  especially  determined  upon. 
Thomas  M.  Patterson  was  elected. 

I.  N.  Stevens,  of  the  Colorado  Springs  Gazette,  Republican, 
in  closing  an  article  on  the  State  campaign  says : 

The  women  have  demonstrated  their  effectiveness  in  political  cam- 
paigns, and  wherever  party  candidates  and  party  politics  are  up  to 
the  high  standard  which  they  have  a  right  to  demand  they  can  be 
counted  upon  for  loyal  support.  The  Republican  party  in  Colorado 
can  only  hope  to  triumph  in  one  way  and  that  is  by  appealing  to  the 
judgment  of  the  honest  and  intelligent  people  of  the  State  with  clean 
candidates  for  commendable  policies  and  under  worthy  leadership. 

This  testimony  certainly  implies  two  things,  viz. :  That  the 
women  of  Colorado  are  a  power  in  politics  which  must  be  reck- 
oned with,  and  that  their  loyal  support  can  be  fully  counted  upon 
only  when  the  character  of  the  candidates  as  well  as  the  political 
methods  and  aims  of  the  party  receive  due  consideration. 

The  vote  at  the  second  presidential  election  after  the  suffrage 
was  conferred  on  women  was  as  follows : 

Percentage  of  population  in  the  State :  Males,  55 ;  females,  45 
(in  round  numbers). 

Percentage  of  vote  cast:  Males,  (nearly)  58  1-2;  females, 
(over)  41  1-2. 

Percentage  of  vote  cast  in  Denver:  Males,  57  1-2;  fe- 
males, 42  1-2. 

This  vote  shows  that  from  all  causes  an  average  of  only  three 
per  cent,  of  the  women  in  the  entire  State  failed  to  exercise  the 
suffrage. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION:     The  legislation  of  most  importance 
which  is  directly  due  to  woman  suffrage  may  be  summed  up  as 
follows :     Equal  guardianship  of  children ;  raising  the  "age  of 
protection"  for  girls  from  16  to  18  years;  establishment  of 
State  Home  for  Dependent  Children;  a  State  Industrial 
for  Girls ;  indeterminate  sentence  for  criminals ;  a  State  Arb 
tion  Board;  open  meetings  of  school  beards;  the  remov 
blems  from  ballots;  placing  drinking  fountains  on  the  . 
of  most  of  the  down-town  streets  of  Denver. 

Indirectly,  the  results  have  been  infinitely  greater. 


526  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

in  the  conduct  of  Denver  stores  alone,  in  regard  to  women  em- 
ployes, is  worthy  a  chapter.  Probably  no  other  city  of  the  same 
size  has  more  stores  standing  upon  the  so-called  White  List,  and 
laws  which  prior  to  1893  were  dead  letters  are  enforced  to-day. 

The  bills  introduced  by  women  in  the  Legislature  have  been 
chiefly  such  as  were  designed  to  improve  social  conditions.  The 
law  raising  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls,  the  law  giving  the 
mother  an  equal  right  in  her  children,  and  the  law  creating  a 
State  Home  for  Dependent  Children  were  secured  by  women  in 
1895.  In  the  next  session  they  secured  the  Curfew  Law  and  an 
appropriation  for  the  State  Home  for  Incorrigible  Girls.  By  ob- 
taining the  removal  of  the  emblems  from  the  ballot,  they  enforced 
a  measure  of  educational  qualification.  They  have  entirely  an- 
swered the  objection  that  the  immature  voter  would  be  sure  so 
to  exaggerate  the  power  of  legislation  that  she  would  try  to  do 
everything  at  once. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  said  that  when  she  viewed  the 
exhibit  of  woman's  work  at  the  Centennial,  her  heart  sank  within 
her ;  but  when  she  bethought  her  to  examine  into  the  part  women 
had  had  in  the  work  accredited  to  men,  she  took  new  courage. 
In  like  manner  much  of  the  legislative  work  women  already  have 
done  in  Colorado  is  unchronicled.  When  a  woman  finds  that 
there  are  several  other  bills  besides  her  own  advocating  the  same 
measure  of  reform,  she  wisely  tries  to  concentrate  this  effort, 
even  if  it  is  necessary  to  let  the  desired  bill  appear  in  the  name 
of  another.  Many  excellent  bills  for  which  they  receive  no  credit 
have  run  the  gauntlet  of  legislative  perils  piloted  by  women. 

A  notable  instance  of  this  is  what  was  called  the  Frog-Block- 
ing Bill,  for  the  protection  of  railroad  employes,  which  was  in- 
troduced by  a  man  but  so  ably  engineered  by  Mrs.  Evangeline 
Heartz  that  upon  its  passage  she  received  a  huge  box  of  candy, 
with  "The  thanks  of  5,000  railroad  men."  While  she  introduced 
a  number  of  bills  herself,  only  two  of  them  finally  passed — one 
compelling  school  boards  to  hold  open  meetings  instead  of  Star 
Chamber  sessions,  and  the  present  law  providing  for  a  State 
Board  of  Arbitration.  "  In  order  to  make  the  latter  effective  it 
should  have  a  compulsory  clause,  which  she  will  strive  for  in  the 
Legislature  of  1901. 


COLORADO. 


527 


LAWS  :  While  the  laws  of  Colorado  always  have  been  liberal 
to  women  in  many  respects,  there  are  a  few  notable  exceptions. 

The  first  Legislature  of  the  Territory,  in  1861,  passed  a  bill 
to  the  effect  that  either  party  to  the  marriage  contract  might 
dispose  of  property  without  the  signature  or  consent  of  the  other. 
The  men  of  this  new  mining  country  often  had  left  their  wives 
thousands  of  miles  away  in  the  Eastern  States;  there  was  no 
railroad  or  telegraph  ;  mining  claims,  being  real  estate,  had  to  be 
transferred  by  deed,  often  in  a  hurry,  and  this  law  was  largely 
a  necessity.  It  now  works  great  injustice  to  women,  however, 
through  the  fact  that  all  the  property  accumulated  after  marriage 
belongs  to  the  husband  and  he  may  legally  dispose  of  it  without 
the  wife's  knowledge,  leaving  her  penniless.  Even  the  house- 
hold goods  may  be  thus  disposed  of.* 

A  law  of  recent  years  exempts  from  execution  a  homestead 
to  the  value  of  $2,000  for  "the  head  of  the  family,"  but  even  this 
can  be  sold  by  the  husband  without  the  wife's  signature,  although 
he  can  not  mortgage  it.  This  property  must  be  designated  as  a 
"homestead"  on  the  margin  of  the  recorded  title,  and  it  must  be 
occupied  by  the  owner.  "A  woman  occupying  her  own  property 
as  the  home  of  the  family  has  the  right  to  designate  it  as  a  home- 
stead. The  husband  has  the  legal  right  to  live  with  her  and  en- 
joy the  homestead  he  has  settled  upon  her."(  !)  He  has,  how- 
ever, the  sole  right  to  determine  the  residence  of  the  family,  as 
in  every  other  State,  and  by  removing  from  a  property  the  home- 
stead right  is  destroyed.  If  the  husband  abandon  the  wife  and 
acquire  a  homestead  elsewhere,  she  has  a  right  only  in  that. 

Neither  curtesy  nor  dower  obtains.  The  surviving  husband 
or  wife,  if  there  are  children  or  the  descendants  of  children  liv- 
ing, receives,  subject  to  the  payment  of  debts,  one-half  of  the 
entire  estate,  real  and  personal.  If  there  is  no  living  child  nor  a 
descendant  of  any  child,  the  entire  estate  goes  to  the  s 

Husband  and  wife  have  the  same  rights  in  making  wil 
can  will  away  from  the  other  half  of  his  or  her  separate  f 

In  buying  and  selling,  making  contracts,  suing  and 
the  married  woman  has  the  same  rights  as  the  unmarn 


time  consumed  by  the  important  revenue  bill. 


528  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

In  1895  Bathers  and  mothers  were  made  joint  guardians  of  the 
children  with  equal  powers. 

The  expenses  of  the  family  and  the  education  of  the  children 
are  chargeable  upon  the  property  of  both  husband  and  wife,  or 
either  of  them,  and  in  relation  thereto  they  may  be  sued  jointly 
or  separately. 

In  case  a  man  fails  to  support  his  family,  he  can  be  compelled 
to  do  so  on  the  complaint  of  the  wife,  the  chairman  of  the  board 
of  county  commissioners,  or  the  agent  of  the  humane  society. 
Unless  he  show  physical  incapacity,  or  some  other  good  reason 
for  this  failure,  he  may  be  committed  to  jail  for  sixty  days. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10  to  16 
years  in  1891 ;  from  1 6  to  1 8  in  1895.  The  penalty  is  confine- 
ment in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than  one  nor  more  than  twenty 
years. 

SUFFRAGE:  School  Suffrage  was  granted  to  women  by  the 
constitution  in  1876,  the  year  Colorado  became  a  State. 

The  amendment  to  the  constitution  adopted  by  6,347  majority, 
Nov.  7,  1893,  is  as  follows: 

Every  female  person  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  all  elections,  in  the 
same  manner  in  all  respects  as  male  persons  are  or  shall  be  entitled 
to  vote  by  the  constitution  and  laws  of  this  State,  and  the  same  quali- 
fications as  to  age,  citizenship  and  time  of  residence  in  the  State, 
county,  city,  ward  and  precinct,  and  all  other  qualifications  required 
by  law  to  entitle  male  persons  to  vote,  shall  be  required  to  entitle 
female  persons  to  vote. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  Possessing  the  Full  Suffrage,  wpmen  of 
course  are  eligible  to  all  offices,  but  naturally  the  men  will  not 
surrender  them  unless  compelled  to  do  so.  That  of  State  Super- 
intendent of  Public  Instruction  is  generally  conceded  by  all  par- 
ties as  belonging  to  a  woman,  and  no  man  has  been  a  candidate 
for  this  office  since  1893.  It  can  best  be  spared,  as  it  does  not 
encourage  idleness  or  enable  its  holder  to  amass  wealth. 

Beginning  with  1895  ten  women  have  been  elected  to  the 
Lower  House  of  the  Legislature  but  none  to  the  Senate.  Not 
more  than  three  have  been  members  during  any  one  term. 

Only  two  women  were  elected  to  State  offices  in  1900.  The 
others  holding  office  at  present  are  as  follows:  County  school 
superintendents,  29;  school  directors,  508;  county  clerk,  one; 


COLORADO. 


529 


county  treasurer,  one;  assessor,  one;  clerk  of  County  Court,  one; 
clerk  of  District  Court,  one.  Of  the  county  superintendent >. 
three  were  elected  by  a  fusion  of  Democrats  and  Prohibitionists, 
three  by  Democrats,  Prohibitionists  and  Silver  Republicans ;  ten 
by  Democrats  and  thirteen  by  Republicans. 

The  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Corrections,  which  has  gen- 
eral supervision  over  all  the  charitable  and  penal  institutions,  has 
had  Mrs.  Sarah  Platt  Decker  for  its  president  through  this  and 
previous  administrations.  Dr.  Eleanor  Lawney  also  is  on  thi- 
board.  On  the  board  of  control  of  the  State  Industrial  School 
for  Girls,  three  out  of  five  members  are  women ;  State  Home  for 
Dependent  Children,  four  out  of  five;  State  School  for  Deaf 
and  Blind,  one  out  of  five;  State  Normal  School,  two  out  of 
seven ;  State  Board  of  Horticulture,  one  out  of  six.  There  have 
been  women  on  the  State  Board  of  Pardons. 

There  are  women  physicians  in  the  State  Insane  Asylum  and 
connected  with  all  institutions  containing  women  and  children. 

The  law  for  jurors  is  construed  by  the  judges  to  apply  equally 
to  men  and  women,  but  thus  far  it  has  been  so  manipulated  that 
no  women  have  been  drawn  for  service. 

In  1897-98  two  counties  had  women  coroners. 

There  are  eight  women  clerks  in  the  Senate  and  seven  in  the 
House  of  the  present  Legislature.  A  number  are  employed  in 
the  court-house  and  in  the  county  offices. 

This  partition  of  offices  does  not  appear  very  liberal,  consider- 
ing that  women  have  cast  as  high  as  52  per  cent,  of  the  total  vote ; 
but  there  are  in  the  State  30,000  more  men  than  women,  • 
/Could  vote  if  they  chose,  and  they  are  much  more  accustomed  I 
holding  offices  and  much  more  anxious  to  get  them, 
the  probabilities  of  election,  the  more  liberal  the  parties  have  t 
in  granting  nominations  to  women. 

OCCUPATIONS:     The   only  occupation   legally   forbid 
women  is  that  of  working  in  mines.     Children  under 
can  not  be  employed,  legally,  in  mines,  factories,  stores,  etc 

EDUCATION  :     All  the  institutions  of  learning  are  opei 
both  sexes.     There  are  five  women  on  the  faculty  of 
University,  one  on  that  of  the  School  of  Agriculture,  n 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF— 34 


53O  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

State  Normal  School,  and  in  the  State  Institute  for  Deaf  Mutes 
seventeen  of  the  thirty-three  teachers  are  women.  The  Medical 
Department  of  the  University  of  Denver  has  three  women  pro- 
fessors. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  727  men  and  2,557  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $67 ;  of  the 
women,  $48.42.  Colorado  spends  a  larger  amount  per  capita 
for  public  school  education  than  any  other  State. 


On  June  29,  30,  1894,  a  general  meeting  of  Colorado  suf- 
fragists was  held  in  Denver  and  a  reorganization  of  the  State 
association  effected.  The  reason  for  its  continuance  was  the  de- 
sire to  help  other  States  in  their  efforts  to  win  the  franchise,  and 
a  feeling  of  loyalty  to  the  National  Association,  to  which  in  com- 
mon with  all  other  women  those  of  Colorado  owed  so  much. 

In  May,  1895,  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  president  of  the  Na- 
tional Association,  and  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  vice-pres- 
ident at  large,  on  their  way  to  California,  addressed  a  large  and 
delighted  audience  in  the  Broadway  Theater,  and  a  reception  was 
given  them  by  the  Woman's  Club. 

In  1896  the  Colorado  E.  S.  A.  raised  the  funds  to  send  Mrs. 
Mary  C.  C.  Bradford  to  aid  in  the  Idaho  amendment  campaign. 

During  the  Biennial  of  the  General  Federation  of  Women's 
Clubs,  held  in  Denver  in  June,  1898,  the  E.  S.  A.  celebrated  the 
Jubilee  Anniversary  of  the  first  Woman's  Rights  Convention  at 
Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y.,  by  a  meeting  in  the  Auditorium  and  a  re- 
ception in  the  parlors  of  the  Central  Christian  Church,  with  ad- 
dresses by  eminent  local  and  visiting  speakers.  In  these  rooms, 
for  the  entire  week,  this  organization  and  the  Civic  Federation 
kept  open  house,  and  in  a  flag-draped  booth  gave  an  illustration 
of  the  Australian  system  of  voting.* 

In  January,  1899,  Denver  entertained  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman 
Catt,  chairman  of  the  national  organization  committee,  and  Miss 
Mary  G.  Hay,  secretary,  as  they  were  passing  through  the  State. 
Mrs.  A.  L.  Welch  gave  a  reception  in  their  honor,  at  which  ex- 

*  Governor  Adams  did  a  splendid  work  for  equal  suffrage  in  his  welcome  to  this  great 
body  of  women.  Quite  unaware  that  it  was  a  tabooed  subject,  he  made  a  most  eloquent 
addreM  openly  glorying  in  it  and  advocating  its  wholesale  extension.  Probably  no  one 
act  of  hie  administration  made  him  so  many  friends  among  women,  and  it  is  said  that 
•cores  of  those  from  other  States  went  home  thoroughly  converted. 


COLORADO.  531 

Gov.  Charles  S.  Thomas  and  Gov.  Alva  Adams  spoke  enthu- 
siastically of  the  results  of  equal  suffrage,  followed  by  Mrs.  Chap- 
man Catt  in  an  interesting  address.  The  occasion  was  especially 
happy  because  that  day  the  Legislature  had  almost  unanimously 
passed  a  joint  resolution  as  follows : 

WHEREAS,  Equal  suffrage  has  been  in  operation  in  Colorado  for 
five  years,  during  which  time  women  have  exercised  the  privilege  as 
generally  as  men,  with  the  result  that  better  candidates  have  been 
selected  for  office,  methods  of  election  have  been  purified,  the  char- 
acter of  legislation  improved,  civic  intelligence  increased  and  wom- 
anhood developed  to  greater  usefulness  by  political  responsibility; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Senate  concurring, 
That  in  view  of  these  results  the  enfranchisement  of  women  in  every 
State  and  Territory  of  the  American  Union  is  hereby  recommended 
as  a  measure  tending  to  the  advancement  of  a  higher  and  better 
social  order. 

That  an  authenticated  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  by 
the  Governor  of  the  State  to  the  Legislature  of  every  State  and  Ter- 
ritory, and  the  press  be  requested  to  call  public  attention  to  them.* 

This  year  Mrs.  Katherine  A.  G.  Patterson,  who  had  been  presi- 
dent of  the  State  E.  S.  A.  for  three  years,  retired  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Mrs.  Welch,  who  was  followed  in  1900  by  Mrs.  Amy 
K.  Cornwall,  and  in  1901  by  Prof.  Theodosia  G.  Ammons. 

One  of  the  uncongenial  tasks  of  the  officers  of  the  association 
has  been  the  answering  of  the  many  attacks  made  in  Eastern  pa- 
pers on  the  position  of  women  in  Colorado,  though  this  becomes 
far  less  trying  when  it  is  remembered  that  in  most  States  public 
opinion  on  the  question  of  woman  suffrage  is  still  in  its  formative 
stage.     So  soon  do  we  become  accustomed  to  a  new  thing,  ii 
in  the  order  of  nature,  that  the  women  of  Colorado  have  almos 
ceased  to  realize  that  they  possess  an  uncommon  privilege. 
seems  as  much  a  matter  of  course  that  women  should  vote  2 
they  should  enjoy  the  right  of  free  speech  or  the  protecti 
habeas  corpus  act.     It  is  seldom  defended,  for  the  same  re* 
that  it  is  no  longer  thought  necessary  to  defend  the  < 
vs    the  Ptolomaic  theory.     One  aim  of  the  assoc.atu 
arouse  a  more  altruistic  spirit,  and  another  so  to  unite  , 
they  will  stand  together  for  a  good  cause  irresoect 
There  is  at  present  a  strong  legislative  committ 

*See  Appendix-Testimony  from  Woman  Suffrage  States. 


532  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

studying  the  statutes  from  a  non-partisan  standpoint,  with  a  view 
to  influencing  needful  legislation.* 

Before  the  autumn  of  1893  there  were  many  clubg  in  Denver, 
mostly  of  a  literary  nature,  each  formed  of  women  of  a  certain 
rank  in  life,  with  similar  tastes  and  pursuits.  Some  had  a  mem- 
bership so  limited  as  to  render  them  very  difficult  of  access,  but 
in  their  way  all  were  good.  Perhaps  the  only  truly  democratic 
association,  if  those  of  the  churches  were  excepted,  where  the  rich 
and  the  poor  met  together  on  a  plane  so  perfectly  level  that  only 
mental  or  moral  height  in  the  individual  produced  any  difference, 
was  the  equal  suffrage  club.  Whether  related  to  it  or  not,  this 
new  ideal  of  club  life  followed  closely  after  the  gaining  of  po- 
litical equality. 

The  Woman's  Club  of  Denver  was  organized  April  21,  1894, 
with  225  charter  members,  and  now  has  nearly  1,000.  It  con- 
tains many  women  of  wealth  and  high  social  standing,  many 
quiet  housekeepers  without  the  slightest  aspirations  toward  fash- 
ionable life,  and  many  women  who  earn  their  daily  bread  by  some 
trade  or  profession.  What  the  public  school  is  supposed  to  do  for 
our  youth  in  helping  us  to  become  a  homogeneous  nation,  the 
modern  woman's  club  is  doing  for  those  of  maturer  years.  The 
North  Side  Woman's  Club  of  Denver  is  second  to  the  Woman's 
Club  only  in  size  and  time  of  organization.  The  Colorado  Fed- 
eration of  Women's  Clubs  was  formed  April  5,  1895,  witn  a 
charter  membership  of  thirty-seven.  It  now  is  composed  of  over 
loo  clubs,  containing  about  4,000  individuals. 


This  is  merely  a  plain  tale  from  the  hills.  Colorado  women 
feel  that  they  have  done  well  but  have  made  only  a  beginning. 
The  fact  that  women  are  factors  in  politics  underlies  and  over- 
rules many  things  not  directly  connected  with  the  results  of  elec- 

*  The  Legislature  of  1901  passed  116  bills,  a  number  being  of  special  interest  to 
women.  Among  these  was  one  establishing  truancy  schools;  another  for  the  care  ot 
the  feeble-minded;  several  humane  society  bills;  a  measure  permitting  the  State  Board 
of  Charities  and  Corrections  to  investigate  private  charitable  institutions;  a  bill  for  an 
eight-hour  day;  one  for  the  preservation  of  forest  trees;  one  for  a  bi-weekly  pay-day, 
and  an  Insurance  Bill  providing  that  in  cases  where  a  company  has  to  be  sued  for  the 
amount  of  a  policy  it  must  pay  the  costs  of  said  suit.  This  last  was  indorsed  by  nearly 
every  woman's  organization  in  the  State.  The  Eight  Hour  Law  requires  a  constitutional 
amendment,  and  will  be  voted  on  in  the  fall  of  1902.  This  is  also  true  of  a  bill  con- 
solidating and  reducing  the  number  of  elections,  and  of  one  providing  for  full  citizenship 
and  an  educational  qualification  as  requisites  for  suffrage. 


COLORADO. 


533 


tion  day.  Many  of  the  dire  effects  predicted  of  equal  suffrage 
have  proved  their  prophets  false.  In  some  cases  the  women 
themselves  have  been  surprised  to  find  they  had  entertained 
groundless  fears.  This  is  particularly  true  concerning  the  fierce 
partisanship  which  is  supposed  to  run  riot  in  the  female  nature. 
There  is  a  strong  tendency  on  the  part  of  women  to  stand  by  each 
other,  though  not  always  to  the  extent  evinced  by  one  lady  who 
was  and  still  is  a  pronounced  "anti."  At  the  first  election  she 
voted  for  every  woman  placed  in  nomination  for  the  Legislature, 
Populist,  Democrat,  Republican  and  Prohibitionist,  until  she  had 
filled  out  her  ticket.  Women  frequently  scratch  their  ballots 
when  by  so  doing  they  can  elect  a  better  man.  In  legislative 
work  there  are  absolutely  no  party  lines.  The  Republican  and 
the  Democratic  women  both  want  the  same  measures,  and  they 
look  upon  themselves  as  constituents  whether  the  member  belongs 
to  their  party  or  not. 

The  vote  of  the  demi-monde  always  has  been  a  stumbling-block 
to  certain  particularly  good  people.  These  women  never  register, 
never  vote  and  never  attend  primaries  except  when  compelled  to 
do  so.  Their  identity  is  often  a  secret  even  to  their  closest  asso- 
ciates. It  is  almost  impossible  to  learn  their  true  names.  All 
they  ask  is  to  be  let  alone.  Unfortunately  the  city  of  Denver  is 
under  what  is  known  as  the  Metropolitan  Fire  and  Police  System. 
The  firemen  and  police  are  controlled  by  boards  appointed  by  the 
Governor.  If  he  is  a  politically  scrupulous  man  and  his  appoint- 
ments are  good  ones,  this  class  is  not  molested.  Gov.  Davis 
Waite  did  not  compel  these  women  to  vote  for  him  in  1894, 
though  he  had  the  power.  Under  the  administration  of  Gover- 
nor Adams,  when  the  Hon.  Ralph  Talbot  was  president  of 
board,  they  took  no  part  whatever. 

Possibly  those  who  have  been  most  disappointed  at  1 
ings  of  equal  suffrage  are  the  Prohibitionists,  yet  they  really  !i 
reason  for  congratulation.     Weld  County,  which  gave 
vote  for  equal  suffrage  of  any  in  the  State,  has  exclt 
from  its  borders  except  in  one  small  town,  a  coal 
with  a  heavy  foreign  vote.     In  many  sections  the  liquor  t: 
been  abolished,  always  by  the  votes  of  women,  but  there  are  r 
more  men  than  women  in  the  State  and  without  their  co-ope, 


534  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 

tion  no  general  reform  can  be  enacted  or  enforced.  Every  politi- 
cal party  has  banished  liquor  and  tobacco  from  its  headquarters, 
as  desiring  to  win  the  women's  support  they  are  careful  not  to 
give  offense.  On  election  days  Denver  has  a  holiday  appear- 
ance. The  vote  is  cast  early  and  the  members  of 'a  family  usu- 
ally go  together  to  the  polls. 

*The  most  noteworthy  result  is  the  improved  character  of  the 
candidates,  as  one  of  the  most  important  points  to  be  considered 
is  whether  they  can  get  the  votes  of  women.  The  addition  of  a 
large  number  of  independent  and  conscientious  voters  to  the 
electorate ;  the  wider  outlook  given  to  woman  herself  through  the 
exercise  of  civic  rights;  and  the  higher  degree  of  comradeship 
made  possible  by  the  removal  of  political  inequality  between  man 
and  woman;  these  are  the  greatest  benefits  which  equal  suffrage 
has  brought  to  Colorado. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

CONNECTICUT.* 

The  Connecticut  Woman  Suffrage  Association  was  organized 
in  September,  1869,  after  a  memorable  two  days'  convention  in 
Hartford,  under  the  call  and  management  of  '  Mrs.  Isabella 
Beecher  Hooker. t  The  Rev.  Nathaniel  J.  Burton,  D.  D.,  was 
elected  its  first  president  and  in  1871  he  was  succeeded  by  Mrs. 
Hooker,  who  has  now  held  the  office  thirty  years  with  unswerving 
loyalty  and  devotion  to  the  cause.  During  the  first  fifteen  years 
eight  conventions  were  held,  addressed  by  the  most  prominent 
speakers  in  the  country. 

In  1884  a  State  convention  took  place  in  Hartford,  attended  by 
Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  and  a  large  delegation  of  men  and  women 
from  various  parts  of  the  State.  But  one  other  (1888)  inter- 
vened between  this  and  that  which  met  in  Meriden  in  1892,  when 
the  society  was  reorganized  under  a  broader  constitution,  with 
the  name  of  Connecticut  Woman  Suffrage  Society  for  the  Study 
of  Political  Science.  Mrs.  Hooker  was  made  president  and  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  D.  Bacon  vice-president-at-large.t 

Since  then  annual  conventions  have  been  held  in  Hartford 
(four),  Meriden,  Willimantic  and  Southington.  Several  exec- 
utive meetings  have  been  called  yearly  and  the  business  of  the 
association  has  been  systematically  arranged.  Public  meetings 
have  been  addressed  by  Miss  Anthony,  president  of  the  National 
Association,  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Cart,  chairman  of  its  organi- 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Elizabeth  D.  Bacon  of  HartfoH. 
vice-president-at-large  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 

t  See  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  3"- 

t  County  vice-presidents,   Mesdames   Ella  B.    Kendrick    J    1 

Mary  L.   Hemstead,   George  Sanger,  ^^  Cp^^^  ^.^^JJ2f2^S 
M^G.  W.  Fuller;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Mary  J. Rogers;  £*1™J^££*" 
Browne;  me^be^  "^h^e^seWed^as    State    officers    are    Mis»    Hannah    J 
Mesdames  jlnTs .^oons^Emma  Hurd   Chaffee.  Annie  C.  S.  Fenner,  Ell.  S 
Ella  G.  Brooks,  B.   M.   Parsons,  Mary  J.  Wan 

535 


536  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

zation  committee,  Mrs.  Mary  Seymour  Howell  of  New  York, 
Miss  Elizabeth  Upham  Yates  of  Maine  and  many  others.* 

The  Hartford  Equal  Rights  Club  was  organized  in  1885 
through  the  efforts  of  Mrs.  Emily  P.  Collins  and  Miss  Frances 
Ellen  Burr,  both  pioneers  in  the  work.  Located  in  the  capital, 
it  is  the  center  of  the  effort  for  the  enfranchisement  of  women. 

The  Meriden  Political  Equality  Club  was  formed  in  1889. 
The  late  Hon.  Isaac  C.  Lewis,  one  of  its  charter  members  and  a 
lover  of  justice  and  equality,  in  1893  gave  $10,000  in  invested 
funds  to  aid  its  work.  The  Equal  Rights  Club  of  Willimantic, 
founded  in  1894,  is  an  active  body. 

A  series  of  public  meetings  was  held  in  1892  at  Seymour, 
Willimantic,  Winsted  and  Ansonia,  arranged  and  financially  sup- 
ported by  the  Meriden  Club  and  addressed  by  Mrs.  Howell. 

In  1895,  under  the  auspices  of  the  State  society,  a  course  of 
twenty  lectures  was  arranged  by  Mrs.  Bacon  for  Miss  Yates. 

The  local  clubs  have  kept  the  question  before  the  people 
through  addresses,  the  circulation  of  literature  and  other  methods 
of  propaganda.  For  several  years  a  suffrage  tent  was  supported 
at  the  State  Fair  held  in  Meriden,  and  one  day  set  apart  as 
Woman's  Day,  with  good  speakers  to  present  the  subject.  The 
press  department  has  been  an  important  feature  of  the  work, 
most  efficiently  conducted  by  Mrs.  Ella  B.  Kendrick,  its  super- 
intendent for  the  past  three  years. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS  :  Women  have  been  instru- 
mental in  securing  the  passage  of  laws  prohibiting  the  sale  of 
tobacco  in  any  form  to  boys  under  sixteen  years  of  age ;  compel- 
ling merchants  to  provide  women  and  girls  in  their  employment 
with  seats  when  not  engaged  in  their  duties;  securing  scientific 
temperance  instruction  in  the  public  schools;  and  requiring  a 
police  matron  in  all  cities  of  20,000  or  more  inhabitants. 

In  1884  a  bill  giving  women  the  right  to  vote  in  school  district 
meetings  was  rejected  in  the  House  by  83  ayes,  95  noes,  and  in 
the  Senate  by  a  majority  vote. 

•  Among  those  who  have  advocated  and  worked  for  equal  suffrage  are  the  Hon. 
John  Hooker.  Judge  Joseph  Sheldon,  Judge  George  A.  Hickox,  the  Hon.  Radcliffe 
Hicks,  the  Rev.  John  C.  Kimball,  the  Hon.  Henry  Lewis,  Judge  M.  H.  Holcomb. 
ex-Speaker  John  H.  Light,  ex-Gov.  Charles  B.  Andrews,  the  Hon.  George  M.  Gunn,  Miss 
Emily  J.  Leon  and  Mrs.  Susan  J.  Cheney.  Honorable  mention  might  be  made  of  many 
others  who  have  spent  time  and  money  without  stint  in  efforts  to  advance  this  cause. 


CONNECTICUT.  e,- 

In  1885  a  bill  for  School  Suffrage  was  rejected  by  both  Houses. 

In  1886  a  bill  for  Full  Suffrage  was  defeated  in  both  Houses! 

In  1887  two  bills  were  introduced,  one  asking  Full  Suffrage 
and  the  other  that  unmarried  women  be  exempt  from  taxation. 
In  both  cases  the  committee  reported  "Ought  not  to  pass,"  and  the 
petitioners  were  given  leave  to  withdraw.  At  this  session  women 
were  made  eligible  to  serve  as  School  Trustees. 

This  year  the  annual  sessions  were  changed  to  biennial. 

In  1889  the  petitions  for  Full  Suffrage  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  D. 
Bacon  and  others  were  indefinitely  postponed.  During  the  same 
session  women  were  made  eligible  to  hold  the  office  of  assistant 
town  clerk,  and  to  become  members  of  ecclesiastical  societies. 

In  1891  a  legal  dispute  as  to  the  result  of  a  gubernatorial  elec- 
tion caused  the  former  Governor  to  hold  over,  and  all  legislative 
business  to  be  postponed  for  two  years. 

In  1893  the  committee,  after  giving  several  hearings  upon  a 
bill  asking  Full  Suffrage,  substituted,  with  the  consent  of  the 
State  association,  one  for  School  Suffrage.  Upon  the  third  read- 
ing this  passed  the  House,  but  the  Senate  referred  it  back  to  the 
committee  as  imperfect.  There  it  would  have  remained  but  for 
the  efforts  of  the  Hartford  Equal  Rights  Club.  It  finally  passed 
the  Senate  and  the  House,  was  signed  by  Gov.  Luzon  B.  Morris 
and  became  law.  Several  attempts  have  been  made  to  repeal  it 
but  unsuccessfully. 

In  1895  a  bill  providing  for  the  right  of  women  to  vote  for 
Presidential  electors  was  reported  unfavorably  by  the  committee, 
the  report  being  accepted.  The  same  year  a  Municipal  Suffrage 
Bill  went  to  a  third  reading  and  was  passed  by  the  House,  but 
failed  in  the  Senate  by  unanimous  vote. 

In  1897  a  bill  conferring  upon  women  the  right  to  vote  for 
Presidential  electors  was  rejected  after  a  third  reading  both  in  the 
House  and  Senate.     Another  was  presented  for  the  exemption  of 
women  from  taxation,  the  committee  reported,  "Ought  not 
pass,"  and  the  report  was  accepted.     A  bill  for  Municipal 
frage  met  the  same  fate.     This  year  a  bill  was  introdu 
request  of  the  Hartford  club,  creating  the  office  of 
tory  inspector,  with  the  same  salary  as  the  male 
Judiciary  Committee  reported  unanimously  in  favoi 


538  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

position  developed  in  the  House,  but  after  some  amendments  it 
passed,  but  failed  in  the  Senate. 

In  1899  a  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  was  again  introduced  and 
reported  upon  favorably,  but  on  the  third  reading  it  was  rejected 
in  the  House,  and  defeated  by  9  ayes,  12  noes  in  the  Senate.  A 
bill  also  was  presented  providing  that  any  woman  who  pays  taxes 
on  real  estate  wherein  she  resides  may  vote  at  any  meeting  upon 
questions  of  taxation  or  appropriation  of  money.  This  passed 
the  House,  but  was  rejected  in  the  Senate.  The  House  refused 
to  concur,  and  the  Senate  adhered  to  its  former  action. 

There  have  been  hearings  before  the  Judiciary  Committees  of 
several  Legislatures  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  Reformatory 
for  Women.  Members  of  the  Woman's  Aid  Society  of  Hart- 
ford and  others  equally  interested  have  appeared  in  its  behalf. 

The  law  regarding  the  property  rights  of  women  upon  the 
statute  books  of  to-day,  except  one  amendment,  was  passed  in 
April,  1877,  and  reads  as  follows: 

In  case  of  marriage  on  or  after  April  20,  1877,  neither  husband 
nor  wife  shall  acquire,  by  force  of  marriage,  any  right  to  or  interest 
in  any  property  held  by  the  other  before,  or  acquired  after  such  mar- 
riage, except  as  to  the  share  of  the  survivor  in  the  property  as  pro- 
vided by  law.  The  separate  earnings  of  the  wife  shall  be  her  sole 
property.  She  shall  have  power  to  make  contracts  with  third  per- 
sons and  to  convey  to  them  her  real  estate,  as  if  unmarried.  Her 
property  shall  be  liable  to  be  taken  for  her  debts  except  when  exempt 
from  execution,  but  in  no  case  shall  be  liable  to  be  taken  for  the  debts 
of  her  husband.  And  the  husband  shall  not  be  liable  for  her  debts 
contracted  before  her  marriage,  nor  upon  contracts  made  after  her 
marriage,  except  as  provided  by  the  succeeding  sections. 

The  dower  rights  of  women  married  before  this  date  are :  A  life 
estate  in  one-third  the  husband's  realty  and  one-half  his  personalty 
absolutely,  unless  they  shall  have  made  together  with  their  husbands 
a  written  contract  and  recorded  the  same  in  the  Probate  Records,  in 
which  they  mutually  agree  to  abandon  their  respective  common-law 
rights  in  the  property  of  each  other,  and  to  claim  in  place  thereof 
certain  other  rights  as  provided  by  statute  made  in  1877  as  below. 
The  husband  before  that  date  took  the  whole  of  the  wife's  personal 
estate  absolutely  and  the  use  for  life  of  all  her  real  estate. 

Women  married  on  or  after  April  20,  1877,  and  those  married 
earlier,  who  have  made  and  recorded  contracts  with  their  husbands 
as  above  stated,  have  no  dower  rights,  and  their  husbands  have  no 
rights  by  curtesy,  but  both  have,  in  place  of  these,  rights  more 
valuable. 

Where  there  are  children,  the  survivor  is  entitled  to  one-third  of 


CONNECTICUT.  :      i 

decedent's  real  and  personal  estate  absolutely,  and  in  the  absence  of 
children,  takes  all  of  the  decedent's  estate  absolutely  to  the  extent  of 
$2,000,  and  one-half  of  the  remainder  absolutely  after  the  decedent's 
debts  have  been  paid. 

The  father  always  has  been  entitled  to  the  custody  and  control 
of  the  minor  children  with  power  to  appoint  a  guardian  by  will ; 
but  a  law  was  passed  the  present  year  (1901)  which  gives  the 
father  and  mother  equal  rights  of  guardianship,  and  on  the  death 
of  the  father  makes  the  mother  the  legal  guardian. 

If  a  husband  neglect  to  support  his  wife  he  may  be  committed 
to  the  workhouse  or  county  jail  and  sentenced  to  hard  labor  not 
more  than  sixty  days,  unless  he  can  show  good  cause  why  he  i< 
unable  to  furnish  such  support,  or  unless  he  can  give  a  bond. 
he  neglect  to  comply  with  his  bond  the  selectmen  of  the  town 
shall  immediately  furnish  support  to  the  extent  provided  for  in 
such  bond.  (1895.) 

In  1887  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10  t 
14  years,  and  in  1895  this  was  increased  to  16.     The  penalty  is 
imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than  three  years. 

SUFFRAGE:     The  School  Suffrage  Law  of   1893  allows 
women  citizens  who  have  arrived  at  the  age  of  majority,  and  1 
resided  one  year  in  the  State  and  six  months  in  the  town,  to  vot 
at  any  meeting  held  for  election  of  school  trustees  or  for  ; 
educational  purpose. 

At  the  first  election  after  the  passage  of  this  Act,  4,47' 
voted  in  the  State.     Since  then  the  number  has  gradu 
creased  for  several  reasons.     Women  soon  learned  that  1 
amounted  to  but  little  because  of  the  fact  that  Connec 
a  minority  representation  upon  its  school  boar* 
tically  eliminates  contest  in  the  election  of  school 
often  occurs  that  only  the  exact  number  of  candidate. 
are  placed  in  nomination.     In  cities  men  are  frequer, 
on  school  boards  to  pay  political  debts  or  as 


women  have  registered  and  voted  in  large 


54O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Willimantic  offers  a  good  illustration.  All  the  schools  in  the 
town  of  Windham,  of  which  Willimantic  is  a  borough,  were  un- 
der the  district  system.  For  some  time  the  largest  school  dis- 
trict had  been  unwisely  managed  through  the  influence  of  one 
man,  who  controlled  enough  votes  to  insure  his  retention  as  chair- 
man year  after  year.  In  June,  1895,  when  he  had  entirely  for- 
feited confidence,  Mrs.  Ella  L.  Bennett,  president,  and  other  wide 
awake  members  of  the  Equal  Rights  Club,  determined  he  should 
no  longer  hold  this  office.  The  best  citizens  assured  the  women 
that  their  fears  of  his  re-election  were  groundless,  but  they  kept 
on  in  their  efforts  and  secured  the  attendance  of  fifty  women  at  the 
district  meeting,  where  he  was  defeated  by  about  twenty  votes. 

The  level-headed  ones  saw  that  consolidation  of  all  the  school 
districts  was  absolutely  necessary.  Before  the  election  in  October 
the  women  did  valiant  work  in  agitating  this  question.  Previous 
to  this  not  more  than  200  women  ever  had  voted;  but  now  the 
number  registered  reached  1,129,  and  on  election  day,  although 
the  rain  fell  in  torrents  and  rivers  of  water  ran  down  the  streets, 
975  cast  their  ballots.  The  Equal  Rights  Club  conducted  the 
election  so  far  as  the  women  were  concerned,  assisted  in  preparing 
ballots,  kept  a  check-list  and  sent  carriages  where  it  seemed  neces- 
sary. Every  little  while,  all  day  long,  could  be  heard  from  the 
hall  where  the  voting  was  going  on,  "Fall  back,  ladies,  fall  back 
and  give  the  men  a  chance."  At  the  noon  hour  a  crowd  of  male 
voters  saw  a  line  of  women  coming  down  the  street  and,  seizing 
a  ladder,  they  set  it  against  a  window  over  the  stairway,  scram- 
bled up  and  thus  got  into  the  hall  and  headed  off  the  women  until 
the  men  had  voted.  The  measure  for  consolidation  was  carried. 

In  Hartford  the  question  of  consolidation  of  districts  has  twice 
come  before  the  people  since  women  voted,  and  in  both  instances 
they  cast  a  large  number  of  ballots.  In  several  districts  in  this 
city  women  have  shown  much  interest  in  the  annual  meetings. 
One  woman  has  served  three  years  upon  a  district  committee  very 
acceptably,  and  it  is  due  to  the  efforts  and  votes  of  women  that 
wise  management  has  been  sustained  and  a  good  principal  kept 
in  office. 

In  his  report  of  1896,  Secretary  Charles  D.  Hine  of  the  State 
Board  of  Education,  after  speaking  in  unmeasured  terms  of  the 


CONNECTICUT.  54! 

efficient  service  rendered  by  women  as  school  visitors,  on  boards 
of  education  and  on  town  and  district  committees,  says : 

The  returns  indicate  that  women  are  not  anxious  to  vote  upon 
educational  matters  alone.  If  men  were  reluctantly  pennitu-d  as  a 
great  favor  to  vote  for  agent  of  the  town-deposit  fund,  they  would 
not  swarm  to  the  polls.  The  exciting  interests  of  State  elections 
are  important  and  varied  enough  to  allure  85  per  cent,  of  the  male 
voters  to  the  polls,  but  in  many  districts  it  is  difficult  to  obtain 
enough  of  them  to  transact  the  business  of  the  annual  meeting.  In 
the  largest  district  in  the  State,  school  meetings  have  been  held  and 
considerable  sums  of  money  voted,  with  less  than  a  dozen  men 
present.  Woman  can  not  be  adjudged  peculiarly  lacking  in  interest 
because  they  are  not  found  voting  in  large  numbers  on  one  question 
and  one  set  of  officers.* 

In  1897  the  Legislature  amended  the  School  Suffrage  Law. 
The  women  believed  that  this  change  was  effected  to  make  the 
process  of  becoming  a  voter  more  disagreeable.     Heretofore  they 
had  been  permitted  to  go  at  any  time  before  the  town  clerk, 
answer  the  necessary  questions  and  be  registered.     The  amend- 
ment required  them  to  observe  the  same  regulations  as  the  men 
who  have  the  full  franchise.     They  must  make  application  to  the 
registrar  at  one  fixed  time,  fill  out  a  blank  and  have  their  names 
published  in  the  newspapers  in  the  list  of  those  who  wish  to  be 
made  voters.     Then  at  another  fixed  time  they  must  go  before 
the  selectmen,  await  their  turn,  take  the  necessary  oath,  etc. 
many  towns  and  cities  it  was  ruled  that  all  who  had  been  ma< 
voters  under  the  old  law  must  re-register.     Feeling  the  injust 
of  this,  many  women  refused.     In  Hartford  they  rebelled 
lutely,  and  after  much  discussion  in  the  papers  anc 
city  attorney  decided  that  the  law  was  not  retroactive. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:     Since  1887  women  have  been  efigfl 
school  trustees,  and  at  present  45  are  serving,  of 
school  visitors.     The  latter  prescribe  rules  for  the  ma 
classification,  studies  and  discipline  of  the  public  * 
old  school  district  system  prevails  in  many  cit.es 
there  are  a  dozen  or  more  women  on  district  co. 

Women  are  filling  other  offices,  electee  and  appc* 
lows-     Public  librarians,  27;  police  matrons,  5 

Mn    I9o2    a  revised  State  constitution   was  subbed  «d  on,,   , 
electors  voted  on  it. 


542  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

State  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  one;  matrons  of  Reform  School 
for  Boys,  six,  and  one  assistant;  visiting  committee  of  State  In- 
dustrial School  for  Girls,  12,  two  acting  each  month;  assistant 
superintendent  for  same,  one;  in  each  of  the  eight  Homes  con- 
nected with  this  school  are  to  be  found  a  matron  and  an  assistant. 

Two  of  the  five  members  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities  must 
be  women. 

Women  may  serve  as  notaries  public  and  forty-two  are  now 
doing  so.  They  are  eligible  as  assistant  town  clerks. 

OCCUPATIONS:  No  profession  or  occupation  is  forbidden  to 
women  by  law. 

EDUCATION  :  Wesleyan  University,  in  Middletown,  admitted 
women  to  equal  privileges  with  men  in  1872.  By  a  vote  of  the 
trustees  in  1900  the  number  of  women  was  limited  to  20  per  cent, 
of  the  total  number  of  students. 

In  1889  the  Theological  Seminary  (Cong'l)  of  Hartford  ad- 
mitted women  upon  the  same  terms  as  men. 

In  1892  Yale  University  opened  the  courses  of  the  post-gradu- 
ate department,  with  the  degree  of  Ph.  D.  to  women. 

In  1893,  by  an  Act  of  the  Legislature,  the  State  Agricultural 
School,  at  Storrs,  admitted  women  to  its  full  course. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  387  men  and  3,692  women  teach- 
ers. The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $89.87;  of  the 
women,  $43.61. 


The  State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  was  organized  in 
1897  and  under  its  auspices  traveling  libraries  have  been  formed 
for  rural  schools,  free  kindergartens  supported,  etc. 

The  Society  of  Colonial  Dames  has  loaned  to  the  library  com- 
mittee twenty  libraries  which  have  been  placed  in  public  schools. 

The  Civic  Club  of  Hartford,  organized  in  1895  with  a  member- 
ship of  150  women,  has  been  instrumental  in  securing  greater 
cleanliness  of  streets  and  public  places.  It  has  raised  $3,000  for 
the  support  of  vacation  schools,  for  three  years,  and  has  insti- 
tuted plans  for  public  playgrounds. 

In  1898  the  Home  for  Incurable  Children  was  founded  by  the 
Children's  Aid  Society,  entirely  the  work  of  women. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

DAKOTA. 

The  Territory  of  Dakota  was  created  in  1861,  but  in  1889  it 
entered  the  Union  divided  into  two  separate  States,  North  and 
South  Dakota.  As  early  as  1872  the  Territorial  Legislature 
lacked  only  one  vote  of  conferring  the  full  suffrage  on  women. 
The  sparsely  settled  country  and  the  long  distances  made  any 
organized  work  an  impossibility,  although  a  number  of  individ- 
uals were  strong  advocates  of  equal  suffrage. 

In  1879  it  gave  women  the  right  to  vote  at  school  meetings. 
In  1883  a  school  township  law  was  passed  requiring  regular  polls 
and  a  private  ballot  instead  of  special  meetings,  which  took  away 
the  suffrage  from  women  in  all  but  a  few  counties. 

At  the  convening  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  in  January, 
1885,  Major  J.  A.  Pickler  (afterward  member  of  Congress), 
without  solicitation  early  in  the  session  introduced  a  bill  in  the 
House  granting  Full  Suffrage  to  women,  as  under  the  organic 
act  the  legislative  body  had  the  power  to  describe  the  qualifica- 
tions for  the  franchise.  The  bill  passed  the  House,  February 
u,  by  29  ayes,  19  noes.  Soon  afterward  it  passed  the  Council 
by  14  ayes,  10  noes,  and  its  friends  counted  the  victory  won. 
But  Gov.  Gilbert  A.  Pierce,  appointed  by  President  Arthur  and 
only  a  few  months  in  the  Territory,  failed  to  recognize  the  grand 
opportunity  to  enfranchise  50,000  American  citizens  by  one 
stroke  of  his  pen  and  vetoed  the  bill.  Not  only  did  it  express 
the  sentiment  of  the  representatives  elected  by  the  voters,  but 
it  had  been  generally  discussed  by  the  press  of  the  Territory. 
and  all  the  newspapers  but  one  were  outspoken  for  it. 
was  made  to  carry  it  over  the  Governor's  veto,  but  it  failed. 

In  1887  a  law  was  passed  enlarging  the  School  Suffrage  pos- 
sessed by  women  and  giving  them  the  right  to  vote  at  all 
elections  and  for  all  school  officers,  and  also  making  them  eligible 

543 


544  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

to  any  elective  school  office.  At  this  time,  under  the  liberal  pro- 
visions of  the  United  States  Land  Laws,  more  than  one-third 
pf  the  land  in  the  Territory  was  held  by  women. 

In  this  same  Legislature  of  1887  another  effort  was  made  to 
pass  an  Equal  Suffrage  Bill,  and  a  committee  from  the  franchise 
department  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  con- 
sisting of  Mesdames  Helen  M.  Barker,  S.  V.  Wilson  and  Alice 
M.  A.  Pickler,  appeared  before  the  committee  and  presented 
hundreds  of  petitions  from  the  men  and  women  of  the  Territory. 
The  committees  of  both  Houses  reported  favorably,  but  the  bill 
failed  by  13  votes  in  the  House  and  6  in  the  Council. 

It  was  mainly  through  women's  instrumentality  that  a  local 
option  bill  was  carried  through  this  Legislature,  and  largely 
through  their  exertions  that  it  was  adopted  by  sixty-five  out  of 
the  eighty-seven  organized  counties  at  the  next  general  election. 

In  October,  1885,  the  American  Woman  Suffrage  Association 
held  a  national  convention  in  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  which  was  at- 
tended by  a  number  of  people  from  Dakota,  who  were  greatly 
interested.  The  next  month  the  first  suffrage  club  was  formed, 
in  Webster.  Several  local  societies  were  afterwards  started  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  Territory,  but  for  five  years  no  attempt 
was  made  at  bringing  these  together  in  a  convention.* 

The  long  contention  as  to  whether  the  Territory  should  come 
into  the  Union  as  one  State  or  two  was  not  decided  until  1889, 
when  Congress  admitted  two  States.  Thenceforth  there  were 
two  distinct  movements  for  woman  suffrage,  one  in  North  and 
one  in  South  Dakota. 

NORTH   DAKOTA,  f 

On  July  4,  1889,  a  convention  met  at  Bismarck  to  prepare  a 
constitution  for  the  admission  of  North  Dakota  as  a  State.  As 

•  At  the  New  Orleans  Exposition  in  1885  the  displays  of  Kansas,  Dakota  and  Nebraska 
taught  the  world  the  artistic  value  of  grains  and  grasses  for  decoration,  but  it  was 
exemplified  most  strikingly  in  the  Dakota's  Woman's  Department,  arranged  by  Mrs. 
J.  M.  Melton  of  Fargo.  Among  the  industrial  exhibits  was  a  carriage  robe  sent  from  a 
leading  Currier  to  represent  the  skilled  work  of  women  in  his  employ.  There  were  also 
bird  fans,  a  curtain  of  duck  skins  and  cases  of  taxidermy,  all  prepared  and  cured  by 
women,  and  a  case  of  work  from  women  employed  in  the  printing  office  of  the  Fargo 
Argus.  Four  thousand  bouquets  of  grasses  were  distributed  on  Dakota  Day  and  carried 
•way  as  curious  and  beautiful  memorials.  All  were  made  by  women  in  the  Territory. 

t  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  part  of  the  chapter  to  Dr.  Janette  Hill  Knox,  of 
Wahpeton.  corresponding  secretary  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 


DAKOTA. 


545 

similar  conventions  were  to  be  held  in  several  other  Territories, 
Henry  B.  Blackwell,  editor  of  the  Woman's  Journal,  came  from 
Boston  in  the  interest  of  woman  suffrage.  His  object  was  to 
have  it  embodied  in  the  constitution  if  possible,  but  failing  in 
this  he  endeavored  to  have  the  matter  left  as  it  had  been  under 
the  Territorial  government,  viz. :  in  the  hands  of  the  Legislature. 
To  this  end,  H.  F.  Miller  introduced  the  following  clause : 

The  Legislature  shall  be  empowered  to  make  further  extensions 
of  suffrage  hereafter  at  its  discretion  to  all  citizens  of  mature  age 
and  sound  mind,  not  convicted  of  crime,  without  regard  to  sex,  but 
it  shall  not  restrict  suffrage  without  a  vote  of  the  people. 

Toward  the  adoption  of  this  all  efforts  were  directed.  Two 
public  meetings  were  addressed  by  Mr.  Blackwell,  and  on  July 
8  the  Constitutional  Convention  itself  invited  him  to  speak  to 
its  members. 

After  remaining  in  Bismarck  two  weeks  he  went  to  Helena 
to  attend  the  Montana  convention,  but  before  leaving  he  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  the  promise  of  30  votes  out  of  the  38  neces- 
sary for  the  adoption  of  the  clause.    During  his  absence  Dr.  Cora 
Smith   (Eaton),  secretary  of  the  Grand  Forks  Suffrage  Club, 
was  called  to  Bismarck  to  carry  on  the  work.    The  secretary  of 
the  Territory,  L.  B.  Richardson,  placed  at  her  service  a  room  on 
the  same  floor  as  Convention  Hall,  and  to  this  the  friends 
woman  suffrage  brought  members  who  had  not  yet  decla 
themselves  in  favor.     Some  ladies  were  always  there  t 
them  and  present  the  arguments  in  the  case,  among  these  , 
Mary  Wilson,  Mrs.  George  Watson,  Dr.  Kate  Perkins 
Benjamin  of  Bismarck.    Everything  was  managed  wit 
lous  formality  and  courtesy. 

Mr    Miller's  proposition  was  championed  by  R.  1 
and  Judge  John  E.  Garland  in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  am 
a  second  reading  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Franchise,  but  on  July  25  it  reported  the  substi 
Moer,  confining  the  suffrage  to  males     A  minont; 
offered,  directing  the  Legislature  at  its  first  aes*or ,  t, 
amendment  to  the  voters  to  enfranchise  women 
discussion  the  minority  report  was  defeated,  and  the  co, 

provided  as  follows : 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF— 35 


546  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Xo  law  extending  or  restricting  the  right  of  suffrage  shall  be  en- 
forced until  adopted  by  a  majority  of  the  electors  of  the  State  voting 
at  a  general  election. 

By  requiring  not  merely  a  majority  of  those  voting  on  the 
question  but  of  the  largest  number  voting  at  the  election,  no 
amendment  for  any  purpose  ever  has  been  carried. 

On  the  question  of  School  Suffrage  women  received  greater 
consideration,  the  constitution  providing  that  all  women  properly 
qualified  should  vote  for  all  school  officers,  including  State  Super- 
intendent, also  upon  any  question  pertaining  solely  to  school  mat- 
ters, and  should  be  eligible  to  any  school  office. 

ORGANIZATION  :  The  suffragists  were  widely  scattered  over 
this  immense  Territory  and  there  had  been  little  opportunity  for 
organized  work.  In  the  spring  of  1888  a  call  had  been  issued  in 
Grand  Forks,  signed  by  seventy-five  representative  men  and 
women,  for  a  meeting  to  form  an  association,  and  on  April  12 
this  was  held  in  the  court-house,  which  was  crowded  to  the  doors. 
The  extension  of  the  franchise  to  women  was  strongly  advocated 
by  Judge  J.  M.  Cochrane,  Prof.  H.  B.  Wentworth,  Mrs.  Sara  E. 
B.  Smith,  Mrs.  Sue  R.  Caswell  and  others ;  and  encouraging  let- 
ters  were  read  from  the  Hon.  William  Dudley  Foulke,  Lucy 
Stone  and  Julia  Ward  Howe  of  the  American  Suffrage  Associa- 
tion. A  public  meeting  on  July  25  at  the  same  place  was  ad- 
dressed by  Mrs.  Ella  M.  S.  Marble  of  Minnesota.  On  September 
9  Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  of  New  York  gave  a  strong  lecture. 

Other  local  clubs  were  formed  during  the  following  years,  and 
the  first  State  convention  was  held  in  Grand  Forks,  Nov. 
14,  15,  1895.  It  was  called  to  order  by  Dr.  Cora  Smith  Eaton, 
president  of  the  local  society.  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns  of  Kansas, 
a  national  organizer  who  had  just  rrfade  a  successful  lecturing 
tour  of  the  State,  was  elected  chairman  and  Mrs.  Edwinna  Stur- 
man  was  made  secretary.  Cordial  letters  of  greeting  were  read 
from  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  president  of  the  National  Suffrage 
Association,  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  national 
organization  committee,  U.  S.  Senator  Henry  C.  Hansbrough,* 

•  U.  S.  Senator  W.  N.  Roach  also  wrote  and  voted  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage. 
Martin  N.  Johnson,  M.  C,,  was  a  strong  advocate. 


DAKOTA. 


547 


Miss  Elizabeth  Preston,  president  of  the  State  \V.  C.  T.  U.,  and 
others.  In  Miss  Anthony's  letter  was  outlined  the  plan  of  work 
that  she  never  failed  to  recommend  to  State  organizations,  which 
said  in  part : 

First,  your  local  clubs  should  cover  the  respective  townships,  and 
the  officers  should  not  only  hold  meetings  of  their  own  to  discuss 
questions  pertaining  to  their  work,  but  should  have  the  men,  when 
they  go  into  their  town  meetings  for  any  and  every  purpose  pertain- 
ing to  local  affairs — especially  into  the  meetings  which  nominate 
delegates  to  county  conventions — pledged  to  present  a  resolution  in 
favor  of  the  enfranchisement  of  women.  By  this  means  you  will 
secure  the  discussion  of  the  question  by  the  men  who  compose  the 
different  political  parties  in  each  township — an  educational  work 
that  can  not  be  done  through  any  distinctively  woman  suffrage  meet- 
ing, because  so  few  of  the  rank  and  file  of  voters  ever  attend  these. 

Then,  when  the  time  comes  for  the  county  convention  to  elect 
delegates  to  the  State  nominating  convention,  let  every  town  nuvt- 
ing  see  to  it  that  they  are  instructed  to  vote  for  a  resolution  favoring 
the  submission  and  indorsement  of  a  proposition  to  strike  the  word 
"male"  from  your  constitution.  If  the  State  conventions  of  the 
several  parties  are  to  put  indorsement  planks  in  their  platforms,  the 
demand  for  these  must  come  from  the  townships  composing  the 
counties  sending  delegates  thereto.  Women  going  before  a  com- 
mittee and  asking  a  resolution  indorsing  equal  suffrage,  are  sure  to 
be  met  with  the  statement  that  they  have  heard  nothing  of  any  such 
demand  among  their  constituents.  This  has  been  the  response  on 
the  many  different  occasions  when  this  request  has  been  made  of 
State  conventions.  From  this  repeated  and  sad  experience  we  have 
learned  that  we  must  begin  with  the  constituents  in  each  township 
and  have  the  demand  start  there. 

Dr.  Eaton  was  elected  president  of  the  association. 

The  second  convention  took  place  at  Fargo,  Nov.  30,  1897. 
An   extra   meeting   was   held   this   year   at   the   Devil's   Lake 
Chautauqua  Assembly  on  Woman's  Day,  with  Mrs. 
Nelson,  president  of  the  Minnesota,  and  Mrs.   Ella  Knov 
Haskell,  of  the  Montana  W.  S.  A.,  among  the  speakers 
Eaton  having  removed  from  the  State,  Miss  Mary  Allen  Wl 
was  made  president. 

The  third  convention  met  in  Larimore,  Sept. 
with  delegates  from  eleven  counties.     Mrs.  Chapman  ( 
present  and  contributed  much  to  the  success  of 
These  were  held  in  the  M.  E.  Church  with  the  act, 
tion  of  the  pastor,  the  Rev.  H.  C.  Cooper.    Mrs.  Flora  I 
Naylor  was  chosen  president. 


548  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  fourth  convention  was  held  in  Hillsboro,  Sept.  26,  27, 
1899,  at  which  Mrs.  Susan  S.  Fessenden  of  Massachusetts  gave 
valuable  assistance.  A  page  to  be  devoted  to  suffrage  matter 
was  secured  in  the  White  Ribbon  Bulletin,  a  paper  published 
monthly  under  the  auspices  of  the  State  W.  C.  T.  U. 

The  annual  meeting  of  1900  convened  in  Lakota,  September 
25,  26,  in  the  M.  E.  Church,  its  pastor,  the  Rev.  Stephen  Whit- 
ford,  making  the  address  of  welcome.  A  Matron's  Silver  Medal 
Oratorical  Contest  was  given  under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Cora 
Ross  Clark.* 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  In  the  Legislature  of  1893 
a  bill  was  introduced  granting  women  taxpayers  the  right  of  suf- 
frage. This  was  voted  down  by  the  House:  18  ayes;  22  noes. 
A  motion  was  offered  that  all  woman  suffrage  bills  hereafter 
presented  at  this  session  should  be  rejected,  but  it  was  tabled. 

A  bill  to  submit  to  the  voters  an  amendment  conferring  Full 
Suffrage  on  women  in  the  manner  provided  by  the  constitution 
was  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  J.  W.  Stevens  and  passed  by  16 
ayes,  15  noes.  It  was  called  up  in  the  House  on  the  last  day  of 
the  session.  Miss  Elizabeth  Preston  was  invited  to  address  that 
body,  and  the  Senate  took  a  recess  and  came  in.  The  bill  received 
33  ayes,  a  constitutional  majority,  and  was  returned  to  the  Sen- 
ate. The  House  then  took  a  recess,  and  during  this  brief  time 
the  enemies  of  the  measure  secured  enough  votes  to  recall  it  from 
the  Senate.  This  body  by  vote  refused  to  send  it  back,  thus  en- 
dorsing it  a  second  time.  The  Speaker  of  the  House,  George  H. 
Walsh,  refused  to  sign  it.  Then  began  a  long  fight  between  the 
House  and  the  Senate.  A  motion  was  made  by  Judson  La  Moure 
instructing  the  President  of  the  Senate  to  sign  no  more  House 

•Officers  elected:  Honorary  presidents,  Dr.  Cora  Smith  Eaton  and  Miss  Mary  Allen 
Whedon;  president,  Mrs.  Flora  Blackman  Naylor;  vice-president,  Mrs.  G.  S.  Roberts;  cor- 
responding secretary,  Dr.  Janette  Hill  Knox;  recording  secretary,  Mrs.  Henrietta  Paulson 
Haagenson;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Anna  Carmody;  auditors,  Mrs.  J.  S.  Kemp,  Mrs.  Addie  L. 
Carr;  member  national  executive  committee,  Mrs.  Lois  L.  Muir;  organizer  and  lecturer, 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  Slater;  press  superintendent,  Mrs.  Flora  P.  Gates. 

In  addition  to  these,  the  following  have  served  as  State  officers:  Vice-presidents, 
Mesdames  Mary  Wilson,  Florence  Dixon  and  G.  S.  Roberts;  corresponding  secretaries, 
Mrs.  Sara  E.  B.  Smith,  Mrs.  Delia  Lee  Hyde;  recording  secretary,  Mrs.  Helen  de  Len- 
drecie;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Katherine  V.  King;  auditors.  Dr.  Helena  G.  Wink  and  Mesdames 
M.  B.  Goodrich,  L.  C.  McKinney  and  L.  C.  Campbell. 

Among  other  efficient  workers  may  be  mentioned  Gov.  Eli  Shortridge,  Gov.  Roger  Allen, 
Dr.  M.  V.  B.  Knox,  Miss  Hena  Halcrow,  and  Mesdames  Ida  S.  Clark,  Mazie  Stevens, 
Nellie  Mott,  Frances  M.  Dixon,  R.  C.  Cooper  and  S.  M.  Woodhull. 


DAKOTA. 

bills  until  the  Speaker  signed  the  Woman  Suffrage  Bill.  This 
armed  neutrality  lasted  until  10  o'clock  that  night  when  ^>mc 
of  the  senators,  who  had  important  measures  yet  to  pass,  weak- 
ened and  voted  to  send  the  bill  back  to  the  House.  When  it 
reached  there  a  motion  prevailed  to  expunge  all  the  records 
relating  to  it. 

In  the  Legislature  of  1895  a  WH  f°r  a  suffrage  amendment 
was  introduced  in  the  House  by  A.  W.  Edwards,  editor  of  the 
Fargo  Forum.  Mrs.  Emma  Smith  DeVoe  was  sent  by  the  Na- 
tional Association  to  assist  in  the  work  for  the  passage  of  this 
arid  other  bills  of  interest  to  women.  The  courtesy  of  the  floor 
was  extended  to  her  in  the  House  and  she  was  invited  to  address 
the  members,  the  Senate  again  taking  a  recess  and  coming  in  to 
listen.  Col.  W.  C.  Plummer  spoke  against  the  bill,  which  re- 
ceived 28  ayes  but  not  a  constitutional  majority.  No  suffrage 
bill  has  been  introduced  since.* 

Dower  and  curtesy  have  been  abolished.  If  either  husband 
or  wife  die  without  a  will,  leaving  only  one  child  or  the  lawful 
issue  of  one  child,  the  survivor  is  entitled  to  one-half  of  the  real 
and  personal  estate.  If  there  is  more  than  one  child  living,  or 
one  child  and  the  lawful  issue  of  one  or  more  children,  the  widow 
or  widower  receives  one-third  of  the  estate.  If  there  is  no  issue 
living,  he  or  she  receives  one-half  of  the  estate;  and  if  there  is 
neither  father,  mother,  brother  nor  sister,  the  whole  of  it. 
survivor  may  retain  a  homestead  to  the  value  of  $5,000,  which 
on  his  or  her  death  the  minor  children  are  entitled  to  occupy. 

A  married  woman  may  contract,  sue  and  be  sued  and  proceed 
in  all  actions  as  if  unmarried.    She  may  dispose  of  all  her  5 
rate  property  by  deed  or  will,  without  the  consent  of  her  hus 
He  can  not  do  this. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  persons,  est 
earnings  of  the  minor  children.    If  he  abandon  them  the  r 
is  entitled  thereto.    At  his  death  she  is  the  guardian.  . 
Should  she  marry  again  she  loses  the  guardianship  t 
ment,  the  court  may  re-appoint  her. 

-  In  the  Legislature  of  ,901  a  bill  was  introduced  m 

SttttSy^zste    — — 

nant  protests  from  all  parts  of  the  State. 


55O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

If  the  husband  is  not  able  to  support  the  family  the  wife  must 
maintain  him  and  the  children  to  the  best  of  her  ability,  and  her 
separate  estate  may  be  held  liable.  If  he  wilfully  neglect  to 
provide  for  them  his  separate  property  shall  be  held  liable,  and 
he  may  be  imprisoned  in  the  county  jail  not  less  than  sixty  days 
nor  more  than  six  months. 

In  case  either  husband  or  wife  abandons  the  family  and  leaves 
the  State  for  a  year  or  more,  or  is  sent  to  prison  for  a  year  or 
more,  the  court  may  authorize  the  one  remaining  to  sell  or  en- 
cumber the  property  of  the  other  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
family  or  the  debts  which  were  left  unpaid  after  due  notice  has 
been  given  to  the  absent  one. 

The  causes  for  divorce  do  not  differ  from  those  in  a  number 
of  other  States,  but  by  requiring  a  residence  of  only  six  months 
a  great  inducement  is  offered  to  persons  from  outside  to  come 
here  for  the  express  purpose  of  securing  a  divorce. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10  to  14 
years  in  1887.  The  women  attempted  in  1895  to  have  it  raised 
to  1 8  but  succeeded  only  in  getting  16  years.  The  reduction 
of  the  penalty,  however,  made  this  of  small  avail.  For  the  first 
degree  it  is  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than  ten 
years;  second  degree,  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  not 
less  than  five  years.  "But  no  conviction  can  be  had  in  case  the 
female  is  over  the  age  of  10  years  and  the  man  under  the  age  of 
20  years,  and  it  appears  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  jury  that  the 
female  was  sufficiently  matured  and  informed  to  understand  the 
nature  of  the  act  and  consent  thereto." 

SUFFRAGE:  The  Territorial  Legislature  of  1879  gave  women 
a  vote  on  questions  pertaining  to  the  schools,  which  were  then 
decided  at  school  meetings.  This  was  partially  repealed  by  a  law 
of  1883  which  required  regular  polls  and  a  private  ballot,  but 
this  Act  did  not  include  fifteen  counties  which  had  school  dis- 
tricts fully  established,  and  women  still  continued  to  vote  at  these 
district  school  meetings.  In  1887  a  law  was  enacted  giving  all 
women  the  right  to  vote  at  all  school  elections  for  all  officers, 
and  making  them  eligible  for  all  school  offices.  By  the  State 
constitution  adopted  in  1889  all  women  properly  qualified  may 


DAKOTA.  551 

vote  for  all  public  school  officers,  including  State  Superintend- 
ent, and  on  all  questions  pertaining  solely  to  school  matters. 

At  the  special  school  election  held  in  Grand  Forks,  Aug.  4. 
1890,  Mrs.  Sara  E.  B.  Smith  and  Dr.  Cora  Smith  (Eaton) 
voted.  Objections  were  raised,  but  with  the  law  and  the  con>ti- 
tution  back  of  them  they  carried  the  day.  On  September  5.  in 
response  to  a  request  from  the  Grand  Forks  W.  S.  A.,  Attorney- 
General  J.  M.  Cochrane  gave  a  written  opinion  that  the  provi- 
sion of  the  constitution  relating  to  woman  suffrage  was  not  self- 
executing,  and  that  until  supplementary  legislation  was  enacted 
providing  the  requisite  machinery  for  recording  school  ballots 
cast  by  women,  they  could  not  vote.  As  the  authorities  in  a  num- 
ber of  places  refused  to  provide  separate  boxes,  the  Legislature 
of  1893  passed  an  act  requiring  them. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  Women  are  eligible  for  all  school  offices, 
but  for  no  other  elective  office. 

In  1892  Mrs.  Laura  J.  Eisenhuth  was  elected  State  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  In  1894 
she  was  again  nominated  but  was  defeated  by  Miss  Emma  Bates 
on  the  Republican  ticket. 

Eleven  women  are  now  serving  as  county  superintendents, 
and  many  on  local  school  boards.    They  do  not  sit  on  any  i 
boards.    All  of  the  directors  of  the  Woman's  Reformatory,  under 
control  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  are  women. 

In  the  Legislature  they  serve  as  librarians,  journal,  enrol 
and  engrossing  clerks  and  stenographers.    They  act  also  as 
uties  in  State,  county  and  city  offices.    By  special  statute 
they  may  be  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS:     No  profession  or  occupation  i 

bidden  to  women. 

EDUCATION:     All  of  the  educational  instituti 
both  sexes  alike  and  women  are  on  the  faculties 
Hill  Knox  was  vice-president  of  Red  River  Valley  1 


T  TIC  men  and  2,522  women 

There  are  in  tne  puonc  SCIHA.      I,AJ 

teachers.    The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  , 

the  women,  $35-57- 


552  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  was  the  first  and 
still  continues  to  be  the  largest  of  the  organizations.  It  works 
for  the  franchise  through  public  lectures,  petitions,  legislative 
bills  and  various  educational  measures.  The  Woman's  Relief 
Corps  and  a  large  number  of  church,  lodge  and  literary  societies 
enlist  women's  activities  in  a  marked  degree.  They  sit  on  the 
official  boards  of  many  churches  and  some  of  these  are  composed 
entirely  of  women. 

SOUTH   DAKOTA.* 

In  June,  1883,  a  convention  was  held  at  Huron  to  discuss  the 
question  of  dividing  the  Territory  and  forming  two  States,  and  a 
convention  was  called  to  meet  at  Sioux  Falls,  September  4,  and 
prepare  a  constitution  for  those  in  the  southern  portion.  The 
suffrage  leaders  in  the  East  were  anxious  that  this  should  include 
the  franchise  for  women.  Mrs.  Matilda  Joslyn  Gage  of  New 
York,  vice-president-at-large  of  the  National  Suffrage  Associa- 
tion, lectured  at  various  points  in  the  Territory  during  the  sum- 
mer to  awaken  public  sentiment  on  this  question.  On  September 
6  a  petition  signed  by  1,000  Dakota  men  and  women,  praying 
that  the  word  "male"  should  not  be  incorporated  in  the  constitu- 
tion, was  presented  to  the  convention,  accompanied  by  personal 
appeals.  There  was  some  disposition  to  grant  this  request  but 
the  opponents  prevailed  and  only  the  school  ballot  was  given  to 
women,  which  they  already  possessed  by  Act  of  the  Legislature 
of  1879.  However,  this  constitution  never  was  acted  upon. 

The  desire  for  division  and  Statehood  became  very  urgent 
throughout  the  great  Territory,  and  this,  with  the  growing  sen- 
timent in  Congress  in  favor  of  the  same,  induced  the  Legislature 
of  1885  to  provide  for  a  convention  at  Sioux  Falls,  composed 
of  members  elected  by  the  voters  of  the  Territory,  to '  form  a 
constitution  for  the  proposed  new  State  of  South  Dakota  and  sub- 
mit the  same  to  the  electors  for  adoption,  which  was  done  in 
November,  1885.  Many  of  the  women  had  become  landholders 
and  were  interested  in  the  location  of  schoolhouses,  county  seats, 
State  capital  and  matters  of  taxation.  As  their  only  organization 
was  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  a  committee 

•  The  History  is  indebted  to  Mrs.  Alice  M.  A.  Pickler  of  Faulkton,  president  of  the 
State  Woman  Suffrage  Association,  for  the  material  contained  in  this  part  of  the  chapter. 


DAKOTA-  553 

was  appointed  from  that  body,  consisting  of  Alice  M  A  Picklcr 
Superintendent  of  the  Franchise  Department,  Helen  M.  Barker 
and  Julia  Welch,  to  appear  before  the  Committee  on  Suffrage 
and  ask  that  the  word  "male"  be  left  out  of  the  qualification  *ff 
electors.  They  were  helped  by  letters  to  members  of  the  con- 
vention from  Lucy  Stone,  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  Susan  B.  An- 
thony, Lillie  Devereux  Blake  and  others  of  national  reputation. 

Seven  of  the  eleven  members  of  the  committee  were  willing 
to  grant  this  request  but  there  was  so  much  opposition  from  the 
convention,  lest  the  chances  for  Statehood  might -be  imperiled, 
that  they  compelled  a  compromise  and  it  was  directed  that  the 
first  Legislature  should  submit  the  question  to  the  voters.  They 
did  incorporate  a  clause,  however,  that  women  properly  quali- 
fied should  be  eligible  to  any  school  office  and  should  vote  at  any 
election  held  solely  for  school  purposes.  This  applied  merely  to 
school  trustees,  as  State  and  county  superintendents  are  elected 
at  general  and  not  special  elections. 

The  constitution  was  ratified  by  the  voters  in  1885,  with  a  pro- 
vision that  "the  Legislature  should  at  its  first  session  after  the 
admission  of  the  State  into  the  Union,  submit  to  a  vote  of  the 
electors  at  the  next  general  election,  the  question  whether  the 
word  'male'  should  be  stricken  from  the  article  of  the  constitu- 
tion relating  to  elections  and  the  right  of  suffrage." 

Congress  at  that  time  refused  to  divide  the  Territory  and  thus 
the  question  remained  in  abeyance  awaiting  Statehood. 

In  1889,  an  enabling  act  having  been  passed  by  Congress, 
delegates  were  elected  from  the  different  counties  to  meet  in  con- 
vention at  Sioux  Falls  to  prepare  for  the  entrance  of  South  Da- 
kota into  Statehood.  This  convention  reaffirmed  the  constitution 
adopted  in  1885,  and  again  submitted  it  to  the  voters  who  again 
passed  upon  it  favorably,  and  the  Territory  became  a  State, 
Nov.  2,  1889. 

The  first  Legislature  met  at  once  in  Pierre,  and  although  they 
were  required  by  the  constitution  to  submit  an  amendment  for 
woman  suffrage  a  vote  was  taken  as  to  whether  this  should  be 
done.  It  stood  in  the  Senate  40  yeas,  one  nay;  absent  or  not 
voting,  4;  in  the  House  84  yeas,  9  nays;  21  absent. 

On  Nov.  n,  1889,  Miss  Anthony,  in  response  to  urgent 


554  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

quests  from  the  State,  made  a  lecture  tour  of  twelve  cities  and 
towns  and  addressed  the  Farmers'  Alliance  at  their  convention 
in  Aberdeen,  when  they  officially  indorsed  the  suffrage  amend- 
ment. On  her  return  home  she  sent  50,000  copies  of  Senator 
T.  W.  Palmer's  great  woman  suffrage  speech  to  individual  voters 
in  Dakota  under  his  frank. 

A  State  Suffrage  Association  had  been  formed  with  S.  A. 
Ramsey,  president,  Alonzo  Wardall,  vice-president,  the  Rev.  M. 
Barker,  secretary,  and  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Barker,  treasurer  and  State 
organizer ;  but  the  beginning  of  this  campaign  found  the  women 
with  no  funds  and  very  little  local  organization.  Mr.  Wardall, 
who  was  also  secretary  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance,  went  to  Wash- 
ington and,  with  Representative  and  Mrs.  J.  A.  Pickler,  pre- 
sented a  strong  appeal  for  assistance  to  the  national  suffrage 
convention  in  February,  1890.  It  was  heartily  responded  to  and 
a  South  Dakota  campaign  committee  was  formed  with  Miss 
Anthony  chairman.  The  officers  and  friends  made  vigorous 
efforts  to  raise  a  fund  and  eventually  $5.500  were  secured.  Of 
this  amount  California  sent  $1,000;  Senator  Stanford  personally 
gave  $300;  Rachel  Foster  Avery  of  Philadelphia,  the  same 
amount;  Mrs.  Clara  L.  McAdow  of  Montana,  $250;  a  number 
gave  $100,  among  them  U.  S.  Senator  R.  F.  Pettigrew  of  South 
Dakota,  and  different  States  sent  various  sums.* 

The  first  of  May  Miss  Anthony  returned  to  South  Dakota 
and  established  campaign  headquarters  in  Huron.  A  mass  con- 
vention of  men  and  women  was  held  and  an  active  State  organ- 
ization formed  with  Mrs.  Philena  Everett  Johnson,  president, 
Mr.  Wardall,  vice-president,  which  co-operated  with  the  national 
committee  and  inaugurated  an  active  campaign.  The  new  State 
had  adopted  as  its  motto,  "Under  God  the  People  Rule,"  and 
the  suffragists  wrote  upon  their  banners,  "Under  God  the  People 
Rule.  Women  Are  People."  A  large  number  of  national 
speakers  came  in  the  summer.  Local  workers  would  organize 
suffrage  clubs  in  the  schoolhouses  and  these  efforts  would  cul- 
minate in  large  rallies  at  the  county  seats  where  some  noted 
speakers  would  make  addresses  and  perfect  the  organization. 

Those  from  the  outside  who  canvassed  the  State  were  Henry 

*  The  speakers  raised  about  $1,400  which  went  toward  paying  their  expenses.  Over 
$1.000  were  secured  by  other  means.  Most  of  the  State  workers  donated  their  expenses. 


DAKOTA.  555 

B.  Blackwell,  editor  Woman's  Journal,  Boston,  the  Rev.  Amu 
Howard  Shaw,  national  lecturer,  Mary  Seymour  Howell    (  X. 
Y.),    the    Rev.    Olympia    Brown    (Wis.),    Matilda    Hindman 
(Penn.),    Carrie    Chapman   Catt    (Wash.),    Laura   M.   Johns 
(Kan.),  Clara  Bewick  Colby  (Neb.),  the  Rev.  Helen  G.  Put- 
nam (N.  D.),  Julia  B.  Nelson  (Minn.)    Miss  Anthony  was  al- 
ways and  everywhere  the  moving  spirit  and  contributed  her 
ices  the  entire  six  months  without  pay.    When  $300  were  lacking 
to  settle  the  final  expenses  she  paid  them  out  of  her  own  pocket. 
Mr.  Blackwell  also  donated  his  services.     Most  .effective  State 
work  was  done  by  Mrs.  Emma  Smith  De  Voe,  and  the  home  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  De  Voe  was  a  haven  of  rest  for  the  toilers  during 
the  campaign.     Among  the  other  valuable  State  workers  were 
Dr.  Nettie  C.  Hall,  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Barker,  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
M.  Wardall,  superintendent  of  press.     A  large  number  of  minis- 
ters indorsed  the  amendment.     Two  grand  rallies  of  all  the 
speakers  were  held,  one  in  Mitchell,  August  26,  27,  during  which 
time  Miss  Anthony,  Mr.  Blackwell,  Miss  Shaw  and  Mrs.  Pick- 
ler  addressed  the  Republican  State  Convention ;  the  other  during 
the  State  Fair  in  September.     The  ijth  was  "Woman's  Day" 
and  the  Fair  Association  invited  the  ladies  to  speak.    Miss  An- 
thony, Miss  Shaw  and  Mrs.  De  Voe  complied.    The  summing 
up  of  the  superintendent  of  press  was  as  follows:   Total  number 
of  addresses  by  national  speakers,  789 ;  State  speakers,  707 ;  under 
the  auspices  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  104;  total,  1,600;  local  chi 
women  organized,  400;  literature  sent  to  every  voter. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  put  into  words  the  hardships 
campaign  of  1890  in  a  new  State  through  the  hottest  and 
summer  on  record.    Frequently  the  speakers  had  to  drive  t 
miles  between  the  afternoon  and  evening  meetings  am 
ences  would  come  thirty  miles.    All  of  the  political 
tions  declined  to  indorse  the  amendment     The  Repul 
fused  seats  to  the  ladies  on  the  floor  of  their  conventu 
Indians  in  blankets  were  welcomed. 


556  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ing  for  an  indorsement,  presented  by  Judge  Bangs  of  Rapid  City, 
was  overwhelmingly  voted  down.  A  big  delegation  of  Russians 
came  to  this  convention  wearing  huge  yellow  badges  lettered, 
Against  Woman  Suffrage  and  Susan  B.  Anthony. 

The  greatest  disappointment  of  the  campaign  was  the  forming 
of  an  Independent  party  by  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and  the 
Knights  of  Labor.  The  Alliance  at  its  convention  the  previous 
year,  478  delegates  present,  at  the  close  of  Miss  Anthony's  ad- 
dress, had  declared  that  they  would  do  all  in  their  power  to  carry 
the  suffrage  amendment,  and  it  was  principally  on  account  of 
their  assurances  of  support  and  on  the  invitation  of  their  leaders, 
that  she  undertook  the  work  in  South  Dakota.  The  Knights  of 
Labor  at  their  convention  in  January  of  the  present  year  had 
adopted  a  resolution  which  said :  "We  will  support  with  all 
our  strength  the  amendment  to  be  voted  on  at  the  next  general 
election  giving  women  the  ballot  ....  believing  this  to 
be  the  first  step  toward  securing  those  reforms  for  which  all 
true  Knights  of  Labor  are  striving." 

But  the  following  June  these  two  organizations  formed  a  new 
party  and  absolutely  refused  to  put  a  woman  suffrage  plank  in 
their  platform,  although  Miss  Anthony  addressed  their  conven- 
tion and  implored  them  to  keep  their  promise,  assuring  them  that 
their  failure  to  support  the  amendment  would  be  its  death  blow. 
The  previous  summer  H.  L.  Loucks,  president  of  the  Farmers'  Al- 
liance, had  made  a  special  journey  to  the  State  suffrage  conven- 
tion at  Minneapolis  to  invite  her  to  come  to  South  Dakota  to 
conduct  this  canvass.  He  was  a  candidate  for  Governor  on  this 
new  party  ticket  and  in  his  speech  of  acceptance  did  not  mention 
the  pending  amendment.  Before  adjourning  the  convention 
adopted  a  long  resolution  containing  seven  or  eight  declarations, 
among  them  one  that  "no  citizen  should  be  disfranchised  on  ac- 
count of  sex,"  but  so  far  as  any  party  advocacy  was  concerned 
the  question  was  a  dead  issue. 

A  bitter  contest  was  being  made  between  Huron  and  Pierre  for 
the  location  of  the  State  capital,  and  the  woman  suffrage  amend- 
ment was  freely  used  as  an  article  of  barter.  There  were  30,000 
Russians,  Poles,  Scandinavians  and  other  foreigners  in  the  State, 
most  of  whom  opposed  woman  suffrage.  The  liquor  dealers  and 


DAKOTA.  557 

gamblers  worked  vigorously  against  it,  and  they  were  reinforced 
by  the  women  "remonstrants"  of  Massachusetts,  who  sent  their 
literature  into  every  corner  of  the  State. 

At  the  election,  Nov.  4,  1890,  the  amendment  received  22,072 
ayes,  45,862  noes,  majority  opposed  23,790.  The  Republicans 
carried  the  State  by  16,000  majority. 

At  this  same  election  an  amendment  was  submitted  as  to 
whether  male  Indians  should  be  enfranchised.  It  received  an  af- 
firmative vote  of  45  per  cent. ;  that  for  woman  suffrage  received 
35  per  cent.  Of  the  two  classes  of  voters  it  seemed  the  men 
preferred  the  Indians.  It  was  claimed  by  many,  however,  that 
they  did  not  understand  the  wording  of  the  Indian  amendment 
and  thought  they  were  voting  against  it.* 

As  the  School  Suffrage  possessed  by  women  applied  only  to 
trustees  and  did  not  include  the  important  offices  of  State  and 
county  superintendents,  and  as  it  was  held  that  the  franchise  for 
this  purpose  could  be  secured  only  by  a  'constitutional  amend- 
ment, it  was  decided  to  ask  for  this.  Through  the  efforts 
of  Mrs.  Anna  R.  Simmons  and  Mrs.  Emma  A.  Cranmer,  officers 
of  the  State  Association,  a  bill  for  this  purpose  was  secured  from 
the  Legislature  of  1893.  As  there  seemed  to  be  no  objection  to 
women's  voting  for  school  trustees  it  was  not  supposed  that 
there  would  be  any  to  extending  the  privilege  for  the  other  school 
officers.  It  was  submitted  at  the  regular  election  in  November. 
1894,  and  defeated  by  17,010  ayes,  22,682  noes,  an  opposing 
majority  of  5,672. 

In  1897  the  above  ladies  made  one  more  eff 
from  the  Legislature  the  submission  again  of  an  amendmei 
conferring  the  Full  Suffrage  on  women.     The  campai| 
managed  almost  entirely  by  Mrs.  Simmons  and  Mrs. 
The  National  Association  assisted  to  the  extent  of  i 
turer,  Miss  Laura  A.  Gregg  of  Kansas,  who  remained 
months  preceding  the  election;  and  $100  worth  of  l.ten 
was  furnished  for  distribution.     The  Dakota  women  r; 
$1,500,  and  every  possible  influence  was  exerted  upor 
The  returns  of  the  election  in  November,   1808.  gave  ^ 
amendment  19,698;  against,  22,983 ;  adverse  r 


558  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

In  1890  the  amendment  had  received  35  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
vote  cast  upon  it;  in  1898  it  received  77  per  cent.  The  figures 
show  unmistakably  that  the  falling  off  in  the  size  of  the  vote  was 
almost  wholly  among  the  opponents.* 

ORGANIZATION  :  After  the  defeat  of  the  suffrage  amendment 
in  1890  a  more  thorough  State  organization  was  effected  and  a 
convention  has  been  held  every  year  since.  That  of  1891  met  in 
Huron  and  Mrs.  Irene  G.  Adams  was  elected  president.  Soon 
afterwards  she  compiled  a  leaflet  showing  the  unjust  laws  for 
women  which  disgraced  the  statute  books. 

In  1892  a  successful  annual  meeting  took  place  at  Hastings 
and  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Groesbeck  was  made  president.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1893,  the  convention  was  held  in  Aberdeen  during  the  Grain 
Palace  Exposition.  The  State  president  and  the  president  elect, 
Mrs.  Emma  A.  Cranmer,  had  charge  of  the  program  for 
\Y  oraan's  Day,  and  Mrs.  Clara  Hoffman  (Mo.)  gave  addresses 
in  the  afternoon  and  evening. 

In  1894  Mrs.  Anna  R.  Simmons  was  elected  president  and 
continued  in  office  for  six  years.  This  year  $100  was  sent  to  aid 
the  Kansas  campaign.  During  1894  and  '95  she  made  twenty 
public  addresses  and  held  ten  parlor  meetings.  At  the  conven- 
tion in  Pierre  in  September,  1895,  she  was  able  to  report  fifty 
clubs  organized  with  700  members.  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt, 
chairman  of  the  national  organization  committee,  was  present 
at  this  convention. 

Active  work  was  continued  throughout  1896  and  1897,  when 
the  submission  of  a  suffrage  amendment  was  secured.  The  year 
of  1898  was  given  up  to  efforts  for  its  success.  Mrs.  C.  C.  King 
established  and  carried  on  almost  entirely  at  her  own  expense  the 
South  Dakota  Messenger,  a  campaign  paper  which  was  of  the 
greatest  service.  The  State  convention  met  in  Mitchell  Septem- 
ber 28-30.  Miss  Elizabeth  Upham  Yates  (Me.)  came  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  National  Association  and  gave  two  addresses  to 
large  audiences.  The  following  October  a  conference  of  Na- 
tional and  State  workers  was  held  at  Sioux  Falls,  the  former 
represented  by  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  the  Rev.  Henrietta  G.  Moore 

•  Petitions  have  been  presented  to  several  Legislatures  to  grant  Municipal  Suffrage  by 
statute  but  a  bill  for  this  purpose  has  been  brought  to  a  vote  only  once,  in  1893,  when 
it  was  passed  by  the  Senate,  a;  ayes,  n  noes;  and  defeated  in  the  House  by  only  one  vote. 


DAKOTA. 

(O.)  and  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay,  national  organizers.  Several  pul>- 
lic  sessions  were  held. 

The  annual  meeting  of  1899  took  place  in  Madison,  September 
5,  6.  The  tenth  convention  met  in  Brookings,  Sept.  5,  1900. 
Mrs.  Simmons  having  removed  from  the  State,  Mrs.  Alice  M.  A. 
Pickler  was  elected  president.  Mrs.  Philena  Everett  Johnson 
was  made  vice-president.* 

Among  the  prominent  friends  of  woman  suffrage  may  be  men- 
tioned the  Hon.  Arthur  C.  Mellette,  first  State  Governor;  U. 
S.  Senators  Richard  F.  Pettigrew,  James  H.  Kyle 'and  Robert  J. 
Gamble;  Lieutenant-Governor  D.  T.  Hindman;  members  of 
Congress  J.  A.  Pickler,  W.  B.  Lucas  and  E.  W.  Martin;  the 
Hons.  S.  A.  Ramsey  and  Coe  I.  Crawford;  Attorney-General 
John  L.  Pyle,  Judge  D.  C.  Thomas,  General  W.  H.  Beadle, 
Professor  McClennen,  of  the  Madison  Normal  School,  and  min- 
isters of  many  churches.  The  Hon.  J.  H.  Patton  and  the  Hon. 
W.  C.  Bowers  paid  the  expenses  of  the  legislative  committee  of 
the  suffrage  association  while  they  were  in  Pierre  during  the  win- 
ter of  1897  to  secure  the  submission  of  an  amendment.  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  A.  J.  Edgerton,  was  a  pronounced 
advocate  of  woman  suffrage  and  appointed  a  woman  official  sten- 
ographer of  his  judicial  district,  the  best  salaried  office  within 
his  gift.  Associate  Justice  Seward  Smith  appointed  a  woman 
clerk  of  the  Faulk  County  district  court,  f 

LAWS:  Neither  dower  nor  curtesy  obtains.  If  either  hus- 
band or  wife  die  without  a  will,  leaving  only  one  child  or  the  law- 
ful issue  of  one,  the  survivor  is  entitled  to  one-half  of  the  sep- 
arate estate  of  the  other;  or  one-third  if  there  are  more  than  one 
child  or  the  issue  of  more  than  one.  If  there  are  no  children  nor 
the  issue  of  any,  the  survivor  is  entitled  to  one-half  of  the  estate 
and  the  other  half  goes  to  the  kindred  of  the  deceased.  If  there 
are  none  the  survivor  takes  all.  A  homestead  of  160  acres,  or 


*  Others  who  have  served  in  official  position  are  vice-president.  Mrs.  Emro» 
corresponding  secretaries,  Mesdames  Kate  Uline  Folger.  F.  C. 
treasurers,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  M.  Wardall,  Mrs.  Marion  L.  Bennett.  W 
auditor,   Mrs.  John  Davis;  superintendents  of  literature,  Mrs.  J« 
Delia  Robinson  King. 

t  The  list  of  men  and  women  who  are  not  so  widely  known  bt 
fully   for  woman  suffrage  would  be  a  lonp  one.     Among  tl 
and    Mrs.    C.    E.    Hagar,    Mrs.    Alice    Gossage,    Mrs.    C.    E.    Thorp*.    S 
Ramsey,  Mrs.  Ruby  Smart,  Kara  Smart  and  Floy  Cochrane. 


560  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

one-quarter  of  an  acre  in  town,  may  be  reserved  for  the  widow 
or  widower. 

Either  husband  or  wife  may  dispose  of  separate  property,  real 
or  personal,  by  deed  or  will,  without  the  consent  of  the  other. 
Joint  real  estate,  including  the  homestead,  can  be  conveyed  only 
by  signature  of  both,  but  the  husband  may  dispose  of  joint  per- 
sonal property  without  the  consent  of  the  wife. 

In  order  to  control  her  separate  property  the  wife  must  keep 
it  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  county  register. 

On  the  death  of  an  unmarried  child  the  father  inherits  all  of 
its  property.  If  he  is  dead  and  there  are  no  other  children,  the 
mother  inherits  it.  If  there  are  brothers  and  sisters  she  inherits 
a  child's  share. 

A  married  woman  can  not  act  as  administrator.  Of  several 
persons  claiming  and  equally  entitled  to  act  as  executors,  males 
must  be  preferred  to  females. 

A  married  woman  can  control  her  earnings  outside  the  home 
only  when  living  separate  from  her  husband. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  and  has  custody  of  the  per- 
sons and  services  of  minor  children.  If  he  refuse  to  take  the 
custody  or  has  abandoned  his  family  or  has  been  legally  declared 
a  drunkard,  the  mother  is  entitled  to  the  custody. 

The  law  declares  the  husband  the  head  of  the  family  and  he 
must  support  the  wife  by  his  separate  property  or  labor,  but  if  he 
has  not  deserted  her,  and  has  no  separate  property,  and  is  too 
infirm  to  support  her  by  his  labor,  the  wife  must  support  him  and 
their  children  out  of  her  separate  property  or  in  other  ways  to 
the  extent  of  her  ability.  An  act  of  Feb.  21,  1896,  makes  the  wife 
liable  for  necessaries  for  the  family  purchased  on  her  own  account 
to  the  same  extent  that  her  husband  would  be  liable  under  a 
similar  purchase,  but  with  no  control  over  the  joint  earnings. 

The  causes  for  divorce  are  the  same  as  in  most  States  but  only 
six  months'  residence  is  required.  The  disposition  of  the  chil- 
dren is  left  entirely  with  the  court. 

In  1887,  through  the  efforts  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  the  "age  of 
protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10  to  14  years.  In  1893 
they  tried  to  have  it  made  18  but  the  Legislature  compromised 
cm  1 6  years.  Rape  in  the  first  degree  is  punishable  by  imprison- 


DAKOTA. 

ment  in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than  ten  years;  in  the  second 
degree,  not  less  than  five  years. 

The  penalty  for  seduction  and  for  enticing  away  for  purposes 
of  prostitution  is  prescribed  by  the  same  words  "is  punishable," 
which  in  reality  leaves  it  to  the  judgment  of  the  court,  but  the 
statutes,  fix  the  penalty  for  all  other  crimes  by  the  wnnU  "shall 
be  punished."  In  addition  to  this  latitude  the  penalty  for  seduc- 
tion or  enticing  for  purposes  of  prostitution  is,  if  the  girl  is  under 
15,  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  not  more  than  five  years, 
or  in  the  county  jail  not  more  than  one  year,  or  by  fine  not  ex- 
ceeding $  1,000,  or  both ;  with  no  minimum  penalty. 

SUFFRAGE:  The  Territorial  Legislature  of  1879  gave  women 
a  vote  on  questions  pertaining  to  the  schools,  which  were  then  de- 
cided at  school  meetings.  This  was  partially  repealed  by  a  law  of 
1883  which  required  regular  polls  and  a  private  ballot,  but  this 
act  did  not  include  fifteen  counties  which  had  school  district-* 
fully  established,  and  women  still  continued  to  vote  at  these  dis- 
trict school  meetings.  In  1887  a  law  was  enacted  giving  all 
women  the  right  to  vote  at  all  school  elections  for  all  officers, 
and  making  them  eligible  for  all  school  offices.  The  constitu- 
tion which  was  adopted  when  South  Dakota  entered  the  Union 
(1889)  provided  that  "any  woman  having  the  required  qualifi- 
cations as  to  age,  residence  and  citizenship  may  vote  at  any  elec- 
tion held  solely,  for  school  purposes."  As  State  and  county 
superintendents  are  elected  at  general  and  not  special  elections, 
women  can  vote  only  for  school  trustees.  They  have  no  vote 
on  bonds  or  appropriations. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:     The  State  constitution  provides 
persons,  either  male  or  female,  being  twenty-one  years  of  age  and 
having  the  necessary  qualifications,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  c 
school  director,  treasurer,  judge  or  clerk  of  school 
county  superintendent  of  public  schools  and  State  Supe, 
of  Public  Instruction.     All  other  civil  offices  mu 

male  electors. 

There  are  at  present  eleven  women  serving  as  coi 
tendents.     They  sit  on  the  school  boards  in  many  place! 
been  treasurers.     A  woman  was  nominated  for  ! 
tendent  of  Public  Instruction  by  the  Independc 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF— 36 


562  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Efforts  to  secure  a  law  requiring  women  on  the  boards  of 
State  institutions  have  failed.  The  Governor  is  required  to  ap- 
point three  women  inspectors  of  penal  and  charitable  institutions, 
who  are  paid  by  the  State  and  make  their  report  directly  to 
him.  They  inspect  the  penitentiary,  reform  school,  insane 
hospitals,  deaf  and  dumb  institute  and  school  for  the  blind. 
There  is  one  assistant  woman  physician  in  the  State  Hospital  for 
the  Insane.  Women  in  subordinate  official  positions  are  found 
in  all  State  institutions. 

They  act  as  clerks  in  all  city,  county  and  State  offices  and  in 
the  Legislature,  and  have  served  as  court  stenographers  and 
clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court. 

There  are  eight  women  notaries  public  at  the  present  time. 

OCCUPATIONS:  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  for- 
bidden to  women.  Ten  hours  is  made  a  legal  working  day  for 
them.  Four  women  are  editing  county  papers. 

EDUCATION  :  All  institutions  of  learning  are  open  alike  to 
both  sexes  and  there  are  women  on  the  faculties.  In  the  public 
schools  there  are  1,225  men  an<^  3>58i  women  teachers.  The  aver- 
age monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $36.45 ;  of  the  women  $30.82. 


The  W.  C.  T.  U.  was  the  first  organization  of  women  in  the 
State  and  through  its  franchise  department  has  worked  earnestly 
and  collected  numerous  petitions  for  suffrage. .  The  Woman's 
Relief  Corps  is  the  largest  body,  having  1,800  members.  The 
Eastern  Star,  Daughters  of  Rebekah,  Ladies  of  the  Maccabees, 
and  other  lodge  societies  are  well  organized.  The  Federation  of 
Clubs,  the  youngest  association,  represents  200  members.  A 
number  of  churches  have  women  on  their  official  boards. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

DELAWARE.* 

In  the  campaign  of  1884  the  Republicans  had  a  Ship  of  State 
called  the  New  Constitution,  with  an  eagle  on  the  top,  which  u:^ 
mounted  on  wheels  and  taken  from  place  to  place  where  they  held 
public  meetings.  When  they  came  to  Greenwood,  the  home  of 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Stuart,  she  put  a  "blue  hen"  upon  it,  saying  they 
should  not  have  an  eagle  to  represent  freedom  for  men  and  noth- 
ing to  represent  women.  So  the  hen  went  from  one  end  of  Dela- 
ware to  the  other,  sitting  in  state  in  a  glass  coop.  Some  of  the 
Republican  speakers  announced  from  the  platform  this  year  that 
they  favored  enfranchisement  of  women. 

In  1888  the  State  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union 
adopted  the  franchise  department  with  Mrs.  Patience  Kent  as 
superintendent,  and  held  several  public  meetings.  In  1889  Mrs. 
Martha  S.  Cranston  was  elected  her  successor,  and  still  occupies 
the  position. 

Mrs.  Rachel  Foster  Avery,  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Na- 
tional Association,  organized  the  Wilmington  Equal  Suffrage 
Club,  the  first  in  the  State,  on  Nov.  18,  1895,  with  twenty-five 
members.  The  membership  soon  increased  to  fifty-three. 

The  following  winter  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of 
the  national  organization  committee,  sent  into  the  State  the  Rev. 
Henrietta  G.  Moore  of  Ohio  and  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay  of 
York,  the  latter  to  arrange  meetings  and  the  former  to  address 
them  and  organize  clubs.  On  Jan.  17,  1 8,  1896,  they  assisted  in  a 
convention  at  Wilmington,  where  a  State  Association  was 

formed. 

As  Delaware  was  to  hold  a  Constitutional  Convention  ii 
the  National  Association  was  especially  interested  in  push 
suffrage  work  there.  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  met  with  the  ex 

"The  History  is   indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Mirth.  S.   Crwrtoa  of  Newport. 

president  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 

563 


564  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

utive  committee  in  Wilmington  to  arrange  plans,  and  Mrs.  Mary 
C.  C.  Bradford  of  Colorado  and  Miss  Laura  A.  Gregg  of  Kansas 
were  sent  during  March  and  April  to  further  organization. 
Three  county  associations  were  formed,  and  Mrs.  Hortense  Dav- 
enport held  parlor  meetings  in  various  towns  throughout  May. 

On  Nov.  27,  1896,  the  second  annual  convention  was  held 
in  the  New  Century  Club  parlors  in  Wilmington.  Judge  Will- 
iam N.  Ashman  of  Philadelphia  and  Mrs.  Mary  Heald  Way  of 
Oxford.  Penn.,  addressed  the  audience  in  the  evening. 

Petitions  were  circulated  throughout  the  State,  and  Mrs. 
Cranston  and  Miss  Hay  went  to  Dover  to  present  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  with  a  memorial,  which  was  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Elections.  It  contained  the  signatures  of  1,592 
men  and  1,228  women.  A  hearing  was  granted  Jan.  13,  1897. 
Mrs.  Emalea  P.  Warner,  Mrs.  Margaret  W.  Houston  and  Miss 
Emma  Worrell  made  addresses.  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  was  the 
chief  speaker.  Only  two  members  of  the  committee  were  absent. 
A  vote  was  taken  February  16  on  omitting  the  word  "male" 
from  the  new  constitution,  and  the  proposition  was  defeated  by 
7  yeas,  1 7  nays,  with  6  not  present. 

A  national  conference  was  held  in  Wilmington  April  22,  23. 
Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  and  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  national 
vice-president-at-large,  were  the  principal  speakers,  and  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  G.  Robinson,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Walling  and  Mrs.  Hous- 
ton assisted  in  making  the  meetings  a  success.  On  Sunday  Miss 
Shaw  preached  in  the  Union  M.  E.  Church  in  the  morning  and 
the  Delaware  Avenue  Baptist  Church  in  the  evening. 

The  third  State  meeting  took  place  at  Wilmington,  Dec. 
2,  1897,  with  addresses  by  Miss  Diana  Hirschler  of  Boston  and 
Mrs.  C.  O.  H.  Craigie  of  Brooklyn. 

There  was  no  convention  in  1898,  but  the  State  association 
held  a  meeting  in  the  Unitarian  Church,  in  Wilmington,  Dec. 
15,  1899,  which  was  addressed  by  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt. 

After  the  national  convention  in  February,  1900,  Mrs.  Brad- 
ford made  a  few  addresses  in  the  State.  The  annual  meeting 
took  place  in  Newcastle,  Nov.  15,  1900.  Among  the  speak- 
ers were  Mrs.  Ellen  H.  E.  Price  of  Pennsylvania  and  Professors 
William  H.  Purnell  and  Wesley  Webb. 


DELAWARE. 

Mrs.  Martha  S.  Cranston  has  been  president  of  the  State  asso- 
ciation, and  Mrs.  Margaret  W.  Houston  vice-presidc-nt.  since 
beginning.     Others  who  have  served  in  official  capacity  arc  M 
Margaret  H.  Kent,  Edward  Mullen,  Miss  Emma  Lore,  Mrs. 
Mary  R.  De  Vou  and  Mrs.  May  Price  Phillips.     Among  those 
not  previously  mentioned  who  have  given  valuable  assistance  are 
Chief  Justice  Charles  B.  Lore  and  Mrs.  Gertrude  Nields. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  No  bill  for  woman  suf- 
frage has  been  presented  to  the  Legislature  since  1881. 

On  the  petition  of  women  atlaw  was  passed  in  1887  requiring 
employers  to  provide  seats  for  female  employes  when  not  on  duty. 

In  1889  a  police  matron  was  appointed  for  Wilmington. 

In  1893  the  Bastardy  Law,  which  compelled  the  father  of  an 
illegitimate  child  to  pay  fifty  cents  a  week  for  its  support  during 
seven  years,  was  repealed ;  $3  a  week  for  ten  years  were  asked, 
but  the  law  made  it  $i  a  week  for  ten  years. 

Until  1889  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  only  seven 
years.     That  year,  on  petition  of  many  women,  it  was  raised  to 
fifteen,  but  the  violation  of  the  law  was  declared  to  be  only  ; 
"misdemeanor,"  punishable  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  $1.0 
imprisonment  for  not  more  than  seven  years,  or  both,  at  the  < 
cretion  of  the  court,  with  no  minimum  penalty  named, 
the  Legislature,  on  the  insistence  of  women,  raised  the  ' 
protection"  to  eighteen  years,  but  continued  to  extend  the  "pr< 
tection"  to  boys  as  well  as  girls.     It  has  been  found  very  c! 
to  secure  the  conviction  of  men  for  this  crime,  and  t 
have  been  repeatedly  pardoned  by  the  Governor. 

On  May  10,  1897,  the  Legislature  passed  a  bill  requi 
proprietors  of  mills,  factories  and  stores  in  the  c.ty  of 
ton  to  provide  comfortable  toilet-rooms  for  their  female  e 


yTf  there  is  a  child  or  the  lawful  issue  of  a  child  living 
Wiaow  has  a  life-interest  in  one-third  of  the  reaUsU*  -,  on. 
third  absolutely  of  the  personal  property. 
r,or  the  descendant  of  any  child  living,  the  1 
terest  in  one-half  of  the  real  estate  and  one-half  abso 


566  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

personal  estate.  If  there  are  neither  descendants  nor  kin — broth- 
ers, sisters,  their  descendants,  father  nor  mother — the  widow  has 
the  entire  real  estate  for  her  life,  and  all  the  personal  estate  ab- 
solutely. If  a  child  of  the  marriage  was  born  alive,  whether 
living  or  dead  at  the  death  of  the  wife,  the  widower  has  her  entire 
real  estate  during  his  life,  and  the  whole  of  her  personal  estate 
absolutely,  subject  to  all  legal  claims.  If  there  has  not  been  a 
child  born  alive,  the  widower  has  a  life-interest  in  one-half  of  her 
real  estate,  but  the  whole  of  her  personal  estate  absolutely. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  children,  Qnd  he  alone 
may  appoint  a  guardian  at  his  death. 

For  failure  to  support  his  wife  and  minor  children,  a  man  may 
be  fined  from  $10  to  $100;  and,  by  Act  of  1887,  arrested  and  re- 
quired to  give  bail  not  exceeding  $500.  The  court  may  order  him 
to  pay  reasonable  support  not  exceeding  $100  per  month  and 
give  security  to  the  State.  If  he  fail  to  comply,  he  may  be  com- 
mitted to  jail.  The  wife  is  competent  as  a  witness. 

SUFFRAGE:  The  women  in  Milford,  Townsend,  Wyoming 
and  Newark  who  pay  a  property  tax  are  privileged  to  vote  for 
Town  Commissioners  in  person  or  by  proxy.  All  such  women 
in  the  State  may  vote  for  School  Trustees. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  In  January,  1900,  the  Supreme  Court  de- 
nied the  application  of  a  woman  to  practice  at  the  bar,  on  the 
ground  that  a  lawyer  is  a  State  officer  and  all  State  officers  must 
be  voters. 

In  the  one  city  of  Wilmington  women  are  eligible  as  school 
directors,  but  none  ever  has  been  elected. 

A  woman  factory  inspector  was  appointed  by  the  Chief  Justice 
in  1897,  and  reappointed  in  1900. 

Women  never  have  served  as  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS  :    Only  the  practice  of  law  is  legally  forbidden. 

EDUCATION  :  Delaware  has  one  college,  at  Newark,  which  re- 
ceives State  funds.  Women  were  admitted  in  1872,  and  during 
the  next  thirteen  years  eighty  availed  'themselves  of  its  advan- 
tages. It  was  then  qlosed  to  them.  The  only  High  School  in 
the  State,  at  Wilmington,  is  open  to  girls. 

There  are  in  the  public  schools  21 1  men  and  643  women  teach- 
ers. It  is  impossible  to  obtain  their  average  salaries. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

DISTRICT   OF   COLUMBIA.* 

The  women  of  the  District  of  Columbia  who  desire  the  suf- 
frage have  a  unique  place  among  those  of  other  localities.  As 
the  franchise  for  men  even  is  not  included  in  the  privileges  of 
citizenship,  all  are  compelled  to  work  circuitously  through  Con- 
gress in  order  to  gain  that  which  in  the  States  is  secured  directly 
by  the  ballot.  The  suffrage  societies  stand  in  especially  close  re- 
lation to  the  National  Association,  as  every  year  from  1869  until 
1895,  and  each  alternate  year  since,  they  have  served  as  its  hosts 
and  arranged  the  many  details  of  its  delegate  conventions.  Be- 
ing near,  also,  to  the  great  legislative  body  of  the  nation  they 
often  serve  as  messengers  and  mediators  between  congressional 
committees  and  various  State  organizations  of  women. 

The  District,  however,  has  its  own  vital  problems  to  solve,  and 
in  these  the  suffrage  association  takes  a  prominent  part.  Since 
1883,  through  its  organized  and  persistent  efforts,  alone  or 
in  co-operation  with  other  societies,  many  local  reforms  and  im- 
provements have  been  secured.  These  have  been  unusually  dif- 
ficult to  obtain  because  subject  to  the  dual  authority  of  Congress 
and  of  the  District  Commissioners.  Nevertheless,  so  systemat- 
ically and  harmoniously  have  the  women  worked  that  the  entire 
personnel  of  the  association's  committees  has  often  been  ch;. 
during  the  long  delays  in  the  introduction  of  a  bill,  the  lobbying 
for  it  and  its  final  passage,  without  in  the  least  imperiling  its 


success. 


The  District  society  never  has  languished  since  i 
tion  in  1868.     Dr.  Clara  W.  MacNaughton  is  now  presi 
there  are  over  one  hundred  active  members,  t 


the  only  woman  who  has  held  the  position. 

tThe  presidents  since  1884  have  been  Mrs.  Ruth  G.  Denuon,  E 

567 


568  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  Equal  Suffrage  Association  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
is  a  separate  body,  corresponding  to  a  State  association,  and  is 
composed  of  delegates  elected  from  the  District  society  and  the 
Junior  .Equal  Suffrage  Club.  It  was  organized  Dec.  2,  1898,  and 
holds  regular  meetings.  Mrs.  Helen  Rand  Tindall  is  the  presi- 
dent.* 

The  association  made  every  possible  effort  to  secure  a  bill  to 
recompense  Anna  Ella  Carroll  for  her  services  during  the  war. 
It  has  used  its  influence  in  favor  of  industrial  schools  and  kinder- 
gartens in  the  public  schools  and  has  urged  Congress  to  appropri- 
ate money  for  vacation  schools.  In  1895  it  petitioned  the  na- 
tional convention  of  the  Knights  of  Labor,  meeting  in  Washing- 
ton, to  adopt  a  resolution  asking  Congress  to  restore  suffrage  to 
the  citizens  of  the  District  of  Columbia  with  no  distinction  of 
sex.  This  was  unanimously  adopted  without  even  the  formality 
of  referring  to  a  committee.  Delegates  were  sent  to  the  Interna- 
tional Congress  of  Women  in  Brussels  in  1897. 

In  1900,  for  the  first  time,  the  suffrage  women  of  the  District 
gave  free  entertainment  to  delegates  to  the  national  convention. 
Mrs.  Ellen  Powell  Thompson  was  chairman  of  the  committee 
and  contributed  largely  to  the  success  of  that  memorable  conven- 
tion, which  ended  with  the  celebration  of  Miss  Susan  B.  An- 
thony's eightieth  birthday  and  her  retirement  from  the  presi- 
dency of  the  National  Association.  Mrs.  Thompson  was  es- 
pecially active  in  securing  the  handsome  gift  of  a  purse  of  over 
$200,  which  was  presented  to  her  by  the  District  society.  Mrs. 
Julius  C  Burrows  assisted  in  many  ways  and  through  her  in- 
fluence the  Corcoran  Gallery  of  Art  was  opened  to  the  brilliant 
reception  given  in  honor  of  Miss  Anthony. 

Mrs.  Ella  M.  S.  Marble,  Mrs.  Mary  L.  Bennett,  Mrs.  Mary  Powell  Davis,  Mrs.  Ellen 
Powell  Thompson,  Miss  Cora  La  Matyr  Thomas  and  Mrs.  Helen  Rand  Tindall. 

On  March  18,  1901,  the  association  was  incorporated  by  Clara  W.  MacNaughton,  Mary 
L.  Talbott,  Ellen  Powell  Thompson,  Helen  Rand  Tindall,  Clara  Bewick  Colby,  Kate 
W.  Burt,  Sara  A.  Haslett,  Caroline  E.  Kent  and  Belva  A.  Lockwood,  "to  secure  for 
women  citizens  of  the  United  States  the  full  rights  of  citizenship;  to  build  a  clubhouse 
for  women;  and  to  collect  funds  for  appropriate  memorials  to  the  memory  of  women 
who  have  performed  meritorious  work  for  the  enfranchisement  of  women  and  the  good 
of  humanity." 

*  The  Junior  Equal  Suffrage  Club  is  probably  the  first  organization  of  young  people  to 
become  affiliated  with  the  National  Association.  It  was  founded  Jan.  24,  1895,  by 
three  girls  in  the  Central  High  School,  Anna  Kemball,  Alice  Stearns  and  Edith  Maddren. 
Young  men  comprise  about  one-third  of  ite  membership  and  join  in  its  proceedings  and 
discussions. 


DISTRICT    OF    COLUMBIA.  569 

Among  many  who  openly  espouse  woman  suffrage  are  ex- 
Gov.  and  Mrs.  John  W.  Hoyt  of  Wyoming,  now  living  in  Wash- 
ington, Mrs.  John  B.  Henderson,  Mrs.  A.  L.  Barber,  Mrs.  Judith 
Ellen  Foster,  president  of  the  Woman's  Republican  Association 
of  the  United  States,  and  Miss  Clara  Barton,  founder  and  presi- 
dent of  the  National  Red  Cross  Society;  to  whom  might  be 
added  hosts  of  others. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  The  suffrage  association 
has  been  largely  instrumental  in  securing  most  of  the  District 
legislation  in  favor  of  women,  as  the  records  of  the  past  twenty 
years  will  show.  What  is  regarded  as  the  most  important 
achievement  of  this  nature  since  1884  is  the  passage  by  Congress, 
in  1896,  of  the  Married  Woman's  Property  Rights  Bill. 

The  removal  of  the  disabilities  of  wives  had  been  agitated  for 
a  number  of  years  by  the  association.  In  1893  a  bill  for  this 
purpose,  drafted  by  one  of  its  members,  Miss  Emma  M.  Gillett, 
attorney-at-law,  was  passed  by  the  Senate.  When  it  reached  the 
House  it  went  through  the  usual  stages,  was  tossed  about  from 
one  committee  to  another  and  deferred  and  delayed  in  the  most 
exasperating  manner.  It  was  championed  by  Miss  Gillett,  how- 
ever, with  an  unswerving  courage  and  fidelity  which  never  al- 
lowed it  to  be  forgotten  or  neglected,  and  she  was  treated  always 
with  the  utmost  courtesy  when  appearing  before  congressional 
committees. 

In  1894  Mrs.  Ellen  Spencer  Mussey,  always  an  ardent  suf- 
fragist, as  chairman  of  the  committee  on  legislation  for  the  Dis- 
trict Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  began  a  vigorous  prosecu- 
tion of  this  bill  before  Congress.  Miss  Gillett  and  Mrs.  Mussey 
were  ably  assisted  by  Mrs.  Belva  A.  Lockwood,  Mrs.  Lucia  B. 
Blount,  Mrs.  M.  E.  Coues  and  Mrs.  Mary  S.  Lockwood. 

At  this  time  married  women  had  no  legal  right  to  hold  prop- 
erty, and  in  most  respects  the  District  laws  remained  about  as 
arbitrary  as  they  were  in  the  reign  of  King  Charles  II.  A 
mother  had  no  right  by  law  to  her  own  child,  the  father  having 
legal  sanction  to  dispose  of  the  offspring  even  before  it  was 
born.  At  the  time  this  committee  was  urging  Congress  to  pass 
the  bill,  the  public  was  horrified  by  a  notorious  case  in  the  courts 
of  the  District  in  which  a  profligate  father,  who  had  never  done 


5/O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

anything  to  benefit  his  children,  had  disposed  of  them  by  will, 
debarring  the  mother  from  their  custody  and  control.  This 
cruelty  and  injustice  was  an  object-lesson  which  especially  evoked 
the  sympathy  of  Congress. 

The  bill  finally  passed  both  Houses,  was  approved  by  President 
William  McKinley,  and  became  a  law  June  i,  1896.  At  a  special 
meeting,  held  June  n,  Mrs.  Belva  A.  Lockwood  presented  the 
association  with  an  engrossed  copy  of  the  new  law,  and  the  women 
held  a  jubilee  to  celebrate  their  victory. 

The  law  provides  that  the  real,  personal  or  mixed  property 
which  shall  come  to  a  woman  by  descent,  purchase,  gift,  etc., 
shall  be  and  remain  her  sole  and  separate  property,  notwith- 
standing her  marriage,  and  shall  not  be  subject  to  the  disposal  of 
her  husband  or  be  liable  for  his  debts. 

A  married  woman  may  bargain,  sell  and  convey  her  real  and 
personal  property,  enter  into  any  contract,  sue  and  be  sued  the 
same  as  a  married  man. 

A  married  woman  may  carry  on  any  business  or  enter  any  pro- 
fession, by  herself  or  with  others,  and  the  proceeds  shall  be  her 
separate  property  and  may  be  invested  in  her  own  name. 

The  law  also  provides  that  the  father  and  mother  shall  be  equal 
guardians  of  their  children,  and  that  the  survivor  may  by  last  will 
and  testament  appoint  a  guardian. 

The  husband,  if  he  have  property,  is  required  by  a  recent  de- 
cision to  furnish  his  family  with  reasonable  support;  otherwise 
there  is  no  penalty  for  failure  to  do  so. 

Dower  and  curtesy  obtain.  The  widow's  dower  is  one-third 
for  life  of  the  real  estate,  and  one-third  of  the  personal  estate  ab- 
solutely if  there  is  a  child  or  descendant  of  any  living.  If  there 
is  no  issue  or  descendant  of  any,  but  father,  mother,  brother, 
sister  or  descendants  of  these,  the  widow  has  one-half  the  per- 
sonal estate.  If  none  of  these,  the  widow  may  have  all  of  the 
personal  estate,  and  all  of  the  real  estate  if  there  is  no  kindred 
whatever.  A  widower,  if  his  wife  has  borne  a  living  child,  is 
entitled  to  the  use  of  one-third  of  her  real  estate  for  life,  and 
one-third  of  her  personal  property.  If  there  are  no  heirs,  lineal 
or  collateral,  he  takes  the  whole  estate  absolutely. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  in  1889  from  12 


DISTRICT    OF    COLUMBIA.  571 

to  1 6  years.  The  penalty  is,  for  the  first  offense  imprisonment 
at  hard  labor  in  the  penitentiary  not  more  than  fifteen  years,  and 
for  each  subsequent  offense  not  more  than  thirty  years.  No 
minimum  penalty  is  fixed. 

SUFFRAGE:  Since  the  Territorial  government  was  abolished 
and  male  citizens  disfranchised,  in  1874,  there  have  been  numer- 
ous petitions  to  Congress  for  the  ballot  by  both  men  and  women, 
but  no  action  has  been  taken  by  that  body. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  Through  the  early  '8o's  Mrs.  Belva  A. 
Lockwood,  Mrs.  Jane  H.  Spofford  and  others  worked  unceas- 
ingly for  the  placing  of  matrons  at  the  jail  and  police  stations. 
One  was  appointed  in  1884,  and,  during  the  sixteen  years  since, 
a  matron  has  been  secured  for  the  jail  and  three  for  the  ten  police 
stations,  largely  through  the  efforts  of  the  suffragists  and  espe- 
cially of  Mrs.  Ellen  Powell  Thompson,  president  of  the  District 
Association.  The  women  have  had  the  hearty  support  of  Major 
Richard  Sylvester,  Chief  of  Police. 

In  1892  an  act  was  passed  for  a  Board  of  Guardians  for  De- 
pendent Children,  of  which  at  least  three  of  the  nine  members 
must  be  women. 

Principally  to  the  efforts  of  Mrs.  Sara  A.  Spencer,  with  the 
help  of  other  members  of  the  association,  is  due  the  bill  provid- 
ing for  a  Girl's  Reform  School,  in  1892.  The  board  of  managers 
has  always  been  composed  of  men,  but  there  are  a  woman  super- 
intendent and  a  woman  physician. 

Mrs.  Lockwood  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  A.  Russell  worked  long 
and  arduously  to  secure  a  House  of  Detention  and  also  a  special 
carriage  and  a  special  court  for  the  women  and  children  arrested. 
To  Major  Sylvester  above  all  others,  however,  belongs  the 
credit  of  securing  this  House  of  Detention.  Senator  James 
McMillan  of  Michigan,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  framed  the  bill  and  it  was  finally  transformed 
into  law.  This  house  was  opened  in  the  summer  of  1900.  A 
Lieutenant  of  Police  and  three  matrons  have  charge,  under  su- 
pervision of  the  Chief. 

Mrs.  Marilla  M.  Ricker  was  made  notary  public  and  master 
in  chancery  in  1885,  and  Miss  Emma  M.  Gillett  soon  afterward. 
They  secured  the  legislation  necessary  for  women  to  hold  the  lat- 


5/2  HISTORY  OF   WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 

ter  office.  There  are  at  present  four  or  five  women  masters  in 
chancery  and  twenty  women  notaries  in  the  District. 

It  required  six  years  of  agitation  and  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
suffrage  association  before  women  were  allowed  to  serve  as  mem- 
bers on  the  Board  of  Public  School  Education.  The  principal 
movers  in  this  work  were  Dr.  Clara  W.  MacNaughton,  Mrs. 
Thompson,  Mrs.  Helen  Rand  Tindall,  Mrs.  Lockwood  and  Mrs. 
Caroline  E.  Kent.  During  this  time  the  bill  passed  through 
many  vicissitudes  and  its  friends  became  discouraged,  but  in 
1894  Dr.  MacNaughton  went  to  work  with  a  strong  determina- 
tion to  secure  its  passage.  Great  assistance  was  rendered  by 
Senator  McMillan  and  the  Hon.  Edwin  F.  Uhl,  at  that  time 
Assistant  Secretary  of  State.  The  bill  was  finally  passed  just 
before  Congress  adjourned  for  that  year.  The  school  board, 
which  has  charge  of  both  white  and  colored  schools,  consists  of 
five  members,  each  with  a  salary  of  $500  a  year.  Mrs.  Mary  C. 
Terrill  (colored)  served  five  years  and  resigned.  She  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Mrs.  Betty  G.  Francis  (colored).  Mrs.  Mary  Hope 
West  (white)  is  the  other  woman  member.  A  woman  is  serv- 
ing as  assistant  superintendent  of  the  public  schools,  receiving 
$2,500  per  annum ;  and  a  woman  is  employed  as  assistant  secre- 
tary of  the  Board  of  Education.  < 

Women  sit  on  the  Hospital  Boards  and  those  of  Public  Chari- 
ties. It  never  has  been  possible  to  secure  the  appointment  of 
women  physicians  at  any  of  the  hospitals  or  asylums. 

As  women  are  admitted  to  the  various  Government  Depart- 
ments there  naturally  would  be  more  of  them  holding  office  in 
the  District  of  Columbia  than  in  all  the  States  combined.  The 
relative  number  of  men  and  women  employed  is  as  follows: 

LEGISLATIVE. 

Male.     Female. 

Senate,  officers  and  employes 382  3 

House  of  Representatives,  officers  and  employes 272 

Capitol  Police 65 

Library  of  Congress 216  151 

United  States  Botanic  Garden 28 

963  154 


DISTRICT    OF    COLUMBIA.  573 

EXECUTIVE. 

Executive  Office 28 

State   Department 92  17 

Treasury   Department 3»234  2,313 

War   Department* 2,41 1  300 

Navy  Department! 2,992  85 

Postoffice  Department 812  237 

Interior  Department 4,810  2,862 

Department  of  Justice 191  21 

Department  of  Agriculture 650  332 

Government  Printing  Office 2,623  1,068 

Department  of  Labor 74  10 

Fish   Commission 55  12 

Interstate  Commerce  Commission J33 

Civil  Service  Commission 55  6 

Industrial  Commission 10  7 

Smithsonian   Institution 320  39 

Bureau  of  American  Republics 13  9 

Local  Postoffices  in  District . .  606  22 


19,109 
JUDICIAL. 

Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 12  ... 

Court  of  Claims 25  2 


37  2 

SUMMARY. 

20,109        7,496 

Whether  the  number  of  women  is  increasing  or  decreasing  is  a 
disputed  question.  The  Civil  Service  alone  enables  them  to  hold 
their  places  or  to  secure  new  ones  against  the  tremendous  pres- 
sure for  the  offices  which  is  brought  upon  the  appointing  powers 
by  the  men  who  form  the  voting  constituency  of  the  country. 
Chiefs  of  the  Divisions  rarely  call  for  a  woman  on  the  Civil 
Service  list  of  eligibles. 

Few  women  fill  the  highly  salaried  positions.  One  woman 
receives  $2,500  as  Portuguese  translator;  one,  working  in  the 
U.  S.  Land  Office  at  Lander,  Wyoming,  receives  the  same.  One 
secured  a  $2,250  position  in  the  Federal  Postoffice  Department 
but  was  soon  reduced  to  an  $1,800  place  and  her  own  given  to 

*  Not  including  71  officers  of  the  U.  S.  Army  on  duty  at  the  War  Department 
t  Not  including  37  officers  U.  S.  Navy  and  4  officers  U.  S.  Marine  Corps  on  duty  at 
Navy  Department 


574  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

a  man.  The  salaries  of  women  in  general  range  from  $900  to 
$1,600,  not  more  than  fifty  receiving  the  latter  sum,  while  many 
hundreds  of  men  clerks  receive  $1,800.  Clerkships  under  Civil 
Service  rules  are  supposed  to  pay  the  same  to  men  and  women, 
but  the  latter  rarely  secure  the  better-paid  ones.  There  are  a 
large  number  of  positions  graded  above  clerkships  and  paying 
from  $2,000  to  $3,000  a  year  to  which  women  are  practically 
never  appointed. 

OCCUPATIONS:  No  professions  or  occupations  are  forbidden 
to  women.  Two  of  the  pioneer  women  physicians  in  the  United 
States  made  name  and  fame  in  Washington — Dr.  Caroline  B. 
Winslow  and  Dr.  Susan  A.  Edson — the  latter  the  attending  phy- 
sician during  the  last  illness  of  President  James  A.  Garfield. 

EDUCATION  :  Howard  University,  for  white  and  colored  stu- 
dents, is  the  only  one  which  graduates  women  in  medicine.  In 
all  of  its  ten  departments,  including  law,  it  is  co-educational. 
Columbian  University  (Baptist)  opens  its  literary  departments 
to  women  but  excludes  them  from  those  of  law  and  medicine, 
which  are  its  strongest  departments.*  They  were  admitted  to 
the  Medical  School  in  1884,  but  excluded  in  1892  on  the  ground 
that  the  university  could  not  afford  to  have  professors  for  sepa- 
rate classes  and  that  the  buildings  were  too  small  for  the  in- 
creased number  of  students. 

Mrs.  Ellen  S.  Mussey  and  Miss  Emma  M.  Gillett,  in  1896, 
established  the  Washington  College  of  Law  for  the  legal  educa- 
tion of  women.  Mrs.  Mussey  has  been  the  dean  since  its  organ- 
ization and  is  the  only  woman  dean  of  a  law  school  in  the  country. 
The  Hon.  Edward  F.  Bingham,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  District,  is  president  of  the  board  of  trustees,  and 
leading  members  of  the  bar  have  used  their  influence  to  make 
the  college  a  success.  The  curriculum  is  the  same  as  obtains  in 
the  leading  institutions.  There  are  several  men  among  the  stu- 
dents. Mrs.  Mussey  is  counsel  for  the  Red  Cross  Society. 

The  American  University  (Methodist  Episcopal),  now  being 
organized  for  post-graduate  work,  is  to  be  co-educational. 

The   great   Catholic   Universities,   here,    as   everywhere,   are 

•  In  1901  women  graduates  were  admitted  as  special  students  to  lecture  courses  in  the 
graduate  department,  known  as  the  National  School  of  Jurisprudence  and  Diplomacy,  by 
a  special  vote  of  the  trustees  in  each  case,  but  no  general  rule  has  been  made. 


DISTRICT    OF    COLUMBIA.  5/5 

closed  to  women.  Trinity  College  for  Women  (Roman  Cath- 
olic) was  dedicated  Nov.  22,  1900.  The  necessity  for  this 
college  became  apparent  from  their  many  applications  to  enter 
the  universities  for  men.  It  is  the  first  institution  founded  by 
this  church  for  the  higher  education  of  women  such  as  is  pro- 
vided by  the  largest  of  the  women's  colleges  in  the  United  States. 
There  are  in  the  public  schools  155  men  and  1,004  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $94.48;  of 
the  women,  $64.31. 


The  introduction  of  Kindergartens  into  the  public  schools  re- 
ceived the  assistance  of  all  the  women's  societies  in  the  District. 
In  1898  a  bill  passed  Congress  appropriating  $15,000  with  which 
to  make  the  experiment.  This  proving  successful  an  annual 
appropriation  of  $25,000  was  made.* 

The  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  Mrs.  Clinton 
Smith,  president,  has  secured  the  suppression  of  liquor  selling  in 
the  cafe  of  the  new  Library  of  Congress,  and  a  large  number  of 
most  beneficent  measures.  In  December,  1900,  the  national  con- 
vention of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  was  held  in  Washington  and  among 
the  strongest  resolutions  adopted  were  those  declaring  for  woman 
suffrage  and  the  abolishment  of  the  army  canteen.  A  bill  for 
the  latter  purpose  passed  the  House  while  the  convention  was  in 
session,  and  soon  afterwards  passed  the  Senate. 

The  District  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  includes  eleven 
affiliated  organizations  comprising  nearly  four  thousand  women. 

Mrs.  Julius  C.  Burrows  (Mich.)  is  among  the  most  prominent 
of  the  many  women  engaged  in  philanthropic  work.  Largely 
under  her  direction  the  Training  School  for  Nurses  connected 
with  the  Garfield  Memorial  Hospital  has  become  one  of  the  best 
in  the  country. 

Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby  has  long  owned  and  published  the 
Woman's  Tribune.  Mrs.  Mary  S.  Lockwood  for  a  number  of 
years  has  edited  the  American  Magazine,  the  official  organ  of  the 

*  The  Senate  committee  included  Senators  Allison,  Cullom,  Gorman,  Quay  and  Cockrell. 
When  Mrs.  Mussey  appeared  before  them  to  ask  for  a  new  appropriation,  after  the  trial 
had  proved  a  success,  she  stated  that  she  was  about  to  ask  something  for  that  which  is 
the  most  precious  to  every  woman's  heart — a  little  child.  The  Senators  at  once  declared 
that  a  little  child  was  also  the  dearest  thing  on  earth  to  a  man's  heart,  and  unanimously 
recommended  the  appropriation. 


5/6  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Xational  Society  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution.  Mrs. 
Belva  A.  Lockwood  is  associate  editor  of  The  Peacemaker. 

Dr.  Anita  Newcombe  McGee  was  the  first  woman  in  the  United 
States  commissioned  as  surgeon,  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant  and 
the  privilege  of  wearing  shoulder  straps.  She  examined  most 
of  the  women  nurses  who  volunteered  their  services  in  Cuba  and 
the  Philippines. 

All  of  the  women  mentioned  above  are  members  of  the  suffrage 
association,  and  those  engaged  in  public  work  of  all  kinds  are, 
almost  without  exception,  advocates  of  woman  suffrage. 

During  the  Spanish-American  War  the  women  of  the  District, 
including  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  the  Wom- 
an's Christian  Temperance  Union  and  the  District  Federation 
of  Women's  Clubs,  united  in  their  services.  Pleasant  head- 
quarters were  opened  in  different  localities.  Mrs.  Judith  Ellen 
Foster,  Mrs.  James  B.  Tanner  and  many  other  loyal  Red  Cross 
women  answered  the  call  of  Clara  Barton,  and  assisted  daily 
through  the  long,  hot  summer  of  1898  in  contributing  to  the 
comfort  of  the  soldiers  when  passing  through  Washington  or 
while  stationed  at  Camp  Alger;  and  also  in  sending  supplies  for 
the  comfort  of  those  at  the  front.  There  were  no  castes,  creeds 
or  factions  in  this  great  work  of  patriotism. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

FLORIDA.* 

The  brief  history  of  work  in  Florida  for  the  enfranchisement 
of  women  gathers  about  the  name  of  Mrs.  Ella  C.  Chamberlain. 
She  returned  to  her  home  in  Tampa  from  attendance  on  the 
Woman's  Inter-State  Conference  at  Des  Moines  in  the  autumn 
of  1892,  and  secured  space  for  a  suffrage  department  in  the  prin- 
cipal paper  of  that  city.  In  January,  1893,  she  presented  the 
question  so  forcibly  at  a  social  gathering,  as  a  woman  taxpayer, 
that  a  gentleman  suggested  forming  a  society  and  twenty  mem- 
bers were  secured,  eight  of  them  men.  Mrs.  Chamberlain  was 
made  president ;  O.  G.  Sexton,  secretary ;  Miss  Stowell,  treasurer. 

In  1894  the  president  addressed  the  Carpenters'  Union  twice, 
and  considerable  literature  was  distributed.  In  December  the 
suffragists  of  Tampa,  aided  by  those  of  Melrose,  held  a  bazar 
which  netted  $125. 

In  January,  1895,  a  State  convention  was  held  in  Tampa  and 
the  following  officers  were  elected :  President,  Mrs.  Chamber- 
lain; vice-presidents,  Mesdames  E.  W.  King,  Emma  Tebbitts, 
Jessie  M.  Bartlett ;  secretary,  Miss  Nellie  Glenn ;  treasurer,  J.  L. 
Cae.  During  the  year  Mrs.  Chamberlain  gave  addresses  at  the 
De  Funiak  Springs  Assembly,  the  Adventists'  Campmeeting  and 
in  various  towns.  The  society  paid  dues  to  the  National  Asso- 
ciation until  1897,  when  the  president  removed  from  the  State, 
no  one  came  forward  to  take  the  leadership  and  the  movement 
has  since  languished. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  Until  1901  the  women 
never  had  a  bill  before  the  Legislature,  although  the  W.  C.  T.  U. 
aided  greatly  in  securing  the  State  Reform  School.  Its  influence 
also  was  strongly  used  against  a  Dispensary  Bill. 

*  The  History  is  indebted  to  Mrs.  C.  S.  Burnett-Haney  of  Stuart,  superintendent  of 
purity  for  the  State  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  for  much  of  the  information 
in  this  chapter. 

VOL.  IV  Won.  SUF— 37  577 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Some  men  and  many  women  had  long  felt  that  the  law  placing 
the  "age  of  consent"  for  girls  at  10  years  was  a  disgrace  to  the 
State.  In  1887  W.  B.  Lamar  (now  Attorney-General)  pre- 
sented a  bill  raising  it  to  17  years,  but  this  was  defeated. 

Florida  makes  a  distinction  between  "age  of  consent"  and  "age 
of  protection."  Up  to  10  years  the  crime  is  rape  and  the  penalty 
is  death  or  imprisonment  for  life.  The  law  "protects"  girls  un- 
til 1 6  to  the  extent  of  a  penalty  of  imprisonment  not  more  than 
one  year  or  a  fine  not  exceeding  $500,  with  no  minimum  fixed. 
Several  attempts  were  made  by  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  to  have  both 
ages  changed  to  18  years,  but  bills  for  this  purpose  always  were 
laid  on  the  table. 

In  1901  this  organization,  under  the  leadership  of  Mrs.  C.  S. 
Burnett-Haney,  its  superintendent  of  purity,  b'egan  a  thorough 
and  systematic  canvass  of  the  State  to  secure  such  a  petition  for 
raising  the  age  as  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  Legislature  to 
ignore.  For  this  15,000  signatures  of  representative  men  and 
women  were  obtained,  besides  the  official  indorsement  of  U.  S. 
Senators  Stephen  R.  Mallory  and  James  P.  Taliaferro,  Congress- 
men S.  M.  Sparkman  and  Robert  W.  Davis,  four  Judges  of  the 
Circuit  Court,  with  many  other  Judges,  attorneys  and  city  offi- 
cers ;  also  those  of  Presidents  W.  F.  Yocum  of  the  State  Agricul- 
tural College,  G.  M.  Ward  of  Rollins  College,  John  F.  Forbes  of 
Stetson  University,  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion and  over  100  other  leading  educators.  The  petition  received 
also  the  unanimous  indorsement  of  the  State  Press  Association 
and  the  State  Medical  Association,  and  the  signatures  of  100  phy- 
sicians, including  every  member  of  the  State  Medical  Board. 

In  the  hope  of  at  least  a  measure  of  success  two  bills  were 
introduced,  one  raising  the  "age  of  consent"  from  10  to  14 
years,  and,  as  it  had  been  found  practically  impossible  to  secure  a 
conviction  under  the  existing  penalty,  to  reduce  this  to  a  term  of 
imprisonment.  This  bill  was  presented  and  championed  in  the 
House  by  R.  H.  Burr,  the  age  was  raised  to  16  years  and  the 
bill  passed  unanimously,  May  17.  In  the  Senate  it  was  indefi- 
nitely postponed. 

The  second  bill  asked  that  the  "age  of  protection"  be  raised 
from  1 6  to  18  years,  and  that  the  penalty  be  increased  to  impris- 


FLORIDA. 


579 


onment  from  one  to  twenty  years  or  a  fine  of  from  $500  to 
$2,000.  This  bill  also  was  advocated  by  Mr.  Burr  and  passed 
the  House  May  17,  but  with  no  minimum  penalty.  The  vote 
stood  26  ayes,  20  noes. 

In  the  Senate  every  possible  means  was  adopted  to  prevent 
this  bill  from  reaching  a  vote,  and  it  was  only  by  the  determined 
efforts  of  E.  N.  Dimick,  and  all  the  influence  which  the  W.  C.  T. 
U.  could  bring  to  bear,  that  it  finally  was  passed  the  last  day  of 
the  session,  May  31,  with  but  two  dissenting  votes,  although  a 
number  of  senators  absented  themselves.  It  was  signed  the  same 
day  by  Gov.  William  S.  Jennings. 

Thus  as  the  result  of  all  this  great  canvass,  the  expenditure  of 
much  time  and  money  and  the  assistance  of  the  best  elements  in 
the  community,  a  child  of  10  years  may  still  consent  to  her  own 
ruin  in  Florida,  and  the  age  at  which  the  law  will  give  any  pro- 
tection whatever  was  raised  only  two  years.  The  penalty  which, 
may  be  inflicted  was  increased,  but  by  the  refusal  to  fix  a  mini- 
mum of  fine  or  imprisonment  there  is  but  a  slight  improvement 
over  the  original  status. 

If  over  1 6  each  of  the  parties  may  be  punished  by  imprison- 
ment not  exceeding  three  months  or  a  fine  not  exceeding  $30. 

All  property  of  the  wife,  real  or  personal,  owned  by  her  be- 
fore marriage  or  lawfully  acquired  afterward,  by  gift,  bequest  or 
purchase,  is  her  separate  estate  and  is  not  liable  for  the  debts  of 
the  husband  without  her  written  consent  in  legal  form.  It  re- 
mains, however,  under  his  care  and  management,  but  he  can  not 
charge  for  these,  nor  can  she  compel  him  to  account  for  its  rents, 
proceeds  or  profits. 

The  wife  can  not  transfer  her  real  or  personal  property  with- 
out the  husband's  joinder.  If  he  has  been  insane  one  year  she 
can  convey  or  transfer  without  his  signature.  Any  married 
woman  who  may  wish  to  take  charge  of  her  estate,  and  become  a 
'  free  dealer  in  every  respect,  must  apply  to  the  court  for  a  license. 
Since  1891  a  married  woman's  earnings  acquired  by  any  employ- 
ment aside  from  the  household  are  her  separate  property. 

Dower  but  not  curtesy  prevails.     The  widow  has  the  life  use  of 

one-third  of  the  real  estate  and,  if  there  are  no  children  or  but  one 

• 

child,  she  has  one-half  the  personal  estate  absolutely;  if  more  than 


58O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

one,  she  has  one-third.  If  there  are  no  children  and  no  will  she 
takes  the  whole  estate,  real  and  personal.  If  the  wife  die  without 
a  will,  and  the  husband  but  no  descendants  survive  her,  the  whole 
of  her  estate  goes  to  him;  but  if  there  are  children  or  their  de- 
scendants, the  estate,  both  real  and  personal,  descends  in  distri- 
bution to  them.  The  homestead,  to  the  extent  of  160  acres  of 
land  in  the  country  or  a  half-acre  in  town,  is-  exempt  from  seizure 
for  debt. 

A  married  woman  may  dispose  of  her  property,  both  real  and 
personal,  by  last  will  and  testament  in  the  same  manner  as  if  she 
were  unmarried. 

The  father  has  legal  control  of  the  persons,  education  and  prop- 
erty of  the  children,  and  he  alone  may  appoint  a  guardian  by  will, 
during  any  part  of  infancy. 

The  husband  is  required  by  law  to  support  his  family  and,  on 
his  failure  to  do  so,  the  court  may  make  such  orders  as  are  neces- 
sary. If  living  separate  from  him,  the  wife  may  sue  for  ali- 
mony without  divorce  if  legal  cause  exist. 

SUFFRAGE  :     Women  possess  no  form  of  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  Women  are  not  eligible  to  any  office,  elec- 
tive or  appointive,  except  that  they  may  serve  as  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  Women  have  been  admitted  to  the  practice  of 
law  in  a  few  judicial  circuits,  but  none  have  been  admitted  into 
the  medical  profession.  No  other  occupation  is  legally  for- 
bidden. 

EDUCATION  :  All  of  the  institutions  of  learning  are  open  alike 
to  both  sexes. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  1,121  men  and  1,671  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $35 ;  of  the 
women,  $32.40. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

GEORGIA.* 

The  first  woman  suffrage  association  of  Georgia  was  organized 
in  July,  1890,  by  Miss  H.  Augusta  Howard  and  her  sister,  Miss 
Claudia  Hope  Howard  (Maxwell).  For  some  time  the  mem- 
bership was  composed  only  of  these  two,  their  mother,  Mrs.  Anne 
Jane  Lindsay  Howard,  and  other  relatives,  all  residents  of  Colum- 
bus. Mr.  and  Mrs.  D.  M.  Allen  of  Douglasville  were  the  first 
outside  the  Howard  family  to  encourage  and  support  the  infant 
organization.  In  1892  Mrs.  Kate  Mallette  Hardwick  and  Mrs. 
Mary  L.  McLendon  became  members,  and  served  for  several 
years  as  auditor  and  vice-president. 

The  Atlanta  association  was  organized  in  the  Marietta  Street 
M.  E.  Church,  March  21,  1894,  by  Mrs.  McLendon  and  Mrs. 
Margaret  Chandler ;  perfected  in  the  Unitarian  Church  on  March 
28,  and  begun  with  a  membership  of  forty  men  and  women. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1895,  Miss  Howard  and  Mrs.  Maxwell, 
who  had  served  continuously  as  president,  secretary  and  treas- 
urer of  the  State  association,  resigned  their  offices;  and  Mrs. 
Frances  Cater  Swift  was  elected  president;  Mrs.  U.  O.  Robert- 
son, secretary ;  Miss  Adelaide  Wilson,  treasurer. 

In  1896  Mrs.  McLendon  was  made  president;  Mrs.  S.  L.  Ober 
Allen  and  Mrs.  Ala  Holmes  Cheney,  vice-presidents;  Dr.  L.  D. 
Morse,  corresponding  secretary;  Mrs.  Gertrude  C.  Thomas,  re- 
cording secretary ;  Miss  Sarah  A.  Gresham,  treasurer. 

The  annual  convention  of  the  National  Association,  which  was 
held  in  the  opera  house  in  Atlanta  the  first  week  of  February, 
1895,  gave  a  new  impetus  to  the  movement  in  Georgia,  f  Men 
and  women  throughout  the  State  felt  its  widespreading  influ- 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  the  material  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Mary  L.  McLendon, 
of  Atlanta,  honorary  president  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association, 
t  See  Chap.  XV. 

581 


HISTORY   OF   WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ence.  Many  ancient  Southern  prejudices  received  a  death-blow 
when  those  who  harbored  them  saw  wjiat  manner  of  women  had 
espoused  this  hitherto  unpopular  cause.* 

All  the  Atlanta  papers  extended  a  cordial  greeting  to  the  con- 
vention and  devoted  columns  of  space  to  biographical  sketches, 
reports  of  meetings,  etc.,  but  the  Sunny  South,  edited  by  Col. 
Henry  Clay  Fairman,  was  the  only  one  which  editorially  indorsed 
the  suffrage  movement.  The  business  manager  of  the  Atlanta 
Constitution,  William  A.  Hemphill,  and  his  wife,  tendered  a 
large  reception  to  the  members  of  the  convention. 

F.  H.  Richardson,  editor  of  the  Atlanta  Journal,  the  largest 
evening  paper  in  the  State,  was  converted  to  a  belief  in  woman 
suffrage  at  this  time,  and  is  now  an  honorary  member  of  the  or- 
ganization. As  a  part  of  his  work,  he  has  made  an  earnest  and 
long-continued  effort  to  have  women  placed  on  the  school  board,  t 

The  Woman's  Board  of  the  Cotton  States  and  International 
Exposition,  soon  to  be  held  in  Atlanta,  were  so  impressed  by  the 
personnel  of  this  convention  that  an  official  invitation  was  ex- 
tended for  them  to  hold  a  Suffrage  Day  on  Oct.  17,  1895,  in 
the  Woman's  Congress  Assembly  Hall.  This  was  accepted  by 
Miss  Anthony  on  behalf  of  the  National  Association,  and  under 
the  guiding  hand  of  Mrs.  Rachel  Foster  Avery,  its  correspond- 
ing secretary,  Suffrage  Day  was  one  of  the  very  best  of  the  many 
days  celebrated  during  the  Woman's  Congress.  The  State  asso- 
ciation also  fitted  up  a  booth  in  the  Liberal  Arts  Building  and 

*  The  State  association  never  should  cease  to  be  grateful  to  "the  Howard  girls," 
(Augusta,  Claudia  and  Mrs.  Miriam  Howard  Du  Bose),  as  the  national  officers  called 
them,  who  brought  this  grand  object  lesson  to  Georgia  to  give  Southern  women  the 
advantages  which  they  themselves  had  enjoyed  the  previous  year  in  Washington,  D.  C. 
They  refused  all  proffered  aid  and  themselves  paid  the  expenses,  which  amounted  to 
$600,  declaring  that  it  was  only  right  for  them  to  do  so,  since  they  had  consulted  no  one 
when  they  gave  the  invitation  at  Washington  but  had  taken  the  full  responsibility. 

t  William  C.  Sibley,  Will  N.  Harben,  G.  Gunby  Jordan,  Walter  H.  Johnson,  J.  Colton 
Lynes,  Charles  Hubner,  Lucian  Knight,  editor  of  the  Constitution,  and  Walter  B.  Hill, 
chancellor  of  the  State  University,  all  have  declared  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage.  Mrs. 
Julia  I.  Patten,  editor  of  the  Saturday  Review,  is  a  member'  of  the  Atlanta  association 
and  her  paper  is  its  official  organ. 

Among  others  who  have  stood  by  a  cause  which  it  requires  courage  to  advocate  in  this 
State  are  J.  H.  and  Mrs.  Addie  D.  Hale,  W.  T.  Cheney,  S.  M.  White  and  William 
Forsyth;  Mesdames  Harriet  Winchell,  A.  H.  Ames,  Mary  Brent  Reid,  Harry  Dewar, 
Nettie  C.  Hall,  Francis  Bellamy,  A.  G.  Helmer,  Sara  Strahan,  M.  T.  Wynne,  Sarah 
McDonald  Sheridan,  Patrick  H.  Moore,  E.  A.  Latimer,  E.  A.  Corrigan,  Charles  Behre 
and  Dr.  Schuman;  Misses  Mary  Lamar  Jackson,  editor  of  the  woman's  department  in  the 
Atlanta  Journal,  E.  Williams,  \Villette  Allen  and  Sarah  Freeman  Clarke,  sister  of  James 
Freeman  Clarke,  of  Boston. 


GEORGIA.  583 

large  quantities  of  literature  were  distributed  by  Mrs.  H.  M. 
Tripp,  who  kindly  took  charge. 

The  first  State  convention  was  held  in  Atlanta,  Nov.  28,  29, 
1899.  The  following  resolution,  offered  in  the  Legislature  by 
Representative  Martin  V.  Calvin,  was  adopted :  "The  use  of  the 
Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  is  hereby  granted  to  Mrs. 
Virginia  D.  Young  of  South  Carolina,  Miss  Frances  A.  Griffin 
of  Alabama,  and  Mrs.  Isabella  Webb  Parks  of  Georgia,  on  the 
28th  inst.,  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  lectures  on  the  scope  of 
the  elective  franchise."* 

The  first  evening  session  was  held  in  the  State  'capitol.  Mrs. 
McLendon,  the  president,  called  the  meeting  to  order.  The  ad- 
dress of  welcome  for  Georgia  was  made  by  Mrs.  Thomas;  for 
Atlanta,  by  its  president,  Mrs.  Swift;  Miss  Gresham  responded 
to  both.  Mrs.  Young,  Miss  Griffin,  Mrs.  Maxwell  and  Mrs. 
Parks  delivered  addresses  to  a  large  and  interested  audience,  f 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  In  1888  the  Hon.  Augus- 
tus Dupont  applied  to  the  Legislature  for  a  city  charter  for  the 
town  of  Dupont,  and  sought  to  secure  suffrage  to  all  persons, 
male  or  female,  owning  property  in  the  corporation,  but  failed. 

In  1895  the  Atlanta  association  presented  two  bills  to  the  Leg- 
islature— one  to  raise  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  from  10 
to  1 8  years;  the  other,  drawn  by  Charles  A.  Reid,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  society  and  an  able  lawyer,  to  take  the  necessary  meas- 
ures for  granting  equal  legal  and  political  rights  to  women. 
Neither  was  reported  from  the  committees. 

In  1897  Representative  Martin  V.  Calvin  introduced  a  bill  to 
make  a  woman  eligible  to  serve  on  the  staff  of  physicians  at  the 
State  insane  asylum,  but  it  failed  to  pass. 

*  This  certainly  proved  that  woman  suffrage  had  gained  at  least  in  respectful  considera- 
tion among  politicians  since  February,  1895.  At  that  time  Gov.  W.  Y.  Atkinson  refused 
the  use  of  the  same  hall  for  the  great  National  Association  to  hold  a  mass  meeting  on 
the  last  day  of  its  visit  to  Atlanta.  He  declared  it  would  be  unconstitutional  to  allow 
women  to  use  it,  although  white  and  negro  men  had  been  permitted  to  do  so  for  many 
and  varied  purposes.  The  Hon.  Charles  A.  Collier,  a  county  commissioner,  granted  the 
basement  of  the  courthouse  for  this  meeting,  which  was  a  marked  success,  though  held 
underground.  Speeches  were  made  by  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman 
Catt,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Lyle  Saxon,  Mrs.  Josephine  K.  Henry  and  others. 

t  Officers  elected:  President,  Mrs.  Gertrude  C.  Thomas;  vice-presidents,  Mrs.  S.  L. 
Ober  Allen,  Miss  Sarah  A.  Gresham;  corresponding  secretary,  Mrs.  Alice  Daniel;  record- 
ing secretary,  Mrs.  Claudia  Howard  Maxwell;  treasurer,  Mrs.  E.  O.  Archer;  auditor, 
D.  M.  Allen.  Mrs.  McLendon,  who  had  been  in  office  since  1892,  refused  to  serve  longer 
and  was  made  honorary  president. 


584  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

In  1898  an  effort  was  made  to  secure  a  bill  providing  police 
matrons  in  every  city  of  10,000  or  more  inhabitants,  and  one  to 
exempt  the  property  of  women  from  taxation  until  they  should 
be  permitted  to  vote.  Both  failed. 

Miss  Frances  A.  Griffin  appeared  for  the  Georgia  W.  S.  A.  at 
the  convention  of  the  State  Federation  of  Labor,  held  in  Augusta 
in  April,  1900,  and  in  response  to  her  address  it  called  on  its  mem- 
bers to  demand  a  change  in  the  United  States  Constitution  which 
should  secure  the  legal  and  political  equality  of  women.  A 
strong  suffrage  plank  was  added  to  the  platform  of  the  federa- 
tion, and  Miss  Griffin  was  invited  by  it  to  address  the  Legisla- 
ture in  the  interest  of  the  Child  Labor  Bill,  which  it  had  cham- 
pioned so  unsuccessfully  for  a  number  of  years. 

One  result  of  the  State  suffrage  convention  held  in  Atlanta  in 
1899,  was  tnat  tne  following  petitions  were  ordered  to  be  cir- 
culated and  returned  for  presentation  to  the  legislative  commit- 
tees in  the  fall  of  1900 : 

1.  That  the  University  of  Georgia  be  opened  to  women. 

2.  That  women  be  members  of  the  boards  of  education. 

3.  That  women  physicians  be  placed  on  the  staff  of  the  State  in- 
sane asylum. 

4.  That  women  be  made  eligible  to  the  office  of  president  of  the 
State  Normal  and  Industrial  College  for  Girls. 

5.  That  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  be  raised  from  10  to 
1 8  years. 

6.  That  girls  of  eighteen  be  permitted  to  enter  the  textile  de- 
partment of  the  State  Technological  School. 

Four  bills  were  considered  by  the  Legislature  of  1900  in  which 
the  women  of  the  State  were  deeply  interested.  All  failed,  and 
many  of  them  now  see  that  Legislatures,  like  juries,  should  be 
composed  of  an  equal  number  of  men  and  women  to  secure  ex- 
act justice  for  both. 

1  The  Child  Labor  Bills,  introduced  by  Representative  Seaborn 
Wright  and  C.  C  Houston,  to  prevent  the  employment  in  fac- 
tories of  children  under  ten  and  under  twelve  years  of  age  were 
defeated  by  a  vote  of  more  than  three  to  one. 

The  Textile  Bill  was  read  twice  in  the  House  but  failed  to  se- 
cure a  third  reading.  Lyman  Hall,  president  of  the  school,  was 
in  favor  of  the  bill. 


GEORGIA.  585 

The  Age  of  Protection  Bill,  introduced  by  Representative  C. 
S.  Reid,  was  very  quietly  handled.  Only  one  paper  (the  Atlanta 
Daily  News)  informed  the  public  that  it  would  be  made  the 
special  order  for  November  15.  It  was  defeated  by  71  ayes,  77 
noes.  At  the  request  of  women  Mr.  Reid  moved  that  it  be  re- 
considered November  16,  which  resulted  in  its  being  voted  down 
by  a  larger  majority  than  the  day  before.  Mr.  Reid  thought  it 
well  that  his  bill  was  defeated,  since  it  only  asked  that  the  "age 
of  protection"  be  raised  from  lO.to  12  years. 

The  suffragists  asked  that  it  be  raised  from  10  to  18,  and  the 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  from  10  to  21.  Many 
petitions  had  been  sent  to  previous  Legislatures  by  both  these 
organizations,  but  this  was  the  first  time  a  bill  had  been  presented 
and  carried  to  a  vote. 

The  bill  to  admit  women  to  the  State  University  was  not  con- 
sidered by  the  Legislature  of  1900.* 

The  State  W.  C.  T.  U.  has  been  laboring  to  secure  the  passage 
of  a  law  for  scientific  temperance  instruction  in  the  public  schools 
since  1890,  when  Mrs.  Mary  H.  Hunt  of  Massachusetts,  who  was 
the  first  woman  to  speak  in  the  capitol  building,  addressed  the 
Legislature.  The  bill  passed  both  Houses  in  1894,  but  was  ve- 
toed by  Gov.  William  J.  Northen  because  no  provision  had  been 
made  to  require  teachers  to  stand  an  examination  on  the  subject.f 

Since  1857,  when  the  law  which  gave  a  husband  the  right  to 
whip  his  wife  was  amended,  there  have  been  some  favorable 
changes.  In  1866  a  law  was  enacted  allowing  a  married  woman 
to  own  property,  but  not  including  any  wages  she  might  earn. 

In  1891,  when  a  married  woman  was  suing  for  personal  injury 
in  a  railroad  accident,  Chief  Justice  Logan  E.  Bleckley  decided 
that  the  amount  of  a  wife's  recovery  for  physical  damages  "is 
not  to  be  measured  by  pecuniary  earnings,  for  such  earn- 

*A  bill  presented  by  Thomas  J.  Chappelle  in  1901  to  make  the  University  co-educa- 
tional was  defeated  in  the  Senate  and  not  considered  in  the  House.  Virginia  and 
Louisiana  are  the  only  other  States  which  exclude  women,  although  North  Carolina 
admits  them  only  to  its  post-graduate  department. 

t  A  bill  providing  for  the  teaching  of  the  effects  of  alcoholic  drinks  and  other  narcotics 
upon  the  system,  requiring  all  teachers  to  stand  an  examination  on  this  subject,  and 
affixing  a  penalty  for  the  failure  of  any  board  of  education  to  enforce  the  law,  passed 
the  Legislature  of  1901 — Senate,  23  ayes,  7  nays;  House,  106  ayes,  28  nays.  It  was 
signed  by  Gov.  Allan  C.  Candler,  December  17. 

This  law  is  now  in  effect  in  every  State,  Georgia  being  the  last  to  adopt  it 


586  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ings  as  a  general  rule  belong  to  the  husband  and  the  right 
of  action  for  this  loss  is  in  him."  In  1892  Judge  Thomas 
J.  Simmons  rendered  practically  the  same  decision,  and  in  1893 
ruled  again :  "Inasmuch  as  the  earnings  of  the  wife  belong  to 
her  husband,  her  individual  and  personal  damages  can  be  meas- 
ured only  by  the  consciences  of  an  impartial  jury." 

In  November,  1895,  when  William  H.  Flemming  (now  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress)  was  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
he  offered  a  bill  which,  as  he  said,  "was  to  complete  the  good 
work  begun  with  the  Married  Woman's  Property  Act  of  1866, 
by  making  a  wife's  labor  as  well  as  her  acquired  property  her 
own."  It  passed  the  House  by  98  ayes,  29  noes,  but  was  killed 
in  the  Senate. 

As  the  law  now  stands  a  married  woman  in  Georgia  can  con- 
trol her  earnings  only  if  a  sole  trader  with  her  husband's  consent 
by  notice  published  in  the  papers  for  one  month,  or  if  living  sep- 
arate from  him. 

Dower  obtains  but  not  curtesy.  If  a  husband  die  intestate, 
leaving  a  wife  and  issue,  the  wife  may  elect  to  take  dower — a 
life  interest  in  one-third  of  the  real  estate — or  she  may  take  a 
child's  share  of  the  whole  estate  absolutely,  unless  the  shares  ex- 
ceed five  in  number,  when  she  may  have  one-fifth. 

The  father  is  legally  entitled  to  the  custody  and  control  of  the 
children,  and  at  his  death  may  appoint  a  guardian  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  mother.  The  husband  must  furnish  necessities  for 
the  family  suitable  to  their  station  in  life. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  still  remains  10  years,  with  a 
penalty  of  death,  or  if  recommended  to  mercy  by  the  jury,  im- 
prisonment in  the  penitentiary  at  hard  labor  not  less  than  one  nor 
more  than  twenty  years. 

SUFFRAGE  :     Women  have  no  form  of  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  In  December,  1884,  Representative  Mar- 
tin V.  Calvin  introduced  and  carried  through  the  Legislature,  un- 
der most  unfavorable  pressure,  a  bill  to  render  women  eligible  to 
employment  in  the  State  House.  Besides  the  large  number  en- 
gaged in  manual  labor,  a  woman  is  now  postmaster  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  many  others  are  employed  as  stenograph- 


GEORGIA.  587 

ers,  typewriters  and  engrossing  clerks,  the  Governor  himself  hav- 
ing a  woman  stenographer. 

In  1896  Representative  J.  E.  Mosley  succeeded  in  having  an 
ancient  law  amended,  by  which  women  were  made  eligible  to  the 
position  of  State  librarian ;  but  none  has  been  appointed,  although 
one  is  now  assistant. 

.  In  the  opinion  of  State  School  Commissioner  G.  R.  Glenn, 
women  are  eligible  to  sit  on  School  Boards,  but  none  ever  has 
done  so.  Within  the  past  two  years  the  Board  of  Education  in 
Atlanta  has  appointed  a  Board  of  Women  Visitors  to  the  public 
schools,  but  they  can  exercise  no  authority.  Lately  they  have 
been  permitted  to  be  present  at  the  meetings  of  the  board  as  listen- 
ers but  they  can  have  no  voice. 

In  July,  1895,  a  committee,  Mrs.  F.  S.  Whiteside,  chairman, 
appeared  before  the  city  council  of  Atlanta  with  a  petition  ask- 
ing for  a  police  matron,  signed  by  more  than  1,000  well-known 
citizens.  On  the  same  day  a  committee  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  Mrs. 
McLendon,  chairman,  presented  a  similar  petition  from  temper- 
ance people.*  The  matter  was  referred  to  the  police  committee, 
who  "laid  it  on  the  table"  and  it  never  was  heard  from  afterward. 

In  1897  a  woman  was  employed  by  the  Ladies'  Society  of  the 
First  M.  E.  Church  South  to  stay  at  police  barracks  and  serve 
as  matron.  In  May,  1898,  she  was  engaged  by  the  city  at  a  sal- 
ary of  $20  per  month,  but  was  dismissed  without  warning  in 
June  of  the  same  year.  The  different  organizations  of  women 
protested  so  vigorously  that  the  position. of  police  matron  was 
created  by  the  city  council  with  a  salary  of  $40  per  month,  but 
no  matron  has  been  appointed  up  to  date.f 

Women  can  not  serve  as  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS:  Women  may  practice  medicine,  but  are  for- 
bidden by  statute  to  practice  law. 

EDUCATION  :  The  Legislature  of  1889  established  the  State 
Normal  and  Industrial  College  for  Girls  (white)  at  Athens, 
largely  through  the  efforts  of  women.  The  Hon.  W.  Y.  Atkin- 

*  The  Atlanta  South  Side  W.  C.  T.  U.  is  the  only  one  in  the  State  to  adopt  the 
franchise  department.  Mrs.  Isabella  Webb  Parks,  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Union  Signal 
and  also  a  member  of  the  city  suffrage  association,  is  its  superintendent  of  franchise. 

t  In  August,  1901,  a  police  matron  was  at  last  appointed  at  a  salary  of  $30  per  month. 
In  December  one  of  the  police  commissioners  stated  that  she  was  invaluable  and  he  did 
not  see  how  they  ever  had  managed  to  get  on  without  a  matron. 


588  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

son,  afterward  Governor,  championed  the  bill.  No  woman  is 
eligible  to  serve  as  president  of  this  college.  A  board  of  Women 
Visitors  was  appointed  by  Governor  Atkinson. 

Considerable  effort  has  been  made  by  the  Georgia  Federation 
of  Woman's  Clubs  to  have  the  doors  of  the  State  University 
opened  to  women.  At  present  they  are  permitted  to  enter  cer- 
tain departments  of  the  branch  colleges  in  different  parts  of  the 
State,  but  not  to  enter  the  University  itself  upon  any  terms,  be- 
ing thus  deprived  of  the  highest  educational  facilities. 

The  State  Normal  School  and  the  North  Georgia  Agricul- 
tural College  (both  white),  the  Georgia  State  Industrial  College 
(colored)  and  the  Atlanta  University  (white  and  colored)  are 
co-educational. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  4,168  men  and  4,811  women 
teachers.  It  is  impossible  to  obtain  the  average  monthly  sala- 
ries, but  those  of  women  are  estimated  to  be  two-thirds  of  those 
paid  to  men. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

IDAHO.* 

Idaho  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State  in  1890.  Pre- 
vious to  this  time  there  had  been  practically  no  work  done  for 
woman  suffrage  in  the  Territory  except  that  of  Mrs.  Abigail 
Scott  Duniway  of  Oregon.  Between  1876  and  1895  she  gave 
146  public  lectures,  at  the  same  time  securing  subscribers  to  her 
paper,  the  New  Northwest,  devoted  to  the  interests  of  women, 
and  distributing  literature.  She  traveled  12,000  miles  by  river, 
rail,  stage  and  buckboard  and  canvassed  many  a  mile  on  foot. 

In  1887  Mrs.  Duniway  addressed  the  Territorial  Legislature 
in  behalf  of  a  bill  to  enfranchise  women.  In  1889  she  appealed 
to  the  constitutional  convention  at  Boise  to  adopt  a  woman  suf- 
frage clause.  Judge  William  H.  Claggett,  the  president,  and  a 
majority  of  the  members  favored  it,  but  yielded  to  the  fears  of 
the  minority  that  it  would  endanger  the  acceptance  of  the  con- 
stitution by  the  voters. 

Judge  Milton  Kelly,  founder  and  for  many  years  editor  of  the 
Bo'ise  Daily  Statesman,  was  one  of  the  early  advocates  of  the 
rights  of  women,  as  also  was  his  wife,  who  was,  indeed,  the  pio- 
neer suffragist  of  Idaho.  Mrs.  Rebecca  Mitchell,  president  of 
the  State  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  was  another 
early  laborer.  At  her  request  Louis  E.  Workman  introduced  a 
bill  into  the  House  of  the  Legislature  of  1893,  asking  for  a  con- 
stitutional amendment  conferring  suffrage  on  women,  and  it  was 
defeated  by  only  two  votes. 

In  a  little  country  schoolhouse,  May  16,  1893,  at  Hagerman, 
Lincoln  County,  the  first  suffrage  society  was  formed.  The  teach- 
er, Mrs.  Elizabeth  Ingram,  was  president  and  prime  mover,  and 
its  members  were  scattered  over  a  territory  of  ten  miles. 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  William  Balderston,  editor  of  the  Boise 
Daily  Statesman,  and  Mrs.  Eunice  Pond  Athey,  secretary  of  the  State  Suffrage  Associa- 
tion during  the  amendment  campaign  of  1896,  when  women  became  enfranchised. 

589 


59°  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Up  to  this  time,  there  had  not  been  any  organized  effort  in 
the  State  to  secure  the  ballot  for  women,  although  there  was  a 
pronounced  sentiment  in  its  favor.  The  real  campaign  began  at 
the  time  of  the  assembling  of  the  Republican  State  Convention 
in  1894.  At  a  conference  of  a  few  friends  of  the  measure  a  reso- 
lution was  prepared  for  presentation,  pledging  the  party  to  sub- 
mit the  question  of  equal  suffrage  to  a  vote.  The  plank  was  in- 
troduced and  championed  by  the  Hon.  W.  E.  Borah.  Mrs.  J. 
Ellen  Foster  of  Washington,  D.  C,  addressed  the  convention,  and 
the  Hon.  Edgar  Wilson  urged  the  adoption  of  the  resolution, 
which  was  done  with  little  or  no  opposition. 

The  Populist  State  Convention  passed  a  similar  resolution,  but 
it  was  not  adopted  by  the  Democratic. 

As  a  result  of  the  election  the  Republicans  were  placed  in  over- 
whelming control  of  the  Legislature,  and  the  desired  joint  reso- 
lution submitting  the  question  to  a  vote  was  passed  unanimously 
in  the  Senate  on  January  1 1,  and  by  33  yeas,  2  nays  in  the  House 
on  Jan.  17,  1895. 

The  campaign  for  woman  suffrage  was  spirited  and  effective. 
In  the  early  part  of  the  year  Mrs.  Duniway  came  to  Boise  and 
held  a  meeting.  A  temporary  organization  was  formed  at  that 
time,  but  for  sufficient  reasons  nothing  was  done  to  start  the 
work  until  some  months  later. 

In  the  summer  the  National  Association  sent  Mrs.  Emma 
Smith  DeVoe  of  Illinois  to  assist  in  organizing  the  State.  She 
lectured  through  June  and  July  and  formed  many  clubs,  often 
making  her  own  appointments  and  overcoming  the  most  discour- 
aging obstacles. 

A  State  convention  was  held  in  Boise  Nov.  20,  1895,  at 
which  officers  were  elected  as  follows:  President,  Mrs.  J.  H. 
Richards;  vice-president,  Mrs.  W.  W.  Woods;  secretary,  Mrs. 
Eunice  Pond  Athey ;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Leah*  Burnside ;  advisory 
board,  Mrs.  Kate  E.  N.  Feltham,  Mrs.  M.  J.  Whitman,  Miss  An- 
nette Bowman.  A  telegram  was  received  from  Miss  Susan  B. 
Anthony,  saying :  "Educate  the  rank  and  file  of  voters  through 
political  party  newspapers  and  meetings." 

To  the  advisory  board  were  added  William  Balderston,*  D.  L. 

*  It  was  through  the  influence  of  Mr.  Balderston  more  than  that  of  any  other  one  man 


IDAHO.  591 

Badley  and  James  A.  McGee.  The  last  having  been  made  chair- 
man of  the  Democratic  State  Central  Committee  was  able  to  be  of 
much  assistance  to  the  suffragists. 

Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns  of  Kansas  came  into  the  State  in  May, 
1896,  in  time  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  advisory  board  at  Nampa 
and  to  render  invaluable  help.  By  order  of  the  board  a  con- 
vention was  called  in  Boise,  July  1-3,  at  which  Mrs.  Johns  was 
present.  The  officers  elected  were :  President,  Mrs.  Whitman ; 
vice-presidents,  Mrs.  Feltham,  Mrs.  Helen  Young,  Idaho's  only 
woman  attorney,  Mrs.  D.  L.  Badley;  secretary,  Mrs.  Athey; 
treasurer,  Mrs.  I.  Herron;  press  committee,  Mrs.  Kate  Green, 
Mrs.  Young,  Mrs.  Minnie  Priest  Dunton.  Thus  organized,  the 
association  conducted  the  final  campaign. 

The  president  authorized  the  secretary  to  send  a  circular  letter 
to  all  clubs  urging  them  to  commence  in  the  precinct  primaries 
the  work  of  securing  suffrage  planks  in  the  platforms  of  the 
several  political  parties.  Wherever  possible  delegates  were  elect- 
ed pledged  to  support  the  amendment. 

Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  national  organiz- 
ing committee,  came  to  Boise  August  14.  On  the  i8th  and  25th 
she  lectured  to  crowded  houses  there  and  captured  her  audiences. 
She  addressed  the  committees  on  resolutions  of  the  different 
party  State  conventions,  and,  with  the  aid  of  Mrs.  Johns,  Major 
and  Mrs.  W.  W.  Woods  and  other  effective  workers,  secured  a 
plank  favoring  the  amendment  in  each  of  the  four  platforms — 
Republican,  Democratic,  Populist  and  Silver  Republican.  Her 
coming  was  opportune  and  her  work  most  valuable.  The  in- 
dorsement by  the  Democratic  convention  was  a  great  achieve- 
ment, and  the  fact  that  the  planks  had  been  inserted  in  all  the 
political  platforms  was  a  strong  point  later  on  in  the  case  before 
the  Supreme  Court.* 

that  the  suffrage  amendment  was  passed  by  the  Legislature.  His  power  politically  was 
felt  during  all  the  campaign.  It  was  only  his  personal  influence  which  secured  for  the 
measure  the  help  of  the  Daily  Statesman  of  Boise,  which  it  was  so  necessary  to  have. 
Through  his  persuasion  the  co-operation  of  the  National  Woman  Suffrage  Association  was 
invited.  He  was  our  principal  adviser  throughout,  and  with  money,  voice  and  pen  aided 
the  cause  in  every  possible  way.  [Eunice  Pond  Athey. 

*  Republican:  We  favor  the  amendments  to  the  constitution  of  this  State  proposed  by 
the  late  Republican  Legislature,  including  equal  suffrage  for  men  and  women,  and  recom- 
mend their  adoption. 

Silver  Republican:  We  favor  the  adoption  of  the  proposed  amendment  to  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  State  providing  for  the  extension  of  the  right  of  suffrage  to  women. 


592  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 

After  the  conventions  Mrs.  Johns  returned  home,  and  Mrs. 
Chapman  Catt  went  to  aid  the  California  campaign,  speaking 
several  times  in  Idaho  en  route. 

Mrs.  Mary  C.  C.  Bradford  of  Colorado  came  in  September. 
For  six  weeks  she  traveled  over  sandhills,  mountains,  valleys 
and  sage  plains,  visiting  points  not  reached  by  other  workers. 
She  organized  fourteen  new  clubs  and  made  many  converts. 
Mrs.  Helen  D.  Harford  of  Oregon  lectured  at  several  places  on 
her  way  to  the  St.  Louis  W.  C.  T.  U.  convention.  Many  cam- 
paign speakers  of  all  political  parties  called  the  attention  of  the 
voters  to  the  amendment,  and  some  gave  a  large  portion  of  their 
time  to  the  cause.  This  proved  of  great  benefit,  reaching  voters 
who  would  not  attend  a  suffrage  meeting. 

Headquarters  were  opened  at  Boise  August  I.  As  three  of 
the  counties  had  no  organizations  whatever,  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  reach  the  precincts  in  these,  as  well  as  in  some  others,  by 
correspondence;  but  by  November  3  there  were  few  without  at 
least  one  active  worker.  Mrs.  Whitman  came  to  Boise  October 
i,  and  labored  zealously  until  the  election.  Previous  to  her 
coming  Miss  Frances  Wood  had  ably  assisted  the  secretary  at 
headquarters. 

The  press  was  carefully  looked  after  during  the  last  three 
months  of  the  campaign,  and  out  of  sixty-five  papers  only  three 
were  openly  opposed.  Seven  thousand  copies  of  the  resolutions 
passed  at  the  suffrage  convention  in  July  were  sent  out ;  also  liter- 
ature presented  by  the  Utah  association,  100  copies  of  the 
Woman's  Tribune  and  3,000  leaflets  from  Mrs.  Clara  Bewick 
Colby,  and  9,000  tracts  purchased  of  the  National  Association.* 

A  strong  factor  in  the  campaign  was  the  large  colony  in  the 
Southern  part  of  the  State  who  were  residents  of  Utah  when 

People's  Party:  Believing  in  equal  rights  to  all  and  special  privileges  to  none,  we  favor 
the  adoption  of  the  pending  woman's  suffrage  amendment  to  the  constitution.  r 

Democratic:  We  recommend  to  the  favorable  consideration  of  the  voters  of  the  State 
the  proposed  constitutional  amendment  granting  equal  suffrage,  believing  that  the  great  - 
question  should  receive  the  earnest  attention  of  every  person  as  an  important  factor  in  the 
future  welfare  of  the  State. 

*  Among  those  who  aided  this  movement  were  Judge  J.  H.  Richards,  the  Hon.  Fremont 
Wood,  Ex-Secretary  of  State  George  J.  Lewis,  Judge  C.  O.  Stocks) ager,  J.  H.  Hawley, 
U.  S.  Marshal  Joseph  Pinkham,  Judge  J.  H.  Beatty,  the  Hon.  J.  A.  McGee,  the  Hon. 
Joseph  Perrault,  the  Hon.  Edgar  Wilson,  and  their  wives;  also  the  wives  of  the  Justices 
of  the  Supreme  Court;  Mesdames  Martha  B.  Keller,  M.  A.  Wright  and  Mina  J.  Mathew, 
and  Miss  Annette  Bowman  of  the  faculty  of  the  State  University. 


IDAHO.  593 

women  voted  there  and  who  believed  in  their  enfranchisement. 
Mrs.  Emily  S.  Richards  of  Utah  did  effective  work  among  them. 

The  amendment  was  voted  upon  at  the  general  election  of 
November,  1896.  The  association  had  had  50,000  dodgers 
printed,  "Vote  for  the  woman  suffrage  amendment."  These 
were  sent  to  every  precinct  in  the  State  and  given  to  voters  on 
election  day  as  a  reminder.  On  that  day  the  local  clubs  did 
heroic  work.  It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  in  detail  the 
final  effort  made  by  the  women.  Mrs.  R.  H.  Leonard,  Sr.,  of 
Silver  City,  and  her  co-workers  stood  all  day,  ankle-deep  in  snow, 
distributing  the  slips  and  urging  the  voters  to  cast  their  ballots  in 
favor  of  the  amendment.  At  many  points  refreshments  were 
served  as  near  the  polls  as  permissible  under  the  law. 

When  the  results  of  the  election  were  officially  announced  it 
was  found  that  there  were  12,126  votes  in  favor  of  the  amend- 
ment and  6,282  against  it — a  majority  of  5,844. 

A  question  arose,  however,  whether  this  was  such  a  majority 
as  is  contemplated  by  the  constitution,  the  number  of  electors 
voting  on  the  amendment  not  being  as  great  as  the  largest  number 
voting  on  the  candidates.  The  constitution  provides  that  "if  a 
majority  of  the  electors  shall  ratify  the  same,  such  amendment 
or  amendments  shall  become  a  part  of  this  constitution."  It  was 
held  by  the  opponents  that  it  would  require  a  majority  of  all  the 
electors  to  ratify  it,  and  the  matter  was  taken  at  once  to  the  Su- 
preme Court.  Attorneys  J.  H.  Hawley,  W.  E.  Borah  and  M.  W. 
Tate  gave  their  services  gratuitously  to  prosecute  the  case. 
Judge  J.  H.  Richards  also  rendered  valuable  assistance. 

After  a  few  weeks  of  anxious  waiting,  this  tribunal,  consist- 
ing of  Judges  Isaac  N.  Sullivan,  Joseph  W.  Huston  and  John  T. 
Morgan,  rendered  a  unanimous  decision  that  a  majority  of  those 
voting  on  the  question  was  sufficient  to  carry  it.  And  thus  the 
women  of  Idaho  were  enfranchised ! 

The  total  expenses  of  this  campaign  were  less  than  $2,500. 

The  city  election  of  Boise,  in  July,  1897,  was  the  first  after 
the  adoption  of  equal  suffrage,  and  the  woman  vote  was  a  most 
important  factor.  The  issue  was  that  of  public  improvements. 
On  this  the  majority  of  women  took  sides  in  favor  of  progress, 
although  the  personnel  of  the  tickets  was  such  that  it  was  thought 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 38 


594  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

they  would  generally  vote  the  other  way;  and  to  them  belongs 
the  credit  of  the  victory. 

The  first  State  election  under  equal  suffrage  was  in  1898,  and 
there  was  very  general  participation  by  women.  In  all  the  coun- 
ties their  clubs  did  effective  work  and  exercised  a  good  influence. 
The  election  was  noticeable  for  its  order  and  the  absence  of  any- 
thing like  the  scenes  at  the  polls  so  common  in  former  times. 
About  40  per  cent,  of  the  vote  was  cast  by  women.  One  of  them, 
Mrs.  B.  T.  Jeffers,  rode  sixty  miles  on  horseback  to  her  old 
home  in  order  to  vote. 

Three  women  were  elected  members  of  the  Legislature,  Mrs. 
Clara  Campbell,  Republican ;  Mrs.  Hattie  Noble,  Democrat ;  Mrs. 
Mary  Allen  Wright,  Populist.  Mrs.  Wright  was  chairman  of 
the  House  Committee  of  the  Whole  during  one  entire  afternoon, 
and  ruled  with  a  firm  but  impartial  hand. 

Four  women  were  elected  county  treasurers,  and  these  have 
given  entire  satisfaction.  One  of  them  has  been  renominated  by 
her  party.  Miss  Permeal  French  was  elected  State  superinten- 
dent of  public  instruction  and  re-elected  in  1900.*  Fifteen  women 
were  chosen  county  superintendents. 

In  nearly  all  the  counties  women  are  found  holding  responsi- 
ble appointments.  Three  have  been  made  deputy  sheriffs.  Since 
equal  suffrage  was  adopted  women  have  been  placed  on  the 
Board  of  Regents  of  the  State  University  for  the  first  time. 

Gov.  Frank  Steunenberg  said  in  1900: 

In  a  general  sense  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  participation  of 
women  in  our  public  affairs  has  had  a  most  elevating  influence. 
All  parties  see  the  necessity  of  nominating  the  best  individuals.  The 
natural  aim  of  women  is  toward  the  highest  good  of  the  community, 
and  the  best  social  conditions.  Instead  of  seeking  extremes  of 
reform,  as  had  been  predicted,  they  are  interested  in  stable  and  con- 
servative administration,  for  the  benefit  of  the  homes  and  the  chil- 
dren, and  they  avoid  radical  and  excessive  reforms.  In  short,  the 
objections  which  in  theory  have  been  urged  against  woman's  par- 
ticipation in  public  affairs  have  been  overcome  by  the  actual  appli- 
cation of  the  system  in  Idaho. 

The  suggestion  may  be  made  that  this  activity  of  women  in  public 

•Gov.  Frank  Steunenberg  thus  testified:  "It  is  conceded  by  all  that  Miss  French 
is  the  best  officer  in  that  capacity  the  State  ever  has  had.  The  place  she  occupies  is 

one  of  unusual  importance  with  us Of  the  three  women  in  the  Legislature  it 

may  also  be  said  that  they  made  most  acceptable  public  officers,  serving  with  ability  and 
success." 


IDAHO.  595 

affairs  has  operated  to  draw  them  away  from  their  homes  and  from 
the  usual  domestic  avocations,  a  suggestion  which  our  experience 
amply  disproves.  In  Idaho  women  are  to-day  the  same  loving 
wives,  kind  mothers  and  capable  home-managers  that  they  always 
have  been.  Nor  has  there  been  the  least  belittling  of  the  sex  in  the 
eyes  of  the  men,  nor  any  falling  off  in  that  tenderness  and  respect 
which  men  universally  accord  to  women.  There  is  not  the  slightest 
interruption  of  family  ties.  Whether  husband  and  wife  vote  to- 
gether or  oppositely  excites  no  interest  and  no  animosity,  although 
naturally  families  are  apt  to  have  the  same  party  affiliations.  The 
system  has  not  operated  to  take  women  from  their  homes,  nor  has  it 
tended  to  make  them  in  any  way  masculine.* 

In  the  presidential  election  of  1900  women  showed  the  liveliest 
interest.  The  universal  testimony  was  that  never  in  the  history 
of  the  State  had  there  been  such  order  about  the  polling-places. 
Four-fifths  of  the  ballots  were  cast  by  i  o'clock.  The  women 
did  as  effective  work  as  the  men  in  getting  out  the  voters. 

The  total  population  of  Idaho  is  161,762,  and  is  composed,  in 
round  numbers,  of  58  per  cent,  of  males  and  42  per  cent,  of  fe- 
males. The  total  vote  of  the  men  was  55,096;  of  the  women, 
19,660.  In  the  counties  representing  the  agricultural,  manufac- 
turing and  general  business  of  the  State  the  women's  vote  aver- 
aged 41  per  cent,  of  the  total  ballot.  In  the  counties  devoted 
exclusively  t&  mining,  where  there  are  very  few  women,  they 
cast  only  24  per  cent.  This  brought  the  average  of  the  women's 
vote  in  the  entire  State  down  to  35  1-2  per  cent,  of  the  total. 

In  Boise  1,982  men  and  1,561  women  registered;  total,  3,543. 
The  vote  cast  was  3,281.  Allowing  for  the  usual  failures  on  the 
part  of  the  men,  these  figures  show  that  over  40  per  cent,  of  the 
vote  of  this  city  must  have  been  cast  by  women,  f 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  The  placing  of  the  ballot 
in  the  hands  of  women  has  had  the  effect  of  bringing  about  two 
changes  of  the  highest  importance.  The  session  of  the  Legisla- 

*  See  Appendix — Testimony  from  Woman  Suffrage  States. 

t  Prof.  L.  F.  Henderson  of  the  State  University  says  that  equal  suffrage,  even  in  the 
few  years  it  has  been  in  operation  in  Idaho,  has  proved  itself  a  thing  so  simple,  so 
natural,  so  entirely  free  from  any  objectionable  features,  that  it  is  now  generally  accepted 
and  looked  upon  as  a  matter  of  course.  It  has  already  converted  the  majority  of  the 
men  who  were  opposed  and,  which  is  still  more  remarkable,  has  converted  also  the 
majority  of  the  women. 

Mrs.  Henderson  says  the  intelligent  women  take  more  interest  in  suffrage  than  the 
ignorant  ones;  that  women  have  suffered  no  loss  of  consideration  or  social  influence,  but 
are  treated,  if  anything,  with  more  respect.  The  possession  of  the  ballot  has  made  them 
much  more  intelligent  about  public  questions,  as  it  has  stimulated  the  study  of  these. 


596  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ture  held  immediately  after  the  adoption  of  the  suffrage  amend- 
ment passed  an  act  prohibiting  gambling.  Prior  to  that  time  it 
had  been  licensed  in  the  State,  and  its  establishments  were  openly 
conducted  in  practically  all  communities.  Against  this  evil  the 
sentiment  of  the  women  was  solidly  arrayed,  and  it  could  not  be 
ignored.  Before  they  voted,  a  bill  altering  the  law  would  have 
been  ignominiously  pigeon-holed,  but  the  ballot  in  their  hands 
wrought  a  change  under  which  a  measure  abolishing  gambling 
was  enacted.  This  was  found  defective,  and  gambling  continued 
until  the  next  legislative  session.  The  gambling  interests  organ- 
ized a  lobby  to  prevent  the  enactment  of  a  valid  law  against 
their  business,  but  they  failed,  the  law  was  passed,  and  gambling 
has  since  been  suppressed  in  nearly  all  communities.  The  senti- 
ment which  obtained  the  law  secures  its  enforcement — men  do 
not  dare  run  counter  to  the  wishes  of  women,  when  the  latter 
have  in  their  hands  the  power  to  make  or  unmake  politicians. 

The  present  session  of  the  Legislature  (1900)  passed  a  bill 
exempting  women  from  jury  service.  Gov.  Frank  \V.  Hunt 
returned  it  with  his  veto,  in  which  he  said  that  this  was  in  re- 
sponse to  the  protests  of  the  women  themselves,  who  objected 
to  being  deprived  of  this  right.  There  was  some  talk  in  the  Leg- 
islature of  passing  it  over  his  veto,  but  this  was  finally  abandoned. 
The  women  took  the  ground  that  while  the  ostensible  object  was 
to  relieve  them  of  an  onerous  duty,  the  real  one  was  to  protect 
the  gamblers  and  other  law-breakers  to  whom  women  jurors 
show  no  favor. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Governor  Hunt  could  not  have  been 
influenced  by  the  protests  of  women  on  another  point.  The  law 
of  Idaho  provides  that  while  a  wife  may  hold  property  in  her 
own  name,  the  husband  shall  have  control  of  it.  The  present 
Legislature  passed  an  act  giving  married  women  control  of  their 
separate  property.  This  was  vetoed  by  the  Governor,  who  said : 

Our  statutes  as  they  now  exist  provide  complete  adjustment  of 
the  property  relations  between  man  and  wife,  placing  them  upon 
equal  terms,  excepting  that  the  husband  has  the  management  and 
control  of  his  wife's  property  during  marriage,  unless  it  should  be 
taken  from  him  on  complaint  of  the  wife  for  causes  set  forth  in 
Sec.  2,499. 

As  the  law  stands  the  wife  can  secure  control  over  her  own 


IDAHO.  597 

property  only  by  going-  into  court,  showing  that  her  husband  is 
mismanaging  it,  and  obtaining  a  decree  taking  it  away  from  him. 

The  law  regarding  the  inheritance  of  the  separate  estates  is 
the  same  for  husband  and  wife,  but  not  so  of  the  community. 
Upon  the  death  of  the  wife  the  entire  community  property  be- 
longs to  the  husband  without  administration.  Upon  the  death 
of  the  husband  one-half  the  community  property  belongs  to  the 
wife ;  the  other  half  is  subject  to  his  testamentary  disposition,  or 
in  the  absence  of  that  goes  to  his  descendants  in  equal  shares. 
If  he  leave  neither  will  nor  descendants,  it  goes  to  the  wife. 

The  earnings  of  the  wife  belong  to  the  husband  unless  she  is 
living  separate  from  him. 

No  provision  is  made  compelling  the  husband  to  support  the 
wife,  but  if  he  is  infirm  she  must  support  him. 

If  the  wife  desire  to/ engage  in  business  she  must  apply  to  the 
court  for  permission,  showing  the  necessity  for  it ;  and  every  time 
she  wishes  to  remove  to  another  place  she  must  repeat  this 
process. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  children.  At  his  death 
the  mother,  if  suitable,  is  guardian  while  she  remains  unmarried. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10  to  14 
years  in  1893,  and  from  14  to  1 8  in  1895.  The  penalty  is  im- 
prisonment in  the  penitentiary  for  not  less  than  five  years,  and 
this  may  be  extended  for  life. 

SUFFRAGE:    Women  have  complete  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  Women  are  eligible  to  all  offices.  (See 
previous  pages.) 

OCCUPATIONS  :     Naturally  none  are  forbidden  to  women. 

EDUCATION  :  The  State  University  and  all  other  educational 
institutions  are  open  to  both  sexes. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  344  men  and  558  women  teach- 
ers. The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $56.11;  of  the 
women,  $44.83. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

ILLINOIS.* 

The  Illinois  Equal  Suffrage  Association  has  had  only  four 
presidents  in  the  past  sixteen  years.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Boynton 
Harbert  retired  from  this  office  at  the  annual  meeting  of  Sept.  25, 
1884,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Holmes,  who  served 
until  the  autumn  of  1889,  when  Mrs.  Harbert  again  filled  the 
presidency  for  one  year.  At  the  convention  of  1890  Mrs.  Holmes 
was  re-elected,  and  held  office  until  her  resignation  in  1897. 
In  May  of  this  year,  Mrs.  Julia  Mills  Dunn  was  elected.  In  1899 
Mrs.  Catharine  Waugh  McCulloch  was  made  president,  and  in 
1900  Mrs.  Harbert  resumed  the  position  for  one  year.  The 
other  officers  elected  were:  Vice-president,  Dr.  Julia  Holmes 
Smith;  corresponding  secretary,  Mrs.  Mary  Munn;  recording 
secretary,  Miss  S.  Grace  Nicholas;  treasurer,  the  Rev.  Kate 
Hughes;  chairman  executive  committee,  Mrs.  Elmina  E. 
Springer. 

As  the  work  is  divided  into  districts  and  counties,  and  as  there 
are  twenty-two  districts  and  102  counties  partially  organized,  it 
will  not  be  possible  to  name  in  this  chapter  the  hundreds  of  quiet 
but  very  efficient  workers,  men  and  women,  or  to  tell  of  their 
unselfish  devotion,  shown  often  in  the  face  of  fierce  opposition. 

The  association  has  held  a  State  convention  each  year,  except 
1893,  tne  vear  °f  tne  Columbian  Exposition  in  Chicago,  when 
it  was  decided  instead  to  attend  the  World's  Congress  of  Repre- 
sentative Women,  which  met  in  May.f  At  many  of  these  meet- 
ings national  officers  were  present,  among  them  Susan  B.  An- 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Holmes  of  Chicago,  who  has 
been  officially  connected  with  the  State  Equal  Suffrage  Association  since  1884. 

t  State  conventions  have  been  held  as  follows:  Watseka,  1884;  Geneseo,  1885;  Sand- 
wich, 1886;  Galva,  1887;  Rockford,  1888;  Joliet,  1889;  Moline,  1890;  Kewanee,  1891; 
Aurora,  1892;  Chicago  (World's  Fair),  1893;  Danville,  1894;  Decatur,  1895;  Harvey,  1896; 
Waukegan,  1897;  Springfield,  1898;  Barry,  1899.  The  twenty-seventh  annual  meeting 
took  place  in  Edgewater,  Oct.  n,  it,  1900. 

598 


ILLINOIS,  599 

thony  and  Lucy  Stone,  and  the  halls  were  seldom  large  enough  to 
accommodate  the  crowds  in  attendance.  There  have  been  also 
district  and  county  conventions  every  year,  while  Fourth  of  July 
celebrations,  county  fairs  and  Chautauqua  assemblies  have  been 
utilized  to  disseminate  suffrage  sentiment. 

In  1888  Senator  Miles  B.  Castle,  Judge  C.  B.  Waite,  Mrs. 
Dunn  and  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Cougar,  the  last-named  from  Indiana, 
held  suffrage  conferences  in  various  cities.  Later  in  this  and  the 
following  year,  similar  meetings  were  held  in  a  number  of  other 
places  by  the  Illinois  workers,  with  the  assistance  of  Mrs.  Cougar 
and  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw. 

In  1891  occurred  a  series  of  conventions  which  extended  over 
six  weeks  and  was  conducted  by  Mrs.  Zerelda  G.  Wallace  of 
Indiana  and  Mrs.  McCulloch.  In  November  Mrs.  Holmes  made 
a  two-weeks'  lecturing  trip. 

In  1892  and  '93  Mrs.  Emma  Smith  DeVoe  canvassed  the  State, 
speaking  in  nearly  fifty  towns  and  cities,  and  raising  enough 
money  to  defray  all  expenses  and  put  a  handsome  amount  in  the 
treasury  for  legislative  work. 

In  March,  1893,  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the 
national  organization  committee,  made  a  lecture  tour  of  the  cen- 
tral and  southern  part  of  Illinois. 

In  1897  the  National  Association  held  a  series  of  meetings 
in  Illinois  with  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay  of  New  York,  Mrs.  Jennie 
Hutchins,  Mrs.  Leonora  Beck,  as  managers,  and  Mrs.  Dunn  and 
the  Rev.  Ida  C.  Hultin  as  speakers.  During  the  summer  Mrs. 
Dunn,  with  Mrs.  Martha  A.  B.  Conine  of  Colorado  lectured  in 
numerous  cities;  and  in  November  the  national  officers  held  a 
conference  in  Chicago,  in  which  Miss  Anthony  and  Miss  Shaw, 
president  and  vice-president  of  the  National  Association,  Mrs. 
Chapman  Catt  and  also  many  local  workers  participated. 

In  1898  Miss  Lena  Morrow  made  speeches  for  the  State  as- 
sociation and  spent  a  month  lecturing  before  labor  organizations. 
She  secured  suffrage  resolutions  from  unions  representing  a 
membership  of  25,000. 

Mrs.  McCulloch  gave  the  month  of  June,  1890,  to  canvassing 
South  Dakota  in  the  interest  of  the  suffrage  amendment  there; 
and  in  the  fall  of  1898  Mrs.  Dunn  and  Miss  Morrow  were  sent 


6OO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

to  that  State  to  assist  in  its  second  campaign  for  one  month,  at 
the  expense  of  the  Illinois  association.  Miss  Morrow  worked 
also  in  the  amendment  campaign  of  1900  in  Oregon  for  two-and- 
one-half  months,  a  portion  of  her  expenses  being  contributed  by 
Illinois  suffragists. 

The  Chicago  Political  Equality  League  was  organized  by  Miss 
Ellen  A.  Martin,  who  was  at  its  head  for  many  years. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  In  1891,  at  the  request  of 
the  State  E.  S.  A.,  a  joint  resolution  was  presented  to  the  Legis- 
lature for  an  amendment  to  the  constitution  enfranchising 
women.  This  was  championed  in  the  House  by  George  \V.  Cur- 
tis and  brought  to  a  vote.  It  received  54  votes,  a  majority  of 
those  cast  but  not  a  constitutional  majority,  which  is  one  over 
one-half  of  the  whole  membership.  Charles  Bogardus  managed 
the  bill  in  the  Senate,  but  was  not  able  to  secure  a  vote  upon  it. 
The  hard  work  for  this  Amendment  Bill,  however,  paved  the  way 
for  the  passage  of  the  School  Suffrage  Bill  later  in  the  session. 

This  bill  had  been  prepared  by  the  State  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union,  and  was  introduced  into  the  Senate  by  T.  C. 
MacMillan.  Although  there  were  many  more  petitions  asking 
for  the  amendment  than  for  School  Suffrage,  their  combined 
influence,  with  Senator  MacMillan's  earnest  work,  was  sufficient 
to  pass  this  bill  through  the  Senate  by  29  ayes,  4  noes.  At  the 
closing  hour  of  the  last  session  in  the  House,  Dr.  H.  M.  Moore, 
one  of  the  members  of  a  third  party  that  finally  had  assisted  the 
Democrats  to  elect  John  M.  Palmer  as  United  States  Senator, 
made  an  urgent  plea  that  something  should  be  done  for  the 
women ;  and  because  of  his  eloquence,  or  the  gratitude  of  the 
Democrats,  or  the  keen  sense  of  justice  among  all  the  members, 
the  Senate  School  Suffrage  Bill  was  passed  by  83  ayes,  43  noes. 

As  it  was  the  general  impression  that  women  had  received 
the  full  School  Franchise  by  this  bill,  they  proceeded  to  vote  on 
bonds,  location  of  buildings  and  various  other  matters  pertain- 
ing to  the  schools,  and  also  for  county  superintendents.  The  bill 
was  obscurely  worded,  and  it  has  taken  four  decisions  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Illinois  to  decide  just  the  points  which  it 
covered  and  the  limits  to  which  it  might  be  constitutionally  ex- 
tended. As  it  now  stands,  under  this  law  women  can  vote  only 


ILLINOIS.  60 1 

for  candidates  for  such  school  offices  as  have  been  created  by  the 
Legislature.  (See  Suffrage.) 

However,  this  bill  was  useful  in  securing  from  the  Supreme 
Court  the  ruling  that  the  Legislature  had  power  to  regulate  the 
suffrage  concerning  all  positions  created  by  itself.  Heretofore 
the  weight  of  judicial  opinion  had  been  the  other  way;  that  no 
change  whatever  could  be  made  in  the  suffrage  except  by  consti- 
tutional amendment.* 

During  the  session  of  1893  R.  W.  Coon  secured  the  passage 
in  the  Senate  of  a  Township  Suffrage  Bill  prepared  by  the  State 
association.  Its  members  argued  that  if  school  offices  not  named 
in  the  constitution  are  creations  of  the  Legislature,  so  are  most 
of  the  township  offices  and  therefore  it  has  power  to  grant  women 
the  suffrage  for  these.  This  bill  was  accompanied  by  a  petition 
of  12,000  names.  Senator  Bogardus  made  a  spirited  report  on 
these,  extolling  the  character  of  the  signers,  whose  standing  he 
had  ascertained  from  the  senators  of  their  districts.  It  passed 
the  Senate  by  26  votes,  a  constitutional  majority.  In  the  House 
the  committee  reported  it  favorably,  many  members  pledged 
themselves  to  its  support,  and  it  went  through  the  second  reading 
safely;  but  just  when  expectation  ran  highest,  it  was  referred 
back  to  the  committee  and  smothered. 

In  this  same  Legislature  a  bill  to  repeal  the  School  Suffrage 
Law  was  defeated  in  the  House,  less  than  40  of  the  153  members 
voting  aye.  It  was  not  brought  to  a  vote  in  the  Senate. 

In  1895  Senator  Coon  introduced  the  Township  Bill  again, 
but  owing  to  absentees  it  received  only  23  votes,  26  being  neces- 
sary to  pass  it.  Fearing  that  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the 
House  were  pledged  to  vote  for  it,  the  chairman  of  the  commit- 
tee to  which  it  was  referred  made  a  sub-committee  of  three 
notorious  opponents  who  took  care  that  it  never  was  reported. 

In  1897  Senator  G.  W.  Monroe  took  charge  of  the  State  asso- 
ciation's measures.  Bills  for  Township  and  Bond  Suffrage,  and 

*  Among  the  officers  for  whom  the  Legislature  has  the  power  to  allow  women  to  vote 
are  Presidential  electors,  members  of  the  State  Board  of  Equalization,  clerk  of  the 
Appellate  Court,  county  collector,  county  surveyor,  members  of  the  Board  of  Assessors, 
sanitary  district  trustees,  members  of  the  Board  of  Review,  all  officers  of  cities,  villages 
and  towns  (except  police  magistrates),  supervisor,  town  clerk,  assessor,  collector  and 
highway  commissioner. 

The  Legislature  has  power  also  to  permit  women  to  vote  on  general  questions  sub- 
mitted to  the  electors,  besides  voting  in  all  annual  and  special  town  meetings. 


6O2  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

for  suffrage  for  certain  city,  county  and  township  officers  and  for 
Presidential  electors,  were  introduced  by  him  but  failed  to  pass. 

In  the  special  session  of  1898  only  such  matters  could  be  con- 
sidered as  were  named  by  Gov.  John  R.  Tanner  in  calling  it. 
The  State  association  petitioned  him  to  include  woman  suffrage 
in  the  list,  but  he  did  not  grant  the  request.  One  of  the  subjects 
named  was  taxation.  The  association  prepared  a  bill  to  exempt 
the  property  of  women  from  taxation  until  they  were  allowed 
to  vote.  All  the  metropolitan  papers  were  interested  in  or 
amused  by  this  bill,  and  gave  it  considerable  publicity,  but  it  was 
not  acted  upon. 

In  1899  the  three  bills  championed  by  Senator  Monroe  in 
1897  were  managed  by  Senator  Isaac  H.  Hamilton.  He  forced 
two  of  them  to  a  vote,  but  neither  received  a  majority. 

During  all  this  time  Mrs.  Catharine  Waugh  McCulloch,  a 
practicing  lawyer  of  Chicago,  auditor  of  the  National  Associa- 
tion and  former  president  of  the  State  E.  S.  A.,  was  the  very 
efficient  legislative  superintendent.  She  pressed  the  bills  with  a 
force  which  almost  brought  success  by  its  own  momentum,  and 
yet  by  her  good  judgment  and  fair  methods  kept  the  respect  of 
legislators  who  were  bitterly  opposed  to  her  measures.* 

Sometimes  the  hearings  on  these  bills  occurred  in  the  Senate 
Chamber  or  the  House  of  Representatives.  One  of  the  most 
noteworthy  was  in  1895,  when  about  twenty  women,  represent- 
ing many  different  localities,  societies  and  nationalities,  made 
clever  five-minute  speeches. 

The  State  association  has  sent  the  Woman's  Journal,  the 
Woman's  Column  and  other  suffrage  literature  to  members  of 
the  Legislature  for  months  at  a  time.  Petitions  always  have 
accompanied  the  bills.  Added  to  those  presented  in  1899  were 
resolutions  adopted  by  various  Chicago  labor  organizations  of 
men,  representing  a  membership  of  25,000.  The  petitions  of  the 
State  association  generally  have  exceeded  all  those  presented  for 
all  other  measures.! 

*  During  these  years  various  suffrage  bills  were  introduced  by  other  organizations. 
The  school  board  of  Winnetka  had  one  to  give  women  a  right  to  vote  on  all  matters 
relating  to  schools;  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  one  for  a  constitutional  amendment;  and  members  of 
the  Legislature  occasionally  on  their  own  responsibility  introduced  bills. 

t  In  1891  an  anti-suffrage  petition,  signed  by  twelve  persons,  aroused  some  interest 
on  account  of  its  novelty.  In  later  Legislatures  their  petitions  do  not  seem  to  have 


ILLINOIS.  603 

There  has  been  no  distinction  between  husband  and  wife  in 
the  laws  of  inheritance  since  1873.  The  surviving  wife  or  hus- 
band is  endowed  of  a  third  part  of  all  the  real  estate  of  which 
the  other  dies  possessed.  If  either  die  without  a  will,  leaving  a 
surviving  child  or  children,  or  descendants  of  such,  the  survivor 
receives,  in  addition,  one-third  of  the  personal  estate  absolutely. 
If,  however,  there  are  no  lineal  descendants,  the  widow  or  wid- 
ower receives  absolutely  one-half  of  the  real  estate  and  the  whole 
of  the  personal  estate.  If  there  are  no  descendants  and  no  kin- 
dred, the  whole  estate  goes  to  the  surviving  widow  or  widower. 

A  married  woman  has  held  her  property  in  her  own  name 
since  1861.  She  has  been  entitled  to  engage  in  business,  control 
her  earnings,  sue  and  be  sued  and  make  contracts  since  1869. 

Until  1901  the  father  was  entitled  to  the  care  of  the  persons 
and  education  of  the  minor  children.  In  1898  Mrs.  McCulloch 
published,  in  the  form  of  a  story  called  Mr.  Lex,  a  resume  of  the 
terrible  injustice  and  cruelty  possible  under  this  law;  and  also 
pointed  out  the  same  possibilities  in  the  administration  of  other 
laws  which  seem  entirely  fair  to  the  casual  observer.  It  was 
widely  reviewed  by  the  Chicago  press  and  aroused  much  interest. 
In  the  winter  of  1901  a  bill  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  giving 
fathers  and  mothers  equal  guardianship  and  custody  of  their 
minor  children.  Mrs.  McCulloch,  representing  the  State  E.  S. 
,  A.,  had  charge  of  t{iis  bill.  A  copy  of  her  book,  Mr.  Lex,  was 
sent  to  every  member,  as  well  as  the  full  facts  from  every  State 
which  had  such  a  law  as  the  one  proposed.  She  also  obtained 
the  indorsement  of  numerous  organizations  and  influential  per- 
sons, and  had  many  individual  letters  written  to  members.  All 
this  simply  to  give  mothers  equal  guardianship  with  fathers  of 
their  own  children ! 

Mrs.  McCulloch  was  ably  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Kate  Hughes. 
The  bill  passed  by  the  large  vote  of  34  ayes,  8  noes,  in  the  Senate ; 
119  ayes,  one  no,  in  the  House.  It  was  signed  by  Gov.  Richard 
Yates  on  May  18. 

The  wife  is  entitled  to  support  suited  to  her  condition  in  life. 
The  husband  is  entitled  to  the  same  support  out  of  her  individual 
property.  They  are  jointly  liable  for  family  expenses.  Failure 

appeared,  but  some  of  those   twelve  signers  can   be   found   composing  the   Chicago  Anti- 
Suffrage   Society   of   the   present   day. 


604  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

to  support  the  wife  and  children  under  twelve  years  of  age  is  a 
misdemeanor,  and  may  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than 
$100  or  more  than  $500,  or  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail, 
house  of  correction  or  workhouse  not  less  than  one  month  nor 
more  than  twelve  months,  or  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment. 
The  wife  may  sue  for  separate  maintenance  without  divorce. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10  to  14 
years  in  1887,  but  it  never  has  been  possible  to  have  this  age  ex- 
tended. The  penalty  is  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  for 
from  one  year  to  life. 

In  1893  Mrs.  Florence  Kelley  and  Miss  Mary  Kenney,  aided 
by  the  women's  and  men's  labor  organizations  of  Chicago  and 
by  many  women's  clubs,  secured  a  Factory  Inspection  Law.  It 
contained  a  prohibition  against  the  employment  of  a  woman 
over  eight  hours  daily  in  any  factory  or  workshop,  but  this  sec- 
tion was  declared  unconstitutional  because  it  was  a  restriction 
upon  the  right  to  contract. 

SUFFRAGE:  The  Legislature  which  adjourned  in  1891  left 
the  School  Suffrage  Law  obscure,  incomplete  and  with  no  pro- 
visions to  carry  out  its  intentions.  In  many  cases  the  women  had 
to  provide  their  own  ballots  and  ballot-boxes.  To  the  credit  of 
the  large  majority  of  the  judges  of  election  it  can  be  said  that  they 
accepted  the  votes  of  the  women  with  no  certainty  that  they  were 
acting  legally  or  would  be  sustained  by  future  decisions.  In  a 
number  of  instances,  however,  in  the  more  ignorant  parts  of  the 
State,  the  votes  were  insolently  refused. 

In  the  country  and  unincorporated  towns,  in  villages  and  small 
cities,  where  the  school  boards  are  elected  by  the  people,  there 
are  a  number  of  officers  for  whom  women  may  vote;*  but  in 
places  like  Chicago,  where  the  board  is  appointed  by  the  mayor, 
the  only  vote  they  have  is  for  three  trustees  of  the  State  Uni- 
versity every  two  years. 

In  the  summer  and  fall  of  1893  the  officers  of  the  State  associa- 
tion agitated  the  question  of  asking,  for  the  nomination  of  a 
woman  as  one  of  these  trustees,  and  in  March,  1894,  the  conven- 

*  In  April,  1891,  fifteen  women  of  Lombard  voted  at  the  municipal  election  under  a 
special  charter  which  gave  the  franchise  to  citizens  over  twenty-one  years  of  age.  The 
judges  were  about  to  refuse  the  votes,  but  Miss  Ellen  A.  Martin,  of  the  law  firm  of  Perry 
&  Martin  in  Chicago,  argued  the  legal  points  so  conclusively  that  they  were  accepted. 
No  one  has  contested  that  election,  and  the  women  have  established  their  right  to  vote. 


ILLINOIS.  605 

tion  in  Danville  approved  this  suggestion.  The  auxiliary  socie- 
ties were  urged  to  use  all  their  influence  to  have  delegates  from 
their  counties  to  the  State  political  conventions  instructed  to 
vote  for  a  woman  candidate.  Later  in  the  spring  several,  of  the 
suffrage  officers  and  prominent  women  of  Chicago  appeared  be- 
fore the  Republican  State  Central  Committee,  and  the  same  day 
visited  the  Republican  State  Editorial  Association,  asking  their 
influence  to  secure  the  nomination  of  a  woman  for  trustee.  Let- 
ters were  sent  to  200  leading  politicians  of  different  parties  giv- 
ing reasons  why  such  action  should  be  taken  and  asking  for  their 
co-operation.  Personal  appeals  were  made  to  the  editors  of  the 
Chicago  dailies  for  their  influence. 

Then  came  the  most  important  work  of  all — securing  the  in- 
dorsement of  the  Cook  County  conventions.  Previous  to  that 
of  the  Republicans  Mrs.  McCulloch  interviewed  leading  mem- 
bers of  the  county  committee  and  received  an  invitation  to  pre- 
sent the  matter  to  the  convention,  which  she  did,  representing 
both  the  State  E.  S.  A.  and  the  Woman's  Club  of  Chicago.  Mrs. 
Elmina  D.  Springer  also  made  an  address.  They  were  invited 
to  meet  the  resolutions  committee,  were  treated  with  great  cour- 
tesy, and  the  resolution  asking  that  delegates  to  the  State  con- 
vention be  instructed  to  vote  as  a  unit  for  the  nomination  of  a 
woman  for  University  trustee,  was  adopted. 

The  Chicago  Woman's  Club  sent  fifty  women  to  the  Cook 
County  Democratic  Convention  and  secured  the  same  pledge. 

Committees  were  then  appointed  to  manage  this  question  in 
the  State  conventions  of  the  parties.  Just  a  few  days  before  the 
first  (Democratic),  the  attorney-general,  who  was  a  Democrat, 
gave  the  opinion  that  women  could  not  legally  vote  for  .trustees 
or  be  trustees,  and  published  it  widely  in  the  Chicago  press.  Mrs. 
McCulloch  followed  him  with  a  carefully  prepared  brief  which 
also  was  given  to  the  press.  This  new  difficulty  made  it  impera- 
tive for  her  to  attend  the  Democratic  State  Convention  to  pre- 
sent her  view  of  the  disputed  legal  point,  and  this  she  did  with 
marked  success.  Whenever  any  of  the  delegates  said,  "Why, 
haven't  you  read  Maloney's  opinion  that  a  woman  can  not  hold 
the  office  or  vote  for  trustee?"  she  would  answer,  "Yes,  but 
haven't  you  read  my  opinion  that  she  can?"  She  addres.sed  the 


606  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 

entire  convention,  and  the  nomination  of  Dr.  Julia  Holmes 
Smith  was  made  unanimously.  The  other  political  parties  then 
had  to  follow  with  the  nomination  of  a  woman  or  fall  behind  the 
Democrats  in  chivalry. 

As  the  Chicago  Woman's  Club  sent  a  strong  representation  to 
the  Republican  convention,  and  as  pledges  already  had  been  se- 
cured from  the  delegates,  the  committee  appointed  by  the  suffrage 
association  did  not  deem  it  necessary  to  attend.  Mrs.  Lucy  L. 
Flower  was  nominated  by  this  body. 

The  Prohibitionists  nominated  two  women,  one  of  them  the 
secretary  of  the  Illinois  E.  S.  A.,  Prof.  Rena  Michaels  Atchison. 

This  recognition  from  the  different  parties  so  encouraged  the 
women  that  in  1894  they  voted  enthusiastically  throughout  the 
State,  especially  in  Chicago  where  the  candidates  were  well 
known.  Before  the  election,  however,  a  difficulty  arose  from  an 
unexpected  quarter.  The  men  composing  the  Board  of  Uni- 
versity Trustees  became  alarmed,  and  employed  an  attorney  who 
gave  an  opinion  that  women  neither  could  vote  for  trustees  nor 
be  elected  to  the  office.  He  rushed  into  print;  Mrs.  McCulloch, 
who  might  have  been  worn  to  shreds  by  this  time,  patiently 
answered  the  young  man,  and  "the  women  went  right  on  voting." 

Professor  Atchison  had  the  compliment  of  receiving  about 
3,000  votes  more  than  the  men  on  the  same  ticket  as  herself,  and 
Dr.  Smith  likewise  ran  ahead  of  her  ticket.*  Mrs.  Flower  was 
the  successful  candidate,  also  leading  the  nominees  of  her  party. 

The  Republican  women  organized  by  appointing  a  State  Cen- 
tral Committee,  and  placed  upon  it  a  woman  from  each  congres- 
sional district,  t  The  Democratic  women  formed  a  Cornelia 
Club  which  worked  for  the  interest  of  their  party's  nominee. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  A  statute  of  Illinois  (1873)  provides  that 
no  person  shall  be  debarred  from  any  occupation,  profession  or 
employment  (except  the  military),  on  account  of  sex,  and  that 

*  Although  Dr.  Smith  was  defeated  she  was  really  the  first  woman  who  served  as 
trustee  of  the  State  University,  for  Gov.  John  P.  Altgeld  appointed  her  to  fill  a  mem- 
ber's unexpired  term  and  she  took  her  seat  one  month  before  Mrs.  Flower,  serving 
eighteen  months.  At  the  next  election  her  name  was  again  placed  on  the  Democratic 
ticket,  which  was  again  defeated. 

t  They  continued  to  hold  delegate  conventions  every  two  years  to  nominate  a  woman 
for  trustee,  until  the  Primary  Election  Law,  recently  passed,  provided  that  delegates 
to  nominating  conventions  must  be  elected  at  the  polls. 


ILLINOIS.  607 

this  shall  not  be  construed  to  affect  the  eligibility  of  any  person 
to  an  elective  office.* 

The  following  have  served  as  trustees  of  the  State  University : 
Mrs.  Lucy  L.  Flower,  Dr.  Julia  Holmes  Smith,  Mrs.  Mary  Turn- 
er Carriel,  Mrs.  Alice  Asbury  Abbott,  Mrs.  Carrie  Thomas  Alex- 
ander. The  term  of  office  is  six  years. 

Women  are  eligible  to  all  school  offices  (1873)  and  large  num- 
bers have  served  as  county  superintendents,  members  of  city 
boards  of  education  and  directors  of  district  schools.  All  the 
principal  cities  now  have  women  on  their  school  boards.  In 
Chicago  there  are  two  at  the  present  time.  Ten  counties  have 
women  for  superintendents. 

Miss  Cora  B.  Hirtzell  was  appointed  as  assistant  by  C.  S. 
Thornton,  corporation  counsel  of  Chicago,  and  served  during  his 
whole  term  of  office. 

Miss  Mary  M.  Bartelme  was  appointed  by  Gov.  John  R.  Tan- 
ner Public  Guardian  of  Cook  County,  and  is  the  only  woman  in 
the  United  States  to  fill  such  a  position.  Her  duties  are  to  look 
after  the  persons  of  minors  and  their  small  estates,  when  no  one 
else  will  take  the  guardianship,  and  she  has  over  200  children 
under  her  care.  She  received  the  highest  commendation  from 
Judge  Christian  C.  Kohlsaat,  formerly  of  the  Probate  Court,  and 
continues  to  hold  office  under  his  successor. 

A  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  permits  a  woman  to  be  Mas- 
ter in  Chancery,  but  only  one  ever  was  appointed. 

Women  may  be  official  court  reporters,  but  only  two  have  been 
appointed.  The  office  of  a  Judge  being  elective  he  naturally  feels 
obliged  to  give  these  places  to  voters. 

Women  have  been  notaries  public  for  over  twenty  years. 

Miss  Kate  O'Connor  was  deputy  clerk  of  Winnebago  County 
for  ten  years,  and  Miss  Rose  Beatson  was  deputy  county  treas- 
urer. Mrs.  A.  T.  Ames  was  deputy  sheriff  of  Boone  County. 

Frequently  the  position  of  State  Librarian  has  been  filled  by  a 
woman,  and  of  late  years  that  of  postmaster  in  the  House  and  the 
Senate.  The  librarian  of  the  Southern  Normal  University  at 

*  During  the  Legislature  of  1873  a  Joint  Special  Committee  was  appointed  to  revise 
the  laws.  Through  the  heroic  efforts  of  Miles  B.  Castle  in  the  Senate  and  Judge 
James  B.  Bradwell  in  the  House,  with  the  assistance  of  the  veteran  law  professor  and 
reviser  of  statutes,  the  Hon.  Harvey  B.  Kurd,  a  most  liberal  legislation  for  women,  in  all 
directions  possible  at  that  time,  was  secured. 


608  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Carbondale  is  a  woman.  Women  have  served  as  presidents  of 
library  boards  in  various  places. 

Women  sit  on  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Illinois  Farmers' 
Institute.  One 'of  the  State  Commissioners  of  Public  Charities 
was  a  woman;  but  she  resigned  because  of  the  introduction  of 
politics  into  the  board.  A  woman  has  served  on  the  State  Board 
of  Health. 

The  Home  for  Juvenile  Female  Offenders  was  established  in 
1893.  It  is  under  the  control  of  five  trustees,  two  of  whom  are 
women.  The  superintendent  also  is  a  woman. 

The  Soldiers'  Widows'  Home  was  established  by  a  law  of 
1895,  which  provided  that  of  the  five  trustees  three  should  be 
women  and  members  of  the  State  Woman's  Relief  Corps.  The 
entire  board  is  now  composed  of  women. 

Chicago  has  three  women  deputy  factory  inspectors,  and  for- 
merly had  a  chief  inspector,  Mrs.  Florence  Kelley,  who  served 
four  years  with  great  ability. 

Miss  Jane  Addams  of  Hull  House  was  appointed  garbage  in- 
spector of  the  nineteenth  ward  of  Chicago  by  Mayor  George  B. 
Swift.  She  served  one  year  and  was  succeeded  by  Miss  Amanda 
Johnson,  also  a  resident  of  Hull  House.  Under  their  care  this 
ward,  which  had  been  one  of  the  most  neglected  in  the  city,  be- 
came famous  for  cleanliness  and  order. 

Volunteer  associations  of  women  in  Chicago  did  so  much  in 
this  direction  that  some  of  their  members  finally  took  the  civil 
service  examinations  for  garbage  inspectors  or  contractors  and 
several  received  official  positions.  Among  the  most  prominent 
of  these  is  Mrs.  A.  Emmagene  Paul,  who  superintends  a  large 
force  of  men  in  the  first  ward  of  Chicago.  As  this  is  a  down- 
town ward  it  is  one  of  the  hardest  in  the  city  to  keep  clean,  but 
she  performs  the  work  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  except  "gang" 
politicians,  who  have  made  every  possible  effort  to  have  Mayor 
Carter  Harrison  remove  her. 

Mrs.  Bertha  Honore  Palmer  of  Chicago  was  appointed  United 
States  Commissioner  at  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1900  by  Presi- 
dent McKinley,  the  only  woman  distinguished  by  any  govern- 
ment with  so  important  a  position.  Miss  Addams  was  appointed 
a  member  of  the  Jury  of  International  Awards,  Department  of 


ILLINOIS.  609 

Social  Economics,  for  the  same  exposition.  Her  election  as  vice- 
president  of  this  jury  made  her  eligible  to  membership  in  the 
Group  Jury,  on  which  she  also  served.  This  was  a  distinction 
conferred  upon  no  other  woman. 

OCCUPATIONS:  All  occupations  were  opened  to  women  by  a 
statute  of  1873,  which  declared  also  that  they  should  not  be  re- 
quired to  work  on  streets  or  roads  or  serve  upon  juries. 

They  were  not  allowed  to  practice  law  until  1872,  Mrs.  Myra 
W.  Bradwell  having  been  the  first  to  make  application  in  1869.* 
Since  that  time  ninety  women  have  been  admitted  to  the  bar. 
Among  those  who  have  done  noteworthy  work  is  the  daughter  of 
Judge  and  Mrs.  Bradwell,  Mrs.  Bessie  Bradwell  Helmer,  who 
was  chief  editor  of  twenty  volumes  of  the  Appellate  Court  Re- 
ports and,  since  the  death  of  her  mother,  has  been  president  of  the 
Chicago  Legal  News  Company,  which  issues  the  principal  law 
publications  of  the  State. 

Mrs.  Catharine  V.  Waite  published  the  Chicago  Law  Times 
for  two  years;  Mrs.  Marietta  B.  R.  Shay  wrote  The  Student's 
Guide  to  Common  Law  Pleading ;  and  Miss  Ellen  A.  Martin  or- 
ganized the  National  Woman  Lawyer's  League,  and  is  its  secre- 
tary. Women  are  members  of  the  State  and  the  Chicago  Bar 
Associations  and  of  the  Chicago  Law  Institute. 

The  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  held  in  Chicago  in  1893, 
opened  large  fields  of  usefulness  and  power  to  women.  Those 
of  Illinois  were  especially  conspicuous  in  the  wonderful  work 
done  by  their  sex  during  this  World's  Fair.  Its  Board  of  Lady 
Managers  was  appointed  under  an  Act  of  Congress  to  represent 
the  special  interests  of  women  at  the  exposition,  and  Mrs.  Bertha 
Honore  Palmer  was  elected  president.  Mrs.  Ellen  M.  Henrotin 
of  Chicago  was  vice-president  and  active  superintendent  of  the 
Woman's  Branch  of  the  World's  Congress  Auxiliary. 

A  complete  official  report  of  nearly  1,000  pages  of  the  Con- 
gress of  Representative  Women,  the  greatest  assemblage  of 
women  which  ever  had  been  held  up  to  this  date,  was  prepared  by 
the  Chairman  of  the  Organization  Committee,  Mrs.  May  Wright 
Sewall  of  Indianapolis,  who  made  several  trips  abroad  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  Congress.  To  her  great  executive  capacity  and  un- 

*  See  History  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  II,  p.  60 1. 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 39 


6lO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

tiring  efforts  for  three  years,  with  those  added  of  its  secretary, 
Mrs.  Rachel -Foster  Avery  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  splendid  co- 
operation of  the  committee  of  Chicago  women — Miss  Frances  E. 
Willard,  Dr.  Sarah  Hackett  Stevenson,  Dr.  Julia  Holmes  Smith, 
Mrs.  Lydia  Avery  Coonley,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Boynton  Harbert  and 
Mrs.  William  Thayer  Brown — is  due  the  fact  that  this  Congress 
was  the  most  conspicuous  success  of  any  held  during  the  Exposi- 
tion, with  the  exception  of  the  Parliament  of  Religions.  It  con- 
vened May  15,  1893,  and  continued  one  week,  during  which 
eighty-one  meetings  were  held  in  the  different  rooms  of  the  Art 
Palace.  Twenty-seven  countries  and  126  organizations  were 
represented  by  528  delegates.  According  to  official  estimate  the 
total  attendance  exceeded  150,000.* 

EDUCATION  :  The  law  colleges  never  have  been  closed  to 
women.  Union  College  of  Law  was  the  first  in  the  United  States 
to  graduate  a  woman,  Mrs.  Ada  H.  Kepley,  in  1870. 
.  Some  of  the  medical  schools  are  still  bitterly  opposed  to  ad- 
mitting women.  All  the  homeopathic  colleges  are  open  to  them 
with  the  exception  of  the  Chicago  Homeopathic.  At  Harvey 
Medical  College  about  half  the  students  are  women,  and  several 
of  the  full  professorships  are  filled  by  them.  Hahnemann  Col- 
lege admits  them  but  has  no  woman  professor  or  instructor.  In 

1899  Dr.  Julia  Holmes  Smith  was  elected  dean  of  the  National 
Medical  College  (Homeopathic)  with  no  dissenting  vote,  and  in 

1900  she  was  re-elected.     She  is  the  only  woman  dean  of  a  medi- 
cal institution  composed  of  both  sexes.     Women  are  received  in 
the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  which  is  the  medical  de- 
partment of  the  State  University.     Rush  College,   one  of  the 
largest  of  the  allopathic  institutions,  has  just  been  opened  to 
them.     All  of  the  colleges  named  above  are  in  Chicago.     Dr. 
Sarah  Hackett  Stevenson  was  the  first  woman  admitted  to  the 
American  Medical  Association. 

The  theological  schools  generally  are  closed  to  women.  They 
are  admitted  to  the  full  courses  of  the  Garrett  Biblical  Institute 
of  the  Northwestern  University.  Lombard  University  gives 
them  the  full  privileges  of  its  Divinity  School  (Universalist). 

*  Mrs.  Sewall's  report  will  be  found  in  most  public  libraries.  A  graphic  account  of 
this  Congress  is  contained  in  the  Life  and  Work  of  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Chap.  XLI.  See 
also  present  volume  of  this  History,  Chap.  XIV. 


ILLINOIS.  6ll 

In  1898  the  Chicago  Union  Theological  Seminary  (Congrega- 
tionalist)  opened  its  doors  to  them.  They  may  also  enter  the 
theological  department  of  Chicago  University,  but  its  circular  of 
information  says:  "Women  students  receive  no  encourage- 
ment to  become  ministers." 

The  State  University  and  all  of  the  othlr  large  universities 
and  colleges  in  Illinois  are  open  to  women,  although  some  of  the 
minor  institutions  are  still  closed. 

There  are  in  the  public  schools  6,973  men  an(^  J  8,974  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $60.42; 
of  the  women,  $53.27.  In  the  Chicago  schools  women  receive 
the  same  pay  as  men  for  the  same  work,  but  the  highly  salaried 
positions  are  largely  monopolized  by  men. 

An  incident  which  has  no  parallel  deserves  a  place  on  these 
pages.  In  Chicago  it  was  long  the  custom,  whenever  retrench- 
ment of  taxes  became  necessary,  to  cut  down  the  salaries  of  the 
school  teachers.  In  1 899  they  could  not  get  even  what  was  legal- 
ly due  to  them,  and  in  1900  the  same  condition  prevailed. 

Various  reasons  were  given  for  the  shortage  of  funds,  but  two 
of  the  teachers,  Miss  Margaret  Haley  and  Miss  Catharine  Gog- 
gin,  obtained  information  that  the  reason  of  the  deficit  was  that 
some  of  the  largest  corporations  in  the  State  were  not  assessed 
for  taxes.  Without  any  backing  they  began  an  investigation. 
When  proof  positive  was  secured,  through  a  long  search  of  of- 
ficial records,  they  laid  the  case  before  the  Teachers'  Federation 
of  4,000  members,  who  authorized  them  to  prosecute  it  to  the 
end  and  supplied  the  necessary  funds. 

They  went  before  the  Board  of  Equalization  with  proofs  that 
hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  of  corporation  property  was  not 
assessed  for  taxation;  but  the  board  refused  absolutely  to  act. 
Then  they  filed  a  mandamus  to  compel  it  to  do  so,  and  brought 
the  matter  into  the  courts.  Every  legal,  political  and  financial 
influence  that  could  be  secured  in  the  State  was  used  to  fight  these 
courageous  women.  They  carried  the  case  through  the  lower 
courts  and  into  the  Supreme  Court,  which  confirmed  their  conten- 
tion that  these  corporations  should  be  taxed.  (Oct.  24,  1901.) 

The  Union  Traction  Company  and  the  Chicago  Consolidated 
Traction  Company,  two  of  the  greatest  corporations  which  for 


6l2  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

years  had  been  avoiding  their  legal  taxes,  applied  to  the  United 
States  Circuit  Court  for  an  injunction  to  restrain  the  State  Board 
of  Equalization  from  assessing  them.  They  invoked  the  Four- 
teenth Amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution,  which  says  that 
private  property  shall 'not  be  taken  without  due  process  of  law. 
The  injunction  was  refused. 

This  decision  will  increase  the  revenues  of  Chicago  not  less 
than  $5,000,000  a  year,  unless  some  scheme  is  evolved  for  cir- 
cumventing the  law,  which  has  not  been  enforced  up  to  this  time. 
(July,  1902.) 


During  the  campaign  of  1900  both  Republican  and  Democratic 
clubs  of  women  were  formed.  The  Democratic  Club  of  Chicago 
announced  that  it  would  be  permanent,  and  at  all  times  would 
oppose  every  legislative  and  congressional  candidate  who  should 
be  unfavorable  to  woman  suffrage. 

The  Illinois  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  has  been  a  great 
educator.  It  was  organized  in  1894,  and  is  composed  of  225 
clubs  with  a  membership  of  20,000.  The  Chicago  Woman's 
Club  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  United  States  and  does  a  vast 
amount  of  practical  work. 

Miss  Frances  E.  Willard  belonged  to  Illinois  as  well  as  to  the 
world,  and  it  was  through  her  powerful  influence  that  the  great 
organization  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  was  first  swung  into  line  for  the 
enfranchisement  of  women.  By  voice  and  pen  she  aided  this 
cause  for  over  twenty  years. 

Among  other  staunch  supporters  are  Mrs.  Lydia  Avery  Coon- 
ley- Ward,  whose  home  and  purse  and  pen  are  used  for  the  bene- 
fit of  woman  suffrage ;  and  her  mother,  Mrs.  Susan  Look  Avery, 
who  speaks  and  writes  with  the  vigor  of  youth,  although  eighty- 
three  years  of  age.  Mrs.  Emily  M.  Gross  is  one  of  the  large  con- 
tributors. 

Senator  Miles  B.  Castle  was  chairman  of  the  Illinois  E.  S.  A. 
executive  committee  for  over  twenty  years,  and  edited  and  pub- 
lished the  State  .organ,  the  Suffragist,  for  five  years,  supplying 
the  deficit  from  his  own  pocket.  The  Rev.  C.  C.  Harrah,  now 
of  Iowa,  did  valiant  service  for  many  years  as  chairman  of  the 
State  advisory  committee.  He  sent  his  leaflet,  Jesus  Christ  the 


ILLINOIS.  613 

Emancipator  of  Woman,  at  his  own  expense  to  hundreds  of  min- 
isters throughout  the  country,  and  it  is  still  in  use  by  the  National 
Association. 

Mrs.  Eva  Munson  Smith,  vice-president  of  the  State  associa- 
tion, published  a  volume  entitled  Woman  in  Sacred  Song,  which 
contains  poems  written  by  830,  and  1 50  musical  compositions  by 
50  different  women.  Mrs.  Carrie  Ashton  Johnson,  secretary, 
compiled  a  popular  Suffrage  Dime  Speaker.  Miss  Mary  H. 
Krout,  for  ten  years  connected  with  the  Inter-Ocean,  never  has 
failed  to  use.  her  influence  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage.  Mrs. 
Fannie  H.  Rastall  gave  her  services  as  editor-in-chief  of  the 
Woman's  Forum  for  several  years. 

Sixteen  years  ago  but  one  paper  in  Illinois  had  a  woman's  de- 
partment; now  this  is  a  feature  of  all,  and  161  are  regularly  pub- 
lishing suffrage  matter  furnished  by  the  State  press  bureau. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

INDIANA.* 

The  earliest  woman  suffrage  society  in  Indiana  was  formed  in 
Dublin  only  three  years  after  that  first  memorable  convention  at 
Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y.,  in  1848,  and  annual  meetings  were  held  until 
the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  and  resumed  after  its  close. 

That  of  1884  took  place  December  9,  10,  in  the  Methodist 
Church  at  Kokomo  with  delegates  present  from  a  number  of 
cities.  The  resolutions  included  one  of  sorrow  over  the  deaths 
of  Frances  Dana  Gage,  a  pioneer  suffragist,  and  Laura  Giddings 
Julian,  daughter  of  Joshua  R.  Giddings  and  wife  of  George  W. 
Julian,  M.  C,  both  staunch  advocates  of  the  enfranchisement  of 
women,  as  she  herself  had  been.  Dr.  Mary  F.  Thomas,  who  had 
joined  in  the  call  for  the  first  meeting  in  1851,  was  re-elected 
president  and  the  Hon.  William  Dudley  Foulke  made  vice-presi- 
4ent-at-large.  Among  the  speakers  were  the  Reverends  Frazier, 
Hudson  and  McCune,  Dr.  Gifford  and  Judge  Pollard. 

The  annual  meeting  of  1885  was  held  at  Warsaw,  October  22, 
23,  and  welcomed  by  Mayor  Royse.  On  account  of  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  Dr.  Thomas  her  resignation  was  accepted  and  Mrs. 
Mary  S.  Armstrong  elected  president.  Henry  B.  Blackwell  and 
Lucy  Stone  were  present  throughout  the  sessions. 

The  State  convention  of  1886  met  in  Richmond,  November  8, 
9,  in  the  Eighth  Street  Friends'  Meeting  House  and  was  wel- 
comed by  the  Mayor.  Addresses  were  made  by  Mr.  Blackwell, 
Mrs.  Stone,  Mrs.  Zerelda  G.  Wallace,  Dr.  Thomas,  Mr.  Foulke, 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  Haggart,  Mrs.  Armstrong,  Mrs.  Mattie  Stewart 
Charles,  Sylvester  Johnson  and  others. 

In  1887  the  convention  took  place  at  La  Porte,  December  I,  2, 
and  was  addressed  by  Mr.  Foulke,  Professor  Hailman  and  Mrs. 
Eudora  F.  Hailman,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Grant,  General  Packard,  Mrs. 

"The  History  is  indebted  to  Mrs.   Alice  Judah  Clarke  of  Vincennes  for  much  of  .the 
information  contained  in  this  chapter. 


INDIANA.  6l5 

J.  W.  Ridgway,  Mrs.  Rhenton,  Sylvanus  Grover  and  others. 
Mr.  Foulke  was  elected  president  and  Mrs.  Haggart  vice-presi- 
dent-at-large.* 

Up  to  this  time  these  annual  meetings  had  been  convened  un- 
der the  auspices  of  the  American  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 
In  1878  a  strong  society  had  been  organized  in  Indianapolis  with 
Mrs.  Zerelda  G.  Wallace,  president,  Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall, 
secretary,  and  175  members.  It  had  held  numerous  meetings 
and  done  a  large  amount  of  legislative  and  political  work,  but 
had  made  no  State  or  national  alliances.  In  May,  1887,  how- 
ever, it  called  a  convention,  which  met  in  Plymouth  Congrega- 
tional Church,  and  with  the  assistance  of  Miss  Susan  B.  An- 
thony a  State  organization  was  effected,  auxiliary  to  the  Na- 
tional Woman  Suffrage  Association.  The  officers  elected  were : 
President,  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Gougar;  vice-president-at-large,  Mrs. 
Wallace;  secretary,  Mrs.  Ida  Husted  Harper;  treasurer,  Mrs. 
Juliette  K.  Wood ;  chairman  executive  committee,  Mrs. .  Sewall ; 
superintendent  of  press,  Miss  Mary  E.  Cardwill. 

In  November,  under  the  management  of  this  board,  two  days' 
conventions  were  held  in  each  of  the  congressional  districts  of 
the  State,  at  Evansville,  Vincennes,  Bloomington,  Kokomo,  Lo- 
g-ansport,  Wabash,  Lafayette,  South  Bend,  Fort  Wayne,  Muncie, 
Madison,  New  Albany  and  Terre  Haute.  The  speakers  were 
Miss  Anthony,  Mrs.  Wallace,  Mrs.  Sewall  and  Mrs.  Gougar,  the 
meetings  being  arranged  by  Mrs.  Harper.  They  were  well  at- 
tended, a  great  deal  of  suffrage  sentiment  was  aroused  and  a 
balance  was  left  in  the  treasury. 

The  annual  convention  took  place  at  Indianapolis  in  the  Grand 
Opera  House,  May  15,  16,  1888,  with  delegates  present  from 
every  congressional  district.  Among  the  speakers  were  Mr. 
Foulke,  Mrs.  Annie  Jenness  Miller  and  Miss  Anthony.  The 
board  of  officers  was  re-elected. 

The  third  convention  met  at  Rushville,  Oct.  10,  n,  1889. 
Miss  Anthony  was  in  attendance.  By  previous  arrangement 

•  *  The  other  names  which  appear  most  frequently  during  these  years  as  officers  and 
workers  are  the  Rev.  A.  Marine,  Doctors  Isabel  Stafford  and  Anna  B.  Campbell,  Miss 
Mary  D.  Naylor  and  Mesdames  Laura  C.  Schofield,  Georgia  Wright,  Sarah  E.  Franklin, 
Laura  Sandefur,  Laura  C.  Arnold,  C.  A.  P.  Smith,  S.  S.  McCain,  H.  R.  Ridpath,  Mary 
B.  Williams,  Laura  Kregelo,  H.  R.  Vickery,  Emma  E.  Dixon,  Pauline  T.  Merritt,  Eliza 
J.  Hamilton,  L.  May  Wheeler  and  Florence  M.  Adkinson. 


6l6  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

delegates  from  the  American  branch  were  present  and,  with  unan- 
imous consent,  a  union  of  two  bodies  into  one  State  organi- 
zation was  effected.  Although  receiving  a  majority  vote,  Mrs. 
Sewall,  Miss  Cardwill  and  Mrs.  Harper,  for  personal  reasons, 
refused  longer  to  serve.  The  election  finally  resulted:  Presi- 
dent, Mrs.  Cougar;  vice-president-at-large,  Mrs.  Wallace;  secre- 
tary, Mrs.  Caroline  C.  Hodgin;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Hattie  E.  Mer- 
rill ;  chairman  executive  committee,  Mrs.  E.  M.  Seward ;  superin- 
tendent of  press,  Mrs.  Georgia  Wright.  A  resolution  was  adopt- 
ed mourning  the  death  of  Dr.  Mary  F.  Thomas. 

State  meetings  were  held  for  several  years  afterward,  but  the 
records  of  them  are  not  available. 

In  1899,  tne  State  association  having  been  apparently  defunct 
for  a  long  time,  a  conference  of  the  officers  of  the  National  Asso- 
ciation was  called  to  meet  in  Indianapolis,  at  the  earnest  request 
of  Mrs.  Sewall  and  a  committee.  There  were  present  on  Decem- 
ber 7,  8,  Miss  Anthony,  president,  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw^ 
vice-president-at-large,  Mrs.  Harriet  Taylor  Upton,  treasurer, 
Miss  Laura  Clay  and  Mrs.  Catharine  Waugh  McCulloch,  audi- 
tors, and  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  organization 
committee.  Mrs.  Sewall  gave  two  receptions  to  enable  the  peo- 
ple of  the  city  to  greet  them ;  a  large  one  was  given  by  Mrs.  Lucy 
McDowell  Milburn,  wife  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  A.  Milburn,  of  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church;  and  a  luncheon  at  the  handsome 
residence  of  Mrs.  Alice  Wheeler  Peirce  by  the  committee. 

Business  meetings  were  held  at  the  Denison  Hotel.  The  even- 
ing meetings,  in  Plymouth  Church,  were  large  and  enthusiastic. 
A  new  State  association  was  formed  and  also  a  new  local  club  for 
Indianapolis,  while  the  staunch  and  steadfast  old  societies  of 
Kokomo  and  Tipton  were  aroused  to  new  activity.* 

At  the  State  meeting  in  Indianapolis  in  November,  1900,  the 
old  board  of  officers  was  re-elected,  except  that  Mrs.  Mary  Shank 
was  made  vice-president  and  Mrs.  Ethel  B.  McMullen,  treasurer. 

*  State  officers:  President,  Mrs.  Bertha  G.  Wade;  vice-president,  Mrs.  Mary  S.  Arm- 
strong; corresponding  secretary,  Mrs.  Alice  Wheeler  Peirce;  recording  secretary,  Mrs. 
Hester  Moore  Hart;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Alice  E.  Waugh;  auditors,  Mrs.  Grace  Julian  Clarke 
and  Mrs.  Albertina  A.  Forrest 

Among  the  strong  members  of  the  Tipton  club  are  Judge  and  Mrs.  Dan  Waugh,  State 
Senator  and  Mrs  G.  W.  Gifford,  Representative  and  Mrs.  W.  R.  Ogleboy,  Postmaster 
and  Mrs.  M.  W.  I'ershing,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  M.  V.  B.  Newcomer  and  W.  H.  Barnhart,  editor 
of  the  Advocate. 


INDIANA.  617 

A  very  considerable  sentiment  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage  ex- 
ists throughout  the  State  and  many  well-known  individuals  ad- 
vocate it,  among  them  U.  S.  Senator  Albert  J.  Beveridge  and 
most  of  the  Congressional  delegation,  State  officials,  judges, 
clergymen  and  prominent  members  of  the  women's  clubs,  but 
there  is  so  slight  an  organization  that  little  opportunity  is  af- 
forded for  public  expression  or  action. 

From  1884  down  to  the  present  women  have  appeared  many 
times  in  person  and  by  petition  before  county  and  State  conven- 
tions of  the  different  political  parties,  asking  for  a  recognition  in 
their  platforms  of  the  right  of  women  to  the  suffrage.  Although 
these  efforts  have  met  with  no  response  from  the  Democratic 
party,  and  none  from  the  Republican  in  State  meetings,  a  few 
county  conventions  have  adopted  planks  to  this  effect.  In  1889 
the  Greenback  and  the  United  Labor  State  Conventions  unequiv- 
ocally indorsed  the  franchise  for  women.  In  1892  the  Populist 
and  the  Prohibition  State  platforms  contained  declarations  for 
woman  suffrage.  In  1894  the  Populists  again  adopted  the  plank. 
Similar  action  was  taken  by  the  Social  Democratic  Party  in  1900. 
Among  those  appearing  before  these  bodies  are  found  the  names 
of  Mrs.  Sewall,  Mrs.  Gougar,  Mrs.  Haggart,  Mrs.  Pauline  T. 
Merritt,  Miss  Flora  Hardin,  Mrs.  Florence  M.  Adkinson,  Mrs. 
Augusta  Cooper  Bristol  and  Mrs.  Harper. 

During  the  past  sixteen  years  a  number  of  women  have  sat  as 
delegates  in  the  State  conventions  of  the  Greenback,  Prohibition, 
Populist,  Socialist  and  Labor  parties.  Women  have  shown  great 
interest  in  politics  for  many  years,  crowding  the  galleries  at  the 
State  conventions  and  forming  at  least  one-half  of  the  audiences 
at  the  campaign  rallies.  Among  those  who  have  canvassed  the 
State  in  national  campaigns  are  the  noted  orators,  Miss  Anna  E. 
Dickinson,  and  Mrs.  Nellie  Holbrook  Blinn  of  California,  for  the 
Republican  party;  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Lease  and  Mrs.  Annie  L. 
Diggs,  both  of  Kansas,  for  the  Populist ;  Miss  Cynthia  Cleveland 
for  the  Democratic,  and  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Gougar  for  the  Repub- 
lican, Prohibition  and  Populist. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS  :  It  is  most  difficult  to  look 
up  the  history  of  legislation  on  any  subject  in  Indiana.  The 
original  bills  are  not  printed  but  are  presented  in  writing,  stowed 


6l8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

away  in  pigeon-holes  and  thenceforth  referred  to  only  by  num- 
ber, with  perhaps  a  fragment  of  their  titles.  After  several 
women,  deeply  interested  in  the  question,  had  attempted  to  make 
a  list  of  the  suffrage  bills  during  the  last  sixteen  years  and  had 
given  up  in  despair,  they  appealed  to  one  of  the  best  lawyers  in 
the  State,  who  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  enfranchisement  of  women. 
He  responded  that  no  accurate  report  could  be  made  without 
first  going  through  all  the  pigeon-holes  and  over  all  the  journals 
of  the  two  Houses  during  that  period,  which  would  require  weeks 
of  time  and  great  expense.  As  very  few  of  these  bills  ever  were 
reported  from  the  committees,  it  seemed  unnecessary  to  undertake 
their  resurrection  for  the  purposes  of  this  History. 

The  Indiana  Legislature  meets  biennially  and  there  is  seldom 
a  session  in  which  bills  are  not  presented  for  municipal  or  full 
suffrage.  In  1893  bills  were  before  this  body  asking  for  the 
Municipal  ballot,  and  newspaper  accounts  speak  of  Mrs.  Zerelda 
G.  Wallace,  Mrs.  Mary  S.  Armstrong  and  Mrs.  Laura  G.  Scho- 
field  as  working  industriously  for  their  passage. 

In  1895  Judge  George  B.  Cardwill  introduced  two  bills  with- 
out request,  one  for  an  amendment  to  the  constitution  striking 
out  the  word  "male;"  the  other  to  amend  the  law  so  as  to  make 
it  obligatory  to  have  one  woman  on 'the  school  board  of  every 
city.  The  women  made  no  effort  to  secure  consideration  of  these 
bills,  and  they  lay  dormant  in  committee. 

It  never  has  been  thought  worth  while  to  make  the  struggle  for 
School  Suffrage,  as  Indianapolis  is  the  only  city  which  elects  its 
school  board.  In  the  others  this  is  appointed  by  the  Common 
Council. 

On  Feb.  5,  1897,  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  who  was  visiting 
Mrs.  Sewall,  addressed  the  Legislature  in  joint  session  asking  it 
to  recommend  to  Congress  the  passage  of  a  Sixteenth  Amend- 
ment to  the  Federal  Constitution  enfranchising  women. 

In  1898,  under  the  auspices  of  Mrs.  M.  A.  Tompkins,  State 
superintendent  of  franchise  for  the  Woman's  Christian  Temper- 
ance Union,  an  active  and  systematic  canvass  was  begun  to  secure 
from  the  Legislature  the  submission  of  an  amendment  to  the 
State  constitution  to  strike  out  the  word  "male."  She  was  as- 
sisted by  members  of  her  organization  in  every  county;  short, 


INDIANA.  619 

convincing  articles  were  prepared  for  the  newspapers,  petitions 
circulated  and  30,000  names  of  men  and  women  obtained. 

Accompanied  by  these  a  joint  resolution  was  presented  to  the 
Legislature  of  1899 — in  the  Senate  by  O.  Z.  Hubbell,  in  the 
House  by  Quincy  A.  Blankinship,  and  both  labored  strenuously 
for  its  passage.  The  Senate  Bill  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Revision  of  Laws,  Frederick  A.  Joss,  chairman,  and  the  House 
Bill  to  the  Judiciary  Committee,  Silas  A.  Canada,  chairman. 
They  granted  hearings,  were  addressed  by  Miss  Marie  Brehm  of 
Chicago,  national  superintendent  of  franchise  for  the  W.  C.  T. 
U., .  and  reported  the  bill  favorably.  It  passed  the  Senate  by 
unanimous  vote,  January  25.  The  members  of  the  House  had 
been  personally  interviewed  by  Mrs.  Tompkins  and  Miss  Brehm, 
and  two-thirds  of  them  were  pledged  to  vote  for  the  measure. 

The  law  provides  that  not  more  than  two  bills  for  amending 
the  State  constitution  can  be  before  the  Legislature  at  one  time, 
and,  as  two  preceded  this  one,  Speaker  Littleton,  who  was  op- 
posed to  it,  ruled  it  out  of  order  and  would  not  permit  it  to  be 
considered.  The  same  condition  existed  in  the  Senate  but  that 
body  deemed  its  action  perfectly  legal,  as  all  which  could  be  done 
was  to  submit  the  bill  to  the  next  Legislature.  Thus  all  the  work 
of  nearly  two  years  was  lost.* 

In  1899  a  number  of  Factory  Inspection  Laws  were  passed, 
some  of  them  especially  intended  to  protect  women.  While  these 
serve  their  purpose  in  one  way  they  may  defeat  it  in  another,  as 
those,  for  instance,  limiting  the  work  of  women  to  ten  hours  a 
day  and  prohibiting  their  employment  at  night  in  any  manufac- 
turing concern,  when  no  sucl^restrictions  are  imposed  on  men, 
which  often  is  to  their  advantage  with  employers.  Seats  for 
women  employes,  suitable  toilet-rooms  and  a  full  hour  for  the 
noonday  meal  are  commendable  features  of  these  new  laws. 

Through  the  efforts  of  Robert  Dale  Owen  and  a  few  other 
broad-minded  men,  when  the  constitution  of  Indiana  was  revised 
in  1851  the  laws  for  women  were  made  more  liberal  than  those 

*  In  1901  the  suffrage  societies  had  a  similar  bill  before  the  Legislature,  supported  by 
a  large  petition.  It  was  passed  by  the  House  on  March  5  by  52  ayes,  35  noes.  Enough 
votes  to  carry  it  had  been  pledged  in  the  Senate,  but  the  night  following  its  success  in 
the  House  hurried  consultations  were  held  and  the  element  which  fights  woman  suffrage 
to  the  death  issued  its  edict.  The  next  morning  the  vote  was  reconsidered  and  the 
measure  defeated.  It  was  therefore  unnecessary  to  bring  it  before  the  Senate. 


62O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

of  most  other  States  at  that  period,  although  conservative  com- 
pared to  present  standards.  Unjust  discriminations  have  been 
abolished  from  time  to  time  since  then,  until  now,  in  a  very  large 
degree,  the  laws  bear  equally  upon  husband  and  wife.  Some  dis- 
tinctions, however,  still  exist,  as  is  shown  by  the  introduction 
of  bills  in  almost  every  Legislature  "to  remove  the  existing  disa- 
bilities of  married  women." 

Dower  and  curtesy  are  abolished.  If  a  husband  die,  with  or 
without  a  will,  one-third  of  his  real  estate  descends  to  the  widow 
in  fee  simple,  free  from  all  demands  of  creditors ;  provided,  how- 
ever, that  where  the  real  estate  exceeds  in  value  $10,000,  the 
widow  shall  have  one-fourth  only,  and  where  it  exceeds  $20,000, 
one-fifth  only  as  against  creditors.  If  a  husband  die  without  a 
will  and  leave  a  widow  and  one  child,  the  real  estate  is  divided 
equally  between  them;  the  personal  estate  is  divided  equally  if 
there  are  not  more  than  two  children ;  if  there  are  more  than  two 
the  widow  still  has  one-third.  If  a  man  has  children  living  by 
a  former  marriage  and  none  by  a  subsequent  marriage,  the 
widow  can  have  only  a  life  interest  in  her  share  of  his  estate. 
If  a  wife  die,  with  or  without  a  will,  one-third  of  her  real  and 
personal  estate  descends  to  the  widower,  regardless  of  its  value, 
but  subject  to  its  proportion  of  her  debts  contracted  before  mar- 
riage. If  a  husband  or  wife  die  without  a  will,  leaving  no  child, 
but  father  or  mother,  one  or  both,  three-fourths  of  the  entire  es- 
tate goes  to  the  widow  or  widower,  unless  it  does  not  exceed 
$  1,000,  in  which  case  it  all  goes  to  the  widow  or  widower.  If 
there  are  neither  children,  father  nor  mother,  the  entire  estate 
goes  to  the  widow  or  widower.  _ 

The  husband  is  liable  for  the  wife's  debts  incurred  before  mar- 
riage to  the  extent  of  any  property  received  by  him  through  her. 
He  is  not  liable  for  his  wife's  contracts  with  respect  to  her  sepa- 
rate property,  business  ^or  labor,  or  for  torts  committed  by  her. 

She  may  sue  in  her  own  name  for  injury  to  her  person,  prop- 
erty or  character.  The  husband  may  maintain  action  for  the  loss 
of  her  society  and  services. 

A  wife  can  not  convey  or  encumber  her  separate  real  estate 
without  the  joinder  of  her  husband,  nor  can  he  do  this  with  his 
separate  real  estate  unless  she  joins.  Husband  and  wife  each 


INDIANA.  621 

may  dispose  of  two-thirds  of  their  real  and  personal  estate  by 
will  without  the  consent  of  the  other. 

A  married  woman  may  without  any  legal  formalities  carry 
on  business  or  trade  or  perform  any  labor  or  services  on  her  sole 
and  separate  account  and  her  earnings  shall  be  her  sole  and  sep- 
arate property,  provided  she  keeps  her  business  distinct  from  her 
husband's,  as  all  their  joint  earnings  are  his  property. 

A  wife  can  act  as  executor  or  administrator  of  an  estate  only 
with  her  husband's  consent. 

No  married  woman  can  become  surety  for  any  person. 

The  father  has  the  custody  of  the  persons  and  the  control  of 
the  education  of  the  minor  children,  even  though  there  may  be 
a  guardian  appointed  for  their  property.  (1896.) 

A  wife  may  sue  for  support :  ( i )  If  deserted  by  her  husband 
and  left  without  means  of  support;  (2)  if  he  has  been  convicted 
of  a  felony  and  put  in  State  prison;  (3)  if  he  is  a  habitual 
drunkard;  (4)  if  he  join  a  religious  society  prohibiting  mar- 
riage. The  court  may  award  necessary  support  according  to  cir- 
cumstances, may  sell  lands  of  the  husband,  or  allow  the  wife  to 
sell  her  lands  without  his  joining.  (1896.) 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  is  14  years.  No  bills  pre- 
sented by  women  to  have  it  raised  ever  have  been  allowed  to  get 
beyond  a  legislative  committee.  The  penalty  is  imprisonment  in 
the  penitentiary  from  one  to  twenty-one  years. 

SUFFRAGE  :  Women  possess  no  form  of  suffrage.  A  decision 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  Feb.  i,  1901,  that  an  amendment  to 
be  adopted  must  receive  a  majority  of  the  highest  number  of  votes 
cast  at  the  election,  has  made  it  practically  impossible  to  secure 
the  franchise  for  women  by  changing  the  State  constitution.  It 
is  held,  however,  by  lawyers  whose  opinion  is  of  value,  that  this 
even  now  may  be  legally  construed  so  as  to  permit  them  to  vote. 

Sustained  in  her  own  belief  by  these  views  and  by  a  Supreme 
Court  decision  of  1893,  which  interpreted  this  constitution  to 
permit  women  to  practice  law  (see  Occupations),  Mrs.  Helen 
M.  Gougar  decided  to  make  a  test  case,  and  offered  her  vote  in 
the  State  election,  Nov.  6,  1894,  at  her  home  in  Lafayette.  It 
was  refused  and  she  brought  suit  against  the  election  board  in 
the  Superior  Court  of  Tippecanoe  County.  Sayler-&  Sayler  and 


622  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

John  D.  Cougar,  husband  of  the  plaintiff,  were  her  attorneys, 
but  she  was  herself  admitted  to  the  bar  and  argued  her  own  case 
before  Judge  F.  B.  Everett,  Jan.  10,  1895.  She  based  her 
masterly  argument  on  the  rights  guaranteed  to  all  citizens  by 
the  Federal  Constitution,  and  on  the  first  article  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  Indiana,  which  declares  that  "the  General  Assembly  shall 
not  grant  to  any  citizen,  or  class  of  citizens,  privileges  or  immuni- 
ties which,  upon  the  same  terms,  shall  not  equally  belong  to  all 
citizens;"  and  she  used  with  deadly  effect  the  parallel  between 
the*  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  case  of  Antoinette  D. 
Leach,  by  which  she  was  enabled  to  practice  law,  and  the  claims 
which  were  now  being  made  as  to  the  right  of  women  to  vote.* 

The  long,  adverse  decision  of  Judge  Everett  was  based  upon 
his  declaration  that  "suffrage  is  not  a  natural  right  or  one  neces- 
sarily incident  to  such  freedom  and  preservation  of  rights  as  are 
upheld  by  the  National  and  State  constitutions ;"  that  "the  inten- 
tion of  their  framers  to  limit  the  suffrage  to  males  is  so  strong 
that  it  can  not  be  disregarded ;"  and  that  "the  legal  and  well  un- 
derstood rule  of  construction  is  that  the  express  mention  of  cer- 
tain things  excludes  all  others." 

Mrs.  Cougar  then  carried  her  case  to  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Indiana,  and  was  herself  the  first  woman  admitted  to  practice 
before  that  body.  Her  brief  was  filed  by  her  attorneys  and  she 
made  her  own  argument  before  the  full  bench,  the  court-room 
being  crowded  with  lawyers  and  members  of  the  Legislature.  It 
was  sa.id  by  one  of  the  judges  to  be  the  clearest  and  ablest  oral 
argument  presented  since  he  had  been  a  member. 

Nevertheless  the  judgment  of  the  lower  court  was  affirmed. 
The  decision,  in  which  the  five  judges  concurred,  was  founded 
almost  exclusively  upon  the  affirmation  that  "that  which  is  ex- 
pressed makes  that  which  is  silent  cease."  This  decision  reversed 
absolutely  the  one  rendered  in  the  case  of  Leach  for  the  right  to 
practice  law,  which  had  declared  that  "although  the  statute  says 
voters  may  practice,  it  says  nothing  about  women,  and  therefore 
there  is  no  denial  of  this  right  to  them ;"  or  in  other  words  "that 
which  is  expressed  does  not  make  that  which  is  silent  cease." 

*  Mrs.  Cougar's  argument  in  full,  with  authorities  cited,  was  published  in  a  pamphlet  of 
sixty  pages. 


INDIANA.  623 

Yet  both  of  these  opinions  were  written  by  the  same  Chief  Justice 
— Leonard  J.  Hackney ! 

The  decision  closed  by  saying :  "Whatever  the  personal  views 
of  the  Justices  upon  the  advisability  of  extending  the  franchise 
to  women,  all  are  agreed  that  under  the  present  constitution  it 
can  not  be  extended  to  them." 

As  it  is  practically  impossible  to  amend  the  State  constitution, 
the  outlook  for  woman  suffrage  in  Indiana  appears  hopeless  ex- 
cept through  an  amendment  to  the  National  Constitution. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  Women  are  not  eligible  for  election  to  any 
offices  within  the  gift  of  the  voters,  except  those  pertaining  to 
the  public  schools. 

In  1873  the  Legislature  enacted  that  women  should  be  eligible 
to  any  office  the  appointment  or  election  to  which  is  or  shall  be 
vested  in  the  Governor  or  General  Assembly. 

In  1 88 1  it  was  enacted  that  women  should  be  eligible  to  any 
office  under  the  general  or  special  school  laws  of  the  State. 

Notwithstanding  these  liberal  provisions  there  is  scarcely  one 
of  the  Northern  States  where  so  few  women  have  served  in  office. 
There  never  has  been  even  a  woman  candidate  for  that  of  State 
Superintendent.  Many  years  ago  there  were  a  few  county  super- 
intendents but  none  now  fill  that  office  and  not  half  a  dozen 
women  ever  have  sat  on  local  school  boards.  These  are  appointed 
by  the  Common  Council  in  all  the  towns  and  cities  except  Indian- 
apolis. On  one  occasion  its  Local  Council  of  Women  nominated 
two  of  its  members  for  school  trustees,  but  both  were  defeated. 
Women  themselves  were  not  allowed  to  vote,  but  their  interest 
brought  out  an  unusually  large  number  of  men.*  At  present  not 
one  woman  is  known  to  be  filling  any  school  office. 

The  law  of  1873  includes  the  boards  of  all  penal  and  benevo- 
lent institutions,  State  Librarian,  custodians  of  public  buildings, 
and  many  minor  offices,  but  women  have  found  it  practically 
impossible  to  secure  any  of  these.  The  explanation  for  this 
probably  lies  in  the  fact  that  Indiana  is  a  pivotal  State  in  politics 
and  the  parties  are  so  evenly  divided  that  the  elections  are  equally 
apt  to  be  carried  by  either  party.  It  thus  becomes  vitally  neces- 
sary to  utilize  every  office  for  political  purposes  and  none  can  be 

*  In    1901   the  Political   Equality  Club  of   Indianapolis  put  up  a  woman  candidate  who 
polled  over   4,000  votes  but  was   not   elected. 


624  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

spared  to  persons  without  votes.  For  a  number  of  years  the  two 
parties  elected  women  as  State  Librarian,  and  they  gave  much 
satisfaction,  although  several  times  the  political  pressure  has 
been  so  great  that  the  office  has  had  to  be  given  to  men.* 

A  number  of  times  bills  have  been  presented  to  require  the 
Governor  to  put  a  representation  of  women  on  the  boards  of  all 
State  institutions  where  women  and  children  are  confined,  but 
they  never  have  been  carried. 

In  1873  the  first  State  prison  in  the  United  States  exclusively 
for  women  was  opened  in  Indianapolis,  but  the  management  was 
vested  in  a  board  of  men  with  a  visiting  board  of  women  and  a 
woman  superintendent.  In  1877  a  bill  was  passed  placing  the 
entire  management  of  this  Woman's  Reformatory  in  the  hands 
of  women.  An  Industrial  School  for  Girls  is  now  under  the 
same  supervision.!  .. 

In  1889  an  act  of  the  Legislature  established  the  State  Board 
of  Charities  and  Corrections  and  provided  that  two  of  its  six 
trustees  should  be  women.  It  exercises  supervision  over  the  State 
penal  and  benevolent  institutions.  In  1899  a  legislative  act  re- 
quired that  on  petition  of  fifteen  citizens  of  any  county  the  Cir- 
cuit Judge  must  appoint  a  board  to  exercise  the  same  supervision 
over  its  institutions,  to  consist  of  four  men  and  two  women. 

The  only  other  women  serving  on  State  boards  are  one  for 
the  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Orphans'  Home  at  Knightstown  and 
one  for  the  Home  for  Feeble-minded  Youth  at  Ft.  Wayne,  t 

The  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Corrections  has  made  great 
effort  to  secure  women  physicians  at  all  State  Institutions  and, 
though  there  is  no  law  authorizing  it,  there  is  now  one  at  each  of 
the  four  Hospitals  for  the  Insane,  and  at  the  Woman's  Prison 
and  Girls'  Industrial  School.  One  was  appointed  for  the  Home 
for  Feeble-minded  but  a  man  now  holds  the  position. 

Almost  every  State,  county  and  city  office  has  women  depu- 

*The  women  who  have  filled  this  office  are  Sarah  A.  Oren,  1873-75;  Margaret  F.  Peelle, 
1879-1881;  Elizabeth  O.  Callis,  1881-1889;  Mary  A.  Ahern,  1893-1895;  Mrs.  E.  L.  David- 
son, 1895-1897.  At  present  the  first  and  second  assistants  are  women. 

t  For  particulars  of  this  unique  institution  see  Vol.  Ill,  p.  970. 

t  A  Monograph  on  the  Associated  Work  of  Indiana  Women,  prepared  in  1893  by  Mrs. 
Ida  Husted  Harper  for  the  Columbian  Exposition,  showed  about  twenty  county  and 
city  orphans'  home  entirely  controlled  by  women,  and  also  a  number  of  Homes  for 
the  Friendless,  Old  Ladies'  Homes,  Children's  Aid  Societies,  etc. 


INDIANA.  625 

ties,  assistants  or  stenographers.  It  is  said  that  one-third  of  the 
employes  in  the  State  House  are  women.  Many  serve  as  no- 
taries public,  and  a  number  as  court  stenographers. 

The  need  of  a  Police  Matron  in  Indianapolis  was  so  obvious 
and  it  had  been  so  impossible  to  persuade  the  authorities  of  this 
fact,  that  in  November,  1890,  the  Meridian  W.  C.  T.  U.  obtained 
permission  from  the  Mayor  and  Commissioners  to  place  one  on 
duty  at  the  central  station  house  at  their  own  expense.  This  was 
continued  until  March,  1891,  when  a  change  in  the  city  charter 
vested  the  authority  in  a  Board  of  Safety.  The  matron,  Mrs. 
Annie  M.  Buchanan,  had  given  such  satisfaction  that  on  petition 
of  the  Woman's  Local  Council  she  was  regularly  employed  by 
the  city,  with  full  police  powers,  at  a  salary  of  $60  per  month 
and  two  furnished  rooms  for  her  occupancy.  The  first  year  852 
women  and  children  came  into  her  charge,  24  of  the  latter  being 
under  five  years  of  age.  • 

The  State  W.  C.  T.  U.  appointed  Mrs.  Buchanan  as  the  head 
of  a  movement  to  secure  Police  Matrons  in  all  cities  of  7,000 
inhabitants.  A  bill  for  this  purpose  was  presented  in  1893  but 
failed  to  pass.  In  1895  the  Local  Council  of  Women  also  made 
this  a  special  line  of  work,  and  to  Mrs.  Buchanan's  petition, 
signed  by  one  hundred  of  the  leading  men  and  women  of  the 
State  and  the  entire  Common  Council,  were  added  the  names 
of  the  presidents  of  the  forty-nine  societies  composing  the  Council 
of  Women,  representing  8,000  members.  It  asked  for  a  law  com- 
pelling the  appointment  of  Police  Matrons  in  all  cities  of  10,000 
inhabitants.  This  time  the  bill  passed  both  Houses  but  so  altered 
as  to  merely  permit  the  Mayor  and  Commissioners  to  appoint 
such  Matrons,  a  power  they  already  possessed. 

Mrs.  Buchanan  remained  in  office  seven  years,  until  her  mar- 
riage. The  experiment  in  Indianapolis  has  been  so  successful 
that  matrons  are  now  employed  in  Evansville,  Terre  Haute, 
Richmond  and  Lafayette,  but  these  by  no  means  include  all  of  the 
cities  of  over  10,000  inhabitants. 

OCCUPATIONS:  The  only  occupations  forbidden  to  women 
are  those  of  working  in  mines  and  selling  liquor.  Women  have 
served  as  bank  cashiers  and  directors  for  twenty  years. 

In  1875  Miss  Elizabeth  Eaglesfield  was  admitted  to  practice 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 40 


626  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

law  at  the  Vigo  County  bar,  through  the  efforts  of  Judge 
"William  Mack,  and  had  a  number  of  cases  in  the  courts  of  Indi- 
anapolis. Eighteen  years  later  Mrs.  Antoinette  D.  Leach,  al- 
though properly  qualified,  was  refused  a  license  to  practice  in 
Greene  County.  The  lower  court  based  its  refusal  on  a  clause 
in  the  State  Constitution  which  says:  "Every  person  of  good 
moral  character,  being  a  voter,  shall  be  entitled  to  practice  law 
in  all  the  courts  of  the  State."  She  carried  the  case  to  the  Su- 
preme Court  which  reversed  this  judgment.  Its  decision,  June 
14,  1893,  says  that  "while  voters  are  granted  admission  to  prac- 
tice there  is  no  denial  of  such  right  to  women,  and  it  must  be 
held  to  exist  as  long  as  not  forbidden  by  law.  That  which  is 
expressed  does  not  make  that  which  is  silent  cease."  (See  Suf- 
frage on  previous  page. )  The  decision  continued : 

The  right  to  practice  law  is  not  a  political  question,  but  belongs 
to  that  class  of  rights  inherent  in  every  citizen,  and  pertains  to  the 
fundamental  duty  of  every  inhabitant  to  gain  a  livelihood.  Judge 
Cooley  says :  "To  forbid  to  an  individuaj  or  a  class  the  right  to  the 
acquisition  or  enjoyment  of  property  in  such  manner  as  should  be 
permitted  to  the  community  at  large,  would  be  to  deprive  them  of 
liberty  in  particulars  of  primary  importance."  In  Story  on  the 
Constitution  it  is  said  that  the  right  to  acquire,  possess  and  enjoy 
property  and  to  choose  from  those  which  are  lawful  the  profession 
or  occupation  of  life,  are  among  the  privileges  which  the  States  are 
forbidden  by  the  Constitution  to  abridge.* 

Basing  her  claims  on  this  decision,  a  woman  the  next  year, 
1894,  applied  for  license  to  sell  liquor.  This  was  refused  on  the 
ground  that  the  statute  reads :  "Any  male  inhabitant  having  cer- 
tain other  specified  qualifications  may  obtain  a  license."  The 
Supreme  Court  decided  that  "by  the  use  of  the  word  'male' 
women  are  inhibited  from  obtaining  license  to  vend  intoxicating 
liquor  at  retail." 

Thus  within  three  years — 1893,  '94,  '95 — the  same  Supreme 
Court  rendered  three  decisions  each  absolutely  reversing  the 
others. 

EDUCATION  :    The  State  University  was  opened  to  women  in 

•  Some  of  the  highest  legal  authorities  in  the  State  declare  that  this  is  not  the  law  and 
that  it  will  be  so  decided  whenever  the  question  is  presented  to  another  Supreme  Court. 
If  this  should  happen  then  women  could  practice  law  only  by  an  amendment  of  the  con- 
stitution. What  then  would  be  the  status  of  the  cases  in  which  Mrs.  Leach  and  other 
women  had  acted  as  attorney? 


INDIANA.  627 

1867.  They  are  admitted  on  equal  terms  with  men  to  all  State 
institutions  of  learning,  including  Purdue  University  (agricul- 
tural). The  only  colleges  closed  to  them  are  Wabash  at  Craw- 
fordsville,  and  the  Rose  Polytechnic  at  Terre  Haute.  There 
are  women  on  the  faculties  of  most  of  the  co-educational  universi- 
ties. A  number  of  women  have  been  graduated  from  the  various 
Law  and  Medical  Schools. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  7,252  men  and  8,236  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $48.80; 
of  the  women  $43.55. 


The  Women's  Clubs  number  considerably  over  one  hundred, 
and  there  are  also  many  which  are  composed  of  both  men  and 
women.  The  State  Press  Association  had  both  as  charter  mem- 
bers. The  Union  of  Literary  Clubs,  a  strong  organization  of 
104  branches,  includes  many  of  these  and  also  those  composed  of 
women  alone  and  of  men  alone. 

The  Woman's  Club  of  Indianapolis,  founded  in  1875,  is  the 
oldest  in  the  city.  Under  its  auspices  and  through  the  inspira- 
tion of  Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall,  the  Propylaeum,  a  handsome 
club  house,  was  built  at  a  cost  of  over  $30,000.  It  was  dedi- 
cated in  1891  with  imposing  ceremonies,  in  which  the  Governor, 
the  Mayor  and  many  distinguished  guests  assisted  the  board  of 
directors.  All  of  the  stock  is  held  by  women  and  the  construc- 
tion was  entirely  superintended  by  women.  It  is  one  of  the  im- 
portant institutions  of  the  city,  and  is  used  by  a  number  of  men's 
and  of  women's  clubs  and  for  many  public  and  private  functions. 

In  numerous  forms  of  organized  work,  sanitary  inspection, 
free  kindergartens,  flower  missions,  training  schools  for  nurses, 
collegiate  alumnae,  art  associations,  musical  clubs,  industrial 
unions,  patriotic  societies,  church  missionary  boards,  lodge  auxil- 
iaries and  countless  others — women  render  conspicuous  and  in- 
estimable service.  The  State  Monograph  for  the  World's  Fair, 
previously  referred  to,  gives  detailed  information  of  the  associ- 
ated work  of  Indiana  women  in  nearly  fifty  distinct  departments. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

IOWA.* 

For  thirty  years  the  women  of  Iowa  have  been  petitioning  its 
legislative  body  for  the  elective  franchise.  Any  proposed  amend- 
ment to  the  State  constitution  must  pass  two  successive  Legisla- 
tures before  being  submitted  to  the  voters,  which  makes  it  ex- 
ceedingly difficult  to  secure  one.  Throughout  the  State,  however, 
there  has  been  a  steady,  healthy  growth  of  favorable  sentiment 
and  the  cause  now  numbers  its  friends  by  thousands. 

The  Iowa  Equal  Suffrage  Association  was  formed  in  1870 
and  ever  since  has  held  annual  conventions.  That  of  1884  took 
place  in  Des  Moines,  November  27,  28,  Mrs.  Narcissa  T.  Bemis 
presiding.  The  report  of  the  vice-president,  Mrs.  Jane  Amy 
McKinney,  stated  that  Miss  Matilda  Hindman  of  Pennsylvania 
had  been  employed  two  months  of  the  year,  besides  working 
several  weeks  upon  her  own  responsibility.  She  had  delivered 
seventy-two  lectures,  formed  about  forty  organizations  and  ob- 
tained many  hundreds  of  names  to  pledges  of  help.  Mrs.  Helen 
M.  Cougar  of  Indiana  had  given  fifteen  addresses,  distributed 
3,000  tracts  and  secured  500  subscribers  for  her  paper,  Our 
Herald.  Mrs.  Mariana  T.  Folsome,  financial  secretary,  had 
gone  from  town  to  town,  arranging  her  own  meetings  and  visit- 
ing many  places  where  no  suffrage  work  ever  before  had  been 
done.  Mrs.  Margaret  W.  Campbell,  State  organizer,  had  ad- 
dressed 139  meetings  and  assisted  in  organizing  ten  counties. 
Letters  urging  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  to  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution had  been  written  to  all  the  Iowa  members  of  Congress. 

The  convention  met  Oct.  21,  22,  1885,  in  Cedar  Rapids, 
and  elected  Mrs.  Campbell  president.  Lucy  Stone  and  Henry 
B.  Blackwell  delivered  evening  addresses,  while  among  the  dele- 

•  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to   Mrs.   Clara   M.   Richey  of  Des  Moines, 
recording  secretary  of  the  State  Equal  Suffrage  Association. 

628 


IOWA.  629 

gates  was  Mrs.  Carrie  Lane  Chapman  (Catt).  Mrs.  Mary  J. 
Coggeshall,  chairman  of  the  executive  committee,  reported  that 
each  of  the  eleven  congressional  districts  had  been  given  in 
charge  of  a  vice-president  of  the  State  association,  local  societies 
had  been  formed,  numerous  public  meetings  held  and  seventeen 
counties  organized.  Petitions  were  in  circulation  asking  the  Leg- 
islature to  amend  the  constitution  of  the  State  so  as  to  enfranchise 
women,  and  others  that  women  be  excused  from  paying  taxes 
until  they  had  representation.  About  forty  weekly  papers  had 
columns  edited  by  the  press  committee.  At  the  State  Agricultural 
Fair  this  committee  had,  as  usual,  a  large  amount  of  literature 
in  a  handsomely  decorated  booth,  which  was  crowded  with  visit- 
ors from  all  parts  of  the  State. 

In  the  autumn  of  1886  the  annual  meeting  convened  in  Ot- 
tumwa.  During  that  year  funds  had  been  raised  and  a  perma- 
nent cottage  erected  on  the  State  Fair  grounds  to  be  used  as  suf- 
frage headquarters.  There  was  also  established  in  Des  Moines 
a  State  paper,  the  Woman's  Standard,  with  Mrs.  Coggeshall  as 
editor  and  Mrs.  Martha  C.  Callanan  as  business  manager.  This 
paper,  an  eight-page  monthly,  issued  its  first  number  in  Septem- 
ber.* 

The  State  Convention  of  1887  was  hem  in  Des  Moines,  and 
that  of  1888  in  Ames.  At  the  latter  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  gave 
an  inspiring  address.  The  State  Agricultural  College  is  located 
at  Ames,  and  Capt.  James  Rush  Lincoln  of  the  military  depart- 
ment tendered  the  delegates  an  exhibition  drill  on  the  campus 
of  Company  G,  which  was  composed  entirely  of  girls. 

The  annual  convention  took  place  in  Oskaloosa,  Oct.  3<>Nov. 
i,  1889.  A  letter  of  approval  was  received  from  George  A. 
Gates,  president  of  Iowa  College.  Mr.  Blackwell  and  Lucy 
Stone  were  present  and  added  much  to  the  interest  of  the  meet- 
ings. Mrs.  Campbell  was  for  the  third  time  elected  president. 

On  Dec.  4,  5,  1890,  the  association  again  assembled  in  Des 
Moines,  with  Miss  Anthony  in  attendance.  The  resolutions 
recommended  that  the  suffragists  make  an  effort  to  place  women 

*  The  Woman's  Standard  has  continued  to  be  a  source  of  pride  to  Iowa  women  up  to 
the  present  time,  and  is  now  edited  by  J.  O.  Stevenson  and  published  by  Mrs.  Sarah 
Ware  Whitney. 


030  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

on  all  the  school  boards,  and  that  they  work  for  the  election  of 
legislators  favoring  Municipal  and  School  Suffrage  for  women. 

The  society  was  incorporated  under  the  State  laws  Nov.  7, 
1891,  as  the  Iowa  Equal  Suffrage  Association.  The  twentieth 
convention  was  held  at  Ames,  December  3,  4.  Three  depart- 
ments of  work  were  arranged — fair,  press  and  oratorical  con- 
test— and  a  superintendent  of  each  was  appointed.  Reports  were 
received  from  all  parts  of  the  State  which  indicated  an  increas- 
ing growth  of  sentiment  and  it  was  decided  to  place  another 
organizer  in  the  field.  The  delegates  were  invited  by  President 
\Yilliam  Beardshear  to  visit  the  State  Agricultural  College.  Upon 
their  return  they  passed  a  resolution  declaring  that  "the  Legis- 
lature ought  to  provide  a  suitable  hall  for  women  students." 
Margaret  Hall  has  since  been  erected,  a  commodious  building 
designed  for  their  exclusive  use. 

The  twenty-first  annual  meeting  was  called  at  Des  Moines, 
Sept.  22,  1892,  in  connection  with  the  Mississippi  Valley  Suf- 
frage Conference.  There  were  present  Miss  Anthony,  presi- 
dent of  the  National  Association,  Mr.  Blackwell,  Senator  M.  B. 
Castle  and  Mrs.  Catharine  Waugh  McCulloch  of  Illinois,  Miss 
Laura  Clay  of  Kentucky,  Mrs.  Sarah  Burger  Stearns  of  Min- 
nesota and  many  others  from  different  States.  The  report  of 
Mrs.  Eliza  H.  Hunter,  chairman  of  the  executive  committee,  said  : 

In  no  previous  year  has  the  demand  upon  our  workers  been  so 
great,  and  never  has  the  response  been  so  quick  and  hearty.  Mrs. 
Chapman  Catt,  Mrs.  Emma  Smith  DeVoe  of  Illinois,  the  Rev. 
Olympia  Brown  of  Wisconsin,  and  Mrs.  Belle  Mitchell  of  Io\va, 
have  been  our  lecturers  and  organizers.  The  association  was  in- 
vited to  send  a  speaker  to  the  Chautauqua  Assembly  at  Colfax  and 
the  Rev.  C.  C.  Harrah  was  secured.  A  plan  of  work  prepared  by 
Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  was  issued  as  a  supplement  to  the  Woman's 
Standard,  and  sent  to  every  county  president  and  local  club.  Mrs. 
Callanan  published  at  the  same  time  the  Iowa  Collection  of  Read- 
ings and  Recitations  for  suffrage  societies.  The  study  topics  ar- 
ranged for  clubs  two  years  ago  had  been  in  such  demand  that  a  new 
supply  was  necessary.  We  also  have  had  printed  6,000  copies  of  a 
tract,  A  Woman  Suffrage  Catechism,  by  Mrs.  C.  Holt  Flint.  The 
State  Agricultural  Society  by  request  set  apart  one  day  of  the  fair 
as  Woman's  Day.  and  five  women's  organizations  took  part  in  the 
exercises.  At  the  hour  devoted  especially  to  suffrage  Mrs.  DeVoe 
made  the  address.  Mrs.  Coggeshall  presiding.  It  was  hard  to  tell 
where  this  hour  began  and  ended,  for  to  the  listener  all  seemed 
suffrage  hours. 


IOWA.  63 1 

This  report  told  also  of  a  series  of  questions  sent  out  which 
ascertained  that,  in  the  territory  covered  by  twenty-eight  clubs, 
seventy-eight  ministers  were  in  favor  of  suffrage  and  eighteen 
opposed ;  and  in  the  same  territory  forty  editors  were  in  favor  and 
nineteen  opposed.  There  were  at  that  time  fifty-seven  clubs  in 
the  State. 

The  year  1893  marked  a  period  of  unusual  activity.  The  ex- 
ecutive committee  held  monthly  meetings.  Four  organizers  were 
kept  in  the  field.  A  large  amount  of  money  was  raised  and  $100 
donated  to  the  campaign  in  Colorado.  A  request  was  sent  to  the 
clubs  that  each  contribute  to  the  campaign  in  Kansas,  which  in 
many  instances  was  done.  The  annual  meeting  took  place  in 
Webster  City,  November  9,  10. 

The  convention  of  1894  was  held  in  Marshalltown,  November 
8,  9.  That  of  1895  met  in  Des  Moines,  October  18,  19.  Mrs. 
Laura  M.  Johns  of  Kansas  was  secured  for  a  month  of  organiza- 
tion work  and  the  suffrage  enrollment  ordered  to  be  continued. 

In  1896  Mrs.  Adelaide  Ballard  was  elected  State  organizer. 
At  the  State  Fair  Mrs.  Pauline  Swalm  delivered  an  address  on 
The  Woman  Citizen.  The  suffrage  cottage  was  kept  open  and  a 
long  list  of  names  was  placed  upon  the  enrollment  books.  The 
annual  meeting  convened  in  Independence,  November  17-19. 
Mrs.  Ballard  reported  thirty-seven  new  clubs  organized.  Mrs. 
Anna  H.  Satterly  announced  that  forty-two  newspapers  were 
publishing  articles  furnished  by  the  National  Association,  which 
also  sent  Mrs.  DeVoe  for  a  month's  work  in  the  State. 

In  January,  1897,  the  National  Association  held  its  convention 
in  Des  Moines,  with  many  noted  women  in  attendance.*  This 
gave  a  great  impetus  to  the  work  and  had  a  decided  effect  upon 
sentiment  in  the  State,  particularly  on  that  of  the  daily  papers 
in  Des  Moines,  most  of  which  since  this  time  have  treated  the 
cause  with  marked  courtesy.  At  the  close  of  the  convention  fifty 
members  were  added  to  the  city  club.  The  National  Association 
heartily  approved  the  plan  of  an  active  campaign  with  a  view  to 
securing  the  submission  of  a  suffrage  amendment  from  the  Legis- 
lature. Under  the  directions  of  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of 
its  organization  committee,  workers  were  sent  into  the  field  to 

*  Sec  Chapter  XVII. 


632  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

hold  a  series  of  conventions  for  the  purpose  of  perfecting  the 
organization  of  the  State.  These  resulted  in  county  societies 
in  ninety-four  of  the  ninety-nine  counties  and  one  hundred  new 
clubs.  The  speakers  were  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw>  national 
vice-president-at-large,  and  the  Rev.  Henrietta  G.  Moore  of 
Ohio ;  the  managers,  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay  of  New  York  and  Miss 
Laura  A.  Gregg  of  Kansas.  Mrs.  Ballard  and  Mrs.  Clara  M. 
Richey  each  gave  a  month  to  conducting  meetings,  and  other 
Iowa  women  rendered  valuable  assistance. 

The  annual  meeting  of  1897  took  place  in  Des  Moines,  Octo- 
ber 13-15.  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  Miss  Hay,  Miss  Moore  and  Mrs. 
Addie  M.  Johnson  of  Missouri  were  present.  Much  enthusiasm 
was  manifested  and  $1,400  were  raised  to  carry  on  the  next 
year's  work.  It  was  decided  to  open  headquarters  in  Des  Moines 
the  first  of  January,  1898,  with  Mrs.  Ina  Light  Taylor  as  office 
secretary. 

Beginning  in  April,  1898,  the  State  association  conducted  a 
series  of  conferences  throughout  the  northern  part  of  Iowa,  em- 
ploying as  speakers  Mrs.  Campbell  and  Mrs.  Ballard;  and  as 
managers  Miss  Ella  Harrison  of  Missouri  and  Mrs.  Richey.  At 
the  same  time  the  National  Association  sent  into  the  southern 
part  Miss  Moore  and  Mrs.  Martha  A.  B.  Conine  of  Colorado, 
as  speakers,  and  Miss  Gregg  and  Mrs.  Jennie  L.  Wilson  as  man- 
agers. The  annual  meeting  was  held  in  Council  Bluffs,  October 
19-21.  Mrs.  Evelyn  H.  Belden  was  made  president. 

During  1899  a  large  amount  of  work  was  done  by  correspond- 
ence. The  office  of  press  superintendent  was  transferred  to  head- 
quarters, from  which  200  newspapers  were  supplied  each  week 
with  suffrage  matter.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  clubs  were  in 
active  existence.  The  convention  met  in  Mason  City,  October 
10-12.  Mrs.  Belden  was  unanimously  re-elected  and  $1,500  were 
raised. 

The  convention  of  1900  was  held  in  Des  Moines,  October  16- 
18,  with  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  in  attendance.  During  the  year 
Mrs.  Nellie  Welsh  Nelson  had  done  organization  work  in  north- 
western Iowa,  and  Miss  Hay  and  Dr.  Frances  Woods  lately  had 
held  a  number  of  meetings  and  formed  several  clubs.  One  thou- 
sand dollars  were  pledged  to  continue  the  State  headquarters. 


IOWA.  633 

Mrs.  Belden  was  again  elected  to  the  presidency,  and  the  associa- 
tion entered  upon  the  new  century  bearing  the  banner  it  had 
followed  for  thirty  years,  with  the  inscription,  "Never  give  up."* 

Year  after  year  the  executive  committee  have  visited  the  State 
conventions  of  all  the  political  parties  asking  for  a  plank  in  their 
platforms  indorsing  equal  suffrage,  but  without  success.  Many 
of  the  prominent  officials  and  political  leaders,  however,  have 
openly  declared  in  favor  of  the  enfranchisement  of  women,  f 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  From  its  organization  in 
1870  the  State  association  has  had  a  bill  before  every  Legislature 
asking  some  form  of  suffrage  for  women.  This  usually  has 
passed  one  House  but  never  both  at  the  same  session.  The  peti- 
tions accompanying  these  bills  have  varied  from  8,000  signatures 
in  1884  to  100,000  in  1900.  In  1884  the  measure  was  carried  in 
the  Senate  but  lost  in  the  House. 

In  1886  a  bill  for  Municipal  Suffrage  was  introduced  by  Rep- 
resentative J.  A.  Lyons,  amended  to  include  School  Suffrage  and 
recommended  for  passage,  but  it  never  came  to  a  vote. 

In  1888  a  bill  for  Municipal  and  School  Suffrage  was  lost  in 
the  House  by  1 1  ayes,  80  noes.  This  was  presented  in  the  Senate 
also  but  never  voted  upon. 

In  1890  a  bill  for  School  Suffrage  was  recommended  for  pas- 
sage in  the  House  but  did  not  reach  a  vote.  A  bill  for  Municipal 
Suffrage  at  the  same  session  was  not  reported.  Both  were  killed 
in  the  Senate  committee. 

In  1892  a  bill  allowing  women  to  vote  for  Presidential  Electors 
was  introduced  in  the  House  but  was  unfavorably  reported  and 

*  The  following  have  served  as  presidents,  beginning  with  1884:  Mrs.  Narcissa  T. 
Bemis,  Mrs.  Margaret  W.  Campbell  (four  terms),  Mrs.  Mary  B.  Welch,  Mrs.  Mary  J. 
Coggeshall  (two  terms),  Mrs.  Estelle  T.  Smith  (two  terms),  Mrs.  Rowena  Stevens,  Mrs. 
M.  Lloyd  Kennedy,  Mrs.  Adelaide  Ballard  (two  terms),  Mrs.  Evelyn  H.  Belden  (three 
terms). 

The  officers  at  present  are:  Vice-president,  Mrs.  Dollie  Romans  Bradley;  corresponding 
secretary,  Mrs.  Nellie  Welsh  Nelson;  recording  secretary,  Mrs.  Clara  M.  Richey;  treas- 
urer, Mrs.  Mary  J.  Coggeshall;  executive  committee,  Mrs.  Anna  H.  Ankeny,  Mrs.  Emma 
C.  Ladd,  Miss  Alice  Priest;  auditors,  Mrs.  Martha  C.  Callanan,  Mrs.  Ina  Light  Taylor; 
member  national  executive  committee,  Mrs.  Margaret  W.  Campbell;  State  organizer,  Dr. 
Frances  Woods. 

t  It  is  plainly  impossible  to  mention  the  names  of  all  or  even  a  large  part  of  the  workers 
in  a  State  where  so  much  has  been  done.  A  few  of  the  most  prominent  not  already 
named  are  George  W.  Bemis;  Mesdames  Irene  Adams,  Virginia  Branner,  S.  J.  Cole,  S.  J. 
Cottrell,  Mary  E.  Emsley,  Clara  F.  Harkness,  Julia  Clark  Hallam,  Helen  M.  Harriman, 
Etta  S.  Kirk,  Alice  S.  Longley,  Hannah  Lecompte,  Florence  Maskrey,  Emily  Phillips, 
Martha  A.  Peck,  Mettie  Laub  Romans,  C.  A.  Reynolds,  Cordelia  Sloughton,  Roma  W. 
Woods;  Misses  Daisy  Deighton,  Ella  Moffatt,  Katharine  Pierce. 


634  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

indefinitely  postponed.  In  the  Senate  it  was  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Suffrage  and  never  reported. 

In  1894  a  bill  for  Municipal  and  School  Suffrage  was  favora- 
bly reported  in  the  House.  It  was  made  a  special  order  and,  after 
being  amended  so  as  to  give  women  the  right  to  vote  only  when 
bonds  were  to  be  issued,  it  was  returned  to  the  Judiciary  Commit- 
tee. They  reported  it  without  recommendation  for  the  reason 
that  they  were  not  agreed  as  to  its  constitutionality.  It  was 
passed  by  51  ayes,  39  noes.  In  the  Senate  the  amended  bill 
passed  by  27  ayes,  20  noes. 

The  greatest  difficulty  in  the  way  of  securing  Municipal  or 
School  Suffrage  was  the  opinion  prevalent  among  legislators 
that  it  would  be  unconstitutional.  In  view  of  this  fact  the  State 
association  decided  to  drop  all  partial  suffrage  measures  and  ask 
only  for  the  Full  Franchise  by  constitutional  amendment. 

In  1898  a  legislative  committee  was  appointed  with  Mrs.  Bel- 
den,  State  president,  as  chairman.  Assisted  by  Miss  Mary  G. 
Hay  of  New  York,  she  spent  some  time  at  the  capital  trying  to 
secure  a  joint  resolution  for  the  submission  of  an  amendment. 
The  resolution  was  lost  in  the  House  by  50  ayes,  47  noes — just 
one  short  of  a  constitutional  majority,  which  is  one  over  a  half 
of  the  whole  number  of  members.  It  did  not  come  to  a  vote  in 
the  Senate. 

In  1900  Mrs.  Belden  established  headquarters  at  the  Savery 
House  in  Des  Moines,  and  with  other  members  of  the  legislative 
committee  conducted  a  vigorous  campaign  for  submission.  The 
bill  was  reported  favorably  by  unanimous  vote  of  both  House 
and  Senate  committees,  but  was  lost  in  the  House  by  44  ayes,  55 
noes.  Subsequently  it  passed  the  "sifting  committee,"  for  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  suffrage  legislation  in  the  State.  It 
was  then  acted  upon  by  the  Senate  and  lost  by  24  ayes,  23  noes — 
lacking  two  votes  of  a  constitutional  majority.  The  absence  on 
account  of  illness  of  some  of  the  friends  of  the  measure  contrib- 
uted to  this  result.  In  the  meantime  work  had  been  done  in  the. 
House  by  Mrs.  Belden  and  the  Hon.  G.  W.  Hinkle  which  had 
made  it  certain  that  if  the  bill  was  carried  in  the  Senate  the  House 
would  reconsider  and  pass  it.  The  bill  was  treated  with  courtesy 


IOWA.  635 

and  fairness  and  instead  of  ignoring  its  claims  men  came  volun- 
tarily to  talk  about  it  and  showed  a  genuine  interest. 

The  laws  of  inheritance  are  the  same  for  husband  and  wife. 
Dower  and  curtesy  are  abolished.  The  surviving  husband  or 
wife  is  entitled  to  one-third  in  fee  simple  of  both  real  and  personal 
estate  of  the  other  at  his  or  her  death.  If  either  die  intestate, 
leaving  no  issue,  one-half  of  the  estate  goes  to  the  survivor,  the 
rest  to  his  or  her  parents,  one  or  both ;  or  if  they  are  both  dead, 
to  their  descendants.  If  there  are  none  such,  the  whole  estate 
goes  to  the  surviving  husband  or  wife.  If  there  should  have 
been  more  than  one  wife  or  husband,  the  half  portion  is  equally 
divided  between  the  husband  or  wife  living  and  the  heirs  of 
those  who  are  dead,  or  the  heirs  of  all,  if  all  are  dead. 

A  married  woman  may  contract,  sue  and  be  sued  and  carry 
on  business  in  her  own  name  as  if  unmarried  and  her  earnings 
are  her  sole  and  separate  property. 

In  1896  an  act  was  passed  making  it  illegal  for  the  husband 
to  mortgage  household  goods  without  the  wife's  signature.  The 
same  year  it  was  made  a  misdemeanor  and  punishable  as  such 
for  a  man  to  desert  a  woman  whom  he  married  to  escape  prose- 
cution for  seduction. 

The  law  declares  the  father  and  mother  natural  guardians 
and  legally  entitled  to  the  custody  of  the  minor  children,  but  in 
practice  the  father  has  prior  claim. 

The  support  and  education  of  the  family  are  chargeable  equally 
on  the  husband's  and  the  wife's  property. 

In  1886  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10 
to  13  years;  and  in  1896,  on  petition  of  the  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union,  from  13  to  15  years.  The  penalty  is  impris- 
onment in  the  penitentiary  for.  life  or  for  any  term  of  years  not 
less  than  twenty.  An  amendment  was  made  in  1894  that  "a  man 
can  not  be  convicted  upon  the  testimony  of  the  person  injured 
unless  she  be  corroborated  by  other  evidence." 

The  same  year  this  organization  secured  a  law  compelling  the 
separation  of  men  and  women  prisoners  in  county  jails. 

SUFFRAGE:  Since  1894  the  right  of  any  citizen  to  vote  at  any 
city,  town  or  school  election,  on  the  question  of  issuing  any  bonds 
for  municipal  or  school  purposes,  and  for  the  purpose  of  borrow- 


636  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ing  money,  or  on  the  question  of  increasing  the  tax  levy,  shall 
not  be  denied  or  abridged  on  account  of  sex. 

At  all  elections  where  women  may  vote,  no  registration  of 
women  shall  be  required,  separate  ballots  shall  be  furnished  for 
the  question  on  which  they  are  entitled  to  vote,  a  separate  ballot- 
box  shall  be  provided  in  which  all  ballots  cast  by  them  shall  be 
deposited,  and  a  separate  canvass  thereof  made  by  the  judges  of 
the  election,  and  the  returns  thereof  shall  show  such  vote. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  Women  are  not  forbidden  by  law  to  hold 
any  office  except  that  of  legislator. 

In  1884  thirteen  women  were  serving  as  county  superintend- 
ents and  ten  as  superintendents  of  city  schools;  six  were  presi- 
dents, thirty-five  secretaries  and  fifty  treasurers  of  school  boards. 
In  1885  the  school  board  of  Des  Moines  elected  a  woman  city 
superintendent  at  a  salary  of  $1,800,  with  charge  of  eighty  teach- 
ers, including  two  male  principals.  In  1900  twenty-one  women 
were  elected  county  superintendents.  A  large  number  are  acting 
as  school  trustees  but  it  is  impossible  to  get  the  exact  figures. 

The  office  of  State  librarian  always  was  filled  by  a  woman 
until  1898,  when  Gov.  Leslie  M.  Shaw  placed  a  man  in  charge. 
The  librarian  of  the  State  University  always  has  been  a  woman. 
There  are  two  women  on  the  Library  Board  of  Des  Moines. 

Clerkships  in  the  Legislature  and  in  the  executive  offices  are 
frequently  given  to  women. 

For  six  years  Mrs.  Anna  Hepburn  was  recorder  of  Polk 
County,  and  this  office  has  been  held  by  women  in  other  counties. 

A  law  of  1892  requires  cities  of  over  25,000  inhabitants  to  em- 
ploy police  matrons.  They  wear  uniform  and  star  and  have  the 
same  authority  as  men  on  the  force,  with  this  difference  in  their 
appointment :  The  law  makes  it  permanent  and  they  can  not  be 
dismissed  unless  serious  charges  are  proved  against  them. 

A  woman  has  been  appointed  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Ex- 
aminers for  the  Law  Department  of  the  State  University.  For 
a  number  of  years  women  have  been  sitting  on  the  State  boards 
of  Charities  and  Reforms.  They  have  served  on  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home.  A  woman  is  on  the 
State  Board  of  Education,  and  another  on  the  State  Library 
Commission. 


IOWA.  637 

The  law  provides  that  women  physicians  may  be  employed 
in  the  State  hospitals  for  the  insane,  but  only  two  or  three  have 
been  appointed.  The  Board  of  Control  may  appoint  a  woman 
on  the  visiting  committee  for  these  asylums  but  this  has  not  yet 
been  done.  A  few  women  have  served  on  this  board. 

The  law  also  provides  for  women  physicians  in  all  State  insti- 
tutions where  women  are  placed,  but  does  not  require  them. 

The  Legislature  of  1900  passed  a  bill  to  establish  a  Woman's 
Industrial  Reformatory  of  which  the  superintendent  must  be  a 
woman.  The  salary  is  $1,000  a  year. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  forbid- 
den to  women.  In  1884  Iowa  furnished,  at  Marion,  what  is 
believed  to  be  the  first  instance  of  the  election  of  a  woman  as 
president  of  a  United  States  national  bank. 

EDUCATION  :  The  universities  and  colleges,  including  the 
State  Agricultural  College,  always  have  been  co-educational. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  5,855  men  and  22,839  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $37.10;  of 
the  women,  $31.45. 


The  women  of  Iowa  have  thrown  themselves  eagerly  into  the 
great  club  movement,  and  clubs  literary,  philanthropic,  scientific 
and  political  abound.  The  State  Federation  numbers  300  of 
these  with  a  membership  of  12,000.  This,  however,  does  not  in- 
clude nearly  all  the  women's  organizations. 

By  all  the  means  at  their  command  women  are  striving  to  fit 
themselves  for  whatever  duties  the  future  may  have  in  store  for 
them.  With  an  unfaltering  trust  in  the  manhood  of  Iowa  men, 
those  who  advocate  suffrage  are  waiting — and  working  while 
they  wait — for  the  time  when  men  and  women  shall  stand  side 
by  side  in  governmental  as  in  all  other  vital  matters. 


CHAPTER   XL. 

KANSAS.* 

The  first  Woman's  Rights  Association  was  organized  in  Kan- 
sas in  the  spring  of  1859,  by  a  little  coterie  of  twenty-five  men  and 
women,  with  the  object  of  securing  suffrage  for  women  from  the 
convention  which  was  to  meet  in  July  to  form  a  constitution  for 
Statehood.  They  did  not  succeed  in  this  but  to  them  is  largely 
due  its  remarkably  liberal  provisions  regarding  women,  f 

Afterwards  local  suffrage  societies  were  formed  but  there  was 
no  attempt  to  have  a  State  association  until  1884.  In  the  winter 
of  that  year  Mrs.  Bertha  H.  Ellsworth  was  sent  to  the  National 
Convention  at  Washington  by  the  society  of  Lincoln,  and  she 
returned  enthusiastic  for  organization.  After  some  correspond- 
ence the  first  convention  was  called  by  Mrs.  Hetta  P.  Mansfield, 
who  had  been  appointed  vice-president  of  Kansas  by  the  National 
Association,  and  it  met  in  the  Senate  Chamber  at  Topeka,  June 
25.  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Cougar,  who  was  making  a  lecture  tour  of 
the  State,  was  invited  to  preside,  and  Mrs.  Anna  C.  Wait,  presi- 
dent of  the  five-year-old  society  at  Lincoln  and  for  many  years 
the  strongest  force  behind  the  movement,  acted  as  secretary.! 
Telegrams  of  greeting  were  received  from  Lucy  Stone  and  Henry 
B.  Blackwell,  editors  of  the  Woman's  Journal.  At  the  evening 
meeting  Mrs.  Ellsworth  recited  an  original  poem  and  Mrs.  Gou- 
gar  delivered  a  fine  address  to  a  large  audience.  Professor  W. 
H.  Carruth,  of  the  University  of  Kansas,  assisted,  coming  as 
delegate  from  a  flourishing  suffrage  society  at  Lawrence,  of 
which  Miss  Sarah  A.  Brown  was  president  and  Mrs.  Annie  L. 
Diggs  secretary.  A  constitution  was  adopted  and  Mrs.  Mans- 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  principally  to  Mrs.  Annie  L.  Diggs  of  Topeka, 
State  Librarian  and  former  president  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association.  The 
editors  are  also  under  obligations  to  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns  of  Salina  and  Mrs.  Anna  C. 
Wait  of  Lincoln,  former  presidents. 

t  See  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  I,  p.  191. 

t  See  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  Ill,  Chap.  L. 

638 


KANSAS.  639 

field  was  elected  president ;  Mrs.  Wait,  vice-president ;  Mrs.  Ells- 
worth, corresponding  secretary. 

In  the  fall  of  1884  Mrs.  Ellsworth  and  Mrs.  Clara  B.  Colby  of 
Nebraska,  made  an  extended  lecture  and  organizing  tour.  At 
Salina  they  met  and  enlisted  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns,  and  then  be- 
gan the  systematic  work  which  rapidly  brought  Mrs.  Johns  to 
the  front  as  the  leader  of  the  suffrage  forces  in  Kansas.  In  ad- 
dition to  her  great  ability  as  an  organizer,  she  is  an  unsurpassed 
manager  of  conventions,  a  forceful  writer,  an  able  speaker  and 
a  woman  of  winning  personality. 

On  Jan.  15,  16,  1885,  the  State  association  held  its  annual 
meeting  in  Topeka,  during  the  first  week  of  the  Legislature.  Its 
chief  business  was  to  secure  the  introduction  of  a  bill  granting 
Municipal  Woman  Suffrage,  in  which  it  succeeded.  Mrs.  Gou- 
gar  was  an  inspiring  figure  throughout  the  convention,  address- 
ing a  large  audience  in  Assembly  Hall.  A  Committee  on  the 
Political  Rights  of  Women  was  secured  in  the  Lower  House  by 
a  vote  of  75  yeas,  45  nays,  after  a  spirited  contest.  One  was  re- 
fused in  the  Senate  by  a  tie  vote.  Much  interest  and  discussion 
among  the  members  resulted  and  a  favorable  sentiment  was 
created.  Mrs.  Wait  was  made  president,  Mrs.  Johns,  vice-presi- 
dent. A  second  convention  was  held  this  year  in  Salina,  October 
28,  29,  with  "Mother"  Bickerdyke  and  Mrs.  Colby  as  the  prin- 
cipal speakers.  A  large  amount  of  work  was  planned,  all  look- 
ing to  the  end  of  securing  Municipal  Suffrage  from  the  next 
Legislature. 

During  1886  the  State  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union, 
under  the  presidency  of  Mrs.  Fannie  H.  Rastall,  zealously  co- 
operated with  the  suffrage  association  in  the  effort  for  the  Mu- 
nicipal Franchise,  Miss  Amanda  Way,  Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Thurston, 
Miss  Olive  P.  Bray  and  many  other  able  women  making  common 
cause  with  its  legislative  committee  and  working  for  the  bill. 
About  9,000  suffrage  documents  were  distributed. 

This  autumn  eleven  conventions  in  the  congressional  districts 
of  the  State  were  held  under  the  efficient  management  of  Mrs. 
Johns  and  Mrs.  Wait,  beginning  at  Leavenworth,  October  4,  5, 
and  following  at  Abilene,  Lincoln,  Florence,  Hutchinson,  Wich- 
ita, Anthony,  Winfield,  Independence,  Fort  Scott  and  Lawrence. 


640  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  vice-president-at-large  of  the  National 
Association,  Mrs.  Colby  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Lyle  Saxon  of  New 
Orleans,  were  the  speakers.  They  were  greeted  by  crowded 
houses,  Miss  Anthony  especially  receiving  an  ovation  at  every 
place  visited. 

In  October  the  American  W.  S.  A.  held  its  national  conven- 
tion in  Topeka.  Lucy  Stone,  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  the  Rev.  Anna 
Howard  Shaw  and  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe,  of  Massachusetts, 
and  the  Hon.  William  Dudley  Foulke  and  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Hag- 
gart,  of  Indiana,  were  present.  The  meeting  was  of  incalcula- 
ble benefit  at  this  time.  For  the  next  few  months  Mrs.  Cougar, 
with  her  strong  speeches,  was  everywhere  in  demand;  Mrs. 
Saxon  was  continuously  at  work;  Mrs.  Zerelda  G.  Wallace  of 
Indiana  made  a  number  of  powerful  addresses,  and  the  whole 
State  was  aroused  in  the  interest  of  the  bill. 

Instead  of  holding  the  usual  State  convention  in  1886  it  met  in 
Topeka,  Jan.  11-13,  ^87,  when  the  Legislature  was  in  ses- 
sion, and  was  largely  attended  for  success  seemed  near  at  hand. 
Mrs.  Belva  A.  Lockwood  of  Washington,  D.  C,  made  an  able 
address.  The  other  speakers  were  Professor  Carruth,  the  Rev. 
C.  H.  Rogers,  Mrs.  Saxon  and  Mrs.  Colby.  Miss  Sarah  A. 
Brown,  as  chairman  of  the  committee,  reported  a  resolution  urg- 
ing the  Legislature  to  confer  Municipal  Suffrage  on  women, 
which  was  unanimously  carried,  and  the  most  determined  pur- 
pose to  secure  its  passage  by  the  Legislature  then  in  session  was 
manifested.  Mrs.  Johns  was  elected  president,  an  office  which 
she  held  eight  consecutive  years. 

The  bill  passed  and  became  a  law  February  15.  The  next  an- 
nual meeting  took  place  in  Newton,  Oct.  13-15,  1887,  with  the 
usual  large  attendance.*  Miss  Anthony,  Mr.  Blackwell,  the 
Rev.  Miss  Shaw  and  Rachel  G.  Foster  (Avery)  were  the  speakers 
from  abroad.  Two  notable  events  were  the  appearance  of  Kan- 
sas' first  woman  mayor,  Mrs.  M.  D.  Salter  of  Argonia,  and  the 
reading  of  a  carefully  compiled  statement  relative  to  the  first  vote 

*  At  this  meeting,  on  motion  of  Mrs.  Johns,  the  yellow  ribbon  was  adopted  as  the 
suffrage  badge,  in  honor  of  the  sunflower,  the  State  flower  of  Kansas,  the  one  which 
follows  the  wheel  track  and  the  plough,  as  woman's  enfranchisement  should  follow 
civilization.  It  was  afterwards  adopted  by  the  National  Association  in  recognition  of 
Kansas,  then  the  most  progressive  State  in  regard  to  women.  Those  of  a  classical  bent 
accepted  it  because  yellow  among  the  ancients  signified  wisdom. 


KANSAS.  641 

of  women  in  the  towns  and  cities  at  the  election  the  preceding 
April.  This  paper  was  the  work  of  Judge  Francis  G.  Adams, 
for  many  years  secretary  of  the  State  Historical  Society,  and  a 
lifelong  friend  and  helper  of  woman's  enfranchisement.  It  an- 
swered conclusively  the  question  whether  women  would  vote  if 
they  had  an  opportunity. 

This  convention  was  followed  by  a  very  successful  series  of 
meetings  in  many  cities  to  arouse  public  sentiment  in  favor  of 
Full  Suffrage,  under  the  management  of  Mrs.  Johns  and  Mrs. 
Letitia  V.  Watkins,  State  organizer,  with  Miss  Anthony,  Miss 
Shaw  and  Miss  Foster  as  speakers.  Considerable  attention  was 
given  to  the  speech  recently  made  by  U.  S.  Senator  John  J. 
Ingalls  at  Abilene,  vigorously  opposing  woman  suffrage. 

Mrs.  Mary  A.  Woodbridge  of  the  National,  and  Mrs.  Rastall 
of  the  Kansas  W.  C.  T.  U.,  also  made  an  active  canvass  of  the 
State.  These  organizations  united  in  a  strong  appeal  to  women 
to  be  equal  to  their  new  responsibilities,  which  was  supplemented 
by  one  from  the  national  president,  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard. 

The  State  convention  met  at  Emporia,  Nov.  13-15,  1888,  with 
Miss  Anthony  as  its  most  inspiring  figure.  A  notable  feature 
was  the  address  of  Mrs.  Johns,  the  president,  in  which  she  said : 

And  this  brings  me  to  speak  of  our  attitude  toward  political  par- 
ties. Whatever  may  be  the  individual  preferences  of  the  officers  of 
our  State  Association,  our  organisation  is  non-partisan.  I  have 
hitherto  regarded  it  as  necessary  that  it  should  be  strictly  non-parti- 
san, just  as  I  have  believed  that  it  must  remain  non-sectarian,  so 
that  no  one  of  any  faith,  political  or  religious,  shall  be  shut  out  from 

our  work I  believe  that  this  attitude  toward  sects  will 

be  necessary  to  the  day  of  our  full  enfranchisement;  but  not  as  it 
now  is  will  our  relations  to  party  remain.  The  time  is  not  yet  ripe 
perhaps,  but  the  years  will  not  be  many  to  go  over  our  heads  before 
we  shall  feel  the  necessity  of  declaring  our  allegiance  to  a  party, 
and  it  is  possible  that  to  this  we  will  be  compelled  to  come  before  we 
secure  an  amendment  to  the  constitution  of  the  State  striking  out  the 
word  "male." 

A  strong  speech  was  made  by  Secretary  Adams,  urging  that 
women  should  do  aggressive  political  work  with  a  view  of  secur- 
ing the  franchise.  From  this  time  on  women  were  not  only  wel- 
comed as  political  allies,  but  their  influence  and  active  participa- 
tion were  sought  in  party  politics.  Many  women  lent  their  aid 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF— 41 


642  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

chiefly  owing  to  their  belief  that  they  would  thus  become  so  valu- 
able as  to  win  party  support  to  their  full  enfranchisement ;  others 
were  enlisted  by  reason  of  their  interest  and  devotion  to  the  is- 
sues. Whether  for  good  or  ill  as  it  should  affect  full  suffrage, 
Kansas  women  thenceforth  entered  fully  into  party  affiliations,  but 
as  individuals  and  not  as  representing  the  suffrage  association. 

The  State  convention  of  1889  assembled  in  Wichita,  October 
1-3.  Miss  Anthony  was  an  honored  guest  and  among  those  who 
made  addresses  were  Mrs.  Colby,  Mrs.  Mary  D.  Lowman,  mayor 
of  Oskaloosa,  and  the  Hon.  Randolph  Hatfield. 

At  the  convention  of  1890  in  Atchison,  November  18-20,  Miss 
Anthony  was  again  present  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Carrie  Chap- 
man Catt  and  Mrs.  Colby. 

The  annual  meeting  of  1891  was  held  in  Topeka,  November 
20,  21.  During  the  past  year  the  great  political  change  from  Re- 
publicanism to  Populism  had  taken  place  in  Kansas.  Women 
had  been  among  the  most  potent  factors  in  this  revolution,  and  as 
woman  suffrage  was  at  that  time  a  cardinal  principle  of  the  Pop- 
ulist party,  and  there  always  had  been  considerable  sentiment  in 
favor  of  it  among  Republicans,  the  prospects  of  obtaining  the 
Full  Franchise  seemed  very  bright. 

In  February  and  March  of  1892  a  series  of  thirty  two-days' 
conventions  was  held  in  the  congressional  districts  and  in  nearly 
one-third  of  the  counties  of  the  State,  attended  by  great  crowds. 
Miss  Jennie  Broderick  was  chairman  of  the  committee,  Mrs. 
Rachel  Foster  Avery  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  Mrs.  Martha 
Powell  Davis,  Mrs.  Martia  L.  Berry,  Mrs.  Diggs  and  Mrs.  Wait 
were  the  other  members.  Mrs.  Avery  contributed  $1,000  toward 
this  canvass.  Outside  speakers  were  Miss  Florence  Balgarnie  of 
England,  Mrs.  Mary  Seymour  Howell  of  New  York,  Mrs.  Clara 
C.  Hoffman  of  Missouri,  and  the  Rev.  Miss  Shaw.  The 
State  speakers  were  Mesdames  S.  A.  Thurston,  May  Belleville 
Brown,  Elizabeth  F.  Hopkins,  J.  Shelly  Boyd  and  Caroline  L. 
Denton.  Mrs.  Johns  arranged  all  of  these  conventions,  presided 
one  day  or  more  over  each  and  spoke  at  every  one,  organizing  in 
person  twenty-five  of  the  thirty-one  local  societies  which  were 
formed  as  a  result  of  these  meetings. 

The  first  week  in  June  a  two-days'  suffrage  conference  was  held 


KANSAS.  643 

at  the  Ottawa  Chautauqua  Assembly,  with  the  assistance  of  Miss 
Anthony,  president,  and  Miss  Shaw,  vice-president-at-large  of 
the  National  Association.  From  here  Miss  Anthony  went  to 
the  State  Republican  Convention,  in  session  at  Topeka,  accom- 
panied by  Mrs.  Johns,  Mrs.  Hopkins  and  Mrs.  Brown,  officers  of 
the  State  suffrage  society.  They  were  joined  by  Miss  Amanda 
Way  and  "Mother"  Bickerdyke,  and  by  unanimous  vote  all  of 
these  ladies  were  given  seats  upon  the  floor  of  the  convention. 
Miss  Anthony  was  invited  to  address  the  body,  conducted  to  the 
plaform  amid  ringing  cheers  and  her  remarks  were  cordially  re- 
ceived. Later  several  of  the  ladies  addressed  the  resolutions 
committee,  and  the  final  result,  by  455  yeas,  267  nays,  was  a  plank 
in  the  platform  unequivocally  declaring  for  the  submission  of  an 
amendment  to  the  constitution  to  enfranchise  women.  A  similar 
plank  already  had  been  adopted  by  the  Populist  State  Convention 
at  Wichita  with  great  enthusiasm. 

During  the  autumn  campaign  following,  Mrs.  Diggs  and  other 
women  spoke  from  the  Populist  platform,  and  Miss  Anthony, 
Mrs.  Johns  and  Mrs.  T.  J.  Smith  from  the  Republican.  Miss 
Anthony,  however,  simply  called  attention  to  the  record  of  the 
Republican  party  in  the  cause  of  human  freedom,  and  urged  them 
to  complete  it  by  enfranchising  women,  but  did  not  take  up  polit- 
ical issues. 

The  State  convention  of  1892  was  held  at  Enterprise,  Decem- 
ber 6-8,  and  the  problem  of  preserving  the  non-partisan  attitude 
of  the  organization  so  as  to  appeal  with  equal  force  to  Republi- 
cans and  Populists  presented  itself.  With  this  in  view,  Mrs. 
Diggs,  a  Populist,  was  made  vice-president,  as  support  and  coun- 
sellor of  Mrs.  Johns,  the  president,  who  was  a  prominent  Repub- 
lican, and  the  association,  despite  the  political  diversity  of  its 
members,  was  held  strictly  to  a  non-partisan  basis. 

Both  Republicans  and  Populists  having  declared  for  the  sub- 
mission of  a  woman  suffrage  amendment,  the  Legislature  of  1893 
passed  a  bill  for  this  purpose,  championed  by  Representative  E. 
W.  Hoch  and  Senator  Householder.  From  that  time  forward, 
Mrs.  Johns,  Mrs.  Diggs  and  hundreds  of  Kansas  women  of  both 
Republican  and  Populist  faith  labored  with  untiring  zeal  for  its 
success.  Nothing  was  left  undone  that  human  wisdom  could 
plan  or  human  effort  carry  out. 


644  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

On  Sept.  I,  2,  1893,  a  mass  meeting  was  held  in  Kansas  City  at 
which  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  ably  presented  the  question.  Mrs. 
Emma  Smith  DeVoe  of  Illinois  agreed  to  raise  $2,000  in  the 
State.  Mrs.  Thurston,  at  the  head  of  the  press  bureau,  an- 
nounced that  hundreds  of  papers  were  pledged  to  support  the 
amendment;  the  State  Teachers'  Association  passed  a  strong 
resolution  for  it ;  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  was  in  favor ; 
Miss  Helen  L.  Kimber  related  much  success  in  organizing,  and 
from  every  county  came  reports  of  meetings  and  debates. 

Mrs.  Johns,  State  president,  went  to  the  National  Suffrage 
Convention  in  Washington  in  the  winter  of  1894  and  made  a 
most  earnest  appeal  for  assistance  in  the  way  of  speakers  and 
funds,  both  of  which  were  promised  by  the  association.  She  was 
appointed  chairman  of  the  amendment  committee  with  power  to 
name  the  members,*  and  they  opened  up  with  energy  the  long 
campaign  of  agitation,  education  and  organization.  They  start- 
ed enrollment  books,  appointed  polling  committees  and  undertook 
to  put  people  to  work  in  every  one  of  the  2,100  voting  precincts. 
The  National  Association  contributed  $2,571  and  also  a  num- 
ber of  speakers.  A  constitutional  amendment  campaign  was 
in  progress  in  New  York  but  Miss  Anthony  made  many  trips 
from  there  to  Kansas,  and  spent  months  in  canvassing  the  State, 
donating  her  services  during  the  entire  time. 

Work  was  continued  without  cessation  for  the  purpose  of  creat- 
ing a  public  sentiment  which  would  be  strong  enough  to  compel 
the  delegates  to  the  political  State  conventions  of  1894  to  adopt  a 
plank  supporting  this  amendment,  just  as  in  1892  they  had  adopt- 
ed one  asking  for  it.  But  in  1892  the  Populists  had  swept  the 
State,  and  in  1894  the  Republicans  were  determined  to  regain  pos- 
session of  it  at  all  hazards.  The  amazement  and  grief  of  the  Re- 
publican women  was  beyond  expression  when  they  learned  early 
in  1894  that  their  party  was  going  to  refuse  indorsement  at  its 
convention  in  June.  Every  possible  influence  was  brought  to 
bear  by  the  State  and  the  National  Associations.  Miss  An- 
thony, Miss  Shaw  and  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  went  to  Kansas  to 

•Secretary,  May  Belleville  Brown;  treasurer,  Elizabeth  F.  Hopkins;  Mrs.  S.  A.  Thurs- 
ton, Mrs.  L.  B.  Smith,  Alma  B.  Stryker,  Eliza  McLallin,  Bina  A.  Otis,  Helen  L.  Kimber, 
Sallie  F.  Toler,  Annie  L.  Diggs;  from  the  National  Association,  Carrie  Chapman  Catt, 
chairman  of  the  organization  committee,  Rachel  Foster  Avery  and  Alice  Stone  Blackwell, 
corresponding  and  recording  secretaries. 


KANSAS.  645 

open  the  spring  canvass  for  the  women,  May  4.  They  spoke  to 
an  immense  audience  in  Kansas  City  and  a  resolution  was  adopt- 
ed urging  all  parties  to  put  a  woman  suffrage  plank  in  their  plat- 
forms. Miss  Anthony's  speech  was  published  in  full  in  the 
Leavenworth  Times,  Col.  D.  R.  Anthony,  editor,  and  circulated 
throughout  the  State.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  great  series 
of  two-days'  suffrage  conventions  held  by  two  groups  of  speakers 
and  so  "overlapping"  that  meetings  were  going  on  in  four  county 
seats  every  day,  until  85  of  the  105  counties  had  been  reached  in 
this  way.  The  Rev.  Miss  Shaw  and  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  repre- 
sented the  National  Association,  reinforced  by  a  number  of  able 
State  speakers.  All  of  these  meetings  were  arranged  and  man- 
aged by  Mrs.  Johns. 

Although  obliged  to  return  to  New  York  at  that  time,  in  three 
weeks  Miss  Anthony  went  back  to  Kansas,  arriving  the  day  be- 
fore the  Republican  convention,  June  6.  Neither  she  nor  Miss 
Shaw  was  allowed  to  address  the  resolutions  committee,  which 
had  been  carefully  fortified  against  all  efforts  by  the  appointment 
as  chairman  of  ex-Gov.  C.  V.  Eskridge,  an  active  opponent  ®f 
woman  suffrage  since  the  previous  campaign  of  1867.  Mrs.  J. 
Ellen  Foster  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  Mrs.  Johns,  both  strong 
Republican  speakers,  were,  however,  permitted  to  present  the 
claims  of  the  women,  but  the  platform  was  absolutely  silent,  not 
even  recognizing  the  services  of  Republican  women  in  municipal 
politics. 

The  next  Saturday  night  a  mass  meeting  attended  by  over 
1,000  people  was  held  in  Topeka,  Mrs.  Diggs  presiding,  Miss  An- 
thony and  Miss  Shaw  making  the  addresses. 

Every  effort  was  now  put  forth  to  secure  a -plank  from  the  Pop- 
ulist convention,  June  12.  There  was  great  opposition,  as  the 
party  knew  the  approaching  struggle  would  be  one  of  life  or 
death.  Gov.  L.  D.  Lewelling  had  asserted  he  would  not  stand 
for  re-election  on  a  platform  which  declared  for  woman  suf- 
frage. While  the  resolutions  committee  was  out,  Miss  Anthony, 
Miss  Shaw  and  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  addressed  the  convention 
amidst  great  enthusiasm.  The  majority  of  the  committee,  led  by 
its  chairman,  P.  P.  Elder,  were  bitterly  opposed  to  a  suffrage 
plank.  It  occupied  them  most  of  the  night,  and  was  defeated  by 


646  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

13  yeas,  8  nays.  The  one  woman  member,  Mrs.  Eliza  Hudson, 
brought  in  a  minority  report  signed  by  herself  and  the  other 
seven,  and  in  spite  of  every  parliamentary  tactic  it  was  brought 
to  a  debate  and  discussed  four  hours,  Judge  Frank  Doster*  lead- 
ing the  affirmative.  The  debate  was  closed  by  Mrs.  Diggs,f 
and  the  resolution  was  adopted  by  337  yeas,  269  nays — with  a 
rider  attached  to  it  saying,  "but  we  do  not  regard  this  as  a  test 
of  party  fealty." 

The  Democratic  women  brought  every  possible  influence  to 
bear  on  the  State  convention  of  that  party  but  it  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing resolution :  "We  oppose  woman  suffrage  as  tending  to 
destroy  the  home  and  family,  the  true  basis  of  political  safety, 
and  express  the  hope  that  the  helpmeet  and  guardian  of  the  fam- 
ily sanctuary  may  not  be  dragged  from  the  modest  purity  of  self- 
imposed  seclusion  to  be  thrown  unwillingly  into  the  unfeminine 
places  of  political  strife." 

Miss  Shaw  continued  canvassing  the  State  for  two  months. 
Then  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  went  out  and  remained  until  after 
election,  making  addresses,  conferring  with  the  politicians  and 
counseling  with  the  women.  Miss  Anthony,  who  was  obliged 
to  give  most  of  the  summer  to  the  great  campaign  in  progress 
in  her  own  State  of  New  York,  returned  to  Kansas  October 
20,  and  spoke  daily  on  the  Populist  platform  in  the  principal 
towns  until  election  day,  November  6,  but  only  on  the  suffrage 
plank.  A  large  number  of  the  ablest  of  the  Kansas  women  made 
speeches  throughout  the  campaign  and  an  army  of  them  worked 
for  the  amendment.! 

*  Now  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Kansas. 

t  Of  Mrs.  Diggs'  speech  Mrs.  Johns  writes :  "It  was  one  of  the  most  masterly  argu- 
ments I  ever  heard.  At  one  point  she  said:  'The  great  majority  of  you  declare  that 
woman  suffrage  is  right,  (a  roar  of  'yes,'  'yes,'  went  up),  and  yet  you  oppose  this  plank. 
Are  you  afraid  to  do  right?'  Her  reply  to  the  flimsy  objections  of  the  chairman,  P.  P. 
Elder,  was  simply  unanswerable.  She  cut  the  ground  from  under  his  feet,  and  his  con- 
fusion and  rout  were  so  complete  that  he  stood  utterly  confounded.  That  small  woman 
with  her  truth  and  eloquence  had  slain  the  Goliath  of  the  opposition!" 

J  The  following  speakers  and  organizers  were  placed  at  fairs,  Chautatiqua  assemblies, 
picnics,  teachers'  institutes  and  in  distinctive  suffrage  meetings:  James  Clement  Ambrose 
(Ills.),  Theresa  Jenkins  (Wyo.),  Elizabeth  Upham  Yates  (Me.),  Clara  C.  Hoffman  (Mo.); 
Mrs.  Johns,  J.  B.  Johns,  the  Revs.  Eugenia  and  C.  H.  St.  John,  Mary  G.  Haines.  Luella 
R.  Kraybill,  Helen  L.  Kimber,  Laura  A.  Gregg,  Lizzie  E.  Smith,  Ella  W.  Brown,  Naomi 
Anderson,  Eva  Corning,  Ella  Bartlett,  Alma  B.  Stryker,  Olive  I.  Royce,  Caroline  L. 
Denton,  Mrs.  Diggs,  May  Belleville  Brown,  J.  Willis  Gleed,  Thomas  L.  Bond,  the  Rev. 
Granville  Lowther,  Prof.  W.  H.  Carruth  and  Mayor  Harrison  of  Topeka. 

During  the  autumn  Mrs.  Emma  Smith  DeVoe  (Ills.),  and  Mrs.  Julia  B.  Nelson  (Minn.), 


KANSAS.  647 

The  battle  was  lost,  and  the  grief  and  disappointment  of  the 
Kansas  women  were  indescribable.  The  amendment  failed  by 
34,837  votes — 95,302  yeas,  130,139  nays.  The  total  vote  cast 
for  Governor  was  299,231;  total  vote  on  suffrage  amendment, 
225,441 ;  not  voting  on  amendment,  73,790.  There  was  an  at- 
tempt to  keep  count  of  the  ballots  according  to  parties,  but  it  was 
not  entirely  successful  and  there  was  no  way  of  correctly  estimat- 
ing their  political  complexion.  However,  the  vote  for  Gov.  E. 
N.  Morrill  (Rep.)  lacked  only  1,800  of  that  for  the  other  three 
candidates  combined,  which  shows  how  easily  the  Republican 
party  might  have  carried  the  amendment.  Subtracting  the  5,000 
Prohibition  votes,  three-fourths  of  which  it  was  conceded  were 
cast  for  the  amendment,  it  lacked  27,000  of  receiving  as  many 
votes  as  were  cast  for  the  Populist  candidate  for  Governor. 
Since  some  Republicans  must  have  voted  for  it,  the  figures  prove 
that  a  vast  number  of  Populists  did  not  do  so.* 

The  first  State  convention  following  the  defeat  of  1894  was 
held  at  Winfield,  December  6,  7,  of  that  year.  Mrs.  Johns  was 
once  more  elected  president,  but  the  profound  disappointment 
over  the  defeat  of  the  amendment  made  it  impossible  to  revive 
organization  or  interest  to  any  satisfactory  degree. 

From  1887  until  1895  Mrs.  Johns  was  the  efficient  and  de- 
voted president  of  the  State  association.  As  she  declined  to  serve 
longer,  the  convention  which  met  at  Eureka,  November  21,  22, 
elected  Mrs.  Kate  R.  Addison  to  this  office.  Mrs.  Addison  be- 
gan her  official  work  with  much  hopefulness,  established  a  month- 
ly paper,  the  Suffrage  Reveille,  and  succeeded  in  enlisting  new 
workers  in  the  cause.  Miss  Laura  A.  Gregg,  State  organizer, 
added  a  number  of  clubs  and  over  200  members. 

In  June,  1896,  Mrs.  Charlotte  Perkins  Stetson  was  brought 
into  the  State  for  twenty-seven  lectures,  beginning  with  the  Chau- 

made  addresses  for  one  month;  Mrs.  Rachel  L.   Child   (la.)   spoke  and  organized   for  two 
months. 

*  Returns  were  received  from  71  out  of  the  105  counties,  covering  714  of  the  2,100 
veting  precincts.  These  returns  were  carefully  tabulated  by  Mrs.  Thurston,  acting  sec- 
retary of  the  amendment  campaign  committee.  The  result  showed  that  of  Republicans 
voting  on  the  proposition,  38  1-2  per  cent,  voted  for;  of  Populists,  54  per  cent.;  of 
Democrats,  14  per  cent.;  of  Prohibitionists,  88  per  cent. 

Of  the  entire  vote  of  the  Republican  party  for  its  ticket,  22  per  cent,  were  silent  on 
the  amendment;  of  the  entire  vote  of  the  People's  party,  22  per  cent;  of  the  Democratic, 
28  per  cent;  of  the  Prohibition,  24  per  cent. 


648  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

tauqua  Assembly  at  Winfield.  The  annual  meeting  took  place 
at  Topeka,  November  10,  u,  and  Mrs.  Addison  was  re-elected. 

The  convention  of  1897  was  held  at  Yates  Center,  December 
8-10,  and  Mrs.  Addison  was  continued  in  office.  Mrs.  Stetson 
had  again  made  a  lecturing  tour  of  the  State  and  a  general  re- 
vival of  interest  was  reported. 

Miss  Anthony  and  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  were  present  at  the 
State  convention  in  Paola,  Oct.  21,  22,  1898.  Mrs.  Abbie  A. 
Welch,  a  pioneer  in  the  cause,  was  elected  to  the  presidency. 
During  this  year  Mrs.  Johns  and  Miss  Gregg  organized  a  num- 
ber of  counties,  and  the  press  superintendent,  Mrs.  Alice  G. 
Young,  did  effective  work  with  the  newspapers. 

The  annual  meeting  of  1899  was  held  in  Kansas  City,  October 
9-11,  and  was  the  most  largely  attended  since  the  great  defeat. 
Gov.  John  P.  St.  John  was  the  orator  of  the  occasion.  The  Rev. 
Father  Kuhls,  a  Catholic  priest,  spoke  as  a  disbeliever  in  woman's 
enfranchisement,  which  furnished  inspiration  for  a  reply  by  Mrs. 
Diggs.  This  event  created  an  interest  equalling  the  old-time  en- 
thusiasm, and  it  was  believed  that  the  hour  for  renewed  activity 
had  struck.  Mrs.  Diggs  was  made  president,  and  it  was  unani- 
mously resolved  to  take  up  again  the  work  for  full  enfranchise- 
ment. 

The  convention  of  1900  was  held  in  Olathe,  December  18,  19. 
The  State  at  the  recent  Presidential  election  having  gone  strongly 
Republican,  Mrs.  Diggs  thought  it  not  political  wisdom  to  remain 
at  the  head  of  the  association  and  Miss  Gregg  was  elected  presi- 
dent. When  it  was  learned  that  she  had  taken  charge  of  the 
Nebraska  suffrage  headquarters  her  duties  devolved  upon  Miss 
Helen  L.  Kimber,  the  new  vice-president.  This  convention 
voted  against  the  proposition  to  ask  the  Legislature  of  1901  to 
submit  a  constitutional  amendment,  thinking  it  advisable  first  to 
devote  two  years  to  the  work  of  organization,  after  which  it  is 
generally  believed  the  full  suffrage  can  be  secured.* 

*  Others  who  have  held  official  position  are  vice-presidents,  Mesdames  J.  K.  Hudson, 
Sallie  F.  Toler,  Noble  L.  Prentis,  Abbie  A.  Welch,  Fannie  Bobbet  and  Emma  Troudner; 
corresponding  secretaries,  Mrs.  Priscilla  Finley,  Miss  Sarah  A.  Brown,  Dr.  Nannie 
Stephens,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  F.  Hopkins,  Mrs.  Ray  Mclntyre,  Mrs.  B.  B.  Baird,  Mrs.  Alice 
G.  Young;  recording  secretaries,  Dr.  Addie  Kester,  Mrs.  Alice  G.  Bond,  Prof.  William 
H.  Carruth,  Mrs.  M.  M.  Bowman,  Mrs.  Emma  S.  Albright,  Miss  Matie  Toothaker;  treas- 
urers, Mrs.  Martia  L.  Berry,  Dr.  C.  E.  Tiffany,  Mrs.  Lucia  O.  Case,  Mrs.  Henrietta  Stod- 
dard  Turner;  auditors,  Mrs.  Emma  S.  Marshall,  Mrs.  S.  A.  Thurston;  parliamentarians, 


KANSAS.  649 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  :  The  State  Association  from  its  begin- 
ning in  1884  made  Municipal  Suffrage  its  chief  object.  In  1885 
a  bill  for  this  purpose  was  presented  in  the  House  by  Frank  J. 
Kelly.  It  was  favorably  reported  by  the  Judiciary  Committee, 
but  although  advanced  somewhat  on  the  calendar  it  was  too  far 
down  to  reach  a  vote. 

At  a  special  session  in  1886  the  bill  was  reported  to  the  House 
by  the  committee  on  Political  Rights  of  Women,  and  a  large 
force  of  competent  women  went  to  Topeka  to  urge  its  passage. 
On  February  10  it  stood  eighth  from  the  top  on  the  calendar. 
On  February  n,  when  the  Committee  on  Revision  submitted  its 
report,  it  stood  sixty-first.  A  strong  protest  was  made  by  its 
friends  on  the  floor  and  by  a  standing  vote  it  was  restored  to  its 
original  place.  The  enemies  were  now  thoroughly  alarmed.  A 
State  election  was  close  at  hand  and  the  Prohibitionists  were 
crowding  the  Republicans.  The  bill  was  practically  a  Republi- 
can measure  and  its  opponents  in  that  party  hit  upon  the  scheme 
of  getting  up  a  Third  Party  scare.  They  were  led  by  ex-Gov. 
George  T.  Anthony  who  declared  he  would  spend  his  last  cent 
to  defeat  the  bill.  It  was  denounced  by  press  and  politicians  as 
a  sly  Prohibition  trick,  some  of  its  best  friends  were  thus  silenced 
and  it  was  quietly  smothered.  The  bill  was  introduced  in  the 
Senate  by  L.  B.  Kellogg  and  favorably  reported  from  the  Judi- 
ciary Committee  with  an  opposing  minority  report.  It  was  ably 
championed  by  himself,  Senators  H.  B.  Kelly  and  R.  W.  Blue, 
but  was  eventually  stricken  from  the  calendar  by  the  Committee 
on  Revision  and  a  motion  to  reinstate  was  lost  by  12  yeas,  25 
nays,  on  February  16. 

When  the  Legislature  convened  in  1887  the  election  was  over 
and  had  resulted  favorably  for  the  Republicans.  The  suffragists 
had  spent  the  intervening  ten  months  in  a  campaign  of  their  own. 
Miss  Anthony  had  come  to  Kansas  and  they  had  held  conven- 

Mesdames  Ella  W.  Brown,  Bina  A.  Otis,  Luella  R.  Kraybill,  Antoinette  L.  Haskell; 
librarians,  Mrs.  May  Belleville  Brown,  Dr.  Emily  Newcomb;  State  organizer,  Miss  Jennie 
Newby;  superintendent  press  work,  Mrs.  Nannie  K.  Garrert. 

A  number  of  these  filled  various  offices  and  some  of  them  bore  the  brunt  of  the  work 
continuously  for  years.  Other  names  which  appear  frequently  are  J.  K.  Hudson,  editor 
Topeka  Capital,  Dr.  Sarah  C.  Hall.-Mesdames  M.  E.  De  Geer,  M.  S.  Woods,  E.  D.  Garlick, 

E.  A.   Elder,  L.  B.  Kellogg,  Jennie  Robb  Maher,  Miss  Emma  Harriman,  the  Rev.  W.  A. 
Simkins,  Judge  Nathan  Cree,  Walter  S.  Wait,  Sarah  W.   Rush,  Dr.  J.   E.   Spaulding,  Dr. 

F.  M.  W.  Jackson,  Henrietta  B.  Wall,  Mrs.  Lucy  B.  Johnston,  Miss  Genevieve  L.  Hawley. 


650  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

tions  in  all  the  principal  cities.  At  her  request  the  W.  C  T.  U. 
had  given  up  their  plan  of  asking  for  an  amendment  to  the  con- 
stitution and  joined  the  attempt  to  secure  Municipal  Suffrage  un- 
der the  leadership  of  their  president,  Mrs.  Fannie  H.  Rastall. 
Mrs.  Zerelda  G.  Wallace,  their  national  superintendent  of  fran- 
chise, gave  a  series  of  her  eloquent  lectures.  The  strongest  suf- 
frage speakers  in  the  country  came  to  the  State,  under  the  man- 
agement of  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns,  and  petitions  were  secured  con- 
taining 10,000  names,  more  than  ever  had  been  presented  for 
any  purpose.  This  agitation  was  continued  up  to  the  opening  of 
the  Legislature,  Jan.  n,  1887,  when  Mrs.  Johns  was  on  hand 
with  the  bill.  It  was  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  Judge  R.  W. 
Blue  and  referred  to  the  Judiciary  Committee,  of  which  he  was 
chairman.  A  favorable  report,  with  a  minority  dissent,  was 
made,  but  the  original  bill  had  been  substituted  by  one  which  pro- 
vided merely  that  "women  should  vote  for  all  city  officers."  A 
vigorous  protest  was  made  by  the  suffrage  leaders.  They  in- 
sisted that  the  right  to  vote  for  city  bonds  should  be  included, 
and  that  the  inequalities  should  be  remedied  in  the  present  law 
which  prevented  women  of  first  and  second  class  cities  from  vot- 
ing on  school  questions  as  did  those  of  the  third  class  and  the 
country  districts.  A  compromise  was  finally  effected  and  a  bill 
drafted  by  which  women  should  vote  for  all  city  and  school  of- 
ficers and  on  bonds  for  school  appropriations. 

A  petition  against  the  bill  was  sent  in  signed  by  nineteen 
women  of  Independence,  saying  in  effect  that  women  had  all  the 
rights  they  needed.  On  the  morning  when  it  was  to  be  discussed 
an  enormous  bouquet  adorned  the  desk  of  Senator  R.  M.  Pickler, 
leader  of  the  opponents,  the  card  inscribed,  "From  the  women  of 
Kansas  who  do  not  wish  to  vote.  History  honors  the  man  who 
dares  to  do  what  is  right."  Later  investigation  disclosed  the 
fact  that  no  woman  had  any  part  in  sending  the  flowers,  but  that, 
as  one  member  remarked  in  open  session,  their  chief  perfume  was 
that  of  alcohol. 

After  hours  of  debate  and  an  adjournment  the  bill  finally  was 
adopted  on  January  28,  by  25  yeas,  all  Republicans;  13  nays,  10 
Republicans,  3  Democrats.  Judge  Blue's  table  was  loaded  with 
flowers  and  every  Senator  who  voted  in  favor  was  decorated  with 
a  choice  buttonhole  bouquet  sent  by  the  ladies. 


KANSAS.  651 

The  bill  was  already  far  advanced  in  the  House,  under  the 
management  of  Gen.  T.  T.  Taylor.  On  February  10  the  discus- 
sion continued  the  entire  day.  Scripture  was  read  and  Biblical 
authorities  cited  from  Eve  to  St.  Paul;  the  pure  female  angels 
were  dragged  through  the  filthy  cesspool  of  politics,  and  the 
changes  were  rung  on  the  usual  hackneyed  objections.  The 
measure  was  splendidly  championed,  however,  by  many  mem- 
bers, especially  by  T.  A.  McNeal  ( Rep. )  who  made  a  telling  re- 
sponse to  the  scurrilous  speech  of  Edward  Carrol  (Dem.),  leader 
of  the  opposition.  No  member  of  the  House  rendered  more  ef- 
fective service  than  did  A.  W.  Smith,  Speaker.  It  passed  by  91 
yeas — 88  Rep.,  3  Dem.;  22  nays,  5  Rep.,  17  Dem.  The  total 
vote  of  both  Houses  was  116  yeas — 113  Rep.,  3  Dem.;  35  nays, 
15  Rep.,  20  Dem.  The  bill  was  signed  by  Gov.  John  A.  Martin 
(Rep.),  February  15,  1887.* 

Notwithstanding  all  the  efficient  work  done  by  the  officers  of 
the  State  association,  the  local  clubs  and  the  platform  speakers, 
this  measure  would  not  have  become  a  law  but  for  the  vigilant 
work  of  the  women  with  the  Legislature  itself.  Mrs.  Johns  was 
on  hand  from  the  first,  tactfully  urging  the  bill.  She  had  very 
material  aid  in  the  constant  presence,  active  pen  and  careful  work 
of  J.  B.  Johns,  her  husband.  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Gougar  of  Indiana 
was  granted  the  privilege  of  addressing  the  House  while  in  ses- 
sion. Prominent  women  from  all  parts  of  the  State  were  in  at- 
tendance, using  their  influence  with  the  members  from  their  dis- 
tricts. On  the  day  of  final  debate  in  the  House  the  floor  and  gal- 
leries were  crowded,  over  300  women  being  present.  A  jubilee 
impossible  to  describe  followed  the  announcement  that  the  bill 
had  passed.f  The  next  day  the  House  was  transformed  by  the 
women  into  a  bower  of  blossoms. 

In  March,  the  next  month  after  Municipal  Suffrage  was 
granted  to  women,  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised 
from  ten  to  eighteen  years. 

Two  years  later,  in  1889,  a  bill  was  presented  to  amend  this 

*  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  was  in  the  National  Convention  at  Washington  and  this  news 
was  telegraphed  her  as  a  birthday  greeting. 

t  Among  the  most  influential  workers  for  this  bill  during  the  three  sessions  of  the 
Legislature,  in  addition  to  those  mentioned,  were  Thomas  L.  Bond;  Mesdames  Bertha  H. 
Ellsworth,  Hetta  P.  Mansfield,  Martia  L.  Berry,  S.  A.  Thurston  and  Henrietta  B.  Wall; 
Misses  Jennie  Newby,  Olive  P.  Bray  and  Amanda  Way. 


652  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

law,  which  passed  the  Senate  by  26  yeas,  9  nays,  and  was  sent 
to  the  House.  It  was  so  smothered  in  words  that  the  general 
public  was  not  aware  of  its  meaning.  By  the  time  it  reached  the 
House,  however,  the  alarm  had  been  sounded  that  it  proposed 
to  reduce  the  age  of  consent,  and  there  was  a  storm  of  protest. 
This  was  not  alone  from  women  but  also  from  a  number  of  men. 
The  Labor  Unions  were  especially  active  in  opposition  and  the 
House  was  inundated  with  letters  and  petitions.  The  bill  was 
referred  to  the  Judiciary  Committee  which  reported  it  with  the 
recommendation  that  it  be  not  passed.  Its  author  claimed  that 
it  was  intended  simply  to  afford  some  protection  for  boys.*  In 
1891  Attorney-General  L.  B.  Kellogg  recommended  that,  in  or- 
der to  protect  young  men  of  immature  years  from  women  of  im- 
moral life,  inquiry  as  to  the  character  of  the  woman  bringing  the 
charge  should  be  permitted.  Gov.  Lyman  U.  Humphrey 
urged  that  such  an  amendment  should  be  adopted,  which  could 
be  done  without  lowering  the  age  of  protection  for  girls.  No 
change,  however,  has  been  made  in  the  law. 

In  1889  the  divorce  law  was  so  amended  as  to  give  the  wife  all 
the  property  owned  by  her  at  the  time  of  marriage  and  all  ac- 
quired by  her  afterward,  alimony  being  allowed  from  the  real 
and  personal  estate  of  the  husband. 

This  year  a  bill  was  passed  creating  the  Girls'  Industrial 
School.  Mrs.  S.  A.  Thurston  was  one  of  the  prime  factors  in 
securing  this  bill. 

As  the  Legislature  was  overwhelmingly  Republican  the  great- 
est effort  was  put  forth  to  secure  a  law  making  it  mandatory  to 
place  women  on  the  State  Boards  of  Charitable  Institutions. 
Thirty-six  large  petitions  were  introduced  by  as  many  members 
in  each  House  but  all  failed  of  effect. 

In  1891  the  Populist  party  gained  control  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  although  the  Senate  was  still  Republican.  Mrs. 
Annie  L.  Diggs  had  been  appointed  by  the  Farmers'  Alliance  on 
their  State  legislative  committee  and  she  began  a  vigorous  cam- 
paign to  secure  Full  Suffrage  for  Women  by  Statutory  Enact- 

*  Mrs.  Johns  says  of  this  occasion:  "If  we  had  ever  had  any  doubt  that  even  our 
small  moiety  of  the  suffrage  would  strengthen  our  influence  for  righteousness,  the  effect 
of  our  protest  at  this  time  and  the  attitude  of  the  politicians  toward  us  would  have  dis- 
pelled that  doubt  We  felt  our  power  and  it  was  a  new  thrill  which  we  experienced." 


KANSAS.  653 

ment,  which  it  was  believed  could  be  done  under  the  terms  of  the 
constitution.  The  bill  was  introduced  into  the  House  and  urged 
by  J.  L.  Soupene.  Mrs.  Diggs  had  the  assistance  of  Col.  Sam 
Wood  and  other  ardent  friends,  of  suffrage.  The  Committee  on 
Political  Rights  of  Women  reported  the  bill  favorably,  and  said 
through  its  chairman,  D.  M.  Watson : 

While  the  constitution  declares  in  the  first  section  of  its  suffrage 
article  that  "every  white  male  person,  etc.,  shall  be  deemed  a  quali- 
fied elector,"  in  the  second  section  it  names  certain  persons  who 
shall  be  excluded  from  voting.  Women  are  not  given  the  right  to 
vote  in  the  first  nor  are  they  excluded  in  the  second,  and  this  indi- 
cates that  the  question  of  their  right  to  vote  was  intended  to  be  left 
to  the  Legislature.  The  Supreme  Court  (Wheeler  vs.  Brady,  I5th 
Kas.,  p.  33,)  says:  "There  is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  government 
which  would  prevent  it.  Women  are  members  of  society,  members 
of  the  great  body  politic,  citizens  as  much  as  men,  with  the  same 
natural  rights,  united  with  men  in  the  same  common  destiny,  and 
are  capable  of  receiving  and  exercising  whatever  political  rights 
may  be  conferred  upon  them." 

On  February  14  the  bill  received  60  yeas,  39  nays,  not  a  con- 
stitutional majority.  The  sentiment  in  favor  was  so  strong  among 
the  Populists  that  a  reconsideration  was  finally  secured  and  the 
bill  passed  by  69  yeas — 64  Pop.,  4  Rep.,  i  Dem. ;  32  nays — 16 
Pop.,  12  Rep.,  4  Dem.  Previous  to  its  passage  the  Speaker, 
P.  P.  Elder  (Pop.)  presented  a  protest  signed  by  himself,  7 
Populists,  4  Republicans  and  4  Democrats,  declaring  it  to  be 
unconstitutional  and  giving  eight  other  objections.* 

*  Among  these  were  the  following: 

The  relations  of  man  and  wife  "are  one  and  inseparable"  as  to  the  good  to  be  derived 
from  or  the  evil  to  be  suffered  by  laws  imposed,  and  the  addition  of  woman  suffrage  will 
not  better  their  condition,  but  is  fraught  with  danger  and  evil  to  both  sexes  and  the 
well-being  of  society. 

This  privilege  conferred  will  bring  to  every  primary,  caucus  and  election — to  our  jury 
rooms,  the  bench  and  the  Legislature — the  ambitious  and  designing  women  only,  to 
engage  in  all  the  tricks,  intrigues  and  cunning  incident  to  corrupt  political  campaigns, 
only  to  lower  the  moral  standing  of  their  sex;  it  invites  and  creates  jealousies  and 
scandals  and  jeopardizes  their  high  moral  standing;  hurls  women  out  from  their  central 
orb  fixed  by  their  Creator  to  an  external  place  in  the  order  of  things.  Promiscuous 
mingling  with  the  rude  and  unscrupulous  element  around  earnest  and  exciting  elections 
tends  to  a  familiarity  that  breeds  contempt  for  the  fair  sex  deeply  to  be  deplored. 

The  demand  for  female  suffrage  is  largely  confined  -to  the  ambitious  office-seeking 
class,  possessing  an  insatiable  desire  for  the  forum,  and  when  allowed  will  unfit  this 
class  for  all  the  duties  of  domestic  life  and  transform  them  into  politicians,  and  dangerous 
ones  at  that. 

When  the  laws  of  nature  shall  so  change  the  female  organization  as  to  make  it  possible 
for  them  to  sing  "bass"  we  shall  then  be  quite  willing  for  such  a  bill  to  become  a  law. 

It  is  a  grave  mistake,  an  injury  to  both  sexes  and  the  party,  to  add  another  "ism"  to 
our  political  creed. 


654  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  friends  were  much  elated  at  its  passage  over  this  protest 
and  sent  at  once  for  Mrs.  Johns  to  come  to  Topeka  and  work 
for  its  success  in  the  Senate.  She  made  every  possible  effort  but 
in  vain,  the  Republicans  basing  their  refusal  on  its  unconstitu- 
tionally. There  was  every  reason  to  believe  the  Supreme  Court 
would  have  upheld  the  statute. 

In  1893  an  amendment  to  the  constitution  was  submitted  to 
the  electors  by  votes  of  both  Republican  and  Populist  members 
of  the  Legislature  and  was  defeated  in  1894,  as  has  been  related. 

In  1897  two  bills  were  introduced,  one  providing  for  a  Bond 
Suffrage  which  is  not  included  in  the  Municipal ;  the  other  to  en- 
able women  to  vote  for  Presidential  electors.  They  were  not 
reported  from  committee. 

In  1899  a  bill  providing  that  there  should  be  women  physicians 
in  penal  institutions  containing  women  and  at  least  one  woman 
on  the  State  Board  of  Charities  was  favorably  reported  by  the 
House  committee,  but  did  not  reach  a  vote. 

This  year  an  act  was  secured  creating  the  Traveling  Libraries 
Commission.  The  work  for  this  was  initiated  and  principally 
carried  forward  by  Mrs.  Lucy  B.  Johnston,  who  enlisted  the 
women  of  the  Social  Science  Federation  in  1897.  The  federated 
club  women  had  conducted  the  enterprise  three  years  and  now 
turned  over  to  the  State  forty  libraries  of  about  5,000  volumes. 
In  1901  the  appropriation  was  raised  from  $2,000  to  $8,000. 

On  Jan.  14,  1901,  a  bill  prepared  by  Auditor  Carlisle  of 
Wyandotte  county  was  introduced  by  its  Representative  J.  A. 
Butler  (Dem.)  of  Kansas  City,  to  repeal  the  law  giving  Munici- 
pal Suffrage  to  women.  It  was  received  with  jeers  and  shouts 
of  laughter  and  referred  to  the  Judiciary  Committee,  which,  on 
the  1 7th,  reported  it  with  the  recommendation  that  it  be  not 
passed.  On  January  18  he  re-introduced  the  same  measure  under 
another  title.  This  time  protests  were  sent  in  from  all  parts  of 
the  State.  Mrs.  Diggs  went  to  Mr.  Butler's  home  and  secured  a 
large  number  of  these  .from  his  own  constituents.  A  hearing  was 
given  by  the  Judiciary  Committee  to  a  delegation  of  prominent 
women  and  the  bill  was  never  reported. 

Republican— A.   H.   Hcber,  W.   R.  Hopkins,   F.  W.  Willard,  J.    Showalter. 
Democrat— J.  O.  Milner,  G.   M.  Hoover,  T.   C.   Craig,  F.   M.  Gable. 
Populist — Robt.   B.  Leedy,  J.  L.  Andrews,  Wellington  Doty,  B.  F.   Morris,  Levi  Dum- 
bauld,   C.   W.    Dickson,   Geo.   E.    Smith  of  Neosho. 


KANSAS.  655 

As  there  seemed  so  much  favorable  sentiment  it  was  hastily 
decided  to  ask  this  Legislature  to  give  women  the  right  to  vote 
for  Presidential  electors,  which  would  unquestionably  be  legal. 
Mrs.  Johns  and  Miss  Helen  Kimber  looked  after  its  interests 
with  the  Republican  members;  Mrs.  Diggs  with  the  Populists. 
The  evening  of  February  26,  when  the  vote  "was  to  be  taken  in 
the  Senate,  floor  and  galleries  were  crowded  with  women  of 
position  and  influence.  Senator  Fred  Dumont  Smith  (Rep.) 
had  charge  of  the  bill,  and  Senator  G.  A.  Noftzger  (Rep.)  led 
the  opposition.  The  vote  resulted  in  22  yeas — 16  Rep.,  4  Pop., 
2  Dem.;  13  nays — 12  Rep.,  i  Pop.  The  friends  had  every  rea- 
son to  believe  the  House  would  pass  the  bill,  but  in  the  still  small 
hours  of  the  night  following  the  action  of  the  Senate,  its  Repub- 
lican members  in  caucus  decided  that  this  might  injure  the  party 
at  the  approaching  State  election,  and  the  next  morning  it  was 
reconsidered  and  defeated  by  14  yeas — 9  Rep.,  4  Pop.,  I  Dem. ; 
23  nays — 21  Rep.,  i  Pop.,  i  Dem. 

LAWS:  The  constitution  of  Kansas,  adopted  in  1859,  con- 
tained more  liberal  provisions  for  women  than  had  existed  in 
any  State  up  to  that  time.  It  made  the  law  of  inheritance  the 
same  for  widow  and  widower;  gave  father  and  mother  equal 
guardianship  of  children ;  and  directed  the  Legislature  to  protect 
married  women  in  the  possession  of  separate  property.  This 
was  not  done,  however,  until  1868,  the  next  year  after  the  first 
campaign  to  secure  an  amendment  conferring  suffrage  upon 
women.  At  this  time  a  statute  provided  that  all  property,  real 
and  personal,  owned  by  a  woman  at  marriage,  and  all  acquired 
thereafter  by  descent  or  by  the  gift  of  any  person  except  her  hus- 
band, shall  remain  her  sole  and  separate  property,  not  subject  to 
the  disposal  of  her  husband  or  liable  for  his  debts. 

A  married  woman  may  make  contracts,  sue  and  be  sued  as 
if  unmarried;  engage  in  any  business  or  perform  any  services 
and  her  earnings  shall  be  her  sole  and  separate  property  to  be 
used  or  invested  by  her.  The  wife  can  convey  or  mortgage  her 
separate  personal  property  without  the  husband's  signature.  He 
can  do  the  same  without  her  signature  except  such  as  is  exempt 
so  long  as  a  man  is  married.  Neither  can  convey  or  encumber 
real  estate  without  consent  of  the  other. 


656  HISTORY  OF   WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

If  there  are  no  children  the  surviving  husband  or  wife  takes 
all  the  property  real  and  personal ;  if  there  are  children,  one-half. 
Neither  can  dispose  by  will  of  more  than  one-half  of  the  separate 
property  without  the  consent  of  the  other.  A  homestead  of  160 
acres  of  land,  or  one  acre  within  city  limits,  is  reserved  free  from 
creditors  for  the  survivor.  If  the  wife  marry  again,  or  when 
the  children  have  attained  their  majority,  the  homestead  must  be 
divided,  she  taking  one-half.  If  she  die  first  the  husband  has 
the  right  of  occupancy  for  life,  whether  he  marry  or  not,  but  the 
homestead  must  descend  to  her  heirs. 

The  husband  must  support  the  wife  according  to  his  means,  or 
she  may  have  alimony  decreed  by  the  court  without  divorce,  or 
in  some  cases  she  may  sue  directly  for  support.  In  case  of  di- 
vorce the  wife  is  entitled  to  all  the  property  owned  by  her  at 
marriage  and  all  acquired  by  her  afterwards,  alimony  being  al- 
lowed from  the  real  and  personal  estate  of  the  husband. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  is  18,  with  penalty  of  im- 
prisonment at  hard  labor  not  less  than  five  nor  more  than  twenty- 
one  years. 

SUFFRAGE  :     ( See  page  659. ) 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  The  first  State  constitution,  in  1859,  de- 
clared women  eligible  for  all  School  offices.  As  it  does  not 
require  that  any  State  officer  except  member  of  the  Legislature 
shall  be  an  elector,  women  are  not  legally  debarred  from  any 
other  State  office.  The  constitution  does  prescribe  the  qualifica- 
tions for  some  county  officers,  and  the  Legislature  for  others  and 
for  all  township  officers.  Some  of  these  are  required  to  be  elec- 
tors and  some  are  not;  some  can  be  voted  for  only  by  electors 
and  the  law  is  silent  in  regard  to  others.  It  would  perhaps  re- 
quire a  Supreme  Court  decision  in  almost  every  case  if  there 
were  any  general  disposition  to  elect  women  to  these  offices. 
Twenty  years  ago  a  few  were  serving  as  county  clerks,  registers 
of  deeds,  regents  of  the  State  University,  county  superintendents 
and  school  trustees. 

In  1889  Attorney-General  L.  B.  Kellogg  (Rep.)  appointed  his 
wife  Assistant  Attorney-General.  She  was  a  practicing  attorney 
•and  her  husband's  law  partner  and  filled  the  office  with  great 


KANSAS.  657 

ability.  Miss  Ella  Cameron  served  out  her  father's  unexpired 
term  as  Probate  Judge  and  the  Legislature  legalized  her  acts. 

There  is  no  law  requiring  women  on  the  boards  of  State  insti- 
tutions but  a  number  have  been  appointed.  Gov.  L.  D.  Lewelling 
(Pop.)  in  1893  appointed  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Lease  member  of  the 
State  Board  of  Charities  and  Mrs.  Eva  Blackman  on  the  Board  of 
Police  Commissioners  of  Leavenworth.  These  were  the  first  and 
last  appointments  of  women  to  these  positions. 

In  1894  women  physicians  were  appointed  by  him  in  two  in- 
sane asylums,  the  Orphans'  Home  and  the  Girls'  Industrial 
School. 

In  1897  Gov.  John  W.  Leedy  (Pop.)  appointed  Mrs.  John  P. 
St.  John  member  Board  of  Regents  of  State  Agricultural  Col- 
lege and  Dr.  Eva  Harding  physician  at  Boys'  Reform  School. 

In  1898  Mrs.  Annie  L.  Diggs  was  appointed  State  Librarian 
by  the  Supreme  Court,  Judges  Frank  Doster,  Stephen  Allen, 
Populists;  William  A.  Johnston,  Republican.  The  term  is  four 
years.  There  are  two  women  assistants  in  the  State  library. 

Miss  Zu  Adams  is  first  assistant  in  the  State  Historical  Library. 
Three  other  women  are  employed  as  assistants  in  that  office. 

Each  of  the  three  State  Hospitals  for  the  Insane  has  a  woman 
physician,  but  this  is  not  required.  The  law  provides  that  the 
Girls'  Industrial  School  shall  have  a  woman  physician  and  super- 
intendent. Its  officers  always  have  been  women,  except  the 
farmer  and  engineer.  In  1894  a  woman  was  appointed  as  farmer 
and  was  said  to  be  the  best  the  institution  ever  had. 

Mrs.  Lucy  B.  Johnston  and  Mrs.  Mary  V.  Humphreys  are 
members  of  the  State  Traveling  Library  Commission,  Mrs. 
Diggs,  as  State  Librarian,  being  president. 

Since  the  very  first  time  that  women  voted  they  have  been 
clerks  of  elections,  and  in  some  instances,  judges. 

Several  small  towns  have  put  the  entire  local  government  into 
the  hands  of  women.  From  1887  to  1894  there  had  been  about 
fifty  women  aldermen,  five  police  judges,  one  city  attorney,  sev- 
eral city  clerks  and  treasurers,  and  numerous  clerks  and  treasur- 
ers of  school  boards.  In  1896  a  report  from  about  half  the  coun- 
ties showed  twenty  women  county  superintendents  of  schools, 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 42 


658  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

and  554  serving  on  school  boards.  They  are  frequently  made 
president  or  secretary  of  the  board. 

Women  have  been  candidates  for  State  Superintendent  of  Pub- 
lic Instruction,  but  none  has  been  elected. 

A  number  of  women  within  the  past  few  years  have  been 
elected  county  treasurers,  recorders,  registers  and  clerks.  They 
serve  as  notaries  public.  Probably  one-third  of  the  county  offices 
have  women  deputies. 

The  record  for  1900,  as  far  as  it  could  be  obtained,  showed  the 
women  in  office  to  be  one  clerk  of  the  district  court,  two  county 
clerks,  seven  registrars  of  deeds  and  twenty-seven  county  superin- 
tendents of  schools.  This  list  is  far  from  complete. 

About  twenty-five  women  have  been  elected  to  the  office  of 
mayor  in  the  smaller  towns  of  Kansas.  In  several  instances  the 
entire  board  of  aldermen  have  been  women.  The  business  rec- 
ord of  these  women  has  been  invariably  good  and  their  industri- 
ous efforts  to  improve  sanitation,  schools,  sidewalks,  and  to  ad- 
vance the  other  interests  of  their  town,  have  been  generously 
seconded  and  aided  by  the  men  of  their  community.  Among  the 
most  prominent  of  the  women  mayors  were  Mrs.  Mary  D.  Low- 
man  of  Oskaloosa,  Mrs.  Minnie  D.  Morgan  of  Cottonwood  Falls, 
and  Mrs.  Antoinette  Haskell  of  Gaylord.  Mrs.  Lowman,  the 
second  woman  to  be  elected,  conducted  a  great  work  in  improv- 
ing the  conditions  of  the  municipality,  morally  and  physically. 
She  held  her  office  two  terms  with  entire  boards  of  women  alder- 
men, and  refused  to  serve  a  third  term,  saying  that  she  and  her 
boards  had  accomplished  the  work  they  set  out  to  do.  They 
retired  with  much  honor  and  esteem,  having  made  a  creditable 
amount  of  street  improvements  and  left  the  treasury  with  more 
money  than  they  found  in  it.  Mrs.  Morgan  is  editor  with  her 
husband  of  a  Republican  newspaper,  an  officer  in  the  Woman's 
State  Press  Association  and  holds  high  official  position  in  the 
Woman's  Relief  Corps.  Mrs.  Haskell  is  the  wife  of  a  prominent 
lawyer  and  politician.  She  held  the  office  of  mayor  for  two  terms 
and  the  last  time  her  entire  board  of  aldermen  were  women.  Her 
administration  of  municipal  affairs  was  so  satisfactory  that  she 
was  besought  to  accept  a  third  term  but  declined. 


KANSAS.  659 

OCCUPATIONS  :  The  constitution  of  the  State,  framed  in  1859, 
opened  every  occupation  to  women. 

EDUCATION  :  This  first  constitution  also  required  the  admis- 
sion of  women  to  all  the  State  educational  institutions  and  gave 
them  a  place  on  the  faculties.  As  early  as  1882  one-half  of  the 
faculty  of  the  State  University  was  composed  of  women.  This 
university,  the  State  Agricultural  College  and  the  State  Normal 
College  average  an  equal  number  of  men  and  women  graduates. 
Women  hold  places  on  the  faculties  of  all  these  institutions. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  5,380  men  and  7,133  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is'  $39 ;  of  the 
women,  $32. 

SUFFRAGE:  The  constitution  for  Statehood,  framed  in  1859, 
provided  that  all  women  over  21  should  vote  at  all  School  Dis- 
trict meetings  the  same  as  men,  the  first  one  to  contain  such  a. 
provision.  This  excluded  all  women  in  first  and  second  class 
cities  in  after  years,  as  their  school  affairs  are  not  managed 
through  district  meetings.  When  a  test  case  was  made  it  was 
decided  by  the  Supreme  Court  that  no  women  could  legally  vote 
for  State  or  county  superintendents,  but  only  for  trustees.  (5th 
Kansas,  p.  227.)  Both  the  constitution  and  the  statutes  are  con- 
fused as  to  the  qualifications  of  those  who  may  vote  for  various 
county  and  township  officers  but  women  never  have  been  permit- 
ted to  do  so. 

In  1887  the  Legislature  granted  Municipal  Suffrage  to  women. 
The  law  is  as  follows : 

In  any  election  hereafter  held  in  any  city  of  the  first,  second  or 
third  class,  for  the  election  of  city  or  school  officers,  or  for  the  pur- 
pose of  authorizing  the  issuance  of  any  bonds  for  school  purposes, 
the  right  of  any  citizen  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  on 
account  of  sex ;  and  women  may  vote  at  such  elections  the  same  as' 
men,  under  like  restrictions  and  qualifications ;  and  any  women 
possessing  the  qualifications  of  a  voter  under  this  act  shall  also  bej 
eligible  to  any  such  city  or  school  office. 

This  law  includes  women  in  all  of  the  villages,  as  these  are 
known  as  "third  class  cities."  Women  in  country  districts,  how- 
ever, continue  to  have  only  a  limited  School  Suffrage.  It  does 
not  give  women  a  vote  on  any  questions  of  taxation  which  are 
submitted  to  the  electors  except  for  school  purposes. 


66O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Nevertheless  this  was  an  advanced  step  which  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  entire  country^  While  in  Wyoming  women  had 
Full  Suffrage,  it  was  a  sparsely  settled  Territory,  with  few  news- 
papers and  far  removed  from  centers  of  political  activity.  Kansas 
was  a  battle-ground  for  politics,  and  great  interest  was  felt  in  the 
new  forces  which  had  been  called  into  action.  From  the  first 
women  very  extensively  took  advantage  of  their  new  privilege. 
It  was  granted  February  15  and  the  next  municipal  election  took 
place  April  5,  so  there  were  only  a  few  weeks  in  which  to  accus- 
tom them  to  the  new  idea,  make  them  acquainted  with  the  issues, 
settle  the  disputed  points  and  give  them  a  chance  to  register. 
The  question  was  at  once  raised  whether  they  could  vote  for 
justices  of  the  peace  and  constables,  and  at  a  late  hour  Attorney- 
General  S.  B.  Bradford  gave  his  opinion  that  they  could  not  do 
so,  as  these  are  township  officers.  This  made  separate  ballot- 
boxes  necessary  and  in  many  places  these  were  not  provided,  so 
there  was  considerable  misunderstanding  and  confusion.  On 
election  day  a  wind  storm  of  unusual  violence,  even  for  that  sec- 
tion of  the  country,  raged  all  day.  Through  the  influence  of  the 
(Liquor  Dealers'  Association,  which  had  used  every  possible  ef- 
fort to  defeat  the  suffrage  bill,  reporters  were  sent  by  a  number 
of  large  papers  in  different  cities,  especially  St.  Louis,  with  or- 
ders to  ridicule  the  voting  of  the  women  and  minimize  its  effects. 
As  a  result  the  Eastern  press  was  soon  flooded  with  sensational 
and  false  reports. 

An  official  and  carefully  prepared  report  of  112  pages  was  is- 
sued by  Judge  Francis  G.  Adams,  secretary  of  the  Kansas  State 
Historical  Association,  and  Prof.  William  H.  Carruth  of  the 
State  University,  giving  the  official  returns  from  253  cities.  The 
total  vote  was  105,216;  vote  of  men,  76,629;  of  women,  28,587. 
In  a  few  of  the  very  small  cities  there  were  no  women's  votes. 
In  many  of  the  second-class  cities  more  than  one-half  as  many 
women  as  men  voted.  In  Leaven  worth,  3,967  ballots  were  cast 
by  men,  and  2,467  by  women;  in  Lawrence,  1,437  by  men,  1,050 
by  women.  In  Kansas  City,  Topeka  and  Fort  Scott  about  one- 
fourth  as  many  women  as  men  voted.  In  these  estimates  it  must 
be  taken  into  consideration  that  there  were  many  more  men  than 


KANSAS.  66l 

women  in  the  State.  In  1890,  three  years  later,  the  census  report 
showed  the  excess  of  males  to  be  about  100,000. 

The  pamphlet  referred  to  contained  100  pages  of  extracts  from 
the  press  of  Kansas  on  the  voting  of  women,  and  stated  that  these 
represented  but  a  fraction  of  the  comment.  They  varied  as  much 
as  the  individual  opinions  of  men,  some  welcoming  the  new  vot- 
ers, some  ridiculing  and  abusing,  others  referring  to  the  move- 
ment as  a  foolish  fad  which  would  soon  be  dropped.  The  Repub- 
lican and  Prohibitionist  papers  almost  universally  paid  the  high- 
est tribute  to  the  influence  of  women  on  the  election  and  assured 
them  of  every  possible  support  in  the  future.  The  Democratic 
papers,  with  but  few  exceptions,  scoffed  at  them  and  condemned 
woman  suffrage.  The  immense  majority  of  opinion  was  in  favor 
of  the  new  regime  and  was  an  unimpeachable  answer  to  the  ob- 
jections and  misrepresentations  which  found  place  in  the  press 
of  all  other  parts  of  the  country. 

The  interest  of  Kansas  women  in  their  political  rights  never 
has  abated.  The  proportion  of.  their  vote  varies  in  about  the  same 
ratio  as  that  of  men.  Upon  occasions  when  the  character  of  can- 
didates or  the  importance  of  the  issue  commands  especial  atten- 
tion a  great  many  go  to  the  polls.  Their  chief  interest,  however, 
centers  in  questions  which  bear  directly  upon  the  education  and 
welfare  of  their  children,  the  environment  of  their  homes  and 
those  of  kindred  nature.  When  issues  involving  these  are  pre- 
sented they  vote  in  large  numbers. 

There  is  always  a  larger  municipal  vote  in  the  uneven  years 
when  mayors  are  to  be  elected,  and  therefore  a  comparison  is 
made  in  five  prominent  cities  between  the  vote  of  1887  and  that 
of  1901  to  show  that  in  the  fourteen  years  the  interest  of  women 
in  the  suffrage  has  increased  instead  of  diminished. 

Town.  Year.  Man-Vote.     Woman-Vote. 

Kansas  City 1887  3,956  1,042 

Kansas  City 1901  8,900  4,582 

Topeka   1887  4,580  1,049 

Topeka   1901  7,338  5,335 

Fort  Scott 1887  I>273  425 

Fort  Scott 1901  1,969  1,270 

Leavenworth    1887  3,967  2,467 

Leavenworth    1901  5,59°  3,oi8 

Wichita 1887  3>312  2,984 

Wichita 1901  


662  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

It  was  impossible  to  obtain  the  vote  of  Wichita  in  1901  but 
the  registration  was  6,546  men,  4,040  women,  and  out  of  these 
10,586,  there  were  8,960  who  voted.  One  of  the  most  prominent 
lawyers  in  Wichita  writes  of  this  election:  "The  women  fully 
maintained  the  ratio  of  the  registration.  The  vote  was  small 
on  account  of  inclement  weather  but  I  am  sure  that  it  kept  away 
more  men  than  women." 

At  one  election  it  is  recorded  the  vote  of  women  exceeded  that 
of  men  in  one  second-class  and  three  third-class  cities.  In  one 
instance  all  but  two  of  the  women  of  Cimarron  cast  their  ballots. 
In  Lincoln  for  several  years  women  have  polled  46  per  cent,  of 
the  entire  vote.  The  percentage  of  males  in  the  State  by  the 
census  of  1900  was  52.3. 

The  question  frequently  is  asked  why,  with  the  ballot  in  their 
hands,  women  do  not  compel  the  enforcement  of  the  prohibitory 
law,  as  it  is  generally  supposed  that  Municipal  Suffrage  carries 
with  it  the  right  to  vote  for  all  city  officials.  The  same  year  that 
women  were  enfranchised,  the  Legislature,  for  whom  women  do 
not  vote,  passed  a  law  authorizing  the  Governor,  for  whom 
women  do  not  vote,  to  appoint  a  Board  of  Police  Commissioners 
for  each  city  of  the  first  class,  with  power  to  appoint  the  police 
judge,  city  marshal  and  police,  and  have  absolute  control  of  the 
organization,  government  and  discipline  of  the  police  force  and 
of  all  station-houses,  city  prisons,  etc.  Temperance  men  and 
women  strongly  urged  this  measure  as  they  believed  the  Gov- 
ernor would  have  stamina  enough  to  select  commissioners  who 
would  enforce  the  prohibitory  law.  This  board  was  abolished 
at  the  special  session  of  the  Legislature  in  1897,  as  it  was  made 
a  scapegoat  for  city  and  county  officers  who  were  too  cowardly 
or  too  unfriendly  to  enforce  the  liquor  ordinances,  and  it  did  not 
effect  the  hoped-for  reforms. 

In  1898  City  Courts  were  established.  By  uniting  the  town- 
ships with  cities  and  giving  these  courts  jurisdiction  over  State 
and  county  cases,  to  relieve  the  congested  condition  of  State 
courts,  women  are  deprived  of  a  vote  for  their  officers.  The 
exercise  of  the  Municipal  Franchise  at  present  is  as  follows : 


KANSAS.  663 

MEN    VOTE    FOR  WOMEN    VOTE    FOR 

Mayor,  Mayor, 

Councilmen,  Councilmen, 

School  Board,  School  Board, 

City*  Attorney,  City  Attorney, 

City  Treasurer,  City  Treasurer, 

City  Clerk,  City  Clerk. 

Judge  of  City  Court, 

Clerk  of  City  Court,  APPOINTED  BY  MAYOR 

Marshal  of  City  Court,  Police  Judge, 

Two  Justices  of  the  Peace,  City  Marshal, 

Two  Constables.  Chief  of  Police. 

« 

In  cities  of  less  than  30,000  the  Police  Judge  is  elected  and 
women  may  vote  for  this  officer.  In  the  smallest  places  the  City 
Marshal  is  also  Chief  of  Police. 

It  will  be  seen  that  even  for  the  Police  Court  in  the  largest 
cities  women  have  only  an  indirect  vote  through  the  Mayor's 
appointments.  In  all  the  cities  and  towns  liquor  sellers  when 
convicted  here  simply  take  an  appeal  to  a  higher  court  over 
which  women  have  no  jurisdiction.  They  have  no  vote  for  sher- 
iff, county  attorney  or  any  county  officer.  These  facts  may  in  a 
measure  answer  the  question  why  women  are  helpless  to  enforce 
the  prohibitory  law  or  any  other  to  which  they  are  opposed. 

Nevertheless  even  this  small  amount  of  suffrage  has  been  of 
much  benefit  to  the  women  and  to  the  cities.  As  the  years  go 
by  the  general  average  of  the  woman-vote  is  larger.  Municipal 
voting  has  developed  a  stronger  sense  of  civic  responsibility 
among  women;  it  has  completely  demolished  the  old  stock  ob- 
jections and  has  familiarized  men  with  the  presence  of  women  at 
the  polls.  Without  question  a  higher  level  in  the  conduct  of  city 
affairs  has  resulted.  It  may,  however,  well  be  questioned  as  to 
whether  Municipal  Suffrage  has  not  militated  against  the  full 
enfranchisement  of  women.  Politicians  have  been  annoyed  by 
interference  with  their  schemes.  Men  have  learned  that  women 
command  influence  in  politics,  and  the  party  machine  has  become 
hostile  to  further  extension  of  woman's  opportunity  and  power 
to  demand  cleaner  morals  and  nobler  standards.* 

*  In  1901,  in  Topeka,  a  candidate  for  the  mayoralty,  supposed  to  represent  the  liquor 
element,  speaking  on  the  afternoon  of  election  day — bleak,  dismal  and  shoe-top  deep  in 
snow  and  mud — said:  "I  will  lose  1,000  votes  on  account  of  the  weather  as  the  womeu 
are  out  and  they  are  opposed  to  me.  It  is  impossible  to  keep  them  from  voting." 


664  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Judge  S.  S.  King,  Commissioner  of  Elections  at  Kansas  City, 
has  given  the  suffrage  question  much  thought,  and  he  has  gleaned 
from  the  figures  of  his  official  records  some  interesting  facts. 
Alluding  to  the  mooted  question  of  what  class  of  women  vote 
he  says: 

The  opponents  of  woman  suffrage  insist  that  the  lower  classes 
freely  exercise  the  franchise,  while  the  higher  classes  generally  re- 
frain from  voting.  As  women  in  registering  usually  give  their 
vocation  as  "housekeeper"  it  is  impossible  to  learn  from  that  record 
what  particular  ledge  of  the  social  strata  they  stand  upon,  therefore, 
in  order  to  locate  them  as  to  trades,  business,  etc.,  I  give  them  the 
positions  occupied  by  their  husbands  and  fathers.  I  take  the  i/th 
voting  precinct  of  Kansas  City  as  a  typical  one.  It  is  about  an 
average  in  voting  population  of  white  and  colored  men  and  women 
and  in  the  diversified  industries.  The  149  white  women  who  regis- 
tered in  this  precinct,  as  indicated  by  the  vocations  of  their  husbands, 
fathers,  etc.,  would  be  classified  thus : 

The  trades  (all  classes  of  skilled  labor),  32;  the  professions,  26; 
merchants  (all  manner  of  dealers),  16;  laborers  (unskilled),  15; 
clerks,  10;  public  officers,  8;  bankers  and  brokers,  7;  railroad  em- 
ployes, 7 ;  salesmen,  5 ;  contractors,  2 ;  foremen,  2 ;  paymaster,  I  ; 
unclassified,  16.  Thus,  if  the  opponents  of  woman  suffrage  use  the 
term  "lower  classes"  according  to  some  ill-defined  rule  of  elite 
society,  the  example  given  above  would  be  a  complete  refutation.  If 
by  "lower  classes"  they  mean  the  immoral  and  dissolute,  the  refuta- 
tion appears  to  be  still  more  complete,  for  the  woman  electorate  in 
the  1 7th  precinct  is  particularly  free  from  those  elements. 

It  is  extremely  rare  to  find  a  prominent  man  in  Kansas,  except 
certain  politicians,  who  openly  opposes  woman  suffrage.  With 
a  very  few  exceptions  the  most  eminent  cordially  advocate  it, 
including  a  large  number  of  ministers,  lawyers  and  editors.  It 
would  require  a  chapter  simply  to  catalogue  the  names  of  well- 
known  men  and  women  who  are  heartily  in  favor  of  it.  Had 
Kansas  men  voted  their  convictions,  Kansas  women  would  long 
since  have  been  enfranchised,  but  political  partisanship  has  been 
stronger  than  the  sense  of  justice. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

KENTUCKY.* 

In  October,  1886,  the  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Women  held  its  annual  congress  in  Louisville,  and  for  the  first 
time  woman  suffrage  was  admitted  to  a  place  on  the  program. 
It  was  advocated  by  Mrs.  Ednah  D.  Cheney  of  Massachusetts 
and  Miss  Laura  Clay. 

The  subject  was  much  discussed  for  the  next  two  years  and  in 
February,  1888,  Mrs.  Mary  B.  Clay,  vice-president  of  the  Amer- 
ican and  of  the  National  Woman  Suffrage  Associations,  called 
a  convention  in  Frankfort.  Delegates  from  Lexington  and  Rich- 
mond attended,  and  Mrs.  Zerelda  G.  Wallace  of  Indiana  was 
present  by  invitation.  The  Hall  of  Representatives  was  granted 
for  two  evenings,  the  General  Assembly  being  in  session.  On  the 
first  Mrs.  Wallace  delivered  an  able  address  and  the  hall  was 
well  filled,  principally  with  members  of  the  Legislature.  On  the 
second  Mrs.  Clay  spoke  upon  the  harsh  laws  in  regard  to  women, 
and  Prof.  E.  B.  Walker  on  the  injustice  of  the  property  laws 
and  the  advantage  of  giving  women  the  ballot  in  municipal  af- 
fairs. He  was  followed  by  Mrs.  Sarah  Clay  Bennett,  who  argued 
that  women  already  had  a  right  to  the  ballot  under  the  Four- 
teenth Amendment  to  the  United  States  Constitution.  At  the 
conclusion  of  her  address  she  asked  all  legislators  present  who 
were  willing  to  give  the  ballot  to  women  to  stand.  Seven  arose 
and  were  greeted  with  loud  applause. 

When  the  annual  meeting  of  the  American  W.  S.  A.  convened 
in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  Nov.  20-22,  1888,  Miss  Laura  Clay,  mem- 
ber of  its  executive  committee  from  Kentucky,  issued  a  call 
to  the  suffragists  of  that  State  to  attend  this  convention  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  a  State  association.  Accordingly  dele- 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Miss  Laura  Clay  of  Lexington,  president 
of  the  State  Equal  Rights'  Association  since  its  organization,  and  first  auditor  of  the  Na- 
tional-American Woman  Suffrage  Association  since  1895. 

665 


666  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

gates  from  the  Fayette  and  Kenton  county  societies  met  and 
organized  the  Kentucky  Equal  Rights  Association.  The  follow- 
ing officers  were  elected :  President,  Miss  Clay ;  vice-presidents, 
Mrs.  Ellen  Battelle  Dietrick,  Mrs.  Mary  B.  Clay;  corresponding 
secretary,  Mrs.  Eugenia  B.  Farmer;  recording  secretary,  Miss 
Anna  M.  Deane;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Isabella  H.  Shepard. 

The  second  annual  convention  was  held  in  the  court  house  at 
Lexington,  Nov.  19-21,  1889,  with  officers  and  delegates  rep- 
resenting seven  counties.  The  evening  speakers  were  Mrs.  Clay, 
Mrs.  Josephine  K.  Henry  and  Joseph  B.  Cottrell,  D.  D.  A  com- 
mittee was  appointed,  Mrs.  Henry,  chairman,  to  present  the  in- 
terests of  women  to  the  approaching  General  Assembly  and  the 
Constitutional  Convention.  (See  Legislative  Action  for  1890.) 

The  next  annual  meeting  took  place  in  Richmond,  Dec. 
3,  4,  1890.  Mrs.  Sarah  Hardin  Sawyer  was  asked  to  prepare 
a  tract  on  co-education,  which  proved  of  great  assistance  in  open- 
ing the  colleges  to  women.  The  evening  speakers  were  Mrs. 
Shepard,  Mrs.  Henry  and  the  Rev.  John  G.  Fee,  the  venerable 
Kentucky  Abolitionist. 

The  fourth  convention  was  held  in  Louisville,  Dec.  8-10, 
1891,  and  was  addressed  by  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  and 
the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  K.  J.  Jones. 

The  fifth  annual  meeting  convened  in  Richmond,  Nov.  9, 
10,  1892.*  Mrs.  Lida  Calvert  Obenchain's  paper,  "Why  a 
Democratic  Woman  Wants  the  Ballot,"  was  afterwards  widely 
circulated  as  a  leaflet.  The  evening  speakers  were  Mrs.  Clara 
Bewick  Colby  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  Dr.  J.  Franklin  Browne. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1892  was  in  session  most  of  that 
year  and  some  months  in  1893,  as  there  was  a  vast  amount  of 
business  to  be  done  in  bringing  all  departments  of  legislation 
into  harmony  with  the  new  constitution.  During  all  this  time  the 
State  association  was  busy  urging  the  rights  of  women;  and  at 
its  sixth  convention,  held  in  Newport,  Oct.  17-19,  1893,  was 
able  to  report  that  a  law  had  been  secured  granting  a  married 
woman  the  power  to  make  a  will  and  control  her  separate  prop- 
erty. Among  the  speakers  was  the  Rev.  G.  W.  Bradford. 

*  The  State  W.  C.  T.  U.  at  its  convention  in  1 892  adopted  a  franchise  department,  and 
has  proved  a  faithful  and  valuable  ally  in  educating  public  sentiment  and  obtaining 
desired  legislation. 


KENTUCKY.  667 

The'  annual  meeting  took  place  in  Lexington,  Oct.  24-26, 
1894.  The  most  encouraging  successes  of  any  year  were  reported 
in  the  extension  of  School  Suffrage  and  the  passage  of  the  Mar- 
ried Woman's  Property  Rights  Bill.  In  answer  to  the  petition 
of  the  Fayette  County  society  to  Mayor  Henry  T.  Duncan  and  the 
city  council  of  Lexington  to  place  a  woman  on  the  school  board, 
Mrs.  Wilbur  R.  Smith  had  been  appointed.  She  was  the  first  to 
hold  such  a  position  in  Kentucky.  Mrs.  Farmer  gave  an  address 
on  School  Suffrage,  with  illustrations  of  registration  and  voting, 
which  women  were  to  have  an  opportunity  to  apply  in  1895.* 

In  1895  Richmond  was  again  selected  as  the  place  for  the 
State  convention,  December  1012,  at  which  legislative  work  in 
the  General  Assembly  of  1896  was  carefully  planned.  (See 
Legislative  Action.) 

The  convention  met  in  Lexington,  Dec.  18,  1896.  A  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  work  for  complete  School  Suffrage  in 
the  extra  session  of  the  General  Assembly  the  next  year.f 

Covington  entertained  the  annual  meeting  Oct.  14,  15,  1897. 
Mrs.  Emma  Smith  DeVoe  of  Illinois,  a  national  organizer, 
was  present,  being  then  engaged  in  a  tour  through  the  State. 
This  convention  was  unusually  large  and  full  of  encouragement. 

The  eleventh  convention  was  held  in  Richmond,  Dec.  i,  1898, 
and  the  twelfth  in  Lexington,  Dec.  n,  12,  1899.  Mrs.  Carrie 
Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  national  organization  committee, 
and  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay,  secretary,  assisted,  the  former  giving 
addresses  both  evenings.  It  was  decided  to  ask  the  General  As- 
sembly to  make  an  appropriation  for  the  establishment  of  a 
dormitory  for  the  women  students  of  the  State  College. 

Miss  Laura  Clay  has  been  president  of  the  State  Association 

*  In  the  congressional  contest  of  the  Seventh  District,  between  W.  C.  P.  Breckinridge 
and  W.  C.  Owens,  in  1894,  the  women  took  such  a  share  in  defeating  the  former  that 
their  action  became  an  instructive  part  of  political  history.  Mrs.  F.  K.  Hunt,  president 
of  their  Owens  Club,  which  did  such  distinguished  service  for  public  morality,  after- 
wards became  a  member  of  the  Equal  Rights  Association,  this  campaign  having  con- 
vinced her,  as  she  said,  that  "there  is  a  place  for  women  in  politics." 

t  In  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1896,  Mrs.  Josephine  K.  Henry  and  Miss  Margaret 
Ingals  spoke  for  the  Silver  Democrats,  and  Mrs.  Frances  E.  Beauchamp  for  the  Prohibi- 
tionists, under  the  auspices  of  the  party  committees. 

In  June,  1898,  Mrs.  Beauchamp,  president  of  the  State  W.  C.  T.  U.,  was  elected 
permanent  chairman  and  presided  over  the  State  Prohibition  Convention  held  in  Louis- 
ville— the  first  time  a  woman  ever  filled  such  a  position  in  Kentucky.  She  was  also 
elected  a  member  of  the  National  Central  Committee  of  the  Prohibitionists  in  1899.  This 
party  has  retained  the  woman  suffrage  plank  in  its  State  platform  since  1889. 


668  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

since  it  was  organized  in  1888.  Mrs.  Ellen  Battelle  Dietrick  was 
the  first  vice-president,  but  removing  to  Massachusetts  the  fol- 
lowing year,  Mrs.  Mary  Barr  Clay,  the  second  vice-president, 
was  elected  and  has  continued  in  that  office.  There  have  been 
but  two  other  second  vice-presidents,  the  Hon.  William  Randall 
Ramsey  and  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Cramer,  and  but  two  corresponding 
secretaries,  Mrs.  Eugenia  B.  Farmer  and  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Roark. 
The  office  of  treasurer  has  been  filled  continuously  by  Mrs.  Isa- 
bella H.  Shepard.*  During  all  these  years  H.  H.  Gratz,  editor 
of  the  Lexington  Gazette,  and  John  W.  Sawyer,  editor  of  the 
Southern  Journal,  have  been  among  the  most  faithful  and  cour- 
ageous friends  of  woman  suffrage.  The  Prohibition  papers,  al- 
most without  exception,  have  been  cordial. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  During  the  General  As- 
sembly of  1890,  a  committee  of  eight  from  the  E.  R.  A.  went  to 
Frankfort  to  ask  legislation  on  the  property  rights  of  women, 
and  for  women  physicians  in  the  State  asylums  for  the  insane. 
A  petition  for  property  rights  was  presented,  signed  with  9,000 
names.  Of  these  2,240  were  collected  by  Mrs.  S.  M.  Hubbard. 
On  January  10  appeals  were  made  in  Representatives'  Hall  by 
Miss  Laura  Clay  for  the  Women  Physicians  Bill,  and  by  Mrs. 
Josephine  K.  Henry  for  the  Property  Rights  Bill.  The  latter 
had  carefully  prepared  a  compendium  of  the  married  women's 
property  laws  in  all  the  States,  which  was  of  incalculable  value 
throughout  the  years  of  labor  necessary  to  secure  this  bill. 

The  press  of  the  State,  with  few  exceptions,  espoused  the  cause 
of  property  rights  for  women.  Seven  bills  were  presented  to  this 
General  Assembly,  among  them  one  drawn  and  introduced  into 
the  Senate  by  Judge  William  Lindsay,  afterward  United  States 
Senator.  This  secured  to  married  women  the  enjoyment  of  their 
property,  gave  them  the  power  to  make  a  will  and  equalized 
curtesy  and  dower.  Although  reported  adversely  by  the  commit- 
tee, it  was  taken  up  for  discussion  and  was  eloquently  defended 
by  Judge  Lindsay.  It  passed  the  Senate,  but  was  defeated  in  the 

*  The  other  State  officers  have  been,  recording  secretaries,  Dr.  Sarah  M.  Siewers; 
Mesdames  Mary  Ritchie  McKee,  Mary  Muggeridge,  Mary  R.  Patterson,  Sarah  Hardin 
Sawyer,  Kate  Rose  Wiggins;  Misses  Anna  M.  Deane,  Mary  Susan  Hamilton,  Mary  E. 
Light;  third  vice-preside* ts,  Mesdames  Sallie  H.  Chenault,  S.  M.  Hubbard,  Mary  H. 
Johnson,  Thomas  L.  Jones,  N.  S.  McLaughlin;  Miss  Belle  Harris  Bennett;  superin- 
tendents of  press,  Mrs.  Lida  Calvert  Obenchain,  Mrs.  Sarah  G.  Humphreys;  superin- 
tendent of  legislative  work,  Mrs.  Josephine  K.  Henry. 


KENTUCKY.  669 

House  by  the  opposing  members  withdrawing  and  breaking  the 
quorum.*  A  bill  introduced  by  the  Hon.  William  B.  Smith, 
making  it  obligatory  upon  employers  to  pay  wages  earned  by 
married  women  to  themselves  and  not  their  husbands,  became 
a  law  at  this  session. 

The  Constitutional  Convention  held  in  1890-91  was  the  field 
of  much  labor  by  the  State  association.  In  October  a  committee 
consisting  of  Mrs.  Henry,  Miss  Clay,  Mrs.  Eugenia  B.  Farmer, 
Mrs.  Isabella  H.  Shepard  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Clay  Bennett  went  to 
Frankfort  to  appeal  for  clauses  in  the  new  constitution  empower- 
ing the  General  Assembly  to  extend  Full  Suffrage  to  women ;  to 
secure  the  property  rights  of  wives;  and  to  grant  School  Suf- 
frage to  all  women.  The  importance  of  their  claims  was  so  im- 
pressed upon  the  convention  that  it  appointed  a  special  Commit- 
tee on  Woman's  Rights,  with  one  of  its  most  esteemed  members, 
the  Hon.  Jep.  C.  Jonson,  as  chairman,  who  did  all  in  his  power 
to  bring  their  cause  favorably  before  this  body. 

On  the  evening  of  October  9,  in  Representatives'  Hall,  Miss 
Clay,  Mrs.  Shepard  and  Mrs.  Bennett  addressed  an  audience 
composed  largely  of  members,  being  introduced  by  Mr.  Jonson. 
Later,  Mrs.  Henry  was.  given  a  hearing  before  the  committee. 
Her  tract  appealing  for  property  rights  was  read  before  the  con- 
vention by  Mr.  Jonson  and  supplied  to  each  of  the  100  members. 
In  addition  she  supplied  them  several  times  a  week  with  leaflets, 
congressional  hearings,  etc.,  and  wrote  200  articles  for  the  press 
on  property  rights  and  thirty-one  on  suffrage. 

The  five  ladies,  with  Mrs.  Sarah  Hardin  Sawyer  and  Mrs. 
Margaret  A.  Watts,  met  in  Frankfort  again  on  December  8,  and 
obtained  hearings  before  the  Committees  on  Revision  of  the  Con- 
stitution, Education  and  Woman's  Rights.  Mrs.  Henry  also 
addressed  the  Committee  on  Elections,  who  asked  that  her  speech 
be  printed  and  furnished  to  each  member  of  the  convention. 

On  December  12  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Mackoy,  at  the  request  of 
the  suffragists,  offered  this  amendment  to  the  section  on  elections : 
"The  General  Assembly  may  hereafter  extend  full  or  partial 
suffrage  to  female  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  the  age  of 

*  This  bill,  drawn  up  with  legal  precision  and  clearness,  was  practically  the  one 
passed  four  years  later  (1894),  which  raised  Kentucky's  property  laws  for  wives  to  a 
just  and  honorable  plane. 


670  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

21  years,  who  have  resided  in  this  State  one  year,  etc."  By  his 
motion  the  ladies  appeared  before  the  convention  in  Committee 
of  the  Whole.  They  selected  Miss  Clay  as  their  spokesman  and 
sat  in  front  of  the  speaker's  stand  during  her  address. 

The  only  clause  finally  obtained  in  the  new  constitution  was 
one  permitting  the  General  Assembly  to  extend  School  Suffrage 
to  women;  but  the  Legislature  of  1892  made  important  conces- 
sions. 

Among  the  members  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1894  especial 
gratitude  is  due  to  Judges  S.  B.  Vance  and  W.  H.  Beckner.  The 
former  introduced  the  Bill  for  Married  Women's  Property 
Rights  in  the  House,  giving  Senator  Lindsay  credit  for  being 
practically  its  author.  Judge  Beckner  cordially  supported  this 
bill,  saying  he  preferred  it  to  one  of  his  own,  which  he  had  intro- 
duced but  would  push  only  if  it  should  be  evident  that  Judge 
Vance's  more  liberal  bill  could  not  become  law.  To  the  leader- 
ship of  these  two  is  due  the  vote  of  79  ayes  to  14  noes  with  which 
the  bill  passed  the  House.  In  the  Senate  it  came  near  to  defeat, 
but  was  carried  through  by  the  strenuous  efforts  of  its  friends, 
especially  of  Senators  W.  W.  Stephenson,  Rozel  Weissinger 
and  William  Goebel.  Senator  Weissinger  withdrew  in  favor  of 
the  House  bill  one  of  his  own,  not  so  comprehensive.  The  bill 
passed  on  the  very  last  day  of  the  session  possible  to  finish  busi- 
ness. The  Senate  vote  was  21  yeas,  10  nays.*  It  was  signed 
March  15  by  Gov.  John  Young  Brown,  who  always  had  fa- 
vored it. 

Another  signal  victory  this  year  was  School  Suffrage  for 
women  of  the  second-class  cities.  Since  1838  widows  with  chil- 
dren of  school  age  had  been  voters  for  school  trustees  in  the  coun- 
try districts,  and  in  1888  this  right  was  extended  to  allow  tax- 
paying  widows  and  spinsters  to  vote  on  school  taxes.  This  gen- 
eral law,  however,  did  not  apply  to  chartered  cities.  The  vigi- 

*  On  the  night  of  March  8  Mrs.  Josephine  K.  Henry  spoke  in  Frankfort  on  the  subject 
of  American  Citizenship.  The  Legislative  Hall  was  voted  unanimously  and  the  Senate, 
which  was  holding  night  sessions,  adjourned  to  hear  her  address.  The  Property  Rights 
Bill  was  on  this  night  virtually  dead.  Mrs.  Henry  in  her  speech  never  alluded  to  this 
bill,  but  plainly  asked  the  Legislature  to  create  a  power  to  which  she  could  apply  and 
receive  her  papers  of  citizenship,  claiming  that  she  had  every  qualification  save  that  of 
sex.  The  speech  did  not  procure  for  her  the  right  to  vote,  but  the  next  morning,  amid 
the  greatest  tumult,  the  dead  Property  Rights  Bill  was  resurrected  and  passed. 

Minutes   of  Kentucky   E.    R.    A.,    1894. 


KENTUCKY.  671 

lance  of  Mrs.  Farmer  observed  and  seized  the  opportunity  offered 
by  the  revision  of  city  charters,  after  the  adoption  of  the  new 
constitution,  to  put  in  clauses  granting  full  School  Suffrage  to 
all  women.  At  her  instigation,  in  1892,  the  equal  rights  associa- 
tions of  Covington,  Newport  and  Lexington,  the  only  second- 
class  cities,  petitioned  the  committee  selected  to  prepare  a  charter 
for  such  cities  to  insert  a  clause  in  the  section  on  education,  mak- 
ing women  eligible  as  members  of  school  boards  and  qualified 
to  vote  at  all  elections  of  such  boards.  This  was  done,  and  the 
charter  passed  the  General  Assembly  in  1894,  and  was  signed  by 
Governor  Brown  on  March  19.  The  influence  of  the  State  asso- 
ciation was  not  sufficient,  however,  to  have  School  Suffrage  put 
in  the  charters  of  cities  of  the  first,  third  and  fourth  classes.  The 
Hons.  Charles  Jacob  Bronston,  John  O.  Hodges,  William  Goebel 
and  Joel  Baker  did  excellent  service  for  this  clause. 

The  changes  wrought  by  liberal  legislation  and  the  part  the 
State  association  had  in  securing  this  will  be  best  understood  by 
quotations  from  a  leaflet  issued  by  the  State  Association : 

In  1888  the  Kentucky  E.  R.  A.  was  organized  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  for  women  equality  with  men  in  educational,  industrial, 
legal  and  political  rights. 

We  found  on  the  statute  books  a  law  which  permitted  a  husband 
to  collect  his  wife's  wages. 

We  found  Kentucky  the  only  State  which  did  not  allow  a  married 
woman  to  make  a  will. 

We  found  that  marriage  gave  to  the  husband  all  the  wife's  per- 
sonal property  which  could  be  reduced  to  possession,  and  the  use  of 
all  her  real  estate  owned  at  the  time  or  acquired  by  her  after  mar- 
riage, with  power  to  rent  the  same  and  receive  the  rent. 

We  found  that  the  common  law  of  curtesy  and  dower  prevailed, 
whereby  on  the  death  of  the  wife  the  husband  inherited  absolutely 
all  her  personalty  and,  when  there  were  children,  a  life  interest  in  all 
her  real  estate ;  while  the  wife,  when  there  were  children,  inherited 
one-third  of  her  husband's  personalty  and  a  life-interest  in  one- 
third  of  his  real  estate. 

I.  In  1890  we  secured  a  law  which  made  the  wife's  wages  pay- 
able only  to  herself. 

II.  From  the  General  Assembly  of  1892-93  we  secured  a  law 
giving  a  married  woman  the  right  to  make  a  will  and  control  her 
real  estate. 

III.  From  the  General  Assembly  of  1894  we  secured  the  present 
Law  for  Husband  and  Wife.     The  main  features  of  this  are : 

i.  Curtesy  and  dower  are  equalized.  After  the  death  of  either 
husband  or  wife,  the  survivor  is  given  a  life  estate  in  one-third  of 


6/2  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 

the  realty  of  the  deceased  and  an  absolute  estate  in  one-half  of  the 
personalty. 

2.  The  wife  has  entire  control  of  her  property,  real  and  personal. 
She  owns  her  personal  property  absolutely,  and  can  dispose  of  it  as 
she  pleases.*     The  statute  gives  her  the  right  to  make  contracts  and 
to  sue  and  be  sued  as  a  single  woman.     This  enables  a  married 
woman  to  enter  business  and  hold  her  stock  in  trade  free  from  the 
control  of  her  husband  and  liability  to  his  creditors. 

3.  The  power  to  make  a  will  is  the  same  in  husband  and  wife, 
and  neither  can  by  will  divest  the  other  of  dower  or  interest  in  his 
or  her  estate. 

These  splendid  property  laws  are  pronounced  by  leading  lawyers 
to  be  the  greatest  legal  revolution  which  has  taken  place  in  our  his- 
tory. 

A  section  of  the  new  constitution  made  it  the  duty  of  the 
General  Assembly  to  provide  by  law  as  soon  as  practicable  for 
Houses  of  Reform  for  Juvenile  Offenders.  The  State  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union  decided  in  1892  to  urge  it  to  act 
speedily,  and  the  Equal  Rights  Association  co-operated  heartily, 
with  a  special  view  to  securing  provision  for  girls  equal  to  that 
for  boys,  and  women  on  the  Board  of  Managers.  A  joint  com- 
mittee from  the  two  associations  was  appointed,  with  Mrs.  Fran- 
ces E.  Beauchamp  chairman  for  the  former  and  Mrs.  S.  A. 
Charles  for  the  latter.  They  compiled  a  bill  with  legal  advice 
of  Senator  Bronston,  who  had  been  largely  instrumental  in  secur- 
ing the  section.  The  unremitting  labor  of  three  years  was  at 
last  crowned  with  success  in  1896,  when  a  bill,  essentially  that 
prepared  by  the  women,  passed  the  General  Assembly  and  was 
signed  by  Gov.  William  O.  Bradley,  March  2i.f  This  bill  pro- 
vides for  two  separate  institutions,  one  for  girls  and  one  for 
boys,  on  the  cottage  family  plan.  The  general  government  is 
vested  in  a  board  of  six  trustees,  three  women  and  three  men. 

From  the  General  Assembly  of  1898  the  E.  R.  A.  finally  ob- 
tained the  law  making  it  mandatory  to  have  at  least  one  woman 
physician  in  each  State  insane  asylum,  for  which  they  had  been 
petitioning  ten  years.  Representative  W.  C.  G.  Hobbs  introduced 

*  The  wife  can  not  dispose  of  real  estate  without  the  husband's  signature.  He  can 
convey  real  estate  without  her  signature  but  it  is  subject  to  her  dower. 

t  This  year  the  E.  R.  A.,  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  and  the  Woman's  Club  of  Central  Kentucky 
petitioned  Governor  Bradley  to  appoint  a  woman  physician  for  the  insane  asylum  at 
Lexington.  He  did  appoint  one,  Dr.  Kathryn  Houser,  but  placed  her  in  the  Hopkinsville 
asylum. 


KENTUCKY.  673 

the  bill  into  the  House,  where  it  passed  by  a  vote  of  77  ayes,  4 
noes.  Mr.  Bronston  supported  it  in  the  Senate,  where  it  received 
26  ayes,  one  no.  It  was  approved  by  Governor  Bradley  March  1 5. 

In  the  same  year  the  benevolent  associations  of  the  women  of 
Louisville  secured  an  act  providing  for  police  matrons  in  that 
city,  the  only  first-class  one  in  the  State,  which  was  approved 
by  the  Governor  March  10.*  The  first  police  matron  was  ap- 
pointed March  4,  before  the  law  required  it,  at  the  request  of 
women  and  through  the  influence  of  Mayor  Charles  P.  Weaver, 
Chief  of  Police  Jacob  H.  Haager,  Jailer  John  R.  Pflanz  and 
Judge  Reginald  H.  Thompson.  By  the  action  of-  the  State 
Board  of  Prison  Commissioners  this  year,  two  women  were  ap- 
pointed as  guards  for  the  women's  wards  in  the  penitentiary, 
their  duties  being  such  as  usually  pertain  to  a  matron. 

This  year  the  Women's  Club  of  Central  Kentucky  set  on  foot 
a  movement  for  a  free  library  in  Lexington.  Senator  Bronston 
secured  a  change  in  the  city  charter  to  facilitate  this  object.  The 
act  provides  that  the  library  shall  be  under  the  control  of  a  board 
of  five  trustees  and  was  intentionally  worded  to  make  women 
eligible.  Mayor  Joseph  Simrall  appointed  two  of  the  club  wom- 
en, Mrs.  Mary  D.  Short  and  Mrs.  Ida  Withers  Harrison.  This 
is  the  first  free  library  established  in  Kentucky. 

Owing  to  the  turbulent  political  conditions  in  the  General 
Assembly  of  1900,  the  State  association  did  not  send  its  usual 
committee  to  the  capital.  However,  a  committee  from  the  W.  C. 
T.  U.  did  go,  and  succeeded  in  securing  an  appropriation  to  build 
the  young  women's  dormitory  at  the  State  College,  receiving  in 
this  effort  the  encouragement  of  the  E.  R.  A.,  as  agreed  upon 
at  their  convention  of  1899. 

The  history  of  the  State  association  would  not  be  complete 
without  recording  its  failures.  In  1893  an  effort  to  raise  the 
"age  of  protection"  for  girls  from  12  to  18  was  made  a  part  of 
its  work.  It  was  deemed  expedient  to  place  this  in  the  hands 
of  a  special  committee,  Mrs.  Thomas  L.  Jones  and  Mrs.  Sarah 
G.  Humphreys  consenting  to  assume  the  arduous  task.  Mrs. 

*  A  notable  feature  of  this  act  is  that  none  shall  be  appointed  who  has  not  been  recom- 
mended by  a  committee  composed  of  one  woman  selected  by  each  of  the  following  organi- 
zations :  Home  of  Friendless  Women,  Flower  Mission,  •  Free  Kindergarten  Association, 
Humane  Society,  Charity  Organization  Society,  City  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs, 
Kentucky  Children's  Home  Society,  W.  C.  T.  U.  and  Women's  Christian  Association. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF .— 43 


674  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Henry  wrote  a  strong  leaflet  on  the  "age  of  protection,"  and  Mrs. 
Humphreys  sent  many  articles  to  the  press.  A  petition  was 
widely  circulated  and  bore  thousands  of  names  when  the  ladies 
carried  it  to  the  General  Assembly  in  1894.  They  succeeded  in 
having  a  bill  introduced,  and  were  given  hearings  before  an 
appropriate  committee ;  but  the  Assembly  adjourned  without  act- 
ing. In  1895,  Mrs.  Martha  R.  Stockwell  was  added  to  the  com- 
mittee, which  again  went  to  the  Assembly  with  the  petition ;  but 
without  success,  and  the  "age  of  protection"  still  remains  12 
years.  The  penalty  is  death  or  imprisonment  for  life. 

By  special  statute  the  Common  Law  is  retained  which  makes 
12  years  the  legal  age  fora  girl  to  marry. 

A  law  to  make  mothers  equal  guardians  with  fathers  of  minor 
children  is  one  to  which  the  State  association  has  devoted  much 
attention,  but  which  still  waits  on  the  future  for  success.  At 
present  the  father  is  the  legal  guardian,  and  at  his  death  may  ap- 
point one  even  for  a  child  unborn.  If  the  court  appoints  a  guard- 
ian, the  law  (1894)  requires  that  it  "shall  choose  the  father,  or 
his  testamentary  appointee ;  then  the  mother  if  [still]  unmarried, 
then  next  of  kin,  giving  preference  to  the  males." 

The  husband  is  expected  to  furnish  the  necessaries  of  life  ac- 
cording to  his  condition,  but  if  he  has  only  his  wages  there  is  no 
law  to  punish  him  for  non-support. 

SUFFRAGE:  Kentucky  was  the  first  State  in  the  Union  to 
grant  any  form  of  suffrage  to  women  by  special  statute,  as  its 
first  School  Law,  passed  in  1838,  permitted  widows  in  the  coun- 
try districts  with  children  of  school  age  to  vote  for  trustees.  In 
1888  further  extensions  of  School  Suffrage  were  made  and  in  the 
country  districts,  including  fifth  and  sixth  class  cities,  i.  e.,  the 
smallest  villages,  any  widow  having  a  child  of  school  age,  and 
any  widow  or  spinster  having  a  ward  of  school  age,  may  now  vote 
for  school  trustees  and  district  school  taxes;  also  taxpaying 
widows  and  spinsters  may  vote  for  district  school  taxes. 

In  1894  the  General  Assembly  granted  women  the  right  to  vote 
for  members  of  the  board  of  education  on  the  same  terms  as  men 
in  the  second-class  cities,  by  a  special  clause  in  their  charter. 
There  are  three  of  these — Covington,  Newport  and  Lexington.* 

*  This  Act   was    repealed   in    1902   because  more  colored   than    white    women   voted   in 


.     -        KENTUCKY.  675 

In  the  one  first-class  city,  Louisville,  the  five  third-class  and  the 
twenty  or  more  fourth-class  cities,  no  woman  has  any  vote. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  In  1886  Mrs.  Amanda  T.  Million  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  office  of  county  superintendent  of  public  schools. 
Her  husband  had  been  elected  in  Madison  County,  but  dying  at 
the  commencement  of  his  term,  Judge  J.  C.  Chenault,  after  the 
eligibility  of  a  woman  had  been  ascertained,  appointed  the  widow 
to  fill  out  the  year.  Mrs.  Million  then  became  a  candidate,  and 
was  elected  for  the  remaining  three  years  of  the  term,  being  the 
first  woman  in  the  State  to  fill  that  office.  Her  case  attracted 
much  attention  and  at  the  election  in  1889  four  womeri  were  elect- 
ed county  superintendents;  in  1893,  eight,  and  in  1897,  eighteen. 

In  1895  Mayor  Henry  T.  Duncan  appointed  two  women  on  the 
Lexington  School  Board,  Mrs.  Ida  Withers  Harrison  and  Mrs. 
Mary  E.  Lucas,  to  serve  until  their  successors  were  elected  under 
the  laws  of  the  new  charter.  In  August  the  women  held  a  mass 
meeting,  conducted  by  a  joint  committee  from  the  local  E.  R.  A., 
the  W.  C.  T.  U.  and  the  Woman's  Club  of  Central  Kentucky,  to 
nominate  a  woman  from  each  ward.  They  named  Mrs.  Harri- 
son, Mrs.  Ella  Williamson,  Mrs.  Sarah  West  Marshal  and  Mrs. 
Mary  C.  Roark.  This  ticket  was  indorsed  the  same  day  by  the 
Citizens'  Association  (of  men).  Judge  Frank  Bullock  allowed 
private  houses  to  be  used  for  women  to  register,  one  in  each  pre- 
cinct, the  registration  officers  all  to  be  women — clerk,  two  judges 
and  a  sheriff.  They  were  sworn  in  and  did  their  duty  nobly. 
The  Democratic  and  Republican  parties  refused  to  accept  the 
Woman's  Ticket.  The  women  therefore  selected  a  man  from 
each  ward  in  addition  to  the  four  women  nominated,  making  the 
required  number  of  eight,  known  as  the  Independent  Ticket, 
which  was  triumphantly  elected  in  November  by  voters  of  all 
parties  and  both  sexes. 

In  Covington,  three  women  were  placed  on  the  Republican 
ticket,  but  were  defeated.  About  5,000  women  voted.  In  New- 
port two  women  were  placed  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  but  it  was 
defeated.  About  2,800  women  registered. 

The  Prohibitionists  nominated  Mrs.  Josephine  K.  Henry  for 

Lexington  at  the  spring  election.     This  is  the  only  instance  where  the  suffrage  has  been 
taken   from   women  after  being  conferred  by  a   Legislature.     [Eds. 


676  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

clerk  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  in  1890.  Though  in  many  places 
the  election  clerks  refused  to  enter  her  name  on  the  polling-books, 
doubting  the  eligibility  of  a  woman,  she  received  4.460  votes. 
This  case  is  worthy  of  note  because  it  was  the  first  in  Kentucky 
where  a  woman  was  a  candidate  for  election  to  a  State  office; 
and  because,  as  she  ran  on  a  platform  containing  a  suffrage  plank, 
practically  all  the  votes  for  her  were  cast  for  woman  suffrage. 

Women  have  been  State  librarians  continuously  since  January, 
1876,  when  the  first  one  was  elected. 

In  1894  the  Senate  for  the  first  time  elected  a  woman  as  enroll- 
ing clerk,  and  women  have  held  this  office  ever  since. 

During  the  session  of  1900,  stormy  as  it  was,  the  House  for 
the  first  time  elected  a  woman  as  enrolling  clerk. 

Women  serve  as  notaries  public.  ( For  other  offices  see  Legis- 
lative Action.) 

OCCUPATIONS  :  Women  are  engaged  in  all  the  professions  and 
no  occupation  is  forbidden  to  them  by  law.  On  Dec.  15, 
1886,  the  Court  of  Appeals  affirmed  the  right  of  women  to  dis- 
pense medicines.  The  case  was  that  of  Bessie  W.  White 
(Hager),  a  graduate  of  the  School  of  Pharmacy  of  Michigan 
University.  She  applied  to  the  State  Board  of  Pharmacy  for 
registration  in  1883,  complying  with  all  the  requirements. 
They  rejected  her  application,  whereupon  she  applied  for  a 
mandamus.  The  writ  was  granted  but  an  appeal  wras  taken. 
Judge  William  H.  Holt  delivered  the  opinion  of  the  Appellate 
Court,  saying  in  his  decision :  "It  is  gratifying  to  see  American 
women  coming  to  the  front  in  these  honorable  pursuits.  The 
history  of  civilization  in  every  country  shows  that  it  has  merely 
kept  pace  with  the  advancement  of  its  women." 

EDUCATION:  On  April  27,  1889,  at  a  called  meeting  of  the 
Board  of  Curators  of  Kentucky  University  (Disciples  of  Christ) 
in  Lexington,  it  was  decided  to  admit  women  students.  This 
was  the  result  of  a  petition  the  preceding  June  by  the  Fayette 
County  E.  R.  A.  In  response  a  committee  had  been  appointed, 
President  Charles  Louis  Loos,  chairman,  and,  upon  its  favorable 
report,  the  resolution  was  carried  by  unanimous  vote.  An  im- 
mediate appropriation  was  made  for  improvements  to  the  college 
buildings  to  accommodate  the  new  students,  the  opening  was  an- 


KENTUCKY.  677 

nounced  in  the  annual  calendar  and  women  invited  to  avail  them- 
selves of  its  advantages.  This  was  the  second  institution  of 
higher  education  opened  to  women,  the  State  Agricultural  and 
Mechanical  College  and  Normal  School,  also  in  Lexington,  hav- 
ing admitted  them  in  1880. 

In  1892  the  work  done  by  Mrs.  Sarah  Hardin  Sawyer  resulted 
in  the  admission  of  women  to  Wesleyan  College  in  Winchester. 
The  Baptist  College  at  Georgetown  became  co-educational 
through  the  influence  of  Prof.  James  Jefferson  Rucker.  The 
Homeopathic  Medical  College,  opened  in  Louisville  the  same 
year,  admitted  women  from  the  first  and  placed  a  woman  upon 
the  faculty.  In  1893  the  Madison  County  E.  R.  A.  secured  the 
admission  of  girls  to  Central  University  at  Richmond. 

Co-education  now  prevails  in  all  the  normal  and  business 
schools,  and  in  the  majority  of  the  institutions  of  higher  learning ; 
the  only  notable  exceptions  being  Centre  University,  Danville; 
Baptist  College,  Russellville ;  Baptist  Theological  College*  and 
Allopathic  Medical  College,  Louisville. 

There  are  in  the  public  schools  4,909  men  and  5,057  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $44 ;  of  the 
women,  $37. 


The  Woman's  Emergency  Association  of  Louisville,  organized 
during  the  Spanish-American  War,  called  a  non-partisan  mass 
meeting  February  6,  1900,  "for  the  special  purpose  of  directing 
the  attention  of  women  to  the  importance  and  necessity  of  using 
their  influence  on  behalf  of  good  citizenship."  The  mass  meet- 
ing was  addressed  by  several  prominent  gentlemen,  who  deplored 
the  spirit  of  lawlessness  prevailing  in  the  State  and  declared  that 
the  remedy  rested  with  the  women,  but  the  suggestion  that  these 
should  have  the  franchise  was  not  once  made. 

The  State  E.  R.  A.  sent  a  memorial  to  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  Kentucky  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  in  1900,  soliciting 
their  assistance  in  securing  from  the  General  Assembly  the  ex- 
tension of  School  Suffrage  to  the  women  of  all  towns  and  cities. 
It  was  voted  to  give  the  co-operation  desired. 

*  This  college  was  opened  to  women  in  1902. 


CHAPTER   XLII. 

LOUISIANA.* 

The  history  of  woman  suffrage  in  Louisiana  must  center  al- 
ways about  the  names  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Lyle  Saxon  and  Mrs. 
Caroline  E.  Merrick.  In  1879,  before  there  had  been  any  general 
agitation  of  this  question  in  the  State,  these  ladies  appeared  be- 
fore the  convention  which  was  preparing  a  new  constitution,  and 
urged  that  the  ballot  should  be  granted  to  women  on  the  same 
terms  as  to  men.  The  only  concession  to  their  demands  was  a 
clause  making  women  eligible  to  any  office  of  control  or  manage- 
ment under  the  School  Laws  of  the  State. 

Mrs.  Saxon  continued  to  create  equal  suffrage  sentiment  until 
her  removal  to  another  State,  and  Mrs.  Merrick  remains  still  a 
principal  figure  in  the  movement.  Until  his  death  in  1897  she 
had  the  earnest  encouragement  and  assistance  of  her  distin- 
guished husband,  Edwin  T.  Merrick,  for  ten  years  Chief  Justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Louisiana  prior  to  the  Civil  War. 

As  New  Orleans  is  the  only  large  city  and  contains  one-fourth 
of  the  population  of  a  State  which  is  among  the  most  conserva- 
tive in  the  Union,  organized  work  naturally  would  be  confined  to 
this  locality,  but  up  to  1884  it  had  no  active  club  or  society  of 
women.  In  this  year  there  was  a  demand  by  the  press  that  the 
women  of  New  Orleans  should  organize  for  the  promotion  of  the 
World's  Cotton  Centennial,  to  be  held  there  in  the  autumn  and 
winter  of  1884-85.  This  was  done  and  the  Woman's  Depart- 
ment was  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the  centennial.  Mrs.  Julia 
Ward  Howe  of  Massachusetts  was  the  commissioner  for  the  Gov- 
ernment, different  States  sent  capable  representatives  and  there 
was  cordial  co-operation  with  the  women  of  New  Orleans. 

In  March,  1885,  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  visited  the  city  for 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  the  material  for  this  chapter  to  Miss  Kate  M.  Gordon, 
president  of  the  Era  Club,  Mrs.  Evelyn  W.  Ordway  and  Mrs.  Martha  Gould,  all  of  New 
Orleans. 

678 


SUSAN  LOOK  AVERY, 
Louisville,  Ky.,  and  Chicago,  111. 


HELEN  PHILLEO  JENKINS. 
Detroit,  Mich. 


LOUISA  SOUTHWORTH, 

Cleveland,  Ohio. 

MARY  BENTLEY  THOMAS,  KATE  M.  GORDON, 

Ednor,  Md.  New  Orleans,  La. 


LOUISIANA.  679 

two  weeks.  She  was  deluged  with  invitations  for  addresses,  and 
spoke  in  Agricultural  Hall  of  the  exposition  at  the  request  of  the 
Press  Club,  in  Tulane  Hall  under  the  auspices  of  the  city  teachers, 
at  the  Girls'  High  School  and  in  half-a-dozen  other  places.  Eve- 
rywhere she  was  most  warmly  welcomed  and  was  favorably  re- 
ported in  the  papers,  although  her  doctrines  were  new  and  un- 
popular. Mrs.  Eliza  J.  Nicholson,  owner  and  manager  of  the 
Picayune,  and  Mrs.  M.  A.  Field  (Catharine  Cole),  of  its  editorial 
staff,  gave  pleasant  manifestations  of  friendship.  One  of  the  ad- 
dresses delivered  by  Miss  Anthony  was  before  the  .Woman's 
Club,  which  had  been  an  outgrowth  of  the  exposition  committees. 
Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall  of  Indiana  gave  an  address  on  this 
same  occasion.  While  this  club  had  by  no  means  been  formed  in 
the  interests  of  suffrage,  it  was  a  decided  innovation  and  the  first 
step  out  of  tradition  and  conservatism. 

The  work  of  the  women  of  Louisiana  in  the  Anti-Lottery  cam- 
paign of  1891  is  entitled  to  special  mention.  The  lottery,  as  the 
great  money  power,  controlled  absolutely  the  politics  of  the  State, 
and  the  leading  newspapers  were  a  unit  in  its  support.  The  re- 
form movement  to  prevent  the  renewal  of  its  charter  was  without 
money,  prestige  or  the  influence  of  the  press.  The  women  came 
nobly  to  the  rescue  of  this  apparently  hopeless  cause.  They 
formed  leagues  for  the  collection  of  money,  they  called  meetings, 
they  assisted  in  every  possible  way  to  educate  the  public  mind 
and  awaken  the  public  conscience.  To  them  belongs  a  large  share 
of  the  credit  for  the  final  overthrow  at  the  polls  of  this  octopus 
corporation,  which  was  so  long  a  reproach  to  the  State. 

In  1892  the  Portia  Club  was  formed,  a  strictly  suffrage  organi- 
zation, with  Mrs.  Merrick  as  president.*  Under  its  auspices  the 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Women  held  its  annual  con- 
gress in  New  Orleans  in  1895,  during  which  Mrs.  Clara  Bewick 
Colby  of  Washington,  D.  C,  gave  an  address  on  The  Philosophy 
of  Woman  Suffrage.  At  another  time  Mrs.  Clara  C.  Hoffman 
of  Missouri  lectured  for  the  club. 

In  January,  1895,  Miss  Anthony,  president  of  the  National 
Suffrage  Association,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman 

*  Other    presidents :     Mrs.    Elizabeth    Lyle    Saxon,    Mrs.    Evelyn    W.    Ordway,     Miss 
Florence   Huberwald,    Mrs.    Helen   Behrens. 


68O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Catt,  chairman  of  its  organization  committee,  came  again  to 
New  Orleans.     The  Picayune  said  of  their  first  appearance : 

If  any  one  doubted  the  interest  which  Southern  women  feel  in  the 
all-absorbing  question  ©f  the  day,  "Woman  and  her  Rights,"  that 
idea  would  have  been  forever  dispelled  by  a  glance  at  the  splendid 
audience  assembled  last  night.  The  hall  was  literally  packed  to 
overflowing,  not  only  with  women  but  with  men,  prominent  repre- 
sentatives in  every  walk  of  life. 

In  1896  the  Era*  Club  was  organized  with  Miss  Belle  Van 
Horn  as  president.  The  successful  work  of  this  society  has  been 
largely  due  to  the  ability  and  personal  influence  of  Mrs.  Evelyn 
W.  Ordway,  a  progressive  Massachusetts  woman,  professor  of 
chemistry  in  Newcomb  College,  New  Orleans,  who  was  its  second 
president.  Miss  Kate  M.  Gordon  was  the  third. 

In  1896  the  Era  united  with  the  Portia  Club  in  the  beginning 
of  a  State  suffrage  association,  of  which  Mrs.  Merrick  was  made 
president.  Mrs.  Mary  C.  C.  Bradford  of  Colorado  gave  two  lec- 
tures before  the  new  association  this  year.  Those  who  have 
represented  this  body  at  the  national  conventions  are  Mrs.  Mer- 
rick, Miss  Katharine  Nobles  and  Miss  Gordon. 

In  1898  a  convention  was  held  in  New  Orleans  to  prepare  a 
new  State  constitution.  A  committee  composed  of  Mrs.  Marie 
Garner  Graham,  Miss  Nobles,  Miss  Gordon  and  Miss  Jean  Gor- 
don appeared  before  the  Suffrage  Committee  in  support  of  a  peti- 
tion for  Full  Suffrage  for  the  educated,  taxpaying  women  of 
Louisiana,  which  had  been  presented  to  the  convention  by  the 
Hon.  A.  W.  Faulkner.  Mrs.  Graham  made  an  eloquent  appeal  in 
behalf  of  using  the  intelligence  and  morality  embodied  in  the 
woman's  vote  in  solving  the  political  problem  of  the  South.  The 
committee  further  requested  that  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  be  per- 
mitted to  address  the  convention.  The  request  was  immediately 
granted  and  an  official  invitation  courteously  extended. 

Mrs.  Merrick,  who  was  a  delegate  to  the  suffrage  convention 
then  in  session  at  Washington,  urged  that  some  prominent  mem- 
bers of  the  National  Association  should  accompany  this  speaker 
on  her  important  mission,  and  Miss  Laura  Clay  of  Kentucky  and 
Miss  Mary  G.  Hay  of  New  York  were  duly  appointed.  On 

*  The  clever  reader  between  the  lines  will  see  that  E.  R.  A. — Equal  Rights  Association — 
is  concealed  in  this  innocent  appearing  word 


LOUISIANA.  68 1 

February  24,  in  Tulane  Hall,  before  the  assembled  convention 
and  a  large  throng  of  listeners  in  the  galleries,  Mrs.  Chapman 
Catt  made  a  strong  argument  for  the  enfranchisement  of  Louis- 
iana women. 

For  many  days  woman  suffrage  was  seriously  considered  as  a 
means  to  the  end  of  securing  white  supremacy  in  the  State.  The 
following  week  the  Athenaeum,  the  finest  lecture  hall  in  New 
Orleans,  was  crowded  with  men  and  women  from  all  classes  of 
society  anxious  to  hear  more  on  this  daily  topic  of  discussion,  as 
presented  by  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  Miss  Clay  and  Miss  Frances  A. 
Griffin  of  Alabama.  Seats  were  reserved  for  the  members  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention,  who  responded  almost  unanimously 
to  the  invitation  to  be  present. 

Dr.  Henry  Dickson  Bruns,  a  member  of  the  Suffrage  Com- 
mittee, bent  every  effort  to  secure  Full  Suffrage  for  women  as  the 
only  means  to  effect  the  reform  in  political  conditions  so  much 
desired.  The  majority  report  of  the  committee,  however,  con- 
tained only  this  clause:  "All  taxpaying  women  shall  have  the 
right  to  vote  in  person  or  by  proxy  on  all  questions  of  taxation." 

While  the  women  were  greatly  disappointed,  this  was  really  a 
signal  victory  in  so  conservative  a  State. 

Those  who  supposed  that  women  would  make  practically  no  use 
of  this  scrap  of  suffrage  were  soon  to  be  undeceived.  New  Or- 
leans was  at  this  time  a  city  of  300,000  with  absolutely  no  sew- 
erage system ;  an  inadequate  water  supply,  and  what  there  was  of 
this  in  the  hands  of  a  monopoly;  an  excellent  drainage  system 
plodding  along  for  the  want  of  means  at  a  rate  which  would  have 
required  twenty  years  to  complete  it.  The  return  of  yellow  fever, 
the  city's  arch-enemy,  after  a  lapse  of  eighteen  years,  created  con- 
sternation. Senseless  quarantines  prevailed  on  all  sides;  busi- 
ness was  paralyzed ;  property  values  had  fallen ;  commercial  rivals 
to  the  right  and  left  were  pressing.  A  crisis  was  at  hand,  and 
all  depended  on  the  hygienic  regeneration  of  the  city. 

The  lawful  limit  of  taxation  had  been  reached.  One  of  two 
ways  alone  remained — either  to  grant  franchises  to  private  cor- 
porations, or  for  the  taxpayers  to  vote  to  tax  themselves  for  the 
necessary  improvements.  Finally  a  plan  was  evolved,  where,  by 
a  combination  with  the  drainage  funds,  the  great  public  necessi- 


682  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ties — water,  sewerage  and  drainage — could  be  secured  to  the  city 
by  a  tax  of  two  mills  on  the  dollar,  covering  a  period  of  forty-two 
years.  A  similar  proposition  had  been  voted  down  two  years 
before,  and  little  hope  was  entertained  that  it  would  carry  this 
time.  Here  was  the  women's  opportunity.  They  found  that 
one-third  of  the  taxpayers  must  sign  a  petition  calling  the  elec- 
tion to  establish  its  legality.  This  meant  that  from  9,000  to 
10,000  signatures  must  be  secured.  They  learned  also  that  to 
carry  the  measure  there  must  be  a  majority  of  numbers  as  well 
as  of  property  values. 

Realizing  that  a  campaign  of  education  was  on  their  hands,  the 
Era  Club  called  a  mass  meeting  of  women,  at  which  prominent 
speakers  presented  the  necessities  of  the  situation.  At  its  close 
a  resolution  was  adopted  to  form  a  Woman's  League  for  Sewer- 
age and  Drainage,  of  which  Miss  Gordon  was  made  president. 
The  papers,  which  a  short  time  before  had  been  most  vehement 
in  their  denunciation  of  suffrage  for  taxpaying  women,  were  now 
unanimous  in  commending  their  public  spirit  and  predicting  ulti- 
mate victory  through  the  women. 

The  first  work  of  the  league  was  to  secure  a  correct  list  of 
women  taxpayers,  the  number  of  whom  had  been  variously  esti- 
mated from  1,500  to  7,000.  Actual  count  proved  that  the  names 
of  more  than  15,000  women  appeared  on  the  roll,  about  one-half 
the  taxpayers  of  the  entire  city.  Leaving  a  large  margin  for 
possible  duplicates,  foreign  residents  and  changes  by  death,  a  con- 
servative estimate  gave  at  least  10,000  women  eligible  to  vote. 
Few  can  realize  the  magnitude  of  this  undertaking,  for  the  names 
were  without  addresses  but  simply  given  as  owners  of  such  and 
such  pieces  of  property  in  such  and  such  boundaries. 

The  work  of  location  was  at  last  accomplished,  and  then  came 
the  task  of  securing  the  names  of  these  women  to  the  petitions. 
The  lists  were  divided  according  to  wards,  with  a  chairman  for 
each,  who  appointed  lieutenants  in  the  various  precincts.  Par- 
lor meetings  to  interest  women  were  held  everywhere,  in  the 
homes  of  the  rich,  the  poor  and  the  middle  classes.  Volunteer 
canvassers  were  secured  and  suffrage  sentiment  awakened.  Oc- 
casionally mass  meetings  of  men  and  women  together  were  called, 
and  good  speakers  obtained  to  arouse  the  people  to  the  necessity 


LOUISIANA.  683 

of  voting  for  the  tax.  It  was  the  number  of  women's  signatures 
which  enabled  the  mayor  to  order  the  election. 

The  law  carried  with  it  the  privilege  of  voting  by  proxy,  and 
the  women  who  were  active  in  this  movement  had  the  great  task 
of  gathering  up  the  proxies  of  all  those  who  had  not  the  courage 
to  go  to  the  polls.  These  had  to  be  made  out  in  legal  form  and 
signed  by  two  witnesses,  and  they  then  learned  that  no  woman  in 
Louisiana  can  legally  witness  a  document,  so  in  all  these  thou- 
sands of  cases  it  was  necessary  to  secure  two  men  as  witnesses. 
It  made  no  difference  whether  they  could  read  or  write,  whether 
they  owned  property  or  not,  if  males  it  was  sufficient.*  . 

The  election  was  held  June  6,  1899.  The  Picayune/  which, 
with  the  other  papers,  had  opposed  the  extension  of  even  this  bit 
of  suffrage  to  women,  came  out  the  next  morning  with  a  three- 
quarter-page  picture  of  a  beautiful  woman,  labeled  New  Orleans, 
on  a  prancing  steed  named  Progress,  dashing  over  a  chasm  en- 
titled Sanitary  Neglect  and  Commercial  Stagnation,  to  a  bluff 
called  A  Greater  City,  while  in  one  corner  was  a  female  angel  with 
wings  outspread,  designated  as  Victory.  The  two-page  account 
began  as  follows : 

The  great  election  for  Sewerage  and  Drainage  has  come  and  gone, 
and  with  it  a  notable  chapter  in  the  history  of  woman's  work  in  New 
Orleans  in  behalf  of  municipal  improvement.  It  is  unanimously 
conceded,  as  incontestably  proven  by  facts,  that  but  for  the  number 
of  signatures  of  women  sent  to  the  mayor  the  election  never  would 
have  been  called.  It  was  also  conceded  late  yesterday  afternoon 
that  the  noble  work  of  the  women  had  won  the  day  in  behalf  of 
these  much-needed  improvements  for  our  beloved  city 

The  politician  has  been  crushed,  and  let  the  credit  go  where  it  be- 
longs. The  women  of  New  Orleans  did  it,  under  the  leadership  of 
those  two  active,  energetic  and  self-sacrificing  young  women,  the 
Misses  Kate  M.  and  Jean  Gordon,  and  all  the  glory  is  theirs.  Woman 
plays  a  most  important  part  in  the  politics  and  affairs  of  this  city. 
Whenever  a  crisis  approaches,  the  men  on  the  right  side  appeal  to 
her  and  the  appeal  is  never  in  vain.  She  jumps  into  the  breach, 
and  invariably  victory  perches  upon  her  banner.  All  honor  to  the 
fair  sex !  The  women,  or  rather  the  few  women  who  were  in  the 
Sewerage  and  Drainage  League,  probably  did  as  much  work  for  the 
special  tax  as  all  the  men  in  this  city  put  together,  and  they  did  it 
quietly  and  thoroughly 

It  was  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  New  Orleans  that  women 

*  Miss  Kate  M.  Gordon  herself  obtained  and  voted  300  proxies.  After  the  election  the 
Business  Men's  Association  of  New  Orleans  presented  her  with  a  gold  medal.  [Eds. 


684  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

were  allowed  the  proud  privilege  of  the  suffrage,  and  it  was  a  novel 
sight  to  see  them  at  the  polls,  producing  their  certificates  of  assess- 
ment and  then  retiring  to  the  booths,  fixing  their  ballots  and  deposit- 
ing them  in  the  boxes Enough  of  them  showed  their 

independence  of  the  sterner  sex  to  prove  to  the  community  that  they 
are  a  deal  more  competent  to  wield  the  ballot  than  a  vast  majority 
of  the  male  suffragans.  From  what  some  of  the  commissioners  of 
election  say,  the  women  demonstrated  that  they  had  observed  the 
instructions  as  to  voting  with  a  great  deal  more  punctiliousness  than 
the  men.  They  had  no  difficulty  in  arranging  their  ballots,  and 
knew  the  routine  better  than  many  men  who  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
voting,  not  only  early  but  often. 

This  paper  contained  also  an  interview  with  Mrs.  Merrick,  of 
which  the  following  is  a  portion : 

"Women  are  saying  everywhere,  Mrs.  Merrick,  that  much  of  the 
glory  of  this  day  is  due  to  you,  for  you  were  the  first  woman  in  the 
State  to  pin  your  faith  to  the  suffrage  cause." 

"Without  boasting,"  she  said  modestly,  "the  women  of  Louisiana, 
I  think,  do  owe  a  little  to  me.  For  years  I  stood  alone  for  their 
enfranchisement,  especially  where  questions  of  property  and  taxa- 
tion were  concerned I  may  say  I  have  fought,  labored 

and  almost  died  for  suffrage.  I  do  hope  to  see  the  women  of  New 
Orleans  with  the  School  and  Municipal  Suffrage  before  I  die.  I 
am  getting  old  now,"  she  added  sweetly ;  "I  am  threescore  and  ten ; 
I  cast  my  first  vote  to-day.  It  was  only  for  sewerage  and  drainage ; 
but  then  it  was  for  the  protection  of  the  home  from  the  invasion  of 
disease,  the  better  health  of  our  city,  the  greater  prosperity  of  our 
commonwealth,  and  I  am  satisfied ;  for  it  will  be  discovered  that 
women  hold  the  balance  of  power  in  all  things  good  and  true,  and 
our  votes  will  soon  be  wanted  in  other  praiseworthy  reforms." 

The  duties  of  the  women  did  not  end  when  they  had  voted  for 
the  tax.  It  was  necessary  to  have  a  Sewerage  and  Water  Board 
of  seven  commissioners,  and  the  voters  were  to  decide  whether 
these  should  be  elected  by  the  people  or  appointed  by  the  mayor 
with  the  ratification  of  the  City  Council.  The  politicians  were 
determined  on  the  former  method,  while  the  business  interests  of 
the  city  demanded  the  latter.  The  women  almost  to  a  unit  voted 
for  appointment,  and  the  majority  of  i  ,000  by  which  it  was  car- 
ried can  be  placed  practically  to  the  credit  of  the  Woman's  League 
for  Sewerage  and  Drainage.*  It  was  conceded  that  of  the  6.000 

*  So  determined  were  the  politicians  to  have  this  board  elected,  instead  of  appointed,  in 
order  that  they  might  get  control  of  the  $42,000,000  fund,  that  a  bill  for  this  purpose  was 
passed  by  the  Legislature  of  1903  and  signed  by  Gov.  William  W.  Heard.  The  matter 
will  be  carried  to  the  Supreme  Court 


LOUISIANA.  685 

votes  cast  at  this  election,  at  least  one-half  were  those  of  women. 

The  tax  was  immediately  levied,  the  necessary  legislative  and 
constitutional  authority  was  obtained,  the  bonds  were  all  sold  and 
ic  work  is  now  under  way  for  a  complete  system  of  drainage, 
sewerage  and  water  supply. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  In  1894  a  law  was  passed 
permitting  women  to  receive  degrees  from  Law  and  Medical 
Schools;  also  one  allowing  a  married  woman  to  "subscribe  for, 
withdraw  or  transfer  stock  of  building,  homestead  or  loan  asso- 
ciations, and  to  deposit  funds  and  withdraw  the  same  without  the 
assistance  and  intervention  of  her  husband."  This  law  was  se- 
cured by  these  associations  to  protect  their  own  interests. 

In  1896  the  same  privilege  was  extended  in  regard  to  deposit- 
ing money  in  savings  banks  and  withdrawing  it,  which  a  married 
woman  could  not  do  up  to  this  time. 

The  laws  of  Louisiana  for  the  most  part  are  a  survival  of  the 
Napoleonic  Code : 

Art.  25.  Men  are  capable  of  all  kinds  of  engagements  and  func- 
tions, unless  disqualified  by  reasons  and  causes  applying  to  particu- 
lar individuals.  Women  can  not  be  appointed  to  any  public  office, 
nor  perform  any  civil  functions,  except  those  which  the  law  specially 
declares  them  capable  of  exercising.  Widows  and  unmarried 
women  of  age  may  bind  themselves  as  sureties  or  indorsers  for  other 
persons,  in  the  same  manner  and  with  the  same  validity  as  men  who 
are  of  full  age. 

Art.  81.  If  a  father  has  disappeared,  leaving  minor  children 
born  during  his  marriage,  the  mother  shall  take  care  of  them,  and 
shall  exercise  all  the  rights  of  her  husband  with  respect  to  their  edu- 
cation and  the  administration  of  their  estate. 

Art.  82.  If  the  mother  contracts  a  second  marriage,  she  can  not 
preserve  her  superintendence  of  her  children,  except  with  the  con- 
sent of  a  family  meeting  composed  of  the  relations  or  friends  of  the 
father.  [Failing  to  call  this  family  meeting,  she  forfeits  also  her 
right  to  appoint  a  guardian  at  her  death.] 

Art.  121.  The  wife  can  not  appear  in  court  without  the  authority 
of  her  husband,  although  she  may  be  a  public  merchant,*  or  possess 
her  property  separate  from  her  husband. 

Art.  122.  The  wife,  even  when  she  is  separate  in  estate  from  the 
husband,  can  not  alienate,  grant,  mortgage,  acquire,  either  by 
gratuitous  or  encumbered  title,  unless  her  husband  concurs  in  the 
act,  or  yields  his  consent  in  writing. 

*  Certain  legal  processes  are  necessary  before  a  woman  can  engage  in  business  on  her 
own  account. 


686  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Art.  126.  A  married  woman  over  the  age  of  twenty-one  years, 
may,  by  and  with  the  authorization  of  her  husband,  and  with  the 
sanction  of  the  Judge,  borrow  money  or  contract  debts  for  her  sep- 
arate benefit  and  advantage,  and  to  secure  the  same,  grant  mortgages 
or  other  securities  affecting  her  separate  estate,  paraphernal  or  dotal. 

Art.  135.  The  wife  may  make  her  last  will  without  the  authority 
of  her  husband. 

Art.  302.  The  following  persons  can  not  be  tutors  [*.  e.,  guard- 
ians] :  i.  Minors,  except  the  father  and  mother.  2.  Women,  ex- 
cept the  mother  or  grandmother.  3.  Idiots  and  lunatics.  4.  Those 
whose  infirmities  prevent  them  from  managing  their  own  affairs. 
5.  Those  whom  the  penal  law  declares  incapable  of  holding  a  pub- 
lic office,  etc. 

Art.  1316.  Married  women,  even  if  separated  in  property,  can 
not  institute  a  suit  for  partition  without  the  authorization  of  their 
husbands  or  of  the  Judge. 

Art.  1480.  A  married  woman  can  not  make  a  donation  inter  vivos 
[between  living  persons]  without  the  concurrence  or  special  consent 
of  her  husband,  or  unless  she  be  authorized  by  the  Judge.  But  she 
needs  neither  the  consent  of  her  husband  nor  any  judicial  authoriza- 
tion to  dispose  by  donation  mortis  causa  [in  prospect  of  death]. 

Art.  1591.  The  following  persons  are  absolutely  incapable  of 
being  witnesses  to  testaments:  I.  Women  of  what  age  soever. 
2.  Male  children  who  "have  not  attained  the  age  of  sixteen  years  com- 
plete. 3.  Persons  who  are  insane,  deaf,  dumb  or  blind.  4.  Persons 
whom  the  criminal  laws  declare  incapable  of  exercising  civil  func- 
tions. 

Art.  1664.  A  married  woman  can  not  accept  a  testamentary 
executorship  without  the  consent  of  her  husband.  If  there  is  be- 
tween them  a  separation  of  property,  she  may  accept  it  with  the  con- 
sent of  her  husband,  or,  on  his  refusal,  she  may  be  authorized  by 
the  courts. 

Art.  1782.  All  persons  have  the  capacity  to  contract,  except  those 
whose  incapacity  is  specially  declared  by  law — these  are  married 
women,  those  of  insane  mind,  those  who  are  interdicted,  and  minors. 

Art.  2335.  The  separate  property  of  the  wife  is  divided  into 
dotal  and  extradotal.  Dotal  property  is  that  which  the  wife  brings 
to  the  husband  to  assist  him  in  bearing  the  expenses  of  the  marriage 
establishment.  Extradotal  property,  otherwise  called  paraphernal 
property,  is  that  which  forms  no  part  of  the  dowry. 

Art.  2338.  Whatever  in  the  marriage  contract  is  declared  to  be- 
long to  the  wife,  or  to  be  given  to  her  on  account  of  the  marriage  by- 
other  persons  than  the  husband,  is  part  of  the  dowry,  unless  there  be 
a  stipulation  to  the  contrary. 

Art.  2347.  The  dowry  is  given  to  the  husband,  for  him  to  enjoy 
the  same  as  long  as  the  marriage  shall  last. 

Art.  2349.  The  income  or  proceeds  of  the  dowry  belong  to  the 
husband,  and  are  intended  to  help  him  support  the  charges  of  the 
marriage,  such  as  the  maintenance  of  the  husband  and  wife,  that  of 
their  children,  and  other  expenses  which  he  may  deem  proper. 


LOUISIANA.  687 

Art.  2350.  The  husband  alone  has  the  administration  of  the 
dowry,  and  his  wife  can  not  deprive  him  of  it ;  he  may  act  alone  in  a 
court  of  justice  for  the  preservation  or  recovery  of  the  dowry, 
against  such  as  either  owe  or  detain  the  same,  but  this  does  not  pre- 
vent the  wife  from  remaining  the  owner  of  the  effects  which  she 
brought  as  her  dowry. 

Art.  2358.  The  wife  may,  with  the  authorization  of  her  husband, 
or,  on  his  refusal,  with  the  authorization  of  the  Judge,  give  her 
dotal  effects  for  the  establishment  of  the  children  she  may  have  had 
by  a  former  marriage. 

All  accumulations  after  marriage,  except  by  inheritance,  here 
as  in  all  States,  are  the  property  of  the  husband.  Any  wages  the 
wife  may  earn,  the  very  clothes  sh£  wears,  belong  entirely  to  him. 

The  laws  of  inheritance  of  separate  property  are  practically  the 
same  for  widow  and  widower. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  persons  and  property  of 
minor  children.  Until  1888  the  custody  of  children  while  a  di- 
vorce suit  was  pending  was  given  to  the  father,  but  now  this  is 
granted  to  the  mother.  The  final  guardianship  is  awarded  by 
the  Judge  to  the  one  who  succeeds  in  obtaining  the  divorce. 

Before  1896  no  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  named  in  the 
statutes,  but  the  penalty  for  rape  was  death.  In  this  year,  the 
Arena  Club  of  New  Orleans,  a  socio-economic  society  of  women, 
secured  a  law  fixing  the  age  at  16  years.  The  penalty  was 
changed  to  imprisonment,  with  or  without  labor,  for  a  period  not 
exceeding  five  years,  with  no  minimum  penalty  named. 

SUFFRAGE:  Since  1898  taxpaying  women  have  the  right  to 
vote  in  person  or  by  proxy  on  all  questions  of  taxation. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  The  clause  in  the  constitution  of  1879  that 
made  women  eligible  to  school  offices  was  inoperative  on  account 
of  some  technicality,  which  in  1894  Mrs.  Helen  Behrens,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Portia  Club,  succeeded  in  having  removed.  In  1896 
Mrs.  Evelyn  W.  Ordway,  as  chairman  of  a  committee  from  the 
Era  Club,  presented  a  petition  to  the  City  Council  signed  by  all  of 
the  editors  and  many  other  representative  men  of  New  Orleans, 
asking  for  the  appointment  of  a  woman  to  an  existing  vacancy  on 
the  school  board,  but  this  was  refused.  No  women  ever  were 
appointed  to  such  positions  except  in  a  few  country  districts. 

The  office  of  State  librarian  had  been  held  by  a  number  of 
women  previous  to  1898.  The  Constitutional  Convention  of  that 


688  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

year,  however,  which  gave  the  taxpayer's  suffrage  to  women, 
swept  away  every  vestige  of  their  right  to  hold  any  office  by 
adopting  a  clause  declaring  that  only  qualified  voters  should  be 
eligible  to  office.  Under  this  ruling  women  can  not  serve  as 
notaries  public. 

There  are  no  women  on  the  boards  of  any  public  institutions  in 
the  State  and  none  has  a  woman  physician. 

Four  police  matrons  are  employed  by  New  Orleans,  one-  for  the 
parish  prison,  one  for  the  police  jail  and  two  for  station  houses. 

OCCUPATIONS:  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  for- 
bidden to  women.  % 

EDUCATION  :  The  State  University  at  Baton  Rouge  is  one  of 
three  in  the  United  States  which  do  not  admit  women  to  any  de- 
partment. Tulane,  in  New  Orleans,  the  largest  university  in 
Louisiana,  admits  women  to  post-graduate  work  and  to  the  De- 
partments of  Law  and  Pharmacy,  but  the  Medical  Department  is 
still  closed  to  them.  The  H.  Sophie  Newcomb  Memorial  Col- 
lege for  Girls  is  a  part  of  Tulane  University.  It  was  endowed  by 
Mrs.  Josephine  Louise  Newcomb  with  $2,500,000  in  memory  of 
her  daughter.  At  her  death  she  left  to  it  the  remainder  of  her 
estate,  valued  at  $1,500,000. 

New  Orleans  University  (white)  and  Leland  University  (col- 
ored) are  co-educational.  Most  of  the  other  colleges  in  the  State 
are  open  to  women. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  1,991  men  and  2,166  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $37 ;  of  the 
women,  $29.70. 


CHAPTER   XLIII. 

MAINE.* 

The  Maine  Woman  Suffrage  Association  entered  upon  its 
career  in  1873,  flourished  until  1876  and  then  ceased  active  work, 
which  was  not  resumed  until  1885.  In  September  of  that  year, 
a  convention  was  called  in  co-operation  with  the  New  England 
W.  S.  A.,  which  resulted  in  the  reorganization  of  the  society. 
The  Rev.  Henry  Blanchard,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  First  Universa- 
list  Church  at  Portland,  was  elected  president,  continuing  in  that 
capacity  until  1891.  During  these  six  years  of  unremitting  ser- 
vice, twelve  public  meetings  (with  occasional  executive  sessions) 
are  recorded,  all  of  which  were  held  in  Portland  and  addressed 
by  the  best  speakers  on  suffrage,  including  Mrs.  Lucy  Stone, 
Henry  B.  Blackwell,  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  Mrs.  Julia 
Ward  Howe  and  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore. 

In  1891  Dr.  Blanchard  resigned  and  Mrs.  Hannah  J.  Bailey 
was  elected  president,  as  she  said,  "because  it  was  thought  best  to 
have  a  woman  at  the  head  of  the  organization  in  order  to  confute 
the  argument,  then  often  advanced  by  the  legislators,  that  women 
do  not  want  the  ballot."  Mrs.  Bailey's  term  of  office  expired  in 
1897,  by  her  own  request.  In  the  six  years  of  her  leadership, 
six  public  conventions  took  place,  all  in  Portland.  The  business 
of  the  association  having  been  systematically  arranged,  a  large 
amount  of  work  was  done  in  the  executive  meetings  which  oc- 
curred frequently. 

In  1892  a  local  club  was  organized  in  Portland,  and  this,  as  a 
live  and  aggressive  force,  has  been  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the 
cause.  Other  clubs  were  formed  in  this  administration  at  Saco, 
Waterville  and  Hampden.  The  last  owes  its  existence  to  the 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Lucy  Hobart  Day  of  Portland,  presi- 
dent of  the  State  Suffrage  Association,  whose  work  is  done  under  the  motto,  "In  order  to 
establish  justice." 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 44  689 


690  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

efforts  of  Mrs.  Jane  H.  Spofford,  formerly  of  Washington,  D.  C, 
and  for  many  years  treasurer  of  the  National  Association. 

In  1897  the  present  incumbent,  Mrs.  Lucy  Hobart  Day,  was 
chosen  State  president.  During  the  past  three  years  there  have 
been  three  annual  conventions  held  respectively  at  Hampden, 
Waterville  and  Portland,  with  one  semi-annual  conference  at 
Saco.  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  president  of  the  National  Asso- 
ciation, was  present  at  the  first  of  these  and  afterwards  addressed 
a  public  meeting  in  Portland. 

In  addition  to  these  conventions,  in  May,  1900,  a  series  of  pub- 
lic meetings  in  the  interest  of  further  organization  was  held  at 
Old  Orchard,  Saco,  Waterville,  Hampden,  Winthrop,  Monmouth, 
Cornish  and  Portland,  arranged  by  the  president  and  addressed  by 
Miss  Diana  Hirschler,  a  practicing  lawyer  of  Boston. 

The  second  week  of  August,  1900,  was  celebrated  in  Maine  as 
"Old  Home  Week,"  and  from  the  7th  to  the  nth  the  State  asso- 
ciation kept  "open  house"  in  Portland  to  old  and  new  friends 
alike.  The  register  shows  a  record  of  232  names,  with  fourteen 
States  represented,  from  California  to  Maine. 

On  August  24,  the  association  again  made  a  new  departure  by 
holding  a  Suffrage  Day  at  Ocean  Park,  Old  Orchard,  this  being 
the  first  time  Maine  suffragists  had  appeared  on  the  regular  plat- 
form of  any  summer  assembly  in  the  State.  The  national  presi- 
dent, Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  was  in  attendance  and  the  day 
was  a  memorable  one. 

Since  1898  the  press  department  has  taken  on  new  life  under 
the  management  of  Mrs.  Sarah  G.  Crosby,  and  has  grown  from  a 
circulation  of  six  to  eighty  newspapers  containing  suffrage  matter. 

New  clubs  have  been  formed  at  Old  Orchard  and  Skowhegan. 
A  regular  system  of  bi-monthly  meetings  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee has  been  instituted,  the  business  there  transacted  being  re- 
ported to  the  various  clubs,  thus  keeping  the  mother  in  touch  with 
her  children.* 

•  State  officers  for  1900:  President,  Mrs.  Lucy  Hobart  Day;  vice-president-at-large, 
Mrs.  S.  J.  L.  O'Brien:  vice-president,  Mrs.  Sarah  Fairfield  Hamilton;  corresponding  secre- 
tary. Miss  Anne  Burgess;  recording  secretary,  Miss  Lillia  Floyd  Donnell;  treasurer,  Dr. 
Kmily  N.  Titus;  auditor,  Miss  Eliza  C.  Tappan:  superintendent  press  work,  Miss  Vetta 
Merrill. 

Among  others  who  have  served  are  Mesdames  Lillian  M.  N.  Stevens,  Etta  Haley 
Osgood,  Winnifred  Fuller  Nelson  and  Helen  Coffin  Beedy;  Miss  Louise  Titcomb  and 
Dr.  Jane  Lord  Hersom. 


MAINE.  691 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  There  have  been  several 
hearings  before  legislative  committees  in  the  interest  of  a  reform- 
atory prison  for  women,  together  with  repeated  petitions  for  a 
matron  of  the  State  prison,  so  far  with  negative  results. 

In  all  changes  of  laws  in  favor  of  women  much  work  has  been 
done  by  themselves.  They  have  been  instrumental  also  in  secur- 
ing the  passage  of  laws  against  obscene  literature,  cigarettes  and 
immoral  kinetoscope  exhibitions.  They  have  opposed  and  pre- 
vented the  appointment  of  a  conspicuously  immoral  man  as 
Judge ;  have  prevented  the  pardon  of  notoriously  vile  women  in 
some  marked  cases,  and  have  secured  police  matrons  in'  several  of 
the  large  cities,  also  matrons  of  almshouses. 

In  1887  a  petition  was  presented  to  the  Legislature  asking  for 
a  constitutional  amendment  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage.  "The 
significant  vote"  was  upon  the  third  reading  of  the  bill,  when  it 
was  ordered  to  be  engrossed  by  15  yeas,  13  nays  in  the  Senate, 
and  67  yeas,  47  nays  in  the  House ;  but  as  a  two-thirds  vote  was 
necessary  it  failed  to  pass. 

In  1889  the  vote  on  a  bill  granting  Municipal  Suffrage  to 
women  stood  42  yeas,  91  nays  in  the  House;  18  yeas,  8  nays  in 
the  Senate. 

In  1891  the  Judiciary  Committee  reported  "ought  not  to  pass" 
on  the  bill  to  confer  Municipal  Suffrage  on  women,  to  which  the 
House  voted  to  adhere,  the  Senate  concurring. 

In  1893  it  was  moved  in  the  House  to  substitute  the  favorable 
minority  report  for  the  majority  report  on  the  Municipal  Suffrage 
Bill.  This  motion  was  lost  by  54  yeas,  63  nays.  The  Senate 
non-concurred  with  the  House  and  accepted  the  minority  report 
by  1 6  yeas,  1 3  nays. 

In  the  campaign  of  1895  an  exceedingly  active  canvass  for 
Municipal  Suffrage  was  made  by  the  use  of  petitions.  These 
were  circulated  by  the  State  Association  and  the  Woman's  Chris- 
tian Temperance  Union,  over  9,000  names  being  sent  to  the  Leg- 
islature. At  the  hearing  before  the  Judiciary  Committee  every 
county  in  the  State  was  represented,  and  the  hall  was  crowded 
to  its  utmost  capacity.  The  committee  reported  in  favor,  and 
their  report  was  accepted  in  the  House  by  79  yeas,  54  nays. 


692  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  Senate  refused  to  concur  in  the  action  of  the  House  by  1 1 
yeas,  15  nays. 

In  1897  the  petitions  for  Municipal  Suffrage  were  placed  on 
file,  the  House  and  Senate  concurring  in  this  action. 

In  1899  a  bill  was  presented  asking  "exemption  from  taxation 
for  the  taxpaying  women  of  Maine,"  on  the  ground  that  "taxa- 
tion without  representation  is  tyranny."  The  Committee  on 
Taxation  granted  a  hearing  and  reported  "leave  to  withdraw," 
which  report  was  accepted  in  the  House,  the  Senate  concurring. 

Dower  and  curtesy  were  abolished  in  1895.  If  there  is  no  will 
the  interest  of  the  husband  or  wife  in  the  real  estate  of  the  other 
is  the  same ;  if  there  is  issue  of  the  marriage  living,  one-third  ab- 
solutely; if  no  such  issue,  then  one-half;  if  there  is  neither  issue 
nor  kindred,  then  the  whole  of  it.  The  same  provisions  of  law 
hold  regarding  the  personal  estate  of  each.  Both  a  wife  and  a 
husband  have  the  right  to  claim  their  statutory  share  in  the  estate 
of  the  other  in  preference  to  any  provision  that  may  have  been 
made  by  a  will,  provided  that  such  an  election  is  made  within  a 
period  of  six  months.  The  widow  is  entitled  to  occupy  the  home 
for  ninety  days  after  the  husband's  death,  and  to  have  support  for 
that  length  of  time.  He  is  accorded  the  same  privileges  and  the 
presence  of  a  will  does  not  change  the  case.  A  more  liberal  al- 
lowance than  formerly  is  granted  to  the  family  from  an  insolvent 
estate. 

In  the  presence  of  two  witnesses,  before  marriage,  the  man  and 
the  woman  may  determine  what  rights  each  shall  have  in  the 
other's  estate  during  marriage  and  after  its  dissolution  by  death, 
and  may  bar  each  other  of  all  rights  in  their  respective  estates  not 
then  secured  to  them. 

A  married  woman  may  acquire  and  hold  real  and  personal 
property  in  her  own  right,  and  convey  the  same  without  joinder 
of  her  husband.  He  has  the  same  legal  privilege.  The  wife  may 
control  her  own  earnings,  and  carry  on  business,  and  the  profits 
are  her  sole  and  separate  property. 

She  can  prosecute  and  defend  suits  in  her  own  name  both  in 
contract  and  in  tort,  and  the  wages  of  the  wife  and  minor  chil- 
dren are  exempt  from  attachment  in  suits  against  the  husband. 

Dower,  alimony  and  other  provisions  for  the  wife  are  made  in 


MAINE.  693 

case  of  divorce  for  the  husband's  fault,  and  a  law  of  1895  com- 
pels the  husband  to  support  his  family  or  contribute  thereto  (pro- 
vided the  separation  was  not  the  fault  of  the  wife)  and  the  Su- 
preme Judicial  Court  may  enforce  obedience. 

Maine  is  one  of  the  few  States  in  the  Union  where  fathers  and 
mothers  have  equal  guardianship  of  their  children.  (1895.) 

In  1887  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10 
to  13  years.  In  1889  it  was  advanced  to  14  years,  providing  un- 
qualified protection,  with  penalty  of  imprisonment  for  life  or  for 
a  term  of  years.  In  1897  an  act  was  passed  providing  a  "quali- 
fied" protection  for  girls  between  14  and  16 — that  is,  protection 
from  men  over  twenty-one  years  of  age. 

Some  of  the  above  laws  have  originated  with  the  legislators 
themselves.  Others  have  been  asked  for  by  the  women  of  the 
State,  through  the  medium  of  the  W.  S.  A.,  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  and 
the  Woman's  Council;  but  in  the  various  organizations  it  has 
been  those  who  are  suffragists  that  have  carried  these  measures 
to  a  successful  issue.* 

SUFFRAGE  :     Women  have  no  form  of  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  At  the  present  time  women  are  filling  of- 
fices, elective  and  appointive,  as  follows:  School  superintend- 
ents, 69;  school  supervisor,  one;  school  committee,  112;  public 
librarians,  40;  trustee  of  State  insane  asylum,  one;  physician  on 
board  of  same,  one;  matron  of  same,  one;  supervisor  female 
wards  of  same,  one;  police  matrons,  2;  visiting  committee  of 
State  Reform  School,  one ;  trustees  of  Westbrook  Seminary,  3 ; 
Stenographic  commissioners,  4 ;  trustees  of  Girls'  State  Industrial 
School,  2 ;  principal  of  same,  one ;  matrons  of  same,  3. 

There  are  fifteen  women  justices  of  the  peace,  with  authority 
to  administer  oaths  and  solemnize  marriages. 

Women  are  eligible  also  as  deputy  town  clerk  and  register  of 
probate.  They  can  not  serve  as  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS:  As  early  as  1884  Maine  had  women  lawyers, 
ministers,  physicians,  authors  and  farmers.  No  occupation  is 

*  Among  those  who  have  been  instrumental  in  securing  better  legislation  for  the 
women  of  the  State  may  be  mentioned  the  Hon.  Thomas  Brackett  Reed,  Judge  Joseph 
W.  Symonds,  Franklin  Payson;  ex-Governors  Joseph  Bodwell,  Frederick  Robie,  Henry 
B.  Cleaves  and  Llewellyn  Powers;  Mesdames  Augusta  Merrill  Hunt,  Margaret  T.  W. 
Merrill  and  Ann  Frances  Greeley;  Dr.  Abby  Mary  Fulton  and  the  Misses  Cornelia  M. 
Dow,  Charlotte  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  Upham  Yates. 


694  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

forbidden  them  by  law,  and  they  are  found  in  all  departments  of 
work.  Since  1887  the  working"  day  for  women  and  children  is 
limited  to  ten  hours. 

EDUCATION  :  The  educational  advantages  accorded  to  women 
are  equal  to  those  of  men.  Bates  College,  Colby  College  and  the 
State  University,  including  the  Agricultural  Department,  were 
opened  to  them  before  1884.  Bowdoin  College  alone  does  not 
admit  women. 

There  are  in  the  public  schools  1,020  men  and  5,427  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $35 ;  of  the 
women,  $27.20. 


During  the  past  ten  years  the  literary  club  movement  has  done 
an  immense  amount  of  educational  work,  and  Maine  was  the  first 
State  to  federate.  In  1899  the  federation  instituted  a  system  of 
traveling  libraries,  which  has  become  a  great  power  for  good  in 
the  rural  districts,  and  several  clubs  circulate  libraries  of  their 
own.  It  also  has  secured  minor  bills  on  educational  matters. 

In  1893  two  important  institutions  were  established — the 
Home  for  Friendless  Girls,  in  Belfast,  and  the  Home  for  Friend- 
less Boys,  in  Portland.  There  are  also  other  homes  for  children. 

In  1894  the  Invalids'  Home  (now  the  Mary  Brown  Home,  in 
honor  of  its  founder)  was  incorporated.  Any  woman  in  Port- 
land of  good  character  may  be  admitted  to  it  for  $3  a  week. 

All  of  the  above  were  organized  by  women,  and  are  managed 
by  them. 

This  in  brief  is  the  history  of  woman's  progress  in  the  Pine 
Tree  State  since  1884. 


CHAPTER   XLIV. 

MARYLAND.* 

If  but  one  State  in  the  Union  allowed  woman  to  represent  her- 
self it  should  be  Maryland,  which  was  named  for  a  woman,  whose 
capital  was  named  for  a  woman,  and  where  in  1647  Mistress 
Margaret  Brent,  the  first  woman  suffragist  in  America,  demanded . 
"place  and  voyce"  in  the  Assembly  as  the  executor  and  represen- 
tative of  her  kinsman,  Lord  Baltimore.  Her  petition  was  de- 
nied but  she  must  have  had  some  gallant  supporters,  as  the  arch- 
ives record  that  the  question  of  her  admission  was  hotly  debated 
for  hours.  After  the  signal  defeat  of  Mistress  Brent,  there 
seems  to  have  been  no  demand  for  the  ballot  on  the  part  of  Mary- 
land women  for  about  225  years,  f 

In  1870  and  '71  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Mrs.  Lucy  Stone  and 
Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe  lectured  in  Baltimore  and  there  was 
some  slight  agitation  of  the  subject. 

Immediately  following  the  national  suffrage  convention  of 
1883,  in  Washington,  Miss  Phoebe  W.  Couzins  of  Missouri  ad- 
dressed a  large  and  enthusiastic  audience  at  Sandy  Spring.  Soon 
afterwards  Madame  Clara  Neymann  of  New  York  spoke  in  the 
same  place  and  was  cordially  received.  She  and  Mrs.  Caroline 
Hallowell  Miller  were  invited  about  this  time  to  make  addresses 
at  Rockville.  Mrs.  Miller  also  spoke  on  the  rights  and  wrongs 
of  women  at  the  Sandy  Spring  Lyceum. 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Mary  Bentley  Thomas  of  Ednor,  who 
for  the  last  nine  years  has  been  president  of  the  State  Suffrage  Association. 

t  Miss  Mary  Catherine  Goddard  conducted  the  Baltimore  post-office  and  also  the  only 
newspaper  in  the  city,  the  Maryland  Journal  and  Commercial  Advertiser,  through  all 
the  trying  times  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  On  July  12,  1775,  she  published  a  detailed 
account  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  which  had  occurred  on  June  17,  and  the  Declaration 
of  the  Continental  Congress  giving  the  causes  and  necessity  for  taking  up  arms.  The 
first  official  publication  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  with  the  signers'  names 
attached,  was  entrusted  by  Congress,  at  that  time  sitting  in  Baltimore,  to  Miss  Goddard. 

She  remained  in  control  of  her  paper  for  ten  years.  In  1779  she  made  an  appeal 
through  its  columns  for  the  destitute  families  of  the  American  soldiers,  and  by  her  efforts 
$25,000  were  raised  for  their  needs. 

695 


696  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

In  1889  Mrs.  Miller  invited  some  of  her  acquaintances  to  meet 
at  her  home  in  Sandy  Spring  to  form  a  suffrage  association. 
Thirteen  men  and  women  became  members,  all  but  one  of  whom 
belonged  to  the  Society  of  Friends.*  This  year  Maryland  was 
represented  for  the  first  time  at  the  national  suffrage  conven- 
tion by  a  delegate,  Mrs.  Sarah  T.  Miller.  She  is  now  superin- 
tendent of  franchise  in  the  State  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union,  this  department  having  been  adopted  in  1893. 

Annual  State  conventions  have  been  held  since  1889  and  about 
300  different  members  have  been  enrolled.  The  membership  in- 
cludes many  men ;  one  public  meeting  was  addressed  by  a  father 
and  daughter,  and  a  mother  and  son.  The  officers  for  1900  are : 
President,  Mary  Bentley  Thomas;  vice-president,  Pauline  W. 
Holme ;  corresponding  secretary,  Annie  R.  Lamb ;  recording  sec- 
retary, Margaret  Smythe  Clarke;  treasurer,  Mary  E.  Moore; 
member  national  executive  committee,  Emma  J.  M.  Funck. 

The  first  to  organize  a  suffrage  club  in  Baltimore  was  Mrs. 
Sarah  H.  Tudor.  It  has  now  a  flourishing  society  and  many 
open  meetings  have  been  held  with  large  and  interested  audiences. 

In  1896  six  members  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  of  Baltimore  went  be- 
fore the  registrars  and  demanded  that  their  names  should  be 
placed  on  the  polling  books.  Mrs.  Thomas  J.  Boram,  whose  hus- 
band was  one  of  the  registrars,  was  spokeswoman  and  claimed 
their  right  to  vote  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 
She  made  a  strong  argument  in  the  name  of  taxpaying  women 
and  of  mothers  but  was  told  that  the  State  constitution  limited 
the  suffrage  to  males.  The  other  ladies  were  Dr.  Emily  G.  Peter- 
son, Miss  Annie  M.  V.  Davenport,  Mrs.  Jane  H.  Rupp,  Mrs. 
C.  Rupp  and  Mrs.  Amanda  Peterman. 

Among  the  outside  speakers  who  have  come  into  the  State  at 
different  times  are  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  vice-president- 
at-large  of  the  National  Association,  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt, 
chairman  of  the  national  organization  committee,  Mrs.  Mary  C. 
C.  Bradford  of  Colorado,  Miss  Elizabeth  Upham  Yates  of  Maine, 
the  Rev.  Henrietta  G.  Moore  of  Ohio,  Mrs.  Annie  L.  Diggs  and 

•  The  charter  members  were  Caroline  H.,  Margaret  E.,  Sarah  T.,  Rebecca  T.  and  George 
B.  Miller,  Margaret  B.  and  Mary  Magruder,  Ellen  and  Martha  T.  Farquhar,  James  P.  and 
Jessie  B.  Stablu,  Hannah  B.  Brooke  and  Mary  E.  Moore.  At  the  second  meeting  a 
number  of  others  became  members,  including  the  writer  of  this  chapter. 


MARYLAND.  697 

Miss  Laura  A.  Gregg  of  Kansas,  Miss  Helen  Morris  Lewis  of 
North  Carolina,  Mrs.  Ruth  B.  Havens  of  Washington,  D.  C,  and 
Mrs.  Catharine  Waugh  McCulloch  of  Chicago. 

One  of  the  first  and  most  efficient  of  the  workers  is  Mrs.  Caro- 
line Hallowell  Miller,  who  has  represented  her  State  for  many 
years  at  the  national  conventions  and  pleased  the  audiences  with 
her  humorous  but  strong  addresses.  Her  husband,  Francis  Mil- 
ler, a  prominent  lawyer,  was  one  of  the  very  few  men  in  the  State 
who  advocated  suffrage  for  women  as  early  as  1874,  when  he 
made  an  appeal  for  the  enfranchisement  of  the  women  of  the 
District  of  Columbia  before  the  House  Judiciary  Committee. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS  :  The  constitution  of  Mary- 
land opens  as  follows : 

The  right  of  the  people  to  participate  in  the  Legislature  is  the 
best  security  of  liberty  and  the  foundation  of  all  free  government ; 
for  this  purpose,  elections  ought  to  be  free  and  frequent ;  and  every 
male  (  !)  citizen  having  the  qualifications  prescribed  by  the  constitu- 
tion ought  to  have  the  right  of  suffrage. 

The  Legislature  has  been  petitioned  to  grant  full  suffrage  to 
women ;  to  raise  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls,  and  to  refrain 
from  giving  State  aid  to  institutions  of  learning  which  do  not 
admit  women  students  on  equal  terms  with  men. 

The  Legislature  of  1900  took  a  remarkably  progressive  step. 
An  act  authorizing  the  city  of  Annapolis  to  submit  to  the  voters 
the  question  of  issuing  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $121,000,  to  pay 
off  the  floating  indebtedness  and  provide  a  fund  for  permanent 
improvements,  contained  a  paragraph  entitling  women  to  vote. 

This  bill  was  introduced  in  the  Senate  January  25,  by  Elijah 
Williams  and  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Finance.  On 
January  31,  Austin  L.  Crothers  reported  it  favorably.  On  Feb- 
ruary i,  at  the  motion  of  Senator  Williams,  the  bill  was  recom- 
mitted and  on  the  i5th  Senator  Crothers  again  reported  it  favor- 
ably. On  the  1 9th  it  was  passed  by  the  Senate  unanimously. 

The  Senate  Bill  was  presented  to  the  House  of  Delegates  Feb- 
ruary 20,  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means. 
On  the  28th,  Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe  (who  had  been  mayor  of 
Baltimore  four  or  five  times)  reported  the  bill  favorably.  On 
March  23  it  was  passed  by  the  House,  69  yeas,  one  nay,  the  nega- 
tive vote  being  cast  by  Patrick  E.  Finzel  of  Garrett  County. 


698  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

It  is  a  common  practice  of  the  General  Assembly  to  pass  laws 
applicable  only  to  one  county  or  portion  of  a  county,  or  to  one 
municipality  or  to  one  special  occasion,  as  in  this  instance. 

As  this  law  was  a  decided  innovation  in  a  very  conservative 
community,  naturally  the  number  of  women  availing  themselves 
of  it  for  the  first  time  was  not  large,  and  it  hardly  seemed  worth 
a  special  Act  of  the  Legislature,  except  as  a  progressive  step. 
The  Baltimore  Sun  of  May  14  said : 

Women  voted  in  Annapolis  to-day  under  the  law  permitting  prop- 
erty owners  to  say  if  $121,000  bonds  shall  be  issued  for  street  and 
other  improvements.  The  novelty  of  their  presence  did  not  disturb 
the  serenity  of  the  polling-room  or  unnerve  the  ladies  who  were 
exercising  their  right  to  vote  for  the  first  time.  They  were  calm, 
direct  and  as  unruffled  as  though  it  were  the  usual  order  of  things. 
Those  who  voted  are  of  the  highest  social  standing.  They  received 
the  utmost  courtesy  at  the  polls  and  voted  without  any  embarrass- 
ment whatever. 

Numerous  changes  in  the  statutes  have  been  made  during  the 
past  twelve  years,  modifying  the  discriminations  against  married 
women  under  the  old  Common  Law. 

In  1888  it  was  enacted  that  a  wife  might  bring  action  for 
slander  in  her  own  name  and  defend  her  own  character. 

The  last  of  these  improved  laws  went  into  effect  in  1898,  when 
the  inheritance  of  property  was  made  the  same  for  widow  and 
widower.  Absolute  control  of  her  own  estate  was  vested  in  the 
wife.  Power  was  given  her  to  make  contracts  and  bring  suit, 
and  she  alone  was  to  be  liable  for  her  own  actions. 

Inequalities  still  exist,  however,  in  regard  to  divorce  and  guard- 
ianship of  children.  The  fifth  ground  for  absolute  divorce  is  as 
follows :  "Where  the  woman  before  marriage  has  been  guilty  of 
illicit  carnal  intercourse  with  another  man,  the  same  being  un- 
known to  the  husband  at  the  time  of  marriage."  A  similar  act 
on  the  part  of  the  husband  prior  to  the  marriage  does  not  entitle 
the  wife  to  a  divorce. 

The  father  has  complete  control  of  the  minor  children  and  may 
appoint  a  guardian  by  will.  If  he  die  without  doing  so  the 
mother  becomes  their  natural  guardian,  but  her  control  over  a 
daughter  terminates  at  eighteen  years  of  age  while  the  father's 
continues  to  twenty-one.  This  power  of  appointing  a  testamen- 


MARYLAND.  699" 

tary  guardian  was  created  by  an  act  of  Charles  II,  and  adopted  as 
a  part  of  the  laws  of  Maryland.  It  gives  the  father  power,  by 
deed  or  will,  to  dispose  of  the  custody  and  tuition  of  his  infant 
children  up  to  the  age  of  twenty-one,  or  until  the  marriage  of 
the  daughters.  It  gives  him  custody  of  their  persons  and  all 
their  real  and  personal  estate,  not  only  such  as  comes  from  his 
family,  but  all  they  may  acquire  of  any  person  soever,  even  from 
the  family  of  the  mother.  The  guardian  is  placed  in  loco  par- 
ent is  and  his  rights  are  generally  regarded  as  paramount. 

For  non-support  of  the  family  the  husband  may  be  fined  $100 
or  imprisoned  in  the  House  of  Correction  not  exceeding  one  year, 
or  both,  at  discretion  of  the  court.  (1896.) 

Wife-beaters  are  punished  by  flogging  or  imprisonment. 

In  1899  women  succeeded  in  having  the  "age  of  protection" 
for  girls  raised  from  14  to  16  years,  with  penalty  ranging  from 
death  to  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  for  eighteen  months. 

Employers  are  compelled  to  provide  seats  for  female  employes. 
Children  under  twelve  can  not  work  in  factories.  Women  or 
girls  may  not  be  employed  as  waiters  in  any  place  of  amusement. 

SUFFRAGE  :     Women  have  no  form  of  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  The  State  librarian,  is  a  woman,  who  has 
filled  the  position  most  satisfactorily  for  a  number  of  years  and 
through  her  care  valuable  documents  relating  to  colonial  times 
have  been  saved  from  destruction  and  classified.  A  leading  paper 
of  Baltimore  said  that  these  had  been  allowed  to  remain  in  the 
cellar  of  the  State  House  for  years,  and  would  have  been  ruined 
but  for  the  new  system  of  public  housekeeping  inaugurated  by 
the  womanly  element. 

Women  physicians  have  been  placed  in  charge  of  women  pa- 
tients at  one  State  insane  asylum. 

Police  matrons  are  employed  at  all  the  station  houses  in  Balti- 
more. During  the  past  two  years  women  have  been  placed  on 
its  jail  boards  and  on  the  boards  of  most  of  its  charitable  and  re- 
formatory institutions.  By  the  recommendation  of  two  mayors 
they  have  been  put  on  the  school  board.  They  have  applied  for 
positions  on  the  street-cleaning  board  but  without  success. 

Women  are  doing  efficient  work  on  the  jail  and  almshouse 
boards  of  Harford  County  and  the  school  boards  of  Montgomery. 


7OO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE 

Women  serve  as  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS:  In  1901  Miss  Etta  Maddox,  a  graduate  of 
the  Baltimore  College  of  Law,  was  refused  admission  to  the  bar 
and  carried  her  case  to  the  Supreme  Court.  It  was  argued  before 
the  full  bench  and  the  opinion  rendered  by  Justice  C.  J.  Mc- 
Sherry,  November  21.  Her  petition  was  denied  on  the  ground 
that  the  act  providing  for  admission  to  the  bar  uses  the  mascu- 
line pronouns.  In  this  decision  the  general  proposition  was  af- 
firmed that  "women  are  excluded  from  all  occupations  which 
were  denied  them  by  the  English  common  law,  except  when  the 
disability  has  been  removed  by  express  statutory  enactment."*  It 
is  believed  that  this  opinion  makes  it  illegal  for  women  to  serve 
as  notaries  public,  and  as  a  number  have  been  serving  for  several 
years,  three  in  Baltimore,  the  situation  promises  to  be  very  se- 
rious, many  deeds,  etc.,  having  been  acknowledged  before  them. 

EDUCATION  :  Through  the  leadership  of  Miss  Mary  E.  Gar- 
rett  and  Dr.  M.  Carey  Thomas,  president  of  Bryn  Mawr  College, 
assisted  by  Miss  Mary  Gwinn  and  Miss  Elizabeth  King  (now 
Mrs.  William  Ellicott),  committees  of  prominent  women  were 
organized  in  various  States  for  raising  a  fund  to  open  a  Medical 
Department  in  Johns  Hopkins  University  which  should  be  co- 
educational. The  trustees  required  an  endowment  of  $500,000. 
The  committees  raised  $200,000  and  Miss  Garrett  herself  added 
the  remaining  $300,000.  In  1893  this  Medical  College,  which  is 
not  outranked  in  the  country,  was  dedicated  alike  to  men  and 
women  with  absolutely  no  distinction  in  their  privileges.  Women 
are  not  admitted  to  any  other  department  of  Johns  Hopkins. 

Of  the  nine  other  colleges  and  universities  two  are  open  to 
women,  and  the  Woman's  College  of  Baltimore,  which  receives 
State  aid,  is  for  them  alone.  They  may  be  graduated  from  the 
Baltimore  Colleges  of  Law  and  of  Dentistry.  The  State  Col- 
leges of  Agriculture,  of  Medicine  and  of  Law  are  closed  to  them. 
The  State  Normal  Schools  admit  both  sexes  on  equal  terms. 

There  are  1,162  men  and  3,965  women  teachers  in  the  public 
schools.  It  is  impossible  to  obtain  the  average  monthly  salaries. 

*  State  Senator  Jacob  M.  Moses  presented  a  bill  in  the  Legislature  of  1902  to  permit 
women  to  practice  law,  which  passed,  was  signed  by  the  Governor  and  Miss  Maddox  was 
admitted  to  the  bar. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

MASSACHUSETTS.* 

The  first  suffrage  convention  ever  held  which  assumed  a  na- 
tional character  by  inviting  representatives  from  other  States 
took  place  in  Worcester,  Mass.,  Oct.  23,  24,  1850.! 

The  New  England  Woman  Suffrage  Association  was  formed 
at  Boston  in  November,  1868,  with  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe  as 
president;  and  the  Massachusetts  Association  was  organized  in 
the  same  city  Jan.  28,  1870,  of  which  also  Mrs.  Howe  was 
elected  president.  In  1871  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  editor  of  the 
Woman's  Journal,  was  made  corresponding  secretary  of  both 
associations  and  has  filled  the  office  of  the  latter  continuously,  of 
the  former  twenty-two  years. 

From  those  years  until  the  present  each  of  these  bodies  has 
held  an  annual  meeting  in  Boston  and  they  have  almost  invariably 
been  addressed  by  men  and  women  of  State,  of  national  and  of 
international  reputation.  They  have  met  in  various  churches  and 
halls,  but  of  late  years  the  historic  old  Faneuil  Hall  has  been  se- 
lected. The  State  association  meets  in  the  winter  and  the  New 
England  association  during  Anniversary  Week  in  May,  when 
there  are  business  sessions  with  reports  from  the  various  States, 
public  meetings  and  a  great  festival  or  banquet.  The  last  is  at- 
tended by  hundreds  of  people,  all  the  tickets  are  frequently  sold 
weeks  in  advance,  and  with  its  prominent  after-dinner  speakers 
it  has  long  been  an  attractive  feature.! 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  the  material  for  this  chapter  to  Miss  Alice  Stone  Black- 
well,  editor  of  the  Woman's  Journal  (Boston)  -and  recording  secretary  of  the  National 
American  Woman  Suffrage  Association  since  1890.  It  is  due  to  the  Woman's  Journal, 
founded  in  1869,  that  so  complete  a  record  of  the  State  work  has  been  obtained. 

t  See  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  I,  p.  215. 

J  Among  many  names  which  appear  in  connection  with  these  annual  meetings  are  those 
of  the  Revs.  Daniel  P.  Livermore,  Charles  W.  Wendte,  S.  S.  Herrick,  Philip  S.  Moxom, 
Charles  F.  Thwing,  L.  B.  Bates,  F.  A.  Abbott,  S.  W.  Bush,  William  J.  Potter,  C.  P.  Pit- 
blado,  George  Willis  Cooke,  Fielder  Israel,  Eben  L.  Rexford,  Christopher  R.  Eliot,  David 
A.  Gregg,  Edward  A.  Horton,  B.  F.  Hamilton,  George  A.  Gordon,  Charles  F.  Dole, 

701 


JO2  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  annual  meeting  of  1884  was  held  January  22,  23,  pre- 
sided over  by  William  I.  Bowditch,  who  had  succeeded  the  Rev. 
Dr.  James  Freeman  Clarke  as  president  in  1878.  A  number  of 
fine  addresses  were  given  and  the  official  board  was  unanimously 
re-elected.*  Mr.  Bowditch's  opening  address  was  afterwards 
widely  circulated  as  a  tract,  The  Forgotten  Woman  in  Massachu- 
setts. 

It  was  voted  that  a  fund  should  be  raised  to  organize  local  suf- 
frage associations  or  leagues  throughout  the  State,  and  that,  as 
soon  as  $2,500  was  in  hand,  an  agent  should  be  put  in  the  field. 
Mr.  Bowditch,  Miss  Louisa  M.  Alcott,  John  L.  Whiting  and 
Henry  H.  Faxon  each  subscribed  $100  on  the  spot;  $800  was 
raised  at  the  meeting  and  more  than  $2,500  within  four  months. 

This  year,  in  the  death  of  Wendell  Phillips,  the  cause  of  equal 
rights  lost  one  of  its  earliest  and  noblest  supporters.  On  Febru- 
ary 28  an  impressive  memorial  service  was  held  in  Boston.  Mrs. 
Howe  presided  and  the  other  speakers  were  William  Lloyd  Gar- 
rison, Theodore  D.  Weld,  Judge  Thomas  Russell,  Mrs.  Ednah 
D.  Cheney,  Elizur  Wright,  the  Rev.  Samuel  May,  George  W. 
Lowther,  Mrs.  Lucy  Stone  and  Mr.  Blackwell.  John  Boyle 
O'Reilly  and  William  P.  Liscomb  read  memorial  poems. 

Fifty-seven  meetings  were  held  this  year  in  different  parts  of 

Nathan  E.  Wood,  W.  W.  Lucas;  the  Revs.  Ida  C.  Hultin,  Lorenza  Haynes,  Mary 
Traffern  Whitney,  Lila  Frost  Sprague;  J.  W.  Clarke,  of  the  Boston  Traveller,  D.  H. 
Beggs,  President  of  the  Central  Labor  Union,  Judge  Robert  Pitman,  the  Hon.  Joseph 
H.  Walker,  Francis  J.  Garrison,  John  Graham  Brooks,  John  L.  Whiting,  Sam  Walter 
Foss,  Sherman  Hoar,  W.  L.  Haskel;  Mesdames  Maltha  Perry  Lowe,  E.  N.  L.  Walton, 
Martha  Sewall  Curtis,  O.  A.  Cheney,  Ellie  A.  Hilt,  Abby  M.  Davis,  Judith  W.  Smith; 
Misses  Anna  Gardner,  Lucia  T.  Ames,  Eva  Channing,  Amorette  Beecher,  Alice  Parker, 
all  of  Massachusetts.  The  Rev.  J.  W.  Basbford,  Delaware  College,  Ohio;  the  Rev.  Flor- 
ence E.  Kollock,  Illinois;  Mrs.  Caroline  M.  Severance,  California;  Mrs.  Helen  Coffin 
Beedy,  Mrs.  Etta  H.  Osgood,  Maine;  U.  S.  Senator  Henry  W.  Blair,  Mrs.  Armenia  S. 
White,  Miss  Mary  N.  Chase,  New  Hampshire;  Mrs.  M.  L.  T.  Hidden,  Mrs.  A.  D.  Chan- 
dler, Vermont;  Mrs.  Elizabeth  B.  Chace,  Dr.  John  C.  Wyman,  Dr.  Ira  Aldrich,  Jeanette 
S.  French,  Louise  Tyler,  Rhode  Island;  Mesdames  Emily  O.  Kimball,  Josephine  M.  Bis- 
sell,  Emily  J.  Leonard,  Annie  C.  S.  Fenner,  Judge  Joseph  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Sheldon, 
Connecticut;  Mrs.  Cornelia  Collins  Hussey,  New  Jersey;  Judge  William  S.  Peirce,  Phila- 
delphia; Miss  Anna  Gordon,  Illinois;  Dr.  Ida  Joe  Brooks,  Arkansas;  Ellis  Meredith, 
Denver;  Giles  B.  Stebbins,  Michigan;  Lloyd  McKim  Garrison,  New  York;  Amelia  B. 
Edwards,  Mrs.  Percy  Widdrington,  England. 

*  As  this  board  was  continued  for  many  years  with  but  little  change,  and  as  it  indicates 
clearly  the  personnel  of  the  association,  the  remainder  is  given  in  full:  Vice-presidents, 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  John  G.  Whittier,  U.  S.  Senator  George  F.  Hoar,  Mrs.  Julia 
Ward  Howe,  Mrs.  Ednah  D.  Cheney,  Theodore  D.  Weld,  ex-Gov.  William  Claflin,  Judge 
Samuel  E.  Sewall,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Mrs.  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  the  Hon.  John 
Hopkins,  Miss  Abby  W.  May,  A.  Bronson  Alcott,  Marie  E.  Zakrzewska,  M.  D.,  Col. 
Thoma*  W.  Higginson,  Miss  Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps,  Wendell  Phillips,  Miss  Louisa  M. 


MASSACHUSETTS.  703 

the  State,  arranged  by  Arthur  P.  Ford  and  Miss  Cora  Scott  Pond. 
The  speakers  were  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  Miss  Matilda 
Hindman,  Miss  Pond  and  Miss  Ida  M.  Buxton,  and  at  some  of 
the  meetings  Lucy  Stone,  Mr.  Blackwell  and  Mrs.  Adelaide  A. 
Claflin.  In  addition  six  conventions  were  held  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  local  leagues  were  formed.  Suffrage  sociables  were  given 
monthly  in  Boston.  Leaflets  were  printed,  including  Wendell 
Phillips'  great  speech  at  the  Worcester  Convention  in  1850,  which 
were  sent  out  by  tens  of  thousands,  and  50,000  special  copies 
of  the  Woman's  Journal  were  distributed  gratuitously.  Mrs.  H. 
M.  Tracy  Cutler  was  employed  for  a  month  in  Worcester  to 
enlist  interest  in  the  churches,  and  Miss  Pond  for  two  months  in 
Boston.  Letters  were  sent  to  every  town,  with  postal  cards  in- 
closed for  reply,  to  find  who  were  friends  of  suffrage,  and  to  those 
so  found  a  letter  was  sent  asking  co-operation.  This  constitutes 
an  average  twelve  months'  work  for  the  past  thirty  years. 

The  sixteenth  annual  meeting  of  the  New  England  Association 
took  place  May  26,  27,  Lucy  Stone  presiding.  The  Rev.  Minot 
J.  Savage  and  Edward  M.  Winston  of  Harvard  University  wTere 
among  the  speakers.  The  two  associations  united  as  usual  in 
the  May  Festival.  Letters  of  greeting  were  read  from  the  Hons. 
George  F.  Hoar,  John  D.  Long  and  John  E.  Fitzgerald,  Postmas- 
ter Edward  S.  Tobey,  Col.  Albert  Clarke  and  Chancellor  William 
G.  Eliot,  of  Washington  University,  St.  Louis.  The  Rev.  Robert 
Collyer,  Mr.  Garrison  and  the  Rev.  Miss  Shaw  made  addresses. 

At  the  State  convention,  Jan.  27,  28,  1885,  addresses  were 
made  by  Mrs.  Margaret  Moore  of  Ireland,  A.  S.  Root  of  Boston 
University,  and  the  usual  brilliant  galaxy,  while  letters  express- 
ing sympathy  with  the  cause  were  read  from  John  G.  Whittier, 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Longfellow,  the  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Barrows  and 

Alcott,  the  Rev.  James  Freeman  Clarke,  Mrs.  Adelaide  A.  Claflin,  the  Rev.  William  I. 
Haven,  Judge  Thomas  Russell,  Lucy  Sewall,  M.  D.,  Robert  C.  Pitman,  George  A.  Walton, 
Mrs.  C.  B.  Redmund,  Charles  W.  Slack,  Seth  Hunt,  Mrs.  Eliza  K.  Church,  the  Rev. 
Jesse  H.  Jones,  Uretta  McAllister,  Julia  M.  Baxter;  recording  secretary,  Charles  K. 
VVhipple;  treasurer,  Miss  Amanda  M.  Lougee;  executive  committee,  Mrs.  Lucy  Stone, 
chairman,  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Ames,  Miss  Mary  F.  Eastman,  Mrs.  Judith  W.  Smith,  Mrs. 
Henrietta  L.  T.  Wolcott,  Mrs.  W.  I.  Bowditch,  Mrs.  S.  E.  M.  Kingsbury,  Mrs.  E.  N.  L. 
Walton,  Mrs.  S.  C.  Vogl,  S.  C.  Hopkins,  Mrs.  E.  P.  Nickles,  Mrs.  Fenno  Tudor,  Dr.  J.  T. 
Leonard,  Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell,  Miss  Eva  Channing,  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Bashford,  Mrs. 
Harriet  W.  Sewall,  Miss  Kate  Ireson,  Frederick  A.  Claflin,  Arthur  P.  Ford,  Miss  M.  Ada 
Molineux,  S.  Frank  King,  Miss  Cora  Scott  Pond,  J.  Avery  Rowland. 


/O4  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

many  others.  An  appeal  to  the  Legislature,  written  by  Lucy 
Stone,  was  unanimously  adopted. 

An  Anti- Woman  Suffrage  Association  formed  in  Massachu- 
setts the  previous  year,  had  devoted  itself  chiefly  to  securing  sig- 
natures of  women  to  a  protest  against  the  franchise.  In  1885 
Mrs.  Kate  Gannett  Wells  and  her  associates  obtained  the  signa- 
tures of  about  140  influential  men  to  a  remonstrance  against  "any 
further  extension  of  suffrage  to  women,"  and  published  it  as  an 
advertisement  in  the  Boston  Herald  of  Sunday,  February  15. 
The  list  included  President  Eliot  of  Harvard,  a  number  of  college 
professors,  one  or  two  literary  men,  several  ex-members  of  the 
Legislature,  and  a  number  of  clergymen  of  conservative 
churches;  but  it  was  made  up  largely  of  those  prominent  chiefly 
on  account  of  their  wealth. 

An  average  of  ten  suffrage  meetings  and  conventions  a  month 
were  held  in  various  cities  throughout  the  year.  The  Rev.  Miss 
Shaw  and  Miss  Pond  attended  nearly  all,  and  Mrs.  Stone,  Mr. 
Blackwell,  Mrs.  Claflin,  Mr.  Garrison,  Miss  Eastman  and  Mr. 
Bowditch  addressed  some  of  them,  besides  local  speakers.  Two 
thousand  persons  gathered  in  Tremont  Temple  on  the  opening 
night  of  the  May  anniversary,  Lucy  Stone  presiding.  Senator 
Hoar,  Mrs.  Livermore  and  others  made  short  speeches  and  later 
responded  to  toasts  at  the  Festival. 

Mr.  Blackwell  presided  over  the  State  convention  Jan.  26, 
1886.  At  the  New  England  meeting  this  year  Frederick  Doug- 
lass delivered  an  oration  and  spoke  also  at  the  Festival,  over 
which  Miss  Eastman  presided.  The  association  kept  Miss  Shaw 
in  the  field  for  six  months  and  Miss  Pond  throughout  the  year 
and  held  summer  conventions  in  Cottage  City  and  Nantucket,  be- 
sides ten  county  conventions  in  the  fall.  There  were  123,014 
pages  of  literature  sent  out  and  agents  visited  seventy-five  towns. 
A  suffrage  bazar  was  held  in  December  with  Mrs.  Livermore  as 
president  and  Mrs.  Howe  as  editor  of  the  Bazar  Journal.  The 
list  of  vice-presidents  included  Phillips  Brooks  and  many  other 
distinguished  persons.  The  brunt  of  the  work,  however,  was 
borne  by  Miss  Pond  and  Miss  Shaw,  and  the  bazar  cleared  $6,000. 

Mrs.  Howe,  Mrs.  Stone,  Mr.  Garrison,  Mrs.  Cheney,  State 
Senator  Elijah  A.  Morse  and  others  addressed  the  annual  con- 


MASSACHUSETTS.  705 

vention  of  1867.  Petitions  were  circulated  for  Municipal  and 
Presidential  Suffrage  and  a  constitutional  amendment;  also  for 
police  matrons,  the  raising  of  the  age  of  protection  for  girls, 
improvements  in  the  property  rights  of  married  women,  a  bill 
enabling  husbands  and  wives  to  make  legal  contracts  with  each 
other,  and  one  making  women  eligible  to  all  offices  from  which 
they  are  not  debarred  by  the  constitution.  In  March  the  associa- 
tion gave  $1,000  to  the  constitutional  amendment  campaign  in 
Rhode  Island,  and  a  number  of  the  officers  contributed  their 
services. 

Mrs.  Howe  presided  at  the  May  Festival,  and  among  the 
speakers  were  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Cougar  of  Indiana,  Mrs.  J.  Ellen 
Foster  of  Iowa,  the  Revs.  Henry  Blanchard  of  Maine  and  Freder- 
ick A.  Hinckley  of  Rhode  Island.  Mr.  Garrison  read  an  orig- 
inal poem  rejoicing  over  the  granting  of  Municipal  Suffrage  in 
Kansas.  At  the  New  England  Convention  which  followed,  these 
speakers  were  reinforced  by  the  Rev.  Jenkyn  Lloyd  Jones  of  Chi- 
cago. On  October  19  the  State  Association  gave  a  reception  to 
Miss  Frances  E.  Willard,  president  of  the  National  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union,  at  the  Hotel  Brunswick. 

In  December  a  great  bazar  was  held  in  Boston  for  the  joint 
benefit  of  the  American  Suffrage  Association  and  various  States 
which  took  part.  The  gross  receipts  were  nearly  $8,000.  This 
year  the  association  moved  into  larger  offices  at  No.  3  Park  street ; 
held  fifty-one  public  meetings  and  four  county  conventions  and 
organized  twenty-one  new  leagues.  The  Woman's  Journal  was 
sent  for  three  months  to  all  the  members  of  the  Legislature; 
378,000  pages  of  suffrage  literature  were  sold  and  many  thou- 
sands more  given  away. 

During  the  annual  meeting  in  February,  1888,  a  reception  was 
given  to  Mrs.  Rebecca  Moore,  of  England,  at  which  John  W. 
Hutchinson  sang  and  many  bright  speeches  were  made.  At  the 
twentieth  anniversary  of  the  New  England  association,  in  May, 
Lucy  Stone  presided.  Mrs.  Laura  Ormiston  Chant  and  Mrs. 
Alice  Scatcherd  of  England,  and  Baroness  Gripenberg  and  Miss 
Alii  Trygg  of  Finland,  were  among  the  speakers.  Others  were 
Miss  Clara  Barton,  Mrs.  Isabella  Beecher  Hooker  of  Connecticut, 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 45 


706  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

the  Hon.  William  Dudley  Foulke  and  Mrs.  ZereldsfG.  Wallace  of 
Indiana.  At  the  Festival  Music  Hall  was  crowded  to  overflow- 
ing and  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  was  one  of  the  guests  of  honor. 

This  year  great  excitement  was  aroused  among  both  men  and 
women  by  a  controversy  over  the  historical  text-books  used  in  the 
public  schools  of  Boston.  At  the  request  of  a  priest  the  school 
board  removed  a  history  which  the  Catholics  regarded  as  unfair 
in  its  statements,  and  substituted  one  which  many  Protestants 
considered  equally  unfair.  The  school  vote  of  women  never  had 
risen  much  above  2,000,  and  generally  had  been  below  that  num- 
ber. This  year  25,279  applied  to  be  assessed  a  poll  tax  and  reg- 
istered, and  19,490  voted,  in  one  of  the  worst  storms  of  the 
season.  All  the  -Catholic  candidates  were  defeated.  The  suf- 
frage association  kept  out  of  the  controversy  as  a  body,  but  its 
members  as  individuals  took  sides  as  their  personal  views  dictated. 

In  1889  Gov.  Oliver  Ames,  for  the  third  time,  recommended 
women  suffrage  in  his  inaugural,  saying :  "Recent  political  events 
have  confirmed  the  opinion  I  have  long  held,  that  if  women  have 
sufficient  reason  to  vote  they  will  do  so  and  become  an  important 
factor  in  the  settlement  of  great  questions.  If  we  can  trust  un- 
educated men  to  vote  we  can  with  greater  safety  and  far  more 
propriety  grant  the  same  power  to  women,  who  as  a  rule  are  as 
well  educated  and  quite  as  intelligent  as  men." 

The  convention  met  January  29-31.  Among  outside  speakers 
were  Mrs.  Ellen  Battelle  Dietrick  of  Kentucky,  Prof.  William  H. 
Carruth  of  Kansas,  and  the  Hon.  Hamilton  Willcox  of  New 
York.  Col.  Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson  presided  at  the  May 
Festival  and  Mrs.  Howe's  seventieth  birthday  was  celebrated. 
Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns  of  Kansas,  Mrs.  Mary  Seymour  Howell  of 
New  York,  Mrs.  Emily  P.  Collins  of  Connecticut,  and  many  from 
other  States  were  present. 

An  organizer  was  kept  in  the  field  eight  months  and  a  State 
lecturer  two  months ;  summer  meetings  were  held  at  Swampscott, 
Hull  and  Nantasket.  Two  quarterly  conferences  took  place  in 
Boston  between  the  State  officers  and  representatives  from  the 
eighty-nine  local  leagues.  A  great  Historical  Pageant  was  given 
under  Miss  Pond's  supervision  in  May  and  October,  which  netted 
$1,582;  the  Woman's  Journal  was  sent  four  months  to  all  the 


MASSACHUSETTS.  707 

legislators,  and  leaflets  to  all  the  students  of  Harvard  and  Boston 
Universities;  15,000  leaflets  were  given  to  the  South  Dakota 
campaign.  The  State  Farmers'  Institute,  held  at  West  Brook- 
field,  adopted  a  woman  suffrage  resolution  almost  unanimously. 

In  Boston  10,051  women  voted  and  the  Catholic  candidates 
for  the  school  board  were  again  defeated.  The  Independent 
Women  Voters  elected  all  their  nominees,  and  candidates  who 
had  the  joint  nomination  of  both  Republicans  and  Democrats 
were  defeated. 

Ex-Gov.  John  D.  Long  was  one  of  the  speakers  at  the  conven- 
tion of  Jan.  28,  29,  1890;  also  Miss  Elizabeth  Upham  Yates 
of  Maine.  In  April  an  evening  with  authors  and  composers  was 
arranged,  chiefly  by  Miss  Lucia  T.  Ames.  Well-known  authors 
read  from  their  writings  and  musicians  contributed  from  their 
own  compositions.  In  the  same  month  a  week's  fair  called  The 
Country  Store  was  held,  Miss  Charlotte  H.  Allen  supervising  the 
arrangements,  with  gross  receipts,  $2,346.  The  Rev.  Charles  G. 
Ames  presided  at  the  May  Festival  and  the  Rev.  Anna  Garlin 
Spencer  of  Rhode  Island  was  one  of  the  speakers. 

In  July  a  reception  was  given  in  the  suffrage  parlors  to  the 
ladies  of  the  National  Editorial  Association  and  the  members  of 
the  New  England  Women's  Press  Association.  The  editors  of  the 
Woman's  Journal — Lucy  Stone,  Mr.  and  Miss  Blackwell — and 
the  associate  editor,  Mrs.  Florence  M.  Adkinson,  received  the 
guests,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Miss  Shaw  and  Miss  Lucy  E.  An- 
thony. During  Grand  Army  week  in  August  a  reception  was 
extended  to  the  ladies  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps  and  others, 
the  guests  received  by  Mrs.  Livermore,  Mrs.  Howe,  the  editors 
of  the  Journal  and  Dr.  Emily  Blackwell,  dean  of  the  Women's 
Medical  College  of  the  New  York  Infirmary  for  Women  and 
Children. 

In  October  the  association  exhibited  at  the  Hollis  Street  Thea- 
ter a  series  of  Art  Tableaux,  The  History  of  Marriage,  showing 
the  marriage  ceremonies  of  different  ages  and  countries,  Mrs. 
Livermore  acting  as  historian.  The  receipts  were  $1,463. 
The  association  sent  literature  to  the  legislators,  to  several  thou- 
sand college  students  and  to  all  the  members  of  the  Mississippi 
Constitutional  Convention;  had  a  booth  for  two  months  at  the 


708  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Mechanics'  Fair  in  Boston;  supplied  suffrage  matter  every  week 
to  603  editors  in  all  parts  of  the  country  and  gave  133,334  pages 
of  leaflets  to  the  campaign  in  South  Dakota.  .The  chairman  of 
its  executive  committee,  Mrs.  Stone,  also  donated  95,000  copies 
of  the  Woman's  Column  to  the  same  campaign,  and  the  secretary, 
Mr.  Blackwell,  contributed  five  weeks'  gratuitous  service  in  Da- 
kota, lecturing  for  the  amendment. 

The  Boston  Methodist  ministers,  at  their  Monday  meeting, 
passed  unanimously  a  resolution  in  favor  of  Municipal  Woman 
Suffrage ;  and  a  gathering  of  Massachusetts  farmers,  at  the  rooms 
of  the  Ploughman,  did  the  same  with  only  one  dissenting  vote, 
after  an  address  by  Lucy  Stone,  herself  a  farmer's  daughter.* 

The  annual  meeting,  Jan.  27,  28,  1891,  was  made  a  cele- 
bration of  the  fortieth  anniversary  of  the  First  National  Woman's 
Rights  Convention,  which  had  been  held  at  Worcester  in  October, 
1850.  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  came  on  from  Washington  to 
attend.  The  advance  of  women  in  different  lines  during  the  past 
forty  years  was  ably  reviewed  in  the  addresses  by  representative 
women  in  their  respective  departments.!  Only  two  of  the 
speakers  at  the  convention  of  forty  years  ago  were  present  on  this 
occasion,  Lucy  Stone  and  the  Rev.  Antoinette  Brown  Black- 
well  ;  and  two  who  had  signed  the  Call— Colonel  Higginson  and 
Charles  K.  Whipple.  The  resolutions  were  reaffirmed  which 
had  been  reported  by  Wendell  Phillips  and  adopted  at  the  con- 
vention of  1850.  At  this  time  Mrs.  Howe  was  elected  president 
of  the  State  association. 

The  New  England  meeting  in  May  was  preceded  by  a  recep- 
tion to  Miss  Anthony,  the  Rev.  Miss  Shaw  and  Miss  Florence 

*  In  the  in  Granges  of  the  State,  70  women  were  secretaries  and  39  lecturers  this  year. 

t  Mrs.  Helen  Campbell  spoke  on  Women  in  Industry;  Mrs.  Howe  on  Women  in  Liter- 
ature; the  Rev.  Antoinette  Brown  Blackwell  on  Women  in  the  Ministry;  Mrs.  Charlotte 
Emerson  Brown,  president  of  the  General  Federation,  on  Women's  Clubs;  Mrs.  Susan  S. 
Fessenden,  president  of  the  State  W.  C.  T.  U.,  on  Women's  Work  for  Temperance;  Mary 
A.  Greene,  LL.  B.,  on  Women  in  Law;  Dr.  Emily  Blackwell  on  Women  in  Medicine; 
Mrs.  Sallie  Joy  White,  late  president  of  the  New  England  Women's  Press  Association,  on 
Women  in  Journalism,  and  Miss  Eastman  on  Steps  in  Education  for  Girls  from  Dame 
School  to  College.  The  opportunities  for  women  at  Vassar,  Wellesley,  Bryn  Mawr,  Bos- 
ton University  and  Mt.  Holyoke  were  presented  respectively  by  Dr.  Emma  B.  Culbertson, 
Prof.  A.  Eugenia  Morgan,  Miss  Cora  A.  Benneson,  Miss  E.  D.  Hanscom  and  Miss  Sarah 
T'.  Eastman,  president  of  the  Boston  Mt.  Holyoke  Alumnae.  Mrs.  Cheney  read  a  paper  on 
Women  in  Hospitals  and  Miss  Alia  Foster  gave  reminiscences  of  her  mother,  Mrs.  Abhy 
Kelly  Foster.  Lucy  Stone  spoke  on  the  Gains  of  Forty  Years;  Colonel  Higpinson  on 
Landmarks  of  Progress;  Mr.  Blackwell  on  Kansas  and  Wyoming:  Woman  Suffrage  by 


MASSACHUSETTS.  7CX) 

Balgarnie  of  England,  all  of  whom  made  addresses  at  the  con- 
vention and  the  Festival,  where  ex-Governor  Long  presided. 

The  meetings  this  year  included  a  number  of  college  towns 
and  among  the  speakers  were  Senator  Hoar,  Mr.  Garrison,  Mr. 
Blackwell,  Mrs.  Livermore,  Mrs.  Howe  and  Mrs.  Stone,  with  the 
younger  women,  Mrs.  Anna  Christy  Fall,  Mrs.  Adelaide  A.  Claf- 
lin.  Miss  Elizabeth  Sheldon  (Tillinghast),  Miss  Elizabeth  Deer- 
ing  Hanscom.  At  Amherst  a  large  gathering  of  students  listened 
to  Senator  Hoar.  President  and  Mrs.  Merrill  E.  Gates  occu- 
pied seats  on  the  platform.  At  South  Hadley  President  Eliza- 
beth Storrs  Mead  of  Mt.  Holyoke  entertained  all  the  speakers 
at  the  college,  and  at  Northampton  it  was  estimated  by  the  daily 
papers  that  500  Smith  College  girls  came  to  the  meeting. 

On  October  2 1  the  association  gave  -a  reception  to  Theodore 
D.  Weld  in  honor  of  his  eighty-eighth  birthday.  This  date  was 
the  anniversary  of  the  famous  mob  of  1835,  which  attacked  the 
meeting  of  the  Boston  Female  Anti-Slavery  Society.  Later  a 
reception  was  tendered  to  Mrs.  Annie  Besant  of  the  London 
School  Board.  On  November  17,  during  the  week  when  the 
W.  C.  T.  U.  held  its  national  convention  in  Boston,  a  reception 
was  given  in  the  suffrage  parlors  to  all  interested  in  the  Fran- 
chise Department.  A  special  invitation  was  issued  to  White 
Ribboners  from  the  Southern  States  where  none  was  yet  adopted, 
and  the  spacious  rooms  were  filled  to  overflowing.  Lucy  Stone 
presided  and  Julia  Ward  Howe  gave  the  address  of  welcome. 
Many  brief  responses  were  made  by  the  Southern  delegates  and 
by  Northen  delegates  and  friends. 

In  December  a  suffrage  fair  was  held  under  the  management 
of  Mrs.  Dietrick,  now  of  Boston,  which  netted  $1,800.  Senator 
Hoar's  speech  at  Amherst  was  sent  to  the  students  of  all  the  col- 
leges in  the  State. 

State  and  Federal  Legislation;  Mr.  Garrison  on  Women  Needed  as  Political  Helpmeets; 
and  the  Rev.  Ada  C.  Bowles  on  the  Suffrage  Revival  in  Worcester  in  1869.  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Upham  Yates  spoke  on  Suffrage,  and  the  Rev.  Anna  Garlin  Spencer  on  Our  Debt  to 
the  Pioneers. 

Letters  were  read  from  U.  S.  Senators  Joseph  M.  Carey  and  Francis  E.  Warren  of. 
Wyoming,  ex-president  James  H.  Fairchild  of  Oberlin,  the  Hon.  Charles  Robinson  of 
Kansas,  Thomas  Davis,  husband  of  Paulina  Wright  Davis,  Francis  G.  Adams,  secretary  of 
the  Kansas  Historical  Society,  Theodore  D.  Weld;  Mesdames  Hannah  M.  Tracy  Cutler, 
Elizabeth  B.  Chace,  Frances  H.  Drake,  Caroline  Healy  Dall,  J.  Elizabeth  Jones,  Elizabeth 
Cady  Stanton,  Caroline  M.  Severance,  Clara  B.  Colby;  Miss  Mary  Grew,  Miss  Anna  L.  T. 
Parsons:  Mrs.  Millicent  Garrett  Fawcett  of  England,  and  others. 


7IO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

At  the  annual  meeting  Jan.  26,  27,  1892,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Cook 
gave  an  address.  Lucy  Stone  presided  at  the  New  England  con- 
vention and  Mrs.  Howe  at  the  Festival.  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman 
Catt  was  the  speaker  from  a  distance.  Letters  were  read 
from  the  Hon.  Thomas  B.  Reed,  Terence  V.  Powderly  and  U.  S. 
Senators  Joseph  M.  Carey  and  Francis  E.  Warren  of  Wyoming. 

In  addition  to  the  usual  work  this  year  $200  were  offered  in 
$5  prizes  to  the  children  of  the  public  schools  for  the  best  essays 
in  favor  of  woman  suffrage.  Mrs.  Dietrick  was  employed  for 
six  months  as  State  organizer.  An  appeal  for  equal  suffrage 
signed  by  Mrs.  Stone,  Mrs.  Howre  and  Mrs.  Livermore  was  sent 
to  editors  throughout  the  State  with  the  request  to  publish  it 
and  to  indorse  it  editorially,  which  was  done  by  many.  A  letter 
signed  by  the  same  was  sent  to  every  minister  in  Boston  asking 
him  either  to  present  the  subject  to  his  congregation  or  permit  it 
to  be  presented  by  some  one  else,  and  a  number  consented. 

A  Woman's  Day  was  held  at  the  State  Agricultural  Fair  in 
Worcester,  when  it  was  estimated  70,000  people  were  present. 
Col.  Daniel  Needham,  president  of  the  Fair,  expressed  himself 
as  thankful  for  the  opportunity  to  welcome  woman  suffrage. 
Mrs.  Rufus  S.  Frost,  Lucy  Stone,  Mrs.  Livermore,  Mrs.  Claflin 
and  Mr.  Blackwell  were  the  speakers.  When  a  vote  was  taken 
at  the  close,  the  whole  audience  rose  in  favor  of  suffrage. 

The  Independent  Women  Voters  of  Boston  again  elected  their 
entire  school  ticket.  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard  and  Mrs.  Claflin 
addressed  the  Working  Girls'  Clubs  of  the  State  on  suffrage  at 
their  annual  reunion  in  Boston.  The  association  was  represented 
at  the  great  farewell  reception  to  Lady  Henry  Somerset,  Lucy 
Stone  presenting  her  with  twenty-three  yellow  roses  for  the  States 
with  School  Suffrage  and  one  pure  white  for  Wyoming. 

This  year  at  a  special  meeting  the  association  amended  the  old 
constitution  under  which  it  had  been  working  since  1870,  and 
unanimously  adopted  a  delegate  basis  of  representation. 

The  annual  meeting  was  held  Dec.  6,  7,  1892,  instead  of 
January,  1893.  Mrs.  Howe  presided  and  addresses  were  made 
by  Mrs.  Stone,  Mrs.  Livermore,  the  Hon.  George  A.  O.  Ernst, 
Mrs.  Estelle  M.  H.  Merrill,  president  of  the  New  England 
Women's  Press  Association,  and  others.  Lucy  Stone  was  elected 


MASSACHUSETTS. 

president  and  superintendents  were  instituted  for  different  de- 
partments of  work. 

At  a  gathering  of  Massachusetts  farmers  in  Boston,  Lucy 
Stone  and  Mrs.  Olive  Wright  of  Denver,  spoke  for  woman 
suffrage;  the  meeting  declared  for  it  unanimously  by  a  rising 
vote  and  every  farmer  present  signed  the  petition.  The  State 
Grange,  at  its  annual  convention,  adopted  a  strong  suffrage  reso- 
lution by  96  yeas,  27  nays.  The  Unitarian  Ministers'  Monday 
Club  of  Boston,  after  an  address  by  Mrs.  Stone,  did  the  same, 
and  every  minister  present  but  one  signed  the  petition.  The 
Universalist  Ministers'  Monday  meeting  in  Boston,  at  her  request, 
voted  by  a  large  majority  to  memorialize  the  Legislature  for 
woman  suffrage.  The  Central  Labor  Union  took  similar  action. 
The  Boston  Transcript,  Globe,  Advertiser,  Traveller  and  Beacon, 
the  Springfield  Republican,  Greenfield  Gazette  and  Courier,  Salem 
Observer,  Salem  Register  and  many  other  papers  supported  the 
Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  which  was  then  pending. 

At  the  May  Festival  of  1893  Senator  Hoar  presided  and  900 
persons  sat  down  to  the  banquet.  Mrs.  Laura  Ormiston  Chant 
of  Eneland,  and  Miss  Kirstine  Frederiksen  of  Denmark,  were  the 
speakers  from  abroad.  A  reception  to  these  ladies  preceded  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  New  England  Association.  Mme.  Marie 
Marshall  of  Paris,  was  added  to  the  above  speakers,  also 
Wendell  Phillips  Stafford  of  Vermont,  Mrs.  Ellen  M.  Bolles  of 
Rhode  Island,  and  others.  On  June  5  a  reception  was  given  to 
Mrs.  Jane  Cobden  Unwin  of  London,  Richard  Cobden's  daugh- 
ter. On  July  19,  by  invitation  of  the  Waltham  Suffrage  Club, 
the  State  association  and  the  local  leaeues  united  in  a  basket 
picnic  at  Forest  Grove.  On  this  occasion  Lucy  Stone  made  her 
last  public  address. 

Woman's  Day  at  the  New  England  Agricultural  Fair  in  Wor- 
cester was  observed  in  September  with  addresses  by  Mrs.  Chant, 
Mrs.  Livermore,  Mrs.  Fanny  Purdy  Palmer  and  Mr.  Blackwell, 
representing  Lucy  Stone,  who  was  too  ill  to  be  present.  There 
was  a  very  large  audience.  Part  of  a  day  was  also  secured  at  the 
Marshfield  Fair  with  an  address  by  Mrs.  Katherine  Lente  Steven- 
son. A  convention  was  held  at  Westfield,  October  2,  when  the 
opera  house  was  crowded  to  hear  Mrs.  Livermore. 


712  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Mr.  Blackwell  presented  a  resolution  in  favor  of  Municipal 
Suffrage  for  women  in  the  Resolutions  Committee  of  the  Repub- 
lican State  Convention,  October  6.  It  was  warmly  advocated 
by  the  Hon.  John  D.  Long,  Samuel  Walker  McCall,  M.  C, 
Mayor  Fairbanks  of  Quincy,  and  others,  and  would  possibly  have 
been  passed  but  for  the  strenuous  opposition  of  the  chairman. 
ex-Gov.  George  D.  Robinson,  who  said  he  would  decline  to  read 
the  platform  to  the  convention  if  the  resolution  was  adopted. 
It  was  finally  lost  by  4  yeas,  7  nays. 

On  Oct.  1 8,  1893,  occurred  the  death  of  Lucy  Stone  at  her 
home  in  Dorchester.  She  said  with  calm  contentment,  "I  have 
done  what  I  wanted  to  do;  I  have  helped  the  women."  Her 
last  whispered  words  to  her  daughter  were,  "Make  the  world 
better."  The  funeral  was  held  in  James  Freeman  Clarke's  old 
church  in  Boston.  Hundreds  of  people  stood  waiting  silently 
in  the  street  before  the  doors  were  opened.  The  Rev.  Charles 
G.  Ames  said  afterward  that,  "the  services  were  riot  like  a  funeral 
but  like  a  solemn  celebration  and  a  coronation."  The  speakers 
were  Mr.  Ames,  Colonel  Higginson,  Mrs.  Livermore,  Mr.  Garri- 
son, Mrs.  Cheney,  the  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Barrows,  Mrs.  Chant,  the 
Rev.  Anna  Garlin  Spencer  of  Providence,  Mary  Grew  of  Phila- 
delphia, with  a  poem  by  Mrs.  Howe.  A  strong  impetus  was 
given  to  the  suffrage  movement  by  the  wide  publication  in  the 
papers  of  the  facts  of  Lucy  Stone's  simple  and  noble  life,  and  by 
the  universal  expression  of  affection  and  regret.  A  life-long 
opponent  declared  that  the  death  of  no  woman  in  America  had 
ever  called  out  so  general  a  tribute  of  public  respect  and  esteem. 

The  State  association  again  held  its  annual  meeting  in  Decem- 
ber. Among  the  resolutions  adopted  was  the  following : 

In  the  passing  away  of  Lucy  Stone,  our  president,  the  beloved 
pioneer  of  woman  suffrage,  who  has  been,  ever  since  1847,  its  main- 
stay and  unfailing  champion,  the  cause  of  equal  rights  in  this  State 
and  throughout  the  Union  has  suffered  an  irreparable  loss. 

Her  daughter  closed  the  report  of  the  year's  work  by  saying : 
"Let  all  those  who  held  her  dear  show  their  regard  for  her  mem- 
ory in  the  way  that  would  have  pleased  and  -touched  her  most — 
by  doing  their  best  to  help  forward  the  cause  she  loved  so  well." 

Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore  was  elected  president 


MASSACHUSETTS.  713 

On  December  16  the  association  celebrated  in  Faneuil  Hall  the 
one  hundred  and  twentieth  anniversary  of  the  Boston  Tea  Party. 
One  of  the  last  expressed  wishes  of  Lucy  Stone  had  been  that 
the  celebration  should  take  place  in  the  Old  South  Church,  but 
the  use  of  this  historic  building  was  refused  by  the  trustees, 
much  to  the  mortification  of  the  more  liberal  members  of  the 
General  Committee  of  the  Old  South.  Colonel  Higginson,  who 
had  presided  at  the  centennial  celebration  of  the  same  event  by 
the  suffragists  twenty  years  before,  again  presided  and  made  the 
opening  address.  Other  speakers  were  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  and 
Wendell  Phillips  Stafford.  Mr.  Garrison  gave  a  poem  and  Mr. 
Blackwell  read  the  speech  made  by  Lucy  Stone  at  the  celebration 
in  1873.  Letters  were  read  from  Senator  Hoar,  Frederick  Doug- 
lass and  others.  Governor-elect  Frederick  T.  Greenhalge  and 
Lieut.  Gov.-elect  Roger  Wolcott  occupied  seats  on  the  platform. 

This  year  the  Massachusetts  W.  S.  A.  had  become  incorpo- 
rated. It  had  sent  suffrage  literature  to  all  the  Episcopalian, 
Unitarian  and  Universalist  clergymen  in  the  State,  to  most  of 
the  Methodist  ministers,  to  1,100  public  school  teachers  and  to  a 
large  number  of  college  students.  Its  president,  Lucy  Stone,  had 
sent,  from  her  death  bed,  the  largest  contribution  to  the  Colorado 
campaign  given  by  any  individual  outside  of  that  State.  Its  sec- 
retary, Mr.  Blackwell,  had  attended  the  National  Convention  of 
Republican  Clubs  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  secured  the  adoption  of 
the  following  resolution :  "We  recommend  to  the  favorable  con- 
sideration of  the  Republican  Clubs  of  the  United  States,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  education,  the  question  of  granting  to  the  women  of  the 
State  and  nation  the  right  to  vote  at  all  elections  on  the  same 
terms  and  conditions  as  male  citizens." 

A  thousand  copies  of  William  I.  Bowditch's  Taxation  Without 
Representation  and  George  Pellew's  Woman  and  the  Common- 
wealth were  bound  and  presented  to  town  and  college  libraries. 
Mayor  Nathan  Matthews,  Jr.,  of  Boston  appointed  two  women 
on  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  despite  the  strong  oppo- 
sition of  the  aldermen.  He  also  appointed  three  women  members 
of  a  commission  ^to  investigate  and  report  to  him  upon  the  condi- 
tion of  public  institutions.  Toward  the  end  of  the  year  he  again 
appointed  two  women  on  a  similar  committee,  including  one  of 


714  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

those  who  served  before.  The  Hon.  George  S.  Hale  said  at  the 
annual  suffrage  meeting,  "Both  ladies  are  admirably  qualified, 
and  the  one  who  acted  last  year  is  declared  by  all  the  men  who 
served  with  her  to  be  the  most  valuable  member  of  the  board." 

Out  of  622  students  and  professors  at  Wellesley  College,  who 
were  questioned  as  to  their  views  on  suffrage,  506  declared  them- 
selves in  favor,  and  500  of  them  united  in  sending  a  telegram  of 
congratulation  to  the  women  of  Colorado  on  the  passage  of  the 
equal  suffrage  amendment  this  year.  (1893.) 

At  the  May  Festival  1,000  sat  down  to  the  banquet  and  hun- 
dreds occupied  the  balconies.  Ex-Governor  Long  presided.  One 
of  the  speakers  was  Robert  S.  Gray,  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Woman  Suffrage  in  the  Legislature.  In  honor  of  Mrs. 
Howe's  seventy-fifth  birthday  Mrs.  Alice  J.  Harris  sang  The 
Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic,  the  audience  joining  in  the  chorus. 

On  June  .18  delegates  from  many  labor  organizations  met  in 
Boston,  in  response  to  a  call  from  the  Boston  Workingmen's 
Political  League,  and  decided  to  act  together  at  the  ballot  box. 
Their  platform  demanded  universal  suffrage  irrespective  of  sex. 

Lucy  Stone  mite-boxes  were  circulated  by  the  association  for 
funds  to  aid  the  amendment  campaign  in  Kansas.  Mr.  Black- 
well  attended  the  National  Convention  of  Republican  Clubs  held 
in  Denver.  On  June  27  it  reiterated  the  woman  suffrage  resolu- 
tion it  had  passed  the  year  before  in  Louisville. 

On  July  24  Woman's  Day  was  celebrated  at  the  Massachusetts 
Chautauqua  in  South  Framingham,  with  many  able  speakers. 
On  September  4  Woman's  Day  was  observed  at  the  New  England 
Agricultural  Fair  in  Worcester.  Colonel  Needham,  its  presi- 
dent, made  an  earnest  woman  suffrage  address  and  was  followed 
by  Mrs.  Howe,  Miss  Yates,  Mrs.  Mary  Sargent  Hopkins  and 
Mr.  Blackwell.  In  December  a  suffrage  fair  was  held  under  the 
management  of  Mrs.  Abby  M.  Davis  which  cleared  about  $1,800. 
On  the  opening  night  Mrs.  Cheney  presided  and  there  were  ad- 
dresses by  Lady  Henry  Somerset  and  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard. 

This  year  the  association  kept  the  papers  supplied  with  suffrage 
articles  more  thoroughly  than  ever  before ;  had  speakers  present 
the  subject  to  thirty-one  women's  clubs ;  furnished  literature  to 
the  legislators,  to  5,000  public  school  teachers,  to  all  the  Con- 


MASSACHUSETTS.  715 

gregational  ministers  in  the  State  and  to  many  of  other  denomina- 
tions ;  and  sent  3,782  leaflets  to  college  students  and  graduates. 

Governor  Greenhalge  in  his  inaugural  in  1895,  sa^,  "I  hold  to 
the  views  expressed  in  the  message  of  last  year  as  to  the  exten- 
sion of  Municipal  Suffrage  to  women."  He  also  referred  to  it 
favorably  in  an  address  before  the  New  England  Women's  Press 
Association,  and  at  the  Parliament  of  Man  held  in  Boston. 

Mrs.  Livermore  presided  at  the  annual  meeting,  January  8,  9. 
Mrs.  Helen  H.  Gardiner  and  Representative  Alfred  S.  Roe  were 
among  the  speakers.  From  this  time  date  the  Fortnightly  Meet- 
ings at  the  suffrage  headquarters,  and  these  have  been  held  ever 
since  except  during  the  summer  vacations.  They  are  usually 
well  attended  and  seldom  fail  to  have  some  speaker  of  note. 

On  May  4  Mr.  Blackwell's  seventieth  birthday  was  celebrated 
by  a  reception  and  dinner  at  Copley  Square  Hotel,  Boston,  ex- 
Governor  Long  presiding.  A  newspaper  said,  "The  guests  on 
this  occasion  represented  the  conscience  and  culture  of  New 
England."  Addresses  were  made  by  many  of  his  co-workers,* 
and  among  those  who  sent  letters  were  the  Rev.  Samuel  May, 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  Ainsworth  R.  Spofford,  of  the 
Library  of  Congress,  Ex-Governor  Claflin,  Mrs.  J.  Ellen  Foster, 
the  Hon.  James  L.  Hughes,  president  of  the  Equal  Rights  Asso- 
ciation of  Toronto,  Professor  and  Mrs.  Carruth  of  Kansas  Uni- 
versity, and  others.  On  May  14  the  golden  wedding  of  the  Rev. 
D.  P.  and  Mrs.  Livermore  was  celebrated  by  a  reception  in  the 
suffrage  parlors.  Their  daughters,  son-in-law  and  grandchil- 
dren received  with  them.  In  accordance  with  Mrs.  Livermore's 
wish  there  was  no  speaking  but  a  great  throng  of  distinguished 
guests,  including  both  suffragists  and  "antis,"  were  present. 

At  the  May  Anniversary  a  reception  was  given  to  Dr.  Mary 
Putnam  Jacobi  of  New  York,  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Burrill  Curtis, 
daughter  of  the  staunch  advocate  of  suffrage,  George  William 
Curtis.  Mr.  Blackwell  presided  at  the  Festival  in  Music  Hall 
and  700  sat  down  to  the  banquet. 

Woman  suffrage  was  indorsed  by  the  Garment  Makers'  Union 
of  Boston,  with  its  400  members.  This  year  a  long  list  of  prom- 

*  Mrs.  Livermore,  the  Rev.  Charles  G.  Ames,  Mrs.  Cheney,  Prof.  Ellen  Hayes  of 
Wellesley,  the  Hon.  Alfred  S.  Roe,  Mrs.  Phebe  Stone  Beeman,  Mrs.  Sallie  Joy  White  and 
Mr.  M.  H.  Gulesian  of  Armenia,  with  a  poem  by  Mr.  Garrison. 


~l6  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

inent  persons  signed  a  published  statement  declaring  themselves 
in  favor,  all  the  names  being  collected  within  about  a  week. 
This  remarkable  list  included  several  hundred  names,  about  one- 
third  of  men.  So  far  as  personal  achievement  goes  they  were 
among  the  most  prominent  in  the  State  and  included  several 
presidents  of  colleges,  a  large  number  of  noted  university  men, 
public  officials,  lawyers,  editors,  etc.  Among  the  women  were 
the  president,  dean  and  twenty  professors  of  Wellesley  College; 
the  director  of  the  Observatory  and  six  instructors  of  Smith 
College,  physicians,  lawyers,  authors,  large  taxpayers,  and  many 
noted  for  philanthropy.* 

The  association  secured  a  Woman's  Day  at  the  New  England 
Chautauqua  Assembly;  brought  the  question  before  hundreds 
at  parlor  meetings  and  public  debates,  outside  of  the  many  ar- 
ranged by  the  Referendum  Committee;  published  six  leaflets 
and  a  volume,  The  Legal  Status  of  Women  in  Massachusetts,  by 
Mr.  Ernst,  and  distributed  an  immense  amount  of  literature. 

Up  to  this  time  the  anti-suffrage  associations  organized  in 
Massachusetts  always  had  gone  to  pieces  within  a  short  period 
after  they  were  formed.  But  in  May,  1895,  the  present  Associa- 
tion Opposed  to  the  Further  Extension  of  Suffrage  to  Women 
was  organized,  with  Mrs.  James  M.  Codman  at  its  head  and 
Mrs.  Charles  E.  Guild  as  secretary.  This  was  a  society  com- 
posed of  women  alone.  Col.  Higginson  said  in  Harper's  Bazar: 

All  the  ladies  move  in  a  limited  though  most  unimpeachable  circle. 
All  may  be  presumed  to  interchange  visiting  cards  and  meet  at  the 
same  afternoon  teas.  There  is  not  even  a  hint  that  there  is  any 
other  class  to  be  consulted.  Where  are  the  literary  women,  the 
artists,  the  teachers,  the  business  women,  the  temperance  women,  the 
labor  reform  advocates,  the  members  of  the  farmers'  grange,  the 
clergymen's  wives?  Compared  with  this  inadequate  body  how 
comfortably  varied  looks  the  list  of  the  committee  in  behalf  of 
woman  suffrage.  [Distinguished  names  given.]  It  includes  also 
women  who  are  wholesomely  unknown  to  the  world  at  large  but 
well  known  in  the  granges  and  among  the  Christian  Endeavorers. 
Can  any  one  doubt  which  list  represents  the  spirit  of  the  future? 

The  more  cultivated  social  class — the  "Four  Hundred,"  as  the 
saying  is — have  an  immense  value  in  certain  directions.  They  stand 
for  the  social  amenities  and  in  many  ways  for  the  worthy  charities. 

*  The  best  known  of  these  names  are  included  in  the  list  of  eminent  persons  in  the 
Appendix. 


MASSACHUSETTS.  '717 

Generous  and  noble  traditions  attach  to  their  names  and  nowhere 
more  than  in  Boston.  But  one  thing  has  in  all  ages  and  places  been 
denied  to  this  class — that  of  leadership  in  bold  reforms. 

On  November  5  the  mock  referendum,  which  had  been  opposed 
by  many  of  the  leading  suffragists,  was  voted  on  and  received  a 
large  negative  majority.  (See  Legislative  Action.) 

The  State  association  held  its  annual  convention,  Jan.  14, 
15,  1896,  with  large  audiences.  It  opened  with  a  Young  People's 
Meeting,  Miss  Blackwell  presiding.*  The  Rev.  Father  Scully 
and  Mrs.  Fanny  B.  Ames,  State  Factory  Inspector,  were  among 
the  many  who  gave  addresses.  At  the  business  meeting  the  fol- 
lowing resolution  on  the  mock  referendum  was  adopted : 

WHEREAS,  The  returns  show  that  we  only  need  to  convert  twenty 
per  cent,  of  the  male  voters  in  order  to  have  a  majority ;  and 

WHEREAS,  Public  sentiment  is  growing  rapidly  and  grows  faster 
the  more  the  subject  is  discussed ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  petition  the  Legislature  to  give  us  a  real  in- 
stead of  a  sham  referendum,  by  submitting  to  the  voters  a  constitu- 
tional amendment  enfranchising  women. 

The  president,  Mrs.  Livermore,  was  made  a  Doctor  of  Laws 
by  Tufts  College  and  was  given  a  great  birthday  reception  by 
her  fellow-townsmen,  with  addresses  by  Mrs.  Susan  S.  Fessen- 
den  and  Mr.  Blackwell  and  a  poem  by  Hezekiah  Butterworth. 

The  May  Festival  also  opened  with  a  Young  People's  Meeting, 
Mrs.  Howe  as  "grandmother"  introducing  the  speakers.!  Mr. 
Garrison  presided  at  the  Festival  and  the  speakers  included  Alfred 
Webb,  M.  P.,  of  Dublin,  the  Rev.  Dean  Hodges,  of  the  Episcopal 
Theological  School,  Mrs.  Charlotte  Perkins  Stetson  and  Prof. 
Ellen  Hayes  of  Wellesley. 

A  series  of  meetings  was  held  this  year  in  Berkshire  County. 
Mrs.  Mary  Clarke  Smith  was  kept  in  the  field  as  State  organizer 
for  seven  months.  A  speaker  was  sent  free  of  charge  to  every 
woman's  club  or  other  society  willing  to  hear  the  suffrage  ques- 
tion presented;  13,000  pages  of  literature  were  distributed.  On 

*  There  were  addresses  by  Fletcher  Dobyns  and  Oswald  Garrison  Villard  of  Harvard, 
Miss  Maud  Thompson  of  Wellesley  College,  Edson  Reifsnyder  of  Tufts,  and  Miss  Mabel 
E.  Adams,  with  music  by  the  Boston  Choral  Society. 

t  Miss  Elva  Hurlburt  Young,  president  of  the  senior  class  of  Wellesley  College,  A.  M. 
Kales  and  Raymond  M.  Alden  of  Harvard,  W.  H.  Spofford  Pittinger  of  Providence,  R.  I. 
A  poem  by  Mrs.  Stetson,  Girls  of  To-day,  was  recited  by  Miss  Marion  Sherman  of  the 
Boston  School  of  Oratory. 


7i8 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


October  27  the  State  Baptist  Young  People's  Union  at  its  anni- 
versary indorsed  woman  suffrage.  In  December  a  rousing  meet- 
ing was  held  in  Canton,  Congressman  Elijah  Morse  presiding, 
with  Mrs.  Livermore  and  Miss  Yates  as  speakers. 

Among  the  deaths  of  the  year  was  that  of  Frederick  T.  Green- 
halge — the  latest  of  a  long  line  of  Massachusetts  governors  who 
have  advocated  woman  suffrage  since  1870 — Governors  Claflin, 
Washburn,  Talbot,  Brackett,  Long,  Butler  and  Ames. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  in  1897,  the  speakers  included  the  Rev. 
George  L.  Perin  and  Augusta  Chapin,  D.  D.  As  the  laws  were 
about  to  be  revised  and  codified  it  was  decided  to  ask  for  an 
equalization  of  those  bearing  on  domestic  relations.  The 
Women's  Journal  noted  that  never  before  had  so  many  petitions 
for  suffrage  been  sent  in  within  so  short  a  time.  On  February 
1 6  the  association  gave  a  large  and  brilliant  reception  at  the 
Vendome  to  Miss  Jane  Addams  of  Chicago.  Col.  Higginson 
presided,  and  Miss  Addams,  Mrs.  Howe  and  Mrs.  Livermore 
spoke.  On  April  17  a  reception  was  given  in  the  suffrage  parlors 
to  Mrs.  Harriet  Tubman,  the  colored  woman  so  noted  in  anti- 
slavery  days  for  her  assistance  to  fugitive  slaves,  Mrs.  Ednah  D. 
Cheney  assisting. 

Mr.  Blackwell  presided  at  the  Festival,  May  27,  and  eloquent 
addresses  were  made  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  George  C.  Lorimer,  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor  John  L.  Bates,  Mrs.  Florence  Howe  Hall  and  many 
others,  while  letters  of  greeting  were  read  from  Lady  Henry 
Somerset  and  Mrs.  Millicent  Garrett  Fawcett  of  England.  It 
was  Mrs.  Howe's  seventy-eighth  birthday  and  she  was  received 
with  cheers  and  presented  with  flowers. 

On  July  29  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Berkshire  Historical 
and  Scientific  Society,  held  at  Adams,  was  "a  woman  suffrage 
convention  from  end  to  end,"  with  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  as 
the  guest  of  honor  in  her  native  town.  Her  friends  and  relatives 
from  all  parts  of  the  country  were  present  and  addresses  were 
made  by  the  vice-president  of  the  society,  the  Rev.  A.  B.  Whif 
pie,  by  Miss  Shaw,  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  Mrs.  Rachel  Foster 
Avery,  Mrs.  Harriet  Taylor  Upton  and  Miss  Blackwell,  officers 
of  the  National  Suffrage  Association,  and  by  Mrs.  May  Wright 
Sewall,  vice-president  of  {he  International  Council  of  Women, 


MASSACHUSETTS.  719 

Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby,  editor  of  the  Woman's  Tribune  and 

Mrs.  Ida  Husted  Harper,  Miss  Anthony's  biographer. 

.    The  Prohibition  State  Convention  in  September  resolved  that 

"educational  qualifications  and  not  sex  should  be  the  test  of  the 

elective  franchise."     The  next  year  it  adopted  a  woman  suffrage 

plank. 

In  December  the  association  held  a  bazar  under  the  manage- 
ment of  Miss  Harriet  E.  Turner  which  cleared  $3,200.  During 
the  year  the  usual  large  amount  of  educational  work  was  done, 
which  included  1,024  suffrage  articles  furnished  to  230  news- 
papers, and  the  holding  of  176  public  meetings.  The  New 
England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Society  voted  unanimously 
to  admit  women  to  membership.  Strong  efforts  were  made  to 
have  the  Boston  school  board  elect  several  eminently  qualified 
women  as  submasters,  but  sex  prejudice  defeated  them. 

The  Anti-Suffrage  Association  published  an  anonymous 
pamphlet  entitled  Tested  by  its  Fruits.  The  Massachusetts  W. 
S.  A.  published  a  counter-pamphlet  by  Chief-Justice  Groesbeck 
of  Wyoming,  who  testified  that  some  of  the  laws  which  it  rep- 
resented as  then  in  force  had  been  repealed  many  years  before, 
and  that  upon  some  "an  absurd  construction"  had  been  placed. 

The  convention  of  Jan.  26,  1898,  was  addressed  by  J.  M.  Rob- 
ertson of  England.  At  the  May  Festival  in  Hotel  Brunswick, 
the  Hon.  Hugh  H.  Lusk  of  New  Zealand  gave  an  address,  and 
the  occasion  was  made  noteworthy  by  bright  speeches  from  ydung 
women — Mrs.  Helen  Adelaide  Shaw,  Miss  Maud  Wood  (Park) 
of  Radcliffe  and  Miss  Hanscom  of  Boston  University  and  Smith 
College.  Several  members  of  the  Legislature  spoke  and  reports 
were  received  from  all  the  New  England  States. 

Woman's  Day  was  celebrated  at  the  Mechanics'  Fair  in  Bos- 
ton. This  year  the  association  began  to  issue  a  monthly  letter 
to  the  local  leagues.  As  an  addition  to  the  literature,  Secretary- 
of-the-Navy  John  D.  Long's  suffrage  address  with  his  portrait 
was  issued  as  a  handsome  pamphlet.  In  response  to  an  appeal 
from  the  president,  Mrs.  Livermore  (so  well  known  through  the 
Sanitary  Commission  during  the  Civil  War),  $500  and  many 
boxes  of  supplies  were  sent  to  the  soldiers  in  the  Spanish- Ameri- 


720 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


can  War,  and  the  secretary  of  the  State  association,  Mrs.  Ellie 

A.  Hilt,  literally  worked  herself  to  death  in  this  service. 

The  usual  meetings  were  held  in  1899  and  1900  and  the  same 
great  amount  of  work  was  done.  To  increase  the  school  vote  of 
women  in  1899  thirty-eight  public  meetings  were  held  by  the 
association,  with  the  result  that  in  Boston  3,000  new  names  were 
added  to  the  registration  list.  In  1900  the  association  contribu- 
ted liberally  to  the  suffrage  campaign  in  Oregon.  A  large  and 
brilliant  reception  was  given  at  the  Hotel  Vendome  in  honor  of 
Mrs.  Livermore's  8oth  birthday. 

Presidents  of  the  State  association  since  1883  have  been  the 
Hon.  William  I.  Bowditch  (1878)  to  1891;  Mrs.  Julia  Ward 
Howe  to  1893;  Mrs.  Lucy  Stone  elected  that  year  but  died  in 
October;  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  1893  and  still  in  office. 
Henry  B.  Blackwell  has  been  corresponding  secretary  over  thirty 
years.* 

The  first  president  of  the  New  England  association  was  Mrs. 
Howe.  In  1877  Mrs.  Lucy  Stone  was  elected,  and  at  her  death 
in  1893  Mrs.  Howe  was  again  chosen  and  is  still  serving.! 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  :t  The  first  petition  for  the  rights  oi 
women  was  presented  to  the  Legislature  by  William  Lloyd  Gar- 
rison in  1849.  In  1853  Lucy  Stone,  Theodore  Parker,  Wendell 
Phillips  and  Thomas  Went  worth  Higginson  went  before  th< 
constitutional  convention  held  in  the  State  House,  with  a  petitior 

*  Other  officers  have  been :  Recording  secretary,  Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell ;  treas- 
urers, Miss  Amanda  M.  Lougee,  Mrs.  Harriet  W.  Sewall,  Francis  J.  Garrison,  Willia 
Lloyd  Garrison;  chairmen  of  the  executive  committee,  Mrs.  Lucy  Stone,  Mrs.  Judith  VV. 
Smith,  Miss  Blackwell.  Vice-presidents  for  1900  are  the  Hons.  George  F.  Hoar,  John 
Long,  William  Claflin,  W.  W.  Crapo,  Josiah  Quincy,  George  A.  O.  Ernst,  J.  W.  Candler, 
Lieut. -Gov.  John  L.  Bates,  Col.  T.  W.  Higginson,  the  Rev.  George  Willis  Cooke,  Willian 
I.  Bowditch,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Prof.  Ellen  Hayes,  Mesdames  Julia  Ward  Hov 
Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps  Ward,  Pauline  Agassiz  Shaw  (Quincy  A.),  Oliver  Ames,  Fanny 

B.  Ames,   Abby  Morton   Diaz,   Susan   S.    Fessenden,   Ole   Bull,    Emma   Walker   Batcheller, 
Martha  Perry  Lowe,  Mary  Schlesinger,  Miss  Mary  F.  Eastman,  Miss  Lucia  M.   Peabody. 

t  Mr.  Blackwell  was  corresponding  secretary  from  1871  to  1893;  Miss  Laura  Moore 
Vermont,  one  year,  and  Mrs.  Ellen  M.  Bolles  of  Rhode  Island,  from  1894  to  the  preset 
time;  recording  secretaries,  Charles  K.  Whipple,  Mrs.  O.  Augusta  Cheney,  Mrs.  Ellie 
Hilt,  Miss  Eva  Channing;  treasurers,  Mrs.  Harriet  W.  Sewall,  John  L.  Whiting,  Mia 
Amanda  M.  Lougee,  Francis  J.  Garrison.  The  vice-presidents  are  the  presidents  ar 
prominent  members  of  the  New  England  State  Associations. 

t  Limited  space  has  prevented  any  r6sum6  of  the  speeches  made  during  these  years  it 
the  conventions  or  before  the  legislative  committees.     The   reader   is   referred  to  the  fil« 
of   the   Woman's  Journal  which   have  been   placed   in   a   number  of  public   libraries.     The 
names  of  legislators  who  have  advocated  woman  suffrage  will  be  found  at  the  close 
Legislative  Action. 


MASSACHUSETTS.  721 

signed  by  2,000  names,  and  pleaded  for  an  amendment  conferring 
suffrage  on  women. 

The  first  appearance  of  a  woman  in  this  State  before  a  legisla- 
tive committee  was  made  in  1857,  when  Lucy  Stone,  with  the 
Rev.  James  Freeman  Clarke  and  Mr.  Phillips,  addressed  the 
House  Judiciary  asking  suffrage  for  women  and  equal  property 
rights  for  wives.  The  next  year  Samuel  E.  Sewall  and  Dr.  Har- 
riot K.  Hunt  were  granted  a  similar  hearing.  In  1869,  through 
the  efforts  of  the  New  England  Suffrage  Association,  two  hear- 
ings were  secured  to  present  the  claims  of  8,000  women  who 
had  petitioned  for  the  franchise  on  the  same  terms  as  men.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  annual  hearings  on  this  question,  which 
have  been  continued  without  intermission  for  over  thirty  years. 
Henry  B.  Blackwell  has  spoken  at  every  hearing  and  Lucy  Stone 
at  every  one  until  her  death. 

1884 — Petitions  were  presented  for  Municipal  Suffrage,  for 
the  appointment  of  police  matrons ;  also  for  laws  permitting  hus- 
bands and  wives  to  contract  with  each  other  and  make  gifts 
directly  to  each  other;  allowing  a  woman  to  hold  any  office  to 
which  she  might  be  elected  or  appointed;  and  requiring  that  a 
certain  number  of  women  should  be  appointed  on  Boards  of 
Overseers  of  the  Poor,  on  State  Boards  of  Charities  and  as 
physicians  in  the  women's  wards  of  insane  asylums.  Hearings 
were  given  on  most  of  these  petitions.  At  that  of  January  25 
for  Municipal  Suffrage  the  speakers  were  William  I.  Bowditch, 
Mrs.  Stone,  Mr.  Blackwell,  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe,  Mrs.  Ednah 
D.  Cheney,  the  Rev.  J.  W.  and  Mrs.  Jennie  F.  Bashford,  Mary 
F.  Eastman,  Mrs.  H.  H.  Robinson,  Mrs.  Harriette  Robinson 
Shattuck  and  Miss  Nancy  Covell. 

On  January  29  a  hearing  was  given  to  the  remonstrants  con- 
ducted by  Thornton  K.  Lothrop.  The  speakers  were  Francis 
Parkman  (whose  paper  was  read  for  him  by  Mr.  Lothrop) 
Louis  B.  Brandeis,  Mrs.  Kate  Gannett  Wells,  William  H.  Say- 
ward,  Mrs.  Lydia  Warner  and  George  C.  Crocker.  A  letter 
was  read  from  Mrs.  Clara  T.  Leonard.  Mr.  Parkman  asserted 
that  the  suffragists  "have  thrown  to  the  wind  every  political,  not 
to  say  every  moral  principle ;"  that  "three- fourths  of  the  agitators 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 46 


722  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

are  in  mutinv  against  Providence  because  it  made  them  women ;' 
and  that  "if  the  ballot  were  granted  to  women  it  would  be  a 
burden  so  crushing  that  life  would  be  a  misery." 

This  year  315  petitions  for  suffrage  with  21,608  signature 
were  presented.  The  remonstrants  who  set  out  with  the  avowed 
intention  of  getting  more  secured  about  3,000.  A  number  of 
persons  who  signed  the  anti-suffrage  petition  in  Boston  published 
letters  afterwards  over  their  own  names  and  addresses  saying 
that  they  had  signed  without  reading,  upon  the  assurance  of  the 
canvasser  employed  by  the  remonstrants  that  it  was  a  petition 
to  permit  women  to  vote  on  the  question  of  liquor  license. 

In  the  House  Municipal  Suffrage  was  discussed  March  12,  13, 
and  finally  was  defeated  by  61  yeas,  155  nays.  A  bill  to  let 
women  vote  on  the  license  question,  which  had  not  been  asked  for 
by  the  suffrage  association,  was  voted  down  without  a  count. 

A  law  was  enacted  requiring  two  women  trustees  on  the 
board  of  every  State  lunatic  hospital,  and  one  woman  physician 
in  each.  Samuel  E.  Sewall,  Frank  B.  Sanborn,  Mr.  Blackwell 
and  Miss  Mary  A.  Brigham  had  been  the  speakers  at  the  hearing 
in  behalf  of  this  measure.  All  the  other  petitions  were  refused. 

1885 — On  Municipal  Suffrage  and  the  submission  of  a  con- 
stitutional amendment  a  hearing  was  given  February  17.  As 
usual  the  Green  Room  was  crowded.  There  were  before  the 
committee  petitions  for  suffrage  with  16,113  signatures,  and  pe- 
titions against  it  with  285.  The  speakers  in  favor  were  the  Rev. 
James  Freeman  Clarke,  Mrs.  Cheney,  Lucy  Stone,  Mr.  Black- 
well,  Mr.  Bowditch,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Jr.,  Miss  Eastman, 
Mrs.  Adelaide  A.  Claflin,  Mrs.  Abby  M.  Gannett  and  Miss  Lelia 
J.  Robinson.  The  opposition  was  conducted  by  Mr.  Brandeis 
and  the  speakers  were  Judge  Francis  C.  Lowell,  Mrs.  Gannett 
Wells,  Thomas  Weston,  Jr.,  Henry  Parkman  and  the  Rev.  Brooke 
Hereford,  lately  from  England,  with  letters  from  President  L. 
Clark  Seelye  of  Smith  College,  Miss  Mary  E.  Dewey  and  Mr. 
Sayward.  The  committee  reported  in  favor  of  Municipal  Suf- 
frage with  only  one  dissenting.  The  House  on  May  4  rejected 
the  bill  by  6 1  yeas,  131  nays. 

While  the  women  sat  in  the  gallery  waiting  for  the  measure 
to  be  discussed,  the  bill  proposing  to  limit  the  working  day  for 


MASSACHUSETTS.  723 

women  and  children  to  ten  hours  was  "guyed,  laughed  at  and 
voted  down  amid  ridicule  and  uproar."  This  Legislature  also 
refused  the  petition  of  Mr.  Sewall  and  others  for  one  or  more 
women  on  every  Board  of  Overseers  of  the  Poor ;  for  the  better 
protection  of  wives ;  for  the  submission  of  a  constitutional  amend- 
ment granting  women  full  suffrage;  and  for  the  amendment  of 
the  school  suffrage  law  to  make  it  as  easy  for  women  as  for  men 
to  register.  (See  Suffrage.) 

1886 — At  the  hearing,  January  28,  a  letter  was  read  from  the 
Hon.  Josiah  G.  Abbott,  and  addresses  were  made  by  Mr,  Garri- 
son, Lucy  Stone,  Mr.  Blackwell,  Mrs.  Cheney,  Mrs.  Eliza  Trask 
Hill,  the  Rev.  Ada  C  Bowles,  Mrs.  Shattuck,  Mrs.  Robinson, 
Miss  Eastman  and  Mrs.  Claflin.  The  remonstrants'  hearing 
had  been  appointed  for  January  29.  Their  attorney,  E.  N.  Hill, 
tried  at  the  last  moment  to  get  a  postponement  but  failed.  The 
leaders  of  the  "antis"  declined  to  speak  but  several  of  the  rank 
and  file  appeared  and  made  the  usual  objections.  The  committee 
reported  in  favor  of  Municipal  Suffrage.  It  was  discussed  in 
the  House  April  14,  about  the  same  number  speaking  on  each 
side,  and  defeated  by  77  yeas,  132  nays,  the  most  favorable  vote 
since  1879. 

On  May  20,  before  the  Senate  Judiciary  Committee,  represent- 
atives of  the  suffrage  association  and  other  societies  had  a  hear- 
ing in  behalf  of  bills  to  raise  the  "age  of  protection"  and  to  pro- 
vide adequate  penalties  for  seduction,  but  no  action  was  taken. 

1887 — On  January  6  Governor  Oliver  Ames,  in  his  inaugural 
address  to  the  Legislature,  said,  "I  earnestly  recommend,  as  a 
measure  of  simple  justice,  the  enactment  of  a  law  securing  Mu- 
nicipal Suffrage  to  women."  The  suffrage  petitions  this  year 
had  5,741  signatures,  the  remonstrant  petitions  81.  On  Febru- 
ary 2  it  was  ordered  in  the  House,  on  motion  of  Josiah  Quincy, 
that  the  Committee  on  Woman  Suffrage  consider  the  expediency 
of  submitting  the  question  of  Municipal  Suffrage  to  the  women 
of  the  different  cities  and  towns,  the  right  to  be  given  to  them  in 
any  city  or  town  where  the  majority  of  those  who  voted  on  the 
question  should  vote  in  favor;  or  where  a  number  of  women 
should  petition  for  it  equal  to  a  majority  of  the  number  of  men 
who  voted  at  the  last  annual  municipal  or  town  election;  or 


724 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


where  a  majority  vote  of  the  men  should  be  given  for  it  at  the 
annual  election. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Quincy  an  order  for  legislation  to  equalize 
the  interest  of  husbands  and  wives  in  each  other's  property  had 
been  previously  introduced  but  was  lost. 

On  February  9  a  hearing  was  given  to  the  petitioners.  The 
speakers  were  the  same  as  the  previous  year  with  the  addition 
of  Col.  T.  W.  Higginson.  Mr.  Black  well  presented  two  letters 
in  favor  of  the  bill,  one  addressed  to  Republicans,  one  to  Demo- 
crats.* Clement  K.  Fay  spoke  for  the  remonstrants. 

The  committee  reported  in  favor  of  Municipal  Suffrage,  two 
dissenting.  It  was  discussed  in  the  House  March  3  and  10. 
Mr.  Bailey  of  Everett  offered  an  amendment  that  the  provisions 
of  the  bill  be  tried  for  ten  years,  but  it  was  not  put  to  a  vote. 
The  bill  was  lost  by  86  yeas,  122  nays,  including  pairs. 

A  bill  to  let  women  vote  on  the  license  question  passed  the 
House  by  116  yeas  to  88  nays,  including  pairs,  but  was  defeated 
in  the  Senate,  24  yeas,  13  nays. 

The  bill  was  passed  providing  for  police  matrons  in  all  citie 
of  30,000  or  more  inhabitants. 

1888 — The  Legislature  was  asked  for  Municipal  and  Presiden- 
tial Suffrage  and  for  the  submission  of  a  constitutional  amend- 
ment; also  for  various  improvements  in  the  laws  relating  tc 
women.  The  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  petitione 
for  License  Suffrage.  Several  thousand  women  signed  the 
tition  and  one  hundred  the  remonstrance.  On  January  25 
hearing  was  given  on  the  petitions  for  Municipal  and  Licens 
Suffrage.  Mr.  Bowditch,  Lucy  Stone,  Mr.  Blackwell,  Mi 
Howe  and  Mrs.  Cheney  spoke  for  Municipal  Suffrage  and  Mis 
Elizabeth  S.  Tobey  for  License  Suffrage.  Mr.  Brandeis  made 
an  argument  as  attorney  for  the  remonstrants.  Charles  Carletor 
Coffin,  A.  A.  Miner,  D.  D.,  Mrs.  Claflin,  the  Rev.  Ada  C.  Bowie 
and  Miss  Cora  Scott  Pond  replied  for  the  petitioners. 

On  February  20  and  25  hearings  were  given  on  the  petitions 

*  The  one  to  the  Republican  members  was  signed  by  Alanson  W.  Beard,  William  Claflir 
William  W.  Crapo,  Henry  L.  Dawes,  Frank  P.  Gouldmg,  Thomas  N.  Hart,  George  F. 
Hoar,  John  D.  Long,  Samuel  May,  Adin  Thayer  and  John  G.  Whittier;  the  other  to  th 
Democratic  by  Josiah  G.  Abbott,  Edward  Avery,  John  M.  Corse,  John  E.  Fitzgerald,  John 
Hopkins,  George  E.  McNeil,  Bushrod  Morse,  Frederick  O.  Prince,  Albert  Palmer  and 
Charles  H.  Taylor. 


MASSACHUSETTS.  725 

for  six  bills  drawn  by  Mr.  Sewall:  i.  To  give  mothers  the 
equal  care,  custody  and  education  of  their  minor  children.  2. 
To  give  married  women  a  right  to  appoint  guardians  for  their 
minor  children  by  will.  3.  To  repeal  the  act  of  1887  limiting 
the  inheritance  of  personal  property.  4.  To  regulate  and  equal- 
ize the  descent  of  personal  property  between  husband  and  wife. 
5.  To  equalize  curtesy  and  dower  and  the  descent  of  real  estate 
between  husband  and  wife.  6.  To  enable  husbands  and  wives 
to  make  gifts,  contracts  and  conveyances  directly  with  one  an- 
other, and  to  authorize  suits  between  them. 

Addresses  in  support  of  the  petitions  were  made  by  Mr.  Sewall, 
Mrs.  Howe,  Mrs.  Stone,  Mr.  Blackwell,  the  Hon.  George  A.  O. 
Ernst,  Miss  Robinson,  George  H.  Fall  and  others.  All  these 
measures  were  refused.  Several  new  statutes  for  the  better  pro- 
tection of  women  were  passed  this  year,  however,  at  the  instance 
of  Mr.  Sewall,  among  them  one  providing  severe  penalties  for 
any  person  who  should  aid  in  sending  a  woman  as  inmate  or  serv- 
ant to  a  house  of  ill  fame ;  one  prohibiting  railroads  from  requir- 
ing women  or  children  to  ride  in  smoking  cars ;  one  providing  that 
women  arrested  should  be  placed  in  charge  of  police  matrons. 

On  April  23  Municipal  Suffrage  was  defeated  in  the  House, 
50  yeas,  121  nays.  License  Suffrage,  after  a  prolonged  contest, 
passed  by  118  yeas,  no  nays,  and  was  defeated  in  the  Senate, 
20  yeas,  19  nays. 

1889 — At  the  hearing  of  January  3 1  the  attendance  was  larger 
than  ever  before.  Prof.  W.  H.  Carruth,  Franklyn  Howland 
and  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Hamilton  (afterwards  Bishop  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church)  were  added  to  the  usual  list  of  speakers. 

On  February  4  a  hearing  was  granted  to  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  for 
Municipal  Suffrage,  and  on  February  8  one  was  given  to  the 
remonstrants.  The  Hon.  John  M.  Ropes,  the  Rev.  Charles  B. 
Rice,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Dexter  of  the  Congregationalist  and  Arthur 
Lord  spoke  in  the  negative.  They  said  they  were  employed  as 
counsel  by  the  remonstrants,  whose  names  and  numbers  they 
declined  to  give.  As  Mr.  Lord  was  unable  to  complete  his  argu- 
ment in  the  allotted  time,  at  his  request  a  further  hearing  was 
granted  on  February  n.  Extracts  were  read  from  letters  by 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Mrs.  Clara  T.  Leonard  and  Mrs.  A.  D.  T.  Whitney.*  Mrs. 
Howe,  Lucy  Stone,  Mr.  Blackwell,  Col.  L.  Edwin  Dudley  and 
Miss  Tobey  replied.  Chester  W.  Kingsley,  chairman  of  the 
legislative  committee,  said  that  as  no  petitions  against  suffrage 
had  been  sent  in  he  would  ask  all  the  remonstrants  present  to 
rise.  Not  a  person  rose,  but  the  men  standing  in  the  aisles  tried 
to  sit  down.  Mr.  Lord  suggested  that  the  remonstrants  were 
averse  to  notoriety,  whereupon  Senator  Kingsley  asked  all  in 
favor  to  rise,  and  the  great  audience  rose  in  a  body. 

Among  the  petitions  sent  in  this  year  for  Municipal  Suffrage 
was  one  signed  by  President  Helen  A.  Shafer  of  Wellesley  Col- 
lege, a  number  of  the  professors  and  about  seventy 'students  who 
were  over  twenty-one.  The  committee  reported  in  favor  of  both 
Municipal  and  License  Suffrage.  The  former  was  discussed 
March  12  and  lost  by  a  vote,  including  pairs,  of  90  yeas,  139 
nays.  The  Woman's  Journal  said :  "Although  not  a  majority, 
the  weight  of  character,  talent  and  experience  was  overwhelm- 
ingly in  favor  of  the  bill,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  chair- 
men of  thirty  of  the  House  Committees,  out  of  a  total  of  fo 
one,  were  recorded  in  its  favor." 

License  Suffrage  passed  the  Senate,  15  yeas,  12  nays,  after 
long  fight,  and  was  defeated  in  the  House,  101  yeas,  42  nays. 

1890 — Suffrage  petitions  were  presented  and  also  petitio 
asking  that  fathers  and  mothers  be  made  equal  guardians  o 
their  children;  that  contracts  between  husbands  and  wives 
legally  valid ;  and  that  a  widow  be  allowed  to  stay  more  than  fo 
days  in  the  house  of  her  deceased  husband  without  paying  ren 
All  these  were  refused. 

On  March  12  a  hearing  was  given  to  the  petitioners  for  suf 
frage.  Mrs.  Stone,  Mr.  Blackwell,  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Hamilto 
Mrs.  Ellen  B.  Dietrick,  the  Rev.  Frederick  A.  Hinckley,  Mr 
Crane  of  Woburn  and  Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell  spoke  in  behal 
of  the  W.  S.  A.,  and  Mrs.  Susan  S.  Fessenden,  Mrs.  Amelia 
Thorpe  and  Miss  Tobey  in  behalf  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  Mr 
Ropes,  Dr.  A.  P.  Peabody  and  J.  B.  Wiggin  spoke  against  woma 
suffrage.  Mr.  Lord  asked  that  the  hearing  be  extended  fo 

*  These  letters  have  been  doing  duty  ever  since,  being  quoted  in  adverse  reports  of 
gressional  committees,  Legislatures,  speeches  and  documents  of  the  opponents,  etc. 


MASSACHUSETTS.  727 

another  day,  as  he  wished  to  speak  in  behalf  of  the  remonstrants, 
although  no  petitions  had  been  sent  in.  Mr.  Blackwell  requested 
the  chairman  of  the  committee  to  ask  Mr.  Lord  to  state  definitely 
whom  he  represented.  The  chairman  answered  that  if  he  did  not 
choose  to  tell  he  could  not  compel  him.  On  March  19  a  hearing 
was  given  to  Mr.  Lord,  who  spoke  for  more  than  an  hour.  The 
usual  distinguished  suffrage  advocates  spoke  in  answer. 

On  April  8  seventy-nine  Republican  Representatives  met  at 
the  Parker  House,  Boston,  in  response  to  an  invitation  from  the 
Republican  members  of  the  House  Committee  on  Woman  Suf- 
frage. Ex-Gov.  John  D.  Long  presided.  Addresses  were  made 
by  Mr.  Long,  U.  S.  Collector  Beard,  Mayor  Thomas  N.  Hart 
of  Boston,  the  Hon.  Albert  E.  Pillsbury,  ex-president  of  the  Sen- 
ate, ex-Governor  Claflin  and  State  Treasurer  George  E.  Mar- 
den.  Letters  were  read  from  the  Hon.  W.  W.  Crapo  and  ex- 
Governor  Ames.  The  following  was  unanimously  adopted: 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Republican  party  of  Massa- 
chusetts forthwith  to  extend  Municipal  Suffrage  to  the  women  of 
the  commonwealth. 

On  April  17,  after  extended  discussion  in  the  House,  the  bill 
was  lost,  including  pairs,  by  73  yeas,  141  nays.  The  same  Legis- 
lature defeated  a  proposal  to  disfranchise  for  a  term  of  three 
years  men  convicted  of  infamous  crimes,  and  it  voted  to  admit 
to  suffrage  men  who  did  not  pay  their  poll-tax. 

1891 — On  February  4  a  hearing  was  granted  to  the  petitioners 
for  Municipal  Suffrage,  conducted  by  Mr.  Blackwell  for  the  asso- 
ciation, by  Mrs.  Fessenden  for  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  To  the  usual 
speakers  for  the  former  were  added  Mrs.  Helen  Campbell,  the 
Rev.  Charles  G.  Ames,  and  also  the  Rev.  Daniel  Whitney,  who 
had  advocated  woman  suffrage  in  the  Massachusetts  constitu- 
tional convention  of  1853  and  now  celebrated  his  eighty-first 
birthday  by  supporting  it  again.  The  speakers  for  the  W.  C.  T. 
U.  were  the  Rev.  Joseph  Cook,  Mrs.  Thorpe,  President  Elmer 
Hewitt  Capen  of  Tufts  College,  Mrs.  Katherine  Lente  Steven- 
son and  others.  Mrs.  Martha  Moore  Avery  spoke  for  the  labor 
reformers.  No  remonstrants  appeared. 

In  the  Senate,  March  31,  Senators  Gilman,  Nutter  and  Breed 


728  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

spoke  for  Municipal  Suffrage,  and  no  one  in  the  negative.  The 
bill  was  lost  by  a  vote,  including  pairs,  of  12  yeas,  25  nays. 

This  year  a  bill  was  passed  requiring  the  appointment  of  women 
as  factory  inspectors,  and  two  were  appointed. 

1892 — The  suffrage  association  petitioned  for  Municipal  and 
Full  Suffrage,  also  for  equal  property  rights  for  women.  The 
W.  C.  T.  U.  for  Municipal  and  License  Suffrage,  and  both  socie- 
ties for  legislation  granting  women  equal  facilities  with  men  in 
registering  to  vote  for  school  committee.  On  March  2  a  hearing 
was  given  by  the  Committee  on  Election  Laws  on  an  order  intro- 
duced by  Senator  Gorham  D.  Oilman  to  remove  the  poll-tax 
prerequisite  for  women's  school  vote,  as  it  had  been  removed 
from  men.  Bills  to  secure  for  them  a  more  just  and  liberal 
method  of  registration,  drafted  by  ex-Governor  Long  and  Mr. 
Blackwell,  were  submitted.  Addresses  were  made  by  these  two, 
Senator  Gilman,  Mrs.  Cheney,  Dr.  Salome  Merritt,  Mrs.  Brock- 
way  and  others. 

On  February  19  a  hearing  was  given  on  the  suffrage  petitions 
which  were  advocated  by  Senator  Gilman,  Colonel  Dudley,  Mrs. 
Howe,  Lucy  Stone,  Mr.  Blackwell,  the  Hon.  George  S.  Hale, 
Mrs.  Trask  Hill  and  others.  No  remonstrants  appeared.  On 
March  14  the  hearing  for  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  was  held  with  many 
prominent  advocates. 

License  Suffrage  was  discussed  in  the  House  April  27,  and  on 
a  viva  voce  vote  was  declared  carried,  but  on  a  roll  call  was  de- 
feated, 93  yeas,  96  nays.  A  reconsideration  was  moved  next 
day  and  the  advocates  of  the  bill  secured  twenty-three  additional 
votes,  but  the  opponents  also  increased  their  vote  and  the  motion 
was  refused.  Out  of  the  240  members  117  recorded  themselves 
in  favor  of  the  bill.  Municipal  Suffrage  was  voted  down  in 
the  Senate  May  2,  without  debate,  by  10  yeas,  22  nays. 

The  poll-tax  was  abolished  as  a  prerequisite  for  voting  in  the 
case  of  women.  This  had  been  done  in  the  case  of  men  in  1890. 
A  bill  to  permit  a  wife  to  bring  an  action  against  her  husband, 
at  law  or  in  equity,  for  any  matter  relating  to  her  separate  prop- 
erty or  estate  passed  the  House  but  was  defeated  in  the  Senate. 
The  Senate  Judiciary  Committee  reported  against  legislation  to 
enable  a  woman  to  be  appointed  a  justice  of  the  peace. 


MASSACHUSETTS.  729 

1893 — This  year  for  the  first  time  the  State  W.  S.  A.,  the 
National  W.  S.  A.  of  Massachusetts,  the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  the  Inde- 
pendent Women  Voters  and  the  Loyal  Women  of  American 
Liberty  all  united  in  petitioning  for  a  single  measure,  Municipal 
Suffrage.  The  hearing  at  the  State  House  on  February  i  was 
conducted  by  Mr.  Blackwell.  Addresses  were  made  by  Lucy 
Stone,*  Mrs.  Howe,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  Mrs.  Stevenson, 
the  Rev.  Louis  A.  Banks,  Mayor  Elihu  B.  Hayes  of  Lynn,  Mrs. 
A.  J.  Gordon,  Mrs.  Trask  Hill,  Mrs.  A.  P.  Dickerman,  Mrs. 
Fiske  of  St.  Johns,  N.  B.,  Amos  Beckford,  George  E.  Lothrop, 
Mrs.  M.  E.  S.  Cheney  and  Miss  Blackwell.  Mrs.  M.  E.  Tucker 
Faunce  was  the  sole  remonstrant. 

The  committee  reported  in  favor  of  the  petitioners,  7  yeas,  4 
nays.  The  question  was  debated  in  the  Legislature  February  2 1 . 
Every  inch  of  space  was  crowded,  the  first  three  rows  of  the 
men's  gallery  were  allowed  on  this  occasion  to  be  occupied  by 
women  and  even  then  many  stood.  On  motion  of  Representative 
White  of  Brookline  an  amendment  was  adopted  by  no  yeas,  90 
nays,  providing  that  Municipal  Suffrage  should  be  granted  con- 
ditionally; the  question  be  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  men  and 
women  of  the  State,  and  the  measure  to  go  into  effect  only  in  case 
the  majority  of  those  voting  on  it  voted  in  favor.  The  bill  as 
amended  was  then  defeated  by  in  yeas,  101  nays,  almost  every 
opponent  of  suffrage  voting  against  it.  They  thus  virtually  de- 
clared that  they  were  not  willing  women  should  have  Municipal 
Suffrage  even  if  the  majority  of  both  men  and  women  could  be 
shown  to  favor  it.  The  adverse  majority  this  year  was  ten  votes ; 
the  smallest  in  any  previous  year  had  been  49. 

1894 — Gov.  Frederick  T.  Greenhalge,  in  his  inaugural  mes- 
sage to  the  Legislature,  strongly  urged  that  it  should  consider 
the  extension  of  Municipal  Suffrage  to  women. 

On  January  18  a  hearing  was  given  by  the  Joint  Special  Com- 
mittee. No  remonstrant  petitions  had  been  sent  in.  The  chair- 
man invited  alternate  speeches  from  suffragists  and  opponents, 
but  only  one  of  the  latter  presented  himself,  J.  Otis  Wardwell  of 
Haverhill,  who  said  • 

*  This  was  the  last  time  Lucy  Stone  addressed  a  legislative  committee.  She  had  pre- 
sented her  first  plea  in  1857.  Every  year  since  1869  she  had  made  her  annual  pilgrimage 
to  the  State  House  to  ask  for  the  rights  of  women. 


73O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

I  appear  here  this  morning  for  a  lady  who,  I  understand,  has 
occupied  a  position  as  chairman  or  secretary  of  an  organization  that 
has  for  some  time  been  an  active  opponent  of  woman  suffrage. 

MR.  BLACKWELL — May  I  inquire  what  the  organization  is  that  the 
gentleman  refers  to?  We  have  never  been  able  to  find  out  much 
about  this  organization  against  woman  suffrage.  We  hear  that 
there  is  one,  but  if  so  it  is  a  secret  society.  What  is  the  name  of  it  ? 

MR.  WARDWELL — I  do  not  know  the  name  of  it,  sir.     [Laughter.] 

When  pressed  for  the  name  of  the  lady  at  whose  request  he 
appeared  he  finally  acknowledged  that  it  was  Mrs.  C.  D.  Homans 
of  Boston.  It  was  afterwards  reported  that  she  was  extremely 
indignant  with  him  for  having  disclosed  her  name. 

Addresses  in  favor  of  suffrage  were  made  by  Mrs.  Howe,  Mrs. 
Livermore,  Mr.  Ernst,  Mr.  Garrison,  Mr.  and  Miss  Blackwell, 
for  the  State  W.  S.  A. ;  by  Mrs.  Cheney,  president,  for  the  State 
School  Suffrage  Association;  by  Dr.  Salome  Merritt  and  Miss 
Charlotte  Lobdell  for  the  National  W.  S.  A.  of  Massachusetts; 
by  Willard  Rowland,  Mrs.  Gleason  and  others  for  the  W.  C.  T. 
U. ;  by  Mrs.  Trask  Hill  for  the  Independent  Women  Voters ;  and 
by  Mrs.  Avery  for  the  labor  element;  also  by  Miss  Catherine 
Spence  of  Australia,  Mrs.  Emily  A.  Fifield  of  the  Boston 
school  board,  and  others.  Henry  H.  Faxon  added  a  few  words. 

A  second  hearing  was  given  January  19,  at  which  Mrs.  Fes- 
senden  and  twelve  other  speakers  represented  the  W.  C.  T.  U. 
No  remonstrants  appeared.  At  the  request  of  a  member  of 
the  Joint  Special  Committee  a  third  hearing  was  given  on  Janu- 
ary 29.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Hamilton,  Mrs.  L.  A.  Morrison,  Mrs. 
Trask  Hill  and  others  spoke  in  favor  of  suffrage,  and  Jeremiah 
J.  Donovan  against  it.  The  committee  made  a  majority  report 
against  Municipal  Suffrage  and  a  minority  report  in  favor. 

On  January  31  Arthur  S.  Kneil  offered  an  amendment  pro- 
viding that  the  question  should  be  submitted  to  the  men  and 
women  of  the  State,  and  that  the  act  should  take  effect  only  if 
a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  on  the  proposition  were  in  favor. 
Wm.  H.  Burges  wanted  it  submitted  to  the  men  only.  A  second 
amendment  proposed  to  lay  the  whole  jnatter  on  the  table  till 
the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  could  be  taken  on  the  consti- 
tutionality of  Mr.  Kneil's  amendment.  On  February  i  there  was 
a  spirited  discussion  but  finally  both  amendments  were  defeated. 


MASSACHUSETTS.  731 

and  the  minority  report  in  favor  of  the  bill  was  substituted  for 
the  adverse  majority  report  by  a  vote  of  104  yeas,  90  nays. 

On  February  2  Senator  Arthur  H.  Wellman  urged  the  adop- 
tion of  his  order  that  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  should 
be  required  to  give  their  opinion  to  the  House  on  three  questions : 

1.  Is  it  constitutional,  in  an  act  granting  to  women  the  right  to 
vote  in  town  and  city  elections,  to  provide  that  such  act  shall  take 
effect  throughout  the  commonwealth  upon  its  acceptance  by  a  ma- 
jority of  the  voters  of  the  commonwealth  ? 

2.  Is  it  constitutional  to  provide  in  such  an  act  that  it  shall  take 
effect  in  a  city  or  town  upon  its  acceptance  by  a  majority  of  the 
voters  of  such  city  or  town? 

3.  Is  it  constitutional  to  provide  that  such  an  act  shall  take  effect 
throughout  the  commonwealth  upon  its  acceptance  by  a  majority  of 
the  voters  of  the  commonwealth,  including  women  specially  author- 
ized to  register  and  vote  upon  this  question  ? 

Alfred  S.  Roe  and  the  other  leading  advocates  of  Municipal 
Suffrage  withdrew  their  opposition  to  the  order,  saying  that  they 
preferred  the  bill  as  it  stood,  but  that  if  amendments  were  to  be 
added  to  it  at  any  subsequent  stage  it  would  be  well  to  know 
whether  they  were  constitutional.  The  order  was  adopted. 

On  March  3  four  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court — Field,  Allen, 
Morton  and  Lathrop — answered  "No"  to  all  three  questions. 
Justices  Holmes  and  Barker  answered  "Yes"  to  all  three;  and 
Justice  Knowlton  answered  "No"  to  the  first  and  third  and 
"Yes"  to  the  second.  These  opinions  were  published  in  full  in 
the  Woman's  Journal  of  March  10,  i8Q4. 

On  March  14  Municipal  Suffrage  was  discussed  in  open  ses- 
sion. An  amendment  was  offered  to  limit  the  right  to  taxpaying 
women  and  a  substitute  bill  to  allow  women  to  vote  at  one  elec- 
tion only.  The  latter  was  offered  by  Richard  J.  Hayes  of  Bos- 
ton, who  said,  "You  would  see  the  lowest  women  literally  driven 
to  the  polls  by  thousands  by  mercenary  politicians.  The  object 
lesson  would  settle  the  question  forever."  The  amendment  and 
the  substitute  were  lost  and  the  bill  was  passed  to  its  third  read- 
ing by  a  vote,  including  pairs,  of  122  yeas,  106  nays. 

On  March  29  the  galleries  were  crowded  with  women.  Rich- 
ard Sullivan  of  Boston  offered  an  additional  section  that  the 
question  be  submitted  to  the  men  at  the  November  election  for  an 
expression  of  opinion.  This  was  adopted  by  109  yeas,  93  nays. 


732  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  bill  to  grant  women  Municipal  Suffrage  at  once,  irrespective 
of  what  the  expression  of  opinion  in  November  might  be,  was 
then  passed  to  be  engrossed,  by  a  vote,  including  pairs,  of  118 
yeas,  107  nays.  A  motion  to  reconsider  was  voted  down. 

On  April  5  the  bill  came  up  in  the  Senate.  Floor  and  galleries 
were  crowded  and  hundreds  were  turned  away.  Senator  Will- 
iam B.  Lawrence  of  Medford,  a  distiller,  offered  as  a  substitute 
for  the  bill  a  proposal  to  submit  the  question  to  the  men  at  the 
November  election  for  an  expression  of  opinion  as  a  guide  to 
action  by  the  next  Legislature.  He  said  it  was  absurd  to  grant 
women  the  suffrage  first  and  call  for  an  expression  of  opinion 
by  the  men  afterward.  The  vote  on  the  substitute  was  a  tie,  19 
yeas,  19  nays.  To  relieve  the  president  of  the  Senate  from  the 
necessity  of  voting  Senator  John  F.  Fitzgerald  changed  his  vote, 
but  Senator  Butler  declined  to  be  so  relieved  and  gave  his  casting 
vote  against  the  substitute.  The  bill  for  Municipal  Suffrage  was 
then  defeated  by  14  yeas,  24  nays. 

The  Boston  Herald,  of  April  9,  had  an  editorial  entitled  Liquor 
and  Woman  Suffrage,  expressing  satisfaction  in  the  defeat  of 
the  bill  but  emphatic  disapproval  of  the  corrupt  methods  used 
against  it  in  the  Senate.  A  majority  of  the  Senators  had  prom- 
ised to  vote  for  it  but  the  Liquor  Dealer's  Association  raised  a 
large  sum  of  money  to  accomplish  its  defeat,  a  persistent  lobby 
worked  against  it  and  several  Senators  changed  front.  The 
Herald  plainly  intimated  that  the  result  was  due  to  bribery. 

The  credit  of  the  unusually  good  vote  in  the  House  in  1893 
and  '94  was  largely  due  to  Representative  Alfred  S.  Roe  of 
Worcester,  an  able  member,  highly  esteemed  and  very  popular, 
who  worked  for  the  bill  with  the  utmost  zeal  and  perseverance. 

There  were  petitions  this  year  from  many  different  organiza- 
tions representing  a  vast  aggregate  membership.  On  June  9 
a  bill  to  allow  women  to  be  no  ies  public  was  defeated  in  the 
Senate  by  10  yeas,  12  nays. 

1895. — On  January  30  a  great  hearing  was  held  in  old  Rep- 
resentatives' Hall  at  the  State  House,  with  floor,  aisles  and  gal- 
leries crowded  to  the  utmost  capacity.  Senator  Alpheus  M. 
Eldridge  presided  and  Mrs.  Livermore,  as  president  of  the  State 
Association,  conducted  the  hearing  for  the  five  organizations 


MASSACHUSETTS.  733 

that  appeared  as  petitioners.  Addresses  were  made  by  Lady 
Henry  Somerset,  Mrs.  Howe,  Mr.  Blackwell,  Profs.  Hayes  and 
Webster  of  Wellesley  College,  Mrs.  Fessenden,  Mrs.  Trask  Hill, 
Mrs.  Emily  McLaughlin,  Mrs.  Boland,  John  Dean,  F.  C.  Nash, 
Frank  H.  Foster,  chairman  of  the  legislative  committee  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor  for  Massachusetts,  James  F.  Nor- 
ton, the  representative  of  10,000  Good  Templars. 

No  opposing  petitions  had  been  sent  in  but  Thomas  Russell 
appeared  as  attorney  for  the  remonstrants  and  said :  "Believing 
as  they  do  that  the  proper  place  for  women  is  not  in  public  urging 
or  remonstrating  against  legislation  before  public  gatherings, 
but  rather  in  the  home,  the  hospital,  the  school,  the  public  insti- 
tution where  sin  and  suffering  are  to  be  found  and  to  be  allevi- 
ated, they  have  not  themselves  appeared  before  you" — but  had 
sent  him.*  Representative  Roe  said  that  the  lawyer  who  had 
spoken  for  the  remonstrants  at  the  hearing  of  1894  had  received 
$500  for  his  services,  and  asked  Mr.  Russell  if  he  appeared  in 
the  same  capacity.  He  answered  that  no  compensation  had  been 
promised  him,  and  that  he  did  not  mean  to  accept  any.  He 
added:  "I  represent  no  organization,  anything  more  than  an 
informal  gathering  of  ladies,  and  as  for  the  numbers  I  can  not 
state.  But  I  do  not  come  here  basing  my  claim  to  be  heard  on 
the  numbers  of  those  who  have  asked  me  to  appear.  It  is  the 
justice  of  the  cause  which  I  speak  upon  that  entitles  me  to  a 
hearing,  as  it  would  if  there  were  no  one  but  myself." 

Later  twelve  remonstrances  were  sent  in,  signed  by  748 
women.  For  suffrage  there  were  210  petitions  from  186  towns 
and  cities  representing  133,111  individuals,  men  and  women. 

The  opposition,  alarmed  by  the  large  affirmative  vote  of  1894, 
this  year  put  forth  unprecedented  efforts.  Daily  papers  were 
paid  for  publishing  voluminous  letters  against  suffrage — some- 
times of  four  columns — and  an  active  and  unscrupulous  lobby 
worked  against  the  bill.  For  the  first  time  in  history  an  anti- 
suffrage  association  was  formed  within  the  Legislature  itself. 
Representatives  Dallinger,  Humphrey,  Bancroft  of  Clinton, 
Eddy  of  New  Bedford,  and  others,  organized  themselves  into 

*  The  remonstrants  in  past  years  had  gone  repeatedly  before  legislative  committees,  and 
since  1897  they  have  appeared  and  spoken  every  year  in  opposition  to  any  form  of  suffrage 
for  women. 


734  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

a  society,  elected  a  chairman  and  secretary  and  worked  strenu- 
ously and  systematically,  making  a  thorough  canvass  of  the 
House  and  pledging  as  many  members  as  possible  to  vote  "No." 

The  suffragists  made  the  mistake  of  devoting  their  attention 
mainly  to  the  Senate,  where  it  was  expected  that  the  bill  would 
come  up  first,  and  where  it  was  believed  that  the  main  difficulty 
would  be,  but  on  March  5  the  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  was 
brought  up  in  the  House.  Every  inch  of  space  was  crowded 
with  spectators.  After  much  discussion  the  bill  was  defeated 
by  137  yeas,  97  nays. 

On  March  13  a  bill  to  raise  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls 
from  1 6  to  18  years  was  defeated  by  108  yeas,  55  nays. 

On  May  17  Senator  Wellman's  bill  for  a  "mock  referendum" 
was  adopted  by  the  Legislature.  It  proposed  to  take  a  vote  of 
the  men  and  women  of  the  State  on  the  question  "Is  it  expedient 
that  Municipal  Suffrage  should  be  extended  to  women?" 

THE  MOCK  REFERENDUM:  This  is  called  by  the  advocates 
of  equal  rights  a  "mock  referendum"  because  it  was  to  have  no 
legal  validity  and  was  to  give  the  women  nothing  even  if  it 
should  be  carried  in  their  favor.  The  Woman's  Journal  said : 

Two  years  ago  an  amendment  was  added  to  the  Municipal  Suf- 
frage Bill  providing  that  it  should  become  law  when  ratified  by  a 
vote  of  the  majority  of  the  men  and  women  of  the  State.  Nearly 
every  opponent  in  the  House  voted  against  the  bill  after  that  amend- 
ment had  been  incorporated,  showing  clearly  that  they  were  not 
willing  to  let  women  have  suffrage  even  if  a  majority  of  the  men  and 
women  of  the  State  should  vote  for  it.  It  was  then  believed  that 
such  action  would  be  constitutional.  The  Supreme  Court  after- 
wards gave  its  opinion  that  Municipal  Suffrage  could  not  be  ex- 
tended by  a  popular  vote  of  either  the  men  or  the  women,  or  both, 
but  must  be  extended,  if  at  all,  by  the  Legislature.  Following  that 
decision,  the  opponents  have  become  clamorous  for  a  popular  vote. 

The  suffragists,  who,  beginning  in  1869,  had  petitioned  year 
after  year  for  the  submission  to  the  voters  of  a  legal  and  straight- 
forward constitutional  amendment,  which  would  give  womc 
the  ballot  if  the  majority  voted  for  it,  were  disgusted  with  this 
sham  substitution.  Mrs.  Livermore,  the  State  president,  de- 
clared that  she  would  neither  take  part  in  the  mock  vote  herself 
nor  advise  others  to  do  so.  This  feeling  was  so  general  that  at 
the  last  meeting  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  W.  S.  A.  for 


MASSACHUSETTS.  735 

the  season,  in  June,  it  was  found  impossible  even  to  pass  a  reso- 
lution recommending  those  men  and  women  who  favored  equal 
suffrage  to  go  to  the  polls  and  say  so. 

A  number  of  individual  suffragists,  however,  believed  that  ad- 
vantage should  be  taken  of  the  chance  to  make  an  educational 
campaign  and,  as  the  Woman's  Journal  of  June  8  said,  "to  use 
the  opportunity  for  what  it  is  worth  as  a  means  of  agitation." 
Therefore  a  Suffrage  Referendum  State  Committee  was  formed 
o'f  more  than  fifty  prominent  men  and  women,  including  U.  S. 
Senator  Hoar,  ex-Governor  Long,  the  Hon.  J.  Q.  A.  Brackett, 
Mrs.  Howe,  Mrs.  Livermore,  Mrs.  Fannie  B.  Ames,  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Stuart  Phelps  Ward,  the  editors  of  the  Woman's  Journal 
and  others.  Mrs.  Mary  Clarke  Smith  was  employed  as  organ- 
izer, beginning  July  10,  and  as  good  a  campaign  was  made  as 
the  circumstances  permitted.  By  the  time  the  executive  commit- 
tee reassembled  in  October,  every  one  had  become  convinced  of 
the  wisdom  of  this  course,  and  the  State  Suffrage  Association 
and  the  Referendum  Committee  worked  hand  in  hand  during  the 
last  few  weeks  before  election.  It  was  a  disadvantage  that  the 
bill  for  the  "mock  referendum"  was  passed  just  before  people 
went  away  for  the  summer,  and  that  the  vote  was  to  be  taken 
soon  after  they  came  back  in  the  fall;  nevertheless,  a  spirited 
campaign  was  made,  a  large  number  of  meetings  and  rallies 
were  held  and  a  great  quantity  of  literature  was  distributed. 

About  six  weeks  before  election  a  Man  Suffrage  Association 
was  formed  with  Francis  C.  Lowell  as  chairman,  Thomas  Rus- 
sell as  treasurer  and  Charles  R.  Saunders  as  salaried  secretary.* 
This  society  was  composed  wholly  of  men.  It  sent  out  an  enor- 
mous number  of  circulars  and  other  documents,  spent  money 
like  water,  enlisted  active  political  workers,  utilized  to  a  consid- 
erable extent  the  party  "machines,"  and  as  far  as  possible  secured 
a  committee  of  men  to  work  at  each  polling  place  on  election  day 
and  roll  up  a  large  negative  vote  of  men.  It  contained  a  number 
of  influential  politicians  who  displayed  much  skill  in  their  tactics. 
They  published  a  manifesto  against  equal  rights  signed  by  one 

*  Mr.  Saunders,  when  asked  by  a  reporter  of  the  Boston  Record  if  it  was  true  that  he 
received  $150  per  month  for  his  services,  declined  to  say,  but  stated  that  he  should  con- 
sider that  a  small  amount,  as  he  was  giving  practically  all  of  his  time  and  effort 


736  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

hundred  prominent  men.  The  Woman's  Journal,  which  printed 
this  document  on  October  19,  said : 

In  the  main  the  protest  represents  merely  money  and  social  posi- 
tion. There  are  half-a-dozen  names  on  it  which  it  is  a  pity  and  a 
shame  to  see  there.  All  the  rest  were  to  be  expected.  They  are 
men  whose  opinion  would  be  of  weight  on  questions  of  stocks  and 
bonds,  but  whose  opinion  on  questions  of  moral  reform  has  only  a 

minus  value Its  signers  have  pilloried  themselves  for 

posterity.  It  is  regarded  as  discourteous  to-day  to  remind  President 
Eliot  of  Harvard  that  his  father  was  the  only  member  of  Congress 
from  Massachusetts  who  voted  for  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  Forty 
years  hence  it  will  be  regarded  as  cruel  to  remind  the  children  of 
these  gentlemen  [among  whom  was  President  Eliot]  that  their 
fathers  put  their  names  to  a  protest  against  equal  rights  for  women. 

At  first  the  two  anti-suffrage  associations,  the  men's  and  the 
women's,  co-operated  with  the  suffragists  in  getting  up  debates; 
but  no  man  ever  consented  to  take  part  in  one  against  suffrage 
a  second  time,  and  toward  the  end  of  the  campaign  it  became 
almost  impossible  to  secure  speakers  in  the  negative.  Both  sides 
published  appeals  and  counter-appeals  and  the  question  was  dis 
cussed  in  the  press,  at  public  meetings  and  in  social  circles  to 
extent  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  the  State.  Even  1 
advertisements  in  the  street  cars  began  with  the  query  in  la 
letters,  Should  Women  Vote?  in  order  to  attract  attention  to 
particular  brand  of  soap,  etc. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  canvass  the  opponents  of  suffraj 
circulated  pledges  for  signature  by  women  promising  to  vot 
"No"  in  November,*  but  they  soon  became  convinced  that  in  try- 
ing to  get  out  a  large  vote  of  women  against  suffrage  they  hac 
undertaken  more  than  they  could  accomplish.     The  Massachi 
setts  Association  Opposed  to  the  Further  Extension  of  Suffraj 
to  Women  supplied  in  plate  form  to  a  large  number  of  State 
pers  a  series  of  articles  one  of  which  urged  women  to  expres 
themselves  against  suffrage,  warned  them  that  "silence  will 
cited  as  consent,"  and  said :    "It  is  our  duty  in  any  clear  and  for 
ible  way  that  presents  itself,  to  say  'I  am  not  sure  that  our  coi 
try  should  run  this  enormous  new  risk.' ' 

The  "antis"  have  since  asserted  that  in  saying  "in  any  cle 

•  The  M.  A.  O.  F.  E.   S.  W.  says  that  this  was  not  done  by  the  association  official!] 
It  was  certainly  done  by  some  of  its  prominent  members. 


MASSACHUSETTS.  737 

and  forcible  way  that  presents  itself,"  they  did  not  mean  to  in- 
clude the  most  obvious  way,  i.  e.,  by  voting  "No"  when  given  an 
opportunity  by  the  Legislature  to  do  so.  Later  in  the  campaign 
they  issued  a  manifesto  declaring  that  they  did  not  urge  women 
to  register  or  vote,  and  that  silence  was  not  to  be  interpreted  as 
consent.  And  finally,  just  before  registration  closed  in  Boston 
and  the  other  cities,  when  it  was  clear  that  the  majority  of  women 
were  not  going  to  register  to  vote  either  way,  they  issued  an- 
other manifesto  urging  women  not  to  vote  against  suffrage! 

This  was  a  transparent  device  to  conceal  the  fewness  of  their 
numbers,  and  they  thus  stultified  all  their  previous  professions, 
as  they  had  asserted  for  years  that  whenever  women  were  given 
the  right  to  vote  on  an  important  question  it  would  be  their  duty 
to  do  so,  irrespective  of  their  personal  inclinations,  and  it  was  in 
order  to  save  women  from  this  burden  that  their  enfranchisement 
was  opposed.  If  they  could  have  brought  out  an  overwhelming 
vote  of  women  against  equal  suffrage,  of  course  they  would  have 
done  so.  Since  they  could  not,  it  was  their  policy  to  advise 
women  not  to  express  themselves  and  thus  let  the  few  who  were 
strongly  opposed  be  confounded  with  the  mass  of  those  who  were 
indifferent.  The  Man  Suffrage  Association,  which  professed  to 
be  working  in  full  harmony  with  the  women's  organization, 
declared  in  small  and  inconspicuous  type  that  it  did  not  urge 
women  to  take  the  trouble  to  register,  merely  for  the  sake  of 
expressing  themselves  on  the  referendum,  but  that  it  did  urge 
those  who  voted  at  all  to  vote  "No."  It  published  a  circular 
giving  reasons  "why  women  and  the  friends  of  women  should 
vote  no,"  and  it  covered  walls  and  fences  from  one  end  of  the 
State  to  the  other  with  huge  placards  bearing  in  enormous  let- 
ters the  words,  "Men  and  Women,  Vote  No !" 

The  main  object  of  this  association,  however,  was  not  to  get 
an  expression  of  opinion  from  the  women  (which  would  weigh 
little  either  way)  but  to  influence  the  Legislature  through  a  large 
negative  vote  from  the  men.  Mr.  Saunders  was  reported  in  an 
interview  in  the  Boston  Herald  as  saying  that  the  women  who 
took  the  trouble  to  vote  at  all  would  probably  vote  in  favor 
ten  to  one  (it  proved  to  be  twenty-five  to  one),  but  that  if  the  men 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 47 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

would  give  a  good  majority  against  it  the  Legislature  could  be 
relied  upon  to  defeat  a  genuine  amendment  for  years. 

The  suffragists  spent  only  $1,300  during  the  entire  canvass. 
The  Man  Suffrage  Association  never  made  the  sworn  report 
of  its  receipts  and  expenditures  which  the  law  requires  of  every 
campaign  committee,  although  even  the  papers  opposed  to  suf- 
frage exhorted  it  to  do  so  and  warned  it  that  it  was  placing  it- 
self in  a  false  position  by  refusing,  but  the  treasurer  published 
an  unsworn  statement,  not  of  his  receipts  but  of  his  general  ex- 
penditures, by  which  it  appeared  that  the  association,  during  the 
six  weeks  of  its  existence,  spent  $3,576.  In  addition  large  sums 
were  expended  by  the  women's  anti-suffrage  association,  which, 
not  being  a  campaign  committee  but  a  permanent  society,  was 
under  no  legal  obligation  to  file  a  statement. 

The  "mock  referendum"  was  voted  on  at  the  State  election, 
Nov.  5,  1895,  receiving  108,974  yeas,  187,837  nays.  Men  cast 
86,970  yeas,  186,115  nays;  women  cast  22,204  yeas,  861  nays. 
Forty-eight  towns  gave  a  majority  for  equal  suffrage,  two  were 
a  tie,  and  in  several  the  adverse  majority  was  only  one  or  twc 
votes,  and  yet  in  most  of  these  towns  no  suffrage  league  existed, 
and  in  some  of  them  no  suffrage  meeting  ever  had  been  held. 

The  number  of  men  who  voted  in  the  affirmative  was  a  gen- 
eral surprise.  A  leaflet  by  one  of  the  leading  remonstrants,  cir- 
culated during  the  campaign,  asserted  that  "not  one  citizen  of 
sound  judgment  in  a  hundred  is  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage;" 
but  nearly  one-third  of  the  male  voters  who  expressed  themselve 
declared  for  it.  There  was  the  smallest  affirmative  vote  in  the 
most  disreputable  wards  of  Boston.  Nearly  2,000  more  votes 
of  men  were  cast  for  suffrage  than  had  been  cast  for  prohibition 
in  1889.  The  proportion  of  votes  in  favor  was  almost  twice  as 
large  as  in  Rhode  Island,  the  only  other  New  England  State 
in  which  the  question  had  been  submitted,  although  in  that  there 
was  no  anti-suffrage  association  in  the  field.  Outside  of  Boston 
the  largest  negative  vote  by  women  was  cast  in  Cambridge  and 
Newton,  which  have  the  reputation  of  being  remonstrant  strong- 
holds. In  238  of  the  322  towns  not  one  woman  voted  "No." 
In  most  of  these  the  anti-suffrage  association  had  no  branches, 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  women  ever  had  heard 


MASSACHUSETTS.  739 

of  its  eleventh-hour  advice  to  women  not  to  vote.  In  every  coun- 
ty, and  in  every  Congressional,  Senatorial  and  Representative  dis- 
trict the  women's  vote  was  in  favor  at  least  ten  to  one.  The 
"mock  referendum"  answered  the  main  purpose  of  its  promoters, 
however,  for  it  did  seriously  cut  down  the  vote  for  suffrage  in 
the  Legislature  for  several  years  thereafter,  but  it  made  a  host 
of  converts  among  the  people  at  large  and  gave  a  fresh  impetus 
to  the  activity  of  the  State  Suffrage  Association,  which  ever  since 
has  steadily  grown  in  membership. 


1896— The  usual  petitions  for  suffrage  were  presented  from 
79  cities  and  towns,  with  7,780  signatures.  The  Joint  Special 
Committee  on  Woman  Suffrage,  which  had  been  appointed  an- 
nually for  many  years,  was  discontinued,  with  the  good  result 
that  the  suffragists  ever  since  have  had  their  hearings  before 
two  more  influential  committees,  those  on  Constitutional  Amend- 
ments and  on  Election  Laws.  On  February  26  the  latter  gave  a 
hearing  for  Municipal  Suffrage.  Mr.  Blackwell  opened  the  case 
for  the  petitioners  and  the  usual  number  of  fine  addresses  were 
made.  Thomas  Russell  spoke  for  the  remonstrants,  and  Miss 
Blackwell  replied  to  him.  On  February  27  the  Committee  on 
Constitutional  Amendments  gave  a  hearing.  Addresses  were 
made  by  Mrs.  Howe,  Mr.  Garrison,  the  Rev.  Florence  E.  Kol- 
lock,  Oswald  Garrison  Villard,  Mr.  Ernst,  Mrs.  Isabel  C.  Bar- 
rows, Miss  Cora  A.  Benneson  and  Clyde  Duniway,  formerly  of 
Oregon.  Mr.  Russell  again  spoke  for  the  remonstrants  and  was 
answered  by  Miss  Blackwell,  Miss  Gail  Laughlin  and  Mrs.  Mary 
Clarke  Smith. 

On  March  4  a  hearing  was  given  to  the  petitioners  for  License 
Suffrage.  Just  after  the  hearing  closed  Mr.  Russell  arrived  to 
remonstrate,  but  too  late. 

On  March  9  a  hearing  was  given  on  the  petition  of  the  State 
W.  S.  A.  that  the  times  of  registration  should  be  the  same  for 
women  (school)  voters  as  for  men. 

The  Committee  on  Constitutional  Amendments  recommended 
that  the  question  of  submitting  a  suffrage  amendment  be  referred 
to  the  next  Legislature — three  dissenting  and  favoring  its  sub- 


740 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


mission  this  year.     On  March  23  consideration  of  the  question 
was  voted  down  and  the  yeas  and  nays  were  refused. 

On  March  31  and  April  i  License  Suffrage  was  discussed  am 
finally  defeated  by  93  yeas,  116  nays,  including  pairs. 

The  Committee  on  Election  Laws  reported  in  favor  of  Munici- 
pal Suffrage  but  the  bill  was  defeated. 

The  Supreme  Court  decided  that  women  could  not  be  made 
notaries  public  because  they  are  not  distinctly  named  as  eligible 
in  the  State  constitution. 

Thomas  F.  Keenan,  an  opponent  of  woman  suffrage,  intro- 
duced a  bill  to  license  houses  "for  commercial  sexual  inter- 
course," which  he  alone  voted  for.* 

j<?p/ — It  was  decided  to  ask  this  year  for  a  thorough  revi- 
sion and  equalization  of  the  statutes  bearing  on  domestic  rela- 
tions, in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  last  Legislature  had  appointee 
a  committee  of  lawyers  to  revise  and  codify  the  laws.     Especial 
attention  was  called  to  the  need  of  a  law  making  fathers  an< 
mothers  joint  guardians  of  their  children.     Mr.  Ernst,  in  behali 
of  the  association,  prepared  a  bill  equalizing  the  property  right 
of  husbands  and  wives.    Mr.  Russell,  in  behalf  of  the  M.  A. 
F.  E.  S.  W.  (which  had  for  years  been  circulating  leaflets  declar- 
ing that  the  laws  of  Massachusetts  were  already  more  than  jus 
to  women)  prepared  a  bill  tending  in  a  similar  direction;  and 
Judge  of  Probate  prepared  a  more  limited  bill.     All  three  aj 
peared  before  the  revising  committee  and,  after  repeated  confer- 
ences, a  bill  making  some  improvements  was  recommended  b) 
the  committee  and  enacted  by  the  Legislature,  but  with  a  provis 
that  it  should  not  go  into  effect  until  the  following  year,  in  orde 
that  the  next  Legislature  might  have  a  chance  to  amend  it. 

On  February  10  the  committee  gave  a  hearing  to  the  petitior 
ers  for  the  submission  of  an  amendment  to  enfranchise  women. 
It  was  addressed  by  Mr.  Blackwell,  Mrs.  Cheney,  Mrs.  Boland, 
the  Rev.  Thomas  Scully,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ames,  the  Rev.  Augusta 
Chapin,  Miss  Blackwell  and  others.  No  remonstrants  appeared. 

•  On  one  occasion,  after  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe  and  her  associates  had  made  their 
appeals,  Mr.  Keenan  referred  to  them  in  the  legislative  debate  as  "women  masquerading 
in  pants,"  and  said,  "I  never  knew  a  woman  who  loved  her  children  or  her  home  that 
wanted  to  vote." 


MASSACHUSETTS.  741 

The  committee  reported  favorably,  but  on  February  18  the  bill 
was  defeated  by  74  yeas,  107  nays. 

On  February  24  the  Committee  on  Election  Laws  heard  argu- 
ments for  Municipal  and  Presidential  Suffrage,  and  also  on  the 
petition  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  for  License  Suffrage.  The  commit- 
tee had  before  it  144  largely  signed  petitions  for  suffrage  and 
none  against  it.  Mrs.  Howe  and  Mr.  Blackwell  spoke  in  behalf 
of  the  measures  asked  for  by  the  suffrage  association,  and  a  large 
number  of  prominent  women  for  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  Mr.  Russell, 
Mrs.  J.  Elliott  Cabot,  Frank  Foxcroft,  Miss  Dewey,  Dr.  Walter 
Channing,  Mrs.  A.  J.  George,  A.  Lawrence  Lowell  and  Miss 
Mary  A.  J.  Mclntyre  spoke  against  all  three  bills.  Miss  Black- 
well,  at  the  close,  replied  in  behalf  of  both  associations.  Members 
of  the  committee  asked  the  president  of  the  anti-suffrage  asso- 
ciation, Mrs.  Cabot,  and  almost  all  the  women  who  spoke  on  that 
side  whether  they  would  vote  for  or  against  license  if  they  had 
the  ballot.  Everyone  answered  that  she  would  vote  for  license. 
Mr.  Russell  had  declared  that  if  women  were  allowed  to  vote, 
"no  license  would  be  carried  in  every  town  and  city  of  the  com- 
monwealth, contrary  to  the  will  of  the  people."  The  committee 
gave  a  majority  report  against  all  the  bills. 

On  March  10  the  question  of  accepting  the  adverse  report  on 
License  Suffrage  came  up  in  the  Legislature.  The  vote  stood, 
100  yeas,  100  nays,  and  Speaker  John  L.  Bates  gave  his  casting 
vote  in  favor  of  substituting  the  bill  for  the  adverse  report.  On 
March  18  the  question  was  debated  and  the  vote  resulted  in  108 
yeas,  125  nays.  There  was  much  public  interest  and  a  lively  dis- 
cussion in  the  papers.  Municipal  and  Presidential  Suffrage  were 
lost  without  a  roll-call.  A  bill  to  make  the  Boston  School  Board 
appointive  instead  of  elective,  which  would  have  deprived  women 
of  their  School  Suffraee,  was  defeated. 

1898 — The  hearing  on  February  2  was  conducted  by  Mr. 
Blackwell  for  the  petitioners;  Mr.  Russell  for  the  remonstrants. 
A  letter  from  ex-Gov.  William  Claflin  in  favor  of  suffrage  was 
read.  Mrs.  Anna  Christy  Fall,  Mr.  Garrison,  ex-U.  S.  Attorney 
Frank  B.  Allen,  Mrs.  Helen  Adelaide  Shaw,  Dr.  A.  E.  Winship, 
editor  of  the  Journal  of  Education,  and  others  spoke  for  suffrage ; 
Mrs.  Arthur  D.  Gilman,  Mrs.  Egbert  C.  Smythe,  Mrs.  Rothery 


742  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

of  Wellesley,  Mrs.  Lincoln  R.  Stone  and  Mrs.  George  against 
it.  Miss  Blackwell  replied  for  the  petitioners.  The  committee 
reported  "leave  to  withdraw."  On  February  14,  after  debate  in 
the  House  of  Representatives,  the  vote  stood  44  yeas,  97  nays. 

On  February  23  the  committee  gave  a  hearing  on  Municipal 
Suffrage  and  on  License  Suffrage,  both  of  which  were  eloquently 
urged.     Mrs.  Cabot,  Mrs.  Charles  E.  Guild,  the  Rev.  Thorns 
Van  Ness,  the  Rev.  Reuen  Thomas,  Mrs.  Henry  F.  Durant,  Mrs 
William  T.  Sedgwick,  Mr.  Foxcroft  and  Mr.  Russell  spoke 
opposition.     Municipal  Suffrage  was  not  debated,  but  after  di« 
cussion  on  March  10  and  1 1,  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  tl 
vote  on  License  Suffrage,  including  pairs,  stood  60  yeas,  1 16 

The  record  for  1899  and  1900  presented  no  variations  exce 
that  a  number  of  local  associations  petitioned  for  Municipal  Suf- 
frage for  Taxpaying  Women.  The  State  association  did  not 
officially  ask  for  this,  though  the  majority  of  its  officers  favored 
the  measure.  The  annual  hearings  were  given,  the  usual  large 
crowds  were  in  attendance,  the  ablest  men  and  women  in  tl 
State  advocated  the  granting  of  suffrage,  those  heretofore  me 
tioned  spoke  in  opposition,*  and  the  negative  vote  was  in  aboi 
the  same  proportion  as  before  the  "remonstrants"  made  the 
appearance.! 

*  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott  of  New  York,  Miss  Heloise  E.  Hersey,  Miss  Sarah  E.  Hunt, 
Mesdames  Barrett  Wendell,  W.  W.  Vaughan,  Judith  Andrews,  Nathaniel  Payne,  James 
H.  Robbins,  Frank  B.  Fay  and  Henry  Thompson  also  "remonstrated." 

t  It  seems  desirable  to  preserve  the  names  of  those  who  have  championed  and  voted  for 
a  measure  so  bitterly  opposed.  Those  of  the  eighty-four  opponents  may  drop  into  oblivio 
Honor  roll:  Senators  S.  Stillman  Blanchard,  Arthur  B.  Breed,  Gorham  D.  Gilr 
Robert  S.  Gray,  Charles  H.  Innes,  Francis  W.  Kittridge,  Joel  D.  Miller,  Henry  S.  Milt 
Joseph  O.  Neill,  Isaac  N.  Nutter;  Representatives  John  E.  Abbott,  Charles  H.  Adams, 
Frederick  Atherton,  Frank  E.  Badger,  Thomas  C.  Batchelder,  John  L.  Bates,  Alanson  \V. 
Beard,  Amos  Beckford,  Frank  P.  Bennett,  Thomas  W.  Bicknell,  John  B.  Bottum,  Harvt-y 
L.  Boutwell,  George  A.  Brown,  Walter  J.  D.  Bullock,  Edward  B.  Callender,  James  F. 
Carey,  George  D.  Chamberlain,  Albert  Clarke,  Charles  Carleton  Coffin,  Henry  Cook,  Louis 
A.  Cook,  Charles  U.  Corey,  Fred  E.  Crawford,  Franklin  Cross,  Arthur  B.  Curtis,  Francis 
W.  Darling,  William  D.  Dennis,  Solomon  K.  Dexter,  E.  Walter  Everett,  George  H.  Fall. 
Frank  E.  Fitts,  Jubal  C.  Gleason,  Samuel  L.  Gracey,  James  W.  Grimes,  Thomas  E.  Grovcr. 
Luther  Hall,  Harris  C.  Hartwell,  Martin  E.  Hawes.  William  R.  Hayden,  Alfred  S.  I! 
Elihu  B.  Hayes,  Charles  E.  Haywood,  Edmund  Hersey,  John  Hildreth,  John  G.  Horan, 
Charles  R.  Johnson,  George  R.  Jones,  William  E.  Judd,  Alfred  F.  Kinney,  John  Larrabee. 
Mahlon  R.  Leonard,  Frederic  O.  MacCartney,  Samuel  W.  McCall,  James  H.  Mellen,  John 
M.  Merriman,  Charles  H.  Miller,  Daniel  L.  Milliken,  Charles  P.  Mills,  Bushrod  Morse, 
James  J.  Myers,  H.  Heustis  Newton,  Herbert  C.  Parsons,  George  W.  Penniman,  Francis 
C.  Perry,  Albert  Poor,  Josiah  Quincy,  Francis  H.  Raymond,  Alfred  S.  Roe,  (Jud?e> 
Thomas  Russell,  Thomas  E.  St.  John,  Howard  K.  Sanderson,  Charles  F.  Shute,  George  T. 
Sleeper,  Frank  Smith,  Metcalf  J.  Smith,  George  L.  Soule,  Eugene  H.  Sprague,  Ezra  A. 
Stevens,  Hazard  Stevens,  Stephen  S.  Taft,  George  F.  Tucker,  John  E.  Turtle,  O.  W.  " 


MASSACHUSETTS.  743 

LAWS:  Until  1845  the  women  of  Massachusetts  suffered  to 
the  fullest  extent  the  barbarities  of  the  English  Common  Law. 
After  that  date  the  changes  were  gradual  but  very  slow.  From 
1884  there  was  but  little  improvement  in  the  property  laws  until 
1899,  when  a  radical  revision  was  effected  by  a  legislative  com- 
mittee and  approved  by  the  Legislature.  As  there  was  to  be 
a  general  revision  of  the  statutes  and  the  new  book  would  not 
be  issued  until  Jan.  i,  1902,  it  was  decided  that  all  should 
go  into  effect  at  that  date.  The  new  property  law  for  women 
provides  as  follows:  No  distinction  is  made  between  real  and 
personal  property  in  distributing  the  estate.  The  surviving  hus- 
band or  wife  takes  and  holds  one-third  if  the  deceased  leaves 
children  or  their  descendants ;  $5,000  and  one-half  of  the  remain- 
ing estate  if  the  deceased  leaves  no  issue;  and  the  whole  if  the 
deceased  leaves  no  kindred.  This  is  taken  absolutely  and  not 
for  life.  Curtesy  and  dower  have  not  been  abolished  but  the  old- 
time  curtesy,  which  is  a  life  interest  in  the  whole  of  a  deceased 
wife's  real  estate,  is  cut  down  to  a  life  interest  in  one-third,  the 
same  as  dower ;  and  in  order  to  be  entitled  to  dower  or  curtesy. 
the  surviving  husband  or  wife  must  elect  to  take  it  in  preference 
to  abiding  by  the  above  provisions. 

Either  husband  or  wife  can  make  a  will  under  the  new  law 
without  the  consent  of  the  other,  but  the  survivor,  if  not  satisfied 
with  the  will  of  the  deceased,  can  waive  it  within  a  year  and  take 
the  same  share  of  the  estate  that  he  (or  she)  would  have  taken 
if  there  had  been  no  will,  except  that,  if  he  would  thus  become 
entitled  to  more  than  $10,000  in  value,  he  shall  receive,  in  addi- 
tion to  that  amount,  only  the  income  during  his  life  of  the  excess 
of  his  share  of  such  estate  above  that  amount;  and  except  that, 
if  the  deceased  leaves  no  kindred,  he,  upon  such  waiver,  shall 
take  the  interest  he  would  have  taken  if  the  deceased  had  died 
leaving  kindred  but  no  issue. 

A  discretionary  amount  may  be  assigned  by  the  Probate  Court 
to  the  widow  for  the  support  of  herself  and  minor  children  and 
takes  precedence  of  the  debts  of  the  deceased.  The  old  law  took 
this  allowance  out  of  the  personal  estate  only,  and  often  the 

Upham,   Horace  G.   Wadlin,  Jesse  B.  Wheeler,   Frederick  L.   Whitmore,  John  W.  Wilkin- 
son, John  A.  Woodbury,  Charles  L.  Young. 


744  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

widow  was  not  able  to  receive  the  immediate  assistance  she 
needed,  because  the  property  was  all  in  the  form  of  real  estate. 
The  new  law  permits  the  real  estate  to  be  used  if  necessary.  It 
also  gives  $100  to  a  minor  child  for  his  immediate  necessities,  if 
there  is  no  widow ;  the  old  law  gave  $50.  The  new  law  permits 
the  widow  to  remain  in  her  husband's  house  for  six  months  after 
his  death.  The  old  law  gave  her  only  forty  days. 

A  married  woman  has  full  control  of  her  separate  property, 
and  can  dispose  of  her  real  estate  subject  only  to  the  husband's 
interests.  If  she  has  been  deserted  or  if  the  court  has  decreed 
that  she  is  living  apart  from  him  for  justifiable  cause,  she  can 
by  will  or  deed  dispose  of  all  her  real  and  personal  estate  as  if 
unmarried.  The  husband  can  do  the  same. 

A  married  woman  can  be  executor,  administrator,  guardian 
or  trustee.  She  may  make  contracts  with  any  one  except  her 
husband;  may  sue  and  be  sued,  carry  on  business  in  her  own 
name,  by  complying  with  the  legal  requirements ;  control  and  in- 
vest her  earnings  and  enter  into  partnerships.  She  is  responsible 
for  her  contracts  and  debts  and  her  property  may  be  held  foi 
them.  The  husband  is  not  liable  on  any  judgments  recovered 
against  the  wife  alone,  and  her  separate  property  is  not  liable 
on  any  judgment  or  execution  against  the  husband.  Suits  be 
tween  husband  and  wife  are  not  allowed  except  for  divorce. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  persons  and  estate 
of  minor  children;  he  has  power  to  dispose  of  them  during  the 
lifetime  of  the  mother  and  may  appoint  a  guardian  at  his  death.5 

For  non-support  of  wife  and  minor  children  the  husband  ma) 
be  fined  not  exceeding  $20  or  imprisoned  in  the  house  of  corn 
tion  not  exceeding  six  months.  At  the  discretion  of  the  coui 
the  fine  is  paid  in  whole  or  part  to  the  town,  city,  society  or  per- 
son actually  supporting  such  wife  and  children.  (1893.) 

*  In  1847  Lucy  Stone  began  to  advocate  giving  the  mother  equal  guardianship  of 
children  with  the  father.  During  the  past  thirty  years  the  State  Suffrage  Association  has 
repeatedly  petitioned  the  Legislature  to  this  effect.  In  1902  many  other  organizations 
joined  in  the  effort,  and  the  petition  for  equal  guardianship  was  indorsed  by  34,000  women. 
The  Committee  on  Probate  and  Chancery  reported  adversely.  Representative  George  H. 
Fall's  Equal  Guardianship  Bill  was  debated  on  two  days  and  finally  passed  both  Houses 
and  was  signed  by  Gov.  W.  Murray  Crane  in  June. 

The  only  society  of  women  that  has  ever  ranged  itself  publicly  on  the  opposing  side 
this    question    is    the    Massachusetts    Anti-Suffrage    Association.     For    years    it    circulate 
with  its  official  imprint  a  leaflet  in  defense  of  the  law  which  excluded  mothers  from 
custody  and  guardianship  of  their  children. 


MASSACHUSETTS.  745 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10  to  13 
years  in  1886;  to  14  in  1888;  to  16  in  1893.  The  penalty  is  im- 
prisonment in  the  State  prison  for  life  or  for  any  term  of  years, 
or  for  any  term  in  any  other  penal  institution  in  the  common- 
wealth. This  may  be  one  day  in  the  city  jail. 

Among  various  laws  passed  in  the  interests  of  women  was  one 
in  1895  making  army  nurses  eligible  to  receive  State  aid.  One 
of  1896  requires  the  State  to  inter  the  wife  or  widow  of  an  hon- 
orably discharged  soldier,  sailor  or  marine  who  served  during 
the  Civil  War,  if  she  did  not  leave  sufficient  means  for  funeral 
expenses,  provided  she  was  married  prior  to  1870.  In  1900  it 
was  enacted  that  the  State  should  perform  a  similar  service  for 
the  mothers  of  said  soldiers,  sailors  or  marines,  and  that  this 
should  not  be  with  the  pauper  dead,  in  either  case. 

Massachusetts  has  detailed!  laws  regarding  the  employment 
of  women,  among  them  one  restricting  the  hours  of  work  in  any 
mercantile  establishment  to  fifty-eight  in  a  week,  except  in  retail 
stores  during  the  month  of  December.  Ten  hours  is  a  legal 
workday  for  women  in  general. 

Separate  houses  of  detention  are  required  for  women  prisoners 
in  cities  of  over  30,000.* 

SUFFRAGE:  The  original  charter  of  Massachusetts  in  1691 
did  not  exclude  women  from  voting.  In  1780  the  first  constitu- 
tion prohibited  them  from  voting  except  for  certain  officers.  The 
new  constitution  of  1820  limited  the  suffrage  strictly  to  males. 

In  1879  the  Legislature  enacted  that  a  woman  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  who  could  give  satisfactory  evidence  as  to  residence 
and  who  could  stand  the  educational  test  (i.  e.,  be  able  to  read 
five  lines  of  the  constitution  and  write  her  name),  and  who 
should  give  notice  in  writing  to  the  assessors  that  she  wished 
to  be  assessed  a  poll  tax  (two  dollars)  and  should  give  in  under 
oath  a  statement  of  her  taxable  property  (which  was  not  re- 
quired of  men,  as  they  had  the  option  of  letting  the  assessors 
guess  at  the  amount)  should  thereupon  be  assessed  and  should  be 
entitled  to  register  and  vote  for  members  of  school  boards,  f  In 

*  For  information  in  regard  to  the  laws  the  History  is  indebted  to  Mrs.  Anna  Christy 
(George  H.)  Fall,  a  practicing  lawyer  of  Maiden. 

t  This  was  purely  class  legislation,  as  the  woman  who  had  paid  property  tax  was  not  re- 
quired to  pay  poll-tax,  and  poor  women  could  not  vote  without  paying  two  dollars  each 
year.  The  law  was  not  asked  for  by  the  Suffrage  Association. 


746  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

order  to  keep  her  name  on  the  registration  list  this  entire  process 
had  to  be  repeated  every  year,  while  a  man's  name  once  placed 
on  the  list  was  kept  there  without  further  effort  on  his  part,  and 
the  payment  of  the  same  poll  tax  entitled  him  to  full  suffrage. 

In  1881  the  poll  tax  was  reduced  to  fifty  cents,  and  the  law 
was  changed  so  that  women's  names  should  remain  on  the  regis- 
tration list  so  long  as  they  continued  to  reside  and  pay  their  taxes 
in  the  place  where  they  were  registered.  Even  now,  however, 
it  requires  constant  watchfulness  on  their  part  to  have  this  done. 
In  1890  the  poll  tax  as  a  prerequisite  for  voting  was  abolished 
for  men,  and  in  1892  for  women.  Only  a  few  weeks  in  each 
year  were  set  apart  when  women  might  register  until  1898,  when 
it  was  enacted  that  the  time  of  registration  should  be  the  same 
for  both. 

The  School  Suffrage  includes  only  a  vote  for  members  of  the 
school  board  and  not  for  supervisors,  appropriations  or  any  ques- 
tions connected  with  the  public  schools.  Women  are  not  author- 
ized to  attend  caucuses  or  have  any  voice  in  nominations  of 
school  officers.  As  they  were  thus  deprived  of  all  voice  in 
selecting  candidates,  an  association,  Independent  Womer 
Voters,  was  formed  in  Boston  in  1889  by  Mrs.  Eliza  Trask 
Hill,  who  served  as  president  until  1896,  when  she  removed  from 
the  city,  and  Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Boyden  has  filled  the  office  since  then. 
This  organization,  which  was  entered  at  the  registration  office 
as  a  political  party,  holds  a  caucus  in  each  ward  between  January 
i  and  April  I  every  year  and  nominates  candidates  for  the  School 
Board.  Such  nomination  by  100  or  more  legal  voters  entitle? 
their  names  to  be  placed  on  the  Australian  ballot.  Some  of  the 
nominees  of  the  Independent  Women  Voters  are  often  accepted 
by  the  regular  parties,  but  even  when  this  is  refused  they  are 
sometimes  elected  over  the  Republican  or  Democratic  candidates. 

Because  of  the  conditions  attached  and  the  small  privilege 
granted  it  is  remarkable  that  any  considerable  number  of  women 
should  have  voted  during  these  past  years.  When  School  Suf- 
frage was  first  granted,  in  1879,  only  934  women  voted,  and  for 
the  first  seven  years  the  average  was  only  940.  Since  then  there 
has  been  a  large  increase  of  interest.  During  the  past  seven  years 
the  number  never  has  fallen  below  5,000.  In  1898,  5,201  worm 


MASSACHUSETTS.  747 

voted;  in  1899,  7,090;  in  1900,  9,542;  and  this  year  (1901)  there 
were  15,545  names  on  the  register  and  11,620  voted.  The  high- 
est number  was  reached  in  1888,  when  under  special  circum- 
stances 25,279  women  were  registered  and  19,490  voted. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  Women  have  served  as  School  Committee 
(trustees)  since  1874.  For  some  time  previous  to  1884  they 
could  hold  by  appointment  the  offices  of  overseers  of  the  poor, 
trustees  of  public  libraries,  school  supervisors,  members  of  the 
State  Boards  of  Education  and  of  Health,  Lunacy  and  Charity, 
without  special  legislation.  It  was  required  that  there  should  be 
women  on  the  boards  of  the  three  State  Primary  and  Reform 
Schools,  State  workhouse,  State  almshouse  and  Board  of  Prison 
Commissioners,  and  that  certain  managers  and  officers  of  the  Re- 
formatory Prison  for  Women  at  Sherborn  should  be  women. 

In  1884  a  bill  was  passed  requiring  the  appointment  of  two 
women  on  the  board  of  every  Hospital  for  the  Insane  and  one 
woman  physician  for  each.  In  1885  it  was  enacted  that  women 
might  be  assistant  registers  of  deeds;  in  1886  that  they  might  be 
elected  overseers  of  the  poor.  In  1887  a  law  was  passed  requir- 
ing police  matrons  in  all  cities  of  30,000  inhabitants  or  more. 
There  had  been  matrons  in  Boston  fifteen  years. 

In  1890  the  Supreme  Court  decided  that  a  woman  could  not 
act  as  notary  public.  In  1891  it  was  enacted  that  there  should 
be  women  factory  inspectors;  in  1895  that  a  woman  could  be  ap- 
pointed assistant  town  or  city  clerk;  in  1896  that  county  commis- 
sioners might  appoint  a  woman  clerk  pro  temp  ore! 

The  evolution  of  the  Special  Commissioner  shows  the  labori- 
ous processes  by  which  women  make  any  gains  in  Massachusetts. 
In  1883  a  law  was  passed  that  women  attorneys  could  be  ap- 
pointed Special  Commissioners  to  administer  oaths,  take  deposi- 
tions and  acknowledge  deeds.  In  1889  it  was  amended  to  give 
Special  Commissioners  the  same  powers  as  justices  of  the  peace 
in  the  above  respects  and  also  that  of  issuing  summonses  for  wit- 
nesses. In  1896  it  was  provided  that  any  woman  over  twenty- 
one,  the  same  as  any  man,  whether  a  lawyer  or  not,  could  be  ap- 
pointed commissioner;  a  change  of  name  by  marriage  should 
terminate  her  commission  but  should  not  disqualify  her  for  re- 
appointment.  In  1898  the  powers  were  extended  to  appointments 


748  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

of  appraisers  of  estates.  In  1 899  the  powers  of  the  Special  Com- 
missioner were  made  coincident  with  those  of  justice  of  the  peace, 
but  the  authority  to  perform  the  marriage  ceremony  was  taken 
from  justices  generally  and  is  now  given  to  specified  ones  only. 

Women  can  not  be  justices  of  the  peace.  They  may  be  appointed 
by  the  State  to  take  acknowledgments  of  deeds  but  not  to  perform 
the  marriage  ceremony  unless  regularly  ordained  ministers. 

Women  at  present  are  serving  on  State  Boards  as  follows: 
Commissioners  of  Prisons,  Charity  and  Free  Public  Library- 
two  each;  trustees  of  Insane  Hospitals  at  Danvers,  Northamp- 
ton, Taunton,  Worcester  and  Medfield — two  each,  and  at  West- 
borough,  three;  School  for  Feeble-minded,  one;  Hospital  for 
Epileptics,  two;  for  Dipsomaniacs  and  Inebriates,  one;  Hospital 
Cottages  for  Children,  one ;  State  Hospital  and  State  Farm,  two ; 
Lyman  and  Industrial  Schools,  two. 

It  has  been  impossible  to  ascertain  the  number  of  women  serv- 
ing as  School  Trustees  later  than  1 898.  Then  the  records  showed 
194  on  boards  in  138  towns,  but,  as  in  many  cases  only  the  in- 
itials of  the  prefixes  to  the  names  were  given,  this  is  probably 
underestimate.  Women  serve  on  the  boards  of  public  librarie 

Women  are  found  in  the  following  official  positions  in  Boston : 
trustees  of  public  institutions,  two;  of  children's  institutions 
three;  of  insane  hospitals,  two;  of  bath  departments,  two;  ovei 
seers  of  the  poor,  two ;  city  conveyancer  in  law  department,  one ; 
Superior  Court  stenographer,  one;  probation  officers,  two;  chit 
matron  House  of  Detention,  one;  supervisor  of  schools,  one; 
members  of  school  committee,  four. 

OCCUPATIONS:  Massachusetts  claims  the  first  woman  wl 
ever  practiced  medicine  in  the  United  States — Dr.  Harriot 
Hunt,  who  studied  with  her  father  and  began  in  1835,  long 
fore  a  medical  college  in  the  country  was  open  to  women. 
1881  Lelia  J.  Robinson  applied  for  admission  to  the  bar  in  Be 
ton  and  the  Supreme  Court  decided  a  woman  to  be  ineligible. 
The  Legislature  of  1892  enacted  that  women  should  be  admitted 
to  the  practice  of  law.  No  professions  or  occupations  are  now 
legally  forbidden  to  them. 

EDUCATION  :  One  of  the  first  seminaries  for  women  in  the 
United  States  was  Mt.  Holyoke  at  South  Hadley,  Mass.,  now  a 


MASSACHUSETTS.  749 

college  with  550  students;  the  largest  college  for  women  in  the 
world  is  Smith  at  Northampton,  with  1,131  students;  one  that 
ranks  among  the  four  highest  in  existence,  Wellesley,  has  819; 
Radcliffe  at  Cambridge,  has  407.  The  requirements  of  admis- 
sion and  the  examinations  are  the  same  for  Radcliffe  as  for 
Harvard  and  the  courses  of  instruction  are  identical.  The  teach- 
ing is  done  by  members  of  the  Harvard  faculty,  over  one  hundred 
of  them.  All  degrees  must  be  approved  by  the  President  and 
Fellows  of  Harvard,  the  diplomas  are  countersigned  by  the  Presi- 
dent and  bear  the  University  seal.  Nevertheless  Radcliffe  is  not 
recognized  as  having  any  official  connection  with  the  ancient 
university.  A  number  of  graduate  courses  in  Harvard  are  open 
to  women  but  without  degrees. 

Boston  University,  with  1,430  students,  is  co-educational  in 
all  its  departments,  including  law,  medicine  and  theology.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  and 
the  State  Agricultural  College.  There  has  been  no  distinction 
of  sex  in  Tufts  College  (Univers.)  since  1892;  or  in  Clark  Uni- 
versity (post-graduate)  in  Worcester,  since  1900.  The  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  and  Tufts  Colleges  of  Medicine  and 
Surgery,  in  Boston,  admit  women.  They  are  excluded  from 
Andover  Theological  Seminary  (Cong'l),  Newton  Theological 
Institute  (Baptist),  Amherst  College,  Williams  College  and 
Worcester  Polytechnic  Institute. 

In  thei  public  schools  there  are  1,197  men  an^  I2>2°5  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $136.23; 
of  the  women,  $51.41.  Omitting  the  High  School  salaries,  the 
average  amount  paid  to  men  per  month  is  $130.09;  to  women, 
$49.61.  In  some  counties  over  one-half  as  much  is  paid  to 
women  teachers  as  to  men,  but  in  Essex  County  the  monthly 
ratio  is  $127.82  to  men,  and  $47.17  to  women,  and  in  Suffolk 
County  $200.07  to  men  anc*  $63.44,  or  less  than  one-third,  to 
women.  Boston  has  215  men  teachers  at  an  average  monthly 
salary  of  $213.61;  and  1,762  women  at  an  average  of  $69.68. 
In  no  other  State  is  the  discrepancy  so  great  in  the  salary  of  men 
and  women  teachers. 

The  women's  clubs  of  Massachusetts  are  as  the  sands  of  the 
sea.  Of  these  169,  with  a  membership  of  21,451,  belong  to  the 


75O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

State  Federation.  The  New  England  Woman's  Club  was  or- 
ganized in  1868,  the  same  year  as  Sorosis  in  New  York  and  about 
one  month  earlier.  These  two  are  generally  spoken  of  as  the 
pioneers  of  women's  clubs  as  they  exist  to-day. 

THE   NATIONAL    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE   ASSOCIATION   OF 
MASSACHUSETTS.* 

When  the  third  volume  of  the  History  of  Woman  Suffrage 
closed  in  1885  it  left  this  association  three  years  old,  with  Mrs. 
Harriette  Robinson  Shattuck,  president,  Dr.  Salome  Merritt, 
vice-president,  and  thirteen  other  vice-presidents  who  repre- 
sented the  same  number  of  counties.  To  these  leaders  and  others 
it  seemed  necessary  that  Massachusetts  should  have  this  society 
in  order  to  give  a  support  to  the  officers  and  the  methods  of  the 
National  Woman  Suffrage  Association,  which  they  were  not 
receiving  from  the  State  society,  at  that  time  auxiliary  to  the 
American  Association.  In  those  three  years  conventions  had 
been  held  in  some  twenty  cities. 

Mrs.  Harriet  M.  Emerson  was  then  engaged  in  preparing 
petitions,  to  which  she  secured  many  signers,  asking  for  "a  statute 
to  enable  a  widow  who  desires  it,  to  become  on  reasonable  terms 
a  co-executor  with  those  appointed  by  her  husband's  will."  For 
several  years  she  spent  much  time  on  this  work  and  had  the  help 
of  many  of  the  best  citizens  of  Boston.  It  was  ably  presented 
at  each  session  of  the  Legislature,  but  no  action  was  taken,  f 

Mrs.  Harriet  H.  Robinson,  the  corresponding  secretary,  has 
published  Massachusetts  in  the  Woman  Suffrage  Movement, 
The  New  Pandora,  a  woman's  play,  Capt.  Mary  Miller,  etc. ; 
Mrs.  Shattuck,  The  Woman's  Manual  of  Parliamentary  Law, 
Advanced  Rules  for  Large  Assemblies.  Another  member,  Mrs. 
Sara  A.  Underwood,  has  done  valuable  work  on  the  newspapers 

*The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Miss  Lavina  Allen  Hatch  of  East  Pem- 
broke, recording  secretary  of  the  association  from  its  beginning  in  1882,  and  also  corre- 
sponding secretary  from  1892. 

t  In  1884  the  Boston  Political  Class  was  formed  as  an  auxiliary.  While  the  idea  of 
such  an  educational  scheme  originated  with  Sara  A.  Underwood,  its  successful  develop- 
ment is  due  to  Harriette  Robinson  Shattuck,  who  became  president  of  the  class.  Lavina 
Allen  Hatch  kept  its  records,  and  Dora  Bascom  Smith  gave  the  use  of  her  parlors  for 
its  fortnightly  meetings. 


HARRIET  MAY  MILLS,  FLORENCE  HOWE  HALL. 

Syracuse,  N.  Y.  Plainfield,  N.  J. 

REV.  ANNA  GARLIN  SPENCER, 

Providence,  R.  I. 

LUCRETIA  L.  BLANKENBURG,  LAVINA  A.  HATCH, 

Philadelphia,  Pa.  E.  Pembroke.  Mass. 


MASSACHUSETTS.  751 

of  Boston,  New  York  and  other  cities,  and  before  the  Legislature. 
The  writings  of  Mrs.  Evaleen  L.  Mason  are  well  known. 

In  1888  certain  historical  text-books  which  were  objected 
to  by  the  Roman  Catholics  were  removed  from  the  schools  and 
replaced  by  others.  This  caused  great  excitement,  over  25,000 
women  registered  to  vote,  arid  for  two  successive  years  helped 
to  defeat  all  the  Catholic  candidates  for  the  school  board  and  to 
elect  a  number  of  women.  The  members  of  this  association  main- 
tained the  non-partisan  side  and  opposed  the  extremists  who 
urged  that  Catholics  should  be  excluded  from  the  board,  thus  de- 
priving it  of  some  of  its  most  experienced  and  faithful  men. 

In  April,  1888,  the  association  applied  for  a  charter  and  be- 
came the  first  incorporated  body  of  woman  suffragists  in  the 
State.  In  December  a  petition  was  sent  to  Congress  asking  for 
an  amendment  to  the  United  States  Constitution  prohibiting  dis- 
franchisement  on  account  of  sex. 

In  1889  a  petition  from  this  association  was  introduced  in  the 
Legislature  to  require  assessors  to  ask  at  every  house  whether 
there  are  women  there  who  wish  to  be  assessed  a  poll  tax.  A 
petition  was  also  sent  in  for  a  law  providing  that  one-third  of  the 
membership  of  the  school  committee  consist  of  women.  These 
were  presented  by  Mr.  Barker  of  Maiden. 

At  the  eighth  annual  meeting  in  May,  1890,  C.  W.  Ernst 
gave  an  instructive  address  on  political  topics. 

In  October,  1891,  a  special  meeting  was  called  to  discuss  the 
question  of  discontinuing  auxiliaryship  to  the  National-Ameri- 
can Association,  and  continuing  work  as  an  independent  organ- 
ization. After  a  full  discussion  the  vote  resulted  in  remaining 
auxiliary,  only  one  opposed. 

In  March,  1892,  a  plan  was  laid  before  the  association  by  Dr. 
Merritt  for  action  in  the  various  cities  and  towns  of  the  State 
to  secure  the  nomination  in  caucuses  of  such  senators  and  repre- 
sentatives only  as  would  declare  themselves  in  favor  of  woman 
suffrage.  A  committee  was  formed  to  confer  with  other  organ- 
izations, and  at  the  next  meeting  it  reported  that  the  Boston 
Suffrage  League,  Mrs.  Ellen  Battelle  Dietrick,  president,  had 
approved  the  plan  and  called  a  meeting  where  nine  wards  were 
represented  and  a  compact  signed.  In  May  this  agreement  was 


752 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


adopted  by  the  Suffolk  County  Committee,  who  were  to  work 
in  Boston  while  the  association  was  to  manage  outside  counties. 
One  thousand  copies  were  printed  and  circulated  but  the  final 
results  showed  not  enough  interest  to  make  the  measure  a  success. 

At  this  time  Mrs.  Shattuck  resigned  the  presidency,  "beim 
engaged  in  work  more  imperative,"  and  Mrs.  Robinson  gave 
her  office  of  corresponding  secretary.  At  the  October  meetii 
Miss  Hatch  was  elected  a  member  of  the  executive  committee  oi 
the  National  Association  for  the  Columbian  Exposition.  Mrs. 
Sarah  A.  P.  Dickerman  acted  as  president  during  the  remainder 
of  the  year.  Valuable  discussions  were  held  on  State  and  Na- 
tional Banks,  Should  the  Governor  Exercise  the  Veto  Power? 
Shall  Immigration  Be  Restricted?  Which  Would  Benefit  Boston 
Most,  License  or  No  License?  and  other  timely  questions. 

In  January,  1893,  it  was  voted  to  petition  the  Legislature  the 
women  be  allowed  to  vote  on  a  constitutional  amendment  affect- 
ing their  property  rights.  A  special  effort  was  made  in  petitior 
work  both  for  Congress  and  the  Legislature.  In  one  small  vil- 
lage where  forty-two  signatures  were  obtained,  only  four  persor 
refused  to  sign.  In  May  Dr.  Merritt  was  unanimously  electe 
president  of  the  association,  and  remained  in  office  until  h< 
death  in  1900.  At  this  meeting  a  statement  was  made  that 
Massachusetts  there  were  from  105,000  to  110,000  families  wit 
widows  or  single  women  as  heads,  not  represented  by  one  vote. 
In  December  a  committee  was  appointed  to  confer  with  the  legis- 
lative committee  of  the  State  School  Suffrage  Association 
secure  an  extension  of  the  time  (then  only  two  or  three  days" 
which  was  allotted  to  the  registration  of  women. 

At  the  legislative  hearing  in  January,  1894,  petitions  wer 
presented  by  this  association  from  seven  counties,  covering  twen- 
ty-one towns.  At  this  date  186  women  were  reported  as  holding 
office,  eleven  being  district  superintendents  of  schools.  The  fol- 
lowing May  the  registration  laws  were  so  changed  that  women 
have  since  had  the  same  time  as  men  in  which  to  register.  Under 
the  present  law,  the  assessors  in  their  regular  rounds  are  required 
to  take  the  names  of  women  voters  having  the  same  residence  as 
on  a  previous  voting  list.  These  are  then  entered  on  the  r« 
ter  for  the  ensuing  campaign  without  further  trouble. 


MASSACHUSETTS.  753 

In  September,  1895,  a  special  meeting  was  called  to  decide  how 
best  to  help  the  work  for  the  referendum  which  had  been  sub- 
mitted by  the  Legislature  in  order  to  ascertain  how  many  women 
desired  to  vote.  Twenty-five  dollars  were  appropriated  toward 
defraying  the  expenses  of  the  State  committee  appointed  to  con- 
duct this  campaign. 

In  1896  much  time  was  spent  on  measures  helpful  to  women 
and  children.  One  of  these  was  to  secure  the  early  closing  of 
stores,  the  result  being  that  through  the  entire  summer  all  the 
principal  stores  in  Boston  were  closed  at  5  P.  M.  every  day,  and 
on  Saturdays  at  12  M.,  as  they  have  been  each  summer  since. 

House  Bill  625  of  1896  started  with  a  most  innocent  appear- 
ance under  the  title,  "A  bill  to  enlarge  the  powers  of  the  police 
commissioners  of  Boston."  In  reality  it  asked  that  the  powers 
of  the  police  force  be  so  extended  as  to  allow  them  to  issue  per- 
mits for  the  keeping  of  houses  of  ill-repute,  with  authority  for 
their  inspection  and  control.  Other  organizations  joined  this 
one  in  opposition,  with  the  result  that  the  bill  was  defeated. 

The  association  also  advocated  "A  bill  to  prohibit  child  insur- 
ance," on  account  of  the  injury  done  to  families  by  absorbing 
the  means  which  should  be  expended  for  food,  clothes  and  other 
necessaries  in  the  payment  of  policies.  It  was  considered,  more- 
over, in  the  nature  of  a  premium  for  child  murder  by  neglect. 

The  most  interesting  event  of  1898  was  the  celebration  of  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  first  woman's  rights  convention.  Dr. 
Merritt  spoke  of  the  rise  of  the  movement,  saying  that  1848  was 
as  marked  an  epoch  in  the  rights  of  women  as  was  1776  in  the 
rights  of  men.  Miss  Hatch's  paper  gave  the  trend  of  events  pre- 
vious to  the  Seneca  Falls  Convention,  showing  that  these  molded 
public  sentiment  and  gave  rise  to  the  calling  of  this  memorable 
meeting.  Speeches,  letters  from  absent  members  and  a  roll  of 
honor,  each  giving  the  name  of  an  old  worker  and  adding  ap- 
propriate remarks,  followed. 

In  addition  to  the  usual  petitions  was  one  to  Congress  in  be- 
half of  the  Hawaiian  women.  A  protest  was  also  sent  against 
the  admission  to  Congress  of  Brigham  H.  Roberts  of  Utah,  a 
polygamist  and  an  enemy  to  woman  suffrage. 

Since  1884  this  association  has  held  128  public  meetings.  It 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 48 


754 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


has  been  represented  by  active  working  delegates  at  every  con- 
vention of  the  National  Association  since  becoming  an  auxiliary 
in  1882.  The  recording  secretary  has  held  that  office  for  seven- 
teen years,  never  having  been  absent  from  a  monthly  meeting 
unless  because  of  illness  or  attendance  at  the  national  conven- 
tions. She  has  been  a  delegate  to  the  latter  for  fourteen  years. 

This  association  did  much  pioneer  press  work.  From  its  first 
session  a  report  of  the  same,  with  items  made  up  of  whatever  had 
occurred  in  any  part  of  the  world  advantageous  to  woman's  ad- 
vancement since  the  previous  meeting,  has  appeared  next  day  in 
the  leading  Bos'ton  dailies,  with  scarcely  an  omission  during  the 
eighteen  years. 

Besides  those  already  mentioned  the  following  have  held  of- 
fice and  been  faithful  workers:  Mesdames  A.  M.  Mahony, 
Sarah  A.  Rand  and  Lydia  L.  Hutchins ;  and  the  Misses  Hannah 
M.  Todd,  Elizabeth  B.  Atwill,  Charlotte  Lobdell,  Agnes  G.  Par- 
rott  and  Sophia  M.  Hale.  In  1901  the  society  united  with  the 
Massachusetts  State  Association. 


r~ 


CHAPTER   XLVI. 

MICHIGAN.* 

From  the  time  of  the  defeat  of  the  suffrage  amendment  to  the 
State  constitution  in  1874  there  was  no  central  organization  in 
Michigan  for  ten  years,  although  a  few  local  societies  main- 
tained an  existence.  Through  a  conjunction  of  these  forces  a 
convention  was  called  at  Flint,  May  21,  1884,  which  resulted  in 
the  forming  of  a  State  Equal  Suffrage  Association,  officered  as 
follows:  President,  Mary  L.  Doe;  vice-president,  Gov.  Josiah 
\Y.  Begole;  corresponding  secretary,  Nellie  Walker;  recording 
secretary,  Fannie  Holden  Fowler;  treasurer,  Cordelia  F.  Briggs. 

The  second  State  convention  was  held  in  Grand  Rapids,  Oct. 
7-9,  1885,  with  Lucy  Stone  and  Henry  B.  Blackwell  in  at- 
tendance. Letters  were  received  from  Susan  B.  Anthony,  presi- 
dent of  the  National  Association,  and  Thomas  W.  Palmer,  U.  S. 
Senator  from  Michigan.  The  latter  said :  "I  hope  that  you 
will  put  forward  the  economic  aspect  of  the  question — its  effect 
upon  taxation.  Women  are  the  natural  economists." 

In  lieu  of  the  annual  meeting  in  1886  four  political  State  con- 
ventions— Prohibition,  Greenback,  Republican  and  Democratic — 
were  memorialized  for  a  plank  indorsing  a  Municipal  Suffrage 
Bill.  Sarah  E.  V.  Emery  appeared  before  the  Prohibition  con- 
vention, which  adopted  the  plank.  She  also  attended  the  Demo- 
cratic, where  she  was  invited  to  the  platform  and  made  a  vigor- 
ous speech,  which  was  received  with  applause,  but  the  suffrage 
resolution  was  not  adopted.  Emily  B.  Ketcham  attended  the 
Republican  convention  but  was  refused  a  hearing  before  the  Com- 
mittee on  Resolutions.  After  its  report  had  been  accepted  friends 
obtained  an  opportunity  for  her  to  address  the  meeting,  but  she 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Mary  L.  Doe  and  Mrs.   May  Stocking 
Knaggs,  both  of  Bay  City  and  former  presidents  of  the  State  Equal  Suffrage  Association. 

755 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE^ 


was  received  with  considerable  discourtesy.  Mrs.  Fowler  se- 
cured the  adoption  of  the  plank  by  the  Greenback  convention. 

The  association  met  in  the  State  House  at  Lansing,  Jan. 
13,  14,  1887.  Miss  Anthony,  vice-president-at-large  of  the  Na- 
tional Association,  gave  an  address  in  Representative  Hall.  She 
was  introduced  by  Gov.  Cyrus  G.  Luce,  and  many  senators  and 
representatives  were  in  the  audience.* 

The  convention  of  1888  took  place  in  Bay  City,  June  6-8. 
The  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  and  Helen  M.  Gougar  of  Indiana 
addressed  large  audiences  in  the  opera  house  on  successive  even- 
ings. Immediately  afterward  a  series  of  two  days'  meetings  was 
held  by  Mrs.  Gougar,  assisted  by  May  Stocking  Knaggs,  at  Sag- 
inaw,  Flint,  Port  Huron,  Detroit,  Battle  Creek  and  Grand 
Rapids,  societies  being  organized  at  several  places. 

In  November  the  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Women 
met  in  Detroit.  Many  suffragists  were  in  attendance  and  the 
State  president,  Mrs.  Doe,  called  a  council  in  the  parlors  of  the 
Church  of  Our  Father.  Fifty  responded  and  it  was  unanimously 
decided  to  renew  the  effort  for  Municipal  Suffrage. 

The  annual  meeting  was  held  in  the  State  House  at  Lansing, 
Jan.  19-21,  1889.  A  letter  was  received  from  Senator  Pal- 
mer, enclosing  a  draft  for  $100  and  saying:  "Equal  suffrage  in 
municipal  affairs  means  better  statutes,  better  ordinances,  better 
officers,  better  administration,  lower  taxation,  happier  homes 
and  a  better  race."  This  generous  gift  enabled  the  association 
to  keep  a  committee — Helen  Philleo  Jenkins,  Harriet  A.  Cook. 
Mrs.  Ketcham  and  Mrs.  Knaggs — at  the  capital  for  several 
weeks,  where  they  worked  systematically  to  convert  members  and 
to  secure  victory. 

The  convention  met  at  Detroit,  Feb.  13,  14,  1890.  Mrs.  Doe. 
who  had  been  the  leader  of  the  State  forces  since  their  organiza- 
tion, declined  renomination  and  Mrs.  Jenkins  was  chosen  presi- 
dent. 

The  association  convened  at  Lansing  again  Feb.  1012,  1891 : 

*  This  year  strong  societies  were  formed  in  Detroit,  Bay  City  and  Battle  Creek. 
Michigan  sent  three  representatives,  Melvin  A.  and  Martha  Snyder  Root  and  Emily  B 
Ketcham,  to  the  New  England  Woman  Suffrage  Bazaar  held  at  Boston  in  December 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Root  bad  spent  much  time  and  money  canvassing  the  State  to  arouse  in' 
and  secure  contributions  for  this,  and  at  its  close  New  England  gave  to  Michigan  the  total 
proceeds  of  her  sales. 


MICHIGAN.  757 

and  its  speakers  were  given  a  joint  hearing  in  Representative 
Hall  on  the  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill,  which  was  then  before  the 
Legislature.  Addresses  were  made  by  Harriet  J.  Boutelle,  Belle 
M.  Perry,  Sarah  E.  V.  Emery  and  Martha  Snyder  Root. 

Miss  Anthony  was  present  at  the  State  convention,  which  took 
place  in  Battle  Creek,  May  4,  5,  1892.  Articles  of  incorpora- 
tion were  adopted  and  Mrs.  Ketcham  was  elected  president. 

In  June  the  State  Republican  Convention  met  at  East  Saginaw. 
Mrs.  Ketcham,  with  Mrs.  Doe,  chairman  of  the  legislative  com- 
mittee, pleaded  before  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  for  recog- 
nition of  this  measure.  They  were  courteously  treated  and  when 
about  to  retire  their  opinion  was  asked  on  a  list  of  resolutions 
presented  from  Genesee  County,  vis. :  That  women  professors  be 
appointed  at  Michigan  University  until  their  number  should  bear 
a  fair  proportion  to  the  number  of  women  students ;  that  women 
be  appointed  on  boards  of  control  of  the  State  penal,  reformatory 
and  charitable  institutions;  that  Municipal  Suffrage  for  women 
be  recommended,  and  that  an  amendment  to  the  State  constitu- 
tion, striking  out  the  word  "male"  as  a  qualification  for  voters, 
be  submitted  to  the  electors.  The  ladies  indorsed  all  except  the 
fourth  proposition,  but  none  of  them  was  adopted. 

After  the  nominations  for  the  Legislature  had  been  made,  let- 
ters were  written  to  candidates  of  all  parties  to  ascertain  their  at- 
titude toward  the  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill.  Many  favorable  and 
some  evasive  replies  were  received,  while  not  a  few  letters  were 
wholly  ignored.  A  suffrage  lecture  course  was  arranged  in 
eight  cities,  from  November,  1892,  to  March,  1893,  inclusive, 
with  Miss  Anthony  and  Miss  Shaw,  president  and  vice-president- 
at-large  of  the  National  Association  and  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman 
Catt,  chairman  of  the  organization  committee,  Mrs.  Clara 
Bewick  Colby  of  Washington,  D.  C,  and  Mrs.  Lida  A.  Meri- 
wether  of  Tennessee,  as  speakers. 

The  next  annual  convention  was  held  in  the  Capitol,  Feb. 
1-3,  1893.  Mrs.  Colby  had  preceded  it  in  January  with  her  ad- 
dress on  Wyoming,  given  in  Representative  Hall,  the  facts  and 
figures  of  which  left  a  strong  impression.*  The  speakers  ad- 
dressed the  Legislature  in  behalf  of  the  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill. 

*  Melvin  A.  Root  presented  at  this  convention  a  compact  digest  of  The  Legal  Condition 


758 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


In  January,  1894,  Miss  Anthony  lectured  at  Ann  Arbor  before 
the  University  Association.  By  the  efforts  of  Mrs.  Olivia  B. 
Hall,  her  hostess  and  friend  of  many  years,  preparations  had  been 
made  for  a  mass  meeting,  in  which  the  State  E.  S.  A.  partici- 
pated, Miss  Shaw  also  being  present.  It  convened  in  Newberry 
Hall,  January  15-17,  with  a  large  attendance  and  resulted  in  the 
organization  of  the  Ann  Arbor  E.  S.  A.,  with  one  hundred  mem- 
bers and  Mrs.  Hall  as  president.  On  the  last  evening  she  gave 
a  large  reception  at  her  home  in  honor  of  the  two  ladies,  which 
was  attended  by  President  and  Mrs.  George  B.  Angell  and  many 
of  the  university  faculty. 

This  year's  convention  assembled  at  Grand  Rapids,  May  7-10, 
with  the  Rev.  Ida  C.  Hultin  of  Illinois  as  the  principal  speaker. 

The  meeting  of  1895  took  place  at  Saginaw,  May  7-9.  In  the 
evening  Representative  George  H.  Waldo  gave  a  review  of  his 
efforts  in  behalf  of  the  Equal  Suffrage  Bill,  and  an  enthusiastic 
indorsement  of  the  measure.  This  convention  had  the  assist- 
ance of  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  who  made  the  chief  address.  Mrs. 
Ketcham  retired  from  the  presidency  and  the  association  elected 
Mrs.  Knaggs.  A  new  standing  committee  of  five  was  appointed 
to  secure  women  physicians  and  attendants  in  public  institutions 
for  the  care  of  women  and  girls.  After  adjournment  the  Sagi- 
naw Political  Equality  Club  was  formed. 

In  1896  the  State  convention  met  in  Pontiac,  May  19-22. 
Senator  Palmer  was  the  orator  of  the  occasion. 

The  following  July  Mrs.  Knaggs  and  Carrie  C.  Faxon  ad- 
dressed the  Democratic  State  Convention  at  Bay  City,  through 
the  courtesy  of  the  Hons.  John  Donovan  and  O'Brien  J.  Atkin- 
son. They  were  accorded  an  attentive  hearing  with  much  ap- 
plause, and  given  a  rising  vote  of  thanks,  emphasized  by  an  ex- 
hortation from  the  chairman,  the  Hon.  Thomas  Barkworth,  that 
the  party  prepare  to  concede  to  the  women  of  the  State  their  po- 
litical rights. 

The  annual  meeting  of  1897  took  place  in  Vermontville,  May 
11-13.  On  November  22,  23,  a  national  conference  was  held  in 

of  Girls  and  Women  in  Michigan,  which  was  published  the  following  year.  It  has  been 
used  widely,  not  only  in  this  but  in  other  States,  and  has  proved  of  inestimable  sen-ice. 
A  liberal  gift  of  money  came  from  the  Hon.  Delos  A.  Blodgett  of  Grand  Rapid*,  « 
constant  friend. 


MICHIGAN.  759 

Grand  Rapids  by  Miss  Anthony,  Miss  Shaw  and  Mrs.  Chapman 
Catt,  together  with  the  officers  of  the  State  association  and  many 
other  Michigan  women. 

In  1898  the  convention  met  in  Bay  City,  May  3-5.  On  the  last 
evening  Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall  of  Indiana  gave  a  brilliant  ad- 
dress on  The  Duties  of  Women  Considered  as  Patriots.  Its 
strong  peace  sentiments  aroused  deep  interest,  as  this  was  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Spanish- American  War. 

The  invitation  of  the  Susan  B.  Anthony  Club  of  Grand  Rapids 
to  the  National  W.  S.  A.,  to  hold  its  annual  convention  in  that 
city  in  1899,  having  been  accepted,  the  date  was  fixed  for  April  27 
to  May  3,  inclusive,  and  it  was  decided  that  the  State  meeting 
should  immediately  follow.  This  national  gathering  was  full  of 
interest,  affording  as  it  did  an  opportunity  of  attendance  to  many 
women  of  the  State  who  were  unable  to  go  to  the  convention  at 
Washington.*  Grand  Rapids  women  were  generous  in  their 
hospitality,  all  visitors  being  entertained  free  of  expense.  The 
executive  ability  of  Mrs.  Ketcham  was  evident  from  first  to  last. 
The  State  association  held  a  business  session  May  4,  and  was  ad- 
dressed by  Mr.  Blackwell  and  Mrs.  Colby.  Mrs.  Lenore  Starker 
Bliss  was  elected  president. 

An  immediate  result  of  the  national  meeting  was  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Anna  Shaw  Junior  Equal  Suffrage  Club  of  Grand 
Rapids,  with  seventeen  youthful  members. 

In  December  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  held  its  an- 
nual convention  in  Detroit.  Miss  Anthony  addressed  it  by  in- 
vitation and  urged  the  members  to  adopt  a  resolution  asking  Con- 
gress for  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  forbidding  the  disfranchise 
ment  of  United  States  citizens  on  account  of  sex.  Her  speech 
was  most  enthusiastically  received  and  the  resolution  she  offered 
was  immediately  adopted,  and,  in  the  form  of  a  petition  which 
represented  nearly  1,000,000  members,  duly  forwarded  to  Con- 
gress. 

Prior  to  the  State  convention  of  1900  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  as- 
sisted by  Miss  Shaw,  Miss  Harriet  May  Mills  of  New  York  and 
Mrs.  Root,  held  two  days'  conventions  at  Hillsdale,  Battle  Creek, 
Kalamazoo  and  Ann  Arbor,  organizing  suffrage  clubs  at  the  first 

*  See  Chap.  XVIII. 


760  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

three  places.  The  annual  meeting  convened  in  Detroit,  May  15- 
17,  Miss  Shaw  and  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  giving  addresses  on  con- 
secutive evenings.  Mrs.  Bliss  declining  renomination,  Mrs. 
Ketcham  was  unanimously  replaced  at  the  head  of  the  State  as- 
sociation.* 

In  July,  at  the  request  of  Miss  Anthony,  the  Columbia  Catho- 
lic Summer  School  held  in  Detroit  extended  an  invitation  for  a 
speech  on  suffrage.  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  was  selected,  all  ar- 
rangements being  made  by  Mrs.  Jenkins  and  others.  Father  W. 
J.  Dalton,  who  introduced  her,  said  he  hoped  to  see  women  vot- 
ing and  filling  all  offices,  even  that  of  police  commissioner. 

The  Greenback  and  the  People's  parties  have  welcomed  women 
as  assistants.  Prominent  among  these  have  been  Marian  Todd, 
Martha  E.  Strickland  and  Elizabeth  Eaglesfield.  In  1896  Mrs. 
Emery  and  Mrs.  Root  were  placed  upon  the  State  Central  Com- 
mittee of  the  People's  Party.  The  Prohibitionists  also  have  re- 
ceived women  as  party  workers. 

Besides  those  already  named,  others  who  have  been  foremost  in 
every  plan  to  forward  equality  for  women  are  Giles  B.  and  Cath- 
arine A.  F.  Stebbins,  Sara  Philleo  Skinner,  Lila  E.  Bliss,  H.  Mar- 
garet Downs,  Delisle  P.  Holmes,  Wesley  Emery,  Brent  Harding, 
Smith  G.  Ketcham  and  John  Wesley  Knaggs ;  among  the  younger 
women,  Florence  Jenkins  Spalding  and  Edith  Frances  Hall. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION:  Prior  to  1885  the  charters  of  twelve 
cities  made  inoperative  the  early  State  law  which  gave  School 
Suffrage  to  women.  By  appealing  to  the  Legislature  of  that  year 
the  charters  of  Grand  Rapids  and  Bay  City  were  so  amended  that 
the  right  to  vote  at  school  meetings  was  conferred  upon  women. 

The  new  State  association  organized  in  1884  adopted  as  its 
principal  plan  of  work  a  bill  which  had  been  drawn  by  the  Hon. 
Samuel  Fowler  arid  introduced  in  the  Legislature  of  1883,  to 
grant  Municipal  Suffrage  to  women. 

In  1885  this  bill  was  presented  in  the  Senate  by  John  W.  Bel- 
knap,  a  strong  supporter.  Independent  of  the  State  association, 
Theodore  G.  Houk  introduced  in  the  House  a  joint  resolution  to 

•Other  officers  elected:  Vice-president,  Clara  B.  Arthur;  corresponding  secretary.  Aide 
L.  T.  Blake;  recording  secretary,  Edith  Frances  Hall;  treasurer,  Martha  Snyder  Root; 
auditors,  Margaret  M.  Huckins,  Frances  Ostrander;  member  national  executive  committee, 
Lenore  Starker  Bliss. 


MICHIGAN.  761 

strike  the  word  "male"  from  the  constitution.  The  Joint  Judi- 
ciary Committees  granted  a  hearing  to  the  friends  of  woman  suf- 
frage in  February.  The  Municipal  Bill  came  to  a  vote  in  the 
Senate  on  May  21,  which  resulted  in  14  ayes,  15  noes,  but  was 
not  acted  upon  in  the  House.  The  Houk  joint  resolution  passed 
the  House  by  81  ayes,  10  noes,  but  was  not  brought  up  in  the 
Senate. 

In  1887  the  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  was  again  taken  up,  be- 
ing introduced  simultaneously  in  both  Houses,  in  the  lower  by 
Henry  Watson,  in  the  upper  by  Charles  J.  Monroe,  both  staunch 
friends.  A  hearing  was  had  before  the  Senate  Judiciary  and  the 
House  Committee  on  Elections  in  March.  Miss  Frances  E.  Wil- 
lard  aided  the  suffragists  by  a  brief  address.  On  April  12  the 
House  committee  reported  in  favor  of  striking  out  all  after  the 
enacting  clause,  thus  completely  obliterating  the  bill,  which  re- 
port was  accepted  by  a  vote  of  50  ayes,  33  noes.  The  Senate 
Bill  was  not  considered. 

In  1889  the  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  was  introduced  in  the 
Senate  by  Arthur  D.  Gilmore  and  in  the  House  by  Dr.  James  B. 
F.  Curtis.  It  was  referred  to  the  Judiciary  Committees,  and  at 
their  request  the  hearing  was  had  before  the  entire  Legislature 
during  the  annual  convention  of  the  State  E.  S.  A.  No  outside 
lecturers  were  invited,  because  the  friends  of  the  measure  were 
met  by  a  strongly-expressed  wish  that  the  women  of  Michigan 
should  speak  for  themselves.  Short  speeches  were  made  by  May 
Stocking  Knaggs,  Catharine  A.  F.  Stebbins,  Emily  B.  Ketcham, 
Lucy  F.  Andrews,  Elizabeth  Eaglesfield,  Frances  Riddle  Stafford, 
Harriet  A.  Cook,  Mrs.  R.  M.  Kellogg,  Phebe  B.  Whitfield  and 
Mary  B.  Clay  of  Kentucky  who  was  then  residing  in  the  State. 
Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby  being  present,  she  was  invited  to  make 
the  closing  remarks. 

Just  before  this  hearing  the  bevy  of  officers  and  speakers  pass- 
ing through  the  corridor  on  their  way  to  the  House  were  warned 
by  Joseph  Greusel,  a  friendly  journalist,  that  a  circular  of  pro- 
test had  been  placed  upon  the  desk  of  each  member.  This  was 
headed:  "Massachusetts  Remonstrants  against  Woman  Suf- 
frage, to  the  Members  of  the  Michigan  Legislature;"  and  con- 


762  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

tained  the  familiar  array  of  misrepresentations.  With  the  co- 
operation of  Lucy  Stone,  a  reply  was  printed  immediately  after 
the  convention  and  likewise  distributed  in  the  Legislature. 

The  House  Bill  remained  under  the  judicious  guardianship  of 
Dr.  Curtis.  The  chairman  of  the  legislative  committee,  Mrs. 
Knaggs,  was  in  constant  attendance  and  secured  valuable  infor- 
mation on  the  practical  working  of  Municipal  Suffrage  from 
Gov.  Lyman  U.  Humphrey,  Attorney-General  Simeon  B.  Brad- 
ford, ex-Attorney-General  L.  B.  Kellogg  and  Laura  M.  Johns,  all 
of  Kansas.  The  Hon.  Charles  B.  Waite  of  Chicago  prepared  by 
request  an  exhaustive  legal  opinion  on  The  Power  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  Michigan  in  Reference  to  Municipal  Suffrage.  The 
Judiciary  Committee — John  V.  B.  Goodrich,  Russell  R.  Pealer, 
Byron  S.  Waite,  Norris  J.  Brown,  Oliver  S.  Smith,  Thomas  C. 
Taylor,  James  A.  Randall — gave  a  unanimous  report  in  favor  of 
the  bill,  which  included  this  opinion  and  the  Kansas  reports. 
Senator  Thomas  W.  Palmer,  who  had  been  appointed  Minister 
to  Spain,  went  to  Lansing  on  the  very  eve  of  leaving  this  coun- 
try and,  in  an  address  to  the  joint  Houses  of  the  Legislature, 
made  a  strong  plea  for  the  measure. 

As  the  day  fixed  for  the  consideration  of  the  bill  approached, 
the  suffrage  committee  found  itself  confronted  by  an  arrange- 
ment, quietly  made  by  the  opponents,  to  have  an  address  delivered 
in  Representative  Hall  by  a  Mrs.  Mary  Livermore,  who  had  been 
holding  parlor  meetings  in  Detroit  for  pay  and  speaking  against 
woman  suffrage;  and  the  false  report  was  industriously  circu- 
lated that  this  was  the  great  suffragist  of  like  name,  who  had 
discarded  her  lifelong  convictions  and  gone  over  to  the  enemy. 

The  bill  was  considered  May  15,  1889.  By  the  courtesy  of  J. 
B.  Mulliken,  general  manager  of  the  D.  L.  and  N.  R.  R.,  a  special 
train  which  carried  a  large  delegation  of  women  was  sent  from 
Detroit.  Some  came  from  other  parts  of  the  State  and  the  so- 
cieties of  Lansing  were  well  represented.  The  galleries  were 
filled  and  the  floor  of  the  House  was  lined  with  interested  women. 
After  a  largely  favorable  discussion  the  vote  was  taken,  resulting 
in  58  ayes,  34  noes.  The  bill  was  immediately  dispatched  to  the 
Senate.  That  body  lost  no  time,  but  at  once  brought  the  meas- 


MICHIGAN.  763 

ure  under  consideration  and  after  a  brief  discussion  it  was  de- 
feated by  one  vote — 1 1  ayes,  12  noes.* 

That  evening  Mrs.  Livermore  gave  her  belated  dissertation 
and,  upon  motion,  was  followed  by  Adele  Hazlitt,  who  with  great 
courtesy  slew  her  weak  arguments. 

At  this  session  the  charters  of  East  Saginaw  and  Detroit  were 
amended  to  give  women  of  those  cities  the  school  ballot ;  the  for- 
mer through  the  efforts  of  Representative  Rowland  Connor,  f 

In  1891  the  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  was  again  presented  to  the 
Legislature,  in  the  House  by  Samuel  Miller  and  in  the  Senate  by 
Alfred  Milnes,  both  champions  of  the  measure.  The  State  suf- 
frage convention  was  in  session  at  the  capital  February  10-12, 
and  the  Legislature  gave  a  joint  hearing  in  Representative  Hall 
to  its  speakers,  all  Michigan  women.  The  Senate  Bill  was  taken 
up  March  25,  discussed  and  lost  by  14  ayes,  12  noes.  It  was  then 
tabled  and  taken  up  again  May  13,  receiving  14  ayes,  15  noes. 
Just  prior  to  this  consideration  of  the  bill  ninety-five  petitions  in 
its  favor,  representing  eighty-eight  towns  and  bearing  several 
thousand  signatures,  were  presented. 

This  discussion  was  the  most  trying  of  all  during  the  ten  years 
of  effort  to  secure  Municipal  Suffrage,  owing  to  the  character  of 
the  chief  opponent,  Senator  Frank  Smith,  who  represented  the 
basest  elements  of  Detroit.  Knowing  his  illiteracy,  the  reporters 
had  expected  much  sport  by  sending  his  speech  to  the  papers  in 
full,  but  in  the  interests  of  decency  they  refrained  from  publish- 
ing it.  Women  came  down  from  the  galleries  white  with  anger 
and  disgust,  and  avowed  that  if  they  never  had  wanted  the  ballot 
before  they  wanted  it  now.  The  suffrage  committee  received 
many  friendly  courtesies  from  Lieut.-Gov.  John  Strong,  besides 
a  substantial  gift  of  money.  When  asked  for  the  use  of  the  Sen- 
ate Chamber  for  one  evening  of  the  convention  he  said :  "Cer- 
tainly ;  your  money  helped  to  build  the  State  House.  You  have 
as  much  right  to  it  as  any  of  us." 

*  Many  petitions  in  favor  of  the  bill  had  been  sent  unsolicited,  this  not  being  a  part  of 
the  plan  of  work.  After  the  quick  defeat  in  the  Senate  it  was  found  that  the  chairman  of 
the  committee  to  which  these  had  been  referred  had  on  file  the  names  of  5,502  petitioners 
(2,469  men,  3,033  women)  out  of  twenty-one  senatorial  districts.  These  were  in  addition 
to  many  thousands  sent  in  previous  sessions,  when  petitioning  had  been  a  method  of  work. 

t  Although  the  Detroit  women  obtained  the  change  in  their  law  just  before  the  spring 
election,  they  made  a  house  to  house  canvass  to  secure  registration  and  polled  a  vote  of 
2,700  women,  electing  Sophronia  O.  C.  Parsons  to  the  school  board. 


764  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

In  March,  1893,  the  bill  was  introduced  by  Henry  Wirt  New- 
kirk  in  the  House  and  Samuel  W.  Hopkins  in  the  Senate.  Both 
were  lawyers  of  distinguished  ability,  and  among  the  most  earn- 
est advocates  the  measure  ever  had.  The  State  suffrage  conven- 
tion was  in  session  while  it  was  being  considered.  The  Rev.  Anna 
Howard  Shaw  and  the  Rev.  Caroline  Bartlett  made  addresses  be- 
fore the  Legislature,  the  latter  speaking  on  Woman's  Legitimate 
and  Illegitimate  Work  in  Politics.  These  speeches  took  the  place 
of  the  customary  committee  hearing.  The  evening  before  the 
bill  was  voted  on  Miss  Anthony  addressed  the  Legislature  with 
her  customary  acumen  and  force. 

The  measure  had  been  made  the  special  order  for  2  130  P.  M. 
the  next  day.  The  House  assembled  at  2  o'clock.  Following  the 
roll-call  the  usual  order  was  the  presentation  of  petitions.  At  this 
time  a  member  in  the  rear,  at  a  sufficient  distance  from  the  Speak- 
er's desk  to  give  impressiveness  to  what  would  follow,  rose  and 
presented  "A  petition  from  the  people  of  Chippewa  County  in 
favor  of  the  Municipal  Woman  Suffrage  Bill."  A  page  sprang 
forward  and  taking  the  document,  which  was  prepared  upon 
paper  of  an  extra  size  and  ornamented  with  long  streamers  of 
red  and  green  ribbons,  ran  with  it  to  the  clerk's  desk,  and  that 
officer  proceeded  to  read  it  at  length,  including  a  long  list  of  sig- 
natures which  comprised  Patrick  O'Shea,  Annie  Rooney,  Spotted 
Tail,  etc.  This  petition  was  followed  by  two  others  of  similar 
character,  bearing  Indian  names  of  such  significance  as  the  wit 
of  the  opposition  could  invent.  After  this  dignified  prelude  the 
House  discussed  the  measure  at  length,  and  defeated  it  by  a  vote 
of  38  ayes,  39  noes.  A  reconsideration  was  moved  and  the  bill 
tabled. 

This  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  was  taken  up  again  in  May  and 
passed  the  House  on  the  igth  with  an  educational  amendment: 
"Women  who  are  able  to  read  the  constitution  of  Michigan  in  the 
English  language."  The  vote  was  57  ayes,  25  noes.  On  May 
25  it  was  considered  in  the  Senate  and,  after  a  vigorous  battle, 
was  carried  by  a  vote  of  18  ayes,  n  noes.  Gov.  John  T.  Rich 
affixed  his  signature  May  27,  and  apparent  victory  was  won  after 
ten  years  of  effort.  Representative  Nevvkirk  and  Senator  Hop- 
kins received  the  heartfelt  gratitude  of  those  for  whom  they  had 


MICHIGAN.  765 

given  their  ardent  labors,  and  local  societies  held  jubilee  meet- 
ings. The  newspapers  of  the  State  were  unanimous  in  express- 
ing welcome  to  the  new  class  of  voters. 

Mary  L.  Doe  started  at  once  upon  a  tour  for  the  purpose  of 
organizing  municipal  franchise  leagues  for  the  study  of  city  gov- 
ernment, and  everywhere  was  met  with  eager  interest.  She  left 
a  league  in  every  place  she  visited,  men  also  joining  in  the  plans 
for  study.  Thus  in  conscientious  preparation  for  their  new 
duties,  women  in  the  various  municipalities  passed  the  summer 
and  early  autumn  of  1893. 

Mayor  Pingree  of  Detroit  recognizing  the  new  law,  ordered  a 
sufficient  additional  number  of  registration  books,  but  Edward 
H.  Kennedy  and  Henry  S.  Potter,  who  were  opposed  to  it,  filed 
an  injunction  against  Hazen  S.  Pingree  and  the  Common  Coun- 
cil to  restrain  them  from  this  extra  purchase.  Mary  Stuart  Cof- 
fin and  Mary  E.  Burnett  "countered"  by  filing  a  mandamus  Sep- 
tember 30,  to  compel  the  election  commissioners  to  provide  means 
for  carrying  out  the  law.  As  these  were  cases  for  testing  the 
constitutionality  of  the  law  they  were  taken  directly  to  the  Su- 
preme Court.  They  were  set  for  argument  October  10,  at  2  p. 
MV  but  a  case  of  local  interest  was  allowed  to  usurp  the  time  till 
4  o'clock,  one  hour  only  being  left  for  the  arguments  with  three 
advocates  on  each  side.  Two  of  the  women's  lawyers,  John  B. 
Corliss  and  Henry  A.  Haigh,  therefore  filed  briefs  and  gave  their 
time  to  the  first  attorney,  Col.  John  Atkinson. 

A  decision  was  rendered  October  24,  the  mandamus  denied  and 
the  injunction  granted,  all  the  judges  concurring,  on  the  ground 
that  the  Legislature  had  no  authority  to  create  a  new  class  of 
voters.  Those  who  gave  this  decision  were  Chief  Justice  John 
W.  McGrath  and  Justices  Frank  A.  Hooker,  John  D.  Long, 
Claudius  B.  Grant  and  Robert  M.  Montgomery.* 

In  spite  of  this  Waterloo,  the  names  of  those  men  who,  through 
the  ten  years'  struggle,  in  the  various  sessions  of  the  Legislature, 
stood  as  champions  of  the  political  rights  of  women,  are  cherished 
in  memory.  Besides  those  already  given  are  Lieut-Gov.  Archi- 

*  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  Wayne  County  women  registered  and  attended  primary 
meetings  prior  to  this  decision,  but  their  votes  were  held  not  to  invalidate  the  nomina- 
tions, although  at  least  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Recorder's  Court  owed  his  election  to 
being  nominated  through  the  votes  of  women. 


766 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


bald  Butters,  Senators  Edwin  G.  Fox,  James  D.  Turnbull, 
Charles  H.  McGinley  and  C.  J.  Brundage,  and  Representative 
Fremont  G.  Chamberlain.  In  both  Houses,  session  after  session, 
there  were  many  eloquent  advocates  of  woman's  equality. 

No  further  efforts  have  been  made  by  women  to  secure  the  suf- 
frage; but  in  1895  George  H.  Waldo,  without  solicitation,  intro- 
duced into  the  House  a  joint  resolution  to  amend  the  constitu- 
tion by  striking  out  the  word  "male."  This  was  done  in  fulfil- 
ment of  a  promise  to  his  mother  and  his  wife,  when  nominated, 
to  do  all  that  he  could  to  secure  the  enfranchisement  of  women  if 
elected.  Although  the  officers  of  the  State  association  did  not 
believe  the  time  to  be  ripe  for  the  submission  of  such  an  amend- 
ment, they  could  not  withhold  a  friendly  hand  from  so  ardent 
and  sincere  a  champion.  The  resolution  was  lost  by  one  vote. 

This  Legislature  passed  what  was  known  as  "the  blanket  char- 
ter act,"  in  which  the  substitution  of  "and"  for  "or"  seemed  so 
to  affect  the  right  of  women  to  the  school  ballot  in  cities  of  the 
fourth  class  as  to  create  a  general  disturbance.  It  resulted  in  an 
appeal  to  Attorney-General  Fred  A.  Maynard,  who  rendered  an 
opinion  sustaining  the  suffrage  of  women  in  those  cities. 

In  1897  the  main  efforts  of  the  association  were  directed  to- 
ward securing  a  bill  to  place  women  on  boards  of  control  of  the 
State  Asylums  for  the  Insane,  and  one  to  make  mandatory  the 
appointment  of  women  physicians  to  take  charge  of  women  pa- 
tients in  these  asylums  and  in  the  Home  for  the  Feeble-Minded. 
These  measures  were  both  lost;  but  on  April  15  Governor  Pin- 
gree  appointed  Jane  M.  Kinney  to  the  Board  of  Control  of  the 
Eastern  Michigan  Asylum  for  the  Insane  at  Pontiac  for  a  tenn 
of  six  years,  and  after  twenty  days'  delay  the  Senate  confirmed 
the  appointment. 

Interest  was  taken  also  in  a  bill  requiring  a  police  matron  in 
towns  of  10,000  inhabitants  or  more,  which  this  year  became  law. 

In  1899  a  bill  was  again  introduced  into  the  Legislature  to  make 
mandatory  the  appointment  of  women  physicians  in  asylums  for 
the  insane,  the  Industrial  Home  for  Girls,  the  Home  for  the 
Feeble-Minded,  the  School  for  Deaf  Mutes  and  the  School  for  the 
Blind.  This  measure  had  now  enlisted  the  interest  of  the  State 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  and  many  other  organizations  of 


MICHIGAN.  767 

women,  and  thousands  of  petitions  were  presented.  Emma  J. 
Rose  led  the  work  of  the  women's  clubs  in  its  behalf.  It  passed 
the  Legislature  and  became  a  law. 

LAWS:  In  1885  a  law  was  enacted  that  manufacturers  who 
employ  women  must  furnish  seats  for  them;  in  1889  that  no  girl 
under  fifteen  years  of  age  should  be  employed  in  factories  or 
stores  for  a  longer  period  than  fifty-four  hours  in  a  single  week ; 
in  1893  that  no  woman  under  twenty-one  should  be  employed  in 
any  manufacturing  establishment  longer  than  sixty  hours  in  any 
one  week;  in  1895  that  no  woman  under  twenty-one  should  be  al- 
lowed to  clean  machinery  while  in  motion.* 

A  law  enacted  in  1897  prohibits  the  use  of  indecent,  immoral, 
obscene  or  insulting  language  in  the  presence  of  any  woman  or 
child,  with  a  penalty  for  its  violation. 

Dower  but  not  curtesy  obtains.  The  widow  is  entitled  to  the 
life  use  of  one-third  of  the  real  estate,  and  to  one-third  of  the 
rents,  issues  and  profits  of  property  not  conveniently  divisible, 
owned  by  her  husband.  She  may  stay  in  the  dwelling  of  her 
husband  and  receive  reasonable  support  for  one  year.  She  is 
entitled  to  her  apparel  and  ornaments  and  those  of  her  husband, 
$250  worth  of  his  household  furniture  and  $200  worth  of  his 
other  personal  property,  which  she  may  select.  If  he  die  without 
a  will  and  there  are  no  children  she  inherits  one-half,  and  if  there 
are  no  other  heirs  the  whole  of  her  husband's  real  estate,  and  per- 
sonal property,  if  the  latter,  after  all  debts  are  paid,  does  not  ex- 
ceed $1,000.  If  there  is  excess  of  this  it  is  distributed  like  real 
estate.  This  reservation  is  not  made  for  the  widower,  but  "no 
individual,  under  any  circumstances,  takes  any  larger  interest 
than  the  husband  in  the  personal  property  of  his  deceased  wife." 

Where  the  wife  has  separate  real  estate  she  may  sell,  mortgage 
or  bequeath  it  as  if  she  were  "sole."  The  husband  can  not  give 
full  title  to  his  real  estate  unless  the  wife  joins  so  as  to  cut  off  her 
dower. 

The  wife's  time,  services,  earnings  and  society  belong  to  her 
husband,  but  he  may  give  to  his  wife  her  services  rendered  for 

*  In  April,  1896,  a  large  number  of  the  philanthropic  women  of  Detroit,  including  many 
suffragists,  organized  the  Protective  Agency  for  Women  and  Children,  opening  an  office  in 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  Building  and  employing  an  agent  on  salary.  Since  then  it  has 
done  admirable  work  and  has  obtained  some  good  legislation. 


768  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

another,  whether  in  his  own  household  or  elsewhere,  so  that  she 
may  recover  for  them  in  her  own  name.  Damages  for  the  loss 
of  such  services  and  society,  resulting  from  injuries  inflicted  upon 
the  wife,  belong  to  the  husband  and  are  to  be  recovered  in  his  own 
name.  Her  obligation  to  render  family  services  for  him  is  co- 
extensive with  his  obligation  to  support  her.  She  can  sue  in  her 
own  name  for  personal  injuries. 

Husband  and  wife  can  not  be  partners  in  business ;  but  of  per- 
sonal property  owned  by  them  jointly  she  is  entitled  to  her  share 
the  same  as  if  unmarried;  and  real  estate  held  by  them  in  fee  or 
in  joint  tenancy  goes  entirely  to  the  survivor  without  probate  or 
other  proceedings. 

A  wife  may  become  a  sole  trader  with  the  husband's  consent, 
or  may  form  a  business  partnership  with  another.  She  can  not 
become  security. 

All  persons,  except  infants  and  married  women  and  persons  of 
unsound  mind,  may  submit  differences  to  arbitration. 

The  father  is  legally  entitled  to  the  custody  of  the  persons  and 
education  of  minor  children,  and  may  appoint  a  guardian  by  will 
for  the  minority  even  of  one  unborn,  but  the  mother  may  present 
objections  to  the  Probate  Judge  and  appeal  from  his  decision. 

The  husband  must  provide  the  necessities  of  life  according  to 
his  station  and  means  while  the  wife  remains  in  his  domicile.  If 
she  is  deserted  or  non-supported,  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  county 
shall  assign  such  part  of  his  real  or  personal  estate  as  it  deems 
necessary  for  her  support,  and  may  enforce  the  decree  by  sale  of 
such  real  estate,  which  provision  holds  'during  their  joint  lives. 

In  1887  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10 
to  14  years.  In  1895  a  bill  to  raise  the  age  from  14  to  1 8  was 
introduced  in  the  Senate  by  Joseph  R.  McLaughlin.  More 
than  10,000  persons  petitioned  for  its  passage,  two  similar  bills 
having  been  introduced  in  the  House.  A  hearing  was  granted 
by  the  Judiciary  Committees,  at  which  speeches  were  made  by 
Senator  and  Mrs.  McLaughlin,  Clara  A.  Avery,  Mrs.  Andrew 
Howell,  Dr.  E.  L.  Shirley,  the  aged  Lucinda  Hinsdale  Stone. 
Melvin  A.  and  Martha  Snyder  Root.  Mrs.  Root  also  addressed 
the  Legislature  in  Representative  Hall.  The  bill  was  amended 
to  17  years  and  passed  in  the  Senate.  The  next  day,  after  its 


MICHIGAN.  769 

friends  had  dispersed,  the  vote  was  reconsidered  and  the  bill 
amended  to  16  years,  passing  both  Houses  in  this  form.  The 
penalty  is  imprisonment  for  life,  or  for  any  such  period  as  the 
court  shall  direct,  no  minimum  penalty  being  named. 

SUFFRAGE:  When  at  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  the  States 
eliminated  the  word  "white"  from  their  constitutions,  Michigan 
in  1867  amended  her  School 'Law  to  conform  and  also  struck  out 
the  word  "male"  as  a  qualification  for  the  suffrage,  and  gave  tax- 
paying  women  a  vote  for  school  trustees.  In  1881  this  law  was 
further  amended  to  include  parents  or  guardians  of  children  of 
school  age.  No  woman  can  vote  for  county  or '  State  Superin- 
tendents, as  these  officers  are  provided  for  under  the  constitution. 
Tax-paying  women  may  also  vote  on  bonds  and  appropriations 
for  school  purposes. 

The  year  of  1888  was  marked  by  a  test  of  the  constitutionality 
of  this  School  Law,  which  involved  the  right  of  the  Legislature 
to  confer  any  form  of  suffrage  whatever  upon  women.  The  test 
was  made  through  the  prosecution  of  the  inspectors  of  election  of 
the  city  of  Flint  by  Mrs.  Eva  R.  Belles,  whose  vote  was  refused 
at  a  school  election,  she  being  a  qualified  voter  under  the  State 
law.  Mrs.  Belles  won  her  case  which  was  then  appealed  to  the 
Supreme  Court.  This  affirmed  the  decision  of  the  lower  court 
and  sustained  the  law. 

In  May,  1893,  the  Legislature  conferred  Municipal  Suffrage 
on  women,  but  in  October  the  Supreme  Court  decided  it  uncon- 
stitutional on  the  ground  that  "the  Legislature  had  no  authority 
to  create  a  new  class  of  voters."  (See  Legislative  Action.) 
The  Court  held  that  it  could,  however,  confer  School  Suffrage 
as  "the  whole  primary  school  system  is  confided  to  the  Legisla- 
ture and  its  officers  are  not  mentioned  in  the  constitution."  By 
this  decision  women  can  have  no  other  form  of  the  franchise  ex- 
cept by  constitutional  amendment. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  Hundreds  of  women  are  serving  as  of- 
ficers and  members  of  school  boards  throughout  the  State,  as 
township  school  inspectors  and  as  county  school  commissioners 
and  examiners. 

A  number  are  acting  as  deputy  county  clerks,  and  one  as 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 49 


7/o 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAX    SUFFRAGE. 


deputy  clerk  of  the  United  States  District  Court.  The  latter  fre- 
quently opens  the  court.  Women  serve  as  notaries  public. 

For  thirty  years  women  have  rilled  the  office  of  State  Libra- 
rian, the  present  incumbent  being  Mary  C.  Spencer. 

Dr.  Harriet  M.  C.  Stone  has  been  for  several  years  assistant 
physician  in  the  Michigan  Asylum  for  the  Insane  at  Kalamazoo. 

The  State  Industrial  School  for  Girls  has  two  women  on  the 
Board  of  Guardians,  one  of  whom,  Allaseba  M.  Bliss,  is  the  pres- 
ident and  is  serving  her  second  term  of  four  years,  having  been 
reappointed  by  Gov.  Hazen  S.  Pingree.*  Since  1899  the  law  re- 
quires women  physicians  in  asylums  for  the  insane  and  other 
State  institutions  where  women  and  children  are  cared  for. 

In  the  autumn  of  1898  Mrs.  Merrie  Hoover  Abbott,  law-part- 
ner in  the  firm  of  Abbott  &  Abbott  of  West  Branch,  was  nomi- 
nated on  the  Democratic  ticket  as  prosecuting  attorney  of  Oge- 
maw  County.  She  was  elected  and  entered  upon  her  duties  Jan. 
i,  1899.  Quo  warranto  proceedings  were  instituted  by  Attor- 
ney-General Horace  M.  Oren  to  test  her  right  to  the  office, 
and  October  17  the  Supreme  Court  file^I  its  opinion  and  entered 
judgment  of  ouster.  In  the  meantime  Mrs.  Abbott  had  dis- 
charged successfully  the  duties  of  the  position.  The  opinion  was 
as  follows:  "Where  the  constitution  in  creating  a  public  office 
is  silent  in  regard  to  qualification  to  office,  electors  only  are  quali- 
fied to  fill  the  same,  and  since  under  the  constitution  women  are 
not  electors,  they  are  not  eligible  to  hold  such  offices.  The  of- 
fice of  prosecuting  attorney  is  a  constitutional  office  which  can 
only  be  held  by  one  possessing  the  qualification  of  an  elector." 

From  this  opinion  Justice  Joseph  B.  Moore  dissented,  making 
an  able  argument.  In  closing  he  said : 

The  statutes  of  this  State  confer  upon  woman  the  right  to  prac- 
tice law.  She  may  represent  her  client  in  the  most  important  litiga- 
tion in  all  the  courts,  and  no  one  can  dispute  her  right.  She  may 
defend  a  person  charged  with  murder.  Can  she  not  prosecute  one 
charged  with  the  larceny  of  a  whip?  To  say  she  can  not  seem* 
illogical.  .  .  .  t  Individuals  may  employ  her  and  the  court- 
must  recognize  her  employment.  If  the  people  see  fit,  by  electing 
her  to  an  office  the  duties  of  which  pertain  almost  wholly  to  tin- 
practice  of  the  law,  to  employ  her  to  represent  them  in  their  litiga- 

•  Mrs.  May  Stocking  Knaggs  has  been  appointed  (1901)  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Cc 
trol  of  the  State  Industrial  School  for  Girls,  by  Gov.  Aaron  T.  Bliss.     [Eds. 


MICHIGAN.  7/1 

tion,  why  should  not  the  courts  recognize  the  employment  ?  .  .  .  . 
\Yhere  the  constitution  and  the  statutes  are  silent  as  to  the  qualifica- 
tion for  a  given  office,  the  people  may  elect  whom  they  will,  if  the 
person  so  elected  is  competent  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  office. 
.  .  .  None  of  the  duties  of  prosecuting  attorney  are  of  such 
a  character  as  to  preclude  one  from  their  performance  simply  because 
of  sex. 

Charles  S.  Abbott,  Allen  S.  Morse  and  T.  A.  E.  Weadock  were 
the  advocates  for  Mrs.  Abbott,  and  she  also  made  a  strong  oral 
argument  in  her  own  behalf.  Unfortunately  the  case  was  not 
one  which  permitted  an  appeal  to  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court. ' 

OCCUPATIONS  :  No  profession  or  occupation  is  forbidden  by 
law  to  women. 

EDUCATION  :  All  universities  and  colleges  admit  women. 
The  University  of  Michigan  (Ann  Arbor),  one  of  the  largest  in 
the  country,  was  among  the  first  to  open  its  doors  to  them. 
(1869.)  Mrs.  Lucinda  Hinsdale  Stone  was  a  strong  factor  in 
securing  their  admission.  In  having  women  on  its  faculty,  it  is 
still  in  advance  of  most  of  those  where  co-education  prevails. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  3,471  men  and  12,093  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $44.48;  of 
the  women,  $35.35. 


Michigan  may  truly  be  called  the  founder  of  Woman's  Clubs, 
is  the  first  one  for  purely  literary  culture  of  which  we  have  any 
record  was  formed  in  Kalamazoo,  in  1852,  by  Mrs.  Stone,  to 
Arhom  the  women  of  the  State  are  deeply  indebted  in  many  ways. 
\t  present  (1902)  there  are  133  in  the  General  Federation  with 
i  membership  of  about  10,000,  and  a  number  are  not  federated. 
This  State  also  leads  all  others  in  the  number  of  women's  club 
louses,  ten  of  the  leading  clubs  possessing  their  own.  There  are 
wo  of  these  in  Grand  Rapids — the  St.  Cecilia  (musical)  costing 
; 5 3,000,  and  the  Ladies'  Literary  costing  $30,000,  both  contain- 
ng  fine  libraries,  large  audience  rooms  and  every  convenience. 


CHAPTER    XLVII. 

MINNESOTA.* 

The  first  agitation  of  the  question  of  woman  suffrage  in  Min- 
nesota, and  the  first  petitions  to  the  Legislature  to  grant  it,  began 
immediately  after  the  Civil  War,  through  the  efforts  of  Mrs. 
Sarah  Burger  Stearns  and  Mrs.  Mary  J.  Colburn,  and  the  first 
suffrage  societies  were  formed  by  these  ladies  in  1869.  The 
work  has  continued  with  more  or  less  regularity  up  to  the  present. 

From  1883  to  1890  the  State  Suffrage  Association  held  its  an- 
nual meetings  regularly  in  one  or  the  other  of  the  Twin  Cities, 
Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul.  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Lucy  Stone, 
Henry  B.  Blackwell,  Julia  Ward  Howe,  the  Hon.  William  Dud- 
ley Foulke,  Mary  A.  Livermore,  the  Rev.  Ada  C.  Bowles,  Abigail 
Scott  Duniway  and  other  eminent  advocates  were  secured  as 
speakers  at  different  times.  Dr.  Martha  G.  Ripley  succeeded 
Mrs.  Sarah  Burger  Stearns  as  president  in  1883,  and  was  re- 
elected  each  year  until  1889.  She  was  followed  by  Mrs.  Ella  M. 
S.  Marble  for  that  year,  and  Dr.  Mary  Emery  for  1890. 

The  association  contributed  toward  sending  Mrs.  Julia  B.  Nel- 
son to  South  Dakota  to  speak  in  the  suffrage  campaign  of  1890. 
On  November  18,  19,  the  State  convention  was  held  in  St.  Paul. 
Mrs.  Stearns  presiding.  Mrs.  Nelson  was  elected  president. 
Among  the  speakers  were  Attorney-General  Moses  E.  Clapp,  the 
Reverends  Mr.  Vail  and  Mr.  Morgan,  Mrs.  A.  T.  Anderson, 
Mrs.  Priscilla  M.  Niles,  Mrs.  Ella  Tremain  Whitford  and  the 
Rev.  Olympia  Brown  of  Wisconsin. 

In  the  autumn  of  1891  the  convention  met  at  Blue  Earth  City. 
This  place  had  not  lost  the  savor  of  the  salt  which  Elizabeth  Cady 
Stanton,  Susan  B.  Anthony  and  Phoebe  W.  Couzins  had  scattered 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Julia  B.  Nelson  of  Red  Wing,  who  for 
twenty  years  has  been  the  rock  on  which  the  effort  for  woman  suffrage  has  been  founded 
in  this  State.  She  acknowledges  much  assistance  from  Drs.  Cora  Smith  Eaton  and  Ethel 
E.  Hurd,  both  of  Minneapolis. 

772 


MINNESOTA.  773 

in  the  vicinity  thirteen  years  before,  and  the  meetings  were  en- 
thusiastic and  well-attended.  The  Rev.  W.  K.  Weaver  was  the 
principal  speaker. 

It  was  largely  as  the  superintendent  of  franchise  of  the  State 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  which  was  better  organ- 
ized, that  Mrs.  Nelson,  president  of  the  suffrage  association  from 
1890  to  1896,  was  able  to  secure  thousands  of  signatures  to  the 
petitions  for  the  franchise  which  were  sent  to  each  Legislature 
during  those  years. 

The  meeting  of  1892  took  place  at  Hastings,  September  6-8, 
and  was  welcomed  by  the  Rev.  Lewis  Llewellyn.  Letters  were 
read  from  many  noted  people,  and  addresses  given  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Morgan,  Mrs.  Stearns  and  several  local  speakers. 

The  convention  met  in  Lake  City,  Aug.  24,  25,  1893,  with  the 
usual  fine  addresses,  good  music  and  representative  audiences. 

In  1894  Woman's  Day  was  celebrated  at  the  State  Fair,  its 
managers  paying  the  speakers. 

In  the  spring  and  autumn  of  1895  Mrs.  Emma  Smith  DeVoe 
of  Illinois  and  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns  of  Kansas,  national  organ- 
izers, lectured  throughout  Minnesota  and  formed  a  number  of 
clubs.  They  also  attended  the  State  convention,  which  was  held 
in  the  Capitol  at  St.  Paul,  September  10,  n.  Gov.  D.  M.  Clough 
was  among  those  who  made  addresses. 

In  1896  the  president,  Mrs.  Nelson,  gave  one  month  to  lectur- 
ing and  visiting  societies. 

In  October,  1897,  the  acting  president,  Mrs.  Concheta  Ferris 
Lutz,  made  an  extended  lecture  tour.  The  annual  meeting  con- 
vened at  Minneapolis  in  November,  at  the  same  time  as  a  confer- 
ence of  the  officers  of  the  National  Association.  All  arrange- 
ments were  made  by  Dr.  Cora  Smith  Eaton,  Dr.  Ripley  and  Mrs. 
Niles.  The  meetings  in  the  First  Baptist  Church,  one  of  the 
largest  in  the  city,  were  very  successful.  On .  Sunday  evening 
the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  vice-president-at-large  of  the  Na- 
tional Association,  preached  in  the  Universalist  Church,  and  Mrs. 
Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  national  organization 
committee,  lectured  in  the  Wesley  M.  E.  Church,  both  to  crowded 
houses.  The  next  evening,  when  Miss  Anthony,  national  presi- 
dent, and  the  latter  spoke,  every  foot  of  standing  ground  was 


774  HISTORV    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

occupied,  and  on  Tuesday,  when  Miss  Shaw  gave  her  lecture  on 
The  Fate  of  Republics,  the  church  was  equally  well-filled. 

Mrs.  Nelson,  after  seven  years'  service,  relinquished  the  office 
of  president  and  Dr.  Eaton  was  elected.  Professional  duties 
soon  made  it  necessary  for  her  to  resign  and  her  place  was  filled 
by  Mrs.  Lutz.  Political  equality  clubs  were  formed  in  six  dif- 
ferent wards  of  Minneapolis  by  Dr.  Eaton. 

The  convention  of  1898  was  called  October  4,  5,  at  Minneapo- 
lis, with  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  in  attendance.  The  meetings  were 
held  in  the  G.  A.  R.  Hall,  the  Masonic  Temple  and  the  Lyceum 
Theater.  Mrs.  Martha  J.  Thompson  was  elected  president  and 
Dr.  Ethel  E.  Hurd  corresponding  secretary. 

In  1899  the  convention  met  in  the  court-house  of  Albert  Lea, 
October  9,  10.  On  the  first  evening  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  was  the 
speaker,  her  theme  being  A  True  Democracy.  The  Rev.  Ida  C. 
Hultin  of  Illinois  lectured  on  The  Crowning  Race.  Miss  Laura 
A.  Gregg  and  Miss  Helen  L.  Kimber,  both  of  Kansas,  national 
organizers,  gave  reports  of  county  conventions  conducted  by 
them  throughout  Minnesota,  with  the  assistance  of  Mrs.  Evelyn 
H.  Belden,  president  of  the  Iowa  Equal  Suffrage  Association. 
The  records  showed  ninety-eight  suffrage  meetings  altogether  to 
have  been  held  during  the  year. 

In  1900  the  convention  took  place  at  Stillwater,  October  11, 
12.  The  officers  elected  were:  President,  Mrs.  Maude  C. 
Stockwell ;  vice-president,  Mrs.  Jennie  E.  Brown ;  correspond- 
ing secretary,  Miss  Delia  O'Malley;  recording  secretary,  Mrs. 
Maria  B.  Bryant ;  treasurer,  Dr.  Margaret  Koch ;  auditors,  San- 
ford  Niles  and  Mrs.  Estelle  Way;  chairman  executive  commit- 
tee, Mrs.  Martha  J.  Thompson.* 

Judge  J.  B.  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Burger  Stearns,  C.  W.  and  Mr*. 
Martha  A.  Dorsett  have  been  among  the  oldest  and  most  valued 

*  Among  the  officers   of  the   State  association   at    different    times   have   been   Mesdamei 
Harriet  Armstrong,  Sarah  C.  Brooks,  S.   P.  T.  Bryan,  E.  G.  Bickmore,  Exine  G.  Bonwell. 
Annie  W.  Buell,  Charlotte  Bolles,  Jessie  Gray  Cawley,   E.   L.   Crockett,  L.   B.  Castle  and 
Hannah  Egleston,  Prof.  S.  A.  Farnsworth,  Mesdames  Eleanor  Fremont,  Sarah  M.  Fletcher, 
May  Dudley  Greeley,  Mary  A.  Hudson,  Julia  Huntington,  Dr.  Bessie  Park  Haines,  < ' 
Jones,  Miss  Anna  M.  Jones,  Mrs.  Charles  T.   Koehler,  Miss  Ruth  Elise  Kellogg,  th< 
George  W.  Lutz,  Mrs.  Julia  Moore,  William  B.  Reed,  Mesdames  Susie  V.  P.  Root,  Lottie 
Rowell,  Antoinette  B.   St   Pierre,   H.   G.    Selden,  Miss   Blanche  Segur,  Mesdames   Martha 
Adams  Thompson,  T.  F.  Thurston,  Mr.  J.  M.  Underwood,  Miss  Emma  N.  Whitney,  Mes- 
dames Belle  Wells,  Roxana  L.  Wilson  and  Mattie  B.  Whitcomb. 


MINNESOTA.  775 

suffrage  workers  in  the  State.  Miss  Martha  Scott  Anderson,  on 
the  staff  of  the  Minneapolis  Journal,  gives  efficient  help  to  the 
cause.  Three  presidents  of  the  State  W.  C.  T.  U.,  Mesdames 
Harriet  A.  Hobart,  Susanna  M.  D.  Fry  and  Bessie  Laythe  Sco- 
ville  have  been  noted  as  advocates  of  equal  rights.* 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  In  February,  1891,  at 
the  request  of  Mrs.  Julia  B.  Nelson,  president,  and  Mrs.  A.  T. 
Anderson,  chairman  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  State  asso- 
ciation, S.  A.  Stockwell  introduced  in  the  House  a  bill  conferring 
Municipal  Suffrage  upon  women.  Mrs.  Nelson  spent  several 
weeks  at  the  capital  looking  after  the  petitions  which  came  from 
all  parts  of  the  State,  interviewing  members  of  the  Legislature, 
distributing  literature  and  trying  to  get  the  bill  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  Committee  on  Elections,  to  which  it  had  been  referred. 
After  repeated  postponements  a  hearing  finally  was  granted,  at 
which  she  made  a  strong  plea  and  showed  the  good  results  of 
woman  suffrage  in  Kansas  and  Wyoming.  The  bill  was  in- 
definitely postponed  in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  by  a  vote  of  52 
yeas,  40  nays. 

Among  the  leaflets  placed  on  the  desk  of  each  member  was  one 
especially  prepared  by  Mrs.  Nelson,  entitled  Points  on  Municipal 
Suffrage.  One  of  its  twelve  points  was  this :  "If  the  Legisla- 
ture has  the  power  to  restrict  suffrage  it  certainly  has  the  right 
to  extend  it.  The  Legislature  of  Minnesota  restricted  the  suf- 
frage which  had  been  given  to  women  by  a  constitutional  amend- 
ment, when  it  granted  to  the  city  of  St.  Paul  a  charter  taking  the 
election  of  members  of  the  school  board  entirely  out  of  the  hands 
of  women  by  giving  their  appointment  to  the  mayor,  an  officer 
elected  by  the  votes  of  men  only."t 

*  It  would  be  impossible  to  name  all  of  the  men  and  women,  in  addition  to  those  already 
mentioned,  who  have  rendered  valuable  assistance.  Among  the  more  conspicuous  are 
Miss  Pearl  Benham,  Mesdames  R.  Coons,  M.  B.  Critchett,  J.  A.  Clifford,  Edith  M.  Conant, 
Lydia  H.  Clark,  Miss  A.  A.  Connor,  Mesdames  Eliza  A.  Butcher,  L.  F.  Ferro,  H.  E. 
Gallinger,  Doctors  Chauncey  Hobart,  Mary  G.  Hood,  Nettie  C.  Hall,  Mesdames  Norton  H. 
Hemiup,  Rosa  Hazel,  Julia  A.  Hunt,  Doctors  Phineas  A.  and  Katherine  U.  Jewell,  Mrs. 
Lucy  Jones,  Miss  Eva  Jones,  Mesdames  Leland,  Kirkwood,  A.  D.  Kingsley,  V.  J.  D. 
Kearney,  Frances  P.  Kimball,  M.  A.  Luly,  Viola  Fuller  Miner,  Paul  McKinstry,  Jennie 
McSevany,  the  Rev.  Hannah  Mullenix,  Mesdames  E.  J.  M.  Newcomb,  Antoinette  V.  Nich- 
olas, the  Reverends  Margaret  Olmstead,  Alice  Ruth  Palmer,  Mesdames  Pomeroy,  E.  A. 
Russell,  D.  C.  Reed,  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Satterlee,  Mesdames  Rebecca  Smith,  Abigail  S. 
Strong,  C.  S.  Soule,  Anna  Smallidge,  M.  A.  Van  Hoesen,  Dr.  Mary  E.  Whetstone,  Mes- 
dames L.  May  Wheeler,  Sarah  E.  Wilson  and  E.  N.  Yearley. 

t  Mrs.  Nelson  published  at  this  time,  through  financial  aid  from  Mrs.  Sarah  Burger 
Stearns,  a  little  paper  for  gratuitous  distribution,  called  the  Equal  Rights  Herald. 


776  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Early  in  the  session  of  1893  Mrs.  Nelson  had  a  conference  with 
Ignatius  Donnelly,  leader  of  the  Populists,  who  was  then  in  the 
Senate.  He  was  willing  to  introduce  a  suffrage  bill,  but  as  the 
Republicans  were  in  the  majority  it  was  thought  best  to  have 
this  done  by  John  Day  Smith,  the  leader  of  that  party  in  the  Sen- 
ate. Mr.  Smith  consented,  with  the  understanding  that  Mr. 
Donnelly  should  help  by  championing  the  bill.  "Municipal  Suf- 
frage for  women  with  educational  qualifications,"  was  all  this 
bill  asked  for.  Mrs.  Nelson,  Mrs.  Anna  B.  Turley  and  Senator 
Donnelly  made  addresses  before  the  Judiciary  Committee  at  a 
hearing  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  with  an  interested  audience  pres- 
ent. Mrs.  Nelson  also  gave  an  evening  lecture  here  on  The  Road 
to  Freedom. 

In  place  of  this  bill  one  to  submit  an  amendment  to  the  voters 
was  substituted.  The  suffragists  were  averse  to  this,  but  ac- 
cepted it  with  the  best  grace  possible,  and  enthusiastically  worked 
for  the  new  bill  to  amend  the  State  constitution  by  striking  the 
word  "male"  from  the  article  restricting  the  suffrage.  Senators 
Smith,  Donnelly  and  Edwin  E.  Lommen  spoke  for  the  bill,  and  it 
passed  the  Senate  by  31  yeas,  19  nays. 

In  the  House  it  was  persistently  delayed  by  the  chairman  of 
the  Judiciary  Committee,  George  H.  Fletcher,  and  the  friends 
could  not  get  it  upon  the  calendar  in  time  to  be  reached  unless 
it  should  be  made  a  special  order.  Edward  T.  Young  endeavored 
to  have  this  done,  but  as  there  were  several  hundred  other  bills 
to  be  considered  and  less  than  three  days  of  the  session  left, 
his  motion  was  lost.  On  the  last  night,  Mr.  Young  and  H.  P. 
B jorge  made  an  effort  to  have  the  rules  suspended  and  the  hill 
put  upon  its  final  passage.  The  vote  on  this  motion  was  54  yeas, 
44  nays,  but  as  a  two-thirds  vote  is  necessary  it  was  lost.  Speaker 
W.  E.  Lee  voted  with  the  affirmative.* 

Three  Suffrage  Bills  were  introduced  into  the  Legislature  of 
1895,  two  in  the  House  and  one  in  the  Senate.  The  first,  for  an 
amendment  to  the  State  constitution,  was  offered  by  O.  L.  Bre- 
vig  and  was  indefinitely  postponed.  S.  T.  Littleton  presented  the 

*  This  Legislature  of  1893  provided  for  the  adoption  of  a  State  Flag,  and  appointed  a 
committee  of  women  to  select  an  appropriate  design.  At  the  request  of  a  few  women  the 
Moccasin  Blossom  was  made  the  State  Flower  by  an  act  of  the  same  Legislature,  which 
was  passed  with  great  celerity. 


MINNESOTA.  777 

ond,  which  was  to  give  women  a  vote  upon  all  questions  per- 

ining  to  the  liquor  traffic.     This  found  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the 

.  C.  T.  U.,  as  did  also  the  County  Option  Bill  of  J.  F.  Jacob- 
son,  but  both  were  unsuccessful.  George  T.  Barr  introduced  a 
Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  into  the  Senate,  but  too  late  for  it  to  be 
acted  upon. 

In  1897  Isrnatius  Donnelly  secured  the  introduction  of  a  bill  to 
enfranchise  taxpaying  women.  A  hearing  was  given  by  the  Ju- 
diciary Committee,  at  which  Mrs.  Nelson  argued  that  in  simple 
justice  women  who  pay  taxes  should  have  a  voice  in  their  expendi- 
ture or  be  exempted  from  taxation,  but  the  bill  was  not  reported. 

This  year  the  State  Federation  of  Clubs  secured  a  resolution  to 
submit  an  amendment  to  the  electorate  in  1 898,  giving  women  the 
privilege  of  voting  for  and  serving  on  Library  Boards. 

In  1899  the  Local  Council  of  Women  of  Minneapolis  obtained 
the  Traveling  Library  Bill. 

During  this  year  no  petitioning  or  legislative  work  was  done 
by  the  suffragists.  The  previous  legislature  had  submitted  an 
amendment,  which  carried,  providing  that  all  amendments  here- 
after must  receive  a  majority  of  the  largest  number  of  votes  cast 
at  an  election,  in  order  to  be  adopted.  The  precedent  had  been 
established  in  1875  of  requiring  a  vote  of  the  electors  on  the 
granting  of  School  Suffrage  to  women,  and  in  1898,  of  Library 
Suffrage,  and  it  was  held  that  the  same  would  have  to  be  done 
on  granting  Municipal  or  any  other  form  of  the  franchise. 

Dower  and  curtesy  were  abolished  March  9,  1875.  If  either 
husband  or  wife  die  without  a  will,  the  survivor,  if  there  is  issue 
living,  is  entitled  to  the  homestead  for  life  and  one-third  of  the 
rest  of  the  real  estate  in  fee-simple,  or  by  such  inferior  tenure 
as  the  deceased  was  possessed  of,  but  subject  to  its  just  propor- 
tion of  the  debts.  If  there  are  no  descendants,  the  entire  real 
estate  goes  absolutely  to  the  survivor.  The  personal  property 
follows  the  same  rules.  If  either  husband  or  wife  has  wilfully 
and  without  just  cause  deserted  and  lived  separately  from  the 
other  for  the  entire  year  immediately  prior  to  his  or  her  decease, 
such  survivor  shall  not  be  entitled  to  any  estate  whatever  in  any  of 
the  lands  of  the  deceased. 


7/8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  estate  of  a  child  who  dies  without  a  will  and  leaves  neither 
wife  nor  children,  goes  to  the  father ;  if  he  is  dead,  to  the  mother. 

The  wife  can  not  convey  or  encumber  her  separate  real  estate 
without  the  joinder  of  her  husband.  The  husband  can  sell  or 
mortgage  all  his  real  estate  without  her  joinder,  but  subject  to  her 
dower.  They  are  both  free  agents  as  to  personal  property. 

If  divorce  is  obtained  for  the  adultery  of  the  wife,  her  own 
real  estate  may  be  withheld  from  her,  but  not  so  in  case  of  the 
husband. 

In  case  of  divorce,  the  court  decides  which  parent  is  more  fit 
for  the  guardianship  of  children  under  fourteen  years  of  age; 
over  fourteen,  the  child  decides.  Except  when  children  are  given 
to  the  mother  by  decree  of  court,  the  father  is  the  legal 
guardian  of  their  persons  and  property.  He  may  appoint  by  will 
a  guardian  for  a  child,  born  or  unborn,  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
mother. 

The  husband  must  support  the  family  according  to  his  means. 
Failure  to  do  so  used  to  be  considered  a  misdemeanor  but  it  has 
recently  been  made  a  felony  punishable  by  imprisonment  in  the 
penitentiary  from  one  to  three  years  unless  he  give  bond  for  their 
maintenance.  This  is  likely  to  be  of  little  effect,  however,  be- 
cause of  the  law  of  "privileged  communications"  which  makes  it 
impossible  for  the  wife  to  testify  against  the  husband. 

In  1891  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10 
to  16  years,  after  thousands  of  women  had  petitioned  to  have  it 
raised  to  18.  If  the  child  is  under  10  years  the  penalty  is  im- 
prisonment in  the  penitentiary  for  life;  between  10  and  14  not 
less  than  seven  nor  more  than  thirty  years;  between  14  and  16 
not  less  than  one  nor  more  than  seven  years,  or  it  may  be  im- 
prisonment in  the  county  jail  not  less  than  three  months  nor 
more  than  one  year. 

SUFFRAGE:  An  amendment  to  the  constitution  was  adopted 
in  1875,  giving  women  a  vote  on  all  questions  pertaining  to  the 
public  schools.  It  being  held  afterward  that  this  did  not  enable 
them  to  vote  for  county  superintendents,  an  act  for  this  purpose 
was  passed  by  the  Legislature  in  1885.  (  !)  The  constitution  was 
further  amended  by  popular  vote  in  1898,  granting  to  women 
the  franchise  for  members  of  Library  Boards,  and  making  them 


MINNESOTA.  779 

eligible  to  hold  any  office  pertaining  to  the  management  of 
libraries.  On  as  harmless  an  amendment  as  this  43,600  men 
voted  in  the  negative,  but  71,704  voted  in  the  affirmative;  and  it 

as  adopted. 

This  was  probably  the  last  election  at  which  any  amendment 
whatever  could  have  been  carried ;  for,  among  four  submitted  in 
the  same  year,  was  one  providing  that  thereafter  no  amendment 
could  be  adopted  by  merely  a  majority  of  those  voting  upon  it, 
but  that  it  must  have  a  majority  of  the  largest  number  of  votes 
cast  at  that  election.*  None  ever  has  been  submitted  which 
aroused  sufficient  interest  to  receive  as  large  a  vote  of  both  af- 
firmative and  negative  combined  as  was  cast  for  the  highest 
officer.  Therefore  in  Minnesota  it  is  impossible  for  women  to 
obtain  any  further  extension  of  the  franchise.  Their  only  hope 
for  the  full  suffrage  lies  in  the  submission  of  an  amendment  to 
the  Federal  Constitution  by  Congress  to  the  Legislatures  of  the 
various  States. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  An  act  of  1887  declares  that  a  woman 
shall  retain  the  same  legal  existence  and  legal  personality  after 
marriage  as  before,  and  shall  receive  the  same  protection  of  all 
her  rights  as  a  woman  which  her  husband  does  as  a  man ;  and  for 
any  injury  sustained  to  her  reputation,  person  or  property,  she 
shall  have  the  same  right  to  appeal,  in  her  own  name  alone,  to 
the  courts  for  redress ;  but  this  act  shall  not  confer  upon  the  wife 
the  right  to  vote  or  hold  office,  except  as  is  otherwise  provided 
by  law.  By  a  constitutional  amendment  adopted  in  1875  women 
were  made  eligible  to  all  offices  pertaining  to  the  public  schools 
and  to  public  libraries.  They  have  served  as  State  librarians. 

Miss  Jennie  C.  Grays  was  president  of  the  Minneapolis  school 
board  for  two  years.  There  are  forty-three  women  county 
superintendents  at  the  present  time,  each  having  from  100  to  130 
districts  to  visit.  Women  have  served  as  clerks  and  treasurers 
of  school  districts. 

A  law  of  1889  gave  to  women  as  well  as  men  the  powers  of 
constables,  sheriffs  or  police  officers,  as  agents  of  the  Society  for 
the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals. 

*  The  vote  on  this  was  69,760  for,  and  32,881  against,  a  total  of  102,641;  yet  the  whole 
number  of  votes  cast  in  that  election  of  1898  was  251,250.  The  amendment  itself  could 
not  have  been  adopted  if  its  own  provisions  had  been  required! 


780  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

A  law  of  1891  enabled  women  to  be  appointed  deputies  in 
county  offices. 

Dr.  Adele  S.  Hutchison  is  a  member  of  the  State  Medical 
Board  which  examines  physicians  for  license  to  practice.  She 
was  appointed  by  Gov.  John  Lind  and  is  the  first  woman  to  hold 
such  a  position.  Women  can  not  sit  on  any  other  State  boards. 

There  is  no  law  requiring  police  matrons  but  they  are  employed 
in  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul  by  the  city  charters. 

The  State  hospitals  for  the  insane  are  required  by  law  to  have 
women  physicians.  The  steward's  clerk  in  the  State  Institute 
for  Defectives  is  a  woman.  The  State  Public  School  for  De- 
pendent and  Neglected  Children  has  a  matron,  a  woman  agent 
and  a  woman  clerk.  The  State  Training  School,  once  called  the 
Reform  School,  has  women  for  agent  and  secretary. 

The  State  Prison  has  a  matron  for  the  eight  women  prisoners. 
There  are  about  500  men  prisoners  (1900). 

The  Bethany  Home  at  Minneapolis  was  established  by  women 
in  1875,  and  is  entirely  officered  by  them.  In  1900  it  cared  for 
126  mothers  and  226  infants,  and  had  a  kindergarten  and  a 
training  school  for  nurses.  The  city  hospitals  send  all  their  char- 
ity obstetrical  cases  here,  and  about  half  of  its  support  comes 
from  the  city. 

The  Northwestern  Hospital  for  Women  and  Children  was 
founded  by  women  in  1882,  and  until  1899  was  entirely  officered 
and  managed  by  them. 

The  Maternity  Hospital  for  unfortunate  women  was  founded 
by  Dr.  Martha  G.  Ripley  in  1888.  In  1899  it  cared  for  103 
mothers  and  99  infants. 

OCCUPATIONS:  No  profession  or  occupation  is  forbidden  to 
women  by  law.  Women  were  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1877  by 
act  of  the  Legislature.  There  are  sixty-eight  women  doctors 
registered  as  in  actual  practice  in  the  State.  In  Minneapolis 
there  is  an  active  Medical  Women's  Club  of  physicians  of  both 
schools.  Women  ministers  are  filling  pulpits  of  Congregational, 
Universalist,  Christian  and  Wesleyan  Methodist  churches,  and 
the  superintendent  of  the  State  Epworth  League  is  a  woman. 


MINNESOTA. 


78i 


Women  are  especially  conspicuous  in  farming,  which  is  one 
of  thexgreatest  industries  of  the  State.* 

A  number  of  women'own  and  publish  papers,  and  each  of  the 
large  metropolitan  dailies  has  one  or  more  women  on  its  staff. 

EDUCATION  :  Women  have  been  admitted  to  all  departments 
of  the  State  University  since  its  foundation,  and  there  are  women 
professors  and  assistants  in  practically  every  department,  includ- 
ing that  of  Political  Science  and  the  College  of  Engineering  and 
Mechanic  Arts.  Of  the  four  officers  of  the  Department  of  Draw- 
ing and  Industrial  Art,  three  are  women.  The  College  of  Medi- 
cine and  Surgery  also  has  women  professors  in  every  department, 
and  women  are  on  the  faculty  of  the  College  of  Dentistry. 

The  State  School  of  Agriculture  was  established  in  the  fall 
of  1888.  In  October,  1897,  women  were  admitted  to  the  regular 
course  of  study.  In  the  Academic  Department  their  class  work 
is  with  the  men,  but  instead  of  the  especial  branches  of  carpentry, 
blacksmithing  and  field  work,  they  have  sewing,  cooking  and 
laundering.  They  also  have  a  department  of  home  management, 
home  economy,  social  culture,  household  art  and  domestic  hy- 
giene, Mrs.  Virginia  C.  Meredith,  preceptor. 

All  the  other  educational  institutions  are  open  to  women,  and 
the  faculties  of  the  Normal  Schools  are  largely  composed  of 
women. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  2,306  men  and  9,811  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $46;  of 
the  women,  $35. 


The  State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  Mrs.  Lydia  P.  Wil- 
liams, president,  is  in  effect  a  suffrage  kindergarten,  many  of  its 
members  working  on  committees  of  education,  reciprocity,  town 
and  village  improvements,  household  economics,  legislation,  etc. 

In  Minneapolis  a  stock  company,  capitalized  at  $80,000,  is 
being  formed  to  erect  a  club  house  for- the  women's  societies. 

*  The  woman  farmer  turns  up  the  soil  with  a  gang-plow  and  rakes  the  hay,  but  not  in 
the  primitive  fashion  of  Maud  Muller.  She  is  frequently  seen  "comin'  through  the  rye," 
the  wheat,  the  barley  or  the  oats,  enthroned  on  a  twine-binder.  The  writer  has  this  day 
seen  a  woman  seated  on  a  four-horse  plow  as  contentedly  as  her  city  cousin  might  be  in 
an  automobile.  Among  the  many  plow-girls  of  Nobles  County  is  Coris  Young,  a  genuine 
American  of  Vermont  ancestry,  who  has  plowed  120  acres  this  season,  making  a  record  of 
eighty  acres  in  thirteen  days  with  five  horses  abreast. 


782 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


The  Local  Council  of  Women  of  Minneapolis,  organized  1892, 
is  one  of  the  strongest  associations  of  the  kind  in  the  United 
States.  During  the  past  seven  years  it  has  been  composed  of 
nearly  one  hundred  different  organizations  in  the  city,  and  now 
comprises  twelve  departments :  reform  and  philanthropy,  church, 
temperance,  art,  music,  literature,  patriotism,  history,  education, 
philosophy,  social  and  civic.  Honorary  president,  Mrs.  T.  B. 
Walker,  acting  president  Mrs.  A.  E.  Higbee,  and  corresponding 
secretary,  Mrs.  J.  E.  Wood  ford,  are  largely  responsible  for  the 
success  of  the  Council.  ( 1900). 

The  School  and  Library  Association  was  formed  in  1899  at  a 
meeting  called  by  representatives  of  the  Political  Equality,  the 
Business  Women's,  the  Medical  Women's  and  the  Teachers' 
Clubs  of  Minneapolis.  Eleven  hundred  signatures  are  required 
for  the  nomination  of  a  member  of  the  school  board,  but  the 
women  secured  over  5,000  names  on  each  petition  for  their  can- 
didates for  school  and  library  trustees,  the  largest  one  having 
5,470.  The  association  sent  out  dodgers  with  pictures  and  brief 
write-ups  of  the  candidates,  and  also  leaflets  explaining  to  the 
women  how  to  register  and  vote.  Mrs.  A.  T.  Anderson  has  been 
at  the  head  of  this  work. 

Women  attend  the  conventions  of  the  Prohibition  and  the 
People's  parties  as  delegates,  and  are  welcome  speakers.  Miss 
Eva  McDonald  ( Valesh)  was  secretary  of  the  Populist  Executive 
Committee.  Both  Prohibitionists  and  Populists  have  passed 
woman  suffrage  resolutions  in  their  State  conventions.  The 
Federation  of  Labor  and  the  Grange  have  done  the  same. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

MISSISSIPPI.* 

In  1884  the  idea  of  an  organization  devoted  exclusively  to  the 
advancement  of  the  "woman's  cause"  in  Mississippi  had  not  as- 
sumed tangible  form,  granting  that  even  the  audacious  conception 
had  found  lodgment  in  the  brain  of  any  person.  The  nearest 
approach  seems  to  have  been  a  Woman's  Press  Club,  which 
sprung  into  being  about  this  time,  but  was  short-lived,  due  to 
the  fact,  it  is  charged,  that  a  little  leaven  of  "woman's  rights" 
having  crept  in,  "the  whole  lump"  was  threatened. 

To  the  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union  the  State  is 
largely  indebted  for  the  existence  of  its  Woman  Suffrage  Asso- 
ciation, which  was  organized  in  Meridian,  May  5,  1897,  immedi- 
ately upon  the  adjournment  of  a  convention  of  the  State  W.  C. 
T.  U.  The  seed  sown  in  1895  by  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt, 
chairman  of  the  national  organization  committee,  and  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Upham  Yates  of  Maine,  and  in  1897  by  Miss  Ella  Harrison 
of  Missouri  and  Mrs.  Mary  C.  C.  Bradford  of  Colorado,  now 
produced  a  harvest  of  clubs,  and  resulted  in  a  roster  of  friends 
in  twenty-four  towns.  Mrs.  Nellie  M.  Somerville  was  elected 
president  of  the  association,  and  Mrs.  Lily  Wilkinson  Thompson 
corresponding  secretary. 

The  first  annual  convention  was  held  in  Greenville,  March  29, 
30,  1898.  The  second  and  third  took  place  at  Clarksdale,  the 
former  April  5,  6,  1899,  and  the  latter  in- May,  1900.!  At  this 
meeting  the  report  of  the  superintendent  of  press,  Mrs.  Butt, 
showed  that  twenty-two  newspapers  had  opened  their  col- 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Hala  Hammond  Butt  of  Clarksdale, 
president  of  the  State  Woman  .Suffrage  Association  and  editor  of  the  Challenge,  a  county 
paper. 

t  Officers  elected:  President,  Mrs.  Hala  Hammond  Butt;  vice-president,  Mrs.  Fannie 
Clark;  corresponding  secretary,  Mrs.  Harriet  B.  Kells;  recording  secretary,  Mrs.  Rebecca 
Roby;  treasurer,  Miss  Mabel  Pugh.  Other  officers  have  been  Miss  Belle  Kearney  and 
Mesdames  Nellie  Nugent,  Charlotte  L.  Pitman  and  Pauline  Alston  Clark. 

783 


784  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

umns  to  suffrage  articles.  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  and  Miss  Mary 
G.  Hay,  national  organizer,  were  present,  and  the  former  gave 
an  address  to  a  large  and  sympathetic  assemblage.  She  was 
likewise  greeted  with  good  audiences  at  seven  other  towns, 
among  them  Jackson,  the  capital,  where  she  spoke  in  the  House 
of  Representatives.  A  work  conference  was  held  at  Flora  in 
September  of  this  year. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS  :  The  W.  S.  A.  has  not  at- 
tempted apy  legislative  work,  other  than  the  one  effort  made  in 
1900  to  secure  a  bill  providing  for  a  woman  physician  at  the 
State  Hospital  for  the  Insane.  This  was  introduced  and  cham- 
pioned in  the  Senate  by  R.  B.  Campbell  (to  whom  the  associa- 
tion is  also  indebted  for  the  compilation  of  a  valuable  pamphlet 
on  The  Legal  Status  of  Mississippi  Women).  It  passed  that 
body  almost  unanimously,  but  did  not  reach  the  House. 

The  measure  which  provided  for  the  State  Industrial  Institute 
and  College  for  Women  (white)  was  the  conception  of  Mrs. 
Annie  Coleman  Peyton,  the  bill  itself  being  framed  by  her 
brother,  Judge  S.  R.  Coleman,  a  legislator  and  a  leading  attor- 
ney. It  was  sent  to  the  Legislature  as  early  as  1877,  but  was  not 
at  that  time  even  considered.  Mrs.  Peyton  continued  her  agita- 
tion in  its  behalf  and  succeeded  in  having  it  introduced  in  1880 
and  in  1882,  but  it  was  twice  defeated.  By  the  time  the  Legisla- 
ture convened  in  1884,  however,  its  author  had  enlisted  the  sym- 
pathy of  so  many  of  the  prominent  men  and  women  of  the  State 
that  the  bill  was  passed  at  that  session.  Wiley  P.  Nash  and  Mac 
C.  Martin  were  its  earnest  champions  on  the  floor  of  the  House ; 
while  Col.  J.  L.  Power,  the  present  Secretary  of  State,  Major 
Jonas,  of  the  Aberdeen  Examiner,  and  Mrs.  Olive  A.  Hastings 
were  among  the  ablest  coadjutors  of  Mrs.  Peyton. 

In  1900  the  suffrage  association  petitioned  Gov.  A.  H.  Long- 
ino  to  appoint  one  woman  on  the  board  of  this  institution,  which 
is  wholly  for  women,  but  he  refused  on  the  ground  that  it  would 
be  unconstitutional. 

In  1880  the  Legislature  abrogated  the  Common  Law  as  to  its 
provisions  for  wives,  being  a  pioneer  among  the  Southern  States 
to  take  such  action.  It  declared  : 

The  Legislature  shall  never  create  any  distinction  between  the 


I 


MISSISSIPPI.  785 

rights  of  men  and  women  to  acquire,  own,  enjoy  and  dispose  of 
property  of  all  kinds,  or  their  power  to  contract  in  reference  thereto. 
Married  women  are  hereby  emancipated  from  all  disabilities  on  ac- 
count of  coverture.  But  this  shall  not  prevent  the  Legislature  from 
regulating  contracts  between  husband  and  wife ;  nor  shall  the  Legis- 
lature be  prevented  from  regulating  the  sale  of  homesteads. 

The  property  belonging  to  the  wife  at  the  time  of  marriage  no 
longer  passes  to  her  husband,  although  it  is  still  largely  under 
his  control.  He  becomes  her  debtor  and  is  accountable  to  her 
for  her  separate  property ;  and  she  must  have  him  account  to  her 
annually  for  the  income  and  profits  which  he  may  receive  from 
it,  otherwise  she  will  be  barred.  If  the  wife  permit  the  husband 
to  employ  the  income  or  profits  of  her  estate  in  the  maintenance 
of  the  family,  he  will  not  be  liable  to  her  therefor. 

Dower  and  curtesy  are  abolished.  If  either  husband  or  wife 
die  without  a  will,  leaving  no  children  nor  descendants  of  any, 
the  entire  estate,  real  and  personal,  goes  to  the  survivor.  But 
if  there  are  one  or  more  children  or  descendants  by  this  or  by  a 
former  marriage,  the  surviving  wife  or  husband  has  a  child's 
share  of  both  real  and  personal  estate. 

Each  has  equal  rights  in  making  a  will,  although  if  the  pro- 
visions are  not  satisfactory  to  the  survivor  he  or  she  can  take 
under  the  law,  but  this  can  not  be  done  if  separate  property  is 
owned  equal  to  what  would  be  the  inheritable  portion  of  the 
estate. 

If  the  residence  is  upon  the  property  of  the  husband,  that  is  the 
homestead  and  exempt  from  his  debts  and  he  is  the  head  of  the 
family.  If  it  is  upon  the  property  of  the  wife,  that  is  the  home- 
stead and  exempt  from  her  debts,  and  she  is  the  head  of  the  fam- 
ily. In  neither  case  can  it  be  mortgaged  or  sold  unless  both 
join,  but  the  one  owning  it  may  dispose  of  it  by  will. 

A  married  woman  may  qualify  as  executor  or  administrator 
of  the  estate  of  a  deceased  person,  and  as  guardian  of  the  estate 
of  a  minor  or  person  of  unsound  mind. 

She  may  contract,  sue  and  be  sued  and  carry  on  business  in 
her  own  name  as  if  unmarried  and  her  earnings  belong  to  her. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  minor  children  and  by 
will  may  appoint  a  guardian  of  their  property,  but  he  can  not 
deprive  the  mother  of  the  custody  of  their  persons. 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 50 


786  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  husband  is  required  by  law  to  support  and  maintain  his 
family  out  of  his  estate  and  by  his  services  unless  the  wife  sees 
fit  to  allow  him  to  use  her  property  for  this  purpose. 

Alimony  is  allowed  to  the  wife  whether  the  suit  for  divorce 
is  brought  by  her  or  against  her,  or  whether  she  asks  simply  for 
separation ;  but,  even  if  divorced,  unchastity  on  her  part  will  bar 
her  right  to  further  alimony. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  remains  .at  10  years.  The 
penalty  is  death  or  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  for  life. 

The  Constitutional  Convention  of  1890  provided  that  no  Legis- 
lature should  repeal  or  impair  the  above  property  rights  of  mar- 
ried women. 

This  convention  was  called  primarily  to  change  the  constitution 
with  reference  to  the  elimination  of  the  negro  vote.  It  was  com- 
posed of  representative  men  thoroughly  alive  to  what  they  con- 
strued as  the  best  interests  of  the  State.  As  one  way  of  circum- 
venting the  threatened  supremacy  of  this  vote,  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  women  was  variously  considered.  The  first  amendment 
for  this  purpose  was  submitted  by  Judge  John  W.  Fewell : 

Resolved,  That  it  is  a  condition  necessary  to  the  solution  of  the 
franchise  problem,  that  the  right  to  vote  shall  be  secured  by  proper 
constitutional  enactment  to  every  woman  who  shall  have  resided  in 
this  State  six  months,  and  who  shall  be  21  years  of  age  or  upward, 
and  who  shall  own,  or  whose  husband,  if  she  have  a  husband,  shall 
own  real  estate  situate  in  this  State  of  the  clear  value  of  $300  over 
and  above  all  incumbrances. 

The  vote  of  any  woman  voting  in  any  election  shall  be  cast  by 
some  male  elector,  who  shall  be  thereunto  authorized  in  writing  by 
such  woman  so  entitled  to  vote ;  such  constitutional  amendment  not 
to  be  so  framed  as  to  grant  to  women  the  right  to  hold  office. 

This  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Franchise,  composed 
of  thirty-five  members,  but  was  defeated.  The  idea  was  that  a 
great  many  white  women  owned  property,  while  very  few  negro 
women  did,  hence  the  woman  vote  would  furnish  a  reserve  fund 
which  could  be  called  out  in  an  emergency,  the  author  of  the 
measure  himself  being  "not  an  advocate  of  female  suffrage  gen- 
erally," according  to  his  remarks  before  the  convention.  Many. 
perhaps  a  majority,  at  one  time  favored  the  scheme,  it  was  said. 
though  comparatively  few  of  the  committee  recognized  the  just- 
ice of  woman's  enfranchisement  per  se. 


MISSISSIPPI.  787 

J.  W.  Odom  offered,  among  other  measures  from  the  "Cali- 
fornia Alliance"  of  De  Soto  County,  a  proposition  that  the  right 
of  suffrage  be  conferred  upon  women  on  "certain  conditions"  not 
specified.  John  P.  Robinson  and  D.  J.  Johnson  also  submitted 
sections  providing  for  "female  suffrage  under  certain  conditions." 
Jordan  L.  Morris  offered  the  following : 

The  Legislature  shall  have  power  to  confer  the  elective  franchise 
on  all  women  who  are  citizens  of  the  State  and  of  the  United  States, 
21  years  of  age  and  upwards,  who  own,  in  their  own  right,  over  and 
above  all  incumbrances,  property  listed  for  taxation  of  the  value  of 
$500  or  upwards,  or  who,  being  widows,  own  jointly  with  their  own 
or  their  husband's  children,  property  of  said  value  listed  for  tax- 
ation ;  or  who  are  capable  of  teaching  a  first-grade  public  school  in 
this  State,  as  prescribed  by  law,  and  who  never  have  been  convicted, 
and  shall  not  thereafter  be  convicted  of  any  crime  or  misdemeanor 
and  not  pardoned  therefor,  to  such  extent  and  under  such  restric- 
tions and  limitations  as  it  may  deem  proper  to  prescribe. 

All  of  these  noble  efforts  resulted  in  no  action  whatever  to  en- 
franchise women. 

SUFFRAGE:  Since  1880  a  woman  as  a  freeholder,  or  lease- 
holder, may  vote  at  a  county  election,  or  sign  a  petition  for  such 
an  election  to  be  held,  to  decide  as  to  the  adoption  or  non-adoption 
of  a  law  permitting  stock  to  run  at  large.  She  may  also,  if  a 
widow  and,  as  such,  the  head  of  the  family,  manifest  by  ballot 
her  consent  or  dissent  to  leasing  certain  portions  of  land  in  the 
township,  known  as  the  "sixteenth  sections,"  which  are  set  apart 
for  school  purposes.  As  a  patron  of  a  school,  which  presupposes 
her  widowhood,  she  may  vote  at  an  election  of  school  trustees, 
other  than  in  a  "separate  school  district,"  which  practically  limits 
this  privilege  to  women  in  the  country.* 

As  a  taxpayer  a  woman  can  petition  against  the  issuance  of 
bonds  by  the  municipality  in  which  she  resides  (except  where  the 
proposed  issuance  is  governed  and  regulated  by  a  charter  adopted 
previous  to  the  code  of  1892),  but  if  a  special  election  is  ordered 
she  can  not  vote  for  or  against  issuing  the  bonds. 

The  Legislature  in  dealing  with  the  liquor  traffic  may  make 

*  Any  municipality  of  300  or  more  inhabitants  may  be  declared  a  "separate  school  dis- 
trict" by  an  ordinance  of  the  mayor  or  board  of  aldermen  if  it  maintain  a  free  public 
school  at  least  seven  months  in  each  year.  Four  months  is  the  ordinary  public  term,  the 
additional  three  months'  school  being  supported  by  special  taxation.  Thus  as  soon  as  a 
woman  has  to  pay  a  special  tax  she  is  deprived  of  a  vote. 


788  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

the  grant  of  license  depend  upon  a  petition  therefor  signed  by 
men  and  women,  or  by  women  only,  or  upon  any  other  condition 
that  it  may  prescribe;  and  it  seems  to  be  equally  true  that  the 
Legislature  may  grant  to  women  the  right  to  vote  at  elections 
held  to  determine  whether  or  not  local  option  laws  shall  be  put 
in  force,  but  it  never  has  done  so. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  The  constitution  provides  that  "all  quali- 
fied electors,  and  no  others,  shall  be  eligible  to  office." 

In  the  constitutional  convention  of  1890  Jordan  L.  Morris 
offered  a  resolution  "that  the  Legislature  may  make  women,  with 
such  qualifications  as  may  be  prescribed,  competent  to  hold  the 
office  of  county  superintendent  of  schools."  This  amendment 
was  tabled.  J.  W.  Cutrer  submitted  a  section  "making  eligible 
to  all  offices  connected  with  the  public  schools,  except  that  of  State 
Superintendent  of  Public  Education,  all  women  of  good  moral 
character,  twenty-five  years  or  upwards  of  age,"  which  was  not 
favorably  reported.  A  clause  was  introduced  by  W.  B.  Eskridge 
making  "any  white  woman  twenty-one  years  old,  who  has  been 
a  bona  fide  citizen  of  the  State  two  years  before  her  election, 
and  who  shall  be  of  good  moral  character,"  eligible  to  the  office 
of  chancery  or  circuit  clerk ;  and  another,  that  "  any  white  woman, 
etc.,  shall  be  qualified  to  hold  the  office  of  keeper  of  the  Capitol 
and  State  librarian." 

The  last  office,  as  recommended  in  a  separate  measure  by 
George  G.  Dillard,  which  was  adopted,  is  the  only  one  to  which 
women  are  specifically  eligible,  but  none  has  held  it. 

In  some  counties  the  constitution  has  been  liberally  interpreted 
to  make  women  eligible  to  serve  on  school  boards ;  this,  however, 
is  regulated  usually  by  the  judgment  of  the  county  superintend- 
ent. Women  are  elected  to  such  positions  occasionally  in  the 
smaller  towns. 

The  code  of  1892  created  the  text-book  committee,  whose  duty 
is  to  adopt  a  uniform  series  of  books  for  use  in  the  public 
schools  of  a  county.  An  official  record  is  kept  of  its  specific 
functions,  all  members  being  required  to  "take  the  oath  of  office," 
etc.,  and  thus  constituted  public  officers  according  to  a  recent 
ruling  of  the  Attorney-General.  The  majority  of  these  com- 


MISSISSIPPI.  789 

mittees  are  women  teachers,  appointed  by  the  county  superintend- 
ents, but  no  provision  has  been  made  for  their  remuneration. 

Women  can  not  serve  as  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  for- 
bidden to  women.  They  are  licensed  to  practice  medicine,  den- 
tistry and  pharmaceutics.  It  is  believed  that  the  statute  would 
be  construed  to  enable  them  to  practice  law,  but  the  test  has  not 
been  made.  Several  women  own  and  manage  newspapers. 

EDUCATION  :  The  State  University  has  been  open  to  women 
for  twenty  years,  and  annually  graduates  a  number.  Millsaps 
College,  a  leading  institution  for  men,  has  recently  admitted  a 
few  women  to  its  B.  A.  course,  and  this  doubtless  will  become  a 
fixed  policy.  The  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  and  the 
State  Normal  School  (both  colored)  are  co-educational.  Several 
women  hold  college  professorships. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  3,645  men  and  4,254  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $32.18; 
of  the  women,  $26.69. 


The  State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  was  organized  in 
1897  and  has  a  membership  of  fifteen  societies. 

Women  have  never  actively  participated  in  public  campaigns 
except  in  local  politics  where  the  liquor  question  has  been  the 
paramount  issue.  Miss  Belle  Kearney  is  a  temperance  lecturer 
of  national  reputation,  and  a  pronounced  advocate  of  woman 
suffrage. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

MISSOURI.* 

The  movement  toward  equal  suffrage  in  Missouri  must  always 
recognize  as  its  founder  Mrs.  Virginia  L.  Minor.  She  was  a 
thorough  believer  in  the  right  of  woman  to  the  franchise,  and  at 
the  November  election  of  1872  offered  her  own  vote  under  the 
provisions  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  to  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution. It  was  refused;  she  brought  suit  against  the  inspectors 
and  carried  her  case  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
where  it  was  argued  with  great  ability  by  her  husband,  Francis 
Minor,  but  an  adverse  decision  was  rendered.! 

The  first  suffrage  association  in  the  State  was  organized  at 
St.  Louis  in  the  winter  of  1867.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  and 
Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  lectured  under  its  auspices  at  Library 
Hall  in  the  autumn  of  that  year,  and  a  reception  was  given  them 
in  the  parlors  of  the  Southern  Hotel.  For  many  years  meetings 
were  held  with  more  or  less  regularity,  Mrs.  Minor  was  contin- 
ued as  president  and  some  legislative  work  was  attempted. 

On  Feb.  8,  9,  1892,  an  interstate  woman  suffrage  conven- 
tion was  held  in  Kansas  City,  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns,  president  of 
the  Kansas  association,  in  the  chair.  Mrs.  Minor,  Mrs.  Beverly 
Allen  and  Mrs.  Rebecca  N.  Hazard  were  made  honorary  presi- 
dents and  Mrs.  Virginia  Hedges  was  elected  president.  Ad- 
dresses were  given  by  Mrs.  Clara  C.  Hoffman,  the  Rev.  Anna 
Howard  Shaw,  Mrs.  Mary  Seymour  Howell  of  New  York  and 
Miss  Florence  Balgarnie  of  England.  A  club  was  formed  in 
Kansas  City  with  Mrs.  Sarah  Chandler  Coates  as  president. 

During  the  next  few  years  the  State  association  co-operated 
with  other  societies  in  public  and  legislative  work.  Mrs.  Minor 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  material  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Addie  M.  Johnson  of  St. 
Louis,  president  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 

t  See  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  II,  p.  734,  and  following,  or  Wallace's  Su- 
preme Court  Reports,  Vol.  XXI. 

790 


MISSOURI.  791 

passed  away  in  1894,  an  irreparable  loss  to  the  cause  of  woman 
suffrage. 

In  May,  1895,  the  Mississippi  Valley  Congress  was  called  at 
St.  Louis  under  the  auspices  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temper- 
ance Union,  and  various  other  organizations  participated.  Miss 
Anthony  and  Miss  Shaw,  president  and  vice-president-at-large 
of  the  National  Association,  stopped  on  their  way  to  California 
and  made  addresses.  Just  before  Miss  Anthony  began  her 
address,  seventy-five  children,  some  of  them  colored,  passed  be- 
fore her  and  each  laid  a  rose  in  her  lap,  in  honor  of  her  seventy- 
five  years. 

The  preceding  spring  the  National  Association  had  sent  Mrs. 
Anna  R.  Simmons  of  South  Dakota  into  Missouri  to  lecture  for 
two  months  and  reunite  the  scattered  forces.  A  State  suffrage 
convention  followed  the  congress  and  Mrs.  Addie  M.  Johnson 
was  elected  president.  At  its  close  a  banquet  with  200  covers 
was  given  in  the  Mercantile  Club  Room,  with  Miss  Anthony 
as  the  guest  of  honor.  A  local  society,  of  nearly  one  hundred 
members,  was  formed  in  St.  Louis.  During  October  Mrs.  Sim- 
mons again  made  a  tour  of  the  State  at  the  expense  of  the  Na- 
tional Association. 

On  June  15,  16,  1896,  the  annual  convention  took  place  in 
St.  Louis  with  delegates  present  from  seventeen  clubs.  Ad- 
dresses were  made  by  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of 
the  national  organization  committee,  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  editor 
of  the  Woman's  Journal,  Mrs.  Mary  C.  C.  Bradford  of  Colorado 
and  others  who  were  in  the  city  trying  to  obtain  some  recogni- 
tion for  women  from  the  National  Republican  Convention.  Miss 
Ella  Harrison  was  made  president.  Public  meetings  were  called 
for  November  12,  13,  in  Kansas  City,  as  it  was  then  possible  to 
have  the  presence  of  Miss  Anthony,  Miss  Shaw  and  Mrs.  Chap- 
man Catt  on  their  return  from  the  suffrage  amendment  campaign 
in  California. 

In  January,  1897,  Mrs.  Bradford  spent  three  weeks  lecturing 
in  the  State,  and  the  president  devoted  a  month  to  this  purpose 
during  the  autumn.  The  annual  meeting  convened  in  Bethany, 
December  7-9,  Mrs.  Johns  and  Mrs.  Hoffman  being  the  principal 
speakers. 


792  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  convention  of  1898  was  held  at  St.  Joseph,  October  17- 
19,  with  Miss  Anthony  and  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  in  attendance, 
and  the  board  of  officers  was  re-elected'. 

In  the  fall  of  1899  a  series  of  conferences,  planned  by  the 
national  organization  committee,  was  held  in  twenty  counties, 
being  managed  by  Mrs.  Johnson  and  Miss  Ella  Moffatt,  and  ad- 
dressed by  Miss  Lena  Morrow  of  Illinois  and  Mrs.  Mary  Waldo 
Calkins.  These  ended  with  a  State  convention  at  Chillicothe  in 
October. 

The  annual  meeting  of  1900  was  held  in  St.  Joseph  during 
October,  and  Mrs.  Johnson  was  elected  president.* 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  In  1887,  through  the  ef- 
forts of  Mrs.  Julia  S.  Vincent  and  Mrs.  Isabella  R.  Slack,  a  bill 
was  introduced  in  the  Legislature  to  found  a  Home  for  Depend- 
ent Children.  The  bill  was  amended  until  when  it  finally  passed 
it  created  two  penal  institutions,  one  for  boys  and  one  for  girls. 

In  1893  a  bill  proposing  an  amendment  to  the  State  constitu- 
tion, conferring  Full  Suffrage  on  women,  was  brought  to  a  vote 
in  the  Assembly  and  received  47  ayes,  69  noes.  In  1895  a  similar 
bill  was  lost  in  the  Assembly. 

In  1897,  largely  through  the  efforts  of  Miss  Mary  Perry,  a  bill 
was  secured  creating  a  State  Board  of  Charities,  two  members 
of  which  must  be  women.  This  was  supported  by  the  Philan- 
thropic Federation  of  Women's  Societies,  who  also  presented 
one  for  women  on  school  boards,  which  was  not  acted  upon. 

Bills  for  conferring  School  Suffrage  on  women  have  been 
presented  on  several  occasions,  but  never  have  been  considered. 

One  has  been  secured  compelling  employers  to  provide  seats 
for  female  employes.! 

Dower  and  curtesy  both  obtain.  If  there  are  any  descendants 
living,  the  widow's  dower  is  a  life-interest  in  one-third  of  the 

*  Other  officers  elected:  Vice-president,  Mrs.  Kate  M.  Ford;  corresponding  secretary, 
Dr.  Marie  E.  Adams;  recording  secretary,  Mrs.  Sue  DeHaven;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Alice  C.. 
Mulkey;  auditors,  Miss  Almira  Hayes  and  Mrs.  Ethel  B.  Harrison;  member  national 
executive  committee,  Mrs.  Etta  E.  M.  Weink. 

Among  those  who  have  held  official  position  since  1894  are:  Vice-presidents,  Mrs.  Cor- 
delia Dobyns,  Mrs.  Amelie  C.  Fruchte;  corresponding  secretaries,  Mrs.  G.  G.  R.  Wagner, 
Mrs.  Emma  P.  Jenkins;  recording  secretary,  Mrs.  E.  Montague  Winch;  treasurer,  Mrs. 
Juliet  Cunningham;  auditors,  Mrs.  Maria  I.  Johnston,  Mrs.  Minor  Meri wether. 

t  In  1901  women  obtained  a  law  and  appropriation  for  a  State  Home  for  Feeble-Minded 
Children. 


MISSOURI.  793 

real  estate  and  a  child's  share  of  the  personal  property.  If  there 
are  no  descendants,  the  widow  is  entitled  to  all  her  real  estate 
which  came  to  the  husband  through  the  marriage,  and  to  all  the 
undisposed-of  personal  property  of  her  own  which  by  her  writ- 
ten consent  came  into  his  possession,  not  subject  to  the  payment 
of  his  debts;  and  to  one-half  of  his  separate  real  and  personal 
estate  absolutely,  and  subject  to  the  payment  of  his  debts.  If 
the  husband  or  wife  die  intestate,  leaving  neither  descendants, 
father,  mother,  brothers,  sisters,  or  descendants  of  brothers  or 
sisters,  the  entire  estate,  real  and  personal,  goes  to  the  survivor. 
If  a  wife  die,  leaving  no  descendants,  her  widower  is  entitled  to 
one-half  of  her  separate  real  and  personal  estate  absolutely,  sub- 
ject to  her  debts.  (Act  of  1895.) 

In  1889  an  attempt  was  made  to  give  a  married  woman  con- 
trol of  her  separate  real  estate,  which  up  to  that  time  had  be- 
longed to  the  husband.  Endless  confusion  has  resulted,  as  the 
law  applies  only  to  marriages  made  since  that  date.  To  increase 
the  complications  a  wife  may  hold  real  property  under  three  dif- 
ferent tenures :  An  equitable  separate  estate  created  by  certain 
technical  words  in  the  conveyance,  and  this  she  can  dispose  of 
without  the  husband's  joining  in  the  deed ;  a  legal  separate  estate, 
which  she  can  not  convey  without  his  joining;  and  a  common- 
law  estate  in  fee,  of  which  the  husband  is  entitled  to  the  rents 
and  profits.  In  either  case,  if  the  wife  continually  permits  the 
husband  to  appear  as  the  owner  and  to  contract  debts  on  the 
credit  of  the  property,  she  is  estopped  from  withholding  it  from 
his  creditors.  There  may  be  also  a  joint  estate  which  goes  to  the 
survivor  upon  the  death  of  either. 

No  married  woman  can  act  as  executor  or  administrator. 

The  wife's  separate  property  is  liable  for  debts  contracted  by 
the  husband  for  necessaries  for  the  family.  If  he  is  drunken 
and  worthless  she  may  have  him  enjoined  from  squandering  her 
property.  For  these  causes  and  for  abandonment  the  court  may 
authorize  her  to  sell  her  separate  property  without  his  signature. 

The  wife  may  insure  the  husband's  life,  or  he  may  insure  it 
for  her,  and  the  insurance  can  not  be  claimed  by  his  creditors. 

A  married  woman  may  sue  and  be  sued,  make  contracts  and 
carry  on  business  in  her  own  name,  and  possess  her  wages.  She 


794  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

may  recover  in  her  own  name  for  injuries  which  prevent  her  from 
conducting  an  independent  business,  but  not  for  those  which  in- 
terfere with  the  performance  of  household  duties,  as  her  services 
in  the  home  belong  to  the  husband.  She  may,  however,  bring 
suit  in  her  own  name  for  bodily  injuries. 

The  wife  may  sue  for  alienation  of  her  husband's  affections 
and  recover,  according  to  a  recent  Supreme  Court  decision,  "even 
though  they  may  not  be  entirely  alienated  from  her  and  though 
he  may  still  entertain  a  sneaking  affection  for  her." 

The  husband  is  liable  for  torts  of  the  wife  and  for  slanders 
spoken  by  her,  although  out  of  his  presence  and  without  his 
knowledge  or  consent.  (1899.) 

The  father  is  the  guardian  of  the  persons,  estates  and  education 
of  minor  children.  At  his  death  the  mother  is  guardian,  but  if 
she  marries  again  she  loses  the  guardianship  of  the  property  be- 
cause no  married  woman  can  be  curator  of  a  minor's  estate. 

If  the  husband  abandon  or  fail  to  support  his  family,  he  may 
be  fined  and  imprisoned  and  the  court  may  decree  their  mainte- 
nance out  of  his  property.  The  wife  must  live  where  and  how  the 
husband  shall  determine.  If  she  chooses  to  live  elsewhere  his 
obligation  to  support  her  ceases.  In  case  of  divorce  he  must  sup- 
port the  children,  even  if  their  custody  is  given  to  the  mother. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  12  to  14 
years  in  1889  and  to  18  years  in  1895.  The  penalty  was  reduced, 
however,  and  is  at  present  "imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary 
for  a  term  of  two  years,  or  a  fine  of  not  less  than  $100  or  mo 
than  $500,  or  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  not  less  than  on 
month  nor  more  than  six  months,  or  both  such  fine  and  impris- 
onment, at  the  discretion  of  the  court."  Between  the  ages  of  14 
and  1 8  years,  the  girl  must  be  "of  previously  chaste  character." 

SUFFRAGE  :    Women  possess  no  form  of  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  In  1897  the  Supreme  Court  decided  that 
women,  may  hold  any  office  from  which  they  are  not  debarred 
by  the  constitution  of  the  State.  They  are  now  eligible  as  county 
clerks,  county  school  commissioners  and  notaries  public,  and  for 
various  offices  up  to  that  of  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  which 
are  not  provided  for  by  the  constitution.  It  is  the  opinion  of 
lawyers  that  they  may  serve  on  city  school  boards,  and  they  have 


:d. 

i 


MISSOURI.  795 

been  nominated  without  objection,  but  none  has  been  elected. 
Women  are  barred,  however,  from  all  State  offices. 

Two  women  sit  on  the  State  Board  of  Charities,  but  they  can 
not  do  so  on  any  other  State  boards. 

A  number  are  now  serving  as  county  clerks  and  county  com- 
missioners. 

The  W.  S.  A.  and  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  have  secured  the  appoint- 
ment of  salaried  police  matrons  from  the  board  of  police  commis- 
sioners in  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City  and  St.  Joseph.  There  are 
also  depot  matrons  in  these  cities,  and  the  first  two  have  women 
guards  at  the  jails  and  workhouses. 

St.  Louis  has  a  woman  inspector  of  shops  and  factories. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  for- 
bidden to  women. 

EDUCATION  :  This  was  one  of  the  first  States  in  the  Union  to 
open  its  Law  and  Medical  Schools  to  women.  In  1850,  when 
Harriet  Hosmer,  the  sculptor,  could  not  secure  admission  to  any 
institution  in  the  East  where  she  might  study  anatomy  she  was 
permitted  to  enter  the  Missouri  Medical  College. 

In  1869  the  Law  College  of  Washington  University  at  St. 
Louis  admitted  Miss  Phoebe  W.  Couzins,  and  she  received  her 
degree  in  1872. 

The  State  University  and  all  the  State  institutions  of  learning 
are  co-educational.  The  Presbyterian  Theological  School  ad- 
mits women. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  5,979  men  and  7,803  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $49.40 ;  of 
the  women,  $42.40. 


CHAPTER  L. 

MONTANA.* 

In  August,  1883,  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard,  national  president, 
came  to  Montana  and  formed  a  Territorial  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union  in  Butte.  At  this  time  Miss  Willard  in  her 
speeches,  and  the  union  in  its  adoption  of  a  franchise  department, 
made  the  initiative  effort  to  obtain  suffrage  for  the  women  of 
Montana.  This  organization  has  been  here,  as  elsewhere,  a  great 
educative  force  for  its  members,  training  them  in  parliamentary 
law,  broadening  their  ideas  and  preparing  them  for  citizenship. 
Out  of  its  ranks  have  come  the  Rev.  Alice  S.  N.  Barnes,  Mes- 
dames  Laura  E.  Howey,  Delia  A.  Kellogg,  Mary  A.  Wylie, 
Martha  Rolfe  Plassman,  Anna  A.  Walker  and  many  other  earn- 
est advocates  of  the  ballot  for  women.  Within  the  past  five  or 
six  years  a  number  of  professional  and  business  women  have 
joined  the  suffrage  forces  and  to-day  they  compose  a  majority 
of  the  active  leaders. 

No  attempt  was  made  to  organize  the  State  until  Mrs.  Emma 
Smith  De  Voe  was  sent  by  the  National  Association  in  1895. 
She  visited  most  of  the  prominent  towns  and  formed  clubs  or 
committees.  The  first  State  convention  was  called  at  Helena  in 
September  of  this  year  by  the  suffrage  association  of  that  city, 
Miss  Sarepta  Sanders,  president,  and  Mrs.  Kellogg,  secretary. 
It  was  assisted  by  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the 
national  organization  committee,  to  whose  eloquent  addresses 
wras  due  the  great  impetus  the  cause  received  at  this  time.f 

Mrs.  De  Voe  again  visited  the  State  in  the  spring  of  1896.  The 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Mary  Long  Alderson  of  Helena,  one 
of  the  first  officers  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 

t  Officers  elected:  President,  Mrs.  Harriet  P.  Sanders;  vice-president,  Mrs.  Martha 
Rolfe  Plassman;  corresponding  secretary,  Mrs.  Delia  A.  Kellogg;  recording  secretary, 
Mrs.  Mary  Long  Alderson;  treasurer.  Dr.  Mary  B.  Atwater;  auditors,  Mrs.  Martha  E. 
Dunckel  and  Mrs.  Hiram  Knowles;  delegate-at-large,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Wylie.  Dr.  Atwater 
has  been  elected  to  the  same  office  at  each  succeeding  convention. 

796 


MONTANA.  797 

annual  meeting  took  place  at  Butte  in  November.  Mrs.  Harriet 
P.  Sanders,  wife  of  Senator  Sanders,  having  declined  re-election, 
was  unanimously  made  honorary  president,  and  Mrs.  Ella 
Knowles  Haskell  succeeded  her  in  the  presidency.  Nearly  300 
members  were  reported. 

A  large  and  successful  convention  met  at  Helena  in  November, 
1897,  when  a  State  central  committee  was  appointed,  with  Mrs. 
Haskell  as  chairman  and  members  in  nearly  every  county. 
Madame  F.  Rowena  Medini  was  made  president,  but  she  left  the 
State  before  her  year  of  office  had  expired  and  Dr.  Mary  B.  At- 
water  filled  her  place.  No  convention  being  held  in  1897  or  1898 
she  acted  as  president  until  that  of  October,  1899,  when  Dr. 
Maria  M.  Dean  was  elected.  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  was  present. 

To  Mrs.  P.  A.  Dann  of  Great  Falls,  a  contemporary  of  Miss 
Susan  B.  Anthony,  too  much  honor  can  not  be  given  for  her  years 
of  service  and  financial  help.  U.  S.  Senator  Wilbur  F.  Sanders 
has  been  a  loyal  friend.  Foremost  among  the  early  workers  for 
woman  suffrage  in  Montana  was  Mrs.  Clara  L.  McAdow,  whose 
energy  and  business  talent  made  the  Spotted  Horse,  a  mine  owned 
by  herself  and  husband,  a  valuable  property. 

In  July,  1889,  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  corresponding  secretary 
of  the  American  W.  S.  A.,  came  to  Montana  to  present  the  ques- 
tion to  the  Constitutional  Convention.  His  address  was  received 
with  warm  applause  but  the  convention  refused  to  adopt  a  woman 
suffrage  amendment  by  34  yeas,  29  nays.  A  resolution  was 
presented  that  the  Legislature  might  extend  the  franchise  to 
women  whenever  it  should  be  deemed  expedient,  thus  putting 
the  matter  out  of  the  hands  of  its  proverbial  enemies.  The 
measure  had  able  champions  in  B.  F.  Carpenter,  W.  M.  Bickford, 
J.  E.  Rickards,  Hiram  Knowles,  P.  W.  McAdow,  J.  A.  Callaway, 
Peter  Breen,  T.  E.  Collins,  W.  A.  Burleigh,  W.  R.  Ramsdell, 
Francis  E.  Sargeant,  William  A.  Clark  (now  U.  S.  Senator),  its 
president,  and  others.  Prominent  among  those  opposed  were 
Martin  Maginnis  and  Allen  Joy.  It  was  lost  by  a  tie  vote,  July 
30.  A  proposal  to  submit  the  question  separately  to  the  electors 
was  defeated  by  the  same  vote,  August  12.  The  constitution 
conferred  School  Suffrage,  which  women  already  possessed  under 


79$  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Territorial  government,  and  gave  to  taxpaying  women  a  vote  on 
questions  of  taxation. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  In  1895  women  secured 
an  enactment  that  the  commissioners  of  any  county,  at  the  re- 
quest of  a  certain  number  of  petitioners,  must  call  a  special  elec- 
tion for  a  vote  on  licensing  the  sale  of  liquor.  A  two-thirds  vote 
is  necessary  to  prohibit  this.  Women  themselves  can  neither 
petition  nor  vote  on  the  question. 

This  year  a  bill  was  introduced  by  Representative  John  S. 
Huseby  for  a  constitutional  amendment  granting  suffrage  to 
women.  It  was  passed  in  the  House,  45  yeas,  12  nays;  indefinite- 
ly postponed  in  the  Senate  by  a  "rising  vote,"  14  yeas,  4  nays. 

In  1897  a  systematic  effort  was  made  to  secure  a  bill  for  this 
amendment.  Mrs.  Ella  Knowles  Haskell,  chairman  of  the  State 
central  committee,  invaded  the  legislative  halls  with  an  able 
corps  of  assistants  from  the  W.  S.  A.  Petitions  signed  by  about 
3,000  citizens  were  presented,  and  it  looked  for  a  time  as  if  the 
bill  might  pass.  It  was  debated  in  the  House  and  attracted  much 
attention  from  the  press,  but  lacked  five  votes  of  the  required  two- 
thirds  majority.  It  was  not  acted  upon  in  the  Senate. 

In  1899  Dr.  Mary  B.  Atwater,  then  president  of  the  State  As- 
sociation, with  other  officers  and  members,  succeeded  in  having  a 
Suffrage  Amendment  Bill  introduced.  Some  excellent  work  was 
done,  but  the  measure  was  lost  in  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

Dower  is  retained  but  curtesy  abolished.  If  there  is  only  one 
child,  or  the  lawful  issue  of  one  child,  the  surviving  husband  or 
wife  receives  one-half  of  the  entire  estate,  real  and  personal; 
if  there  is  more  than  one  child,  or  one  child  and  the  lawful  issue 
of  one  or  more  deceased  children,  the  survivor  receives  one- 
third.  If  there  is  no  issue  living  the  survivor  takes  one-half  of 
the  whole  unless  there  is  neither  father,  mother,  brother,  sister 
nor  their  descendants,  when  the  widow  or  widower  takes  it  all. 

The  wife  may  mortgage  or  convey  her  separate  property  with- 
out the  husband's  signature.  He  may  do  this  but  can  not  impair 
her  dower  right  to  one-third. 

A  married  woman  may  act  as  executor,  administrator  or 
guardian.  She  may  also  sue  and  be  sued  and  make  contracts  in 
her  own  name. 


MONTANA.  799 

A  married  woman  can  control  her  earnings  by  becoming  a  sole 
trader  through  the  necessary  legal  process.  She  thus  makes  her- 
self responsible  for  the  maintenance  of  her  children. 

The  father,  if  living,  or  if  not,  the  mother,  while  she  remains 
unmarried  and  if  suitable,  is  entitled  to  the  guardianship  of  minor 
children.  In  case  of  divorce,  other  things  being  equal,  if  the  child 
be  of  tender  years,  it  is  given  to  the  mother,  and  if  of  an  age  to 
require  education  and  preparation  for  business,  then  to  the  father. 

By  the  code  of  1895  the  husband  is  required  to  furnish  sup- 
port for  the  family  as  far  as  he  is  able,  and  the  wife  must  help 
if  necessary.  Her  personal  property  is  subject  to  debts  incurred 
for  family  expenses.  Even  though  divorce  be  denied,  the  court 
may  award  maintenance  to  wife  and  children. 

Montana  is  one  of  three  States  which  make  18  years  the  legal 
age  for  the  marriage  of  girls.  In  all  others  it  ranges  from  12 
to  1 6  years. 

In  1887,  on  petition  of  women,  the  "age  of  protection"  for 
girls  was  raised  from  10  to  15  years,  and  in  1895  to  16.  The 
penalty  is  imprisonment  not  less  than  five  years. 

SUFFRAGE  :  Women  may  vote  for  school  trustees  on  the  same 
terms  as  men,  but  not  for  other  school  officers.  They  had  this 
privilege  under  Territorial  government.  Those  possessing  prop- 
erty may  vote  also  on  all  questions  submitted  to  taxpayers.  These 
privileges  were  incorporated  in  the  first  State  constitution. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  Women  may  serve  as  county  superin- 
tendents or  hold  any  school  district  office. 

In  1884  there  were  two  women  county  superintendents;  now 
every  county  in  the  State  has  a  woman  in  this  office.  The  super- 
intendent of  the  Helena  schools  is  a  woman.  The  Rev.  Alice  S. 
N.  Barnes  held  the  position  of  school  trustee  as  early  as  1888.  Dr. 
Maria  M.  Dean  has  been  elected  three  times  in  succession  as  a 
trustee  in  Helena.  She  is  chairman  of  the  board  and  has  been 
influential  in  many  progressive  measures. 

Women  have  served  on  library  boards  and  been  city  librarians. 
Miss  Lou  Guthrie  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  librarian  of 
the  State  Law  Library,  and  Mrs.  Laura  E.  Howey  fills  this  posi- 
tion in  the  State  Historical  Library. 

There  has  been  a  woman  on  the  State  Board  of  Charities  since 


8OO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

its  organization  in  1893,  Mrs.  Howey,  Mrs.  M.  S.  Cummins  and 
Mrs.  Lewis  Penwell  having  been  successively  elected. 

Dr.  Mary  B.  Atwater  has  been  for  over  three  years  chairman 
of  the  Board  of  Health  of  Helena. 

Women  served  as  notaries  public  until  a  ruling  of  Attorney- 
General  C.  B.  Nolan  ( 1901 )  declared  this  illegal. 

In  1892,  the  first  year  the  Populist  party  put  a  ticket  in  the 
field,  it  nominated  Miss  Ella  Knowles  for  the  office  of  Attorney- 
General.  She  made  a  spirited  campaign,  addressing  more  than 
eighty  audiences,  and  alone  organized  some  fourteen  counties, 
being  the  first  Populist  to  speak  in  them.  She  ran  5,000  votes 
ahead  of  her  ticket,  in  a  State  which  casts  only  about  50,000. 
The  contest  was  so  close  that  it  was  three  weeks  before  it  was 
decided  who  had  been  elected ;  but  when  the  votes  came  in  from 
the  outlying  precincts,  where  she  was  unknown,  it  was  found 
that  her  Republican  opponent,  H.  J.  Haskell,  had  a  majority. 
Miss  Knowles  was  then  appointed  Assistant  Attorney-General, 
an  office  which  she  filled  for  four  years  to  the  eminent  satisfac- 
tion of  the  people.  During  this  time  she  married  her  rival. 

OCCUPATIONS:  No  occupation  is  now  legally  forbidden  to 
women.  Mainly  through  the  efforts  of  Mrs.  Haskell,  a  bill  was 
passed  by  the  Legislature  of  1889  which  gave  women  the  right  to 
practice  law.  The  Rev.  Alice  S.  N.  Barnes  was  ordained  in  the 
Congregational  Church  in  1896,  and  has  preached  regularly  ever 
since.  In  1889  she  was  chosen  as  moderator  at  the  Conference 
of  the  Congregational  Churches  of  Montana,  at  Helena. 

EDUCATION  :  The  educational  advantages  for  women  are  the 
same  as  those  accorded  men.  All  institutions  of  learning — the 
State  University,  the  Agricultural  College,  even  the  School  of 
Mines — are  open  to  both  sexes. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  201  men  and  885  women  teach- 
ers. The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $69.28;  of  the 
women,  $48.61. 

Montana  women  were  awarded  seven  medals  at  the  World's 
Fair  in  Chicago  in  1893.  Their  botanical  exhibit  was  one  of  the 
most  notable  at  the  exposition.  It  was  artistically  arranged  by 
Mrs.  Jennie  H.  Moore,  the  flowers  being  all  scientifically  labeled 


MONTANA.  80 1 

and  properly  classified.  Of  the  $100,000  appropriated  to  the  use 
of  the  State  Commission,  the  men  assigned  $10,000  to  the  women 
for  their  department,  exercising  no  supervision  over  them.  At 
the  close  of  the  exposition  they  brought  back  $2,800,  which 
they  turned  into  the  State  treasury,  and  $3,000  worth  of  furni- 
ture, which  they  presented  to  various  State  institutions. 

In  1894  there  was  an  exciting  contest  over  removing  the  loca- 
tion of  the  permanent  capital  and  some  fear  that  Helena  would 
lose  it.  A  number  of  her  leading  women,  in  a  special  car  provided 
by  the  Northern  Pacific  R.  R.,  visited  the  prominent  towns  in 
Eastern  Montana,  speaking  and  working  jn  the  interest  of  their 
city  and  undoubtedly  gaining  many-  votes  for  Helena,  which  was 
selected  instead  of  the  rival,  Anaconda. 

In  1896  Mrs.  Haskell  was  made  a  delegate  to  the  Populist 
convention  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  County,  which  met  in  Helena, 
and  also  to  the  Populist  State  and  National  Conventions.  She 
took  a  prominent  part  in  their  proceedings,  and  was  instrumental 
in  securing  a  woman  suffrage  plank  in  the  Populist  State  plat- 
form after  a  hard  fight  on  the  floor  of  the  convention.  At  the 
Populist  convention  in  St.  Louis  that  year  she  was  chosen  a 
member  of  the  National  Committee. 

In  the  autumn  of  1900  a  number  of  prominent  women  of 
Helena  appeared  as  representatives  of  the  suffragists  before  the 
Lewis  and  Clarke  County  Conventions,  and  before  the  State 
conventions — Republican,  Democrat  and  Populist — asking  that 
they  insert  a  plank  in  their  platforms  recommending  the  submis- 
sion of  the  question  of  woman  suffrage  to  the  voters.  Only  the 
Populists  adopted  it.  The  ladies  also  attended  the  State  conven- 
tions of  the  three  parties  with  the  same  resolution ;  but  the  Popu- 
lists alone  indorsed  it,  "demanding"  suffrage  for  women. 

One  of  the  important  factors  in  this  movement  is  the  Woman's 
Relief  Corps,  an  organization  which  has  grown  in  strength  dur- 
ing the  last  decade  and  is  making  its  members  staunch  patriots 
and  woman  suffragists.  It  has  had  an  educative  influence  equal 
to  that  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  but  on  different  lines.  Women  are 
actively  identified  with  lodges  and  clubs,  many  of  the  latter  being 
members  of  the  General  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs. 
VOL.  IVWoM.  SUF— 51 


CHAPTER  LI. 

NEBRASKA.* 

After  the  defeat  of  the  constitutional  amendment  to  confer  the 
suffrage,  which  was  submitted  to  the  voters  of  Nebraska  in  1882, 
the  women  were  not  discouraged,  but  continued  to  hold  their 
State  conventions  as  usual.  That  of  1884  took  place  at  York,  in 
January,  and  was  welc'omed  by  Mayor  Harlan. 

On  Jan.  16,  17,  1885,  the  annual  meeting  was  held  at  Lin- 
coln. Mrs.  Ada  M.  Bittenbender  was  the  principal  speaker,  and 
the  convention  was  specially  favored  with  music  by  the  noted 
singer  of  ante-bellum  days,  James  G.  Clark.  Mrs.  Clara  Bewick 
Colby,  editor  of  the  Woman's  Tribune,  was  elected  president. 

The  convention  of  1886  met  at  Madison,  August  18,  19,  and 
was  addressed  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Lyle  Saxon  of  New  Orleans. 

On  Jan.  6-8,  1887,  the  convention  assembled  in  the  Hall 
of  Representatives  in  Lincoln.  It  was  fortunate  in  having  Miss 
Susan  B.  Anthony,  who  was  enthusiastically  received  by  large 
audiences.  The  chancellor  postponed  the  opening  lecture  of  the 
university  course  so  that  the  students  might  hear  her  address. 
Mrs.  Saxon  again  rendered  valuable  assistance. 

The  convention  of  1888  met  in  the  opera  house  at  Omaha, 
December  3,  4,  memorable  in  being  honored  by  the  presence  of  the 
two  great  leaders,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  president,  and 
Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  vice-president-at-large  of  the  National 
Association.  A  reception  was  held  at  Hotel  Paxton,  and  short 
speeches  were  made  by  prominent  men.  A  notable  feature  was 
the  exhibit  of  the  rolls  containing  the  names  of  12,000  Nebraska 
men  and  women  asking  for  equal  suffrage. 

The  convention  for  1889  took  place  in  May,  at  Kearney,  James 
Clement  Ambrose  being  among  the  speakers. 

Fremont  claimed  the  tenth  annual  meeting,  Nov.   12,   1890, 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  the  material  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Mary  Smith  Hay- 
ward  of  Chadron,  former  president  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 

802 


NEBRASKA.  803 

Miss  Anthony,  and  Mrs.  Julia  B.  Nelson  of  Minnesota  stopping- 
off  to  attend  it  on  their  return  from  several  months'  campaigning 
in  South  Dakota. 

The  convention  of  1891  was  held  at  Hastings  in  October,  and 

that  of  1892  at  Fender,  July  1,2.    In  1893  all  efforts  were  con- 

:entrated  on  the  work  done  at  the  World's  Fair  in  Chicago,  and 

the  raising  of  money  to  assist  the  Colorado  campaign,  and  the 

convention  was  omitted. 

Miss  Anthony,  now  national  president,  also  attended  the  meet- 
ing of  1894,  in  Beatrice,  November  7,  8.  This  time  she  was  on 
her  way  home  from  a  campaign  in  Kansas  for  a  suffrage  amend- 
ment, to  which  the  Nebraska  association  had  contributed  liber- 
ally. A  telegram  announcing  its  defeat  was  handed  her  on  the 
platform,  just  as  she  was  about  to  begin  her  speech,  and  no  one 
who  was  present  ever  will  forget  her  touching  account  of  the 
efforts  which  had  been  made  in  various  States  for  this  measure 
during  the  past  twenty-seven  years.  The  delegates  were  wel- 
comed by  Mayor  Schultz. 

David  City  was  selected  for  the  next  convention,  Oct.  30, 
31,  1895;  and  that  of  1896  was  enjoyed  at  the  summer  session 
of  the  Long  Pine  Chautauqua  Assembly.  Mrs.  Colby  had  spent 
two  months  lecturing  throughout  the  State  and  preparing  for 
this  meeting.  Money  was  raised  for  the  Idaho  suffrage  cam- 
paign, then  in  progress.  Mrs.  Colby  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Abbott 
addressed  the  Resolution  Committee  of  the  Populist  State  con- 
vention, asking  for  a  woman  suffrage  plank. 

The  meeting  of  1897,  at  Lincoln,  September  30,  was  assisted 
by  Mrs.  Ida  Crouch  Hazlett,  a  lecturer  and  organizer  from  Den- 
ver, who  was  engaged  for  State  work. 

In  October,  1898,  the  convention  was  held  in  Omaha  during 
the  executive  meeting  of  the  National  Council  of  Women,  which 
enabled  it  to  have  addresses  by  Miss  Anthony,  the  Rev.  Anna 
Howard  Shaw,  vice-president-at-large  of  the  National  Associa- 
tion, Mrs.  Adelaide  Ballard  of  Iowa,  and  other  prominent  speak- 
ers. Mrs.  Colby  declining  to  stand  for  re-election,  after  sixteen 
years'  service,  Mrs.  Mary  Smith  Hayward  was  the  choice  of  the 
association.  One  hundred  dollars  were  sent  to  South  Dakota 
or  amendment  campaign  work. 


804  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

In  October,  1899,  the  National  W.  S.  A.  sent  eight  organizers 
into  the  State  to  hold  a  series  of  forty-nine  county  conventions; 
250  meetings  were  held,  18  county  organizations  effected  and 
38  local  clubs  formed.  The  canvass  ended  in  an  enthusiastic 
convention  in  the  capitol  building  at  Lincoln,  with  Mrs.  Carrie 
Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  national  organization  commit- 
tee, the  Rev.  Ida  C.  Hultin  of  Illinois,  Mrs.  Evelyn  H.  Belden 
of  Iowa,  Miss  Laura  A.  Gregg  of  Kansas  and  Miss  Mary  G. 
Hay  of  New  York,  among  the  speakers.  State  headquarters 
were  opened  at  Omaha  with  Miss  Gregg  in  charge.  Her  work 
has  been  so  effective  that  it  has  been  necessary  to  employ  assist- 
ants to  send  out  press  articles,  arrange  for  lectures,  etc. 

In  1900  a  very  successful  annual  meeting  took  place  in  Blair, 
October  23,  24,  with  a  representation  almost  double  that  of  the 
previous  year  and  an  elaborate  program.  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt 
was  again  present,  there  was  much  enthusiasm  and  it  was  re- 
solved to  continue  the  efforts  to  create  a  public  sentiment  which 
would  insure  a  woman  suffrage  clause  in  the  new  State  constitu- 
tion which  is  expected  in  the  near  future.* 

Among  the  many  flourishing  local  societies  may  be  mentioned 
that  of  Table  Rock,  which  is  so  strong  an  influence  in  the  com- 
munity that  the  need  of  any  other  club  for  literary  or  public  work- 
is  not  felt.  It  holds  an  annual  banquet  to  which  husbands  and 
friends  are  invited,  and  the  husbands,  in  turn,  under  the  name  of 
the  H.  H.  (Happy  Husband)  Club  give  a  reception  to  the  suffra- 
gists, managing  it  entirely  themselves. 

The  society  at  Chadron,  under  the  inspiration  of  Mrs.  Hay- 
ward,  is  one  of  the  most  active,  and  has  sent  money  to  assist  cam- 
paigns in  other  States.  A  canvass  of  the  town  in  February, 
1901,  showed  that  96  per  cent,  of  the  women  wanted  full  suffrage. 

Mrs.  Colby  organized  a  Club  in  Lincoln  which  has  done  ex- 
cellent service  under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  Inez  C.  Philbrick. 

Suffrage  headquarters  have  been  established  at  the  Chautau- 
quas  held  at  Long  Pine,  Beatrice,  Salem  and  Crete,  and  various 
Woman's  Days  have  been  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  State 

*  The  present  officers  of  the  association  are:  President,  Mrs.  Clara  A.  Young;  vice- 
president,  Mrs.  Amanda  J.  Marble;  corresponding  secretary.  Miss  Nelly  E.  Taylor;  re- 
cording secretary,  Mrs.  Ida  L.  Denny;  treasurer,  Mrs.  K.  W.  Sutherland;  auditors,  Mrs. 
Mary  Smith  Ilayward  and  Mrs.  Getty  W.  Drury. 


NEBRASKA.  805 

Association,  at  which  speakers  of  national  reputation  have  made 
addresses.  Anthony  and  Stanton  Birthdays  have  been  largely 
observed  by  the  suffrage  clubs. 

The  history  of  the  Nebraska  work  for  the  past  sixteen  years  is 
interwoven  with  that  of  the  president,  Mrs.  Colby,  who  has  given 
her  life  and  money  freely  to  the  cause.  At  a  convention  in  Grand 
Island  in  May,  1883,  it  was  voted  to  establish  a  suffrage  paper 
at  Beatrice,  for  which  the  State  association  was  to  be  financially 
responsible,  and  Mrs.  Colby  was  made  editor.  A  year  later, 
when  the  executive  committee  withdrew  from  the  arrangement, 
she  herself  assumed  the  entire  burden,  and  has  edited  and  pub- 
lished the  Woman's  Tribune  to  the  present  time.  In  1888  she 
issued  the  paper  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  during  the  sessions  of  the 
International  Woman's  Council  and  the  National  W.  S.  A.,  pub- 
lishing eight  editions  in  the  two  weeks,  four  of  sixteen  and  four 
of  twelve  pages,  each  averaging  daily  12,500  copies.  A  few 
years  afterwards  the  office  was  permanently  removed  to  Wash- 
ington. As  long  as  Mrs.  Colby  was  a  resident  of  Nebraska  she 
stood  at  the  head  of  every  phase  of  the  movement  to  obtain  equal 
rights  for  women.  Miss  Mary  Fairbrother,  editor  and  propri- 
etor of  the  Woman's  Weekly,  has  made  her  paper  a  valuable  ally. 

Miss  Helen  M.  Goff,  a  lawyer,  acted  as  corresponding  secre- 
tary of  the  State  Association  for  many  years,  speaking  for  the 
cause  in  political  campaigns,  holding  a  suffrage  booth  at  State 
fairs,  and  working  in  the  Legislature  for  suffrage  bills.* 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  In  1887  a  bill  for  Munici- 
pal Suffrage  was  introduced  by  Senator  Snell  of  Fairbury,  and 
by  Representative  Cole  of  Juniata.  Mrs.  Colby  had  secured 
3,000  signatures  for  this  measure,  and  with  Mrs.  Jennie  F. 
Holmes,  president  of  the  State  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union,  worked  all  winter  to  secure  its  passage,  t 


*  Other  names  which  appear  from  time  to  time  as  doing  good  work  for  this  cause  are 
the  Hon.  J.  D.  Ream,  M.  H.  Marble,  J.  W.  Dundas;  Mesdames  A.  J.  Marble,  Susanna  A. 
Kendall,  Irene  Hernandez,  Miriam  Baird  Buck,  Lucy  Merwin,  Vannessa  Goff,  Maria  C. 
Arter,  Mary  E.  McMenemy,  F.  C.  Norris,  M.  A.  Van  Middlesworth,  M.  A.  Cotton; 
Misses  Viola  Kaufman  and  Edna  Naylor. 

t  Mrs.  Colby  gives  this  interesting  bit  of  description:  "Our  husbands  were  both  in  the 
Senate.  We  had  apartments  in  the  same  house,  where,  hobnobbing  over  our  partnership 
housekeeping,  we  planned  our  public  work.  Our  husbands  each  had  a  spell  of  sickness  at 
the  same  time,  and  while  our  functions  of  State  presidency  were  temporarily  exchanged 
for  those  of  nursing,  our  enemies  took  advantage  of  us  and  killed  that  bill,  on  the  very 


806  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

In  1893  three  bills  were  introduced  into  the  Legislature  relat- 
ing to  suffrage  for  women,  and  one  asking  for  a  law  providing 
for  police  matrons  in  cities  of  25,000  or  more  inhabitants.  Miss 
Goff  remained  at  the  capital  all  winter  looking  after  these  bills. 
Mrs.  Colby,  representing  the  State  W.  S.  A.,  and  Mrs.  Zara  A. 
Wilson  the  State  W.  C.  T.  U.,  had  charge  of  the  Bill  for  Munici- 
pal Suffrage.  J.  F.  Kessler  introduced  this  in  the  House  and 
worked  for  it.  It  was  defeated  by  35  ayes,  48  noes. 

The  bill  for  Full  Suffrage  was  introduced  into  the  House  by 
G.  C.  Lingenfelter,  and  championed  by  W.  F.  Porter  (now  Sec- 
retary of  State)  and  others.  It  was  defeated  by  42  ayes,  47  noes. 
The  Populist  members  supported  this,  but  considered  that  Mu- 
nicipal Suffrage  discriminated  against  women  in  the  country. 
The  bill  for  extended  School  Suffrage  was  introduced  too  late 
to  reach  a  vote.  The  Police  Matron  Bill  was  carried. 

In  1895  the  W.  ^-  A.  decided  to  do  no  legislative  work  except 
to  second  the  efforts  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  to  have  the  "age  of  pro- 
tection" for  girls  raised  to  18  years;  and  to  secure  a  resolution 
asking  Congress  to  submit  a  woman  suffrage  amendment  to  the 
Federal  Constitution.  The  latter  measure  was  not  acted  upon; 
the  former  was  successful. 

In  1897  bills  were  introduced  for  the  Federal  Amendment, 
for  Municipal  Suffrage,  to  allow  women  property  holders  to  vote 
on  issuing  bonds,  and  to  make  the  right  of  the  surviving  hus- 
band or  wife  equal  in  the  family  estate.  Both  branches  of  the 
Legislature  invited  Mrs.  Colby  to  address  them.  Immediately 
afterward  the  House  Judiciary  Committee  approved  an  amend- 
ment to  the  State  constitution,  striking  out  the  word  "male," 
but  this  was  defeated  later  in  the  session.  The  other  bills  were 
not  reported  from  the  committees. 

In  1899  a  hearing  was  granted  to  a  committee  from  the  suf- 
frage association  urging  a  resolution  asking  Congress  to  submit 
a  woman  suffrage  amendment  to  the  State  Legislatures,  and  such 
a  measure  was  reported  to  the  House  but  not  adopted. 

Dower  and  curtesy  both  obtain.  A  widow  is  entitled  to  the  life 
use  of  one-third  of  the  real  estate.  In  case  the  husband  die 

day,  February  15,  that  Gov.  John  A.    Martin  signed  the  bill  under  which  the  women  of 
Kansas  have  ever  since  enjoyed  the  municipal  ballot." 


NEBRASKA.  807 

without  a  will,  after  the  payment  of  all  debts,  charges,  etc.,  she 
may  have  household  furniture  to  the  value  of  $250  and  other 
personal  property  not  exceeding  $200.  If  any  residue  remains 
she  is  entitled  to  the  same  share  that  a  child  receives.  If  there  is 
no  issue  living,  a  widow  takes  the  use  for  life  of  the  entire  estate, 
both  real  and  personal.  If  there  is  no  kindred  of  the  husband, 
the  widow  comes  into  absolute  possession.  If  a  wife  die,  leaving 
no  issue,  the  husband  has  the  life  use  of  all  her  real  estate.  If 
she  leave  children  by  a  former  husband  they  are  entitled  to  all 
of  the  estate  which  did  not  come  to  her  as  a  gift  from  her  surviv- 
ing husband.  If  she  leave  issue  by  the  latter  only,  or  by  both, 
then  the  widower  has  a  life  interest  in  one-third  of  her  real 
estate.  After  the  payment  of  her  debts  her  personal  property 
is  distributed  in  the  same  way  as  her  real  estate. 

The  wife  can  mortgage  or  sell  her  real  estate  without  the  hus- 
band's signature  and  without  regard  to  his  curtesy.  He  can  do 
the  same  with  his  separate  property  but  subject  to  her  dower. 
Both  must  join  in  an  incumbrance  or  sale  of  the  homestead. 

A  married  woman  may  control  her  own  property  and  wages 
and  carry  on  business  in  her  own  name. 

Father  and  mother  have  equal  guardianship  and  custody  of 
minor  children.  (1895.) 

The  husband  is  expected  to  furnish  suitable  maintenance  ac- 
cording to  his  own  ideas.  The  property  which  belonged  to  the 
wife  before  marriage  can  be  levied  on  for  the  husband's  debts 
for  necessaries  furnished  the  family  if  he  have  no  property. 

The  mother  is  not  "next  of  kin"  and  can  not  sue  for  damages 
to  a  minor  child.  In  1900  a  child  of  thirteen  was  injured  by  a 
locomotive,  and  the  Judge  held  that  the  father  and  not  the  mother 
was  entitled  to  bring  suit,  although  she  had  a  divorce  years  before 
and  had  brought  up  the  child  without  any  assistance  from  him. 

If  a  divorce  is  granted  for  the  wife's  adultery  "the  husband 
may  hold  such  of  her  personal  estate  as  the  court  may  term  just 
and  reasonable."  If  she  secure  a  divorce  on  account  of  his  adul- 
tery, "the  court  may  restore  to  her  the  whole,  or  such  part  as 
may  seem  just,  of  her  own  property  which  she  had  at  marriage. 
If  this  is  insufficient  for  the  support  of  herself  and  her  children 
the  court  may  decree  alimony  from  the  husband's  estate." 


808  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  in  1885  from  10 
to  12  years;  in  1887  from  12  to  15 ;  in  1895  from  15  to  18.  The 
penalty  is  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  not  more  than  twenty 
nor  less  than  three  years,  but  the  law  provides  that  if  such  "fe- 
male child  is  over  15  and  previously  unchaste"  this  penalty  shall 
not  be  inflicted.  For  such  the  law  offers  no  protection.  Nor 
shall  there  be  conviction  for  the  crime  against  a  child  of  any  age 
without  other  evidence  than  her  own  testimony.  (1895.) 

SUFFRAGE:  In  1869  School  Suffrage  was  conferred  on 
women.  In  1875  the  Legislature  repealed  this  law  except  for 
widows  and  spinsters.  In  1881  it  was  again  changed,  and  women 
since  then  have  voted  in  school  district  matters  on  the  same 
terms  as  men;  i.  e.,  if  parents  of  children  of  school  age  or  as- 
sessed on  property  real  or  personal  they  may  vote  at  all  elections 
pertaining  to  schools.  They  can  not,  however,  vote  for  State  or 
county  superintendents  or  county  supervisors  (commissioners). 
As  the  last  named  levy  the  taxes,  and  the  other  two  are  the  most 
important  officers  connected  with  the  schools,  it  will  be  seen  that 
women  are  deprived  of  the  most  valuable  school  vote.  All  ef- 
forts, however,  to  secure  an  extension  of  the  school  franchise 
have  resulted  in  failure. 

As  it  requires  a  majority  of  the  highest  number  of  votes  cast 
at  an  election  to  carry  an  amendment,  it  is  useless  to  ask  the 
Legislature  to  submit  one  conferring  Full  Suffrage  upon  women. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  There  is  nothing  in  the  State  constitution 
or  the  statutes  making  women  ineligible  to  any  elective  office 
except  membership  in  the  Legislature. 

Although  they  are  not  allowed  to  vote  for  county  superintenc 
ents  there  are  at  present  sixteen  women  filling  this  office, 
of  them  serving  a  second  term  and  three  a  third,  while  ninete 
are  superintendents  or  principals  of  schools.    A  woman  was  cat 
didate  on  the  Fusion  ticket  for  regent  of  the  State  Universit 
another  has  been  registrar  since  the  university  opened,  and  or 
is  at  present  recorder. 

Mrs.  Ada  M.  Bittenbender  was  candidate  for  Supreme  Jud< 

A  woman  is  deputv  State  auditor.     Women  are  serving 
have  served  as  postmasters  and  as  clerks  in  both  houses  of  t\ 
Legislature,  clerk  of  the  State  library  and  member  of  the  Stat 


NEBRASKA.  809 

examining  committee  of  education.  Miss  Mary  Fairbrother  was 
proof-reader  in  the  House  in  1899.  Miss  Helen  M.  Goff  is  as- 
sistant reporter  in  the  State  department  of  the  Judiciary.  Wom- 
en act  as  notaries  public. 

The  W.  S.  A.  and  W.  C.  T.  U.  secured  a  bill  requiring  the 
appointment  of  women  physicians  at  three  State  insane  asylums. 
There  are  matrons  at  all  of  the  State  institutions  for  the  blind, 
feeble-minded,  etc.,  and  also  at  the  Girls'  Industrial  School,  al- 
though the  superintendent  is  always  a  man.  The  Milford  In- 
dustrial School  has  a  woman  physician,  a  woman  superintendent 
and  a  board  of  five  women  visitors.  At  the  Home  for  the  Friend- 
less all  the  officers  and  employes  are  required  to  be  women  and 
there  is  a  board  of  women  visitors. 

All  cities  of  25,000  or  more  are  required  to  appoint  police 
matrons  at  $50  per  month.  This  includes  only  Omaha  and 
Lincoln. 

A  woman  is  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trade  in  Omaha  and 
official  agent  for  the  Humane  Society  with  police  powers. 

OCCUPATIONS:  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  for- 
bidden to  women.  A  woman  is  president  of  one  bank  and  vice- 
president  of  another.  Among  the  many  in  newspaper  work,  an 
Indian,  Mrs.  Susette  La  F.  Tibbies,  is  prominent. 

EDUCATION  :  All  institutions  of  learning  are  open  to  women. 
In  the  public  schools  there  are  2,038  men  and  7,154  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $45.05,  of 
the  women,  $36.56. 


The  Prohibition  party  always  puts  a  suffrage  plank  in  its  State 
platform  and  women  candidates  on  its  ticket,  even  for  the  office 
of  Lieutenant-Governor,  but  it  polls  so  small  a  vote  that  this  can 
be  only  complimentary.  The  Populist  and  Republican  parties 
have  indorsed  equal  suffrage  at  county  conventions  and  elected 
women  on  their  tickets.  Women  go  as  delegates  to  the  Prohibi- 
tion and  Populist  conventions.  One  of  the  strongest  of  the  State 
organizations  is  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps. 


CHAPTER  LII. 

NEVADA.* 

The  question  of  equal  political  rights  for  women  always  has 
been  a  subject  of  discussion  in  Nevada.  Through  the  efforts  of 
Miss  Hannah  K.  Clapp  and  a  few  other  women  a  suffrage  bill 
was  passed  by  the  Senate  in  1883,  but  was  defeated  in  the  House. 
Miss  Mary  Babcock  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  of  these  early 
workers.  Many  party  leaders,  whenever  opportunity  permitted, 
have  referred  to  the  justice  of  enfranchising  the  women  who 
with  the  men  braved  the  dangers  and  endured  the  hardships  of 
pioneer  life,  and  are  equally  interested  in  the  material  develop- 
ment and  political  well-being  of  the  State.  After  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Nevada  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  the 
superintendent  of  the  franchise  department  distributed  literature, 
brought  up  the  topic  at  public  meetings,  urged  it  as  a  subject  of 
debate  in  clubs  and  schools  and  thus  secured  a  steady  gain  in  suf- 
frage sentiment. 

The  first  step  toward  associated  effort  was  taken  by  the  wome 
of  Austin,  Nov.  30,   1894,   in   forming  the  Lucy  Stone  Noi 
Partisan  Equal  Suffrage  League.    One  or  two  others  were  organ- 
ized that  ye^r,  and  a  general  agitation  was  begun  through  pres 
and  petition  work  by  the  suffragists  in  every  community. 

In  the  spring  of  1895  the  visit  of  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthonj 
president  of  the  National  Association,  and  the  Rev.  Anna  Ho^ 
ard  Shaw,  vice-president-at-large,  who  were  on  their  way 
California,  created  such  widespread  enthusiasm  that  a  new  im- 
petus was  given  to  the  movement.  A  little  later  Mrs.  Emma 
Smith  DeVoe  of  Illinois  was  sent  by  the  National  Association 
to  canvass  the  State  with  the  help  of  the  local  workers.  As  a 
result  a  convention  was  held  at  Reno,  October  29,  30.  Mrs. 

*  The  History  is  indebted   for  this  chapter  to   Mrs.   Frances  A.   Williamson,  first  presi- 
dent of  the  State  Equal  Suffrage  Association. 

810 


NEVADA.  8ll 

DeVoe  and  Mrs.  Frances  A.  Williamson  were  the .  principal 
speakers,  and  the  ten  minutes'  addresses  by  the  delegates  from 
various  counties  were  very  clever  and  acceptable.  A  State  Equal 
Suffrage  Association  was  formed  with  Mrs.  Williamson  as  pres- 
ident; Miss  Clapp  and  Dr.  Eliza  Cook,  vice-presidents;  Fannie 
Weller,  corresponding  secretary;  Phcebe  Stanton  Marshall,  re- 
cording secretary;  Elda  A.  Orr,  treasurer;  Kate  A.  Martin  and 
Alice  Ede,  auditors ;  Annie  Warren,  press  work ;  Mary  A.  Boyd, 
State  Fair  work;  Emma  B.  Blossom,  superintendent  of  litera- 
ture; Marcella  Rinkle,  member  national  executive  committee. 

The  president,  who  was  also  chairman  of  the  legislative  work 
committee,  was  in  the  lecture  field  four  months.  She  had  to  act 
as  her  own  advance  agent,  but  during  this  time  she  spoke  in  every 
city  and  town  in  the  State  and  organized  numerous  clubs.  Her 
meetings  were  well  attended,  and  great  interest  was  manifested. 
The  second  convention  was  held  at  Reno,  Sept.  24,  1896, 
with  every  county  represented.  Mrs.  Elda  A.  Orr  was  elected 
president  and  Mrs.  Williamson,  State  organizer  and  lecturer. 
Mrs.  Orr  has  ever  since  been  continued  as  president,  and  to  no 
one  person  in  Nevada  is  the  cause  of  woman  suffrage  so  much 
indebted  for  hospitality,  financial  aid  and  valuable  work. 

The  public  meeting  called  on  November  9  to  greet  Miss  An- 
thony and  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  national 
organization  committee,  was  very  successful.  Miss  Anthony 
gave  a  resume  of  the  exciting  campaign  just  closed  in  California, 
and  made  an  object  lesson  of  its  critical  points  which  greatly 
amused  the  audience.  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  followed  in  an  able 
argument  on  woman  suffrage  as  the  best  and  safest  means  to 
secure  and  maintain  good  government. 

In  order  to  give  the  movement  a  more  pronounced  individual- 
ity Mrs.  Williamson  and  her  daughter,  M.  Laura  Williamson, 
founded  the  Nevada  Citizen,  a  monthly  paper  devoted  to  the  so- 
cial, civil  and  industrial  advancement  of  women.  They  edited 
and  managed  it,  publishing  it  at  their  own  risk,  and  it  received 
a  liberal  patronage.  After  a  successful  existence  of  two  years, 
business  called  both  from  the  State  and  it  was  discontinued. 

In  1897  Mrs.  Williamson  again  canvassed  the  various  counties, 
and  the  most  prominent  men  and  women  were  found  willing 


8l2 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


to  give  the  measure  their  indorsement.  The  third  annual  meet- 
ing was  held  at  Carson  City,  October  30,  writh  delegates  from 
most  of  the  counties.  The  numerous  greetings  from  leading 
politicians  showed  an  increasing  interest  in  this  question.  Mrs. 
Orr  and  Mrs.  Williamson  were  both  re-elected.  The  former 
made  an  able  address,  and  Mrs.  Frances  Folsom  gave  a  general 
review  of  the  laws  relating  to  the  property  rights  of  women  in 
the  different  States. 

The  fourth  convention  was  postponed  till  the  meeting  of  the 
Legislature  in  the  winter  of  1899,  in  order  that  the  speakers 
might  appear  before  that  body  with  their  arguments  for  the  sub- 
mission of  a  woman  suffrage  amendment  to  the  voters.* 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:     In  1895  a  bill  was  intro- 
duced in  the  House  by  Henry  H.  Beck,  to  amend  the  State  con- 
stitution by  eliminating  the  word  "male"  from  before  the  word 
"citizen"  wherever  it  occurs.     All  amendment  bills  have  to  pass 
two  successive  Legislatures  and  then  be  submitted  to  the  voters. 
The  Rev.  Mila  Tupper  Maynard  and  Mrs.  Frances  A.  William- 
son managed  the  legislative  work  this  year.     The  former  made 
an  eloquent  address  before  the  Legislature  in  joint  assembly.    An 
exciting  debate  followed  in  the  House,  but  the  bill  was  defeated 
by  six  votes.    About  ten  days  later  it  was  introduced  in  the  Sen- 
ate by  Dr.  William  Comins,  who  supported  it  with  an  able  speed 
It  was  strongly  opposed  but  finally  passed  by  a  two-thirds  vote 
Toward  the  close  of  the  session  it  was  reconsidered  in  the  House 
and  after  a  spirited  debate  was  passed  by  four  votes. 

In  1897  the  legislative  work  was  conducted  by  Mrs.  William- 
son.    She  read  a  brief  of  the  constitutional  grounds  on  whicl 
women  claim  the  right  of  suffrage  before  the  Judiciary  Commit- 
tees of  both  Houses,  and  addressed  the  Legislature  in  joint  as 
sembly.f     This  year  the  bill  for  a  constitutional  amendment  w« 

*  Among  those  who  have  filled  the  various  offices  are:  Vice-presidents,  Margaret  Camp 
bell  and  Susan  Humphreys;  corresponding  secretaries.  May  Gill  and  Catharine  Sha» 
auditors,  A.  A.  Rattan,  Mary  Cowen  and  Laura  A.  Huffines;  superintendent  of  press  wor 
Margaret  Furlong;  superintendent  of  literature,  Hester  Tate;  members  national  ex« 
committee,  Caroline  B.  Norcross  and  Elizabeth  Webster. 

Prominent   among   the    active   suffragists,    besides    those    already   mentioned,    are    Sad 
Bath,  Lettie  Richards,  Martha  J.  Wright,  Gerty  Grey,  Annie  Ronnow,  Emma  Hilp,   Mar 
Haslett,  Mamie  Dickey,   Edith  Jenkins,  Louisa   Loschenkohl,  Clara  Dooley,   Mary   Bonner, 
Eliza  Timlin  and  Josie  Marsh. 

t  Mrs.  Williamson  was  assisted  by  Elda  A.  Orr,  Elizabeth  Webster,  Mary  Alt,   Mary 


NEVADA.  813 

introduced  in  the  Senate  by  Dr.  Comins.  The  Judiciary  Com- 
mittee recommended  its  passage,  and  after  a  lively  debate  it  re- 
ceived a  two-thirds  vote.  Later  on  the  bill  was  presented  in  the 
House  by  Frank  Norcross.  It  was  held  in  committee  and  de- 
layed in  every  possible  way,  but  finally  was  brought  up  in  joint 
assembly.  A  stubborn  debate  followed,  in  which  the  advocates 
made  an  able  defense,  but  it  was  defeated  by  a  tie  vote.  A  mo- 
tion to  reconsider  it  was  defeated  also. 

In  1899  the  Constitutional  Amendment  Bill  again  passed  the 
Senate  by  the  usual  two-thirds  vote,  and  was  defeated  again  in 
the  House  by  the  usual  small  vote. 

Governors  Colcord,  Jones  and  Sadler  recommended  in  their 
biennial  messages  to  the  Legislature  that  the  proposed  suffrage 
amendment  to  the  State  constitution  be  submitted  to  the  voters.* 
The  Reno  Gazette  and  Wadsworth  Dispatch  merit  special  men- 
tion for  the  able  manner  in  which  they  have  advocated  the  suf- 
frage movement. 

A  married  woman  may  control  her  separate  property  if  a  list 
of  it  is  filed  with  the  county  recorder,  but  unless  it  is  kept  con- 
stantly inventoried  and  recorded  it  becomes  community  property. 

The  community  property,  both  real  and  personal,  which  in- 
cludes all  accumulated  after  marriage,  is.  under  absolute  control 
of  the  husband,  and  at  the  death  of  the  wife  all  of  it  belongs  to 
him  without  administration.  On  the  death  of  the  husband  the 
wife  is  entitled  to  one-half  of  it.  If  he  die  leaving  no  will  and 
no  children,  she  may  claim  all  of  it  after  she  has  secured  the  pay- 
ment of  debts  to  the  satisfaction  of  creditors.  The  inheritance  of 
separate  property  is  the  same  for  both,  and  either  may  claim  a  life 
interest  in  a  homestead  not  exceeding  $5,000  in  value. 

To  become  a  sole  trader  a  woman  must  comply  with  certain 
legal  conditions.  Her  earnings  are  considered  by  law  to  belong 
to  her  if  her  husband  has  allowed  her  to  appropriate  them  to  her 
own  use,  when  they  are  regarded  as  a  gift  from  him  to  her. 

Boyd,  Jane  Frazer,  Kate  A.  Martin,  Elizabeth  Evans,  Marcella  Rinkle,  Susan  Humphreys, 
Sara  Reynolds,  Frances  Folsom,  Emma  B.  Blossom  and  others,  whose  womanly  and  dig- 
nified work  was  complimented  by  the  legislative  body  and  the  public  in  general. 

*  Among  the  members  of  both  Houses  who  from  time  to  time  have  championed  this 
question  and  favored  all  legislation  for  the  advancement  of  women  are  Messrs.  Bell, 
Birchfield,  Coryell,  Denton,  Ernest,  Garrard,  Gregooich,  Haines,  Julien,  Kaiser,  Lord, 
Mante,  Martin,  Marshall,  McHardy,  McNaughton,  McCone,  Murphy,  Richards,  Skagg, 
Vanderleith  and  Williamson. 


814 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


A  married  woman  may  sue  and  be  sued  and  make  contracts 
in  her  own  name. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  children  and  may  ap- 
point one  by  will.  If  this  is  not  done,  the  mother,  if  suitable,  is 
the  guardian  while  she  remains  unmarried. 

The  husband  is  required  to  furnish  the  necessaries  of  life  to 
the  family;  but  there  is  no  penalty  for  failure  to  do  so,  except 
that  where  the  neglect  has  been  continued  for  one  year,  when 
it  could  have  been  avoided  by  ordinary  industry,  the  wife  is  en- 
titled to  a  divorce. 

In  1889  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  12 
to  14  years.  The  penalty  is  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary 
for  a  term  of  not  less  than  five  years,  which  may  extend  for  life. 

SUFFRAGE  :    Women  possess  no  form  of  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  Women  are  not  eligible  to  any  elective  or 
appointive  offices  except  those  of  county  school  superintendents 
and  school  trustees.  There  are  serving  at  present  one  county 
superintendent  and  fifteen  trustees. 

Women  act  as  clerks  in  State,  county  and  city  offices.  They 
can  not  serve  as  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS:  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  for- 
bidden to  women.  A  number  are  carrying  on  mining,  and  have 
had  mines  patented  in  their  own  names. 

EDUCATION  :  Women  are  admitted  to  all  educational  institu- 
tions on  the  same  terms  as  men. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  40  men  and  274  women  teach- 
ers. The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $101 ;  of  the 
women,  $61.50. 


CHAPTER  LIII. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

New  Hampshire  has  been  rich  in  distinguished  citizens  who 
believed  in  woman  suffrage.  Ex-United  States  Senator  Henry 
W.  Blair  always  has  been  one  of  its  most  devoted  advocates,  and 
his  successor,  Dr.  Jacob  H.  Gallinger,  is  no  less  a  staunch  friend. 
The  names  of  both  for  many  years  have  stood  as  vice-presidents 
of  the  State  Association.  From  1868  the  Hon.  Nathaniel  P.  and 
Mrs.  Armenia  S.  White  were  the  pillars  of  the  movement  and 
there  was  an  efficient  organization.  His  death  in  1880  and  her 
advancing  years  deprived  it  of  active  leadership  and,  while  the 
sentiment  throughout  the  State  continued  strong,  there  was  little 
organized  work.  Mrs.  White  was  president  for  many  years  and 
afterwards  was  made  honorary  president.  Parker  Pillsbury  was 
for  a  long  time  vice-president  and  later  the  Hon.  Oliver  Branch. 
Mrs.  Jacob  H.  Ela  and  Mrs.  Bessie  Bisbee  Hunt  served  several 
years  as  chairmen  of  the  executive  committee.*  Many  petitions 
for  suffrage  were  circulated  and  sent  to  the  Legislature  and 
money  was  raised  for  the  National  Association.  The  Grange 
and  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  have  been  valu- 
able allies. 

On  June  29,  30,  1887,  a  convention  was  held  in  Concord  and 
arrangements  made  for  a  systematic  canvass  of  the  State. 

On  Jan.  10,  1889,  Mrs.  White  and  other  officers  of  the 
State  Association*  were  granted  a  hearing  by  the  Constitutional 
Convention  then  in  session.  They  presented  petitions  and  made 
a  plea  that  the  State  constitution  be  amended  so  as  to  prohibit 

*  Aniong  other  officers  since  1884  are:  Presidents,  Mrs.  E.  J.  C.  Gilbert  and  Miss 
Josephine  F.  Hall;  vice-presidents,  Judge  J.  W.  Fellows,  Gen.  Elbert  Wheeler,  the  Rev. 
Enoch  Powell,  Mrs.  Martha  E.  Powell,  John  Scales,  Mesdames  C.  A.  Quimby,  Caroline  R. 
Wendell,  N.  H.  Knox,  Marilla  H.  Ricker,  M.  L.  Griffin,  Fanny  W.  Sawyer  and  Mary 
Powers  Filley;  corresponding  secretaries,  Mrs.  Jacob  H.  Ela,  Mrs.  Maria  D.  Adams;  re- 
cording secretary,  the  Rev.  H.  B.  Smith;  treasurers,  Mesdames  A.  W.  Hobbs,  C.  R.  Me- 
loon,  Uranie  E.  Bowers  and  Miss  Abbie  E.  Mclntyre;  auditor,  Mrs.  C.  R.  Pease;  execu- 
tive committee,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  H.  Dow  and  Mrs.  (Dr.)  Tucker. 

815 


8l6  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

political  distinctions  on  account  of  sex.     The  special  committee 
reported  "inexpedient  to  legislate"  and  their  report  was  adopted. 

A  State  meeting  was  held  in  Concord,  Dec.  14,  1892,  a  full 
board  of  officers  was  elected  and  it  was  voted  to  become  aux- 
iliary to  the  National  American  Association  and  to  remain  aux- 
iliary to  the  New  England  Association. 

On  Jan.  10,  1895,  the  New  England  W.  S.  A.  held  a  conven- 
tion in  Nashua  with  Miss  Elizabeth  Upham  Yates  of  Maine, 
Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe,  Henry  B.  Blackwell  and  Miss  Alice 
Stone  Blackwell,  editors  of  the  Woman's  Journal,  Boston,  as 
speakers.  The  day  after  its  close  the  annual  business  meet- 
ing of  the  New  Hampshire  Association  was  held  and  was  ad- 
dressed by  Miss  Blackwell.  On  November  8  it  called  a  meet- 
ing at  the  same  place  for  the  transaction  of  some  special  business. 

On  Jan.  10,  1896,  and  on  Feb.  24,  1897,  the  annual  meet- 
ings were  held  in  Nashua,  the  latter  addressed  by  Miss  Black- 
well.  Mrs.  Marilla  M.  Ricker,  a  former  officer  of  the  so- 
ciety but  now  practicing  law  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  was  candi- 
date for  U.  S.  Minister  to  Colombia,  and  New  Hampshire  was 
one  of  six  States  which  petitioned  for  her  appointment.  Ex- Sen- 
ator Blair  exerted  himself  in  her  behalf,  but  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  say  that  she  was  not  appointed. 

The  desire  for  a  more  effective  organization  had  grown  so 
strong  that  in  November,  1900,  Mrs.  Susan  S.  Fessenden  of 
Boston  was  sent  into  the  State  by  the  New  England  Association 
and  spent  two  weeks,  forming  clubs  in  Concord,  Newport,  Lit- 
tleton, Andover  and  North  Conway,  and  preparing  for  societie 
in  Nashua  and  Manchester. 

In  the  autumn  of  1901  Miss  Mary  N.  Chase  of  Andover 
a  month  organizing  local  societies.  A  convention  was  called 
for  December  16,  17,  in  Manchester,  at  which  ten  towns  were 
represented.  The  meetings  were  held  in  the  City  Hall,  and 
Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  president  of  the  National  Associa- 
tion, was  introduced  to  a  fine  audience  the  first  evening  by  Cyrus 
H.  Little,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  Addresses 
were  made  also  by  Mr.  and  Miss  Blackwell.  A  strong  official 
board  was  elected*  and  an  effort  will  be  made  to  educate  public 

•President,   Miss    Mary    N.    Chase;   vice-president,    Mrs.    Elizabeth    B.    Hunt;   secretary. 


NEW    HAMPSHIRE.  817 

sentiment  to  demand  a  woman  suffrage  clause  from  the  con- 
vention to  revise  the  State  constitution,  which  is  likely  to  be  held 
within  a  short  time.  On  the  evening  of  December  17  Mrs. 
Chapman  Catt  spoke  in  Concord,  the  State  capital. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  The  suffrage  associa- 
tion has  been  petitioning  the  Legislature  since  1870.  That 
year  it  secured  a  law  allowing  women  to  serve  on  school  boards. 
In  1878  it  obtained  School  Suffrage  for  women. 

In  1885  it  presented  a  petition,  signed  by  several  thousand  citi- 
zens, asking  the  Full  Franchise  for  women,  and  was  given  "leave 
to  withdraw." 

In  1887  a  bill  conferring  Municipal  Suffrage  and  permitting 
women  to  hold  all  municipal  offices  was  presented  with  a  petition 
signed  by  2,500  citizens.  A  hearing  was  granted  by  the  com- 
mittee on  July  6  and  300  persons  were  present.  On  the  I3th  it 
was  favorably  reported  in  the  House,  but  August  6,  it  was  de- 
feated by  87  ayes,  148  noes.  This  year  the  House  raised  the 
"age  of  protection"  for  girls  from  10  to  14  years  but  the  Senate 
amended  to  13  years. 

In  1889  the  bill  for  Municipal  Suffrage  was  again  introduced, 
sent  to  the  Judiciary  Committee  and  referred  to  the  next  session 
as  "unfinished  business." 

In  1891  the  petitions  for  this  bill  contained  3,000  signatures, 
and  Mr.  Angell  of  Derry  also  introduced  a  bill  for  suffrage  for 
tax-paying  women,  but  neither  was  acted  upon.  This  experi- 
ence was  repeated  in  1893. 

In  1895,  after  a  hearing  had  been  granted  to  the  women,  the 
bill  was  reported  favorably  by  the  Judiciary  Committee  and 
passed  a  second  reading  in  the  House,  but  a  third  was  refused. 
D.  C.  Remick  and  M.  Lyford  were  earnest  in  their  support  of  the 
measure.  This  year  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised 
to  1 6,  but  the  bill  was  vetoed  by  Gov.  Busiel  who  claimed  that  it 
was  not  properly  framed. 

Dower  and  curtesy  both  obtain.  The  widow  is  entitled  to  a 
life  interest  in  one-third  of  the  real  estate  and  a  homestead  right 
of  $500,  and  if  she  waive  the  provisions  of  the  will  in  her  favor 

Miss  Mary  E.  Quimby;  treasurer,  the  Rev.  Angelo  Hall;  auditors,  Miss  C.  R.  Wendell 
and  the  Hon.  Sherman  E.  Burroughs. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 52 


8l8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

she  may  have,  after  the  payment  of  debts,  one-third  of  the  per- 
sonal property  if  issue  survive;  if  not,  one-half.  If  she  waive 
its  provisions  and  release  her  dower  and  homestead  right,  she 
may  have,  after  all  debts  and  expenses  of  administration  are  paid, 
one-third  of  the  real  estate  absolutely  if  issue  by  her  survive,  and, 
if  not,  one-half,  and  the  same  amount  of  personal  property.  The 
widower  is  entitled  to  a  life  interest  in  all  the  wife's  real  estate, 
and  a  homestead  right  of  $500,  and  if  he  waive  the  provisions  of 
her  will  in  his  favor,  the  same  amount  of  her  personal  property 
as  she  would  receive  of  his.  If  he  release  his  curtesy  and  home- 
stead right  he  is  entitled  to  the  same  amount  of  her  real  estate 
as  she  would  have  of  his. 

A  married  woman  retains  control  of  her  separate  property. 
She  can  mortgage  or  convey  it  without  the  husband's  joinder  but 
can  not  bar  his  curtesy  of  life  use  of  the  whole  or  his  homestead 
right;  nor  can  she  deprive  him  of  these  by  will.  The  husband 
has  the  same  privileges,  subject  to  her  dower. 

A  married  woman  may  carry  on  business  in  her  own  name. 
She  may  sue  and  be  sued  and  make  contracts.  Her  earnings  are 
her  sole  and  separate  property.  She  can  not  become  surety  for 
her  husband. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  but  if  he  is  insane  or  has  given 
cause  for  divorce  the  court  may  award  the  minor  children  to  the 
mother.  The  judge  of  probate  may  appoint  a  guardian,  when 
necessary,  to  have  care  of  the  persons  and  property  of  minor 
children,  and  it  may  be  either  the  father  or  mother. 

If  the  husband  refuse  to  provide  for  his  family  he  may  be 
prosecuted  in  criminal  form.  If  he  is  insane  or  has  given  cause 
for  divorce  the  court  may  award  support  out  of  his  property. 

The  common  law  making  12  years  the  legal  age  for  a  girl 
to  marry  has  been  retained  by  special  statute. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  is  13  years  with  a  pen- 
alty of  imprisonment  not  exceeding  thirty  years,  but  no  mininum 
punishment  named. 

SUFFRAGE:  Since  1878  women,  possessing  the  same  qualifi- 
cations required  of  men,  that  is,  residence  in  the  district  three 
months  preceding  the  election,  are  entitled  to  vote  for  members 
of  the  school  board  and  for  appropriations  of  money.  There 


NEW    HAMPSHIRE.  8l  9 

are  no  county  superintendents,  and  the  State  Superintendent  of 
Instruction  is  appointed  by  the  Governor  and  Council.  The  city 
ordinances  of  Manchester,  Franklin  and  Nashua  prohibit  women 
from  this  suffrage,  but  they  may  vote  in  Concord,  the  capital. 

New  Hampshire  was  the  first  State  in  New  England  to  give 
School  Suffrage  to  women. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  Women  are  eligible  to  all  elective  or  ap- 
pointive School  offices  except  where  it  is  forbidden  by  special 
charters.  They  are  not  eligible  to  any  other  elective  office. 

A  number  are  serving  on  School  Boards.  They  may  sit  on 
State  Boards  which  are  appointed  by  the  Governor.  They  have 
done  so  only  on  the  Board  of  Charities  and  Corrections  and  on 
that  of  the  State  Normal  School. 

There  is  no  law  requiring  women  physicians  in  any  State  in- 
stitutions, or  police  matrons  in  any  city.  One  has  been  appointed 
in  Manchester. 

Women  may  act  as  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS:  On  July  25,  1889,  Chief  Justice  Charles  Doe 
of  the  Supreme  Court  delivered  the  opinion  that  women  may  be- 
come members  of  the  bar  and  practice  in  all  the  courts.  No  oc- 
cupation or  profession  is  legally  forbidden.  Ten  hours  are  made 
a  working  day. 

EDUCATION  :  The  old  college  of  Dartmouth  at  Hanover  is  for 
men  only.  The  State  Agricultural  College  at  Durham  admits 
both  sexes. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  256  men  and  2,714  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $69.75  >  °f 
the  women  $40.59. 


CHAPTER   LIV. 

NEW   JERSEY.* 

Although  many  local  suffrage  meetings  had  been  held  in  New 
Jersey  prior  to  1867,  in  that  year  a  State  Society  was  organized 
by  Lucy  Stone,  which  met  regularly  in  various  cities  until  she 
removed  to  Massachusetts  a  few  years  afterwards,  when  the  as- 
sociation and  its  branches  gradually  suspended,  except  the  one  at 
Vineland,  with  Mrs.  Anna  M.  Warden  as  president.  Mrs.  Cor- 
nelia C.  Hussey,  Mrs.  Katherine  H.  Browning,  Mrs.  Warden  and 
others  continued  to  represent  the  State  as  vice-presidents  at  the 
national  conventions. 

In  1890  Dr.  Mary  D.  Hussey,  who  had  been  a  member  of  the 
old  society,  invited  a  number  of  active  suffragists  to  unite  in 
forming  a  new  State  association.  Eleven  responded  and,  at  the 
residence  of  Mrs.  Charlotte  N.  Enslin,  in  Orange,  February  5, 
a  constitution  was  adopted,  Judge  John  Whitehead  elected  presi- 
dent and  Dr.  Hussey  secretary  and  treasurer,  f 

In  1891  the  Rev.  Antoinette  Brown  Blackwell  became  pres 
dent;  Mrs.  Amelia  Dickinson  Pope  was  elected  in  1892;  and  in 
1893  Mrs.  Florence  Howe  Hall,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Julia  Ward 
Howe,  accepted  the  presidency. 

The  first  public  meeting  of  the  association  was  held  at  Orange, 
March  4,  1893,  where  Mrs.  Clara  C.  Hoffman  of  Missouri,  gave 
an  address.  The  first  auxiliary  society  formed  was  that  of  Essex 
County,  with  forty  members,  Mrs.  Jennie  D.  De  Witt,  president. 
Five  other  State  meetings  were  held  and  the  membership  trebled. 
Among  the  lecturers  were  Aaron  M.  Powell,  Mrs.  Blackwell, 
Mrs.  S.  M.  Perkins  of  Ohio,  and  the  president.  A  number  of 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Florence  Howe  Hall  of  Plainfield, 
president  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association  for  the  past  eight  years,  and  to  Dr. 
Mary  D.  Hussey  of  East  Orange,  its  founder  and  corresponding  secretary. 

t  The  others  present  were  Mesdames  Phebe  C.  Wright,  Alice  C.  Angell,  Sarah  A.  Me- 
Clees,  Caroline  Ross  Graham,  Katherine  H.  Browning,  Anna  M.  Warden,  Mrs.  Minola 
Graham  Sexton,  Mrs.  Emma  L.  Blackwell. 

820 


NEW    JERSEY.  821 

clergymen  gave  sermons  on  suffrage,  14,000  pages  of  literature 
were  circulated  in  seventeen  of  the  twenty-one  counties,  and  the 
Woman's  Column  was  sent  to  200  persons  at  the  expense  of  Mrs. 
Cornelia  C.  Hussey.  The  women's  vote  at  school  meetings 
greatly  increased  and  a  number  were  elected  trustees.  The  an- 
nual convention  was  held  at  Newark  in  November. 

The  constitutional  amendment  campaign  in  the  neighboring 
State  of  New  York  had  a  very  favorable  effect  on  public  opinion 
in  New  Jersey  during  1894.  In  addition  to  the  usual  meetings 
a  memorial  service  in  honor  of  Lucy  Stone  was  held  in  Peddie 
Memorial  Church,  Newark,  one  of  the  largest  churches  in  the 
State,  with  more  than  2,000  people  present,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Liv- 
ermore  being  the  chief  speaker.  Another  meeting  was  held 
in  Orange,  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe  making  the  principal  address. 

A  sunflower  lunch  was  given  to  raise  funds  for  the  campaign 
in  Kansas  and  $200  were  sent,  of  which  half  was  contributed  by 
Mrs.  Hussey.  Among  the  vast  amount  of  literature  circulated 
were  1,000  copies  of  suffrage  papers.  The  State  convention  was 
held  as  usual  in  Newark,  November  24.  This  year  the  Popu- 
list party  declared  for  woman  suffrage  in  its  State  convention. 
The  Knights  of  Labor  also  have  indorsed  it. 

In  1895,  before  entering  upon  the  three  years'  campaign  for  the 
restoration  of  School  Suffrage,  which  had  been  declared  uncon- 
stitutional the  previous  year,  the  association  presented  to  the 
Legislature  petitions  signed  by  about  1,000  persons,  asking  for 
the  restoration  of  full  suffrage  to  the  women  of  New  Jersey, 
which  had  been  taken  away  in  1807.  This  was  done  not  with 

kany  expectation  of  success  but  in  order  to  place  the  association 
on  record  as  having  demanded  this  right.  In-  the  new  measure 
for  School  Suffrage  they  begged  that  it  might  include  the  women 
of  towns  and  cities  instead  of  merely  country  districts,  according 
to  the  law  of  1887,  but  this  was  refused. 

Mrs.  Anna  B.  S.  Pond  arranged  a  course  of  lectures  for  the 
benefit  of  the  School  Suffrage  fund  and,  with  a  souvenir,  $100 
were  raised.  A  handsome  suffrage  flag  was  presented  to  the  as- 
sociation by  Miss  Martha  B.  Haines,  recording  secretary. 

Four  meetings  of  the  State  association  were  held  in  Newark, 
and  one  in  Plainfield  during  the  year,  and  lectures  were  given  by 


822  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  of  New  York,  Mrs.  Annie  L.  Diggs 
of  Kansas,  Miss  Elizabeth  Upham  Yates  of  Maine,  and  Mrs. 
Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  national  organization 
committee.  The  fifth  convention  assembled  in  the  chapel  of 
Trinity  (Episcopal)  Church,  Elizabeth,  November  29.  Mrs. 
Ella  B.  Carter,  chairman  on  press  work,  stated  that  many  leading 
papers  were  advocating  the  restoring  of  School  Suffrage.  Mrs. 
Harriet  L.  Coolidge,  chairman  of  the  School  Suffrage  Commit- 
tee, reported  that  about  fifty  women  had  held  the  office  of  trustee 
since  1873,  when  this  right  was  given,  that  twelve  more  were  still 
serving  despite  the  Supreme  Court  decision,  and  that  women  had 
voted  in  school  meetings  in  almo.st  every  county. 

The  School  Suffrage  Resolution  passed  the  Legislature,  but 
as  it  had  to  be  approved  by  two  successive  Legislatures  before  it 
could  be  submitted  to  the  voters,  it  was  necessary  to  agitate  the 
subject  so  the  law-makers  might  see  that  the  people  really  de- 
sired the  passage  of  this  measure,  and  the  winter  of  1896  was  de- 
voted to  this  purpose.  A  new  circular  setting  forth  the  success 
it  had  previously  been  was  circulated  in  connection  with  the  peti- 
tion. As  the  president  was  unable  to  attend  the  session  of  the 
Legislature,  Miss  Mary  Philbrook,  chairman  of  the  Committ* 
on  Laws,  took  charge  of  the  measure,  which  in  March  was  pass 
for  the  second  time  without  opposition.  It  was  decided,  ho> 
ever,  to  have  certain  other  proposed  amendments  to  the  constiti 
tion  altered,  and  that  for  School  Suffrage  was  kept  back  with  tl 
others,  as  the  constitution  can  be  amended  only  once  in  five  yc 

In  the  spring  circulars  were  sent  to  300  newspapers  to  be  put 
lished,  urging  women  to  attend  school  meetings  and  to  exercis 
the  scrap  of  franchise  still  left  to  them — a  vote  on  appropru 
tions.*  New  Jersey  sent  $150  to  the  National  Association  anc 
$50  to  California  for  its  campaign  this  year,  in  addition  to  the 
money  spent  on  State  work.  The  annual  meeting  was  held 
Orange,  Nov.  27,  1896.  A  vote  of  thanks  was  tendered  Mis 
Jane  Campbell  of  Philadelphia  for  her  generous  gift  of  300  copie 
of  "Woman's  Progress"  containing  an  account  of  suffrage 
New  Jersey  by  Mrs.  Hall 

•  The  sending  of  this  yearly  circular  to  the  press,  shortly  before  the  time  of  the 
nual  school  meeting,  has  been  continued  under  the  special  charge  of  the  president. 


NEW    JERSEY.  823 

The  signatures  to  the  petition  were  increased  to  over  7,000  in 
1897,  and  the  Legislature  passed  the  resolution  for  the  School 
Suffrage  Amendment  for  the  third  time,  in  March.  The  asso- 
ciation at  once  began  active  work  to  influence  the  voters.  Meet- 
ings were  held  in  halls,  churches  and  parlors  in  all  parts  of  the 
State  and  many  articles  were  published  explaining  the  scope  of 
the  amendment.  The  State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  the 
Granges,  Working  Girls'  Societies,  Daughters  of  Liberty,  the 
Ladies  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  the  Junior  Order  of  American  Mechanics 
and  other  organizations  gave  cordial  indorsement.  Mrs.  Hall 
delivered  three  addresses  on  this  subject  before  the  State  Federa- 
tion of  Clubs;  Mrs.  Emily  E.  Williamson,  afterwards  its  presi- 
dent, also  made  a  strong  speech,  urging  the  members  to  work  for 
the  amendment,  and  paid  for  5,000  of  the  Appeals  which  were 
sent  out.  The  W.  C.  T.  U.  rendered  every  possible  assistance  in 
securing  signers  for  the  petitions  and  educating  public  sentiment. 

During  the  summer  an  extensive  correspondence  was  carried 
on  with  prominent  people  including  the  State  board  of  education, 
State,  county  and  city  superintendents  of  public  instruction,  etc. 
They  were  asked  to  sign  An  Appeal  to  the  Friends  of  Education 
which  clearly  set  forth  the  advantages  of  the  proposed  amend- 
ment. Having  obtained  the  one  hundred  influential  signatures 
desired  the  document  was  widely  distributed  to  the  press. 
Copies  were  sent  to  many  organizations  of  men  and  women,  and 
also  to  the  clergy,  with  the  request  that  they  would  use  their  in- 
fluence with  their  congregations.  A  number  did  so,  but  proba- 
bly many  were  afraid  to  speak  on  this  subject  lest  they  injure 
the  chances  of  the  Anti-Gambling  Amendment  to  the  constitu- 
tion, which  was  to  be  voted  on  at  the  same  time.  The  school 
authorities  strongly  indorsed  the  amendment  and  related  the  ben- 
efit which  School  Suffrage  for  women  had  been  within  their  ex- 
perience. Extracts  from  these  letters,  including  one  from  the 
State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  the  Hon.  Charles  J. 
Baxter,  thanking  the  association  for  work  in  its  behalf,  were 
widely  published. 

The  Republican  State  Executive  Committee  and  some  county 
committees  indorsed  the  amendment.  Efforts  were  made  to 
have  it  presented  at  the  many  meetings  which  were  held  in  be- 


824  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

half  of  the  Anti-Race  Track  Amendment,  but  they  were  not  al- 
ways successful.  Through  an  unavoidable  circumstance  the 
press  work  fell  principally  on  the  president.  The  corresponding 
secretary,  Dr.  Hussey,  gave  an  immense  amount  of  labor,  de- 
voting the  whole  summer  to  the  work  of  the  campaign.  Mrs. 
Angell  rendered  most  efficient  service,  a  part  of  it  the  sending  of  a 
letter  to  nearly  every  minister  in  the  State.  Mrs.  L.  H.  Rowan 
was  chairman  of  the  finance  committee  but  so  sure  were  the 
friends  of  success  that  only  $150  were  expended. 

The  special  election  was  held  Sept.  28,  1897,  and  the  re- 
sult was  a  great  disappointment.  The  School  Suffrage  Amend- 
ment, to  which  it  was  generally  supposed  there  would  be  prac- 
tically no  opposition,  was  defeated — 65,021  ayes,  75,170  noes. 
The  adverse  vote  came  almost  entirely  from  the  cities  where  the 
actual  experiment  never  had  been  made.  The  country  districts, 
where  women  had  exercised  School  Suffrage,  understood  its 
workings  and  voted  for  the  amendment.  The  Germans  in  par- 
ticular opposed  it,  and  it  was  said  that  they  and  many  other 
voters  understood  it  to  give  complete  suffrage  to  women.  As  it 
was  printed  in  full  on  the  ballot  itself,  the  carelessness  and  indif- 
ference of  the  average  voter  were  thus  made  painfully  apparent. 

The  labor  was  not  altogether  wasted,  however,  as  through  it 
the  people  were  brought  to  understand  that  women  still  had  a 
partial  vote  at  school  meetings.  (See  Suffrage.)  For  instance 
the  women  of  Cranford,  where  a  new  schoolhouse  was  badly 
needed,  were  told  by  their  town  counsel  that  they  had  lost  the  bal- 
lot, but  the  president  of  the  suffrage  association  informed  them 
of  the  error  of  this  learned  gentleman,  and  they  came  out  and 
voted,  the  campaign  being  conducted  by  the  Village  Improve- 
ment Association,  a  club  composed  of  women.  The  majority  in 
favor  of  the  new  schoolhouse  was  only  seven.  The  opposition 
called  a  second  meeting  and  reversed  this  decision.  The  women 
circulated  petitions  and  compelled  the  school  board  to  call  a  third 
meeting  where  they  won  the  day.  It  was  voted  to  erect  one  new 
building  to  cost  $24,700  and  another  on  the  south  side  to  cost 
nearly  $i  1,000. 

This  same  year,  in  South  Orange,  two  unsuccessful  attempts 
were  made  to  get  an  appropriation  to  build  a  much-needed  High 


NEW    JERSEY.  825 

School.  The  men  finally  decided  to  call  upon  the  women  for 
help.  Nearly  500  attended  the  meeting,  and  the  $25,000  appro- 
priation was  carried  by  an  overwhelming-  majority.  The  school 
at  Westfield  and  two  new  High  School  buildings  at  Asbury 
Park  and  Atlantic  Highlands  were  built  because  of  the  women's 
vote.  Manual  training  was  introduced  into  the  Vineland  schools 
through  the  zeal  of  women.  A  report  from  Moorestown  says: 
"The  year  that  women  first  began  to  vote  at  school  meetings 
marks  a  decided  revival  of  intelligent  interest  in  our  public 
schools."  In  Scotch  Plains,  where  the  meetings  were  held  in  the 
public  school  building,  a  holiday  afterwards  had  always  been 
necessary  in  order  to  clean  it.  With  the  advent  of  the  feminine 
voters,  expectoration  and  peanut  shells  ceased  to  decorate  the 
floors,  and  the  children  were  able  to  attend  school  the  next  day  as 
usual.  The  Women's  Educational  Association  introduced  man- 
ual training  into  the  public  schools  of  East  Orange.* 

A  number  of  meetings  of  the  State  association  were  held  dur- 
ing 1897,  and  among  the  speakers  were  Mrs.  Mary  C.  C.  Brad- 
ford and  Mrs.  Ellis  Meredith  of  Colorado,  Mrs.  Celia  B.  White- 
head  and  Miss  Laura  E.  Holmes.  The  annual  convention  took 
place  at  Wissner  Hall,  Newark,  November  30. 

Three  State  meetings  were  held  in  1898,  the  conference  of  the 
National  Board  co-operating  with  the  State  association,  taking 
the  place  of  the  convention.  This  was  held  May  6,  7,  at  Orange, 
and  was  the  strong  feature  of  the  year.  Through  the  efforts  of 
the  local  committee,  Mrs.  Minola  Graham  Sexton,  chairman,  a 
large  attendance  was  secured.  Among  the  speakers  were  the 
Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  vice-president-at-large  of  the  National 
Association,  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  Mrs.  Mariana  W.  Chap- 
man, president  of  the  New  York  State  Association,  and  a  number 
of  State  women.  New  Jersey  contributed  this  year  $648  to  the 
Organization  Committee  of  the  National,  most  of  which  went  to 
the  Oklahoma  campaign.  The  largest  contributions  were  from 
Mrs.  Cornelia  C.  Hussey,  $450;  Moorestown  League  (Miss  S. 

*  East  Orange  also  had  from  1894  to  1900  a  school  committee  consisting  of  ten  women 
elected  every  year  at  the  annual  school  meeting — a  sort  of  auxiliary  association  which  did 
good  work.  In  1900  it  became  a  city,  and  the  school  officers  are  now  elected  at  the  polls 
where  women  can  not  vote. 


826  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

W.  Lippincott)  $50;  collections  at  Orange,  $41 ;  Essex  County, 
$40 ;  Mrs.  A.  Van  Winkle,  $20. 

The  annual  meeting  was  held  at  Camden,  Nov.  29,  1898. 
Mrs.  Rachel  Foster  Avery,  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Na- 
tional Association,  and  Miss  Jane  Campbell,  president  of  the 
Philadelphia  county  association,  were  the  afternoon  speakers, 
Mrs.  Bradford  making  the  principal  address  of  the  evening. 
The  New  Jersey  Legal  Aid  Association  was  formed  this  year  in 
Newark,  Dr.  Hussey  taking  an  active  part.  The  first  president 
was  Miss  Cecilia  Gaines,  who  was  succeeded  by  Mrs.  Stewart 
Hartshorn.  Its  object  is  to  give  legal  assistance  to  those  unable 
to  pay  for  it,  and  especially  to  women.  All  its  officers  are 
women,  and  a  woman  attorney  is  employed.  Up  to  the  present 
time  (  1901 )  it  has  had  applications  from  700  persons. 

Two  meetings  of  the  State  Association  were  held  in  1899.  A 
contribution  of  $220  was  made  to  the  National  Organization 
Committee.  At  the  annual  meeting,  held  November  28,  at  Jer- 
sey City,  Major  Z.  K.  Pangborn,  editor  of  the  Journal,  made  an 
address  at  the  evening  session.  The  principal  speaker  was  Mr 
Percy  Widdrington  of  London,  who  gave  an  account  of  wo: 
suffrage  and  its  good  practical  results  in  England. 

Resolutions  of  deep  regret  for  the  death  of  Aaron  M.  Powe 
editor  of  The  Philanthropist,  were  adopted. 

The  State  Association  held  two  meetings  during  1900,  and 
did  a  great  deal  of  work  in  preparation  for  the  National  Suffrage 
Bazar.  Dr.  Hussey  was  made  chairman  of  the  Bazar  Commit- 
tee, while  Mrs.  Sexton  arranged  the  ten  musical  entertainments 
which  were  given  during  the  Bazar.  The  tenth  annual  conven- 
tion was  held  at  Moorestown,  November  13,  14.  There  was 
a  large  attendance,  including  many  men.  The  new  national 
president,  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  was  the  principal  speaker. 
Others  were  Mrs.  Lucretia  L.  Blankenburg,  president  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Association ;  Mrs.  Mary  V.  Grice,  president  of  the 
State  Congress  of  Mothers;  Mrs.  Catharine  B.  Lippincott,  rep- 
resenting the  Grange,  and  Mrs.  Hall,  who  spoke  on  the  American 
Woman  in  the  American  Home. 

Mrs.  Hall,  who  had  been  president  during  the  whole  period  of 
active  life  of  the  association,  declined  re-election.  She  did  so 


NEW    JERSEY.  827 

with  the  greatest  reluctance,  but  felt  that  the  increasing  pressure 
of  work  made  it  important  that  some  one  with  more  leisure  at  her 
disposal  should  fill  the  office.  Mrs.  Sexton  was  elected  president.* 

Mrs.  Cornelia  C.  Hussey  is  the  largest  contributor  in  New 
Jersey  to  the  suffrage  cause  in  general.  Since  many  of  her  do- 
nations have  been  made  to  the  National  Association  directly,  not 
passing  through  the  hands  of  the  State  treasurer,  they  can  not  be 
computed  here,  nor  does  she  herself  know  their  full  amount. 
She  has  given  also  most  liberally  to  State  work  and  her  contribu- 
tions run  well  up  into  the  thousands.  A  number  of  New  Jersey 
women  have  been  made  life  members  of  the  National  Association 
by  her.  She  is  a  member  of  its  organization  committee.! 

In  early  days  Mrs.  Theresa  Walling  Seabrook  stood  almost 
alone  in  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  in  her  advocacy  of  woman  suffrage  and 
it  required  ten  years  of  effort  to  secure  a  franchise  department,  of 
which  she  was  made  the  first  superintendent.  For  many  years, 
however,  this  organization  has  been  an  active  and  helpful  force 
and  undoubtedly  has  made  numerous  converts,  besides  securing 
valuable  legislation.  The  Grange  has  been  always  a  faithful 
ally  of  the  woman  suffrage  cause. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  On  Feb.  13,  1884,  a  spe- 
cial committee  of  the  Assembly  granted  a  hearing  on  the  peti- 
tion of  Mrs.  Celia  B.  Whitehead  and  220  others,  asking  the  res- 
toration of  the  right  of  Full  Suffrage  which  had  been  unconstitu- 
tionally taken  away  from  women  in  1807.  (See  Suffrage.) 
Henry  B.  Blackwell  and  the  Rev.  Phoebe  A.  Hanaford  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  Mrs.  Theresa  Walling  Seabrook  presented  the  ques- 
tion. They  asked  also  for  School  Suffrage.  The  committee  re- 
ported favorably  on  both  measures.  The  former  reached  a  vote 
and  was  defeated  by  24  yeas,  27  nays. 

*  The  remaining  officers  elected  were:  Vice-president,  Mrs.  W.  J.  Pullen;  correspond- 
ing secretary,  Dr.  Mary  D.  Hussey;  recording  secretary,  Miss  J.  H.  Morris;  treasurer, 
Mrs.  Anna  B.  Jeffery;  auditor,  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Bassett. 

The  other  officers  who  have  served  during  the  past  ten  years  are:  Vice-presidents,  Mrs. 
Katherine  H.  Browning,  Mrs.  Margaret  C.  Campfield,  Rev.  Antoinette  Brown  Blackwell, 
Mrs.  Harriet  Lincoln  Coolidge;  corresponding  secretary,  Mrs.  Charlotte  C.  R.  Smith;  re- 
cording secretaries,  Miss  Martha  B.  Haines,  Mrs.  Emma  L.  Blackwell,  Mrs.  Alice  C.  An- 
gel!, Miss  Mary  Philbrook;  treasurers,  Mrs.  Charlotte  N.  Enslin,  Dr.  Mary  D.  Hussey, 
Mrs.  Stephen  R.  Krom;  auditors,  Aaron  M.  Powell,  Miss  Susan  W.  Lippincott,  Mrs.  J.  M. 
Pullen;  chairmen  press  committee,  Anna  B.  S.  Pond,  Dr.  Florence  de  Hart. 

t  Among  many  others  who  have  served  faithfully  as  local  presidents  and  in  other  ways 
are  Dr.  Ella  Prentiss  Upham,  Mrs.  Maria  H.  Eaton,  Mrs.  Samuel  R.  Huntington,  Mrs. 
Madge  S.  MacClary,  Mrs.  Sarah  S.  Culver,  Miss  M.  Louise  Watts. 


828  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


In  1887  Dr.  William  M.  Baird,  Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  had 
a  bill  introduced  conferring  School  Suffrage  on  women  in  vil- 
lages and  country  districts,  and  advocated  it  from  the  floor.  It 
passed  unanimously,  March  23,  not  on  its  merits  but  because  the 
Speaker  wanted  it.  It  was  passed  by  the  Senate  March  31,  by 
15  yeas,  2  nays,  and  signed  April  8,  by  Gov.  Robert  S.  Green. 

This  year  Aaron  M.  Powell  and  the  Rev.  A.  H.  Lewis  secured 


a  law  raising  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  from  10  to  16. 

In  1894  the  courts  decided  that  the  law  granting  School  Suf- 
frage to  women  was  unconstitutional  and  that  an  amendment  to 
the  constitution  would  be  necessary  to  enable  them  to  exercise  it. 
The  suffrage  association  immediately  took  steps  to  secure  a  reso- 
lution submitting  this  amendment  to  the  electors,  as  previously 
described.  In  1895  ^  was  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  Foster  M. 
Voorhees  (now  Governor)  and  passed  in  June  by  13  yeas,  2  nays. 
It  passed  the  Assembly  by  36  yeas,  one  nay.  It  had  to  be  acted 
upon  by  two  Legislatures.  In  March,  1896,  it  passed  the  Senate 
unanimously;  and  the  Assembly  by  57  yeas,  one  nay.  A  tech- 
nicality required  it  to  pass  the  third  Legislature,  which  it  did  in 
March,  1897 — Senate,  15  yeas,  I  nay;  Assembly, ,42  yeas,  50; 

In  April,  1894,  it  was  enacted  that  women  might  be  notaries. 

In  March,  1895,  a  bill  was  secured  making  women  eligible  to 
appointment  as  Commissioners  of  Deeds,  after  having  failed  in 
1891,  '92  and  '94,  and  Miss  Mary  M.  Steele  was  appointed. 

In  1896  Miss  Mary  Philbrook,  an  attorney,  with  the  help  of  the 
suffrage  officials,  secured  a  bill  making  women  eligible  as  Mas- 
ters in  Chancery  and  was  herself  the  first  one  appointed. 

This  year  the  State  Teachers'  Association  secured  a  law  per- 
mitting a  Teachers'  Retirement  Fund  to  be  created,  which,  with 
some  amendments  in  1899,  enables  a  teacher  after  twenty  years' 
service,  if  incapacitated  for  further  work,  to  receive  from  $250 
to  $600  per  annum.  Some  improvement  also  was  made  in  the 
property  laws  for  women. 

In  April,  1898,  through  the  efforts  of  the  Federation  of 
Women's  Clubs,  a  law  was  passed  and  an  appropriation  made  for 
State  Traveling  Libraries. 

Dower  and  curtesy  obtain.  The  widow  is  entitled  to  a  life 
use  of  one-third  of  the  real  estate  and,  if  there  is  a  child  or  chil- 


NEW    JERSEY.  829 

dren,  to  one-third  of  the  personal  property  absolutely;  if  there 
are  no  children,  to  one-half  of  it.  The  remainder  of  the  real 
and  personal  estate  goes  to  the  husband's  kindred.  "The  widow 
may  remain  in  the  mansion  house  of  her  husband  free  of  rent  un- 
til dower  is  assigned."  The  widower  is  entitled  to  the  life  use  of 
all  the  wife's  real  estate,  and  if  there  is  no  will,  to  all  her  personal 
property  without  administration.  She  may,  however,  dispose  of 
all  of  it  by  will  as  she  pleases.  She  can  not  by  will  deprive  the 
husband  of  his  curtesy  in  real  estate,  except  by  order  of  the  Court 
of  Chancery  when  she  is  living  separate  from  him.  She  can  not 
encumber  or  dispose  of  her  separate  estate  without  his  joinder. 
He  can  mortgage  or  convey  his  real  estate  without  her  joinder  but 
it  is  subject  to  her  dower.  Her  separate  property  is  liable  for 
her  debts  but  not  for  those  of  her  husband. 

Since  1895  a  married  woman  may  contract  as  if  unmarried, 
and  sue  and  be  sued  in  her  own  name  as  to  property,  but  for  per- 
sonal injuries  the  husband  must  join.  She  can  not  become  surety. 

Since  1896  she  may  carry  on  business  in  her  own  name,  her 
earnings  and  wages  are  her  separate  property,  and  her  deposits  in 
savings  banks  are  free  from  the  control  of  her  husband. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  persons  and  estates  of 
minor  children.  At  his  death  the  mother  becomes  guardian.  In 
case  of  separation  with  no  misconduct  on  the  part  of  either,  the 
mother  has  the  preference  until  the  child  is  seven  years  old,  after 
which  the  rights  are  equal.  Provision  is  made  for  the  access  of 
the  mother  to  infant  children.  On  the  death  of  the  one  to  whom 
the  child  is  assigned  it  is  subject  to  the  order  of  the  court. 

The  husband  must  furnish  such  support  as  will  maintain  the 
wife  in  the  position  in  which  he  has  placed  her  by  marriage.  If 
he  refuse  he  must  give  bonds  or  go  to  jail.  The  wife  must  con- 
tribute to  the  support  of  the  family  if  the  husband  is  unable. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10  to  16 
years  in  1887.  The  penalty  is  a  fine  not  exceeding  $1,000 
or  imprisonment  at  hard  labor  not  exceeding  fifteen  years,  or 
both.  No  minimum  penalty  is  named. 

No  girl  under  fourteen  shall  be  employed  in  a  factory,  and  no 
children  under  fourteen  shall  be  employed  in  any  workshop  or 
factory  over  ten  hours  a  day  or  sixty  hours  a  week.  The  failure 


830  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

of  employers  to  provide  seats  for  female  employes  beside  a  work 
bench  or  counter  shall  be  punished  as  a  misdemeanor. 

SUFFRAGE:  New  Jersey  is  the  first  State  in  which  a  woman 
ever  cast  a  ballot.  The  constitution  adopted  July  2,  1776,  con- 
ferred the  franchise  on  "all  inhabitants  worth  $250,  etc."  In 
1790  a  revision  of  the  election  law  used  the  words  "he  or  she," 
thus  giving  legislative  sanction  to  a  construction  of  the  constitu- 
tion which  placed  women  in  the  electorate.  While  the  records 
show  that  women  did  vote  for  various  officers,  including  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  and  members  of  the  Legislature,  yet  in 
those  days  of  almost  absolute  male  supremacy,  when  it  was  not 
customary  for  women  to  owrn  even  $250  worth  of  property  and  all 
they  possessed  became  the  husband's  at  marriage,  it  is  not  to  be 
supposed  that  very  many  could  avail  themselves  of  the  privilege. 
Enough  did  so,  however,  to  make  them  a  factor  in  the  fierce  polit- 
ical contentions  which  soon  arose,  and  to  gain  the  enmity  of  poli- 
ticians. In  1807  the  Legislature  passed  an  arbitrary  act  limiting 
the  suffrage  to  "white  male  citizens."  This  was  clearly  a  usurpa- 
tion of  authority,  as  the  constitution  could  be  changed  only  by  ac- 
tion of  the  voters.  Nevertheless,  men  were  in  power  and  women 
were  no  longer  permitted  to  exercise  the  franchise. 

In  1844  a  convention  framed  a  new  constitution  in  which  the 
suffrage  was  restricted  to  "white  males,"  and  only  men  were  al- 
lowed to  vote  on  its  adoption.  Women  were  still  electors  ac- 
cording to  the  existing  constitution,  and  yet  they  were  not  per- 
mitted to  vote  for  delegates  to  this  convention  nor  for  the  rati- 
fication of  the  new  constitution.  No  Supreme  Court  could  have 
rendered  any  other  decision  than  that  this  was  illegally  adopted. 

For  exactly  eighty  years  women  were  deprived  of  any  fran- 
chise. During  the  last  twenty  of  this  period  they  made  repeated 
efforts  to  vote  and  presented  numerous  petitions  to  the  Legisla- 
ture to  have  their  ancient  right  restored.  In  1887  this  body  en- 
acted that  women  might  vote  at  school  meetings  (i.  e.  in  villages 
and  country  districts)  for  trustees,  bonds,  appropriations,  etc. 

In  1893  a  law  was  enacted  giving  the  right  to  vote  for  Road 
Commissioner  to  "all  freeholders."  An  election  was  very  soon 
contested  at  Englewood,  and  in  June,  1894,  the  Supreme  Court 
decided  that  the  act  was  illegal  because  "it  is  not  competent  for 


NEW    JERSEY.  83! 

the  Legislature  to  enlarge  or  diminish  the  class  of  voters  compre- 
hended within  the  constitutional  definition."  [The  court  had 
forgotten  about  that  Legislature  of  1807.] 

This  gave  the  opportunity  for  those  who  were  opposed  to 
women's  exercising  the  School  Suffrage.  At  a  special  election 
for  school  trustees  held  in  Vineland,  July  27,  1894,  the  women 
were  forcibly  prevented  from  depositing  their  ballots.  The  State 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  was  appealed  to  and  he  di- 
rected the  county  superintendent  to  appoint  a  board  of  trustees, 
as  the  election  from  which  the  women  were  excluded  was  illegal. 
This  was  done  on  the  advice  of  the  Attorney-General,  who  held 
that  the  constitution  by  empowering  the  Legislature  to  "provide 
for  the  maintenance  and  support  of  a  system  of  free  public 
schools,"  gave  it  the  power  to  confer  on  women  the  right  to  vote 
at  school  meetings  for  school  officers. 

Without  following  the  details  it  is  only  necessary  to  relate  that 
the  Supreme  Court  declared  that  "the  State  constitution  says, 
'Every  male  citizen,  etc.,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  for  all  officers 
that  are  now  or  may  be  hereafter  elective  by  the  people'  (  ! )  and 
school  trustees  are  elective  officers  within  this  provision,  there- 
fore the  Act  allowing  women  to  vote  for  them  is  unconstitu- 
tional." 

Women  had  been  voting  for  these  officers  seven  years  under 
this  Act,  and  always  for  the  benefit  of  the  schools,  according  to 
the  almost  universal  testimony  of  educational  authorities.  It 
now  became  necessary,  in  order  to  continue  this  privilege,  to  ob- 
tain an  amendment  to  the  constitution.  The  story  of  the  three 
years'  effort  made  by  the  State  Suffrage  Association  for  this  pur- 
pose is  related  earlier  in  the  chapter.  Since  this  had  to  be  made 
they  begged  that  the  amendment  might  include  School  Suffrage 
for  the  women  in  towns  and  cities  also,  but  this  was  refused. 
And  yet  even  a  proposition  to  restore  School  Suffrage  to  those  of 
villages  and  rural  districts,  when  submitted  to  the  voters,  was 
defeated  at  the  election  on  Sept.  28,  1897,  by  65,029  yeas,  75,170 
nays,  over  10,000  majority. 

While  the  Supreme  Court  decision  took  away  the  vote  for 
trustees  it  did  not  interfere  with  the  right  of  women  in  villages 
and  country  districts  to  vote  on  questions  of  bonds  and  appropri- 


832  HISTORY   OF   WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ations  for  the  building  of  schoolhouses  and  other  school  purposes, 
and  that  is  the  amount  of  suffrage  now  possessed  by  women  in 
New  Jersey.  When  the  school  laws  were  revised  in  1900  this 
fragment  was  carefully  guarded  and  provision  made  for  fur- 
nishing two  boxes,  one  in  which  the  men  might  put  their  vote  on 
all  school  matters,  and  the  other  where  women  might  put  theirs 
on  the  ones  above  specified. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  In  1873  a  ^aw  was  passed  that  "no  person 
hereafter  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  school  trustee  unless  he 
or  she  can  read  and  write,"  and  women  were  authorized  to  serve 
when  duly  elected.  In  1894,  when  the  School  Suffrage  was 
taken  away  by  the  Supreme  Court,  thirty-two  were  holding  the 
office  and  the  decision  did  not  abrogate  this  right.  They  have 
continued  to  be  elected  and  twenty-seven  are  serving  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  At  Englewood,  in  1899,  Miss  Adaline  Sterling  was 
president  of  the  board.  Women  are  not  eligible  as  State  or  coun- 
ty superintendents. 

Four  of  the  nine  trustees  of  the  State  Industrial  School  for 
Girls  are  women,  and  a  woman  physician  is  employed  when  one 
is  needed. 

Dr.  Mary  J.  Dunlop  has  been  superintendent  and  medical  di- 
rector of  the  State  Institution  for  Feeble-Minded  Women  since 
1886,  and  three  of  the  seven  managers  are  women. 

There  are  no  women  physicians  in  any  other  State  institution 
and  no  law  requiring  them.  In  most  of  the  hospitals  there  are 
training  schools  for  nurses  with  women  superintendents. 

The  State  Board  of  Children's  Guardians  has  a  woman  chair- 
man of  the  executive  committee,  and  a  woman  attorney. 

The  State  Charities  Aid  Association  has  seven  women  on  the 
Board  of  Managers,  including  the  general  secretary.  Women 
sit  on  the  boards  of  the  State  School  for  Deaf  Mutes,  the  Home 
for  Waifs  and  those  of  some  county  asylums.  Most  of  the  alms- 
houses  have  matrons  in  the  female  department  but  there  are  no 
women  on  the  boards  of  management. 

A  matron  and  three  assistants  are  in  charge  of  the  women  in 
the  penitentiary  and  there  is  a  matron  at  the  jails  of  most  cities. 
In  some  of  them  police  matrons  have  been  appointed,  but  no  law 
requires  this. 


NEW    JERSEY.  833 

In  the  State  Hospital  at  Trenton  over  eighty  women  are  em- 
ployed, including  four  supervisors,  a  librarian,  stenographers, 
nurses,  etc. 

In  the  State  Home  for  Boys  there  are  over  twenty  women,  in- 
cluding principal  of  school,  teachers,  matrons,  typewriters,  etc. 

There  are  women  on  a  number  of  Public  Library  Boards,  and 
one,  at  least,  acts  as  treasurer.  The  head  librarian  and  all  the 
assistants  of  the  Plainfield  public  library  are  women.  Sixty  of 
the  ninety-nine  public  libraries  in  the  State  employ  women  libra- 
rians, and  five  are  served  by  volunteers.  Most  of  the  assistants 
in  all  cities  are  women. 

Women  act  as  masters  in  chancery,  commissioners  of  deeds 
and  notaries  public,  and  one  at  least  has  served  as  district  clerk. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  for- 
bidden to  women.  Admission  to  the  bar  having  been  denied  to 
Miss  Mary  Philbrook,  in  1894,  solely  on  account  of  her  sex,  she 
requested  a  hearing  before  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  1895,  which  was  addressed  by  Mrs.  Florence  Howe 
Hall,  president  of  the  State  Suffrage  Association,  Mrs.  Carrie 
Burnham  Kilgore,  a  lawyer  of  Philadelphia,  and  Miss  Phil- 
brook  herself.  Soon  afterward  a  law  was  enacted  making 
women  eligible  to  examination  for  admission  to  the  bar,  which, 
in  June,  was  passed  successfully  by  Miss  Philbrook,  who  thus 
became  the  first  woman  lawyer.  There  are  now  eight.  In  1 899, 
Miss  Mary  G.  Potter  of  the  New  York  Bar,  Miss  Philbrook  of 
the  New  Jersey  Bar,  and  Dr.  Mary  D.  Hussey  of  the  New  York 
University  Law  School,  called  a  meeting  of  women  attorneys  at 
East  Orange.  A  committee  was  appointed  which  organized  the 
Women  Lawyers'  Club  in  New  York,  on  June  24,  with  mem- 
bers in  both  States. 

There  are  about  one  hundred  women  physicians  in  the  State, 
seventy-five  allopathic  and  the  rest  belonging  to  other  schools. 
They  are  members  of  most  of  the  county  medical  societies,  which 
makes  them  members  of  the  State  Medical  Society.  Dr.  Sarah 
F.  Mackintosh  was  the  first  woman  admitted  to  a  county  society 
(Passaic)  in  1871.  Dr.  Frances  S.  Janney  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  Burlington  County  Medical  Society  in  1900,  the  first 
to  receive  such  an  honor.  The  first  meeting  of  women  physi- 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 53 


834 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


cians  took  place  in  Atlantic  City,  June,  1900,  when  those  of  the 
State  gave  a  reception  to  those  from  other  States  who  were  at- 
tending the  convention  of  the  American  Medical  Association. 
The  Medical  Club  of  Newark,  the  first  organization  of  women 
physicians,  was  formed  the  next  November,  with  seventeen  char- 
ter members  from  Newark  and  its  vicinity,  Dr.  Katherine  Por- 
ter of  Orange,  president. 

EDUCATION  :  Princeton  University  is  closed  to  women,  and 
so  are  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  ( Presb. ) ,  Drew  Theologi- 
cal Seminary  (Meth.  Epis.)  and  Rutgers  College  (Dutch  Re- 
formed). There  is  no  college  for  women  in  New  Jersey.  The 
State  Normal  School  is  co-educational. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  833  men  and  5,806  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  in  $86.21 ;  of 
the  women  $48.12.  In  Plainfield  the  principals  of  all  the  public 
schools,  except  the  High  School,  are  women.  This  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  city  superintendent  from  1881  to  1892  was  a  woman, 
Miss  Julia  Buckley  (afterwards  dean  of  the  woman's  depart- 
ment of  Chicago  University) ,  and  the  custom  established  by  her 
has  been  continued. 


New  Jersey  has  so  many  associations  of  women  that  they  have 
acted  as  a  bar  against  the  formation  of  suffrage  clubs,  women 
feeling  that  they  had  already  too  many  meetings  to  attend.  The 
State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  has  been  an  active  and  pro- 
gressive force.  It  secured  State  Traveling  Libraries;  and  if  the 
Palisades  are  preserved  from  destruction,  as  now  seems  likely, 
this  will  be  due  to  its  earnest  efforts.  It  was  influential,  in  1899, 
in  having  the  kindergarten  made  a  part  of  the  public  school  sys- 
tem. It  also  has  a  town  improvement  department,  with  numer- 
ous branches.  Several  of  its  auxiliary  clubs  have  founded  pub- 
lic libraries,  and  some  of  them  have  conducted  campaigns  to  put 
women  on  the  school  board.  Other  clubs  have  supported  kinder- 
gartens and  arranged  free  lectures  for  the  public. 


CHAPTER  LV. 

NEW   MEXICO.* 

At  the  Constitutional  Convention  held  in  1888  an  effort  was 
made  to  secure  equal  political  rights  for  women,  but  it  received 
little  support.  In  September,  1893,  Mrs.  E.  M.  Marble  visited 
Albuquerque  and  organized  a  suffrage  club  with  Mrs.  G.  W. 
Granger  as  president.  In  December,  1895,  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns, 
president  of  the  Kansas  E.  S.  A.  and  national  organizer,  spent  a 
few  days  in  New  Mexico,  on  the  way  to  and  from  Arizona,  and 
formed  several  clubs. 

In  1896  Mrs.  Julia  B.  Nelson,  president  of  the  Minnesota  W. 
S.  A.,  began  work  in  the  Territory  under  the  auspices  of  the  Na- 
tional Association,  her  first  address  being  delivered  at  Raton, 
April  i,  and  her  last  May  12,  at  the  same  place.  Her  mission 
was  to  discover  the  suffragists,  make  converts,  arrange  for  a 
Territorial  convention  and  effect  an  organization  auxiliary  to  the 
national,  t  As  a  result  a  convention  was  held  at  Albuquerque, 
April  28,  29,  conducted  by  Mrs.  Johns  and  Mrs.  Nelson.  A 
Territorial  association  was  formed  and  the  following  officers 
were  elected :  President,  Mrs.  J.  D.  Perkins ;  corresponding  sec- 
retary, Mrs.  Alice  P.  Hadley;  recording  secretary,  Miss  Clara 
Cummings ;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Martha  C.  Raynolds. 

In  1897  and  1898  no  conventions  were  held,  on  account  of  the 
absence  of  several  of  the  officers  from  the  Territory.  Through 
the  efforts  of  Mrs.  Hadley  (herself  prevented  by  physical  infirm- 
ity), H.  B.  Fergusson,  delegate  to  Congress  for  New  Mexico, 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Catherine  P.  Wallace  of  Santa  Fe, 
president  of  the  Territorial  Suffrage  Association.  While  Mr.  Wallace  was  consul-general 
to  Australia,  in  1890,  she  visited  New  Zealand  and  assisted  the  women  there  in  their  suc- 
cessful effort  for  the  franchise.  When  this  subject  was  before  the  Australian  Parliament 
at  Melbourne,  she  furnished  the  Premier  with  the  debate  in  the  United  States  Congress  on 
the  admission  of  Wyoming,  and  with  other  documents. 

t  Mrs.  Nelson  visited  Raton,  Blossburg,  Albuquerque,  Santa  Fe,  Springer,  Las  Vegas, 
Watrous,  Wagon  Mound,  Socorro,  San  Marcial,  Las  Cruces,  Deming,  Silver  City,  Hills- 
boro  and  Kingston,  giving  two  or  three  lectures  at  each  place  and  leaving  a  club  in  many. 

835 


836  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

represented  the  Territory  and  made  a  speech  in  the  convention 
of  the  National  Association  at  Washington  in  1898. 

In  November,  1899,  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of 
the  national  organization  committee,  and  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay, 
secretary,  spent  one  day  in  Santa  Fe  with  George  H.  and 
Mrs.  Catherine  P.  Wallace.  Mr.  Wallace  was  secretary  of  the 
Territory,  and  in  their  home,  the  historic  old  Palacio,  forty  peo- 
ple gathered  to  hear  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  lecture.  She  made  an 
hour's  address,  after  which  there  was  an  interesting  discussion. 
As  a  result,  a  meeting  was  called  for  December  19,  and  the  Ter- 
ritorial association  was  reorganized  with  the  following  officers: 
President,  Mrs.  Wallace;  vice-president,  Mrs.  Hadley;  corre- 
sponding secretary,  Mrs.  Esther  B.  Thomas ;  recording  secretary, 
Mrs.  Anna  Van  Schick ;  treasurer,  Miss  Mary  Morrison ;  member 
national  executive  committee,  Mrs.  Ellen  J.  Palen.  Several  vice- 
presidents  were  named  and  twenty-five  members  enrolled.* 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  On  Feb.  10,  1893,  a  bill 
was  passed  in  the  Lower  House  declaring  the  right  of  female 
citizens  to  vote  at  elections  and  hold  offices  relating  to  public 
schools  and  public  education.  It  was  not  acted  upon  by  the 
Senate.  In  1895  this  bill  was  defeated. 

In  1899  a  bill  was  introduced  by  Representative  Mclntosh  of 
San  Juan  County  (near  the  Colorado  line),  on  request  of  his 
constituents,  for  the  extension  of  School  Suffrage  to  women. 
This  received  the  favorable  votes  of  one-third  of  the  Lower 
House,  but  did  not  reach  the  Senate. 

A  law  was  passed  April  2,  1884,  defining  the  rights  of  the 
married  woman.  It  secured  to  her  the  control  of  property  owned 
by  her  at  the  time  of  marriage  and  of  wages  earned  afterward, 
made  her  not  liable  for  her  husband's  debts  and  gave  her  the 
same  power  to  make  contracts,  wills,  etc.,  as  was  possessed  by 
him.  The  law  at  present  is  as  follows : 

Curtesy  still  obtains.  One-half  of  the  community  property  goes 
to  the  wife  whether  the  husband  dies  testate  or  intestate.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  she  is  entitled  to  one-fourth  of  the  rest  of  his  estate,  "pro- 

*  Among  the  best  known  of  the  advocates  are  Mrs.  M.  J.  Borden,  Professor  and  Mrs. 
Hiram  Hadley  of  the  Agricultural  College,  President  and  Mrs.  C.  L.  Herrick  and  Miss 
Catherine  Fields,  all  of  the  Territorial  University;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jefferson  Raynolds, 
Judge  and  Mrs.  McFie,  Col.  and  Mrs.  I.  H.  Elliott  and  Secretary  George  H.  Wallace. 


NEW    MEXICO.  837 

vided  this  deduction  shall  only  be  made  when  said  property  amounts 
to  $5,000,  and  the  heirs  be  not  descendants ;  although  it  may  exceed 
this  sum  in  the  absence  of  the  latter.  Also  from  the  property  of 
the  wife  the  fourth  shall  be  deducted  as  the  marital  right  of  the  hus- 
band, and  upon  the  same  conditions,  should  the  husband  without 
this  aid  remain  poor."  If  there  are  no  legitimate  children  surviv- 
ing, the  widow  or  widower  shall  be  heir  to  all  the  acquired  property 
of  the  marriage  community. 

By  act  of  1897,  a  mortgage  not  executed  by  the  wife  shall  in 
no  wise  affect  the  homestead  rights  of  the  wife  or  family. 

By  act  of  1899:  "The  signature  or  consent  of  the  wife  shall 
not  be  necessary  or  requisite  in  any  conveyance,  incumbrance  or 
alienation  of  real  property  owned  by  the  husband,  whether  such 
property  became  his  before  or  during  coverture ;  but  the  right  to 
make  such  conveyance  or  create  such  incumbrance  shall  exist  in 
the  husband  to  the  same  extent  as  though  he  were  unmarried."* 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  minor  children. 

The  husband  is  not  required  by  law  to  support  the  family. 

Iff  1887  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10 
to  14  years,  with  penalty  of  imprisonment  not  less  than  five  nor 
more  than  twenty  years. 

SUFFRAGE  :     Women  have  no  form  of  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  In  1899  a  bill  passed  for  appropriations, 
etc.,  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylum  recommended  the  appoint- 
ment of  two  women  on  the  Board  of  (five)  Trustees.  The  ap- 
pointments were  duly  made  and  confirmed. 

Women  serve  as  members  of  county  school  examining  boards. 

The  new  office  of  supervising  teacher  of  the  Government  In- 
dian Pueblo  Schools  has  been  filled  by  Miss  Mary  E.  Dissett. 

Women  are  special  masters  in  court,  notaries  public,  court  and 
legislative  stenographers  in  Spanish  and  English  and  census 
enumerators.  In  the  last  two  administrations  a  woman  has  acted 
as  private  secretary  to  the  Governor. 

A  woman  has  been  appointed  commissioner  for  New  Mexico 
to  take  testimony  in  Indian  depredation  claims. 

At  a  Territorial  Irrigation  Convention,  in  1900,  one  woman 
was  a  duly  elected  delegate,  taking  part  in  the  discussions,  etc. 

OCCUPATIONS:     All  professions  and  occupations  are  open  to 

*  This  law  was   repealed  by  the  Legislature   of   1901,   and    it   was   made   impossible   for 
either  husband  or  wife  to  convey  real  property  without  the  signature  of  the  other. 


838  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

women.  They  conduct  ranches  and  engage  in  mining.  In 
Santa  Fe  the  Woman's  Board  of  Trade,  an  incorporated  body, 
has  so  ably  conducted  the  work  for  charities  and  for  civic  im- 
provements as  to  arouse  a  sentiment  that  women  might  well  be 
intrusted  with  educational  and  more  extended  municipal  affairs. 
In  Las  Cruces  an  organization  of  women  is  doing  a  similar  work. 

EDUCATION  :  All  educational  institutions  are  open  to  both 
sexes,  and  degrees  are  conferred  alike  upon  men  and  women. 
The  Territorial  University  at  Albuquerque,  the  Las  Vegas  Nor- 
mal University  and  others  have  women  on  their  faculties. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Territorial  Educational  Association  in 
December,  1899,  a  council  was  formed  composed  of  twenty-five 
members,  both  women  and  men.  At  its  first  meeting,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1900,  a  resolution  in  favor  of  School  Suffrage  for  women 
was  unanimously  adopted. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  (approximately)  390  men  and 
316  women  teachers.  The  average  salaries  are  not  obtainable. 


The  call  to  arms  for  the  Spanish-American  War  brought  men 
to  the  different  recruiting  posts  in  New  Mexico,  but  no  pro- 
vision for  them  had  been  made  by  the  government.  The  women 
of  Santa  Fe,  Albuquerque,  Las  Cruces,  Las  Vegas  and  other 
towns  quickly  organized  Soldiers'  Aid  Societies  and  raised  funds 
to  feed  and  care  for  them,  till  the  companies  were  mustered  in 
and  came  under  Uncle  Sam's  charge. 

At  the  Territorial  Democratic  Convention  in  Albuquerque. 
April,  1900,  the  following  was  included  in  the  platform :  "It 
is  our  belief  that  women  should  be  granted  an  equal  voice  and 
position  with  men  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  our  public  schools." 

The  native  Spanish-Americans  have  great  reverence  for  their 
elders.  Among  a  few  of  the  old  Don  families  where  the  eldest 
member  living  is  a  senora,  so  greatly  are  her  wishes  and  opinions 
respected  that  the  entire  community  will  vote  as  she  dictates; 
the  politician  has  only  to  secure  her  allegiance  and  he  is  sure  of 
the  vote  in  her  precinct.  The  suffrage  bills  which  have  been 
presented  to  the  Legislature  have  not  been  opposed  by  the  Span- 
ish-American members,  but  by  the  Anglo-Saxons. 


CHAPTER  LVI. 

NEW  YORK.* 

The  State  of  New  York,  home  of  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  and 
Susan  B.  Anthony,  may  be  justly  described  as  the  great  battle- 
ground for  the  rights  of  women,  a  title  which  will  not  be  denied 
by  any  who  have  read  the  preceding  three  volumes  of  this  His- 
tory. The  first  Woman's  Rights  Convention  in  the  world  was 
called  at  Seneca  Falls  in  1848.1  New  York  was  also  a  pioneer 
in  beginning  a  reform  of  the  old  English  Common  Law,  so  bar- 
barous in  its  treatment  of  women.  And  yet,  with  all  the  splendid 
work  which  has  been  done,  the  State  has  been  slow  indeed  in 
granting  absolute  justice.  At  the  commencement  of  the  new 
century,  however,  the  legal  and  educational  rights  of  women 
are  very  generally  conceded,  but  their  political  rights  are  still 
largely  denied.  Except  during  the  Civil  War,  there  has  not  been 
a  year  since  1851  when  one  or  more  conventions  have  not  been 
held  to  demand  these  rights,  and  when  a  committee  of  women 
has  not  visited  the  Legislature  to  secure  the  necessary  action. 
A  State  association  was  formed  in  1869. 

The  convention  of  1884  met  in  the  Common  Council  Chamber 
at  Albany,  March  n,  12,  with  the  usual  large  attendance  of  dele- 
gates from  all  parts  of  the  State,  and  the  evening  sessions  so 
crowded  that  an  overflow  meeting  was  held  in  Geological  Hall. 
Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake,  the  president,  was  in  the  chair  and 
addresses  were  made  by  Mesdames  Matilda  Joslyn  Gage,  Mary 
Seymour  Howell,  Caroline  Gilkey  Rogers  and  Henrica  Iliohan; 
and  by  Mrs.  Abigail  Scott  Duniway  of  Oregon,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Boynton  Harbert  of  Illinois  and  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Gougar  of  In- 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  the  material  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Mariana  Wright 
Chapman  of  Brooklyn,  Mrs.  Jean  Brooks  Greenleaf  of  Rochester,  and  Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux 
Blake  of  New  York,  the  presidents  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association  during  the 
past  twenty  years. 

t  See  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  I,  p.  67. 

839 


840 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


diana,  who  had  come  from  the  national  convention  in  Washing- 
ton. On  the  way  to  Albany  a  large  reception  had  been  tendered 
to  them  at  the  Hoffman  House  in  New  York.  On  March  133 
hearing  was  held  in  the  Assembly  Chamber  before  the  Judiciary 
Committee  on  the  bill  for  Full  Suffrage  for  women.  The  room 
was  filled  and  strong  speeches  were  made  by  all  of  the  above 
women.  Gov.  Grover  Cleveland  gave  a  courteous  reception  to 
the  delegates. 

In  1885  the  convention  took  place  in  Steinway  Hall,  New 
York,  February  12,  13,  all  the  counties  being  represented  by 
delegate  or  letter.  The  speakers  were  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady 
Stanton,  Mrs.  Gage,  Mrs.  Howell,  Mrs.  Rogers  and  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Charles  H.  Eaton  and  Mrs.  Delia  S.  Parnell  (mother  of  Charles 
Stewart  Parnell).  On  the  evening  of  the  I2th  a  large  recep- 
tion to  Mrs.  Stanton  was  given  at  the  Murray  Hill  Hotel. 

The  convention  of  1886  met  in  Masonic  Hall,  New  York, 
March  23,  24.  Addresses  were  made  by  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony, 
James  Redpath,  Mesdames  Blake,  Howell,  Rogers  and  Iliohan, 
Gov.  John  W.  Hoyt  of  Wyoming  and  Mrs.  Margaret  Moore  oi 
Ireland.  A  reception  was  tendered  to  Dr.  Clemence  S.  Lozier  at 
the  Park  Avenue  Hotel. 

In  the  fall  an  interesting  observance  was  arranged  by  the  State 
Suffrage  Association  when  the  statue  of  Liberty  Enlightening 
the  World,  given  to  the  American  nation  by  France,  was  un- 
veiled on  October  28.  There  was  a  great  excursion  down  the 
bay  to  witness  this  ceremony  and  the  association  chartered  a  boat 
which  was  filled  with  friends  of  the  cause.  A  place  was  secured 
in  the  line  between  two  of  the  great  warships,  and,  while  the 
cannon  thundered  a  salute  to  the  majestic  female  figure  which 
embodied  Freedom,  speeches  were  made  on  the  suffrage  boat  by 
Mrs.  Blake,  Mrs.  Margaret  Parker  of  England,  Mrs.  Harriette  R. 
Shattuck  of  Massachusetts,  Mrs.  Gage,  Mrs.  Howell  and  others. 

The  convention  met  again  in  New  York  at  Masonic  Hall, 
April  21,  22,  1887,  and  was  addressed  by  Madame  Clara  Ney- 
mann,  Rabbi  Gustave  Gottheil,  Mrs.  Florence  McCabe,  Mrs. 
Gage,  Mrs.  Howell,  Dr.  Lozier  and  others. 

In  1888  the  annual  meeting  assembled  at  the  same  place, 
March  22,  23.  It  was  attended  by  the  many  delegates  who  had 


NEW    YORK.  841 

come  from  European  countries  to  the  International  Congress  of 
\Yomen  about  to  be  held  in  Washington,  D.  C.  Among  the 
speakers  were  Baroness  Alexandra  Gripenberg  of  Finland  and 
Mrs.  Ashton  Dilke,  Mrs.  Alice  Scatcherd  and  Mrs.  Zadel  Barnes 
Gustafson  of  England.  On  the  evening  preceding  the  opening 
of  the  convention  a  large  reception  was  given  t9  these  foreign 
ladies  at  the  Park  Avenue  Hotel. 

The  State  convention  was  held  in  Rochester,  Dec.  16,  17, 
1890,  in  the  First  Universalist  Church.  Its  distinguishing  fea- 
ture was  the  reception  given  in  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  to 
Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  by  her  fellow  townsmen,  as  a  welcome 
home  from  her  loqg  and  hard  campaign  in  South  Dakota.  The 
large  rooms  were  handsomely  decorated  and  over  600  people 
were  present  during  the  evening,  including  President  David 
Jayne  Hill  and  a  number  of  the  faculty  of  Rochester  University, 
several  members  of  Congress  and  many  men  of  prominence. 

The  speakers  at  the  convention  were  Miss  Mary  F.  Eastman 
of  Boston,  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  Mrs.  Greenleaf,  Mrs. 
Blake,  Mrs.  Howell  and  Miss  Anthony.  Mrs.  Blake  positively 
declined  a  re-election,  having  served  eleven  consecutive  years, 
and  Mrs.  Jean  Brooks  Greenleaf  was  elected  president.  During 
Mrs.  Blake's  presidency  she  had  many  times  canvassed  New 
York  and  had  extended  her  lecture  tours  into  various  other 
States,  going  as  far  west  as  California. 

Henceforth,  in  addition  to  annual  conventions,  the  associa- 
tion adopted  the  plan  of  holding  mid-year  executive  meetings  in 
various  cities  for  the  transaction  of  business,  with  public  ses- 
sions in  the  evenings  addressed  by  the  best  speakers. 

In  1891  the  convention  met  in  Auburn,  November  10,  n,  the 
audiences  crowding  the  opera  house  on  both  evenings.  Miss 
Anthony,  Mrs.  Greenleaf,  Mrs.  Blake,  Mrs.  Howell  and  Miss 
Shaw  were  the  speakers,  with  an  address  of  welcome  from  Mrs. 
J.  Mary  Pearson.  Reports  showed  that  the  membership  had 
doubled  in  the  last  year,  and  that  Woman's  Day  had  been  ob- 
served at  many  fairs,  resulting  in  the  forming  of  county  organ- 
izations. A  resolution  was  adopted  urging  the  Legislature  to 
appoint  some  women  on  the  State  Board  of  Managers  for  the 
Columbian  Exposition  in  1893.  The  convention  closed  with  a 


842  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

reception  at  the  elegant  home  of  Mrs.  Eliza  Wright  Osborne, 
niece  of  Lucretia  Mott  and  daughter  of  Martha  C.  Wright,  two 
of  those  who  called  the  first  Woman's  Rights  Convention. 

Syracuse  was  selected  for  the  annual  meeting  of  1892,  Novem- 
ber 15-17.  Miss  Anthony,  president  of  the  National  Asso- 
ciation, was  in  attendance,  and  the  opera  house  was  filled  at  all 
the  sessions.  Mrs.  Martha  T.  Henderson,  vice-president-atn 
large,  who  had  been  appointed  to  represent  the  State,  was  dele- 
gated to  arrange  for  the  noon-day  suffrage  meetings  during  the 
Columbian  Exposition.  Mrs.  Greenleaf's  address  reviewed  the: 
great  debate  which  had  taken  place  at  the  New  York  Chautauqua 
Assembly  the  preceding  August,  between  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard 
Shaw  and  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Buckley,  'editor  of  the  Christian  Advo- 
cate, and  emphasized  the  evident  sympathy  of  the  immense  audi- 
ence with  the  side  of  the  question  presented  fry  the  former.  Suf- 
frage Day  had  been  observed  at  the  Cassadaga  Lake  Assembly 
with  an  address  by  Miss  Anthony,  and  also  at  the  State  Fair. 
The  association  was  congratulated  on  the  fact  that  there  had 
been  a  further  extension  of  School  Suffrage  during  the  year. 

All  interest  centered  in  the  appproaching  convention  to  revis 
the  constitution  of  the  State,  through  which  it  was  hoped 
woman  suffrage  amendment  would  be  obtained.  Miss  Anthon] 
Mrs.  Blake  and  Mrs.  Howell  had  been  appointed  to  address  tf 
Legislature,  which  they  had  done  in  April  of  this  year,  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  women  delegates  to  this  convention,  that 
was  to  be  held  in  1893,  but  eventually  was  deferred  one 
year.  Committees  were  appointed  which  visited  the  political 
State  conventions  the  following  summer,  asking  a  declaration 
in  their  platforms  for  this  amendment,  but  were  unsuccessful. 

The  annual  meeting  of  1893  was  held  at  Brooklyn,  in  Long 
Island  Historical  Hall,  Nov.  13-16.  It  was  welcomed  by 
Mrs.  Mariana  Wright  Chapman,  president  of  the  Brooklyn  suf- 
frage society.  The  plan  of  work  was  perfected,  which  had  been 
prepared  by  Miss  Anthony  and  Mrs.  Stanton,  for  an  active  can- 
vass of  the  State  in  behalf  of  a  plank  in  the  approaching  Con- 
stitutional Convention.  Addresses  were  made  by  Mrs.  Julia 
Ward  Howe  and  Henry  B.  Blackwell  of  Boston,  Miss  Anthony, 
the  Rev.  Miss  Shaw,  national  vice-president-at-large ;  Mrs.  Ella 


NEW    YORK.  843 

A.  Boole,  Aaron  M.  Powell,  Gen.  C.  T.  Christiansen,  Mrs.  Anna 
C.  Field,  Mrs.  Emma  Bourne,  Mrs.  Blake  and  others.  Among 
the  resolutions  adopted  was  the  following: 

The  thanks  of  this  association  are  due  to  Gov.  Roswell  P.  Flower 
for  his  recognition  of  woman's  ability  in  the  appointment  to  a  State 
office  of  our  national  president,  Susan  B.  Anthony,  viz :  as  one  of  the 
Board  of  Managers  of  the  State  Industrial  School  at  Rochester. 

The  great  campaign  of  1894,  undertaken  to  secure  a  clause  for 
woman  suffrage  in  the  revised  State  constitution,  will  be  con- 
sidered further  on  in  this  chapter. 

The  annual  convention  met  in  Ithaca,  Nov.  12-14,  1894,  the 
opera  house  being  filled  with  the  usual  large  audiences.  It  was 
welcomed  by  Mayor  Clinton  D.  Bouton  and  President  Jacob 
Gould  Schurmann  of  Cornell  University.  Miss  Anthony  was  pres- 
ent and  a  galaxy  of  eloquent  New  York  women  made  addresses. 

Newburgh  entertained  the  convention  Nov.  8-12,  1895. 
The  speakers  were  Miss  Anthony,  Dr.  Edward  McGlynn,  Miss 
Elizabeth  Burrill  Curtis,  daughter  of  George  William  Curtis; 
Miss  Arria  S.  Huntington,  daughter  of  Bishop  Frederick  D. 
Huntington;  Miss  Margaret  Livingston  Chanler,  Madame  Ney- 
mann,  Mrs.  Maude  S.  Humphrey,  Mrs.  Chapman,  Mrs.  Cornelia 
K.  Hood,  Miss  Julie  Jenney,  Mrs.  Boole,  Mrs.  Annie  E.  P.  Sear- 
ing, Mrs.  M.  R.  Almy,  Miss  Harriette  A.  Keyser,  Mrs.  Blake, 
Mrs.  Howell,  the  Rev.  Miss  Shaw  and  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman 
Catt,  chairman  of  the  national  organization  committee.  Miss 
Anthony  was  especially  stirred  by  a  previous  speech  which  re- 
flected on  the  dress,  manners  and  social  standing  of  the  pioneers 
in  the  movement  for  the  rights  of  women,  and  which  felicitated 
the  present  advocates  on  their  great  superiority  in  these  re- 
spects. She  named  the  pioneers,  one  by  one,  paid  warm  tribute 
to  their  beautiful  personality  and  commanding  ability  and  asked 
where  a  woman  could  be  found  in  all  the  present  generation  to 
excel,  if,  indeed,  to  equal  them. 

The  delegates  enjoyed  visits  to  the  many  interesting  places  in 
the  neighborhood,  including  West  Point  and  Vassar  College. 
A  beautiful  reception  was  given  by  Mrs.  C.  S.  Jenkins.  It  was 
supposed  that  the  disappointment  of  the  previous  year  in  failing 
to  secure  an  amendment  from  the  Constitutional  Convention 


844  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

would  result  in  a  falling  off  in  membership,  but  instead  this  was 
found  to  be  considerably  augmented.  At  the  close  of  the  conven- 
tion the  delegates  went  to  New  York  to  attend  Mrs.  Stanton's 
eightieth  birthday  reception  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House. 

The  convention  of  1896  was  held  in  Rochester,  November  18, 
19,  with  more  delegates  present  than  ever  before.  It  was  pre- 
ceded by  a  reception  on  the  evening  of  the  i/th,  where  the 
guests  were  delighted  to  greet  Miss  Anthony  and  her  little  band, 
who  had  arrived  that  morning  from  their  arduous  field  of  labor 
in  the  California  amendment  campaign.  The  welcome  for  the 
city  was  extended  by  Mayor  George  Warner.  Many  of  the 
speakers  of  the  previous  year  were  present,  with  the  addition  of 
the  Rev.  Antoinette  Brown  Blackwell,  the  first  ordained  woman 
minister,  and  the  noted  colored  woman  of  anti-slavery  days, 
Harriet  Tubman.  The  press  chairman,  Mrs.  Elnora  Monroe 
Babcock,  reported  that,  instead  of  the  135  newspapers  of  the  year 
before,  253  in  the  State  were  now  using  suffrage  matter  regularly 
furnished  by  her  committee. 

On  the  Friday  night  succeeding  the  convention  a  banquet  was 
given  in  honor  of  Miss  Anthony,  with  over  200  guests.  Mrs. 
Mary  Lewis  Gannett  was  toastmistress  and  Miss  Anthony  and 
Miss  Shaw  made  interesting  addresses. 

Mrs.  Greenleaf,  who  had  done  such  heroic  work  during  the 
past  six  years  and  sustained  the  association  on  so  high  a  plane, 
felt  obliged  to  decline  a  re-election,  and  Mrs.  Mariana  Wright 
Ghapman  was  unanimously  chosen  for  her  place.  Mrs.  Green- 
leaf  was  appointed  fraternal  delegate  to  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
State  Grange,  and  Mrs.  Howell  to  the  State  Labor  Convention, 
and  both  were  cordially  received.  The  Grange  had  on  several 
occasions  declared  for  woman  suffrage. 

Geneva  extended  a  welcome  to  the  convention  Nov.  3-5, 
1897,  and  successful  meetings  were  held  in  Collins  Hall  and  the 
opera  house.  The  speakers  from  abroad  and  many  delegates 
were  entertained  at  the  handsome  home  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Smith 
Miller,  daughter  of  Gerrit  Smith.  Added  to  the  usual  list  were 
Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell,  recording  secretary  of  the  National 
Association;  the  Rev.  Annis  Ford  Eastman,  Mrs.  Gannett,  Mrs. 
Mary  E.  Craigie,  and  Miss  M.  F.  Elaine,  Charles  Hemiup,  W. 


NEW    YORK.  845 

Smith  O'Brien,  the  Rev.  Remick  and  Dr.  William  H.  Jordan 
of  Geneva.  A  pleasant  event  of  the  year  had  been  the  carving 
of  Miss  Anthony's  face  on  the  stairway  of  the  magnificent  new 
Capitol  building  at  Albany,  by  order  of  George  W.  Aldridge, 
State  superintendent  of  public  works. 

On  April  28,  29,  1898,  the  fortieth  anniversary  of  the  first 
Woman's  Rights  Convention  was  held  in  Rochester.  This  city 
also  had  entertained  that  convention  which  had  adjourned  in 
Seneca  Falls  to  hold  a  session  here.  The  anniversary  proceed- 
ings took  place  afternoons  and  evenings  in  the  Central  Presby- 
terian church  with  a  fine  corps  of  speakers.* 

On  Nov.  8-1 1,  1898,  the  annual  meeting  was  held  in  the 
court  house  at  Hudson.  It  was  welcomed  by  the  mayor,  Richard 
A.  M.  Deeley,  for  the  city  and  by  Mrs.  Mary  Holsapple  for  the 
local  suffrage  club.  An  address  of  greeting  also  was  given  by 
Judge  Levi  S.  Longley,  and  the  Hudson  Club  extended  its 
courtesies.  A  letter  from  Mrs.  Stanton  was  read  by  her  daugh- 
ter, Mrs.  Harriot  Stanton  Blatch  of  England,  who  also  made  an 
address.  Many  of  the  strong  speakers  were  present  who  have 
been  frequently  mentioned  in  connection  with  these  State  con- 
ventions. The  treasurer  reported  receipts  for  the  year  $3,220. 

Chautauqua  County  invited  the  convention  of  1899  to  Dun- 
kirk, November  1-3,  and  entertained  it  royally.  There  was  a 
reception  on  the  first  evening,  and  a  luncheon  was  given  every 
day  to  the  delegates  who  wished  to  remain  at  the  hall  between 
sessions.  Both  day  and  evening  meetings  were  large  and  en- 
thusiastic, the  former  held  at  the  Woman's  Union,  the  latter  in 
Academy  Hall.  Mayor  Alexander  Williams  welcomed  the  con- 
vention for  the  city,  and  Mrs.  Ellen  Cheney  for  the  county  in  a 
witty  poem,  Mrs.  Chapman  responding.  Stirring  addresses  were 

*  Those  making  addresses  were  Miss  Anthony,  Miss  Shaw,  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  Mrs. 
Gannett,  Mrs.  Searing,  Rabbi  Max  Landsberg,  the  Hon.  Charles  S.  Baker,  the  Hon.  John 
Van  Voorhis,  the  Rev.  H.  Clay  Peeples,  the  Rev.  Ward  Platt,  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Stebbins, 
the  Rev,  J.  W.  A.  Stewart  and  Prof.  S.  A.  Lattimore,  acting  president  of  the  Rochester 
University. 

Addresses  of  welcome:  Miss  Mary  S.  Anthony  for  the  City  Political  Equality  Club, 
the  Rev.  W.  C.  Gannett  for  the  church  that  welcomed  the  first  convention,  Mrs.  Jean 
Brooks  Greenleaf  for  the  State  association. 

The  committee  of  arrangements  were  Mesdames  S.  A.  West,  Amy  E.  T.  Searing,  J.  G. 
Maurer,  S.  C.  Blackall,  Florence  D.  Alexander,  Mary  L.  Gannett,  D.  L.  Kittredge,  Emma 
B.  Sweet,  A.  B.  Taylor,  D.  L.  Johnson,  F.  B.  Van  Hoesen;  Misses  Jessie  Post,  Frances 
Alexander;  Messrs.  C.  G.  Alexander  and  Joseph  Bloss. 


846  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

made  by  the  Hon.  F.  S.  Nixon  and  Dr.  J.  T.  Williams.  Miss 
Anthony  was  present,  with  many  of  the  old  speakers  and  several 
new  ones,  among  them  Mrs.  Carrie  E.  S.  Twing. 

The  last  annual  meeting  of  the  century  convened  at  Glens 
Falls,  Oct.  29-Nov.  i,  1900,  in  Ordway  Hall.  Addresses  of 
welcome  were  made  by  the  Hon.  Addison  B.  Colvin  and  the 
president  of  the  Warren  County  association,  Mrs.  Susie  M.  Bain. 
Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  Miss  Shaw,  Mrs.  Boole,  president  State 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union;  Mrs.  Chapman,  Mrs. 
Howell  and  Miss  Harriet  May  Mills  were  among  the  principal 
speakers.  A  notable  feature  was  the  presence  of  many  bright 
and  enthusiastic  young  workers.  Pledges  of  support  were  made 
for  the  national  bazar  to  be  held  the  next  month  in  New  York. 

Among  the  resolutions  adopted  was  one  congratulating  Miss 
Anthony  upon  her  success  in  raising  the  last  of  the  $50,000  fund 
which  was  to  open  the  doors  of  Rochester  University  to  women. 

In  addition  to  this  long  array  of  conventions  without  a  break, 
the  mid-year  executive  meetings  in  various  cities  have  been  of 
almost  equal  interest.  At  nearly  every  one  of  these  State 
conventions  Miss  Anthony  has  assisted  with  her  inspiring  pres- 
ence and  strong  words  of  counsel.  To  many  of  them  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  not  able  to  come  in  person,  has  sent 
ringing  letters  of  encouragement,  for  which  the  affectionate 
greetings  of  the  delegates  have  been  returned.  New  York  has 
the  largest  membership  of  any  State  in  the  Union  and -pays  the 
largest  amount  of  money  into  the  national  treasury  each  year,  not 
alone  in  auxiliary  dues,  but  in  private  subscriptions. 

The  State  association  has  had  but  three  presidents  in  over 
twenty  years:  Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake,  1879-1890;  Mrs. 
Jean  Brooks  Greenleaf,  1890-1896;  Mrs.  Mariana  W.  Chapman, 
1896  and  still  serving.  Mrs.  Matilda  Joslyn  Gage  was  con- 
tinuously in  office  from  the  time  a  State  association  first  existed.* 

•The  others  who  have  held  office  since  1883  are  as  follows:  Mary  S.  Anthony,  Martha 
R.  Almy,  EInora  Monroe  Babcock,  Henrietta  M.  Banker,  Ella  Hawley  Crossett,  Hannah 
B.  Clark,  Elizabeth  Burrell  Curtis,  Everline  R.  Clark,  Charlotte  F.  Daley,  Margaret  H 
Esselstyne,  Mrs.  Hannah  L.  Rowland,  Emily  Howland,  Isabel  Howland,  Cornelia  K 
Hood,  Maude  S.  Humphrey,  Mary  Seymour  Howell,  Priscilla  Dudley  Hackstaff,  Ada  M 
Hall,  Martha  H.  Henderson,  Helen  M.  Loder,  Anne  F.  Miller,  Jennie  McAdams,  Harriet 
May  Mills,  Clara  Neymann,  Eliza  Wright  Osborne,  Mary  J.  Pearson,  Helen  C.  Peckham, 
Mary  Thayer  Sanford,  Kate  Stoneroan,  Kate  S.  Thompson,  Emily  S.  Van  Biele,  Emilie  J. 
\Vakeman. 


NEW    YORK.  847 

With  active  work  in  progress  for  so  many  years,  and  with 
suffrage  organizations  in  the  counties  and  towns  throughout  all 
of  this  large  State,  it  would  be  impossible  to  make  personal  men- 
tion of  even  a  small  fraction  of  those  who  have  aided  the  move- 
ment. The  hundreds  who  have  furnished  the  money  and  the 
thousands  who  have  served  in  a  quiet  way  through  all  the  years 
would  require  a  separate  chapter.* 

It  would  be  equally  impossible  to  describe  the  efforts  made 
from  year  to  year,  the  meetings  held,  the  memorials  presented  to 
political  conventions,  the  debates,  the  parliamentary  drills,  the 
lecture  courses,  the  millions  of  pages  of  literature  distributed,  the 
struggles  to  place  women  on  the  school  boards,  the  special  efforts 
of  the  standing  committees  on  legislation,  press,  industries,  work 
among  children,  etc.  It  is  far  more  difficult  to  write  the  history 
of  a  State  where  so  much  has  been  done  than  where  the  tale  may 
be  quickly  told.  No  State  is  better  organized  for  suffrage  work,  t 
There  is  no  doubt  that  a  strong  sentiment  exists  outside  of  New 
York  City  in  favor  of  the  enfranchisement  of  women.  How- 
ever, with  the  adverse  influence  always  exerted  by  a  great  metrop- 
olis, it  is  impossible  to  foretell  when  this  will  be  accomplished. 

CONSTITUTIONAL  AMENDMENT  :  The  history  of  the  struggle 
of  a  comparatively  few  women  to  secure  a  clause  for  equal  suf- 
frage in  the  State  constitution,  when  it  was  revised  in  1894,  told 
in  the  fewest  possible  words,  is  as  follows  \\ 

As  early  as  1887  Gov.  David  B.  Hill,  at  the  earnest  request  of 
the  State  Suffrage  Association,  had  recommended  that  women 
should  have  a  representation  in  the  convention  which  would 
frame  this  revision.  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Mrs.  Lillie 

*  Aside  from  those  elsewhere  mentioned,  the  names  which  seem  to  occur  most  often  in 
looking  over  the  records  are  those  of  Dr.  Sarah  L.  Gushing,  Dr.  Cordelia  A.  Greene, 
Zobedia  Alleman,  Abigail  A.  Allen,  Kornelia  T.  Andrews,  Amanda  Alley,  Mary  E.  Bagg, 
Charlotte  A.  Cleveland,  Ida  K.  Church,  Susan  Dixwell,  Eliza  B.  Gifford,  Esther  Herman, 
Ella  S.  Hammond,  Mary  Bush  Hitchcock,  Belle  S.  Holden,  Mary  H.  Hallowell,  Emeline 
Hicks,  Mary  N.  Hubbard,  Marie  R.  Jenney,  Rhody  J.  Kenyon,  Lucy  S.  Pierce,  Harriet  M. 
Rathbun,  Martha  J.  H.  Stebbins,  Julia  D.  Sheppard,  Chloe  A.  Sisson,  Delia  C.  Taylor. 

t  Much  of  the  credit  for  the  excellent  organization  is  due  to  Miss  Harriet  May  Mills, 
State  organizer,  daughter  of  C.  D.  B.  Mills  of  anti-slavery  record.  Miss  Mills  is  a  gradu- 
ate of  Cornell  University,  and  is  devoting  her  youth  and  education  entirely  to  the  cause  of 
woman  suffrage. 

\  The  story  of  this  canvass,  the  largest  and  most  systematic  which  ever  has  been  made 
for  such  a  purpose,  is  given  in  full  in  "Record  of  the  New  York  Campaign  of  1894,"  a 
pamphlet  of  250  pages,  issued  by  the  State  association  in  1895,  and  placed  in  many 
libraries  throughout  the  country.  It  is  given  also,  with  many  personal  touches,  in  the 
Life  and  Work  of  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Chap.  XLII. 


>^> 


HoweB  and  Mrs.  Caroline 


Deverenx  Bteke.  Mrs.  Mary  S 
Obey  Rogers  addressed  a  joint  committee  of  die  Legislature 
aigiug  that  nouieu  delegates  should  be  permitted  to  sit  in  this 
conrention.  Mrs.  Blake  also  prepared  a  strong  written  appeal 

:  -      :.-  -:-•:  :  -  ;    i~-  :";:".  ":-fr        ""-;•     .-,---';.-':     er  :::  '.-.:? 
-   riilar  recomrr. -_ ".  '.:.v. 


Anthony.  Mrs.  Blake  and  Mrs.  HoweS  made  a  plea  for  women,, 
this  time  before  the  Assembly  Judiciary  Committee. 

The  ordinal  hfll  provided  for  a  certain  number  of  delegates] 


to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor,  among  these  four  to  represent 
the  Prohibit  ii  mists,  three  the  Labor  Party  and  three  the  Woman 
Suffrage  Association.     The  power  of  the  Governor  to  apponH 
was  afterwards  declared  nnconstitntionaL     A  bill  allowing  three 
women  delegates  passed  the  AssemWy.  but  was  defeated  in  the 
Senate.     The  act  which  finally  was  secured  provided  that  all  thejl 
i:  r,.-.:rf   f  •    .:  '  '_  "  r   r  r : : r  .     i"  i  -  -  -   :  : ;  - r   -      ..   \  '  •-  :         -;-- 
resentatrfes  each  for  the  Prohibition.  Labor  and  Socialist  par- 
None  was  granted  to  the  Suffragists ;  but  the  law  said :     "The 
clcLtois  may  elect  any  citizen  of  the  State  above  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years." 

The  following  was  then  sent  to  each  of  the  political  party 
through  ptupdly  accredited  delegates: 


Among  other  dodoes  incumbent  upon  the  members  of  yoor 
rmmatfng-  delegates-at-large  to  the  com 
for  the  reriswn  of  the  Slate  coiESlrtnlinn. 
to  these  peril  innts  we  offer  you  the  names  of  three  who 
utiv*  board  of  the  State  W.  S.  A.  as 


been  selected  by  the 


for  that  convention,  with  the  hope  that  yoa 
of  JOBII  o  wn. 


:  -  • . :r   : :    irlr 
i::f   :  :".-.r- 

The  names  presented  were  those  of  Miss  Anthony,  Mrs.  H< 
efl  and  Miss  Emily  Howland,  the  last  a  large  taxpayer  and  an 

The  ladies  were  courteously  listened 


by  the  Democrats,  and  refused  an  opportunity  to  speak  by  the  Re- 
pnbhcans.     Similar  efforts  were  made  in  district  cooventK): 

Both  Repeblkans  and  Democrats,  however,  refused  to 
nate  any  women,  the  compensation  of  $10  per  day.  in  a< 


to  the  pofitkal  power  conferred,  making  the  positions  entirerj 

too  Tamable  to  give  to  a  disfranchised  class.     The  name  of  even 
Susan  BL  Anthony  was  declined  by  the  Republicans  of  her  dis- 


MARIANA  W.  CHAPMAN, 
Brooklyn.  N»  Y. 


JEAN  BROOKS  GREENLEAF. 
Rochester,  N.  Y. 


EMILY  HOWLAND. 
Sherwood,  N.  Y. 


ELIZA  WRIGHT  OSBORNE. 
Auburn.  N.  Y. 


NEW    YORK.  849 

trict.  The  Democrats  of  that  district,  who  were  in  a  hopeless 
minority,  made  the  one  exception  in  the  whole  State  and  nomi- 
nated Mrs.  Jean  Brooks  Greenleaf,  who  ran  some  votes  ahead  of 
the  rest  of  the  ticket. 

Every  effort  was  now  directed  toward  obtaining  a  clause  in 
the  new  constitution,  as  there  was  little  doubt  that  if  this  could  be 
done  it  would  be  adopted  with  the  rest  of  that  instrument.  An 
eloquent  appeal  was  issued  to  all  the  friends  of  liberty  through- 
out the  State,  urging  them  to  assist  in  securing  this  measure  of 
justice  to  women.  A  campaign  was  carefully  planned  with  an 
ability  which  would  have  been  creditable  to  experienced  political 
managers,  and  $10,000  were  raised  and  expended  with  the  most 
rigid  economy.* 

To  save  rent  headquarters  were  established  in  Miss  Anthony's 
own  home  in  Rochester,  which  soon  became  a  beehive  of  indus- 
try, and  the  work  increased  until  practically  every  room  was 
pressed  into  service.  The  president  of  the  State  association  and 
campaign  committee,  Mrs.  Greenleaf,  and  the  corresponding  sec- 
retary, Miss  Mary  S.  Anthony,  gave  practically  every  hour  of 
their  time  for  six  months  to  this  great  effort.  The  postoffice 
daily  sent  mail  sacks  to  the  house,  which  were  rilled  with  petitions 
and  other  documents  and  set  out  on  the  porch  for  collection. 

Miss  Anthony  herself,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four,  spoke  in 
every  one  of  the  sixty  counties  of  the  State,  contributing  her 
services  and  expenses.  This  series  of  mass  meetings  was  man- 
aged by  Miss  Harriet  May  Mills  and  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay.  The 
Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  spoke  at  forty  of  these,  and  Mrs. 
Howell  at  a  large  number.  The  entire  management  of  New 
York  City  was  put  into  the  hands  of  Mrs.  Blake,  while  the  cam- 
paign for  Brooklyn  was  conducted  by  Mrs.  Mariana  W.  Chap- 
man. Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt  made  thirty-eight  speeches  in 
these  two  cities  and  vicinity.  Mrs.  Stanton,  from  her  home  in 
New  York,  sent  many  strong  articles  to  the  metropolitan  press, 

*  From  treasurer's  repoit:  Emily  Rowland  generously  contributed  $1,200.  That  staunch 
friend,  Sarah  L.  Willis  of  Rochester  gave  $720.  Abby  L.  Pettengill  of  Chautauqua 
County,  $220.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  S.  Greenleaf  of  Rochester,  $200.  General  C.  T.  Chris- 
tiansen of  Brooklyn  began  the  contributions  of  $100,  of  which  there  were  eight  others  from 
our  own  State — Semantha  V.  Lapham,  Ebenezer  Butterick,  Mrs.  H.  S.  Holden,  Marian 
Skidmore,  Hannah  L.  Howland,  Cornelia  H.  Gary,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Sargent;  Mrs. 
Louisa  Southworth  of  Ohio. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 54 


850  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

which  were  copied  throughout  the  State.     Mrs.  Martha  R.  Almy. 
State  vice-president,  was  an  active  worker. 

Women,  of  social  influence  in  this  city,  who  never  had  shown 
any  public  interest  in  the  question,  opened  headquarters  at 
Sherry's,  held  meetings  and  secured  signatures  to  a  suffrage 
petition.  The  leaders  of  this  branch  were  Mrs.  Josephine  Shaw 
Lowell,  Mrs.  Joseph  H.  Choate,  Dr.  Mary  Putnam  Jacobi.  Mrs. 
J.  Warren  Goddard,  Mrs.  Robert  Abbe,  Mrs.  Henry  M.  Sanders 
and  Miss  Adele  M.  Fielde.  Among  those  who  signed  the  peti- 
tion were  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  Russell  Sage,  Frederick  Coudert. 
the  Rev.  Heber  Newton,  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Rainsford,  Bishop 
Henry  C.  Potter,  Rabbi  Gustave  Gottheil,  John  D.  Rockefeller, 
Robert  J.  Ingersoll  and  William  Dean  Howells. 

One  of  the  surprises  of  the  campaign  was  the  organization  in 
Albany  of  a  small  body  of  women  calling  themselves  "remon- 
strants," under  the  leadership  of  the  Episcopal  bishop,  William 
Croswell  Doane,  and  Mrs.  John  V.  L.  Pruyn.  Another  branch 
was  organized  in  New  York  City  by  Mrs.  Francis  M.  Scott,  and 
one  in  Brooklyn  with  Mrs.  Lyman  Abbott  at  the  head  and  the 
support  of  her  husband's  paper,  The  Outlook. 

The  suffrage  forces  circulated  5,000  petitions  and  secured 
332,148  individual  signatures,  about  half  of  them  women  (in- 
cluding 36,000  collected  by  the  W.  C.  T.  U.)  and  memorials 
from  labor  organizations  and  Granges,  bringing  the  total,  in 
round  numbers,  to  600,000.*  The  "remonstrants"  obtained  only 
15,000  signatures,  yet  at  that  time  and  ever  afterwards  man 
the  newspapers  insisted  that  the  vast  preponderance  of  sentiment 
among  men  and  women  was  opposed  to  equal  suffrage. 

*  One  who  was  a  witness  gives  this  description : 

"There  were  no  more  dramatic  scenes  during  the  convention  than  those  afforded  by  th 
presenting   of   the    petitions.     The    names    were   enrolled   on   pages    of   uniform    size  ai 
arranged  in   volumes,   each  labeled  and  tied  with  a   wide  yellow   ribbon   and  bearing  tfc 
card  of  the  member  who   was  to  present  it.     At  the  opening  of  the  sessions,   when  m 
morials  were  called  for,  he  would  rise  and  say:     'Mr.   President,  I  have  the  honor  to  pre- 
sent a  memorial  from  Mary  Smith  and  17,117  others  (for  example),  residents  of  — 
county,   asking  that  the  word  'male'  be  stricken   from  the  Constitution."     Often  one  after 
another    would   present  a  bundle   of   petitions   until    it  would  seem   as    though   the   enti 
morning  would  be  thus  consumed.     They  were  all  taken  by  pages  and  heaped  up  on  Ui 
secretary's  table,   where  they  made  an  imposing  appearance.     Later  they  were  stacked  > 
shelves  in  a  large  committee  room. 

"Mrs.  Burt,  the  president  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  brought  in  the  petitions  of  her  societ 
at  once,  many  great  rolls  of  paper  tied   with   white  ribbon.     A  colored  porter  took  tfc 
down  the  aisle  on  a  wheelbarrow." 


NEW    YORK.  851 

A  part  of  the  work  was  to  collect  statistics  showing  the  amount 
of  property  on  which  taxes  were  paid  by  women.  It  was  im- 
possible to  obtain  these  in  Xew  York  City,  but  in  three-fifths  of 
the  towns  and  cities  outside  it  was  found  to  be  $348,177,107. 
In  Brooklyn  women  paid  one-fourth  of  all  the  taxes.  The 
drudgery  of  preparing  these  tax  lists  and  recounting  and  labeling 
all  the  petitions  was  done  chiefly  by  Miss  Isabel  Rowland. 

During  the  convention  an  office  and  a  reception  room  in  the 
Capitol  were  granted  for  the  use  of  the  women.  On  May  24 
Miss  Anthony  and  Mrs.  Greenleaf  addressed  the  Suffrage  Com- 
mittee of  the  Constitutional  Convention  in  the  Assembly  Cham- 
ber of  the  Capitol  at  Albany.  A  large  crowd  was  present,  in- 
cluding the  committee  and  most  of  the  delegates.  Mrs.  Green- 
leafs  remarks  were  brief  but  forcible,  and  Miss  Anthony  spoke 
earnestly  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  seeming  to  have  the  full 
sympathy  of  her  audience. 

The  women  of  Xew  York  City  were  accorded  a  hearing  on 
May  31,  and  strong  arguments  were  made  by  Dr.  Jacobi,  Miss 
Margaret  Livingstone  Chanler,  Mrs.  Blake  and  Miss  Harriette 
A.  Keyser.  On  June  7  the  Suffrage  Committee  was  addressed 
by  representative  women,  in  five-minute  speeches,  from  all  of  the 
Senatorial  districts  outside  of  New  York  City.*  Mrs.  Greenleaf 
presided  at  all  these  meetings,  f 

The  final  hearing  was  accorded  June  28,  when  U.  S.  Senator 
Joseph  M.  Carey,  who  had  come  from  Wyoming  by  invitation 
for  this  purpose,  made  a  most  convincing  argument  based  on  the 
practical  experience  of  his  own  State  for  twenty-five  years.  He 
was  followed  by  Mrs.  Howell  and  Mrs.  Mary  T.  Burt,  presi- 
dent of  the  State  W.  C.  T.  U. 

All  of  these  addresses  in  favor  of  recognizing  woman's  right 
to  the  franchise  were  valueless  except  for  the  creation  of  public 

*  Mesdames  Cornelia  K.  Hood,  Cornelia  H.  Gary,  Mariana  W.  Chapman,  Mary  E. 
Craigie,  Cora  Sebury,  Martha  R.  Almy,  A.  E.  P.  Searing,  Elinor  Ecob  Morse,  Marcia  C 
Powell,  Helen  G.  Ecob,  Susie  M.  Bain,  Carrie  E.  S.  Twing,  Clara  Neymann,  Selina  S. 
Merchant  Henrietta  M.  Banker,  Maude  S.  Humphrey,  Mary  Lewis  Gannett;  Dr.  Sarah 
H.  Morris;  Misses  Arria  S.  Huntington,  Emily  Rowland,  Elizabeth  Burrill  Curtis. 

t  A  hearing,  on  June  14,  was  given  to  the  "Antis,"  as  the  press  dubbed  the  remon- 
strants. Their  petition  against  being  allowed  the  suffrage  was  presented  by  the  Hon. 
Elihu  Root,  and  the  speeches  were  made  by  Francis  M.  Scott,  the  Rev.  Clarence  A.  Wai- 
worth,  the  Hon.  Matthew  Hale  and  J.  Newton  Fiero.  Letters  were  read  from  the  Hon. 
Abram  S.  Hewitt  and  Austin  Abbott. 


852  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

sentiment  and  as  a  matter  of  history,  for  the  chairman  of  the 
convention,  the  Hon.  Joseph  H.  Choate,  had  appointed  a  Suf- 
frage Committee  the  large  majority  of  whom  were  known  anti- 
suffragists,  and  he  was  reported  to  have  said  before  the  conven- 
tion met  that  the  amendment  should  not  be  placed  in  the  consti- 
tution. The  committee  made  an  adverse  report,  which  was  dis- 
cussed by  the  convention  on  the  evenings  of  August  8  and  15, 
with  the  Assembly  Chamber  crowded  at  each  session.*  The  ad- 
vocates of  adopting  a  woman  suffrage  plank  were  led  by  the  Hon. 
Edward  Lauterbach  and  the  opponents  by  Mr.  Root  and  Will- 
iam P.  Goodelle,  chairman  of  the  Suffrage  Committee,  f 

While  the  ballot  was  being  taken  Mr.  Choate  went  on  the  floor 
among  the  delegates,  and  himself  gave  the  last  vote  against  the 
amendment.  The  ballot  resulted — in  favor  of  the  amendment, 
58;  opposed,  98. 

Even  though  a  defeat,  this  was  a  decided  advance  over  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  1867,  \vhen  there  were  but  19  ayes 
and  125  noes.  Then  less  than  one-seventh,  this  time  more  than 
one-third  of  the  members  were  in  favor  of  the  enfranchisement 
of  women. 

The  following  month  Miss  Anthony  and  Mr.  Lauterbach  ad- 
dressed the  Committee  on  Resolutions  of  the  State  Republican 
Convention,  and  Miss  Anthony  and  Mrs.  Blake  that  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic, asking  for  a  recognition  of  woman  suffrage  in  their  plat- 
forms, but  both  ignored  the  request. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION:  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  and 
Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  were  the  pioneers  in  legislative  work 
for  woman  suffrage,  the  former  making  her  first  speech  before 
a  committee — in  behalf  of  property  rights — as  early  as  1845, 

*  Among  the  earnest  advocates  of  the  suffrage  article  were  Judges  Titus  and  Blake  of 
New  York,  Judge  Towns  of  Brooklyn,  Judge  Moore  of  Plattsburg,  Messrs.  Lincoln, 
Church  and  McKinstry  of  Chautauqua,  Maybee  of  Sullivan,  Cornwall  of  Yates,  Powell  o 
Kings,  Cassidy  of  Schuyler,  Kerwin  of  Albany,  Phipps  of  Queens,  Fraser  of  Washington, 
Arnold  of  Dutchess,  Bigelow  and  Campbell  of  New  York,  Roche  of  Troy. 

Speeches  in  opposition  were  made  by  Messrs.  McClure,  Goeller  and  Platzek  of  New 
York,  Fuller  of  Chenango,  Griswold  of  Greene,  Mereness  of  Lewis,  Sullivan  of  Erie, 
Lester  of  Saratoga,  Hirshberg  of  Newburg,  Kellogg  of  Oneonta,  Mantanye  of  Cortland, 
Cookinham  of  Utica. 

t  Members  of  committee  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage  clause:     Edward  Lauterbach,  Mir: 
beau  Lamar  Towns,   Vasco  P.  Abbott,  John   Bigelow,  Gideon  J.   Tucker.     Opposed:     1 
liam    P.    Goodelle,    Henry  J.    Cookinham,   John    F.    Parkhurst,   Henry   W.    Hill,    D.   Gerry 
Wellington,  John  W.   O'Brien,  Henry  W.  Wiggins,  Thomas  G.  Alvord,  David  McGure. 
De  Lancy  Nicoll,  John  A.  Deady,  William  H.  Cochran. 


NEW    YORK.  853 

and  continuing  her  appeals  for  the  various  rights  of  women  dur- 
ing twenty-five  years,  after  which  her  addresses  were  given 
usually  before  the  committees  of  the  United  States  Congress. 
Miss  Anthony  made  her  first  appearance  in  Albany  in  1853,  and 
her  last  one  before  a  committee  there  in  1897.  She  devoted  her 
strongest  efforts  to  the  Legislature  of  her  own  State  until  the 
demands  of  national  work  became  so  great  as  to  absorb  most  of 
her  time,  and  then  she,  too,  transferred  her  appeals  to  the  legisla- 
tive body  of  the  United  States,  although  assisting  always  the 
work  in  New  York. 

Meanwhile  other  competent  laborers  had  come  into  the  field. 
In  1873  Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  began  her  legislative  work, 
and  for  twenty-five  years  there  were  few  bills  in  the  interests  of 
women  under  consideration  at  Albany  which  were  not  managed 
by  her,  with  an  able  corps  of  assistants,  chief  among  whom  was 
Mrs.  Mary  Seymour  Howell. 

For  fifty  years  there  is  an  almost  unbroken  record  of  the  ef- 
forts of  women  to  secure  equality  of  rights  from  the  Legislature 
of  New  York,  and  they  have  succeeded  to  the  extent  that  now, 
with  the  exception  of  the  statute  providing  for  dower  and  cur- 
tesy,  but  few  serious  discriminations  exist  against  women  in  the 
laws,  although  the  injustice  of  disfranchisement  has  been  miti- 
gated in  only  a  slight  degree. 

\Yhen  the  Legislature  assembled  on  Jan.  i,  1884,  Mrs.  Blake 
and  Mrs.  Howell  were  at  hand  to  further  the  interests  of  the 
pending  bill  "to  prohibit  disfranchisement  on  account  of  sex." 
On  March  13  a  hearing  was  held  in  the  Assembly  Chamber 
before  the  Judiciary  Committee  and  a  large  audience.  The 
speakers  were  Mrs.  Abigail  Scott  Duniway  of  Oregon,  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Boynton  Harbert  of  Illinois  and  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Gougar 
of  Indiana,  Mrs.  Blake,  Mrs.  Howell  and  Mrs.  Caroline  Gilkey 
Rogers.  On  May  8,  after  an  exciting  debate,  the  bill  was  de- 
feated— 57  ayes,  62  noes. 

The  bill  of  1885  was  drawn  by  Mrs.  Blake  and  was  accom- 
panied by  a  strong  written  argument,  with  many  court  decisions 
to  show  that  it  was  within  the  power  of  the  Legislature  itself  to 
protect  all  citizens  from  disfranchisement.  This  was  presented 
by  Gen.  James  W.  Husted,  speaker  of  the  House.  Two  hearings 


854  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

were  given  in  the  Assembly  Chamber,  at  which  addresses  were 
made  by  Mrs.  Stanton,  Mrs.  Blake,  Mrs.  Howell,  Mrs.  Rogers 
and  Gov.  John  W.  Hoyt  of  Wyoming. 

The  bill  was  debated  April  7.  General  Husted,  Mayor  James 
Haggerty  and  Dr.  J.  T.  Williams  spoke  in  favor;  Gen.  N.  M. 
Curtis  and  Kidder  Scott  in  opposition.  The  vote  stood  57  ayes, 
56  noes,  but  a  constitutional  majority  was  lacking. 

During  the  summer  Mrs.  Blake  spoke  in  almost  every  distri 
whose  member  had  voted  against  the  measure. 

In  1886  a  bill  for  Municipal  Suffrage  only  was  presente 
drawn  by  Augustus  Levy  and  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  George 
Z.  Erwin,  in  the  House  by  Speaker  Husted.  On  February  10  a 
hearing  took  place  in  the  Assembly  Chamber.  Mrs.  Blake  pre- 
sided and  the  speakers  were  Mrs.  Matilda  Joslyn  Gage,  Mrs. 
Howell,  Mrs.  Rogers  and  Mrs.  Annie  Jenness  Miller.  On  March 
2  the  Senate  gave  a  hearing  to  Mr.  Levy  and  James  Redpath. 
The  campaign  this  winter  was  one  of  the  most  vigorous  ever 
made.  Besides  the  executive  officers  of  the  State  association, 
who  were  in  Albany  some  days  of  every  week,  much  help  was 
secured  by  the  occasional  visits  of  prominent  women  and  the 
numerous  letters  of  influential  people  from  all  parts  of  the  State. 
On  the  night  of  the  final  vote  the  Assembly  Chamber  was  filled 
by  friends  of  the  measure  and  many  officials  were  present,  in- 
cluding the  Lieutenant-Governor  and  the  Attorney-General.  As 
this  bill  would  give  women  only  the  right  to  vote  in  municipal 
affairs,  it  had  many  supporters  who  would  not  have  favored  full 
suffrage.  The  debate  was  long  and  earnest,  Mr.  Erwin,  General 
Husted,  Mr.  Longley  of  Brooklyn,  Mr.  Freligh  of  Ulster  and 
others  speaking  in  favor,  and  General  Curtis,  William  F.  Shee- 
han  and  others  in  opposition.  The  roll-call  was  taken  in  great 
excitement,  and  the  ayes  went  up  until  their  number  reached  ^5. 
the  constitutional  majority.  A  round  of  applause  broke  out, 
but  in  an  instant  two  men  arose  and  changed  their  votes  from 
the  affirmative  to  the  negative,  so  that  on  the  final  call  the  vote 
stood,  63  ayes,  52  noes. 

This  winter  another  law  was  enacted  to  remove  all  doubts 
as  to  the  constitutionality  of  the  one  of  1880,  which  conferred 
School  Suffrage  on  women  in  villages  and  country  districts. 


NEW    YORK.  855 

Representative  Charles  Sprague  introduced  a  bill  making  mothers 
and  fathers  joint  guardians  of  their  children,  but  it  was  defeated. 

In  1887  Mrs.  Howell  drew  up  the  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill, 
which  was  introduced  by  Senator  Erwin.  She  spent  ten  days 
personally  interviewing  every  senator  until  she  had  the  promise 
of  the  twenty  votes  which  were  given  the  bill  on  its  final  passage, 
seventeen  being  necessary.  There  were  but  nine  noes. 

After  the  clerk  had  read  the  bill  in  the  Assembly,  Speaker 
Husted  said :  "If  there  is  no  objection  this  bill  will  go  at  once  to 
the  third  reading."  Wm.  F.  Sheehan,  the  leading  opponent  of 
woman  suffrage,  was  asleep  at  the  time  and  so  it  was  thus  ordered. 
Mrs.  Howell  continued  her  efforts,  but  the  measure  was  defeated 
— 48  ayes,  68  noes — by  a  moneyed  influence  from  New  York 
City,  after  nearly  enough  votes  to  carry  it  had  been  promised. 

A  bill  providing  police  matrons  in  cities,  with  the  exception 
of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  was  secured  from  this  Legislature. 
It  had  been  passed  in  1882,  but  not  signed  by  Gov.  Alonzo  B. 
Cornell;  passed  again  in  the  Assembly  in  1883,  but  defeated  in 
the  Senate  by  the  Police  Department  of  New  York  City.  The 
bill  was  finally  secured  by  the  Woman's  Prison  Association,  but 
it  was  not  made  mandatory  and  no  attention  was  paid  to  it  by 
the  city  authorities. 

A  bill  was  presented  this  year  to  relieve  women  from  the  death 
penalty,  on  the  ground  that  since  they  had  not  the  full  privileges 
of  men  they  should  not  suffer  equal  punishment.  The  measure 
was  ably  supported,  but  failed  to  pass.  » 

In  1888  the  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  was  presented  in  the  Sen- 
ate by  Charles  Coggeshall,  and  in  the  Assembly  by  Danforth 
E.  Ainsworth.  A  hearing  in  the  Senate  Chamber  on  February 
15  was  addressed  by  Mrs.  Blake,  Mrs.  Rogers  and  the  Rev.  Anna 
Garlin  Spencer  of  Rhode  Island.  The  bill  was  lost  in  the  Senate 
by  a  tie  vote,  15  ayes,  15  noes ;  in  the  House  by  48  ayes,  61  noes. 

Laws  were  enacted  at  this  session  providing  that  there  shall 
be  women  physicians  in  all  State  insane  asylums  where  women 
are  patients ;  and  also  that  there  shall  be  at  least  one  woman 
trustee  in  all  public  institutions  where  women  are  placed  as  pa- 
tients, paupers  or  criminals. 

In  1889  the  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  was  again  presented  in 


856  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

the  Assembly  by  Mr.  Ainsworth,  but  it  was  lost  by  56  ayes,  43 
noes,  not  a  constitutional  majority. 

In  1890  the  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  was  presented  by  Speaker 
Husted,  but  was  defeated  by  47  ayes,  52  noes. 

In  1891  no  legislative  work  was  attempted  beyond  the  efforts 
toward  securing  a  representation  of  women  in  the  Constitutional 
Convention,  which  it  was  supposed  would  be  held  at  an  early  date. 

In  1892  an  act  was  passed  to  enable  women  to  vote  for  County 
School  Commissioners,  which  received  the  signature  of  Gov. 
Roswell  P.  Flower. 

This  year  a  Police  Matron  Bill  was  obtained  which  was  made 
mandatory  in  cities  of  100,000  and  over.  This  bill  had  been 
passed  several  times  before  and  vetoed,  but  it  finally  obtained 
the  Governor's  signature.  Even  then  the  Police  Commission- 
ers of  New  York  refused  to  appoint  matrons  until  the  mat- 
ter was  taken  up  by  the  Woman  Suffrage  League  of  that  city. 
This  was  the  end  of  a  ten  years'  struggle  on  the  part  of  women 
to  secure  police  matrons  in  all  cities.  Most  active  among  the 
leaders  were  Mrs.  Mary  T.  Burt,  Mrs.  Abby  Hopper  Gibbons 
and  Mrs.  Josephine  Shaw  Lowell,  backed  by  the  W.  C.  T.  U.. 
the  Prison  Reform,  the  Suffrage  and  various  other  philanthropic 
and  religious  societies. 

In  1892  Hamilton  Willcox,  who  had  worked  untiringly  in  the 
Legislature  for  many  years,  had  a  bill  introduced  in  the  Assem- 
bly to  give  a  vote  to  self-supporting  women.  It  was  referred 
to  the  Judiciary  Committee,  but  met  with  general  disfavor.  Mr>. 
Howell  being  in  the  Assembly  Chamber  with  friends  one  evening, 
three  of  its  members  invited  her  to  go  to  their  committee  room 
and  draw  up  a  bill  for  Full  Suffrage,  telling  her  they  would  re- 
port it  favorably  in  place  of  the  Working  Woman's  Bill.  This 
she  did  and  the  new  bill  was  at  once  reported.  The  next  week 
she  gave  every  moment  to  working  with  the  members  for  it. 
aided  by  General  Husted,  Mr.  Willcox  and  William  Sulzer.  On 
Friday  morning,  one  week  from  the  day  the  bill  was  reported,  it 
came  to  the  final  vote  and  passed  by  70  ayes,  only  65  being  re- 
quired for  the  constitutional  majority.  Excitement  ran  high 
at  this  success  and  ten  minutes  were  given  for  congratulations 
to  Mrs.  Howell  by  friends  and  foes  alike.  The  Monday  follow- 


NEW    YORK.  857 

ing  she  carried  the  bill  from  the  Engrossing  Committee  to  the 
Senate.  Only  three  days  of  the  session  were  left  and  the  com- 
mittee held  no  more  meetings,  so  she  saw  separately  each  member 
of  the  Judiciary  Committee  and  all  gave  a  vote  in  favor  of  con- 
sidering the  bill.  Mr.  Sheehan  was  now  Lieutenant-Governor 
and  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate  and  would  allow  no  courtesies 
to  Mrs.  Howell,  but  one  senator,  Charles  E.  Walker,  arranged 
for  her  to  see  every  member,  and  she  secured  the  promise  of  18 
votes,  17  being  required.  On  Thursday  evening,  although  Sena- 
tor Cornelius  R.  Parsons  made  many  attempts  to  secure  recogni- 
tion, the  bill  was  not  allowed  to  come  before  the  Senate.  There 
was  every  reason  to  believe  Governor  Flower  would  have  signed 
it* 

In  1893  Mrs.  Cornelia  H.  Cary  worked  for  a  bill  providing 
that  on  all  boards  of  education  one  person  out  of  five  should  be 
a  woman,  but  it  failed  to  pass.  The  measure  making  fathers 
and  mothers  joint  guardians  of  their  children,  so  often  urged, 
became  a  law  this  year  chiefly  through  the  efforts  of  the  Women's 
Educational  and  Industrial  Union  of  Buffalo,  which  had  been 
hampered  constantly  in  its  efforts  to  care  for  helpless  children 
by  the  interference  of  worthless  fathers,  f 

A  law  also  was  enacted,  championed  by  Col.  George  C.  Web- 
ster, giving  to  a  married  woman  the  right  to  make  a  valid  will 
without  her  husband's  consent. 

The  season  of  1894  was  given  wholly  to  the  work  of  securing 
a  woman  suffrage  amendment  in  the  revised  State  constitution. 

In  1895  Mrs.  Martha  R.  Almy,  as  chairman  of  the  Legislative 
Committee,  began  work  in  Albany  early  in  January  and  was  ab- 
sent but  one  legislative  day  from  that  time  until  May.  She  was 

*  In  the  work  for  other  bills  Mrs.  Howell  was  assisted  by  Miss  Kate  Stoneman,  New 
York's  first  woman  lawyer,  Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Le  Boeuf,  Mrs.  Joan  Cole  and  Miss  Winnie, 
all  of  Albany.  George  Rogers  Howell,  assistant  and  also  State  librarian,  aided  his  wife 
in  every  way.  As  a  State  officer  for  many  years  he  had  strong  influence  and  it  always 
was  used  for  woman's  political  freedom.  During  these  years  Mrs.  Howell,  as  president  of 
the  Albany  Political  Equality  Club,  conducted  many  public  meetings  in  the  Senate  Cham- 
ber of  the  historic  old  Capitol  building  until  it  was  torn  down.  Legislators  and  State 
officers  came  each  Tuesday  night  to  hear  the  suffrage  speeches. 

t  In  1860,  after  ten  years  of  persistent  effort  by  Mrs.  Stanton,  Miss  Anthony  and  other 
pioneer  workers,  who  had  gathered  up  thousands  of  petitions  and  besieged  the  Legislature, 
session  after  session,  a  law  was  secured  giving  father  and  mother  joint  guardianship.  In 
1862,  so  quietly  that  the  women  were  not  aware  of  it,  the  Legislature  repealed  this  law  and 
again  vested  the  guardianship  solely  in  the  father.  Although  repeated  efforts  were  after- 
wards made  to  have  the  mother's  right  restored,  this  was  not  done  for  thirty  years. 


858  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

assisted  by  Mrs.  Helen  G.  Ecob,  and  their  effort  was  to  secure  a 
resolution  to  amend  the  constitution  by  striking  out  the  word 
"male."  In  order  to  submit  such  an  amendment  in  New  York, 
a  resolution  must  be  passed  by  two  successive  Legislatures. 

Judge  Charles  Z.  Lincoln,  the  legal  adviser  of  Gov.  Levi  P. 
Morton,  drew  up  the  resolution  and  it  was  introduced  January 
22  in  the  Assembly  by  Fred  S.  Nixon,  and  in  the  Senate  by  Cuth- 
bert  W.  Pound.     It  was  favorably  reported  by  the  Senate  Judi- 
ciary Committee  early  in  the  session.     The  chairman  of  the  As 
sembly  Committee,  Aaron  B.  Gardenier,  was  very  hostile,  am 
after  every  effort  to  get  a  report  had  been  exhausted,  Mr.  Nixor 
and  Mrs.  Almy  made  a  personal  appeal  to  the  committee  anc 
were  successful.     On  March  14  six  men  brought  in  the  mar 
moth  petition  for  woman  suffrage  which  had  been  presented 
the  Constitutional  Convention  the  previous  year.     The  resoh 
tion  was  passed  by  80  ayes,  31  noes.     This  was  a  remarkabl 
action  for  the  first  Legislature  after  the  great  defeat  in  the  Cor 
stitutional  Convention  only  a  few  months  before. 

When  the  measure  came  to  the  Senate  it  was  moved  by  S( 
tor  Pound  to  substitute  Mr.  Nixon's  resolution  for  his  own,  as 
they  were  identical.  But  Amasa  J.  Parker*  objected  in  order 
to  make  it  run  the  gauntlet  of  the  Senate  Committee  again,  and 
this  gave  the  anti-suffragists  an  opportunity  to  oppose  it. 
then  asked  for  a  hearing  for  Bishop  William  Croswell  Doane  anc 
others  before  the  State  Judiciary  Committee,  of  which  he  was  a 
member,  which  Chairman  Edmond  O'Connor  granted.  The 
committee  met  but  once  a  week,  and  twice  the  hearing  was  post- 
poned to  accommodate  the  opposition.  The  second  time,  as  no 
one  appeared  against  the  resolution,  it  was  again  reported  fa- 
vorably. Just  after  this  had  been  done  Mr.  Parker  appeared 
and  objected,  and  the  chairman  agreed  to  recall  it  and  give  the 
opposition  one  more  chance.  On  April  10,  the  time  appointed 
for  the  hearing,  Bishop  Doane  sent  a  letter  declining  the  honor 
of  appearing,  but  a  delegation  from  New  York  City  came  up, 
and  Mrs.  Francis  M.  Scott  and  Prof.  Monroe  Smith  of  Colum- 
bia University  addressed  the  committee  opposing  the  measure. 

*  Senator   Parker   is  a  brother  of  Mrs.   J.   V.   L.    Pruyn,   who  organized  the  first   anti- 
suffrage  society  in  the  State,  at  Albany. 


NEW    YORK.  859 

Mrs.  Almy  and  Mrs.  Mary  H.  Hunt  replied  in  its  behalf.  For 
the  third  time  the  resolution  was  reported  favorably  by  the  Sen- 
ate Committee,  and  April  18  the  vote  was  taken.  Senators 
Pound,  Coggeshall  and  Bradley  spoke  in  favor,  and  Jacob  H. 
Cantor  in  opposition.  It  was  carried  by  20  ayes,  5  noes. 

When  the  resolution  went  to  the  Revision  Committee  it  was 
found  that  in  one  section  there  was  a  period  where  there  should 
have  been  a  comma.  Mrs.  Almy  was  obliged  to  remain  two 
weeks  and  get  an  amendment  through  both  Houses  to  correct  this 
error.  Finally  the  resolution  was  declared  perfect,  and  was  or- 
dered published  throughout  the  State,  etc.  Then  it  was  discov- 
ered that  the  word  "resident"  was  used  instead  of  "citizen,"  and 
the  entire  work  of  the  winter  was  void.  As  it  is  not  required  that 
copies  of  original  bills  shall  be  preserved,  the  responsibility  for 
the  mistake  never  can  be  located. 

The  Senate  of  1896,  by  a  change  in  the  term  of  office,  was  to 
sit  three  years  instead  of  two;  and  a  concurrent  resolution,  in 
order  to  pass  two  successive  Legislatures,  would  have  to  be  de- 
ferred still  another  year,  so  no  work  was  attempted. 

On  Jan.  4,  1897,  when  the  Legislature  assembled,  every 
member  found  on  his  desk  a  personally  addressed  letter  appeal- 
ing for  the  right  of  women  citizens  to  representation,  signed  by 
all  the  officers  of  the  State  Suffrage  Association  and  by  the  presi- 
dents of  all  the  local  societies.  The  resolution  asking  for  a  suf- 
frage amendment  was  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  Joseph  Mul- 
len, in  the  Assembly  by  W.  W.  Armstrong,  and  was  referred  to 
the  Judiciary  Committees.  Repeated  interviews  by  Mrs.  Mari- 
ana W.  Chapman,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Craigie,  chairman  of  the  leg- 
islative committee,  and  other  members  were  not  sufficient  to  se- 
cure a  favorable  vote  even  from  the  committees,  as  they  were 
frightened  by  the  action  of  the  preceding  Legislature. 

The  New  York  Society  Opposed  to  the  Further  Extension  of 
Suffrage  to  Women  was  at  work  on  the  spot,  and  every  legislator 
received  a  letter  urging  him  not  to  consider  any  kind  of  a  bill 
for  woman  suffrage.  Finally  a  hearing  was  appointed  by  the 
Senate  Committee  for  March  24.  In  the  midst  of  a  snowstorm, 
all  the  way  from  Rochester  came  the  National  president,  Miss 
Anthony ;  from  New  York  City,  the  State  president,  Mrs.  Chap- 


86O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

man ;  the  chairman  of  the  national  organization  committee,  Mrs. 
Carrie  Chapman  Catt ;  Dr.  Mary  Putnam  Jacobi  and  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Burrill  Curtis;  from  Syracuse,  Miss  Harriet  May  Mills; 
and  in  Albany  already  were  Mrs.  Blake,  Mrs.  Almy,  Mrs.  Julia 
D.  Sheppard  and  a  number  of  local  suffragists.  Miss  Anthony, 
Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  and  Miss  Mills  addressed  the  committee. 
As  the  delegation  withdrew  one  senator  said  to  another :  "I  do 
not  know  what  is  to  become  of  us  men  when  such  women  as 
these  come  up  to  the  Legislature."  Nevertheless  the  resolution 
was  not  reported  by  the  committee. 

Under  the  auspices  of  a  Civic  Union  of  all  the  boroughs  of  the 
proposed  "Greater  New  York,"  an  active  campaign  was  carried 
on  during  this  winter  to  secure  various  advantages  for  women 
under  the  new  charter,  but  it  met  with  no  especial  success. 

In  1898  Mrs.  Mary  Milliard  Loines  was  chairman  of  the  leg- 
islative committee,  and  Mrs.  Florence  Dangerfield  Potter,  a  grad- 
uate of  Cornell  and  of  the  New  York  University  Law  School, 
acted  as  attorney.  The  Suffrage  Amendment  Resolution  was 
introduced  the  first  week  of  the  session  by  Representative  Otto 
Kelsey,  a  steadfast  friend  of  woman  suffrage.  The  usual  num- 
ber of  letters  was  sent  throughout  the  State  to  secure  co-opera- 
tion and  a  hearing  was  given  March  2  in  the  Assembly  library. 
The  speakers  introduced  by  Mrs.  Loines  were  Mrs.  Chapman, 
Miss  Mills,  Mrs.  Craigie.  Miss  Margaret  Livingstone  Chanler 
and  Mrs.  Martha  A.  B.  Conine,  a  member  of  the  Colorado  Leg- 
islature. The  Rev.  William  Brundage  of  Albany  spoke  forcibly 
in  favor  of  the  amendment.  No  opponents  were  present.  Al- 
though the  chairman  and  some  members  of  the  committee  were 
in  favor,  it  was  learned  that  the  majority  were  opposed,  so  a 
vote  was  not  pressed.  The  Senate  committee  being  the  same  as 
the  previous  year,  it  was  thought  not  worth  while  to  introduce 
the  resolution  into  that  body. 

In  1899  the  legislative  work  differed  from  that  of  the  years 
directly  preceding,  the  executive  committee  having  decided  that 
it  might  be  wiser  to  ask  for  some  form  of  suffrage  which  the  Leg- 
islature itself  could  grant  without  submitting  the  question  to  the 
voters.  The  following  bills  were  authorized : 

i  :     To  make  it  obligatory  to  appoint  at  least  one  woman  on 


NEW    YORK.  86 1 

school  boards  in  those  cities,  about  forty-six  in  all,  where  the  office 
is  appointive. 

2 :  To  amend  the  village  law,  making  it  obligatory  that  in  all 
charters  where  a  special  vote  of  tax-payers  is  required  on  municipal 
improvements  or  the  raising  or  distribution  of  taxes,  women  prop- 
erly qualified  shall  vote  on  the  same  basis  as  men. 

A  great  many  letters  had  been  sent  to  Gov.  Theodore  Roose- 
velt, then  newly  elected,  asking  him  to  recognize  the  rights  of 
women  in  his  inaugural  address,  which  he  did  by  calling  the  at- 
tention of  the  Legislature  to  "the  desirability  of  gradually  ex- 
tending the  sphere  in  which  the  suffrage  can  be  exercised  by 
women."  These  two  bills,  therefore,  were  sent  to  him  for  ap- 
proval and  he  appointed  an  interview  at  Albany  with  a  commit- 
tee from  the  State  association.  Mrs.  Loines,  Mrs.  Blake,  Miss 
Mills,  Miss  Mary  Lyman  Storrs  and  Mrs.  Nellie  F.  Matheson 
went  with  the  State  president  to  this  interview,  and  the  Governor 
cordially  indorsed  the  bills. 

Letters  were  sent  to  the  legislators  and  also  to  the  presidents 
of  the  county  suffrage  societies,  asking  them  to  influence  their 
representatives.  The  bill  for  the  Taxpayers'  Suffrage  was  intro- 
duced into  the  Assembly  by  Mr.  Kelsey.  That  good  work  was 
done  was  evident  by  the  vote — 98  ayes,  9  noes. 

But  the  battle  was  with  the  Senate,  where  the  bill  was  intro- 
duced by  W.  W.  Armstrong.  On  February  22  a  hearing  was 
given  in  the  Senate  Chamber  before  the  Judiciary  Committee. 
Suffragists  and  opponents  were  there  in  force.  The  latter  were 
represented  by  Mesdames  Arthur  M.  Dodge,  W.  Winslow  Cran- 
nell  and  Rossiter  Johnson.  The  State  president  introduced  the 
suffrage  speakers,  Miss  Chanler,  Mrs.  Blake  and  Mrs.  Harriot 
Stanton  Blatch,  the  last  being  qualified  from  residence  to  testify 
to  the  good  effect  of  this  kind  of  suffrage  in  England.  Mrs.  Eliz- 
abeth Smith  Miller,  Miss  Anne  Fitzhugh  Miller  and  others  were 
present.  Owing  largely  to  the  influence  of  Elon  R.  Brown  the 
committee  brought  in  an  adverse  report.*  Senator  Armstrong 
moved  to  disagree  and  the  vote,  thus  called  for,  in  the  Senate 
stood  21  ayes,  24  noes — a  vote  on  the  report,  not  on  the  bill,  but 
it  put  the  Senate  on  record. 

*  In  Senator  Brown's  own  city  of  Watertown,  over  50  per  cent,  of  the  women  had  just 
voted  to  bond  the  city  for  a  new  High  School,  the  press  giving  them  full  credit  for  it,  but 
he  persistently  opposed  this  bill. 


862  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  Bill  for  Women  on  Appointed  Boards  of  Education, 
which  had  been  changed  under  protest  of  the  suffragists  to  "one- 
third  of  the  members  of  the  board"  from  "at  least  one  woman," 
was  voted  on  April  19.  In  the  Assembly  it  received  59  ayes,  23 
noes ;  but  76  was  the  constitutional  majority,  so  Senate  action  was 
useless.  It  was  bitterly  opposed  by  many  prominent  school  officers. 

In  1900  the  Legislature  made  a  glaring  exhibition  of  the  posi- 
tion in  which  a  non-voting  class  can  be  placed.  Early  in  the  ses- 
sion a  resolution  was  offered  on  the  motion  of  Senator  Thomas 
F.  Grady  of  New  York  City/  "that  it  is  not  expedient  or  advisa- 
ble to  attempt  at  this  session  any  changes  in  the  constitution  in 
regard  to  woman  suffrage."  It  passed  by  26  ayes,  17  noes.  Let 
it  be  said,  for  the  honor  of  the  State,  that  there  were  senators 
who  protested  indignantly  against  such  trampling  upon  the  rights 
of  the  people.  Several  who  voted  in  favor  of  this  resolution  after- 
wards voted  for  the  suffrage  bill. 

The  Bill  for  Woman  Suffrage  on  Tax  Questions  was  intro- 
duced the  very  next  day  by  Senator  Armstrong.  Soon  afterward 
it  was  presented  in  the  Assembly  by  Mr.  Kelsey.  On  March  22 
it  passed  with  only  two  negative  votes — John  Hill  Morgan  of 
Brooklyn  and  James  B.  McEwan  of  Albany.  When  this  bill 
came  to  the  Senate  there  were  so  many  before  it  that  April  4  its 
friends  moved  to  take  it  up  out  of  order  by  suspension  of  rules. 
Senators  Armstrong,  Coggeshall  and  Lester  H.  Humphrey  spoke 
in  favor,  Senator  Grady  against.  The  vote  in  favor  was  23  ayes, 
19  noes  (nine  of  these  from  New  York  City),  but  twenty-six 
votes  were  necessary  to  suspend.  The  situation,  however,  was 
more  encouraging  than  the  year  before.  The  legislative  com- 
mittee of  the  State  W.  S.  A.  this  year  consisted  of  Mesdames 
Loines,  Blake,  Matheson,  Priscilla  D.  Hackstaff  and  Ella  Haw- 
ley  Crossett. 

In  1901  the  committee  was  composed  of  Mesdames  Loines, 
Hackstaff,  Craigie,  Jean  Brooks  Greenleaf  and  Lucy  P.  Allen. 
All  efforts  were  centered  on  the  bill  to  give  taxpaying  women  the 
right  to  vote  on  questions  of  taxation.  A  conference  with  Gov- 
ernor Odell  showed  his  friendliness  to  the  bill  and  disclosed  the 
fact  that  he  had  used  his  influence  to  amend  the  charter  of  his  own 
city  of  Newburg  to  give  this  privilege  to  women. 


NEW    YORK.  863 

Speaker  Nixon,  in  his  opening  address,  referred  to  the  bill  as 
a  measure  of  justice  which  he  hoped  would  be  introduced  every 
year  until  it  became  a  law.  Mr.  Kelsey  for  the  third  time  con- 
stituted himself  its  champion,  and  worked  earnestly  for  its  suc- 
cess. Letters  poured  in  from  all  parts  of  the  State,  the  W.  C.  T. 
U.  co-operated  cordially,  and  hearings  were  granted  by  House 
and  Senate  committees.  The  bill  passed  the  Assembly  February 
26  by  83  ayes,  29  noes.  Of  the  latter  18  were  from  New  York 
City.  Of  the  38  absent  or  not  voting  22  were  from  that  city. 

In  the  Senate  the  bill  was  referred  to  the  Judiciary  Committee 
as  usual.  On  March  20  a  hearing  before  this  committee  was  ar- 
ranged for  those  in  favor  and  opposed.  It  was  conducted  by 
Mrs.  Loines  for  the  suffragists,  who  were  represented  by  Mrs. 
Chapman,  Miss  Chanler,  a  large  taxpayer  in  Dutchess  County, 
and  Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell  of  Boston,  but  a  taxpayer  in  New 
York.  Mrs.  Arthur  M.  Dodge  was  at  the  head  of  the  eighteen 
women  who  came  from  the  anti-suffrage  society  to  protest  against 
taxpaying  women  being  granted  a  representation  on  questions  of 
taxation.  The  other  speakers  were  Mrs.  Rossiter  Johnson  of 
Xew  York  City,  Mrs.  Crannell  of  Albany,  and  Mrs.  William 
Putnam  of  Groton  who  read  a  paper  written  by  Mrs.  Charles 
Wetmore.  The  first  took  the  ground  that  the  bill  was  unconsti- 
tutional. The  second  protested  against  the  attempt  "to  force 
widows,  spinsters  and  married  women  to  vote  against  their  will." 
The  third  begged  the  members  of  the  Senate  Committee  "not  to 
be  hoodwinked  into  believing  this  was  not  a  suffrage  measure," 
and  assured  them  that  "many  of  the  members  had  pledged  them- 
selves to  vote  for  it  without  recognizing  that  it  was  a  suffrage 
bill."  She  also  said :  "For  the  last  fifty  years,  while  the  suffra- 
gists have  been  wasting  their  strength  in  the  effort  to  get  the 
ballot,  we,  and  women  like  us,  have  been  quietly  going  ahead 
and  gaining  for  women  the  rights  they  now  enjoy  in  regard  to 
education,  property  and  the  professions.  The  suffragists  had 
nothing  to  do  with  it." 

The  friends  of  the  bill  in  the  Senate  tried  in  vain  to  obtain  a 
report  from  the  Judiciary  Committee,  the  chairman,  Edgar  Tru- 
man Brackett,  being  opposed  to  the  bill.  Finally,  on  April  n, 
Senator  Humphrey  moved  "to  discharge  the  committee  from 


864  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

further  consideration,"  which  was  carried  by  22  ayes,  20  noes. 
On  April  19  it  was  brought  to  a  vote  and  passed  by  27  ayes,  14 
noes,  8  of  the  latter  from  New  York  City.  Mr.  Grady  was  absent. 
The  bill  was  signed  by  Gov.  Benjamin  F.  Odell,  April  24, 
1901.  It  was  generally  understood  that  U.  S.  Senator  Thomas 
C.  Platt  was  in  favor  of  the  measure.  Judge  Charles  Z.  Lincoln, 
chairman  of  the  Statutory  Revision  Committee,  gave  most  valua- 
ble assistance. 

The  effect  of  this  bill  was  far  greater  than  had  been  anticipated, 
because  of  the  importance  of  New  York  as  a  State.  Before  six 
months  had  passed  women  in  considerable  numbers  had  voted 
in  a  dozen  different  places.  Although  it  applied  only  to  towns 
and  villages,  these  numbered  about  1,800.  What  was  of  more 
importance,  the  principle  had  been  recognized.  There  was 
scarcely  a  newspaper  in  the  United  States  that  did  not  contain 
an  editorial  upon  the  subject,  which  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases 
declared  the  law  to  be  just. 

LAWS  :  Dower  and  curtesy  obtain.  If  the  husband  die  with- 
out a  will  the  widow  is  entitled  to  the  life  use  of  one-third  of  the 
real  estate  and,  after  the  payment  of  the  debts,  to  one-third  of 
the  personal  estate  absolutely.  If  there  are  no  children  she  may 
have  one-half  of  the  latter — stocks,  cash,  furniture,  pictures,  sil- 
ver, clothing,  etc. — and  the  other  half  goes  to  the  husband's  rela- 
tives, even  down  to  nephews  and  nieces.  The  widow  may,  how- 
ever, have  the  whole  if  it  does  not  exceed  $2,000.  If  it  exceed 
that  amount,  $2,000  may  be  added  to  her  half.  If  there  are  no 
relatives  of  the  husband  she  may  have  all  the  personal  property. 
If  there  has  been  a  living  child  the  widower  has  a  life  interest 
in  all  the  wife's  estate.  If  there  have  been  no  children  he  takes 
all  the  personal  property  absolutely,  and  her  real  estate  goes  to 
her  next  of  kin.  If  there  is  a  child  living  he  has  one-third  of  the 
personal  property  absolutely. 

The  husband  is  liable  for  the  wife's  debts  before  marriage  to 
the  extent  of  any  property  acquired  from  her  by  ante-nuptial 
agreement.  She  holds  her  separate  property,  however  acquired, 
free  from  any  control  of  the  husband  and  from  all  liability  for 
his  debts.  She  can  live  on  her  own  real  estate,  and  forbid  her 
husband  entering  upon  it. 


NEW    YORK.  865 

Either  husband  or  wife  can  make  a  will  without  the  knowledge 
or  consent  of  the  other,  the  latter  disposing  of  all  her  separate 
property,  the  former  of  all  but  the  wife's  life  interest  in  one-third 
of  the  real  estate.  The  law  provides,  however,  that  no  person 
having  husband,  wife,  child  or  parent  can  bequeath  over  one-half 
of  his  property,  after  payment  of  debts,  to  any  institution,  asso- 
ciation or  corporation. 

The  wife  can  mortgage  or  convey  her  real  and  personal  estate 
without  the  husband's  signature.  He  may  do  this  with  his  per- 
sonal property  but  not  with  his  real  estate. 

A  married  woman  may  carry  on  any  trade  or  business  and  per- 
form any  labor  or  services  on  her  own  account,  and  her  earnings 
are  her  sole  and  separate  property.  She  may  sue  and  be  sued  as 
if  unmarried,  and  may  maintain  an  action  in  her  own  name  and 
the  proceeds  of  such  action  will  be  her  separate  property.* 

She  may  contract  as  if  unmarried  and  she  and  her  separate 
estate  are  liable.  A  woman  engaged  in  business  can  not  be  ar- 
rested for  a  debt  fraudulently  contracted.  All  women  enjoy  cer- 
tain exemptions  from  the  sale  of  their  property  under  execution 
which  in  the  case  of  men  are  granted  only  to  householders — that 
is,  a  man  who  provides  for  a  family. 

The  husband's  creditors  have  no  claim  to  a  life  insurance  un- 
less the  annual  -premiums  have  exceeded  $500 ;  and  it  is  also 
exempt  from  execution  for  the  wife's  debts. 

Common  Law  marriages  are  legal,  requiring  neither  license 
nor  ceremony,  and  14  years  is  the  legal  age  for  the  girl.f 

*  It  was  not  supposed  that  this  right  could  be  questioned,  but  in  1901,  in  New  York 
City,  a  woman  who  was  supporting  her  children  by  washing  while  her  husband  was  in  the 
hospital,  was  thrown  from  a  trolley  car  with  her  baby  in  her  arms  and  injured  so  that  she 
could  not  work.  She  brought  suit  against  the  Street  Railway  Company  before  a  munici- 
pal court,  and  was  awarded  $147.50.  The  company  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  and 
Justice  David  Leaventritt  reversed  the  decision,  saying  in  his  opinion:  "At  Common  Law 
the  husband  was  absolutely  entitled  to  the  earnings  of  his  wife,  and  neither  the  Enabling 
Act  of  1860  nor  the  broader  one  of  1864  has  affected  the  right,  unless  the  service  and 
earnings  were  rendered  and  received  expressly  upon  her  sole  and  separate  account." 
Afterwards  in  explanation  he  said  that  the  woman  had  not  made  it  clear  in  her  suit  that 
she  was  working  for  herself  and  not  performing  service  for  her  husband. 

In  1902  a  law  was  passed  securing  absolutely  to  married  women  their  own  earnings  and 
the  right  to  sue  for  damages  by  loss  of  wages  in  case  of  personal  injury. 

t  In  1901  an  attempt  was  made  to  correct  this  evil,  and  a  ridiculous  law  was  passed  and 
duly  signed  by  Governor  Odell  providing  that  a  couple  may  become  husband  and  wife  by 
signing  an  agreement  before  witnesses,  but  in  order  to  make  this  legal  it  must  be  recorded 
within  six  months.  If  at  the  end  of  this  time  it  has  not  been  recorded  both  are  free  to 
marry  somebody  else.  If  the  fourteen-year-old  wife  should  not  know  of  this  legal  require- 
ment she  may  find  herself  abandoned  without  redress. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 55 


866  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Absolute  divorce  is  granted  only  for  adultery.  In  case  of 
either  absolute  or  limited  divorce  the  husband  may  be  required 
to  pay  alimony  to  the  wife  during  her  life,  even  if  she  should 
marry  again. 

Every  married  woman  is  joint  guardian  of  her  children  with 
her  husband,  having  equal  powers,  rights  and  duties  in  regard 
to  them,  and  on  the  death  of  either  parent  the  survivor  continues 
guardian.  (1893.) 

A  husband  is  required  to  support  his  wife  commensurately 
with  his  means  and  her  station  in  the  community,  without  regard 
to  the  extent  of  her  individual  property.  If  he  fail  to  do  this  or 
if  he  abandon  his  family  he  may  be  arrested  and  compelled  to 
give  security  that  he  will  provide  for  them  and  will  indemnify 
the  town,  city  or  county  against  their  becoming  a  charge  upon  the 
public  within  one  year.  Failing,  he  may  be  sent  to  prison  or  pen- 
itentiary for  not  less  than  six  months'  hard  labor,  or  until  he 
gives  such  bond,  but  none  of  this  is  obligatory  on  the  court. 

In  1887  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10 
to  1 6  years,  and  it  was  made  optional  with  the  court  to  impo 
less  than  the  existing  penalty  of  ten  years'  imprisonment.  A  few 
years  afterward  it  was  proposed  to  reduce  the  age  to  12  years. 
Mrs.  Mary  H.  Hunt,  in  behalf  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  went 
before  the  Judiciary  Committee  and  said:  "I  represent  21,000 
women  and  any  man  who  dares  to  vote  for  this  measure  will  be 
marked  and  held  up  to  scorn.  We  are  terribly  in  earnest."  The 
matter  was  dropped.  In  1895  the  age  was  raised  from  16  to 
1 8,  with  a  penalty  for  first  degree  of  not  more  than  twenty  years' 
imprisonment;  for  second  degree,  not  more  than  ten.  No  mini- 
mum penalty  is  named.  Trials  may  be  held  privately,  and  it  is 
the  testimony  of  the  various  protective  associations  of  women 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  secure  convictions. 

The  laws  contain  many  provisions  for  the  benefit  of  female 
employes;  among  them  one  that  if  any  employer  in  New  York- 
City  fail  to  pay  wages  due  up  to  $50,  none  of  his  property  is  ex- 
empt from  execution  and  he  may  be  imprisoned  without  bail. 

SUFFRAGE:  In  1880  a  law  was  enacted  by  the  Legislature 
declaring  that  "no  person  shall  be  deemed  ineligible  to  serve  as 


NEW    YORK.  867 

any  school  officer,  or  to  vote  at  any  school  meeting,  by  reason 
of  sex,  who  has  the  other  qualifications  now  required  by  law." 

It  was  the  undoubted  intention  to  give  School  Suffrage  to  all 
women  by  this  law,  but  at  once  Attorney-General  Hamilton  Ward 
rendered  a  decision  that  it  did  not  apply  to  cities  but  only  to  places 
where  separate  "school  meetings"  were  held,  mainly  country  dis- 
tricts and  villages. 

In  1 88 1  another  attempt  was  made  by  the  Legislature  to  con- 
fer School  Suffrage  on  all  women  by  striking  out  the  word 
"male"  in  an  old  statute  of  1864,  but  as  it  failed  to  amend  the 
very  portion  of  the  law  which  referred  to  School  Commissioners, 
this  left  the  condition  unchanged. 

In  1886  the  Legislature  tried  it  again  by  enlarging  the  qualifi- 
cations of  voters,  but  as  the  words  "school  district"  were  used 
it  did  not  succeed  in  giving  the  suffrage  to  any  women  except 
those  who  already  possessed  it. 

In  1892  the  Legislature  once  more  came  boldly  to  the  rescue, 
and  undertook  to  enact  that  women  should  have  a  vote  for  Dis- 
trict School  Commissioners,  which  would  bring  under  its  provi- 
sions all  the  women  of  the  State.  The  Act  read :  "All  persons 
without  regard  to  sex,  who  are  eligible  to  the  office  of  School 
Commissioner,  and  have  the  other  qualifications  required  by  law, 
shall  have  the  right  to  vote  for  School  Commissioner." 

As  the  Act  of  1880  had  said  specifically  that  "no  person  shall 
be  deemed  ineligible  to  serve  as  any  school  officer  by  reason  of 
sex,"  this  seemed  to  settle  the  question.  The  Act  further  pro- 
vided that  "All  persons  so  entitled  to  vote  for  School  Commis- 
sioner shall  be  registered  as  provided  by  law  for  those  who  vote 
for  county  officers,  and  whenever  School  Commissioners  are  to 
be  elected  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  county  clerk  to  prepare  a  bal- 
lot to  be  used  exclusively  by  those  who,  by  reason  of  sex,  can  vote 
only  for  School  Commissioner." 

This  Act  went  into  effect  in  April,  1893,  and  in  the  autumn 
Mrs.  Matilda  Joslyn  Gage  registered  in  Manlius,  Onondaga 
County.  Immediately  the  board  of  inspectors  were  requested  to 
remove  her  name  from  the  registry.  They  refused  and  applica- 
tion was  made  to  the  Supreme  Court  to  strike  off  her  name,  on 
the  sole  contention  that  she  was  not  a  lawful  voter  on  account  of 


868 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


her  sex.  The  application  was  granted  on  the  ground  that  the 
Act  conferring  upon  women  the  right  to  vote  for  School  Com- 
missioner was  unconstitutional.  The  inspectors  obeyed  the  order. 
Mrs.  Gage  appealed  to  the  General  Term,  where  the  order  was 
affirmed,  and  then  she  carried  her  case  to  the  Court  of  Appeals. 
The  decision  here  was  in  brief  that  a  School  Commissioner  is  a 
county  officer,  and  that  by  the  State  constitution  only  male  citi- 
zens may  vote  for  such  officers.  The  decision  closed  by  saying : 
"A  Constitutional  Convention  may  take  away  the  barrier  which 
excludes  the  claimed  right  of  the  appellant,  but  until  that  is  done 
we  must  enforce  the  law  as  it  stands."* 

Thus  after  twenty  years  of  time,  four  acts  of  the  Legislature 
and  three  decisions  of  the  highest  courts,  the  School  Suffrage 
for  women  is  still  confined  exclusively  to  those  of  the  villages  and 
country  districts.  The  law  condensed  reads  as  follows: 

Every  person  of  full  age  residing  in  any  school  district,  etc.,  who 
owns  or  hires  real  property  in  such  district  liable  to  taxation  for 
school  purposes ;  and  every  such  resident  who  is  the  parent  of  a 
child  who  shall  have  attended  the  school  in  said  district  for  a  period 
of  at  least  eight  weeks  within  one  year  preceding  such  school  meet- 
ing; and  every  such  person,  not  being  the  parent,  who  shall  have 
permanently  residing  with  him  or  her  a  child  of  school  age,  etc.; 
and  every  such  resident  and  citizen  as  aforesaid,  who  owns  anj 
personal  property,  assessed  on  the  last  preceding  assessment-roll  of 
the  town,  exceeding  $50  in  value,  exclusive  of  such  as  is  exempt 
from  execution,  and  no  other,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  any  school 
meeting  held  in  such  district,  for  all  school  district  officers  and  upon 
all  matters  which  may  be  brought  before  said  meeting.  No  person 
shall  be  deemed  ineligible  to  vote  at  any  such  school  district  meet- 
ing, by  reason  of  sex,  who  has  one  or  more  of  the  other  qualifications 
required  by  this  section,  f 

*  This  decision  covers  many  pages  with  hair-splitting  definitions,  tracing  the  laws  govern- 
ing School  Commissioners  back  to  1843,  and  summing  up  with  the  following  unintentional 
satire: 

"The  Constitution,  in  Article  2,  Section  i,  prescribes  the  qualifications  of  voters  'for  all 
officers  that  now  are  or  hereafter  may  be  elected  by  the  people.'  and  confines  the  franchise 
specifically  to  'male  citizens.'  The  office  of  School  Commissioner  was  one  thereafter  made 
'elective  by  the  people,'  through  the  operation  of  the  alternative  given  by  Article  10,  Sec- 
tion 2,  which  provides  that  'all  officers  whose  offices  may  hereafter  be  created  by  law  shall 
be  elected  by  the  people  or  appointed  as  the  Legislature  may  direct.'  That  is,  in  such 
cases,  it  may  choose  between  election  and  appointment  and  in  the  latter  event  may  dictate 
the  authority  and  mode  of  appointment.  The  Legislature  chose  that  the  office  should  be 
elective,  and,  becoming  such,  it  fell  within  the  scope  and  terms  of  the  constitutional  pro- 
visions applicable  to  elections  by  the  people." 

t  By  the  charters  of  the  third  class  cities  of  Auburn,  Geneva,  Hornellsville,  Jamestown, 
Norwich,  Union  Springs  and  Watertown  women  have  School  Suffrage  on  the  same  terms 


NEW    YORK.  869 

This  was  the  only  suffrage  granted  to  women  until  1901,  when 
the  following  was  enacted  by  the  Legislature : 

A  woman  who  possesses  the  qualifications  to  vote  for  village  or 
town  officers,  except  the  qualification  of  sex,  and  who  is  the  owner 
of  property  in  the  town  or  village  assessed  upon  the  last  preceding 
assessment-roll  thereof,  is  entitled  to  vote  upon  a  proposition  to 
raise  money  by  tax  or  assessment. 

This  law  is  believed  to  include  about  1,800  places.  The  bill 
for  it  was  managed  by  a  committee  of  the  State  Suffrage  Associa- 
tion in  three  successive  Legislatures. 

By  the  city  charters  of  eleven  of  the  thirty-six  third-class  cit- 
ies— Amsterdam,  Cohoes,  Corning,  Geneva,  Ithaca,  Jamestown, 
Newburg,  Niagara  Falls,  North  Tonawanda,  Oswego  and  Wa- 
tertown,  taxpaying  women  have  a  vote  on  special  appropriations. 
Hornellsville  also  conferred  this  privilege  but  it  was  declared 
illegal  by  the  corporation  council,  because  the  word  "resident" 
was  used  instead  of  "citizen." 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  By  a  statute  of  1880  women  are  eligible 
for  any  school  office.  The  State  Superintendent  of  Public  In- 
struction is  elected  by  the  Legislature.  Instead  of  county  super- 
intendents, as  in  most  States,  New  York  has  District  Commis- 
sioners. A  district  may  comprise  either  a  part  or  the  whole  of 
a  county,  but  no  city  may  form  any  part  of  it.  At  present  ten 
women  are  serving  as  District  Commissioners.  A  considerable 
number  sit  on  the  school  boards  of  cities  and  villages  but  no 
exact  record  is  kept.  In  Greater  New  York  thirty  women  serve 
as  school  inspectors ;  there  are  also  four  supervisors  in  the  depart- 
ments of  sewing,  cooking,  kitchen-garden  and  physical  culture, 
at  salaries  ranging  from  $2,000  to  $2,500. 

The  same  law  which  enables  women  to  serve  as  District  School 
Commissioners  makes  them  eligible  to  all  district  offices,  includ- 
ing those  of  trustee,  collector,  treasurer  and  librarian,  as  the  law 
in  prescribing  qualification,  omits  the  word  "male."* 

Women  also  are  eligible  to  the  office  of  village  clerk.  They 
serve  as  notaries  public,  clerks  of  the  Surrogate  Court  and  deputy 

as  men.     The  city  of  Kingston  is  divided  into  several  common  and  union  free  school  dis- 
tricts and  women  are  authorized  to  vote. 

*  For  legal  opinion  see  Appendix  for  New  York. 


S/O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

tax  collectors.  Miss  Christine  Ross  of  New  York  City  is  a  cer- 
tified public  accountant  and  auditor. 

Most  cities  have  police  matrons.  Sixty  fill  this  position  in 
Greater  New  York  at  a  salary  of  $1,000  per  annum. 

Women  are  employed  as  city  physicians  in  several  places.  The 
law  requires  one  woman  physician  in  each  State  hospital  for  the 
insane  and  eleven  are  at  present  employed,  leaving  only  the  State 
Homeopathic  Hospital  at  Gowanda*  and  the  Manhattan  Hospital 
on  Long  Island  without  one. 

One  woman  trustee  is  required  on  the  board  of  every  State 
institution  where  women  are  placed  as  patients,  paupers  or  crimi- 
nals, but  this  is  not  strictly  obeyed.  A  list  of  the  boards  of  eleven 
hospitals  shows  twelve  women  and  sixty-five  men,  but  four  have 
no  women  members.  Two  women  are  on  the  board  of  Craig 
Colony  of  Epileptics ;  three  on  that  of  the  Custodial  Asylum  for 
Feeble-Minded. 

The  following  are  serving  as  State  officials :  On  State  Board  of 
Charities  of  twelve  commissioners,  one  woman,  with  thirteen  em- 
ployed in  different  departments  at  from  $480  to  $1,400  per  an- 
num; State  Superintendent  Woman's  Relief  Corps,  at  $1,500; 
two  State  hospital  accountants  at  $1,400,  three  at  $700;  principal 
of  House  of  Refuge  for  Women  at  Hudson,  $1,200;  superin- 
tendent Western  House  of  Refuge,  $1,200;  five  in  Commission 
of  Lunacy  Department,  $700  to  $1,400;  fourteen  in  the  State 
Library,  $50  to  $175  per  month;  seven  in  Administrative  De- 
partment of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  University  of  New  York, 
and  thirteen  in  the  College  and  High  School  Departments  (not 
teachers),  $720  to  $1,200  per  annum;  ten  in  Home  Education 
Department,  $50  to  $150  per  month ;  in  the  Department  of  Pub- 
lic Instruction,  five  confidential  clerks  at  from  $900  to  $2,000 ;  in 
Bureau  of  Examinations  seven  women  at  $900  (men  in  same  po- 
sitions receive  $1,800)  ;  in  State  Museum  one  woman  at  $600; 
in  Training  Class  Bureau  two  women  clerks  at  $900;  three 
women  in  office  of  Secretary  of  State  at  $900 ;  one  index  clerk  in 
Bureau  of  Charitable  Institutions  at  $1,050;  one  in  State  Comp- 
troller's office  at  $1,050;  one  examiner  for  Civil  Service  Com- 
mission at  $900  (men  receive  $1,400  for  same  work),  and  three 

*  In  1902  the  hospital  at  Gowanda,  the  largest  of  the  kind  in  the  State,  placed  a  woman 
on  its  staff  as  specialist  in  gynecology. 


NEW    YORK. 

stenographers  at  $600  to  $900 ;  two  State's  prison  stenographers 
at  $1,000;  a  Bertillon  indexer,  $1,200;  one  clerk  for  Commis- 
sion of  Labor,  $1,200;  one  for  Free  Employment  Bureau,  $900; 
under  Superintendent  of  Insurance,  five  women,  $1,200  to 
$1,400;  in  office  of  State  Architect  three,  $626  to  $900;  in  Bureau 
of  Records  two  clerks,  $1,200;  thirteen  women  are  Factory  In- 
spectors or  employes  in  that  department,  $600  to  $1,500;  twelve 
in  the  service  of  Commissioner  of  Excise,  $720  to  $1,080. 

OCCUPATIONS:  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  for- 
bidden to  women.  Several  are  presidents  of  banks,  a  number 
are  brokers,  many  are  directors  of  corporations  and  there  are 
women  managers  of  countless  enterprises. 

EDUCATION  :  The  two  great  universities,  Cornell  at  Ithaca 
and  Columbia  in  New  York  City,  admit  women  to  all  depart- 
ments and  grant  them  the  full  degrees.  In  Cornell  they  recite 
in  the  same  classes  with  the  men  students,  and  have  the  addi- 
tional advantage  of  a  residential  hall  on  the  campus.  There  are 
no  women  on  the  faculty.  Dr.  M.  Carey  Thomas,  president  of 
Bryn  Mawr  College,  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees 
for  several  years.  The  women  undergraduates  of  Columbia  have 
class-rooms  and  residence  in  Barnard,  an  independent  corpora- 
tion but  an  affiliated  college,  its  dean  having  the  same  relation  to 
Columbia  as  the  heads  of  all  the  other  colleges.  The  faculty  is 
composed  partly  of  the  regular  Columbia  staff  and  partly  of  spe- 
cial professors,  among  whom  are  a  number  of  women.  The 
seniors  attend  certain  courses  in  philosophy  and  science  in  the 
regular  university  classes,  and  all  of  these  are  open  to  post  grad- 
uates. The  University  of  New  York,  situated  in  and  near  the 
city,  is  co-educational  in  its  post-graduate  courses  and  in  its  De- 
partments of  Law,  Pedagogy  and  Commerce.  Its  Law  Depart- 
ment is  celebrated  for  the  prominent  women  it  has  graduated. 
Pratt  Institute  of  Brooklyn  is  open  to  both  sexes  alike. 

The  Universities  of  Syracuse  and  Rochester  are  co-educational. 
The  latter  was  opened  in  1900  through  the  efforts  of  the  women 
of  the  city  in  raising  a  fund  of  $50,000.  The  project  would  have 
failed,  however,  had  it  not  been  for  the  assistance  of  Miss  An- 
thony. On  the  morning  of  the  day  when  the  limit  would  expire 
which  had  been  fixed  by  the  trustees  for  the  raising  of  this  sum, 


872  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

$8,000  were  still  lacking.  Every  possible  source  had  been  ex- 
hausted and  in  despair  the  women  appealed  to  Miss  Anthony, 
who  already  had  collected  and  turned  over  a  considerable  amount. 
She  set  out  with  the  wonderful  determination  which  always  has 
characterized  her,  and  at  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  she  went  be- 
fore the  board  of  trustees  with  the  full  quota  in  checks  and 
pledges,  making  herself  responsible  for  the  last  $2,500. 

Union  Theological  Seminary  of  New  York  City  (Presby- 
terian) is  one  of  the  very  few  orthodox  institutions  of  this  kind 
which  admit  women. 

The  State  is  distinguished  by  having  in  Vassar  the  first  of  the 
great  colleges  for  women  which  offer  a  course  of  study  approxi- 
mating that  of  the  best  universities.  It  was  founded  in  1861. 
Over  700  students  are  in  attendance. 

Besides  seven  large  co-educational  institutions  there  are  eight 
or  ten  smaller  ones  for  boys  alone  and  several  for  girls  alone. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  5,405  men  and  28,587  women 
teachers;  in  New  York  City  1,263  men  an<^  10,949  women.  The 
average  annual  salary  for  teachers  in  the  cities  outside  of  New 
York  is  $597 ;  in  that  city,  which  employs  one-third  of  the  whole 
number,  $1,035.  The  average  annual  salary  in  the  commissioner 
districts  is  $322.49.  There  are  women  in  Greater  New  York 
receiving  $2,500;  there  are  hundreds  in  the  State  receiving  one-  , 
tenth  of  that  sum.  So  far  as  it  has  been  possible  to  secure  an 
estimate  there  is  fully  as  much  discrepancy  between  men's  and 
women's  salaries  for  the  same  work  as  in  other  States. 


The  women  of  Greater  New  York  take  a  prominent  part  in 
political  campaigns.  There  are  seven  or  eight  Women's  Repub- 
lican Clubs,  a  Health  Protective  Association  and  a  Woman's  Mu- 
nicipal League  which  were  active  in  1897  when  Seth  Low,  presi- 
dent of  Columbia  College,  was  candidate  for  mayor  on  the  Re- 
form ticket.*  There  is  also  a  flourishing  Ladies'  Democratic  Club. 

*  In  1901,  when  Mr.  Low  was  again  a  candidate  and  was  elected,  these  clubs  were  a 
prominent  factor  in  the  campaign.  They  arranged  meetings,  addressed  large  audiences, 
raised  $30,000  and  circulated  1,000,000  pieces  of  literature.  Their  work  was  commended 
by  the  press  of  the  whole  United  States  and  much  credit  was  given  them  for  the  success 
of  the  Reform  ticket.  When  the  Board  of  Education  of  forty-six  members  was  appointed 
by  Mayor  Low,  various  societies  petitioned  him  to  give  women  a  representation  upon  it, 
but  he  declined  to  do  so. 


NEW    YORK.  873 

A  unique  observance  is  the  annual  Pilgrim  Mothers'  Dinner  at 
the  renowned  Waldorf-Astoria  Hotel.  This  was  instituted  in 
December,  1892,  by  the  New  York  City  Suffrage  League,  Mrs. 
Lillie  Devereux  Blake,  president,  in  memory  of  those  noble 
women,  who  are  apt  to  be  overlooked  at  the  celebrations  in  honor 
of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers. 

New  York  divides  with  Massachusetts  the  honor  of  forming 
the  first  Woman's  Club — Sorosis,  in  1868 — and  it  continues  fore- 
most among  the  States  in  the  size  and  influence  of  its  organiza- 
tions of  women.  Over  200,  part  of  them  suffrage  societies,  be- 
long to  the  Federation  of  Clubs,  and  these  represent  only  a  por- 
tion of  the  whole  number.  There  are  eighty  auxiliaries  to  the 
State  Suffrage  Association. 


CHAPTER   LVII. 

NORTH    CAROLINA.* 

The  only  attempt  at  suffrage  organization  in  North  Carolina 
was  made  by  Miss  Helen  Morris  Lewis,  Nov.  21,  1894.  A 
meeting  was  called  at  the  court  house  in  Asheville  and  attended 
by  a  large  audience,  which  was  addressed  by  Miss  Lewis  and 
Miss  Floride  Cunningham.  Thomas  W.  Patton,  mayor  of  the 
city,  made  a  stirring  speech  in  favor  of  giving  the  ballot  to 
wromen.  At  his  residence  the  next  day  a  society  was  formed 
with  a  membership  of  forty-five  men  and  women ;  president,  Miss 
Morris;  vice-president,  T.  C.  Westall;  secretary,  Mrs.  Eleanor 
Johnstone  Coffin ;  treasurer,  Mayor  Patton.  The  next  mayor  of 
Asheville,  Theodore  F.  Davidson,  also  advocated  woman  suffrage. 

In  1895  addresses  were  made  in  various  cities  by  Miss  Laura 
Clay  of  Kentucky  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Upham  Yates  of  Maine, 
who  had  been  attending  the  national  convention  in  Atlanta. 

Later  on  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard,  president  of  the  National 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  and  Miss  Belle  Kear- 
ney, a  noted  lecturer  from  Mississippi,  aroused  considerable  en- 
thusiasm in  various  places  by  pleas  for  woman  suffrage  in  their 
temperance  addresses.  Miss  Lewis  has  spoken  in  a  number  of 
towns  and  at  the  State  Normal  School.  No  organized  work  has 
been  done,  however,  and  but  little  public  interest  is  felt. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  Early  in  February,  1895, 
as  a  result  of  the  suffrage  meeting  held  in  Asheville,  a  bill  was 
presented  in  the  Legislature  to  place  women  on  school  boards. 
Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  of  New  York,  a  native  of  North  Car- 
olina, addressed  the  legislators  in  its  behalf  and  upon  the  rights 
of  women.  The  bill  provoked  a  hot  discussion  but  was  defeated. 
It  is  impossible  to  obtain  a  record  of  the  vote. 

In  1897  a  bill  to  permit  women  to  serve  as  notaries  public  was 
defeated  in  the  House  on  the  ground  that  it  would  be  unconsti- 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  most  of  the  information  in  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Sarah  A. 
Russell  of  Wilmington,  the  wife  of  Gov.  Daniel  L.  Russell. 

874 


NORTH    CAROLINA.  875 

tutional,  as  this  is  a  State  office.  The  same  year  a  bill  providing 
for  the  appointment  of  women  physicians  in  the  State  insane  asy- 
lums was  referred  to  a  committee  and  never  reported. 

Bills  also  have  been  presented  for  full  suffrage  and.  suffrage  for 
tax-paying  women,  but  none  has  been  acted  upon.  Several  Acts 
have  been  passed  prohibiting  employers  from  working  women  in 
the  chain  gangs  on  the  public  roads  in  different  counties.* 

The  most  unjust  discriminations  against  women  in  the  prop- 
erty laws  were  removed  by  the  Constitutional  Convention  of 
1868.  Since  then  a  married  woman  may  acquire  and  hold  real 
estate  and  have  the  enjoyment  of  its  income  and  profits  in  her 
own  separate  right,  and  she  may  dispose  of  it  by  will  subject  to 
the  husband's  curtesy  (the  life  use  of  the  whole)  ;  but  she  can  not 
sell  any  of  it  without  his  consent.  The  husband  can  not  sell  his 
real  estate  so  as  to  cut  off  the  dower  of  the  wife  (the  life  use  of 
one-third)  without  her  consent. 

The  code  of  1883  stipulates  that  if  the  husband  receives  the  in- 
come of  the  wife's  separate  property  and  she  'offers  no  objection, 
he  can  not  be  made  liable  to  account  for  his  use  of  it  for  more  than 
one  year  previous  to  the  date  of  the  complaint  or  of  her  death. 
By  an  act  of  1889,  the  husband  is  required  to  list  the  property  of 
the  wife  "in  his  control." 

Both  dower  and  curtesy  obtain.  If  there  are  neither  descend- 
ants nor  kindred  the  widow  is  heir  of  the  entire  estate.  If  there 
are  not  more  than  two  children,  and  the  husband  die  without  a 
will,  one-third  of  the  personal  property  goes  to  the  widow;  if 
there  are  more  than  two  children,  she  shares  equally  with  them ; 
if  there  be  no  child  or  legal  representative  of  a  deceased  child, 
one-half  goes  to  the  widow,  the  other  half  to  the  kindred  of  the 
husband.  If  a  wife  die  without  a  will,  the  widower  has  a  life 
estate  in  her  real  property,  if  there  has  been  issue  born  alive, 
and  all  of  her  personal  property  absolutely,  subject  to  her  debts. 
•A  homestead  to  the  value  of  $1,000  is  exempt  from  sale  dur- 
ing widowhood  unless  the  widow  have  one  in  her  own  right. 

The  wife  is  not  bound  by  contract  unless  the  husband  joins  in 
writing.  In  actions  against  her  he  must  be  served  with  the  suit. 

*  In  1901  a  bill,  supported  by  a  petition  largely  signed  by  women,  which  provided  for 
a  reformatory  for  youthful  criminals  where  they  might  be  separated  from  the  old  and 
hardened,  was  introduced  in  the  Legislature  but  never  was  brought  to  a  vote. 


876 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


The  wife  can  not  be  a  sole  trader  without  the  husband's  writ- 
ten and  recorded  consent,  unless  living  apart  from  him  under 
legal  divorce  or  separation,  or  unless  he  is  an  idiot  or  a  lunatic,  or 
has  abandoned  her  or  maliciously  turned  her  out  of  doors.  She 
controls  even  her  wages  only  under  these  circumstances. 

The  divorce  laws  make  the  discrimination  against  women  that 
while  the  husband  can  secure  a  divorce  for  one  act  of  adultery  on 
the  part  of  the  wife,  she  can  secure  one  from  him  on  this  ground 
only  if  he  separates  from  her  and  lives  openly  in  adultery. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  persons  and  education 
of  the  minor  children,  and  may  appoint  a  guardian  by  will  even 
for  one  unborn.  The  court  appoints  the  guardian  for  the  estate. 

Wilful  neglect  by  the  husband  to  provide  adequate  support  for 
the  wife  and  children  is  a  misdemeanor. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  still  remains  10  years,  with  a 
penalty  of  death.  Over  10  and  under  14  the  crime  is  a  misde- 
meanor, punishable  with  fine  or  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary 
at  discretion  of  the  court,  if  the  child  has  been  previously  chaste. 

SUFFRAGE  :     Women  possess  no  form  of  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  By  the  State  constitution  only  those  en- 
titled to  vote  are  eligible  to  office.  Women  are  thus  barred  from 
every  elective  and  appointive  office,  even  that  of  notary  public. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  forbid- 
den to  women.  They  are  admitted  to  the  State  Medical  Soci( 
and  made  chairmen  of  various  sections.  There  has  been  a  revolu- 
tion of  public  sentiment  during  the  past  twenty  years  in  regard  tc 
women  in  wage-earning  occupations.  What  formerly  would  have 
caused  ostracism  is  now  regarded  as  proper  and  commendable. 

EDUCATION:  In  1897  the  post-graduate  work  of  the  Stat 
University  was  opened  to  women.  The  undergraduate  depai 
ments  are  still  closed  to  them.  Other  institutions  are  about  eqiu 
ly  divided  among  co-educational,  for  boys  only  and  for  girls  onl] 
The  State  Normal  and  Industrial  School  for  Girls  (white)  ar 
the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  for  Boys  (colored' 
both  at  Green sborough,  offer  excellent  opportunities.  There  ai 
four  other  universities  and  colleges  for  colored  students. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  4,127  men  and  4,077  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $25.07:  of 
the  women,  $22.24. 


CHAPTER   LVIII. 

OHIO.* 

The  second  Woman's  Rights  Convention  ever  held  took  place 
at  Salem,  Ohio,  in  April,  1850,  and  such  meetings  were  continued 
at  intervals  until  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War.  After  the  war 
a  State  association  was  formed,  but  the  records  of  its  existence 
are  not  available.  In  the  early  summer  of  1884  Mrs.  Rachel  S. 
A.  Janney,  whose  husband  was  president  of  the  State  Agricul- 
tural College  (now  the  State  University),  called  a  convention  in 
Columbus,  at  which  Mrs.  Rosa  L.  Segur,  Mrs.  Ellen  Sully  Fray, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  O.  G.  Peters,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Coit  and  family,  Mrs. 
Ammon  of  Cleveland,  and  other  well-known  advocates  were  pres- 
ent. So  few  were  in  attendance,  however,  that  it  was  thought 
best  not  to  organize  permanently,  but  Judge  Ezra  B.  Taylor  of 
Warren  was  chosen  president  and  Mrs.  Frances  M.  Casement, 
vice-president.  Judge  Taylor,  in  declining  because  of  Congres- 
sional duties,  expressed  sympathy  and  interest  in  the  movement. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  U.  S.  House 
of  Representatives  for  thirteen  years,  and  through  his  influence 
when  chairman,  in  1890,  a  majority  report  in  favor  of  a  Six- 
teenth Amendment  to  the  Constitution  to  enfranchise  women  was 
submitted  to  the  House  for  the  first  and  last  time. 

Mrs.  Casement  did  very  efficient  work,  especially  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  State,  and  as  a  result  a  large  and  enthusiastic 
meeting  was  held  at  Painesville,  her  home,  in  May,  1885,  and  a 
State  association  regularly  organized.  On  the  list  of  officers 
were  placed  three  persons  who  through  all  these  years  have  made 
the  enfranchisement  of  women  their  paramount  work — Mrs. 
Casement,  Mrs.  Segur  of  Toledo  and  Mrs.  Coit  of  Columbus. 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Harriet  Taylor  Upton  of  Warren, 
treasurer  of  the  National-American  Woman  Suffrage  Association  since  1892  and  president 
of  the  State  association. 

877 


878  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Mrs.  Casement,  who  was  made  president,  always  has  given  gen- 
erously of  time  and  money  and  is  still  a  member  of  the  executive 
committee.  Mrs.  Segur,  who  was  elected  corresponding  secre- 
tary, also  continues  her  activity.  She  does  much  press  work  and 
is  one  of  the  main  supports  of  the  Toledo  W.  S.  A.,  which  has 
held  regular  monthly  meetings  since  its  organization  in  1869. 
Mrs.  Coit  was  chosen  treasurer  and  held  the  office  fourteen  years, 
during  which  she  seldom  missed  a  convention  or  an  executive 
meeting.  In  1900  she  was  made  honorary  president  without  one 
dissenting  vote.* 

In  addition  to  the  State  conventions  from  two  to  five  executive 
committee  meetings  have  been  held  yearly  since  1885.  Before 
the  adoption  of  the  biennial  sessions  of  the  Legislature,  there 
were  usually  conferences  at  Columbus  in  midwinter  to  influence 
legislation,  and  different  members  remained  there  for  weeks. 
Mrs.  Sarah  C.  Schrader,  Mrs.  Martha  H.  Elwell  and  Mrs.  Louisa 
Southworth  rendered  especially  valuable  service  in  such  matters. 

Mrs.  Southworth,  in  her  home  at  Cleveland,  also  had  charge 
of  the  systematic  enrollment  of  persons  indorsing  woman  suf- 
frage, which  has  been  very  effective  in  answering  the  objection 
that  women  do  not  want  to  vote.  This  was  begun  in  1888,  when 
she  was  made  national  superintendent  of  enrollment,  as  she  was 
a  thorough  advocate  of  this  method  of  petition.  Bills  for  woman 
suffrage  introduced  into  the  Legislature  need  the  backing  of 
many  names,  and  in  this  way  more  can  be  added  each  year.  The 
blanks  are  headed:  "We  believe  that  women  should  vote  on 
equal  terms  with  men ;"  and  an  effort  is  made  to  keep  the  names 
of  men  and  women  separate.  The  original  lists  are  carefully 
preserved,  but  typewritten  copies  for  reference  are  made  and 
classified  according  to  towns,  counties  and  Congressional  dis- 
tricts, pains  being  taken  each  year  not  to  register  duplicates. 
The  entire  expenses,  amounting  to  several  thousand  dollars,  have 

•Presidents  of  the  State  association:  Frances  M.  Casement,  1885-1888;  Martha  H. 
Elwell,  1888-1891;  Caroline  McCullough  Everhard,  1891-1898;  Harriet  Brown  Stanton, 
1898-1899;  Harriet  Taylor  Upton,  1899  and  now  serving. 

State  Conventions:  Painesville,  1885;  Toledo,  1886;  Cleveland,  1887;  Chillicothe,  1888; 
Akron,  1889;  Massillon,  1890;  Warren,  1891;  Salem,  1892;  Delaware,  1893;  Cincinnati, 
1894;  Ashtabula,  1895;  Alliance,  1897;  Cincinnati,  1898;  Akron,  1899;  Athens,  1000. 
During  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1896,  when  William  McKinley,  a  resident  of  < 
was  a  candidate,  the  excitement  was  so  intense  that  it  was  thought  wise  to  abandon  the 
convention,  which  was  to  have  been  held  in  October  at  Springfield. 


OHIO.  879 

been  borne  by  Mrs.  Southworth.  All  of  the  canvassers  have 
contributed  their  services.* 

Good  educational  work  has  been  done  through  Woman's  Day 
at  colleges,  camp  meetings  and  county  fairs.  A  memorable  oc- 
casion was  that  of  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  city  of 
Cleveland  in  1896.  One  day  was  devoted  to  the  consideration 
of  the  advancement  of  woman  in  philanthropy,  education,  domes- 
tic science,  etc.  Although  the  speakers  had  been  requested  not 
to  touch  upon  the  question  of  her  political  enfranchisement,  three 
women  indirectly  mentioned  it  and  these  received  the  heartiest 
applause  of  any  brought  out  in  the  course  of  a  whole  day  of  able 
speechmaking.  One  of  them  was  not  permitted  to  retire  until 
she  acknowledged  in  a  graceful  word  or  two  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  audience.  The  committee  having  charge  of  this  celebration 
asked  a  woman  in  each  township  on  the  Western  Reserve  to 
gather  facts  in  regard  to  its  early  women,  and  over  200  granted 
the  request.  These  papers  when  published  made  four  volumes 
of  valuable  information  respecting  the  pioneer  women  of  this 
famous  section  of  Ohio. 

In  1896  the  Rev.  Henrietta  G.  Moore,  a  Universalist  minister 
of  Springfield,  and  Miss  Laura  A.  Gregg  of  Kansas,  visited  sev- 
enteen towns  and  cities  in  the  interest  of  the  State  W.  S.  A. 
and  formed  numerous  organizations. 

A  conference  of  national  and  State  officers,  with  several  pub- 
lic meetings,  was  held  at  Toledo  in  the  autumn  of  1897,  Mrs. 
Fray,  president  of  Lucas  County,  making  the  arrangements. 
The  following  spring  Mrs.  Harriet  Brown  Stanton  of  Cincin- 
nati did  the  preparatory  work  for  a  twro  days'  meeting  in  that 
city,  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  vice-president-at-large,  and 
Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  organization  com- 
mittee of  the  National  Association,  being  the  speakers. 

In  the  spring  of  1900  Mrs.  Harriet  Taylor  Upton,  president 
of  the  State  association,  visited  fifteen  principal  towns  preparing 
the  way  for  organization,  while  in  others  plans  were  made  by 

*  When  the  State  Suffrage  Association  decided  to  abandon  this  work,  Mrs.  Southworth 
was  elected  State  superintendent  of  franchise  by  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  and  the  enrollment  was 
continued.  At  their  national  convention,  in  1901,  it  showed  50,000  names  and  aroused 
great  enthusiasm.  Of  these,  9,650  were  collected  in  the  four  cities  of  Cleveland,  Cincin- 
nati, Columbus  and  Toledo;  during  the  year  7,500  names  had  been  added  to  the  list. 
The  system  has  been  adopted  by  the  unions  in  many  States. 


88O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

correspondence.  Five  persons  participated  in  the  campaign  made 
later :  Miss  Shaw  and  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  as  speakers,  each  con- 
tributing two  weeks  of  time;  Miss  Harriet  May  Mills  and  Miss 
Mary  G.  Hay,  of  New  York,  national  organizers;  Mrs.  Upton 
accompanying  the  party.  The  object  was  to  ascertain  suffrage 
sentiment  and  to  organize  the  northwestern  part  of  the  State. 
The  next  work  was  done  in  the  southern  part,  Ohio  women  mak- 
ing the  arrangements  and  Dr.  Frances  Woods  of  Iowa  acting  as 
speaker  and  organizer.  At  the  close  of  1900  the  State  had  twice 
as  many  members  as  the  year  before,  with  vastly  increased  in- 
terest and  activity.  This  growth  was  due  to  many  causes,  not 
least  among  them  being  the  work  and  inspiration  of  Miss  Eliza- 
beth J.  Hauser,  who  was  corresponding  secretary  for  five  years, 
and  for  ten  has  scarcely  missed  a  convention. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION:  In  1888  the  Legislature  was  asked  to 
submit  to  the  voters  an  amendment  giving  Full  Suffrage  to 
women.  This  measure  was  lost,  and  a  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill 
met  a  like  fate. 

In  1889  a  bill  for  Full  Suffrage  was  defeated  in  the  Senate 
by  19  ayes,  9  noes,  a  three-fifths  majority  being  required. 

In  1890  a  similar  bill  was  introduced  in  the  House  and  dis- 
cussed at  length.  It  received  54  ayes,  47  noes,  but  not  a  consti- 
tutional majority. 

In  1891  the  Legislature  was  petitioned  without  result,  and  in 
1892  and  1893  School  Suffrage  Bills  were  defeated  by  small  ma- 
jorities. 

It  was  enacted  in  1893  that  mayors  in  cities  of  10,000  inhabit- 
ants and  upward  shall  furnish  proper  quarters  for  women  and 
female  children  under  arrest,  and  that  these  shall  be  out  of  sight 
of  the  rooms  and  cells  where  male  prisoners  are  confined.  The 
law  further  provides  for  the  appointment  of  police  matrons. 

In  1894  a  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  was  introduced  but  was 
not  reported  from  committee.  This  year,  however,  School  Suf- 
frage was  granted  to  women. 

To  Mrs.  Caroline  McCullough  Everhard  and  Mrs.  Katherine 
B.  Claypole,  president  and  recording  secretary  of  the  State  W. 
S.  A.,  women  are  largely  indebted  for  this  law.  Like  all  reform 
measures,  it  was  preceded  by  many  discouraging  defeats.  In 


OHIO.  88 1 

1892  a  bill  was  introduced  into  the  House  by  E.  W.  Doty,  pro- 
viding that  women  should  vote  for  and  serve  as  members  of 
school  boards.  It  was  lost  by  seven  votes,  reconsidered  in  the 
adjourned  session  of  1893  and  lost  again  by  six  votes.  Another 
bill  was  introduced  into  the  House  in  January,  1894,  by  Gustavus 
A.  Wood,  but  was  defeated  by  47  ayes,  43  noes.  Mrs.  Everhard 
then  made  an  earnest  appeal  to  Senator  William  T.  Clark  to  in- 
troduce the  same  bill.  He  promptly  acceded  and  it  passed  the 
Senate  on  April  10  by  20  ayes,  6  noes.  It  was  returned  to  the 
House  and  passed  April  24  by  55  ayes,  26  noes,  n  not  voting. 
Mr.  Clark  at  once  sent  a  telegram  to  the  president  of  the  associa- 
tion :  "Woman  suffrage  bill  a  law ;  truth  is  mighty  yet." 

In  1894  the  Legislature  was  asked  to  enact  a  law  making 
women  eligible  as  trustees  of  homes  and  asylums  for  women  and 
children.  The  request  was  refused  on  the  ground  that  the 
law  would  be  declared  unconstitutional  because  such  trustees 
must  be  electors. 

In  1896  Free  Traveling  Libraries  were  established. 

In  1898  the  Legislature  provided  that  a  woman  could  be  a  no- 
tary public.  Two  months  later  the  law  was  declared  unconstitu- 
tional, as  notaries  must  be  electors. 

LAWS:  In  1884  a  law  was  enacted  giving  a  married  woman 
the  right  to  sue  and  be  sued  and  to  proceed  in  various  other  mat- 
ters as  if  unmarried.  Her  personal  property  and  real  estate  were 
liable  to  judgment,  but  she  was  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  all  ex- 
emptions to  heads  of  families. 

In  1887  married  women  obtained  absolute  control  of  their 
own  property.  This  act  gave  a  wife  the  right  to  enter  into  any 
engagements  or  transactions  with  her  husband,  or  any  other 
person,  to  hold  and  dispose  of  real  and  personal  property  and  to 
make  contracts. 

Dower  was  retained  but  curtesy  abolished,  except  for  a  man 
married  before  1887  and  regarding  property  owned  by  his  wife 
before  that  date.  Either  husband  or  wife  on  the  death  of  the 
other  is  now  entitled  to  one-third  of  the  real  estate  for  life.  If 
either  die  without  a  will,  and  there  are  no  children  or  their  legal 
representatives  living,  all  the  real  estate  passes  to  the  survivor, 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 56 


882  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE." 

and  the  personal  property  subject  to  the  debts.  If  there  are  chil- 
dren, or  their  legal  representatives,  the  widow  or  widower  is 
entitled  to  one-half  of  the  first  $400,  and  to  one-third  of  the  re- 
mainder subject  to  distribution.  A  homestead  not  exceeding 
$1,000  in  value  may  be  reserved  for  the  widow. 

In  1893  it  was  made  legal  for  a  married  woman  to  act  as 
guardian;  and  in  1894  as  executor  or  administrator. 

By  the  code  of  1892  the  father  is  legal  guardian  of  the  children 
and  may  appoint  a  guardian  by  will,  even  of  one  unborn.  If  he 
has  abandoned  the  mother,  she  has  custody.  . 

The  husband  must  support  his  wife  and  minor  children  by 
his  property  or  labor,  but  if  he  is  unable  to  do  so,  the  wife  must 
assist  as  far  as  she  is  able.  The  father  or,  when  charged  with 
maintenance  thereof,  the  mother  of  a  legitimate  or  illegitimate 
child  under  sixteen,  who  being  able,  either  by  reason  of  having 
means  or  by  labor  or  earnings,  shall  neglect  or  refuse  to  provide 
such  child  with  proper  home,  care,  food  and  clothing;  or,  if  said 
child  is  a  legal  inmate  of  the  county  or  district  children's  home, 
sjiall  refuse  to  pay  the  reasonable  cost  of  its  keeping,  shall  upon 
conviction  be  guilty  of  felony  and  punished  by  imprisonment  in 
the  penitentiary  for  not  more  than  three  years  nor  less  than  one, 
or  in  a  county  jail  or  workhouse  at  hard  labor  for  not  more  than 
one  year  nor  less  than  three  months. 

In  1887  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10 
to  12  years:  in  1894  from  12  to  14;  in  1896  from  14  to  16.  The 
penalty  is  imprisonment  not  more  than  twenty  nor  less  than  three 
years. 

SUFFRAGE:  The  law  of  1894  permits  women,  on  the  same 
terms  as  men,  to  vote  for  members  of  the  boards  of  education 
(trustees),  but  not  for  State  Commissioner  (superintendent) 
nor  on  any  question  of  bonds  or  appropriations.  There  are  no 
county  commissioners  in  Ohio. 

The  history  of  this  law,  after  it  passed  into  the  Revised  Stat- 
utes, is  as  follows:  In  December,  1894,  Mrs.  Ida  M.  Earnhart 
of  Columbus,  whose  husband,  Senator  M.  B.  Earnhart,  had 
championed  the  bill,  was  one  of  the  first  women  to  register  for 
voting  at  the  school  election  to  be  held  the  next  April.  For  the 
purpose  of  a  test  case  a  written  request  was  made  of  the  board 


OHIO.  883 

of  elections  to  strike  her  name  from  the  list;  they  refused  and 
suit  was  brought  in  the  name  of  the  State  of  Ohio  against  the 
board  and  Mrs.  Earnhart.  The  case  was  argued  in  the  Circuit 
Court  of  Franklin  County  in  January,  1895.  Mrs.  Caroline  Mc- 
Cullough  Everhard,  president  of  the  State  W.  S.  A.,  attended 
the  hearing.  Senators  William  T.  Clark  and  M.  B.  Earnhart 
ably  defended  the  law.  On  February  i  the  decision  was  ren- 
dered by  Judge  J.  G.  Shauck,  Judges  Charles  G.  Shearer  and 
Gilbert  H.  Stewart  concurring  in  the  opinion,  which  declared 
the  law  to  be  constitutional.  The  case  was  appealed  to  the  Su- 
preme Court,  where  the  decision  of  the  lower  court  was  sustained. 
This  completed  the  victory  which  the  State  suffrage  association 
had  worked  so  hard  to  win.  More  than  30,000  women  voted  at 
the  first  election  following.  In  the  spring  of  1902,  14,800  wom- 
en registered  in  Cleveland  and  80  per  cent,  voted. 

Everything  was  quiet  until  the  winter  of  1898,  when  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  suffragists  was  again  called  out  by  the  introduction 
into  the  House  of  a  bill  by  A.  J.  Hazlett  to  repeal  the  School  Suf- 
frage law.  The  board  of  elections  of  Cleveland  had  asked  for 
this.  Forthwith  letters  were  sent  to  all  the  suffrage  clubs  by  Mrs. 
Everhard,  and  requests  were  made  to  many  prominent  persons 
to  use  their  influence  against  it.  Protesting  petitions  were  cir- 
culated and,  with  more  than  40,000  names,  were  sent  to  the  Leg- 
islature in  a  very  short  time.  On  Feb.  10,  1898,  members 
of  the  legislative  committee  of  the  State  W.  S.  A.  appeared  be- 
fore the  House  Committee  on  Elections  and  spoke  against  the 
bill.  Through  courtesy  to  Mr.  Hazlett,  who  was  a  member  of 
this  committee,  it  was  reported  back,  but  without  recommenda- 
tion, and  when  brought  to  a  vote  in  the  House  it  was  overwhelm- 
ingly defeated — 76  against  repeal,  22  in  favor. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  No  woman  can  be  elected  or  appointed  to 
any  office,  with  the  exception  of  that  of  school  trustee,  as  the 
statutes  provide  that  all  incumbents  must  be  electors.  The  same 
law  applies  to  the  boards  of  all  State  institutions.  It  also  pre- 
vents women  from  serving  as  notaries  public. 

They  can  act  as  deputies,  since  these  are  considered  merely 
as  clerks.  The  law  specifies  that  women  can  be  Probate  Court 
deputies  because  minors  are  eligible  to  that  office. 


884  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Women  can  not  be  State  School  Commissioners,  and  there  is 
no  office  of  county  commissioner.  They  are  serving  acceptably 
on  the  school  boards  of  various  towns  and  cities,  but  no  official 
record  is  anywhere  kept  of  the  exact  number.* 

A  law  of  1892  says :  "In  all  asylums  for  the  insane  there  shall 
be  employed  at  least  one  female  physician."  There  are  eight 
such  institutions  in  the  State  and  at  present  only  four  have 
women  physicians. 

The  same  year  it  was  made  mandatory  on  every  Judge  of 
Common  Pleas  to  appoint  in  his  county  a  board  of  visitors  con- 
sisting of  three  men  and  three  women,  whose  duty  it  is  to  make 
periodical  visits  to  the  correctional  and  charitable  institutions  of 
the  county  and  to  act  as  guardians  ad  litem  to  delinquent  children.  | 

A  law  of  1893  requires  police  matrons  in  all  cities  of  10,000 
inhabitants  and  over.  They  must  be  more  than  thirty  years  old, 
of  good  moral  character  and  sound  physical  health,  and  must 
have  the  indorsement  of  at  least  ten  women  residents  of  good 
standing.  Their  salary  is  fixed  at  not  less  than  two-thirds  of 
minimum  salary  paid  to  patrolmen  in  the  same  city,  and  the 
may  serve  for  life  unless  they  are  discharged. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  forbid 
den  to  women. 

EDUCATION  :     Oberlin  was  the  first  co-educational  college  i 

*  Mrs.  Harriet  Taylor  Upton,  the  author  of  this  chapter,  is  now  serving  her  second 
term  on  the  board  of  education  in  Warren,  O.  In  the  spring  of  1898  the  local  political 
equality  club  determined  to  have  some  women  in  this  position  and  selected  Mrs.  Upton 
and  Mrs.  Carrie  P.  Harrington.  Two  vacancies  having  occurred,  the  board  (which  fills 
such  vacancies)  was  asked  to  appoint  them  but  refused.  Their  names  therefore  were  pre- 
sented to  the  Republican  caucus  in  the  spring  of  1898.  Instead  of  two  candidates,  as 
usual,  there  were  four,  as  the  two  vacancies  were  to  be  filled  for  the  remainder  of  the 
term.  The  board  and  the  politicians  still  refused  to  recommend  the  women,  so  six  names 
went  before  the  caucus.  The  women  were  asked  whether  they  wanted  to  run  for  the 
short  term  to  fill  the  vacancies  or  for  the  full  term  of  three  years.  They  refused  to  say, 
but  simply  asked  that  their  names  should  be  considered.  They  had  little  hope  of  anything 
but  to  fill  the  vacancies,  as  the  president  and  treasurer  of  the  present  board  were  candi- 
dates for  the  long  term.  The  night  of  the  caucus  was  very  stormy,  but  the  women  of  the 
city  turned  out  in  force  and,  with  the  assistance  of  the  men,  the  two  women  were  nomi- 
nated for  the  long  term.  A  Republican  nomination  is  equivalent  to  an  election  in  Warren. 

The  board  was  magnanimous;  both  ladies  were  placed  on  committees  and  most  courte- 
ously treated.  The  next  year  Mrs.  Upton  was  made  chairman  of  the  most  important 
committee,  that  on  supplies,  buildings  and  grounds,  which  expends  nine-tenths  of  all  the 
money  used  by  the  board.  The  other  woman  member  was  added  to  this  committee  when 
the  new  grammar  school  was  begun  in  1899.  It  is  considered  one  of  the  best  ventilated 
and  best  planned  buildings  in  that  part  of  the  State. 

In  the  spring  of  1901  both  were  triumphantly  re-elected.  Mrs.  Upton  was  continued  as 
chairman  of  her  committee,  and  Mrs.  Harrington  was  made  chairman  of  the  next  in  im- 
portance, that  on  text-books.  [Eds. 


OHIO.  885 

the  United  States  (1833).  Antioch  was  the  second  (1853).  The 
State  University  and  all  other  State  institutions  of  learning  al- 
ways have  been  open  to  both  sexes  alike.  Of  the  thirty-four 
colleges  and  universities  twenty-seven  are  co-educational,  five  are 
for  men  and  two  for  women.  There  are  seventy-nine  higher 
educational  institutions  other  than  colleges,  such  as  academies, 
normal  and  business  schools,  theological  seminaries,  etc.  Of 
these  eight  are  for  men,  ten  for  women,  fifty-nine  co-educational 
and  two  without  statistics. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  10,556  men  and  15,156  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $50;  of  the 
women,  $40. 


Ohio  is  one  of  the  leading  States'  in  the  number  of  women's 
clubs — 289,  with  a  membership  of  10,300,  being  enrolled  in  the 
General  Federation.  It  was  principally  through  the  efforts  of 
this  large  body  of  women  that  a  bill  was  passed  in  1896  provid- 
ing for  Traveling  Free  Libraries  and  900  are  now  in  circulation, 
more  than  in  any  other  State.  It  also  was  instrumental  in  secur- 
ing a  bill  for  the  establishment  of  State  Normal  Schools  in  con- 
nection with  Ohio  and  Miami  Universities. 

The  Rookwood  Pottery  of  Cincinnati,  which  has  more  than  a 
national  reputation,  is  the  result  of  the  intelligence  and  well  di- 
rected efforts  of  a  woman — Mrs.  Maria  Longworth  Nichols  (  now 
Mrs.  Bellamy  Storer).  Inspired  by  the  Japanese  display  at  the 
Centennial  Exposition  in  Philadelphia,  in  1876,  she  began  exper- 
imenting with  the  clays  of  the  Ohio  valley  and  eventually  devel- 
oped the  exquisite  pottery  which  is  found  in  every  art  museum 
and  large  private  collection  in  the  country,  and  whose  manufac- 
ture employs  a  number  of  skilled  artists. 


CHAPTER   LIX. 

OKLAHOMA.* 

Oklahoma  Territory  was  opened  to  settlement  April  22,  1889, 
and  its  first  woman's  organization  was  the  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union,  founded  in  Guthrie,  March  10,  1890,  by  Mrs. 
Margaret  O.  Rhodes,  under  the  direction  of  Miss  Frances  E.  Wil- 
lard.  In  the  following  April  a  convention  was  called  at  Oklahoma 
City,  delegates  coming  from  ten  societies,  and  Mrs.  Rhodes  was 
elected  president.  In  October,  1890,  the  first  annual  convention 
was  held  in  Guthrie,  the  capital,  Mrs.  Alice  Williams  of  Mis- 
souri being  the  principal  speaker.  The  first  Legislature  was  in 
session  and  she  also  addressed  this  body  making  a  strong  plea 
for  legislation  in  favor  of  temperance  and  wroman  suffrage. 
.  In  1895  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  organiza- 
tion committee  of  the  National  Suffrage  Association,  arranged 
for  a  lecturer  to  visit  all  the  principal  towns  on  the  Rock  Island 
and  Santa  Fe  Railroads,  and  Miss  Laura  A.  Gregg  of  Kansas 
was  selected  for  this  pioneer  work.  She  came  into  the  Terri- 
tory the  first  week  in  October  and  lectured  in  twelve  places,  form- 
ing clubs.  Her  campaign  closed  at  Guthrie  where  the  first  suf- 
frage convention  was  held,  November  u,  12,  and  an  association 
organized.  Miss  Margaret  Rees  was  elected  president,!  Mrs. 
J.  R.  Keaton,  secretary,  and  Mrs.  R.  W.  Southard,  delegate  to 
the  national  convention. 

Mrs.  Julia  B.  Nelson  of  Minnesota  was  sent  into  the  Territory 
by  the  National  Association  for  three  months  in  May,  1896.  She 
spoke  in  twenty-three  towns,  organizing  a  number  of  clubs,  and 
on  June  7,  8,  closed  her  work  with  a  mass  meeting  in  Guthrie. 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  material  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Margaret  Olive  Rhodes 
of  Guthrie,  president  of  the  Territorial  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 

t  Mrs.  Rachel  Rees  Griffith  and  her  two  daughters  are  known  as  the  Mothers  of  Equal 
Suffrage  in  Oklahoma.  Miss  Margaret  was  the  first  Territorial  president,  while  no  one 
has  done  more  in  the  local  club  of  Guthrie  than  Miss  Rachel.  Mrs.  Griffith  is  nearly 
eighty  years  of  age,  but  fully  expects  to  live  to  see  the  women  of  Oklahoma  enjoying  the 
full  franchise. 

886 


OKLAHOMA.  88/ 

The  third  convention  was  held  in  Perry,  Nov.  13,  14. 
1897,  Mrs.  Laura  M.  Johns  of  Kansas  being  present  as  the  chief 
speaker.  Mrs.  Celia  Z.  Titus  was  elected  president;  Margaret 
Rees,  corresponding  secretary;  Sarah  L.  Bosworth,  recording 
secretary ;  Eva  A.  Crosby,  treasurer. 

In  September,  1898,  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay,  organizer  for  the 
National  Suffrage  Association,  arranged  for  a  campaign,  prepar- 
atory to  asking  the  Legislature  to  grant  woman  suffrage,  as  in  a 
Territory  full  suffrage  can  be  given  by  legislative  enactment. 
In  October  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  came  on  and  meetings  were  held 
in  the  chief  towns,  where  committees  were  appointed  to  look 
after  petitions  and  other  necessary  work.  This  series  of  meet- 
ings closed  November  6,  7,  with  the  annual  convention  in  Okla- 
homa City.  Mrs.  Rhodes  was  elected  president,  Mrs.  Delia 
Jenkins,  vice-president,  Miss  Rees  continued  as  secretary,  Mrs. 
Minnie  D.  Storm  made  treasurer. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  :  In  the  first  Legislature,  in  1890,  specific 
work  was  begun  for  woman  suffrage.  When  the  law  regarding 
the  franchise  was  under  discussion  a  petition  was  presented  pray- 
ing that  it  should  read,  "Every  citizen  of  the  age  of  21  shall  have 
a  right  to  vote,"  instead  of  "every  male  citizen."  A  proposition 
for  this  was  lost  by  three  votes  in  the  House  and  was  not  consid- 
ered by  the  Council.  School  Suffrage  was  granted  to  women. 

In  1897  a  bill  asking  for  the  enfranchisement  of  women  was 
prepared  by  Miss  Margaret  Rees  and  introduced  in  the  House, 
where  it  was  carried  by  a-  vote  of  13  yeas,  9  nays,  but  was  killed 
in  the  Council.  Mrs.  Johns,  who  had  been  sent  by  the  National 
Association,  labored  most  earnestly  for  the  bill  and  won  hundreds 
of  friends  for  the  cause  by  her  wise  council  and  able  management. 

After  the  suffrage  convention  in  1898,  described  above,  Miss 
Hay  returned  to  New  York  and  Miss  Laura  A.  Gregg  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  National  Association  to  co-operate  with  the  Okla- 
homa women  in  securing  the  franchise  from  the  Legislature  of 
1899.  Their  efforts  and  the  results  were  thus  related  in  the 
report  to  the  National  Suffrage  Convention  at  Grand  Rapids, 
Mich.,  in  April,  by  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  who  had  remained  in 
Guthrie  most  of  the  winter  looking  after  the  interests  of  the  bill 
with  the  discretion  and  ability  for  which  she  is  distinguished: 


888  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Last  November  headquarters  were  opened  in  a  business  block  at 
Guthrie,  in  charge  of  Miss  Gregg,  from  which  an  active  corre- 
spondence was  conducted,  resulting  in  a  large  petition  and  a  constant 
accession  of  new  recruits.  There  was  a  most  thorough  system  of 
press  work,  nearly  every  newspaper  in  the  Territory  aiding  the 
movement.  The  strongest  and  best  men  espoused  our  cause  and  the 
outlook  seemed  propitious.  The  Legislature  convened  the  first 
week  in  January,  but  an  unfortunate  quarrel  arose  between  it  and 
the  Governor  which  hindered  legislation  and  compelled  our  cam- 
paign to  drag  throughout  the  entire  sixty  days'  session.  Miss 
Gregg  continued  her  work  at  headquarters  during  the  winter,  and 
Miss  Hay  spent  a  month  in  Guthrie  looking  after  the  interests  of  our 
bill.  It  finally  passed  the  house,  14  yeas,  10  nays,  the  week  before 
the  session  was  to  close,  and  immediately  the  opposition  concen- 
trated its  efforts  on  the  Council.  However,  a  majority  were  pledged 
to  support  our  measure,  and  we  felt  little  fear. 

As  soon  as  the  news  spread  that  the  bill  was  through  the  House,  a 
telegram  was  received  by  each  member  of  the  Council  from  the 
Albany  (N.  Y.)  women  remonstrants.  These  were  not  all  phrased 
alike,  but  each  asked  the  recipient :  "What  can  be  done  to  defeat 
the  woman  suffrage  bill  ?  Answer  at  our  expense."  At  nearly  the 
same  moment,  the  chief  agent  of  the  Saloonkeepers'  League,  an 
association  recently  organized,  as  they  claimed,  "to  protect  our  in- 
terests from  unjust  legislation,"  appeared  upon  the  scene.  Only  a 
week  remained  of  the  legislative  session.  Whether  this  agent  of 
the  Oklahoma  saloons  came  at  the  invitation  of  the  Albany  remon- 
strants, or  the  Albany  remonstrants  sent  their  telegrams  offering 
assistance  at  the  instigation  of  the  Saloonkeepers'  League,  or 
whether  their  simultaneous  appearance  was  by  chance,  I  am  unable 
to  say.  That  they  appeared  together  seems  significant.  If  they 
work  as  distinct  forces,  a  study  in  the  vagaries  of  the  human  reason 
is  presented  in  the  motives  offered  to  the  public  by  these  two  organ- 
izations. The  Albany  remonstrants  would  protect  the  sweet  wom- 
anly dignity  of  Oklahoma  women  from  the  debasing  influence  of 
politics.  The  Saloonkeepers'  League  would  save  the  debasing  in- 
fluence of  politics  from  the  sweet  womanly  dignity  of  Oklahoma 
women.  So  these  Albany  women,  who  never  fail  to  inform  the 
public  of  their  devotion  to  the  church,  join  hands  with  the  Okla- 
homa saloonkeepers,  who  never  fail  to  declare  that  the  church  is  a 
fanatical  obstacle  to  personal  liberty.  A  queer  union  it  is,  but  some 
day  the  world  will  discover  the  mystery  which  has  consummated  it ! 

It  sg  happened  that  in  this  Legislature  there  was  a  member  who 
for  thirty  years,  in  a  neighboring  State,  had  been  an  avowed  friend 
of  suffrage.  This  was  known  to  all  Oklahoma,  and  even  the  ene- 
mies expected  him  to  lead  our  forces  in  the  Council.  This  man  not 
only  betrayed  us,  but  headed  the  opposition  in  a  filibustering  effort 
to  keep  the  bill  from  coming  to  a  final  vote  and  succeeded.  Xn\v. 
why  did  he  fail  us?  Did  he  renounce  the  faith  of  a  lifetime?  No. 
Did  the  suffragists  offend  him  ?  No ;  but  even  if  they  had  done  so 
a  man  of  character  does  not  change  his  views  in  a  moment  for  a  per- 


OKLAHOMA. 

sonal  whim.  Why,  then,  this  change?  Any  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature, for  or  against  suffrage,  if  he  would  speak  as  frankly  to  others 
as  he  did  to  us,  would  tell  you  it  was  for  money.  Rumor  was  plenti- 
ful stating  the  amount  and  the  donor.  The  saloons  all  over 
Oklahoma,  with  a  remarkable  unanimity  of  knowledge,  boasted 
beforehand  that  the  bill  was  killed  and  that  this  man  was  the  instru- 
ment which  they  had  used,  and  while  they  were  boasting  he  was 
conferring  with  us  and  promising  us  his  faithful  support,  hoping 
to  conduct  the  filibustering  so  adroitly  that  we  could  not  detect  his 

hand  in  it 

To  come  to  the  main  point,  we  had  won  the  victory  but  a  crime 
robbed  us  of  it.  Suffragists  know  how  to  bear  defeats  with  forti- 
tude, for  each  one  is  only  a  milestone  showing  the  progress  made  on 
a  journey,  but  a  defeat  by  the  defection  of  a  friend  is  a  new  thing  in 
the  history  of  our  movement. 

Dr.  Delos  Walker  of  Oklahoma  City  was  one  of  those  who  as- 
sisted in  every  way  possible  to  give  the  ballot  to  the  women  of  the 
Territory.  Dr.  C.  F.  McElwrath  of  Enid  championed  the  bill 
in  the  House  and  secured  its  passage  over  the  head  of  every  op- 
ponent. The  efforts  of  the  women  were  supplemented  also  by 
those  of  Senator  I.  A.  Gandey  and  Representative  William  H. 
Merten,  both  of  Guthrie,  and  T.  F.  Hensley  of  El  Reno,  editor 
of  the  Democrat. 

LAWS  :  Dower  and  curtesy  do  not  obtain.  If  either  husband 
or  wife  die  without  a  will,  leaving  only  one  child  or  the  lawful 
issue  of  one  child,  the  survivor  receives  one-half  of  both  real  and 
personal  property.  If  there  is  more  than  one  child  or  one  child 
and  descendants  of  one  or  more  deceased  children,  the  widow  or 
widower  receives  one-third  of  the  estate.  If  there  is  no  issue 
living  the  survivor  receives  one-half;  and  if  there  is  neither  is- 
sue, father,  mother,  brother  nor  sister,  the  survivor  takes  the 
whole  estate.  A  homestead  may  be  occupied,  by  the  widow  or 
widower  until  otherwise  disposed  of  according  to  law. 

Husband  or  wife  may  mortgage  or  convey  separate  property 
without  the  consent  of  the  other. 

A  married  woman  may  sue  and  be  sued  and  make  contracts 
in  her  own  name.  She  may  carry  on  business  as  a  sole  trader 
and  her  earnings  and  wages  are  her  sole  and  separate  property. 

The  usual  causes  for  divorce  exist  but  only  a  90  days'  residence 
is  required.  A  wife  may  sue  for  alimony  without  divorce.  In 
cases  where  both  parties  are  equally  at  fault  the  court  may  re- 


890  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

fuse  divorce  but  provide  for  the  custody  and  maintenance  of 
children  and  equitable  division  of  property. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  children.  At  his  death 
the  mother  becomes  the  guardian,  if  a  suitable  person,  but  if  she 
remarries  the  guardianship  passes  to  the  second  husband. 

The  husband  is  expected  to  furnish  a  suitable  support  for  the 
family,  but  no  punishment  is  prescribed  for  a  failure  to  do  this. 

No  law  existed  for  the  protection  of  girls  until  1890  when  the 
age  was  made  14  years.  In  1895  it  was  raised  to  16  years.  The 
penalty  is  first  degree  (under  14),  imprisonment  not  less  than  ten 
years;  second  degree  (under  16),  not  less  than  five  years.  In 
both  cases  the  girl  must  have  been  "of  previous  chaste  character.' 

SUFFRAGE:  The  first  Territorial  Legislature  (1890)  granted 
School  Suffrage  to  the  extent  of  a  vote  for  trustees. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  Women  may  hold  all  school  offices. 
Eleven  of  the  twenty-three  counties  have  women  superintend- 
ents. They  are  not  eligible  to  State  offices  but  are  not  prohibited 
by  law  from  any  county  offices.  One  woman  is  registrar  of 
deeds  and  one  is  deputy  U.  S.  marshal.  There  are  at  the  present 
time  about  one  hundred  women  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS:  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  for- 
bidden to  women.  Ten  hours  is  made  a  legal  working  day. 

EDUCATION  :  All  educational  institutions  are  open  alike  to 
both  sexes.  In  the  public  schools  there  are  914  men  and  1,268 
women  teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is 
93 ;  °f  the  women,  $26.20. 


Thirty  Federated  Clubs  in  Oklahoma,  with  over  700  members, 
are  taking  up  successfully  a  great  variety,  of  public  work. 
Guthrie  contains  eight  of  these,  with  a  membership  of  more  than 
one  hundred,  and  the  library  committee  has  succeeded  in  starting 
a  library,  which  has  now  seven  hundred  volumes. 


CHAPTER  LX. 

OREGON.* 

After  the  defeat  of  the  woman  suffrage  amendment  in  1884 
no  organized  effort  was  made  for  ten  years,  although  quiet  educa- 
tional work  was  done.  On  the  Fourth  of  July,  1894,  a  meeting 
was  called  at  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Abigail  Scott  Duniway  in 
Portland  and  a  committee  formed  which  met  every  week  for  sev- 
eral months  thereafter.  Woman's  Day  was  celebrated  at  the  con- 
vention of  the  State  Horticultural  Association,  in  September,  by 
invitation  of  its  president,  William  Salloway.  Addresses  were 
made  by  N.  W.  Kinney  and  Mrs.  Duniway,  and  Governor  Lord 
and  his  wife  were  on  the  platform.  On  October  27  a  mass  meet- 
ing was  held  at  Marquam  Grand  Theater,  at  which  a  State  or- 
ganization was  effected  and  a  constitution  adopted  which  had 
been  prepared  by  the  committee,  f 

In  January,  1895,  the  association  secured  from  the  Legislature 
a  bill  for  the  submission  of  a  woman  suffrage  amendment,  which 
it  would  be  necessary  for  a  second  Legislature  to  pass  upon. 
The  annual  meeting  of  the  State  Association  was  held  at  Portland 
in  November  as  quietly  as  possible,  it  being  the  aim  to  avoid 
arousing  the  two  extremes  of  society,  consisting  of  the  slum 
classes  on  the  one  hand  and  the  ultra-conservative  on  the  other, 
who  instinctively  pull  together  against  all  progress.  Officers 
were  elected  as  usual  and  the  work  went  on  in  persistent  quietude. 

The  convention  of  1896  met  in  Portland,  November  i6.J    Mrs. 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  the  material  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Abigail  Scott  Duni- 
way of  Portland,  honorary  president  of  the  State  Equal  Suffrage  Association  and  always 
at  the  head  of  the  movement  in  Oregon. 

t  Dr.  Frances  A.  Cady,  Lydia  Hunt  King,  Eugenie  M.  Shearer,  Charlotte  De  Hillier 
Barmore,  Mary  Schaffer  Ward,  Gertrude  J.  Denny,  Alice  J.  McArty,  Ada  Cornish 
Hertsche,  Maria  C.  DeLashmutt,  Cora  Parsons  Duniway,  Frances  Moreland  Harvey  and 
Abigail  Scott  Duniway. 

t  Department  superintendents  chosen:  Evangelical  work,  Mrs.  Charlotte  De  Hillier 
Barmore;  press,  Mrs.  Eugenie  M.  Shearer;  round  table,  Mrs.  Julia  H.  Bauer;  music,  Mrs. 
H.  R.  Duniway,  Mrs.  A.  E.  Hackett;  Cooper  Medal  contests,  H.  D.  Harford  and  Mrs.  S. 

891 


892  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Duniway,  the  honorary  president,  was  made  acting  president, 
that  officer  having  left  the  State ;  Mrs.  H.  A.  Laughary,  honorary 
president;  Dr.  Annice  F.  Jeffreys,  vice-president-at-large ;  Ada 
Cornish  Hertsche,  vice-president;  Frances  E.  Gotshall,  corre- 
sponding secretary;  Mary  Schaffer  Ward,  recording  secretary; 
Mrs.  A.  E.  Hackett,  assistant  secretary;  Jennie  C.  Pritchard, 
treasurer.  These  State  officers  were  re-elected  without  change 
until  November,  1898,  when  Mrs.  W.  H.  Games  was  chosen  re- 
cording secretary  and  Mrs.  H.  W.  Coe,  treasurer.  In  1899,  and 
again  in  190x3,  Mrs.  Eunice  Pond  Athey,  formerly  of  Idaho,  be- 
came assistant  secretary. 

The  year  1896  was  a  period  of  continuous  effort  on  the  part  of 
the  State  officers  to  disseminate  suffrage  sentiment  in  more  or 
less  indirect  ways,  so  that  other  organizations  of  whatever  name 
or  nature  might  look  upon  the  proposed  amendment  with  favor. 
Early  in  this  year  the  executive  committee  decided  to  organize  a 
Woman's  Congress  and  secure  the  affiliation  of  all  branches  of 
women's  patriotic,  philanthropic  and  literary  work,  to  be  man- 
aged by  the  suffrage  association.  It  was  resolved  also  f»  obtain 
if  possible  the  attendance  of  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  president  of 
the  National  Association,  who  was  at  that  time  in  the  midst  of. 
the  amendment  campaign  in  California. 

Never  has  there  been  a  more  successful  public  function  in  Or 
gon  than  this  Congress  of  Women,  which  was  held  the  first  week 
in  June,  1896,  with  Miss  Anthony  as  its  bright  particular  star. 
The  love  of  the  people  for  the  great  leader  was  universally  ex- 
pressed, socially  as  well  as  publicly.  The  speakers  represented 
all  lines  of  woman's  work — education,  art,  science,  medicine,  san- 
itation, literature,  the  duties  of  motherhood,  philanthropy,  re- 
form— but  sectarian  and  political  questions  were  excluded.  It 
was  most  interesting  to  note  the  clever  manner  in  which  aim 
all  the  speakers  sandwiched  their  speeches  and  papers  with  suf- 
frage sentiments,  and  also  the  hearty  applause  which  followed 
every  allusion  to  the  proposed  amendment  from  the  audiences 
that  packed  the  spacious  Taylor  Street  Church  to  overflowing. 

M.   Kern;   health  and  heredity,  Dr.   Mary  A.    Leonard;  legislation  and  petitions,  Dr 
nice    F.    Jeffreys,    Mrs.    Duniway.     Fifteen   counties    were    represented   by    Dr.    Annie    C 
Reed  and  Mesdames  F.  M.  Alfred,  R.  A.  Bensell,  F.  O.  McCown,  A.  A.  Cleveland,  1     M 
Lockhart,  J.  H.  Upton,  J.  L.   Curry,  A.   R.   Burbank,  M.   E.   Thompson,  J.   \V.    Yirt 
S.  Patterson,  A.  C.  Hertsche  and  J.  J.  Murphy. 


OREGON.  893 

Mrs.  Sarah  B.  Cooper,  the  noted  San  Francisco  philanthropist, 
was  a  special  attraction  and  made  many  converts  to  woman 
suffrage  by  her  beautiful  presence  and  eloquent  words. 

For  ten  consecutive  days  in  July  commodious  headquarters 
were  mantained  at  the  Willamette  Valley  Chautauqua,  under  the 
supervision  of  the  State  recording  secretary,  Mrs.  Ward.  The 
Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  Day  was  the  most  successful  one  of 
the  assembly.  Miss  Shaw  spoke  as  if  inspired,  and  afterward 
a  large  reception  was  held  in  her  honor. 

Thirty-six  regular  meetings  and  four  mass  meetings  were  held 
by  the  suffrage  association  during  the  year. 

The  Woman's  Club  movement  had  by  this  time  assumed  im- 
portant proportions  among  society  women,  under  the  tactful 
management  of  that  staunch  advocate  of  equal  rights,  Mrs.  A. 
H.  H.  Stuart;  and  the  suffragists  joined  heartily  in  the  new  or- 
ganization, which,  in  spite  of  its  non-political  character,  strength- 
ened the  current  of  public  opinion  in  behalf  of  the  proposed 
amendment. 

The  Oregon  Emergency  Corps  and  Red  Cross  Society  became 
another  tacitly  acknowledged  auxiliary.  The  Oregon  Pioneer 
Association  approved  the  amendment  by  unanimous  resolution, 
and  the  State  Grange,  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  the 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  the  Good  Templars,  the 
Knights  of  Labor,  the  Printers'  Union,  the  Brotherhood  of  Lo- 
comotive Engineers  and  other  organizations  were  recognized 
allies. 

In  1898  the  second  Woman's  Congress  took  place  at  Portland 
in  April  under  the  auspices  of  the  executive  committee  of  the 
State  E.  S.  A.,  forty  affiliated  societies  of  women  participating. 

The  suffrage  business  for  this  year  was  all  transacted  in  execu- 
tive sessions,  and  no  convention  held. 

Woman's  Day  at  the  Willamette  Valley  Chautauqua  in  July, 
when  forty  different  organizations  of  men  and  women  were  rep- 
resented, was  a  great  success.  Suffrage  addresses  were  given  by 
Mrs.  Alice  Moore  McComas  of  California,  Dr.  Frances  Woods  of 
Iowa,  and  Mrs.  Games.  Col.  R.  A.  Miller,  the  president,  him- 
self an  ardent  suffragist,  extended  an  invitation  for  the  following 
year. 


894  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

In  1899  Mrs.  Duniway  was  invited  by  the  Legislature  to  take 
part  in  the  joint  proceedings  of  the  two  Houses  in  honor  of  forty 
years  of  Statehood. 

This  year,  in  preparation  for  the  election  at  which  the  woman 
suffrage  amendment  submitted  by  the  Legislature  of  1899  was  to 
be  voted  on,  106  parlor  meetings  were  held,  30,000  pieces  of  lit- 
erature distributed,  and  the  names  and  addresses  of  30,000  voters 
in  fourteen  counties  collected.  Mrs.  Duniway  spoke  by  special 
invitation  to  a  number  of  the  various  orders  and  fraternities  of 
men  throughout  the  State,  most  of  whom  indorsed  the  amend- 
ment. The  usual  headquarters  were  maintained  during  the  Fair, 
under  the  management  of  Dr.  Jeffreys. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  :  The  Legislature,  having  changed  its 
time  of  meeting  from  September  in  the  even  years  to  January  in 
the  odd  ones,  convened  in  1895.  Through  the  efforts  of  its  lead- 
ing members,  a  bill  passed  both  Houses  in  February  to  submit 
again  a  woman  suffrage  amendment  to  the  voters.  The  resolu- 
tion proposing  it  was  carried  without  debate  in  the  House  by  41 
ayes — including  that  of  Speaker  Moore — 1 1  noes.  In  the  Senate 
the  vote  was  17  ayes,  n  noes.  As  Mrs.  Abigail  Scott  Duniway 
was  lecturing  in  Idaho,  the  State  suffrage  association  was  rep- 
resented at  this  Legislature  by  its  vice-president-at-large,  Dr. 
Annice  F.  Jeffreys. 

The  meeting  of  the  Legislature  of  1897  found  the  women 
ready  and  waiting  for  the  necessary  ratification  of  the  amend- 
ment ;  but  the  Solons  of  the  non-emotional  sex  fell  to  quarreling 
among  themselves  over  the  United  States  senatorial  plum  and, 
being  unable  to  agree  on  a  choice  of  candidates,  refused  to  or- 
ganize for  any  kind  of  business,  so  another  biennial  period  of 
public  inactivity  was  enforced  upon  the  suffragists. 

The  Legislature  convened  in  January,  1899,  and  with  it  came 
the  long-delayed  opportunity.  Mrs.  Duniway  and  Dr.  Jeffreys 
had  charge  of  the  Suffrage  Amendment  Bill.  They  were  recog- 
nized by  prominent  members,  and  admitted  by  vote  to  the  privi- 
leges of  the  floor  in  each  House.  Senator  C.  W.  Fulton,  who 
had  distinguished  himself  as  the  champion  of  the  amendment  in 
1880  and  1882,  was  requested  by  them  to  carry  their  banner  to 
victory  once  more.  He  assured  them  that  personally  he  was 


OREGON.  895 

willing,  but  said  so  many  bills  on  all  sorts  of  side  issues  had  been 
insisted  upon  by  women  that  the  members  were  not  in  a  mood  to 
listen  to  any  more  propositions  from  persons  who  had  no  votes. 

The  ladies  did  not  press  the  matter,  but  for  days  they  furnished 
short,  pithy  letters  to  the  papers  of  the  capital  city,  answering 
fully  all  of  the  usual  objections  to  woman  suffrage.  They  also 
sent  an  open  letter  to  each  member  of  the  Legislature,  explaining 
that  this  plea  for  equal  rights  was  based  wholly  upon  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  self-government,  and  not  made  in  the  interest 
of  any  one  reform.  In  this  were  enclosed  to  every  Republican 
member  Clarkson  on  Suffrage  in  Colorado  and  Clara  Barton's 
Appeal  to  Voters ;  to  every  Democrat  her  Appeal  and  some  other 
document,  taking  care  to  keep  off  of  partisan  toes.  At  length 
Senators  Fulton  and  Brownell,  leaders  in  the  Upper  House,  con- 
sidered the  time  ripe  for  calling  up  the  amendment,  which  was  at 
once  sent  in  regular  order  of  business  to  the  Lower  House,  where 
it  was  referred  to  the  Judiciary  Committee  and — buried. 

Finally  Senator  Fulton  secured  a  request  from  the  Senate 
that  the  bill  be  returned  for  further  consideration,  and  a  hearing 
was  made  a  special  order  of  business.  The  room  was  filled  with 
ladies  and  Mrs.  Duniway  was  asked  to  present  the  claims  of  the 
women  of  the  State,  over  half  of  whom,  through  their  various 
societies,  had  asked  for  the  submission  of  the  amendment.  On 
the  roll-call  which  followed  the  vote  stood  25  ayes,  one  no. 

The  measure  was  made  a  special  order  of  business  in  the  House 
the  same  evening.  The  hall  was  crowded  with  spectators,  Mrs. 
Duniway  spoke  ten  minutes  from  the  Speaker's  desk,  and  the 
roll-call  resulted  in  48  ayes,  .6  noes. 

A  feature  of  the  proceedings  was  the  presentation  by  one  of  the 
members,  in  a  long  speech,  of  a  large  collection  of  documents  sent 
by  the  Anti-Suffrage  Association  of  Women  in  New  York  and 
Massachusetts.  The  preceding  autumn  they  had  sent  a  salaried 
agent,  Miss  Emily  P.  Bissell  of  Delaware,  to  canvass  the  State 
against  the  bill. 

The  succeeding  campaign  was  very  largely  in  the  nature  of  a 
"still  hunt."  Mrs.  Ida  Crouch  Hazlett,  of  Colorado,  held  meet- 
ings for  two  months  in  counties  away  from  the  railroads  and  did 
effective  work  among  the  voters  of  the  border.  Miss  Lena  Mor- 


896  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

row,  of  Illinois,  also  did  good  service  for  some  time  preceding 
election,  in  visiting  the  various  fraternal  associations  of  men  in 
the  city  of  Portland,  by  whom  she  was  generally  accorded  a 
gracious  hearing.  These  ladies  represented  the  National  Asso- 
ciation.* 

All  went  well  until  about  two  weeks  before  election  day,  June 
6,  1900,  and  the  measure  in  all  probability  would  have  carried  had 
it  not  been  for  the  slum  vote  of  Portland  and  Astoria,  which  was 
stirred  up  and  called  out  by  the  Oregonian,  edited  by  H.  W. 
Scott,  the  most  influential  newspaper  in  the  State.  It  was  the 
only  paper,  out  of  229,  which  opposed  the  amendment.  But  not- 
withstanding its  terrible  onslaught,  over  48  per  cent,  of  all  the 
votes  which  were  cast  upon  the  amendment  were  in  its  favor. 
Twenty-one  out  of  the  thirty-three  counties  gave  handsome 
majorities ;  one  county  was  lost  by  one  vote,  one  by  23  and  one 
by  31. 

The  vote  on  the  amendment  in  1884  was  11,223  aves;  28,176 
noes.  In  1900  it  stood  26,265  ayes;  28,402  noes.  Although  the 
population  had  more  than  doubled  in  the  cities,  where  the  slum 
vote  is  naturally  the  heaviest  and  is  always  against  woman  suf- 
frage, the  total  increase  of  the  "noes"  of  the  State  was  only  226, 
while  in  the  same  time  the  "ayes"  had  been  augmented  by  15,042. 

LAWS  :  If  either  husband  or  wife  die  without  a  will  and  there 
are  no  descendants  living,  all  the  real  estate  and  personal  property 
go  to  the  survivor.  If  there  is  issue  living,  the  widow  re- 
ceives one-half  of  the  husband's  real  estate  and  one-half  of  his 
personal  property.  The  widower  takes  a  life  interest  in  all  the 
wife's  real  estate,  whether  there  are  children  or  not,  and  all  of  her 
personal  property  absolutely  if  there  are  no  living  descendants, 
half  of  it  if  there  are  any. 

All  laws  have  been  repealed  that  recognize  civil  disabilites  of 
the  wife  which  are  not  recognized  as  existing  against  the  hus- 
band, except  as  to  voting  and  holding  office. 

*  The  chairmen  of  the  county  committees  were  Miss  Belle  Trullinger,  now  the  wife  of 
Gov.  T.  T.  Geer,  and  Mesdames  R.  A.  Bensell,  J.  A.  Blackaby,  Thomas  Cornelius,  S.  T. 
Child,  C.  H.  Dye,  W.  R.  Ellis,  J.  B.  Eaton,  P.  L.  Fountain,  J.  B.  Huntington,  Almira 
Hurley,  T.  B.  Handley,  Ellen  Kuney,  H.  A.  Laughary,  Stephen  A.  Lowell,  A.  E.  Lock- 
hart,  M.  Moore,  James  Muckle,  J.  J.  Murphy,  Jennie  McCully,  Celia  B.  Olmstead,  R. 
Pattison,  A.  S.  Patterson,  N.  Rulison,  Anna  B.  Reed,  E.  L.  Smith,  Thomas  Stewart,  C. 
U.  Snyder,  C.  R.  Templeton,  M.  E.  Thompson,  J.  H.  Upton,  J.  W.  Virtue,  Clara  Zim- 
merman. 


OREGON.  897 

By  registering  as  a  sole  trader  a  married  woman  can  carry  on 
business  in  her  own  name. 

In  1880  the  Legislature  enacted  that  "henceforth  the  rights  and 
responsibilities  of  the  parents,  in  the  absence  of  misconduct,  shall 
be  equal,  and  the  mother  shall  be  as  fully  entitled  to  the  custody 
and  control  of  the  children  and  their  earnings  as  the  father,  and 
in  case  of  the  father's  death  the  mother  shall  come  into  as  full  and 
complete  control  of  the  children  and  their  estate  as  the  father  does 
in  case  of  the  mother's  death." 

If  the  husband  does  not  support  the  family,  the  wife  may  apply 
to  the  Circuit  Court  and  the  Judge  may  issue  such  decree  as  he 
thinks  equitable,  generally  conforming  to  that  in  divorce  cases, 
and  may  have  power  to  enforce  its  orders  as  in  other  equity  cases. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10  to  14  in 
1864  and  from  14  to  16  years  in  1895.  The  penalty  is  imprison- 
ment not  less  than  three  nor  more  than  twenty  years.  The  fact 
that  the  victim  was  a  common  prostitute  or  the  defendant's  mis- 
tress is  no  excuse. 

SUFFRAGE:  In  1878  an  Act  was  passed  entitling  women  to 
vote  for  school  trustees  and  for  bonds  and  appropriations  for 
school  purposes,  if  they  have  property  of  their  own  in  the  school 
district -upon  which  they  or  their  husbands  pay  taxes. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  Women  are  not  eligible  to  any  elective 
office,  except  that  of  school  trustee. 

An  old  law  permitted  women  to  fill  the  offices  of  State  and 
county  superintendents  of  schools,  but  it  was  contested  in  1896 
by  a  defeated  male  candidate  and  declared  unconstitutional  by  the 
Supreme  Court. 

Women  can  not  sit  on  any  State  boards. 

They  are  employed  as  court  stenographers,  and  in  various 
subordinate  appointive  offices.  They  may  serve  as  notaries. 

OCCUPATIONS:  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  for- 
bidden to  women. 

EDUCATION:  All  the  large  educational  institutions  are  open 
to  women.  In  the  public  schools  there  are  1,250  men  and  2,443 
women  teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $43 ; 
of  the  women,  $34.81. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 57 


CHAPTER  LXI. 

PENNSYLVANIA.* 

The  thought  of  woman  suffrage  in  Pennsylvania  always  brings 
with  it  the  recollection  of  Lucretia  Mott  of  Philadelphia,  one  of 
the  four  women  who  called  the  first  Woman's  Rights  Convention, 
at  Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y.,  July  19,  20,  1848,  and  among  the  ablest 
advocates  of  the  measure,  f 

The  Pennsylvania  Woman  Suffrage  Association  was  organ- 
ized Dec.  22,  1869,  with  Mary  Grew  as  president.!  There 
have  been  annual  meetings  in  or  near  Philadelphia  regularly  since 
that  time,  and  large  quantities  of  suffrage  literature  have  been 
distributed.**  In  1892  Miss  Grew  resigned,  aged  80,  and  was 
succeeded  in  the  presidency  by  Mrs.  Lucretia  L.  Blankenburg, 
who  still  holds  this  office. 

The  convention  of  1900  took  place  in  Philadelphia,  November 
i,  2,  and  the  other  officers  elected  were  vice-president,  Mrs.  Ellen 
H.  E.  Price;  corresponding  secretary,  Mrs.  Mary  B.  Luckie; 
recording  secretary,  Mrs.  Anna  R.  Boyd;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Marl 
garet  B.  Stone;  auditors,  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Kenderdine  and  Mrs. 
Selina  D.  Holton.  Miss  Ida  Porter  Boyer,  superintendent  of 
press  work,  reported  that  326  newspapers  in  the  State,  exclusive 
of  those  in  Philadelphia  which  were  supplied  by  a  local  chairman, 
were  using  regularly  the  suffrage  matter  sent  out  by  her  bureau, 
and  that  the  past  year  this  consisted  of  17,150  different  articles. 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Lucretia  Longshore  Blankenburg  of 
Philadelphia,  who  has  been  president  of  the  State  Suffrage  Association  since  1892. 

t  See  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  I,  p.  67. 

J  Officers  in  1884:  President,  Mary  Grew;  vice-presidents,  John  K.  Wildman,  Ellen 
M.  Child,  Passmore  Williamson;  corresponding  secretary,  Florence  A.  Burleigh;  recording 
secretary,  Anna  'Shoemaker;  treasurer,  Annie  Heacock;  executive  committee,  Mary  S 
Hillborn,  Martha  B.  Earle,  Sarah  H.  Peirce,  Gertrude  K.  Peirce,  Joshua  Peirce,  Leslie 
Miller,  Maria  P.  Miller,  Harriet  Purvis,  Caroline  L.  Broomall,  Deborah  Pennock,  J.  E 
Case,  Matilda  Hindman,  Dr.  Hiram  Corson. 

**  These  meetings  have  been  held  in  Chester,  West  Chester,  Lancaster,  Reading,  Lewis- 
town,  Oxford,  Kennett  Square,  Norristown,  Scranton,  Pittsburg,  Harrisburg,  Philadel- 
phia, Chester  and  Columbia. 


PENNSYLVANIA.  899 

A  number  of  able  speakers  have  addressed  the  Legislature  or 
canvassed  the  State  from  time  to  time,  including  Miss  Susan  B. 
Anthony  and  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  president  and  vice- 
president  of  the  National  Association;  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman 
Catt,  chairman  of  the  national  organization  committee ;  Henry  B. 
Blackwell,  editor  of  the  Woman's  Journal;  Mrs.  Charlotte  Per- 
kins Stetson  of  New  York,  Mrs.  Mary  C.  C.  Bradford  of  Colo- 
rado, Miss  Elizabeth  Upham  Yates  of  Maine,  and  Miss  Laura  A. 
Gregg  of  Kansas;  Judge  William  N.  Ashman,  Miss  Matilda 
Hindman,  Miss  Boyer,  Mrs.  Blankenburg  and  Miss  Jane  Camp- 
bell, president  of  the  Philadelphia  society.* 

The  latter  is  the  largest  and  most  influential  suffrage  society  in 
the  State.  Previously  to  1892  the  Philadelphians  who  were  identi- 
fied with  the  movement  belonged  to  the  Pennsylvania  association. 
In  the  fall  of  this  year  it  was  decided  to  make  it  a  delegate  body, 
and  as  that  meant  barring  out  individual  memberships,  the  Phila- 
delphia members  formed  a  county  organization.  Miss  Grew  was 
invited  to  lead  the  new  society,  but  feeling  unable  to  perform 
the  necessary  duties  she  accepted  only  the  honorary  presidency.  It 
was,  however,  largely  owing  to  her  counsel  and  influence  that  so 
successful  a  beginning  was  made.  After  her  death  in  1896  the  of- 
fice of  honorary  president  was  abolished. 

The  first  president  of  this  society  was  Miss  Campbell,  who  has 
been  annually  re-elected.  The  club  has  quadrupled  its  member- 
ship in  the  eight  years  of  its  existence,  counting  only  those  who 
pay  their  yearly  dues,  and  has  now  400  members.  It  has  worked 
in  many  directions ;  distributed  large  quantities  of  literature ;  has 
sent  speakers  to  organizations  of  women ;  fostered  debates  among 
the  young  people  of  various  churches  and  Young  Men's  Literary 
Societies  by  offering  prizes  to  those  successful  on  the  side  of 
woman  suffrage;  held  public  meetings  in  different  parts  of  the 
city,  which  includes  the  whole  county ;  assisted  largely  in  the  na- 
tional press  work,  and  always  lent  a  generous  hand  to  the  enter- 
prises of  the  National  Association,  f 

*  For  an  account  of  the  Citizens'  Suffrage  Association,  Edward  M.  Davis,  president, 
see  Vol.  Ill,  p.  461. 

t  At  the  annual  meeting  of  October,  1900,  the  following  were  elected:  President,  Miss 
Jane  Campbell;  vice-presidents,  Miss  Eliza  Heacock  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Dornan;  corre- 
sponding secretary,  Miss  Katherine  J.  Campbell;  recording  secretary,  Mrs.  Olive  Pond 
Amies;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Kenderdine.  Sixteen  delegates  were  elected  to  represent 
the  society  at  the  State  convention. 


9OO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


In  1895  this  society  prepared  a  list  of  all  the  real  and  personal 
property  owned  by  women  within  the  city  limits,  which  amounted 
to  $i53>757>566  real  and  $35734,133  personal.  These  figures 
comprise  20  per  cent,  of  the  total  city  tax,  and  all  of  it  is  without 
representation. 

With  the  hope  of  arousing  suffrage  sentiment,  classes  were 
formed  under  the  auspices  of  the  State  association  to  study  polit- 
ical science  ;  Mrs.  Susan  S.  Fessenden  of  Massachusetts  was  em- 
ployed to  organize  clubs  in  the  State;  requests  \vere  sent  to  all 
the  clergymen  of  Philadelphia  to  preach  a  sermon  or  give  an  ad- 
dress on  Woman  Suffrage;  and  prizes  of  $5,  $10  and  $15  were 
offered  for  the  three  best  essays  on  Political  Equality  for  Women, 
fifty-six  being  received. 

A  Yellow  Ribbon  Bazar  was  held  in  Philadelphia  in  1895,  the 
net  proceeds  amounting  to  over  $1,000.  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay, 
Miss  Yates  and  Miss  Gregg  were  then  employed  as  organizers, 
and  were  very  successful  in  forming  clubs.  There  are  now  six- 
teen active  county  societies.* 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  In  1885  Miss  Matilda 
Hindman  was  sent  to  Harrisburg  to  urge  the  Legislature  to  sub- 
mit an  amendment  to  the  voters  striking  out  the  word  "male" 
from  the  suffrage  clause  of  the  State  constitution.  As  a  pr 
liminary,  249  letters  were  sent  to  members  asking  their  views 
the  subject  ;  89  replies  were  received,  53  non-committal,  20  favor- 
able, 1  6  unfavorable.  Miss  Hindman  and  eleven  other  women 
appeared  before  a  Joint  Committe  of  Senate  and  House  to  present 
arguments  in  favor  of  submitting  the  amendment.  A  bill  for 
this  purpose  passed  the  House,  but  was  lost  in  the  Senate  by  a 
vote  of  13  ayes,  19  noes.  This  was  the  first  concerted  action  of 
the  Pennsylvania  suffragists  to  influence  legislation  for  women. 
A  legacy  of  $1,390  from  Mrs.  Mary  H.  Nevvbold  aided  their  ef- 
forts to  secure  the  bill. 

Political  conditions  have  been  such  that  it  has  been  considered 

*  Among  the  men  and  women  who  have  been  especially  helpful  to  the  cause  of  woman 
suffrage  since  1884,  besides  those  already  mentioned,  are  Robert  Purvis,  John  M.  Broom 
all,  Edward  M.  Davis;  Drs.  Hannah  E.  Longshore,  Jane  V.  Myers,  Jane  K.  Carver;  Mes- 
dames  Rachel  Foster  Avery,  Emma  J.  Bartol,  Eliza  Sproat  Turner,  Elizabeth  B.  Pass- 
more,  J.  L.  Koethen,  Jr.,  Helen  Mosher  James,  Charlotte  L.  Peirce,  Ellen  C.  H.  OR(ien, 
Mary  E.  Mumford,  Elizabeth  Smith,  J.  M.  Harsh,  J.  W.  Scheel,  H.  C.  Perkins.  Hanna 
M.  Harlan;  Misses  Julia  T.  Foster,  M.  Adeline  Thomson,  Susan  G.  Appleton,  Julia  A 
Myers,  L.  M.  Mather,  Lucy  E.  Anthony. 


PENNSYLVANIA.  90! 

useless  to  try  to  obtain  any  legislative  action  on  woman  suf- 
frage, and  no  further  attempts  have  been  made.  To  influence 
public  sentiment,  however,  mass  meetings  addressed  by  the  best 
speakers  were  held  in  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
during  the  sessions  of  1893,  '95,  '97  and  '99. 

In  1897  and  1899  the  suffragists  made  strenuous  attempts  to 
secure  a  bill  to  amend  the  Intestate  Law,  which  greatly  discrimi- 
nates against  married  women,  but  it  was  killed  in  committee. 

Owing  to  a  gradual  advance  in  public  sentiment  laws  have  been 
enacted  from  time  to  time  protecting  wage-earning  women ;  also 
enlarging  the  property  rights  of  wives,  enabling  them  to  act  as 
incorporators  for  business  of  profit,  and  giving  them  freedom  to 
testify  in  court  against  their  husbands  under  some  circumstances. 

In  1891  a  number  of  influential  women  decided  to  form  a  Qor- 
poration,  with  a  stock  company,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a 
club  house  and  equipping  the  same  to  rent  as  a  business  of  profit. 
The  charter  was  refused,  because  several  of  the  women  making 
application  were  married.  After  some  delay  enough  single 
women  were  found  to  take  out  the  letters  patent.  When  incor- 
porated the  original  number  organized  the  company  and  built  the 
New  Century  Club  House  in  Philadelphia,  which  paid  five  per 
cent,  to  stockholders  the  first  year.  One  of  the  members  of  this 
board  of  directors,  to  save  time  and  trouble,  made  application  to 
be  appointed  notary  public,  but  she  was  refused  because  the  law 
did  not  permit  a  woman  to  serve.  Public  attention  was  thus 
called  to  the  injustice  of  these  statutes  and,  after  much  legisla- 
tive tinkering,  laws  were  passed  in  1893  givmg  wives  the  same 
right  as  unmarried  women  to  "acquire  property,  own,  possess, 
control,  use,  lease,  etc."  The  same  year  women  were  made 
eligible  to  act  as  notaries  public. 

Dower  and  curtesy  both  obtain.  If  there  is  issue  living,  the 
widow  is  entitled  to  one-third  of 'the  real  estate  for  her  life  and 
one-third  of  the  personal  property  absolutely.  If  no  issue  is 
living,  but  collateral  heirs,  the  widow  is  entitled  to  one-half  of  the 
real  estate,  including  the  mansion  house,  for  her  life,  and  one- 
half  of  the  personal  estate  absolutely.  If  a  wife  die  intestate, 
the  widower,  whether  there  has  been  issue  born  alive  or  not,  has 
a  life  interest  in  all  her  real  estate  and  all  of  her  personal  property 


QO2  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

absolutely.  If  there  is  neither  issue  nor  kindred  and  no  will  the 
surviving  husband  or  wife  takes  the  whole  estate. 

A  husband  may  mortgage  real  estate,  including  the  home- 
stead, without  the  wife's  consent,  but  she  can  not  mortgage  even 
her  own  separate  estate  without  his  consent.  Each  can  dispose 
of  personal  property  as  if  single. 

As  a  rule  a  married  woman  can  not  make  a  contract,  but  there 
are  some  exceptions.  For  instance,  she  can  contract  for  the 
purchase  of  a  sewing-machine  for  her  own  use.  The  wife  must 
sue  and  be  sued  jointly  with  the  husband. 

A  married  woman  must  secure  the  privilege  from  the  court  of 
carrying  on  business  in  her  own  name. 

The  law  provides  that  the  party  found  guilty  of  adultery  can 
not.  marry  the  co-respondent  during  the  lifetime  of  the  other 
party.  If  any  divorced  woman,  who  shall  have  been  found 
guilty  of  adultery,  shall  afterward  openly  cohabit  with  the  person 
proved  to  have  been  the  partaker  of  her  crime,  she  is  rendered 
incapable  of  alienating  either  directly  or  indirectly  any  of  her 
lands,  tenements  or  hereditaments,  and  all  wills,  deeds,  and  other 
instruments  of  conveyance  therefor  are  absolutely  void,  and  after 
her  death  her  property  descends  and  is  subject  to  distribution  ac- 
cording to  law  in  like  manner  as  if  she  had  died  intestate.  This 
latter  clause  does  not  apply  to  a  divorced  man. 

In  June,  1895,  through  the  legislative  committee  of  the  State 
W.  S.  A.,  Mrs.  Lucretia  L.  Blankenburg,  chairman,  and  with 
the  co-operation  of  other  women's  organizations,  the  following 
law,  championed  by  Representative  Frank  Riter,  was  secured : 

A  married  woman  who  contributes  by  the  efforts  of  her  own  labor 
or  otherwise  toward  the  support,  maintenance  and  education  of  her 
minor  child,  shall  have  the  same  and  equal  power,  control  and  au- 
thority over  her  said  child,  and  the  same  and  equal  right  to  the 
custody  and  services,  as  are  now  possessed  by  her  husband  who  is 
the  father  of  such  minor  child. 

The  best  legal  authorities  are  undecided  as  to  whether  labor 
within  the  household  entitles  the  mother  to  this  equal  guardian- 
ship or  whether  it  must  be  performed  outside  the  home.  The 
father  is  held  to  be  the  only  person  entitled  to  sue  for  the  earnings 
of  a  minor  child,  and  as  no  legal  means  are  provided  for  enforc- 
ing the  above  law  it  is  practically  of  no  effect. 


PENNSYLVANIA.  903 

The  law  says,  "As  her  baron  or  lord,  the  husband  is  bound  to 
provide  his  wife  with  shelter,  food,  clothing  and  medicine ;"  also : 

If  any  husband  or  father  neglect  to  maintain  his  wife  or  children, 
it  is  lawful  for  any  alderman,  justice  of  the  peace  or  magistrate, 
upon  information  made  before  him,  under  oath  or  affirmation,  by 
the  wife  or  children,  or  by  any  other  person,  to  issue  his  warrant  for 
the  arrest  of  the  man,  and  bind  him  over  with  one  sufficient  surety 
to  appear  at  the  next  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions,  there  to  answer  the 
said  charge. 

If  he  is  found  to  be  of  sufficient  ability  to  pay  such  sum  as  the 
court  thinks  reasonable  and  proper,  it  makes  an  order  for  the  com- 
fortable support  of  wife  or  children,  or  both,  the  sum  not  to  exceed 
the  amount  of  $100  per  month.  The  man  is  to  be  committed  to  jail 
until  he  complies  with  the  order  of  the  court,  or  gives  security  for 
the  payment  of  the  sum.  After  three  months'  imprisonment,  if  the 
court  find  him  unable  to  pay  or  give  security,  it  may  discharge  him. 

In  1887  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10 
to  1 6  years.  The  penalty  is  a  fine  not  exceeding  $1,000,  and 
imprisonment  by  separate  and  solitary  confinement  at  labor,  or 
simple  imprisonment,  not  exceeding  fifteen  years.  No  minimum 
penalty  is  named. 

SUFFRAGE  :     Women  possess  no  form  of  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :*  The  State  constitution  of  1873  made 
women  eligible  for  all  school  offices,  but  they  have  had  great  dif- 
ficulty in  securing  any  of  these.  Out  of  16,094  school  directors 
in  the  State  only  thirty-two  are  women.  In  Philadelphia  a  Board 
of  Public  Education,  appointed  by  the  courts,  co-operates  with  the 
school  directors.  This  board  consists  of  forty-one  members, 
only  three  being  women.  In  the  entire  State,  six  women  are 
reported  to  be  now  filling  the  offices  of  county  and  city  school 
superintendent  and  assistant  superintendent. 

In  seventeen  years  but  sixty-seven  women  (in  twelve  counties) 
have  been  appointed  members  of  the  Boards  of  Public  Charities. 

In  1899  a  law  was  passed  recognizing  Accounting  as  a  profes- 
sion, and  Miss  Mary  B.  Niles  is  now  a  Certified  Public  Ac- 
countant and  Auditor. 

*  William  and  Hannah  Penn  were  both  Proprietary  Governors  of  the  colony,  William 
from  the  time  of  its  settlement  in  1682  until  1712,  when  he  was  stricken  with  illness. 
Hannah  then  took  up  the  affairs  and  administered  as  governor  until  William's  death  in 
1717,  and  after  that  time  until  her  son  became  of  age. 

Sidney  Fisher,  in  his  account  of  the  Pennsylvania  colony,  says  that  this  is  the  only  in- 
stance in  history  where  a  woman  has  acted  as  Proprietary  Governor.  Hannah  Penn  was 
skilful  in  her  management  and  retained  the  confidence  of  the  people  through  financial  and 
political  embarrassments. 


9O4  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

There  have  been  women  on  the  Civil  Service  Examining  Board 
for  nurses,  matrons,  etc.,  but  there  are  none  at  present. 

To  Pennsylvania  belongs  the  honor  of  appointing  the  first 
woman  in  a  hospital  for  the  insane  with  exclusive  charge — Dr. 
Alice  Bennett,  Norristown  Asylum,  in  1880.  Now  all  of  the  six 
State  hospitals  for  the  insane  employ  women  physicians.  In 
Philadelphia  there  are  five  hospitals  under  the  exclusive  control  of 
women. 

Women  have  entire  charge  of  the  female  prisoners  in  the  Phila- 
delphia County  jail.  Police  matrons  are  on  duty  at  many  of  the 
station  houses  in  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class,  sixteen  in 
Philadelphia. 

Committees  of  women,  officially  appointed,  visit  all  the  public 
institutions  of  Philadelphia  and  Montgomery  counties. 

Dr.  Frances  C.  Van  Gasken  served  several  years  as  health  ii 
spector,  the  only  woman  to  fill  such  an  office  in  Philadelphia. 

Six  women  are  employed  as  State  factory  inspectors  and  re- 
ceive the  same  salary  as  the  men  inspectors. 

Within  the  past  ten  years  a  large  number  of  women  have  be- 
come city  librarians  through  appointment  by  the  Common 
Councils. 

Mrs.  Margaret  Center  Klingelsmith,  LL.  B.,  is  librarian  of 
the  State  University  Law  School,  but  has  been  refused  admission 
to  the  Academy  of  Law  (Bar  Association)  of  Philadelphia,  al- 
though there  is  a  strong  sentiment  in  her  favor  led  by  George  E. 
Nitzsche,  registrar  of  the  Law  School. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  The  only  prohibited  industry  is  mining.  Xo 
professions  are  legally  forbidden  to  women. 

In  1884  a  graduate  of  the  Law  Department  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  Mrs.  Carrie  Burnham  Kilgore,  made  the  fight 
for  the  admission  of  women  to  the  bar  and  was  herself  finally  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  the  courts  of  Philadelphia.  Judges  William 
S.  Pierce,  William  N.  Ashman  and  Thomas  K.  Finletter  ad- 
vocated this  advanced  step. 

There  are  150  women  physicians  in  Philadelphia  alone. 

EDUCATION  :  The  Woman's  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia, 
Clara  Marshall,  M.  D.,  dean,  was  incorporated  in  1850.*  The  idea 
of  its  establishment  originated  with  Dr.  Bartholomew  Fussell,  a 

•  See  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  I,  p.  389. 


PENNSYLVANIA.  905 

member  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  Its  foundation  was  made 
possible  through  the  effective  work  of  Dr.  Joseph  S.  Longshore  in 
securing  a  charter  from  the  Legislature.  Dr.  Hannah  Myers 
Longshore  was  a  member  of  the  first  graduating  class,  a  pioneer 
among  women  physicians,  and  through  her  skill  and  devotion 
won  high  rank  in  her  profession.*  In  1867  the  name  was 
changed  by  decree  of  court  from  Female  Medical  College  to 
Woman's  Medical  College.  It  is  the  oldest  and  largest  medical 
school  for  women  in  the  world,  and  has  nearly  1,000  alumnae, 
including  students  from  nineteen  foreign  countries.  The  manage- 
ment is  entirely  in  the  hands  of  women. 

In  1 86 1  the  Woman's  Hospital  was  founded,  mainly  through 
the  efforts  of  Dr.  Ann  Preston,  to  afford  women  the  clinical  op- 
portunities denied  by  practically  all  the  existing  hospitals.  It  is 
now  one  of  the  largest  in  Philadelphia. 

During  the  past  twenty  years  a  number  of  educational  institu- 
tions have  been  opened  to  women.  Of  the  forty  colleges  and 
universities  in  the  State,  just  one-half  are  co-educational;  three 
are  for  women  alone;  two  Catholic,  one  military  and  fourteen 
others  are  for  men  alone.  Of  the  sixteen  theological  seminaries, 
only  one,  the  Unitarian  at  Meadville,  admits  women.  They 
have  the  full  privileges  of  the  Colleges  of  Pharmacy  and  Den- 
tistry in  Philadelphia. 

The  principal  institutions  closed  to  women  are  the  Jefferson 
Medical,  Hahnemann  Medical,  Medico-Chirurgical,  Franklin 
and  Marshall,  Haverford,  Lafayette,  Moravian,  Muhlenberg,  St. 
Vincent,  Washington  and  Jefferson,  Waynesburg,  Lehigh  and 
most  of  the  departments  of  the  Western  University. 

In  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  (State)  women  are  ad- 
mitted on  equal  terms  with  men  to  the  post-graduate  depart- 
ment; as  candidates  for  the  Master  of  Arts  degree;  and  to  the 
four  years'  course  in  biology,  leading  to  the  degree  of  B.  S. 
They  may  take  special  courses  in  pedagogy,  music  and  interior 
decoration  (in  the  Department  of  Architecture)  but  no  degree. 
The  Medical,  Dental  and  Veterinary  Departments  are  entirely 
closed  to  them.  Of  the  large  departments.  Law  is  the  only  one 
which  is  fully,  freely  and  heartily  open  to  women  on  exactly  the 

*  Drs.  Joseph  and  Hannah  Myers  Longshore  were  the  uncle  and  mother  of  Mrs.  Lucre- 
tia  L.  Blankenburg.  [Eds. 


906 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


same  terms  as  to  men,  and  it  confers  the  degree  of  LL.  B.  upon 
both  alike.  There  are  no  women  on  the  faculty,  but  Prof.  Sara 
Yorke  Stevenson,  the  distinguished  archaeologist,  is  secretary  of 
the  Department  of  Archaeology  and  Paleontology  and  curator  of 
the  Egyptian  and  Mediterranean  Section. 

The  Drexel  Institute,  founded  and  endowed  by  Anthony  J. 
Drexel,  was  opened  in  December,  1891.  Instruction  is  given  in 
the  arts,  sciences  and  industries.  All  the  departments  are  open 
to  women  on  the  same  terms  as  to  men.  Booker  T.  Washington 
has  a  free  scholarship  for  a  pupil,  and  one  is  held  by  the  Carlisle 
Indian  School. 

Bryn,  Mawr,  non-sectarian,  but  founded  by  Joseph  W.  Taylor, 
M.  D.,  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  was  opened  in  1885. 
It  stands  at  the  head  of  the  women's  colleges  of  the  world,  and 
ranks  with  the  best  colleges  for  men.  Miss  M.  Carey  Thomas, 
Ph.  D.,  LL.  D.,  is  president. 

Notwithstanding  these  splendid  educational  advantages,  as 
late  as  1891  there  was  no  opportunity  in  the  Philadelphia  public 
schools  for  a  girl  to  prepare  for  college  or  for  a  business  office. 
In  1893  tne  present  superintendent,  Edward  Brooks,  reorganized 
the  Girls'  High  School,  arranging  a  four  years'  classical  course 
and  a  three  years'  business  course. 

There  are  in  the  public  schools  9,360  men  and  19,469  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $42.69 ;  of 
the  women,  $38.45.  In  Philadelphia  the  average  for  men  is 
$121.93;  f°r  women,  $67.61.  In  this  city,  by  decree  of  the 
board  of  education,  the  highest  positions  are  closed  to  women. 


Pennsylvania  is  rich  in  women's  clubs,  117  belonging  to  tl 
State  Federation.     The  three  largest  are  the  New  Century,  wit 
600    members;    Civic,    500;    New    Century    Guild    (working 
women),   400 — all   in   Philadelphia.     Most   of  the   clubs   ha.\ 
civic  departments.     The  suffrage  societies  have  full  membershii 
in  the  State  Federation  of  Clubs.     The  Civic  and  Legaf  Educ 
tion  Society  of  Philadelphia,  composed  of  men  and  women,  h« 
lecture  courses  on  national,  State  and  municipal  government  anc 
a  practical  knowledge  of  law.     A  study  class  of  municipal  la> 
is  conducted  by  Mrs.  Margaret  Center  Klingelsmith,  the  la> 
librarian  of  the  State  University. 


CHAPTER   LXII. 

RHODE    ISLAND.* 

Rhode  Island  was  one  of  the  pioneer  States  to  form  a  woman 
suffrage  association.  On  Dec.  n,  1868,  in  answer  to  a  call 
signed  by  a  large  number  of  its  most  distinguished  men  and 
women,  a  successful  meeting  was  held  in  Roger  Williams  Hall, 
Providence,  and  Mrs.  Paulina  Wright  Davis  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  new  organization.!  Many  series  of  conventions  in 
different  parts  of  the  State  were  held  between  1870  and  1884,  at 
which  the  officers  and  special  speakers  presented  petitions  for 
signatures  and  prepared  for  legislative  appeals. 

In  1884,  by  unanimous  vote  of  the  Assembly,  the  State  House 
was  granted  for  the  first  time  for  a  woman  suffrage  convention. 
Four  sessions  were  held  in  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, and  Frederick  Douglass,  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Lucy  Stone, 
Henry  B.  Blackwell,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Mary  F.  Eastman 
and  others  addressed  great  throngs  of  people  who  filled  the  seats, 
occupied  all  the  standing  room  and  overflowed  into  the  lobbies. 

Up  to  the  present  date  this  association  has  held  an  annual  con- 
vention in  October,  a  special  May  Festival  with  social  features 
in  the  spring,  and  from  one  to  four  meetings  each  intervening 
month.  These  have  been  rendered  attractive  by  papers  and  ad- 
dresses from  the  members  and  by  public  speakers  of  ability  from 
different  parts  of  the  United  States  and  from  other  lands.  In 
addition  to  this  active  propaganda  special  organizers  have  been 
secured  from  time  to  time  to  canvass  the  State  and  win  intelli- 
gent support  for  the  cause. 

The  association  has  had  but  three  presidents — Paulina  Wright 
Davis  for  the  first  two  years,  Elizabeth  Buffum  Chace  from  1870 
until  her  death  in  1899,  aged  ninety-two,  and  Ardelia  C.  Dewing, 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  the  Rev.  Anna  Garlin   Spencer  of  Provi- 
dence, vice-president-at-large  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association, 
t  See  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  340. 

907 


908  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

now  serving.  When  Mrs.  Chace  was  unable  longer  to  be  active!} 
the  leader,  Anna  Garlin  Spencer,  who  returned  in  1889  to  reside 
in  Rhode  Island,  as  first  vice-president  acted  for  her  about  seven 
years  and  Mrs.  Dewing  for  the  remainder  of  the  time.  Mrs. 
Davis  was  an  exquisite  personality  with  soul  ever  facing  the 
light;  Mrs.  Chace,  a  woman  of  granite  strength  and  stability  of 
character,  with  a  keen  mind  always  bent  upon  the  reason  and  the 
right  of  things,  and  with  a  single-hearted  devotion  to  the  great 
principles  of  life.* 

The  vice-presidents  of  the  association  number  "honorable 
names  not  a  few."f  Among  them  was  the  Rev.  Frederick  A. 
Hinckley,  who  during  the  eleven  years  of  his  ministry  in  Provi- 
dence, 1878-1889,  acted  as  the  first  vice-president  and  did  the 
greatest  possible  service  to  the  association  in  all  ways,  ever  cham- 
pioning the  principle  of  equality  of  rights.  The  secretaries  of 
the  association  always  have  been  among  the  leaders  in  the  move- 
ment. At  first  Rhoda  Anna  Fairbanks  (Peckham)  was  the  sin- 
gle officer  in  that  capacity.  In  1872  Anna  C.  Garlin  (Spencer) 
was  added  as  corresponding  secretary  but  resigned  in  1878  when 
her  marriage  required  her  removal  from  the  State. J  Mrs.  Ellen 
M.  Bolles  served  from  1891  to  1900  when  Mrs.  Annie  M.  Griffin 
was  elected.  There  have  been  but  three  treasurers — Marcus  T.| 
Janes,  Mrs.  Susan  B.  P.  Martin  and  Mrs.  Mary  K.  Wood.**  The 
chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee  has  always  shared  the 

•The  annual  meeting  in  October,  1895,  celebrated  the  completion  of  a  quarter  of  alp 
century's  service  on  the  part  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Buffum  Chace  as  president  of  the  Rhode 
Island  Woman  Suffrage  Association.  Letters  from  absent  friends  were  read  expressing 
their  high  appreciation  of  her  life-long  service  in  the  cause  of  humankind  as  well  a 
womankind.  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe,  Mr.  William  Lloyd  Garrison  and  Miss  Mary  F 
Eastman  attended  to  speak  for  the  cause,  and  to  testify  their  love  for  Mrs.  Chace.  The 
Hon.  E.  L.  Freeman,  ex-Gov.  John  W.  Davis  and  others  of  the  State  also  spoke  words  of 
great  respect.  The  association  honored  itself  by  once  more  electing  Mrs.  Chace  its  chief 
nfl&cer,  although  she  had  expressed  a  strong  desire  to  retire  from  the  position  as  she  felt 
that  the  burden  of  the  work  should  be  borne  by  younger  shoulders.  [Annual  Report  to 
National  Suffrage  Convention. 

t  Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson,  Julia  Ward  Howe,  Rowland  Hazard,  Phebe  Jackson, 
Susan  Sisson,  Sarah  Helen  Whitman,  Elizabeth  K.  Churchill,  Abraham  Payne,  Sarah  T. 
\Vilbour,  Charlotte  A.  Jenckes,  George  L.  Clarke,  Francis  C.  Frost,  Susan  R.  Harris, 
Augustus  Woodbury  and  many  others  of  the  best  known  and  most  useful  citizens. 

t  Others    were   Mrs.    M.    M.    Brewster,    Mrs.    Mary    C.    Peckham,    Mrs.    Rowena    P. 
Tingley,  Miss  Charlotte  R.  Hoswell,  Mrs.  Anna  E.  Aldrich  and  Mrs.   Martha  Knowles. 

**  Present  board:     President  Mrs.  A.   C.  Dewing;   first  vice-president,  Mrs.  Thomas  V* 
Chase;   second  vice-president,   Mrs.    Ellen   M.    Bolles;   third  vice-president,   Mrs.    Charlotte 
B.  Wilbour;  secretary,  Mrs.  Annie  M.   Griffin;   treasurer,  Mrs.   Mary  K.   Wood:   auditors, 
Mrs.  O.  I.  Angell,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Ormsbee;  honorary  vice-presidents,  the  Hon.  H.  B.  Mot- 
calf,  Dr.   L.   F.  C.  Garvin  and  Arnold  B.  Chace. 


RHODE    ISLAND.  909 

heaviest  burdens.  Mrs.  Chace  was  the  first  chairman.  Mrs.  S. 
E.  H.  Doyle  succeeded  her  and  continued  in  the  office  until  her 
death  in  1890.  Mrs.  Anna  E.  Aldrich  then  served  to  the  end«of 
her  life  in  1898.  The  association  has  done  a  great  deal  of  active 
work  through  its  organizers,  the  brilliant  and  versatile  Elizabeth 
Kittridge  Churchill,  Mrs.  Margaret  M.  Campbell,  Mrs.  Louise 
M.  Tyler,  and  others.  Mrs.  Ellen  M.  Bolles,  from  1890  to  1898, 
acted  as  organizer  as  well  as  secretary. 

The  State  Society  affiliated  with  the  New  England  Woman 
Suffrage  Association  from  the  first;  with  the  American  in  .1870 
and  with  the  National- American  in  1891.  It  was  incorporated 
in  1892  and  has  been  the  recipient  of  legacies  from  James  Eddy, 
Mrs.  Rachel  Fry,  Mrs.  Sarah  Wilbour,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  B.  Chace 
and  others.  It  raised  and  expended  for  the  woman  suffrage  cam- 
paign of  1887  more  than  $5,000  and  has  had  some  paid  worker 
in  the  field  during  most  of  the  years. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  :  From  the  first  year  of  its  existence, 
1869,  the  State  Association  petitioned  the  Legislature  for  an 
amendment  to  the  constitution  abolishing  sex  as  a  condition  of 
suffrage,  and  hearings  were  held  before  many  committees. 

In  1885,  through  the  influence  of  Representative  Edward  L. 
Freeman,  a  bill  for  such  an  amendment  actually  passed  both 
Houses,  but  failed  through  some  technicality. 

In  1886  it  passed  both  Houses  again  by  the  constitutional 
majority  of  two-thirds.  It  was  necessary  that  it  should  pass  two 
successive  Legislatures,  and  the  vote  in  1887  was,  Senate,  28 
ayes,  8  noes;  House,  57  ayes,  5  noes.  The  amendment  having 
been  published  and  read  at  the  annual  town  and  ward  meetings 
was  then  submitted  to  the  voters.  It  was  as  follows :  "Women 
shall  have  the  right  to  vote  in  the  election  of  all  civil  officers  and 
on  all  questions  in  all  legal  town,  district  or  ward  meetings,  sub- 
ject to  the  same  qualifications,  limitations  and  conditions  as  men." 

The  story  of  this  campaign  can  be  compressed  into  a  few  sen- 
tences, but  it  was  a  great  struggle  in  which  heroic  qualities  were 
displayed  and  was  led  by  the  woman  whose  life  has  meant  so 
much  for  Rhode  Island,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Buffum  Chace,  who  had 
as  her  able  lieutenant  the  Rev.  Frederick  A.  Hinckley,  and  as 
her  body-guard  all  the  faithful  leaders  of  the  suffrage  cause  in 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

the  State  and  helpers  from  other  States.*  Headquarters  were 
established  immediately  in  the  business  center  of  Providence. 
These  rooms  were  opened  each  morning  before  nine  o'clock  and 
kept  open  until  ten  at  night  throughout  the  contest.  The  cam- 
paign lasted  twenty-nine  days,  during  which  ninety-two  publi 
meetings  were  held,  some  in  parlors  but  most  in  halls,  vestries  an 
churches.  Miss  Cora  Scott  Pond  came  at  once  into  the  State  tc» 
organize  the  larger  public  meetings  and  Miss  Sarah  J.  Eddy  and 
Mrs.  C.  P.  Norton  arranged  for  parlor  meetings.  The  regular 
speakers  were  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  the 
Revs.  C.  B.  Pitblado,  Louis  A.  Banks,  Frederick  A.  Hinckley, 
Ada  C.  Bowles ;  Mesdames  Mary  A.  Livermore,  J.  Ellen  Foster, 
Zerelda  G.  Wallace,  Julia  Ward  Howe,  Katherine  Lente  Steven- 
son, E.  S.  Burlingame,  Adelaide  A.  Claflin ;  Miss  Mary  F.  East- 
man and  Miss  Huldah  B.  Loud.f  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  was 
invited  to  make  the  closing  speech  of  the  campaign  but  declined 
as  she  considered  the  situation  hopeless. 

The  cities  and  towns  were  as  thoroughly  canvassed  by  th 
speakers  as  the  short  time  permitted.  A  special  paper,  Ti 
Amendment,  was  edited  by  Mrs.  Lillie  B.  Chace  Wyman, 
sisted  by  Miss  Kate  Austin  and  Col.  J.  C.  Wyman ;  the  first  num- 
ber, issued  March  16,  an  edition  of  20,000,  and  the  second, 
March  28,  an  edition  of  40,000.  They  contained  extracts  from 
able  articles  on  suffrage  by  leading  men  and  women,  letters 
from  Rhode  Island  citizens  approving  the  proposed  amendment, 
and  answers  to  the  usual  objections. 

The  principal  newspapers  of  Providence,  the  Journal  and  the 
Telegram,  both  led  the  opposition  to  the  amendment,  the  former 
admitting  in  an  editorial,  published  March  10,  "the  theoretic  jus- 
tice of  the  proposed  amendment  to  the  constitution  conferring 
suffrage  upon  women,"  but  hoping  it  would  be  rejected  because 

*  The  officers  were:  President,  Mrs.  Chace;  vice-presidents,  Mr.  Hinckley,  Arnold  B. 
Chace,  Phebe  Jackson,  Mary  O.  Arnold  and  Julia  Ward  Howe;  acting  secretary- 
Anna  E.  Aldrich;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Mary  K.  Wood;  executive  committee,  Mrs.  S.  E.  II. 
Doyle,  Miss  Sarah  J.  Eddy,  Mesdames  Aldrich,  Fanny  Purdy  Palmer,  C.  P.  Norton, 
Louisa  A.  Bowen,  Elizabeth  C.  Hinckley,  Susan  C.  Kenyon,  Mary  E.  Bliss,  Frances  S. 
Bailey  and  S.  R.  Alexander,  from  whom  the  campaign  committee  was  selected. 

t  Occasional    addresses    were   made   by   Gen.    Thomas   W.    Chace,    Col.    J.    C.    Wyman. 
Judge  R.  C.   Pitman,  Dr.   L.   F.   C.   Garvin,  the  Revs.   H.   C.   Westwood,   August 
bury,   H.    I.    Cushman,    N.    H.    Harriman,   Thomas   R.    Slicer,    O.    H.    Still,   J.    H.    Larry: 
Messrs.  Olney  Arnold,  Augustine  Jones,  R.  F.  Trevellick,  Ralph  Beaumont,  John  O'Keefe 
and  others. 


I 


RHODE    ISLAND.  9.11 

"whatever  may  be  said  for  it,  the  measure  has  the  fatal  defect  of 
being  premature  and  impolitic."  The  opposition  of  the  Tele- 
gram was  more  aggressive  and  even  of  a  scurrilous  type.  To 
offset  this  hostility  if  possible  the  suffrage  association  hired  a 
column  of  space  in  the  Journal  and  half  a  column  in  the  Tele- 
gram and  kept  this  daily  filled  with  suffrage  arguments ;  toward 
the  end  of  the  campaign  securing  space  also  in  the  Daily  Repub- 
lican. The  papers  of  the  State  generally  were  opposed  to  the 
measure,  but  the  Woonsocket  Daily  Reporter,  Newport  Daily 
Xcws,  Hope  Valley  Sentinel-Advertiser,  Pawtuxet  Valley  Glean- 
er, Providence  People,  Bristol  Phenix,  Central  Falls  Visitor  and 
a  few  others  gave  effective  assistance.  The  association  dis- 
tributed about  39,000  packages  of  literature  to  the  voters. 

In  the  Providence  Journal  of  April  4  the  names  of  over  ninety 
prominent  voters  were  signed  to  this  announcement :  "We,  the 
undersigned,  being  opposed  to  the  adoption  of  the  proposed 
Woman  Suffrage  Amendment  to  the  Constitution,  respectfully 
urge  all  citizens  (!)  to  vote  against  it  at  the  coming  election." 

The  next  day  the  Journal  contained  in  the  space  paid  for  by  the 
association  the  signatures  of  about  the  same  number  of  equally 
prominent  men  appended  to  this  statement:  "We  favor  the 
passage  of  the  Woman  Suffrage  Amendment  which  has  been 
submitted  to  the  voters  of  Rhode  Island  for  action  at  the  coming 
election."  The  same  issue  contained  a  list  of  many  of  the  most 
distinguished  men  and  women  in  this  and  other  countries,  be- 
ginning with  Phillips  Brooks  and  Clara  Barton,  and  headed, 
"Some  Other  People  of  Weight  Who  Have  Indorsed  Woman 
Suffrage.  Match  This  if  You  Can." 

The  election  was  held  April  6,  1887,  and  at  the  sixty-two  poll- 
ing places  men  and  women  were  on  hand  to  urge  the  electors  to 
vote  for  the  amendment.  The  result  was  6,889  ayes,  21,957 
noes — the  largest  defeat  woman  suffrage  ever  received. 

Many  of  the  ablest  lawyers  having  decided  that  no  extension 
of  franchise,  not  even  a  school  vote,  could  be  secured  in  Rhode 
Island  through  the  Legislature  (except  possibly  Presidential  Suf- 
frage) and  the  amendment  to  the  constitution  having  been  de- 
feated by  so  heavy  a  vote,  it  was  deemed  best  not  to  ask  for  an- 
other submission  of  the  question  for  a  term  of  years.  Therefore 


912 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


other  matters,  involving  legal  equality  of  the  sexes,  formed  for 
a  while  the  chief  subjects  for  legislative  work. 

In  1892  a  special  appeal  was  made  to  the  General  Assembly  to 
confer  upon  women  by  statute  the  right  to  vote  for  presidential 
electors.  Three  hearings  were  had  before  the  House  committee 
but  the  bill  was  not  reported. 

In  1895  a  hearing,  managed  by  Mrs.  Jeanette  S.  French,  was 
granted  by  the  Senate  committee.  A  number  of  able  women  of 
the  State  made  addresses  and  the  committee  reported  unanimous- 
ly in  favor  of  submitting  again  an  amendment  for  the  Full  Suf- 
frage. It  was  too  late,  however,  for  further  action  and  was  re- 
ferred to  the  May  session.  At  that  time  it  passed  the  Senate  but 
was  lost  in  the  House  by  a  small  majority. 

In  1897  the  Governor  was  empowered  by  the  General  Assem- 
bly to  appoint  a  commission  to  revise  the  State  constitution. 
This  was  deemed  by  many  as  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  the  basic 
law  of  the  Commonwealth,  in  substituting  a  small  appointive 
body  for  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  Electors  previously 
considered  necessary  to  revise  the  fundamental  law  of  the  State, 
but  the  commission  was  appointed.  The  Woman  Suffrage  As- 
sociation early  presented  a  claim  for  a  hearing  which  was  granted 
for  May  n.  The  Rev.  Anna  Garlin  Spencer  conducted  it  and 
introduced  the  other  speakers  who  were  all  citizens  of  the  State 
and  of  influence  in  their  communities.*  After  interviews  we 
held  with  the  commission,  the  association  adopted  resolutions 
which  were  afterwards  incorporated  in  a  letter  and  read  by  Mr>. 
Bolles  to  the  Committee  on  Revision.  It  said  in  part : 

We  are  informed  that  you  consider  it  inadvisable  to  incorporate  a 
suffrage  amendment  in  the  revised  constitution  lest  it  endanger  the 
acceptance  of  other  proposed  and  necessary  changes.  This  view 
may  be  correct,  but  surely  it  need  not  prevent  you  from  advising  a 
provision  by  which  the  Legislature  would  be  empowered  to  extend 
suffrage  to  women  at  its  discretion,  and  this  we  greatly  desire.  A 
conservative  measure  of  this  nature  could  not  call  out  a  large 
amount  of  antagonism  from  the  voters,  while  it  would  be  a  great 
help  to  women  in  their  efforts  to  obtain  a  voice  in  such  matters  of 

*  Dr.  Helen  C.  Putnam  represented  the  physicians,  Mrs.  Mary  Frost  Evans  the  editors. 
Miss  Sarah  E.  Doyle  the  teachers,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Babcock  and  Mrs.  A.  B.  E.  Jackson 
the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  Mrs.  L.  G.  C.  Knickerbocker  and  Mrs.  S.  M.  Aldrich  women  in  private 
life,  while  the  W.  S.  A.  contributed  Mrs.  J.  S.  French,  Mrs.  A.  C.  Dewing  and  Mrs. 
Ellen  M.  Bolles.  Edwin  C.  Pierce  and  Rabbi  David  Blaustein,  members  of  the  associa- 
tion, also  spoke  in  favor  of  suffrage  for  women. 


ite 
ns 

rs. 


RHODE    ISLAND.  913 

public  concern  as  are  of  vital  importance  to  their  interests.  The 
constitution  of  Rhode  Island  is  far  behind  the  spirit  of  the  age  in  its 
treatment  of  women,  as  only  one  other  State  makes  it  equally  diffi- 
cult for  them  to  obtain  even  the  simplest  form  of  political  rights. 
In  revising  the  fundamental  law  this  fact  ought  not  to  be  overlooked 
and  the  instrument  should  be  so  constructed  as  to  bring  it  up  to  date 
in  this  respect. 

These  appeals  were  not  responded  to  favorably  by  the  Com- 
mission, although  great  courtesy  and  willingness  to  consider  the 
subject  were  manifested,  and  a  large  minority  vote  was  given  in 
the  Commission  itself  to  empower  the  Legislature  to  grant  suf- 
frage at  discretion  by  statute.  The  proposed  revision  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  electors  and  during  the  campaign  preceding  their 
vote  the  association  passed  the  following  resolution  at  its  annual 
meeting  of  Oct.  20,  1898:  "Resolved,  That  we  consider  the 
proposed  constitution  unworthy  the  intelligence  and  civiliza- 
tion of  the  age,  for  these  reasons :  First,  It  does  not  give  suf- 
frage to  women  citizens  and  makes  the  obtaining  of  an  amend- 
ment for  this  purpose  even  more  difficult  than  it  is  at  present  by 
requiring  a  larger  legislative  majority  to  submit  any  question  to 
the  voters.  Second,  It  restricts  the  suffrage  of  men  by  a  prop- 
erty qualification." 

The  revised  constitution  was  voted  down  by  a  large  majority. 

LAWS:  The  Suffrage  Association  from  its  first  existence 
closely  watched  legislation  affecting  women  and  children,  and 
often  appeared  by  representative  speakers  before  committees  en- 
gaged in  framing  changes  in  such  laws;  but  in  1892  and  '93  a 
special  effort  was  made  to  secure  full  legal  equality  for  men  and 
women.  Miss  Mary  A.  Greene,  a  Rhode  Island  lawyer,  educated 
for  and  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Massachusetts,  was  engaged  to 
prepare  a  full  statement  of  the  existing  laws  relating  to  women 
and  children  and  to  draw  up  a  code  for  suggestion  to  the  Legis- 
lature which  should  embody  the  exact  justice  for  which  the  asso- 
ciation stood.  This  step  was  taken  at  that  time  because  the 
Legislature  had  just  appointed  a  Committee  of  Codification  to 
consider  the  statutes  bearing  on  domestic  relations,  contract  pow- 
ers, etc.  The  suggestions  of  the  association,  as  prepared  by  Miss 
Greene,  were  not  acted  upon  in  any  formal  way,  still  less  with 
completeness,  but  the  changes  made  in  the  interest  of  equal 
rights  for  women  were  marked  and  the  association  had  a  distinct 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 58 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


share  in  them.     The  property  laws  for  women  are  now  satis- 
factory except  that  of  inheritance  which  is  as  follows : 

Dower  and  curtesy  both  obtain.  If  the  husband  die  without 
a  will,  leaving  children,  the  widow  is  entitled  to  the  life  use  of 
one-third  of  the  real  estate,  and  to  one-third  of  the  personal  prop- 
erty absolutely,  the  remainder  going  to  them.  If  there  are  no 
children  or  descendants  she  takes  one-half  of  the  personal  proper- 
ty and  as  much  of  the  real  estate  for  life  as  is  not  required  to  pay 
the  husband's  debts.  The  other  half  of  the  personal  property 
goes  to  the  husband's  relatives  and,  after  her  death,  all  of  the 
real  estate.  The  widower  is  entitled  to  a  life  use  of  all  the  wife' 
real  estate  if  there  has  been  issue  born  alive.  If  she  die  without  a 
will  he  may  take  the  whole  of  her  personal  property  without  ad- 
ministration or  accountability  to  the  children  or  to  her  kindred. 
The  widow  and  minor  children  are  entitled  to  certain  articles  of 
apparel,  furniture  and  household  supplies  and  to  six  months' 
support  out  of  the  estate.  The  widow  has  the  prior  right  as  ad- 
ministrator. 

The  wife  may  dispose  of  her  personal  and  real  property  b 
will,  but  can  not  impair  the  husband's  curtesy,  or  the  life  use 
of  all  her  real  estate.     The  husband  may  do  the  same  subject  to 
the  wife's  dower,  or  life  use  of  one-third  of  the  real  estate. 

If  any  person  having  neither  wife  nor  children  die  without  a 
will  "the  property  shall  go  to  the  father  of  such  person  if  there  be 
a  father,  if  not,  then  to  the  mother,  brothers  and  sisters." 

All  the  property  of  a  married  woman,  whether  acquired  before 
or  after  marriage,  is  absolutely  secured  to  her  sole  and  separate 
use,  free  from  liability  for  her  husband's  debts.  Personal  and 
real  estate  may  be  conveyed  by  her  as  if  unmarried,  the  latter 
subject  to  the  husband's  curtesy.  Her  husband  must  present  an 
order  from  her  to  collect  the  rents  and  profits. 

A  married  woman  may  make  contracts,  sue  and  be  sued,  and 
carry  on  any  trade  or  business,  and  her  earnings  are  her  sole  and 
separate  property.  She  can  not,  however,  enter  into  business 
partnership  with  her  husband. 

Neither  husband  nor  wife  is  liable  for  the  torts  of  the  other. 
The  wife's  property  is  liable  for  her  debts  or  torts. 

A   married   woman   may  act   as   executor,    administrator  or 


RHODE    ISLAND.  915 

guardian  if  appointed  to  those  offices  by  will,  but  she  can  not  be 
appointed  to  them  by  the  court  except  to  the  guardianship  of 
children.* 

In  case  of  divorce  for  fault  of  the  husband  the  wife  may  have 
dower  as  if  he  were  dead.  If  alimony  be  claimed  the  dower  is 
waived.  If  the  divorce  is  for  the  fault  of  the  wife,  the  husband, 
if  entitled  to  curtesy,  shall  have  a  life  estate  in  the  lands  of  the 
wife,  subject  to  such  allowance  to  her,  chargeable  on  the  life 
estate,  as  the  court  may  deem  proper.  In  case  of  separation 
only,  the  petitioner  may  be  assigned  a  separate  maintenance  out 
of  the  property  of  the  husband  or  wife  as  the  case  may  be. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  minor  children.  At 
his  death  the  mother  is  entitled  to  the  guardianship  and  custody. 
The  mother  may  be  appointed  guardian  by  the  court  during  the 
husband's  lifetime.  If  he  is  insane  or  has  deserted  or  neglected 
his  children  she  is  entitled  to  full  custody. 

If  the  wife  is  deserted  by  her  husband  unjustifiably  and  not 
supported  by  him,  she  may  receive  authority  from  the  court  for 
the  custody  and  earnings  of  her  minor  children,  and  he  may  be 
imprisoned  not  less  than  six  months  nor  more  than  three  years. 
If  he  abandon  her  and  is  absent  from  the  State  one  year  or  more 
or  is  condemned  to  prison  for  a  year  or  more,  the  court  can  order 
the  income  from  his  property  applied  to  the  support  of  his  family. 

A  law  of  1896  provided  that  a  wife  owning  property  might 
contract  in  writing  for  the  support  of  her  husband  and  children, 
but  this  was  repealed  in  three  months.  She  is  not  required  to 
support  them  by  her  labor  or  property,  as  the  husband  is  the  legal 
head  of  the  family. 

The  most  of  the  above  laws  have  been  enacted  since  1892. 

Until  1889,  10  years  was  the  age  for  the  protection  of  girls, 
but  then  it  was  made  14  years,  with  a  penalty  of  not  less  than  ten 
years'  imprisonment.  In  1894  it  was  raised  to  16  and  the  penalty 
made  not  more  than  fifteen  years  with  no  minimum  number  speci- 
fied. The  former  penalty  still  holds,  however,  for  actual  rape. 

SUFFRAGE:  Women  have  no  form  of  suffrage.  The  hus- 
band may  vote  as  a  taxpayer  by  right  of  his  wife's  real  estate. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :     Eligibility  to  office  is  limited  by  the  con- 

*The  right  to  be  appointed  by  the  court  was  given  to  married  women  by  Act  of  1902. 


916  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

stitution  to  electors.  The  article  referring  to  school  committee 
(trustees)  merely  says,  however,  that  they  shall  be  "residents 
of  the  town."  In  1872  and  '73  the  suffrage  association  procured 
by  direct  effort  an  Act  qualifying  women  to  serve  on  school  com- 
mittees and  many  have  done  so  with  distinction.  There  are  six- 
teen now  serving  in  the  State.  The  city  charter  of  Pawtucket 
requires  one  of  the  three  members  to  be  a  woman. 

As  far  back  as  1869. an  appeal  was  made  by  the  suffrage  asso- 
ciation that  women  should  be  placed  on  all  boards  of  manage- 
ment of  institutions  in  which  women  were  confined  as  prisoners 
or  cared  for  as  unfortunates.  In  partial  response  an  Act  was 
passed  in  1870  establishing  an  Advisory  Board  of  Female  Vis- 
itors to  the  charitable,  penal  and  correctional  institutions  of  the 
State.  This  board  had  no  powers  of  control,  but  had  full  rights 
of  inspection  at  all  times  and  constituted  an  official  channel  for 
criticism  and  suggestions.  It  is  still  in  existence  and  is  composed 
of  seven  representative  women. 

The  association  was  not  satisfied  with  a  board  of  such  limited 
powers  and  in  1874  it  memorialized  the  Legislature  for  an  Act 
requiring  that  women,  in  the  prop6rtion  of  at  least  three  out  of 
seven,  should  be  placed  on  the  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Cor- 
rection, with  equal  powers  in  all  particulars.  This  petition 
was  presented  for  three  years  successively  and  special  hearings 
granted  to  its  advocates,  but  at  last  was  definitely  refused.  In 
1891,  however,  two  institutions,  the  State  Home  and  School  for 
Dependent  Children  and  the  Rhode  Island  School  for  the  Deaf, 
were  placed  in  charge  of  boards  of  control,  to  be  appointed  by  the 
Governor,  to  report  to  the  Legislature  and  to  exercise  full  powers 
of  supervision  and  management,  "at  least  three  of  whom  shall  be 
women." 

In  1878  a  meeting  was  held  by  the  association  to  consider  the 
need  of  good  and  wise  women  in  all  places  where  unfortunate 
women  are  in  confinement,  and  the  matter  of  placing  police 
matrons  in  stations  was  discussed.  Agitation  followed  and  the 
W.  C.  T.  U.,  under  the  enthusiastic  lead  of  Mrs.  J.  K.  Barney, 
adopted  the  matter  as  a  special  work,  the  W.  S.  A.  aiding  in  all 
possible  ways.  In  March,  1881.  the  first  police  matron  in  the 
country  (it  is  believed)  was  appointed  in  Providence  and  in- 


RHODE    ISLAND.  917 

stalled  as  a  regular  officer.  From  this  beginning  the  movement 
spread  until  in  1893  an  Act  was  passed  by  the  General  Assembly, 
without  a  dissenting  voice,  requiring  police  matrons  in  all  cities, 
the  nominations  in  each  to  be  recommended  by  twenty  women 
residents  in  good  standing. 

The  first  agitation  for  women  probation  officers  was  started  in 
a  meeting  of  the  State  Suffrage  Association  in  1892.  The  W.  C. 
T.  U.  and  the  leaders  in  rescue  mission  work  in  Providence  con- 
tinued the  movement,  and  in  1898  a  woman  was  appointed  in 
Providence  to  that  office,  with  equal  powers  of  the  man  probation 
officer,  to  be  responsible  for  women  who  are  released  on  parole. 

In  1893  an  Act  was  passed  as  the  result  of  a  determined  move- 
ment lasting  several  years,  in  which  the  suffrage  association 
shared,  although  the  principal  leaders  were  the  labor  reform  or- 
ganizations of  the  State  and  the.,  Council  of  Women  of  Rhode 
Island  (to  which  body  the  W.  S.  A.  was  auxiliary).  It  raised 
the  legal  age  of  the  child-worker  from  ten  to  twelve  years,  pro- 
vided for  sanitary  conditions  and  moral  safeguards  in  shops  and 
factories,  and  for  the  appointment  of  two  factory  and  shop  in- 
spectors, "one  of  whom  shall  be  a  woman,"  to  secure  its  enforce- 
ment. The  man  and  woman  inspector  were  made  exactly  equal 
in  power,  responsibility  and  salary,  instead  of  the  woman  being, 
as  in  most  States,  a  deputy  or  special  inspector.  Mrs.  Fanny 
Purdy  Palmer  was  chosen  for  this  position. 

Appointive  offices  which  women  have  held  recently,  or  are 
holding,  are  assistant  clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court  and  Court  of 
Common  Pleas ;  stenographer  for  same ;  clerk  to  State  Commis- 
sioner of  Public  Schools;  clerk  to  State  Auditor  and  Insurance 
Commissioner;  as  superintendent  of  State  Reform  School  for 
Girls,  and  as  jailer  in  Kent  county. 

No  woman  has  ever  applied  to  serve  as  notary  public,  but 
doubtless  it  would  not  be  considered  legal. 

OCCUPATIONS:  No  occupation  or  profession  is  forbidden  to 
women,  but  a  test  is  soon  to  be  made  as  to  whether  they  will  be 
admitted  to  the  bar.  Women  are  prohibited  from  contracting 
to  work  more  than  ten  hours  a  day.  They  can  bind  themselves 
to  be  apprentices  till  the  age  of  eighteen,  men  until  twenty-one. 

EDUCATION  :     Rhode  Island  contains  only  one  university— 


91 8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Brown — founded  in  1764.  In  1883  Miss  Helen  McGill  and  Miss 
Annie  S.  Peck,  college  graduates,  addressed  a  meeting  at  Provi- 
dence on  the  higher  education  of  women.  Arnold  B.  Chace 
was  requested  at  this  time  to  report  at  the  next  regular  meeting 
of  the  State  Suffrage  Association  the  prospects  for  the  admission 
of  women  to  Brown  University,  as  he  was  treasurer  of  the  uni- 
versity corporation.  At  a  later  meeting  the  Rev.  Ezekiel  Oil- 
man Robinson,  then  president  of  the,  university,  by  request  ad- 
dressed the  association  and  declared  his  views,  saying  in  sub- 
stance that  he  was  not  in  favor  of  their  admission,  especially  in 
the  undergraduate  departments,  as  the  discipline  required  by 
young  men  and  women  was  quite  different  and  all  social  ques- 
tions would  be  complicated  by  the  presence  of  the  latter. 

After  much  discussion  at  other  meetings  it  was  decided  to  form 
a  committee,  representing  several  organizations  interested  in  the 
advancement  of  women,  to  work  more  definitely  in  this  direction. 
On  Feb.  20,  1886,  a  number  of  ladies  assembled  at  the  home 
of  Mrs.  Rachel  Fry,  a  prominent  member  of  the  suffrage  asso- 
ciation, and,  after  discussion  and  advice  from  Mr.  Chace,  ap- 
pointed a  committee.*  Three  days  later  it  met  at  the  home  of 
Mrs.  R.  A.  Peckham,  organized  and  elected  Miss  Sarah  E.  Doyle 
chairman  and  Mrs.  Fanny  Purdy  Palmer  secretary.  It  met 
again  March  14,  to  hear  reports  on  the  conferences  of  the  mem- 
bers with  professors  of  the  university,  and  the  result  showed  a 
considerable  number  of  them  in  favor  of  the  project.  To  influ- 
ence public  opinion  the  committee  published  statistics  showi 
that  thirty  young  women  of  Rhode  Island  were  attending  col- 
leges outside  the  State,  and  argued  that  most  of  these  who  now 
were  "exiles"  would  gladly  receive  the  higher  education  at  home. 

The  movement  was  accelerated  by  the  act  of  four  young  girls, 
Elizabeth  Hoyt,  Henrietta  R.  Palmer,  Emma  L.  Meader  and 
Helen  Gregory,  who  took  by  permission  the  classical  course  in 
the  Providence  High  School,  at  that  time  limited  to  boys ;  and  in 
1887  addressed  a  petition  prepared  by  David  Hoyt,  the  principal, 
to  the  president  of  the  university,  urging  that  when  their  prepara- 

•  Mrs.  Francis  VV.  Goddard,  Miss  Sarah  E.  Doyle,  principal  of  the  Girls'  High  School 
of  Providence;  Mrs.  M.  M.  Brewster,  president  of  the  Women's  Educational  and  Indus- 
trial Union;  Mrs.  Fanny  Purdy  Palmer  and  Mrs.  R.  A.  Peckham,  representing  the  State 
Suffrage  Association;  Mrs.  Augustine  Jones,  representing  the  Friends'  School,  and  Mrs. 
M.  E.  Tucker 


RHODE    ISLAND.  919 

tion  was  complete  they  might  be  allowed  to  share  the  educational 
privileges  of  Brown.  They  received  a  discouraging  response 
and  all  turned  to  other  colleges. 

Up  to  this  time  friends  on  the  faculty  and  in  the  corporation 
of  the  university  were  working  up  a  scheme  for  the  unofficial 
entrance  of  women  and  their  instruction  in  the  class-rooms,  and 
the  committee  had  engaged  itself  with  the  practical  details  con- 
nected with' this  plan. 

On  Feb.  4,  1889,  this  somewhat  informal  committee  organ- 
ized an  association  and  adopted  a  constitution  which  declared 
its  object,  "to  secure  the  educational  privileges  of  Brown  Univer- 
sity for  women  on  the  same  terms  offered  to  men."  Of  the 
thirty-two  original  signers  to  this  constitution  eighteen  were 
members  of  the  State  Suffrage  Association  and  the  number  in- 
cluded the  president,  two  vice-presidents,  secretary,  treasurer  and 
four  members  of  the  executive  committee.  The  same  officers 
were  continued. 

Prof.  Benjamin  Franklin  Clarke  was  from  the  first  an  earnest 
supporter  of  the  claims  of  the  women,  and  worked  within  the 
faculty  as  Arnold  B.  Chace  did  in  the  corporation.  When 
in  1889  Elisha  Benjamin  Andrews  (who  as  professor  had  in 
1887  indorsed  the  woman  suffrage  amendment)  became  the 
president  of  the  university,  the  cause  of  the  higher  education  of 
women  took  a  great  leap  forward.  In  October,  1891,  the 
Women's  College  connected  with  Brown  University  was  estab- 
lished and  a  small  building  hired  for  its  home.  Six  young 
women,  among  them  the  now  distinguished  president  of  Mount 
Holyoke  College,  Miss  Mary  Woolley,  entered  the  class  rooms. 
The  results  of  the  next  ten  years  are  thus  summed  up  in  the  offi- 
cial year-book  for  1901 : 

The  Women's  College  was  founded  in  October,  1891.  At  first 
only  the  privileges  of  university  examinations  and  certificates  of 
proficiency  were  granted.  In  June,  1892,  all  the  university  degrees 
and  the  graduate  courses  were  opened.  In  November,  1897,  the 
institution  was  accepted  by  the  corporation  and  officially  designated 
the  Women's  College  of  Brown  University.  The  immediate  charge, 
subject  to  the  direction  of  the  president,  was  placed  in  the  hands  of 
a  dean.  All  instruction  was  required  to  be  given  by  members  of 
the  university  faculty.  Pembroke  Hall,  which  was  built  by  the 
Rhode  Island  Society  for  the  Collegiate  Education  of  Women,  was 


920 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


formally  transferred  to  the  university  in  October,   1897,  and  was 
accepted  as  the  recitation  hall  of  the  Women's  College. 

The  record  of  the  admission  of  women  to  this  ancient  univer- 
sity is  part  of  the  history  of  the  Woman  Suffrage  Association, 
because  all  the  initial  movements  were  taken  by  that  body,  the 
society  which  continued  the  work  was  separated  from  the  asso- 
ciation only  for  purposes  of  practical  efficiency,  and  the  first 
principle  on  which  the  movement  proceeded  was  that  of  abso- 
lute equality  in  educational  opportunity,  which  is  the  corollary 
of  political  democracy.  With  its  actual  opening  to  women,  how- 
ever, other  elements  of  leadership  assumed  control  and  have 
secured  later  results. 

On  Jan.  16,  1892,  the  original  association  having  practically 
secured  its  object,  the  money  in  the  treasury  was  turned 
over  to  the  Women's  Educational  and  Industrial  Union,  and 
from  that  body  finally  found  its  way  to  a  scholarship  fund  for  the 
Women's  College,  and  the  association  disbanded.  Later  the 
need  for  raising  funds  to  meet  the  requirement  for  buildings  and 
endowments  led  to  the  reorganization  of  the  work,  and  the  pres- 
ent Rhode  Island  Society  for  the  Collegiate  Education  of  Women 
was  formed.  Miss  Doyle  was  elected  the  president  of  this  new 
association,  as  she  had  been  of  the  old.  At  the  dedication  of 
Pembroke  Hall,  which  the  efforts  of  this  later  society  had  secured, 
the  early  history  (especially  the  connection  of  the  Woman  Suf- 
frage Association  with  the  work)  was  not  dwelt  upon,  but  the 
facts  should  have  permanent  record  to  furnish  one  more  proof 
that  woman  suffrage  societies  have  started  great  collateral  move- 
ments, which,  when  they  are  fully  successful,  often  forget  or  do 
not  know  the  "mother  that  bore  them."* 

It  was  not  until  1893  that  the  full  classical  course  of  the  Provi- 
dence High  School,  preparatory  for  the  university,  was  officially 
thrown  open  to  girls,  although  a  few  had  previously  attended. 

*  The  Suffrage  Association  has  held  one  meeting  in  Pembroke  Hall,  however,  which 
•was  presided  over  by  its  acting  president  and  at  which  the  daughter  of  Julia  Ward  Howe, 
Mrs.  Florence  Howe  Hall,  spoke  upon  "The  Political  Position  of  Women  in  England;" 
and  the  use  of  Sayles  Hall  of  Brown  University  was  freely  granted  for  a  series  of  meet- 
ings under  the  auspices  of  the  W.  S.  A.  devoted  to  a  presentation  of  "Woman's  Contri- 
bution to  the  Progress  of  the  World."  These  were  addressed  by  Abba  Goold  Woolson, 
Mary  A.  Livermore,  Lillie  Devereux  Blake,  Lillie  Chace  Wyman,  Alice  Stone  Blackwell, 
Mary  F.  Eastman,  Prof.  Katherine  Hanscom  and  the  Rev.  Anna  Garlin  Spencer. 

In  October,  1901,  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  addressed  the  students  and  was  enthusias- 
tically received. 


RHODE    ISLAND.  Q2I 

Xow  all  departments,  including  the  manual  training,  are  open 
alike  to  both  sexes,  and  there  are  no  distinctions  anywhere  in  the 
public  schools.  In  these  there  are  207  men  and  1,706  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $103.74; 
of  the  women,  $51.  Only  one  other  State  (Mass.)  shows  so 
great  a  discrepancy. 


The  Association  of  Collegiate  Alumnae  has  an  active  branch  in 
Rhode  Island.  Seventeen  clubs  representing  1,436  members 
belong  to  the  State  Federation.  The  Local  Council  of  Women, 
which  is  auxiliary  to  the  National* Council,  has  a  membership,  by 
delegate  representation,  of  thirty-two  of  the  leading  educational, 
church,  philanthropic  and  reformatory  societies  of  Providence 
and  of  the  State.  About  one-half  of  these  have  men  as  well  as 
women  for  members,  but  all  are  represented  in  the  Council  by 
women.  This  body  has  done  many  important  things,  having 
taken  the  most  active  part  in  securing  Factory  and  Shop  Inspec- 
tion; initiated  the  formation  of  the  Providence  Society  for  Or- 
ganizing Charity;  started  the  movement  for  a  Consumers' 
League  and  launched  that  association;  and  is  now  at  work  to 
secure  a  State  institution  for  the  care  and  training  of  the  Feeble- 
Minded.  The  Council  holds  from  six  to  ten  private  meetings  in 
the  year,  at  least  two  public  meetings,  and  an  annual  public  Peace 
Celebration  in  conjunction  with  the  Peace  Committee  of  the  In- 
ternational Council  of  Women. 


CHAPTER   LXIII. 

SOUTH    CAROLINA.* 

In  1890  Mrs.  Virginia  Durant  Young  being  on  a  visit  to  Mrs. 
Adelaide  Viola  Neblett  at  Greenville,  these  two  did  so  inspire 
each  other  that  then  and  there  they  held  a  suffrage  conference 
with  Mrs.  S.  Odie  Sirrene,  Mrs.  Mary  Putnam  Gridley  and 
others,  and  pledged  themselves  to  work  for  woman's  enfranchise- 
ment in  South  Carolina. 

Mrs.  Young  made  a  suffrage  address  to  the  Woman's  Chris- 
tian Temperance  Union  of  Beaufort  in  1891,  and  later  spoke  on 
the  subject  by  invitation  at  Lexington  and  in  the  Baptist  church 
at  Marion.  She  eventually  succeeded  in  forming  a  State  asso- 
ciation of  250  men  and  women  who  believed  in  equal  rights,  and 
interested  themselves  in  circulating  literature  on  this  question. 
Its  officers  for  1900  are  Mrs.  Young,  president;  Mrs.  Mary  P. 
Prentiss,  vice-president;  Miss  Harriet  B.  Manville,  correspond- 
ing secretary ;  Mrs.  Gridley,  treasurer. 

In  1895  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  president  of  the  National 
Association,  Mrs.  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  of  New  York,  and  Mrs. 
Ellen  Battelle  Dietrick  of  Massachusetts,  made  addresses  at  vari- 
ous places,  on  their  way  home  from  the  national  convention  in 
Atlanta.  In  April  of  this  year  Miss  Laura  Clay  of  Kentucky, 
Miss  Helen  Morris  Lewis  of  North  Carolina,  and  Miss  Elizabeth 
Upham  Yates  of  Maine,  with  Mrs.  Young  and  Mrs.  Xeblett, 
began  a  suffrage  campaign  at  Greenville.  They  went  thence  to 
Spartanburg,  Columbia  and  Charleston.  Here  the  party  di- 
vided, Miss  Clay  and  Mrs.  Young  going  to  Georgetown,  Flor- 
ence, Marion,  Latta,  Darlington,  Timmonsville  and  Sumter. 
Later  Mrs.  Neblett,  Miss  Clay  and  Mrs.  Young  spoke  at  Allen- 
dale,  Barn  well,  Hampton  and  Beaufort. 

Miss  Clay,  auditor  of  the  National  Association,  worked  four 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Virginia  D.  Young  of  Fairfax,  owner 
and  editor  of  the  Enterprise  and  president  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 

922 


SOUTH    CAROLINA.  923 

months  in  South  Carolina  this  year  at  her  own  expense.  Half 
of  the  time  was  spent  in  Columbia,  assisting  Mrs.  Young  and 
others  in  the  effort  to  have  an  amendment  giving  suffrage  to  tax- 
paying  women  incorporated  in  the  new  constitution  then  being 
framed.  They  had  hearings  before  two  committees  in  Septem- 
ber, and  presented  their  arguments  to  the  entire  Constitutional 
Convention  in  the  State  House,  with  a  large  number  of  citizens 
present.  The  amendment  failed  by  a  vote  of  26  yeas,  121  nays. 

President  D.  B.  Johnston,  of  the  Girls'  Industrial  and  Normal 
College,  and  John  J.  McMahan,  State  superintendent  of  instruc- 
tion, have  done  much  to  advance  the  educational  status  of 
women,  and  both  believe  in  perfect  equality  of  rights.  Among 
other  advocates  may  be  mentioned  the  Hon.  Walter  Hazard,  Dr. 
\Yilliam  J.  Young,  McDonald  Furman,  B.  Odell  Duncan,  George 
Sirrene,  Col.  John  J.  Dargan,  Col.  Ellison  Keith,  the  Rev.  Sidi 
H.  Brown,  Col.  V.  P.  Clayton,  the  Rev.  John  T.  Morrison, 
Samuel  G.  Lawton,  J.  Gordon  Coogler  and  William  D.  Evans, 
president  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society. 

Miss  Martha  Schofield,  superintendent  of  the  Colored  Indus- 
trial School  at  Aiken,  regularly  enters  a  protest  against  paying 
taxes  without  representation.  Other  women  who  have  been  de- 
voted workers  in  the  cause  of  suffrage  are  Miss  Mary  I.  Hemp- 
hill,  editor  with  her  father  of  the  Abbeville  Medium;  Mesdames 
Marion  Morgan  Buckner,  Daisy  P.  Bailey,  Florence  Durant 
Evans,  Lillian  D.  Clayton,  Gertrude  D.  Lido,  Cora  S.  Lott,  Abbie 
Christensen,  Martha  Corley  and  Mary  P.  Screven;  Dr.  Sarah 
Allen;  Misses  Claudia  G.  Tharin,  Iva  Youmans,  Annie  Durant, 
Kate  Lily  Blue  and  Floride  Cunningham. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS  :  In  1892  Mrs.  Virginia  Du- 
rant Young  petitioned  the  Legislature  for  her  personal  enfran- 
chisement, adopting  this  method  of  presenting  the  arguments  in 
a  nutshell,  and  as  "news"  they  were  widely  published  and  com- 
mented on.  At  this  session  Gen.  Robert  R.  Hemphill,  a  stanch 
advocate,  presented  a  bill  in  the  Senate  to  give  women  the  fran- 
chise and  the  right  of  holding  office,  and  brought  it  to  a  vote  on 
December  17;  yeas,  14,  nays,  21. 

In  1895  numerously  signed  petitions  for  suffrage  were  sent  to 
the  Legislature  by  the  women  of  Fairfax,  Lexington  and  Marion. 


9-4  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  right  of  petition  was  also  frequently  used  by  the  member 
the  State  W.  C.  T.  U. 

In  1896  Mrs.  Young  addressed  the  Legislature  in  behalf  of 
Presidential  Suffrage  for  women. 

In  1892,  '93,  '95  and  '98  the  laws  were  improved. in  regard  to 
ruarried  women's  property  rights,  allowing  them  to  hold  real 
estate  independently  of  their  husbands,  restraining  husbands 
from  collecting  debts  or  wages  owing  to  their  wives,  and  making 
the  wife's  signature  necessary  to  the  legality  of  mortgage. 

In  1895  it  was  enacted  by  the  Constitutional  Convention  tha 
"The  real  and  personal  property  of  a  woman,  held  at  the  time  of 
her  marriage,  or  that  which  she  may  thereafter  acquire,  either 
by  gift,  grant,  inheritance,  devise  or  otherwise,  shall  be  her  sep- 
arate property,  and  she  shall  have  all  the  rights  incident  to  the 
same,  to  which  an  unmarried  woman  or  a  man  is  entitled.  She 
shall  have  the  power  to  contract  and  be  contracted  with,  in  the 
same  manner  as  if  she  were  unmarried." 

Dower  prevails  but  not  curtesy.  If  either  husband  or  \vi 
die  without  a  will  the  other  has  an  equal  claim  on  the  property. 
Should  there  be  one  or  more  children,  the  survivor  receives  one- 
third  of  the  real  and  the  personal  estate.  If  there  are  no  lineal 
descendants,  but  collateral  heirs,  the  survivor  takes  one-half  of 
the  entire  estate.  If  there  are  no  lineal  descendants,  father. 
mother,  brother,  sister,  child  of  such  brother  or  sister,  brother  of 
the  half-blood  or  lineal  ancestor,  the  survivor  receives  two-thi 
of  the  estate  and  the  other  third  goes  to  the  next  of  kin.  If 
there  is  no  kin,  the  survivor  takes  the  whole  estate. 

A  homestead  to  the  value  of  $1,000  is  exempted  to  "the  head 
of  the  family." 

South  Carolina  is  the  only  State  which  does  not  allow  divorce. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  children,  and  may  ap- 
point a  guardian  of  their  persons  and  property  by  will. 

The  law  requires  the  husband  to  support  the  family,  but  there 
is  no  effective  way  for  its  enforcement.     Any  one  may  sell  the 
wife  necessaries  and  subject  the  husband's  property  to  the  pay- 
ment of  the  bills,  if  he  does  not  furnish  a  suitable  support,  but  h 
can  claim  his  homestead  against  such  a  debt  and  in  many 
render  this  remedy  unavailing. 


SOUTH    CAROLINA.  925 

In  1895  the  "age  of  protection  for  girls"  was  raised  from  10 
to  14  years.  The  penalty  is  "death,  with  privilege  of  the  jury  to 
recommend  to  mercy,  whereupon  the  penalty  may  be  reduced  to 
imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  at  hard  labor  during  the  whole 
lifetime  of  the  prisoner." 

Seduction  under  promise  of  marriage  is  punished  by  a  fine  of 
not  less  than  $500  nor  more  than  $5,000,  or  imprisonment  for 
not  less  than  six  months  nor  more  than  five  years. 

SUFFRAGE  :     Women  possess  no  form  of  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  In  the  early  '90*3  Gov.  Benjamin  R.  Till- 
man  secured  the  election  of  the  first  woman  State  librarian.  Ever 
since  this  office  has  been  filled  by  a  woman,  elected  annually  by 
the  Legislature.  No  other  elective  office  is  open  to  women. 

A  number  of  the  engrossing  clerks  in  the  Senate  are  women. 

Through  the  efforts  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  there  is  a  police  matron 
at  Charleston. 

Dr.  Sarah  Allen  was  appointed  physician  in  the  State  hospital 
for  the  insane  in  1896,  and  still  holds  the  position. 

There  are  women  directors  on  the  board  of  the  Columbia 
Library  Association. 

Women  do  not  serve  on  the  board  of  any  State  institution. 

They  can  not  be  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  Women  are  not  permitted  to  practice  law. 
Xo  other  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  forbidden  to  them. 

EDUCATION:  In  1894  the  State  University  at  Columbia 
opened  its  doors  to  women.  In  the  same  year  the  Medical  Col- 
lege of  Charleston  admitted  them,  and  still  later  Furman  Uni- 
versity (Baptist)  at  Greenville.  These  were  direct  results  of 
the  agitation  for  equal  rights  Charleston  College  and  Clemson 
Agricultural  College  are  closed  to  women,  but  they  may  enter 
the  other  educational  institutions.  Gov.  Benjamin  R.  Tillman 
was  largely  instrumental  in  securing  the  Girls'  Industrial  and 
Normal  College  at  Rock  Hill,  in  1894. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  2,245  men  and  2,728  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $25.18;  of 
the  women,  $24.29. 


CHAPTER    LXIV. 

TENNESSEE.* 

No  organized  work  for  woman  suffrage  had  been  done  in  Ten- 
nessee up  to  1885,  when  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Lyle  Saxon  was  ap- 
pointed president  of  the  State  by  the  National  Association.  In 
1886  she  removed  to  Washington  Territory  and  Mrs.  Lida  A. 
Meriwether  was  made  her  successor.  As  the  best  means  of  ob- 
taining a  hearing  from  people  who  would  not  attend  a  suffrage 
meeting,  Mrs.  Meriwether  decided  to  begin  her  work  in  the  ranks 
of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union.  After  three 
years  of  quiet  effort  in  this  organization  (of  which  she  was  State 
president)  she  succeeded  in  adding  the  "franchise"  to  its  depart- 
ments and  having  a  solid  suffrage  plank  nailed  into  its  platform 
by  unanimous  vote.  In  May,  1889,  she  formed  in  Memphis  the 
first  local  suffrage  club,  with  a  membership  of  fifty. 

In  January,  1895,  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  president  of  the 
National  Association,  and  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman 
of  its  organization  committee,  came  to  Memphis  and  were  wel- 
comed not  only  by  the  suffrage  society,  but  also  by  the  Local 
Council  of  Women,  the  Woman's  Club  and  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury Club.  They  addressed  a  fine  audience  in  the  Young  Men's 
Hebrew  Association  Hall. 

The  following  June  Mrs.  Meriwether  was  employed  by  the 
National  Association  to  lecture  and  organize  for  two  weeks,  and 
visited  the  most  important  towns  in  the  State. 

In  May,  1897,  Miss  Frances  A.  Griffin  of  Alabama  made  a 
six  weeks'  lecture  and  organizing  tour  under  the  auspices  of  the 
association,  during  which  she  spoke  in  every  available  town  of 
any  size.  Mrs.  Nellie  E.  Bergen  acting  as  advance  agent.  No 
other  organizing  work  ever  has  been  done  in  Tennessee. 

The  first  State  suffrage  convention  was  held  at  Nashville  i 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Lida  A.  Meriwether  of  Mempbil 
honorary  president  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 

926 


1 


TENNESSEE.  927 

May,  1897,  an  association  formed  and  Mrs.  Meri wether  unani- 
mously elected  president.  This  was  in  fact  an  interstate  con- 
vention, being  held  during  the  Tennessee  Centennial  Exposition 
at  the  invitation  of  the  managing  committee,  who  offered  the 
suffragists  the  use  of  the  Woman's  Building  for  three  days  to 
give  reasons  for  the  faith  that  was  in  them.  Delegates  were 
present  from  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Alabama,  Mississippi  and 
Illinois.  Addresses  were  given  by  Miss  Liura  Clay  and  Mrs. 
Lida  Calvert  Obenchain  of  Kentucky,  Mrs.  Virginia  Clay  Clop- 
ton  and  Miss  Griffin  of  Alabama,  Miss  Josephine  E.  Locke  of 
Illinois,  Mrs.  Flora  C.  Huntington  and  Mrs.  Meriwether. 

The  second  convention  took  place  at  Memphis,  April  22,  1900, 
Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  and  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay,  national  organizer, 
in  attendance.  Mrs.  Meriwether  was  elected  honorary  president 
for  life;  Mrs.  Elise  M.  Selden  was  made  president  and  Miss 
Margaret  E.  Henry,  corresponding  secretary.  On  Sunday  even- 
ing Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  addressed  a  mass  meeting  in  the  Grand 
Opera  House,  and  the  next  evening  spoke  in  the  audience  hall 
of  the  Nineteenth  Century  Club,  both  given  free  of  charge. 

One  incident  will  further  show  the  growth  of  public  sentiment 
in  this  direction.  In  1895  a  prominent  Memphis  woman  sent 
to  the  Arena  an  article  entitled  The  Attitude  of  Southern  Women 
on  the  Suffrage  Question,  which  she  claimed  to  be  that  of  un- 
compromising opposition.  In  conclusion  she  said  :  "The  views 
presented  have  been  strengthened  by  opinions  from  women  all 
over  the  South,  from  the  Atlantic  Coast  to  Texas,  from  the  Ohio 
to  the  Gulf.  More  than  one  hundred  of  the  home-makers,  the 
teachers  and  the  writers  have  been  consulted,  all  of  them  recog- 
nized in  their  own  communities  for  earnestness  and  ability.  Of 
these,  only  thirteen  declared  themselves  outright  for  woman  suf- 
frage; four  believed  that  women  should  vote  upon  property  and 
school  questions ;  while  nine  declined  to  express  themselves.  All 
the  others  were  opposed  to  woman  suffrage  in  any  form."  She 
then  gave  short  extracts  from  the  letters  of  eighteen  women, 
four  in  favor  and  fourteen  opposed. 

The  editor  wrote  to  Mrs.  Josephine  K.  Henry  of  Kentucky 
asking  for  an  article  from  the  other  side.  She  sent  one  entitled 
The  New  Woman  of  the  New  South,  and  the  two  were  pub- 


928 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


lished  in  the  Arena  of  February,  1895.  Mrs.  Henry  gave  ex- 
tracts from  the  letters  of  seventy-two  prominent  women  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  South — all  uncompromising  suffragists.  She 
had  written  to  Mrs.  Meriwether  that,  as  her  opponent  was  from 
Tennessee,  she  wanted  a  distinct  voice  from  that  State,  and  re- 
quested her  to  give  a  few  reasons  for  desiring  the  suffrage  and 
obtain  the  signatures  of  women  to  the  same.  Mrs.  Meriwether 
supplied  the  following: 

We,  the  undersigned  women  of  Tennessee,  do  and  should  want 
the  ballot  because — 

1.  Being  21  years  old,  we  object  to  being  classed  with  minors. 

2.  Born  in  America  and  loyal  to  her  institutions,  we  protest 
against  being  made  perpetual  aliens. 

3.  Costing  the  treasuries  of  our  counties  nothing,  we  protest 
against  acknowledging  the  male  pauper  as  our  political  superior. 

4.  Being  obedient  to  law,  we  protest  against  the  statute  which 
classes  us  with  the  convict  and  makes  the  pardoned  criminal  our 
political  superior. 

5.  Being  sane,  we  object  to  being  classed  with  the  lunatic. 

6.  Possessing  an  average  amount  of   intelligence,   we  protest 
against  legal  classification  with  the  idiot. 

7.  We  taxpayers  claim  the  right  to  representation. 

8.  We  married  women  want  to  own  our  clothes. 

9.  We  married  breadwinners  want  to  own  our  earnings. 

10.  We  mothers  want  an  equal  partnership  in  our  children. 

11.  We  educated  women  want  the  power  to  offset  the  illiterate 
vote  of  our  State. 

Mrs.  Meriwether  sent  this  "confession  of  faith"  to  the  presi- 
dents of  every  suffrage  club  and  W.  C.  T.  U.  in  Tennessee,  giving 
them  a  fortnight  to  obtain  signatures  and  adding,  "The  King's 
business  requires  haste."  In  two  weeks  it  was  returned  with  the 
names  of  535  women,  while  several  presidents  wrote :  "If  you 
could  only  give  us  two  weeks  more  we  could  double  the  number." 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  Dower  and  curtesy  both 
obtain.  The  widow  receives  one-third  of  the  real  estate,  unless 
there  are  neither  descendants  nor  heirs-at-law,  when  she  take1; 

*  Among  prominent  men  who  have  aided  in  protective  and  progressive  work  for  women 
are  Legislators  W.  H.  Milburn,  Thomas  A.  Baker  and  Joseph  Babb;  Editors  G.  U'.  Arm 
stead  of  the  Issue,   Gideon   Baskette  of  the  Nashville  Banner  and   J.    M.   Keating  of  the 
Memphis  Appeal;  the  Revs.  H.   S.  Williams,  W.   B.   Evans,  C.  H.  Wilson  and  T.   B.  1 
nam;   Judges   E.   H.   East  and   Arthur   Simpson.     Among  women  may  be  mentioned 
dames  E.  J.  Roach,  Georgia  Mizelle,  Bettie  M.  Donaldson,  Margaret  Gardner,   Emily  Set- 
tle, Ida  T.   East,   Caroline  Goodlett,    S.    E.    Dosser,  A.    A.   Gibson,   Mary  T.    McTeer  and 
Kate  M.  Simpson;  Misses  Louise  and  Mary  Drouillard,  J.  E.  Baillett,  M.  L.  Patterson  a 
S.  E.  Hoyt.     Lo!  all  these  are  of  the  faithful — and  yet  "the  half  hath  not  been  told." 


TENNESSEE.  929 

it  all  in  fee-simple.  Of  the  personal  property  she  takes  a  child's 
share,  unless  there  are  no  lineal  descendants,  when  she  takes  it 
all.  The  widower  is  entitled  to  a  life  interest  in  the  wife's  real 
estate,  if  there  has  been  issue  born  alive,  and  to  all  of  her  personal 
estate  whether  there  are  children  or  not.  The  law  provides  that 
a  homestead  to  the  value  of  $1,000  shall  inure  to  the  widow. 

The  wife  can  neither  sue  nor  be  sued  nor  make  contracts  in 
her  own  name,  unless  the  husband  has  deserted  her  or  is  insane. 
The  husband  is  entitled  to  her  earnings  and  savings. 

Meigs'  Digest  says :  "The  general  principle  of  the  law  is  that 
marriage  amounts  to  an  absolute  gift  to  the  husband  of  all  per- 
sonal goods  of  which  the  wife  is  actually  or  beneficially  possessed 
at  the  time,  or  which  come  to  her  during  coverture.  So  that  if 
it  be  money  in  her  pocket  or  personal  property  in  the  hands  of  a 
third  party,  the  title  vests  at  once  in  the  husband. 

"By  right  of  his  marriage  the  husband  takes  an  interest  in  his 
wife's  real  estate,  and  during  their  joint  lives  the  law  gives  him 
a  right  to  the  crops,  profits  and  products  of  her  lands.  He  has 
the  usufruct  of  all  her  freehold  estate.  The  husband  is  entitled 
to  the  profits  of  all  lands  held  by  the  wife  for  her  life,  or  for  the 
life  of  another. 

"When  a  marriage  is  dissolved  at  the  suit  of  the  husband,  and 
the  defendant  is  owner  in  her  own  right  of  lands,  his  right  to 
and  interest  therein  and  to  the  rents  and  profits  of  the  same,  shall 
not  be  taken  away  or  impaired,  but  the  same  shall  remain  to  him 
as  though  the  marriage  had  continued.  And  he  shall  also  be  en- 
titled to  her  personal  estate,  in  possession  or  in  action,  and  may 
sue  for  and  recover  the  same  in  his  own  name. 

"When  the  wife  is  forced  to  separate  from  her  husband,  by 
reason  of  cruel  and  inhuman  treatment  from  him,  she  may,  by  a 
bill  in  equity,  have  a  suitable  provision  made  for  her  support,  out 
of  the  rents  and  profits  of  her  land." 

The  code  says :  "A  father,  whether  under  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  or  of  full  age,  may  by  deed  executed  in  his  lifetime  or 
by  last  will  and  testament  in  writing,  from  time  to  time  and  in 
such  manner  and  form  as  he  thinks  fit,  dispose  of  the  custody 
and  tuition  of  any  legitimate  child  under  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years  and  unmarried,  whether  born  at  the  time  of  his  death  or 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 45 


93O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

afterwards,  during  the  minority  of  such  child,  or  for  a  less  time." 
If  the  father  abandon  the  family  the  mother  becomes  guardian, 
but  she  can  not  appoint  one  by  will. 

No  law  requires  the  husband  to  support  wife  or  children. 

The  legal  age  for  marriage  is  fourteen  years  for  boys  and 
twelve  for  girls. 

By  earnest  pleading  and  continual  petitioning  during  the  past 
ten  years  women  have  secured  the  following:  i.  The  passage 
of  a  bill  making  women  eligible  as  superintendents  of  county 
schools.  2.  Police  matrons  in  two  cities — Memphis  and  Knox- 
ville.  3.  A  law  raising  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  from 
10  to  1 6  years  (1893),  but  if  over  12  the  crime  is  only  a 
misdemeanor.  The  penalty  is,  if  under  12,  "death  by  hanging, 
or,  in  the  discretion  of  the  jury,  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary 
for  life  or  for  a  period  not  less  than  ten  years;"  if  over  12. 
"imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than  three  months  nor 
more  than  ten  years ;  provided  no  conviction  shall  be  had  on  the 
unsupported  testimony  of  the  female  .  .  .  or  if  the  female 
is  a  bawd,  lewd  or  kept  female."  ( 1895.) 

SUFFRAGE  :     Women  possess  no  form  of  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  Women  are  not  eligible  to  any  elective 
office  except  that  of  county  superintendent  of  schools,  which  was 
provided  for  by  special  statute  about  1890.  They  can  not  serve 
as  school  trustees. 

For  a  number  of  years  all  the  librarians  and  engrossing  clerks 
of  both  Senate  and  House  have  been  women.  They  can  not  act 
as  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  Women  have  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law, 
but  this  was  forbidden  by  a  recent  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court 
( 1901 ) .  It  was  based  on  the  ground  that  an  attorney  is  a  public 
officer,  and  as  women  are  not  legally  entitled  to  hold  public  office 
they  can  not  practice  law. 

EDUCATION  :  Degrees  in  law  have  been  conferred  upon  sev- 
eral women  at  Vanderbilt  University,  for  white  students,  and  at 
Fiske  University,  for  colored.  All  institutions  of  learning,  ex- 
cept a  few  of  a  sectarian  nature,  are  coeducational. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  5,019  men  and  4,195  women 
teachers.     The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  (estimat< 
is  $31.88;  of  the  women,  $26.18. 


CHAPTER  LXV. 

TEXAS.* 

The  first  addresses  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage  in  Texas  are 
believed  to  have  been  given  by  Mrs.  Mariana  T.  Folsom  in  1885. 
The  first  attempt  at  organization  was  made  on  May  10,  1893, 
when  Mrs.  Rebecca  Henry  Hayes  called  a  meeting  in  the  par- 
lors of  the  Grand  Windsor  Hotel  at  Dallas  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  a  State  association.  Fifty-two  names  were  enrolled; 
Mrs.  Hayes  was  made  president,  Dr.  Lawson  Dabbs  correspond- 
ing secretary,  and  Margaret  L.  Watrous,  recording  secretary.! 
Mrs.  Sarah  S.  Trumbull  was  elected  State  organizer  and  auxil- 
iary associations  were  formed  in  various  towns.  Mrs.  Hayes 
traveled  9,000  miles  in  the  interest  of  this  cause  during  the  next 
two  years,  but  as  Texas  has  360  counties  and  a  scattered  and 
widely  separated  population,  organized  work  is  very  difficult. 

In  1896  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Good  Houston  became  president. 
Mrs.  Alice  McAnulty  served  a  number  of  years  most  efficiently 
as  corresponding  secretary.  Dr.  Grace  Danforth  also  did  effect- 
ive work.  Mrs.  L.  A.  Craig  presented  the  question  to  the  Demo- 
cratic State  Convention  of  1894,  but  without  any  practical  result. 
Mrs.  McAnulty  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Fry  attended  the  Populist 
State  Convention  the  same  year,  but  no  action  was  taken. 

Since.  1,887  the  State  W.  C.  T.  U.  has  been  pledged  to  woman 
suffrage.  The  president,  Mrs.  S.  C.  Acheson,  under  whose  man- 
agement it  was  adopted,  was  an  enthusiast  upon  the  subject. 
Mrs.  Fry  was  the  first  State  superintendent  of  franchise,  and, 
through  both  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  and  the  W.  S.  A.,  has  rendered 
valuable  service.  Later,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Prendergast  filled  this 
position,  distributing  much  literature  and  speaking  in  many 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Stoddard  of  Fort  Worth, 
president  of  the  State  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union. 

t  Under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Dabbs  a  Congress  of  Women  was  held  in  connection  with 
the  State  Fair,  and  a  Texas  Woman's  Council  was  formed,  not  committed  to  suffrage  but 
progressive  in  its  views. 

931 


932  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


cities.  Judge  Davis  McGee  Prendergast  became  a  convert  be- 
fore his  wife  and  convinced  her  of  the  righteousness  of  woman 
suffrage.  These  two  ladies  are  southern-born  and  life-long  Tex- 
ans. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  In  1891,  through  the  ef- 
forts of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was 
raised  from  10  to  12  years.  In  1895  it  was  raised  to  15 
years.  The  penalty  is  death  or  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary 
from  not  less  than  five  years  to  life. 

No  attempt  ever  has  been  made  to  secure  the  franchise,  but  at 
this  time  (1895)  the  women  learned  that  thirty  of  the  legisla- 
tors believed  in  woman  suffrage,  one  of  them  declaring:  "If 
some  of  these  seats  were  occupied  by  women,  we  men  would  do 
better  work." 

Neither  dower  nor  curtesy  obtains.  If  there  are  any  lineal 
descendants  a  surviving  husband  or  wife  is  entitled  to  a  life  in- 
terest in  one-third  of  the  real  estate  and  to  one-third  of  the  per- 
sonal estate  absolutely  ;  if  none,  to  all  the  personal  property  and  a 
life  interest  in  one-half  the  real  estate.  If  there  are  neither 
father,  mother,  brothers,  sisters  nor  their  descendants,  the  sur- 
viving husband  or  wife  is  entitled  to  the  whole  estate,  both  real 

property  passes  to  the  widow  or  widower  if  there  are  one  or 
more  children  and  the  whole  of  such  property  if  there  are  no 
lineal  descendants.  A  widow  or  widower  is  also  entitled  to  re- 
tain a  homestead  not  exceeding  $5,000  in  value.  If  either  hus- 
band or  wife  die  without  a  will  or  become  insane,  and  there  are 
no  living  descendants,  and  the  other  party  to  the  marriage  has  no 
separate  estate,  the  community  property  passes  to  the  survivor 
without  an  administration,  unless  there  is  a  guardianship  by  the 
State  of  the  insane  spouse.  If,  however,  there  are  descendant-. 
the  survivor  has  the  exclusive  management  of  the  community 
property.  A  woman  loses  this  right  if  she  contract  another 
marriage.  In  the  event  of  the  insane  person  being  restored  to  a 
sound  mental  condition,  an  accounting  of  such  property  must  be 
rendered. 

The  property  which  a  woman  owns  at  marriage,  or  acquires 


and  personal,  as  to  separate  property. 

In  addition  to   such   provision,   one-half   of   the   community 


TEXAS.  933 

by  gift,  devise  or  descent  afterward,  remains  her  separate  estate, 
but  passes  under  the  absolute  control  of  the  husband,  except  that 
he  can  not  sell  it  without  her  consent. 

The  wife  can  not  sell  her  separate  property  without  the  hus- 
band's consent.  He  may  sell  his  separate  property  without  hers. 

He  may  also  sell  the  community  property,  except  the  home- 
stead, without  her  consent. 

The  wife  must  sue  and  be  sued  jointly  with  her  husband  in 
regard  to  her  separate  property,  and  all  other  matters. 

The  wages  of  the  wife  belong  to  the  husband  as  part  of  the 
community  property,  whether  she  is  living  with  him  or  separate 
from  him. 

Divorce  is  granted  to  the  husband  if  the  wife  commit  a  single 
act  of  adultery;  to  the  wife,  only  if  the  husband  has  abandoned 
her  and  lived  in  adultery  with  another.  The  law  places  the  di- 
vision of  the  property  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  judge,  but 
provides  that  "nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed  to 
compel  either  party  to  divest  himself  or  herself  of  real  estate." 
Supreme  Court  decisions  have  laid  down  the  general  rule  that 
separate  property  shall  be  restored  to  its  owner.  Where  there 
are  no  children  the  community  property  may  be  divided  as  in 
case  of  death.  The  court,  however,  may  make  such  provision 
as  it  deems  essential  for  the  support  of  wife  or  children  or  an 
invalid  husband.  If«necessary  it  may  place  separate  or  commu- 
nity property  in  the  hands  of  trustees,  the  rents  and  profits  to  be 
applied  to  the  maintenance  and  education  of  the  children  or  the 
support  of  the  wife.  The  judge  assigns  the  children  for  their 
best  interests.  In  general  practice  the  mother,  unless  disquali- 
fied morally,  retains  the  custody  of  female  children  of  any  age 
and  of  males  to  the  age  of  eight,  when  they  are  usually  given  to 
the  father.  There  is  no  absolute  rule,  and  in  case  of  children  or 
property  an  appeal  may  be  taken  to  a  higher  court. 

The  father  is  the  natural  guardian  of  the  persons  and  educa- 
tion of  the  minor  children,  and  is  entitled  to  be  appointed  guard- 
ian of  their  estates." 

The  law  of  support,  revised  in  1895,  provides  that  "if  the  hus- 
band fail  to  support  the  wife  or  children  from  the  proceeds  .of 
the  land  she  may  have  or  fail  to  educate  the  children  as  the  for- 


934  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

tune  of  the  wife  would  justify,  she  may  in  either  case  complain 
to  the  County  Court,  which  upon  satisfactory  proof  shall  decree 
that  so  much  of  her  proceeds  shall  be  paid  to  the  wife  for  the 
support  of  herself  and  the  education  of  the  children  as  the  court 
may  deem  necessary."* 

SUFFRAGE  :     Women  possess  no  form  of  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  Most  of  the  public  offices  have  some 
women  on  their  clerical  force,  that  of  the  comptroller  having 
seven.  They  are  paid  the  same  as  men  for  the  same  work. 

Women  were  postmasters  of  both  Senate  and  House  in  the 
Legislature  of  1900,  and  acted  as  clerks  of  committees. 

They  can  serve  as  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS:  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  for- 
bidden to  women.  They  practice  law  and  medicine,  are  man- 
agers of  many  kinds  of  business  and  proprietors  of  hotels,  and 
two  have  been  presidents  of  banks. 

Mrs.  Henrietta  King  is  widely  known  as  "the  Cattle  Queen 
of  the  World."  Her  ranch  covers  a  million  acres,  and  the  net 
proceeds  of  her  sales  of  horses  and  cattle  are  estimated  at  $500,- 
ooo  a  year.  A  number  of  women  own  and  manage  ranches. 

EDUCATION  :  Most  of  the  leading  institutions  of  learning 
are  open  to  both  sexes.  Among  these  are  the  State  University, 
Baylor  University  (Baptist),  Southwestern  University  (Method- 
ist South),  Fort  Worth  Polytechnic  (Methodist  Episcopal), 
Trinity  University  (Cumberland  Presbyterian)  and  Wiley  Uni- 
versity (colored).  Austin  College  and  the  State  Agricultural 
and  Mechanical  College  are  restricted  to  male  students. 

The  State  Industrial  College  for  Girls  (white)  was  established 
by  the  Legislature  of  1900,  with  an  appropriation  of  $60,000. 
All  of  the  industries  will  be  taught,  from  domestic  science  to 
draughting.  The  W.  C.  T.  U.  and  others  had  been  petitioning 
for  this  ten  years,  f 

*  The  lawyer  who  was  consulted  as  to  the  accuracy  of  these  statements  said,  after  a 
careful  examination:  "There  are  so  many  other  laws  bearing  upon  each  of  these  that 
all  this  is  necessarily  imperfect,  but  there  is  enough  else,  that  is  likewise  true,  to  fill  a 
book." 

t  In  1901  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Stoddard  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Joseph  D.  Sayers  a  member 
of  the  committee  to  locate  this  school.  The  appointment  was  confirmed  by  the  Senate, 
and  the  committee  of  twelve  men  elected  her  secretary.  She  received,  of  course,  the 
same  pay  as  the  other  members.  Later  three  women  were  placed  on  the  Board  of  Regents, 
herself  among  the  number.  [Eds. 


TEXAS.  935 

The  Prairie  View  State  Normal  School  for  colored  youth  of 
both  sexes  has  had  an  Industrial  Department  from  its  begin- 
ning years  ago.  A  movement  is  now  on  foot  to  establish  such  a 
department  as  a  portion  of  the  public  school  system.  Austin 
already  has  one,  made  possible  by  legacy,  and  its  fine  results 
have  greatly  inspired  the  law-makers. 

One  woman  has  served  as  superintendent  of  schools  at  Waco, 
and  there  are  many  women  principals  of  High  Schools. 

There  are  in  the  public  schools  7,347  men  and  7,672  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $49.20; 
of  the  women,  $35.50. 


Practically  all  of  the  progressive  steps  enumerated  above  have 
been  taken  since  1883.  When  it  is  remembered  that  less  than 
twenty  years  ago  women  were  virtually  ostracized  if  they  at- 
tempted any  kind  of  occupation  outside  the  home,  even  teaching 
being  looked  upon  askance,  the  changes  seem  almost  miraculous. 

Texas  has  130  Woman's  Clubs  with  a  membership  of  about 
3,500.  With  other  good  works  they  have  distributed  great 
quantities  of  reading  matter  among  isolated  families.  They 
also  have  established  forty  public  libraries  and  four  traveling 
libraries. 


CHAPTER  LXVI. 

UTAH.* 

To  write  the  history  of  woman  suffrage  in  Utah  one  mus 
turn  backward  to  1870,  when  the  Legislature  of  the  Territory 
passed  a  bill  conferring  the  franchise  upon  women,  to  which 
acting-Governor  S.  A.  Mann  affixed  his  signature  February  12. 
From  that  time  women  voted  at  all  elections,  while  some  of  them 
took  a  practical  interest  in  public  matters  and  acted  as  delegates 
to  political  conventions  and  members  of  Territorial  and  county 
committees. 

The  first  attempt  to  elect  a  woman  to  any  important  office 
was  made  in  Salt  Lake  City  at  the  county  convention  of  1878, 
when  Mrs.  Emmeline  B.  Wells  was  nominated  for  treasurer. 
She  received  the  vote  of  the  entire  delegation,  but  the  statute 
including  the  word  "male"  was  held  to  debar  women  from  hold- 
ing political  offices.  A  bill  was  presented  to  the  next  Legisla- 
ture with  petitions  numerously  signed  asking  that  this  word  be 
erased  from  the  statutes,  which  was  passed.  Gov.  George  W. 
Emory,  however,  refused  to  sign  it,  and  though  other  Leg- 
islatures passed  similar  bills  by  unanimous  vote,  none  ever  re- 
ceived his  signature  or  that  of  any  succeeding  governor. 

In  June,  1871,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  and  Miss  Susan 
B.  Anthony,  the  president  and  vice-president-at-large  of  the 
National  Woman  Suffrage  Association,  stopped  at  Salt  Lake 
City  on  their  way  to  the  Pacific  Coast  and  met  many  of  the 
prominent  men  and  women. 

In  1872  the  Woman's  Exponent  was  established,  and  it  is  im- 
possible to  estimate  the  advantage  this  little  paper  gave  to  the 
women  of  this  far  western  Territory.  From  its  first  issue  it 
was  the  champion  of  the  suffrage  cause,  and  by  exchanging  with 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Emmeline  B.  Wells  of  Salt  Lake 
City,  editor  of  the  Woman's  Exponent,  and  president  of  the  Territorial  Association  dur- 
ing the  campaign  when  Full  Suffrage  was  secured.  Valuable  assistance  has  been  ren- 
dered by  Mrs.  Emily  S.  Richards  of  that  city,  vice-president  during  the  same  period. 

936 


UTAH.  937 

women's  papers  of  the  United  States  and  England  it  brought 
news  of  women  in  all  parts  of  the  world  to  those  of  Utah.  They 
also  were  thoroughly  organized  in  the  National  Woman's  Relief 
Society,  a  charitable  and  philanthropic  body  which  stood  for 
reform  and  progress  in  all  directions.  Through  such  an  organ- 
ization it  was  always  comparatively  easy  to  promote  any  specific 
object  or  work.  The  Hon.  George  Q.  Cannon,  Utah's  delegate 
in  the  '/o's,  coming  from  a  Territory  where  women  had  the 
ballot,  interested  himself  in  the  suffrage  question  before  Con- 
gress. He  thus  became  acquainted  with  the  prominent  lead- 
ers of  the  movement,  who  went  to  Washington  every  winter  and 
who  manifested  much  interest  in  the  women  afar  off  in  posses- 
sion of  the  rights  which  they  themselves  had  been  so  long  and 
zealously  advocating  without  apparent  results.  Among  these 
were  Mrs.  Stanton,  Miss  Anthony,  Mrs.  Isabella  Beecher*  Hook- 
er and  others  of  national  reputation. 

Women  were  appointed  as  representatives  from  Utah  by  the 
National  Suffrage  Association,  and  the  correspondence  between 
its  officers  and  Mrs.  Wells,  who  had  been  made  a  member  of 
their  Advisory  Committee  and  vice-president  for  the  Territory, 
as  well  as  the  fact  that  the  women  of  Utah  were  so  progressive 
on  the  suffrage  question  and  had  sent  large  petitions  asking  for 
the  passage  of  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  to  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution to  enfranchise  all  women,  resulted  in  an  invitation  for  her 
to  attend  its  annual  convention  at  Washington,  in  January,  1879. 
Mrs.  Wells  was  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Zina  Young  Williams 
and  they  were  cordially  welcomed  by  Mrs.  Stanton  and  Miss 
Anthony.  This  was  a  valuable  experience  for  these  women,  as, 
even  though  they  had  the  right  of  suffrage,  there  was  much  to 
learn  from  the  great  leaders  who  had  been  laboring  in  the  cause 
of  woman's  enfranchisement  for  more  than  thirty  years.  They 
were  invited  to  address  the  convention,  and  selected  with  others 
to  go  before  Congressional  committees  and  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  as  well  as  to  present  important  matters  to  the 
Lady  of  the  White  House.  The  kindness  which  they  received 
from  Mrs.  Hayes  and  other  noted  women  always  will  remain  a 
pleasant  memory  of  that  first  visit  to  the  national  capitol.  On 
their  return  home  they  took  up  the  subject  of  the  ballot  more 


938 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


energetically  in  its  general  sense  than  ever  before  through  public 
speaking  and  writing. 

During  the  seventeen  years,  from  1870  to  1887,  that  the  wom- 
en of  Utah  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  the  ballot  several  attempts 
were  made  to  deprive  them  of  it.  In  1880  a  case  came  before 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Territory  on  a  mandamus  requiring 
the  assessor  and  registrar  to  erase  the  names  of  Emmeline  B. 
"\Yells,  Maria  M.  Blythe  and  Cornelia  Paddock  from  the  registra- 
tion list,  also  the  names  of  all  other  women  before  a  certain 
specified  date,  but  the  court  decided  in  favor  of  the  defendants. 

In  the  spring  of  1882  a  convention  was  held  to  prepare  a  con- 
stitution and  urge  Congress  to  admit  Utah  as  a  State.  Three 
women  were  elected — Mrs.  Sarah  M.  Kimball,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Howard  and  Mrs.  Wells — and  took  part  in  framing  this  consti- 
tution, and  their  work  was  as  satisfactory  as  that  of  the  male 
members.  Although  this  was  a  new  departure,  it  caused  no 
friction  whatever  and  was  good  political  discipline  for  the  wom- 
en, especially  in  parliamentary  law  and  usage. 

This  year  another  case  was  brought,  before  the  Third  District 
Court,  to  test  the  validity  of  the  statute  conferring  the  elective 
franchise  upon  the  women  of  the  Territory.  A  registrar  of  Salt 
Lake  City  refused  to  place  the  names  of  women  upon  the  list  of 
voters,  and  Mrs.  Florence  L.  Westcott  asked  for  a  writ  com- 
pelling him  to  administer  the  oath,  enter  her  name,  etc.  The  case 
was  called  for  argument  Sept.  14,  1882,  Chief  Justice  James 
A.  Hunter  on  the  bench,  and  able  lawyers  were  employed  on 
both  sides  of  the  question.  The  decision  sustained  the  Legisla- 
tive Act  of  1870  under  which  women  voted.  Associate  Justice 
Emerson  agreed  with  Judge  Hunter,  and  Associate  Justice  TV 
acknowledged  the  validity  of  the  law,  but  insisted  that  women 
should  be  taxpayers  to  entitle  them  to  the  right.  This  test  case 
decided  all  others  and  women  continued  to  vote  until  the  passage 
of  the  Edmunds-Tucker  Law,  in  March,  1887.  During  this 
period  women  gained  much  political  experience  in  practical  mat- 
ters, and  their  association  with  men  acquainted  with  affairs  of 
State,  in  council  and  on  committees  gave  them  a  still  wider 
knowledge  of  the  manipulation  of  public  affairs. 

In  September,  1882,  the  National  W.  S.  A.  held  a  conference 


UTAH.  939 

in  Omaha,  Neb.,  and  Mrs.  Wells  and  Mrs.  Zina  D.  H.  Young  at- 
tended. Miss  Anthony,  Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall,  chairman  of 
the  Executive  Committee,  and  many  other  distinguished  women 
were  in  attendance.  Mrs.  Wells,  as  vice-president  for  Utah, 
presented  an  exhaustive  report  of  the  suffrage  work  in  the  Ter- 
ritory, which  was  received  with  a  great  deal  of  enthusiasm. 

At  the  national  convention  in  Washington  the  previous  Janu- 
ary the  proposed  disfranchisement  of  Utah  women  by  the  Ed- 
munds Bill  had  been  very  fully  discussed  and  a  resolution  adopt- 
ed, that  "the  proposition  to  disfranchise  the  women  of  Utah  for 
no  cause  whatever  is  a  cruel  display  of  the  power  which  lies  in 
might  alone,  and  that  this  Congress  has  no  more  right  to  disfran- 
chise the  women  of  Utah  than  the  men  of  Wyoming."*  This 
sympathy  was  gratefully  acknowledged  by  the  women  of  the 
Territory. 

The  suffrage  women  throughout  the  various  States  made 
vigorous  protests  against  the  injustice  of  this  pending  meas- 
ure. A  committee  appointed  at  the  convention  in  Washington, 
in  the  winter  of  1887,  presented  a  memorial  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States  requesting  him  not  to  sign  the  bills,  but  to 
veto  any  measure  for  the  disfranchisement  of  the  women  of 
Utah.f  Mrs.  Belva  A.  Lockwood  made  an  able  speech  before 
the  convention  on  this  question.  There  were  at  that  time  sev- 
eral bills  before  Congress  to  deprive  Utah  women  of  the  elective 
franchise. 

During  the  subsequent  years  of  this  agitation  every  issue  of 
the  I r oinan's  Exponent  contained  burning  articles,  letters  and 
editorials  upon  this  uncalled-for  and  unwarranted  interference 
with  the  affairs  of  the  women  of  this  Territory.  The  advocates 
of  the  rights  of  all  women  stood  up  boldly  for  those  of  Utah,  not- 
withstanding the  scoffs  and  obloquy  cast  upon  them.  It  was  a 
fierce  battle  of  opinions  and  the  weaker  had  to  succumb.  The 
strong  power  of  Congress  conquered  at  last,  and  the  Edmunds- 
Tucker  Act  of  1887  wrested  from  all  the  women.  Gentile  and 

*  Committee:  Lillie  Devereux  Blake  of  New  York,  Virginia  L.  Minor  of  St.  Louis, 
Harriet  R.  Shattuck  of  Boston,  May  Wright  Sewall  of  Indianapolis  and  Ellen  H.  Sheldon 
.shington,  D.  C. 

t  Committee:  Lillie  Devereux  Blake,  Matilda  Joslyn  Gage,  Caroline  Gilkey  Rogers  and 
Mary  Seymour  Howell,  of  New  York;  Clara  B.  Colby,  Nebraska;  Sarah  T.  Miller,  Mary- 
land; Elizabeth  Boynton  Harbert,  Illinois;  Harriet  R.  Shattuck,  Massachusetts,  and 
Louisa  Southworth,  Ohio. 


94O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Mormon  alike,  the  suffrage  which  they  had  exercised  for  seven-  {jea 
teen  years.  Naturally  they  were  very  indignant  at  being  ar- 
bitrarily deprived  of  a  vested  right,  but  were  obliged  to  submit. 
They  were  determined,  however,  not  to  do  so  tamely  but  to 
teach  their  sons,  brothers  and  all  others  the  value  of  equal  suf- 
frage, and  to  use  every  effort  in  their  power  toward  securing  it 
whenever  Statehood  should  be  conferred. 

Mrs.  Arthur  Brown  and  Mrs.  Emily  S.  Richards  were  appoint- 
ed to  represent  the  Territory  at  the  National  Suffrage  Conven- 
tion in  Washington  in  1888,  and  were  there  authorized  to  form 
an  association  uniform  with  those  in  various  States  and  Terri- 
tories. Heretofore  it  had  not  been  considered  necessary  to  or- 
ganize, as  women  were  already  in  possession  of  the  ballot.  I  ^ 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Lyle  Saxon  and  Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby, 
who  had  been  lecturing  on  suffrage  in  Oregon  and  Washington, 
visited  Salt  Lake  in  September,  1888.  They  spoke  in  the  thea- 
ter, and  on  the  following  day  a  reception  was  tendered  them  in 
the  Gardo  House,  where  they  had  the  opportunity  of  meeting 
socially  between  five  and  six  hundred  people,  both  Gentiles  and 
Mormons,  men  and  women.  The  same  evening  another  large 
audience  in  the  theater  greeted  them,  and  on  the  day  succeeding  at 
10  A.  M.  there  was  a  meeting  for  women  only  in  the  Assembly 
Hall.  These  meetings  were  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  Wom- 
an's Relief  Society,  Mrs.  Zina  D.  H.  Young,  president.  Though 
they  occurred  at  a  time  when  the  people  were  suffering  from  in- 
dignities heaped  upon  them  because  of  unjust  legislation,  yet  a 
strong  impression  was  made  on  those  (rnostly  Gentiles)  who 
never  previously  had  been  converted  to  suffrage. 

After  careful  deliberation  and  several  preliminary  meetings  in 
the  office  of  the  Woman's  Exponent,  a  public  call  was  made 
through  the  daily  papers,  signed  by  the  most  influential  women 
of  Salt  Lake  City,  for  a  meeting  in  the  Assembly  Hall.  Jan. 
10,  1889,  to  organize  a  Territorial  Suffrage  Association. 
Richards  occupied  the  chair  and  Mrs.  Lydia  D.  Alder  was  elect- 
ed secretary  pro  ton.  Prayer  was  offered  and  the  old-fashioned 
hymn,  "Know  this  that  every  soul  is  free,"  was  sung  by  the 
congregation.*  One  hundred  names  were  enrolled  and  Mrs. 

*  The  officers  elected    were:     President,   Margaret   N.    Caine;   vice-presidents,    Lydia   D 
Alder,  Nellie   R.    Webber,    Priscilla  J.    Riter;   secretary,   Cornelia   N.   Clayton;   corn- 


UTAH.  941 

Caine  and  Mrs.  Richards  were  elected  delegates  to  the  National 
Convention.  Mrs.  Caine  was  already  at  the  Capital  with  her 
husband,  the  Hon.  John  T.  Caine,  Utah's  delegate  in  the  House 
of  Representatives.  Mrs.  Richards  arrived  in  time  to  give  a 
report  of  the  new  society,  which  was  heard  with  much  interest. 

Within  a  few  months  fourteen  counties  had  auxiliary  societies. 
Possibly  because  of  the  former  experience  of  the  women  there 
was  very  little  necessity  of  urging  these  to  keep  up  their  enthu- 
siasm. Towns  and  villages  were  soon  organized  auxiliary  to 
the  counties,  and  much  good  work  was  done  in  an  educational 
way  to  arouse  the  new  members  to  an  appreciation  of  the  ballot, 
and  also  to  convince  men  of  the  benefits  to  be  derived  by  all  the 
people  when  women  stood  side  by  side  with  them  and  made 
common  cause. 

On  April  n,  three  months  after  the  Territorial  Association 
was  organized,  a  rousing  meeting  was  held  in  the  Assembly 
Hall,  in  Salt  Lake  City,  Mrs.  Alder,  vice-president,  in  the  chair. 
Eloquent  addresses  were  made  by  Bishop  O.  F.  Whitney,  the 
Hon.  C.  W.  Penrose,  the  Hon.  George  Q.  Cannon,  Dr.  Martha 
P.  Hughes  (Cannon),  Mrs.  Zina  D.  H.  Young,  Mrs.  Richards, 
Ida  Snow  Gibbs  and  Nellie  R.  Webber. 

A  largely  attended  meeting  took  place  in  the  County  Court 
House,  Ogden  City,  in  June,  the  local  president,  Elizabeth  Stan- 
ford, in  the  chair.  Besides  brief  addresses  from  members  elo- 
quent speeches  were  made  by  C.  W.  Penrose  and  the  Hon.  Lorin 
Farr,  a  veteran  legislator.  The  women  speakers  of  Salt  Lake 
who  had  been  thoroughly  identified  with  the  suffrage  cause 
traveled  through  the  Territory  in  1889,  making  speeches  and  pro- 
moting local  interests,  and  strong  addresses  were  given  also  by 
distinguished  men — the  Hons.  John  T.  Caine,  John  E.  Booth, 
"William  H.  King  (delegate  to  Congress),  bishops  and  legisla- 
tors. The  fact  can  not  be  controverted  that  the  sentiment  of  the 
majority  of  the  people  of  Utah  always  has  been  in  favor  of 
equal  suffrage. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  held  in  the  Social  Hall,  Salt  Lake  City, 
in  1890.  Mrs.  Sarah  M.  Kimball,  a  woman  of  great  executive 
ability,  was  elected  president.* 

ing  secretary,   Charlotte  I.    Kirby;  treasurer,   Margie  Dwyer;   executive  committee,   Maria 
Y.  Dougall,  Nettie  Y.   Snell,  Ann  E.  Groesbeck,  Phoebe  Y.  Beatie  and  Jennie  Rowe. 
*  Vice-presidents,    Mrs.    Richards,   Ann   D.    Groesbeck   and   Caroline    E.    Dye;    recording 


94-2  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

In  1890  Mrs.  Kimball  and  Maria  Y.  Dougall  went  as  delegates 
to  the  National  Convention  and  reached  Washington  in  time  to 
be  present  at  the  banquet  given  in  honor  of  Miss  Anthony's 
seventieth  birthday.  In  Mrs.  Kimball's  report  she  stated  that 
there  were  300  paid-up  members  of  the  Territorial  Association 
exclusive  of  the  sixteen  county  organizations. 

During  1890  the  women  worked  unceasingly,  obtaining  new 
members  and  keeping  up  a  vigorous  campaign  all  the  year  round. 
Meetings  were  held  in  the  most  remote  towns,  and  even  the 
farmer's  wife  far  away  in  some  mountain  nook  did  her  part 
toward  securing  the  suffrage. 

On  July  23,  1890,  the  day  Wyoming  celebrated  her  Statehood, 
the  Suffrage  Association  of  Utah  assembled  in  Liberty  Park, 
Salt  Lake  City,  to  rejoice  in  the  good  fortune  of  Wyoming 
women.  The  fine  old  trees  were  decorated  with  flags  and  bunt- 
ing and  martial  music  resounded  through  the  park;  speeches 
rich  with  independent  thought  were  made  by  the  foremost  ladies, 
and  a  telegram  of  greeting  was  sent  to  Mrs.  Amalia  Post  at 
Cheyenne. 

Conventions  were  held  yearly  in  Salt  Lake  City,  with  the  best 
speakers  among  men  and  women,  and  the  counties  represented 
by  delegates.  Many  classes  in  civil  government  also  were 
formed  throughout  the  Territory. 

At  the  National  Convention  in  Washington,  in  February, 
1891,  there  were  present  from  Utah  ten  representatives,  and  the 
number  of  paid-up  members  entitled  the  delegates  to  twenty 
votes,  the  largest  number  of  any  State  except  New  York. 

On  Feb.  15,  1892,  the  association  celebrated  Susan  B.  An- 
thony's birthday  in  one  of  the  largest  halls  in  Salt  Lake  City, 
handsomely  decorated  and  the  Stars  and  Stripes  waving  over  the 
pictures  of  Mrs.  Stanton  and  Miss  Anthony.  Several  members 
of  the  Legislature  took  part  in  the  exercises,  which  were  entirely 
of  a  suffrage  character.  A  telegram  was  received  from  Miss 
Anthony  which  said,  "Greetings,  dear  friends :  that  your  citizens' 
right  to  vote  may  soon  be  secured  is  the  prayer  of  your  co- 
worker."  A  message  of  love  and  appreciation  was  returned. 

secretary,  Rachel  Edwards;  corresponding  secretary,  Julia  C.  Taylor;  treasurer,  Margie 
Dwyer;  executive  committee,  Cornelia  H.  Clayton,  Margaret  Mitchell,  Nellie  Little, 
Theresa  Hills  and  May  Talmage. 


UTAH. 


943 


On  July  29,  1892,  a  grand  rally  in  the  interest  of  suffrage  was 
held  in  American  Fork,  attended  by  the  leaders  from  Salt  Lake 
City  and  other  parts  of  the  Territory.  Ladies  wore  the  yellow 
ribbon  and  many  gentlemen  the  sunflower ;  the  visitors  were  met 
at  the  station  with  carriages  and  horses  decorated  in  yellow,  and 
bands  of  music  were  in  attendance.  Mrs.  Hannah  Lapish,  the 
local  president,  had  charge,  a  fine  banquet  was  spread,  and  the 
entire  day  was  a  grand  feast  of  suffrage  sentiment.  C.  W.  Pen- 
rose  was  the  orator. 

During  1892  Mrs.  Wells  traveled  in  California  and  Idaho,  and 
wherever  she  went,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  spoke  a  good 
word  for  the  cause,  often  where  women  never  had  given  the  sub- 
ject a  thought,  or  had  considered  it  brazen  and  unwomanly. 
The  annual  convention  in  October  was  an  enthusiastic  one,  but 
the  real  work  of  the  women  during  that  year  was  for  the  Colum- 
bian Exposition,  though  a  suffrage  song  book  was  published  and 
much  literature  circulated,  not  only  in  Utah  but  broadcast 
throughout  the  West;  and  Mrs.  Richards  did  some  work  in 
Southern  Idaho. 

In  some  striking  respects  1893  was  a  woman's  year,  and  much 
was  done  to  advance  the  suffrage  cause  indirectly.  The  asso- 
ciation gave  a  large  garden  party  in  Salt  Lake,  with  addresses 
by  Mrs.  Minnie  J.  Snow,  Mrs.  Julia  P.  M.  Farnsworth  and  the 
Hon.  George  Q.  Cannon. 

At  the  annual  convention  Mrs.  Wells  was  elected  president, 
Mrs.  Richards  vice-president,  and  they  continued  in  office  dur- 
ing the  time  of  the  struggle  to  obtain  an  equal  suffrage  clause  in 
the  State  constitution.  Mrs.  Wells  made  personal  visits  through- 
out the  Territory,  urging  the  women  to  stand  firm  for  the  fran- 
chise and  encourage  the  men  who  were  likely  to  take  part  in  the 
work  toward  Statehood  to  uphold  the  rights  of  the  women  who 
had  helped  to  build  up  the  country,  as  well  as  those  who  since  then 
had  been  born  in  this  goodly  land,  reminding  them  that  their 
fathers  had  given  women  suffrage  a  quarter  of  a  century  before. 

In  February,  1894,  Mrs.  Wells  called  an  assembly  of  citizens 
for  the  purpose  of  arousing  a  greater  interest  in  a  Statehood 
which  should  include  equal  rights  for  women  as  well  as  men. 
The  audience  was  a  large  one  of  representative  people.  They 


944  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

sang  Julia  Ward  Howe's  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic  and  also 
America,  and  brilliant  addresses  were  made  by  the  Hon.  John  E. 
Booth,  the  Hon.  Samuel  W.  Richards,  Dr.  Richard  A.  Has- 
brouck,  a  famous  orator  formerly  of  Ohio,  Dr.  Martha  Hughes 
Cannon,  Mrs.  Zina  D.  H.  Young  and  Mrs.  Lucy  A.  Clark.  As  a 
result  of  this  gathering  parlor  meetings  were  held  in  various 
parts  of  the  city,  arousing  much  serious  thought  upon  the  ques- 
tion, as  the  Territory  was  now  on  the  verge  of  Statehood. 

On  July  1 6  President  Grover  Cleveland  signed  the  enabling 
act  and  the  Woman's  Exponent  chronicled  the  event  with  words 
of  patriotic  ardor,  urging  the  women  to  stand  by  their  guns  and 
not  allow  the  framers  of  the  constitution  to  take  any  action 
whereby  they  might  be  defrauded  of  their  sacred  rights  to  equal- 
ity. Miss  Anthony's  message  was  quoted,  "Let  it  be  the  best 
basis  for  a  State  ever  engrossed  on  parchment;"  and  never  did 
the  faith  of  its  editor  waver  in  the  belief  that  this  would  be  done. 

From  this  time  unremitting  work  was  carried  on  by  the  women 
in  all  directions ;  every  effort  possible  was  made  to  secure  a  con- 
vention of  men  who  would  frame  a  constitution  without  sex 
distinction,  and  to  provide  that  the  woman  suffrage  article  should 
be  included  in  the  document  itself  and  not  be  submitted  sepa- 
rately. 

At  the  annual  convention  in  October,  1894,  a  cordial  reso- 
lution was  unanimously  adopted  thanking  the  two  political  par- 
ties for  having  inserted  in  their  platforms  a  plank  approving 
suffrage  for  women. 

The  November  election  was  most  exciting.  Women  all  over 
the  Territory  worked  energetically  to  elect  such  delegates  to  the 
convention  as  would  place  equal  suffrage  in  the  constitution. 

After  the  election,  when  the  battle  was  in  progress,  women 
labored  tactfully  and  industriously;  they  tried  by  every  means 
to  educate  and  convert  the  general  public,  circulated  suffrage 
literature  among  neighbors  and  friends  and  in  the  most  remote 
corners,  for  they  knew  well  that  even  after  the  constitution  was 
adopted  by  the  convention  it  must  be  voted  on  by  all  the  men  of 
the  Territory. 

In  January,  1895,  the  president,  Mrs.  Wells,  went  to  Atlanta 
to  the  National  Convention,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Marilla  M. 


UTAH. 


945 


Daniels  and  Mrs.  Aurelia  S.  Rogers.  In  her  report  she  stated 
that  the  women  of  Utah  had  not  allied  themselves  with  either 
party  but  labored  assiduously  with  both  Republicans  and  Demo- 
crats. In  closing  she  said :  "There  are  two  good  reasons  why 
our  women  should  have  the  ballot  apart  from  the  general  reasons 
why  all  women  should  have  it — first,  because  the  franchise  was 
given  to  them  by  the  Territorial  Legislature  and  they  exercised 
it  seventeen  years,  never  abusing  the  privilege,  and  it  was  taken 
away  from  them  by  Congress  without  any  cause  assigned  except 
that  it  was  a  political  measure;  second,  there  are  undoubtedly 
more  women  in  Utah  who  own  their  homes  and  pay  taxes  than 
in  any  other  State  with  the  same  number  of  inhabitants,  and 
Congress  has,  by  its  enactments  in  the  past,  virtually  made  many 
of  these  women  heads  of  families." 

A  convention  was  held  February  18  in  the  Probate  Court  room 
of  the  Salt  Lake  City  and  County  building.  Delegates  came 
from  far  and  near.  Mrs.  Wells  presided,  and  vice-presidents 
were  Mrs.  Richards,  Mrs.  C.  W.  Bennett;  secretary,  Mrs.  Nellie 
Little;  assistant  secretary,  Mrs.  Augusta  W.  Grant;  chaplain, 
Mrs.  Zina  D.  H.  Young.  A  committee  was  appointed  by  the 
Chair  to  prepare  a  memorial  for  the  convention,*  and  stirring 
speeches  were  made  by  delegates  from  the  various  counties. 

In  the  afternoon  as  many  of  the  ladies  as  could  gain  admit- 
tance went  into  another  hall  in  the  same  building,  where  the 
Constitutional  Convention  was  in  session,  and  where  already 
some  members  had  begun  to  oppose  woman  suffrage  in  the  con- 
stitution proper  and  to  suggest  it  as  an  amendment  to  be  voted 
upon  separately.  The  Hon.  F.  S.  Richards,  a  prominent  mem- 
ber, presented  their  memorial,  which  closed  with  the  following 
paragraph :  "We  therefore  ask  you  to  provide  in  the  consti- 
tution that  the  rights  of  citizens  of  the  State  of  Utah  to  vote  and 
hold  office  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  on  account  of  sex,  but 
that  male  and  female  citizens  of  the  State  shall  equally  enjoy  all 
civil,,  political  and  religious  rights  and  privileges."  This  was 
signed  by  Emeline  B.  Wells,  president  Woman  Suffrage  Asso- 
ciation; Emily  S.  Richards,  vice-president;  Zina  D.  H.  Young, 

*  Mesdames  Richards,  Young,  Bennett,  G.  S.  Carlton,  J.  S.  Gilmer,  Romania  B.  Pratt, 
Phebe  Y.  Beatie,  Amelia  F.  Young,  Martha  H.  Cannon,  C.  E.  Allen,  Emma  McVicker, 
Ruth  M.  Fox,  Priscilla  Jennings,  Lillie  Pardee  and  Martha  Parsons. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 60 


946  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

president  National  Woman's  Relief  Society;  Jane  S.  Richards, 
vice-president,  and  all  the  county  presidents. 

The  next  morning  a  hearing  was  granted  to  the  ladies  before 
the  Suffrage  Committee.  Carefully  prepared  papers  were  read 
by  Mesdames  Richards,  Carlton,  Cannon,  Milton,  Pardee  and 
Pratt.  Mrs.  Wells  spoke  last,  without  notes,  stating  pertinent 
facts  and  appealing  for  justice. 

There  was  much  debate,  pro  and  con,  in  the  convention  after 
this  time,  and  open  and  fair  discussions  of  the  question  in  Com- 
mittee of  the  Whole.  The  majority  report  was  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  the  rights  of  citizens  of  the  State  of  Utah  to  vote 
and  hold  office  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  on  account  of  sex. 
Both  male  and  female  citizens  of  this  State  shall  equally  enjoy  all 
civil,  political  and  religious  rights  and  privileges. 

The  minority  report  submitted  later  was  too  weak  and  flimsy 
to  be  considered. 

The  women  addressed  a  cordial  letter  of  appreciation  and 
thanks  to  the  committee  who  had  so  nobly  stood  by  their  cause.* 
Having  secured  this  favorable  report  the  women  had  not  sup- 
posed it  would  be  necessary  to  continue  their  efforts,  and  it  would 
not  have  been  except  for  a  faction  led  by  Brigham  H.  Roberts 
who  actively  worked  against  the  adoption  of  this  article  by  the 
delegates.!  Numerously  signed  petitions  for  woman  suffrage 
from  all  parts  of  the  Territory  were  at  once  sent  to  the  convention. 

On  the  morning  of  April  8  the  section  on  equal  suffrage  which 
had  passed  its  third  reading  was  brought  up  for  consideration, 
as  had  been  previously  decided.  The  hall  was  crowded  to  suffo- 
cation, but  as  the  debate  was  limited  to  fifteen  minutes  it  was 
soon  disposed  of  without  much  argument  from  either  side.  The 
vote  of  the  convention  was  75  ayes,  6  noes,  12  absent.  Every 
member  afterwards  signed  the  constitution. 

*  Hon.  J.  F.  Chidester,  chairman;  A.  S.  Anderson,  Joseph  E.  Robinson,  Parley  Chris- 
tiansen, Peter  Lowe,  James  D.  Murdock,  Chester  Call,  Andreas  Engberg,  A.  H.  Raleigh, 
William  Howard,  F.  A.  Hammond,  S.  R.  Thurman.  In  addition  to  this  committee  those 
who  sustained  the  women  and  pleaded  their  cause  were  Messrs.  Richards,  Whitney, 
Evans,  Cannon,  Murdock,  Rich,  Hart,  Ivins,  Snow,  Robinson,  Allen,  Miller,  Farr,  Pres- 
ton, Maeser  and  Wells.  There  were  others,  but  these  were  the  foremost. 

t  Mr.  Roberts  was  elected  to  Congress  on  the  Democratic  ticket  in  1900,  although  strenu- 
ously opposed  by  the  women  of  Utah,  irrespective  of  politics,  but  largely  owing  to  the 
vigorous  protests  of  the  women  of  the  whole  United  States,  he  was  not  permitted  to  take 
his  seat  [Eds. 


UTAH.  947 

On  May  12,  Miss  Anthony  and  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw, 
president  and  vice-president-at-large  of  the  National  Associa- 
tion, arrived,  as  promised,  to  hold  a  suffrage  conference.  They 
were  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Mary  C.  C.  Bradford  and  Mrs.  Ellis 
Meredith  of  Colorado.  The  conference  met  in  the  hall  where 
the  Constitutional  Convention  had  adjourned  a  few  days  before. 
Mrs.  Wells  presided  and  Gov.  Caleb  W.  West  introduced  Miss 
Anthony,  assuring  his  audience  it  was  a  distinguished  honor, 
and  declaring  that  the  new  State  constitution  which  included 
woman  suffrage  would  be  carried  at  the  coming  election  by  an 
overwhelming  majority.  Miss  Anthony  responded  in  a  most 
acceptable  manner.  Governor  West  also  introduced  Miss  Shaw 
who  made  an  eloquent  address.  Mrs.  Bradford  and  Mrs.  Mere- 
dith were  formally  presented  and  welcome  was  extended  by  Mes- 
dames  Zina  D.  H.  Young,  W.  Ferry,  B.  W.  Smith,  J.  Milton, 
C.  E.  Allen,  M.  I.  Home,  E.  B.  Ferguson  and  the  Hon.  J.  R. 
Murdock,  a  pioneer  suffragist  and  member  of  the  late  convention. 

The  same  afternoon  a  reception  was  given  in  honor  of  the  la- 
dies at  the  handsome  residence  of  the  Hon.  F.  S.  and  Mrs.  Rich- 
ards, attended  by  over  three  hundred  guests,  including  State 
officials,  officers  and  ladies  from  the  military  post,  and  many 
people  of  distinction.  The  conference  lasted  two  days,  with  large 
audiences,  and  the  newspapers  published  glowing  accounts  of  the 
proceedings  and  the  enthusiasm.  Many  social  courtesies  were 
extended. 

Miss  Anthony  and  her  party  held  meetings  in  Ogden  and  were 
honored  in  every  possible  way,  the  Hon.  Franklin  D.  Richards 
and  his  wife  and  the  Hon.  D.  H.  Peery  being  among  the  enter- 
tainers there. 

The  question  soon  arose  whether  women  should  vote  on  the 
adoption  of  the  constitution  at  the  coming  November  election. 
The  commission  which  had  been  appointed  by  the  U.  S.  Govern- 
ment to  superintend  affairs  in  Utah,  decided  at  their  June  meet- 
ing to  submit  the  matter  to  the  Attorney-General.  There  was 
considerable  agitation  by  the  public  press;  some  newspapers  fa- 
vored the  women's  voting  and  others  thought  its  legality  would 
be  questioned  and  thus  the  admission  to  Statehood  would  be  hin- 


94-8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

dered.    The  women  generally  were  willing  to  abide  by  the  high- 
est judicial  authority. 

A  test  case  was  brought  before  the  District  Court  in  Ogden, 
August  10.  The  court  room  was  crowded  with  attorneys  and 
prominent  citizens  to  hear  the  decision  of  Judge  H.  W.  Smith, 
which  was  that  women  should  register  and  vote.  The  case  was 
then  carried  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Territory  and  the  deci- 
sion given  August  31.  Chief  Justice  Samuel  A.  Merritt  stated 
that  Judge  G.  W.  Bartch  and  himself  had  reached  the  conclusion 
that  the  Edmunds-Tucker  Law  had  not  been  repealed  and  would 
remain  effective  till 'Statehood  was  achieved,  and  that  he  would 
file  a  written  opinion  reversing  the  judgment  of  the  lower  court. 
Judge  William  H.  King,  the  other  member,  dissented  and  de- 
clared that  "the  disfranchisement  of  the  women  at  this  election 
he  regarded  as  a  wrong  and  an  outrage." 

The  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  could  not  be  ignored  and 
therefore  the  women  citizens  acquiesced  with  the  best  grace  pos- 
sible. Unremitting  and  effective  work  continued  to  be  done  by 
the  suffrage  association,  although  the  foremost  women  soon 
affiliated  with  the  respective  parties  and  began  regular  duty  in 
election  matters.  The  leaders  went  through  the  Territory  urg- 
ing women  everywhere  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  election 
and  see  that  men  voted  right  on  the  constitution,  which  was  not 
only  of  great  importance  to  them  and  their  posterity  but  to  all 
women  throughout  the  land. 

Women  attended  conventions,  were  members  of  political  com- 
mittees and  worked  faithfully  for  the  election  of  the  men  who  had 
been  nominated  at  the  Territorial  Convention.  A  few  women 
also  had  been  placed  on  the  tickets — Mrs.  Emma  McVicker  for 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  Mrs.  Lillie  Pardee  for  the 
Senate,  and  Mrs.  E.  B.  Wells  for  the  House  of  Representatives, 
on  the  Republican  ticket,  and  it  was  held  that  although  women. 
were  not  allowed  to  vote,  they  might  be  voted  for  by  men.  But 
finally,  so  many  fears  were  entertained  lest  the  success  of  the 
ticket  should  be  imperiled  that  the  women  were  induced  to  with- 
draw. Mrs.  Wells'  name  remained  until  the  last,  but  the  party 
continuing  to  insist,  she  very  reluctantly  yielded,  informing  the 
committee  that  she  did  it  .under  protest.  On  Nov.  5,  1895, 


LAURA  M.  JOHNS, 
Salina,  Kan. 


MARY  SMITH  HAYWARD, 
Chadron.  Neb. 


EMMELINE  B.  WELLS, 
Salt  Lake  City.  Utah. 


MARY  J.  COGGESHALL, 
Des  Moines,  Iowa. 


JULIA  B.  NELSON, 
Red  Wing,  Minn. 


UTAH.  949 

the  Republican  party  carried  the  election  by  a  large  majority; 
the  constitution  was  adopted  by  28,618  ayes,  2,687  noes,  and 
Full  Suffrage  was  conferred  on  women. 

President   Cleveland   signed  the  constitution  of  Utah,   Jan. 

4,  1896,  and  the  inaugural  ceremonies  were  held  in  the  great  tab- 
ernacle in  Salt  Lake  City,  January  6,  "Utah  completing  the  trin- 
ity of  true  Republics  at  the  summit  of  the  Rockies."    Gov.  Heber 
M.  Wells  took  the  oath  administered  by  Chief  Justice  Charles 

5.  Zane,  and  at  a  given  signal  the  booming  of  artillery  was  heard 
from  Capitol  Hill.     Secretary-of-State  Hammond  read  the  Gov- 
ernor's first  proclamation  convening  the  Legislature  at  3  o'clock 
that  day.     Mrs.  Pardee  was  elected  clerk  of  the  Senate  and  en- 
tered upon  the  duties  of  the  office  at  the  opening  session,  signing 
the  credentials  of  the  U.  S.  Senators — the  first  case  of  the  kind 
on  record.     C.  E.  Allen  had  been  elected  representative  to  Con- 
gress, and  the  Legislature  at  once  selected  Frank  J.  Cannon  and 
Arthur  Brown  as  United  States  Senators. 

At  the  National  Suffrage  Convention  in  Washington,  the  even- 
ing of  January  27  was  devoted  to  welcoming  Utah.  Representa- 
tive Allen  and  wife  were  on  the  platform.  The  Rev.  Miss  Shaw 
tendered  .the  welcome  of  the  association.  Senator  Cannon,  who 
had  just  arrived  in  the  city,  responded  declaring  that  woman 
was  the  power  needed  to  reform  politics.  Mrs.  Allen  and  Mrs. 
S.  A.  Boyer  spoke  of  the  courage  and  persistence  of  the  women, 
and  Mrs.  Richards  gave  a  graphic  account  of  the  faithful  work 
done  by  the  Utah  Suffrage  Association. 

In  January,  1897,  Mrs.  Wells  attended  the  National  Conven- 
tion in  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  and  described  the  first  year's  accom- 
plishments to  an  appreciative  audience. 

On  Oct.  30,  1899,  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of 
the  National  organization  committee,  and  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay, 
secretary,  came  to  Salt  Lake  City  on  the  homeward  way  from 
Montana,  and  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  office  of  the  Woman's 
Exponent,  Mrs.  Wells  in  the  chair  and  about  twenty-five  ladies 
present,  all  ardent  suffragists.  After  due  deliberation  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed,  Mrs.  Richards,  chairman,  Mrs.  J.  Fewson 
Smith,  secretary,  to  work  for  suffrage  in  other  States,  especially 
Arizona.  Subsequently  this  committee  organized  properly, 


95O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

adopted  the  name  Utah  Council  of  Women,  and  did  all  in  their 
power  to  raise  means  and  carry  on  the  proposed  work,  and  dues 
were  sent  to  the  national  treasury. 

In  February,  1900,  Mrs.  Richards,  president,  and  Mrs.  Lucy 
A.  Clark,  delegate,  went  to  Washington  and  took  part  in  the 
National  Convention  and  the  celebration  of  Miss  Anthony's 
eightieth  birthday.  On  this  occasion  the  Utah  Silk  Commission 
presented  to  her  a  handsome  black  silk  dress  pattern,  which  pos- 
sessed an  especial  value  from  the  fact  that  the  raising  of  the 
silk  worms,  the  spinning  of  the  thread  and  all  the  work  con- 
nected with  its  manufacture  except  the  weaving  was  done  by 
women. 

During  this  year  the  Council  of  Women  worked  assiduously 
to  make  a  creditable  exhibit  at  the  national  suffrage  bazar.  Mrs. 
Mary  T.  Gilmer  having  personal  charge  of  it  in  New  York  City. 

LAWS  :  Dower  and  curtesy  are  abolished.  The  law  reserves 
for  the  widow  one-third  of  all  the  real  property  possessed  by 
the  husband  free  from  his  debts,  but  the  value  of  such  portion  of 
the  homestead  as  is  set  apart  for  her  shall  be  deducted  from  this 
share.  If  either  husband  or  wife  die  without  a  will  leaving  only 
one  child  or  the  lawful  issue  of  one,  the  survivor  takes  one-half 
the  real  estate :  if  there  are  more  than  one  or  issue  of  one  living, 
then  one-third.  If  there  is  issue  the  survivor  has  one-half  the 
personal  estate.  If  none  he  or  she  is  entitled  to  all  the  real  and 
personal  estate  if  not  over  $5,000  in  value,  exclusive  of  debts  and 
expenses.  Of  all  over  that  amount  the  survivor  receives  one-half 
and  the  parents  of  the  deceased  the  other  half  in  equal  shares; 
if  not  living  it  goes  to  the  brothers  and  sisters  and  their  heirs. 

Also  the  widow  or  widower  is  entitled  to  one-half  the  com- 
munity property  subject  to  community  debts,  and  if  there  is  no 
will,  to  the  other  half  provided  there  are  no  children  living. 

A  homestead  not  exceeding  $2,000  in  value  and  $250  addi- 
tional for  each  minor  child,  together  with  all  the  personal  prop- 
erty exempt  from  execution,  shall  be  wholly  exempt  from  the 
payment  of  the  debts  of  decedent,  and  shall  be  the  absolute 
property  of  the  surviving  husband  or  wife  and  minor  children. 
This  section  shall  not  be  construed  to  prevent  the  disposition  by 
will  of  the  homestead  and  exempt  personal  property. 


UTAH.  951 

A  married  woman  has  absolute  control  over  her  separate  prop- 
erty and  may  mortgage  or  convey  it  or  dispose  of  it  by  will  with- 
out the  husband's  consent.  The  husband  has  the  same  right, 
but  in  conveying  real  estate  which  is  community  property,  the 
wife's  signature  is  necessary. 

A  married  woman  may  engage  in  business  in  her  own  name 
and  "her  earnings,  wages  and  savings  become  her  separate  estate 
without  any  express  gift  or  contract  of  the  husband,  when  she 
is  permitted  to  receive  and  retain  them  and  to  loan  and  invest 
them  in  her  own  name  and  for  her  own  benefit,  and  they  are 
exempt  from  execution  for  her  husband's  debts."  ( 1894.) 

A  married  woman  may  make  contracts,  sue  and  be  sued  in  her 
own  name. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  children,  and  at  his 
death  the  mother.  The  survivor  may  appoint  a  guardian. 

Support  for  the  wife  may  be  granted  by  the  court  the  same  as 
alimony  in  divorce,  if  the  husband  have  property  in  the  State. 
If  not  there  is  no  punishment  for  non-support.  (1896.) 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10  to  13 
years  in  1888,  and  to  18  years  in  1896.  The  penalty  is  imprison- 
ment in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than  five  years. 

SUFFRAGE:  The  Territorial  Legislature  conferred  the  Full 
Suffrage  on  women  in  1870,  and  they  exercised  it  very  generally 
until  1887  when  they  were  deprived  of  it  by  Congress  through 
what  is  known  as  the  Edmunds-Tucker  Act.  Utah  entered  the 
Union  in  1896  with  Full  Suffrage  for  women  as  an  article  of  the 
State  constitution. 

That  they  exercise  this  privilege  quite  as  extensively  as  men 
is  shown  by  the  following  table  prepared  from  the  election  sta- 
tistics of  1900.  It  is  not  customary  to  make  separate  returns  of 
the  women's  votes  and  these  were  obtained  through  the  cour- 
tesy, of  Governor  Wells,  who,  at  the  request  of  the  Utah  Council 
of  Women,  wrote  personal  letters  to  the  county  officials  to  secure 
them.  Eleven  of  the  more  remote  counties  did  not  respond  but 
those  having  the  largest  population  did  so,  and,  judging  from 
previous  statistics,  the  others  would  not  change  the  proportion 
of  the  vote. 


952 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Registered 

Voted. 

Men. 

Women. 

Total. 

Men. 

Women. 

Total. 

Salt  Lake  

1  4,O8  3 

I  3,328 

27.411 

13  IO2 

12  802 

2C  QO1 

Utah  

c.  02  1 

C.Q22 

11.847 

5  64O 

c  f)Cn 

1  1  2nr> 

Cache  

^,112 

3,2  IO 

6.322 

2,Q46 

3,081; 

6  O3  1 

Box  Elder  

1,7  fa 

1,548 

3.3O7 

^.,y^w 

1.677 

^fi 

1,466 

3  113 

Davis  

I.I?1? 

1,^27 

2.15O2 

I.I7-J 

1.277 

2  4IO 

Carbon  

086 

^11 

1,4.07 

Q-I7 

477 

I  414 

Uintah  

851 

683 

I  534 

7o6 

,   ' 
622 

I  418 

I  ron  

743 

UUJ 

672 

I  415 

708 

646 

I  3m 

Washington  

/•+:> 
6qo 

752 

1.442 

600 

752 

I  442 

Piute  _. 

4OO 

f 
26l 

673 

'** 

246 

64; 

Morgan  

408 

387 

7Q5 

300 

378 

"45 
775 

Rich  

401 

280 

/V3 
OO3 

308 

*        286 

684 

Wayne  

•J4.2 

3O2 

"VJ 
O44 

3l8 

3OO 

627 

Grand  

28  c 

IK 

42O 

a»« 

263 

I2O 

•3Q2 

Kane  

280 

341 

621 

210 

285 

504 

San  Juan  

123 

£ 

OI 

184 

106 

56 

1(32 

3L57I 

29,732 

6l,3I3 

29,738 

28,486 

58,198 

Total  registration  of  men 3I.57I 

"  vote  "  "  29,738 

Registered  but  not  voting I»833 

Total  registration  of  women 29,732 

"  vote  "  "  28,486 

Registered  but  not  voting 1,246 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  five  counties  the  registration  and  vote  of 
women  was  larger  than  that  of  men,  and  in  the  State  a  consider- 
.  ably  larger  proportion  of  women  than  of  men  who  registered 
voted.  Women  cast  nearly  50  per  cent,  of  the  entire  vote  and  yet 
the  U.  S.  Census  of  this  year  showed  that  males  comprised  over 
51  per  cent,  of  the  population. 

All  of  the  testimony  which  is  given  in  the  chapters  on  \Yyo- 
ming,  Colorado  and  Idaho  might  be  duplicated  for  Utah.  From 
Mormon  and  Gentile  alike,  from  the  press,  from  the  highest  offi- 
cials, from  all  who  represent  the  best  interests  of  the  State,  it  is 
unanimously  in  favor  of  suffrage  for  women.  The  evidence 
proves  beyond  dispute  that  they  use  it  judiciously  and  conscien- 
tiously, that  it  has  tended  to  the  benefit  of  themselves  and  their 
homes,  and  that  political  conditions  have  been  distinctly  im- 
proved.* 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  Governor  Heber  M.  Wells  at  once  carried 
into  effect  the  spirit  of  the  constitution,  adopted  in  1895,  by  ap- 

*  See  Appendix — Testimony  from  Woman  Suffrage  States. 


UTAH. 


953 


pointing  women  on  all  State  boards  of  public  institutions  where 
it  was  wise  and  possible.  Two  out  of  five  places  on  the  Board  of 
the  Deaf  and  Dumb  Institute  were  given  to  women,  Harriet  F. 
Emerson  and  Dr.  Martha  Hughes  Cannon. 

The  first  Legislature,  1896,  passed  "An  act  for  the  establish- 
ment of  sericulture"  (raising  of  silk  worms).  Women  had 
worked  energetically  to  secure  this  measure,  and  it  was  appropri- 
ate that  five  of  them,  three  Republican  and  two  Democratic, 
should  be  appointed  as  a  silk  commission,  Zina  D.  H.  Young, 
Isabella  E.  Bennett,  Margaret  A.  Caine,  Ann  C.  Woodbury  and 
Mary  A.  Cazier.  Each  was  required  to  give  a  thousand-dollar 
bond.  A  later  Legislature  appropriated  $1,000  per  annum  to 
pay  the  secretary. 

Two  women  were  appointed  on  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
State  University,  Mrs.  Emma  J.  McVicker,  Republican  and  Gen- 
tile; Mrs.  Rebecca  E.  Little,  Democrat  and  Mormon.  Both  are 
still  serving.  Two  were  appointed  Regents  of  the  Agricultural 
College,  Mrs.  Sarah  B.  Goodwin  and  Mrs.  Emily  S.  Richards. 

At  the  close  of  the  Legislature  the  Republican  State  Central 
Committee  wras  reorganized ;  Mrs.  Emmeline  B.  Wells  was  made 
vice-chairman,  Miss  Julia  Farnsworth,  secretary.  The  Demo- 
cratic party  was  quite  as  liberal  toward  women  and  the  feeling 
prevailed  that  at  the  next  election  women  would  be  placed  in 
various  State  and  county  offices.  There  were  many  women  del- 
egates in  the  county  and  also  in  the  State  conventions  of  both 
parties  in  1896,  and  a  number  of  women  were  nominated. 

It  was  a  Democratic  victory  and  the  women  on  that  ticket  were 
elected — Dr.  Martha  Hughes  Cannon  to  the  Senate,  Eurithe  Le 
Barthe  and  Sarah  A.  Anderson  to  the  House ;  Margaret  A.  Caine, 
auditor  of  Salt  Lake  County;  Ellen  Jakeman,  treasurer  Utah 
County;  Delilah  K.  Olson,  recorder  Millard  County;  Fannie 
Graehl  (Rep.),  recorder  Box  Elder  County,  and  possibly  some 
others. 

In  the  Legislature  of  1897,  Mrs.  Le  Barthe  introduced  a  bill 
forbidding  women  to  wear  large  hats  in  places  of  public  entertain- 
ment, which  was  passed.  Dr.  Cannon  championed  the  measure 
by  which  a  State  Board  of  Health  was  created,  and  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governor  as  one  of  its  first  members.  She  had 


954  -         HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

part  in  the  defeat  of  the  strong  lobby  that  sought  to  abolish  the 
existing  State  Board  of  Public  Examiners,  which  prevents  in- 
competents from  practicing  medicine.  She  introduced  a  bill 
compelling  the  State  to  educate  the  deaf,  mute  and  blind ;  another 
requiring  seats  for  women  employes;  what  was  known  as  the 
Medical  Bill,  by  which  all  the  sanitary  measures  of  the  State  are 
regulated  and  put  in  operation;  and  another  providing  for  the 
erection  of  a  hospital  for  the  State  School  of  the  Deaf,  Dumb  and 
Blind,  carrying  with  it  the  necessary  appropriation.  All  the 
bills  introduced  or  championed  by  Dr.  Cannon  became  laws.  She 
served  on  the  Committees  on  Public  Health,  Apportionment.  Fish 
and  Game,  Banks  and  Banking,  Education,  Labor,  etc. 

At  the  close  of  their  second  term  the  Senate  presented  her  with 
a  handsome  silver-mounted  album  containing  the  autographs  of 
all  the  Senators  and  employes.  She  had  drawn  what  is  known 
as  the  long  term,  and  at  its  close  she  was  chosen  to  present  a 
handsome  gavel  to  the  president  of  the  Senate  in  behalf  of  the 
members.  Thus  far  she  has  been  the  only  woman  Senator. 

In  1899  Mrs.  Alice  Merrill  Home  (Dem.),  the  third  woman 
elected  to  the  House,  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  State  Uni- 
versity Land  Site  Committee,  to  which  was  referred  the  bill 
authorizing  the  State  to  take  advantage  of  the  congressional  land 
grant  offered  for  expending  $301,000  in  buildings  and  providing 
for  the  removal  of  the  State  University  to  the  new  site.  At  a 
jubilee  in  recognition  of  the  gift,  held  by  the  faculty  and  students, 
at  which  the  Governor  and  Legislature  were  guests,  Mrs.  Home 
was  the  only  woman  to  make  a  speech  and  was  introduced  by 
President  Joseph  T.  Kingsbury  in  most  flattering  terms  for  the 
work  she  had  done  in  behalf  of  education.  She  championed  the 
Free  Scholarship  Bill  giving  one  hundred  annual  Normal  School 
appointments,  each  for  a  term  of  four  years-;  and  one  creating 
a  State  Institute  of  Art  for  the  encouragement  of  the  fine  arts 
and  for  art  in  public  school  education  and  in  manufactures,  for 
an  annual  exhibition,  a  course  of  lectures  and  a  State  art  collec- 
tion, both  of  which  passed.  She  was  a  member  of  committees 
on  Art,  Education,  Rules  and  Insane  Asylum ;  was  the  only  mem- 
ber sent  to  visit  the  State  Insane  Asylum,  going  by  direction 
of  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  as  a  committee  of  one,  to  surprise 


UTAH.  955 

the  superintendent  and  report  actual  conditions.  Mrs.  Home 
was  presented  with  a  photographed  group  of  the  members  of  the 
House,  herself  the  only  woman  in  the  picture. 

The  November  election  of  1900  was  fraught  with  great  inter- 
est to  the  women,  as  the  State  officials  were  to  be  elected  as  well 
as  the  Legislature,  and  they  were  anxious  that  there  should  be 
some  women's  names  on  the  tickets  for  both  the  House  and  Sen- 
ate, and  that  a  wroman  should  be  nominated  for  State  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction  by  both  parties.  For  this  office  the 
Republican  and  the  Democratic  women  presented  candidates, — 
Mrs.  Emma  J.  McVicker  and  Miss  Ada  Faust, — but  both  con- 
ventions gave  the  nomination  to  men.  Meantime  Dr.  John  R. 
Park,  the  superintendent,  died  suddenly  and  Gov.  Wells  ap- 
pointed Mrs.  McVicker  as  his  successor  for  the  unfinished  term. 

Mrs.  J.  Ellen  Foster,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  was  sent  to  Utah 
by  the  Republican  National  Committee,  and  with  Mrs.  W.  F. 
Boynton  and  others,  made  a  spirited  and  successful  campaign. 

There  never  has  been  any  scramble  for  office  on  the  part  of 
women,  and  here,  as  in  the  other  States  where  they  have  the  suf- 
frage, there  is  but  little  disposition  on  the  part  of  men  to  divide 
with  them  the  "positions  of  emolument  and  trust."  Only  one 
woman  was  nominated  for  a  State  office  in  1900,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Cohen  for  the  Legislature,  and  she  was  defeated  with  the  rest 
of  the  Democratic  ticket.  All  of  the  women  who  have  served 
in  the  Legislature  have  been  elected  by  the  Democrats. 

Several  women  were  elected  to  important  city  and  county  of- 
fices. In  many  of  these  offices  more  women  than  men  are  em- 
ployed as  deputies  and  clerks. 

In  1900  Mrs.  W.  H.  Jones  was  sent  as  delegate  to  the  National 
Republican  Convention  in  Philadelphia,  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Co- 
hen to  the  Democratic  in  Kansas  City,  and  both  served  through- 
out the  sessions.  This  is  the  first  instance  of  the  kind  on  record, 
although  women  were  sent  as  alternates  from  Wyoming  to  the 
National  Republican  Convention  at  Minneapolis  in  1888. 

•Women  are  exempted  from  sitting  on  juries,  the  same  as 
editors,  lawyers  and  ministers,  but  they  are  not  excluded  if  they 
wish  to  serve  or  the  persons  on  trial  desire  them.  None  has  thus 
far  been  summoned. 


956  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  forbid- 
den to  women  except  that  of  working  in  mines. 

EDUCATION  :  All  of  the  higher  institutions  of  learning  are 
open  to  both  sexes.  In  the  public  schools  there  are  527  men  and 
892  women  teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is 
$61.42;  of  the  women,  $41.19. 


Women  in  Utah  always  have  been  conspicuous  in  organized 
work.  The  National  Woman's  Relief  Society  was  established 
at  Nauvoo,  Ills.,  in  1842,  and  transferred  to  Salt  Lake  City  in 
1848..  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  associations  of  women  in  the  United 
States — the  oldest  perhaps  of  any  considerable  size.  It  has  over 
30,000  members  and  is  one  of  the  valuable  institutions  of  the 
State.  The  National  Young  Ladies'  Mutual  Improvement  Asso- 
ciation has  21,700  members  and  in  1900  raised  $3,000  partly  for 
building  purposes  and  partly  to  help  the  needy.*  There  are  also 
a  State  Council  of  Women,  Daughters  of  the  Pioneers,  Daugh- 
ters of  the  Revolution,  Council  of  Jewish  Women,  etc.  Thirty- 
three  clubs  belong  to  the  National  Federation  but  this  by  no 
means  includes  all  of  them. 

*  In  1889  Mrs.  Susa  Young  Gates  established  the  Young  Woman's  Journal,  a  monthly 
magazine,  as  the  organ  of  this  association,  although  it  was  for  eight  years  financially  a 
private  enterprise.  The  president,  Mrs.  Elmina  S.  Taylor,  was  her  constant  help  and 
inspiration.  The  first  year  Mrs.  Lucy  B.  Young,  mother  of  the  editor,  then  past  sixty, 
took  her  buggy  and  traveled  over  Utah  explaining  the  venture  and  securing  subscriptions. 
Two  thousand  numbers  a  year  were  published.  Of  late  years  the  business  managers  have 
been  women.  In  1897  Mrs.  Gates  made  over  the  magazine  to  the  association  without  any 
consideration,  but  was  retained  as  editor.  There  were  at  this  time  practically  no  debts 
and  7,000  subscribers,  which  later  were  increased  to  10,000. 


CHAPTER  LXVII. 

VERMONT.* 

Much  credit  is  due  to  the  New  England  Woman  Suffrage  As- 
sociation for  the  life  and  efficiency  of  the  Vermont  society.  In 
1883  this  organization  secured  the  services  of  Mrs.  Hannah 
Tracy  Cutler  of  Illinois  for  a  series  of  lectures.  At  the  close  of 
these,  and  pursuant  to  a  call  signed  by  twenty-five  citizens,  a  con- 
vention was  held  at  St.  Johnsbury,  November  8,  9,  when,  with 
the  aid  of  Lucy  .Stone  and  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  editors  of  the 
Woman's  Journal,  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe  of  Massachusetts, 
and  Mrs.  Cutler,  the  State  W.  S.  A.  was  formed,  f 

In  over  seventy  towns  and  villages  local  committees  have  been 
appointed  to  distribute  literature,  circulate  petitions  and  further 
the  general  plans  of  work.  For  the  past  two  years  the  editors 
have  been  supplied  with  suffrage  papers  weekly  or  fortnightly. 

Lecture  trips  have  been  arranged  for  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard 
Shaw,  vice-president-at-large  of  the  National  Association,  Mrs. 
Zerelda  G.  Wallace  of  Indiana,  the  Rev.  Ada  C.  Bowles,  the 
Rev.  Louis  A.  Banks,  Miss  Alice  Stone  Blackwell,  Miss  Diana 
Hirschler,  Miss  Ida  M.  Buxton,  of  Massachusetts,  and  Mrs.  M. 
L.  T.  Hidden.  Eighty  appointments  have  been  filled  by  Miss 
Mary  N.  Chase,  A.  B.  Thirty  conventions  have  been  held  at 
which  valuable  aid  has  been  rendered  by  Mr.  and  Miss  Blackwell, 
Miss  Shaw,  Mrs.  Howe,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore  and  Mrs. 
Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  national  organization 
committee.! 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Miss  Laura  Moore  of  Barnet,  who  has 
been  secretary  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association  for  seventeen  years. 

t.The  following  have  been  presidents:  Mrs.  M.  L.  T.  Hidden,  C.  W.  Wyman,  Mrs. 
M.  E.  Tucker,  the  Hon.  Hosea  Mann,  Willard  Chase,  Mrs.  A.  D.  Chandler,  L.  F.  Wil- 
bur, Mrs.  P.  S.  Beeman,  the  Rev.  George  L.  Story,  Miss  Elizabeth  Colley,  A.  M. 

Among  those  who  have  served  on  the  executive  board  are  Mesdames  L.  E.  Alfred,  A. 
F.  Baldwin,  F.  W.  Brown,  A.  M.  W.  Chase,  E.  L.  Corwin,  C.  J.  Clark,  L.  D.  Dyer,  P.  R. 
Edes,  M.  W.  Foster,  C.  D.  Gallup,  S.  F.  Leonard,  Emma  J.  Nelson  and  Julia  A.  Pierce; 
Misses  Clara  Eastman,  O.  M.  Lawrence,  Laura  Moore,  Julia  E.  Smith  and  Mary  E. 
Spencer;  the  Hon.  Chester  Pierce,  Col.  Albert  Clarke,  Dudley  P.  Hall  and  G.  W.  Seaver. 

t  Some  of  those  who  have  rendered  excellent  service  to  the  cause  are  Mesdames  Clara 

957 


958  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  Harvey  Howes  of  West 
Haven  was  the  only  man  in  a  convention  called  to  amend  the 
State  constitution  in  1870,  who  voted  to  grant  full  political  rights 
to  women ;  233  voted  in  opposition. 

To  secure  to  taxpaying  women  the  right  of  Municipal  Suf- 
frage, has  been  the  special  line  of  legislative  work  for  the  State 
association.  Petitions  asking  for  this,  with  signatures  varying 
in  number  from  1,225  to  3»6i6,  and  bills  to  grant  it.  have  been 
presented  in  both  Houses  of  the  Legislature  at  nine  biennial  ses- 
sions, beginning  with  1884.  In  every  instance  save  one  these 
have  been  referred  to  the  Judiciary  Committees. 

In  1884  a  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  was  introduced  into  the 
House  by  O.  E.  Butterfield  and  supported  by  himself  and  Messrs. 
Adams,  Henry,  Stickney  and  others,  but  was  lost  by  69  yeas,  113 
nays. 

In  1886  a  bill  to  permit  all  women  to  vote  who  paid  taxes  was 
introduced  and  strongly  advocated  in  the  House  by  Luke  P. 
Poland.  It  was  amended  without  his  consent  to  require  that  they 
should  pay  taxes  on  $200  worth  of  property,  and  passed  by  139 
yeas,  89  nays.  In  the  Senate  it  was  championed  by  Messrs. 
Bates,  Blake,  Bunker,  Clark,  Cushing,  Foster,  Pierce,  Smith, 
Stanley  and  Swain,  but  was  lost  by  10  yeas,  18  nays. 

In  1888  a  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  was  introduced  into  the 
House  by  C.  P.  Marsh,  chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee, 
that  gave  a  hearing  at  which  the  State  W.  S.  A.  was  represented. 
Later,  at  a  public  hearing  in  Representatives'  Hall,  Henry  B. 
Blackwell,  Prof.  W.  H.  Carruth  of  Kansas,  Col.  Albert  Clarke, 
Mrs.  Mary  W.  Foster  and  Miss  Laura  Moore  urged  the  passage 
of  this  bill.  It  was  reported  to  the  House  "without  expression  of 
opinion.'.'  The  friendly  members  on  the  committee  were  Messrs. 
Marsh,  Ballard  and  Mann.  In  the  debate  which  followed,  these 
three,  with  Messrs.  Southworth  and  Dole,  supported  the  bill; 
and  a  letter  was  read  from  Amasa  Scott,  presenting  arguments 
in  its  favor.  It  was  lost  by  38  yeas,  192  nays. 

Still  later  in  this  session  a  petition  signed  by  the  officers  of  the 

Bailey,  Lucia  G.  Brown,  M.  A.  Brewster,  Inez  E.  Campbell,  H.  G.  Minot,  G.  E.  Moody, 
Harriet  S.  Moore,  Emily  E.  Reed,  Clinton  Smith,  Mary  H.  Semple,  Anna  E.  Spencer, 
L.  B.  Wilson  and  Jane  Marlette  Taft;  Misses  Caroline  Scott,  Eliza  S.  Eaton  and  I.  K. 
Moody;  the  Rev.  Mark  Atwood,  L.  N.  Chandler,  Editor  Arthur  F.  Stone  and  ex-Gov. 
Carroll  S.  Page. 


VERMONT.  959 

State  association  asking  that  "property  owned  by  women  be  ex- 
empt from  taxation,"  was  presented  in  the  House;  as  was  also 
a  bill  by  Hosea  Mann  providing  that,  "The  property,  both  real 
and  personal,  owned  by  women  shall  be  exempt  from  taxation, 
except  for  school  purposes."  This  was  defeated  without  debate. 

In  1890  a  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  was  introduced  into  the 
House  by  Mr.  Mann  and  favorably  reported  by  the  Judiciary 
Committee,  with  reasons  given  "why  the  bill  ought  to  pass," 
signed  by  Messrs.  Thompson,  Darling,  Enright,  Mann,  Robin- 
son and  Smith  of  St.  Albans.  It  was  advocated  by  them,  Smith 
of  Royalton  and  others,  but  was  lost  by  99  yeas,  113  nays. 

During  this  session  a  bill  to  incorporate  the  Vermont  W.  S.  A., 
was  introduced  into  the  Senate  by  S.  E.  Grout.  It  was  favorably 
reported  from  the  General  Committee,  but  was  refused  passage 
without  debate  by  8  yeas,  10  nays. 

In  1892  Wendell  Phillips  Stafford  introduced  the  Municipal 
Suffrage  Bill  into  the  House;  it  was  made  a  special  order  and 
was  championed  by  Messrs.  Stafford,  Booth,  Darling,  Enright, 
Martin,  Taylor,  Weston  and  others,  and  was  passed  by  149  yeas, 
83  nays.  When  it  reached  the  Senate  it  was  reported  from  the 
Judiciary  Committee  with  a  weighty  amendment,  and  a  third 
reading  was  refused  by  18  yeas,  10  nays. 

At  this  session  Gov.  Levi  K.  Fuller  in  his  address,  under  the 
heading  of  Municipal  Suffrage,  called  attention  to  this  question 
and  advised  "giving  the  matter  such  consideration  -as  in  your 
judgment  it  may  warrant." 

In  1894  the  bill  was  introduced  again  into  the  House  by  Hosea 
Mann,  who  advocated  and  voted  for  this  measure  in  four  sessions 
of  the  Legislature.  Four  members  of  the  Judiciary  Committee 
were  favorable — Messrs.  Ladd,  Lord,  Lawrence  and  Stone.  Its 
champions  were  Messrs.  Mann,  Burbank,  Bridgeman,  Butterfield, 
Fuller,  Peck,  Paddock,  Smith  of  Morristown,  Vance  and  others. 
It  was  defeated  by  106  yeas,  108  nays. 

In  1896,  for  the  first  time,  a  Municipal  Suffrage  Bill  was  intro- 
duced into  the  Senate,  by  Joseph  B.  Holton.  It  was  reported 
favorably  by  the  committee ;  ordered  to  a  third  reading  with  only 
one  opposing  voice ;  advocated  by  Messrs.  Holton,  Hulburd,  Mer- 
rifield  and  Weeks,  and  passed  without  a  negative  vote.  When 


960  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

the  bill  reached  the  House  it  was  reported  from  the  Judiciary 
Committee  "without  recommendation."  It  was  supported  by 
Speaker  Lord,  Messrs.  Bates,  Bunker,  Childs,  Clark,  Haskins, 
McClary  and  others,  but  a  third  reading  was  refused  by  89  yeas, 
135  nays. 

In  1898  petitions  for  Municipal  Suffrage  signed  by  2.506  citi- 
zens were  presented  to  the  Legislature  and  a  bill  was  introduced 
into  the  House  by  E.  A.  Smith.  This  was  reported  by  an  un- 
friendly chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee  at  a  time  when  its 
author  was  not  present,  and  was  lost  without  the  courtesy  of  a 
discussion. 

In  1900,  petitions  for  Municipal  Suffrage  for  Women  Tax- 
payers were  presented  to  the  Senate ;  a  bill  was  introduced  by  H. 
C.  Royce,  and  at  a  hearing  granted  by  the  Judiciary  Committee 
Henry  B.  Blackwell,  L.  F.  Wilbur,  the  Hon.  W.  A.  Lord  and 
Mrs.  E.  M.  Denny  gave  arguments  for  it.  Adverse  majority  and 
favorable  minority  reports  were  presented  by  the  committee.  By 
request  of  Messrs.  Royce  and  Brown,  the  bill  was  made  a  special 
order,  when  it  was  advocated  by  Messrs.  Royce  and  Leland; 
but  a  third  reading  was  refused  by  13  yeas,  15  nays.  Later  in 
this  session,  a  petition  signed  by  the  officers  of  the  State  W.  S. 
A.,  asking  that  "women,  who  are  taxpayers,  be  exempt  from  tax- 
ation, save  for  school  purposes,"  was  presented  to  the  Senate. 
This  was,-  by  the  presiding  officer,  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
the  Insane. 

The  names  of  all  members  voting  for  suffrage  bills  have  been 
preserved  by  the  State  association.  The  names  of  the  opponents 
pass  into  oblivion  with  no  regrets. 

In  1900  a  bill  was  presented,  for  the  second  time,  by  the  Fed- 
eration "of  Clubs,  providing  for  women  on  the  boards  of  State 
institutions  where  women  or  children  are  confined,  but  it  was 
killed  in  committee. 

In  1884  the  law  granting  to  married  women  the  right  to  own 
and  control  their  separate  property  and  the  power  to  make  con- 
tracts, was  secured  through  the  efforts  of  the  Hon.  Henry  C. 
Ide,  now  United  States  Commissioner  in  the  Philippines.  Since 
1888  their  wages  have  belonged  to  them. 

Dower  and  curtesy  were  abolished  by  the  Legislature  of  1896. 


VERMONT. 


961 


Where  there  are  no  children  the  widow  or  the  widower  takes  in 
the  estate  of  the  deceased  $2,000  and  one-half  of  the  remainder, 
the  other  half  going  to  the  relatives  of  the  deceased.  If  there 
are  children,  the  widow  takes  absolutely  one-third  of  the  hus- 
band's real  estate  (homestead  of  the  value  of  $500  included) 
and  one-third  of  his  personal  property  after  payment  of  debts; 
the  widower  takes  one-third  of  the  wife's  real  estate  absolutely, 
but  does  not  share  in  her  personal  property. 

The  Court  of  Chancery  may  authorize  a  wife  to  convey  her 
separate  property  without  the  signature  of  her  husband.  The 
husband  can  mortgage  or  convey  all  his  separate  property  with- 
out the  wife's  signature,  except  her  homestead  right  of  $500. 

The  law  equalizing  the  division  of  property  to  the  fathers  and 
mothers  of  children  dying  without  wills,  was  secured  by  Repre- 
sentative T.  A.  Chase  in  1894. 

Senator  O.  M.  Barber,  now  State  auditor,  was  the  author,  in 
the  same  year,  of  the  law  allowing  a  married  woman  to  be  ap- 
pointed executor,  guardian,  administrator  or  trustee.- 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  and  has  custody  of  the  per- 
sons and  education  of  minor  children.  He  may  appoint  by  will 
a  guardian  even  for  one  unborn.  ( Code,  1 894. ) 

If  the  husband  fail  to  support  his  wife  the  court  may  make 
such  decision  as  it  thinks  called  for,  and  the  town  may  recover 
from  a  husband  who  deserted  his  wife  and  children,  leaving  them 
a  charge  upon  it  for  one  year  previous  to  the  time  of  action. 

A  married  woman  deserted  or  neglected  by  her  husband  "may 
make  contracts  for  the  labor  of  her  minor  children,  shall  be  en- 
titled to  their  wages,  and  may  in  her  own  name  sue  for  and  re- 
cover them." 

In  1886  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10 
to  14  years.  In  1898  it  was  raised  to  16  years.  The  penalty  is 
imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  not  more  than  twenty  years  or 
a  fine  not  exceeding  $2,000,  or  both,  at  the  discretion  of  the 
court.  No  minimum  penalty  is  named. 

SUFFRAGE:     Women  have  the  same  right  as  men  to  vote  on 

all  questions  pertaining  to  schools  and  school  officers  in  cities. 

towns  and  graded  school  districts;  and  the  same  right  to  hold 

offices  relating  to  school  affairs.     This  law,  which  had  been  en- 

VOL  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 61 


962  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

acted  in  1880  and  applied  to  "school  meetings,"  was  re-enacted 
when  the  "town  system"  was  established  in  1892,  and  gave 
women  the  right  to  vote  on  school  matters  in  the  town  meetings. 

OFFICE  HOLPING:  Since  1880  "women  21  years  of  age"  may 
be  elected  to  the  office  of  town  clerk,  and  to  all  school  offices. 

In  1900  thirteen  women  were  elected  town  clerks;  six  were 
serving  as  school  directors,  eighty- four  as  county  superintendents 
and  seventy-five  as  postmasters,  according  to  the  Vermont  Regis- 
ter, which  is  not  always  complete. 

Women  sit  on  the  State  Board  of  Library  Commissioners.  In 
1900  they  were  made  eligible  to  serve  as  trustees  of  town  li- 
braries. 

This  year  also  a  law  making  women  eligible  to  the  office  of 
notary  public  was  secured  by  Representative  J.  E.  Buxton. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  forbid- 
den to  women. 

EDUCATION  :  Equal  advantages  are  accorded  to  both  sexes  in 
all  the  colleges,  except  that  the  State  University,  at  Burlington, 
does  not  admit  women  to  its  Medical  Department. 

In  1888,  Dr.  E.  R.  Campbell,  president  of  the  society,  reported 
as  follows :  "The  Vermont  Medical  Society  opens  wide  its  doors 
to  admit  women,  and  bids  them  welcome  to  all  its  privileges  and 
honors,  on  an  equal  basis  with  their  brother  physicians." 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  509  men  and  3,289  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $41.23;  of 
the  women,  $25.04. 


Progressive  steps  have  been  taken  in  the  churches  of  most  de- 
nominations. In  1892,  for  the  first  time,  women  were  elected 
as  delegates  to  the  annual  State  Convention  of  the  Congregational 
Churches.  In  1900  there  were  fifteen  accredited  women  dele- 
gates in  the  convention.  The  Domestic  Missionary  Society,  an 
ally  of  this  church,  has  employed  sixteen  women  during  the  past 
year  as  "missionaries,"  to  engage  in  evangelistic  work  in  the 
State. 

The  Vermont  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
although  it  does  not  admit  women  to  its  membership,  has  passed 
resolutions  five  times  in  the  last  ten  years,  indorsing  equal  rights, 
and  has  petitioned  the  Legislature  to  grant  them  Municipal  Suf- 


VERMONT. 


963 


frage.  For  this  credit  is  due  to  the  Rev.  George  L.  Story  and 
the  Rev.  L.  L.  Beeman. 

The  Free  Baptist  Church  passed  a  resolution  declaring  un- 
equivocally for  the  Christian  principle  of  political  equality  for 
women  at  its  Yearly  Meeting  in  1889.  That  year,  for  the  first 
time  in  its  history,  it  sent  a  woman  delegate  to  the  General  Con- 
ference. , 

A  similar  resolution  was  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  Northern 
Association  of  Universalists,  later  in  the  same  year.  This  church 
admits  women  to  equal  privileges  in  its  conventions  and  its  pul- 
pits. This  is  also  true  of  the  Unitarian  Church. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  State  Grange  in  1891  adopted  this 
resolution:  "We  sympathize  with  and  will  aid  any  efforts  for 
equal  suffrage  regardless  of  sex." 

All  the  political  parties  have  been  urged  to  indorse  woman 
suffrage.  The  Prohibitionists  did  so  in  their  annual  convention 
of  1888.  At  the  Republican  State  Convention  that  year  the 
Committee  on  Resolutions,  through  its  chairman,  Col.  Albert 
Clarke,  presented  the  following,  which  was  adopted:  "True 
to  its  impulses,  history  and  traditions  of  liberty,  equality  and 
progress,  the  Republican  party  in  Vermont  will  welcome  women 
to  an  equal  participation  in  government,  whenever  they  give 
earnest  of  desire  in  sufficient  numbers  to  indicate  its  success." 


CHAPTER  LXVIII. 

VIRGINIA. 

As  early  as  1870  and  1871  tyfiss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Mrs.  Ma- 
tilda Joslyn  Gage  of  New  York  and  Mrs.  Paulina  Wright  Davis 
of  Rhode  Island  lectured  on  woman  suffrage  in  Richmond. 
There  has  been,  however,  very  little  organized  effort  in  its  be- 
half, although  the  movement  has  many  individual  advocates. 
Since  1880  the  State  has  been  represented  at  the  national  con- 
ventions by  Mrs.  Orra  Langhorne,  who  has  been  its  most  active 
worker  for  twenty  years.  Other  names  which  appear  at  inter- 
vals are  Miss  Etta  Grimes  Farrar,  Miss  Brill  and  Miss  Hender- 
son Dangerfield.  A  few  local  societies  have  been  formed,  and 
in  1893  a  State  Association  was  organized,  with  Mrs.  Langhorne 
as  president  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  B.  Dodge  as  secretary  and  treas- 
urer. Its  efforts  have  been  confined  chiefly  to  discovering  the 
friends  of  the  movement,  distributing  literature  and  securing 
favorable  matter  in  the  newspapers.  The  Richmond  Star  is  es- 
pecially mentioned  as  a  champion  of  the  enfranchisement  of 
women.  In  1895  Miss  Anthony,  president  of  the  National  Asso- 
ciation, on  her  way  home  from  its  convention  in  Atlanta,  ad- 
dressed a  large  audience  at  the  opera  house  in  Culpeper.  Later 
this  year  Miss  Elizabeth  Upham  Yates  of  Maine  spoke  in  the 
same  place.  Mrs.  Ruth  D.  Havens  of  Washington,  D.  C,  lec- 
tured on  The  Girls  of  the  Future  before  the  State  Teachers' 
Normal  Institute. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  Petitions  have  been  sent 
to  the  Legislature  from  time  to  time,  by  the  State  association 
and  by  individuals  for  woman  suffrage  with  educational  qualifi- 
cations, the  opening  of  State  colleges  to  women,  the  appoint- 
ment of  women  physicians  in  the  prisons  and  insane  asylums, 
women  on  school  boards,  proper  accommodations  in  jails  for 
women  prisoners  and  the  separation  of  juvenile  offenders  from 
the  old  and  hardened.  None  of  these  ever  has  been  acted  upon. 

964 


VIRGINIA.  965 

In  1898  a  bill  to  permit  women  to  serve  as  notaries  public 
was  vetoed  by  the  Governor  as  unconstitutional. 

Dower  and  curtesy  both  obtain.  The  wife  inherits  a  life  in- 
terest in  one-third  of  the  real  estate.  If  there  are  children  she 
has  one-third  of  the  personal  property  absolutely;  if  none,  one- 
half.  The  husband  inherits  all  of  the  wife's  personal  property 
whether  there  are  children  or  not,  and  the  entire  real  estate  for 
life  if  there  has  been  issue  born  alive.  If  this  has  not  been  the 
case  he  has  no  interest  in  the  wife's  separate  real  estate.  The 
homestead,  to  the  value  of  $2,000,  is  exempted  for  the  wife. 

By  Act  of  1900,  a  married  woman  may  dispose  as  though  un- 
married of  all  property  heretofore  or  hereafter  acquired.  She  can 
sell  her  personal  property  without  her  husband's  uniting.  He 
has  the  same  right.  She  can  sell  her  land  without  his  uniting, 
but  unless  he  does  so,  if  curtesy  exist,  he  will  be  entitled  to  a 
life  estate.  Unless  the  wife  unites  with  the  husband  in  the  sale 
of  his  real  estate,  she  will  be  entitled  to  dower. 

By  the  above  Act  a  married  woman  may  contract  and  be  con- 
tracted with,  sue  and  be  sued,  in  the  same  manner  and  with  the 
same  consequences  as  if  she  were  unmarried,  whether  the  right 
or  liability  asserted  by  or  against  her  accrued  before  or  after 
the  passage  of  the  act.  The  husband  is  not  responsible  for  any 
contract,  liability  or  tort  of  the  wife,  whether  the  liability  was 
incurred  or  the  tort  was  committed  before  or  after  marriage. 

There  has  been  no  decision  as  to  the  wages  of  a  married  woman 
since  the  above  Act;  but  it  is  believed  they  would  be  held  to  be- 
long to  her  absolutely,  even  if  not  engaged  in  business  as  a  sole 
trader. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  minor  children,  and 
may  appoint  a  guardian  for  such  time  as  he  pleases. 

The  husband  is  liable  for  necessaries  for  the  support  of  the 
family,  and  can  be  sued  therefor  by  any  one  who  supplies  them. 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  12  to  14 
years  in  1896.  The  penalty  is  death  or  imprisonment  in  the 
penitentiary  not  less  than  five  nor  more  than  twenty  years. 

SUFFRAGE:     Women  possess  no  form  of  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  No  offices  are  filled  by  women  except  that 
there  is  one  physician  at  the  Western  Insane  Asylum  and, 


966  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

through  the  efforts  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union,  a  matron  in  the  woman's  ward  of  the  State  prison. 

Women  are  employed  as  clerks  in  various  county  offices. 
They  can  not  serve  as  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  Under  the  ruling  of  the  courts,  a  woman 
can  not  practice  law.  No  other  profession  or  occupation  is 
legally  forbidden  to  women. 

EDUCATION  :  For  the  higher  education  the  women  of  Vir- 
ginia must  go  outside  of  their  State.*  The  State  Superintend- 
ent of  Free  Schools  and  the  Secretary  of  the  State  Board  of 
Education  both  express  great  regret  at  this  fact,  and  the  hope 
that  all  institutions  of  learning  will  soon  be  opened  to  them. 
Secretary  Frank  P.  Brent  says: 

We  have  as  yet  no  women  acting  as  school  superintendents  or 
members  of  school  boards,  but  I  feel  sure  the  Constitutional  Con- 
vention will  make  women  eligible  to  one  or  both  of  these  positions. 

Last  year  I  had  the  honor  to  decide  that  in  matters  pertaining  to 
the  educational  affairs  of  this  State,  the  wife  may  be  regarded  as  the 
head  of  the  family,  although  the  husband  is  living ;  and  this  decision 
has  just  been  reaffirmed  by  the  United  States  Court  of  Appeals. f 

Women  are  admitted  to  several  of  the  smaller  colleges.  The 
Randolph-Macon  College  in  Ashland,  and  the  Woman's  Col- 
lege at  Lynchburgh,  both  under  the  same  presidency,  rank  well 
among  institutions  for  women  only.  Miss  Celestia  C.  Parrish 
is  vice-president.  Hampton  Institute,  for  negroes  and  Indians, 
is  co-educational. 

The  public  schools  make  no  distinction  of  sex.  There  are 
2,909  men  and  5,927  women  teachers.  The  average  monthly 
salary  of  the  men  is  $32.09 ;  of  the  women,  $26.39. 

*  The  State  Universities  are  closed  to  women  only  in  Virginia,  Georgia  and  Louisiana, 
and  the  undergraduate  departments  in  North  Carolina. 

t  The  decision  of  the  court  was:  "When  an  intelligent,  active,  industrious,  frugal 
woman  finds  she  has  married  a  man  who,  instead  of  coming  up  to  the  standard  of  a  hus- 
band, is  a  mere  dependent  ....  and  leaves  to  her  the  support  of  the  family,  it 
would  be  contradictory  of  fact  and  an  absurd  construction  of  the  law  to  say  that  he,  and 
not  she,  is  the  head  of  the  family." 

This  is  believed  to  be  the  first  legal  decision  of  the  kind  and  has  created  wide  discussion. 


CHAPTER  LXIX. 

WASHINGTON.* 

The  history  of  woman  suffrage  in  Washington  begins  with 
the  passage  of  a  bill  by  the  Legislature,  giving  women  the  full 
rights  of  the  ballot  on  the  same  terms  as  men,  which  was  approved 
Nov.  23,.  1883,  by  the  Territorial  Governor,  William  A.  Newell. 
This  was  due  principally  to  the  efforts  of  a  few  individuals,  both 
men  and  women,  as  there  was  no  organization,  f 

The  municipal  elections  of  the  following  spring  brought  the 
first  opportunity  to  exercise  the  newly-acquired  right.  The 
women  evinced  their  appreciation  of  it  by  casting  8,368  ballots 
out  of  the  whole  number  of  34,000,  and  the  leading  papers  tes- 
tified to  the  widespread  acknowledgment  of  the  strength  and 
moral  uplift  of  their  vote. 

The  general  election  of  November,  1884,  naturally  showed  a 
larger  vote  by  both  men  and  women,  the  latter  casting  12,000 
out  of  the  48,000  ballots.  It  was  estimated  at  this  time  that 
there  were  less  than  one-third  as  many  women  as  men  in  the  Ter- 
ritory. When  the  scattered  population,  the  long  distances  and 
the  difficulties  of  travel  are  taken  into  consideration  it  must  be 
admitted  that  women  took  the  largest  possible  advantage  of  the 
recently  granted  privileges. 

For  the  next  two  years  they  continued  to  use  the  franchise  with 
unabated  zeal,  and  newspapers  and  public  speakers  were  unani- 
mous in  their  approval.  In  a  number  of  instances  the  official 
returns,  during  the  three-and-a-half  years  they  possessed  the  suf- 
frage, exhibited  a  larger  percentage  of  women  •noting  than  of 
men.  Chief  Justice  Roger  S.  Greene  of  the  Supreme  Court  es- 
timated that  at  the  last  election  before  they  were  disfranchised 
four-fifths  of  all  the  women  in  the  Territory  went  to  the  polls. 

Many  women  have  remarked  upon  the  increased  respect  and 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  the  material  for  this  chapter  to  Miss  Martha  E.   Pike  of 
Seattle,  corresponding  secretary  of  the  State  Equal  Suffrage  Association. 

*  See  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  776. 

967 


968  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

courtesy  of  the  men  during  this  period.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Mat- 
thews, who  removed  from  New  Orleans  to  Port  Townsend  in 
1885,  states  that,  although  accustomed  from  babyhood  to  the  def- 
erential gallantry,  of  the  men  of  the  South,  she  never  had  dreamed 
that  any  women  in  the  world  were  receiving  such  respectful  con- 
sideration as  she  found  in  Washington  Territory  at  that  time. 
The  political  parties  realized  the  necessity  of  putting  their  best 
men  to  the  front,  and  it  was  fully  conceded  that  ethics  had  be- 
come a  factor  in  politics. 

Prior  to  the  Legislature  of  1886  some  discussion  arose  as  to  the 
constitutionality  of  the  Equal  Suffrage  Law,  and,  in  order  to 
remove  all  doubt,  a  strengthening  Act  was  passed,  which  was 
approved  by  Gov.  Watson  C.  Squire,  November  29. 

On  Feb.  3,  1887,  the  case  of  Harlan  vs.  Washington  came 
before  the  Territorial  Supreme  Court.  Harlan  had  been  con- 
victed of  carrying  on  a  swindling  game  by  a  jury  composed  of 
both  men  and  women,  and  he  contested  the  verdict  on  the  ground 
that  women  were  not  legal  voters.  The  Supreme  Court,  whose 
personnel  had  been  entirely  changed  through  a  new  Presidential 
administration,  decided  that  the  law  conferring  the  elective  fran- 
chise upon  them  was  void  because  it  had  not  been  fully  described 
in  its  title.  This  decision  also  rendered  void  nineteen  other 
laws  which  had  been  enacted  under  the  same  conditions. 

The  members  of  the  next  Legislature  had  been  elected  so  long 
before  the  rendering  of  this  decision  that  their  seats  could  not 
be  contested;  and  as  their  election  had  been  by  both  men  and 
women  they  were  determined  to  re-establish  the  law  which  the 
Supreme  Court  had  ruthlessly  overthrown.  Therefore  the 
Equal  Suffrage  Law  was  re-enacted,  perfectly  titled  and  worded, 
and  was  approved  by  Gov.  Eugene  Semple,  Jan.  18,  1888. 

The  members  of  a  convention  to  prepare  a  State  constitution 
were  soon  to  be  chosen,  and  the  opponents  of  woman  suffrage 
were  most  anxious  to  have  the  question  considered  by  the  Su- 
preme Court  before  the  election  of  the  delegates.  They  arranged 
that  the  judges  of  the  spring  municipal  election  in  a  certain  pre- 
cinct should  refuse  to  accept  the  vote  of  a  Mrs.  Nevada  Bloomer, 
the  wife  of  a  saloon-keeper  and  herself  an  avowed  opponent  of 
woman  suffrage.  This  was  done  on  April  3,  and  she  brought 


WASHINGTON.  969 

suit  against  them.  The  case  was  rushed  through,  and  on 
August  14  the  Supreme  Court  decided  that  the  Act  of  January  18 
was  invalid,  as  a  Territorial  Legislature  had  no  right  to  en- 
franchise women,  and  that  in  consequence  the  Equal  Suffrage 
Law  was  void.  The  Judges  responsible  for  this  decision  were 
Associate  Justices  George  Turner  and  William  G.  Langford. 

The  very  Act  of  Congress  which  organized  the  Territory  of 
Washington  stated  explicitly  that,  at  elections  subsequent  to  the 
first,  all  persons  -should  be  allowed  to  vote  upon  whom  the  Ter- 
ritorial Legislature  might  confer  the  elective  franchise. 

By  the  organic  act  under  which  all  the  Territories  were  formed 
women  had  been  voting  in  Wyoming  since  1869  and  in  Utah 
since  1870.  The  arbitrary  disfranchisement  of  the  women  of  the 
latter  by  Congress  in  1887  demonstrated  that  this  body  did  have 
supreme  control  over  suffrage  in  the  Territories,  and  therefore 
unimpeachable  power  to  authorize  their  Legislatures  to  confer  it 
on  women,  as  had  been  done  by  that  of  Washington.  There 
never  was  a  more  unconstitutional  decision  than  that  of  this 
Territorial  Supreme  Court.  Congress  should  have  refused  to 
admit  the  Territory  until  women  had  voted  for  delegates  to  the 
constitutional  convention  and  on  the  constitution  itself.* 

Without  doubt  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  would 
have  reversed  the  decision  of  the  Territorial  Court,  but  Mrs. 
Bloomer  refused  to  allow  the  case  to  be  appealed,  and  no  one 
else  had  authority  to  do  so. 

As  the  women  were  thus  illegally  restrained  from  voting  for 
delegates,  the  opponents  of  their  enfranchisement  were  enabled 
to  elect  a  convention  with  a  majority  sufficient  to  prevent  a 
woman  suffrage  clause  in  the  constitution  for  Statehood. 

Henry  B.  Blackwell,  corresponding  secretary  of  the  American 
W.  S.  A.,  came  from  Massachusetts  to  assist  in  securing  such  a 
clause.  After  a  long  discussion  as  to  whether  he  should  be  per- 
mitted to  address  the  convention,  both  sides  agreed  that  the 
delegates  should  be  invited  to  hear  him  in  Tacoma  Hall.  His 
address  was  highly  praised  even  by  newspapers  and  persons  op- 
posed to  equal  suffrage.  Four  days  later,  with  Judge  Orange 

*  For  further  information  see  Appendix  for  Washington. 


9/O  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

J.  Jacobs  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Lyle  Saxon,  he  was  granted  a  hear- 
ing before  the  Suffrage  Committee  of  the  convention. 

The  question  of  incorporating  woman  suffrage  in  the  new  State 
constitution  was  debated  at  intervals  from  Aug.  9  to  15,  1889. 
The  fight  for  the  measure  was  led  by  Edward  Eldridge  and  \Y. 
S.  Bush.  In  a  long  and  able  argument  Mr.  Eldridge  reviewed 
the  recent  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  and  made  an  eloquent 
plea  for  justice  to  women.  Substitutes  granting  to  women  Mu- 
nicipal Suffrage,  School  Suffrage,  the  right  to  hold  office,  the 
privilege  of  voting  on  the  constitution,  all  were  defeated.  Final- 
ly a  compromise  was  forced  by  which  it  was  agreed  to  submit  a 
separate  amendment  giving  them  Full  Suffrage,  to  be  voted  on 
at  the  same  time  as  the  rest  of  the.  constitution,  women  them- 
selves not  being  allowed  to  vote  upon  it.* 

Only  two-and-a-half  months  remained  before  election,  the 
women  were  practically  unorganized,  there  were  few  speakers, 
no  money,  and  the  towns  were  widely  scattered.  Miss  Matilda 
Hindman  of  Pennsylvania  and  Mrs.  Clara  Bewick  Colby  of 
Washington,  D.  C,  editor  of  the  Woman's  Tribune,  came  on  and 
canvassed  the  State.  Both  were  effective  speakers  and  they 
received  as  much  local  assistance  as  possible,  but  all  the  money 
and  influence  which  could  be  commanded  by  the  disreputable 
element  that  had  suffered  from  the  woman's  vote  were  brought 
to  bear  against  the  amendment,  and  its  defeat  was  inevitable. 

The  constitution  was  adopted  Nov.  5,  1889,  the  woman  suf- 
frage amendment  receiving  16,521  ayes,  35,913  noes;  an  adverse 
majority  of  19,392. 

In  1890  the  first  State  Legislature  conferred  School  Suffrage 
on  women  to  the  extent  of  voting  for  trustees  and  directors. 

The  political  campaign  of  1896  was  one  in  which  reform  of  all 
kinds  was  unusually  in  evidence.  Three  women  sat  as  dele- 
gates in  the  State  Fusion  Convention  at  Ellensburg.  Mrs.  Laura 
E.  Peters,  president  of  the  suffrage  club  at  Port  Angeles,  was  a 
Populist  delegate  and  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Platform 
Committee.  Through  her  efforts  a  suffrage  plank  was  inserted 
in  the  platform  of  that  branch  of  the  convention. 

The  president  of  the  State  Suffrage  Association,  Mrs.  Homer 

•  For   addresses  and   other   proceedings  see   the   Woman's  Tribune,   Oct    5,    1889,   and 
the  following  numbers. 


WASHINGTON.  971 

M.  Hill,  said  in  her  official  report:  "The  People's  Party  was 
composed  of  £ilver  Republicans,  Populists  and  Democrats.  At 
the  State  convention  these  met  in  separate  sessions.  The  Demo- 
crats voted  down  a  resolution  demanding  that  the  Committee 
on  Platform  bring  in  a  report  favoring  the  amendment.  The 
Silver  Republicans  passed  one  'commending  the  action  of  the 
Free  Silver  party  in  presenting  to  the  people  the  proposed  amend- 
ment to  the  constitution.'  The  Populists  inserted  in  their  plat- 
form a  plank  declaring  that  'direct  legislation  without  equal 
suffrage  would  be  government  by  but  one-half  of  the  people/ 
and  unequivocally  favored  the  amendment. 

"Although  each  of  these  three  parties  had  its  own  platform, 
the  combination  formed  the  People's  Party  and  made  its  fight 
upon  one  composed  of  eleven  planks,  or  articles  of  faith,  to  which 
all  three  agreed,  but  equal  suffrage  was  not  one  of  them.  There- 
fore the  so-called  union  platform,  minus  suffrage,  was  the  one 
generally  published  and  used  as  the  basis  of  the  campaign 
speeches.  Because  of  this  no  speaker  of  the  People's  Party  was 
obliged  to  mention  the  amendment,  and  it  was  avoided  as  an 
issue  in  the  campaign;  the  State  Central  Committee  permitted 
each  speaker  to  say  what  he  pleased  personally,  but  he  was  not 
allowed  to  commit  the  party  or  to  urge  men  to  vote  for  it. 
Nearly  every  one,  however,  advocated  equal  suffrage. 

"The  Republicans,  in  convention  at  Tacoma,  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing: 'Firmly  believing  in  the  principle  of  equal  rights  to 
all  and  special  privileges  to  none,  we  recommend  to  the  voters  of 
the  State  a  careful  consideration  of  the  proposed  constitutional 
amendment  granting  equal  suffrage;'  and  this  always  was  pub- 
lished as  part  of  the  platform.  A  few  of  the  leading  Republican 
orators  advocated  the  amendment  and  none  spoke  against  it. 
Its  defeat  is  commonly  attributed  to  the  fact  that  20,000  of  the 
People's  party  did  not  vote  upon  it,  and  that  the  Republicans 
passed  the  word  a  short  time  before  election  to  vote  against  it. 

"Mrs.  W.  Winslow  Crannell,  who  was  sent  out  by  the  Albany 
(N.  Y.)  Anti-Suffrage  Association,  did  not  hold  a  meeting  of 
women  or  a  public  meeting  in  the  State.  She  conferred  with 
men  whom  the  anti-suffrage  representative,  Alfred  Downing  of 


972  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Seattle,  already  knew,  and  her  coming  tended  to  arouse  the  loyal 
support  of  the  suffragists.  t 

"The  Prohibition  party  gave  official  indorsement.  The  Social 
Democratic  party  and  the  Socialist  Labor  party  both  inserted 
suffrage  planks  in  their  platforms.  The  latter  claims  9,000 
Votes  in  the  State." 

The  Fusion  party  was  everywhere  successful  and  the  Legisla- 
ture of  1897  was  composed  of  reform  elements.  Mrs.  Peters 
had  charge  of  the  Equal  Suffrage  Bill,  which  was  introduced  on 
the  first  day  of  the  session  by  the  Hon.  J.  P.  de  Mattos,  and  pro- 
posed to  amend  the  constitution  by  striking  out  the  word  "male" 
from  the  suffrage  clause.  This  passed  the  House  on  February 
4  by  54  ayes,  1 5  noes.  The  bill  was  amended  in  the  Senate  and 
was  strongly  supported  by  Joseph  Hill  and  W.  V.  Rinehart.  The 
amended  bill  passed  the  Senate  on  February  25  by  23  ayes,  n 
noes,  and  was  returned  to  the  House. 

Here  it  reached  a  vote  March  n,  the  last  day  before  the  close 
of  the  session,  only  through  Mrs.  Peters'  slipping  up  to  Speaker 
Charles  E.  Cline's  desk  and  whispering  to  him  to  recognize  L. 
E.  Rader,  who  wished  to  present  it.  As  the  Speaker  was  a 
staunch  suffragist  he  did  so.  The  bill  passed  by  54  ayes,  1 5  noes, 
and  was  sent  back  for  the  signature  of  the  President  of  the  Sen- 
ate and  then  returned  to  the  House  for  the  Speaker  to  sign. 
Mrs.  Peters  thus  relates  what  happened  after  he  had  done  so : 

By  the  merest  accident,  Senator  Thomas  Miller,  a  friend,  obeyed 
an  impression  to  examine  the  bill  to  see  if  it  were  all  right,  when 
lo  and  behold !  he  discovered  that  the  true  bill  had  been  stolen  dur- 
ing the  short  recess  and  an  absolutely  worthless  bill  engrossed  and 
signed.  Senator  Miller  at  once  made  the  fraud  public  and  Speaker 
Cline  tore  his  signature  from  the  bill.  On  Thursday  morning,  the 
last  day,  a  certified  copy  of  the  true  bill  was  sent  to  the  House, 
where  it  was  ratified  and  returned  to  the  Senate.  I  then  requested 
the  President  of  the  Senate  to  make  me  a  special  messenger  to  take 
the  bill  to  the  Governor  for  his  signature.  As  I  happened  to  hold 
the  peculiar  position  of  having  voted  (at  the  State  convention)  for 
both  those  gentlemen,  and  as  I  had  taken  pains  to  remind  them  of 
that  fact,  and  as  both  the  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor  were 
suffragists,  I  found  no  difficulty  in  having  my  request  granted.  I 
said  that  the  bill  had  been  delayed,  deformed,  pigeon-holed  and 
stolen,  and  I  would  not  feel  safe  until  it  was  made  law  by  the  Gov- 
ernor's signature. 

I  was  duly  sworn  in  as  special  messenger,  and  very  proudly  car- 


WASHINGTON.  973 

ried  the  bill  to  the  office,  where  Gov.  John  R.  Rogers  affixed  his 
signature  to  it  and  declared  it  law. 

The  history  of  the  campaign  which  followed,  as  condensed  by 
the  president,  Mrs.  Hill,  shows  that  active  work  did  not  begin 
until  the  convention  held  at  Seattle  in  January,  1898.  The  ex- 
ecutive committee  was  called  together  after  its  adjournment  and 
the  situation  thoroughly  canvassed.  A  resolution  which  wel- 
comed work  for  the  amendment  by  other  societies  under  their 
own  auspices  was  unanimously  passed,  as  it  was  realized  that 
there  was  not  time  in  which  to  bring  all  suffragists  into  line  un- 
der one  management.  Money  was  scarce  and  hard  to  obtain, 
and  public  attention  was  divided  between  the  Spanish-American 
War  and  the  gold  excitement  in  Alaska.  The  association  at 
once  turned  its  attention  to  the  obtaining  of  funds,  the  securing 
of  the  favorable  attitude  of  the  press  and  the  formal  indorse- 
ment of  the  amendment  by  other  organizations. 

Clubs  were  formed  in  wards  and  precincts  to  hold  meetings, 
assist  the  State  association  financially,  distribute  literature  and 
circulate  a  petition  for  signatures  of  women  only,  asking  that 
the  voters  cast  their  ballots  for  the  proposed  amendment.  It 
was  impossible  to  prosecute  the  petition  work  thoroughly 
throughout  the  State,  but  the  largest  cities — Seattle,  Tacoma, 
Spokane  and  Olympia — with  many  country  precincts,  both  east 
and  west  of  the  mountains,  were  very  satisfactorily  canvassed. 
It  was  found  that  over  88  per  cent,  of  all  the  women  asked  to  sign 
the  petition  did  so.  The  rest  were  divided  between  the  indif- 
ferent and  those  positively  opposed.  No  one  received  a  salary 
for  services.  Less  than  $500  was  collected,  and  $5.47  remained 
in  the  treasury,  after  every  bill  was  paid,  the  day  before  election. 

The  State  association  issued  5,000  pieces  of  literature  of  its 
own,  a  booklet  of  thirty  pages  containing  testimonials  from 
leading  citizens  of  the  four  Free  States — Wyoming,  Colorado, 
Utah  and  Idaho.  Early  in  the  campaign  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman 
Catt,  chairman  of  the  national  organization  committee,  sent  62,- 
200  pieces.  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  editor  of  the  Woman's  Journal, 
shortly  before  the  election  forwarded  from  Boston  500  pieces  to 
each  of  the  thirty- four  counties  in  Washington.  This  literature 
no  doubt  helped  to  swell  the  vote  for  the  amendment. 


974  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Forty  country  newspapers  were  regularly  sent  free  to  State 
headquarters;  the  city  papers  at  half-rates.  The  press  was 
courteous  in  every  instance,  and  either  advocated  equal  suffrage, 
kept  silence  or  opened  its  columns  to  both  sides.  The  Seattle 
Daily  Times  strongly  favored  it. 

The  Christian  Church  Convention,  which  met  in  Tacoma  early 
in  the  campaign,  gave  hearty  indorsement  to  the  amendment. 
The  M.  E.  Church  'Conference  followed  at  the  same  place  with 
a  vote  of  27  ayes,  26  noes;  the  Congregational  Convention  at 
Snohomish  with  one  dissenting  vote.  Presbyterian  and  other 
ministers  throughout  the  State  quietly  gave  their  support.  The 
ministerial  associations  of  Seattle  each  received  a  committee 
from  the  E.  S.  A.  One  of  the  members  of  the  Ministers'  Asso- 
ciation of  Spokane  read  a  paper  on  Equal  Suffrage,  which  was 
interestingly  discussed,  showing  eight  in  favor,  three  opposed 
and  one  doubtful.  The  Christian  Endeavorers  at  their  conven- 
tion in  Walla  Walla  passed  a  resolution  calling  attention  to  the 
approaching  election,  and  asking  for  the  intelligent  consideration 
of  the  amendment ;  eight  of  the  trustees  were  in  favor  of  recom- 
mending active  work  in  local  societies,  but  because  the  sentiment 
was  not  more  nearly  unanimous  no  action  was  taken.  The  In- 
dependent Order  of  Good  Templars  and  the  Prohibition  party 
indorsed  the  amendment.  The  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union  lent  a  helping  hand  judiciously.  All  demands  and  argu- 
ments were  non-sectarian  and  non-political,  being  based  upon  the 
claims  of  justice  as  the  only  tenable  ground  on  which  to  stand. 

Many  of  the  most  self-sacrificing  workers  came  from  the  lib- 
eral and  free-thought  societies,  which  are  generally  favorable  to 
equal  rights.  The  Western  Central  Labor  Union  of  Seattle  ex- 
tended courtesies  to  the  E.  S.  A.  and  kept  suffrage  literature  in 
its  reading-room.  The  Freemen's  Labor  Journal  of  Spokane, 
State  organ  of  the  trades  unions,  supported  the  amendment. 
Single  Taxers,  as  a  rule,  voted  for  it.  The  State  Grange  in 
convention  formally  indorsed  it  and  promised  support.* 

On  Nov.  5,  1898,  the  amendment  was  voted  upon,  receiving 
20,658  yeas,  30,540  nays;  majority  opposed,  9,882.  As  in 


*  That  practically  all  of  the  best  elements  in  the  State  favored  this  amendment,  and  yet 
it  was  defeated,  shows  how  thoroughly  the  disreputable  classess  controlled  politics. 


WASHINGTON. 


975 


the  adverse  majority  was  19,392,  a  clear  gain  was  shown  of  9,510 
in  nine  years. 

In  1899  a  bill  was  prepared  for  the  State  association  by  Judge 
J.  W.  Langley,  amending  the  constitution  so  that  whenever  an 
amendment  giving  the  right  of  suffrage  to  women  should  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  people,  the  women  themselves  should  be  permitted  to 
vote  upon  it.  John  W.  Pratt  introduced  the  bill  in  the  House, 
but  it  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Constitutional  Revis- 
ion and  not  reported.  Near  the  close  of  the  session  Mr.  Pratt 
brought  it  up  on  the  floor  of  the  House.  A  motion  to  postpone 
it  indefinitely  was  immediately  made  and,  practically  without 
discussion,  was  carried  by  almost  a  unanimous  vote. 

ORGANIZATION  :  For  twelve  years  before  the  women  of  Wash- 
ington were  enfranchised,  Mrs.  Abigail  Scott  Duniway  of  Ore- 
gon was  in  the  habit  of  canvassing  the  Territory  in  behalf  of 
woman  suffrage,  traveling  by  rail,  stage,  steamer  and  on  foot, 
and  where  she  found  halls  and  churches  closed  against  her,  speak- 
ing in  hotel  offices  and  even  bar-rooms,  and  always  circulating 
her  paper  the  New  Northwest.  The  Legislature  recognized  her 
services  by  a  resolution  in  1886,  when  accepting  her  picture,  The 
Coronation  of  Womanhood.  There  was  not  during  all  this  time 
any  regularly  organized  suffrage  association.  When  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1888  the  women  of  the  Territory  saw  the  franchise  taken 
away  from  them  by  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court,  a  number  of 
local  societies  were  formed  and  soon  banded  themselves  into  an 
association  of  which  the  Hon.  Edward  Eldridge  was  president 
until  his  death  in  1892.  Afterward  A.  H.  Stewart  was  made 
president,  Mrs.  Laura  E.  Peters,  vice-president,  and  Mrs.  Bessie 
Isaacs  Savage,  secretary.  Mrs.  Zerelda  N.  McCoy  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Olympia  Club,  and  Mrs.  P.  C.  Hale,  treasurer. 

On  Jan.  21,  22,  1895,  the  first  delegate  convention  was  held 
in  Olympia,  and  a  State  Equal  Suffrage  Association  formally 
organized.  Mrs.  Savage  was  elected  president;  Mrs.  Clara  E. 
Sylvester,  vice-president;  Mrs.  Lou  Jackson  Longmire,  secre- 
tary ;  Mrs.  Ella  Stork,  treasurer.  In  April  a  special  meeting  was 
held  in  Seattle  and  the  State  was  divided  into  six  districts  for 
organization  and  other  work,  as  it  was  evident  there  would  soon 
be  another  amendment  campaign. 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  second  convention  was  held  in  Seattle,  Jan.  29,  30,  1896, 
with  the  Hon.  Orange  J.  Jacobs  as  the  principal  speaker. 

Throughout  1897  the  efforts  of  the  suffragists  were  directed 
toward  securing  a  resolution  from  the  Legislature  for  the  sub- 
mission of  an  amendment,  and  no  convention  was  held. 

In  January,  1898,  the  State  association  again  met  in  Seattle. 
Mrs.  Homer  M.  Hill  was  elected  president;  Mrs.  Peters,  vice- 
president;  Miss  Martha  E.  Pike,  secretary;  Mrs.  Savage,  treas- 
urer. 

The  management  of  the  exposition  held  in  Seattle  for  three 
weeks  in  October,  kindly  accorded  space  to  the  Red  Cross,  Equal 
Suffrage  Association,  W.  C.  T.  U.,  Kindergarten  and  City  Fed- 
eration of  Women's  Clubs.  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  with 
Miss  Mary  G.  Hay,  paid  Washington  a  visit  during  this  month. 
She  spoke  in  the  first  M.  E.  Church  at  Seattle  to  a  large  audience, 
and  the  Woman's  Century  Club  tendered  her  a  reception.  At 
Tacoma  the  Woman's  Study  Club  arranged  a  lecture  for  her  in 
the  Tacoma  Hotel  parlors,  which  was  well  attended  by  represent- 
ative people.  Mrs.  Emma  C.  McCully  made  the  preparations 
for  her  at  Ellensburg,  and  Mrs.  Lida  M.  Ashenfelter  bore  the 
expense  of  the  meeting  at  Spokane. 

In  December,  1899,  the  State  Teachers'  Association  passed  a 
resolution  strongly  indorsing  equal  suffrage.  The  Mental  Sci- 
ence Convention  took  similar  action. 

Since  the  defeat  of  the  amendment  in  1898  no  State  conven- 
tions have  been  held.  During  1900  the  corresponding  secretary, 
Miss  Pike,  visited  many  towns  and  conferred  with  representa- 
tive women  in  reference  to  again  taking  up  the  work ;  while  the 
president,  Mrs.  Hill,  endeavored  to  secure  the  interest  and  in- 
dorsement of  the  various  political  parties. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  In  1886  the  Legislature 
amended  the  Homestead  Law  and  gave  to  widows  possession  of 
the  homestead,  wearing  apparel  and  household  furniture  of  their 
deceased  husbands,  and  the  right  to  comply  with  the  legal  pro- 
visions for  securing  homesteads  in 'case  the  husbands  had  not 
done  so;  it  further  declared  that  the  homestead  should  be  invio- 
late from  executions  for  the  payment  of  debts,  either  individual 
or  community;  it  amended  the  community  property  law,  giving 


WASHINGTON. 


977 


husband  and  wife  equal  rights  in  the  testamentary  disposition  of 
it.  It  also  enabled  married  women  to  act  as  administrators. 

In  1890  the  Legislature  conferred  School  Suffrage  upon 
women.  The  act  was  approved  by  Gov.  E.  P.  Terry  on  March 
27.  The  same  Legislature  passed  a  bill  requiring  employers  to 
provide  sweats  for  their  female  employes,  and  enacted  that  all  ave- 
nues of  employment  should  be  open  to  women.  It  amended  the 
community  property  law  so  that  husband  or  wife  could  prevent 
the  sale  of  his  or  her  interest. 

In  1891  a  bill  was  passed  which  made  a  woman  punishable 
for  the  crime  of  arson,  even  though  the  property  set  fire  to  might 
belong  to  her  husband. 

The  Legislature  of  1893  appropriated  $5,000  for  the  Woman's 
Department  of  the  State  at  the  World's  Fair  in  Chicago.  A  bill 
passed  this  year  provided  matrons  for  jails  in  cities  of  10,000 
or  more  inhabitants.  The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was 
raised  from  12  to  16  years.  Unfortunately  the  title  of  this  bill 
was  omitted  and  in  compiling  the  code  it  was  excluded,  but  the 
Supreme  Court  afterward  legalized  the  action  of  the  Legislature. 

In  1899  the  age  was  raised  to  18  years.  This  was  accom- 
plished through  the  efforts  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  under  the  manage- 
ment of  Misses  Mary  L.  and  Emma  E.  Page.  The  penalty  is 
imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  for  life  or  "for  any  term  of 
years."  No  minimum  penalty  is  given.  Deceit  or  fraud  may  be 
considered  force. 

Married  women  were  granted  the  right  to  act  as  executors  of 
wills  in  1899. 

Dower  and  curtesy  are  abolished.  The  testamentary  rights  of 
husband  and  wife  are  the  same  in  regard  to  their  separate  prop- 
erty. If  either  die  without  a  will,  leaving  only  one  child,  or  the 
lawful  issue  of  one,  the  widow  or  widower  takes  half  the  real 
estate.  If  there  is  more  than  one  child  living,  or  one  child  and 
lawful  issue  of  one  or  more  children  deceased,  the  widow  or  wid- 
ower takes  one-third  of  the  real  estate.  If  there  is  no  descend- 
ant living  the  survivor  receives  one-half  the  real  estate,  unless 
there  is  neither  father,  mother,  brother  nor  sister  of  the  decedent 
living,  when  he  or  she  takes  all  of  it.  The  surviving  husband  or 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 62 


9/8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

wife  has  one-half  the  personal  property  if  there  is  issue  living, 
otherwise  all  of  it,  after  the  debts  are  paid. 

The  old  Spanish  law  in  regard  to  community  property  obtains. 
While  each  retains  control  of  his  or  her  separate  estate,  the  con- 
trol of  the  community  property  is  vested  absolutely  in  the  hus- 
band. This  includes  all  acquired  after  marriage  by  the  joint  or 
separate  efforts  of  either;  lands  acquired  under  the  homestead 
laws;  lands  purchased  with  money  derived  from  profits  or  loans 
of  the  wife's  separate  estate ;  lands  purchased  by  her  with  money 
saved  from  household  expenses ;  and  the  court  has  held  that  even 
her  earnings  outside  the  home  are  community  property  unless 
she  is  living  apart  from  her  husband.  The  husband  can  not  con- 
vey this  without  the  wife's  signature,  and  he  can  not  dispose  of 
more  than  one-half  of  it  by  will.  Upon  the  death  of  either  hus- 
band or  wife  one-half  of  the  community  property  descends  to  the 
survivor,  and  the  other  half  is  subject  to  testamentary  disposi- 
tion. If  there  is  no  will  the  survivor  takes  half  and  the  heirs  of 
the  deceased  half;  if  there  are  none  he  or  she  takes  the  whole. 
The  survivor  has  the  preference  in  the  right  of  administration. 

A  married  woman  may  make  contracts  and  sue  and  be  sued 
in  her  own  name.  Husband  and  wife  can  not  enter  into  business 
partnerships  with  each  other. 

By  an  act  of  1879  father  and  mother  were  given  equal  guard- 
ianship of  the  children,  and  in  case  of  the  death  of  either  the 
guardianship  passed  to  the  survivor.  But  in  1896  the  Legisla- 
ture enacted  that  the  father  might  appoint  by  will  a  guardian  of 
both  persons  and  estates  of  minor  children  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
mother. 

The  same  Legislature  passed  a  law  making  the  expenses  of 
the  family  and  education  of  the  children  chargeable  upon  the 
property  of  both  husband  and  wife,  or  either  of  them,  and  pro- 
vided that  in  relation  thereto  they  might  be  sued  jointly  or  sep- 
arately. 

SUFFRAGE:  Since  1890  women  may  vote  for  school  trustees, 
bonds  and  appropriations  on  the  same  terms  as  men,  but  can  not 
vote  for  State  or  county  superintendents. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  In  the  fall  of  1894  Miss  Ella  Guptil  was 
elected  superintendent  of  schools  for  Clallam  County.  Her  right 


WASHINGTON.  979 

to  hold  the  office  was  contested  by  her  opponent,  C.  E.  Russell. 
Miss  Guptil  asked  the  following  Legislature  to  make  her  posi- 
tion definite,  and  in  February,  1895,  a  bill  was  passed  and  ap- 
proved by  Gov.  John  H.  McGraw  which  removed  all  doubt,  and 
she  assumed  the  office. 

At  the  present  time  ( 1900)  there  are  seven  women  county 
superintendents.  Women  may  sit  on  the  school  boards  of  all 
cities  and  towns.  They  are  not  eligible  to  any  other  elective 
office. 

In  1897-98  Mrs.  Carrie  Shaw  Rice  served  as  a  member  of  the 
State  Board  of  Education.  Women  do  not  sit  on  other  boards. 

The  law  requires  women  matrons  in  the  jails  of  all  cities  of 
10,000  inhabitants  and  upwards,  but  not  at  police  stations. 

Women  are  employed  in  subordinate  capacities  in  various  State 
and  municipal  offices.  They  are  also  librarians  in  many  places. 

They  can  not  serve  as  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS:  It  was  enacted  by  the  Legislature  of  1890 
that :  "Hereafter  in  this  State  every  avenue  of  employment  shall 
be  open  to  women;  and  any  business,  vocation,  profession  and 
calling  followed  and  pursued  by  men  may  be  followed  and  pur- 
sued by  women,  and  no  person  shall  be  disqualified  from  engag- 
ing in  or  pursuing  any  business,  vocation,  profession,  calling  or 
employment  on  account  of  sex :  Provided,  That  this  section 
shall  not  be  so  construed  as  to  permit  women  to  hold  public 
office." 

EDUCATION:  All  of  the  educational  institutions  are  open  to 
both  sexes  alike. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  1,033  men  an(^  2,288  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $42.13;  of 
the  women,  $34-53- 


CHAPTER    LXX. 

WEST    VIRGINIA.* 

In  1867  Samuel  Young  introduced  into  the  Senate  of  West 
Virginia  a  bill  to  confer  the  suffrage  on  educated,  taxpaying 
women,  but  it  found  no  advocates  except  himself.  In  1869  he 
presented  a  resolution  asking  Congress  for  a  Sixteenth  Amend- 
ment to  enfranchise  women,  which  received  the  votes  of  eight 
of  the  twenty-two  senators. 

No  further  step  ever  was  taken  in  this  direction  until  the  spring 
of  1895,  when  Mrs.  Annie  L.  Diggs  of  Kansas  was  sent  into  the 
State  by  the  National  Woman  Suffrage  Association  but  reported 
that  the  question  was  too  new  to  make  any  organization  possible. 
In  the  fall  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay,  national  organizer,  arranged  a  two 
weeks'  series  of  meetings  with  the  Rev.  Henrietta  G.  Moore  of 
Ohio  as  speaker,  and  several  clubs  were  formed  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  State.  A  convention  was  called  to  meet  in  Grafton, 
November  25,  26,  when  an  association  was  formed  and  the  fol- 
lowing board  of  officers  was  elected :  President,  Mrs.  Jessie  C. 
Manley;  vice-president,  Harvey  W.  Harmer;  corresponding 
secretary,  Mrs.  Annie  Caldwell  Boyd ;  recording  secretary,  Mrs. 
L.  M.  Fay;  treasurer,  Mrs.  K.  H.  De  Woody;  auditors,  Mrs. 
M.  Caswell  and  Mrs.  Louise  Harden. 

The  second  convention  was  held  at  Fairmont  in  January,  1897, 
Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  national  organiza- 
tion committee,  assisting.  Everything  was  so  new  that  her  pre 
ence  and  instruction  were  an  inspiration  and  a  help,  without 
which  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  work  would  have  continued. 
Officers  were  elected  as  follows :  President,  Mrs.  Fannie 
Wheat;  vice-president,  Mrs.  Mackie  M.  Holbert;  recording  s 
retary,  Mrs.  Beulah  Boyd  Ritchie;  auditors,  Mrs.  Mary  Lon 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Mrs.  Annie  Caldwell  Boyd  of  Wheeling, 
who  has  been  an  officer  continuously  in  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association  since  it  was 
organized. 

980 


WEST    VIRGINIA.  981 

Parson  and  Mrs.  Mary  Butcher;  member  national  executive 
committee,  Mrs.  Mary  H.  Grove.  The  corresponding  secretary 
and  the  treasurer  were  re-elected. 

In  April,  1898,  the  annual  meeting  was  held  at  Wheeling,  in 
the  Carroll  Club  Auditorium.  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  and  the  Rev. 
Anna  Howard  Shaw,  vice-president-at-large  of  the  National  As- 
sociation, made  addresses  each  afternoon  and  evening,  and  both 
filled  the  pulpit  of  the  large  Methodist  Church  on  Sunday.  All 
the  officers  were  re-elected  except  the  treasurer,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Miss  J.  B.  Wilson. 

The  next  convention  took  place  at  Fairmont  in  the  fall  of  1899, 
Mrs.  Chapman  Catt  again  assisting  to  make  it  a  success.  The 
officers  elected  were :  President,  Mrs.  Ritchie ;  vice-president, 
Mr.  Harmer;  corresponding  secretary.  Mrs.  Boyd;  recording 
secretary,  Miss  Clara  Reinheimer ;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Holbert ;  aud- 
itors, Mrs.  Georgia  G.  Clayton  and  Mrs.  Belle  McKinney ;  mem- 
ber national  executive  committee,  Mrs.  Wheat;  press  superin- 
tendent, Mrs.  Manley. 

Prior  to  1895,  the  subject  of  the  enfranchisement  of  women 
was  practically  unknown  in  West  Virginia,  but  now  there  is  no 
part  of  the  State  in  which  the  injustice  and  ignominy  of  their 
disfranchisement  has  not  been  brought  to  the  mind  and  con- 
science of  the  voters. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  AND  LAWS:  In  1897  the  Legislature 
appointed  a  committee  to  draw  up  a  new  State  constitution,  and 
the  suffragists  presented  to  it  a  petition,  signed  by  about  600  lead- 
ing men  and  women,  asking  that  the  word  "male"  be  omitted 
from  the  suffrage  clause.  Individual  appeals  were  made  and  lit- 
erature sent  to  each  member  of  the  committee.  Many  signatures 
for  the  petition  were  obtained  at  the  State  Fair,  held  in  Wheel- 
ing, where  room  for  a  suffrage  booth  in  the  Manufacturer's 
Building  was  given  by  the  president  of  the  board,  Anton  Rey- 
mann,  while  every  other  foot  of  space  was  rented  out  at  a  large 
price.  The  booth  was  decorated  with  portraits  of  the  leaders, 
Susan  B.  Anthony  and  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  and  made  as  at- 
tractive as  possible. 

In  1 899  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  addressed  a  joint  session 
of  both  Houses  of  the  Legislature  in  behalf  of  the  enfranchise- 


982 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


ment  of  women.  Her  expenses  were  paid  by  the  Fairmont  suf- 
frage club.*  The  lecture  was  a  decided  success,  many  members 
of  the  Legislature  expressing  themselves  as  favorable  to  the  cause 
she  advocated.  The  clause  striking  out  the  word  "male"  was 
not,  however,  reported  from  the  committee,  and  the  whole  mat- 
ter of  a  new  constitution  eventually  was  dropped.! 

By  an  Act  of  1891,  no  child  under  12  years  of  age,  of  either 
sex,  can  be  employed  in  any  mine,  factory  or  workshop. 

By  an  Act  of  1893  a  married  woman  may  carry  on  business  in 
her  own  name,  and  her  earnings  and  all  property,  real  and  per- 
sonal, purchased  by  her  with  the  proceeds  of  such  earnings,  is  in 
all  cases  her  sole  and  separate  property  and  not  subject  to  the 
control  or  disposal  of  her  husband  or  liable  for  his  debts.  By 
another  act  of  this  year  a  married  woman  may  sue  and  be  sued 
in  any  court  in  her  own  name. 

By  an  Act  of  1895,  a  married  woman  may  appoint  an  attorney 
in  fact  to  execute  any  deed  or  other  writing. 

By  an  Act  of  1899  employers  are  required  to  provide  seats  for 
female  employes. 

Dower  and  curtesy  both  obtain.  The  widower  has  a  life  in- 
terest in  all  his  wife's  real  estate,  whether  they  have  had  children 
or  not.  The  widow  has  a  life  interest  in  one-third  of  her  hus- 
band's real  estate,  if  there  are  children  living.  If  there  are 
neither  descendants  nor  kindred,  the  entire  real  estate  of  a  hus- 
band or  wife  dying  without  a  will  goes  to  the  survivor.  If  there 
are  children  living,  the  widow  or  widower  has  one-third  of  the 
personal  property,  and  all  of  it  if  there  are  none.  A  homestead 
to  the  value  of  $1,000  is  exempted  for  either. 

*  This  club  raised  money  by  suppers,  festivals  and  a  Woman's  Exchange  for  use  in  the 
work.  It  subscribed  for  twenty-five  copies  of  the  Woman's  Journal  to  be  sent  to  the  State 
University,  to  the  six  Normal  Schools  and  to  various  individuals.  It  also  offered  $35  in 
prizes  for  the  best  orations  on  The  Enfranchisement  of  Women,  to  be  competed  for  by 
the  students  of  the  above  schools. 

t  In  the  Legislature  of  1901  a  bill  was  introduced  conferring  on  women  the  right  to 
vote  for  Presidential  electors,  as  this  can  be  done  by  the  legislators  without  a  reference 
to  the  voters.  The  bill  was  drawn  up  by  George  E.  Boyd,  Sr.  It  was  reported  by  the 
House  Judiciary  Committee,  February  21,  with  the  recommendation  "that  it  do  not  pass." 
Henry  C.  Hervey  spoke  strongly  in  its  favor  and  was  ably  seconded  by  S.  G.  Smith,  who 
closed  by  demanding  the  ayes  and  noes  on  the  Speaker's  question,  "Shall  the  bill  be  re- 
jected?" The  ayes  were  31,  noes  25,  the  bill  being  defeated  by  six  votes.  Speaker  Wil- 
liam G.  Wilson  voted  against  it. 

The  bill  was  presented  in  the  Senate  by  Nelson  Whittaker,  but  U.  S.  Senator  Stephen 
B.  Elkins  came  on  from  Washington  and  commanded  that  it  be  tabled,  which  was  done. 


WEST    VIRGINIA. 


983 


If  a  child  die  possessed  of  property  and  without  descendants 
or  a  will  the  father  is  heir  to  all  of  it;  if  he  is  dead,  the  mother 
inherits  only  an  equal  share  with  each  of  the  remaining  children. 
If  both  parents  and  all  brothers  and  sisters  are  dead,  the  grand- 
father is  the  sole  heir ;  he  failing  the  grandmother  shares  equally 
with  her  surviving  children. 

The  husband  can  convey  his  separate  property  without  his 
wife's  signature.  The  wife  can  not  sell  or  encumber  her  separate 
property  without  her  husband's  consent. 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  minor  children.  If  a 
widow  remarry  the  guardianship  of  the  children  of  the  first  hus- 
band passes  to  the  second,  and  she  can  not  even  appoint  a  guard- 
ian at  her  death.  No  married  woman  can  be  a  guardian. 

The  husband  is  required  to  furnish  support  adequate  to  his 
property  and  position  in  life. 

In  1897  the  legal  age  of  marriage  for  girls  was  raised  from 
twelve  to  sixteen  years. 

The  "age  of  protection"  remains  at  12  years.  Formerly  the 
penalty  was  death  or,  in  the  discretion  of  the  jury,  imprison- 
ment for  not  less  than  seven  nor  more  than  twenty  years.  In 
1891  it  was  enacted  that  it  might  be  regarded  as  a  felony  and 
punished  by  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than  two 
nor  more  than  ten  years.  Through  the  efforts  of  women  bills 
to  raise  the  age  have  been  repeatedly  introduced  but  always  have 
been  defeated. 

SUFFRAGE  :     Women  possess  no  form  of  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  In  1887  Dr.  Harriet  B.  Jones  was  ap- 
pointed assistant  hospital  physician  in  the  State  insane  asylum, 
with  the  same  salary  paid  the  men  physicians.  She  was  the  first 
woman  ever  appointed  to  such  a  position  in  a  State  institution 
in  West  Virginia.  On  her  resignation  she  was  succeeded  by 
Dr.  Luella  F.  Bullard,  who  still  holds  the  office. 

To  the  untiring  energy  of  Dr.  Jones  is  due  the  State  Industrial 
Home  for  Girls.  During  two  sessions  of  the  Legislature  she 
remained  at  the  capital,  entirely  at  her  own  expense  and  leaving 
a  lucrative  practice,  to  urge  the  need  of  this  institution.  At 
length  $10,000  were  appropriated  for  this  purpose  in  1897  and 
$20,000  more  in  1899.  Now  a  girl  committing  a  minor  offense 


984  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

is  no  longer  placed  in  jail  or  in  the  penitentiary  while  her  brother 
for  the  same  misdeed  is  sent  to  the  Reform  School.  Dr.  Jones 
was  elected  president  and  all  the  officers  are  women. 

The  State  Home  for  Incurables  also  represents  the  work  and 
ability  of  a  woman,  Mrs.  Joseph  Ruffner.  Before  the  same 
Legislatures  as  Dr.  Jones,  she  appeared  with  a  bill  asking  an  ap- 
propriation, and  by  persistence  secured  one  of  $66,000.  The 
home  is  now  in  successful  operation  with  Mrs.  Ruffner  as  presi- 
dent. The  Governor  is  required  to  appoint  boards  composed 
equally  of  men  and  women  for  these  two  institutions. 

Women  sit  also  on  the  boards  of  orphan  asylums,  day  nurseries 
and  homes  for  the  friendless. 

The  Humane  Society  of  Wheeling  was  organized  in  1896  with 
Mrs.  Harriet  G.  List  as  president.  In  1899  she  secured  an  appro- 
priation of  $3,000  from  the  Legislature  to  aid  in  its  work. 

A  woman  is  librarian  on  the  staff  of  the  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Station.  The  board  of  education  of  Wheeling  appoints  the 
three  librarians  in  the  public  library,  which  is  supported  from  the 
school  fund,  and  for  several  years  all  of  these  have  been  women. 

In  some  parts  of  the  State  women  are  appointed  examiners  to 
decide  on  the  fitness  of  applicants  to  teach  in  the  public  schools, 
but  they  can  not  sit  on  school  boards. 

Women  can  not  serve  as  notaries  public. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  forbid- 
den to  women  except  that  of  mining. 

EDUCATION  :     All  institutions  of  learning  are  open  to  both 
sexes  alike.     Bethany  College  has  admitted  women  for  more  than 
ten  years,  and  four  are  on  the  faculty.     In  1897  the  State  Uni- 
versity was  made  co-educational,  after  much  opposition.     It  h< 
eight  women  on  its  faculty,  and  two  of  the  three  members  of  it 
library  staff  are  women. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  4,096  men  and  2,712  women 
teachers.  It  is  impossible  to  obtain  the  average  salaries. 


CHAPTER    LXXI. 

WISCONSIN.* 

As  a  Territory  Wisconsin  interested  herself  in  equal  rights. 
In  the  first  Constitutional  Convention  universal  suffrage  regard- 
less of  sex  or  color  had  a  considerable  vote.  In  the  second 
woman  suffrage  received  a  certain  amount  of  favorable  con- 
sideration. Early  in  the  history  of  the  State  widows  were  made 
heirs  of  all  the  property  in  case  of  the  death  of  the  husband  with- 
out children,  and  laws  were  passed  by  which  a  life  interest  in  the 
homestead  was  secured  to  the  wife.  In  1851  the  regents  of  the 
State  University  declared  that  their  plan  "contemplated  the  ad- 
mission of  women,"  and  in  1869  women  were  made  eligible  to  all 
school  offices. 

The  first  Woman  Suffrage  Association  was  organized  in 
1869  as  a  result  of  a  large  convention  in  Milwaukee,  arranged  by 
Dr.  Laura  Ross  and  Miss  Lily  Peckham,  a  bright  young  lawyer, 
and  addressed  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  Mrs.  Mary  A. 
Livermore,  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  and  others.  Soon  after  this 
several  local  societies  were  organized.  Its  annual  meetings  since 
1883  have  been  held  as  follows:  1884,  Richland  Center;  1885, 
Whitewater;  1886,  Racine;  1887,  Madison;  1888,  Stevens' 
Point;  1889,  Milwaukee;  1890,  Berlin;  1891,  Menominee; 
1892,  Richland  Center;  1893,  Mukwonago;  1894,  Racine;  1895, 
Evansville;  1896,  Waukesha;  1897,  Monroe;  1898,  Spring 
Green;  1899,  Platteville;  1900,  Brodhead. 

The  president  during  1884  was  Mrs.  Emma  C.  Bascom,  wife 
of  the  president  of  the  State  University.  On  leaving  for  the 
East  she  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Olympia  Brown,  who  has 
been  re-elected  every  year  since,  f  Mrs.  Brown  was  called  to 

*  The  History  is  indebted  for  most  of  the  material  in  this  chapter  to  the  Rev.  Olympia 
Brown  of  Racine,  president  of  the  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association  since  1884. 

t  The  other  officers  at  present  are :  Vice-presidents,  Mrs.  Ellen  A.  Rose  and  Mrs.  Madge 
Waters;  chairman  executive  committee,  Mrs.  Etta  Gardner;  corresponding  secretary,  Mrs. 
M.  Geddes;  recording  secretary,  Miss  Emma  Graham;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Lydia  Woodward; 
State  organizer,  the  Rev.  Alice  Ball  Loomis;  district  presidents,  Dr.  Abby  M.  Adams, 

985 


986  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

the  pastorate  of  the  Universalist  Church  of  Racine  in  1878,  and 
during  her  nine  years  of  service  there  held  occasional  meetings 
in  behalf  of  woman  suffrage  in  various  parts  of  the  State. 

In  addition  to  annual  conventions  numerous  conferences  have 
been  held,  too  many  and  too  similar  in  character  to  make  a  de- 
tailed history  of  them  essential.  In  the  winter  of  1884  a  course  of 
lectures  was  given  in  Racine  on  subjects  relating  to  women  by  • 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe,  Mrs.  Mary  E. 
Haggart,  Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall  and  Mrs.  J.  G.  McMurphy. 

In  November,  1886,  Mrs.  Brown  held  a  series  of  nine  district 
conventions  in  company  with  Miss  Anthony  and  Mrs.  Clara 
Bewick  Colby.  On  November  i  she  received  a  telegram  from 
Miss  Anthony,  then  in  Kansas,  saying  that  they  would  join  in 
holding  conventions  in  all  the  congressional  districts  beginning 
on  the  8th.  This  seemed  a  very  short  time  in  which  to  prepare 
for  such  a  campaign,  but  by  the  president's  deciding  on  places 
and  dates  without  consultation,  sending  posters  to  the  different 
towns  selected  and  announcements  to  all  the  papers  of  the  State, 
and  then  going  in  person  to  secure  halls  and  make  local  arrange- 
ments, the  date  named  found  a  tolerable  degree  of  preparation. 
The  canvass  opened  with  a  large  reception  at  the  home  of  Mrs. 
M.  B.  Erskine  in  Racine,  which  was  followed  by  conventions  at 
Waukesha,  Ripon,  Oshkosh,  Green  Bay,  Grand  Rapids,  Eau 
Claire,  La  Crosse,  Evansville  and  Madison.  At  the  last  place 
the  ladies  spoke  in  the  Senate  Chamber  to  a  distinguished  audi- 
ence. The  effect  of  these  meetings  was  marked.  Many  mem- 
bers were  added  to  the  State  association,  branches  were  organized 
and  an  impetus  given  to  the  work  such  as  never  was  known  be- 
fore and  has  not  been  repeated.  Since  then  many  conventions 
have  been  held  by  the  president  of  the  association,  its  several 
lecturers  and  outside  speakers. 

In  1896  the  suffrage  association  kept  open  house  for  ten  days 
at  the  Manona  Lake  Assembly;  during  this  time  the  Rev.  Anna 
Howard  Shaw,  national  vice-president-at-large,  gave  one  of  the 
Chautauqua  lectures  to  an  audience  of  4,000  people. 

Mesdames  Kate  Taylor,  M.  A.  Fowler,  L.  A.  Rhodes,  Augusta  Morris,  Alura  Collins 
Hollister,  L.  M.  Eastman,  Mary  Upham,  Emma  Shores  and  Sylvia  Rogers;  press  com- 
mittee, Mesdames  Sarah  Buck,  Clara  F.  Eastland,  Jennie  Beck  and  Dora  Putnam;  finance 
committee,  Mesdames  Anna  Gile,  Donald  Jones  and  J.  B.  Hamilton. 


WISCONSIN.  987 

In  1898  a  conference  was  held  in  Madison  by  the  officers  of 
the  National  Association,  attended  by  the  State  Executive  Board 
and  representatives  of  various  societies. 

The  Rev.  Ella  Bartlett,  the  Rev.  Nellie  Mann  Opdale  and  the 
Rev.  Alice  Ball  Loomis  have  each  served  as  State  lecturer  for  two 
or  more  years  and  proved  most  efficient.  Mrs.  Emma  Smith 
DeVoe  has  also  lectured  in  the  State  during  several  different 
seasons  with  excellent  effect. 

Among-  those  who  have  aided  in  the  work  in  an  early  day  may 
be  mentioned  Madame  Mathilde  F.  Anneke,  Dr.  Laura  Ross 
Wolcott,  Mrs.  Ella  Partridge,  Mrs.  Emeline  Wolcott;  and  later 
Mrs.  Lephia  O.  Brown,  the  mother,  and  J.  H.  Willis,  the  husband, 
of  the  Rev.  Olympia  Brown.* 

Prof.  Henry  Doty  Maxon  stands  pre-eminent  among  the  men 
who  have  assisted  the  cause.  He  was  pastor  of  the  Unitarian 
Church  at  Menominee  and  vice-president  of  the  State  Suffrage 
Association  for  a  number  of  years,  attended  the  annual  meetings 
regularly  and  himself  arranged  one  of  the  most  successful,  which 
was  held  in  his  church,  known  as  the  Mabel  Taintor  Memorial 
Hall.  Col.  J.  G.  McMynn  exerted  an  influence  in  favor  of 
woman's  advancement,  at  an  early  day.  Many  men  have  aided 
by  giving  money  and  influence,  among  them  State  Senator  Nor- 
man James,  David  B.  James,  Capt.  Andrew  Taintor,  the  Hon. 
T.  B.  Wilson,  Burr  Sprague,  M.  B.  Erskine,  the  Hon.  W.  T. 
Lewis,  Steven  Bull,  the  Hon.  Isaac  Stevenson,  U.  S.  Senator 
Philetus  Sawyer  and  Judge  Hamilton  of  Neenah.  The  clergy 
generally  have  assisted  by  giving  their  churches  for  meetings. 
The  Richland  Center  Club  and  the  Greene  County  Equal  Rights 
Association  deserve  special  mention  for  their  faithfulness  and 
generosity.  The  Suffrage  Club  of  Platteville  is  also  very  active. 

One  of  the  most  important  features  of  the  work  has  been  the 
publication  of  the  Wisconsin  Citizen,  a  monthly  paper  devoted  to 

*  Besides  those  mentioned  above,  Mesdames  Nancy  Comstock,  Josephine  DeGroat,  M 
A.  Derrick,  M.  A.  Fowler,  M.  M.  Frazier,  Laura  James,  Dr.  Sarah  Monroe,  E.  A.  Rose 
S.  A.  Rhodes,  Burr  Sprague  and  Lydia  Woodward  all  have  been  most  valuable  helpers 
Among  generous  contributors  have  been  W.  H.  Crosby,  Charles  Erskine;  Mesdames  L.  J 
Barlow,  Laura  C.  Demmon,  Almeda  B.  Gray,  Mary  E.  Hulett,  Emma  V.  Laughton,  Mary 
Merrill,  Margaret  Messenger,  Hannah  Patchen,  Dr.  Laura  Ross  Wolcott,  Emeline  Wol 
cott  and  Park  Wooster;  those  who  have  aided  by  the  pen  are  Mesdames  Marian  V.  Dud 
ley,  Clara  Eastland,  Hattie  Tyng  Gardner,  Etta  Gardner,  C.  V.  Leighton  and  Minnie 
Stebbins  Savage. 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

the  interests  of  women.  It  was  started  in  1887  to  educate  the 
people  on  the  suffrage  bill  of  1885  and  has  continued  ever  since, 
no  other  one  influence  having  been  so  helpful  to  the  cause.  The 
association  owes  this  paper  to  Mrs.  Martha  Parker  Dingee,  a 
niece  of  Theodore  Parker,  who  edited  it  for  seven  years,  reading 
all  the  proofs,  without  help  and  without  remuneration;  and  to 
Mrs.  Helen  H.  Charlton  who  has  edited  and  published  the  paper 
from  1894  to  the  present  time. 

Miss  Sarah  H.  Richards  compiled  and  published  an  interesting 
history  and  directory  of  the  Wisconsin  Woman  Suffrage  Asso- 
ciation to  which  the  present  sketch  is  much  indebted. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  :  Only  one  measure  looking  to  the  ex- 
tension of  suffrage  to  women  ever  has  been  passed  by  the  Legis- 
lature. This  was  done  in  1885  as  the  result  of  the  efforts 
of  Alura  Collins  Hollister,  who  was  appointed  to  represent 
the  association  in  legislative  work  at  Madison.  The  follow- 
ing was  submitted  to  the  voters :  "Every  woman  who  is  a  citi- 
zen of  this  State  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  and  upward,  ex- 
cept paupers,  etc.,  who  has  resided  within  the  State  one  year  and 
in  the  election  district  where  she  offers  to  vote  ten  days  next  pre- 
ceding any  election  pertaining  to  school  matters,  shall  have  the 
right  to  vote  at  such  election."  This  was  discussed  at  length  in 
both  branches  of  the  Legislature  and  passed  on  March  13  by  a 
large  majority. 

It  was  voted  upon  at  the  fall  election  in  1886  receiving  a 
majority  of  4,583,  and  thus  became  a  law.* 

It  will  be  noted  that  this  law  specifies  what  women  are  to  vote, 
viz. :  actual  citizens  who  are  not  paupers ;  where  women  are  to 
vote,  viz. :  in  the  election  districts  where  they  reside ;  when 
women  are  to  vote,  viz. :  when  there  is  an  election  pertaining  to 
school  matters.  It  does  not  specify  what  women  are  to  vote  upon 
or  for  whom — they  are  full  voters  without  limitation  at  all  elec- 
tions pertaining  to  school  matters.  What  elections  pertain  to 
school  matters?  First,  the  general  election  held  once  in  two 
years,  at  which  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 
and  officers  controlling  the  State  University  and  other  State  in- 

*  The  State  constitution  provides  that  the  suffrage  may  be  extended  by  a  law  submitted 
to  the  electors  at  any  general  election.  If  it  receives  a  majority  vote  it  is  held  to  hav« 
the  force  of  a  constitutional  amendment 


WISCONSIN.  989 

stitutions  are  chosen.  Second,  the  municipal  election  which  in 
most  cities  pertains  to  school  matters,  as  a  school  board  or  super- 
intendent is  chosen  then.  Third,  other  elections  in  country  vil- 
lages where  one  or  more  school  officers  are  chosen.  Fourth, 
special  elections  where  subjects  relating  to  schools  are  voted  upon. 
Of  several  suffrage  bills  reported  at  this  session  this  one,  called 
the  Ginty  Bill,  was  the  only  one  which  provided  for  a  submission 
of  the  question  to  the  voters,  which  shows  the  purpose  of  the 
framers  to  have  been  to  grant  State  or  national  suffrage.  The 
broad  scope  of  this  law  practically  giving  women  a  vote  on  the 
election  of  all  national,  State  and  municipal  officers,  was  pointed 
out  to  the  leaders  of  the  suffrage  association  by  some  of  the  men 
instrumental  in  its  passage,  notably  Senator  Norman  James, 
chairman  of  the  Joint  Special  Committee  that  reported  the  bill. 
It  is  claimed  that  the  Legislature  did  not  intend  to  pass  a  law  so 
far  reaching,  but  the  circumstances  of  its  passage,  political  con- 
ditions at  the  time,  as  well  as  the  statements  of  its  members  and 
of  the  committee,  show  that  they  did  intend  to  pass  this  broad, 
far-reaching  law,  giving  suffrage  to  women. 

To  awaken  women  to  the  necessity  of  voting  at  the  first  op- 
portunity— the  municipal  election  in  1887 — the  suffrage  as- 
sociation undertook  an  active  canvass  of  the  State  which  lasted 
without  interruption  until  the  autumn  of  1888,  a  period  of  over 
two  years.  The  Rev.  Olympia  Brown  gave  up  her  church  in 
Racine  and  devoted  herself  exclusively  to  the  work.  The  associ- 
ation was  assisted  by  Miss  Anthony,  Mrs.  Livermore,  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Lyle  Saxon,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Boynton  Harbert  and  Mrs. 
Catharine  Waugh  McCulloch.  Some  of  these  speakers  remained 
a  month,  others  a  week  and  some  only  for  two  or  three  lectures. 
The  State  president  attended  every  meeting. 

On  the  morning  of  the  election  in  April,  1887,  Attorney-Gen- 
eral Charles  B.  Estabrook  sent  out  telegrams  to  those  places 
where  he  supposed  women  would  be  likely  to  vote,  ordering  the 
inspectors  to  reject  their  ballots,  which  was  done ;  but  where  they 
were  not  advised  by  him  the  ballots  of  women  were  accepted. 

The  next  effort  of  the  suffrage  leaders  was  to  instruct  the  peo- 
ple in  the  law  and  the  circumstances  of  its  passage,  and  thus  to 
inspire  confidence  in  spite  of  the  refusal  of  the  ballots.  It  was 


990 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


suggested  that  as  the  Presidential  election  was  near  at  hand,  poli- 
ticians would  not  leave  it  uncertain  as  to  whether  or  not  women 
were  entitled  to  vote,  but  would  secure  an  interpretation  of  the 
law  from  the  Supreme  Court  without  proper  argument  and  pre- 
sentation of  the  facts,  hence  the  State  W.  S.  A.  decided  to  test  the 
matter  itself.  The  case  was  brought  by  Mrs.  Brown  against  the 
election  inspectors  in  Racine  for  refusing  to  accept  her  vote,  and 
was  ably  argued  before  Judge  John  B.  Winslow  of  the  Circuit 
Court,  now  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Wisconsin.  He 
overruled  the  demurrer  of  the  inspectors,  stating  that  women 
were  entitled  to  vote  at  that  election  and  for  all  candidates,  thus 
confirming  the  law. 

An  appeal  was  immediately  taken  by  the  inspectors  to  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  in  order  to  keep  the  subject  before  the  peo- 
ple and  to  create  a  favorable  public  sentiment  the  association  con- 
tinued its  canvass  by  distributing  literature  and  giving  lectures. 
The  decision  rendered  Jan.  31,  1888,  was  written  by  Justice 
John  B.  Cassody  and  was  so  vague  and  loosely  worded  that  law- 
yers were  not  agreed  as  to  its  meaning.  He  reversed  the  find- 
ing of  the  lower  court,  however,  declaring  the  intent  of  the  law 
to  be  to  confer  School  Suffrage  only.* 

The  association  now  found  itself  confronted  by  a  large  debt, 
the  whole  suit  having  cost  about  $1,500,  but  by  active  work  the 
autumn  of  1888  found  everything  paid.  In  all  this  Mrs.  Almeda 
B.  Gray,  one  of  the  officers  of  the  association,  was  a  leading  spirit, 
contributing  largely  in  time  and  money;  Mrs.  M.  A.  Fowler 
worked  night  and  day,  making  routes  for  speakers  and  planning 
the  campaign,  other  women  assisted  according  to  their  ability  and 
the  club  at  Richland  Center  did  excellent  service.  The  decision 
still  left  room  for  litigation,  the  claim  being  made  that  the  ruling 
of  the  Supreme  Court  plainly  recognized  the  right  of  women  to 
vote  provided  their  ballots  were  put  in  a  separate  box. 

In  the  following  November  Wm.  A.  McKinley  was  elected 
Superintendent  of  Schools  for  Oconto  County  by  -the  votes  of 
women  placed  in  a  separate  box.  His  election  was  contested  and 
the  case  was  argued  before  Judge  Samuel  B.  Hastings  of  Green 

•The  open  letter  addressed  to  Judge  Cassody,  March  28,  1888,  by  Mrs.  Brown,  in  re- 
gard to  this  decision,  was  pronounced  by  the  best  lawyers  as  unsurpassed  in  logic,  legal 
acumen,  keen  sarcasm  and  righteous  indignation.  [Eds. 


WISCONSIN.  991 

Bay,  who,  quoting  from  the  decision  of  Judge  Cassody,  decided 
that  women  had  a  right  to  vote  provided  their  ballots  were  put 
into  a  separate  box.  This  case  also  was  appealed  to  the  Supreme 
Court,  where  the  decision,  rendered  by  Judge  William  P.  Lyon, 
Jan.  26,  1890,  was  that  the  votes  of.  the  women  in  Oconto 
County  were  illegally  counted.  The  ground  for  this  finding  was 
that  further  legislative  action  was  necessary  before  separate  bal- 
lot-boxes could  be  legally  provided.  Judge  Cassody  dissented 
from  this  opinion. 

The  law  then  became  practically  a  dead  letter,  except  in  a  few 
instances,  until  1901,  when  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  provided 
for  separate  ballot  boxes  for  women,  and  in  the  spring  of  1902 
they  voted  on  school  questions. 

In  1895  the  legislative  committee,  consisting  of  Mrs.  Jennie 
Lamberson,  Mrs.  Jessie  Luther  and  Mrs.  Alice  Kollock,  assisted 
by  Mrs.  Charlton,  secured  the  introduction  of  two  bills — one  to 
strike  the  word  "male"  from  the  State  constitution,  the  other  for 
a  suffrage  amendment  by  statute  law.  A  hearing  was  granted 
before  the  joint  committee  of  both  Houses  in  the  Senate  Chamber, 
which  was  crowded.  Mesdames  Elizabeth  Boynton  Harbert 
(Ills.),  Helen  H.  Charlton,  Nellie  Mann  Opdale,  Ellen  A.  Rose 
and  Dr.  Annette  J.  Shaw  were  the  speakers.*  The  bills  were 
reported  favorably  but  were  lost  after  discussion. 

LAWS  :  Dower  and  curtesy  obtain.  A  widow  is  entitled  to  a 
life  interest  in  one-third  of  the  real  estate  and,  if  the  husband  die 
without  a  will,  to  the  share  of  a  child  in  the  personal  estate.  If 
there  is  no  lawful  issue  she  has  the  entire  estate,  both  real  and 
personal.  The  widower  has  a  life  interest  in  all  the  real  estate 
of  his  wife  not  disposed  of  by  will,  or  in  all  of  it  if  the  wife  died 
intestate,  unless  she  left  issue  by  a  former  husband,  in  which  case 
such  issue  takes  it,  free  from  the  right  of  the  surviving  husband 
to  hold  the  same  by  curtesy.  If  the  wife  die  without  a  will  and 
leave  no  issue,  the  widower  is  entitled  to  the  entire  estate,  both 
real  and  personal.  There  may  also  be  reserved  for  the  widow  a 
homestead  of  not  more  than  forty  acres  of  farm  land,  or  one- 
quarter  of  an  acre  in  a  town,  which  at  her  subsequent  marriage 

*  E.  P.  Wilder,  associate  editor  of  the  Madison  State  Journal,  chief  official  organ  of 
the  Republican  party,  made  an  excellent  address  at  this  time  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage, 
which  was  afterwards  printed  as  a  leaflet. 


992  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

or  death  passes  to  the  heirs  of  the  former  husband.  If  none 
exist  she  does  not  lose  her  homestead  rights  by  marrying  again. 

The  wife  may  dispose  of  all  her  real  estate  by  conveyance  dur- 
ing her  lifetime  or  by  will,  without  the  husband's  consent.  He 
can  not  destroy  her  dower  rights. 

A  married  woman  may  sue  and  be  sued,  make  contracts  and 
carry  on  business  in  her  own  name. 

The  father,  if  living,  and  in  case  of  his  death  the  mother,  while 
she  remains  unmarried,  shall  be  entitled  to  the  custody  of  the 
persons  and  education  of  the  minor  children.  The  father  may 
by  will  appoint  a  guardian  for  a  child,  whether  born  or  unborn, 
to  continue  during  its  minority  or  for  a  less  time. 

Neglect  to  provide  for  a  wife  and  minor  children  is  a  misde- 
meanor, punished  by  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  not  less 
than  fifteen  days,  during  ten  days  of  which  food  may  be  bread 
and  water  only;  or  by  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  not 
exceeding  one  year,  or  in  the  county  workhouse,  at  the  discretion 
of  the  court. 

In  1887  a  law  was  passed  raising  the  "age  of  protection"  for 
girls  from  10  to  14  years.  In  1889  this  was  amended  by  lower- 
ing the  age  to  12  and  reducing  the  punishment  from  imprison- 
ment for  life  to  not  more  than  thirty-five  nor  less  than  five  years. 
The  clause  also  was  added :  "Provided  that  if  the  child  shall 
be  a  common  prostitute,  the  man  shall  be  imprisoned  in  the 
penitentiary  not  less  than  one  year  nor  more  than  seven."*  In 
1895  the  age  was  raised  again  to  14  years  with  the  same  penalty. 

SUFFRAGE  :  By  the  law  of  1885  every  woman  who  is  a  citizen 
of  this  State  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  and  upwards,  ex- 
cept paupers,  etc.,  who  has  resided  in  the  State  for  one  year  and  in 
the  election  district  where  she  offers  to  vote  ten  days  next  pre- 
ceding any  election  pertaining  to  school  matters,  shall  have  a 
right  to  vote  at  such  election.  By  the  present  interpretation  of 
this  law  the  suffrage  of  women  is  limited  to  school  officers  and 
questions.  Suffrage  may  be  extended  by  statute  but  such  law 
must  be  ratified  by  a  majority  of  the  voters  at  a  general  election. 

*  This  is  believed  to  be  the  only  case  on  record  where  the  age  of  protection  has  been 
lowered.  The  amendment  was  urged  by  Senator  P.  J.  Clawson  of  Monroe,  Green  County. 
At  its  next  meeting  the  county  suffrage  society  passed  the  strongest  possible  denuncia- 
tory resolutions,  and  thereafter  its  members  worked  diligently  to  defeat  Mr.  Clawson  for 
the  nomination  to  Congress,  which  they  succeeded  in  doing. 


WISCONSIN.  993 

OFFICE  HOLDING:  There  is  no  law  authorizing  women  to 
hold  any  elective  office  except  such  as  pertains  to  schools,  but  they 
have  been  eligible  to  these  since  1869.  Eighteen  women  have 
served  as  county  superintendents  at  trie  same  time;  nine  are  act- 
ing at  present.  They  sit  on  school  boards  in  a  number  of  cities. 

In  the  Legislature  women  act  as  enrolling  and  engrossing 
clerks,  and  as  clerks  and  stenographers  to  committees.  They  are 
also  found  as  clerks,  copyists  and  stenographers  in  the  various 
elective  and  appointive  State,  city  and  county  offices. 

In  the  State  institutions  they  are  employed  as  teachers,  ma- 
trons, bookkeepers,  supervisors,  State  agents  for  placing  depend- 
ent children,  etc.  The  Milwaukee  Industrial  School  for  Girls, 
supported  partly  by  public  and  partly  by  private  funds,  is  the  only 
institution  managed  entirely  by  women. 

There  are  no  women  physicians  at  any  of  the  State  institutions. 
One  woman  was  appointed  county  physician  in  Waukesha,  and 
one  or  two  have  been  made  city  physicians. 

The  office  of  police  matron  was  established  by  city  ordinance  in 
Milwaukee  in  1884.  There  is  none  in  any  other  city. 

Women  act  as  notaries  public  and  court  commissioners. 

Women  could  not  sit  on  any  State  Boards  until  the  Legislature 
of  1901  authorized  the  appointment  of  one  woman  on  the  Board 
of  Regents  for  the  State  University,  and  one  on  that  of  the  State 
Normal  School.  It  also  authorized  the  appointment  of  a  woman 
State  Factory  Inspector. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  No  profession  or  occupation  is  legally  forbid- 
den to  women. 

EDUCATION  :  In  1851  the  regents  of  the  State  University  took 
a  stand  in  favor  of  co-education.  In  1866  an  Act  reorganizing 
the  university  declared  that  in  all  its  departments  it  should  be 
opened  to  male  and  female  students;  but  owing  to  prejudices  it 
was  not  until  1873  that  complete  co-education  was  established, 
although  women  were  graduated  in  1869.  All  institutions  of 
learning  are  open  alike  to  both  sexes. 

In  the  public  schools  there  are  2,654  men  and  9,811  women 
teachers.  The  average  monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  $41 ;  of  the 
women.  $29.50. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 63 


CHAPTER   LXXII. 

WYOMING.* 

It  is  said  that  a  contented  people  or  a  happy  life  is  one  without 
a  history.  The  cause  of  woman  suffrage  in  Wyoming  has  not 
been  marked  by  agitation  or  strife,  and  for  that  reason  there  is  no 
struggle  to  record,  as  is  the  case  in  all  other  States.  In  its 
story  Mrs.  Esther  Morris  must  ever  be  considered  the  hero- 
ine. A  native  of  New  York,  she  joined  her  husband  and 
three  sons  in  1869  at  South  Pass,  then  the  chief  town  of  Wyom- 
ing. She  was  a  strong  advocate  of  the  enfranchisement  of 
women  and  succeeded  in  enlisting  the  co-operation  of  Col.  Will- 
iam H.  Bright,  president  of  the  first  Legislative  Council  of  the 
Territory,  which  that  very  year  passed  a  bill  conferring  on 
women  the  full  elective  franchise  and  the  right  to  hold  all  of- 
fices. Gov.  John  A.  Campbell  was  in  some  doubt  as  to  signing 
it,  but  a  body  of  women  in  Cheyenne,  headed  by  Mrs.  Amalia 
Post  (wife  of  Morton  E.  Post,  delegate  to  Congress),  went  to 
his  residence  and  announced  their  intention  of  ,  staying  until 
he  did  so.  A  vacancy  occurring  soon  afterward  in  the  office  of 
Justice  of  the  Peace  at  South  Pass,  the  Governor  appointed  Mrs. 
Morris  on  petition  of  the  county  attorney  and  commissioners. 
She  tried  between  thirty  and  forty  cases  and  none  was  appealed 
to  a  higher  court,  t 

In  1871  a  bill  to  repeal  this  woman  suffrage  law  was  passed 
by  the  Legislature  and  vetoed  by  Governor  Campbell.  An  at- 
tempt to  pass  it  over  his  veto  failed.  No  proposition  to  abolish 
it  ever  was  made  in  the  Legislature  thereafter. 

In  1884,  fifteen  years  after  women  had  first  voted  in  Wyom- 
ing, U.  S.  District  Attorney  Melville  C.  Brown,  at  the  request  of 

*  The  History  is  indebted  to  the  Hon.  Robert  C.  Morris  of  Cheyenne,  clerk  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  Wyoming,  for  much  of  the  information  contained  in  this  chapter. 

t  Mrs.  Morris  is  the  mother  of  Robert  C.  Morris,  and  this  paragraph  is  inserted  by  the 
editors.  A  full  account  of  this  first  experiment  in  woman  suffrage  will  be  found  in  Vol. 
III.  Chap.  LII. 

994 


WYOMING.  995 

Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  sent  to  the  National  Association  an  ex- 
tended resume  of  the  status  of  women  suffrage  in  the  Territory, 
to  which  he  himself  had  been  opposed  in  1869.  It  expressed 
throughout  the  most  emphatic  approval  without  any  qualifica- 
tions. Some  of  the  statements  were  as  follows : 

Women  have  exercised  their  elective  franchise,  at  first  not  very 
generally  but  of  late  with  universality,  and  with  such  good  judg- 
ment and  modesty  as  to  commend  it  to  the  men  of  all  parties  who 

hold  the  good  of  the  Territory  in  high  esteem It  has 

been  stated  that  the  best  women  do  not  avail  themselves  of  the  privi- 
lege. This  is  maliciously  false.  .  .  .  The  foolish  claim  has  also 
been  made  that  the  influence  of  the  ballot  upon  women  is  bad.  This 
is  not  true.  It  is  impossible  that  a  woman's  character  can  be  con- 
taminated in  associating  with  men  for  a  few  minutes  in  going  to  the 
polls  any  more  than  it  would  be  in  going  to  church  or  to  places  of 
amusement.  On  the  other  hand  women  are  benefited  and  improved 

by  the  ballot The  fact  is,  Wyoming  has  the  noblest  and 

best  women  in  the  world  because  they  have  more  privileges  and 
know  better  how  to  use  them. 

To  conclude  I  will  say :  Woman  suffrage  is  a  settled  fact  here, 
and  will  endure  as  long  as  the  Territory.  It  has  accomplished  much 
good ;  it  has  harmed  no  one ;  therefore  we  are  all  in  favor,  and  none 
can  be  found  to  raise  a  voice  against  it. 

In  the  convention  called  the  first  Monday  of  September,  1889, 
to  prepare  a  constitution  for  admission  as  a  State,  this  was  the 
first  clause  presented  for  consideration : 

The  right  of  citizens  of  the  State  of  Wyoming  to  vote  and  hold 
office  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  on  account  of  sex.  Both  male 
and  female  citizens  of  this  State  shall  enjoy  all  civil,  political  and 
religious  rights  and  privileges. 

After  just  twenty  years'  experience  of  woman  suffrage  no  man 
in  this  convention  was  found  in  opposition  to  it,  but  to  the  sur- 
prise of  the  members,  one  delegate,  A.  C.  Campbell  of  Laramie, 
proposed  to  amend  this  section  by  making  it  a  separate  article  to 
be  .voted  upon  apart  from  the  rest  of  the  constitution.  He  sup- 
ported his  amendment  by  a  long  speech  in  which  he  said  that  he 
himself  should  vote  in  favor  of  the  article  and,  from  his  observa- 
tions throughout  the  Territory,  he  believed  two-thirds  or  more 
of  the  people  would  do  the  same,  but  he  thought  they  ought  to 
have  a  chance  to  express  themselves;  that  "they  were  going  to 
have  a  pretty  tough  time  anyhow  getting  into  the  Union,  and  if 


996  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

they  put  in  a  proposition  of  this  kind  without  giving  those  per- 
sons who  were  opposed  to  woman  suffrage  a  chance  to  express 
themselves,  they  would  vote  against  the  whole  constitution." 

The  other  members  of  the  convention  looked  upon  this  as  a 
scheme  of  the  opponents,  and  Mr.  Campbell  had  no  support  to 
his  proposition.  On  the  contrary,  the  most  eloquent  addresses 
were  made  by  George  W.  Baxter,  Henry  A.  Coffeen,  C.  W.  Hoi- 
den,  Asbury  B.  Conaway,  Melville  C.  Brown,  Charles  H.  Burritt 
and  John  W.  Hoyt  demanding  that  the  suffrage  clause  should 
stand  in  the  constitution  regardless  of  consequences.  Space  will 
permit  only  the  keynote  of  these  courageous  speeches.* 

MR.  BAXTER:     ....     I  defend  this  because  it  is  right,  be- 

cause  it  is  fair,  because  it  is  just I  shall  ever  regard  as 

a  distinguished  honor  my  membership  in  this  convention,  which,  for 
the  first  time  in  the  history  of  all  this  broad  land,  rising  above  the 
prejudice  and  injustice  of  the  past,  will  incorporate  into  the  funda- 
mental law  of  the  State  a  provision  that  shall  secure  to  every  citizen 
within  her  borders  not  only  the  protection  of  the  courts,  but  the 
absolute  and  equal  enjoyment  of  every  right  and  privilege  guaran- 
teed under  the  law  to  any  other  citizen. 

MR.  COFFEEN:  .  .  '.  .  The  question,  as  I  take  it,  is  already 
settled  in  the  hearts  and  minds  and  judgments  of  the  people  of  our 
glorious  State  proposed-to-be,  and  shall  we  stand  here  to-day  and 
debate  over  it  when  every  element  of  justice  and  right  and  equality 
is  in  its  favor;  when  not  one  iota  of  weight  of  argument  has  been 
brought  against  it ;  when  every  word  that  can  be  said  is  in  favor  of 
continuing  the  good  results  of  woman  suffrage,  which  we  have  ex- 
perienced for  twenty  years?  ....  I  shall  not  go  into  the 
policy  or  propriety  of  submitting  such  a  proposition  as  this  now 
before  us  to  the  people  of  this  Territory 

MR.  HOLDEN  :  I  do  not  desire  at  this  time  to  offer  any  reason 
why  the  right  to  vote  should  be  granted  to  women ;  that  is  not  the 
question  before  us.  The  question  is,  shall  we  secure  that  right  by 
fundamental  law?  The  proposition  now  under  consideration  is, 
shall  we  leave  it  to  the  people  of  Wyoming  to  say  whether  or  not  the 
privilege  of  voting  shall  be  secured  to  women?  Now,  Mr.  Chair- 
man, I  believe  that  I  voice  the  wishes  of  my  constituency  when  I  say 
that  rather  than  surrender  the  right  which  the  women  of  this  Terri- 
tory have  so  long  enjoyed — and  which  they  have  used  not  only  with 
credit  to  themselves  but  with  profit  to  the  country  in  which  they 
live — I  say  that  rather  than  surrender  that  right  we  will  remain  ir 
a  Territorial  condition  throughout  the  endless  cycles  of  time. 

MR.   CONAWAY:     ....     The  sentiment   of  this  conventk 
and  I  believe  of  the  people  whom  we  represent,  is  so  nearly  unani- 
mous that  extended  discussion,  it  seems  to  me,  would  be  a  waste  of 

*  Published  in  full  in  Wyoming  Historical  Collections,  Vol.  I. 


WYOMING.  997 

time If  it  were  proposed  to  submit  to  a  vote  of  tlic 

people  whether  the  property  of  the  gentleman  from  Laramie  should 
be  taken  from  him,  or  my  property  should  be  taken  from  me  and 
given  to  somebody  else,  there  would  be  no  difference  of  opinion  upon 
it.  In  Wyoming  this  right  of  our  women  has  been  recognized,  has 
been  enjoyed ;  there  are  such  things  in  law  as  vested  rights,  and  the 
decisions  of  our  courts  are  unanimous  that  it  is  not  within  the  power 
of  the  Legislature  ever  to  take  away  from  any  person  his  rights  or 
his  property  and  to  confer  them  upon  another,  and  that  is  what  this 
clause  proposes  to  do,  to  submit  to  a  vote  whether  we  shall  take  away 
from  one-half  of  our  citizens — and,  as  my  friend  has  well  stated,,  the 
better  half — a  certain  right,  and  increase  the  rights  of  the  other  half 
by  so  doing 

MR.  BROWN  :  I  was  a  member  of  that  second  Legislature  which 

tried  to  disfranchise  women From  that  day  to  the 

present  no  man  in  the  Legislature  of  Wyoming  has  been  heard  to 
lift  his  voice  against  woman  suffrage.  It  has  become  one  of  the 
fundamental  laws  of  the  land,  and  to  raise  any  question  about  it  at 
this  time  is  as  improper,  in  my  judgment,  as  to  raise  a  question  as  to 
any  other  fundamental  right  guaranteed  to  any  citizen  in  this  Terri- 
tory. I  would  sooner  think,  Mr.  Chairman,  of  submitting  to  the 
people  of  Wyoming  a  separate  and  distinct  proposition  as  to  whether 
a  male  citizen  of  the  Territory  shall  be  entitled  to  vote 

MR.  HOYT  :  .  .  .  .  For  twenty  years  the  women  of  this  Ter- 
ritory have  taken  part  with  the  men  in  its  government,  and  have 
exercised  this  right  of  suffrage  equally  with  them,  and  we  are  all 
proud  of  the  results.  No  man  in  Wyoming  ever  has  dared  to  say 
that  woman  suffrage  is  a  failure.  There  has  been  no  disturbance  of 
the  domestic  relations,  there  has  been  no  diminution  of  the  social 
order,  there  has  been  no  lessening  of  the  dignity  which  character- 
izes the  exercise  of  the  elective  franchise ;  there  have  been,  on  the 
contrary,  an  improvement  of  the  social  order,  better  laws,  better 
officials,  a  higher  civilization.  Why,  then,  this  extraordinary  prop- 
osition that,  after  so  many  years,  having  exercised  with  us  the  right 
of  suffrage  since  the  foundation  of  this  Territorial  government, 
women  are  now  to  be  singled  out,  to  be  set  aside,  and  the  question 
submitted  to  a  vote  as  to  whether  they  shall  have  a  continuance  of 
the  rights  which  have  been  given  to  them  by  unanimous  consent,  and 
which  they  have  exercised  wisely  and  properly  and,  as  my  friend 
says,  with  profit  to  the  whole  Territory?  This  is  indeed  an  ex- 
traordinary proposition,  to  submit  to  a  vote  the  continuance  of  a 
vested  right.  I  will  not  impugn  the  motives  of  the  gentleman  who 
makes  it,  but  I  demand  as  a  matter  of  justice  that  it  shall  be  voted 
down  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  and  I  would  that  he  had  never 

presented  it We  are  told  that  if  we  put  this  clause  into 

our  constitution  as.  a  fundamental  law,  we  shall  fail  to  secure  its 
approval  by  the  people  of  Wyoming  and  its  acceptance  by  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States ;  but  if  it  should  so  prove  that  the  adop- 
tion of  this  provision  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  women  should 
work  against  our  admission,  then  I  agree  with  my  friend,  Mr. 


99^  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Holden,  that  we  will  remain  out  of  the  Union  until  a  sentiment  of 

justice  shall  prevail 

MR.  BURRITT:  ....  Mr.  Campbell  destroyed  any  argu- 
ment that  he  made  in  favor  of  this  amendment  by  saying,  first,  that 
woman  suffrage  as  a  principle  is  right ;  second,  that  he  would  vote 
for  it  if  presented  to  the  people.  And  he  further  said  that  he  was 
not  afraid,  in  defending  the  right  of  petition,  to  come  before  this 
convention  and  indorse  this  proposition  to  be  separately  voted  upon, 
even  if  it  cost  him  the  ladies'  vote  or  the  votes  of  any  other  class. 
That  certainly  is  very  courageous  on  the  part  of  the  gentleman  from 

Laramie But  I  will  say  this  much  in  addition,  which 

he  did  not  say,  that,  as  a  member  of  this  convention  and  believing 
the  right  of  suffrage  to  be  a  vested  right,  of  which  it  would  be  wrong 
and  wicked  for  us  to  attempt  to  deprive  women,  I  have  also  the  cour- 
age to  rise  above  the  single  constituent  that  I  have  in  Johnson 
County  who  is  opposed  to  woman  suffrage  (and  I  know  but  one) 
and  to  rise  above  the  majority  even  of  its  citizens  if  I  knew  they 
were  opposed,  and  I  am  sure  that  this  convention  and  this  State 
have  as  much  courage  as  I  have.  Believing  that  woman  suffrage  is 
right,  I  am  sure  that  this  convention  has  the  courage  to  go  before 
Congress  and  say  that  if  they  will  not  let  us  in  with  this  plank  in  our 

State  constitution  we  will  stay  out  forever I  stand  upon 

the  platform  of  justice,  and  I  advocate  the  continuance  of  the  right 
of  women  to  vote  and  hold  office  and  enjoy  equally  with  men  all 
civil,  religious  and  political  privileges,  and  that  this  right  be  incor- 
porated as  a  part  of  the  fundamental  law  of  the  State 

The  woman  suffrage  clause  was  retained  as  a  part  of  the  con- 
stitution, which  was  adopted  by  more  than  a  three-fourths  ma- 
jority of  the  popular  vote. 

A  bill  to  provide  for  the  admission  of  Wyoming  as  a  State  was 
introduced  into  the  House  of  Representatives  on  Dec.  18,  i 
and  later  was  favorably  reported  from  the  Committee 
Territories  by  Charles  S.  Baker  of  New  York.  A  minority  re- 
port was  presented  by  William  M.  Springer  of  Illinois,  consist- 
ing of  twenty-three  pages,  two  devoted  to  various  other  reasons 
for  non-admission  and  twenty-one  to  objections  because  of  the 
woman  suffrage  article. 

As  it  was  supposed  that  the  new  State  would  be  Republican, 
bitter  fight  was  waged  by  the  Democrats,  using  the  provision  fc 
woman  suffrage  as  a  club.  The  bill  was  grandly  championed  b) 
Joseph  M.  Carey,  delegate  from  the  Territory  (afterward  Unite 
States  senator)  who  defended  the  suffrage  clause  with  the  same 
courage  and  ability  as  all  the  others  in  the  constitution.* 

*  In  an  address  Mr.  Carey  said  later:     "I  was  agreeably  surprised  to  have  so  many  of 


WYOMING.  999 

The  principal  speech  in  opposition  was  by  Joseph  E.  Washing- 
ton of  Tennessee,  who  said  in  part : 

My  chief  objection  to  the  admission  of  Wyoming  is  the  suffrage 
article  in  the  constitution.  I  am  unalterably  opposed  to  female 
suffrage  in  any  form.  It  can  only  result  in  the  end  in  unsexing  and 
degrading  the  womanhood  of  America.  It  is  emphatically  a  re- 
form against  nature I  have  no  doubt  that  in  Wyoming 

to-day  women  vote  in  as  many  [different]   precincts  as  they  can 
reach  on  horseback  or  on   foot  after  changing  their   frocks  and 

bustles Tennessee  has  not  yet  adopted  any  of  these 

new-fangled  ideas,  not  that  we  are  lacking  in  respect  for  true  and 
exalted  womanhood.* 

William  C-  Gates  of  Alabama  also  delivered  a  long  speech  in 
opposition,  of  which  the  following  is  a  specimen  paragraph : 

I  like  a  woman  who  is  a  woman  and  appreciates  the  sphere  to 
which  God  and  the  Bible  have  assigned  her.  I  do  not  like  a  man- 
woman.  She  may  be  intelligent  and  full  of  learning,  but  when  she 
assumes  the  performance  of  the  duties  and  functions  assigned  by 
nature  to  man,  she  becomes  rough  and  tough  and  can  no  longer  be 
the  object  of  affection. 

He  concluded  his  argument  by  saying  that  if  ever  universal 
suffrage  should  prevail  the  Government  would  break  to  pieces  of 
its  own  weight. 

The  enfranchisement  of  women  was  also  vehemently  attacked 
by  Alexander  M.  Dockery  of  Missouri,  George  T.  Barnes  of 
Georgia,  William  M.  Springer  of  Illinois,  and  William  McAdoo 
of  New  Jersey.  It  was  strongly  defended  by  Henry  L.  Morey 
of  Ohio,  Charles  S.  Baker  of  New  York,  Daniel  Kerr  and  I.  S. 
Struble,  both  of  Iowa,  and  Harrison  B.  Kelley  of  Kansas. 

Every  possible  effort  was  made  to  compel  the  adoption  of  an 
amendment  limiting  the  suffrage  to  male  citizens,  and  it  was  de- 
feated by  only  six  votes.  The  bill  of  admission  was  passed 
March  28,  1890,  after  three  days'  discussion,  by  139  ayes  to  127 
noes.  During  the  progress  of  this  debate  Delegate  Carey  tele- 
graphed to  the  Wyoming  Legislature,  then  in  session,  that  it 
looked  as  if  the  suffrage  clause  would  have  to  be  abandoned  if 
Statehood  were  to  be  obtained,  and  the  answer  came  back :  "We 

the  ablest  men  in  Congress,  both  in  public  and  in  private  conversation,  disclose  the  fact 
that  they  firmly  believed  the  time  would  come  when  women   would  be  permitted  to  exer- 
cise full  political   rights  throughout  the  United   States." 
*  See  laws  for  women  in  Tennessee  chapter. 


IOOO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

will  remain  out  of  the  Union  a  hundred  years  rather  than  come 
in  without  woman  suffrage."* 

In  the  Senate  the  fight  against  the  suffrage  article  was  renewed 
with  added  intensity.  The  bill  for  the  admission  of  Wyoming 
was  reported  favorably  through  the  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Territories,  Orville  H.  Platt  of  Connecticut,  in  January,  1890, 
but  was  not  reached  on  the  calendar  until  February  17.  On  ob- 
jection from  Francis  M.  Cockrell  of  Missouri,  that  there  was  not 
time  then  for  its  consideration,  it  was  postponed,  but  without 
losing  its  place  on  the  calendar.  Not  until  May  2,  however,  did 
it  come  up  again  as  unfinished  business,  and  only  to  be 
again  postponed.  On  May  8  the  bill  was  set  down"  for  the  fol- 
lowing Monday,  but  it  was  June  25  before  it  finally  received  ex- 
tended consideration.  The  debate  continued  for  three  days  and 
the  clause  conferring  suffrage  on  women  took  a  prominent  place. 

George  G.  Vest  of  Missouri  led  the  opposition  and  said  in  the 
course  of  his  lengthy  oration : 

I  shall  never  vote  to  admit  into  the  Union  any  State  that  adopts 
woman  suffrage.  I  do  not  propose  to  discuss  the  sentimental  side 

of  the  question In  my  judgment  woman  suffrage  is 

antagonistic  to  the  spirit,  to  the  institutions,  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  utterly  antagonistic  to  my  ideas  of  the  Govern- 
ment as  the  fathers  made  it  and  left  it  to  us.  If  there  were  no  other 
reason  I  would  never  give  the  right  of  suffrage  to  women  because 
the  danger  to  the  institutions  of  the  United  States  to-day  is  in  hur- 
ried, spasmodic,  sentimental  suffrage I  believe  that 

with  universal  suffrage  in  this  country,  the  injecting  into  our  suf- 
frage of  all  the -women  of  the  United  States  would  be  the  greatest 
calamity  that  could  possibly  happen  to  our  institutions  and  people. 
.  .  .  .  If  there  were  no  other  reason  with  me,  I  would  vote 
against  the  admission  of  Wyoming  because  it  has  that  feature  in  its 
constitution.  I  will  not  take  the  responsibility  as  a  senator  of  in- 
dorsing in  any  way,  directly  or  indirectly,  woman  suffrage.  I  re- 
peat that  in  my  judgment  it  would  be  not  only  a  calamity  but  an 
absolute  crime  against  the  institutions  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States 

In  an  extended  speech  John  H.  Reagan  of  Texas  said : 

But  what  are  we  going  to  do,  what  are  the  people  of  this  Territory 
going  to  do,  by  the  adoption  of  this  constitution  ?  They  are  going  to 
make  men  of  women,  and  when  they  do  that  the  correlative  must 

*  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  was  an  interested  and  anxious  listener  to  this  debate  from 
the  gallery  of  the  House,  and  a  joyful  witness  to  the  final  passage  of  the  bill. 


WYOMING.  IOOI 

take  place  that  men  must  become  women.  So  I  suppose  we  are  to 
have  women  for  public  officers,  women  to  do  military  duty,  women 
to  work  the  roads,  women  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  country,  and 
men  to  wash  the  dishes,  men  to  nurse  the  children,  men  to  stay  at 
home  while  the  ladies  go  out  and  make  stump  speeches  in  canvasses. 
.  .  .  .  Mr.  President,  when  the  Almighty  created  men  and 
women  He  made  them  for  different  purposes,  and  six  thousand 
years  of  experience  have  recognized  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  the 
Almighty  in  this  arrangement.  It  is  only  latterly  that  people  have 
got  wiser  than  their  Creator  and  wiser  than  all  the  generations  which 

have  preceded  them The  constitution  of  society,  the 

necessity  for  the  existence  of  society,  the  necessity  of  home  govern- 
ment, which  is  the  most  important  of  all  the  parts  of  government, 
can  only  be  preserved  and  perpetuated  by  keeping  men  in  their 
sphere  and  women  in  their  sphere 

It  is  a  wholesome  thing  to  reflect  that  after  a  hard  day's  struggle 
and  of  rough  contacts  which  men  must  have  with  each  other,  they 
can  go  to  a  home  presided  over  by  one  there  who  soothes  the  pas- 
sions of  the  day  by  the  sweetness  of  her  temper,  the  gentleness  of 
her  disposition  and  the  happiness  which  she  brings  around  the  family 
circle.  But  if  the  wife  and  the  husband  are  both  out  in  the  bitter 
contests  of  the  day,  making  speeches,  electioneering  with  voters, 
pushing  their  way  to  the  polls,  they  will  both  be  apt  to  go  home  in  a 
bad  humor,  and  there  will  not  be  much  happiness  in  a  family  during 
the  remainder  of  the  day  which  follows  such  a  scene.  And  while 
they  are  both  out  what  will  become  of  the  children?  Are  they  to 
take  care  of  themselves  ? 

What  rights  can  women  expect  to  have  that  they  do  not  have  now  ? 
They  are  clothed  with  the  protection  of  law.*  In  my  judgment,  Mr. 
President,  the  day  that  the  floodgate  of  female  suffrage  is  opened 
upon  this  country,  the  social  organism  will  have  reached  the  point  at 
which  decay  and  ruin  begin Why,  sir,  what  is  the  ad- 
vantage? If  the  head  of  the  family  votes  he  is  apt  to  reflect  the 
views  of  the  family.  It  is  more  convenient  than  to  have  all  the 
family  going  out  to  vote. 

Wilbur  F.  Sanders  of  Montana  interrupted  Senator  Reagan  to 
ask  if  the  law  should  not  be  an  expression  of  the  intellectual  and 
moral  sense  of  all  the  people,  and  whether  governments  did  not 
derive  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed. 

John  T.  Morgan  of  Alabama  entered  into  a  long  and  sarcastic 
argument  to  prove  that  if  a  woman  could  vote  in  Wyoming  she 
might  be  sent  to  Congress  and  then  she  could  not  be  admitted  be- 
cause the  law  says  a  senator  or  representative  "must  be  an  in- 
habitant of  the  State  in  which  he  is  chosen."  He  ignored  the 

*  See  laws  for  women  in  Texas  chapter. 


IOO2  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

fact  that  all  legal  papers  are  made  out  with  this  pronoun,  which 
presents  no  difficulty  in  their  application  to  women. 

Henry  B.  Payne  of  Ohio  said  that  he  was  not  in  favor  of 
woman  suffrage,  and  that  no  woman  in  England  ever  had  been 
permitted  to  exercise  the  elective  franchise.  (Women  then  had 
been  voting  in  England  for  twenty-one  years,  the  same  length 
of  time  as  in  Wyoming.)  He  asked,  however,  if  these  little 
technical  objections  would  not  be  more  than  overcome  by  the 
moral  influence  that  a  woman  Representative  might  exert  in  the 
committee  rooms  and  on  the  floor  of  the  House. 

Mr.  Morgan  at  once  launched  forth  into  a  panegyric  on  the 
moral  influence  of  woman  which  certainly  demonstrated  that  if 
sentimentalism  were  a  bar  to  voting,  as  Senators  Vest  and  Rea- 
gan had  insisted  it  should  be,  the  senator  from  Alabama  would 
have  to  be  disfranchised.  Part  of  it  ran  as  follows : 

It  is  not  the  moral  influence  of  woman  upon  the  ballot  that  I  am 
objecting  to,  and  it  is  not  to  get  rid  of  that  or  to  silence  or  destroy 
such  influence  that  I  oppose  it,  but  it  is  the  immoral  influence  of  the 
ballot  upon  woman  that  I  deprecate  and  would  avoid.  I  do  not  want 
to  see  her  drawn  into  contact  with  the  rude  things  of  this  world, 
where  the  delicacy  of  her  senses  and  sensibilities  would  be  constantly 
wounded  by  the  attrition  with  bad  and  desperate  and  foul  politicians 
and  men.  Such  is  not  her  function  and  is  not  her  office ;  and  if  we 
degrade  her  from  the  high  station  that  God  has  placed  her  in  to  put 
her  at  the  ballot-box,  at  political  or  other  elections,  we  unman  our- 
selves and  refuse  to  do  the  duties  that  God  has  assigned  to  us. 

I  can  say  for  myself  and  for  those  who  are  dearest  to  me  of  all  the 
objects  in  this  life,  that  I  would  leave  a  country  where  it  was  neces- 
sary that  my  wife  and  daughters  should  go  to  the  polls  to  protect  my 
liberties.  I  would  just  as  soon  see  them  shoulder  their  guns  and 
go  like  Amazons  into  the  field  and  fight  beneath  the  flag  for  my  lib- 
erties, as  to  see  them  muster  on  election  day  for  any  such  purpose.* 

James  K.  Jones  of  Arkansas  based  his  argument  on  the  esti- 
mate of  an  equal  number  of  men  and  women  in  Wyoming,  and  as- 
sumed that  all  the  women  had  voted  in  favor  of  the  suffrage 
clause  and  that  therefore  it  did  not  represent  the  wishes  of  men, 
thus  denying  wholly  the  right  of  women  to  a  voice  in  a  matter 
which  so  vitally  concerned  themselves.  In  reality  women  formed 
considerably  less  than  one-third  of  the  adult  population,  while 
the  constitution  was  adopted  by  more  than  a  three-fourths  vote. 

*  In  1901,  when  a  convention  in  Alabama  was  framing  a  new  constitution,  Senator 
Morgan  sent  a  strong  letter  urging  that  this  should  include  suffrage  for  tax-paying  women. 


WYOMING.  IOO3 

William  M.  Stewart  of  Nevada  and  Algernon  S.  Paddock  of 
Nebraska  defended  the  right  of  the  Territory  to  decide  this  ques- 
tion for  itself. 

George  Gray  of  Delaware  declared  his  belief  that  "woman  suf- 
frage is  inimical  to  the  best  interests  of  society."  John  C.  Spoon- 
er  of  Wisconsin  disapproved  the  enfranchisement  of  women, 
but  believed  Wyoming  had  a  right  to  place  it  in  its  constitution. 

Orville  H.  Platt  of  Connecticut  in  urging  the  acceptance  of  the 
report  said : 

I  never  have  been  an  advocate  of  woman  suffrage.  I  never  be- 
lieved, as  some  senators  do,  that  it  was  wise.  But  with  all  that,  I 
would  not  keep  a  Territory  out  of  the  Union  as  a  State  because  its 
constitution  did  allow  women  to  vote,  nor  would  I  force  upon  a 
Territory  any  restriction  or  qualification  as  to  what  its  vote  should 
be  in  that  respect.  When  Washington  Territory  came  here  and 
asked  for  admission  and  the  bill  was  passed,  it  had  had  woman  suf- 
frage, and  I  was  appealed  to  by  a  great  many  citizens  all  over  the 
United  States  to  keep  it  out  of  the  Union,  so  far  as  my  action  could 
do  so,  until  it  restored  the  right  of  women  to  vote  which  had  been 
taken  away  under  a  decision  of  its  own  courts — taken  away,  as  I 
thought,  unjustly;  for  I  did  not  consider  that  decision  good  law. 
The  senator  from  Massachusetts,  Mr.  Hoar,  interrogated  me  when 
I  was  advocating  the  admission  of  Washington  as  to  why  we  did  not 
incorporate  into  that  enabling  act  some  language  that  should  undo 
the  wrong  which  had  been  done  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Terri- 
tory and  restore  to  women  the  right  of  voting.  I  said  then,  as  I  say 
now,  that  I  think  this  is  a  matter  which  belongs  to  the  Territory ; 
and  I  am  surprised  that  gentlemen  who  are  so  devoted  to  home  rule 
as  a  sacred  right  which  should  never  be  interfered  with  in  this  re- 
public, should  not  be  willing  to  allow  to  a  Territory,  when  it  asks  for 
admission,  the  right  to  determine  whether  women  should  or  should 
not  be  permitted  to  vote  by  the  constitution  of  the  proposed  State. 
.  .  .  .  Why  should  we,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
stand  here  and  say  to  that  Territory,  where  women  have  enjoyed  the 
right  of  voting  for  twenty  years,  and  nobody  arises  to  gainsay  it  or 
to  intimate  that  they  have  not  exercised  the  right  wisely,  why  should 
we  stand  here  and  say :  "Keep  out  of  the  Union ;  we  will  let  no 
community,  no  Territory,  in  here  which  does  not  deprive  its  women 
of  the  right  they  have  enjoyed  while  in  a  Territorial  condition"? 

After  every  possible  device  to  strike  out  the  obnoxious  clause 
had  been  exhausted,  the  bill  to  admit  Wyoming  as  a  State  was 
passed  on  June  27,  1890,  by  29  ayes,  18  noes,  37  absent.*  Al- 

*  A   telegram   announcing  that    President   Harrison   had    signed   the   bill   was   handed   to 
Miss  Anthony  while  she  was  addressing  a  large  audience  at  Madison,   S.  D.,  during  the 


IOO4  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

though  Henry  W.  Blair  of  New  Hampshire  and  Henry  M.  Teller 
of  Colorado  interposed  remarks  showing  a  thorough  belief  in  the 
enfranchisement  of  women,  there  was  no  formal  argument  in  its 
behalf,  it  being  generally  understood  that  all  Republicans  would 
vote  for  the  bill  in  order  to  admit  a  Republican  State,  and  a 
number  did  so  who  were  not  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage. 

When  the  people  of  Wyoming  met  at  Cheyenne,  July  23,  to 
celebrate  their  Statehood,  by  Gov.  Francis  E.  Warren  sat  Mrs. 
Amalia  Post,  president  of  the  Woman  Suffrage  Association.  The 
first  and  principal  oration  of  the  day  was  made  by  Mrs.  Theresa 
A.  Jenkins,  of  which  the  History  of  Wyoming  says : 

Proceeding  to  the  front  of  the  platform,  Mrs.  Jenkins,  in  clear, 
forceful  tones  which  penetrated  to  the  very  outskirts  of  the  crowd, 
delivered  without  manuscript  or  notes  an  address  which  in  logic  and 
eloquence  has  rarely  if  ever  been  equaled  by  any  woman  in  the  land. 
.  .  .  .  At  its  conclusion  she  received  an  ovation  and  was  pre- 
sented with  a  magnificent  basket  of  flowers. 

The  great  incident  of  the  celebration,  the  presenting  of  the  flag, 
next  followed.  Mrs.  Esther  Morris,  the  "mother"  of  the  woman 
suffrage  movement  in  this  State,  who  is  widely  respected  for  her 
great  ability  and  heroic  womanhood,  was  by  general  consent  ac- 
corded the  post  of  honor  and  made  the  presentation  to  Governor 
Warren.  Gathering  its  folds  about  her  she  said : 

"On  behalf  of  the  women  of  Wyoming,  and  in  grateful  recogni- 
tion of  the  high  privilege  of  citizenship  which  has  been  conferred 
upon  us,  I  have  the  honor  to  present  to  the  State  of  Wyoming  this 
beautiful  banner.  May  it  always  remain  the  emblem  of  our  liber- 
ties, 'and  the  flag  of  the  Union  forever.' ' 

The  Governor,  on  receiving  it  from  Mrs.  Morris,  made  an  elo- 
quent response  during  which  he  paid  this  tribute  to  women : 

"Wyoming  in  her  progress  has  not  forgotten  the  hands  and  hearts 
that  have  helped  advance  her  to  this  high  position ;  and,  in  the  adop- 
tion of  her  constitution,  equal  suffrage  is  entrenched  so  firmly  that 
it  is  believed  it  will  stand  forever Women  of  Wyom- 
ing, you  have  builded  well,  and  the  men  of  Wyoming  extend  hearti- 
est greeting  at  this  time.  They  congratulate  you  upon  your  achieve- 
ments, and  ask  you  to  join  them  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  in 
securing  good  government  for  our  commonwealth." 

The  poet  of  the  day  was  a  woman,  Mrs.  I.  S.  Bartlett,  who 
gave  The  True  Republic.  In  every  possible  way  the  men  showed 

woman  suffrage  campaign  in  that  State,  and  those  who  were  present  say,  "She  spoke  like 
one  inspired." 

By  request  of  Miss  Anthony  and  Lucy  Stone,  officers  of  the  National  W.  S.  A.,  the 
woman  suffrage  clubs  of  the  entire  country  celebrated  on  the  Fourth  of  July  the  admis- 
sion into  the  Union  of  the  first  State  with  the  full  franchise  for  women,  and  an  address 
from  Mrs.  Stanton  was  read — Wyoming  the  First  Free  State  for  Women. 


WYOMING.  IOO5 

their  honor  and  appreciation  of  the  women,  and  from  this  noble 
attitude  they  never  have  departed.  , 

In  May,  1895,  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  president  of  the  Na- 
tional Association,  carried  out  a  long-cherished  desire  to  visit 
Wyoming.  She  was  on  the  way  to  take  part  in  the  Woman's 
Congress  of  San  Francisco,  accompanied  by  the  Rev.  Anna  How- 
ard Shaw,  vice-president-at-large,  and  they  stopped  at  Cheyenne 
where  they  were  the  guests  of  Senator  and  Mrs.  Carey,  who  gave 
a  dinner  party  in  their  honor,  attended  by  Governor  and  Mrs. 
Richards,  Senator  and  Mrs.  Warren,  Mrs.  Morris,  Mrs.  Jenkins, 
Mrs.  Post  and  other  distinguished  guests.  They  went  immediately 
from  dinner  to  the  new  Baptist  church,  which  was  filled  to  over- 
flowing, and  were  introduced  by  the  Governor.  At  the  close  of 
the  lecture  Mrs.  Jenkins  said,  "Now  I  desire  to  introduce  the  au- 
dience to  the  speakers."  She  then  called  the  names  of  the  Gov- 
ernor and  all  his  staff,  the  attorney-general,  the  United  States 
judges,  the  senators  and  congressmen,  the  mayor  and  members 
of  the  city  council.  Each  arose  as  his  name  was  mentioned,  and 
before  she  was  through  it  seemed  as  if  half  the  audience  were  on 
their  feet,  and  the  applause  was  most  enthusiastic. 

Miss  Anthony  often  spoke  of  this  as  one  of  the  proudest  mo- 
ments of  her  life — when  it  was  not  necessary  to  beg  the  men  in 
her  audience  to  do  justice  to  women,  but  when  these  men,  the 
most  eminent  in  the  State,  rose  in  a  body  to  pay  their  respects  to 
the  women  whom  they  had  enfranchised  without  appeal,  and  to 
those  other  women  who  were  devoting  their  lives  to  secure  polit- 
ical freedom  for  all  of  their  sex. 

During  the  more  than  thirty  years  which  have  elapsed  since 
the  suffrage  was  given  to  women,  not  one  reputable  person 
in  the  State  ever  has  produced  any  evidence  or  even  said  over 
his  or  her  own  signature  that  woman  suffrage  is  other  than  an 
unimpeachable  success  in  Wyoming. 

.  Every  Governor  of  the  Territory  for  twenty  years  bore  witness 
to  its  good  results.  Governors  of  Territories  are  appointed  by 
the  President,  not  elected  by  the  people,  and  as  they  were  not  de- 
pendent on  women's  votes,  their  testimony  was  impartial. 

Year  after  year  the  State  officials,  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  ministers,  editors  and  other  prominent  citizens  have  testi- 


IOO6  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

fied  in  the  strongest  possible  manner  to  the  beneficial  results  of 
woman  suffrage.* 

Gov.  Francis  E.  Warren  said  in  1885 :  "I  have  seen  much  of 
the  workings  of  woman  suffrage.  I  have  yet  to  hear  of  the  first 
case  of  domestic  discord  growing  therefrom.  Our  women  nearly 
all  vote."  He  also  reported  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior: 
"The  men  are  as  favorable  to  woman  suffrage  as  the  women 
are.  Wyoming  appreciates,  believes  in  and  indorses  woman 
suffrage."  In  his  official  report  the  next  year  he  stated: 
"Woman  suffrage  continues  as  popular  as  at  first.  The  women 
nearly  all  vote  and  neither  party  objects."  And  in  1889:  "No 
one  will  deny  that  woman's  influence  in  voting  always  has  been 
on  the  side  of  good  government.  The  people  favor  its  continu- 
ance." In  the  same  year,  while  still  Governor,  he  wrote : 

After  twenty  years'  trial  of  woman  suffrage  in  Wyoming  Terri- 
tory, it  is  pronounced  an  unqualified  success  by  men  and  women 

alike,  and  of  both  political  parties I  sincerely  hope 

that  all  the  new  States  will  so  provide  that  it  may  prevail  immedi- 
ately, or  that  it  can  be  extended  at  any  time  hereafter  when  their 
Legislatures  desire,  if  they  are  not  now  ready  to  take  the  step. 

The  women  of  Wyoming  have  been  exceedingly  discreet  and  wise 
in  their  suffrage,  so  much  so  that  the  different  Legislatures  have  not 
attempted  its  overthrow,  although  majorities  have  sometimes  been 
largely  Republican  and  at  other  times  largely  Democratic. 

During  all  his  years  as  United  States  senator  Mr.  Warren 
never  has  failed  to  give  his  testimony  and  influence  in  favor  of 
the  enfranchisement  of  women. 

In  1889  Delegate  Joseph  M.  Carey  wrote  from  the  House  of 
Representatives  at  Washington:  "Wyoming  Territory  has  for 
twenty  years  had  full  woman  suffrage.  It  has  commended  itself 
to  the  approval  of  our  people  of  all  parties  ....  I  sincerely 
hope  the  new  States  will  adopt  suffrage  principles  without  regard 

*  From  1876  to  1883  Edgar  Wilson  Nye  (Bill  Nye)  was  editor  of  the  Laramie  Boome- 
rang, in  which  he  published  the  following  as  the  result  of  his  eight  years'  observation  of 
woman's  voting: 

"Female  suffrage,  I  may  safely  and  seriously  assert,  according  to  the  best  judgment  of 
the  majority  in  Wyoming  Territory,  is  an  unqualified  success.  An  effort  to  abolish  it 
would  be  at  once  hooted  down.  Its  principal  opposition  comes  from  those  who  do  not 
know  anything  about  it.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  Wyoming  is  justly  proud  because 
it  has  thus  early  recognized  woman  and  given  her  a  chance  to  be  heard.  While  she  does 
not  seek  to  hold  office  or  act  as  juror,  she  votes  quietly,  intelligently  and  pretty  inde- 
pendently. Moreover,  she  does  not  recognize  the  machine  at  all,  seldom  goes  to  caucuses, 
votes  for  men  who  are  satisfactory,  regardless  of  the  ticket,  and  thus  scares  the  daylights 
out  of  rings  and  machines." 


WYOMING.  lOO/ 

to  sex,  or  provide  by  a  clause  in  their  respective  constitutions 
that  the  Legislatures  may  by  statute  confer  the  right  of  franchise 
upon  women."  Throughout  his  subsequent  term  in  the  United 
States  Senate  he  was  consistent  in  this  attitude  and  has  remained 
so  ever  since. 

Following  the  example  of  every  Territorial  Governor,  Amos 
W.  Barber,  the  first  State  Governor,  declared : 

Woman  suffrage  does  not  degrade  woman.  On  the  contrary,  it 
ennobles  her  and  brings  out  all  the  strong  attributes  of  true  woman- 
hood. To  their  credit  be  it  said,  the  women  are  almost  a  unit  for 
ability,  honesty  and  integrity  wherever  found,  in  high  life  or  low 
life.  A  man  must  walk  straight  in  Wyoming,  for  the  women  hold 
the  balance  of  power  and  they  are  using  it  wisely  and  judiciously. 
The  cause  of  education  is  their  first  aim.  They  are  making  our 
schools  the  model  of  the  country,  and,  too,  they  can  make  a  dollar 
go  much  further  than  their  husbands  can. 

In  1900  a  petition  was  circulated  in  the  State,  asking  Congress 
to  submit  a  Sixteenth  Amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution, 
prohibiting  the  disfranchisement  of  United  States  citizens  on 
account  of  sex.  It  was  signed  by  the  Governor,  the  Secretary  of 
State,  the  Auditor  of  State,  the  State  Superintendent  of  Instruc- 
tion, the  State  engineer,  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the 
United  States  district  attorney,  the  United  States  surveyor  gen- 
eral, the  director  and  the  observer  of  the  United  States  Weather 
Bureau,  the  mayor  of  Cheyenne  and  a  long  list  of  editors,  minis- 
ters, lawyers,  physicians,  bankers  and  the  most  prominent  women 
in  the  State.  Mrs.  Carey,  who  had  the  petition  in  charge,  wrote 
to  Miss  Anthony:  "Thousands  of  names  could  be  secured  if  it 
were  necessary." 

Literally  speaking  the  testimony  from  Wyoming  in  favor  of 
woman  suffrage  is  limited  only  by  the  space  for  this  chapter.* 

In  1901  this  joint  resolution  was  passed : 

WHEREAS,  Wyoming  was  the  first  State  to  adopt  woman  suffrage, 
which  has  been  in  operation  since  1869  and  was  adopted  in  the  con- 
stitution of  the  State  in  1890;  during  which  time  women  have  exer- 
cised the  privilege  as  generally  as  men,  with  the  result  that  better 
candidates  have  been  elected  for  office,  methods  of  election  purified, 
the  character  of  legislation  improved,  civic  intelligence  increased 
and  womanhood  developed  to  greater  usefulness  by  political  re- 
sponsibility ;  therefore, 

*  See  Appendix — Testimony  from  Woman  Suffrage  States. 


IO08  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Resolved,  By  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Senate  concur- 
ring, That,  in  view  of  these  results,  the  enfranchisement  of  women 
in  every  State  and  Territory  of  the  American  Union  is  hereby  rec- 
ommended as  a  measure  tending  to  the  advancement  of  a  higher 
and  better  social  order ; 

Resolved,  That  an  authenticated  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  for- 
warded by  the  Governor  of  the  State  to  the  Legislature  of  every 
State  and  Territory,  and  that  the  press  be  requested  to  call  public 
attention  to  these  resolutions. 

EDWARD  W.  STONE,  President  of  the  Senate. 
J.  S.  ATHERLEY,  Speaker  of  the  House. 
Approved  Feb.  13,  1901. 

DEFOREST  RICHARDS,  Governor. 

For  a  number  of  years  women  served  on  grand  and  petit 
juries.  In  compiling  the  first  volume  of  the  Laws  of  Wyoming, 
Secretary  and  Acting  Governor  Edward  M.  Lee  said : 

In  the  provisions  of  the  woman  suffrage  clause,  enacted  in  1869, 
we  placed  this  youngest  Territory  on  earth  in  the  van  of  civilization 
and  progress.  That  this  statement  has  been  verified  by  practical 
experience  the  testimony  is  unanimous,  continuous  and  conclusive. 
Not  a  link  is  wanting  in  the  chain  of  evidence  and,  as  a  Governor  of 
the  Territory  once  said :  "The  only  dissenting  voices  against 
woman  suffrage  have  been  those  of  convicts  who  have  been  tried 
and  found  guilty  by  women  jurors."  Women  exercised  the  right 
of  jurors  and  contributed  to  the  speedy  release  of  the  Territory  from 
the  regime  of  the  pistol  and  bowie-knife.  They  not  only  performed 
their  new  duties  without  losing  any  of  the  womanly  virtues,  and 
with  dignity  and  decorum,  but  good  results  were  immediately  seen. 
Chief  Justice  J.  H.  Howe,  of  the  Supreme  Court,  under  whose 
direction  women  were  first  drawn  on  juries,  wrote  in  1872:  "After 
the  grand  jury  had  been  in  session  two  days  the  dance-house  keep- 
ers, gamblers  and  demi-monde  fled  out  of  the  State  in  dismay  to 
escape  the  indictment  of  women  jurors.  In  short,  I  have  never,  in 
twenty-five  years'  experience  in  the  courts  of  the  country,  seen  a 
more  faithful  and  resolutely  honest  grand  and  petit  jury  than  these." 

The  best  women  in  the  Territory  served  as  jurors,  and  they 
were  treated  with  the  most  profound,  respect  and  highly  compli- 
mented for  their  efficiency.  The  successor  of  Chief  Justice  Howe 
was  opposed  to  their  serving  and  none  were  summoned  by  him. 
Jury  duty  is  not  acceptable  to  men,  as  a  rule,  and  the  women 
themselves  were  not  anxious  for  it,  so  the  custom  gradually  fell 
into  disuse.  The  juries  are  made  up  from  the  tax  lists,  which 
contain  only  a  small  proportion  of  women.  There  are  no  court 


WYOMING.  1009 

decisions  against  women  as  jurors,  and  they  are  still  summoned 
occasionally  in  special  cases. 

Women  have  not  taken  a  conspicuous  part  in  politics.  The 
population  is  scattered,  there  are  no  large  cities  and  necessarily 
no  great  associations  of  women  for  organized  work.  They  are 
conscientious  in  voting  for  men  who,  in  their  opinion,  have  the 
best  interests  of  the  community  at  heart.  More  latitude  must 
necessarily  be  permitted  in  new  States,  but  in  1900  they  decided 
that  it  was  time  to  call  a  halt  on  the  evil  of  gambling,  and  as  the 
result  of  their  efforts  a  law  was  passed  by  the  present  Legislature 
(1901)  forbidding  it.  The  Chicago  Tribune  gave  a  correct  sum- 
ming-up of  this  matter  in  the  following  editorial : 

The  women  of  Wyoming  are  to  be  credited  with  securing  one  re- 
form which  is  a  sufficient  answer,  in  that  State  at  least,  to  the  criti- 
cism that  woman  suffrage  has  no  influence  upon  legislation  and  fails 
to  elevate  political  action.  There  will  be  no  legalized  gambling  in 
Wyoming  after  the  first  of  January  next,  the  Legislature  having 
just  passed  a  law  which  makes  gambling  of  every  kind  punishable 
by  fine  and  imprisonment  after  the  above  date. 

This  has  been  the  work  of  the  women.  When  they  began  their 
agitation  about  a  year  and  a  half  ago,  gambling  was  not  only  per- 
mitted but  was  licensed.  The  evil  was  so  strongly  entrenched  and 
the  revenue  accruing  to  the  State  so  large  that  there  was  little  hope 
at  first  that  anything  would  be  accomplished.  The  leaders  of  the 
crusade,  however,  organized  their  forces  skilfully  in  every  town  and 
village.  Their  petitions  for  the  repeal  of  the  gambling  statute  and 
for  the  passage  of  a  prohibitory  act  were  circulated  everywhere, 
and  were  signed  by  thousands  of  male  as  well  as  female  voters. 
When  the  Legislature  met,  the  women  were  there  in  force,  armed 
with  their  voluminous  petitions.  The  gamblers  also  were  there  in 
force  and  sought  to  defeat  the  women  by  the  use  of  large  sums  of 
money,  but  womanly  tact  and  persuasion  and  direct  personal  appeals 
carried  the  day  against  strong  opposition.  The  Legislature  passed 
the  bill,  but  it  was  the  women  who  won  the  victory. 

The  most  prejudiced  must  admit  that  women  could  not  have 
done  this  if  they  had  not  represented  at  least  as  many  votes  as 
the  gambling  fraternity. 

LAWS:  The  first  Legislature  (1869),  which  conferred  the 
suffrage  upon  women,  gave  wives  exactly  the  same  rights  as  hus- 
bands in  their  separate  property. 

Dower  and  curtesy  have  been  abolished.  If  either  husband  or 
wife  die  without  a  will,  leaving  descendants,  one-half  of  the  es- 
tate, both  real  and  personal,  goes  to  the  survivor.  If  there  are 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 64 


IOIO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

no  descendants,  three-fourths  go  to  the  survivor,  one-fourth  to 
the  father  and  mother  or  their  survivors,  unless  the  estate,  both 
real  and  personal,  does  not  exceed  $10,000,  in  which  case  it  all 
passes  to  the  widow  or  widower.  A  homestead  to  the  value  of 
$1,500  is  exempted  for  the  survivor  and  minor  children. 

A  married  woman  may  sue  and  be  sued,  make  contracts  and 
carry  on  business  in  her  own  name. 

The  father  is  the  guardian  of  the  minor  children,  and  at  his 
death  the  mother.  There  is  no  law  requiring  a  husband  to  sup- 
port his  family.* 

The  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  was  raised  from  10  to  14 
years  in  1882,  and  from  14  to  1 8  in  1890.  The  penalty  varies 
from  imprisonment  for  one  year  to  life.  Seduction  under  prom- 
ise of  marriage  up  to  the  age  of  21  years  is  a  penitentiary  offense. 
Male  and  female  habitues  of  a  house  of  ill-repute  are  considered 
guilty  of  the  same  offense,  but  the  man  is  liable  for  a  fine  of 
$100  and  imprisonment  for  sixty  days,  while  the  woman  is  liable 
for  only  half  this  punishment. 

SUFFRAGE:    Women  have  had  the  Full  Franchise  since  1869. 

No  separate  record  is  kept  of  their  votes,  as  they  have  exercised 
the  suffrage  so  long  that  this  would  seem  no  more  necessary  than 
to  keep  one  of  the  men's  votes.  The  census  of  1900  gives  the 
percentage  of  men  in  the  State  as  63  (in  round  numbers)  and  of 
women  as  37.  The  estimate  of  those  who  are  best  informed  is 
that  90  per  cent,  of  the  women  who  are  eligible  use  the  suffrage. 

OFFICE  HOLDING  :  Since  the  organization  of  the  Territory  in 
1869  women  have  been  eligible  to  all  official  positions,  but  there 
never  has  been  any  scramble  for  office. 

No  woman  ever  has  served  in  the  Legislature. 

Miss  Estelle  Reel  was  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion for  four  years.  She  is  now  National  Superintendent  of 
Indian  Schools,  appointed  by  President  William  McKinley,  and 
has  300  of  these  under  her  charge. 

Miss  Grace  Raymond  Hebard  is  librarian  of  the  State  Univer- 
sity, and  for  the  past  ten  years  has  filled  the  position  of  secretary 
of  the  board  of  trustees,  upon  which  women  serve. 

*  When  the  attention  of  a  distinguished  jurist  of  Wyoming  was  called  to  these  laws  he 
•aid  the  question  never  had  been  raised,  but  there  would  be  no  objection  to  changing  them. 


WYOMING.  IOII 

Miss  Bertha  Mills  is  clerk  of  the  State  Land  Board,  with 
a  salary  equal  to  that  of  any  clerk  or  deputy  in  the  State  House. 

Miss  Rose  Foote  was  assistant  clerk  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  last  Legislature,  and  as  a  reader  she  left  noth- 
ing to  be  desired.  Women  frequently  serve  as  legislative  enroll- 
ing clerks.  There  have  been  women  clerks  of  the  courts. 

Women  hold  several  important  clerkships  in  the  State  Capitol 
and  are  found  as  stenographers,  etc.,  in  all  the  State,  county  and 
municipal  offices. 

In  many  districts  they  serve  on  the  school  board,  and  nearly 
all  of  the  counties  elect  them  to  the  responsible  position  of  super- 
intendent. As  such  they  conduct  the  institutes,  examine  teachers 
and  have  a  general  supervision  of  the  schools. 

OCCUPATIONS  :  The  only  industry  legally  forbidden  to  women 
is  that  of  working  in  mines. 

EDUCATION  :  All  educational  advantages  are  the  same  for 
both  sexes. 

By  a  law  of  1869  Wyoming  requires  equal  pay  for  men  and 
women  in  all  employment  pertaining  to  the  State.  This  in- 
cludes the  public  schools,  in  which  there  are  102  men  and  434 
women  teachers.  But  here  as  elsewhere  the  men  hold  the  higher 
positions  and  their  average  monthly  salary  is  $60.40,  while  that 
of  the  women  is  $42.86. 


CHAPTER  LXXIII. 
GREAT   BRITAIN. 

EFFORTS  FOR  THE  PARLIAMENTARY  FRANCHISE.* 

BY   MISS   HELEN    BLACKBURN,   EDITOR  OF  THE   ENGLISHWOMAN'S   REVIEW, 

LONDON. 

The  chapter  on  Great  Britain  contributed  by  Miss  Caroline 
Ashurst  Biggs  to  Vol.  Ill  of  this  History  of  Woman  Suffrage 
brought  the  story  down  to  the  passage  of  the  Representation-of- 
the-People  Act  of  1884  which  extended  Household  Suffrage  to 
the  Counties  and  created  the  Service  Franchise,  thus  giving  the 
ballot  to  a  large  number  of  agricultural  labourers  and  men  who 
had  their  residence  on  premises  of  which  their  employers  paid 
the  rent  and  taxes,  but  which  still  left  all  such  women  without 
any  franchise  whatsoever. 

With  the  passing  of  that  Act  may  be  said  to  have  begun  a  new 
phase  in  the  movement.  During  the  '/o's  there  had  been  a  debate 
and  division  on  the  Women's  Suffrage  Bill  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons nearly  every  year.  After  the  General  Election  of  1880 
the  question  of  Household  Suffrage  in  the  Counties  came  to  the 
front,  and  all  the  efforts  of  the  Women's  Suffrage  Societies  were 
directed  and  inspired  by  the  anticipation  that  when  the  claims 
of  the  agricultural  labourer  were  dealt  with,  those  of  women 
would  find  their  opportunity.  But  far  from  this,  they  were  left 
practically  in  a  worse  position  than  before,  for  now  2,000.000 
new  voters  were  added  to  the  number  of  those  who  could  make 
prior  claim  to  the  attention  of  their  representatives. 

1885. — Immediately  after  the  General  Election  which  followed 

*  The  women  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  possess  every  franchise  except  that  for  mem- 
bers of  Parliament  Local  suffrage  is  restricted  to  spinsters  and  widows,  but  the  im- 
portant vote  for  Parish  and  District  Councils,  created  by  the  Local  Government  Act  of 
1894,  is  possessed  by  married  women  "provided  husband  and  wife  shall  not  both  be  quali- 
fied in  respect  to  the  same  piece  of  property."  It  may  be  stated  in  general  terms  that  all 
electors  must*  be  rate-payers,  although  there  are  some  exceptions  applying  to  a  small  per- 
centage of  persons.  [Eds. 

IOI2 


GREAT    BRITAIN.  IOI3 

the  passing  of  the  new  Reform  Bill,  Mr.  Gladstone  gave  notice 
of  his  Bill  for  Home  Rule  for  Ireland  and  the  party  feeling 
aroused  was  of  such  intensity  that  the  Liberal  party  was  cloven 
in  twain.  The  Women's  Suffrage  movement  was  affected  by 
the  keen  party  strife,  in  which  women  were  as  deeply  interested 
as  men,  and  the  question  of  their  enfranchisement  was  no  longer 
the  only  rallying  point  for  their  political  activity.  This  period 
is  marked  by  a  rapid  development  of  organisations  amongst 
women  for  party  purposes.  In  the  Primrose  League,  which  had 
been  started  in  1883,  women  had  been  assigned  unprecedented 
recognition  as  co-operating  with  men  on  equal  footing  for  polit- 
ical purposes.  It  does  not  promote  special  measures  but  lays 
down  for  its  principle  the  Maintenance  of  Religion,  of  the  Es- 
tates of  the  Realm  and  of  the  Imperial  Ascendancy  of  the  British 
Empire,  thus  indicating  its  Conservative  tendency.  The  Wom- 
en's Liberal  Federation,  founded  in  1885  to  promote  liberal 
principles,  endeavours  to  further  special  measures.  The  Women's 
Liberal  Unionist  Association  founded  in  1888  had  for  its  princi- 
pal object  the  defence  of  the  legislative  union  between  England 
and  Ireland. 

Thus  women  entered  actively  into  the  work  of  the  three 
respective  parties,  and  this  re-acted  in  various  ways  on  the 
Women's  Suffrage  propaganda.  It  might  seem  that  this  had  a 
depressing  effect,  for  the  rigid  neutrality  in  regard  to  party 
which  always  had  characterised  the  National  Societies  for  Wom- 
en's Suffrage  might  easily  seem  dull  and  tame  to  the  ardent  party 
enthusiasts,  and  many  of  the  Liberal  women  threw  their  energies 
by  preference  into  the  Women's  Liberal  Associations,  but  the  old 
charge  that  women  had  no  interest  in  politics,  now  received  its 
complete  quietus.  It  seems  indeed  a  far  cry  from  the  manners 
of  sixty  years  ago,  when  to  talk  politics  to  a  woman  was  con- 
sidered rude,  to  the  manners  of  to-day  when  the  Primrose  League 
balances  its  75,000  Knights  with  63,000  Dames,  besides  as- 
sociates innumerable,  both  men  and  "women ;  and  the  Women's 
Liberal  Federation  with  its  448  Associations  has  actively  worked 
for  candidates  in  a  great  number  of  counties  in  England. 

1886. — The  number  of  members  returned  after  the  General 
Election  of  1885  who  were  understood  to  be  favorably  inclined 


1OI4  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

towards  the  enfranchisement  of  women,  exceeded  any  previous  ex- 
perience and  on  February  i8th  the  motion  to  adjourn  discussion 
was  rejected  by  159  ayes,  102  noes,  and  the  bill  passed  second 
reading  without  further  division;  but  before  going  into  Com- 
mittee another  dissolution  of  Parliament  took  place. 

The  General  Election  which  followed  was  even  more  favorable, 
the  friendly  Members  returned  being  in  an  actual  majority,  and 
yet  session  after  session  passed  and  the  pressure  of  Government 
business  consumed  Parliamentary  time. 

1887-1890. — The  need  of  a  central  point,  such  as  is  afforded 
when  there  is  a  bill  before  the  House,  round  which  all  the 
suffrage  forces  could  rally  independent  of  party,  made  it  difficult 
for  them  to  maintain  their  cohesion.  The  Central  Committee 
of  the  National  Society  for  Women's  Suffrage  had  been  such  a 
point  but  it  could  not  escape  the  distracting  outside  influences, 
and  a  revision  of  its  rules  took  place  in  December,  1888,  with 
the  result  that  the  Society  as  hitherto  existing  dissolved  and 
reformed  in  two  separate  organisations.  One  of  these  estab- 
lished new  rules  which  enabled  it  to  affiliate  with  Societies 
formed  for  other  purposes;  and  one  adhered  to  the  old  rules 
which  admitted  only  organisations  formed  with  the  sole 
object  of  obtaining  the  Franchise.  But  if,  as  was  held,  the  in- 
ternal re-organisation  of  the  Societies  redounded  to  greater 
strength,  even  more  so  did  an  unprecedented  attack  from  the 
outside,  in  the  Summer  of  1889,  when  the  Nineteenth  Century 
opened  its  pages  to  a  protest  against  the  enfranchisement  of 
women,  to  which  a  few  ladies  in  London  society  had  been  dili- 
gently canvassing  for  signatures.  The  appearance  of  this  protest 
was  naturally  the  sign  for  an  immediate  counterblast,  and  the 
two  Central  Societies  in  London  put  a  form  of  declaration  into 
immediate  circulation.  The  Fortnightly  Review  gave  space  to 
a  reply  from  the  pen  of  Mrs.  Millicent  Garrett  Fawcett  and  to 
a  selection  from  the  signatures  which  poured  into  the  Suffrage 
Offices  with  a  rapidity  that  was  amazing,  as  in  sending  out  the 
forms  for  signature  numbers  had  not  been  aimed  at  but  rather  it 
was  sought  to  make  the  list  representative.  The  Nineteenth 
Century  had  contained  the  names  of  104  ladies,  mostly  known 
as  wives  of  public  men,  while  those  who  had  taken  part  in 


GREAT    BRITAIN.  IOI5 

work  for  the  good  of  the  community  and  to  advance  the  interests 
of  women  were  conspicuous  by  their  absence.  The  Fortnightly 
gave  space  for  about  600  names  asking  for  the  suffrage,  selected 
from  over  2,000  received  within  a  few  days.* 

This  was  the  last  work  in  which  the  distinguished  reformer, 
Miss  Caroline  Ashurst  Biggs,  took  part,  as  she  died  in  September, 
1889.  Miss  Lydia  Becker,  editor  of  The  Women's  Suffrage 
Journal,  which  she  had  founded  in  1870,  passed  away  the  follow- 
ing Summer.  These  two  deaths  were  an  irreparable  loss  to  the 
movement  for  the  enfranchisement  of  women. 

1891. — Parliamentary  prospects  grew  brighter  and  Mr.  Will- 
iam Woodall,  who  had  charge  of  the  Suffrage  Bill,  obtained 
May  1 3th  for  its  consideration.  The  first  Lord  of  the  Treasury, 
Mr.  W.  H.  Smith,  had  received  a  deputation  appointed  by  the 
Suffrage  Societies  April  2Oth,  to  present  him  with  a  largely 
signed  memorial  praying  that  Her  Majesty's  Government  would 
reserve  the  day  appointed  for  the  discussion  of  a  measure  "which 
suffers  under  the  special  disadvantage  that  those  whom  it  chiefly 
concerns  have  no  voting  power  with  which  to  fortify  their 
claims."  They  received  the  assurance  that  the  House  would  not 
adjourn  before  the  I3th,  and  that  the  Government  had  no  inten- 
tion of  taking  the  day  for  their  business. 

On  April  3Oth,  however,  when  the  Government  proposed  to 
take  certain  specified  days  for  their  business,  Mr.  Gladstone  ob- 
jected, insisting  that  they  should  be  uniform  in  their  action  and 
take  all  Wednesdays,  up  to  Whitsuntide.  This  afforded  a  mani- 
fest opportunity  for  shelving  the  Suffrage  Bill  which  the  oppo- 

*  These  were  classified  in  groups:  (i)  The  general  list.  (2)  Wives  of  clergymen  and 
church  dignitaries.  This  list  was  headed  by  Mrs.  Benson  and  Mrs.  Thomson,  the  wives 
of  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury  and  York.  (3)  Officials,  including  ladies  who  are 
Poor-Law  Guardians  and  members  of  School  Boards.  (4)  Education,  including  the 
names  of  such  leaders  in  the  movement  for  the  higher  education  of  women  as  Mrs.  Wm. 
Grey,  Miss  Emily  Davies,  Mrs.  Henry  Sidgwick — the  Mistress  of  Girton,  the  Prin- 
cipal of  Newnham  College;  upwards  of  sixty  university  lecturers  and  teachers  and  head 
mistresses  of  High  Schools,  upwards  of  eighty  university  graduates  and  certificated  stu- 
dents; and  there  were  omitted  for  want  of  space  the  names  of  over  200  other  women  en- 
gaged in  the  teaching  profession.  (5)  Registered  medical  practitioners,  herded  by  Mrs. 
Garrett  Anderson,  M.  D.;  Miss  Elizabeth  Blackwell,  M.  D.,  and  Mrs.  Scharlieb,  M.  D., 
together  with  a  number  of  ladies  engaged  in  the  department  of  nursing.  (6)  Social  and 
philanthropic  workers.  (7)  Literature,  including  Miss  Anna  Swanwick,  Mrs.  Anne 
Thackeray  Ritchie,  Miss  S.  D.  Collet,  Miss  Olive  Schreiner,  Mrs.  Emily  Crawford,  Miss 
Amelia  B.  Edwards.  (7)  Art  and  music.  (8)  Landowners,  women  engaged  in  business 
and  working  women,  the  latter  class  represented  by  the  secretaries  of  nine  women  trades' 
societies,  and  over  180  individual  signatures  of  women  artisans. 


IOl6  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

nents  were  quick  to  perceive  and,  although  Mr.  Smith  declared 
himself  unable  to  take  this  day,  Sir  Henry  James  moved  that  all 
Wednesdays  be  taken.  This  was  carried  and  the  Government, 
for  probably  the  first  time  in  Parliamentary  History,  had  a  day 
forced  on  them. 

1892. — Better  fortunes  attended  the  endeavours  of  the  Parlia- 
mentary leaders  in  the  following  session.  Mr.  Woodall  having 
accepted  office  in  the  Government,  Sir  Algernon  Borthwick  ( now 
Lord  Glenesk)  undertook  the  necessary  arrangements  for  the  in- 
troduction of  the  Bill.  This  was  placed,  by  the  result  of  the 
ballot  for  a  day,  in  the  hands  of  Sir  Albert  Rollit,  who  set  it 
down  for  April  2/th  in  the  following  terms : 

Every  woman  who  ( i )  in  Great  Britain  is  registered  as  an  elector 
for  any  Town  Council  or  County  Council,  or  (2)  in  Ireland  is  a 
rate-payer  entitled  to  vote  at  an  election  for  guardians  of  the  poor, 
shall  be  entitled  to  be  registered  as  a  Parliamentary  elector  and, 
when  registered,  to  vote  at  any  Parliamentary  election  for  the 
County  borough  or  division  wherein  the  qualifying  property  is 
situate. 

This  Bill  was  brought  forward  for  second  reading  on  the  ap- 
pointed day  by  Sir  Albert  Rollit  with  a  powerful  statement  of  the 
question,  and  a  debate  followed  marked  by  a  high  and  serious 
tone.  For  this  brief  narrative  it  will  suffice  to  note  the  closing 
speech  from  the  Right  Hon.  A.  J.  Balfour,  who  concluded  by  say- 
ing that  whenever  any  important  extension  of  the  Franchise  was 
brought  up  "they  would  have  to  face  and  deal  with  the  problem  of 
Women's  Suffrage — and  deal  with  it  in  a  complete  fashion."  The 
division  showed  175  for  the  Bill,  192  against — a  result  which 
was  a  surprise  to  both  sides,  for  the  opponents  had  exerted  them- 
selves in  a  manner  beyond  all  precedent ;  they  had  sent  round  a 
whip  signed  by  twenty  members,  ten  on  each  side  of  the  House, 
and  Mr.  Gladstone  had  written  a  letter  to  Mr.  Samuel  Smith, 
that  had  been  circulated  as  a  pamphlet,  in  which  amongst  other 
points  he  urged  that  at  least  it  should  be  ascertained  "that  the 
womanly  mind  of  the  country  was  in  overwhelming  proportion 
and  with  deliberate  purpose  bent  on  procuring  the  vote." 

/#pj- 1895. — At  tne  opening  of  the  Parliament  it  was  a  great 
satisfaction  to  the  Women's  Suffrage  party  that  Viscount  Wol- 
mer  (now  the  Earl  of  Selborne)  had  undertaken  the  Parlia- 


GREAT    BRITAIN.  lOI? 

mentary  leadership  of  the  question.  It  will  hardly  be  needful 
here  to  go  into  all  the  causes  which  thwarted  the  vigilance  of  the 
leader  in  procuring  a  hearing  for  the  measure  in  that  Parliament. 

On  June  ist,  1895,  a  representative  Conference  was  held  at 
Westminster  Town  Hall  to  consider  a  plan  for  an  appeal  to  the 
House  of  Commons  from  women  all  over  the  United  Kingdom. 
Miss  Florence  Davenport  Hill,  who  presided,  briefly  explained 
that  the  object  of  such  an  appeal  was  to  convince  the  country  in  a 
more  emphatic  manner  than  could  be  possible  by  the  petitions, 
memorials  and  demonstrations  that  already  had  been  tried  again 
and  again,  all  of  which  were  necessarily  limited  in  their  scope. 
This  appeal  should  be  from  women  of  all  ranks  and  classes  in  all 
parts  of  the  United  Kingdom.  The  Appeal  for  the  Parliamen- 
tary Franchise  then  agreed  upon  was  managed  by  a  committee 
appointed  from  the  chief  organisations  amongst  women. 

1896. — This  effort  to  "focus  the  diffused  interest  of  women  in 
the  suffrage  into  one  concentrated  expression"  resulted  in  the  col- 
lection of  257,796  signatures,  nearly  every  constituency  in  the 
United  Kingdom  being  represented.  Although  the  Appeal  was 
in  readiness  for  presentation  in  the  session  of  1895,  a  suitable  op- 
portunity did  not  arise  until  1896,  when  a  fairly  good  place  had 
been  drawn  in  the  ballot  by  Mr.  Faithfull  Begg  and  the  Bill  was 
set  down  for  May  2Oth.  Permission  was  obtained  to  place  the 
Appeal  in  Westminster  Hall  on  May  I9th,  and  passes  were  given 
to  the  Committee  to  enable  them  to  show  it  to  any  Members  of 
Parliament  who  might  wish  to  inspect  it.  Accordingly — al- 
though it  was  already  known  that  all  Wednesdays  had  been  taken 
in  Government  business — the  Appeal  of  the  women  of  this  day 
and  generation  for  constitutional  rights  was  placed  in  that  grand 
old  Hall,  round  which  the  Parliamentary  associations  of  a  thou- 
sand years  are  clustered.  Many  Members  showed  great  interest 
in  studying  the  signatures  from  their  respective  constituencies. 

Irrespective  of  the  interest  called  forth,  other  good  results  fol- 
lowed, for  the  Women's  Suffrage  Societies  had  been  drawn  into 
pleasant  relation  with  a  great  many  new  friends  and  helpers  all 
over  the  country.  It  was  also  shown  that  women  who  differed 
widely  on  political  and  social  questions  could  work  cordially  and 
unanimously  for  this  common  object.  The  closer  union  which 


IOl8  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

this  work  had  brought  about  led  to  the  modification  of  the  Special 
Appeal  Committee  into  a  combined  Committee  for  Parlia- 
mentary Work.  A  Conference  held  in  the  Priory  Rooms,  Birm- 
ingham, October  i6th,  attended  by  delegates  from  all  the  Wom- 
en's Suffrage  Societies,  greatly  assisted  concerted  action. 

1897. — All  was  thus  in  good  working  order  when  at  the 
opening  of  the  session  an  excellent  place  was  drawn  in  the  ballot 
by  Mr.  Faithfull  Begg  (M.  P.  for  St.  Rollox  division  of  Glas- 
gow) and  the  Women's  Franchise  Bill  was  set  down  for  Febru- 
ary 3rd,  when  it  passed  second  reading  by  a  majority  of  71.  The 
old  opponents  sent  out  a  strong  whip  against  the  Bill  and  mus- 
tered in  force,  but  they  were  exceeded  by  the  old  friends,  nor  did 
the  division  show  the  whole  strength  of  the  movement,  as  many 
known  to  be  favorable  were  still  absent  at  that  early  date  of  the 
session.*  A  statement  issued  by  the  National  Union  of  Wom- 
en's Suffrage  Societies,  said : 

This  vote  places  the  question  of  Women's  Suffrage  in  a  new 
phase,  and  its  friends  have  only  to  continue  to  press  it  upon  the 
attention  of  Parliament  and  the  public  in  order  to  render  it  neces- 
sary at  no  distant  date  that  it  should  be  dealt  with  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  day.  This  has  been  the  history  of  nearly  all  important 
measures  of  reform.  They  have  very  rarely  been  placed  on  the 
Statute  Book  by  private  members ;  but  private  members  by  repeat- 
edly bringing  a  particular  question  before  the  House  give  the  oppor- 
tunity for  its  full  consideration  by  Parliament  and  the  country,  so 
that  in  due  time  it  takes  its  place  as  a  Government  measure.  It 
will  be  the  aim  of  the  Union  to  put  Women's  Suffrage  in  this  posi- 
tion, so  that  no  Government,  of  whatever  party,  shall  be  able  to 
touch  questions  relating  to  representation  without  at  the  same  time 
removing  the  electoral  disabilities  of  women. 

The  closer  coalition  that  Autumn  of  all  the  Societies  which 
make  Women's  Suffrage  their  sole  object  into  a  National  Union 
was  in  itself  a  symptom  of  that  new  phase,  and  the  combined  Sub- 

*  The  text  of  the  Bill  was  as  follows: 

(1)  This   Act    may   be   cited    as   the    Parliamentary    Franchise    (Extension-  to   Women) 
Act,   1897. 

(2)  On  and  after  the  passing  of  this  Act  every  woman  who  is  the  inhabitant  occupier, 
as   owner  or  tenant,   of  any  dwelling-house,   tenement   or  building  within   the  borough   or 
county  where  such  occupation  exists,   shall  be  entitled  to  be  registered  as  a  voter   in  the 
list  of  voters  for  such  borough  or  county  in   which  she  is  so  qualified   as  aforesaid,  and, 
wheK  registered,  to  vote  for  a  member  or  members  to  serve  in  Parliament. 

Provided  always  that  such  woman  is  not  subject  to  any  legal  incapacity  which  would 
disqualify  a  male  voter. 


GREAT    BRITAIN.  IOIQ 

Committee  was  now  further  modified  into  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  National  Union  of  Women's  Suffrage  Societies. 

1898-1899. — The  value  of  this  second  reading  has  been  perma- 
nent notwithstanding  that  its  progress  through  the  next  stage  of 
going  into  Committee  was  thwarted  by  what  even  the  Times  de- 
scribed as  an  "undignified  shuffle."  The  rule  that  Bills  which  have 
reached  Committee  stage  before  Whitsuntide  should  be  taken  on 
Wednesdays  after  Wrhitsuntide  in  their  turn,  so  that  if  any  one 
Bill  is  not  finished  on  the  day  it  is  taken  it  is  carried  to  the  next, 
was  so  worked  as  to  shut  out  the  Women's  Franchise  Bill  in 
1899,  and  the  rule  which  was  meant  to  give  equitable  share  to 
all  was  abused  by  purposely  protracted  talk  over  Bills  which  had 
no  claim  to  such  profuse  attention. 

This  was  the  last  opportunity  that  the  pressure  of  the  eventful 
years  with  which  the  century  closed  afforded  for  Parliamentary 
debate.  The  great  meeting  in  Queen's  Hall,  London,  June  29th, 
1899,  when  the  National  Union  of  Women's  Suffrage  Societies 
gave  hearty  welcome  to  their  fellow-workers  from  all  parts  of 
the  globe  during  the  International  Council  of  Women,  remains 
the  latest  event  of  public  significance. 


The  new  House  of  Commons,  1901,  includes  267  members  who 
have  voted  in  former  Parliaments  on  the  question  of  extending 
the  Parliamentary  Franchise  to  Women;  of  these  96  are  op- 
ponents, 171  are  supporters.  One  has  continued  to  be  a  con- 
sistent opponent  from  the  division  on  Mr.  John  Stuart  Mill's 
amendment  to  the  Reform  Bill  of  1867.  Two  have  continued 
to  be  consistent  supporters  from  the  same  division.  Of  members 
whose  first  time  of  voting  dates  from  one  or  other  of  the  numer- 
ous divisions  which  took  place  between  the  Reform  Acts  of 
1867  and  1884,  there  still  remain  20  opponents  and  25  supporters. 
Of  the  members  who  recorded  their  vote  for  the  first  time  on  the 
question  in  the  division  on  Sir  Albert  Rollit's  Bill  of  1892,  there 
remain  24  opponents  and  30  supporters.  Of  those  whose  first 
votes  date  from  the  division  on  Mr.  Faithfull  Begg's  Bill  in 
1897,  there  remain  51  opponents  and  114  supporters. 

Thus  the  ratio  of  supporters  gradually  strengthens,  and  this 
notwithstanding  the  retirement  of  twice  as  many  tried  friends 
as  of  steady  opponents.  If  to  these  considerations  it  is  added 


IO2O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

that  amongst  the  newly-elected  members,  for  each  one  who  is 
understood  to  be  an  opponent  there  are  at  least  three  understood 
to  be  friendly,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  march  of  time  strengthens 
the  ranks  of  the  Women's  Suffrage  cause  in  the  "House  of  Com- 
mons. 

Amongst  the  supporters  who  have  retired  from  Parliamentary 
life  are  three  past  leaders  of  the  Women's  Suffrage  Bill,  Mr. 
Leonard  Courtney,  Mr.  Woodall  and  Mr.  Faithfull  Begg.  Two 
past  leaders  now  have  seats  in  the  Cabinet,  Lord  Selborne  and 
Mr.  George  Wyndham.  The  Premier,  Lord  Salisbury,  has  been 
at  all  times  a  true  friend ;  the  leader  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
the  Right  Hon.  A.  J.  Balfour,  has  voted  and  spoken  in  favor  of 
the  question  in  that  body. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  death  of  Miss  Becker  and  of 
Miss  Biggs.  Miss  Isabella  M.  S.  Tod  of  Belfast,  who  passed 
away  on  December  8th,  1896,  was  a  bright  and  leading  spirit,  in 
Ireland  especially.  In  November,  1899,  the  Edinburgh  Commit- 
tee lost  their  much-loved  Hon.  Secretary,  Miss  Eliza  Wigham, 
who  had  held  that  office  for  more  than  thirty  years.  In  the  same 
month  Mr.  Jacob  Bright,  who  secured  the  Municipal  Franchise 
for  women,  also  passed  away. 

In  Ireland  the  Local  Government  Act  of  1898  gave  fresh  im- 
petus to  women's  public  work,  and  Mrs.  Haslam,  the  veteran 
Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Dublin  Women's  Suffrage  Society,  for  the 
past  twenty-six  years,  still  encourages  the  rising  workers  of  to- 
day. 

The  North  of  England  Women's  Suffrage  Society  has  just 
sent  a  petition  with  over  29,000  signatures  entirely  from  women 
working  in  Lancashire  cotton  factories.  The  petition,  which 
looked  like  a  garden  roller  from  its  size,  was  brought  up  by  a 
deputation  of  fifteen  of  the  women,  and  by  them  placed  in  the 
hands  of  their  Parliamentary  friends  for  presentation. 

In  London  the  branches  have  amalgamated  into  one  Central 
Society — President,  Lady  Frances  Balfour;  Chairman,  Mrs. 
Millicent  Garrett  Fawcett — and  life  and  effort  'are  apparent  in 
every  direction.* 

*  The  first  petition  for  woman  suffrage  presented  to  Parliament,  in  1867,  was  signed  by 
only  1,499  women.  The  petition  of  1873  was  signed  by  11,000  women.  The  petition  pre- 
sented to  the  members  of  the  last  Parliament  was  signed  by  257,796  women.  [Eds. 


GREAT    BRITAIN.  IO2I 

The  new  century  has  opened  with  a  heavy  shadow  of  sorrow 
for  the  British  people  in  the  death  of  their  much-loved  sovereign, 
Queen  Victoria.  Her  reign  will  always  be  conspicious  as  an  era 
of  change  of  tone  in  regard  to  the  studies  and  pursuits  of  women. 
The  extent  to  which  that  change  is  due  to  the  presence  on  the 
throne  of  a  woman  full  of  goodness — one  for  whom  Truth  was 
her  guide  and  Duty  her  rule  in  every  action  of  her  life — will  stand 
out  more  clearly  perhaps  to  future  generations.  But  this  we 
know,  that  during  the  Victorian  era  the  idea  of  separateness  in  the 
interests  of  men  and  women  has  grown  less  and  less,  while  co- 
operation and  sympathy  have  grown  more  and  more,  so  that 
these  words  of  one  of  the  pioneer  thinkers  on  this  subject,  Mrs. 
Jameson,  have  become  a  key-note  to  the  suffrage  movement: 
"Whatsoever  things  are  good,  whatsoever  things  are  wise,  what- 
sover  things  are  holy,  must  be  accomplished  by  communion  be- 
tween brave  men  and  brave  women." 

LAWS  SPECIALLY  AFFECTING  WOMEN. 

Half  a  century  ago  married  women  had  no  right  to  their  earn- 
ings, nor  to  dispose  of  their  property ;  all  belonged  to  the  husband 
unless  settled  on  the  wife  and  then  it  was  in  keeping  of  trustees. 
Mothers  had  no  rights  in  their  children.  All  professions  were 
closed  to  women. 

i#jp. — Custody  of  Infants  Act  empowered  the  Lord  Chancel- 
lor to  leave  custody  of  her  child  to  the  mother,  up  to  the  age  of 
seven,  in  case  of  divorce. 

1873. — Custody  of  Infants  Act  allowed  the  mother  custody  of 
her  child  to  the  age  of  sixteen  in  case  of  divorce. 

1886. — Guardianship  of  Infants  Act  gave  the  right  to  a  sur- 
viving mother  to  be  joint  guardian  in  addition  to  any  appointed 
by  the  father.  The  Act  also  enabled  her  to  appoint  a  guardian 
in  case  of  the  father's  death  or  incapacity;  it  also  required  the 
Court  to  have  regard  to  the  wishes  of  the  mother  as  well  as  of 
the  father. 

1870-1874. — Married  Women's  Property  Acts  secured  to  them 
all  rights  to  property  acquired  by  their  own  skill  and  industry, 
and  to  all  investments  of  their  own  money  in  their  own  names. 

1882. — Married    Women's    Property    Act    consolidated    and 


IO22  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

amended  the  previous  act,  enabling  married  women  to  acquire, 
hold  and  dispose  by  will  or  otherwise  of  any  real  or  personal 
property  without  the  intervention  of  a  trustee. 

1876. — Medical  Education  Act  permitted  medical  degrees  to 
be  conferred  on  women. 

1890. — Intestates  Act  provided  that  when  a  man  dies  intestate 
leaving  a  widow  and  no  children,  all  his  estate  if  under  £500, 
goes  to  the  widow,  if  over  £500  she  shall  have  £500  in  addition  to 
her  share  in  the  residue.* 

LAWS    RELATING   TO    LOCAL   GOVERNMENT.        (SUFFRAGE.) 

1869. — Municipal  Corporations  Act  restored  to  women  rate- 
payers of  England  the  vote  in  Municipal  Elections  which  had 
been  taken  away  by  the  Municipal  Corporation  Act  of  1835. 

1870. — Elementary  Education  Act  created  School  Boards  and 
placed  women  on  a  complete  equality  both  as  electors  and  as 
eligible  for  election. 

1881-1882. — The  Municipal  Act  for  Scotland  gave  to  women 
the  same  Municipal  Franchise  possessed  by  those  of  England 
since  1869.  They  already  had  the  School  Franchise. 

1888. — The  County  Electors  Act  gave  women  equal  franchises 
with  men  for  the  election  of  Councillors  for  the  County  Councils 
created  by  the  Local  Government  Act  of  that  year. 

1894. — Local  Government  Act  which  reorganised  the  Paro- 
chial Poor-Law  Administration  in  the  Counties,  confirmed  the 
rights  of  women  to  all  Local  Franchises  and  their  eligibility  as 
Poor-Law  Guardians ;  and  made  them  also  eligible  as  Parish  and 
District  Councillors. 

1896. — Poor-Law  Guardian  Act  for  Ireland  made  women  for 
the  first  time  eligible  as  Poor-Law  Guardian. 

i8p8. — Irish  Local  Government  Act  reorganized  the  system  of 
Local  Government  in  Ireland  on  similar  lines  to  that  in  England. 
Women  who  had  hitherto  been  excluded  from  the  Municipal 
Franchise  now  had  all  Local  Franchises  conferred  on  them  and 
were  made  eligible  for  Rural  and  Urban  District  Councils. 

*  No  reference  has  been  made  in  the  above  table  to  the  various  Factory  Acts  which  im- 
pose restrictions  on  women's  labour — these  belong  to  a  different  department — but  whether 
their  interference  with  the  labor  of  women  be  for  good  or  for  evil,  that  interference  is  an 
additional  argument  for  allowing  them  a  voice  in  the  election  of  representatives. 


GREAT    BRITAIN.  IO23 

. — London  Government  Act  changed  the  system  of  Ves- 
tries to  that  of  Borough  Councils  throughout  the  Metropolitan 
Districts.  Women  had  been  eligible  on  the  old  Vestries  and  sev- 
eral were  then  serving.  Their  claim  to  sit  on  the  new  Borough 
Councils  was,  however,  rejected. 

WOMEN  IN  PUBLIC  WORK. 

Half  a  century  ago  no  offices  were  held  by  women  beyond  such 
parochial  offices  as  Sextoness,  Overseer  and  Churchwarden, 
which  they  occasionally  rilled.  Their  always-existing  right  to 
act  as  Poor-Law  Guardians  seems  to  have  been  entirely  left  in 
abeyance  until  the  early  '7o's,  when  the  attention  of  public- 
spirited  women  was  being  called  to  the  need  of  reformation  in  the 
workhouses. 

18/0. — MEMBERS  OF  SCHOOL  BOARD:  Miss  Lydia  Becker 
was  the  first  woman  to  be  elected  to  public  office  by  the  popular 
vote.  This  was  at  the  first  School  Board  election  in  Manchester, 
in  November,  1870.  She  was  re-elected  at  every  subsequent 
triennial  election  until  her  death  in  1890.  Several  were  elected 
in  London  and  other  large  towns.  Their  number  has  gone  on 
slowly  increasing,  both  in  towns  and  rural  districts,  the  women 
being  re-elected  again  and  again  'whenever  they  continued  to 
stand. 

/#73. — POOR-LAW  INSPECTORS:  The  first-  woman  was  ap- 
pointed Poor-Law  Inspector  in  1873.  Then  for  some  years  there 
was  no  other.  Two  now  fill  that  office,  appointed  in  1885  and 
1898  respectively. 

/#75.  POOR-LAW  GUARDIANS:  The  first  Poor-Law  Guar- 
dian was  elected  in  1875.  There  are  now  over  1,000  serving  as 
Guardians  and  District  Councillors  in  England,  a  few  in  Scotland, 
and  about  90  in  Ireland. 

1892. — ROYAL  COMMISSIONS  :  Women  were  appointed  as  As- 
sistant Commissioners  on  the  Royal  Commission  of  Labor  in 
1892,  and  as  Royal  Commissioners  to  enquire  into  secondary  edu- 
cation in  1895. 

1894. — FACTORY  INSPECTORS:  The  first  women  Factory  In- 
spectors were  appointed  in  1894,  and  six  are  now  serving. 

The  Education  Department  also  has  a  few  as  Inspectors.  Local 


1024 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


authorities  in  large  towns  are  realizing  the  value  of  women  as 
Sanitary  Inspectors,  and  the  number  of  these  increases  gradually. 

STEPS  IN  EDUCATION. 

Half  a  century  ago  there  was  not  one  school  or  college  where 
women  could  have  any  approach  to  University  classes.  Now 
there  are  over  2,000  women  graduates,  besides  1,500  who  hold 
certificates  from  Oxford  and  Cambridge  in  place  of  the  degrees 
which  would  have  been  theirs  had  those  ancient  seats  of  learning 
opened  their  gates  to  women  graduates.  The  following  table 
shows  the  particulars : 


Distribution. 


London  University 

Victoria  University 

Royal  University  of  Ireland 
The  Scottish  Universities: 

Edinburgh, 

Glasgow, 

Aberdeen, 

St.  Andrews. 
University  of  Wales 


Approximate 
total  number 
of  graduates 
in  January, 
1900. 

I,IOO 

180 


Durham 

Girton  College,  Cambridge. . 
Newnham  College,       '" 
Halls  for  Women  in  Oxford . 


Women  Admitted. 

.By  a  supplemental  charter  of  1878.. 
.By  its  charter  of  foundation,  1880... 
1882 425 

By  an  ordinance  of  the  University 
Commissioners  in  1892  empowering 
the  admission  of  women 226 

By  a  charter  in  1893  incorporating  the 
Colleges  of  Aberystwith,  Cardiff, 

Bangor 27 

By  an  amending  charter  in  1895. .....  25 

Opened  for  women  1872 '. . .  529 

Opened  for  women  1880 577 

Opened  for  women  1879 426 


The  students  of  the  three  Women's  Colleges  above  take  the 
examinations  of  Cambridge  and  Oxford  and  have  instruction  in 
part  from  their  faculties,  but  receive  only  certificates  instead  of 
degrees.  The  other  universities  grant  them  full  degrees. 

The  establishment  of  an  equal  standard  of  knowledge  for  men 
and  women  has  brought  about  the  result  that  the  achievements 
of  women  in  literature,  science  and  art,  once  treated  as  abnormal 
and  exceptional  are  now  quite  normal  and  usual ;  and  the  liberal 
learning,  once  confined  to  the  very  few  in  favored  circumstances, 
is  within  the  reach  of  numbers.  As  a  corollary  to  this  it  has 
been  recognized  that  women's  occupations  also  deserve  systematic 
training,  with  the  result  that  when  once  the  training  was  given 
the  resourcefulness  of  women  has  enabled  them  to  follow  out  new 


GREAT    BRITAIN.  102$ 

lines,  and  a  new  independence  has  dawned  upon  them.  At  the 
same  time  the  sense  of  personal  responsibility  which  comes  of  in- 
dependence has  made  many  more  women  realize  that  they  have  a 
duty  to  the  community,  and  therefore  has  compelled  them  to  set 
their  thoughts  and  minds  to  the  performance  of  those  duties.  As 
a  natural  consequence  the  fact  is  being  more  and  more  realized  by 
the  Electorate  and  by  Government  Departments  that  women  can 
bring  useful  service  to  the  community. 

THE  ISLE  OF  MAN. 

[The  ancient  kingdom  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  with  an  independent 
government  since  the  time  of  the  vikings,  and  making  its  own 
laws  which  require  only  the  sanction  of  the  Crown,  extended 
Full  Suffrage  to  women  property  owners  in  December,  1 880,  and 
the  act  received  the  assent  of  Queen  Victoria,  January  5th,  1881. 
This  was  extended  to  all  women  rate-payers  in  1892.] 

PROGRESS  IN  THE  COLONIES. 

NEW  ZEALAND.* 

The  first  of  the  Colonies  of  the  British  Empire  to  grant  the 
Parliamentary  Franchise  to  women  was  New  Zealand,  there- 
fore, the  story  of  Colonial  Progress  fitly  opens  with  the  land  of 
the  Maories.  The  earliest  public  mention  that  this  writer  has 
been  able  to  find  of  the  question  was  in  a  speech  of  Sir  Julius 
Vogel  to  his  constituents  in  1876,  when  he  said  that  he  was  in 
favor  of  extending  the  franchise  to  women — but  as  far  back  as 
1869  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject,  entitled  An  Appeal  to  the  Men 
of  New  Zealand,  had  been  written  by  Mrs.  Mary  Miiller,  who 
may  be  fitly  termed  the  pioneer  woman  suffragist  of  that  colony. 

In  1878  the  Government  introduced  an  Electoral  Bill  which 
included  the  franchise  for  rate-paying  women;  this  passed  the 
House  of  Representatives  but  met  with  much  opposition  in  the 
Upper  House  on  points  unconnected  with  women's  suffrage,  so 
that  it  was  ultimately  withdrawn. 

In  1887  Sir  Julius  Vogel,  Colonial  Treasurer,  introduced  a 

*  In  1877  New  Zealand  granted  School  Suffrage  to  women,  and  in  1886  Municipal  Suf- 
frage. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF  —65 


IO26  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Bill  giving  practically  universal  suffrage  to  women.  This  was 
supported  by  the  Premier,  Sir  Robert  Stout,  and  passed  the 
House  of  Representatives  May  12,  1887,  by  41  ayes,  22  noes. 
Several  Members  stated  that  they  only  voted  for  it  in  the  hope 
that  in  Committee  it  would  be  limited  to  owners  of  property. 
An  amendment  proposed  to  this  effect  in  Committee  was  rejected, 
but  this  proved  a  fatal  victory,  for  when  the  clause  was  put  as  it 
stood  the  "noes"  carried  the  day. 

A  resolution  moved  by  Sir  John  Hall  in  1890,  carried  by  a  ma- 
jority of  26,  was  a  further  note  of  encouragement. 

The  work  for  Women's  Suffrage  was  mainly  carried  on  by 
the  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  and  they  now  put 
forth  increased  energy,  so  that  early  in  1891  Mrs.  Kate  W.  Shep- 
pard,  Franchise  Superintendent,  was  able  to  report  that  many 
local  unions  had  appointed  franchise  superintendents.  With 
what  effect  they  worked  was  shown  when  Sir  John  Hall  pre- 
sented in  August,  1891,  a  petition  for  the  suffrage  seventy  yards 
long,  which  was  run  out  to  the  furthest  end  of  the  House ;  a  row 
of  Members  ranged  themselves  on  either  side  to  inspect  the  sig- 
natures and  found  no  two  alike,  as  some  seemed  to  expect.  On 
September  4th  Sir  John  Hall's  Bill  again  passed  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  but  was  lost  by  two  votes  in  the  Legislative 
.Council,  or  Upper  House. 

In  1892  Sir  John  Hall  presented  in  behalf  of  the  measure  the 
largest  petition  ever  seen  in  the  New  Zealand  Parliament.  That 
year  the  Hon.  J.  Ballance  introduced  an  Electoral  Bill  on  behalf 
of  the  Government,  in  which  the  most  important  new  feature  was 
the  franchise  for  women.  It  passed  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, but  a  difference  on  technical  details  between  the  two 
branches  of  the  Legislature  delayed  its  passage  in  the  Council. 

In  1893  the  Electoral  Act  of  New  Zealand  conferred  the  Fran- 
chise on  every  person  over  twenty-one,  although  this  did  not 
carry  the  right  to  sit  in  Parliament. 

As  a  General  Election  was  close  at  hand  no  time  was  lost  in 
enrolling  women  on  the  register.  The  report  of  the  New  Zealand 
W.  C.  T.  U.  of  1893  supplies  the  following  figures : 

Men.  Women. 

On  the  Register I77,7°i  109,461 

Voting  at  the  Poll 124,439  90,290 


GREAT    BRITAIN.  IO2/ 

A  lady  present  in  Auckland  during  the  election  relates  that  the 
interest  taken  by  the  Maori  women  was  very  great  and  that  nearly 
half  the  Maori  votes  registered  in  Auckland  were  those  of 
women. 

The  Hon.  H.  J.  Seddon,  Premier  of  New  Zealand,  when  in 
England  for  the  celebration  of  the  Queen's  jubilee  in  1897,  spoke 
of  the  measure  as  a  great  success,  saying,  "It  has  come  to  stay." 
The  Bishop  of  Auckland,  speaking  at  the  Church  Congress  in 
England  that  year,  said  "it  had  led  to  no  harm  or  inconvenience, 
but  the  men  of  New  Zealand  were  wondering  why  they  had  per- 
mitted the  women  of  that  Colony  to  remain  so  long  without  the 
right  to  vote  in  Parliamentary  elections." 

SOUTH    AUSTRALIA.* 

On  July  22d,  1885,  Dr.  Stirling  moved  a  Resolution  in  the 
House  of  Assembly  in  favor  of  conferring  the  Franchise  for  both 
Houses  of  the  Legislature,  on  widows  and  spinsters  who  pos- 
sessed qualifications  (property)  which  would  entitle  them  to  vote 
for  the  Legislative  Council.  The  debate  was  adjourned  on  the 
motion  of  the  Attorney-General  and  on  August  5th  the  Resolu- 
tion carried  without  a  division  or  serious  opposition. 

This  favorable  start  is  the  more  remarkable  that  there  had  been 
no  previous  agitation,  no  society  or  committee  formed,  no  peti- 
tions presented,  no  meetings  held.  It  was  a  matter  of  enlight- 
ened conviction  on  the  part  of  the  legislators.  Dr.  Stirling  intro- 
duced a  Bill  in  1886,  in  the  same  terms  as  his  resolution,  and  on 
April  1 3th  it  passed  second  reading  by  a  majority  of  two  of  those 
voting,  but  as  amendments  to  the  Constitution  must  have  a  ma- 
jority of  the  whole  House,  the  Bill  could  not  be  proceeded  with. 
A  general  election  followed  soon  after,  at  which  Dr.  Stirling  did 
not  re-enter  Parliament,  and  Mr.  Caldwell  took  charge  of  the 
Bill,  which  in  November,  1889,  again  passed  second  reading  in 
the  House  of  Assembly,  but  again  by  an  insufficient  majority. 

In  the  Summer  of  1889  a  public  meeting  was  held  to  form  a 
Women's  Suffrage  League,  which  set  to  work  holding  meetings 
and  collecting  signatures  to  petitions  under  the  guidance  of  its 
Hon.  Secretary,  Mrs.  Mary  Lee.  The  efforts  of  the  parliament  - 

*  In  1880  South  Australia  granted  Municipal   Suffrage  to   women. 


1028 


HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


ary  friends  were  thrice  baffled — in  1890,  1891  and  1893 — by  the 
necessity  for  a  majority  of  the  whole  House,  which  stopped  fur- 
ther immediate  progress  though  each  time  the  Bill  had  passed 
second  reading.  The  growth  of  support  was,  however,  evi- 
denced by  the  reply  of  the  Premier  to  a  deputation  from  the 
Women's  Suffrage  League  in  November,  1893 — that  "on  the 
question  of  Women's  Suffrage  the  Government  were  in  the  posi- 
tion of  just  persons  who  needed  no  conversion,  as  they  were  thor- 
oughly at  one  in  the  matter  and  were  willing  to  do  all  they  could 
to  place  Women's  Suffrage  on  the  Statute  Book." 

When,  in  August,  1894,  the  Government  brought  their  Adult 
Suffrage  Bill  to  the  Legislative  Council  the  opponents  did  their 
utmost  to  bring  about  its  defeat  by  obstructive  amendments,  but 
in  vain.  Finally  they  moved  that  the  clause  prohibiting  women 
from  sitting  in  Parliament  be  struck  out,  expecting  thereby  to 
wreck  the  Bill,  but  the  supporters  of  the  measure  accepted  the 
amendment  and  so  it  was  carried  by  a  combination  of  opponents 
and  supporters,  giving  women  Full  Suffrage  and  the  right  to  sit 
in  the  Parliament.  An  address  and  testimonial  were  presented 
to  Mrs.  Lee  by  the  Hon.  C.  C.  Kingston,  the  Premier,  Dr.  Cock- 
burn,  other  Members  of  Parliament  and  friends.  In  making  the 
presentation  the  Premier  said  he  did  so  at  request  of  the  Com- 
mittee, for  her  important  services  in  one  of  the  greatest  consti- 
tutional reforms  in  Australian  history.  Royal  assent  was  given 
to  the  Bill  in  1895. 

The  first  election  under  this  Act  took  place  in  April,  1896. 
Statistics  published  in  the  Australian  Register  of  June  roth,  give 
the  following  totals : 

Men.  Women. 

On  the  roll  in  Adelaide  and  suburbs 30,051  24,585 

On  the  roll  in  the  country  districts 47,?oi  34,581 

Voting  in  Adelaide  and  suburbs I9>938  16,253 

Voting  in  country  districts 31.634  23,059 

Percentage  voting  in  Adelaide  and  suburbs 66.34  66. 1 1 

Percentage  voting  in  the  country  districts 66.32  66.68 

Speaking  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Central  Committee  of 
the  Women's  Suffrage  Society  in  London,  July  I5th,  1898,  Dr. 
Cockburn  (now  Sir  John  Cockburn,  K.  C.  M.  G.)  said:  "The 
refining  influence  of  women  has  made  itself  felt  in  this  sphere  as 
in  every  other:  they  have  elevated  the  whole  realm  of  politics 


GREAT    BRITAIN.  IO2C) 

without  themselves  losing   a   jot   of   their   innate   purity.     'No 
poorer  they  but  richer  we/  by  their  addition  to  the  electoral  roll." 

WEST   AUSTRALIA.* 

The  women  of  West  Australia  enjoyed  the  unprecedented  ex- 
perience of  having  organised  their  Franchise  League  and  gained 
the  Franchise  in  one  year.  The  question,  however,  had  been 
more  or  less  before  the  Colony  since  1893.  ^n  that  vear  Mr. 
Cookworthy  had  introduced  a  Women's  Suffrage  Resolution  in 
the  House  of  Assembly  which  was  lost  by  only  one  vote. 

After  the  next  General  Election,  Mr.  Cookworthy  again  intro- 
duced his  Resolution  in  1897,  when  it  was  lost  by  two  votes,  one 
of  its  strongest  supporters  being  absent.  Although  there  was  at 
that  time  no  organisation  specially. for  the  Suffrage,  the  Women's 
Christian  Temperance  Union  did  much  to  extend  interest,  and 
there  was  a  large  body  of  support  to  be  found  amongst  the  in- 
telligent women  of  the  Colony.  This  led  to  the  formation  of  a 
Women's  Franchise  League  for  Western  Australia. 

This  League  was  formally  organized  at  a  public  meeting  of  the 
Leisure  Hour  Club  in  Perth,  May  nth,  1899,  Lady  Onslow  pre- 
siding. That  autumn  a  Resolution  similar  to  the  one  which  had 
been  introduced  in  the  Legislative  Assembly  passed  the  Council, 
and  before  the  year  closed  the  Electoral  Act  was  passed  of  which 
the  important  part  for  women  lies  in  the  interpretation  clause, 
which  interprets  "Elector"  as  any  person  of  either  sex  whose 
name  is  on  the  Electoral  Roll  of  a  province  or  district.  Royal 
assent  to  the  Bill  was  given  in  1900.  Although  women  now  can 
vote  for  members  of  the  Parliament  they  can  not  sit  in  that  body. 

Already  the  Women's  Franchise  League  of  Western  Australia 
is  transformed  into  the  Women's  Electoral  League. 

NEW    SOUTH    WALES,  f 

The  Mother  Colony  seems  likely  to  be  the  next  to  enfranchise 
women.  The  question  in  that  Colony  first  came  prominently 
forward  when  Sir  Henry  Parkes,  the  veteran  statesman  and  oft- 
times  Premier,  proposed  a  clause  to  give  equal  voting  power  to 

*  In  1871  West  Australia  granted  Municipal  Suffrage  to  women, 
t  In  1867  New  South  Wales  granted  Municipal  Suffrage  to  women. 


IO3O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

women  in  his  Electoral  Bill  in  1890.  The  clause  was  eventually 
dropped,  but  the  very  fact  that  it  had  been  introduced  in  a  Gov- 
ernment Bill  by  a  man  of  such  high  position  as  Sir  Henry  Parkes 
gave  the  question  the  impetus  for  which  the  friends  of  the  move- 
ment were  waiting  to  collect  the  growing  interest  into  organized 
form  and  combined  action. 

On  May  6th,  1891,  the  Womanhood  Suffrage  League  of  New 
South  Wales  was  formed,  Lady  Windeyer  was  elected  president 
and  an  active  campaign  was  begun.  On  July  3Oth  Sir  Henry 
Parkes  moved  a  Resolution  in  the  Legislative  Assembly  "that  in 
the  opinion  of  this  House  the  franchise  for  the  election  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Legislative  Assembly  should  be  extended  to  women 
on  the  same  conditions  and  subject  to  the  same  qualifications  as 
men."  The  debate  was  a  very  long  one,  ocupying  twelve  hours 
and  concluding  at  3  a.  m.,  when  the  motion  was  lost  by  34  ayes, 
57  noes.  The  friends  of  Women's  Suffrage  were  in  no  way  cast 
down  by  this  vote.  They  believed  that  in  a  full  House  on  a  fair 
test  division  their  friends  would  have  been  in  a  majority,  but 
many  who  were  anxious  for  the  passing  of  the  Electoral  Bill 
voted  against  Sir  Henry  Parkes'  motion  lest  the  inclusion  of 
women  should  imperil  its  chances  in  the  Upper  House. 

The  next  debate  on  the  question  was  on  November  i8th,  1894, 
when  Mr.  O'Reilly  moved  a  Resolution  that  "in  the  opinion  of 
this  House  the  time  has  arrived  when  the  franchise  should  be  ex- 
tended to  women."     This  was  supported  by  Sir  Henry  Parkes 
The  Premier,  Sir  G.  H.  Reid,  approved  of  Women's  Suffrage  ii 
the  abstract  but  objected  that  the  present  Parliament  had  r« 
ceived  no  mandate  from  the  people.     Sir  George  Dibbs  thought 
the  demand  a  just  one.     Eventually  the  motion,  with  the  words 
"the  time  has  now  arrived"  omitted,  was  carried  by  a  large  ma- 
jority.    No  debate  has  taken  place  since  1894,  as  the  pressui 
on  the  time  of  the  Legislature  has  been  great  with  Federal  am 
other  matters,  but  the  question  was  never  in  a  more  hopeful 
sition.     The  sudden  change  of  government  in   1899  placed  a 
strong  friend  to  the  cause  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  the  present  Pre- 
mier, Sir  William  Lyne,  and  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Suffrage 
League  in  August,  1900,  Mr.  Fegan,  M.  P.  (Minister  for  Mines) 
congratulated  the  women  of  New  South  Wales  on  being  so  near 


GREAT    BRITAIN.  103! 

the  goal  of  their  desires.  The  Premier  had  definitely  said  that 
before  the  session  closed  a  Bill  would  be  introduced  to  give 
women  the  suffrage,  and  he  hoped  that  next  year  they  would  be 
able  to  disband  their  League,  its  work  being  finished.  The  Bill 
was  introduced  in  1901  but  was  lost  by  19  ayes,  22  noes. 

On  Aug.  14,  1902,  the  bill  conferring  the  Parliamentary  Fran- 
chise on  women  passed  the  Council.  It  had  already  passed  the 
Assembly  and  is  now  law. 

VICTORIA.* 

In  Melbourne  an  organisation  for  Women's  Suffrage  has  been 
in  existence  some  sixteen  years,  but  it  is  only  within  the  last  five 
years  that  the  question  has  come  within  the  region  of  practical 
politics.  The  movement  suffered  from  want  of  concentration  of 
energy.  "At  one  time  the  original  association,  though  still  in 
existence,  was  rivalled  by  other  societies  with  the  same  object, 
but  more  or  less  tinged  with  local,  class  or  religious  characteris- 
tics. This  rivalry,  though  it  tended  to  the  growth  of  the  move- 
ment, deprived  it  of  force  and  eventually  led  to  divided  counsels 
and  consequently  to  comparative  failure."  The  Australian 
Woman's  Sphere\  from  which  the  above  words  are  quoted,  goes 
on  to  say:  "A  few  years  since,  largely  owing  to  the  patience 
and  tact  of  the  late  Annette  Bear  Crawford,  its  first  Hon.  Secre- 
tary, there  was  formed  the  'United  Council  for  Women's  Suf- 
frage' which  aimed  at  including  representatives  of  all  the  leagues 
that  had  for  their  main  object,  or  for  one  of  them,  the  political 
enfranchisement  of  women." 

The  formation  of  this  Council  has  been  the  sign  of  a  new  life 
in  the  question  in  Melbourne.  At  the  General  Election  of  1894 
a  determined  effort  was  made  to  secure  the  return  of  a  majority 
of  members  pledged  to  vote  for  the  suffrage  cause.  The  Gov- 
ernment promised  a  Bill  in  the  session  of  1895,  and  on  November 
26th  the  Premier,  Sir  George  Turner,  introduced  a  Women's 
Suffrage  Bill  which  passed  the  House  of  Assembly  without  a 
division,  but  was  lost  in  the  Legislative  Council  by  two  votes. 

The  Women's  Suffrage  Bill  passed  the  Legislative  Assembly 

*  In  1^69  Victoria  granted  Municipal  Suffrage  to  women. 

t  The  first  number  of  The  Australian    Woman's  Sphere  was   published   in    Melbourne, 
September  i,  1900.     It  is  edited  by  Miss  Vida  Goldstein  and  appears  monthly. 


IO32  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

in  1897,  '98,  '99,  1900,  '01,  each  time  with  an  increased  ma- 
jority, but  each  time  its  progress  has  been  stopped  in  the  Council. 
Nevertheless  there  are  many  evidences  of  increasing  vitality 
in  the  movement  in  Victoria,  not  the  least  of  these  being  the  rise 
of  an  Anti-Women's  Suffrage  Crusade.  These  "New  Cru- 
saders" have  presented  a  petition  which  purports  to  be  signed  by 
22,987  "adult  women"  of  Victoria.  But  in  1891  before  the  suf- 
frage was  a  live  subject,  before  it  had  entered  the  region  of  prac- 
tical politics,  the  women  suffragists  in  six  weeks  obtained  30,000 
signatures  of  adult  women.  The  first  and  the  most  natural  re- 
sult of  the  anti-suffrage  movement  has  been  to  bring  down  en- 
quiries on  the  United  Council  from  all  parts  of  the  Colony  how 
to  help  Women's  Suffrage. 

QUEENSLAND.* 

The  Women's  Suffrage  question  appears  to  have  received  its 
first  awakening  in  Queensland  from  the  visit  of  Miss  Hannah 
Chenings,  who  in  1891  came  from  Adelaide  on  a  lecturing  tour 
in  connection  with  an  effort  to  obtain  a  law  for  the  better  protec- 
tion of  young  girls.  Her  account  of  the  Women's  Franchise 
League  in  South  Australia  aroused  a  wish  for  a  similar  organi- 
sation here,  and  after  a  period  of  silent  growth  the  Women's  Suf- 
frage Association  was  formed  in  1894,  mainly  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  Mrs.  Leontine  Cooper  and  Mrs.  Maginie,  who, 
as  Miss  Allen,  had  been  a  member  of  the  New  South  Wales  So- 
ciety. 

At  the  first  annual  meeting  of  this  association,  in  March,  1895, 
the  report  showed  that  petitions  had  been  presented  with  over 
1 1, OCX)  signatures,  and  that  letters  expressing  themselves  as  fav- 
orable to  the  measure  had  been  received  from  thirty  Members  of 
the  Legislative  Assembly.  In  the  General  Election  of  1897  a 
large  number  of  candidates  declared  themselves  in  favor,  but  so 
far  the  effort  to  carry  a  Bill  through  the  House  has  met  with  dis- 
appointment, and  the  Women's  Suffrage  Association  are  bending 
their  efforts  towards  inducing  the  Government  to  bring  in  a  Bill. 
Here,  as  in  the  other  Colonies  where  they  are  still  unenfran- 

*  In  1886  Queensland  granted  Municipal  Suffrage  to  Women. 


GREAT    BRITAIN.  IO33 

chised,  the  women  feel  deeply  the  injustice  of  their  exclusion 
from  the  Federal  Referendum. 

TASMANIA.* 

As  long  ago  as  1885  a  Constitutional  Amendment  Act  passed 
second  reading  in  the  Tasmanian  House  of  Assembly  which  pro- 
vided for  the  extension  of  the  Franchise  to  unmarried,  women 
rate-payers,  but  notwithstanding  the  support  of  the  Government 
the  question  made  no  further  advance  in  Parliament. 

In  recent  years  a  Bill  to  enfranchise  women  on  the  same  terms 
as  men  has  passed  the  House  of  Assembly  on  several  occasions 
with  increasing  majorities,  but  the  opponents  are  still  too  num- 
erous to  carry  it  through  the  Upper  House.  The  Women's 
Christian  Temperance  Union  have  been  the  most  energetic  work- 
ers in  its  behalf. 

[It  will  be  noticed  that  in  each  of  these  Australian  States  the 
Women's  Suffrage  Bill  repeatedly  passed  the  Assembly,  or  Lower 
House,  which  is  elected  by  the  people,  but  was  defeated  in  the 
Council  or  Upper  House,  which  is  composed  entirely  of  wealthy 
and  aristocratic  members,  who  can  be  voted  for  only  by  these 
classes,  and  some  of  whom  are  appointed  by  the  Government  and 
hold  office  for  life.  In  1901  a  Federation  of  the  six  States  was 
formed  with  a  National  Parliament,  both  Houses  to  be  elected  by 
the  people.  In  June,  1902,  a  bill  passed  this  Federal  Parliament 
giving  women  the  right  to  vote  for  its  members  and  be  elected 
to  this  body.  About  800,000  women  have  been  thus  enfran- 
chised, the  largest  victory  ever  gained  for  this  movement. 

In  South  and  West  Australia  and  New  South  Wales  women 
may  vote  for  members  of  the  State  Parliament.  In  Victoria, 
Queensland  and  Tasmania  they  may  vote  for  the  Federal  but  not 
for  the  State  Parliament,  an  anomaly  which  doubtless  will  be  very 
soon  rectified.  It  is  possible  that  before  this  volume  is  read  all 
the  women  of  the  six  Australian  States  will  possess  the  full  fran- 
chise by  constitutional  right. — Eds.] 

In  the  South  African  Colonies  there  has  been,  as  yet,  no  his- 
tory to  record.  That  the  question  simmers  in  many  thoughtful 

*  Tasmania  granted  Municipal  Suffrage  to  women  in  1884. 


IO34  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

minds  there  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt,  but  the  time  for  organised 
action  does  not  seem  to  have  yet  arrived. 

The  other  Colonies  of  Great  Britain,  with  the  exception  of 
Canada,  are  not  self-governing. 

DOMINION  OF  CANADA. 

The  story  of  the  movement  to  obtain  the  Parliamentary 
Franchise  in  the  Dominion  dates  back  to  1883.  In  April  of  that 
year  the  Premier,  Sir  John  Macdonald,  introduced  a  Bill  in  the 
Legislature  for  amending  the  electoral  law,  including  a  clause 
which  gave  the  suffrage  to  unmarried  women  who  possessed  the 
necessary  qualifications. 

Previously,  on  March  9th,  the  Toronto  Women's  Literary  and 
Social  Progress  Club  had  gathered  in  public  for  the  first  time  in 
the  City  Council  Chamber  to  consider  the  Suffrage  question. 
Mrs.  McEwan  presided  and  a  paper  "treating  pithily  and  with 
much  aptness  on  the  subject  of  the  Franchise"  was  read  by  Miss 
E.  Foulds,  who  moved  a  Resolution  "that  in  the  opinion  of  this 
Meeting  the  Parliamentary  Franchise  should  be  extended  to 
women  who  possess  the  qualifications  which  entitle  men  to  vote." 
This  and  a  second  resolution  proposing  the  formation  of  a  so- 
ciety to  forward  such  legislation  as  might  be  required  were  both 
carried,  many  ladies  and  gentlemen  speaking  in  their  support  and 
a  large  number  of  those  present  giving  in  their  names  as  mem- 
bers. On  April  5th  an  adjourned  meeting  was  held  and  the 
Canadian  Women's  Suffrage  Association  was  constituted. 

Sir  John  Macdonald's  Bill  was  presented  too  late  to  become  a 
law  and  was  re-introduced  in  1884.  It  was  in  this  year  that 
members  of  the  British  Suffrage  Association  visited  Canada. 
Miss  Lydia  Becker  and  Mrs.  Lilias  Ashworth  Hallett  were 
among  them,  and  they  and  several  other  English  ladies  united  in 
sending  an  address  to  Sir  John  Macdonald  thanking  him  for  the 
introduction  of  provisions  in  his  Bill  to  enable  women  to  vote 
and  expressing  their  high  appreciation  of  the  just  and  generous 
spirit  which  had  actuated  him.  Mrs.  Hallett  had  some  conver- 
sation with  Sir  John  Hall,  who  told  her  the  only  difficulty  they 
expected  in  Canada  as  regarded  passing  the  Bill  was  from  the 
French  population.  This  expectation  proved  to  be  well-founded. 


GREAT    BRITAIN.  1 03 5 

The  Women's  Suffrage  Clauses  were  rejected  by  51  ayes,  78 
noes,  after  a  debate  extending  over  thirty-one  consecutive  hours. 

It  was  ten  years  before  any  further  effort  was  made  to  secure 
the  Parliamentary  Franchise.  In  1894  a  petition  for  this,  in  be- 
half of  the  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  supplemented 
by  memorials  from  the  Provinces,  was  presented  by  Sir  James 
Grant  to  the  House  of  Commons,  and  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Scott  to 
the  Senate,  but  no  resolution  was  offered.  A  Bill  introduced  by 
Mr.  Dickey,  dealing  with  the  electoral  franchise,  contained  a 
clause  asking  suffrage  for  widows  and  spinsters,  but  the  Bill  was 
read  only  once.  Mr.  Davis,  unsolicited,  brought  in  a  resolution 
for  Women's  Franchise  on  the  same  terms  as  men.  Forty  mem- 
bers voted  for  it,  one  hundred  and  five  against  it. 

A  petition  for  the  Parliamentary  Franchise  for  women,  very 
largely  signed  by  Federal  voters  throughout  the  Dominion,  was 
presented  to  the  House  of  Commons  and  the  Senate  in  1896. 
This  was  the  last  effort  in  the  Parliament,  and  as  a  change  has 
since  been  made  in  the  Electoral  Act,  making  the  voters'  list  for 
the  Dominion  coincide  with  the  Provincial  lists,  the  battle  will 
therefore  have  to  be  fought  out  in  each  separate  Province. 

THE   PRESENT    POLITICAL    CONDITION.* 

Women  in  Canada  have  no  vote  for  any  law  maker,  either  Fed- 
eral or  Provincial.  Their  franchise  is  confined  to  municipalities, 
which  can  only  make  by-laws  that  relate  to  the  execution  of  ex- 
isting laws.  But  although  women  have  no  direct  vote,  they 
have,  by  much  labor  and  united  effort,  effected  some  important 
changes  in  the  criminal  code  and  civil  laws,  as  well  as  in  the 
political  position  of  women  in  the  municipalities.  The  societies 
which  have  accomplished  the  most,  if  not  all,  of  these  changes 
are  the  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  the  Women's 
Enfranchisement  Association  and  the  National  Council  of 
Women. 

In  the  Province  of  Ontario,  in  1884,  widows  and  spinsters 
.were  given  the  Municipal  Franchise  on  the  same  terms  as  men. 

*  This  portion  of  the  report  is  condensed  by  the  editors  of  the  History  from  a  chapter 
written  by  Mrs.  Henrietta  Muir  Edwards  for  "The  Women  of  Canada,  Their  Life  and 
Work,"  a  handbook  prepared  by  the  National  Council  of  Women,  at  the  request  of  the 
Canadian  Government,  for  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1900. 


1036  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

.  All  women,  married  or  single,  if  owners  of  property,  may  vote  on 
money  by-laws  where  such  are  submitted  to  the  electors.  Any 
woman  on  the  assessment  roll  may  vote  for  School  Trustees  and 
is  eligible  for  this  office.  In  1892  it  was  enacted  that  women 
might  study  law  and  qualify  for  the  Bar.  In  1893  a  Bill  to  give 
Municipal  Suffrage  to  married  women  and  one  to  grant  the  Pro- 
vincial Suffrage  to  all  women  were  defeated  by  16  ayes,  53  noes. 

In  the  Province  of  New  Brunswick  the  Legislature  in  1886 
gave,  unsolicited,  to  widows  and  spinsters  the  right  to  vote  on 
the  same  terms  as  men  at  Municipal  elections.  In  1893  an  Act 
was  passed  permitting  the  appointment  of  a  woman  as  School 
Trustee.  This  was  amended  in  1896  making  it  compulsory  that 
two  on  each  Board  shall  be  women. 

In  the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia  the  Municipal  Franchise  was 
granted  to  widows  and  spinsters  in  1887.  A  Bill  for  the  Pro- 
vincial Franchise  was  defeated  in  1893;  and  again  in  1894  by 
one  vote.  An  Act  of  1895  permits  all  women,  if  rate-payers,  to 
vote  on  School  matters.  A  married  woman  having  property  in 
her  own  right,  provided  that  her  husband  is  disqualified,  may 
vote  in  Municipal  elections  under  the  Married  Woman's  Property 
Act,  since  1891.  In  the  city  of  Halifax  widows  and  spinsters 
who  are  rate-payers  may  vote  on  Municipal  questions.  In  1894 
a  Bill  giving  women  a  more  extended  suffrage  was  lost  by  seven 
votes;  in  1895  by  four  votes;  in  1899  a  Bill  for  the  full  Provin- 
cial Franchise  was  lost  by  twenty-seven  votes. 

In  the  Province  of  Prince  Edward  Island,  in  1888,  the  Munic- 
ipal Suffrage  was  granted  to  widows  and  spinsters  owning  prop- 
erty. An  Act  of  1899  made  women  eligible  to  appointment  on 
School  Boards. 

In  the  Province  of  British  Columbia,  in  1888,  the  Municipal 
Franchise  was  conferred  on  widows  and  spinsters  owning  prop- 
erty. An  Act  of  1891  allows  the  wife  of  any  householder  or  free- 
holder to  vote  on  School  matters  but  not  to  hold  office ;  in  1897  the 
.Vet  was  amended  making  them  eligible  as  School  Trustees.  This 
same  year  all  women  rate-payers  were  given  the  Municipal  Fran- 
chise. Only  owners  of  property  may  vote  on  by-laws  for  raising 
money  upon  the  credit  of  the  municipality. 

In  the  Province  of  Manitoba,  in  1891,  the  Municipal  Franchise 


GREAT    BRITAIN.  IO3/ 

was  extended  to  women.  Any  qualified  woman  rate-payer  can 
vote  on  School  questions  and  is  eligible  for  School  offices. 
Women  property  owners  may  vote  on  all  submitted  by-laws.  In 
1892  a  measure  to  give  women  the  full  Provincial  Suffrage  was 
defeated  by  28  ayes,  1 1  noes. 

In  the  Province  of  Quebec,  in  1892,  the  Municipal  and  School 
Franchise  was  conferred  on  widows  and  spinsters  on  the  same 
terms  as  on  men.  The  law  relating  to  the  right  of  women  to  sit 
on  the  School  Board  was  ambiguous,  so  a  petition  was  presented 
that  they  be  declared  eligible.  The  response  to  this  was  an 
amendment  excluding  women.  In  Montreal,  under  the  old  char- 
ter, only  widows  and  spinsters  who  owned  property  had  the 
Municipal  Franchise;  in  1899  this  was  amended,  adding  tenancy 
with  residence  as  a  qualification.  In  1898  a  Bill  granting  them 
the  Provincial  Suffrage  was  lost  on  division. 

In  the  Northwest  Territories,  in  1894,  the  Municipal  Franchise 
was  granted  to  widows  and  spinsters.  In  School  matters  every 
woman  rate-payer  can  vote  and  is  eligible  to  School  offices.* 

*  In  the  city  of  Vancouver  any  single  woman,  widow  or  spinster,  may  vote  for 
municipal  officers,  and  all  women  possessing  the  other  necessary  qualifications  of  male 
voters  may  vote  for  all  municipal  officers  and  upon  all  municipal  questions.  Married 
women  may  vote  in  the  election  of  School  Trustees.  It  has  recently  been  decided  that 
a  man  possessing  no  property  of  his  own,  and  not  being  a  householder  in  his  own  right, 
may  be  allowed  to  vote  in  municipal  matters  if  his  wife  be  a  property  owner  or  a  house- 
holder. [Eds. 


CHAPTER  LXXIV. 

WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  IN  OTHER  COUNTRIES. 

In  most  of  the  countries  of  the  world  women  possess  some 
form  of  suffrage,  but  for  many  reasons  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
define  exactly  in  what  it  consists.  Like  suffrage-  for  men  it  is 
largely  based  on  property,  and  in  most  cases  can  be  used  only 
through  a  proxy.  Generally  the  woman  loses  the  franchise  by 
marriage  and  the  husband  may  vote  by  right  of  the  wife's  prop- 
erty. In  Belgium,  Luxemburg,  Italy  and  Roumania  the  hus- 
band votes  at  local  elections  by  right  of  the  taxes  paid  by  the 
wife,  and  in  case  of  a  widow  this  right  belongs  to  the  eldest  son, 
grandson  or  great  grandson,  or  if  there  is  none,  then  to  the  son- 
in-law.  The  Italian  electoral  law  of  1870  gave  a  widow  the  right 
to  vote  by  proxy  in  Parliamentary  elections.  All  the  Italian 
universities  are  open  to  women. 

The  constitution  of  Germany  says  "every  German"  above 
twenty-five  years  of  age  shall  have  the  Parliamentary  Franchise, 
but  no  woman  ever  has  been  permitted  to  vote  under  it.  There 
are,  besides,  twenty-five  constitutions  for  the  different  States 
which  form  the  Empire.  By  the  wording  of  some  of  them, 
women  landed  proprietors  undoubtedly  are  entitled  to  take  part 
in  elections.  The  Prussian  code  declares  that  the  rights  of  the 
two  sexes  are  equal,  if  no  special  laws  fix  an  exception,  and  it 
gives  the  Parliamentary  Franchise  to  every  one  who  possesses  the 
county  or  burgess  suffrage.  The  by-laws  which  prescribe  the 
qualifications  for  the  latter  in  some  instances  exclude  women  and 
in  others  declare  that  women  land  holders  may  act  as  electors, 
but  only  "through  a  proctor"  (proxy).  Teachers  undoubtedly, 
as  State  officials,  are  entitled  to  take  part  in  local  government. 
Some  of  the  provinces  allow  women  taxpayers  to  vote  by  proxy 
in  the  rural  districts.  Neither  the  Government  nor  public  senti- 
ment, however,  looks  with  favor  upon  women  electors.  It  is 
only  in  recent  years  that  a  few  of  the  most  advanced  have  begun 
to  agitate  the  question  in  this  country,  which  holds  a  most  con- 

1038 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE    IN    OTHER    COUNTRIES.  1039 

servative  attitude  towards  women.  They  have  recently  been  ad- 
mitted to  a  few  of  the  universities. 

In  most  of  the  Prussian  towns  the  property  qualifications  of 
the  wife  are  accounted  to  the  husband  in  order  that  he  may  take 
part  in  municipal  elections.  In  Saxony  women  proprietors  of 
landed  estates,  whether  married  or  single,  are  entitled  to  a  mu- 
nicipal vote  but  this  can  be  exercised  only  by  proxy,  and  for  this 
purpose  one  of  their  male  relatives  must  be  invested  with  their 
property.  In  Saxony,  Baden,  Wurtemburg,  Hesse,  the  Thur- 
ingian  States  and  perhaps  a  few  more,  women  are  permitted  to 
attend  public  political  meetings  and  be  members  of  political  so- 
cieties, but  in  all  other  German  States  they  are  excluded  from 
both.  They  are  thus  prohibited  from  forming  organizations  to 
secure  the  franchise.  In  Westphalia  since  1856,  and  Schleswig- 
Holstein  since '1867,  all  qualified  women  have  some  form  of  suf- 
frage by  male  proxy. 

In  the  Austro-Hungarian  Empire,  since  1862,  women  with 
property  have  a  proxy  vote  in  municipal  and  provincial  elections 
and  for  members  of  the  Lower  House  of  the  Parliament,  but  there 
are  many  restrictions  to  this  law.  In  Bohemia,  since  1873, 
women  who  are  large  landed  proprietors  have  a  proxy  vote  for 
members  of  the  Imperial  Parliament  and  the  local  Diet. 

In  Russia  among  the  peasant  class  the  representative  of  the 
household  votes.  The  wife,  if  owner  of  the  necessary  amount 
of  property,  may  select  her  husband  as  proxy,  but  he  may  also 
delegate  his  vote  to  the  wife,  and  it  is  a  common  thing  to  see  her 
take  his  place  at  elections  and  at  village  and  country  meetings  of 
all  kinds.  In  the  cities  and  territorial  assemblies,  women,  mar- 
ried or  unmarried,  possessing  sufficient  property,  may  vote  by 
male  proxy  for  members  of  the  municipal  and  county  assemblies. 
Property-owning  women  of  the  nobility  may  vote  by  proxy  in 
the  assemblies  of  the  nobility.  Part  of  the  universities  are  open 
to  them.  There  are  650  women  physicians  in  Russia. 

So  far  as  can  be  learned  women  are  not  eligible  to  office  in  the 
above-mentioned  countries  with  a  very  few  exceptions. 

In  Finland,  since  1865,  widows  and  spinsters  may  vote  at  rural 
elections;  since  1873  those  who  are  rate-payers  may  vote  at  mu- 
nicipal elections.  Since  1889  women  are  eligible  as  Guardians 


I O4O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

of  the  Poor.  In  1900  they  were  made  eligible  to  all  municipal 
offices.  An  influential  Finnish  Woman's  Association  with  twen- 
ty branches  is  agitating  for  suffrage  on  the  same  terms  as  men. 

In  Holland  there  is  no  form  of  woman  suffrage  and  the  con- 
stitution of  1887  expressly  prohibits  it. 

Women  in  Denmark  have  no  franchise,  but  Premier  Duentzer 
has  announced  that  the  first  reform  movement  of  the  new  Cabinet 
(1901)  will  be  the  extension  of  Municipal  Suffrage  to  women. 

In  1893,  through  the  efforts  of  the  Socialists,  universal  suf- 
frage was  granted  to  men  in  Belgium.  While  this  gives  to 
every  man  a  vote,  it  permits  to  the  married  man,  if  he  pays  a 
small  tax,  two  votes  as  the  head  of  a  family ;  if  he  pays  tax  on 
what  would  be  about  $2,000,  or  has  a  university  degree,  he  is 
allowed  three  votes.  The  vast  majority  of  those  owning  prop- 
erty or  possessing  university  degrees  belong  to  the  established 
(Catholic)  Church,  and  the  Socialists  soon  found  themselves 
out-voted  by  a  minority.  They  then  instituted  a  new  movement 
demanding  "one  man,  one  vote,"  and  the  Government,  which  is 
Catholic,  said:  "If  you  compel  this  we  will  enfranchise 
women,"  believing  that  this  would  strengthen  its  power.  At  this 
writing  the  contest  is  going  on  and  becoming  more  violent. 

Switzerland,  whose  pride  is  its  absolutely  republican  form  of 
government,  allows  no  woman  a  vote  on  any  question  or  for  the 
election  of  any  officer.  They  are  admitted  to  the  universities. 

In  France,  in  1898,  unmarried  women  engaged  in  commerce 
( including  market  women,  etc. )  were  given  a  vote  for  Judges  of 
the  Tribunals  of  Commerce.  A  Woman  Suffrage  Society  has 
just  been  formed  in  Paris  which  is  attracting  considerable  atten- 
tion. Women  are  admitted  to  the  highest  institutions  of  learning. 

The  laws  in  all  the  countries  thus  far  mentioned  are  most 
unjust  to  women  and  especially  to  wives. 

Women  in  Sweden  have  voted  in  church  matters  since  1736. 
It  was  provided  in  1862  that  women  who  are  rate-payers  may 
vote  directly  or  by  proxy,  as  they  choose,  for  all  officers  except 
for  members  of  the  Parliament.  Indirectly  they  have  a  voice  in 
the  election  of  the  First  Chamber  or  House  of  Lords,  as  they  vote 
for  the  County  Council  which  elects  this  body.  They  have 
School  and  Municipal  Suffrage  and  that  for  Provincial  repre- 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE    IN    OTHER    COUNTRIES.  IO4-I 

sentatives.  The  laws  are  very  liberal  to  women.  All  of  the  edu- 
cational institutions,  the  professions,  occupations  and  many  of 
the  offices  are  open  to  them.  They  are  members  of  the  Boards 
of  Education,  Municipal  Relief  Committees  and  Parochial 
Boards.  About  six  hundred  have  received  university  degrees. 

In  Norway,  since  1889,  in  towns  women  with  children  may 
vote  for  school  inspectors  and  be  eligible  to  the  school  boards. 
In  rural  communes  they  are  eligible  as  inspectors,  and  women 
who  pay  a  school  tax  may  vote  on  all  school  questions  and  officers, 
while  those  who  pay  no  tax  but  have  children  may  vote  on  all 
questions  not  involving  expenditures.  In  1884  a  Woman  Suf- 
frage Association  was  formed  under  the  leadership  of  Miss  Gina 
Krog  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  Municipal  Franchise.  In 
1890  a  bill  for  this  purpose  received  44  out  of  114  votes  in  the 
Parliament.  It  was  then  made  an  issue  by  the  Liberal  party.  In 
1895  a  vote  on  Lqcal  Option  was  granted  to  women.  In  1898 
the  Radical  party  secured  universal  suffrage  for  men  without 
property  restrictions.  They  then  came  to  the  assistance  of 
•women  and  were  joined  by  a  large  number  of  Conservatives. 
In  1901  Municipal  Suffrage  was  granted  to  all  women  who  pay 
taxes  on  an  income  of  300  crowns  ($71)  in  country  districts  and 
400  in  cities.  If  husband  and  wife  together  pay  taxes  on  this 
amount  both  may  vote.  About  200,000  women  thus  became 
electors.  Women  are  found  in  many  offices,  in  most  occupations 
and  professions,  and  are  admitted  to  all  educational  institutions. 

Iceland,  since  1882,  grants  Municipal  Suffrage  to  tax-paying 
widows  and  spinsters;  since  1886  all  women  have  had  a  parish 
suffrage,  which  enables  them  to  vote  in  the  selection  of  the  clergy, 
who  have  a  prominent  part  in  public  affairs. 

At  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  women  have  a  limited  vote.  In 
the  tiny  Island  of  Pitcairn,  in  the  Southern  Pacific,  they  have  the 
same  suffrage  as  men.  This  is  doubtless  true  of  many  isolated 
localities  whose  records  are  little  known.  Among  primitive  peo- 
ples the  government  is  generally  in  the  hands  of  the  most  com- 
petent without  regard  to  sex,  and  some  of  these  are  still  under  the 
reign  of  the  Matriarchate,  or  the  rule  of  mothers,  to  whom  be- 
long the  property  and  the  children.  The  early  Spanish  inhabit- 
ants of  the  North  American  continent  placed  much  authority 
in  the  hands  of  women,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  Indian  tribes. 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 66 


CHAPTER  LXXV. 

NATIONAL    ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN. 

The  most  conspicuous  and  significant  movement  which  chal- 
lenges attention  at  the  beginning  of  the  new  century  is  that  to- 
ward organization,  and  the  three  great  combinations  which  stand 
out  most  prominently  in  interest  and  importance  are  the  organi- 
zation of  capital,  the  organization  of  labor  and  the  organization 
of  women.  We  scarcely  can  go  back  so  far  in  history  as  not  to 
find  men  banded  together  to  protect  their  mutual  interests,  but 
associations  of  women  are  of  very  modern  date.  The  oldest  on 
record  was  formed  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  closing  days  of  the 
eighteenth  century — Female  Society  for  the  Relief  and  Employ- 
ment of  the  Poor — which  in  1798  established  a  house  of  industry 
in  Arch  St.,  known  as  the  Home  for  Spinners.  The  society  is 
still  in  active  existence  and  gives  employment  to  a  large  number 
of  women.  Church  Missionary  Societies  of  Women  had  their 
origin  early  in  the  century,  but  as  mere  annexes  to  those  officered 
and  managed  by  men.  The  first  association  to  approach  national 
prominence  was  the  Female  Anti- Slavery  Society,  founded  in 
Boston  in  1833,  which  almost  cost  the  reputation  of  every  one 
who  joined  it,  so  strong  was  the  prejudice  against  any  public  ac- 
tion on  the  part  of  women.  The  American  Female  Guardian 
Society  and  Home  for  the  Friendless  was  established  in  New 
York  in  1834,  and  still  exists,  having  cared  for  50,000  children. 
Later  in  this  decade  Female  Bible  Societies  came  into  being  to 
supply  Bibles  to  penal  and  charitable  institutions  and  to  put  them 
in  various  public  places. 

From  1840  to  1850  the  old  Washingtonian  Societies,  com- 
posed entirely  of  men,  were  gradually  replaced  by  the  Sons  of 
Temperance,  and  as  they  also  were  decidedly'  averse  to  receiving 
women  into  their  organization,  and  as  the  latter  were  deeply  in- 
terested in  the  subject,  a  few  of  them  timidly  formed  the  Daugh- 

1042 


MRS.  IDA  HUSTED  HARPER. 

Author  of  Life  and  Work  of  Susan  B.  Anthony,  and  Joint  Editor  with 
her  of  The  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  IV. 


. . 

: 


NATIONAL    ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN.  IO43 

ters  of  Temperance,  in  the  face  of  extreme  opposition  on  the  part 
of  both  sexes.  In  the  decade  following  commenced  the  agitation 
of  the  question  of  Woman  Suffrage,  and  soon  conventions  in  its 
interest  began  to  be  of  frequent  occurrence,  to  the  joy  of  the 
newspapers,  most  of  which  treated  them  with  ridicule  and  denun- 
ciation. 

The  decade  ushered  in  by  1860  brought  the  long  Civil  War, 
during  which,  in  the  Sanitary  Commission,  the  Woman's  Loyal 
League,  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  and  other  associations,  women 
displayed  an  unsuspected  power  of  organization,  and  at  its  close 
their  status  in  many  ways  was  completely  changed  and  greatly 
advanced. 

In  1868  the  country  was  electrified  by  the  advent  of  Sorosis 
in  New  York  City  and  the  New  England  Woman's  Club  in  Bos- 
ton. These  were  the  first  societies  formed  by  women  purely  for 
their  own  recreation  and  improvement — all  others  had  been  for 
the  purpose  of  reforming  the  weak  and  sinful  or  assisting  the 
needy  and  unfortunate — and  they  met  with  a  storm  of  derision 
and  protest  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  which  their  founders 
courageously  ignored.  The  last  quarter  of  a  century  has  wit- 
nessed so  many  organizations  of  women  that  it  would  be  prac- 
tically impossible  to  record  even  their  names.  Every  village 
which  is  big  enough  for  a  church  contains  also  a  woman's  club, 
and  they  exist  in  many  country  neighborhoods.  In  the  larger 
cities  single  societies  have  from  500  to  1,000  members,  and  in 
a  number  handsome  club  houses  have  been  built  and  furnished, 
some  of  them  costing  from  $50,000  to  $80,000. 

From  1850  the  annual  conventions  in  the  interest  of  Woman  s 
Rights  were  called  under  the  auspices  of  a  Central  Committee, 
but  in  1869  the  National  and  American  Woman  Suffrage  Asso- 
ciations were  formed.  Five  years  later  the  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union  sprang  into  existence.  There  are  now  more 
than  one  hundred  associations  of  women  in  the  United  States 
which  are  national  in  their  form  and  aims,  and  a  number  have 
become  international  through  their  alliance  with  those  of  other 
countries.  In  1888,  in  Washington  City,  the  National  Council 
of  Women,  a  heroic  undertaking,  was  founded  to  gather  these 
vast  and  diverse  organizations  into  one  great  body.  By  1900 


IO44  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

sixteen  had  become  thus  affiliated,  representing  a  membership  of 
about  1,125,000  women. 

An  International  Council  also  was  organized  in  1888  to  be 
composed  of  similar  National  Councils  in  various  countries  and 
to  meet  in  a  Congress  every  five  years.  At  the  close  of  the  cen- 
tury fourteen  National  Councils  had  affiliated  with  the  Interna- 
tional, representing  a  membership  of  6,000,000.  This  is  not  only 
immeasurably  larger  than  any  other  association  of  women  but  is 
exceeded  in  size  by  very  few  organizations  of  men,  and  its  two 
great  Congresses — during  the  Columbian  Exposition  at  Chicago 
in  1893,  and  at  London  in  1899 — were  occasions  of  world-wide 
interest  and  value. 

Each  of  the  more  than  one  hundred  national  associations  of 
women  in  the  United  States  holds  its  annual,  biennial  or  triennial 
convention  in  some  one  of  the  large  cities,  which  is  attended  by 
delegates  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  sessions  are  pre- 
sided over  by  a  woman,  discussions  are  carried  on  with  due  at- 
tention to  parliamentary  usage,  a  large  amount  of  business  is 
transacted  with  system  and  accuracy,  and  in  every  respect  these 
meetings  compare  favorably  with  those  conducted  by  men  after 
centuries  of  experience.  They  are  treated  with  the  greatest  re- 
spect by  the  newspapers  which  vie  with  each  other  in  publishing 
pictures  of  the  delegates,  their  addresses  and  extended  and  com- 
plimentary reports  of  the  proceedings.  The  character  of  these 
national  organizations,  the  scope  of  their  objects  and  the  extent 
of  their  achievements  can  in  no  way  be  so  strikingly  illustrated 
as  by  giving  a  list  of  the  most  important.* 

THE  INTERNATIONAL  COUNCIL  OF  WOMEN  was  organized  March 
31,  1888,  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  "to  unite  the  women  of  all  the  coun- 
tries in  the  world  for  the  promotion  of  co-operative  internationalism 
through  the  abatement  of  that  prejudice  which  springs  from  ig- 

*  The  National  Suffrage  Association  is  not  included  in  the  list,  as  twenty-one  chapters 
of  this  volume  are  devoted  to  its  work.  It  was  the  intention  to  give  the  name  of  the 
president  of  each  organization,  but  as  this  officer  is  so  frequently  changed  it  seemed  best 
to  abandon  this  plan  save  in  special  instances.  The  figures  given  are  for  1900  with  but 
'few  exceptions. 

The  church  missionary  societies  not  mentioned  here,  and  some  other  national  bodies, 
were  appealed  to  several  times  for  statistics  without  response.  The  list,  however,  includes 
all  of  any  considerable  size  and  importance.  It  did  not  seem  that  it  would  represent  the 
true  proportions  of  these  associations  if  arranged  alphabetically  or  according  to  date  of 
organization,  therefore  the  editors  have  used  their  individual  judgment  in  placing  them. 


NATIONAL    ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN.  IO45 

norance  and  which  can  be  corrected  only  by  that  knowledge  which 
results  from  personal  acquaintance. 

"In  the  first  place  its  influence  has  united  different  organizations 
of  the  same  country  hitherto  indifferent  or  inimical  to  each  other; 
and  in  the  second  it  has  commenced  the  work  of  uniting  the  women 
of  different  nations  and  abating  race  prejudice.  It  has  promoted 
the  movement  of  peace  and  arbitration,  and  through  its  international 
committees  it  is  forming  a  central  bureau  of  information  in  regard 
to  women's  contribution  to  the  work  of  the  world." 

It  is  composed  at  present  of  fourteen  National  Councils  of  as  many 
different  countries  representing  an  individual  membership  of  about 
6,000,000  women.  Its  president  is  Mrs.  May  Wright  Sewall,  who 
was  one  of  its  founders. 

THE  NATIONAL  COUNCIL  OF  WOMEN  was  organized  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  March  31,  1888.  Its  constitution  is  introduced  by  the 
following  preamble : 

"We,  women  of  the  United  States,  sincerely  believing  that  the 
best  good  of  our  homes  and  nation  will  be  advanced  by  our  own 
greater  unity  of  thought,  sympathy  and  purpose,  and  that  an  organ- 
ized movement  of  women  will  best  conserve  the  highest  good  of  the 
family  and  the  State,  do  hereby  band  ourselves  together  in  a  con- 
federation of  workers  committed  to  the  overthrow  of  all  forms  of 
ignorance  and  injustice,  and  to  the  application  of  the  Golden  Rule 
to  society,  custom  and  law.  This  Council  is  organized  in  the  inter- 
est of  no  one  propaganda,  and  has  no  power  over  its  auxiliaries  be- 
yond that  of  suggestion  and  sympathy ;  therefore,  no  society  voting 
to  become  auxiliary  shall  thereby  render  itself  liable  to  be  interfered 
with  in  respect  to  its  complete  organic  unity,  independence  or  meth- 
ods of  work,  or  be  committed  to  any  principle  or  method  of  any 
other  society  or  to  any  utterance  or  act  of  the  Council  itself,  beyond 
compliance  with  the  terms  of  this  constitution." 

The  scope  of  the  Council's  work  is  indicated  by  the  heads  of  its 
departments :  Home  Life,  Educational  Interests,  Church  and  Mis- 
sionary Work,  Temperance,  Art,  Moral  Reform,  Political  Condi- 
tions, Philanthropy,  Social  Economics,  Foreign  Relations,  Press, 
Organization ;  and  by  its  standing  committees :  Citizenship,  Do- 
mestic Science,  Equal  Pay  for  Equal  Work,  Dress  Reform,  Social 
Purity,  Domestic  Relations  under  the  Law,  Press,  Care  of  De- 
pendent and  Delinquent  Children,  Peace  and  Universal  Arbitration. 

Each  of  these  departments  and  committees  works  along  its  special 
lines  and  at  the  annual  executive  meetings  and  the  triennial  Coun- 
cils the  reports  of  their  work  are  discussed,  their  recommendations 
considered  and  every  possible  assistance  rendered.  The  general 
public  is  invited  to  the  evening  sessions  and  valuable  addresses  are 
made  by  specialists  on  the  above  and  other  important  subjects. 

The  Council  is  composed  of  sixteen  national  organizations,  one 
State  Council,  six  local  councils — representing  a  membership  of 
about  1,125,000  women. 

THE  NATIONAL  WOMAN'S  CHRISTIAN  TEMPERANCE  UNION  was 


1046 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAX    SUFFRAGE. 


organized  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  Nov.  18-20,  1874,  to  carry  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  following  pledge  into  the  practice  of  everyday  life : 
"I  hereby  solemnly  promise,  God  helping  me,  to  abstain  from  all 
distilled,  fermented  and  malt  liquors,  including  wine,  beer  and  cider, 
and  to  employ  all  proper  means  to  discourage  the  use  of  and  traffic 
in  the  same." 

Its  object  was  further  stated  as  follows:  "To  confirm  and  en- 
force the  rationale  of  this  pledge,  we  declare  our  purpose  to  educate 
the  young ;  to  form  a  better  public  sentiment ;  to  reform,  so  far  as 
possible,  by  religious,  ethical  and  scientific  means,  the  drinking 
classes ;  to  seek  the  transforming  power  of  divine  grace  for  our- 
selves and  all  for  whom  we  work,  that  they  and  we  may  wilfully 
transcend  no  law  of  pure  and  wholesome  living;  and  finally  we 
pledge  ourselves  to  labor  and  to  pray  that  all  these  principles, 
founded  upon  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  may  be  worked  out  into  the 
Customs  of  Society  and  the  Laws  of  the  Land." 

The  W.  C.  T.  U.  is  held  to  be  the  most  perfectly  organized 
body  of  women  in  existence.  It  originated  the  idea  of  Scientific 
Temperance  Instruction  in  the  public  schools  and  has  secured  man- 
datory laws  in  every  State  and  a  federal  law  governing  the  District 
of  Columbia,  the  Territories  and  all  Indian  and  military  schools  sup- 
ported by  the  Government;  16,000.000  children  in  the  public  schools 
receive  instruction  under  these  laws  as  to  the  nature  and  effect  of  al- 
cohol and  other  narcotics  on  the  human  system.  Through  its  ef- 
forts the  quarterly  temperance  lesson  was  included  in  the  Inter- 
national Sunday  School  Lesson  Series  in  1884,  and  a  \Yorld's  LTni- 
versal  Temperance  Sunday  was  secured ;  250,000  children  are  taught 
scientific  reasons  for  temperance  in  the  Loyal  Temperance  Legions, 
and  all  these  children  are  pledged  to  total  abstinence  and  trained  as 
temperance  workers.  W.  C.  T.  U.  Schools  of  Methods  are  held  in 
all  Chautauqua  gatherings. 

This  organization  has  largely  influenced  the  change  in  public  sen- 
timent in  regard  to  social  drinking,  equal  suffrage,  equal  purity  for 
both  sexes,  equal  remuneration  for  work  equally  well  done,  equal 
educational,  professional  and  industrial  opportunities  for  women. 
It  has  been  a  chief  factor  in  State  campaigns  for  statutory  prohibi- 
tion, constitutional  amendment,  reform  laws  in  general  and  those  for 
the  protection  of  women  and  children  in  particular,  and  in  secur- 
ing anti-gambling  and  anti-cigarette  laws.  It  has  been  instrumental 
in  raising  the  "age  of  protection"  for  girls  in  many  States  and  in 
obtaining  curfew  laws  in  400  towns  and  cities.  It  aided  in  securing 
the  Anti-Canteen  Amendment  to  the  Army  Bill  (1900)  which  pro- 
hibits the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  at  all  army  posts.  It  helped 
to  inaugurate  police  matrons  who  are  now  required  in  nearly  all 
the  large  cities  of  the  United  States.  It  organized  Mothers'  Meet- 
ings in  thirty-seven  States  before  any  other  society  took  up  the  work. 
Illinois  alone  has  held  2,000  Mothers'  Meetings  in  a  single  year. 

It  keeps  a  superintendent  of  legislation  in  Washington  during 
the  entire  session  of  Congress  to  look  after  reform  bills.  It  aided 
in  preventing  the  repeal  of  the  prohibitory  law  in  Indian  Territory, 


NATIONAL   ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN.  IO4/ 

the  resubmission  of  the  prohibitory  constitution  of  Maine,  and  in 
preserving-  the  prohibitory  law  of  Vermont.  It  has  secured  20,000,- 
ooo  signatures  and  attestations,  including  7,000,000  on  the  Polyglot 
Petition  to  the  governments  of  the  world.  Thousands  of  girls  have 
been  rescued  from  lives  of  shame  and  tens  of  thousands  of  men 
have  signed  the  total  abstinence  pledge  and  been  redeemed  from 
inebriety  through  its  efforts. 

The  association  protests  against  the  legalizing  of  all  crimes,  es- 
pecially those  of  prostitution  and  liquor  selling.  It  protests  against 
the  sale  of  liquor  in  Soldiers'  Homes,  where  now  an  aggregate  of 
$253,027  is  spent  annually  for  intoxicating  liquors,  and  only  about 
one-fifth  of  the  soldiers'  pension  money  is  sent  home  to  their  fam- 
ilies. It  protests  against  the  United  States  Government  receiving 
a  revenue  for  liquors  sold  within  prohibitory  territory,  either  local 
or  State,  and  against  all  complicity  of  the  Federal  Government  with 
the  liquor  traffic.  It  protests  against  lynching  and  lends  its  aid 
in  favor  of  the  enforcement  of  law.  It  works  for  the  highest  well- 
being  of  our  soldiers  and  sailors  and  especially  for  suitable  tem- 
perance canteens  and  a  generous  mess.  It  works  for  the  protection 
of  the  home,  especially  against  its  chief  enemy,  the  liquor  traffic, 
and  for  the  redemption  of  our  Government  from  this  curse,  by  the 
prohibition  of  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  for 
beverage  purposes. 

The  organizing  of  this  great  society  in  the  various  States  and 
Territories,  and  the  systematizing  of  the  work  under  forty  different 
departments,  is  due  to  the  efforts  of  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard  more 
than  to  any  other  one  person,  and  its  success  is  indebted  largely  to 
her  ability  and  personal  popularity.  As  its  president  until  her  death 
in  1898,  she  not  only  perfected  the  organization  in  this  country,  but 
originated  the  idea  of  the  Polyglot  Petition  and  of  the  World's  W. 
C.  T.  U.,  which  was  organized  under  the  auspices  of  that  of  the 
United  States.  It  now  includes  fifty-eight  different  countries  and 
has  500,000  members. 

The  official  organ,  The  Union  Signal,  a  weekly  of  sixteen  pages, 
is  issued  by  the  Woman's  Temperance  Publishing  Association  of 
Chicagt),  which  publishes  also  The  Young  Crusader  and  many  books 
and  leaflets.  The  National  W.  C.  T.  U.  gives  away  5,000,000  pages 
of  literature  per  year,  exclusive  of  that  circulated  by  the  States  and 
different  departments.  It  has  received  and  expended  since  its 
organization  in  round  numbers  $400,000.  This  does  not  include 
the  large  expenditures  of  the  various  State  and  local  unions. 

Every  State  and  Territory  in  the  United  States,  including  Alaska 
and  Hawaii,  has  a  W.  C.  T.  U.,  and  one  is  beginning  in  the  Philip- 
pines. These  are  auxiliary  to  the  National.  It  is  organized  locally 
in  over  10,000  cities  and  towns.  The  Young  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union  is  called  a  branch,  also  the  Loyal  Temperance 
Legions  among  children.  There  are  thirty-eight  other  departments, 
and  it  is  usual  to  include  the  two  branches  and  speak  of  forty  de- 
partments. The  membership  paying  dues  is  300,000.  There  was 
a  gain  of  15,000  members  this  year  above  all  losses. 


1048  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

The  Frances  E.  Willard  National  Temperance  Hospital  and 
Training-  School  for  Nurses,  in  Chicago,  is  owned  and  controlled 
by  an  incorporated  board  of  thirty  trustees.  Its  basic  principle  is 
the  cure  of  disease  without  the  use  of  alcohol  as  an  active  medicinal 
agent.  Eminent  physicians  are  on  the  staff  and  every  effort  is  made 
to  have  it  rank  with  the  very  best  of  hospitals. 

At  the  national  convention  in  Washington,  D.  C,  in  1900,  fifty 
States  and  Territories  were  represented  by  509  delegates.  Mrs. 
Lillian  M.  N.  Stevens  succeeded  Miss  Willard  as  president. 

THE  AMERICAN  NATIONAL  RED  CROSS  SOCIETY  was  organized 
March  I,  1882,  with  headquarters  at  Washington,  D.  C.  Its  object 
is  the  relief  of  suffering  by  war,  pestilence,  famine,  flood,  fires,  and 
other  calamities  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  be  deemed  national  in 
extent.  It  is  governed  by  the  provisions  of  the  International  Con- 
vention of  Aug.  22,  1864,  at  Geneva,  Switzerland. 

Up  to  the  present  time  relief  has  been  given  on  fields  as  follows : 
Michigan  forest  fires,  1881,  material  and  money,  $80,000;  Missis- 
sippi floods,  1882,  money  and  seeds,  $8,000;  Mississippi  floods,  1883, 
material  and  seeds,  $18,500;  Mississippi  cyclone,  1883,  money, 
$1,000;  Balkan  war,  1883,  money,  $500;  Ohio  and  Mississippi  river 
floods,  1884,  food,  clothing-,  tools,  housefurnishings  and  feed  for 
stock,  $175,000;  Texas  famine,  1885,  appropriations  and  contribu- 
tions, $120,000;  Charleston,  S.  C.,  earthquake,  1886,  money,  $500; 
Mt.  Vernon,  111.,  cyclone,  1888,  money  and  supplies,  $85,000;  Florida 
yellow  fever  epidemic,  1888,  physicians  and  nurses,  $15,000;  Johns- 
town, Pa.,  flood  disaster,  1889,  money  and  all  kinds  of  building 
material,  furniture,  etc.,  $250,000;  Russian  famine,  1891-2,  food, 
$125,000;  Pomeroy,  la.,  cyclone,  1893,  money  and  nurses,  $2,700; 
South  Carolina  Islands  hurricane  and  tidal  wave  disaster,  money 
and  all  kinds  of  supplies,  material,  tools,  seeds,  lumber,  $65,000; 
reconcentrado  relief  in  Cuba,  1898-9,  $500,000;  American-Spanish 
War,  1898-9,  $450,000;  Galveston  flood  and  hurricane,  1900,  $120,- 
ooo ;  total,  $2,016,200. 

Miss  Clara  Barton  was  its  principal  founder  and  has  been  its 
president  continuously.  % 

THE  ASSOCIATION  OF  COLLEGIATE  ALUMNAE  was  organized  Janu- 
ary 14,  1882 ;  incorporated  by  special  act  of  the  Massachusetts  Leg- 
islature, April  20,  1899,  to  unite  the  alumnae  of  different  institutions 
for  practical  educational  work. 

From  1890  to  1901  the  association  gave  fourteen  $500  European 
fellowships  (sharing  two  others)  and  ten  $300  American  fellow- 
ships. Among  those  holding  the  fellowships  was  the  first  woman 
admitted  to  the  laboratory  of  the  United  States  Fish  Commission, 
the  first  woman  to  receive  the  Ph.  D.  degree  from  Yale,  the  first 
woman  admitted  to  Gottingen  University,  the  first  woman  permitted 
to  work  in  the  biological  laboratory  at  Strasburg  University,  the 
first  American  woman  to  receive  the  degree  of  Ph.  D.  from  any 
German  university,  and  the  first  American  woman  to  receive  a  Ph. 
D.  from  Gottingen  and  Heidelberg  Universities. 


NATIONAL   ORGANIZATIONS   OF    WOMEN.  1049 

The  character  of  the  work  accomplished  by  those  holding  fellow- 
ships made  it  possible  for  the  association  to  establish,  three  years 
ago,  a  Council  to  Accredit  Women  for  Advanced  Work  in  Foreign 
Universities.  Any  woman  applicant,  college  graduate  or  other- 
wise, found  qualified  in  work,  character  and  serious  purpose,  re- 
ceives a  certificate  properly  signed  and  attested  which  will  secure 
for  her,  if  possible  to  any  woman,  the  courtesy  and  privileges  de- 
sired at  a  foreign  university. 

The  organization  contributes  to  the  support  of  the  Association 
for  Maintaining  the  American  Woman's  Table  at  the  Zoological 
Station  at  Naples  and  to  that  for  Promoting  Scientific  Research  by 
Women.  The  latter  pays  $500  annually  for  the  support  of  the  Wom- 
an's Table,  and  to  promote  research  has  just  offered  a  prize  of 
$1,000,  which  offer,  it  is  expected,  will  be  renewed  biennially. 

The  A.  C.  A.  Committee  on  Corporate  Membership  maintains  a 
high  standard  of  colleges  whose  graduates  are  admitted  to  this  or- 
ganization, which  has  done  much  in  a  quiet  way  to  raise  the  stand- 
ards of  department  work,  equipment  and  endowment  of  American 
colleges  admitting  women. 

For  the  past  three  years  the  association  has  published  a  maga- 
zine containing  the  addresses  and  reports  given  at  its  annual  meet- 
ings. Among  its  other  publications  are  statistics  relative  to  the 
Health  of  College  Women  (1885)  ;  a  Bibliography  of  the  Higher 
Education  of  Women  (1897)  ;  a  full  descriptive  list  of  the  fellow- 
ships for  graduate  study  open  to  women  in  this  country,  together 
with  a  list  of  the  undergraduate  scholarships  offered  to  women  in  the 
nineteen  colleges  belonging  to  the  A.  C.  A.  (1899).  It  will  soon 
issue  studies  of  the  growth  and  development  of  colleges,  a  supple- 
ment to  the  Bibliography  of  the  Higher  Education  of  Women,  a 
study  of  the  child  from  the  point  of  view  of  parents  and  teachers, 
and  a  comprehensive  statistical  investigation  into  the  health,  occu- 
pations and  marriage-rate  of  college  and  non-college  women. 

The  work  of  the  national  association  is  carried  on  largely  by 
standing  committees  which  are  under  the  leadership  of  the  women 
most  notable  in  education — college  presidents,  deans  and  profes- 
sors. Meanwhile,  the  president,  six  vice-presidents  and  presidents 
of  the  various  branches,  acting  through  a  salaried  secretary- 
treasurer,  give  coherency  and  support  to  the  development  of  its 
various  objects.  In  addition,  each  branch  has  committees  which 
deal  with  local  issues*  such  as  public  school  work  of  all  kinds,  home 
economics,  development  of  children,  civil  service  reform,  college 
settlements,  etc.  The  investigation  of  the  sanitary  conditions  of 
the  Boston  public  schools,  1895-1896,  started  the  wave  of  school- 
house  cleaning  which  has  swept  across  the  country  and  which  has 
not  stopped  ^at  schoolhouses  but  has  included  school  boards  and 
systems  of  school  administration.  The  Chicago  branch  has  just 
issued  a  summary  of  laws  relating  to  compulsory  education  and 
child-labor  in  the  United  States,  which  shows  the  inadequacy  of  the 
first  (except  in  three  States)  and  the  lack  of  correlation  between 
the  two  which  makes  for  lawlessness  and  crime.  It  is  hoped  that 


IO5O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

this  summary  will  serve  as  a  basis  for  agitation  which  .shall  not 
cease  until  compulsory  education  becomes  a  fact  and  not  a  theory. 
The  association  has  twenty-five  branches  and  3,000  members. 

THE  ASSOCIATION  FOR  THE  ADVANCEMENT  OF  WOMEN  was  or- 
ganized in  New  York  in  October,  1873,  at  the  very  beginning  of  the 
club  movement,  to  interest  the  women  of  the  country  in  matters  of 
high  thought  and  in  all  undertakings  found  to  be  useful  to  society, 
and  to  promote  their  efficiency  in  these  through  sympathetic  ac- 
quaintance and  co-operation.  It  had  a  number  of  distinguished' 
presidents  and  held  congresses  in  many  States,  which  almost  in- 
variably led  to  the  formation  of  local  clubs  for  study  and  mutual 
improvement,  as  well  as  to  good  works  in  other  lines.  Among  the 
cities  in  which  a  congress  was  held  were  New  York,  Syracuse,  Buf- 
falo, Cleveland,  Detroit,  Chicago,  Des  Moines,  Denver,  Madison, 
St.  Paul,  Toronto,  Baltimore,  Memphis,  Knoxville,  Louisville,  At- 
lanta and  New  Orleans.  Many  distinguished  women  were  included 
in  its  membership  and  it  had  a  strong  influence  in  rendering  possible 
the  extensive  formation  of  the  women's  clubs  which  are  now  so 
important  a  feature  in  American  society.  Its  work  is  partly  chron- 
icled in  two  large  volumes  which  give  the  papers  presented  and  ac- 
tion taken  at  the  meetings.  The  many  great  organizations  of 
women  in  recent  years  have  made  further  work  on  the  part  of  the 
association  unnecessary. 

THE  GENERAL  FEDERATION  OF  WOMEN'S  CLUBS  was  organized 
March  20,  1890,  to  bring  into  communication  the  various  women's 
clubs  in  order  that  they  may  compare  methods  and  become  mutually 
helpful.  The  work  is  accomplished  through  three  committees — 
Art,  Education  and  Industries.  Those  on  Art  have  used  their  in- 
fluence toward  its  study  and  its  application  to  the  home,  and  also 
for  the  quickening  of  enthusiasm  in  horticulture  and  gardening, 
from  which  has  developed  the  beautifying  of  public  squares  and 
school  yards.  In  Education  some  of  the  most  important  results 
are  the  establishment  of  hundreds  of  traveling  libraries,  assistance 
in  organizing  and  fostering  kindergartens,  encouragement  of  man- 
ual training  in  the  public  schools,  and  the  formation  of  Mothers' 
Clubs  for  the  study  of  child  culture.  The  federation  has  worked 
with  other  organizations  for  the  appointment  of  women  on  school 
boards  and  legislation  for  broader  educational  advantages  for  wom- 
en. In  fact,  its  work  has  ranged  from  kindergarten  to  university. 

The  Industrial  Committee  studies  conditions  surrounding  wage- 
earning  women  and  children  and  encourages  co-operation  between 
the  woman  of  leisure  and  the  one  who  is  self-supporting,  and  the 
organization  of  laboring  women  in  unions  and  clubs.  One  prin- 
cipal object  is  to  eliminate  the  child  from  the  factory  and  then  to 
educate  it.  The  Civic  work  has  ranged  from  Health  Protective 
Associations  in  cities  to  Village  Improvement  Societies. 

There  are  thirty-six  State  Federations,  eleven  foreign  clubs  and 
nearly  700  individual  clubs  belonging  to  the  federation,  represent- 
ing over  200,000  members  (1900). 


NATIONAL   ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN. 

THE  NATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  COLORED  WOMEN  was  organized 
July,  1896,  to  arouse  all  women,  especially  colored  women,  to  a  sense 
of  their  responsibility,  both  in  molding  the  life  of  the  home  and  in 
shaping  the  principles  of  the  nation ;  to  secure  the  co-operation  of 
all  women  in  whatever  is  undertaken  in  the  interest  of  justice,  purity 
and  liberty ;  to  inspire  in  all  women,  but  especially  in  colored  women, 
a  desire  to  be  useful  in  whatever  field  of  labor  they  can  work  to  the 
best  advantage. 

Kindergartens  and  day  nurseries  for  the  infants  of  working 
women  have  been  established ;  mothers'  meetings  have  been  gen- 
erally held  and  sewing  classes  formed ;  a  sanitarium  with  a  training 
school  for  nurses  has  been  founded  in  New  Orleans ;  ground  pur- 
chased on  which  an  Old  Folks'  Home  is  to  be  built  in  Memphis,  and 
charity  dispensed  in  various  ways.  Women  on  plantations  in  the 
"black  belt"  of  Alabama  have  been  taught  how  to  make  their  huts 
decent  and  habitable  with  the  small  means  at  their  command,  and 
how  to  care  for  themselves  and  their  families  in  accordance  with 
the  rules  of  health.  Schools  of  Domestic  Science  are  conducted, 
and  a  large  branch  is  that  of  Business  Women's  Clubs.  The  Con- 
vict Lease  System,  "Jim  Crow"  Car  Laws,  Lynching  and  other 
barbarities  are  thoroughly  discussed,  in  the  hope  that  some  remedy 
for  these  evils  may  be  discovered.  Statistics  concerning  the  prog- 
ress and  achievements  of  colored  people  are  being  gathered.  Mu- 
sical clubs  are  formed  to  develop  this  inherent  gift.  An  organ  is 
published  called  Notes,  edited  by  Mrs.  Booker  T.  Washington  and 
an  assistant  in  each  State. 

The  association  has  125  branches  in  twenty-six  States  and  over 
8,000  members. 

THE  NATIONAL  CONGRESS  OF  MOTHERS  held  its  first  public  con- 
vention at  Washington  in  February,  1897,  and  permanent  organ- 
ization was  effected  there  in  1898.  Its  objects  are  to  raise  the  stand- 
ards of  home  life ;  to  give  young  women  opportunities  to  learn  how 
to  care  for  children ;  to  bring  into  closer  relations  the  home  and  the 
school ;  to  surround  the  childhood  of  the  whole  world  with  that 
wise,  loving  care  in  the  impressionable  years  of  life  which  will  de- 
velop good  citizens. 

Practical  efforts  have  been  made  to  accomplish  all  of  these  ob- 
jects. Mothers  have  used  their  influence  in  behalf  of  free  kinder- 
gartens in  the  public  schools ;  in  having  school  buildings  properly 
constructed,  lighted,  heated  and  ventilated,  and  for  shorter  hours 
in  school  and  less  study  outside.  They  have  lent  their  efforts  to 
the  uplifting  of  the  drama,  since,  rightfully  used,  it  can  be  made  a 
powerful  educational  factor,  and  have  worked  for  a  pure  press, 
recognizing  that  it  is  the  greatest  material  power  in  the  world  to- 
day. They  have  regarded  their  children  first  of  all  as  future  moth- 
ers and  fathers,  next  as  citizens,  and  they  are  demanding  that  pub- 
lic educational  systems  adopt  their  standards  of  values  in  the  ad- 
justment of  curricula. 

They  have  established  Mothers'  Clubs  in  many  communities,  es- 


1052  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

pecially  among  women  whose  opportunities  for  training  of  any  kind 
have  been  meager;  have  seen  that  creches  and  free  kindergartens 
are  provided  for  the  children  of  the  poor ;  that  reading  rooms  are 
open  for  the  use  of  boys  and  girls ;  have  urged  that  women  should 
serve  upon  all  school  boards  and  those  of  all  prisons  and  reforma- 
tory institutions ;  have  taken  the  city  fathers  to  task  wherever  laws 
pertaining  to  the  cleanliness  and  health  of  a  community  are  not 
enforced ;  have  called  mass  meetings  once  a  month  to  discuss  ques- 
tions pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  the  child ;  by  precept  and  example 
have  set  forth  the  advantages  of  simplicity  of  dress  and  entertain- 
ment, and  have  interested  themselves  in  all  kinds  of  humane  work. 

State  Congresses  have  been  formed  in  nine  States,  exact  mem- 
bership not  known.  Mrs.  Theodore  W.  Birney  was  the  founder  of 
the  organization  and  has  been  its  president  continuously. 

THE  NATIONAL  WOMAN'S  RELIEF  SOCIETY  was  organized  March 
17,  1842,  at  Nauvoo,  Ills.,  being  almost  the  oldest  woman's  society 
in  existence.  It  became  national  in  1868  and  was  incorporated  in 
1892,  to  assist  the  needy,  and  to  care  for  the  afflicted,  to  lift  up  the 
fallen,  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  suffering  humanity,  to  encour- 
age habits  of  industry  and  economy;  to  give  special  attention  to 
those  who  have  not  had  proper  training  for  life,  to  sacredly  care  for 
the  dying  and  the  dead,  to  minister  to  the  lonely,  however  lowly,  in 
the  spirit  of  grace  and  heavenly  charity. 

It  has  been  a  veritable  school  of  instruction  to  thousands  of  wom- 
en, and  its  organization  is  so  perfect  that  it  is  comparatively  easy 
to  carry  out  any  plan  of  work  formed  by  the  General  Board.  Do- 
nations are  almost  entirely  by  the  members  themselves,  and  they 
have  working  meetings,  bazars  and  fairs  occasionally  to  raise  means 
for  the  needful  purposes.  Many  of  the  branches  have  built  houses 
for  meetings  and  some  also  own  houses  for  their  poor  instead  of 
paying  rent.  Industries  have  been  carried  on  to  supply  work  to 
such  as  were  able  to  do  something  for  their  own  support.  Of  these 
the  most  notable  is  the  silk  industry  in  Utah.  Over  100,000  bushels  * 
of  wheat  have  been. stored  in  granaries  against  a  day  of  famine  or 
scarcity.  Hundreds  of  nurses  aifd  many  midwives  have  been 
trained  under  the  fostering  care  of  the  society.  At  present  money 
is  being  raised  by  donation  to  erect  a  commodious  building  in  Salt 
Lake  City  opposite  the  Temple,  suitable  for  headquarters. 

The  society  has  659  branches  and  30,000  members  in  this  and  other 
countries  and  upon  the  islands  of  the  sea.  Mrs.  Eliza  R.  Snow  and 
Mrs.  Zina  D.  H.  Young  have  been  the  only  two  presidents. 

THE  INTERNATIONAL  SUNSHINE  SOCIETY  had  its  origin  in  the 
early  nineties  in  a  department  edited  by  Mrs.  Cynthia  Westover 
Alden  in  the  New  York  Recorder,  which  she  afterwards  carried  into 
the  Tribune.  It  was  first  called  the  Shut-In  Society,  but  the  present 
name  was  adopted  in  1896  and  it  was  incorporated  in  1900. 

Its  object  is  to  incite  its  members  to  the  performance  of  helpful 
deeds,  and  to  thus  bring  happiness  into  the  greatest  possible  number 
of  hearts  and  homes.  The  membership  fee  consists  of  some  act  or 


NATIONAL    ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN.  1053 

suggestion  that  will  carry  sunshine  where  it  is  needed.  This  may 
be  the'  exchange  of  books,  pictures,  etc.,  loaning  or  giving  useful 
articles,  suggesting  ideas  for  work  that  can  be  done  by  a  "shut- 
in"  and  sending  the  materials  for  it,  making  holiday  suggestions 
and  a  general  exchange  of  helpful  ideas. 

There  are  many  Sunshine  libraries,  some  of  them  traveling,  all 
over  the  United  States  and  Canada.  In  Memphis  there  is  a  Sun- 
shine Home  for  Aged  Men,  a  Newsboys'  Club  House  and  a  Lunch 
Room  for  Working  Girls.  Several  branches  have  Sunshine  wards 
in  hospitals.  The  leading  women's  clubs  have  Sunshine  Commit- 
tees, and  hundreds  of  churches  have  them  in  their  King's  Daugh- 
ters' and  Christian  Endeavor  Societies.  Among  the  thousands  of 
articles  which  have  been  placed  where  they  will  do  the  most  good 
are  pianos,  sewing  machines,  invalid  chairs,  baby  carriages,  furni- 
ture and  clothing  of  every  description. 

There  are  more  than  100,000  members  and  over  2,000  well-or- 
ganized branches.  The  society  is  officered  and  managed  by  women 
and  they  compose  the  immense  majority  of  the  members.  Mrs. 
Alden  has  been  the  president  continuously. 

THE  NATIONAL  COUNCIL  OF  JEWISH  WOMEN  was  organized  in 
Chicago  in  1893,  as  a  result  of  the  Congress  of  Jewish  Women, 
which  was  a  branch  of  the  Parliament  of  Religions  held  during  the 
Columbian  Exposition.  Its  objects  are  to  bring  about  closer  rela- 
tions among  Jewish  women  and  a  means  of  prosecuting  work  of 
common  interest ;  to  further  united  efforts  in  behalf  of  Judaism 
through  a  better  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  Jewish  literature  and  con- 
ditions. It  has  given  much  attention  to  social  reform  through 
preventive  philanthropy  and  it  affiliates  with  many  organizations 
of  women  interested  in  the  public  welfare.  The  Council  conducts 
manual  training  and  industrial  schools,  sewing  and  household 
schools,  kitchen  gardens,  kindergartens,  mothers'  clubs,  boys'  clubs, 
circulating  libraries,  reading  rooms,  free  baths,  employment  bu- 
reaus, milk  and  ice  depots  for  the  poor,  crippled  children's  classes 
and  many  other  philanthropies. 

During  the  Spanish- American  War  the  Council  contributed  about 
$10,000  in  money  and  goods,  and  in  several  cities  was  the  first  or- 
ganization to  undertake  this  relief  work.  It  has  sixty-three  sec- 
tions in  various  States  and  6,000  members.  Mrs.  Hannah  G.  Solo- 
mon has  been  president  continuously. 

THE  WOMEN'S  NATIONAL  INDIAN  ASSOCIATION  was  organized  in 
March,  1879,  for  the  civilization,  education,  enfranchisement  and 
Christianization  of  the  native  Indians  of  the  United  States;  the 
first  society  devoted  exclusively  to  Indian  advancement,  to  ask  and 
labor  for  all  these;  to  demand  from  the  Government  lands  in  sev- 
eralty,  citizenship,  industrial  teaching  and  education  for  the  ab- 
origines (1881),  and  these  were  granted  in  the  passage  of  the 
Dawes  Severalty  Bill  in  February,  1887. 

Besides  its  important  work  politically,  beginning  a  movement 
which  has  gained  60,000  Indian  citizens,  at  least  25,000  of  whom 


IO54  'HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

pay  taxes  and  10,000  of  whom  voted  at  the  last  elections,  it  has 
opened  directly  or  indirectly  Christian,  educational  and  industrial 
instruction  at  forty-seven  stations,  or  in  as  many  tribes ;  has  builded 
many  Indian  homes,  starting  civilized  industries  in  these  and  in 
tribes,  furnishing  agricultural  implements,  sewing  machines,  looms, 
stock,  etc.,  from  a  loan  fund  of  $12,000.  It  has  various  other  de- 
partments of  help  for  red  men — schools,  libraries,  temperance  teach- 
ing, etc. — and  has  expended  in  all  these  (besides  sending  missionary 
boxes  of  supplies  for  the  aged  and  helpless  into  seventy  tribes) 
from  $15,000  to  $28,000  annually.  It  has  now  a  House  of  Indus- 
tries where  women  and  girls  are  taught  sewing,  knitting,  weaving, 
etc.  Altogether  forty-one  buildings  have  been  erected. 

The  Association  has  nearly  100  branches  in  between  thirty  and 
forty  States  and  Territories  and  has  several  thousand  members. 
Mrs.  Amelia  Stone  Quinton  was  general  secretary  from  the  begin- 
ning for  eight  years,  and  has  since  been  president  continuously. 

THE  NATIONAL  LEAGUE  OF  WOMEN  WORKERS  was  organized 
April  29,  1897,  in  the  interest  of  working  women  and  their  clubs. 
It  is  intended  that  the  League  shall  stand  as  a  central  bureau  of 
information,  offering  counsel  and  help  when  sought,  but  not  placing 
restrictions  upon  any  club.  It  has  issued  various  publications,  a 
monthly  magazine,  The  Club  Worker,  a  collection  of  songs,  one  of 
practical  talks,  another  of  plays  and  of  entertainments;  also  a 
pamphlet  entitled  How  to  Start  a  Club.  It  has  made  a  collection 
of  all  publications  issued  by  the  various  auxiliary  State  associations 
and  clubs,  which  are  distributed  free  of  charge  to  members.  Be- 
tween 8,000  and  9,000  publications  are  annually  sold  and  distributed. 
The  secretary  each  year  visits  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  clubs  to 
acquaint  them  with  the  work  of  other  similar  organizations.  The 
League  has  collected  data  relating  to  the  management  of  lunch 
clubs,  vacation  houses  and  co-operative  homes  for  working  women. 

It  is  made  up  of  five  associations,  and  includes  100  clubs  in  Ver- 
mont, Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  Penn- 
sylvania and  Maryland,  with  a  membership  of  over  8,000. 

THE  NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN  LEAGUE  FOR  THE  PROMOTION  OF  SO- 
CIAL PURITY  was  organized  in  New  York  in  October,  1885,  and  a 
national  charter  was  obtained  in  1889.  Its  object  is  to  elevate  opin- 
ion respecting  the  nature  and  claims  of  morality,  with  its  equal  ob- 
ligation upon  men  and  women,  and  to  secure  a  practical  recognition 
of  its  precepts  on  the  part  of  the  individual,  the  family  and  the 
nation ;  to  organize  the  efforts  of  Christians  in  preventive,  educa- 
tional, reformatory  and  legislative  effort  in  the  interest  of  Social 
Purity.  It  uses  every  righteous  means  to  free  women  and  girls 
from  financial  dependence  upon  men,  not  only  by  seeking  to  raise 
the  status  of  domestic  service,  but  by  teaching  the  advantages  of 
self-support  in  every  kind  of  legitimate  business.  During  the  past 
six  years  the  League  has  secured  employment  directly  for  3,300  ap- 
plicants ;  it  has  supplied  temporal  and  social  benefits  to  thousands  of 
distressed  women ;  furnished  more  than  5,000,000  pages  of  literature 


NATIONAL   ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN.  1055 

helpful  to  all  the  people ;  prevented  and  stopped  immoral  shows  and 
impure  exhibitions;  clothed  the  naked,  fed  the  hungry  and  housed 
the  shelterless. 

The  League  has  Hospital  Auxiliaries,  Social  Culture  Clubs,  In- 
dustrial Homes  with  training  for  Italians  and  other  foreigners ; 
members  in  nearly  every  State  and  Territory — in  Europe,  China, 
Japan,  India  and  South  America.  It  was  founded  by  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth B.  Grannis,  who  has  been  its  president  continuously. 

THE  YOUNG  LADIES'  NATIONAL  MUTUAL  IMPROVEMENT  ASSO- 
CIATION was  organized  at  Salt  Lake  City  in  June,  1869.  Associa- 
tions were  formed  in  different  States,  and  these  were  gradually 
grouped  into  "stake"  or  county  societies,  each  one  presided  over  by 
a  president  and  her  board  of  workers.  On  June  19,  1880,  an  organi- 
zation of  these  "stakes"  was  effected  and  a  general  president  elected. 
The  object  is  mutual  improvement  for  all,  in  spiritual,  mental  and 
physical  conditions. 

It  is  an  educational  association  and  has  bettered  the  condition  of 
thousands  of  girls,  leading  them  toward  the  light,  cultivating  un- 
selfishness, a  love  of  humanity,  and  a  desire  to  help  the  world ;  it 
has  given  to  all  its  members  a  deeper,  truer,  purer  education  than 
they  could  otherwise  have  obtained.  While  not  strictly  a  bene- 
ficiary organization,  it  disburses  several  thousand  dollars  a  year.  It 
owns  considerable  property,  including  houses  and  libraries. 

The  association  has  507  branches  and  22,000  members  in  ten 
States  and  Territories  and  a  number  of  foreign  countries.  Mrs. 
Elmina  Shepard  Taylor  has  been  president  since  1878. 

THE  NATIONAL  KINDERGARTEN  UNION  was  organized  in 
July,  1892,  to  unite  kindergarten  interests;  to  promote  the  estab- 
lishment of  kindergartens,  and  to  elevate  the  standard  of  their 
training  and  teaching.  It  has  instituted  more  friendly  relations 
between  kindergartners,  bringing  together  the  conservative  and  radi- 
cal elements  upon  a  common  platform.  A  broader  conception  of  the 
principles  of  Froebel  and  their  relation  to  education  in  general  has 
been  promoted,  thus  enlarging  the  scope  of  the  kindergarten  idea 
and  widening  its  influence.  There  are  at  present  seventy  branches 
with  6,000  members. 

THE  WOMA'N'S  PRISON  ASSOCIATION  AND  ISAAC  T.  HOPPER  HOME 
was  organized  by  Mr.  Hopper  in  1845  m  New  York  and  incor- 
porated in  1854.  It  was  afterwards  sustained  for  many  years  by  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Abby  Hopper  Gibbons.  Its  object  is  the  amelioration 
of  the  condition  of  women  prisoners,  the  improvement  of  prison 
discipline  and  the  government  of  prisons  in  respect  to  women ;  also 
the  support  and  encouragement  of  women  convicts  after  their  re- 
lease. The  association  has  secured  in  New  York  the  searching  of 
women  prisoners  by  women ;  a  law  requiring  police  matrons ;  one 
providing  a  Reformatory  for  Women  and  Girls,  and  others  of  like 
import.  The  Home  is  in  a  large  measure  self-supporting.  From 
this  first  organization  a  number  of  similar  ones  have  been  established 
and  the  condition  of  women  prisoners  has  been  much  improved. 


IO56  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

THE  NATIONAL  HOUSEHOLD  ECONOMIC  ASSOCIATION  was  organ- 
ized in  March,  1893,  to  promote  a  scientific  knowledge  of  the  care  of 
children,  and  of  the  economic  and  hygienic  value  of  food,  fuel  and 
clothing;  to  inculcate  an  intelligent  knowledge  of  sanitary  condi- 
tions in  the  home,  and  to  urge  the  recognition  of  housekeeping  as  a 
business  or  trade  which  is  worthy  of  highest  thought  and  effort. 
This  was  the  first  organization  to  present  Household  Economics  in 
a  comprehensive  form  as  an  important  and*  profound  science.  The 
existence  of  home  departments  in  nearly  every  woman's  club  may 
be  directly  or  indirectly  traced  to  its  influence.  From  Maine  to 
California  women  have  received  from  it  broader  and  better  views  of 
home  and  home  life.  It  has  vice-presidents  in  twenty-nine  States. 

THE  NATIONAL  WOMAN'S  KEELEY  RESCUE  LEAGUE  was  organ- 
ized Sept.  1 8,  1893,  to  restore  the  victim  of  inebriety  and  drugs 
to  health  and  happiness  and  to  aid  the  unfortunate  inebriate  to  be- 
come a  self-supporting  citizen  instead  of  an  object  of  charity;  to 
visit  the  families  of  inebriates  and  by  every  means  possible  aid  them 
to  a  higher  and  better  life.  It  has  brought  sunshine  and  happiness 
into  more  than  one  thousand  desolate  homes,  and  enabled  the  heads 
of  these  homes  to  become  self-supporting.  Husbands  and  wives 
who  have  been  driven  asunder  by  the  curse  of  drink  have  been  re- 
united. Thousands  of  children  who  would  have  been  thrown  upon 
the  world  or  into  charitable  institutions  have  been  saved  and  are 
now  cared  for  in  well-provided  homes.  Many  a  family  has  been 
kept  from  becoming  a  charge  upon  charity,  and  the  current  of  many 
a  human  life  has  been  turned  in  wholesome  channels. 

The  League  pays  for  a  man's  treatment  at  the  time  he  enters  a 
Keeley  Institute,  taking  his  note  (properly  secured  by  the  indorse- 
ment of  some  friend,  when  possible),  and  requiring  him  to  pay 
back  in  monthly  installments  or  as  his  circumstances  will  permit. 
This  creates  a  revolving  fund  to  be  used  over  and  over  again.  It 
has  its  friendly  visitors  looking  after  the  family  while  he  is  taking 
the  treatment  and  endeavors  to  have  employment  for  him  upon  his 
return.  Men  who  have  been  sent  to  the  work-house  repeatedly 
have  been  permanently  reclaimed.  The  League  has  eighteen 
branches  and  650  members. 

THE  NATIONAL  FEDERATION  OF  MUSICAL  CLUBS  was  organized 
January,  1898,  to  bring  into  communication  the  various  musical 
societies  that  they  may  compare  methods  of  work  and  become  mu- 
tually helpful ;  and  to  arrange  in  different  sections  of  the  country 
Biennial  Musical  Festivals.  It  works  for  the  musical  life  of  the 
nation  by  creating  a  musical  atmosphere,  studying  composers  and 
their  works  and  bringing  the  best  talent  in  various  lines  to  interpret 
and  illustrate  these  studies.  Large,  strong  clubs  have  been  helpful 
in  sending  their  members  to  those  smaller  in  numbers  and  weaker 
financially.  Two  Musical  Festivals  have  been  held,  national  in 
character,  one  in  St.  Louis  in  May,  1899,  the  other  in  Cleveland  in 
May.  1901,  with  every  possible  artistic  advantage  of  the  highest 
talent. 


NATIONAL   ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN.  IO57 

There  are  branches  in  thirty-two  States  and  Canada  ;  160  clubs  are 
federated  with  12,000  members. 

THE  NEEDLEWORK  GUILD  OF  AMERICA  was  organized  April,  1885, 
to  collect  new  garments  and  distribute  them  to  hospitals,  homes  and 
other  charities,  and  to  extend  its  usefulness  by  the  organization  of 
branches.  It  has  distributed  to  hospitals,  homes  and  other  charities 
in  the  United  States  about  2,500,000  new  garments.  This  includes 
the  results  of  two  or  three  special  collections  for  national  disasters. 
It  has  308  branches  in  this  country. 

RELIGIOUS : 

THE  WOMAN'S  FOREIGN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY  OF  THE  METHOD- 
IST EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  was  organized  March  23,  1869.  Its  object 
is  to  engage  and  unite  the  efforts  of  Christian  women  in  sending 
missionaries  to  the  women  in  foreign  mission  fields  of  the  church 
and  in  supporting  them  and  the  native  Christian  teachers,  and  all 
forms  of  work  carried  on  by  the  society.  It  has  collected  and  dis- 
bursed $5,454,700;  sent  to  foreign  fields  365  missionaries,  and  es- 
tablished a  great  educational  work  for  women  'throughout  the 
Orient.  The  first  woman's  college  in  Asia,  at  Lucknow,  India,  was 
founded  by  this  society.  It  sent  the  first  fully  equipped  medical 
woman  to  the  mission  fields  of  the  East,  and  built  the  first  hospitals 
for  women  in  India,  China  and  Korea.  Nineteen  hospitals  and  dis- 
pensaries are  supported  by  the  society,  and  246  missionaries  in  Af- 
rica, Burmah,  Bulgaria,  China,  India,  Italy,  Japan,  Korea,  Malaysia, 
Mexico,  South  America  and  the  Philippines,  while  twenty-four 
medical  women  are  now  in  the  field.  There  are  18,000  girls  and 
women  in  its  various  schools. 

The  society  has  eleven  branches,  covering  the  whole  United 
States,  5,410  auxiliaries,  and  171,765  members.  Mrs.  Cyrus  D.  Foss 
is  president. 

THE  WOMAN'S  HOME  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY  OF  THE  M.  E. 
CHURCH  was  organized  July  10,  1880,  to  enlist  and  organize  the 
efforts  of  Christian  women  in  behalf  of  the  needy  and  destitute 
women  and  children  of  all  sections  of  the  United  States,  without 
distinction  of  race,  and  to  co-operate  with  the  other  societies  and 
agencies  of  the  church  in  educational  and  missionary  work.  The 
total  receipts  from  July,  1880,  to  July,  1900,  were  $2,782,773;  total 
value  of  property,  $736,152.  This  property  consists  of  twenty  in- 
dustrial homes  and  schools,  six  mission  homes,  two  immigrant 
homes,  three  children's  homes,  six  centers  of  city  mission  work, 
-five  deaconess  and  missionary  training  schools,  twenty-eight  dea- 
coness homes,  four  rest  homes  for  deaconesses  and  missionaries. 

The  Society  has  eighty-nine  conferences,  2,500  auxiliary  societies. 
59,000  adult  members  and  13,500  children.  The  Deaconess  De- 
partment was  established  in  1888.  There  are  now  (1901)  1,160 
deaconesses  with  $1,600,000  invested  in  real  estate  connected  with 
their  work.  Mrs.  Clinton  D.  Fisk  is  president. 
VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— S7 


1058  HISTORY  OF  WOMAN  SUFFRAGE. 

THE  WOMEN'S  FOREIGN*  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY  OF  THE  METHODIST 
PROTESTANT  CHURCH  was  organized  Feb.  14,  1879,  to  bring  the 
heathen  to  Christ.  It  has  established  schools,  built  churches  and 
done  a  valuable  work  especially  among  girls.  It  has  twenty 
branches  and  about  3,000  members.  Mrs.  F.  A.  Brown  of  Carding- 
ton,  O.,  is  serving  her  twenty-first  year  as  president. 

THE  WOMAN'S  BAPTIST  FOREIGN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY  was  or- 
ganized April  3,  1871.  The  leading  object  is  the  Christianization 
of  women  in  foreign  lands  by  furnishing  support  through  the  Amer- 
ican Baptist  Missionary  Union  to  Christian  women  employed  by 
said  Union  as  missionaries,  native  teachers  or  Bible  readers,  to- 
gether with  the  facilities  needed  for  their  work.  Its  missionaries 
have  been  sent  to  Burmah,  Assam,  India,  China,  Japan  and  Africa. 
The  home  constituency  is  found  in  the  Baptist  churches  of  the  New 
England  and  Middle  Atlantic  States. 

The  total  number  of  American  missionaries  supported  for  a  longer 
or  shorter  time  is  142.  Of  these  seventy-eight  are  now  connected 
with  the  society,  112  native  Bible  women  employed  as  visitors  in 
homes,  and  367'  boarding  and  day  schools  with  more  than  14,000 
pupils  are  maintained.  Many  women  who  have  been  taught  in 
these  schools  are  exerting  a  strong  influence  as  Christian  wives, 
mothers  and  teachers.  The  medical  missionaries  have  cared  for 
souls  and  bodies  alike.  One  of  these  doctors  reports  17,000  treat- 
ments at  her  dispensary  during  the  last  year.  Large  sums  of  money 
have  also  been  expended  for  mission  work  of  various  kinds  under 
the  care  of  the  wives  of  missionaries.  The  total  amount  raised  and 
expended  in  thirty  years  is  over  $2,000,000. 

There  are  numerous  auxiliary  circles,  including  about  34,000 
women,  besides  10,000  younger  women  organized  in  guilds. 

THE  WOMAN'S  BAPTIST  FOREIGN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY  OF  THE 
WEST  was  organized  May  9,  1871,  for  the  elevation  and  Christian- 
ization of  the  women  of  foreign  lands  by  furnishing  support  to 
Christian  women  employed  as  missionaries,  to  native  teachers  and 
to  Bible  women,  together  with  the  facilities  needed  for  their  work. 
It  supports  177  schools,  5.337  pupils,  159  teachers  and  94  Bible 
women.  In  the  medical  department  it  has  two  hospitals,  two  dis- 
pensaries, twenty  medical  students  and  three  helpers;  597  patients 
were  treated  in  the  hospitals  during  the  past  year  and  6,130  outside 
patients.  The  amount  raised  since  organization  is  $885,279.  and  105 
missionaries  have  been  sent  out.  There  are  1,530  auxiliaries. 

THE  WOMAN'S  BAPTIST  HOME  MISSION  SOCIETY  was  organized 
Feb.  i,  1877,  to  aid  in  spreading  the  gospel  and  to  Christianize 
homes  by  means  of  house-to-house  visitation  and  by  missions  and 
schools  with  special  reference  to  exceptional  populations  in  the 
United  States,  and  among  neighboring  countries.  The  missionary 
training  school  was  organized  Sept.  5,  1881,  and  located  at  the 
headquarters  of  the  society,  now  in  Chicago.  The  same  year  re- 
cords the  first  issue  of  the  monthly  organ,  Tidings,  which  has  grown 


NATIONAL    ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN.  IO59 

from  a  four-page  circular  to  a  thirty-two-page  magazine,  with  a 
monthly  circulation  of  13,500  copies.  The  training  school  has  en- 
rolled 518  students.  The  Society  supports  also  two  training  schools 
for  negro  workers — Shaw  University,  Raleigh,  N.  C.,  and  the  Caro- 
line Bishop  School  in  Dallas,  Texas.  It  has  employed  on  its  own 
fields  159  missionaries  among  foreign  populations  in  this  country 
from  Europe,  Indians,  Negroes,  Chinese,  Syrians  (from  Asia),  Mex- 
icans, Cubans,  Porto  Ricans  and  Americans. 

The  missionaries  report,  for  the  year,  besides  work  along  many 
other  lines,  80,635  visits  in  homes.  During  the  twenty-four  years 
the  visits  reported  aggregate  1,152,950,  and  from  the  headquarters 
of  the  Society  have  gone  6,478,544  pages  of  literature.  The  total 
cash  receipts  have  been  $1,034,104.  Besides  providing  for  its  own 
distinctive  work,  the  Society  has  aided  the  American  Baptist  Home 
Missionary  Society  from  1882  until  1901  to  an  extent  represented 
by  a  total  of  $91,288. 

Figures  have  a  certain  value,  but  the  best  fruit  is  seen  in  the  re- 
sults of  the  work  of  the  missionaries  on  the  fields,  through  the 
visits  in  homes,  women's  meetings,  children's  meetings,  industrial 
schools,  parents'  conferences,  Bible  bands,  fireside  schools,  training 
classes,  and  the  circulation  of  pure,  wholesome  literature.  Through 
this  womanly  ministry  uncounted  lives  have  been  transformed  and 
a  multitude  of  abodes  have  become  Christian  homes.  There  are 
2,807  auxiliaries  and  about  60,000  members. 

THE  WOMAN'S  AMERICAN  BAPTIST  HOME  MISSION  SOCIETY  was 
organized  Nov.  14,  1878,  for'  the  evangelization  of  the  women 
among  the  freed  people,  the  heathen,  immigrants  and  the  new  set- 
tlements of  the  West,  and  for  evangelizing  and  educating  the 
v/omen  and  children  in  any  part  of  North  America.  The  amount 
raised  during  the  last  year  was  $38,000;  fifty-seven  teachers,  mis- 
sionaries and  Bible  women  are  supported  among  colored  people,  In- 
dians, Mexicans,  Mormons,  Chinese,  Alaskans  and  French  Catholics. 

THE  FREE  BAPTIST  WOMAN'S  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY  was  organ- 
ized June  12,  1873,  to  conduct  home  and  foreign  missions.  This  is 
believed  to  be  the  only  Woman's  Missionary  Society  (with  possibly 
the  exception  of  the  Christian  and  the  Friends')  which  from  the 
beginning  has  been  entirely  independent  and  not  an  auxiliary  organ- 
ization. It  has  furnished  eleven  women  missionaries  for  India,  one 
of  whom  is  a  professor  in  the  Theological  School  and  two  are  phy- 
sicians, and  supports  a  large  number  of  schools,  many  native  and 
Bible  women  and  extensive  zenana  work.  Besides  this  it  aids  all 
other  women  missionaries  of  its  denominational  conference  board 
by  annual  appropriations  for  their  local  work  among  women  and 
children  at  the  various  stations  occupied  by  Free  Baptists.  The 
Rhode  Island  Kindergarten  Hall,  the  Widows'  Home  and  the  Sin- 
clair Orphanage,  all  located  at  Benares,  province  of  Orissa,  India, 
are  the  property  of  this  society. 

Its  home  missionary  work  is  connected  with  Storer  College,  Har- 
per's Ferry,  W.  Va.,  to  which  it  has  furnished  thirteen  teachers, 


io6o 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


besides  contributing  largely  to  the  erection  and  equipment  of  two  of 
the  main  buildings.  Its  receipts  have  been  about  $200,000.  It  has 
a  permanent  fund  of  about  $42,000. 

The  society  has  twenty-five  State  organizations,  others  in  Canada 
and  India,  with  between  8,000  and  9,000  members. 

THE  WOMAN'S  PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS  OF 
THE  SOUTHWEST  was  organized  at  St.  Louis  in  April,  1877;  origin- 
ally to  create  and  foster  a  practical  and  intelligent  interest  in  the 
spiritual  condition  of  women  and  children  in  our  own  land  and  in 
heathen  lands.  Since  the  close  of  its  fourteenth  year  its  work  has 
been  for  foreign  missions  only,  being  one  of  the  seven  woman's 
auxiliaries  to  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  the  United  States  of  America.  It  has  given  to  the  cause 
of  missions  $249,618,  and  has  had  missionaries,  as  teachers  or 
physicians,  in  India,  China,  Japan,  Korea,  Siam,  Persia  and  South 
America.  The  record  of  their  work  has  been  of  a  nature  sufficiently 
encouraging  to  warrant  continued  and  larger  support.  The  Board 
has  605  branches  or  auxiliary  societies  and  13,776  members. 

THE  WOMAN'S  BOARD  OF  HOME  MISSIONS  OF  THE  PRESBYTERIAN 
CHURCH  was  organized  in  December,  1878,  to  establish  and  main- 
tain Christian  schools  among  those  near  home.  It  has  eleven  sta- 
tions in  Alaska,  eighteen  among  the  Indians,  twenty-seven  among 
the  Mexicans,  thirty-one  among  the  Mormons,  forty  among  the 
mountaineers,  six  among  the  foreigners  in  this  country,  five  among 
the  Porto  Ricans,  making  a  total  of  138,  with  425  missionaries  and 
teachers  and  9,337  pupils. 

The  Board  has  secured  to  the  Presbyterian  church  $750,000  worth 
of  property  and  has  expended  about  $3,500,000  since  organization. 
Two  magazines  are  published,  the  Home  Mission  Monthly,  and 
Over  Sea  and  Land  for  the  young,  the  latter  jointly  with  the  For- 
eign Societies.  It  has  about  5,000  auxiliary  societies  with  about 
100,000  members. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  WOMAN'S  BOARD  OF  MISSIONS  was  organized 
Oct.  22,  1874,  to  maintain  preachers  and  teachers  for  religious  in- 
struction ;  to  encourage  and  cultivate  a  missionary  spirit  and  ef- 
fort in  the  churches ;  to  disseminate  missionary  intelligence  and  se- 
cure systematic  contributions  for  such  purposes ;  to  establish  and 
maintain  schools  for  the  education  of  both  sexes. 

Fields :  The  United  States.  Jamaica,  India,  Mexico  and  Porto 
Rico.  Work :  University  Bible  lectureships,  Michigan,  Virginia, 
Kansas,  Calcutta,  India;  eighteen  schools,  four  orphanage  schools, 
two  kindergartens,  four  orphanages  with  500  children,  one  Chinese 
mission,  one  hospital,  three  dispensaries,  one  leper  mission,  thirty 
mission  stations  outside  the  United  States;  135  missionaries,  be- 
sides native  teachers,  evangelists,  Bible  women  and  other  helpers ; 
$900,000  raised  during  twenty-six  years ;  income  last  year,  $106,- 
728.  Its  publications  are  Missionary  Tidings,  circulation  13,500: 
Junior  Builders,  same  circulation ;  leaflets,  calendars,  manuals,  song 


NATIONAL   ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN.  Io6l 

books,  etc.  Property  values:  United  States,  $120,000;  India,  $60,- 
300 ;  Jamaica,  $38,550 ;  Porto  Rico,  $10,000 ;  total,  $229,650 ;  amount 
of  endowment  funds,  $85,000. 

This  is  purely  a  woman's  organization ;  funds  are  raised  and  dis- 
bursed, fields  entered  and  work  outlined  and  managed  without  con- 
nection with  any  "parent  board,"  although  relations  with  other  or- 
ganizations of  the  church  are  most  cordial.  There  are  thirty-six 
State  organizations,  1,750  auxiliaries,  forty-five  young  ladies'  cir- 
cles, 374  mission  bands,  1,711  junior  societies  of  Christian  En- 
deavor, 177  intermediate  societies  and  40,000  members  of  auxiliaries. 

THE  WOMAN'S  STATE  HOME  MISSIONARY  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE 
CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH  represents  a  slow  but  steady  growth  dur- 
ing the  past  thirty  years.  Branches  exist  now  in  forty-two  States 
and  Territories.  The  last  report  available,  that  of  1897,  showed 
$100,768  collected  that  year  and  disbursed  for  the  usual  home  mis- 
sionary purposes. 

THE  WOMAN'S  CENTENARY  ASSOCIATION  OF  THE  UNIVERSALIST 
CHURCH  was  organized  in  1869  to  assist  weak  parishes,  foster  Sun- 
day-schools, help  educate  women  students  for  the  ministry,  endow 
professorships  in  schools  and  colleges,  relieve  the  wants  of  sick  or 
disabled  preachers,  ministers'  widows  and  orphans,  distribute  de- 
nominational literature,  and  do  both  home  and  foreign  missionary 
work.  Since  its  organization  it  has  raised  and  disbursed  over  $300,- 
ooo  and  has  a  permanent  fund  of  $20,500,  the  interest  of  which  is 
annually  expended  for  the  purposes  for  which  the  association  was 
organized.  Millions  of  pages  of  denominational  literature  have 
been  distributed.  The  association  has  ten  State  societies  and  100 
mission  (local)  circles. 

THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE  OF  UNITARIAN  AND  OTHER  LIBERAL 
CHRISTIAN  WOMEN  was  organized  in  1890.  Its  objects  are  primarily 
to  quicken  the  religious  life  of  Unitarian  churches  and  to  bring  the 
women  into  closer  acquaintance,  co-operation  and  fellowship ;  to 
promote  local  organizations  of  women  for  missionary  and  denomina- 
tional work  and  to  bring  the  same  into  association ;  to  collect  and 
disseminate  information  regarding  all  matters  of  interest  to  the 
church,  viz. :  needs  of  local  societies,  facilities  for  meeting  them, 
work  to  be  done,  collection  and  distribution  of  money,  etc. 

The  Alliance  takes  part  in  the  missionary  work  of  the  denomina- 
tion, assisting  small  churches  and  starting  new  ones ;  supports  one 
or  more  students  each  year  at  the  Meadville  Theological  School  and 
maintains  several  circuit  ministers.  It  has  lending  and  traveling 
libraries  and  libraries  for  ministers,  and  has  established  and  main- 
tained three  permanent  ones  in  places  where  there  was  no  free 
library.  Through  its  well-known  Post  Office  Mission  it  distributes 
annually  about  300,000  sermons  and  tracts,  and  through  its  Cheerful 
Letter  Exchange  an  untold  amount  of  miscellaneous  literature. 
Money  is  not  disbursed  from  a  central  treasury,  but  is  given  by  the 
branches  which  are  independent  in  such  matters,  an  Executive 


IO62  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

Board  making1  recommendations.  The  expenditures  of  the  past  ten 
years  have  been  $419,757.  The  Alliance  has  255  branches  -and 
nearly  11,000  members. 

THE  WOMAN'S  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION  OF  THE  UNITED  BRETH- 
REN IN  CHRIST  was  organized  Oct.  21,  1875,  to  engage  and  unite  the 
efforts  of  women  in  sending  missionaries  into  all  the  world ;  to  sup- 
port these  and  other  laborers  in  mission  fields,  and  to  secure  by  gift, 
bequest  and  otherwise  the  funds  necessary  for  these  purposes.  Val- 
uable missionary  work  is  being  done  in  West  Africa,  China  and  the 
Philippines.  The  association  in  the  last  twenty-five  years  has  raised 
$311,920.  It  has  forty  branches  and  13,232  members. 

THE  WOMAN'S  FOREIGN  UNION  OF  FRIENDS  was  organized  May, 
1890,  to  increase  the  efficiency  for  spreading  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
among  the  heathen,  and  to  create  an  additional  bond  between  the 
women  of  the  American  Yearly  Meetings.  It  has  been  the  instru- 
mentality of  greatly  quickening  the  missionary  zeal  and  activity  in 
the  denomination.  It  established  missions  in  Japan,  China,  India 
and  in  unoccupied  parts  of  Mexico,  and  rendered  valuable  assistance 
in  planting  missions  in  Alaska,  Jamaica  and  Palestine.  It  founded 
and  has  successfully  managed  the  Friends'  Missionary  Advocate. 
During  the  past  ten  years  $300,000  have  been  raised  and  expended. 
It  has  ten  branches  and  4,000  members. 

THE  WOMAN'S  HOME  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY  OF  THE 
GENERAL  SYNOD  OF  THE  EVANGELICAL  LUTHERAN  CHURCH  IN  THE 
U.  S.  A.  was  organized  in  1879.  Its  object  is  to  cultivate  a  mis- 
sionary spirit,  to  create  a  deeper  interest  in  the  spread  of  the  Gospel, 
to  disseminate  missionary  intelligence,  and  to  engage  and  unite  the 
efforts  of  Christian  women  in  the  Lutheran  church  in  supporting 
missions  and  missionaries  on  home  and  foreign  fields,  in  co-opera- 
tion with  the  Boards  of  Home  and  Foreign  Missions  and  Church 
Extension.  In  the  Foreign  field  it  is  now  supporting  eight  women 
missionaries  in  India,  two  of  whom  are  physicians  and  one  a  trained 
nurse.  The  principal  station  is  Guntur,  Madras  Presidency.  In 
Africa  it  is  supporting  two  women  missionaries  at  Muhlenberg, 
Liberia.  In  the  Home  field  it  has  helped  support  eighteen  missions 
and  build  churches  for  twelve  of  them.  The  amount  contributed  by 
the  societies  for  the  year  ending  March  31,  1902,  was  $27,286. 

The  Society  has  twenty-two  Synodical  Societies,  760  auxiliaries 
and  20,452  members,  active  and  honorary  and  cradle  roll,  besides 
489  life  members. 

THE  WOMAN'S  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY  OF  THE  GENERAL  SYNOD  OF 
THE  REFORMED  CHURCH  was  organized  in  1887,  to  aid  in  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  work  of  Christian  Missions  in  Home  and  Foreign 
Lands.  Individual  societies  had  existed  for  ten  years  previous. 
The  last  report  available  is  that  of  1893,  when  144  societies  were  re- 
ported and  $10.000  collected  during  the  year.  One-third  was  ex- 
pended for  foreign  and  two-thirds  for  home  missions.  The  society 
lias  published  an  official  organ,  the  Woman's  Journal,  since  1894. 


NATIONAL    ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN.  1063 

Women  also  belong  and  contribute  to  the  general  missionary  socie- 
ties of  the  church. 

THE  INTERNATIONAL  BOARD  OF  WOMEN'S  AND  YOUNG  WOMEN'S 
CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATIONS  had  its  beginning  in  1871,  when  thirty 
of  these  associations  affiliated  for  biennial  conferences.  Later  they 
organized  as  the  International  Board  which  became  incorporated. 
Its  object  is  to  unite  in  one  central  organization  these  bodies  of  the 
United  States,  Canada  and  other  countries,  and  to  promote  the  form- 
ing of  similar  ones,  to  advance  the  mental,  moral,  temporal  and  above 
all  the  spiritual  welfare  of  young  women. 

The  Ladies'  Christian  Union  of  New  York,  organized  in  1858, 
was  the  first  work  in  this  country  for  the  welfare  of  young  business 
women.  A  home  was  the  imperative  need  of  the  friendless  young 
women  employed  in  cities  then  as  it  is  now,  since  the  small  wages 
received  make  possible  for  them  only  the  poorest  quarters  amid 
demoralizing  conditions.  These  Christian  Women  opened  a  house 
and  took  into  it  as  many  as  they  could  reach,  giving  clean  rooms, 
wholesome  food,  cheap  rent,  pure  moral  atmosphere  and  religious 
influences.  From  this  developed  the  Young  Women's  Christian 
Association. 

The  federated  associations  now  own  property  valued  at  over  $5,- 
000,000.  In  the  evolution  of  this  work  the  Boarding  Homes,  now 
accommodating  over  3,000  at  one  time,  have  been  supplemented  as 
the  need  arose.  The  Traveler's  Aid  Department  seeks  to  reach  the 
young,  ignorant  girls  before  the  agents  of  evil  who  haunt  the  rail- 
road stations  and  steamer  landings.  During  1900  over  10,000 
were  thus  protected.  The  Employment  Bureau  during  this  year 
assisted  over  20,000  applicants.  The  Educational  Department,  with 
day  and  evening  classes,  has  15,000  enrolled.  There  are  Recreation 
Departments,  Vacation  Homes  and  many  other  important  features. 
Every  phase  of  the  life  of  a  girl  or  woman  is  touched  by  the  associa- 
tion. Religion  in  its  broad  sense  is  its  fundamental  and  guiding 
principle. 

Twenty-three  States  are  represented  in  sixty  associations  in  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  with  over  20,000  voting  and  contribut- 
ing members,  over  500,000  associate  members — self-supporting 
girls  and  women — and  2,500  junior  members. 

THE  WOMAN'S  NATIONAL  SABBATH  ALLIANCE  was  organized  in 
1895,  to  educate  the  women  of  America  to  an  intelligent  apprecia- 
tion of  the  relation  of  this  one  day  in  seven  to  the  national  life,  and  to 
emphasize  woman's  responsibility  and  influence,  especially  in  the 
home  and  in  society.  The  work  is  along  educational  lines — in  creat- 
ing public  sentiment  in  favor  of  better  Sabbath  observance.  While 
placing  a  wedge  in  every  tiny  opening,  its  members  have  prayed, 
protested,  proclaimed  and  practiced.  Through  this  organization 
Christian  women  have  become  more  fearless  in  standing  for  their 
convictions.  The  Alliance  has  twenty-two  branches  and  over  1,000 
members. 


1064 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


PATRIOTIC: 

THE  WOMAN'S  RELIEF  CORPS,  AUXILIARY  TO  THE  GRAND  ARMY 
OF  THE  REPUBLIC,  was  organized  July  25,  1883.  Its  object  is 
specially  to  aid  and  assist  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  and  to 
perpetuate  the  memory  of  its  heroic  dead  ;  to  assist  such  Union  vet- 
erans as  need  help  and  protection,  and  to  extend  needful  aid  to  their 
widows  and  orphans  ;  to  cherish  and  emulate  the  deeds  of  army 
nurses  and  of  all  loyal  women  who  rendered  loving  service  to  the 
country  in  her  hour  of  peril  ;  to  maintain  true  allegiance  to  the 
United  States  of  America  ;  to  inculcate  lessons  of  patriotism  and  love 
of  country  among  children  and  in  the  communities  ;  to  encourage  the 
spread  of  universal  liberty  and  equal  rights  to  all. 

General  legislation  is  enacted  by  the  annual  national  convention, 
the  supreme  authority  ;  States  are  governed  by  department  con- 
ventions. The  association  has  educated  women  in  an  exact  system 
of  reports  and  returns.  There  are  no  "benefits,"  as  it  is  strictly 
philanthropic.  It  supports  a  National  Relief  Corps  Home  for  de- 
pendent army  nurses  and  relatives  of  veterans  ;  has  secured  pension 
legislation  from  the  general  Government  for  destitute  army  nurses  ; 
has  influenced  State  legislation  in  the  founding  of  homes  for  Union 
veterans  and  their  dependent  ones  in  Colorado,  Michigan,  Illinois, 
Missouri,  Wisconsin,  Indiana,  California,  New  York  and  Kansas  ; 
has  led  to  the  establishment  of  industrial  education  in  the  Ohio 
Orphans'  Home  ;  has  been  foremost  in  financial  aid  in  every  national 
calamity  ;  has  unitedly  furthered  patriotic  teaching  in  schools  and  the 
flag  in  school  rooms  ;  and  has  raised  and  expended  for  relief  in  the 
eighteen  years  of  its  existence,  $2,500,000.  The  corps  has  thirty- 
five  departments,  3,174  subordinate  corps  and  142,760  members. 

THE  LADIES  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC  were 
organized  Jan.  12,  1886,  to  assist  the  G.  A.  R.,  encourage  them  in 
their  noble  work  of  charity,  extend  needful  aid  to  members  in  sick- 
ness and  distress  and  look  after  the  Soldiers'  Homes  and  the  Homes 
of  Soldiers'  Widows  and  Orphans;  to  obtain  proper  situations  for 
the  children  when  they  leave  the  homes;  to  watch  the  schools  and 
see  that  children  are  properly  instructed  in  the  history  of  our  coun- 
try and  in  patriotism  ;  to  honor  the  memory  of  those  fallen  and  to 
perpetuate  and  keep  forever  sacred  Memorial  Day.  Its  departments 
and  circles  have  spent  for  relief  $16,685  an^  given  to  the  G.  A.  R. 
$2,658;  to  the  Soldiers'  Homes,  $364;  Soldiers'  Widows'  Homes, 
$1,461  ;  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Homes,  $179. 

The  organization  has  twenty-three  departments  and  28,070  mem- 
bers —  mothers,  wives,  daughters,  sisters,  granddaughters  and  nieces 
of  soldiers  and  sailors  who  served  honorably  in  the  Civil  War. 

THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE  OF  THE  DAUGHTERS  OF  VETERANS  OF 
THE  U.  S.  A.  was  organized  and  chartered  in  1885,  to  perpetuate  the 
memories  of  the  fathers  and  brothers,  their  loyalty  to  the  Union  and 
their  unselfish  sacrifices  for  its  perpetuity  :  to  aid  them  and  their 
widows  and  orphans,  when  helpless  and  in  distress  ;  to  inculcate  a 


NATIONAL    ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN. 


love  of  country  and  patriotism  among  women ;  to  promote  equal 
rights  and  universal  liberty,  and  to  acquire,  by  donation  or  other- 
wise, all  necessary  property  and  funds  to  carry  out  the  aforesaid  ob- 
jects ;  to  assist  the  G.  A.  R.  to  commemorate  the  deeds  of  their  fallen 
comrades  on  the  3Oth  of  May. 

The  Alliance  is  composed  of  daughters  and  granddaughters  of 
the  Northern  soldiers  who  fought  in  the  Civil  War,  1861-1865,  and 
has  a  sufficient  membership  to  assure  the  soldiers  that  their  memory 
will  ever  be  preserved  and  their  widows  and  orphans  will  not  want. 
Over  $2,000  are  spent  yearly  for  relief.  The  value  of  donations 
other  than  money  is  nearly  double  that  amount.  It  has  assisted  in 
obtaining  pensions,  erected  monuments  for  unknown  dead,  furnished 
rooms  in  Soldiers'  and  Soldiers'  Widows'  Homes,  furnished  trans- 
portatfon  for  helpless  soldiers,  presented  flags  and  banners,  bright- 
ened sickrooms  with  flowers  and  cheerful  faces.  At  present  it  is 
interested  in  the  erection  of  Lincoln  Memorial  University  at  Mason 
City,  la.,  where  one  building  is  to  be  known  as  the  Daughters  of 
Veterans'  Building.  There  are  "tents"  scattered  all  over  the  Union 
and  many  State  Departments. 

THE  MOUNT  VERNON  LADIES'  ASSOCIATION  OF  THE  UNION  was 
organized  in  1853.  Its  purpose  was  the  purchase  and  preservation 
'of  the  home  and  tomb  of  General  Washington  with  200  acres  of  land. 
The  sum  of  $200,000  was  raised  by  voluntary  contributions  from  the 
women  of  the  United  States. 

The  Regent  is  elected  by  the  Council  and  is  a  life  officer.  Mrs. 
Justine  V.  R.  Townsend  of  New  York  is  serving  at  present.  The 
Regent  appoints,  and  the  council  at  its  annual  meeting  ratifies  by 
votes,  one  lady  in  each  State  as  vice-regent  to  represent  the  State. 
The  association  is  purely  patriotic.  The  great  annual  increase  of 
both  home  and  foreign  visitors  is  gratifying,  and  testifies  to  the  lov- 
ing veneration  in  which  the  memory  of  Washington  is  held.  The 
entrance  fee  of  twenty-five  cents  is  sufficient  to  keep  the  home  and 
grounds  in  perfect  colonial  order. 

THE  NATIONAL  SOCIETY  OF  THE  DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN 
REVOLUTION  was  organized  Aug.  9,  1890,  to  perpetuate  the  mem- 
ory of  the  spirit  of  the  men  and  women  who  achieved  American 
Independence,  by  the  acquisition  and  protection  of  historic  spots  and 
the  erection  of  monuments ;  by  the  encouragement  of  historical  re- 
search in  relation  to  the  Revolution,  and  the  publication  of  its  re- 
sults ;  by  the  preservation  of  documents  and  relics,  and  of  the  records 
of  the  individual  services  of  Revolutionary  soldiers  and  patriots,  and 
by  the  promotion  of  celebrations  of  all  patriotic  anniversaries ;  to 
carry  out  the  injunction  of  Washington  in  his  farewell  address  to  the 
American  people,  "to  promote,  as  an  object  of  primary  importance, 
institutions  for  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge;"  to  cherish, 
maintain  and  extend  the  institutions  of  American  freedom,  to  foster 
true  patriotism  and  love  of  country,  and  to  aid  in  securing  for  man- 
kind all  the  blessings  of  liberty. 

The  society  has  carried  out  its  desired  objects ;  brought  together 


IO66  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

the  women  of  the  Xorth  and  South ;  caused  many  of  them  to  study 
the  constitution  of  their  country  and  parliamentary  law;  rescued 
from  oblivion  the  memory  of  many  heroic  women  of  the  Revolution ; 
examined  and  certified  to  the  i  ,000  nurses  sent  by  the  Surgeon  Gen- 
eral's office  to  the  Spanish- American  War ;  raised  $300,000  in  money 
and  sent  56,000  garments  to  the  hospitals  during  that  war ;  con- 
tributed $85,000  for  a  Memorial  Hall  in  Washington,  D.  C.  It  has 
organized  children's  societies  and  taught  them  love  for  the  flag 
and  all  it  means ;  made  foreign-born  children  realize  what  it  is  to  be 
American  citizens ;  offered  medals  and  scholarships  for  historical 
essays  by  pupils  in  schools  and  colleges ;  helped  erect  the  monuments 
to  Lafayette  and  Washington  in  Paris.  By  requiring  careful  inves- 
tigation of  claims  to  membership  the  society  has  caused  many 
families  to  become  re-united  wrho  had  been  separated  by  immigration 
to  remote  parts  of  the  country,  and  has  stimulated  a  proper  pride  of 
birth — not  descent  from  royalty  and  nobility  but  from  men  and 
women  who  did  their  duty  in  their  generation  and  left  their  descend- 
ants the  priceless  heritage  of  pure  homes  and  honest  government. 
The  society  has  600  chapters  and  over  36,000  members. 

THE  SOCIETY  OF  THE  DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION  was 
organized  Aug.  20,  1891,  to  perpetuate  the  patriotic  spirit  of  the 
men  and  women  who  achieved  American  independence ;  to  com-  * 
memorate  prominent  events  connected  with  the  War  of  the  Revolu- 
tion ;  to  collect,  publish  and  preserve  the  rolls,  records  and  historic 
documents  relating  to  this  period  and  to  encourage  the  study  of  the 
country's  history. 

Through  its  State  organizations  it  has  marked  with  tablets  his- 
toric places ;  promoted  patriotism  by  gifts  of  historical  pictures  to 
public  schools ;  helped  to  bring  about  an  observance  of  Flag  Day 
through  the  general  society ;  given  prizes  to  various  women's  col- 
leges for  essays  on  topics  connected  with  the  War  of  the  Revolution  ; 
raised  $5,000  to  erect  a  monument  at  Valley  Forge  in  memory  of 
Washington's  Army.  The  present  work  is  the  establishment  of  a 
fund  to  be  loaned  in  proper  sums  to  girls  trying  to  make  their  way 
through  college.  It  has  nineteen  State  societies  and  3,200  members. 

THE  COLONIAL  DAMES  OF  AMERICA  were  organized  in  Xew  York 
City,  May  23,  1890,  to  honor  the  brave  men  who  in  any  important 
service  contributed  to  the  achievement  of  American  independence ; 
to  collect  manuscripts,  traditions  and  relics  and  to  foster  a  true 
spirit  of  patriotism.  A  hereditary  society  was  deemed  the  most  ef- 
fective for  this  purpose.  It  has  made  a  collection  of  valuable  manu- 
scripts, pedigrees,  photographs  and  books ;  effected  restorations  in 
the  old  Swedes'  Church  at  Wilmington,  placed  tablets  in  Baltimore, 
to  Washington,  and  in  Kingston,  N.  Y.,  to  Governor  Clinton.  His- 
toric tableaux  have  been  given  in  the  city  of  New  York,  with  read- 
ings of  original  papers  and  lectures  by  historians.  The  publication 
of  the  "Letters  to  Washington"  from  the  original  manuscripts  in 
the  Department  of  State,  has  reached  its  fourth  and  last  volume. 
For  the  sick  and  wounded  in  the  Spanish-American  War  the  society 


NATIONAL    ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN.  1067 

raised  about  $6,600,  with  a  contribution  of  hundreds  of  garments 
and  hospital  appliances,  and  several  of  its  members  worked  in  hos- 
pitals and  camps. 

The  society  also  has  its  valued  social  side.  It  has  five  chapters  in 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Washington  and  Paris 
(France) ,  with  about  400  members. 

THE  NATIONAL  SOCIETY  OF  UNITED  STATES  DAUGHTERS  OF  1812 
was  organized  Jan.  8,  1892.  Its  object  is  to  publish  memoirs  of 
famous  women  of  the  United  States,  especially  those  of  the  period 
included  in  the  eligibility  of  this  society ;  to  urge  the  Government, 
through  an  act  of  Congress,  to  compile  and  publish  authentic  records 
of  men  in  military  and  naval  service  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  of  those 
in  civil  service  during  the  period  embraced  by  this  society ;  to  secure 
and  preserve  documents  of  the  events  for  which  each  State  was  fa- 
mous during  this  period ;  to  promote  the  erection  of  a  home  where 
the  descendants  of  the  brave  patriots  of  this  war  can  be  sheltered 
from  the  storms  of  life. 

The  work  done  in  the  various  States  is  as  follows :  Two  tablets, 
one  marking  New  York  City  defenses  during  the  war  and  one  for 
"those  who  served,"  in  the  Post  Chapel  at  West  Point ;  Michigan,  a 
monument  to  General  McComb  in  the  heart  of  Detroit ;  Maryland, 
the  restoration  of  Fort  McHenry  (the  inspiration  of  The  Star 
Spangled  Banner)  ;  Louisiana,  a  monument  on  the  field  of  Cholnette. 
Massachusetts  has  received  permission  to  restore  the  frigate  Con- 
stitution and  is  raising  $400,000  for  this  purpose ;  Pennsylvania  is 
offering  prizes  in  the  public  schools  for  historical  work,  and  many 
other  enterprises  are  under  way.  It  has  nineteen  State  societies 
with  a  membership  of  776. 

THE  UNITED  DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERACY  were  organized 
Sept.  10,  1894.  The  objects  of  the  society  are  educational,  me- 
morial, literary  and  benevolent;  to  collect  and  preserve  material 
for  a  truthful  history  of  the  War  between  the  States ;  to  honor  the 
memory  of  those  who  fought  and  those  who  fell  in  the  service  of  the 
Confederacy  ;  to  cherish  the  ties  of  friendship  among  the  members  of 
the  society  and  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  sacred  charity  to  the  survivors 
of  the  war  and  those  dependent  upon  them.  Much  aid  has  been 
given  to  aged  and  indigent  Confederate  soldiers.  There  are  homes 
for  these  soldiers  in  every  Southern  State  and  monuments  have  been 
erected  to  the  Confederate  dead  in  nearly  every  city.  The  orphans 
of  Confederate  soldiers  have  been  educated  and  cared  for,  and  in  a 
number  of  States  the  society  has  seen  that  correct  and  impartial  his- 
tories are  used  in  the  public  schools.  It  has  500  branches  and  about 
25,000  members. 

LODGES : 

THE  SUPREME  HIVE  LADIES  OF  THE  MACCABEES  OF  THE  WORLD 
was  organized  Oct.  i,  1892,  to  extend  the  benefits  of  life  protec- 
tion to  women ;  to  unite  fraternally  the  wives,  mothers,  daughters 
and  sisters  of  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  as  well  as  other  women 


io68 


HISTORY    OF    \VOMAX    SUFFRAGE. 


who  are  acceptable ;  to  educate  its  members  socially,  morally  and 
intellectually.  Four  hundred  and  twenty-five  death  claims  were 
paid  in  1900,  amounting  to  $441,380;  and  twenty-two  disability 
claims,  amounting  to  $2400.  The  total  amount  paid  in  claims  from 
organization  to  Jan.  I,  1901,  is  $1,523,504. 

The  organization  is  composed  of  one  supreme  body,  three  sub- 
ordinate bodies,  known  as  Great  Hives,  and  1,835  subordinate  or 
local  hives,  with  a  membership  of  84,657,  of  whom  19,321  are  social 
and  65,336  benefit  members. 

THE  SUPREME  TEMPLE  RATHBONE  SISTERS  OF  THE  WORLD  was 
organized  Oct.  23,  1888,  for  promoting  the -moral,  mental  and  so- 
cial conditions  of  its  members ;  cultivating  a  spirit  of  fraternal  love 
which  shall  permeate  and  control  their  daily  lives ;  ministering  in 
all  ways  to  the  wants  of  the  sick  and  needy  ;  watching  at  the  bedside 
of  the  dying :  paying  the  last  sad  tribute  of  love  and  respect  to  the 
dead,  comforting  and  providing  for  the  widow  in  her  afflictions,  and 
daily  exemplifying  in  every  possible  way  the  Golden  Rule. 

The  Supreme  Temple  has  general  supervision  of  the  Order 
throughout  the  world  and  makes  the  general  laws.  The  Grand 
Temples,  or  State  organizations,  supervise  the  local  Temples  within 
their  domain.  The  latter,  besides  carrying  out  the  principles 
peculiar  to  a  fraternal  society,  select  some  special  work  for  the  good 
of  those  outside  their  ranks.  Reading  rooms  have  been  established, 
funds  donated  for  public  improvements,  charity,  etc.  In  order  to 
care  for  the  orphans  of  Rathbone  Sisters  a  Home  is  soon  to  be 
erected,  the  fund  being  already  set  aside  for  this  purpose.  The  local 
Temples  care  for  their  own  poor  and  sick.  In  such  disasters  as 
those  at  Galveston  and  Jacksonville,  the  Temples  send  liberal  dona- 
tions to  their  members  to  relieve  their  financial  losses. 

The  Supreme  Temple  is  composed  of  twenty-four  State  organiza- 
tions and  1,124  local  Temples,  with  a  membership  of  71,247.  Four 
insurance  branches  have  just  been  established  (1900). 

THE  ORDER  OF  THE  EASTERN  STAR 'was  organized  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century — the  exact  date  is  not  known.  Its 
founders  sought  to  create  a  social  tie  between  the  families  of 
Masons,  but  it  early  reached  a  higher  standard  of  usefulness. 
Among  its  objects  are  caring  for  the  widow  and  orphan  and  assist- 
ing the  Masonic  brother  in  all  deeds  of  mercy  and  love.  It  has 
founded  Eastern  Star  Homes  for  widows  and  orphans  of  Masons 
and  has  become  a  mighty  impetus  in  the  building  and  support  of 
Masonic  Homes.  Everywhere  its  members  visit  the  sick,  relieve 
the  distressed  and  speak  words  of  cheer  to  the  despairing.  It  lias 
been  found  helpful  all  over  the  land  in  carrying  forward  the  under- 
lying principles  of  Masonry.  It  has  taught  woman  to  preside  in 
public  meetings  and  to  make  herself  conversant  in  parliamentary 
law.  Masonry  unites  the  heads  of  families,  whereas  the  Eastern 
Star  unites  the  entire  families.  Its  ritualistic  teachings  are  designed 
to  inculcate  morals  and  to  improve  the  social  virtues.  The  Order 
comprises  3491  chapters  with  a  membership  of  218,238. 


NATIONAL    ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN.  1069 

THE  DAUGHTERS  OF  REBEKAH  were  organized  in  1851  as  a  side 
degree  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  chartered 
lodges  were  authorized  in  1868.  The  object  is  benevolent  work. 
The  order  stands  very  high  among  charitable  organizations  and 
pays  out  thousands  of  dollars  each  year  for  the  relief  of  widows  and 
orphans.  The  report  for  the  present  year  shows  that  6,212  families 
were  assisted  at  an  expense  of  $141,646;  and  $50,540  were  paid  for 
the  education  of  orphans.  The  Indiana  lodge  erected  a  monument 
in  Indianapolis  to  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  Schuyler  Col- 
fax,  the  principal  founder  of  the  order. 

The  Daughters  of  Rebekah  usually  exist  wherever  there  is  a 
lodge  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  Men  may  take  the  degree  but  the  affairs 
of  the  lodges  are  entirely  in  the  hands  of  women.  There  are  125,- 
300  men  and  200,850  women  members. 

THE  GRAND  INTERNATIONAL  AUXILIARY  TO  THE  BROTHERHOOD  OF 
LOCOMOTIVE  ENGINEERS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  CANADA  AND 
MEXICO,  was  organized  Oct.  16,  1887,  to  elevate  the  social  stand- 
ing of  railroad  people,  to  promote  a  fraternal  feeling  between 
families  of  engineers  and  to  render  assistance  in  time  of  trouble. 
The  Voluntary  Relief  Association,  formed  in  1890,  has  paid  to  needy 
families  of  engineers  over  $100,000.  *It  has  no  home  for  depend- 
ents, but  helps  widows  to  keep  a  home  and  care  for  their  own  chil- 
dren. It  secures  homes  for  orphans  and  assists  in  their  education 
out  of  a  special  standing  fund.  There  are  $15,000  in  the  general 
fund.  The  order  is  exclusively  composed  of  women,  who  manu- 
facture all  supplies  and  from  this  source  realize  a  considerable  rev- 
enue. Study  clubs  for  intellectual  culture  are  maintained  in  the 
various  branches. 

There  are  255  subdivisions  and  about  10,000  members.  It  was 
founded  by  Mrs.  W.  A.  Murdock,  who  has  served  continuously  as 
president. 

THE  LADIES'  AUXILIARY  TO  THE  ORDER  OF  RAILROAD  CON- 
DUCTORS OF  AMERICA  was  organized  in  1888.  The  idea  originally 
was  merely  social,  but  so  many  objects  claimed  assistance  that,  in 
1895,  the  Fraternal  Beneficiary  Association  was  added  to  help  the 
widows  and  children  of  railway  conductors.  Assessments  were 
levied  and  in  five  years  $2,200  had  been  thus  applied.  Good  speak- 
ers, parliamentarians  and  business  women  have  been  developed  and 
its  members  have  become  broader  and  more  enlightened  in  every 
direction.  There  are  156  local  divisions,  with  a  membership  of 
about  4,000. 

MISCELLANEOUS:  Various  organizations  are  in  existence  which 
are  national  in  their  aims  and  interests  but  scarcely  have  reached 
national  proportions  in  the  number  of  auxiliaries  and  membership. 
Among  these  may  be  mentioned  the  SOCIOLOGICAL  SOCIETY  OF 
AMERICA,  organized  in  New  York  in  1883,  to  disseminate  the 
principles  of  Social  and  Industrial  Co-operation ;  the  NATIONAL 
WOMEN'S  REPUBLICAN  ASSOCIATION,  founded  in  1888 ;  the  PRO 


IO/O  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

RE  NATA,  started  in  Washington  in  1889,  to  perfect  its  mem- 
bers in  the  art  of  extemporaneous  speaking-;  WIMODAUGHSIS,  or- 
ganized in  Washington  in  1890  for  the  improvement  of  women 
along  all  educational  lines ;  the  ASSOCIATION  OPPOSED  TO  THE 
FURTHER  EXTENSION  OF  SUFFRAGE  TO  WOMEN  ;  the  NATIONAL 
FLORAL  EMBLEM  SOCIETY,  formed  at  the  Columbian  Exposition  in 
Chicago,  1893,  to  gain  an  expression  from  the  people  which  shall 
lead  to  the  adoption  of  a  national  flower  and  also  the  selection  of 
State  flowers,  which  have  been  chosen  in  nineteen  States  and  the 
choice  ratified  by  the  Legislature ;  the  NATIONAL  SOCIETY  OF  NEW 
ENGLAND  WOMEN,  founded  in  New  York  in  1895,  to  promote  ac- 
quaintance among  New  England  women  in  various  localities 
throughout  the  country  for  purposes  of  mutual  helpfulness ;  the  NA- 
TIONAL LEAGUE  OF  AMERICAN  PEN  WOMEN,  started  in  Washington 
City  in  1896,  to  band  together  women  journalists,  authors  and  il- 
lustrators ;  the  WOMEN'S  PRESS  ASSOCIATION,  organized  earlier  and 
with  branches  in  various  States ;  the  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  MEMO- 
RIAL ASSOCIATION,  incorporated  in  1898,  to  raise  $250,000  toward  an 
Administration  Building  to  be  a  part  of  the  university  as  set  forth  in 
the  will  of  George  Washington — $25,000  of  this  amount  being  now 
on  hand  and  as  much  more  guaranteed;  the  WOMAN'S  LEAGUE  OF 
THE  GEORGE  JUNIOR  REPUBLIC,  formed  in  1899  to  promote  interest 
in  the  National  Republic  and  establish  branches ;  the  NATIONAL 
LEGISLATIVE  LEAGUE,  founded  in  1900  to  obtain  for  women  equality 
of  legal,  municipal  and  industrial  rights  through  action  by  the  Na- 
tional Congress  and  the  State  Legislatures ;  WOMAN'S  EDUCATIONAL 
AND  INDUSTRIAL  UNION  ;  various  associations  for  improving  cities 
and  villages  by  means  of  parks,  shade  trees,  good  streets,  sanitary 
appliances,  etc. ;  and  countless  others  of  a  social,  educational  or 
philanthropic  nature. 

There  are  also  a  number  of  large  national  organizations  C9mposed 
of  both  men  and  women,  with  the  latter  very  greatly  predominating. 
Of  these  the  most  prominent  are  the  UNIVERSAL  PEACE  UNION, 
founded  in  1866  and  chartered  in  1888,  with  forty  branches  in  the 
United  States  and  sixty  in  Europe ;  the  SOCIETY  FOR  THE  PREVEN- 
TION OF  CRUELTY  TO  ANIMALS  ;  the  NATIONAL  CONSUMERS'  LEAGUE  ; 
the  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  SOCIETY  ;  the  EPWORTH  LEAGUE  ;  the 
YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  UNION  ;  the  KING'S  DAUGHTERS  AND  SONS  ;  the 
ANTI-VIVISECTION  SOCIETY. 

The  above  list  shows  that  women  are  organized  for  carrying 
forward  practically  every  department  of  the  world's  work,  and 
that  their  associations  have  been  steadily  increasing  in  number, 
size  and  scope  during  the  past  half  century.  In  the  early  years 
the  Woman  Suffrage  Association  not  only  stood  alone  in  its  ad- 
vocacy of  enfranchisement  but  was  regarded  with  the  most  stren- 
uous disapproval  by  all  other  organizations  of  women.  In,  1881, 
the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  principally  through 


NATIONAL   ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN.  1071 

the  influence  of  its  president,  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard,  estab- 
lished a  department  of  franchise,  but  it  was  many  years  after- 
wards before  the  idea  of  the  ballot  was  received  with  favor  by 
any  large  number  of  its  members.  The  sentiment  is  not  now 
unanimous,  but  considered  as  a  body  there  are  no  more  active 
workers  for  woman  suffrage.  The  National  Council  of  Women 
has  no  platform,  but  its  leaders  and  also  those  of  the  International 
Council  are  prominent  advocates  of  the  franchise.  These  are 
now  found  in  greater  or  less  numbers  in  all  the  organizations 
but  not  one  of  them  includes  the  suffrage  among  the  specific  ob- 
jects for  which  it  works.  As  these  broaden  the  associations  fre- 
quently find  it  necessary  to  appeal  to  Legislative  bodies,  and  the 
result  is  usually  a  significant  lesson  in  the  disadvantage  of  being 
without  political  influence.  The  Federation  of  Clubs,  organized 
in  1890,  in  its  endeavor  to  secure  the  passage  of  bills  for  various 
purposes,  has  applied  to  more  Legislatures,  during  the  past  few 
years,  than  has  the  Suffrage  Association.  It  is  indeed  a  most 
interesting  study  to  watch  the  evolution  of  the  so-called  women's 
clubs.  Formed  at  first  merely  for  a  superficial  literary  culture, 
they  widened  by  degrees  into  a  study  of  practical  matters  related 
to  law  and  economics.  From  these  it  was  but  a  step  into  civics, 
where  they  are  to-day,  struggling  to  improve  municipal,  and  in- 
directly national  conditions  and  gradually  having  revealed  to 
them  the  narrow  limitations  of  woman's  power  in  public  affairs. 
With  the  exception  possibly  of  the  church  missionary  societies 
and  the  various  lodges,  there  is  not  one  of  these  associations  of 
women  which  does  not  depend  in  a  greater  or  less  measure  on 
City  Councils,  State  Legislatures  or  the  National  Congress  for 
assistance  in  securing  its  objects.  No  other  means  could  be  so 
effective  in  convincing  women  that  politics,  which  they  have  here- 
tofore believed  did  not  directly  concern  them,  in  reality  touches 
them  at  every  point.  They  are  learning  that  the  mere  personal 
influence  which  usually  was  sufficient  to  gain  their  ends  in  the 
household,  society  and  the  church — the  three  spheres  of  action 
to  which  they  were  confined  in  the  past — must  be  supplemented 
by  political  influence  now  that  they  have  entered  the  field  of  pub- 
lic work.  Women  have  been  so  long  flattered  by  the  power 
which  they  have  possessed  over  men  in  social  life  that  they  are  sur- 


IO72 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


prised  and  bewildered  to  discover  that  this  is  wholly  ineffectual 
when  brought  to  bear  upon  men  in  legislative  assemblies.  They 
find  that  it  is  not  sufficient  to  have  personal  attractions  or  family 
position — not  even  to  be  a  good  wife,  mother  and  worker  in 
church  and  charities — they  must  be  also  constituents.  This  is 
a  new  word  which  was  not  in  the  lexicon  of  woman  in  past  gen- 
erations. They  investigate  and  they  see  that  whatever  may  be 
the  private  opinion  of  these  legislators,  their  public  acts  are  gov- 
erned by  their  constituents,  and  women  alone  of  all  classes  in  the 
community  are  not  constituents. 

This  knowledge  could  come  to  the  average  woman  only 
through  experience,  and  that  which  as  an  individual  she  might  not 
get  in  ages  she  is  gaining  rapidly  through  organization.  A  sum- 
mary of  the  preceding  list  shows  about  2,000,000  women  enrolled 
in  the  various  associations.  The  number  wrhich  may  be  dupli- 
cated by  a  membership  in  several,  is  probably  balanced  by  the 
number  in  those  which  do  not  state  the  membership.  This  list 
includes  only  national  associations  and  it  is  reasonable  to  assume 
that  not  more  than  one-half  of  the  local  societies  are  auxiliary  to 
national  bodies.  This  is  known  positively  to  be  the  case  in  the 
General  Federation  of  Clubs,  which  includes  less  than  half  of 
those  in  the  different  States.  It  would  be  a  decided  underesti- 
mate to  say  that  4,000,000  women  in  the  United  States  are  mem- 
bers of  one  or  more  organizations,  and  it  is  clearly  evident  that 
this  number  is  increasing.  The  scope  of  these  associations  is 
constantly  broadening  as  women  themselves  are  emerging  from 
their  narrow  environment  and  seeing  the  needs  of  the  world  in 
wider  perspective.  They  are  slowly  but  certainly  learning  to 
devote  their  time  and  energy  to  larger  objects,  and  they  are 
awakening  to  a  perception,  above  all  else,  of  the  strength  that 
lies  in  combination,  a  knowledge  which  was  a  sealed  book  to  the 
isolated  and  undeveloped  women  of  past  generations.  No  other 
influence  has  been  so  powerful  in  enabling  woman  to  discover 
herself  and  her  possibilities. 

There  will  be  no  more  important  clement  to  be  reckoned  with 
during  the  coming  years  of  the  new  century  than  these  great  asso- 
ciations of  women,  constantly  gaining  strength  and  momentum, 
not  alone  by  the  increase  of  membership  but  also  by  its  personnel. 


NATIONAL   ORGANIZATIONS    OF    WOMEN.  IO/3 

for  now  they  are  beginning  to  be  composed  of  college  graduates, 
of  property  owners,  of  women  with  business  experience.  More 
and  more  they  are  directing  their  attention  to  public  questions, 
and  when  brains,  wealth,  executive  ability,  enthusiasm  and  a 
strong  desire  for  an  honest  and  moral  government  are  thoroughly 
organized  in  the  effort  to  obtain  it,  they  must  necessarily  become 
a  powerful  factor  in  State  and  national  affairs,  and  one  which  in- 
evitably will  refuse  to  be  held  in  a  disfranchised  condition  after  it 
shall  realize  the  supreme  power  which  inheres  in  the  suffrage. 

There  is  still  another  and  a  more  important  point  of  view  from 
which  this  subject  should  be  studied.  Here  are  more  than 
4,000,000  women,  about  one-third  of  all  in  the  country,  banded 
into  active,  working  organizations.  The  figures  given  above 
show  that  they  are  raising  and  expending  millions  of  dollars  and 
every  dollar  for  some  worthy  object.  The  list  demonstrates  be- 
yond question  that  every  one  of  these  great  associations  exists 
for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  conditions  of  society  and 
helping  and  bettering  humanity.  They  represent  the  highest 
form  of  effort  for  education,  morality,  temperance,  religion, 
justice,  patriotism  and  co-operation.  Are  not  these  the  very 
qualities  most  needed  in  our  electorate?  Is  not  the  nation  suf- 
fering because  of  the  lack  of  them  since  it  has  placed  the  ballot  in 
the  hands  of  ignorance,  immorality,  intemperance  and  lawless- 
ness? Does  not  an  emergency  exist  for  a  political  influence 
which  shall  counterbalance  these  and  tip  the  scale  the  other  way? 
Can  the  Government  afford  much  longer  to  delay  the  summons 
for  this  great,  well-organized,  finely-equipped  force — if  it  is  to 
perfect  and  make  permanent  the  institutions  of  the  republic  ? 


VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 68 


APPENDIX 


EMINENT  ADVOCATES  OF  WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 

The  following  list  is  so  incomplete  as  to  make  the  advisability  of  using  it 
a  matter  of  grave  doubt.  No  name  is  given  except  upon  what  is  believed  to 
be  unimpeachable  authority,  but  it  is  unavoidable  that  scores  should  be  omit- 
ted which  are  entitled  to  a  place.  The  list  will  indicate,  however,  the  char- 
acter of  those  who  have  espoused  the  cause  of  woman  suffrage,  and  it  is  pub- 
lished with  the  request  that  readers  will  forward  to  the  editors  additional 
names  which  can  be  used,  and  mention  any  which  should  be  omitted,  in  the 
second  edition  of  this  volume.  There  has  been  no  attempt  to  give  all  in  any 
profession,  but  only  a  few  of  those  who  may  fairly  be  considered  representa- 
tive. The  names,  for  instance,  of  clergymen  alone  who  are  in  favor  of  the 
enfranchisement  of  women  would  fill  many  pages,  while  those  of  prominent 
lawyers  in  every  community  would  require  almost  unlimited  space,  as  it  is  a 
question  which  appeals  especially  to  the  sense  of  equity.  The  following  list 
will  indicate  sufficiently  that  this  is  not  a  movement  of  ultra-radical  and  ir- 
responsible extremists. 

The  only  President  of  the  United  States  who  declared  himself  publicly 
and  unequivocally  for  woman  suffrage  was  Abraham  Lincoln,  who  said  as 
early  as  1836,  "I  go  for  all  sharing  the  privileges  of  the  Government  who 
assist  in  bearing  its  burdens — by  no  means  excluding  women,"  and  later  ut- 
terances indicated  that  he  did  not  change  his  position.  Rutherford  B.  Hayes 
never  hesitated  to  express  his  approval  in  private  conversation,  and  in  1872 
he  assisted  materially  in  placing  in  the  Republican  National  Platform  the 
nearest  approach  to  an  indorsement  which  the  movement  ever  has  received 
from  that  party.  James  A.  Garfield  said:  "Laugh  as  we  may,  put  it  aside 
as  a  jest  if  we  will,  keep  it  out  of  Congress  and  political  campaigns,  still  the 
woman  question  is  rising  on  our  horizon  larger  than  a  man's  hand ;  and 
some  solution  ere  long  that  question  must  find."  Theodore  Roosevelt,  when 
a  member  of  the  New  York  Legislature,  voted  for  a  woman  suffrage  bill, 
saying  he  had  been  converted  by  seeing  how  much  the  women  accomplished 
with  their  school  ballot  at  Oyster  Bay,  his  home.  When  Governor  he  said 
in  his  message  to  the  Legislature  of  1899:  "I  call  your  attention  to  the 
desirability  of  gradually  enlarging  the  sphere  in  which  the  suffrage  can  be  ex- 
tended to  women."  There  is  reason  to  believe  other  Presidents  would  have 
expressed  themselves  favorably  had  political  exigencies  permitted. 

The  only  Vice-Presidents  on  record  as  advocating  and  voting  for  woman 
suffrage  are  Hannibal  Hamlin,  Schuyler  Colfax,  Henry  Wilson  and  William 
A.  Wheeler.  Such  action  is  likely  to  mean  the  personal  loss  of  votes  and 
injury  to  one's  party,  with  no  compensation  other  than  the  consciousness  of 

1075 


1076 


HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


having  done  right,  as  women  can  give  no  reward.  Under  these  conditions 
it  is  surprising  that  so  large  a  number  in  the  Congress  and  State  Legislatures 
have  sustained  the  measures  for  the  enfranchisement  of  women.* 

CHIEF  JUSTICES  OF  THE  U.  S.  SUPREME  COURT. 
Chase,  Salmon  P.  Waite,  Morrison  R. 

Practically  all  of  the  State  Supreme  Court  Justices  of  Colorado,  Idaho,  Utah 
and  Wyoming,  where  women  have  exercised  the  suffrage  for  a  number  of  years 
and  of  Kansas  where  they  have  had  a  municipal  vote  for  fifteen  years,  are 
strong  advocates  of  woman  suffrage. 


UNITED  STATES  SENATORS. 


Allen,  John  B.  Wash. 

Allison,  William  B.  Iowa. 

Anthony,  Henry  B.  R.  1. 

Baker,  Edward  D.  Ore. 

Baker,  Lucien  Kas. 

Banks,  Nathaniel  P.  Mass. 

Beveridge,  Albert  J.  Ind. 

Blair,  Henry  W.  N.  H. 

Bowen,  Thomas  B.  Col. 

Brice,  Calvin  S.  Ohio. 

Brown,  B.  Gratz  Mo. 

Bruce,  Blanche  K.  Miss. 

Burnside,  Ambrose  R.  I. 

Burrows,  Julius  C.  Mich. 

Cameron,  Angus  Wis. 

Cannon,  Frank  J.  Utah. 

Carey,  Joseph  M.  Wy. 

Carpenter,  Matthew  H.  Mich. 

Chace,  Jonathan  R.  I. 

Chandler,  Zach.  Mich. 

Cheney,  P.  C.  N.  H. 

Clark,  Clarence  D.  Wy. 

Clark,  William  A.  Mont. 

Conger,  Omar  D.  Mich. 
Conover,  Simon  B.  (1874)  Fla. 

Cullom,  Shelby  M.  Ills. 

Davis,  Cushman  K.  Minn. 

Dawes,  Henry  L.  Mass. 

Depew,  Chauncey  M.  N.  Y. 

Dillingham,  William  P.  Vt. 

Dol liver,  J.  P.  Iowa. 

Dolph,  Joseph  N.  Ore. 

Dubois,  Fred  T.  Ida. 

Farwell,  Charles  B.  Ills. 

Ferry,  Thomas  W.  Mich. 


Flanagan,  J.  W.  (1871) 
Gallinger,  Jacob  H. 
Gamble,  Robert  J. 
Gilbert,  Abijah  (1874) 
Hamlin,  Hannibal 
Hansbrough,  Henry  C. 
Harvey,  James  M. 
Heitfield,  Henry 
Henderson,  John  B. 
Hoar,  George  F. 
Jones,  John  P. 
Kyle,  James  H. 
Lapham,  Elbridge  G. 
Logan,  John  A. 
Manderson,  Charles  F. 
Mason,  William  E. 
Matthews,  Stanley 
McDonald,  Joseph  E. 
Mitchell,  John  H. 
Mitchell,  John  I. 
Morton,  Oliver  P. 
Nye,  James  W. 
Paddock,  Algernon  S. 
Palmer,  John  M. 
Palmer,  Thomas  W. 
Patterson,  John  J.  (1874) 
Patterson,  Thomas  M. 
Peffer,  William  A. 
Perkins,  George  C. 
Pettigrew,  Richard  F. 
Platt,  Thomas  C. 
Plumb,  P.  B. 
Pomeroy,  S.  C. 
Pratt,  Daniel  D. 
Quay,  Matthew  S. 


Texas. 

N.  H. 

S.  D. 

Fla. 

Me. 

N.  D. 

Kan. 

Ida. 

Mo. 

Mass. 

Nev. 

S.  D. 

N.  Y. 

Ills. 

Neb. 

Ills. 

Ohio 

Ind. 

Ore. 

Penn. 

Ind. 

Neb. 

Neb. 

Ills. 

Mich. 

S.  C. 

Col. 

Kas. 

Cal. 

S.  D. 

N.Y. 

Kas. 

Kas. 

Ind. 

Penn. 


•For  Congressional  action  see  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,  Vol.  II,  Chaps.  XVII. 
XXIV,  XXV;  Vol.  Ill,  Chap.  XXX;  present  volume,  Chaps.  Ill,  V,  VI,  Chapter  on 
Wyoming,  and  references  in  footnote  of  Chap.  I. 


APPENDIX. 


1077 


Revels,  Hiram  P.  Miss. 

Roach,  W.  N.  N.  D. 

Ross,  Jonathan  Vt. 

Sanders,  Wilbur  F.  Mont. 

Sargent,  Aaron  A.  Cal. 

Minister  to  Germany. 

Sawyer,  Philetus  S.  Wis. 

Sherman,  John  Ohio. 

Shoup,  George  L.  Ida. 

Sprague,  William  R.  I. 

Stanford,  Leland  Cal. 

Stevens,  Thaddeus  Penn. 

Stewart,  William  M.  Nev. 


Sumner,  Charles 
Teller,  Henry  M. 
Tipton,  Thomas  W. 
Wade,  Benjamin  F. 
Warner,  Willard  (1869) 
Warren,  Francis  E. 
West,  J.  Rodman  (1874) 
White,  Stephen  M. 
Wilson,  Henry 
Wilson,  James  F. 
Windom,  William 

Sec'y  of  the  Treasury. 
Yates,  Richard,  Sr. 


SPEAKERS  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 
Banks,  Nathaniel  P.  Mass.       Keifer,  J.  Warren 

Henderson,  David  B.  Iowa.        Reed,  Thomas  B. 


Allen,  C.  E. 
Baker,  Charles  S. 
Baker,  William 
Barrows,  Samuel  J. 
Belford,  James  B. 
Bell,  John  C. 
Blue,  Richard  W. 
Broderick,  Case 
Broomall,  John  M. 
Browne,  Thomas  M. 
Butler,  Benjamin  F. 
Caine,  John  T. 
Cannon,  George  Q. 
Caswell,  Lucien  B. 
Clapp,  Moses  E. 
Coffeen,  Henry 
Crump,  Rousseau  O. 
Cumback,  William 
Curtis,  Charles 
Cutcheon,  Byron  M. 
Davis,  John 
Davis,  Thomas 
Dingley,  Nelson 
Douglas,  William  H. 
Featherstone,  L.  P. 
Fergusson,  H.  B. 


REPRESENTATIVES  IN  CONGRESS.* 

Utah.  Fisher,  Spencer  O. 

N.  Y.  Fletcher,  Lorin 

Kas.  Giddings,  Joshua  R. 

Mass.  Glenn,  Thomas  L. 

Col.  Greenleaf,  Halbert  S. 

Col.  Gunn,  James 

Kas.  Handy,  L.  G. 

Kas.  Haskins,  Kittridge 

Penn.  Hepburn,  W.  P. 

Ind.  Hitt,  Robert  R. 

Mass.  Julian,  George  W. 

Utah.  Kahn,  Julius 

Utah.  Kasson,  John  A. 
Iowa.  Minister  to  Germany. 

Minn.  Kelley,  Harrison  B. 

Wy.  Kelley,  William  D. 

Mich.  Kerr,  Daniel, 

Ind.  King,  William  H. 

Kas.  Loring,  George  B. 

Mich.  Loughridge,  William 

Kas.  Lucas,  W.  B. 

R.  I.  Maguire,  James  G. 

Me.  Martin,  E.  W. 

N.  Y.  McCall,  Samuel  Walker 

Ark.  McCoid,  Moses  A. 

N.  M.  Miers,  Robert  W. 


Mass. 

Col. 

Neb. 

Ohio. 

Ala. 

Wy. 

La. 

Cal. 

Mass. 

Iowa. 

Minn. 

Ills. 


Ohio. 
Me. 


Mich. 

Minn. 

Ohio. 

Ida. 

N.Y. 

Ida. 

Del. 

Vt. 

Iowa. 

Ills. 

Ind. 

Cal. 

Iowa. 

Kan. 

Penn. 

Iowa. 

Utah, 

Mass. 

Iowa. 

S.  D. 

Cal. 

S.  D. 

Mass. 

Iowa. 

Ind. 


*  This  list  is  most  incomplete,  as  members  change  so  frequently  and  the  House  has  not 
voted  on  the  question  since  1869.  Most  of  the  names  given  above  are  of  those  who  have 
in  some  way  openly  advocated  the  measure.  Practically  all  of  the  members  from  the  States 
where  women  have  the  full  franchise  are  in  favor,  and  there  always  has  been  a  large 
number  from  Kansas.  In  1896,  in  response  to  letters  of  inquiry,  many  announced  them- 
selves as  ready  to  vote  for  a  suffrage  amendment. 


1078 


HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Milnes,  Alfred 
Mondell,  Frank  W. 
Morey,  Henry  L, 
Morse,  Elijah 
Mott,  Richard 
Neville,  William 
Northway,  S.  A. 
O'Donnell,  James 
Orth,  Godlove  S. 
Payne,  Sereno  E. 
Peelle,  Stanton  J. 

Judge  of  the  U. 
Peirce,  R.  B.  F. 
Pence,  Lafayette 
Pickler,  J.  A. 
Powers,  Henry  H. 
Ranney,  A.  A. 
Ray,  George  W. 
Riddle,  Albert  G. 


Mich. 
Wy. 
Ohio. 
Mass. 
Ohio. 
Neb. 
Ohio. 
Mich. 
Ind. 
N.  Y. 
Ind. 

S.  Court  of  Claims. 
Ind. 
Col. 
S.  D. 
Vt. 
Mass. 
N.Y. 
Ohio. 


Shafroth,  John  F. 
Simpson,  Jerry 
Smith,  Henry  C. 
Smith,  William  Alden 
Steele,  George  W. 
Struble,  I.  S. 
Sulzer,  William 
Sutherland,  George 
Taylor,  Ezra  B. 
Taylor,  Robert  W. 
Tongue,  Thomas  H. 
Topp,  Robertson 
Van  Voorhis,  John 
Walker,  James  A. 
Walker,  Joseph  H. 
Weadock,  Thomas  A.  E. 
White,  John  D. 
Wilson,  Edgar 
Woods,  S.  D. 


Col. 

Kas. 

Mich. 

Mich. 

Ind. 

Iowa. 

N.Y. 

Utah. 

Ohio. 

Ohio. 

Ore. 

Tenn. 

N.Y. 

Va. 

Mass. 

Mich. 

Ky. 

Ida. 

Cal. 


GOVERNORS  OF  STATES.    (Incomplete  list.) 


Governor  Adams, 

Col.         Governor  Hunt, 

Col. 

Altgeld, 

Ills. 

Hunt, 

Ida. 

"         Ames, 

Mass. 

"         Jewell, 

Conn. 

Andrews, 

Conn. 

U.  S.  Postmaster  General. 

Barber, 

Wy. 

"         Jones, 

Nev. 

"         Bates, 

Mass. 

Knapp, 

Alaska. 

Begole, 

Mich. 

La  Follette, 

Wis. 

Bliss, 

Mich. 

"         Long, 

Mass. 

"         Brackett, 

Mass. 

Sec'y  of  the 

Navy. 

Budd, 

Cal. 

Lord, 

Ore. 

"         Burke, 

N.  D. 

Luce, 

Mich. 

"         Butler, 

Mass. 

"         McDonald, 

Ind. 

Butler, 

Neb. 

Mclntire, 

Col. 

Campbell, 

Wy. 

Mellette, 

S.  D. 

Carpenter, 

Iowa. 

"          Morrill, 

Kas. 

Chamberlain, 

Ore. 

"         Morton, 

Ind. 

Claflin, 

Mass. 

Murphy, 

Ariz. 

Clough, 

Minn. 

Newell, 

Wash. 

"         Colcord, 

Nev. 

Odell, 

N.Y. 

Davis, 

R.I. 

Osborn, 

Wy. 

Fifer, 

Ills. 

"         Pattison, 

Penn. 

Folger, 

N.Y. 

"         Pingree, 

Mich. 

Sec'y  of  the  Treasury. 

"         Porter, 

Ind. 

Fuller, 

Vt. 

Rich, 

Mich. 

Greenhalge, 

Mass. 

"          Richards, 

Wy. 

Hale, 

Wy. 

"         Rickards, 

Mont. 

Hoyt, 

Wy. 

"         Rogers, 

Wash. 

"         Hughes, 

Ariz. 

"         Roosevelt, 

N.Y. 

Humphrey, 

Kas. 

"         Routt, 

Col. 

APPENDIX. 


1079 


Governor  Sadler,  Nev. 

Saunders,  Nev. 

Savage,  Nev. 

"         Semple,  Wash. 

"         Sprague,  R.  I. 

Squire,  Wash. 

Steunenberg,  Ida. 

St.  John,  Kas. 

Talbot,  Mass. 

"         Thayer,  Wy. 

"         Thomas,  Col. 


Governor  Thomas,  Utah. 

Van  Sant,  Minn. 

"         Voorhees,  N.  J. 

"         Waite,  Col. 

Warren,  Wy. 

"         Washburn,  Mass. 

Wells,  Utah. 

West,  Utah. 

"         Winans,  Mich. 

Yates,  Sr.,  Ills. 

Young,  Utah. 


PRESIDENTS  OF  UNIVERSITIES.    (Incomplete  list.) 
Andrews,  E.  Benjamin  Latimore,  S.  A.        Acting  President 

Brown  and  Neb. 
Aylesworth,  Barton  O. 

Pres.  Col.  Agr.  Coll. 

Colorado. 

Wisconsin. 

Ohio  Wesleyan. 

Iowa  Agr.  College. 

Tuft's  College. 


Baker,  James  H. 
Bascom,  John 
Bashford,  J.  W. 
Beardshear,  Wm. 
Capen,  Elmer  F. 
Dickinson,  Frances  E. 

Harvey  Medical  (Chicago). 
Evans,  J.  G.  Hedding  (Ills.). 

Hale,  Horace  M.     Colorado. 
Hawley,  J.  H.  Willamette  (Ore.). 

Gates,  George  A.  Iowa  College. 
Gunnison,  Almon  St.  Lawrence. 
Gunsaulus,  Frank  W. 

Armour  Institute. 
Henderson,  L.  F.     Idaho. 
Herrick,  C.  L.  New  Mexico. 

Hill,  Walter  B.        Georgia. 
Hurst,  John  F.         American   Univer- 
sity, D.  C. 

Irvine,  Julia  J.          Wellesley  College. 
Jordan,  David  Starr    Leland  Stanford. 
Kellogg,  Martin  V.  California. 
Kingsbury,  J.  T.       Utah. 
Knox,  Martin  Van  Buren 


Rochester. 

Lyons,  S.  R.  Monmouth  (Ills.). 

MacLean,  James    Idaho. 
Marvin,  James        Kansas. 
Northrop.Cyrus  W.  Minnesota. 
Palmer,  Alice  Freeman 

Wellesley  College. 
Park,  John  R.          Utah. 
Purnell,  W.  H.        Delaware  College. 
Rogers,  Henry  Wade      Northwestern. 
Shafer,  Helen  A.    Wellesley  College. 
Sharpless,  Isaac      Haverford  College. 
Slocum,  W.  F.        Colorado  College. 
Smiley,  Elmer  E.  Wyoming. 
Snow,  F.  H.  Kansas. 

Stephens,  D.  S.        Kansas  City. 
Sutliff,  Phoebe  I.    Rockford  (Ills.). 
Swain,  Joseph          Indiana  and 

Swarthmore. 
Thomas,  Martha  Carey 

Bryn  Mawr  College. 
Thwing,  Charles  F.  Western  Reserve. 
Warren,  William  F.  Boston. 
Washington,  Booker  T. 

Tuskeegee  Institute. 
Wells,  Daniel  H.       Utah. 
White,  Andrew  D.    Cornell. 


Red  River  Valley,  N.  D.  Whitney,  Orson  F.     Utah. 


Archbishop  Ireland 

Bishop  Bowman,  Thomas  Meth.  Epis. 

"       Brooks,  Phillips        Prot.  Epis. 

"       HamiltonJohnWm.Meth.Epis. 

"       Haven,  Gilbert  " 

«       Hurst,  John  F.  " 


CLERGYMEN. 
Catholic.    Bishop  Huntington,  Fred'k  D. 

Prot.  Epis. 

"  Joyce,  Isaac  W.  Meth.  Epis. 
"  McQuaid  of  Rochester  Catholic 
"  Moore,  David  H.  Meth.  Epis. 
"  Newman,  John  P.  " 


loSo 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Bishop  Potter,  Henry  C.       Prot.  Epis. 

"       Sessums,  Davis 

"       Simpson,  Matthew  Meth.  Epis. 

"       Spalding  of  Peoria      Catholic. 

"       Turner.HenryMcN.Meth.Epis. 

"       Walters,  A. 

"       Warren,  Henry  W. 
Ames,  Charles  G.  Unit. 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward  Cong'l. 

Boardman,  George  W.  Bapt. 

Bristol,  Frank  M.  Meth.  Epis. 

Chadwick,  John  W.  Unit. 

Channing,  William  Henry  " 

Cheever,  George  B.  Cong'l. 

Clarke,  James  Freeman  Unit. 

Collyer,  Robert  Unit. 

Conway,  Moncure  D. 
Cook,  Joseph  Presb. 

Dalton,  W.  J.  Catholic 

Duryea,  Joseph  T.  Cong'l. 

Eaton,  Charles  H.  Univ. 

Egglest on, Edward  (author)  Meth.Epis. 
Foss,  Herbert  " 

Gannett,  William  C.  Unit. 

Gladden,  Washington  Cong'l. 

Gottheil,  Rabbi  Gustave. 


Gregg,  David 
Hall,  Frank  O. 
Hillis,  Newell  Dwight 
Hinckley,  Frederick  A. 
Jones,  Jenkyn  Lloyd 
Kent,  Alexander 
King,  Thomas  Starr 
Longfellow,  Samuel 
Lorimer,  George  C. 
May,  Samuel  J. 
McGlynn,  Edward 
Mills,  B.  Fay 
Moody,  Dwight  L. 
Newton,  Heber 
Parker,  Theodore 
Perin,  George  H. 
Pierpont,  John 
Pullman,  James  M. 
Rainsford,  M.  S. 
Reed,  Myron  W. 
Savage,  Minot  J. 
Scully,  Thomas 
Shippen,  Rush 
Swing,  David 
Thomas,  Hiram  W. 
Tyng,  Stephen  H. 


WOMEN  MINISTERS. 


Blackwell,  Antoinette  Brown  Unit. 
Booth,  Maud  Ballington    Vols.  of  Am. 
Brown,  Olympia  Univ. 

Buck,  Florence  Unit. 

Chapin,  Augusta,  D.  D.  Univ. 

Crane,  Caroline  Bartlett  Unit. 

Crooker,  Florence  Kollock      Univ. 
Deyo,  Amanda 

Eastman,  Annis  F.  Cong'l. 

Hanaford,  Phebe  A.  Univ. 


Hultin,  Ida  C. 
Moore,  Henrietta  G. 
Murdock,  Marian 
Safford,  Mary  J. 
Shaw,  Anna  Howard 
Spencer,  Anna  Garlin 
Tucker,  Emma  Booth 
Whitney,  Mary  Traffern 
Wilkes,  Eliza  Tupper 
Woolley,  Celia  P. 


Presb. 

Univ. 

Cong'l. 

Unit. 
i< 

Liberal. 
Unit 

M 

Bapt. 
Unit. 
Cath. 
Evang. 

Epis. 

Unit. 

Univ. 

Unit. 

Univ. 

Epis. 

Liberal. 

Unit. 

Cath. 

Unit. 

Liberal. 
« 

Epis. 


Unit. 
Univ. 

Unit. 
ii 

Prot.  Meth. 

Liberal. 
Salv.  Army. 

Unit. 


Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
,,  York 

Archdeacon  of  Manchester. 

Bishop  of  Edinburgh  1895. 

"  Exeter  " 

"  Hereford  " 

"  London 

"  Southwell  " 

Canon  Charles  Kingsley  of  Westmin'r. 
"      Wilberforce 


ENGLISH  CLERGYMEN. 

1901.   Archbishop  Cardinal  Vaughn 


Cath. 

Archbishop  Moran  of  Australia 

Archbishop  Nozaleda  of  the 

Philippines  Cath. 

Hugh  Price  Hughes. 

James  Martineau,  D.  D. 

Most  Rev.  Gordon  Cowie,  Bishop  of 
Auckland  and  Primate  of  New  Zea- 
land. 

Newman  Hall,  LL.  B.,  D.  D. 


APPENDIX. 


1081 


AMERICAN   MEN. 


Alcott,  A.  Bronson. 
Atkinson,  Edward. 
Bidwell,  Gen.  John. 
Bigelow,  John, 

Minister  to  France. 
Birney,  James  G. 
Blackwell,  Henry  B. 
Booth,  Judge  Henry, 

Dean  Union  Col.  of  Law,  Chicago. 
Bowles,  Samuel. 
Bradwell,  Judge  James  B. 
Brooks,  John  Graham, 

Pres.  National  Consumers'  League. 
Bryant,  William  Cullen. 
Burdette,  Robert  J. 
Cable,  George  W. 
Childs,  George  W. 
Clark,  Francis  E., 

Pres.  National  Christian  Endeavor. 
Clemens,  Samuel  R.  (Mark  Twain). 
Curtis,  George  William. 
Debs,  Eugene  V. 
Dole,  Sanford  B., 

Governor  of  Hawaii. 
Donnelly,  Ignatius. 
Douglass,  Frederick. 
Dow,  Neal. 
Emerson,  Ralph  Wald 
Field,  Eugene. 
Fields,  James  T. 
Fisk,  Clinton  B. 
Ford,  Paul  Leicester. 
Forney,  John  W. 
Foss,  Sam  Walter. 
Foulke,  William  Dudley. 
Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  Sr.  and  Jr. 
Gompers,  Samuel. 
Griggs,  Edward  Howard. 
Hale,  Gen.  Irving. 
Harris,  William  T., 

.U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education. 
Hattan,  Frank, 

U.  S.  Postmaster-General. 
Higginson,  Thomas  Wentworth. 
Hooker,  John. 


Howe,  Dr.  Samuel  G. 
Howells,  William  Dean. 
Hurd,  Judge  Harvey  B., 

Dean  Northwestern  Univ.  Law  Col. 
Husted,  James  W., 

Speaker  of  New  York  Legislature. 
Hutchinson,  John. 
Ingersoll,  Robert  G. 
Jackson,  Francis. 
Jackson,  James  C, 

Dansville  Sanitorium. 
Johnson,  Thomas  L. 
Jones,  Samuel  M., 

Mayor  of  Toledo,  O. 
Longfellow,  Henry  Wadsworth. 
McCulloch,  Hugh, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Miles,  Nelson  A., 

Lieutenant- General  U.  S.  A. 
Morton,  J.  Sterling, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 
Nye,  Edgar  Wilson  (Bill). 
Owen,  Robert  Dale. 
Phillips,  Wendell. 
Pillsbury,  Parker. 
Powderly,  Terence  V. 
Purvis,  Robert. 
Quincy,  Josiah. 
Ridpath,  John  Clark. 
Rogers,  Nathaniel  P. 
Sage,  Russell. 
Sargent,  Frank  P., 

Com'r  of  Immigration. 
Saxton,  Gen.  Rufus. 
Smith,  Gerrit. 
Tilton,  Theodore. 
Tourgee,  Albion  W. 
Tyler,  Moses  Coit. 
Ward,  Lester  F., 

Smithsonian  Institute. 
Washington,  Booker  T. 
Whittier,  John  G. 
Woolley,  John  G. 
Wright,  Carroll  D., 

Pres.  U.  S.  Labor  Commission. 


1082 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


AMERICAN  WOMEN. 


Addams,  Jane, 

Hull  House,  Chicago. 
Alcott,  Louisa  M. 
Alden,  Cynthia  Westover, 

Pres.  Int'l  Sunshine  Society. 
Anthony,  Susan  B., 
Avery,  Rachel  Foster, 

Sec'y  Nat'l  Suff.  Ass'n,  21  years. 
Barrows,  Isabel  C. 
Barry  (Lake),  Leonora  M., 

Grand  Organizer  Knights  of  Labor. 
Barton,  Clara, 

Pres.  American  Red  Cross  Ass'n. 
Blackwell,  Alice  Stone, 

Editor  of  The  Woman's  Journal. 
Blackwell,  Dr.  Elizabeth, 
Blackwell,  Dr.  Emily, 

Founders  of  Woman's  Medical  Col- 
lege of  New  York  Infirmary. 
Blake,  Lillie  Devereux, 

Pres.  Nat'l  Legislative  League. 
Booth,  Mary  L., 

Editor  of  Harper's  Bazar. 
Bradwell,  Myra, 

Founder  and  editor  of  Legal  News. 
Byrd,  Mary  E., 

Director  Smith  Coll.  Observatory. 
Campbell,  Helen. 
Carr,  Mary  L., 

Ex-President  W.  R.  C. 
Gary,  Alice. 
Gary,  Phoebe. 
Catt,  Carrie  Chapman, 

Pres.  Nat'l  Worn.  Suff.  Ass'n. 
Child,  Lydia  Maria. 
Gay,  Laura, 

Aud.  Nat'l  Worn.  Suff.  Ass'n. 
Clemmer,  Mary. 
Colby,  Clara  B., 

Editor  of  The  Woman's  Tribune. 
Cooper,  Sarah  B., 

Pres.  Golden  Gate  Kinder.  Ass'n. 
Crowe,  Martha  Foote, 

Dean   Northwestern   University. 
Decker,  Sarah  Platt. 
Demorest,  Mme.  Louise, 

Editor  Demoresfs  Magazine. 
Diaz,  Abby  Morton. 


Dickinson,  Anna  E. 
Dickinson,  Mary  Lowe, 

Hon.  Pres.  Nat.  Council  of  Women. 
Diggs,  Annie  L., 

State  Librarian,  Kansas. 
Edson,  Susan  A., 

Physician  to  Garfield. 
Fairbanks,  Cornelia  C., 

Pres.  Gen.  Daughters  Am.  Rev. 
Field,  Kate. 
Field,  Martha  R.  (Catherine  Cole), 

Ex- Pres.  Worn.  Int'l  Press  Ass'n. 
Fletcher,  Alice, 

Special  Indian  Agent  (Harv.  Univ.) 
Foster,  J.  Ellen, 

Pres.  Nat'l  Worn.  Rep.  Ass'n. 
Gage,  Matilda  Joslyn. 
Gardiner,  Helen  H. 
Garrett,  Mary  E. 
Gibbons,  Abby  Hopper, 

Pres.  Woman's  Prison  Ass'n. 
Cougar,  Helen  M. 
Grannis,  Elizabeth  B., 

Pres.  Nat'l  Social  Purity  League. 
Guiney,  Louise  Imogen. 
Hall,  Florence  Howe. 
Harbert,  Elizabeth  Boynton. 
Haskell,  Ella  Knowles, 

Ass't  Att'y-Gen.  of  Montana. 
Helmuth,  Mrs.  William  Tod, 

Pres.  Nat'l  Council  of  Women. 
Henrotin,  Ellen  M., 

Ex-Pres.  Gen.  Fed.  of  Clubs. 
Holley,  Marietta, 

(Josiah  Allen's  Wife). 
Hollister,  Lillian  M., 

Sup.  Com.  Ladies  of  Maccabees. 
Hooker,  Isabella  Beecher. 
Hosmer,  Harriet. 
Howe,  Julia  Ward. 
Jacobi,  Dr.  Mary  Putnam. 
Kelley,  Florence, 

Ex-Chief  State  Factory  Insp.,  Ills. 
Krout,  Mary  H. 
Leslie,  Mrs.  Frank. 
Lippincott,  Sarah  J., 

(Grace  Greenwood). 
Livermore,  Mary  A. 


APPENDIX. 


I083 


Lockwood,  Mary  S., 

Editor  Am.  Mag.  (D.  A.  R.). 
Logan,  Olive. 
Lowell,  Josephine  Shaw, 

Pres.  Worn.  Munic.  L.,  New  York. 
Lozier,  Dr.  Clemence, 
Founder   Woman's   Homeopathic 

College,  New  York. 
Marshall,  Dr.  Clara, 

Dean  Worn.  Med.  Coll.,  Phila. 
McCulloch,  Catharine  Waugh. 
McGee,  Dr.  Anita  Newcomb, 
Ass't  Surgeon  U.  S.  A.  in  Spanish- 
American  War. 
Miller,  Flo  Jamison, 

Ex-Pres.  Woman's  Relief  Corps. 
Mitchell,  Maria. 
Mussey,  Ellen  Spencer, 
Dean  Woman's  Law  College,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 
Nathan,  Mrs.  Frederick, 

Pres.  N.  Y.  Consumers'  League. 
Palmer,  Bertha  Honore, 
Pres.  Board  Lady  Managers, 

World's  Fair. 

Parton,  Mrs.  James  (Fanny  Fern). 
Patton,  Abby  Hutchinson. 
Paul,  A.  Emmagene, 

Sup't  of  Street  Cleaning  Dep't,  1st 

Ward,  Chicago. 
Peabody,  Elizabeth, 

Educator  and  philanthropist. 
Preston,  Dr.  Ann, 
Dean  of  Med.  Coll.  and  founder  of 

Worn.  Hosp.,  Philadelphia. 
Sewall,  May  Wright, 

Pres.  Int'l  Council  of  Women. 
Seymour,  Mary  F., 

Ed.  of  Business  Woman's  Journal. 
Smith,  Dr.  Julia  Holmes, 
Dean  Nat'l  Med.  Coll.,  Chicago. 


Solomon,  Hannah  G., 

Pres.  Nat'l  Council  of  Jewish  Worn. 
Southworth,  Mrs.  E.  D.  E.  N. 
Spofford,  Harriet  Prescott. 
Stanford,  Jane  Lathrop   (Leland). 
Stanton,  Elizabeth  Cady. 
Stetson,  Charlotte  Perkins. 
Stevens,  Lillian  M.  N., 

Pres.  National  W.  C.  T.  U. 
Stevenson,  Dr.  Sarah  Hackett. 
Stockham,  Dr.  Alice  B. 
Stone,  Lucinda  Hinsdale. 
Stone,  Lucy. 
Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher. 
Taylor,  Elmina  Shepard, 

Pres.  Young  Woman's   Nat'l   Im- 
provement Ass'n. 
Terrill,  Mary  Church, 

Pres.  Nat'l  Ass'n  of  Col.  Worn. 
Upton,  Harriet  Taylor, 

Treas.  Nat'l  Worn.  Suff.  Ass'n. 
Wallace,  Mrs.  Lew. 
Wallace,  Zerelda  G. 
Ward,  Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps. 
Wells,  Emmeline  B. 
Wells,  Ida  B. 
White,  Sallie  Joy, 

Ex.-Pres.  N.  E.  Worn.  Press  Ass'n. 
Whiting,  Lilian. 
Whitney,  Anne,  Sculptor. 
Willard,  Frances  E. 
Willing,  Jennie  Fowler. 
Winslow,  Dr.  Caroline  B. 
Winslow,  Helen  M., 

Editor  of  Club  Woman. 
Young,  Zina  D.  H., 

Pres.  Nat'l  Woman's  Relief  Ass'n. 
Zakrzewska,  Dr.  Marie  E., 

Founder   New    Eng.    Hospital   for 
Women  and  Children. 


GREAT  BRITAIN. 


Aberdeen,  Countess  of, 

Vice-President-at-Large    Interna- 
tional Council  of  Women. 
Aberdeen,  Earl  of, 

Gov.-Gen.  of  Canada. 
Anderson,  Mrs.  Garrett,  M.  D. 


Balfour,  A.  J., 

Prime  Minister. 
Balfour.  Lady  Frances. 
Battersea,  Lady. 
Becker,  Lydia. 

Editor  Women's  Suffrage  Journal. 


1084 


HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Begg,  Faithfull,  M.  P. 

Benson   (Archbishop  of  Canterbury), 

Mrs. 

Besant,  Annie. 
Besant,  Walter. 
Biggs,  Caroline  Ashurst, 
Blackburn,  Helen, 

Editors  Englishwoman's  Review. 
Blake,  Dr.  Sophia  Jex. 
Blatch,  Harriet  Stanton. 
Bright,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jacob. 
Browning,  Elizabeth  Barrett. 
Butler,  Josephine  E., 

Pres.  Social  Purity  League. 
Carlisle,  Lady, 

Pres.  Woman's  Liberal  Federation. 
Chant,  Laura  Ormiston. 
Cobbe,  Frances  Power. 
Cobden,  Richard. 
Coleridge,  Lord  Chief  Justice. 
Courtney,  Leonard  H.,  M.  P. 
Crawford,  Emily. 

Davies,  Emily,  Mistress  of  Girton. 
D'Israeli,  Benjamin, 

Prime  Minister. 
Edwards,  Amelia  B. 
Fawcett,  Henry, 

M.  P.  and  Postmaster-General. 
Fawcett,  Mrs.  Millicent  Garrett, 

Pres.  Worn.  Suff.  Ass'n  Great  Brit 
Fry,  Elizabeth. 
Glenesk,  Lord. 
Grey,  Sir  George,  K.  C.  B. 

FRANCE. 


Harberton,  Lady. 

Haslem,  Anna  Maria.  (Ireland.) 

Huxley,  Thomas  H. 

Lucas,  Margaret  Bright. 

Martineau,  Harriet. 

McLaren,  Duncan,  M.  P. 

McLaren,  Mrs.  Priscilla  Bright. 

Mill,  John  Stuart,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 

Nightingale,  Florence. 

Proctor,  Adelaide  A. 

Ritchie,  Anne  Thackeray. 

Rollitt,  Sir  Albert,  Earl  of  Selborne. 

Salisbury,  Marquis  of. 

Prime  Minister. 
Selborne,  Earl  of. 
Sidgwick,  Mrs.  Henry, 

Princ.  of  Newnham. 
Somerset,  Lady  Henry, 

Pres.  World's  W.  C.  T.  U. 
Somerville,  Mary,  Astronomer. 
Stead,  Wm.  T. 
Tallon,  Daniel. 

Lord  Mayor  of  Dublin. 
Taylor,  Peter  A.,  M.  P.,  and  Mrs. 
Thomson   (Archbish.  of  York),  Mrs. 
Todd,  Isabella  M.  S.  (Ireland). 
Unwin,  Jane  Cobden. 
Wigham,  Eliza. 
Wollstonecraft,  Mary, 

Author  of  Rights  of  Woman  (1792). 
Woodall,  William,  M.  P. 
Wyndham,  Hon.  George. 


Dumas,  Alexandra  (fils). 


Hugo,  Victor. 


AUSTRALIA. 


Barton,  Edmund,  Premier. 
Cockburn,  Sir  John,  K.  C.  W.  G., 
Kingston,  Hon.  C.  C., 

Premier  S.  Aus. 
Lyne,  Sir  William, 

Premier  N.  S.  W. 
Onslow,  Lady. 


Parkes,  Sir  Henry, 
Premier  N.  S.  W. 

Reid,    Sir    G.    H., 
Premier  N.  S.  W. 

Turner,  Sir  George, 
Premier  Victoria. 

Windeyer,  Lady. 


NEW  ZEALAND. 


Hall,  Sir  John. 
Seddon,  H.  J.,  Premier. 


Stout,  Sir  Robert,  Premier. 
Vogel,  Sir  Julius,  Colonial  Treas. 


APPENDIX.  1085 

CANADA. 
Hall,  Sir  John,  M.  P.  MacDonald,  Sir  John,  Premier. 

SOUTH  AFRICA. 
Schreiner,  Olive. 


TESTIMONY  FROM  WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  STATES.* 

No  attempt  is  made  to  give  here  the  mass  of  testimony  which  is  easily 
available  from  the  States  where  women  vote,  but  only  enough  is  presented  to 
show  its  nature  and  the  character  of  those  who  offer  it.  In  the  four  States 
where  women  have  exercised  the  full  franchise  for  from  six  to  thirty-three 
years,  not  half  a  dozen  reputable  persons  have  said  over  their  own  names  that 
any  of  the  evils  which  were  so  freely  predicted  have  come  to  pass  or  that  its 
effect  upon  men,  women  or  the  community  has  been  other  than  good.  The 
small  amount  of  criticism  which  has  been  openly  made  has  been  anonymous 
or  from  those  whose  word  was  entitled  to  no  weight.  There  is  not  another 
public  question  on  which  the  testimony  is  so  uniformly  one-sided,  and  similar 
evidence  on  any  other  would  be  accepted  as  sufficiently  conclusive  to  demand 
a  unanimous  verdict  in  its  favor. 

In  1901  Amos  R.  Wells,  editor  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  World,  wrote  to 
twenty-five  ministers  of  several  different  denominations,  choosing  their  names 
at  random  among  his  subscribers  in  the  equal  suffrage  States,  and  asking  them 
whether  equal  suffrage  was  working  well,  fairly  well  or  badly.  One  answered 
that  it  worked  badly,  three  that  it  worked  fairly  well,  and  the  twenty-one 
others  were  all  positive  and  explicit  in  saying  that  it  worked  well.  One  point 
upon  which  they  laid  stress  was  the  increased  intelligence  and  breadth  of 
mind  of  the  women,  and  the  good  influence  of  this  upon  their  children.  Mr. 
Wells  said  in  summing  up :  "Woman  suffrage  makes  elections  more  expen- 
sive, but  it  is  a  grand  school  for  the  mothers  of  the  republic." 

COLORADO. 

In  1898,  in  answer  to  the  continued  misrepresentations  of  the  Eastern  press, 
the  friends  of  woman  suffrage  issued  the  following: 

We,  citizens  of  the  State!  of  Colorado,  desire,  as  lovers  of  truth  and  jus- 
tice, to  give  our  testimony  to  the  value  of  equal  suffrage.  We  believe  that 
the 'greatest  good  of  the  home,  the  State  and  the  nation  is  advanced  through 
the  operation  of  equal  suffrage.  The  evils  predicted  have  not  come  to  pass. 
The  benefits  claimed  for  it  have  been  secured,  or  are  in  progress  of  develop- 
ment A  very  large  proportion  of  Colorado  women  have  conscientiously  ac- 
cepted their  responsibility  as  citizens.  In  1894  more  than  half  the  total  vote 
for  Governor  was  cast  by  women.  Between  85  and  oo  per  cent  of  the  women 
of  the  State  voted  at  that  time.  The  exact  vote  of  the  last  election  has  not 
yet  been  estimated,  but  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  proportional  vote 
of  women  was  as  large  as  in  previous  years.  The  vote  of  good  women  li 
that  of  good  men,  is  involved  in  the  evils  resulting  from  the  abuse  of  our 
present  political  system ;  but  the  vote  of  women  is  noticeably  more  conscien- 
tious than  that  of  men,  and  will  be  an  important  factor  m  bringing  about  a 
better  order. 

•  This  is  supplementary  to  matter  contained  in  the  State  chapters. 


io86 


HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


This  was  signed  by  the  governor,  three  ex-governors,  both  senators,  both 
members  of  Congress  and  ex-senators,  the  chief  justice  and  two  associate 
justices  of  the  supreme  court,  three  judges  of  the  court  of  appeals,  four  judges 
of  the  district  court,  the  secretary  of  State,  the  State  treasurer,  State  auditor, 
attorney-general,  the  mayor  of  Denver,  the  president  of  the  State  University, 
the  president  of  Colorado  College,  the  representative  of  the  General  Federa- 
tion of  Women's  Clubs,  the  vice-regent  of  the  Mount  Vernon  Association, 
and  the  presidents  of  thirteen  women's  clubs. 


I  am  confident  that  recognition  of  woman  suffrage  in  the  constitution  of 
proposed  States  will  not  in  any  way  hinder,  delay  or  endanger  their  admis- 
sion. That  question  is  one  belonging  to  the  State  and  not  to  the  general 
government,  and  the  opponents  of  woman  suffrage  will  not,  I  am  sure,  deny 
to  the  new  States  the  right  to  settle  that  question  for  themselves. 

•HENRY  M.  TELLER  (Rep.),  U.  S.  Senator.  (1889.) 


Instead  of  rough  or  vicious  men,  or  even  drunken  men,  treating  women 
with  disrespect,  the  presence  of  a  single  good  woman  at  the  polls  seems  to 
make  the  whole  crowd  of  men  as  respectful  and  quiet  as  at  the  theater  or 
church.  For  the  credit  of  American  men  be  it  said  that  the  presence  of  one 
woman  or  girl  at  the  polls,  the  wife  or  daughter  of  the  humblest  mechanic, 
has  as  good  an  effect  on  the  crowd  as  the  presence  of  the  grandest  dame  or 
the  most  fashionable  belle.  The  American  woman  is  clearly  as  much  of  a 
queen  at  the  polls,  in  her  own  bearing  and  the  deference  paid  her,  as  in  the 
drawing-room  or  at  the  opera.  I  feel  more  pride  than  ever  in  American  man- 
hood and  American  womanhood  since  seeing  these  gatherings  on  Tuesday, 
where  men  and  women  of  all  classes  and  .conditions  met  in  their  own  neigh- 
borhood to  perform  with  duty  and  dignity  the  selection  of  their  own  rulers, 
and  to  give  their  approval  to  the  principles  to  guide  such  officials  when  chosen. 
No  woman  was  less  in  dignity  and  sweetness  of  womanhood  after  such 
participation  in  public  duties,  and  I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  man  of  sensibil- 
ity in  Colorado  to-day  who  does  not  love  his  wife,  daughter,  sister  or  mother 
the  more  for  the  womanly  and  gracious  manner  in  which  she  helped  so 
loyally  and  intelligently  in  this  election. 

Indeed,  Colorado  in  this  election  has  left  very  little  of  good  argument  for 
its  sincere  opponents  to  urge  against  suffrage.  So  nearly  all  of  everything 
having  any  good  sense  in  it  has  been  disproved  here,  that  the  opposition  is 
left  with  very  few  weapons  in  its  armory,  and  all  of  them  weak. 

JAMES  S.  CLARKSON  (Rep.),  U.  S.  Ass't  P.  M.  General.  (1894.) 


When  the  question  was  submitted  in  Colorado,  I  supported  and  voted  for 
the  proposition  as  a  matter  of  abstract  right;  as  every  fair  man  must  admit, 
when  the  question  comes  to  him,  that  a  woman  has  the  same  right  of  suf- 
frage as  a  man.  In  advocating  suffrage  you  need  no  platform  but  right  and 
justice;  those  who  will  not  accept  it  upon  that  ground  would  not  be  per- 
suaded though  one  rose  from  the  dead.  I  will  add,  however,  that  even  the 
most  virulent  enemy  of  woman  suffrage  can  not  prove  that  any  harm  has 
come  from  the  experiment.  The  test  in  Colorado  is  still  too  new  to  expect 


APPENDIX. 


a  unanimous  verdict,  yet  all  fair-minded  observers  are  justified  in  predicting 
a  higher  standard  of  morals  and  of  political  life  as  a  result  of  woman  suf- 
frage- ALVA  ADAMS  (Dem.),  Governor.  (1898.) 


I  supported  the  cause  of  woman  suffrage,  not  because  I  thought  it  would 
work  the  political  regeneration  of  the  country,  but  because  I  believed  it  was 
a  woman's  due  to  vote,  if  she  desired  to  do  so.  I  have  also  said,  and  I  re- 
iterate, that  the  enfranchisement  of  Colorado  women  has  in  many  ways  bene- 
fited the  State,  that  it  was  a  decided  advance,  and  that  I  trusted  that  other 
States,  in  emulation  of  our  example,  would  soon  give  the  right  to  women 
throughout  the  land.  CHARLES  S.  THOMAS  (Dem.),  Governor.  (1809.) 


There  is  not  a  political  party  in  the  State  that  will  ever  dare  to  insert  in 
its  platform  an  anti-suffrage  plank;  for  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  upon 
this  question  the  voting  power  of  the  women  would  equal  that  of  the  men. 
It  is  no  more  likely  that  the  women  of  Colorado  will  ever  be  disfranchised 
than  that  the  men  will  be. 

HORACE  M.  HALE,  former  President  State  University.  (1901.) 


Few  are  so  unjust  or  bold  as  to  argue  seriously  against  the  abstract  right 
of  women  to  vote;  and  experience  in  Colorado  and  other  Western  States  has 
done  much  to  dispel  the  various  theoretical  and  sentimental  objections  that 
have  been  raised  against  the  extension  of  this  manifest  right. 

The  largest  majorities  for  woman  suffrage  were  given  in  the  most  intelli- 
gent cities,  and  in  the  best  precincts  of  each  city,  while  the  heavy  majorities 
against  it  were  in  the  precincts  controlled  by  the  debased  and  lawless  classes, 
and  the  lowest  grade  of  machine  politicians,  who  rely  on  herding  the  de- 
praved vote — showing  that  these  elements  dreaded  the  effect  of  woman  suf- 
frage, and  realized  the  falsity  of  the  argument  that  it  would  increase  the 
immoral  and  controllable  vote. 

So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  judge  by  observation  of  elections  and  analysis 
of  returns,  more  women  vote  in  the  better  districts  than  in  the  slums,  and 
the  proportion  of  intelligent  and  refined  voters  to  the  ignorant  and  depraved 
is  larger  among  women  than  among  men.  The  average  result,  therefore, 
has  been  beneficial. 

No  true,  refined  woman  is  any  less  womanly  for  studying  questions  of  pub- 
lic interest  and  expressing  her  opinions  thereon  by  means  of  the  ballot. 
.  ;  .  .  The  general  effect  has  been  decidedly  beneficial.  Especially  does 
it  act  as  a  governor  on  the  political  machines  of  all  parties  to  regulate  the 
character  of  nominees  and  platforms. 

.  Woman  suffrage  is  accepted  as  an  established  fact,  and  is  very  little  dis- 
cussed. I  certainly  have  no  reason  to  think  that  the  general  sentiment  in  its 
favor  has  decreased,  or  that  the  measure  would  fail  to  pass  with  as  large  or  a 
larger  majority  than  before,  if  again  submitted  to  the  vote  of  either  the  men 
or  women  of  the  State.  I  have  no  hesitation  whatever  in  stating  as  my  own 
positive  conviction  that  woman  suffrage  is  both  right  and  beneficial,  and  that 
it  should  not  and  never  will  be  repealed  in  Colorado. 

IRVING  HALE  (of  Col.),  General  in  the  Army  of  the  Philippines.  (1902.) 


io88 


HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


It  is  said  that  equal  suffrage  would  make  family  discord.  In  Colorado  our 
divorce  laws  are  rather  easy,  though  stricter  than  in  the  neighboring  States, 
but  since  1893,  when  suffrage  was  granted,  I  have  never  heard  of  a  case 
where  political  differences  were  alleged  as  a  cause  for  divorce  or  as  the  pro- 
voking cause  of  family  discord.  Equal  suffrage,  in  my  judgment,  broadens 
the  minds  of  both  men  and  women.  It  has  certainly  given  us  in  Colorado 
candidates  of  better  character  and  a  higher  class  of  officials.  It  is  very  true 
that  husband  and  wife  frequently  vote  alike — as  the  magnet  draws  the  needle 
they  go  to  the  polls  together.  But  women  are  not  coerced.  If  a  man  were 
known  to  coerce  his  wife's  vote  I  believe  he  would  be  ridden  out  of  town 
on  a  rail  with  a  coat  of  tar  and  feathers.  Women's  legal  rights  have  been 
improved  in  Colorado  since  they  obtained  the  ballot,  and  there  are  now  no 
civil  distinctions.  Equal  suffrage  tends  to  make  political  affairs  better,  purer 
and  more  desirable  for  all  who  take  part  in  them. 

THOMAS  M.  PATTERSON  (Dem.),  U.  S.  Senator.  (1902.) 


IDAHO. 

It  gives  me  pleasure  to  say  briefly  that  the  extension  of  the  franchise 
to  the  women  of  Idaho  has  positively  purified  its  politics.  It  has  compelled 
not  only  State  conventions,  but,  more  particularly,  county  conventions,  of 
both  parties,  to  select  the  cleanest  and  best  material  for  public  office. 
Many  conventions  have  turned  down  their  strongest  local  politicians  for 
the  simple  reason  that  their  moral  habits  were  such  that  the  women  would 
unite  against  them,  regardless  of  politics.  It  has  also  taken  politics  out  oi 
the  saloon  to  a  great  extent,  and  has  elevated  local  politics  especially  to 
higher  plane.  Every  woman  is  interested  in  good  government,  in  good 
officers,  in  the  utmost  economy  of  administration,  and  a  low  rate  of  taxation, 

FRANK  W.  HUNT  (Dem.),  Governor.   (1900.) 


Woman  suffrage  has  been  in  operation  in  Idaho  for  over  four  years  and 
there  have  been  no  alarming  or  disastrous  results.  I  think  most  people  in 
the  State,  looking  over  the  past  objections  to  the  extension  of  the  right 
of  suffrage,  are  now  somewhat  surprised  that  any  were  ever  made.  As  to 
advantages — it  is,  as  in  all  matters  of  this  kind,  difficult  to  measure  them 
exactly,  because  the  benefit  is  largely  indirect.  I  think,  however,  that  it  has 
exercised  a  good  and  considerable  influence  over  conventions,  resulting  in 
the  nomination  of  better  men  for  office,  and  that  it  has  been  of  considerable 
weight  in  securing  the  enactment  of  good  laws. 

S.  H.  HAYS  (Fus.),  Ex-Attorney-General.   (1901-) 


The  adoption  of  equal  suffrage  has  resulted  in  much  good  in  Idaho.  The 
system  is  working  well,  and  the  best  result  therefrom  is  the  selection  for 
public  positions,  State,  county  and  municipal.  Our  politics  in  the  past  has 
been  manipulated  by  political  adventurers,  more  or  less,  without  regard  to 
the  best  interests  of 'the  people,  but  principally  in  the  interests  of  a  small 
coterie  of  politicians  of  the  different  parties,  who  have  depended  upon 
the  public  treasury  for  subsistence.  The  participation  of  our  women  in 


APPENDIX.  1089 

the  conventions  of  our  various  political  parties  and  in  elections  has  a  ten- 
dency to  relegate  the  professional  politicians,  at  least  the  worst  element,  and 
bring  forth  in  their  stead  a  better  class  of  people.  This  tendency  is  of 
vast  importance  to  the  State.  It  compels  leaders  of  political  parties  to  be 
more  careful  in  the  selection  of  candidates  for  different  offices  of  trust 
and  profit.  RALPH  P.  QUARLES,  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  (1902.) 


The  Chief  Justice  and  all  the  Judges  .of  the  Supreme  Court  have  pub- 
lished a  statement  saying  in  part :  "Woman  suffrage  in  this  State  is  a 
success ;  none  of  the  evils  predicted  have  come  to  pass,  and  it  has  gained 
much  in  popularity  since  its  adoption  by  our  people." 


UTAH. 

The  lawmakers  seem  to  be  afraid  of  enfranchising  women  because  of 
the  deteriorating  effect  which  politics  might  have  on  womankind.  If  this 
be  true  let  the  experience  of  Utah  speak.  For  six  years  women  in  this 
State  have  had  the  right  to  vote  and  hold  office.  Have  the  wheels  of 
progress  stopped?  Instead  we  have  bounded  forward  with  seven-league 
boots.  Have  the  fears  and  predictions  of  the  local  opponents  of  woman 
suffrage  been  verified?  Have  women  degenerated  into  low  politicians,  neg- 
lecting their  homes  and  stifling  the  noblest  emotions  of  womanhood?  On 
the  contrary  women  are  respected  quite  as  much  as  they  were  before  State- 
hood ;  loved  as  rapturously  as  ever,  and  are  led  to  the  altar  with  the  same 
beatific  strains  of  music  and  the  same  unspeakable  joy  that  invested  ceremo- 
nials before  their  enfranchisement. 

The  plain  facts  are  that  in  this  State  the  influence  of  woman  in  politics 
has  been  distinctly  elevating.  In  the  primary,  in  the  convention  and  at 
the  polls  her  very  presence  inspires  respect  for  law  and  order.  Few  men 
are  so  base  that  they  will  not  be  gentlemen  in  the  presence  of  ladies. 
Experience  has  shown  that  women  have  voted  their  intelligent  convictions. 
They  understand  the  questions  at  issue  and  they  vote  conscientiously  and 
fearlessly.  While  we  do  not  claim  to  have  the  purest  politics  in  the  world 
in  Utah,  it  will  be  readily  conceded  that  the  woman-vote  is  a  terror  to  evil- 
doers, and  our  course  is,  therefore,  upward  and  onward. 

One  of  the  bugaboos  of  the  opposition  was  that  women  would  be 
compelled  to  sit  on  juries.  Not  a  single  instance  of  the  kind  has  happened 
in  the  State,  for  the  reason  that  women  are  never  summoned;  the  law 
simply  exempts  them,  but  does  not  exclude  them.  Another  favorite  idiocy 
of  the  anti-suffragists  is  that  if  the  women  vote  they  ought  to  be  com- 
pelled to  fight.  In  the  same  manner  the  law  exempts  them  from  military 
service. 

For  one  I  am  proud  of  Utah's  record  in  dealing  with  her  female  citizens. 
I  take  the  same  pride  in  it  that  a  good  husband  would  who  had  treated 
his  wife  well,  and  I  look  forward  with  eager  hope  to  the  day  when  woman 
suffrage  shall  become  universal. 

HEBER  M.  WELLS  (Rep.),  Governor.   (1902.) 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 69 


1090 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


There  is  literally  no  end  to  the  favorable  testimony  from  Utah,  given  by 
Mormons  and  Gentiles  alike. 


WYOMING. 

Gov.  John  A.  Campbell  was  in  office  when  the  woman  suffrage  law  was 
passed.  In  1871  he  said  in  his  message  to  the  Territorial  Legislature: 

There  is  upon  our  statute  book  "an  Act  granting  to  the  women  of  Wyoming 
Territory  the  right  of  suffrage,"  which  has  now  been  in  force  two  years.  It  is 
simple  justice  to  say  that  the  women  entering,  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  the  country,  upon  these  new  and  untried  duties,  have  conducted 
themselves  in  every  respect  with  as  much  tact,  sound  judgment,  and  good 
sense,  as  men. 

In  1873  he  said:  "Two  years  more  of  observation  of  the  practical  working 
of  the  system  have  only  served  to  deepen  my  conviction  that  what  we, 
in  this  Territory,  have  done,  has  been  well  done;  and  that  our  system 
of  impartial  suffrage  is  an  unqualified  success." 

Governor  Thayer,  who  succeeded  Campbell,  said  in  his  message: 

Woman  suffrage  has  now  been  in  practical  operation  in  our  Territory 
for  six  years,  and  has,  during  the  time,  increased  in  popularity  and  in 
the  confidence  of  the  people.  In  my  judgment  the  results  have  been  bene- 
ficial, and  its  influence  favorable  to  the  best  interests  of  the  community. 

Governor  Hoyt,  who  succeeded  Thayer,  said  in  1882: 

Under  woman  suffrage  we  have  better  laws,  better  officers,  better  insti- 
tutions, better  morals,  and  a  higher  social  condition  in  general,  than  could 
otherwise  exist.  Not  one  of  the  predicted  evils,  such  as  loss  of  native 
delicacy  and  disturbance  of  home  relations,  has  followed  in  its  train. 

Later  he  said  in  a  public  address :  "The  great  body  of  our  women,  and 
the  best  of  them,  have  accepted  the  elective  franchise  as  a  precious  boon 
and  exercise  it  as  a  patriotic  duty — in  a  word,  after  many  years  of  happy 
experience,  woman  suffrage  is  so  thoroughly  rooted  and  established  in  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  the  people  that,  among  them  all,  no  voice  is  ever 
uplifted  in  protest  against  or  in  question  of  it." 

Governor  Hale,  who  was  next  in  this  office,  expressed  himself  repeatedly 
to  the  same  effect. 

Governor  Warren,  who  succeeded  Hale,  said  in  a  letter  to  Horace  G. 
Wadlin,  Esq.,  of  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Representatives,  in  1885 : 

Our  women  consider  much  more  carefully  than  our  men  the  character 
of  candidates,  and  both  political  parties  have  found  themselves  obliged  to 
nominate  their  best  men  in  order  to  obtain  the  support  of  the  women.  As 
a  business  man,  as  a  city,  county,  and  territorial  officer,  and  now  as  Governor 
of  Wyoming  Territory,  I  have  seen  much  of  the  workings  of  woman  suf- 
frage, but  I  have  yet  to  hear  of  the  first  case  of  domestic  discord  growing 
out  of  it.  Our  women  nearly  all  vote,  and  since  in  Wyoming  as  elsewhere 
the  majority  of  women  are  good  and  not  bad,  the  result  is  good  and  not  evil. 

Territorial  Governors  are  appointed,  not  elected.  As  U.  S.  Senator,  Mr. 
Warren  has  up  to  the  present  time  (1902)  repeatedly  given  similar  testi- 
mony. In  various  chapters  of  the  present  volume  may  be  found  the  strong 
approval  of  ex-U.  S.  Senator  Joseph  M.  Carey. 


APPENDIX.  ICX)! 

Most  of  these  Governors  were  Republicans.  Hon.  N.  L.  Andrews  (Demo- 
crat), Speaker  of  the  Wyoming  House  of  Representatives,  said  in  1879: 

I  came  to  this  Territory  in  the  fall  of  1871,  with  the  strongest  prejudice 
possible  against  woman  suffrage.  The  more  I  have  seen  of  it,  the  less  my 
objections  have  been  realized,  and  the  more  it  has  commended  itself  to  my 
judgment  and  good  opinion.  Under  all  my  observations  it  has  worked  well, 
and  has  been  productive  of  much  good.  The  women  use  the  ballot  with 
more  independence  and  discrimination  in  regard  to  the  qualifications  of 
candidates  than  men  do.  If  the  ballot  in  the  hand  of  woman  compels 
political  parties  to  place  their  best  men  in  nomination,  this,  in  and  of  itself, 
is  a  sufficient  reason  for  sustaining  woman  suffrage. 

Ex-Chief  Justice  Fisher,  of  Cheyenne,  said  in  1883: 

I  wish  I  could  show  the  people  who  are  so  wonderfully  exercised  on 
the  subject  of  female  suffrage  just  how  it  works.  The  women  watch  the 
nominating  conventions,  and  if  the  Republicans  put  a  bad  man  on  their 
ticket  and  the  Democrats  a  good  one,  the  Republican  women  do  not  hesitate 
a  moment  in  scratching  off  the  bad  and  substituting  the  good.  It  is 
just  so  with  the  Democratic  women.  I  have  seen  the  effects  of  female  suf- 
'  f rage,  and  instead  of  being  a  means  of  encouragment  to  fraud  and  corrup- 
tion, it  tends  greatly  to  purify  elections  and  give  better  government. 

In  1884  Attorney-General  M.   C.  Brown  said  in  a  public  letter: 

My  prejudices  were  formerly  all  against  woman  suffrage,  but  they  have 
gradually  given  way  since  it  became  an  established  fact  in  Wyoming.  My 
observation,  extending  over  a  period  of  fifteen  years, "  satisfies  me  of  its 
entire  justice  and  propriety.  Impartial  observation  has  also  satisfied  me  that 
in  the  use  of  the  ballot  women  exercise  fully  as  good  judgment  as  men, 
and  in  some  particulars  are  more  discriminating,  as,  for  instance,  on  ques- 
tions of  morals. 

At  another  time  he  said : 

I  have  been  asked  if  women  make  good  jurors,  and  I  answer  by  saying,  that 
so  far  as  I  have  observed  their  conduct  on  juries,  as  a  lawyer,  I  find  but  little 

fault  with  them They  do  not  reason  like  men  upon  the  evidence, 

but,  being  possessed  of  a  higher  quality  of  intellectuality,  i.  e.,  keen  percep- 
tions, they  see  the  truth  of  the  thing  at  a  glance.  Their  minds  once  settled, 
neither  sophistry,  logic,  rhetoric,  pleading  nor  tears  will  move  them  from  their 
purpose.  A  guilty  person  never  escapes  a  just  punishment  when  tried  by 
women  juries. 

The  effect  of  woman  suffrage  upon  the  people  of  Wyoming  has  been 
good.  It  has  been  said  by  one  man  that  open,  flagrant  acts  of  bribery 
are  commonly  practiced  at  the  polls  in  Wyoming,  and  this  statement  is 
made  to  show  that  the  effect  of  woman  suffrage  has  not  been  good.  The 
statement  is  not  true.  In  the  last  election  there  were  in  Cheyenne  large 
sums  of  money  expended  to  influence  the  result,  and  votes  were  bought 
on  the  streets  in  an  open  and  shameless  manner.  As  U.  S.  Attorney  for 
the  Territory,  it  became  my  duty  to  investigate  this  matter  before  a  grand 
jury  composed  of  men.  The  revelations  before  the  jury  were  astonishing 
and  many  cases  of  bribery  were  clearly  proven;  but  while  a  majority  of 
those  composing  the  jury  were  men  of  the  highest  integrity,  there  were 
so  many  members  who  had  probably  taken  part  in  the  same  unlawful  trans- 
actions that  no  indictment  could  be  obtained.  The  circumstances  attending 
this  election  were  phenomenal.  It  would  be  unjust  to  the  women,  however, 
if  I  should  fail  to  add  that,  while  it  was  clearly  proven  that  many  men 
sold  their  votes,  it  was  strikingly  apparent  that  few  if  any  women,  even 
of  the  vilest  class,  were  guilty  of  the  same  misconduct. 


1092 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


The  Hon.  John  W.  Kingman,  for  four  years  a  Judge  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme 
Court  of  Wyoming,  says : 

Woman  suffrage  was  inaugurated  in  1869  without  much  discussion,  and 
without  any  general  movement  of  men  or  women  in  its  favor.  At  that 
time  few  women  voted.  At  each  election  since,  they  have  voted  in  larger 
numbers,  and  now  nearly  all  go  to  the  polls.  Our  women  do  not  attend 
the  caucuses  in  any  considerable  numbers,  but  they  generally  take  an  interest 
in  the  selection  of  candidates,  and  it  is  very  common,  in  considering  the 
availability  of  an  aspirant  for  office,  to  ask,  'How  does  he  stand  with  the 
ladies?'  Frequently  the  men  set  aside  certain  applicants  for  office,  because 
their  characters  would  not  stand  the  criticism  of  women.  The  women  mani- 
fest a  great  deal  of  independence  in  their  preference  for  candidates,  and 
have  frequently  defeated  bad  nominations.  Our  best  and  most  cultivated 
women  vote,  and  vote  understandingly  and  independently,  and  they  can  not 
be  bought  with  whiskey  or  blinded  by  party  prejudice.  They  are  making 
themselves  felt  at  the  polls,  as  they  do  everywhere  else  in  society,  by  a 
quiet  but  effectual  discountenancing  of  the  bad,  and  a  helping  hand  for 
the  good  and  the  true.  We  have  had  no  trouble  from  the  presence  of 
bad  women  at  the  polls.  It  has  been  said  that  the  delicate  and  cultured 
women  would  shrink  away,  and  the  bold  and  indelicate  come  to  the  front, 
in  public  affairs.  This  we  feared;  but  nothing  of  the  kind  has  happened.' 
I  dp  not  believe  that  suffrage  causes  women  to  neglect  their  domestic 
affairs.  Certainly,  such  has  not  been  the  case  in  Wyoming,  and  I  never 
heard  a  man  complain  that  his  wife  was  less  interested  in  domestic  economy 
because  she  had  the  right  to  vote  and  took  an  interest  in  making  the  com- 
munity respectable.  The  opposition  to  woman  suffrage  at  first  was  pretty 
bitter.  To-day  I  do  not  think  you  could  get  a  dozen  respectable  men  in 
any  locality  to  oppose  it. 

In  1895  U.  S.  Senator  Clarence  D.  Clark  wrote  as  follows  to  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  Utah  which  was  considering  a  woman  suffrage  plank : 

So  far  as  the  operation  of  the  law  in  this  State  is  concerned,  we  were 
so  well  satisfied,  with  twenty  years'  experience  under  the  Territorial  gov- 
ernment, that  it  went  into  our  constitution  with  but  one  dissenting  vote, 
although  many  thought  that  such  a  section  might  result  in  its  rejection 
by  Congress.  If  it  does  nothing  else  it  fulfils  the  theory  of  a  true  repre- 
sentative government,  and  in  this  State,  at  least,  has  resulted  in  none  of 
the  evils  prophesied.  It  has  not  been  the  fruitful  source  of  family  dis- 
agreements feared.  It  has  not  lowered  womanhood.  Women  do  generally 
take  advantage  of  the  right  to  vote,  and  vote  intelligently.  It  has  been 
years  since  we  have  had  trouble  at  the  polls — quiet  and  order,  in  my  opinion, 
being  due  to  two  causes,  the  presence  of  -women  and  our  efficient  election 
laws.  One  important  feature  I  mi&ht  mention^  -and  that  is,  in  view  of 
the  woman  vote,  no  party  dare  nominate  notoriously  immoral  men,  for  fear 
of  defeat  by  that  vote.  Regar^dtrt^ 'the  adoption  of  the  system  in  other 
States  I  see  no  reason  why  its  operation  should  not  be  generally  the  same 
elsewhere  as  it  is  with  us.  It  'is  surely  true  that  after  many  years'  ex- 
perience, Wyoming  would.net  be  content  to  return  to  the  old  limits,  as, 
in  our  opinion,  the  absence  of  ill  results  is  conclusive  proof  of  the  wisdom 
of  the  proposition. 

In  1896  the  Hon.  H.  V.  S.  Groesbeck,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  thus  summed  up  the  results  of  twenty-seven  years'  experience: 

I.  Woman  suffrage  has  been  weighed  and  not  found  wanting.  Adopted 
by  a  statute  passed  by  the  first  legislative  Assembly  of  the  Territory,  in 
1869,  and  approved  by  the  Governor,  it  has  continued  without  interruption 
and  with  but  one  unsuccessful  demand  for  the  repeal  of  the  law.  The  con- 
stitutional convention  which  assembled  in  1889  adopted  the  equal  suffrage 


APPENDIX.  IO93 

provision  and  refused  to  submit  the  question  to  a  separate  vote  by  a  large 
majority.  The  continuance  of  the  measure  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
and  the  determination  to  incorporate  it  in  the  fundamental  law,  even  at 
the  risk  of  failing  to  secure  Statehood,  are  the  strongest  arguments  of 
its  benefit  and  permanency. 

2.  It    has    tended    to    secure    good    nominations    for    the    public    offices. 
The  women  as  a  class  will  not  knowingly  vote  for  incompetent,  immoral 
or   inefficient   candidates. 

3.  It  has   tended  to  make  the  women  self-reliant  and  independent,  and 
to  turn  their  attention  to  the  study  of  the  science  of  government — an  educa- 
tion that  is  needed  by  the  mothers  of  the  race. 

4.  It  has  made  our  elections  quiet  and  orderly.     No  rudeness,  brawling 
or  disorder   appears   or   would  be  tolerated  at  the   polling  booths.     There 
is  no  more  difficulty  or  indelicacy  in  depositing  a  ballot  in  the  urn  than  in 
dropping  a  letter  in  the  post  office. 

5.  It  has  not   marred  domestic  harmony.     Husband  and  wife  frequently 
vote  opposing  tickets  without  disturbing  the  peace  of  the  home.     Divorces 
are  not  as   frequent   here  as  in  other  communities,  even  taking  into  con- 
sideration  our   small   population.      Many   applicants   for    divorces   are   from 
those  who  have  a  husband  or  wife  elsewhere,  and  the  number  of  divorces 
granted  for  causes  arising  in  this  State  are  comparatively   few. 

6.  It  has  not  resulted  in  unsexing  women.     They  have  not  been  office- 
seekers.     Women  are  generally  selected  for  county  superintendents   of  the 
schools — offices    for   which   they   seem    particularly   adapted,   but   they   have 
not  been  applicants  for  other  positions. 

7.  Equal  suffrage  brings  together  at  the  ballot-box  the  enlightened  com- 
mon   sense    of   American    manhood   and   the   unselfish    moral    sentiment    of 
American    womanhood.     Both    of    these    elements    govern    a    well-regulated 
household,  and  both  should  sway  the  political  destinies  of  the  entire  human 
family.      Particularly    do    we    need    in    this    new    commonwealth    the    home 
influence   at   the   primaries    and   at   the    polls.     We    believe    with    Emerson 
that   if  all   the  vices  are   represented  in  our  politics,  some  of  the   virtues 
should  be. 

In  1902  Justice  Corn,  of  the  State  Supreme  Court,  made  the  following 
public  statement: 

Women  of  all  classes  very  generally  vote.  Bad  women  do  not  obtrude 
their  presence  at  the  polls,  and  I  do  not  now  remember  ever  to  have  seen 
a  distinctively  bad  woman  casting  her  vote. 

Woman  suffrage  has  no  injurious  effect  upon  the  home  or  the1  family 
that  I  have  ever  heard  of  during  the  twelve  years  I  have  resided  in  the 
State.  It  does  not  take  so  much  of  women's  time  as  to  interfere  with  their 
domestic  duties,  or  with  their  church  or  charitable  work.  It  does  not 
impair  their  womanliness  or  make  them  less  satisfactory  as  wives  and 
mothers.  They  do  not  have  less  influence,  or  enjoy  less  respect  and  con- 
sideration socially.  My  impression  is  that  they  read  the  daily  papers  and 
inform  themselves  upon  public  questions  much  more  generally  than  women 
elsewhere. 

Woman  suffrage  has  had  the  effect  almost  entirely  to  exclude  notoriously 
bad  or  immoral  men  from  public  office  in  the  State.  Parties  refuse  to 
nominate  such  men  upon  the  distinct  ground  that  they  can  not  obtain  the 
women's  vote. 

The  natural  result  of  such  conditions  is  to  increase  the  respect  in  which 
women  are  held,  and  not  to  diminish  it.  They  are  a  more  important 
factor  in  affairs,  and  therefore  more  regarded.  It  is  generally  conceded, 
I  think,  that  women  have  a  higher  standard  of  morality  and  right  living 
than  men.  And,  as  they  have  a  say  in  public  matters,  it  has  a  tendency  to 
make  men  respect  their  standard,  and  in  some  degree  attempt  to  attain 
it  themselves. 

I  have  never  been  an  enthusiastic  advocate  of  woman  suffrage  as  a  cure 


1094 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


for  all  the  ills  that  afflict  society,  but  I  give  you  in  entire  candor  my  im- 
pressions of  it  from  my  observations  in  this  State. 

In  1889,  after  women  in  Wyoming  had  very  generally  exercised  the  full 
suffrage  since  1869,  Mrs.  Clara  B.  Colby,  editor  of  the  Woman's  Tribune, 
Washington,  D.  C,  compiled  a  report  from  the  census  statistics.  Those 
relating  to  crime,  insanity  and  divorce  were  as  follows: 

The  population  of  the  United  States  has  increased  in  the  last  decade 
24.6  per  cent.  That  of  Wyoming  has  increased  127.9  per  cent.  But  while 
the  number  of  criminals  in  the  whole  United  States  has  increased  40.3 — 
an  alarming  ratio  far  beyond  the  increase  of  population — notwithstanding 
the  immense  increase  of  population  in  Wyoming,  the  number  of  criminals 
has  not  increased  at  all,  but  there  has  been  a  relative  decrease,  which 
shows  a  law-abiding  community  and  a  constantly  improving  condition  of 
the  public  morals.  In  1870  there  were  confined  in  the  jails  and  prisons 
of  Wyoming  74  criminals,  72  men  and  2  women.  The  census  of  1880  shows 
the  same  number  of  criminals,  74,  as  against  an  average  number  of  criminals 
in  the  other  Western  States  of  645.  This  remarkable  fact  is  made  more 
interesting  because  the  74  in  1890  are  all  men,  and  thus  the  scarecrow  of 
the  vicious  women  in  politics  disappears.  Wyoming  being  the  only  State 
in  which  the  per  cent,  of  criminal  women  has  decreased,  it  is  evident 
that  the  morals  of  the  female  part  of  the  population  improve  with  the 
exercise  of  the  right  of  suffrage. 

There  were  189,503  insane  in  the  United  States,  but  there  were  but  three 
insane  persons  in  Wyoming  in  1880,  all  men.  The  preponderance  of  in- 
sanity among  married  women  is  usually  attributed  to  the  monotony  of 
their  lives,  and  since  this  is  much  relieved  by  their  participation  in  politics 
we  should  naturally  expect  to  find,  as  a  physical  effect,  a  decreased  proportion 
of  insane  women  where  woman  suffrage  prevails. 

From  1870  to  1880  the  rate  of  divorce  increased  in  the  United  States 
79.4  per  cent.,  three  times  the  ratio  of  the  increase  of  population,  and 
in  the  group  of  Western  States,  omitting  Wyoming,  it  increased  436.7  per 
cent.,  almost  four  times  the  average  increase  of  population,  while  in  Wyoming 
the  average  increase  in  divorce  was  less  than  50  per  cent,  of  that  of  the 
population. 

Compare  Wyoming  with  a  typical  Eastern  State — Connecticut — the  latter 
has  one  insane  person  to  every  363  of  the  population,  Wyoming  has  one 
to  every  1,497.  Nor  is  this  wholly  a  difference  of  East  and  West,  for  Idaho, 
its  neighbor,  shows  one  insane  to  every  1,029.  Especially  would  voting  seem 
to  increase  the  intelligence  of  women,  for  in  Connecticut  there  are  over 
seven-tenths  as  many  female  idiots  as  there  are  male  idiots,  while  in 
Wyoming  there  are  only  four-tenths  as  many. 

Woman  suffrage  may  have  played  no  part  in  these  statistics,  but  if  they 
had  shown  an  increase  of  crime,  insanity  and  divorce,  it  certainly  would 
have  been  held  responsible  by  the  world  at  large. 


NEW  YORK. 

The  History  is  indebted  to  Atorqey-General  John  C.  Davies  for  most  of 
the  information  on  School  Suffrage  contained  in  the  New  York  chapter, 
and  also  for  the  opinion  which  follows  herewith  on  the  right  of  women 
in  that  State  to  hold  office. 

By  the  Consolidated  School  Law  it  is  provided,  as  regarding  School 
Commissioners,  that  "No  person  shall  be  deemed  ineligible  to  such  office 
by  reason  of  sex,  who  has  the  other  qualifications  as  herewith  provided ;" 


APPENDIX.  IO95 

and  regarding  common  school  districts,  it  is  provided  that  "Every  district 
officer  must  be  a  resident  of  his  district  and  qualified  to  vote  at  its  meet- 
ings." As  certain  women  are  qualified  to  vote  in  any  common  school 
district,  such  women  are  thus  eligible  to  any  district  office,  including  the 
offices  of  trustee,  clerk,  collector,  treasurer  or  librarian. 

A  similar  provision  in  reference  to  union  free  schools,  that  "No  person 
shall  be  eligible  to  hold  any  school  district  office  in  any  union  free  school 
district  unless  he  or  she  is  a  qualified  voter  in  such  district  and  is  able 
to  read  and  write,"  permits  women  to  hold  office  as  members  of  the  board 
of  education  and  other  district  offices. 

Aside  from  Chapter  214  of  the  Laws  of  1892,  which  has  been  held  to 
be  unconstitutional,  I  know  of  no  provision  of  law  extending  school  suffrage 
to  women  in  cities,  except  that  charters  of  certain  third  class  cities  have 
extended  to  women  tax-payers  the  right  to  vote  upon  a  proposition  involving 
the  raising  of  a  tax. 

By  the  Public  Officers'  Law,  Chap.  681  of  the  Laws  of  1892,  Section  3, 
it  is  provided  that  "No  person  shall  be  capable  of  holding  a  civil  office 
who  shall  not,  at  the  time  he  shall  be  chosen  thereto,  be  of  full  age,  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  resident  of  the  State,  and,  if  it  be  a 
local  office,  a  resident  of  the  political  subdivision  or  municipal  corpora- 
tion of  the  State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen,  or  within  which  the  electors 
electing  him  reside,  or  within  which  his  official  functions  are  required 
to  be  exercised." 

In  the  case  of  Findlay  against  Thorn,  in  the  City  Court  of  New  York, 
where  the  question  arose  as  to  the  right  of  a  woman  to  exercise  the 
office  of  notary  public,  Chief  Justice  Me  Adam  refused  to  pass  upon  the 
question,  holding  that  the  right  could  be  decided  only  in  a  direct  pro- 
ceeding brought  for  the  purpose  by  the  Attorney-General,  in  which  the 
notary  might  defend  her  title.  And  the  court  adds : 

"Whether  a  female  is  capable  of  holding  a  public  office  has  never  been  de- 
cided by  the  courts  of  this  State  and  it  is  a  question  about  which  legal  minds 
may  well  differ.  The  Constitution  regulates  the  right  of  suffrage  and  limits  it 
to  'male'  citizens.  Disabilities  are  not  favored  and  are  seldom  extended  by  im- 
plication, from  which  it  may  be  argued  that  if  it  required  the  insertion 
of  the  term  'male'  to  exclude  female  citizens  of  lawful  age  from  the  right 
of  suffrage,  a  similar  limitation  would  be  required  to  disqualify  them  from 
holding  office.  Citizenship  is  a  condition  or  status  and  has  no  relation 
to  age  or  sex.  It  may  be  contended  that  it  was  left  to  the  good  sense 
of  the  Executive  and  to  the  electors  to  determine  whether  or  not  they  would 
elect  females  to  office  and  that  the  power  being  lodged  in  safe  hands  was 
beyond  danger  of  abuse. 

"If  on  the  other  hand  it  be  seriously  contended  that  the  Constitution 
by  necessary  implication,  disqualifies  females  from  holding  office,  it  must 
follow  as  a  necessary  consequence  that  the  Act  of  the  Legislature  permitting 
females  to  serve  as  school  officers  (Chap.  9,  Laws  of  1880),  and  all  other 
legislative  enactments  of  like  import,  removing  such  disqualifications,  are 
unconstitutional  and  void.  In  this  same  connection  it  may  be  argued  that 
if  the  use  of  the  personal  pronoun  'he'  in  the  Constitution  does  not  exclude 
females  from  public  office,  its  use  in  the  statute  can  have  no  greater  effect. 
The  statute,  like  the  Constitution,  in  prescribing  qualifications  for  office  omits 
the  word  'male,'  leaving  the  question  wnether  female  citizens  of  lawful  age  art 
included  or  excluded,  one  of  construction. 

"I  make  these  observations  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  the  ques- 
tion whether  females  are  eligible  to  public  office  in  this  State,  is  one 
not  entirely  free  from  doubt  and  should  not  therefore  be  decided  where  it 
arises,  as  it  does  here,  incidentally  and  collaterally.  When  the  law  of- 
ficers of  the  State  see  fit  to  test  the  question  in  direct  proceedings  for 
the  purpose,  it  will  be  time  enough  to  attempt  to  settle  the  contention. 
In  such  a  proceeding,  the  case  of  Robinson  (131  Mass.  376,  and  that  re- 
ported in  107  Mass.  604),  where  it  was  held  that  a  woman  could  not  be  ad- 
mitted to  practice  as  an  attorney  and  counselor  at  law  in  Massachusetts, 


1096  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

and  those  decided  in  other  States  that  they  can  hold  office,  may  be  examined 
and  considered." 

See  also  Am.  and  Eng.   Ency.   of  Law,  Vol.   19,   p.  403-4.     I  might  add 
that  in  this  State  there  are  many  women  who  hold  the  office  of  notary  public. 


WASHINGTON. 

The  following  account  of  the  unconstitutional  disfranchising  of  the  women 
of  Washington  Territory  in  1888  was  carefully  prepared  by  the  editors 
of  the  Woman's  Journal  (Boston).  When  the  editors  of  the  present  volume 
decided  to  incorporate  it  as  a  part  of  the  History  of  Woman  Suffrage  it 
was  submitted  to  Judge  Orange  J.  Jacobs  of  Seattle  for  legal  inspection. 
He  returned  it  with  the  statement  that  it  was  correct  in  every  particular. 
It  constitutes  one  of  the  many  judicial  outrages  which  have  been  committed 
in  the  United  States  in  the  determination  to  prevent  the  enfranchisement 
of  women: 

Women  voted  in  Washington  Territory  for  the  first  time  in  1884,  and 
were  disfranchised  by  its  Supreme  Court  in  1887. 

Equal  suffrage  was  granted  by  the  Legislature  in  October,  1883.  The 
women  at  once  began  to  distinguish  themselves  there,  as  in  Wyoming  and 
elsewhere,  by  voting  for  the  best  man,  irrespective  of  party.  The  old  files  of 
the  Washington  newspapers  bear  ample  evidence  to  this  fact.  The  first 
chance  they  had  to  vote  was  at  the  municipal  elections  of  July,  1884.  The 
Seattle  Mirror  said: 

"The  city  election  of  last  Monday  was  for  more  reasons  than  one  the  most 
important  ever  held  in  Seattle.  The  presence  of  women  at  the  voting-places 
had  the  effect  of  preventing  the  disgraceful  proceedings  usually  seen.  It 
was  the  first  election  in  the  city  where  the  women  could  vote,  and  the 
first  where  the  gambling  and  liquor  fraternity,  which  had  so  long  controlled 
the  municipal  government  to  an  enormous  extent,  suffered  defeat." 

The  Post-Intelligencer  said : 

"After  the  experience  of  the'  late  election  it  will  not  do  for  any  one  here 
to  say  the  women  do  not  want  to  vote.  They  displayed  as  much  interest  as 
the  men,  and,  if  anything,  more The  result  insures  Seattle  a  first- 
class  municipal  administration.  It  is  a  warning  to  that  undesirable  class 
of  the  community  who  subsist  upon  the  weaknesses  and  vices  of  society 
that  disregard  of  law  and  the  decencies  of  civilization  will  not  be  tolerated." 

Quotations  might  be  multiplied  from  the  papers  of  other  towns,  testifying 
to  the  independent  voting  of  the  women,  the  large  size  of  their  vote,  the 
courtesy  with  which  they  were  treated,  and  the  greater  quiet  and  order 
produced  by  their  presence  at  the  polls. 

Next  came  the  general  election  of  November,  1884.  Again  the  news- 
papers were  practically  unanimous  as  to  the  result.  The  Olympia  Transcript, 
which  was  opposed  to  equal  suffrage,  said:  "The  result  shows  that  all  parties 
must  put  up  good  men  if  they  expect  to  elect  them.  They  can  not  do  as 
they  have  in  the  past — nominate  any  candidates,  and  elect  them  by  the 
force  of  the  party  lash." 

The  Democratic  State  Journal  said:  "No  one  could  fail  to  see  that  here- 
after more  attention  must  be  given  at  the  primaries  to  select  the  purest 
of  material,  by  both  parties,  if  they  would  gain  the  female  vote." 

Charles  J.  Woodbury  visited  Washinrton  about  this  time.  ^  In  a  letter 
to  the  N.  Y.  Evening  Post,  he  said :  'Whatever  may  be  the  vicissitudes  of 
woman  suffrage  in  Washington  Territory  in  the  future,  it  should  now  be 
put  on  record  that  at  the  election,  Nov.  4,  1884,  nine-tenths  of  its  adult 
female  population  availed  themselves  of  the  right  to  vote  with  a  hearty 
enthusiasm." 


APPENDIX.  IO97 

He  goes  on  to  say  that  he  arrived  in  Seattle  on  Sunday,  and  was  sur- 
prised at  the  quiet  and  order  he  found  prevailing,  and  at  the  general 
Sunday  closing  of  the  places  of  business:  "Even  the  bars  of-  the  hotels 
were  closed;  and  this  was  the  worst  town  in  the  Territory  when  I  first 
saw  it.  Now  its  uproarious  theaters,  dance-houses,  squaw-brothels  and 
Sunday  fights  are  things  of  the  past.  Not  a  gambling  house  exists." 

Women  served  on  juries,  and  meted  out  the  full  penalty  of  the  law 
to  gamblers  and  keepers  of  disorderly  houses.  The  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Territory  was  the  Hon.  Roger  S.  Greene,  a  cousin  of  U.  S.  Senator  Hoar, 
a  man  of  high  character  and  integrity,  and  a  magistrate  celebrated  through- 
out the  Northwest  for  his  resolute  and  courageous  resistance  to  lynch  law. 
In^his  charge  to  the  grand  jury  at  Port  Townsend,  August,  1884,  he  said: 

"The  opponents  of  woman  suffrage  in  this  Territory  are  found  allied 
with  a  solid  phalanx  of  gamblers,  prostitutes,  pimps,  and  drunkard-makers — 
a  phalanx  composed  of  all  in  each  of  those  classes  who  know  the  interest 
of  the  class  and  vote  according  to  it." 

In  his  charge  to  another  grand  jury  later,  Chief  Justice  Greene  said : 

"Twelve  terms  of  court,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  have  now  held,  in  which 
women  have  served  as  grand  and  petit  jurors,  and  it  is  certainly  a  fact 
beyond  dispute  that  no  other  twelve  terms  so  salutary  for  restraint  of  crime 
have  ever  been  held  in  this  Territory.  For  fifteen  years  I  have  been  trying 
to  do  what  a  judge  ought,  but  have  never  till  the  last  six  months  felt 
underneath  and  around  me,  in  the  degree  that  every  judge  has  a  right 
to  feel  it,  the  upbuoying  might  of  the  people  in  the  line  of  full  and 
resolute  enforcement  of  the  law." 

Naturally,  the  vicious  elements  disliked  "the  full  and  resolute  enforce- 
ment of  law."  The  baser  sort  of  politicians  also  disliked  the  independent 
voting  of  the  women.  The  Republicans  had  a  normal  majority  in  the  Ter- 
ritory, but  they  nominated  for  a  high  office  a  man  who  was  a  hard  drinker. 
The  Republican  women  would  not  vote  for  him,  and  he  was  defeated. 
Next  they  nominated  a  man  who  had  for  years  been  openly  living  with 
an  Indian  woman  and  had  a  family  of  half-breed  children.  Again  the  Re- 
publican women  refused  to  vote  for  him,  and  he  was  defeated.  This  brought 
the  enmity  of  the  Republican  "machine"  upon  woman  suffrage.  The  Demo- 
cratic women  showed  equal  independence,  and  incurred  the  hostility  of  the 
Democratic  "machine." 

Between  1884  and  1888  a  change'  of  administration  at  Washington  led 
to  a  change  in  the  Territorial  Supreme  Court.  The  newly  appointed  Chief 
Justice  and  a  majority  of  the  new  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  [appointed  by 
President  Cleveland]  were  opposed  to  equal  suffrage,  and  were  amenable,  it  is 
said,  to  the  strong  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  them  by  all  the  vicious  ele- 
ments to  secure  its  repeal.  A  gambler  who  had  been  convicted  by  a  jury 
composed  in  part  of  women  contested  the  sentence'  on  the  ground  that  women 
were  not  legal  voters,  and  the  Supreme  Court  decided  that  the  woman  suffrage 
bill  was  unconstitutional,  because  it  had  been  headed  "An  Act  to  Amend  Sec- 
tion So  and  So,  Chapter  So  and  So  of  the  Code,"  instead  of  "An  Act  to  En- 
franchise Women."  ....  When  the  Legislature  met  in  1888  it  re-enacted 
the  woman  suffrage  bill,  giving  it  a  full  heading,  and  strengthening  it  in  every 
way  possible. 

Washington  was  about  to  be  admitted  as  a  State,  and  was  preparing  to 
hold  a  Constitutional  Convention  to  frame  a  State  constitution.  There  was 
no  doubt  that  the  majority  of  the  women  wanted  to  vote.  Chief  Justice 
Greene  estimated  that  four-fifths  of  them  had  voted  at  the  last  election 
before  they  were  deprived  of  the  right.  Two  successive  Legislatures  elected 
by  men  and  women  jointly  had  re-enacted  woman  suffrage  (for  its  continu- 
ance had  been  made  a  test  question  in  the  choice  of  the  first  Legislature  for 
which  the  women  voted,  and  that  Legislature  had  been  careful  to  insert 
the  words  "he  or  she"  in  all  bills  relating  to  the  election  laws).  It  was 
admitted  on  all  hands  that  if  the  women  were  allowed  to  vote  for  members 
of  the  Constitutional  Convention,  it  would  be  impossible  to  elect  one  that 
would  wipe  out  woman  suffrage.  It  was  therefore  imperative  to  deprive 
the  women  of  their  votes  before  the  members  of  the  convention  were 


1098 


HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


chosen.  A  scheme  was  arranged  for  the  purpose.  On  the  ground  that 
she  was  a  woman,  the  election  officers  at  a  local  election  refused  the  vote 
of  Mrs.  Nevada  Bloomer,  a  saloon-keeper's  wife,  who  was  opposed  to  suf- 
frage. They  accepted  the  votes  of  all  the  other  women.  She  made  a  test 
case  by  bringing  suit  against  them.  In  the  ordinary  course  of  things,  tho 
case  would  not  have  come  up  till  after  the  election  of  the  constitutional 
convention.  But  cases  for  the  restoration  of  personal  rights  may  be  ad- 
vanced on  the  docket,  and  Mrs.  Bloomer's  ostensible  object  was  the  restora- 
tion of  her  personal  rights,  though  her  real  object  was  to  deprive  all 
women  of  theirs.  Her  case  was  put  forward  on  the  docket  and  hurried 
to  a  decision. 

The  Supreme  Court  [George  Turner  and  Wm.  G.  Langfordl  this  time  pro- 
nounced the  woman  suffrage  law  unconstitutional  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
beyond  the  power  of  a  Territorial  Legislature  to  enfranchise  women.  The 
Organic  Act  of  the  Territory  said  that  at  the  first  Territorial  election  persons 
with  certain  qualifications  should  vote,  and  at  subsequent  elections  such  persons 
as  the  Territorial  Legislature  might  enfranchise.  But  the  court  took  the 
ground  that  in  giving  the  Legislature  the  right  to  regulate  suffrage,  Congress 
did  not  at  the  time  have  it  specifically  in  mind  that  they  might  enfranchise 
women,  and  that  therefore  they  could  not  do  so. (  !)  The  suffragists  wanted  to 
have  the  case  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  but  Mrs. 
Bloomer  refused. 

The  women  themselves  being  prevented  from  voting,  their  friends  were 
not  able  to  overcome  the  combined  "machines"  of  both  political  parties, 
and  the  intense  opposition  of  all  the  vicious  and  disorderly  elements,  at  that 
time  very  large  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  A  convention  opposed  to  equal  suf- 
frage was  elected,  and  framed  a  constitution  excluding  women.  A  friend 
of  the  present  writer  talked  with  many  of  the  members  while  the  convention 
was  in  session.  He  says  almost  every  lawyer  in  that  body  acknowledged, 
in  private  conversation,  that  the  decision  by  which  the  women  had  been 
disfranchised  was  illegal.  "But,"  they  said,  "the  women  had  set  the  com- 
munity by  the  ears  on  the  temperance  question,  and  we  had  to  get  rid 
of  them."  One'  politician  said,  frankly,  "Women  are  natural  mugwumps, 
and  I  hate  a  mugwump." 

The  convention,  however,  yielded  to  the  pressure  sufficiently  to  submit 
to  the  men  a  separate  amendment  proposing  to  strike  out  the  word  "male" 
from  the  suffrage  clause  of  the  new  State  constitution,  but  no  woman  was 
allowed  to  vote  on  it.  In  November,  1889,  this  amendment  was  lost,  the 
same  elements  that  defeated  it  in  the  convention  defeating  it  at  the  polls, 
with  the  addition  of  a  great  influx  of  foreign  immigrants. 


NATIONAL-AMERICAN  WOMAN   SUFFRAGE  ASSOCIATION. 

This  is  the  most  democratic  of  organizations.  Its  sole  object  is  to  secure 
for  women  citizens  protection  in  their  right  to  vote.  The  general  officers  are 
nominated  by  an  informal  secret  ballot,  no  one  being  put  in  nomination. 
The  three  persons  receiving  the  highest  number  of  votes  are  considered  the 
nominees  and  the  election  is  decided  by  secret  ballot.  Those  entitled  to  vote 
are  three  delegates-at-large  for  each  auxiliary  State  society  and  one  delegate 
in  addition  for  every  one  hundred  members  of  each  State  auxiliary;  the 
State  presidents  and  State  members  of  the  National  Executive  Committee; 
the  general  officers  of  the  association ;  the  chairmen  of  standing  committees. 
The  delegates  present  from  each  State  cast  the  full  vote  to  which  that  State 
is  entitled.  The  vote  is  taken  in  the  same  way  upon  any  other  question 
•vhenever  the  delegates  present  from  five  States  request  it.  In  other  cases 


APPENDIX.  1099 

each  delegate  has  one  vote.    Any  State  whose  dues  are  unpaid  on  January  i 
loses  its  vote  in  the  convention  for  that  year. 

The  two  honorary  presidents,  president,  vice-president-at-large,  two  secre- 
taries, treasurer  and  two  auditors  constitute  the  Business  Committee,  which 
transacts  the  entire  business  of  the  association  between  the  annual  conventions. 

The  Executive  Committee  is  composed  of  the  Business  Committee,  the 
president  of  each  State,  and  one  member  from  each  State,  together  with  the 
chairmen  of  standing  committees;  fifteen  make  a  quorum  for  the  transaction 
of  business.  The  decisions  reached  by  the  Executive  Committee,  which  meets 
during  the  convention  week,  are  presented  in  the  form  of  recommendations  at 
the  business  sessions  of  the  convention. 

The  constitution  may  be  amended  by  a  two-thirds  vote  at  any  annual  meet- 
ing, after  one  day's  notice  in  the  convention,  notice  of  the  proposed  amend- 
ment having  been  previously  given  to  the  Business  Committee,  and  by  them 
published  in  the  suffrage  papers  not  less  than  three  months  in  advance. 

The  association  must  hold  an  annual  convention  of  regularly-elected  dele- 
gates for  the  election  of  officers  and  the  transaction  of  business.  An  annual 
meeting  must  be  held  in  Washington,  D.  C,  during  the  first  session  of  each 
Congress. 

The  Committee  on  Resolutions  must  consist  of  one  person  from  each  State, 
elected  by  its  delegation. 

There  are  few  changes  in  officers  and  the  association  is  noted  for  the  har- 
mony of  its  meetings,  although  the  delegates  generally  are  of  decided  convic- 
tions and  unusual  force  of  character.  Men  are  eligible  to  membership  and  a 
number  belong,  but  the  affairs  of  the  organization  are  wholly  in  the  hands 
of  women. 

Auxiliary  State  and  Territorial  associations  exist  in  all  but  Wyoming, 
Idaho,  Utah,  Arkansas,  Nevada  and  Texas.  Suffrage  associations  are  not 
needed  in  the  first  three,  as  the  women  have  the  full  franchise. 

OFFICERS  FOR  1900. 

Honorary  Presidents,  ELIZABETH  CADY  STANTON,  New  York  City;  SUSAN 
B.  ANTHONY,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

President,  CARRIE  CHAPMAN  CATT,  New  York  City. 

Vice-President-at-Large,   REV.  ANNA   HOWARD  SHAW,  Philadelphia. 

Recording  Secretary,  ALICE  STONE  BLACKWELL,  Boston. 

Corresponding   Secretary,   RACHEL  FOSTER  AVERY,   Philadelphia. 

Treasurer,  HARRIET  TAYLOR  UPTON,  Warren,  Ohio. 

Auditors,  LAURA  CLAY,  Lexington,  Ky.;  CATHARINE  WAUGH  McCuLLOCH, 

Chicago. 
Honorary  Vice-Presidents—  [Prominent  names  mentioned  in  vane 

STANDING   COMMITTEES. 

PROGRAMME-Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  N.  Y. ;  Rachel  Foster  Avery,  Acting 
Chairman,  Penn.;  May  Dudley  Greeley,  Minn.;  Lucy  Hobart 

Kate  M.  Gordon,  La. 

CONGRESSIONAL  WoRK-Susan  B.  Anthony,  N.  Y.;  Carrie  Chapman  Catt, 
N.  Y.;  Harriet  Taylor  Upton,  O.;  Helen  M.  Warren,  Wy.;  Virginia  Mo: 
rison  Shafroth,   Col. 

PRESS  WORK— Elnora  M.  Babcock,  N.  Y. 


HOO  HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

ENROLLMENT— Priscilla  Dudley  Hackstaff,  N.  Y.  and  all  State  Treasurers. 
FEDERAL  SUFFRAGE— Sallie  Clay  Bennett,  Ky. ;  Martha  E.  Root,  Mich. 
PRESIDENTIAL  SUFFRAGE— Henry  B.  Blackwell,  Mass,  and  State  Presidents. 
NATIONAL  COMMITTEE  ON  LOCAL  ARRANGEMENTS — Lucy  E.  Anthony,  Penn. 
RAILROAD  RATES — Mary  G.  Hay,  N.  Y. 

SPECIAL   COMMITTEES. 

INDUSTRIAL  PROBLEMS  AFFECTING  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN — Clara  Bewick 
Colby,  D.  C. ;  Martha  E.  Root,  Mich.;  Annie  L.  Diggs,  Kas. ;  Margaret  O. 
Rhodes,  Okla.;  Annie  English  Silliman,  N.  J.;  Mary  C.  C.  Bradford,  Col.; 
Gail  Laughlin,  N.  Y. 

LEGISLATION  FOR  CIVIL  RIGHTS — Laura  M.  Johns,  Kas. 

CONVENTION  RESOLUTIONS — Susan  B.  Anthony,  N.  Y. ;  Carrie  Chapman 
Catt,  N.  Y. ;  Ida  Husted  Harper,  D.  C. ;  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  Penn. ;  Rachel 
Foster  Avery,  Penn. 

POLITICAL  EQUALITY  SERIES — Alice  Stone  Blackwell,  Mass.;  Ida  Husted 
Harper,  D.  C. 

LIFE   MEMBERS.     (1901.) 

Alabama — Adella  Hunt  Logan. 

California — Mrs.  A.  R.  Faulkner,  Mary  Wood  Swift. 

Colorado — Mary  C.  C.  Bradford,  Emily  A.  Brown,  Amy  K.  Cornwall,  Louisa 

S.  Janvier,  Emily  R.  Meredith. 
Connecticut — H.  J.  Lewis. 
District  of  Columbia — Julia  L.  Langdon  Barber,  Lucia  E.  Blount,  Mary  Foote 

Henderson,   Margaret  J.   Henry,   Hannah   Cassall   Mills,   Mary  A.    Mc- 

Pherson,  Martha  McWirther,  Mary  C.  Nason,  Julia  T.  Ripley,  Sophronia 

C.  Snow,  C.  W.  Spofford,  Jane  H.  Spofford,  Mary  E.  Terry,  Helen  Rand 

Tindall,  Eliza  Titus  Ward,  Nettie  L.  White. 
Georgia — Gertrude  C.   Thomas. 
Illinois — Sarah  O.  Coonley,  Climenia  K.  Dennett,  Emily  M.  Gross,  Ida   S. 

Noyes,   Dr.   Julia   Holmes   Smith,   Elmina   Springer,  Lydia  A.    Coonley 

Ward. 

Indiana— Ida  Husted  Harper,  Alice  Wheeler  Peirce,  May  Wright  Sewall. 
Iowa — Martha  C.  Callanan,  Nancy  Logan,  Mettie  Laub  Romans. 
Kansas — Mabel  LaPorte  Diggs,  Sarah  E.  Morrow. 
Kentucky— Susan  Look  Avery,  Sallie  Clay  Bennett,  Mary  B.  Trimble,  Laura 

R.  White. 

Louisiana — Caroline  E.  Merrick. 
Maryland — Caroline  Hallowell  Miller. 
Massachusetts— Carrie   Anders,   Martha   M.   Atkins,  Alice  Stone  Blackwell, 

Henry  B.  Blackwell,  Ellen  Wright  Garrison,  Ellen  F.  Powers,  Caroline 

Scott,  Pauline  Agassiz  Shaw,  Nellie  S.  Smith. 
Michigan— Delos  A.  Blodgett,  Daisy  Peck  Blodgett,  Olivia  B.  Hall. 
Minnesota— Alice  Scott  Cash,  Elizabeth  A.  Russell,  Sarah  Vail  Thompson. 
Missouri— Phoebe  W.  Cousins,  Virginia  L.  Minor,  Sarah  E.  Turner. 
Nebraska— Clara  Bewick  Colby,  Mary  Smith  Hayward,  Mary  H.  Williams. 
New  Hampshire — Marilla  M.  Ricker. 
New  Jersey— Florence  Howe  Hall,  Laura  Lloyd  Heulings,  Cornelia  C.  Hus- 

sey,   Dr.   Mary  D.   Hussey,   Mrs.    S.   R.    Krom,   Susan    W.    Lippincott, 


APPENDIX.  HOI 

Calista  S.  Mayhew,  Dr.  Sarah  C.  Spotteswoode,  Ellen  Hoxie  Squier, 
Elizabeth  M.  Vail. 

New  Mexico — Alice  Paxson  Hadley. 

New  York — Susan  B.  Anthony,  Mary  S.  Anthony,  Victoria  Bradley,  Amelia 
Cameron,  Cornelia  H.  Cary,  George  W.  Catt,  Carrie  Chapman  Catt, 
Ella  Hawley  Crossett,  Anna  Dormitzer,  Rebecca  Friedlander,  Fannie 
Humphreys  Gaffney,  Matilda  Joslyn  Gage,  Priscilla  Dudley  Hackstaff, 
Sarah  V.  Hallock,  Mary  H.  Hallowell,  Mary  G.  Hay,  Belle  S.  Holden, 
Emily  Howland,  Hannah  L.  Howland,  Dorcas  Hull,  Emma  G.  Ivins, 
Rhody  J.  Kenyon,  Mary  Elizabeth  Lapham,  Semantha  Vail  Lapham, 
Mrs.  Frank  Leslie,  Mary  Hillard  Loines,  Anne  Fitzhugh  Miller,  Elizabeth 
Smith  Miller,  Martha  Fuller  Prather,  Euphemia  C.  Purton,  Mary  Thayer 
Sanford,  James  F.  Sargent,  Angelina  M.  Sargent,  Elizabeth  Cady  Stan- 
ton,  Fanny  Garrison  Villard,  Julia  Willetts  Williams,  Sarah  L.  Willis. 

Ohio — Caroline  McCullough  Everhard,  Elizabeth  J.  Hauser,  Sallie  J.  McCall, 
Anna  C.  Mott,  Alice  E.  Peters,  Louisa  Southworth,  Susan  M.  Sturges. 

Oklahoma — Rachel  Rees  Griffiths. 

Pennsylvania — Lucy  E.  Anthony,  Mary  Schofield  Ash,  Rachel  Foster  Avery, 
Emma  J.  Bartol,  Lucretia  L.  Blankenburg,  Ellen  K.  Brazier,  Emma 
J.  Brazier,  Katherine  J.  Campbell,  Kate  W.  Dewald,  Julia  T.  Foster, 
Alvin  T.  James,  Helen  Mosher  James,  Edith  C.  James,  Dr.  Agnes  Kemp, 
Caroline  Lippincott,  Mary  W.  Lippincott,  Hannah  Myers  Longshore, 
Jacob  Reese,  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  Nicolas  M.  Shaw,  M.  J.  Stecker, 
M.  Adeline  Thomson. 

Rhode  Island— Sarah  J.  Eddy,  Charlotte  B.  Wilbour,  Sarah  S.  Wilbour. 

South  Carolina — A.  Viola  Neblett,  Martha  Schofield. 

Utah — Emily  S.  Richards,  Emmeline  B.  Wells. 

Wisconsin — Rev.  Olympia  Brown. 

Persia — Susan  Van  Valkenburg  Hamilton  (formerly  of  Indiana). 

DELEGATES  TO   NATIONAL  CONVENTIONS,   1883-1900. 

At  the  national  conventions  those  who  occupy  the  platform  and  make  the 
addresses  naturally  have  the  most  conspicuous  place,  but  those  who  come 
from  the  various  localities,  year  after  year,  bringing  the  reports  from  their 
States  and  taking  their  necessary  part  in  the  proceedings,  are  equally  valuable 
factors.  Their  names,  at  least,  should  be  preserved,  and  the  following  list, 
while  by  no  means  complete,  is  as  nearly  so  as  it  has  been  possible  to 
make  it.  Those  which  are  included  in  the  National  chapters  are  not  repeated. 
Many  of  the  women  recorded  below  receive  their  deserved  mention  in  the 
State  chapters. 

Alabama:  Amelia  M.  Dillard,  Minnie  Henderson.  Arizona:  Ex-Gov.  and 
Mrs  L  C.  Hughes,  Pauline  M.  O'Neill,  Mrs.  G.  H.  Oury.  Arkansas:  Mary 
A  Davis  Lizzie  D  Fyler,  C.  M.  Patterson.  California:  Nellie  Holbrook 
Biinn,  Amy  G.  Bowen,  Emilie  Gibbons  Cohen,  Warren  C.  Kimball,  Lucy 
Wilson  Moore,  Julia  Schlesinger,  Mary  Simpson  Sperry,  Beda  S.  Sperry, 
Mary  Wood  Swift.  Colorado :  Theodosia  G.  Ammons,  Dr.  Mary  Bar- 
ker Bates,  Margaret  Bowen,  Nettie  E.  Caspar,  Hattie  E.  Fox,  H. 
Jennie  James  B.  R.  Owens,  Katharine  A.  G.  Patterson,  Eliza 
Routt  Lucy  E.  Ransom  Scott,  Mary  Jewett  Telford,  Harriet  M.  Teller. 
Connecticut :  Mrs.  L.  D.  Allen,  Rose  I.  Blakeslee,  Sarah  E.  Browne,  Caroline 


1 102  HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

B.  Buell,  Mrs.  E.  C.  Champion,  Alta  Starr  Cressy,  Mrs.  N.  F.  Griswold, 
Addie  S.  Hale,  Howard  J.  Hale,  Ellen  B.  Kendrick,  Emily  O.  Kimball, 
Grace  C.  Kimball,  Mary  J.  Rogers,  Abby  Barker  Sheldon.  Dakota  Terri- 
tory :  Marietta  M.  Bones,  Linda  B.  Slaughter.  Delaware :  Mary  R.  De  Vou, 
Margaret  W.  Houston,  Margaret  E.  Kent,  Patience  W.  Kent,  Emma  Lore, 
Mary  Elizabeth  Milligan,  Adda  G.  Quigley,  Mary  H.  Thatcher,  Elizabeth 
Bacon  Walling.  District  of  Columbia :  Frances  B.  Andrews,  L.  L.  Bacon, 
Mary  L.  Bennett,  Bessie  Boone  Cheshire,  Anna  Gray  De  Long,  Lucy  S. 
Doolittle,  Annie  M.  Edgar,  Dr.  Susan  Edson,  M.  J.  Fowler,  Emma  M. 
Gillett,  J.  Minnie  Holn,  Martha  V.  Johnson,  Carrie  E.  Kent,  Mrs.  J.  H.  La 
Fetra,  Mary  S.  Lockwood,  Sarah  J.  Messer,  Henrietta  C.  Morrison,  Helen 
Mitchell,  Hattie  E.  Nash,  Mary  V.  Noerr,  Ellen  M.  O'Connor,  Mary  A. 
Ripley,  Mary  L.  Talbot,  Cora  De  La  Matyr  Thomas,  Helen  Rand  Tin- 
dall,  Eliza  Titus  Ward,  Elizabeth  Wilson,  Theresa  Williams,  Dr. 
Caroline  B.  Winslow,  Mary  H.  Williams.  Florida:  Ella  C.  Chamberlain. 
Georgia:  D.  M.  Allen,  Margaret  Chandler,  Julia  Iveson  Patton,  Gertrude  C. 
Thomas,  Adelaide  Wilson. 

Idaho:  Mrs.  Milton  Kelley.  Illinois:  Julia  K.  Barnes,  Mary  I.  Barnes, 
Emma  J.  Bigelow,  Corinne  S.  Brown,  Hannah  J.  Coffee,  C.  H.  Crocker, 
Angelina  Craver,  Climenina  K.  Dennet,  George  H.  Dennet,  Sylvia  Do- 
ton.  Emmy  C.  Evald,  Matilda  S.  Garrigus,  Mary  T.  Hager,  Mrs. 
Frank  L.  Hubbard,  Mary  Louise  Haworth,  Kate  Hughes,  Lizzie  F. 
Long,  Lena  Morrow,  Angie  B.  Schweppe,  Eva  Munson  Smith,  Dr.  Alice 
B.  Stockham,  Adeline  M.  Swain,  Nellie  J.  Tweed,  Jessie  Waite,  Dr.  Lucy 
Waite,  Margaret  Will.  Indiana :  Lizzie  M.  Briant,  Mary  G.  Hay,  Dr.  M.  A. 
Jessup,  Etta  Mattox,  Alice  Wheeler  Peirce,  Bertha  G.  Wade,  Alice  G.  Waugh, 
Iva  G.  Wooden.  Iowa:  Alice  Ainsworth,  Eunice  T.  Barnett,  Lucy  Busen- 
bark,  Narcissa  T.  Bemis,  James  Callanan,  Martha  C.  Callanan,  Margaret  V. 
Campbell,  Mary  J.  Coggeshall,  Nettie  Sanford  Chapin,  Martha  J.  Cass,  Eliza- 
beth Coughell,  Anna  B.  Crawford,  Marietta  Farr  Cannell,  Ella  G.  Cline,  Mary 
Mason  Clark,  Victoria  Dewey,  Jane  Denby,  C.  Holt  Flint,  Nellie  C.  Flint, 
Louise  B.  Field,  Mrs.  W.  P.  Hepburn,  Jane  Hammond,  Julia  Clark  Hallam, 
Harriet  Jenks,  Charles  W.  Jacobs,  Rosina  Jacobs,  Mrs.  M.  Lloyd  Kennedy, 
A.  M.  E.  Leffingwell,  Polly  A.  Maulsby,  Florence  M.  Maskrey,  Mary  E.  Mc- 
Pherson,  Jane  Amy  McKinney,  Ella  Moffatt,  Bessie  Murray,  Emily  Phillips, 
Mary  D.  Palmer.  Emeline  B.  Richardson,  Mettie  Laub  Romans.  Rowena 
Edson  Stevens,  Estelle  Smith,  Elmina  Springer,  Frances  Smith,  Rev.  John 
Ogilvie  Stevenson,  Ina  Light  Taylor,  Roma  W.  Woods,  Frilla  Belle  Young. 
Kansas:  Anna  A.  Broderick.  Fannie  M.  Broderick,  Jennie  Broderick,  B.  B. 
Baird,  C.  H.  Gushing,  Mabel  La  Porte  Diggs,  Caroline  Doster,  Martha  Powell 
Davis,  Bertha  H.  Ellsworth,  Nannie  Garrett,  Dr.  Eva  Harding,  Antoinette 
Haskell,  Hetta  P.  Mansfield,  Mrs.  J.  McPatten,  Constant  P.  McElroy,  Jennie 
Robb  Maher,  Bina  A.  Otis,  Josephine  L.  Patton,  Carrie  L.  Prentiss,  Althea  B. 
Stryker,  Sarah  A.  Thurston,  Abbie  A.  Welch,  Alonzo  Wardall,  Elizabeth  M. 
Wardall,  Anna  C.  Wait.  Kentucky:  Laura  S.  Bruce,  Mary  C.  Cramer,  S.  M. 
Hubbard,  Sarah  G.  Humphries,  Mary  K.  Jones,  Dr.  Sarah  M.  Siewers,  Sarah 
H.  Sawyer,  Mrs.  M.  R.  Stockwell,  Amanthus  Shipp,  Mary  Wood,  Sallie  B. 
Wolcott,  Laura  White.  Louisiana:  Florence  Huberwald,  Matilda  P.  Hero,  Dr. 
Harriet  C.  Keating,  Caroline  E.  Merrick,  Jr.,  Katharine  M.  Nobles,  Frances 
Sladden. 

Maine:  Rev.  Henry  Blanchard,  M.  S.  Carlisle,  Lucy  Hobart  Day,  Martha  O. 
Dyer,  Dr.  Abby  M.  Fulton,  Martha  W.  Fairfield.  Helen  A.  Harriman,  Mary  C. 
Nason,  Mary  E.  A.  Osborne,  Sarah  J.  L.  O'Brien,  Abby  A.  C.  Peaslee,  Cordelia 
A.  Quimby,  Sophronia  C.  Snow,  Lucy  A.  and  Lavinia  Snow,  Elizabeth  P.  Smith. 
Maryland:  Amanda  M.  Best,  Juliet  L.  Baldwin,  Emma  Madox  Funck,  Emma 
Frinck,  Annie  W.  Janney,  Annie  R.  Lamb,  Mary  E.  Moore,  Rebecca  T.  Miller, 
Martha  S.  Townsend,  Mary  J.  Williamson.  Massachusetts:  Annie  T.  Auerbach, 
Richard  and  Carrie  Anders,  Martha  Atkins,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oliver  C.  Ashton, 
Esther  F.  Boland,  Catherine  W.  Bascom,  Samuel  J.  Barrows,  Martha  Sewall 
Curtis,  Adelaide  A.  Gaflin,  Emma  Clapp,  Sophia  A.  Forbes,  Ellen  Wright 
Garrison,  Cora  Chapin  Godfrey,  Adeline  Howland.  Sarah  Hudson,  Mary  E. 
Hilton,  Mrs  Arden  Hall,  Hannah  Hall,  Charlotte  Lobdell,  Eveleen  L.  Mason, 


APPENDIX.  IIO3 

Louisa  A.  Morrison,  Martha  A.  P.  Neall.  Ellen  F.  Powers,  Agnes  G.  Parritt, 
Maud  Wood  Park,  John  Parker,  Cora  V.  Smart,  Silvanus  Smith,  Judith  W. 
Smith,  Mary  Clarke  Smith,  Nellie  S.  Smith,  Mrs.  W.  H.  Semple,  Jane  A. 
Stewart,  Dora  Bascom  Smith,  Addie  E.  Tarbell,  Sarah  E.  Wall,  Eliza  Webber, 
Elizabeth  H.  Webster,  Evelyn  Williams,  Dr.  Marion  L.  Woodward,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  John  L.  Whiting.  Michigan:  Charlotte  Goeway,  Mrs.  C  D.  Hodges, 
De  Lisle  P.  Holmes,  Sarah  L.  Hazlett,  Margaret  M.  Huckins,  Frances  Kinney, 
Dr.  Clara  W.  McNaughton,  Ida  J.  Marsh,  Nettie  McCloy,  E.  Matilda  Moore, 
Carrie  W.  Miller,  Frances  Wright  Spearman,  Sarah  E.  Smith,  Elizabeth  A. 
Willard.  Minnesota:  Nina  T.  Cox,  Lydia  R.  Eastwood,  Mayme  Jester,  De- 
lilah C.  Reid,  Judge  J.  B.  Stearns,  Sarah  Burger  Stearns,  Martha  Adams 
Thompson,  Sarah  Vail  Thompson.  Mississippi:  Harriet  B.  Kells,  Nellie  M. 
Somerville,  Lily  Wilkinson  Thompson.  Missouri:  Alice  Blackburn,  Mary 
Waldo  Calkins,  Ella  Harrison,  Virginia  Hedges,  Addie  M.  Johnson,  Alice  C. 
Mulky,  J.  B.  Merwin,  Sarah  E.  Turner,  Emaline  A.  Templeton,  Mary  U. 
Vandwert,  Mrs.  E.  E.  Montague  Winch,  Victoria  Conkling  Whitney,  Isabella 
Wightman,  Eliza  T.  Wilson,  William  Wilson,  Sarah  Wilson.  Montana:  Dr. 
Maria  M.  Dean,  Eva  Hirschberg,  George  W.  Jones,  Delia  A.  Kellogg,  Marie 
L.  Mason,  Sarepta  Sanders,  Harriet  P.  Sanders,  Dora  D.  Wright. 

Nebraska:  Maria  C.  Arter,  Rachel  Brill,  Clara  Cross,  Nettie  L.  Cronkhite, 
Abby  Gay  Dustin,  Helen  M.  Goff,  Ellen  D.  Harn,  Ellen  A.  Herdman,  Irene  Her- 
nandez, Lena  McCormick,  Amanda  J.  Marble,  Maud  Miller,  Anna  L.  Spirk, 
Sarah  K.  Williams,  Esther  L.  Warner.  Nevada:  Hannah  R.  Clapp,  Mary  E. 
Rinkle,  Annie  Warren,  Frances  A.  Williamson.  New  Hampshire:  Mary  A.  P. 
Filley,  M.  E.  Powell,  Marilla  M.  Ricker,  Rev.  H.  B.  Smith.  New  Jersey:  Emma 
L.  Blackwell,  Phoebe  Baily,  Katherine  H.  Browning,  Hannah  Cairns,  Jennie  D. 
DeWitt,  Dr.  Florence  De  Hart,  Rev.  Phoebe  A.  Hanaford,  Mrs.  A.  J.  Jackson, 
Jane  Bryant  Kellogg,  Susan  W.  Lippincott,  Ellen  Miles,  Mary  Philbrook, 
Amelia  Dickinson  Pope,  Aaron  M.  Powell,  Louise  Downs  Quigley,  Theresa 
M.  Seabrook,  Minola  Graham  Sexton,  Charlotte  C.  R.  Smith,  Laura  H.  Van 
Cise,  M.  Louise  Watts,  Phoebe  C.  Wright.  Nezv  Mexico :  Fannie  Baca,  I.  M. 
Bond,  H.  D.  Fergusson,  Ida  Morley  Jarrett,  Mayme  E.  Marble,  Mrs.  J.  D. 
Perkins,  Anna  Van  Schick.  New  York:  Mrs.  E.  Andreas,  Mrs.  Wilkes 
Angel,  Ruby  Abby,  Abigail  A.  Allen,  Dr.  Augusta  Armstrong,  Rev.  Caro- 
line A.  Bassett,  Victoria  Bradley,  Sarah  F.  Blackall,  Frances  Benedict, 
Mrs.  R.  G.  Beatty,  Helen  M.  Cook,  Dr.  Harriet  B.  Chapin,  Eveleen 
R.  Clark,  Cornelia  H.  Cary,  Noah  Chapman,  Margaret  Livingston  Chanler, 
Mrs.  M.  A.  Clinton,  Charlotte  A.  Cleveland,  Ella  Hawley  Crossett,  Lucy 
Hawley  Calkins,  Nora  E.  Darling,  Marie  Frances  Driscoll,  S.  W.  Ellis,  Mrs. 
M.  D.  Fenner,  Laura  W.  Flower,  Dr.  Fales,  Catherine  G.  Foote.  Theodosia  C. 
Goss,  Eliza  C.  Gifford,  Dr.  Virginia  L.  Glauner,  Elizabeth  P.  Hall,  Mary  H. 
Hallowell,  Frances  V.  Hallock,  Dorcas  Hull,  Etta  E.  Hooker,  Emily  Howland, 
Isabel  Howland,  Cornelia  K.  Hood,  Belle  S.  Holden,  Mary  N.  Hubbard, 
Margherita  Arlina  Hamm,  Ella  S.  Hammond,  Priscilla  D.  Hackstaff,  Mary 
Bush  Hitchcook,  Elizabeth  Noyes  Hopkins,  Ada  M.  Hall,  Marie  R.  Jenney, 
Julie  R.  Jenney,  Frances  C.  Lewis,  Jeannette  R.  Leavitt.  Carrie  S.  Lerch, 
Mary  Hillard  Loines,  Mrs.  P.  A.  Moffett,  Pamela  S.  McCown,  Margaret 
Morton,  Mrs.  Joshua  G.  Munro,  Anne  Fitzhugh  Miller,  Sarah  A.  McClees, 
Deborah  Otis,  Martha  F.  Prather,  Jessie  Post,  J.  Mary  Pearson,  Lucy  S. 
Pierce,  Abby  Hutchinson  Patton,  Lucy  Boardman  Smith,  Marian  H.  Skid- 
more,  Angeline  M.  Sargent,  James  Sargent,  Jessie  J.  Cassidy  Saunders,  Mary 
B  Sackett,  Jane  M.  Slocum,  Mary  Thayer  Sanford,  Emma  B.  Sweet,  Emma 
M  Tucker.  Kate  S.  Thompson,  Sarah  L.  Willis,  Kate  Foster  Warner,  Anna 
Willets,  Cerelle  Grandin  Weller.  North  Carolina:  Lilla  Ripley  Barnwell, 
Florida  Cunningham,  Miriam  Harris,  Helen  Morris  Lewis,  Margaret  Rich- 
ardson North  Dakota:  Helen  de  Lendrecie,  Dr.  Cora  Smith  (Eaton),  Hen- 
rietta Paulson  Haagensen,  Delia  Lee  Hyde,  Mary  S.  Lounsberry,  Sara  E.  B. 
Smith,  Mary  W'hedon. 

Ohio  •  Ella  M.  Bell,  Sarah  S.  Bissell,  W.  O.  Brown,  Frances 
Katharine  B  Claypole,  Mary  N.  Cunningham,  Elizabeth  Coit,  Martha  P.  Dana, 
Martha  H.  Elwell,  Ellen  Sully  Fray,  Mary  C.  Francis,  Jannette  Freer.  Eliza- 
beth Gilmer,  Prof.  Jennie  Gifford,  Mary  L.  Geffs,  Clara  Giddmgs,  Eliza  P. 


1 104 


HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Houk,  Emma  C.  Hayes,  Margaret  Hackadorne,  Emma  P.  Harley,  Eason  Hoi- 
brook,  Minnie  C.  Hauser,  Elizabeth  J.  Hauser,  Cecilia  Halloway,  Minnie  Stull 
Harris,  Prof.  Mary  Jewctt,  Josephine  King,  Mary  J.  Lawrence,  Mary  Folger 
Lang,  Sallie  J.  McCall,  Rev.  Henrietta  G.  Moore,  Mary  J.  McMillan,  Anna  C. 
Mott,  Lydia  A.  D.  Northway,  Miss  L.  J.  Ormstead,  Addie  M.  Porter,  Alice  E. 
H.  Peters,  O.  G.  Peters,  Sarah  M.  Perkins,  Annie  Laurie  Quinby,  Harriet  B. 
Rossa,  Florence  Richards,  Edythe  E.  Root,  Mrs.  N.  Coe  Stewart,  Abbie  Schu- 
macher, Helen  R.  Smith,  Katherine  Dooris  Sharpe,  Hattie  A.  Sachs,  Harriet 
Brown  Stanton,  Dr.  Viola  Swift,  Lottie  M.  Sackett,  Cornelia  Shaw,  C.  Swezey, 
Rosa  L.  Segur.  Oklahoma:  Margaret  Rees,  Mrs.  R.  W.  Southard,  Celia  Z. 
Titus.  Oregon:  Frances  E.  Gottshall.  Pennsylvania:  Olive  Pond  Amies,  Agnes 
M.  Biddle,  Mrs.  W.  C.  Butterfield,  Mary  Patterson  Beaver,  A.  Isabel  Bowers, 
Emma  J.  Bartol,  Katherine  J.  Campbell,  Anna  M.  Child,  Alice  M.  Coates, 
Elizabeth  D.  Green,  Susanna  M.  Gaskill,  Caroline  Gibbons,  Mrs.  E.  N.  Gar- 
rett,  Bertha  W.  Howe,  Hetty  Y.  Hallowell,  Lidie  C.  W.  Koethen,  Mary  F. 
Kenderdine,  Mary  S.  Kent,  Agnes  Kemp,  Mary  B.  Luckie,  Alberta  Moore- 
house,  Mrs.  L.  M.  B.  Mitchell,  Dr.  Jane  V.  Myers,  Esther  A.  Pownall,  Anna 
C.  Pennock,  Elizabeth  B.  Passmore,  Charlotte  L.  Peirce,  Harriet  Purvis, 
Jacob  Reese,  Jean  B.  Stephenson,  Nicolas  M.  Shaw,  Emily  H.  Saxton,  Mary 
B.  Satterthwaite,  Margaret  B.  Stone,  Mattie  A.  N.  Shaw,  Mrs.  G.  W.  Scho- 
field,  Robert  Tilney,  Annie  L.  Tilney. 

Rhode  Island:  Mary  O.  Arnold,  Emeline  Burlingame  Cheney,  Elizabeth 
Buffum  Chace,  Ardelia  C.  Dewing,  Jeannette  S.  French,  Charlotte  B.  Wilbour. 
South  Carolina:  Mary  P.  Gridley,  Jean  B.  Lockwood,  Maude  Sindersine, 
Claudia  Gordon  Tharin,  May  Tharin.  South  Dakota:  Irene  G.  Adams,  Ida  R. 
Bailey,  Mrs.  F.  C.  Bidwell,  Emma  Cranmer,  Mrs.  W.  V.  Lucas,  Anna  R.  Sim- 
mons, Mrs.  C.  E.  Thorpe.  Tennessee:  Jennie  Bailett,  L.  Graham  Crozier, 
Mary  McLeer.  Texas:  Rebecca  Henry  Hayes,  L.  R.  Perkins.  Utah:  Corinne 
M.  Allen,  Sarah  A.  Boyer,  Phebe  Young  Beatie,  Charlotte  Ives  Cobb,  Marilla 
M.  Daniels,  Mary  E.  Gilmer,  Annie  Godbe,  Sarah  M.  Kimball,  Aurelia  S.  Rod- 
gers.  Vermont:  Mary  N.  Chase,  Eliza  S.  Eaton,  Mary  Hutchinson,  Alice 
Clinton  Smith.  Virginia:  Elisan  Brown,  Nina  Cross,  Henderson  Dangerfield, 
Elizabeth  B.  Dodge,  Etta  Grymes  Farrar,  Georgia  Gibson,  Emma  R.  Gilman, 
L.  M.  Green,  Arabella  B.  Howard,  Anna  M.  Snowden,  Elizabeth  Van  Lew, 
Mary  B.  Wickersham.  Washington:  Mrs.  Francis  W.  Cushman,  Mrs.  L.  C. 
Kellogg,  Martha  E.  Pike.  West  Virginia:  Jessie  G.  Manley,  Columbia  A. 
Morgan,  Florence  M.  Post,  Clara  Reinhammer.  Wisconsin:  Louisa  M.  East- 
man, Almeda  B.  Gray,  Laura  B.  James,  Lucinda  Lake,  Jessie  Nelson  Luther, 
Maybell  Park,  Dora  Putnam,  Ellen  A.  Rose.  Wyoming:  Hon.  M.  C.  Brown, 
Amalia  B.  Post,  Mrs.  Francis  E.  Warren. 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS. 


The  famous  bibliographer,  William  Oldys,  wrote  early  in  the  i8th  century : 
"The  labour  and  patience,  the  judgment  and  penetration,  which  are  required 
to  make  a  good  index  are  only  known  to  those  who  have  gone  through  this 
most  painful  but  least-praised  part  of  a  publication."  Lord  Campbell  said,  a 
century  later,  in  his  preface  to  The  Lives  of  Chief  Justices:  "I  proposed  to 
bring  a  Bill  into  Parliament  to  deprive  an  author,  who  publishes  a  book  with- 
out an  index,  of  the  privilege  of  copyright." 

If  an  index  were  deemed  so  valuable  in  those  periods  of  comparative 
leisure,  one  as  complete  as  possible  is  surely  an  absolute  necessity  in  these 
days  when  time  is  at  the  highest  premium,  but  the  maker  is  under  obligation 
to  study  conciseness  in  order  that  the  index  may  not  be  as  long  as  the 
book.  It  has  seemed  practicable  to  reduce  very  greatly  the  length  of  this  one 
without  impairing  its  efficiency  by  asking  the  reader  to  bear  in  mind  a  few 
simple  facts  as  to  the  arrangement  of  the  History. 

Chapters  II-XXI  are  devoted  exclusively  to  the  cor. ventions  of  the  Na- 
tional Suffrage  Association  and  the  consequent  hearings,  reports  and  discus- 
sions in  Congress ;  the  story  of  each  year  is  complete  in  its  chapter  and  the 
date  is  in  the  running  title  on  the  right  hand  page.  The  work  of  the  Amer- 
ican Association  before  the  two  societies  united  is  complete  in  Chapter  XXII. 
These  chapters  contain  the  argument. 

Chapters  XXV-LXXII  comprise  the  full  history  of  the  work  in  the  States 
and  Territories,  one  chapter  given  to  each  and  all  alphabetically  arranged 
with  name  in  running  title  on  the  right  hand  page.  Each  State  is  subdivided 
and  the  heads  denoted  by  capital  letters,  as  follows :  Organization,  Legisla- 
tive Action,  Laws,  Suffrage,  Office  Holding,  Occupation,  Education. 

The  other  chapters  are  clearly  designated  in  the  Table  of  Contents,  and 
practically  all  the  information  which  the  book  contains  on  each  subject  will  be 
found  in  its  respective  chapter.  The  greatest  problem  has  been  the  indexing 
of  the  many  speeches  so  as  to  convey  an  idea  of  their  subject-matter,  as  a 
number  of  them  cover  a  variety  of  topics,  and  it  has  been  possible  to  indi- 
cate only  the  principal  points.  The  editors  trust,  however,  that  the  system- 
atic arrangement  of  the  volume  and  the  full  Table  of  Contents  will  enable 
the  reader  to  obtain  the  desired  information  without  difficulty. 

AGE  OF  PROTECTION,  460,  and  in  each  AMENDMENT  TO  NATIONAL  CONSTI- 

State  chapter  under  Legislative  Ac-  TUTION  FOR  WOMAN  SUFFRAGE,  ob- 

tion  and  Laws,  beginning  465.  jection  to  amending,  advantage 

AMENDMENT  CAMPAIGNS  FOR  WOMAN  in  securing  worn,  suff.,  xx,  xxi ; 

SUFFRAGE,  xxi;  40;  in  Calif.,  486;  I4th  amend,  and  attempts  of  women 

in  Col.,  513;  in  S.  D.,  553-75  in  Ida.,  to  vote  under  it,  3  et  seq.;  isth 

590;  in  Kas.,  643;  in  N.  j.,  822;  in  amend.,  effect  on  worn.  suff..  6; 

N.  Y.,  847;  in  Ore.,  895;  in  R.  I.,  effort  to  amend  for  Federal  Suff. 

909 ;  in  Wash.,  973.  for  women,  7 ;  Nat'l.  Ass'n.  begins 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF  —70          1 1 05 


uo6 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


work  for  i6th  amend.,  n;  res.  for 
in  '84,  25;  Miss  Anthony  on,  40; 
same,  42;  argument  for,  54;  sp.  of 
Sen.  Palmer,  62 ;  contrary  to  State's 
rights,  68;  first  discussion  of 
i6th  amend,  in  Senate,  85;  I4th 
amend.,  Miss  Anthony  on,  152;  158; 
Senate  Com.  recom.  i6th  in  '92, 
201 ;  I4th  grants  worn,  suff .,  204 ; 
women  appeal  25  yrs.  for  i6th 
amend.,  223;  efforts  of  Nat'l  Ass'n. 
for,  367;  Mrs.  Catt  on  why  one  is 
asked  for,  369;  Miss  Anthony's 
plea,  373 ;  American  Ass'n.  de- 
clares for,  410,  417. 

AMENDMENTS  TO  STATE  CONSTITU- 
TIONS FOR  WOMAN  SUFFRAGE,  laws 
in  different  States,  xvi;  difficulty 
in  Minn  and  Neb.,  failure  of  Sch. 
Suff.  in  N.  J.,  xvi;  same  in  S.  D., 
xvii;  submitted  by  ten  States  and 
results,  xxi ;  obstacles  to  securing, 
xxiii;  comparison  of  votes,  xxix; 
votes  on,  40;  adopted  in  Col.,  528; 
in  Idaho,  593 ;  school  and  library 
in  Minn.,  778;  law  similar  to 
amendment  in  Wis.,  988. 

AMERICAN  WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  ASSO- 
CIATION, work  of  after  '84,  Chap. 
XXII;  13;  founded,  14;  union  with 
Nat'l  Ass'n.,  164. 

ANECDOTES,  71 ;  public  money  for 
"shes,"  193 ;  in  Tenn.,  196 ;  how  men 
represent  women  197;  of  Miss 
Willard,  215 ;  woman  on  throne, 
229 ;  poll  tax  in  Tenn.,  241 ;  wom- 
en's voices,  334;  woman's  product, 
337 ;  from  Ala.,  341 ;  Miss  An- 
thony's right  bower,  351 ;  early 
education,  354-5 ;  women  who  have 
all  the  rights  they  want,  360;  Miss 
Anthony  on  "antis,"  384;  of  Abi- 
gail Adams,  422 ;  influence  of  liquor 
dealers,  486;  Yqn's  vote  in  Col., 
519;  a  Mass,  legislator,  740;  wom- 
en's money  builds  State  Houses, 
763;  suff.  bill  in  Wash.,  972. 

ANTI-SUFFRAGE  ASSOCIATION,  advan- 
tage of,  xxix ;  same,  16 ;  they  mean 
well,  327;  in  Ills.,  603;  in  Mass., 
716  et  al. ;  against  mother's  guard- 
ianship. 744;  in  N.  Y.,  850  et  al., 
971 :  in  Aus.,  1032. 

ANTI-SUFFRAGISTS,  see  Remonstrants. 

AUSTRALIA, 
— South  Chapter  on,    1027 


—West, 

— New  South  Wales, 

— Victoria, 

— Queensland, 

— Tasmania, 


1029 
1029 
1031 
1032 
1033 


Enfranchises  its  women,  xiv;  first 


country  to  grant  them  Munic.  Suff., 
224 ;  eminent  advocates  of  worn, 
suff.,  1084. 

BAZAR,  Nat'l.  Ass'n.,  in  New  York, 
365;  Amer.  Ass'n.  in  Boston,  de- 
scrip,  of,  Mrs.  Howe's  and  Mrs. 
Stone's  addresses,  426-8. 

BIBLE,  wrong  interpretation  of,  65 ;  for 
worn,  suff.,  71;  not  opp.  to,  102; 
106;  men's  interpretation  of,  113; 
purpose  of  Creator,  119;  not  alone 
respons.  for  subjection  of  woman, 
146;  Woman's  Bible,  discussion  of 
at  Nat'l.  conv.,  263. 

BILL  OF  RIGHTS,  woman's,  154. 

BILLS,  for  worn,  suff.,  how  treated, 
xxviii;  of  Nat'l.  Ass'n.,  W.  C.  T. 
U.,  Fed.  of  Clubs,  etc.,  451-3,  and 
under  head  of  Legislative  Action  in 
State  chapters,  beginning  465 ;  Nat'l. 
Ass'n.  protests  against  Edmunds- 
Tucker  Bill,  26;  same,  71;  78;  res. 
against,  122-3  5  committees  on,  939. 

BIRTHDAYS,  Miss  Anthony's  70th, 
163;  her  74th,  223-4;  her  78th, 
291;  greetings  on,  300;  her  8oth, 
vi;  same,  383;  385  et  seq.;  gifts 
on,  389  et  seq. ;  celebration  of  in 
Lafayette  Opera  House,  Wash't'n., 
394-404;  trib.  of  Wm.  Lloyd  Garri- 
son, 395,  of  Mrs.  Coonley-Ward, 
401,  of  Miss  Shaw,  402;  greeting 
from  Mrs.  Stanton,  402;  Miss  An- 
thony's response,  403 ;  letters  rec'd., 
403;  recep.  in  Corcoran  Art  Gallery, 
404;  her  portrait  presented,  405; 
her  happiness,  405. 
— Mrs.  Stanton's  8oth,  250. 
— Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw's,  391. 

BOARDS,   difficulty   of   getting   women 
on,  462;  see  each  State  chapter  un- 
der Office  Holding,  beginning  465; 
in  Great  Britain,  368,  1023. 
— Lady  Managers  World's  Fair,  in- 
debted   to    Miss    Anthony,    211; 
same,  232;  Act  of  Congress  cre- 
ating, 233;  609. 

CALIFORNIA,  xv;  Legis.  refuses  suff. 
amd't,  xx ;  Miss  Shaw's  acc't.  of 
visit  of  Miss  Anthony  and  herself 
in  '95,  253 ;  work  for  suff.  amend., 
273;  honor  to  Miss  Anthony,  274; 
gift  to  Miss  Anthony,  390.  See 
State  Chapter. 

CALLS,  for  nat'l.  suff.  conv.  of  '84, 
15;  for  first  Int'l.  Council,  125; 
for  conv.  of  '89,  143;  for  conv.  of 
'91,  175;  for  conv.  of  '94,  221;  for 
first  Worn.  Rights  Conv.,  288. 

CAMPAIGNS,  for  worn.  suff.  amdts.  See 
Amendment  Campaigns. 


INDEX    OF    SUBJECTS. 


IIO/ 


CANADA,  Dominion  of,  chapter  on, 
1034. 

CATHOLICS,  in  politics,  149;  attitude 
of  clergy,  366;  worn.  suff.  in  Sum- 
mer Sch.  at  Detroit,  447;  coeduca- 
tion, 464 ;  college  for  women,  575 ; 
on  Boston  Sch.  Bd.,  706. 

CHIVALRY,  specimens  of,  16;  absurdity 
of,  17;  men  and  women  need  each 
other,  36,  44,  45,  49,  59;  Miss  Wil- 
lard  on,  141 ;  Chivalry  of  Reform, 
Mrs.  Howe  on,  170;  injustice  of, 
188;  in  Kas.,  199;  mistakes  of,  209; 
in  South,  241 ;  fear  of,  382;  968. 

CHURCH,  influence  on  worn,  suff., 
xxiy ;  worn.  suff.  foundation  of 
Christianity,  16;  relation  to  it,  20; 
prayer  vs.  votes,  22 ;  same,  37 ;  41 ; 
res.  on  creeds  and  dogmas,  58;  dis- 
cussion by  Mrs.  Stanton,  Miss  An- 
thony and  others,  59  et  seq. ;  in- 
fluence of  religion  over  woman,  60; 
its  connect,  with  worn,  suff.,  75; 
woman's  influence  in  church,  96; 
for  equality  of  rights,  Bishop  New- 
man, 112;  121 ;  value  of  worn, 
suff.  to,  149;  Mrs.  Stanton's  de- 
mand for  its  recog.  of  woman's 
equality,  165 ;  upholds  man's  head- 
ship, 176;  opp.  to  equality  of  wo- 
man, 177;  voice  of  God  has  so- 
prano and  bass,  200;  M.  E.  refuses 
to  ordain  women,  206;  women 
might  vote  at  ch.  elections,  212; 
Miss  Shaw  on  mission  of,  229; 
Miss  Anthony's  plea  for  relig.  lib- 
erty, 264;  sympathy  with  worn, 
suff.,  270;  woman's  services  to, 
279;  woman's  position  in  292;  3^9; 
464 ;  497 ;  _  708 ;  711;  718 ;  962-3 ; 
974;  missionary  work  of  women, 
1057  et  seq. 

CLUBHOUSES,  WOMEN'S,  Wimodaugh- 
sis,  184,  188;  in  Grand  Rapids., 
322-3;  in  Calif.,  508;  in  Indpls., 
627 ;  in  Mich.,  771 ;  in  Phila.,  901 ; 

1043- 

CLUBS,  WOMEN'S,  see  last  paragraph 
in  various  State  chapters.  In  Col., 
302;  356;  in  Mich.,  welcome  Nat'l 
suff.  conv.,  324;  political,  150; 
in  N.  Y.,  872;  first  women's  clubs 
on  record,  1042-3 ;  Gen'l  Federation 
of,  1050;  Musical,  Nat'l.  Fed.  of, 
1056. 

COLLEGES.    See  Universities. 

COLORADO,  xxi ;  xxix ;  appear,  of  dele- 
gates, 222;  Gov.  Waite  on  worn, 
suff.  in,  232;  women  in  Legis.,  239; 
252;  visit  of  Miss  Anthony  and 
Miss  Shaw  in  '95,  253;  effect  of 
worn,  suff.,  268;  same,  282;  dis- 


tinguished testimony  for,  302-3, 
3^3,  39° :  legis.  res.  in  favor  of,  327 ; 
Mrs.  Welch  at  conv.  of  '99,  327; 
worn.  suff.  in,  356;  gift  and  trib- 
to  Miss  Anthony  on  8oth  birthday, 
400.  Sec  State  Chapter;  also  Sta- 
tistics and  Testimony. 
COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION,  Lady  Man- 
agers, see  Boards;  invites  Suff. 
Ass'n.  to  World's  Fair,  184;  ass'n. 
arranges  for  booth,  185,  discusses 
res.  to  open  gates  on  Sunday,  185, 
to  prohibit  liquor  selling,  186;  ef- 
fect of  the  Fair  on  women,  211; 
221 ;  Congress  of  Women  all  for 
suff.,  232;  report  of  Nat'l.  Suff. 
Ass'n.  Com.,  232;  609. 
COMMERCIAL  SCHOOLS,  Fed.  of,  adopts 

worn.  suff.  res.  and  petits.,  447. 
COMMISSIONS,  of  women  demanded 
for  Philippines,  331-2,  343;  U.  S. 
Labor,  Miss  Laughlin  on,  361 ;  for 
Paris  expos.,  Mrs.  Palmer  on,  367. 
COMMITTEES,  of  American  Suffrage 
Association,  on  arrangements  for 
convs.,  see  Chapter  XXII ;  execu- 
tive of,  409;  on  union  with  Nat'l. 
Ass'n.,  164,  431. 

— of  National  Suffrage  Association 
on  Int'l  Council,  124;  on  union 
with  Am.  Ass'n.,  164;  on  Co- 
lumbian Expos.,  232.  See  also 
1008-9.  On  Miss  Anthony's  8oth 
birthday  celebration,  395. 
— Congressional,  on  worn,  suff.,  31. 

See  Reports. 

CONGRESS,  power  to  extend  suff.,  7  et 
seq. ;  work  of  Nat'l  Suff.  Ass'n. 
with,  ii ;  committee  reports,  dis- 
cussions and  speeches,  12;  House 
debate  on  Worn.  Suff.  Com.  31 ; 
worn.  suff.  sp.  of  Sen.  Palmer,  62 ; 
first  discussion  of  i6th  amend,  in 
Senate,  85;  other  debates  on  worn, 
suff.  in  Senate,  85 ;  Blair's  sp.  in  '87, 
86  et  seq. ;  should  submit  amend., 
93 ;  sp.  of  Brown.  93  et  seq. ;  Dolph 
favors  worn.  suff..  100;  discussion 
of  women  on  juries.  104;  Vest  op- 
poses worn,  suff.,  105 ;  Hoar  in  fa- 
vor, 109;  vote  in  Senate',  no;  112; 
authority  to  enfranchise  women, 
118;  duty  to  submit  stiff,  amend., 
163 ;  favorable  sentiment,  181 ;  way 
to  manage  a  bill  in.  218;  needs 
watching,  365 ;  work  of  Nat'l. 
Ass'n.  for  i6th  amend.,  367;  appeals 
to  for  i6th  amend,  to  enfranch. 
women,  445 ;  for  rights  of  women 
in  new  possessions.  446;  amusing 
debate  on  admis.  of  Wy.,  998  et  seq. 
See  Amendments  and  Debates. 


no8 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


CONGRESSES  OF  WOMEN.  World's  Fair, 
232,  609 ;  in  San  Fr.,  253,  479,  481 ; 
Atlanta  expos.,  263;  London  in  '99, 
352-3 ;  in  Los  Angeles,  495 ;  in  Ore., 
892-3. 

CONSTITUTION,  NATIONAL,  more  rigid 
than  in  other  countries,  xv,  gives 
women  right  to  vote,  Chapter  I ; 
first  appearance  of  "male,"  2;  at- 
tempt of  women  to  vote  under  I4th 
amend.,  3  et  seq. ;  amend,  for  Fed- 
eral Suff.  for  women,  7;  authority 
over  suff.,  8  et  seq. ;  provides  for 
amending,  100 ;  vote  on  worn.  suff. 
amend.,  no;  rights  of  women  un- 
der, 115;  Mrs.  Stanton  on  its  viola- 
tion in  case  of  women,  138;  fails  to 
protect  black  men,  153;  Mrs. 
Blake's  argument  for  worn.  suff. 
under  its  provisions,  374-5. 

CONSTITUTIONS,  STATE,  all  framed  by 
men ;  different  peculiarities,  xv  et 
seq. :  all  barred  women  from  suff., 
2;  Utah  and  Wy.  included  worn, 
suff.  in  first,  949,  1003.  See  State 
chapters  under  Suffrage. 

CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTIONS.  See 
Conventions. 

CONSTITUTIONAL  LAW.    See  Law. 

CONTRACTS.  See  Laws  in  each  State' 
chapter. 

CONVENTIONS,  American  Suff.  Assn., 
from  '84  to  '88,  406-428 ;  early  convs. 
in  Phila.,  423. 

— National  Suffrage  Ass'n.,  first  one1 
ever  called,  xiii ;  earliest  ones, 
14;  res.  for  Int'l.  Suff.  Conv., 
25;  changed  attitude  of  press  to- 
ward, 57;  first  suff.  meeting  held 
in  Washt'n.,  70;  conv.  for  '88,  137; 
complimented  by  Washt'n.  Star, 
173;  convs.  before  the  war,  205; 
alternate  ones  taken  out  of  Wash- 
t'n., Miss  Anthony's  protest,  218; 
the  other  side,  219;  descript.  of  '94, 
221 ;  Miss  Anthony's  method  of 
presiding,  238;  descript.  of  '95,  236; 
of  '97,  271.  See  Chapters  II-XXI. 

CONVENTIONS,  work  for  worn.  suff.  in 
political  and  other  conventions, 
Chap.  XXITT.  See  State  chapters. 

CONVENTIONS,    Nat'l.     Political,    first 
appeal  of  women  for  suff.,  435;  ap- 
peals in  1900.  440  et  seq. 
—Republican,  record  of,  435-7,  440; 

for  1900.  443-4. 
— Democratic,  record  of,  437,  440; 

for  1900,  444 
— Populist,    record    of,   437-8,   441; 

for  1900.  444 

— Prohibition,   record   of,   438;   for 
1900,  444. 


— Other    Parties,    record    of,    xviii, 

438-9;  for  1900,  444. 
See  also  Democrats,  Populists.  Re- 
publicans, Parties  and  p.  556.  Wom- 
en delegates  to  nat'l.  convs.,  319, 
438-9;  work  of  Miss  Anthony  and 
others,  439  et  seq. ;  no  hope  for  dis- 
f ranch,  class,  444;  sentiment  among- 
delegates,  444-5.  For  work  in  State 
political  convs.,  see  various  State 
chapters. 

CONVENTIONS,  State  Constitutional, 
attempts  to  secure  worn.  suff. 
amdts..  432-3;  453;  in  Ala.,  468;  N. 
D.,  544;  S.  D.,  552;  Del.,  563;  Ky., 
669;  La.,  680;  Mass.,  720;  Miss., 
786;  Mont.,  797;  N.  H.,  815;  N.  J., 
830;  N.  M.,  835;  N.  Y.,  203,  847; 
Utah,  944;  Vt.,  958;  Wash.,  969; 
Wy.,  995. 

COUNCILS  OF  WOMEN,  National  and 
International,  first  Int'l..  124  et  seq. ; 
permanent  Councils  formed,  137; 
143;  Nat'l.  in  '91,  175;  Miss  Sha\y's 
report  of  London  Int'l.,  352;  Miss 
Anthony's  report  of  same,  suff.  per- 
vaded all,  Amer.  worn,  showed  ef- 
fects of  liberty,  353 ;  Nat'l.  Coun- 
cil, trib.  to  Miss  Anthony  on  8oth 
birthday,  396;  Int'l.,  same,  397; 
Nat'l.  Council,  founding  and  work, 
1044-5;  Int'l.,  same,  1044-5. 

CREEDS.    See  Church. 

CRIMINALS,  at  ballot  box,  xxvi,  37. 

CUBA,  Nat'l.  Ass'n.  demands  rights 
for  its  women,  325,  330;  appeals  to. 
Congress  for  same,  446. 

CURTESY.  See  Laws  in  each  State 
chapter. 

DEBATES,  in  Congress,  on  Worn.  Suff. 
Com.,  31  et  seq. ;  those  of  former 
years,  85 ;  first  and  only  debate  on 
i6th  Amend,  to  enfranchise  women^ 
87  et  seq. ;  on  admission  of  Wy., 
998  et  seq. 

— in  National  Suffrage  Conven- 
tions, on  dogmas  and  creeds,  59  et 
seq. ;  on  taking  worn.  suff.  inta 
church,  75;  on  migratory  convs., 
218;  on  Woman's  Bible,  263. 

DECISIONS.    See  Supreme  Court. 

DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE,  ap- 
plied to  women,  102. 

DELEGATES,  15;  nat'l.  conv.  made  dele- 
gate body,  77;  foreign  to  Int'l. 
Council,  135 ;  dels,  to  4Oth  anniv., 
288;  to  conv.  of  1900,  350;  to  Paris 
Expos.,  367;  to  polit.  convs.,  319, 
438-9;  in  Col.,  521;  in  Kas.,  646; 
in  Mont.,  801 ;  see  also  Utah  Chap. ; 
to  nat'l.  suff.  convs.  from  '84  to 
1900,  1101. 


INDEX    OF   SUBJECTS. 


IIO9 


— Fraternal,  to  conv.  of  '96,  256;  to 
Worn.  Press  Ass'n.,  291;  to  Int'l. 
Council  of  '99,  342 ;  to  suff.  conv.  of 
'99.  323;  to  suff.  conv.  of  1900,  366. 
DEMOCRACY,  disbelief  in,  xxvi,  179, 
277;  worn.  suff.  asked  in  name  of, 
372;  U.  S.  not  a,  374. 
DEMOCRATS,  enfranch.  workingmen, 
xvii;  143;  in  Calif.,  488-9;  in  Col., 
516;  in  S.  Dak.,  555;  in  Ida.,  590-2; 
in  Ills.,  605-6;  in  Ind.,  617;  in  Kas., 
647,  650-3 ;  in  Mass.,  724 ;  in  Mich., 
7555  in  N.  Y.,  847-9,  872;  in  Utah, 
953  et  seq. ;  in  Wash.,  971 ;  in  Con- 
gress on  Wy.,  978.  See  Conven- 
tions. 

DENTISTRY,  women  in,  464;  700. 
DISFRANCHISEMENT,  degradation  of, 
Miss  Anthony  on,  27 ;  44 ;  73 ;  83 ; 
107;  Mrs.  Stanton  on,  133;  151 ;  172; 
great  sp.  of  Mrs.  Stanton  on,  176; 
195;  196;  Mrs.  Merrick  on,  243; 
255 ;  men  wd.  not  endure,  373 ; 
same,  375. 

— disadvantages  of,  41 ;  42 ;  45 ;  46 ; 
73;  79;  138-9;  190;  195;  196;  to 
women  wage-earners,  312;  same, 
377;  359;  365;  3735  379- 
DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA,  gift  and  trib. 
to  Miss  Anthony  on  8oth  birthday, 
399.  See  chapter  on  D.  C. 
DIVORCE,  68;  100;  103;  national  law, 
women  should  have  voice  in,  165; 
evolution  of,  297;  in  Wyoming, 
362;  in  Wy.,  S.  D.  and  Ok.,  460. 
DOMESTIC,  household  demands  on 
women,  209;  too  much  housekeep- 
ing, 210;  future  domestic  service, 
210;  effect  of  domestic  life  on 
women,  258;  home  life  of  woman 
suffragists,  279;  what  home  means, 
285;  woman's  position  in  the  home, 
292 ;  husbands  do  not  support  wives, 
171, 208,  311 ;  home  vs.  factory  work, 
311;  college  women  and  home,  358; 
need  of  trained  work,  358.  See  also 
Domestic  under  Suffrage. 
DONORS,  to  Hist,  of  Worn.  Suff.,  v, 
vii ;  to  Int'l.  Council  of  Worn., 
126;  Mrs.  Southworth,  257;  Miss 
Anthony,  287 ;  in  Conn.,  536 ;  in  Ga., 
.582;  Mrs.  Avery,  642;  in  N.  Y.,  849. 
— women,  for  education,  356;  in 
Calif.,  507 ;  in  La.,  688 ;  in  Md.,  700. 
DOWER.  See  Laws  in  each  State 

chapter. 

DRESS,  descrip.   of  delegates',   56;  of 

Miss  Anthony  at  conv.  of  '90,  173; 

on  8oth  birthday,  403-4. 

EDUCATION,      higher      education      of 

women,  resume  of,  463,  and  in  each 


State  chapter  under  head  of  Educa- 
tion, beginning  465. 
— majority  would  never  consent  to, 
xxii ;  statistics  of,  xxx ;  same, 
18;  5,000  teachers  in  Ind.  ask  for 
ballot,  37;  educated  women  will  not 
stand  subjection,  44;  educated 
women  deprived  of  ballot,  74;  in- 
tellectual capacity  of  women,  90; 
101 ;  more  than  some  Senators,  113; 
woman  senior  wrangler  at  Cam- 
bridge, 176;  a  century  ago,  192; 
training  of  girl  of  future,  209; 
easily  obtained,  292,  316;  Mrs. 
Sewall  on  Govt.  no  right  to  edu- 
cate women  and  refuse  them  repre- 
sentation, 307;  its  effects  shown  in 
Amer.  women  at  Int'l.  Council  in 
London,  353 ;  woman's  from  begin- 
ning of  century,  obstacles,  direful 
predictions,  354-6 ;  health  of  women 
graduates,  355;  women  on  Facul- 
ties, 355;  donations  of  women  to, 
356,  507;  must  lead  to  suff.,  356; 
effect  on  domestic  life.  357;  Catho- 
lic, 464;  same,  575;  in  Gr.  Brit., 
1024.  See  also  Donors,  Illiteracy, 
Public  Schools,  Universities. 

ELECTORATE,  character  of,  xxiii;  ele- 
ments needed,  xxvi ;  what  com- 
posed of,  23,  37,  39,  68,  81,  138,  148, 
195,  258,  269,  316,  324,  371,  415;  in 
Col.,  514;  in  S.  D.,  556;  in  Wash., 
1098. 

ENROLLMENT,  Nat'l.,  for  worn,  suff., 
137;  878.  See  Petitions. 

EQUAL  RIGHTS,  Association  for,  14; 
demand  for  by  Intl.  Council,  136; 
they  belong  to  women,  no  thanks 
to  men,  146;  crime  of  denying  to 
women,  Mr.  Foulke  on,  167.  See 
Progress  of. 

EUROPE,  worn.  suff.  in  countries  of. 
See  chapter  on,  1038. 

FEDERAL  SUFFRAGE,  argument  for,  6  et 
seq.;  Miss  Anthony  on,  10;  78; 
Sen.  Blair  on.  145 ;  201 ;  218 ;  234. 

FEDERATION  OF  WOMEN'S  CLUBS,  legis. 
work,  452.  See  closing  paragraph 
in  various  State  chapters,  beginning 
465,  and  also  page  1050. 

FLAGS,  at  conv.  of  '94,  221 ;  Col.  pre- 
sents one  to  Miss  Anthony,  222-3 ; 
at  conv.  of  '95,  236;  flag  not  dese- 
crated by  four  stars,  278;  golden 
flag  presented  to  Miss  A.',  400. 

FOREIGNERS.    See  Immigrants. 

FOREIGN  COUNTRIES,  worn.  suff.  in. 
See  Chap.  LXXIV. 

FRANCE,  worn.  suff.  in,  343,  1040;  em- 
inent advocates.  1084. 

GEORGIA,    curiosities    in,    228;    nat'l. 


IIIO 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


suff.  conv.  in  Atlanta,  236;  illiterate 
vote,  246.    See  State  chapter. 

GODDESS  OF  LIBERTY,  in  N.  Y.  harbor, 
47;  same,  115;  Miss  Anthony's 
features,  120;  Wy.  represents,  201; 
on  nat'l.  Capitol,  a  mockery,  375. 

GOVERNORS  OF  STATES,  position  on 
worn,  suff.,  212;  list  favoring  worn, 
suff.,  1078;  of  Wy.  testify  for  worn, 
suff.,  1087  et  seq. 

GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC,  favors 
worn,  suff.,  184;  644;  893. 

GRANGES,  favor  worn,  suff.,  184;  al- 
ways recognized  equality  of  woman, 
228;  position  of  woman  in,  327; 
nat'l.  adopts  worn.  suff.  res.  in 
1900,  447-8.  See  various  State  chap- 
ters. 

GREAT  BRITAIN,  Chap.  LXXIII;  ef- 
forts for  Parliamentary  Franchise, 
1012,  1020;  Primrose  League  and 
Liberal  Federation,  1013;  better 
laws,  1021 ;  local  gov't,  1022 ;  office 
holding,  1023;  education,  1024; 
colonial  progress,  1025  et  seq.; 
petits.  for  suff.,  1015,  1017,  1020. 
— gives  local  franchise  to  women, 
xiv;  more  liberal  than  U.  S.  on 
socialistic  questions,  167;  enf ranch, 
workingmen,  305;  same,  311;  prog- 
ress of  worn,  suff.,  353 ;  Mrs.  Blatch 
on  women  on  boards  and  worn, 
suff.  in,  368;  remonstrants  in,  369; 
eminent  advocates  of  worn.  suff.  in, 
1083. 

GUARDIANSHIP,  equal  of  children.  See 
Laws. 

HAWAII,  Nat'l.  Suff.  Ass'n.  demands 
rights  for  its  women,  325;  injustice 
to  them,  330;  resolution  against 
"male"  in  its  constitn.,  343;  peti- 
tions Congress  in  behalf  of  its 
women,  346;  outrageous  constitn. 
adopted  by  Congress,  346;  Ha- 
waiian members  object^  347;  Miss 
Anthony's  work  for  its  women, 
365;  appeals  to  Congress  for  rights 
of  its  women,  446. 

HEAD  OF  FAMILY.  See  Laws  and  pp. 
458 ;  945 ;  in  Va.,  966. 

HEARINGS  before'  Congressional  Com- 
mittees in  '84,  36,  42;  in  '86,  78;  in 
'88,  before  Senate  com.,  137  et  seq. ; 
in  '89,  same,  156;  before  House, 
157;  in  '90,  before  Senate,  158,  162; 
before  House,  163;  in  '92,  before 
Senate,  Mrs.  Stanton  on  Solitude 
of  Self,  189;  before  House,  194;  in 
'94,  before  Senate  and  House.  235; 
in  '96,  before  Senate  and  Etouse, 
267;  in  '08.  before  Senate,  305;  be- 
fore House,  318;  in  1900,  before 


Senate,  367,  Miss  Anthony's  plea  at 
80,  373 ;  before  House,  373 ;  first  ap- 
pearance of  "antis,"  381-4. 

HISTORY  OF  WOMAN  SUFFRAGE,  how  it 
was  written  and  published.  See 
Preface. 

IDAHO,  adopts  worn.  suff.  amend., 
xxi ;  welcomed  by  nat'l.  conv., 
272 ;  story  of  amend,  camp'n.,  283-4  J 
gift  to  Miss  Anthony.  390.  See 
State  chapter,  also  Statistics  and 
Testimony. 

ILLINOIS,  great  petits.  for  worn,  suff., 
39 ;  laws  for  women,  276.  See  State 
chapter. 

ILLITERACY,  percentage  of,  smaller 
among  women  than  men,  xxii,  216; 
in  Ga.,  246;  shut  it  out  from  elec- 
torate, 316-17;  not  the  ignorant 
alone  opp.  worn,  suff.,  338,  493; 
decides  fate  of  women,  371 ;  in  S. 
D.,  556. 

IMMIGRANTS,  English  view  of,  23; 
their  enfranchisement,  37;  same,  39; 
polit.  danger  of,  68-9 ;  German  view, 
73 ;  in  Neb.,  81 ;  82 ;  welcome  to, 
116;  enfranchised,  Mrs.  Stanton  on, 
138;  political  rule  of,  American 
women  in  majority,  148;  placed 
over  women,  195;  preferred  to 
Amer.  women,  Mrs.  Stanton's  pic- 
ture of,  269;  should  be  welcomed 
but  not  enfranch.,  316,  317;  in 
Mich.,  324;  compared  to  Amer. 
women.  415 ;  418. 

INDIA,  effect  on  its  women  of  English 
laws,  330. 

INDIANS,  preferred  to  women  voters 
in  S.  D.,  182,  557 ;  Gov't.  favors  over 
women.  213;  vs.  American  women, 
313;  effect  on  women  of  "land  in 
severally,"  330;  Gov't.  grants  privi- 
leges denied  to  white  women,  374; 
authority  of  their  women,  1041. 

INDIFFERENCE  OF  WOMEN,  xxii;  same, 
xxiv;  reasons  for,  xxv;  same, 
xxix ;  causes  of,  20 ;  men  will  de- 
cide the  question,*  39;  no  means  of 
knowing.  46;  all  women  should  not 
be  punished  for,  84;  fear  to  speak, 
92;  pity  for,  121 ;  women  put  every- 
thing before  suff.,  149,  150;  is  re- 
sult of  disfranchis.,  160;  does  not 
affect  the  right  of  suff.,  168;  Miss 
Blackwell  on,  198 ;  women  too  much 
flattered,  208;  dangers  of,  259;  al- 
ways existed,  275 ;  women  do  not 
think,  285;  Miss  Blackwell  gives 
examples.  320;  parable  of  good 
Samaritan,  360;  natural  conserva- 
tism, 372;  timidity  and  ignorance, 
415;  selfishness,  420;  those  who 


INDEX    OF   SUBJECTS. 


IIII 


have  all  the  rights  they  want,  461 ; 
same  in  Col.,  517. 

INDIRECT  INFLUENCE,  needs  responsi- 
bility, 55 ;  96-7 ;  suff.  would  destroy, 
107;  168;  517. 

INDIVIDUALITY  of  woman,  suff.  a 
guarantee  of,  82;  should  not  be  al- 
lowed to  wives,  100;  Mrs.  Stanton 
on  right  to,  189;  Rev.  Anna  How- 
ard Shaw  on,  230,  361 ;  Mrs.  Spen- 
cer on,  328;  new  civilization  will 
recognize,  336;  418. 

IOWA,  reasons  for  refusing  suff. 
amd't.,  xxi ;  nat'l.  conv.  in  Des 
Moines,  270;  noted  speakers  before 
Legis.,  279.  See  State  chapter. 

IRELAND,  worn.  suff.  in,  343;  worn,  on 
school  and  poor  law  bds.,  368.  See 
chapter  on  Great  Britain. 

ISLE  OF  MAN,  worn.  suff.  in,  1025. 

JOURNALISM,  xxv;  worn,  in,  154;  early 
women  writers,  295 ;  women  in  at 
Paris  expos.,  343 ;  first,  695. 

JURIES,  women  should  serve  on,  38; 
45;  51;  in  Wy.,  68;  men's  obliga- 
tions, 04;  Senators  discuss,  104, 
106;  need  of  women  on,  182;  wom- 
en and  jury  duty  in  Ida.,  596;  in 
Utah,  955,  1089;  in  Wash.,  422,  968, 
1008,  1091 ;  in  Wy.,  1008.' 

KANSAS,  grants  Municipal  Suff.  to 
women,  xv ;  xxi ;  xxix ;  treatment 
of  women,  199;  suff.  work  of  Nat'l. 
Ass'n.  in,  220;  descript.  of  nat'l. 
delegates,  221-2;  first  constit'n. 
recognizes  rights  of  women,  407; 
Amer.  Ass'n.  meets  in  Topeka,  417; 
early  work  in,  418,  _  419;  Mrs. 
Howe's  plea  for  suff.  in,  419.  See 
State  chapter  and  Statistics. 

LABOR,  disabilities  of  women,  41 ;  re- 
lation of  worn.  suff.  to,  70;  same, 
79;  suff.  has  no  influence  on  price 
of,  98;  wage-earning  women  should 
marry,  98 ;  need  of  ballot  for  work- 
ing women,  115;  same,  122;  Knights 
of  Labor  indorse  worn,  suff.,  123; 
dignifies  woman,  162;  immoral 
women  come  from  domestic  life, 
162;  husband  does  not  "support" 
wife,  171,  208,  311;  man's  material 
achievements,  171 ;  not  woman^s 
curse,  171 ;  degradation  of  woman's 
labor,  177;  organizations  favor 
worn,  suff.,  184;  indust.  emancip.  of 
women,  by  Carroll  D.  Wright,  have 
not  taken  men's  work,  new  eco- 
nomic factor,  leads  to  suff.,  213; 
suff.  demanded  for  working  women, 
216 ;  women  stenographers,  228 ; 
women  wage-earners  in  Fla..  240; 
Florence  Kelley  on  labor  unions 


and  working  woman's  need  of  bal- 
lot, 311;  disf ranch,  women  an  in- 
jury to  labor  unions,  312;  Fed.  of 
Labor  greets  Nat'l.  Stiff.  Ass'n.,  let. 
from  Pres.  Gompers,  equal  pay 
for  worn.,  334;  ass'n.  returns  thanks. 
344;  entrance  of  women  into  unions 
and  effect  on  suff.,  349;  appeal  of 
Nat'l.  Fed.  for  worn.  suff.  in  '99, 
359;  Miss  Laughlin  on  statistics  of 
wage-earning  women,  need  of  bal- 
lot, 360;  ancient  opp.  to,  361 ;  work- 
ing woman's  great  disadvantage, 
377;  wages  of  men  and  worn.,  379; 
425 ;  Nat'l.  Fed.  petit,  for  worn.  suff. 
in  1900  after  appeal  from  Miss  An- 
thony. Nat'l.  Bldg.  and  Trades 
Council,  same,  Int'l.  Bricklayers' 
and  Masons',  same,  446;  organiza- 
tions for  worn,  suff.,  448;  K.  of  L. 
declare  for,  568.  See  Statistics. 
LABOR  ORGANIZATIONS,  for  worn.  suff. 
See  above,  also  in  Col.,  514-16;  in  S. 
D.,  556;  in  Ills..  602-4;  652;  jn 
Mass.,  711-14-33;  in  Minn.,  782;  in 
N.  J.,  821;  in  N.  Y.,  850;  in  Ore., 
893;  in  R.  L,  917;  in  Wash.,  974. 

LAW,  first  woman  admitted  to  prac- 
tice before  U.  S.  Sup.  Ct.,  33 ;  sec- 
ond, 57;  contest  of  Mrs.  Bradwell 
in  Ills,  and  U.  S.  Sup.  Ct.,  152; 
contest  in  Cal.,  507 ;  in  Ind.,  626 ;  in 
Md.,  700;  in  Mich,  to  be  pros,  atty., 
770;  in  N.  J.,  833;  in  Penn.,  904; 
Woman's  Coll.  of,  574;  first  woman 
to  apply  to  practice,  609;  first  coll. 
to  graduate  a  woman,  610.  See  also 
State  chapters  under  Occupations. 
—women  in,  send  trib.  to  Miss  An- 
thony on  8oth  birthday,  398. 
— Common,  33;  49;  159;  resume  of 
and  changes  made,  454-8;  464;  in 
N.  Y.,  865. 

— Constitutional,  bar  to  worn,  suff., 
xiv,  xv ;  371. 

LAWS  FOR  WOMEN,  resume  of,  453-8. 
— Property,  for  women,  secured  by 
a  few,  xxiii;  in  Ky.,  15;  wife  is 
moneyless,  40;  inevitably  one-sided, 
198;  nine-tenths  relate  to  property, 
200;  uncertain  for  women,  255;  in 
Ills.,  276;  women  could  secure  good 
laws  w'ith  suffrage,  424;  present 
status,  far  from  just  to  women, 
456^8;  Dower  and  Curtesy.  457; 
Guardianship  of  Children,  and  lia- 
bility of  "head  of  family"  for  sup- 
port, 458;  Divorce,  and  the  various 
causes  for,  459;  Age  of  Pro- 
tection, 460.  See  each  State  chap- 
ter under  head  of  Legislative  Ac- 


III2 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


tion  and  Laws.    For  Great  Britain, 
1021. 

LEGACIES,  Mrs.  Eddy's  to  Miss  An- 
thony, v;  to  Nat'l.  Ass'n.,  207; 
259;  275;  286;  289;  366;  ooo;  909. 

LEGISLATURES,  action  on  bills  and  res- 
olutions for  full  and  limited  suf- 
frage and  other  measures,  under 
head  of  Legislative  Action,  in  each 
State  chapter,  beginning  465 ;  power 
to  grant  limited  suff.,  xv;  have 
granted  much  to  women,  43;  Con- 
gress should  submit  worn.  suff. 
amdt.  to,  43,  64,  113;  work  of 
women  members  in  Col.,  525-6; 
work  of  women  members  in  Utah, 
953  et  seq. 

LETTERS,  telegrams,  greetings,  etc.,  to 
American  suff.  convs.,  see  Chap. 
XXII;  to  natn'l.  suff.  cony,  of  '84, 
15  et  seq.,  from  noted  English,  21-2, 
Bishop  Simpson,  24;  of  '85,  61 ;  of 
'86,  75 ;  of  '87,  from  Mrs.  Stan  ton, 
113,  U.  S.  Treas.  Spinner  et  al., 
123 ;  of  '89,  from  Mrs.  Stanton,  145 ; 
of  '91,  179;  of  '93,  last  from  Lucy 
Stone,  213,  from  Bishop  Hurst, 
220;  of  '94,  from  Gov.  Waite,  Mrs. 
Sewall,  232;  of  '96,  254;  of  '97, 
from  Miss  Reed,  285;  of  '98,  from 
Abigail  Bush,  Lucinda  H.  Stone 
and  others,  300-1 ;  of  '99,  from 
Samuel  Gompers,  334,  Mrs.  Stan- 
ton,  337,  342-31  of  1900,  359,  366. 
— to  Int'l.  Council  of  '88,  135. 
— to  Miss  Anthony  on  7Oth  birth- 
day, 164;  on  8oth,  403. 
— to  various  Conventions,  447. 
— to  Governors  of  States  and  Ter- 
ritories, 212. 

— to  members  of  Congress,  35,  217, 
218,  247,  287,  346. 
— to    political    delegates    and    con- 
ventions, 440  et  seq. 
— to    State    constitutional    conven- 
tions, 433. 

LIFE  AND  WORK  OF  SUSAN  B.  AN- 
THONY, iv;  2. 

LIQUOR  DEALERS,  control  in  politics, 
xix;  attitude  toward  worn,  ^suff., 
xix;  influence  in  Iowa,  xxi;  in 
Neb.,  80;  allied  with  women  re- 
monstrants, 327;  opposed  to  worn, 
suff.,  373;  at  Nat'l.  Brewers'  Con- 
vention, 447;  in  Calif.,  273,  486, 
491-3,  499,  500;  in  Idaho,  284;  in 
Ariz.,  472;  in  Col.,  512,  517;  in  S. 
D..  556;  in  Kas.,  650,  660;  in  Ok., 
888. 

LONGEVITY  and  vitality  of  women,  29. 

LOUISIANA,  Miss  Anthony  on  women 
taxpayers'  suff.,  360.  See  State 
chapter. 


MAGAZINES.    See  Newspapers. 

MAJORITY,  opposed  to  any  reform, 
xxii ;  same,  xxiii ;  same,  xxvi ; 
must  ask  for  worn.  suff.  no  argu- 
ment, xxxi ;  xxxii ;  never  asked 
for  anything,  38;  Miss  Anthony  on, 
42;  worn.  suff.  should  not  wait  for, 
84 ;  must  demand  worn,  suff.,  92 ; 
never  granted  anything,  275 ;  op- 
pose every  advance,  Mrs.  Catt  on, 

369-71- 

MARRIAGE,  suff.  has  no  relation  to,  90 ; 
Sen.  Brown's  idea  of,  94  et  seq. ; 
in  worn.  suff.  States,  103 ;  Sen. 
Vest  on,  106  et  seq. ;  position  of 
woman  in,  regulations  made  by 
men,  obstacles  to  happiness,  Mrs. 
Colby  on,  151 ;  meaning  of,  narrow- 
ness of  wives  a  detriment  to  men, 
Mrs.  Stanton  on,  161 ;  interdepend- 
ence of  husband  and  wife,  Mrs. 
Wallace  on,  171 ;  Mr.  Hinckley  on, 
180;  each  supports  the  other,  171, 
208,  311;  of  Mr.  Blackwell  and 
Lucy  Stone,  226;  wife  need  not 
give  up  name,  226;  individuality  of 
wife,  Miss  Shaw  on,  230;  what 
wives  want,  245.  See  Domestic. 

MASSACHUSETTS,  sentiment  for  worn, 
suff.  in,  36;  Lucy  Stone  on  treat- 
ment of  women  by  its  Legis.,  192; 
early  education  of  women,  192; 
women  taxpayers,  240.  See  State 
chapter. 

MATRIARCHATE,  Mrs.  Spencer  on  evo- 
lution of  family  life,  328  et  seq. ; 
1041. 

MEDICINE,  early  struggles  of  women 
to  study,  296;  letter  from  Dr.  Eliz- 
abeth Blackwell,  301 ;  efforts  of 
worn,  in,  275,  355 ;  statistics  of  wom- 
en physicians,  275,  355,  370;  first 
woman  to  graduate,  355;  463;  574; 
first  to  practice,  748;  only  woman 
dean  of  mixed  college,  610;  Johns 
Hopkins  Medical,  700;  medical  so- 
cieties in  N.  J.,  833;  first  woman's 
med.  coll.,  004 ;  tribute  of  women  in, 
on  Miss  Anthony's  8oth  birthday, 
394.  See  also  State  chapters  under 
Occupations,  and  for  physicians  in 
institutions  under  Office  Holding. 

MICHIGAN,  Munic.  Suff.  Bill  vetoed, 
xv ;  vote  on  suff.  amend.,  35;  Nat'l. 
Ass'n.  meets,  322.  See  State  chap- 
ter. 

MILITARY,  argument  against  worn, 
suff.,  nearly  obsolete,  xxxi ;  Sen. 
Palmer  on,  64:  military  questions 
must  give  way  to  economic,  69; 
ability  to  bear  arms  not  a  voting 
test,  82;  Sen.  Blair  on  military 
service  no  connection  with  suff., 


INDEX    OF   SUBJECTS. 


87;  same  on  women  can  fight,  90; 
Sen.  Brown  on  women  and  mili- 
tary service,  94,  96,  100;  woman's 
record,  101,  113;  nation's  debt  to 
her,  115;  brute  force  passing  away, 
121 ;  woman's  part  in  war,  161-2, 
J95 ;  fighting  qualities  necessary  in 
women,  183 ;  women  first  to  see  ad- 
vantage of  peace,  208 ;  Miss  Clay  on 
the  military  argument  before  Sen- 
ate Com.,  309;  Miss  Shaw  on,  337; 
how  women  would  have  managed 
Span.  Am.  War,  339. 

MINISTERS,  early  women,  59,  260; 
Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  on  wom- 
«n  ministers,  206 ;  tribute  from,  on 
Miss  Anthony's  8oth  birthday,  397; 
464 ;  ministers  in  favor  of  worn, 
suff.,  1079.  See  Sermons. 

MINNESOTA,  difficulty  of  carrying 
worn.  suff.  amend.,  xvi ;  Amer. 
Suff.  Ass'n.  meets  in  Minneapolis, 
411.  See  State  chapter. 

MOTHERHOOD,  xxxi ;  needed  in  poli- 
tics, 40;  not  a  limitation,  58;  Mrs. 
Stanton  on  ancient  idea  of,  60; 
Sen.  Blair  on  maternity  and  suff., 
91 ;  Sen.  Brown  on,  94  et  seq. ; 
Sen.  Dolph  on,  103;  Sen.  Eustis 
on,  104;  Sen.  Vest  on,  106;  Miss 
Willard  asks  suff.  for  mothers, 
142;  mothers  should  be  honored 
equally  with  fathers,  194;  mothers 
should  be  exempt  from  wage- 
earning,  21 1 ;  child  dearer  than  all 
else,  226;  Mrs.  Stetson  on,  266;  not 
broad  enough,  277;  Mrs.  Spencer 
on  motherhood  among  primitive 
peoples,  328-333;  suff.  and,  283, 
3°3-4>  357 !  fits  women  for  suff., 
309;  all  worn,  not  fitted  for,  362; 
Congress  of  Mothers,  1051.  See 
also  Testimony  from  Worn.  Suff. 
States,  beginning  1085,  and  Stat£ 
chapters  for  Colorado,  Idaho,  Utah 
and  Wyoming. 

MUNICIPAL  SUFFRAGE,  in  Kas.,  xv; 
bill  vetoed  in  Mich.,  xv ;  123 ;  ef- 
fect in  Kas.,  199;  Australia  first 
country  to  grant,  224;  cities  need 
woman's  vote,  278,  420,  422;  in  Ire- 
land, 343 ;  how  gained  in  Kas.,  649 
et  seq.;  in  Kas.,  652,  664;  in  Great 
Brit.,  1012,  1022;  in  New  Zealand, 
1025 ;  in  Australia,  1027  et  seq. ;  in 
Canada,  1035  et  seq. ;  in  other  coun- 
tries, 1038  et  seq. 

NATIONAL  SUFFRAGE  ASSOCIATION, 
membership  and  finance,  xxx;  con- 
tests for  right  to  vote  under  I4th 
amend.,  4 :  abandons  attempt,  6 ; 
same  for  Federal  suff.,  10;  begins 


efforts  for  i6th  amend.,  1 1 ;  work 
in  the  States,  1 1 ;  work  before 
Congress,  1 1 ;  effect  on  the  fran- 
chise, 13;  founded  in  '69,  14;  con- 
ventions held,  14;  work  in  Wash- 
ington, 15;  finances  in  '84,  27; 
conv.  of  '88,  137;  finances  in  "89, 
154;  union  with  American  Ass'n., 
164;  Miss  Anthony  declares  for 
free  platform,  169;  finances  in  '92, 
185 ;  last  app.  of  Mrs.  Stanton  and 
Lucy  Stone,  186;  at  Columb. 
Expos.,  217;  freedom  of  platform, 
224;  mem.  serv.  for  Lucy  Stone, 
225;  finances  in  '95,  org.  com.  es- 
tablished, 250;  finances  in  '96,  256; 
headqrs.  established,  257;  welcomes 
Utah,  260;  breadth  of  platf.,  264; 
finances  of  '97,  Miss  Anthony's 
contrib.,  287;  reports  on  course  of 
study  and  finance,  289;  demands 
equal  rights  for  women  in  every 
depart.,  291;  finances  in  '99,  342; 
Washt'n  Post  compliments,  349; 
advantage  of  meeting  in  capital, 
351;  finances  in  1900,  364;  holds 
Bazar,  365 ;  rec'd  by  Pres.  McKin- 
ley  in  1900,  Mrs.  McKinley  sends 
flowers,  384;  Miss  Anthony  resigns 
presidency,  action  of  conv.,  her 
speeches,  etc.,  385  et  seq. ;  her  fare- 
well, 393;  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt 
elected  pres.,  387;  introd.  by  Miss 
Anthony,  sp.  of  accept.,  388;  no- 
tices of  new  pres.,  389;  love  for 
Miss  Shaw,  389;  celebrates  Miss 
Anthony's  8oth  birthday,  349  et  seq. ; 
appeals  to  political  convs.  and  dele- 
gates in  1900,  440-3;  nat'l  and  State 
work,  450 ;  work  for  rights  of  wom- 
en in  our  new  possessions,  Chap. 
XIX;  synopsis  of  constitn.,  offi- 
cers, committees,  life  members  and 
delegates,  1008  et  seq.  For  general 
work,  see  Chaps.  II — XXII. 

NEBRASKA,  difficulty  of  carrying 
amend.,  xvi ;  suff.  amend,  campn., 
80.  See  State 'chapter. 

NEED,  of  man  and  woman  in  law  and 
politics,  179;  in  the  home,  every- 
where, 180;  of  each  for  othe'r,  266; 
same,  284;  of  both  in  Gov't,  310. 

NEGROES,  how  enfranch.,  xvii ;  why 
disfranch.,  xviii ;  placed  above 
women,  2;  right  to  suff.,  6;  nat'l. 
amend,  necessary,  42;  women 
should  not  have  suff.,  105-6;  311; 
deprived  of  suff.  in  South,  com- 
pared to  white  women,  325;  women 
in  smoking  cars,  343;  if  dented^suff. 
should  not  be  counted  in  basis  of 
represent.,  376;  trib.  of  worn,  to 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Miss    Anthony    on    Both    birthday, 

398;  her  sympathy  for,  403;  Nat'l. 

Ass'n.  of  Colored  Women,  1051. 
NEW    JERSEY,    failure    of    Sch.    Suff. 

amend.,    xvi ;    first    State   to    grant 

worn,   suff.,    19;    account   of   same, 

830.    See  State  chapter. 
NEW  SOUTH  WALES,  chapter  on,  1029. 
NEWSPAPERS  AND  MAGAZINES.* 

Advertiser    (New    Decatur,    Ala.), 

465- 

Arena,  The,  6,  927-8. 

Argonaut   (San  Francisco),  491. 

Australian  Register,  1028. 

Australian  Woman's  Sphere  (Mel- 
bourne), 1031. 

Boomerang  (Laramie,  Wyo.),  1006. 

Bricklayer  and  Mason,  446. 

Bulletin  (San  Francisco),  491. 

Call  (San  Francisco),  482,  487,  491, 
505. 

Chicago  Law  Times,  609. 

Christian  Advocate,  207. 

Colorado  Springs  Gazette,  525. 

Commercial  Gazette  (Cin'ti),  428. 

Congressional  Record,  no. 

Constitution  (Atlanta),  244,  246. 

Daily  Statesman  (Boise,  Ida.),  319, 

59i- 

Daily  Times  (Seattle),  974. 

Democrat  (Grand  Rapids),  339. 

Democratic  State  Journal  (Wash.), 
1096. 

Englishwoman's  Review,  22,  319, 
1012. 

Enquirer  (Cin'ti),  428. 

Evening  News  (Washtn.),  202. 

Evening  Post  (New  York),  1096. 

Examiner  (San  Francisco),  491. 

Express  (Los  Angeles),  495. 

Fortnightly  Review,  1014-5. 

Freemen's  Labor  Journal  (Spo- 
kane), 974. 

Harper's  Bazar,  716. 

Harper's  Magazine,  203. 

Herald  (Boston),  732. 

Leader  (Des  Moines),  271,  273. 

Legal  News,  The  (Chicago),  212, 
609. 

Lily    (Amelia    Bloomer,   ed.),   250, 

295- 

Liquor  Dealer  (Los  Angeles),  499. 
Massachusetts  papers,  711. 
Mirror  (Seattle),  1096. 
Nevada  Citizen,  811. 
New  Northwest,  975. 
Nineteenth  Century  (Eng.),  1014. 
Oregonian  (Portland),  896. 

*It  has  been  impossible  to  index  every  pa- 
per named  in  the  History,  and  only  those  are 
given  of  which  special  mention  is  made. 


Picayune  (New  Orleans),  680,  683. 

Post  (San  Francisco),  491. 

Post  (Washtn.),  188,  201,  221,  236, 

349,  36i,  385,  387,  390-1,  393-  395, 

400. 

Post-Intelligencer  (Seattle),  1096. 
Public  Ledger  (Phila.),  227. 
Record  (San  Francisco),  491. 
Record-Union  (Sacramento),  491. 
Remonstrance  (Boston),  512. 
Report  (San  Francisco),  491. 
Rhode  Island  papers,  910-11. 
Saturday  Review  (Atlanta),  582. 
Star  (Richmond.  Va.),  964. 
Star  (San  Francisco),  491. 
Star  (Washtn.),  173,  189,  318,  388. 
Suffrage  Reveille  (Kas.),  647. 
Suffragist  (Ills.),  612". 
Sun  (Baltimore),  698. 
Sun  (New  York),  326,  459. 
Sunday  World  (Los  Angeles),  499. 
Sunny  South  (Atlanta),  238. 
Times  (Leavenworth,  Kas.),  645. 
Times  (London,  Eng.),  1019. 
Times  (Los  Angeles),  491,  499. 
Times  (New  York),  364. 
Ton'n  Talk  (Los  Angeles),  499. 
Transcript  (Olympia),  1096. 
Tribune  (Chicago),  93,  1009. 
Una  (Paulina  Wright  Davis,  ed.), 

294. 

Wisconsin  Citizen,  342.  987. 
Woman's  Chronicle   (Ark),  475-6. 
Woman's    Column    (Boston),    431, 

465,  708. 
Woman's  Exponent  (Utah),  936  et 

al. 

Woman's  Forum  (Ills.),  613. 
Woman's    Journal    (Boston),    221, 

236,  256,  342,  350,  381-2,  392,  406, 

417,  423,  426,  430,   701,  726,  734, 

736,   1096. 

Woman's  Standard   (la.),  342,  629. 
Woman's    Tribune    (Washtn.),    76, 

126,  164.  296,  342,  396,  575,  970. 
Women's  Suffrage  Journal  (Eng.), 

22,  1015. 
Young  Woman's  Journal,  956.    See 

Press. 

NEW  YORK,  attempt  to  confer  Sch. 
Suff.  on  women,  xv ;  women  de- 
mand represent,  at  Centennial,  156; 
women  taxpayers,  240,  247,  313, 
314;  report  of  Const'l.  Conv.  of  '94, 
247;  opinion  of  Atty.  Gen.  and 
other  lawyers  on  Sch.  Suff.  and 
Office-Holding  for  women,  1094. 
See  State  chapter. 

NEW    ZEALAND,    chapter    on,     1020; 
eminent    advocates    of   worn,    suff., 
1084.  , 
OCCUPATIONS,   resume  of   women   in, 


INDEX    OF   SUBJECTS. 


463;  entrance  of  women,  xxii, 
xxiii,  xxv ;  statistics,  xxx;  advan- 
tage of  ballot,  67;  progress  of 
women  in,  133 ;  women  first  in,  208 ; 
Mr.  Bok  on  women  in  business, 
229;  danger  of  disfranch.  women 
in,  312;  statistics  of  wages,  379; 
business  women  send  trib.  to  Miss 
Anthony  on  8oth  birthday,  398. 
See  State  chapters  under  head  of 
Occupations,  beginning  p.  465 ;  also 
Labor  and  various  professions, 
Law,  etc. 

OFFICE-HOLDING  by  women,  resume 
of,  462,  and  in  each  State  chapter 
under  head  of  Office-Holding,  be- 
ginning 465;  Sen.  Vest  on,  108; 
Sen.  Hoar  on,  109;  in  Wy.,  117; 
women  first  employed  in  Gov't 
dept.,  123;  in  Nat'l.  Gov't.  depts. 
at  present,  572;  in  Gr.  Brit,  1023; 
in  Canada,  see  chapter  on,  1034. 

OFFICERS,  of  Amer.  Suff.  Ass'n.  in 
'84,  408;  from  '84  to  1900,  428;  of 
Nat'l.  Suff.  Ass'n.  in  '84,  27;  from 
1869  to  1900,  387;  of  Nat'l.- Amer. 
Ass'n.  in  '90,  174;  in  '92,  186;  in 
'94.  233 ;  in  1900,  1099. 
— of  first  Nat'l.  Council  of  Wom- 
en, 137. 

— of  State  Suff.  Assns.,  listed  in 
each  State  chapter,  beginning  p. 
465- 

OPPONENTS  of  worn,  suff.,  see  Church, 
Congress,  Debates,  Electorate,  In- 
difference of  Women,  Liquor  Deal- 
ers, Remonstrants,  Reports,  etc. 
See  also  for  arguments  of,  p.  93  et 
seq.  and  p.  999  et  seq. 

OREGON,  xxi ;  xxix ;  three  classes  of 
opponents,  249;  Amer.  Suff.  Ass'n. 
aids,  408.  See  State  chapter. 

ORGANIZATION  for  worn,  suff.,  plan 
of,  26;  inadequacy  of,  248;  nat'l. 
com.  established,  250;  Mrs.  Catt's 
work,  254;  her  report,  256;  work 
of  Utah  women,  262;  necessity  of, 
273 ;  report  of  '97,  obstacles  to, 
289 ;  report  of  '99,  365 ;  in  various 
States,  451.  See  also  State  chap- 
ters, beginning  p.  465. 

ORGANIZATIONS     OF     WOMEN,     NA- 
TIONAL, Chap.  LXXV. 
— Ass'n  for  Adv'mt  of  Worn.,  1050. 
—Coll.  Alum.,  Ass'**  of,  1048. 
— Colonial  Dames  of  Amer..  1066. 
— Col'd  Worn.,  Nat'l  Ass'n  of,  1051. 
— Council  of  Women,  Int'l,  1044. 
— Council  of  Women,  Nat'l,  1044-5. 
— Daughters  of  Amer.  Rev.,  1065. 
— Daughters  of  the  Rev..  1066. 
— Daught.  of  Vets.,  Nat'l  All.,  1064. 


— Daught.  of  Confed.,  United,  1067. 
— Daught.  of  1812,  Nat.  Soc.,  1067. 
—Daughters  of  Rebekah,  1069. 
— Eastern  Star,  Order  of,  1068. 
— Fed.  of  Clubs,  General,  1050. 
— G.  A.  R.,  Ladies  of,  1064. 
— Household  Econ.,  Nat'l  As.,  1056. 
— Indian  Ass'n.  Worn.  Nat'l.,  1053. 
— Jewish  Worn.,  Nat.  Coun.  of,   1053. 
— Keeley  Rescue  League,  1056. 
— Kindergarten  Union,  Nat'l.,  1055. 
— Loc.   Eng'rs,  Ladies'  Aux.,   1069. 
— Maccabees  of  World,  Sup.  Hive, 

Ladies  of,  1067. 

— Missionary  Societies,  1057-1062. 
— Mothers,  Nat'l.  Cong,  of,  1051. 
— Mt.  Vernon  Ladies'  Ass'n.,  1065. 
— Music.  Clubs,  Nat'l.  Fed.  of,  1056. 
— Needlework  Guild  of  Am.,   1057. 
— Prison  Ass'n.,  Woman's,  1055. 
— Railroad    Cond.,     Ladies'     Aux., 
1069. 
— Rathbone  Sisters  of  World,  Sup. 

Temple,  1068. 

— Red  Cross  Soc.,  Am.  Nat'l.,  1048. 
— Relief  Corps,  Woman's,  1064. 
— Relief  Soc.,  Nat'l.  Worn.,  1052. 
— Sabbath  Alliance,  Worn.,   1063. 
— Social    Purity,    Christian    League 
for,  1054. 

— Sunshine    Soc.,    Internat'l.,    1052. 
— Worn.  Chr.  Temp.  Union,  1045. 
— Women  Workers,  Nat'l.,   1054. 
— Young  Ladies'  Mutual   Improve- 
ment Ass'n.,  1055. 
— Y'ng  Worn.  Chr.  Ass'n.,  1063. 
— Miscellaneous.  1069. 
—of  Men  and  Women.  1070. 
— in  Great   Britain,  Liberal  Feder- 
ation,  Primrose   League  and  Nat'l. 
Suff.  Society,  1013-14. 
— general    comment    on,    majority 
would  not  have  consented  to,  xxii ; 
great    power    of,    xxv ;    value    of 
anti-suff.,    xxix ;    working    toward 
suff.,      xxx ;      suff.      organizations, 
rank  first,   188;  vast  increase,  396; 
first    on    record    and    evolution    of, 
1042-3 ;    first   temperance   organ'zs., 
1042;  during  Civil  War,  1043;  dig- 
nity  of   convs.,    1044;    great    scope 
of  objects  but  few  for  suff.,  1070-1 ; 
all  leading  to  it,  1071 ;  value  in  de- 
velop, of  women.  1072;  number  en- 
rolled,   1072;    future   power,    1073; 
Gov't.  must  have  their  help.  1073. 
PARTIES,    see    alphabetical     list    and 
also  Conventions.     So-called  Third, 
xviii;   their  general    attitude.    143; 
425;  438-9;  44i;  479;  492;  522-3-4; 
554-6:  591:  600;  617;  647;  755-6; 
760;  809;  963;  971-2;  974. 


in6 


HISTORY   OF   WOMAN   SUFFRAGE. 


PEACE.  Conf.  at  Hague,  Nat'l.  Stiff. 
Ass'n.  expresses  sympathy,  336; 
res.  for  Peace  services,  337;  344. 
See  War. 

PERSECUTION,  of  early  workers, 
xxviii ;  not  ended,  xxxii ;  of  sex 
causes  moral  chaos,  42;  fate  of  re- 
formers, 132. 

PETITION,  woman's  right  to,  32;  have 
exercised  it  many  years,  33;  Con- 
gress must  not  deny,  93. 

PETITIONS,  for  worn,  suff.,  great  num- 
ber, 33 ;  for  many  years,  36 ;  in  Ills., 
39;  in  O.,  46;  no;  national  enroll- 
ment, 137;  million  signatures,  184; 
size  of,  268;  Fed.  of  Labor  for 
worn,  suff.,  334;  in  Wy.,  448;  in  N. 
Y.,  850.  See  Chap.  XXIII  and  State 
chapters  under  Legislative  Action. 
In  Great  Brit.,  1015,  1017,  1020;  in 
N.  Z.,  1026;  in  Victoria,  1032. 
— against  worn,  suff.,  107 ;  in  Ills., 
602;  in  Mass.,  723,  736  et  al. ;  in  N. 
Y.,  850;  in  R.  I.,  911. 

PHILIPPINES,  Nat'l.  Suff.  Ass'n.  de- 
mands rights  for  their  women,  325 ; 
Mrs.  Spencer  on  our  duty  to  the 
women  of  our  new  possessions,  328 
et  seq. ;  discussion,  331  et  seq. ;  no 
hope  for  their  women,  347;  tes- 
timony in  favor  before  Senate  Com., 
348.  See  Chap.  XIX  for  full  state- 
ment. 

PHARMACY,  in  Ky.,  676. 

PHYSICAL  ABILITY,  woman  lacks,  99, 
loo,  108.  See  Military. 

PIONEERS,  first  work  for  worn.  suff.. 
xiii ;  early  conditions  of  women,  I ; 
at  Int'l.  Council,  136;  in  the  West, 
148;  struggles  of,  154;  work  of,  188; 
appeal  for  their  children,  195; 
tributes  to  by  Miss  Anthony  and 
Fred.  Douglass,  204;  trib.  of  Doug- 
lass to,  227;  in  Utah,  261 ;  gratitude 
to,  290;  young  women  should  con- 
tinue their  work,  292;  mem.  serv- 
ices for,  293 ;  at  conv.  of  '98,  298-9 : 
of  '99,  336. 

PLAN  OF  WORK,  adopted  by  nat  1. 
suff.  conv.  of  *84.  26.  62;  by  conv.  of 
'87,  122;  suggestions  for  suff. 
clubs,  248;  of  Amer.  Suff.  Ass'n. 
in  *84,  410. 

POLICE  MATRONS,  see  Office-Holding 
in  State  chapters,  beginning  p.  465. 

POLITICS,  effect  of  women  in.  xix; 
crowding  in,  xxx :  too  hard  for 
women,  94;  in  '88,  150;  worn, 
suff.  in  poltt.  meetings,  257;  should 
advocates  suff.  take  part  in?  280  et 
seq.;  in  Utah,  319;  in  N.  Y.,  872; 


anti-suffragists     in,     see     Remon- 
strants. 

POLITICIANS,  object  to  worn,  suff., 
xix ;  xx ;  xxi ;  women  as,  99. 
For  Politics  and  Politicians,  see 
chapters  for  States  where  women 
vote  and  in  which  worn.  suff.  cam- 
paigns have  been  held;  also  Par- 
ties, Conventions,  Republicans,  etc. 

POPULISTS,  444;  in  Calif.,  488,  491-3; 
in  Col.,  xviii,  511,  '13,  '16,  '18,  '20, 
'23 ;  in  Ida.,  590,  '92,  '94 ;  in  Kas., 
642-7,  652-5,  657;  in  Mont.,  800;  in 
Wash.,  971-2.  See  Conventions  and 
Parties. 

PORTO  Rico,  Nat'l.  Ass'n.  demands 
rights  for  women  in,  325 ;  appeals 
to  Cong,  for  same,  in  1900,  446. 

POSTMASTERS,  women,  462. 

PRAYERS,  Mrs.  McLaren  on,  22;  Mrs. 
Cougar  on,  37 ;  Mrs.  Crooker  on, 
43 ;  Miss  Shaw  on,  134  See 
Church. 

PRESIDENTS,  of  Nat'l.  Suff.  Ass'n., 
Mrs.  Stanton,  in  '84,  15;  of  united 
assn's.  in  '90,  .  174;  resigns  and 
made  hon.  pres.,  186;  Lucy  Stone 
made  hon.  pres.,  186;  Miss  An- 
thony elected  pres.  in  '92,  186;  re- 
signs in  1900,  385 ;  Mrs.  Chapman 
Catt  elected,  387;  Miss  A.  made 
hon.  pres..  389. 

— and  Vice-Presidents  of  U.  S.  fa- 
voring worn,  suff.,  1075. 
— of     Universities     and     Colleges, 
same,  1079. 

PRESIDENTIAL  SUFFRAGE,  form  of  pe- 
tition, 286 ;  bill  in  Kas.,  655. 

PRESS,  present  attitude,  xxviii ;  on 
dress  of  delegates,  56;  change  in 
tone,  57;  Miss  Anthony  against 
starting  paper,  216;  report  of  nat'l. 
press  work  for  '96,  286;  for  '97, 
288 ;  for  '99,  365 ;  early  comment 
on  worn,  suff.,  293 ;  worn,  suffi. 
dept.  in  N.  Y.  Sun,  326;  need  of 
women  on  press,  326;  report  to 
Amer.  conv.  of  '87.  425 ;  of  '88,  431 ; 
press  in  Calif,  campn.,  490,  499. 
See  Newspapers. 

PRINCE  OF  INDIA,  everlasting  record, 
277. 

PROGRESS  OF  EQUAL  RIGHTS,  reasons 
for,  xiii;  present  status,  xxv; 
hope  for  future,  xxvi ;  more  rap- 
id in  future,  xxxiii ;  effect  of  Civil 
War  on,  2 ;  Congress'l.  Com.  report, 
53;  Sen.  Palmer  on,  63;  133;  134; 
191 ;  Miss  Anthony  on,  325 ;  207 ; 
242;  306;  in  public  sentiment,  349; 
in  the  South.  362;  369:  social,  edu- 
cat'l,  etc.,  Mrs.  Catt  on,  392;  as 


INDEX    OF    SUBJECTS. 


III7 


shown  in  treatment  of  Miss  An- 
thony, 394,  398;  in  position  of  ad- 
vocates, 405;  412;  in  the'  laws, 
455-8. 

PROGRESS  OF  WOMAN  SUFFRAGE,  169; 
198;  ears  will  be  unstopped,  199; 
290;  appearances  of  advocates,  318; 
326;  13  members  electoral  coll., 
350;  405;  409;  425;  442;  in  Eng- 
land, 353,  1012. 
PROFESSIONS,  women  in,  see  Law, 

Medicine,  etc.,  also  Occupations. 
PROPERTY,  Lucy  Stone  on  laws  in 
Mass.,  192;  owners  are  one-fourth 
women,  nine-tenths  of  laws  made 
for  property,  200.  Resume  of 
laws,  453  et  seq.  See  Laws,  also 
each  State  chapter  under  Legisla- 
tive Action  and  Laws. 
PUBLIC  SCHOOLS,  statistics  of  pupils, 
xxx ;  girls  formerly  not  admitted 
in  Mass.,  193;  464;  High  Schools, 
in  Del.,  566;  in  Phila.,  906;  in 
Providence,  920.  See  each  State 
chapter  under  head  of  Education, 
beginning,  p.  465. 

QUEENSLAND,  see  chapter  on,  1032. 
RADICALS,  of  each  new  age,  xxxiii; 

117,  271. 

RECEPTIONS,   15;    18;    56;    127;    175; 
183;  188;  251;  262;  265;  270;  3545 
384.    See  various  State  chapters  be- 
ginning 4<?5- 
REFORMERS,  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw 

on,    131    et    seq. 
RELIGION,    see    Church. 
REMINISCENCES  OF  ELIZABETH    CADY 

STANTON,  iv;  250. 

REMONSTRANTS,  women  against  suff., 
xxix ;  in  politics,  16;  called  to 
account,  19;  Mr.  Foulke  on,  168; 
Mrs.  Howe  on,  170;  171 5  three 
classes  of,  249;  258;  Miss  Black- 
well  on,  320;  allied  with  liquor 
dealers.  327,'  satire  on,  361;  Grace 
Greenwood  on,  364;  in  England, 
take  advantage  of  every  gain,  369*. 
Mrs.  Catt  on,  37°;  against  edu- 
cation, property  laws,  etc.,  380;  be- 
fore Sen.  com.  in  1900,  381 ;  before 
House  com.,  amusing  occurrences, 
382;  in  different  stages  of  evolu- 
tion, 392;  in  Col.,  512'  m  S.  D-, 
557;  in  Kansas,  650;  in  Mass.,  704, 
732-3,  736  et  al.;  in  N.  ¥.,850, 
858-9!  861;  in  Ok.,  888;  in  Ore., 
895 ;  in  Wash.,  97* ;  in  Austr.,  1031. 
REPORTS,  of  Congress'I  corns,  on 
worn,  suff.,  12;  House  Judic.j  c 
'84,  47  et  seq.,  52  et  seq. ;  of  86,  82 
et  seq.;  of  'o°,  163;  of  94,  235; 
Senate,  of  '84,  475  see  also  93 


et  seq.;  of  '92,  201;  of  '96,  207; 
work  of  Miss  Anthony  and  Mr^. 
Upton  in  securing,  366. 
— of  nat'l.  suff.  conv.  of  '84,  15;  of 
Intl.  Council  of  '88,  127;  on  nat'l. 
enrollment,  137,  154,  879;  of  Nat'l. 
Council  of  '91,  175;  of  Columbian 
Expos.  Com.,  232. 

— State,  to  nat'l.  suff.  convs.,  15;  to 
American  suff.  convs.,  432. 
— Miss  Anthony's  on  work  in  con- 
ventions of  1900,  439  et  seq. 
REPRESENTATION,    basis    of,    Federal 
Constitution  on,  8;  women  should 
not  be  counted  till  enfranch.,  374, 
376. 

— Indirect,  of  women  by  men,  41 ; 
46;  51;  64;  66;  86;  93;  168;  Miss 
Blackwell  on,  197. 

REPRESENTATIVES,     U.     S.,     favoring 
worn,  suff.,   1077.    See  State  chap- 
ters under  Legislative  Action. 
REPUBLICANS,    enfranch.    negro    men, 
xvii ;  143 ;  in  Calif.,  485,  487,  491 ; 
in  Col.,   516,  518,  520-5;  in   S.  D., 
555;  in  Ida.,  590-2;  in  Ills.,  605-6; 
in  Ind.,  617;  in  Kas.,  643-7,  649-55, 
661;    in    Mass.,    712,    724,    727;    in 
Mich.,  7555  in  N.  Y.,  848  et  seq., 
872 ;  in  Utah,  949,  953  -et  seq. ;  in 
Wash.,  971 ;  in   Congress  on  Wy., 
1004;     Nat'l.     League     of     Clubs, 
713-14.    See  Conventions. 
RESOLUTIONS,   at  nat'l   suff.   conv.  of 
'69,  right  of  women  to  vote  under 
I4th  amend.,  3;  at  conv.  of  '84,  25; 
on  death  of  Wendell   Phillips,  25; 
for    Intl.    Council,    25;    on    Anna 
Ella    Carroll,    25;    on    creeds    and 
dogmas..  58;   memorial   of  '85,  61 ; 
on  carrying  worn.  suff.  into  church. 
75 »  for  i6th  amend,  to  Nat'l  con- 
st'n.,  85;  at  conv.  of  '87,  122;  of 
thanks  to  men,   ridiculed   by   Mrs. 
Stanton,  145;  at  conv.  of  '89,  154', 
on  trial  of  Susan  B.  Anthony,  155: 
on  disfranch.  of  women  in  Wash. 
Ty.,  155 ;  on  represent,  of  worn,  at 
N.    Y.    Centennial,    156;    by    Mrs. 
Stanton    on    the    church    and    di- 
vorce,  165;  memorial  of  'oo,   174; 
at   conv.   of  '91,    184;   for   Sunday 
opening  of  World's   Fair,   186;   to 
prohibit    sate    of    liquor    at    same1, 
186;  mem.  of  '93,  to  Geo.  W.  Cur- 
tis and  others,  203  et  seq. ;  at  conv 
of  '93,  216;  mem.  of  '04,  227;  of 
'95,     250;     of     '96,     259;     against 
Woman's  Bible,  263:  mem.  of    97, 
275;    at   conv.   of    '98,   200;    mem. 
of  '08,  293;  of  Fed.  of  Labor  for 
worn.    suff.    in    '98,    334',    res.    for 


in8 


HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Peace  sen-ices,  337 ;  at  conv.  of  '99, 
343;  mem.  of  '99,  344;  of  Fed.  of 
Labor  in  '99,  359;  mem.  of  1900, 
366;  res.  on  worn.  suff.  in  Col., 
383;  on  Miss  Anthony's  resigna- 
tion, 386;  of  Amer.  suff.  conv.  in 
'84,  409;  mem.  of  Frances  D. 
Gage  and  others,  409;  at  Amer. 
conv.  of  '85,  416;  of  '87,  425;  for 
union  of  two  suff.  societies,  426; 
of  Col.  Legis.,  531 ;  of  Wy.  Legis., 
1007.  See  also  various  State  chap- 
ters beginning  465. 

REVOLUTION,  will  it  be  necessary  for 
worn,  suff.?  119;  women  will 
cause,  139. 

RIGHT,  SUFFRAGE  A,  proved  by  Nat'l. 
Constit'n,  xxxii ;  guaranteed  by  it, 
I.  3;  38;  45-6;  Rep.  Maybury  de- 
nies, 47;  Rep.  Poland,  50;  52; 
Cong.  Com.  report,  54;  Miss  East- 
man on,  72.  80;  Cong.  Com.  report, 
82;  Sen.  Blair  on,  86,  89.  90;  Sen. 
Dolph  on,  101-2-5;  Sen.  Vest  de- 
nies, 107;  Mrs.  Gage  on,  118;  Sen. 
Blair  on,  145;  Mr.  Foulke  on, 
167-8;  Mrs.'  Howe  on,  170;  Mrs. 
Wallace  on,  172;  Mrs.  Stanton  on, 
189;  Lucy  Stone  on,  191;  Mrs.  Catt 
on,  104;  Miss  Blackwell  on,  197; 
Miss  Reed  on,  285;  Mr.  Garrison 
on.  305 ;  Miss  Anthony  on,  325 ; 
Mrs.  Blake  on,  374-5;  Chancellor 
Eliot  on,  413;  441-2. 

SCHOOL  SUFFRAGE,  bills  vetoed  in 
Calif.,  xv ;  experience  in  N.  Y., 
xv ;  in  Wis.,  xv;  in  N.  J.,  xvi; 
in  S.  D.,  xvi ;  men  dp  not  ex- 
ercise, 198,  541;  212;  in  Boston, 
746;  legality  in  N.  Y.,  1093;  in 
Great  Brit..  1022;  in  New  Zeal., 
1025 ;  in  Canada,  1034  et  seq. ; 
where 'possessed  in  U.  S.,  461.  See 
chapters  for  these  States  under 
Suffrage. 

SCIENCE  and  worn,  suff.,  Mrs.  Gage 
on,  28;  botanical  objection,  90. 

SELF-GOVERNMENT  best  means  of  self- 
development.  Mrs.  Stanton  on,  40. 

SENATORS,  U.  S.,  favoring  worn,  suff., 
1076. 

SERMONS,  Miss  Shaw  on  Heavenly 
Vision  and  progress  of  race,  128; 
136;  175;  184;  185;  202;  Miss 
Shaw  on  Let  no  man  take  thy 
crown,  229;  minister  in  Atlanta 
opp.  worn,  suff.,  237;  at  Atlanta 
conv.,  246-7;  258;  dean  of  Chiches- 
ter  against  worn,  suff.,  320;  at  conv. 
°f  '99.  337;  at  conv.  of  1900,  Miss 
Shaw  on  Riehts  of  Women,  361 ; 
Cardinal  Gibbons  against  worn, 
suff.,  366. 


SOLDIERS,  women  as,  309-10;  worn, 
produce,  310;  efforts  to  enable  to 
vote,  335;  women  bear  the  arm- 
bearers,  337.  See  Military  and  War. 

SOLITUDE  OF  SELF,  address  by  Mrs. 
Stanton,  189. 

SOUTH,  position  of  women,  212;  216; 
speakers,  222 ;  women  orators  of, 
236;  238;  its  women  want  suff., 
245;  illiterate  vote  in  Ga.,  246;  tour 
of  by  nat'l.  spkrs.,  251;  293;  360; 
Mrs.  Young  on  progress  in,  362; 
Ala.  and  Miss,  grant  property 
rights  to  women,  407;  928. 

SOUTH  DAKOTA,  failure  of  Sch.  Suff. 
amend.,  xvii ;  xxi ;  xxix ;  Nat'l. 
Ass'n.  raises  funds  for  campn.,  174; 
Miss  Shaw  describes,  182;  183; 
suff.  bill  vetoed,  414.  See  State 
chapter. 

SPEAKERS,  at  Int'l.  Council  of  '88, 
136;  at  Miss  Anthony's  7Oth  birth- 
day recep.,  163;  at  8oth  birthday 
recep.,  304-5;  at  nat'l.  suff.  conys., 
see  respective  chapters,  beginning 
p.  14;  before  Congress'l.  Corns.,  see 
chapters  for  even  years;  at  Amei 
suff.  convs.,  see  Chap.  XXIV.  See 
State  chapters  for  State  speakers. 
— of  House  of  Representatives  fa- 
voring worn,  suff.,  1077. 

'STATE  CHAPTERS,  beginning  465. 

STATE'S  RIGHTS,  to  grant  suff.,  50; 
same,  78;  118;  144;  234. 

STATISTICS,  of  women  wage-earners, 
xxiii,  xxx ;  of  public  schools,  xxx; 
of  foreign  vote  in  Wis.,  148;  of 
women  physicians,  275,  355 ;  health 
of  women  graduates.  355 ;  wages  of 
women,  360,  379;  of  woman  vote 
in  Col.,  525 ;  in  Ida.,  595 ;  in  Kas., 
660:  in  Mass.,  746;  in  Ohio,  883; 
in  Utah,  952;  in  Wash.,  412,  967; 
in  Wyo.,  1010;  in  New  Zeal.,  1026; 
in  S.  Australia,  1028;  vote  on  worn. 
suff.  in  Kas.,  647. 

SUFFRAGE,  WOMAN, 
—Advantages  of,  21,  41.  53,  55,  65, 
66,  83,  159,  161,  162,  178,  181. 
-^Advocates,    character    of,    xxxii, 
412;    debt    owed   to,    144;   are   not 
dreamers,  421 ;  list  of,  1075 ;  see  de- 
bates in  Congress,  32  et  seq.,  85  et 
seq..  181  et  seq. ;  also  various  chap- 
ters and  p.  1075  et  seq. 
— Bible,  for  and  against.    See  Bible. 
—Bills  for.     See  Bills. 
— Campaigns  for.    See  Amendment 
Campaigns. 

— Church,  attitude  of  See  Church. 
— Congressional  Action.  See  Con- 
gress. 


INDEX    OF   SUBJECTS. 


IIIQ 


— Constitutional  Phases  of.  See 
Constitutions. 

— Conventions  for.  See  Conven- 
tions. 

— Debates  on.    See  Congress. 
— Decisions.     See    Supreme    Court 
Decisions. 

— Democracy  of.  See  Democracy. 
— Domestic,  argument  against  worn, 
suff.  losing  force,  xxxi;  Reagan, 
of  Texas,  on  this  point,  31 ;  John 
Quincy  Adams  on,  47;  woman's 
sphere,  48;  would  break  up  home, 
49;  proper  sphere,  53;  position  of 
woman  in  all  countries,  52,  83 ;  fear 
of  quarrels,  92;  sphere  of  two 
sexes,  94;  woman  is  queen,  95; 
would  disrupt  family,  99;  harmony 
not  disturbed,  103 ;  embrace  of  fe- 
male politician,  106-7-8,  117;  wom- 
an's sphere  narrowed,  190;  vote  of 
husband  and  wife,  198;  wives  of 
great  men,  206;  worn.  suff.  and 
home,  effect  where  women  vote, 
315;  evolution  of  family  life,  328; 
college  worn,  and  home,  357-8;  no 
relation  between  suff.  and  house- 
keeping, 362;  modern  home  happi- 
est, 371 ;  domestic  Instincts  eternal, 
380;  effect  of  worn.  suff.  on  domes- 
tic life  in  Colorado,  283,  356,  1087; 
in  Idaho,  595;  in  Utah,  319,  1088; 
in  Wyoming,  117,  181,  302,  1089, 
1091-2. 

— Economics  of,  308;  woman  .as 
economic  factor,  310;  household 
economics,  357;  basis  of  worn,  suff., 

377- 

— Educated,  constitutional  to  re- 
quire it,  246 ;  argument  against,  258 ; 
argument  for,  292,  316;  Gov't.  no 
right  to  educate  women  and  refuse 
representation,  307;  Mrs.  Stanton 
on,  316;  education  must  lead  to 
suffrage,  356.  See  Education. 
—Ethics  of,  20,  43,  69,  80,  81,  116; 
influence  of  woman,  117;  119;  Mrs. 
Stanton  on,  134;  Mrs.  Wallace  on, 
170-1;  254-5;  evolution  of  worn, 
suff.,  Mrs.  Spencer  on,  308. 
— Expediency  of,  xxiv;  52;  Sen. 
Vest  on,  107;  167;  172;  Phillips  on, 
381. 

— Federal.    See  Federal  Suffrage. 
— Illiterate.     See   Illiteracy. 
— Indifference  of  Women.    See  In- 
difference. 

—Justice  of,  17,  74,  80,  82,  86,  102, 
147,  162,  163,  167-8,  183;  Lucy 
Stone  on,  191 ;  199,  297,  305,  358, 
378,  381,  413,  415 ;  Curtis  and  Hoar 
on,  428. 


— Labor  and.    See  Labor. 
— Legislative  Action  on.    See  Leg- 
islatures. 

— Liquor  Dealers  and.  See  Liquor 
Dealers. 

— Majority  of  women  opposed.  See 
Majority. 

— Military  argument  against.  See 
Military. 

— Motherhood  and.  See  Mother- 
hood. 

— Ministers   for  and  against.     See 
Ministers,  Church  and  Sermons. 
— Morality  through,   xxvi ;    18,   22, 
24,  39,  43,  67,  115,  120,  136,  308. 
— Municipal.      See   Municipal    Suf- 
frage. 

— Nature  and,  limitations  of,  53 ; 
Mrs.  Stanton  on  balance  of  forces, 
58;  nature  opposes,  94;  can  not  re- 
verse laws  of,  100;  can  be  trusted, 
168;  same,  247;  severe  lessons  of, 
209. 

—Need  of,  46,  69,  84,  88;  Mrs.  Wal- 
lace on,  119;  125,  134;  to  offset  for- 
eign vote,   148;    153;    Senate    Com. 
report,  156;  by  wives  and  mothers, 
161 ;    168;    193;   244;   by   city   and 
State,   306;    by    home,   school   and 
municipality,   379;   by  the   Govern- 
ment, 429;  433. 
— Negroes  and.    See  Negroes. 
— Non-partisanship  of  demand,  38, 
80,   81,    143,    173;    debate   at    nat'l. 
conv.  of  '97,  280;  344;  409. 
— Opposition  to.    See  Introduction ; 
of  church,  State,  home  and  society, 
Mrs.  Stanton  on,  177 ;  ignorance  of, 
276;  great  obstacles,  371.    See  also 
Liquor  Dealers,  Remonstrants,  Con- 
gressional Debates  and  Reports. 
— Organization  for.    See  Organiza- 
tion. 

— Petitions  for.     See  Petitions. 
— Philosophy    of,    Mrs.    Colby    on, 
254.    See  also  Ethics. 
— Pioneers  of.    See  Pioneers. 
— Progress    of.      See    Progre'ss    of 
Worn.  Suff.  and  Equal  Rights. 
— Protection  of,   17;    Mrs.   Stanton 
on,  41 ;  44-6,  51,  59,  74,  99,  107,  122, 
168,   245,   378,  413;   Higginson  on, 
424;  426;  428. 

— Qualifications  for,  Sen.  Blair  on, 
87-91 ;  physical,  51 ;  94  et  seq.  See 
also  Military. 

—Right  of.    See  Right,  Suffrage  a. 
— School.    See  School  Suffrage. 
— Science   of,    scientific    aspect,   by 
Mrs.  Gage,  28. 
— Sermons  on.    See  Sermons. 
— South  and.    See  South. 


1 120 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


— State's   Rights  and.     See   State's 

Rights. 

— Taxation  and.    See  Taxation  and 

Taxpayers'  Suffrage. 

—Temperance   through,    xxvi;    18; 

Bishop    Simpson  on,  24;  43;    Miss 

Willard's    plea,    141 ;    res.    against 

liquor  selling  at  World's  Fair,  186; 

196. 

— in  Territories.     See  chapters  on 

Territories. 

— Testimony   for.     See  Testimony. 

— Universal,        approved,        xxvii ; 

Cong.    Com.    rep.,    54;    same,    82; 

Mrs.    Hooker   on,    115;    257;    258; 

285;  369- 

— War  and.    See  War. 

SUFFRAGE,  WOMAN,  miscellaneous, 
full  resume  of,  see  Introduction. 
Amount  now  possessed  and  how 
obtained,  xxvii,  34,  461.  See  also 
chapters  of  States  and  Territories 
under  head  of  Suffrage.  Why  de- 
nied to  woman,  xiv  et  seq. ;  effect 
on  politics,  xix ;  obstacles  to,  xx 
et  seq. ;  future  prospects,  xxvi  et 
seq. ;  where  taken  away,  xxvii,  674, 
968;  attempt  of  women  to  vote 
under  I4th  Amend.,  3  et  seq. ;  ca- 
pacity for,  13 ;  evolution  of,  18 ; 
Mrs.  Spencer  on,  308;  scientific 
view  of,  28,  90;  practical  experi- 
ence, see  Testimony,  chapters  on 
States  where  women  vote,  also  Sen. 
Palmer  on,  68,  Sen.  Dolph  on,  103; 
dangers  of.  Sen.  Brown  on,  96  et 
seq.,  Sen.  Vest  on,  105  et  seq.,  999 
et  seq. ;  danger  of  withholding, 
Mrs.  Stanton  on,  119,  139,  Mrs. 
Wallace  on,  172;  unequal  struggle 
for,  Mrs.  Stanton  on,  139,  338; 
men's  indifference  to,  187;  peaceful 
effort  for,  231,  245;  industrial 
emancip.  leads  to,  Carroll  D. 
Wright  on,  215;  man  improved  by, 
391 ;  immense  work  of  a  few  for, 
449.  See  Vote,  and  Presidential, 
Suffrage ;  also  chapter  on  Great 
Britain  and  her  Colonies  and  Chap. 
LXXIV. 

SUNDAY  OBSERVANCE,  Mrs.  Stanton 
on,  166;  186;  217. 

SUPREME  COURT  DECISIONS,  U.  S., 
Dred  Scott  case  defining  citizens, 
4,  78;  on  Virginia  L.  Minor's  at- 
tempt to  vote,  5;  Slaughter  House 
Cases,  5;  Yarbrough  on  Federal 
Stiff.,  8;  on  I4th  amend.,  79;  144; 
165 ;  against  right  of  women  to 
practice  law,  153;  on  woman's 
right  to  vote,  153;  recognizing 


slavery,    165;    Justices  of,   favoring 
worn,  suff.,  1076. 

— State,  on  attempt  of  Miss  An- 
thony, Mrs.  Virginia  L.  Minor  and 
other  worn,  to  vote,  4  et  seq. ;  on 
Federal  Suffrage  in  Kellar  case 
(Ills).  10;  on  property  rights  of 
women  in  Calif.,  502;  on  worn, 
suff.  in  Calif.,  504;  on  worn.  suff. 
amend,  in  Ida.,  272,  593 ;  on  wom- 
an's right  to  vote,  to  practice 
law  and  to  sell  liquor  in  Ind.,  621-2, 
626;  on  Munic.  Suff.  in  Mich., 
765 ;  on  Sch.  Suff.  in  N.  J.,  830 ; 
on  Sch.  Suff.  in  N.  Y.,  867;  same 
in  O.,  883 ;  women's  voting  on  con- 
stitn.  in  Utah,  948;  on  worn.  suff. 
in  Wash.,  968-9,  1096;  in  Wis., 
990;  Justices  of,  favoring  worn, 
suff.,  Del.,  565;  Ida.,  593",  1089; 
Kas.,  433,  646;  Wy.,  1090-1-2. 

TASMANIA,  chapter  on,  1033. 

TAXATION,  without  representation, 
xxxi ;  in  Mass.,  34;  38 ;  65 ;  66 ; 
97 ;  148 ;  of  women  in  N.  Y.,  Mass, 
and  Tenn.,  240;  in  Ga.,  242;  in 
N.  Y.,  247,  313,  851 ;  of  women  helps 
pay  Legislators,  374;  women  should 
be  relieved  of  until  enf  ranch.,  376; 
Chicago  Teachers'  Fed.  compels 
taxation  of  corporations,  61 1 ;  763 ; 
in  Phila.,  900. 

TAXPAYERS'  SUFFRAGE,  States  where 
possessed  by  women,  461.  See  chap- 
ters for  those  States  under  Suffrage. 
— in  La.,  681 ;  in  Miss.,  787 ;  in 
Mont,.  799;  in  N.  Y.,  869.  See  also 
Iowa,  635. 

TEACHERS,  see  Education,  Public 
Schools  and  Universities. 

TERRITORIES,  demand  for  worn,  suff. 
in,  417 ;  appeals  to  Constit'l.  Convs. 
of  Dak.,  Wash.,  Mont-  and  Tdano, 
439;  Mr.  Blackwell  visits  them  in 
interest  of  worn,  suff.,  433 ;  have  a 
right  to  control  suff.,  1003.  See 
Territorial  chapters. 

TESTIMONY,  in  favor  of  worn,  suff., 
from  Colorado,  239,  268.  283,  302-3, 
338.  356.  383 ;  Kansas,  191 ;  Utah, 
261,  283;  U.  S.  Sen.  Cannon  on,  304; 
St.  Sen.  Martha  Hughes  Cannon  on, 
319;  Washington,  U.  S.  Sen.  Palm- 
er on,  68:  U.  S.  Sen.  Dolph  on. 
103,  421,  1096-8;  in  Wyoming,  U. 
S.  Sen.  Palmer  on,  68,  U.  S.  Sen. 
Carey  on,  117,  181,  200,  debate  on 
admission  to  Statehood,  998  et  seq. 
See  Statistics,  also  Testimony  from 
Worn.  Suff.  States,  beginning  p. 
1085,  State  chapters  for  Colorado, 


INDEX    OF   SUBJECTS. 


II2I 


Idaho,  Kansas,  Utah  and  Wyoming 
and  pp.  1027-28. 

UNIVERSITIES  AND  COLLEGES,  large 
number  of  women  in,  xxii;  wom- 
en on  faculties,  355;  Emma  Wil- 
lard's  school,  geometry  in,  355 ; 
Mt.  Holyoke,  Latin  in,  355 ;  first 
Boston  High  School,  355 ;  President 
Eliot  on  girls  in  Boston  Latin 
School  and  Radcliffe,  355 ;  Johns 
Hopkins  Medical,  700;  Wellesley 
students  for  worn,  suff.,  714;  teach- 
ers for,  716;  same,  726;  Smith, 
same,  716;  Girton  and  Newnham 
(Eng.),  same,  1015;  woman  suff- 
rage in,  709;  Radcliffe,  355,  749; 
Columbia,  871 ;  Rochester,  871 ; 
Brown,  918-20;  Oberlin,  884;  Anti- 
och,  885 ;  State,  closed  to  worn., 
966;  open  to  women  in  Gr.  Brit., 
1024;  in  other  countries,  1038  et 
seq. ;  presidents  of,  favoring  worn, 
suff.,  1079.  See  also  Education. 

UTAH,  adopts  worn,  suff.,  xxi ;  252 ; 
visit  of  Miss  Anthony  and  Miss 
Shaw  in  '95,  253;  welcomed  by 
Nat'l.  Ass'n.,  260;  organiz'n  for 
worn,  suff.,  262;  gift  to  Miss  An- 
thony, 390.  See  State  chapter,  also 
Statistics  and  Testimony. 

VICTORIA,  chapter  on,  1031. 

VOICES,  of  women,  240;  334-5. 

VOTE,  woman's,  political  complexion 
of,  xviii,  not  wanted  by  politicians 
and  others,  xix;  best  women 
would  not  vote,  50;  they  would, 
97;  they  would  not,  98;  women  do 
vote,  93,  117,  181 ;  first  voted  in 
N.  J.,  19,  830;  future  woman  will 
be  urged  to  vote,  211.  See  Statis- 
tics, Suffrage,  Testimony,  and- chap- 
ters for  Colorado,  Idaho,  Kansas, 
Ute.h,  Washington,  Wyoming,  Aus- 
tralia and  New  Zealand, 
—of  nat'l.  conv.  on  carrying  worn, 
suff.  into  church,  77;  on  Woman's 
Bible,  263;  in  U.  S.  Senate  on 
amend,  for  worn,  suff.,  112. 

WAGES,  see  Labor  and  Statistics. 

WILLS,  see  p.  455  and  Laws. 

WAR,  hated  by  women,  xix,  84, 
208;  man's  part  compared  to  wom- 
an's, 115;  woman's  part  in  war, 
161-2;  first  to  see  advantages  of 
peace,  208;  pathetic  war  for  suff., 
231,  245;  war  should  have  consent 
of  ^women,  335 ;  women  left  to 
fight  alone,  338;  badly  needed  in 
Span.  Am.,  339 ;  women  and  the 


South  African,  391.  See  Military 
and  Soldiers. 

— Civil,  developed  woman,  2;  re- 
sults frittered  away,  159;  woman's 
part  in,  195. 

WASHINGTON  CITY,  plan  to  beautify, 
xxxii;  entertains  nat'l.  suff.  convs. 
from  '69,  14;  Miss  Anthony's  pre- 
ference as  a  place  for  holding 
convs.,  218,  351.  Sec  accounts  of 
nat'l.  convs.,  Chaps.  II-XXII,  also 
chapter  on  District  of  Columbia. 

WASHINGTON  TERRITORY,  xxi;  xxix; 
Sen.  Dolph  on  enfranch.  of  its  wom- 
en, 102 ;  their  disfranch.  denounced, 
155;  full  account  of  this,  1096-8. 
See  State  chapter,  also  Statistics 
and  Testimony. 

WISCONSIN,  Sen.  Suff.  in,  xv;  rule 
of  foreigners,  148.  See  State  chapter. 

WOMANLINESS,  52;  88;  95;  106;  160; 
Mrs.  Stanton  on,  165 ;  225 ;  285 ; 
319;  1086  et  seq. 

WOMAN'S  CHRISTIAN  TEMPERANCE 
UNION,  petition  for  suff.,  no;  123; 
Miss  Willard  represents  before  Sen. 
Com.  of  '88,  141-2;  worn,  suff:  in 
'81,  215;  at  nat'l.  conv.  of  '97,  278. 
For  bills  in  Legislatures  see  pp. 
451-2',  and  various  Statec  chapters 
under  head  of  Legislative  Action; 
also  Canada,  New  Zealand  and  Tas- 
mania; for  founding  and  work, 
1045  et  seq. ;  attitude  towards  worn, 
suff.,  1070. 

WOMAN'S  RIGHTS  CONVENTIONS,  de- 
mands of  first  one  nearly  all  grant- 
ed, xiii;  earliest  ones  held,  14;  4Oth 
annivers.,  125 ;  204 ;  soth  anniv.,  288 ; 
descrip.  of,  298-9;  compared  to 
Bunker  Hill,  etc.,  397;  1043. 

WORKINGMEN,  how  enfranchised,  xvii , 
same,  305;  in  Great  Brit.,  311;  in- 
jured by  disfranch:  women,  312.  See 
Labor. 

WORKINGWOMEN,  relation  of  worn, 
suff.  to.  70;  Nat'l.  Ass'n.  demands 
suff.  for,  216.  See  Labor  and  Sta- 
tistics. 

WYOMING,  adopts  worn,  suff.,  xxi; 
Nat'l.  Ass'n.  congratulates  6n  ad- 
mission, 176;  gavel  from,  238;  252; 
visit  of  Miss  Anthony  and  Miss 
Shaw,  253;  compared  to  Switzer- 
land, 282;  gift  and  trib.  to  Miss 
Anthony  on  8oth  birthday,  400; 
petits.  Cong,  for  i6th  amend.,  448; 
debate  in  Cong,  on  admission,  998 
et  seq.  See  State  chapter,  also  Sta- 
tistics and  Testimony. 


VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF.— 71 


INDEX   OF   PROPER   NAMES. 


In  order  that  the  following  Index  may  not  be  overburdened  with  names, 
it  has  seemed  best  not  to  include  those  of  officers  and  workers  in  the  vari- 
ous States  unless  they  are  listed  in  some  capacity  elsewhere.  While  this  de- 
cision causes  injustice  in  some  cases,  it  will  be  approved  when  it  is  considered 
that  in  the  Massachusetts  chapter,  for  instance,  about  600  different  individuals 
are  mentioned,  some  of  them  a  score  of  times ;  in  those  of  New  York  and  Cal- 
ifornia, over  300  each,  and  in  that  of  Vermont,  including  only  seven  pages, 
nearly  150.  With  half-a-dozen  exceptions  the  State  chapters  are  very  short 
and  it  will  require  only  a  few  minutes  for  the  reader  to  find  any  name  desired. 
Most  of  the  prominent  State  workers  are  mentioned  elsewhere  and  therefore 
are  listed.  Even  with  this  arrangement  the  Index  contains  almost  1200  names. 


Abbott,  Dr.  Lyman,  742. 

Abbott,  Mrs.  Lyman,  organizes  anti- 

suff.   soc.,  850. 
Abbott,    Merrie    Hoover,    contest   for 

office  of  pros,  att'y-.  77°- 
Aberdeen,    Ishbel,    Countess   of,   301 ; 

compliments  Amer.  worn.,  353,  354. 
Adams,  Abigail,  on  female  education, 

354;  courtship,  422. 
Adams,  Gov.  Alva,  302;  talks  suff.  to 

Fed.  of  Clubs,  530;  533;  on  worn. 

suff.   in  Col.,    1087. 
Adams,   Judge   Francis  G.,  641 ;    sta- 
tistics of  worn.  suff.  in  Kas.,  660. 
Adams,  Pearl,  27. 

Adams,  Samuel,  on  representation,  66. 
Addams,  Jane,  608;  718. 
Adkinson,    Florence    M.,    432;    617; 

707. 

Adsit,  Mrs.  Allen  C,  322. 
Alabama,  names  for,  Chap.  XXV. 
Alcott,  Louisa  M.,  in  favor  of  worn. 

suff.,  411;  431;  702. 
Alden,  Cynthia  Westover,  1052. 
Alderson,   Mary  Long,  writes   Mont. 

chap..  796. 

Aldridge,  George  W.,  845. 
Alford,  William  H.,  488. 
Allen,   C.   E.,   M.   C.,  260;  on   worn. 

suff.  platform,  261 ;  949, 
Allen,  Mrs.  C.  E.,  260. 
Allen.    U.    S.    Sen.    John    B.,    158; 

favors  worn,  suff.,  162;  reports  in 

favor,  201. 

Altgeld,  Gov.  John   P.    (Ills.),  606. 
Ambrose,  James  Clement,  802. 


Ames,  Rev.  Charles  G.,  425;  in  Mass., 

707  et  al. ;    712. 
Ames,  Fanny  B.,  717. 
Ames,     Gov.     Oliver     (Mass.),    259; 

433 ;  recom.  worn.  suff.  in  message, 

706;  same,  723;  718;  727. 
Amies.  Olive  Pond,  201. 
Anderson,     Mrs.     Garrett,      M.     D.> 

(Eng.),  1015. 

Anderson,  Martha  Scott,  331 ;  774. 
Anderson,    Naomi.  490;   646. 
Anderson,  St.  Rep.  Sarah  A.  (Utah), 

953- 

Andrews,  Bishop  E.  G.,  206. 

Andrews,  Elisha  Benjamin,  Pres. 
Brown  Univ.,  works  for  admis.  of 
worn.,  919. 

Andrews,  St.  Speaker  N.  L.,  worn, 
suff.  in  Wy.,  1091. 

Anneke,  Mathilde  F.,  61 ;  work  in 
Wis.,  987. 

Anthony,  Col.  Daniel  Reed,  174;  645. 

Anthony,  Gov.  George  T.  (Kas.), 
opp.  worn,  suff.,  649. 

Anthony,  U.  S.  Sen.  Henry  B..  24 ;  rep. 
in  favor  of  worn.  suff..  47;  61 ;  89. 

Anthony  Lucy  E.,  239;  392;  in  Calif, 
camp'n.,  487:  707;  900. 

Anthony,  Mary  S.,  298;  work  in  N. 
Y.,  849  et  al. 

Anthony,  Susan  B..  prepares  Hist,  of 
Worn.  Suff.,  Ill :  rec.  legacy  for, 
V;  purchases  rights  of  Mrs.  Stan- 
ton  and  Mrs.  Gage  and  puts  book 
in  libraries,  resigns  presidency  of 
Nat'l.  Assn.,  VI ;  secures  money 


1 122 


INDEX    OF    PROPER    NAMES. 


1123 


for  Vol.  IV  and  invites  Mrs.  Har- 
per to  write  it,  VII;  demands  on 
her  for  inform.,  IX;  tries  to  pre- 
vent "male"  in  Nat'l.  Constit.,  2; 
trial  for  voting,  4;  no  faith  in  at- 
tempt for  Fed.  Suff.,  n;  winter 
res.  in  '  Washt'n.,  12;  forms  Nat'l. 
Ass'n.,  14;  issues  call  for  conv.  of 
'84,  15;  17;  arouses  interest  of 
Eng.  worn.,  21 ;  disgrace  of  disfran- 
chisement,  27;  never  wrote  ad- 
dresses, 28;  writes  to  112  M.  C.'s, 
355  36;  pleads  for  i6th  Amend,  be- 
fore U.  S.  Senate  Com.,  40;  before 
House  Com.,  42;  56;  opp.  relig.  de- 
bate in  worn.  suff.  conv.,  59;  62; 
describes  first  suff.  meet.  in 
Washt'n.,  70;  71;  77;  on  Sup.  Ct. 
decisions,  78;  arrested  under  Fed. 
Law  for  voting,  79;  81 ;  on  con- 
gress'l  action  on  worn,  suff.,  112; 
114;  world  needed  her,  120;  orig- 
inates Int'l  Council,  124;  issues 
call,  126;  edits  report,  127;  opens 
Council,  133 ;  135 ;  136 ;  elected  vice- 
pres.,  137;  before  Senate  com.  in 
'88,  140;  opens  conv.  of  '89,  144; 
150;  describes  efforts  to  vote  under 
I4th  Amend.,  152;  conv.  res.  on  out- 
rage of  her  trial,  155  ;  at  Com.  hear- 
ings, 156;  worn,  in  war,  162;  7Oth 
birthday,  163;  demands  free  plat^ 
form,  169;  as  presiding  officer,  173; 
elected  vice-pres.  of  united  ass'ns., 
174;  puts  Int'l  Council  Report  in 
libraries,  175;  opens  conv.  of  '91, 
176;  180;  Miss  Shaw  tells  treatment 
of  in  S.  D.  Rep.  Conv.,  182;  184; 
185;  elected  pres.  Nat'l.  Am.  Ass'n., 
186;  winter  home  at  Riggs  House, 
i88j  before  House  Com.,  189;  com- 
pliments Sen.  Hoar,  201;  202; 
opens  memorial  service  of  '93,  203; 
young  worn,  should  apprec.  pio- 
neers, 204;  gains  of  forty  years, 
207;  World's  Fair  Bd.  Lady  M'g'rs., 
21 1 ;  on  Bd.  M'g'rs.  N.  Y.  St.  In- 
dust.  Sch.,  213;  refused  seat  on  W. 
C.  T.  U.  platform  in  '81,  215;  on 
publishing  paper,  216;  opp.  to  convs. 
outside  of  Washt'n.,  218;  flag  pre- 
sent, by  Col.  women,  222 ;  every 
inch  of  ground  contested,  223 ;  Suff. 
Ass'n.  knows  no  section,  creed  or 
party,  224;  spicy  introductions, 
225 ;  227 ;  part  in  securing  World's 
Fair  Bd.  Lady  M'g'rs.,  233;  worn, 
never  can  vote  under  present  Con- 
stit'n.,  234 ;  introd.  Kate  Field,  235 ; 
236 ;  rare  qualities  as  presid.  officer, 
238;  examples  of  repartee,  239,  40, 
41;  trib.  in  Atlanta  conv.,  241; 


young  worn,  know  it  all,  249;  an- 
nounces nat'l.  hdqrs.,  250;  spks.  in 
Southern  cities,  251 ;  forgets  prayer 
at  conv.,  252;  Miss  Shaw  tells  of 
their  visit  to  Western  cities,  253 ; 
Miss  A.  jokes  younger  worn,  on 
holding  her  bonnet,  on  getting 
crosswise  with  newspapers,  254; 
257;  spks.  at  mem.  serv.  of  '96,  260; 
birthday  luncheon,  262;  sp.  on 
Woman's  Bible,  263 ;  265 ;  before 
House  Com.  of  '96,  267;  26S;  at  DCS 
Moines  conv.  in  '97,  271 ;  sp.  at 
same,  272 ;  trib.  of  Leader,  273 ; 
on  desecrating  the  flag,  278;  279; 
on  partisanship,  281;  286;  287; 
opens  conv.  of  '98,  288;  birthday 
luncheon  in  '98,  291 ;  293;  with  Mrs. 
Hooker  at  conv.  of  '98,  296;  298; 
congrat.  on  78th  birthday,  300;  301 ; 
304;  318;  before  House  com.  of  '98, 
321 ;  sp.  at  conv.  of  '99,  on  worn, 
in  our  new  possessions,  325;  327; 
328;  331;  on  worn,  in  Hawaii,  333; 
on  women's  voices,  334;  335;  337; 
a  criminal,  339; 'all  worn,  can  help, 
341 ;  342 ;  decides  to  resign  presi- 
dency of  Nat'l.  Ass'n.,  349;  vigor  at 
conv.  of  1900,  350;  appearance  and 
opening  remarks,  Miss  Shaw  tells 
of  her  recep.  in  London,  and  relates 
funny  story,  351 ;  rep.  as  delegate  to 
Int'l.  Council  of  '99,  352;  describes 
recep.  by  Queen,  value  of  repre- 
senting something,  354;  introd.  Mr. 
Blackwell.  357;  359;  360;  364: 
clears  ass'n.  of  debt,  need  to  watch 
Congress,  365 ;  367 ;  sp.  before  Sen- 
ate com.  of  '99,  373;  asks  hearing 
for  "antis,"  381 ;  kindness  repudi- 
ated, 382-3;  courtesy  of  Pres.  and 
Mrs.  McKinley,  384;  urged  not  to 
resign  presidency,  385 ;  insists  upon 
doing  so,  res.  passed  by  ass'n.,  her 
response,  386;  always  in  office,  387: 
introd.  her  successor,  388;  elected 
hon.  pres.,  and  presented  with  birth- 
day gifts.  389;  Post  describes  occa- 
sion, 390;  391;  392;  introd.  her  old 
board  and  makes  farewell  sp.,  de- 
scription by  Post,  393;  8oth  birth- 
day celebration  in  Lafayette  opera 
house,  gifts  and  tributes,  her  ac- 
knowledgment, 394-404;  evening  re- 
cep. in  Corcoran  Art  Gallery,  de- 
scription of  Miss  Anthony,  hour  of 
triumph.  404-5 ;  426 ;  first  anp.  at 
nat'l.  polit.  conv.,  435 ;  at  Nat'l.  Re- 
pub,  conv.  in  '92,  436;  at  Nat'l. 
Popu.  conv.  in  '92,  437;  vast  numb, 
of  convs.  attended,  439;  political 
work  in  1900,  440;  443;  letters  to 


1 124 


HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


convs.,  445 ;  ad.  labor  convs.,  446 ; 
trib.  of  Brewers'  nat'l.  conv.,  447; 
in  Ala.,  465;  spks.  in  Ark.,  475;  at 
Calif.  Worn.  Cong.,  480;  482;  486; 
in  Calif,  camp'n.,  487;  same,  489; 
same,  490;  same,  500;  on  Mexicans 
in  Col.,  514;  517;  visits  Denver, 
530 ;  in  Conn.,  535 ;  546 ;  plan  of 
work  to  secure  suff.  amdt.,  547 ; 
lect  tour  of  S.  D.,  553;  554;  in  S. 
D.  camp'n.,  555;  Russian  voters  op- 
pose, goes  before  K.  of  L.  and 
Farmers'  Alliance,  556 ;  in  Ga.,  583 ; 
in  Ills.,  598 ;  telegram  to  Idaho,  590 ; 
in  Ind.,  615;  same,  616;  before  Ind. 
Legis.,  618;  in  Iowa,  629;  same, 
630;  work  in  Kas.,  640;  tour  of 
Kas.,  641 ;  in  Kas.  camp'n.,  643 ; 
same,  644 ;  645 ;  646 ;  648 ;  649 ;  hears 
of  munic.  worn.  suff.  in  Kas.,  651 ; 
in  New  Orleans,  6/8;  second  visit, 
679;  in  Maine,  690;  in  Baltimore, 
695 ;  in  Boston,  706 ;  708 ;  at  Adams, 
7i8;  755;  in  Mich.,  756;  same,  757; 
in  Ann  Arbor,  758 ;  before  Fed.  of 
Labor  in  Detroit,  759;  before  Mich. 
Legis.,  764 ;  in  Minn.,  772-3 ;  in  Mo., 
790;  welcome  from  children  in  St. 
Louis  and  banq.,  791-2;  in  .Neb., 
802-3;  in  Nev.,  810-11;  pioneer 
work  in  N.  Y.,  839;  welcome  home 
from  S.  D.,  841 ;  defends  pioneers, 
843 ;  welcome  home  from  Calif., 
844;  face  carved  in  N.  Y.  capitol, 
845 ;  846 ;  refused  by  N.  Y.  Repubs. 
as  delegate,  848;  work  in  N.  Y. 
const'l.  conv.,  849;  same,  851;  early 
legis.  work  in  N.  Y.,  852;  work  for 
equal  guardianship,  857 ;  last  ap.  be- 
fore N.  Y.  legis.  com.,  859;  secures 
admis.  of  girls  to  Roch.  Univ.,  871 ; 
in  Ore.,  892 ;  in  Penn.,  899 ;  in  R.  I., 
907;  910;  at  Pembroke  Hall,  Prov., 
920;  in  S.  C,  922;  in  Tenn.,  926; 
in  Utah,  936;  welcomes  Utah  worn., 
937 ;  in  Omaha,  939 ;  teleg.  to  Utah, 
942;  same,  944;  in  Utah,  947;  Utah 
ass'n.  presents  silk  dress,  950;  in 
Va.,  964 ;  in  Wis.,  985-6 ;  same,  989 ; 
995 ;  hears  deb.  on  Wy.,  1000 ;  hears 
of  its  admis.,  1003;  requests  cele- 
bration, 1004;  visits  Wy.,  1005;  1007. 

Arizona,  names  for,  Chap.  XXVI. 

Arkansas,  names  for,  Chap.  XXVII. 

Armstrong.  St.  Sen.  W.  W.,  for  worn, 
suff.  in  N.  Y.  Legis.,  859-61-62. 

Arthur,    President    Chester    A.,    re- 
ceives delegates,  18;  74. 

Ashman,  Judge  William  N.,  in  Del., 
564;  work  in  Penn.,  899;  904. 

Atchison,  Prof.  Rena  Michaels,  606. 


Athey,     Eunice     Pond,    287;     writes 
Idaho  chap.,  589;  in  Ore.,  892. 

Atkinson,  Gov.  W.  Y.  (Ga.),  583 5587. 

Atkinson,  Mrs.  W.  Y.,  251. 

Auckland,    Bishop    of    (N.    Z.),    for 
worn,  suff.,  1027. 

Auclert,  Hubertine   (France),  23;  27. 

Austin,  Dr.  Harriet  N.,  205. 

Australia,  1027  et  seq. 

Avery,  Rachel  Foster,  19 ;  27 ;  61 ;. 
124;  arranges  for  Int'l.  Council  of 
Worn.,  125;  issues  call,  126;  128; 
arranges  Miss  Anthony's  birthday 
celebr.,  163;  elected  secy,  united 
ass'ns.,  174;  rep.  of  Council,  175; 
218;  advoc.  movable  convs.,  219; 
rep.  on  Miss  Anthony's  efforts  for 
Bd.  of  Lady  Mgrs.,  232;  opens 
headqrs.,  257 ;  eulogy  of  Mr.  Sewall, 
259;  rep.  of  Atlanta  Expos.,  262; 
ass'n.  makes  gift  for  21  yrs.  as 
sec'y.,  387;  389;  443!  554;  in  Del., 
563;  at  Ga.  Expos.,  582;  work  for 
World's  Fair  Worn.  Cong.,  610;  in 
Kas.,  640-1;  contrib.  to  Kas.  cam- 
p'n, 642;  in  N.  J.,  826;  900. 

Avery,  Susan  Look,  612. 

B 

Babcock,  Elnora  Monroe,  press  work, 

326;    342;    press    rep.,    1900,    365; 

press  work  in  N.  Y.,  8^- 
Bacon,    Elizabeth    D.,    writes    Conn. 

chap.,  535;. 536. 
Bagby,  Fannie  M.,  18. 
Bagley,  Frances,  345. 
Bailey,  Hannah  J.,  201. 
Baker,  B.  P.,  417. 
Baker,  Charles  S.,  M.  C,  998. 
Balderston.      William,     319;      writes 

Idaho  chapter,  589;  trib.  to,  590. 
Balfour,  Hon.  A.  J.,  Premier  of  Eng- 
land, 1016;  1020. 
Balfour,  Lady  Frances   (Eng.),  pres. 

suff.  soc.,  1 020. 
Balgarnie,  Florence  (Eng.),  179;  642; 

708;  790. 
Ballard,  Adelaide,  271;  279;  work  in 

Iowa,  631 ;   803. 
Banker,    George    W.    and    Henrietta 

M.,  366. 
Banks,  Rev.  Louis  A.,  sp.  at  Amer. 

conv.  of  '86,  421;  in  R.  I.,  910;  in 

Vt,  957- 
Barber,  Gov.  Amos  W.,  on  worn.  suff. 

in  Wy.,  1007. 
Barrett,  Mrs.  L.  B.,  410. 
Barrows.  Anna,  household  professions 

for  worn..  357. 
Barrows,  Isabel  C,  Miss  Anthony  as 

philanthropist,  354;  739. 


INDEX    OF    PROPER    NAMES. 


1125 


Barrows,  Samuel  J.,  M.  C,  297;  703; 

712. 

Barry,  James  K.,  479. 
Barry,  Leonora  M.    (See  Lake). 
Barry,  St.  Rep.  Dr.  Mary  F.   (Col.), 

523- 
Bartlett,     Rev.     Caroline     J.      (See 

Crane). 
Bartol,  Emma  J.,  donat.  to  Vol.  IV 

Hist,  of  Worn.  Suff.,  VII;  900. 
Barton,    Clara,    at    Int'l    Council    of 

Worn.,  136;  150;  205;  393;  trib.  to 

Mrs.    Gage,    429 ;    for    worn,    suff., 

569  5  576 ;  in  Boston,  705  ;  895 ;  911; 

pres.    Red  Cross   Ass'n.,   1048. 
Bascom,  Emma  C.,  61 ;  75. 
Bates,  St.  Supt.  Pub.  Instruct.,  Emma 

(N.  D.),  551- 
Bates,  Lieut.  Gov.  John  L.    (Mass.), 

for  worn,  suff.,  718. 
Bates,  Dr.  Mary  H.  Barker,  341. 
Bates,  Octavia  W.,  on  worn,  in  our 

new  possessions,  331. 
Battersea,  Lady  (Eng.),  354. 
Beasley,  Marie  Wilson,  322. 
Bebel,  August  (Germany),  329. 
Beck,  U.   S.   Senator  James   B.,  opp. 

worn,  suff.,  157. 

Becker.  Lydia  (Eng.),  22;  1015;  1023. 
Begg,  Faithfull,  M.  P.   (Eng.),  work 

for  worn,  suff.,  1017,  1018. 
Begole,  Gov.  Josiah  W.  (Mich.),  755. 
Belden,    Evelyn    H.,    worn,    and   war, 

339J  632;  legis.  work  in  Iowa,  634; 

774;  804. 
Belford,   James  B.,  M.   C.,  spks.   for 

worn,  suff.,  32. 
Bell,  John  C.,  M.  C.,  on  worn.  suff. 

in  Col.,  390;  524. 
Benjamin,  Mrs.  A.  S.,  324. 
Bennett,  Sallie  Clay,  6;  16;  on  Bible 

for  worn,  suff.,  71 ;  before  U.  S.  Sen. 

Com.,   138;   same,    162;   174;   worn. 

suff.  under  Const'n,  234;  235;  290; 

work  in  Ky.,  665. 
Benson    (Archbishop  of  Canterbury) 

Mrs.,  petit,  for  worn,  suff.,  1015. 
Besant,  Annie  (Eng.),  220;  709. 
Beveridge,  U.   S.   Sen.  Albert  J.,  for 

worn,  suff.,  616. 

Bieber-Bohm,  Hanna  (Germany),  301. 
Biggs,  Caroline  Ashurst  (Eng.),  22; 

27;  176;  1012;  1015. 
Bingham,   Chief  Justice   Edward   F., 

(D.  C),  574- 

Birney,   Mrs.   Theodore  W.,   1052. 
Bissell,   Emily   P.,   fears   chivalry  of 

men,  382;  in  Ore.,  895. 
Bissell,  Mrs.  M.  R.,  323. 
Bittenbender,  Ada  M.,  802 ;  808. 
Blackburn,    Helen,    319;    369:    writes 

chap,  for  Great  Britain,  1012. 


Blackstone,  commentaries,  456. 

Blackwell,  Alice  Stone,  156;  173-4; 
sp.  before  I'.  S.  Sen.  Com.,  197;  218; 
rep.  of  conv.  of  '94,  221;  235;  rep. 
of  conv.  of  '95,  236 ;  243 ;  263 ;  276 ; 
at  conv.  of  '97,  281 ;  291 ;  before 
House  com.  of  '98,  320;  357;  an- 
swers "remonstrants"  at  com.  hear- 
ings, 383;  chap,  on  Amer.  Suff. 
Ass'n.,  406;  443;  furnishes  material 
for  Mnss.  chap.,  701;  712  et  al. ;  in 
N.  H.,  816;  in  N.  Y.,  844;  before 
N.  Y.  legis.  com.,  863;  920;  in  Vt., 
957- 

Blackwell,  Rev.  Antoinette  Brown, 
128;  on  first  Worn.  Rights  conv., 
292;  298;  337;  mem.  res.  at  conv. 
of  '99,  344;  425;  426;  in  Boston, 
708 ;  work  in  N.  J.,  820  et  al. ;  in  N. 
Y.,  844. 

Blackwell,  Dr.  Elizabeth,  300;  320; 
355;  in  Eng.,  1015. 

Blackwell,  Dr.  Emily,  707. 

Blackwell,  Henry  B.,  at  conv.  of  '90, 
169;  173;  183;  189;  205;  207;  reads 
last  let.  of  Lucy  Stone  to  conv.  of 
'93»  213;  219;  226;  reminis.  of  Lucy 
Stone,  227;  opp.  Fed.  Suff.,  234; 
235 ;  worn.  suff.  and  negro  problem, 
246 ;  259 ;  263 ;  265 ;  at  conv.  of  '97, 
280;  on  Presidential  Suff.,  286;  294  r 
298;  Worn.  Suff.  and  Home,  315; 
on  worn,  in  uncivilized  nations,  332; 
attraction  of  early  convs.,  357;  res. 
on  Miss  Anthony's  resignation,  386; 
408;  reports  res.,  409;  415;  417; 
418 ;  425 ;  value  of  woman's  vote, 
429;  at  Nat'l.  Repub.  cony,  of  '96, 
439;  work  for  Ariz.,  470;  in  N.  D., 
545J  553;  in  S.  D.  camp'n.,  555;  in 
Ind.,  614;  in  Iowa,  628-9;  same, 
630;  in  Kas.,  638;  same,  640;  in 
Maine,  689;  sec'y.  N.  E.  and  Mass. 
Ass'ns.,  701 ;  work  in  Mass.,  704  et 
al. ;  anniv.  Boston  Tea  Party,  913 ; 
at  Nat'l.  Conv.  Rep.  Clubs  in  '93, 
713;  same  in  '94,  714;  7Oth  birthday, 
715;  720;  legis.  work  in  Mass.,  721; 
in  Mich.,  755;  759;  in  Minn.,  772; 
in  St.  Louis,  791;  ;n  Mont..  797;  in 
N.  H.,  816;  in  N.  J.,  827;  in  N.  Y., 
842;  in  Penn.,  899;  in  R.  L,  907; 
same.  910;  in  Vt,  957-8;  same,  960; 
in  Wash.,  969;  973. 

Blaine,  U.  S.  Sen.  James  G.,  325. 

Blair,  U.  S.  Sen.  Henry  W.,  10;  24; 
signs  fav.  rep.  on  worn,  stiff.,  47 ; 
great  sp.  in  U.  S.  Senate  in  favor  of 
enfranch.  worn.,  86;  93;  in  Senate 
debate,  no;  sp.  on  Fed.  Suff.  for 
Worn.,  144;  debt  of  worn,  to,  157; 


1 126 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


right  of  worn,  to  suff.,  162;  164;  in 
N.  H.,  815;  816. 

Blake,  Lillie  Devereux,  at  conv.  of  '84, 
17;  before  U.  S.  Sen.  Com.,  39;  57; 
plan  of  work,  62;  Rights  of  Men, 
114;  123;  150;  173;  182;  184;  221; 
trib.  to  Lucy  Stone,  226;  242;  243; 
legislative  rep.,  248;  251;  263;  265; 
290;  298;  voting  of  soldiers,  335; 
legis.  rep.  at  conv.  of  '99,  342; 
const'l.  argument  before  House 
com.,  1900,  374;  withdraws  as  can- 
didate for  pres.,  387;  at  Nat'l.  Re- 
pub,  conv.  of  '96,  439;  in  Calif., 
478;  513;  in  N.  D.,  546;  553;  in  N. 
J.,  822;  assists  on  N.  Y.  chap., 
work  in  N.  Y.,  839  et  al. ;  legis. 
work  in  N.  Y.,  853  et  al. ;  Pilgrim 
Moth.  Dinner,  873;  in  N.  C,  874; 
920;  in  S.  C.,  922. 

Blanchard,  Henry,  D.  D.,  689;  705. 

Blankenburg,  Lucretia  Longshore,  18; 
227 ;  231 ;  in  N.  J.,  826 ;  writes  Penn. 
chap.,  work  in  Penn.,  898  et  al. ; 
work  for  guardianship  law,  902. 

Blatch,  Harriot  Stanton  (Eng.),  135; 
at  conv.  of  '90,  167 ;  before  U.  S. 
Senate  com.  of  '98,  worn,  and  eco- 
nomics, 310;  worn.  suff.  in  England, 
368 ;  worn,  and  war,  391 ;  brings  her 
mother's  greeting  on  Miss  An- 
thony's birthday,  402 ;  in  N.  Y.,  845 ; 
same,  861. 

Bleckley,  Chief  Justice  Logan  E. 
(Ga.),  585- 

Blinn,  Nellie  Holbrook,  480;  legisla- 
tive work,  484;  617. 

Bliss,  Gov.  Aaron  T.   (Mich.),  770. 

Blodgett,  Mrs.  Delos  A.,  322. 

Bloomer,  Amelia,  250;  295. 

Bloomer,  Nevada,  case  for  worn.  suff. 
in  Wash..  968;  same,  1098. 

Blount,  Lucia  E.,  183. 

Blue,  Richard  W.,  M.  C,  150;  for 
worn.  sufF.  in  Kas.;  422;  649. 

Bogelot,  Isabelle  (France),  135. 

Bok,  Edward  W.,  229. 

Bolles,  Ellen  M.,  200;  711;  720;  work 
in  R.  I.,  908  et  al. 

Bowditch,  Hon.  William  I.,  23;  702; 
713. 

Bowles,  Rev.  Ada  C,  61 ;  128;  425; 
723;  772;  in  R.  I.,  910;  in  Vt.,  957. 

Boyd,  Annie  Caldwell,  writes  W.  Va. 
chap.,  work  in  W.  Va.,  980  et  al. 

Boyd,  Gov.  James  E.  (Neb.),  opp. 
worn,  suff.,  212. 

Boyden.  Sarah  J.,  746. 

Boyer,  Ida  Porter,  291 ;  press  work 
in  Penn..  808. 

Boyer,  Sarah  A.,  262. 

Brackett,  Gov.  J.  Q.  A.  (Mass.),  718. 


Bradford,  Mary  C.  C.,  279;  at  conv, 

of    '97,  282;   284;   effects   of  worn. 

suff.  in  Col.,  356;  368;  in  Col.,  514; 

in  Del.,  564;    in  Ida.,  592;   in    La., 

680;  in  Md.,  696;  in  Miss.,  783;  in 

St.  Louis.  791 ;  in  N.  J.,  825,  826 ; 

in  Penn.,  899;  in  Utah,  947. 
Bradford,  Atty.-Gen.  S.  B.,  660 :  762. 
Bradley.  Gov.  William  O.  (Ky.),  673. 
Bradwell,  Myra  B.,  contest  for  right 

of  worn,  to  practice  law,  152;  227; 

250;  295. 

Bray,  Olive  P.,  417;  639. 
Breeden,  Rev.  H.  O.,  welcomes  nat'l. 

conv.  to  Des  Moines,  270. 
Brehm,  Marie,  619. 
Brent,   Margaret,  363;   first  worn,   to 

ask  suff.,  695. 

Bright,  Jacob,  M.  P.,  22 ;  353 ;  1020. 
Bright,  Mrs.  Jacob,  22. 
Bristol,  Augusta  Cooper,  617. 
Bristol.  Rev.  Frank  M.,  366. 
Broderick,  Case,  M.  C.,  231. 
Broderick,  Jennie,  220. 
Brooks,  Mrs.  (Neb.),  77. 
Brooks,     Bishop     Phillips,    203;     for 

worn,  suff.,  704;  911. 
Brotherton,  Alice  Williams,  164. 
Brougham,  Lord,  292. 
Brown,  Corinne  S.,  184. 
Brown,  Mrs.  F.  A.,  1058. 
Brown,  Gov.  John  Young  (Ky.),  670. 
Brown,  U.  S.  Senator  Joseph  E.,  rep. 

against  worn,   suff.,  47;  90;   sp.   in 

U.  S.  Senate  against  worn,  suff.,  93 ; 

Mrs.  Stanton's  comment,  113,  157. 
Brown,   Martha   McClellan,    17;    173; 

428. 
Brown,  U.  S.  Dist.  Atty.  Melville  C., 

worn.  suff.  in  Wy.,  994;  997;  1091. 
Brown,  Rev.  Olympia,  27 ;  61 ;  75 ;  sp. 

on   Rule   of   Foreigners,    147;    156; 

157;   164;  171;   173;  in  S.  D.  cam- 

P'n-,  555;  630;  in  Minn.,  772;  writes 

Wis.  chap.,  work  in  Wis.,  985  et  al. 
Brown,   Mrs.  William  Thayer,  610. 
Browne,  Thomas   M.,    M.   C.,  rep.  in 

favor  of  worn,  suff.,  52. 
Brownell.  Dean  Louise,  353. 
Bruce,   U.    S.    Sen.    Blanche    K.,   for 

worn,  suff.,  231. 
Bryan,  William  J.,  439. 
Buck,  Rev.  Florence,  297. 
Buckley,   James    M.,   D.   D.,  opp.   to 

worn,  in  ministry,  207;  opp.  worn. 

suff.   at    Chautauqua,   842. 
Buckley,  Dean  Julia,  sch.  work  in  N. 

J.,  834. 
Budd,    Gov.    James   H.    (Cal.),   480; 

486;  504. 

Btiell.  Caroline  B.,  256. 
Burns,  Frances  E.,  324. 


INDEX    OF    PROPER    NAMES. 


1127 


Burr,  Frances  Ellen,  rep.  nat'l  conv. 

of  '85,  58:  174;  in  Conn.,  536. 
Burrows,    Frances    P.     (Mrs.    Julius 

C),  322;  395;  568;  575. 
Burt,  Mary  T.,  work  in  N.  Y.  camp'n., 

850  et  al. ;  856. 
Bush,  Abigail,  let.  to  conv.  of  '98,  298 ; 

345- 
Butler,  Gov.  Benjamin  F.  (Mass.),  on 

right  of  worn,  to  vote,  204 ;  718. 
Butt,  Hala  Hammond,  before  House 

com.    of    1900,    378;    writes    Miss. 

chap.,  work  in  Miss.,  703  et  al. 
Butters,         Lieut.-Gov.         Archibald 

(Mich.),  favors  worn,  suff.,  765. 
Butterworth,  Hezekiah,  717. 
Buxton,    Ida    M.,   in   Mass.,   703;   in 

Vt.,  957- 

C 

Cabot,  Mrs.  J.  Elliott,  pres.  anti-suff. 

ass'n.,  741  et  al. 
Caine,  John  T.,  M.  C.,  041. 
Caine,  Margaret  N.,  941. 
California,  names  for,  Chap.  XXVII. 
Callanan,  James  C.,  270. 
Callanan,  Martha  C.,  entertains  Nat'l 

Suff.  Com.,  270;  629;  630. 
Campbell,  Helen,  727. 
Campbell,  Jane,  in  N.  J.,  822;  same, 

826;  work  in  Penn.,  899  et  al. 
Campbell,  Gov.   John  A.,  994;  worn. 

suff.  in  Wy.,  1000. 
Campbell,    Margaret    W.,   411;    don't 

class  worn,  with  slaves,  415;  425;  in 

Iowa,  628  et  al. 
Campbell,  St.  Sen.  R.  B.,  784. 
Canada,  names  for,   1034. 
Candler,  Gov.  Allan  C.   (Ga.),  585. 
Cannon,   U.    S.   Sen.   Frank  J.,  260; 

spks.  for  worn.  suff..  261 ;  304 ;  949. 
Cannon,  Mrs.  Frank  J.,  260. 
Cannon,   Cong.  Del.  George  Q.,  937; 

94i;  943- 

Cannon,  St.  Sen.  Martha  Hughes, 
301 ;  before  House  com.  of  '98,  worn. 
suff.  in  Utah,  319;  work  in  Utah 
Senate,  953. 

Capen,  Elmer  Hewett,  pres.  Tufts 
Coll.,  for  worn,  suff.,  727. 

Carey,  U.  S.  Sen.  Joseph  M.,  on  worn, 
suff.  in  Wyo.,  117;  admission  as 
State  with  worn,  suff.,  180;  189; 
207;  224;  318;  433;  710;  before  N. 
Y.  Constit'l.  Conv.,  851;  fight  for 
admis.  of  Wy.,  998-9;  1005;  testi- 
mony for  worn,  suff.,  1006;  1090. 

Carey,  Mrs.  Joseph  M.,  117;  184; 
sends  petit,  from  Wy.,  449;  enter- 
tains Miss  Anthony,  1005;  1007. 

Carpenter,  Frank  G.,  164. 

Carpenter,  Mrs.  Rathbone,  322. 


Carroll,  Anna  Ella,  services  in  Civil 
War,  26;  efforts  for,  by  Nat'l 
Ass'n.,  183;  234;  416;  568. 

Carruth,  Prof.  W.  H.,  sp.  at  Amer. 
cony,  of  '86,  420;  in  Kas.,  638;  sta- 
tistics of  worn.  suff.  in  Kas.,  660; 
706;  in  Boston,  715;  725;  in  Vt., 
958. 

Carruth,  Mrs.  W.  H.,  715. 

Gary,  Alice,  295. 

Gary,  Phoebe,  295 ;  400. 

Cassidy,  Jessie  J.  (See  Saunders). 

Castle,  St.  Sen.  Miles  B.,  426;  612; 
630. 

Caswell,  Lucien  B.,  M.  C.,  rep.  in 
favor  of  worn,  suff.,  84;  same,  163. 

Cart,  Carrie  Chapman,  first  appear- 
ance on  nat'l  platform,  169;  187 ;  be- 
fore U.  S.  Sen.  Com.,  194;  213;  pre- 
sents flag  to  Miss  Anthony,  223; 
229;  245;  rep.  to  conv.  of  '95,  248; 
250;  254;  to  conv.  of  '96,  256; 
263;  sp.  at  conv.  of  '97,  274;  279; 
284;  organiz'n. .  rep.  to  conv.  of  '98, 
289;  to  conv.  of  '99,  342;  346;  to 
conv.  of  1900,  365 ;  before  Senate 
com.  of  1900,  369;  elected  nat'l  pres., 
387;  introd.  by  Miss  Anthony,  sp. 
of  acceptance,  trib.  to  Miss  A.,  388; 
press  notices,  389;  presents  Miss 
A.  with  birthday  gifts,  389;  sp. 
on  three  I's,  392;  presides  at 
birthday  celebr.,  396;  400;  443; 
at  Dem.  Nat'l  conv.  of  1900, 
444;  449;  in  Ala.,  465;  work  in 
Ariz.,  471 :  rep.  of  work  in  Ariz., 
472 ;  482 ;  483 ;  490 ;  in  Colo,  camp'n., 
514;  visits  Denver,  530;  535;  546; 
547;  in  S.  D.  camp'n.,  555;  558; 
563;  before  Del.  constit'l.  conv., 
564;  in  Ga.,  583;  in  Idaho  camp'n., 
591;  592;  in  ills.,  599;  616;  in 
Iowa,  629  et  al. ;  in  Kas.,  642;  same, 
644;  645;  646;  648;  in  Ky.,  667; 
before  La.  constit'l.  conv.,  680;  in 
Maine,  690;  in  Md.,  696;  710;  713; 
in  Mich.,  757;  same.  758;  759;  in 
Minn.,  773;  774;  in  Miss.,  783;  784; 
in  St.  Louis,  791 ;  same,  792 ;  in 
Mont,  796;  same,  797;  in  Neb., 
804;  in  Nev.,  811;  in  N.  H.,  816; 
817;  in  N.  J.,  822;  same,  825;  same, 
826;  in  N.  M.,  836;  in  N.  Y.,  843; 
in  N.  Y.  camp'n.,  840;  in  N.  Y.,  860; 
in  O..  879;  same,  880;  in  Ok..  886; 
rep.  of  lepri?.  work  in  Ok..  887;  in 
Penn.,  899;  in  Tenn.,  9,26;  same, 
927 ;  in  Utah,  949 ;  in  Vt.,  957 ;  973 ; 
in  Wash.,  976;  in  W.  Va.,  980; 
same,  981. 

Catt,  George  W.,  262. 
Caulfield,  Anna,  336. 


1 128 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Chace,  Elizabeth  Buffum,  work  in  R. 

I.,  907  et  al. 
Chace,  U.  S.  Sen.  Jonathan,  in;  rep. 

in  favor  of  worn,  suff.,  156. 
Chamberlain,  Ella  C,  240;  577. 
Chanler,   Margaret   Livingston,   work 

in  N.  Y.,  843  et  al. 
Channing,  Dr.  William  Ellery,  427. 
Chant,  Laura  Ormiston    (Eng.),  135; 

before  U.  S.   Sen.  com.,   139;  163; 

169;   in   Col.,  516;  in   Boston,  705, 

7". 

Chapin,  Augusta,  D.  D.,  718. 
Chapman,   Maria  Weston,   227. 
Chapman,  Mariana  W.,  240;  290;  be- 
fore U.  S.  Senate  com.  of  '98,  worn. 

as  taxpayers,  313 ;  in  N.  J.,  825 ;  as- 
sists on  N.  Y.  chap.,  840;  work  in 

N.  Y.,  844  et  al. 
Chase,  Chief  Justice  Salmon  P.,  for 

worn,  suff.,  1076. 
Chase,  Florence  Adele,  writes  chapter 

for  D.  C,  567. 
Chase,  Mary  N.,  in  N.  H.,  816 ;  in  Vt, 

957- 
Cheney,  Ednah  D.,  in  Ky.,  665;  work 

in  Mass.,  702;  704;  712  et  al. 
Chichester,  Dean  of  (Eng.),  320. 
Child,  Lydia  Maria,  227;  295. 
Childs,  George  W.,  75 ;  trib.  to,  227. 
Choate,  Hon.  Joseph  H.,  defeats  worn. 

suff.  in  N.  Y.  Constit'l.  Conv.,  852. 
Christiansen,  Gen.  C.  T.,  843. 
Claflin,   Adelaide    A.,   425;    work   in 

Mass.,  703  et  al. ;  in  R.  I.,  910. 
Chaflin,    Gov.    William    (Mass.),    for 

worn,  suff.,  715;  718;  727. 
Clapp,  Eliza  J.,  286. 
Clapp,  Atty.-Gen.  Moses  E.   (Minn.), 

ad.  suff.  conv.,  772. 
Gark,  U.  S.   Sen.  Clarence  D.,  pre- 
sents worn.  suff.  bill,  7;  worn.  suff. 

in  Wy.,  1092. 

Clark,  George  W.,  sings  at  conv.,  19. 
Clark,  James  G.,  295 ;  415 ;  422 ;  802. 
Clark,  U.  S.  Sen.  William  A.,  797. 
parke,  Alice  Judah,  assists  on  Ind., 

chap.,  614. 
Clarke,   Prof.  Benjamin  Franklin,  of 

Brown  Univ.,  919. 

Clarke,  Dr.  E.  H.,  on  education,  355. 
Clarke,  James  Freeman,  D.  D.,  146; 

412;  431;  702;  petit,  for  worn.  suff. 

in  '57,  721. 

Clarkson,  U.  S.  Ass't.  P.  M.  Gen. 
•  Jarnrs  S.,  worn.  suff.  in  Col.,  1086. 
Clay,  Laura,  174;  216;  219;  trib.  to 

Lucy  Stone,  226 ;  non-partisans,  280 ; 

290 ;  before  U.  S.  Senate  com.  of  '98, 

worn.    suff.    and    physical    develop., 

309;    430;    616;    630;    writes    Ky. 

chap.,  665;  work  in  Ky.,  665  et  al. ; 


in  New  Orleans,  680;  in  N.  C,  874; 

in  S.  C.,  922;  in  Term.,  927. 
Clay,  Mary  B.,  15;  before  House  com., 

44J   150;  341;  at  Amer.  conv.,  '84, 

407;  426;  work  in  Ky.,  665;  761. 
Clemmer,  Mary,  295. 
Cleveland,  President  Grover,  123;  re- 
ceives Intl.  Council  of  Worn.,  127; 

840;   1097. 
Cleveland,    Mrs.     Grover,    rec.    Intl. 

Council  of  Worn.,  127;  265. 
Clopton,  Virginia  Clay,  466;  in  Tenn., 

927. 
Clough,  Gov.  D.  M.  (Minn.),  ad.  suff. 

conv.,  773. 

Cobbe,  Frances  Power  (Eng.),  21526. 
Cobden,  Jane  (See  Unwin). 
Cobden,  Richard,  for  worn,  suff.,  21. 
Cockburn,     Sir     John,     Premier     S. 

Austr.,  for  worn,  suff.,  1028. 
Cockrell,  U.  S.  Sen.  Francis  Marion, 

rep.    against    worn,    suff.,    47;    90; 

93;  ridiculed  by  Mrs.  Stanton,  113. 
Codman,    Mrs.   James    M.,   anti-suff., 

716. 

Coffeen,  Henry  A.,  M.  C.,  231. 
Coffin,  Charles  Carleton,  724. 
Coggeshall,  Mary  J.,  629;  633. 
Cohen,  Elizabeth,  polit.   deleg.,  439. 
Coke,  Lord,  376. 
Colby,  Clara  Bewick,  6;  res.  against 

creeds  and  dogmas,  58 ;  sp.  on  same, 

59;   plan   of   work,  62;   worn.   suff. 

and  labor  question,     70;     on     the 

church,    76;    describes    campn.    in 

Neb.,   80;    117;    122;    Worn.    Trib. 

during  Intl.  Council,  126;  worn,  in 

marriage,  151;   157;   162;   183;  184; 

187;    on    Wyoming,    200;    on    Fed. 

Suff.,  218;  219;  234;  235;  239;  240; 

247;  mem.  res.  at  conv.  of  '95,  250; 

philos.    of    worn.    suff..    254;    263; 

mem.    res.   at   conv.    of    '97,   275-6; 

279;  on  Wyoming,  282;  292;  mem. 

res.  at  conv.  of  '98,  293;  331;  337; 

mem.  serv.  at  conv.  of  '99,  345 ;  360 ; 

work  with  Congress.  367 ;  descript. 

of   Miss    Anthony's   8oth   birthday, 

396;    in    S.    D.    campn.,    555;    592; 

in  Kas.,  639;  640;  642;  in  Ky.,  666; 

in  New  Orleans,  679;  719;  in  Mich., 

757  J   759 ;   761 ;   work  in    Neb.,  802 

et  al.;  in  Utah,  940;  in  Wash.,  970; 

in  Wis.,  986;  statistics   from  Wy., 

1094. 
Colcord,  Gov.  Roswell  K.  (Nev.),  re- 

com.  worn.  suff.  arndt,  813. 
Colfax,     Vice     President     Schuyler. 

founds  Daught.  of  Rebekah,   1069; 

for  worn,  suff.,  1075. 
Collins,   Emily   P.,  in   R.    I.,   536;    in 

Mass.,  706. 


INDEX    OF    PROPER    NAMES. 


1129 


Collyer,  Rev.  Robert,  for  worn,  stiff., 
703- 

Colorado,  names  for,  Chap.  XXIX. 

Conger,  Mrs.  Omar  D.,  233. 

Conine,  St.  Rep.  Martha  A.  B.  (Col.), 
301 ;  before  House  Com.  of  '98,  319; 
elected,  522;  in  Ills.,  599;  in  Iowa, 
632;  in  N.  Y.,  860. 

Connecticut,  names  for,  Chap.  XXX. 

Connor,  Eliza  Archard,  153. 

Conway,  Mrs.  Moncure  D.,  23. 

Conyers,  Bennett  J.,  241. 

Cook,  Coralie  Franklin,  brings  greet- 
ings of  colored  women  on  Miss  An- 
thony's birthday,  398;  404. 

Cook,  Rev.  Joseph,  ad.  suff.  conv., 
710;  before  Mass.  Legis.,  727. 

Coolbrith,  Ina  D.,  479. 

Cooley,  Mrs.  George  Eliot.  (See 
Harper.) 

Coonley,  Lydia  A.     (See  Ward.) 

Cooper,  Sarah  B.,  253;  275;  479; 
pres.  Worn.  Cong.,  481 ;  work  in 
Calif.,  488  et  al.;  in  Ore.,  893. 

Corbin,  Caroline  F.,  157. 

Corey,  Rev.  Dr.,  189. 

Corn,  Assoc.  Justice,  worn.  suff.  in 
Wy.,  1093. 

Cornwall,  Amy  K.,  364;  509. 

Corson,  Dr.  Hiram,  275. 

Coudert,  Frederick,  signs  suff.  petit., 
850. 

Courtney,  Leonard,  M.  P.  (Eng.), 
work  for  worn,  suff.,  1020. 

Couzins,  Phoebe  W.,  18;  res.  on 
Phillips  and  Miss  Carroll, -25;  27; 
on  Goddess  of  Liberty,  47;  117; 
163;  169;  475;  520;  695;  772;  795- 

Craigie,  Mrs.  C.  O.  H.,  564- 

Crane,  Rev.  Caroline  Bartlett,  ser- 
mon at  conv.  of  '91,  184;  764. 

Crane,  Gov.  W.  Murray  (Mass.),  744. 

Cranston,  Martha  S..  writes  Del. 
chap.,  563;  564  et  al. 

Crawford,  Emily  (Eng.),  petit,  for 
worn,  suff.,  1015. 

Cressingham,  St.  Rep.  Clara  (Col.), 
521. 

Crooker,  Rev.  Florence  Kollock, 
ethics  of  worn,  suff.,  20;  before 
House  com.,  43;  337;  4°7;  739- 

Cullom,  U.  S.  Sen.  Shelby  M.,  347- 

Cunningham,  Catherine  Campbell,  as- 
sists on  Ark.  chapter,  work  in  Ark, 
475- 

Curtis,  Elizabeth  Burrill,  257;  before 
U.  S.  Senate  com.  of  '98,  are  worn, 
represented,  314;  in  Mass.,  715; 
work  in  N.  Y  .  fcn  et  al. 

Curtis,  George  William,  23 ;  164 ;  mem. 
serv.,  203;  372;  on  worn,  suff.,  428. 


Cutcheon,  Byron  M.,  M.  C.,  spks.  for 

worn,  suff.,  35. 
Cutler,  Hannah  M.  Tracy,  275 ;  406 ; 

407;  mem.  to  Mrs.  Gage,  410;  426; 

703 ;  in  Vt.,  957. 


Dakota    (North   and   South),   names 

for,  Chap.  XXXI. 
Dall,  Caroline  H.,  294. 
Dalton,  Father  W.  J.,  447;  760. 
Dangerfield,  Henderson,  212;  964. 
Davies,    Emily,    Mistress    of    Girton 

(Eng.),  petit,  for  worn,  suff.,  1015. 
Davies,  Atty.-Gen.  John  C.,  right  of 

worn,  to  office  in  N.  Y.,  1094. 
Davis,  U.  S.  Sen.  Cushman  K.,  for 

worn,  suff.,  433. 
Davis,  Edward  M.,  18;  60;  76;  work 

in  Penn.,  899. 

Davis,  John  C,  M.  C,  231 ;  235. 
Davis,    Paulina     Wright,    203;     294; 

work  in  R.  I.,  907;  in  Va.,  964. 
Davis,  Thomas,  259. 
Dawes,  U.  S.  Sen.  Henry  L.,  in  ;  164. 
Decker.  Sarah  Platt,  529  et  al. 
De  Garmo,  Rhoda,  299. 
Delaware,  names  for,   Chap.  XXXII. 
Demorest,    (Mme.)    Louise,  75. 
Dennison,  Ruth  C.,  27. 
Depew,  Chauncey  M.,  signs  suff.  pe- 
tit., 850. 

Desha,  Mary,  173. 
DeVoe,  Emma  Smith,  at  conv.  of  '96, 

265;  284;  in  S.  D.,  549;  555;  590; 

599;    in   Iowa,  630;   631;    in    Kas., 

644;    in    Ky.,   667;    in    Minn.,   773; 

in  Mont.,  796 ;  in  Nev.,  810 ;  in  Wis., 

987. 
Dexter.  Rev.   Morton,  ed.   Congrega- 

tionalist,  opp.  worn.  suff..  725. 
Deyo,  Rev.  Amanda,  128;  496. 
Dickinson,  Dr.  Frances,  23;  174;  184; 

201. 

Dickinson.  Mary  Lowe,  228;  300. 
Dietrick.  Ellen  Battelle,  174;  at  conv. 

of  '91,  179;  sp.  at  conv.  of  '92,  208; 

res.  on  religious  liberty,  216;  219; 

229;    234;    248;    memorial    service, 

259;   430;   in   Ky.,  666;   706;  work 

in   Mass.,  709  et  al. ;   726;  751;   in 

S.  C,  922. 
Diggs,   Annie  L.,  61 ;  worn.   suff.   in 

Kas.,  199 ;  at  conv.  of  '94,  221 ;  234 ; 

235 ;  248 ;  263 ;  268 ;  at  conv.  of  1900, 

363;  in  Ind.,  617;  writes  Kas.  chap., 

638;  643;  work  in  Kas.  ^Legis.,  652; 

app.  St.  Librarian,  657 ;  in  Md..  696 ; 

in  N.  J.,  822 ;  in  W.  Va..  980. 
Dilke.  Mrs.  Ashton.  135;  841. 
Dingley,  Nelson  W.,  M.  C,  345. 


1 130 


HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


District     of     Columbia,     names     for, 

Chap.  XXXIII. 
Doane,  Bishop  William  Croswell,  opp. 

worn,  suff.,  850 ;  858. 
Dodge,  Mrs.  Arthur  M.,  opposes  worn. 

suff.  before  U.   S.   Senate   com.  of 

1900,    repudiates    courtesy   of    Miss 

Anthony,  382;  begs  com.  not  to  be 

moved  by  consideration     for     her, 

383 ;  before  N.  Y.  legis.  com.,  861 ; 

same,  863. 
Doe,  Chief  Justice  Charles    (N.  H.), 

worn,  may  practice  law,  819. 
Doe,   Mary  L.,  at  conv.   of  '99,  334; 

writes    Mich,    chap.,    755;    work   in 

Mich.,  756  et  al. 
Doggett,  Kate  Newell,  61 ;  410. 
Dole,  Sanford  B.   (Hawaii),  347. 
Dolph,    U.    S.    Sen.    Joseph    N.,   93; 

sp.  for  worn,  suff.,  100;  same,  104; 

218;  295. 
Donnelly,  St.  Sen.  Ignatius,  for  worn. 

suff.,  776-7. 
Dorsett,  Martha  Angle,  417;  work  in 

Minn.,  774  et  al. 

Dorsheimer,  William.  M.  C,  51. 
Doster,  Chief   Justice  Frank    (Kas.), 

for  worn,  suff.,  607 ;  646. 
Douglass,  Frederick,  136;  at  conv.  of 

'89.    151;    reminiscences,  204;   early 

suffragists,   227;    mem.    serv.,   259; 

298;  403;  430;  in  Boston,  704,  713; 

in  R.  I.,  907. 

Douglass,  Joseph,  265 ;  400 ;  404. 
Dow,  Neal,  164. 
Downs,  H.  Margaret,  322. 
Doyon,  Amelia  E.  H.,  259. 
Drake,  Gov.  Francis  M.   (Iowa),  270. 
Du  Bose,  Miriam  Howard,  228;  235; 

work  in  Ga.,  237;  582. 
Dunbar,  Mrs.   (Md.),  77. 
Duniway,  Abigail   Scott,  at  conv.   of 

'84,    16;   27;    151;    156;    157;   236; 

239;  at  conv.  of  '95,  249;  of  '99,  339; 

of  1900,  363;  in  Idaho,  589;  590;  in 

Minn.,  772;   in   N.  Y.,  839;   writes 

Ore.  chap.,  work  in  Ore.,  891  et  al. ; 

in  Wash.,  975. 
Duniway,  Clyde,  739. 

E 

Eagle,  Gov.  James  B.   (Ark.),  475. 
Earnhart,  Ida  M.,  test  case  for  sch. 

suff.  in  Ohio,  882. 
Eastman,  Rev.  Annis  Ford,  202;  work 

in  N.  Y.,  844. 
Eastman,  Mary  F.,  woman's  right  to 

suff.,  72;  justice  of  it,  79;  118;  175; 

work    in    Mass..    704   et    al. ;    legis. 

work.  721;  in  N.  Y.,  841;  in  R.  I., 

907;  same,  910;  920. 


Eaton,  Charles  H.,  D.  D.,  for  worn. 

suff.,  840. 
Eaton,  Dr.  Cora  Smith,  in  N.  D.,  545 ; 

551;    assists   on   Minn,   chap.,   772; 

work  in  Minn.,  773  et  al. 
Eddy,   Eliza  Jackson,  legacy  to  Miss 

Anthony,  V. 
Edmunds,  U.  S.  Sen.  George  F.,  375; 

939- 

Edson,  Dr.  Susan  A.,  295 ;  574. 
Edwards,  Amelia  B.,  petit,  for  worn. 

suff.,  1015. 
Eisenhuth,    St.    Supt.    Pub.    Instruct. 

Laura  J.  (N.  D.),  551. 
Eliot,     Charles     W.,    pres.     Harvard 

Univ.,  266;  on  education  of  worn., 

355  5    protest    against     worn,     suff., 

704;  inherits  prejudice,  736. 
Eliot,      Chancellor      Wm.      G.      (St. 

Louis),  suff.  a  right,  413;  703. 
Elkins,   U.   S.   Sen.   Stephen   B.,  opp. 

worn.  suff.  in  W.  Va.,  982. 
Elliott,  Albert  H.,  work  in   Cal.,  482 

et  al. 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo.  61 ;  1092. 
Emerson,  Mrs.  Ralph  Waldo,  206. 
Ernst,  Hon.  George  A.  O.,  work  in 

Mass.,  710  et  al. 
Eskridge,    Gov.    C.    V.    (Kas.),    opp. 

worn,  suff.,  645. 
Estee,  Hon.  Morris  M..  436. 
Eustis,    U.    S.    Sen.    James    B.,    opp. 

worn,  suff.,  104. 
Evald.  Mrs.  Emmy  C,  298. 
Everett,  Edward,  433. 
Everhard,    Caroline    McCullough,    at 

conv.  of  '92,  185 ;  201 ;  work  in  O., 

880  et  al. 


Fair.  U.  S.  Sen.  James  G.,  opp.  worn. 

suff.,  36;  47. 
Fairbanks,    Mayor    (Quincy,    Mass.), 

712. 

Fairman,  Col.  Henry  Clay,  238;   582. 
Fall.  Anna  Christy  (Mrs.  George  H.), 

74i :  745- 
Fall,    St.    Rep.   George   H.,   work   in 

Mass.,  744  et  al. 
Fanvell,  U.  S.   Sen.  Charles  B.,  rep. 

for  worn,  suff.,  156;  158;  162. 
Fawcett,  Postmaster  Gen.  Henry,  M. 

P.  (Eng.),  for  worn,  suff.,  17;  61. 
Fawcett,   Millicent   Garrett,   17;   301; 

worn,  in  India,  330;  suff.  meet,   in 

London,    353;    718;    work    in    Gr. 

Britain,  1014;  same.  IO2O. 
Fawcett.  Philippa,  176. 
Faxon,  Henry  H.,  702  et  al. 
Fergusson,  Cong.  Del.  H.  B..  835. 
Fessenden,    Susan    S.,    in    Col.,    516; 


INDEX    OF    PROPER    NAMES.  1 131 

in  N.  D.,  548;  work  in   Mass.,  726  Gage,  Matilda  Joslyn,  work  on  Hist. 

et  al. ;  in  N.  H.,  816;  in  Penn.,  900.  of  Worn.  Suff.,  Ill;  sells  rights  in. 
Field,  Kate,  for  worn,  suff.,  235;  275.  VI;  VII;  27;  feminine  in  science, 
Fish,  Sarah,  299.  28;  57;  worn.  suff.  under  U.  S. 

Fisher,    Chief  Justice,   worn.    suff.   in        constn.,    118;    126;    136;    152;    163; 

Wy.,  1091.  mem.  res.,  345;  in  Dak.,  552;  work 

Fisk,  Mrs.  Clinton  D.,  1057.  in  N.  Y.,  839  et  al. ;  test  case  for 

Fleming,  Gov.  Francis  P.  (Fla.),  opp.        sch.  suff.,  867;  in  Va.,  964. 

to  worn,  suff.,  212.  Galle,  Margarethe,  301. 

Flemming,  William  H.,  M.  C,  586.  Gallinger,  U.  S.  Sen.  Jacob  H.,  worn. 
Fletcher,  Alice  C,  183;  331.  suff.  in  N.  H.,  815. 

Flood,     Cora     Jane,     endowment     to  Gamble,   U.    S.    Sen.    Robert    J.,    for 

univers.,  507.  worn,  suff.,  559. 

Florida,  names  for,  Chap.  XXXIV.  Gardiner,  Helen  H.,  146;  263;  715. 

Flower,    Gov.    Roswell    P.    (N.    Y.),  Garfield,  President  James  A.,  295;  on 

213 ;   843 ;    recom.   worn,    delegates,        worn,  suff.,  1075. 

848;  856.  Garrett,  Mary  E.,  endows  Johns  Hop- 
Folger,  Gov.  Charles  J.  (N.  Y.),  61.  kins  Med.  Coll.,  700. 

Folsom,   Mariana  T.,  in  Texas,  416;  Garrison,   Ellen  Wright    (Mrs.   Wm. 

628;  931.  Lloyd,  Jr.),  298. 

Foltz,  Clara  S.,  in  Calif.,  478  et  al.  Garrison,    Wm.   Lloyd,   Sr.,   23;   first 
Foss,  Mrs.  Cyrus  D.,  1071.  worn,  rights  petit.,  720. 

Foster,  Abby  Kelly,  227.  Garrison,   Wm.    Lloyd,   Jr.,  61 ;    164 ; 
Foster,    Judith    Ellen,    19;    at    Nat'l         174;  at  conv.  of  '91,  183;  before  1T. 

Repub.    conv.    of    '96,    439;    same,        S.  Senate  com.  in  '98,  305;  poem  to 

1900,  444;   in  Col.,   520;   569;    576;        Miss   Anthony,   395;  433;   work  in 

in  Ida.,  590;  in  Kas.,  645;  in  Mass.,        Mass.,  705  et  al. ;  712;  in  R.  I.,  907-8. 

705;  in  R.  I.,  910;  in  Utah,  955.  Gates,  George  A.,  pres.  Iowa  Coll., 
Foster,  Julia  (Mrs.  J.  Heron),  19;  61.  276;  for  worn,  suff.,  629. 

Foster,  Julia  T.,  19;  27;  61 ;  126.  Gates,  Merrill  E.,  pres.  Amherst  Coll., 
Foster,  Rachel  G.    (See  A  very).  709. 

Foulke,  Hon.  William  Dudley,  sp.  at  Gates,  Susa  Young,  956. 

suff.   conv.   of  '90,    167;    173;   202;  George,    Mrs.    A.    J.,    opposes    worn. 

trib.  to  Lucy  Stone,  225 ;  408 ;  41 1 ;        suff.,  382 ;  same,  741. 

414;    at   Amer.    conv.    of   '86,   418;  George,   U.   S.    Sen.   J.   Z.,   194;   rep. 

value  of  dreamers,  421 ;  independ.  of        against  worn,  suff.,  201. 

politician,  422;  423;  at  Amer.  cony.  Georgia,  names  for,  Chap.  XXXV. 

of  '88,  428;   546;   in   Ind.,  614;   in  Gibbons,    Abby    Hopper,    207;    435; 

Kas.,  640;  in  Boston,  706;  in  Minn.,        work  for  police  matrons,  856;  1055. 

772.  Gibbons,  Cardinal,  opp.  worn,  suff., 
Fox,  Hattie  E.,  222.  367. 

Francis,  Mary  C,  245.  Giddings,  Joshua  R.,  614. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  on  suff.,  66.  Giddings,  Mrs.  W.  D.,  322. 

Fray,  Ellen  Sully,  173.  Gifford,   Prof.  Jennie,  235. 

Frear,  Associate  Justice  W.  F.   (Ha-  Gillett,  Emma  M..  571 ;  574. 

waii),  347.  Gladstone,  Wm.  Ewart,  1016. 

Fredericksen,  Kirstine  (Denm'k),  711.  Gleed,  J.  W.,  318. 

French,     St.     Supt.     Pub.     Instruct.  Glenesk,  Lord  (Eng.),  for  worn,  suff., 

Permeal  (Ida.),  594.  1016. 

Friedland,    Sofja    Levovna    (Russia),  Goddard,      Mary      Catharine,      early 

364.  woman  editor,  695- 

Fuller,  Gov.  Levi  K.  (Vt.),  959.  Goggin,  Catharine,  611. 

Fyler,  Lizzie  Dorman,  19;  475.  Goldstein,  Vida   (Australia),  1031. 

Gompers,  Samuel,  184;  letter  approv. 

worn,  suff.,  334. 

G  Goodnight,  Isaac  H.,  M.  C,  235. 

Goodrich,  Sarah  Knox,  work  in  Cal., 
Gaffney,  Fannie  Humphreys,  396.  478  et  al. 

Gage,  Frances  Dana,  61 ;  294 :  mem.  Gordon,  Anna,  304. 

serv.,  409-10;  trib.  of  Clara  Barton.  Gordon,    Kate    M.,    360;    writes    La. 

429-  614.  chap.,  678:  work  in   Sewerage  and 

Gage,  Gov.  Henry  T.  (Cal.),  486;  506.        Drainage  League,  682, 


1132 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Gordon,  Laura  de  Force,  57;  60;  150; 

work  in  Calif.,  478  et  al. 
Goss,  Josephine  Ahnafeldt,  324. 
Gottheil,   Rabbi   Gustave.  840;   850. 
Gougar,   Helen  M.,   worn,  before  the 

law,  18;  plan  of  work,  26;  before 

U.  S.  Senate  Com.,  37;  worn.  suff. 

and    Bible,    75 ;    77 ;    before    House 

Com.,  80;  150;  in  Col.,  520;  in  Ills., 

599;   work  in  Ind.,  615  et  al. ;  test 

case  for  suff.,  621 ;  in  Iowa,  628;  in 

Kas.,  638  et  al. ;  in  Mass.,  705;  in 

Mich.,  756 ;  in  N.  Y.,  839. 
Gould,  Helen,  340. 
Grannis,  Elizabeth  B.,  1055. 
Grant,  President  Ulysses  S.,  first  to 

appoint  worn,  postmasters,  462. 
Grant,  Mrs.  Ulysses  S.,  262;  291. 
Gray,  Almeda  B..  75;  in  Cal.,  500; 

work  in  Wis.,  990  et  al. 
Gray,  St.  Rep.  Robert  S.,  714. 
Great  Britain  and  Colonies,  names  for, 

Chap.  LXXIII. 
Greene,   Dr.      Cordelia,     donation   to 

Hist,  of  Worn.  Suff.,  VII. 
Greene,  Chief  Justice  Roger  S.,  407; 

412;  422;  work  in  Wash.,  967;  worn. 

on  juries,  1097. 
Greenhalge,       Gov.       Frederick       T. 

(Mass.),  275;  on  worn.  suff.  plat., 

713 ;  recom.  worn.  suff.  in  message, 

715;  718;  again  recom.,  729. 
Greenleaf,  Jean  Brooks,  before  U.  S. 

Sen.  Com.,  196;  220;  at  conv.  of  '94, 

221 ;  224 ;  rep.  at  conv.  of  '95,  247 ; 

assists  on  N.  Y.  chap.,  839;  work 

in  N.  Y.,  844  et  al. :  849. 
Greenwood,   Grace    (Sara    J.    Lippin- 

cott),  231;  257;  364. 
Gregg,  Laura  A.,  337;  in  S.  D.,  557; 

in  Del.,  564;  in  Iowa,  632;  in  Kas., 

648:    in    Md.,   697;   in   Minn.,   774; 

in   Neb.,  804;    in    O.,  879;   in  Ok., 

886-7:  in  Perm.,  899. 
Grenfell,     St.     Supt.     Pub.     Instruct. 

Helen  M.  (Col.),  523;  524. 
Grew,  Mary.  275;  295;  423;  426;  712; 

work  in  Penn.,  898. 
Griffin,  Frances  A.,  evolut.  of  South. 

worn.,  335 ;  at  conv.  of  '99,  341 ;  in 

Ala.,   465-6;   in   Ark.,  475;    in  Ga., 

583 ;  in  La.,  68 1 ;  in  Tenn.,  926-7. 
Griffing,  Josephine  S.,  295. 
Grimke,  Angelina  (See  Weld). 
Gripenberg,       Baroness       Alexandra 

(Finland),    at    Int'l    Council.    139; 

301 ;  in  Mass.,  705 ;  in  N.  Y.,  841. 
Groesbeck,  Chief  Justice    H.    V.     S., 

719;  worn.  suff.  in  Wy.,  1092. 
Gross,  Emily  M.,  395;  612. 
Groth,  Sophia  Magelsson  (Norway), 

136. 


Guild.  Mrs.  Charles  E.,  anti-stiff.,  716. 
Gullen.  Dr.  Augusta  Stowe  (Canada), 

301. 
Gustafson,  Zadel  Barnes  (Eng.),  135; 

in  N.  Y.,  841. 

H 

Hackney,  Chief  Justice  Leonard  J. 
(Ind.),  decis.  on  worn.  suff.  and 
worn,  lawyers,  623. 

Haggart,  Mary  E.,  at  conv.  of  '84, 
19 ;  before  House  com.,  45 ;  75; 
411;  425;  work  in  Ind.,  614;  in 
Kas.,  640;  in  Wis.,  986. 

Hale,  Horace  M.,  pres.  State  Univ., 
worn.  suff.  in  Col.,  1087. 

Hale,  Gen.  Irving,  worn.  suff.  in  Col., 
1087. 

Hale,  Gov.  William,  worn.  suff.  in 
Wy.,  1090. 

Haley,  Margaret  A.,  6n. 

Hall,  Florence  Howe,  farce  on  worn, 
suff.,  362;  in  Mass.,  718;  writes  N. 
J.  chap.,  820;  work  in  N.  J.,  822 
et  al. ;  in  R.  I.,  920. 

Hall,  Sir  John,  M.  P.,  bill  for  worn, 
suff.  in  N.  Z.,  1026;  1034. 

Hall,  Olivia  B.,  219;  in  Mich.,  758. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  407. 

Hamilton,  Emerine  J.,  174. 

Hamilton,  Bishop  J.  W.,  260;  725-6. 

Hamlin,  Vice- President  Hannibal,  for 
worn,  suff.,  1075. 

Hammond,  Hon.  Henry   C,  244. 

Hanaford,  Rev.  Phebe  A.,  at  conv.  of 
'84,  19;  61 ;  at  Int'l  Council,  128; 
in  N.  J.,  827. 

Haney,  Mrs.  C.  S.  Burnett,  writes  Fla. 
chap.,  577-8. 

Hansbrough,  U.  S.  Sen.  Henry  C, 
for  worn,  suff.,  546. 

Harbert,  Elizabeth  Boynton,  at  conv. 
of  '84.  17;  24;  before  LT.  S.  Sen. 
Com.,  39;  115;  164;  176;  407;  work 
in  Ills.,  598;  for  World's  Fair,  610; 
in  N.  Y.,  839;  in  Wis.,  989;  991. 

Harlan,  St.  Sen.  A.  D.,  423. 

Harlan,  Associate  Justice  John  Mar- 
shall, 10. 

Harper,  Frances  E.  W.,  425. 

Harper,  Ida  Husted,  Miss  Anthony 
asks  to  write  Vol.  IV,  Hist,  of 
Worn.  Suff.,  VII ;  preface,  IX ;  Au- 
thor of  Life  and  Work  of  Susan 
B.  Anthony,  2;  resolutions  at  conv. 
of  '98,  290 ;  291 ;  dept.  in  N.  Y. 
Sun,  326 ;  at  conv.  of  1900,  357 ;  pre- 
pares Congress'l.  rep.,  366;  482; 
487;  488;  work  in  Calif,  campn., 
400;  work  in  Ind.,  615  et  al.;  mono- 
graph on  work  of  Ind.  worn.,  624; 
at  Adams,  719. 


INDEX    OF    PROPER    NAMES. 


1133 


Harper,   Winnifred    (Coolcy),  490. 

Harrah,  Rev.  C.  C.,  612. 

Harrison,  President  Benjamin,  436. 

Harrison,  Mrs.  Benjamin,  receives 
Nat'l  Council  of  Worn.,  183. 

Harrison,  Mayor  Carter,  608. 

Harrison,  Ella,  632 ;  783 ;  791. 

Haskell,  Asst  Atty.-Gen.  Ella 
Knowles,  at  conv.  of  '96,  262; 
297 ;  in  N.  D.,  547 ;  work  in  Mont., 
797  et  al. 

Hatch,  Lavina  Allen,  157;  235;  at 
conv.  of  '95,  240;  263;  writes  chap, 
for  Hist.,  750;  work  in  Mass.,  752 
et  al. 

Havens,  Ruth  C.  D.,  girl  of  the  future, 
209 ;  in  Md.,  697 ;  in  Va.,  964. 

Haviland,  Laura  P.,  344. 

Hawthorne,  Rev.  Dr.,  237. 

Hay,  Mary  G.,  365;  444;  in  Ariz., 
472 ;  in  Cal.,  482  et  al. ;  in  Col.,  530 ; 
in  S.  D.,  559;  in  Del.,  563;  in 
Ills.,  599;  in  Iowa,  632-4;  in  Ky., 
667;  in  La.,  680;  in  Miss.,  784;  in 
Neb.,  804;  in  N.  M.,  836;  in  N.  Y., 
849;  in  O.,  880;  in  Ok.,  887;  in 
Penn.,  900;  in  Tenn.,  927;  in  Utah, 
949 ;  in  Wash.,  976 ;  in  W.  Va.,  980 . 

Hayes,  Prof.  Ellen,  717. 

Hayes,  President  Rutherford  B.,  fa- 
vors worn,  suff.,  1075. 

Hayes,  Mrs.  Rutherford  B.,  rec.  Utah 
delegates,  937. 

Hays,  Atty.-Gen.  S.  H.,  worn.  suff. 
in  Idaho,  1088. 

Hayward,  Mary  Smith,  writes  Neb. 
chap.,  802 ;  work  in  Neb.,  803  et  al. 

Hazlett,  Ida  Crouch,  in  Cal.,  487;  in 
Neb.,  803 ;  in  Ore.,  895. 

Hearst,  Phoebe  A.,  506;  endowment 
to  Cal.  Univers.,  508. 

Heartz,  St.  Rep.  Evangeline  (Col.), 
522;  524;  work  in  Legis.,  526. 

Hedenberg,  J.  W.,  184. 

Helmer,  Bessie   Bradwell,  609. 

Hemiup,  Judge  Norton  H.,  414. 

Hemphill,  St.  Sen.  Robert  R.,  at 
conv.  of  '95,  242;  in  S.  C.  Legis., 

923- 

Hemphill,  Mrs.  W.  A.,  251. 

Henderson,  Mary  Foote  (Mrs.  John 
B.),  366;  presents  portrait  of  Miss 
Anthony  to  Corcoran  Gallery,  405; 

569- 
Henderson,  Prof.  L.  R,  on  worn.  suff. 

in  Idaho,  595. 
Henrotin,    Ellen    M.,    183;    work    at 

World's  Fair,  609. 
Henry,  Josephine  K.,  at  conv.  of  '91, 

179;  224;  trib.  to  Lucy  Stone,  226; 

240;   southern   worn,    wants  ballot, 

244;  legis.  rep.  248;  on  worn,  and 


electricity,  j-jo;  epigrams,  340; 
work  in  Ky.,  008  et  al. ;  in  Tenn., 
927. 

Hepburn,  W.  P.,  M.  C,  84. 

Hereford,  Rev.  Brooke,  413;  opp. 
worn,  suff.,  722. 

Herring,  Atty.-Gen.  William  (Ariz.), 
4/0. 

Hewitt,  Hon.  Abram  S.,  opp.  worn, 
suff.,  857. 

Higginson,  Col.  Thomas  Wentworth, 
sp.  at  Amer.  conv.  of  '87,  423;  in 
Mass.,  706  et  al. ;  712;  on  anti- 
suffragists,  716;  petit,  for  worn, 
suff.  in  '53,  720 ;  in  R.  I.,  008. 

Hildreth,  Ellen  Stephens,  writes  Ala. 
chap.,  work  in  Ala.,  465  et  al. 

Hill,  U.  S.  Sen.  David  B.,  235;  recom. 
worn,  delegates,  847. 

Hill,  Eliza  Trask,  746  et  al. 

Hinckley,  Rev.  Frederick  A.,  163 ; 
174;  husband  and  wife  one,  180;  on 
divorce,  297;  in  Mass.,  705;  same, 
726;  work  in  R.  I.,  908  et  al. 

Hindman,  Matilda,  61-2;  426;  in  Col., 
509;  in  S.  D.,  555;  in  Penn.,  899; 
in  Wash.,  970. 

Hirschler,  Diana,  at  conv.  of  1900, 
362;  on  Miss  Anthony's  birthday, 
398;  in  Del.,  564;  in  Me.,  690;  in 
Vt.,  957- 

Hitt,  Robert  R.,  M.  C.,  347. 

Hoar,  U.  S.  Sen.  George  F.,  12;  108; 
spks.  in  Sen.  for  worn,  suff.,  109; 
164;  report  in  favor,  greeted  by 
women,  201;  235;  267;  letter  to 
conv.  of  '88,  428;  433;  assists  worn, 
suff.  in  Mass.,  704  et  al. ;  1003. 

Hodges,  Rev.  Dean,  717. 

Hoffman,  Clara  C.,  in  S.  D.,  558;  in 
Kas.,  642 ;  in  La.,  679 ;  work  in  Mo., 
790  et  al. ;  in  N.  J.,  820. 

Hooker,  Isabella  Beecher,  const'l 
rights  of  worn.,  115;  117;  on  N.  Y. 
Centen.,  144;  156;  157;  163;  at 
conv.  of  '90,  169;  of  '91,  179;  be- 
fore U.  S.  Sen.  com.  of  '92,  189: 
respect  of  children,  104;  at  conv.  of 
'08,  296;  298;  in  1900,  358;  work  in 
Conn.,  535  et  al. ;  in  Boston,  705; 
937- 

Holley,  St.  Rep.  Carrie'  C,  in  Col. 
Legis.,  239:  240;  521. 

Hollister,  Lillian  M.,  256;  trib.  to 
Miss  Anthony,  398. 

Holly,  Myron.  204-5. 

Holly,  Sally.  204-5;  227. 

Holmes.  Mary  E..  writes  Ills,  chap., 
work  in  Ills.,  598  et  al. 

Holt,  Gov.  Thomas  M.  (N.  C),  opp. 
worn,  suff.,  212. 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Holt.  Judge  William  H.,  trib.  to 
worn,  in  business,  676. 

Holt,  Gov.  Thomas  M.,  opp.  worn, 
suff.,  212. 

Hopper;  Isaac  T.,  207 ;  1055. 

Home,  St.  Rep.  Alice  Merrill,  work 
in  Utah  Legis.,  954. 

Horton,  Chief  Justice  Albert  H. 
(Kas.),  4.13. 

Hosmer,  Harriet,  164;  795. 

Howard,  H.  Augusta,  201;  235;  en- 
tertains nat'l  conv.,  237;  242;  work 
in  Ga.,  581  et  al. 

Howe,  Chief  Justice  J.  H.  (Wy.), 
worn,  on  juries,  1008. 

Howe,  Julia  Ward,  136;  sp.  at  Int'l. 
Council,  140;  chivalry  of  reform, 
170;  173;  179;  trib.  to  Lucy  Stone, 
225 ;  conv.  of  '94,  229 ;  362 ;  at  Amer. 
conv.  of  '85,  411;  same,  414;  at 
conv.  of  '86,  419;  423;  of  '87,  426; 
bazar  in  Boston,  427  \  conv.  of  '88, 
428;  appeal  to  Constit'l.  Convs., 
432;  546;  in  Kas.,  640;  678;  in 
Maine,  689;  in  Baltimore,  695;  pres. 
N.  E.  and  Mass.  Ass'ns,  701 ;  work 
in  Mass.,  702  et  al.;  712;  720;  in 
Minn.,  772 ;  in  N.  J.,  821 ;  in  N.  Y., 
842;  in  R.  I.,  908  et  al. ;  in  Vt., 
957;  in  Wis.,  986. 

Hpwell,  Mary  Seymour,  at  conv.  of 
'84,  17;  before  U.  S.  Sen.  Com.,  39; 
worn,  present  and  past,  116;  149; 
169;  the  woman's  war,  231 ;  at  conv. 
of  '98,  293;  358;  536;  in  S.  D. 
campn.,  555 ;  in  Kas.,  642 ;  in  Bos- 
ton, 706;  in  Mo.,  790;  work  in  N. 
Y.,  839  et  al. ;  legis.  work,  853. 

Howells,  William  Dean,  signs  suff. 
petit.,  850. 

Howland,  Emily.  848. 

Howland,  Isabel,  851. 

Hoyt,  Gov.  John  W.,  569;  in  N.  Y., 
840;  worn.  suff.  in  Wy.,  1090. 

Hoyt,  Mrs.  John  W.,  569. 

Hubbell,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  M.,  270. 

Hubner,  Major  Charles  H.,  242. 

Hudson,  Major  J.  K.,  417;  at  Amer. 
conv.  of  '86,  418. 

Hughes,  Hon.  James  L.,  at  conv.  of 
'94,  231 ;  in  Mass.,  715. 

Hughes,  Gov.  L.  C,  work  in  Ariz., 
470  et  al. 

Hughes,  Mrs.  L.  C.,  assists  on  Ariz, 
ch^p.,  work  in  T}'.,  470  et  al. 

Huerhes,  Thomas   (Eng.),  321. 

Hultin,  Rev.  Ida  C..  at  conv.  of  '91, 
175;  179;  184;  of  '94,  232;  235;  sp- 
at  conv.  of  '97,  284;  of  1900,  359; 
361 ;  on  Miss  Anthony's  birthday, 
397;  in  Ills.,  599;  in  Mich.,  758;  in 
Minm,  774;  in  Neb.,  804. 


Humphrey,    St.    Sen.    Lester   H.,    for 

worn.  suff.  in  N.  Y.  Legis.,  862-3. 
Humphrey,    Gov.   Lyman   U.    (Kas.), 

433;  652;  762. 
Hunt,  Gov.  Frank  W.,  worn,  on  juries, 

506;  worn.  suff.  in  Idaho,  1088. 
Hunt,   Dr.    Harriot    K.,   295;    in   '58, 

721 ;  first  worn,  phys.,  748. 
Hunt,  Jane,  294. 
Hunt,  Mary  H.,  in  Ga.,  585 ;  in  N.  Y., 

859;  on  "age  of  consent,"  866. 
Hunt,  Assoc.  Justice  Ward,  sentences 

Miss  Anthony  for  voting,  153. 
Hunting,  Rev.  S.  S.,  411;  425. 
Huntington,  Arria  S.,  843. 
Hurd,  Dr.   Ethel  E.,  367;  772;  work 

in  Minn.,  774  et  al. 
Husted,  St.  Sp'k'r.  James  W.  (N.  Y.), 

favors  worn,  suff.,  853  et  al. 
Huston.      Sup.      Judge     Joseph     W. 

(Idaho),     decis.     on     worn.     suff. 

amdt.,  593. 
Hussey,  Cornelia  Collins,  417;  work 

for  worn,   suff.,  820;   contributions, 

827  et  al. 
Hussey,   Dr.   Mary  D.,  writes   N.  J. 

chap.,  820 ;  work  in  N.  J.,  824  et  al. ; 

forms  worn,  lawyers'  club,  833. 
Hutchinson,  Abby  (See  Patton). 
Hutchinson,  John  W.,  75 ;  conv.  of 

'98,  298;    sings   at   Miss   Anthony's 

birthday,  396;  in  Mass.,  705. 

I 

Idaho,  names  for,  Chap.  XXXVI. 
Ide,  U.  S.  Com.  Henry  C.,  960. 
Illinois,   names   for,    Chap.   XXXVII. 
Indiana,  names  for,  Chap.  XXXVIII. 
Ingalls,  U.  S.  Sen.  John  J.,  opp.  worn. 

suff.,  641. 
Ingersoll,  Robert  J.,  signs  suff.  petit., 

850. 
Iowa,  names  for,  Chap.  XXXIX. 


Jackson,  Francis,  227. 

Jackson,  Dr.  James  C.,  205 ;  259. 

Jackson,  Lottie  Wilson,  343. 

Jackson,  Dr.  Mary  B.,  295. 

Jacobi,  Dr.  Mary  Putnam,  in  Boston, 

715;  in  N.  Y.  camp'n.,  850  et  al. 
Jacobs,  Judge   Orange  J.,  in   Wash,, 

969;  976;  1096. 

James,  Helen  Mosher,  391 ;  900. 
Jenkins,  Helen  Philleo,  298;  on  worn. 

in  Philippines,  331 ;  work  in  Mich., 

756  et  al. 
Jenkins,  Theresa  A.,  253;  in  Col.,  516; 

part   in   Wy.   celebration,   1004-5. 
Jenney,  Julie  R.,  255. 


INDEX    OF    PROPER    NAMES. 


1135 


Jennings,  Gov.  William  S.  (Fla.).  579- 

Johns,  Laura  M.,  149;  156;  164;  174; 
on  work  in  Kas.,  220 ;  at  conv.  of  '04, 
221;  224;  248;  263;  in  Idaho,  284; 
conv.  of  1900,  367;  work  in  Ariz., 
470-1;  513;  in  N.  D.,  546;  in  S.  D. 
camp'n.,  555;  in  Idaho  camp'n.,  591 ; 
in  Iowa,  631 ;  assists  on  Kas.  chap., 
638;  work  in  Kas.,  639  et  al. ;  sug- 
gests yellow  ribbon  suff.  badge, 
640;  describes  Mrs.  Diggs'  sp.,  646; 
legis.  work,  650;  in  Boston,  706; 
762;  in  Minn.,  773;  in  Mo.,  790-1; 
in  N.  M.,  835 ;  in  Ok.,  887. 

Johnson,  Addie  M.,  632;  writes  Mo. 
chap.,  700 ;  work  in  Mo.,  791  et  al. 

Johnson,  Adelaide,  216. 

Johnson,  Martin  N.,  M.  C,  189;  546. 

Johnson,  Mrs.  Rossiter,  opposes  worn, 
suff.,  382;  863. 

Jones,  J.  Elizabeth,  275. 

Jones,  U.  S.  Sen.  James  K.,  in;  opp. 
worn,  suff.,  1002. 

Jones,  Jenkyn  Lloyd,  705. 

Jones,  Gov.  John  P.  (Nev.),  recom. 
worn.  suff.  amd't.,  813. 

Jones.  Mrs.  W.  H.,  polit.  del.,  439. 

Jordan,  David  Starr,  pres.  Stanford 
Univ.,  480;  for  worn,  suff.,  483. 

Julian,  George  W.,  M.  C,  23;  for 
worn,  suff.,  614. 

Julian,  Laura  Giddings,  61 ;  410. 

K 

Kansas,  names  for,  Chap.  XL. 
Kearney,  Belle,  at  conv.  of  '98,  293; 

in  Miss.,  789;  in  N.  C,  874. 
Keating,  Martha  A.,  324. 
Keefer,  Bessie  Starr   (Canada),  136; 

140. 
Keifer,  J.  Warren,  M.  C.,  31;  sp.  for 

worn,  suff.,  32. 

Keith,  Mrs.  William  A.,  479  et  al. 
Kelley,  Florence,  23;  working  worn. 

need    ballot,    31 1 ;    secures    factory 

inspec.  law,  604;  608. 
Kelley,  William  D.,  M.  C,  spks.  at 

suff.  conv.,  147;  174. 
Kellogg,  Atty.-Gen.  L.  B.  (Kas.),  433! 

656:  762. 

Kelly,  Abby  (See  Foster). 
Kelsey,  Mary  Atwater,  323. 
Kelsey,  St.  Rep.  Otto,  for  worn.  suff. 

in  N.  Y.  Legis.,  860  et  seq. 
Kent,  Rev.  Alexander,  worn,  and  He- 
brew scriptures,  146. 
Kentucky,  names  for,  Chap.  XLI. 
Kepley,  Ada  H.,  first  worn,  law  grad., 

610. 
Ketcham,  Emily  B..  235;  conv.  of  '09, 

322-3;  work  in  Mich.,  755  et  al. 


Keyser,  Harriette  A.,  256;  263. 
Kilgore,  Carrie -Burnham,  contest  for 

right  to  prac.  law  in  Penn.,  904. 
Kimball,  Flora  M.,  345;  work  in  Cal., 

496. 

Kimball,  Sarah  M.,  345. 
Kimber,  Helen  L.,  644  et  al. ;  774, 
King,  Henrietta,  largest  cattle  owner, 

934- 

King,  William  H.,  M.  C,  941. 
Kingman,  Judge  John  W.,  worn.  suff. 

in  Wy.,  1092. 

Kingsbury,  Elizabeth  A.,  494. 
Klock,   St.   Rep.   Frances   S.    (Col.), 

521. 
Knox,  Dr.  Janette  Hill,  writes  chap. 

for  N.  D.,  544;  551. 
Knaggs,   May   Stocking,  at   conv.   of 

'96,  255;  of  '99,  324;  writes   Mich. 

chap..  755 ;  work  in  Mich.,  756  et  al. 
Kollock,  Rev.  Florence    (See  Crook- 

er). 

Korany,  Hanna  (Syria),  221;  228. 
Krog,  Gina   (Norway),  1041. 
Krout,  Mary  H.,  613. 
Kyle,  U.  S.  Sen.  James  H.,  for  worn. 

suff.,  559. 

L 

Lake,  Leonora  M.  Barry,  164;  509; 

516. 

Lamar,  Gov.  W.  B.   (Fla.),  578. 
Langford,     Sup.     Judge     Wm.     G. 

(Wash.),   1098. 
Langhorne,     Orra,     old-time     South. 

worn.,  212;  228;  work  in  Va.,  964. 
Lapham,  U.  S.  Sen.  Elbridge  G.,  12; 

36;  rep.  in  favor  of  worn,  suff.,  47; 

89;  174. 
Laughlin,    Gail,    wage-earning   worn., 

360;  361;  739- 
Lauterbach.    Hon.    Edward,    sp.    for 

worn.  suff..  852. 

Lawrence,  Margaret  Stanton,  163. 
Leach,  Antoinette  D.,  suit  to  practice 

law  in  Ind..  626. 
Lease,  Mary  E.,  617;  657. 
Le  Barthe,  St.  Rep.  Eurithe  (Utah), 

953- 

Lee,  St.  Rep.  Frances  S.  (Col.),  523. 
Leedy.  Gov.  John  W.  (Kas.),  657. 
Leggert,  Lucy  A.,  323. 
Leonard,  Gara  T..  107;  721. 
Leonard.  Emily  J.,  410. 
Levanway,  Dr.  Charlotte,  345. 
Lewelling,   Gov.   L.    D.    (Kas.),   opp. 

worn,  suff.,  645 ;  657. 
Lewis,  Helen  Morris.  263;  696;  in  S. 

C.  922. 

Lewis,  Hon.  Isaac  C.,  536. 
Lincoln,  President  Abraham,  305;  fa- 
vors worn,  suff.,  1075. 


1136 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Lincoln,  Judge  Charles  Z.,  858;  864. 

Lind,  Gov.  John  (Minn.),  780. 

Lindhagen,  Carl,  301. 

Lindsay,  U.  S.  Sen.  William,  woman's 
property  bill  in  Ky.,  668. 

Lippincott,  Chancellor  J.  A.,  423. 

Lippincott,  Sara  J.  (See  Greenwood). 

Livermore,  Rev.  Danled  P.,  701  et  al. 

Livermore,  Mary  A.,  407;  408;  410; 
411 ;  let.  to  Amer.  conv.  of  '85,  412; 
426 ;  427 ;  appeal  to  Constitl.  Convs., 
432;  517;  in  Maine,  689;  work  in 
Mass.,  704  et  al. ;  712;  golden  wed., 
715;  made  LL.  D.,  717;  Sanit.  Com., 
719;  Both  birthday,  720;  732;  on 
mock  referendum,  734;  in  N.  J., 
821;  in  R.  I.,  910;  920;  in  Vt.,  957; 
in  Wis.,  985 ;  same,  986 ;  same,  989. 

Locke,  Josephine  E.,  927. 

Lockwood,  Belva  A.,  18;  admit  to 
Sup.  Ct.,  33;  75;  worn,  journalists, 
343;  569;  S7i;  575;  640;  spks.  for 
Utah  worn.,  939. 

Lockwood,  Mary  S.,  worn,  at  Columb. 
Expos.,  21 1 ;  254;  569;  575. 

Logan,  Mrs.  John  A.,  164. 

Logan,  Millie  Burtis,  298. 

Long,  Secy,  of  the  Navy  John  D., 
346;  assists  suff.  work  in  Mass., 
707  et  al. ;  727. 

Longfellow,  Rev.  Samuel  G.,  703. 

Longley,  Margaret  V.,  494. 

Longshore,  Dr.    Hannah   Myers,  905. 

Longshore,  Dr.  Joseph  S.,  work  for 
Worn.  Med.  Coll.  in  Phila.,  905. 

Lord,  Gov.  and  Mrs.  William  P. 
(Ore.),  on  suff.  platform,  891. 

Lore,  Chief  Justice  Charles  B.  (Del.), 

565- 

Lorimer,  George  C,  D.  D.,  718. 
Louisiana,  names  for.  Chap.  XLII. 
Love,  Alfred  H.,  300. 
Low,  Mayor  Seth,  872. 
Lowell,    Francis    C.,    pres.    anti-suff. 

ass'n.,  735. 

Lowell,  Josephine  Shaw,  850;  856. 
Lozier,  Dr.  Abram  W.,  259. 
Lozier,    Dr.    Clemence    S.,    16;    146; 

295;  work  in  N.  Y.,  840  et  al. 
Lucas,  Margaret  Bright    (Eng.),  22; 

124;  174;  423- 
Lucas,  W.  B.,  M.  C.,  559. 
Luce,  Gov.  Cyrus  G.  (Mich.),  756. 
Lusk,  Hon.  Hugh  H.  (N.  Z.),  719. 
Lux.  Miranda,  donat.  to  educat.,  507. 
Lyne,  Sir  William,  Premier  N.  S.  W., 

for  worn,  suff.,  1030. 
Lynes,  J.  Colton,  244. 
Lyon,  Mary,  320;  355. 

M 

MacDonald.  Sir  John,  Premier  of 
Canada,  bill  for  worn,  suff.,  1034. 


Machen,  August  W.,  297. 
Macomber,  Mattie  Locke,  271. 
Maddox,  Etta,  obtains  right  for  worn. 

to  prac.  law  in  Md.,  700. 
Madison,  Pres.  James,  on  Fed.  Suff., 

7;  same,  8;  a  vote  necessary,  66. 
Maguire,  James  G.,  M.  C.,  480;  489. 
Maine,  names  for,  Chap.  XLIII. 
Marble,   Ella   M.   S.,   157;    176;  201; 

in  Dak.,  546;  in  N.  M.,  835. 
Marsh,  Annie  McLean,  430. 
Marshall,   Dean   Clara,    M.   D.,   296; 

904. 

Marshall,  Marie   (Paris),  711. 
Martin,  E.  W.,  M.  C,  559- 
Martin,  Ellen  A.,  600;  604;  609. 
Martin,  Gov.  John  A.    (Kas.),  signs 

munic.  worn.  suff.  bill,  651. 
Martin,  Juliet  N.,  417. 
Maryland,  names  for,  Chap.  XLIV. 
Mason,  Evaleen  L.,  201. 
Mason,  Prof.  Otis  T.,  328;  331. 
Massachusetts,      names      for,      Chap. 

XLV. 

Massachusetts  Nat'l.,  names  for,  750. 
Maxwell,    Claudia   Howard,  235;  en- 
tertains nat'l.  conv.,  237 ;  581 ;  582. 
May,  Abby  W.,  146. 
May,  Rev.  Samuel  J.,  227;  702. 
Maybury,    William    C,    M.    C.,    rep. 

against  worn,  suff.,  47. 
Maynard,    Rev.    Mila    Tupper     (See 

Tupper). 
McAdam,  Chief  Justice,  right  of  worn. 

to  hold  office  in  N.  Y.,  1095. 
McAdow,    Clara    L.,    554;    work    in 

Mont.,  797. 

McCall,  Samuel  Walker,  M.  C,  712. 
McClintock,  Mary  Ann,  288. 
McCoid,  Moses  A.,  M.  C.,  rep.  in  fa- 
vor of  worn,  suff.,  52. 
McComas,  Alice  Moore,  480;  in  Ore., 

893;    writes    S.    Calif,    chap.,    494; 

495;  497- 

McConnell,  Amanda,  174. 

McConnelly.  Mary  A.,  323. 

McCulloch,  Catharine  Waugh,  276; 
297;  before  House  com.  of  1900, 
378;  393;  443;  598;  work  in  Ills. 
Legis.,  602;  same,  603;  for  trustees 
St.  Univ..  606,  607;  616;  630;  696; 
in  Wis.,  989. 

McCulloch,  Sec.  of  the  Treasury 
Hugh,  259. 

McDiarmid.  Gara  A.,  475. 

McDonald,  Eva  (Mrs.  Valesh),  782. 

McGlynn,  Dr.  Edward,  spks.  for 
worn,  suff.,  843. 

McKinley,  President  William,  ap- 
points worn,  com'r.  to  Paris  Ex- 
pos., 367;  courtesy  to  suff.  ass'n  and 
Miss  Anthony.  384:  570;  1010. 

McKinley,  Mrs.  William,  384. 


INDEX    OF    PROPER    XAMES. 


McLaren,  Priscilla  Bright,  worn.  suff. 

in  Eng.  and  America,  22;  for  Int'l. 

Council,   124;   135;  301;  366. 
McLean,  Mrs.  John  R.,  262;  luncheon 

for  Miss  Anthony,  291. 
McLendon,  Mary  L.,  welcomes  nat'l. 

conv.,  242 ;   writes  Ga.   chap.,  581 ; 

583. 

McMillan,  U.  S.  Sen.  James,  571 ;  572. 
McPherson,  Mary  E.,  59. 
McQuaid,  Bishop,  for  worn,  suff.,  366. 
McSherry,  Justice  C  J.  (Md.),  denies 

right  of  worn,  to  prac.  law,  700. 
McVicar,  Mayor  John,  270. 
Mead,    Elizabeth    Storrs,    pres.    Mt. 

Holyoke  Coll.,  709. 
Mellette,  Gov.  Arthur  C.  (S.  D.),  559. 
Mendenhall,  Dinah,  174. 
Meredith,     Ellis,    222;    235;     writes 

Colo,  chap.,  509;  513  et  al. ;  in  N.  J., 

825 ;  in  Utah,  947. 
Meredith,     Emily    R.,    writes    Colo. 

chap.,  509. 
Meriwether,  Elizabeth  Avery,  72;  76; 

79- 

Meriwether,  Lee,  72. 

Meriwether,   Lida   A.,   182;    187;   sp. 

before  U.  S.  Senate  com.,  195;  242; 

247  5  475 ;  in  Mich.,  757 ;  writes  Tenn. 

chap.,  work  in  Tenn.,  926  et  al. 
Merrick,    Caroline   E.,  61 ;    81 ;    140; 

sp.  at  conv.  of  '95,  243 ;  work  in  La., 

678  et  al. 
Merrick,     Chief    Justice     Edwin    T. 

(La.),  275;  678. 
Merrill,  Estelle  M.  H.,  710. 
Merritt,  Dr.  Salome,  730;  750. 
Michigan,  names  for,  Chap.  XLVI. 
Mill,  John  Stuart,  26;  1019. 
Miller,  Annie  Jenness,  615;  854. 
Miller,    Caroline    Hallowell,    sp.    at 

conv.  of  '84,  20;  72;  114;  147;  187; 

263 ;  296 ;  391 ;  work  in  Md.,  695. 
Miller,    Elizabeth    Smith,   435;    844; 

861. 

Mills,  C.  D.  B.,  847. 
Mills,  Harriet  May,  215^265;  sp.  on 

educat'l  freedom,  354;  in  Cal.,  487; 

in  Mich.,  750;  work  in  N.  Y.,  847 

et  al. ;  in  O.,  880. 

Minnesota,  names  for,  Chap.  XLVTI. 
Minor,  Francis,  worn.  suff.  under  I4th 

amend.,  3 ;  before  U.  S.  Sup.  Ct.,  5 ; 
"on  Fed.  Suff.,  6;  204. 
Minor,  Virginia  L.,  vote1,  trial  and  de- 
cision,   5;    Sup.    Ct.    reference    to 

same,   9;    17;   right   of  women  to 

vote  under  Const'n.,  78;  152;  153; 

156;   157;   162;  250;  295;  work  in 

Mo.,  790  et  al. 

Mississippi,  names  for.  Chap.  XL VIII. 
Missouri,  names  for,  Chap.  XLIX. 

VOL.  IV  WOM.  SUF— 72 


Mitchell,  U.  S.  Sen.  John  A.,  rep.  for 

worn,  suff.,  12. 
Mitchell,  Lucretia,  235. 
Mitchell,  Maria,   174. 
Montana,  names  for,  Chap.  L. 
Moore,  Rev.  Henrietta  G.,  558;  563; 

632;  696;  in  O.,  879;  in  W.  Va.f  980. 
Moore,  Laura,  writes  Vt  chap.,  work 

in  Vt.,  957  et  al. 
Moore,  Margaret  (Ireland),  135;  703; 

in  N.  Y.,  840. 

Moore,  Rebecca  (Eng.),  705. 
Morgan,  U.  S.  Sen.  John  T.,  347  ;  ad- 

vises   worn,    taxpayers'    suffT,   468; 

opp.  worn.  suff.  in  Wy.,  1001,  1002; 

favors  taxpayers'  suff.  in  Ala.,  1002. 
Morgan,   Sup.  Judge  John   T.    (Ida- 

ho), decis.  on  worn.  suff.  amdt.,  593. 
Morris,  Judge  Esther,  first  worn,  jus- 

tice of  peace,  994;  presents  flag  to 

Wy.,  1004. 

Morris,  Gov.  Luzon  B.  (N.  J.),  537. 
Morris,   Hon.   Robert   C,  assists   on 

Wy.  chap.,  994. 
Morrison,  Frank,  359. 
Morrison,  Mrs.  (L.  A.),  19. 
Morrow,  Lena,  337  ;  792  ;  in  Ore.,  895. 
Morse,  Elijah,  M.  C,  718. 
Mosher,   Prof.  Frances  Stewart,  293. 
Mott,  James,  299. 
Mott,  Lucretia,  133;  205;  227;  truth 

for  authority,  260;  264;  288;  294; 

295;  299. 

Murdock,  Mrs.  W.  A.,  1069. 
Murphy,  Claudia  Quigley,  219. 
Murphy,  Eliza,  275. 
Murphy,  Gov.  N.  O.   (Ariz.),  recom- 

mends worn,  suff.,  472. 
Mussey,   Dean    Ellen    Spencer,   569; 

374;  573. 


Names  of  eminent  persons  in  favor  of 

worn,  suff.,  beginning  1075. 
Nebraska,  names  for,  Chap.  LI. 
Neblett,  A.  Viola,  289;  922. 
Nelson,  Julia  Ballard,  74;  77;  finan- 

cial side  of  worn,  suff.,  79;  547;  in 

S.   D.    campn.,    555;    writes    Minn. 

chap.,  work  in  St..  772  et  al.  ;  legis. 

work,  775  ;  in  Neb.,  803  ;  in  N.  M., 

835  ;  in  Ok.,  886. 
Nevada,  names  for,  Chap.  LTI. 
New    Hampshire,   names    for,    Chap. 

LIII. 

New  Jersey,  names  for.  Chap.  LTV. 
New  Mexico,  names  for.  Chap.  LV. 
New  York,  names  for,  Chap.  LVI. 
New  South  Wales,  names  for,  1029. 
New  Zealand,  names  for.  1025. 
Newcomb,  Josephine  Louise,  endows 

college  in  La.,  688. 


1 138 


HISTORY   OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Newell,  Gov.  William  A.  (Wash.), 
967. 

Newman,  Bishop  John  P.,  in  fav.  of 
worn,  suff.,  opens  conv.,  112. 

Newton,  Rev.  Heber,  signs  suff.  pe- 
tit., 850. 

Neymann,  Clara,  German  and  Amer. 
independence,  73;  77;  before  House 
Com.,  81 ;  117;  187;  298;  in  Md., 
695;  in  N.  Y.,  840. 

Nichol,  Elizabeth  Pease   (Scot),  22. 

Nichols,  Clarina  I.  Howard,  61 ;  294. 

Nixon,  St.  Spkr.  F.  S.,  N.  Y.,  846; 
858;  863. 

Nordhoff,  Charles,  164. 

North  Carolina,  names  for,  Chap. 
LVII. 

Nozaleda,  Archbishop,  348. 

Nye,  Edgar  Wilson  (Bill  Nye),  in 
favor  of  worn,  suff.,  1006. 


Gates,  William  C,  M.  C,  opp.  worn. 

suff.,  999. 

Obenchain,  Lida  Calvert,  927. 
Obermann,  Mr.,  pres.  Brewers'  Ass'n., 

448. 
Odell,  Gov.  Benjamin  F.  (N.  Y.),for 

worn,  taxpayers'  suff.,  862 ;  864. 
Ohio,  names  for,  Chap.  LVIII. 
Oklahoma,  names  for,  Chap.  LIX. 
Oliver,  Rev.  Anna,  23;  trib.  of  Miss 

Shaw,  206;  207. 
Oregon,  names  for,  Chap.  LX. 
Osborne,  Eliza  Wright,  298;  342;  842. 
Otis,  James,  66,  on  virtual  represent. 
Otis,  Mrs.  John  G.,  220. 
Owen,  Robert  Dale,  619. 
Owen,  Rosamond  Dale,  23. 


Palmer,  Bertha  Honore,  184;  367;  at 
Paris  Expos.,  608;  at  Columb.  Ex- 
pos., 609. 

Palmer,  Fanny  Purdy.  711;  917;  918. 

Palmer,  U.  S.  Sen.  Thomas  W.,  12; 
rep.  in  favor  of  worn,  suff.,  47; 
Senate  sp.  in  favor,  62;  127;  164: 
366;  554;  in  Mich.,  755;  756;  ad. 
Mich.  suff.  conv.,  758,  762. 

t*ardee,  Lillie,  048-9. 

Parker,  Frances  Stuart,  174. 

Parker,  Margaret  E.  (Eng.),  for  Intl. 
Council,  124;  840. 

Parker,  Theodore,  720. 

Parkes,  Sir  Henry,  Premier  N.  S.  W., 
bill  for  worn,  suff.,  1029;  1030. 

Parkman,  Francis,  413;  opp.  worn, 
suff.,  721. 

Parnell,  Delia  Stewart,  in  N.  Y.,  840. 


Parrott,  Lieut.-Gov.   (Iowa),  279. 

Passmore,  Elizabeth  B.,  366;  900. 

Patterson,  Katherine  A.  G.  (Mrs. 
Thomas  M.),  515  et  al. 

Patterson,  U.  S.  Sen.  Thomas  M., 
522;  525;  worn.  suff.  in  Col.,  1088. 

Patton,  Abby  Hutchinson,  203. 

Patton,  St.  Supt.  Pub.  Instruct.  Grace 
Espy  (Col.),  293. 

Paul,  A.  Emmagene,  worn,  in  street- 
cleaning  dept.,  364;  608. 

Payne,  U.  S.  Sen.  Henry  B.,  1002. 

Peayy,  St.  Supt.  Pub.  Instruct.  An- 
toinette J.  (Col.),  521. 

Peelle,  Stanton  J.,  M.  C.,  426. 

Peet,  Mrs.  B.  Sturtevant,  484. 

Peffer,  U.  S.  Sen.  William  A.,  231; 
in  fav.  of  worn,  suff.,  267. 

Pellew,  George,  713. 

Penn,  Hannah,  acting  Gov.  of  Penn., 
903- 

Pennsylvania,  names  for,  Chap.  LXI. 

Pepys,  Samuel,  why  new  gown  for 
wife,  424. 

Perkins,  U.  S.  Sen.  George  C,  480; 
495- 

Perkins,  Sarah  M.,  70;  150;  in  N.  J., 
820. 

Pettigrew,    U.    S.    Sen.    Richard    R, 

554;  559- 

Peabody,  Elizabeth,  227. 

Pearson,  Mrs.    (Eng.),   117. 

Pence,  Lafayette,  M.  C,  224. 

Phelps,  Eliz.  Stuart  (See  Ward).  _ 

Philbrook,  Mary,  contest  to  practice 
law  in  N.  J.,  833. 

Philleo,  Prudence  Crandall,  174. 

Phillips,  Elizabeth  McClintock,  275. 

Phillips,  Wendell,  notifies  Miss  An- 
thony of  legacy,  V;  15;  19;  memo- 
rial res.,  25;  207;  227;  345;  354; 
expediency,  381 ;  410 ;  mem.  serv. 
of  Mass,  ass'n.,  702;  708;  petit,  for 
worn.  suff.  in  '53,  720;  same,  721. 

Phillips,  Mrs.  Wendell,  trib.  to.  25. 

Pickler,  Alice  M.  A.  (Mrs.  J.  A.), 
173:  183;  235;  423;  544;  writes  S. 
D.  chap.,  552;  554. 

Pickler,  Major  J.  A.,  M.  C,  75;  163; 
174:  183;  189;  on  worn.  suff.  bill  in 
S.  D.,  414;  423;  efforts  for  worn, 
suff.  in  S.  D..  543;  554. 

Pierce,  Gov.  Gilbert  A.,  74;  414;  543. 

Pike,  Martha  E.,  writes  Wash,  chap., 
967;  work  in  Wash.,  976  et  al. 

Pillsbury,  Mayor  George  A.,  411. 

Pillsbury,  Parker,  276;  cony.  mem. 
res.,  344;  Mrs.  Stanton's  trib.,  345; 
worn.  suff.  in  N.  H.,  815. 

Pingree,  Gov.  Hazen  S.   (Mich.),  765. 

Platt,  U.  S.  Sen.  Orville  H.,  on  worn, 
suff.,  1003. 


INDEX    OF    PROPER    NAMES. 


Platt,  U.  S.  Sen.  Thomas  C,  favors 

worn,  suff.,  864. 
Plumb,   U.    S.   Sen.    Preston   B.,   for 

worn,  suff.,  in. 
Poland,  Luke  P.,  M.  C.,  report  against 

worn,  suff.,  50;  958. 
Pond,  Cora  Scott,  425;  427;  work  in 

Mass.,  706  et  al. ;  in  R.  I.,  910. 
Porter,  Maria  G.,  275. 
Post,  Amalia  B.,  295;  942;  work  in 

Wy.,  994;  1004. 
Post,  Amy,  174;  299. 
Potter,  Bishop  Henry  M.,  signs  suff. 

petit..  850. 

Powderly,  Terence  V.,  164;  184. 
Powell,  Aaron  M.,  in  N.  J.,  820;  mem. 

res.,  826;  828;  843. 
Preston,  Dr.  Ann,  295 ;  founds  Worn. 

Hosp.  in  Phila.,  905. 
Price,  Prof.  Ellen  H.  E.,  318;  564. 
Pruyn,    Mrs.    John    V.   L.,   organizes 

anti-suff.  soc..  850. 
Pugh,  Sarah,  61 ;  294. 
Purvis,  Robert.  23;  136;  163;  trib.  of 

Mrs.  Stanton,  345 ;  in  Penn.,  900. 
Putnam,  Rev.  Helen  G.,  555. 


Quarles,  Sup.  Judge  Ralph,  decis.  on 

worn.  suff.  in  Idaho,  1089. 
Queensland,  names  for,  1032. 
Quincy,  St.  Rep.  Josiah,  in  Mass. 

Legis.,  723. 
Quinton,  Amelia  Stone,  1054. 


Rainsford,  Rev.  W.  S.,  850. 
Ralph,  Julian,  363. 
Ramabai,  Pundita,  136;  321. 
Ranney,  A.  A.,  M.  C,  rep.  in  favor  of 

worn,  suff.,  84. 

Rastall,  Fannie  H.,  613 ;  641. 
Reagan,    U.    S.    Sen.    John    H.,    sp. 

against  worn,  suff.,  31 ;  lOOO. 
Reed,  Charles  Wesley,  488. 
Reed,  Kitty,  285. 
Reed,    Speaker   Thomas    B.,    rep.    in 

favor  of  worn,  suff.,  52;  164;  710. 
Reel.  Estelle,  worn.  suff.  in  Wy.,  301 ; 

Nat'l.  Supt.  Indian  Sch.,  1010. 
Renkes,  Flora  Beadle,  338. 
Rhode  Island,  names  for,  Chap.  LXIT. 
Rhodes,   Margaret   Olive,   writes  Ok. 

chap.,  work  in  Ty.,  886  et  al. 
Rhone,  Leonard,  228. 
Rich,    Gov.    John    T.    (Mich.),   signs 

munic.  suff.  bill,  764. 
Richards,  Gov.  De  Forest  (Wy.),  ad- 
vocates worn,  suff.,  1008. 
Richards,    Emily   S.,  262;   400;    593; 


assists    on    Utah    chap.,    work    in 

Utah,  936  et  al. ;  950. 
Richards,  Gov.  and  Mrs.  William  A. 

(Wy.),  1005. 

Richer,  Leon  (France),  23. 
Richey,  Clara  M.,  writes  Iowa  chap., 

628;  632. 
Ricker,  Marilla  M.,  in  Calif.,  478;  in 

N.  H.,  816. 
Riddle,  Judge  Albert  G.,  sp.  at  cpnv. 

of  '89,  144;  trib.  to  Francis  Minor 

and  B.  F.  Butler,  204. 
Ripley,  Dr.  Martha  G.,  417;  work  in 

Minn.,  772  et  al. 

Ritchie,  Anne  Thackeray  (Eng.),loi5. 
Roach,  U.  S.  Sen.  W.  N.,  546. 
Roberts,    Brigham    H.    (Utah),   opp. 

worn,  suff.,  946. 
Robertson,  J.  M.  (Eng.),  719. 
Robinson,   Emily,  294. 
Robinson,  Gov.   George  D.    (Mass.), 

opp.  worn,  suff.,  712. 
Robinson,  Harriet  H.,  26;  721;  750. 
Robinson,  Lelia  J.,  LL.  B.,  454;  legis. 

work  in  Mass.,  722;  748. 
Rockefeller,  John  D.,  signs  suff.  petit., 

850. 

Roe,  St.  Rep.  Alfred  S.,  715;  732. 
Rogers,   Caroline   Gilkey,    19;    before 

U.  S.  Sen.  com.,  38;  57;  118;  work 

in  N.  Y.,  839:  et  al. 
Rogers,  Gov.  John  R.  (Wash.),  973. 
Rollit,   Sir  Albert,   M.    P.,  work  for 

worn,  suff.,  1016. 
Roosevelt,    President    Theodore,    rec- 

om.    worn.    suff.   to    N.   Y.   Legis., 

861;   1075. 
Root,   Martha    Snyder,  6;    173;    183; 

work  in  Mich.,  756  et  al. 
Root,  Melvin  A.,  183;  337;  work  in 

Mich.,  756  et  al. ;  757. 
Rose,  Ernestine  L.,  23;  70;  203;  227; 

294. 

Ross.  Hon.  John,  224. 
Routt,  Eliza  F.  (Mrs.  John  L.),  224; 

SIS;  519- 

Routt,  Gov.  John  L.,  212;  224. 
Russell,  Sarah  A.   (Mrs.  Daniel  L.), 

writes  N.  C.  chap.,  874. 
Russell,  Thomas,  382;  opp.  worn.  suff. 

in  Mass.  Legis.,  733. 
Rutherford,  Annie  O.  (Canada),  342. 


Sadler,  Gov.  Reinhold  (Nev.),  recom, 

worn.  suff.  amdt,  813. 
Sage,  Russell,  signs  suff.  petit.,  850. 
Salisbury,    Marquis    of,    Premier    of 

England,  for  worn,  suff.,  1020. 
Sanborn,  Frank  B.,  722. 
Sanders,  U.  S.  Sen.  Wilbur  F..  1001. 


1140 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Sargent,  U.  S.  Sen.  Aaron  A.,  23; 
366. 

Sargent,  Ellen  Clark  (Mrs.  Aaron 
A.),  287;  366;  assists  on  Calii. 
chap.,  478 ;  481 ;  482 ;  in  Calif, 
camp'n.,  487 ;  test  case  for  suff.,  504. 

Sargent,  Dr.  Elizabeth  C,  135  J  366; 
487- 

Sargent,  George  C.,  504. 

Sartoris,  Nellie  Grant,  262. 

Sather,  Jane  Krom,  donat.  to  Cal. 
Univers.,  507. 

Saunders,  Charles  R.,  sec'y.  anti-suff. 
ass'n.,  735 ;  737- 

Saunders,  Jessie  Cassidy,  288;  369. 

Savage,  Rev.  Minot  J.,  703. 

Sawyer,  U.  S.  Sen.  Philetus,  for  worn, 
suff.,  987. 

Saxon,  Elizabeth  Lyle,  sp.  at  conv.  of 
'93,  187;  201;  243;  583;  640;  work 
in  La.,  678;  in  Neb.,  802;  in  Tenn., 
926;  in  Utah,  940;  in  Wash.,  970; 
in  Wis.,  989. 

Sayers,  Gov.  Joseph  D.   (Texas), 934. 

Scatcherd,  Alice  (Eng.),  124;  135; 
140;  705;  in  N.  Y.,  841. 

Schenck,  Elizabeth  T.,  61. 

Schofield,  Martha,  923. 

Schreiner,  Olive,  146;  398;  petit,  for 
worn,  suff.,  1015. 

Scott,  Francis  M.,  opp.  worn,  suff., 
851. 

Scott,  Mrs.  Francis  M.,  organizes 
anti-suff.  soc.,  850. 

Scully,  Rev.  Father  Thomas,  717;  740. 

Seddon,  Hon.  H.  J.,  Premier  N.  Z., 
for  worn,  suff.,  1027. 

Seelye,  L.  Clark,  pres.  Smith  Coll., 
opp.  worn,  suff.,  722. 

Segur,  Rosa  L.,  219. 

Selborne,  Earl  of,  for  worn,  suff., 
1016. 

Semple1,  Gov.  Eugene  (Wash.),  signs 
worn.  suff.  bill,  155;  968. 

Severance,  Caroline  M.,  501. 

Severance,  Sarah  M.,  484;  490. 

Sewall,  Harriet  Winslow,  174. 

Sewall,  May  Wright,  call  for  conv.  of 
'84,  15;  sp.  at  same,  19;  27;  equality 
of  sexes,  36;  71 ;  sp.  at  conv.  of  '86, 
74;  before  House  com.,  81 ;  117; 
ex.  com.  rep.,  122;  arranges  for 
Int'l.  Council,  125 ;  call  for  same, 
126;  permanent  Council,  137;  worn, 
in  camp'n.  of  '88,  150;  Miss  An- 
thony's birthday,  163;  173;  175; 
World's  Fair  rep.  and  worn,  suff., 
232;  259;  293;  sp.  before  Senate 
com.  of  '98,  education  and  worn, 
suff.,  307;  at  conv.  of  '99,  true  civ- 
ilization, peace  conf,  336;  337;  at 
conv.  of  1900,  364;  367;  387;  greet- 


ings from  Int'l.  Council  of  Worn, 
on  Miss  Anthony's  birthday,  397; 
at  World's  Fair  Worn.  Cong.,  609; 
610;  work  in  Ind.,  615;  616;  617; 
work  for  club-house  in  Indpls.,  627 ; 
at  Cotton  Centennial,  679;  at  Ad- 
ams, 718;  in  Mich.,  759;  in  Omaha, 
939;  in  Wis.,  986;  pres.  Int'l.  Coun- 
cil, 1045. 

Sewall,  Judge  Samuel  E.,  146;  227; 
721 ;  work  in  Mass,  for  worn,  suff., 
722  et  al. 

Sewall,  Theodore  Lovett,  mem.  serv- 
ice, 259. 

Seymour,  Mary  F.,  127;  227. 

Shafer,  Helen  A.,  pres.  Wellesley 
Coll.,  726. 

Shafroth,  John  F.,  M.  C.,  on  worn, 
suff.  in  Col.,  267;  303;  524. 

Shafroth,  Virginia  Morrison  (Mrs. 
John  F.),  trib.  and  gift  on  Miss 
Anthony's  birthday,  400. 

Shattuck,  Harriette  Robinson,  16;  at 
conv.  of  '84,  21 ;  before  U.  S.  Sen. 
com.,  36;  57;  59;  72;  76;  115;  149; 
721;  750;  in  N.  Y.,  840. 

Shaw,  Rev.  Anna  Howard,  sermon  on 
Heavenly  Vision,  128;  149;  156; 
163;  170;  173;  174;  on  S.  D.  cam- 
p'n., 182;  185;  186;  188;  189;  before 
U.  S.  Sen.  com.,  199;  trib.  to  Mrs. 
R.  W.  Emerson  and  Rev.  Anna 
Oliver,  205;  215;  219;  223;  on 
worn,  behind  throne,  228;  sermon 
at  conv.  of  '94,  229;  233;  235;  239; 
logic  and  emotion  of  worn.,  243; 
sermon  at  conv.  of  '95,  247;  rep.  of 
trip  to  Pacific  Coast,  253;  Miss  An- 
thony's comment  on,  254;  trib.  to 
Mrs.  Dietrick,  259;  263;  on  Pres. 
Eliot,  266;  267;  on  Miss  Anthony 
in  Calif.,  274;  no  millennium  till 
worn,  vote,  278 ;  279 ;  282 ;  288 ;  304 ; 
305 ;  at  conv.  of  '99,  pioneer  women, 
men  are  women's  product,  316; 
3375  339;  closes  conv.  of  '99,  346; 
Miss  Anthony  and  her  right  bower, 
351 ;  rep.  as  delegate  to  Int'l.  Coun- 
cil of  '99,  352;  354;  sermon  at  conv. 
of  1900,  361 ;  373 ;  closes  hearing  be- 
fore House  com.  of  1900,  380; 
birthday  present  and  response,  391 ; 
trib.  on  Miss  Anthony's  8oth  birth- 
day, 402;  417;  425;  427;  431;  at 
Nat'l.  Popu.  conv.  in  '92,  437;  449; 
at  Calif.  Worn.  Cong.,  480;  482; 
486;  in  Calif,  camp'n.,  487;  400; 
visits  Denver,  530;  in  S.  D.  camp'n., 
555;  in  Del.,  564;  in  Ills.,  599;  in 
Ind.,  616;  in  la.,  632;  640;  tour  of 
Kas.,  641 ;  642 ;  in  Kas.  camp'n., 
643;  same,  644;  645;  646;  in  Ky., 


INDEX    OF    PROPER    NAMES. 


II4I 


666;   in   Maine,  689;    in   Md.,  696; 

in  Mass.,  703  et  al. ;  in  Mich.,  756; 

same,  757;  in  Ann  Arbor,  758;  759; 

760;   before   Mich.    Legis.,   764;    in 

Minn.,   773;   in    Mo.,   790;    791;   in 

Neb.,  803;  in  N.  J.,  825;  in  Nev., 

810;  in   N.  Y.,  841;   debates  worn. 

suff.  with  Dr.  Buckley,  842 ;  in  N.  Y. 

camp'n,   849;    in    Qliio,   879-80;    in 

Ore.,  893;  in  Penn.,  899;  in  Utah, 

947 ;  in  Vt,  957 ;  in  W.  Va.,  981 ; 

in  Wis.,  986;  visits  Wy.,  1005. 
Shaw,  Helen  Adelaide,  361 ;  719  et  al. 
Shaw,  Pauline  Agassiz  (Mrs.  Quincy 

A.),  gives  $1,000  to  pub.  Vol.  IV, 

Hist,  of  Worn.  Suff.,  VII. 
Shaw,  Gov.  Leslie  M.   (Iowa),  636. 
Sheehan,  Lieut.-Gov.  William  F.   (N. 

Y.),  opp.  worn,  suff.,  854;  855;  857. 
Sheldon,  Ellen  H.,  27;  126. 
Sherman,  U.  S.  Sen.  John,  7. 
Shippen,  Rev.  Rush  R.,  71;  117. 
Shinn,  Harriet  A.,  228. 
Shortridge,  Charles  M.,  487. 
Shortridge,  Hon.  Samuel,  480. 
Sidgwick,      Mrs.      Henry,      principal 

Newnham    Coll.    (Eng.),  petit,    for 

worn,  suff.,  1015. 
Simmons,  Anna  R.,  558;  791. 
Simpson,  Jerry,  M.  C.,  231. 
Simpson,  Bishop  Matthew,  for  worn. 

suff.,  24;  61;  410. 
Skidmore,  Marian,  259. 
Sloss,  Judge  M.  C.  (Calif.),  decis.  on 

worn,  suff.,  504. 
Smith,  Alice,  235. 
Smith,  Mrs.  Clinton,  575. 
Smith,  Elizabeth  Oakes,  227. 
Smith,  Gerrit,  203;  227. 
Smith,  Hannah  Whitall,  121. 
Smith,   Dr.    Julia   Holmes,   at   Nat'l. 

Dem.  conv.  of  '96,  439;  606;  610. 
Smith,  Rev.  Samuel  G.,  361. 
Smith,  Sara  Winthrop,  6;   184;  201; 

218;  worn.  suff.  under  Const'n.,  234. 
Smith,  Mrs.  William  Alden,  322. 
Snow,  Eliza  R.,  1052. 
Solomon,  Hannah  G.,  1053. 
Somerset,  Lady  Henry,  710;  714;  718. 
South    Carolina,    names    for,    Chap. 

LXIII. 

Southwick,  Sarah  Hussey,  275. 
Southwick,  Thankful,  227. 
Southworth,  Louisa,  nat'l.  enrollment, 

I37't    219;    240;    donat.    for   hdqrs. 

250;  257;  286;  work  in  Ohio,  8/8 

et  al. ;  for  W.  C.  T.  U.,  879. 
Spaulding,    Bishop,    for    worn,    suff., 

366. 
Spence,    Catherine    (Australia),    221; 

224;  730. 
Spencer,  Rev.    Anna   Garlm,  61 ;   sp. 


at  conv.  of  '91,  179;  sp.  before 
Senate  com.  of  '98,  moral  develop, 
and  worn,  suff.,  308 ;  sp.  at  conv.  of 
'99,  worn,  in  our  new  possessions, 
.}_'^ :  in  Boston,  707;  same,  712, 
in  N.  Y.,  855;  writes  R.  I.  chap., 
907 ;  work  in  R.  I.,  908  et  al. ;  920. 

Sperry,  Mary  S.  (Mrs.  Austin),  work 
in  Cal.,  486  et  al. 

Spinner,  U.  S.  Treasurer  F.  E.,  123. 

Spofford,  Ainsworth  R.,  715. 

Spofford,  Charles  W.,  15;  188;  hos- 
pitality to  Miss  Anthony,  366. 

Spofford,  Jane  H.  (Mrs.  Charles  W.), 
15;  27;  126;  174;  work  for  worn. 
suff.,  188;  hospitality  to  Miss  An- 
thony, 366;  571  ;  in  Maine,  690. 

Spreckles,  Claus,  community  property 
case,  502. 

Springer,  William  M.,  M.  C,  opp. 
worn,  suff.,  998. 

Squire,  Gov.  Watson  C.  (Wash.),  tes- 
timony for  worn,  suff.,  155;  968. 

St  John,  Gov.  John  P.  (Kas.),  for 
worn,  suff.,  648. 

Stafford.  St.  Rep.  Wendell  Phillips, 
713 ;  959- 

Stanford,  Jane  Lathrop  (Mrs.  Le- 
land),  356;  endows  univers.,  507. 

Stanford,  U.  S.  Sen.  Leland,  trib. 
to,  227;  founds  univers.,  507;  554. 

Stanton,  Elizabeth  Cady,  ten  yrs. 
work  on  Hist,  of  Worn.  Stiff.,  Ill; 
sells  rights  in  Hist,  to  Miss  An- 
thony, VI ;  mental  vigor  at  87, 
VII ;  tries  to  prevent  "male"  in 
Nat'l.  Consti.,  2;  organizes  Xat'l. 
Ass'n.,  14;  calls  conv.  of  '84,  15; 
21 ;  27;  self-gov't.  best  means  of 
self-development,  40;  sp.  at  conv. 
of  '85,  57;  rights  of  worn,  in  church, 
59;  power  of  relig.  over  worn.,  60; 
70;  res.  on  worn.  suff.  and  church. 
75 ;  112;  ridicules  rep.  of  Brown  and 
Cockrell,  113;  part  in  Int'l.  Coun- 
cil of  Worn.,  124;  sp.  at  same,  133; 
136;  137;  woman's  constit'l.  right 
to  vote,  138;  objects  to  thanking 
men  for  justice,  145;  150;  prophecy 
fulfilled,  153;  before  U.  S.  Sen.com. 
of  '90,  158;  questioned  by  com., 
161 ;  163 ;  friendship  for  Miss  An- 
thony, 164;  great  sp.  at  conv.  of 
'op,  165;  169;  174;  degradation  of 
disfranchm't,  176;  last  appearance 
at  natl.  conv.,  186;  Solitude  of  Self, 
189;  205;  trib.  to  dead,  227;  236; 
Both  birthday,  250;  Woman's  Bible, 
263;  Miss  Anthony  defends  her, 
264;  House  com.  in  '96,  268;  288: 
sp.  at  conv.  of  '98,  our  defeats  and 
our  triumphs,  291 ;  299 ;  304 ;  before 


1142 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 


Senate  com.  of  '98,  history  of  bal- 
lot, 316;  worn,  are  pariahs  and 
fight  their  battles  alone,  337;  342; 
trib.  to  Pillsbury  and  Purvis,  345 ; 
353J  359J  appeal  to  House  com.  of 
I9°°,  376;  long  in  office,  387;  402; 
404;  415;  first  app.  at  polit.  conv., 
435;  443;  480;  517;  woman's  work 
at  Centennial,  526;  715;  in  Minn., 
772;  in  Mo.,  790;  in  Neb.,  802; 
pioneer  work  in  N.  Y.,  839;  844; 
846;  849;  early  legis.  work  in  N. 
Y.,  852;  work  for  equal  guardian- 
ship, 857;  in  Utah,  936;  welcomes 
Utah  worn.,  937;  in  Wis.,  985;  ad. 
on  Wy.,  1004. 

Stan  ton,  Marguerite  Berry  (Mrs. 
Theodore),  27. 

Stanton,  Theodore,  23;  26. 

Starrett,  Helen  Ekin,  trib.  to  Lucy 
Stone,  407. 

Stearns,  Judge  J.  B.,  774. 

Stearns,  Sarah  Burger,  in  Calif.,  501 ; 
630;  work  in  Minn.,  774  et  al. 

Stebbins,  Catharine  A.  F.,  299;  work 
in  Mich.,  760. 

Stebbins,  Giles  B.,  in  Mich.,  760. 

Stetson,  Charlotte  Perkins,  at  conv. 
of  '96,  255;  same,  258;  263;  ballot 
and  motherhood,  266;  sp.  at  conv. 
of  '97,  277;  479;  647;  648;  in  Bos- 
ton, 717;  in  Perm.,  899. 

Steunenberg,  Gov.  Frank,  on  worn, 
suff.  in  Idaho,  594. 

Stevens,  Lillian  M.  N.,  438;  1048. 

Stevenson,  J.  O.,  629. 

Stevenson,  Katherine  Lente,  711;  in 
R.  I.,  910. 

Stevenson,  Dr.  Sarah  Hackett,  610. 

Stewart,  John  W.,  M.  C.,  rep.  against 
worn,  suff.,  82. 

Stockham,  Dr.  Alice  B.,  61. 

Stoddard,  Helen  M.,  writes  Tex. 
chap.,  931 ;  work  for  Girls'  Indus. 
Sch.,  934. 

Stone,  Lucinda  Hinsdale,  on  Dr. 
Stone's  early  belief  in  worn,  suff., 
299;  771. 

Stone,  Lucy,  14;  136;  164;  letter  to 
conv.  of  '90,  169;  174;  at  Nat'l 
Council  of  '91,  178;  186;  187;  189; 
before  U.  S.  Sen.  Com.,  191 ;  conv. 
of  '93,  her  last  message,  213 ;  221 ; 
mem.  service,  225 ;  227 ;  236 ;  294 ; 
320;  357;  387;  acc't  of  conv.  of 
Amer.  Ass'n.  of  '84,  406;  influence 
on  Kas.  laws,  407;  rep.  as  ch.  ex. 
com.  of  Amer.  Ass'n.,  84,  408 ;  411; 
sp.  at  conv.  of  '85,  415;  acc't.  of 
Amer.  conv.  of  '86,  417;  418;  423; 
at  Legislatures,  424;  rep.  ch.  ex. 
com.,  *87,  425;  on  union  of  two 


ass'ns.,  426;  spks.  at  bazar  in  '87, 
427;  acc't  of  Amer.  conv.  '88,  430; 
appeal  to  Constit'l.  Convs.,  432; 
work  for  Ariz.,  470;  509;  513;  514; 
5i/;  546;  5S3J  in  Ills.,  598;  in  Ind., 
614;  in  Iowa,  628;  same,  629;  in 
Kas.,  638;  same,  640;  in  Maine, 
689 ;  in  Baltimore,  695 ;  702 ;  work 
in  Mass.,  703  et  al.;  last  pub.  ad., 
711;  death  and  funeral,  712;  on 
Boston  Tea  Party,  713;  714;  first 
worn.  suff.  petit.,  yrs.  in  office,  720; 
legis.  work  in  Mass.,  721 ;  for 
equal  guardianship,  744;  in  Mich.,. 
755;  762;  in  Minn.,  772;  in  N.  J., 
820;  mem.  serv.  in  N.  J.,  821;  in 
R.  I.,  907;  in  Vt.,  957;  on  admis. 
of  Wy.,  1004. 

Strong,  Lieut.  Gov.  John  (Mich.), 
favors  worn,  suff.,  763. 

Stout,  Sir  Robert,  Premier  N.  Z.,  for 
worn,  suff.,  1026. 

Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher,  275. 

Sullivan,  Sup.  Judge  Isaac  N.  (Ida.), 
decis.  on  worn.  suff.  amdt.,  593. 

Sulzer,  William,  M.  C,  856. 

Sweet,  Ada  C.,  71. 

Swift,  Mary  Wood  (Mrs.  John  F.), 
work  in  Calif.,  482  et  al. ;  501. 

Swisshelm,  Jane  Gray,  410. 


Taft,  Hon.  Alphonso,  428. 

Taft,  Judge  W.  H.,  348. 

Talbot,  Gov.  Thomas   (Mass.),  718. 

Taney,  Chief  Justice  Roger  B.,  4. 

Tanner,   Gov.   John    R.    (Ills.),   602; 

607. 

Taylor,  Alberta  C.  238;  465. 
Taylor,  Ezra  B.,  M.  C.,  rep.  in  favor 

worn,    suff.,    52;    same,    82;    same, 

163;  218;  366;  assists  in  O.,  877. 
Taylor,  Peter  A.,  M.  P.,  22;  353. 
Taylor,  Mrs.  Peter  A.,  22. 
Telford,  Mary  Jewett,  201 ;  516. 
Teller,   U.   S.    Sen.    Henry   M.,   235; 

sp.  at  conv.  of  '98,  303;  433;  524; 

approves  worn,   suff.,   1086. 
Tennessee,  names  for,  Chap.  LXIV. 
Terrell,  Mary  Church,  298; 

sp.  at  conv.  of  1900,  358;  572. 
Texas,  names  for,  Chap.  LXV. 
Thayer,  Gov.  John  M.,  worn.  suff.  in 

Wy.,  1 090. 

Thomann,  Gallus,  448. 
Thomas,  Gov.   Charles   S.,  441;   516; 

531 ;  worn.  suff.  in  Col.,  1087. 
Thomas,  Dean  M.  Carey,  pres.  Bryn 

Mawr  Coll.,  426;  helps  secure  Worn. 

Med.  Coll.  of  Johns  Hopkins,  700; 

trustee  Cornell  Univ.  871;  906. 


INDEX    OF    PROPER    NAMES. 


H43 


Thomas,  M.  Louise,  175. 

Thomas,    Mary    Bentley,    239;    263; 

writes  Md.  chap.,  695 ;  696. 
Thomas,  Dr.  Mary  R,  75;  146;  406; 

407;  410;  411 ;  letter  to  Amer.  conv. 

of    *85,    413;    70th    birthday,    422; 

425;  426;  431;  614;  616. 
Thomasson,  John  P.,  M.  P.,  22. 
Thomasson,   Mrs.  John   P.,  22. 
Thompson,     Elizabeth,     donation     to 

pub.  Hist  of  Worn.  Suff.,  V. 
Thompson,    Ellen     Powell,    rep.    on 

Congress!  work,  287;  trib.  and  gift 

to  Miss  Anthony  on  birthday,  399; 

work  in  D.  C,  568  et  al. 
Thompson,  Col.  John,  227. 
Thompson,  Martha  J.,  367;  774. 
Thomson     (Archbishop     of     York) 

Mrs.,  petit,  for  worn,  suff.,  1015. 
Thomson,  M.  Adeline,  260;  900. 
Thorpe,  Dr.  Juliet,  430. 
Thurston,  Sarah  A.,  417;  639  et  al. 
Tillinghast,  Elizabeth   Sheldon,  377. 
Tillman,  U.  S.  Sen.  Benj.  R.,  925. 
Tod,   Isabella   M.   S.    (Ireland),   23; 

1 020. 

Todd,  Mabel  Loomis,  363. 
Tomlinson,  William   P.,  417. 
Townsend,  Justine  V.  R.,  1065. 
Trimble,  Dr.  John,  227. 
Trygg,  Alii    (Finland),  705. 
Tubman,  Harriet,  718;  844. 
Tupper,  Rev.  Mila    (Maynard),  185; 

201 ;  497. 
Turner,  Sup.  Judge  George  (Wash.), 

1008. 

Turner,    Sir    George,    Premier    Vic- 
toria, bill  for  worn,  suff.,  1031. 
Tyler,  Louise  M.,  509;  work  in  R.  I., 

w  u 

Uhl,  Asst.  Sec.  of  State  Edwin  R, 
572- 

Unwin,  Jane  Cobden  (Eng.),  21;  711. 

Upton,  Harriet  Taylor,  work  in 
Cong.,  218;  233;  250;  257;  sp.  at 
conv.  of  '97,  279;  tells  of  financial 
help  of  Miss  Anthony,  286 ;  rep.  '98 
289;  337;  worn,  on  sch.  bds.,  338; 
treas.  rep.,  1900,  365;  secures  Cpn- 
gress'l.  rep.,  366;  443;  616;  writes 
Ohio  chap.,  877;  work  in  O.,  879 
et  al. ;  work  on  sch.  bd.,  884. 

Utah,  names  for,  Chap.  LXVI. 


Vance,  U.  S.  Sen.  Zebulon  B.,  157; 

158;   questions   Mrs.   Stanton,   161 ; 

rep.  against  worn,  suff.,  201. 
Van  Cleve,  Charlotte  O.,  414. 


Vermont,  names  for,  Chap.  LXVII. 

Vest,  U.  S.  Sen.  George  G.,  93 ;  sp. 
against  worn,  suff.,  105;  spks. 
against  worn.  suff.  in  Wy.,  1000. 

Victoria  (Aus.),  names  for,  1021. 

Victoria,  Queen,  compared  to  Amer. 
women,  160;  162;  rec.  Int'l.  Coun- 
cil, 354;  trib.  to,  T02i. 

Villard,  Oswald  Garrison,  739. 

Virginia,  names  for,  Chap.  LXVIII. 

Vogel,  Sir  Julius,  Treasurer  N.  Z., 
bill  for  worn,  suff.,  1025. 

Voorhees,  Gov.  Foster  M.  (N.  J.), 
828. 

W 

Wait,  Anna  C.,  18;  welcomes  conv.  to 

Kas.   in   '86,   418;   assists  on    Kas. 

chap.,  638. 

Waite,  Catharine  V.,  609. 
Waite,  Hon.  Charles  B.,  762. 
Waite,  Gov.  Davis  H.,  on  worn.  suff. 

in  Col.,  232;  signs  worn.  suff.  bill, 

513;  520;  533- 
Waite,  Dr.  Lucy,  184. 
Waite,  Chief  Justice  Morrison  R.,  U. 

S.  has  no  voters,  5 ;  for  worn,  suff., 

1076. 

Wall,  Sarah,  298. 
Wallace,  Catherine   P.,  writes  N.  M. 

chap.,  work  in  Australia  and  New 

Zeal.,  835 ;  in  N.  M.,  836  et  al. 
Wallace,   Zerelda   G.,   23 ;    71 ;    worn. 

suff.  necessity  for  Gov't.,  119;  136; 

150;  sp.  on  a  whole  humanity,  171; 

430;   in  Ills.,  599;  614;  615;  legis. 

work   in   Ind.,   618;    in   Kas.,   640, 

650;  in  Ky.,  665;  in  Boston,  706; 

in  R.  I.,  910;  in  Vt.,  957. 
Walworth,    Rev.    Clarence    A.,    opp. 

worn,  suff.,  851. 
Ward,  Eliza  T.,  174. 
Ward,  Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps,  412; 

735- 

Ward,  Prof.  Lester  R,  308. 
Ward,    Lydia   A.    Coonjey,    poem   on 

Miss  Anthony's   eightieth   birthday, 

401 ;  610 ;  612. 
Warren,  U.   S.   Sen.  Francis  E.,  rep. 

in  favor  of  worn,  suff.,  201 ;  433 ; 

710;  1005;  testimony  for  worn,  suff., 

1006;  worn.  suff.  in  Wy.,  1090. 
Warren,  Helen  M.  (Mrs.  Francis  E.), 

trib.   and   gift   on   Miss   Anthony's 

birthday,  400. 
Washburn,    Gov.    Wm.    B.    (Mass.), 

718. 

Washington,  names  for.  Chap.  LXIX. 
Washington,  Booker   T.,  469;  906. 
Washington,  Mrs.  Booker  T.,  1051. 
Washington,  Joseph  E.,  M.   C,  opp. 

worn,  suff.,  999, 


1 144 


HISTORY   OF   WOMAX    SUFFRAGE. 


Wattles,  Esther.  300. 

Wattles,  John  (X  3001 

Wattles.   Susan  E..  294. 

Wangh,  Alice.  . 

Way.  Mary  Heald,  ^64, 

Webb.  Alfred.  iL  P..  717- 

Webster,  Prof.  Helen,  733. 

Welch,  Minerva    C.    (Mrs.    A.    L.), 

.  -     worn,  stiff,  in  Col..  J.v> :  52,5- 
Weld,   Angelina   Grimke.    227. 
Weld,  Theodore  D.,  259:  702;  709. 
Wells,  Amos  R-,  collects  worn.  sufF. 

testimony.  no8>>. 
Wells,    Emmeline   B.,   262;    279;    on 

worn,  stiff,  in  Utah,  at  conv.  of  '97. 

283;   writes   Utah    chap.,   work   in 

Utah.  936  et  al. :  949. 
Wells,    Gov.    Heber    M.,    949:    951; 

952 ;  worn.  suff.  in  Utah,  1089. 
Wells,  Kate  Gannett.  413;  opp.  worn. 

stiff.,  704;  721. 

Wellstood.  Jessie  M.   (Scot.).  19. 
Wendte,  Rev.  C  W..  479 ;  701  et  al. 
West.  Gov.  Caleb  (Utah),  947. 
West    Virginia,     names     for,     Chap. 

LXX. 
Wheeler,  Vice-President  William  A.. 

for  worn,  stiff.,  1075. 
Whelan,   Carrie  A_,   assists  on   Calif. 

chapter.  478 ;  489. 
Whipple,  Rev.  A.  B..  718. 
Whipple.  Charles  K.,  708. 
White.  Armenia  S..  75. 
White.  John  D.,  M.  C.  rep.  in  favor 

worn,  stiff..  12;  sp.  for  same.  35. 
White.  U.  S.  Sen.  Stephen  1L,  495. 
Waiting.  John  L,  205;  702. 
Whitman,  Sarah  Helen,  295. 
Whitney,   Adeline  D.  T.,  opp.   worn. 

snff^  106;  157:  726. 
Whitney,  Sarah  Ware,  629. 
Whitney,  Victoria  C.,  263. 
Whittier,   John  Greenleaf,   164;   203; 

205;  703. 

Whittle.  Dr.  Ewing  (Eng.).  23;  124. 
Widdrington.  Mrs.  Percy   (Eng.),  in 

N.  J_  826, 

Wtzham,  Eliza  ("Scot.),  19;  1020. 
Wilbocr,  Charlotte  B.,  23. 
Wilbur,  Julia  A..  27;  2f3o. 
Wilbur.  Sarah.  2591 
Willard.   Emma.   35:5. 
Willard.  Frances    E..    no;    at    Intl. 

Cotmcfl,  136:  sp.  before  U.  S.  Sen- 
ate COOL,   141:    164;    175:    183:    in 

Denver,  215:  death.  304;  438:  517; 

6ro :  612 :  641 :  in  Boston.  705  :  710 : 

714:  in  Mont.,  796:  in  N.  C.  874; 

886:  work  in  W.  C  T    U.   1047; 
1048:  estab.  dept.  franchise,  1071. 
WBkcx.  Albert  O..  295. 
Wflfcox,  Hon.  Hamilton,  706;  856. 


Williams.  Mary  H..  212 

Williamson.    Frances    A..    263 ;    483 : 

writes    Xev.    chap..    810;    work    in 

Nev.,  Si  i  et  aL 
Williamson.  M.  Laura.  811. 
Wilson,  Edgar,  M.  C.  590. 
Wilson.    Vice-President    Henry,    for 

worn,  suff.,  1075. 

Windeyer.   Miss    (  Australia ) .  224. 
Winship.  Dr.  A.  E..  741. 
Winslow,  Dr.  Caroline  B..  275 :  29^ ; 

574- 

Wisconsin,  names   for,   Chap.  LXXI. 
Wolcott,  U.  S.  Sen.  Edward  O.,  156: 

.-235:  525-. 
Wolcott,  Ueut.-Gov.  Roger   (Mass.), 

713- 

Wolf.  John  B..  59- 
Wolf,  Simon.  231. 
Wollstonecraft,  Mary.  147. 
Wood,  CoL  S.  N..  407:  653. 
Wood,  Mrs.  S.  N.,  418. 
Woodall,  William.   M.   P..  work   for 

worn.  suff..  1015. 
Woodbridge.  Mary  A.,  641. 
Woodbury.  Charles  J.,  worn.  suff.  in 

Wash..  1096. 
Woods,  Dr.  Frances,  592;  632:  in  O.. 

880;   same.  893. 
Woods,  Mell  G,  279;  on  worn,  suff. 

in  Ida.,  283. 
Wright.  Hon.  Carroll  D.,  sp.  on  In- 

dust.  Emancip.  of  WOOL,  213. 
Wright,  Frances,  147;  294. 
Wright.  St.  Rep.  Harriet  G.  R.  (  Col. ) . 

5^3:  5^4- 

Wright,  Martha  C..  288;  298;  842. 
Wright,  Phoebe  C,  235. 
Wyndham,  George.  M.  P.,  1020. 
Wyoming,  names  for.  Chap.  LXX  II. 


Yarbrongh,  Jasper,  case  of,  8. 

Yates,  Elizabeth  Upham.  213;  sp.  at 
conv.  of  '95,  228;  242;  247;  263;  in 
Calif,  campn..  487:  490;  53<5;  558; 
696;  in  Boston.  707;  in  Mass.,  714: 
718;  in  Miss.,  783;  in  N.  J.,  822: 
in  N.  C,  874;  in  Penn.,  899;  in 
S.  C,  922 ;  in  Va.T  964- 

Yates,  Gov.  Richard  (Ills.).  603. 

Yotmg.  Virginia  Durant.  222;  224: 
235;  263;  293:  worn.  suff.  in  South. 
362;  583;  writes  S.  C.  chap.,  work 
fn  S.  C.,  922  et  aL 

Young,  Zina  D.  H..  939;  1052. 


Zelophehad,  daughters  of,  372. 


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