The convention has opened magnificently, with glorious sunshine, great audiences, full and friendly press reports and the suffragists of the Pacific Coast outdoing themselves in cordial hospitality. The beautiful city of Portland is so full of flowers at this season that the whole city might be thought to have decorated in honor of the coming of the national convention. As the yellow-ribboned delegates go through the streets they constantly utter exclamations of delight over the enormous roses, the curtains of dark blue clematis draping the verandas, the luxuriant masses of ivy and the majestic trees rising above the velvet lawns and casting their shade upon the many handsome residences.... Hospitable Oregonians send in presents to the officers of huge red and yellow apples and baskets of mammoth cherries nestling in their green leaves....The large gray stone church has its auditorium hung with American flags and bunting of the suffrage color; portraits of Lucy Stone and Susan B. Anthony stand back of the pulpit and along its front runs the word "progress" in large letters made of flowers.... A splendid bouquet of white lilies has just been sent to the convention as a greeting from the Oregon State Federation of Women's Clubs and another of rich red roses from the Portland Woman's Club, and the platform is imbedded in carnations from local florists. All sorts of organizations seem to vie with each other in welcoming their happy guests.
The convention has opened magnificently, with glorious sunshine, great audiences, full and friendly press reports and the suffragists of the Pacific Coast outdoing themselves in cordial hospitality. The beautiful city of Portland is so full of flowers at this season that the whole city might be thought to have decorated in honor of the coming of the national convention. As the yellow-ribboned delegates go through the streets they constantly utter exclamations of delight over the enormous roses, the curtains of dark blue clematis draping the verandas, the luxuriant masses of ivy and the majestic trees rising above the velvet lawns and casting their shade upon the many handsome residences.... Hospitable Oregonians send in presents to the officers of huge red and yellow apples and baskets of mammoth cherries nestling in their green leaves....
The large gray stone church has its auditorium hung with American flags and bunting of the suffrage color; portraits of Lucy Stone and Susan B. Anthony stand back of the pulpit and along its front runs the word "progress" in large letters made of flowers.... A splendid bouquet of white lilies has just been sent to the convention as a greeting from the Oregon State Federation of Women's Clubs and another of rich red roses from the Portland Woman's Club, and the platform is imbedded in carnations from local florists. All sorts of organizations seem to vie with each other in welcoming their happy guests.
The convention was opened with prayer by the Rev. Elwin L. House, pastor of the church. The president, Dr. Anna Howard Shaw, was in the chair and greetings were given from the Oregon Suffrage Association by its president, Mrs. Henry Waldo Coe; the National Council of Women by the president, Mrs. Mary Wood Swift (Calif.), who called attention to the fact that it was organized by suffragists; the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union by Mrs. Lucia Faxon Additon; the National Grange by Mrs. Clara H. Waldo, who said: "The basic principle of the Grange is equal rights for men and women and it practices what it preaches, all the offices being open to women." Greetings from the National Federation of Labor were offered by Mrs. F. Ross; the Ladies of the Maccabees by Mrs. Nellie H. Lambson; the Federation of Women's Clubs by Mrs. Sarah A. Evans; the Forestry Association by Mrs. Arthur H. Breyman; the Women's Henry George League by Dr. Mary H. Thompson, the pioneer woman physician of Oregon. The National Conference of Charities and Corrections, then in session in Portland, sent greetings by Mrs. Lillie R. Trumbull, who said: "If woman suffrage means anything it means the protection of children, therefore we march under the same banner."
Mrs. Abigail Scott Duniway, the pioneer suffragist of the northwest, presented to Dr. Shaw a gavel from the Oregon Historical Society with a letter from its secretary, Dr. George H. Himes, describing the six kinds of wood out of which it was made, each of important historical value. It was accepted with thanks and used by her to preside over the convention. A Centennial Ode, composed by Mrs. Duniway, was finely read by Mrs. Sylvia W. McGuire. The response to all these greetings was made by Miss Anthony, of whom theOregoniansaid: "Theappearance of Susan B. Anthony was the signal for a wild ovation. The large audience rose to its feet and cheered the pioneer who has done so much for the cause of equal suffrage and who is still the life of a great work. At the close of the session men and women rushed forward, eager to clasp her hand and pay homage to her. There are many famous delegates present at this convention, women whose names are known in every civilized nation on the globe, but none shines with the luster which surrounds Miss Anthony." She began by recalling her visit in 1871, when Mrs. Duniway and she made a speaking tour of six weeks in the State; the long stage rides over the corduroy roads, the prejudice encountered but personal friendliness and large audiences everywhere, and continued:
I am delighted to see and hear in this church today the women representatives of so many organizations and it is in a measure compensation for the half-century of toil which it has been my duty and privilege to give to this our common cause. The sessions of this convention will be treated by the press of America exactly as it would treat any national gathering which was representative in character and had an object worthy of serious attention. The time of universal scorn for woman suffrage has passed and today we have strong and courageous champions among that sex the members of which fifty years ago regarded our proposals as part of an iconoclasm which threatened the very foundation of the social fabric.... Elizabeth Cady Stanton and I made our first fight for recognition of the right of women to speak in public and have organizations among themselves. You who are younger cannot realize the intensity of the opposition we encountered. To maintain our position we were compelled to attack and defy the deep-seated and ingrained prejudices bred into the very natures of men, and to some of them we were actually committing a sin against God and violating His laws. Gradually, however, the opposition has weakened until today we meet far less hostility to equal suffrage itself than then was manifested toward giving women the right of speaking in public and organizing for mutual advantage.
I am delighted to see and hear in this church today the women representatives of so many organizations and it is in a measure compensation for the half-century of toil which it has been my duty and privilege to give to this our common cause. The sessions of this convention will be treated by the press of America exactly as it would treat any national gathering which was representative in character and had an object worthy of serious attention. The time of universal scorn for woman suffrage has passed and today we have strong and courageous champions among that sex the members of which fifty years ago regarded our proposals as part of an iconoclasm which threatened the very foundation of the social fabric.... Elizabeth Cady Stanton and I made our first fight for recognition of the right of women to speak in public and have organizations among themselves. You who are younger cannot realize the intensity of the opposition we encountered. To maintain our position we were compelled to attack and defy the deep-seated and ingrained prejudices bred into the very natures of men, and to some of them we were actually committing a sin against God and violating His laws. Gradually, however, the opposition has weakened until today we meet far less hostility to equal suffrage itself than then was manifested toward giving women the right of speaking in public and organizing for mutual advantage.
The opening exercises closed with an address by the Rev. Thomas L. Eliot, a Unitarian minister, who with his wife had encouraged Miss Anthony during that visit of 1871. He said his mother's great-aunt, Abigail Adams, had probably uttered the first declaration for woman suffrage on American soil, and paid a warm tribute to Mrs. Duniway's long and earnest laborsfor this cause as he had seen them during his thirty-seven years in Oregon.
At the insistence of Dr. Shaw Miss Anthony presided at the first evening session. It was said that she had wielded the gavel at more conventions than any other woman and she had presided over national suffrage conventions for nearly forty years, but this proved to be the last at which she filled that honored position. A press report said: "Her voice is more vigorous than that of many a woman half her age and she speaks with fluency and ease." TheOregonianthus described her appearance on this occasion: "A rare picture she made in the high-backed oaken chair, her snowy hair puffed over her ears in old-time fashion and the collar of rose point lace, which seems to belong to dignified old age, forming a frame for her gentle but determined face. When she rose to call the meeting to order she was deluged with many beautiful floral tributes and drolly peering over the heap of flowers she said: "Well, this is rather different from the receptions I used to get fifty years ago. They threw things at me then—but they were not roses—and there were not epithets enough in Webster's Unabridged to fit my case. I am thankful for this change of spirit which has come over the American people."
Governor George E. Chamberlain gave the welcome of the State, declaring himself unequivocally and emphatically in favor of woman suffrage and expressing the hope that Oregon was now ready to grant it. T. C. Devlin extended the welcome of the city as proxy for the Mayor, who addressed the convention later. The Hon. Jefferson Myers, president of the State Commission for the Exposition, paid eloquent tribute to Miss Anthony and her co-workers and said:
I hope that you may yet live to see many victories for the principles which you have so nobly advocated in behalf of the women of our land. These principles are not new to the American people. There are many differences of opinion, but, after all the argument for and against, it hardly seems possible that any one who is entitled to the privilege which you request can afford to deny that privilege to his mother. There is no question but that the women of our land bear today as great, if not greater, burdens in the affairs of a good and honorable government than our men. The raising of the children, their education and protection from the vices of theworld, are cares that mothers have which no man's responsibility equals....You are today among a citizenship on this coast that is very fair, broad-minded and ready to assist your cause whenever convinced that it will be an advantage and a betterment to our present government. If it is fairly placed before the voters of this commonwealth with a reasonable argument in its favor, there is no doubt in my mind of its success. We are the only State that has adopted the broad principle of government which permits the citizens of the commonwealth to prepare and vote its own legislation, by its own people, without aid or consent of any other power. I refer to the Initiative and Referendum.... I sometimes doubt whether this great western country would ever have had the Stars and Stripes without the influence of the American mother. Therefore my sympathies are with you in your cause and all others supported by the mothers of our government for the liberties of themselves and families.
I hope that you may yet live to see many victories for the principles which you have so nobly advocated in behalf of the women of our land. These principles are not new to the American people. There are many differences of opinion, but, after all the argument for and against, it hardly seems possible that any one who is entitled to the privilege which you request can afford to deny that privilege to his mother. There is no question but that the women of our land bear today as great, if not greater, burdens in the affairs of a good and honorable government than our men. The raising of the children, their education and protection from the vices of theworld, are cares that mothers have which no man's responsibility equals....
You are today among a citizenship on this coast that is very fair, broad-minded and ready to assist your cause whenever convinced that it will be an advantage and a betterment to our present government. If it is fairly placed before the voters of this commonwealth with a reasonable argument in its favor, there is no doubt in my mind of its success. We are the only State that has adopted the broad principle of government which permits the citizens of the commonwealth to prepare and vote its own legislation, by its own people, without aid or consent of any other power. I refer to the Initiative and Referendum.... I sometimes doubt whether this great western country would ever have had the Stars and Stripes without the influence of the American mother. Therefore my sympathies are with you in your cause and all others supported by the mothers of our government for the liberties of themselves and families.
Mrs. Duniway spoke on The Pioneers of the Northwest as one of them, introduced by Miss Anthony as "the woman with whom I went gipsying thirty-four years ago," and the audience grew enthusiastic at the sight of these two brave veterans, the one 85 and the other 71. The press commented: "Mrs. Duniway's talk will be remembered as one of the best of the session. She said she had been electrified by the Governor's speech and her own fairly scintillated with the result of the shock. Her anecdotes were capital and her reminiscences of the cabbage and rotten-egg days convulsed the audience." Mrs. Catt, vice-president-at-large, responded to the greetings and expressed the pleasure of the delegates at being in "this most beautiful city of the United States and of the world." She spoke in highest praise of the free, independent spirit of the West, quoting the man who said: "Out here we don't ask who your grandfather was but everybody stands on his own hypothenuse!"
Dr. Shaw was so impressed with the responsibility of her new office that for the first time she wrote her president's address and it was published in twelve columns of theWoman's Journal. A Portland paper thus prepared the audience: "The event of the evening will be the address of the president, the Rev. Anna Howard Shaw. She is easily the best and foremost woman speaker in the world and in her appearance Portland will enjoy a rare treat. Her eloquence is seldom equalled and she is awoman of deep learning, a cogent reasoner and a brilliant thinker.... She has wonderful magnetism and a rare voice of round, rich tones and great carrying capacity. An unusual combination of dignity and wit is hers and many brilliant remarks intersperse the numbers on the program, keeping the audience in fine humor and constant interest." After a glowing word-picture of the natural beauty of Portland and Oregon Dr. Shaw turned her attention to Sacajawea, the young Indian woman who guided Lewis and Clark through thousands of miles of trackless wilderness on their expedition to the great northwest.
Others will speak of that brave band of immortals whose achievements your great Exposition commemorates, while we pay our tribute of honor and gratitude to the modest, unselfish, enduring little Shoshone squaw, who uncomplainingly trailed, canoed, climbed, slaved and starved with the men of the party, enduring all that they endured, with the addition of a helpless baby on her back. At a time in the weary march when the hearts of the leaders had well nigh fainted within them, when success or failure hung a mere chance in the balance, this woman came to their deliverance and pointed out to the captain the great Pass which led from the forks of the Three Rivers over the mountains. Then silently strapping her papoose upon her back she led the way, interpreting and making friendly overtures to powerful tribes of Indians, who but for her might at any moment have annihilated that brave band of intrepid souls.... The Pass through which she led the expedition has long borne the name of a French explorer who had not seen it until many years after Sacajawea had been gathered to her rest, but tardy acknowledgements of this heroine's services have at last been partially made. The U. S. Geological Survey has recently named one of the finest peaks in the Bridge range in Montana "Sacajawea Peak." ...Forerunner of civilization, great leader of men, patient and motherly woman, we bow our hearts to do you honor! Your tribe is fast disappearing from the land of your fathers. May we, the daughters of an alien race who slew your people and usurped your country, learn the lessons of calm endurance, of patient persistence and unfaltering courage exemplified in your life, in our efforts to lead men through the Pass of justice, which goes over the mountains of prejudice and conservatism to the broad land of the perfect freedom of a true republic; one in which men and women together shall in perfect equality solve the problems of a nation that knows no caste, no race, no sex in opportunity, in responsibility or in justice! May "the eternal womanly" ever lead us on!...
Others will speak of that brave band of immortals whose achievements your great Exposition commemorates, while we pay our tribute of honor and gratitude to the modest, unselfish, enduring little Shoshone squaw, who uncomplainingly trailed, canoed, climbed, slaved and starved with the men of the party, enduring all that they endured, with the addition of a helpless baby on her back. At a time in the weary march when the hearts of the leaders had well nigh fainted within them, when success or failure hung a mere chance in the balance, this woman came to their deliverance and pointed out to the captain the great Pass which led from the forks of the Three Rivers over the mountains. Then silently strapping her papoose upon her back she led the way, interpreting and making friendly overtures to powerful tribes of Indians, who but for her might at any moment have annihilated that brave band of intrepid souls.... The Pass through which she led the expedition has long borne the name of a French explorer who had not seen it until many years after Sacajawea had been gathered to her rest, but tardy acknowledgements of this heroine's services have at last been partially made. The U. S. Geological Survey has recently named one of the finest peaks in the Bridge range in Montana "Sacajawea Peak." ...
Forerunner of civilization, great leader of men, patient and motherly woman, we bow our hearts to do you honor! Your tribe is fast disappearing from the land of your fathers. May we, the daughters of an alien race who slew your people and usurped your country, learn the lessons of calm endurance, of patient persistence and unfaltering courage exemplified in your life, in our efforts to lead men through the Pass of justice, which goes over the mountains of prejudice and conservatism to the broad land of the perfect freedom of a true republic; one in which men and women together shall in perfect equality solve the problems of a nation that knows no caste, no race, no sex in opportunity, in responsibility or in justice! May "the eternal womanly" ever lead us on!...
Referring to the convention and the delegates Dr. Shaw said:
What does our coming mean to us, who gather in this 37th annual convention where sits the woman whose chair has never been vacantin all these years of hope deferred; whose heart has continually glowed with perennial youth; whose soul has burned with a vivid flame of love and freedom; whose brain has been the inspirer of herculean service; whose industry has never flagged; whose quenchless hope for humanity has carried us from victory to victory? May her spirit of devotion to freedom ever lead us on!It means fifty-seven years nearer to victory than when the first invincible band of pioneers of universal freedom met in that little church in Seneca Falls, N. Y., in 1848. It means that in this body are women from four States of our Union already crowned with full citizenship; that delegates from more than two-score States have crossed the borderland of freedom, and that representatives from nearly every State and Territory are banded together in an unfaltering purpose to become politically free. It also means that more has been accomplished for the betterment of the condition of women, for their physical, economic, intellectual and religious emancipation, by these fifty-seven years of evolutionary progress, than by all the revolutions the world has known; and it means that in every civilized nation of the earth, more and more the most patriotic, the most law-abiding, the most intelligent and the most industrious people are coming to see the justice of our claim, that in a representative government "the people who bear the burdens and responsibilities should share its privileges also—not excepting women." ...
What does our coming mean to us, who gather in this 37th annual convention where sits the woman whose chair has never been vacantin all these years of hope deferred; whose heart has continually glowed with perennial youth; whose soul has burned with a vivid flame of love and freedom; whose brain has been the inspirer of herculean service; whose industry has never flagged; whose quenchless hope for humanity has carried us from victory to victory? May her spirit of devotion to freedom ever lead us on!
It means fifty-seven years nearer to victory than when the first invincible band of pioneers of universal freedom met in that little church in Seneca Falls, N. Y., in 1848. It means that in this body are women from four States of our Union already crowned with full citizenship; that delegates from more than two-score States have crossed the borderland of freedom, and that representatives from nearly every State and Territory are banded together in an unfaltering purpose to become politically free. It also means that more has been accomplished for the betterment of the condition of women, for their physical, economic, intellectual and religious emancipation, by these fifty-seven years of evolutionary progress, than by all the revolutions the world has known; and it means that in every civilized nation of the earth, more and more the most patriotic, the most law-abiding, the most intelligent and the most industrious people are coming to see the justice of our claim, that in a representative government "the people who bear the burdens and responsibilities should share its privileges also—not excepting women." ...
The recent attacks of Cardinal Gibbons and former President Cleveland, who had protested against women taking part in the Government lest it interfere with the home, she answered with keen analysis, saying in part:
The great fear that the participation of women in public affairs will impair the quality and character of home service is irrational and contrary to the tests of experience. Does an intelligent interest in the education of a child render a woman less a mother? Does the housekeeping instinct of woman, manifested in a desire for clean streets, pure water and unadulterated food, destroy her efficiency as a home-maker? Does a desire for an environment of moral and civic purity show neglect of the highest good of the family? It is the "men must fight and women must weep" theory of life which makes men fear that the larger service of women will impair the high ideal of home. The newer ideal that men must cease fighting and thus remove one prolific cause for women's weeping, and that they shall together build up a more perfect home and a more ideal government, is infinitely more sane and desirable. Participation in the larger and broader concerns of the State will increase instead of decrease the efficiency of government and tend to develop that self-control, that more perfect judgment which are wanting in much of the home training of today.
The great fear that the participation of women in public affairs will impair the quality and character of home service is irrational and contrary to the tests of experience. Does an intelligent interest in the education of a child render a woman less a mother? Does the housekeeping instinct of woman, manifested in a desire for clean streets, pure water and unadulterated food, destroy her efficiency as a home-maker? Does a desire for an environment of moral and civic purity show neglect of the highest good of the family? It is the "men must fight and women must weep" theory of life which makes men fear that the larger service of women will impair the high ideal of home. The newer ideal that men must cease fighting and thus remove one prolific cause for women's weeping, and that they shall together build up a more perfect home and a more ideal government, is infinitely more sane and desirable. Participation in the larger and broader concerns of the State will increase instead of decrease the efficiency of government and tend to develop that self-control, that more perfect judgment which are wanting in much of the home training of today.
A comprehensive review was made of the great events in the world's history during the past year and the work of the National American Suffrage Association was described. "Whatever others may say or do," she declared, "our association must not accept any compromises. We must guard against the reactionary spirit which marks the present time and stand unfalteringly for the principle of perfect equality of rights and opportunities for all.... Never was there a time when heroic service was more needed—not the spectacular heroism marching with flying banners and weapons of destruction but the quiet, earnest heroism of men and women standing steadfastly by that which seems right and rigidly adhering in daily intercourse to that sterling honesty of purpose which ennobles character and develops the best in a nation's life." This inspiring address, all of which was on the same high level as the portions quoted, thus concluded:
We are told that to assume that women will help purify political life and develop a more ideal government but proves us to be dreamers of dreams. Yes, we are in a goodly company of dreamers, of Confucius, of Buddha, of Jesus, of the English Commons fighting for the Magna Charta, of the Pilgrims, of the American Revolutionists, of the Anti-slavery men and women. The seers and leaders of all times have been dreamers. Every step of progress the world has made is the crystallization of a dream into reality. To look forward to a time when men shall be just, when "fair play and a square deal for all" will include women, when our republic shall in truth become what its dreamers have hoped it would be, a government "of the people, by the people and for the people,"—thisisa dream but it is a dream which we are helping to make real, and the result will come not alone because a vision has been revealed but by following it steadfastly to its fruition. The idealists dream and the dream is told, and the practical men listen and ponder and bring back the truth and apply it to human life, and progress and growth and higher human ideals come into being and so the world moves ever on.
We are told that to assume that women will help purify political life and develop a more ideal government but proves us to be dreamers of dreams. Yes, we are in a goodly company of dreamers, of Confucius, of Buddha, of Jesus, of the English Commons fighting for the Magna Charta, of the Pilgrims, of the American Revolutionists, of the Anti-slavery men and women. The seers and leaders of all times have been dreamers. Every step of progress the world has made is the crystallization of a dream into reality. To look forward to a time when men shall be just, when "fair play and a square deal for all" will include women, when our republic shall in truth become what its dreamers have hoped it would be, a government "of the people, by the people and for the people,"—thisisa dream but it is a dream which we are helping to make real, and the result will come not alone because a vision has been revealed but by following it steadfastly to its fruition. The idealists dream and the dream is told, and the practical men listen and ponder and bring back the truth and apply it to human life, and progress and growth and higher human ideals come into being and so the world moves ever on.
During the several business sessions the following action was taken: It was directed that a letter be sent to the President-elect, Theodore Roosevelt, asking him to recommend the submission of a 16th Amendment in his message to Congress; that as many organizations of women as possible be secured to unite in urging him to do so, following the methods employed by the Protest Committee (a committee appointed to wait upon him topresent this request); that the Banker, Starr, Underwood and Green bequests amounting to $3,801 be appropriated for campaign work in Oregon and the Territories. Miss Clay announced that Miss Laura Bruce had bequeathed $5,000 to her in trust for the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
The work conferences established by Mrs. Catt during her administration were held with the following among the questions discussed: Must we supplement our present form of organization to achieve our "argument of numbers"? How can we best spread our ideas in other organizations? The field in 1904 and 1905. Our request in 1904 for a plank in the national platforms. These conferences, which had been a feature of the conventions for eight years, were dropped after this one but many of the practical subjects formerly discussed in such conferences were placed on the regular program. Mrs. Catharine Waugh McCulloch presided at the conference on How can we nationalize our request for a 16th Amendment? At its conclusion it was voted to refer to the Business Committee the idea of asking the suffragists of the four free States to instruct their Senators and Representatives in Congress to move for the submission of a 16th Amendment. It was her thought that all the State suffrage associations should send petitions to their respective Congressmen asking for a 16th Amendment to the National Constitution enfranchising women; that earnest efforts should be made to have other organizations take similar action and every means employed to bring the question before them.
The reports of the standing and special committees and those from the various State presidents, which occupied the morning and afternoon sessions, were excellent and valuable as usual. Miss Kate M. Gordon (La.) in her corresponding secretary's report called attention to the conspicuous triumph for woman suffrage when the great International Council of Women, whose delegates represented practically the whole civilized world, at its meeting in Berlin the preceding year unanimously endorsed woman suffrage and appointed a standing committee on Citizenship and Equal Rights, with Dr. Shaw as its chairman. She read letters from the Governors of the four equal suffrage Statesregretting their inability to be present for Woman's Day at the Exposition and giving the strongest possible endorsement of the practical working of woman suffrage.
The report of Miss Elizabeth J. Hauser, headquarters secretary, of the first year's work in its new home at Warren, O., was most interesting. The letters sent out numbered 14,000 and included three during the year to the president of every local club, giving information, plans of work and encouragement. The bureau had over 1,200 individual correspondents. Nearly 44,000 copies ofProgresswent to newspapers, public men, delegates to the political conventions and subscribers. About 65,000 pieces of literature exclusive ofProgresswere distributed, going to every State and Territory, to Canada, England, Holland and Australia. In addition thousands of booklets, political equality leaflets and souvenirs of various kinds were sent forth as propaganda. The report of Mrs. Catt, chairman of the Committee on Literature, showed that it had provided 62,000 of these pieces and had printed about 100,000 during the year. Miss Anthony had presented to the association ten sets of the History of Woman Suffrage and eighty copies of the new Volume IV to be sold, Miss Hauser said. Headquarters were maintained at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. The work inaugurated by Miss Anthony of securing resolutions for woman suffrage from conventions of various kinds was successfully continued. Fraternal delegates were sent to national conventions and the U. S. National Council of Women had created a Committee on Political Equality. Nineteen State organizations adopted resolutions endorsing woman suffrage; fraternal delegates from suffrage associations were sent to eighteen other State gatherings and the question was given a hearing at six Territorial conventions; greetings were sent to three, literature distributed in four and woman suffrage day observed in three State gatherings. Add to these the 283 societies (not suffrage) which reported adopting resolutions on the Statehood Protest and there is positive knowledge that the question was before and received favorable action from 339 societies in 1904. A full report was given of the effort to obtain womansuffrage planks in the platforms of the political parties, delegates from the association being sent to all. [SeeChapter XXIII.]
An outstanding feature of the year's achievements was what was known as the Statehood Protest. At the beginning of the 58th Congress a bill passed the Lower House providing for the admission to Statehood of Oklahoma, Indian, Arizona and New Mexico Territories under the names of Oklahoma and Arizona. It contained a clause saying that "the right of suffrage should never be abridged except on account of illiteracy, minority,sex, conviction of felony or mental condition." The association's legal adviser, Mrs. Catharine Waugh McCulloch of Chicago, was consulted by Mrs. Upton and Miss Hauser the preceding June as to how the word "sex" could be eliminated. She took the matter under consideration and laid her plan before the Business Committee in September. It called for a nation-wide protest from women's organizations and individuals. The committee approved but did not feel able to make a sufficient appropriation. The report continued:
When the result was communicated to Mrs. McCulloch by letter she answered post-haste: "We dare not let this work go undone. I will raise the money for it myself." The headquarters undertook to do the work. We appealed to the president or the corresponding secretary for directories of associations and as fast as names were secured copies of the circular letter of the Woman's Protest Committee, written by Miss Blackwell, were sent out. This letter was signed by twenty-six women, among them presidents of the following national organizations: Council of Women, Council of Jewish Women, Woman Suffrage Association, Teachers' Federation, Catholic Women's League, Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic, Lutheran Women's League, Congress of Mothers, etc., and 34,000 were sent out with 28,000 leaflets, "Why Women Should Protest." Perhaps no more spontaneous response was ever given to anything than to this letter. All sorts of societies, not of women only but of men and of men and women, protested. More than 400 reported their action to headquarters. The number of individuals who reported that they had written to Senator Albert J. Beveridge (Ind.), chairman of the Committee on Territories, and to their own Senators was so great that we could not keep a record. Newspapers the country over commented on the matter, hundreds of clippings on the subject sometimes being received in one mail.What was the result? Under date of Dec. 16, 1904, Senator Beveridge notified headquarters that the Senate Committee hadunanimously voted to strike out the objectionable word "in accordance with your very reasonable request." It was a great victory and more than paid for the labor. Mrs. McCulloch was as good as her word and raised the money to defray all the expenses, giving $100 herself and securing from her friend and ours, Mrs. Elmina Springer of Chicago, $500; Mrs. Mary Wood Swift of California, president of the National Council of Women, contributed $50; our own president, Miss Shaw, gave $25 and there were some small contributions. The work was most economically done, the printing and envelopes costing $118, the postage over $300 and a balance was left.[37]
When the result was communicated to Mrs. McCulloch by letter she answered post-haste: "We dare not let this work go undone. I will raise the money for it myself." The headquarters undertook to do the work. We appealed to the president or the corresponding secretary for directories of associations and as fast as names were secured copies of the circular letter of the Woman's Protest Committee, written by Miss Blackwell, were sent out. This letter was signed by twenty-six women, among them presidents of the following national organizations: Council of Women, Council of Jewish Women, Woman Suffrage Association, Teachers' Federation, Catholic Women's League, Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic, Lutheran Women's League, Congress of Mothers, etc., and 34,000 were sent out with 28,000 leaflets, "Why Women Should Protest." Perhaps no more spontaneous response was ever given to anything than to this letter. All sorts of societies, not of women only but of men and of men and women, protested. More than 400 reported their action to headquarters. The number of individuals who reported that they had written to Senator Albert J. Beveridge (Ind.), chairman of the Committee on Territories, and to their own Senators was so great that we could not keep a record. Newspapers the country over commented on the matter, hundreds of clippings on the subject sometimes being received in one mail.
What was the result? Under date of Dec. 16, 1904, Senator Beveridge notified headquarters that the Senate Committee hadunanimously voted to strike out the objectionable word "in accordance with your very reasonable request." It was a great victory and more than paid for the labor. Mrs. McCulloch was as good as her word and raised the money to defray all the expenses, giving $100 herself and securing from her friend and ours, Mrs. Elmina Springer of Chicago, $500; Mrs. Mary Wood Swift of California, president of the National Council of Women, contributed $50; our own president, Miss Shaw, gave $25 and there were some small contributions. The work was most economically done, the printing and envelopes costing $118, the postage over $300 and a balance was left.[37]
The report of Mrs. Harriet Taylor Upton, national treasurer, showed receipts for the year to be $14,662, including bequests of $4,237 from Mrs. Henrietta L. Banker of New York and $500 from Mrs. Armilla J. Starr of Michigan; $2,000 from Mrs. Charlotte A. Cleveland of New York and $100 each from Mrs. Jonas Green of Virginia and Mrs. Helen J. Underwood of California. The disbursements were $12,437. Miss Hauser asked for the money for the next year's work and $4,614 were quickly subscribed. A large number of $50 life memberships were taken. One hundred one-dollar pledges were made in memory of Sacajawea. Mrs. Catt guaranteed that Mrs. Upton and herself would raise $3,000 for the Oregon campaign.
Henry B. Blackwell, chairman of the Presidential Suffrage Committee, gave the welcome information that the U. S. Supreme Court through Chief Justice Fuller had rendered a decision that "the power of every State Legislature in the appointment of presidential electors is plenary, exclusive and final." The report of Mrs. Ida Porter Boyer, chairman of the Libraries Committee, was read by Mrs. Blankenburg and showed that thus far a bibliography of 823 books, pamphlets, etc., on woman suffrage had been compiled. One book bore the date of 1627. Another had the title "No Female Suffrage; Theology, Logic, Anatomy, Physiology and Philology United to Establish the Truism that Woman is No Human Being." Mrs. Blankenburg went as fraternal delegate to the convention of the National Libraries Association meeting in Portland at this time and gavepart of this report, which was received with much interest and cooperation was promised.
The report of Mrs. Elnora M. Babcock, chairman of the Press Committee, was as complete and valuable as usual. It said that 80,000 general suffrage articles had been sent out and 6,000 papers supplied by the chairman and committee since the last convention. Each paper in Portland had been furnished with personal sketches of every officer and speaker connected with the convention and copies of all the reports and speeches that could be obtained, as was customary wherever a convention was held. In referring to special articles she said that 5,000 copies from members of the association and residents of Colorado had been sent out in answer to the charges that woman suffrage was responsible for the recent election frauds in that State, which seemed to be made by every opponent who could wield a pen. Answers were widely distributed to the report of the Mosely Educational Commission sent here from Great Britain, and the Male Teachers' Association of New York, to the effect that women should not be employed to teach boys over ten years of age and that teaching was interfering with the marriage of many women and keeping them from their proper place in the world. The article of former President Grover Cleveland in theLadies' Home Journaldenouncing women's clubs and particularly suffrage clubs had been almost universally commented on by the press and required extensive attention. A reply to Cardinal Gibbons's address to the women graduates of Trinity College, Washington, by Mrs. Ida Husted Harper was sent to eighty metropolitan papers and hundreds of shorter ones were scattered broadcast. The excellent work of the various State press chairman was described.
One afternoon was devoted to a conference on How Can We Best Utilize the Press? Mrs. Harper presided and nearly twenty speakers took part. One of the Portland papers commented: "If the great political organs of the United States knew how well these women have the tricks of the trade at their fingers' ends they would employ special detectives to watch for suffrage literature in disguise." Mr. Lathrop, editor of the PortlandJournal, said: "A newspaper man in his official capacity is not an educatorbut a seller of news. One who would treat a suffrage convention as a negligible quantity would lose his job. The question is not how you can get matter about women into the papers but how you can keep it out." Mrs. Florence Kelley added: "We all know to our sorrow that women cannot keep out of the papers but the question is how to get our subject in them in a way to promote it. I can recommend the following method: Write something in editorial style just about as you want it to appear and send it to the editor with a deprecatory note to the effect that it is only raw material but perhaps it could be whipped into an editorial by his able pen. The chances are that the first time he is hard up for one he will use it—probably beheaded or with the end off or the middle amputated to show that the editor is editing, but it will be published."
Miss Anthony was asked for reminiscences of her famous paper, theRevolution, published in New York in 1868-70. Mrs. Duniway gave an interesting account of her paper, theNew Northwest, begun in 1871 in Portland and continued for a number of years with the help of her five young sons. She expressed her love for theWoman's Journal, "the dear, reliable, old paper started by Lucy Stone and kept going by the heroic efforts of her husband and daughter," and many joined in this expression. Mrs. Clara Bewick Colby (D. C.), editor of theWoman's Tribune, told of the press conference at the International Council of Women. Mrs. Julia B. Nelson (Minn.) and Miss Amanda Way (Ind.) were among the veteran writers who spoke. Miss Blackwell gave experienced advice and a number of younger women made brief but clever suggestions.
An interesting part of the convention was Woman's Day at the Exposition on June 30 and this day had been chosen for the dedication of the statue of Sacajawea, the Indian woman who led the Lewis and Clark Expedition thousands of miles through the wilderness unknown to white men. It was thus described: "The statue, a beautiful creation in bronze, was the work of Miss Alice Cooper of Denver, a pupil of Lorado Taft, the figure full of buoyancy and animation, a shapely arm suggestive of strength pointing to the distant sea, the face radiant, the head thrown back, the eyes full of daring." The exerciseswere in charge of the Order of Red Men and the Women's Sacajawea Association, Mrs. Eva Emery Dye, president, and on the platform facing the statue prominent members of the convention sat with President Goode, of the Exposition, Mayor Lane and other dignitaries. Miss Anthony and Mrs. Duniway spoke during the unveiling and presentation ceremonies and Dr. Shaw pronounced the benediction. [See Oregon chapter.]
The afternoon session of the convention was held in Festival Hall on the grounds and greetings were offered for organizations, including the Young Woman's Christian Association by Mrs. L. E. Rockwell and Women's Medical Association by Dr. Esther C. Pohl. Dr. Sarah A. Kendall of Washington responded. The Los Angeles Suffrage Club sent a greeting and Mrs. Helen Secor Tonjes brought one from the New York City Equal Suffrage League. Mrs. Charlotte Perkins Gilman gave an original poem. Mrs. Mabel Craft Deering, a graduate of California State University and the Hastings Law School of San Francisco, read an able paper on Coeducation. Its sentiments were strongly endorsed by Professor William S. Giltner, president of Eminence College, Kentucky, one of the earliest women's colleges, from its beginning in 1858 to its close in 1894. Miss Alice Stone Blackwell, under the title, Sowing the Seed, gave an interesting account of the early trials of her mother and two aunts, the pioneer doctors, Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell. The Rev. Antoinette Brown Blackwell, an aunt by marriage, the pioneer woman minister, who was on the platform, said: "Ever since I made my first suffrage speech in 1848 I have believed that the cause of woman suffrage was the cause of religion and vice versa." Mrs. Maud Wood Park read the eloquent address of Mrs. Lucia Ames Mead on The Organization of the World.
Mrs. May Arkwright Hutton (Idaho), who spoke for the equal suffrage States, gave this unique reminiscence of her early life in Ohio when William McKinley, a young lawyer, after speaking in the town hall, was a guest of her grandfather. She said in part: "Mr. McKinley carried the lantern, leading me by the hand, while I led grandfather, we little dreaming that the kindly young man guiding a child and an old, blind man through the wintry night would some day guide the destiny ofthe nation. On reaching home, I brought cider, apples and doughnuts from the cellar that we might have what grandfather called a 'schold check' before going to bed. The fire roared in the wide chimney place; grandfather sat in his armchair, Mr. McKinley opposite and I on a low stool between them. They talked of the late war, reconstruction and woman's rights. Then it was that I learned that women were denied rights enjoyed by men. Mr. McKinley deplored the fact and contended that woman was the intellectual equal of man and should be his political equal. Patting my head he said: 'I believe when this lassie grows up she will be a voter.'"
At the close of the session a reception for Miss Anthony and the officers, speakers and delegates was given in the Oregon building by its hostess, Dr. Annice Jeffreys (Mrs. Jefferson) Myers, assisted by Mrs. Coe, the State president. The big reception hall and the parlors were filled with visitors from all parts of the country. TheOregoniansaid: "When Miss Anthony, the honored guest, reached the Oregon building the band played Auld Lang Syne and the crowds became so dense that it was with difficulty Dr. Myers could escort her to the parlors. Here she stood in line for more than an hour, women and men pressing around her wanting just a word and they got it! She declared that it did not make her nearly so tired as she used to feel when nobody wanted to take her hand." In a letter to theWoman's JournalMiss Blackwell said: "Both in the convention and at all the social functions Miss Anthony has been the central figure, the object of general admiration and affection. It is the strongest possible contrast to the unpopularity and persecution of her early days. All these attentions were most gratifying to the members of the convention, who appreciated her courage and devotion in making this long journey at the age of 85, and afterwards they were remembered with especial pleasure because it was the last in which she was able to take an active part."
The social courtesies during the convention were unbounded. The Woman's Club gave a large evening reception in the rooms of the Commercial Club and Mrs. Arthur H. Breyman, its president, opened her handsome residence for an afternoon tea. Mrs. Coe gave a dinner party of about thirty, her lovely homedecorated in yellow flowers, the suffrage color. Mrs. Hutton had a handsome dinner of thirty covers at the Portland Hotel and the Ode which she had written and dedicated to the convention was sung by Mrs. Alice Mason Barnett of San Francisco here and at the convention. Private dinners and teas were of daily occurrence and the drives around this beautiful city and its environs were a never failing delight.
At one evening session C. E. S. Wood (Ore.) spoke on The Injustice of Majority Rule in a cynical strain, believing that woman suffrage was right but fearing it would not do as much good as its advocates hoped for. Now suffrage meant "little stuffed men going to a little stuffed ballot box" and he was afraid "women would take their place on the chess board to be moved in the game by some power they did not see." After he had finished Dr. Shaw observed: "I would rather be a little stuffed woman having my own say than to be ruled by a little stuffed man without my consent, and the only way we will cease to have little stuffed men is for them to be born of free mothers."
Dr. Harriet B. Jones of Wheeling, W. Va., told of the unsuccessful campaign to have Municipal suffrage for women included in its new charter. "The anti-suffrage women of New York and Massachusetts," she said," flooded the newspapers with literature and the heaviest opposing vote came from the lowest and most ignorant sections of the city." In answer to the request of the Wheeling women the National Association had sent Miss Hauser to take charge of the campaign and appropriated funds for it. A telegram to Dr. Shaw from Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor, was read, saying: "Kindly convey fraternal greetings to the officers and delegates of your convention and the earnest expression of our hope for the enfranchisement and disenthrallment of women." A telegram of greeting was received from Mrs. Frederick Schoff, president of the National Congress of Mothers. One came from the National Suffrage Association of Denmark.
Mrs. Harper gave an address under the subject Facing the Situation, showing the satire of the disfranchisement of one-half the citizens in a Government boasting of being founded on individual representation. In closing she said: "Eastward thestar of woman's empire takes its way. She does not look for the star in the East but for the star in the West. Her sun of political freedom rose not in the East but in the West. It is to the strong, courageous and progressive men of the western States that the women of this whole country are looking for deliverance from the bondage of disfranchisement. It is these men who must start this movement and give it such momentum that it will roll irresistibly on to the very shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Today the eyes of the whole country are on this beautiful and progressive State. This magnificent Exposition has been a revelation of its splendid powers. It is an anomaly, a contradiction, a reproach indeed that in the midst of these wonderful achievements one-half of its citizens should be in absolute political subjection, without voice or share in affairs of State. Are you not ready now to wipe out that paltry 2,000 majority which five years ago voted to continue this unjust condition? Would it not add the crowning glory to this greatest period in your history if the free men of Oregon should decree that this shall be, henceforth and forever, the land also of free women?" The Rev. J. Burgette Short expressed regret that his church, the Methodist Episcopal, had refused to ordain Dr. Shaw and said it was much poorer in consequence. "You represent the brains of the world," he said to the delegates, "and you have my hearty interest and support in your work."
A noteworthy address was made by the Hon. W. S. U'Ren, known as "the father of the Initiative and Referendum," which was then in its early stages but had been adopted by Oregon and some other States. The convention was much impressed by this innovation, as the suffragists had long struggled against the refusal of Legislatures to submit their question to the voters, and Mrs. Catt offered a resolution that "the convention affirms its belief in the Initiative and Referendum as a needed reform and a potent factor in the progress of true democracy." It was enthusiastically received and later adopted by the convention, contrary to the habit of the association to consider only subjects relating directly to women and children.[38]
Under the pen name of Lucas Malet, Mrs. Mary St. Leger Harrison, a daughter of Charles Kingsley who was a strong believer in woman suffrage, had published an article in the LondonFortnightly Reviewattacking it and quoting President Roosevelt as an opponent. A long resolution giving his favorable record for the past twenty-five years on questions relating to women was presented and adopted, against the judgment of many delegates. A committee was appointed to ask him for a more definite expression on woman suffrage.[39]
Telegrams of greeting were sent to veterans in the cause—Mrs. Laura de Force Gordon, Mrs. Caroline M. Severance, Mrs. Ellen Clark Sargent of California; Mrs. Caroline E. Merrick of Louisiana; Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, Col. T. W. Higginson, Mrs. Judith W. Smith of Massachusetts; Mrs. Armenia S. White of New Hampshire; Miss Laura Moore of Vermont; Mrs. Margaret W. Campbell of Iowa.
The Committee on Legislation for Civil Rights, Mrs. Blankenburg, chairman, reported that among measures the suffragists had worked for, the child labor laws had been strengthened in New York, Pennsylvania and California; the "age of consent" had been raised in Illinois and Oregon; laws had been passed in several States requiring that women should be appointed to public boards and women physicians to public institutions, Californialeading. In Massachusetts a petition that women might take part in nominating candidates for the school board, for which they were allowed to vote, signed by 100,000 women, was refused by the Legislature. School suffrage was granted to women in the first class cities of Oklahoma.
Mrs. Mead, chairman of the Committee on Peace and Arbitration seems to outshine the preceding one but last night's was the one in Portland; of the series of articles published in preparation for the International Peace Congress in Boston in 1904 and the work she had done in connection with it; of the many lectures given to universities and clubs and of the arrangements to have the public schools observe the anniversary of the first Hague Conference.
TheOregoniansaid: "Each program given by the convention seems to outshine the preceding one but last night's was the best thus far." The speakers were Mrs. Ella S. Stewart, former president of the Illinois Suffrage Association; the Rev. Antoinette Brown Blackwell (N. J.); Mrs. Mary J. Coggeshall (Ia.); Miss Gail Laughlin (N. Y.); Judge Stephen A. Lowell, one of Oregon's leading jurists. Judge Lowell reviewed the political situation, the evils that had crept into the Government and the remedies that had been tried and failed and he summed up his conclusion by saying: "The reforms of the last century have come from women. Man has few to his credit because he could not measure them by the only standard he had mastered, that of the dollar. Witness the movement for female education led by Mary Lyon, the birth of the Red Cross in the work of Florence Nightingale, the institution of modern prison methods under the inspiration of Elizabeth Fry and the campaigns for temperance and social purity under the leadership of Frances Willard. The electorate needs the inspiring influence of women at the ballot box and the full mission of this republic to the world will never be met until she is admitted there. Not color or creed or sex but patriotic honesty must be the test of citizenship if the republic lives."
Mrs. Stewart took up the objections made by many of the clergy to woman suffrage and applied these to the ministersthemselves. "They should not vote," she said with fine sarcasm, "because like women they are exempt from jury duty. They seldom go to war—some of them are too old, others too delicate, some too near-sighted, some too far-sighted. Ministers as a rule are not heavy tax-payers. Many of them do not want to vote and do not use the vote they have. A preacher has not time to vote. It might lead him to neglect his pastoral duties. Political feeling often runs high and if he voted it might make quarrels in the church. The minister has a potent indirect influence. He would be contaminated by the corruption of politics. He is represented by his male relations; they are not as good and pure as he is and are probably immune from contamination by politics."
Mrs. Catt, who presided, in presenting the Rev. Mrs. Blackwell, one of the first to make the fight for the right of women to speak in public, said: "The combination of her sweet personality and her invincible soul has won friends for woman suffrage wherever she has gone." Her address on Suffrage and Education showed the evolution in woman's work. "My grandmother taught me to spin," she said, "but the men have relieved womankind from that task and as they have taken so many industrial burdens off of our hands it is our duty to relieve them of some of their burdens of State." Introducing Mrs. Coggeshall of Iowa Mrs. Catt said: "When I get discouraged I think of her and for many a year she has been one of my strongest inspirations." A Portland paper commented: "Her snow-white hair and demure face give no indication of the brilliant repartee and sharp argument of which she is capable." In her Word from the Middle West she said: "Its women are determined to have the ballot if they have to bear and raise the sons to give it to them. This scheme is in active operation. I myself have raised three—eighteen feet for woman suffrage—and others have done better. No bugle can ever sound retreat for the women of the Middle West." TheOregoniansaid of Miss Laughlin's address: