FOOTNOTES:

Autograph: "Leland Stanford"

Miss Anthony was very glad to go back to Washington with the annual convention, which was held January 23 to 28, 1896. She went on a week beforehand to satisfy herself that all was in readiness. Although the details of the work were assumed by the younger members of the board, she was always on the scene of action early enough to look over the ground before the battle opened. This year the papers said: "A notable feature of the suffrage movement is the large number of college alumnæ and professional women who are coming into the ranks." The committee reported organizations in every State and Territory except Alaska. Delegates were present from almost every one, among them Mrs. Hughes, wife of the governor of Arizona, Mrs. Teller, wife of the senator from Colorado, Mrs. Sanders, wife of the ex-senator from Montana, the wives of Representatives Arnold, Allen, Shafroth and Pickler, Mrs. Ella Knowles Haskell, assistant attorney-general of Montana. Most of them addressed the committees of the Senate and House, who gave long and respectful hearings.

The principal cause of rejoicing at this convention was the admission of Utah as a State with the full enfranchisement of women. A clause to this effect had been put into the State constitution, endorsed by all political parties, voted on by the men of the Territory and carried. This constitution had been accepted, the new State admitted by Congress, and the bill was signed by President Cleveland January 4, 1896. A noteworthy circumstance in this case was that, while the admission of Wyoming with a woman suffrage clause in its constitution was fought for many days in both Senate and House in 1890, thatof Utah was accepted with scarcely a protest against its enfranchisement of women. There was also rejoicing over the fact that, during the autumn of 1895, the full franchise had been conferred upon the women of South Australia.

The occurrence of the convention which forever made its memory a sad one to Miss Anthony was the so-called "Bible resolution." It had this effect not only because of the resolution itself but because those who were responsible for it were especially near and dear to her. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, assisted by a committee of women, had been for several years preparing a work called the "Woman's Bible." It contained no discussion of doctrinal questions but was simply a commentary upon those texts and chapters directly referring to women, and a few others from which they were conspicuously excluded. Naturally, however, this pamphlet caused a great outcry, especially from those who had not read a word of it. That women should dare analyze even the passages referring to themselves in a book which heretofore, neither in the original writing nor in all the revisions of the centuries, had felt the impress of a woman's brain or the touch of a woman's hand, stirred the orthodox to their greater or less depths. Mrs. Stanton was honorary president of the National-American Suffrage Association, but had not attended its meetings or actively participated in its work for a number of years.

Several members of the board, who were children when she and Miss Anthony founded that organization, and unborn when Mrs. Stanton called the first woman's rights convention, decided that her Woman's Bible was injuring the association, although only the chapters on the Pentateuch thus far had been published. They determined that this body should take official action on the question, but they understood perfectly that it would have to be brought before the convention without any previous knowledge on the part of Miss Anthony. Therefore it was planned to have a paragraph of condemnation and renunciation of the Woman's Bible incorporated in the report of the corresponding secretary. When it was read in open meeting she was struck dumb. Mrs. Colby sprung toher feet and moved that the report be accepted, all but the paragraph relating to the Woman's Bible. After an animated discussion the secretary's report was laid on the table and later was adopted with the offending clause stricken out. Miss Anthony supposed this was the end of the matter but, to her amazement, the committee on resolutions reported the following: "This association is non-sectarian, being composed of persons of all shades of religious opinions, and has no official connection with the so-called Woman's Bible, or any theological publication."

This resolution was wholly gratuitous. While true that the association was composed of persons of all shades of religious opinion, it comprised also among some of its oldest and ablest members those who entertained no so-called religious beliefs. Mrs. Stanton invariably had announced that this revision of the Scriptures was the individual work of herself and her committee, and there was no ground for holding the whole association responsible. The resolution, however, was debated for an hour. Miss Anthony was moved as never before. Not only was she fired with indignation at this insult to the woman whom she loved and revered above all others, but she was outraged at this deliberate attempt to deny personal liberty of thought and speech. Leaving the chair she said in an impassioned appeal:

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 expression of sentiments which differed from those held by the majority. 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 men said to me, "You would better never hold another convention than allow Ernestine L. Rose on your platform;" because that eloquent woman, who ever stood for justice and freedom, did not believe 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 havebrought in this resolution for fear the cause might be injured among theliberalsin religion. In other words, if she had writtenyourviews, you would not have considered 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 ourorthodoxfriends 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 suffrage, 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 resolution. 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 bigotry. 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 thought and demand in regard to all matters pertaining to the absolute freedom of women.

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 havebrought in this resolution for fear the cause might be injured among theliberalsin religion. In other words, if she had writtenyourviews, you would not have considered 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 ourorthodoxfriends 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 suffrage, 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 resolution. 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 bigotry. 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 thought and demand in regard to all matters pertaining to the absolute freedom of women.

Rev. Anna Shaw, Carrie Chapman Catt, Henry B. and Alice Stone Blackwell, Laura M. Johns, Annie L. Diggs, Rachel Foster Avery, Laura Clay, Mariana W. Chapman, Elizabeth Upham Yates, and others spoke in favor of the resolution; Lillie Devereux Blake, Clara B. Colby, Mary S. Anthony, Emily Rowland, Charlotte Perkins Stetson and Caroline Hallowell Miller were among those who opposed it. The vote resulted, 53 ayes, 41 nays; and the resolution was adopted. The situation was felicitously expressed in a single sentence by Mrs. Caroline McCullough Everhard, president of the Ohio Suffrage Association: "If women were governed more by principle and less by prejudice, how strong they would be!"

Miss Anthony's feelings could not be put into words. At first she seriously contemplated resigning her office, but from all parts of the country came letters from the pioneer workers—the women who had stood by her for more than twoscore years—pointing out that this action of the convention was a striking illustration of the necessity for her remaining at the helm. Mrs. Stanton urged that they both resign, but Miss Anthony replied:

During three weeks of agony of soul, with scarcely a night of sleep, I have felt I must resign my presidency, but then the rights of the minority are to be respected and protected by me quite as much as the action of the majority is to be resented; and it is even more my duty to stand firmly with the minority because principle is with them. I feel very sure that after a year's reflection upon the matter, the same women, and perhaps the one man, who voted for this interference with personal rights, will be ready to declare that their duty as individuals does not require them to disclaim freedom of speech in their co-workers. Sister Mary says the action of the convention convinces her that the time has not yet come for me to resign; whereas she had felt most strongly that I ought to do it for my own sake. No, my dear, instead of my resigning and leaving those half-fledged chickens without any mother, I think it my duty and the duty of yourself and all the liberals to be at the next convention and try to reverse this miserable, narrow action.

In letters to the different members of her "cabinet," who had voted in favor of the resolution, she thus expressed herself:

In this action I see nothing but the beginning of a petty espionage, a revival of the Spanish inquisition, subjecting to spiritual torture every one who speaks or writes what the other members consider not good for the association. Such disclaimers bring quite as much of martyrdom for our civilization as did the rack and fire in the barbarous ages of the past.That a majority of the delegates could see no wrong personally to Mrs. Stanton and no violation of the right of individual judgment, makes me sick at heart; and still, I don't know what better one could expect when our ranks are now so filled with young women not yet out of bondage to the idea of the infallibility of that book. To every person who really believes in religious freedom, it is no worse to criticise those pages in the Bible which degrade woman than it is to criticise the laws on our statute books which degrade her. Everything spoken or written by Jew or Greek, Gentile or Christian, or by any human being whomsoever, is not too sacred to be criticised by any other human being.

That a majority of the delegates could see no wrong personally to Mrs. Stanton and no violation of the right of individual judgment, makes me sick at heart; and still, I don't know what better one could expect when our ranks are now so filled with young women not yet out of bondage to the idea of the infallibility of that book. To every person who really believes in religious freedom, it is no worse to criticise those pages in the Bible which degrade woman than it is to criticise the laws on our statute books which degrade her. Everything spoken or written by Jew or Greek, Gentile or Christian, or by any human being whomsoever, is not too sacred to be criticised by any other human being.

She was far too magnanimous, however, and loved the cause too well to relax her efforts for the welfare of the association.Before the year closed she received from Mrs. Avery and Mrs. Upton most tender and beautiful letters, acknowledging their mistake, expressing their sorrow and begging to be reinstated in her confidence and affection.[117]

In order that Miss Anthony's position maybe clearly understood and that she may not appear biased and one-sided, and in order also to consider this question all at one time, her point of view will be a little further illustrated. In an interview in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle she is thus reported:

"Did you have anything to do with the new Bible, Miss Anthony?" was asked."No, I did not contribute to it, though I knew of its preparation. My own relations to or ideas of the Bible always have been peculiar, owing to my Quaker training. The Friends consider the book as historical, made up of traditions, but not as a plenary inspiration. Of course people say these women are impious and presumptuous for daring to interpret the Scriptures as they understand them, but I think women have just as good a right to interpret and twist the Bible to their own advantage as men always have twisted and turned it to theirs.... It was written by men, and therefore its reference to women reflects the light in which they were regarded in those days. In the same way the history of our Revolutionary War was written, in which very little is said of the noble deeds of women, though we know how they stood by and helped the great work; and it is the same with history all through."

"Did you have anything to do with the new Bible, Miss Anthony?" was asked.

"No, I did not contribute to it, though I knew of its preparation. My own relations to or ideas of the Bible always have been peculiar, owing to my Quaker training. The Friends consider the book as historical, made up of traditions, but not as a plenary inspiration. Of course people say these women are impious and presumptuous for daring to interpret the Scriptures as they understand them, but I think women have just as good a right to interpret and twist the Bible to their own advantage as men always have twisted and turned it to theirs.... It was written by men, and therefore its reference to women reflects the light in which they were regarded in those days. In the same way the history of our Revolutionary War was written, in which very little is said of the noble deeds of women, though we know how they stood by and helped the great work; and it is the same with history all through."

Although she stood so firm for individual rights she nevertheless regretted that Mrs. Stanton should give the few remaining years of her precious life to this commentary, and frequently wrote in the following strain, when importuned to assist in it:

I can not help but feel that in this you are talking down to the most ignorant masses, whereas your rule always has been to speak to the highest, knowing there would be a few who would comprehend, and would in turn give of their best to those on the next lower round of the ladder. The cultivated men and women of today are above the need of your book. Even the liberalized orthodox ministers are coming to our aid and their conventions arepassing resolutions in favor of woman's equality, and I feel that these men and women who are just born into the kingdom of liberty can better reach the minds of their followers than can any of us out-and-out radicals. But while I do not consider it my duty to tear to tatters the lingering skeletons of the old superstitions and bigotries, yet I rejoice to see them crumbling on every side.

Months after this Washington convention, when Miss Anthony was in the midst of a great political campaign in California, she sent Mrs. Stanton this self-explanatory letter:

You say "women must be emancipated from their superstitions before enfranchisement will be of any benefit," and I say just the reverse, that women must be enfranchised before they can be emancipated from their superstitions. Women would be no more superstitious today than men, if they had been men's political and business equals and gone outside the four walls of home and the other four of the church into the great world, and come in contact with and discussed men and measures on the plane of this mundane sphere, instead of living in the air with Jesus and the angels. So you will have to keep pegging away, saying, "Get rid of religious bigotry and then get political rights;" while I shall keep pegging away, saying, "Get political rights first and religious bigotry will melt like dew before the morning sun;" and each will continue still to believe in and defend the other.Now, especially in this California campaign, I shall no more thrust into the discussions the question of the Bible than the manufacture of wine. What I want is for the men to vote "yes" on the suffrage amendment, and I don't ask whether they make wine on the ranches in California or believe Christ made it at the wedding feast. I have your grand addresses before Congress and enclose one in nearly every letter I write. I have scattered all your "celebration" speeches that I had, but I shall not circulate your "Bible" literature a particle more than Frances Willard's prohibition literature. So don't tell Mrs. Colby or anybody else to load me down with Bible, social purity, temperance, or any other arguments under the sun but just those for woman's right to have her opinion counted at the ballot-box.I have been pleading with Miss Willard for the last three months to withdraw her threatened W. C. T. U. invasion of California this year, and at last she has done it; now, for heaven's sake, don't you propose a "Bible invasion." It is not because I hate religious bigotry less than you do, or because I love prohibition less than Frances Willard does, but because I consider suffrage more important just now.

Now, especially in this California campaign, I shall no more thrust into the discussions the question of the Bible than the manufacture of wine. What I want is for the men to vote "yes" on the suffrage amendment, and I don't ask whether they make wine on the ranches in California or believe Christ made it at the wedding feast. I have your grand addresses before Congress and enclose one in nearly every letter I write. I have scattered all your "celebration" speeches that I had, but I shall not circulate your "Bible" literature a particle more than Frances Willard's prohibition literature. So don't tell Mrs. Colby or anybody else to load me down with Bible, social purity, temperance, or any other arguments under the sun but just those for woman's right to have her opinion counted at the ballot-box.

I have been pleading with Miss Willard for the last three months to withdraw her threatened W. C. T. U. invasion of California this year, and at last she has done it; now, for heaven's sake, don't you propose a "Bible invasion." It is not because I hate religious bigotry less than you do, or because I love prohibition less than Frances Willard does, but because I consider suffrage more important just now.

It seems that Miss Anthony's attitude ought to be perfectly understood by the testimony here presented. It is one from which she never has swerved and on which she is willing to stand in the pages of history—entire freedom for herself from religious superstition—the most absolute religious liberty for every other human being.

To return to the Washington convention: Among many pleasant social features Miss Anthony was invited to an elegant luncheon given by Mrs. John R. McLean in honor of the seventieth birthday of Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant and, at the reception which followed, received the guests with Mrs. Grant and Mrs. McLean.

Autograph: "I am yours with great respect and sincere admiration, Julia D. Grant"

At the close of the convention the principal speakers and many of the delegates went to Philadelphia to a national conference, which was largely attended. It was here that "Nelly Bly" had the famous interview published in the New York World of February 2, 1896. She had tried to secure this in Washington, but Miss Anthony could not spare time for it, so she followed her to Philadelphia. It filled a page of the Sunday edition and contained Miss Anthony's opinions on most of the leading topics of the day, in the main correctly reported, although not a note was taken. It began thus:

Susan B. Anthony! She was waiting for me. I stood for an instant in the doorway and looked at her. She made a picture to remember and to cherish. She sat in a low rocking-chair, an image of repose and restfulness. Her well-shaped head, with its silken snowy hair combed smoothly over her ears, rested against the back of the chair. Her shawl had half fallen from her shoulders and her soft black silk gown lay in gentle folds about her. Her slender hands were folded idly in her lap, and her feet, crossed, just peeped from beneath the edge of her skirt. If she had been posed for a picture, it could not have been done more artistically."Do you know the world is a blank to me?" she said after we had exchanged greetings. "I haven't read a newspaper in ten days and I feel lost to everything. Tell me about Cuba! I almost would be willing to postpone the enfranchisement of women to see Cuba free....""Do you believe in immortality?""I don't know anything about heaven or hell," she answered, "or whether I will meet my friends again or not, but as no particle of matter is ever destroyed, I have a feeling that no particle of mind is ever lost. I am sure that the same wise power which manages the present may be trusted with the hereafter.""Then you don't find life tiresome?""O, mercy, no! I don't want to die as long as I can work; the minute I can not, I want to go. I dread the thought of being enfeebled. The older I get, the greater power I seem to have to help the world; I am like a snowball—the further I am rolled the more I gain. But," she added, significantly, "I'll have to take it as it comes. I'm just as much in eternity now as after the breath goes out of my body.""Do you pray?""I pray every single second of my life; not on my knees, but with my work. My prayer is to lift woman to equality with man. Work and worship are one with me. I can not imagine a God of the universe made happy by my getting down on my knees and calling him 'great.'..."What do I think of marriage? True marriage, the real marriage of soul, when two people take each other on terms of perfect equality, without the desire of one to control the other, is a beautiful thing; it is the highest condition of life; but for a woman to marry for support is demoralizing; and for a man to marry a woman merely because she has a beautiful figure or face is degradation....""Do you like flowers?" I asked, leading her into another channel."I like roses first and pinks second, and nothing else after," Miss Anthony laughed. "I don't call anything a flower that hasn't a sweet perfume.""What is your favorite hymn or ballad?""The dickens!" she exclaimed merrily. "I don't know! I can't tell one tune from another. I know there are such hymns as 'Sweet By and By' and 'Old Hundred,' but I can not tell them apart. All music sounds alike to me, but still if there is the slightest discord it hurts me. Neither do I know anything about art," she continued, "yet when I go into a room filled with pictures my friends say I invariably pick out the best. I have good company, I always think, in my musical ignorance. Wendell Phillips couldn't recognize tunes; neither could Anna Dickinson.""What's your favorite motto, or have you one?""For the last thirty years I have written in all albums, 'Perfect equality of rights for women, civil and political;' or, 'I know only woman and her disfranchised.' There is another, one of Charles Sumner's, 'Equal rights for all.' I never write sentimental things...."Yes, I'll tell you what I think of bicycling," she said, leaning forward and laying a hand on my arm. "I think it has done more to emancipate woman than any one thing in the world. I rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives her a feeling of self-reliance and independence the moment she takes her seat; and away she goes, the picture of untrammelled womanhood.""What do you think the new woman will be?""She'll be free," said Miss Anthony. "Then she'll be whatever her best judgment dictates. We can no more imagine what the true woman will be than what the true man will be. We haven't him yet, and it will be generations after we gain freedom before we have the highest man and woman. They will constantly change for the better, as the world does. What is the best possible today will be outgrown tomorrow.""What would you call woman's best attribute?""Good common sense; she has a great deal of uncommon sense now, but I want her to be an all-around woman, not gifted overly in one respect and lacking in others....""And now," I said, approaching a very delicate subject on tip-toe, "tell me one thing more. Were you ever in love?""In love?" she laughed. "Bless you, Nelly, I've been in love a thousand times!""Really!" I gasped, taken back by this startling confession."Yes, really," nodding her snowy head; "but I never loved anyone so much that I thought it would last. In fact, I never felt I could give up my life of freedom to become a man's housekeeper. When I was young, if a girl married poverty, she became a drudge; if she married wealth, she became a doll. Had I married at twenty-one, I would have been either a drudge or a doll for fifty-five years. Think of it!" and she laughed again....

"Do you know the world is a blank to me?" she said after we had exchanged greetings. "I haven't read a newspaper in ten days and I feel lost to everything. Tell me about Cuba! I almost would be willing to postpone the enfranchisement of women to see Cuba free...."

"Do you believe in immortality?"

"I don't know anything about heaven or hell," she answered, "or whether I will meet my friends again or not, but as no particle of matter is ever destroyed, I have a feeling that no particle of mind is ever lost. I am sure that the same wise power which manages the present may be trusted with the hereafter."

"Then you don't find life tiresome?"

"O, mercy, no! I don't want to die as long as I can work; the minute I can not, I want to go. I dread the thought of being enfeebled. The older I get, the greater power I seem to have to help the world; I am like a snowball—the further I am rolled the more I gain. But," she added, significantly, "I'll have to take it as it comes. I'm just as much in eternity now as after the breath goes out of my body."

"Do you pray?"

"I pray every single second of my life; not on my knees, but with my work. My prayer is to lift woman to equality with man. Work and worship are one with me. I can not imagine a God of the universe made happy by my getting down on my knees and calling him 'great.'...

"What do I think of marriage? True marriage, the real marriage of soul, when two people take each other on terms of perfect equality, without the desire of one to control the other, is a beautiful thing; it is the highest condition of life; but for a woman to marry for support is demoralizing; and for a man to marry a woman merely because she has a beautiful figure or face is degradation...."

"Do you like flowers?" I asked, leading her into another channel.

"I like roses first and pinks second, and nothing else after," Miss Anthony laughed. "I don't call anything a flower that hasn't a sweet perfume."

"What is your favorite hymn or ballad?"

"The dickens!" she exclaimed merrily. "I don't know! I can't tell one tune from another. I know there are such hymns as 'Sweet By and By' and 'Old Hundred,' but I can not tell them apart. All music sounds alike to me, but still if there is the slightest discord it hurts me. Neither do I know anything about art," she continued, "yet when I go into a room filled with pictures my friends say I invariably pick out the best. I have good company, I always think, in my musical ignorance. Wendell Phillips couldn't recognize tunes; neither could Anna Dickinson."

"What's your favorite motto, or have you one?"

"For the last thirty years I have written in all albums, 'Perfect equality of rights for women, civil and political;' or, 'I know only woman and her disfranchised.' There is another, one of Charles Sumner's, 'Equal rights for all.' I never write sentimental things....

"Yes, I'll tell you what I think of bicycling," she said, leaning forward and laying a hand on my arm. "I think it has done more to emancipate woman than any one thing in the world. I rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives her a feeling of self-reliance and independence the moment she takes her seat; and away she goes, the picture of untrammelled womanhood."

"What do you think the new woman will be?"

"She'll be free," said Miss Anthony. "Then she'll be whatever her best judgment dictates. We can no more imagine what the true woman will be than what the true man will be. We haven't him yet, and it will be generations after we gain freedom before we have the highest man and woman. They will constantly change for the better, as the world does. What is the best possible today will be outgrown tomorrow."

"What would you call woman's best attribute?"

"Good common sense; she has a great deal of uncommon sense now, but I want her to be an all-around woman, not gifted overly in one respect and lacking in others...."

"And now," I said, approaching a very delicate subject on tip-toe, "tell me one thing more. Were you ever in love?"

"In love?" she laughed. "Bless you, Nelly, I've been in love a thousand times!"

"Really!" I gasped, taken back by this startling confession.

"Yes, really," nodding her snowy head; "but I never loved anyone so much that I thought it would last. In fact, I never felt I could give up my life of freedom to become a man's housekeeper. When I was young, if a girl married poverty, she became a drudge; if she married wealth, she became a doll. Had I married at twenty-one, I would have been either a drudge or a doll for fifty-five years. Think of it!" and she laughed again....

Miss Anthony's seventy-sixth birthday was celebrated by the Rochester Political Equality Club at the residence of Dr. and Mrs. S. A. Linn. The spacious and beautifully decorated rooms were crowded with guests, and interesting addresses were given by Mrs. Greenleaf, Mrs. Gannett, Mr. J. M. Thayer and Mary Seymour Howell, to which Miss Anthony made a happy response. On February 17 she spoke at a church fair given by the colored people of Bath, and then completed her preparations for a long journey and a great campaign. It will be remembered that Miss Anthony had decided to rest from "field work" during 1896, and to arrange her papers for the writing of the history of her life, which her friends felt was now the most important thing for her to do. To this end a roomy half-story had been built on the substantial Rochester home, and therein were placed all the big boxes and trunks of letters and documents which had been accumulating during the last fifty years and stored in woodshed, cellar and closets; a stenographer had been engaged and all was in readiness for the great work. Then came an appeal from 3,000 miles away which rent asunder all her resolutions.

When she had been in California the previous year and hadhelped the women plan their approaching campaign, nothing had been further from her thoughts than returning to give her personal assistance. As the time for action drew near, those who had the matter in charge began to realize that the task before them was far greater than they had anticipated, and that they were lacking in the experience which would be needed. There were very few women who could be depended on to draw together and address great audiences of thousands of people, to speak thirty consecutive nights in each month, and to be equal to every emergency of a political campaign; nor were there any considerable number who understood the best methods of organization. It was then both natural and sensible that the State society should appeal to the national association for assistance. It is an essential part of the business of the officers of that body to respond to such calls.

Miss Anthony had been home from California but a short time in 1895 when Ellen C. Sargent, president of the State association, wrote an earnest official request for the help of the national board. At the same time Sarah B. Cooper, president of the campaign committee, sent the strongest letter her eloquent pen could write, emphasizing Mrs. Sargent's invitation. These were followed by similar pleas from the other members of the board and from many prominent women of the State. Miss Anthony felt at first as if it would not be possible for her to make the long trip and endure the fatigue of a campaign, which she understood so well from having experienced it seven times over. On the other hand she realized what a tremendous impetus would be given to the cause of woman suffrage if the great State of California should carry this amendment, and she longed to render every assistance in her power. It was not, however, until early in February that she yielded to the appeals and decided to abandon all the plans she had cherished for the year. The moment her decision reached California, Harriet Cooper, secretary of the committee, telegraphed their delight and sent her a check of $120 for travelling expenses.

The question now arose with Miss Anthony what she shoulddo with her secretary, whom she had engaged for a year but did not feel able to take with her. This was settled in a few days through the action of Rev. and Mrs. W. C. Gannett, who went among the friends and in a short time raised the money to pay Mrs. Sweet's expenses to California and back, all agreeing that Miss Anthony must have some one to relieve her of the mechanical part of the burden she was about to assume. This seemed too good to be true, as she had had no such help in all her forty-five years of public work. The two started on the evening of February 27, a large party of friends assembling at the station to say good-by to the veteran of seventy-six years about to enter another battle. They stopped at Ann Arbor for the Michigan convention, the guests of Mrs. Hall, and then a few days in Chicago, where Miss Anthony and Mrs. Gross sat for a statuette by Miss Bessie Potter.

She reached San Diego March 10 and, after attending the Woman's Club, went to Los Angeles where she was beautifully received, sharing the honors with Robert J. Burdette at the Friday Morning Club. Mrs. Alice Moore McComas wrote to Mrs. Sargent and Mrs. Cooper the next day: "Dear Miss Anthony came, saw and conquered, and we are hers! Letters and telegrams were dispatched in every direction as soon as we found she was coming and she has been able to reach women that I have almost despaired of. Dozens who have heretofore held aloof, have promised me today to stand by the amendment till all is over, and with these recruits we feel that we can undertake the convention work in this county. The women are aroused and we will see that they stay aroused. Miss Anthony's visit was opportune and just what was needed."

She arrived at San Francisco a few days later, being joyfully greeted at the Oakland station by Mrs. Cooper and Harriet. She went directly to the Sargent residence, and from this delightful home, Miss Anthony, the National president, and Mrs. Sargent, the State president, directed the great campaign.

FOOTNOTES:[114]The following from the Wichita Eagle is noteworthy because in the Kansas campaign the year before, and in all previous years, it had been abusive beyond description and had at all times put every possible stumbling-block in the way of woman suffrage and berated all who advocated it:"What an experience Miss Anthony has had! None but a remarkable woman could have accepted such a life-work at a time when prejudice and education ran all in the opposite direction. Finely-balanced and self-educated as to her special cause, she has not only won a name and fame world-wide, but turned perceptibly the entire current of human conviction. And she has been, through it all, the modest woman, truly womanly. The men and women of this country—of the world—who believe that the ballot for woman means better government and the elevation of society to a higher plane, must ever recognize Susan B. Anthony as the real pioneer prophetess of the cause, for so will history record her."[115]Miss Anthony was many times besought to tell the secret of her wonderful vitality and power for work, and on one occasion wrote the following:"As machinery in motion lasts longer than when lying idle, so a body and soul in active exercise escape the corroding rust of physical and mental laziness, which prematurely cuts off the life of so many women. I believe I am able to endure the strain of daily travelling and lecturing at over threescore years and ten, mainly because I have always worked and loved work. As to my habits of life, it has been impossible for me to have fixed rules for eating, resting, sleeping, etc. The only advice I could give a young person on this point would be: 'Live as simply as you can. Eat what you find agrees with your constitution—when you can get it; sleep whenever you are sleepy, and think as little of these details as possible.'"[116]Among others was a beautiful testimonial from Theodore Tilton, who had been for many years a resident of Paris, in which he said:"At the present day, every woman who seeks the legal custody of her children, or the legal control of her property; every woman who finds the doors of a college or a university opening to her; every woman who administers a post-office or a public library; every woman who enters upon a career of medicine, law or theology; every woman who teaches a school, or tills a farm, or keeps a shop; every one who drives a horse, rides a bicycle, skates at a rink, swims at a summer resort, plays golf or tennis in a public park, or even snaps a kodak; every such woman, I say, owes her liberty largely to yourself and to your earliest and bravest co-workers in the cause of woman's emancipation. So I send my greetings not to you alone, but also to the small remainder now living of your original bevy of noble assistants, among whom—first, last and always—has been and still continues to be your fit mate, chief counselor and executive right hand, Susan B. Anthony; a heroine of hard work who, when her own eightieth birthday shall roll round, will likewise deserve a national ovation, at which she should not inappropriately receive the old Roman crown of oak."This was accompanied by a personal letter to Miss Anthony, saying, besides other pleasant things: "I heard lately that you were dying! I did not believe the canard. Dying? No! You are to live forever. Give my love to the heroine of the hour—and prepare yourself for an equal picnic when your own time shall come. Ever yours as of old."[117]In a letter to the Woman's Tribune Mrs. Jean Brooks Greenleaf said: "I was absent from the convention and could not vote against that resolution. The 'Woman's Bible' a hindrance to organization? Of course it is. What of it? The belief in the old theories about women, which had their basis in doctrines taught from King James' version of the Bible, was a much more monumental hindrance to the work of the pioneers, in not only the woman suffrage movement but in all movements for the advancement of women."

[114]The following from the Wichita Eagle is noteworthy because in the Kansas campaign the year before, and in all previous years, it had been abusive beyond description and had at all times put every possible stumbling-block in the way of woman suffrage and berated all who advocated it:"What an experience Miss Anthony has had! None but a remarkable woman could have accepted such a life-work at a time when prejudice and education ran all in the opposite direction. Finely-balanced and self-educated as to her special cause, she has not only won a name and fame world-wide, but turned perceptibly the entire current of human conviction. And she has been, through it all, the modest woman, truly womanly. The men and women of this country—of the world—who believe that the ballot for woman means better government and the elevation of society to a higher plane, must ever recognize Susan B. Anthony as the real pioneer prophetess of the cause, for so will history record her."

"What an experience Miss Anthony has had! None but a remarkable woman could have accepted such a life-work at a time when prejudice and education ran all in the opposite direction. Finely-balanced and self-educated as to her special cause, she has not only won a name and fame world-wide, but turned perceptibly the entire current of human conviction. And she has been, through it all, the modest woman, truly womanly. The men and women of this country—of the world—who believe that the ballot for woman means better government and the elevation of society to a higher plane, must ever recognize Susan B. Anthony as the real pioneer prophetess of the cause, for so will history record her."

[115]Miss Anthony was many times besought to tell the secret of her wonderful vitality and power for work, and on one occasion wrote the following:"As machinery in motion lasts longer than when lying idle, so a body and soul in active exercise escape the corroding rust of physical and mental laziness, which prematurely cuts off the life of so many women. I believe I am able to endure the strain of daily travelling and lecturing at over threescore years and ten, mainly because I have always worked and loved work. As to my habits of life, it has been impossible for me to have fixed rules for eating, resting, sleeping, etc. The only advice I could give a young person on this point would be: 'Live as simply as you can. Eat what you find agrees with your constitution—when you can get it; sleep whenever you are sleepy, and think as little of these details as possible.'"

[115]Miss Anthony was many times besought to tell the secret of her wonderful vitality and power for work, and on one occasion wrote the following:

"As machinery in motion lasts longer than when lying idle, so a body and soul in active exercise escape the corroding rust of physical and mental laziness, which prematurely cuts off the life of so many women. I believe I am able to endure the strain of daily travelling and lecturing at over threescore years and ten, mainly because I have always worked and loved work. As to my habits of life, it has been impossible for me to have fixed rules for eating, resting, sleeping, etc. The only advice I could give a young person on this point would be: 'Live as simply as you can. Eat what you find agrees with your constitution—when you can get it; sleep whenever you are sleepy, and think as little of these details as possible.'"

[116]Among others was a beautiful testimonial from Theodore Tilton, who had been for many years a resident of Paris, in which he said:"At the present day, every woman who seeks the legal custody of her children, or the legal control of her property; every woman who finds the doors of a college or a university opening to her; every woman who administers a post-office or a public library; every woman who enters upon a career of medicine, law or theology; every woman who teaches a school, or tills a farm, or keeps a shop; every one who drives a horse, rides a bicycle, skates at a rink, swims at a summer resort, plays golf or tennis in a public park, or even snaps a kodak; every such woman, I say, owes her liberty largely to yourself and to your earliest and bravest co-workers in the cause of woman's emancipation. So I send my greetings not to you alone, but also to the small remainder now living of your original bevy of noble assistants, among whom—first, last and always—has been and still continues to be your fit mate, chief counselor and executive right hand, Susan B. Anthony; a heroine of hard work who, when her own eightieth birthday shall roll round, will likewise deserve a national ovation, at which she should not inappropriately receive the old Roman crown of oak."This was accompanied by a personal letter to Miss Anthony, saying, besides other pleasant things: "I heard lately that you were dying! I did not believe the canard. Dying? No! You are to live forever. Give my love to the heroine of the hour—and prepare yourself for an equal picnic when your own time shall come. Ever yours as of old."

[116]Among others was a beautiful testimonial from Theodore Tilton, who had been for many years a resident of Paris, in which he said:

"At the present day, every woman who seeks the legal custody of her children, or the legal control of her property; every woman who finds the doors of a college or a university opening to her; every woman who administers a post-office or a public library; every woman who enters upon a career of medicine, law or theology; every woman who teaches a school, or tills a farm, or keeps a shop; every one who drives a horse, rides a bicycle, skates at a rink, swims at a summer resort, plays golf or tennis in a public park, or even snaps a kodak; every such woman, I say, owes her liberty largely to yourself and to your earliest and bravest co-workers in the cause of woman's emancipation. So I send my greetings not to you alone, but also to the small remainder now living of your original bevy of noble assistants, among whom—first, last and always—has been and still continues to be your fit mate, chief counselor and executive right hand, Susan B. Anthony; a heroine of hard work who, when her own eightieth birthday shall roll round, will likewise deserve a national ovation, at which she should not inappropriately receive the old Roman crown of oak."

This was accompanied by a personal letter to Miss Anthony, saying, besides other pleasant things: "I heard lately that you were dying! I did not believe the canard. Dying? No! You are to live forever. Give my love to the heroine of the hour—and prepare yourself for an equal picnic when your own time shall come. Ever yours as of old."

[117]In a letter to the Woman's Tribune Mrs. Jean Brooks Greenleaf said: "I was absent from the convention and could not vote against that resolution. The 'Woman's Bible' a hindrance to organization? Of course it is. What of it? The belief in the old theories about women, which had their basis in doctrines taught from King James' version of the Bible, was a much more monumental hindrance to the work of the pioneers, in not only the woman suffrage movement but in all movements for the advancement of women."

Intheir State convention of 1894 the Republicans of California had adopted the strongest possible plank in favor of woman suffrage and, as the legislature the next year was Republican by a considerable majority, Clara Foltz and Laura de Force Gordon, attorneys, and Nellie Holbrook Blinn, at that time State president, Mrs. Peet, Madame Sorbier, Mrs. Bidwell, Mrs. Spencer, of Lassen county, and others made a determined effort to secure a bill enfranchising women. That failing, the legislature consented to submit an amendment to the constitution to be voted on in 1896. This bill was signed by Governor James H. Budd and the women then prepared to canvass the State to secure a favorable majority.

Out of the officers of the State suffrage association and the amendment committee, a joint campaign committee was formed and, in addition to this, a State central committee.[118]These two constituted the working force at State headquarters. There were also speakers and organizers, and a regularly officered society in each county, co-operating with the officials at headquarters.

At the request of the State committee Miss Anthony's niece, Lucy E., for seven years Miss Shaw's secretary and thoroughly experienced in planning and arranging meetings, went outearly in February to assist Dr. Elizabeth Sargent in the preparations for the first series of conventions. She carried with her a complete list, made by Miss Anthony herself with great labor and care, of every town of over two hundred inhabitants in every county in the State, with instructions to plan for a meeting there during the campaign. One scarcely can describe the perplexing work of these young women in arranging this great sweep of conventions, two days in every county seat, each convention overlapping the next, getting the speakers from one to the other on time, finding women in each town or city who would take charge of local arrangements, and rounding up the whole series in season for the Woman's Congress in May. In March the campaign committee invited Mary G. Hay, who had had twelve years' experience in organization work, and Harriet May Mills, the State organizer of New York, to manage the conventions; and Rev. Anna Shaw and Miss Elizabeth Upham Yates as speakers. It is impossible to follow these meetings in detail further than to say that, with but few exceptions, they were very successful, the audiences were large and cordial, clubs were formed, much suffrage sentiment was created, and the conventions considerably more than paid all expenses. The women of California possessed ability, energy, patriotism and desire for political freedom, but up to this time they had no conception of the immense amount of money and work which would be required for a campaign. As soon as they grasped the situation they were fully equal to its demands and never in all the history of the movement was so much splendid work done, or so large a fund raised, by the women of any State.

Ellen Clark Sargent (Signed: "Ellen Clark Sargent.")

It was unanimously agreed that Miss Anthony should remain in San Francisco, answering the numerous calls for addresses in that city and the surrounding towns, and having general oversight of the campaign. Mrs. Sargent assigned to her the largest, sunniest room in her spacious home, but her hospitality and her services to the cause of the amendment did not end here. Another large apartment was appropriated to Rev. Anna Shaw and her secretary. The room formerly usedas the senator's office was dedicated to the work, the typewriters ensconced there, and it soon was crowded with documents, newspapers and all the paraphernalia of a campaign. In a little while they encroached on the library and it was filled with the litter. Then a typewriter found its way into one corner of the long dining-room. The committee meetings were held in the drawing-room; and, during the whole eight months, there was scarcely a meal at which there were not from one to half a dozen speakers, members of committees, out-of-town workers and others besides her family at the table. Every hour of Mrs. Sargent's and Dr. Elizabeth's time was devoted to the campaign. The latter was placed at the head of the literary committee and also took entire charge of the petition work for the State, involving months of most exacting labor. In addition to all this, both gave most liberally in money. How much was accomplished by Mrs. Sargent's quiet influence, her wise and judicial advice, her many logical and dignified appeals in person and by letter, never can be estimated.

The State board and committees were composed of women of fine character and social standing, who commanded the highest respect; and during the long campaign they put aside every other duty and pleasure and devoted themselves, mind and body, to the success of the amendment. Across the bay in Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley were a large and active county society, Mrs. Isabel A. Baldwin, president, and city organizations of women of equal ability and prestige, who were in daily communication with State headquarters and performed the most valuable and conscientious work. What was true here was equally so of the women in all the counties from San Diego to Del Norte. It seems invidious to mention a single name where so many gave such excellent service. It must be admitted, however, that while hundreds of women worked for their political freedom, thousands contributed absolutely nothing in either money or service; and yet there were many among them who believed fully in the principle ofwoman suffrage. They simply allowed domestic duties or the demands of society or apathetic indifference to prevent their rendering any assistance, and they could not be prevailed upon even to give money to help those who performed the labor. If all such had lent their influence, the women of California today would be enfranchised; but they left the whole burden to be carried by the few, and these could not do the work necessary for success, because human nature has its limits.

The attitude of the press of California deserves especial mention because to it was largely due the marked consideration which the suffrage amendment received throughout the State. Miss Anthony met in California an acquaintance, Mrs. Ida H. Harper, recently of the editorial staff of the Indianapolis News, and requested her to act as chairman of the press committee. As the press of San Francisco could kill the amendment at the very start, if it chose to do so, they decided to call upon the editors of the daily papers in that city and ascertain their position. They visited the managing editors of the Call, Examiner, Chronicle, Post, Report and Bulletin and, without a single exception, were received with the greatest courtesy and assured that the amendment and the ladies who were advocating it would be treated with respect, that there would be no ridiculing, no cartooning and no attempt to create a sentiment in opposition.

The Post came out editorially in favor of the amendment and established a half-page department, headed "The New Citizen," which was continued daily during the campaign, the largest amount of space ever given by any paper to woman suffrage. Dr. Elizabeth Sargent assumed most of the responsibility for this department, assisted by members of the staff. The Report gave editorial endorsement and a double-column department entitled "The Woman Citizen," edited every Saturday by Winnifred Harper. The Bulletin expressed itself as friendly and later in the campaign opened a suffrage department conducted by Eliza D. Keith; but the paper contained editorials from time to time, which the friends did not construeas favorable to the measure. The managing editor gave the ladies to understand that there would be no opposition from the Chronicle, and during the campaign it contained several strong editorials, not advocating the amendment, but decidedly favorable to woman suffrage. This paper also gave a prominent place to a number of articles from Mrs. Harper and others. Two days before election, however, it advised its readers to vote against the amendment.

The Examiner was friendly and offered a column on the editorial page of the Sunday edition, throughout the campaign if Miss Anthony would fill it. She protested that she was not a writer, but it was only upon this condition that the space would be given. It was too valuable to be sacrificed and so she accepted it, and for seven months furnished Sunday articles of 1,600 words. These were widely copied, not only throughout the State, but in all parts of the country. Every possible influence was exerted to persuade William R. Hearst, the proprietor, who was residing in New York, to bring out the paper editorially in favor of the amendment. Miss Anthony wrote an earnest personal letter which closed: "So, I pray you for the love of justice, for the love of your noble mother, and for the sake of California—lead the way for the Democratic party of your State to advocate the suffrage amendment. The Examiner has done splendidly thus far in publishing fair and full reports of our meetings and articles from our leading suffrage women. The one and only thing we do ask is that it will editorially champion the amendment as it will every other measure it believes in which is to be voted upon next November." All pleadings were in vain and the great paper remained silent. It did not, however, contain a line in opposition.

During Miss Anthony's visit to San Francisco the previous year, the Monitor, the official Catholic organ of California, had come out in two editions with full-page editorials in favor of woman suffrage, as strong as anything ever written on that subject. When the two ladies called on the editor, he assured them of his full sympathy and agreed to accept a series ofarticles from the chairman of the press committee. These were published regularly for a time and then suddenly were refused, and every effort to ascertain the reason was unsuccessful. Miss Anthony called on him several times and waited for half an hour in his anteroom, but he declined to see her and, during the remainder of the campaign, the amendment received no recognition from the Monitor.

The response from the other papers of the State was most remarkable. The Populist press, without exception, was for woman suffrage. Every newspaper in Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley spoke in favor of the amendment. The majority of those in Los Angeles and San Diego counties endorsed it. All but one in San Jose, and all but one in Sacramento, did likewise. Before the campaign closed, 250 newspapers declared editorially for the suffrage amendment. Only two of prominence in the entire State came out boldly in opposition, the Record-Union, of Sacramento, and the Times of Los Angeles. The former ceased its opposition some time before election; the latter continued to the end, ridiculing, misrepresenting, denouncing, and even going to the extent of grossly caricaturing Miss Anthony.

The Star, the Voice of Labor and other prominent journals published in the interests of the wage-earning classes; those conducted by the colored people; the Spanish, French and Italian papers; the leading Jewish papers; the temperance, the A. P. A. and the Socialist organs; and many published for individual enterprises, agriculture, insurance, etc., spoke strongly for the amendment. The firm which supplied plate matter to hundreds of the smaller papers accepted a short article every week. There were very few newspapers in the State which did not grant space for woman suffrage departments, and these were ably edited by the women of the different localities. Matter on this question was furnished to the chairman of the press committee by the San Francisco Clipping Bureau, and these clippings were carefully tabulated and filed. At the close of the eight months' campaign they numbered 9,000, taken from the press of California alone. Twenty-sevenpapers came out in opposition; these included a number of San Francisco weeklies of a sensational character and a few published in small towns.

It must be remembered, in this connection, that the woman suffrage organization had not a dollar to pay for newspaper influence, had no advertising to bestow, and that even the notices for meetings were gratuitous. All this advocacy on the part of the papers was purely a free-will offering and represented the honest and courageous sentiments of the editors. It is deemed especially worthy of notice because there was never anything like it in previous suffrage campaigns. Toward the end, when the influence of the opposition began to do its fatal work, these papers were closely watched and in not one instance was there a defection.

Notwithstanding this splendid support of the press, Miss Anthony was firm in her decision that she would not remain through the campaign unless the amendment could secure the endorsement of the political parties, and every energy was directed toward this point. Several of the Republican county conventions declared for it, and a number of Republican leaders who were visited, announced themselves in favor of the plank. The State Convention was to be held May 5. On May 3, the Sunday edition of the San Francisco Call, the largest and most influential Republican paper in the State, came out with flaming headlines declaring boldly and unequivocally for woman suffrage! The sensation created was tremendous, and amendment stock went up above par. The Monday and Tuesday editions continued the editorial endorsement, declaring that the Republican party stood committed to woman suffrage, and that the Call constituted itself the champion and would carry it to victory.

Tuesday morning the Republican convention opened at Sacramento. The woman suffrage delegation, consisting of Mrs. Sargent, Mrs. John F. Swift, Mrs. Blinn, Mrs. Austin Sperry, Mrs. Knox Goodrich, Miss Anthony, Rev. Anna Shaw, Miss Hay, Miss Yates, Mrs. Harper, opened their headquarters at the Golden Eagle Hotel, decorated their parlor with flowers,spread out their literature and badges and waited for the delegates. They had not long to wait. With the influence of the Sunday Call, a copy of which had been laid on the seat of every delegate in the convention hall, they had a prestige which found favor in the eyes of the politicians. The visitors came early and stayed late; they went away and returned bringing their friends to be converted. The Call account said: "They went in twos and threes, in large groups and in entire delegations, to pay homage to their more modest workers and apparently to beg the privilege of serving them." The rooms were crowded until after midnight.

The delegates put on the badges, and when the convention opened 250 of them were wearing the little flag with its three stars. The ladies were given the best seats in the great building. The delegates were divided into two hostile camps, representing opposite wings of the party, and the women had to move very carefully, as it was by no means certain which faction would secure control of the convention. They also had to frame many non-committal answers to the question, "How do you stand on the A. P. A.?" The headquarters were thronged with reporters; every woman was interviewed at length and her opinions telegraphed to the great San Francisco dailies. Miss Anthony's interviews occupied a column in the Examiner, each day of the convention. Those alarmists who fear women will lose the respect of men when they are invested with political influence should have had this object lesson.

The chairman of the convention was considered not favorable to woman suffrage. Of the seven men appointed on the resolution committee, five were said to be opposed to the plank. The spirits of the ladies began to droop. In the evening permission was given them to address the platform committee. Mrs. Harper wrote the San Francisco Call:

I wish I could picture that scene. In the small room, seated around the table, were the seven men who held the fate of this question in their hands. At one end stood Miss Anthony, the light from above shining upon her silver hair until it seemed like a halo, and she spoke as no one ever heard her speak before. On the face of every delegate was an expression of the deepest seriousness, and before she had finished tears were in the eyes of more thanone. She was followed by Miss Shaw, who stood there the embodiment of all that is pure, sweet and womanly, and in a low, clear voice presented the subject as no one else could have done. As we were about to leave the room, the chairman said, "Ladies, we will take the vote now, if you desire." We thanked him, but said no, we would withdraw and leave them to consider the matter at their leisure.Within a very few minutes we had their decision—six in favor of the resolution and one opposed. Here I want to call attention to one thing. Eight women knew of the favorable action of the committee by 9 o'clock, but although we were besieged by reporters and delegates until nearly midnight we gave no sign, and the Wednesday morning papers could only say that it was probable there would be a woman suffrage plank. It is charged that women can not keep a secret, but this is one of those many ancient myths which take a long time to die.

Within a very few minutes we had their decision—six in favor of the resolution and one opposed. Here I want to call attention to one thing. Eight women knew of the favorable action of the committee by 9 o'clock, but although we were besieged by reporters and delegates until nearly midnight we gave no sign, and the Wednesday morning papers could only say that it was probable there would be a woman suffrage plank. It is charged that women can not keep a secret, but this is one of those many ancient myths which take a long time to die.

The plank was adopted next day in the big convention with only one dissenting voice. The Woman's Congress was in session at San Francisco and when Mrs. Cooper, its president, stepped forward on the platform and read the telegram announcing the result, the enthusiasm hardly can be described. The ladies went down from Sacramento to the Congress the next day and received a continuous ovation throughout the rest of the meetings.

Among the pleasant letters which came to Miss Anthony was one from Abigail Scott Duniway, of Portland, Ore., in which she said: "Your triumphs in California are marvellous. Hurrah, and again, hurrah! I believe now the women of the Golden State will win. All honor to you and your noble confreres!" And one from Lucy Underwood McCann, of Santa Cruz, saying: "It is to you, most honored and revered of women, we owe the fact, because of your long martyrdom in this great reform, that we stand now, as we hope and pray, upon the brink of realization of our rights. This has been made possible only through the patient toil of such heroic souls as your own. Your wisdom in planning this campaign, in which we confidently expect a glorious victory, is our mainstay, upon which all other hopes depend."

Miss Anthony's happiness over the action of the Republicans knew no bounds, and she began with renewed courage to prepare for the Populist convention May 12. The prominentPopulists who were visited assured the ladies that they need not waste time or money going to Sacramento to secure a plank in their platform, as woman suffrage was one of the fundamental principles of their party. The suffrage leaders felt, however, that this convention was entitled to the same courtesy as the others and they attended in a body, headed by Miss Anthony and Mrs. Sargent. When they entered the convention hall they were received with cheers and waving of hats, escorted to the front seats, invited to address the convention and surrounded by delegates during the recess. Without any solicitation the resolution committee reported and the convention adopted a strong woman suffrage plank, and then gave three cheers for the ladies. They were told that not half a dozen men in that body were opposed to the amendment.

From here they went to the Prohibition convention at Stockton, were met at the station by a delegation of ladies, and received with distinguished consideration by the convention. Miss Anthony was twice invited to address them, and the plank endorsing the amendment was adopted by a hearty and unanimous vote. A reception was then held at the hotel and over a hundred ladies called.

One convention yet remained, the Democratic. While a few of the leaders of this party were in favor of the amendment, most of them were opposed and gave no encouragement to the attempt to secure a plank. The ladies, however, carried out the program, and the same large delegation returned to Sacramento June 16, the number increased by Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. E. O. Smith, of San Jose, Mrs. Alice M. Stocker, of Pleasanton, and several others. A month had intervened and the opposition had had time to organize. Some of the county conventions had declared against the amendment and many of the delegates had been instructed to vote against it.

The suffrage representatives were disappointed in the hope that they might come to this convention with the editorial endorsement of the Examiner, but they were greatly pleased to receive from that paper, on the morning of the opening, a package of 2,000 woman suffrage leaflets. The Examiner hadcollected at its own expense a large amount of fresh and valuable testimony from the leading editors and officials of Colorado and Wyoming, as to its satisfactory practical working in those States, and had arranged it in large type on heavy cream-tinted paper, making the handsomest leaflet of the kind ever issued. These were placed in the hands of the delegates, and also distributed throughout the State.

The women's headquarters at the Golden Eagle were practically unvisited. A few lone delegates, and two or three delegations that had been instructed to vote for the amendment, strayed up to express their sympathy, but most of them were too well subjugated by the political bosses even to pay a visit of courtesy. A new element was introduced here in the person of a woman of somewhat unpleasant record who claimed to be the representative of the anti-suffrage organization. The platform committee consisted of thirty-five and met in a large room filled with spectators. The ladies presented a petition signed by 40,000 California men and women asking for woman suffrage. The entire delegation of speakers, with Miss Anthony and Miss Shaw at the head, was granted twenty minutes to present its claims, and the one woman above referred to was given the same amount of time. She did not occupy more than a minute of it, simply saying that her anti-suffrage league was going to organize all over the State and work for the Democratic party. The resolution was laid on the table, almost before they were out of the room.

A minority report was prepared by Charles Wesley Reed, of San Francisco, and signed by himself, Mr. Alford, chairman of the committee, and two others. In a letter to the Call, Mrs. Harper thus describes subsequent events:

Mr. Reed assured the ladies that he would bring this report before the convention and he kept his word, although he had other fights on hand and endangered them by standing for woman suffrage. This minority report, although properly drawn and signed by four members of the platform committee, including the chairman, was "smothered" by the secretary of the convention and its chairman, Mr. Frank Gould. Every other minority report was read and acted upon by the convention; that alone on woman suffrage was held back. In vain Mr. Reed protested; the chairman ignoredhim and called for a vote on the platform as a whole. It was adopted with a roar, and our fight was lost! It was near midnight. We had sat two long hot days in the convention, had slept but little, were worn out and very, very wrathy. At this juncture John P. Irish addressed the convention, stating that a distinguished lady was present, etc., and would they hear Miss Susan B. Anthony? Thinking it was too late for her to do any harm, she was received with loud applause.It was impossible to say what the convention expected, but they got a rebuke for allowing such action on the part of their chairman and for treating the women of the State in this unjust and undemocratic manner, which caused a hush to fall upon the whole body. It was a dramatic and impressive scene, one not to be forgotten. At its conclusion there were loud cries for Anna Shaw. The little fighter was at the boiling point, but she stepped upon the platform with a smile, and with that sarcasm of which she is complete master supplemented Miss Anthony's remarks. As she stepped down, half the convention were on their feet demanding the minority report. The chairman stated that it was too late for that, but a resolution might be offered. The original resolution was at once presented, and then there was an attempt to take a viva-voce vote, but our friends demanded a roll-call. It resulted in 149 ayes and 420 noes. Mr. Gould's own county voted almost solidly in favor. Alameda county, led by W. W. Foote, gave 32 noes and 3 ayes, yet this county sent in the largest petition for woman suffrage of any in the State.

It was impossible to say what the convention expected, but they got a rebuke for allowing such action on the part of their chairman and for treating the women of the State in this unjust and undemocratic manner, which caused a hush to fall upon the whole body. It was a dramatic and impressive scene, one not to be forgotten. At its conclusion there were loud cries for Anna Shaw. The little fighter was at the boiling point, but she stepped upon the platform with a smile, and with that sarcasm of which she is complete master supplemented Miss Anthony's remarks. As she stepped down, half the convention were on their feet demanding the minority report. The chairman stated that it was too late for that, but a resolution might be offered. The original resolution was at once presented, and then there was an attempt to take a viva-voce vote, but our friends demanded a roll-call. It resulted in 149 ayes and 420 noes. Mr. Gould's own county voted almost solidly in favor. Alameda county, led by W. W. Foote, gave 32 noes and 3 ayes, yet this county sent in the largest petition for woman suffrage of any in the State.

To secure more than a one-fourth vote of a convention which had been determined not to allow the question even to come before it, was not a total defeat.[119]

The battle was now fairly begun and it grew hotter with every passing week for the next five months. A few days after the last convention the women held a mass meeting in Metropolitan Temple to ratify the planks. The great hall was crowded to the doors and hundreds stood during all the long exercises. As the ladies who had been to the conventions came upon the stage, the building fairly rang with applause. The Republican, Populist, Prohibition, Democratic and Socialist-Labor parties were represented by prominent men who made strong suffrage speeches. Congressman James G. Maguire spoke for those individual Democrats who believedin woman suffrage, among whom he was always a staunch advocate. Miss Anthony was cheered to the echo and it seemed as if the audience could not get enough of her bright, pithy remarks, as she introduced the different speakers.

The suffrage advocates, elated with their victory in three conventions, opened headquarters in the large new Parrott building and swung their banner across the street.[120]Five rooms were filled with busy workers directed by Mary G. Hay, chairman of the State central committee, while the other members took turns in receiving the reporters, the people on business and the throngs of visitors from all parts of the State. To follow this campaign in detail, to name all of those most prominently connected with it, would be obviously impracticable. It would be utterly impossible to mention individually the hundreds of women who thoroughly canvassed their own precincts and deserve a full share of the credit for the large vote cast. A number of competent California women took up the organization of the different counties. Every woman in the State who could address an audience found her place and work. Mrs. Alice Moore McComas and Rev. Mila Tupper Maynard headed the list of Southern California speakers. Miss Sarah M. Severance spoke under the auspices of the W. C. T. U. Mrs. Naomi Anderson represented the colored women. Rev. Anna Shaw spoke every night during the campaign, except the one month when she returned East to fill engagements. She paid the salary of her secretary and donated her services to the headquarters for five months. Miss Elizabeth Upham Yates, of Maine, made about one hundred speeches. The last two months Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, national organizer, gave several addresses each day. There were very few men who worked as hard during that campaign as did scores of the women, each according to her ability.

No description could give an adequate idea of the amount of labor performed by Miss Anthony during those eight months. There was scarcely a day, including Sundays, that she did not make from one to three speeches, often having a long journey between them. She addressed great political rallies of thousands of people; church conventions of every denomination; Spiritualist and Freethinkers' gatherings; 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 mountaintops, and Bethel Missions 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."

She was in constant demand for social functions, where her presence gave an opportunity for a discussion of the all-absorbing question. One of the handsomest of these was a breakfast of two hundred covers, given by the Century Club in the "maple room" of the Palace Hotel, where were gathered the leading women of San Francisco and other cities in the State. Miss Anthony sat at the right hand of the president and responded to the toast, "Those who break bread with us." The club privileges were extended to her and, at the close of the campaign, she was made an honorary member. This club was composed largely of conservative women, but its president, Mrs. Mary Wood Swift, was one of the most prominent of the suffrage advocates. She addressed the Woman's Press Association, the Laurel Hall Club, the Forum, Sorosis, Association of Collegiate Alumnæ and most of the other women's organizations of San Francisco. An invitation to luncheon was received from Mrs. Stanford signed, "Your sincere friend and believer in woman suffrage," and a very pleasant day was spent in her lovely home at Menlo Park.

A breakfast was given in her honor by the Ebell Club of Oakland, Mrs. G. W. Bunnell, president. She rode in a beautifully decorated carriage at the great Fabiola Fête, orfloral festival, held annually in this city. Many social courtesies were extended in the towns around the bay, among them being dinner parties by Senator and Mrs. Fred Stratton, Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Moore, Mrs. Henry Vrooman, Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Smith, Mrs. Emma Shafter Howard, Mr. and Mrs. F. C. Havens, Mrs. Alice H. Wellman, of Oakland; Judge and Mrs. J. A. Waymire, of Alameda; Mr. and Mrs. William A. Keith, of Berkeley. All this would have been very enjoyable but for the fact that most of these occasions included a speech, and she was usually obliged to come from just having spoken, or to rush away to keep another engagement. One unique experience was a complimentary trip tendered, through Mrs. Lovell White, by the proprietors of the new Mill Valley and Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway, to Miss Anthony and a large number of guests. From the top of this high peak, which overlooks the Golden Gate, they enjoyed a view that for beauty and grandeur is not surpassed in the world.

Miss Anthony visited also various towns throughout the central part of the State and along the coast, speaking in wigwams, halls, churches, schoolhouses and the open air, taking trains at all hours, travelling through heat and dust, wind and cold; and there was never a word of complaint during all the long campaign. She was always ready to go, always on time, always full of cheer and hope.

The first week in June she went to Portland to attend the Woman's Congress, Abigail Scott Duniway, president. Its officers were among the prominent women of the city, and she was royally received. She spoke a number of times during the nine sessions and was handsomely treated by the press. Sarah B. Cooper joined her here, on her way home from the National Federation of Clubs at Louisville, Ky. A number of receptions were given in their honor, among them one by the Woman's Club. There was an elaborate luncheon at "the Curtis;" and a reception was tendered by the managers of the Woman's Union. No effort was spared to make their visit in everyday delightful. Miss Anthony lectured in the opera house at Seattle under the auspices of the Woman's CenturyClub, and a reception was given by her hostess, Mrs. Kate Turner Holmes. Many inducements were offered for her to extend the visit, but she was desirous of returning to the field of work in California at the earliest possible moment and was absent only nine days.

Miss Anthony was invited by both Republican and Populist managers to address their ratification meetings in San Francisco, and received an ovation from the great audiences representing the two parties. One wing of the Democrats held their ratification meeting after night in the open air and of course she was not invited to speak, but the other wing extended a cordial invitation and she addressed them in Metropolitan Temple, receiving an enthusiastic greeting. The suffrage women themselves held a second mass meeting September 10, according to the Call, "amid a mighty outburst of popular enthusiasm, the like of which has seldom if ever been seen at a political meeting held in this city." Here again the part taken by prominent men from all political parties demonstrated the non-partisan character of the woman's campaign. This was Mrs. Catt's first appearance before a California audience and the papers said: "As she and the other ladies delivered their clear-cut, logical speeches, cheers rent the air and handkerchiefs and hats were waved with overmastering enthusiasm."

And so the months went by, with their cares and pleasures, their hopes and fears, their elation and depression. In her letters to her sister, Miss Anthony wrote: "Sometimes I have a homesick hour and feel as if I must leave all and rush back to my own hearthstone, but then I pull myself together and resolve to go through to the end." A similar campaign was in progress in Idaho and Mrs. Catt was there in August at the request of that State board, to represent the national association. They were very anxious that Miss Anthony should come also, but to their many letters she replied:

I should love dearly to go to Boise at once, as you request, and I should have been in Idaho during the last two months had it been possible for one human being to be in two places at the same time.... I learn that themen who believe in suffrage in your State, object to an open demand for party endorsement, but prefer a "still hunt." I have seen this tried before, but our opponents always can make a stiller hunt. Our only hope of success lies in open, free and full discussions through the newspapers and political party speakers.... Won't it be a magnificent feather in our cap if we get both California and Idaho into the fold this year? How beautiful the blue field will look with two more stars—five little gold stars! Remember that the woman suffrage stars are gold, not silver. Not that I think gold is better than silver, but it is a different color from the forty-five on the regular flag.[121]

There were, of course, some misrepresentations, both intentional and unintentional, of Miss Anthony's attitude. The fact of her speaking on the platforms of all political parties was something which many people could not comprehend, and the party organs could not refrain from twisting her remarks a little bit in the direction of their doctrines; then would come a storm of protests from the other side, and she would have to explain what she actually said. Thus, with the reporters constantly at her elbow, the public watching every utterance and the politicians on the alert to discover what party she and her fellow-workers really did favor, she lived indeed for many months in "the fierce light that beats upon a throne."

"O, that I had you by my side; what a team we would make!" she often wrote to Mrs. Stanton, who answered: "I read all the papers you send and watch closely the progress of the campaign. I feel at times as if I should fly to your help. We are the only class in history that has been left to fight its battles alone, unaided by the ruling powers. White labor and the freed black men had their champions, but where are ours?"

In June the National Republican Convention was held at St. Louis. Miss Anthony could not make the long journey but she sent the following resolution and asked its adoption: "The Republican Party in national convention assembled hereby recommends that Congress shall submit an amendment to theFederal Constitution providing that 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."

The platform committee labored and this is what it brought forth: "The Republican party is mindful of the rights and interests of women. Protection of American industries includes equal opportunities, 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 Democratic mismanagement and Populist misrule."

Miss Anthony's indignation, anger and contempt when she read this resolution can not be put into words. It required the combined efforts of those who were nearest her to prevent the expression of her opinion in reply to the many reporters and letters wanting to know how she regarded this plank. "You must not offend the Republicans and injure our amendment," they argued, and she would acquiesce and subside. Then, after thinking it over, she would again burst forth and declare the women of the country should not be compelled to submit to this insult without a protest from her. "Women want the suffrage as a sword to smite down Democratic and Populist misrule. Infamous!" she exclaimed again and again. "That climaxes all the outrages ever offered to women in the history of political platforms." To Mrs. Stanton she wrote: "O, that you were young and strong and free, and could fire off of the planet such ineffable slush as is being slobbered over our cause!" But she held her peace, and all the brainy women who were conducting this great campaign kept silent, although there was not one of them who did not feel exactly like Miss Anthony in regard to this plank. Nor was there a woman in the country, who was able to comprehend the resolution, that did not regard it as an insult and feel that she would prefer never again to have women mentioned in a national platform if the men who should make it had no higher conception of justice than this.

On October 11, Miss Anthony started on a southern tour,speaking first at San Luis Obispo to an audience which crowded the hall. From here to Santa Barbara, through the courtesy of Superintendent Johnson, of the narrow gauge railroad, the train was stopped at every station for a ten-minute address. At some places a stage had been extemporized, at others she spoke from the rear platform of the car. Her coming had been announced and, even in those rather thinly settled regions, there would be as many as a thousand people gathered at the station. When she concluded, quantities of flowers would be thrown in her pathway and the platform literally banked with them.[122]After a stage ride of forty miles she received an enthusiastic welcome at Santa Barbara, where she was the guest of Dr. Ida Stambach. The ovation was continued at all the towns visited in the southern part of the State.

A little flurry had been caused early in the campaign by the announcement that the National W. C. T. U. Convention would be held in San Francisco during the autumn of 1896. Miss Anthony had written Miss Willard that she thought this would be very injudicious. She then had agreed to postpone it until after the election, and Miss Anthony again had objected, saying:

I am glad you think it will be possible to postpone your convention to November; but, you see, even to do that all California will be full of your advertisements, and the papers all telling how the W. C. T. U. is going to bring its convention to San Francisco immediately after the women have the right to vote, so as to educate them to destroy the wine-growing and brandy-distilling business; in other words, that it is going to start in the first thing to ruin what today is the one means of livelihood for immense numbers of ranchmen throughout the State. So, I hope—nay, I beseech that you will withdraw the convention altogether from California for this year. I have had letters from the amendment campaign committee, and every one of them deplores the coming of the convention....Now, my dear, hold your convention any place but in a State where we are trying to persuade every license man, every wine-grower, every drinker andevery one who does not believe in prohibition, as well as every one who does, to vote "yes" on the woman suffrage question. If you only will do this, I am sure you will do the most effective work in the power of any mortal to secure the end we all so much desire.

Now, my dear, hold your convention any place but in a State where we are trying to persuade every license man, every wine-grower, every drinker andevery one who does not believe in prohibition, as well as every one who does, to vote "yes" on the woman suffrage question. If you only will do this, I am sure you will do the most effective work in the power of any mortal to secure the end we all so much desire.

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