Volume III Part 108 (1/2)
Most of these inst.i.tutions have one woman, or more, in their faculties. One-half of the faculty of the State University is composed of women. In the last report of the State superintendent is the following:
The ratio of female teachers is greater than ever before, some 69 per cent. of the entire number employed. It is, indeed, a matter of congratulation that the work of the schools, especially the primary teaching, is falling more and more to the care of women.
The Republican State convention of 1882, by an overwhelming majority endorsed woman suffrage, which action the Lincoln W. S.
A. promptly recognized as follows:
WHEREAS, The Republican party of the State of Kansas, by and through its chosen representatives in the Republican State convention at Topeka, August 9, 1882, did, by an overwhelming majority, pledge itself to the support of the principle of woman suffrage by the following:
_Resolved_, That we request the next legislature to submit such an amendment to the const.i.tution of the State as will secure to woman the right of suffrage. And,
WHEREAS, By this action the Republican party of Kansas has placed itself in line with the advanced thought of the times in a manner worthy a great political party of the last quarter of the nineteenth century, thereby proving itself worthy the respect and confidence of the women of the State; therefore,
_Resolved_, That the Lincoln Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation, in behalf of the women of Kansas, does hereby express thanks to the Republican party for this recognition of the political rights of the women of the State, and especially to the Hon.
J. C. Root of Wyandotte, Hon. Hackney of Winfield, Col.
Graves of Montgomery, and Gen. Kelly, for their able and fearless support of the measure, and to each and every member of the convention who voted for it.
In 1883, Senator Hackney introduced a bill of which we find the following in the _Topeka Capital_ of that date:
Senate bill No. 46, being Senator Hackney's, an act to provide for the submission of the question of female suffrage to the women of Kansas, was taken up, the reading thereof being greeted with applause. It provides that at the general election in 1883 the women of the State shall decide, by ballot, whether they want suffrage or not.
Senator Hackney made an address to the Senate upon the bill, saying he believed in giving women the same rights as men had. The last Republican platform declared in favor of woman suffrage, and those Republicans who opposed the platform said they believed the women of the State should have their say about it; the Democratic platform said the same as the dissenters from the Republican. Several humorous amendments were made to the bill. Senator Kelley favored the bill because there were a great many women in the State who wanted to vote. He hoped the Senate would not be so ungallant as to vote the bill down. Senator Sluss moved the recommendation be made that the bill be rejected. Carried.
The Republican State convention of 1884 ignored the woman suffrage question. The Anti-monopoly (Greenback) party State convention, of August 1884, placed in its platform the following:
That we believe the advancing civilization of the past quarter of the nineteenth century demands that woman should have equal pay for equal work, and equal laws with man to secure her equal rights, and that she is justly ent.i.tled to the ballot.
Miss f.a.n.n.y Randolph of Emporia, was nominated by acclamation for State superintendent of public instruction, by this convention.
The Prohibition State convention, in session in Lawrence, September 2, 1884, placed the following plank in its platform:
We believe that women have the same right to vote as men, and in the language of the Republican State platform of two years ago, we request the next legislature to submit such an amendment to the const.i.tution of the State as will secure to woman the right of suffrage.
This year we sent from Lincoln a pet.i.tion with 175 names asking for a resolution recommending to congress the adoption of the sixteenth amendment. The results of the election of 1884, showed quite a gain for women in county offices. There are now eleven superintendents of public instruction, several registers of deeds, and county clerks. The number of lawyers,[482] physicians, notaries public, princ.i.p.als of schools, members of school-boards in cities and school districts, is rapidly increasing, as is also the number of women who vote in school-district elections. Miss Jessie Patterson, who ran as an independent candidate for register of deeds in Davis county, beat the regular Republican nominee 286 votes, and the Democratic candidate 299 votes.
The work of organizing suffrage societies has also progressed, though not as rapidly as it should, for want of speakers and means to carry it on. Through the efforts of Mrs. Laura M. Johns of Salina, vice-president of the State society, several new and flouris.h.i.+ng clubs have been formed this summer in Saline county, so that it is probably now the banner county in Kansas. The Lincoln society is preparing to hold a fair in September, for the benefit of the State a.s.sociation, which will hold its next annual convention in October. Suffrage columns in newspapers are multiplying and much stress is placed upon this branch of work.
On July 18, a convention was held to organize the Prohibition party in Lincoln county. A cordial invitation was extended to women to attend. Eight were present, and many more would have been had they known of it. I was chosen secretary of the convention, and Mesdames Ellsworth and Goff were appointed upon the platform committee, and several of the central committee are women. The position of the new party upon the question may be inferred from the following clauses in its platform:
_Resolved_, By the Prohibition party of Lincoln county, Kansas, in convention a.s.sembled, that the three vital issues before the people to-day are prohibition, anti-monopoly, and woman suffrage.
_Resolved_, That we believe in the political equality of the s.e.xes, and we call on the legislature to submit such an amendment to the people for adoption or rejection, to the const.i.tution of the State as will secure to women equal political rights.
Later the convention nominated me for register of deeds, and Dr.
Sallie A. Goff for coroner. I immediately engaged Miss Jennie Newby of Tonganoxie, member of the executive committee and State organizer of the Prohibition party of Kansas, to make a canva.s.s of the county with me in the interest of the party and the county ticket. We held ten meetings and at all points visited made converts to both prohibition and woman suffrage, though nothing was said about the latter. There were two men on the ticket; one of them received more votes than Dr. Goff and I did, and the other fewer. Emma Faris ran independently for register of deeds in Ellsworth county and received a handsome vote. It is no longer a matter of much comment for a woman to run for an office in Kansas.
Mrs. Gougar came again to Kansas in June to attend the third annual meeting of the Radical Reform Christian a.s.sociation, and spent a month lecturing on woman suffrage and temperance.
January 15, 16, 1885, the annual meeting of the State society was held at Topeka. Large and enthusiastic audiences greeted Mrs.
Gougar on this, her third visit to Kansas. She remained at the capital for several days, and largely through her efforts with members of the legislature special committees were voted for in both Houses to consider the interests of women. The measure was carried in the House by a vote of 75 to 45.[483] In the Senate it was a tie, 19 to 19. The new committee[484] through its chairman, George Morgan of Clay, reported in favor of a bill for munic.i.p.al suffrage. It was so low on the calendar that there was no hope of its being reached, but a motion was made to take it out of its regular course, which was lost by 65 to 52.
The second annual meeting of the State society was held at Salina, October 28, 29, 1885. Mrs. Laura M. Johns gave the address of welcome, to which Mrs. Anna C. Wait, the president, responded. ”Mother Bickerd.y.k.e,”[485] who followed Sherman's army in its march to the sea, was present and cheered all with her stirring words of the work of women in the war.[486] Her introduction was followed with applause and the earnest attention to her remarks showed in what high esteem she is held. She said that half the work of the war was done by women, but she made no complaint, indeed no mention, of the fact that these women had never been pensioned.