Volume V Part 48 (1/2)

Mobilization: The mobilization of our suffrage army came April 18, 1918, with the call for the Executive Council meeting at Indianapolis. At that time Mrs. Catt, our chief, plainly stated that there could be no ”go it alone” campaigns but that provincial shackles must be dropped, nation-wide plans adopted and constructive cooperation from all branches a.s.sured. Her plans were accepted unanimously. On May 14 a bulletin was issued asking for a nation-wide protest campaign against further delay in pa.s.sing the Federal Amendment. Resolutions were to be pa.s.sed by State bodies and points given to be stressed at ma.s.s meetings and in publicity. Resolutions of protest were sent from the women of the Allied countries of Europe to the President of the United States; from National Republican and Democratic Committees; General Federation of Women's Clubs; National Women's Trade Union League; American Collegiate Alumnae; American Nurses' a.s.sociation; National Education a.s.sociation; National Convention of Business Women; Woman's Christian Temperance Union; American Federation of Labor. Many States responded with resolutions from State political parties, press a.s.sociations, churches, granges, labor and business organizations, political leaders and large numbers of citizens.

Our Fighting Units: From honorary president to the last director, every member of the board of the National a.s.sociation had some part in war work. Our service flag representing suffrage officials of our branches carried twenty-five stars. Dr. Shaw, Mrs. Catt and Mrs. McCormick were conscripted for the Woman's Committee of the National Council of Defense; Mrs. Catt for the Liberty Loan's National List; Miss Hay, Mrs. Gardener and Mrs.

Dudley for Congressional and Mrs. Brown for Oversea Hospitals work. Other members of the board were sent from time to time to various States on special missions.

Congressional Work: Mrs. Rogers went to New Jersey; Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Stilwell to Delaware and Mrs. Livermore to New Hamps.h.i.+re for work connected with the Federal Amendment. Mrs. Wilson attended the State suffrage conventions in Maine, Rhode Island, New Hamps.h.i.+re and made a longer stay in Florida and Vermont. Mrs.

Shuler went to the three campaign States twice, spending five weeks in South Dakota, holding a suffrage school there; five weeks in Michigan and nearly five months in Oklahoma, later going to West Virginia. Others who were sent by the National a.s.sociation on special missions were Miss Louise Hall, Mrs.

Fitzgerald, Mrs. Anna C. Tillinghast and Miss Eva Potter to New Hamps.h.i.+re; Miss Mabel Willard to Delaware; Mrs. Cunningham, Miss Marjorie Shuler and Mrs. Mary Grey Brewer to Florida, while Mrs.

Brewer made a trip as special envoy to five of the western States. Our nineteen national organizers have been in twenty States. In eighteen part or all of the expenses have been borne by the National a.s.sociation. At present we have ten organizers in the field.

To the one who has made our victories possible, our national and international president, Mrs. Catt, women owe a debt of grat.i.tude that can never be paid. Her strength and sagacity, her unerring judgment and masterful leaders.h.i.+p have acted as a stimulus and inspiration, not only to those of us who have been privileged to work at close range but also to the women of the entire world.

Our national suffrage headquarters have been a place of peace and happiness because of her patience, good-nature and sympathy. Her battle for the past fifteen months has been with adverse conditions and reactionary forces, which are always the hardest to combat, but not once has her courage faltered or her strength of purpose failed.

Our Ammunition: At national headquarters in New York City our work is departmentalized and functions through the Leslie Bureau of Suffrage Education under three department heads: The _Woman Citizen_, Press Bureau and Research. These cooperate with a fourth department, the National Publis.h.i.+ng Company, and all are so closely co-ordinated that they work as one.

The _Woman Citizen_--Our National Organ. (See special report.) As you will remember, the Leslie Commission took over the Press Bureau March, 1917, and since then has paid all of its expenses.

In order to keep our official machinery moving, there are about fifty people on the two floors at 171 Madison Avenue, New York.

Circularization: The _Woman Citizen_ has been sent each week to members of Congress and on thirty different occasions they received literature prepared in the most tempting fas.h.i.+on for their instruction and edification. Mrs. Catt put into operation the plan for resolutions from the Legislatures calling upon the Senate to pa.s.s the Federal Suffrage Amendment. These from twenty-four States were read into the Congressional Record, and while they did not put the Federal Amendment through they were effective as showing the nation-wide urge for favorable action.

The Legislatures themselves were circularized with excellent literature.

In February, 1918, a bulletin was sent to State presidents offering one or more traveling libraries of sixty-two volumes, the Leslie Commission to pay expenses to the State and its a.s.sociation to pay them within the State. A library could be held one year. Quant.i.ties of literature have been sent to the States for distribution while requests for special literature have received prompt attention.

The activity regarding the appointment of a woman or women on the Peace Commission originated in the national office and stirred the people of the entire country. On Dec. 8, 1918, the a.s.sociation held a meeting of war workers in the National Theatre in Was.h.i.+ngton, D. C., to protest against further delay in the Senate on the Federal Amendment. Twenty-seven delegates representing the a.s.sociation attended the eight congresses held throughout the United States in the interest of the League of Nations.

Field Work. The resolution committing the National a.s.sociation to an aggressive policy was pa.s.sed at its convention of 1917. It read: ”If the 65th Congress fails to submit the Federal Amendment before the next Congressional election the a.s.sociation shall select and enter into such a number of campaigns as will effect a change in both houses of Congress sufficient to insure its pa.s.sage.”

October came; the November elections were approaching; the 65th Congress had failed to pa.s.s the amendment. Probabilities had to be weighed which would produce the necessary two votes if possible and it was decided to enter the campaigns in New Hamps.h.i.+re, New Jersey, Ma.s.sachusetts and Delaware. The first two were at no time specially hopeful, as they were likely to poll Republican majorities and the Republican Senatorial candidates of both were against woman suffrage. However, as a result of the work done in New Jersey, Senator Baird fell much behind his ticket, while in New Hamps.h.i.+re the women and the advertising made so strong a case for the pro-suffrage candidate that for a day or two the result was in doubt, but it was finally declared that Moses had won by 1,200 votes.... The two most important and successful contests were in Ma.s.sachusetts against the Republican Senator Weeks; in Delaware against the Democratic Senator Saulsbury....

Under the sub-t.i.tle ”In the trenches” Mrs. Shuler told of the three great State campaigns of the year in Michigan, South Dakota and Oklahoma (described in the chapters for those States) and said:

The National a.s.sociation gave to these States eighteen organizers, all of whom rendered valuable service. It gave plate matter at a cost of $4,600; 100,000 posters, 1,528,000 pieces of literature, eighteen street banners and 50,000 b.u.t.tons. It gave to South Dakota a ”suffrage school,” June 3-20, sessions in the daytime in seven cities and street meetings in ten of the nearby towns in the evenings. The sending of Miss Marjorie Shuler as press chairman to Oklahoma enabled it to issue 126,000 copies of a suffrage supplement and supply 300 papers with weekly bulletins, information service and two half-pages of plate. These three campaigns cost the a.s.sociation $30,720. This was the financial cost, but the immense output of time and energy by the women cannot be computed. It is safe to say that all of them as they emerged from this trench warfare again questioned the advisability of trying to secure suffrage by the State route.

Mrs. Shuler's fine report closed with an optimistic peroration on Seeing it Through. [See Handbook of convention.]

The carefully audited report of the treasurer, Mrs. Henry Wade Rogers, showed almost incredible collections during a period when the war was making its endless calls for money. In part it was as follows: ”The year 1918 has been a very remarkable one for the national suffrage treasury. The large demands of the war on every individual, both for money and work, seemed to forebode financial difficulties for us before the close of our fiscal year. Instead, the response to the needs of our treasury was never more fully met, both in the payment of pledges made at the last convention and in securing new pledges and donations. Early in the year the treasurer was asked to a.s.sume also the duties of treasurer of the a.s.sociation's Women's Oversea Hospitals Committee and this fund has pa.s.sed regularly through the treasury, amounting in all to $133,339. The very generous and hearty response of the State suffrage a.s.sociations to the demands of our Oversea Hospitals' war work has been most gratifying and its financing has not diminished the regular income of the a.s.sociation.... About one-third of the a.s.sociation's income has been received from the State auxiliaries and two-thirds from individual donations. The receipts for suffrage work were $107,736; balance on hand $11,874.” [The Leslie Commission contributed $20,000.]

A message to the convention from President Wilson was received conveying his greetings and best wishes for the success of the Federal Amendment. On motion of Dr. Shaw the convention sent to the President an expression of its appreciation of his support. Mrs. Philip North Moore, president of the National Council of Women, brought its fraternal greetings. Others were received from far and wide.... On motion of Mrs. Shuler a telegram of appreciation was sent to Mrs.

Helen H. Gardener of Was.h.i.+ngton, and on motion of Dr. Shaw one to Mrs.

Ida Husted Harper of New York. A message of sympathy in the loss of her husband was sent to the veteran suffragist, Mrs. Elizabeth Boynton Harbert of Pasadena, formerly of Chicago. It was voted that letters from the convention should be sent to the pioneers, Dr. Antoinette Brown Blackwell, Miss Rhoda Palmer, Mrs. Charlotte Pierce, Miss Emily Howland and Mrs. C. D. B. Mills.

During the convention the Legislature of Missouri pa.s.sed the bill giving Presidential suffrage to women by 21 to 12 in the Senate and 118 to 2 in the House. The convention sent a message of enthusiastic appreciation. [For full account see Missouri chapter.] Miss Anna B.

Lawther, president of the Iowa Suffrage a.s.sociation, requested the National a.s.sociation and the League of Women Voters to appeal to the Legislature of that State to pa.s.s a similar bill. Mrs. Dudley of Tennessee and Miss Mary Bulkley of Connecticut made the same request for these States and it was granted for all three. Mrs. Frederick Nathan (N. Y.) urged the suffragists to contribute to the Women's Roosevelt Memorial a.s.sociation. Mrs. Gellhorn's young daughter was introduced as having recently organized a Junior Suffrage League in St. Louis of thirty-two members. Mrs. Katharine Philips Edson (Cal.) announced that though it had no regular suffrage organization, Northern and Southern California each had telegraphed a contribution of $500 to the work of the National a.s.sociation.

The present policies of the a.s.sociation were endorsed. The reason given for wis.h.i.+ng the officers to hold over until the next annual convention in 1920 was that the complete ratification of the Federal Amendment by that time was considered certain and these officers would be best fitted to close up the affairs of the a.s.sociation, which would then be merged into the League of Woman Voters. From the list of candidates the following eight directors were elected: Mrs. George Gellhorn (Mo.); Mrs. Richard E. Edwards (Ind.); Mrs. C. H. Brooks (Kans.); Mrs. Ben Hooper (Wis.); Mrs. Arthur L. Livermore (N. Y.); Mrs. J. C. Cantrill (Ky.); Miss Esther G. Ogden (N. Y.); Mrs. George A. Piersol (Penn.). Mrs. Brooks, Mrs. Livermore and Miss Ogden were re-elected.

The afternoon session of Tuesday was devoted to suffrage war work, with Mrs. Katharine Dexter McCormick, chairman of the War Service Department, presiding. At the meeting of the Executive Council of the National a.s.sociation in Was.h.i.+ngton, in February, 1917, just before the United States entered the war, it formed a number of committees in order that the suffragists throughout the country might do their especial work for it under the same generals.h.i.+p as they were accustomed to, and later chairmen of these committees were appointed to organize and superintend State branches. At the present session of the national convention these chairmen reported as follows: General Survey of War Program, Mrs. McCormick (N. Y.); Food Production, Miss Hilda Loines (N. Y.); Americanization, Mrs. Frederick P. Bagley (Ma.s.s.); Child Welfare, Mrs. Percy Pennybacker (Tex.); Industrial Protection of Women, Mrs. Gifford Pinchot (D. C.); Food Conservation, Mrs. Walter McNab Miller (Mo.); Oversea Hospitals Service, Mrs.

Charles L. Tiffany (N. Y.), chairman, and Mrs. Raymond Brown (N. Y.) director general in France.

These reports are considered at length in Mrs. McCormick's chapter on War Work of the National American Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation and they conclusively refuted the charge publicly made again and again by the National Anti-Suffrage a.s.sociation through its official organ and on the platform that the suffragists were ”slackers,” unpatriotic, pro-German and concerned only in getting the franchise for themselves.