第15章
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  thonydiedin1906,fourAmericanstateshadgrantedsuffragetowoman。AtthetimeIwrite——1914——theresultoftheAmericanwomen’sworkforsuffragemaybebrieflytabulatedthus:

  SUFFRAGESTATUS

  FULLSUFFRAGEFORWOMEN

  NumberofStateYearWonElectoralVotesWyoming18693

  Colorado18936

  Idaho18964

  Utah18964

  Washington19107

  California191113

  Arizona19123

  Kansas191210

  Oregon19125

  Alaska1913——

  Nevada19143

  Montana19144

  PRESIDENTIALANDMUNICIPALSUFFRAGEFORWOMEN

  NumberofStateYearWonElectoralVotesIllinois191329

  STATESWHEREAMENDMENTHASPASSEDONELEGISLATUREAND

  MUSTPASSANOTHER

  NumberGoestoofElec—

  StateHouseSenateVoterstoralVotesIowa81—2631—15191613

  Massachusetts169—3934—2191518

  NewJersey49—415—3191514

  NewYork125—540—2191545

  NorthDakota77—2931—1919165

  Pennsylvania131—7026—22191538

  Totabulatethewonderfulworkdonebytheconventionsandcouncilsisnotpossible,butacon—

  secutivelistofthemeetingswouldrunlikethis:

  FirstNationalConvention,Washington,D。C。,1887。

  FirstInternationalCouncilofWomen,Washington,D。C。,1888。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Washington,D。C。,1889。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Washington,D。C。,1890。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Washington,D。C。,1891。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Washington,D。C。,1892。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Washington,D。C。,1893。

  InternationalCouncil,Chicago,1893。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Washington,D。C。,1894。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Atlanta,Ga。,1895。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Washington,D。C。,1896。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,DesMoines,Iowa,1897。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Washington,D。C。,1898。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,GrandRapids,Mich。,1899。

  InternationalCouncil,London,England,1899。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Washington,D。C。,1900。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Minneapolis,Minn。,1901。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Washington,D。C。,1902。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,NewOrleans,La。,1903。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Washington,D。C。,1904。

  InternationalCouncilofWomen,Berlin,Germany,1904。

  FormationofIntern’lSuffrageAlliance,Berlin,Germany,1904。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Portland,Oregon,1905。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Baltimore,Md。,1906。

  InternationalSuffrageAlliance,Copenhagen,Denmark,1906。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Chicago,III。,1907。

  InternationalSuffrageAlliance,Amsterdam,Holland,1908。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Buffalo,N。Y。,1908。

  NewYorkHeadquartersestablished,1909。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Seattle,Wash。,1909。

  InternationalSuffrageAlliance,London,England,1909。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Washington,D。C。,1910。

  InternationalCouncil,Genoa,Italy,1911。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Louisville,Ky。,1911。

  InternationalSuffrageAlliance,Stockholm,Sweden,1911。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Philadelphia,Pa。,1912。

  InternationalCouncil,TheHague,Holland,1913

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Washington,D。C。;1913。

  InternationalSuffrageAlliance,Budapest,Hungary,1913。

  NationalSuffrageConvention,Nashville,Tenn。,1914。

  InternationalCouncil,Rome,Italy,1914。

  Thewinningofthesuffragestates,theworkinthestatesnotyetwon,theconventions,gatherings,andinternationalcouncilsinwhichwomenofeverynationhavecometogether,haveallcombinedtomakethisquarterofacenturythemostbrilliantperiodforwomeninthehistoryoftheworld。I

  havesetforththerecordbaldlyandwithoutcom—

  ment,becausethebarefactsarefarmoreeloquentthanwords。Itmustnotbeforgotten,too,thatthesegreatachievementsoftheprogressivewomenofto—dayhavebeenaccomplishedagainsttheopposi—

  tionofalargenumberoftheirownsex——who,whiletheyareoutintheworld’sarenafightingagainstprogressfortheirsisters,stillshattertheear—drumwiththeirincongruouswar—cry,``Woman’splaceisinthehome!’’

  OfourSouthDakotacampaignin1890therere—

  mainsonlyoneincidentwhichshouldhaveaplacehere:WewereattendingtheRepublicanstatenominatingconventionatMitchell——MissAnthony,Mrs。Catt,otherleaders,andmyself——havingbeentoldthatitwouldbeatoncethelargestandthemostinterestinggatheringeverheldinthestateasitprovedtobe。Alltheleadingpoliticiansofthestatewerethere,andinthewakeofthewhitemenhadcometribesofIndianswiththeircampoutfits,theirwivesandtheirchildren——thegroupsformingapicturesquecircleoftentsandtepeesaroundthetown。Itwasagreatoccasionforthem,anIndianpowwow,forbythelawallIndianswhohadlandsinseveraltyweretobepermittedtovotethefol—

  lowingyear。Theywerepresent,therefore,tostudythewaysofthewhiteman,andanedifyingexhibitionofthesewaspromptlyofferedthem。

  ThecrowdwassogreatthatitwasonlythroughthecourtesyofMajorPickler,amemberofCon—

  gressandadevotedbelieverinsuffrage,thatMissAnthony,Mrs。Catt,andtherestofuswereabletosecurepassestotheconvention,andwhenwereachedthehallwewereescortedtothelastrowofseatsonthecrowdedplatform。Asthespacebe—

  tweenusandthespeakerswasfilledbyrowsuponrowsofmen,aswellasbythebandandtheirin—

  struments,wecouldseeverylittlethattookplace。

  Someofourfriendspointedoutthisconditiontothelocalcommitteeandaskedthatwebegivenseatsonthefloor,butreceivedthereplythattherewas``absolutelynoroomonthefloorexceptfordele—

  gatesanddistinguishedvisitors。’’OurpersistentfriendsthensuggestedthatatleastafrontseatshouldbegiventoMissAnthony,whocertainlycameundertheheadofa``distinguishedvisitor’’;

  butthiswasnotdone——probablybecausealargenumberofthebestseatswerefilledbyRussianla—

  borerswearingbadgesinscribed``AgainstWomanSuffrageandSusanB。Anthony。’’Weremained,perforce,inourrearseats,findingsuchinterestaswecouldinthebackviewofhundredsofheads。

  JustbeforetheconventionwascalledtoorderitwasannouncedthatadelegationofinfluentialIn—

  dianswaswaitingoutside,andamotiontoinvitetheredmenintothehallwasmadeandcarriedwithgreatenthusiasm。Acommitteeofleadingcitizenswasappointedtoactasescort,andthesegentlemenfiledout,returningafewmomentslaterwithapartyofIndianwarriorsinfullwarregalia,eventotheirgayblankets,theirfeatheredhead—dresses,andtheirpaint。Whentheyappearedthebandstruckupastirringmarchofwelcome,andtheen—

  tireaudiencecheeredwhiletheIndians,flankedbytheadmiringcommittee,stalkedsolemnlydowntheaisleandweregivenseatsofhonordirectlyinfrontoftheplatform。

  Allwecouldseeofthemwerethebrilliantfeathersoftheirwar—bonnets,butwegotthefulleffectoftheirreceptioninthemusicandthecheers。IdarednotlookatMissAnthonyduringthisremarkablescene,andshe,craninghervenerablenecktogetaglimpseoftheincidentfromherobscurecorner,madenocommenttome;butIknewwhatshewasthinking。ThefollowingyeartheseIndianswouldhavevotes。Courtesy,therefore,mustbeshownthem。Butthewomendidnotmatter,thepoliti—

  ciansreasoned,foreveniftheywereenfranchisedtheywouldneversupporttheelementrepresentedatthatconvention。Itwasnotsurprisingthat,notwithstandingourhardwork,wedidnotwinthestate,thoughalltheconditionshadseemedmostfavorable;forthestatewasnew,themenandwomenwereworkingsidebysideinthefields,andtherewasdiscontentintheranksofthepoliticalparties。

  Aftertheelection,whenweanalyzedthevotecountybycounty,wediscoveredthatineverycountywhoseresidentswereprincipallyAmericanstheamendmentwascarried,whereasinallcountiespopulatedlargelybyforeignersitwaslost。Incer—

  taincounties——thoseinhabitedbyRussianJews——

  thevotewasalmostsolidlyagainstus,andthisnot—

  withstandingthefactthatthewivesoftheseRus—

  sianvotersweredoingaman’sworkontheirfarmsinadditiontotheusualwomen’sworkintheirhomes。ThefactthatourCausecouldbedefeatedbyignorantlaborersnewlycometoourcountrywasahumiliatingonetoaccept;andwerealizedmoreforciblythaneverbeforethedifficultyofthetaskwehadassumed——ataskfarbeyondanyeverunder—

  takenbyabodyofmeninthehistoryofdemocraticgovernmentthroughouttheworld。WenotonlyhadtobringAmericanmenbacktoabeliefinthefundamentalprinciplesofrepublicangovernment,butwehadalsotoeducateignorantimmigrants,aswellasourownIndians,whosedegreeofciviliza—

  tionwasindicatedbytheirwar—paintandtheflauntingfeathersoftheirhead—dresses。

  TheKansascampaign,whichMissAnthony,Mrs。

  Catt,Mrs。Johns,andIconductedin1894,heldaspecialinterest,duetothePopulistmovement。

  Thereweresomanyproblemsbeforethepeople——

  prohibition,freesilver,andthePopulistpropaganda——thatwefoundourselvesinvolvedinthebitterestcampaigneverfoughtoutinthestate。Ourdesire,ofcourse,wastogettheindorsementofthediffer—

  entpoliticalpartiesandreligiousbodies,Wesuc—

  ceededinobtainingthatofthreeoutoffouroftheMethodistEpiscopalconferences——theCongrega—

  tional,theEpworthLeague,andtheChristianEn—

  deavorLeague——aswellasthatoftheStateTeachers’

  Association,theWoman’sChristianTemperanceUnion,andvariousotherreligiousandphilanthropicsocieties。Toobtaintheindorsementofthepolit—

  icalpartieswasmuchmoredifficult,andwewerefacingconditionsinwhichpartialsuccesswasworsethancompletefailure。Ithadlongbeenanun—

  writtenlawbeforeitbecameawrittenlawinourNationalAssociationthatwemustnottakepartisanactionorlineupwithanyonepoliticalparty。Itwashighlyimportant,therefore,thateitherallpartiesshouldsupportusorthatnoneshould。

  ThePopulistconventionwasheldinTopekabe—

  foreeithertheDemocraticorRepublicanconvention,andaftertwodaysofvigorousfighting,ledbyMrs。

  AnnaDiggsandotherprominentPopulistwomen,asuffrageplankwasaddedtotheplatform。ThePopulistpartyinvitedme,asaminister,toopentheconventionwithprayer。Thiswasaninnova—

  tion,andservedasawedgefortheadmissionofwomenrepresentativesoftheSuffrageAssociationtoaddresstheconvention。Wealldidso,MissAnthonyspeakingfirst,Mrs。Cattsecond,andI

  last;afterwhich,forthefirsttimeinhistory,theDoxologywassungatapoliticalconvention。

  AttheDemocraticconventionwemadethesameappeal,andwererefused。Insteadofindorsingus,theDemocratsputananti—suffrageplankintheirplatform——butthis,asthepartyhadlittlestandinginKansas,probablydidusmoregoodthanharm。

  Troublecamethickandfast,however,whentheRepublicans,thedominantpartyinthestate,heldtheirconvention;andamightystrugglebeganovertheadmissionofasuffrageplank。TherewasaWoman’sRepublicanClubinKansas,whichhelditsconventioninTopekaatthesametimetheRepublicanswereholdingtheirs。TherewasalsoaMrs。JudithEllenFoster,who,bystirringupop—

  positioninthisRepublicanClubagainstthein—

  sertionofasuffrageplank,causedaserioussplitintheconvention。MissAnthony,Mrs。Catt,andI,ofcourse,urgedtheRepublicanwomentostandbytheirsex,andtogivetheirsupporttotheRepubli—

  cansonlyonconditionthatthelatteraddedsuffragetotheirplatform。Atnotime,andinnofieldofwork,haveIeverseenamorebitterconflictinprog—

  ressthanthatwhichragedfortwodaysduringthisRepublicanwomen’sconvention。Liquor—dealers,joint—keepers,``boot—leggers,’’andallthelawlesselementofKansasswungintolineataspecialcon—

  ventionheldundertheauspicesoftheLiquorLeagueofKansasCity,andcasttheirunitedweightagainstsuffragebythreateningtodenytheirvotestoanycandidateorpoliticalpartyfavoringourCause。TheRepublicanwomen’sconventionfinallyadjournedwithnothingaccomplishedexceptthepassingofaresolutionmildlyrequestingtheRe—

  publicanpartytoindorsewomansuffrage。Theresultwas,ofcourse,thatitwasnotindorsedbytheRepublicanconvention,andthatitwasdefeatedatthefollowingelection。

  ItwasatthetimeofthesecampaignsthatIwaselectedVice—PresidentoftheNationalAssociationandLectureratLarge,andthelatterofficebroughtinitstrainaglitteringvarietyofexperiences。Ononeoccasionanepisodeoccurredwhich``AuntSusan’’neverafterwardweariedofdescribing。

  TherewasawrecksomewhereontheroadonwhichIwastotraveltomeetalectureengagement,andthetrainsgoingmywaywerenotrunning。Look—

  ingupthetrack,however,Isawatraincomingfromtheoppositedirection。Iatoncegraspedmyhand—luggageandstartedforit。

  ``Wait!Wait!’’criedMissAnthony。``Thattrain’sgoingthewrongway!’’

  ``Atleastit’sgoingSOMEWHERE!’’Ireplied,tersely,asthetrainstopped,andIclimbedthesteps。

  Lookingbackwhenthetrainhadstartedagain,Isaw``AuntSusan’’standinginthesamespotontheplatformandstaringafteritwithincredulouseyes;butIwasright,forIdiscoveredthatbygoingupintoanotherstateIcouldgetatrainwhichwouldtakemetomydestinationintimeforthelecturethatnight。Itwasafineillustrationofmypettheorythatifoneintendstogetsomewhereitisbettertostart,eveninthewrongdirection,thantostandstill。

  Againandagaininourworkwehadoccasiontomarvelovermen’slackofunderstandingoftheviewsofwomen,evenofthosenearestanddearesttothem;andwehadanespeciallystrikingillustra—

  tionofthisatoneofourhearingsinWashington。

  Acertaindistinguishedgentleman(wewillcallhimMr。H————)waschairmanoftheJudiciary,andafterwehadsaidwhatwewishedtosay,heremarked:

  ``Yourargumentsarelogical。Yourcauseisjust。

  Thetroubleisthatwomendon’twantsuffrage。

  Mywifedoesn’twantit。Idon’tknowasinglewomanwhodoeswantit。’’

  Asithappenedforthisunfortunategentleman,hiswifewaspresentatthehearingandsittingbesideMissAnthony。Shelistenedtohiswordswithsur—

  prise,andthenwhisperedto``AuntSusan’’:

  ``HowCANhesaythat?_I_wantsuffrage,andI’vetoldhimsoahundredtimesinthelasttwentyyears。’’

  ``TellhimagainNOW,’’urgedMissAnthony。

  ``Here’syourchancetoimpressitonhismemory。’’

  ``Here!’’gaspedthewife。``Oh,Iwouldn’tdare。’’

  ``ThenmayItellhim?’’

  ``Why——yes!Hecanthinkwhathepleases,buthehasnorighttopubliclymisrepresentme。’’

  Theassent,hesitatinglybegun,finishedonasud—

  dennoteoffirmness。MissAnthonystoodup。

  ``ItmayinterestMr。H————,’’shesaid,``toknowthathiswifeDOESwishtovote,andthatfortwentyyearsshehaswishedtovote,andhasoftentoldhimso,thoughhehasevidentlyforgottenit。Sheisherebesideme,andhasjustmadethisexplana—

  tion。’’

  Mr。H————stammeredandhesitated,andfinallydecidedtolaugh。Buttherewasnomirthinthesoundhemade,andIamafraidhiswifehadabadquarterofanhourwhentheymetalittlelaterintheprivacyoftheirhome。

  Amongotherdutiesthatfelltomylotatthisperiodwerenumeroussuffragedebateswithpromi—

  nentopponentsoftheCause。Ihavealreadyre—

  ferredtothedebateinKansaswithSenatorIngalls。

  EqualingthisinimportancewasaboutwithDr。

  Buckley,thedistinguishedMethodistdebater,whichhadbeenarrangedforusatChautauquabyBishopVincentoftheMethodistChurch。Thebishopwasnotabelieverinsuffrage,norwasheoneofmyadmirers。Ihadoncearousedhisirebyreplyingtoasermonhehaddeliveredon``God’sWomen,’’

  andbyproving,tomyownsatisfactionatleast,thatthewomenhethoughtwereGod’swomenhaddoneverylittle,whereastheworkoftheworldhadbeendonebythosehebelievedwerenot``God’sWomen。’’Therewasconsiderableinterest,there—

  fore,intheBuckley—Shawdebatehehadarranged;

  weallknewheexpectedDr。Buckleytowipeoutthatoldscore,andIwasdeterminedtomakeitasdifficultaspossibleforthedistinguishedgentlemantodoso。Weheldthedebateontwosucceedingdays,IspeakingoneafternoonandDr。Buckleyreplyingthefollowingday。OntheeveningbeforeIspoke,however,Dr。Buckleymadeanindiscreetremark,which,blownaboutChautauquaonthelightbreezeofgossip,wasgenerallyregardedasbothunchivalrousandunfair。

  Asthehallinwhichweweretospeakwasenor—

  mous,hedeclaredthatoneoftwothingswouldcer—

  tainlyhappen。EitherIwouldscreaminordertobeheardbymygreataudience,orIwouldbeun—

  abletomakemyselfheardatall。IfIscreameditwouldbeapowerfulargumentagainstwomenaspublicspeakers;ifIcouldnotbeheard,itwouldbeanevenbetterargument。Ineithercase,hesum—

  medup,Iwasdoomedtofailure。Followingoutthistheory,hepostedmenintheextremerearofthegreathallonthedayofmylecture,toreporttohimwhethermywordsreachedthem,whilehehim—

  selfgraciouslyoccupiedafrontseat。BishopVin—

  cent’santagonisticfeelingwassostrong,however,thatthough,asthepresidingofficeroftheoccasion,heintroducedmetotheaudience,hedidnotwaittohearmyspeech,butimmediatelyleftthehall——

  andthislittleslightaddedtothepublic’sinterestinthedebate。Itwasfeltthatthetwogentlemenwerenotquite``playingfair,’’andthechampionsoftheCausewereespeciallyenthusiasticintheireffortstomakeupforthesefailuresincourtesy。

  Myfriendsturnedoutinforcetohearthelecture,andonthebreastofeveryoneofthemflamedtheyellowbowthatstoodforsuffrage,givingtothevasthallsomethingoftheeffectofafieldofyellowtulipsinfullbloom。

  WhenDr。Buckleyrosetoreplythenextdaythesefriendswereagainawaitinghimwithanequal—

  lyjocunddisplayofthesuffragecolor,andthisdidnotaddtohisserenity。Duringhisremarkshemadetheseriousmistakeoflosinghistemper;and,unfortunatelyforhim,hedirectedhiswrathtowardaveryoldmanwhohadthoughtlesslyapplaudedbypoundingonthefloorwithhiscanewhenDr。

  BuckleyquotedapointIhadmade。Thedoctorleanedforwardandshookhisfistathim。

  ``Thinkshe’sright,doyou?’’heasked。

  ``Yes,’’admittedthevenerablecitizen,briskly,thoughalittlestartledbythemanneroftheques—

  tion。

  ``Oldman,’’shoutedDr。Buckley,``I’llmakeyoutakethatbackifyou’vegotagrainofsenseinyourhead!’’

  Theinsultcosthimhisaudience。Whenherealizedthishelostallhisself—possession,and,astheBuffaloCourierputitthenextday,``wentupanddowntheplatformravinglikeaBillingsgatefishwife。’’Helostthedebate,andthesupplyofyellowribbonleftinthesurroundingcountieswaspurchasedthatnighttobeusedinthesuffragecelebrationthatfollowed。Myfriendsstillrefertotheoccasionas``thedaywewipeduptheearthwithDr。Buckley’’;butIdonotdeservetheim—

  pliedtribute,forDr。Buckleywouldhavelosthiscasewithoutawordfromme。Whatreallygavemesomesatisfaction,however,wastherespectivedegreeoffreshnesswithwhichheandIemergedfromourcombat。AftermyspeechMissAnthonyandIweregivenareception,andstoodforhoursshakinghandswithhundredsofmenandwomen。

  Laterintheeveningwehadadinnerandanotherreception,which,lasting,astheydid,untilmidnight,keptusfromourrepose。Dr。Buckley,poorgentle—

  man,hadtobetakentohishotelimmediatelyafterhisspeech,givenahotbath,rubbeddown,andputtenderlytobed;andnoteventhesympatheticheartofSusanB。Anthonyyearnedoverhimwhensheheardofhisexhaustion。

  ItwasalsoatChautauqua,bytheway,thoughanumberofyearsearlier,thatIhadmymuchmis—

  quotedencounterwiththeministerwhodeploredthefashionIfollowedinthosedaysofwearingmyhairshort。Thisyoungman,whowasratherapompousperson,sawfittotakemetotaskatatablewhereanumberofuswerediningtogether。

  ``MissShaw,’’hesaid,abruptly,``Ihavebeenaskedveryoftenwhyyouwearyourhairshort,andIhavenotbeenabletoexplain。Ofcourse’’——

  thiskindly——’’Iknowthereissomegoodreason。I

  venturedtoadvancethetheorythatyouhavebeenillandthatyourhairhasfallenout。Isthatit?’’

  ``No,’’Itoldhim。``Thereisareason,asyousuggest。Butitisnotthatone。’’

  ``Thenwhy——’’heinsisted。

  ``Iamrathersensitiveaboutit,’’Iexplained。

  ``Idon’tknowthatIcaretodiscussthesubject。’’

  Theyoungministerlookedpained。``Butamongfriends——’’heprotested。

  ``True,’’Iconceded。``Well,then,amongfriends,Iwilladmitfranklythatitisabirthmark。Iwasbornwithshorthair。’’

  Thatwasthelasttimemyshorthairwascriticizedinmypresence,buttheyoungministerwasrightinhisdisapprovalandIwaswrong,asIsubsequentlyrealized。AfewyearslaterIletmyhairgrowlong,forIhadlearnedthatnowomaninpubliclifecanaffordtomakeherselfconspicuousbyanyeccen—

  tricityofdressorappearance。Ifshedoessoshesuffersforitherself,whichmaynotdisturbher,andtoagreaterorlessdegreesheinjuresthecausesherepresents,whichshoulddisturbherverymuch。

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