The History of Woman Suffrage Volume IV Part 77

In the public schools there are 4,168 men and 4,811 women teachers. It is impossible to obtain the average monthly salaries, but those of women are estimated to be two-thirds of those paid to men.

FOOTNOTES:

[220] The History is indebted for the material for this chapter to Mrs. Mary L. McLendon, of Atlanta, honorary president of the State Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation.

[221] See Chap. XV.

[222] The State a.s.sociation never should cease to be grateful to "the Howard girls," (Augusta, Claudia and Mrs. Miriam Howard Du Bose), as the national officers called them, who brought this grand object lesson to Georgia to give Southern women the advantages which they themselves had enjoyed the previous year in Washington, D. C. They refused all proffered aid and themselves paid the expenses, which amounted to $600, declaring that it was only right for them to do so, since they had consulted no one when they gave the invitation at Washington but had taken the full responsibility.

[223] William C. Sibley, Will N. Harben, G. Gunby Jordan, Walter H.

Johnson, J. Colton Lynes, Charles Hubner, Lucian Knight, editor of the _Const.i.tution_, and Walter B. Hill, chancellor of the State University, all have declared in favor of woman suffrage. Mrs. Julia I. Patten, editor of the _Sat.u.r.day Review_, is a member of the Atlanta a.s.sociation and her paper is its official organ.

Among others who have stood by a cause which it requires courage to advocate in this State are J. H. and Mrs. Addie D. Hale, W. T. Cheney, S. M. White and William Forsyth; Mesdames Harriet Winch.e.l.l, A. H.

Ames, Mary Brent Reid, Harry Dewar, Nettie C. Hall, Francis Bellamy, A. G. Helmer, Sara Strahan, M. T. Wynne, Sarah McDonald Sheridan, Patrick H. Moore, E. A. Latimer, E. A. Corrigan, Charles Behre and Dr.

Schuman; Misses Mary Lamar Jackson, editor of the woman's department in the Atlanta _Journal_, E. Williams, Willette Allen and Sarah Freeman Clarke, sister of James Freeman Clarke, of Boston.

[224] This certainly proved that woman suffrage had gained at least in respectful consideration among politicians since February, 1895. At that time Gov. W. Y. Atkinson refused the use of the same hall for the great National a.s.sociation to hold a ma.s.s meeting on the last day of its visit to Atlanta. He declared it would be unconst.i.tutional to allow women to use it, although white and negro men had been permitted to do so for many and varied purposes. The Hon. Charles A. Collier, a county commissioner, granted the bas.e.m.e.nt of the courthouse for this meeting, which was a marked success, though held underground. Speeches were made by Miss Susan B. Anthony, Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, Mrs.

Elizabeth Lyle Saxon, Mrs. Josephine K. Henry and others.

[225] Officers elected: President, Mrs. Gertrude C. Thomas; vice-presidents, Mrs. S. L. Ober Allen, Miss Sarah A. Gresham; corresponding secretary, Mrs. Alice Daniel; recording secretary, Mrs.

Claudia Howard Maxwell; treasurer, Mrs. E. O. Archer; auditor, D. M.

Allen. Mrs. McLendon, who had been in office since 1892, refused to serve longer and was made honorary president.

[226] A bill presented by Thomas J. Chappelle in 1901 to make the University co-educational was defeated in the Senate and not considered in the House. Virginia and Louisiana are the only other States which exclude women, although North Carolina admits them only to its post-graduate department.

[227] A bill providing for the teaching of the effects of alcoholic drinks and other narcotics upon the system, requiring all teachers to stand an examination on this subject, and affixing a penalty for the failure of any board of education to enforce the law, pa.s.sed the Legislature of 1901--Senate, 23 ayes, 7 nays; House, 106 ayes, 28 nays. It was signed by Gov. Allan C. Candler, December 17.

This law is now in effect in every State, Georgia being the last to adopt it.

[228] The Atlanta South Side W. C. T. U. is the only one in the State to adopt the franchise department. Mrs. Isabella Webb Parks, one of the editors of the _Union Signal_ and also a member of the city suffrage a.s.sociation, is its superintendent of franchise.

[229] In August, 1901, a police matron was at last appointed at a salary of $30 per month. In December one of the police commissioners stated that she was invaluable and he did not see how they ever had managed to get on without a matron.

CHAPTER x.x.xVI.

IDAHO.[230]

Idaho was admitted into the Union as a State in 1890. Previous to this time there had been practically no work done for woman suffrage in the Territory except that of Mrs. Abigail Scott Duniway of Oregon. Between 1876 and 1895 she gave 140 public lectures, at the same time securing subscribers to her paper, the _New Northwest_, devoted to the interests of women, and distributing literature. She traveled 12,000 miles by river, rail, stage and buckboard and canva.s.sed many a mile on foot.

In 1887 Mrs. Duniway addressed the Territorial Legislature in behalf of a bill to enfranchise women. In 1889 she appealed to the const.i.tutional convention at Boise to adopt a woman suffrage clause.

Judge William H. Claggett, the president, and a majority of the members favored it, but yielded to the fears of the minority that it would endanger the acceptance of the const.i.tution by the voters.

Judge Milton Kelly, founder and for many years editor of the Boise _Daily Statesman_, was one of the early advocates of the rights of women, as also was his wife, who was, indeed, the pioneer suffragist of Idaho. Mrs. Rebecca Mitch.e.l.l, president of the State Woman's Christian Temperance Union, was another early laborer. At her request Louis E. Workman introduced a bill into the House of the Legislature of 1893, asking for a const.i.tutional amendment conferring suffrage on women, and it was defeated by only two votes.

In a little country schoolhouse, May 16, 1893, at Hagerman, Lincoln County, the first suffrage society was formed. The teacher, Mrs.

Elizabeth Ingram, was president and prime mover, and its members were scattered over a territory of ten miles.

Up to this time, there had not been any organized effort in the State to secure the ballot for women, although there was a p.r.o.nounced sentiment in its favor. The real campaign began at the time of the a.s.sembling of the Republican State Convention in 1894. At a conference of a few friends of the measure a resolution was prepared for presentation, pledging the party to submit the question of equal suffrage to a vote. The plank was introduced and championed by the Hon. W. E. Borah. Mrs. J. Ellen Foster of Washington, D. C., addressed the convention, and the Hon. Edgar Wilson urged the adoption of the resolution, which was done with little or no opposition.

The Populist State Convention pa.s.sed a similar resolution, but it was not adopted by the Democratic.

As a result of the election the Republicans were placed in overwhelming control of the Legislature, and the desired joint resolution submitting the question to a vote was pa.s.sed unanimously in the Senate on January 11, and by 33 yeas, 2 nays in the House on Jan.

17, 1895.

The campaign for woman suffrage was spirited and effective. In the early part of the year Mrs. Duniway came to Boise and held a meeting.

A temporary organization was formed at that time, but for sufficient reasons nothing was done to start the work until some months later.

In the summer the National a.s.sociation sent Mrs. Emma Smith DeVoe of Illinois to a.s.sist in organizing the State. She lectured through June and July and formed many clubs, often making her own appointments and overcoming the most discouraging obstacles.

A State convention was held in Boise Nov. 20, 1895, at which officers were elected as follows: President, Mrs. J. H. Richards; vice-president, Mrs. W. W. Woods; secretary, Mrs. Eunice Pond Athey; treasurer, Mrs. Leah Burnside; advisory board, Mrs. Kate E. N.

Feltham, Mrs. M. J. Whitman, Miss Annette Bowman. A telegram was received from Miss Susan B. Anthony, saying: "Educate the rank and file of voters through political party newspapers and meetings."

To the advisory board were added William Balderston,[231] D. L.

Badley and James A. McGee. The last having been made chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee was able to be of much a.s.sistance to the suffragists.

Mrs. Laura M. Johns of Kansas came into the State in May, 1896, in time to attend a meeting of the advisory board at Nampa and to render invaluable help. By order of the board a convention was called in Boise, July 1-3, at which Mrs. Johns was present. The officers elected were: President, Mrs. Whitman; vice-presidents, Mrs. Feltham, Mrs.

Helen Young, Idaho's only woman attorney, Mrs. D. L. Badley; secretary, Mrs. Athey; treasurer, Mrs. I. Herron; press committee, Mrs. Kate Green, Mrs. Young, Mrs. Minnie Priest Dunton. Thus organized, the a.s.sociation conducted the final campaign.

The president authorized the secretary to send a circular letter to all clubs urging them to commence in the precinct primaries the work of securing suffrage planks in the platforms of the several political parties. Wherever possible delegates were elected pledged to support the amendment.

Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, chairman of the national organizing committee, came to Boise August 14. On the 18th and 25th she lectured to crowded houses there and captured her audiences. She addressed the committees on resolutions of the different party State conventions, and, with the aid of Mrs. Johns, Major and Mrs. W. W. Woods and other effective workers, secured a plank favoring the amendment in each of the four platforms--Republican, Democratic, Populist and Silver Republican. Her coming was opportune and her work most valuable. The indors.e.m.e.nt by the Democratic convention was a great achievement, and the fact that the planks had been inserted in all the political platforms was a strong point later on in the case before the Supreme Court.[232]

After the conventions Mrs. Johns returned home, and Mrs. Chapman Catt went to aid the California campaign, speaking several times in Idaho _en route_.

Mrs. Mary C. C. Bradford of Colorado came in September. For six weeks she traveled over sandhills, mountains, valleys and sage plains, visiting points not reached by other workers. She organized fourteen new clubs and made many converts. Mrs. Helen D. Harford of Oregon lectured at several places on her way to the St. Louis W. C. T. U.

convention. Many campaign speakers of all political parties called the attention of the voters to the amendment, and some gave a large portion of their time to the cause. This proved of great benefit, reaching voters who would not attend a suffrage meeting.

Headquarters were opened at Boise August 1. As three of the counties had no organizations whatever, it was found necessary to reach the precincts in these, as well as in some others, by correspondence; but by November 3 there were few without at least one active worker. Mrs.

Whitman came to Boise October 1, and labored zealously until the election. Previous to her coming Miss Frances Wood had ably a.s.sisted the secretary at headquarters.

The press was carefully looked after during the last three months of the campaign, and out of sixty-five papers only three were openly opposed. Seven thousand copies of the resolutions pa.s.sed at the suffrage convention in July were sent out; also literature presented by the Utah a.s.sociation, 100 copies of the _Woman's Tribune_ and 3,000 leaflets from Mrs. Clara Bewick Colby, and 9,000 tracts purchased of the National a.s.sociation.[233]

A strong factor in the campaign was the large colony in the Southern part of the State who were residents of Utah when women voted there and who believed in their enfranchis.e.m.e.nt. Mrs. Emily S. Richards of Utah did effective work among them.

The amendment was voted upon at the general election of November, 1896. The a.s.sociation had had 50,000 dodgers printed, "Vote for the woman suffrage amendment." These were sent to every precinct in the State and given to voters on election day as a reminder. On that day the local clubs did heroic work. It would be impossible to describe in detail the final effort made by the women. Mrs. R. H. Leonard, Sr., of Silver City, and her co-workers stood all day, ankle-deep in snow, distributing the slips and urging the voters to cast their ballots in favor of the amendment. At many points refreshments were served as near the polls as permissible under the law.

When the results of the election were officially announced it was found that there were 12,126 votes in favor of the amendment and 6,282 against it--a majority of 5,844.

A question arose, however, whether this was such a majority as is contemplated by the const.i.tution, the number of electors voting on the amendment not being as great as the largest number voting on the candidates. The const.i.tution provides that "if a majority of the electors shall ratify the same, such amendment or amendments shall become a part of this const.i.tution." It was held by the opponents that it would require a majority of all the electors to ratify it, and the matter was taken at once to the Supreme Court. Attorneys J. H. Hawley, W. E. Borah and M. W. Tate gave their services gratuitously to prosecute the case. Judge J. H. Richards also rendered valuable a.s.sistance.

After a few weeks of anxious waiting, this tribunal, consisting of Judges Isaac N. Sullivan, Joseph W. Huston and John T. Morgan, rendered a unanimous decision that a _majority of those voting on the question_ was sufficient to carry it. And thus the women of Idaho were enfranchised!

The total expenses of this campaign were less than $2,500.