The History of Woman Suffrage Volume VI Part 40

Reports showed that only thirty of the hundreds of local branches had dropped suffrage work because of their war activities, and the spirit was one of determination that the battle for real democracy in the United States should be kept up just as actively as the war against autocracy abroad. Mrs. Wells P. Eagleton was elected a vice-president, Mrs. E. G. Blaisdell a secretary and Mrs. F. W. Veghte an auditor. The State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs was accepted as an affiliated organization and its president, the Rev. Florence Randolph, was made a member of the State Board. The convention voted to make its special work for the year the collecting of a monster pet.i.tion of women, to be so worded that it could be used in Congressional work for the Federal Amendment and with the Legislature for ratification.

In the summer of 1918 U. S. Senator William Hughes, who was pledged to vote for the Federal Amendment, died and the candidate for the office was David Baird, a strong anti-suffragist. As only one more vote in the Senate was needed to pa.s.s the amendment the National a.s.sociation asked the New Jersey a.s.sociation to do its best to defeat him. An active campaign was carried on for two months but he was too powerful a party leader, though he ran 9,000 votes behind the rest of the ticket. He voted against the amendment every time it came before the Senate.

Because of the Baird campaign and the general unsettled feeling around the time of the signing of the armistice the annual convention was postponed to May, 1919, when it was held in Atlantic City. The ratification pet.i.tions collected the preceding year had over 80,000 names of women not previously enrolled as suffragists. Mrs. H. N.

Simmons, vice-president, and Mrs. F. T. Kellers, auditor, were the only new officers elected. It was voted that the other State organizations of women should be asked to join in the campaign for ratification of the Federal Amendment by the Legislature. The committee was organized in July, 1918, with the following organizations represented: Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation, Federation of Women's Clubs, Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Public Health Nursing, Teachers' a.s.sociation; chairman, Mrs. Feickert; secretary, Mrs. James Simister; treasurer, Mrs. Olmsted. A Finance Committee was appointed--Mrs. Seymour L.

Cromwell, Mrs. Colby and Mrs. Hunter--which raised over $10,000. The princ.i.p.al contributors were Mrs. Cromwell, Mrs. Colby, Judge and Mrs.

John J. White, Mrs. Wittpenn, Mrs. Hartshorne, Mrs. Lewis S. Thompson and Mrs. Robert Stevens.

A very active primary and general election campaign was made in 1919 for the election of men pledged to vote for ratification, in which 110,000 personal letters were sent out, all kinds of organizations were circularized and about 1,000,000 pieces of literature were distributed. A State ratification ma.s.s meeting at Asbury Park in August opened the campaign and local meetings were held in every county. A Governor and a majority in both Houses were elected who were pledged to ratification.

A Men's Council for Ratification was organized in December with Everett Colby as chairman, Governor Edward I. Edwards and U. S.

Senators Joseph S. Frelinghuysen and Walter E. Edge as honorary chairmen and 54 of the most prominent Democrats and Republicans in the State as vice-chairmen. This was not an active organization but the fact that the leaders of their parties allowed their names to be used had considerable influence upon many legislators. In January, 1920, campaign headquarters were opened in Trenton near the State House in charge of Miss Julia Wernig, field organizer of the a.s.sociation, where a great deal of literature was given out and other work done.

On January 27 in Crescent Temple, Trenton, the Ratification Committee staged the most spectacular suffrage ma.s.s meeting ever held in New Jersey. Its special purpose was to present to the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House the huge suffrage pet.i.tion containing almost 140,000 names of women, arranged by counties and towns. The hall was beautifully decorated with American flags and suffrage banners and a fine band played at intervals. The speakers were Governor Edwards, President of the Senate Clarence E.

Case, Speaker of the a.s.sembly W. Irving Glover and Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, president of the National Suffrage a.s.sociation. The twenty-one county chairmen and representatives of the women's organizations composing the committee were seated on the platform and at the proper time each came forward with her pet.i.tions and was presented to the Governor and the legislative officials by Mrs. Feickert, who presided.

About 1,200 women and most of the Legislature were present and there was much enthusiasm.

RATIFICATION. The Federal Suffrage Amendment was submitted by Congress June 4, 1919. The resolution for ratification was the first measure introduced when the Legislature convened in 1920, by Senator William B. MacKay, Jr., of Bergen county and a.s.semblyman Henry G. Hershfield of Pa.s.saic county. A public hearing was held February 2 with Mrs.

Feickert chairman. The princ.i.p.al suffrage speakers were U. S. Senator Selden Spencer of Missouri, Mrs. Robert S. Huse, Mrs. Harriman N.

Simons and the Rev. Florence Randolph. Each of five others representing various women's organizations spoke for two minutes. That day the Senate ratified by 18 ayes, 2 noes, two men voting in favor who had been pledged against it.

The opposition then concentrated its efforts upon the a.s.sembly, where various tricks were played which in the end were unsuccessful. U. S.

Attorney General A. Mitch.e.l.l Palmer had written to each of the Democratic members urging his support. The evening that ratification was to be voted on, February 9, the chamber was jammed and it was evident that the opposition intended to "filibuster" all night rather than allow the resolution to pa.s.s. One motion after another was made by the leader of the opposition, a.s.semblyman Hugh Barrett of Ess.e.x, Nugent's special representative, and after a hot fight and much talking they were defeated. Mr. Nugent was outside in the corridor constantly sending in messages to his delegation and it was understood that he was offering anything the a.s.semblymen might ask for their votes against ratification. The women suffragists were present in force helping their friends to maintain their determination to vote on the resolution that night. It was a stormy session, the "filibuster"

going on steadily from 8 p. m. Finally the opposition gave up the fight and at ten minutes to 1 o'clock in the morning the a.s.sembly pa.s.sed the resolution by 34 ayes, 24 noes. The gallery was still filled with women, who were most enthusiastic.

The resolution was signed promptly by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House and the Governor sent it to Washington by a special messenger. The suffragists felt especially indebted to Senators William N. Runyon, C. D. White and Arthur Whitney and to a.s.semblymen William A. Blair, Emmor Roberts, Henry G. Hershfield and William George for their work in party caucuses as well as on the floor. Governor Edwards and Mayor Frank Hague of Jersey City (the Democratic leader of the State) were responsible for the solid vote of all the Democrats except those under the control of Nugent. U. S.

Senators Frelinghuysen and Edge and Attorney General McCran also rendered most valuable a.s.sistance.

The State Suffrage a.s.sociation celebrated the successful termination of its over fifty years of continuous effort by a Victory Convention held in Newark on April 23, 24. Leading features were a Victory banquet with prominent men of both political parties as speakers, and a Pioneers' luncheon, at which Dr. Mary D. Hussey, Mrs. Florence Howe Hall, Mrs. Minola Graham s.e.xton, Mrs. Clara S. Laddey and other early workers spoke. Before the close of the convention the State League of Women Voters was organized to carry on the work for good government and better conditions through the use of the power which had been secured for them by the older a.s.sociation. Mrs. John R. Schermerhorn was elected chairman.

LEGISLATIVE ACTION: 1912. The first resolution for the submission of a woman suffrage amendment to the voters was introduced in February by Senator William C. Gebhardt in the Senate and a.s.semblyman A. R.

McAllister in the House. A public hearing was held on March 12 at which Mrs. Vickers presided and the speakers for the suffrage side were Mrs. Hall, Mrs. Henry Villard, Mrs. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Mrs. Clara S. Laddey, George T. Vickers and Linton Satterthwaite. Miss Anna Dayton presided for the "antis" and Mrs. E. N. Loomis was their princ.i.p.al speaker. The vote in the Senate was 18 noes, 3 ayes--Senators Gebhardt of Hunterdon county, J. Warren Davis of Salem and G. W. F. Gaunt of Gloucester. In the a.s.sembly the resolution was finally forced out of an unfavorable committee but was tabled by a vote of 31 ayes, 19 noes.

1913. In January the resolution was introduced by Senator J. Warren Davis and a.s.semblyman Charles M. Egan. A hearing was held February 18 at which Mrs. Everett Colby presided and the speakers were Dr. Anna Howard Shaw, president of the National American Suffrage a.s.sociation; U. S. Senator Shafroth of Colorado, Everett Colby, George La Monte and Cornelius Ford, president of the State Federation of Labor. The resolution pa.s.sed the Senate by 14 ayes, 5 noes, and the a.s.sembly by 45 ayes, 5 noes. A few weeks later it was discovered that the word "or" appeared in the printed resolution instead of "and," making it necessary to have a new one introduced, which went through by the same vote.

The New Jersey law in regard to const.i.tutional amendments provides that after being submitted by one Legislature they must be advertised in every county for three months prior to the next election, acted upon favorably by the succeeding Legislature and then voted on at a special election, the date of which it decides. After the pa.s.sage of the referendum resolution in 1913 the Legislative Committee took up with the Secretary of State the matter of advertising and were a.s.sured that it would be attended to and they could go home and "forget it,"

which they trustingly did. When no advertis.e.m.e.nts appeared members of the committee hurried to Trenton and learned that Governor James F.

Fielder was responsible. His excuse was that his secretary had mislaid the resolution and forgotten to remind him of it.

1914. The resolution was introduced in January by Senator Charles M.

Egan and a.s.semblyman Joseph M. Branegan, both of Hudson county. It pa.s.sed the Senate by 15 ayes, 3 noes, and the a.s.sembly by 49 ayes, 4 noes.

1915. The advertising was properly done for this year and the resolution came up for second pa.s.sage in January, introduced by Senator Blanchard H. White and a.s.semblyman Robert Peac.o.c.k, both of Burlington county. A hearing was held January 25, Mrs. Philip McKim Garrison chairman and speakers Dr. Shaw, E. G. C. Bleakley, city counsel of Camden; Mrs. Reynolds and Mrs. Feickert. The Senate pa.s.sed the resolution by 17 ayes, 4 noes, and the a.s.sembly by unanimous vote.

1916. A bill for Presidential suffrage for women was introduced by Senator Charles O'Connor Hennessy of Bergen county and was lost by a vote of 10 noes, 3 ayes--Senators Hennessy, Austen Colgate of Ess.e.x county and Carlton B. Pierce of Union county. No effort was made to press the bill in the a.s.sembly.

1917. Another bill for Presidential suffrage was introduced by Senator Edmund B. Osborne of Ess.e.x county and a.s.semblyman Roy M. Robinson of Bergen. In both Houses the presiding officers were strongly opposed to woman suffrage and put the bill into unfavorable committees, who refused to report it for action. A hearing was held with Mrs. Robert S. Huse chairman and Mrs. Antoinette Funk the chief speaker. Finally by using what is known as the "rule of fifteen," in the a.s.sembly its friends got the bill out of committee on March 15 but with an unfavorable report. Majority leader Oliphant moved that the House concur and Speaker Edward Schoen of Ess.e.x county ruled that the motion was carried. Many members demanded a roll call but the Speaker paid no attention to them. Pandemonium reigned, members shouting and banging their desks until finally he declared a recess and fled to his private room.

1918. It was hoped that the Federal Amendment would be submitted in the spring and it was decided not to complicate ratification by introducing a Presidential suffrage bill. In February a bill providing that the Legislature should not act on the ratification of Federal Amendments until after they had been referred to the voters was introduced by a.s.semblyman Arthur N. Pierson of Union county. It was designed especially to prevent action on the Prohibition Amendment but would also apply to the one for woman suffrage. The Legislative Committee went at once to Trenton, where the Anti-Saloon workers were already busy. Sufficient force was brought to keep the bill in committee for three weeks, at the end of which time 46 votes were pledged against it and it was killed in committee at the request of its introducer. In 1919 a similar bill was introduced by a.s.semblyman David Young of Morris county but the suffragists made so strong a demonstration against it that it was killed in committee.

FOOTNOTES:

[118] The History is indebted for this chapter to Dr. Mary D. Hussey, a founder of the State Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation in 1890 and continuously an officer for the next twenty years.

[119] Afterwards Mr. Riley became president and Arthur B. Jones, secretary. Among the League's prominent members were the Hon. Everett Colby, Governor John Franklin Fort, J. A. H. Hopkins, Jesse Lynch Williams, Charles O'Connor Hennessy, the Hon. John W. Westcott, the Rev. Dr. Arthur E. Ballard, the Rev. Edgar S. Weirs, Colonel George Harvey, the Hon. Edmond B. Osbourne, the Hon. Ernest R. Ackerman, Emerson P. Harris, Richard Stevens, the Hon. James C. Connally and Mayor Victor Mavalag of Elizabeth. They pa.s.sed resolutions "reaffirming their sympathy with the great world movement for woman suffrage"; "heartily approved" of the Federal Amendment; pledged their "untiring support" of the State referendum; spoke at legislative hearings; raised money; addressed meetings; appointed a State committee of 63 members which met monthly; appointed a committee with George M. Strobell, chairman, that marched in the parade in Newark, Oct. 25, 1913; held a ma.s.s meeting in Elizabeth at which Mayor George L. LaMonte and Mrs. Forbes-Robertson Hale spoke, and helped in many ways.

[120] The History is indebted for this chapter to Mrs. Lillian F.

Feickert, president of the State Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation 1912-1920.

CHAPTER x.x.x.

NEW MEXICO.[121]

As the railroads were few and automobiles almost unknown in New Mexico in the first decade of the present century, and as the distances were great and cities and towns widely separated, there was no attempt to organize for woman suffrage. In 1910 the Women's Clubs were called in convention at Las Cruces through the efforts of Mrs. George W.

Frenger, secretary of the General Federation, and Mrs. Philip North Moore, then its president, was in attendance. A State Federation was formed with Mrs. S. P. Johnson of Palomas Springs, president; Mrs. Sam J. Nixon of Portales secretary, and several department chairmen were named, Mrs. W. E. Lindsey being chosen for the Legislative Department.

This department through its bold stand for woman suffrage and better laws for women and children easily became the foremost factor in the federation. At each yearly convention one evening was given to the discussion of the benefits which women would receive from the suffrage. Almost before it was realized suffrage had become popular with both men and women. The delegates carried the messages from the State conventions to their own clubs; suffrage discussions became the regular program for one meeting each year in almost every club and generally made converts of those taking the opposition. Women began searching the statutes and questioning their attorneys and husbands in regard to laws. Their interest became such that no Legislature during the federation's existence has proposed any law derogatory to the rights of women and children, but when attention has been called to unfair laws, some of them have been replaced by better ones.

Under direction of the executive board of the federation this department sent out questionnaires to all of the State candidates for office in 1916 as to whether they would work for placing women on the State boards and use their influence to bring the Federal Amendment to a successful vote in the United States Senate and House. Their members were also interrogated as to whether they would work and vote for it.

Therefore the Legislative Department of the Federated Clubs really did the work that any suffrage organization would do and had the backing of the women of the State in general. Suffrage was unanimously endorsed in the convention of the federation at Silver City in 1914.

It is to the credit of the work of the Federated Clubs in the State that its members of Congress, with one exception, have needed no lobbying from suffrage forces in Washington. Senator Andrieus A.

Jones, as chairman of the Suffrage Committee, made the submission of the amendment possible in the present Congress by his systematic and forceful course in the last one.

Mrs. Lindsey remained chairman of this department six years. In 1913 she was appointed State chairman for the National American Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation by its president, Dr. Anna Howard Shaw. In 1914 the suffragists had a "float" in the parade at the State fair in Albuquerque. In May, 1916, the National a.s.sociation under the presidency of Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, sent one of its organizers, Miss Lola Walker of Pittsburgh, for ten days to look over the situation and she visited Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Portales and Las Vegas. In the last place she spoke before the Woman's Club with about eighty present and at the close of her talk a vote was taken which stood unanimous for suffrage. At Portales a society was formed and a large evening reception was held to which both men and women were invited. Miss Walker gave a very interesting resume of woman suffrage which aroused much interest. An appeal was sent to the National a.s.sociation to return her for a fall campaign to organize the State as an auxiliary. She went to Maine, however, and Miss Gertrude Watkins of Little Rock was sent to New Mexico in January, 1917. She visited the eastern and central parts of the State organizing leagues in most of the towns. In Santa Fe one was formed of about thirty members with Mrs. Paul A. F. Walter president; Mrs. R. W. Twitch.e.l.l secretary, and Mrs. Ellen J. Palen treasurer.

The Congressional Union also sent an organizer into the State in 1916, Mrs. Thompson, who spent some time in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Las Vegas. The Santa Fe women were sufficiently aroused to hold a street parade and march to the home of U. S. Senator Catron, an opponent, where they gathered on the lawn and made speeches to convince the aged Senator of the wishes of the women as to his conduct in the Senate.

Mrs. Joshua Reynolds was made State chairman of the Congressional Union and afterwards Mrs. Nina Otero Warren, and Mrs. A. A. Kellan was legislative chairman, all of Albuquerque. Miss Mabel Vernon came from Washington to hold meetings that year and Miss Anne Martin in 1917, and active work was done.

Washington E. Lindsey was Governor in 1917-18, and in November, 1918, all the suffrage forces in Albuquerque and Santa Fe were invited by Mrs. Lindsey to meet at the Executive Mansion and form a committee to work for suffrage at the coming session of the Legislature. This meeting elected the following officers: Mrs. R. P. Barnes chairman; Mrs. A. B. Stroup secretary; Mrs. Warren legislative chairman; Mrs.

John W. Wilson party platform chairman; Mrs. Walter congressional chairman. This committee did good work for suffrage in both the regular and special sessions.

In December, 1919, Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt and her party of speakers for the ratification of the Federal Amendment came to Albuquerque for the last of several western State conferences. It was arranged by Mrs.

Barnes and was carried out with great success. Mrs. Catt spoke at a large luncheon held in the Y. M. C. A. building, which many of the Judges, newspaper representatives and other prominent men and women attended. On account of the great distances few except from Albuquerque and Santa Fe were present but Mrs. Catt's appeal was carried from one end of the State to the other through the public press and created an atmosphere of hope. This was changed to rejoicing as word came that Governor Octaviano A. Larrazolo would call a special session of the Legislature for the ratification.

RATIFICATION. When the time came the Legislature had adjourned and would not meet again until 1921, so a special session would be necessary if it ratified before the presidential election. The opponents concentrated their forces to prevent it and were successful until 1920 but finally were obliged to yield and Governor Larrazolo called the special session for February 16. When it met there was a determined effort by one member, Dan Padillo of Albuquerque, to have a referendum to the voters of the State. All the city was up in arms--men's organizations, the Y. W. C. A., the W. C. T. U., the Woman's Committee, the Woman's Party, individual men and women--until at last he declared that he would vote for the immediate ratification.

The vote in the Senate February 18 was 17 ayes, 8 Republicans, 9 Democrats; 5 noes, all Republicans--Gallegos, Mirabel, Lucero (Emiliano), Salazar and Sanchez. The vote in the House February 19 was 36 ayes, 23 Republicans, 13 Democrats; 10 noes, 8 Republicans, 2 Democrats.

LEGISLATIVE ACTION. Beginning with 1915 the Federation of Women's Clubs was able to secure some legislation favorable to women and children. In 1916 the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, through its president, Mrs. Harriet L. Henderson, had a Prohibition Amendment endorsed by the State Republican platform which the Legislature submitted to the electors in November, 1917. Both parties, all women's organizations and everybody of influence from the Governor down worked with zeal for its pa.s.sage. Miss Anna A. Gordon, national president of the W. C. T. U., came to the State in October and was a guest at the convention of the Federated Clubs in Gallup, which voted unanimously to give all the time until the election to work for its success, and parades and much individual effort followed. Women went to the polls with their lists of voters, checking them off as they came and then going for those who had not voted. It was carried by 20,000 majority, the largest percentage vote ever given by any State for prohibition.

As the State const.i.tution rendered it impossible to carry an amendment for woman suffrage the women made no attempt to have the Legislature submit one, but in 1917 some of the Representatives brought an amendment resolution before the House, which promptly killed it. As the State conventions of both political parties this year had declared in favor of woman suffrage, the committee appointed at the meeting in the Governor's mansion asked for the Presidential and Munic.i.p.al franchise, which the Legislature had power to grant without a referendum to the voters. They made a spirited campaign with all the a.s.sistance that Governor Lindsey could give and the suffrage societies throughout the State poured in letters upon the legislators. The vote in the Senate was 9 ayes, 14 noes. Before it was taken in the House a conference was held in the office of the Governor at the Capitol attended by the following workers for the bill: Senator Isaac Barth, National Committeeman; Charles A. Spiess, Holm O. Bursum, Supreme Justice Clarence J. Roberts, Charles Springer, Mrs. Kellam, Mrs.

Walter, Mrs. Hughey, chairman of the State suffrage legislative committee; Mrs. Kate Hall, president of the Santa Fe branch of the Congressional Union; Mrs. N. B. Laughlin and Mrs. Lindsey.

The leaders of the two political parties admitted that they could not control their legislators and tried to hold the Spanish-Americans responsible. The House voted on the bill March 7, after a loud, disorderly and acrimonious debate, 26 noes, 21 ayes. The Speaker afterwards explained his affirmative vote by saying that he thought it was to submit the question to the electors! Of the 29 Republican members 10 voted for the bill; of the 18 Democratic members, 11 voted for it.