The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony Volume II Part 35

1896.

In their State convention of 1894 the Republicans of California had adopted the strongest possible plank in favor of woman suffrage and, as the legislature the next year was Republican by a considerable majority, Clara Foltz and Laura de Force Gordon, attorneys, and Nellie Holbrook Blinn, at that time State president, Mrs. Peet, Madame Sorbier, Mrs.

Bidwell, Mrs. Spencer, of La.s.sen county, and others made a determined effort to secure a bill enfranchising women. That failing, the legislature consented to submit an amendment to the const.i.tution to be voted on in 1896. This bill was signed by Governor James H. Budd and the women then prepared to canva.s.s the State to secure a favorable majority.

Out of the officers of the State suffrage a.s.sociation and the amendment committee, a joint campaign committee was formed and, in addition to this, a State central committee.[118] These two const.i.tuted the working force at State headquarters. There were also speakers and organizers, and a regularly officered society in each county, co-operating with the officials at headquarters.

At the request of the State committee Miss Anthony's niece, Lucy E., for seven years Miss Shaw's secretary and thoroughly experienced in planning and arranging meetings, went out early in February to a.s.sist Dr.

Elizabeth Sargent in the preparations for the first series of conventions. She carried with her a complete list, made by Miss Anthony herself with great labor and care, of every town of over two hundred inhabitants in every county in the State, with instructions to plan for a meeting there during the campaign. One scarcely can describe the perplexing work of these young women in arranging this great sweep of conventions, two days in every county seat, each convention overlapping the next, getting the speakers from one to the other on time, finding women in each town or city who would take charge of local arrangements, and rounding up the whole series in season for the Woman's Congress in May. In March the campaign committee invited Mary G. Hay, who had had twelve years' experience in organization work, and Harriet May Mills, the State organizer of New York, to manage the conventions; and Rev.

Anna Shaw and Miss Elizabeth Upham Yates as speakers. It is impossible to follow these meetings in detail further than to say that, with but few exceptions, they were very successful, the audiences were large and cordial, clubs were formed, much suffrage sentiment was created, and the conventions considerably more than paid all expenses. The women of California possessed ability, energy, patriotism and desire for political freedom, but up to this time they had no conception of the immense amount of money and work which would be required for a campaign.

As soon as they grasped the situation they were fully equal to its demands and never in all the history of the movement was so much splendid work done, or so large a fund raised, by the women of any State.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Ellen Clark Sargent (Signed: "Ellen Clark Sargent.")]

It was unanimously agreed that Miss Anthony should remain in San Francisco, answering the numerous calls for addresses in that city and the surrounding towns, and having general oversight of the campaign.

Mrs. Sargent a.s.signed to her the largest, sunniest room in her s.p.a.cious home, but her hospitality and her services to the cause of the amendment did not end here. Another large apartment was appropriated to Rev. Anna Shaw and her secretary. The room formerly used as the senator's office was dedicated to the work, the typewriters ensconced there, and it soon was crowded with doc.u.ments, newspapers and all the paraphernalia of a campaign. In a little while they encroached on the library and it was filled with the litter. Then a typewriter found its way into one corner of the long dining-room. The committee meetings were held in the drawing-room; and, during the whole eight months, there was scarcely a meal at which there were not from one to half a dozen speakers, members of committees, out-of-town workers and others besides her family at the table. Every hour of Mrs. Sargent's and Dr. Elizabeth's time was devoted to the campaign. The latter was placed at the head of the literary committee and also took entire charge of the pet.i.tion work for the State, involving months of most exacting labor. In addition to all this, both gave most liberally in money. How much was accomplished by Mrs.

Sargent's quiet influence, her wise and judicial advice, her many logical and dignified appeals in person and by letter, never can be estimated.

The State board and committees were composed of women of fine character and social standing, who commanded the highest respect; and during the long campaign they put aside every other duty and pleasure and devoted themselves, mind and body, to the success of the amendment. Across the bay in Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley were a large and active county society, Mrs. Isabel A. Baldwin, president, and city organizations of women of equal ability and prestige, who were in daily communication with State headquarters and performed the most valuable and conscientious work. What was true here was equally so of the women in all the counties from San Diego to Del Norte. It seems invidious to mention a single name where so many gave such excellent service. It must be admitted, however, that while hundreds of women worked for their political freedom, thousands contributed absolutely nothing in either money or service; and yet there were many among them who believed fully in the principle of woman suffrage. They simply allowed domestic duties or the demands of society or apathetic indifference to prevent their rendering any a.s.sistance, and they could not be prevailed upon even to give money to help those who performed the labor. If all such had lent their influence, the women of California today would be enfranchised; but they left the whole burden to be carried by the few, and these could not do the work necessary for success, because human nature has its limits.

The att.i.tude of the press of California deserves especial mention because to it was largely due the marked consideration which the suffrage amendment received throughout the State. Miss Anthony met in California an acquaintance, Mrs. Ida H. Harper, recently of the editorial staff of the Indianapolis News, and requested her to act as chairman of the press committee. As the press of San Francisco could kill the amendment at the very start, if it chose to do so, they decided to call upon the editors of the daily papers in that city and ascertain their position. They visited the managing editors of the Call, Examiner, Chronicle, Post, Report and Bulletin and, without a single exception, were received with the greatest courtesy and a.s.sured that the amendment and the ladies who were advocating it would be treated with respect, that there would be no ridiculing, no cartooning and no attempt to create a sentiment in opposition.

The Post came out editorially in favor of the amendment and established a half-page department, headed "The New Citizen," which was continued daily during the campaign, the largest amount of s.p.a.ce ever given by any paper to woman suffrage. Dr. Elizabeth Sargent a.s.sumed most of the responsibility for this department, a.s.sisted by members of the staff.

The Report gave editorial endors.e.m.e.nt and a double-column department ent.i.tled "The Woman Citizen," edited every Sat.u.r.day by Winnifred Harper.

The Bulletin expressed itself as friendly and later in the campaign opened a suffrage department conducted by Eliza D. Keith; but the paper contained editorials from time to time, which the friends did not construe as favorable to the measure. The managing editor gave the ladies to understand that there would be no opposition from the Chronicle, and during the campaign it contained several strong editorials, not advocating the amendment, but decidedly favorable to woman suffrage. This paper also gave a prominent place to a number of articles from Mrs. Harper and others. Two days before election, however, it advised its readers to vote against the amendment.

The Examiner was friendly and offered a column on the editorial page of the Sunday edition, throughout the campaign if Miss Anthony would fill it. She protested that she was not a writer, but it was only upon this condition that the s.p.a.ce would be given. It was too valuable to be sacrificed and so she accepted it, and for seven months furnished Sunday articles of 1,600 words. These were widely copied, not only throughout the State, but in all parts of the country. Every possible influence was exerted to persuade William R. Hearst, the proprietor, who was residing in New York, to bring out the paper editorially in favor of the amendment. Miss Anthony wrote an earnest personal letter which closed: "So, I pray you for the love of justice, for the love of your n.o.ble mother, and for the sake of California--lead the way for the Democratic party of your State to advocate the suffrage amendment. The Examiner has done splendidly thus far in publishing fair and full reports of our meetings and articles from our leading suffrage women. The one and only thing we do ask is that it will editorially champion the amendment as it will every other measure it believes in which is to be voted upon next November." All pleadings were in vain and the great paper remained silent. It did not, however, contain a line in opposition.

During Miss Anthony's visit to San Francisco the previous year, the Monitor, the official Catholic organ of California, had come out in two editions with full-page editorials in favor of woman suffrage, as strong as anything ever written on that subject. When the two ladies called on the editor, he a.s.sured them of his full sympathy and agreed to accept a series of articles from the chairman of the press committee. These were published regularly for a time and then suddenly were refused, and every effort to ascertain the reason was unsuccessful. Miss Anthony called on him several times and waited for half an hour in his anteroom, but he declined to see her and, during the remainder of the campaign, the amendment received no recognition from the Monitor.

The response from the other papers of the State was most remarkable. The Populist press, without exception, was for woman suffrage. Every newspaper in Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley spoke in favor of the amendment. The majority of those in Los Angeles and San Diego counties endorsed it. All but one in San Jose, and all but one in Sacramento, did likewise. Before the campaign closed, 250 newspapers declared editorially for the suffrage amendment. Only two of prominence in the entire State came out boldly in opposition, the Record-Union, of Sacramento, and the Times of Los Angeles. The former ceased its opposition some time before election; the latter continued to the end, ridiculing, misrepresenting, denouncing, and even going to the extent of grossly caricaturing Miss Anthony.

The Star, the Voice of Labor and other prominent journals published in the interests of the wage-earning cla.s.ses; those conducted by the colored people; the Spanish, French and Italian papers; the leading Jewish papers; the temperance, the A. P. A. and the Socialist organs; and many published for individual enterprises, agriculture, insurance, etc., spoke strongly for the amendment. The firm which supplied plate matter to hundreds of the smaller papers accepted a short article every week. There were very few newspapers in the State which did not grant s.p.a.ce for woman suffrage departments, and these were ably edited by the women of the different localities. Matter on this question was furnished to the chairman of the press committee by the San Francisco Clipping Bureau, and these clippings were carefully tabulated and filed. At the close of the eight months' campaign they numbered 9,000, taken from the press of California alone. Twenty-seven papers came out in opposition; these included a number of San Francisco weeklies of a sensational character and a few published in small towns.

It must be remembered, in this connection, that the woman suffrage organization had not a dollar to pay for newspaper influence, had no advertising to bestow, and that even the notices for meetings were gratuitous. All this advocacy on the part of the papers was purely a free-will offering and represented the honest and courageous sentiments of the editors. It is deemed especially worthy of notice because there was never anything like it in previous suffrage campaigns. Toward the end, when the influence of the opposition began to do its fatal work, these papers were closely watched and in not one instance was there a defection.

Notwithstanding this splendid support of the press, Miss Anthony was firm in her decision that she would not remain through the campaign unless the amendment could secure the endors.e.m.e.nt of the political parties, and every energy was directed toward this point. Several of the Republican county conventions declared for it, and a number of Republican leaders who were visited, announced themselves in favor of the plank. The State Convention was to be held May 5. On May 3, the Sunday edition of the San Francisco Call, the largest and most influential Republican paper in the State, came out with flaming headlines declaring boldly and unequivocally for woman suffrage! The sensation created was tremendous, and amendment stock went up above par.

The Monday and Tuesday editions continued the editorial endors.e.m.e.nt, declaring that the Republican party stood committed to woman suffrage, and that the Call const.i.tuted itself the champion and would carry it to victory.

Tuesday morning the Republican convention opened at Sacramento. The woman suffrage delegation, consisting of Mrs. Sargent, Mrs. John F.

Swift, Mrs. Blinn, Mrs. Austin Sperry, Mrs. Knox Goodrich, Miss Anthony, Rev. Anna Shaw, Miss Hay, Miss Yates, Mrs. Harper, opened their headquarters at the Golden Eagle Hotel, decorated their parlor with flowers, spread out their literature and badges and waited for the delegates. They had not long to wait. With the influence of the Sunday Call, a copy of which had been laid on the seat of every delegate in the convention hall, they had a prestige which found favor in the eyes of the politicians. The visitors came early and stayed late; they went away and returned bringing their friends to be converted. The Call account said: "They went in twos and threes, in large groups and in entire delegations, to pay homage to their more modest workers and apparently to beg the privilege of serving them." The rooms were crowded until after midnight.

The delegates put on the badges, and when the convention opened 250 of them were wearing the little flag with its three stars. The ladies were given the best seats in the great building. The delegates were divided into two hostile camps, representing opposite wings of the party, and the women had to move very carefully, as it was by no means certain which faction would secure control of the convention. They also had to frame many non-committal answers to the question, "How do you stand on the A. P. A.?" The headquarters were thronged with reporters; every woman was interviewed at length and her opinions telegraphed to the great San Francisco dailies. Miss Anthony's interviews occupied a column in the Examiner, each day of the convention. Those alarmists who fear women will lose the respect of men when they are invested with political influence should have had this object lesson.

The chairman of the convention was considered not favorable to woman suffrage. Of the seven men appointed on the resolution committee, five were said to be opposed to the plank. The spirits of the ladies began to droop. In the evening permission was given them to address the platform committee. Mrs. Harper wrote the San Francisco Call:

I wish I could picture that scene. In the small room, seated around the table, were the seven men who held the fate of this question in their hands. At one end stood Miss Anthony, the light from above shining upon her silver hair until it seemed like a halo, and she spoke as no one ever heard her speak before. On the face of every delegate was an expression of the deepest seriousness, and before she had finished tears were in the eyes of more than one. She was followed by Miss Shaw, who stood there the embodiment of all that is pure, sweet and womanly, and in a low, clear voice presented the subject as no one else could have done. As we were about to leave the room, the chairman said, "Ladies, we will take the vote now, if you desire." We thanked him, but said no, we would withdraw and leave them to consider the matter at their leisure.

Within a very few minutes we had their decision--six in favor of the resolution and one opposed. Here I want to call attention to one thing. Eight women knew of the favorable action of the committee by 9 o'clock, but although we were besieged by reporters and delegates until nearly midnight we gave no sign, and the Wednesday morning papers could only say that it was probable there would be a woman suffrage plank. It is charged that women can not keep a secret, but this is one of those many ancient myths which take a long time to die.

The plank was adopted next day in the big convention with only one dissenting voice. The Woman's Congress was in session at San Francisco and when Mrs. Cooper, its president, stepped forward on the platform and read the telegram announcing the result, the enthusiasm hardly can be described. The ladies went down from Sacramento to the Congress the next day and received a continuous ovation throughout the rest of the meetings.

Among the pleasant letters which came to Miss Anthony was one from Abigail Scott Duniway, of Portland, Ore., in which she said: "Your triumphs in California are marvellous. Hurrah, and again, hurrah! I believe now the women of the Golden State will win. All honor to you and your n.o.ble confreres!" And one from Lucy Underwood McCann, of Santa Cruz, saying: "It is to you, most honored and revered of women, we owe the fact, because of your long martyrdom in this great reform, that we stand now, as we hope and pray, upon the brink of realization of our rights. This has been made possible only through the patient toil of such heroic souls as your own. Your wisdom in planning this campaign, in which we confidently expect a glorious victory, is our mainstay, upon which all other hopes depend."

Miss Anthony's happiness over the action of the Republicans knew no bounds, and she began with renewed courage to prepare for the Populist convention May 12. The prominent Populists who were visited a.s.sured the ladies that they need not waste time or money going to Sacramento to secure a plank in their platform, as woman suffrage was one of the fundamental principles of their party. The suffrage leaders felt, however, that this convention was ent.i.tled to the same courtesy as the others and they attended in a body, headed by Miss Anthony and Mrs.

Sargent. When they entered the convention hall they were received with cheers and waving of hats, escorted to the front seats, invited to address the convention and surrounded by delegates during the recess.

Without any solicitation the resolution committee reported and the convention adopted a strong woman suffrage plank, and then gave three cheers for the ladies. They were told that not half a dozen men in that body were opposed to the amendment.

From here they went to the Prohibition convention at Stockton, were met at the station by a delegation of ladies, and received with distinguished consideration by the convention. Miss Anthony was twice invited to address them, and the plank endorsing the amendment was adopted by a hearty and unanimous vote. A reception was then held at the hotel and over a hundred ladies called.

One convention yet remained, the Democratic. While a few of the leaders of this party were in favor of the amendment, most of them were opposed and gave no encouragement to the attempt to secure a plank. The ladies, however, carried out the program, and the same large delegation returned to Sacramento June 16, the number increased by Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. E. O.

Smith, of San Jose, Mrs. Alice M. Stocker, of Pleasanton, and several others. A month had intervened and the opposition had had time to organize. Some of the county conventions had declared against the amendment and many of the delegates had been instructed to vote against it.

The suffrage representatives were disappointed in the hope that they might come to this convention with the editorial endors.e.m.e.nt of the Examiner, but they were greatly pleased to receive from that paper, on the morning of the opening, a package of 2,000 woman suffrage leaflets.

The Examiner had collected at its own expense a large amount of fresh and valuable testimony from the leading editors and officials of Colorado and Wyoming, as to its satisfactory practical working in those States, and had arranged it in large type on heavy cream-tinted paper, making the handsomest leaflet of the kind ever issued. These were placed in the hands of the delegates, and also distributed throughout the State.

The women's headquarters at the Golden Eagle were practically unvisited.

A few lone delegates, and two or three delegations that had been instructed to vote for the amendment, strayed up to express their sympathy, but most of them were too well subjugated by the political bosses even to pay a visit of courtesy. A new element was introduced here in the person of a woman of somewhat unpleasant record who claimed to be the representative of the anti-suffrage organization. The platform committee consisted of thirty-five and met in a large room filled with spectators. The ladies presented a pet.i.tion signed by 40,000 California men and women asking for woman suffrage. The entire delegation of speakers, with Miss Anthony and Miss Shaw at the head, was granted twenty minutes to present its claims, and the one woman above referred to was given the same amount of time. She did not occupy more than a minute of it, simply saying that her anti-suffrage league was going to organize all over the State and work for the Democratic party. The resolution was laid on the table, almost before they were out of the room.

A minority report was prepared by Charles Wesley Reed, of San Francisco, and signed by himself, Mr. Alford, chairman of the committee, and two others. In a letter to the Call, Mrs. Harper thus describes subsequent events:

Mr. Reed a.s.sured the ladies that he would bring this report before the convention and he kept his word, although he had other fights on hand and endangered them by standing for woman suffrage. This minority report, although properly drawn and signed by four members of the platform committee, including the chairman, was "smothered"

by the secretary of the convention and its chairman, Mr. Frank Gould. Every other minority report was read and acted upon by the convention; that alone on woman suffrage was held back. In vain Mr.

Reed protested; the chairman ignored him and called for a vote on the platform as a whole. It was adopted with a roar, and our fight was lost! It was near midnight. We had sat two long hot days in the convention, had slept but little, were worn out and very, very wrathy. At this juncture John P. Irish addressed the convention, stating that a distinguished lady was present, etc., and would they hear Miss Susan B. Anthony? Thinking it was too late for her to do any harm, she was received with loud applause.

It was impossible to say what the convention expected, but they got a rebuke for allowing such action on the part of their chairman and for treating the women of the State in this unjust and undemocratic manner, which caused a hush to fall upon the whole body. It was a dramatic and impressive scene, one not to be forgotten. At its conclusion there were loud cries for Anna Shaw. The little fighter was at the boiling point, but she stepped upon the platform with a smile, and with that sarcasm of which she is complete master supplemented Miss Anthony's remarks. As she stepped down, half the convention were on their feet demanding the minority report. The chairman stated that it was too late for that, but a resolution might be offered. The original resolution was at once presented, and then there was an attempt to take a viva-voce vote, but our friends demanded a roll-call. It resulted in 149 ayes and 420 noes.

Mr. Gould's own county voted almost solidly in favor. Alameda county, led by W. W. Foote, gave 32 noes and 3 ayes, yet this county sent in the largest pet.i.tion for woman suffrage of any in the State.

To secure more than a one-fourth vote of a convention which had been determined not to allow the question even to come before it, was not a total defeat.[119]

The battle was now fairly begun and it grew hotter with every pa.s.sing week for the next five months. A few days after the last convention the women held a ma.s.s meeting in Metropolitan Temple to ratify the planks.

The great hall was crowded to the doors and hundreds stood during all the long exercises. As the ladies who had been to the conventions came upon the stage, the building fairly rang with applause. The Republican, Populist, Prohibition, Democratic and Socialist-Labor parties were represented by prominent men who made strong suffrage speeches.

Congressman James G. Maguire spoke for those individual Democrats who believed in woman suffrage, among whom he was always a staunch advocate. Miss Anthony was cheered to the echo and it seemed as if the audience could not get enough of her bright, pithy remarks, as she introduced the different speakers.

The suffrage advocates, elated with their victory in three conventions, opened headquarters in the large new Parrott building and swung their banner across the street.[120] Five rooms were filled with busy workers directed by Mary G. Hay, chairman of the State central committee, while the other members took turns in receiving the reporters, the people on business and the throngs of visitors from all parts of the State. To follow this campaign in detail, to name all of those most prominently connected with it, would be obviously impracticable. It would be utterly impossible to mention individually the hundreds of women who thoroughly canva.s.sed their own precincts and deserve a full share of the credit for the large vote cast. A number of competent California women took up the organization of the different counties. Every woman in the State who could address an audience found her place and work. Mrs. Alice Moore McComas and Rev. Mila Tupper Maynard headed the list of Southern California speakers. Miss Sarah M. Severance spoke under the auspices of the W. C. T. U. Mrs. Naomi Anderson represented the colored women. Rev.

Anna Shaw spoke every night during the campaign, except the one month when she returned East to fill engagements. She paid the salary of her secretary and donated her services to the headquarters for five months.

Miss Elizabeth Upham Yates, of Maine, made about one hundred speeches.

The last two months Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, national organizer, gave several addresses each day. There were very few men who worked as hard during that campaign as did scores of the women, each according to her ability.

No description could give an adequate idea of the amount of labor performed by Miss Anthony during those eight months. There was scarcely a day, including Sundays, that she did not make from one to three speeches, often having a long journey between them. She addressed great political rallies of thousands of people; church conventions of every denomination; Spiritualist and Freethinkers' gatherings; Salvation Army meetings; African societies; Socialists; all kinds of labor organizations; granges; Army and Navy Leagues; Soldiers' Homes and military encampments; women's clubs and men's clubs; Y. M. C. A.'s and W. C. T. U.'s. She spoke at farmers' picnics on the mountaintops, and Bethel Missions in the cellars of San Francisco; at parlor meetings in the most elegant homes; and in pool-rooms where there was printed on the blackboard, "Welcome to Susan B. Anthony."

She was in constant demand for social functions, where her presence gave an opportunity for a discussion of the all-absorbing question. One of the handsomest of these was a breakfast of two hundred covers, given by the Century Club in the "maple room" of the Palace Hotel, where were gathered the leading women of San Francisco and other cities in the State. Miss Anthony sat at the right hand of the president and responded to the toast, "Those who break bread with us." The club privileges were extended to her and, at the close of the campaign, she was made an honorary member. This club was composed largely of conservative women, but its president, Mrs. Mary Wood Swift, was one of the most prominent of the suffrage advocates. She addressed the Woman's Press a.s.sociation, the Laurel Hall Club, the Forum, Sorosis, a.s.sociation of Collegiate Alumnae and most of the other women's organizations of San Francisco. An invitation to luncheon was received from Mrs. Stanford signed, "Your sincere friend and believer in woman suffrage," and a very pleasant day was spent in her lovely home at Menlo Park.

A breakfast was given in her honor by the Ebell Club of Oakland, Mrs. G.

W. Bunnell, president. She rode in a beautifully decorated carriage at the great Fabiola Fete, or floral festival, held annually in this city.

Many social courtesies were extended in the towns around the bay, among them being dinner parties by Senator and Mrs. Fred Stratton, Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Moore, Mrs. Henry Vrooman, Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Smith, Mrs.

Emma Shafter Howard, Mr. and Mrs. F. C. Havens, Mrs. Alice H. Wellman, of Oakland; Judge and Mrs. J. A. Waymire, of Alameda; Mr. and Mrs.

William A. Keith, of Berkeley. All this would have been very enjoyable but for the fact that most of these occasions included a speech, and she was usually obliged to come from just having spoken, or to rush away to keep another engagement. One unique experience was a complimentary trip tendered, through Mrs. Lovell White, by the proprietors of the new Mill Valley and Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway, to Miss Anthony and a large number of guests. From the top of this high peak, which overlooks the Golden Gate, they enjoyed a view that for beauty and grandeur is not surpa.s.sed in the world.