[VICTORIA C. WOODHULL.]
Her Memorial to Congress on the Subject of Woman Suffrage.
Washington, January 11, 1871.
At precisely the hour appointed Mrs. Woodhull was in her seat in the committee room, awaiting the appearance of the representatives of the legislative body that had declared itself ready to hear anything or everything she had to say pertaining to why she should not be allowed all the “privileges and immunities belonging to citizenship.” To Mrs. Woodhull alone, it is said, belongs the discovery of detecting that, under the rulings of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution, women are entitled to the ballot. The members of the Judiciary Committee are rather slow in getting to their seats. At half past 10 Mr. Bingham might have been seen in his chair, his hands pinned closely to the back of it, and his expressive face aglow with manly patience. On the opposite side of the table sat Judge Loughridge, of Iowa, leaning listlessly on his hand, his keen, good-natured eyes alive with expectation. Judge Loughridge is fully committed to the movement, but as he is a single man, he is liable to be responsible for any amount of mischief. Mr. Cook, of Illinois, and Mr. Eldridge, of Wisconsin, only were in their places. As time would not wait for laggard members, and the precious morning was slipping away, Mrs. Woodhull was reminded by Mr. Bingham that she could proceed. At this time the room was sparsely filled, and nearly all present were women, friends to the movement, and the majority were people from different States.
Almost hidden from sight in the deep recesses of a window might have been seen Nellie Hutchinson, of the New York Tribune, her piquant face and tangled hair as saucy and as refreshing as ever, and not far removed from her was seen another pretty ornament of the press, in the person of Mrs. McChane, of the Philadelphia Inquirer. But, arranged in a row behind Mrs. Woodhull were a number of women whose voices have been heard throughout the length and breadth of the land. At the head of the class stood Mrs. Beecher Hooker—her soft, fleecy curls tied down with orthodox precision; the curling feathers of blue harmonizing with her peachy complexion. Her elegantly fitting coat was embroidered with steel beads, but this had nothing to do with the suffrage question. Susan B. Anthony snuggled beside her, clad in a smart new dress of black silk, with velveteen overskirt and fancy basque. Her spectacles clung to her nose, and she had that longing, hope-deferred look which humanity always wears when it has been centered for half a century upon a single idea. Then came Paulina Davis, her face surmounted by her beautiful snowy curls; then Mrs. Josephine S. Griffing, the noblest woman in the land. Rev. Olympia Brown appeared modestly as the “Wall Street firm,” for both the members were present, and distinguished from the other women in the room by dress and other characteristics. The firm of Woodhull & Claflin are clad precisely alike, and call each other “sister.” Their costume consists in what Miss Kate Stanton pronounces a “business suit, because they are strictly business women.” These costumes are made of blue naval cloth, skimp in the skirt. The basque or jacket has masculine coat-tails behind, but the steeple-crowned hats are the towering triumph of the most picturesque outfit. The high sugar-loaf hat has a brigandish dash to it, and the clipped hair underneath seems to have nipped all the feminine element originally possessed by this flourishing “firm.” Mrs. Woodhull arose and stood before the tribunal. She is a medium-sized woman, with a sharp nose, and thin lips which closed tightly over her white teeth. She apologized for any hesitancy in her manner, because it was the first time in her life that she had attempted public speaking. She then read her printed memorial:
The memorial of Victoria Woodhull to the Honorable the Senate and the House of Representatives, United States of America, in Congress assembled, respectfully showeth:
That she was born in the State of Ohio, and is above the age of twenty-one years; that she has resided in the State of New York during the past three years; that she is still a resident thereof, and that she is a citizen of the United States as declared by the fourteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
That since the adoption of the fifteenth article of amendment to the Constitution neither the State of New York nor any other State, nor any Territory, has passed any law to abridge any citizen of the United States to vote, as established by said articles, neither on account of sex or otherwise.