While the resolution committee was out Miss Anthony addressed the convention, saying in the course of her remarks: "I belong to but one party under the shadow of the flag, and that is the party of idiots and criminals. I don't like my company. Are you going to leave your mothers, wives and sisters in that category? I ask you to say that every woman by your side shall have the same rights as you have." When she concluded one of the delegates said: "Miss Anthony, with all due respect, I wish to ask, in the event of the Populists putting a woman suffrage plank in their platform, will you work for the success of this party?" The newspapers thus report her reply and what followed:
"For forty years I have labored for woman's enfranchisement, and I have always said that for the party which endorsed it, whether Republican, Democratic or Populist, I would wave my handkerchief. I will go before the people at your meetings, and though I know very little about the other principles of your party and never discuss finance and tariff, I will try to persuade every man in those meetings to vote for woman suffrage."
"Miss Anthony," said Mr. Carpenter, "we want more than the waving of your handkerchief, and if the People's party put a woman suffrage plank in its platform, will you go before the voters of this State and tell them that because the People's party has espoused the cause of woman suffrage it deserves the vote of every one who is a supporter of that cause?"
Miss Anthony answered: "I most certainly will!"
Immediately upon hearing this, the convention went wild—yelled and cheered and applauded to its very utmost—hundreds rose to their feet—the cheering lasted five minutes without intermission.
In the confusion Miss Anthony thus finished her interrupted sentence:
"For I would surely choose to ask votes for the party which stood for the principle of justice to women, though wrong on financial theories, rather than for the party which was sound on the questions of money and tariff, and silent on the pending amendment to secure political equality to half the people."
None of the reporters caught this and, as a result, the simple statement, "I certainly will," appeared in all the Kansas papers and went the rounds of the press of the entire country.
The suffrage question had its opponents and advocates among leaders and delegates. It occupied the resolution committee until late at night, and finally went down to defeat, 8 to 13. When the resolutions were reported they considered finance, labor, taxes, banks, bonds, arbitration, pensions, irrigation, freight rates, transportation, initiative and referendum—everything under the sun but the suffrage amendment. In regard to that much agitated point they were painfully silent. On this committee was one woman delegate, Mrs. Eliza Hudson, who could not be coaxed or bullied. She gave notice at once that she would make a minority report and carry it to the floor of the convention. The following was signed by herself and seven other members of the committee: "Whereas, The People's party came into existence and won its glorious victories on the fundamental principles of equal rights to all and special privileges to none; therefore be it resolved that we favor the pending constitutional amendment."
Meanwhile Miss Anthony, Mrs. Catt and Miss Shaw addressed the convention and were enthusiastically received. When the minority report was presented and every possible parliamentary tactic had failed to prevent its consideration, it was vehemently discussed for four hours, in five-minute speeches, Judge Frank Doster leading the affirmative. The debate was closed by Mrs. Diggs, and the resolution was adopted, ayes 337, noes 269; carried by 68 majority in a delegate body of 606. During the fray a tail in some way tacked itself on to the resolution, which said, "but we do not regard this as a test of party fealty." So the party adopted a plank declaring that it did not regard a belief in one of its own fundamental principles as a test of fealty; but in the wild excitement which ensued, a little thing like this was not noticed. The State Journal thus describes the scene:
When it became evident the resolution had carried, and before the vote could be announced, the convention jumped up and yelled. Canes were waved, hats thrown high in the air, men stood on chairs and shouted frantically. The whole convention was one deep, all-prevailing impersonated voice. How they howled and stamped, as though every one loved suffrage and suffragists with all their hearts!
"I want Miss Shaw to come forward and give that Populist whoop that she promised she would last night," said a delegate. Miss Shaw came to the front of the platform and said: "I do not know any better whoop than that good old tune, 'Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow.'" "Sing," said Chairman Dunsmore. The vast audience shook every particle of air in the big hall with the full round notes of the long meter doxology. "Let all the people cry amen," said Alonzo Wardall, who was on the platform. Hundreds of voices which had not pronounced the word for years joined in the great, resounding, unanimous "amen" that filled the hall.
Susan B. Anthony, Annie L. Diggs and Anna Shaw leaned over the front of the stage and shook every man's hand as he passed along, and hundreds of brown, calloused hands were thrust up to give a grasp of congratulation. Miss Anthony warmed to her work and had to push up her sleeves, but she didn't mind that for suffrage, for which she had just won a glorious victory. Many said, as they grasped her hand: "You're going to be a Populist now, ain't you?"
During the confusion an old soldier came up and pinned a Populist badge on her dress, and this was magnified by the newspapers into the thrilling description: "Miss Anthony seized a Populist badge and, pinning it on her breast, declared: 'Henceforth and forever I belong to the People's party!'"
The State Prohibition convention was in progress at Emporia at the same time, and the women had been notified that a suffrage plank would be adopted without any effort on their part. On June 13 the following telegram was sent by the secretary of the convention to Miss Anthony and Miss Shaw: "Recognizing the right of suffrage as inherent in citizenship, the Prohibition party stands unequivocally pledged to use its utmost efforts to secure the adoption of the pending constitutional amendment for the enfranchisement of women." This was their response from the Populist convention hall: "The National-American Woman Suffrage Association sends greeting, and is gratified that there is one political party which does not need to be urged to declare for justice to women." The Capitol said: "There was a wild demonstration as their names were read."