Dr. H. W. Thomas' letter said in part: "Your suggestion is wise; no other can perhaps so fittingly and ably represent the larger place and work of woman as Susan B. Anthony. It will honor her and help the cause to have her speak at the congress. Bless her dear soul, how I would like to see her—to hear her—to have her one with us—her counsel, her spirit, her great heart of love and hope so much like the Christ."
After the receipt of Miss Anthony's reply Dr. Jones wrote again: "I received your modest protest against being made, as you are, one of the vice-presidents of the Liberal Congress organization; but the very reason you urged against it is the very reason for putting you on. We want you not for what you can do but for what you are. We can not take the congress into the polemics of the woman question, but George Washington went into the first Continental Congress with his uniform on, said nothing, yet that was his speech. So we organize with Susan B. Anthony's name among our vice-presidents, and this is our war speech on that question. Do let your name stay there.... Ever rejoicing in your work and its slowly approaching triumph, I am, brotherly yours."
The New Year of 1895 promised less in the way of work and anxiety than the one which had just closed. There were to be no State amendment campaigns with their annoying complexities, their arduous labors, their usual defeats. So many capable and energetic women had come into the national organization that Miss Anthony was relieved of much of the burden which used to rest upon her in the olden times, when she had to attend personally to details of arrangement and assume the financial responsibility. She found it difficult at first to adapt herself to the new regime, but soon learned to have confidence in the judgment and ability of her much-loved "body guard," as she liked to call the official board. It was not so easy for others of the old workers to accept the new order of things, and they rebelled occasionally against the "red tape" requirements of this executive body. To one of these Miss Anthony wrote: "My dear, what we older ones all have to learn is that these young and active women now doing the drudgery in each of the forty-five States, must be consulted and must have a vote on all questions pertaining to the association, and we must abide by the decision of the majority. This is what I am trying to learn. No one or two can manage now, but all must have a voice."
The voluminous correspondence shows, however, that the new workers were very glad to feel the touch of her firm and experienced hand on the helm, and that usually she was consulted on every point. She especially impressed upon them the necessity of keeping the financial accounts with the strictest care and accuracy, and for a number of years would not allow a report to be published until she herself had examined every detail. At one time when two contributions had been accidentally omitted from the statement sent for her inspection, she wrote: "Not finding those two in your copy congealed the blood to the very ends of my fingers and toes, lest the givers should think I had not sent their money to you."
New Year's Day twelve friends were gathered around the Anthony table, the Gannetts, the Greenleafs, the Sanfords, Mrs. Hallowell and Mrs. Willis, and the occasion was a pleasant one. A week later Miss Anthony started on an extended southern trip. There had been practically no suffrage work done in the South, with the exception of Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri and Louisiana. As the national convention was to meet in Atlanta, Miss Anthony thought it advisable to make a lecture tour through the South to arouse a sentiment which might be felt there a month later. She invited Mrs. Chapman Catt to accompany her, guaranteeing her expenses although she had no assurance she would be able to make even her own.
At Lexington they were guests in the fine old home of Mrs. Mary J. Warfield Clay and daughter Laura, and spoke in the Christian church to a sympathetic audience. They held meetings at Wilmore, Louisville, Owensboro, Paducah and Milan, receiving many social courtesies at each place visited, and they reached Memphis January 17. The management here was in the capable hands of the Woman's Council and a fine audience greeted them at the Young Men's Hebrew Association Hall. They were introduced by their hostess, Mrs. Lide Meriwether, president of the Equal Suffrage Club, and cordially received. The Appeal, Avalanche and Scimitar gave long and interesting reports. The next morning Miss Anthony and Mrs. Catt were handsomely entertained by the ladies of the Nineteenth Century Club. In the afternoon Mrs. Mary Jameson Judah, president of the Woman's Club, gave a reception in their honor. Saturday morning they were guests of the Colored Women's Club; in the afternoon the Woman's Council, composed of forty-six local clubs, tendered a large reception, and in the evening they lectured again. Sunday morning they spoke in the Tabernacle to the colored people; and they left at 5.30 p. m. feeling they had not wasted much time at Memphis.
They reached New Orleans Monday morning; were met at the train by the president and several members of the Portia Club, and escorted to the residence of Judge Merrick. Each of the daily papers contained lengthy and excellent mention of the lectures. The Picayune said at the beginning of a four-column report:
If any one doubted the interest that southern women feel in the all-absorbing question of the day, "Woman and her Rights," that idea would have forever been dispelled by a glance at the splendid audience assembled last night to hear Miss Susan B. Anthony, the world-famed apostle of woman suffrage, and Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, the distinguished western leader. The hall was literally packed to overflowing, not only with women but with men, prominent representatives in every walk of life. Standing room was at a premium, corridors and windows were filled with a sea of earnest, interested faces, the name of Miss Anthony was on every lip, and all eyes were directed to the platform, which was beautifully decorated with palms and potted plants, the suffrage color, yellow, predominating among the verdant foliage.
Seated upon the platform were the four ladies who have successively filled the position of president of the Portia Club, Mrs. Elizabeth Lyle Saxon, Mrs. Caroline E. Merrick, Mrs. Evelyn B. Ordway and Miss Florence Huberwald. The entrance of Miss Anthony and Mrs. Catt was the signal for a burst of applause, which rose into an ovation when Miss Huberwald, in a few graceful words, presented Mrs. Merrick, who in turn introduced Miss Anthony as the most famous woman in America. When the applause subsided, Miss Anthony, whose voice is singularly sweet and clear, began to speak.
She was presented with a basket of flowers and a bouquet from Mrs. J. M. Ferguson, president of the Arena club. At the close hundreds pressed forward to take the hands of the speakers.