Immediately after the vote was taken and defeated, Senator Jones of New Mexico changed his vote and moved that the measure be reconsidered; thereby placing it again on the Senate Calendar, ready to be called up any time and voted on.
By going to the Senate in this manner, the President had made his own record clean to the country at large. But he had not made it clean to the National Woman’s Party, because, although he had done something, he had not done enough. He appeared to be doing more than he was, but there was a great deal more that he could have done. He did not, for instance, start his appeal to the Senate early enough. That appeal came only a fortnight before the vote was taken. Possibly he had underestimated the opposition; probably he had overestimated the strength of his own influence. But the country at large of course did not understand that. For the time being, therefore, the Woman’s Party concentrated their drive on another point in the enemy line.
VIII
PICKETING THE SENATE
As the Senate was still sitting and could at any time reverse its action in regard to the Suffrage Amendment, the Woman’s Party decided to protest against its defeat of the Amendment and to demand a reversal.
They began to picket the Senate and in especial the thirty-four Senators whose adverse vote had again delayed the passage of the Amendment.
On the morning of October 7, four banner bearers ascended the steps of the Capitol. They were: Elizabeth Kalb; Vivian Pierce; Bertha Moller; Mrs. Horton Pope. The lettered banner, flanked as usual with the Suffrage tri-color, read:
WE DEMAND AN AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED CONSTITUTION
ENFRANCHISING WOMEN.
They had hardly mounted the steps when the Capitol police placed them under arrest. They took the prisoners to the guard room in the Capitol, kept them there for fifteen minutes, and then released them. It was, of course, not exactly an arrest; and no one seemed exactly responsible for the order. The banners were, however, confiscated.