The Story of the Woman's Party

by Inez Haynes Gillmore

The poll which has been so carefully and accurately drawn up demonstrates that fact most convincingly, and we are going to keep right on working until Governor Harrington sees it that way!

Maryland defeated ratification later.

Owing to the fact that most of the governors who must call special sessions were Republicans, the National Woman’s Party made a drive on the national Republican leaders to get them to act upon these governors. On August 14, Abby Scott Baker went to the Governors’ Conference at Salt Lake City where, assisted by Louise Garnett, State Chairman of the Woman’s Party in Utah, she succeeded in getting governors whose Legislatures had already ratified to organize an informal committee to work upon those whose Legislatures had not ratified. Some of these governors of these backward States—or rather some of the backward governors of these States—made tentative promises in regard to special sessions, but these promises were so vague that Mrs. Baker started, at the close of the Governors’ Conference, to California. We shall hear about her work there later.

Minnesota ratified on September 8; New Hampshire on September 10, both in special session. Utah—but there is a story about Utah.

Utah was backward. Alice Paul interested Isaac Russell, a newspaper man, and a native of Utah, in the situation. He prevailed upon Senator Smoot, Republican, to write a letter to Alice Paul saying that he was disappointed that Governor Bamberger, Democrat, was not calling a special session. Alice Paul gave this letter to the Press, and of course, the Republican papers of Utah carried it. Alice Paul waited a while and then she sent Anita Pollitzer to see the Democratic Congressmen from Utah, and to put it clearly to them that the responsibility for the delay was on their Party. As a result of Miss Pollitzer’s representations, Congressman Welling, a Democrat and a friend of Governor Bamberger, wrote a strong telegram to him in which he urged him to set the date of a special session at once. Early the next morning, Congressman Welling telephoned Headquarters that the telegram had brought results and read a message from Governor Bamberger announcing the date on which he would call that special session. Utah ratified on September 30.

In the meantime, we must go back to Abby Scott Baker, whom we left on her way to California. She found that an enormous amount of work had been done by Genevieve Allen, the State Chairman for California, and by the members of her organization, assisted by Vivian Pierce, a national organizer. Governor Stevens, however, seemed immovable on the subject of a special session. But with additional assistance from Mrs. William Kent, one of its national officers, the Woman’s Party inaugurated a vigorous newspaper campaign. Governor Stevens found himself inundated by an avalanche of telegrams, letters, petitions, resolutions; and finally of entreaties of the men who surrounded him. Governor Stevens is a Republican, and the Democratic women began to organize for ratification. Senator Phelan, Democrat, gave them his assistance. National leaders of both Parties brought pressure to bear. It was impossible to resist this current. Governor Stevens issued a call for a special session for November 1, and on that date California ratified.

The Woman’s Party refers to Maine as the first close call. This story is very interesting. Maine called a special session, but Maine was, so to speak, on the fence in regard to Suffrage, as, when the National Woman’s Party approached the State on the subject of ratification, a referendum on Presidential Suffrage was pending. So important was the situation there that Alice Paul joined Mrs. Lawrence Lewis and Mrs. Robert Treat Whitehouse, the State Chairman, who were working hard. In Maine, too, the antis were troublesome. They managed to introduce a resolution in the Legislature proposing postponement on the subject of ratification until after the referendum. The President and Secretary of the State Federation of Labor sent an official appeal to the Legislature to vote for this resolution. Immediately the Woman’s Party in Washington obtained a letter from Secretary Morrison of the American Federation of Labor to the Maine Federation, stating that the A. F. of L. stood strongly for ratification. Mrs. Whitehouse gave this letter to the newspapers; gave copies to every member of the Legislature. She conferred with the President of the State Federation, persuaded him to repudiate his former letter and to issue an appeal for the support of ratification. National leaders of both the Democratic and Republican Parties sent telegrams to legislators. Maine ratified on November 5—by a narrow margin of four votes.

After a long siege by the Woman’s Party on the Governor, North Dakota ratified in special session on December 1.

In the case of South Dakota, Governor Norbeck agreed to call a special session of the Legislature if the majority of the members would serve without mileage. Late in November, Alice Paul received a telegram from Governor Norbeck saying that the session would not be called as he was sixteen answers short of a majority who were willing to serve without expense to the State. Alice Paul immediately sent Anita Pollitzer to the Capitol to see Senator Sterling of South Dakota. Miss Pollitzer showed him Governor Norbeck’s telegram to Miss Paul and told him that the Suffragists would be greatly disappointed if the Republican Legislature of South Dakota refused to meet, and a Republican Governor refuse to call a special session. He agreed that was a political mistake and in Miss Pollitzer’s presence, sent telegrams to his law partner, the chief politician of the State, telling him to do everything possible to have a special session called; to the Chairman of the Republican State Committee, asking him to telegraph each member of the Legislature, urging him to answer the Governor’s appeal and to agree to come to the special session as the Governor had stipulated, at his own expense. Examining this situation superficially—or even closely—one would think that Miss Pollitzer had done everything that was possible. But there is no reckoning with Alice Paul. When Miss Pollitzer returned to Headquarters, Miss Paul said simply, “We can do more.”

That afternoon Miss Pollitzer visited Mr. McCarl, the Secretary of the Republican Congressional Committee in Washington, who sent telegrams to all the Republican leaders in the State, urging that they make clear to the Republican Governor and to the members of the Legislature the importance to the Republican Party of a good record on ratification. Three days later, a telegram came to Washington announcing that a majority, willing to serve at their own expense, had been secured. South Dakota ratified on December 4.