The Judiciary Committee as usual referred the Amendment to a sub-committee. Anne Martin lobbied the members of the sub-committee and in consequence of this pressure, the sub-committee on February 9, voted the report out—although without recommendation, to the full committee which would meet on February 15.
At this meeting, by a vote of nine to seven, the Judiciary Committee referred the Suffrage Resolution back to the sub-committee with instructions to hold it until December 14—nearly a year off. This was an unusual thing to do. After a sub-committee has reported a measure to the committee, it is customary to allow at least a week to elapse before it is acted upon, so that the members who are absent may be present when the committee, as a whole, votes upon it. There is a gentleman’s agreement to this effect.
In her Revelations of a Woman Lobbyist, in McCall’s Magazine, Maud Younger thus describes the meeting of February 15:
The day ended as discouragingly as it had begun and I reported the situation to Mr. John Nelson, of Wisconsin, the only man on the committee who showed genuine enthusiasm.
“Your Amendment can’t come up tomorrow,” he assured me. “There’s a gentleman’s agreement that no action shall be taken on a bill for a week after the sub-committee reports it out. The matter lies over so that the members may be notified to be present. Your Amendment will come up next week.”
Relying on this reprieve, I felt no apprehension when Anne and I went to the Capitol next morning. Standing in the anteroom of the Judiciary Committee’s chamber, we watched the members passing through. The committee went into executive session and the door closed.
“There’s the gentleman’s agreement,” I said to Anne. “Nothing can happen.”
“No,” she answered meditatively.
We waited. An hour passed and Mr. Carlin came out. He walked close to Anne and said with a laugh as he passed her, “Well, we’ve killed Cock Robin.”
“Cock Robin?” said Anne, puzzled, looking after him.