In January, 1893, it was voted to petition the Legislature that women be allowed to vote on a constitutional amendment affecting their property rights. A special effort was made in petition work both for Congress and the Legislature. In one small village where forty-two signatures were obtained, only four persons refused to sign. In May Dr. Merritt was unanimously elected president of the association, and remained in office until her death in 1900. At this meeting a statement was made that in Massachusetts there were from 105,000 to 110,000 families with widows or single women as heads, not represented by one vote. In December a committee was appointed to confer with the legislative committee of the State School Suffrage Association to secure an extension of the time (then only two or three days) which was allotted to the registration of women.
At the legislative hearing in January, 1894, petitions were presented by this association from seven counties, covering twenty-one towns. At this date 186 women were reported as holding office, eleven being district superintendents of schools. The following May the registration laws were so changed that women have since had the same time as men in which to register. Under the present law, the assessors in their regular rounds are required to take the names of women voters having the same residence as on a previous voting list. These are then entered on the register for the ensuing campaign without further trouble.
In September, 1895, a special meeting was called to decide how best to help the work for the referendum which had been submitted by the Legislature in order to ascertain how many women desired to vote. Twenty-five dollars were appropriated toward defraying the expenses of the State committee appointed to conduct this campaign.
In 1896 much time was spent on measures helpful to women and children. One of these was to secure the early closing of stores, the result being that through the entire summer all the principal stores in Boston were closed at 5 p. m. every day, and on Saturdays at 12 M., as they have been each summer since.
House Bill 625 of 1896 started with a most innocent appearance under the title, "A bill to enlarge the powers of the police commissioners of Boston." In reality it asked that the powers of the police force be so extended as to allow them to issue permits for the keeping of houses of ill-repute, with authority for their inspection and control. Other organizations joined this one in opposition, with the result that the bill was defeated.
The association also advocated "A bill to prohibit child insurance," on account of the injury done to families by absorbing the means which should be expended for food, clothes and other necessaries in the payment of policies. It was considered, moreover, in the nature of a premium for child murder by neglect.
The most interesting event of 1898 was the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the first woman's rights convention. Dr. Merritt spoke of the rise of the movement, saying that 1848 was as marked an epoch in the rights of women as was 1776 in the rights of men. Miss Hatch's paper gave the trend of events previous to the Seneca Falls Convention, showing that these molded public sentiment and gave rise to the calling of this memorable meeting. Speeches, letters from absent members and a roll of honor, each giving the name of an old worker and adding appropriate remarks, followed.
In addition to the usual petitions was one to Congress in behalf of the Hawaiian women. A protest was also sent against the admission to Congress of Brigham H. Roberts of Utah, a polygamist and an enemy to woman suffrage.
Since 1884 this association has held 128 public meetings. It has been represented by active working delegates at every convention of the National Association since becoming an auxiliary in 1882. The recording secretary has held that office for seventeen years, never having been absent from a monthly meeting unless because of illness or attendance at the national conventions. She has been a delegate to the latter for fourteen years.
This association did much pioneer press work. From its first session a report of the same, with items made up of whatever had occurred in any part of the world advantageous to woman's advancement since the previous meeting, has appeared next day in the leading Boston dailies, with scarcely an omission during the eighteen years.