A bill was presented this year to relieve women from the death penalty, on the ground that since they had not the full privileges of men they should not suffer equal punishment. The measure was ably supported, but failed to pass.
In 1888 the Municipal Suffrage Bill was presented in the Senate by Charles Coggeshall, and in the Assembly by Danforth E. Ainsworth. A hearing in the Senate Chamber on February 15 was addressed by Mrs. Blake, Mrs. Rogers and the Rev. Anna Garlin Spencer of Rhode Island. The bill was lost in the Senate by a tie vote, 15 ayes, 15 noes; in the House by 48 ayes, 61 noes.
Laws were enacted at this session providing that there shall be women physicians in all State insane asylums where women are patients; and also that there shall be at least one woman trustee in all public institutions where women are placed as patients, paupers or criminals.
In 1889 the Municipal Suffrage Bill was again presented in the Assembly by Mr. Ainsworth, but it was lost by 56 ayes, 43 noes, not a constitutional majority.
In 1890 the Municipal Suffrage Bill was presented by Speaker Husted, but was defeated by 47 ayes, 52 noes.
In 1891 no legislative work was attempted beyond the efforts toward securing a representation of women in the Constitutional Convention, which it was supposed would be held at an early date.
In 1892 an act was passed to enable women to vote for County School Commissioners, which received the signature of Gov. Roswell P. Flower.
This year a Police Matron Bill was obtained which was made mandatory in cities of 100,000 and over. This bill had been passed several times before and vetoed, but it finally obtained the Governor's signature. Even then the Police Commissioners of New York refused to appoint matrons until the matter was taken up by the Woman Suffrage League of that city. This was the end of a ten years' struggle on the part of women to secure police matrons in all cities. Most active among the leaders were Mrs. Mary T. Burt, Mrs. Abby Hopper Gibbons and Mrs. Josephine Shaw Lowell, backed by the W. C. T. U., the Prison Reform, the Suffrage and various other philanthropic and religious societies.
In 1892 Hamilton Willcox, who had worked untiringly in the Legislature for many years, had a bill introduced in the Assembly to give a vote to self-supporting women. It was referred to the Judiciary Committee, but met with general disfavor. Mrs. Howell being in the Assembly Chamber with friends one evening, three of its members invited her to go to their committee room and draw up a bill for Full Suffrage, telling her they would report it favorably in place of the Working Woman's Bill. This she did and the new bill was at once reported. The next week she gave every moment to working with the members for it, aided by General Husted, Mr. Willcox and William Sulzer. On Friday morning, one week from the day the bill was reported, it came to the final vote and passed by 70 ayes, only 65 being required for the constitutional majority. Excitement ran high at this success and ten minutes were given for congratulations to Mrs. Howell by friends and foes alike. The Monday following she carried the bill from the Engrossing Committee to the Senate. Only three days of the session were left and the committee held no more meetings, so she saw separately each member of the Judiciary Committee and all gave a vote in favor of considering the bill. Mr. Sheehan was now Lieutenant-Governor and presiding officer of the Senate and would allow no courtesies to Mrs. Howell, but one senator, Charles E. Walker, arranged for her to see every member, and she secured the promise of 18 votes, 17 being required. On Thursday evening, although Senator Cornelius R. Parsons made many attempts to secure recognition, the bill was not allowed to come before the Senate. There was every reason to believe Governor Flower would have signed it.[389]
In 1893 Mrs. Cornelia H. Cary worked for a bill providing that on all boards of education one person out of five should be a woman, but it failed to pass. The measure making fathers and mothers joint guardians of their children, so often urged, became a law this year chiefly through the efforts of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union of Buffalo, which had been hampered constantly in its efforts to care for helpless children by the interference of worthless fathers.[390]