The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV

by Unknown

This year, in preparation for the election at which the woman suffrage amendment submitted by the Legislature of 1899 was to be voted on, 106 parlor meetings were held, 30,000 pieces of literature distributed, and the names and addresses of 30,000 voters in fourteen counties collected. Mrs. Duniway spoke by special invitation to a number of the various orders and fraternities of men throughout the State, most of whom indorsed the amendment. The usual headquarters were maintained during the Fair, under the management of Dr. Jeffreys.

Legislative Action: The Legislature, having changed its time of meeting from September in the even years to January in the odd ones, convened in 1895. Through the efforts of its leading members, a bill passed both Houses in February to submit again a woman suffrage amendment to the voters. The resolution proposing it was carried without debate in the House by 41 ayes—including that of Speaker Moore—11 noes. In the Senate the vote was 17 ayes, 11 noes. As Mrs. Abigail Scott Duniway was lecturing in Idaho, the State suffrage association was represented at this Legislature by its vice-president-at-large, Dr. Annice F. Jeffreys.

The meeting of the Legislature of 1897 found the women ready and waiting for the necessary ratification of the amendment; but the Solons of the non-emotional sex fell to quarreling among themselves over the United States senatorial plum and, being unable to agree on a choice of candidates, refused to organize for any kind of business, so another biennial period of public inactivity was enforced upon the suffragists.

The Legislature convened in January, 1899, and with it came the long-delayed opportunity. Mrs. Duniway and Dr. Jeffreys had charge of the Suffrage Amendment Bill. They were recognized by prominent members, and admitted by vote to the privileges of the floor in each House. Senator C. W. Fulton, who had distinguished himself as the champion of the amendment in 1880 and 1882, was requested by them to carry their banner to victory once more. He assured them that personally he was willing, but said so many bills on all sorts of side issues had been insisted upon by women that the members were not in a mood to listen to any more propositions from persons who had no votes.

The ladies did not press the matter, but for days they furnished short, pithy letters to the papers of the capital city, answering fully all of the usual objections to woman suffrage. They also sent an open letter to each member of the Legislature, explaining that this plea for equal rights was based wholly upon the fundamental principle of self-government, and not made in the interest of any one reform. In this were enclosed to every Republican member Clarkson on Suffrage in Colorado and Clara Barton's Appeal to Voters; to every Democrat her Appeal and some other document, taking care to keep off of partisan toes. At length Senators Fulton and Brownell, leaders in the Upper House, considered the time ripe for calling up the amendment, which was at once sent in regular order of business to the Lower House, where it was referred to the Judiciary Committee and—buried.

Finally Senator Fulton secured a request from the Senate that the bill be returned for further consideration, and a hearing was made a special order of business. The room was filled with ladies and Mrs. Duniway was asked to present the claims of the women of the State, over half of whom, through their various societies, had asked for the submission of the amendment. On the roll-call which followed the vote stood 25 ayes, one no.

The measure was made a special order of business in the House the same evening. The hall was crowded with spectators, Mrs. Duniway spoke ten minutes from the Speaker's desk, and the roll-call resulted in 48 ayes, 6 noes.

A feature of the proceedings was the presentation by one of the members, in a long speech, of a large collection of documents sent by the Anti-Suffrage Association of Women in New York and Massachusetts. The preceding autumn they had sent a salaried agent, Miss Emily P. Bissell of Delaware, to canvass the State against the bill.

The succeeding campaign was very largely in the nature of a "still hunt." Mrs. Ida Crouch Hazlett, of Colorado, held meetings for two months in counties away from the railroads and did effective work among the voters of the border. Miss Lena Morrow, of Illinois, also did good service for some time preceding election, in visiting the various fraternal associations of men in the city of Portland, by whom she was generally accorded a gracious hearing. These ladies represented the National Association.[411]

All went well until about two weeks before election day, June 6, 1900, and the measure in all probability would have carried had it not been for the slum vote of Portland and Astoria, which was stirred up and called out by the Oregonian, edited by H. W. Scott, the most influential newspaper in the State. It was the only paper, out of 229, which opposed the amendment. But notwithstanding its terrible onslaught, over 48 per cent. of all the votes which were cast upon the amendment were in its favor. Twenty-one out of the thirty-three counties gave handsome majorities; one county was lost by one vote, one by 23 and one by 31.