Graphic accounts were given of the successful campaign in Washington, where the amendment was carried in every county, by Mrs. Caroline M. Smith of Seattle, Mrs. E. A. Shores of Tacoma and Mrs. May Arkwright Hutton of Spokane; and of the one in California by Mrs. Elizabeth Lowe Watson, president of the State Suffrage Association, and J. H. Braly, president of the Political Equality League. Later Miss Frances Wills of Los Angeles; Miss Florence Dwight of Pasadena; Mrs. Mary E. Ringrose, Mrs. Mary S. Sperry of San Francisco, former State president, and Mrs. Rose French were introduced. Mrs. Watson in an eloquent address showed how their success was the culmination of the campaign of 1896 and the result of the years of hard and constant work between that time and the present.
When Mr. Braly began speaking he presented, the association with the State flag of California, saying: "The grizzly bear is the king of all American beasts. On the flag, you see, he has a beautiful golden star above his head—the star of hope that brought our Pilgrim fathers across the sea finally coming to rest over the Golden State. There that star of hope and progress and freedom hung for more than sixty years, until Oct. 10, 1911, when it flamed forth with a wondrous brilliancy and started all the bells of heaven ringing." He predicted that Oregon, Arizona and Nevada would soon follow the example of California and said: "Then the star will cross the Rocky Mountains and in will come the States of the Middle West!" Continuing the story the speaker said:
In January, 1910, the last meeting of the last suffrage society in Southern California was held in the parlor of the Angeles Hotel in the city of Los Angeles. The women were discouraged and dispirited. I rode home alone in my car, my heart weeping and praying a prayer ten miles long, that being the distance to my home in Pasadena. That night I had a vision. I saw in panorama a future glory of my beloved State. I saw well-kept cities and churches filled with devout worshippers; I saw thousands of bright-faced, happy children going to clean schoolhouses and romping and laughing in their playgrounds. I saw, oh, so many sweet and happy homes! I saw no saloons, no drunken men, no places of vice. I saw men and women, husbands and wives, going up to the ballot booths, laughing and chatting as they went and placing their ballots in the boxes. Everything seemed beautiful. The vision passed and I said to myself, "There it is—the women of California will have the ballot and the blessings and glory will follow."
Now we come to the beginning of the movement that has had much to do in the enfranchisement of the women of California. I trust you will entirely lose sight of the speaker and see only the great cause away out in the West. A man sat in his room one night with pencil and paper before him. He began to write names of big men who ought to take an interest in the pending suffrage campaign. He wrote down about one hundred names and the next day started out alone to see them. Then followed two months of patient, personal work and about seventy good men and true had signed the league membership form, which read as follows: "The undersigned hereby associate themselves together under the name and style of the Political Equality League of California for the purpose of securing political equality and suffrage without distinction on account of sex." On April 5, 1910, they met around a banquet table and organized the league. Then followed earnest, enthusiastic, impromptu speaking by many of the members....
Mr. Braly told of going to Washington to the national convention, visiting suffrage headquarters in New York and returning home in June, when "immediately the league's Board of Governors, consisting of nine men, met and proceeded to add to it nine splendid women. Headquarters were fitted up and business began." He described the vigorous work of their Legislative Committee with the result that every member from the nine southern counties went to the Legislature pledged to vote for submitting a suffrage amendment.
Saturday morning was partly occupied by a conference on How to Reach the Uninterested, in which fifteen members from as many States took an animated part; and by one on Propaganda, led by Mrs. Grace Gallatin Seton (Conn.) and Miss Mary Winsor (Penn.). Throughout all the daytime sessions valuable and interesting reports on the work in the different States were read. The proposed new constitution was vigorously discussed whenever the time permitted. The delegation from Illinois came with a request that the national headquarters be removed to Chicago but the convention decided to have them remain in New York.
The College Equal Suffrage League held a business meeting in the Seelbach Hotel at ten o'clock followed by a luncheon for college and professional women. The president of the League, Dr. M. Carey Thomas, president of Bryn Mawr College, was toast mistress and Dr. Shaw and Miss Jane Addams were guests of honor. One especially enjoyable feature was Miss Anita C. Whitney's account of the excellent work done by the College League of California in the recent campaign. [For all the above California reports see chapter for that State in Volume VI.]
The report of the National Congressional Committee by its chairman, Miss Emma M. Gillett, a lawyer of Washington, D. C., showed a decided advance in political work over all preceding years. She had placed on her committee Mrs. Upton, Mrs. Elizabeth King Ellicott (Md.), Miss Mary Gray Peck (N. Y.), Mrs. Katharine Reed Balentine (Me. and Cal.) and Miss Belle Kearney (Miss.). State presidents were invited to cooperate and lists of the nominees for Congress in their States were sent to them. The Democratic National Committee furnished the names of its nominees; the Republican National Committee practically refused to do so. Letters asking their opinion on woman suffrage were sent to 378 Democratic and 293 Republican candidates; 135 of the former and 88 of the latter answered; 93 Democrats and 65 Republicans were in favor of full or partial suffrage for women; 13 of the former and one of the latter were opposed; 29 and 23 non-committal. The letters received were almost without exception of a pleasant nature. The District Suffrage Association paid a stenographer and rent of headquarters for the work of sixteen months. Contributions of only $214 were received for it, $100 from U. S. Senator Isaac Stevenson of Wisconsin.
The report on official endorsements of conventions showed the usual large number, political, religious, agricultural, labor, etc. Mrs. Dennett estimated that such endorsements had now been given by organizations representing 26,000,000 members.
Mrs. Pauline Steinem, chairman of the Committee on Education, reported sub-committees in sixteen States working for suitable text books, encouraging the placing of women on school boards, organizing mothers' and parents' clubs, offering prizes for essays on woman suffrage, encouraging methods of self-government in schools, etc. The chairman for New Jersey announced that Governor Woodrow Wilson approved of School suffrage and that State Senator Joseph S. Frelinghuysen, president of the State Board of Education, recommended it in his last report.