The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume V

by Unknown

The resolutions presented by Mrs. Helen Brewster Owens (N. Y.), chairman, were brief and to the point. They called on the Senate to pass immediately the joint resolution proposing an amendment to the National Constitution, which had been favorably reported; they urged President Wilson to adopt the submission of this amendment as an administration measure and to recommend it in his Message; they urged the Rules Committee of the House of Representatives to report favorably the proposition to create a Committee on Woman Suffrage; and they demanded legislation by Congress to protect the nationality of American women who married aliens.

Strong pressure had been made on the President to mention woman suffrage in his Message, his first to a regular session of Congress, but it was delivered on Tuesday, December 2, with no reference whatever to the subject. At the meeting of the convention that evening Dr. Shaw said with the manifest approval of the audience: "President Wilson had the opportunity of speaking a word which might ultimately lead to the enfranchisement of a large part of the citizens of the United States. Even Lincoln, who by a word freed a race, had not such an opportunity to release from bonds one-half of the human family. I feel that I must make this statement as broad as it is for the reason that we at Budapest this year realized as never before that womankind throughout the world looked to this country to blaze the way for the extension of universal suffrage in every quarter of the globe. President Wilson has missed the one thing that might have made it possible for him never to be forgotten. I am saying this on behalf of myself and my fellow officers."

The next morning Mrs. Ruth Hanna McCormick, a clever politician like her father, Mark Hanna, offered the following motion: "Since President Wilson omitted all mention of woman suffrage in his Message yesterday, and since he has announced that he will send several other messages to Congress outlining the measures which the administration will support, I move that this convention wait upon the President in order to lay before him the importance of the woman suffrage question and urge him to make it an administration measure and to send immediately to Congress the recommendation that it proceed with this measure before any other. I also move that a committee of two be appointed to make the arrangements with the President." The motion was unanimously carried and the Chair appointed Mrs. McCormick (Ills.) and Mrs. Breckinridge (Ky.) to arrange for the interview and for a committee of fifty-five, representing all the associations auxiliary to the National, to wait upon the President at his pleasure. To finish the story here—he expressed entire willingness to receive them but was not well enough to do so during the convention. Nearly a hundred of the delegates waited until the next Monday, December 8, when they met in the rooms of their Congressional Committee, a few blocks from the White House and marched two by two to the executive offices, attracting much attention, as this was the first time a President had ever received a woman suffrage delegation officially.[79] He met them cordially and gave them as much time as they desired. Dr. Shaw spoke as follows:

As president of the National Suffrage Association I have come with this delegation, authorized by the association, to present to you the object for which we are organized—to secure equal suffrage for the women citizens of the United States. We have made these pilgrimages to Washington for many, many years and committees have received us with graciousness and have listened to our arguments, but the difficulty is that they have not permitted our claims to come before Congress, so that body itself might act upon them. Our wish is that we may have a national constitutional amendment, enfranchising the women citizens and preventing the States from depriving them of representation in the Government. Since the Judiciary Committee has not reported our measure for many years and has not given the House an opportunity to discuss it we have asked that a special committee shall be appointed to consider it. The Senate some years ago did appoint a special committee and our question has been referred to it. We have appeared before it this year and it has again reported favorably. We hope that the administration of which you are the head may use its influence to bring the matter before the Senate and House.

We ask your assistance in one of two ways or in any other way which may appeal to your judgment: First of all that you shall send a special message to Congress to submit to the Legislatures of the States an amendment to the National Constitution enfranchising women citizens of the United States; if, however, this does not appeal to you, we ask that you will use the administration's influence on the Rules Committee to recommend the appointment in the Lower House of a committee corresponding with the Suffrage Committee in the Upper House, one which will have leisure to consider our subject and report on it.

We appeal to you in behalf of the women citizens of the country. Many of them have cast their ballots for the President already and have an influence in the Government; many are very eager to take an equal part and they appreciate the just manner in which since your administration began you have weighed public questions. Recognizing your splendid stand on the liberties and rights of the people, we appeal to you because we believe you will bring to ours that same spirit of justice which you have manifested toward other great issues.

The President gave close attention and in his answer seemed to weigh every word carefully:

I want you ladies, if I can make it clear to you, to realize just what my present situation is. Whenever I walk abroad I realize that I am not a free man; I am under arrest. I am so carefully and admirably guarded that I have not even the privilege of walking the streets alone. That is, as it were, typical of my present transference—from being an individual, free to express his mind on any and every subject, to being an official of a great government and incidentally, or so it falls out under the system of government, the spokesman of a party. I set myself this very strict rule when I was Governor of New Jersey and have followed and shall follow it as President—that I am not at liberty to urge upon Congress in messages policies which have not had the organic consideration of those for whom I am spokesman. In other words I have not yet presented to any Legislature my private views on any subject and I never shall, because I conceive it to be part of the whole process of government that I shall be spokesman for somebody, not for myself. To speak for myself would be an impertinence. When I speak for myself I am an individual; when I am spokesman of an organic body, I am a representative. For that reason, you see, I am by my own principles shut out, in the language of the street, from "starting anything." I have to confine myself to those things which have been embodied as promises to the people at an election. That is the strict rule I set for myself.

I want to say that with regard to all other matters I am not only glad to be consulted by my colleagues in the two Houses but I hope they will often pay me the compliment of consulting me when they want to know my opinion on any subject. One member of the Rules Committee did come to me and ask me what I thought about this suggestion of yours of appointing a Special Committee for the consideration of woman suffrage and I told him that I thought it was a proper thing to do. So that, so far as my personal advice has been asked by a single member of the committee it has been given to that effect. I wanted to tell you this to show that I am strictly living up to my principles. When my private opinion is asked by those who are cooperating with me, I am most glad to give it, but I am not at liberty until I speak for somebody besides myself to urge legislation upon the Congress.

The following conversation then took place: "May I ask you a question?" said Dr. Shaw. "Since we are not members of any political party, who is going to speak for us—there is no one to speak for us——" "I realize that," interjected the President, "——unless we speak for ourselves?" "And you do that very admirably," rejoined Mr. Wilson. A general laugh broke up the somewhat solemn occasion and as the delegates went away Dr. Shaw said exultingly: "He is in favor of a House Woman Suffrage Committee and that was our chief object in coming to see him."