"After the close of the morning business February 10, Senator Jones moved to take up the amendment. An extremely strong speech in its favor was made by the new Senator, William P. Pollock of South Carolina. The only other speeches were by Senator Frelinghuysen (N. J.), on the question of individual naturalization of women and by Senator Gay (La.) in opposition to the amendment. The vote taken early in the afternoon showed 55 in favor and 29 opposed. As on October 1, all the members who were not present to vote were accounted for by pairs, so that it stood practically 63 in favor to 33 opposed. In other words the amendment was lost in the 65th Congress by one vote. The responsibility for the defeat lies at the door of every man who voted against it. Analyzed by parties and including pairs, the vote on February 10, was:
| Yes | No | |
| Democrats | 30 | 21 |
| Republicans | 33 | 12 |
| Total | 63 | 33 |
"Thus the Democrats lost their last opportunity and on March 1 the resolution for the amendment was again favorably reported by the Woman Suffrage Committee of the Lower House to be acted upon by a Republican Congress." In commenting on this result Mrs. Park said: "While we are condemning the un-American stand of our opponents, we should never lose sight of the hard work done by many of the Senators who were our friends. There is not space here for the record of all who helped us but special mention should be made of one, the Hon. John F. Shafroth, who will not be present to vote when victory comes in the next Congress. When our cause had only a handful of supporters in public life, he, then a member of the House, helped Miss Anthony bring the amendment forward, and from that time to the present his loyal and devoted service never flagged. Chairman Jones, Senators Ransdell, Hollis, Wesley Jones, Cummins and the other members of the Woman Suffrage Committee worked in constant cooperation with your committee. Among the others who were most frequently called on for help were Senators Curtis, Smoot, Walsh, Pittman, Lenroot, McNary, Hollis and Sheppard."
Mrs. Park spoke briefly of the hearing before the House Committee on Woman Suffrage April 29 on the bill granting to the Legislature of Hawaii the power to enfranchise its women. (See the chapter on Territories.) This bill had passed the Senate in September, 1918. On Jan. 3, it passed the House without a roll call.
Tribute to the association's Congressional Committee and other workers in Washington was paid by Mrs. Park, who said:
During the past fifteen months there have been several changes in the personnel of the committee, chief among them the resignation in September, 1918, of Miss Ruth White, whose gratuitous service as secretary had extended more than three years. She was succeeded by Mrs. Minnie Fisher Cunningham, but just as her marked gift for political work was making itself felt in Washington, the submission of a constitutional amendment in Texas made it necessary for her to return home in January, 1919. In August, 1918, the National Board appointed as a special congressional steering committee two women of widely known political acumen and experience, Miss Mary Garrett Hay of New York and Mrs. Guilford Dudley of Nashville, with Mrs. Catt and Mrs. Park ex officio. In October Mrs. Frank Roessing, who had been residing in Washington since the preceding April and thus had been able to give help from time to time, sent in her resignation. In November Miss Marjorie Shuler was added to the committee as secretary in charge of publicity, a designation that by no means expresses the varied duties which have fallen to her lot or the extent to which she has proved of service. To Mrs. Helen H. Gardener a new title, that of vice-chairman of the Congressional Committee, has been recently given by the National Board.... Her work can rarely be reported because of its confidential nature, but this may truly be said, that whenever a miracle has appeared to happen in our behalf, if the facts could be told they would nearly always prove that Mrs. Gardener was the worker of wonders....
Other members of the Congressional Committee who have been in Washington for the whole or a part of the period covered by this report are, in addition to its chairman, Miss Mabel Caldwell Willard, chairman of the social activities; Mrs. George Bass and Mrs. Medill McCormick, representing respectively the organizations of Democratic and Republican women affiliated with the national party committees; Mrs. J. Borden Harriman, Mrs. C. W. McClure and Mrs. William L. McPherson. No report of the Washington headquarters would be complete without mention of the help given in innumerable ways by our house manager, Mrs. Elizabeth W. Walker, whose patience, tact and good judgment have made comfortable living possible under the most trying circumstances.
Members of the National Board who have been called on to assist are first and foremost our honorary president, Dr. Shaw; Mrs. Katharine Dexter McCormick and Mrs. Horace C. Stilwell of Indiana. Upon Mrs. Catt, the national president, your committee has constantly depended for advice and direction. Our misfortune has been that we could not have her continually in Washington.
To these a list of names was added of those who assisted during long or short periods. There was an account of the social uses of the Washington headquarters. In January, February and March of 1918 Miss Willard, with the help of Mrs. Louis Brownlow, arranged a series of weekly teas on Wednesday afternoons. Among the hostesses, the guests of honor and those serving at the table were some of the most prominent women in Washington—wives of the members of the Cabinet, Senators and Representatives. Social affairs were finally given up as war relief work absorbed other interests. Under the direction of Mrs. Brownlow, daughter of Representative Sims (Tenn.) and wife of the Chief Commissioner for the District of Columbia, the Washington Equal Franchise League established a Red Cross Branch at headquarters, where valuable work was done by suffragists. Several entertainments for the benefit of the Oversea Hospitals were given at the house and over $1,000 raised.
At the close of this report the convention gave a rising vote of thanks to Mrs. Park and a number of delegates paid special tribute to the excellent work of the chairman and the committee. A discussion which followed by Miss Katharine Ludington (Conn.); Mrs. Andreas Ueland (Minn.); Miss Anna B. Lawther (Iowa); Mrs. Lila Mead Valentine (Va.) and Mrs. Leslie Warner (Tenn.), under the head "And Now—What?" was devoted to ways and means for carrying the Federal Amendment. A number of conferences were held to consider various phases of the work of the association which had become all-embracing. The one on How to do Political Work for Suffrage was led by a past-master in it, Miss Hay. One on How to use our Organization to Win was under the direction of Mrs. Shuler. The conference of press workers was in charge of Miss Young. Why We Did Not Win was told by Mrs. Lydia Wickliffe Holmes, president of the Woman Suffrage Party of Louisiana, referring to the defeat of the State suffrage amendment; Why We Did Win, by Mrs. Ben Hooper, president of the Wisconsin association, describing the gaining of the Presidential franchise. There were reports by the State presidents of the work that had been done by women during the year throughout the country for the war, for suffrage, for civic improvement.