A report that was heard with the deepest interest was that of the Oversea Hospitals in France, by Mrs. Raymond Brown, general director, and Mrs. Charles L. Tiffany, chairman of the committee. This had been a very important part during the past two years of the work of the association, which had raised $133,000 for its maintenance. [See the chapter on War Work.]
When it had been arranged to hold the convention the last week in March, 1919, it was supposed that the Federal Suffrage Amendment would have been submitted by Congress by that time, as it had passed the Lower House early in January. It seemed especially appropriate that this jubilee convention could celebrate this event on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the founding of the National Association for the sole purpose of obtaining this amendment but to the keen disappointment of its leaders and members two obdurate Senators had spoiled this beautiful plan. Its success, however, was so universally conceded that it was decided to hold the semi-centennial celebration and the afternoon of March 26 was dedicated to this purpose and to the honoring of the early leaders. Fifty Years of Ever Widening Empire was the motto at the head of the program. The tribute to the Pioneers of the National Association was paid by Mrs. Rachel Foster Avery, for twenty-one years from 1881 the corresponding secretary of the association and closely associated with Lucretia Mott, Mrs. Stanton, Miss Anthony and the other pioneers almost from her girlhood. To Miss Anthony she was like a daughter and she gave a touching account of her personal relations with these noble leaders. Miss Alice Stone Blackwell drew from her stores of memory a wealth of incidents of the lives of her parents and the eminent men and women who were associated with them in founding the American Woman Suffrage Association, also begun in 1869. A resolution offered by Mrs. Desha Breckinridge was enthusiastically adopted—that "we owe an undying and inextinguishable debt to Henry B. and Lucy Stone Blackwell for their great service in behalf of suffrage for women but believe their greatest gift was their daughter, who has kept us true to the trust which they committed to the care of their followers."
Mrs. Catt, who always had an eye to the practical and who was on the program to urge the members of the united associations to Finish the Fight, soon yielded her time to Miss Hay, the noted money-raiser, whose subject was, Make the Map White. In a very short time the delegates had shown their appreciation of the pioneers by subscribing $120,000, the whole amount of the "budget" for the work of the coming year. Dr. Shaw then closed the afternoon's services with reminiscences of her forty years' companionship with the workers in both associations. "The suffragist who has not been mobbed," she said, "has nothing really interesting to look back upon." She spoke of the last national convention which Miss Anthony ever attended, in 1906 at Baltimore, and how she had set her heart on a grand triumph for the cause in that old, conservative city, describing how her hopes had been realized in the most successful one from every point of view that ever had been held. And then she told with exquisite pathos how one month later Miss Anthony passed into eternal rest. Little did the listeners think that the next annual convention would hold memorial services for Dr. Shaw herself and for Mrs. Avery!
Throughout the week the meetings of the National Association alternated with the conferences for organizing the enfranchised women and the name officially decided on was League of Women Voters. A constitution for it was adopted and Mrs. Charles H. Brooks of Kansas was elected chairman. Mrs. Catt presented its first aims as outlined in her annual address and with some additions they were adopted. The addresses made by the chairmen of the war committees evinced statesmanship of a high order. The entire proceedings of the convention connected with this new organization are fully described in Mrs. Shuler's chapter on the League of Women Voters. There could be no greater contrast than between the firmness and authority of the speakers on this program and the pleading and argument of just as able women in earlier years for the opportunity and power to help in the solution of great national problems.
The large Odeon Theater was crowded on the evening of March 27 by an audience that heard with much interest the story of the recent campaigns for full and Presidential suffrage as told in the following program: The Indiana Irritation, Mrs. Richard E. Edwards; The Vermont Vortex, Mrs. Halsey W. Wilson; The Nebraska Nightmare, Mrs. W. E. Barkley; The South Dakota Sore Disasters, Mrs. John L. Pyle; The Michigan Mystery, Mrs. Myron B. Vorce; The Oklahoma Ordeal, Mrs. Nettie R. Shuler; The Texas Turmoil, Mrs. Minnie Fisher Cunningham; The Duty of Citizenship, Mrs. Raymond Robins; All Roads Lead to Rome, Dr. Shaw.
The report of the Leslie Bureau of Suffrage Education, made by its director, Miss Rose Young, filled eighteen pages of the printed Handbook and covered a vast field of activity which included service to 25,000 publications—2,500 dailies, 16,000 weeklies, 3,233 monthlies, a number issued fortnightly, quarterly, etc., and the large syndicates and press associations. In addition were the mimeographed news bulletins and the editorial service. An idea was given of the varied character of the material sent out and the immense amount furnished during the campaigns. A compliment was paid to the press work of Mrs. Rose Geyer, "whose task it is to collect the news, State by State, and distribute the parts of nation-wide interest through weekly bulletins, and who has by direct personal correspondence of an intimate and tactful kind trained State organization women to send in reports of conventions, political and legislative situations, candidates, etc." Many incidents were cited of important publicity, special editions of papers and display advertising. Six pages were devoted to the mission of the weekly official magazine, the Woman Citizen, and the way it had been fulfilled. A tribute was paid to its very able associate editor, Miss Mary Ogden White. The invaluable service of the Research Bureau, under the expert direction of Mrs. Mary Sumner Boyd, assisted by Miss Eleanor Garrison, was strongly set forth.
Mrs. Ida Husted Harper, who conducted the editorial correspondence, referred in her report to her full accounts in preceding years of the wide correspondence with editors. "The scope of the department was gradually enlarged," she said, "and many letters were sent to prominent people in reference to their speeches, interviews in newspapers and other public expressions. For instance, in the debates on the Federal Amendment in the Senate, whenever a speaker showed lack of correct information, a letter giving it was sent to him. Other letters also were sent to Senators and usually received courteous answers from themselves, not their secretaries." The report continued:
Several letters were written to Colonel Theodore Roosevelt urging him to use his influence with the Republican leaders and always were fully answered. A letter dictated and signed by him on January 3, 1919, enclosed one he had just sent to Senator Moses of New Hampshire, strongly urging him to cast his vote for the Federal Suffrage Amendment on the 10th. I received it on January 4 and he died the night of the 5th.
Letters were sent to Chairman Hays and members of the National Republican Committee and to different State chairmen on various points connected with the suffrage amendment. The pamphlet on the Difficulty of Amending State Constitutions, which was prepared and sent to every Senator, was put into the Congressional Record by Senator Shafroth, and a circular letter on the founding and record of the National Woman's Party by Senator Thomas. Scores of letters were sent out showing up the fallacies of the Anti-suffragists during the year; others exposing the connection of the German-American Alliance with the Antis; others giving historic information and still others telling of gains in our own and foreign countries.
During the first year I wrote to over 2,000 editors in the United States and Canada. At the end of that time, and after the New York victory, so many were in favor of woman suffrage itself that during 1918 the work was very largely concentrated on the Federal Amendment. In the two months from November, 1917, to January, 1918, when the vote was taken in the House of Representatives, 2,600 circular letters containing an argument for this amendment went out from this department to the principal newspapers of the United States and in addition 100 special articles were sent to the largest papers. After that vote was taken this record was kept up to obtain favorable action by the Senate and a second and different circular argument was sent to 2,000 papers. A carefully selected list of several hundred southern newspapers was furnished to Senator Morris Sheppard of Texas, to which he sent franked copies of his excellent speech on this amendment.