The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume V

by Unknown

When we met at St. Louis a year ago in the 50th annual convention of our association, we knew that the end of our long struggle was near. We comprehended in a new sense the truth of Victor Hugo's sage epigram: "There is one thing more powerful than Kings and Armies—the idea whose time has come to move." We knew that the time for our idea was here, and as State after State has joined the list of the ratified we have seen our idea, our cause, move forward dramatically, majestically into its appropriate place as part of the constitution of our nation. We have not yet the official proclamation announcing that our amendment has been ratified by the necessary thirty-six States, but thirty-one have done so and another will ratify before we adjourn; three Governors have promised special sessions very soon and two more Legislatures will ratify when called together. There is no power on this earth that can do more than delay by a trifle the final enfranchisement of women.

The enemies of progress and liberty never surrender and never die. Ever since the days of cave-men they have stood ready with their sledge hammers to strike any liberal idea on the head whenever it appeared. They are still active, hysterically active, over our amendment; still imagining, as their progenitors for thousands of years have done, that a fly sitting on a wheel may command it to revolve no more and it will obey. They are running about from State to State, a few women and a few paid men. They dash to Washington to hold hurried consultations with senatorial friends and away to carry out instructions.... It does not matter. Suffragists were never dismayed when they were a tiny group and all the world was against them. What care they now when all the world is with them? March on, suffragists, the victory is yours! The trail has been long and winding; the struggle has been tedious and wearying; you have made sacrifices and received many hard knocks; be joyful to-day. Our final victory is due, is inevitable, is almost here. Let us celebrate to-day, and when the proclamation comes I beg you to celebrate the occasion with some form of joyous demonstration in your own home State. Two armistice days made a joyous ending of the war. Let two ratification days, one a National and one a State day, make a happy ending of the denial of political freedom to women!

Our amendment was submitted June 4, 1919, and to-day, eight months and eight days later, it has been ratified by thirty-one States. No other amendment made such a record but the time is not the significant part of the story. Of the thirty-one ratifications twenty-four have taken place in special sessions. These mean extra cost to the State, opportunity for other legislation and the chance of political intrigue for or against the Governor who calls them. These obstacles have been difficult to overcome, far more difficult than most of you will ever know, and in a few instances well-nigh insurmountable, but the point to emphasize to-day is that they were overcome. As a whole the ratifications have moved forward in splendid triumphal procession. There have been many inspiring incidents of daring and clever moves on the part of suffragists to speed the campaign and there have been many incidents of courage, nobility of purpose and proud scorn of the pettiness of political enemies on the part of Governors, legislators and men friends. On the other hand there have been tricks, chicanery and misrepresentation, but let us forget them all. Victors can afford to be generous.

Referring to the cost of special sessions, Mrs. Catt said:

If the Governor is a Republican tell him that had it not been that two Republican Senators, Borah of Idaho and Wadsworth of New York, refused to represent their States as indicated by votes at the polls, resolutions by their Legislatures and planks in their party platforms, the suffrage amendment would have passed the 65th Congress. It then would have come into the regular sessions of forty-two Legislatures with more than thirty-six pledged to ratify and without a cent of extra cost to any State! When a Republican Governor calls an extra session in order to ratify he merely atones for the conduct of two members of his own party. They, not he, are to blame that it became necessary. If the Governor is Democratic say that had it not been for two northern Democratic Senators, Pomerene of Ohio and Hitchcock of Nebraska, who refused to represent their States on the question as indicated by their Legislatures and platforms, Congress would have sent the amendment to the 1919 Legislatures and it would have cost the States nothing. The Democratic Governor who calls a special session only makes honorable amends for the misrepresentation of members of his own party....

We should be more than glad and grateful to-day, we should be proud—proud that our fifty-one years of organized endeavor have been clean, constructive, conscientious. Our association never resorted to lies, innuendoes, misrepresentation. It never accused its opponents of being free lovers, pro-Germans and Bolsheviki. It marched forward even when its forces were most disorganized by disaster. It always met argument with argument, honest objection with proof of error. In fifty years it never failed to send its representatives to plead our cause before every national political convention, although they went knowing that the prejudice they would meet was impregnable and the response would be ridicule and condemnation. It went to the rescue of every State campaign for half a century with such forces as it could command, even when realizing that there was no hope. In every corner it sowed the seeds of justice and trusted to time to bring the harvest. It has aided boys in high school with debates and later heard their votes of "yes" in Legislatures. Reporters assigned to our Washington conventions long, long ago, took their places at the press table on the first day with contempt and ridicule in their hearts but went out the last day won to our cause and later became editors of newspapers and spoke to thousands in our behalf. Girls came to our meetings, listened and accepted, and later as mature women became intrepid leaders.

In all the years this association has never paid a national lobbyist, and, so far as I know, no State has paid a legislative lobbyist. During the fifty years it has rarely had a salaried officer and even if so she has been paid less than her earning capacity elsewhere. It has been an army of volunteers who have estimated no sacrifice too great, no service too difficult.

Mrs. Catt enumerated some of the immortal pioneer suffragists and said: "How small seems the service of the rest of us by comparison, yet how glad and proud we have been to give it. Ours has been a cause to live for, a cause to die for if need be. It has been a movement with a soul, a dauntless, unconquerable soul ever leading onward. Women came, served and passed on but others took their places.... How I pity the women who have had no share in the exaltation and the discipline of our army of workers! How I pity those who have not felt the grip of the oneness of women struggling, serving, suffering, sacrificing for the righteousness of woman's emancipation! Oh, women, be glad today and let your voices ring out the gladness in your hearts! There will never come another day like this. Let joy be unconfined and let it speak so clearly that its echo will be heard around the world and find its way into the soul of every woman of every race who is yearning for opportunity and liberty still denied...."

After this inspiring address the convention was turned into a jollification meeting for a considerable time until the delegates were tired out by their enthusiasm and composed themselves to receive a telegram of greeting from President Woodrow Wilson addressed to Mrs. Catt: "Permit me to congratulate your association upon the fact that its great work is so near its triumphant end and that you can now merge it into a League of Women Voters to carry on the development of good citizenship and real democracy; and to wish for the new organization the same wise leadership and success." On motion of Mrs. McCormick it was voted that "the gratitude of the convention be expressed to the President for his constant cooperation and help, with deep regret for his illness." On motion of Miss Mary Garrett Hay, second vice-president, the convention authorized a letter of appreciation to be sent to the Governors of States that had ratified the Federal Amendment and telegrams to those who had not called special sessions strongly urging them to do so.[123] This was made especially emphatic to Governor Louis F. Hart of Washington, the only equal suffrage State which had not ratified. [The session was called and the Legislature ratified unanimously March 22, leaving but one more to be gained.]

At the evening session the Recommendations were considered as presented by the Executive Council, which consisted of the president of the association, officers, board of directors, chairmen of standing and special committees, presidents of affiliated organizations and one representative of each society which paid dues on 1,500 or more members. After discussion and some amendment they were adopted as follows: