The State convention was held in Philadelphia Nov. 30, 1915. As amendments to the State constitution can be submitted only once in five years, the delegates reconsecrated themselves to a new campaign at the end of that time. At a conference held in Harrisburg in the spring of 1916 47 counties were represented and an inspiring address was made by Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, now national president. An intercounty rally at Somerset in July was attended by 500 suffragists from ten counties and a State suffrage flag was adopted. The annual convention was held in Williamsport, November 21-24, and the delegates were unanimous in their desire to continue preparations for another campaign. Mrs. George B. Orlady was elected president.
As Philadelphia is the center of population in the State, the financial center, has the largest number of newspapers and is more accessible than Harrisburg, State headquarters were moved to that city June 1, 1917. Upon the entrance of the United States into the World War the association without a day's delay offered the services of its members and the facilities of its organization to the Government. State officers, county chairmen and suffragists in the ranks served on the Council of National Defense, on Liberty Loan Committees, in the various "drives" and wherever needed. Mrs. John O. Miller, State vice-president, was appointed by Secretary of the Treasury McAdoo a member of the National Woman's Liberty Loan Committee and also served as State Chairman. Pennsylvania contributed $20,573 to the Women's Oversea Hospitals, maintained by the National Suffrage Association, $11,397 of which were raised in Pittsburgh at an outdoor fête of which Mrs. Leonard G. Wood was chairman. The State convention was held in this city November 20-22 and Mrs. Miller was elected president. In the hope that the U. S. Senate would submit the Federal Suffrage Amendment the convention for 1918 was delayed from month to month and finally was held in Philadelphia April 9, 10, 1919. Mrs. Miller was re-elected. On November 10, 11, the amendment having been submitted, the 51st and last State convention was held in Philadelphia.[156] The historic Pennsylvania Woman Suffrage Association was disbanded and the League of Women Citizens was organized, to become the League of Women Voters when the women of Pennsylvania were enfranchised. This name was adopted Nov. 18, 1920, and Mrs. Miller was elected chairman for two years.
Legislative Action. After a lapse of 26 years a second attempt was made in 1911 under Mrs. Anna M. Orme, as legislative chairman, to secure a resolution to refer to the voters a woman suffrage amendment to the State constitution. The Joint Committee of the Judiciary, to which it was referred, after giving a hearing to the suffragists, sent it to a special commission which had been appointed to revise the election laws.
1912. Miss Lida Stokes Adams was legislative chairman when this commission gave an all day hearing March 22 at City Hall, Philadelphia, but took no action. This hearing was preceded by a mass meeting on the 20th in Witherspoon Hall. An effort was made to get an endorsement from the State political conventions. Miss Mary E. Bakewell of the Western Equal Franchise Federation appeared before the Republican convention May 1; Mrs. Mabel Cronise Jones, Miss Adams and Miss Bakewell addressed the Democratic convention May 7, and both gave approval. The Keystone and Prohibition party conventions also heard suffrage speakers and adopted favorable resolutions. For the first time all of the 880 candidates for the Legislature were interviewed by a letter as to submitting the question to the voters and 283 gave affirmative answers.
1913. This year the referendum measure passed after a bitter contest. Twice when the resolution came up in the Senate the motion to postpone was avoided on a tie vote by Lieutenant Governor Reynolds, the first time in thirteen years that the president of the Senate had voted on any question. On the final vote the majority of one was only secured by the labor leader, Steve McDonald of Lackawanna county, who forced its Senator, Walter McNichols, to represent his constituents. Senators Edwin M. Herbst, Edward E. Beidleman (later Lieutenant Governor) and James P. McNichol maintained the strongest opposition. Miss Adams, the legislative chairman, and Mrs. Roessing, the State president, did the greater part of the work at Harrisburg. The association was indebted to Representative Frank G. Rockwell and Senator A. W. Powell for their skill in handling this measure. The vote in the Lower House, February 5 was 131 ayes, 70 noes.
1915. A proposed amendment to the constitution must be passed by two Legislatures. Mrs. Roessing and Miss Hannah J. Patterson, organization chairman, carried on the lobby work in 1915 and it passed the House on February 9 by 130 ayes, 71 noes. In the Senate on March 15 a great gain was registered, as 37 Senators voted aye and only 11 voted no. The amendment was defeated at the election in November.
1916. The passage of an Enabling Act by the Legislature of 1917 being the first step toward a referendum in 1921, the work of the State Suffrage Association in 1916 was concentrated as never before on the legislative candidates. Practically every one was interviewed personally or by letter and before the November election reports on 40 of the 50 Senators and all but ten of the 207 members of the House had been made. Senator Boies Penrose was visited in Washington by Mrs. George B. Orlady and Mrs. John O. Miller, president and vice-president of the State Suffrage Association. He said he would help and authorized these officers to quote him in the public press. On October 9 the Republican State Committee meeting in Philadelphia refused a hearing to the Suffrage Board and took no action, despite the favorable assurances of Senator Penrose and of State Senator William E. Crow, its chairman. On December 28 Governor Martin G. Brumbaugh promised Mrs. Miller to secure the passage of the desired Enabling Act.
1917. Mrs. Miller led the work when the Legislature convened in January, 1917, and Mrs. Antoinette Funk, Mrs. Lewis L. Smith and Mrs. Harriet L. Hubbs were members of the Legislative Committee. County chairmen of the suffrage association brought continuous pressure on their legislators; 270 powerful labor organizations in the State signed petitions with their official seal and a petition with the names of 56,000 individual men and women was unrolled on the floor of the House. Every legislator received a special petition signed by 445 of the most prominent men in the State, a copy of Dr. Shaw's biography, the Story of a Pioneer, and weekly copies of the Woman's Journal. Mrs. Funk had an interview with Senator Penrose at Washington with one of the most prominent members of the Republican party present. The Enabling Act was introduced in the House early in January but at the request of Senator Penrose the vote was delayed from time to time and finally took place April 17. The preceding day 121 men were listed as favorable, 104 being the required constitutional majority. When the vote was taken only 101 answered "aye."
Forty-eight hours before the vote the liquor lobby, represented by Neil Bonner, David Hardy, James P. Mulvihill and George W. Boyd, made a concentrated effort to defeat the measure. It was understood that 150 men were employed for this purpose and that the pressure brought upon the legislators was tremendous. Although other lobbyists had been denied the privilege of going on the floor of the House Mr. Boyd was always permitted to do so and he announced to Mrs. Funk a few minutes before the vote was taken that he had the bill defeated by six votes. Speaker Richard J. Baldwin moved a verification of the roll immediately in order that no man voting in the affirmative could change his vote and ask for a reconsideration. A bill granting Presidential suffrage to women was introduced in the House May 28 but never reported from committee. From 1913 to 1917, Robert K. Young, State Treasurer, rendered inestimable assistance by the closest cooperation with the Legislative Committees.
1918. Plans were at once made for continuing the effort. In 1918 the organization carried out a most efficient plan of interviewing every legislative candidate before the primaries on two questions: (1) Will you vote to ratify the Federal Suffrage Amendment? (2) Will you vote to submit to the voters an amendment to the constitution enfranchising the women of this State? After the November election 80 members of the House of Representatives for 1919 were favorably pledged in writing on both questions and 40 had given verbal pledges—16 more than the constitutional majority required. From the Senate 13 written and 18 verbal pledges had been secured, 5 more than necessary. There was practically no organized opposition to the referendum and probably many of the men who pledged themselves to vote for ratification felt that the Federal Amendment would not pass Congress. The gubernatorial candidates also had been followed up carefully. William C. Sproul and J. Denny O'Neil, of the rival Republican factions, both said in interviews and through the public press that they were ready to work for any measure which would ensure suffrage to Pennsylvania women. Judge Eugene C. Bonniwell, the Democratic candidate, did not answer any inquiries.