The congress opened with representatives from twenty-four affiliated National Associations and two Committees, those of Austria and Bohemia. The government of Norway sent as its official delegate Dr. Kristine Bonnevie. The list of delegates filled seven printed pages, the United States, the Netherlands and Sweden having the full quota of twelve delegates and twelve alternates, Germany lacking only three of the latter, while Great Britain, France, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Hungary had twelve or more. Six were present from Russia; Bulgaria, Servia, Switzerland, South Africa, Iceland and Canada had representatives. Of fraternal delegates from other organizations there was no end—about seventy men and women—among them members of five Men's Leagues for Woman Suffrage—in the United States, Great Britain, Netherlands, Hungary and Sweden. In addition to the spoken words letters and telegrams of greeting were read from societies and individuals in twelve different countries. The distinguished guests of the occasion were Dr. Selma Lagerlöf of Sweden, who had recently received the Nobel Literature Prize, and Miss Helena Westermarck of Finland, the eminent writer and publicist. Among prominent speakers were Mayor Carl Lindhagen and Ernest Beckman, M. P., the Rev. K. H. G. von Scheele, Bishop of Visby, and the Rev. Dr. Samuel Fries. The ushers and pages were women students of the universities.
On the Sunday afternoon preceding the convention the precedent of all past ages was broken when Dr. Anna Howard Shaw preached in the ancient State Church of Gusta Vasa. When the Swedish women asked for the use of the church they were told that this could be granted only to a minister of the same denomination but they learned that when a minister from another country was visiting Sweden the pastor of the church might invite him to occupy his pulpit at his discretion. The pastor said he would run the risk, knowing that he might incur the displeasure of the Bishop, and Dr. Shaw, therefore, felt a double responsibility. She could not enter the pulpit, however, but spoke from a platform in front of it. It was a never to be forgotten scene. The grand old church was crowded to the last inch of space, although admission was by ticket. Facing the chancel were the thirty famous women singers of Göteborg, their cantor a woman, and the noted woman organist and composer, Elfrida Andrée, who composed the music for the occasion. In the center of all was the little black-robed minister. It was said by many to be the most wonderful sermon of her life and after the service was over the pastor, with tears rolling down his cheeks, went up to her with hands outstretched and taking both of hers said: "I am the happiest man in Sweden." Sunday evening a reception was given at the Restaurant Rosenbad to the officers, presidents of national auxiliaries and Swedish Committee of Arrangements by its chairman, Mrs. Bertha Nordenson. At six o'clock excursions of many delegates had started to enjoy the long evening when the sun did not set till nearly midnight.
The official report of the first executive session Monday morning said: "Miss Janet Richards, delegate from the U. S. A., with an admirable speech, presented to the Alliance from the State which had recently given full suffrage to women a gavel bearing the inscription: "To the International W. S. A. from the Washington Equal Suffrage Association." It was announced that National Suffrage Associations had been formed in Iceland and Servia and they were gladly accepted as auxiliaries, bringing the number up to twenty-six. The municipality had contributed 3,000 crowns to the congress, which proved to be the largest ever held in Stockholm. Season tickets had been sold to 1,200 persons and other hundreds bought tickets to the various meetings. During the entire week the flags of the nations represented at the congress floated from the flagstaffs that lined the quay in front of the Grand Hotel facing the royal palace, as far as the eye could reach. All the time Mrs. Catt was in the city the American flag was run up for her as a public guest wherever she went and the Swedish colors dipped a salute.
The Congress was formally opened in the afternoon of June 12 with addresses of welcome from Miss Anna Whitlock, acting president of the National Suffrage Association of Sweden, and the Hon. Ernest Beckman, M. P., president of the National Swedish Liberal Association, and response from the Alliance was made by Miss Chrystal Macmillan of Great Britain, proxy for Mrs. Millicent Garrett Fawcett, its first vice-president. Miss Anna Kleman, president of the Stockholm suffrage society, then presented the beautiful white satin, gold embroidered Alliance banner, which was carried by six university students in white dresses with sashes of the Swedish colors. Mrs. Catt announced that the Alliance flag was now flying over the Grand Hotel where they were assembled. The banner was the gift of Miss Lotten von Kroemer, a pioneer suffragist of Sweden, and the flag of the resident Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Tea Co., U. S. A. A suffrage song written by K. G. Ossian-Nillson and the music composed by Hugo Alfven for the occasion was sung by the Women's Choir of Göteborg, after which an official delegate of the Government extended its greeting while the audience rose and the flags of the nations waved from the galleries. Mrs. Catt received an ovation as she came to the front of the platform to make her address. It filled twenty-three pages of the printed minutes and was a complete resumé of the early position of women, the vast changes that had been wrought and the great work which the Alliance was doing. Only a few quotations are possible:
In the recent debate on the bill in the Swedish Parliament a university professor said in a tone of eloquent finality: "The woman suffrage movement has reached and passed its climax; the suffrage wave is now rapidly receding." With patronizing air, more droll than he could know, the gentleman added: "We have permitted this movement to come thus far but we shall allow it to go no farther." Thus another fly resting upon the proverbial wheel of progress commanded it to turn no more. This man engages our attention because he is a representative of a type to be found in all our lands; wise men on the wrong side of a great question, modern Joshuas who command the sun to stand still and believe that it will obey.
Long centuries before the birth of Darwin an old-time Hindoo wrote: "I stand on a river's bank. I know not whence the waters come or whither they go. So deep and silent is its current that I know not whether it flows north or south; all is mystery to me; but when I climb yon summit the river becomes a silver thread weaving its length in and out among the hills and over the plains. I see it all from its source in yonder mountain to its outlet in yonder sea. There is no more mystery." So these university professors buried in school books, these near-sighted politicians, fail to note the meaning of passing events. To them the woman movement is an inexplicable mystery, but to us standing upon the summit of international union, where we may observe every manifestation of this movement in all parts of the world, there is no mystery. From its sources ages ago, amid the protests which we know barbaric women must have made against the cruel wrongs done their sex, we clearly trace its course through the centuries, moving slowly but majestically onward, gathering momentum with each century, each generation, until just before us lies the golden sea of woman's full liberty.
Mrs. Catt traced the progress of the ages until it culminated in the demand for political rights for women, told of the beginning of the Alliance and said: "Today, seven years later, our Alliance counts 26 auxiliary national associations. Are these evidences of a wave rapidly receding? It would be more in accordance with facts should we adopt the proud boast of the British Empire and say that the sun now never sets upon woman suffrage activities. The subscribing membership in the world has increased seven times in the past seven years and it has doubled since the London congress two years ago. Even in Great Britain, where the opposition declared at that time very confidently that the campaign had reached its climax, the National Union, our auxiliary, has tripled its individual membership, tripled its auxiliary societies and doubled its funds since then, and twelve independent suffrage societies have been organized. The membership and campaign funds have likewise tripled in the United States and every president of an auxiliary national society has reported increase in numbers, funds and activity.... No human power, no university professor, no Parliament, no government, can stay the coming of woman suffrage. It is a step in the evolution of society and the eternal verities are behind it.... Of the 24 nations represented in this congress the women of 15 have more political rights than they had seven years ago."
Mrs. Catt paid high tribute to the Scandinavian people and eulogized Fredrika Bremer, Sweden's great pioneer. In speaking of the progress in this country she said: "Municipal suffrage has now been extended to married women and eligibility to office to all women. Organizations exist in 170 towns, some of them north of the Arctic Circle; there is a paying membership of 12,000 and 1,550 meetings have been held in the last two years. Two political parties espouse the cause. Women may vote for town and county councils, which elect the Upper House of Parliament, and thirty-seven are serving on these councils." She referred eloquently to the honored Selma Lagerlöf and to Dr. Lydia Wahlstrom, the recent president of the National Suffrage Association, who had been crowned with a laurel wreath for her wisdom by the University of Upsala. She told of a questionnaire she had sent to the presidents of the national suffrage associations in all countries asking what were the indications that the woman suffrage movement was growing and said: "Such volumes of evidence of progress were received that it is quite impossible to give an idea of its far reaching character....[223]
At the official reception given by the National Suffrage Association of Sweden in the evening the guests were welcomed by Mrs. Ann Margret Holmgren and their appreciative responses were made by Mrs. Margaret Hodge, Australia; Miss Gabriella Danzerova, Bohemia; Mrs. Daisy Minor, Austria; Miss Helen Clay-Petersen, Denmark; Miss Annie Furuhjelm, Finland; Madam DeWitt Schlumberger, France; Dr. jur. Anita Augspurg, Germany; Mrs. Olga Ungar, Hungary; Mrs. Philip Snowden, Great Britain. These were followed by a cantata beautifully rendered by the Göteborg choir, words and music by women.
During the convention Lieutenant Colonel W. A. E. Mansfeldt of Holland made the report for its Men's League for Woman Suffrage; Dr. C. V. Drysdale for Great Britain; Jean du Breuil for France; Dr. Alexander Patai for Hungary; Frederick Nathan for the United States, and the founding of an International Men's League was announced with Colonel Mansfeldt secretary.
The reports of the work of the different branches and their discussion, bringing before the Alliance the experience and opinions of women from all parts of the world, were perhaps the most valuable feature of the conference. The most animated and vital of these discussions was the one of a political nature, divided into three parts: 1. What political work have the women of the enfranchised countries done, what is their relation to the different parties and how do these treat them? Have they any advice to offer? led by Miss Hodge, Mrs. Louise Keilhau, Norway; Dr. Tekla Hultin, M. P., Finland. 2. How can woman's political influence be brought to bear most effectively on Parliaments and governments? Led by Mrs. Snowden; Mrs. Anna B. Wicksell, Sweden; Dr. Käthe Schirmacher, Germany; Miss Richards. 3. What should be the relation of the suffrage movement to political parties in the unenfranchised countries? Led by Miss Eline Hansen, Denmark; Miss Rosika Schwimmer, Hungary; Madame Pichon, France; Mrs. Zeneide Mirovitch, Russia. There was a wide divergence of opinion but at last a resolution was unanimously adopted that "woman suffrage societies do their best work when organized in a non-partisan manner." In order to remove persistent misunderstanding a statement presented by Mrs. Catt was adopted explaining the wording of the resolution demanding "the franchise for women on the same terms as it is or may be exercised by men." It declared that the Alliance had on no occasion taken a position for or against any special form of suffrage but that the affiliated societies were left entirely free to determine for themselves which form they would demand. The Alliance did not express an opinion as to what should be the qualifications for enfranchisement, its sole object being to establish the principle that sex should not be a disqualification.