xt70rx937t9n_463 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70rx937t9n/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70rx937t9n/data/46m4.dao.xml unknown 13.63 Cubic Feet 34 boxes, 2 folders, 3 items In safe - drawer 3 archival material 46m4 English University of Kentucky The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Laura Clay papers Temperance. Women -- Political activity -- Kentucky. Women's rights -- Kentucky. Women's rights -- United States -- History. Women -- Suffrage -- Kentucky. Women -- Suffrage -- United States. Progress text Progress 2020 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70rx937t9n/data/46m4/Box_30/Folder_19/Multipage20128.pdf 1910 January-February 1910 1910 January-February section false xt70rx937t9n_463 xt70rx937t9n M

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OFFICIAL ORGAN

Nation-I Amerlcln Woman Suffrage
Associatlon

 

 

 

 

SUBSCRIPTION PRICE
25 Cents Per Year

 

 

 

 

PROGRESS

 

FEBRUARY, “I 910

 

 

iVqume X; I

 

FAILU R E 15

Number 2 l

I M P o s SIB L E —susan 3.Anthony

 

 

PROGRESS

PUBLISHED MONTHLY IN NEIV YORK‘

CITY BY THE

NATIONAL AMERICAN WOMAN
SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATION.

President. Rev. Anna Howard Shaw.
505 Fifth Avenue, New York City.
1st Vice President. Rachel Foster Avery,
Swarthmore, l’a.
2nd Vice President, Mrs. Florence Kelley,

105 E. 22nd St., New York City.

See, Prof. Frances Squire Potter,
505 Fifth Avenue, New York City.
Recording Secretary, Mrs. Ella S. Stewart,

5464 Jefferson Ave., Chicago, Ill.
Treasurer, Mrs. Harriet Taylor Upton.
Warren, Ohio.

lst Auditor,

Miss Laura Clay, Lexington, Ky.
2nd Auditor,

Miss Alice Stone Blackwell,

6 Beacon St, Boston, Mass.

Legal Adviser.

Catharine Waugh McCulloch,

Evanston, Ill.
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS,

505 Fifth Avenue, New York City.
PRICE 25 CENTS PER YEAR

Cor.

 

 

 

 

Application as second class matter pending
at New York City Post Office.

 

 

EDITED AT HEADQUARTERS,

 

 

A HISTORIC PICTURE.

In this number of Progress, which in
some small degree commemorates the
ninetieth birthday of our beloved Miss
Anthony, is given her last picture. It
was taken by Mrs. C. R. Miller for the
Judge Publishing Co., of New York, as
Miss Anthony was entering the Lyric
Theatre at the time of the national con-
vention in Baltimore, just one month be-
fore her death. IVhen the third volume
of her biography was in preparation the
author was very desirous of using it be-
cause it was the only one in existence
that showed Miss Anthony in bonnet
and wrap. At the office of Judge only a
3:313]! (311+) +v1'p nr {-11va13 innl‘Inc «2'1“?qu
was found, which when sent to the pub-
lishers of the book they could make no
use of. A search was then begun for the
photographer and letters followed her to
the West Indies and South America and
finally overtook her in Central America.
She gladly agreed to prepare a photo-
graph from her plates when she should
return home and the result is the beauti-
ful picture here presented.

One day when Miss Lucy Anthony was
examining the photograph critically it
seemed to her that the hands were hold-
ing ' something. Putting it under a
powerful magnifying glass she could see
distinctly a little purse! It was then
apparent that the picture had been taken

on the day described in Vol. III, page}

1396. 'It was the day of the convention
when the money was to be raised for the
Oregon campaign, and although Miss
Anthony was so ill it was not supposed
she could leave the house she astonished
everybody by appearing on the platform.
“Then contributions were called for she
came forward and holding out this little
pocket-book she said: “I want to begin
by giving you my purse. Just before I
left Rochester they gave me a birthday
party and made me a present of eighty‘
six dollars. I suppose they wanted me
to do as I like with the money and I
wish to send it to Oregon.” Afterward
the five dollar gold pieces were dis-
tributed among friends who replaced

each with ten dollars for the campaign. .

During all her life Miss Anthony set
the example of giving. How many thous—
ands of dollars she earned and gave to
the cause of woman suffrage will never
be known.
requisite was money, and so
year she gave all she had of
own and tried by every possible means
to persuade others to give.
speak today it would be to urge her loyal
followers to self-denial if need be in
order to provide the means for suffrage
work. If possible let the celebration of
her birthday on Feb. 15 be utilized for
raising money for the Susan B. Anthony
Memorial Fund. It has been suggested
that each woman give one-tenth of her

every
her

She realized that the first‘

If she could -

 

 

income for that day. Let the appeal go
i And 0, there was need of the Woman

forth to every one to make an ofl'cring on
this birthday in reverence and thankful-

ness for the heroic life of Susan I}. An-

thony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MISS SUSAN B. ANTHONY, Feb. 10, 1906.

(Copyright by Judge Co.)

”H may..." .‘wamw w. .. . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“CROWNED IS SHE AND SAINTED."

Memorial Poem to Susan B. Anthony, by Prof. John Russell Hayes.

ROIVNED is she and sainted

C In heavenly halls above
% Who freely gave for her sisters
A life of boundless love.

 

I saw a strange rich vision,
I heard strange music ring,
As I dreamed o’er my well-loved poets
On a night in the early spring.
I mused o’er the great-souled Wordsworth,
(To me he is half divine!)
And I found once again in his pages
The song with the beautiful line
That tells of the Perfect “Toman
In whose spirit blithe and bright
There shines like a consecration
A gleam of angelic light.

And I seemed to behold in my vision
The sorrows of all the years;
I heard the women pleading,
Pleading with soft, warm tears;
And ever above the praying,
Above the sorrowful song,
And the tender, wistful grieving
For the long, long years of wrong,
I heard them speak of the leader
In whose spirit rare and bright
Should shine like a consecration
A gleam of angelic light.

I saw the nation toiling
In grief and darkness lost,
Like a 'ship on the pathless ocean
O’erwhelmed and tempest tossed.
There was need of a faithful pilot,
There was need of a God-sent hand,
To guide o’er the pathless ocean,
To guide to the longed-for land;

In whose spirit sweet and bright
Should shine like a benediction
A gleam of angelic light.

Like pilgrims wandering the woodlands

In a country wild and strange,
Who daily front new dangers

And sigh for the blessed change
Of kind and friendly faces,

Of dreamed-of comrades dear,
The comfort of friendly firesides

And pleasant household cheer;
So sighed the toiling people

For her in whose spirit bright
Should shine like a consecration

A gleam of angelic light.

And then I saw in my vision
How the mighty of earth grew proud;
They scorned their humbler brethren,
They laughed at the lowly crowd.
Ah me, to think of the folly
And fashion that fill our days!
Ah me, to think of our scorning
Our fathers’ simpler ways!
A’h me, to think of the greedy
And godless kings of the mart,
And then to think of our hunger
For one great human heart!

The land was weak and helpless,
It lacked the leader true
“7110 should cure it of its blindness,
“7110 should break a pathway through
The wall of outward tradition
That still around us stands
Ready to yield and crumble
At the touch of 'heroic hands—
The hands-of noble heroes,
Fearless and great and strong,
Who shall heal the old-time evils
And the centuries of wrong.
In my vision I saw those heroes,
And there by the men of might
Stood their sisters consecrated,
\Vith eyes of angelic light.

And was one sister foremost
Among those women there?

And who was she whose bearing
Made her seem so queenly fair?

\Vas it high-souled Mary Lyon
Uplifting her sisters’ lot?

IVas it the saintly Quaker,

. Our own Lucretia, Mott?

Was it noble Frances Willard
W’ho strove as angels may?

\Vas it the loved and lost one
\Vhose passing we mourn today?

Nay, none of any was foremost,
But hand in blessed hand

They stood as Olympian women
On old Greek friezes stand.

All shared a common glory,
All were linked by the fate

That gave them names undying
In the annals of the State.

But the newest comer among them
Gazed round and serenely smiled

As her sisters turned to greet 'her
\Vith heavenly motions mild.

And then my vision faded,
And a lordly melody rolled,
As down celestial vistas
The saintly company strolled.
But the face of that latest comer
' I longest kept in sight—
So ardent with consecration,
So lit with angelic light.
And I woke from my wonderous Vision,
And 0, my heart beat strong!
I had seen the Perfect Woman
Of VVordsworth’s beautiful song.

Crowned is she ,and sainted
In heavenly halls above
“7110 freely gave for her sisters
A life of boundless love.

-——From Vol. III. of the Life and Work.

. 5.0.: ' ,.‘-
7 v1 hILla

 

 

THE NA TIONAL
PRESIDENT’S LETTER

On Feb. 15 will occur the ninetieth
birthday of Miss Susan B. Anthony.
Four years have passed since our glorious
leader folded her hands in what we call
an eternal rest—four of the most event-
ful years in the history of the struggle
for woman’s political freedom. In re-
viewing these years of unequal prog‘
ress we can but recall Miss Anthony’s
words just before her going from us:

I don’t know much about the other
life. Some people think they know
a great deal and they tell us what
will and will not happen. I cannot
say, but this I do believe, that if any-
one there can help or influence these
who are left behind in this life, I will
come to you. If the existence beyond
the grave is, as most of us believe, a
conscious existence, I do not see how my
interest in this cause can change or why
I should desire less to work for it than
when I am here in the body. I am sure
that in every effort for woman’s free-
dom and better service to the world I
shall be as deeply concerned as I have
been here, if there is any way of know-
ing about it, and if it is possible I will
always be where I am most needed.

What changes these years have
wrought! Four years ago the public did
not concern itself about woman suffrage.
Today it is one of the great problems.
We overhear it in railway trains above
the din of driving wheels; it is pounded
into our ears in street cars and jolting
omnibuses; it is presented in the drama
and discoursed upon between the
acts; it is discussed in every morning
paper, and is one of the leading topics in
magazines which advertise themselves
through the interest taken in our cause.
The pulpit rings with it. There is no
club gathering of either men or women
to which it has not been presented, or
If; not" .‘Iuiting its ep‘pnzt‘zmity U
hear about it. Suffrage writers and lec-
turers are beseiged on every hand and' are
not able to respond to half the calls made.’

Large groups ofwvomen of all classes
are not only presenting their names for
membership and donating their money
to help the cause, but what is better are
giving themselves and are asking: “What
is there that I can do to hasten the com-
ing of woman’s politicalfreedom ?”

\Vithin these four years, through the
granting of full suffrage, women have
been elected to the parliaments of Fin-
land and Norway; they hold the offices of
Mayor, Aldermen and other municipal
positions in Great Britain, ~Norway,
Sweden, Denmark and Iceland through
the extension of municipal suffrage and
the granting of eligibility. In the
United States there is constantly exten-
sion of limited suffrage.

The whole subject has changed from
one of academic discussion to one of prac-
tical political methods. Men who have
too long allowed women to struggle
alone without any organized or concerted
action on their part, despite the splendid
aid which individual men have given
from the beginning, are now recognizing
their responsibility and are forming
societies to supplement our efforts.

The center of battle is changing. It is
no longer confined to the far West but is
moving eastward, and it is the opinion
of many that the decisive battle will be
fought on the Atlantic coast rather than
beyond the Mississippi.

If in the next four years our cause
progresses as rapidly as it has done in
the past four—since that day when for
the last time Miss Anthony addressed a
public audience and uttered the immor—
tal words—“Failure is impossible”—then
shall we witness the fulfilment of the
dream of the forefathers and mothers—
the dawn of a true democracy in which
each citizen may claim the right to life
with the opportunity to earn a living—
the right to liberty with the opportunity
for development through self-expression
——the right to happiness by service to
the country through citizenship.

I cannot close without quoting almost
the last words of Miss Anthony—“It is
coming—no power on earth can prevent it
—but the time of its coming will depend
upon the loyalty and devotion of the
women themselves.

 

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2

PROGRESS

 

 

 

EQUAL PAY AND LIVING WAGE.
All good

know of the active part which has been

woman suffragists surely
taken by prominent members of our or-
ganization in helping the striking shirt-
waist makers in New York City. A
word about some work along that same
line in Philadelphia may be of interest
to the readers of Progress.

,W’hen it became known to the workers
in the shirtwaist factories in Philadel-
phia, that work from the factories in
New York City, whose operatives were
still out on strike, was being sent to the
Philadelphia shops, the already restless
workers, whose wages and environment
justified a strike in their eyes, hesitated
no longer, and toward the middle of

December about four thousand girls and

' a few men (for there are some men shirt-

waist makers though but few in pro-
portion to the women employed in this
business) declared a strike. Only a small
number of these operatives were at that
time members of a labor union, which
makes their concerted action all the more
remarkable.

Mrs. ’taymond Robins, of Chicago,
president of the National \Vomcn’s
Trades Union League, was asked to come
to Philadelphia, not so much to direct
the strike itself as to help interest the
general public in the girls” effort to better
their conditions. In an interview with
Mrs. Robins she said the girls at their
various headquarters would gladly listen
to any talks the woman suffragists would
give them. and she and I agreed that it
was a good time to open their eyes to
the connection between disfranchisement
and low wages and poor conditions of
work. Some of our suffrage workers
met groups of the girls and all became
more and more interested in the strike
and what it stood for, so that when, on
the 4th of Jan., Mrs. Robins asked me
whether, as president of the Pennsylvania
Woman Suffrage Association, I could call
a public meeting in the interest of the
strikers, I said at once I would gladly
- . . . a... was“.
of my Board to agree to it. The hope
was to have John Mitchell as one of the

. speakers but he was otherwise engaged

and when the meeting took place, Jan.
12, by a unanimous vote of the State of—
ficers (and I am very proud of our
Board), the program was as follows:
Miss Inez Milliolland to tell of the New
York strike; Miss Fanny Cochran, of
Philadelphia, president of the Pennsyl-
vania College Equal Suffrage League, to
tell of her arrest when investigating the
alleged illegal arrest of strikers in com-
pany with one of them; Prof. Frances
Squire Potter, upon the historical basis
of the Labor Union; Mrs. Raymond
Robins upon the conditions which had
brought about the strike and the de-
mands of the strikers, climaxing with a
little talk from Rosie Gratz, the striker
who had been with Miss Cochran and had
been arrested with her.

It would be too long a story to tell
fully of the meeting where at least one
hundred of the audience had to stand
for two hours, with about two hundred
turned away, the doors having to
be closed before eight o’clock. The
ushers were college graduates in cap and
gown, under the direction of Miss Sarah
Tomkins, the daughter of Rev. Floyd
Tomkins, of Holy Trinity Church. The
collection for the aid of the strikers was
a. bountiful one and has been followed
by contributions of several hundred dol-
lars from the people whose interest was
aroused by that meeting and who have
sent their aid through our committee.
One of our suffrage workers said at the
close of the evening, “I scarcely know
this for Philadelphia!” That the com-
bination of two such subjects as woman
suffrage and striking women, could call
out hundreds of people who could be
wrought to a white heat of enthusiasm
for two full hours and would pass
unanimously a resolution pledging their
moral support to the strikers in their
struggle for decent conditions of work, a
living wage and the recognition of their
right of association in unions—to a
Philadelphian. accustomed to the calm
of the Quaker feeling in our city. this
was little short of marvelous.

Every speech made except Miss Coch-
ran’s and Rosie Gratz’s (both of which
were plain accounts of their arrest and
of the eagerness of the police to get rid

 

 

of them «when they discovered Miss Coch-
ran’s identity) emphasized the need of

.the ballot for all women and especially

for the woman wage earner. An an-
nouncement of the formation in the near
future of a VVage—Earners’ \Voman Suf-
frage League was greeted with applause,
and a request for names of those wishing
to join it was responded to later by mail.

I believe the meeting marks an epoch
in the development of our work not only
in Philadelphia but throughout our
whole State, because it has shown the
connection between woman suffrage and
the struggle of the working women to be
close and vital. As Mrs. Potter’s ad-
dress made clear, the two movements are,
in their essence, on%the struggle of the
working people and the struggle of
women toward self—expression—these
things are one and those who work for
them must clasp hands in a close fellow-
ship in order to forward the success of
both movements.

RACHEL FOSTER AVERY,

President Pennsylvania Suffrage Ass’n.

WOMAN SUFFRAGE IN MARYLAND.

The State Legislative Committee is
doing heroic work toward securing a
constitutional amendment which shall
give the complete suffrage to women.
The chairman, Miss Etta H. Maddox,
attorney-at-law, has prepared the bill
to be presented to the Legislature, which
is in part as follows:

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Gen-
eral Assembly of Maryland, three-fifths
of all the members of each of the two
houses concurring, that the following sec-
tion be and the same is hereby proposed
as an Amendment to Section One, of
Article One, title, “Elective Franchise,”
of the Constitution of this State, and if
adopted by the legal and qualified voters
thereof, as herein provided, it shall
supersede and stand in the place and
stead of Section 1, of said Article 1.

SECTION 1. All elections shall be made
by ballot, and every citizen, male or fe-
male, of the United States, of the age
of twenty-one years, or upwards, who
has been a resident of the State for one
year and of the Legislative District of
Baltimore City, or of the County, in
which he or she may offer to vote, for six
months next preceding the election, shall
be entitled to vote in the ward or elec-
tion district in which he or she resides, at
all elections hereafter to 'be held in this
State. . '

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted by
the Authority aforesaid, that the fore-
going section hereby provided as an
amendment to the Constitution of this
State, shall be at the next general elec-
tion for members of the General As-
sembly to be held in this State, sub-
mitted to the legal and qualified voters
thereof, for their adoption or rejection.

PHILADELPHIA AHEAD.

The regular monthly meeting of the
\Voman Suffrage Society of Philadelphia
County was held. on Jan. 26, with a very
large attendance.

Thirty-eight new members were added,
making the total membership
eight hundred. -

Miss Alice Paul, lately released from
an English prison, gave an interesting
account of her personal experience as a
prisoner, and of the Suffragette Move-
ment in England.

Miss Winsor, president of the Lim-
ited Suffrage League, announced the
speakers in the course of lectures now
being given under the auspices of the
League, Miss Ethel Arnold, of England,
and Dr. Barton Aylesworth, of Colorado,
being among them.

nearly

CORRECTION.

By some curious typographical error
the name of Mrs. Upton was left at the
head of Progress last month directly
over the announcement that no one per-
son would assume the editorship of that
number. Nobody will take the responsi-
bility for it, not even the printer’s imp,
but all are thankful that Mrs. Upton’s
proverbial good humor has prevented
her making any complaint.

Send for a sample set of our colored
suffrage flyers. Only five cents. The
latest new thing. N. A. W. S. A. Head-
quarters, 505 iFfth avenue.

 

THE NEW SITUATION.-

Every winter as Miss Anthony’s birth-
day draws near I think even more often
than usual of those blessed years I spent
under her roof when we were writing
“the books,” and of their precious 0p-
portunities for conversation about many
things. IVhen the weather permitted
we had long walks before she went to
bed and I took up the evening’s work.
If it was stormy we sat by the fire
awhile and talked.

remember every word she ever said, so

It seems to me I

keen and practical, so philosophical and

far-sighted. One thing which she said

more than once has recurred to me many
times of late, since -we have entered
into what may be called a modern phase

of the suffrage movement. It was this:
"There will come a time—you will live
to see it probably—when there will en—
ter into the field an entirely new
clement—people who now pass by on the
other side or else openly antagonize.
They will come in after the hard fight-
ing has been done; when the way is
comparatively easy; when the abuse
and scorn and ridicule have had their
day. They will be the great army of
club women, who now will not have the
subject mentioned; the church women
who hear it with holy horror; the women
of wealth and serial position who do not
know of its existence. They will come
with their prestige and
sweep away the weak remnants of the

power, will

opposition and carry the cause to triunr
pliant success. In the swift rush the
faithful few, who have borne the} bur—
dens and the penalties, will be crushed
out. pushed aside, ignored, forgotten.
Theirs will be the usual fate. of reform—
ers and it will break their hearts, but
it will have to be endured. They must
try to feel that the victory is worth
the sacrifice.”

The fulfilment of this prophecy is al-
ready foreshadowed, and heartaches if
not heartbreaks are even now not en-
tirely unknown. In certain parts of the
country the old-time suffragists are rub-
bing their eyes to find if they really are
awake and wondering if their ears de-
ceive themfi They behold the army of
club women rushing to the front and
really thinking that they never have
been anywhere else. 'They see women
of wealth and influence taking the lead,
not purposely ignoring the early work-
ers, but unaware that they exist. They
see the newspapers and magazines treat-
ing woman suffrage as a new subject,
and quite as unjust in their praise as
they used to'be in their censure. These
things are not easy to hear; they sting,
they rankle, they rouse hot indignation.
The sufl‘ragists of the past years, how-
ever, have but one recourse. As they
have heretofore tried to emulate Miss
Anthony’s courage and persistence, so
now they must try to exercise her strong
philosophy. In all these past years there
have been very little self—seeking and
personal ambition among them—they
have struggled only to establish a just
principle. The fine spirit which has
sustained them in this long contest
should be equal to this last demand
upon it. Let women but secure their
right of representation, no matter
through whom it may come. The glory
will matter very little compared to the
fact that the suffrage has been gained
for all generations of women.

There is one other point to be con-
sidered in this connection. That many
newspapers will sacrifice truth and fair-
ness absolutely for the sake of a sen-
sation is a fact so well known that
one need not apologize for referring to
it, nor to the other fact that these pa-
pers are the leaders of snobbery. These
two truths were never so apparent as
during the present somewhat exciting
period in the woman suffrage movement.
The souls of those who are in the midst
of it are tried almost beyond endur-
ance. They long to send out a daily
message to the ones who are not quite
so near, begging them to believe that
there is not even a foundation for the
ridiculous and misleading statements
that are sent broadcast by telegraph and
press; that some at least of the women
who have recently come into the move-
ment and are rendering most valuable
assistance are greatly distressed at the
relation to it is mis-
The situation is very deli-

way their
represented.

 

cate, as. in the main, the newspapers
are giving splendid service and :very
niuch criticism would be impolitic. We
can only beg the tested and faithful
suffragists of many years to believe
that none of the sensational stories so
widely circulated has its origin in the
National Press Bureau. At the head-
quarters in New York, Dr. Shaw the
national president, is the recognized
leader and absolute authority. Nobody
else aspires to leadership or would ac-
cept it. There is not the slightest desire
on the part of any one to detract in the
smallest degree from the prestige of
those who have carried on the work
during its days of unpopularity and dis-
couragement. -

Suffragists everywhere have cause for
much rejoicing that at this psychologi-
cal moment in our history we have been
put into possession of these commodious
headquarters in this vast and influential
center, with every facility for effective
'There can be no question that
they have largely contributed to the
present widespread interest by proclaim-
ing to the world that we are a large
business organization for a practical pur-
pose and that woman suffrage is one of
the vital questions of the day. For all
of the harassing things that constantly
rise up to vex us wernust comfort our—
selves with the saying of Theodore
They. are but the noise and
dust of the wagons bringing the harvest
1I)A HUSTED HARPER,
Chairman National Press Committee.

New York.

work.

Parker :

home.”

NEW PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY.

Miss Thomas, president of Bryn Mawr
College, today’forwarded to me your
note of Jan. 22, asking for information
with regard to the Equal Franchise So-
ciety of Pennsylvania of which I have
the honor to be the president. I hasten
to send the facts.

On April 80, 1909, a few of us, in view
of a movement in opposition to equal
suffrage for the first time inaugurated in
this State, felt called upon to declare
our own convictions with regard to the
matter, and sent out" invitations to a
number of prominent women in Phila-
delphia to discuss the propriety of form-
ing a new society in the interest of
equal franchise. Mrs. Brannan, of New
York, very kindly came to give us in.
formation with regard to the New York
movement; President Thomas, of Bryn
Mawr, presided.

The response was so cordial that
another meeting was called shortly af-
terward, of those who had left their
names for the purpose, and at this meet-
ing, a constitution was adopted, officers
were appointed and given power to or-
ganize a board of directors, draft a set
of by-laws and take such further action
as in their judgment might promote the
interests of the society.

In consequence a number of men were
invited to join the board. President
Thomas’ address at the initial meeting
was printed by her and presented to the
society for distribution, Mr. Isaac H.
Clothier, another director, and staunch
friend of the cause, presented the society
with a reprint of the address of Wendell
Phillips for the same purpose, and a let-
ter from Judge Lindsey, defining his posi-
tion with regard to the issue, was also
printed for the society by Miss McMur-
trie as a campaign document.

The first general meeting of the society
was held 011 Jan. 22 at the new building
of the College of Physicians, when Gov-
ernor Shafroth of the State of Colorado
addressed a large and fashionable audi-
ence. The meeting was a remarkable
one. The hall was packed and although
there were many men and a large num:
ber of opponents of equal suffrage, there
was much applause and it was felt that
much good had been done. I had the
honor to preside.

Following are the officers elected:
Honorary vice-presidents, Bishop William
N. McVickar, Dr. Howard Kelly (Johns
HOpkins University) ; vice-presidents,
Mrs. 0. Stuart Patterson, Miss M. Carey
Thomas, Mrs. Charlemagne Tower, Mrs.
William Rotch Wister; recording secre-
tary, Miss Mary Ingham; corresponding
secretary, Miss Cornelia Frothingham;
treasurer. Mrs. Lawrence Lewis. .Ir.
Board of Directors, Mr. Isaac H. 010'
thier, Miss Mary E. Garrett. Mr. J. Lev‘
ering Jones; Mr. Francis A. Lewis, Mrs.
IVilfred Lewis. Miss Ellen MCMurthie,
Mrs. Wistar Morris, Dr. Lightner IVit-
mer, Mrs. R. Francis IVood.

SARA YORKE STEVENSON,
President.

 

THE GREAT PETITION.

When the 1908 convention at Buffalo
voted unanimously in favor of petitioning
Congress for a Sixteenth Amendment,
giving women the vote, it was fully un-
derstood that every State there repre-
sented should put its energetic efforts in
the direction of making this the greatest
petition ever presented to our national
Congress upon any question. A small
national committee was appointed with
Mrs. Chapman Catt as its chairman,
petition headquarters were opened in
New York City, Mrs. Catt gave for many
weeks her entire working time to the
petition and in addition contributed one
thousand dollars to its expenses. The
National Board has from time to time
appropriated sums of money which have
been supplemented by contributions
from the Anthony Fund raised by Miss
Thomas and Miss Garrett for special
lines of national work. Constant ef-
forts have been made by the N.A.VV.S.A.
through the petition committee, the
headquarters of the work being now at
Washington, 1823 H Street, Northwest.

Mrs. Catt, having her international
work, and that of New York City mak-
ing many demands upon her time and

‘ strength, resigned the chairmanship, to

which office Mrs. Avery was then ap-
pointed by the National Board.

Manv of the States have responded
splendidly and have tried conscientiously
to live up to the vote of their represen-
tatives at the Buffalo convention. Others
have apparently felt little or no share
of responsibility and it devolves upon
them now, better late than never, to be-
stir themselves to gather in their quota
of signatures in order to make the
petition what it ought to be to truly
represent the woman suffrage sentiment
of the respective State. The petition
will be presented at the Congressional
hearing at the close of the National Cou-
vcntion at \Vashington in April.

If in your State you have not sent
petitions to all the Labor Unions, to
the Local Granges which are in your
neighborhood, to the Franchise workers
of the W. C. T. U. and to all the in-
dividuals of your acquaintance, then be
up and doing and realize before it is too
late that yours will be a share of the
fault and the blame should our petition
fail to reach such an aggregate of names
as will entitle it to be called the Great
Petition.

So many suffragists profess much
eagerness to work for the cause; to cir-
culate a petition is one of the easiest
methods of showing real interest and
there is no one with so little influence
that he or she cannot fill one petition
blank with twenty-one names of believ-
ers in the right of women to political
equality with men.

We have still a month and a half from
the time this Progress goes out until the
petitions ought to be in the hands of the
central committee at \Vashington; these
States which are doing their own pasting
and counting may even send them in as
late as the first of April.

Let us make our strongest effort in
the next six weeks and the Petition will
be a magnificent success.

RACHEL FOSTER AVERY.
1823 H Street, NAV, Washington, DC.

SPECIAL OFFER TO SUFFRAGE
CLUBS.

Harpers Bazar is the only magazine
in the United States which has a regular
woman suffrage department. This de-
partment is edited by Mrs. Ida Husted
Harper. In the February number Mrs.
Harper, in a most entertaining story en-
titled “Getting the Vo