Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1869-03-17
Chicago Convention.

We clip the following from a part
of the proceedings of Woman's S
Rights convention, recently held in
Chicago, as given in the New Cove
nant
ANNA f. DICKINSON.
On the morning of the second day
every body's heart gave a throb of
gladness as Anna E. Dickinson en-
tered the hall. We had hoped she
would be present but no one could
speak definitely as to her attendance.
She had ridden all night, so as to be
at the Convention, and here in Chi
cago, made her first appearance on
the platform of a Woman Suffrage
Convention. Although we'll under
stood to be in hearty sympathy with
the movement, she has never before
committed herself TO it unreseryed-
ly. We had supposed her face ia
miliar TO every body, but a clergy
man on the platform had never be-
fore happened to meet her, and
pointing her out to a companion,
said, "Look at that girls face It
is the most remarkable and Deauti-
ful face in the house." Rev. Robert
Laird Collier was speaking at the
time, denouncing the Convention in
violent and unmeasured terms, as in
sincere in its invitation to opponents
of the Woman Suffrage movement
to present their arguments against
the reform, because, fOrSooth "he
had not. been invited to the platform"
although he had been in effect
and Anna was listening to him, with
lightning curruscating in her eve,
which foreboded the coming tenn
pest. When he had finished his
combined philippe and jeremiad,
she took the stand in reply, amid
the widest cheering. Her reply was
electric in effect. She carried the
audience with her, who, rising to
waved hankerchiefs, as the thorough
ly aroused girl poured out upon her
victim the Walls of her stinging wit.
sarcasm and rebuke.
Recovering from the attack, Mr..
Collier spoke again in denunciation
of the Woman Suffrage movement,
declaring, in an er cathedra style,
that not a word of logic had been
uttered in its behalf during the two
days meeting-evidently uncon-
scious of the fact that he himself
was then dealing only in blatant as
sertiOn-and demanding that women
should leave to their husbands un-
disputed sway in the political and
industrial world
Again Anna took the stand, amid
storm of applause. She reminded
MIR. Collier that in the state of Mas
sachusetts alone, there was but
one man to three women, so that
two-thirds Of the women of that
state could never be represented by
their husbands. She informed him
that 40, 900 men of Massach usetts
were drunkards, and Were therefore
not tit to represent their wives and
daughters, who We're at the mercy oi
these brutal men. These Were re-
morseless facts, not rose-water SEN
timentalities-and their parallels
We're found in every state-aud tax
ing them us 4 text, she again plead
ed in n strain of impassioned and
thrilling eloquence, that woman
should be made the equal of man be-
fore the law, and be placed upon an
independent footing, just as men are.
Again and again Mr.. Collier replied
still dealing in groundless assump-
ton and noisy invective, and again
the merciless little lady impaled him
with her wit and satire, under the
torture of which lac Writhed pitiful-
ly. Each party spoke four or five
times. 1t was one of the most eXcit-
ing and intensely interesting epi-
sodes of the Convention. The great
majority of the audience sympathiz-
ed with Anna +. Dickinson, and
gave vent to their delight in deafen-
ing applause at the handsome man
ner in which she handled her oppo-
nent, emily regretting that she had
not "a foeman worthy of her steel. y