Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1886-03-04
From our Regular Correspondent.
Washington Letter.
WASHINGTON. Feb. %. lSs,

/ Since last wrote YOU. the women have
come. fought again and gone. | mean the
women who want To vote. For eighteen
successive winters they have rendezsoused
IN Washington with the intention of captur-
ing Congress. They made three days' siege
/ this tlnse and now that il is all over the city
will resume the even tenor Of its way, and
It's feminine element will return to dancing.
flirting, gong 10 church, making crazy
quilts and painting plaques. These laadable
enterprises we're sadly neglected during the
Womans Suffrage Convention. As usual,
the ladies went TO hear all about the rights
and possibilities and duties Of their sex. and
their minds were deeply stirred by the i'm
passIcued orator, of Miss ANTHONY and her
ooworkers
The advocates Of woman suffrage say If
men we're 10 make sucn struggle for
freedom and their rights, it would be con
sIdered fine thing. and there would be
books and even poetry written about II.
And this may be rrue. There is something
poe,cail, pathetic IN the energy, patience.
and cnronlc hopefulness evincrd b, these
tntleTs for female acknowledgements, One Is
constrained To wish such industry and such
faith we're eonsecra,ed to a more hopeful
cause.
~ these conventions, the women arr much
given 70 speech max ing personal glorstioatiou.
and criticism Of peFfiiiou. man. All they say
the, believe and mean and have said before
Bat how could anything new be said on a sub
jet that j. thoroughly discussed and rx-
hau,ied annually
Miss Ada Sweet, of Chicago. those pow
cr. o; 'rnaoiiy were sirikinely illustrated in
defense of her office Of pension agent ~ that
city. Aas prominent among tie delegates 10
the convention. She j, Young. cood-look-
Ing, srlf possessed. and can make speech.
which 'he did. relating her experience with
insane asHiums, and giving her opinion that
the, should AZ least be p.rii, under the man
agement Of women
Mrs. Sewei, Of Indianapolis, is one Of the
pillar. of the sis,efhuod. She is not pre-
possessing IN appearance. but probabl, a,
mulh So the law Of tie association ap-
proves. Her adurnmruts were l.niied 10
hangs. This concession 10 frivolous fash
lon IN 30 wi-e delraoied from Mrs Seselrs
formidable physiosnomv. however. nor from
her u~sfulpess 10 tie rauss She k al , nod
deal 70 say about hardened Congressmen
and ndurattd Senators. but she ihoaght the
oonsclences Of these gentlemen less at fault
'han their intelligence. She regretted that
It was Impossible to up the benefits al
ready accomplished by the suffrage move
men,. but thought the same nigh, be said
Of the sunlight She made really eloquent
flight at this point, comparing suffrage to
sunlight.
MIS-. Seweil was fl owed hy Mr.. Perk ins
Of Ohio, a sister Of uncnmpromising de-.
meanor, who rypfes the righteousness Of
the movement. As Mr. Shattuck, of Boston.
represents - esthetlc phase. Mrs. Perkins
was sternly statistical on this occasion, al
though she has ornate resources. which she
displayed during the sessions Of the con
vention. She dlscoursed at one time upon
the ladies Of society, whose walk and con-
yefsation she does not approve. using a
number of Scriptural quotations. She has a
tendency 10 be causilc in her public utter
ances. Men, She SAID. think women good
enough to be angels, but not good enoug h
70 he citizens. They pray so feryentiy for
+ Providence to bless women. that they leave
ii chiefly for Providence to do.
I Mrs. Clay Bennett, representative OF the
. blue grass state and relative OF Henry CLAY,
I vowed her fidelit, TO the cause. and made
spirited address on the Constitutional right
/ of women 10 vote and hold office" Mrs
Bennett may be said to represent the ground
whereon irippery and strong mindedness
meet and unite. Her costume was neither
frivolous nor funeral, but it was en- traine,
T and her gloves were la Beynhardt Her
oratory and elocution were, like herself,
kentuckian.
] Senator Vest underwent unutterable
| things at the hands Of Mrs Mera Gather. of
Missouri, for having expressed himself as
: an incorporating opponent of the woman
suffrage movement. Nine. Neyman, of New
! York, who has a fine Teutonic face, closed
the conventions proceedings with clever
and comprehensive paper on the compare
/ tive Independence of German and American
! women.
1 The bill now before the Senate looking TO
/ the eniranchsemrnt Of women is a source of
/ great comfort to the members of the as
/ socation who have been waiting and work
ing to this end so long. Because of i, thev
attached unusual significance to this their
eighteenth Washington convention. Next
winter they will come again to tell the same
/ old story with variations, and to say
severe things Of Senators Vest and Ed
munds.