Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-01-21
THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE.
THE NATIONAL WOMAN SUFFRAGE
ASSOCIATION.

THE NATIONAL WOMAN SUFFRAGE
ASSOCIATION.
The Twenty-first Annual Convention
Begun I'm This City - Addresses by
Senator Blair, MIR. A. G. Riddle and
the Members-Letters Of Mrs. Stanton
and Mrs. Gage.
For twenty years the woman's suffrage as
ISOLATION has been holding annual conventions
in this city. The opening meeting Of this
years convention was held this morning at the
| Congregational church. The evidences of
woman's taste and woman's deft hands were
seen in the arrangement of the platform. The
| decorations we're simple but effective. Tall,
| graceful foliage plants were massed at either
end of the platform, and in the center were
arranged the seats for the speakers and invited
guests. The platform space was increased by
an addition to the front, which had the effect
| of bringing the speakers near to the audience.
That il what the ladies like. The hour for
| opening the session this morning was an
| nounced to be 10 o'clock, but good proportion
| Of the audience did not wait until that time.
EARLY MORNING SCENES
In order to insure good seats the prudent
| ones came early. Mrs. Lockwood, Mrs. Sperry
and other members of the local association
| were at the time busily occupied in putting the
| finishing touches to the arrangements about
| the platform, and the audience, which at that
| early stage of the meeting was mainly COM
| posed Of ladies, chatted with each other and
watched the effect Of the work of the ladies on
the platform. A noticeable feature of the au-
| dience was the large proportion Of young ladies.
Here and there might be seen a man. These
representatives Of the sterner sex seemed to be
men OF rather advanced years, and in some
cases they were accompanied by or rather they
accompanied their wives. The hum of CONVEX
sation through the audience continued and in
creased in volume as the seats began to fill up.
The first one to take place on the platform
was Mrs. Clara B. Colby, of Beatrice, Neb., the
editor of the Wonan's Tribune, which is prac-
tlcally the organ of the National association.
Mrs. Colby is young woman, and her success
as newspaper editor has been marked.
PROMINENT FEMALE sUFFRAaIsTs ON THE PLAT
PORN.
Shortly after 10 o'clock there was a move
ment in the audience, which marked the en-
trance Of Miss Susan B. Anthony, and with her
number of the members of the association.
Miss Anthony is the president of the association
in the absence of Mrs. Stanton, and as she as
cended the platform the audience caught sight
the platform was Mrs. Mary Wright Sewall of
Indiana; Mrs. Abigail 8. Duniway, of Oregon,
| the editor Of one of the leading newspapers in
that state; Mrs. Virginia 8. Minor, of st. Louis,
the organizer OF the first woman's suffrage as
ISOLATION; Miss Hatch, the state secretary of
Massachusetts, and Mrs. Mary Seymour How
ellis. Of New York; Miss Lucy Anthony, a sister
of Miss Anthony; Mrs. Rachel Foster Avery of
Philadelphia; Mrs. Isabella Beecher Hooker. of
Hartford. Conn. Mrs. Helen NJ. Cougar of In
diana; Mrs. Mary NJ. Clay, of Kentucky; Mrs.
Perkins and daughters, Of Cleveland, Ohio;
Mrs. Laura NJ. Johns.
MISS ANTHONY, IN OPENING THE CONVENTION,
stepped to the front of the platform, and, ad-
justing her red shawl, began to talk in her
characteristic manner:
For the twenty-frst time" she said ''dur-
ing the past twenty years. we are assembled in
this city. We are here now, as before, for the
purpose OF declaring our sentiments. that all
people Of legal age are citizens. and that no
state should pass additional legislation restrict
as indicative Of the interest in this matter and
declared her correction that success would at
last crown the efforts that had been made.
In introducing Mr.. A. G. Riddle. Of this city,
to make the opening address Miss Anthony
spoke OF his efforts in the past in the cause of
human rights and his open advocacy before
the courts Of the right Of women to vote
Therefore. she thought it was proper for one
who had always stood by the cause of woman
to be invited to make the opening address.
Mr.. A. G.. Riddles Opening Address.
Mr.. Riddle began by addressing his audience
as ladies'" and then corrected himself by
saying that he preferred the word woman. ~
He thought it would be mistake to call this a
woman's rights meeting, as he thought that the
rights Of men were equally involved. In his
opinion the world had been run long enough
on the man principle-by mems muscle All
the changes in the condition of woman favor
able to her advancement he considered were
due TO this movement. to this agitation by a few
good women. Public sentiment was being
revolutionized by this agency.
Mr.. Riddle told several amusing anecdotes
connected with his experience in the
suffrage movement in former years, as showing
the great change that has taken place in public
sentiment ON the question of woman's duties
and abilities. What was needed now, he said.
was the crystaliZing of this movement in a
mandatory form which no court or other au-
thority could override. He spoke of the re-
timing, elevating influence of the participation
of women in the active affairs OF the world
and thought that no brighter future for the
world could be predicted. He expected that it
would take some time to change the male sex,
but he looked to great revolution in the rela-
ton of the sexes. In the happy future, Mr.
Riddle thought men would be competing
against each other for wives and not women
with each other.
READY NOW.
When he concluded, Mrs. Isabella Beecher
Hooker stepped forward and said she wanted
to add a word. Instead Of waiting, as Mr.. Rid
die suggested, for the children of those now
alive to witness the spectacle of women enioy-
ing their rights she thought that she knew a
person (referring to HERSELF who would exer-
else that right as well as those who may come
after her.
Senator Blair's Greeting.
Senator Blair had in the meanwhile entered
the church and had taken place on the plat
form. Miss Anthony introduced him as a
curiosity, because, she said, he was the only
man in the Senate that would speak on woman
suffrage. This remark was received with an
plause, and SO were Senator Blair's opening
words when he began by saying ''Fellow-citi-
Gems" Everything he knew on this subject.
he said, he had learned from the ladies. and
therefore he would not presume to make a
speech before such an audience. He referred
to the legal aspect Of the question, and said
that in the case Of Mrs. Minor the Supreme
Court had been driven to decide that there
were no voters in the United States EXCEPT
those declared to be so by state law II the
United States had no voter then there was no
United States and no supreme power vested in
the people constituting the government.
This sovereignty, it would seem. was something
inside of the United States and the old doc.
| trine Of state rights was revived
STATE RIGHTS
had not then been destroyed by the war. For
il there was no voter there was no sovereignty.
The recent decision declared that the right to