The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-24

be raised to IS, and that law be passed
to protect the cigarette boy from himself
and the paper-coffin nails which he
| smoked. Both of them had failed for want
OF the Governors signature. They had
sought to have the lovely eschscholtza
adopted as the State flower, and the matter
was referred to the very hard-worked Com
mittee on Public Morals, and after that
committee had duly sat upon the golden
| poppy and declared it highly moral
| flower the Governor had failed to attach
his signature to it.
The effort of the Civic Federation to have
created municipal investigating commit
| tee, after the nature of the LeXow commit
tee in New York, was dwelt upon, as was
| their final unsuccess and the failure of the
movement to put a suffrage amendment
! before the people of the State.
| GA bill was passed" she continued, ito
place before the people of the State of
allow the women to exercise the franchise
| in the State of California and it failed.
| Now, what position shall We take? What
| must be the effect upon men in thus deny
| ing to woman what they would rather die
| thai lose themselves-the power of self
| government? What must be the effect
| upon humanity of CHASING the mothers of
| humanity with the most degraded of the
| land? We are not to blame for this condi-
| ton of things. 1t is matter of inherit
ance. 1t has come to US from the dark
| ages, from time when politics meant lit
tie but war and plunder, and later it was
war and taxes. But polite, has expanded,
| until it covers every earthly interest. The
men have enlarged their boundaries in
proportion, but woman is still attached to
| the middle ages. What a good thing for
man and woman it is that he should dwell
| ing IN the year one
Gone Of the fret srouroapte 81
giving the vote to woman, " she said, twas
the best one-'woman cannot sing bass,
therefore she cannot vote On top of this
| they had piled another-'woman cannot
sing bass, therefore she should not sing at
all And so they bring in boys to sing
alto and soprano in the high ritualistic
churches and the Chinese theaters to-day"
Miss Severance then related some highly
humorous stories of the advent of women
into song in the most deliberately unctuous
manner. She brought down the house
time and time again. Then she returned
to the suffrage question again.
about this amendment" she said,
''what shall we do? There are many men
who are always ready TO share their every
gain with US. Shall we, by our apathy,
paralyze their friends or deliver the people
into the hands of their worst enemies
every dlvekeeper, every saloon-keeper in
the State?"
the last word of the speaker, every one in
the big auditorium joining in. Miss Sew
erance had decidedly made the hit of the
congress, and the audience was disap-
pointed at the time limit which had cut
her off. Everybody wanted to hear more,
and one woman in the gallery voiced the
sentiment of all when she moved that Miss
Severance be given ten minutes more for
any remarks she might choose to make.
II move, before you put that motion"
said Mrs. Armstrong, that this Woman's
Congress OF California will pass a resolu-
ton of protest so strong against our Gov
| ernor, who refused to sign the bill raising
| the age of protection, that no Governor
will ever dare refuse to sign such bill
| hereafter"
| There were loud cries for Miss Sever
ance, interrupted by voice from the body
of the church, why can't woman hght?"
! "She can" replied Miss Shaw, whose
quick ear had eau ght the inquiry, "but she
does not want to. She has other means of
gaining her ends than by fighting
Mrs. Ada Van Pelt echoed that senti-
ment, as did Mrs. Sarah Pratt Carr, who
stated that if it were not for the women
! there would be no men. and 1t certainly
was of as much Importance to the state
| that men be produced to fight as to be shot
down.
Miss Phoebe Couzins told little anec-
dote of revolutionary days OF a converse
ton between Britisher and General Put
nam. The Britisher had ventured the
assertion that 5000 English redcoats could
overrun the colonies in no time. "Old
Putt replied to this that she didn't know
about the men, but he would stake his life
that the women CT the colonies would beat
out their Briti5h brains with their ladies
and their broomsticks before they had gone
half through the country"
All the ladies present seemed of the
opinion that "Old Put" knew what he was
talking about, for they applauded his his
torian most heartily.
The next paper, 1.-THE home as Politi-
cal Influence" was read by Mrs. Nellie