The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-06-18

| fight with no less courage and faith than be-
| fore. Mrs. E. o. SMITH.
! To the Editor of the San Francisco Cail-SIR:
| From all mad learned prior TO our hearing
| before the committee, was not surprised at
| the outcome. 1 regretted it, because 1 believe
| that the principle OF woman suffrage is right
| and just, and whatever is right and just in
principle will always work itself out bene-
| icently in practice
! There were gentlemen on that committee
who, in their daily lives, do generous things
for the commonwealth. The best thing they
could have done for the uplifting of the COM
monwealth would have been 10 give US the
plank in the platform, and thus aid to insure
| the ballot for woman AS it is, we still hope
and believe we shall get it in the triumphs of
other parties who believe in the justice of our
| claims. SARAH B. COOPER.
| The platform committee gave the advo-
| Gates of both sides OF the women's suffrage
question forty minutes altogether, and
then spent three minutes dismissing the
matter from their minds by chucking it
| ''on the table,"
The champions of suffrage stayed in the
hall for some time, and then filed into the
crowded parlor when it. was announced
that the woman question was in order.
The committee was working under high
pressure anyway. and there was no dispo-
sition to hear longwinded speeches about
equal suffrage. The chairman held a mo-
ment's consultation with somebody near
him and announced that each side of the
question would be given twenty minutes,
which they could use if they pleased.
The plank prepared by Susan B. An
| thony, which had previously been SUBJ
mitted to the committee, was read before
| time was counted on the ladies. The
plank was as follows:
| Believing in the Jeffersonian doctrine that
| governments derive their just powers from
1 the consent of the governed" the Democratic
| party, in convention assembled, hereby ex-
presses its approval of constitutional amend
ment No. IL, comforting equal political rights
| upon the women OF the State.
Mrs. Sargent, chairman of the State or
ganization, made brief announcement
that the ladies present represented 10000
men and women of the State of California,
according to the petitions presented. She
introduced Sarah B. Cooper, president of
! the eleventh amendment campaign COM
mittee, who spoke but few words.
"We are not going to vote 800 days in the
year and twenty -four hours in the day"
she said, $50 the babies will not be neg
| lected."
| Mrs. Alice Stocker of Alameda said that
it was time enough for the ladies to take
partisan attitude when that was called for.
| Vigorous Miss Hay, who rather managed
the discussion on her side, was careful to
keep each lady strictly within bounds ard
to call her down when time was up. Most
| of them were called TO time before they
had fairly begun.
''The time is up" she said, interrupting
Mrs. Stocker, and then some gallant Dem
ocrat suggested that the time be extended
ten minutes. PIucky Miss Hay cOur-
! teously and nicely declined the favor, and
Mrs. E. o. Smith of San Jose followed
| Mrs. Stocker. She made an exceedingly
! bright and clever little speech, and when
she closed by referring to the Democratic
party as 'the party of the people" and
saying, 1--WE are the people; come close
to US" she was enthusiastically applauded.
Mrs. Ida Harper talked for about two
minutes from the sta ndpoInt of party ex-
pediency. She said that. as chairman of
the State press committee, she had re-
ceived in three months 5000 clippings from
| California newspapers on the suffrage
question, and that three-fourths of them
were IN favor of suffrage.
! 1--WE do not ask Endorsement OF this
party because we believe that the amend
ment cannot be carried without it, she
said. ut will require about 140 600 votes
to carry the measure, if all voters vote one
way or the other. 1t will be conceded
| that 10000 Prohibition votes will support
US. The Populist vote two years ago was
about 80, 900, and that vote will be nearly
solid for US. Of the Republican vote of
about 49, 900, two-thirds of it will be in
our favor; but the largest vote of any
amendment two years ago was 100000.
We ask the Endorsement for the sake of
the Democratic women of California"
"Time is up" said Miss Hay.
do not force us into partisan politics"
said Miss Harper. sitting down.
| Mrs. Sargent announced that they would
keep the remaining few minutes of their
| time for their closing argument, and the
| anti-suffragists were invited to present
| their case.
Mrs. Carrie Murray, chairman of the
| Ant1-Suffrage League, was introduced by
Samuel Braunhart. She spoke less than
a minute merely saying that the ladies
she represented were much opposed to
woman suffrage and that the league was
going to organize all over the State and
work for the Democratic party.
| Mrs. Murray announced that there was
| no other champion of the anti-suffragists
on hand, and that the other side could
| have the balance of her time if they
wanted it; but Osgood Putnam of the
Fourth District, San Francisco, jumped
into the breach. He declared that he
couldn't let the matter rest without offer
! ing an adequate defense of the women of
] California.
| When Mr.. Putnam got through, Miss
Susan B. Anthony came forward amid
considerable applause from even hostile
Democrats present.
"In answer to the argument that the
women do not want to vote, said Miss
Anthony in the course of her brief adj
dress, II offer here the petition signed by
| 40, 600 men and women in the State after
| brief canvas. Two counties send petitions
with signatures equal to half the voting
population, and in eight counties the ratio
! is one-third. In New York 625, 900 names
are on similar petitions.
''The reason that political parties are not