The morning times., 1896-01-24
Addresses Made by Prominent
Advocates of Equal Rights.
TWO PLANS ARE PROPOSED
Susan b. Anthony the Central Figure
of Last Nights Meeting-She Inter-
ests Her Hearers-Congress to BE
Attacked by the Suffragists Tues
day.

women, filled the Church of Our Father
last night. There was fair sprinkling
of the sterner sex.
The drizzling rain no doubt kept many
men away, who would otherwise have
availed themselves OF the opportunity TO
hear themselves arraigned for refusing the
right of franchise to woman. One thing
very noticeable was the fact that the ladies
present were largely OF the elderly classes.
Gray hairs prevailed, giving dignity to the
meeting.
Miss Anthony was the central figure and
the life of the meeting. When anything
was lacking, she could supply it. The
| red shawl was laid aside and a striped Gle
worn instead. r
"Look at that" said Miss Anthony, hold
ing up gavel. at just came from over
the Rockies, and all the way by mail. Our
ordinary gavel cannot be found, but We
have this one, sent by Miss Henderson from
Colorado. You see, it is a beautiful one,
handsomely ornamented with gold and
appropriately inscribed
With this, the gavel fell upon the table
| and the meeting was called to order.
MISS ANTHoNY's ADDRESS.
Susan B. Anthony, president of the Ma
tional American Woman Suffrage Asso-
citation. was then introduced, and delivered
| her annual address.
She prefaced her remarks by apologizing
because she did not possess the superior
| qua alifications of the former president,
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and said they
would have to accept her just as she was.
Miss Anthony was pleased to see SO
many present, and especially pleased to
see SO many men.
| We have never had SO great a repre-
sentation as have this week arrived in
Washington" the speaker proudly said.
This is the twenty-eighth suffrage con-
vention held in Washington in the last
quarter of n century. The suffra gists first
| thought to come to Washington during the
| reconstruction days. They endeavored TO
| have the fourteenth amendment not only
| give the right of suffrage TO every male
| citizen, bat 10 every female citizen as
| well. but they failed of success.
The politicians were weakened then,
| and some of them have not forgotten how
| to be weakened yet" she said. The
speaker told of the efforts of women to
secure favorable action at the hands of
Congress, and how they had failed. She
said now the Constitution is constantly
hurled in their faces and used as a barrier
against them.
The president then related her experience
in voting in Rochester, N. Y, claiming the
right under constitutional anne ndment.
This story greatly amused her auditors.
THAT FAMOUS TEST CASE
1t is substantially as follows: Fifteen
women voted at Rochester, and a test case
was made, with Miss Anthony as the de-
fendant. She was dragged through various
courts, and, when Justice Hunt finally heard
the case at Rochester, he took it from the
jury and declared the defendant guilty, fix
ing the fine at S1O0.
1.-The only time / had a chance to, say
a word during the whole proceedings was
when the judge asked If the prisoner had
anything to say why sentence should not be
passed. l said had n great many things
to say, and had no sooner commenced than
1 was ordered to sit down.
Il did not sit down, but kept on until
had said everything 1 could think of, pay
ing no attention to the repeated demands
Of the court for me to sit down."
Miss Anthony refused TO pay the fine,
but was not sent to jail.
Miss Anthony said they were frequently
asked why they do not attempt to vote
under the provisions of the Fourteenth
amendment, to which she replies that they
have tried it and she was once arrested.
THERE ARE TWO PLANS.
The president said there were two meth
DDS by which they could best work to
secure that which they were striving for
One is the popular method, which means
that the local organizations of the diff
tat
respective legislatures TO give them such
legislation as will give them their rights.
The other is the national method, which
contemplates au attack upon Congress, and
Miss Anthony explained just how it would
be done. 1t is the national method that |
has brought SO many delegates to the Cap |
ital City from all parts of the United States. |
Next Tuesday twenty delegates from the |
suffrage convention will appear before |
the Judiciary Committee of the United |
States Senate and ask that the States be |
prohibited from diseDfranchising women, |
and a like number will appear before |
committee from the House and ask for |
the passage of the sixteenth amendment to |
the Constitution.
The addresses to be made before the |
committees are to be published, and thou
sands of fcopies are to bedistributed through
out the land, at least that is the plan of |
the suffragists. While Miss Anthony has
very little faith in the Congressman, yet |
she believes that they may be educated
to believe as the suffragists do.
Miss Anthony was repeatedly inter
rupted in her address by spirited ap-
plause, indicating plainly that her senti-
meDts were the same as those possessed by
her bearers. Her remarks were made in
plain, conversational tyle.
PHILOSOPHERS SUFFRAGE.
The next speaker introduced was Clara
B. Colby of Nebraska, whose theme was
"The Philosophy of Woman Suffrage"
Before beginning her subject she called
attention to an omission made by Miss
Anthony in relating her ex perience in voting.
She had heard Miss Anthony in Wisconsin,
and remembered that Miss Anthony had
said that the judge asked her if she voted
as a woman, to which she replied, no;
she voted as a citizen, "and," said the
speaker, "that is the keynote to the sit
uation. We are citizens"
According to the speaker every possible
objection to the question of suffrage had
been answered. The subject was treated
in very scholarly manner. She 1iade
three points.
First, that woman suffrage is IN lar
mony with the evolution of the race;
secondly, that it is in harmony with the
evolution of the nation, and, thirdly, that
it is in harmony with the evolution Of
women.
.women love liberty" she said. women