The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-01-29
PLEAS FOR SUFFRAGE
WOMEN PRESENT VERBAL PETI-
TIONs TO CONGRESSMEN.
All Urge the Right of the Female Sex
to Equal Participation with Men
I'm Shaping Legislation.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2S-The Senate
Marble Room was filled to-day by dele
CATION of ladies from the National Equal
Suffrage Association, who appeared before
the Senate committee of woman suffrage
to present their plea for recognition at the
ballot box. Senator's Call and PETER were
the only members of the committee present,
and they were late in arriving. The ladies
were all present at 10 o'clock, the hour spec
flied for the meeting. Inc speakers were
presented by DR.. Annie Shaw. They rep
resented the States as follows: Connecti-
cut; Mrs. Elizabeth ID. Bacon; Delaware,
Mary Z. Milligan; District of Columbia.
Mrs. Ellen z. Thompson; Illinois, Mrs.
Frank Hubbard; Kentucky, Sally c.. Ben
nett; Maryland, Caroline II. Miller; Massa-
chusetts, Salvinia H. Hatch: Michigan. May
Knaggs; Minnesota, Julia b. Nelson; Mis-
souri,, Mrs. Conkling Whitney; New Jersey,
DR.. Mary Hussey; New York, Marian w.
Chapman; North Carolina Helen NJ. Lewis;
Oklahoma, Mrs. r. w. Southland; Pennsy.
vania, Mrs Blankenburg; Rhode Island,
Mrs Mary Arnold: South Carolina, Virginia
d. Young; Vermont, Mary n. Chase; Vir-
ginia, Ora Langhorne.
None of the speeches were of more than
uVe minutes speakers ali
dwelt on the right of the female sex to
equal participation with men in shaping
legislation. and almost all of them referred
to the injustice of taxing women without
allowing them to vote. Mrs. Thompson, of
the District of Columbia. declared that there
were % per cent. more of educated girls
than of educated boys. Mrs. Hubbard in
directly rasped the committee by declaring
that the ladies had shown two of the vr
tues of craftsmanship to-day-those of
punctuality and patience-the reference be-
ing to the hardness or absence of the men,
berS of the committee.
\ delegation of suffragistS also WIS.,
tied the Judiciary committee room of the
House and made speeches to the committee.
The speakers were introduced by Susan b.
Anthony, and among those who spoke were
Henry B. Blackwell, OF Boston; Mrs. Saun-
ders, wife of ex-senator Saunders, of Mon
tana; Elizabeth Yates, of Maine; DR.. Cora
s. Eaton, of North Dakota: Mrs Clara
Colby, of the Womans Tribune; Mrs. Fran
ces A. Williams, a Nevada ranch and mine
owner, and Mrs. Caroline Eberhard, of
Ohio.
Ohio; Mrs. Hughes, wife of Governor
Hughes, of Arizona; Florence p. Stetson
of California; Kate Addison. of Kansas;
Anna r. Simmons, of South Dakota; EN-
lily Richards, of Utah, and Jessie Manley,
of West Virginia.
There was an interesting episode while
Mr.. Blackwell, of Boston, was speaking
CHAIRMAN HENDERSON naQ SAID tndt the pest
argument he had found against. suffrage
was that majority OF the women did not
want 1T. Mr.. Blackwell replied to this and
declared that women were deprived of their
constitutional rights. Some one inquired If
a majority of the slaves had wanted suf-
frage before ii was given to them, ard Mr..
Blackwell, in replying, remarked that the
Southern States had no free schools until
the carpetbag legislatures established them.
Mr.. Washington, of Tennessee, answered
Indignantly: That is not true and he
nn1 ,t1lx
had free school systems. Then Mr.. Wash
ington asked why don't you let the
women plead their own cause?'' AS to the
emancipation of slaves, he Washington
was in favor of it, and the young men of
the South would not return to the old order
of things If they could. The free schools
of the South would be more prosperous to-
day. he said. if the carpetbaggers had not
robbed the country of so many millions.
The association, at its meeting to-day,
after aaGp5ed tbn
IL is in no way responsible for the publca-
ton of the so-called woman's Bible, which
has given rise to so much discussion. Those
who participated in the discussion included
Mrs. Clara b. Colby, Mrs. Charlotte Per-
kins, Miss Anthony, Mr.. Henri Blackwell,
Rev. Anna Shaw. Mrs. Gait and Mrs.
Avery. Resolutions of sympathy with the
Armenians and with the Cuban insurgents
were also adopted. and likewise one favor
ing the submission of questions of interna-
tional dispute to boards of arbitration.
The meeting this evening was opened
with violin solo by the of Frederick
Douglass. Addresses were made by the
following: Lille Devereux Blake. of New
York. ''The Presidential Election and
the Interests Of Women" Harriet May
Hills, of New York. on Our Unconscious
Allies" Emma Smith Devoe, of Illinois.
The Liberty of the Mother Means the
Liberty of the Race" Anna l.. Diggs. of
Washington. ID. c., on Women as Legis-
lators;" Rev. Anna Howard Shaw, of Penn
sylvania, THE Bulwark of the Common
wealth." and the final address by Char
lotte Perkins StetsOn. of California