Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-02-15
CHOICE OF LEADERS
National Council of Women Holds
Triennial Election.
MEMBERSHIP OF 100000 REPRESENTED
Rules Require Resort to Initiative
and Referendum.
NOTES AND NCIDEN

Election of officers was the order of bust
| ness in the N. c. w. this morning.
The delegates and active voting members
| of the great trennial of the National Coun-
ell of Women are quite enthusiastic over
the fine representation of the various or
ga lions that make up the national body
who are now in the city There are fifty
six votes when the whole voting strength
| Is represented, and of these AZ votes were
cast. OF course this seems a small vote
for body representing 100000 women, but
this large number makes but 2S organiza-
lions, and these have just two votes each.
1t is an immense power that each two voters
yields, but when the women are consid-
cred, it is quite evident that they are suf-
ficently equipped for their business.
The following organizations are repre-
scented: The National Woman's Suffrage
Association, National Woman's Christian
Temperance Union, National Free Baptist
Woman's Missionary Society, Illinois Indus
| trial School for Girls National Womans
Relief Society, Wimodaughss, Young
Ladies Mutual Improvement Society, Ma
ticnal Christian League for the Promotion
OF Social Purity, Universal Peace Union,
Womans Republican Association of the
| United States, National Association of
| Loyal Women of American Women, Ma
! ticnal Woman's Relief Corps, National AS
| ISOLATION of Women Stenographers Ma
tic nal Council of jewish Women, Florence
Cr1ttenton Missions, Administration So
| ciety Supreme Hive, Ladies of the Macca-
bees of the World, Rathbone Sisters of the
| Weird, State Council of Women Rhode
| Island, Local Council of Women of India
| Eapoiis, Local Council of Women of Quincy
| H.; Local Council of Women of Bloming-
| ten, Ind, and Local Council of Women of
| Minneapolis.
| Wire Pulling.
The little room was full to overlooking
this morning, and the hustle and wire pull
ing that was going on reminded one of
ward politics. 1t was all done in a very
| good-natured manner, but it was energetic
| just the same
The National Council of Women has a
kind Of populstic method of ascertafning
nominees, known the Initiative and
referendum" Long-winded nominating
speeches are absolutely barred. In fact, no
! nominations are made orally, but are ac-
| complished by secret ballot. This ballot
| when announced is laid before the conven-
| ton by the tellers. who ascertain it in Sc
| cret conclave, and the women named be-
come the Candidates of the convention I'M
| less they withdraw their names. Carried
| out in this manner, the ladies say there
| cannot be hard feeling, as no woman
| is lauded above another except in per-
| sonal way by her friends.
Proceedings Yesterday Afternoon
Late yesterday afternoon Mrs. Martha
Horne Tingey of Utah gave an address on
the possibilities of Women" in which she
emphasized the principle that no true wo-
man, sometimes asserted ever
wanted to take mans place, but merely to
take her own place Mrs Rebecca B.
Chambers read the report of the work of
the Portland, Me-, local council, in the alb
sence of any Of the delegates.
Mrs. Rachel Foster Avery reDorted
the National Woman Suffrage Associa ton.
Reviewing the work of the past three years
she said that in1s96 Utah entered the
Union with woman suffrage and Idaho
adopted the principle in the same year by
constitutional amendment. In 1898 Louis-
ana gave taXpaying women the right to
vote on questions submitted to taxpayers,
while, to look abroad in 1895 South Austria
liza granted unlimited woman suffrage, and
in 1898 municipal and county suffrage was
granted to single women and widows in
Ireland
Closing Feature.
The closing feature of the afternoon
called out by the papers presented, was a
discussion, How Can Women Aid Munich
pal Reform" participated in by Miss Susan
B. Anthony, Miss Sadie American, Mrs.
Susan Young Gates, Mrs. L. NJ. Beck, DIR.
Amanda II. Hale, Mrs. Elizabeth B. Gran
mis-, Rev. Anna Garlin Spencer, Mrs. En-
incline b. Wells, Mrs l. c. Manchester,
Rev. Anna Howard Shaw, Rev. Amanda
Deyo, Mrs. Ida NJ. Weaver and Mrs. May
Wright SeWall.
Many of the disputants brought forward
woman suffrage as the most essential re-
form demanded in municipal politics, but
Rev. Anna Spencer said that the question
went deeper than that The question is
one of the acknowledgements of men as well
as women she said "of the enfranchise-
mant of men representing the conscience
and integrity of the country, who were now
deprived of registration through the arbi-
trary regulations of party caucuseS. Our
difficulties are administrative, not legiSla-
tive, and our chief troubles arise from
the fact that the best men frequently will
not hold office, politics is not regarded
in the country as high business"
Evening Session.
The evening meeting was of particular
interest, led by Mrs. Ada G. Dickerson,
president of Wimodaughsis, who reported
regarding the work of that organization.
The Wimodaughsis in Washington, she
said, the only club which carried on
its work by means of educational classes
The department of dressmaking under the
patronage of Mrs Phoebe Hearst, had
grown especially.
Mrs. Elizabeth B. Grannis of New York
city read a paper on The Work of the
National Legion for the Promotion of So
clal Purity, which was followed by Mrs.
Una Young Card of Salt Lake City; Utah,
on The National Woman's Relief Society
Mrs Kate Waller Barrett of this city,
general superintendent of the Florence
Crlttenton Mission, then told of the rescue
work of this organization among fallen wo-
men. She said there We're more than 1900
girls now in their homes throughout vari-
Gus parts of the country, and the congress
sional appropriation for the work had been
doubted this year Next came an ad-
dress On Equality the Most Potent Con-
servator of Human Rights, by Mrs. Ida
NJ: Weaver, Boise CITY, Idaho. Mrs.
Weaver, representing the Rathbone Sisters
of the world and Aid Society of the Knights
of Pythas, spoke of the value of fraternal
societies for women, and said that by meet
ing a plane of equality in these organi-
cations women gained in self-contidence
and interest in others.
Good Citizenship.
Mrs. Emmeline 3. Wells of Salt Lake
City, Utah, then read a paper on Good
Citizenship She said that men could be
patriots without being good citizens, but
not good citizens without being patriots