The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-07-23
SrFFRAGISTS IN LONDON.
,,cur rOR THE PRESIDENCY OF THE
RNtTIONAL COUNCIL.

4
AZ. NAV wright sewnll Was Elected
RI, british Delegates Objected to ANY
Tn,,,lcd woman-Social Courtesies to
DeI.gates Reception Mt stafford House,
tovnox. July l5.-The newest OF the new
-, d, ,nc ~ the oldest cities In the world! !
,,,or,s congress dropped down into the
,I., ~ ak million busy. bustling human
t.,,,s AID actually attracting attention ana
,r' c,usirga mild sensation! Thepromoters
t.Io International Council have every reason
=" toor -,,i.Hed and this Is especially true OF
=, i,raga,eE from America. We shall carry
=. ,ri,h H. the Presidency for the next five
- ,r, authority to establish the inter-
..,tor,' lead1uarters in III" United states and
..tatIy the Chnirmauship OF the Press Com
,r,e. These honors are not ours. however,
a., rat,rro' courtesy, but as the result OF
h,,l.t,e-lt lat,le. which could not have been
,o,, without the assistance NJ other countries.
The Ir.nruatlonal Council is the largest and
representative body Of women ever or
nao,,el II is made up Of national councils.
aIxhi,t only one can be formed in each coun-
,rr ,rI his must he composed Of organiza-
,io,s which are national in their scope. No
t,.,or .,rinty and no individual can be mem
-, , ,he council Each OF these national
,,,,,fia no matter how few the organizations
,t,,h roruose it or how little its country. ia
.r.i.'eJ 10 three delegates to the quinQuennial
,..,iny Of the International. This deprives
,he lorge organizations from gaining control
,rt. the same time creates only small vot-
inc body 'or the transaction OF business. As
thore are in the United States alone million
.rd a quarter of women officially connected
nth Ira council and "a most of the civilized
oorr,,irs are organized. II can be seen what a
tremendous ron stituency is represented.
In the language Of the politicians there was
M, one Logical candidate for the Presidency
Tor tho next i've years-Mrs. May Wright Sew
,uofAnnrira ,Indianapols) What Is known
,s the council idea" the inception OF this
great movement. originated with her She
vas one Of the founders OF the International.
A. Washington. D. c.. In 1888. AS 1t was start
oil on Ameriron soil. It was thought that the
International feature could best be preserved
tv p'acinS an Englishwoman at the head and
the Il -sf Presidency was given to Mrs. Millcent
Garre., Fawcett one OF the leading women
here widow " Henry Fawcett. the blind mem
har ~ Parliament and Postmaster-Generalo OF
Great Britain.
The Le1t meeting was to have been held in
London. but as our great Worlds Fair In 1893
was ~ gather people from all countries, this
city yielded its claims to Chicago. That Won
dorful congress held in May and attended by
15n O0o women Is still fresh in memory-in-
decd. II never will be forgotten by those who
xaro rresent The status OF women was adj
varced to greater degree by that remarkable
e,rosition Of their achievements than by the
work Of all the past centuries These meetings
were arranged and presided over by Mrs Sewall,
who showed an organizing power and a parlia-
nantary skill which are unexcelled At the
close Of this congress she was the unanimous
choice for President. Feeling. however, that
sha should not take advantage of the pre-
ronderance Of American sentiment, and more
especially in view Of the fact that the next con-
eress was to be held in London. she declined
10 arcep. and gave her influence to the election
ofLady Aberdeen of Scotland. wife OF the Gov
ernor. General o, Canada. and distinguished
for her efforts at the Worlds Fair In behalf OF
the Irish Industries
Great Britain thus has held the Presidency
during the entire eleven years OF the councils
existence What then was the astonishment
Of the American delegates when they arrived
in London 10 find that Great Britain proposed
o. continue TO hold this office! This move
mentwas con,uc,aI by the Canadian dele
gates and supported by those Of every English
colony When the reason for this action was
nscertoinod the American eaoIe fairly
screamed They declared positively and I'M
e1uiyocay that no woman without a title
ever should stand at the head OF the Interna-
tional Council. We pointed out that this
would forever exclude the women OF
the United States. whose council num-
tered NOR. than all the others combined
They answered that the people OF the United
stases we're ,ust as fond o, a title as the Eng.
lish we're We told them that while this might
be true Of a very few, il was not the case with
the great masses Of the peopIe. We assured
them that the press especially was democratic
AMI II they put this indiRnity upon ia ths
newspapers OF our country would makeit an
International question and stand for the claims
OF American women.
All Of their delegates admitted Mrs. SewaIl,s
commanding ability and her logical right 10
the position, all expressed their personal adj
mration. but, they said. she IL a teacher shs
conducts school for girls which must neces-
sarily affect her social rank and exclude her
from our Presidency A po,l ~ tho da,aeatea
.borod ,h., H.