The evening times., 1900-02-08
THE WOMAN NUFFRAGISTS
A Large Attendance at the AssOeia-
tiOn's Opening Meeting.
The session Presided Over by Miss
susan H. AnthOny-RepOrts Read,
Addresses Made. and Committees
Appointed - The President Tells
of Her Long and Active Work.

The public session OF the Thirty second !
Annual Convention Of the National Ameri- |
can Woman Suffrage Association began /
this morning at 10 o'clock at the Church |
Of Our Father. corner of Thirteenth and |
l. streets northwest. The church was |
fairly well filled with representative wom- |
Ca, and there were present about 400 dele |
gates. The platform upon which the Off
GERS Of the association were seated in
semi-circle. with its venerable president,
Miss Susan B. Anthony, in the centre, was
decorated with flags and potted plants
Miss Anthony. notwithstanding her age,
appears in very good health. and is con-
Quoting the meetings with her usual yigOr
and promptness.
Rev Anna Howard Shaw opened the ses-
sion with prayer after which Miss Susan
b. Anthony made the opening address Of
welcome. she gave a short sketch Of her
connection with the association, as member
and as president. She said that the Suf-
frage Association convenes in the Capital
Of the Nation TO advance their views and
advocate their purpose for the same resaon
that the Representative Of the different
states come to Washington to advance the
views OF their constituents and gain for
them what their interest and welfare com
mand.
After Miss Anthony address OF welcome,
she called the convention to order The
roll-calI Of officers. vice presidents and
State members OF the Executive Commit
tee. brought responses from nearly every
officer and delegate The minutes Cf the
closing session OF the Thirty-frst Annual
Convention were read and adopted. Miss
Hatch was appointed as timekeeper for the
day Mrs. Upton Luckie and Mrs. Swift
were appointed Committee on Creden-
tials.
The report Of the vice president at large
Rev. Anna Howard Shaw, which treated
mainly OF her work in the lecture field.
was well received BY the association. ard
was loudly applauded, on account OF the
highly interesting manner IN Viii she o.
. fered her report.
/ The report OF the corresponding se-re-
/ tary, Rachel Foster Avery, was very en-
! coUTaging and highly satisfactory 10 TIE
J association. and was adopted IL is IN
/ point as follows:
with the object Of coming into touch
l with the work in the different States ard
/ of helping TO bind the whole into a na-
ti0nal cause, many letters are sent cut TO
! our State presidents. q majority o. whom
abel me TO be OF assistance by suggestion
as 90 their state work.
"The work since the Grand Rapids con
. ventiOn in April and May has been the
. editing Cf the Annual Convention Minutes
Cf 200 pages the securing Of manuscripts
for the monthly leaflets OF the Political
Equality Series aRgregatiug $50, oO0 pages
Of printed matter; the preparation or the
programmes for this convention for the
Congressional hearing TO be held February
l3. and for the celebration February T. of
the eghtieth anniversary OF our presidents
birthday"
The report Of the Committee on Federal
Suffrage was read by Martha a. Book. Of
. Michigan. in the absence OF the chairman
/ Of the committee. Sarah Clay Bennett. Il
says in part
That the committee petiti0ncd the
members, OF the present Congress to pro-
tect white and black women equally with
black men against the statutes Of the
I States in the exercise Of the right of citi-
zens OF the United States 90 vote for mem
. bers of Congress and Presidential electors
in the several States of the Union which
right was exercised in New Jersey by both
women and black men upon equal terms
with the white men until 1907. when that
State made and enforced a law which con-
fined the right OF suffrage to men.
I'VE entreated them 70 do this justice
to women by making Federal laws in pUT-
suanCe OF that clause Of the first section
of the Fourteenth Amendment Of our Ma
tiOnal Constitution. which says. No State
shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities Of
citizens of the United States.
, vote Of thanks was extended TO her
2 for her very strong and exhaustive report
The next report brought before the cOnvan-
r tion was that of the Committee Of Presi-
u nr -.srr
/ Chairman. who reviewed at length the
! salutary effort which the womCns vote
! mas on the political situation in the re-
spective States. This committee made q
recommendation that a special effort be
, I made next year to petition every State
4 ( Legislature TO give women the privilege
. to vote at the next Presidential election
. in the year 1904
The report of Ciar, Berwick Colby
, . Chairman of the Committee on Industrial
= / Problems Affecting Women and Children
/ treated at great length the sO-Called injus-
- | tice of the decision of the First Assistant
Postmaster General Perry S. Heath. when
he announced that the department had de-
cided lit will be Incompatible with the
best interests Of the service TO retain mar
ried women as pOstofice clerks The de-
partment has. therefore ruled that when a
, female pOstOflCe clerk marries it will be
necessary for her to resign from the sery-
ice"
, She said. in part that discrimination
against women in public service is unjust
7 and cowardly and very often il brings it;
- own retribution upon innocent members O
. | the guilty sex for almost all women EN-
ployes are caring for male relatives; age,
d., fathers. invalid husbands or sons whom
u they are educating.
There has been a growing tendency o
o. late years 20 exclude women from Gov
. | crnment CfficeS IL was so noticeable un
h der the first term OF Grover Cleveland tina
!, it was generally considered the policy o
i the Democratic party. The ground was no
9 wholly regained during the following Re
= publican Administration. although the oil,
liberal attitude toward women was felt
- Under the second Administration OF Mr
- Cleveland the tendency Of exclusion be
came more marked. and under the presen
Administration il has evidently become
fixed purpose.
Less than 10 per cent of women VIII
Is have passed the civil service examination
in the last ten years have received ap
pointments. as against 26 per cent of me-
who have passed and obtained positions
The smallest per cent % women appointe
Pr was in the year just closing
q This is not saying anything about th
10 fact that women are excluded from eX
n amiUntions for certain very desirabl
N fields and that the women appOintees ar
invariably Tor the lowest and least pai
ID ! positions. There is not 4 woman chief {
10 ! division in the whole service but cor
stantly young and inexperienced men al
= placed over a room fun of women WI
have grown gray in that particular In