Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-02-09
REPORT BY STATES.


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Miss Shaw said, "she just sends it out in
every letter she posts. When she pays her
grocers bill into the envelope go all the
leaflets that one cent will carry. Uncle
Sam never makes a fraction of IA cent off
of Miss Anthony. letter of congratula-
ton to the mother of a new baby has its
freight of suffrage documents. Because. if
1t is a boy, his education the suffrage
question should begin early; If girl, she
should know from the beginning just what
she Will have to contend with.
The Indiana Situation.
Indiana reported through Bertha G.
Wade, who is a daughter of the eminent
Quaker. Agnes Cook Affairs in Indiana
are looking up for the srffragists. she said.
There is good organization and effective
AMI concerted effort beirg put forth.
Miss Anthony remarked on the condi-
tons in Indiana thai when she and Miss
Shaw were there they were received by the
governor. and that they went in the very
'toniest" society in India napelis.
Il glad to go in society myself OBJ
served Miss Anthony solemnly. "Desper-
ate cases need desperate remedies. Now,
by doing the society act l may. perhaps,
convert one of these butterflies of fashion,
ard 1 consider ttat good missionary work.
The TONER the society, the better 1 like
it"
MISS vocabulary OF up-tO-uate
expressions Is not large. but she seems to
catch on pretty well for Quaker just
about to celebrate her eightieth birthday,
and each new expression sends the conven-
ton into laughing applause. which she al
ways meets by turning to Miss Shaw or
Mrs. Avery and asking: What have /
said now that is wrong?"
Mrs Ellen Powell Thompson. president
of the District of Columbia Suffrage Asso-
citation. made an exhaustive report of the
work being done here. Most of the efforts,
she said. are directed in pnilan, hropic lines,
for nobody has a vote in the District. The
Suffrage Association is active, holding
weekly meetings. where papers of interest
are read and discussed. The association
interests itself in the passage of bills
through Congress, and in an indirect way
does much good.
Miss Anthony said that the women of the
District have one great consolation they
are ON exact political equality here with
the men.
Iowa and Kansas.
The report of the Iowa Association was
made by Mettie Laub Romans. who enter
tainingly sketched. off hand the conditions
in her state. She said that the associa-
ton had beautiful headquarters, where
everybody was made welcome, and on its
walls hang fine pictures of Miss Anthony.
Rev. Anna Howard Shaw and several other
prominent suffragsts: The organization
is doing excellent work. The defeat Of the
suffrage amendment in the Iowa legisla-
ture did not discourage them in the least.
They are only more determined. and have
been sending petitions to the secretary OF
state till he declares that he is in favor
of granting the request of the women Just
to get rid of them
That was too good a chance for Miss
Anthony to lose Now, girls, she said
there is your chance. 1t matters not how
the men are forced to give us suffrage, so
we get it. smother them with petitions.
Little Mrs. Annie Dggs of Kansas next
thn nnIi n
which has granted municipal suffrage to
women. Mrs. Diggs is one Of the noted
populist orators of the west, and was ap-
pointed state librarian of Kansas by Gov
ernor Leedy. almost soon as he took the
chair, four years ago.
She is far from being Of the Mrs Lease
type, and has always been in thorough mar
mony with the suffragists of the National
Assoc la ton. She reported that the outlook
in Kansas is most encouraging, and she be-
lieveS that eventually Kansas Will give her
women full suffrage. She said she was
morally certain that the republic was born
to live and to be a full republic, and 1t
could not be this until women had the right
to vote. After the defeat of the suffrage
amendment in Kansas four years ago. she
said, there was much encouragement, but
there was a more wholesome sentiment
now. She referred to the fact that politics
had something to do with partially defeat
ing the measure. At that time party feel
ing was running high, and the suffraSists,
contrary to their lifelong custom, espoused
the party that promised in its platform to
support the suffrage plank. The whole sutf
rage forces were turned loose in Kansas,
and for three months or more there a
regular saturnalia of political speaking. 1t
is thought by many that this departure
from the beaten path was what wrecked
their bright hopes in Kansas.
Mrs. Diggs said the suffragists of Kansas
were like the Quaker who had no plan of
religion" They had no plan of procedure,
and believed that much could be accom-
plished by active 'indirectness.' In those
days of the Other slavery there had been
underground railways, and she believed
that underground railway operations would
help the suffrage cause. She said munich
pal suffrage was no longer a novelty. One
city, Beatty, now had full complement of
woman officers, including the mayor, and
two other cities had had full boards of
women and prOspered. More women voted
each year, but women were a good deal
like men, in that they did not care to vote
unless there was some particular interest
to protect. Mrs. Laura NJ. Johns, long the
president of the state association and now
the vice president, was not able to be pres
ent this year.
Report of Special Interest.
One OF the particularly interesting re-
ports Of the morning was that of Mrs.
Caroline Fl. Merrick. president of the state
suffrage association of Louisiana. She has
been for twenty years in the work She
remarked in opening her remarks that
fifteen years ago Miss Anthony vert to
New Orleans to lecture to the women, and
she Mrs. Merrick) wrote a report of the
visit and took it to a newspaper of that
city for publication. The editor handed
the copy back with the remark that he did
not wish to have Miss Anthony's name
mentioned in his paper.
Now" she added, that same editor
considers any story about Miss Anthony
good reading.
Mrs. Merrick's methods are quite unique
She visits While Sulphur Springs every
year, and while there she interests the
young ladies. of whom she is fond in suf-
frage subjects. Then she invites them to
her room fifteen at time. to hear little
talks on suffrage subjects. The young la
dies talk to the young gentlemen, and get
them interested, land then I get them
10TH" she remarked, with the slow musi-
cal drawl of the SOUTH so quantity serious
as to bring a laugh.
Il call 1t my missionary work." she
said. Il never did a, days work in my
life. l never had to. but I like to help
this righteous cause along"
Mrs. Merrick has been for ten years
president of the W. C. T. U. of her state.
She brought with her to the convention
two young ladies as delegates One Of
them. Miss Gordon. will speak tomorrow
evening on "The Possibilities Of Even q
Scrap of Suffrage" Miss Gordon ought m