The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-10-05
MRS. C. C. GAIT
FOR THE WOMEN
She Urges Female Suffrage in
Virginia.
TURNS LAUGH ON COMMITTEE
Delegate HUBBARD Presents the Speaker. aud
Declares That He Stands on Her Platform.
Prominent Ladies and Democratic
Leaders Present.


| York the president of the National
American Womans Suffrage Association,
! addressed the Committee on Suffrage of
| the Constitutional Convention yesterday
evening in the hall of the House of Dele
! gates.
| The meeting was a public one, and
every seat in the hail was taken, ami
many persons We're standing outside the
| ratings. More thar half, perhaps, of those
| present were ladies, some of them being
| among the prominent ones of the city.
| Governor Tyler, Attoruey-General Mon
| tague and Col. Frank P. Brent We're
| ers on the floor. Most Of the members
among the distinguished Democratic lead
| bers OF the Suffrage COMMITTEES and many
! other members of the convention were in
, their seats. Mrs. Gait, accompanied by
| Miss Kate NJ. Gordon, national secretary
| of the association, arrived in the city
yesterday morning and spent the day at
! New Fords Hotel.
| They came into the Convention Hall
| just before clock yesterday afternoon,
| and We're introduced to q number of ladies'
and gentlemen by Delegate e. w. Hub
| ard, of buckingham, whose woman's suf-
| frage ordinance Mrs. Gait had come to
| advocate before the committee.
Congressman Fl. D. Flood presided at
| the meeting, in the absence of Chairman
| Daniel who had q conflicting engage
,ment. and Delegate Hubbard presented
| Mrs. Gait in Il brief but eloquent speech
The distinguished woman spoke for eX-
j acty one hour, and held the closest at
| tention of her audience, which now and
! then broke into cheering as she would
| bring out some bright poiltt in her re-
! marks.
| Mrs. Gait is a fine looking woman, ur-
| der middle age, and she speaks with an
/ ease and fluency which do her great
credit. She-sltowed wonderful Familiarity
l'ywfrtrpublic questions and dealt with them
| at times like one fully accustomed to the
en1barrassmerts ofsthe former.
The speech was an eloquent and schol-
| arly appeal for the incorporation of a wo-
mans suffrage clause into the new Con-
stitution of Virginia, and every word of
| it was listened to with marked attention
and pleasure by all.
! MR.. FLOOD IN THE CHAIR.
Congressman H D. Flood called the
| committee 70 order at 5:15 o'clock, and
| introduced Delegate Hubbard, VINO. in a
neat and eloquent speech. presented Mrs.
Gait to the audience. He declared him
self out and out in favor of womans
| suffrage, and paid d beautiful tribute to
| the fair sex. The speaker created great
merriment by saying that he was almost
| ashamed that he was a man. when he
| thought how women We're being treated
| on the suffrage question. Mr.. Hubards
remarks We're both vigorous and eloquent
! and were loudly cheeret..
When Mrs. Gait came forward and
| bowed her thanks to the committee, it
| was some moments before she could pro-
| ceed for the applause that greeted her.
| She began by saying that when she came
| to ask woman's suffrage in Virginia she
| asked only what was now almost encir-
/ cling the civilized world.
She said the liberties of the Virginia
| women were not now equal to those Of
! the women of Russia, and Virginia people
| knew Russia was not q free country.
! The speaker then went on in 4 graphic
| manner to show how the right of suf-
lfrage had been enlarged and how all
] along down the line women had been
| Disseminated against in her Judgment.
| She contended in bold language that
/ taxation without representation was ty-
ranny, and said that this great principle,
| as old as American institutions, should
/ protect women in the right Of suffrage
! as well as the male citizens of the land
TIMELY ANECDOTES
Mrs Gait interspersed her remarks with
I several timely anecdotes illustrative of
! points she was making in favor of her
: mission.
She said that it was not fair that all
| but the Chinese could vote in this colIrl-
try save women, and she hailed the time
| when the females of the country would
| be recognized by the law of the land.
! She said America had set the pace for
| universal male suffrage. and that this
great country owed it to it's women to
| give them a voice in their own affairs
| Mrs. Gait contended that before married
women had a right under the laws to
| hold property that that was urged against
| their right of suffrage. because Suffrage
| had been largely based upon property
ownership; but since women We're per-
mitted to hold property under the law.
she Contended that that could no longer
he urged against woman's suffrage.
She said under the old laws married
women did not even own their false teeth.
She did net subscribe to the common be-
lief that women were driving men out
of employment. Indeed, she said ii was
q 'tlie out. OF the whole CLOTH. and that
machinery made by men had driven wo-
men out OF business. She said the an
cient woman stayed at home and made
the things that were now turned out by
| modern machinery and the woman of to-
day had to labor in the factory to secure
money to buy them
CONDITIONS CHANGED.
The speaker said the evolutions of years
had changed the basis OF the right of suf-
frage from property, and men now voted
because they were men She said 1t was
also claimed that men should BE- allowed
to vote because they knew all concern
ing the scheme OF government. and then
she endeavored to show that on this score
women were as well qualified as NEIL
She related a story OF a professor who
had investigated and claimed TO have
found that the brains Of women weighed
less and measured less relatively than !
the brains OF men. The professor died
and his brain was analyzed and found to
weigh ard measure less than those of any
woman he had ever examined