Evening star., 1902-02-18
APPEAL TO CONGRESS
Woman Suffrage Delegations
at the Capitol.
HEARD BY COMMITTEES
ARGUMENTS FOR A CONsTITU-
TIONAL AMENDMENT.
Experience Of Other Countries Pre-
sented Address by Mrs. Gait,
Susan B. Anthony and Others.

Susan B. Anthony and Others.
| Mrs. Carrie Chapman Gait. as the head
| of the national woman's suffrage organiZa-
| tion, enforced by about 100 delegates to the
| convention of that organization. appealed
| to the judiciary committee of the House of
/ Representatives today for the appointment
| of congressional commission to investi-
gate woman's suffrage in every phase Of
4 its workings in the four states in which 1t
is In effect In this country.
| In making this request Mrs. Gait told the
committee that in view of it's adverse re-
port for the last thirty years. with one ex
ception. the advocates of suffrage for wo-
! men had about become discouraged in the
| hope of ever having an amendment to the
Constitution proposed to the legislatures of
the several states in an act of Congress.
Proposed Constitutional Amendment.
The basis of the hearing today was House
| joint resolution No. Is. which proposes an
| amendment to the Constitution providing
| that 1.-The right of citizens of the United
States to vote shall not be denied or
| abridged by the United States or by any
state on account of sex. The Congress
shall have power by appropriate legisla-
| ton. to enforce the provisions of this ar
ticle."
The hearing began shortly after 10 o 'clocN
and concluded shortly before Il. The tan
gible result. so far as the committee was
concerned. was the passage of resolution
| to print 10000 copies Of the report of the
hearing, half of which are to be turned
over to Mrs Gait in franked envelopes and
! the remainder to be used by the committee.
When Acting Chairman Jenkins asked
| Mrs. Gait II there was anything else the
committee could do she Immediately re-
sponded with the suggestion that the COM
| mittee might at once take action on the
subject of an investigating commission.
| An audible smile on the part of men,
bers. however. was the only response to
this, and the committee adjourned
The subject was handled by the ladies in
most systematic and logical manner.
The committee was first told how woman
suffrage worked in Australia. Russia, Swe-
den Norway and England by women dele
gates to the convention from those coun-
tries and how the system worked In Wyo-
ming. Colorado and Idaho In this country.
Mrs. Gait then summed up the whole
matter in an eloquent and logical argument
! and made her request.
Equal Suffrage in Australia.
When the ladies had taken their places in
a double phalanx behind the members of
| the committee on each side of the long ta-
| BILE. there was no more space In the room.
| Miss Vida Goldstein, who represented Aus
| speaker. In fifteen minutes Miss Goldstein
had given the committee over five thou
sand words regarding the workings Of wo-
man suffrage in her country. 1t had been
inaugurated nearly forty years ago in a
| limited degree and had been expanding
| ever since. That 1t was working most sue
| cessfully Miss Goldstein read testimonials
from leading officials and citizens of that
| country to show. She then took up the
| different objections that are urged against
female suffrage.
In her country it had been thoroughly
| demonstrated that because women vote they
had not forgotten their home: nor had they
made raids on the Offices of the government.
| They had not abolished the saloon. although
| they sought to better regulate 1t. On the
| charge that to vote would rob woman OF her
| modesty and blunt the chiyalry OF man
toward her. Miss Goltsstein related her own
| experiences at the polls. where she said she
had never received more courteous atten-
| ton and treatment. which demonstrated
l most gracefully that the age OF chivalry
| had not passed. Miss GOldstein drew the
| conclusion that If Australia could trust her
| women with such advantages America
| could certainly do the same.
| Property Qualifications in Russia.
| Russia was represented by Nine. Sofia
| Freedland. In Russia. she said, there was
| little suffrage for either men or women, and
| what there was related entirely to munich
| pal affairs. Suffrage, too. in these matters.
was regulated by a property qualification.
| and made no distinction because Of sex. A
| married woman could vote by proxy through
| her husband or other person, or she could
vote herself and execute the proxy of her
husband. From the fact that in Russia the
husband and wife had exactly the same
legal rights, Nine. Freedand drew the con-
| clusion that there was less divorce there
and more domestic felicity than elsewhere.
In Sweden and Norway.
| Sweden had an emphatic representative
| in Mrs Emma Ewald. When she declared
| with an emphatic thump on the table that
| in Sweden the women had voted since 1876,
and before the men. she startled the COM
mittee. Mrs. Ewaid was not permitted by
| Mrs. Gait to conclude her statement on ac-
| count of the lack of time. but filed 1t In
/ writing with the committee.
/ Property suffrage In Norway, in which
| women participate, was described by Mrs.
| DreWson.
! Revolution in Wyoming.
| Miss Isabel Campbell OF Wyoming
| daughter Of former Gov. Campbell OF that
state. who signed the law giving the wo-
| men the right to vote there, was the next
speaker.
| There was strong sentiment and argu-
| ment against giving women the right to
| vote there before the law was passed twen-
/ ty years ago. but all Of these prejudices
| and arguments had disappeared. One Of
| these arguments. Miss Campbell said. had
| been that it would impair woman's intellect
| to be compelled to understand questions of
| government and politics. ia
| Last year" she dryly remarked, there
| were only three lunatics In the state, aud
| all of those were men," ~
| Miss TheOdOsia Ammons spoke for Col
| Orado and Mrs Ida NJ Weaver for Idaho.
] Each read testimonials to the committee
| showing the approval Of the system of fe-
| male suffrage by prominent citizens and
/ officers.
| Woman Suffrage in London.
| Mrs. Florence Fenwick Miller told the
| committee that she had been elected many
| times on government boards in London.
| She expressed some establishment tnat Eng