St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1902-03-05
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
A Busy February for the WOmen's Or
ganizatiOns-NOtRbI Gatherings
the Capital.

A Busy February for the w Ohhe"
ganizatiOns-NOtabIe Gatherings "'
the Capital.
EDITOR CALIFORNIAN:
Although the month of February is Inc
shortest and often the stormest one u
the winter, for various reasons 1t Nus
come to be known in Washington as
"Woman's Month" for majority OF
the conventions and associations Tor
women are held here at that time
Many delegates come from distant sec
tons of the United States and often
times they are members OF different So
cieties, hence they can arrange to remain
through the month and attend all OF the
conventions should they desire. An I'M
usual number of meetings OF various Or
carnations have been in session here this
wear. The First International Woman
Suffrage Conference and the 34th annual
convention of the Womans Suffrage AS
ISOLATION was held from Feb. II to 49,
inclusive. The total number OF qualified
delegates to this convention was lOOO,
but there were not probably one'haIt Oh
them present. The total receipts during
the year were S13,581. New York gave
the most money, $3,210. The greatest
per cent in gain to the society was IN
Kentucky. 10000 copies OF progress, -
a new paper, has been sent out. Among
the reports from the various states, that
by Miss Miss Laura Moore OF Barnet,
VT, was very good one, read by her
proxy, Miss Pierce, in a very clear and
distinct manner. "An Evening with the
New Man. was a subject which brought
out the opinions of various prominent
men in lavor of suffrage.
One especially interesting feature OF
this convention was the many papers
and addresses showing the social and
political status of women in various
countries. For instance, IAN Evening
with England and her Colonies" gave
one a good idea Of the Australian wo.
man in politics, as well as that of those
in England and OF the school system in
Canada The Spanish American Coun-
tries and The Women in South American
Republics brought out interesting papers.
This might be called an educational
campaign where the women could
compare notes with foreign delegates
and form a more accurate idea Of the
condition of women in general all over
the world, which was emintntly appro-
pirate, it being the first International
Woman Suffrage Conference ever held.
The longevity Of the pioneersisremark-
able. Mrs Stanton, who enjoys life at 81
years, was not present, nor Mrs. Julia
Ward Howe, now SO years old, but u" The
Battle Hymn OF The Republic" wassung
Mrs. Isabella Beecher Hook. tor 40 years
connected with the work, is so years DID,
Mrs. Mary A. Livermore in her S1st
year, is still living; but Miss Susan B.
Anthony, who has been on the lecture
platform more or less for SO years, is as
bright and wide awake as ever, and pre-
sided at some of the larger meetings, still
wearing the well-known crimson shawl.
Mr.. Henry B. Blackwell OF Massachu-
sets, we'll known as the editor of The
Womans Journal for 80 years, and who
had to send away 80 miles to find min
lister who would marry him to Lucy
Stone without using the word "obey,' is
one of the pioneers; although he declared
that no one was entitled to be called a
real pioneer here, for $50 years ago Mar
garet Bret of Maryland, asked the legls-
lature for right to vote, and in 1776 all
the men and women OF New Jersey, worth
so pounds. voted for 3 years. In 1869
the territories of Wyoming and Utah
gave full suffrage to women; now there
are tour entrauchised states, Colorado
and Idaho being included. In "a ST ates
women enjoy school suffrage, while Kan
sas permits municipal suffrage and tax
payers suffrage is allowed in New York,
Montana and Louisiana. He emphasized
the fact that representatives. in Con-
gress and u. S. Senator's have women
for conslitu ents, in 4 states with more
than a million inhabitants.
I Monday morning, Feb. II, the 18th
Continental Congress assembled. Mrs
Charles W. Fairbanks, the wife OF Sena'
tor Fairbanks of Indiana, and the presi
dent of the society, made an eloquent
address, stating the object of he society
and what it had accomplished during
the year, The first chapter was formed
in 1891 and 81 new chapters have been
added the past year-3,62 more daugh'
tiers have joined the society. She spoke
with much enthusiasm of the prospect Of
having Continental Hall for the home
of the D. A. R. society.
We learned that 3S,907 names have
been enrolled on the books of the society
but the number has been diminished by
deaths and designations, which leaves
the paying membership little over 33,
900. There was an unusually fine repre-
sentation from Vermont in the congress
consisting of Is ladies, under the leader
ship OF their State Regent, Mrs. Gen. Els
tey, who seems to be highly esteemed
Some of the delegation belong to tht
Colonial Danes of Vermont. Two ladio'
from the state presented Mrs. Fairbank
with a beautiful bouquet of Gala lilies
Two lineage books were published las