Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-12

U
highest form of suffrage may be attained,
your commi ttee recommends that general
effort be mad in this direction by all state
societies where it is not thought best at
present to ask for the submission of a con-
s.itutional amendment to the voters. In
many of our oder states, where ironclad re-
strictions forbid any form of municipal or
school suffrage by women, where habits
have become fixed and class distinctions
prevail here is open door. Once let the
women of any state take their equal part in
| this great national election and their COM
plete equality is recognized and assured.
Without change of state or federal consu-
tuition. without ratification by the lndiv1d-
| ual voters, a simple majority of both houses
| of the Legislature can confer upon women
citizens this magnificent privilege, which
will carry with it a certainty of speedy
future concessions of all minor rights.
National Suffrage in Australia.
Since We last met federated Austria has
conferred the national suffrage upon all the
women of that vast continent More than
100000 women have there just exercised the
right for the first time. The fact is an OBJ
ject lesson which may well encourage
American suffra g:sts. in some of the Aus
tralian provinces women cannot yet vote
for their state legislatures. Yet even there
they help elect their national parliament,
and can themselves be elected memDefS OF
that body.
Year before last presidential suffrage was
seriously considered in Kansas, but was de-
feated by factonal jealousy. Last year a
presidential suffrage petition was presented
to the Rhode Island legislature by the state
society and was advocated by Governor
Garvin. This year an effort IS beng made
by public-spIrited Mississippi women to Sc
cure from their legislature now In session
the right to vo,e in the presidential election
of 1:G4 If this effort should be successful
The example once set would soon be 1olioW-
ed in other states.
The near approach of the presidential
election has Increased the difficulty of Sc
curing affirmative action The change seems
more formidable TO politicians as election
day draws near. But next year. during the
lull that succeeds the presidential campaign
a special effort should be made. Ere long
some state will lead off. And, as we beheVe,
if women will avail themselves OF the OPP,
portunity as generally as the men, II VIII
forever settle in the afnrrnatlVe WoHien
willingness to vote
Work of Miss Anthony.
The session was brought to a close by
talk from Mrs Ida Hustled Harper on the
last work of Miss Anthony-the completion
of the fourth volume of the History of
Woman Suffrage of which Mrs. Harper
was the compiler, under the direction and
personaI supervision of Miss Anthony. This
last volume Mrs. Harper explained, COM
pietes the story to date of the Suffrage
movement in the United States, ana also
the history Vi d6o IA oNA~1
the world.
The musical program for tonight will be
particularly fine, and VIII be under the di-
rection of Mr.. Herndon MorseI.
1t will include De koVens ReceSsionai'
sung by Mr.. w. T. Matson, baritone; sing
| Me to Sleep" Miss Orley p. McCarty, ana
| a violin obligato by Miss Mary Evalyn
King Mrs. w. T. Matson will be the ac-
| companist of the evening.
| The addresses of the evening will be as
| follows Municipal Campaign in New
| York" Katharine Day; "Woman's Vote In
| Australia" A. Watson Lister; Points from
| Morley's Gladstone" Harriet Stanton
Hatch: "A New Light on the Woman Cues
| ton" Charlotte Perkins Gilman
| The State Reports.
| The afternoon session was opened with
nrayer by Mrs. Clinton Smith, president of
| the District W. c. T. T.. and Miss Eta v.
| Maddox led the congregational singing.
| The business OF the afternoon was the
| hearing of state reports.
| The report for California was prepared
| by its president, Mary Simpson Sperry,
! and was presented to the convention by Mrs.
| l. N Chapman of California, proxy. Mrs.
! Chapman reported that Miss Gail Lough-
| lin has been in the state as an organizer
| and that six new suffrage clubs had re-
! suited. Mrs. Chapman cited with much
| pleasure one incident of Miss Loughlin'S
! appearance in California.
Miss LoughlinS first public appearance
! in California, she said, was made at the
| Alameda county convention, where she
crossed swords with the mayor of Oakland,
who claimed that agitation had won moth
| ing for the cause of women. AS Mayor
| Olney was a well-known opponent in our
! campaign of 1885, the suffragists were de-
lighted to have him come publicly in con-
| tact with one trained to refute his argu-
ments. Since taking bis office as mayor
he has made public appeal to the women
to aid him in his administra ton"
N nrnn all rad hat fhA
of the state are once more gathering up
their forces to fight for the submission of
constitutional amendment which shall
give to the women of California the right
to voice in the affairs of the state in
which they live and whose welfare they
bear at heart The legislature of JANUARY
190o. is to be their objective point and all
their efforts will be focused upon this pur-
pose
Connecticut Has Two Large Clubs.
The report for Connecticut. Mrs. Isabella
Beecher Hooker, state president, was pre-
sented by Mrs. Elizabeth d. Bacon. 1t
shows that Connecticut has two large equal
suffrage clubs, one in Hartford. now in its
twentieth year, and the Meriden Equality
Club. The Press Club sent I9O4 articles to
the press during the year The president,
Mrs. Hooker. now well into the eighties at
her own expense. furnished quantities of
literature for distribution
The state report for Iowa was presented
oy MIS- mary D. COggeShaH. 1t shows that
the equal suffragists of Iowa have recovered
from the solar picks blow delivered by the
state legislature In 1DI2 and that the state
has fourteen new equal suffrage clubs with
the membership of all nearly double what it
state are srowing much more liberal, Mrs
Coggeshall states, and accept suffrage ar
ticles right along.
Situation in Kansas.
Mrs. j. M. Miller. wife of Representative
Miller of Kansas. presented the report for
Kansas. the state president. Miss Kimbe.
being unable to be present. She mad
it quite spicy by injecting into it the
history of the factfonal row in the
republican ranks in Kansas, which
she declared. was responsible for the
death of the equal suffrage bill in the legs
lature last winter. but as indicating tbs
true sentiment of the members of the leg Is
lature, as she believed she showed that the
women of cities of the first class were given