New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-12-04
SUFFRAGISTS HOLD
FIRST PRIMARY
'Electioneering' as Ballots
Are Cast for NATIONAL
officers Objected To.
WHOLE COMMITTEE
DEMANDED OF HOUSE
Democrats Threatened with De-
feat If Request Is Refused
Anti Hearing To-day.


ir-rn T.c Tribune Eurcaul
Washington. Dec. S.-Thc preferential
ballot is worse than trying 10 adopt a
r.w constitution That is the verdict Of
The National Woman Suffrage Convention
tonight
The convention. eager to familiarze it.
s,lI with the most up-to-datc methods in
voting. -ay'y and hopefully decided yes
'lrdar 20 conduct its primaries for the
selection OF national officers according TO
the WISCONSIN preferential" II is the
drst tim, the National has tried that
vay with two hours hearing before
the Committee on Rules Of the House Of
representatives as a braCer. the delegates
streamed into the Masonic Temple at
lunch time ready for the primaries.
The committee On elections. OF which
Miss Runtz-Recs. Of Connecticut. is chair
man. was To make its report a o'clock
and it was figured ;hat if the voting be-
gan Il o'clock il ought 10 he finished in
tine 10 enable the tellers To count the
ballots comfortably before the appointed
hour
Al o'clock a line Of one hundred
such was their despair that if Colonel
Ida Craft hadn't seized the situation with
an iron grasp the Wisconsin preferen-
tisl" would have tottered 10 it's fall.
we are trying a new and approved
method Of voting she cried. when Mrs.
Mary Ware bennett moved to reconsider
the report Of the election committee. so
they could try some easier form Of pri-
mary. and even Dr. Anna Howard Shaw
admitted that she'd like to 90 back 10 the
~old-fashioned method Of passing the hat
for votes
Colonel" Fears Retrogresson.
TO 90 that would be retrogression,
cried the colonel" "Suffragists never
recede VIC are trying the most advanced
rethod Of voting. Let MS be patient and
veil conquer it,"
The sufragists were so elevated by the
hne hearing they had before the Rules
Committee Of the House that as matter
OF fact they didn't get down to the hum
drum matter Of casting their votes unit!
80 The election committee had provided
Just one booth for six hundred delegates,
and that booth was in the back Of the
a';ing their reports from the platform,
maybe some confusion was 10 be eN-
ed But along about o'clock Dr..
ia Howard Shaw, who was presiding
lied that the confusion was of kind
.cn any good suffrage president would
tauk IL d shame TO allow.
see she cried with 4 resounding
tp o. her gavel, that ladies are stand
a- all along the line Of waiting voters,
l,otioneering. If any lady continues TO
.HA to any one in the line ! shall ask
nat lady to leave the hall
The election committee i talking more
than anybody declared Miss Mary Gar
ret Hay.
Madame CHAIRMAN cried a distracted
booking woman from Philadelphia, they
have to talk. Everybody is asking now
10 mark their ballots"
Wouldn't there be- asked Miss Miller
Of Massachusetts. less confusion II the
voting was done in the basement"
Warned Against EIectioneering.
'ff elcctioncering goes on right here
under my eyes. retorted d. SHAW
what would il be were the voting done
in the basement
Here an agitated deputation approached
and conferred with Or. Shaw.
u am obliged 10 halt proceedings, she
announced The question has been
raised Are We voting under the old con-
stituton or the new? ! was under the
Impression that the proposed consutu-
ton. or the consideration OF H. had been
Indefinitely postponed. but as II has been
revived and is now under discussion by
committee downstairs, there is an i'm
preston that the election may he under
The new constitution. and II that IS the
case there IS a difference in the number
of officers and the present proceedings
are invalid"
Miss Hay killed that impression, and
the voting was allowed 10 proceed.
Not without clcctioneering though Mrs.
o. H. =. Belmont carried her electtoneer-
Ing right up on the platform, when, at
tired in mauve velvet. she swept up 10
the president Of the association and whis-
pered In her ear. But mostly Mrs Bel
mont elcctionecred in the basement by
ihe lunch counter. where. supported by
Colonel" Craft. Miss Elizabeth Freeman
and Miss Anne Martin. Of Reno. New.
She oTgs nlzcd = "a bal. said TO have for
It's purpose the substitution Of Miss Ida
Porter Bower. of Pennsylvania, for Mrs.
bennett as corresponding secretary. II
was also whispered that they were knit
ng Dr. Shaw but then everything was
being whispered. and nobody knew what
was true
Dr Shaw promised that tomorrow,
when the real election occurs, there will
% six booths instead OF one so the con-
iusion II Is hoped, will disappear
the suffrage primaries were rather
"hd the suffrage hearing before the
Committee on Rules i'm the House office
o.ilding was dignihed and impressive.
Df Shaw said afterward that she had
heeId great many hearings, but never
Vne as fine As that Also it compelled the
'ommlttee 10 sit up and take notice.
'udge Robert l.. Henry, Of Texas, the
'hairipan, and his colleagues Philip +.
~ampoen. Of Kansas Fins j. Garrett,
tennessee; Thomas W. Hardwick, Of
georgia; Irving l.. Lcnroot, OF Wisconsin;
:" Ciyde Kelly Of Pennsylvania. and Ed
Nsid w Pou. Of North Carolina, at first
uVred and n trinc inattentive, soon began
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