Evening star., 1914-01-18
WILL TAKE APPEAL
TO HOUSE CAUCUS
Advocates of Woman Suffrage
Resent Action of the Rules
Committee.
PLANS ARE UNDER WAY
FOR ACTIVE CAMPAIGN
Rejection of Proposition for Commit
tee to Consider Extension of
Franchise Causes Stir.

tNV w SV44oANSA A1AS<4AoAVA Va
Franchise Causes Stir.
Washington sufYragists were aroused
last night over the action of the demo-
cratic members OF the House rules COM
mittee yesterday in deciding by vote OF
to 3 against the resolution to create a
woman suffrage committee in the House.
Plans were Immediately laid for taking
the question before the democratic eau
Gus of the entire House.
The decision of the democrats is the
elimination of a picturesque campaign
by women from all over the country who
have established headquarters in Wash
ington. one in favor of suffrage and the
other opposed. The opponents Of the
suffrage idea made the plea before the
rules committee that a committee on suf-
frage would be regarded as step nearer
to suffrage itself; that fnasmuch as the
proponents of the suffrage plan are en-
deavoring to get through a constitutional
amendment allowing women to vote all
over the country, the opponents declared.
it would not be right to foist this matter
on states that do not want it. 1t was
this plea of states rights which seemed
to carry the day.
Action Of the Committee.
After a long discussion the demo-
cratic majority yesterday concluded
that the time was not ripe for creation
of a separate committee.
Woman sufYragists from every part OF
the country appeared at recent hear
ings, and, later. led by DR.. Anna How
ard Shaw, visited President Wilson and
urged him to ask Congress in mes
sage to create a suffrage committee.
The President declined to do 80, saying
he had no authority to represent the
democratic party in such matter and
could not transmit his own views in
whatever they might be.
The committee announced the action
soon after a delegation from the Fels
fund single tax commission had called
and urged the creation of a separate
committee. In the delegation yesterday
were Herbert Bigelow, Cincinnati;
Mayor Newton D. Baker. Cleveland;
Frank Garrison, Boston, and Lincoln
steffens and Frederick Howe of New
York.
How the Members Voted.
IT, 3
The vote Of the democratic majority
must be submitted to the entire COM
mittee- Chairman Henry and Represent
atives Pou of North Carolina and Foster
of Illinois voted to create a suffrage
committee; Representatives Hardwick,
Georgia: Garrett. Tennessee; Goldfogle,
New York. and Cantrill, Kentucky, voted
against 1t.
The entire rules committee will meet
Tuesday, when a proposition may be
made by one of the pro-suffragists, either
on the democratic or republican side, to
report the rule. Western members Of the
House, including Representatives keat-
ing and Taylor of Colorado and Raker
of California, are taking Of carrying the
fight to the floor of the House. and
call for democratic caucus to pass on
the question is possibility.
Anti-sufrragists who opposed the
liant as the suffragists were dis
Expresses Indignation.
At a meeting of the Congressional
Union for Woman Suffrage at the Ma
tional Rifles Armory. yesterday after
noon. Miss Lucy Burns introduced
resolution, which was unanimously
adopted. declaring that the union ire
CARDS VITA Indignation" the action of
the democratic members of the commit
tee.
Partial blame for the action Of the
members Of the rules COM
mittee was laid on the Congressional
Union by Mrs Antoinette Funk, lobby
member OF the congressional commit
tee of the National American Woman
Suffrage Association, in a statement is
r1,< IrS yr h
Congressional Union made a mistake
when it announced recently that it would
hold the entire democratic party re-
sponsible for failure of Congress to
enact suffrage legislation. Mrs. Funk
also criticised the caucus system.
'.It appears" said Mrs. Funk, that
under the caucus system four members
Of the majority party are able to >afeat
the will of committee consisting OF
eleven members. This occurred In the
caucus of the democratic members of the
rules committee in considering the crea
ton Of a suffrage committee in the House
of Representatives. The working Of po-
litical machines through the undemo-
cratic system Of caucusing now in vogue
in the House is something Of which 30
per cent of the voters in the country are
ignorant. A change will come in that
kind of a procedure in the House. as
changes have come in other procedures
not to the liking of the people when the
peOp.e 1ully uHueIStOoO Wudl WAS UclIIS
done to them
Promise of Reconsideration.
With reference to this particular ac-
ttcn. we are assured by democratic
friends and supporters that a reconsidera-
ton will be moved in the democratic
House caucus at an early date. Whether
we finally win a suffrage committee or
not. we will at least know where to place
the blame for the defeat of this resolu-
ton. and at the close of this session we
will have a pretty well defined lineup as
to friends and enemies.
1.-The attitude Of Representative Henry,
chairman of the rules committee. and Of
Representatives Pou and Foster is emf
nently fair; they believe that, regardless
of personal sentiment and opinions of
members, this subject should receive con-
sideration at their hands as it has In the
Senate. This Is the least the committee
could do in response to demand made
bv 100000 women who vote and hun
dreds of thousands Of women who are
seeking the franchise.
II am fearful lest the avowed policy of
the Congressional Union for Woman Suf-
frage to strike at the democratic party
as a whole. and to make war on demo-
cratic members regardless Of their per-
their willingness to vote for or against
suffrage legislation, may have contrib
uted to this most regrettable situation.
II is the aim and intention of our COM
mittee to remain, as in the past, entirely
non-partisan, and in our efforts to fur
ther our cause to support, in so far as is
possible. at the primaries and at elec-