The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-06-17
Rev. Eleanor Gordon Of Hamilton
Tells Number Of Keokuk WON.
en- That It Is Not
Opposition
PLANS WERE DISCUSSED
Suffrage Breakfast May be Held in
One Of the Hotels Here,
Fourth Of July
Morning.

A group Of Keokuk women met
to discuss plans for a suffrage
breakfast to be held on the morn
ing of July 4, presumably at
one of the hotels of the city. Follow
Ing the breakfast a program OF pat
riotic speeches will be given. The
Rev. Eleanor Gordon, who Is doing
suffrage work in Iowa, made an in
teresting talk at the opening of the
meeting. She spoke of some of the
plans for the campaign in this state
as outlined by the Iowa Equal Suffrage
association.
She said in part: Every state has
its own problem. In Iowa we do not
have the active opposition Of the
vicious element which the Illinois
suffrage women found in the great
cities of that state. Ours is an agri-
cultural state, where people are law
abiding and have no Interior reason
for opposing the woman's vote. Iii
this state the two problems is the
contented woman and the convention
al man. If l speak of suffrage to j
woman and she replies I'm not IN
terested,' l at once know she's the
woman to fear in getting suffrage.
IF woman says : think It's the
craziest idea that ever was I don't
worry about her. l know she's at
least thinking on the question and
when men and women begin to think
then I am sure they will reason it
out.
Education Of Girls.
years ago it was thought crazy
10 "a vi hot
would spoil them for home makers.
You know how that was thought out.
Then it was a crazy idea for women
to enter the professions and to take
business positions. You know how
that was thought out; well, it will be
just so with equal suffrage. Women
have exactly the same right to ex-
press themselves politically that men
do. The suffrage campaign has been
carried on in Iowa for sixty years
Apathy and not opposition Is what
has defeated it all these years.
The first suffrage parade ever
held was held in Boone, Iowa, twenty
five years ago. DIR. Anna Shaw, presi-
dent of the national suffrage associa-
ton, was there and two English SUI
|fragists. They had SPOKEN in one of
the churches to an audience. all Of
whom already believed in equal suf-
frage.
Parade is Held.
''At the close of the meeting Miss
Gordon suggested parade and a
speech on one of the down town bust.
ness streets. Some Of the women pro-
tested but Mrs Coggshall of Des
Moines, who was then an old woman,
and who was one of the most revered
women of the state, volunteered to
lead the procession. DR.. Anna Shaw
of New York, Mrs. Rowena Stevens,
at one time state regent of Iowa d.
A. R., Miss Gordon and others were in
this first parade. When they reached
| the corner Of one of the business
streets, DR.. Shaw spoke for ten min-
utes and reached the ears of more
that town than they had done in their
three days convention
| Miss Gordon then spoke Of how this
arathy has been broken up in maay
parts of this state, through the work
of the Iowa federation of women's
clubs, and the state suffrage associl
ton. There is no topic in Des Moines
SO popular as suffrage. The leading
women of the city stand for it, add
not to favor suffrage in Des Moines
marks one as being quite on the on.
side. Suffrage has become fashion
able everywhere. just as it is fashion.
able to be educated or to be cultured
or to know what the conventions Os
life are. Susan B. Anthony wasn't
fashionable, as is Mrs. August Bel
mont in New York, or the Mccormick
women in Chicago, or the suffrage
leaders in Des Moines, but she had
the logic of her position and these
iothers have built upon it.