New-York tribune., 1915-11-30
SUFFRAGE ARMY
Of HERE
Seven Hundred Delegates
'I9 Ready for Opening OF
convention To-day.
Ol AIMING TO MERGE
FIVE ORGANIZATIONS
o.., Political Party Wanted
NJ. Oa+k secrecy Maintained-mrs.
cott TO Be Empire Chief

fatal organization of women
q ~. M tbe mems political parties. Is
''' - n the leaders Of the suffrage
'n' .ntiou which opens here to-day.
men are already organized By
,...mbly districts. 1t remains but to
80. congressional district divisions
-, o,point a state chairman.
n.,k secrecy, however. is being main
..-od as 10 the details Of the con-
ton. All but one Of the meetings
-m he in executive session. From
ur. Carrie Chapman Gait down to the
.nmbIest district worker from The
p-a.v the women are having the time
n their lives keeping their plans
secret -, ,, -.
..ted last night. after a three-hour
.,~ference Of the upstate leaders. The
.se;rman of the Empire State Cam
IGN Committee leaned forward with a
mysteriOus smile.
sTbe moon is made of green cheese. p
Tv.n this meagre information was
bscrudged By Miss Hay, the arch Sc
RET keeper Of the woman movement.
"Carrfe. come home" she cried, and
N, boss Of 600 clubs was led away out
Of mischief.
Members Of the suffrage organizs-
TONS protest that they have not the
,smotsst idea who will be elected state
chairman or what the name of the new
organization will be. AS to the first,
however. there Is no real doubt in any
sufrsg SITS mind.
Mrs. Carrie Chapman Gait will be
the first chairman of the New York
State Woman Suffrage party.
over the matter OF a name there is
likely TO be the only real friction in
sU the programme. The party" ma
chine will ride easily over the details
Of aboishing FIVE long established SUI
frsce organizations. and will not skid
on the slippery Wy TO the election, but
when il CONS TO what is in a name, II
viii run into the stony preludices oi
MANY veteran "upstaters."
Women VINO have worked all theii
lives for the "Old State" a they atfec-
tiongtelv call the sixtyyear-old New
York State Woman Suffrage Associa-
ton. will not see the name lost without
a struggle. y York City women are
rxpected to urge some such name as
"Empire State Woman Suffrage Party
Others want "New York -tSte Woman
Suffrage Party"
representatives Of the FIVE organlza-
0ons which are combined in the En-
p,re State Campaign Committee will be
present tomorrow, but they cannot
,-e unless they are accredited dele
-stes from the Woman Suffrage party:
irs. Howard Mansfield, president OF
.te Equal Franchise Society, and Mrs.
Charles l.. Tiffany will vote as dele
-stes Of their Assembly districts.
There will not be any men delegates
A. all. although there is an imposing
Mems League incorporated in the En-
pire state Campaign Committee.
Next year, however, u the merger
goes through and all five organizations
are under Mrs. Gait. New York will
zee the thrilling spectacle OF men del
crates az q suffrage convention.
Seven hundred delegates and alter
mates made the corridors Of the Hotel
Astor hum last night with their greet
ings. Late arrivals were pouring into
the hotel all evening.
The convention will be called 70 order
AZ 9 o'clock this afternoon. Reports
of officers will be read, followed by the
annual address of the president, Mrs
Raymond Brown.
The merger plan will then be pre-