The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-16
POLITICS IS BOILING
 AMONG SUFFRAG|STS OVER PRESIDENCY
Mrs. Catt Claims Cause De- feated in New York By Aliens, Negroes and
 Paupers
By MRS. SIDNEY NJ. uLLMAS

l Washington, December 15.-(Special)
 A political under current at the suffrage
 convention is seething. Movements of all kinds for special candidates are be-
 ing discussed in open and secret cau- cuses. Lobbying is being carried on and
 the whole situation is tense. With seem 1 ing quiet on the surface. the rumble is
 constantly being heard. The grave ques- tion under discussion Is: Who will be the next president?
 1 On account of the strategic position of New York in entering into new cam paign the old guard in that state headed by such women as Mrs Carrie Chap
 man Catt, Mrs. James IAid'Aw and Mrs. I Norman De R. Whitehouse, are regarded as the most logical persons to fill the office after Dr. Shaw on account of their l long service for the cause and in the na- tional association.
 1 For the forty-fifth time in the history
 of suffrage work the Susan B. Anthony ! amendment was presented this morning 1 to the Senate committee on woman suf- l frage. In her opening address, pr. Shaw
 declared that the women citizens of the United States were again present. but with new hope, and more hope. One
 of the features of the proceedings was
 the able address of Mrs. Solon Jacobs
 of Birmingham, who spoke on Suffrage and the South She was followed by | Miss Alice Stone Blackwell of Massachu- setts Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, Mrs
 George Bass of Chicago, and Mrs. An
 toinette Funk.
 1 Mrs. Catt presented figures to sustain 1 her point that suffrage was beaten in the eastern states during the recent cleo ! tions by naturalized citizens, negroes and paupers.
 | An arraignment of the United States was unfit to mediate between the war Kng nations of Europe because it de- 1 nies justice to it's own women marked | the farewell speech today of Dr. Anna
 HowArd Shaw. retiring president, be-
 fore the annual convention of the Ma ! tional American Woman Suffrage asso- | ciation
 NO one will deny" said Dr. Shaw, ] that the real cause of the war was the | injustice and selfshness which permits governments as we'll as individuals to ! ignore their obligations and duties to | each other. But can the United States be
 
 ! can it plead for justice in Europe when | it denies justice to its own women? How 1 can it claim that written agreements be- tween nations are binding when it vio- | lates the fundamental principles of it's own national constitution, which declares l that the right of the citizen to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the i United States or by any state? Is it l true that the United States constitu- tion, too, is but scrap of paper to be repudiated at will?''
 l When Dr. Shaw concluded. amid great applause, the association amended it's by ] laws to make her honorary president for | life. Ska. has served for 12 years, and
 sometime ago gave notice that she would retire at this convention.
 l A petition said to have been signed by I a majority of the cohvention delegates was presented during the day to Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt of New York ask | ing her to accept the presidency. She said she would accept if the Empire State campaign committee, of which she is chairman, consented
 ! Officers will be nominated tomorrow
 and elected Friday.