The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-06
SUFFRAGISTS FAIL IN THEIR EFFORT
 TO HECKLE WILSON
 WHILE SPEAKING
(Continued from Page One)

rights and privileges of it's people are | not when over the rail of the gallery where sat party of women suffrage | leaders there fluttered down over the heads of an amazed assemblage of sena- | tors and representatives silken banner of suffrage yellow bearing in great black 1 letters the inscription. 9 | President Wilson, What Will You Do l For Woman Suffrage?"
 l The suffragists said afterward it was l their protest that the President should plead with Congress for broader suffrage l for the men of Porto Rico, while he did not mention their own cause in his ad- dress
 SUFFRAGISTS SMILED l As the banner rippled down the suf- | fragists sat smiling and unperrurped watching the effect. A dinnuitive page raised on the arms of men directly un- der the gallery grasped the edge of the banner and snatched 1t down. President 1 Wilson. attracted by the stir looked up from his reading and apparently taking in the situation at glance, smiled | broadly and without hesitation or Inter- | ruption took his eyes back to his manu- scrip and continued his address to the end without further demonstration. 1 Policemen and gallery guards scurried | to where the women were seated, but | contented themselves with watching the party, as if to prevent further out | break
 l When the joint session was over the suffragists filed out unmolested by the | police who said they had no orders other thar to prevent any further infringement of the rules of the House. The banner remained a trophy with the sergeant at arms.
 WELL LAID PLANS As it turned out the women had their 1 plans laid with precision and sprung their coup almost on the second. Evidently in | possession of an advance copy Of the ! Presidents address, they had timed the document at the speed they expected he would read and anticipated he would reach the Porto Rico section in eight minutes.
 1 Miscs Mabel Vernon of Nevada, who heckled the President here at his | American Federation of Labor speech last July, and who smuggled the ban ner into the House gallery under her coat today, kept time and gave the signal for the unfurling of the banner.
 Before the police could get to the gallery the suffragists' press agent was busy handing out 'canned" re ports of the affair replete in detail, giving the names of the militants and | interviews with each.
 The consensus of their opinion was shown by Mrs. Abby Scott Baker of the Congressional union. who declared the incident was Expressive of the indig nation that women feel at the stupid and senseless opposition to granting the right of self-government to one half of the people of the United States
 THE TEN THRONES" The 10 women who participated in the coup marched off as acclaimed heroines to Congressional union head quarters, where they held reception.
 Miss Mabel Vernon, Miss Caroline Spencer of Colorado, Miss Florence Bayard Hilles of Delaware, Mrs. John Rodgers of New York, Mrs. Anna Low | enburg of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Bessie H. Papandre and Miss Maud Gilbert of California. Mrs. w. L. Colt of New | York, Miss Lucy Burns of the Con- gressional union and Mrs. Townsend Scott of Maryland composed the suf- fragst party. The first five held the banner and the latter five acted as guards, prepared to resist interference. The women had carried on their prep arations so carefully. however, that none of the hundreds of spectators sur rounding them had any inkling Of their plans.
 WAIT TILL "NEXT TIME
 The coup, say the suffragists, worked well enough to suit them, even If 1t failed to draw any Acknowledgement and they plan something more startling the next time. Everybody around the Congressional union who had anything
 to do with 1t was keen for another.
 'It was a most excellent demonstra-
 tion," said Chairman Alice Paul, smil-
 ing happily. Certainly we may in the
 future adopt further methods not dis
 similarly to the one we used today to
 keep Congress reminded of our cause V
 NO WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT - Miss Lucy Burns declared the suf- frage question was the only one before