The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-04-13
Women From Over State Here
for Annual Convention.
Mrs. Carrie Chapman Gait Prin-
cipal Speaker of Day.
BACK TO THEIR ORIGINAL NAME
Delegates Abandon Former Ii
tie, Good Citizenship League.
Committees Are Named-Men'S
Day at Commercial Club.

The Kansas Equal Suffrage associa-
ton is having its annual convention in
Topeka today. The principal speakers
are Mrs. Carrie Chapman Gait, of New
York, international head of the Suf-
frage alliance, and Governor Arthur
Capper.
The sessions include one for the
morning, and one for the afternoon
There will be no evening meeting. The
meetings are held in Memorial hall,
and this noon the members of the
convention took luncheon at the Y.
w. C. A
The business of the session included
a change of the name of the organiza-
! ton. For years it was called the
Kansas Equal Suffrage association,
and then after the passage of the
state amendment, granting the ballot
to women in Kansas, the club was re-
organized, under the name of the
Kansas Good Citizenship league. For
several years it has borne that name,
( and at today's session the name was
again changed to the original one, the
! Kansas EQUAL Suffrage league. The
| association is affiliated with the Ma
tional American Woman's Suffrage
association, and the Kansas branch
gives that national league its endorse
ment and support
/
ence club. which is the local organiza-,
! ton of the Kansas branch, has sent
money to the national, to assist in the
campaigns it has conducted in eastern
states and it endorses its methods of
obtaining suffrage through the state
by state campaigns and through work
for the passing of a federal amend
ment.
Explains Factions.
The principal address of the morn
| ing was made by Mrs Gait, who is
making a tour of the country in the
interests of suffrage work, especially
i on behalf of the federal amendment.
| In an explanation of the differences
| between the tactics of the National
American Equal Suffrage association
and those of the Con ngressional union,
Mrs. Gait said: ''The policy of the
| Congressional union in working for
the federal suffrage amendment is
partisan, and that of the old suffrage
association is non-partisan. Their
method is that of a faction of the
English woman anti ti-government. As
the construction of our government is
different from that of the English, the
National believes that the anti govern
ment policy will not be successful 1t
requires a two-thirds vote in congress
to pass an amendment.
| There has been no party in power
since the reconstruction period of the
| South that had that large a majority
in congress, and it is unlikely there
will be. If anyone tells you that the
amendment can be won in the pres
ent congress, that person either does
not understand the situation, or she
is giving out some of the sort of talk
that we are all more or less prone to
give, that we will win when we know
we won't.
''Supposing there is a great Repub-
lcan sweep at the next election; there
will then not be probably the required
majority. The Democrats will be un-
alterably opposed to a woman's party
that fought them. Moreover there
are many Republicans who are
pledged to fight the amendment when
ever it appears. After that, there will
be Democratic states to win. and the
fight would be that much harder if the
women had Systematically opposed the
party.
-Elihu Root has said that women
may some time vote. but he hopes he
will not live to see that day Thirty
six states must ratify the federal
amendment. No amount of heckling
a congressman will make him vote
right unless he has the strength of
his constituency behind him, and it
becomes necessary for US to educate
his constituency.
What Kansas Can Do.
women of Kansas can do to helm rs.
) You can unite with other suffrage
states in insisting that your represen-
tatives not only vote for the amend
J ment, but push it and get it before the
body; they can ask that all their
parties put the suffrage plank in their
platform, and the second request I
make is that you send a large delega-
ton to Chicago and ST Louis to the
demonstrations the women will have
In those cities. We want hundreds
Of Kansas women in our parade, and
we want the Kansas women to go to
St Louis to speak from automobiles
and to have charge of one of the meet
ings of the convention we are going
to have there prior to the Democratic
national convention"
Mrs. Gait explained a great deal of
the history of the federal amendment
and of suffrage work in the United
States, bringing out the governmental
Vaccinations to sidestep the issue and
suggesting ways to circumvent the
political schemes that have kept it
from coming to a vote.
1T is important" Mrs Gait con-
tinued, that people should not con-
fuse the prohibition and the suffrag ge
questions, as is done in manv states.
Certain interests are fighting both, and
we have to insist that the two be
kept distinct always"
Governor Arthur Capper made an
address. in which he told of the su-
periority of Kansas, and the part that
women had taken in bringing about
the happy results he described
Mrs. Cora Wellhouse Bullard, the
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