Mexico weekly ledger., 1916-06-22
MRSJ.T THOMSON SPEAKS
OF SUFFRAGE OUTLOOK
Says That Missouri Will Have Equal
Suffrage Although 1t May Be
Slow in Coming
WILL ORGANIZE BY TOWNS
State Board Met in st. Louis Address
ed by National President-Had
All Day Session.

Mrs. j. T. johnson, county chairman
of the Audrain county Suffrage As
sociation and a director on the State
Board, returned Friday evening from
st. Louis where she attended the
Democratic Convention and took part
in the Golden Lane Walkless Parade.
The parade took place on last We'd
nesday and the State Board met at
ten o'clock last Thursday and the SEES
sion lasted until five in the after
The National President, Mrs.
Charles Chapman Gait, addressed the
meeting. The meeting was held at
the Warwick Hotel in st. Louis.
"We really expected a little more
for suffrage in the platform of the
Democratic party than was given us
by the Republicans in Chicago, said
Mrs. johnson, talking to a Ledger
representative Saturday morning. 81
am afraid that the suffrage workers
are a little disappointed in the Demo-
cratic platform"
Mrs. johnson said that the ladies
who were at the invention in the in
terests of suffrage were received with
courtesy and received fine treatment
at the hands of the delegates so far
as she was able to observe and that
she did not hear any of the ladies say
anything to the contrary.
Suffrage is growing in Missouri,
continued Mrs. johnson, eve are now
organizing each state by Congression-
al Districts, each Of which will have
its own president, and there will also
be a state president. Mrs. Passmore
of st. Louis is the State president for
Missouri. 1t will be necessary for Mis-
souri, to raise $4,000 to carry on its
campaign for suffrage this year, for
since Iowa failed in its recent attempt
to get suffrage the National Com
mittee has refused to grant any
money to Missouri, for they now OBJ
ject to Missouri becoming a campaign
state.
81 think that Missouri will eventual
ly get equal suffrage, of course it will
be slow for Missouri is a very conser-
vative state, yet it is sure to come
sometime. We are now going to work
through the State Legislature, rather
than by petition to the Secretary Of
state as was originally planned. If
we can get representatives who will
aid us, we can make more progress
than in any other way.
at is now our plan for every town
in Missouri, no matter how small to
have its own suffrage league. The
2 plan we have adopted for this is that
each league shall organize a new
league in a neighboring town. We
must work for organization, for for in
a campaign of this kind everything
depends on organization.
! "Arkansas is expected to get equal
suffrage before Missouri does, as well
} as Oklahoma and West Virginia,
| which is considered to be one of the
strongest of the campaign states.
: "Ms.y people think that the suf-
fragists are women who have nothing
else to do except work for the ballot
This is a false idea, for many OF
n the women who came to st. Louis in
the interests of suffrage were won
en-, who had families to care for and
: many Of them said that it was the
= first time they had been away fror1
!, their families for a long time"
Mrs. Johnsan was very enthusiastic
about William Jennings Bryan's speech
at the Convention, "That speech wa:
he best thing of the convention" re
piled Mrs. johnson, when asked abou'
the Great Commoners GRAFTON, "Mar!
of the delegates voted no when thu
" vote was taken to see whether HI
should speak, but the ayes were ii
an overwhelming majority and Bryan
j.. certainly did deliver a masterful ad
dress"