New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-19
Congressional Committee to
Ignore Militant Tactics
Of Sisters
Feels Confident Of
Presidents Support
Wilson Believed To Be Too
Brilliant a Politician to Fail
to Grasp Opportunity

While the pickets at the White House
continue in the limelight, another COM
| mittee of suffrsgists in Washington IS
working without noise for the Susan
B. Anthony amendment. And If, in the
early part of the December session,
the Senate passes the amendment, as
| these suffragist5 say II is sure to do,
| its action will be In spite Of the pickets
and because of the Congressional Com
| mittee of the National American
Woman Suffrage Association. In other
words, while the militants picket, the
conservatives work, and, according to
public sentiment, newspaper opinion
and Congressional cold shoulders, it
Is work, not theatricals, that will win
the war for suffrage.
The Nationals, headed by Mrs. Carrie
Chapman Gait, know this, and after
vainly trying TO dissuade the pickets
from their course, they turned their
backs on the radical suffragists, and
proceeded On their Legislative pro-
gramme. The report from the Senate
committee last week was the first tan
glble result; the net victory on the
schedule is the favorable report to the
House of q resolution TO create a
House woman suffrage committee.
Woman suffrage languishes in the
House Judiciary Committee year after
year, and the sUffragists are very anX-
sIair mn n thny
have in the Senate.) Then, in the next
session, which opens in December,
comes the Senate vote, for the third
time in thirty-nine years, vote which
the Congressional Committee is sure
will carry the amendment
Took Poll of Senate
They base their prediction on moth
ing more or less than a poll of the
Senators, enough of whom have de-
clared their intention of voting yea"
to see the amendment safely through.
Action in the Hosue is tagging behind,
but with the pending suffrage commit
tee formed, the rest of the machinery
could move swiftly enough.
President Wilson the sufragists
count on heavily.
He is the best and truest friend we
ever had in the White House" said
Miss Rose Young, head OF national
publicity and spokesman for the or
ganization, yesterday. He has done
much more for suffrage than any other
President. and will do still more. We
reply on him to help our amendment
very soon now. He has the suffrage
viewpoint thoroughly and is real
Democrat"
II is well known fact also that
President Wilson and Mrs. Cats or
ganization are on the most friendly
terms, although the President has not
publicly committed himself to the Fed
eral plan of giving women the vote.
Sufragists are not alone in expect
ing his aid, however. Many shrewd
public men are saying that Mr.. Wilson
is too brilliant a politician to allow
this opportunity to slip through his
fingers, that before his Administration
closes the Federal amendment will be
an accomplished fact, and President
Wilson will be hailed and recorded as
as the Suffrage President"
The Lobby Continues
Meanwhile, pending war legislation.
the Congressional committee, under
the leadership of Mrs. Frank VI. Roes-
sing, OF Pennsylvania. and Mrs. Maud
Wood Park, Of Indiana. continues TO
lobby indefatigably. There are good
many politicians in the Congressional
body also who want any suffrage leg
islation that Is enacted to be credited
to their party.
To get the amendment on the calen-
dar is highly desirable thing, says
the committee, but 1t must not be put
there as a party trick TO beat the OPP
posing PARTY. The opposing party
| would vote solidly against it. and the
whole preliminary process would have
TO be repeated.
The Congressional committee. is
made up of a direct committee OF fif-
I teen members, some Of whom are in
Washington all the time, and a sub
sidiary group Of aids, over two hun
dred Of them, who come from each one
of the forty-eight states, group by
group, to help lobby for the amend
ment. The permanent members are:
Mrs. Robert Griffin, Mrs. J. Borden
Hartman and Miss Mary Garrett Hay,
of New York; Mrs. Winston Churchill,
of New Hampshire; Mrs. William Jen-
nings Bryan, Of Nebraska; Miss Heloise
Never and Miss Mabel Caldwell Will
lard. of Massachusetts; Mrs. Medill
Mccormick, Of Illinois; Mrs. Helen II.
! Gardener, Of Washington; Miss Martha
Norris, Of Ohio; Mrs. Charles w. Nc
I TIu-o - M;chipan and Miss Ruth