The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-09-20
Special to The Farmer.)

Hartford. Sept. 20.-At the meeting sociation executive committee held yesterday afternoon at suffrage head quarters, Mrs. Thomas M. Hepburn, president of the association and Mrs M. Toscan Bennett, treasurer, tender ed their resignations, which were &C., cepted.
 They will fill out their terms, how ever, because Mrs. Ernest Thompson Seton, who was elected to the presi- dency, said she would be unable to take the job because of work she is doing at Washington. The request to Mrs. Hepburn.to stay in office tempo rarily was accompanied by one to Mrs Bennett. Mrs. Hepburn's letter of resignation follows:
 '"The time has come when I can no longer continue to be president of the Conencticut Woman Suffrage as- sociation and I herewith send you my resignation.
 For the past seven years we have worked together and l have come to have very deep personal affection for the members of the board. It is great grief to me to realize that if I am to follow my honest convictions I must sever my official relations with you.
 During the time that we have worked together the c. w. s. A. has grown from a. small organization to one with over hundred local branches and 38,00O enrolled mem bers. I like to feel that the hard work and generous contributions, not only of the members of the board but of the officers and members of
 Iox sible for these thousands of converts to the suffrage cause in Connecticut.
 ''In the early days of our associa- ton we were entirely independent and could adopt any policy that we believed to be good for the promotion of suffrage but today this has all changed. The National American Woman Suffrage association, of which our association is member dictates our policy and determines all of our essential concerns. am ont protestig against this attitude on the part of the national association. l be- lieve that they cannot do otherwise. Today national work is of first 1mpOr- tace. Women now vote in 19- states for president and it is obvious that the shortest way to secure suffrage for all the women of the United
 
 trate on the federal amendment in stead of trying to secure the vote through state action. Naturally the national association feels that it should dominate the states in order to ensure a uniform policy within it's own organization. The question be- fore us is therefore whether or not we believe in the policies of the na- tional association.
 'I have reluctantly come to feel that the policy of the national asso- citation in their work for the federal amendment is futile, academic, and out of date. After the last national convention, held in Atlantic City, felt pretty hopeless about the ability of the national association to lead us to victory. The president of the asso-. ciation made very fine speech call- ed The Crisis in which she said that we must change from academic to political methods, but every prac- tical effort made at the convention to secure the adoption of any costruc- tive political policy on the part of the national was frowned upon. This summer the national has lined up with the Anti-Suffragists in their condem- nation of the suffrage work which the Woman's party is doing at Wash ington in spite of the fact that this is the most practical work which has been done this summer toward secur- ing the passage of the federal amend- ment. This carping attitude on the part of the national association, talk en in connection with their. own un- willingness or inability to adopt any adequate political policy has made me realize that cannot consistently serve as president of a state branch of the national association, notwithstanding my devotion to the Connecticut Wo- man Suffrage association.
 2sThe National Woman Suffrage as- sociation is not the only national as- sociation working for woman suffrage. l The Woman's party, 8 younger and more vigorous body, is devoting all its energies to securing the passage of l the federal amendment. While. the
 national association ignores the wo- | mems vote in the west as lever to- ward securing the passage of this | amendment the Woman's party asks l them to vote against the party that | has refused to- pass the amendment | I think that the Woman's party is
 right and the national Is wrong. In fact, the policy of organizing the wes- l tern women's vote to push through i the federal amendment would seem to
 be the A c of political methods ir
 any practical attempt to secure the | national enfranchisement of women
 Today, more than ever, the inn
 portance of woman suffrage is thrown into high relief. England, Russia, an6 Canada have given women the vote
 since the war began. With their mer
 gone it is imperative for the womer ' left at home, the only representatives 1 of their families, to have a voice ir | the government. Both industrialiy
 politically women in war time have to do the work of the men who have l gone to the front. Our government should pass the federal amendment a once to protect themselves and thefl families, but we know that the gov. ! ernment will not do this unless those | most interested insist upon it.
 we have gone to war for demo cracy and yet millions of women il our country are denied the right tt 1 vote. Simply mentioning this fact ir | suffrage journals and to suffrage au l diences is futile. We must say it il | such a way that all the world vii hear and that is what the pickets O.
 the Woman's Party have done a
 Washington. My sympathies are al
 with them. I admire their honesty their self-forgetfulness, and theil | practical wisdom. In my opinion i