Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1917-09-28
MRS. t. N. HEPBURN RESIGNS
AS President Of Conn. Woman Suffrage
Association-Copy Of Letter.

The time has come when | can no
longer continue to be President of the
Connecticut Woman Suffrage Asso-
citation and herewith send you my
resignation
For the past seven years We have
worked together and / have come 10
have very deep personal affection
| for the members of the board II Is
a great grief to me to realize that II
/ am 10 follow my honest convictions
must sever my official relations with
you.
During the time that we have work
ed together the c. w. S. A. has grown
from a small organization TO one with
over a hundred local branches and So
600 enrolled members like to feel
that the hard work and generous con-
tributions. not only of the members OF
the board, but of the officers and mem-
bers of our local leagues, are largely
responsible for these thousands OF
converts to the suffrage cause in Con-
necticut.
In the early days of our Associa-
] tion we were entirely Independent and
could adopt any policy that we be-
lieved 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 a member, dc
tates our policy and determines all OF
our essential concerns. am not pro-
| testing against this attitude ON the
part of the National Association. l
believe that they cannot do otherwise.
| Today national work is OF first I'M
| portance. Women now vote in nine-
teen States for President and 1t is OBJ
| vious that the shortest way to secure
| suffrage for all the women of the
| United States is for suffragists to con-
centrate on the Federal Amendment
instead of trying to secure the vote
through State action. Naturally the
| National Association feels that 1t
| should dominate the States in order
| To ensure uniform policy within its
own organization The question be-
fore us is therefore whether or not We
believe i'm the policies of the National
] Association.
/ | have reluctantly come to feel that
| the policy of the National Associa-
tion 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out of date After the last National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 As
sociation made a very fine speech
called "The Crisis in which she
said that we must change from aca-
demic to political methods, but every
practical effort made at the conyen-
ton TO secure the adoption of any con-
structive political policy on the part
of the National was frowned upon.
This summer the National has lined
up with the Anti-Sulfragists in their
condemnation of the suffrage work
which the Woman's Party is doing at
Washington, in spite of the fact that
this is the most practical work which
has been Gone this summer toward Sc
curing the passage of the federal
amendment This carping attitude on
the part of the National Association,
taken in connection with their own un
Willingness or inability to adopt any
adequate political policy has made me
realizey that / cannot consistent
serve as president of state branch
of the National Association, notwith-
standing my devotion to the Connecti-
cut Woman Suffrage Association.
The National Woman Suffrage AS
sociation is not the only national as
sociation working for woman suffrage.
The Woman's Party, younger and
more vigorous body, is devoting all its
energies to securing the passonge of
/ the federal amendment. While the
| National Association ignores the Wo-
mems vote in the West as alever to-
ward securing the passage of this
amendment the Woman's Party asks
them to vote against the party that
has refused to pass the amendment.
/ think the Woman's Party is right
and the National is wrong. In fact,
the policy of organizing the Western
Women's vote to ppsh through the
Federal Amendment would seem to
be the ABC of political methods in
any practical attempt to secure the
national enfranchisement of women.
Today, more than ever, the import
ance of women suffrage is thrown into
higher relief. England, Russia, and
Canada have given women the vote
since the war began. With their men
gone it is imperative for the women
| left at home, the only representatives
of their families, to have a voice in
the government. Both industrially
and politically women in war tins
have to do work of the men who have
gone to the front Our government
should pass the Federal Amendment
at once and take the first step toward
giving women the power to protect
themselves and their families, but we
know that the government vii not do
this unless those most interested in
sist upon it.
We have gone to war for democ-
racy and yet millions of women in our
country are denied the right TO vote.
Simply mentioning this fact in suf-
frage journals and to suffrage audi
ences is futile We must say it in
such way that all the world will
hear, and that is what the pickets OF
the Woman's Party have done at
Washington. Ny sympathies are all
with them. / admire their honesty.