The labor standard., 1919-06-01

The presidential suffrage night III Connecticut is over and with it closes one of the most interesting chapters of the legislative history of the state. One vote in the state Senate decided that Connecticut was not to be one of the forward looking states which would include women in it's presiden- tial electorate in 1920.
 The statement that the bill failed to carry. by one vote indicates that the contest was close one but that or any other collection of words-can- not begin to indicate the size or strength of the battle which the Con- necticut Woman Suffrage Association, under the remarkable generalship of Miss Katharine Ludington,. made in it's determined effort to gain admit tance for Connecticut women in the election of 1920.
 Perhaps the reason why we feel that the result of the vote was more of a victory than defeat can best be explained by quoting an editorial from the Hartford Times, one of the leading newspapers of Connecticut:
 "The women who crowded the gal leries of the senate on Thursday to hear the death sentence on the suf- frage. bill passed by a single vote may form what theories they please as to the popular government in Con- necticut when they reflect that while they enjoyed no freedom of the sen- ate floor, such privilege was enjoyed and much exercised-by Legisla- ture J. Henry Roraback and Major John Buckley, U. s. A., who found time from his martial duties as a field officer of infantry in defense of the nation and his co-incident civil job as executive secretary of the good blunt governor (no income tax on either salaryl to take a hand in the obsequies.
 "Just how the suffrage bill man. aged to get lost for so long among the clerks of the house, the clerks of the senate and the officials of the offices of the secretary of state one may hardly guess.
 "But with only one vote to spare the proceedings of Thursday appeared squeaks Legislature J. Henry Rora- back has encountered in his long career of beneficent state guidance"
 Since early January, when it looked as if the legislature would have no opportunity to ratify the Federal Suf- frage Amendment, the Suffrage Asso- citation has been spending unlimited time and effort to secure the passage of presidential suffrage bill.
 The first step after the bills intro duction into the senate by Senator secure a hearing before the joint Woman Suffrage Committee of the Senate and House whose Senate Chairman was thought to be favor able to suffrage and whose House Chairman was known to be thor oughly opposed.
 Now hearing before committee, since all committees in the regular order of events do hold hearings, sounds like very simple matter, but not so suffrage hearing in Connecti- cut. A date-March 4th-was agreed upon by suffragists and opposition their plans to convoy triumphantly their 98,O00 signatures of Connecticut women who believe in equal suffrage to the Capitol, and arranged the list of speakers for the hearing. These plans were ready to be carried out on the morning of March 4th when the president of the Association was briefly informed by the Chairman of the House Committee that the hear ing would be postponed. No explana- tion was given except that legisla- tive custom, requiring CndC Cne near ing should be printed in the Legisla- This technicality had not been needed for several years previously.
 It was at this point that the suffra- gists first began to marvel at the Opportune and graceful manner in which such phrases as "technicality" senatorial courtesy, Legislative custom, "table for calendar" could be dragged into service. The amazement grew as time went on for the post ponement of the hearing proved a mere beginning in the list of presiden- tial suffrage happenings which were destined to rival in excitement tThe Martial Adventures of Henry and Me-.
 The hearing was held on March 11th and proved far more successful than it could possibly have been the week