Evening star., 1947-03-10
Carrie Chapman Cat, Fighter
For Suffrage and Peace, Dies
Truman Message
Says Fro Ends
With Her Deuth
BY the Associated Press

t-MrS. carrie Chapman Gait, 38,
who entered the fight for world
peace after her unfiagging crusade
for women's suffrage hAd succeeded,
died yesterday Of heart disease at
her home here.
Only two days before she had told
I her biographer. Mary Gray Peck,
that she hoped to live to see the
United Nations become q going
tconcern."
with the passing Of Mrs. Carrie
Chapman Gait an era in our ma
tional life comes to a close" Presi-
dent Truman said in telegram de-
livered yesterday to the Gait home.
I"' She will be widely mou-ned
and long remembered"
Private funeral services will be
held tomorrow afternoon at the
home, with burial In Woodlawn
Cemetery in New York City.
A follower of Susan B. Anthony
in the fight for women's rights, Mrs.
Gait saw her long campaign succeed
in 1920 with adoption Of the 10th
amendment to the Constitution.
Was Native Of Wisconsin.
President Wilson named her to
his Woman's Committee on National
Defense during World War I.
She was born Carrie Lane In
Ripon, Wis, on January 9, 1859.
She washed dishes to help pay her
way through iowa State College at
Ames and then became principal Of
the high school in Mason City, Iowa.
There she met and married Leo
Chapman, joining him in publish
ing the Mason City Republican. His
health failed and they moved to
San Francisco, where he died in
1886.
The rebufis she received when
she tried to make her own way by
selling newspaper advertising led
the young widow into the feminist
movement.
Carried Fight Abroad.
From 1900 to 1904 she was presi-
dent Of the National American
Woman Suffrage Association and
then went abroad to work for equal
rights in other countries. In 1915
she returned to the presidency of
the association, to lead the final
successful fight for women's voting
rights. In 1919 she aided in found
ing the nonpartisan National League
Of Women Voters.
In 1890 Mrs. Gait married George
William Gait, an engineer. He died
Is years later.
In trying to make her living in
San Francisco as a widow at 27
she was impressed by the attitude
OF the Victorian era toward woman
In business and determined to "help
make conditions respectable for
women to work If they desired"
She looked about for a method tc
achieve her aim, and then decided
to give a course Of lectures on SUBJ
jects Of general interest. AS a re-
suit she was invited at the end OF
the Year to speak at a suffrage
gathering in Marshalltown, Iowa,
and in 1887 made her first suffrage
speech. She became deeply inter-
ested in the cause and never ceased
to work for it thereafter. ~
Began Organizing.
From 1887 to 1889 she served as
State organizer of suffrage clubs in
Iowa, and for several years there
after toured numerous States, visit
ing State, county and local suffrage
clubs and organizing others. She
addressed constitutional conventions
and legislative bodies from Maine
to Montana, as well as in Great
Britain, Norway, Sweden, Holland
and Hungary.
Her work and enthusiasm were
recognized when she was elected in
1895 chairman OF the Campaign
Committee of the National Amer
lean Woman Association.
Mrs. Gait was active in the organ
ization OF the International Woman
Suffrage Alliance in 1902, composed
Of national woman Suffrage associa-
tions Of 26 nations. Two years later
she resigned as president Of the Ma
tional American Woman Suffrage
Association to become president of
this alliance, a position which she
held for 20 years.
ross-Questioned Father.
Although Mrs. Gait had been an
ardent defender Of womens' rights
against the domination Of the male"