Evening star., 1955-07-24
BY JAMES wALDoFAwcETT


The 50-cent regular postage
stamp honoring Susan Brow
nell). Anthony is not likely to
be popular among philatelists.
and the same observation may
be offered with regard to the
general public. Priced out Of
the market for the average col
lector. it also relates to an
aspect of American history
which now is as dead as
Methuselah.
Few, If any, citizens in 1855
care anything about the votes
for-women agitation Of 80 years
ago. Living generations simply
cannot get excited about the
psychological fixations of their
grandparents. It seems ridicu-
lous that there ever was any
question about women voting.
But it does not follow that
the Anthony stamp is totally
lacking in interest. The story
behind it has considerable at
traction. It's heroine - the
redoubtable Susan B.-was a
person to whom nobody in her
own era was Indifferent.
Born at Adams, Mass. Feb
ruary Is, 1920. she was a
daughter of a Quaker miller
and storekeeper. Daniel An
thony, and his nonconformist
wife, Lucy Read. Her parents
married "in defiance of the
meeting" which disapproved
of Lucy because she was "pas-
sionately fond of music and
dancing" The Friends Society
also was unhappy about Daniel
because he sold liquor in his
store. It finally ''read him out"
for allowing young folks-not
his own-to dance on the top
floor of his house.
PrecociOus as a Child
With such sponsors, it is no
wonder that Susan B. started
her own independent career as
"a precocious child. learning
to read and write at 9the age
Of g." She was endowed with
an unusual memory" and
"eager for knowledge" Re-
tentiveness plus receptivity
made her a genius Of a sort
while she still was a child.
Attending a district school for
a while, then being the prize
pupil in a home school organ
ized by her father, and finally
going to a boarding school at
Hamilton. near Philadelphia,
she was judged competent to
be teacher at 20 and taught
with some success at Canajo-
harie Academy between 1846
and 1849.
An objective biographer says
that in those days Miss An
thony was "a "straight-laced,
prudish young woman. serious
minded. with very rigid moral
standards" and prone to
criticize her elders" She OBJ
jected to President Martin Van
Buren's patronage of the the
ater and never felt it her
mission to be a homemaker."
Met Reformers When 80
Exactly when Susan B. dis
covered "the war between the
sexes" is uncertain. Living
with her radical father near
Rochester. N. Y, in 1850, she
met there such reformers as
William Lloyd Garrison, Wen-
dell Phillips, Frederick Doug
lass, Amelia Bloomer, Lucretia
Mott. Lucy Stone and Eliza
beth Cady Stanton-and held
her own with them.
-n Her first public work was in
behalf of temperance. Chosen
q delegate to a Sons of Tenn
perance Convention at Albany
in 1852, she ran up against
male intolerance when she
tried to make a speech and
was informed that "the sisters
were to listen and learn" not
participate in the discussions
on equal terms.
Thereafter woman's rights
were her major concern. She
symbolized her rebellion by
wearing Turkish trousers and
short skirts for a while, but
gave up the experiment despite
its physical comfort" because
she found it "a mental cruci-
11xiol.' A much more serious
effort was her attempt to en-
list support for the notion
that the franchise for women
should be included In the
Fourteenth Amendment to the
Constitution.
Published Paper at 48
Miss Anthony in company
with Mrs. Stanton and Park
er Pilsbury began publishing
q paper entitled The Revo-
lution-"radical and defiant
in tone"--in 1868. This led
70 the organization of the Ma
tional Woman Suffrage AS
sociation, with Mrs. Stanton
o. president and Susan B. as
chairman Of the Executive
Committee in 1869.
From that date onward the
life of Miss Anthony was q
calendar of lecture tours
meetings and conventions. In
1890 rival feminist groups
combined to create the Ma
tional American Woman Suf-
frage Association with Mrs
Stanton. as usual, president
ana Susan B. vice president al
large. Then from 1892 until
she retired at 80 in 1900 Miss
Anthony was president of the
NAWSA.
Refused to Pay Fine