The report of the Organization Committee, Mrs. Chapman Catt, chairman, showed a large amount of work done in Iowa, Illinois, South Dakota and the Southern States, the writing of 10,000 letters, the holding of 1,000 public meetings under the auspices of this committee. It closed by saying:
The chief obstacle to organization is not found in societies opposed to the extension of suffrage to woman, nor in ignorance, nor in conservatism; it is to be found in that large body of suffragists who believe that the franchise will come, but that it will come in some unaccountable way without effort or concern on their part. It is to be found in the hopeless, faithless, lifeless members of our own organization. They are at times the officers of local clubs, and the clubs die on their hands; in State executive committees, and there, appalled by the magnitude of the undertaking, they decide that organization is impossible because there is no money, and they make no effort to secure funds. They are in our national body, ready to find fault with plans and results and to criticise the conscientious efforts of those who are struggling to accomplish good—yet they are never ready to propose more helpful methods. In short, we find them everywhere, doing practically nothing themselves, but "throwing cold water" upon every effort inaugurated by others. "It can not be done" is their motto, and by it they constantly discourage the hopeful and extract all enthusiasm from new workers. Judging from the intimate knowledge of the condition of our association gained in the last three years, I am free to say that these are our most effective opponents to-day, and, without question, the best result of the three years' work is the gradual strengthening of belief in the possibility of organization.
Mrs. Sallie Clay Bennett, chairman, presented the report on Federal Suffrage;114 Mrs. Lillie Devereux Blake, chairman, on Legislation; and Miss Laura Clay on the Suffrage Convocation at the Tennessee Exposition the preceding year. The Plan of Work, offered by the chairman, Mrs. Mariana W. Chapman, and adopted, represented the best result of many years' experience and exemplified the aims and methods of the association. The old board of officers was almost unanimously re-elected.
The afternoon Work Conferences, to exchange ideas as to methods for organizing, raising funds, etc., which met in a small hall, aroused so much interest and attracted so many people that it was necessary to transfer them to the large auditorium. The Resolutions Committee presented by its chairman, Mrs. Ida Husted Harper, a brief summary of the results already accomplished and the rights yet to be secured, in part as follows:
The National-American Woman Suffrage Association, at this its thirtieth annual meeting, celebrates the semi-centennial anniversary of the first Woman's Rights Convention, held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, N. Y., and reaffirms every principle then and there enunciated. We count the gains of fifty years. Woman's position revolutionized in the home, in society, in the church and in the State; public sentiment changed, customs modified, industries opened, co-education established, laws amended, economic independence partially secured, and equal suffrage a recognized subject of legislation. Fifty years ago women voted nowhere in the world; to-day Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Idaho have established equal suffrage for women, and have already in the Congress of the United States eight Senators and seven Representatives with women constituents. Kansas has granted women Municipal Suffrage, and twenty-three other States have made women voters in school elections. This movement is not confined to the United States; in Great Britain and her colonies women now have Municipal and County Suffrage, while New Zealand and South Australia have abolished all political distinctions of sex. Therefore,
Resolved, That we hereby express our profound appreciation of the prophetic vision, advanced thought and moral courage of the pioneers in this movement for equality of rights, and our sincere gratitude for their half century of toil and endurance to secure for women the privileges they now enjoy, and to make the way easier for those who are to complete the work. We, their successors, a thousandfold multiplied, stand pledged to unceasing effort until women have all the rights and privileges which belong equally to every citizen of a republic.
That in every State we demand for women citizens equality with male citizens in the exercise of the elective franchise, upon such terms and conditions as the men impose upon themselves.
That we appeal to Congress to submit a Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, thereby enabling the citizens of each State to carry this question of woman suffrage before its Legislature for settlement.
That we will aid, so far as practicable, every State campaign for woman suffrage; but we urgently recommend our auxiliary State societies to effect thorough county organizations before petitioning their Legislatures for a State constitutional amendment.
Whereas, The good results of woman suffrage in Wyoming since 1869 have caused its adoption successively by the three adjoining States; therefore,
Resolved, That we earnestly request the citizens of these four free States to make a special effort to secure the franchise for women in the States contiguous to their own.
That we demand for mothers equal custody and control of their minor children, and for wives and widows an equal use and inheritance of property.
That we ask for an equal representation of women on all boards of education and health, of public schools and colleges, and in the management of all public institutions; and for their employment as physicians for women and children in all hospitals and asylums, and as police matrons and guards in all prisons and reformatories.
That this Association limits its efforts exclusively to securing equal rights for women, and it appeals for co-operation to the whole American people.
Miss Alice Stone Blackwell, Mrs. Ida Porter Boyer and Mrs. Harper were appointed fraternal delegates to the Woman's Press Association, in session at this time in Washington.
A beautiful feature of this occasion was the luncheon given by Mrs. John R. McLean to Miss Anthony on her seventy-eighth birthday, February 15, attended by thirty-six of the most distinguished ladies in the national capital, and followed by a reception to the members of the convention. Mrs. McLean was assisted in receiving by Miss Anthony and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant. Seventy-eight wax tapers burned upon the birthday cake, which was three feet in diameter and decorated with flowers. It was presented to Miss Anthony, who carried it in triumph to the convention in Columbia Theatre, where it was cut into slices that were sold as souvenirs and realized about $120, which she donated to the cause.
Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, at the age of eighty-two, sent two papers for this fiftieth anniversary, one for the congressional hearing, on The Significance of the Ballot; the other, Our Defeats and our Triumphs, was read to the convention by Mrs. Colby. Both displayed all the old-time vigor of thought and beauty of expression. The latter, filled with interesting reminiscence, closed with these words:
Another generation has now enlisted for a long or short campaign. What, say they, shall we do to hasten the work? I answer, the pioneers have brought you through the wilderness in sight of the promised land; now, with active, aggressive warfare, take possession. Instead of rehearsing the old arguments which have done duty fifty years, make a brave attack on every obstacle which stands in your way.... Lord Brougham said: "The laws for women [in England and America] are a disgrace to the civilization of the nineteenth century." The women in every State should watch their law-makers, and any bill invidious to their interests should be promptly denounced, and with such vehemence and indignation as to agitate the whole community....
There