The Story of an African Farm

第19章

servativeCreolefamiliesandotherfamilieswhosewomenwereunwillingtovoteinpublic，andshecollectedtheirproxieswhileincidentallysheshowedthemwhatpositiontheyheldunderthelaw。

Witheachproxyitwasnecessarytohavethesigna—

tureofawitness，butaccordingtotheLouisianalawnowomancouldwitnessalegaldocument。MissGordonwasdrivenfromplacetoplacebyhercoloredcoachman，andaftershehadsecuredtheproxyofhertemporaryhostessitwasusuallydiscoveredthattherewasnomanaroundtheplacetoactasawit—

ness。ThiswasMissGordon’sopportunity。Withasmileofgreatsweetnessshewouldsay，``IwillhaveSamcomeinandhelpusout’’；andthecoloredcoachmanwouldgetdownfromhisbox，andbyscrawlinghissignatureontheproxyofthearisto—

craticladyhewouldgiveitthelegalvalueitlacked。

InthiswayMissGordonsecuredthreehundredproxies，andthreehundredveryconservativewomenhadanopportunitytocomparetheirlegalstandingwithSam’s。Thedrainagebillwascarriedandin—

terestinwomansuffragedevelopedsteadily。

ThespecialincidentoftheBuffaloconventionof1908wasthereceiptofanotewhichwaspasseduptomeasIsatontheplatform。WhenIopeneditacheckdroppedout——achecksolargethatIwassureithadbeensentbymistake。However，afteraskingoneortwofriendsontheplatformifIhadreaditcorrectly，IannouncedtotheaudiencethatifacertainamountweresubscribedimmediatelyI

wouldrevealasecret——averyinterestingsecret。

Audiencesareascuriousasindividuals。Theamountwasatoncesubscribed。ThenIheldupacheckfor$10，000，givenforourcampaignworkbyMrs。

GeorgeHowardLewis，inmemoryofSusanB。An—

thony，andIreadtotheaudiencethecharmingletterthataccompaniedit。Themoneywasusedduringthecampaignsofthefollowingyear——partofitinWashington，whereanamendmentwasalreadysubmitted。

InapreviouschapterIhavedescribedtheestab—

lishmentofourNewYorkheadquartersasaresultofthegenerousofferofMrs。O。H。P。BelmontattheSeattleconventionin1909。DuringourfirstyearinthesebeautifulFifthAvenueroomsMrs。

PankhurstmadeherfirstvisittoAmerica，andwegaveherareceptionthere。This，however，wasbeforetheadoptionofthedestructivemethodswhichhavesincemarkedtheactivitiesofthebandofmilitantsuffragistsofwhichMrs。Pankhurstispresident。TherehasneverbeenanysympathyamongAmericansuffragistsforthemilitantsuffragemovementinEngland，andpersonallyIamwhollyopposedtoit。Idonotbelieveinwarinanyform；

andifviolenceonthepartofmenisundesirableinachievingtheirends，itismuchmoresoonthepartofwomen；forwomenneverappeartolessadvan—

tagethaninphysicalcombatswithmen。AsformilitancyinAmerica，nogenerationthatattempteditcouldwin。Novictorycouldcometousinanystatewheremilitantmethodsweretried。Theyareundignified，unworthy——inotherwords，un—Ameri—

can。

TheWashingtonconventionof1910wasgracedbythepresenceofPresidentTaft，who，atthein—

vitationofMrs。RachelFosterAvery，madeanaddress。Itwasunderstood，ofcourse，thathewastocomeoutstronglyforwomansuffrage；but，toourgreatdisappointment，thePresident，amostcharmingandlikablegentleman，seemedunabletograspthesignificanceoftheoccasion。Hebeganhisaddresswithfulsomepraiseofwomen，whichwasacceptedinrespectfulsilence。Thenhegotroundtowomansuffrage，flounderedhelplessly，becameconfused，andendedwiththemostunfortunatelychosenwordshecouldhaveuttered：``Iamop—

posed，’’hesaid，``totheextensionofsuffragetowomennotfittedtovote。Youwouldhardlyexpecttoputtheballotintothehandsofbarbariansorsavagesinthejungle！’’

Thedroppingoftheseremarkablewordsintoasuffrageconventionwasnaturallyfollowedbyanoppressivesilence，whichMr。Taft，nowwhollybereftofhisself—possession，brokebysayingthatthebestwomenwouldnotvoteandtheworstwomenwould。

Inhisaudienceweremanywomenfromsuffragestates——high—mindedwomen，wivesandmothers，whohadvotedforMr。Taft。Theremarkstowhichtheyhadjustlistenedmusthaveseemedtothemapoorreturn。Someonehissed——someman，somewoman——nooneknowswhichexcepttheculprit——

andademonstrationstartedwhichIimmediatelysilenced。ThenthePresidentfinishedhisaddress。

Hewasverygracioustouswhenheleft，shakinghandswithmanyofus，andbeingespeciallycordialtoSenatorOwens’sagedmother，whohadcometotheconventiontohearhimmakehismaidenspeechonwomansuffrage。IhaveoftenwonderedwhathethoughtofthatspeechashedrovebacktotheWhiteHouse。Probablyheregrettedasearnestlyaswedidthathehadmadeit。

In1912，atanofficialboardmeetingatBrynMawr，Mrs。StanleyMcCormackwasappointedtofillavacancyontheNationalBoard。Sub—

sequentlyshecontributed$6，000towardthepay—

mentofdebtsincidenttoourtemporaryconnec—

tionwiththeWoman’sJournalofBoston，anddidmuchefficientworkforus，Tome，personally，theentranceofMrs。StanleyMcCormackintoourworkhasbeenasourceofthedeepestgrati—

ficationandcomfort。IcantrulysayofherwhatSusanB。Anthonysaidofme，``Sheismyrightbower。’’AtNashville，in1914，shewaselectedfirstvice—president，andtoaremarkabledegreeshehassincerelievedmeoftheburdenofthetechnicalworkofthepresidency，includingtheoversightoftheworkatheadquarters。Tothisshegivesallhertime，aidedbyanexecutivesecretarywhotakeschargeoftheroutineworkoftheassociation。Shehasthusmadeitpossibleformetogivethegreaterpartofmytimetothefieldinwhichsuchinspiringopportunitiesstillconfrontus——campaignworkinthevariousstates。

ToMrs。MedillMcCormackalsoweareindebtedformostadmirableworkandenthusiasticsupport。

AttheWashington（D。C。）conventionin1913shewasmadethechairmanoftheCongressionalCom—

mittee，withMrs。AntoinetteFunk，Mrs。HelenGardnerofWashington，andMrs。BoothofChicagoasherassistants。Theresultstheyachievedweresobrilliantthattheywereunanimouslyre—electedtothesamepositionsthisyear，withtheadditionofMissJeannetteRankin，whoseenergyandservicehadhelpedtowinforusthestateofMontana。

ItwaslargelyduetotheworkofthisCongress—

ionalCommittee，supportedbythelargenumberofstateswhichhadbeenwonforsuffrage，thatwesecuredsuchanexcellentvoteintheLowerHouseofCongressonthebilltoamendthenationalCon—

stitutiongrantingsuffragetothewomenoftheUnitedStates。Thismeasure，knownastheSusanB。Anthonybill，hadbeenintroducedintoeveryCongressforforty—threeyearsbytheNationalWomanSuffrageAssociation。In1914，forthefirsttime，itwasbroughtoutofcommittee，debated，andvoteduponintheLowerHouse。Wereceived174votesinfavorofitto204againstit。Thepreviousspring，inthesameCongress，thesamebillpassedtheSenateby35votesforitto33votesagainstit。

ThemostinterestingfeaturesoftheWashingtonconventionof1913werethelabormass—meetingsledbyJaneAddamsandthehearingbeforetheRulesCommitteeoftheLowerHouseofCon—

gress——thelatterthefirsthearingeverheldbe—

forethisCommitteeforthepurposeofsecuringaCommitteeonSuffrageintheLowerHousetocorrespondwithasimilarcommitteeintheSen—

ate。Formanyyearswehadhadhearingsbe—

foretheJudiciaryCommitteeoftheLowerHouse，whichwassuchabusycommitteethatithadneithertimenorinteresttogivetoourmeasure。Wethere—

foreconsidereditnecessarytohaveaspecialcom—

mitteeofourown。ThehearingbeganonthemorningofWednesday，thethirdofDecember，andlastedfortwohours。Thentheanti—suffragistsweregiventime，andtheirhearingbeganthefollowingday，continuedthroughoutthatdayandduringthemorningofthenextday，whenourNationalAssociationwasgivenanopportunityforrebuttalargumentintheafternoon。Itwasthelongesthear—

inginthehistoryofthesuffragemovement，andoneofthemostimportant。

DuringthesessionofCongressin1914anotherstrenuouseffortwasmadetosecuretheappoint—

mentofaspecialsuffragecommitteeintheLowerHouse。Butwhensuccessbegantoloomlargebe—

foreustheDemocratswerecalledincaucusbytheminorityleader，Mr。Underwood，ofAlabama，andtheydownedourmeasurebyavoteof127againstitto58forit。ThiswasevidentlydonebytheDemocratsbecauseofthefearthattheunitedvotesofRepublicanandProgressivemembers，withthoseofcertainDemocraticmembers，wouldcarrythemeasure；whereasifthiscaucuswerecalled，andanunfavorablevotetaken，``thegentlemen’sagree—

ment’’whichcontrolsDemocraticpartyactioninCongresswouldforceDemocratsinfavorofsuffragetovoteagainsttheappointmentofthecommittee，whichofcoursewouldinsureitsdefeat。

Thecaucusblockedtheappointmentofthecom—

mittee，butitgavegreatencouragementtothesuf—

fragistsofthecountry，fortheyknewittobeatacitadmissionthatthemeasurewouldreceiveafavor—

ablevoteifitcamebeforeCongressunhampered。

Anotherfeatureofthe1913conventionwasthenewmethodofelectingofficers，bywhichaprimaryvotewastakenonnominations，andafterwardaregularballotwascast；oneofficerwasaddedtothemembersoftheofficialboard，makingnineinsteadofeight，theformernumber。ThenewofficerselectedwereMrs。BreckenridgeofKentucky，thegreat—granddaughterofHenryClay，andMrs。

CatherineRuutz—ReesofGreenwich，Connecticut。

Theoldofficerswerere—elected——MissJaneAddamsasfirstvice—president，Mrs。BreckenridgeandMrs。

Ruutz—Reesassecondandthirdvice—presidents，Mrs。MaryWareDennettascorrespondingsecre—

tary，Mrs。SusanFitzgeraldasrecordingsecretary，Mrs。StanleyMcCormackastreasurer，Mrs。JosephBowenofChicagoandMrs。JamesLeesLaidlawofNewYorkCityasauditors。

Itwouldbedifficulttosecureagroupofwomenofmoremarkedability，orbetter—knownworkersinvariouslinesofphilanthropicandeducationalwork，thanthememberscomposingthisadmirableboard。

Attheconventionof1914，heldinNashville，severalofthemresigned，andatpresent（in1914）the``National’s’’affairsareinthehandsofthisin—

spiringgroup，againheadedbythemuch—criticizedandchastenedwriterofthesereminiscences：

Mrs。StanleyMcCormack，firstvice—president。

Mrs。DeshaBreckenridge，secondvice—president。

Dr。KatharineB。Davis，thirdvice—president。

Mrs。HenryWadeRogers，treasurer。

Mrs。JohnClark，correspondingsecretary。

Mrs。SusanWalkerFitzgerald，recordingsecretary。

Mrs。MedillMcCormack，}

}AuditorsMrs。WalterMcNabbMiller，ofMissouri}

Inabookofthissize，andcoveringthedetailsofmyownlifeaswellasthedevelopmentofthegreatCause，itis，ofcourse，impossibletomentionbynameeachwomanwhohasworkedforus——

though，indeed，Iwouldliketomakearollofhonorandgivethemalltheirdue。InlookingbackIamsur—

prisedtoseehowlittleIhavesaidaboutmanywomenwithwhomIhaveworkedmostclosely——RachelFosterAvery，forexample，withwhomIlivedhappilyforseveralyears；IdaHustedHarper，thehistorianofthesuffragemovementandthebiographerofMissAnthony，withwhomImademanydelightfulvoy—

agestoEurope；AliceStoneBlackwell，Rev。MarySaffard，JaneAddams，KatharineWaughMcCul—

lough，EllaStewart，Mrs。MaryWoodSwift，Mrs。

MaryS。Sperry，MaryCogshall，FlorenceKelly，Mrs。OgdenMillsReidandMrs。NormanWhite—

house（tomentiononlytwooftheyounger``livewires’’inourNewYorkwork），SophonisbaBreck—

enridge，Mrs。ClaraB。Arthur，Rev。CarolineBart—

lettCrane，Mrs。JamesLeesLaidlaw，Mrs。RaymondBrown，thesplendidlyexecutivepresidentofourNewYorkStateSuffrageAssociation，andmybene—

factress，Mrs。GeorgeHowardLewisofBuffalo。Toallofthem，andtothousandsofothers，Imakemygratefulacknowledgmentofindebtednessforfriend—

shipandforhelp。

XVI

COUNCILEPISODES

IhavesaidmuchoftheinterestattendingtheinternationalmeetingsheldinChicago，London，Berlin，andStockholm。ThatIhavesaidlessaboutthoseinCopenhagen，Geneva，TheHague，Budapest，andothercitiesdoesnotmeanthatthesewerelessimportant，andcertainlythewonderfulwomenleadersofEuropewhomadethemsobrilliantmustnotbepassedoverinsilence。

First，however，thedifferencebetweentheSuf—

frageAlliancemeetingsandtheInternationalCoun—

cilmeetingsshouldbeexplained。TheCouncilmeetingsaremadeupofsocietiesfromthevariousnationswhichareauxiliarytotheInternationalCouncil——thesesocietiesrepresentingalllinesofwomen’sactivities，whethereducational，industrial，orsocial，whilethemembership，includingmorethanelevenmillionwomen，representsprobablythelargestorganizationofwomenintheworld。TheInternationalSuffrageAlliancerepresentsthesuf—

frageinterestprimarily，whereastheInternationalCouncilhasonlyasuffragedepartment。Sopopu—

lardidthisInternationalAlliancebecomeafteritsformationinBerlinbyMrs。Catt，in1904，thatattheCopenhagenmeeting，onlythreeyearslater，morethansixteendifferentnationswererepresentedbyregulardelegates。

Itwasunfortunate，therefore，thatIchosethisoccasiontomakeaspectacularpersonalfailureinthepulpit。Ihadbeeninvitedtopreachthecon—

ventionsermon，andforthefirsttimeinmylifeIhadaninterpreter。Fewexperiences，Ibelieve，canbemoreunpleasantthantostandupinapul—

pit，utteraremark，andthenwaitpatientlywhileitisrepeatedinatongueonedoesnotunderstand，byamanwhoisputtingitsgistinhisownwordsandquitepossiblygivingithisowninterpretativetwist。

Iwasveryunhappy，andIfearIshowedit，forI

felt，asIlookedatthefacesofthosefriendswhounderstoodDanish，thattheywerenotgettingwhatIwasgivingthem。Norwerethey，forIafterwardlearnedthattheinterpreter，agoodorthodoxbrother，hadgiventhesermonanultra—orthodoxbiaswhichthosewhoknewmycreedcertainlydidnotrecognize。Thewholeexperiencegreatlydis—

heartenedme，butnodoubtitwasgoodformysoul。

DuringtheCopenhagenmeetingweweregivenabanquetbytheCityCouncil，andinthecourseofhisspeechofwelcomeoneofthecityfathersairilyremarkedthathehopedonournextvisittoCopen—

hagentherewouldbewomenmembersintheCounciltoreceiveus。Atthetimethisseemedmerelyapleasantjest，buttwoyearsfromthatdayabillwasenactedbyParliamentgrantingmunicipalsuf—

fragetothewomenofDenmark，andsevenwomenwereelectedtotheCityCouncilofCopenhagen。

Sorapidlydoesthewomansuffragemovementgrowintheseinspiringdays！

RecallingtheInternationalCouncilof1899inLondon，oneofmymostvividpictureshasQueenVictoriaforitscentralfigure。TheEnglishcourtwasinmourningatthetimeandnopublicaudienceswerebeingheld；butwewereinvitedtoWindsorwiththeunderstandingthat，althoughtheQueencouldnotformallyreceiveus，shewouldpassthroughourlines，receivingLadyAberdeenandgivingtherestofusanopportunitytocourtesyandobtainHerMajesty’srecognitionoftheCause。

TheQueenarrangedwithherchamberlainthatweshouldbegiventeaandacollation；butbeforethisrefreshmentwasserved，indeedimmediatelyafterourarrival，sheenteredherfamiliarlittlepony—cartandwasdrivenslowlyalonglinesofbowingwomenwhomusthavelookedlikeawheat—fieldinahighwind。

AmonguswasagroupofIndianwomen，andthese，dressedintheirnativecostumes，contributedapicturesquebitofbrilliantcolortothesceneastheydeeplysalaamed。TheyarrestedtheeyeoftheQueen，whostoppedandspokeafewcordialwordstothem。Thisgavetherestofusanexcellentopportunitytoobserveherclosely，andIadmitthatmyEnglishbloodstirredinmesuddenlyandloyallyasIstudiedtheplumplittlefigure。Shewasdressedentirelyandverysimplyinblack，withaquaintflatblackhatandablackcape。Theonlybitofcoloraboutherwasablack—and—whiteparasolwithagoldhandle。Itwas，however，herfacewhichheldme，foritgavemeawhollydifferentimpressionoftheQueenfromthoseIhadreceivedfromherphotographs。Herpicturedeyeswerealwaysrathercold，andherpicturedfaceratherhaughty；buttherewasaverysweetandwinningsoftnessintheeyessheturnedupontheIndianwomen，andherwholeexpressionwasunexpectedlygentleandbenignant。

Behindher，asapersonalattendant，strodeanenormousEast—Indianinfullnativecostume，andcloselysurroundingherweregentlemenofherhouse—

hold，eachinuniform。

Bythistimemythoughtswereonmycourtesy，whichIdesiredtomakeconventionalifnotgrace—

ful；butnaturehasnotmadeiteasyformetodoubletotheearthasLadyAberdeenandtheIn—

dianwomenweredoing，andIfearIaccomplishedlittlesaveanexhibitionofgoodintentions。TheQueen，however，wasgettingintothespiritoftheoccasion。ShestoppedtospeaktoaCanadianrepresentative，andshewould，Ithink，haveendedbytalkingtomanyothers；but，justatthepsycho—

logicalmoment，awomanrushedoutoftheline，seizedHerMajesty’shandandkissedit——andVic—

toria，startledandpossiblyfearingageneralon—

slaught，hurriedlypassedon。

AnotherpictureIrecallwasmadebytheDuchessofSutherland，theCountessofAberdeen，andtheCountessofWarwickstandingtogethertoreceiveusatthefootofthemarblestairwayinSutherlandHouse。Allofthemliterallyblazedwithjewels，andtheCountessofAberdeenworethefamousAber—

deenemerald。AtLadyBattersea’sreceptionIhadmyfirstmemorialmeetingwithMaryAndersonNavarro，andwasabletothankherforthepleasureshehadgivenmeinBostonsolongago。ThenI

reproachedhermildlyfortakingherselfawayfromus，pointingoutthatagreatgifthadbeengivenherwhichsheshouldhavecontinuedtosharewiththeworld。

``Comeandseemybaby，’’laughedMadameNavarro。``That’sthebestargumentIcanoffertorefuteyours。’’

AtthesamereceptionIhadaninterestingtalkwithJamesBryce。HehadrecentlywrittenhisAmericanCommonwealth，andIhadjustreadit。

Itwas，therefore，thefirstsubjectIintroducedinourconversation。Mr。Bryce’scommentamusedme。Hetoldmehehadquitechangedhisopiniontowardthesuffrageaspirationsofwomen，becausesomanywomenhadreadhisbookthathereallybelievedtheywereintelligent，andhehadcometofeelmuchmorekindlytowardthem。Thesewerenothisexactwords，buthismeaningwasunmistak—

ableandhismentalattitudeartlesslysincere。And，onreflection，IagreewithhimthattheAmericanCommonwealthissomethingofanintellectualhurdlefortheaveragehumanmind。

In1908theInternationalCouncilwasheldinGeneva，andhere，forthefirsttime，wewereshown，asentertainment，thedancesofacountry——thescenebeinganespeciallybrilliantone，asallthedancersworetheirnativecostumes。Also，forthefirsttimeinthehistoryofGeneva，thebuildingsofParliamentwereopenedtowomenandawoman’sorganizationwasgiventhekeytothecity。AtthattimetheSwisswomenweremakingtheirfightforavoteinchurchmatters，andwehelpedtheircauseasmuchaswecould。To—daymanySwisswomenarepermittedtoexercisethisright——thefirstpoliticalprivilegefreeSwitzerlandhasgiventhem。

TheInternationalAlliancemeetinginAmster—

damin1909wasthelargesthelduptothattime，andmuchofitssuccesswasduetoDr。AlettaJacobs，thepresidentoftheNationalSuffrageAssociationofHolland。Dr。Jacobshadsomewonderfulhelpersamongthewomenofhercountry，andsheherselfwasanidealleader——patient，enthusiastic，andtire—

less。ThatyearthegovernmentsofAustralia，Nor—

way，andFinlandpaidtheexpensesofthedelegatesfromthosecountries——ahearteninginnovation。OneoftheinterestingfeaturesofthemeetingwasacantatacomposedfortheoccasionandgivenbytheQueen’sRoyalBand，underthedirectionofawoman——CatharinevanRennes，oneofthemostdistinguishedcomposersandteachersinHolland。

Shewrotebothwordsandmusicofhercantataanddirecteditadmirably；andthemusiciansoftheQueen’sBandenteredfullyintoitsspiritandplayedlikemeninspired。Thatnightwehadmoremusic，aswellasanever—to—be—forgottenexhibitionoffolk—

dancing。

Thesameyear，inJune，weheldthemeetingoftheInternationalCouncilinToronto，and，asCanadahasneverbeeneagerlyinterestedinsuffrage，anun—

successfuleffortwasmadetoexcludethissubjectfromtheprogramme。IwasaskedtopresideatthesuffragemeetingsontheartlessandobvioustheorythatIwouldthusbekepttoobusytosaymuch。

IhadhopedthattheCountessofAberdeen，whowasthepresidentoftheInternationalCouncil，wouldtakethechair；butshedeclinedtodothis，oreventospeak，astheEarlofAberdeenhadrecentlybeenappointedViceroyofIreland，andshedesiredtosparehimanyembarrassmentwhichmightbecausedbyherpublicactivities。Werecognizedthewisdomofherdecision，but，ofcourse，regrettedit；andIwasthereforeespeciallypleasedwhen，onsuffragenight，thecountess，accompaniedbyheraidesintheirbrilliantuniforms，enteredthehall。

Wehadnotbeensurethatshewouldbewithus，butsheenteredinherusualcharmingandgra—

ciousmanner，tookaseatbesidemeontheplatform，andshowedadeepinterestintheprogrammeandthegreatgatheringbeforeus。

AsthemeetingwentonIsawthatshewasgrow—

ingmoreandmoreenthusiastic，andtowardtheendoftheeveningIquietlyaskedherifshedidnotwishtosayafewwords。Shesaidshewouldsayaveryfew。Ihadputmyselfattheendoftheprogramme，intendingtotalkabouttwentyminutes；

butbeforebeginningmyspeechIintroducedthecountess，andbythistimeshewassoenthusiasticthat，tomygreatdelight，sheusedupmytwentyminutesinacapitalspeechinwhichshecameoutvigorouslyforwomansuffrage。Itgaveusthebestandtimeliesthelpwecouldhavehad，andwasagreatimpetustothemovement。