School. The men finally decided to call upon the women for help. Nearly 500 attended the meeting, and the $25,000 appropriation was carried by an overwhelming majority. The school at Westfield and two new High School buildings at Asbury Park and Atlantic Highlands were built because of the women's vote. Manual training was introduced into the Vineland schools through the zeal of women. A report from Moorestown says: "The year that women first began to vote at school meetings marks a decided revival of intelligent interest in our public schools." In Scotch Plains, where the meetings were held in the public school building, a holiday afterwards had always been necessary in order to clean it. With the advent of the feminine voters, expectoration and peanut shells ceased to decorate the floors, and the children were able to attend school the next day as usual. The Women's Educational Association introduced manual training into the public schools of East Orange.[1]
A number of meetings of the State association were held during 1897, and among the speakers were Mrs. Mary C. C. Bradford and Mrs. Ellis Meredith of Colorado, Mrs. Celia B. Whitehead and Miss Laura E. Holmes. The annual convention took place at Wissner Hall, Newark, November 30.
Three State meetings were held in 1898, the conference of the National Board co-operating with the State association, taking the place of the convention. This was held May 6, 7, at Orange, and was the strong feature of the year. Through the efforts of the local committee, Mrs. Minola Graham Sexton, chairman, a large attendance was secured. Among the speakers were the Rev. Anna Howard Shaw, vice-president-at-large of the National Association, Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, Mrs. Mariana W. Chapman, president of the New York State Association, and a number of State women. New Jersey contributed this year $648 to the Organization Committee of the National, most of which went to the Oklahoma campaign. The largest contributions were from Mrs. Cornelia C. Hussey, $450; Moorestown League (Miss S.
- ↑ East Orange also had from 1894 to 1900 a school committee consisting of ten women elected every year at the annual school meeting — a sort of auxiliary association which did good work. In 1900 it became a city, and the school officers are now elected at the polls where women can not vote.
