Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 2.djvu/422

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History of Woman Suffrage.

selves that I am afraid of you. [Laughter and applause.] If you do not like the dish, you turn up your nose at it and say, "Take it away, take it away." [Laughter.] I was brought up in the West, and it is a good place to get rid of any superfluous modesty, but I am afraid of you. [Applause.] It seems that you are more willing to be pleased than to hear what we have to say. [Applause.] Throughout the day the men who have attended our Convention have been turbulent. [Applause.] I say it frankly, that the behavior of the majority of men has not been respectful. [Applause.] She then gave a pathetic narration of the sorrow she had seen among the depraved and destitute of our great cities, and said the work of the coming year would be to get up a monster petition of a million of names asking the Legislature for suffrage. [Applause.]

After a song from the Hutchinson Family, who had come from Chicago to entertain the audiences of the Association, the meeting adjourned.

The friends of woman's suffrage, including most of the delegates to the Equal Rights Convention in New York, met in mass meeting in the Academy of Music, Brooklyn, Friday morning, May 14th, at 10 o'clock. Mr. Edwin A. Studwell called the meeting to order and nominated Mrs. Anna C. Field for President. This lady was unanimously elected, and took the chair. Mrs. Celia Burleigh was elected Secretary. On motion of Mr. Studwell, a committee[1] was appointed to draft resolutions. Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was then introduced, and made the opening speech.

Mrs. Lucy Stone congratulated the ladies upon the large number of men who had become converted to their cause.

Mr. Langdon, of Vermont, followed with a brief speech.

Mrs. Burleigh read a letter from the Hon. Geo. Wm. Curtis, indorsing very decidedly the doctrine of woman suffrage.

Rev. Phebe Hanaford then delivered a most eloquent and touching address on the moral influence that the participation of women in government would have upon the world. Every true mother was with this movement. The golden rule given by Jesus, if carried out, would give equal rights to all, and there would be no distinction between color, race, or sex.

The Rev. Gilbert Haven, of Massachusetts, said there were three reforms needed—one was the abolition of social distinctions, another was the abolition of the rum-shop, and the third was giving the ballot to women. Of the three, which should take the precedence? It was hard to say that woman did not lead them all. He had claimed yesterday that the Woman's Rights movement originated in Massachusetts. He was mistaken. The great idea of woman's equality was taught by Christ; and still further back, when man and woman were created and placed in Paradise, they were placed there on an equality. God gave man no supremacy over woman there. Not until sin had

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  1. E. S. Bunker, Mrs. E. R. Tilton, Mrs. A. Field, Rev. J. W. Chadwick, J. J. Merritt and Mrs. E. A. Studwell.