Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 3.djvu/780

the schools, especially the primary teaching, is falling more and more to the care of women.

The Republican State convention of 1882, by an overwhelming majority endorsed woman suffrage, which action the Lincoln W. S. A. promptly recognized as follows:

Whereas, The Republican party of the State of Kansas, by and through its chosen representatives in the Republican State convention at Topeka, August 9, 1882, did, by an overwhelming majority, pledge itself to the support of the principle of woman suffrage by the following:

Resolved, That we request the next legislature to submit such an amendment to the constitution of the State as will secure to woman the right of suffrage. And,

Whereas, By this action the Republican party of Kansas has placed itself in line with the advanced thought of the times in a manner worthy a great political party of the last quarter of the nineteenth century, thereby proving itself worthy the respect and confidence of the women of the State; therefore,

Resolved, That the Lincoln Woman Suffrage Association, in behalf of the women of Kansas, does hereby express thanks to the Republican party for this recognition of the political rights of the women of the State, and especially to the Hon. J. C. Root of Wyandotte, Hon. Hackney of Winfield, Col. Graves of Montgomery, and Gen. Kelly, for their able and fearless support of the measure, and to each and every member of the convention who voted for it.

In 1883. Senator Hackney introduced a bill of which we find the following in the Topeka Capital of that date:

Senate bill No. 46, being Senator Hackney's, an act to provide for the submission of the question of female suffrage to the women of Kansas, was taken up, the reading thereof being greeted with applause. It provided that at the general election in 1883 the women of the State shall decide, by ballot, whether they want suffrage or not. Senator Hackney made an address to the Senate upon the bill, saying he believed in giving women the same rights as men had. The last Republican platform declared in favor of woman suffrage, and those Republicans who opposed the platform said they believed the women of the State should have their say about it; the Democratic platform said the same as the dissenters from the Republican. Several humorous amendments were made to the bill. Senator Kelley favored the bill because there were a great many women in the State who wanted to vote. He hoped the Senate would not be so ungallant as to vote the bill down. Senator Sluss moved the recommendation be made that the bill be rejected. Carried.

The Republican State convention of 1884 ignored the woman suffrage question. The Anti-monopoly (Greenback) party State convention, of August 1884, placed in its platform the following:

That we believe the advancing civilization of the past quarter of the nineteenth century demands that woman should have equal pay for equal work, and equal laws with man to secure her equal rights, and that she is justly entitled to the ballot.

Miss Fanny Randolph of Emporia, was nominated by acclamation for State superintendent of public instruction, by this convention. The Prohibition State convention, in session in Lawrence, September 2, 1884, placed the following plank in its platform:

We believe that women have the same right to vote as men, and in the language of the Republican State platform of two years ago, we request the next legislature to submit such an amendment to the constitution of the State as will secure to woman the right of suffrage.

This year we sent from Lincoln a petition with 175 names asking for a resolution recommending to congress the adoption of the sixteenth