Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 5.djvu/296

On the closing night Miss Richards, the noted lecturer of Washington, D. C., made a delightfully clever and sparkling speech on Sex Antagonism, Why and What is the Cure? Professor Potter gave a second splendid address and Dr. Shaw's eloquent farewell sent the audience home in an exalted mood.

The excellent arrangements for the convention and the entertainment of the officers and delegates had been made with much care and judgment by the State association and the Seattle society, which appropriated $1,000 for the purpose. The surpassing beauty of the city and the Exposition was an unceasing delight. Miss Blackwell said in her description in the Woman's Journal: "The splendid setting of the convention was a constant pleasure—the tall firs, the beautiful water and picturesque mountains. Large bunches of sweet peas and of the enormous roses never seen but on the Pacific coast were constantly being handed up to the president and speakers in the course of the convention by the pretty little pages. All the delegates agreed that the display of flowers on the grounds was more beautiful than they had seen at any previous Exposition. Some of the delegates from the Atlantic coast said it was worth coming across the continent just to see this flower garden."

The always-to-be-remembered feature of the week was Suffrage Day at the Exposition, arranged by its officials for the day following the convention. To quote again from Miss Blackwell:

In the morning on arriving at the Exposition we found above the gate a big banner with the inscription, "Woman Suffrage Day." Every person entering the grounds was presented with a special button and a green-ribbon badge representing the Equal Suffrage Association of Washington, the Evergreen State. High in the air over the grounds floated a large "Votes for Women" kite. All the toy balloons sold on the grounds that day were stamped with the words "Votes for Women" and many of the delegates bought them and went around with them hovering over their heads like Japanese lanterns—yellow, red, white or green but predominantly green. At the morning meeting in the great auditorium there was fine music by the Exposition band, with addresses of welcome from J. E. Chilberg, president; Louis W. Buckley, director of ceremonies and special events, and R. W. Raymond, assistant director, and brief speeches by Dr. Shaw, Miss Gordon, Mrs. Upton, Miss Blackwell, Mrs.