Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 5.djvu/397

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NATIONAL AMERICAN CONVENTION OF 1912
363

attempt to refute all the favorable arguments that had been made and to show that not only were the suffrage leaders Socialists but "free lovers" as well. "Conservative women can see nothing but danger in woman suffrage," she concluded. Mrs. Julia T. Waterman, of the District association, sent to be put in the report a statement which filled ten pages of fine print, a full summary of the objections to woman suffrage as expressed in speeches, articles and documents of various kinds, with quotations from prominent opponents in the United States and Great Britain. It was a very complete presentation of the question.

Miss Addams in closing urged the appointment of a commission by Congress to make a thorough investigation in the States where woman suffrage was established and the chairman answered that "the committee would probably wish to take this matter under advisement in executive session." She thanked him for their courtesy and asked if the National Suffrage Association might have 10,000 copies of the hearing for distribution. This request was cheerfully granted by the committee and the chairman offered to "frank" them as a public document. [Later the committee increased the number to 16,000.]

Apparently the matter never was considered, as no report, favorable or unfavorable, ever was made by either committee. In so far as bringing the Federal Amendment before Senate or House for action was concerned the hearings might as well never have taken place, but 26,000 franked copies of the splendid arguments before the two committees went forth to accomplish the mission of educating public sentiment.