Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 5.djvu/584

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
548
HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE.

District; Miss Madeline Z. Doty and Miss Ernestine Evans, war correspondents; Miss Alice Carpenter, chairman of the New York Women's Navy League; Miss Rankin and Dudley Field Malone, collector of the port of New York. On May 3 the National Anti-Suffrage Association claimed a hearing. Its president, Mrs. Arthur M. Dodge, introduced the president of the New York branch, the wife of U. S. Senator James W. Wadsworth, Jr., who presided. The speakers were Miss Minnie Bronson, national secretary; Miss Lucy Price of Ohio; Judge Oscar Leser of Maryland and Mrs. A. J. George of Massachusetts. Their speeches, which fill twenty pages of the printed report, comprise a full résumé of the arguments against the enfranchisement of women and will be read with curiosity by future students of this question. On May 15, at the request of the National Woman's Party, the committee granted a supplementary hearing at which the speakers were J. A. H. Hopkins of New Jersey, representing the new Progressive party being organized; John Spargo of Vermont, representing the Socialist Party; Virgil Henshaw, national chairman of the Prohibition party and Miss Mabel Vernon. They gave to the committee copies of a "memorial" which they had presented to President Wilson urging immediate action by Congress. It was signed also by former Governor David I. Walsh of Massachusetts for the Progressive Democrats and Edward A. Rumely for the Progressive Republicans. The pamphlet of these four hearings, of which the Senate Committee furnished 10,000 copies, was widely used for propaganda.

A hearing was held on May 18 before the Committee on Rules of the Lower House, with the entire membership present: Representatives Edward W. Pou, N. C.; chairman; James C. Cantrill, Ky.; Martin D. Foster, Ills.; Finis J. Garrett, Tenn.; "Pat" Harrison, Miss.; M. Clyde Kelly, Penn.; Irvine L. Lenroot, Wis.; Daniel J. Riordan, N. Y.; Thomas D. Schall, Minn.; Bertrand H. Snell, N. Y.; William R. Wood, Ind. Its purpose was to urge a favorable report for a Committee on Woman Suffrage. The speakers for the National American Suffrage Association were Judge Raker, Representatives Jeannette Rankin of Montana; Edward T. Taylor of Colorado; Frank W. Mondell of Wyoming and Edward Keating of Colo-