committee, rejoiced in the suffrage already gained and the securing in the past year of laws in various States giving equal guardianship of their children to mothers and increased property rights to wives. They called the attention of the Civil Service Commission to discriminations made against women and emphasized the protest of the preceding year against government regulation of vice in the Philippines. Later at an executive meeting of the board a vigorous set of resolutions was prepared, stating that the reports of Governor William H. Taft and General McArthur admitted and defended "certified examinations of women" in the new possessions of the United States. It showed at length the results of government regulation in other countries which had caused it to be abandoned and declared that "such things ought not to be permitted under the American flag."[1]
Mrs. Colby's report on Industrial Problems Relating to Women cited as one example of discrimination: 'An effort is now being made in Congress to do away with the annual sick leave of employees, because, it is claimed, women take so much advantage of it. Investigation shows, however, that the per cent. of sick leave is highest in the Inter-State Commerce Commission, where not a woman is employed—twelve per cent.—and only seven per cent. in the Agricultural Department, where a very large number are employed." She gave numerous instances of unfairness against women on the civil service lists, said that women wage earners must find a forum on the suffrage platform where they can plead their cause and carefully analyze the industrial problems especially affecting women. Mrs. Elnora M. Babcock, chairman of the Press Committee, gave a comprehensive report stating that while 50,000 news stories and articles had been sent to the papers in 1900 the number had increased to 175,000 during the last year and there was reason to believe that three-fourths of them had been used. The largest city papers freely accepted the articles.
- ↑ Miss Anthony, Mrs. Catt, Mrs. Upton and Miss Blackwell were made a committee to present the matter to President Roosevelt. Protests arose from all parts of the country and before they had time to call on him he declared himself opposed to "regulated vice." The dispatches of March 22 announced that a general order signed by Secretary Root had gone from the War Department to Manila that no more "certificates" would be issued but that soldiers as well as women would be inspected and cases of disease would be sent to the hospital.
