hattan; Mrs. Dreier, Brooklyn; Mrs. Daniel Appleton Palmer, Bronx; Mrs. David B. Rodger, Queens; Mrs. Wilcox, Richmond.
On the evening of November 6, election day, the City Party headquarters were crowded with people waiting for the returns. Mrs. Catt, Miss Hay, Mrs. Laidlaw and other leaders were present. Mr. Laidlaw and Judge Wadhams were "keeping the count." Walter Damrosch and other prominent men came in. From the beginning the returns were encouraging and as the evening wore on and victory was assured, the room rang with cheers and applause and there were many jubilant speeches.
The election brought a great surprise, for the big city, whose adverse vote suffragists had always predicted would have to be outbalanced by upstate districts, won the victory, the latter not helping but actually pulling down its splendid majority. The final vote in Greater New York read:
Yes |
No |
Majority in Favor | |
| New York County | 129,412 | 89,124 | 40,288 |
| Kings (Brooklyn) | 129,601 | 92,315 | 37,286 |
| Bronx | 52,660 | 36,346 | 16,314 |
| Richmond | 7,808 | 5,224 | 2,644 |
| Queens | 34,125 | 26,794 | 7,331 |
| Total | 353,666 | 249,803 | 103,863 |
| Upstate districts, 349,463 ayes; 350,973 noes, lost by 1,510. | |||
| Majority in the State as a whole, 102,353. | |||
Immediately opponents made the charge that suffrage won in the City because of the pro-German, pacifist and Socialist vote. An analysis showed that in many districts where the Germans and Socialists predominated there was not as great a suffrage majority as in Republican or Democratic districts; that some of the conservative residential sections were more favorable than radical districts and that the soldiers in the field had voted for suffrage in the ratio of two to one.
Those who were best informed attributed the victory to many causes—to the support of voters in all the parties; to the help of the labor unions; to recognition of women's war work; to the example set by European countries in enfranchising their women; to the endorsement of prominent men and strong organizations. Most of all, however, it was due to the originality, the dauntless energy, the thorough organization methods and the ceaseless
