Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 6.djvu/549

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OKLAHOMA
533

etc. It became necessary for Mrs. Shuler and the organizers, in addition to the detailed work of the campaign, to assume the financial burden as well. Mrs. Shuler gave her personal check for rent for August, September and October and with the national assistants in the field and by personal appeals raised $2,433. From January 21 to November 5, 1918, there came into the State Campaign Committee's treasury $4,993 and of this amount $2,559 were spent from January to June for salaries of Mrs. Threadgill, the chairman; Mrs. Woodworth, the secretary, and headquarters expenses. These funds were checked out on warrants signed by them and the checks signed by Mrs. Hawley, treasurer. From June to November $2,433 were raised and checked out on warrants signed by Mrs. Henley and checks signed by Mrs. Hawley for headquarters expenses—not a penny going for salary or expenses of any national worker. The sum of $79.92 remaining in the treasury at the end was turned over to the Ratification Committee.

The Tulsa suffragists opened headquarters, engaged an executive secretary and financed their own campaign. They also very generously paid nearly $500 for the suffrage supplement distributed through the State. There were other counties no doubt where money was spent locally, but no record was sent to headquarters. The National Association expended nearly $20,000 in Oklahoma, the largest sum it had ever put into a State Campaign. By September 1 it was paying salaries and expenses of eleven national workers.[1]

When the epidemic regulations forbade meetings of more than twelve persons, the suffragists resorted to all manner of devices for voiceless speech and 150,000 fliers with the wording of the amendment, directions how to vote and the warning that a "silent

  1. Many ardent suffragists found they could not stand up against the statewide comment that the women should be doing only war work but the cooperation in many counties was splendid and there is not space enough to name those who stood by throughout the struggle. To those already mentioned should be added Judge and Mrs. D. A. McDougal of Sapulpa, Mrs. Robert Ray of Lawton, Mrs. B. W. Slagle of Shawnee, Mrs. Hardee Russell of Paul's Valley, Mrs. Lamar Looney of Hollis, Mrs. Francis Agnew of Altus, Mrs. Eugene B. Lawson of Nowata, Mrs. Annette B. Ahler of Hennessey, Mrs. Olive Snider of Tulsa. Among the men to be specially mentioned are James J. McGraw of Ponca City, member of the National Republican Committee; Tom Wade of Marlow, member of the National Democratic Committee; George L. Bowman of Kingfisher, Alger Melton of Chickasha, Colonel E. M. McPherron of Durant and Bird McGuire of Tulsa.