in the two Houses 61 new members who had been elected since the Federal Amendment was submitted. Very strong pressure to ratify was made upon the General Assembly. President Wilson sent an earnest appeal and others came from Homer Cummings, chairman of the National Democratic Committee; A. Mitchell Palmer, U. S. Attorney General; Carter Glass, U. S. Treasurer; U. S. Representative C. C. Carlin and other prominent Democrats. Thousands of telegrams were sent from women throughout the southern States. A cablegram came from Lady Astor, M. P. of Great Britain, a Virginian. Urgent requests for ratification were made by presidents of colleges, mayors of cities, State and county officials and other eminent citizens.
Before the Governor had even sent the certified copy of the amendment to the Legislature its strongest opponent, Senator Leedy, also an opponent of the administration at Washington, introduced a Rejection Resolution couched in the same obnoxious terms he had used in August. By urgent advice of the leaders he finally omitted some of its most offensive adjectives. It was presented in the House by Representative Ozlin and referred to the Federal Relations Committee, which granted a hearing. On the preceding evening Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, president of the National Suffrage Association, addressed a mass meeting held by the Equal Suffrage League in the Jefferson Hotel. The hearing was held before a joint session of the Senate and House in the Hall of Delegates at noon on January 21. Some of Virginia's foremost citizens spoke for ratification, among them Allan Jones, member of the State Democratic Committee; Roswell Page, State auditor and a brother of the Hon. Thomas Nelson Page; U. S. Representatives Thomas Lomax Hunter and Howard Cecil Gilmer; J. B. Saul, chairman of the Roanoke County Democratic Committee; former Senator Keezel; Dr. Lyon G. Tyler. The women speakers were Mrs. Catt, Mrs. Valentine, president, and Mrs. John H. Lewis, vice-president of the State Suffrage League, and Mrs. Kate Waller Barrett.[1]
- ↑ The next day, after Mrs, Catt had returned to New York, Harry St. George Tucker appeared before the Legislature and ridiculed her and her speech in the most insulting terms. In 1921 Mr. Tucker was a candidate for Governor and was defeated at the primaries by Senator E. Lee Trinkle, whose plurality was 40,000. He had been & strong supporter of woman suffrage and his victory was attributed to the women.
