The History of Woman Suffrage Volume III Part 28

[65] Twenty delegates from eleven different States, who had been in attendance at Chicago, went to Cincinnati.

[66] Before which Mrs. Gage, Mrs. Meriwether, Miss Anthony, Mrs.

Spencer and Mrs. Blake spoke.

[67] Miss Anthony, Mrs. Gage, Mrs. Blake, Mrs. Meriwether, Mrs.

Saxon, Miss. Couzins, Rev. Olympia Brown, Misses Rachel and Julia Foster.

[68] This was the last time this n.o.ble German woman honored our platform, as her eventful life closed a few years after.

[69] Among others, from a.s.semblyman Lord, State-Superintendent-of-Public-Instruction Whitford, J. M. Bingham and Superintendent MacAlister.

[70] The delegates were Olympia Brown, _Racine_; L. C. Galt, M. M.

Frazier, _Mukwonago_; E. A. Brown, _Berlin_; E. M. Cooley, _Eureka_; E. L. Woolcott, _Ripon_; O. M. Patton, M. D., _Appleton_; H. Suhm, E. Hohgrave, _Sauk City_; M. W. Mabbs, C. M. Stowers, _Manitowoc_; S. C. Guernsey, _Janesville_; H. T. Patchin, _New London_; Jennie Pomeroy, _Grand Rapids_; Mrs. H. W. Rice, _Oconomowoc_; Amy Wins.h.i.+p, _Racine_; Almedia B. Gray, Matilda Graves, Jessie Gray, _Scholfield Mills_; Mrs. Mary Collins, _Mukwonago_; Mrs. Jere Witter, _Grand Rapids_; Mrs. Lucina E.

DeWolff, _Whitewater_. The Milwaukee delegates were: Dr. Laura R.

Wolcott, Mme. Mathilde Franceske Anneke, Mrs. A. M. Bolds, Mrs. A.

Flagge, Agnes B. Campbell, Mary A. Rhienart, Matilda Pietsch, N. J.

Comstock, Sarah R. Munro, M. D., Juliet H. Severance, M. D., Mrs.

Emily Firega, Carl Doerflinger. Maximillian Grossman and Carl Herman Boppe.

[71] 1. Silent Invocation. 2. Music. 3. Eulogy, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. 4. Tributes, Frederick Dougla.s.s, Susan B. Anthony. 5.

Music. 6. Tributes, Robert Purvis, May Wright Sewall, Phoebe W.

Couzins. 7. Closing Hymn--"_Nearer, my G.o.d, to Thee_."

[72] Of the floral decorations, to which reference is made above as contributing so largely to the handsome appearance of the stage, the harp was furnished through Mr. Wormley in behalf of the colored admirers of Mrs. Mott, and the _epergne_ was provided for the occasion by the National a.s.sociation. There was also a basket of flowers, conspicuous for its beauty, sent in by Senator Cameron of Pennsylvania.

[73] The eulogy will be found in Volume I., page 407.

[74] See _National Citizen_ of February, 1881.

[75] Edward M. Davis, Susan B. Anthony, Marilla M. Ricker, Rachel and Julia Foster, Frederick Dougla.s.s, Belva A. Lockwood, Robert Purvis, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This was the first time that Mrs.

Martha M'Clellan Brown, Miss Jessie Waite, Mrs. May Wright Sewall and Mrs. Thornton Charles were on our Was.h.i.+ngton platform. The latter read a poem on woman's sphere.

[76] A standing committee is a permanent one about which no question can be raised in any congress. A special committee is a transient one to be decided upon at the opening of each congress; hence may be at any time voted out of existence. No one understood this better than New York's Stalwart senator, and his plausible manner of killing the measure deceived the very elect. Enough senators were pledged to have carried Mr. McDonald's motion had it been properly understood, but they, as well as some of the ladies in the gallery, were entirely misled by Mr. Conkling's seeming earnest intention to hasten the demands of the women by a short-lived committee, and while those in the gallery applauded, those on the floor defeated the measure they intended to carry.

[77] _Yeas_--Messrs. Beck, Booth, Brown, c.o.ke, Davis (W. Va.), Eaton, Edmunds, Farley, Garland, Groome, Hill (Ga.), Harris, Ingalls, Kernan, Lamar, Morgan, Morrill, Pendleton, Platt, Pugh, Ransom, Saulsbury, Slater, Vance, Vest and Withers--26.

_Nays_--Messrs. Anthony, Blair, Burnside, Butler, Call, Cameron (Pa.), Cameron (Wis.), Conkling, Dawes, Ferry, h.o.a.r, Johnston, Jonas, Kellogg, Logan, McDonald, McMillan, McPherson, Rollins, Saunders, Teller, Williams and Windom--23.

[78] Of this reception the _National Republican_ said: The attractions presented by the fair seekers of the ballot were so much superior to those of the dancing reception going on in the parlors above, that it was almost impossible to form a set of the lanciers until after the gathering in the lower parlors had entirely dispersed.

[79] Miss Anthony was presented with a beautiful basket of flowers from Mrs. Mary Hamilton Williams of Fort Wayne, Ind., and returned her thanks. Another interesting incident during the proceedings of the convention was the presentation of an exquisite gold cross from the "Philadelphia Citizens' Suffrage a.s.sociation," to Miss Anthony.

Mrs. Sewall of Indianapolis, in a speech so tender and loving as to bring tears to many eyes, conveyed to her the message and the gift.

Miss Anthony's acceptance was equally happy and impressive. As during the last thirty years the press of the country has made Susan B. Anthony a target for more ridicule and abuse than any other woman on the suffrage platform, it is worth noting that all who know her now vie with each other in demonstrations of love and honor.--[E. C. S.

[80] PROVIDENCE, R. I.--First Light Infantry Hall, May 30, 31. Rev.

Frederick A. Hinckley gave the address of welcome.

PORTLAND, Me.--City Hall, June 2, 3. Rev. Dr. McKeown of the M. E.

Church made the address of welcome. Letter read from Dr. Henry C.

Garrish. Among the speakers were Charlotte Thomas, A. J. Grover.

DOVER, N. H.--Belknap Street Church, June 3, 4. Marilla M. Ricker took the responsibility of this meeting.

CONCORD, N. H.--White's Opera House, June 4, 5. Speakers entertained by Mrs. Armenia Smith White. Olympia Brown and Miss Anthony spoke before the legislature in Representatives Hall--nearly all the members present--the latter returned on Sunday and spoke on temperance and woman suffrage at the Opera House in the afternoon, Universalist church in the evening.

KEENE, N. H.--Liberty, Hall, June 9, 10. Prayer offered by Rev. Mr.

Enkins. Mayor Russell presided and gave the address of welcome.

HARTFORD, Ct.--Unity Hall. June 13, 14. Mrs. Hooker presiding; Frances Ellen Burr, Emily P. Collins, Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, Caroline Gilkey Rogers, Mary A. Pell taking part in the meetings.

NEW HAVEN, Ct.--Athaeneum, June 15, 16. Joseph and Abby Sheldon, Catherine Comstock and others entertained the visitors and speakers.

The speakers who made the entire New England tour were Rev. Olympia Brown, Mrs. Gage, Mrs. Saxon, Mrs. Meriwether, the Misses Foster and Miss Anthony. The arrangements for all these conventions were made by Rachel Foster of Philadelphia.

CHAPTER x.x.x.

CONGRESSIONAL DEBATES AND CONVENTIONS.

1882-1883.

Prolonged Discussions in the Senate on a Special Committee to Look After the Rights of Women, Messrs. Bayard, Morgan and Vest in Opposition--Mr. h.o.a.r Champions the Measure in the Senate, Mr.

Reed in the House--Was.h.i.+ngton Convention--Representative Orth and Senator Saunders on the Woman Suffrage Platform--Hearings Before Select Committees of Senate and House--Reception Given by Mrs.

Spofford at the Riggs House--Philadelphia Convention--Mrs. Hannah Whitehall Smith's Dinner--Congratulations from the Central Committee of Great Britain--Majority and Minority Reports in the Senate--Nebraska Campaign--Conventions in Omaha--Joint Resolution Introduced by Hon. John D. White of Kentucky, Referred to the Select Committee--Was.h.i.+ngton Convention, January 24, 25, 26, 1883--Majority Report in the House.

Although the effort to secure a standing committee on the political rights of women was defeated in the forty-sixth congress, by New York's Stalwart Senator, Roscoe Conkling, motions were made early in the first session of the forty-seventh congress, by Hon. George F. h.o.a.r in the Senate, and Hon. John D. White in the House, for a special committee to look after the interests of women.[81] It pa.s.sed by a vote of 115 to 84 in the House, and by 35 to 23 in the Senate. On December 13, 1881, the Senate Committee on Rules reported the following resolution for the appointment of a special committee on woman suffrage:

_Resolved_, That a select committee of seven senators be appointed by the Chair, to whom shall be referred all pet.i.tions, bills and resolves providing for the extension of suffrage to women or the removal of their legal disabilities.

DECEMBER 14.

Mr. h.o.a.r: I move to take up the resolution reported by the Committee on Rules yesterday, for the appointment of a select committee on the subject of woman suffrage.

Mr. VEST: Mr. President, I am constrained to object to the pa.s.sage of this resolution, and I do it with considerable reluctance. At present we have thirty standing committees of the Senate; four joint and seven special committees, in addition to the one now proposed.

The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The Chair will inform the senator from Missouri that a majority of the Senate has to decide whether the resolution shall be considered.

Mr. VEST: I understood the Chair to state that it was before the Senate.

The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: It is before the Senate if there be no objection. The Chair thought the senator made objection to its consideration.

Mr. h.o.a.r: It went over under the rule yesterday and comes up now.

Mr. EDMUNDS: It is the regular order now.

The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: Certainly. The Chair thought the senator from Missouri objected to its consideration.