May 21, 1919

Why is it necessary? Is the Republic in danger? Is there any great public purpose to be subserved? Does the welfare of the country demand it? Why is it necessary? Not only must the Representative in his solemn judgment be _ convinced that it is necessary, but he ought to be able to . point out the nec ess ity which impels him to vote that way. Oh, my friends, some gentlemen say they will vote for it "because their people want it." That does not meet the constitutional requirement. Some people are for it " because the good women of the country say they want it." That does not meet the constitutional requirement under your oath to uphold and defend the Constit u tion. You can not excuse yourself upon the proposition that so m e body wants it or that you believe it is a good thing. If th e fathers who framed the organic law had intended that, th e y would have put in that solemn instrument that whenever two-thirds believed that it is a good thing, or that so many people want it, they will vote for it. ·

Oh, my friends, can you put your Hands upon your hearts to-day, before God and man, with due respect to your oaths to uphold the Con s titution, and say that you believe that it is absolutely necessary that this amendment be submitted to the Am e rican ' people? You can not say it. No; you can not say it. I have heard gentlemen give their reasons for voting for it. Some of them say one thing and some say another, but I want to tell you what I believe. It strikes me that a great political storm cloud has appeared on the horizon and many are running to c o>er. There are a whole lot of people who, if Indian nomenclature were adopted at this time, might properly be dubbed "Young-men-afraid-of-their-jobs." That is what is the matter with a great lot of pe.ople. [Laughter.]

Oh, my friends, let us stand here to protect the Constitution whi c h we swore we would protect-. The fathers put that in the C o nstitution because they did not think that that great instrument ought to be lightly amended, because they did not think that we ought to tinker with it in obedience to the demand of every passing fancy. They knew that these" isms" would arise. Th e y knew that these fantastic propositions would come up in the future to meet and · plague the people of this country, and th e y decided to fix the Constitution so that it would be hard to am e nd, and then not amended until the welfare of the people ab s olutely d e manded it. And yet here we tinker with a Constitution that for a century and a third and more has stood the t est of an the changes of time.

l\f y fellow countrymen, I am opposed to woman suffrage straight out from the shoulder, every day in the week and every week in the year. I am against it because I agree with the gr e at l e ader from Illinois [ltlr. 1\iAN ], that the place for the wom e n is at home. That is where they belong. That is where he s aid they belonged. I agreed with him then and I agree with what he then said now. [Applause.]

Oh, they want to "purify politics," and yet I had one gentleman t e n me that he wanted women to vote because the communities es in his country were dry before they got the suffrage and af te r that they w e nt wet. [Laughter.]

\ \ ' lliie I am opposed to it straight, and in the State, if I had a c- han c e, I would vote against it, vote against it everywhere, an <l all the time, yet if th e good women of my State really waut e d it I am willing for my State to give them the right to vote, but I ,,m ; t my !5t :~ t e t o n~ ;; ulatc and control it. I do not want to turn over to the Federal Government the right to control the franchise in all the States of this Union. When you do it you are going to open a Pandora's box whose ~s will sweep all over this country, and you gentlemen from the North need not think that the only ones who are going to suffer are those who live below the Potomac.

You need not worry about that, we will all have our troubles. · We will go through them, probably, worse than the days of reconstruction, and I remember something about that. But you will have it up above the river with your millions of foreign population who can not speak English. With your Bolsheviki, with your anarchists, with your I. ,V, W.'s, you are breeding trouble for yourselves as well as you are cooking up the dish for us. Do not worry, you will have yours and plenty of it. ·

I know it is old-fashioned, and I know that some people laugh now when it is suggested that the good, pure woman, the queen of the American home, the mother of your children, your sister, and your daughter, all of them ought to be at home. I know that some of the women who are advocating this proposition laugh and jeer at that idea. It is old-fashioned and out of I was amused when some gentlemen were talking to-day about women being entitled to this privilege because they had made this great fight for world liberty and world democracy. I am willing to leave it to the mothers of the sons who went to France. If you will leave it to them and cut out the agitators and soapbox orators, you will see that the vote would be overwhelmingly against it. The real mothers-! do not mean all of them, but the great majority of them-do not want it. The men of America have protected them for a century and a third , and they will do it yet. But when this comes, women have got to take their stand on a level with the men. There will be no more legislation in the different States in her. interests. There will be no more legislation in the National Government in her interest. Take the case to-day in every State in the Union and let a man and a woman have a law case before the court and the jury and the man has as much chance as the proverbial snowball down i u some other country. But when this comes, she will have to "stand up to the rack, fodder or no fodder."

I want to call attention here, for I have not the time to go through all of it, to some of the misrepresentations . that are made in order to create a sentiment for this resolution. Why, I had a copy of a paper here called The Suffragist, and in it 1\lrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, one of the bright particular stars in the suffrage movement, in undertaking to argue her side of it, said that women were not expected to know the laws of all the States, and they could not be expected to know that the age of consent in Florida was 10 years, while in Wyoming it was 18. And y e t the statute books of my State, section 3521 of the General Statutes of Florida, fixes 18 years as the age of consent. -

But here she is advertising to all the world that in Florida the age of consent is only 10 years. We are heathen down in that country, we are barbaric, we do not protect the girls and the women. I want to say to you that no woman in Florida has ever yet needed protection that she did not get i( and the day will never come when the men of my State will decline to come to the rescue of a woman in distress. [Applause.]

Ah, Mr. Speaker, this amendment is going to be carried. I know that; I am not deceiving myself. I am not doubting it for one moment. The cards have been stacked, the decree has be e n written and the leaders, or some of the leaders, I will not say all of them because, thank God, we have some Democratic ancl some Republican leaders both who are still faithful to their first love--but some of our leaders on both sides are trying to run over each other to see who can get there first and get a credit for the enactment of this proposition.

God bless your souls, it will not be anything to be pr o ud of. The distinguished gentleman from illinois said that everybody would be delighted to have it passed. I am looking for him to be back here asking to renig before long. You are going to get mighty sorry about this. You were right in 1914 when you made your reply to Hobson. The former Speaker was ri g ht when he was standing solidly on the eternal granite of truth and State rights, but he · has got on th e shifting sands of expediency and they are all floating out onto the bosom of this unknown fathomless sea, and I am fearful they will r~ ~ ver · again reach the harbor of sound political doctri t w.

Oh, Mr. Speaker, let you and I stand put. [Laughter.] If all the other leaders leave us let you and I stay true to the Old Flag. [Laughter.]

Then we have got Senator LoDGE on the other side. He is with us yet. Senator LoDGE is all right on this qn E> stion at least. Senator PENROSE is another <1i s tl J 1;:?:ni:;;hed Repu h li l' nn. I believe, who is still firm in the faith. An:! su \\" e llll\ : e gut a few leaders on our side. The enemy has captured a good many of them ; some have been shot down; others have been wounded some have almost had heart failure; and a great many of them are suffering from mental aberration, but a few are still · strong, sound, and loyal.

I wish now they would come back, for "while the light holds out to burn the vilest sinner may return."

While we have a few minutes I wish the distinguished gentleman from illinois and the distinguished leader over here, the former Speaker from Missouri, would get up and confess the fact that they . are wrong for the time being and come back to where they both belong. [Laughter.]

1\Ir. Speaker, I have been here a little over 14 years. I have sat at the feet of these gentlemen and tried to imbibe wisdom, and if there are any two men I have looked up to as my ideals Of fixed stars in the political firmament of the immovable Rock affairs. of Ages kind of statesmen it was the gentleman from illinois and the former Speaker from Missouri. [Laughter.] But they have quit.

I was following them trustingly and faithfully when, all at once, when I got into the tangled brush I found that they had gone around another way and had left me struggling in the bushes. l\Ir. Speaker, you m·e not going to do it, I know. [Laughter.]

One other thing. No class of persons ought to have the right to vote, I think everyone will agree, unless that class can perform all of the duties of citizenship. They ought not to have the privileges of citizenship unless they can perform the duties. I think that is a proposition which no one will dispute. Women can not do that. We have heard a great deal here about what they can do. We can not create our armies out of women. We can not depend upon them.

Mr. LITTLE. 1\Ir. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

1\fr. CLARK of Florida. I have not the time.

l\Ir. LITTLE. We can not create our armies without women, can we? [Laughter and applause.]

Mr. CLARK of Florida. I agree with the gentleman absolutely on that proposition, but you can not form an army out of women. There is no use talking about that. They can not perform the duties of a sheriff. It would certainly be very disagreeable to them to perform jury duty. Take a murder case, for instance, with 12 jurors, 5 or 6 or 7 women with 4 or 5 or 6 men. The case takes a week to try. . The judge orders them locked up, kept together, and all that sort of thing, and that would not be vE:ry agreeable, I am sure.

The SPEAKER. The time of the gentleman from Florida has expired. .

Mr. CLARK of Florida. Just one moment, Mr. Speaker, if I may be indulged. I want to say this one thing in conclusion: I feel very deeply about this matter. I feel for my country. I believe that this is the worst act that the American Congress will have ever performed, so far as the future of this great country is concerned, and while I know this resolution is going through the House, I have an abiding faith that three-fourths of the States will never ratify it. [Applause.]

Democrats·can not support this resolution because of the fact that it contravenes every principle of democracy, and particularly is it antagonistic to the doctrine of States' rights, which ~as ever been one of the cardinal principles of the Democratic Party. This resolution takes the matter of the regulation of the suffrage entirely out of the power of the respective States of the Union and confers upon the Federal Government the unrestricted power to regulate elections and prescribe the qualifications of :voters.

I am aware that some Represen t atives , and especially some from the South, who are supporting this resolution are endeavoring to justify their support of it by claiming that the States will still control in this regard, notwithstanding the incorporation of this amendment ih the organic law. The last paragraph of the amendment provides "Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." This provision either means what it says or it means nothing. It . gives to Congress the full, absolute, unrestricted, and exclusive power to " enforce this article," and to enforce it " by appropriate legislation." The amendment . nt gives to all womenwhi t e, black, and any other color-the right to vote, and invests · Congress with complete power to carry it into effect by the enactment of any le g i lation which Congress may deem to be " appropriate." This 01 1e ns up anew the negro question in all the Southern States, and I warn my colleagues from the South who are supporting this measure that they are "playing with fire," which is likely to produce another " reconstruction " conflagration in our Southland.

I am not an alarmist, l\1r. Speaker, nor am I an extremist. The negro in the South to-day is as a class satisfied. He is treated fairly and justly under the law and is content to leave politics alone. He is now not a factor in politics and has no desire to become a factor. The two races understand each other perfectly, and are now dwelling in the same territory in amity, with nothing to disturb these relations. So far as I am concerned-and I am sure I speak for the real representative sentiment of the southern people--! would do the negro no harm, and would protect and defend him in the enjoyment of his every legal right. · We do protect him under our laws in the full enjoyment of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and no States in any portion of this country will go further to conserve his rights in these respects than will the States in the section from which I hail. But we had as well be plain. Thi.s does not mean that we will tolerate conditions of social equality with the negro or that we will allow the vicious and ignorant to control in our political Our laws shall be, as they are now, fair, equitable, and just to all, but, with God's help, so framed that the intelligent, patriotic, and virtuous shall rule our beloved land. But why should this measure be forced upon us when the strong proba- bility-yea, almost the certainty-is that it will disturb our local conditions to such an extent as to force us to go through the distressing trials of another " reconstruction " period? Gentlemen say this will not occur. Mr. Speaker, let us be candid with each other. While the great masses of the negroes in the South are contented with existing conditions, some of the alleged leaders of the race are agitators and disturbers and are c-onstantly seeking to embroil their people in trouble with the white people by making demands for social recognition which will never be accorded them ; and the . real leaders in these matters are the negro -women, who are much more insistent and vicious along these lines than are the men of their race.

Make this amendment a part of the Federal Constitution and the negro women of the Southern States, under the tutelage of the fast-growing S'ocialistic element of our common country, will! become fanatical on the subject of voting and will reawaken in the negro men an intense and not easily quenched desire to again become a political factor. White Bolsheviki will readily; be found to organize and train this mass of ignorance and vice . to the end that they may be elevated to places of honor and power, and they will - make promises of social position and anything else to their deluded followers in order to accomplish their own ignoble purposes. But, say my southern colleagues who are enamored of this new and to Democrats strange doctrine, this will not happen. Let us see.

The Crisis, the official negro suffrage organ, issued by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored .People, of which Jane Addams, pacifist and former suffrage president, is a director, says in its issue of November, 1917 (p. 8) :

It is going to be more difficult to disfranchise colored women in the South than it was to disfranchise colored men. Even southern ' gen· tlemen,' as used as they are to the mistreatment of colored women, can not in the blaze of present publicity physically beat them away from the polls. Their economic power over them will be smaller than th e ir power over the men. • • • It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that every single black voter in the State of New York should this month cast his ballot in favor of woman suffrage and that ev e ry black vot e r of th e United States should do the Fame thing whenever and as often as he has opportunity.

In the same issue of this negro suffrage organ (p. 12) there is an 6fficial resolution, passed by the National American Woman Suffrage Association, maintaining "that all American men or women, white or black, * * * shall share equally in the privi.o leges and protection of democracy.”

Also, in the same issue (pp. 19, 20, 21), are articles by Anna Howard Shaw, Carrie Chapman Catt, -' and Mary Garret Hay, leaders of tlle National Woman Suffrage .Association, appealing for negro support, and demanding that distinction of color, as wen as sex, be eliminated. _

And this after the Crisis had distinctly pointed out the " dis .. criminations " it wants to wipe out.

What say y ou, my brethren from the South, as to these statements of the Crisis? Suffragettes appealing to the negro vote in the North to support woman suffrage, because i~ means the ballot for the negro women of the South !

Again let us take a look at the Crisis. In the May, 1917, issue of the Crisis, page 41, is tile following:

I N INTERMARRIAGE OF RACES,

Four bills against the interests of colored Americans have been intro.­ du e ed into th e Sixty-fifth Congress-two to prohibit intermarriage of race s and to provide Jim Crow street cars and one to provide a p e rma· nent color e d military school, a fourth to segregate colored p e ople.

From this it is clear that the Crisis wants free intermarriage, no military training for negroes, and no segregation l 1 Here we have the Crisis, negro suffrage organ, issued by an association of which Jane Addams, a leading suffragette, is a director, boldly advocating the intermarriage of the white and negro ra c es.

In this same (l\lay, 1917) issue of this negro suffrage organ we find the following editorial paragraph entitled "A Suggestion":

'.rh e Repu b li c an P a rty is on th e rocks. The disfranchised negro sees l ig ht but dimly. The disfranchised woman is still disfranchised in the va s t majority of the inh3-bitat e d States. Suppose these three groups strike a simple bargain. Let them work for a constitutional amendm e nt ba si ng repr e sentation in Congress ()n the actual vote cast for Pr e sident - in each St a te. We pause for reply.

Here we see the proposed combination. The Republican party, the disfranchised negro, and the disfranchised woman. Listen : " Suppose th e se three groups strike a simple bargain. . Let them work for a constitutional amendment basing representation in Congress on the actual vote cast for President in each State." Have they struck the "simple bargain"? Where do Democrats come in on this bargain? What do southern Democrat s get out of the bargain? How can a Democrat, and espe­ ment." cially a southern Democrat, in view of these disclosures, support this re s olution?

The extracts from the "Crisis" I have taken from a pamphlet called "Constitutional Bulletin No. 1," published by the "American Constitutional League," and there is no question as to their authenticity, and I plead with my southern colleagues to defeat this amendment which can bring nothing of good to our people and our country.

Anoth e r thing ' which should be seriously considered b'Y gentlemen before the vote to submit this amendment to the Sta-tes is the fact that once it becomes a part of the Constitution it is practically irrevocable. If, therefore, its adoption does not ush e r in the millennium, as its advocates so confidently assure us it will, then it will be with us in all probability for all time to come. On the other hand, if we should leave it where it belongs-to the individual action of the several States-and those adopting it should find that it was not what was desired it could easily be repealed.

And, Mr. Speaker, if women are to be given the privilege of Yo t ing, why should not the right be conferred through the same agency which granted the suffrage to men? Men have the right to vote through the independent action of the different States and not by virtue of any act . of the Federal Congress. It is true that the privilege of exercising the right to vote was accorded to negro men through the agency of an amendment to the Federal Constitution, but that amendment was submitted by the Congress in the midst of a season of bitter sectional hate immediately following · the close of n bloody four years of war between the sections, and surely no such precedent as this will be invoked in behalf of a resolution of this character.

The fourteenth and fifteenth amendments were the offspring of the bitterest sectional hate and most unreasoning party passion that ever blighted any land, and God grant that out· beloved country may never be cursed with its like again. But the blind passion of those dark days immediately following the , War Between the States fastened these amendments upon our organic law, and they are there to remain apparently forever, and as long as they do remain we must respect them as part and parcel of our Constitution. 1\Ir. Speaker, in my own State of Florida there is no discrimination under the law against any class of men with respect to the exercise of the elective franchise. We have the usual provisions which prohibit insane persons, persons convicted of crime, and the like, from voting, and in addition we require that a man shall be a resident of the State for 12 months and of the county in which he lives for 6 months before he can vote. 'Ve also require that he must pay a poll tax of $1 per year, which goes into the school fund, before he is qualified to vote. _

In addition to these requirements we have the Australian ballot. We have no party emblems or marks of any character on the ballot, but the names of all candidates, regardless of party, are printed thereon in alphabetic order, and for a man to vote intelligently he must be able to read and must know the names of his party's candidates. Being able to read and knowing who are his party's candidates, he simply makes a cross mark opposite the name of each candidate for whom he desires to vote. , Under our election laws the voting is secret, and this is all there is to the election laws of Florida, except that we have provision for the due registration of all qualified voters. I challenge any State in all the Union to present any cleaner and fairer election laws than Florida has written in her statute books.

Mr. Speaker, another objection which I have to woman suffrage is the fact that it will unquestionably materially aid the growth of socialism in this country. It will not only add to the growth of socialism, but will likewise contribute to the upbuilding of femininism and Bolshevism in America. Every Socialist and every Bolshevist throughout the land wherever you find him is an ardent advocate of woman suffrage, and · he wants it by Federal amendment. Take the situation in the great State of New York. I desire to call attention to some . facts connected with the New York election in 1917, and present the following extracts which I have taken from a circular issued by the Women Voters' · Anti-Suffrage Party. These extracts, it wUI be seen, were taken from the New York . Call, the official Socialist organ, in its issue of the day after the election. [Extracts from the New York Call (official Socialist organ), Nov. 7,

1917, the day after election.]

Page 1, first column.-" Woman suffrage carried New York . State. This was hailed as one of the biggest victories, not only by the women • • • but to radicals of all kinds."

Seventh column . -" Socialism and suffrage, inseparable companions in revolutionary thought and action, have triumphed in the election in New York City and State."

Third column.-Hillquit: " Socialist propaganda has undoubtedly been the most potent factor in the · success of the woman-suffrage amendPage 2, first column.-" It is pointed out that the Socialist vote throughout the Empire State was the decisive factor in the victory for woman suffrage." · . First column.-" It is certain that if the women had had the vote before this election Morris Hillquit would have been elected mayor and the whole Socialist ticket would have been triumphant."

Fifth column.-"At the last referendum in New York on woman suffrage, only two years ago, the issue was snowed under. So was the issue of Socialism. And yesterday, hand in hand (:you bet!), Socialism and feminism forced the fates to reverse their dictum and the voters to act accordingly.” ·

Sixth column.-Hillquit : " Socialists can take the credit in a large measure for the success of the woman-suffrage amendment. From all indications the Socialist vote in the State exceeded 200,000, all of which counted for suffrage. Furthermore, our campaign, with its social and political background; had a visible effect on the increase of the suffrage vote. That alone was a great Socialist achievement."

In its issue of November 12, 1917, we have the following from a socialist leader:

Page 1, third column.-Elmer Rosenberg, Socialist assemblyman, representing the sixth assembly district, Manhattan, is quoted as saying of the election : " This was not a campaign ; it was a rebellion. It is going to break out into a political revolution in America."

And on November 26, 1917, we have this extract from the speech of Morris Hillquit, the Socialist candidate for mayor of New York City:

Page 2.-Socialist jubilation meeting, November 25, 1917, in Madison Square Garden, New York City, after the 1917 election ' Morris Hillquit, former candidate for mayor, stated: "We have put Socialism on the map of New York and on the map of the United States. '!' • • We have opened the doors of many local le . legislative assemblies to our representatives. Our slogan now is 'On to Washington!'"

" On to Washington” " is the " slogan," and they are here, my friends. They are here to carry out the bargain which was struck, the " simple bargain " which it was proposed to " strike " between the Republican Party, the disfranchised negro, and the disfranchised woman. What an alliance ! And over the heads of this combination the Socialist proudly cracks his whip. Can it be possible that Democrats, and southern Democrats, will give this resolution their approval?

1\Ir. Speaker, aside from the question of principle and treating the matter purely from the viewpoint of expediency, why should a Democrat vote for this resolution? What can the Democratic Party expect to gain by its adoption? I make the prediction now that if this amendment becomes a part of the Constitution the women's organization will line up almost solidly with the enemies of the Democratic Party. The great President of the United States, the undisputed leader of the Democratic Party, Woodrow Wilson, has done more to make woman suffrage an accomplished fact than all the Republican leaders put together, and yet the leaders in the woman suffrage movement have denounced him and his party," in season and out of season."

They have not been able to find language sufficiently strong to voice their opposition to the President an«;l his party. In the election of 1916 the women at the head of the suffrage movement, almost without exception, took their stand against Woodrow Wilson and the Democratic Party. Their organ, The Suffragist, under date of November 11, 1916, gives an account of how Mrs. Harriet Stanton Blatch, on the night of Sunday, November 5, 1916, from the platform of the Blackstone Theater at Chicago, sent final appeals over long-distance telephone to the women leaders in the Western States to oppose President Wilson and the Democratic candidates for Congress. I present some of the messages of Mrs. Blatch and the replies thereto, as follows :

Boise, Idaho; was next on the wire, Mrs. Blatch said. " In the mountains the spirit of freedom was born. Mountain lands are the cradle of liberty. Women of Idaho, you are free. With the torch of freedom in your hand, blaze the way for your fellow women by using your political freedom against our enemies, Woodrow Wilson and the national candidates of . the Democratic Party."

Mrs. Frederick Walker, state chairman, answered: "The people of Idaho are seriously considering their responsibility toward Federal woman suffrage. Consequently thousands will vote c against President Wilson, for the women realize that a vote for him is a vote against women."

Next came Thlontann. 'l'o tbc women of that State 1\irs. Blatch sent this message: "All the political prophets put Montana among the doubtful States. Let no woman of Montana stand in doubt. Her course is plain. Let her use her whole power to defeat the party that blocks the way to freedom for women. Let her strike this blow for justice now-she has nothing to lose and the gratitude of all women to gain. U e your power, use every vote, against Woodrow Wilson and the national Democratic candidates."

1\irs. C. S. Ilaire, State chairman, in response said: "The .Montana I Woman 's Party sympathizes with you in your fight for freedom and pledges you its support. We will unitedly vote on November 7 against :President Wilson and the Democratic candidates for Congress. The Democratic Party has bitterly opposed national freedom for women during its whole term of power. We western women will not support a party that has · done this injustice to women. We dedicate ourselves to a. free womanhood, and wish you Godspeed in your work.”

Mrs. Blatch's message to Nevada was: "The women of the East have known no State lines. Where the battle for liberty was being waged, there they were found. When you called for help they were at your side. Use now the power they helped you win, to strike down the party which has refused to give the women of America enfranchisement. Help lift up -all your countrywomen to your plane of fun citizenship. With your full political might strike down our enemies, Woodrow Wilson and the national candidates of the Democratic Party."

Miss Anne Martin, national chairman of the Woman's Party said in reply, "Nevada women voters are determined to establish political lib~ty for women throughout the Nation. The. record ?f the Derrur. ern tic Party shows that this party has fought against JUStice to women. Therefore Nevada women will refuse their first vote to President Wilson and the national Democratic candidates, believing such a vote would be against women." .

To Utah this message was given: "Women of Utah, when you were politically weak two great pioneers .Elizabeth · Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, came to you from th'e East, preaching their evangel of freedom for women. They helped to.set you free. Now, you are strong, stand bravely shoulder to shoulder with other voting women, and in y011r mi...,ht help to emancipate an the women of the Nation. Serve your feJiow women as the two pioneers served you. Strike down the enemy of enf ranchi sement forth~ women r4 .A.mer~ca." . .

Mrs. L. M. Garnett, second district chairman, replying said : " The women of Utah promise loyalty and support to the unenfranchised women. The Woman's Party ~as made a wonderful compaig;n am} has a strong organization .which Will <:Of!tmue to work for women’s ~ political freedom. Many prominent and brilliant women a~ putting aside political -parties and standing by the Woman 's Party. Everything looks bright and promising.”

Ne."{t came Arizona: Mrs. : Blatch's final word of · appeal to that State was: "Women of AriZona, stand clear of partisan politics. Rise above all considerations of party. Place before all other questions that of achieving self-governmen_t for all citizens . With half the people politically enslaved, to establish a Government based on the consen.t of the governed becomes a matter of supreme moment. Back up With your votes the demand that a democratic form of government shall prevail throughout the ,Nation, - that ;there shall be a true Republic, self-gover~- ment ~or ap, under our national :fla~. Stand against the Dem.ocratic Party m this supreme hour, and you liberate the women of a Nation.’ Irs. c. E. Hull, chairman of the Maricopa County branch of the Woman's Party, responded as follows: "We belie:ve that ~mt here in f:!Ie West, Arizona men as well , as.Anzona women are standing by the drsfranchrsed women of the Nation. The Woman's Party has awakened Arizona. We have adopted a new conscience here in the West. We believe that the .vote of Arizona day after. to-morrow will astoni.sh the country. It will be a rebuke to the President who does not believe m the freedom of the women of America. Congratulations to the women of Illinois who are working with us.".

To Cheyenn~, Wyo., next on the wire, Mrs. Blatch sent this word " When Wyommg sent its first constitution to Congress for approval it was mged to leave out woman suffrage. Wyoming men instantly sent reply: 'We will stay ou.t of the Union of ,States with our women rather than go mto the Union Without them. Women of Wyoming, be as great now as your men were then. Make a stand for the political liberty of the women of America. Annihilate the party that refus es to give women protection under the United States Constitutio~~. Robert Morton, chairman of the Woman's Party, replied: "The women of Wyoming have responded loyally to the call of Ame · America’s unenfranchised won::en. We will be. with you on Tuesday and will not return r,o the White Elouse the chief opponent of political freedom for wo,fh~ n e :-..1: ring of ;the telephone brought Denver, Colo., on the line. Mrs. Blatch's messa~e. was: "Ob, women of Colorado, fate has placed in your hands a decision momentous for us , for you, for our country; Self-government for half the people of the NatiOn rs m the balance. A step forward in democracy-democracy the need of the hour, the world ne e d, a world issu~is bound up with your foresight, with your devotion. Stand tr~e m ~s h.our of clash of arms to the spirit of freedom true to America’s faith m self-government for the people. So vote as to establish throughout our land a republican form of government for all women. qur Revolutionary fathers freed men; let the w:omen o,~ Colorado free tbeu· fellow women .. Strike th~ blow and liberty 1s ours. Mrs. Bertha Fowler, State chairman, replied: "Colorado women, regardless of party, are putting forth every effort to defeat President Wilson because of his hostility to the Federal amendment enfranchising Women

Then came Kansas, the State of which Mrs. Blatch herself is now a Wyommg voting citizen .. She said: "Women of Kansas, women of Topeka, you have an historic event to celebrate on November 7. Burl?t mto your memory is the occasiOn when you sent a deputation to President Wilson CLARK] during his stay last winter at Topeka, to urge upon bun the need ot national justice to women. You will never forget the reception he accorded your representatives. Awaiting his pleasure, they stood one hour in a driv_ing snowstorm. That is the way he and his party tr.eat all women nationally. Women must wrut outside the Federal Con stitu - tion. Build a monument to that incident. Snow Woodrow Wilson under on election day."

Miss Katharine A. Morey, of Kansas, replied for the State: "Women o f the East, have courage. The women of Kansas have heard your call ancl will stand by you. We will not r.eturn to power the man who has blocked the political freedom of American women." ·

Last came California. This was the last appeal of. the Woman•s Party to the voting women of tile suffrage States. Wishing to help b women to be free," Mrs. Blatch said, "knowing that Woodrow Wilson is the chief block to self-government for American women. there are those who try to balance against that the plea 'he has kept us out of war.' Never was a more undemocratic claim made. Imagine 100,000,000 people depending upon the kindly offices of one man to be kept out o! war! How does that differ from Russia, with its Czar to keep that nation in or out of war?

" No, we are standing for the voice of the people to determine the momentous question, Shall it be peace or shall it be war? Had the people of Europe, me men and the women, been able to speak their desire in 1914 there would have been no war. The world bleeds to-day because of one-man power. The world needs a democracy, and no' greater assurance of peace could be given than to include women in the democracy.

'' Help, women of California, to answer this need. Stand against the · party that opposes nation-wide self-government for women. Win for our country a government of the people, for the people, by the people. Punish, women o! California, the party which stands against such a government. Vote solidly against Woodrow Wilson and the national candidates of the Democratic Party.”

Mrs. Ida Finney Mackrille, State chairman, responded : "The women or California have responded magnificently to the appeal of the .(lisenfrancbised eastern women. Thousands of women have put suffrage first in this election and have done all in their power to defeat Wilson and the Democratic Party in our State as a protest against delayed justice to ·women . The votes of women are going to cause Wilson's defeat in California next Tuesday."

1\Ir. Speaker, again I desire to call the attention of my colleagues in this House to the seriousness of amending the organic w.W of the Republi-c. It s ould not be amended except the necessity to amend for the public welfare is made plainly to appear and I respectf-ully submit that no such necessity is apparent. I may be old-fashioned and out of date, but I believe in the home woman. I believe in the American mother who presides in queenly dignity over an American home.

She needs no ballot for her protection. God bless her; slle IS and always will be protected by the deep and undying love of the American man. I want her to forever occupy the commanding place which she fills Ill our economiC affairs, respected, honored, and revered. I would not drag her from the lofty pede tal on which she has been placed by the undying love of the American man-the pedestal of Sisterhood, wifehood, and motherhood-to the low level of ward politics. God forbid.

Mr MANN Mr Speaker I yield five minutes to my distinguished friend from OhiO [Mr. LONGWORTH].

Mr. LONGWORTH. Mr. Speaker, some surprise and, I might add great gratification was expressed by my cliStin<>'ui bed friend, the author of thiS resolutiOn, when thiS morning I a ked him for a few minutes' time in which to speak in favor of it. Some surprise has been also manifested by others of my friends when I told them that I intended to support It. If I am about to execute a volte-face, at least it will not be comparabJe to that executed by a most · c1i tinuuished American now residing abroad, who sent us a cable on the subject yesterday. [Laughter.] It is true that upon the occasion when this resolution was f . th H I t d 0' • t • t b t t l' . last be ore e ouse vo e abruns 1 , u my vo e was pre< 1- cated upon a doubt as to the opportuneness of the time rather than upon the es ential justice of the question. I have for a long time believed that suffrage was inevitable, that 1t would come soon, and that it ought to come. I am now convinced that the time has arrived when we ought to <>'i\e suffrage to the women of the country.

Heretofore I have felt it my duty to follow the vote _la t cast b;y the citizens. of fl!Y constituency. I believe, .however, that Since then the Situation has changed . Certainly It has changed to the extent that in my State my party has gone on record in its platform in favor of suffrage . It is beyond argument that my party as a national party is in favor of suffrage, that it is now one of its main tenets. This is no longer .a local question. It is ' a national question. I think the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. l\IANN] was right when he aHllt ought not to be a political question, but the fact remains that our action to-day, to be fol ­ lowed I am confident very shortly by another body will make it indisputably evident to the country that suffrage has b ee n granted to w-omen, and could only have been granted, through the medium of the Republican Party. [Applause.]

Mr. l\f.Ali.TN. Mr. Speaker, I Yield the remainder of my time to the eli tinguished Republican leader, the gentleman from

~ I· 1.\ OL'lDELL • •

Mr. l\10NDEL~. Mr. Speaker, I bring the balm of. con ola ­ tion to the agomzed soul of the gentleman from Florida [Mr. I have been voting, lo! the e many year and I have never voted except ·where "·omen voted. I come from: a ~illmonwealth whose women have been exercising the elective franchi e for a little more than half a century and there are certainly no more patriotic, law-abiding, progresSive o s on earth than those of the Commonwealth that first granted full suffrage to women. [Applause.] I think it is a splendid omen b . . f C cr. • hi h h t . •t that thiS sessiOn o Onote s, .J.n W c we . hope ~ "r~ e upon the statute books a progre 1\e, constructive legt labve }11'0- <>'ram should begin with the prompt adoption of this 0 great measure of franchise reform.

The amendment was read, as follows : Amendment offered by Mr. SAUNDERS the word "by" strike out "the several States” and insert, in · vote in three-fourths of the several

The SPEAKER. The amendment.

The question was taken and seemed to have it.

Mr. SAUNDERS of Virginia.

yeas and nays.

The SPEAKER. The yeas and nays. Fifty-two cient number.

Mr. SAUNDERS of Virginia.

have the other side.

The SPEAKER. The other and forty-four Members are ber, and the yeas and nays are So the amendment was rejected. The joint resolution was the third time.

The SPEAKER. The joint resolution.

Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, on

The SPEAKER. The yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered. The yeas and nays were taken 90, answered "present" 1, Ackerman Elliott Alexander Ellsworth Anderson Elston Andrews, Md. Emerson Andrews, Nebr. Esch . h Anthony Evans, Mont. Ashbrook Evans, Nebr. Aswt>ll Evans, Nev. Ayres Fairfte!d Babka Ferris Bacharach Fess Baer Fields Barbour Fisher Barkley Fitzgerald Bee Fordney Begg Foster Benham Frear Bland, Ind. Freeman Bland, Mo. French Blanton Fuller, Ill. Boies Fuller, Mass. Booher Gallagher Bowers Gandy Box Ganly Briggs Godwin, N.C. Britten GoJdfogJe Brcoks, Ill. Good Browne Goodall Burdick Goodwin, Ark. Burroughs Goodykoontz Butler Graham, Ill. Byrns, Tenn. Green, Iowa Campbell, Kans. Griest Campbell, Pa. Griffin Cannon Hadley Cantrill Hamilton Carew Hardy, Colo. Carss Haskell Carter Bastings Casey Haugen Chindblom Hawley Christopherson Ha.yden Clark, Mo . Hays Classon Hernandez Cleary Hersey Cole Hersman Cooper illckey Copley Hicks Costello Hill Cramton HocL Cl'owther Houghton Cullen Howard Currie, Mich. Hudspeth Curry, Calif. Hulings Dallinger Husted Darrow Hutchinson Davey Igoe Davi, Minn. Ireland Davis, Tenn. Jacoway Dempsey Jefferis Denison Johnson, Ky. Dickinson, Iowa. Dickinson, Mo. Johnson, Wash. Donovan Dowell Jones, Pa. Drane Jones, Tex. Dunbar • Junl Dyer Kearns Eagan Kelley, Mich. Echols Kendall of Virginia : Pag e 1, line 6, after legislatur e s of thr e e-fourths of the lieu t hereof, the follo w ing : " popular

Stat e s."

question is on the adoption of the the Speaker announced the noes Mr. Speaker, I ask for the gentleman from Virginia demands the gentlemen have arisen; not a suffi­ 1\lr. Speaker, I would like to side is called for. Two hundred opposed ; 52 is not a sufficient numrefused.

ordered to be engrossed · and read question is on the adoption of the that I demand the yeas and nays. gentleman from Illinois demands the ; and there were-yeas 304, nays not voting 33, as follows:

YEAS-304.

Kennedy, Iowa Padgett

Kennedy, R. I. Parker

Kettner Parrish Kiess Pen Kincheloe Peters King Phelan Kinkaid Platt Kleczka. Porter Knutson Purnell Kraus Rainey, H. T. LaGuardia Rainey, J. W. Langley Raker Lanham Ramseyer Layton Randall, Calif. ~i~~· ~~:;n, Wis. Linthicum Reber Little Reed, N.Y. LonE.'rgan Reed, W. Va. Longworth Rhodes Lufkin Ricketts Luhring Riddick McAndrews Robsion, Ky, McArthur Rodenberg McClintic Rogers McCul1o{!h Romjue McFadden Rose McGlennon Rowan McKenzie Rowe McKeown Rubey McKiniry Rucker McKinley Sabath McLane Sanders, Ind. McLaughlin, MichSanford McLaughlin, Nebr.Schall ~cerate Scott MacGregor Sears Madden Sells Mag e e Sherwood Maher Shreve Major Siegel Mann Sims Mapes Sinclair Mason · Sinnott May s Slemp Mead Smith, Ill. Merl'itt Smith, Mich. Mtchener Smith, N. Y. Mill e r Smithwick Minahan, N.J. Snyder Monahan, Wk. Steenerson Mandell Stiness Mooney Strong, Kans. Moore, Ohio Strong, Pa.. Moores. Ind. Summers, Wash. Mor g an Sumners, Tex. Mott Hweet Murphy Taylor, Ark. Ne e ly Taylor, Colo. Nelson , Mo. Tay!(\r, Tenn. Nelson, Wis. Temple Johnson, S.Dak. Newton, Minn. Thomas N e wton, Mo. Thompson, Ohio Johnston, N.Y. Nichols, Mich. Tillman Nolan Timberlake O'Connell Tincher Ogd e n Towner Oldfit>ld Treadway Oliver Upshaw O s bome Vaile

Vare Weaver White, Me. . Wood, Ind. Ve s tal Webster Williams Woodyard Volstead Welling Wilson, Ill. Yates Walters Welty Wilson, Pa. Young, N.Dak. Ward Wheeler Wingo Young, Tex. Wason White, Kans. Winslow Zihlman

NAYS--,-90.

Almon Dunn McDuffie Steagall Bankh e ad Eagle Mansfield Stedman Bell Flood Martin Steele Benson Focht Montague Stephens, Miss. Biack Gard Moon Stephens, Ohio Blackmon Garland Moore, Pa. Stevenson Bland, Va. Garner Mudd Tilson Br a nd Garrett Nicholls, S. C. Tinkham Brinson Green e , Mass. Overstreet Venable Brooks, Pa. Hardy, Tex. Paige Vinson Browning Harrison Park Voigt Buchanan Heflin Pou Walsh Byrn e s , S. C. · Holland Radcliffe Watkins . . Candler Hull, Iowa Ragsdale Watson, Pa. Clark, Fla. Hull, Tenn. Rayburn Watson, Va. Coady Johnson, Miss. Riordan · Webb • Collier Kitchin Robinson, N. C. Whaley Crisp Lampert Rouse Wilson, La. Dent Lankford Sanders, La. Wise Dewalt Lazaro Sanders, N.Y. Woods, Va. Dominick Lesher Saunders, Va. Wright · ( Dor . Doremus Lever Sisson Doughton Luce Small

ANSWERED PRESENT "-1.

Greene, Vt.

NOT VOTING-33.

Brumbaugh Edmonds Kahn Ramsey Burke Gallivan Kelly, Pa. Scully Caldwell Glynn Kreider Smith, Idaho Caraway Gould Larsen Snell Connally Graham, Pa. Lee, Ga. Sullivan Crago Hamill McPherson Thompson, Okla. Dale Huddleston Morin Dooling Humphreys Olney Dupre James Quin

So, two-thirds having voted in favor thereof, the resolution was agreed to.

The Clerk announced the following pairs.

On this vote :

Mr. GRAHAM of Pennsylvania and Mr. SULLIVAN (for) with Mr. GREENE of Vermont (against).

Mr. SCULLY and Mr. SNELL (for) with Mr. RAMSEY (against). Until further notice:

1\II-. DooLING with Mr. McPHERSON.

Mr. GAI . GALLIVAN with Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania.

Mr. DYER. Mr. Speaker, my colleague, l\lr. McPHERSON, is unavoidably absent to-day. If he were here, he would vote in favor of this re olution. · ·

The result of the vote was announced · nced as above recorded.

On motion of l\lr. l\iANN, a motion to reconsider the vote by Grounds. which the resolution was agreed to was · laid on the table.