The History of Woman Suffrage Volume III Part 117

I went to Southern Oregon in 1879, and while sojourning in Jacksonville was a.s.sailed with a shower of eggs (since known in that section as "Jacksonville arguments") and was also burned in effigy on a princ.i.p.al street after the sun went down.

Jacksonville is an old mining town, beautifully situated in the heart of the Southern Oregon mountains, and has no connection with the outside world except through the daily stagecoaches. Its would-be leading men are old miners or refugees from the bushwhacking district whence they were driven by the civil war.

The taint of slavery is yet upon them and the methods of border-ruffians are their hearts' delight. It is true that there are many good people among them, but they are often over-awed by the lawless crowd whose very instincts lead them to oppose a republican form of government. But that raid of the outlaws proved a good thing for the woman suffrage movement. It aroused the better cla.s.ses, and finally shamed the border ruffians by its own reaction. When I returned to Portland a perfect ovation awaited me. Hundreds of men and women who had not before allied themselves with the movement made haste to do so. The newspapers were filled with severe denunciations of the mob, and "Jackson-villains," as the perpetrators of the outrage were styled, grew heartily disgusted over their questionable glory.

When the legislature met in the autumn of 1880 it was decided by the Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation that we could "raise the blockade"

and encourage agitation in the work by consenting to an attempt to amend the State const.i.tution. Pursuant to this decision a resolution was offered in the Senate by Hon. W. C. Fulton of Clatsop, and in the House by Hon. Lee Laughlin, which, after considerable discussion _pro_ and _con_ in which I was graciously invited to partic.i.p.ate on the floor of both Houses, was pa.s.sed by the requisite two-thirds majority. The result was considered a triumph for the cause. A grand ratification jubilee was held in the opera-house in honor of the event, and resolutions of thanks to the lawmakers were pa.s.sed, accompanied by many expressions of faith in the legislation of the future.

In the meantime the work was going steadily on in Was.h.i.+ngton territory, my own labors being distributed about equally between the two sections of the Pacific Northwest that had formerly been united under one territorial government. In the autumn of 1881 the legislature of Was.h.i.+ngton met one afternoon in joint convention to listen to arguments from Hon. William H. White and myself, on which occasion I held the floor for nearly three hours, in the midst of an auditory that was itself an inspiration. Mr. White, a Democrat of the old school, and now (1885) holding the office of United States marshal in the territory, under commission from President Cleveland, based his plea for woman suffrage upon the enfranchis.e.m.e.nt of the colored men, urging it strongly as a means of Democratic retaliation. The suffrage bill pa.s.sed in the House on the following day by a majority of two, but was defeated in the Council by a majority of two, showing that the vote would have been a tie if taken under the joint-ballot rule.

Returning to Oregon I renewed the contest, and in the autumn of 1882 we were all gratified by the pa.s.sage of the pending const.i.tutional amendment by a very nearly unanimous vote of each House. Then the Oregon campaign began in earnest. The question had a.s.sumed formidable proportions and was no longer an ignored issue. The work went on with accelerated speed, and as far as could be ascertained there was little or no opposition to it. The meetings were largely attended and affirmative speakers were ready to a.s.sist at all times, the help of this kind representing all grades of the professions, led by the best and most influential men of the State everywhere.

Another year went by, and the time for a.s.sembling the Was.h.i.+ngton territory legislature was again at hand. Immediately upon arriving at Olympia I learned that a coterie of politicians, finding open hostility no longer effectual, had combined to crush the woman suffrage bill, which had pa.s.sed the House triumphantly, by lobbying a "subst.i.tute" through the Council. In pursuance of this seemingly plausible idea they talked with the ladies of Olympia and succeeded in convincing a few of them that all women, and especially all leaders of the movement, must be kept away from the capitol or the bill would certainly be defeated.

Several women who ought to have have known better were deceived by these specious pleaders, and but for some years of experience in legislative a.s.semblies that had brought me to comprehend the "ways that are dark and tricks that are vain," for which the average politician is "peculiar," the ruse would have succeeded.

I remained at headquarters, enduring alike the open attacks of the venal press and the more covert opposition of the saloons and brothels, and, as vigilantly as I could, watched all legislative movements, taking much pains to keep the public mind excited through the columns of the _Daily Oregonian_ and the weekly issues of the _New Northwest_. The bill, which had been prepared by Professor William H. Roberts, pa.s.sed the House early in the session; but it tarried long in the Council, and those most interested were well-nigh worn out with work and watching before the measure reached a vote. It came up for final pa.s.sage November 15, 1883, when only three or four women were present. The Council had been thoroughly canva.s.sed before-hand and no member offered to make a speech for or against it. The deathly stillness of the chamber was broken only by the clerk's call of the names and the firm responses of the "ayes" and "noes." I kept the tally with a nervous hand, and my heart fairly stood still as the fateful moment came that gave us the majority. Then I arose and without exchanging words with any one left the state-house and rushed toward the telegraph-office, half a mile distant, my feet seeming to tread the air. Judge J. W. Range of Cheney, president of a local woman suffrage society, overtook me on the way, bound on the same errand. He spoke, and I felt as if called back to earth with a painful reminder that I was yet mortal. A few minutes more and my message was on the way to the _New Northwest_. It was publication-day and the paper had gone to press, but my jubilant and faithful sons opened the forms and inserted the news, and in less than half an hour the newsboys were crying the fact through the streets of Portland, making the _New Northwest_, which had fought the fight and led the work to the point where legislation could give a victory, the very first paper in the nation to herald the news to the world. The rejoicing in Oregon, as well as in Was.h.i.+ngton territory, was most inspiriting. A bloodless battle had been fought and won, and the enemy, asleep in carnal security, had been surrendered unawares. The women of Oregon thanked G.o.d and took courage.

After pa.s.sing the Council the bill pa.s.sed leisurely, and some of us feared perilously, through the various stages of clerical progress till November 22, when it received the signature of Governor William A. Newell, who used a gold pen presented him for the purpose by women whom his act made free. And when at a given signal the church bells rang in glad acclaim, and the loud boom of minute-guns reverberated from the forest-clothed hills that border Puget Sound and lost itself at last in the faint echoes of the far-off hights, the scroll of the dead century unrolled before my inner vision and I beheld in spirit another scene on the further verge of the continent, when men in designing to ring the bell at Independence Hall in professed honor of the triumph of liberty, although not a woman in the land was free, had sought in vain to force the loyal metal into glad responses; for the old bell quivered in every nerve and broke its heart rather than tell a lie!

An immense ratification jubilee was held in the evening of the same day at the city hall in Olympia, with many distinguished speakers.[511] Similar meetings were subsequently held in all the princ.i.p.al towns of the Pacific Northwest. The freed women of Was.h.i.+ngton thankfully accepted their new prerogatives. They were appointed as jurors in many localities, and have ever since performed their duties with eminent satisfaction to judges, lawyers and all clients who are seeking to obey the laws. But their jurisdiction soon became decidedly uncomfortable for the law-breaking elements, which speedily escaped to Oregon, where, as the sequel proved, they began a secret and effective war upon the pending const.i.tutional amendment. We all knew we had a formidable foe to fight at the ballot-box. Our own hands were tied and our own guns spiked, while our foe was armed to the teeth with ballots, backed by money and controlled by vice, bigotry and tyranny. But the leading men of the State had long been known to favor the amendment; the respectable press had become mildly, and in a few cases earnestly acquiescent; no opposition could be raised at any of our public meetings, and we felt measurably sure of a victory until near election time, when we discovered to our dismay that most of the leading politicians upon whom we had relied for aid had suddenly been seized with an alarming reticence. They ceased to attend the public meetings and in every possible way ignored the amendment, lest by openly allying themselves with it they might lose votes; and as all of them were posing in some way for office, for themselves or friends, and women had no votes with which to repay their allegiance, it was not strange that they should thus desert us.

Our Republican senator in congress, Hon. J. N. Dolph, favored the Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation with an able and comprehensive letter, which was widely circulated, urging the adoption of the amendment as a measure of justice and right, and appealing to the voters to make Oregon the banner State of the great reform. Leading clergymen, especially of Portland, preached in favor of woman suffrage, prominent among them being Rev. T. L. Eliot, pastor of the Unitarian church; Chaplain R. S. Stubbs of the Church of Sea and Land, and Rev. Frederic R. Marvin of the First Congregational society. Appeals to voters were widely circulated from the pens and speeches of many able gentlemen.[512] Not one influential man made audible objection anywhere.

We had carefully districted and organized the State, sparing neither labor nor money in providing "Yes" tickets for all parties and all candidates and putting them everywhere in the hands of friends for use at the polls. But the polls were no sooner open than it began to appear that the battle was one of great odds. Masked batteries were opened in almost every precinct, and mult.i.tudes of legal voters who are rarely seen in daylight except at a general election, many of whom were refugees from Was.h.i.+ngton territory, crowded forth from their hiding-places to strike the manacled women down. They accused the earnest ladies who had dared to ask for simple justice of every crime in the social catalogue. Railroad gangs were driven to the polls like sheep and voted against us in battalions. But, in spite of all this, nearly one-third of the vote was thrown in our favor, requiring a change of only about one-fourth of the opposing vote to have given us a victory, and proving to the amazement of our enemies that the strength of our cause was already formidable.[513] We were repulsed but not conquered. Before the smoke of the battle had cleared away we had called immense meetings and pa.s.sed vigorous resolutions, thanking the lovers of liberty who had favored us with their suffrages, and pledging ourselves anew to the conflict.

We at once decided that we would never again permit the legislature to remand us to the rabble in a vain appeal for justice. We had demonstrated the impossibility of receiving a fair, impartial vote at the hands of the ignorant, lawless and unthinking mult.i.tude whose ballots outweigh all reason and overpower all sense. In pursuance of this purpose I went to the legislature of 1885 and found no difficulty in securing the aid of friendly members of both Houses who kindly championed the following bill:

_Be it enacted by the Legislative a.s.sembly of Oregon:_

That the elective franchise shall not hereafter be denied to any person in this State on account of s.e.x.

This act to be in force from and after its approval by the governor.

After much parliamentary fillibustering the vote of both Houses was recorded upon this bill and stood conjointly 34 to 54. This vote, coming so soon after our defeat at the polls, is regarded as the greatest victory we have yet won. The ablest lawyers of the State and of Was.h.i.+ngton territory are preparing elaborate opinions showing the const.i.tutionality of our present plan, and these are to be published in the form of a standard work, with appropriate references for convenient use. The movement exhibits a healthy, steady and encouraging growth, and is much accelerated by its success in Was.h.i.+ngton territory.

On the Fourth of July of this year a grand celebration was held at Vancouver, on Was.h.i.+ngton soil, the women of Oregon having resolved in large numbers that they would never again unite in celebrating men's independence-day in a State where they are denied their liberty. The celebration was a success from first to last. Boys and girls in equal numbers rode in the liberty-car and represented the age of the government. The military post at Vancouver joined heartily in the festivities, headed by the gallant soldier, General Nelson A. Miles, commander-in-chief of the department of the Columbia. The fine Fourteenth Infantry Band furnished the instrumental music, and a local choir rendered spirited choruses. The New Declaration of Independence was read by Josie De Vore Johnson, the oration was delivered by Mattie A.

Bridge, and Louise Lester, the famous _prima donna_, electrified the delighted crowd by her triumphant rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner." The exercises closed with the announcement by the writer, who had officiated as president of the day, that the Executive Committee of the Oregon Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation had, during the noon recess, adopted the following resolutions:

_Resolved_, That our thanks are due to General Nelson A.

Miles of the department of the Columbia for his valuable cooperation in the exercises and entertainments of this historic day.

_Resolved_, That we thank the citizens of Clarke County, and especially of Vancouver, for their hospitality and kindness, so graciously bestowed upon their less fortunate Oregon neighbors, who have not yet achieved their full independence, and we shall ever cherish their fraternal recognition in grateful remembrance.

_Resolved_, That while we deplore the injustice that still deprives the women of Oregon of the liberty to exercise their right to the elective franchise, we rejoice in the record the women of Was.h.i.+ngton are making as citizens, as voters and as jurors. We congratulate them upon their newly-acquired liberties, and especially upon the intelligent and conscientious manner in which they are discharging the important public duties that in no wise interfere with their home affairs. And we are further

_Resolved_, That if our own fathers, husbands, sons and brothers do not at the next session of the Oregon legislature bestow upon us the same electoral privileges which the women of Was.h.i.+ngton already enjoy, we will prepare to cross the Columbia River and take up our permanent abode in this "land of the free and home of the brave."

The resolutions evoked cheers that waked the echoes, and the celebration, reported by the Oregon press, contributed largely to the growth of the equal-rights sentiment among the people of the State. Two stanzas of a spirited poem are subjoined, written for the Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation just after our defeat at the polls, by a young man from Southern Oregon who has withheld his own name but included the names of all the counties in his glorious prophecy:

From Clatsop and from Clackamas, from Linn and Tillamook; From Grant, Multnomah, Lane and Coos, and Benton, Lake and Crook; From Josephine, Columbia, and loyal Was.h.i.+ngton, And Union, Baker and Yamhill, and proud old Marion; From where the Cascade mountain-streams their foaming waters pour, We're coming, mothers, sisters, dear, "ten times ten thousand more."

From Klamath's lakes and Wasco's plains, and Jackson's rolling hills; From Douglas with her mines of gold, and Curry with her mills; From Umatilla's burdened fields, and hills and dales of Polk, We're coming with our votes and songs to break the tyrant's yoke, And in the ears of Liberty this song of joy we'll pour, We're coming, mothers, sisters, dear, "ten times ten thousand more."

Mrs. Mary Olney Brown gives an amusing account of her attempts to vote in Was.h.i.+ngton territory. The incidents related occurred several years before the pa.s.sage of the act specifically enfranchising women. She says:

I do not think there has ever been a session of our legislature that has not had before it the subject of woman suffrage. It has been my habit to write out, and send to all parts of the territory, before the a.s.sembling of each legislature, pet.i.tions to be signed, asking for a law guaranteeing to women the exercise of their right to vote. These pet.i.tions were not without their effect, though no one knew who sent them out, or, when returned, who selected the member to receive and present them to the legislature. At the session of 1867, mainly through the efforts of Edward Eldridge of Whatcom County, an act was pa.s.sed giving "all white American citizens above the age of twenty-one years" the right to vote. This law is still on our statute books; but, like the fourteenth amendment, is interpreted to mean only male citizens. During the time between the pa.s.sage of this law and the next election, I wrote to some of the prominent women of the princ.i.p.al towns, telling them of the law, and urging them to go out and vote at the coming election, and also to induce as many more to go as they could. But no notice was taken of my letters. I was looked upon as a fanatic, and the idea of a woman voting was regarded as an absurdity. The law seemed to be in advance of the people. It needed lectures and organized societies among us to educate the women into a just appreciation of their rights and duties.

In the autumn of 1868, Dr. Smith wrote several articles on the right of women to the ballot, as did also Mr. Eldridge. The latter a.s.serted that it was the intention of the law to give the women of the territory the right to vote; that being a member of the legislature he had purposely stated in his remarks, that if the bill pa.s.sed in that form, it would give the women the right to vote; and a member from his seat cried out, "That is what we want!" Mr. Eldridge urged the women to go out to the polls and vote. These articles were published in the Olympia _Transcript_, the Republican paper, J. N. Gale, one of the editors, being an advocate of suffrage. Still not a woman made a move. Many wished to vote; they knew it was the only way to secure their rights, and yet they had not the courage to go to the polls in defiance of custom.

Seeing this to be the case, and knowing that if anything was done some one must take the initiative, I determined to cast aside my timidity and set the ball rolling. Accordingly, several weeks before the election of 1869 I gave out word that I was going to the polls to vote. I had the previous year removed with my family from Olympia, and was living on White River in King county. The announcement that I would attend the election caused a great commotion in White River precinct. A fearful hue and cry was raised. The news reached Olympia and Seattle, and some of the papers deprecated the idea that "a woman should uns.e.x herself by dabbling in the filthy pool of politics." But I was fully committed. The law had been on our statute books for nearly three years. If it was intended for our benefit, it was time we were availing ourselves of it. So, nothing daunted, I determined to repair to the polling place, the district school-house, accompanied by my husband, my daughter (Mrs. Axtell) and her husband--a little band of four--looked upon with pity and contempt for what was called our "fanaticism."

For several days before the election the excitement in the neighborhood and other settlements along the river was intense.

Many gentlemen called on me and tried to persuade me to stay at home and save myself from insult. I thanked them for their kindness, and told them I fully appreciated their good intentions, but that I had a.s.sociated with men all my life, and had always been treated as a lady; that the men I should meet at the polls were the same that I met in church and social gatherings, and I knew they would treat me with respect. Then they begged my husband not to allow me to go; but he told them his wife had as good a right to vote as he had; and that no citizen can legally deprive another of the right to vote.

On the morning of the election, just before we reached the school-house, a man met us and said, "Mr. Brown, look here now!

If Mrs. Brown goes up to vote she will be insulted! If I was in your place I wouldn't let her go any farther. She had better go back." My husband answered, "Mr. Brannan, my wife has as good a right to vote as I have, and I would not prevent her if I could.

She has a mind of her own and will do as she thinks best, and I shall stand by her and see that she is well treated! Besides [speaking with emphasis], she will not be insulted either!"

"Well," said the man, "if she was my wife she shouldn't go!

She'll be sure to be insulted!" I looked him full in the face, and said with decision, "Mr. Brannan, a gentleman will be a gentleman under all circ.u.mstances, and will always treat a lady with respect." I said this because I knew the man, and knew that if anyone offered any annoyance, it would be he, and so it proved.

As we drove up to the school-house and alighted, a man in an angry voice snapped out, "Well! if the women are coming to vote, I'm going home!" But he did not go; he had too much curiosity; he wanted to see the fun. He stayed and was converted. After watching the sovereign "white male citizen" perform the laborious task of depositing his vote in the ballot-box, I thought if I braced myself up I might be equal to the task. So, summoning all my strength, I walked up to the desk behind which sat the august officers of election, and presented my vote. When behold! I was pompously met with the a.s.sertion, "You are not an American citizen; hence not ent.i.tled to vote." The great unabridged dictionary of Noah Webster was opened, and the definition of the word citizen read to me. They all looked to see me vanquished; they thought I would have to retreat before such an overwhelming array of sagacity. The countenances of the judges wore a pleased expression that they had hit on so easy an expedient to put me _hors du combat_, while the crowd looked astonished that I did not sink out of sight. Waiting a moment, I said, "The definition is correct. A citizen of the United States, is a _person_ owing allegiance to the government; but then all persons are not _men_; and the definition of "citizeness" is a female citizen. I claim to be an American citizen, and a native-born citizen at that; and I wish to show you from the fourteenth amendment to the const.i.tution of the United States, that women are not only citizens having the const.i.tutional right to vote, but also that our territorial election law gives women the privilege of exercising that right."

When I commenced speaking, all the men, with the exception of two--the one who had urged my husband not to let me go to the school-house, and a low, degraded fellow, who had a squaw for a wife--came and ranged themselves around me and the judges before whom I stood, and listened attentively. It was a new subject to them. They had heard of woman suffrage, but only in ridicule. Now it was being presented to them in a very different light. As I proceeded there was a death-like stillness, so intent were they to catch every word. Even the man who had declared he would go home if the women were going to vote, was among the most interested of the listeners. There was but one interruption; the two men, of whom I have spoken, to make good their a.s.sertion that I would be insulted, got behind a desk in the far corner of the room, and began talking and laughing very loudly; but they were promptly called to order. Silence being restored, I went on to show them that the original const.i.tution recognized women as citizens, and that the word citizen includes both s.e.xes, as is proved by the phrases, "male citizen," and "female citizen"; that women from the beginning had been unjustly deprived of the exercise of their const.i.tutional rights; that they had for years been pet.i.tioning those in power to restore them to their political freedom, when the emanc.i.p.ation of the Southern slaves threw upon the country a cla.s.s of people, who, like the women of the nation, owed allegiance to the government, but whose citizens.h.i.+p was not recognized. To settle this question, the fourteenth amendment was adopted. Its first section declares emphatically who are citizens, and guarantees to them the exercise of all their natural rights under the equal protection of the law. (Here I read to them the section.) No distinction is made in regard to s.e.x; the word "person" being used, which includes both men and women.

"And now, honorable gentlemen," I said, in conclusion, "I am a 'person,' declared by the fourteenth amendment to be a citizen, and still further, I am a native-born citizen of the same race and color of these gentlemen by whom I am surrounded, and whose votes you do not hesitate to receive; and, had our territorial law failed to give me the right to vote, this amendment would protect me in the exercise of it. I again offer my vote, and hope you will not refuse it." No hand was extended to receive it; but one of the judges threw himself back in his seat, and with great dignity of manner and an immense display of ignorance, exclaimed, "Women have no right to vote; and the laws of Congress don't extend over Was.h.i.+ngton territory." This was too much for even the strongest opponents. On every side was heard, "Oh, Mr. Alvord!

why, yes, they do!" "Mr. Alvord, you are mistaken, the laws of congress do extend over our territory"; and some tried to explain to him that the territory belonged to the United States and was under the jurisdiction of the national government, and that of course the laws of congress extended over it. But still more pompously, he again declared, "It is no such thing, the laws of congress don't extend over Was.h.i.+ngton territory." A look of disgust and shame was depicted on nearly every countenance, and the cause of woman suffrage had advanced perceptibly in the minds of the audience.

Another of the judges arose, and said, he had never thought much on the subject. He had no doubt but Mrs. Brown was right, woman were citizens and had the right to vote; but as the courts had not instructed the election officers to take the votes of women, and as the precinct was a small one, he was afraid their whole vote would be thrown out if they received the women's ballots.

So, although he should like to see the women have their rights, he should have to refuse Mrs. Brown's vote. Here an Irishman called out, "It would be more sensible to let an intelligent white woman vote than an ignorant n.i.g.g.e.r." Cries of "Good for you, Pat! good for you, Pat!" indicated the impression that had been made. My daughter now went up and offered her vote, which was, of course, rejected.

My going to the polls was noised abroad, and set men as well as women thinking. They examined the law for themselves, and found that women had a right to vote, so that before the next election many were prepared to act. In May, 1870, I published an appeal to the women of the territory, quoting to them the law, and urging them to avail themselves of its provisions by going to the polls and voting. My sister, Charlotte Olney French, living in Grand Mound precinct, some twenty-five miles from Olympia, began talking the matter up; and, being a woman of energy and influence, she soon had the whole neighborhood interested. With the a.s.sistance of an old lady, Mrs. Peck, she planned a regular campaign. By the programme the women were to get up a picnic dinner at the school-house where the election was to be held, and directly after, while the officers of election were in good humor (wives will understand the philosophy of this), they were to present their votes. My sister, being a good talker and well informed on all the const.i.tutional, judicial and social phases of the question as well as a good judge of human nature, was able to meet and parry every objection, and give information where needed, so that by the time dinner was over, the judges, as well as everybody else, were in the best of spirits. When the voting was resumed, the women (my sister being the first) handed in their ballots as if they had always been accustomed to voting, and everything pa.s.sed off pleasantly. One lady, Mrs. Sargent, seventy-two years old, said she thanked the Lord that He had let her live until she could vote. She had often prayed to see the day, and now she was proud to cast her first ballot.

It had been talked of for some days before the election in the adjoining precinct--Black River--that Mrs. French was organizing a party of women to attend the election in Grand Mound precinct; but they were not sure the judges would let them vote. "If they do," said they, "if the Grand Mound women vote, the Black River women shall!" So they stationed a man on a fleet horse, at the Grand Mound polls, with instructions to start as soon as the women began to vote, and ride with all haste back to their precinct and let them know. The moment the man rode in sight of the school-house he swung his hat, and screeched at the top of his voice, "They're voting! They're voting!" The teams were all ready in antic.i.p.ation of the news, and were instantly flying in every direction, and soon the women were ushered into the school-house, their choice of tickets furnished them, and all allowed to vote as "American citizens."

While the women of these two precincts were enjoying the exercise of their political rights, the women of Olympia were suffering the vexation of disappointment. I had been stopping there for some weeks previous to the election, trying to induce the women to go to the polls, and also to convince the men that women had a legal right to vote, and that their right must be respected. The day before election the judges were interviewed as to whether they would take the votes of the women. They replied, "Yes; we shall be obliged to take them. The law gives them the right to vote, and we can not refuse." This decision was heralded all over the city, and women felt as if their millennium had come.

To-morrow, for the first time, their voice would be heard in the government through the ballot. All day long women met each other, and asked: "Are you going to the election to-morrow?" Groups gathered in parlors and discussed the matter, and everything seemed auspicious.

But how true the saying: "There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip!" Before nine o'clock the next morning, the word had been communicated all over town that "the women need not come out to the polls as the judges would not take their votes." They would give no reason why, but said "they had decided not to take the votes of the women." About a dozen of us gathered together to consult what was best to be done; finding most of them inclined to back out, I urged the necessity of our making an effort; that whether the judges took our votes or not, it was not best to give it up as the rest had done; if we did, it would be harder to make an effort next time; that I had been to the polls once and had my vote refused, and could be refused again; at any rate, I had the right to vote, and I should go and offer it if I had to go alone.

Three of the number said they would go with me--Mrs. Patterson, Mrs. Wiley and Mrs. Dofflemyer; these, with Mr. Patterson, my husband and myself made our party. As we reached the court-house where the election was held, Mr. Dofflemyer met us and took his wife home, she meekly submitting.

Just before us a cart rattled up bearing a male citizen, who was too drunk to know what he was doing, or even to do anything. He was lying on his back in the cart, with feet and hands up, hurrahing at the top of his voice. This disgusting, drunken idiot was picked up out of the cart by two men, who put a ticket into his hand, carried him to the window (he was too drunk to stand), shoved him up and raised his arm into the aperture; his vote received, he was tumbled back into the cart.

I then stepped up and offered my vote, and was answered with, "We have decided not to take the votes of the women!" "On what grounds do you refuse?" I asked. No answer. "Do you refuse it on legal grounds?" Still no answer. I then said, "Under the election law of this territory, setting aside my const.i.tutional right as a citizen of the United States, I have the right to vote at this election. Have you the election law by you?" "No, we have not got it here," they said. I knew they had, but did not dispute their word. "Very well," I said, "I can quote it for you." I did so, and then said, "Under this territorial law I claim my right, and again I offer you my vote as an American citizen. If you doubt my citizens.h.i.+p, I will insist on taking the oath. Will you receive it?" The answer was, "No; we have decided not to take women's votes, and we cannot take yours." "Then," said I, "it amounts to this: the law gives women the right to vote in this territory, and you three men who have been appointed to receive our votes, sit here and arbitrarily refuse to take them, giving no reason why, only that you have decided not to take the women's votes.

There is no law to sustain you in this usurpation of power. We can claim legal redress. Are you willing to stand a legal prosecution?" "Yes," was the response of each one separately. It was now plain to see why the votes of the women were refused; the judges had been hired to do the dirty work, and money pledged in case of prosecution. They were men in moderate circ.u.mstances and could not have stood the cost of a suit individually. The ready a.s.sent they gave showed such a contingency had been thought of and provided against by the opponents of woman suffrage. The other two women then offered their votes, which were also refused.

In the autumn of 1871 Susan B. Anthony came to Olympia and attended the first woman suffrage convention ever held here. Our legislature was in session, and a joint hearing before the two Houses was extended to her. Her statesman-like argument clearly proved the right of our women to vote under both the national const.i.tution and the territorial law. After Miss Anthony left, there arose a rumor that the election law was to be repealed, and a committee of women attended every session, determined if possible to prevent it. They were at the capitol the last day, prepared to stay until the adjournment; they were urged to go home, but would not unless a solemn promise was made them that the law should in no way be tampered with. This the members refused to do, until a bright idea struck one of them, which was that they need not disturb the law, but could make it inoperative by enacting another statute. This being whispered among the members, the promise was given, and the women retired.

Immediately after, the following act was pa.s.sed by both Houses, approved and signed by the governor:

_Be it enacted by the Legislative a.s.sembly of the Territory of Was.h.i.+ngton:_

SECTION 1. That hereafter no female shall have the right of ballot, or vote at any poll or election precinct in this territory until the Congress of the United States of America shall, by direct legislation, declare the same to be the supreme law of the land.