had taken charge of the Nebraska suffrage
headquarters her duties devolved upon Miss Helen L. Kimber, the new
vice-president. This convention voted against the proposition to ask
the Legislature of 1901 to submit a constitutional amendment, thinking
it advisable first to devote two years to the work of organization,
after which it is generally believed the full suffrage can be
secured.[272]

LEGISLATIVE ACTION: The State Association from its beginning in 1884
made Municipal Suffrage its chief object. In 1885 a bill for this
purpose was presented in the House by Frank J. Kelly. It was favorably
reported by the Judiciary Committee, but although advanced somewhat on
the calendar it was too far down to reach a vote.

At a special session in 1886 the bill was reported to the House by the
committee on Political Rights of Women, and a large force of competent
women went to Topeka to urge its passage. On February 10 it stood
eighth from the top on the calendar. On February 11, when the
Committee on Revision submitted its report, it stood sixty-first. A
strong protest was made by its friends on the floor and by a standing
vote it was restored to its original place. The enemies were now
thoroughly alarmed. A State election was close at hand and the
Prohibitionists were crowding the Republicans. The bill was
practically a Republican measure and its opponents in that party hit
upon the scheme of getting up a Third Party scare. They were led by
ex-Gov. George T. Anthony who declared he would spend his last cent to
defeat the bill. It was denounced by press and politicians as a sly
Prohibition trick, some of its best friends were thus silenced and it
was quietly smothered. The bill was introduced in the Senate by L. B.
Kellogg and favorably reported from the Judiciary Committee with an
opposing minority report. It was ably championed by himself, Senators
H. B. Kelly and R. W. Blue, but was eventually stricken from the
calendar by the Committee on Revision and a motion to reinstate was
lost by 12 yeas, 25 nays, on February 16.

When the Legislature convened in 1887 the election was over and had
resulted favorably for the Republicans. The suffragists had spent the
intervening ten months in a campaign of their own. Miss Anthony had
come to Kansas and they had held conventions in all the principal
cities. At her request the W. C. T. U. had given up their plan of
asking for an amendment to the constitution and joined the attempt to
se