to extend
it. The Legislature of Minnesota restricted the suffrage which had
been given to women by a constitutional amendment, when it granted to
the city of St. Paul a charter taking the election of members of the
school board entirely out of the hands of women by giving their
appointment to the mayor, an officer elected by the votes of men
only."[343]

Early in the session of 1893 Mrs. Nelson had a conference with
Ignatius Donnelly, leader of the Populists, who was then in the
Senate. He was willing to introduce a suffrage bill, but as the
Republicans were in the majority it was thought best to have this done
by John Day Smith, the leader of that party in the Senate. Mr. Smith
consented, with the understanding that Mr. Donnelly should help by
championing the bill. "Municipal Suffrage for women with educational
qualifications," was all this bill asked for. Mrs. Nelson, Mrs. Anna
B. Turley and Senator Donnelly made addresses before the Judiciary
Committee at a hearing in the Senate Chamber, with an interested
audience present. Mrs. Nelson also gave an evening lecture here on The
Road to Freedom.

In place of this bill one to submit an amendment to the voters was
substituted. The suffragists were averse to this, but accepted it with
the best grace possible, and enthusiastically worked for the new bill
to amend the State constitution by striking the word "male" from the
article restricting the suffrage. Senators Smith, Donnelly and Edwin
E. Lommen spoke for the bill, and it passed the Senate by 31 yeas, 19
nays.

In the House it was persistently delayed by the chairman of the
Judiciary Committee, George H. Fletcher, and the friends could not get
it upon the calendar in time to be reached unless it should be made a
special order. Edward T. Young endeavored to have this done, but as
there were several hundred other bills to be considered and less than
three days of the session left, his motion was lost. On the last
night, Mr. Young and H. P. Bjorge made an effort to have the rules
suspended and the bill put upon its final passage. The vote on this
motion was 54 yeas, 44 nays, but as a two-thirds vote is necessary it
was lost. Speaker W. E. Lee voted with the affirmative.[344]

Three Suffrage Bills were introduced into the Legislature of 1895, two
in the House and one in the Senate. The first, for an amendment to the
State constitution, was offered by O. L. Brevig and was indefinitely
postponed. S. T. Littleton prese