rgymen
of Philadelphia to preach a sermon or give an address on Woman
Suffrage; and prizes of $5, $10 and $15 were offered for the three
best essays on Political Equality for Women, fifty-six being received.

A Yellow Ribbon Bazar was held in Philadelphia in 1895, the net
proceeds amounting to over $1,000. Miss Mary G. Hay, Miss Yates and
Miss Gregg were then employed as organizers, and were very successful
in forming clubs. There are now sixteen active county societies.[418]

LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS AND LAWS: In 1885 Miss Matilda Hindman was sent to
Harrisburg to urge the Legislature to submit an amendment to the
voters striking out the word "male" from the suffrage clause of the
State constitution. As a preliminary, 249 letters were sent to members
asking their views on the subject; 89 replies were received, 53
non-committal, 20 favorable, 16 unfavorable. Miss Hindman and eleven
other women appeared before a Joint Committee of Senate and House to
present arguments in favor of submitting the amendment. A bill for
this purpose passed the House, but was lost in the Senate by a vote of
13 ayes, 19 noes. This was the first concerted action of the
Pennsylvania suffragists to influence legislation for women. A legacy
of $1,390 from Mrs. Mary H. Newbold aided their efforts to secure the
bill.

Political conditions have been such that it has been considered
useless to try to obtain any legislative action on woman suffrage, and
no further attempts have been made. To influence public sentiment,
however, mass meetings addressed by the best speakers were held in the
Hall of the House of Representatives during the sessions of 1893, '95,
'97 and '99.

In 1897 and 1899 the suffragists made strenuous attempts to secure a
bill to amend the Intestate Law, which greatly discriminates against
married women, but it was killed in committee.

Owing to a gradual advance in public sentiment laws have been enacted
from time to time protecting wage-earning women; also enlarging the
property rights of wives, enabling them to act as incorporators for
business of profit, and giving them freedom to testify in court
against their husbands under some circumstances.

In 1891 a number of influential women decided to form a corporation,
with a stock company, for the purpose of building a club house and
equipping the same to rent as a business of profit. The charter was
refused, because several of the women making application were married.
After some