lasted without
interruption until the autumn of 1888, a period of over two years. The
Rev. Olympia Brown gave up her church in Racine and devoted herself
exclusively to the work. The association was assisted by Miss Anthony,
Mrs. Livermore, Mrs. Elizabeth Lyle Saxon, Mrs. Elizabeth Boynton
Harbert and Mrs. Catharine Waugh McCulloch. Some of these speakers
remained a month, others a week and some only for two or three
lectures. The State president attended every meeting.

On the morning of the election in April, 1887, Attorney-General
Charles B. Estabrook sent out telegrams to those places where he
supposed women would be likely to vote, ordering the inspectors to
reject their ballots, which was done; but where they were not advised
by him the ballots of women were accepted.

The next effort of the suffrage leaders was to instruct the people in
the law and the circumstances of its passage, and thus to inspire
confidence in spite of the refusal of the ballots. It was suggested
that as the Presidential election was near at hand, politicians would
not leave it uncertain as to whether or not women were entitled to
vote, but would secure an interpretation of the law from the Supreme
Court without proper argument and presentation of the facts, hence the
State W. S. A. decided to test the matter itself. The case was brought
by Mrs. Brown against the election inspectors in Racine for refusing
to accept her vote, and was ably argued before Judge John B. Winslow
of the Circuit Court, now a member of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin.
He overruled the demurrer of the inspectors, stating that women were
entitled to vote at that election and for all candidates, thus
confirming the law.

An appeal was immediately taken by the inspectors to the Supreme
Court, and in order to keep the subject before the people and to
create a favorable public sentiment the association continued its
canvass by distributing literature and giving lectures. The decision
rendered Jan. 31, 1888, was written by Justice John B. Cassody and was
so vague and loosely worded that lawyers were not agreed as to its
meaning. He reversed the finding of the lower court, however,
declaring the intent of the law to be to confer School Suffrage
only.[468]

The association now found itself confronted by a large debt, the whole
suit having cost about $1,500, but by active work the autumn of 1888
found everything paid. In all this Mrs. Almeda B. Gray, one of the
officers