oss my shoulders and breast had been draped a
huge sash with the word "Orator" emblazoned on it, and this was further
embellished by a striking rosette with streamers which hung nearly
to the bottom of my gown. It is almost unnecessary to add that this
remarkable decoration was furnished by a committee of men, and was also
worn by all the men speakers of the day. Possibly I was overheated by
the sash, or by the emotions the sash aroused in me, for I was stricken
with pneumonia the following day and experienced my first serious
illness, from which, however, I soon recovered.

On our way to California in 1895 Miss Anthony and I spent a day at
Cheyenne, Wyoming, as the guests of Senator and Mrs. Carey, who gave a
dinner for us. At the table I asked Senator Carey what he considered the
best result of the enfranchisement of Wyoming women, and even after the
lapse of twenty years I am able to give his reply almost word for word,
for it impressed me deeply at the time and I have since quoted it again
and again.

"There have been many good results," he said, "but the one I consider
above all the others is the great change for the better in the character
of our candidates for office. Consider this for a moment: Since our
women have voted there has never been an embezzlement of public funds,
or a scandalous misuse of public funds, or a disgraceful condition of
graft. I attribute the better character of our public officials almost
entirely to the votes of the women."

"Those are inspiring facts," I conceded, "but let us be just. There are
three men in Wyoming to every woman, and no candidate for office could
be elected unless the men voted for him, too. Why, then, don't they
deserve as much credit for his election as the women?"

"Because," explained Senator Carey, promptly, "women are politically an
uncertain factor. We can go among men and learn beforehand how they are
going to vote, but we can't do that with women; they keep us guessing.
In the old days, when we went into the caucus we knew what resolutions
put into our platforms would win the votes of the ranchmen, what would
win the miners, what would win the men of different nationalities; but
we did not know how to win the votes of the women until we began to
nominate our candidates. Then we immediately discovered that if the
Democrats nominated a man of immoral character for office, the women
voted for his Republican opponent, and we learned our first big
lesson--that