its headquarters in the
Lick building. The State association and the clubs of San Francisco
contributed about $1,500. A captain was appointed for each district
who selected her precinct captains and was supplied with an
automobile. Connection was established with the chairmen throughout
the counties and all were charged to "watch the count." On election
day and the next day $94 were spent for telegrams. To nearby places
experienced workers were rushed when the word came of dishonest
election officials. There were 1,066 volunteer workers in San
Francisco, 118 of them men. On election day hundreds reported for duty
before 6 o'clock and after standing at the polls twelve hours many
went into the booths and kept tally of the count until midnight. In
Oakland Pinkerton men were hired to watch it and in San Francisco the
vault where the ballots were deposited was watched for two days and
nights.

The vote in San Francisco was 21,912 ayes, 35,471 noes, an adverse
majority of 13,559, and even the imperfect watching of the women
detected a fraudulent count of 3,000. In Oakland there were 6,075
ayes, 7,818 noes, an adverse majority of 1,743. Berkeley alone of the
places around the bay came in victorious with 2,417 ayes, 1,761 noes,
a favorable majority of 656. Los Angeles, which in 1896 had given a
majority of about 4,600 in favor, returned 15,708 ayes, 13,921 noes, a
majority of only 1,787. On election night and for two days following
the suffragists judged from the vote in the cities that they were
defeated but the favorable returns from the villages, the country
districts and the ranches came slowly in and when the count was
finally completed it was found that out of a total of 246,487 votes
the suffrage amendment had been carried by 3,587, an average majority
of one in every voting precinct in the State.[17]

With the winning of this old, wealthy and influential State the entire
movement for woman suffrage passed the crisis and victory in the
remaining western States was sure to be a matter of a comparatively
short time. As soon as the result was certain Mrs. Watson, the State
president; Mrs. Sperry and Miss Whitney, representing Northern, and
Mr. and Mrs. Braly, Mrs. Ringrose and Mrs. French, Southern
California, went to Louisville, Ky., to carry the report to the
convention of the National Association, of which this State had
forty-five life members, more than any other except New York.

No State convention had been hel