Speaker of the House in Mississippi: "Stand firm
against ratification. Delaware Legislature still firm for State's
rights and will not ratify." A hasty call was made for a meeting of
all the Republican members of the Senate and House favorable to
ratification. This was addressed by the Governor, by United States
Senator Ball, and by Congressman Layton, father of "Dan" Layton, who
had always heretofore favored woman suffrage. By this time, however,
the whole question had narrowed to his personal fight against Governor
Townsend and at this conference he publicly announced that he would
oppose ratification.

The Governor did everything possible to make it easy for the leaders
of the southern part of the State to bring over its representatives to
the amendment. In a noble speech he offered to withdraw his candidacy
for delegate to the National Democratic convention if the Sussex
county members would vote for it. John E. McNabb, the Democratic floor
leader, boldly repudiated the telegrams from President Wilson, his
Cabinet, Homer Cummings, chairman of the Democratic National
Committee, and other party leaders. He said that not twenty-five
persons in his district favored ratification and in two days a
petition from five hundred was handed to him by Mrs. F. E. Bach and
Mrs. Pennewell of Wilmington. Alexander P. Corbitt, Speaker of the
House, was indirectly connected with the Pennsylvania railroad and to
him was due a large share of the responsibility of its defeat.
Prominent among the lobbyists were Henry B. Thompson of Wilmington,
husband of the president of the Anti-Suffrage Association; Major
Edmund Mitchell, former Republican State chairman; George Gray, former
Federal Judge; George A. Elliott, Mifflin Wilson, George W. Sparks and
Henry P. Scott of Wilmington, chairman of the State Republican Ways
and Means Committee. His argument, widely circulated, was as follows:
"If the Legislature will refuse to ratify the proposed amendment and
thus prevent the hysterical rout of the politicians of the country to
make shreds and patches of our sacred Constitution, the State of
Delaware will receive in the near future the greatest possible glory."

Governor Townsend went to New York and laid the danger of the
situation before T. Coleman du Pont, whose influence in the State was
very great. He came to Wilmington, interviewed various men, wrote
letters and then went to Dover where he worked for the amendment.
Gradually there was a wea