National American Suffrage Association, greatly encouraged the clubs.
Acting upon her urgent request, Mrs. Keith revived the Berkeley club,
which soon doubled its membership and with the Oakland and Alameda
clubs became a strong influence. There were three clubs in San
Francisco and an active organization in Santa Clara county, made up of
San Jose, Palo Alto and other clubs. Mrs. May Wright Sewall, president
of the International Council of Women, came for an extended course of
lectures in the interest of women's advancement. Women's organizations
urged many changes in the unjust community property law, the W. C. T.
U., the Women's Parliament of Southern California and the State
Suffrage Association sending representatives to plead with the
legislators. A School suffrage bill passed the House and was defeated
by only seven votes in the Senate and there was constant agitation.
The State convention this year was held at San Francisco in Yosemite
Hall, Native Sons' Building, October 18, 19, with a large number of
delegates and an interesting program. Executive board meetings had
been held throughout the year and it was reported that eighty papers
were publishing suffrage matter sent them. Mrs. Leland Stanford in an
interview in the San Francisco _Examiner_ had declared herself in
favor of woman suffrage and a letter of appreciation was sent to her.

The annual convention met October 24, 25, 1902, in Century Hall, San
Francisco, with a large attendance and many excellent speakers, among
them Dr. David Starr Jordan, president of Stanford University, and B.
Fay Mills, the noted revivalist. Greetings were read from Miss Susan
B. Anthony, Mrs. Harriet Taylor Upton, the national treasurer, and
Mrs. Caroline M. Severance, the loved pioneer, now in her 83rd year,
who had come from the East to Los Angeles over twenty years before.
The reports showed that the board had been in constant communication
with the national officers; an organizer, Mrs. Florence Stoddard, had
been engaged; the treasury receipts were increasing; eighteen new
clubs were recorded and there was general progress. Miss Vida
Goldstein, a prominent suffrage leader of Australia, had been the
guest of the association and a letter was sent to the Woman's Council
of Australia, expressing gratitude for the assistance she had been in
the United States. Australia's recent enfranchisement of her 800,000
women with eligibility to the national Parliament had given great
enco