oubt my
citizenship, I will insist on taking the oath. Will you receive
it?" The answer was, "No; we have decided not to take women's
votes, and we cannot take yours." "Then," said I, "it amounts to
this: the law gives women the right to vote in this territory,
and you three men who have been appointed to receive our votes,
sit here and arbitrarily refuse to take them, giving no reason
why, only that you have decided not to take the women's votes.
There is no law to sustain you in this usurpation of power. We
can claim legal redress. Are you willing to stand a legal
prosecution?" "Yes," was the response of each one separately. It
was now plain to see why the votes of the women were refused; the
judges had been hired to do the dirty work, and money pledged in
case of prosecution. They were men in moderate circumstances and
could not have stood the cost of a suit individually. The ready
assent they gave showed such a contingency had been thought of
and provided against by the opponents of woman suffrage. The
other two women then offered their votes, which were also
refused.

In the autumn of 1871 Susan B. Anthony came to Olympia and
attended the first woman suffrage convention ever held here. Our
legislature was in session, and a joint hearing before the two
Houses was extended to her. Her statesman-like argument clearly
proved the right of our women to vote under both the national
constitution and the territorial law. After Miss Anthony left,
there arose a rumor that the election law was to be repealed, and
a committee of women attended every session, determined if
possible to prevent it. They were at the capitol the last day,
prepared to stay until the adjournment; they were urged to go
home, but would not unless a solemn promise was made them that
the law should in no way be tampered with. This the members
refused to do, until a bright idea struck one of them, which was
that they need not disturb the law, but could make it inoperative
by enacting another statute. This being whispered among the
members, the promise was given, and the women retired.
Immediately after, the following act was passed by both Houses,
approved and signed by the governor:

_Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory
of Washington