ion. By the only
means now available the half which possesses the ballot has the
absolute authority over its further extension and no ruling class
likes to divide its power. State rights are desirable to a very
large extent when all the people of the State have a voice, but
it is not in harmony with the spirit of our republic that one
half of the citizens of a State should have complete power over
the political liberty of the other half.

Instance after instance was given from different States showing how
this power had been abused after the women had struggled long and
heroically for even a partial franchise and the speaker concluded:
"Women have been defeated over twenty times in the strongest campaigns
they were able to make for full-suffrage amendments to State
constitutions. From 1896 to 1910 they were not once successful.
Sometimes they were sold out by the party 'machines' at the last
moment; sometimes they were counted out after they had really secured
a majority; but, whatever the reason, they lost. The victories of the
last three years may be cited as evidence that henceforth they will
succeed. Those victories were largely due to political conditions
which do not exist in many other States and against them must be set
the crushing defeats these same years in Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan,
where the woman suffrage amendment was fought by every vicious
interest which menaces the body politic...."

Miss Jane Addams was presented by Dr. Shaw as one who did not need to
be introduced to any civilized being, "not because of any political
agitation by her but for the service she has rendered humanity, one
which is distinctly woman's service, and she long ago came to realize
that it was impossible to do this work as it should be done unless she
and the women associated with her had the ballot." Miss Addams
referred to a committee hearing once before when she was able to give
but one precedent for the jurisdiction of Congress over the
franchise--the 15th Amendment--but now, she said, she could give nine
more. She cited the case of the Indians, the Confederate soldiers,
foreigners who fought in the Civil War, naturalized foreigners,
Federal prisoners, American women marrying aliens, election of U. S.
Senators, etc. Each point brought questions or objections from the
committee and the discussion was very interesting.

Members of the committee asked Dr. Shaw if the association would be