A few weeks ago a dispatch was sent out from Washington, saying
that the Judiciary Committee for the next year was going to be
more overworked than ever before. It was accompanied by a letter
from the President to Mr. Clayton, begging him to continue as
chairman of that committee and to withdraw from his candidacy for
the Senate from Alabama because this committee was going to do
more work than it had ever been required to do before. He called
attention to the fact that the Ways and Means Committee had been
obliged to work day and night, sometimes spending the whole night
on their particular business, and he warned Mr. Clayton that this
might be the expectation of the Judiciary Committee in this
coming Congress. When this committee has only worked during the
day, we suffragists have not been able to get the attention which
we think our cause demands and with this additional work it is
quite impossible to expect more attention than we have had in the
past. Since the suggestion was offered that possibly our business
might go before the Elections Committee, the information has come
that the President's plan for presidential primary legislation
will make this committee also a very busy one this coming
session.... We pride ourselves on our democracy, but while the
Judiciary Committee has been refusing to report our measure and
bring it before the House for discussion the question of woman
suffrage has been considered by the Imperial Parliaments of
twelve European countries. This has been done in fact within the
past two years.

Mrs. Catt gave particulars from each and said the only ones where it
had not been discussed were those of Germany, Austria, Turkey and the
United States. This assertion stung the committee and Representative
Hardwick (Ga.) asked if there was not the wide difference that in this
country State laws reached the suffrage while in others the Parliament
regulated the vote, and she answered: "Of course there is that
difference but I wish to add my opinion to that of Miss Addams, that
while the States have the right to extend the vote it is the most
outrageously unfair process through which any class of unenfranchised
citizens of any land have ever been called upon to obtain their
enfranchisement and that is the reason why we come to Congress. The
overwhelming majority of the men of this cou