carried out in a State only when all its
societies were agreed but when they were not the Congressional
Committee should not work there. It also seemed to be the opinion of
the convention that States which were considering a campaign should
first consult the Survey Committee and show whether or not they were
prepared for it, and if the committee advised against it and they
persisted they should not expect any assistance from the National
Association. Miss Laura Clay was requested to explain the Federal
Elections Bill, which would enable women to vote for Senators and
Representatives, and would require only a majority vote of each house
for its adoption. Miss Clay was enthusiastically received and the
convention again requested the Board to take up this bill and press
its claims on Congress. Later the Executive Council passed a
resolution to do all in its power for Presidential suffrage.

At a morning session of the convention on December 18 a motion was
passed that "last year's action in regard to the Shafroth Amendment be
rescinded." The following motion was then carried: "The National
American Woman Suffrage Association re-endorses the Susan B. Anthony
Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, for which it has been working
forty-five years, and no other amendment of the U. S. Constitution
dealing with National Woman Suffrage shall be introduced by it during
the coming year." The Minutes of the convention (page 43) say: "Miss
Shaw asked as a matter of personal privilege that she be permitted to
make a statement to the association with regard to her attitude on
the Shafroth Amendment to the effect that she had been opposed to its
adoption and had voted against it but that when the Board by majority
vote adopted it she supported the Board in its decision; that the
longer she studied the question the more she approved of it but that
she felt the mistake made was in trying to work for it before the
women of the association had become informed as to its value and had
learned to believe in it." This was the end of the so-called Shafroth
Amendment, which had threatened to carry the old association on the
rocks. [See Chapter XIV.]

Another problem came before this convention--the policy of the
recently formed Congressional Union to adopt the method of the
"militant" branch of the English suffragists and hold the party in
power responsible for the failure to submit the Federal Suffrage
Amendment. They had gone into the equal suffr