ch, and the Rev. Henry N. Couden, Chaplain of the
House of Representatives, pronounced the invocation at the opening of
two sessions.

The elections of the association were models of fairness with no
unnecessary waste of time. Mrs. Catt received all the votes cast for
president but three. All of the other officers but one had only from
10 to 27 opposing votes. Five members of the old board retired at
their own wish, one of them, Miss Meyer, being in the war service in
France. Mrs. McCormick, Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. Shuler were re-elected.
The new members were Miss Mary Garrett Hay (N. Y.), second
vice-president; Mrs. Guilford Dudley (Tenn.) third; Mrs. Raymond Brown
(N. Y.) fourth and Mrs. Helen H. Gardener (D. C.) fifth; Mrs. Halsey
Wilson (N. Y.) recording secretary. The convention had voted to drop
the two auditors from the list of officers and substitute two
vice-presidents. A board of directors was elected for the first time,
in the order of the votes received as follows: Mrs. James Lees Laidlaw
(N. Y.); Miss Esther G. Ogden (N. Y.); Mrs. Nonie Mahoney (Tex.); Mrs.
Horace C. Stilwell (Ind.); Dr. Mary A. Safford (Fla.); Mrs. T. T.
Cotnam (Ark.); Mrs. Charles H. Brooks (Kans.); Mrs. Arthur L.
Livermore (N. Y.).

In place of a flowery speech of acceptance Mrs. Catt laid out more and
still more work and outlined a plan of organization for uniting the
women of the enfranchised States in an association which should be
auxiliary to the National American. Each State association would upon
enfranchisement automatically become a member of this organization
with an elected working committee of five persons, these State
committees to be finally united in a central body to be known as the
National League of Women Voters. [Handbook of convention, page 48.]
Besides the obvious advantages, she suggested that such an
organization would provide a way for recently enfranchised States to
maintain intact their suffrage associations for the benefit of work on
the Federal Amendment.[113]

One of the most vital reports was that of the treasurer, Mrs. Henry
Wade Rogers. It was a remarkable story especially to those who
remembered the time when the receipts of the association for the whole
year did not exceed $2,000, laboriously collected by Miss Anthony,
with possibly a little assistance, in subscriptions of from $5 to $10
with one of $50 regarded as high water mark. The report began: "Our
fiscal year closed October 31 with a balance of $