s of Europe that had overthrown their Emperors
and Kings gave women equal voting rights with men. In November at
their State elections, Michigan, South Dakota and Oklahoma gave
complete suffrage to women. The U. S. Senate was still holding out by
a majority of two against submitting the Federal Amendment but it was
almost universally recognized that the seventy years' struggle for
woman suffrage in this country was nearing the end.

With the opening of the year 1919 the progress was evident by the
addition of seven more States to those whose Legislatures had granted
the Presidential franchise to women; that of Tennessee included
Municipal suffrage and that of Texas had given Primary suffrage the
preceding year. The situation now seemed to require an early
convention of the National Association and the time was especially
opportune, as this year marked the 50th anniversary of its founding. A
Call was issued, therefore, for a Jubilee Convention to be held in
March, fifteen months after the one of 1917. As it was the intention
to launch the organization of Women Voters it was decided to meet in
the central part of the country and the invitation of St. Louis was
accepted.[115]

The Report of the annual convention of 1901, with which this volume
begins, filled 130 printed pages; the Report of 1919 filled 322, which
makes a complete account of its proceedings impracticable. Their
character had been changing from year to year and at this convention
it was almost transformed. At the public evening meetings there were
no longer eloquent pleas and arguments for the ballot and the daytime
sessions were not devoted to discussions of the many phases of the
work. Now there was business and political consideration of the best
and quickest methods of bringing the movement to an end and the most
effective use that could be made of the suffrage already so largely
won. It was a little difficult for some of the older workers to
accustom themselves to the change, which deprived the convention of
its old-time crusading, consecrated spirit, but the younger ones were
full of ardor and enthusiasm over the limitless opportunities that
were nearly within their grasp.

On Sunday evening the national officers and directors held an informal
reception in the Hotel Statler for the delegates and all the sessions
were held in this hotel, with the two evening mass meetings in the
Odeon Theater. The convention opened Monday evening, March 24, with
the