us. Many universities and colleges have discussed
suffrage the past winter, notably Dartmouth, Williams and Brown in
their annual intercollegiate debate, Yale in the inter-class debate,
the University of Texas against Tulane University of Louisiana, and
Stanford will debate with Berkeley, April 16." Miss Peck made many
other valuable suggestions from the trained viewpoint of a university
woman.

Representative A. W. Rucker was introduced as a proxy for the Colorado
association and gave its report with a warm personal endorsement of
equal suffrage as it had existed in his State for seventeen years. The
convention greeted with enthusiasm the mother of U. S. Senator Robert
L. Owen of Oklahoma, who said she could not make a speech but would
send her son to do so that evening.

Although national suffrage conventions had been held in Washington
since 1869 no official recognition ever had been asked for or given by
the President of the United States. The leaders thought that now the
movement was of sufficient size and importance to justify them in
inviting President Taft to give simply an address of welcome. The
invitation was sent with the statement that its acceptance would not
be regarded as committing him to an advocacy of woman suffrage and it
was accepted with this understanding, although Mrs. Elihu Root
presented a request from the Anti-Suffrage Association that he would
not accept it. The entire country was interested and on the opening
evening, when he was to speak, the auditorium was crowded and lines of
people reached to the street. President Taft came in with his escort
while Dr. Shaw was in the midst of her annual address but she stopped
instantly and welcomed him to the platform. The audience arose and
with applause and waving of handkerchiefs remained standing until he
was seated. At one point in his brief address there was apparently a
slight hissing in the back part of the room. The President paused; Dr.
Shaw sprang to her feet exclaiming, "Oh, my children!" and the
audience, which was excited and amazed, instantly became quiet and
listened respectfully to the rest of his speech, but as he left the
room, after shaking hands with Dr. Shaw, a few remained seated. As
this incident attracted nation-wide comment and much criticism it
seems advisable to publish the proceedings in full. The address was as
follows:

I am not entirely certain that I ought to have come tonight, but
your committee who invi