weeping and
praying a prayer ten miles long, that being the distance to my
home in Pasadena. That night I had a vision. I saw in panorama a
future glory of my beloved State. I saw well-kept cities and
churches filled with devout worshippers; I saw thousands of
bright-faced, happy children going to clean schoolhouses and
romping and laughing in their playgrounds. I saw, oh, so many
sweet and happy homes! I saw no saloons, no drunken men, no
places of vice. I saw men and women, husbands and wives, going up
to the ballot booths, laughing and chatting as they went and
placing their ballots in the boxes. Everything seemed beautiful.
The vision passed and I said to myself, "There it is--the women
of California will have the ballot and the blessings and glory
will follow."

Now we come to the beginning of the movement that has had much to
do in the enfranchisement of the women of California. I trust you
will entirely lose sight of the speaker and see only the great
cause away out in the West. A man sat in his room one night with
pencil and paper before him. He began to write names of big men
who ought to take an interest in the pending suffrage campaign.
He wrote down about one hundred names and the next day started
out alone to see them. Then followed two months of patient,
personal work and about seventy good men and true had signed the
league membership form, which read as follows: "The undersigned
hereby associate themselves together under the name and style of
the Political Equality League of California for the purpose of
securing political equality and suffrage without distinction on
account of sex." On April 5, 1910, they met around a banquet
table and organized the league. Then followed earnest,
enthusiastic, impromptu speaking by many of the members....

Mr. Braly told of going to Washington to the national convention,
visiting suffrage headquarters in New York and returning home in June,
when "immediately the league's Board of Governors, consisting of nine
men, met and proceeded to add to it nine splendid women. Headquarters
were fitted up and business began." He described the vigorous work of
their Legislative Committee with the result that every member from the
nine southern counties went to the Legislature pledged to vote for
submitting a suffrage amendment.

Saturday