:

[70] Part of Call: Within the year the State of Washington has
completed its work of fully enfranchising its adult citizens. Before
the convention assembles, California will no doubt have accepted the
idea of true democracy. We also rejoice because the Legislatures of
Kansas, Wisconsin, Oregon and Nevada have voted to submit the question
to their electors. Many States, however, still refuse to allow the
voters to pass upon the question of giving political independence to
women. Since the purpose of the National American Woman Suffrage
Association is "to secure the right to vote to women citizens of the
United States," we have called this national convention of
suffragists. From every State will come delegates, who will bring with
them the growing spirit of rebellion against injustice....

We call upon every public-spirited woman to come and help devise
methods of carrying on the fight, to strengthen the fire of revolt, to
show by overwhelming numbers and determined earnestness that women
will no longer be satisfied to be treated with political contempt by
the legislators who are supposed to represent them.... Do your part to
inspire our workers with courage, determination, fervor and
consecration; to arouse them to put forth their full strength, even to
the utmost sacrifice, to obtain universal recognition of the truth
that every adult citizen should have a voice in the government of a
free country.

ANNA HOWARD SHAW, President.
CATHARINE WAUGH MCCULLOCH, First Vice-President.
KATE M. GORDON, Second Vice-President.
MARY WARE DENNETT, Corresponding Secretary.
ELLA S. STEWART, Recording Secretary.
JESSIE ASHLEY, Treasurer.
LAURA CLAY, }
ALICE STONE BLACKWELL, }Auditors.

[71] Of the press the _Woman's Journal_ said: "The Louisville papers
gave the convention full and fair reports and the _Herald_ and _Times_
had editorials declaring woman suffrage to be inevitable. Colonel
Henry Watterson in the _Courier-Journal_ struggled between a sincere
desire to be courteous and hospitable to a convention of distinguished
women meeting in his city and an equally sincere belief that woman
suffrage would be a bad thing. A rousing editorial in favor of it
appeared in Desha Breckinridge's paper, the _Lexington Leader_.

CHAPTER XI