nationality in the world? If we could secure this amendment to
the Federal Constitution, then we could deal with the
Legislatures, with the selected men in each State, instead of the
great conglomerate of voters that we have in this country, such
as does not exist in any other.

The Chairman: But if one of these suffrage resolutions should be
favorably reported and both Houses of Congress should pass it of
course it would be referred to the States and then before it
became a law it would have to have their approval.

Mrs. Harper: Only of the Legislatures, not the individual voters.

The Chairman: You use an expression which a member of the
committee has asked me to have you explain--"conglomerate of
voters," which you said does not exist elsewhere. The desire is
to know to whom you refer.

Mrs. Harper: I mean no disrespect to the great body of electors
in the United States but in every other country the voters are
the people of its own nationality. In no other would the question
have to go to the nationalities of the whole world as it would in
our country. For instance, we have to submit our question to the
negro and to the Indian men, when we go to the individual voters,
and to the native-born Chinese and to all those men from southern
Europe who are trained in the idea of woman's inferiority. You
put upon us conditions which are not put upon women anywhere in
the world outside the United States.

Mr. Littleton (N. Y.): You would have to convince every
legislator of the fact that this amendment to the National
Constitution ought to be adopted. If you could convince the
Legislatures of three-fourths of the States you could get
three-fourths of them to grant the suffrage itself.

Mrs. Harper: They could only grant it to the extent of sending us
to the individual voters, while if this amendment were submitted
by Congress and the Legislatures endorsed it we would never have
to deal with the individual voters. We would not have to convince
every legislator but only a majority.

Mr. Higgins (Conn.): In other words, as I understand you, you
have more confidence in the Legislatures than in the composite
citizenship.

Mrs. Harper: The composite male citizenship, you mean. We
suppose, of course, that the Legislatures represent the