Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 4.djvu/1046

 Seattle, already knew, and her coming tended to arouse the loyal support of the suffragists.

"The Prohibition party gave official indorsement. The Social Democratic party and the Socialist Labor party both inserted suffrage planks in their platforms. The latter claims 9,000 votes in the State."

The Fusion party was everywhere successful and the Legislature of 1897 was composed of reform elements. Mrs. Peters had charge of the Equal Suffrage Bill, which was introduced on the first day of the session by the Hon. J. P. de Mattos, and proposed to amend the constitution by striking out the word "male" from the suffrage clause. This passed the House on February 4 by 54 ayes, 15 noes. The bill was amended in the Senate and was strongly supported by Joseph Hill and W. V. Rinehart. The amended bill passed the Senate on February 25 by 23 ayes, II noes, and was returned to the House.

Here it reached a vote March 11, the last day before the close of the session, only through Mrs. Peters' slipping up to Speaker Charles E. Cline's desk and whispering to him to recognize L. E. Rader, who wished to present it. As the Speaker was a staunch suffragist he did so. The bill passed by 54 ayes, 15 noes, and was sent back for the signature of the President of the Senate and then returned to the House for the Speaker to sign. Mrs. Peters thus relates what happened after he had done so:

By the merest accident, Senator Thomas Miller, a friend, obeyed an impression to examine the bill to see if it were all right, when lo and behold! he discovered that the true bill had been stolen during the short recess and an absolutely worthless bill engrossed and signed. Senator Miller at once made the fraud public and Speaker Cline tore his signature from the bill. On Thursday morning, the last day, a certified copy of the true bill was sent to the House, where it was ratified and returned to the Senate. I then requested the President of the Senate to make me a special messenger to take the bill to the Governor for his signature. As I happened to hold the peculiar position of having voted (at the State convention) for both those gentlemen, and as I had taken pains to remind them of that fact, and as both the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor were suffragists, I found no difficulty in having my request granted. I said that the bill had been delayed, deformed, pigeon-holed and stolen, and I would not feel safe until it was made law by the Governor's signature.

I was duly sworn in as special messenger, and very proudly car-