Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 5.djvu/763

 ing the hope that after the war there would arise a truer democracy than ever known before and that the world would never see another war. The Note to President Wilson was read by Mrs. Ida Husted Harper and handed to Secretary of War Baker. In accepting it he paid a tribute to the aspirations of women and expressed the belief that at the close of the war the United States would take its place in a concert of neutral nations and having practiced justice at home it would have earned the right to help establish international justice. Mrs. Harriet Taylor Upton delighted the rather tense audience with her inimitable humor and Dr. Shaw closed the meeting with one of her strongest speeches. The addresses of Mrs. Catt and Dr. Shaw emphasized not only the desire of women to do effective patriotic service in time of stress but also their wish that a more civilized way than by the waste and destructiveness of war might be found to settle international disputes.

President Wilson immediately answered as follows:

"The Secretary of War has transmitted to me the Resolutions presented to him at the meeting held on Sunday afternoon, February 25, under the auspices of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. I want to express my great and sincere admiration of the action taken.

Cordially and sincerely yours, Woodrow Wilson."

On April 6, 1917, the United States declared that a state of war with Germany existed. News of the severance of diplomatic relations elicited a deep and reverberating response from the millions of suffragists over the country. At the New York and Washington headquarters of the National Association telephone calls and telegrams were received all day, as State by State the suffrage organizations proffered concerted action with the national on any program of constructive service which it might decide to offer to the Government. The National Suffrage Association at once commenced its war work on the lines adopted at the Washington conference. This comprised departments under four sections: Thrift; Food Production; Industrial Protection of Women and Americanization. Branches of these four sections had already been formed by all its State auxiliaries and Mrs.