Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 5.djvu/789

 Constitution which declare that "the right of the citizen to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State," and for forty-five years Congress has turned a deaf ear to the appeal of our own citizens for protection under this law? Is it true that the United States Constitution too is but a "scrap of paper" to be repudiated at will? If, as a mediator of justice, we hold out our hands to lift other nations from the abyss into which injustice has plunged them, they must be clean hands. Our words must ring true

Many appeals will be made to our association to abandon its one purpose of securing votes for women and turn its attention and organized machinery to the real or imaginary dangers which beset us as a nation, but let us never for a moment forget the specious promises and assurances that were given to the pioneers, who, when the Civil War took place, gave up their associated work and turned their efforts to its demand in the belief that when the war was over the country would recognize their patriotic services and the dependence of the nation upon women in war as in peace and reward them with the ballot, the crowning symbol of citizenship. But instead of recognizing their service and rewarding the loyal women, the cry went forth: "This is the negroes' hour. Let the women wait"—and they are still waiting. As they wait they are not blind to the fact that this nation did what no other nation has ever done, when it voluntarily made its former slaves the sovereign rulers of its loyal and patriotic women.

The greatest service suffragists can render their country and through it the whole world at this time, is to teach it that there is no sex in love of individual liberty and to stand without faltering by their demand for justice and equality of political rights for men and women.

Dr. Shaw impressed upon the workers, especially the younger ones, not to be discouraged at what seemed slow progress and said:

It has been the privilege of your president to participate actively in twenty-four out of twenty-seven State campaigns; in the New Hampshire constitutional convention campaign, the Wheeling municipal campaign and directly though not actively in all the others except that of Illinois. The vote cast upon the amendments but inadequately expresses the expanding sentiment in behalf of woman suffrage and it needs only consecrated, persistent, systematic service to reach the goal and complete the task begun by the pioneers of 1848 and led by Susan B. Anthony until her death in 1906. While we accept as our motto her last public utterance, "Failure is impossible," we must also remember her prophetic words, uttered just before she laid down her life work: "There is nothing which can ultimately prevent the triumph of our cause but the time of its coming depends largely upon the loyalty and devotion of those who believe in it"

While recognizing that our primary object is to secure the ballot for women citizens and that as an organization we are not wedded to one method of obtaining it but are willing to adopt any just plan which promises success, nevertheless until a better way is found we will seek to secure an amendment to the National Constitution prohibiting disfranchisement on account of sex, and at the same time will appeal to the States that by their action a sufficiently strong support may be given to the Federal Amendment to secure its adoption, unless it become unnecessary by action of the States themselvesWe must face the fact that large bodies of our new recruits know practically little of the history of the suffrage movement, of the long years of faithful devotion and the wise and statesmanlike service which have brought it to its present successful position. These recruits are attracted by new and spectacular methods, are impatient of delay and eagerly follow any scheme which promises to "get it quick."If we analyze the arguments set forth by these most ardent advocates of the Federal Constitutional Amendment as the only means of securing immediate results and learn upon what they base their hopes of success, we shall see, as has been shown again and again, that every one of them has its source in the enfranchised States; that instead of State by State action being "wasteful, expensive and slow," it is the foundation of hope. This is the strongest argument in behalf of the wisdom of the founders of our