Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 6.djvu/614

 HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE for Miss Laura Clay, president of the Kentucky association, and Miss Mary Johnston of Virginia, the novelist. This was granted and Miss Elliott was the first woman to address the Legislature, although no bill was before it. At a called meeting of the Executive Board, at Memphis in May, 1914, the resignation of Miss Elliott was regretfully ac- cepted and Mrs. L. Crozier French succeeded her. At the State convention held October 29, 30 in Knoxville a division occurred and some of the delegates, refusing to be headed by Mrs. French, elected as president Mrs. James M. McCormack, who was first vice-president. Mrs. French was unanimously elected by a part of the original association, which had obtained a charter October 13, incorporating the name Tennessee Equal Suffrage Associa- tion. This association continued to be a dominating force in suffrage activities. Mrs. French resigned the presidency April I, 1915, and her unexpired term was filled by the vice-president- at-large, Mrs. John M. Kenny of Nashville. The holding of the annual convention of the National Association in Nashville Nov. 12-17, T 9 T 4 was tne turning point in the history of suf- frage in Tennessee because of its far-reaching educational propa- ganda and because Nashville was the political center of the State. Mrs. Dudley was elected president at the State convention held at Jackson in October, 1915. She went to east, west and middle Tennessee, visiting in the first year of her administration nineteen towns, many of them twice, and assisting the Campaign Committee in organizing fourteen. She made addresses in twenty-two different cities. Toward the end of the year Miss Sue S. White, of Jackson, the recording secretary, a court sten- ographer and business woman, gave a month to organizing the headquarters staff and making plans to carry forward the work in a businesslike way. 1 Mrs. Catt was making a strong effort to have the various States follow the same policy at the same time and thereby each could contribute to the national victory. With the view of 1 Through the combined efforts of the joint chairmen of the campaign Committee, Mrs. Kenny and Mrs. Milton, and the association of which Mrs. Dudley was President, a conference was called to formulate a plan of amalgamation of the two State associa- tions. This was finally accomplished in March, 1918, when Mrs. Leslie Warner of Nashville was unanimously chosen as the amalgamation president.