Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 6.djvu/710

 694 HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE Catt, the president, who had asked for a "working" conference with the State board, spoke on the Federal Amendment at the afternoon session and to a mass meeting in the Young Men's Christian Association Hall in the evening. She was accompa- nied by Mrs. Shuler, who spoke at a dinner in the Ruffner Hotel presided over by Mrs. Woodson T. Wills, vice-president of the West Virginia Federation of Women's Clubs, and addressed by prominent men and women of the State and by Miss Marjorie Shuler, national director of field publicity, who had conducted a conference at the afternoon session. RATIFICATION. The Federal Amendment was submitted by Congress June 4, and the pressing work for the State associa- tion was to secure its ratification by the Legislature. Mrs. Ellis A. Yost was made chairman of the Ratification Committee, whose other members were Mrs. Ruhl, Mrs. Ebert, Mrs. H. D. Rum- mel, Miss Mary Wilson, Miss Margaret McKinney and Mrs. Romine. An Advisory Board was formed of 150 of as influen- tial men as there were in the State, judges, lawyers, bankers, officials, presidents and professors of colleges, editors, clergy- men, presidents of the State Federation of Labor and other organizations ; and the most prominent women in educational, civic and club work. This list was printed on the campaign stationery. The last of December Governor John J. Cornwell received a letter from Mrs. Catt urging him to call a special session in January. He was known to favor ratification and he had been kept informed by the members of the suffrage asso- ciation and the W. C. T. U., who had polled the legislators and found a majority in favor. The Democratic Governor called the Republican Legislature in special session for Friday, February 27, 1920. President Wilson telegraphed members of the Senate : "May I not urge upon you the importance to the whole country of the prompt ratification of the suffrage amendment and express the hope that you will find it possible to lend your aid to this end?" Both the Demo- cratic and Republican National Committees joined in urging rati- fication, as did the entire State delegation in Congress, who had voted for submitting the amendment. The resolution was introduced and by the rules went over for one day. All looked