Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 6.djvu/793

 WOMAN SUFFRAGE IN MANY COUNTRIES 777 Alliance held its congress in Copenhagen in 1906. The following women had gone to the meeting in Berlin in 1904 when this Alliance was organized : Mrs. Johanne Miinter, Mrs. Charlotte Xorrie, Mrs. Vibetha Salicath, Mrs. Charlotte Eilersgaard, Misses Rasmussen, Eline Hansen and Anna Hude. They reported its proceedings to the Woman Suffrage Association of Denmark, formed in 1899, of which Mrs. Louise Norlund was president, and it then affiliated with the Alliance and invited it to hold its next congress in Copenhagen. At the time it met this association comprised fourteen societies and they had worked chiefly for the Municipal franchise. In 1906 the Kvindesamfund, organized in 1871 to work for the general cause of women and advocating the franchise, adopted as part of its regular program Municipal and full suffrage and joined the Woman Suffrage Association. As early as 1888 it had presented to the Rigsdag a petition by women all over the country asking the Municipal franchise for single women, which the Lower House was willing to grant but the Upper House ignored. The interest died out for awhile but in 1904 and 1905 the Lower House again favored this limited grant and in the winter of 1906 both Houses received delegates from the society but no action was taken. The congress of the Alliance in 1906, which lasted over a week, was a revelation of the size and strength of the movement for woman suffrage and the great ability of women. It was cordially recognized by the press and people and a great impetus was given to the work in Denmark. That year a liberal Rigs* lag was elected and a suffrage campaign was made by the association. In 1907 the Parliament gave a vote to women for public boards and the right to be elected to them and the Upper House aban- doned its opposition to enfranchising married women. A strong movement was developed among women and many new sufh societies were formed. On April 20, 1908, the Parliament gave ngle women who pay taxes and to married women whose husbands are taxpayers the Municipal franchise and eligibility. This was a be^innin^ and the Suffrage Association distributed 18,000 circulars to women in Copenhagen before the elections the following March urging them to go to the polls. Seventy per YOU YI