NATIONAL-AMERICAN CONVENTION OF 1898.
289
30,000 suffrage articles had been sent from headquarters to the various newspapers of the country and the number willing to accept these was constantly increasing. The headquarters had been removed from Philadelphia to New York City during the year and united with the organization office. The Committee on Course of Study, Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, chairman, reported that during the past three years they had published 25,000 books and pamphlets, purchased from publishers 3,100 and had 9,000 contributed. The treasurer, Mrs. Harriet Taylor Upton, announced the receipts of the past year to be $14,055. Bequests had been received of $500 by the will of Mrs. Eliza Murphy of New Jersey, and $500 from Mrs. A. Viola Neblett of South Carolina. :
The report of the Organization Committee, Mrs. Chapman Catt, chairman, showed a large amount of work done in Iowa, Iilinois, South Dakota and the Southern States, the writing of 10,000 letters, the holding of 1,000 public meetings under the auspices of this committee. It closed by saying:
The chief obstacle to organization is not found in societies opposed to the extension of suffrage to woman, nor in ignorance, nor in conservatism; it is to be found in that large body of suffragists who believe that the franchise will come, but that it will come in some unaccountable way without effort or concern on their part: It is to be found in the hopeless, faithless, lifeless members of our own organization. They are at times the officers of local clubs, and the clubs die on their hands; in State executive committees, and there, appalled by the magnitude of the undertaking, they decide that organization is impossible because there is no money, and they make no effort to secure funds. They are in our national body, ready to find fault with plans and results and to criticise the conscientious efforts of those who are struggling to accomplish good— yet they are never ready to propose more helpful methods. In short, we find them everywhere, doing practically nothing themselves, but "throwing cold water" upon every effort inaugurated by others. "It can not be done" is their motto, and by it they constantly discourage the hopeful and extract all enthusiasm from new workers. Judging from the intimate knowledge of the condition of our association gained in the last three years, I am free to say that these are our most effective opponents to-day, and, without question, the best result of the three years' work is the gradual strengthening of belief in the possibility of organization.
Mrs: Sallie Clay Bennett, chairman, presented the report on
