indefinitely postponed. In the Senate it was referred to the Committee on Suffrage and never reported.
In 1894 a bill for Municipal and School Suffrage was favorably reported in the House. It was made a special order and, after being amended so as to give women the right to vote only when bonds were to be issued, it was returned to the Judiciary Committee. They reported it without recommendation for the reason that they were not agreed as to its constitutionality. It was passed by 51 ayes, 39 noes. In the Senate the amended bill passed by 27 ayes, 20 noes.
The greatest difficulty in the way of securing Municipal or School Suffrage was the opinion prevalent among legislators that it would be unconstitutional. In view of this fact the State association decided to drop all partial suffrage measures and ask only for the Full Franchise by constitutional amendment.
In 1898 a legislative committee was appointed with Mrs. Belden, State president, as chairman. Assisted by Miss Mary G. Hay of New York, she spent some time at the capital trying to secure a joint resolution for the submission of an amendment. The resolution was lost in the House by 50 ayes, 47 noes—just one short of a constitutional majority, which is one over a half of the whole number of members. It did not come to a vote in the Senate.
In 1900 Mrs. Belden established headquarters at the Savery House in Des Moines, and with other members of the legislative committee conducted a vigorous campaign for submission. The bill was reported favorably by unanimous vote of both House and Senate committees, but was lost in the House by 44 ayes, 55 noes. Subsequently it passed the "sifting committee," for the first time in the history of suffrage legislation in the State. It was then acted upon by the Senate and lost by 24 ayes, 23 noes— lacking two votes of a constitutional majority. The absence on account of illness of some of the friends of the measure contributed to this result. In the meantime work had been done in the House by Mrs. Belden and the Hon. G. W. Hinkle which had made it certain that if the bill was carried in the Senate the House would reconsider and pass it. The bill was treated with courtesy
