NATIONAL AMERICAN CONVENTION OF 1912
Mary Ware Dennett, corresponding secretary and chairman of the Literature Committee, said in the course of her report:
We are often asked at headquarters and by mail what the national headquarters is for and what it does. The briefest answer that can be given is that we furnish ammunition for the suffrage fight. The ammunition is of many sorts, from money, leaflets and buttons to historical data, slide lectures and advice on organization.... One decided advantage in making headquarters more useful to visitors has been the enlargement of the main office. A partition was removed which gave us a large, light room where all our publications are accessible for consultation or purchase, all the chief suffrage periodicals of the world are on file, the gallery of eminent suffragists is on exhibition and all the various kinds of supplies, like buttons, pennants, posters, etc., are shown. It serves as reference library as well, for beside the History of Woman Suffrage, the Life of Susan B. Anthony and the bound volumes of the Woman's Journal, there is a collection of books on interests allied to suffrage, which have been selected and approved by the board. These are also on sale.... During the summer of 1912 a questionnaire was sent to the States and the answers tabulated and printed in a folder showing conclusively the status of each regarding headquarters, press, membership, finance, political district, legislative and Congressional work. There is an increasing demand for suffrage facts rather than for suffrage argument. It was in response to this demand that it became necessary to appoint an editor for the literature department. Fully half of the publications needed revising and bringing up to date and new compilations of data were urgently needed. Mrs. Frances Maule Bjorkman, a trained newspaper and magazine writer, was chosen and has filled the position admirably.
Mrs. Dennett gave a detailed account of the pamphlets, speeches, leaflets, plays, magazine articles, etc., published by the association—250 kinds of printed matter—and said:
We have published over 3,000,000 pieces of literature in this year and our total receipts from literature and supplies have been $13,000, om $746 over the cost of the printing and purchase. Our record month was September, when our receipts were more than the entire receipts for the whole year of 1909. If we count our unsold stock and our uncollected bills as assets, we have a net gain for the year of $3,578. About $700 worth of literature has been sold in the office, the remainder having been ordered by mail.
Through the courtesy of the Illinois association and the generosity of Miss Addams and Miss Breckinridge, who paid for the rent and service, a sub-station for the supply of literature was established at the Chicago headquarters in April. The sales at this western branch have been $1,924. It would seem well worth while to continue this service for western customers. Also for their benefit Mrs.
