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NATIONAL AMERICAN CONVENTION OF IQI7 congratulation and good will from the first man in the nation. Dr. Shaw spoke of always being proud when she had some man back of her who could give respectability to the cause. What greater honor can there be, what greater pride can you feel, than in having behind you the man who is not alone the President of the United States but also the foremost leader of liberal thought throughout the world? It is to have with you the con- science, the mind and the spirit of today and tomorrow." He spoke of his own strong belief in the enfranchisement of women and the necessity of establishing for every one an individuality entirely her own, socially and politically. Only scattered news- paper references to this strong speech are available. Kspecial interest was felt in the address of the young member of Congress, Miss Jeannette Rankin. In speaking of the bill which she had recently introduced to enable women to retain their nationality after marriage she said: "We, who stand tonight so near victory after a majestic struggle of seventy long years, must not forget that there are other steps besides suffrage neces- sary to complete the political enfranchisement of American wo- men. We must not forget that the self-respect of the American woman -will not be redeemed until she is regarded as a distinct and social entity, unhampered by the political status of her hus- band or her father but with a status peculiarly her own and ac- cruing to her as an American citizen. She must be bound to American obligations not through her husband's citizenship but directly through her own." Mrs. Catt's address had been announced as a Message to Con- gress and was eagerly anticipated. Miss Rose Young, the en- thusiastic editor of The Woman Citizen, gave this vivid pen picture of the occasion : When Mrs. Catt rose, the house rose with her. It was a crowded house and everybody was aware that the message in Mrs. Cart's hand was the vital message of the convention. Everybody wondered what would be its main focus. Nobody quite understood why an o Congress should ho delivered at a mass meeting. The r quickly cleared up. Once before in suffrage lid. there had been an address to Congress. Susan B. Anthony and Kli/abeth Oidy Stanton had made it. At this moment she was but doing over what they had done a half-century ago. She