Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 6.djvu/150

136 HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE Columbus, first vice-president; Mrs. Cunningham, second; Miss Schlesinger, secretary; Miss Aurelia Roach, treasurer; Mrs. Millis, organizer. The party already had branches in 13 counties, including the largest cities. The annual convention on Oct. 28, 1916, was held in Atlanta and Mrs. L. S. Arrington of Augusta was elected president; Mrs. S. B. C. Morgan of Savannah, first vice-president ; Mrs. Harrold, second; Miss Julia Flisch, secretary, and Miss Annie G. Wright, treasurer, both of Augusta. The effort in Atlanta to secure a petition for Municipal suffrage for women had resulted in obtain- ing the signatures of 6,000 women and 3,000 men. All the dele- gates to three national Presidential conventions had been circu- larized in behalf of a plank for Federal woman suffrage, and all the members of the Legislature asking for the submission of a State amendment. The next annual convention was held in Augusta Nov. 24, 1917, and Mrs. Frank P. Mclntire of Savannah was selected for president. The convention was omitted in 1918, as the women were occupied with war work. At the convention held in Savannah Jan. 15, 1919, Mrs. Mc- Dougald was again elected president. The splendidly efficient service of women in all the departments of war work proved that without them it would have been most difficult to succeed in the Liberty Bond sales, the Red Cross and all the "drives" for raising money. The officers of the Equal Suffrage Party and those of its affiliated societies were selected as leaders in the work of the Woman's Council of Defense, National and State. From every part of the State hundreds of letters were sent to the U. S. Senators Smith and Hardwick, asking them to vote for the Federal Suffrage Amendment, but to no avail. The year had been a fruitful one, even though the Legislature had failed to ratify the Federal Amendment, which was submitted by Con- gress in June. An adverse influence, which it was very hard to combat, was that of the State Federation of Women's Clubs. Its president, Mrs. Z. L. Fitzpatrick of Madison and other officials were violently opposed. A large majority of the women in the city clubs were suffragists and not influenced by the attitude of the federation officers but this was not true of the rural women, who were constantly warned that woman suffrage was a great