Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 6.djvu/226

212 HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE for presidential electors. Miss Clay, who for over thirty years had been the leader of the suffragists, withdrew from the State association, which she had founded, and formed a new organiza- tion to work for the vote by State action alone, as she was strongly opposed to Federal action. It was called the Citizens' Committee for a State Suffrage Amendment and opened headquarters in Lex- ington. It issued an "open letter to the public," an able argu- ment for the State's control of its own suffrage and an arraign- ment of interference by Congress, which it declared would "be- come possessed of an autocratic power dangerous to free institu- tions." It conducted a vigorous campaign against every move for a Federal Amendment and met the representatives of the old association at the Republican State convention in May to prevent their securing an endorsement of it. In an eloquent speech before the platform committee Miss Clay urged it to reaffirm the State's rights plank in the National platform and pledge the party to secure the submission to the voters of a State suffrage amendment and to support it at the polls. The plank adopted was as follows: "Ve reaffirm our belief in the justice and expediency of suffrage for women and call upon our repre- sentatives in the Congress of the United States, in the Legislature and in all executive positions to use their votes and their influence for all measures granting political rights to women." The Federal Suffrage Amendment was submitted by Congress June 4. Both organizations urged their claims at the Democratic State convention in September and the platform contained the following plank : We favor the ratification by the Legislature of Kentucky at its next session of the amendment to the Constitution of the United States extending to women the right of suffrage and we urge our representatives in the Legislature and all executive or other officers to use their votes and influence in every legitimate way to bring about the ratification of the same. We pledge ourselves to support in the next General Assembly, if the Federal Amendment has not become operative by that time, the submission of an amendment to the State Constitution granting suffrage to women on the same terms as to men and when the amendment is submitted to support it at the polls as a party measure. Every candidate for the nomination for Governor had stood on a suffrage platform and the successful Democratic candidate,