Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 6.djvu/240

226 HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE State amendment was due primarily to personal animosity on the part of Senator Leopold of Plaquemine parish, when he realized what he had done he said that if it was possible to have it re-intro- duced he would vote for it, thus giving the necessary twenty-eight votes. After all arrangements for re-consideration had been made, Senator Louque, a faithful suffragist of many years' standing, pro- voked because one of his bills had been defeated, slipped away and it was again deprived of the one vote needed. In the Senate Chamber were those nine Senators who proclaimed all through the session their intense belief in woman suffrage so intense that they wanted the women enfranchised immediately and they wished to help all the women of the United States these and many other reasons were given by them for standing firmly for a Federal Amendment but they voted against State submission, know- ing the Federal Amendment had been killed overwhelmingly. There- fore the real defeat of the State amendment must be accredited to the following nine Senators : Bagwell, Brown, Cunningham, Hood, Johnston of Bossier, Lawrason, Wear, Williamson and Wood. . . . Very different was the spirit among the proponents of the Federnl Amendment in the House. Men who have always been suffragists voted for both Federal and State suffrage. . . . When Senators Craven, Johness, Johnson of Franklin and Durr saw the Federal Amendment was hopelessly defeated they voted for State submission. When Mayor Behrman caught the vision of how a Federal Amend- ment could help him in the September primary, he had Senators Davey, Thoele and Roberts vote for it, though it was reported that all had said no power on earth could ever make them do it. After it was defeated they continued to vote against the State amendment. The interpretation put upon their attitude was that they would not help it because its success would be considered a victory for Mr. Ewing, as his Daily States had been the only city paper to stand for State submission. Be it said to the credit of Senators Boyer, Butler, Clinton, Doussan, Domengeaux, Dugas, Weil and Wilbert that al- though avowed anti -suffragists, they worked hard to secure the sub- mission of the State amendment while so-called ardent suffragists worked overtime for its defeat. LOUISIANA. PART II. 1 Louisiana had no State organization for woman suffrage when in March, 1913, Mrs. A. B. Singletary of Baton Rouge organ- ized there the State Equal Suffrage League, 2 and in April Mrs. John T. Meehan organized the Woman Suffrage Party of Louisi- 1 The History is indebted for this part of the chapter to Miss Ethel Hutson, chairman of publicity for the State Woman Suffrage Association from its organization in 1913 to its close in 1920. J Other workers were Mrs. Lydia, Wickliffe Holmes, Professor W. O. Scroggs, C. C. Devall, Mrs. C. Harrison Parker, Mrs. Horace Wilkinson, Mrs. Elmo Bodly, Mrs. D. R. Weller, Alma Sabourin, Nellie Spyker.