Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 6.djvu/245

This page needs to be proofread.
HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE.

LOUISIANA 231 office, passed a resolution endorsing it. The State Central Com- mittee chairman, Frank J. Looney, and the National Democratic Committeeman, Arsene Pujo, were in favor, and North Louisiana was almost solid for it. The opposition was chiefly in New Orleans, where certain elements under ward-boss leadership were, opposed to woman suffrage in any form. Mrs. Holmes had a number of interviews with Governor-elect Parker alone, with other women and with Marshall Ballard, editor of the Item, one of his valued supporters. She was always led to believe that he would help when the time for it came, although some of his strongest adherents were opposed to ratifica- tion. It was deemed best to make the fight along non-partisan lines, and so he was asked if it would be wiser to have two of his own supporters take charge of it or to have one who had opposed him in the primary campaign. He advised the latter course and Norris C. Williamson of East Carroll parish, his opponent, was selected to introduce the bill in the Senate, and >. Shattuck of Calcasieu, a supporter and the introducer of the first woman suffrage bill in the Legislature in the Lower House. The day Mayor Martin Behrman came out for ratifica- tion, Mr. Parker said to Mrs. Holmes: "I have always been oman suffrage any way it could be obtained and I have never understood a suffragist's taking any other stand." Karly in March Governor-elect Parker told a group of suf- that the women should get together on a program for the Legislature if they wished to be successful. Acting on this >n the Party publicly invited all suffrage organizations ther and form a Joint Ratification Committee. Men and women from all parts of the State attended this meeting pril 7 and one of the speakers, Charles Rosen, pledged ker to ratification, while Marshall P.allard vouched for the authenticity of his statement. The bodies that composed this mittee were the Natchitoches Kqual Rights Club, represented 1 Henry; the Shreveport Suffrai'.f ( 'Inb by Mrs. J. D. Mrs. V. A. Wilkinson; the Louisiana branch of the National Woman's j'arty. by Mrs. M. R. P.aiikston. Mrs. K. J. ( iraham. Mr- I'.ayhi : the Woman Suffrage Party by Mrs. Joseph Devereux, Mrs. J. E. I-ricnd. Mrs. Holmes was made chairman,