Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 6.djvu/408

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HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE.

394 HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE one hundred school districts and three hundred leading men and women throughout the State received the Woman's Journal (Boston) every week, which always contained Nevada suffrage news; that every voter on the county registration lists had been circularized with suffrage literature. An advisory council of the State's most prominent men had been formed. Every legislative candidate had been asked to vote for the suffrage amendment, if elected, and, as a result of the favorable public opinion created by the new State organi- zation, more than the necessary number had pledged themselves in writing, so the day after the election in November it was known that there was a safe majority in the coming Legislature if all pledges were kept. The Legislative Committee of the Equal Franchise Society was on duty and within the first two weeks of the session, in January, 1913, the amendment was passed by both Houses and approved by Governor Oddie. The problem before the State convention at Reno in February was how to educate the voters and overcome the active opposi- tion of the liquor and other vested interests, which were deter- mined to continue Nevada "wide-open" by "keeping out the women." The convention re-elected Miss Martin and left in her hands the supervision of building up a majority for the amend- ment at the election in November, 1914. During 1913 she had kept the State organization actively at work by trips through the northern and southern counties and by securing the help of suffrage speakers from other States. Miss Wilson, the vice- president and also president of the Esmeralda County League, with headquarters at Goldfield, was in general charge of the southern counties, which had a very large miners' vote. In November Miss Martin had gone as delegate to the National Woman Suffrage Convention in Washington, and there, in addi- tion to promises of an organizer and money from Dr. Shaw, the national president, she secured from Miss Alice Paul, chair- man of the Congressional Union, the services of Miss Mabel Vernon, perhaps its most capable organizer. She also obtained pledges of $1,006 from Senator Newlands; $1,000 from Mrs. Quincy A. Shaw of Boston through Mrs. Maud Wood Park; $1,000 from the National American Woman Suffrage Associa-