Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 6.djvu/576

HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE tions. Miss Mary E. Bakewell of the Western Equal Franchise Federation appeared before the Republican convention May i ; Mrs. Mabel Cronise Jones, Miss Adams and Miss Bakewell addressed the Democratic convention May 7, and both gave approval. The Keystone and Prohibition party conventions also heard suffrage speakers and adopted favorable resolutions. For the first time all of the 880 candidates for the Legislature were interviewed by a letter as to submitting the question to the voters and 283 gave affirmative answers. 1913. This year the referendum measure passed after a bitter contest. Twice when the resolution came up in the Senate the motion to postpone was avoided on a tie vote by Lieutenant Governor Reynolds, the first time in thirteen years that the president of the Senate had voted on any question. On the final vote the majority of one was only secured by the labor leader, Steve McDonald of Lackawanna county, who forced its Senator, Walter McNichols, to represent his constituents. Senators Edwin M. Herbst, Edward E. Beidleman (later Lieutenant Governor) and James P. McNichol maintained the strongest opposition. Miss Adams, the legislative chairman, and Mrs. Roessing, the State president, did the greater part of the work at Harrisburg. The association was indebted to Representative Frank G. Rock- well and Senator A. W. Powell for their skill in handling this measure. The vote in the Lower House, February 5 was 131 ayes, 70 noes. 1915. A proposed amendment to the constitution must be passed by two Legislatures. Mrs. Roessing and Miss Hannah J. Patterson, organization chairman, carried on the lobby work in 1915 and it passed the House on February 9 by 130 ayes, 71 noes. In the Senate on March 15 a great gain was registered, as 37 Senators voted aye and only n voted no. The amendment was defeated at the election in November. 1916. The passage of an Enabling Act by the Legislature of 1917 being the first step toward a referendum in 1921, the work of the State Suffrage Association in 1916 was concentrated as never before on the legislative candidates. Practically every one was interviewed personally or by letter and before the November election reports on 40 of the 50 Senators and all but ten of the 207