Suffragists Patch Up a Convention Fight—After Silencing Washington’s Delegates
A credentials dispute over the Spokane delegation turned a Seattle suffrage convention into a faction fight. The national body restored harmony but stripped Washington women of their votes in the deliberations.
Seattle, July 5. — The olive branch has found a place beside the four-starred flag which has floated over the National convention of the Woman Suffrage Association, and the wings of the dove of peace have fanned away the hovering clouds of war which, since the opening of the big convention, obscured the rays that would shine from the convention upon the cause of equal suffrage.
The trouble arose in the convention of the Washington Woman Suffrage Association, where the committee on credentials declared the Spokane delegation not entitled to seats. The National Equal Suffrage Association convention adopted a motion depriving the Washington delegates of the right to vote, but granting them all other rights.
In spite of the fact that Washington will have nothing to say in regard to the deliberations of the national body, almost all the delegates will remain here during the session to patch up differences and get in line for next year’s gatherings.
“The National Equal Suffrage Association convention adopted a motion depriving the Washington delegates of the right to vote, but granting them all other rights.”
The fight over credentials and who may vote inside a movement is familiar in modern politics. It also reminds us that suffrage was not a single unified cause but a contested coalition, with state delegations jockeying for power.
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