Suffragists -- United States; Women -- Suffrage -- United States
The women were in no mood merely to mourn the loss of a comrade-
leader. The government must be shown again its share of responsibility.
Another appeal must be made to the President who, growing steadily in
control over the people and over his Congress, was the one leader
powerful enough to direct his party to accept this reform. But he was
busy gathering his power to lead them elsewhere. Again we would have to
compete with pro-war anti-war sentiment. But it was no time to relax.
Following the holiday season a deputation of over three hundred women
carried to the White House the Christmas Day memorial for Inez
Milholland and other memorials from similar services. The President was
brought face to face with the new protest of women against the
continued waste of physical and spiritual energy in their battle. There
is no better way to picture the protest than to give you something
verbatim from the speeches made that memorable day. This was the first
meeting of suffragists with the President since the campaign against
him in the previous autumn. It was only because of the peculiar
character of the appeal that he consented to hear them.
Miss Younger presented the national memorial to him and introduced Mrs.
John Winters Brannan, who made no plea to the President but merely gave
him the New York memorial which read as follows:
“This gathering of men and women, assembled on New Year’s day in New
York to hold a memorial service in honor of Inez Milholland Boissevain,
appeals to you, the President of the United States, to end the
outpouring of life and effort that has been made for the
enfranchisement of women for more than seventy years in this country.
The death of this lovely and brave women symbolizes the whole daily
sacrifice that vast numbers of women have made and are making for the
sake of political freedom. It has made vivid the ‘constant unnoticed
tragedy of, this prolonged effort for a freedom that is acknowledged
just, but still denied.’
“It is not given to all to be put to the supreme test and to accept
that test with such gallant gladness as she did. The struggle, however,
has reached the point where it requires such intensity of
effort—relentless and sustained—over the whole vast country, that the
health of thousands of noble women is being insidiously undermined. If
this continues, and it will continue until victory is won, we know only
too surely that many women whom the nation can ill spare will follow in
the footsteps of Inez Milholland.
“We desire to make known to you, Mr. President, our deep sense of wrong
being inflicted upon women in making them spend their health and
strength and forcing them to abandon other work that means fuller
self-expression, in order to win freedom under a government that
professes to believe in democracy.
“There is only one cause for which it is right to risk health and life.
No price is too high to pay for liberty. So long as lives of women are
required, these lives will be given.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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