Henry B. Blackwell, chairman of the Presidential Suffrage Committee, urged the southern women to petition their Legislatures, seven of which would meet during the year, to give women the right to vote for presidential electors. "The choice of President and Vice-president of the United States," he said, "is the most important form of suffrage exercised by an American citizen.... The King of England and the Emperor of Germany are practically possessed of no greater political power than our President during his official term," and he continued: Here then is an open door to equal suffrage. Once let the women of any State take their equal part in this great national election and their complete equality is assured. Without change of State or Federal Constitution, without ratification by the individual voters, a simple majority of both houses of any Legislature at any time in any State can confer upon women citizens this magnificent privilege, which will carry with it a certainty of speedy future concessions of all minor rights and privileges. It is amazing that no concerted effort has been made until recently to secure this right, so easily obtained and of so much transcendent importance. Especially is it strange that in States where iron-bound constitutional restrictions forbid any exercise whatever of local or municipal woman suffrage and where the social conditions make an amendment of State constitution almost impossible, suffragists allow year after year to elapse without any effort to get the only practical thing possible, action by the State Legislature conferring Presidential suffrage on women. Suffrage in school or municipal elections cannot give us a full and fair test of the value of equal suffrage or of woman's willingness to participate. Suffrage in State elections cannot be had without amendment of State constitutions, always difficult and usually impossible of attainment in the face of organized opposition. Why not then avail ourselves of this unique, this providential opportunity?