Women -- Suffrage -- History; Women -- Suffrage -- United States -- History; Women's rights -- History; Women's rights -- United States -- History
A State convention of the league was held in Indianapolis April 12,
1912, and one took place annually after that date, always in the
capital. At this convention Dr. Martha Griffiths of Crawfordsville and
Dr. Adah McMahon of Lafayette were added to the directors. This year
the league affiliated with the National American Woman Suffrage
Association.[47] By May, 1916, there were sixty branch leagues and
3,000 members; in May, 1919, there were 300 branches and 16,000
members. Dr. Keller continued as president until the convention of
1917, when Mrs. Richard E. Edwards of Peru was elected and served two
years. At the convention of 1919 Miss Helen Benbridge of Terre Haute
was chosen. The Franchise League was exceedingly fortunate in its
three presidents, who gave the most of their time, thought and effort
to its demands without salary. Dr. Keller organized it largely through
the force of her own personality and was able to gather around her
other strong and determined women through whom the idea of suffrage
was carried out into the State. Mrs. Edwards took up the work of more
intensive organization of the State outside of Indianapolis and
succeeded, with Miss Benbridge as State organizer, in multiplying the
branch leagues and the members by five. Miss Benbridge's work as
president was that of consolidating these gains and directing the
women in the use of the vote which they thought they had won. The list
is too long to be given of those who deserve special mention for years
of devoted service.
From the spring of 1917 to the autumn of 1918 the members of force and
character were drawn upon for war service and the league suffered the
temporary loss of some of its best workers, who were filling executive
positions in the many war agencies. Of the directorate Miss Adah Bush
worked first in Washington with the Woman's Council of National
Defense and later went to France with the Young Women's Christian
Association; Mrs. Fred McCulloch was State chairman of Liberty Loans;
Dr. McMahon went to France on the staff of the Women's Oversea
Hospitals; Mrs. Henderson was chairman of the "four minute speakers"
who at their own expense went over the State speaking for Liberty
Loans, Red Cross, etc.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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