CHAPTER V.

Our First Committee Hearing.

At 2 o'clock I went to the Senate Judiciary committee meeting. I was a trifle late, and arrived at a crowded committee hearing. Mr. Crownhart was seated across the room and beside him was a vacant chair.. I made for that chair as for a port in a storm. There were delegations to be heard; one was holding forth and continued to hold forth for an hour, and I began to grow nervous. I was the only woman in the room. Miss Gale had not arrived and Miss James had sent word that she could not be present. "Would I alone have to speak for the bill? Would the committee be so tired after all the hearings that they would be bored by my request? O, why hadn't I arrived just a little before 2 o'clock! Maybe then I could have spoken first!" Such thoughts went racing through my mind.

The first hearing was finally finished, and Chairman Conant asked for the next. Mr. Huber then asked him to wait a moment, and introduced me, saying I had been waiting some time, and had a request to make which would only take a few minutes. Thoughtful Mr. Huber, he must have known how perturbed I was, and how very eager I was to get my errand over with.

I made known my desire, and read the bill, telling the committee it was to be introduced into Congress and each State legislature. Mr. Conant laughed and said:

"Have you heard about my jury bill and what happened to it in the Assembly? Such a bill as yours, including jury service, would never pass the Assembly."

I told him I had heard the women had not gotten behind his bill; that if the women would work for such a bill it would pass, and the women would work for this bill. He said:

"Well, you take your bill to an Assembly committee, and get them to introduce it over there. If it passes the Assembly, it will pass the Senate."

My heart went down, but I was determined not to yield. I said:

"No, I'm here now. If I went to an Assembly committee, they would tell me to take it to a Senate committee; and besides, we want this committee to introduce it."

At that, a smile went round the committee table, and after some demurring and discussion among the committee members, Mr. Conant said:

"All right, I'll introduce it, if Mr. Crownhart will draw it up," and he looked to Mr. Crownhart. With a relieved and a triumphant feeling, I said:

"Mr. Crownhart has already said he would draw it up if you would introduce it." And Mr. Crownhart added his assent. Then Mr. Conant said:

"All right, I'll introduce it, and I'll vote for it; any bill Mr. Crownhart will draw up will be acceptable. But," he added, "you will have to do a lot of missionary work in the Assembly," which statement seemed very funny to all the committee. I realized afterwards that an attempt to get any such bill through the Assembly seemed like a huge joke to them all.

So the first goal was passed. It was then about 4 o'clock. With great joy I immediately left the committee room and proceeded to get in touch with several Madison women.

CHAPTER VI.

Enlisting Women Workers.

I went to see Miss Gena Thompson, executive secretary of the Wisconsin Women's Progressive Association. She promptly realized the importance of such a bill. She at once called a board meeting for Saturday morning to discuss the bill

and to learn what the executive committee of that organization of 1,000 women would do. I was most eager to get their support, because a thousand women throughout the State, writing in to their senators and assemblymen urging their support of the bill, would be a great help. This organization was composed of women voters supporting Senator Robert M. La Follette. I learned later that by others it was called the "La Follette women's organization."

I telephoned to many women, among them Mrs. Willard Bleyer, chairman of a legislative organization called the Clearing House, having as voting members representatives of all woman's organizations in Madison, and in Dane county of which Madison is the county seat. This Clearing House meets every Monday during the legislative session, to study the program of the legislature for the week, and to pass resolutions endorsing or not endorsing pending legislation in which the members are interested. An endorsement of a bill by the Clearing House is equivalent to an endorsement by every woman's organization in Dane county, and occasionally some of its members will lobby for a bill.

Other women I telephoned were Mrs. L. A. Kahlenberg, state legislative chairman of the League of Women Voters and of the Federation of Women's Clubs and their lobbyist at Madison; Mrs. Walter Ayer, Dane county chairman of the League of Women Voters; Mrs. Carl Jackson, prominent in the League of Women Voters; Miss Mary Connor, president of the Wisconsin Council of the Catholic Women's clubs; Mrs. John Donald, legislative chairman, Dane County League of Women Voters; Mrs. William Kittle, chairman of the Wisconsin Consumers' League; Mrs. Joseph Jastrow, prominent in the Consumers' League; Mrs. Louis E. Reber, chairman of the Dane county board of the Young Women's Christian Association; Mrs. E. H. Van Ostrand, chairman of the Service Star Legion and prominent in the other patriotic organizations of Madison.

I later went to see most of these women at their homes, or they came down town to meet me, and they all promised their support for the bill.

Friday morning I went to see Mr. Crownhart to talk about the draft of the bill. We decided to present a bill providing only for choice of residence and jury service since Wisconsin women seemed to have practically every other legal equality.

Friday and Saturday I continued to confer with Madison women. Some liked the draft of the bill Mr. Crownhart had prepared, others did not. Some believed in asking for one thing at a time, others believed there might be more disabilities we should have removed. The bill did not seem complete, yet there seemed no reason to include more. But since the session was nearing a close, we knew that whatever we did, we would have to hurry about it.

CHAPTER VII.

Sending the News to the People.

Saturday afternoon I returned to Milwaukee, and after conferring with members of the party, we sent out the following report of progress, which appeared in the Milwaukee Sunday papers:

Women working to get an equal rights bill passed during the present session of the Wisconsin legislature made decided progress during the last week.

Mrs. Frank Putnam, state chairman of the National Woman's Party, who returned to Milwaukee from Madison on Saturday, said:

"We learned that Wisconsin is already in advance of most other States in this respect. Wisconsin women enjoy freedom of contract equally with men; they have equal

rights with men in control or guardianship of their children, and in acquiring and disposing of property, and Governor Blaine assures us women in Wisconsin have an equal right with men to hold any public office to which they may be elected or appointed.

"This leaves only two inequalities, out of the six we had listed, to be corrected. These relate to choice of residence, and the right equally with men to serve on juries. "To place women upon an equality with men in this State in these particulars, Charles Crownhart, revisor of State laws, drafted for us a bill. Chairman Conant of the Senate Judiciary committee has promised that his committee will introduce the bill next Wednesday. Senator Huber of the Judiciary committee told us he would move to have the bill referred back to the Judiciary committee for a hearing during the following week.

"At this hearing representatives of the League of Women Voters, the Progressive Women's Association, the Federation of Women's Clubs, the National Woman's Party and other organizations will appear in support of the bill."

The bill as drafted follows:

"A bill to amend section 2,524 and the seventh paragraph of section 6.51 and to create new section 23.740 of the statutes, for the purpose of removing discriminations against women.

"The people of the State of Wisconsin, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

"Section 1: Section 2,524 of the statutes is amended to read:

"Qualifications of jurors. Section 2,524. All citizens of the United States who are qualified electors of this state, who are possessed of their natural faculties, who are not infirm or decrepit, who are esteemed in their communities as persons of good character, approved integrity and sound judgment, and who are able to read and write the English language understandingly, shall be liable to be drawn as jurors, except as otherwise provided in the statutes.

"Section 2. The seventh paragraph of Section 6.51 of

the statutes is amended to read:

"(6.51) Seventh: The place where a married man's family resides shall generally be considered and held to