Live-Blogging Women’s History: March 14, 1916
March 14, 1916: The resilience of the suffrage movement was never more in evidence than today. Just over four months since the biggest setback in its 68-year history–when suffrage referenda in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts went down to defeat–the campaign is back on track.
Today, the Assembly of the nation’s most populous state, New York, voted to put another woman suffrage referendum on the ballot, and not by a razor-thin margin but an overwhelming vote of 109 to 30. Though the state Senate must still consent, and the Senate Judiciary Committee is blocking the bill, vigorous lobbying of legislators and large public protests are expected to dislodge it. With passage, all energies can be turned toward working for a victory in 1917.
Assemblymember Harry E. Brereton, co-author of the bill, opened the debate by saying that the New York legislature owed it to the thousands of voters who endorsed woman suffrage, and to the women as well, to put the question on next year’s ballot again. He immediately ran into a storm of protest from antisuffrage colleagues. Assemblymember Martin McCue called resubmission “an insult to the voters of this state” and suggested that the suffragists might wait a while. Socialist Assemblymember Abraham Shiplacoff, a supporter of suffrage, then asked how long they should wait. “Oh, about 5,000 years,” said O’Hare, of Queens, joining the debate.
Mr. Welch of Albany viewed the resolution as “nothing more than an attempt to heckle the voters,” even though other issues that went down to defeat in November were already approved for the 1917 ballot. Mr. Pratt then began to recite the familiar maxim “If at first you don’t succeed …” at which point the entire body loudly intoned “Try, try again … .” The vote was finally called, and one by one the members of the Assembly gave their votes and their reasons for support or opposition.
Taken from: https://msmagazine.com/2011/03/14/live-blogging-womens-history-march-14-1916/
