year after year. In June, 1895,
when he had entirely forfeited confidence, Mrs. Ella L. Bennett,
president, and other wide awake members of the Equal Rights Club,
determined he should no longer hold this office. The best citizens
assured the women that their fears of his re-election were groundless,
but they kept on in their efforts and secured the attendance of fifty
women at the district meeting, where he was defeated by about twenty
votes.

The level-headed ones saw that consolidation of all the school
districts was absolutely necessary. Before the election in October the
women did valiant work in agitating this question. Previous to this
not more than 200 women ever had voted; but now the number registered
reached 1,129, and on election day, although the rain fell in torrents
and rivers of water ran down the streets, 975 cast their ballots. The
Equal Rights Club conducted the election so far as the women were
concerned, assisted in preparing ballots, kept a check-list and sent
carriages where it seemed necessary. Every little while, all day long,
could be heard from the hall where the voting was going on, "Fall
back, ladies, fall back and give the men a chance." At the noon hour a
crowd of male voters saw a line of women coming down the street and,
seizing a ladder, they set it against a window over the stairway,
scrambled up and thus got into the hall and headed off the women until
the men had voted. The measure for consolidation was carried.

In Hartford the question of consolidation of districts has twice come
before the people since women voted, and in both instances they cast a
large number of ballots. In several districts in this city women have
shown much interest in the annual meetings. One woman has served three
years upon a district committee very acceptably, and it is due to the
efforts and votes of women that wise management has been sustained and
a good principal kept in office.

In his report of 1896, Secretary Charles D. Hine of the State Board of
Education, after speaking in unmeasured terms of the efficient
service rendered by women as school visitors, on boards of education
and on town and district committees, says:

The returns indicate that women are not anxious to vote upon
educational matters alone. If men were reluctantly permitted as a
great favor to vote for agent of the town-deposit fund, they
would not swarm to the polls. The exciting interests of State
electi