ory Building and systematic
work begun. Judge Yorke was chairman of the legislative and political
department. The 850 delegates and the audience at the Los Angeles
County Republican convention in Simpson Auditorium in August were
enthusiastically for woman suffrage. Eighty-three delegates went from
that convention to the State Republican convention of 430 delegates in
San Francisco. Mr. Braly was not only one of these delegates but also
a member of the platform committee. The suffrage plank went into the
platform and was received with the same enthusiasm apparently as in
Los Angeles. After a progressive Legislature was elected in the fall
of 1910 the Political Equality League gave a banquet at the Alexandria
Hotel in honor of the southern legislators, the State officers-elect
and their wives, with nearly 600 present. Mr. Braly said of this
occasion: "We all felt that we were making history and casting bread
upon the waters that would surely return to us in a day of need,
which, thank God, it did, for without it I think the suffrage bill
would not have been passed."

The organization's express purpose was to use all legitimate means to
influence the Legislature to submit the amendment and every legislator
of the nine southern counties went to Sacramento pledged to vote for
it. After the Legislature had submitted the amendment the Political
Equality League held its annual election. It was felt that it would be
unjust to ask Mr. Braly to have charge of the details of the strenuous
campaign and with expressions of the highest appreciation he was made
president emeritus and Mrs. Seward A. Simons, president. Mr. Braly
arranged to have Mrs. McCulloch of Chicago make a speaking tour of
Southern California in company with a party consisting of himself and
wife, Judge Neely, Judge W. S. Harbert and Senator Lee C. Gates, at
his own expense, as was all of his work. Mrs. Edson wrote to him after
the campaign: "Without the platform pledges of the Republican county
and State conventions we could never have held the legislators and to
you the women of California are indebted for making this possible."

Mrs. Simons in her comprehensive report said in part:

In the southern part of the State the work from the beginning was
undertaken with the understanding that everything possible should
be done to counteract the effect of the probable San Francisco
vote and the California Political Equality League concentrated