nst it. Finally it was reported out of the Assembly Judiciary
Committee February 15 by a vote of 11 to one and then there was a
standstill. The Senate Judiciary Committee constantly postponed
action. At last 500 women came to the Capitol on March 14 to urge
immediate action and the resolution was adopted in the Assembly that
day by 109 ayes to 30 noes.

The Senate Committee had promised that it would report that same day,
and at 2 p. m. it went into executive session and the suffrage leaders
camped outside the door. That evening a suffrage ball was to take
place in Madison Square Garden, New York City, which they were to
open, and the last train that would reach there in time left Albany at
6 o'clock. The Committee knew this but hour after hour went by without
word from it. After time for the train a friendly Senator appeared and
announced that it had adjourned sometime before without taking action
and had gone out the back way in order to escape from the waiting
watchers! Taking the next train and arriving in New York at 10 o'clock
at night the suffragists drove direct to Madison Square Garden. As
they approached it they saw great throngs outside storming the doors,
which had been closed by the police as it was dangerously crowded.
They succeeded in getting in and were greeted by cheers as they led
the grand march, which had been awaiting their arrival. At midnight
Mrs. Whitehouse and Mrs. Laidlaw took the sleeper back to Albany and
were on hand at the opening of the session the next morning. Such
undaunted spirit caught the public imagination and the newspapers did
it full justice, with big headlines and columns of copy, but still the
bill did not pass.

The final pressure which put the amendment through was a clever bit of
strategy due to Mrs. Whitehouse. In answer to her appeal editorials
appeared in newspapers throughout the State saying that no group of
men in Albany had the right to strangle the amendment or refuse the
voters the privilege of passing on it. On March 22 the Senate
Committee reported the resolution by 11 ayes, one no. On April 10 it
passed the Senate by 33 ayes, 10 noes.

In 1917 the amendment was passed again to go to the voters at the
regular election November 6. The State Woman Suffrage Party
strengthened its organization with the goal of a captain for every
polling precinct, each with a committee of ten women to look after
the individual voters. Larger cities had a chairman and board of
off