d, a majority of
1,000. Milwaukee county, including the city, gave 20,445 votes for and
40,029 votes against. The referendum was placed on a pink ballot, used
only for this purpose, which unquestionably increased the majority
against it, as even the most illiterate could stamp it with a "no."
The defeat was conceded to have been due to an insufficiency of
general education on woman suffrage and of organization, the large
foreign population and the widespread belief that it would help
largely to bring prohibition.

Three days after the election officers of the Political Equality
League sent to officers of the State association a letter proposing a
union of the two under a new name and on condition that the president
of neither should be made president of the new one. The latter was in
favor of the union but insisted that the old historic name, Wisconsin
Suffrage Association, should be retained, which was done. Miss Lutie
E. Stearns was chosen its president at its annual convention to serve
until the union was effected. There were ultimatums and
counter-ultimatums and finally a call for a joint convention to be
held in Madison Feb. 4, 5, 1913, was issued by Miss Zona Gale,
vice-president of the association, and Miss James, president of the
League. Here the union was duly effected; the Rev. Olympia Brown was
elected honorary president, Mrs. Henry M. Youmans president and the
other officers were divided between the two societies.

The suffrage work henceforth was conducted under the same president
and the same policy. The first year of the new regime, the
organization had no headquarters and paid no salaries, the officers
doing their correspondence with their own hands. The next year an
office was opened in Madison and Miss Alice Curtis was installed as
executive secretary. It was difficult to do effective work so far away
from the president and the office was removed to Waukesha, her
residence, with Miss Curtis and later Mrs. Helen Haight in charge. In
October, 1916, it was removed to Milwaukee, and, with the county
association, headquarters were opened at 428 Jefferson Street, where
they remained, with Mrs. Ruth Hamilton as office secretary.[210]

The great increase of sentiment favorable to woman suffrage throughout
the country was plainly seen in Wisconsin and it was evident that a
wide campaign of education must be undertaken. A "suffrage school"
held in Madison in June, 1914, was very successful. Sixty-six women
e