district, and thirty
organizations in the mining camps, many of these having only two or
three women. In Fairbanks, by means of dances, card parties, sales,
etc., $8,000 were raised just to buy wool, besides all the funds and
"drives."

The interest of Alaskan women in such public questions as affect women
elsewhere is that of the spectator rather than of the worker. When
legislation on housing and tenement laws, protection of factory
workers, prevention of child labor and like problems becomes necessary
they will not be lacking in interest or energy.

HAWAII.

The Organic Act under which the Territories of the United States were
created said that at the first election persons with specified
qualifications should be entitled to vote and at subsequent elections
such persons as the Territorial Legislature might designate. It was
under this Act that Wyoming and Utah enfranchised their women in 1869
and 1870 and Washington in 1883.

When in 1899 the Congress was preparing to admit Hawaii as a Territory
the commission framed a constitution which specifically refused the
privilege that had been granted to every other Territory of having its
own Legislature decide who should vote after the first election, by
inserting a clause that it "should not grant to ... any individual any
special privilege or franchise without the approval of Congress." This
constitution gave the suffrage to every masculine citizen of whatever
nationality--Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese--who could read and write
English or Hawaiian, and it repeatedly used the word "male" to bar
women from having a vote or holding an office. The members of this
commission were Senators John T. Morgan of Alabama and Shelby M.
Cullom of Illinois; Representative Robert R. Hitt of Illinois;
President Sanford B. Dole and Associate Justice Frear of Hawaii.
Justice Frear said over his own signature that he and President Dole
desired that the Legislature should have power to authorize woman
suffrage but the rest of the commission would not permit it. Miss
Susan B. Anthony president, and the Official Board of the National
American Woman Suffrage Association, made vigorous objection to this
abuse of power, sent a protest to every member of Congress and
followed this with petitions officially signed by large associations
but to no avail. The Act was approved by President William McKinley
April 30, 1900.[214]

The women had always exercised great influence in political affai