e like Maryland will promptly
follow suit." The Governor advised waiting till the regular session as
"this Legislature was not elected with the question of this amendment
before the people."

The regular session convened Jan 7, 1920, and Albert Cabell Ritchie
had been elected Governor. Mrs. William Milnes Maloy was chairman of
the Suffrage Campaign Committee and Mrs. Robert Moss of the
legislative work in Annapolis, and the committee was composed of
prominent suffragists from all the societies. A mass meeting took
place on January 20 in the State Armory at Annapolis, with addresses
by U. S. Senator Kenneth McKellar of Tennessee, State Senator Oliver
Metzerott and Mrs. Donald R. Hooker. State Senator George Q. Bartlett
read letters from Senator France advocating ratification. Many members
of the Legislature were seated on the platform. At the close of the
meeting Mrs. Maloy offered a resolution in favor of ratification,
which was carried by a large majority.

On Friday, February 6, Governor Ritchie submitted the Federal Woman
Suffrage Amendment to the General Assembly. Senator Metzerott
(Republican) introduced a resolution for ratification in the Senate
and Representative Cobourn (Democrat) in the House. It was sent to the
Senate Committee on Federal Relations, Senator Grason, chairman; to
the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Mr. Roberts
chairman. A hearing was set for February 11 but on being informed that
most of the suffrage leaders would be in Chicago attending the
national suffrage convention at that time and that others of their
speakers could not be present, Senator Grason said that, with Mr.
Robert's consent, the hearing would be postponed until the 18th.

The suffragists heard no more and great was the surprise of those of
the committee who were left to find on returning to Annapolis February
10, when the session reconvened, that Mr. Roberts absolutely refused
to delay and the hearing would take place on February 11. A hasty
canvass of his committee showed that a majority was in favor of
deferring it until the 18th, so the suffragists returned to their
homes. The next morning the Baltimore papers announced that it would
be held that day. The suffragists learned that the preceding night
Speaker Tydings had transferred the suffrage amendment from the
Committee on Constitutional Amendments, which was favorable to it, and
had put it into the Committee on Federal Relations, which was hostile!
There w