called for and $3,200 were quickly
subscribed.[25] The treasurer, Mrs. Harriet Taylor Upton, announced
receipts during the year of $18,310 with a balance of $6,183 now in
the treasury. "New York has always been the largest contributor and
paid the largest auxiliary fee," she said, "and it never has any aid
from the national treasury. Its temper is always sweet and its
methods always business-like but to be sure it has always been blessed
by having one of its citizens as national president. This year,
however, Massachusetts has won the place at the head of the list."
Mrs. Catt reported for the Congressional Committee that Congress had
entirely ignored the urgent appeals of last year for a committee to
investigate the effects of woman suffrage in the equal franchise
States. Mrs. Sallie Clay Bennett (Ky.) made her usual strong plea for
an effort to secure from Congress Federal suffrage or the right to
vote for members of Senate and House Representatives. For many years
Mrs. Bennett, as chairman of the committee, had appealed to the
association for action but while it considered that the measure would
be perfectly valid it believed it to be hopeless of attainment.
[History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV, page 6.] Mrs. Elnora M. Babcock
(N. Y.), chairman of the Press Committee, made a comprehensive report
of the constantly increasing favorable comment of the newspapers. Mrs.
Boyer, chairman for Pennsylvania, had placed 5,700 suffrage articles
and the chairmen of various other States had a proportionate record.
Miss Blackwell gave as a recipe for finding favor with editors: "Make
your articles short; make them newsy; don't denounce the men." Mrs.
Priscilla D. Hackstaff (N. Y.), chairman of the Enrollment Committee,
reported a good start on the nation-wide enrollment of men and women
who believe in woman suffrage.

Henry B. Blackwell, chairman of the Presidential Suffrage Committee,
urged the southern women to petition their Legislatures, seven of
which would meet during the year, to give women the right to vote for
presidential electors. "The choice of President and Vice-president of
the United States," he said, "is the most important form of suffrage
exercised by an American citizen.... The King of England and the
Emperor of Germany are practically possessed of no greater political
power than our President during his official term," and he continued:

Here then is an open door to equal suffrage. Once let the women