n to meet with an unexpected and serious disappointment. In
January Miss Anthony went to the anti-slavery meeting at Boston, full
of the new idea of consolidating the old Anti-Slavery and the Woman's
Rights Societies under one name, that of the Equal Rights Association.
She was warmly supported by Tilton, Lucy Stone, Powell and others, but
to their amazement they found Mr. Phillips very cool and discouraging.
He said this could be done only by amending the constitution of the
Anti-Slavery Society, which required three months' notice. Still they
did not dream of his opposing the proposition and so deputized Mr.
Powell to give the formal notice, in order that it might be acted upon
at the coming May Anniversary. On the way back the New York delegation
discussed this new plan enthusiastically, and Miss Anthony wrote home
that there was a strong wish in the society to widen its object so as
to include universal suffrage, believing this to be the case. The
necessary steps at once were taken for calling a national woman's
rights meeting to convene in New York the same week as the Anti-Slavery
Anniversary, and the following call was issued setting forth its
principal objects:

Those who tell us the republican idea is a failure, do not see the
deep gulf between our broad theory and our partial legislation; do
not see that our government for the last century has been but a
repetition of the old experiments of class and caste. Hence the
failure is not in the principle, but in the lack of virtue on our
part to apply it. The question now is, have we the wisdom and
conscience, from the present upheavings of our political system to
reconstruct a government on the one enduring basis which never yet
has been tried--Equal Rights to All?

From the proposed class legislation in Congress, it is evident we
have not yet learned wisdom from the experience of the past; for,
while our representatives at Washington are discussing the right of
suffrage for the black man as the only protection to life, liberty
and happiness, they deny that "necessity of citizenship" to woman,
by proposing to introduce the word "male" into the Federal
Constitution. In securing suffrage but to another shade of manhood,
while disfranchising 15,000,000 women, we come not one line nearer
the republican idea. Can a ballot in the hand of woman and dignity
on her brow, more unsex her than do a sc