the second event of 1915 of less importance nationally, but of great practical importance to the congressional union, was the removal of headquarters from the dark, congested rooms in f street to cameron house, sometimes known as the little white house. cameron house has held, ever since its construction, a vivid place in washington history. it has been occupied by senator donald cameron; vice-president garret a. hobart; senator mark hanna. the famous breakfasts given by senator hanna, to which president mckinley often came, occurred here. presidents, such as john quincy adams, harrison, taylor, and fillmore; statesmen, such as webster, clay, cass, and calhoun; historians, such as prescott, bancroft, and washington irving, have frequented it. the little white house is situated at 21 madison place, just across lafayette square from the big white house. from the windows of the big white house could be seen great banners of purple, white, and gold, waving at the windows of the little white house.
cameron house was charming inside and out. outside, a great wistaria vine made in the spring a marvel of its fa?ade, and inside a combination of fine proportions and a charming architectural arrangement of the rooms gave it that gemütlich atmosphere necessary to a rallying spot. when you entered, you came into a great hall, from which a noble staircase made an effective exit, and in which a huge fireplace formed a focussing center. all winter long, a fire was going in that fireplace; there were easy chairs in front of it, and straying off from it. the little white house 124became a place where people dropped in easily. this big reception hall always held a gay, interesting, and interested group, composed of party members resident there; sympathizers and workers who lived in washington; people from all over the united states who had come to washington on a holiday. the organizers were always returning from the four corners of the country with a harvest of news and ideas and plans before starting off for new fields.
perhaps there is no better place than here to speak of the work of those remarkable young women—the organizers. it will be remembered that from the time of the formation of the congressional committee to the time when the senate passed the anthony amendment was about six years and a half. yet in 1919, maud younger said to me, “there have been three generations of organizers in this movement.” that was true. not that they served their average of two years and left. most of them who came to work for the party stayed with it. it was only that, as the work grew, developed, expanded, more organizers and even more became necessary. and perhaps it is one of the chief glories of the woman’s party that these organizers came to them younger and younger, until at the end they were fresh, beautiful girls in their teens and early twenties.
the first group consisted of:
mabel vernon; elsie hill; margaret whittemore; doris stevens; mrs. sinclair thompson; virginia arnold.
the second group consisted of:
iris calderhead; vivian pierce; beulah amidon; lucy branham; hazel hunkins; clara louise rowe; joy young; margery ross; mary gertrude fendall; pauline clarke; alice henkel; rebecca hourwich.
the third group consisted of:
julia emory; betty gram; anita pollitzer; mary dubrow; catherine flanagan.
the difficulties which lay in the path of the organizers cannot possibly be exaggerated: the work they accomplished cannot possibly be estimated. their story is one of those 125sealed chapters in the history of feminism, the whole of which will never be known. with her usual astuteness alice paul always chose young, fresh, convinced, inspiring, and inspired spirits. always she preferred enthusiasm to experience. before an organizer left headquarters for parts unknown, alice paul talked with her for several hours, going over her route, indicating the problems which would arise and—in her characteristic and indescribable alice paul way—suggesting how they were to be met; holding always above these details the shining object of the journey; managing somehow to fill her with the feeling that in spite of many obstacles, she would conquer all these new worlds. “no matter,” she always concluded, “what other suffragists may say about us, pay no attention to it; go on with your work. our fight is not against women.”
sometimes these girls would come into towns where there not only existed no suffrage organization but there had never been a suffrage meeting. sometimes they would have a list of names of people to whom to go for help; sometimes not that. at any rate they went to the best hotel and established themselves there. then they found headquarters, preferably in the hotel lobby; but if not there, in a shop window. next they saw the newspapers. inevitably it seemed—alice paul’s sure instinct never failed her here—they were incipient newspaper women. from the moment they arrived, blazing their purple, white, and gold, the papers rang with them, and that ringing continued until they left. they called on the women whose names had been given them, asked them to serve on a committee in order to arrange a meeting. at that meeting, to which national headquarters would send a well-known speaker, the work would be explained, the aims of the woman’s party set forth, its history reviewed. when the organizer left that town, she left an organization of some sort behind her. alice paul always preferred, rather than a large, inactive membership, a few active women who, when needed, could bring pressure to bear from their state on washington.
126in the course of its history, the woman’s party has organized at some time in every state of the union.
whenever the organizers came back to washington, miss paul always sent them to the capitol to lobby for a while. this put them in touch with the congressional situation. moreover, congressmen were always glad to talk with women who brought them concrete information in regard to the country at large, and particularly in regard to the suffrage sentiment and the political situation in their own states, which they had often not seen for months. on the other hand, when the organizers embarked on their next journey, editors of small towns were always very grateful for the chance of talking with these informed young persons, who could bring their news straight from the national news-mint.
but one of the great secrets of alice paul’s success was that she freshened her old forces all the time, by giving them new work, brought new forces to bear all the time on the old work. if organizers showed the first symptoms of growing stale on one beat, she transferred them to another. most of them performed at some time during their connection with the woman’s party every phase of its work. perpetual change ... perpetual movement ... the onward rush of an exhilarating flood ... that was the feeling the woman’s party gave the onlooker.
i reiterate that it would be impossible to do justice, short of a book devoted entirely to their efforts, to these organizers. they turn up everywhere. they do everything! they know not fatigue! there is no end to their ingenuity and enthusiasm.
in spite of all this intensive thinking, and its result in action, the congressional union had its lighter moments, and many of them.
on valentine’s day, 1916, a thousand suffrage valentines were despatched to senators and representatives by members of the congressional union living in their districts; the president and vice-president were not forgotten. they were 127of all kinds and descriptions. recalcitrant politicians were especially favored. the rules committee, for instance, were showered. one of mr. henry’s valentines took the form of an acrostic:
h is for hurry—
which henry should do.
e is for every—
which includes women too.
n is for now—
the moment to act.
r is for rules—
which must bend to the fact.
y is for you—
with statesmanlike tact.
mr. pou’s valentine showed an exquisitely ruffled little maiden, with heel-less, cross-gartered slippers and a flower-trimmed hat, curtseying to a stocked and ruffled gentleman who is presenting her with a bouquet. underneath it says:
the rose is red,
the violet’s blue,
but votes are better
mr. pou.
one to representative williams of the judiciary committee ran:
oh, will you will us well, will,
as we will will by you,
if you’ll only will to help us
put the amendment through!
representative webb’s valentine bore the words, “from a fond heart to a democratic (?) congressman,” with the following verse:
128federal aid he votes for rural highways,
and federal aid for pork each to his need;
and federal aid for rivers, trees, and harbors,
but federal aid for women?—no, indeed!
representative fitzgerald received:
your party’s health is very shaky,
the western women say,
they scorn a laggard lover
and will not tell him “yea,”
but pass the suffrage measure,
then watch election day!
congressman mondell’s valentine was a red heart, on which was written:
oh, a young lochinvar has come out of the west,
of all the great measures his bill was the best!
so fearless in caucus, so brave on the floor
there ne’er was a leader like young lochinvar!
on may day, the woman’s party hung a may basket for the president. it was over-brimming with purple, white, and gold flowers, and, concealed in their midst, was a plea for the susan b. anthony amendment.
later, in may, on representative williams’s birthday, he was invited by representative kent to go with him into the visitors’ lobby. there he met gertrude and ruth crocker of the congressional union, who were carrying on a tray, made of the congressional union banner and the american flag, a huge birthday cake. it was frosted and set with fifty-nine candles, each emerging from a small, yellow rose and bore an inscription in purple letters:
may the coming year bring you joy and the susan b. anthony amendment.
a few days later, when representative steele reached his office, he found on his desk a purple basket filled with forget-me-nots. the card bore this inscription:
129“forget me not” is the message
i bring in my gladsome blue;
forget not the fifty-six years that have gone
and the work there is still to do;
forget not the suffrage amendment
that waits in committee for you.
the first national convention of the congressional union was held at cameron house from december 6 to december 13, 1915. the following ten members were elected for the executive committee: alice paul; lucy burns; mrs. o. h. p. belmont; mrs. john winters brannan; mrs. gilson gardner; mrs. william kent; mrs. lawrence lewis; elsie hill; anne martin; mrs. donald r. hooker.
