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558 & ••••••••• 278 • Remarks by SBA at the Woman’s Clubhouse, Los Angeles Editorial note: Estimates placed the number of women at the Woman’s Clubhouse to greet SBA and Anna Shaw at one thousand on the afternoon of 28 July 1905. “The clubhouse bloomed with fair women and flowers,”reported the Los Angeles Times.Once the receiving line reached its end, calls were made for SBA to make a few remarks. [28 July 1905] “It’s just nine years ago,” said Miss Anthony, “since you had your suffrage campaign in this State. “Just nine years ago since 110,000 of your men voted that woman should have suffrage and vote.There were 110,000 men who said ‘yes’to that question —but—there were 137,000 who said ‘no,’ and that’s why you are not voting now. “I witnessed an—er—”here Miss Anthony hesitated,“well,for want of a better name,an exhibition last evening; I believe they called it an investigation of a library board.” 1 Here applause stopped her for a few moments. Women of the clubs evidently felt strongly in the matter. “As long as you women say you have rights and are satisfied,” said she, “just so long will you continue to be displaced. Here is a position, some man wants it. The woman as well as man will be taxed, but in the end how will it be? Of course the man will win because there’s only men to settle it. “Everything has always been a he or his or him, and if a woman is sent to the gallows, or taxed, or anything else, it’s always been done with a he, his or him. “In fact, in all legal documents we women have been classed with idiots , lunatics, children and criminals. Not long ago some of the women of Colorado petitioned Congress to remove them from that category and the favor was granted. “What do women do? They are constantly repairing the damage done by men, constantly reforming and bettering conditions. Yet they must beg for the money which should be given by the government. In Denver, where 28 july 1905 ^ 559 women vote,it is simple enough,for after deciding on the reform the money is appropriated by the city and the rest is easy. “Really,” said Miss Anthony, “I didn’t expect to speak today, but I know you would have been disappointed if I hadn’t spoken about suffrage, as that’s always the subject nearest my heart.” Y Los Angeles Times, 29 July 1905, Scrapbook 1905–1906, SBA Papers, DLC. 1. She attended a hearing in the city council chamber called by the mayor of Los Angeles to investigate why the public library’s board of directors had in June fired Mary L. Jones, its professionally trained head librarian, and named a man without credentials to replace her. The city’s clubwomen, who had rallied around Jones and pressed the mayor to investigate, showed up in force for the hearing, bringing their famous guests along. The hearing was short: when the board refused to provide any evidence,the mayor adjourned the meeting.The merits of the case are still contested among historians of libraries. See, for example, Margaret F. Maxwell, “The Lion and the Lady: The Firing of Miss Mary Jones,” American Libraries 9 (May 1978): 268–72; and Wayne A. Wiegand, “The Lion and the Lady Revisited: Another Look at the Firing of Mary L. Jones as Los Angeles Public Librarian in 1905,” Library and Information Science and Research: An International Journal 5 (Fall 1983): 273–90. ••••••••• 279 • Conversation between SBA and Celia Coyle1 [30 July 1905] “You’ll never get what you are after until you get the ballot.” Such was one of the expressions of Miss Susan B. Anthony in an interview yesterday afternoon with Miss Celia Coyle,secretary of local Laundry Workers No. 52, at the home of Mrs. Charlotte Wills, 2 501 Buena Vista street, regarding the nine-hour movement which is being agitated in Los Angeles by the union laundry workers. Miss Anthony did not mean by her terse remark that the nine-hour movement would prove a failure. She simply meant to emphasize the fact that the working women, in her opinion, will never be a real power until the right of suffrage has been given them. That Miss Anthony is in sympathy with the working girls and women of the country, none will deny, and at the close...

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