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but he had never made a public statement for us。
At Oakland; one day; the indefatigable and irresisti…
ble ‘‘Aunt Susan'' caught him off his guard by per…
suading his daughter; Kitty Reed; who was his idol;
to ask him to say just one word in favor of our
amendment。 When he arose we did not know
whether he had promised what she asked; and as
his speech progressed our hearts sank lower and
lower; for all he said was remote from our Cause。
But he ended with these words:
‘‘There is an amendment of the constitution
pending; granting suffrage to women。 The women
of California ought to have suffrage。 The men of
California ought to give it to themand the next
speaker; Dr。 Shaw; will tell you why。''
The word was spoken。 And though it was not a
very strong word; it came from a strong man; and
therefore helped us。
Election day; as usual; brought its surprises and
revelations。 Mrs。 Cooper asked her Chinese cook
how the Chinese were votingi。 e。; the native…born
Chinamen who were entitled to voteand he re…
plied; blithely; ‘‘All Chinamen vote for Billy McKee
and ‘NO' to women!'' It is an interesting fact that
every Chinese vote was cast against us。
All day we went from one to another of the polling…
places; and I shall always remember the picture of
Miss Anthony and the wife of Senator Sargent wan…
dering around the polls arm in arm at eleven o'clock
at night; their tired faces taking on lines of deeper
depression with every minute; for the count was
against us。 However; we made a fairly good show…
ing。 When the final counts came in we found that
we had won the state from the north down to Oak…
land; and from the south up to San Francisco; but
there was not a sufficient majority to overcome the
adverse votes of San Francisco and Oakland。 With
more than 230;000 votes cast; we were defeated by
only 10;000 majority。 In San Francisco the saloon
element and the most aristocratic section of the
city made an equal showing against us; while the
section occupied by the middle working…class was
largely in favor of our amendment。 I dwell es…
pecially on this campaign; partly because such splen…
did work was done by the women of California; and
also because; during the same election; Utah and
Idaho granted full suffrage to women。 This gave
us four suffrage statesWyoming; Colorado; Utah;
and Idahoand we prepared for future struggles
with very hopeful hearts。
It was during this California campaign; by the
way; that I unwittingly caused much embarrass…
ment to a worthy young man。 At a mass…meeting
held in San Francisco; Rabbi Vorsanger; who was not
in favor of suffrage for women; advanced the heart…
ening theory that in a thousand years more they
might possibly be ready for it。 After a thousand
years of education for women; of physically de…
veloped women; of uncorseted women; he said; we
might have the ideal woman; and could then begin
to talk about freedom for her。
When the rabbi sat down there was a shout from
the audience for me to answer him; but all I said
was that the ideal woman would be rather lonely; as
it would certainly take another thousand years to
develop an ideal man capable of being a mate for
her。 On the following night Prof。 Howard Griggs;
of Stanford University; made a speech on the modern
womana speech so admirably thought out and
delivered that we were all delighted with it。 When
he had finished the audience again called on me; and
I rose and proceeded to make what my friends frank…
ly called ‘‘the worst break'' of my experience。
Rabbi Vorsanger's ideal woman was still in my
mind; and I had been rather hard on the men in
my reply to the rabbi the night before; so now I
hastened to give this clever young man his full due。
I said that though the rabbi thought it would take
a thousand years to make an ideal woman; I believed
that; after all; it might not take as long to make the
ideal man。 We had something very near it in a
speaker who could reveal such ability; such chivalry;
and such breadth of view as Professor Griggs had
just shown that he possessed。
That night I slept the sleep of the just and the
well…meaning; and it was fortunate I did; for the
morning newspapers had a surprise for me that
called for steady nerves and a sense of humor。 Across
the front page of every one of them ran startling
head…lines to this effect:
DR。 SHAW HAS FOUND HER IDEAL MAN
The Prospects Are That She Will
Remain in California
Professor Griggs was young enough to be my son;
and he was already married and the father of two
beautiful children; but these facts were not per…
mitted to interfere with the free play of fancy in
journalistic minds。 For a week the newspapers
were filled with all sorts of articles; caricatures; and
editorials on my ideal man; which caused me much
annoyance and some amusement; while they plunged
Professor Griggs into an abysmal gloom。 In the
end; however; the experience proved an excellent
one for him; for the publicity attending his speech
made him decide to take up lecturing as a profession;
which he eventually did with great success。 But
neither of us has yet heard the last of the Ideal Man
episode。 Only a few years ago; on his return to
California after a long absence; one of the leading
Sunday newspapers of the state heralded Professor
Griggs's arrival by publishing a full…page article
bearing his photograph and mine and this flam…
boyant heading:
SHE MADE HIM
And Dr。 Shaw's Ideal Man Became the
Idol of American Women and
Earns 30;000 a Year
We had other unusual experiences in California;
and the display of affluence on every side was not
the least impressive of them。 In one town; after
a heavy rain; I remember seeing a number of little
boys scraping the dirt from the gutters; washing it;
and finding tiny nuggets of gold。 We learned that
these boys sometimes made two or three dollars a
day in this way; and that the streets of the town
I think it was Marysvillecontained so much gold
that a syndicate offered to level the whole town and
repave the streets in return for the right to wash out
the gold。 This sounds like the kind of thing Ameri…
cans tell to trustful visitors from foreign lands; but
it is quite true。
Nuggets; indeed; were so numerous that at one
of our meetings; when we were taking up a collec…
tion; I cheerfully suggested that our audience drop
a few into the box; as we had not had a nugget since
we reached the state。 There were no nuggets in the
subsequent collection; but there was a note which
read: ‘‘If Dr。 Shaw will accept a gold nugget; I will
see that she does not leave town without one。'' I
read this aloud; and added; ‘‘I have never refused
a gold nugget in my life。''
The following day brought me a pin made of a
very beautiful gold nugget; and a few days later
another Californian produced a cluster of smalle