standing his lack of schooling, the boy rose rapidly and after three years was made manager of the business. At the age of twenty-one he formed a partnership with his brother and entered business for himself. For a time McGraw Brothers were prosperous. Then came financial reverses and John H., with his wife, started West. After a short stay in San Francisco, they came to Washington, arriving at Seattle in December, 1876. In the old Occidental Hotel, McGraw obtained a position as clerk. Later he was in the hotel business on his own account; but the building being destroyed by fire, he joined the police force and set out on a political career. The sudden. death of Sheriff Wyckoff, following the lynchings of 1882 left a vacancy to which McGraw was appointed. He was re-elected sheriff in 1884 but active connection with the suppression of the anti-Chinese riots of 1886 cost him re-election that year. Two years later he again became a candidate and was elected. It was while serving this, his third term as sheriff, that McGraw was elected president of the First National Bank of Seattle, a position he was occupying at the time of his election as governor. John H. McGraw's education was acquired in the practical school of experience; he was office trained rather than college trained and a lawyer of considerable ability. When the Legislature met early in January, 1893, Senator John B. Allen, candidate for re-election, was opposed by George Turner, republican, of Spokane, and Chauncey W. Griggs, democrat, of Tacoma. The first ballot showed the Legislature to be in a deadlock. Turner, supposed to have the backing of the Northern Pacific, opened headquarters in Olympia and laid siege to the Legislature. Almost from the first ballot it was apparent the Seattle-Tacoma factional fight, with the railroad as a side issue, would be a big factor in determining who should or should not be elected. King County stood by Allen. Day after day the two houses met and ballotted. Congress was in session, Senator Squire representing the state in the Upper House while his colleague fought ambitious politicians at Olympia. The end of the first month showed the republican party hopelessly split. Even the King County delegation showed signs of going to pieces. One man had deserted and gone over to the Pierce County crowd, which was supporting Turner. Balloting continued and February 24th a "dark horse" appeared in Olympia. He was Levi Ankeney, "rich Walla Walla banker, said to possess senatorial ambitions and a long sack." If the new man exerted any influence at all it was to turn votes toward Allen and in opposition to the railroad influence with which Ankeney was supposed to be somewhat well acquainted. Allen's gain was at the loss of Turner, who gave up the contest and went home. Griggs dropped from 20 to 7; Turner to 2, while McCroskey and Van Patten, not prominent at the beginning of the contest, arose to 19 and 9. Plainly it was a case for an arbitrator, and one came up from Oregon. March 7th he arrived, fresh from the Oregon Legislative session and announced that Levi Ankeney would be acceptable to Oregon and the Union Pacific Railroad. Next day Olympia was much interested in the report that a monster "sack" had arrived and that a certain man was prepared to pay $1,000 each for the fifty-seven votes necessary to elect his man to the Senate. Unenacted bills greatly needed by the new state, filled the calendars of both houses when the session came to a close March 9th. It was a game common to nearly all states in the rule of the old system of electing United States senators and contributed much toward the growth of sentiment in favor of direct legislation. The one redeeming feature of this contest is found in the last ballot taken. It was the 100th and the standing of the candidates was: Allen, 50; Turner, 23; Shaw, 17; Van Patten, 9; Griggs, 7; Jones, 2; Sharpstein, 1; Wallace, 1, and Dunbar, 1. The Legislature saved itself from a landslide to a man with a "sack," and charged its failure to elect to the Railroad-Tacoma and Lake Washington canal-Seattle factions. McGraw appointed Allen senator and he soon was on his way to the national capital. 1 X CHAPTER XXXVIII EQUAL SUFFRAGE A FOREMOST QUESTION IN FIRST LEGISLATURE—A, A. DENNY'S RADICAL AMENDMENT LOST-WOMEN OF '69 ATTEMPT TO FORCE QUESTION—— CAMPAIGN OF '71 DIRECTED BY SUSAN B. ANTHONY AND ABIGAIL SCOTT DUNNIWAY-WOMAN SUFFRAGE ORGANIZATION FORMED WOMEN PERMITTED TO VOTE AT SCHOOL ELECTIONS-JUDGE TURNER'S DECISION-FINAL VICTORY IN 1910 UNDER LEADERSHIP OF MRS. EMMA SMITH DEVOE. Almost the first subject taken up for discussion by the first session of Washington's first Legislature was that of equal suffrage. In fact the members considered the question of such importance that they made it the subject of the first section of the first act adopted. It provided for extending the franchise to "persons of mixed white and Indian blood who had adopted the customs and habits of civilization. An amendment offered by A. A. Denny, "to allow all white females over the age of eighteen years to vote," was lost. Various amendments were made in following sessions of the Legislature. January 31, 1867, the law was amended to give the ballot to "all white American citizens twenty-one years of age, and all half-breeds twenty-one or over, who can read and write and have adopted the habits of whites, and all other white male inhabitants who have declared their intentions of becoming citizens six months previous to election." A few persons were made the object of certain exceptions in this law which Edward Eldridge, on the floor of the House, declared extended the right of suffrage to women. When the 14th amendment to the Federal Constitution was adopted, July 28, 1868, providing that "All persons, born or naturalized * shall be citizens of the United States," the question of who are citizens of the United States was raised. Mrs. Mary O. Brown, in 1869, offered her vote at the polls in Olympia. It was refused and when Mrs. Brown quoted the 14th amendment she was told that the laws of Congress did not extend over Washington Territory. The next year Mrs. Brown again offered her ballot and again was refused. At Grand Mound precinct, Mrs. Brown's sister, Mrs. Charlotte O. French, and several other women, were permitted to vote. Other precinct election officers in other parts of the territory interpreted the law in the same manner as the Grand Mound officials and permitted women to vote. * * Equal suffrage sentiment now began to crystalize. In 1871 Miss Susan B. Anthony and Mrs. Abigail Scott Dunniway, sister of Harvey Scott, opened a campaign for a territorial organization. They visited most of the settlements, held meetings, delivered addresses and October 28th, at a convention held in Olympia, formed the first woman suffrage organization of territorial scope. Miss Anthony, upon an invitation from the Legislature, addressed that body October 20th. The best efforts of Miss Anthony and Mrs. Dunniway failed to convince the Legislature of the justice of their cause. In fact the Legislature on November 29, 1871, passed a law providing "that hereafter no female shall have the right of ballot at any poll or election precinct in this territory until the Congress of the United States of America shall, by direct legislation upon the same, declare the same to be the supreme law of the land." The legislators at this session, however, did pass a school law which provided that every inhabitant should have the right of franchise, and in 1877 a new law was adopted providing that women should have the right to vote at school elections. Mrs. Dunniway continued the campaign and when the statehood question was before the people in 1878, submitted a petition to the Legislature praying that the word "male" be stricken from the election laws of the new constitution. By a very close vote the petition was denied. The House of 1881 passed a bill granting women the ballot, but it failed to pass the council. Two years later the question again came before the Legislature, the House October 8th passing a resolution "that the speaker send congratulations to the American Female Suffrage Association, now in session in Brooklyn, N. Y." The House November 23d passed an act changing the election law to read "All American citizens of twenty-one years, and all American half-breeds." Leaders in the woman's suffrage movement knew the Council was not as favorable to the bill as the House but it passed by a vote of seven to five and Washington had woman suffrage, and for four years women voted at all elections and served as jurors. The case of Harland vs. the Territory of Washington, appeal to the Supreme Court in 1887, brought a decision from Judge Turner "that women had no right to sit on a jury because the law granting rights to women was not given a proper title." Judges Hoyt and Greene upheld the law, but as the former had served as trial judge in the case, he was disqualified. Back to the Legislature went the fight. Several bills designed to correct the short-comings of the law of 1883 were introduced in the 1887-88 session and January 18th the adoption of Council Bill No. 44 restored the privilege. April 3, 1888, the ballot of Mrs. Nevada Bloomer was refused by a Spokane election board. Suit at once was brought to test the law and August 14th Judges Turner and Langford held that the law was invalid because in conflict with the laws of the United States. The constitution adopted by the State of Washington provided that all male persons should have the right to vote and that the Legislature might extend the elective franchise to women at any school election. Various legislatures sought to amend the law and constitutional amendments providing for woman suffrage were submitted to the voters. All these efforts were without result until in 1910, when sections 1 and 2, Article VI, of the constitution were repealed and a new section 1, providing for woman suffrage, was adopted. The new amendment also wisely provided that all electors should be able to read and write the English language. The campaign was led by Mrs. Emma Smith De Voe, a woman of wide experience in political and suffrage contests. She had been through many campaigns in other states. Her campaigns embraced none of the militant notions affected by a louder but much less successful group of suffrage women. She insisted on keeping in the foreground the home and the kitchen and the welfare |