Women's Influence Through the Ballot.
Spokane, Washington: N.P., 1928. 8¼” x 5½”. Stapled wrappers. Pp. 20. Very good minus: light chipping at edges of wrappers which are detached from textblock but attached to each other; center bifolium detached.
This is a rare treatise aimed at helping women advocate for suffrage and equal rights through public speaking. It was written by a noted suffragist, Rosalie Jones (later Dill).
Rosalie Gardiner Jones was born in 1883. She attended Brooklyn Law School, earned her LL.B degree from George Washington College of Law and Doctor of Civil Law degree from American University. She organized long and intense marches, deemed “pilgrimages” (such as leading 200+ women over 175 miles from Manhattan to Albany, New York in thirteen snow-filled days), earning the moniker “General Jones.” Her followers became known as “pilgrims.” Jones served as Nassau County President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and in the spring of 1912 she traveled around Long Island in a “Votes for Women” wagon pulled by a horse. In 1927 Rosalie married Clarence Dill, a United States Senator from Washington state. Their widely publicized separation involved name-calling (he was a “political coward,” she an “appalling” wife and housekeeper) and the divorce was finalized in 1936. That year Jones ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Washington state; her platform promoted a balanced budget and the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam.
In this book's foreword, Jones argued that “a cause needs supporters who have knowledge, not merely opinions,” and provided some general tips for speaking in public. A David Hume quote on the front cover also elucidated the book's intention: “Criticism is nearly useless, unless the critic quotes innumerable examples.” Six short “papers” composed the treatise, starting with “a few practical suggestions” for speeches of “introduction,” of “welcome” and “farewell.” The work proposed topics for talks concerning women's roles, duties and expectations with regard to the home, education, “peace,” “citizenship” and “the law.” Facts and statistics supplied fodder for women to proselytize on the “value of [the] woman voter to the schools,” opposition to women in various professions, laws regarding divorce, community property and due process, pacifism, patriotism, the “struggle of women teachers” and the “relation of the ballot to the home.”
A rare and inspiring manifesto encouraging women to stand up, speak out and fight for their rights, authored by a noted suffragist leader. OCLC shows only one holding, at the University of Washington. Very good -. Item #5095
Price: $950.00