among the men strongly approved their presence in order to influence voters. What future election could be of more importance to women than this, and why should they hesitate to show their interest? Under directions from suffrage headquarters workers at the polls distributed the leaflets, often supplementing them by their own eloquence. No woman received any discourtesy.
The night of November 7 was an anxious one. Women went home and lay awake wondering whether they had done everything possible to insure success, or whether failure might be the result of some omission. When the returns published the next morning, although incomplete, showed that success really had crowned their efforts it seemed almost too good to be true. All day long and in the evening people were coming and going at suffrage headquarters with greetings and congratulations. Women of all classes seemed drawn together by the new tie of citizenship.
The full returns gave the result as follows: For suffrage, 35,798; against, 29,451; an affirmative majority of 6,347.
What were the causes of this unique success? First, it may be claimed that Western men have more than others of that spirit of chivalry of which the world has heard so much and seen so little. The human mind inclines to justice, except when turned aside by prejudice, and there is less prejudice against and a stronger belief in equal rights in the newer communities. The pressure of hard times, culminating in the panic of 1893, undoubtedly contributed to the success of the Populist party, and to its influence the suffrage cause owes much. A new party boldly accepts new principles while the old parties are struggling to conform to precedents. This is shown clearly in both the legislative and the popular vote. It was in the counties giving Populist pluralities that the majority of 6,818 in favor of equal suffrage was found. The counties which went Republican and Democratic gave a majority of 471 against the measure. The fact, however, that in all parties there were friends who were willing to work and speak for it, and also the number of suffrage bills which had been introduced at this time, showed that the State was ready for it.
