October 9, 1919.

His Excellency,
Thomas W. Bickett,
Governor of North Carolina.

Dear Sir:

On behalf of this organization comprising 26 state associations, I beg to thank you for not having used the power of your office to influence ratification of the Federal Suffrage Amendment, and I most earnestly appeal to you not to accede to the pleas that are undoubtedly being made for a special session of your legislature.

We appeal to you because North Carolina’s vote on this measure affects every one of the other 47 states as directly as it affects North Carolina, and not because of any wish to meddle impertinently in the home rule of your state.

We appeal to you to come to the rescue of the State Right Principle, already abjectly surrendered by Congress and the Governors and legislatures of 17 formerly ‘sovereign’ states. These 17 Governors and legislatures interfered unwarrantably in the local self-government of other states. They deprived their own states of all argument against future outside interference in their own local affairs, and razed their state defenses to the ground.

In 9 of the 17 states that have ratified the Federal Suffrage Amendment woman suffrage has been rejected by the people at the polls. In 3 others it has never been submitted to the voters. Hence, in 12 of the 17 ratification states the people have been betrayed by their representatives.

To date, the people in 33 states of the Union have either never had a chance to vote on woman suffrage, or have rejected it.

We are not here protesting against woman suffrage per se, but against the settlement of this issue by Federal action, and against depriving each sovereign state of its most sacred right: the right to determine its own electorate, - to extend the franchise to women or to withhold it, as it sees fit, and to withdraw it should the experiment be tried and prove a failure.

We wish particularly to bring to your attention the methods being used to force ratification of this amendment, and are enclosing an article (N. Y. Times, Sept. 7, 1919) exposing the tactics of its proponents.

If this system, based on the assumption of the corruptibility of the people’s representatives, prove successful there can be no future stability, no security of government. Its success would mean the perpetuation of a political reign of terror.

It is predicted that one of the chief dangers facing this nation in the near future is the control of legislation and throttling of men in office by daring minorities, ‘groups’, and special interests, over-riding the majority and the orderly processes of law-making. This amendment is a case in point, and the methods employed by its proponents have an immediate bearing (apart from the issue involved) on the future welfare of the country.

The people are at last alive to this danger, and we believe that they will uphold a firm stand against this amendment and against the pernicious system of pressure boldly proclaimed by its backers.

With the highest respect, I remain

Yours very truly,

Mary G. Kilbreth
President.