Living History: Utah women's group still political after 90 years

Mar 13, 2010 — The Salt Lake Tribune

Eileen Hallet Stone

Mar. 13, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified on Aug. 18, 1920, ending a 70-year political struggle by women suffragists and giving every woman the right to vote.

No sooner was the amendment signed than Jeannette A. Hyde (a Republican) sensed "the necessity for the voice of women in framing legislation," and initiated the Women's Legislative Committee of Utah.

Utah is no stranger to the progressive leanings of its women. Utah's Territorial Legislature had sanctioned "unrestrictive" women's suffrage in 1870. A year later, social reformer Elizabeth Cady Stanton and suffragist Susan B. Anthony traveled to Salt Lake City to see firsthand the enfranchisement of women that was still eluding the Eastern vote.

And in 1912, Mary Howard was elected mayor and led the first all-female town council of Kanab.

"But in the 1920s, only a few women were [into] the political affairs of the state," said Darlene Hutchison, president of the renamed and now incorporated Women's State Legislative Council of Utah (WSLC).

"Organized as a nonpartisan committee, its goal was to have better-informed women actively involved and voting," Hutchison said.

In 1926, Mrs. James Wolfe (Democrat) -- in those days, women often went by their husband's name -- was president of the WSLC. A five-woman subcommittee drew up a constitution and bylaws. And a "permanent organization representing all Utah clubs and welfare organizations" was ready to

engage in politics.

From the start, the committee was busy. Members (delegates) listened to resolutions and researched issues. They attended study groups focusing on welfare, education, taxation, resolutions, judiciary and health care. They made certain their reports were sent to every lawmaker, and they learned the mechanics of introducing a bill.

In 1927, the committee endorsed the Sheppard-Towner Act to provide funding to states for maternal and child health care, and acted on the Child Welfare Bill.

Its members supported a proposed bill for a women's dormitory at the University of Utah and witnessed its legislative defeat on a 11-7 vote. (Ten years later, however, the "adapted modern Italian" Carson Hall was built with a bequest from Mary P. Carlson, in memory of her husband, and supplemented with approved WPA funds.)

The women agreed on a minimum wage law that addressed "the moral protection of our working girls and women."

But not the Redd Racing Act. Delegates of 60 clubs representing over 75,000 women voters urged its repeal, empathic in opposition to "any law [that] permits gambling on horse races."

"I can picture these outstanding women of my mother's vintage," Ruby Hammel (WSLC president, 1995-1997) said. "Polite and probably wearing hats, these women were activists twenty years ahead of themselves."

Eupha Tugman, acting secretary during that first session, took copious notes, answered "innumerable telephone calls, and mailed 50 postcard announcements and 279 letters."

Biennium dues rose from 50 cents to $2.00. Membership grew. Filled-to-capacity meetings were everywhere, from the Hotel Utah and Newhouse Hotel to the State School Library, state Capitol boardrooms and State Office Building.

To maintain nonpartisanship, WSLC promotes no special-interest group and alternates its leadership every two years between the two major political parties. It represents a broad spectrum of the state's population and weighs every side of every issue.

"Trying to understand the pros and cons of a bill keeps me mentally active and alert," said WSLC member Luella Finlinson, who'll be 100 years old in September. "Some people don't want to hear both sides of the story. But, whether Republican or Democrat, if you want to know what's going on, you have to know the facts. You might even change your opinion."

They've been going strong for 90 years now, and the doors are still open. Feel free to join them.

Oral historian Eileen Hallet Stone may be reached at ehswriter@aol.com. Special thanks to Kitty Kaplan (WSLC, 2007-2009) and Evelyn Vernon (WLSC, 1951-1953).

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