Catt, Carrie Chapman General Correspondence Tumulty, Joseph P.

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Washington, D.C.
January 19, 1917.

My dear Mr. Tumulty:

The Legislature of North Carolina has passed a 
bill granting to the women of that State the same suffrage 
privileges they have in Illinois; that is, the right to 
vote for presidential electors and for municipal officers. 
The Governor has not yet signed the bill but he is pledged 
to do so and will not fail to sign it, the suffragists wire 
me.

Mrs. Helen Gardener and I think that this would be 
an appropriate time for a letter from the President. This 
same bill is pending in several other legislatures, including 
Tennessee, Indiana, New Hampshire, Nebraska, North Carolina, 
Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and Rhode Island. The Tennessee 
suffragists appealed to us to secure, if possible some 
Democratic influence with their legislatures.

A letter of congratulation from the President and an 
expression of approval of this form of legislation, together 
with an expression of his continued interest in the suffrage 
movement and hope for its ultimate establishment, would be of 
great assistance to the cause in general and serve the purpose 
of which we spoke.

Yours truly,
(signed) Carrie Chapman Catt
President

Honl Joseph P. Tumulty,
Secretary to the President,
The White House.

CCC:MHH

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