NAWSA GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE BARKER, MRS. H.M. [*1*] [*B*] South Dakota Woman's Christian Temperance Union. "Remember Them that are in Bonds as Bound with Them." Pres. Mrs. H.M. Barker, Huron. Vice Pres. and Organizer, Mr. E.A. Cranmer, Aberdeen. Cor. Sec. Mrs. F.M. Swift, Yankton. Rec. Sec. Mrs. D.W. Myers, Vermillion. Treas. Mrs. M.E. Kline, Mitchell. En route to [Huron] Black Hills, South Dakota, July 26, 1890 My dear Mrs. Stone, Yours reached me just as I was leaving home for a series of conventions & a long trip. So an immediate answer was impossible. I hardly know how to answer you. Wish I could sit by your side & tell you all about our trials. Our committee elected by the state was made up of good representative people & was planning & executing the work the best we could. Every county save two was organized & had from 3 to 15 suffrage clubs. We were crippled for want of funds. Miss Anthony came. We made her an honorary member of our committee. She planned a series of co. conventions. Ordered bills by the thousands had the services of Sec. of Com. but refused to put a dollar into their hands & even refused to pay her own printing bills & ordered them sent to state com. The two printing firms at last threatened suit if the money was not paid at such a time. Then she assumed the debt. She was dictatorial & overbearing as well as censorious. Then she claimed to some of her unquestioning followers that the com. was not in harmony & that unless she could have a com. that would work with her, she should pack her trunk & leave. She had tried to get four members of the com. off before. So in sympathy with this 2 SOUTH DAKOTA WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION. "Remember Them that are in Bonds as Bound with Them" Pres. Mrs. H. M. Barker, Huron. Vice Pres. and Organizer, Mrs. E. A. Cranmer, Aberdeen. Cor. Sec. Mrs. F. M. Swift, Yankton. Rec. Sec. Mrs. D. W. Myers, Vermillion. Treas. Mrs. M. E. Kline, Mitchell. Huron, South Dakota, .....18__ Mrs. Wardall, Devoe, Harden & others (17 in all & 13 from Beadle Co) called the convention of July 8th stating the object to be to perfect plans to further the campaign while really, it was to oust the old com. One gentleman said "Miss A-- wants a com. of children that will obey her. The old com. were not children." While this convention was irregularly called & without authority yet they had called it, in connection with the Independent party convention & every person that dropped into the meeting was called a delegate whether he believed in suffrage or not, & thus they were able to say that 28 counties were represented. One man, Judge Thomas, said "I am the only person from my county but if the true object of this meeting had been known there would have been 20 instead of one." The only charge against the old com. was, that they had dared to differ with Miss A. Result - The com. resigned otherwise Miss A. would have had a new state Association with her forces at the head. There is great dissatisfaction & the papers are talking of Miss A. as a dictator. If I were home could send you clippings. A gentleman on train yesterday asked me if I had seen the Aberdeen Pioneer, one of our strong suffrage papers. I said no. "Well" he says, "it roasts Miss A. unmercifully, & says if she would leave the state, we could carry it" &c &c She hoped to get the Republicans to endorse suffrage, but the fact that the convention at Huron was called by Alliance leaders [* 3 *] [*SOUTH DAKOTA WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION. "Remember Them that are in Bonds as Bound with Them" Pres. Mrs. H. M. Barker, Huron. Vice Pres. and Organizer, Mrs. E. A. Cranmer, Aberdeen. Cor. Sec. Mrs. F. M. Swift, Yankton. Rec. Sec. Mrs. D. W. Myers, Vermillion. Treas. Mrs. M. E. Kline, Mitchell. Huron, South Dakota, .....18 *] & in connection with the 3d party & Miss A. was on the platform & is speaking at their ratification rallies has angered the Republicans & I am told by their prominent leaders that if Miss A. rallies her forces to dictate to them at Mitchell she will find they will not heed her. Our prospects are not as good as they were a month ago. They retained me on the com. because they did not quite dare to put me off, but I shall resign, & then do all in my power for suffrage through my W.C.T.U. department. We feel dreadfully over [?] [?] ation. It was all so unnecessary but Dakota people are not the most subservient in the world. They state that 400 signed the call for the convention. The call was made with 17 signers, but they wrote everywhere & by misstating the object secured easily many names. I wish you could come to us, with your sweet face & your fairness, you would do us great good. I have tried to give you a candid statement of the matter as I understand it. I hope this break will not lose us the state, but many of our best friends of the cause prophesy it. Yours sincerely N\H.M. Barker [*Mrs. Barker Huron Dakota July 31*] SOUTH DAKOTA WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION. "Remember Them that are in Bonds as Bound with Them" Pres. Mrs. H. M. Barker, Huron. Vice Pres. and Organizer, Mrs. E. A. Cranmer, Aberdeen. Cor. Sec. Mrs. F. M. Swift, Yankton. Rec. Sec. Mrs. D. W. Myers, Vermillion. Treas. Mrs. M. E. Kline, Mitchell. Huron, South Dakota, Sept. 13, 1890 My Dear Mrs. Stone Knowing how anxious you are about our campaign, & in reply to your of recent date, I take time to say, that I am doing & shall do all I can for the suffrage cause till Nov. 4th. After my state convention that meets 18 to 22 I shall put in every possible night for campaign work, but it is useless to disguise the fact that the cause is losing ground. Nearly every man I meet & letters that SOUTH DAKOTA WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION. "Remember Them that are in Bonds as Bound with Them" Pres. Mrs. H. M. Barker, Huron. Vice Pres. and Organizer, Mrs. E. A. Cranmer, Aberdeen. Cor. Sec. Mrs. F. M. Swift, Yankton. Rec. Sec. Mrs. D. W. Myers, Vermillion. Treas. Mrs. M. E. Kline, Mitchell. ______ South Dakota, ...2 ...18__ come all state the same feeling. I think several grave mistakes have been made. I urged the com. & Miss A_ to have no foreign speakers except organizers till Sept. Then every one would be curious & the aroused enthusiasm would not have time to subside. But we have had a continual stream of speaking all through the summer & the people are sick & tired of it & will not come out. Then if you have the Ruralist you will see that our official suf. organ is a rabid 3d party paper that is abusing our SOUTH DAKOTA WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION. "Remember Them that are in Bonds as Bound with Them" Pres. Mrs. H. M. Barker, Huron. Vice Pres. and Organizer, Mrs. E. A. Cranmer, Aberdeen. Cor. Sec. Mrs. F. M. Swift, Yankton. Rec. Sec. Mrs. D. W. Myers, Vermillion. Treas. Mrs. M. E. Kline, Mitchell. _________, South Dakota, .....3... 18__ Republican leaders from whom we expected help. The fact that the suffrage office is in with Alliance & Ruralist has antaganized many. Again the shameful & uncalled for attack upon the old com. has lost the cause hundreds of votes. I judge this from hearing so many say, the cause has gone back ever since the 8th of July. Had Miss A_ done by the old com. as she has been obliged to do by the new, turn in the contributions & help pay the bills there would have been no break & our [*SOUTH DAKOTA WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION. "Remember Them that are in Bonds as Bound with Them" Pres. Mrs. H. M. Barker, Huron. Vice Pres. and Organizer, Mrs. E. A. Cranmer, Aberdeen. Cor. Sec. Mrs. F. M. Swift, Yankton. Rec. Sec. Mrs. D. W. Myers, Vermillion. Treas. Mrs. M. E. Kline, Mitchell. __________ South Dakota, ...4...18__ prospects would be far brighter today. Miss Anthony is working hard & I believe is doing all she can & just what she thinks will bring about the best results but we do not all see things alike. I have not yet met your husband Hear good reports of his work Hope to meet him ere long. Mrs. Fessenden is here & will fill [?] till 25th. Yours sincerely H.M. Barker Transcribed and reviewed by contributors participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.