PROTECTION OF MATERNITY. 
7 
The Chairman. Do the proponents of the measure desire to be 
heard? Possibly they may have some one here who desires to be 
heard. 
Senator Shortridge. Has anything been discussed as to the hear 
ing of this bill on the bill that you introduced the other day ? 
The Chairman. No, this is all put in the Child’s Labor Bureau. 
The Child’s Labor Bureau—this has nothing to do with that other 
‘bill. 
Mrs. Kilbreth. I should like to be heard, Mr. Chairman. 
STATEMENT OF MARY G. KILBRETH, REPRESENTING THE 
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OPPOSED TO WOMAN SUFFRAGE. 
Mrs. Kilbreth. If the chairman please, and gentlemen of the com 
mittee, I am very sorry that I did not know earlier of this hearing. I 
regret that I was given such short notice, because I am very inex 
perienced in the matter of speaking, and I had very good speakers 
representing some very large organizations who would have come 
and made statements before your committee. I do not want to take 
up the exact text of the bill, because I think that has been very fully 
and very thoroughly discussed before this time. However, I would 
like to speak for a moment in regard to the conventions’ pledges. 
Now, it has been said that both parties are equally committed to it. 
I do not think that that is quite a correct statement of the facts. 
This so-called welfare program was an issue at both of the political 
conventions, and I would say that equal pressure was brought to 
bear on both of the political conventions of the two great parties, 
and the Republican convention did not mention this bill at all, 
avoided it altogether, in the general pledge for the welfare program, 
but there was no question with the people with whom I talked but 
it was a great issue at that time in the platform struggle, before the 
platform committee, and they decided not to indorse the paternalism 
and socialistic features of this welfare measure. 
Senator Phipps. Did you attend the two political conventions ? 
Mrs. Kilbreth. Yes; I attended the two political conventions. 
Senator Phipps. In what capacity did you attend the two political 
conventions ? What organization did you represent ? 
Mrs. Kilbreth. I represented the National Association Opposed 
to Woman Suffrage. This organization is still in existence, simply 
while pending the decision in our case in the Supreme Court. 
The Chairman. Who are your officers ? 
Mrs. Kilbreth. You have it on the letterhead there, Mr. Chairman. 
I am president, and you will find all of the officers there on that 
letterhead. 
Now, Mr. Chairman, what I want to speak about is the convention 
pledge. It was undoubtedly an issue at the two conventions, and 
the Republican convention was less committed to the bill than was 
the Democrat convention. In fact, Senator Lodge made no refer 
ence to paternalism in his speech, whereas Chairman Carter Glass 
said that he had put these bills in bodily, and said that they had 
put in everything that the women had asked for, and that if anything 
had been forgotten they would be glad to put that in. 
Now, Mr. Chairman, I recognize that the cost of this is not the 
controlling argument in this thing, but certainly this bill would tend