[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 114 (Friday, July 14, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S10011]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 21--RELATIVE TO THE PORTRAIT MONUMENT

  Mr. STEVENS (for himself, Mr. Ford, Mr. Dole, Mr. Daschle, Mr. 
Hatfield, Mr. Pell, Mr. Helms, Mr. Moynihan, Mrs. Kassebaum, Mrs. 
Hutchison, Ms. Mikulski, and Mr. D'Amato) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; ordered to be held at the desk:

                            S. Con. Res. 21

       Whereas in 1995, women of America are celebrating the 75th 
     anniversary of their right to participate in our government 
     through suffrage;
       Whereas Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. 
     Anthony were pioneers in the movement for women suffrage and 
     the pursuit of equal rights; and
       Whereas, the relocation of the ``Portrait Monument'' to a 
     place of prominence and esteem in the Capitol Rotunda would 
     serve to honor and reserve the contribution of thousands of 
     women: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That the Architect of the Capitol shall restore 
     the ``Portrait Monument'' to its original state and place it 
     in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol.

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I want to call attention to the Senate 
that on August 26, Americans will celebrate the 75th anniversary of 
women's suffrage.
  On August 26, 1920, the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution 
granting women the right to vote was ratified in the State legislatures 
of the country after having been sent to the States by the Congress of 
the United States.
  Alaska was in the forefront of the suffrage movement. Few people know 
that during the mining days that preceded this century, in the last 
part of the last century and the early part of this century, women 
voted in the mining camps in the organization of local governments in 
our territory.
  As a matter of fact, the first act of the first territorial 
legislature in Alaska was to grant women the right to vote. That 1913 
resolution said that:

       In all elections that are now or may hereafter be 
     authorized by law in the Territory of Alaska or any 
     subdivision or municipality thereof, the elective franchise 
     is hereby extended to such women as have the qualifications 
     of citizens required of male electors.

  It just so happens that E.B. Collins, who was my first senior partner 
when I went to Alaska and practiced in Fairbanks, was the speaker of 
the first house of representatives in that territorial legislature. He 
said to me that he felt like giving women the right to vote was one of 
his greatest victories in the days of the Territory of Alaska. I am 
sure he would be pleased to know today, that his position as speaker of 
the State of Alaska is held by an Alaskan woman, Gail Phillips of 
Homer, AK, and the president of our Alaska State Senate is Drue Pearce, 
another successful Alaska woman.
  Unfortunately, history has not fully recognized the role that these 
courageous suffragists have played in our history. While a statue was 
commissioned to honor those women involved in the process, it has been 
relegated to the basement of the Capitol and faces a back wall. At one 
time, the inscription was actually painted over with whitewash.
  In our Rotunda, most of the statues honor Presidents, and as we know, 
all to date have been men. Someday I hope the Rotunda will be graced 
with a statue of the first female President. Until then, it is my hope 
to honor the role women have played by moving the women's suffrage 
statue up to the place of honor it should have in the Rotunda. So today 
I am sending to the desk a resolution directing the Architect of the 
Capitol to move the women's statue from the basement into the Rotunda 
before August 26.
  Mr. President, this concurrent resolution is cosponsored by Senators 
Dole, Ford, Hatfield, Pell, Helms, Moynihan, Kassebaum, Hutchison, and 
Mikulski.
  I ask unanimous consent that it be held at the desk until the close 
of business Monday so all Senators who may wish to do so may cosponsor 
it, and then having cleared this with the minority and majority, I ask 
that it be held on the calendar until such time as the leadership will 
bring it to a vote, which I hope will be very soon.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I thank this young lady, Sherry Little, 
who works on the Rules Committee staff, who brought this statue to my 
attention.
  I thank the Senator from Michigan for his courtesy.
  

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