there were delegates present from the Woman’s State Temperance Society.  The motion was carried, their credentials received, and every man and woman present became members of the convention.  A business committee of one from each State was appointed and a motion was made that Susan B. Anthony, secretary of the Woman’s Temperance Society, be added to the committee.  This opened the battle with the opposition and one angry and abusive speech followed another.  Abby Kelly Foster, the eloquent anti-slavery orator, tried to speak, but shouts of “order” drowned her voice and, after holding her position for ten minutes, she finally was howled down.

Almost the entire convention was composed of ministers of the Gospel.  Hon. Bradford R. Wood, of Albany, moved that, as there was a party present determined to introduce the question of woman’s rights and run it into the ground, the convention adjourn sine die.  He finally was persuaded to withdraw this and substitute a motion that a committee be appointed to decide who were members of the convention, although this had been settled at the opening of the meeting by the accepting of credentials.  This committee consisted of Mr. Wood, Rev. John Chambers, a Presbyterian clergyman of Philadelphia, and Rev. Condit, of New Jersey.  They were out fifteen minutes and reported that, as in their opinion the call for this meeting was not intended to include female delegates, and custom had not sanctioned the public action of women in similar situations, their credentials should be rejected.  And this after they already had been accepted!

Rev. Thomas Wentworth Higginson, pastor of the Unitarian church in Worcester, Mass., at once resigned from the business committee and withdrew from the meeting, as did also the women delegates and such gentlemen, including several ministers, as thought the ladies had been unjustly treated.  They met at Dr. Trail’s office and decided to call a Whole World’s Temperance Convention which should not exclude one-half the world, and that the half which was doing the most effective work for temperance.

After they left the Brick Church meeting there were many speeches made condemning the action of women in taking public part in any reforms, led by Rev. Fowler, of Utica, Rev. Hewitt, of Bridgeport, Conn., and Rev. Chambers.  The last said he rejoiced that the women were gone, as they were “now rid of the scum of the convention.”  Mayor Barstow, who had threatened to resign rather than put the motion that Miss Anthony should be on the business committee, made a speech which the press declared too indecent to be reported.  It must be remembered that this entire discussion was founded on the mere proposal to place Miss Anthony on a committee of a temperance meeting.  Horace Greeley handled these men without gloves in an article in the Tribune beginning: