Historic Pinole: Women Oppose SF Annexation of East Bay Cities

This week's Historic Pinole mentions the formation of a women's club in Pinole to oppose a proposal for San Francisco to absorb the cities of Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley.

The anti-annexation idea apparently had drawn protests across California, including in Richmond, where "the contemplated legislation will be assailed as detrimental to the best interests of that community," according to a 1912 newspaper article.

From the context of the story, it's hard to say exactly why the group of Pinole women joined the fray or what the local men thought about the issue — not to mention why cities as far away as Red Bluff registred their interest. Keep in mind that this happened eight years before ratification of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote in all state and federal elections.

In any case, it's interesting to note that there had been an effort to combine the cities into one super-city, and that at least some Pinole residents didn't like the idea.

Such is history, where one answer leads to numerous questions.

This article is from the Oct. 15, 1912 edition of the San Francisco Call newspaper. We post it with the original spelling, punctuation and capitalization.

Women Awaken State in 'Anti' Annexation Fight

OAKLAND. Oct. 14.—Women of the east bay cities are warming vigorously to the fight in the latter days of the campaign against the proposed consolidation amendment, by the terms of which it is proposed the annexation of Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda to San Francisco be made possible.

The women's auxiliary of the Alameda County league is directing the fight throughout the state for the feminine voters. Mrs. Sarah C. Borland of the advisory committee of the body said today the work is bearing fruit in all parts of California.

Letters are being received by her from the heads of women's clubs in many interior cities saying these organizations are doing all they can to bring about the defeat of the measure.

Meetings are being arranged both with and without the assistance of the local women and a general sentiment against the amendment has been aroused, according to the leaders of the local movement.

Meanwhile the work is going forward rapidly in all parts of Alameda county, directly supervised by the Oakland women suffragists. Many meeting have been arranged for the next two weeks, when women speakers will be heard who have been trained for public speaking by the women's auxiliary.

The Richmond club will meet October 28, at which time the contemplated legislation will be assailed as detrimental to the best interests of that community. The club is composed of the leading women of Richmond.

OTHER MEETINGS SCHEDULED

This is one of the meetings scheduled for the eastside section, many of which have already been announced by Mrs. Borland. Having completed many of the arrangements for the finish of the campaign in Alameda county, the women have their fight in person to the adjoining countie(s). One of these meetings will be held soon at Pinole, where a new women's club has been formed to take a hand in the battle. A large membership roll has been secured and at the early mass meeting the women will be told by a local woman orator of the alleged menace to this side of the bay that lies in the consolidation amendment. Mrs. Kate V. Hall is president of the new club.

The town hall in Orland will be the scene of a gathering of the members of the Orland Improvement club some time this week. Mrs. A. E. Baugh is president of the organization. Meetings will also be held this week in Los Gatos under the direction of the Women's Civic league of that city, and in many other nearby towns and cities,

The officials of the Alameda County league, under whose banner the men are waging their campaign, claim to have unearthed dissension in San Francisco, the birthplace of the annexation idea. They assert that they have received a flood of letters from residents of that city saying that they are opposed to annexation and will vote against it November 5. The names of the letter writers are being withheld. One of these letters states that "San Francisco fears Oakland by reason of her splendid progress and hopes to check it by these means."

PROMINENT MEN IN FIGHT

Squadrons of speakers, among them some prominent business men and public officials, are leaving the city for tours of the interior. Others are returning from similar speaking tours with accounts of the feeling which they have heard expressed against the measure in the cities they visited.

Harry Pulcifer, W. H. Wellbye and John B. Jordan left for a trip which will take them into Sonoma and Napa counties. Walter G. Manuel, A. L. Lavenson, Peter J. Crosby and City Attorney Ben F. Woolner have returned from a tour, in the course of which they spoke in Woodland. Willows, Red Bluff, Redding, Chico, Oroville, Marysville and other cities. The league is daily taking clippings from interior papers showing that many have espoused the cause of the cities this side of the bay.

This article comes from the California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cdnc. The collection has digitzed more than 400,000 images from newspapers in the 19th and 20th centuries. Images dated between 1846 and 1922 are in the public domain and not subject to copyright.