A Women’s Voice so calm

(“No brass bands. No speeches. Instead a still, silent, effective influence.”—Anti-suffrage speech.)

We are waging—can you doubt it?
   A campaign so calm and still
No one knows a thing about it
   And we hope they never will.
          No one knows
          What we oppose,
   And we hope they never will.

We are ladylike and quiet,
   Here a whisper—there a hint;
Never speeches, bands or riot,
   Nothing suitable for print.
          No one knows
          What we oppose,
   For we never speak for print.

Sometimes in profound seclusion,
   In some far (but homelike) spot,
We will make a dark allusion:
   “We’re opposed to you-know-what.”
          No one knows
          What we oppose,
For we call it “You-Know-What.”

A Suggested Campaign Song by Alice Duer Miller 1874 – 1942

Alice Duer Miller was born on July 28, 1874, in Staten Island, New York. In 1895, she attended Barnard College.

Miller’s work influenced women’s suffrage, and her satirical poetry collection Are Women People? (George H. Doran Company, 1915) became a slogan for the movement. Her verse novel, The White Cliffs (Coward-McCann Incorporated, 1940), was considered influential to the United States’ entry into World War II. The book was also adapted into the film The White Cliffs of Dover (1944). Miller was also the author of numerous screenplays. Her other work in poetry and prose includes Forsaking All Others (Simon and Schuster, 1933); Women Are People! (New York Tribune, 1917); and Come Out of the Kitchen (The Century Co, 1916). 

Alice Duer Miller died on August 22, 1942, in New York City.