The WOMEN'S COUNCIL PEACE PARADE FOR THE PREVENTION OF FUTURE WARS took place on Sunday, 18 May 1924, when 5,000 (sometimes given as 3,600) women marched down Euclid Ave., from E. 24th to E. 3rd St. and Lakeside. The parade, designed to encourage a "will to peace in the world" and "to prevent war . . . ," was organized by the Women's Council for the Prevention of War and the Promotion of Peace, chaired by Helen Chase (Mrs. Edward S.) Bassett. Following its 1921 national convention in Cleveland, the local LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS helped organize the council, later modeled by the Natl. Committee on the Cause and Cure of War.
Although participants represented more than 40 organizations and institutions, controversy surrounded the parade. The American Legion and the Chamber of Commerce opposed it, labeling the women as unpatriotic, Soviet-inspired radicals, and writing letters of complaint to the secretary of war. Ex-servicemen countered by circulating petitions of support. Despite the dissension and stormy weather, at 3 P.M. on 18 May marchers gathered at Euclid Ave. and E. 24th. Groups included the WOMEN'S CITY CLUB, the Judges & Jurors Assn., the Polish Singing Society, the Daughters of America, the Daughters of the Civil War, the Campfire Guardians, more than a dozen Parent-Teacher Assns., and a girls' marching band from Glenville High School. More than 500 university students and many mothers' groups also participated.
Police chief JACOB GRAUL and a mounted police escort led the march, followed by State Supreme Court Judge FLORENCE ALLEN; next came city councilwoman MARIE WING. The Gold Star Mothers who "now marched to proclaim their objective: no more sons for wars" followed. The YWCA represented "Women of All Nations," dressed in national attire. The Businesswomen's Assn., calling themselves the Flanders Poppy Div., wore Red Cross nurses' caps and carried poppies in memory of soldiers buried overseas. Turning the corner at E. 6th St., the parade marched to City Hall, past a reviewing stand of city officials, clergy, and elderly women, including Kate Crocker, widow of a Civil War soldier.