The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1871-11-30

islatiOn Needed.
LlTcnP1ELD, MIMI, Nov. 21st. 1871.
EDITOR JounNAL.-On Saturday, tho
18th inst, tho engineers surveying a rail-
road route from St. Cloud southwa ard reach
ed our town, and even so slight prospect
Of cross railroad gave our people great
satisfaction. We hope to see in the spring
more certain evidence Of the north and
south road. Such o road will materially
benefit wide range CT splendid country
through which It will pass. Hon. J. P.
Wilson, of St. Cloud, and Hon. ]. NJ. Wal
dron, with Engineer Mckenzie, made o
visit to Greenleaf preliminary to the formal
survey of the route between here and
there ...,.>
While Meeker country is thoroughly Re-
publican on any party ISSUE, yet the voters
arc inclined to be Independent OF party
claims ill voting for County officers. While
the State and Legislative Republican ticket
received an average Of say 800 majority,
following officers by the majorities named:
sheriff, VIM. NJ. Campbell (re-elected),
3l4; Treasurer, Hamlet Stevens, 2; Clerk
of Court, S. W. Leavitt, ll6. The Republic
cans had good ticket in the field, but
the Democrats made hercu]ean efforts, and
Campbell and Stevens (both running
against strong Republican candidates),
were old settlers, acquainted with almost
every person in the county, and temperate,
honest, capable men, and they seem to have
appealed not in vain to the voters. Camp
bell has made as good a Sheriff AZ any coun-
ty ever had, and everybody expected his
reelection.
The steam mill building of Adams, Wal
dron, Braden and Brill is raised and en-
closed, and will be in full running order in
a few weeks. 1t is located on the outlet to
Lake Ripley, near the railroad track,
where shipments Of -four by rail will be
rendered easy. We are all proud Of our
mill, as it meets q want that has been seri-
ously felt ever since the town started.
Some novelist has written story enti-
tied "Hedged H." But there lives near here
lady who in real life is heaged in. For
alledged cruel and inhuman treatment she
left her husband, and sued for divorce.
Owning before her marriage, in her own
name, quarter section Of land, much Of
which was under cultivation, she this last
spring sought to cultivate it, but her hus-
band having men at work on it nominally
was in possession. He raised large crop
| Of wheat and oats and she sued him for
damages to her land. The Legislature in
1869 passed q long law providing that
married women should, "during overture,
receive, take, hold, use and enjoy proper
ty of any and euery description, and the
rents, issues and profits thereof free from
the control of her husband as fully as if
she s0as unmarried" Of course, if she had
| rights as freely as if unmarried, she was
entitled to damages for trespass by any one.
Yet the District Court has dismissed her
case. She also iu her divorce case asked
for an allowance to enable her to carry on
her suit, but was only allowed $25. Her
husband is considered very wcslthy-at
least he has sold lately 1000 or {, 1000 BUSH
els of grain-yet between her husband and
the laws Of Minnesota (as interpreted by
the Court) she IS ''hedged i'm for the pres
ent so that not enjoying the profits of her
own separate property, her husband (who
does enjoy them) pays but $26 rent for a
quarter section near Litchfeld. If after so
much noise about the rights of married wo-
men to their "separate property" they have
no rights, if that property happens to be
real estate, then the Solons in the Legisla-
ture of 1869 must have passed the law re-
ferred to on the morning succeeding some
champagne supper. I do not blame our
judge. He is honest and able, (yet my
very humble opinion is that he is wrong in
this decision) but our Legislature this win
ter should look to that statute, and either
repeal it entirely, or give women the
"game" as we'll as the s'name' of right
to the rents and profits of every description
of their separate property the same as if
unmarried. VOYAGER.