New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-03-17
UO.uEy I.iUYEES.

Chicf-.Iu Ryan of the Supreme Court Of
Wisconsin has refused to admit Miss GoodeIl
10 the bar of his court. on The ground that
"thc Legislature never contemplated such
! confusion OF the -gNr~," but intended that
men only should be- lawyers. UnQuc'tionabIy
the Judge i, 80 far right. All attempts, by a
ouibbling construction of statutes and constl-
tutiou-. TO procure for women privileges and
franchises from which, from time immc-
mortal, they have been dcbarrcd, are in
Themselves absurd, aud quite unworthy
of serious consideration. 1lD fundamental
laws of government are not to be
interpreted after such q childish fashion. The
men who made the Constitution Of the United
STATE. did not intend that women should vote.
Those who made the State Constitutions did
not dream of such thing Nor did those
who have heretofore made statutes regulating
tho practice of law intend that women should
practice IL lawyer. These are the facts.
Nothing will be gained by the attempt 10 ig-
more them, nor will any Judge who values his
reputation base any decisions upon rule of
construction 80 utterly loose.
We think, however, that having thus cor
rcctly laid down the law, Judge Ryan should
have stopped. Having determined that there
was "no statutory provision for the admission
of females to the bar there was little need
that His Honor should enter into an elaborate
argument against Female Lawyers. This, we
beg leave To suggest, WAS matter not before
him. "The peculiar qualities he said, of
womanho0d, il, gentle graccs, is quick
sensibility, it, tender susceptibility, its
"puritv, it's drliCacy, lis emotional impulses,
if, Standardization of hard reason To sympa-
thetic feeling, are surely not qualifications
" for forensic strife All this is well said, but
il has been said before. There may be IA reason
in if why a woman should not wish to be Il
LAWYER. but there is no reason in it why a
woman should not be n lawyer if she wishes
TO be- for if she does wish TO he, then the
prcsumption, according 10 tho Judges theory,
is that she i, deficient in the gentle graceS,'
1.-THE tender su~ccptibiliticS." and the emo
| tional impulses" and will therefore break
no law of her nature at least by becoming an
attorney. With all these fine qualities, the
Judges ideal woman is not likely to make the
mistake winch he dcprccates; and 1t Is not
merely possible but extremely probable, II
the profession of law were open everywhere
to women, that the vast majority of them
would continue Ia follow the law of their ma
lures, and stay ut home with the children.
", do not wonder that masculine minded
women sometimes get little angry with this
! talk about the gentle gIaccs and E" the ten
"dcr susccptibilitics.' "thc emotional i'm
! "pu.cs" and 1.-THE sympathetic feelings"
! Docs man then succeed aS a lawyer only by
being coarse and hard aud fought "Our
profession" said the Judge, has essentially
to do with all that is selfish and cNtortionatc,
"Lnayish and criminal, coarse and brutal, re-
"pulsiye and obscene in human life" Admit
| ting this, is not the same true of the clerical
! profession? And do lawyers or clergymcn be-
come sinners by the contact which is implied
in defending criminals or in STRIVING penitcnts
! Il the corollIry encouraging that SO
! far as male lawyers are gently grace
| ful. quickly sensitive. pure delicate,
| and sympathetic, large practice will
inevitably make them, 10y mere contagion,
"selfisi, knavish. coarse, and obSccncT a
| court of Justice when student offers himself
| for admission to the bar, inquiries whether he
has read Blackstone and Story and Gritty
and Comyn thoroughly; and whether ho Ia of
age and of good moral character but we have
never heard OF Judge who asked such u can
didaie about his susceptblitics" and "emo-
"tional mpulScs' 1t is taken for granted
that the lad has pluck aud muscle enough tor