, 1876-04-29
Women Law ycrs.

Chief Justice Ryan, Of the supreme court
of Wisconsin. has refused to admit Miss
Goodelto the bar ofhis court, on the ground
that "thc legislature never contemplated such
confusion of the sexes" but intended that
men only should he lawyers. Unqucstiom
be, says the Mem Yo,h 2ribuae, the Judge is
so lar right. All attempts, by quibbling
construction of the statutes and constitutions
to procure for women privileges and fran
chiscs from which, from time immemorial,
they lnlvc been lebnrrUd, are in themselves
absurd, and quite unworthy serious consider
alton. The fundamental laws Of govern
mcnt are not to be interpreted after such n
childish fashion. The men who made the
constitution of the United States did not in
tend 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 the prac.
tice of law intend that women should prac.
tice as lawyers These arc tic facts. Moth.
ing will be gained by the attempt to ignore
them, nor will any Judge who values his rep.
utaton base any decision upoh rule OF
construction so utterly loose.
We think, however, that having thus cor
rectly laid down the law, Judge Ryan should
have stopped. Having determined that there
was "no statutory provision for the admis-
sion Of females to the BAR there was little
need that his honor should enter into nm
elaborate argument against female lawyers.
This, we beg leave to suggest, was matter
not before him. THE peculiar qualities" " he
said, "of womanhood, its gentle graces, its
quick sensibility, its tender susceptibility,
its purity, its delicOcy, its emotional impuls
cs, its subordination of hard reason to SYM
petite feeling, are surely not qualifications
for forensic strife" All this is well said,
but it has been said before There may be
n reason in it why woman should not wish
to be lawyer. but there is no reason in it
why woman should not bc Il lawyer il she
wishes to be- for if she does wish to be,
then the presumption, according to the
judges theory, is that she is deficient in "thc
gentle graces,' "thc tender susCeptbilities, y
and "the emotional impulses" and will there,
fore break no law of her nature, ut least by
becoming an attorney. With all these fine
qualities, the judges ideal woman is not
likely to make the mistake lie dcprecntcs
and it is not merely possible but extremely
probable, if the profession of law were open
everywhere to women, thai the vast major
ity of them would continue to follow the
law Of their natures, and stay ut home with
the children.
We do not wonder that masculine minded
women sometimes get II little'angry with this
talk about "the emotional impulses" and
"the gentle gruccs" "the tender sensibiltics,
and "the sympathic feelings Does a man
then succeed MS lawyer only by being
coarse and hard and tough2 Our prolcs.
sion" said the judge, has essentially to do
with all that is selfish aud cNtOrtionnte, knav
ish and criminal, coarse and brutal, rcpul
siyc and obscene in human life Admitting
this, is not the same true of the clerical pro
lession : And do lawyers and clergymer
become sinners by the contact which is i'm
piled in defending criminals or in STRIVING
penitentsi Is the corolIory encouraging
that SO far as male lawyers are gentle, grace
ful, quickly sensitive, pure delicate, and
+ sympathetic, a large practice will inevitably
make thcm, by mcre rontagion, selfish