The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1880-09-23
For the New. .Northwest.l
a LAWYERS DREAM OF THE YEAR 1900
BY FILIUs LEGIs.


1t was half cloudy, half sunshiny day in June
1880. All nature, in the sky and on the EARTH
was tugging at the wheat fields lifting the choicest
Of breadstuffs out of the ground for man. / was
sitting in my dngy office. A few hours before
had read Judge Deady's eloquent and hopeful re-
marks at st. Helen's Hall about the future of
woman, and had pondered considerably on the
poets idea, quoted by him. that 'WOman was to
man as perfect music set TO noblest wOrds.n
wondered if this to be confined to the cOniuga
relation, or was to become practical in all the
latiOns Of life, business and otherwise "a if the
whole earth was to become the equal birthright to
place position, pursuit profit pleasure, gain am
bition, government Judiciary, and all things good
for the human race. And l couldn't see why not
1 was perplexed with thinking over the many
changes that would have to be yet wrought before
the protecting and governing sex could be gen.
orally induced TO fOrego their claim of property in
women and children, and their resultant right to
fix up laws and governments TO protect their said
property was also perplexed with a miserable
divorce case, wherein was attempting to stretch
the crude law of ''cruel and inhuman treatment
and personal indignities rendering life burden
some' over case of most villainous incOmpati-
bility. Thus perpleXed and worried, | fell asleep
Presently awakened, and it was the year 1900
1 did not think strange of this 1t seemed all
right, although twenty years had rushed down
the abyss of time since as / recolected Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone
Abigail Scott Duniway, Lille Devereux Blake,
and numerous other saviors of their sex, had in
augurated " IVOmd'S Rights" upon this planet
and l recollected also that had become "A thor
ough convert to the theory that woman, by ma
ture was the hCiH of man, and ought TO have all
the rights TO and upon this earth that man had
including all business pursuits and the professions
recollected, further that the Fourteenth Amend
ment forbade any State to deprive any Dcrson of
life, liberty property without due process of
law and that Congress had power to pass laws
to enforce said rights. I believed that women
would yet 90 there TO legslate on that amend
ment.
/ was, therefore, not surprised at all when. on
waking, l found that l had lady partner in the
practice of the law. She was beautiful and ac-
complished, both as a woman and as a LAWYER
Her name on our sign was 'Clara Media Nontalda
Dashiel,' while mine, that had been once plain
Bob Jones, was now "Don Joseph Constantine
Amiego." All this did not seem strange for
there, open before me, was a statute "for the i'm
prOvement of human Names" passed several
years before that time by the euphonious influence
of lady Members of Congress, which statute au-
thOrized parties, upon marriage, to take the name
Of either party; also, that any person could
change his or her name by making public record
thereof in the county in book kept for that pur-
pose. Nor I much surprised that my little
dingy, oRe-horse Office, over a noisy, blathering
saloon, had changed, and Oltr office was now
palatial corner block, with numerous rooms and
departments for different business-gentlemen
coming from one street, and ladies from another.
The change in the rights of property had made a
great change necessary in modes of business. 1t
was found that women, unframed for ages i'm busi-
ness had a comparatively unequal development
of brain i'm that direction and that they were no
match against the long-used faculties of the gem
erations of men who had universally looked upon
the other sex as their natural prey in marrying
for money" and in getting away the property Of
their wives after marriage etc, etc. So there had
been passed laws forbidding all transfers of
money or property between parties marrying or
contemplating marriage, except for full money
property value. Courts and laws of trusts had
been established, so that most of the property,
legacies, gifts and means Of all women, married or
single, had become entrusted to great and honOra-
bic law firms, and that profession had in conse-
quence risen in public importance and favor until
ii stood as high or higher than the bankers In
these offices, investments were made of the funds
OF almost all married women, and the estates OF
children and single women; and thus the old in
grained disposition of man to appropriate the
property Of woman was repressed and cut of. Bv
amendments in the marriage laws and customs. a
perfect equality as to rights Of courtship, and the
securing of proper union and the support of off
spring, had been established. The funds and in
come and labor of each alike liable, and a
wifes days work, keeping house or taking care of
her children, rated at the same wages as her
husbands work in the field shop, store or office