Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1889-09-10
FAIR MODERN PORTIAS.
Not Yet On the Bench But at the
the Bar.



which perhaps cannot be duplicated,
even In this era Of women's clubs, In
any city OF the world. Its members are
the women lawyers and law students of
the Hub. This legal fraternity or perhaps
j had best say sorority, meets on Satur-
day afternoons In private dining room
in down town hotel. where IL eats good
dinner and discusses many things besides
Blackstone. Indeed, IL the testimony Of
occasionally invited outsiders, whose ma
tron saint Is not the fair Portia. 10 to be
admitted. these lights OF the bar have
as can be boasted by any society In the
modern Athens
In Italy there was. they say. In the Mid
die ages, n woman professor of law who
was so beautiful that when she lectured
they placed n screen In front OF her that
the students might not see her face and
pine for love Of her. No modern wo-
man would be kept out OF court by the
fear Of such susceptibility on the part Of
the Jury, but In the minds OF many it
must be confessed that the calling and
election Of the woman lawyer are not as
clear as the woman In medicine. Never
theiess the success achieved by most OF
the women who have entered the profess
sion proves that they have q place In 1t,
and. in the West especially the woman Of
law Is becoming the essential Importance
IN all the varied movements In which her
sex Is engaged. u Nl NE
London has woman conveyancer who
10 said TO do good business and to give
satisfaction to irer clients. In France q
legal diploma has been awarded TO Mile.
| Chsuvelin. In RuIsia there are professors
Of the St. Petersburg faculty who lecture
on law before the wonen's courses, though
women are forbidden by the Government
10 engage In legal practice. This country
Is the only one which has any appreciabls
number OF women lawyers rs lft.
1t is only twenty years this month sinos
the first woman made an attempt to gain
admission to the bar. but the number OF
women lawyers has Increased 80 rapidly
that at the Woman's Congress In Wash
iugton last year woman's International
Bar Association was formed. The pur-
poses set forth In its constitution ars to
open law schools TO women. to remove all
disabilities OF admission TO the bar aud the
bench, to spread information as 70
woman's legal status and TO better her
legal condition. The first Board Of Officers
elected was As follows: President, Cath.
erineV. Waite, of Chicago: General SEQ
retary. Ada NJ. Bittenbender. Lincoln.
Neb.; Treasurer. ]. Ellen Foster. OF Iowa;
Secretary for the United States. Leila J.
Robinson. OF Boston. Mass. with secreta.
ries for all the foreign countries repre-
sented by legal delegates.
There are representative women lawyers,
though the most famous practicing woman
lawyer In the country Is our friend Belva
lockwood, whose campaign for the Presi-
dency on the platform OF the Equal Rights
Party afforded us so much Innocent
amusement In 1854 and again last fall.
Mrs. lockwood has gone to Europe this
Summer as co-delegate with a woman
preacher, the Rev. Amanda Deyo. TO the
International Peace Convention, but that
Is no reason why should not say behind
her back that she Is very clever woman
who will never let her bread drop butter
side down.
Belva Lockwood was q pra ctitioner In
several OF the lower courts Of the District
Of Columbia, but was debarred the privi.
ieges okthe Supreme Court until she se.
cured the passage OF an act OF Congress In
1879 preventing the exclusion OF women.
She graduated from the National Univer-
slty Law School and edited for some years
the Legal Ncics. published In Chicago.
She has been counsel for the defense In
numbers OF murder trials, and has 1900
clients who are applicats for places on the
pension rolls. She Is not an exceptionally
clever lawyer, In spite OF these achieve.
ment, having small gift Of logic or power
OF consecutive thought, but is rather a
woman OF strong personality, much ex.
ecutive ability, and a talent for getting
there on schedule time. She has genius
for advertising, and Is quite aware that to
address 1900 people In a month at fair
grangers' reunions and the like. TO be Is.
corted to grand stands by torchlight pro
eessions and bands OF music will make
ones practice grow. Mrs. Lockwood II
something more than afty years old. ID
personally popular. and has afetching way
In conversation. Her hair is gray. her
mouth mobile and her face expressive.
The woman doctor was born on the At
lantIc seatoard and migrated toward ths
Pacific coast In praire schooner. but
the woman lawyer is a true product Of th,
Western soil In June. 1869. Arabella A
Mansfield applied to the Iowa bar Al
Mount Pleasant for examination for ad
mission as an attorney, aud was received
without hesitation. A year earlier Phpb,
Cousins, since famous as United State.
Marshal, had begun her law studies al
the Washington University Law School
St. Louis, aud two months later Mrs
Myra Bradweli, OF Chicago. engaged Il
the frat contest over the admissionof I
woman TO the bar. Mrs Bradwell's nam,
was brought before the Supreme Court O
| Illinois, some OF whose members were II
sympathy with hsr canse. Tho poin
made against her was that being mar
ried woman and hence incompetent I,
make contraots abe was ineligible. Mrs
Bradwell pleaded her own cause in al
able brief aud the court shifted It's grount
10 general disability on tho score Of sex
Finally, the case went to ths Unitet
States Supreme Court where Senator Mat
Carpenter appeared for her. The decision
was adverse, though Chief Justice Chas
dissented from the illiberal opinion.
Other OF the earlier women lawyers wer
Ada II. Keply. Of Efffngham, H.. VIII,
graduated At the Union College o
Law In 1870 and was admitted 10 the ba
at her home without opposition. and Mrs
]. Ellen Foster. who was admitted TO tn,
bar In Iowa in 1872. and who was durini
this last campaign the most prominent Re
public an In the country In pettiocats, be
ing chairman OF the woman's Nationa
Republican Committee Mrs. Foster wen
Into legal as well as domsatie partner
ship with her husband, the Arm name OF
the shingle being Foster 8 Foster. 70
years she has been dating RuiBhed as tenn
psrance advocate. Nearly all her worl
for the Womani Christian Temperanc
Union has been OF q legal character. Whel
that organization held its convention Il
New York last fall Mrs. Foster tried he
strength against Miss Willardb on tn
prohibition Issue and was defeated. Sh
calls the third party" "ProhiboerAts-
Mrl Foster Is % yeeSs old and has . In
face, with blus.s5a} sssS ana somswhA
Women of the law have tented thei
powers In other nslds than that Of dour
practice. MIRA Waite, tho hrst presiden
Of the Woman's Bar Association, won he
prominence by publishing tie Chicag
l.