The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1889-01-25


Again, married woman needs oman.
cipation to endow her with her right oil
maternity. AS the laws now are, mar
ried woman Is the only woman who has
no right to children. A single woman,
q divorced woman, and widow have a
right to children. A single woman, a
divorced woman, and widow have q
right to children, but q married woman
has no right at all to her children; for
by having her rights suspended during
coyerture" she sinks from a woman In
law to a chattel In law; and cliattel
can not have q right TO children. Child:
rem born in wedloCk must have divorced
mothers In order to secure any legal
right to their mothers care, for their
mothers arc slaves, and the children Of
the slave are owned by one who owns
the slave. The harlot is protected In
her right to her child fourteen years,
while the lawful wife has no protection
whatever after the tender age.
Such laws as these give a premium on
inTidelity and the social evil, and are 0
disgrace to Christian civilization; and
yet this Is the marriage law to-day In
Christian America
Emancipation Is the only remedy fol
this evil. Change married woman's le.
gal status from a Chattel 10 o woman and
she will then, and only till then, have
as good a right to her children born IN
lawful wedlOCk as the single woman has
to her children born outside OF wedlock,
And besides, the widow will then come
into possession Of the children and the
estate just as the father does In case oil
the mothers death. Then both slavery
and the prpbates are entombed in one
grave, Us they shouldbe Since the pro.
bate laws are the legitimate offspring OIL
slavery, 1t 10 proper they should be
buried together.
Mrs. Packard has had q personal ex'
perience which first caused her to realize
the necessity Of such a law. When quite
a young woman she was torn from her
home and children by officers on q
trumped up charge Of insanity by her
husband. Her property was in his pos
session and she was deprived OF eye ry
privilege she had enjoyed, When the
public learned othur persecution and at
tempted To rescue her from her false i'm
prisonment by a habeas corpus the judge
declined to interfere because he could
fnd no such "person" In law us Mrs
Packard. Being married woman she
had no legal existence, her personality
being merged In her husband, and only
through him could the writ DO applied
for. AS no would not consent, the
habtas corpus could not be secured, and
IL was only through an uprising Of the
people Of the town, who SympathlSed
with her, that she was finally released
and her sanity proven before jury In
court. When she attempted TO regain
possession Of her property and children
she was told by tho Supreme Court there
was no help for hOr Unless she regained
her legal Identity by a divorce. This
was In Illinois. She followed her hus.
band 10 Massachusetts,, where he had
fed to escape a mob, and there she was
told In substance by the Supreme Court!
~ cannot adjudlCatO your case With:
out you got q divorce, for married
women have no right 10 children No
matter how well qualified you are, ! can
give you no child while you are . mar:
fled woman, since the common law Of
married slavery has annulled your ma
teFnal rights entirely. Become o single
woman 6y divorce and then your iderti::
N Is restored, and you then have o legal
capacity 70 Claim your children, and !
caii then decree that you shall have your
children. But | can't before Under
youF present laws children must bB born
IllpYitlmatply In order 70 Insure 4
mothvt's right 10 her ChildW
The subject IL one Of absorbing inter
eel, and may give rise 10 a long debate
In The Legislature, The bill, II passed,