St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-03-02

yer. 1t was finally decided to make the
bill a special order for Tuesday after
noon.
| Senator Masterman's bill to appropri-
/ ate $1,000 for the relief of DR.. w. H.
Game, who was injured while in dis
charge of his duties as surgeon of the
| First battalion of artillery. at Lake
! City, was recommended to pass.
SENATORIAL COURTESY.
The bill to repeal the special law
relative to salaries in Jackson county
; was taken up on it's second reading.
Senator Sevatson opposed it because
it will allow the county commissioners
to fix the salary of the county attorney.
when it had been fixed by special law
approved by a vote of the people of
that county. He asked that the bill
be referred to the committee on towns
and counties. Senator Sevatson has
taken to heart the recommendation of
! the judiciary committee to pass the
bill, and thinks his wishes should have
i governed under the theory of senatorial
courtesy. The bill was not disposed
of when the senate took a recess to
, attend exercises in the house of repre-
sentatives pertaining to the reception
of the picture of Gen. Thomas. When
the senate was in session again it was
| ascertained that the judiciary COM
mittee had held session over the bin
again, and had referred it to special
committee, consisting of Senators Day,
Stevens and Sevatson.
AGE OF CONSENT TALK.
The judiciary committee of the sem
ate gave public hearing yesterday
afternoon upon the age of consent bill.
Senator Stevens presided. Martha Rip
ley, NJ. D., of Minneapolis, addressed
the committee in support of the bill as
originally presented. She had been
called to attend three girls recently
who were under twenty years of age,
and who had been betrayed by men
who were free to marry others before
their victims were out of sick beds.
She thought that the penalty was
light. AS physician, she found girls
are as susceptible to betrayal up to
the age of twenty as are boys under
fourteen years. She had found girls
very ignorant upon the question of the
relations of the sexes. If girls are not
competent to contract marriage or
handle property under the age of
eighteen, she thought they were not
competent to give consent at a younger
age in matters covered by the bill.
DR.. Ripley answered a number of
questions in relation to the scope of
the bill and its Importance, and proved
to be an able advocate of it's provis'
ions.
Senator McHale asked If the object
aimed at would not be reached by
the good mothers of the country keep
ing their daughters at home evenings
and prevent them from going to de-
moraiizing exhibitions. He alluded to
the women failing to support the anti
tights bill of four years ago.
DR.. Martha Ripley said that it was
often that daughters fell in the home
parlor, and it was hard to tell what
was the character of men often ad-
mitted to the home parlors. She gave
an instance of one young man in a
store at Minneapolis having ruined
seven girls.
Senator Stevens said that while the
usual sentiment of the committee was
in favor of the principle involved in
the bill, yet he hoped it would be re-
membered that the question under
consideration was that of the posi-
bility of it's reducing the frequency
of crime.
DR.. C. G. Highly, of st. Paul, in
speaking of the bill instanced cases
of where married men ruin girls and
others are enticed to ruin from meet
ings of working girls on the streets.
He thought the law could provide
against cases of blackmail
Mrs. Taber, of Minneapolis, spoke
earnestly in urging the passage of the
bill as drafted.
DR.. Ripley read letters and cited au-
thorities in favor of the bill. She said
she would never ask the right of suf-
frage for women if men would enact
laws to do justice to women. She spoke
of rape cases being generally perpe-
trated by men of mature years.
Father Heffron, of st. Paul, said
that he thought the people favor such
bill. He believed that the time to do
something has come. He would not
hazard an opinion as to the probable
ity of enforcing the more stringent
laws, yet he could not see why men
who destroy girls under the age of
sixteen years should get off with three
months in the county jail. His OBJ
servation led him to believe it wise
legislation to raise the age of consent
to eighteen years, and he finds strong
sentiment in that direction.
d. K. Noyes expressed a sincere con-
V1ct1on of the need of the law.
JUDGE Mcmillan followed with a
speech in support of the bill, as did
also others. The committee will hold
another public. meeting next week to
hear the petitioners in favor of the
measure.