Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1895-05-18

uniform consent, admiring her as the
mother of peace and joy.
This is Hooker's definition of law.
Do you see any hint or suggestion of
anything contained therein that a
woman should not know? In fact, do
you not believe that therein lie the
very things woman should know?
Again, law stripped of all it's high
sounding legal phraseolOgy is as Judge
Geary defines it, Common Sense"
Can we have too much Of that? Isn't
common sense just as good for
woman as it is for a man?
Then again, there is no definition
of law as given by the Indian girl
upon first visiting the cities of civil
lied man. She stood at window
overlooking thOrOughfare of New
York City. The girl was amazed, and
asked her teacher why such thrOng
of people were so orderly. Her teacher
replied: ''It is the law. There is no
trouble where law is Obeyed." The
girl stood in deep thought moment,
then turning to her memory book,
wrote, Law is Liberty" Liberty!
These definitions are of law, in its
broadcast and best sense, without re-
gard to it's origin or application to OBJ
jects.
LII ICSdIO w lIS VI III, Id" 10 CIUl1C1
common law or statute law.
Common law is a mass of traditions
and sometimes superStitiOns, customs,
decisions and presidents. And under
the old common law the feminine
prOnOun named a chattel. Women
were not recognized as competent
parts of the body polite. She was
not recognized as an intelligent re-
SpOnSible being, and it has taken hun
dredS of years for us to gain this rec
ignition in our statutes. And this
recognition was not given through
the generosity of man, it was earned
by the hundreds of women who have
gone before US and blazed our way.
What is it my friends that makes
it possible for US to do as we are doing
to-day? Why is not this an event of
a lifetime, Saturnalia? q feast kept
by the ancientS where women and
slaves might appear in public and
make merry even on terms of equality
with the men-their masters? Why
is it? Simply because recent statute
laws have recognized the fact that
when a girl is born into the world, an
intelligent, responsible being has
come into existence. And while 1T IS
true that the individual is in all
is not an equal with man in the eyes
of the law, she is a long way in adj
vance of the old idea that woman
was only sort of floating prOtOplas-
mic object that must attach itself to
some man before it could even be con-
i Sidered: and | say again it is not sole
ly to mems generosity that we owe
our present status but to the hundred
of women who have been martyrs to
the cause of woman, or have been in
their own day and age, refOrmers.
1t was just as immOdeSt and I'M
wOmanly for Joan of Arc to lead the
army, for Lady Mary Montague tOget
out of her place and go down among
the kline and the men, and study in
OculatiOn that she might introduce
vaccination into England: for Flor
ence Nightingale to go out among all
those strange men; for Queen Vic
tOrie to reign on the throne of Eng
land. as it is immOdeSt and unladylike
for our learned women to assemble
and talk social reform, or for our fe-
male physicians 10 line up to the Oper-
ating table with men, or our women
lawyers to practice in our courts OF
law. Let me say to you that what a
woman does is WOmanly, and it is
WOmanly because she does it.
But it is not that we may practice
law that we should become familiar
with the laws of our state. | should
like to ask each and every one of you
what do you consider are your rights
to the property that you and your
husband have accumulated? How
many of you know just what you are
entitled to? Suppose tomorrow you
should have to claim your rights
could you do it? The law gives yOI
the first right to take out letters OF
administration. Are you competent:
Doesn't it behoove you to know some
thing of your rights and the laws thai
govern?
Again, suppose there is a will, how
far are you bound by the terms of thai
will? 1t is the duty of the probate
Judge to explain, but suppose that ht
does not know that you have thu
choice to take what the law allows o.
to elect to take under the will? Ever!
woman should study and understand
for herself this doctrine of election
as it is called, which is founded upol
the principle that a person canno
take a benefit under will or a dee(
without being bound or estopped b,
the terms of the whole instrument.
Study the law of wills and hav
your husband make one. He will liv
just as long with his life insured AM
his will made, and after he makes tn
will you can look over it and thanl
your lucky stars that you did not liv,
in the age when the learned Wigran
wrote his treatise on wills and warne,
his teStator to be careful how he give
the widows power over his estate. TO
at this age men not only make thei
wives the principal legatees but nam
them as their executors. Let us meri
the trust.
Learn how to bequeath and if you
husband is busy you can instruct hin
and remind him that general rule
and celebrated cases are lights an
buoyS that are placed near the quick
: sands where teStamentary wrecks ar
/ most frequent. and You-StudY theS