Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1896-11-03
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STUDY INV,
Why the Women Of outGand Need
This Advicl.

| ~ MOQld iiOl " II foolOl- IVA NAGTY
woman to study law, ifit we've toNse
wished. 1t is not every brain that
is fit for its subtleties. or equal TO
making its applications be the brain
i that of woman or man. Rufus
IChoate used to say that to be we'll
read lawyer was not to have the
whole body of the law at your
tongues end, but to know where
AMI how to go and find it. So there
are certain special features Of the
law with which every woman ought
to take pains and acquaint herself,
in the way Of protecting her own in
terests and those of her children, if
of no others
The single woman has certainly
occasion to know her rights and
limitations under the law as an in
dividual, that she may not be re-
stricted in the one and may not
transgress the other She is as IL
able as another to be the heir or
the holder Of property, and she will
need to know.the statutes regarding
its holding and transfer quite as
much as any man may need such
knowledge, and all the more SO if,
for any reason whatever. there shall
come about among men a diminish
ing Of the old chivairic care for
women. And if she is married there
is the same necessity for her to
know the laws that regulate mar
riage ana property and Inheritance
that she may know how TO claim, to
conduct, and TO bequeath what she
possesses or should possess, III she
knows the law-not, of course, in
it's entirety or its intricacy, but in
its outline and iatention-she will,
at'anv rate, have peace of mind upon
the question as to whether she is be-
ing cheated and robbed or not,
question which has disturbed many
woman quite as much as she would
be disturbed by the certainty, since
with all humanity the feeling is in
herent of preferring to give away or
to lose outright rather than be
swindled. A wife should know, for
instance, what it is that she can
claim from her husbands estate in
case of survivorship. She has no right
to let grief and sentiment interfere;
for if she lives at all after her hus-
bands death, it is necessary for her
to live as comfortably as she can;
she has trouble enough then without
adding to it. T.: she knows that in
certain states she inherits half the
real property, in others but one
tenth, she at any rate would recog-
nize then the possibilities before Civ
ing assent or advice regarding in
vestments in such places long be-
fore the time of inheriting A
mother has not only her own but
her childreu's advantage to pursue;
and she is negligent of them if she
fails to inform herself concerning
their situation under the law. More
over, she would be wise TO learn the
outer limit of her claim to her chill.
dren, and her ownership in them
knowledge which wouldluadoubtedly |
have great influence upon her con-
duct in case Of disagreement or
question of divorce. A daughter
too, may be called upon to manage
her fathers affairs in case of his
disabled powers; or to see that her
mother has her due from partners,
or from grasping relatives but with
out some slight personal knowledge
of the law she is at the mercy OF an
adviser; yet if she knows and re-
members the mere general trend OF
the law, she can often intimidate the
dishonest into honesty without the
of counsel
In short, there is no condition OF
womanhood in which it is not best
to know the way IN which it is af-
fected by the law of the land. There
ought to be small compendiums OF
the law as it relates to women and
to marriage that would we'll repay a
little study; and if there are not
such to be easily found, the whole
truth is to be garnered with but
very little direction from the gener
al statutes OF every state. -Harper's
Bazaar.