The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-10-28
FEDERATION over
Delegates Return Tired But
Well Pleased With En-
tertainment.
LAST DAYS PROCEEDINGS
Nominating Committee APP
pointed, Legal Aid Off,
GERS Elected and Reso-
lutions Passed.
Especial to .eThe Jersey city News."1

lSpecial TO 'Ine Jersey C1ty News
ATLANTIC CITY. Oct. Is. 18s9.-AIiss
Cornelia Bradford of Jersey City gave
witty response to the address of Mrs.
Cynthia Westover-Alden las given In yes
terday's '.News') which proved, in both
affirmative and negative, to be the fea-
ture Of yesterdays session of the State
Federation of Womens Clubs In this
place. Miss Bradford took exception to
many of the points made by Mrs. Alden,
that women read the papers more as
siduously than men. Miss Bradford spoke
of the way in which a man buried him
self in the newspaper, both morning and
evening, and wanted to know If they
really did not read them. The reference
to the yellow journals" popularity with
women, Mrs. Bradford thought, was un-
kind. for women were known the world
over as being the most jealous truth tel
lers." Miss Bradford then also summed
her response up in nutshell" in ex-
ample of Mrs. Alden, saying:-
There is a great and magnificent future
for women and the newspapers, and to
my mind the great question of making
the papers better is to be solved by the
woman editor, with the assistance of the
women readers
Mr.. David P. Hall, of Plainf1eld, was the
next speaker. He gave most interesting
address on Property Interests of Mar
ricd Women in New Jersey saying
These interest in their present form
have been brought about by series of
laws passed by the Legislature which we
term the married women legislation. In
order to understand the scope of this
legislation we must consider what inter
ests in the property possessed by husband
and wife they respectively were entitled
to before this remedial legislation was
enacted
The laws of all countries have borne
hardly upon women in regard to the
acquisition and enjoyment of property
and iti only during this expiring nine
teenth century that man has even begun
TO be fair to woman in this respect. But |
while all women have been Disseminated
against, it is married women who have
been especially selected for discrimina-
tion.
BY the common law the husband upon
the marriage became the owner of such
portions of his wife's personal property
as he could reduce to possession during the
marriage, and upon the birth of a child he
became entitled to courtesy, which was a
life estate in his wife's hands after the
death Of the wife. On the other hand,
the wife was entitled to her dover, which
was life estate in one-third of the hus-
bands lands. Why a one-third interest,
as against the husbands courtesy IN the |
whole does not appear.
Bv the act of 1852 the Legislature of
New Jersey provided that the real and
uersonaI property of married woman |
and its income should continue to be her
sole and separate property as If she were
single. but in respect to real estates there I
were two provisos, the first forbidding
the wife to deed her lands without the |
consent and concurrence of the husband, |
and the second forbidding the wife to dis
nose by will of any interest in her real |
property to which her husband would be
entitled bv law at her death. The re-
suit of the provisos was to secure to the I
husband his tenancy by the courtesy IN
his wife's lands, and this point was de-
cided by the courts. which helo that the
wife could not deprive the husband of his
courtesy by her win even II such was
made with the consent OF the huspano-
The wife does not, therefore, continue
to own her real estate as If she were
SINGLE woman, and the statute OF lSoz
keeps the word of promise to the ear ana
breaks it to the hope. The husband may
marry again and support his second wl1e
and his children by sher out OF the income
of his first wife's real estate, while II the
wife was widow with children at the
time she was married to him she IS utter
ly unable by deed to make any provision
for these children without the consent OF
her second husband, or to benefit them by
will at her death except at the expiration
of the life estate of her second husband
The supplements to the act of 1852 which
have been passed by the Legislature re-
late to the conveyance of real estate by
married women by sanction of the Court
of Chancery when they are living separate
from their husbands by judicial decree or
where the husband has become insane or
mentally incapacftated- While in New
York from year TO year, the original act
of lS4S has been broadened and extended,
the original New Jersey law of 1852 has
practically been let alone, so far as con-
Germs married women who continue to re-
main with their husbands
st would seem as though no good reason
could be assigned for the continuance of I
this bride upon the free disposal of her
lands by married woman If she has
the power to dispose Of her personal prop
erty as freely as il she were single 4
woman why should she not have the +
power similarly of her lands. This is the I
case in New York. where the pruning
knife of this particular kind of reform has I
cut deepest
.'InNew York married woman can deed 1
or will her real estate at pleasure and t