The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-09-21

bolOBnd Tn ltaly Tn the llHe OL ilS greatest prosperity, when the number of its pupils reached ten thousand, was so liberal as to even employ women lecturers in law. One of these, Nove- lia who lectured in the fourteenth cen tury, was said to have been so beauti- full that she was obliged to deliver her lectures from behind curtain, in order that the attention of the students might not be distracted. In the eigh- teenth century there were two other women lecturers who won renown. Shakespeare's Portia might well have been one of these attractive lecturers, for from the time of the thirteenth cen tury Padua, the university from which she was said to have come, was re- nowned for its law classes.
 Within the last few years Lydia Poet, who received the highest law degree conferred by the Turin university, be- gan practicing law in Italy, just as though she had never heard of Calpur- mia. But, alas! others had, and de- crees of court were issued in 1883 and 1884 forbidding women to practice as advocates and referring them for req
 
 evil done by loquacious Calpurnia lived after her.
 Under the feudal law women were al- lowed to be attorneys and judges, with certain restrictions if they were mar ried.
 In Germany, Austria, Hungary and Scotland, though there were no specific prohibitions upon women being attor- neys, yet the law schools being closed to them virtually debarred them from the profession.
 Among the ancient helts the Druidess as well as the Druid had the right of sitting as judge of murder.
 Caesar tells us that the women of ancient Britain had power in court and council and that no distinction of sex was made in places of command or government Women sat in the an cient Witenagemot for the framing of laws. Women landowners held courts of their own in the times of Edward l, Henry I and even down to the seven- teenth century. In the reign of Henry VII the Countess of Richmond was made justice of the peace.
 The English common law did not for bid women acting as attorneys. Mod- ern England, however, has not yet ad- mitted them to the inns of court, though there is much work as coun- selor that could be done by women. Dickens Sally Brass, the only lawyer heroine of fiction may not be an attrac- tive person, yet she did not lack for le- gal ability, and compared very favora- bly, with her brother.
 The Danish law of 1868 allowed wo- men to defend in certain causes, but royal decree later much restricted their powers.
 Finland has women lawyers.
 As Hollands university courses are open to women, it has been considered that women would be allowed the pro fession of advocate As yet, however, no woman has applied.
 Belgium has had no formal prohibit ton against women's admission, but Mile Popelin found it impossible to per suade the judges to admit her.
 In 1876 Russia forbade women exer cising the functions of advocate.
 In Sweden and Norway women law yers have been allowed to plead before the nis prius tribunals. There has been no application for this privilege before the higher courts, but it would probably be granted, as there is no in- hibition.
 In France women were at an early time forbidden to act as attorneys, and the restriction Is still in force Re gently Mile Jeanne Chauvin was re- fused by the French court of appeals.
 In the cantons of Switzerland regu- lations differ. The celegrated case of Mime. Emile Kempin, who applied for admission in Zurich and was excluded from practice in the courts. aroused considerable interest in the United States, as Mme Kempin then came to New York for the purpose of being ad mitted in this country.
 Maryland was the first in the new world to admit a woman as attorney. Margaret Brent on January 3, 164S, was, by order of court, admitted to the bar as attorney of Lord Baltimore. Since the time of Margaret Brent there have been so many decisions in the United States for and against the ad- mission of women as attorneys and for such a variety of reasons, one might we'll wonder whether there was any general guiding rule running through the decided cases or whether each judge settled each case according as his dinner agreed or disagreed with him.
 There should be a roll of honor on which could be placed the names of the women lawyers who, upon the refusal of their application for admission to the bar, have taken time and study and money to carry their cases to their state supreme courts, and in some in- stances the United States suprema court, and, undiscouraged by adverse decisions have sometimes carried on such a vigorous campaign in their state legislature as to secure a law prohibi- ting the exclusion of women from the bar On that honor roll we of Illinois would of course place first the name of Myra Bradwell; then would follow the names of Alta M. Hulett of Illinois, Carrie Burnham Kilgore of Pennsylva mia, Laura De Force Gordon of Cali fornia, Belva A. Lockwood of the Dis trict of Columbia, Lavinia Goodell of Mary Hall of Connecticut, Leila J. Robinson of Massachusetts, Kate Stonaman of New York, and the name of many others whose work had made the entrance to the bar possible for their successors.