Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-01-31

! T., z;='' = J =: !.
CONNER
A lawsuit which is one of the most
important to women that have ever been
on in Connecticut is now pending in
the courts of that state. Nearly gen
GRAFTON ago Connecticut passed mar
ried woman's property act giving to
wives all real or personal estate inher-
tied by them after marriage. Up to
that time a Wife's Inheritance belonged
by law to her husband. A law giving
a wife her own would have disturbed
the existing status of vested rights if
it had applied to wives whose hus-
bands had taken possession of their
property previous to the passing of this
act. In order, therefore, hot to disturb
vested rights the new law stipulated
that its provisions should apply only to
women married after 1877. Three CT
four years ago, full 90 after the pas
sage of the married woman's property
act, a wife inherited some money. The
property had not been hers oi IN conse-
duence her husbands at the time of
the passage of the law. There was no
reason at that time to believe it ever
would be hers Undoubtedly by right
it was hers absolutely. But she had
been married previous to 1877, hence
under the law there seemed reasona-
Bile claim that her husband could put
forth to the Inheritance. 1t brought
new question up in the courts. ques-
tion of Interpretation of the law as be-
tween equity and legal technicality,
and that is the point now being argued
in the Connecticut courts The suit is
more interesting from the fact that the
plaintiff, who is the wife suing for her
own Inheritance, has employed women
lawyers to defend her case, thus pre-
senting a unique situation, which only
a woman judge is wanting to make
complete The leading attorney for the
plaintiff is Miss S. G. O'Neill of Water
bury, who is a member of her fathers
law firm. Her associate counsel is Miss
Isabella Mary Pettus, a lecturer in the
women's law class of the University of
New York.
Educated, experienced and level
headed women seem especially to be
appreciated in the west as state super
intendents of public schools. Mrs.
Helen NJ. Greenfell has been reelected
to this post in Colorado and Miss Per-
meal French in Idaho. Speaking of
Miss French, the governor of Idaho
says, "She is the best superintendent
| the state ever had" 1t is safe to say
these two ladies' do not sit like mum
mics or dummies at the annual meet
| ing of the State Teachers association
ard let 10 men do all the talking and
zssls
men.
The Colorado house of representa-
tives has one women member this time,
Mrs. Evangeline Hearth. You and /
will yet live to see women members
in the congress of the United States.
q q q
An omnibus drawn by two powerful
horses was conveying home a party
that had been to an evening entertain
ment. All ut once the vehicle began
to roll on at fearful speed and to sway
from side to side as though it was
about to be dashed to pieces. The
party inside looked out through Il win
dow in front and saw that the coach
man had been thrown from his seat,
that the horses were running away and
the reins which had controlled them
were dragging upon the ground They
were bound to be dragged and dashed
| to death, it seemed There was a man
inside, but he could not 10 anything.
All the women began to screech like
| idiots-all but one, that is. She was
Miss Railey, a Kentucky BLUE grass
! girl. who had been accustomed to
| horses all her life and feared nothing
equine. She crawled through the win
dow of the omnibus in front hraced
| herself against the footboard. leaned
| far out over tne horses at the risk of
her life and caught one of the trailing
lines. This she pulled on with all the
power of young blue grass muscle and
drew the horses up short against a
bank, saving all the peoples lives.
Then the women who had screcched
and frightened the mad horses still
more crawled out in safety.
9 s. e
Robert Grant promulgated the theory
/ that all the old type of women who liv-
ed in their affections were liars. that
they would falsify any time to save
those they loved and consider it viz
tuous credit to them lie did not be
4 lieve the new woman would 80 so fal
as this, but he thought even she could
/ not resist the temptation TO smnggle
and think it no harm. He says: Even
4 today, when woman is the cynosurc OF
an attentive world. it is we'll recogniz
4 ed that five out of six of our wives and
4 sisters would take a false oath, il
j tempted, in order to escape the pay
j ment of custom house duties on snug
i gled fineries" Do you suppose this is
1 true?
i y = e
"To love, TO suffer. to devote herself
i to sacrifice herself for thoge she loves
i such is the lot of woman and will be
i while the world lasts, wrote q famous
romancer. Well, hardly, not in our time
4 any more Woman begins to find out
that it is not wise or righteous to sacri
flee herself too far even for her owl
children, after she has got them lie
yond the measles and school days. She
has a soul OF her own to save, powers
Of her own to develop. 1t she does no.
do it here and now. she will have to dt
i. elsewhere, some say in another in
carnation upon this planet.
To Poet.
FROM DULcINEA.
Poet, although you've been extremely kind,
!, The time has come when must speak my mind.
!, l think it is absurd for you to write
Ny 'slips are like twin cherries What sight
I'd be il such a silly thing were truel