The Savannah morning news., 1902-08-16
WOMEN AS LAW EERS
MOST SAVANNAH ATTORNEYS
WOULD WELCOME THEM.
A FEW WHO WOULD NOT.
YOUNG SAVANNAH WOMAN AMBI-
TIoUS FOR LEGAL HONoRS.

| Discover More endorsements Than
Condemnation of the Proposed
Dill to Admit Women to Practice
in Georgia.
One young woman of Savannah will
watch the progress of the bill to adj
NIT women to the practice of law in
Georgia with deep and personal inter-
est. She wants it to pass, because she
wants to be admitted to the Georgia
bar. In fact, some of her friends have
more than once said a word or two
in support of such a measure to MEM
bers of the Legislature, and these
friends will rejoice with her If she
is given an opportunity to practice.
1.-THE young lady is we'll qualified
for the practice of law in certain of
its functions" said one of her friends,
himself a lawyer, to newspaper man
yesterday. She is a Vassar A. B.
After getting that degree, she went
back to the institution and secured an
M. A. degree in Greek. a language that
some of the old English scholars used
to declare it an impossibility for a
woman to master. She has been study
| ing law in a Savannah office for two
years, and 1 and a number of other
lawyers are interested in her. She does
not want her identity divulged. being
| very modest and retiring"
Are those not traits that would mil
| itate against her success at the bar?"
| he was asked.
| Perhaps So" was his reply, "but
they would disappear once she were
admitted. 1t is her unf1edged legal
state that she is particularly DESTROYS
of the suppression of her hopes and
ambitions"
What savannah Lawyers Say.
The Morning News, in a dispatch
! from Atlanta yesterday, told of plan
for the Introduction of a bill in the
Legislature at the next session for the
| admission of women to the bar. Gov.
| Gambler was quoted as favoring the
bill. The views of several well-know71
Savannah lawyers were secured, and
these, briefly given, follow:
| Col. P. w. Meldrim said: 81 nave
really not considered the question
carefully, and any opinion 1 might ex-
press now might be reversed by fur
Their thought or by argument. At
| the moment, however, can
say that 1 should certainly not
like to see good women debarred
from any pursuit or any profession in
which she might shine or might earn
living. There are some branches of
the law in which women are thoroughly
| capacitated to practice. The drawing
of papers and other Office work are
not beyond her abilities and should not
be beyond her sphere, though 1 should
| not think that she would be, as a rule,
| successful in the court room. 1t is
easy to imagine many situations in
which we would not like to see a wo-
| i,,gf tho
to see her admitted to practice in the
police courts or in the justice courts"
Mr.. w. P. Hardee said: Anyone
may rely upon me to, at any and all
| times, advocate and push any meas
ure that might mean the opening of
new positions to women. I want to
see women given every opportunity to
earn their livelihood honestly. do not
question the ability of many women
to practice law, and l should like to
see them given the right"
Courts No Place for Women.
Mr. Robert NJ Hitch said: women
should stay at home. The courts are no
| places for them. They are beyond her
| sphere. am not in sympathy with this
! cry for advancement and emancipation
of women. There are higher and nobler
duties for women to perform than may
be found in the law. Besides, there is
| just SO InuCn WOTk 10 De done, ana
there are enough men to do it. Women
gain nothing by getting into the COM
petition. That is clear. They will do
! better to let the men earn the money
and share it with them, than to them
selves seek the work that it means to
earn it. 1 think some branches of med
icine may well be practiced by women,
but not the law"
Hon. ]. Ferris Cam said: "This Is
| q
been raised. For the last two or three
| years it has been INDUCED in, but the
| bill to admit the women to practice
has never appeared. No, do not know
whether it would pass or not. can see
no objection to it,
Mr.. Emile Newman said: IT know
women lawyers in New York, and some
OF them are bright and capable
enough. I do not doubt the ability of
many women, and they would make
! good lawyers in Georgia. They are as
capable of grasping the law and CIV
| ing advice as men. 1 do not believe
however, that a Georgia Legislature
will pass such a bill"
Incapacitated by Nature.
Mr.. A. L. Alexander said: Women
| are incapacitate by nature for the
| practice of law. They should not at
tempt it. They could not accept what
| comes to the lot of a man in the pro-
fession. The bitter's bitterness would
| never be compensated in a womans
mind by the sweets sweetness The
smooth paths would be easy enough
for her, but the rough and rocky ones
would be too much for her endurance"
| Judge Pope Barrow of the Superior
| Court said: II do not think it just the
proper thing for a judge on the bench
to express himself upon such a matter.
1t is not his province, but that of the
| legisla tors
The only instance of a Georgia wo-
man passing her examination and ac-
lively engaging in law as a profession
is that of Mrs. Benjamin lowering of
Chicago. formerly Miss Elizabeth de
Belle of Atlanta. Miss de Belle prac-
ticed for two years in the courts of
Illinois and then married her partner.
The present movement is being en-
gineered by Mrs. B. L. Brevard, a
bright young woman in the office of
Peter Francisco Smith of Atlanta. Mrs
Brevard is supported in her plans by
some of the most influential members
of the Atlanta bar.