Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1902-05-29
WOMAN SUFFRAGE COLUMN
EDITED BY ALLIER. pELKEY.
IL The Law lust.

in life with but little property as
the great majority of young
people do and work and save in
order to secure a home and some
thing to maintain them in their
old age, it would seem that the
property they succeed in accumu-
lating would belong to both
equally. That just as much of
it would belong belong to the
wife as to the husband.
Is this SO under the law in this
state? No. The wife, however
hard she may work, however care
fully she may save she does not
really have a dollars worth of
property that she can call her
own. She cannot will a dollar s
worth of this property if she
dies before her husband. But
the husband can will two thirds
of this property that the wife has
helped accumulate to any one he
pleases. Is this a just law?
Suppose that twenty years lat
er we find that this young couple
have secured a good quantity
personal property and that they
have been blessed with family
of nine children and then the hus-
band dies without leaving a will.
This wife who has helped accum-
ulate this property could not sell
one dollars worth of this property
but must sit with folded hands
until the court appoints an adj
ministrator and after weeks have
passed and the required advertise
ing done five hundred dollars
of this property and the wearing
apparel and ornaments of her de-
parted husband are given to her
yes really given to her for her
own use. Then after the adver-
Using and administrator fees,
court costs and all other debts
are paid the wife instead of being
allowed to have one half of the
balance of the property she has
helped accumulate is made to
share equally with the nine child
rem which would give her one
tenth of the property her labor
and careful saving had helped ac-
cumulate. And the law would
require the appointment of a
guardian for the children who
would hold the property SO de-
cending to the children.
But suppose now that the wife
had died instead of the husband
would the law require the appoint
ment of an administrator and a
great quantity of expenses for
advertising, administrator fees,
and court costs before the huS-
band could sell any of the prop
erty. Would the law require
that the husband only be allow
ed five hundred dollars and the
wearing apparel and ornaments
of his departed wife and one
tenth of the balance OF the prop
erty and that the children should
have the other nine tcnths of the
property? No.
There would be no administra-
tor appointed, ne advertising fees
or court costs 10 be paid out of
the property. The law would
not set apart one dollars wort h
OF the property Tor the use or
support of the children. The
husband would own it all. He
could sell every dollars worth of
the property the wife had helped
accumulate and spend the money
or go away and leave the child
rem to the tender mercies of the
world without money or property
to support them.
Is the law just?
Does it not seem that the law
regards the wife as being alb
solutely devoid of parental love
and care for her children that it
must require the setting apart
not only the husbands half of the
, property for the care and support