The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-04-26

4
ence over her takes advantage of her
emotions, assures her that no harm will
follow, imposes upon her ignorance, or
plays upon her tender feelings, and ruins
her for life. Can child at that age
reason consequences? How many chill
dren at that age can be entrusted with
the power to control themselves in even
small matters? How many can reason
consequences in even the simple matters
of every day life? And yet this great
Lie is stamped upon the statute books !!
| | speak for the women and girls of this
State and therefore for its future well
! fare and in the interest Of better morals,
when l say that the State should protect
| the virtue of it's women as readily as it
| does their worldly property.
But what is consent? The word has
| been frequently used in what l have had
to say. The definition seems simple
enough, does it not? But this is seri-
Gus matter, gentlemen, and to show you
, that / talk soberly, let us consider very
briefly the legal aspects Of this question
of consent" AS / have limited, If the
matter of consent" were done away with
the conviction Of a man charged with this
crime would by no means be certain,
even II he were guilty He would have
as good chance in a case of this kind
as in any other criminal case But If the
v plea of consent" is rased his acquittal
salmost a certainty under the existing
laws. Let us take an imaginary case,
showing that consent" may be given
according to the legal definition of con
'sent'-when the girl may be entrapped
into something she did not even consider
Suppose, for example, a young girl of IA,
well developed and very attractive in
appearance, is in front of jewelry store
and looking with eager eyes at the beau
tiful jewels in the show window. She
has stopped at this window before. A
man of good appearance steps up and in
La pleasant voice says, Would you like a
gold watch and chain and one of those
diamond rings?" "Oh, yes!" exclaims
the child thinking of the pleasure such
a possession would be. well pick out
the ones you would like and you shall
have them, as I own the store" replies
the man. The child does so. And the
man says pleasantly, Just come upstairs
and when we come down 1 will get them
for you" The child, suspecting nothing
follows, her Imagination fired with the
anticipated possession of those presents
The door opens; the key turns; her virtue
is the price of those presents; and her
pleadings and her screams avail not
She leaves the room robbed of her viz
ginity and starts on the downward path
of prostitution Can the law do anything
for her? No Because her agreement to
accompany the man to his room would be
a legal consent" Have I over-shot the
mark and given you the product of an
overheated imagination? THAT VERY
CASE OCCURRED IN ONE OF THE
MOST ENLIGHTENED CITIES OF
THIS UNION AND IS ON RECORD!
The girl was afterwards rescued by mis-
sion work and until her death two years
afterwards was an earnest worker for
good amonH her fallen sisters. The girl
was II years old instead of IA, the age 1
took in the illustration. ooh, but that
times" says some one. No. that par
ticular case does not, but similar ones
are common. If it can happen one time
in 10000 cases and the man go free be-
cause of any such consent" it shows
that it can happen in many others, and
is wrong.
In the People VS.. Dohring, SO N. Y,
a girl of IA in the employ of the de-
PENDANT was playing with two younger
children in a barn. The defendant en-
tered sent the two younger children
away, locked the door, and called the
plaintiff down from the loft. Before she
could know what he was about resistance
was useles and impossible. Yet the
court ruleu that "she must resist until
exhausted or overpowered, for a jury to
find that it is against her WILL
In Whitaker VS.. the State so Wis, the
Court says, 'We are satisfied that it is
never proper or safe to instruct the jury
mitted with the Vonsent of the woman,
HOWEVER OBTAINED" Resistance
and the dissent ought to have continued
to the last and the physical power of
the woman must have been overcome by
physical force" The woman's earnest
testimony could not outweigh that of the
defendant, who depended on consent
for his defense.
In Commonwealth VS.. Mcdonald, 10
Mass, the Supreme Court held that the
instruction given by the judge of the
lower court to the jury was correct when
he said that 1.-THE jury must be satisfied
that there was not consent DURING ANY
PART OF THE ACT"
In Don Moran VS.. the People, % Mich,
the evidence showed that consumptive
girl of IS had been placed under the care
of a physician for treatment. The physi-
clan induced her by false statements as
to her health and the treatment neces-
sary for her recovery, by false state
ments as to her fathers wishes, etc, to
consent" He of course set up willing
ness on her part as his defense, but the
lower court decided against him because
of the methods employed. The Supreme
Court declared that the charge of the
judge of the lower court was incorrect,
as "some effect must be given to the word
by force and against her will. But in
order to secure some punishment for the
scoundrel the judge in sending the case
back for another. trial, very kindly CD
suggested that if the jury could find that
the girl was in fear of death by his false
Representations unless she consented,
they might find as previously!