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

| of her parent or guardian; and the Law
/ very properly throws its protecting arms
about her in regard to this important
matter. But the day she becomes IA she
is deemed by the law capable of deciding
whether or not she will permit somt
man to deprive her of her virtue-a jewe
so precious to woman Tat even in
| pagan Rome women were known to choose
death rather than lose 1t.
The North Carolina law subjects any
one guilty OF carnally knowing a cir
under 10, to the penalty of death, be-
cause it is supposed that the child cannot
| know what she is doing, and the offense
| is rape. But the minute a girl becomes
10 years old, and from then, to IA, she
| is supposed to know something of the
matter, and the person guilty of cohabit-
ing with her is guilty of crime and may
be punished by fine or Imprisonment, in
the discretion of the court! From IA to
is, although the law does not think the
girl old enough to take the responsibility
of marriage, although she may not con-
sent to marry without the permission OF
her guardian, yet the law thinks her old
enough to give full and free consent to
her ruin, and the law supposes that she
is perfectly aware of the step she takes
and its awful consequences. And yet
there are men-and a startling number of
them-who defend this. And on what
grounds? One reason given is that
plenty of girls at IA know what they
are doing" and are as well developed at
II as others at IS. Here, then, is an ar
gument which virtually says that be-
cause SOME girls are physically and
mentally precocous and may be evilly
inclined, therefore the laws must be so
framed that ALL girls must be left I'M
protected ALL girls must be left
open to the wiles of men stronger than
they in will power, knowledge, and infiu-
ence, and may be enticed before they
CAN know the full consequences of such
a step, to fall into evil ways-and the
man go free! I can imagine the shouts
of applause and the geefu laughter
that would greet such an argument in
just one place-in the corridors of He'll
Another argument advanced is that
some designing little girls" would bring
false charges against men. There might
be very rare instances of this, but l Sc
riously doubt if the argument is worthy
of serious consideration. To keep some
man from having a false charge brought
against him by one of those designing
little girls, the law must be so arranged
that ALL MEN may entice ALL GIRLS,
from IA up, to their ruin! This was the
plea used by Col. William C. p. Breek-
enridge, of Kentucky, when he had sin
fully entered into an unholy alliance with
a sinful woman. He said that the woman
had led him astray. One of the newspa-
pers of the day hit off the absurdity and
hypocrisy of the plea by having the pic
ture of poor little Willie" with a chain
attached to him, being led meekly along
by this young woman. Probably the
truest argument brought for this state
of things was by New York law
yer who said that if the age of consent
were raised it would make it too hard on
the men!'
If one of these designing little girls"
(who exist for the most part in the pruri-
ent imaginations of mem were to bring
a charge of this kind, the burden of
proof is placed upon the girl who brings
the charge and not upon the man who is
accused of the crime.
The law of North Carolina says that a
girl under q years of age cannot legally
dispose of her property; she cannot make
a contract that is binding as a contract.
The sale of property and the contract
would be voidable. What is this? Be-
cause the State thinks that on account
of her immaturity, undue influence may
be used on her Her mind is not suf-
ficiently mature to protect her property
rights, and on account of ignorance or
lack of sufficient judgment she needs
some protecting hand. The State there
fore properly throws it's protecting arms
around a girl in regard to such matters,
until she is 81
Now, though the State holds that girl
at IA cannot legally consent to sell one
particle of her property, she may con-
sent to sell her virtue at ID The State
holds that undue influence may be used,
and that a girl is not sufficiently ma
ture to sell her property. at Is, but she
is mature enough, says the State, to re-
sist all influences, If such influences are
used to ruin her, at IA. The State holds
that girl must be protected at Is from
being enticed to sell one acre of land, be-
cause at that age she may be imposed on
but it holds that she may be enticed to
sell her maidenhood at II. The State of
North Carolina holds that a girl at II
has not sufficient maturity to part with
a pair of gloves for consideration, and
it hold that at IA she has sufficient ma
turity to part with that without which
she is made an outcast by society-her
virtue.
The State of North Carolina holds that
at Is, 10 and 90 girl is not sufficiently
developed mentally to make a contract
that is binding as such; that she has not
yet reached tho proper age for her to
legally consent to part with town lot.
And the same State holds her sufficiently
developed morally, mentally and phys!c-
ally to consent to a lustful crime at IA.
no matter what enticing influences are
used, providing it is not a promise of
marriage!
But the plea is raised that at IA many
girls know all about such matters"
But l challenge an intelligent contradict
ton to the statement that the very great
majority of girls do NOT know about
such matters at IA. or Is or 16 or II or
even Is. The evidence for the correct
-