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

Gnu WuO ~ CHeTe among Us bearing
the name of a man who will dare sit
down any longer with folded hands in
the presence of so great wrong ?"---
Report of Pail Mall Gazette's Commits
sion.
AS l understand it, the White Cross
Society has two purposes in view: First,
to promote personal purity in word and
deed Second, and which is a natural
sequence of the first, to have any exist
ing laws that are defective so amended
as to throw all reasonable safeguards
around our young people, in order that
they may have a fair and reasonable
chance to grow up to pure manhood and
womanhood.
Are these two purposes reasonable? If
so, then a sufficient reason is establish
ed for the existence of this organization
But why form a society?" says some
one who really wishes to know why there
should be an organization. This is a day
in which little can be accomplished with
out combination. There is strength in
union, and no one will dispute the fact
that body of people meeting together
with definite objects in view, can en-
courage each other and accomplish those
OBJECTS better by combining in a SYM
pathetic organization than by working in
dlvidually without such organization. If
tins were not true there would be no
political parties, no churches, no lodges.
etc. And especially is this so as re-
CARDS legislation. If any of our laws are
defective, it requires combined action TO
remedy them.
This Society has, and will have, moth
ing to do with the remedying of any de-
fective law except in so far as that law
has something to do with the relations
of the two sexes
With these preliminary remarks, [ ask
the question: Is there a defective law
on the statute books Of North Carolina.
which by its defect fails to throw around
our boys and girls, our youths and maid
ems, our men and women, the proper
safeguards, so as. to lessen sexual i'm
morality? If that question can be an
sWered in the affirmative, then no or
whatever it's name, that seeks
to remedy the defect, need apologize for
it's existence.
1t is thought by the Executive Commit
tee OF this Society that a campaign Of
education is needed, not only in Asaeville.
but all over our State, in regard to GER
tain laws which we believe need rene
dying, and in regard to certain ideas con
corning the relations of the sexes. That
there is vast amount of ignorance and
consequent Indifference about such mat
ters among both men and women, need
scarcely be argued. And on account of
the Ignorance of almost every one in re-
gard to what are known as ''age of con-
sent" laws, the committee has asked me
to give talk on this subject For many
Of the facts to be given by me am in
debted to a series of articles which APP
peared in the January, 1895, Arena; to
Mrs. Edholm's powerful book on Traffic
in Girls and The Florence Crittenton
Missions; and to M. X. Pearce's able
work. Some Legal Aspects of the CUES
ton"
An "age of consent law is a statute
which fixes the limit of age at which a
girl may legally be ruined il she consents
to such ruin. These laws, according to
their general Interpretation, refer to the
crime of rape, and fix the age at which
a young girl may legally consent to sexu-
al relations. Statutes pertaining to rape
provide for the punishment of whoever
ravishes or carnally knows female
child by force or against her VIII" at
any age, and provides penalties for
whoever unlawfully and carnauy knows
a female child, with or without consent.
under given age, the given age" and
over being the age at which consent may
be given by the female without the pun
ont Of hn
different States and countries, and until
within the last ten years was, in most
Of TIE States, based upon the old Eng
lish Common Law which placed the age
at 10 and sometimes at IL years in No |
vember, 1894 the age of consent in North |
and South Carolina and Alabama was |
10 years; in Texas, Kentucky Wiscon- |
sin. and Louisiana. II years. 1t was
raised in North Carolina in 1895 by the |
last Legislature to Ii years. the law of |
rape, however, remaining at 10, as be- |
fore 1t was just a little over 10 years
ago that w. T. Stead. editor of the Pail |
Nall Gazette, London, published his reve-
atons of the crimes committed against |
young girls in that city. These horrible
revelations caused tho British Parlia-
nent to raise the age from Is to rs years.
md attention was at once attracted to
he age of consent laws in the United
States. 1t was found that in most of the
States Of the Union. little girls 10 years
I'D could, according to law, consent to
heir own ruin, while in Delaware the
statute books revealed the fact that the
age of consent was SEVEN YEARS. Up
o November, 1894. only two States Kan
'as and Wyoming had raised the age to
s. In Tennessee, our sister State, after
eng and bitter fight the age was raised
rom 10 to IS years and one day. the
me day being added as a bit Of fac"tious-
less by some one who moved 1t as
between Is and rs years
Two bills had been introduced asking
hat the age be raised to 16 and Is years
espectively, The latter passed tho FIRST
nd second readings. hut tho Judicial
Committee then rejected it and recon
oepded the former. amnndca however,
o as to make the age II years! Fort
ma tely. tho legislature took four
5eeks' recess and at the end of that |