The sun., 1903-06-07
phase Of the long struggle and must run
its course as the others have done.

its course as tne otherS nave done.
Another very common but fallacious
assertion may be illustrated by a recent
editorial from the San Francisco Bulletin.
which, after referring to the days when
wife had no legal existence, said:
Since then, especially In this country.
women have Got, through the coed will OF
men. whatever legislation they desired.
except the suffrage. Throughout the United
States women. generally speaking. have
property rights equal to those Of men. In
many States wife may declare homestead
on portion of the husbands property, and
thus secure to herself the right Of survivor
ship. The law, in most Stutes. no longer
farors the father over the mother in awarding
the guardianship OF children. The laws are
equal in their application to men and to
women. All the trades and professions are
open to woman. She has obtained all her
rights" except the suffrage. and has re-
lnouished none Of her privileges.
The BuHenn might have added that In
every one of these cases she was solemnly
assured that she could gain the desired
right only by the sacrifice Of her most
valuable privileges. In one Of his Cali
fornia speeches a short time ago Pres-
dent Roosevelt also said, amid great ap-
plause. "Ours is Government of equal
rights under the law"
Now, how much truth is there in these
fair-sounding declarations? Just this much
that in not one State in the Union. not
even, where women have the franchise,
| do they possess equal rights with men
| under the law Nowhere have married
women the same property rights as mar
| red IN n.
In five States the wifc's property pa sses
| into the absolute control of the husband
| at marriage In over one third Of hem the
wifps earned side tho lf
| belong 10 the husband. In all OF them her
services within the home helong wholly to
| the husband, and she is legally entitled
| only to food. clothes,. shelter and medi-
, cine in measure according to his judgment.
| 1t is true that she may declare home
| stead on the husbands property" but this
| property usually consists In what She has
| helped o earn during marriage and all she
! the value generally of from $500 to 50 900.
| She cannot lay claim even to this, or to
| dollars wort h Of their accumulation dur
| ing the husbands life, and il she die FIRST
| she cannot by will dispose Of the smallest
| tract ion Oft even the "homest cad" She is
entirely helpless to provide for her children
or her parents out of the results Of all her
years of work and savings.
In over half the States tho widow is still
| entitled by law only to dover" or a life
interest in one-third Of the husbands (D
real estate, Instead of the law s granting
the mother equal guardianship OF the
children -in most States 1t does this only
in nine Of them and the District OF Columbia.
While she cannot claim dollar ofthe joint
earnings, her OWE. separate property may
be seized to pay the family expenses, and
| the husband may decide OF what these
expenses shall consist.
| Oh no; this is very far from "a Government
| of equal rights under the law" and women
are a long way from having all their rights
except the suffrage 'All the trades and
| professions are by no means open to them.
| Only two or three of the orthodox
! churches will ordain them TO preach. In
law or medicine. They are practically
| barred from oftice-holding. As teachers
| they are nearly everywhere paid much less
than men, The technical schools are still
! largely closed to them. and they enter the
| trades almost universally by working for
! smaller wages than men.
And everywhere women must meet not
only the hardships incident to the occupa-
| ton itself, but also the great obstacles OF
| prejudice and distrust Everything has
been gained is phrase which falls glbly
| from the tongue or pen, but 1t is not true.
| A foothold has been secured, and that Is all.
| The Supreme Court Of New York has just
| decided against woman who sued the pro-
prietor Of a restaurant for refusing to serve
her after Q o'clock because she was not
accompanied by a male escort. 1t was
supposed this aniquated law had passed
| into innocuous desuetude, but the Justice
held that the proprietor acted strictly
| within his prerogative.
The plaintiff based her q aim on the Civil
| Rights bill; but il seems that this. like the
Fourteenth Amendment, was intended to
! protect negro men, but not white women.
As the law stands now lone woman on
the streets Of New York who happens to
be hungry after o'clock can get bite only
| by soliciting some stray man TO accompany
her to the fest al board, and II she does this
she is likely to be arrested by the police
| All hail TO the majesty OF the law!
A spirited cont ntroversy has been running
in THE Sun for several weeks as to whether
| men should take of their hats where there
are women in the elevators OF business
houses. The men seem to be having the
! discussion all to themselves. the women
! apparently feeling on this question as they
! do about standing in the street cars:
Give us a chance to earn an honest
living and we will hang onto the straps
and you may keep on your hats, Chivalry
is fine thing. but it doesn't furnish bread
and butter or dresses and shoes"
Men in the business districts can show
their respect for women breadwinners in
much more potent ways than by the empty
| ceremony of lifting the hat.
| President Roosevelt came and went. like
beautiful dream, from one end Of Utah
to the other, and not one Of those big fami
| lies materialzed which the press agents
had SO indust strously doomed. The stage
| driver did not line UP his sixteen sons, and
no proud mothers offspring received the
| Presidential kiss. II an epidemic Of race
! suicide sets in out there shall General Man
ager-of-t the-I inerary Perry S. Heath be
held responsible?
| Since that bachelor clergyman of Jeffer.
son. Pa. announced that he would marry
the girl who secured the largest church
subscript ion, it is said several Of the fathers
are mort gaging their property to swell
the fund. As a game Of chance this has
some advantages and disadvantages over
the traditional grabbag and the solitary
oyster in the soup.
IDA Hustled HARPER.
| POLITICAL NOTES,