Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1904-02-18

ure. In such states, the laws, giving
the husband an estate by curtesy
for his life in the lands CT his wife
after her death, and giving to the
wife a life estate in the lands Of her
! husband after his decease, to the ex-
tent of one-third interest in the
rents and profits of such estate, have
been abolished. These laws. touching
curtesy and dover, have come down
to us from the feudal land system OF
England and so conservative have we
been in changing our common law
inheritance from the Mother
country" that it has been found ex.
ceedingly difficult to make radical
departures therefrom. This accounts
for the fact that so few states of our
Union have adopted the Community
Property Law"
In our own state, the effort has
been made to abolish dover and
curtesy in favor of the Community
Law, but the agitation has had no
greater effect than to enlarge the
measure of a widows dover in this
state from the common law one-tllrd
to a one.half interest.
Our enabling statutes allow a
woman, in most instances. to deal as
freely with her lands and property
as it permits her husband to deal
with his. Thus, it is promitted now,
to wife, to make power of attor.
ney authorizing her attorney in fact,
to act for her, thing which she
could not have done under the com.
mon law of England as administered
in this country.
She is also permitted to deal with
her husband as il she were single
woman. A notable exception to this,
however, is found in the fact that the
Courts construe these enabling
statutes so as to preclude wife from
conveying to her husband her in
choate right Of dover From this it
can be seen that the Courts have not
fully escaped, with the widening Of
woman's legal powers, from the old
theory which regarded married women
and infants as the wards of Chancery.
Hence, the courts are still inclined to
exercise paternal oversight over the
business transactions of women for
their protection.
1t is to be remembered to the credit
Of the pioneer founders of this state,
that, as early as 1867, when our Con-
stitutional Convention was in session,
it incorporated into the constitution
which it prepared, a provision max
ing all property which woman had
at the time of her marriage or after
wards acquired by inheritance, her
separate property. thus freeing it from
liability for the debts of her husband.
Our Legislature has provided, how
ever. that married woman's prop.
erty may bo held jointly with her
husbands. for debts contracted for
the support of the family. This law,
curiously enough, was brought into
being as the direct result of certain
agitation by some advanced women
who were clamoring for equality
with the tyrant, man" before the law
and in this case, they secured
equality of liability with vengeance
In our own state, woman stands as
mans equal before the law in every
respect, save the right Of general
suffrage and certain rights which flow
from it, such as holding office, serv-
ing on juries, and joining the army.
1t is pretty safe to say that she can
have these so called rights whenever
she pleases, but since these alleged
rights are Of so doubtful a nature that
thoir assumption might be onerous,
she does we'll, perhaps, to pause be-
fore assuming them.
II is far cry from the days and
laws Of the feudal age TO the present
The progress made has been watered
by tears and won by suffering, but
the world has moved, God rules and
justice will be done.