The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1905-04-15
Your HOnOrS, Ladies' and
Gentlemen of the Jury

| WHILE it is not IH0bablc that the
Older generations Of persons now living
| may witness the advent Of women in
| the jury box, and their cars he greeted
| by the novel salutation of 'adic$ and
| gentlemen of the jury" yet many social
nd civic innovations quite aS startling
| 1t first, have already bccCmc quite fa-
miIiar and commonplace.
1t is well settled, that public scnti-
mcnt in this country. 10 longer excludes
women from amy profession or avoraton
for which she possess : the innate abili-
ty and educational requirement.
We have successful women doctors.
bankers, lawyers. witnesses and liti-
CARTS. why not women jurymcn and
Judges?
Although for the present, this question
may be limited to the realm of epecula-
ton, vet the reform. if it may be digni-
fled rs >7lch. is bound to come. and us it
: only Il step from the jury box to the
hr"ch. our learned judges may even
VOW indulge visions of the day when
they will have Il learned sister by their
de.
Our attention has been called to this
M iCrt by the comments of the Phila-
dC'pha Ledger uron it's present discus
sion in England
In that country. the Most vigorous OPP
poncnt, Says the Ledger. is Mrs. CIgligic
better known in the literary world as
John Oliver Hobbies.
She draws Inspiration from the figure
of Justice. Although Justice iS invaria-
bly, drawn rs II female figure. she ies Scrll-
pulously hlimdfoldcd. which means THAT
she could not be trusted as the Amvri-
cans say. to see straight" Mrs. Cr7ligc
makes bold t. .ly that feminine nature
Is charming hut does not contain the
first element of justice. She had met
women who had made themselves ren-
sonablc. bur they had told her they
had found the process dchumanizing
She was firm in the conviction that wo-
men were never intended to govern.
Another women debater came to the
lrScue with the observation that to We
men had been given. ruUrllly with men.
tn" right of entrer to the prisoners dock.
and wanted to know why their rights
SA"uld stop there. From that point the
discussion took II more serious turn. Mr..
Justice Darling saw grave difficulty iii
mixed jurieS. He feared the men on the
PANEL might work by logic. while the
women would 90 straight to the decision
ly intuition. and that there would soon
lie an end To iuri,> altogether. Judge
Atkinson, alone of the Judges engaging
in the debate. made II good point by ap-
pcaling to the portrait of Good Queen
| BcsS, occupying the place of honor in
the hall of Gray'S Inn. aS an instance
of a woman who could and did govern.
The following day the London News
calamity took up the cudgelS for the
| woman juror. The law courts need the
| quality of mercy which tcmpera justice.
not merely the frosty unfeminine cle
| mcnt of Justice Women would be
| useful on iuricS. because they would re-
| fuse sometimes ITO chop logic where
| the neglect nf lrgic is the highest real
| son. THE quality to make law tolcr-
| able is mere often found among women
| than alnoag men,"
If these views and tendencies find
place in us conservative il country as
this country where more radical ideas
ANA tendencies prevail. and where !,
hi"ldcr spirit Of justice obtains: