Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-18

thur Won Rriesen, with a decoration; that
in 1906 the government Of France bestowed
the cross of the Legion Of Honor as a
token of appreciation of the society's work.
Societies patterned on the same line have
sprung up In several of the large cities Of
the United States and in Europe, all of
which cooperate with the New York So
ciety in protecting the legal rights of the
poor. the ignorant and the helpless.
Recently application was made to the
president of the New York society to as
sist in starting a similar legal aid society
in Sydney. Australia. Facts OF this sort
are given annually in the society's printed
report. but the most interesting features
of the society's work are seldom touched on
in Print.
The reports do not tell the tremendous
increase in the number of woman appli-
cants which, says Merrill f. Gates, tr.,
attorney in chief for the Legal Aid So
ciety, is now one Of the most significant
features Of tho society's work. Heretofore
women, he points out, represented less
than one-third of the number of applicants.
Last year 1924 womeE applied and this
year the percentage will be much larger.
At the Broadway office, the largest and
busiest of the six, 1891 Of the s,se4 ap-
plications received there during 1907 wera
from women. At the West Side branch
in Tenth avenue 1884 men and 1877 women
asked for legal aid last year. At the Har-
lem branch nearly as many women as men
were entered or the books. and at the East
Side branch In Grand street. which deals
mostly with the foreigner. OF last years
4ls3 applicants 1889 were women.
There is scarcely a minute OF the day
LA A. -
a dozen women waiting in the outer office
natives of the United States and Of other
~coutries being represented about equally.
This comparatively new feature is eX.
planned by the society by pointing out that
wage collection and adjusting domestic
differences head the list Of eighty or NOR,
questions OF justice with which it is con.
fronted every day. Persons outside the so
'ciety say that II is a sign OF the time,
entirely consistent with the women's rights
movement and the increase of domesti,
problems, and that it indicates also tina
happily the era when all a poor woman
could do was to submit is a thing OF tn,
past.
rs is not so easy for a husky indivi
dual to walk off and leave a frail littl
woman to shift for herself and children
as It used to be" said an agent for tn.
society. These days a deserted woman
instead Of weeping herself sick and thel
hunting around for scrubbing and washin.
and ironing. puts on her best clothes an.
calls at the Legal Aid society. which 4
the majority Of the cases rounds up tn
d~eserter, gets the woman a legal sepera
ton II the circumstances warrant It, an
compels the husband TO pay a week.
sum"
once upon a time a women OF the tene
ments whose child was grabbed away fror
her by its father for a reason known onl
TO himself usually thought she was hell
less to do anything but surfer ana waite
r a chance 10 grab the child back again
z She hadn't the nerve as a rule TO do any
thing else. Now she knows enough. as
y general thing. TO make a bee line for II
2 nearest office Of the Legal Aid societ
Not so very long ago poor wage-earnin
women thought their hands were t'
20 against attempts Of employers 10 defraI