The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1914-07-02
Chief Justice WinsIow Tells
of Rights Women Have had
in Wisconsin For Years. .
SPEAKER At SUFFRAGE SCHOOL.

been ungaIlant in refusing to women
the right to vote, but it can hardly;
be said that they have been so in the
matter of the holding and controlling
|Of property, the doing of business and
the power of making Contracts
This was the concluding remark
made by Chief Justice J. B. Winslows
of the supreme court in an address at
the Madison free library before the,
state suffrage school, on the subject of
property Rights of Women.'' In
his opening statement the chief Justice,
created much merriment by referring,
to a statute promulgated by Henry
VIII of England in 1547 "that women
should not meet together to babble
and talk and that all men should keep
their wives in their house" He said
he did not know how successfully the.
drastic statute had been enforced, and
added Zone finds it difficult to sup
pose that the babbling entirely
ceased. ("
Winslow Reviews Reform.
Justice Winslow then reviewed the
reforms that had since been secured.
the development of the property laws
of Wisconsin as affecting the rights of
women. After discussing the constitu-
tional provisions of the first law to be,
enacted on the property rights Of
women, which was approved by Cover
nor Farwell, February L, 1850. This
statute provided that the real estate
and the income therefrom of anv
woman already married should be her
sole and separate property and should
not be subject to the disposal of her
husband, that the property she owned
before marriage she might retain and
that gifts of property to her she could
hold and viii away and it shall not
be liable for her husband s disposal or.
his debts.
"This act seemed radical in those
days. said Justice Winslow. "Whenl
it came before the supreme court for.
construction in 1853 Justice Crawford
said of it that it certainly goes far
towards clothing one class of females
with strange and manly attributes,
yet it is meritorious statute, de-
signed to remedy supposed evil of
the common law, and therefore it
ought to be literally construed The
good judges cautious reference to
the supposed evil of the common
law which the act was designed to
remedy is quite delicious.
Married Women's Rights.
cit will be noticed that this act
authorizes married woman to re-
ceive property from any person other
than her husband, and the claim was
at once made that she was still inca
pacitated from dealing with her hus-
band or receiving the title to property
from him, even in payment of a debt
which he might owe her. This idea
was, however, rejected by the supreme
court In an early case. This liberal
construction of the statute placed mar
ried women, so far as their separate
property and its management was con-
cerned, on entire equality with men
even at this early day in the history
of the state"
Judge Winslow then traced the in.
depreciation made by the Wisconsin
supreme court of this statute during
the early history of the state, showing
how the rights of women were given
much greater consideration. He them
discussed at some length a law passed
In 1859 which struck out the provision
of the law of wills which required the
written consent to the wife g
will, "and thus placed her on exact
equality so far as testamentary capa-
city was concerned" In 1864 the Leg.
islature further enlarged the home
stead right by providing that Gin
case the husband owning a homestead,
dies without win, leaving a widow and
no children, the homestead descends to
the widow absolutely; if there arei
children she takes the use of it dur
ing her widowhood." He developed
at some length in his argument the
legislative and court decisions that ul-
proved "body blow at the
ancient theory that the husband and
wife are one and the husband was
the one.
Cites GAINESVILLE Case. ne
He said that in 1895 another relic Of
the common Law was removed when
law was enacted providing that any,
transfer or lien executed
by either husband or wife to or in
favor of the other, should be valid to-
he same extent as between other per-
sons. By law passed few years
later he said, all transfers of real,
estate made by the husband direct to
ais wife before the passage of the law
VI 1895 was validated.
Judge Winslow recited the history
f the refusal of Miss Lavina Gooden
f GAINESVILLE to be received by the
upreme court, and pointed out that
n 1887 the legislature recognized her
lain TO admission.