The Washington herald., 1915-09-12
WYOMING LAWS
PROTECT WOMAN
First State Giving Suffrage Is
Cited as Instance Of Excel
lent Statutes.
RIGHTS VALUED THERE
Miss Perry Compares These to North
Carolina and Georgia. Where Sim
liar Privileges Aren't Afforded.
RIGHTS VALUED THERE
By EMILY X. PERRY,
Press Chairman. Congressional Union.

| Press Chairman. Congressional Union.
Since woman suffrage has become an
actual fact in twelve States out of forty
| eight, one-fourth of the number in the
entire Union. it may be of general in
| terest to note the order of their coming
into the ranks and to have parallel to
those dates legislation on their statute
books enacted shortly after suffrage was
granted.
In giving data of the laws written on
| the statute books of suffrage States
| shortly after the women of those States
| became voters. we are making no as
sertions as 10 the lack of such laws in
nonsufrase States. These laws might
or might not have been enacted had
the women remained unenfranchised.
What Wyoming Offers.
We are quoting statistics from an ar
| ticle reprinted from the New York Even |
ing Post of November 10 1913. by Elinor
| Byrns and Helen Ranlett, who obtained
| these statistics for the National Amer !
ican Woman Suffrage Association, New
! York City.
| Wyoming was the first State to give !
| suffrage to its women in 1853 On the !
| statute books of that State passed since
protection of women: Equal pay for !
equal work in public schools. seats re-
| quired in all places of work; contract .
| exempting employer from liability void:
| married womens property act: dover I
and courtesy abolished: surviving hus- /
band or wife receives one-half, if chill I
dren; three-quarters, If no children. and ,
all If no children and estate under $1,000 !
Married woman must join in sale of
| homestead. 3
tract, sue or be sued. carry on busi-
| ness and make will; surviving mother ,
allowed guardianship Of children. though
she be remarked; desertion of wife with I
out provision for her support a felony: ;
age of consent raised to IS; married ,
woman may. after notice on keeper of .
saloon or other resort, bring an action .
against him for injuries to husband /
| through drink or gambling
We find. among many others. the fol- !
lowing laws for the protection of chill /
dren: No boy under II or female of .
any age may be employed in any coal. .
iron. or other dangerous mine except !
in office work; eight-hour law in
| mines: patrol OF minor prisoners under !
care OF courts; care and. training of .
delinquent children; juvenile delin- .
quents kept separate in jails when .
practicable; parents visits permitted: ,
care of INDECENT minors and those un-
der vicious influences: minor over II .
may nominate own guardian subject to /
approval of court: des,rtion of children
without provision for their support a.
felony: bastardly law; man adjudged .
father required to support child: i'm
rrisoned If he fails to Sive bond and (
pay cost of prosecution: killing unborn .
child by willful assault on mother. .
manslaughter: free high schools estah-
llshed: free kindergartens established: /
! ii i
lie places with reference to alcohol and .
narcotics. selling liquor. tobacco. or
deadly weapons to minors forbidden:
exhibition and hypnotlzing OF children
forbidden: unlawful to endanEer life
or health of child
Contracted with Southern Rights.
welfare are white slave law: keeping a
disorde rlv house or knowingly leasing
for that purpose. illegal: registration
of births and deaths required: compe-
tent witness necessary for securing
m4rri4ge license: county and State
boards of health established; practice
of medicine regulated: sale of drugs
and narcotics regulated: pure food law:
duelling and prize fighting made Illegal;
saloons closed on Sundays and election
day; examination and registration of
nurses required: gambling devices must
be seized and destroyed after any COM
plant made under oath: extortion on
small loans made msdemeanor.
Wyoming. coming into the suffrage
ranks in the early days after the civil
war. might be said to have passed laws
merely in step with civilization and
with the progress of men and women ,
under better legislation generally. This ,
is of course in a large measure true. I
although we might very carefully COM ,
pare the laws above stated on the wy {
oming statute books with laws in some
of the other States which are not suf- ID
frage States.
In Georgia there is little protection
for working girls or women beyond
the lynching of a man for murder COM
mitted. and the age of consent of a
girl is ten years, We might also COM
pare them to North Carolina: where
far from making desertion illegal. a
woman must prove that she has been
deserted for ten consecutive years.
must have children and must not have
seen or spoken to her husband during
that time before she is able to obtain
a divorce.
Next Sunday we shall, if the courtesy
of The Herald permits. publish parallel
accounts of laws enacted in Colorado,
the second State to give enfranchise-
ment to its women.