The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-12-14
Frederick Haskin's [ letter
La.Us About Women.
especial Correspondence Of rAs Argus

Washington, D. c., Dec. 1.-THE
searehlight is being turned, per
haps more thoroughly than ever
before, on the laws which affect
women. The national Woman's
party is going Systematically from
state to state making surveys OF
these laws. Then, when legisla-
lures inquire innocently in what
way women are bound unfairly by
their statutes, the feminists are
ready with a report showing con-
cisely the states legal attitude to-
ward women. +
Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana
and Alabama are the four states
which SO far have been studied
These states were taken first be-
cause the state legislatures were
, to meet there. Now, the woman's
party workers are going on to col
lect evidence on nine more states
where the legislatures convene
early in the coming year.
This is a part of the campaign
to get each state to pass a blanket
bill removing all legal disabilities
of women. Wisconsin is, SO far
the only state to adopt such q
measure.
Last spring, In o nine weeks
campaign, Wisconsin put through
bill which gave the women OF
the state the same rights and priv
ileges before the law as the men
hold The bill instructed the courts
to take the words he, his, him, and
similar words indicating the mas
cu1ine gender in the state laws to
include also the feminine equiva-
Tents. One exception to this was
provided: the laws are not to be
so read where the construction
would deny to females the spe-
cial protection and privileges which
they now enjoy for the general
welfare. This refers, in part, to
the laws protecting women in in
dustry.
Wisconsin made this sweeping
change without much ado. But
when the proposal came to the
four southern legislatures that met
little later, it was given a chill
ing reception.
Louisiana, it is true, did take &C
ton to the extent of repeating nine
specific Determinations against
women. As one result all political
and civil Offices in the state are
now open to women. Another re-
form achieved by Louisiana com
pels husband to obtain consent of
his wife before he can sell or mort
gage the home. The rest of the
control of the husband as before.
But the wife is assured that the
roof over her head will not be sold
without any reference to her wishes
or interests
Louisiana agreed to nine changes,
but the radical idea of absolute le-
gal equality for women was turned
down fatty. The other three state
legislatures to which the measure
was submitted also rejected il.
And yet, the feminists point out,
these states, progressive in many
ways, are far behind some other
states in their legal treatment of
women.
Marriage IN Mississippi
The surveys of the state laws
showed many cases where the old
common law holds. For instance,
a wife in Mississippi was refused
the right to sue for damages for
the alienation of her husbands af-
fections. The laws of the state
give the husband control of the
wife's personal property, and the
court held that in these cfrcum-
stances if the wife won the suit,
the erring husband would benefit
by it as he could appropriate the
money.
In this state, which is not the
most backward of the As, a woman
practically leases herself out to her
husband for life. In return for her
services she receives her board and
keep. But she cannot require her
husband to pay her anything. She
has no right to any part of the
family income and she has no in
terest in her husbands property
unless he dies and leaves it.
Thus, when a woman was in
Jured by fall on an exposed gas
pipe, the wife received damages for
her personal injury, but the hus-
band was allowed by the court to
collect the amount awarded as the
loss of her services in the home.
According to the report from
Florida, the women of that state
are under the domination of the
old English common law to a
greater extent than perhaps any
other state in the union. Accord
ing to the common law married
woman. could make no contract of
any kind This, the report shows,
is true in Florida today with a few
exceptions. Unless her husband
has been pronounced insane and
has been insane for a year. a mar
ried woman may not rent, mort