Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-02-11
VETO SURPRISE
To n. j. WOMEN
Action of Governor in Killing
Bill Raising Age of Consent
of Girls is Deplored.

PLAINFIELD, Feb. 11:-The ac-
ton of Governor Edwards In vetoing
the Rowland bill raising the age of
consent for girls from sixteen to
eighteen years is the subject of very
general criticism among women's
organizations of the state. In his
veto message the governor gives the
following reason for his action:
The effect of the measure is to
render void n marriage contracted
with a female under eighteen years
of age without the consent of her
parents or guardian" Commenting
upon this Assemblywoman VanNess,
one of the vice presidents of the
New Jersey Women's Republican
Club, at whose request this bill was
introduced, says:
Il really cannot believe hat the
governor, whom 1 have had the
honor of meeting and for whom l
have the highest regard. has stop
ped to consider what may be called
the woman angle of the Rowland
bill which he vetoed. This bill raises
the age of consent from sixteen
years to eighteen years and it Is
surely never the desire of the decent
women of New Jersey to do aught to
prevent the marriage state but
rather to encourage intelligent legi-
innate marriage as a basic economic
feature. With that in mind, 1t would
seem that IL a female does not come
of age legally until h Is twenty-one
in matters of less Importance than
that of marriage upon which the
issues of life itself rests, 1t should
follow that she ought to be at least
eighteen years before h OF her
own consent car enter into the most
important contract there is. The
fact that some of our foreign-born
citizens mature physically younger
than our native-born, does not alter
the fact that before the law they do
not mentally mature younger in
order to have special dispensation
made for them in all other legal
matters except marriage. All sorts
of women's organizations have gone
on record for this bill, and the rea-
son for that is that we all know the
bill was primarily aimed at immoral
practice and / realize that but
voice the sentiment OF the women
of New Jersey when 1 maintain that
we shall not be content until a
death-blow has been struck at this
evil eating at the roots of decent
civilization and netting to unprinci-
pied persons a high revenue.
"A similar bill was defeated two
years ago with James r. Nugent as
its most active opponent. New
York's problems are very similar to
New Jerseys and eighteen has been
the age of consent in hat and twen-
ty-two other states for a number of
years"
To Discuss Health Legislation
The fourth of the forums being
held by the New Jersey Republican
Women's Club will take place next
Monday afternoon at 1880 o'clock
in the auditorium of the Republican
Club, 1879 East Hanover street. Tren-
ton. The subject of this forum will
be Health Legislation" Mrs. A.
Haines L%ippincott, of Camden, will
preside and the speakers will in
clude DIR. r. B. Fftz-Randolph, as
sistant director of the State Depart
ment of Health; DR.. julius Levy.
chief of the Division of Child Hy-
giene, and DIR. Wells p. Eagleton of
Newark. DR.. Eagleton Is chairman
of the doctors legislative committee
which is backing the bills for more
stringent social disease laws.