The New York herald., 1922-09-18
ASSERT THIS STATE
ENSLAVES WOMEN
Discrimination of New York
Laws Against Sex Charged
in Report.
Special Dispatch to THE NEW YosK HERALD
New York Herald Bureau,
Washington. ID. c., Sept. II.

Special Dispatch to THE NEW YosK HERALD.
New York Herald Bureau,
Washington. ID. C.. Sept IL.
The laws OF the State of New York
discriminate against women in at least
nine important respects. according 20 a
report compiled by the legal research
division of the National Woman's Party.
Reports on discrimination against wom-
en- for every state OF the union are
being compiled by the militant section OF
the women voters as part OF their cam
paign for equal rights"
The report on conditions In New York
made public to-day Is the work Of the
Womans Party staff OF women lawyers.
headed by Mrs Burnita Shelton Mat
thews OF the District of Columbia. All
the provisions of the New York State
Constitution are quoted verbatim as are
also all the statutes up 10 1929. as well
as all judicial decisions in so far as they
affect the legal rights OF women.
From the standpoint of the women
interested in equal rights" before the
law the report Is declared to be the first
study on a comprehensive scale Of New
York's laws and the extent to which they
permit of discrimination.
port are: Mothers do not have equal
control and custody of their children;
mothers do not have equal control over
the services earnings or real property
OF their children; the mother has the
primary responsibility for the iliegiti-
mate child: mothers are Disseminated
against in inheritance laws; women are
Disseminated against as administrators
of estates; married women may not
choose their legal residence; the married
woman is legally still in much the same
position as was the slave on a Southern
plantation in not controlling her labor
In the home. whether she works for her
husband and family or for outsiders in
the hcme; wives are not equally pro-
tected when conjugal rights are violated:
worneE may not serve on juries.
The laws of the Empire State the re-
port points out. are directly based on the
old English common law, which consld-
cred women legally inferior In every re-
spect to men The married woman in
particular was Disseminated against;
she was little more than chattel of her
husband. New York has during the past
seyentyfive years modified many Of the
worst features of the common law with
respect to women. but even to-day the
wives and mothers OF this State are in
many respects in position OF legal in
feriority. 1t is contended.
Commenting on her report. Mrs Mat
thews said: New York State. which
prides itself on leading the nation in
all sorts of ways. ought to be ashamed
OF antiquated laws which are relics OF
the dark ages of woman. when she
was hardly recognized by the law as q
person. All the more SO since the suf-
frage movement in this country began
in New York with the calling of the
first women's rights convention at
Seneca Falls. N. ", in 1s4S. The suf-
frage pioneers who called that meeting
protested then against laws. some Of
which are still on the New York statute
books. 1t is high time that New York
proved true to its history and ideals by
recognizing the full equality of women
In all its laws"