The New York herald., 1922-10-08
EXISTING LAWS
SHIELD WOMEN
Proposed Equality Legislation Is Op-
posed by Some Of Them on the
Ground That 1t Would Endanger
Safeguards Now on Statute Books
BY WILLIAM M'MURTRIE sPEER.


liar provisions for the protection of
boys or men.
Mrs. Harriman's committee includes
number of we'll known women,
among them Mrs. Charles Dana Glib
son, Mrs. Clifford Pinchot. Miss Lillian
Wald, Mrs. Willard d. Straight, Mrs.
Charles Cary Rumsey, Mrs. Charles Fl.
Sabin, Mrs. John Blair and Mrs. Medill
Mccormick. They argue that the
blanket equality bill, putting men and
women on an equality in the statute
books. would complicate the existing
legislation for the protection of young
of women.
Besides the effect that a blanket
equality bill might have on the labor
law and the penal law, there are
provisions of the civil statutes which
are intended to favor women. A mar
ried woman has dover right in all
the real property-that Is, land and
buildings--that her husband owns. He
cannot give a clear title unless she
joins in the deed and releases her
dover right. He cannot take this
dover right away by will. She is en-
titled to a third life interest in his
real estate, all that he owned when
he married her and all that he ac-
quired thereafter, and this cannot be
taken away from her without her
written consent, and even her written
consent is not conclusive against her
future claim that she was misled or
deceived into signing the consent.
No matter how poor he is or how
rich his wife, a man is liable for his
wife's support He must pay for the
board and lodging of herselE and their
children, for their apparel and medical
advice and for the children's educa-
ton.
Even Divorce Does
Not End Liability
The only way he can escape this
liability is by getting a divorce from
his wife and that does not relieve him
of the sole burden Of the children's
support and education. An agreement
by the wife to release her husband
from this liability for her support is
not binding. A contract by the wife
to take less alimony is void for lack
of consideration. A release executed
by her that he need pay no more ali
mony may be declared invalid. Even
separation agreement signed by her
may be set aside as inequitable and
unjust.
If the wife sues her husband for
separation or for divorce she can not
only compel him to support her during
the suit, but also to pay her lawyer
for suing him. If he sues her for
divorce or separation she can also
compel him to support her during the
suit and pay a lawyer TO defend the
suit.
a wife is her husbands agent to
buy the household necessities while
he is not her agent unless she specially
makes him so. She can make any
property that he owns liable for GER
tain debts and no matter how rich
she is he cannot make her property
liable for any debts incurred by him.
The presumption is that wife living
with her husband lives on his credit,
not hers. She can even sue her hus-
band and recover money of her own
which she has expended to support
herself. No matter how rich she is
nor how poor he may be their respec-
tive liabilities are not changed He
cannot compel her to pay his doctors
bills or his board bills or his tailor
bills. Neither can any debts which he
| incurs for himself or for the support
of his wife or children be collected
| from her.
What effect a blanket sex equality
bill will have upon the mass of exist
! ing legislation is a serious question.
II the liability of husband and wife is
to be the same. a landlord or grocer or
milliner might sue the wife. If the
provisions for alimony and counsel fee
are to be the same the husband who
had rich wife might be able to COM
pei her to support him in the same
manner and station of life that they
had been living before their separation
or divorce.
Blanket sex equality legislation
might work both ways. Possibly the
National Woman's party might like to
have the same laws strictly and equally
applied to men and women. Mrs. Har-
riman and her associates in the Ma
tional Consumers League are opposed
to such legislation. It may be that
as in the woman suffrage fight the
most active contestants both for and
against suffrage were women. so on
this question of the blanket sex equal
ity law women have so far taken more
interest than men.