Evening star., 1922-10-29
BLANKET EQUALITY
STATUTE OPPOSED
Women Favoring Specific
Law for Each Sex Status
Issue Plan ParIey.

The National Consumers League,
representing eight national organiza-
tions Of women, will hold an I'M
portant conference in Washington.
November Q and 10. The conference,
whose delegation Is said to represent
more than 100000 women. has been
called to quash, If possible, the
blanket equality" legislation of the
National Woman's Party.
Among the organizations stated to
National Consumers League, under
whose auspices the conference is to
be held; the National League of
Women Voters, the National Wom-
ems Trade Union League, the Ma
tional Council of Catholic Women.
the American Association for Organ
tzing Family Social Work, the Wom-
ems Christian Temperance Union and
the Council of Jewish Women.
List Of Speakers.
Miss Frances Perkins. director OF
National Council of Immigrant Edu-
cation: Miss Ethel NJ Smith, legisla-
tive secretary of the National Wom-
ans Trade Union League: Mrs. Min
ME Fisher Cunningham, Miss Rather
Inc Ludington, treasurer of the Ma
tionl League Of Women Voters; Dean
<ACHcSOu anu MIS-. j.. boTucu HAL y
man. representatives of wage-earning
girls. and Mrs. Florence Kelley, gen.
eral secretary of the National Con-
sumers' League, will speak against
the proposed blanket equality" leg
islation detailing what losses it may
entail. both to women in industry and
women in the home.
The conference on What Women
Want and Cannot Have with Blanket
Equality" will be presided over by
Miss Julia c. Lathrop, Chicago. of the
National Child Labor League.
The second day of the conference
will be devoted to a discussion of the
specific bills of benefit to women
which will be jointly urged by wom-
ems organizations in all parts Of the
country. This specific legislation, as
opposed to the blanket equality bills
now being promoted by the National
Womsn's Party iIa, viii cover r, Equal ,,.;.!
right to her earnings" 1.-The eight
hour day." and a living wage for
women" and other issues in which
there are in some states discrimina-
tions against women.
THE reason we urge specific laws
instead of the vague, ambiguous
blanket bill is obvious" said Mrs. j.
Borden Hartman. at the National
Consumers League headquarters at
"a East 23rd street. New York. IF
the blanket equality bill passes, law
yers tell us, no one can propesy the
the protective laws built up around
women as wives and mothers since
old tribal days and the protective
laws for women in industry passed
by the Consumers League and coop
Grating organizations in the last thir-
ty-five years would be endangered.
We all want laws handicapping wom-
en- done away with and we urge a
specific law for each issue as the
only safe method.
Woman's bloc Opposed.
"All the organizations which will
be represented in the Washington
conference are opposing the National
Woman's Party blanket bill. On a
special committee 10 oppose it we
have leaders in both democratic and
republican parties: We consider it
bloc And we shall certainly destroy
any possible assumption on the part
of the American public that the Ma
tional Woman's Party represents the
women of this country. when it has
in fact only d few hundred adher-
cnts.''
On the cmpaign committee of the
National Consumers League to op-
pose the blanket bill of the National
Womans Party are: Mrs. ]. Borden
Hartman, chairman, Mrs. Merrill Nc
CorInick. Mrs. Clifford Pinchot, Mrs.
Arthur A. Fowler. Mrs. Michael Ca
vim. Miss Robinson Smith, Mrs. John
Blair, Mrs. Arthur O. Choate, Mrs.
Charles L. Tiffany, Mrs. Joseph Blake,
Mrs. Sidney Borg. Miss Lillian ID.
Wald. Mrs. Charles H. Sabin, Mrs.
willard ID. Straight. Mrs. Reginald
Fincke, Mrs. Harrison Tweed, Miss
Mabel Choate, Mrs. II. Otto Wittpen,
Mrs Charles Dana Gibson, Mrs.
Charles Cary Rumsey, Mrs. Cortlandt
d. Barnes and Mrs. John 7. Pratt.