The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-03-25
By MARGUERITE MOOERS MARI
 SHALL.
lady killers be let off?

SHALL.
 Should lady killers be let off? We mean, of course, ladies who kill; not those who, metaphorcally, kill ladies, those flashing Don Juans | of poetry and the police court. The whirligig of time brings it's revenges on these gentlemen. They all are sentenced to grow old
 But what about the verdict on the woman with the gun? She is usual l ly being tried in one of our courts We hope we are not committing con- tempt if we add that she is usually being acquitted. The exception there was one last weelS--merely proves the rule. When New York i reaches that stage in civilization all ready attained by New Jersey and admits women to the jury box, the box score on murder trials may show more convictions and fewer acquit- tals. It may-and it may not.
 A male editor, of years and sophis- tication, explains that, when a lady l is brought to the point of shooting a man, jury of his peers assumes she must have had her rcasons-and acts accordingly.
 Gazing on the offended goddess at the bar of justice, recalling the fate l of her victim, the average juryman, perchance pales at the sobering thought; There, but for the grace of Mollie--or Gladys-or Sue-go l! And she may get me yeti"
 | It seems to us that husband shoot | ing should be made less safe out door-and-indoor sport for the women l of New York. If the mortality among husbands were not so high, they might be easier to catch in the first place! If man is to be convinced that, at the altar, he stands to lose not merely liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but life itself-why, he naturally won't stand at the altar any oftener than he can help. Good ness knows our eligible young men are shy enough now. We're not get ting anywhere-or getting them-by making them gun-shy.
 AS for the woman who shoots a man to whom she isn't married, but to whom she thinks she ought to be- there is this to be said: she has the courage of her own cartridges. She doesn't send boy. or a heavy father, to do her shooting for her. And so long as men are acquitted on the ground of the unwritten law" and defending their honor," why judge women by the mere written Il statutes?
 T Probably the statute of limitations should apply even to defending ones honor. Alter the passage of a cer- tain number of years, an offense l against "honor" ought not to lie. l Equal rights in the courtroom I and in courtship," Perhaps that is the slogan for that new cause for women, about which we were inuuir- ,,l ing anxiously yesterday. Assembly, man Hackenburg's famous bill. at Albany, reducing the tariff on brok- en hearts to lump sum of six cents per heart reminds us that we still have ai! the ledge" on the other sex when it comes to lovemaking. It's always the man who paws and pays and pays the high cost of jilt- ing.
 Why should he? Now that we are claiming all his rights, why shouldn't he share in one that has been immemorially our own-the right to change our mind? In the news of the last six months we've been reading about the Chicago so- ciety girl who tilted her fiance seven-or was it nine? times Did he start seven suits for breach of promise? He did not He didn't even start one. Why can't a girl be as much of a good sport?
 A young man says: Sorry, but I've decided l don't want to marry you. You're a perfectly nice girl but I'm I looking further. So, let's call it off.' When that happens, why call a lawyer? He'll want to read all ones love letters. He'll want to read them out loud in court. to the judge and