The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1933-02-17
NEPOTISM war
DEADLOCKED
Both Sides Claim Victory
as Raleigh Controversy
Is Waged

RALEIGH, Feb. 17.-Regard-
less of what policy the general
assembly may take in regard to
the question of whether married
women whose husbands are en-
ployed should be kept on the
states payroll, the matter OF
carrying out the policy will be
entirely in the hands of the de-
partment heads. Thus both sides
claim to have won at least a
partial victory in the controversy
which has been waged here this
week over the Thompson resolu-
ton calling on the department
heads to dismiss women employees
whose husbands have jobs. ..x
The Thompson resolution was
reported favorably to day by the
house committee on propositions
and grievances, but the same
committee declined to give its
approval to a bill by Represen-
tative Johnson of Chatham which
would have carried out the pro-
visions of the resolution, and
also would have prevented the
state from employing either a
husband or wife when the other
had a job, whether with the state
Or not. A majority of members
were in sympathy with the idea
behind the bill, but it was the al
most unanimous opinion Of the
committee that such bill would
have been held constitutional.
While the resolution cannot
compel the state department
heads to carry out the policy it
suggests, proponents of the res
olution believe that it will have
the effect of at least causing the
department heads to eliminate
some of the "most fragrant
| cases of both man and wife be.
ing employed, and that if they
don't, they will have to answer
in the next primaries. On the
other hand, most of the employees
who might have been affected
had the committee approved the
johnson bill feel reasonably GER
| tain they will keep their jobs,
regardless of what action the
legislature may take on the reso-
luton.
Opposition to the resolution
amounted to little compared to
the storm of protest which came
from representatives of women's
clubs and others who appeared
before the committee on behalf
of the state employees to fight
the bill proposed by Representa-
tive Johnson. One of the princi-
nal speakers for the state en-
ployes was DR.. Della Dixon Car
roll, Raleigh woman physician,
who contended with the other
speakers that the bill violated
the principle of women's rights.
This was the main line of
argument advanced by the wo-
men, despite the fact that the
author of the bill readily agreed
to an amendment which made
the bill applicable to both men
and women, thus affecting lnen
whose wives are employed as
well as women whose husbands
are employed. This line of argu-
ment, however, apparently did
not carry much weight with the
committee, many of the mem
bers admitting that they voted
against the bill because they did
not think it would stand up in
| the courts.
Not only did the state employ
ed have champions Of women's
rights to present the case for
them but they also had a lawyer,
J. NJ. Broughton of Raleigh. The
women denounced the bill as a
return to the dark ages, and be-
rated the introducer of the bill
in particular and legislators in
general for ever thinking of
such a proposal.
Representative Johnson, speak
ing for his bill, admitted that
such a measure as his NAV have
been termed radical" a few
years ago, but that the time had
come when so-called radical leg
lislation was necessary, and that
it was apparent a conservative
policy has got us nowhere"