Evening star., 1937-04-24
BY Mary.Carter Roberts.

I1Io ID tlle UlOSldplIy VI Eltll
Spencer Mussey, a lady well
known to Americans generally
Il for her work in welfare and in
Uomen's organizations, and especially
known and honored by Washing
tonians, in whose city she long
made her home. Mrs. Mussey was a
pioneer in many fields and brought
to all Of them the courage, cheerful
ness and persistence which character
lied the pioneers. She was one OF the
first women lawyers. She founded the
Washington College of Law, which was
the first law school in the world
created primarily for women. She
fought consistently to secure legisla-
ton for equal rights for women. She
was active in the Red Cross in war
work. She won honors in all these en-
deavors and time has indicated her
rightness. She was also a wife and
mother.
1t is perhaps the one really strange
thing In her career that she entered
On the duties of wife and mother
thinking that they would be her whole
life. She was not q feminist from
arbitrary conviction, but grew into
one gradually as her widening view
of social conditions impressed upon
her the need which women had for
independent position. She took up
the study of law only through the
circumstance that her husbands ILL
ness made it necessary for her to help
him in his practice. When he died
she found it obligatory to take over
that practice for the sake Of her chill
dren. She was by then a competent
lawyer, but she could not get admis-
sion to the bar because she was not
man. 1t was only after long pleading,
and then by the special Intervention
of her husbands friend, Gen. Eaton,
that she finally was vouchsafed an
examination. She entered at once
upon consistently successful prac-
tice.
Her venture in opening the College
OF Law came about as the result of
many applications which she received
from young women who wanted to
study for the bar, but were denied
admission to all schools except Howard
University, amazing as that seems to-
day. Some determined young women
did enter the Negro college and take
their work there, but others felt that
the discrimination of the white schools
against them might be met in other
ways They applied to Mrs. Mussey
and she, with Miss Emma Gillett, un-
dertook to train six of them. When
her students were ready for their
examinations she was once more con-
fronted with the problem of getting
them admitted. She appealed to
various colleges to accept them, with
out avail. Such obstacles would have
ended the matter with most women or
men, but she persisted. Finally, on
the advice of eminent lawyers VINO
knew her ability and sympathized with
her. she opened her own school. With
typical craftsmanship and liberalism,
she made it co-educational. 1t had
difficult times, but succeeded in get
ting through them and becoming one
of the city's outstanding institutions OF
legal training.
Among the students trained there
are former Judge Mary OToole, Miss
Caroline Griesheimer, first woman 10
be detailed as civil service examiner
Miss Pearl Mccall, first woman assist
ant district attorney in the District;
Miss Agnes O'Neil, first woman assist
ant solicitor of the Department OF
State; Mrs. Flora Warren Seymour,
first woman on the Board of Indian
Commissioners; Miss Annabel Mat
thews, first woman member OF the
United States Board of Tax Appeals;
Miss Alice B. Birdsall, first woman re-
porter of the Supreme Court OF
State; Miss Katherine Pike, first
woman Of the law in the Customs Serv-
ice and first woman to go to sea as
customs officer.
From this brave piece Of pioneering
It was inevitable that Mrs. Mussey
should go on to yet other fields in Sc
curing recognition for women, and she
did so. The story Of her battles and
victories is ably and quite simply told
written from the viewpoint Of the pio-
neer in feminism whose reason for her
pioneering was not careerism or to seek
an outlet for the crusading spirit, but
was rather solid respect for justice
and common sense. Mrs. Mussey never
approved extreme measures and her
victories were founded on the sound
ness of her reasoning and not the sem
sationalism of her tactics. This picture
of her is presented admirably in Miss
Hathaway's excellent book.
THE DU MAURIERS. BY Daphne du
Maurier. Garden City: Doubleday
Doran g. Co.
THIS biography Of three genera
tions Of the Du Maurier family,
written by member of that family,
may not wholly convince readers that
its authors forbears were as fascinat-
Ing a group of people as she herself
seems to believe, but that is nothing
against the book she has written 1t
Is fascinating. 1t is that without
qualification. From the standpoint Of
holding attention, it is one of the best
biographies yet published in this high
ly biographical year.
Miss du Maurier, it would seem, is
at her best when writing about her
family. AS novelist, she is compe-
tent, but unremarkable One has the
feeling, reading her fiction, that she
writes it because she has decided to
and Is conscientious about self prom
tses. But when she undertakes a bit
Of the history OF her people-as wit
ness her previously published biog-
raphy of her father, Gerald, Por-
trait'-she uses an unmistakable love
for her theme and blends with that
an astonishingly intimate understand
Ing. She writes books then that are
alive, and, however Insignificant may
be the particular Du Maurier about
whom she Is telling us, she endows him
with the roundness Of life, and its
plaBibility and implausibiltty in life