Evening star., 1938-02-10
EQUAL R|GHTSACT
DECLARED NEEDED
Women Cannot Depend on
Individual States for
Legislation.

Women cannot depend on legisla-
ton by individual States to win
equality with men. witnesses today
told Senate judiciary subcommittee
holding hearings on a proposal to add
a sex-equality amendment to the Con-
stitution.
With the hearings nearing an end.
Mrs Burnita Shelton Matthews, a
prominent member Of the District Of
Columbia bar and counsel for the
National Woman's party. which is
urging the amendment, said that in
the last 10 years only two States
had qualified women for jury duty
and that it required a decade. 1925-35,
for Congress to amend the District
Code which had provided that men
should be preferred over women in the
line Of descent, for property distri-
button
Mrs. Matthews devoted much Of her
presentation to answering arguments
advanced in opposition to the amend
ment earlier this week by two of her
District bar colleagues-Dean G.. Ache
son, former Undersecretary Of the
Treasury, and James Oliver Murdock,
former legal adviser to the State De-
partment
Sees Opportunity for States.
Recalling that Mr.. Acheson had said
confusion and chaos would be Gre
ated in State statutes by a Federal
amendment Mrs. Matthews expressed
the belief that the States would have
an opportunity to bring laws into har-
mony with the blanket legislation
while it was pending, just as had been
done in the case of the suffrage
amendment.
She laughingly disclaimed any effort
on the part Of women to discard their
identity through the amendment, as
she said, Mr. Murdock seemed to fear
The laws OF nature are not change
able; even If they were changeable,
we're satisfied with them" she said as
members Of her audience applauded
We want men to be men and
women to be women; we're not under
taking by this amendment to change
any Of the laws of nature"
Mrs. Roosevelt's views on the amend.
ment were brought into the hearing
as the result Of an inquiry by Senator
Burke, Democrat, Of Nebraska, chair
man of the subcommittee.
Addressing Mrs. Emma Guffey
Miller, Democratic national COM
mitteewoman from Pennsylvania and
sister Of Senator Guffey, Senator
Burke recalled that earlier this week
Senator O'Mahoney, Democrat, OF
Wyoming had requested the views or
the amendment of the wife of the
President and Secretary Of Labor
Perkins-both of whom have been
quoted in opposition to it-and that
while Mrs. Miller had discussed Secre-
tary Perkins attitude. she had not
touched on that of Mrs. Roosevelt
The Nebraska Senator wondered If
this was an oversight"
1T was an oversight" said Mrs
Miller, who is presenting the witnesses
. Il have never talked with Mrs Roose.
welt on this matter. and all know
about her views is what I have seer
III the paper. I cannot think that
Mrs. Roosevelt was correctly quoted
for she is very clear-thinking, and that
statement did not bear that out"
Plea for Amendment.
Mrs. Stephen Pell, New York So
cialite and chairman of the Council OF
the Woman's Party. in vigorus plea
in behalf of the amendment, told the
committee that:
The individual woman is still re-
garded under the law as part being,
part chattel She is to be protected
and pampered as pet by another
human being who, through the acci-
dent Of birth, happens to be a man,
or else to be denied her fundamental
rights to equality of treatment on the
ground that she Is a pet and must be
pampered and protected.
There is, then, only q difference
IN degree, as regards woman. between
her status in society which proudly
calls itself democratic and a society
in which all human liberties are de-
MED, and women are relegated to the
position of drudges and slaves
Other witnesses today were Miss
Martha R. Servis. executive secretary
of the National Soroptimists Clubs;
Mrs. James Norman Smith of New
York, member of the Council of the
Woman's Party. and Mrs. Marguerite
D. Bodziak, Democratic national COM
mitteewoman for Delaware
After todays hearing. the subcom-
mittee plans recess over tomorrow
and then will hear the rebuttal argu-
ments of opponents mustered by the
National League of Women Voters,
Saturday.
The full committee is to vote Mon