child under 14 shall work in factory, mill, or mine unless said child
shall have no other means of support. No child under 16
shall work more
than ten hours per day. Seats and suitable dressing-rooms must be
provided for female employees.
SUFFRAGE, POLITICAL CONDITION, INDUSTRIAL AND
PROFESSIONAL STATUS: In
the country districts any widow having a child of school age and any
widow or spinster having a ward of school age may vote for school
trustees and school taxes. In Louisville, five third-class, and twenty
or more fourth-class cities no woman has any vote. Women may be notaries
public. 39 women in ministry, 4 dentists, 21
journalists, 16 lawyers, 98
doctors, 5 professors, 35 saloon keepers, 3 bankers, 20
commercial
travellers, 9 carpenters, etc.
_Louisiana_
AGE OF LEGAL CONSENT: 16.
POPULATION: Male 694,733; female 686,892.
HUSBAND AND WIFE: Husband controls wife's earnings. Wife cannot appear
in court without her husband's consent, and needs this consent in all
matters connected with her separate estate. She may make her will
without the authority of her husband. No woman can be a witness to a
testament. No married woman can be executor without husband's consent.
The dowry is given to the husband, for him to enjoy as long as the
marriage shall last. Husband is legal guardian of children.
DIVORCE: Absolute or limited for adultery, condemnation to an infamous
punishment, habitual and intolerable intemperance, insupportable excess
or outrages, public defamation on the part of one of the married persons
toward the other, desertion, attempted murder, proof of guilt of husband
or wife who has fled from justice when charged with an infamous offence.
LABOUR LAWS: No female to be employed in any place where liquor is sold.
No Sunday labour. No child under 15 to engage in any acrobatic or
theatrical public exhibition. Seats must be provided for female
employees, who are also to have at least thirty minutes for lunch. No
girl under 14 may be employed in any mill or factory; and no woman shall
be worked more than ten hours a day. Seats, suitable dressing-rooms, and
stairs must be provided. An inspector, male or female, is appointed.
SUFFRAGE, POLITICAL CONDITION, INDUSTRIAL AND
PROFESSIONAL STATUS:
Tax-paying women can vote on all questions of taxation.
14 women in
ministry, 4 dentists, 21 journalists, 8 lawyers, 25
doctors, 16
professors, 31 saloon keepers, 2 bankers, 18 commercial travellers, 9
carpenters, etc.
_Maine_
AGE OF LEGAL CONSENT: 16.
POPULATION: Male 350,995; female 343,471.
HUSBAND AND WIFE: Wife controls own earnings and has full control of
separate property. Wife and husband are equal guardians of children. If
there is no will, the interest of the husband or wife in the real estate
of the other is the same--one third absolutely, if there is issue
living, one half if there is no issue, the whole if there is neither
issue nor kindred.
DIVORCE: Absolute for adultery, impotence, extreme cruelty, desertion
for three years, gross and confirmed habits of Intoxication whether from
liquors or drugs, cruel and abusive treatment, wilful neglect to
provide.
No limited divorce.
LABOUR LAWS: Ten hours a day the legal limit for female employees. No
child under 14 may work in a factory. No Sunday labour.
No child under
16 may be employed in any acrobatic, mendicant, immoral, or dangerous
occupation.
SUFFRAGE, POLITICAL CONDITION, INDUSTRIAL AND
PROFESSIONAL STATUS: No
suffrage. Women can be justices of the peace, town clerks, and registers
of probate. They cannot be notaries public. 39 women in ministry, 4
dentists, 33 journalists, 4 lawyers, 67 doctors, 1
professor, 3 bankers,
5 carpenters, etc.
_Maryland_
AGE OF LEGAL CONSENT: 16.
POPULATION: Male 589,275; female 598,769.
HUSBAND AND WIFE: Wife controls own earnings. No assignment of wages to
be made without consent of both husband and wife. Wife controls separate
property absolutely. Inheritance of property is the same for widow and
widower. Husband is legal guardian of children and must support family.
DIVORCE: Absolute for impotence, any cause which by the laws of the
State renders a marriage null and void _ab initio_, adultery, desertion
for three years, illicit sexual intercourse _of the woman before_
marriage unknown to husband (_but the wife cannot obtain a divorce from
her husband if he has been guilty of such an offence_).
Limited divorce
for cruelty, excessively vicious conduct, or desertion.
In all cases
where an absolute divorce is granted for adultery or abandonment, the
court may decree that the guilty party shall not contract marriage with
any other person during the lifetime of the other party.
Annulment is
given for bigamy or marriage within the prohibited degrees of
consanguinity and affinity.
LABOUR LAWS: Seats must be provided for female employees. No Sunday
labour. No child under 14 may be employed in any mendicant or acrobatic
occupation. No child under 8 may be employed in peddling. Women may not
be waitresses in any place where liquor is sold.
Children under 12 may
not be employed in any business except in the counties, from June 1 to
Oct. 15, Ten hours a legal day's work.
SUFFRAGE, POLITICAL CONDITION, INDUSTRIAL AND
PROFESSIONAL STATUS: No
suffrage. Women serve as notaries public. 35 women in ministry, 6
dentists, 23 journalists, 6 lawyers, 87 doctors, 4
professors, 2
bankers, 13 commercial travellers, 10 carpenters, etc.
_Massachusetts_
AGE OF LEGAL CONSENT: 16.
POPULATION: Male 1,367,474; female 1,437,872.
HUSBAND AND WIFE: Wife controls own earnings and has control of her
separate property subject only to the husband's interests. She can be
executor, make contracts, etc., as if unmarried. The husband is legal
guardian of minor children; he may dispose of them and may appoint a
guardian at his death. Husband must support family. In distributing the
estate, no distinction is made between real and personal property. The
surviving husband or wife takes one third, if deceased leaves children
or their descendants; 5000 dollars and one half of the remaining estate
if the deceased leaves no issue; and the whole, if deceased leaves no
kin. This is taken absolutely and not for life. Curtesy and dower exist;
but the old-time curtesy is cut down to a life-interest in one third,
the same as dower; and in order to be entitled to dower or curtesy, the
surviving husband or wife must elect to take it in preference to the
above provisions.
DIVORCE: Absolute for adultery, impotency, utter desertion for three
years, gross and confirmed habits of intoxication, cruel and abusive
treatment, wilful neglect to provide, sentence to imprisonment for five
years.
No limited divorce.
LABOUR LAWS: No Sunday labour. Ten hours a legal day's work. No woman to
labour between 10 P.M. and 6 A.M. in any manufacturing establishment,
nor between 6 P.M. and 6 A.M. in any textile works. No child under 14
and no illiterate under 16 and over 14 may be employed in any factory or
mercantile establishment. No child under 14 may be employed between 7
P.M. and 6 A.M., or during the time when the public schools are in
session. Seats must be provided for females. No woman or young person
shall be required to work more than six hours without thirty minutes for
lunch. No child under 15 may engage in any gymnastic or theatrical
exhibition.
SUFFRAGE, POLITICAL CONDITION, INDUSTRIAL AND
PROFESSIONAL STATUS: Women
have school suffrage. They may be justices of the peace.
188 women in
ministry, 38 dentists, 180 journalists, 47 lawyers, 729
doctors, 38
professors, 8 saloon keepers, 3 bankers, 73 commercial travellers, 31
carpenters, etc.
_Michigan_
AGE OF LEGAL CONSENT: 16.
POPULATION: Male 1,248,905; female 1,172,077.
HUSBAND AND WIFE: Husband controls wife's earnings.
Dower prevails, but
not curtesy. When the wife has separate real estate, she controls it as
if single. The husband cannot give full title to his real estate unless
the wife joins so as to cut off her dower. Father is guardian of the
children. Husband must support.
DIVORCE: Absolute for adultery, impotence, imprisonment for three years,
desertion for two years, habitual drunkenness, if husband or wife has
obtained a divorce in another State.
Limited or absolute divorce at the discretion of the court for extreme
cruelty, desertion for two years, neglect to provide.
LABOUR LAWS: No female may be employed in any place where liquor is
sold. Seats must be provided for female employees. Ten hours a legal
day's work. No Sunday labour. No child under 16 may take part in any
acrobatic or mendicant or dangerous or immoral occupation, nor shall any
minor be given obscene literature to sell. No female under 21 may be
employed in any occupation endangering life, health, or morals. At least
forty-five minutes must be allowed for lunch.
SUFFRAGE, POLITICAL CONDITION, INDUSTRIAL AND
PROFESSIONAL STATUS: All
women who pay taxes may vote upon questions of local taxation and the
granting of franchises. Parents and guardians have also school suffrage.
Women serve as notaries public. 105 women in ministry, 17 dentists, 81
journalists, 27 lawyers, 270 doctors, 26 professors, 23
saloon keepers,
13 bankers, 53 commercial travellers, 32 carpenters, etc.
_Minnesota_
AGE OF LEGAL CONSENT: 16.
POPULATION: Male 932,490; female 818,904.
HUSBAND AND WIFE: Wife controls own earnings, but cannot convey or
encumber her separate real estate without husband's consent. No dower or
curtesy. If either husband or wife die intestate, the survivor, if there
is issue living, is entitled to the homestead for life and one third of
the rest of the estate in fee simple. If there are no descendants, the
entire estate goes absolutely to the survivor. Husband is guardian of
children and must support family.
DIVORCE: Absolute for adultery, impotency, cruel and inhuman treatment,
sentence to imprisonment after marriage, wilful desertion for one year,
habitual drunkenness for one year.
Limited divorce--to wife only--for cruel and inhuman treatment, on part
of husband, or such conduct as may make it unsafe and improper for her
to cohabit with him, desertion and neglect to provide.
LABOUR LAWS: Children between 8 and 18 must be sent to school during
whole period schools are in session, except in cases of unusual poverty.
Ten hours a legal day's work. Seats must be provided for female
employees. No Sunday labour. No child under 18 may engage in any
occupation between 6 P.M. and 7 A.M.; nor in any mendicant, acrobatic,
immoral, or dangerous business. No child under 14 may work in factory or
mine. A _female_ factory inspector must be appointed.
SUFFRAGE, POLITICAL CONDITION, INDUSTRIAL AND
PROFESSIONAL STATUS: Women
have school suffrage and may vote for library trustees.
80 women in
ministry, 18 dentists, 75 journalists, 21 lawyers, 199
doctors, 16
professors, 17 saloon keepers, 10 bankers, 46 commercial travellers, 8
carpenters, etc.
_Mississippi_
AGE OF LEGAL CONSENT: 10.
POPULATION: Male 781,451; female 769,819.
HUSBAND AND WIFE: Husband controls wife's earnings. He manages her
separate property, but must give an account of it annually. No dower or
curtesy. If husband or wife dies intestate, the entire estate goes to
the survivor; if there is issue, surviving husband or wife has a child's
share of the estate. Each has equal rights in making a will. Father is
legal guardian of children, but cannot deprive mother of custody of
their persons. Husband must support.
DIVORCE: Absolute for marriage within prohibited degrees, natural
impotence, adultery, sentence to the penitentiary, wilful desertion for
two years, habitual drunkenness or excessive use of drugs, habitually
cruel treatment, pregnancy of wife at time of marriage unknown to
husband, bigamy, insanity, or idiocy when party applying did not know of
it.
No limited divorce. The court may decree that the guilty party must not
marry again.
LABOUR LAWS: No Sunday labour. There are no other laws.
SUFFRAGE, POLITICAL CONDITION, INDUSTRIAL AND
PROFESSIONAL STATUS: A
woman as a free-holder or lease-holder may vote at a county election to
decide as to the adoption or non-adoption of a law permitting stock to
run at large. If a widow and the head of a family, she may vote on
leasing certain portions of land in the township which are set apart for
school purposes. Widows in country districts may also vote for school
trustees. Women cannot be notaries public. 13 women in ministry, 2
dentists, 19 journalists, 4 lawyers, 16 doctors, 3
professors, 1 saloon
keeper, 3 bankers, 9 commercial travellers, 13
carpenters, etc.
_Missouri_
AGE OF LEGAL CONSENT: 18.
POPULATION: Male 1,595,710; female 1,510,955.
HUSBAND AND WIFE: Wife controls own earnings. Her separate property is
liable for debts contracted by the husband for necessaries for the
family. Wife can sue and be sued, make contracts, etc., in her own name.
She may hold real property under three different tenures: an equitable
separate estate created by certain technical words in the conveyance,
and this she can dispose of without husband's consent; a legal separate
estate, which she cannot convey without his joinder; and a common law
estate in fee, of which the husband is entitled to the rents and
profits. Dower and curtesy prevail. Husband is guardian of children and
must support.
DIVORCE: Absolute for impotence, bigamy, adultery, desertion for one
year, conviction for felony or infamous crime, habitual drunkenness for
one year, cruel treatment endangering life or intolerable indignities,
vagrancy of husband, pregnancy of wife at time of marriage unknown to
husband.
No limited divorce.
LABOUR LAWS: Seats must be provided for female employees. No woman may
be employed in any place where liquor is served except wife, daughter,
mother, or sister of owner. No child under 14 to engage in any
acrobatic, mendicant, dangerous, or immoral occupation.
No Sunday
labour. No female may work underground in a mine.
Children between 8 and
14 must go to school. No child under 14 may work in any theatre, concert
hall, factory; but this applies only to cities with 10,000 or more
inhabitants, No female may labour more than 54 hours a week.
SUFFRAGE, POLITICAL CONDITION, INDUSTRIAL AND
PROFESSIONAL STATUS: No
suffrage. Women may be notaries public. 138 women in ministry, 32
dentists, 87 journalists, 61 lawyers, 303 doctors, 17
professors, 44
saloon keepers, 30 bankers, 37 commercial travellers, 15
carpenters,
etc.
_Montana_
AGE OF LEGAL CONSENT: 16.
POPULATION: Male 149,842; female 93,487.
HUSBAND AND WIFE: Wife controls own earnings. There is dower, but not
curtesy. Wife controls separate property. Husband is guardian of
children and must furnish support; but wife must help, if necessary. Her
personal property is subject to debts incurred for family expenses.
DIVORCE: Absolute for adultery, extreme cruelty, wilful desertion,
wilful neglect, habitual intemperance, conviction of felony.
No limited divorce; but wife may have an action for permanent
maintenance, at discretion of court, even though absolute divorce is
denied.
LABOUR LAWS: Children under 16 may not be employed in mines. Children
between 8 and 14 must go to school. No child under 16
may take part in
any acrobatic, mendicant, or wandering occupation. No Sunday labour. No
child under 16 may work in mill, factory, railroad, in any place where
machinery is operated, or in any messenger company.
SUFFRAGE, POLITICAL CONDITION, INDUSTRIAL AND
PROFESSIONAL STATUS: Women
may vote for school trustees. Those owning property may vote on all
questions submitted to tax-payers. They cannot be notaries public. 22
women in ministry, 3 dentists, 6 journalists, 3 lawyers, 16 doctors, 7
saloon keepers, 2 commercial travellers, 2 carpenters, etc.
_Nebraska_
AGE OF LEGAL CONSENT: 18.
POPULATION: Male 564,592; female 501,708.
HUSBAND AND WIFE: Wife controls own earnings and separate property. Both
dower and curtesy prevail; but wife can mortgage or sell her real estate
without husband's consent and without regard for his right of curtesy.
He can do the same with his separate property, but subject to her dower.
Husband and wife are equal guardians of the children.
Husband must
provide; but wife's separate property can be levied on for necessaries
furnished the family, if husband has no property. Wife is not "next of
kin" and cannot sue, for example, for damages to a minor child, even
though she is divorced and has custody of children.
DIVORCE: Absolute for adultery, impotence, imprisonment for three
years, desertion for two years, habitual drunkenness, imprisonment for
life, extreme cruelty, neglect to provide.
Limited divorce also for last three causes. Annulment for bigamy, when
one party is white and other has one fourth or more negro blood,
insanity or idiocy at time of marriage, consanguinity, obtaining
marriage by fraud or force, when there has been no subsequent
cohabitation.
LABOUR LAWS: Children must go to school between 7 and 15. Ten hours a
legal day's labour. Sunday labour forbidden. Females to be employed
between 6 A.M. and 10 P.M. Seats must be provided. No child under 14 may
be employed in any place where liquor is sold, factory, hotel, laundry,
messenger work. No child under 14 may be employed at all during school
term.
SUFFRAGE, POLITICAL CONDITION, INDUSTRIAL AND
PROFESSIONAL STATUS: Women
who are mothers of children of school age or who are assessed on real or
personal property have school suffrage; but they cannot vote for State
or county superintendents or county supervisors. Women act as notaries
public. 95 women in ministry, 16 dentists, 35
journalists, 23 lawyers,
134 doctors, 11 professors, 10 saloon keepers, 15
commercial travellers,
12 carpenters, etc.
_Nevada_
AGE OF LEGAL CONSENT: 14.
POPULATION: Male 25,603; female 16,732.
HUSBAND AND WIFE: Wife controls own earnings. She may control her
separate property, if a list of it is filed with the county recorder,
but unless it is kept constantly inventoried and recorded, it becomes
community property. The community property, both real and personal, is
under absolute control of husband and at wife's death it all belongs to
him. On death of the husband, wife is entitled to half of it. A wife's
earnings are hers if her husband has allowed her to appropriate them to
her own use, when they are regarded as a gift from him to her. Husband
is legal guardian of children. Husband must provide; but there is no
penalty if he does not.
DIVORCE: Absolute for impotence, adultery since marriage remaining
unforgiven, wilful desertion for one year, conviction for felony or
infamous crime, habitual drunkenness which incapacitates party from
contributing his or her share to support of family, extreme cruelty,
wilful neglect to provide for one year.
No limited divorce.
LABOUR LAWS: There are none dealing with women and children.
SUFFRAGE, POLITICAL CONDITION, INDUSTRIAL AND
PROFESSIONAL STATUS: No
suffrage. Women cannot serve as notaries public. 2 women in ministry, 4
dentists, 1 journalist, 1 lawyer, 6 doctors, 5 saloon keepers.
_New Hampshire_
AGE OF LEGAL CONSENT: 16.
POPULATION: Male 205,379; female 206,209.
HUSBAND AND WIFE: Wife controls own earnings. Dower and curtesy prevail.
Wife can sue and be sued and make contracts without husband's consent.
Husband is legal guardian of children, and must provide.
DIVORCE: Absolute for impotence, adultery, extreme cruelty, imprisonment
for one year, treatment seriously injuring health or endangering reason,
absence for three years without being heard from, habitual drunkenness
for three years, joining any religious sect which believes relation of
husband and wife unlawful, desertion for three years with neglect to
provide.
No limited divorce.
LABOUR LAWS: No child under 12 may be employed in any factory, nor any
child under 14 while schools are in session. Nine hours and forty
minutes the legal limit for female labour per day. No child under 14
shall engage in any acrobatic exhibition or in the selling of obscene
literature. No Sunday labour. Seats must be provided for female
employees. No female may sell or serve liquor.
SUFFRAGE, POLITICAL CONDITION, INDUSTRIAL AND
PROFESSIONAL STATUS. Women
have school suffrage. They may be notaries public. 25