The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 7, 1921, Page 12

e e e 2 R +News of Women’s Nonpartisan Clubs THE FARM WOMAN’S PAGE Notes of Women’s Activities Everywhere i Two State Conventions Women’s Clubs of North Dakota and Minne- sota Hold Interesting Sessions ITH more than 100 delegates in attend- ance, the annual convention of the North Dakota Women’s Nonpartisan clubs was held at Bismarck, N. D., February 15 and 16. The secretary’s report showed 277 clubs organized in North Dakota on January 1, 1921, as compared with 45 the year before. Mrs. Lynn J. Frazier, wife of Governor Frazier, entertained the delegates at tea at the executive mansion. A banquet was also held at the McKenzie hotel. Most of the time was devoted by the delegates, however, to study of political affairs. Ad- dresses were given by Senator J. 1. Cahill, C. E. Cavett, Miss Blanche Hedrick and others and the delegates also attend- ed legislative committee meéet- ings to protest against the re- peal of the women’s eight-hour law. Mrs. Howard R. Wood was re-elected president of the North Dakota federation; Mrs. C. A. Fisher of Valley City was elected vice president and Miss Aldyth Ward recording secretary. These officers, with Mrs. S. M. Lindgren of Minot, representing the labor group, and Mrs. O. E. Bailey of Moffitt, representing the farmer group, will com- prise the executive committee. MINNESOTA WOMEN HOLDING CONVENTION AT MINNEAPOLIS As this issue of the Leader is being distributed to readers the Women’s Nonpartisan clubs of Minne- sota are -holding their first state convention at Minneapolis. Minnesota now has 207 clubs. In a number of counties the clubs have organized county federations. The Minneapolis meeting will result in the state federation. Hennepin and Ramsey counties, which include the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, respectively, were hosts to the out-of-town delegates and a pro- gram of interest was added to the two-day dis- cussions of club problems and plans for future or- ganization work. The Minnesota women held their state convention at the same time that the Minnesota state conven- tion of the Nonpartisan league was in session. Both meetings were held in the Minnesota. Daily Star building, which many of the delegates visited for the first time. E Hennepin county delegates explained their plans for organization work for the coming Minneapolis city campaign. The women expect to organ- ize every block in the city where working peo- ple live to be sure that the complete vote of the women is polled in the spring election. Mrs. Howard R. Wood, president of North __ Dakota federation AN EARLY “FEMINIST” i Anna Hutchinson wag one of the first wom- en in America to exert political influence, says Alice Stone Blackwell in the Woman Citizen. In 1628, in her home in Boston, Mrs. Hutch- inson began to hold meetings of women, with whom she discussed and criticized the sermons of the preceding Sunday. Later she held two meetings a week, one for women only, the other a “community meeting,” to which men also came. The great bone of contention in theology at that time was between “the covenant of works” and “the covenant of grace.” Mrs. Hutchinson and her brother-in-law, Rev. Mr. Cotton, believed in the latter, Governor Win- thrap in the former. : Public interest and public feeling over the matter ran high, and when election day came, the opinions of the candidates upon this ques- tion were the pivot upon which the political contest turned. The three deputies elected were all believers in “the covenant of grace.” “goat that can’t be got.” The governor was so‘disgusted that he refused to " confirm them and called another election. The same three deputies were re-elected. This was probably the first election held by white men on this side of the water where a woman'’s in- fluence turned the scale. No- doubt the irritation thus engendered was one factor in Mrs. Hutchin- son’s expulsion from the colony a few years later. First Wooman-Physician Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman in the world to take a medical degree, was born 100 yvears ago. When she died at the age of ‘89 there were 7,399 registered women physicians and sur- geons in the United States. . Miss Blackwell was born in England, but her family came to the United States during her girl- hood. When she first decided to study medicine no college would .receive her, but a minister who had formerly been a physician finally gave her elementary instruction. Later she made other at- tempts to enter medical schools. One medical col- lege in Philadelphia offered to admit her if she would disguise herself as a man. She rejected this offer and continued to make applications at other institutions. Finally a small college at Geneva, N. Y., consented to receive her. She graduated in 1849 at the head of her class.: Dr. Blackwell started practicing in New York. She was socially ostracized and could not rent an office. She solved this difficulty by buying a house and opening an infirmary for women-and children. At the close of the Civil war Dr. Blackwell founded a woman’s medical college which later .was merged with Cornell university. = . - THE COST OF WAR In response to numerous requests the Leader re- prints herewith the statement by Dr. E. B. Resa, chief physicist, United States bureau of standards, showing how total United States appropriations for the year ended June 30, 1920, were divided: Pet. Past and present wars................ 92.8 " (67.8 pect. for past wars and 25 pct. for our present military and naval pro- gram.) : L A Administration of government ......... 3.2 Public works (harbors, roads, etc.) ..... 3.0 Public welfare ....iiveveismsniissias 1.0 Potal: i R e R S A T 100.0 The total appropriations for the period named were = $5,686,005,706, about $50 for each man, woman or child, or $250 raised by each family, of which $232 (92.8 per cent) was spent for war. MOTHERS’ PENSIONS Forty of the 48 states of the Union now have nothers’ pension laws in some form. l “TAKE A BITE, BILLY” l This is Harvey Nelson, a young North Dakota Leaguer, and his Harvey seems to be offering the goat a cooy of the Fargo Forum and the goat appears to have too good judgment to eat it. Have any other young Leaguers pictures of themselves with their pets? Send them glong to us; we will print them on this page. PAGE TWELVE . Marriage and Divorce Federal Laws Are Needed, Says Minnesota : Womar) ; DITOR Nonpartisan Leader: We are all aware of the fact that there are more divorces granted throughout the United States today than ever before. Divorce makes itself felt in one out of Now, why are conditions as they are? What about marriage? What causes divorce? Can it be that our modern civilization is continually grow- ing more wicked? Let us admit that conditions in large cities are. “wicked.” But although divorces are numerous in the cities, statistics show that the ratio of marriage and divorce, according to the population, is smaller in the city than in the coun- try. The government report of 1916 records the following facts of the various sections of the United States on the number of divorces in every 100,000 of population: New England, 31; North Atlantic, 41; southern, 43; north central, 108; south central, 118; western, 168. This shows that divorces are most numerous in sparsely settled communities. Among the states themselves Nevada heads the list. Her population is about 122,000. Out of 2,000. marriages last year 750 divorces were granted. One reason for the large number of divorces in Nevada may be that it is really at the door of New York, as an immense number of Nevada’s population comes from that city. Texas; with an area of 262,- 398 square~miles and a population of 4,720,000, ranks second. California, the second largest state in the Union, with an area of 155,652 square miles --—and a population of 3,210,000, ranks third. NO UNIFORMITY IN LAWS OF VARIOUS STATES New York City, with a population of 5,600,000, granted only 1,927 divorces last year, which is a ratio considerably lower than that found in the western states. Hence we see that the so-called “wicked” cities can not be the great cause of di- vorces. g ‘What, then, is the general cause of divorce? Un- doubtedly the answer is: Human nature, with its unlimited variations and desires. If people who marry are fitted by nature, having characteristics, tastes and ideals in common, there is little danger of the divorce demon entering into their home. But human nature is not the only cause of di- vorces. Let us look at the marriage laws in the dif- ferent states. There is no uniformity among them. Some states prohibit the marriage of physical de- fectives, others do not; many do not even prohibit the marriage of mental defectives. In Kentucky, Colorado and Louisiana a girl of 12 and a boy of 14 can marry with the consent of their parents or guardian. In California the age limits are 15 for girls and 18 for boys; in Georgia, 15 and 17, etc. Only the state of Delaware prohibits the mar- riage of paupers. What can be done to rem- edy these conditions? First, we should have a national marriage law providing a sensible age limit; also physical and mental defectives should be barred. Second, we should have a national divorce law which will administer justice to men and women, to rich and poor, alike. Such laws would be based upon real democracy. A. S. ANDERSON. Grant County, Minn. One reason for the smaller number of di- vorces-in the East as compared with the West is that the laws of almost all western states make divorce easier than the laws of eastern states. - New York’s divorce law is an es- pecially rigid one.—THE EDITOR. WOMAN SUFFRAGE IN SWEDEN Both houses of the Swedish parliament have completed the ratification of woman suf- frage. Swedish women have voted in city elections since 1862, though up until 1918 many were barred because of property, quali- fications. In that year property qualifications made national. In elections this fall 1,400,000 women will be entitled to vote as compared -with 1,200,000 men. . every 10 homes. In some states the- proportion is even greater .than this. 3 were removed and now suffrage has been -