Life, 1913-12-18 · page 16 of 40
Life — December 18, 1913 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page argues that Britain should reform its discriminatory laws regarding women to defuse militant suffragist activism—just as Ireland's land reforms quieted Irish discontent. The author cites specific legal inequalities: divorce law permits husbands to divorce unfaithful wives, but wives cannot divorce unfaithful husbands unless cruelty accompanies infidelity. The piece references the "Pankhurstites" (Emmeline Pankhurst's suffragist movement) and suggests that modernizing women's legal status—as some American states had done—would eliminate "reasonable grievances" fueling militant action. The accompanying dark photograph captioned "At the Club" appears to depict a social scene, though its specific relevance is unclear from the image quality. The "Headlines Seldom Used" section uses irony to mock unlikely newspaper scenarios, contrasting with the page's serious advocacy for legal equality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE: British Brethren; Mend Your Laws ! HE new Irish land-laws and Sir Horace Plunkett's co-operative agriculture have made Ireland so prosperous and comfortable that except for the bigotries of Ulster, Home Rule would work out with a minimum of ex- citement. Irish hate of England has cooled for lack of fuel. Home Rule has lost its terrors because a great work of justice and mercy to the Irish tenant farmers has preceded it. Would it not be possible to take some of the fury out of the suffragist and feminist move- ment in England by like means? Why do not our British brethren wet the powder of the Pankhurstites by recasting some of their pre- cious laws? We have read repeatedly that marital infidelity is a legal basis in England for divorce to a husband but not to a wife unless it is accompanied by ill treatment. Such a law as that is altogether behind the times, Man and wife should be on precisely the same basis in marriage. If cither is unfaithful the other should have a remedy. now There are other such laws or customs in England, based on a condition of women which has passed away. There used to be such laws in all our older states, but in most of them, New York, for one, Massachusetts, for another, they have been replaced by legislation which gives to women not merely equal, but superior rights and priv- ileges, in all matters relating to person or property. Some of the southern states are behind in this matter. And England is far behind, She should by no means wait until the militants have been suppressed before bringing her laws that relate to women up to the twentieth century. There is no better way to squelch the militants than to deprive them of their reasonable grievances. Headlines Seldom Used ICH Nobleman Weds Poor American Girl. Millionaire Refuses Collegiate Degree. Surgeon Goes Under Knife. Minister Talks on Religion. No Crisis in Mexico, Railroad Exonerates Dead Engineer. Manufacturers Abandon Child Labor System, AT THE CLUB “1 RATHER FANCY YOU'RE ON THE WRONG STREET, Sin!” comicbooks.com