Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 4.djvu/568

 any wages she may make by her labor, are community property and belong absolutely to him, and suit for them must be brought by him. By becoming a sole trader she makes herself liable for the support of the family.

A married woman may sue and be sued and make contracts in regard to her separate property, but in torts of a personal nature she must be sued jointly with her husband, although the wife may defend in her own right.

Until 1899 common law marriage was legal, and this consisted merely in a promise and the mutual assumption of marital rights, duties and obligations. That year a law was passed requiring a license and a civil or religious ceremony. The law declares specifically that "the husband is the head of the family and the wife is subject to him."

The wife may sue for separate maintenance without divorce.

The father is the guardian of the minor children and entitled to their custody, services and earnings. At his death, or if he has abandoned his family, the guardianship belongs to the mother, if suitable.

The husband is expected to give his family proper maintenance. There is no penalty for not supporting a wife but he can be arrested for failure to support the children. If he have no property or is disabled from any cause, then the wife must support him and the family out of her property or her earnings. The husband decides what are necessaries and may take even her personal belongings to pay for them.

In 1887 the W. C. T. U. asked to have the "age of protection" for girls raised from 10 to 18 years, but secured only 14. In 1895 they succeeded in having a bill passed for 18 years but it was vetoed by Gov. James H. Budd. In 1897 they obtained one for 16 years which he signed and it is now the law. The penalty is imprisonment in the penitentiary for not less than five years.


 * Women possess no form of suffrage.

In 1900, to make a test case, Mrs. Ellen Clark Sargent brought suit before Judge M. C. Sloss, of the Supreme Court of San Francisco, to recover her taxes for that year, about $500. The city through its attorney filed a demurrer which was argued March 29 by George C. Sargent, son of the plaintiff and a mem-