Women wanted: The story written in blood red letters on the horizon of the Great World War

by Mabel Potter Daggett

2. That the married couple shall have equal responsibilities and rights as regards the children and provide for them together.

3. That the husband and wife shall have equal right to represent the family in public matters. If either party uses this right improperly, it can be taken from him or her by the courts on the demand of the other party.

4. If either husband or wife should be a cause of danger to the other, the party who is endangered shall have the right to separate from the other. The courts shall be empowered to decide whether the circumstances are such as to entitle the complaining party to receive maintenance.

5. That if a married couple separates, the party who retains the care of the child shall decide the question of the child’s education. If this right be misused, the other party shall have the right to appeal to the courts for rectification.

6. That if any labour contract or business be conducted by one of the parties to the detriment of the family, the other party shall have the right of appeal to the courts with the object of annulling the contract or forbidding the business.

7. That in regard to the property of married couples, there shall be three possible alternative methods of arrangement: (a) Joint possession in the case of earned income. (b) Joint possession of every description of property. (c) Separation of property.

8. Several points must be taken into consideration in regard to the working of these different methods of arrangement: (a) That the distinction between real and other descriptions of property shall cease. (b) That each party shall have control over his or her separate property and the income derived from it and over all earned income. (c) That each party shall be bound to contribute to the maintenance of the family in proportion to his or her means, either in work or in financial resource. (d) That in case of joint possession, the whole income, earned or unearned, of each party shall belong to the common family fund. (e) That in the case of joint possession, both parties shall have equal rights of disposition. These rights shall be used by them jointly in such a manner that neither party shall be able to dispose of the property without the consent of the other, and no transaction can take place without the consent of both parties. (f) That the party who gives the chief labour and attention to the home shall have a due share of the common property and of the earned income, with full power to defray his or her personal expenses and those of the home.

9. Before marriage, the contracting parties shall agree on which of the three systems the property shall be arranged. This agreement shall be capable of alteration after marriage with due legal formalities and safeguards.

10. Husband and wife shall inherit from each other on the same footing with the children.

This memorial from the Finnish women coincides perfectly in spirit with the new laws in process of construction for Scandinavia. When the Dutch Parliament, which has just conferred a new measure of suffrage on the women of the Netherlands, was in 1917 debating the matter, an alarmed reactionary rose to object: “But how can married women vote? For married women are not free. They are like soldiers in barracks, who have lost the liberty to express their thoughts.”