In 1879 the Legislature enacted that a woman twenty-one years of age, who could give satisfactory evidence as to residence and who could stand the educational test (i. e., be able to read five lines of the constitution and write her name), and who should give notice in writing to the assessors that she wished to be assessed a poll tax (two dollars) and should give in under oath a statement of her taxable property (which was not required of men, as they had the option of letting the assessors guess at the amount) should thereupon be assessed and should be entitled to register and vote for members of school boards.[327] In order to keep her name on the registration list this entire process had to be repeated every year, while a man's name once placed on the list was kept there without further effort on his part, and the payment of the same poll tax entitled him to full suffrage.
In 1881 the poll tax was reduced to fifty cents, and the law was changed so that women's names should remain on the registration list so long as they continued to reside and pay their taxes in the place where they were registered. Even now, however, it requires constant watchfulness on their part to have this done. In 1890 the poll tax as a prerequisite for voting was abolished for men, and in 1892 for women. Only a few weeks in each year were set apart when women might register until 1898, when it was enacted that the time of registration should be the same for both.
The School Suffrage includes only a vote for members of the school board and not for supervisors, appropriations or any questions connected with the public schools. Women are not authorized to attend caucuses or have any voice in nominations of school officers. As they were thus deprived of all voice in selecting candidates, an association, Independent Women Voters, was formed in Boston in 1889 by Mrs. Eliza Trask Hill, who served as president until 1896, when she removed from the city, and Mrs. Sarah J. Boyden has filled the office since then. This organization, which was entered at the registration office as a political party, holds a caucus in each ward between January 1 and April 1 every year and nominates candidates for the School Board. Such nomination by 100 or more legal voters entitles their names to be placed on the Australian ballot. Some of the nominees of the Independent Women Voters are often accepted by the regular parties, but even when this is refused they are sometimes elected over the Republican or Democratic candidates.
Because of the conditions attached and the small privilege granted it is remarkable that any considerable number of women should have voted during these past years. When School Suffrage was first granted, in 1879, only 934 women voted, and for the first seven years the average was only 940. Since then there has been a large increase of interest. During the past seven years the number never has fallen below 5,000. In 1898, 5,201 women voted; in 1899, 7,090; in 1900, 9,542; and this year (1901) there were 15,545 names on the register and 11,620 voted. The highest number was reached in 1888, when under special circumstances 25,279 women were registered and 19,490 voted.
Office Holding: Women have served as School Committee (trustees) since 1874. For some time previous to 1884 they could hold by appointment the offices of overseers of the poor, trustees of public libraries, school supervisors, members of the State Boards of Education and of Health, Lunacy and Charity, without special legislation. It was required that there should be women on the boards of the three State Primary and Reform Schools, State workhouse, State almshouse and Board of Prison Commissioners, and that certain managers and officers of the Reformatory Prison for Women at Sherborn should be women.
In 1884 a bill was passed requiring the appointment of two women on the board of every Hospital for the Insane and one woman physician for each. In 1885 it was enacted that women might be assistant registers of deeds; in 1886 that they might be elected overseers of the poor. In 1887 a law was passed requiring police matrons in all cities of 30,000 inhabitants or more. There had been matrons in Boston fifteen years.
In 1890 the Supreme Court decided that a woman could not act as notary public. In 1891 it was enacted that there should be women factory inspectors; in 1895 that a woman could be appointed assistant town or city clerk; in 1896 that county commissioners might appoint a woman clerk pro tempore!
The evolution of the Special Commissioner shows the laborious processes by which women make any gains in Massachusetts. In 1883 a law was passed that women attorneys could be appointed Special Commissioners to administer oaths, take depositions and acknowledge deeds. In 1889 it was amended to give Special Commissioners the same powers as justices of the peace in the above respects and also that of issuing summonses for witnesses. In 1896 it was provided that any woman over twenty-one, the same as any man, whether a lawyer or not, could be appointed commissioner; a change of name by marriage should terminate her commission but should not disqualify her for re-appointment. In 1898 the powers were extended to appointments of appraisers of estates. In 1899 the powers of the Special Commissioner were made coincident with those of justice of the peace, but the authority to perform the marriage ceremony was taken from justices generally and is now given to specified ones only.
Women can not be justices of the peace. They may be appointed by the State to take acknowledgments of deeds but not to perform the marriage ceremony unless regularly ordained ministers.
Women at present are serving on State Boards as follows: Commissioners of Prisons, Charity and Free Public Library—two each; trustees of Insane Hospitals at Danvers, Northampton, Taunton, Worcester and Medfield—two each, and at Westborough, three; School for Feeble-minded, one; Hospital for Epileptics, two; for Dipsomaniacs and Inebriates, one; Hospital Cottages for Children, one; State Hospital and State Farm, two; Lyman and Industrial Schools, two.