e from the Era Club, presented a petition to the
City Council signed by all of the editors and many other
representative men of New Orleans, asking for the appointment of a
woman to an existing vacancy on the school board, but this was
refused. No women ever were appointed to such positions except in a
few country districts.

The office of State librarian had been held by a number of women
previous to 1898. The Constitutional Convention of that year,
however, which gave the taxpayer's suffrage to women, swept away every
vestige of their right to hold any office by adopting a clause
declaring that only qualified voters should be eligible to office.
Under this ruling women can not serve as notaries public.

There are no women on the boards of any public institutions in the
State and none has a woman physician.

Four police matrons are employed by New Orleans, one for the parish
prison, one for the police jail and two for station houses.

OCCUPATIONS: No profession or occupation is legally forbidden to
women.

EDUCATION: The State University at Baton Rouge is one of three in the
United States which do not admit women to any department. Tulane, in
New Orleans, the largest university in Louisiana, admits women to
post-graduate work and to the Departments of Law and Pharmacy, but the
Medical Department is still closed to them. The H. Sophie Newcomb
Memorial College for Girls is a part of Tulane University. It was
endowed by Mrs. Josephine Louise Newcomb with $2,500,000 in memory of
her daughter. At her death she left to it the remainder of her estate,
valued at $1,500,000.

New Orleans University (white) and Leland University (colored) are
co-educational. Most of the other colleges in the State are open to
women.

In the public schools there are 1,991 men and 2,166 women teachers.
The average monthly salary of the men is $37; of the women, $29.70.

FOOTNOTES:

[290] The History is indebted for the material for this chapter to
Miss Kate M. Gordon, president of the Era Club, Mrs. Evelyn W. Ordway
and Mrs. Martha Gould, all of New Orleans.

[291] Other presidents: Mrs. Elizabeth Lyle Saxon, Mrs. Evelyn W.
Ordway, Miss Florence Huberwald, Mrs. Helen Behrens.

[292] The clever reader between the lines will see that E. R.
A.--Equal Rights Association--is concealed in this innocent appearing
word.

[293] Miss Kate M. Gordon herself obtained and voted 300 proxies.
After the election the Business Men's Association o