do and should want the
ballot because--

1. Being 21 years old, we object to being classed with minors.

2. Born in America and loyal to her institutions, we protest
against being made perpetual aliens.

3. Costing the treasuries of our counties nothing, we protest
against acknowledging the male pauper as our political superior.

4. Being obedient to law, we protest against the statute which
classes us with the convict and makes the pardoned criminal our
political superior.

5. Being sane, we object to being classed with the lunatic.

6. Possessing an average amount of intelligence, we protest
against legal classification with the idiot.

7. We taxpayers claim the right to representation.

8. We married women want to own our clothes.

9. We married breadwinners want to own our earnings.

10. We mothers want an equal partnership in our children.

11. We educated women want the power to offset the illiterate
vote of our State.

Mrs. Meriwether sent this "confession of faith" to the presidents of
every suffrage club and W. C. T. U. in Tennessee, giving them a
fortnight to obtain signatures and adding, "The King's business
requires haste." In two weeks it was returned with the names of 535
women, while several presidents wrote: "If you could only give us two
weeks more we could double the number."[436]

LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS AND LAWS: Dower and curtesy both obtain. The widow
receives one-third of the real estate, unless there are neither
descendants nor heirs-at-law, when she takes it all in fee-simple. Of
the personal property she takes a child's share, unless there are no
lineal descendants, when she takes it all. The widower is entitled to
a life interest in the wife's real estate, if there has been issue
born alive, and to all of her personal estate whether there are
children or not. The law provides that a homestead to the value of
$1,000 shall inure to the widow.

The wife can neither sue nor be sued nor make contracts in her own
name, unless the husband has deserted her or is insane. The husband is
entitled to her earnings and savings.

Meigs' Digest says: "The general principle of the law is that marriage
amounts to an absolute gift to the husband of all personal goods of
which the wife is actually or beneficially possessed at the time, or
which come to her during coverture. So that if it be money in her
pocket