t, and shall be the absolute property of the surviving husband
or wife and minor children. This section shall not be construed to
prevent the disposition by will of the homestead and exempt personal
property.

A married woman has absolute control over her separate property and
may mortgage or convey it or dispose of it by will without the
husband's consent. The husband has the same right, but in conveying
real estate which is community property, the wife's signature is
necessary.

A married woman may engage in business in her own name and "her
earnings, wages and savings become her separate estate without any
express gift or contract of the husband, when she is permitted to
receive and retain them and to loan and invest them in her own name
and for her own benefit, and they are exempt from execution for her
husband's debts." (1894.)

A married woman may make contracts, sue and be sued in her own name.

The father is the legal guardian of the children, and at his death the
mother. The survivor may appoint a guardian.

Support for the wife may be granted by the court the same as alimony
in divorce, if the husband have property in the State. If not there is
no punishment for non-support. (1896.)

The "age of protection" for girls was raised from 10 to 13 years in
1888, and to 18 years in 1896. The penalty is imprisonment in the
penitentiary not less than five years.

SUFFRAGE: The Territorial Legislature conferred the Full Suffrage on
women in 1870, and they exercised it very generally until 1887 when
they were deprived of it by Congress through what is known as the
Edmunds-Tucker Act. Utah entered the Union in 1896 with Full Suffrage
for women as an article of the State constitution.

That they exercise this privilege quite as extensively as men is shown
by the following table prepared from the election statistics of 1900.
It is not customary to make separate returns of the women's votes and
these were obtained through the courtesy of Governor Wells, who, at
the request of the Utah Council of Women, wrote personal letters to
the county officials to secure them. Eleven of the more remote
counties did not respond but those having the largest population did
so, and, judging from previous statistics, the others would not change
the proportion of the vote.

Counties. Registered. Voted.

Men. Women. Total. Men. Women. Total.

Salt Lake 14,083 13,328