men. During the year 1879 the number of women employed
as teachers was 13,579, while the number of men was 7,573. In the
larger towns and cities women are almost exclusively engaged as
teachers. Miss Phebe Ludlow, after having for several years
acceptably discharged the duties of city superintendent of
schools at Davenport, was elected professor of English language
and literature in the State University at Iowa City. The chair is
still occupied by a woman, as is that of instructor of
mathematics and several other branches in that institution,
which, to the honor of Iowa be it said, always opened its doors
to both sexes alike.

The question of the eligibility of women to the office of county
superintendent of public schools having arisen by the election of
Miss Julia C. Addington in the autumn of 1869, the matter was
referred to the attorney-general by the State superintendent of
public instruction, and the following was his reply:

_Hon. A. S. Kissell, Superintendent of Public Instruction:_

DEAR SIR: Rights and privileges of persons (citizens) are
frequently extended but never abridged by implication. The
soundness and wisdom of this rule of construction is, I
believe, universally conceded. Two clauses of the
constitution, only, contain express provisions excluding
women from the rights and privileges in said provisions.
Section 1, of Article I., as to the right of suffrage, and
Section 4, of Article III., which provides that members of
the legislature must be free white male citizens. "Free" and
"white" have lost their meaning (if the words in that use
ever had any suitable or good meaning), but the word "male"
still retains its full force and effect. If this express
restriction exists in the constitution as to any other
office, it has escaped my notice. It is true that the words
"person" and "citizen" frequently occur in other parts of
the constitution in connection with eligibility and
qualification for office, and I fully admit that by
usage--"time-honored usage," if you will--these phrases have
in common acceptation been taken to mean man in the
masculine gender only, and to exclude woman. But a recent
decision in the Cou