incompatible in my
doing so."

The question of the eligibility of women to hold school offices
was again raised at the October election of 1875. Miss Elizabeth
S. Cooke was elected to the office of superintendent of common
schools in Warren county. The question of her right to hold the
office was carried by her opponent, Mr. Huff, to the District
Court of that county, by appeal; and that court decided that the
defendant, Miss Cooke, "being a woman, was ineligible to the
office." It was then carried to the Supreme Court of the State,
which held that "there is no constitutional inhibition upon the
rights of women to hold the office of county superintendent." In
the meantime, however, and immediately following the decision of
the Warren county judge, the General Assembly, March 2, 1876,
promptly came to the rescue and passed the following act, almost
unanimously:

SECTION 1. No person shall be deemed ineligible, by reason
of sex, to any school office in the State of Iowa.

SEC. 2. No person who may have been, or shall be, elected or
appointed to the office of county superintendent of common
schools, or director, in the State of Iowa, shall be
deprived of office by reason of sex.

Under the provisions of this law, and the above-cited decision of
the Supreme Court, Miss Cooke was allowed to serve out her term
of office without hindrance. Since that time women have been
elected, and discharged the duties of county superintendent with
great credit to themselves and advantage to the public. Women
have also been elected to other school offices in different parts
of the State. Mrs. Mary A. Work was unanimously elected
sub-director in district No. 6, Delaware township, Polk county,
in the spring of 1880; and soon after was made president of the
board--the first woman, so far as known, to fill the position of
president of a school board.

In 1877, in Frederica, Bremer county, Mrs. Mary Fisher attended
the school meeting, and was elected as one of the three
directors. The two others were men, one of whom immediately
resigned, saying he would not hold office with a woman. His
resignation was at once accepted. He further remarked that
"woman's place was _to hum_; she was out of her _spear_ to school
_meetin