be accepted here as if the meaning had been specifically expressed in the enactment. [Case cited.] Exclusive authority to enact carries with it final authority to say what the measure means.*

In the field of family law, the Court has pointed out that—

the whole subject of the domestic relations of husband and wife, parent and child, belongs to the laws of the States and not to the laws of the United States."

The general situation is that

Congress has full power to regulate marriage and divorce within Federal territories, and it may intrust the same to a territorial legislature; but the Federal Constitution confers no power whatever upon the Federal Government to regulate marriage or its dissolution in the States."

In regard to political privileges, an outstanding authority on constitutional law has said:

The requirement as to equal protection of the law does not operate to prevent the States from restricting the enjoyment of political privileges to such classes of their citizens as they may see fit.

It will have been seen that the requirement of equal protection of the law applies to all persons similarly situated or circumstanced. Hence, where there are rational grounds for so doing, persons or their properties may be grouped into classes to each of which specific legal rights or liabilities may be attached. This legislative discretionary right applies to the exercise of all the powers of the States-to their taxing and police powers as well as to their other powers.

Thus, for example, the practice of certain professions may be limited to persons of the male sex, or to those of a certain age, or to those possessing other qualifications that may reasonably be held to indicate a fitness for the profession."

The same author, citing Neal v. Delaware (1880), 103 U. S. 370. and other cases, notes:

There thus exists the fact that the National Government though able to control its citizenship by naturalization is not able to confer the suffrage for the election even of its own officials; whereas the States may confer, and, indeed, in a number of instances have conferred, this suffrage upon persons not citizens of the United States.

8

In this connection the highest State court of Kentucky observes: The nineteenth amendment, which was proclaimed on August 26, 1920, did not confer, nor purport to confer, the right of suffrage upon women, although that is a popular, but erroneous, conception. It only prohibits discrimination against them on account of their sex in the exercise of that right of citizenship."

Provisions Specially Affecting Women

CITIZENSHIP AND NATURALIZATION

The Constitution of the United States declares that

All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.10

Morehead v. New York ex rel. Tipaldo (1936), 298 U. S. 587, 609; 56 S. Ct. 918. Ohio ex rel. Popovici v. Agler (1930), 280 U. S. 379, 383; 50 S. Ct. 154; 74 L. ed. 489; quoting and following In re Burrus (1889), 136 U. S. 586, 593.

9 Ruling Case Law, 1915, Divorce and Separation, sec. 5.

Willoughby, W. W. The Constitutional Law of the United States, 2d ed. (1929), vol. 3, pp. 1933, 1937.

8 Ibid., vol. 2, p. 629.

Prewitt v. Wilson (1932), 242 Ky. 231, 233; 46 S. W. (2d) 90.

10 Constitution of the United States of America, amendment XIV, sec. 1.

Construing this amendment, adopted in 1868, the United States Supreme Court holds that it makes Federal citizenship "paramount and dominant" to State citizenship.11

The Federal Congress has the legislative power, under the Constitution, "to establish a uniform rule of naturalization." 12 No individual State may adopt laws governing the naturalization of aliens.13

In 1933 the President of the United States appointed a committee, composed of the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Labor, to review the nationality laws of the United States and codify them into one comprehensive nationality law for recommendation to the Congress.14

On July 13, 1934, the United States of America officially adopted the Convention on the Nationality of Women, proposed in the Seventh International Conference of American States, at Montevideo, Uruguay.

By provisions of the treaty, the signatory powers agree that among them "There shall be no distinction based on sex as regards nationality, in their legislation or in their practice." This This agreement is now [1940] in effect among the governments of the United States of America, Chile, Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, and Panama. Nicaragua ratified the treaty on February 3, 1937, but has not made it effective by deposit with the Pan American Union, as required by the terms of the agreement.15 Citizenship-How Acquired.

A person becomes a citizen of the United States, if subject to its jurisdiction, by birth or by naturalization.16

A Federal statute provides that all persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power are citizens of the United States.17

The mother, equally with the father, if a citizen of the United States at the time of the birth of a child abroad, may transmit United States citizenship to the child.18

Naturalization of Women.

Citizenship of the United States may be conferred on an eligible alien, whether male or female, married or unmarried, upon full compliance with the laws governing naturalization proceedings. The law specifically provides that the right of any woman to become a naturalized citizen cannot be denied or abridged because of sex or marriage.19

Independent citizenship for women was the objective sought in the adoption of the Cable Act,20 effective September 22, 1922, and its amendments.21

11 Selective Draft Law Cases (1918), 245 U. S. 366, 389; 38 S. Ct. 159.

12 Constitution of the United States of America, art. 1, sec. 8, clause 4.

13 United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), 169 U. S. 649; 18 S. Ct. 456.

14 The Nationality Act of 1940, adopted September 30, 1940, embodies the unified code evolved from the labors of this committee. Enacted as Public 853 by the 76th Congress, it was approved October 14, 1940, to become effective 90 days from that date.

15 U. S. Statutes at Large, vol. 49, part 2, p. 2957.

16 Constitution of the United States of America, amendment XIV, sec. 1.

17 Code of Laws of the United States, 1934, title 8, sec. 1.

18 Ibid., sec. 6.

19 Ibid., sec. 367.

20 U. S. Statutes at Large, vol. 42, part 1, p. 1021, ch. 411.

21 Code of Laws of the United States. 1934, title 8, secs. 368–369a.

320029°- -41- -6

In a statement on "American Citizenship Rights of Women," presented on March 2, 1933, to a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Immigration, Representative John L. Cable, author of the Cable Act, made the following remarks:

The second amendment of the women's independent citizenship act did in fact place men and women on exactly the same footing, so far as citizenship is concerned. The last vestige of discrimination against women was eliminated. Our law for the first time now completely recognizes the dignity of an American woman's citizenship and permits her to feel that her allegiance to our government is as fine, intimate, and sincere as a man's.

Within a decade this great transformation of our law has taken place. No longer will an American-born woman ever be deprived of her American citizenship, regardless of whom she may marry or where or how long she may reside, unless she herself formally renounces her allegiance to the United States, becomes naturalized in some foreign country or takes the oath of allegiance to another sovereign. The woman who lost her citizenship by marriage to an alien before 1922 or because of her residence abroad after marrying an alien subsequent to 1922, may now return to the United States as a nonquota immigrant and regain her native citizenship by a simple process of repatriation. No proof of residence here is required. She is no longer dominated by the will of her alien husband in this regard.

23

An alien woman who marries an American now is permitted to be naturalized by shortening proceedings requiring only 1 year's residence* before filing her petition, instead of the customary 5.

Whether an alien man wishes to be naturalized or not, his alien wife may become a citizen in her own right by the regular naturalization proceedings. That is true, even though her husband himself be ineligible for citizenship.

Today women in America independent of that of men.

enjoy citizenship status truly equal to and Woman's citizenship victory is complete.

VOTING PRIVILEGE GUARANTEED BY THE

CONSTITUTION

Adoption of the nineteenth amendment to the Federal Constitution in 1920 guaranteed to women the right to vote by its prohibition of discrimination because of sex in the granting of suffrage to citizens.23 However, women voters, like men voters, are subject to the particular voting regulations in the State in which they vote.

POSITIONS IN THE FEDERAL SERVICE

Generally speaking, both elective and appointive offices in the three branches of the Federal Government are open to women who can qualify for them. Women now occupy with distinction posts in the Cabinet, the Congress of the United States, the Government's foreign service, and Federal judgeships. They are appointed also to positions in a vast number of professional and technical types of work.24 Women may, in the discretion of the head of any department, be appointed to any of the positions therein authorized by law, on the

22 Three years' residence is required of an alien man or woman marrying a citizen of the United States since May 24, 1934, by provisions of an amendment of that date to the Cable Act. (Ibid., sec. 368.) 23 Constitution of the United States of America, amendment XIX.

24 For further details see Women's Bureau Bulletin No. 182, Employment of Women in the Federal Government, 1923 to 1939. 1941.

same requisites and conditions, and with the same compensations, as are prescribed for men.25

Employment in the Federal Classified Civil Service.

The majority of the permanent positions in the Federal service are classified, that is, positions, titles, and compensation have been allocated by law according to the nature of the duties to be performed. In such allocation the law enjoins the principle of "equal compensation for equal work irrespective of sex." 26 Qualified applicants for positions are obtained by the United States Civil Service Commission through standard examinations, which for the most part are open to both sexes on the same terms.

Appointing officers, when requesting from the Civil Service Commission a list of eligibles from which to select an appointee, may designate whether one sex or the other is preferred.

JURORS AND WITNESSES IN TRIAL COURTS

Jurors in Federal trial courts are selected or exempted in accord with the provisions of State law for the highest court of law in the State where the court is sitting.27

A bill has been under consideration for some time by the National Congress to amend the Judicial Code so as to permit women to be chosen for all jury service in any Federal trial court regardless of the qualifications established by a particular State. However, little progress is reported on the proposed legislation.

The competency of a witness to testify in any civil suit in a Federal court is determined by the law of the State or Territory in which the court is held.28

29

In criminal proceedings, the common-law rule, which excluded either spouse as a witness in behalf of the other, has been modified by a rule more in accord with modern trends and experience. A spouse may now testify in behalf of the other in such cases.2 No rule has been made by Congress or court changing the common-law incompetence of spouses to testify against each other, except as to certain marital offenses, when the complaining spouse may be called as a witness but cannot be compelled to testify without the consent of the husband or wife. Nor can a spouse be permitted to testify as to any statement or communication, deemed confidential at common law, made by either to the other during the marriage.30

To expedite the disposition of cases, the Department of Justice has sponsored a bill in the National Congress to make one spouse a competent witness against the other in Federal criminal cases, but final action has not been taken on the measure.

29 Funk v. United States (1923), 290 U. S. 371; 54 S. Ct. 212; 93 A. L. R. 1136.

20 Code of Laws of the United States, 1934, title 28, sec. 633.

SUMMARY OF STATE LAWS, BY TOPIC, ALL

STATES COMBINED

GENERAL STATEMENT

The following summary of findings from the study of the legal status of women in the United States of America made by the Women's Bureau as of January 1, 1938, must be taken simply as an approach to a grouping of States according to prevailing rules of law concerning women, prepared as an aid to popular use of the study.

Law is not an exact science.1 By its very nature it is subject to many exceptions and modifications in order that approximate justice may be administered in the maze of human relations. Obviously, in a field where variations are prevalent and classifications often delicately balanced, a statistical presentation of results of study must be only relative and indicative, rather than absolute and conclusive. For example, such expressions as "about half the States" do thus and so, or "at least 15 States" have such and such a provision, are used in a number of instances, due to the difficulty in classifying with exactness the policies of other States on the topic under consideration.

The situation in the various States and the District of Columbia with regard to each particular topic studied by the Women's Bureau is given in the 49 abstracts, issued in the years 1938-40, on which this summary is based. These abstracts of current law should be used with the summary in giving a particular topic thorough study. The common-law rule introducing each of the summary topics that follow is a general statement of the law that would be effective if present related statutes and State policies should be repealed or abrogated.

A series of consecutive Key-numbers, 1 to 32, introduces the Topics. Respective numbers remain constant for their subjects throughout the summary and the separate State reports.

1 Rinehart v. Rinehart (1938), 52 Wyo. 363; 75 Pac. (2d) 390.

2 Women's Bureau Bulletin 157, The Legal Status of Women in the United States of America, January 1, 1938, in pamphlet form, from 157-1 (Alabama) to 157-49 (Wyoming), at 5 cents each, Government Printing Office, Washington.