Salt Lake Herald-Republican | 1920-01-14 | Page 4 | Citizenship and Marriage

Ci Citizenship and Marriage b bE bO O OXE KE E of the big ref reforms urged for women of the United States by the Republican women convened in Chicago last week was that the laws pertaining to citizenship be changed so that a wife's citizenship shall not be determined determine by the status of her husband There were many ninny instances tle C developed loped by bp tho the war which emphasized emphasized em em- the absurdity of or a wife's eligibility to citizenship citizenship citizen citizen- ship being dependent upon a husband who had not availed h himself of naturalization privileges and there were many har hardships ships fastened upon loyal native-born native American girls who Ito found themselves wedded to enemy aliens In Jn the the- woman suffrage states thero there are arc many I women of native birth who while single n exercised the right to vote voto yet et were ere deprived ed of that right upon marrying marrying mar mar- the United States and r ing a man who though loyal local to perhaps had bad declared his bis intention to become an American citizen yet ret through negligence ence had never se secured secured secured se- se cured naturalization papers Before the various various draft boards in in answer to the questionnaire facts were laid bare in regard to domestic difficulties that had arisen as hr ti- ti citi- citi nU 1 t r P f 4 A nn nn Tri V v es C i linvin having r frt to a o resLI t. o UL wi nJ u. u o L and in some instances to give gHe up their property properly to the custodian of alien property which were pitiful and not at all in the int interests rests of loyalty to country p home or good morals The reform advocated is that a woman who is native horn born shall retain her citizenship no matter whom she marries an and if foreign born may maybe maybe maybe be naturalized and become a citizen upon qualifying ng in inthe I the manner provided by law whether her husband is a citizen or not It certainly seems that such an alteration alteration alteration altera altera- tion in the law would be unobjectionable It appears obviously wrong wron also that a woman should be allowed the rights of or citizenship merely because because because be be- cause she is married to a man who has that privilege by birth or naturalization Yet such is the present law wide Nation-wide suffrage to women which is imminent will result in the correction o of these injustices and perhaps others If a woman is to have all the rights and privileges of oL men her citizenship should not be he made to trail in the wake of her husband husban but in this freest of 01 all aU democracies it should follow the tho wife's own independent independent Independent inde inde- pendent thought and action We have hae entertained President Wilson the king ling of or orthe the Belgians and Chairman Hays but we have havo an abundance of food shouts and hospitality left for Gen- Gen General oral eral Pershing 1