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Show SEX PUIS i CAMPAIGN FOR AMENDMENTS TO FEDERAL CONSTITUTION IS FORMALLY INAUGARATED National Woman's Party Proposes Equal Rights With Men According Accord-ing to Announcement Issued Sunday Washington The National Woman's party announced Sunday t he completion comple-tion of preparations for a eonipaign to obtain nalional and state legislation removing political, civil and legal discriminations dis-criminations against women. A proposed equal rights amendment to the federal constitution has been drafted by counsel for the Woman's party and will he introduced in the senate by Senator Curtis of Kansas and in the house by Kepresentative Fess of Ohio on October 1. The text of the proposed amendment follows: "Section 1. No political, civil or legal le-gal disabilities or inequalities, on account ac-count of sex, or on account of marriage, mar-riage, unless applying equally to both sexes, shaft exist within the United States or any territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof.. "Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate ap-propriate legislation." The need of such amendment of the constitution to guarantee women equal rights with men in all the states will be presented exhaustively by distinguished women at hearings to be held at an early date by the judiciary committee of the two houses, to which the proposed pro-posed .amendment will be referred. An effort will be made to obtain action on the amendment at the next session of congress. A two-thirds vote of each house is necessary for the submission of an amendment to the states, approval approv-al by three-fourths of which is necessary neces-sary for adoption. Incorporation of the proposed amendment amend-ment in the constitution would operate oper-ate to invalidate innumerable provisions provi-sions of state laws which withhold from women the same rights as men in the possession and disposition of property, proper-ty, control of m?ior children, freedom of contract, choice of domicile, holding of public offices, jury service and other 'jnctions.- The question has been raised whether wheth-er removal of "inequalities on account of sex" would not operate to invalidate invali-date many laws discriminating in favor fav-or of women, such' as laws limiting the hours of work for women and prohibiting pro-hibiting the employment of women at night. On this point Miss Maud younger, national legislative chairman of the Woman's party, said Sunday night : ''There are two phases of the ques-' tion which we have had to consider in drawing up this amendment and bill:. "First That all the discriminations against women should be included; and "Second That industrial legislation, such as the eight-hour law, minimum wage, etc., should not in any way be touched. "At first it was thought that perhaps a clause specifically exempting industrial indus-trial legislation would be necessary, but we are informed by our legal advisors ad-visors that this is unnecessary. As our measures now stand, it seems that they neither approve nor disapprove such legislation they do not touch it. The consensus of opinion among the lawyers whom we have consulted is that the supreme court could at present, pres-ent, if it wished, throw out the industrial indus-trial legislation for women as unconstitutional uncon-stitutional under the fifth and fourteenth four-teenth amendments to the constitution, and that it can also do it if our proposed pro-posed amendment is passed, but that our amendment and hill will not make It any more likely that this legislation will lie thrown out." |