st her.

Common law marriage is valid and the legal age for a girl is fourteen
years.

The father is the guardian of the minor children, and at his death may
appoint a guardian to the exclusion of the mother. If this is not done
she becomes the legal guardian of the girls till they are eighteen, of
the boys till fourteen.

Alabama is one of the few States which do not by law require the
husband to support the family.

The convicted father of an illegitimate child must pay to the Probate
Court for its support not exceeding $50 yearly for ten years, and must
give $1,000 bond for this purpose. Failing to do this, judgment is
rendered for not more than $625 and he is sentenced to hard labor for
the county for one year.

It is a criminal offense to use foul language to or in the hearing of
a woman, or by rude behavior to annoy her in any public place; or to
take a woman of notorious character to any public place of resort for
respectable women and men. Slander against a woman's character is
heavily punished; a seducer is sent to the penitentiary if his victim
previously has been chaste. Procurers may be sentenced to the
penitentiary.

The "age of protection for girls" is 14 years, and the penalty is
death or imprisonment in the penitentiary from ten years to life.

SUFFRAGE: Women have no form of suffrage.[159]

OFFICE HOLDING: Women are not eligible to any elective office. They
act as enrolling clerks in the Legislature. Two women, whose fathers
died while holding the position, were made registrars in chancery.
Women can not serve as notaries public.

There are no women trustees on the board of any State institution,
although the charitable and benevolent work is almost entirely in the
hands of women. A man is superintendent of the Girls' Industrial
School and the entire board is composed of men. Limited State aid is
extended to a number of institutions founded and controlled by women,
including the Boys' Industrial Farm.

OCCUPATIONS: Women are legally prohibited from acting as lawyers,
physicians or ministers. They are not allowed to engage in mining.

EDUCATION: All educational institutions admit women. The State
Polytechnic at Auburn was the pioneer, offering to women in 1892 every
course, technical, scientific and agricultural. The State University
at Tuscaloosa opened its doors to them in 1896. Two scholarships for
girls are maintained here, one by the ladies of Montgomery and one by
those of Birmingham