State

Our First Wo an Legislator She was Miss Exum ('lenient of Asheville, an«l she гергеммНи! Kuneombe County in I he House during the 1921 session of our (•moral Assembly. THE PRESENT session of the North Carolina General As¬ sembly is a womanless one. For the First time in several ses¬ sions not a woman is to be found in either the Senate or the House. In past sessions we’ve had Miss McLean. Mrs. Craven and Mrs. Ervin, all from Mecklenburg County. Mrs. Mcbane from Rock¬ ingham. Mrs. McKee from Jackson. Mrs. Hutchins from Yancey, Mrs. Ferguson from Alexander, Miss Clement from Buncombe and probably one or two others whom we can’t think of at the moment. The other day we received a letter from Mr. J. Ed Kanipe of Asheville in which he says: “Miss Exum Clement of Bun¬ combe County was elected to the House of Representatives from this county in November. 1920. She was the First woman to serve in the State Legislature subse¬ quent to Woman Suffrage. In this connection I am enclosing a news¬ paper clipping from the Greens¬ boro Daily News, dated January 15. 1921 (from my scrapbook). Tom Bost of Raleigh wrote this article I am sure. It occurred to me that you might like to run it in The State.” It's a right interesting piece, so we're passing it on to you. The Greeniboio Dully New* Bureau 30(1 Mercluinl* Naiionnl H.ink Bide Raleigh, Jan. 15 Miss L. Exum Clement, the only woman repre¬ sentative in the general assembly, has slipped so unobtrusively and quietly into the everyday work of the hou e of representatives that she is becoming quite a familiar presence there, and one has ceased to regard it as anything at all out of the ordinary. Inquiring rather timidly at the door of the hall as to whether Miss Clement was at her desk, the reply came back quick as a Hash. "Oh. I'm sure she is. for she’s always among the first to get here in the morning." It was then 9:30 on the day of the inaugura¬ tion ceremonies. Miss Clement has been assigned to desk 59 just under the picture of George Wash¬ ington which hungs on the wall to the right of the speaker’s desk. When asked if she had gotten accustomed to being the object of so much general attention as the only woman representative, Miss Clement said that for the first day or two it was a bit embarrassing, but that now she is feeling quite at home, and that it's little different from the work of the courtroom. Having practiced law since 1917 she has become accustomed to working with lawyers, and is now a familiar figure in the courtroom of Asheville, her native city. Her first day's work in the house of representatives she compared with the first time she ever voted — just a tame, commonplace everyday event, lacking all of the thrills that she had thought would in¬ evitably accompany the casting of one’s maiden vote. Temperamen¬ tally Miss Clement is not of the "thrilling" sort. She is taking her work in the general assembly very seriously and feels rather responsi¬ ble to the women of the state for the general impression she makes as the state's first woman repre¬ sentative. She doesn’t want to do anything spectucular or disturbing or out of the ordinary, but she does want to be accepted there as a matter of fact, because her con¬ stituency wanted her there, and because it is her right. Downright Homesick In the course of the brief half hour's talk Miss Clement revealed the fact that she was downright "homesick,” and she has been here less than a fortnight After the first few days of adjustment she has time now to think of the little seven-year-old niece, to whom she is devotedly attached, of her parents, whom we know to be justly proud of their daughter's record, and of her (lower garden, which claims a great deal of her leisure time. Miss Clement lives with her father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. George Clement and loves the old homeplaee. She is a native of Buncombe, as is her mother, and like all western Caro¬ lina folks, thinks there’s no place like it. Of her work in the house there is little as yet to tell. Miss Clement is a conservative woman. She is taking plenty of time to become acclimated and to study situations from every angle. In the appoint¬ ment of committees she has been made a member of the elections committee and of judiciary No. 1. On Monday she introduced a bill making provision for booths on election day where voters may make their decisions with a cer¬ tain degree of privacy. The bill makes interference from outside sources an offense. Miss Clement is very positive in her views regard¬ ing the retention of the primary law, realizing that a repeal of the law would cripple the chances of the women for effective political work in the state. She is strongly supported in the stand that she has taken by the leading women’s organizations of North Carolina. The women recognize that such an action would mean a considerable lessening of the power which they have been given through the 19th amendment. The Lindlcy Home Miss Clement will ask the state to take over the Lindley home for girls located in Asheville. The home, which has been under the direction of Mrs. M. E. Milliard for the past 30 years, takes care of de¬ linquent girls guilty of their first offense. The home has been oper¬ ated as a private welfare institu¬ tion. but owing to the advanc¬ ing age of Mrs. Hilliard, it will be necessary to make other arrange¬ ments. It has a legacy of $5,000, practically enough for its main¬ tenance. There are 30 acres of ground connected with the home which is large enough to accom¬ modate 30 girls. Much good has been accomplished, and hoping to see the splendid work continued Miss Clement will introduce a bill asking the state to take over its control. In her law work in Asheville Miss Clement is particularly inter¬ ested in the juvenile court. She has also a great number of women clients and rather caters to their patronage, having specialized in ( Continued on page 18) THE STATE. January 27. I9S1