Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-02-01
AsAMPLE OF FREEDOM.

A case that shows the ease with which
girl may get herself married in this
country, with the understanding that she
an get herself divorced with the same
use If she does not like the marriage,
came up to be decided in New-Iork
court last week.
There are certain grounds OF divorce
laid down BY law in each state. The
rounds in New York are neither so many
nor SO broad as they are in some of the
s.ates, but they are more and broader than
they ought to be.
The lawyer who took Mary Hoericht
Eder Git is a little, Just little, sign of d.
'orceability for a woman to harness two
surnames to her christian name like that
iato court to have her dismarried from
John Eder must have believed, or thought
be could make the judge believe, that she
occupied one Of these New-York grounds
of divorce. These grounds are, adultery,
abandonment, gros. neglect, extreme
cruelty, fraudulent contract, and perhaps
two or three others The lawyer expected
20 crowd his facts on one or other Of these
rounds and hold it with them. And he
stated the facts to be as 10 lows, viz, to-
wit, namely, ss-condensed:
Mary Hoericht was schoolgirl of
fifteen, in short dresses-whether panta-
lets not stated. John Eder was q man
thirty-fve years OF age. This disparity OF
twenty years would never have been no
ticed if John had beea some great man, or
noblemsn, or rich man; but John was not
he was a grocery man.
John used TO meet little Mary in the
streets and elsewhere He finally asked
her to marry him; and she said she
would She did not tell him to 60 and see
her pa about it---no, nor even her ma. He
said he wanted her to become his wife, and
she said she would.
A few days sitter that he met her on the
way home from school, ard told her to
come on. She went home laid by her
schoolbooks, changed her attire" as the
lawyer hath it-to-wit, took off her
short dress and put on q long one, proba-
bly one OF her ma s-went out and Joined
Eder in the street, and the couple proceed
ed to a minister's house, where he stood
them up and married them; the minister's
wife and two or three OF the little girls
schoolmates witnessing the holy sacra-
mert to make it binding.
John and Mary, his wife, returned i'm
mediately to her fathers house, where he
left her, Whether or not she put on her
short dress and went back to school the
next morning doth not appear Of record.
But in about two weeks after, the little
daughter told her pa and ma that she was
married.
Then John presented himself on the
scene and demanded his wife. But John
found he had mother-in-law to contend
with. Mother-in-law troze his marrow
with the polite information that Mary
could not 90. Son-in-law insisted, most
likely with some earnest CALCULATIONS and
and an assortment OF emphasis. For he
was ARE sted and put under bond to keep
the peace. And it seems he kept ii; for
he never saw his wife from the day OF the
marriage till the day she confronted him
nine years after in the divorce-court.
She test fed that, after she had prom
ised him, she rued; but that be threatened
to bring the minister to her fathers house
unless she would 60 to the minister s;
that, to escape the modification OF having
herself married before her parents face
and eyes, she consented TO go; and that
alter the ceremony was performed she told
him she would never live with him. There,
nowl
This was the case. 1t was put to q ref
cree; and he reported that he could not
make any divorce out of it. And the
Judge decided that neither could he. He
admitted that the marriage had proved
such a barren Ideally that it ought
to be annulled, but he did not see what he
could annul it with. The girl, being over
fourteen years OF age, did not require her
pareuts' consent There was no coercion.
The short dresses were long enough ago
to be ashamed OF themselves for coming
into court with such plea now-in words
of more solemn dignity, bet to that effect
She was little schoolgirl, to be sure; but
there were no divorce-laws to uphold a
little schoolgirl in running two businesses
at the same time-namely, running her
routine OF studies provided for by her
pareuts) and running a man mot provided
for by them nor included in the billy.
There seemed to be no excuse for running
the man out of court on that plea; and
the iud gmsut Of the court was that the