The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-03-08
Runaway Marriages.

Quite a lively discussion has arisen In
Columbia, caused by recent events there,
over the duty clergymen and other OIL.
cera authorized by law to perform the mar
riage ceremony in cases of elopements
by very young couples. Some disputants
hold that the best thing to be done in
such instances is to save the girls repu.
tation by promptly making her wife.
Others maintain that the law should be
SO amended that licenses shall be requir-
ed for marriage so that child weddings
and elopements would de impossible.
But a better remedy would be to in.
crease the limit of age below which a
girl may not marry without her parents
consent, to make marrying or carrying
away girl under age without such con.
sent abduction, punishable by imprison-
ment, and to enforce the law.
There is,,very rarely good reason why
girl should marry under twenty one /;
yet more rarely is there reason why a
girl below that age should marry without
the consent of her guardians. Some girls
at sixteen are as fully developed women
as they will ever be, but the majority are
not, and nine tenths of them at that age,
whatever their physical development may
be, are no more fitted to use the judgment
necessary for an act of such tremendous
importance than they are at ten.
1t is an anomoly that we refuse to al.
low boy to cast one vote of thirteen
millions, 10 sign valid note, make 8
valid debt or transact any business on
his own account until he is twenty.one
years old, while girls, with fewer oppor.
tunities than the other sex for seeing
life or knowing mankind, are permitted
10 make the must solemn of all contracts,
involving the happiness of their own lives
and the happiness and honor of their
families, when they are Intellectually and
morally, and oftentimes physically, only
children.
Ofcourse there are happy exceptions
to all general rules, but the general rule
is that the man who hurries and persuades
girl below the age Of discretion to take
on her the fearful responsibilities involv.
ed in marrying against the consent of her
parents is utterly selfish and willing to
risk her moral and physical life for his
own purposes, or is afraid to rest his
claims for favorable consideration on un.
impassioned and experienced judgment; ;
for if a man knows anything be knows a
girls parents are the best judges of her
fitness for wifehood and the tender and
anxious guardians of her happiness. II
be does not know it he surely does not
know enough to be husband for any
woman. Even in those rare cases where
parents oppose the marriage of their
daughters for selfish reasons or in wanton
stubborness, the daughters will be on the
safe side by waiting until she is of the
age to act for herself and give her hus.
band the satisfaction of knowing that the
marriage is the result of the matured love
of the woman and not the efsrvescent
fancy ola child.
The law might we'll take cognizance OF
these known facts and guard young wo-
men from the lifelong consequence Of
their own folly; not by a license which
would impede marriage where it should
be encouraged and simply send clipping
couples over the State line, but by pro.
vision such as is indicated above, requir-
ing the consent of parents to permit
marriages to girls under twenty one years
Of age. With such q law young people
would be on notice, and harm done the
girls reputation and prospects by an
elopement would be wilfully and delib.
srately GreenuiNe Meaus.