The Dickinson press., 1891-08-22
MARRIED by SQUlRES.
JUSTICES WHO TIE THE KNOT FOR
LOVING COUPLES.

JUSTICES WHO TIE THE KNOT FOR
LOVING COUPLES.
Funny Stories Gathered IN Justices Of
~nces-Youug People Prefer "a Civil Mar
riaGc Because 1t Is Free from Formal
ity and 81 Less Expensive.
Hundreds of couples are each year
united by the justices of the peace of st.
Louis. 1t is almost surprising to what
extent people seek this form Of civil mar
riage. The two hearts that are made to
beat us one by Il uav justice are by no
means always those Of siddy young
clippers, us the general public believes.
"What is the reason that so many leo-
pie prefer a court marriage to a religious
one" was asked Squire Frank Spaulding.
81 think that in tho majority of cases
it is because it is SO free from forlnality.
There is no timo lost in making tho
couple man and wife. The form pre-
scribed by the statute does not take more
than half Il minute to go through with.
Nearly all tho people united by tho
magistrates are poor and unable and
unwilling to go to the expense of buying
an extensive wedding outfit. They need
the money to provide for their own i'm
Qeliats wants. Then u great number
people arc bashful and do not like to
s4annd mp in front of a crowd and be mar
.ied. They can 90 before u magistrate
and bc united in the presence Of only
two or three persons"
"Do they always have money for the
fec2
"ln nearly every case. When they
haven't ] always mako it my duty to
marry them anyway
What do they usually give to the
lnagistratcT'
"Oh, it varies. The law prcscribes q
txv. but people give different prices,
Usually it is five dollars. About a year
ago IL woman brought IL young fellow in
here. They had Il license. and he was
half scared to death, while she was calm
and busincsslike. Hedidn't say Il word
while she explained to me what was
wanted. | made them man and wife.
- then reached down into a pocket in
~ dress, pulled out q roll of bills and
handed me five dollars. She then gave
her husband Il five dollar note, saying,
Go on out and treat the squire I've
always wondered what kind of a life
that poor mans leading now, for it was
evident that his wife was the head of the
family.
DIDN'T WAN TO BE MARRIED.
when l was with Squire Taft at
Eleventh and Franklin avenue, we used
to have q great many ludicrous Incl
dents. We had SO many marriages there
that the place got to be known as the
marriage corner One day an intelligent
looking young couple came in. They had
heard that the place was where they
should 20 to get marriage licenses. They
didn't know anything about that part of
the programme. The clerk directed
them to tho recorders Office. They went
and secured the license, and probably
thinking it was necessary to go through
some additional formality came back to
our Office. Squire Taft was busy trying
a case, and at Ice got down of the
bench. He knew nothing of the proceed
ing visit, and at once proceeded to go
through the ceremony.
"As soon as he pronounced them man
aud wife the young girl throw up her
hands and fell into u chair in dismay.
Great God! what will my mother say2
This is a Protestant marriagel' she cried.
She was a devout Catholic, and thought
she wa only going through part of the
forms to u alicense. Although they
wero married as tight as the law could
do it, they were married that night by a
Catholic priest"
"Do you have many runaway couples
call upon you?" was asked.
"Not as many as the public generally
! imagine. They arc generally from out
of the city, and arc tired and weary with
the journey and excitement when they
arrive. Several years ago a couple went
into Squire Taft's Office. lie was out,
and they sat down on q bench to rest.
They had made a long journey. and the
first thing the groom did was to go to
sleep. The little girl at last gave in
too. She leaned her head upon his
breast, and both were in the deepest
kind of slumber when the squire came
in. No one liked to wake them, but
finally we made enough noise to arouse
them.
"a minute later they had been pro-
nounced ina and wife. The groom
laughed merrily over his falling asleep,
and at the conclusion of the ceremony
said, i don't know which refreshed me
the most, going to sleep or getting mar
ried.'
FUNNY INCIDENTS.
"The funniest incident I know of was
the groom that forgot his brides first
name. 1t wasn't long before we had
that fixed, however, and they went on
their way rejoicing"
"Have you ever followed up tho after
lives of couples you have married."
mo; but about half of them follow
me up. Tho general impression Of the
poorer classes is that a man who can
marry them can also unmarry them. l
should say that fully five out of every
ten couples I marry como around again
and want a divorce. Then in u great
many cases when the couple have a
quarrel the husband tears up the mar
rage certificate and tells his wife they
are no longer welded. The wife gener-
ally comes around to see me and / give
her o new one.
II remember a couple l married a
short time ago. They went off on a bridal
trip to Illinois, and had a quarrel about
two days after the marriage. The hus.
band left, vowing he was coming back
and get the marriage certificate, and by
tearing it up break off the marriage.
The wife telegraphed to me not to give
him the certificate. The?ymade platter,
bride part Of the ceremony. One day a
young fellow and a woman Of about
sixty came in. and when. after the cere.