The herald., 1893-07-11
QUICKLY UNMARRIED.
MIR. AND MRS. GEORGE SOON SEE
AT LIBERTY.
Judge Mckinley Presidss at the Last
Act OF q Marital Drama Which
Commenced At Santa
Monica.

1t took Judge Mckinley about Is
minutes yesterday afternoon to annul
the marriage between Charles II. George
and Mrs. A. George.
The marriage between the couple
took place few weeks ago, and was the
result of the determination of George
Miles, a saloon keeper of Santa Monica,
to brin g it about.
He had been living with the woman
for several years past, and they b ad had
four children. He claimed to have dis
covered his son by former wife, Cha yles
George, in compromising situation
with the woman, and forced them 10
get married.
After the marriage the young man and
his wife did not live together, and she
brought suit to annul the marriage on
the ground that it was brought about by
threats.
None of the parties to the affair were
present in the court room except the
woman. She is plain in appearance,
slender and apparently about So years
of age, although she gave her age ~ 80.
Justice Bartholomew, who performed
the marriage ceremony, told how 1t
came about. He was sent for by dep
uty county clerk, and went down to the
marriage license departments, where he
found George Miles, his son and the
woman. The old man appeared to be
running the affair, and said the couple
wanted to get married. The justice,
whose skill in saying the words that
bind loving young couples together has
grown widespread, asked the party up
to his private Office. When they
reached there he proceeded to perform
his duty. He noticed that the couple
seemed very Indifferent, and thought
their actions exceedingly queer. he
asked the young man if he wanted to
get married and he said he had to, he
supposed. Judge Bartholomew told
him there was no law to compel him to
do so, and asked the woman the same
swer, but there being no objection be
pronounced them man and wife.
Afterwards he heard the old man
called George Miles, and noticed he had
given his name as witness as @. Cody.
He went to him and asked him about
| it, when he reiterated that his name
was Cody.
The Justice was rendered 40 suspi-
cious of the people that he afterwards
| informed the district attorney that there
was some crime in connection with the
marriage, he felt sure, but could not
| tell what.
Mrs. George testified as to the circum-
stances that led to the marriage. She
said that she had lived with George
Miles as his wife for several years, and
had four children. She referred to this
state of affairs in mstter-of-fact way.
She hurried over the charge Miles
made that she and his son had been
unduly intimate, and said she came up
from Santa Monica the night before the
marriage. There had evidently been q
breakup OF the domestic arrangements
of the couple, for she said she had just
come from an employment Office the
next morning, when she ran across
George Miles. He told her he wanted
her to come up to the court house. She
asked why, and he said she would find
out when she reached there. His son
Charles was along behind.
On the way, however, the old man
told her she had to marry Charles. She
said she would not do 80, and he said
she had to do 30. To clinch matters
he told her if she did not she would
never see her children again.
Mrs. George said this frightened her
30 that she went on scarcely realizing
what she was doing until it was all over.
She had never thought of marrying the
young man, and said unless she had
been forced to marry him she would not
have done it. She had never lived with
him since.
Judge Mckinley remarked that II was
clear from the evidence that both par
ties had been forced into the marriage
against their will, and that it was IL
legal. He ordered decree amending
the marriage of the ill.assorted couple.