Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-05-16

The bill introduced by Senator Harris
Monday morning should pass without any
delay, and, indeed, without any question.
This bill provides for the establishment
of a system of marriage returns to the Su-
preme Court OF the District whereby all
ceremonies performed within the District
shall be made the subject of regular legal
record There should be no opposition to
a bill which has for its object the avoid
ancs of one Of the greatest ills that may
befan modern society," the secret or the I'M
acknowledged matrimonial union. There Is
at present absolutely no means Of preserv-
ing legal records CT marriage ceremonies
in the District. The license that is required
by law Is not evidence OF the subsequent
ceremony for IL bears no testimony that II
has been utilized by the contracting par
ties. The marriage certificate which may
or may not be given by the clergyman IS
of course, good evidence in court when
proved, but Il Is liable to be lost or de-
stroyed and frequently the marital rights of
husband or wife may be jeopardized by the
destruction Of the certificate by one or the
ether In a moment of anger or as means
pf revenge. This is too important a factor
a the social organization to be the subject
of such a loose system of ordinances when
the remedy Is so simple and so near at
hand 1t Is a noteworthy fact that immedi-
RtelY after The Star recently pointed out
the necessity for such law as that framed
BY Senator Harris bill, scores OF citizens,
anxious lest the negligence Of clergymen
may have placed them in false positions,
visited the clerks office to ascertain by
scrutiny Of the records whether or not their
marriages had been properly certified This
Of itself shows how the matter has been
allowed to go by default for many years
and there Is really no proof that there Is
legal record on file OF a quarter of the mar
riages performed in the District during,
say, ten years past. The danger OF trustir
so the license as evidence of the ceremony
Is shown in a case which came to the
knowledge of The Star recently. A man
under the influence of liquor went to the
clerk office and. upon payment of the fee,
procured a license to marry, naming wo-
man This. of course was published in
The Stars daily record Of marriage licenses
although it was afterward ascertained the
woman had never given her consent and the
man had no serious intention of using the
license. According to the slip-shod custom
Of depending upon the licenses as indication
OF the marriages contracted in the District.
this woman and this man now stand noted
In the eyes of the public man and wife.
or as soon to be. Should the proposed sys-
tenn be carried into effect, 1t would, Of
course. be in order for the newspapers to
publish these clergymen's returns as reg
ularly and as inviolably as the licenses are
now noted, 50 that the former would be in
the nature of a check upon the latter. As
to the details of the bill there can be no
objection Thirty days are ample time for
the clergyman to make his return. 1t may
even be a little too long, for the act of
visiting the clerks office or of mailing tine
certificate-which could be issued in blank
in convenient form-would take little or no
time. and. under the pressure of a possible
fine, 1t is easy to surmise that clergymen
would soon fall into the habit Of prompt
performance Of this simple duty.