Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-09-05
TO PROTECT AMERICAN GIRLS,
Some Comment ON the New District
Marriage Law.


warden" in a Washington dispatch to
the Wilmington CDel) Morning News says:
The happy smiles of a would-be Benedict
and his lady love were rudely dispeiled by
the revelation, made to them by the mar
riaSe license clerk at city hall, that be-
cause the yolng lady was not citizen of
the United States a license for their mar
rage could rot he issued. 1t was not be-
cause of any churlish inclination on the
part of the official to prevent the matrimo-
NAL union. but Decaus" the law says that
no license for any marriage shall be issued
to which any citizen Of a foreign country
shall be a party until a minister or consul
representing such foreign country in the
United States shall certify that the condi-
tons to the validity of the marriage of the
laws of such country shall have been COM
piled with. This is new law (harey one
hundred days OLD ITO regulate marriage in
the District of Columbia"
W hen it was brought up for considera ton
in the last session OF Congress the Senator
who had charge of the bill stated that he
found the law in the District of Columbia
IN reference to marriage in such condition
that 1t was disgrace to the civilization Of
this country and to the capital of this ma
ton; that the provisions of the Old Mary
land act had been obsolete. unknown and
Enacted upon for many years; that there
had not been marriage soiemnized within
the limits of the District of Columbia with
In the last fifty years which conformed
FULLY to tFOSe provisions; that the courts
HAD wisely held them directory and s,s-
tanned the validity of the marriage, but had
left the parties who had violated it's provis-
ions amenable to its penalties; and it was
therefore important that the law should be
amended and those sections repealed.
In connection with the particular part
of the new law which relates to marrying
foreigners in this District. some very curl
% a; a tod " h,-S
tor Hoar, who said:
We want to protect American girls who
are attractive by reason of their beauty or
accomplishments or the possess ION of a for
tune from the rapacity of adventurers,
whether titled or untitled. belonging 10 for
eiSn courtrieS. said Senator Hoar. "As
the law exists at present, for instance, no
person in a foreign army can contract a
lawful marriage with an American girl
without the assent of his own government
In France and in some other countries no
person under twenty-five years of age can
contract lawful marriage without the
assent of his parents. No person over
twenty-five years of age can contract such
lawful marriage without notice to his pa
rents. if they be living, to give them an op-
portInity to file objections, though their
consent is not necessary.
so a person of that character can come
here and contract marriage with an
American woman, take her home and al
though he may have dWelt here with her a s
y
ed out and the marriage is absolutely null
and void there"
Senator Hoar instanced a celebrated case
in Illinois in illustrate of this and re-
marked that there are hundreds Of cases
that have happened showing the inequality
and iniquity growing out of such proceed
ings We are to be thankful" the Senator
said. that every foreigner who goes to an
other country and there marries a wife is
not villain, but there are enough of them
to make this an evil requiring correction
This new provision of law does not make
the marriage void at all. 1t only prohibits
the minister from solenniZng it until this
has been dcne-until this certificate from
the foreign minister or consul shall have
been produced; and without such a provis-
ion. if the man still retains his foreign citi-
zenship and takes his wife back to his ma
tive country, she goes back as a concubine
and rot as a lawful wife, although she may
believe herself to be lawfully married ac-
cording to our law. 1t is only to protect
our citizens against adventurers."