The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1901-03-01
to the township or city whence II

came q.
Down ON the Quick Marriage Industry.
The opponents OF the so-called
"quick marriage" industry as carried
on at Sc. Joseph during the past two
years have not only introduced bill
providing that five days shall elapse
between the time of procuring "a mar
riage license and the solemnization or
the marriage, but have also had intro
duced a measure which requires that
county clerks shall not issue license
unless at least one of the contracting
parties has resided i'm the county one
month or more. The indications are
that this matter Is going to precipitate
n very pretty fight. The opponents OF
these bills are preparing for the fray
having already compiled statistics
which show that the persons married
at st. Joseph since 1t became world
famed Gretna Green were not year
lings their average age having been
nearly 2S years. They also contend
that the movement to amend the law
Is being fostered by the county clerk
of Cook county, Ills, who mOurns the
loss OF fees which would be his were
the industry to be abolished in Michi-
gan. Furthermore they argue that it
is in the interests of morality and So
cial purity to make marriage easy in
stead Of difficult. A hearing will he
had on the bills shortly, when promi-
nent clergymen of most OF the Protes-
tant denominations will speak In their
favor.
Nevins' Antitrust Ideas.
AS for q number of previous sessions
an antitrust bill is one of the impor-
tant measures introduced last week. It's
sponsor is Representative Nevins Of
Allegan, who would make it unlawful
for any firm or corporation to effect
combination of any sort. The bill
provides that no certificate of stock
or other evidence of interest in
such n trust or combination shall
have. any standing in any of
the courts Of the state. prop
osition being TOO outlaw the entire
affair The bill makes it the duty of
the secretary Of state Immediately the
proposed act becomes operative to cor
respond with each corporation doing
! business in the state and INQUIRE
whether such corporation has merged
any portion Of its business or business
in that Of any other corporation. Re
! fuSal to reply 70 such communication
is made cause for the immediate revo-
cation of the charter Of the offending
company. while corporations admitting
such trust relations will he given nine
ty DAYS in which to void them, other
wise their charters are to he revoked,
The bill embodies heavy penalties for
violations Of its provisions.
Bill Hits the Wrong Man.
Representative LaFlamboy. who is
! seeking to increase the revenues of the
state by providing for tax of 3 per
cent. on royalties. is likely to encounter
a serious obstacle to one Of his meas
ures. One bill provides for a tax on
royalties received for rights i'm mineral
lands Of any description, while The
other taxes royalties from patent
rights. the object of course. being to
require the person to whom the royal
ties are paid to contribute to the pub
lie revenues. An upper peninsula cor
respondent. however. calls attention 10
the fact that all mining leases express
| ly provide that the person or corpora
ton to whom the lease is executed
must pay all taxes Of whatever de-
scriptiOn levied in connection with the
property. 1t is argued. therefore, that
the mining royalty bill would simply
! increase the taxes Of the operator and
not hit the owner of the fee at all.
Make Note of This.
The senate has passed a bill which ii
will be well for all voters of the state
except those residing in the city of De-
troit or i'm cities having special acts
controlling the matter to take careful
note Of. 1t changes the time of regis
tratiOn from two days to two weeks
previous to election day. the object be-
ing to. as far as possible. prevent tho
colonization Of voters few DAYS prior
to election. The two weeks time will
afford an opportunity to look up all
suspected cases and ascertain if they
actually are entitled to a vote in the
precinct where they are registered.
Two Important Measures.
Two unusually important measures
were introduced by Representative
Dingley. One is joint resolution pro-
posing an amendment to the constitu-
tion under which the plan of Attorney
General Oren for the separation OF
state and county taxes can he enacted
into law. and the other proposes q
constitutional amendment providing
for the regulation of the salaries OF
state officers by the legislature. Boil
Of these amendments will be submit
ted at the fall election next year if the
resolutions pass. 1t is generally con
coded that the salaries of the elective
state officers are wOefully meager, and
it is figured that they can be increased
only in some such manner as indicated
The idea of paying the secretary OF
state for instance. $500 per year Is
Just trife notifying to citizen OF
a great state like Michigan.
SaIoonists Favor This Bill.
It develops that the l1elly bill pro.
viding for the prohibition Of the serv
ing of free lunches in places where in
toXicating liquors are sold Is likely tC
be advocated not only by those people
who believe that its passage would
lessen the consumption Of such liquors
by removing one excuse for frequent
ing saloons. but also by many saloon
keepers who find the custom very eX
pensive and won't abandon it unless
their competitors are compelled to dc
so. So long as one saloonkeeper set:
out an attractive lunch all the Others
In the community are compelled to dc
so in order to hold their custom.
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