The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1901-04-25
TRANSIENT RATES:
THURSDAY.....APRILL %, 1901.
Weather forecast for Fred
4rickS6ur9 and Vicinity.
Thursday fair.
TO REGULATE MARRIAGES.

The Minnesota Legislature is con-
sidering the enactment of a law to
regulate marriages in that State.
The primeval object OF the law is to
prohibit the marriage of persons
physically or mentally afflicted; but
all persons seeking marriage will be
affected by the bill should it become
a law, as it stipulates that a physical
examination of all candidates for
matrimony shall be imperative. The
following are some of the provisions
of the proposed law:
"No man or woman who is epileptic,
imbecile. feeble-minded or afflicted with
chronic insanity shall hereafter inter
marry within this State when the woman
is under the age of - years.
Any person who, not being an epilep-
tic, marries an imbecile or feeble-minded
person or one afflicted with chronic in
sanity, or who knowingly violates the
provisions of this section, shall upon
conviction, be punished by fine of not
more than 81 900, or by Imprisonment
in the State prison for not more than five
years, or by both such fine and imprison-
ment.
mo officer shall hereafter issue a mar
riage license to any person applying
therefor until, in addition, by law he
shall be furnished with a certificate from
foh la nh ,,bx~asa,a,,., e
the county in which the parties reside.
stating that he hasexamined such person
as to his or her health or mental condi-
ton, and has made careful inquiry re
specting the family history of such per
son, and that neither such person, nor the
father, mother, grandfather, grandmoth-
er or any brother or sister of such person
was afflicted with chronic imbecility or
insanity. Every such certificate shall be
filed in the office of the official issuing a
marriage license.
No clergyman or any official author
lied by law to sOlemnize marriage shall
perform a marriage ceremony within this
State when either of the parties to such
marriage is prohibited by this act from
marrying. Any violation shall be pun
iNuNN ~ a ihC vi AOt littH 81 sOOOs
or imprisonment in the penitentiary for
not more than three years"
The object of the law, though
harsh, is a wise one, but its EN-
forcement will hardly be possible.
Virginia has a law prohibiting
minors from marrying without the
consent of the parents of the part
les wishing to marry, but it practi-
cally amounts to nothing, as the
parties can skip out of the State and
marry, and the marriage is legal.
Such a.law would, no doubt, accom-
plish much good, but its object can
only be accomplished by National
legislation, so to speak-a law in
each of the States in the Union pro-
hibitiRg persons mentally or physi-
cally incapacitated from marrying.
1t is said that statistics show that
the increase of inmates in the asylums
is the result of marriages where one
or both of the parents are tainted
with some mental affection. If this
be true, and we do not doubt that it
is, the subject is one forgrave. consid-
Grafton, as it affects both the future
Of humanity and the country's ex-
penses. But, as we have intimated,
one State can do but little, if any,
good of itself. The cooperation of
the several States is the only remedy
to put a stop to the evil.