The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1901-03-01
to Y the township or city whentc i

to the township or city whensr y
came.
Down on the Quick Marriage Indu-,ry.
The opponents of the 500 allied
"quick marriage" industry as ca rled
on at st. Joseph during the past two
years have not only introduced a bill
providing that five days shall elapse
between the time of procuring n mar
riage license and the solemnization OF
the marriage, but have also had intro
duced a measure which requires that
county clerks shall not issue a license
unless at least one of the contracting
parties has resided In the county one
month or more. The indications are
that this matter is going to precipitate
a 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 It became world
famed Gretna Green were not year
lings. their average age having been
nearly % 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 number of previous sessions
M nj \, t.
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 y
combination of any sort. The bin
provides that no certificate of stoc,y
or other evidence of interest IN
such trust or combination shall
have anv standing In any of
the courts Of the state. prom
osition being FOO 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 renly to such communication
Is made cause for the immediate rovO-
cation of the charter of the offending
company, while corporations admitting
such trust relations will he given nine
ty DAYS i'm 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 LaFIamhOy, who is
seeking to increase the revenues of the
state by providing for tax of 2 Der
cent. on royalties. is likely to encounter
a serious obstacle to one of his meas
ures. Our bill provides for a tax OH
royalties +. .eived for rights I'm mineral
lands of any description, while he
other taxes royalties from patent
rights. the object, of course. being to
require the person to whom tie royal
ties are paid to contribute TO the pub
Tic revenues. An upper peninsula cor
respondent, however, calls attention to
the fact that all mining leases express
lv provide that the person or corpora
ton to whom the lease is executed
must pay all taxes Of whatever de-
scription levied i'm 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 ut all.
Make Note OF This.
The senate has passed bill which 1t
will he well for al voters of the state
except those residing in the city of De-
troit or in 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 the
colonization of voters q 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 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-
ton under which the plan Of Attorney
General Oren for the separation Of
state and county taxes can he eracted
into law. and the other proposes n
constitutional amendment providing
for the regulation of the salaries of
state officers by the legislature. Both
of these amendments will be submit
RAN RuAAh