The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1905-04-14
AMAZING NUMBER
or CHILD Wives
Many Immigrant Girls Marry
at am Exceedingly Young
Age.
BEAUTY FADES EARLY
lhicaso Crusade Reveals Facts That
startle Many socio!oeists-Whole-
sale Importation OF Wives
Arouses the Officials.
BEAUTY D A r

sale Importation OF Wives
Arouscs the Officials.
Washington Times; y. crusade against
the marriage of children by the com
pulsorv education department in chi
cago is bringing 10 light 81 |deplorablc
condition OF affairs i'm the tenement dis
tricts Of the great city. particularly in
the Italian and Siciliau settlements.
There are thousands of child wives. and
the last census shows that there are
nine husbands not over IL years Old.
i.ariN n-arriages-by which is meant
the marriage of girls under is years of
age ana men untier Clare Il relic of
b%albarism. The foreign element which
is pouring n this country from south
ern Europe cliI,gS 10 this ancient GUS
tom. though for the most par, ii is only
the SirlS Mo marry Very Noung
Undoubtedly the women of the noun-
t.ics of southern Europe mature much
earlier than do those OF America and
other northern countries. Whether or
this early maturity is due to eli
matte influences or TO racial tendencies
is a question that has been much dis
cusSet. However that may be. the inn
migrants tn this country from the
''''A' w W. ia''ti : Nii''l
girls at am age which TO Americans
seems criminally young. Many emil
uent S~ociologiStS are strongly opposed
to this. maintaining That the custom Of
early NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. those in
which young girls becomes wiNes-is
un-American and has a tendency To de-
teriorate the alien races Which have
made this country heir home.
Beauty Fades Early.
In Italy it is the custom for girls to
marry al from l. to IA years of age.
bloom of maturity from IA 1" 81. When
She has reached the age of % The VOL
uptuous beauty of the Italian woman
begins to fade.
The crusade which is being carried
on is the result of some startling dis
~coverieS made by superintendent w. l..
Bodine. of the compulsory education de
partlnent of Chicago. Within the past
SIN weeks superintendent Bodine dis
covered and prevented the marriage of
three young Italian girls whose school
records showed them to be under the
legal age for marrying. In the course
OF his Investigations into these cases
Superintendent Bodine found evidence
that the practice of marrying. girls un-
der The age of IA was extremely prev
aient i'll the Italian and Sicilian quar-
tiers of the city. He at once decided
that, rs there appeared no other suf-
hcieht means To prevent The continue
aNee OF the custom, he would enforce
the compulsory education laws. no mat
ter whether the child aMenable To them
Was a wife or not.
Starts Fight Against Cupid.
In support OF his determination
experimenting Bodine stajted a trust
ea truant officer, AN Italian, With u
Dlt'tA n + he nt, yrl At
tilcts OF the river wards to make a
mouse to house search for child wives
Or girls who We're being harborcl With
out being sent TO school for the pun
pose OF making some countryman Il
desirable young Wife.
There is no other way that ! know"
SAID Superintendent Bodine, ito dis
cover now many Of these child wives
there are in certain districts of Chi
caSo. Some time ago ] became con-
Ninced that the practice was very COM
mon iii the tenement districts. | made
the assertion that many of the Italian
t~enelnentS We're filled with extremely.
young girls Who had contracted mar
riages. have watched the conditions
closely since and have made several
Investigations. and all that | have dis
covered has been in support of my
OPINION. We are now conducting :;
nous" To house canvass to discover as
-'''''' - w ~ II Is u y cry I'll ~ctlI
task, but the only means we have is to
send AN officer to the houses. He
takes a chance OF some OF the Young
girls VINO come under our jurisdiction
opening the door or of getting n
glimpse OF them. Their we can haul
them into court N the burden of
proof That they are over the legal age
fo! attending school lies With them or
thelr parents or guardians.
Evadinu the Law.
We are finding them II Very wary
lot. This is the way they try to fool
us. Ihc superintendent presented a
passport for inspection. II was issued
10 d young Italian girl whose marriage
Superintendent Bodine has recently
age Of the girl an evident crasurc and
alteration had been made to show that
the girl was Is years old. The appear-
allce of tho alteration indicated that
the original figure =, which would show
the age as II years. had beer altered
at ?. The evidence of the erasure
could be noted without the aid of q;
glass, and the style of letter made was
entirely different from any other fig
ure . appearing in the passport.
The Italian consul has interested
himself in this case because of the
alteration of the passport. II trouble
is likely tn follow for the fond papa
" ''N y ''iio SUI Niio N'S ~ H,iNt Dctll
married. but was not.
superintendent Bodine told of "a
cas- in which an Italian had worked a
pretty scheme to get his family to
America from Italy. He had come to
this country some time before, leaving
his wife and children in their old home
to await the time that he could carr
enough to send for them. He came TO
Chicago and made the acquaintance of
Il cciintryman who wanted Il wife. 1t
is said that the average Italian prefers
not only Il young wife, but M who
comeS in her freshness INC purity from
sunny Italy itself.
There are plenty of young italian
girls i'll Chicago that | could have mar
rled.' Superintendent iodine quotes
II of the men whose marriage To AN
imported italian girl he prevented. but
! would not. | don't want amy girl
reared in Chicago for a Wife"
This was the Lothario whom the ia
thc@ referred to ahov met shortly after
his arrival in Chicago. The country
man who wanted Il wife direct from
Italy was willing to pay not only he,
transportation but that of the other
members of the family TO America,
That he might have the 1~2-year-old girl
for his wife. The bargain was made
and sealed and the family sem for
They arrived, but the wedding has no
val tll-cp pln.,