The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-11-22
.WOMAN'S
COLUMN.
FRENCH JUSTICE
CLIPS ccPio's WINGS.
Law Regards Marriage az Neees.
sary Evil That Must BE Rig
orously Kept Down.
(BY MIR. cuPIp.1

In France. the gayest, and in some
respects the most civilized, country of
Europe. the stern hand OF the law and
the yet severei canons of social Gus
tom have clipped the wings of your
poor Cupid. The marriage Of reason"
Is the object of French desire: that Is,
the marriage that will increase rather
than diminish the family wealth, the
intent also being that this property
shall be handed GOWN to as few hei-s
MS possible. Personal inclinationS OF
young people cnu. for nothing They
are not supposed to have inclinations
of their own until after marriage
Should love chance to spring UP after
he wedding, well and good; If not,
well. one must not expect too much in
this transitory world
There can be no suc!, thing as n
runaway marriage In France. The
law stands in the way. Indeed, the
law deals with marriage much as our
State statutes deal with tho liquor
trafflc-as an evil which cannot be Ell
tlrely suppressed, but which must be
placed under all the veXatious restric
TORS which can be devised. That, and
The fear of too many children to claim
slices OF the family fortune, are the
probable reasons why the marriage
tie is so lightly esteemed in France.
Whenever n people. find lawful mar.
rage difficult they will contract un.
lawful unions, throwing morality ard
decency TO the winds.
The legal mar.iageable age Is II for
women and l2 for men. From then I'M
Ill the parties ore q and 25 years old,
respectively, the consent of both pa
rents must be obtained. After those
ages the approval of the fathers Is
still necessary, and II one or both OF
these parents be obdurate the only APP
peal is to the courts, and after that To
the President OF the Republic. Even
then six months must elapse befor,
action is taken. During that time the
lovers must make three summons upon
the old gentleman. and II he choose to
evade service. as he would dodge the
bailiff or the constable in an ordinary
lawsuit, there Is no telling how many
months or years must elapse before
the consent, young. middle.aged or eld,
erly couple may lind themselves hus.
band and wife. Marriages contracted
abroad are not recognized. and the
children of such unions are by French
law regarded as illegitiILate.
The first prelinlinaries before a mar
riage in France are similar to those
which are customary in Japan When
the parents of 4 couple have reached
an agreement, meeting for mutual In
spection is arranged for the young peo-
Pile who, perhaps have never seen each
other. 1t may be either at the theater
or Mt a party. The young man is told
where his future partner will sit and
how she Will be dressed, SO that there
= IL be no dang.,- of scrutinizinG tie
wrong maiden. After this meeting
Is over. II either show any repugnancc
tn the other, the negotiations are de-
clared Off
Should TIE lovers-elect he satisfied,
the Young fan Is invited 10 his future
brides home, where a contract in cold
script. with minute stipuiations abou-
the dowry. is drawn up by notary an
signed by The contracting parties, ard
lie engagement ring is given. Some
times II is customary for the young
man to dine with his future wife.