The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1905-04-13
AMAZING NUMBER
or CHILD WIVES
Many immigrant Girls Marry
at an Exceedingly Young
Age.
BEAUTY FADES EARLY
Chicago Crusade Reveals Facts That
Startle Many Sociologlsts-Whoie-
sale importation Of Wives
Arouses the Officials.
BEAUTY FADES EARLY

Arouses the Officials.
Washington Times: A. crusade against
the marriage of children by the COM
pulsory education department in Chi
cage is bringing to light Il deplorable
condition of affairs in the tenement dis
tricts Of the great city, particularly in
the Italian and Sicilian settlements.
! Tilcrc are thousands of child wives, and
the last census shows that there are
nine husbands not over is years old.
! Early marriages-by which is meant
F! the marriage of girls under IS years of
age and lnen nder 2l--are a relic of
barbarism. The foreign element which
is pouring into this country from south
crn Europe clinsS to this ancient Gus
tom, though for the most part it is only
the girls who marry very young.
Undoubtedly the women of the coun-
tries of southern Europe mature much
earlier than do those Of America and
other northern countries. Whether or
not this early maturity is due to eli
matte influences or to racial tendencies
is Il question that has been much dis
cussed. However that nay be, the inn
migrants to this country from the
south of Europe continue TO marry their
girls at an age which to Americans
S'Viitf' ihuliiftiIS IouilS. NldlS lin
nent sociolosists are strongly opposed
to this, maintaining thai the custom of
early ENTHUSIASTICALLY those in
which young girls becomes wives-is
un-American and has a tendency to de-
teriorate the alien races which have
made this country their home.
Beauty Fades Early.
In Italy it is the custom for girls to
marry at from u to IA years of age.
The Italian women are in the full
bloom of maturity from IA to %. 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
coVerles made by Superintendent w. L..
Bodine, of the compulsory education de-
partmant of Chicago. Within the past
SIX weeks superintendent Rodine 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 UNI
der the age or IA was extremely prev
alent in the Italian and Sicilian quar-
tiers OF the city. He at once decided
mat, as there appeared no other suf-
llclent means to prevent the continu-
ance 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 de~term!ns~vn
Superintendent Bodine stated a trust
ed truan officer, an Itilian, with a
force of others, into the tenemen dis
tricts of the river wards to make a
u to house search for child wives
or girls who We're being harbored With
cut being sent TO school for the pur-
POSE OF making some countryman a
desirable young Wife.
Ihere is no other Way that l know"
SAID superintendent Bodine. ''to dis
cover how many of these child wives
there are in certain districts of Chi
cago. Some time g I became con
WINGED that h practice was very COM
mon in the tenement districts. I made
the assertion that many of the Italian
tenements 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 a
house to house anvas to discover as
many as we can. 1t is a very dis1cult
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 who com under our jurisdiction
opening the door or Of getting a
glimpse Of hem. Then we can haul
them into court and the burden of
proof that they are-lover the legal age
for attending schedules with them or
their parents on guardians.
Evading the Law.
w are finding them a very wary
lot. This is the way they try to fool
US The superintendent presented a
passport for inspection. Il was issued
to a young Italian girl whose marriage
superintendent Bodine has recently
prevented. III the column showing the
age OF the girl an evident erasure and
alteration had been made to show that
the girl was Is years old. The appear
ance of the alteration indicated that
the original figure 2, which would show
the g as II years, had been altered
at 5. The evidence of the erasure
could be noted without the aid of a
glass, and the style of letter made was
entirely different from any other fig
ure S appearing in the passport.
The Italian consul has Interested
alteration of the passport, and trouble
is likely TO follow for the fond papa
4 of the young girl who was to have been
married, but was not.
superintendent Bodine told of a
case in. which an Italian had worked a
l. flSlIy SAllSIlISHIo4 SCI SWTL III WaHl ~
America from Italy. He had come to
thisGcountry some time before, leaving
his wife and children in their old home
to await the time that he could earn
enough to send for them. He came to
Chicago and made the acquaintance of
a countryinan Who wanted a wife. 1t
is said that4the@a Italian prefers
not only a young wife, hui one who
comes III her freshness and4purity from
sunny Italy itself.
There are plenty of Young italian
igirls8in Chicago hat i could lave mar
ried,'' Superintendent Bodine quotes
one Of the men whose marriage to ar
imported Italian girl he prevented. "but
would not. i don't want any girl
reared insChicago for a Wife,
This was the Lothario whom the IA
thef referred to above met shortly after
his arrival in Chicago. The country
man who wanted a wife direct from
|Italy was5willing to pay not only he1
transportation but that of the other
members OF the family to America
that he might have the 1~2-year-old Cir
for his wife. The bargain was made
and sealed and the family sent for
They, arrived, but the wedding has not
yet taken place.
Wholesale Importation of Wives.
- r. Ifs s& c,,,1, a .l;+ sr.. 4fs.a. /, 44-