The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1905-05-04
BARTER OF YOUNG AND
TENDER GIRLS DIS
CLOSED IN CHICAGO
PARENTS SELL CHILDREN
Discoveries are Made BY
Truaat Officers.


Chicago, 49,, May 4-yalucd chiefly as
commodities Of cNchlnec. young sici-
l,an and Italian girls alc bartered IN
Chitsso for the price OF peddlers
horse, q hand organ. or mothers steer
age passage across the ocean.
They arc sold by their fathors 70 hus-
hands they never hate seen. and then
are forced 70 20 ont into the street with
little green love birds for SALE TO earn
"a livelihood by telling ,he fortunes Of
fassersby or TO turn the crank Of an
organ from morning until night while
thair masters pass the hat
These facts were brought to light re-
gently BY supt W. Lester Bodne, cf
the compulsory education department Of
the Chicago school board Truant o1i-
Gers have been engaged Tor a week In
Investigating the traffic in child wives
as Il is carried on n Chicago. supt
Nodines lieutenants not only sound that
The condition exists but also discoverei
that the iax marriage law makes Il
POSSIBLE
Instances were found in which dunn
my parents sworc e. the license clerk
that the children belonged TO them and
have given their consent 70 marriage.
Othsr cases were discovered ID which
she ave Of tine girl as given faiiss 20
tally By two or three years with the
IartismM records Of the applicant
u was discovered that &c does not take
any more effort in Chicago to secure "a
marriage license for young children than
IS expected in making the trip 10 the
county building and n Arising a forged
slganture 70 the ago AFFIDAVIT
During his investigation Surt BoGine
found that in the last two years soi girls
Jess than cientecn years old have been
given licenses az the county building.
Many giving their agVs as fourteen,
while nearly hundred admitted they
were only afteer OF sixteen years old.
From facts collected in The Italian and
siclian districts SUPP Bodine and rru-
ant officer Cappinelh, who concluded
ihat many Of those ostensibly four
teen. iiftcen and sixteen years old in
reality were only fourteen or under
OF The 3o1 children, so per cent were
s.aiss.ls or sieiiians. while 81 gcr cent
were American horn. and the remaining
le ber cent scattered among the other
nationaliiics.
f.1hc marriage law of Illinois is a
farce declared supi Bodine. 1T places
"a premium on perjury ana permits Cupid
end INSCRIPTIONS parents TO bob the
school and the cradle. n Is easier 10 se-
cure marriage iccnse in Cook County
than. dog license and IL costs so cents
lees When you apply fer dog license
you have 20 give @ description OF the
animal and its house address When
sou SO for permit 10 we'd sou need only
give your lee-;l usually is falsined-
and the city ia which vpu 1--we. There
D. no way through the record for us TO
lock up the child wives and learn their
exact ages Their residences are not
given. More perjury Is committed az the
marriage license window than % any
Other spot in Chicago
"The Illinois Law provides that the
legal age Tor matrimony Is twcnty-one
Tor males and yghtcer for females
chose Younger may be- married with the
written consent Of parents. The official
form provides FOR an affidavit, made boy
one OF the contracting parties, usually
Ihe man. who swcars TO the ages. Where
these are undor the legal figures there
rs a space reserved on the back Of the
application for parents 10 sigr.
"rbc possibility OF the faise g9idavit
rmctca under this lax system Is ~
great as il was under the old child-labor
law" continued snpt Bodme. Mnr-
mony involving household duties and
motherhood IS tho worst kind OF slavery
for a chni Of toutteon io sixteen years
tid Parents formerly made false a1i-
aaVits 10 secure work fot their daughters
in factories. That abuse was checked
fy be new factory law. Cnder the pres
eat namiage law the} are not required
10 his proof of their fomteeu-year-old
dwishters age vixen they want e de-
liver her INTO matrmony
"a man Boz love IS hkcly TO swear to
anytane -ho may nft the g.rl's age a
few wears vixen ho rohs tlfe cradle Tor
bride THE marriage law should be-
amended 90 lbsolu,ely prohibit the mar
lmge of any eirl lcss han eighteen years
Ola ard stop fhis shameful practice %
PARENTS hartorng their daughters into
marriage before they are out Of short
drcsses
Tho traffic in child wives ~ not orr
Enized. according 10 supt Bodine but
is auied on hy Italians who migrate
npm the provinces of Ahiuzzi. Basili-
caic. Calahra NobolL and Stella The
father Anis Do Chicago prosperous
sIcilm ana oxols To him the charms
~ his daughter Then he Offers 60 give
her u mauMg ID tho Bridegroom win
agree no pay lhe passaso 90 uls country
of tae sir mi her mother ln many m-