Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-09-16
BREACH OF PROMISE.
Manner Ia Which the Law Treats
In Different Countries.

Manner In winch the Law treats u
In Different Countries.
England is the best place. from the
plaintiffs point of view. for a breach
of promise action. All other coun-
tries seem to regard with grave sus-
picion any attempt to recover none
tary compensation for the loss of a
prospective husband, and unless the
plaintiff has very strong case indeed
1t is. meyer worth her while to carry
her grief into the law courts.
In France breach of promise cases
are rare, for the simple reason that
the law requires the plaintiff to prove
that she has suffered pecuniary loss.
Now, this is not an easy thing to do
ON the part of the lady, especially in
a country where Il girl. without a dot
that is, marriage portion-has a poor
chance of finding husband. Holland
and Austria have adopted the French
system, and the result has been about
the same. Breach of promise actions
are rare. the injured damsels or their
relatives usually taking the law into
their own hands.
Practical Germany, as might be ex-
peeted. has perhaps the best method
for solving this problem. When a
young couple become engaged they
have to go through public betrothal
ceremony that ought to knock all the
shyness out of them. In the local
town hall the pair declare their affec-
ton, Willingness to marry. etc. ending
by signing 4 collection of documents
that apparently leave no loophole for
escape But If either party to the con-
tract wishes to withdraw another jour
| ney is undertaken TO the town hall
and another collection of documents
signed, witnessed and sealed. Then
the authorities determine the question
| of conversational should 1t be claimed
In this connection it may be said that
| the man can and often does claim q
| solatiun for his wounded feelings
The usual award is one-fifth of the
marriage dowry. 1t is easy to under
stand when all this is remembered
how loath the young people of Ger
many are to break their betrotha
| oaths.
1 AS the law of ItalN affords little OIL
/ no protection whatever to Tilted dam
| sells or SWANS, it is not surprising thai
| the stiletto should be the favorite mode
Of deciding breach of promise cases
j The italian law demands that the per
j son suing for the breach shall produce
!, a written promise to marry from tn,
defendant; otherwise the action canno
/ proceed. This difficulty is almost in
surmountable, and the Italian judge:
are seldom troubled to adiudicate be
tween one time lovers.
To bring an action for breach o.
promise of marriage against a reignin:
monarch is an achievement but it ha,
been done, and by. an English lady
Miss Jenny Mighell sued the sultan o
| Johore, and as there was q doub
whether the dusky one was actually
reigning monarch the case was allowed
ocomc into court, but the judge quick
~ disposed of the action by ruling i
inadmissible for the reason referred to
and Miss Mighell was nonsuited.
i 1t is remarkable that one of the tw,
actions which have brought verdict
for 100000 each to the plaintiffs SHOULD
have had for its defendant the edito
of matrimonial paper. The secon,
case was between we'll known actres
and the eldest son of an earl.-Londol
Tit-RitS s8d