The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1909-02-19
CRITICIZE
SHORTRIDGE
County Clerk Leads in the
Fight for Crown Point
Marriage Mill.

Another court fight, which promises
to be as hotIy contested as the hght
between Gary and Hammond, has be-
gun. This fight Is TO be between the
Judges and attaches of the justice
courts In Crown Point and those of
the northern Lake county over the
question of issuing marriage licenses
frem the clerks office In superior
courts.
The battle is on IN dead earnest.
The Hammond justices say it is a fight
to finish between .he marriage trust
at Crown Point and the justices of
Hammond and the other cities of the
vicinity who think it an outrage that
Crown Point should have monopoly
of the marriage mill business when
there are $4,000 people in North town
ship. who have to get their marriage
licenses at Crown Point, a little town
of 5000 inhabitants.
Alarmed Is Raised.
The trouble started in earnest when
Judge Prest Of Hammond received a
telephone message from Indianapolis
from Judge w. w. Mcmahon stating
that the Crown Point justices, headed
by County Clerk Shortridge, had ar
rived at the capital and had begun
lobbying against the wickey bill, which
enables the county clerk to issue IL
censes from superior courts when
there is a demand for them In the
| Crown Point delegation were Judge
Harry Nicholson, known as the marry
I IT,
county seat, who also marries people
should they get past Nicholson.
The Hammond men are outraged at
| the conduct of County Clerk Shortridge
in goirg to Crown Point and lobbying
against the Wickey bill. They say
that shortridge has always maintained
that it was only because of the tech
nicalities in the law which makes mar
riaGes in Hammond Illegal that caused
him to refuse to Issue licenses here.
They say that his going to Indianap-
oils TO lobby against the wickey bill
is the proof they have been hoping
to secure that he really did not want
to issue licenses in Hammond. They
even went so far as to state that they
believed he got a rake-off on the busi-
ness that the Crown Point justices
did.
Powerful Lobby Organized.
Arrangements were made at onca
by Hammond justices to send a power
full lobby to Indianapolis to see what
can be done to circumvent the activities
of the Crown Point crowd.
A. F. Knots is said to be working
for the Hammond justices. Judge Nc
Mahon is already on the ground. JUS
tices Prest. Jordan, George z. Reiland
and H. A Reiland, Jones, H F. Kaske
and others will go to Indianapolis from
} Hammond and East Chicago Tuesday.
It Is said that the justices in Toll
lesion and Gary viii stand by Ham
; mond in this matter. so that when Gary
gets a superior court they VIII be able
TO do land office business.
The Gary justices. especially, say
that it would be very romantic for
people to take a trip on the suburban
or the interurban 10 the new steel
city to be married and as result they
are heartily supporting the Wickey
bill.
The fight at the Indiana capital next
week promises to be the feature of
the week, and it is hard to tell how
: the matter VIII end. The Hammond
justices say that the representatives
+, from every city where there is su-
! perior court or where one is about TO
be established are in favor of the Wick
ey bill.