The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-07-26
MARRIAGE Law IS
OPENLY VIOLATED
County Servants Fail to En-
force Statutes and Clerks
Are Ignorant.

Indianapolis. July 26.-Scarcely a
day passes in Indiana without word
being received from some county in
the state that some marriage license
clerk or county clerk has issued a mar
rage license without the marriage law
having been complied with by the ap-
plicants for the license. In fact the
practice of ignoring the marriage
laws has become so prevalent as to
cause comment and anxiety on the
part of officials whose duty II Is to
see to the observance of the law. 1t
frequently happens that a license is
issued when the woman in the case Is
not a resident of the county in which
the application for the license is made.
This is violation of the marriage
laws of the state. County clerks seem
to have little knowledge of what the
law requires. In one county, for in
stance, the clerk said it was the Gus
tom to issue license whenever the
woman lived in the state. He knew
nothing about any requirement that
the woman must live in the county.
In Marion county the clerk says he
Issues licenses even when the woman
comes from some other state. He
said his predecessor told him it was
all right for him to do SO, but he did
not know what the law said about it..
There have been many cases where
the couple eloped from one county to
another in Indiana, obtaining marriage
licenses and have been married. Ere
quently 1t happens that the girl is I'M
der age and not entitled to a marriage
license without the consent of parent
or guardian, but little attention is paid
by clerks or their deputies to this
feature Of the law.
What Law Requires.
The Indiana marriage law requires
that a verified statement be filed with
the clerk giving full information in re-
gard to the applicants for the license,
and without this statement no license
issued just the same.
Few persons seem to understand
fully the marriage laws of Indiana and
the legal process which must be fol-
lowedin obtaining a marriage license.
1t may be that this lack of knowledge
10 responsible for some of the evas-
ions and violations of the law, but
since ignorance OF the law does not
excuse person from punishment for
its violation such a plea could not be
accepted from any one in any manner
connected with the illegal issuance of
a marriage license.
The statutes governing marriages
revised statutes Of 1908. running from
section 1857 to $3.50. Che first sec
ton defines marriage and sixcs the
minimum age limit of manageable
persons. Il says:
Marriage iszdeclared to be Civil
into which males fthe age
of Is and females of the age of 16, not
nearer of kin than second cousins,
and not having a husband or wife liv-
ing. are capable Of entering"
Section 1862 is the one which re-
Quires the license to be issued in the
county in which the female resides
It reads as follows:
bers o: the Society of Friends, shall be
joined in marriage. they shall produce
license from the clerk of the circuit
court of the county in which the fe.
male resides. directed to any person
empowered by law to solemnize mar
riages. and authorizing him to join
together the persons therein named,
nm hushand and wife"
It will be noted that this section
fails to state the time that woman
shall reside in a county to enable her
to obtaine a marriage license. There
is . common impression among the
people that woman must reside in
q county for certain length Of time
80 days, for instance-in order to
be able to obtain a license. but such is
not the law. The question of intent,
and when an applicant says to the
clerk that she is a resident of the coun-
ty, 1t seems, from the opinion of law
yers. that the clerk is justified in
granting the license, unless he hap
pens to have contrary information on