Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1913-10-25
Popular Talks on Law.
MARRIAGE.


The question, when is one married :?
was brought sharply to the fore by
dramatic incident occurring In the
east not long ago. According to the
reports of this incident, the MARRIAGE
ceremony was under way and had pro-
ceeded to the point where the bride
had been asked by the clrgymsn Of
Floating, do you take this man to
be- your lawfully welded husband?'
~ do" she answered. Just then the
groom dropped dead.
We need not here speculate as to
the cause of this sudden demise; but
legal question was raised The
question is: Had she not become the
wife of the deceased and is she not
entitled to a widows share of his
estate. It may be that the question
will be placed before court OF law
and it is, therefore, rather bold to
hazard an opinion as to what the
decision will be. Some of the prin-
ciples Of law controlling marriage,
however, may cast some light ON the
potable outcome of the controversy,
and give information as to the legal
status of the marriage ceremony In
general.
In the first place, marriage is an
agreement between the parties q
contract. But it is something more
than a civil contract; that Is, the co.'s
| tract OF marriage is. The contract
Of marriage must be carefully distin-
guished from conatract TO marry,
which is an entirely different thing.
) The contract of marriage is within
the power of the state to regulate.
The state has an interest in the
marriage, and society feels that IT.
must lend its sanction by means OF
law before a marriage may be recog-
nized as valid. Therefore a mar
rage is something more than civil
contract since it creates what the
law terms new status in society.
1t follows then that to be valid
marriage must be performed accord
| ing to the requirements OF law, and
that until the formalities prescribed
| by law have been completed there Is
1 no marriage. The law of the state
| in which the marriage is contracted
| is the law which must be observed,
and if the parties are legally mar
ried by the law of the state IN
which the ceremony took place they
are legally married in whatever state
they may go, generally speaking
even though the other states have
a different law regarding marriage.
The principal exception to this latter
rule is where persons leave the state
| in which they reside and are married
in another state under it's different
laws for the express purpose OF evad-
| ing the laws of their own state, whic
would not allow them to he married,
In such case their own state may
refuse to recognize their marriage,
should they return to it.
The statutes Of the state usually
specify who may marry. 1t Is re
Eouired that the parties be above a
certain age. Under the old common
law this age was fourteen for males
and twelve for females; but most OF
our states have fixed a considerably
higher age by statute. It follows
from the fact that marriage Is q con-
tract that parties to a valid marriage
must be Of sound. mind, else there
could not be the meeting OF minus
which is essential to every contracE.
Certain physical infirmities have
long been recognized by law as In
capacitating a person for marriage
Until recently, however, the law
took no effective means to enforce
its requirements as to physical cap
ability. Now, what are known a.
; eugenics laws are beginning to COM
Into favor among the states, ans
persons who desire to marry are re
Iouired to secure certificate o
physical fitness from q physician.
It is usual for the state laws to re
lquire that a license be secured iron
a designated officer before a cere
monial marriage can take place. II
L