Norwich bulletin., 1913-10-11

Mr. Loomis married the cople, is
 made evident by an investigation of the facts in the case.
 The marriage license issued to the couple by Town Clerk Adams the statements in it as to the age and resi- dence of the contracting parties, Miss
 Preston and MT. Kinney, being made
 under oath as required by law, shows. that MT. kinney'S age was given as 33 years and that of Miss Preston as 21 years, though she really is but 16. The license also shows residence claimed in the town of Plainf1eId These facts are
 a matter of record, and put whatever responsibility there is for Mrs. Pres tons disturbed state of mind over the
 episode, on the shoulders of other per- sons than Town Clerk Adams and the Rev. MT. I.oomiS. They were not to be l expected, especially in the case of the town clerk who issued the license, to question the Veracity of statements be- ing made under oath
 MT. Adams could not be reached Fri l day, as he was away for the day, but Rev. MT. Loomis talked freely of the affair. He said that in view of the publicity given the affair by Mrs. Pres ton appeal to the governor, he wanted no misunderstanding as to the facts or as to his attitude in the matter Rev. MT. LoOmis said that the couple came to him on the night of Sept 19 y l Miss Preston and Mir Kinney talked
 and acted in straightforward manner l Owing to the rather unusually late l hour at which they called to be mar l ried, Rev. MT. Loomis was particular | ly careful to question them more than l he ordinarily would had they come at 1 a more regular hour upon such a mis- i sion as brought them to him, but even l this scrutinous inquiry failed to deyel- 1 op anything irregular. Their license | answered every requirement of the 1 law, it had been duly sworn to, so
 Rev. MT. LoOmis performed the cere-
 mony.
 It was not until five days later that l Rev. MT. Loomis learned that the coup l le he married was figuring in an elope-
 ment match, this information coming 1 to him in a letter from Mrs. Preston. | In the same letter she asked for cer- 1 tain information as to marriage laws l in Connecticut, which was supplied, as | far as he felt competent to do so, by 1 Rev. Mir. Loomis.
 1 Rev. Mir. Loomis puts the responsi- l bility for any violation of the law in | connection with the affair squarely up to MT Kinney, who claimed residence i in the town of Plainfeld and made affidavit that he was, whereas he is not
 a resident of that town. Someone also | had to make oath that Miss Preston 1 was q years of age, which was also done, as shown by the license, or il never would have been issued.
 Without further comments or com parisons relative to the Kinney-Pres ton marriage, it is a known fact that couples have come into Putnam, Kill | ingly and other towns from MassaChu- | setts, Rhode Island and other New England states and claimed the town where they were seeking the license
 as their home. There has been cases ! hb n hp n- suspectingly, her age IS under 21, anC was immediately refused a license only to go to some nearby. town ano declare that she was of age, and have
 a license issued to her and the mar
 she was to we'd
 The town clerks can tell of these
 cases to anyone sufficiently interested
 to listen, and have had to tell then
 over and over again to irate and un'
 reasonable relatives of young persons
 who have entered into matrimony b,
 the high speed route.