The Washington times., 1914-01-04
MARRYING parsons"
CENTEROF ASTORN
Rockville Citizens Protest
Against RaSty Marriages in
Their Town.
Continued from First PageJ

Continued from First PaSe.)
tives'' to be the form used by one min
lister of the community in marrying
couples who come to him with a license.
They declare this usually is the orly
conversation had between the clergyman
and the couple to be made man and
wife.
In defense of the ceremonies he has
performed, the Rev. Samuel white. re-
tired Baptist minister. joined with the
Rev. Richardson in declaring that the
fight has been started by political enc
mics Like Mr.. Richardson. the retired
clergyman says surely. i. is better TO
marry these young people IN most in
stances than to turn them away.
Both clergEmen explain why they
have practically monOpo!ized the mar
riage business by pointing II the fact
that Rockville is near to Washington,
has a court house right or the car line
TO which they are the ministers. Ana,
all in all. is more convenient for elopers
than any other place in this section OF
This influx Of eIopers during the
last wear is due 10 the lax marriage
laws of Maryland" declares Mr.: Ric-
ardson. .sThe idea Of permitting
girls Of sixteen to niarTy. s,one me
outside of the state would have TO be
tTenty-one years to obtain Z license
here.
May Remedy Evil.
Already a bill has been drafted to
remedy this evil, and we who have
married most of the eIopers favor the
legislation"
IT'S a shocking condition Of affairs,
is the manner in which the Rev.
Thomas A. Haughton-Burke. the Epis-
oopaI rectar. prefaced his denunciation
OF the marrying business"
why anybody with license can be
married in this town under the present
conditions. Old men, divorced and
rough. have been married here to girls
hardly old enough to know their own
n,in6s. These girls have been of re-
fined families. Can you conceive what
the outcome of such marriages will be?
They viii end in divorces. Persons Of
such vast contrast cannot be happy.
This town was up in arms not very
long ego because refused to marry
certain man ard a young woman. They
did everything, used every influence 10
have me marry them in my church, out
] insisted that they were not suited for
each ether. especially as the man had
been married before. They were ult-
nnately married by one OF those clergy
nen against whom the protests are
being made.
Would Stop Practice.
Something should be done to stop
this practice. It is causing the State
troubles untold. Some clerfymsn seem
to think that all that is necessary is for
a couple to nave a license. The minis
ter should make certain for himself,
should satisfy his own mind that the
couple who appears before him with
license are in the eyes of God suited fer
one another
Presbyterian clergyman of the town.
was ultra-conservatiVe in summing up
the situation.
I'VE don't want to bring disgrace on
the fair name of our town." he said.
IT'S all right to have the place known
s Gretna Green. We can't help hav-
ing clopers coming TO Rockville. Peo-
pie are ike sheep. The town has had
all kinds of advertisement as a place
where folks can be easily married, and
now that the tide has started this way
i is hard matter to stop il.
There are a lot of stories being told
about the laXity of certain Clergymen.
For NV part ] know of no particular
instance / Uould mention in which these
cIergylnen have been at fault. Accord
ing to statistics. two OF the ministers
have married nine-tenths of the per
sons who have come to Rockville dur
ing the year of 1873. This may have
been OCcasiOHcd by the fact that thev
both live so near the court house and
The car line. If these charges that are
icing made are true. there should be
an investigation and some remedial
action should be taken"
Garrett With Conservatives.
John Garrett. a Rockville and Wash
ington lawyer and former mayor Of the
town Of Glen Echo, is lined up with
the conservatives" although he re-
fuses to comment in detail on the
marrying business.
There's something rotten in Den
mark" declared Garrett lacOnically.
I don't know where the fault lies but
J will say that I'm defending i'm divorce
cases now a number of persons who
were married here, and I'm filing suits
for others, both here and in Washing
ton"
Reference is freely made by the con
servauyes' of the recent clopement
from Washington of an automobile
salesman who waited at the Washing
ton court house until the decree di-
vorcing him from his first wife was
signed and then speeding to Rockville
ln racing automobile and being mar
Tied to an eightcen-year-O eirl be
fore the ink had hardly dried on the
divorce papers.
Friends Of the marrying parsons
who are termed 'libcraIs'' declare the
conservative faction is dragging skel-
ctons out Of dusty closets. The CON
servatives." they declare. are bringing
10 the surface scandals concerning
elopements to the town that have been
lead for years. The element antagoniz-
lng the "Gretna Green practice retort
With charges that fright now" any cOu-
I,lc could be married in the town.
Calls Charge False.
That's an outrageous falsehood." de-
,.IarpJ the Rev Mr. Richa Tdson of the