Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-10-18
EugeniCs to Be Discussed
in Report to Convention
on Uniform State Laws

point of view will be discussed during
the conference of the commissioners on
| uniform state laws, now in session at
the New Willard Hotel The organiZa
ton has a committee on marriage and
divorce, which has framed what is
called the marriage evasion act.
which has been adopted by two states
l-Massachusetts and Vermont
! Public attention has been directed
during the past year to a law of this
character in Wisconsin, where, it is re-
| ported. the number of marriages has
diminished since the law was passed.
News dispatches have said that resi-
dents of Wisconsin have gone to neigh
boring states 10 be married in prefer
ence to complying with the provisions
of the Wisconsin law.
| Edward W. Frost. chairman of the
committee on marriage and divorce has
prepared report on the marriage
evasion act which contains some de-
tails of interest to the general public
1t 1s' In part, as follows:
Extract From the Report.
THE trend of public opinion along
eugenics lines has been for the past
few years in favor of legislation look
ing to the protection of the public
against transmissible diseases by re-
curing on the part of persons about
to marry either an affidavit, or certifi-
cate OF physician, that one or both
are Tree from any such disease Indi-
ana, Michigan. Utah and Washington
nave had such a law for three or more
years; North Dakota, Oregon. Pennsyl-
vania and Wisconsin nassed sucb . 10 ",
in 1913.
Tne Pennsylvania act has not as vet
been passed upon by the higher courts.
Ihe wisconsin act was attacked as un-
constitutional on three grounds: First,
prescribed physicians fee of only So.
whereas the only thorough test could
not be made for less than a cost of
SIS; second, because it Disseminated
against males. females not being re-
CURED to present medical certificate;
third, because it interfered with the
religious liberty of the contracting
parties.
'"The circuit court of Milwaukee sus-
tanned the foregoing contentious and
held the act to be unconstitutional.
The supreme court of Wisconsin, how
ever, in June last, reversed the lower
! religious liberty of the contracting
tional.
'In 1918 the Massachusetts, legislature
referred the question of eugenicS leg
islation to a commission composed of
the members of the state board of
health and of the state board of in
of three sections amending previous
legislation on the subject; but the bill,
though introduced in the last legisla-
ture, was not passed. eugenics bill
was also introduced into the Georgia
legislature at its last session, but was
rejected on final vote.
Your committee presents these facts
for consideration by the conference and
makes no recommended ton, further than
to suggest that the subject is
within the scope of uniform legislation
concerning domestic relations. and as
such legislation is on the increase, the
conference has an opportunity to take
part in haping it,.
Text Of the Law.
As framed by the commissioners on
uniform state laws, 1.-The marriage
evasion act Is quite brief. and it is
their hope that it will be adopted by all
the states. 1t is as follows:
Section l. Be it enacted, etc. That
If any person residing and intending to
continue to reside in this state who Is
disabled or prohibited from contracting
marriage under the laws of the state
shall go into another state or country
and there contract a marriage prohibit
ed and declared void by the laws of
this state, such marriage shall be null
and void for all purposes in this state
with the same effect as though such
prohibited marriage had been entered
into in this state.
Section 2. No marriage shall be con-
tracted in this state by a party resid-
ing and intending to continue to reside
in another state or jurisdiction ii such
marriage would be void if contracted in
such other state or jurisdiction and
every marriage celebrated in this state
in violation of this provision shall be
null and void.
Section g. Before issuing a license
to marry to a person who resides and
intends to continue to reside in an
other state the officer having authority
to issue the license shall satisfy him
self by requiring af1idavits or otherwise
that such person is not prohibited from
intermarrying by the laws of the juris-
diction where he or she resides.
Section 4. Any official issuing a
license with knowledge that the parties
are thus prohibited from intermarrying
and any person authorized to celebrate
marriage who shall knowingly cele-
brate such a marriage shall be guilty
of misdemeanor. and shall be punish
ad nv