The Washington times., 1914-11-12

of illegitimacy" may we'll be preserved
as It affects the man or the woman, bu
that no penalty for ilIegitimacy should
be attached to children. He says:
Under Divine Law.
Their birth is as legitimate. under
divine law, as that of parents who
cOnformed to the human law, and
; their rights, with relation to their
parents and the state, are as great
as those of other children.
The injustice complained If by Mr.
Mann lies in the present exception
made by the law of any respon-
sibility of support of a father for chill
dren born out of wedlock. He asserts
that a father should be held responsible
whatever his legal relations to a WON.
an. for support of his own children. and
also for the maintenance of the woman
who gave birth to the children. He con.
tinued.
Our law is derived from that CT
England, which lays great stress
upon the preservation of clear lines
of inheritance of title and property.
10 insert into it the uncertainties Of
proof of male parentage of children
would confuse the questions Of in
heritance if rights of inheritance were
made dependent upon marriage OF
parents.
Should Be EfflcaClGuS.
Holding the law of nature to be
superior to that of man, believe that
proof Of cohabitation should be more
efficacious than proof Of ceremonial
to establish the fact of marriage. and
to impose upon the participants all
the responsibilities which exist under
the law of marriage. Many and var
iouS attempts have bsEn made to
cure what is called the social evil.
But l believe none have been and
none would be more efficacious than
law that any man or woman who
was proven to have cohabited with
another had thereby married that
other: that if not otherwise married
that marriage was valid under the
law. in all matters relating to per-
sonal and property rights, and that
If either of the parties was already
otherwise married the penalties for
coha bitation should be the same as
for polygamy or polyandry: but. IN
either event, the rights of children
resulting from such cohabitation
should be the same as those of
children born of legal marriage.
One may see readily what a check
such a provision would put upon
intercourse of the sexes now held TO
be illicit. and what a protection it
would extend to the children.
Mr.. Mann pointed out that no steps
toward such legislation had been taken
in the District-States have wholly or
i'm part adopted this new view OF
children's rights. One of the most pro-
sressive States, in this respect. has
been Ohio.
Poverty, Mr. Mann believes, Is but
one OF many factors contributing to the
social evil. Abandoned wives, in many
cases duped into believing they had
contracted legal marriages. he believes
make up a large percentage of the
women in segregated districts. Many
women. not driven by poverty. are to be
found in the undertow of every city s
Resigned Year Ago.
Mr.. Mann resigned from the .oard Of
Children's Guardians at the end of the
fiscal year, but he was asked to remain
until November 1. in view of the reor-
ganization of the boards office force.
Though he will continue his work as
assistant examiner of the L. S. Patent
Ofhce Mr.. Mann will tighten his work
oy dropping out of much of the phiIan-
thropic and charitable work with which
nc has been associated. He came TO
Washington in 1881 as assistant ento-
mologist at the Department of Agri-
culture. and remained with that DEPART
nent for six years. He has written
widely for magazines on chronological.
as well as on sociological topics.