The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-02-18
DROP FIVE DAY WAIT CLAUSE
Ministers in Kenosha Not Over Anxi-
Gus to Go Back to Old Days of Mar
riages Between Trains and Believe
in the Regulation of Licenses

EIS1uuS OIL the SOOQ ola times Wn6H
1t was as easy to get married in Keno
sha as it is to join the church, fitted
over the minds of people in Kenosha
who are interested in marriage and
giving in marriage, this morning when
they received copies of bill which has
been introduced into the legislature
and which if passed will take Kenosha
back to its pristine glory as the marry
ing center of the Chicago district.
Back to the times when there were
| more marriages in Kenosha in a day
than there are in month now and
back to the times when weddings took
place between trains and the cab driv-
ers and the ministers shared the fees
together. In fact if the proposed law
goes into effect it will be just as easy
to get married III Kenosha as it was on
the day after the True marriage law
was passed, It will not be possible to
go back to the old times when the JUS
tice of the peace could meet the
couples at the train with his record
book and save the cost of cab fare to
the down town district
The new law provides that the five
day clause in connection with marriage
licenses be repealed, that the eugenic
certificate be thrown into the discard
and that instead of this every man and
woman who applies for a license make
a solemn affirmation that there is no
faint Of disease in them. The law has
one real feature and that is that it
provides that no person divorced with
In year In any state in the union
may marry in Wisconsin.
Copies of the bill were to be found
in many Offices in Kenosha this morn
ing, but there was difference of
opinion as to whether or not the bill
should be passed up. Up at The marri-
age license bureau it was held that it
would be distinct step backward in
marriage laws. Some of the ministers
of the city held the same view.
One of the leading ministers said:
"Of course the ministers of Kenosha
would like to have weddings and lots
of weddings for the salaries earned by
them are such that they may we'll be
supplemented by fees of this sort-but
the ministers of Kenosha realize the
fact that every possible safeguard
should be thrown about the marriage
tie. [ don It believe that any of the
ministers in Kenosha would want to go
back to the old plan of marrying cou-
Piles on sight without any safeguarding
provisions in connection with the IL
cense. The majority of the ministers
are in favor of the five day provision
for marriage licenses as it gives an ex-
cellent chance for any objections to
the marriage to be shown. It is just
possible that with this clause off we
would get more of the so-called
"Chicago weddings but the most of
the ministers. would just as lief fight
shy of the publicity that usually fol
lows such weddings. Wedding fees for
the most part are small and the inter
est of the ministers in this kind of
service has been greatly overes-
timated."
Cab drivers in the city did not take
the same view of it. A lot of them
were body and soul in favor of get
ting as far back to the old times as it
was possible to go by legislative ac-
ton. There is no doubt but that the
passage of the law would greatly re-
vive the old business of Chicago mar
riages in Kenosha. In the past year
less than dozen Chicago couples came
to Kenosha to be married while under
the old time laws there were years
where the number of Chicago couples
was close to the five hundred mark