Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1915-02-28
EUGENIC LAW IN
 WISCONSIN, HURTS
 CUPlD'S BUSINESS
First Year of Laws Opera tion Shows 4,000 Fewer
 Marriages.

Madison, Wis, Feb. 27.--The Wis consin eugenic marriage law, the first of it's kind in the world, has now been in effect little over a year and the results can be estimated. The state board of health has just reported that one effect is lessen ing Of the number of marriages con- tracted. It appears that about 4,00O couples less took the big jump ;.i 1914 than in 1913.
 In 1914, 17,245 regular ceremonials were reported and 87 law marriages were recorded. In the previous year ere had been 21,O52 marriages.
 The board of health does not oe- lieve the eugenic law is entirely re- sponsible for the decline. It says:
 ''Or account of the great preva- lence of certain diseases in the state, it is only reasonable to expect that there would be some decline in the number of marriages reported if the eugenic law is properly enforced, on account of the inability on the part of the prospective bridegroom. who is afflicted with either of these diseases to obtain medical certificate. Un- dcubtedly some of the parties who were unable to pass the required ex- animation or who suspected that they would not pass went out of the state to be married, and Ill other cases conl- mon law marriage was resorted to.
 "lt would, of course, be unjust to charge that all the brldegrooms who went out of the state to be married or who evaded the law 3y contract ing common law marriages were 50 afflicted. In some instances the par ties felt that the eugenic law was . serious infringement of their person. al liberties and were married outside the state to avoid its provisions. ln others common law ,r4arriage was re- sorted to by perfectly healthy people purely because of the novelty of the ceremony and the knowledge that marriage of this kind was fully binl- ing to hoths, parties, ss,, .i.:.. ts
 statistics compiled by many other states and several foreign countries, show that, extending over period of time. there is a marked decline in our marriage rate. This factor must pc considered in making proper deduc- tions from the figures presented. Ihe industrial depression which has been upon us for more than a year is also responsible in large measure. Sta tistics show that a financial depres-
 sion seriously retards marriage IL the same way that it produces a de- cline in the birth rate. :. "Tnoughtful persons, who know or tho ravages of certain diseases will. agree that the actual number Of mar
 riages occurring in the state in a
 given period of time is not nearly as
 important to posterity as the general
 healthfulness of the contracting parties.
 .The educational value of the
 Eugenic Marriage law should not ba lost sight of. A more fruitful cam paign of education could not nave been waged throughout this state | than through the passage and en' E2orcement of the law"
 The report throws some light on tho attitude of men and women to- ward matrimony. It would seem that for women once was enough; at least only 672 widows married again While | 93S widowers took another chance However, the situation was reversed in the case of divorce. Of the grass | widows 32O married again, while only ! 2S6 men took "a chance. In 12,969, of the total number o' 1 marriages, both parties were native | horn, with both parents natlve; III 1 5S3 the groom was native and the
 bride foreign born; in 1,479 cases the
 groom was foreign-born and the
 bride was native; in 2,121 marriages
 both parties were foreign-born. Tn 93 cases the nativity of one or botn parties was unknown or not stated.