The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-03-29
DUNHAM MARRIAGE
BILL NOW A LAW
Was Subject of Lively Debate Between
Representatives of Putney and
Brattleboro.

MONTPELIER, March ga divid-
cd report Of the conference committee
on the Durham marriage bin limited
oratorical hostilitics to Representative
Durham Of Brattlcboro and Representa-
tive Aiken of Putncv. who represented.
respectively, the majority and minority
reports. The senate committee of three
and two members Of the house commit
tee signed the report Mr. Aiken sub.
mitted minority report of half a
dozen pages. Mr.. Aiken charged unfair
treatment on the part on certain mem
bcrs of the committee and that members
of the committee had taken advantage
of his deafness. lie also alleged that
signatures TO the report were secured
outside Of the committee room and that
fndlng they were in hole. - he said,
meeting was held last night and the
report already signed was put before
1t without room enough at the bot
tom for me to sign my name and OBJ
jections if | wanted to. -
Mr.. Aiken said in his report: 1.-THE
committee has conducted itself in such
disorderly and unparliamcntarv man
ner as to render its decision valueless
The committee placed itself in a doubt.
ful position by inserting matter in no
way referring to il and for the pur-
pose of cNpedlting acceptance of the
report, rather than for the Improvement
Of the bill under consideration. Mr.
Aiken said he didn I know much law
When he was young he wanted to study
law but his mother put her foot down
on IT and told him she wanted her boy
to grow up to be an honest man. Mr..
Aiken read an opinion of The attorney
general and also another opinion that
the act was unconstitutional.
Representative Durham of Brattle-
boro denied any intimation that the
meetings of the committee were unfair
or that discourteous treatment had been
accorded the member from Putney, who
is said simply refused to reason with
the committee. Regarding the state
mcnt Of the member from Putney that
he had said =" Excuse me, the meeting
is adjourned Immediately after they
met, he made n Hat denial, for the rea-
son that he was not chairman of the
meeting he said and had no power to
adjourn it..
The committee made progress with
difficulty. some would think il a "mer.
~ 20 round. lie asked the house to
take his word as a business man and
from what they had made up their mind
about him during the session. to decide
if he were not telling the truth. He
explained his version of the meetings.
The speaker wondered if the opinion
read by the member from Putney was
prepared hv-John +. Gale, who was at
torucy for Carl Hopkins, town clerk
Of Brattlchoro, whose fees he said from
marriage licenses issued were 5000 a
month. He said Vermont had become
known as Il Gretna Green, the dumping
place for marriages from all over the
country. He claimed the opinion of
the attorney read by Mr.. Aiken was
on the hin rs il passed the house
Mr.. Aiken said he knew when lie had
been called liar. He was not a church
member but he had a regard for his
word.
Mr.. Durham denied he had applied
that harsh term TO the member from
Putncy, resting on the assertion that
the member from Putncy had mis.stated
the facts.
On the motion to close debate. the
motion was lost - to 10. after which
Mr.. Durham answered the gentleman
from Putncv.
Mr.. Moore of Ludlow called attcn-
tiou TO what appeared 70 he an error
in the report of the conference com
mittcc aud pending further examina-
tion the bill was on his motion ordered
to lie, - to 81.
At the afternoon session Of the house
-. LII tot. b.,
table and the report OF the conference
committee. was adopted lO9 to 10. The
senate adopted the report this morning