Evening journal., 1920-01-29
ELKTON WE'D TO
OLD MARRIAGE LAW
cnntlnned frnm FIrsL PIC

Continued from First Page.
ious 10 we'd only a few minutes
clapse between The drying OF the ink
on the license issued by the clerk OF
ihe court and the tying OF The nuptial
knot.
senator Epplers bill would remedy
Zoe praclice. not only at Cumberland.
hut also at Elkton, Hagerstown, Rock
yillc and Ellicott City. an OF which are
county seats and all Of which are easy
Of access from adjoining States and
from large cities.
II four days are permitted 20 inter-
vene between The grant Of the license
and Che wedding, time is given par
ents OF couples 10 interpose objections
II there are grounds for objections.
The mere fact that men and women go
90 Maryland county seats 10 be mar
iied gives rise TO the suspicion OF OBJ
iections by psrents or Of the stringent
marriage laws Of the states in which
they live.
Of all The Maryland towns in which
ihe union or couples in the holy bonds
of wedlockis thriving industry, Elk
Ton takes th3 lead. The records at the
nillce OF the County Clerk show that
200 out-of-state couples requiring the
services OF one clerk We're granted Ii
ccnses last year Sundays excluded
lhls means on an average a strange
couples are married every day I'm Elk
ton. The average fee paid the preach
crs Is SO. Each automobile driver re-
ceives for each couple from 50 to 50,
or as much as he can exact, plus a tip
from The preacher to whom the pros
pective bride and groom are hauled.
The scenes at the station Of the Penn
sylvsnia Railroad at Elkton are lively
and animated on the arrival Of trains
bringing couples seeking licenses and
their marriage The automobile driv-
ers carry on most noisy bidding as
they compete for business. Passengers
from car windows witness the pulling
and hauling with interest, mixed with
curiosity.
The automobile drivers fees have
kept apace with other high costs. For
each couple conveyed TO the Court
House and thence to the parsonage
ihe fee has gone up from 90 cents 20
81 with another rise. The drivers are
not adverse TO outvitting the preacher.
70 is related that the would-be groom
handed a i6hu $40 to be given TO the
Tying parson. The driver pOcketed the
BIN and placed a Lincoln cent in an
envelope, which he sealed and gave the
preacher. The reverend gentleman pro-
tested TO the driver, whose only cOnsO-
lation to the disappointed clergyman
was that The happy couple had depart
ed for whereabouts unknown
The Presbytery Of New Castle by a
resolution discouraged the practice OF
hasty marriages at Elkton and the To-
cal Presbyterian divine discontinued
the tying Of out-of-tOwn couples, not.
however, until serious differences had
arisen between him and some members
Of his congregation. Outcome OF these
differences are street flsticuffs, two ar
rests, a court trial and the imposition
nf a fine OF 50 by Judges Adkins Hop
per and Wickes on each OF the belliger-
ents, the court confessing that there
was part justification for the attacks
with fists in protest against insulting
language applied The dissensiCn has
shocked the Presbyterian congregation
70 its foundations. The whole matter
win come up before the Synod Of Bal
timore In October.
One preacher, who went to Elkton
and who has no charge. has accumu-
lated enough money from marriage
fees 10 buy an automobile and Is well
on mis- way 10 paying for farm. i
Mormon preacher. who engaged in the
enterprise. was severely reprimandeC
BY his superiors for his activities.
Hasty marriages at Elkton figure
prominently in the divorce courts al
Philadelphia, New York and Other
cities. Elkton lawyers are solicited ic
write opinions testifying to the valid
i'y Of hasty marriages in that town
These opinions are sought for the great
e. part in the case Of one Of the women
who has recently been granted a d.
vorce. A prominent lawyer Of the town
recently declined to accept a fee Of
1900 for an opinion that would have
covered a single page The opinion was
wanted in a court case. A distracted