Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-02-24

Ihaoo a law which provides a. this
law provides. I Do rot believe that
want my girl or boyA-it 10 barely
possible they know somethine about
the characteristics azd tIAe traits ard
the season Of wild DAT s0wfng Of
their own children--and say i
guess will take one hundred or two
hundred dollars from my pocket ana
send them to Rhode Island and have
Them married there They win
come back here and live and how
much good has your law done? It
viii take care Of the poor girl and
poor boy who has to be married
here. but the rich parties can 60 ON
their honeymoon first. am IN favor
of Maine people being married In the
State Of Maine first and going on
their honeymoon afterwards. 1
think 1T is a fine idea. I say that
this is my position and say this in
the face of the way in which this
bill was accepted in the House. It
is not because I want to be on the
popular side that / am expressing
my views here. but because be-
lieve they are right.
Mr.. HINCKLEY of So. Portland:
Mr.. Speaker, just a word. The rea-
son for this bill at the present time,
and the change in the law is simply
because it has been found during
the past two years that the old law
has not worked out in practical
manner. l think we will an fecog-
nize the fact that under the law at
the present time any magistrate,
whether he be clergyman OF a justice
Of the peace or notary, must have
a certificate from the clerk before
he can perform the marriage cere-
monE If that be true, that is the
place to stop the thing right there,
and city clerk or town clerk should
not be permitted to issue the certifi-
cate, saying to the magistrate "You
go ahead and marry" until sufficient
evidence has been presented to him
that these people may legally be
married under the laws Of the State.
That is the purpose of this law. 1t
is not numbering up our statute book
at ALL. it is q practical thing, and +
say 1T is the right thing. 1, cannot
see any argument against it, Mr..
Speaker and gentlemen, and I want
to say this. that cannot conceiveL
/ do not believe that there is any
man or any woman in the State of
Maine who has spent his or her time
in pursuing their studies until they
get a degree from the medical school
who is low enough and cheap enough
to issue any certificate in a case of
this Kind, knowing what the results
may and possibly will be, unless they
know that their ground is a correct
one.
Mfr. GERRISH of Lisbon: Mr..
Speaker, there is one fundamental
principle here that wish you would
all consider, and that is that the
diagnosis of this condition is diff
cult. 1 have seen the best specialists
in the country wager and not know
exactly what was what; and the
diagnosis as shown by the Wasser-
man reaction, which understand is
only ninety per cent. efficient, think
in that case 1T will be great injus-
tice to the other ten per cent. l
trust that the motion Of the gentle
man from Belfast (Mr. 'BuzzeID will
prevaii.A WI.
Mr.. COLE of Eliot: Mr.. Speak
er and gentlemen, all we have to do
is look across the river and see how
our Insane Hospital is filled up with
patients who are there as a result
of this disease. If we can save the
condition of our boys of the future,
even if some mistakes may be made,
it seems to me that it is worth our
while.
Sometimes, however, when law
is made obligatory upon class of
people, those people who have the
enforcement of that particular law
under their control are apt to take
advantage as time goes on, and |
have in my mind a poor country boy
who works on a farm and saves a
few hundred dollars. looking for
ward to the time when he can buy
a little cottage somewhere and per-
haps continue his work of farming,
he is going to marry girl who also
works on a farm and she has been
saving her little dollars in order to
get married, but this law stares them
in the face because the medical trust
in that locality has said this is some
thing that is compulsory and our fee
is one hundred dollars. Now, if that
is a good law and If all the people of
the State believe in the law and be-
lieve that they owe something to
humanity, it seems to me that there
should be some fee fixed for such
an examination; and therefore, Mr..
Speaker. l offer House Amendment
A, section 2. to the effect that the
fee for such medical examination
shall not exceed five dollars.
The SPEAKER: The gentleman
from Eliot, Mr.. Cole. offers House
Amendment A to House bill No. SO.
to amend by adding thereto section
>. as follows:
Section ?. The fee for such
medical examination shall net exceed
five dollars
Mr.. ROUNDS of Portland: Mr..
Speaker. it seems to me that this is
numbering up the matter a little
more. 1t will only. cost five dollars
to so over to New Hampshire, and
you can get there and be back in
three hours for 10 per cent. of the
citizens of Maine, and nobody would
know that you had ever married for
months afterwards; so it seems to
me that it is unnecessary for us to
lumber the matter up any more, and
/ think the whole business ought to
be postponed.
ia