The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1924-08-26

ynoTTIdQe INNuoNo 80
.h.noed by legislative action on Aug
-. 10 but. strange as it may seem,
:. : not the loyesick maiden nor the
o,derr youth nor yet the man or wo-
,o m more mature life, who look
mon natrimony more in the light OF
bpsiness proposition rather than a
III 1sou 9ul SulMoQs s! oqM 'ooueuuoI
,s ION 'uopeIs!5oI Mou eql u! ls9I9l
III It's the legal sharks, who never
miss an opportunity to display their
or;sdom." and the newspapers, which
,Iwavs crab at a live subject that will
make front page story.
Cause of Tangle.
Accidental loss of a clause which
oostooned the effectiveness OF the new
law until January l, 1925, which is
ssid 10 have been a part of the orig
NAL bill and which somehow disap-
Deared before the document came to
Governor Walker, is the cause OF the
confusion.
The extraordinary situation arose
from that section of the act which re-
orires all persons in Georgia contem-
mating matrimony to file application
for license with the ordinary five
DAYS before issuance of the license
\ The law is dispensed with however,
in cases where the parents or legal
q guardian of the bride appear before
& the ordinary and give written con-
n sent to the union.
n The legality of marriages perform
ed between August 18th, when the
E new law went into effect and Aug. Is
was first questioned by Secretary OF
Il State s. G. McLendon, who suggest
ed that such couples chad better mar
81 ry again" In this view he was backed
by the assistant attorney general, l..
81 R Gress, who said that such unions
we're Illegal Mr.. Gress, however, has
changed his mind about the matter
II and now saws that these marriages are
O. k. and will stick hard and fast.
Judge Jeffries to the Rescue.
Judge Thomas H. Jeffries, ordinary
Of Fulton county, threescore and ten,
81 gray and wrinkled and spare OF tlg-
IRE has rushed to the rescue OF the
palpitating and terror-stricken new
lyweds
For Judge Jeffries, who grants mar
rage licenses and who is the admiral
who starts every craft on its venture
into the stormy seas of matrimony in
II his bailwick stands forth and with a
merry twinkle in his fine old eye tells
the auttering couples that it's all
AZ right, that they are safely welded by
\ bell, book and candle, as it were, that
no knife can cut this love in two, and
that the lawyers who are trying to
say August Is marriages are null and
void under the new Georgia statutes
governing matrimony had best for
ever hold their peace.
In all of these August 18 cases L
am holding that the circumstances are
exceptional, that the licenses were
properly issued and I hope they all
live happily forever after. The Ii
censes were given and received in
good faith, and the law will hold them
legitimate he added.
Provisions of the Law.
The new law provides that mo
marriage license shall be granted until
the ordinary or his deputy shall have
secured in writing under oath, from
he contracting parties or either OF
them, answers to the following ques-
tons concerning each: Name; resi-
oence; relationship; white or colored;
previously married; divorced, upon
|hat grounds, when and where; any
regal lmpediment; date and place OF
contemplated marriage; parents ma
uonality; parents residence; which
answers shall be certified to by the
: ordinary and his deputy and recorded
on or attached to the marriage IL
cense."
Section provides that Immediate
upon receiving application for Ii
.ense the ordinary or his deputy shall
p?St IN the ordinary's Office a notice
VI the names and residence of the par
ueS applying therefor and the date OF
ne application No license shall be is
sued earlier than FIVE days following
We date OF application for such Ii
5snse within which period of five
lays objections to the proposed mar
age may be entered; provided, that
y case OF emergency or extraordinary
circumstances the judge of the court
.IaNng probate jurisdiction may au-
aorlze the license to be issued at any
5ne before the expiration of FIVE
tayS The posting of said no
ne may be dispensed with in case the
PARENTS or guardian of the female APP
aI IN person before the ordinary
snu consent in writing to the issu-
u{: OF license" The ordinary is made
SJlect to a penalty of $500 for every
'olation of the act.
One Application in Terrell.
ordinary Hoyl has had application
only one license since the new
dd; went into effect, the parties being
ule Lee Gains and Lena Mae Da-
r bIpt' colored. Notice was posted
81 =" suay the 21st, and the couple can
" today, the 10Th.