Seward daily gateway., 1925-04-03
WOMEN AND SCHOOLS
 URGED TO STOP EVIL
 OF CHILD MARRIAGES

NEW YORK, Apr. 2.-There is need for important reforms i'll the marriage laws and their administra- ton. either or both, in practically every state in the United States, ac- cording to 150-page report on "Child Marriages" issued here to- day by the Russel Sage Foundation as the result of several years in vestigation extending into 90 cities in practically every section of the country.
 The report, which was prepared by Marc E. Richmond, under whose direction the study was conducted with the collaboration of Fred 5. Hall, takes the position that at this stage reforms must be effected state by state It calls upon associations of parents, women's organizations school authorities, ministerial associ- ations. social workers, legislators and others interested in the problem of child marriage, to undertake the following ten steps toward a solution of this problem:
 l. Work toward a reasonable and enforceable minimum marriageable age law; the minimum for girls should be at least IS; in many states it is still F.
 2 Procure in states which now are without it law requiring five days advance notice of intention to mar ry: such a law is now in operation in eight states.
 g. Put the marriage market town out of business; there are at least 40 notorious Gretna Greens where the exploitation and commentaries. tion of marriage are responsible for numerous child marriages.
 f. Through cooperation with ad- joining states discourage hasty mar riages across the state border, where outof-town marriages are railroaded
 
 or the justice of the peace office, or both
 5. Know the worK Of your license issuers, so that the difficulties with which they are now contending sin gle-handed may be brought to light, and that they may be encouraged 10 use the discretion which the laws of many states now empower them to exercise.
 6. Destroy the fee system; in so far as the system of fees in lieu of salaries to license issuers survives, it interferes with th4 disinteresred character of their service.
 z Strengthen requirements as 10 proof of age of appiical. s for mar riage licenses; at present no proof of age is required iii most marriage license offices and the practice of accepting affidavits leads to falsifi cation by applicants and sometin es by their parents, making possible ;ne marriage of children II, F, 13 ard II.
 s. Substitute better evidence of aid for affidavits; no other form of evidence is so unsatisfactory. Aside from birth and baptesmal cerif- cates, 16 other forms of documentary evidence of age are suggested in the report.
 g. Require both applicants for a marriage license to appear in person before the license issuer.
 10 Harmonize the different state laws in which minimum age is re- quired; the minimum marriageable minimum working age, and the com pulsory school attendance age should fit into both these others.
 Adoption of such reforms says the report, would act as check upon those parents who are willing to marry off their boys and girls while they are still children. What is more important they would protect other parents who at present never know when some designing person or impulse of the moment may spir it away the immature girl or boy from home and make the child the victim of an administrative system which is without proper safeguards