The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1929-03-07
MANY QUIRKS in U.
S. MARRIACELAWS
Only Twenty-FOur States Re.
quire CeremOny-Recent
Wide Survey Shows
ACE LIMITS ARE LOW
Parents Consent Permits Girl
of IL to Wed in Some States
lis i'm New Hampshire

Forty-eight states and the Dis
trict of Columbus have laws regu.
lating marriage. The wide diverg-
ences among these laws, their ex-
cellencies and deficiencies and
modern trends in state control
over marriage are shown in an ex-
haustive study made by Godfrey
May, of the Russell Stage founda-
tons staff.
This statement calls attention
first of all, to the fact that, while
all states specify how marriage
ceremonies shall be performed, on
ly twenty-four require a cere-
mony in order to make a marriage
valid. In the remaining states a
mere private agreement between a
man and woman, without witness
or recorded promise, constitutes a
marriage if no ''impedim snt" ex-
lists. Among the states in which
these common law marriages are
still valid are such large and pop
ulous states as New York Penn
:sylvania and Ohio.
For age requirements marked va
riations were discovered. If their
parents consent girls of twelve may
still be legally married in states of
Colorado, Florida, Idaho, louisiana,
Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, New
Jersey, Rhode Island, Tennessee
and Virginia. The remaining
states have a higher minimum age,
usually fourteen or sixteen,
though in twelve states where the
minimum age is sixteen or higher
certain specified judges may au-
thorize marriage if circumstances
make such action desirable.
A minimum age of eighteen OBJ
tains in New Hampshire, two years
higher than in any other state in
the country. The consent of par
ent or guardian is required in
most states whenever either party
to the marriage is a legal minor.
A general tendency to raise the
minimum manageable age is indi-
Gated by recent legislation for this
purpose in California, Kentucky,
Minnesota, Missouri, New Hamp-
shire, New Mexico, New York
Pennsylvania and Vermont.
The statement points out that
hasty marriages with their at
tendant evils are still possible in
most of the states. The decision
to marry, issuance. of license, and
the actual ceremony may all take
place within a few hours In
twelve states, however, period
usually five days. must elapse af.
ter the license is applied for be-
fore the ceremony may take place,
and in nine Of these the license is
not issued until this period has
elapsed.
Such a law, which receives high
praise in the statement, is now in
force in all the New England states
and in California, Delaware
Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey and
Wisconsin. This is one of the most
active of present tendencies in mar
riage legislation. Four of the
states mentioned have only recent
ly added this provision to their
marriage laws, and in 1927, the
latest important legislative year,
bills for advance notice were in
troduced into fourteen additional
states.
In many states candidates, if
qualified, may obtain their mar
riage license from any issuer to
whom they choose to apply. This
is held to be a very unfortunate
provision. But in Maine, Massa-
chusetts and Rhode Island licenses
must be obtained in the city or
town in the state where the pros
pective bride and bridegroom re-
side. If they live in two different
places they must obtain two IL
censes.
Eighteen other states have adopt
ed this principle, but go only half
way, requiring applicants to OBJ
tain their license in the city or
county where one of them, usually
the girl candidate, resides.
Because no state can forbid its
residents to cross the state line,
evasions of a states laws are pos
sible, the statement points out
through marriages performed in
some other state. Eighteen states
have passed laws forbidding mar
riages contracted thus for evasive
purposes, but such laws have prov
ed very difficult of enforcement.
Divorce laws and marriage laws
which forbid a marriage too soon
after divorced or before divorce de.
crees have been made final, or when
the prospective bride or bride.