Evening star., 1938-12-28
Test Of Arlington
Marriage Delay
Rule Planned
Col. Gornett Leeds Group
Of Attorneys Preparing
Legal Bottle

censes in Arlington County is illegal,
group Of lawyers today prepared
to flle . test suit.
A mandamus petition is ready for
presentation to the court. All that
Is needed is couple willing to
initiate the litigation. The attor-
neys will give their services free.
The move is led by Col. Christo-
pher B. Garnett, prominent WASH
ington and Virginia attorney, and
the American member of the Ger
man-American Mixed Claims Com
mission.
Other Arlington attorneys who
have expressed their willingness to
go along with Col. Garnett and OBJ
ject to the new waiting requirement
include County Treasurer Charles
P. Jesse, former Commonwealth
Attorney William c. Cloth and At
torney William c. Cloth, jr.; E. N.
Hosme,, l.. A. Verzi, Thomas w.
Phillips, Caldwell Kendrick, Harry
Thomas and Civil Marriage Officer
Bryan Gordon.
Holds Method Illegal
Col. Garnett said:
1 have very good reason why I
believe the clerk is acting illegally
IN refusing to issue marriage licen-
ses right away. He is operating
under a clerk-made law, and under
Virginias marriage statutes such
regulation is given only to the State
Legislature
Col. Garnett said he does not ap-
prove OF hasty gin" marriages.
He added, however, that the
method by which Arlington is delay
Ing marriages is illegal"
Attorney Cloth, ST., described as
ridiculous the reasons given by
Virginia clerks for delaying the Ii
censes, and he said that section
508Sa Of the Virginia Code, upon
which the clerks are apparently re-
lying for legal authority for their
actions is designed to regulate the
marriage Of habitual criminals, in
sane persons and mental detectives. u
It is ridiculous" he said, that a
clerk should withhold licenses from
an apparently normal couple purely
on the suspicion of disease, a mental
allment or other characteristics pro-
hibitive to marriage.
He added that he was in favor of
a proposed bill at the last session Of
the Legislature which would have
required physical examinations for
social diseases Of all marriage ap-
plicants.
Follows Fairfax Ban.
The Arlington development fol-
lowed closely a ban on rush-order
nuptials In Fairfax County, where
Clerk John M. Whalen today began
enforcing an order that no more
licenses can be granted to non-resi-
dents until applications have been
on file y hours.
The action Of the Fairfax court
clerk, similar to that previously
taken In Alexandria City and Ar
lington County when the marriage
license business doomed as a result
OF the new 48-hour wait law in
Maryland, was brought about be-
cause continued applications yester-
day upset the routine of the office.
A total Of Is licenses were granted
yesterday before the ban went into
effect, the majority to non-resi-
dents. Ten couples were refused
licenses, two because they were sus-
pected Of having been drinking and
the others because dout as to their
ages.
Mr.. Whalen explained Common
wealth's Attorney Paul E. Brown
had given him an opinion that the
clerk Is authorized, In his discre-
ton, to require that applications
remain on file reasonable time In
order to permit an investigation Of
the qualification Of the applicants.
The new regulation will not ap-
ply to residents of Fairfax County,
II they are otherwise eligible for
license under existing laws.
Licenses Kept Clerk Busy.
In making his announcement Mr..
Whalen said:
Il had hoped 1t would not oc
necessary for me to invoke the 72-
hour rule previous to the first of
January, but the continued rush
of applications Of non-residents for
marriage licenses following the ex-
pected increase In applications i'm
mediately preceding the Christmas
holidays, is requiring so much of
the time of my deputies and as
sistants that the other work OF the
Office will have to be deferred If such
applications continue at the present
rate. and make the imposition of the
72-hour rule imperative"
At the same time Mr.. Whalen
warned that the practice Of the
Office in refusing licenses to those
suspected of intoxication and those
failing to satisfy the Office as to ages
will be followed in the future as in
the past even though the applica-
tions have remained on file u hours.
Nearest Now 30 Miles Away.
AS a result Of the Fairfax ban, the
nearest communities in which the
wait period has not been put into
effect are Stafford Courthouse, Va,
on the Washington Richmond high
way, about AZ miles south of WASH
ington; Manassas, about. 80 miles
from the Capital; ,Warrenton and
Leesburg, both about A miles away,
and Fredericksburg, SIS miles from
the District.
Licenses issued at Fredericksburg
since the invocation of the three
day wait rule are increasing daily,
the Associated Press reported.
Yesterday II out-of-State couples
were granted licenses at Fredericks-
burg.
IA MIA