Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-01-30

MN. EiIAEhiNu the country
visiting marriage license bureaus
and the marriage parlors" in
which some UPS do a thriving
business.
What I saw" she wrote.
both distressed and Infatuated
me-"
!
In Cleveland, she found.
} there is a marriage room
across the street from the court
house. II is windowless cell
about eight feet square, contain
ing two broken wicker chairs,
one aged black sofa, a rickety
table, and fly-specked mirror"
Others were even more drabs
and tawdry. One JP decorated
his marriage parlor" with a
motto on the wall. Marriage IL
more than a word. IL Is n sen
tence."
No wonder she found brides
crying with disappointment, and
no wonder she was Infatuated to
b. see "a JP marry two couples I'm
three and n quarter minutes by
my watch"
There was one bright spot.
"in Detroit" she wrote, IL found
one Judge. with n brilliant mind
q and a kind heart. who, no matter
how busy he Is, makes an effort
10 give beauty and meaning to
his ceremonies -
Many Detroiters wrote and
asked Miss Walworih who he
was. She was pledged not 20 give
his name. We. however. are al
liberty 10 tell who nc is-Judge
Ralph w. Liddy of common
pleas court.
In is years as Judge. he has
performed more than 1900 mar
riages. some in court but many.
many of them in his own home.
He. like Miss Walworth, OBJ
JectS 10 a perfunctory. tawdry
service. Like her, he knows that
a marriage, even civil service.
is something that the bride and
bridegroom cherish and want 10
remember all their lives.
So he gives It all the dignity
and beauty that ne can
After q day assigned TO mar
riages." he says. II am often
more tired out than after trying
the toughest law suit"
Mumbling a 30-second. alb
hreviated service. as some Ups
do is not Judge Liddy's idea of
a marriage
At his home. he has wired his
several radios so that they, play
the professional. 'Oh Promise
Me and similar appropriate
music for tho ceremony. The
ceremony itself Is read in front
OF the fireplace. and with Judge
Liddy II is almost part Of the
service 10 sit down afterward
with tho couple 10 talk with
them about the meaning and the
Importance OF their marriage
vows.
Judge Liddy IL pleased when
the bride cries-not tears of
Illustration and disgust. as is the
case I'm some fIy-trap marriage
parlor," but another kind of
tears.
These tears spring from a
finer source.
Many. many Of the young men
are soldiers and sailors, home on
furlough, or about 10 60 into
service.
For them. there Is so little to
hold onto, except what lies in
4heir hearts. There Is so little
time, and 80 much 10 fear. Is 10
any wonder that they admire
Judge Liddy for trying 80 hard
"a give them as much beauty as
he can?
Couples remember him years
afterward. Every Christmas
and this last Christmas was no
eNception--he is flooded with
cards and letters from couples
he has married. Sometimes they
remember to send a card to him
on their ami ersaries. And |
couples are forever stopping him
and saying. You remember us
YOU married us in 1872"
How many soldiers have gone
10 war, with only a mumbled
service TO remember? How
many brides remember nothing
but cigar smoke in some dreary
UPS court?
They have little TO hang 10
when the going is hard. How
much. in the months TO come.
will il mean TO some of them 10
remember what Judge Liddy
tried to do?