Marriage Mills

The U. S. declared war April 6, 1917 and as the rumbling of the guns rolled across the Atlantic, marriage records began to tumble nationwide as U. S. males jumped to escape the draft or to marry their best girls before going out to die. Chicago's municipal marriage license bureau set an all-time high on April 9, 1917, issuing 1,124 licenses. Last week saw that Wartime record tremble on Monday when 1,119 licenses were issued, tumble on Tuesday with 1,153, be trampled underfoot on Wednesday by a mob of 1,407 engaged couples who kept the overworked clerks on the job until 9 p. m. Next day another all-time Chicago marriage record was broken: not a marriage license was asked for all day. On the idlest previous day in the history of the bureau, Feb. 25, 1932, there had been 56 licenses issued.

What caused last week's marriage stampede in Chicago was another war, not in Europe this time but right at home --the 1937 U. S. war on venereal disease (TIME, Oct. 26). The Law had stepped in to help fight a battle for Medicine. Beginning July 1 no marriage license could be issued in Illinois without a physician's certificates that both parties had passed tests showing freedom from syphilis and gonorrhea.*By no means were all Illinois' last-minute licensees tainted: many wished to avoid the added expense (up to $25) of the medical tests; others were shy or afraid of the bloodletting needle: others wished the old form of license since it is good indefinitely whereas the new antivenereal disease license becomes invalid after 30 days.

To the city of Waukegan whose merchants claim $125,000 annual business from local marriage mills, the week brought an end to their role of Illinois' Gretna Green. Illinois quick-marriage business will go to neighboring States. but not to Wisconsin, which already required Wasserman tests of males and which last week extended the requirement to females. As if Illinois' antivenereal restrictions weren't enough the State this week awaited its Governor's signature to a law requiring posting of three days' notice of intent to wed.

While Waukegan's marrying parsons lamented last week, the wedding racketeers of Elkton, Md. gloated. Led by Elkton's famed Marriage-Parlorist William ("Pop") Cann, Maryland's taxi-drivers had beaten a June 30 deadline on a new Maryland marriage law. Although this law, requiring a 48-hr. interim between applying for a license and being wed, took effect June 1, Maryland's Constitution permits the lifting and postponement of its laws by public petition within 30 days. The law is then submitted to popular referendum at the next election of U. S. Representatives.*Maryland taximen, who make good money driving out-of-State couples to the marriage mills,/- obtained 13,007 signatures of registered voters (3,007 more than required) and Maryland's mills ground merrily on, with November 1938 their distant and dubious deadline.

*Fifth Chicago license issued under the new law went to Miss Barbara Mantel Fishbein, 23, eldest daughter of Dr. Morris Fishbein, editor of the American Medical Association's publications. She was married at week's end to Dr. Morris Theodore Freidell, 24, of Minneapolis.

*Few Eastern State Constitutions have comparable referendum provisions. Massachusetts allows suspension of a law on petition of 15,000 registered voters within 90 days of the law's passage. Arkansas, California, Oregon and Oklahoma have provisions similar to Maryland's.

/-Elkton marriages cost $13 divided as follows: $2 for the marriage license. $1 for the taxi ride to the marriage parlors (three blocks to Cann's from City Hall), $10 "to the minister," who works for a salary, returns most of what he takes in. Taxi-drivers or runners get a $5 commission for each couple they catch.

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