THE INCREASE OF DIVORCE 211 



greatly, and the number of illegitimate births increased enormously 

 till the illegitimates were one-fourth of all children born. Alarm 

 seized the Bavarians and in 1861 the law was repealed. Marriages 

 increased from 38,000 to 59,000 annually and remained at this high 

 figure for several years. The number of illegitimate births greatly 

 decreased." 



There are, however, certain mild restrictions on marriage which it 

 might be wise to enforce in the interest of pubUc morals. It is possible 

 to make it too easy for persons to marry. A marriage ceremony should 

 be surrounded with a certain amount of formality, for this tends to pre- 

 vent haste and recklessness in contracting matrimonial alhances. The 

 opportimity to marry secretly is not good for the pubUc nor the parties 

 concerned. Neither is the common-law marriage — the simple hving 

 together of a man and woman without other ceremony — although it has 

 the sanction of Benjamin Franklin and George Eliot. New York has 

 passed a law declaring common-law marriage illegal. In recent years 

 a number of instances have occurred in which, soon after the death of a 

 well-to-do man, an adventurous woman has appeared and claimed to be 

 his common-law wife deserted before the days of his prosperity. Such 

 an adventuress then brings suit against the estate, and is perhaps bought 

 off by the legitimate heirs. 



What is known as the Gretna Green marriage — the young couples 

 running away from home to a place where marriages are easily celebrated 

 and no questions asked — is a debasing element in our society. St. 

 Joseph, Michigan, has been a Gretna Green for Chicago for a number of 

 years, and here a great many marriages have been clandestinely cele- 

 brated. The couple have repeatedly requested that the names be not 

 given out. This sort of marriage can be prevented by a law requiring 

 a hcense to be taken out in the county where one of the parties resides. 

 Requiring a Hcense is not effective if it may be taken out anywhere. 

 Michigan has had a law requiring hcenses for a number of years, but it 

 is not such a law as tends to check the migration of persons to St. Joseph 

 for the purpose of marrying secretly. If the Hcense must be taken out 

 in the county where one of the parties resides, runaway marriages will 



' WiLLCOX, The Divorce Problem, p. 60. 



