Note 671 — Chapter XVIII · PROBLEMS OF MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY

The laxity of the law in this respect, coupled with that of permitting the license to be issued without delay, is the most fruitful source of clandestine marriages. There are many so-called "Gretna Greens" in the United States. One is (or was) at Aberdeen, O.: Whitney, Marriage and Divorce, 43; another at Greenwich, Conn. Oct. 2, 1900, the San Francisco Chronicle had the following telegram: "Greenwich's reputation as a Gretna Green and that of Judge Burns of Greenwich of the Borough court as one who marries all who come, appears to have extended to the Pacific Slope. On Saturday there arrived in town —— —— of Alameda, California, and —— —— of Los Angeles, California. They went to Judge Burns' office, arranged for the marriage ceremony, and then secured a marriage license from the town clerk.... Immediately after the ceremony" they "left town, maintaining the greatest secrecy as is the usual custom." Another wedding resort, for the benefit of Chicago, is the little town of St. Joseph, Mich., where in the four years, 1897-1900, 1,594 licenses are said to have been issued to persons residing outside the state, the ceremony being performed by ministers. In 1903 an attempt to adopt the Wisconsin plan, requiring an interval of five days between the issue of the license and the celebration, failed by a very few votes.