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Marriages Not Recognized Unless Performed by Priest.

In the press dispatches of the past week some attention has been given to the warning Issued by George Horton, the American Consul at Athens, Greece, stating that the laws of Greece* provide that marriages performed for Greek subjects by other than the authorized priests of the Greek Catholic Church are of no standing in Greece. The consul states that in several cases where Greeks have married American women and where the ceremony was performed by Justices of the peace or other public officials and the Greeks have returned to Greece. It has been held that the marriage was illegal and the men have married again to one of their own country women. A local Greek of prominence who is familiar with conditions and affairs in the Greek Colony here says that so far as his knowledge goes all the marriages of the local Greeks have been performed by the priest and are therefore legal in Greece. He says that the warning is a timely one. However, as there is an increased tendency among the Greeks to intermarry with other races, especially with the French, there are at present about 5,500 Greeks in Lowell of which number about 400 are women and 800 or 900 are children. The change, in the law regulating the employment of children which goes into effect January first and which requires all children under sixteen who are employed in the mills to be able to read and write the English language is quite a problem for the Greeks. It is estimated that there are between three and four hundred Greek boys and girls who will be affected by this law and it will be some time before they can go to work again. How they are to be supported during their period of idleness is a serious question as a great proportion of them are here with their fathers and brothers. Some have no near relatives in this country and consequently there is nobody to look to for support during this protracted period of enforced study.