Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1879-01-22
from our regular eorraspoaden''l
Washington Letter,

sell possesses plurality 1t wives, Is
about TO ulgc upon Congress measures
of rclief-a bill 10 relieve from prose
culion those who have committed the
oflense subscIucn, 10 the net OF Con"
eress, 1909, and previous I" the de-
cision Of the court, Il Is considered
strange that the MormonS should al
here so slrcnuously to lhci' doctrine
of polygamy, 50 od'oos to the Ch''''
world, aud particularly rnacr
conntable that the women OF uMh
should defend a practice deemed es-
pecially degrading to their sea Yet
q mass meeting Of Mormon womch L"
the number Of twelve hundred, aS-'
IN Salt Lake City recently,
who spoke aud 'rcsol"'cd earnestly
10 favor OF plural marriage 1t Is
generally supposed that the Morm"n'
do no, advance anything m defense OF
polygamy. hnt those who have visited
Utah know that they have fortified
themselves with quite an array OF ar
guments. They have made themselves
believe that polygamy is not only
n blessed thing morally but physically
and claim that there is not a pros'''
tutr, vagran,, drunkari' or Il
homeless child in Mormondom that
plural marriage is protection to wc-'
men from the brutalities OF sensual
husbands, and from numerous ills to
which Gentlles are subject. But the
Christian world does not see the force
of these arguments. and there IS now
o reasonable prospect that the blot up
on fair Utah may be wiped out, and
the territory admitted to the sisterhood
of States. 1t can never come IN so
long as Mormonism remains in con-
lIUi.
The Rev. Talmage, that zoos. IO'''
ed son Of theological thunder, lately
paid Washington visit, with the
avowed purpose Of working up sensa-,
tional material Tor his red hot style Of
gospel elucidatior. But judging from
his early departure, and the develop
ments generally, he did not find the
National Capital as bad as he thought
it was. Washington is not Sodom
nor is it Gomorrah, and the parsons
financial agents went away unrewarded
and murmuring one to the other. This
theological Akhoond Of Smut, as the
Boston Post wittily calls him, was dis
gusted to find that Washington proper
was good sort of place, and that
Washington improper was made up
of Government officials. who come
here to serve the public and remain to
drink whiskey, play cards, and cnlti-
vate strange women. Leave the gov
eminent out of Washington and the
wickedness would disappear. Wash
ington might also disappear. for it has
pleased our law givers to not only
give us Il bad name morally, but to
sit down with immense weight upon
our business enterprise.
The administration Of Justice in
the District of Columbia is becoming
serious matter. 1t seems impossible
to punish capital crimes here Two
convictions for cold blooded murder
have been found within few months,
and have resulted, not in the hanging,
of the murdercrs, but in new trials,
and finally hung juries. The second
case occurred this week. a negro,
who had been tampering with another
mans wife, concludes to put the hus
band out OF the way, and, turning up
his coat collar to avoid recognition,
walks out in broad daylight, meets
him unawares and deliberately shoots
him dead in the street. There were
no words, no quarrel and no provoca.
ton. He is tired and convicted. His
counsel obtain "new trial" fixes up
jury, partly colored, and they dis
agree, ten for conviction, two for &C
quittal. The same record has been
made in other cases, notably trial
for one of the most heinous crimes on
the calendar. All this is the result of
negro juries, and an insufferably weak
or corrupt administration of the laws.
This week the Potter Committee
ba. been getting in some solid work
again, and besides uneartbing little
more Of John Sherman's dirty work,
have had a witness who saw the
nance forged upon the tauiiaua Elec'