The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1880-01-11
SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 10, 1886

Declares such punishment shall not be
given
Yet you propose to Congress to enact
A law TO punish Mormon marriage so.
Crimes are not equal in degree ofguilt,
Nor should thay all be punished In one
way,
Nor all to one point ofseYerity.
Actions unequal in their outlines
should be unequal too in punishment.
Some acts are criminal inherently,
Are everywhere acknowledged to be so,
Whether or not termed crime in human
law.
But other actions are not criminal,
Excepting as so made by human law,
A falhble arrangement a. the best,
And often contrary TO law divine.
Tee former always merit punishment,
and often punishment exemplary;
While many IF the latter never do,
But should commended and rewarded be.
| Offences " hich are not Inherent crimes
/ Should not be punt he'd with severity,
And some should not be punished, not at
all.
These last to term offences Is g wrong.
To punish them SIS crime Is crime ITSELF
Sheer persecution linden ably.
ucn instances are reprehens bic,
Where human laws divine law contra
vene.
Unusual punishment that is severe
Is cruel TOO and ia like degree.
a punishment for murder Just and right
Would b. rank cruelty for petty theft.
ana so - punish plural marriage worse
han many serious and undoubted crimes
Is cruel and unusual punishment,
And therefore Is Unconstitutional.
In Utah here are MormoDs by the sc5re
Nay, more,
By hundreds and by thousands they are
here,
Who OK on plural marriage as an act
As virtuous and as sacred as can be,
AS of divine Importance and command,
As necessary to regenerste
The human race and to abolish, too,
That ulcer of all christian civilized
life,
The "social evil" which is firmly fixed
Upon The vitals Of all Christendom,
And NEEDS q remedy as radical
AS Mormon marriage is supposed TO be.
Yet yeu, sir, full of prejudice or hate,
Urge Congress to enact q special law
To pusish these poor MormOns for this
thing;
To punish them numerically, sir,
And rob them of their rights as citizens,
AS if they were the worst of criminals,
Instead of, what they are, God-tearing
men,
Who marry wives, but conscien.iou ",
AS in fulfilling q divine decree,
And not, as many men, keep mlstresses,
On PASSIONS impulse and to crafty
Incontiue nce and law ess lechery.
What state or nation IN al Christendom
-, -
Fen bigamy when 1t Is fraudulenU
But mormon plural marriage is well
! KIN swn
To have no faint of fraudulent intent,
And thus /. rests entirely clear of that
| Which consti utes the crimmslILy
| Of bigamy in nations civilized.
Pnygamy, or marry. g several wives,
! Which you Gesire to punish, as crime,
| When il IS done as re iglons act
| And custom of the doer's community,
By general consent IF Chri,tendom,
Tact and understood if not expressed,
Instead # being punished, Is allowed,
And treated with respect accordingly.
The foremost European nations hold
That pOiygamy IN their colonies
Where it is customary Is not crime,
Nor punishable by established law
Nor Is it statesmanlike to make a law
To pun sh marriages of such kind,
Or penalty iuf1ict upon that which
Is locally considered honorable,
| When it infringes not on others rights,
| Or does not constitute essential crime.
| But on, sir, seem to be less liberal,
| More narrow and contracted in your
views,
More prejudiced sgainst your country
men,
Far more despotic politically,
And fare more bigoted religiously;
Not half so WIS, not half so statesman
like.
1t should not sit upon cur stomachs well
That this, ur boosted land f liberty,
This federation ofrrpublIcs great
| And democratic sovereign sta.oI should
be
So far behind the old world menarchies
In guaranteeing freedom actual,
As it would be if your unwls advice,
Unwise and Inconsistent, to DEFY
The rights and privileges Of citizens
20 NJ lrmOns marrying polygamously,
Should lead 10 special and proscriptive
law
fsuch mercile-s and vengeful kind, /
With cruel and unusual punishment,
l hink posterity would execrate
4 w AOA OClLR sOCl u lpIHd-u luSLEum eIlL /
To make so dangerous precedent
And help the ancient landmarks to de- |
s,roy.
Now, whether you're aware of it or
not,
These Mormons, in their plain and simple
way,
And with their plural marriage, think it
is
Their mission to regenerate the race,
And d. 1t upon Bib.e PRINCIPLES.
It needs regenerating, don't il, sir?
And if the Mormons do it, who will care?
The great point is that 1t be done indeed.
But, any way, I'll give you this advice
II party capital you would augment,
lou surely, sir, will make great mis- !
take
II you think capital can well be made
BY ent ring on virulent crusade
Against the MoTmons, perhaps against
their lives, &
Because they love and marry several '
wives. II
[ DO assure you it's losing game, 7
A. d you, sir, are upon the losing side.
Your stand is not well Ken, Unjust own, :
Before too late think Whist you are about. :
The Mormons, sir, why just let them :
alone. 1
If they are wrong, why let them find it '
out, {
And then they'll change their tactics, t
don't you doubt. v