The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1880-01-04

Letter VII.-DecttizenIzd
SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 8, 1880.
To His EreeUency r. B. Hayes, Pres
dent Of the United States.
When last December Congress di
Your sage opinion you did volunteer.
And in your message you did recon
e. mend
ID That rights of citizen.hip should be with
! held,
G. Or, having been enjoyed. should be with
drawn,
From each and every Mormon plurslist,
Or those who favored such against the
law,
In opposition to It's rigid enforcement.
Now opposition, as you will allow,
Is an elastic comprehensive word,
And can mean much or little, as may be,
Or can be stretched 0 Ter actions good or
bad.
But this in passing. as to the offense,
The rank ofense which you allow to
draw
Your presidential indignation out,
And you regard as an euormity
Sufficient to compel you to advise
10 punish with extreme severity,
What Is it, cay, what new unheard Of act,
| " hat deed of desperate outrageousness,
That it deserves such special penalty2
What horrid and bloodcurdling crime is
it
That stirs you thus within your Utmost
soul?
1 read it is enacted in the laws
| Of Congress that such and such deeds |
shall be
Held to disquslify the doer; that he
Shall be forever ineligible
To office hold ofhonor, profit, trust,
Under the ruls of the United States.
Such deeds as treason, or as bribery
OF officers, or bribe-taking by such,
Desertion from army or navy, or
Official corruption in great degree,
Abuse of high authority, also
Neglect of duty by official men,
Or dereliction notable. These things
Are everywhere acknowledged serious
crimes,
Grimes in themselves. and not construc-
lively,
And should be met with signal punish
ment.
But biEamy is simply marriage twice,
Made criminal by its attending fraud,
And injury to some party concerned.
In Mormon bigamy there is no fraud,
l here is no injury to any one;
No woman is defrauded of her rights,
No woman injured by the marriage rite; Y
To all wives equal time and chance are
given,
So far as equalization can 60 a
In matters matrimonial and such,
Yet, cir, you evidently affect to think
That Mormon marriage Is the worst Of
crimes,
pir.h4 =, h. g,r ba-onI
All other crimes upon the calendar. y
When ether crimes are not punished with
death, v
)r, much the same. lifelong imprison- n
ment, n
The condemned only are disqualified, i
3eyond usual imprisonment AID fine, u
From holding Office, federal Office, sir a
\ OF under territorial or state rule. q
Nor are such criminals decitizenized, f
confirmed deserters only excepted. a
Gut Mormon bigamists you say you n
would y
Deny all ofice-holding privilege, i
And, more, deny them every legal right (
As citizens, to vote, pre-empt, homestead, fe
Dr. sit as jurors in their Utah home, Il
Jr in the federation anywhere. u
Now where, sir, did you legal ethic n
learn? =
Where your comparative morality
And criminality? wonder where, v
That you prescribe such monstrous 81
penalty, p
For what three fourths OF all the human a.
race, h
The Bible toe, hold up as honorable? T
What is your reason, sir, that you COM :,
mend, ~ ~
Your hidden and most powerful reason, g
sir, Ia
hat prompts you to commend thus ts
urgently, b,
he Congress Of these great United States 81
o punish, with such monstrous cruelty, %
10 far beyond all other punishment, u
IN act which in itself is not crime,
Gut msde crime only by proscriptivel
law?
4 law suggested by rank prejudice,
f not by causeless and malignant hate. -
sir, can you justify yourself a
n making such an inconsistent move? !,
lave you not read the Constitution, sir? u
The federal Constitution of the land2 a.
Ind can It be that you are not aware
The Constitution does expressly say
TO cruel and unusual punishment
hall be inflicted under federal rule,
lor under any rule in this broad land
S it not cruel and unusual, sir,
o punish Bible marriage to point Il
Exceeding punishment for crime per Sc,
)r punishment for any kind of crime,
With the exception I have just now
named,
other than this, which is no crime b
per Sc? Id
f Constitution and sound principle
Iou are determined, sir, to violate,
In the same breath
Why net say death
o all polygsmists in Utah, sir ?
hat is TO Mormon pelygsD1ists all p
While lecherous Gentiles may escape u
scot free, B
Is fit for virtuous society," fe
ociety that hates polygamy N
'ut looks upon adultery tenderly. :,
SALT LAKER. o